I need some help on mortal and venial sins

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Paris_Blues

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All right, my confession is coming up in the next three weeks or and have to make an appointment with the priest; and I’m still confused on what to confess and what not to confess. And the reason why I’m saying this is because I don’t want the priest to say, “You’re being scrupulous!”.

I know I have to confess mortal sins and maybe venial sins but how the heck do I know what is what and if it’s serious or not serious enough to confess it? Do I make sense?

I mean, I know what a mortal sin is but HOW do I know if it’s serious enough to be one?

I’m having some trouble here!
 
Paris Blues:
All right, my confession is coming up in the next three weeks or and have to make an appointment with the priest; and I’m still confused on what to confess and what not to confess. And the reason why I’m saying this is because I don’t want the priest to say, “You’re being scrupulous!”.

I know I have to confess mortal sins and maybe venial sins but how the heck do I know what is what and if it’s serious or not serious enough to confess it? Do I make sense?

I mean, I know what a mortal sin is but HOW do I know if it’s serious enough to be one?

I’m having some trouble here!
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Go to the following website:

www.catholic.org/frz/examen/mortal_main.htm
 
Always better to err on the side of caution, I figure. Better to confess too much than too little.

Since I guess it is the first time your are recieving the sacrament? Let the priest know and he will maybe be able to give you advice on how to examine your conscience for the next time.

Good luck! Hope you have a great confessor 👍
 
Always better to err on the side of caution, I figure. Better to confess too much than too little.

Since I guess it is the first time your are recieving the sacrament? Let the priest know and he will maybe be able to give you advice on how to examine your conscience for the next time.

Good luck! Hope you have a great confessor 👍
 
Have you ever been given any guidance in how to do a thorough examination of conscience?

catholic.com/includes/maincol_2_x.asp

There is a wonderful little book I give to some of my RCIA students written by Mike Aquilina and Father Kris Stubna. What Catholics Believe. In this book, they suggest that while preparing for the Sacrament for Reconcilliation, when one examines one’s conscience look at the different areas of life and see if there are any glaring defects of character that have caused sins of commission or ommission (action or inaction).
  1. Begin by recalling we are in God’s presence.
  2. Consider our day’s events, refering to questions such as have I prayed today? Have I met my Sunday obligations? Have I obeyed or disobeyed any of the 10 Commandments today? Have I gossiped? Have I lied?
  3. Tell God we are sorry for our sins
  4. Make a firm resolution not to sin again.
When you go to participate in the Sacrament of Reconcilliation you will know what past and present sins to confess and for what you are receiving absolution. More importantly, I have found that I have clearer understanding of my character defects and how they stand in the way of my usefulness to God and to my fellows. Then, in the manner instructed by Our Lord to St. Faustina, I can give myself more fully to Him, without fear, because I know He wants all of me - good and bad - and I can really resolve to try with my whole heart and my whole soul to avoid sin.
I hope this helps.
 
This may be considered heresy, but for my :twocents: , the first celebration of this sacrament is as much a pastoral event for the penitent as it is a “legal” sacrament. I believe it is important for a penitent to be allowed to confess whatever may be troubling his conscience – however long ago in childhood, however trivial. I would say that if you are questioning your own scrupulosity, then you may already be in “safe” territory.

The fact that we are not required to confess venial sin does not detract from the fact that our most troublesome burdens may be at the level of venial sin, and as Augustine says, the weight of many grains of sand can ultimately bring you down . . .

I heard somebody say once that a good general (life) confession should not take longer than six minutes. That may be technically true, but pastorally it could be brutal to put an egg-timer on this event. That said, some historical models might not be worthy of imitation. I think of Ignatius of Loyola, who took 3 hours, and John Henry Newman who took 7 hours over two days!

This is not a contest. Just commit yourself to perfect honesty, perfect integrity, perfect authenticity: do not embroider; do not make much of nothing; do not make nothing of much. Let the Holy Spirit take the lead. A good priest with experience in this will help you through it. BTW, although I was counseled that “childhood does not belong here,” I found that, in fact, when I revisited the sins of my childhood, I saw that they were far from trivial or inconsequential, but that they had seeded the sin-history of my adolescence and adulthood. FWIW.

I can promise you: your first confession should be one of the best experiences of your entire life.
 
So what if I did harm to myself when I was younger up 'till now from a habit from childhood and didn’t know it was a sin until I got into the CC?
 
Paris Blues:
So what if I did harm to myself when I was younger up 'till now from a habit from childhood and didn’t know it was a sin until I got into the CC?
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I would get advice from your priest – but when I came into the Church, I was eager to confess those things I did not “know” were sins but later learned that they were. Why? Because we are taught that the human conscience is God-given, and that the law of life is written on the human heart. Therefore I repented of what I did not know, even though at the time it would have been nearly impossible for me to have known it. I figured a sinful act is objectively sinful even if not subjectively so: I wanted it ALL out of the house!

But really, your priest can help you with that. Not everybody is “me.” I know I’m a little on the far edge of the bell curve.
 
My word! I was reading the venial sins and I’m not surprised that I committed a sin of being angry at God for letting me suffer with this ADD and other stuff!😦 See, I even wrote down why I was angry on my computer (a journal so to speak)and how I felt and was so mad and at the same time, my conscience told me that I might be committing a sin by feeling this way!

It seems to me that almost everything you do is a venial sin! It’s impossible to avoid even the most smallest venial sin (like not paying attention during Mass because you have ADD!).

It’s like you’re better off sleeping 24,7,365 for the rest of your life until you die!
 
Paris Blues:
My word! I was reading the venial sins and I’m not surprised that I committed a sin of being angry at God for letting me suffer with this ADD and other stuff!😦 See, I even wrote down why I was angry on my computer (a journal so to speak)and how I felt and was so mad and at the same time, my conscience told me that I might be committing a sin by feeling this way!

It seems to me that almost everything you do is a venial sin! It’s impossible to avoid even the most smallest venial sin (like not paying attention during Mass because you have ADD!).

It’s like you’re better off sleeping 24,7,365 for the rest of your life until you die!
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Beloved, since you have ADD and are emotionally volatile, it would be a really good thing for you to seek the counsel of your priest – preferably the same priest who will receive your confession. A little coaching can go a long way toward helping you approach this with serenity and peace.
 
If this is your FIRST confession, then scrupulousity is almost meaningless. After all, you’re confessing everything that’s on your conscience since the day you were baptized. It could be mortal or venial. Don’t worry about it.

After your first confession, if you go regularly, you’ll have less of a time period to cover! And may all your sins be venial! Nobody’s saying that the sacrament of confession must be saved for mortal sins only.
 
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