Help! Forgotten mortal sin

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Hello, I went to confession recently and I forgot to confess a mortal sin. I wrote every sin that I needed to confess. When I went up for confession I memorized all the sins I wrote except that one sin. Then I checked the paper and I freaked out because I forgot to confess it. I had the intent to confess it but I forgot to, it was not like I was going to willfully omit it. I tried my best to confess all my sins.

Am I still forgiven?
 
If it was an honest mistake, don’t sweat it, it was forgiven. You now should get to confession as soon as possible to confess it, but don’t worry about it in the meantime.
 
You know I might have tomatoes thrown at me for this one but ehre goes. I would think that if you forgot a sin and it it truly was mortal then you would not have forgotten it. Mortal sin severs your relationship with God, It incoporates grave matter, your knowledge that it is serious matter and then the full consent to reject God anyway. When I commit a mortal sin (or at least one that I think is mortal) that is the toughest one to get out of my mind. In fact it is for that sin that I cannot wait to get to confession. This is just something to think about but as the previous posters have mentioned your sins are all forgiven. If you still believe that the sin that you forgot was mortal then mention it the next time you go to confession. I just stick with the rule of thumb that if you have to ask whether or not a sin is mortal then it probably isn’t and if you forgot to confess it it probably wasn"t mortal as well, My two cents…
 
teachccd said:
You know I might have tomatoes thrown at me for this one but ehre goes. I would think that if you forgot a sin and it it truly was mortal then you would not have forgotten it. Mortal sin severs your relationship with God, It incoporates grave matter, your knowledge that it is serious matter and then the full consent to reject God anyway. When I commit a mortal sin (or at least one that I think is mortal) that is the toughest one to get out of my mind. In fact it is for that sin that I cannot wait to get to confession. This is just something to think about but as the previous posters have mentioned your sins are all forgiven. If you still believe that the sin that you forgot was mortal then mention it the next time you go to confession. I just stick with the rule of thumb that if you have to ask whether or not a sin is mortal then it probably isn’t and if you forgot to confess it it probably wasn"t mortal as well, My two cents…
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It’s a theory I’ve heard before, but it’s a risky one. Sure, it MIGHT not be mortal. But if it’s grave matter, how do we know for sure? That theory may be true, but ultimately it’s still a theory.
 
crm0293 said:
Hello, I went to confession recently and I forgot to confess a mortal sin. I wrote every sin that I needed to confess. When I went up for confession I memorized all the sins I wrote except that one sin. Then I checked the paper and I freaked out because I forgot to confess it. I had the intent to confess it but I forgot to, it was not like I was going to willfully omit it. I tried my best to confess all my sins.

Am I still forgiven?
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Yes, you are still forgiven! A confession is only invalidated if you intentionally withhold mortal sins. You forgot. All that means is that you’re human!

You should mention the forgotten sin at your next confession…but you don’t need to rush back to the sacrament, since it is actually already forgiven. The sacrament forgives all mortal sins; the ones you list, and the ones you forget (again, as long as they are not intentionally withheld).

So rest easy!

As an aside, you can bring your written notes to confession with you. There is no need to memorize the list. Usually I work from memory (I go pretty regularly, so it’s usually not a long list)…but if I happen to have a lot of things, I’ll write them out and read right from the list. That way I can be certain I don’t forget anything. As soon as I get home I shred the list.

God bless!
 
teachccd said:
You know I might have tomatoes thrown at me for this one but ehre goes. I would think that if you forgot a sin and it it truly was mortal then you would not have forgotten it. Mortal sin severs your relationship with God, It incoporates grave matter, your knowledge that it is serious matter and then the full consent to reject God anyway. When I commit a mortal sin (or at least one that I think is mortal) that is the toughest one to get out of my mind. In fact it is for that sin that I cannot wait to get to confession. This is just something to think about but as the previous posters have mentioned your sins are all forgiven. If you still believe that the sin that you forgot was mortal then mention it the next time you go to confession. I just stick with the rule of thumb that if you have to ask whether or not a sin is mortal then it probably isn’t and if you forgot to confess it it probably wasn"t mortal as well, My two cents…
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Tomatoes …Tomatoes …😉

Yes is it is quite possible to forget to confess a mortal sin (it is written about in various texts and yes it happens) the fact that someone forgot it does not mean it was not a mortal sin but that their memory did not recall it when needed …due to any number of things including bad memory, fatigue …nerviousness…

(PS: a few other notes: And it need not by the way involve any intent to reject God (some have this confusion) …one needs grave matter, full knowledge and deliberate consent --but often such can be out of weakness not out of rejecting God --it can be for any reason such as one wants to do the sin. And it is not necessarily a good “rule of thumb” that if one has to ask if something was a mortal sin --that then it is probably isn’t – such may be the case and but it need not be–hence the need to examine ones conscience. Though granted for someone seeking to live a prayerful and very faithful Christian life --such a mortal sin is often going to “stick out like a sore thumb” for them)
 
Marc_Anthony said:
It’s a theory I’ve heard before, but it’s a risky one. Sure, it MIGHT not be mortal. But if it’s grave matter, how do we know for sure? That theory may be true, but ultimately it’s still a theory.
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I did use the word “probably” in my post. Some very conservative folks here believe that everything that is grave matter becomes a mortal sin for everyone and in reality that is not the case. I was merely stating that if one has to ask whether or not a sin is mortal then PROBABLY their full consent was not present or they would have known it. Also, in alignment with the OP’s question, I would have to remain with my original thought. A person who knows that they committed an act that would sever their relationship with Christ would be someone who would rarely “forget” that sin. I cannot speak for everyone but that is like saying that I just told a loved one that I hated them an then “forgot” that I did that… Anyway, that’s it for me… God bless.
 
Don’t worry about it. The next time you go to confession, just say there was a sin I forgot to mention it is …
 
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