General confession

[francesco920]

For several reasons, I have decided to make a general confession soon, but I have a few questions. A few quick facts first: I’m an 18 yr old cradle Catholic and this is the first year I’ve taken my faith seriously; the chief reason I have decided to make a general confession is that even though I have gone to confession several times this year I never made a general confession, which I think is necessary because before this year I never really went to confession and also because I am not sure some of my recent confessions have been valid (I didn’t confess a few sins I was doubtful about for some reason…at any rate, I’m not entirely sure I was purposefully concealing anything but then again I think I should have been more open and straightforward). I vaguely remember a few confessions I made as a child, but I don’t think they counted since I didn’t know what I was doing. So my goal is to make a good general confession so I can be reconciled with the Lord and so I can put my past behind me.

1. Regarding examination of conscience specifically for a general confession, what is a good way to make one? Can you give me some suggestions/advice?
2. Should I confess everything that involved grave matter even if it wasn’t necessarily mortally sinful? For example, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation unworthily and I did not go to confession once per year, but I didn’t know anything about sacrilege or precepts of the Church at the time. Would it still be good to confess such things?
3. Reflecting over my childhood (as in before high school), I realize that my memory is fuzzy and I am not sure what mortal sins I committed at the time. Also, there are some serious sins I know I committed as a child (mostly like sins against the 4th commandment, sins of anger/hatred/jealousy), but I can’t really remember more than a few specific instances and I know there were more. What is the most useful way to examine my childhood (as in the time before high school) and what exactly should I concentrate on? And, to follow up on that, how can I go about fulfilling the requirement to confess my mortal sins in kind and number? I don’t want to just come up with an artificial number but I don’t want to be too vague either.
4. This question is kind of related to the last one. With certain sins, such as presumption of God’s mercy, how exactly do you go about determining the number? I have found this sin and also despair of God’s mercy to be at the root of many of my sins but I find it difficult to count how many times I commit these particular sins.
5. Last question. How do I approach a priest about making a general confession? Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[LISA_Annette]

the chief reason I have decided to make a general confession is that** even though I have gone to confession several times this year I never made a general confession,** which I think is necessary … because* I am not sure some of my recent confessions have been valid *(I didn’t confess a few sins I was doubtful about for some reason…at any rate, I’m not entirely sure I was purposefully concealing anything but then again I think I should have been more open and straightforward).

Make an appointment with a priest and discuss this concern as you said it here. I believe that your confessions WERE valid because you were genuinely doubtful as to their seriousness—this does not make it a “bad confession”. On the other hand, you should just make an appointment with the priest for this discussion, to INFORM your conscience. Ask him if you need a general confession. He will advise you. He may tell you to make a general confession, but he may tell you not to worry! I have been going to confession for 20 yrs. once monthly, and there was a time I was so WORRIED about everything, but I was given advice to help ease my worries, i.e., scruples.

1. Regarding examination of conscience specifically for a general confession, what is a good way to make one? Can you give me some suggestions/advice?

There was once i did a general confession, and the priest told me to say all sins since I was 7. Now remember, sometimes kids DO STUFF without knowing its seriousness! So eventhough technically it may have been BAD, it was not a mrtal sin, since you DID NOT KNOW it was. For a sin to be mortal, you have to KNOW it is a sin, FREELY CHOOSE to do it. You may have FREELY chosen to do something, but did not know it was mortally sinful, i.e., cutting you off from eternal salvation.

1. Should I confess everything that involved grave matter even if it wasn’t necessarily mortally sinful? For example, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation unworthily and I did not go to confession once per year, but I didn’t know anything about sacrilege or precepts of the Church at the time. Would it still be good to confess such things?

Please refer to above answer to #1. You were just a child in your thinking, and you were immature, so don’t be so hard on yourself. You are returning to God now, and that says alot…it took me longer than you

1. Reflecting over my childhood (as in before high school), I realize that my memory is fuzzy and I am not sure what mortal sins I committed at the time. Also, there are some serious sins I know I committed as a child (mostly like sins against the 4th commandment, sins of anger/hatred/jealousy), but I can’t really remember more than a few specific instances and I know there were more. What is the most useful way to examine my childhood (as in the time before high school) and what exactly should I concentrate on? And, to follow up on that, how can I go about fulfilling the requirement to confess my mortal sins in kind and number? I don’t want to just come up with an artificial number but I don’t want to be too vague either.
2. This question is kind of related to the last one. With certain sins, such as presumption of God’s mercy, how exactly do you go about determining the number? I have found this sin and also despair of God’s mercy to be at the root of many of my sins but I find it difficult to count how many times I commit these particular sins.

Thanks.

You can not determine the number of sins in general confession—I am sure someone will correct me, and I HOPE they do because of YOUR deep concern, but i believe that numbers are hard to determine in general confession. i have been very “fuzzy” on stuff too, and CONFESSED that–btw , but GOD knows our human weaknesses, He loves us in our human condition—remember, he became one of us! He is AWESOME in HIS mercy, my friend! Just call the rectory of the nearest church, make an appointment, and I will be praying for you.

In Jesus Name I pray for my dear friend here, that he make a good confession, and that he be at peace with his confession to the priest. I pray he find an understanding and knowlegeable priest, that is appreciative of how the Holy Spirit is working through his life. May the Blessed Mother pray for you, the Holy souls pray for you and most of all, ALWAYS ask the intercessory prayers of your Gaurdian Angel, who is with you all the time, and can inspire your confessions to be fruitful! And with this may you have peace. Amen St Raphael, Patron Saint of travellers and youth, Guide this young person on the road to Eternal Life!

 

[CarrieH]

Dear Francesco,

Lisa Annette gave you some excellent advice, so I won’t repeat it. To get you started, the Knights of Columbus’ website has a nice guide for confession:
kofc.org/un/rc/en/publications/cis/devotional/GuideToConfession2075.pdf

I made a general confession at one point, and on the things where I was “fuzzy” I simply said, “I did [whatever] for [rough estimate of how often – weekly, once a month, etc.] but I don’t really remember, for a period of maybe 2 or 3 years.” The important thing is that you are confessing now, and God will be delighted by your attempt, no matter how feeble. If you didn’t know that something was a mortal sin when you did it, then for you it wasn’t. Ask your priest if you should confess those things anyway. It’s easy to cross over into scrupulosity if you have those tendencies (as I do). I just lumped everything together and said something like, “I made some bad confessions because I didn’t always tell the number of times I did something, and I wasn’t always really sorry or intending to stop doing it.” Since it was a general confession, I was re-confessing those same sins anyway. It is a wonderful feeling to get that load of sins off of your soul!

May God bless you and may the Holy Spirit guide you as you make a good confession.

 

[francesco920]

Lisa Annette,

Thank you so much for responding!

Make an appointment with a priest and discuss this concern as you said it here. I believe that your confessions WERE valid because you were genuinely doubtful as to their seriousness—this does not make it a “bad confession”. On the other hand, you should just make an appointment with the priest for this discussion, to INFORM your conscience. Ask him if you need a general confession. He will advise you. He may tell you to make a general confession, but he may tell you not to worry! I have been going to confession for 20 yrs. once monthly, and there was a time I was so WORRIED about everything, but I was given advice to help ease my worries, i.e., scruples.

That’s a good idea. I think I will just go thirty minutes before the scheduled time for confessions and see if I can talk to a priest about this, although I think I should prepare for a general confession in case he suggests it.

There was once i did a general confession, and the priest told me to say all sins since I was 7. Now remember, sometimes kids DO STUFF without knowing its seriousness! So eventhough technically it may have been BAD, it was not a mrtal sin, since you DID NOT KNOW it was. For a sin to be mortal, you have to KNOW it is a sin, FREELY CHOOSE to do it. You may have FREELY chosen to do something, but did not know it was mortally sinful, i.e., cutting you off from eternal salvation.

That’s true. I just really want to confess the sins of my past so I can be forgiven and move on, but you’re right that I shouldn’t worry about mortal sin where there wasn’t any. I have a question though: when you had to say all the sins since you were 7, how did examine your conscience for that?

Please refer to above answer to #1. You were just a child in your thinking, and you were immature, so don’t be so hard on yourself. You are returning to God now, and that says alot…it took me longer than you

You can not determine the number of sins in general confession—I am sure someone will correct me, and I HOPE they do because of YOUR deep concern, but i believe that numbers are hard to determine in general confession. i have been very “fuzzy” on stuff too, and CONFESSED that–btw , but GOD knows our human weaknesses, He loves us in our human condition—remember, he became one of us! He is AWESOME in HIS mercy, my friend! Just call the rectory of the nearest church, make an appointment, and I will be praying for you.

In Jesus Name I pray for my dear friend here, that he make a good confession, and that he be at peace with his confession to the priest. I pray he find an understanding and knowlegeable priest, that is appreciative of how the Holy Spirit is working through his life. May the Blessed Mother pray for you, the Holy souls pray for you and most of all, ALWAYS ask the intercessory prayers of your Gaurdian Angel, who is with you all the time, and can inspire your confessions to be fruitful! And with this may you have peace. Amen St Raphael, Patron Saint of travellers and youth, Guide this young person on the road to Eternal Life!

Thank you so much for your prayers and for your very thoughtful response!

 

[francesco920]

Dear Francesco,

Lisa Annette gave you some excellent advice, so I won’t repeat it. To get you started, the Knights of Columbus’ website has a nice guide for confession:
kofc.org/un/rc/en/publications/cis/devotional/GuideToConfession2075.pdf

I made a general confession at one point, and on the things where I was “fuzzy” I simply said, “I did [whatever] for [rough estimate of how often – weekly, once a month, etc.] but I don’t really remember, for a period of maybe 2 or 3 years.” The important thing is that you are confessing now, and God will be delighted by your attempt, no matter how feeble. If you didn’t know that something was a mortal sin when you did it, then for you it wasn’t. Ask your priest if you should confess those things anyway. It’s easy to cross over into scrupulosity if you have those tendencies (as I do). I just lumped everything together and said something like, “I made some bad confessions because I didn’t always tell the number of times I did something, and I wasn’t always really sorry or intending to stop doing it.” Since it was a general confession, I was re-confessing those same sins anyway. It is a wonderful feeling to get that load of sins off of your soul!

May God bless you and may the Holy Spirit guide you as you make a good confession.

Yes, I think that I do have a tendency to be scrupulous, although not to an extreme extent (most of the time.) I hope to get the load of sins off of my soul tomorrow…I just hope I can make a good examination of conscience and not be too nervous (I’m a reallyshy person) when it comes to talking to the priest.

Thanks for the link, the response, and the prayers. God bless you!

 

[LISA_Annette]

That’s true. I just really want to confess the sins of my past so I can be forgiven and move on, but you’re right that I shouldn’t worry about mortal sin where there wasn’t any. I have a question though: when you had to say all the sins since you were 7, how did examine your conscience for that?

Thank you so much for your prayers and for your very thoughtful response!

You are very welcome! I used the ten commandments. I took about thirty minutes or so to pray and reflect upon each. First off, Pray for the* Holy Spirit to guide your reflection and give you full knowledge of your sins. The important thing is to trust in the Holy Spirit to guide your reflection AND your confession.* This means letting the matter rest after you have prayed, and not allowing any “what-ifs??” to get in the way(the what-ifs are doubts, adn they DON"T count) The main thing is that from now on you are living in Jesus Christ! God Bless you, and I will offer some more prayers for you.

 

[THurifer2]

In regards to confession

Confession is confession…is…confession. Going to confession and making a good “normal” confessioin is equivalent to making a “general” confession…which is equivalent to making a reverse triple LINDY confession etc. etc. etc.

I repeat… confession is confession is confession …etc. etc. etc.

 

[LISA_Annette]

In regards to confession

Confession is confession…is…confession. Going to confession and making a good “normal” confessioin is equivalent to making a “general” confession…which is equivalent to making a reverse triple LINDY confession etc. etc. etc.

I repeat… confession is confession is confession …etc. etc. etc.

I agree with this—he is only woried about how to do it, though. He is somewhat new to it, and wants to please God with a sincere effort.

 

[THurifer2]

I agree with this—he is only woried about how to do it, though. He is somewhat new to it, and wants to please God with a sincere effort.

Sincere effort is required for a “good” confession. not being sincere would not be good and could invalidate the confession.

A good confession is a sincere confession…a good confession is equal to a good general confession is equivalent to a good triple lindy confession etc… etc…etc…

 

[francesco920]

Sincere effort is required for a “good” confession. not being sincere would not be good and could invalidate the confession.

A good confession is a sincere confession…a good confession is equal to a good general confession is equivalent to a good triple lindy confession etc… etc…etc…

Yes, do not worry, I know this. Although I would say there is a difference between a general confession and a regular confession in that in a regular confession you are confessing the sins since your last confession, whereas in a general confession you are confessing the sins of your whole life either out of necessity or out of devotion. But yes, I agree, the requirements are the same for both and both need to be sincere to be good and both have the same effect if they are made sincerely and according to the teachings of the Church. Thanks for the (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[THurifer2]

would say there is a difference between a general confession and a regular confession in that in a regular confession you are confessing the sins since your last confession, whereas in a general confession you are confessing the sins of your whole life either out of necessity or out of devotion. .

When confessing a sin a second time the abosolution isn’t “twice” as effective. Absolution is Absolution. When one goes to confession they are to tell the priest all of the mortal sins they are conscious of which is no different whether its sins from your whole life or since your last confession.

If I may ask you …

At what point does a confession become a “general” confession? How many years of unconfessed sins have to pile up before a regular confession becomes a “general” confession.

Hint there is no answer because in reality a general confession is just a confession…it may be longer and take even several hours but it is still just confession.

 

[francesco920]

When confessing a sin a second time the abosolution isn’t “twice” as effective. Absolution is Absolution. When one goes to confession they are to tell the priest all of the mortal sins they are conscious of which is no different whether its sins from your whole life or since your last confession.

If I may ask you …

At what point does a confession become a “general” confession? How many years of unconfessed sins have to pile up before a regular confession becomes a “general” confession.

Hint there is no answer because in reality a general confession is just a confession…it may be longer and take even several hours but it is still just confession.

Yes, I know that a general confession is the same as confession and that the requirements are the same and that the absolution given is the same. I fully agree that general confession is confession. I believe I stated that in my last post. The only difference that I said there was is that in a “general” confession the penitent intends to confess for whatever reason all the sins of his life or all the sins since a confession that took place a long time ago (i.e. many years ago) whereas in a confession that isn’t “general” a penitent intends to confess the sins which he has committed since his last confession. But, I state again that I’m not saying there’s a fundamental difference here or that a general confession does something any other confession doesn’t do. It’s just that since I’m speaking about a confession that covers a longer period of time than the usual confession, I felt it would be better to indicate that by using the term “general” which is the term I thought was used to indicate a confession that covers an unusually long period of time or a confession of all the sins of one’s life.

Again I’m not saying there’s a difference in the sacrament or in the absolution or whatever. The only difference to me is the length of time being covered, since in most confessions it isn’t more than a week or two or one or several months. In my case, it’s about ten years (since I reached the age of reason) so I figured that was long enough to say “general” so people would know what I was talking about. I apologize if the use of the term is confusing or misleading. I was only trying to be as clear as I could in my questions.