I didnt say the number of times i sinned in confession

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Sean

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What happens if i dont say the number of times i get nervous sometimes and forget to say how many times i did it. If i meant to say it and forgot all about saying it do i still receive absolution?
 
Don’t be worried about it mate! Jesus knows that you want his pardon and mercy because you love him very much. He does not want to give you anxiety only his endless wave of love! Be at peace!
-Thecatholicguy
 
You could spend weeks working on your tax returns only to discover years later that you made a miscalculation, resulting in extra tax owed plus interest and penalties. And the IRS absolutely would expect you to pay up because your tax return had (even a slight) error in it. It’s your fault because you made the error, so your return was bad, however small your error was.

God is not the IRS.
 
If you confessed in good faith then you’re absolved. If you forgot anything (anything mortal anyway), just mention it at your next confession. And no, you don’t need to go as soon as possible or refrain from communion in the meantime.
 
i’ve looked at my receipt more than once from the supermarket & saw items which i had in my cart that the cashier didn’t register

should i waste time & gasoline & risk being charged for shoplifting to go back to the supermarket , go to the customer service desk & say; “your 15 year old cashier didn’t scan this jar of pickles” ; i’d like to pay for it now

what good would that do? such action may cost the youngster his/her job…
 
the point being; AVOID scruples; the priest says you are forgiven; YOU ARE FORGIVEN
 
brian_custer said:
i’ve looked at my receipt more than once from the supermarket & saw items which i had in my cart that the cashier didn’t register

should i waste time & gasoline & risk being charged for shoplifting to go back to the supermarket , go to the customer service desk & say; “your 15 year old cashier didn’t scan this jar of pickles” ; i’d like to pay for it now

what good would that do? such action may cost the youngster his/her job…
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Yes. The Christian response is, you go back and pay for it. Worrying that the cashier will lose his job is a rationalization that does not excuse accepting something you didn’t pay for. The hassle, time, and effort spent doing the right thing is just a cost of doing the right thing. And no, you won’t get charged with shoplifting for bringing pickles into the store.
 
My priest told me that it is sufficient to simply confess my sins.
 
I had this in a restaurant and went back and the manager let me off for being so honest! Win win.

(Sorry @(name removed by moderator) I didn’t read the thread before posting 🙂)
 
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The same thing happened with me and an Amazon order. They gave me two more items than I ordered. I called them and they said I could have them no charge and then thanked me for my honesty.
 
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I never say the number of times because I can’t keep track of my more frequent sins. I might say I’ve committed a sin multiple times instead of just once. The priest has never had an issue with it.
 
Very true.
A couple of weeks ago I had a harder one. For some reason first thing in the morning I thought about the lottery. The day passed, then I was listening to the radio in the car when the man suddenly shouted “tonight’s the night!” It was lottery night and it reminded me, so I went into the supermarket and asked for a ticket. The assistant then tells me that a customer had asked for a ticket earlier and then changed her mind and so I could have that one, “maybe it’ll be lucky.” She said. It was all starting to sound like a story I’d be telling my kids for the next twenty years.

Later on as I watched tv this ticket kept coming to mind. I tried not to think about it. Then I started worrying, it felt like I was going to win, how would I deal with the fact that actually it was someone else’s ticket! I wrestled with this for quite a while looking at it from all directions and in the end I decided I’d have to attempt to find this person and give them a share of the winnings. My son phoned, I tried not to think about the lottery as we spoke. Finally the time arrived when the results would be online. I was actually nervous when I checked each number, slowly, carefully…then I pressed ‘check’ and …God had relieved me of my troubles, not one single number was correct! Phew.
 
Knowing the number of times a sin has been committed is helpful when hearing confessions because it gives an indication of whether something is a once off or if it’s something the person is genuinely struggling with. Having said that, remembering the exactly number of times something happened isn’t easy and you’re not expected to provide a precise figure but just an estimate. Of course for those who haven’t been to confession in so long they can’t remember how long knowing how many times they committed a particular sin simply isn’t going to happen. So again, what the priest really needs to know is whether what you’re confession is something that was just a one-off, whether it’s happened a handful of times or whether this is something you’re really struggling with.
 
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