Is embarrassment/shame a sin?

[cjmoa]

So I go to confession fairly often.

However, I find myself just trying to avoid confession with certain priests because I may have gone to confession with said priest previously.

I just start feeling very embarrassed, or worried they might deny me absolution, so I keep on switching priests.

It makes me feel as though my confessions the past weeks aren’t valid.

Is this sinful, perhaps being vain?

 

[TheIttyBitty]

You may be harming your own relationship with God by doing this. I’m not sure that it’s a sin, but it makes it very difficult for a Priest to help you with problems that you aren’t resolving. It sounds like a Pride issue, which can very well be a sin. I’m not sure it’s specifically vanity though.

If you find a Priest that you are comfortable enough to confess to, then try to keep that Priest as their advice can be helpful. Obviously if you travel a lot, this would be impossible, but if you stay put, don’t travel around locally for Confession…You could even try your territorial Parish (the one nearest to you in your city/town of residence, typically) for a few Confessions in a row if you struggle choosing the Priest to hear your Confessions.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It’s not sinful, but it’s a bad habit for you to get into.
The priest doesn’t remember your sins after you leave the confessional. Or the sins of any other the other people whose confessions he hears each week.

There is nothing wrong with switching off priests - I do it partly because I might choose to go to confession at different churches out of convenience, and partly because I find it helpful to hear perspectives from different priests rather than the same guy all the time, and partly because it’s kind of random which priest might be hearing confessions at the day/ time/ location I choose to go. But embarrassment over confession can have other bad effects. So try to get past it. Pray to the Holy Spirit for help.

 

[TwoNames]

As someone who is suffering from scrupulosity, I can tell you that I had the exact same fears. Until the day I actually asked this question in a confessional.

His reply was simple “Nothing wrong with that, you have the right to choose to which priest you go to confession”. Over here, there are even names of the priests written on the confessionals. In my parish, in advent and during lent, priests from other diocese or at least different parishes arrive to hear confessions, for the sake of being easier for the parishioners.

But I am afraid that you are walking on the road of scrupulosity and are making the same mistake I’ve been making, and was asking here on the forums questions regarding my favorite OCD topic - confession. Find yourself a spiritual director and talk with him about this.

God bless, and smile, and I beg you, don’t walk the road of scrupulosity, you don’t want that. Get a spiritual director!