Mentioning Time of Last Confession

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Spiritual authors often recommend starting your confession with a disclaimer about how long it has been since your last confession.

What is the purpose of this?
 
To give a better idea to the priest on how to guide you with penance and corrections.
 
Yes one is supposed to do such. Helps the Priest guide you for example.
 
Well, when I go to a new confessor, I always say my age, my state in life (married, no children), and the length since my last confession. For my regular confessors, I just give how long it’s been since my last confession. I think it just gives the priest some perspective on the soul that he is working with.

If you haven’t been to confession in, say, 10 years, the priest is going to guide differently than if it’s been two days. If you confess to the mortal sin of adultery and you can’t remember exactly how many times, a priest is going to give different advice to someone who is confessing this after 10 years verses someone who is confessing this after 1 month since their last confession. If you go into the confessional with a laundry list of sins and it’s only been two days since your last confession, he’s probably going to work on the possibility of scrupulosity. That kind of thing.
 
The state of life (like married, single, vowed religious, vowed tertiary) can figure into the confession in particular…
 
The length of time since confession can help to give Fr. a better sense of where you are spiritually.

Someone whose confession interval is short might be scrupulous, or simply spiritually sensitive. Conversely, an interval that is very long (> 1 year) might suggest spiritual sloth, or a heavy burden of shame, which Fr. Can then work with.

IMS, we are required to go to confession once a year.

ICXC NIKA
 
The priests I’ve gone to for Confession generally have not asked me if I am married or single, etc. They can tell by my voice that I am a woman though. I cannot recall if any priest has ever asked me my age range or my state of life (married or unmarried).

I do my best to remember the last time I went to Confession. If I cannot remember, then I give a good estimate of time if I did not make any notes of the last time I went to Confession. If I cannot remember, I will say it is been about X time since my last Confession. If I can remember then I can say its been X time since my last Confession.
 
MissRose73 said:
No priest has asked me nor I do recall being told you must state that to the priest if he does not ask you first.
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It is part of going to confession.

Yes if one is married one is to say they are married…if a Religious …say they are religious (though I imagine if one is single --such might just be able to be presumed perhaps)
 
MissRose73 said:
No priest has asked me nor I do recall being told you must state that to the priest if he does not ask you first.
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I do this when I go to confession at a placeother than my usual parish - especially at a large event with many people going to confession. (For example, when I attend a doicesean event with includes confession). Often it doesn’t matter. If I confess to gossiping about my co-workers, it doesn’t really matter as to my age, or if I am married. However, for sexual sins, it often does matter quite a bit.
 
I usually go to confession monthly, sometimes more often, and I never tell the priest when I made my last confession. My regular confessor has an excellent memory, and I know that he knows how long its been since my last confession.
 
MissRose73 said:
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To give a couple of examples where it particularly comes strong into play –

– a person who is married for example will be sinning against their marriage by having say lustful thoughts – in addition to the thoughts themselves…the Priest needs to know they are married as part of the confession.

– and a person who is a religious would have the further grave sin against the virtue of religion…
 
When Catholics go to confession, they only confess their mortal sins, correct? What if they had never been to confession before, so where do they start with their sins to confess since you’re supposed to confess the sins committed since your last confession?
 
komeeks18 said:
When Catholics go to confession, they only confess their mortal sins, correct? What if they had never been to confession before, so where do they start with their sins to confess since you’re supposed to confess the sins committed since your last confession?
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“this is my first confession…”

and then if they do not have any mortal sin --they confess venial sins they have committed…

If it is the first confession of someone being received into the Church etc or a child --it is since ones valid Baptism.

Also if one say forgets a mortal sin --one is to confess it in the next confession…

As to what to confess – Mortal sin have to be Confessed…venial sins a very good to confess (at least some of the venial sin…some could have a big list and venial sins can be forgiven in many ways)

Catechism:

1456 Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."54

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful:60

scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#VII
 
While it is helpful in at least some situations for the priest to know age, gender and state in life, such is not strictly required, unlike, say, kind and number of mortal sins.

And to be honest, I haven’t found the advice differs greatly when I do give the information as compared to when I don’t 🤷 But perhaps that’s just me.

Amount of time since one’s last confession again isn’t strictly required, but it is very helpful for the priest to know, say, that it is your first confession, or that you’ve committed a particular sin a dozen times in the twenty years since you last confessed, as opposed to a dozen times since you last confessed three days ago.
 
Bookcat said:
“this is my first confession…”

and then if they do not have any mortal sin --they confess venial sins they have committed…

If it is the first confession of someone being received into the Church etc or a child --it is since ones valid Baptism.

Also if one say forgets a mortal sin --one is to confess it in the next confession…

As to what to confess – Mortal sin have to be Confessed…venial sins a very good to confess (at least some of the venial sin…some could have a big list and venial sins can be forgiven in many ways)

Catechism:

1456 Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."54

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful:60

scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#VII
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Do you confess all mortal sins that you can remember, even if it was years ago? And also, what do you do if you cannot recall any mortal sins, but you actually have–is that a sin even if you don’t remember the sins and don’t confess them?
 
komeeks18 said:
Do you confess all mortal sins that you can remember, even if it was years ago? And also, what do you do if you cannot recall any mortal sins, but you actually have–is that a sin even if you don’t remember the sins and don’t confess them?
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Yes one must confesse all mortal sins one can remember in number and kind (murder 3x) and circumstances that affect the moral species (I stole the chalice from the Church so it was also sacrilege). Now for such a confession one may not know after ones good examine the actual number for sure…and may need to approximate according to what one knows …so it may be murder around 2-3 times a month for the last 10 or so years…or it may be 10-15x or it may even be a few times…many times…etc.

When one is contrite and amended for all mortal sin and are intending to confess them all --Forgotten mortal sin (or not remembered) --are yes absolved indirectly at the time of absolution. If one later remembers a committed mortal sin --one is then to confess it in the next confession after they remember it (so it is as they say theologically -submitted to the keys).
 
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