I've been wanting to ask

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I had been away from the sacrament of confession for something like 2 years and only recently went to confession (twice in a row, the second being more of a general confession which included a long list of rather old sins and sins which I had already confessed in the past).

During this confession I carefully explained to my confessor that I could not remember the specific number of times I committed certain particular sins, and he said this was alright. Now I had specific instances of these sins in mind, even though I knew there were other instances where I fell to the same temptations; which is specifically why I told my confessor that I cannot say the exact number of times. I had some particular instances in mind, but I knew there were more, so instead of racking my brain to come up with a number (which would probably be incorrect), I assumed that it is enough to confess the type of sin in question and include in it all the instances I fell to it.

Some days after my confession I remembered a couple of other instances of the same sins which were not in my mind at the particular time of confession, but which fall into the exact description I gave when confessing that I had sinned “a number of times”.

Do I have to go back and confess these newly remembered instances of sin, even though I confessed their exact description? This is exactly the sort of situation I thought of avoiding by explaining to my confessor that I cannot remember the exact number of these particular sins. It is also possible that I remember even more instances of the same sin if I keep on dwelling about this, which would have me keep on going to confession to repeat the same sin* ad infinitum*, every time I remember a new specific instance. And I really wish to avoid this 😦

I would really like to break away from my past and start a new life with Jesus. I also wish to view the sacrament of reconciliation as a ‘tribunal of love’ rather than an exercise in mathematics and legalism. Nonetheless I do not wish to be too proud/arrogant and not go to confession if I really need to.

What are your thoughts on this? Any help or suggestions would be very welcome 🙂
 
As you admitted to your Confessor that you knew you had committed this sin more times than you could remember properly, and made a confession that included this sin in that context you are fine. There is no indication that you intentionally left out occasions of the sin in question. You probably remembered them later as a result of going to confession and the relief it allowed you to have.

I sometimes forget something in confession, that I fully intend to mention, but get nervous enough to literally forget it. If I remember later I will mention it the next time, but again that is because it was never mentioned the first time.
 
Welcome back to the Church, that is wonderful. :o

Basically, all your sins are forgiven even if you forget some or forget number. I also recommend a couple articles related to your question.
Catholic.com
Fr. Zuhlsdorf
 
No, I think you covered all of that by telling the Confessor that you had committed the sin a number of times but could not remember how many times. If a particular instance really keeps bothering you, confess it at your next confession and explain the context to the Priest, telling him you hadn’t remembered this specific instance the first time. As we get older, and especially when our conscience is tender after a confession, some of these come back. I went to the Priest because I remembered a sin committed 50 years ago, and had no idea of whether I had confessed it at the time or not. (Who can remember every confession over a 50 year period, anyway??) He told me that even if I had forgotten it at the time, it was forgiven in my next confession anyway. He also said if I remembered something and it continued to bother me, to just confess it the next time I came. Otherwise, we could keep remembering things for years and re-confessing them. From what I have learned, those sins, even the forgotten ones, are forgiven when you received Absolution. I would not worry about it, and if it still worries you, ask your Priest the next time you go to Confession. In the meantime, the Absolution remains valid, and you can receive Holy Communion. Absolution also covers sins which are honestly forgotten, although not those intentionally concealed (which means a bad confession, or a less than honest one). Don’t fall prey to scrupulosity, which is all too easy to do! Just ask your Priest next time you go to Confession, and get his reassurance.

God bless you for coming Home!
 
Thank you all for your honest replies, I shall take your advice.

Just to clarify; I didn’t intentionally withhold any sin, I didn’t even genuinely forget to confess these particular sins. In fact I confessed these sins with specific detail so as to save myself from scrupulosity afterwards. The only problem is that I merely had particular instances of them in mind at the time (knowing there were more), and simply remembered more instances after the confession was over. I told my confessor that my guilt for these sins extended over a long period of time so as to include even those instances which I knew I would probably remember afterwards. A few days after confession I did, in fact, remember more occasions. I would assume these instances are forgiven since I confessed the sin; and that I need not repeat the same sin in confession. But I thought of asking here to get some other viewpoints.

I know this rambling may sound a bit exaggerated, and I thank anyone who is reading this for his/her patience. This is my second day in this forum, and it’s amazing! 😃
 
You’re welcome & Welcome to CAF. We do often get people who are either overly scrupulous or new to the Faith who worry unduly about previously confessed sins. You seem to have the correct attitude and a balanced view of Confession. Glad we could help, but remember that your Confessor should always be your final authority in such matters. Our opinions are only the opinions of lay persons who may have had similar problems, but each has had their own unique experiences in the Faith and with problems such as Confession.

Glad you’ve joined us, and Welcome Home! 🙂
 
BackToTheLord said:
I had been away from the sacrament of confession for something like 2 years and only recently went to confession (twice in a row, the second being more of a general confession which included a long list of rather old sins and sins which I had already confessed in the past).

During this confession I carefully explained to my confessor that I could not remember the specific number of times I committed certain particular sins, and he said this was alright. Now I had specific instances of these sins in mind, even though I knew there were other instances where I fell to the same temptations; which is specifically why I told my confessor that I cannot say the exact number of times. I had some particular instances in mind, but I knew there were more, so instead of racking my brain to come up with a number (which would probably be incorrect), I assumed that it is enough to confess the type of sin in question and include in it all the instances I fell to it.

Some days after my confession I remembered a couple of other instances of the same sins which were not in my mind at the particular time of confession, but which fall into the exact description I gave when confessing that I had sinned “a number of times”.

Do I have to go back and confess these newly remembered instances of sin, even though I confessed their exact description? This is exactly the sort of situation I thought of avoiding by explaining to my confessor that I cannot remember the exact number of these particular sins. It is also possible that I remember even more instances of the same sin if I keep on dwelling about this, which would have me keep on going to confession to repeat the same sin* ad infinitum*, every time I remember a new specific instance. And I really wish to avoid this 😦

I would really like to break away from my past and start a new life with Jesus. I also wish to view the sacrament of reconciliation as a ‘tribunal of love’ rather than an exercise in mathematics and legalism. Nonetheless I do not wish to be too proud/arrogant and not go to confession if I really need to.

What are your thoughts on this? Any help or suggestions would be very welcome 🙂
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There’s a trend of posts on here in recent months of Catholics who are going back to Confession after a number of years, which is wonderful new! 👍👍

But, to answer these questions I will paraphrase a quote Senior Apologist Jimmy Akin:

“It’s not that if you forgot a mortal that it isn’t forgiven, it’s that you incur a new sin if you know you have not confessed a mortal sin and do not confess it.”

This idea of confessing sins over and over without end is a sign of scrupulosity and/or a sign of not understanding the rules.

A way to say it is “throughout my life I committed sin X several/numerous/a few times”, but I think you need to explain the situation to a priest or your confessor, because you’re going down a road that is not good. One needs to be able to go to Confession and move on with life.
 
BackToTheLord said:
I had been away from the sacrament of confession for something like 2 years and only recently went to confession (twice in a row, the second being more of a general confession which included a long list of rather old sins and sins which I had already confessed in the past).

During this confession I carefully explained to my confessor that I could not remember the specific number of times I committed certain particular sins, and he said this was alright. Now I had specific instances of these sins in mind, even though I knew there were other instances where I fell to the same temptations; which is specifically why I told my confessor that I cannot say the exact number of times. I had some particular instances in mind, but I knew there were more, so instead of racking my brain to come up with a number (which would probably be incorrect), I assumed that it is enough to confess the type of sin in question and include in it all the instances I fell to it.

Some days after my confession I remembered a couple of other instances of the same sins which were not in my mind at the particular time of confession, but which fall into the exact description I gave when confessing that I had sinned “a number of times”.

Do I have to go back and confess these newly remembered instances of sin, even though I confessed their exact description? This is exactly the sort of situation I thought of avoiding by explaining to my confessor that I cannot remember the exact number of these particular sins. It is also possible that I remember even more instances of the same sin if I keep on dwelling about this, which would have me keep on going to confession to repeat the same sin* ad infinitum*, every time I remember a new specific instance. And I really wish to avoid this 😦

I would really like to break away from my past and start a new life with Jesus. I also wish to view the sacrament of reconciliation as a ‘tribunal of love’ rather than an exercise in mathematics and legalism. Nonetheless I do not wish to be too proud/arrogant and not go to confession if I really need to.

What are your thoughts on this? Any help or suggestions would be very welcome 🙂
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The priest is not particularly interested in details or the exact number times you have committed a certain sin (approximate number is ok if it is a lot). Don’t worry, if he needs more information, he will ask you for it. you don’t have to go into each occasion. You also might find it helpful to go the same priest whenever possible for confession, you can get to know each other and be familiar with what he expects.
 
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