MERGED: A Good Confession ?...Anxiety & Panic/Mortal Sins/Valid?/Misunderstanding?

[Angel7]

i wouldnt worry.
i struggled with scrupulousity for a long time too.
dont worry.
you didnt mean to sin.
it was unintentional and, although im no expert and im definitly no theologian, i think you should not worry. Be at peace. Jesus doesn’t want you to live in fear, he wants you to be at peace.
Pray for his peace.

Please be at peace.

 

[newbie9]

I recently had a Confession where I had a list of things I wanted to confess, but the way I phrased the first sin led the priest to incorrectly believe I was done with my Confession. He started talking which I thought would be advice on the sin (although he usually does not comment as I’m confessing), but I quickly realized that he was talking as if I had confessed everything. He then told me to make my act of contrition and gave me Absolution.

I have been cut off during a Confession before and it’s my understanding that that situation is ok as the Priest takes responsibility for everything not said, but I don’t think I’ve ever had something like this happen before. I don’t think the priest knew I had other sins (some mortal I think) and I didn’t interject to tell him that I did.

Is my Confession valid and can I receive the Holy Eucharist? If it is valid, do I have to confess all the sins I missed at my next Confession or am I forgiven with a clean slate? If it is not valid, how should I deal with this at my next Confession?

 

[Spirithound]

I think you’ll need to go again. Tell the next priest the situation, and then your sins. Also, avoid that phrasing again

 

[jmcrae]

I recently had a Confession where I had a list of things I wanted to confess, but the way I phrased the first sin led the priest to incorrectly believe I was done with my Confession. He started talking which I thought would be advice on the sin (although he usually does not comment as I’m confessing), but I quickly realized that he was talking as if I had confessed everything. He then told me to make my act of contrition and gave me Absolution.

I have been cut off during a Confession before and it’s my understanding that that situation is ok as the Priest takes responsibility for everything not said, but I don’t think I’ve ever had something like this happen before. I don’t think the priest knew I had other sins (some mortal I think) and I didn’t interject to tell him that I did.

Is my Confession valid and can I receive the Holy Eucharist? If it is valid, do I have to confess all the sins I missed at my next Confession or am I forgiven with a clean slate? If it is not valid, how should I deal with this at my next Confession?

You went in there intending to make a good Confession.

You didn’t deliberately conceal your sins; it’s just that it was not possible, under the circumstances, to mention them, without at the same time being rude to the priest.

So, be at peace, knowing that Jesus understands your heart - and remember that Jesus created both the priest and the priesthood, so He understands your situation better than anyone.

Know that everything you meant to confess is forgiven, and simply mention them at your next Confession, which will be your next reasonable opportunity to attend. You can just say something like, “I had meant to confess these at my last Confession, but something happened and then I didn’t.” without getting into detail or blaming the priest.

 

[Friend_Of_Rome]

I went to Confession today, and something arose that I don’t really know about. The priest and I spent about 5-10 minutes talking about my transgressions, and I thought he grasped what I had done. He gave me my penance and was just about to absolve me when he said something (I’d rather not go into details) which led me to think he didn’t actually grasp what I had confessed. I’ve been reading other topics here where similar things have happened, and it seems that if I actually spoke my sins (I did), had true contrition (I did/do), and complete the penance (working on it), then the confession is valid. I’m intending to go again next week, but I’d like to know what you think in the meantime.

Again - I confessed my sins clearly, expressed genuine contrition, and am doing my penance. I didn’t hide anything, but the priest may have inferred things which weren’t correct. Is the confession still valid if there was some sort of priest/penitent confusion?

And just for your reference, I wanted to correct the priest, but there were several others in line behind me, and he needed to start Mass ASAP.

 

[puzzleannie]

I went

Again - I confessed my sins clearly, expressed genuine contrition, and am doing my penance. I didn’t hide anything, but the priest may have inferred things which weren’t correct. Is the confession still valid if there was some sort of priest/penitent confusion?

.

did the priest ask you for further explanation? did you answer his questions? did he absolve you? then you are forgiven, absolved. Period. end of sentence, Put this out of your mind completely and don’t read the confession threads here if they confuse you to this extent. If you have a question about your confession, you ask your priest.

 

[Friend_Of_Rome]

Nah, we were going along just fine, he assigns a penance, and then he says "I assume . . . " and before I can clarify (or even think through it well) he absolves me. I’m inclined to think it’s valid, and I’ll definitely bring it up at my next confession, but I appreciate your help. Thanks.

 

[Stylites]

Even if a priest wrongly absolves you of sins you didn’t even commit, he has absolved you of the sins you did confess. Certainly if you are in any doubt you can go back and ask him.

One upon a time when I was small, in confession, the monsignor out of the blue advised me to “return the dime which I stole” even though I hadn’t, and then gave me absolution. I was taken aback by the statement, but just shrugged it off and filed it under ‘odd.’

 

[PattiDay]

You confessed, had remorse, and will/are completing your penance. The priest stands in the place of Our Lord. He abosolved you. God bless.