My Turn To Ask Question..(Regarding Confession)

[dailey]

Sorry for asking, I know some of you really dislike these types of questions, however, this has really been bothering me.

Last year, I went to confession and wrote down EVERY sin I could think of. Some of them were extremely embarrassing (going back many, many years) and I dreaded telling the priest. However, I fully intended on confessing all of it. At any rate, during confession, my priest stopped me and told me that he had heard enough and I did not need to go into details. It bothers me that I did not actually get to finish telling him specific sins. Its almost like I feel I got off easy. Any words of wisdom for me?

 

[Snugglebugmom]

I can understand that you feel uneasy about it, like the absolution doesn’t count for the sins you did not get to confess specifically. If you were deliberately withholding sins, for instance because you felt they were too embarrassing to say out loud, it does invalidate your confession. But in this case, it was not at all your decision not to mention them.
It does seem odd to me that the priest would just cut you off like that, that doesn’t sound very “shepherdly”, if you will. However, we don’t know his reason for doing so, he must have had one.
My words of wisdom for you are not my words, they are our Lord’s. He said to His apostles:“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23)
He didn’t say “but only if they name each and every one of them”. So rest assured: you have been given absolution! Revel in that awesome squeaky-clean feeling, isn’t it just the best?!

 

[ahs]

When you go to confession, it isn’t necessary to mention every single sin. You need to confess the graves sins, and then any sins that especially bother you. But you have to learn where it becomes scupulous (I won’t be of any help to you there. )

It may be that Priest thought you were being scrupulous, or that he felt your contrition and genuine purpose of amendment. Or it could have been that he was in a hurry…we don’t really what the case was. Perhaps you should schedule a visit wiht him and talk about it. Tell him you wanted to confess so much more and you feel bothered by that. If this was a case of a “first time in a long time” confession, it probably is a good idea to schedule a private appointment with him to really get all the sins off your chest that still bother you.

 

[smichhertz]

Sorry for asking, I know some of you really dislike these types of questions, however, this has really been bothering me.

Last year, I went to confession and wrote down EVERY sin I could think of. Some of them were extremely embarrassing (going back many, many years) and I dreaded telling the priest. However, I fully intended on confessing all of it. At any rate, during confession, my priest stopped me and told me that he had heard enough and I did not need to go into details. It bothers me that I did not actually get to finish telling him specific sins. Its almost like I feel I got off easy. Any words of wisdom for me?

Hey dailey!

Try not to be too concerned about it. You didn’t deliberately withhold anything so your confession was good and valid.

Sometimes priests deliberately cut penitents off because they recognize that the penitent is being too scrupulous. Other times they do it simply because the penitent is going into too much detail. Sexual sins are a good example of when a priest might do that.

Regardless, recognize that the priest was doing it for your own good. If there were sins that seem to keep coming up again and again, you might benefit from getting a spiritual director.

Hope that helps!

 

[dailey]

Thanks for the replies! The last thing I want to do is “reconfess” those sins, lol! Trust me, I had every intention to confess all my sins, so in my heart, I know it was a good confession. However, I guess I just feel guilty because I feel like part of my “punishment” was to feel the shame that comes along with going to confession. As far as why my priest cut me off, he did mention that he could tell how hard it was for me to tell him all my sins and perhaps he felt like I said enough (I was able to get in some stuff).

 

[DianaCC]

Thanks for the replies! The last thing I want to do is “reconfess” those sins, lol! Trust me, I had every intention to confess all my sins, so in my heart, I know it was a good confession. However, I guess I just feel guilty because I feel like part of my “punishment” was to feel the shame that comes along with going to confession. As far as why my priest cut me off, he did mention that he could tell how hard it was for me to tell him all my sins and perhaps he felt like I said enough (I was able to get in some stuff).

There is a format in Catholic practice for what you were trying to do. It’s called a “General Confession” and is typically by appointment only. You go over every sin you can remember over your whole life, including ones already confessed, and it can take a rather long time, on the order of hours. Ask your priest about it.

Remember it’s not necessary to confess *any *venial sins, and it’s ok if the priest cuts you off before you’ve mentioned all of them. That’s partly why it’s recommended you begin with your mortal sins first to get them out of the way, and to give only enough context to establish the kind and number of each.

Remember the confessional under normal circumstances is like traffic court: just read the charges, enter your plea, get your fine and make way for the next litigant. I don’t mean to trivialize it, but at some point it became clear to your priest that you were biting off more than he could chew with people waiting in line, so he made a judgment call that is his to make, that the rest of your sins were more or less the same story and what you’ve already said is a sufficient description of the whole.

LOL Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I have had endless conversations with people who love to bellyache on and on about their boyfriends/girlfriends, you know the type who keep the relationship going in spite of the drama. And I have noticed that the things they complain about always fall into the same categories over and over again, he/she was drunk, was getting needy and demanding, was spending money they don’t have, it was their weekend to get the kids, etc etc … same story different day.

Your sins are kind of like that. We all tend to commit sins in the same category over and over again, so it makes sense the priest guessed the rest would have been more of the same.

And remember, the sins you didn’t get a chance to confess are covered by the absolution you received.