Need advice for very difficult confession

[St_Francis]

Sorry about the double post, you can only edit a post for 20 minutes.

If I’ve left things out of confession before, but confessed them later(or will this time) do I also have to mention that I left them out as well?

Thanks for all the helpful responses everyone. I was almost shaking just posting this here, but I don’t regret it now.

Bad news: if you deliberately left out a mortal sin, then none of those sins were forgiven. And none of your subsequent confessions worked either, until you confess having deliberately left out a mortal sin. A person who does this needs to confess the sin of leaving out the mortal sin(s), then all the other mortal sins from that confession onwards.

If the sins left out were merely venial, this is not the case. If a mortal was left out by mistake or through forgetfulness, this is not the case, and one simply confesses it the next time at confession.

You are not the first person to have done this, and you won’t be the last. Go to Confession wherever you want, doesn’t have to be your regular parish, and just rattle them all off like a shopping list, along with any additional aspects that might make something worse, like: I went shoplifting with my friends and had talked one of them into going along. If the priest needs more information, he will ask you.

if you think it will take a really long time (like more than 10 minutes), you can ask the priest for an appointment, and ask him to meet you in the confessional so you can have a regular anonymous confession.

 

[dogen]

Bad news: if you deliberately left out a mortal sin, then none of those sins were forgiven. And none of your subsequent confessions worked either, until you confess having deliberately left out a mortal sin. A person who does this needs to confess the sin of leaving out the mortal sin(s), then all the other mortal sins from that confession onwards.

If the sins left out were merely venial, this is not the case. If a mortal was left out by mistake or through forgetfulness, this is not the case, and one simply confesses it the next time at confession.

You are not the first person to have done this, and you won’t be the last. Go to Confession wherever you want, doesn’t have to be your regular parish, and just rattle them all off like a shopping list, along with any additional aspects that might make something worse, like: I went shoplifting with my friends and had talked one of them into going along. If the priest needs more information, he will ask you.

if you think it will take a really long time (like more than 10 minutes), you can ask the priest for an appointment, and ask him to meet you in the confessional so you can have a regular anonymous confession.

I really don’t see myself being able to do this. I know it’s possible of course, they’re just words I have to say. But I don’t think I could tell **anyone **everything like that, not even my family or any of my few friends. I normally have trouble just talking to priests. It’s going to be so humiliating…

 

[Dorothy]

I really don’t see myself being able to do this. I know it’s possible of course, they’re just words I have to say. But I don’t think I could tell **anyone **everything like that, not even my family or any of my few friends. I normally have trouble just talking to priests. It’s going to be so humiliating…

Look at the face of Jesus Crucified…and pray for strength. Let our Blessed Mother lead you.

Humiliation for the love of the Lord takes us to His peace and joy.

Prayers for you!

Dorothy

 

[Googler]

Virgin Mother of God, most holy Mary safe refuge of sinners! To thee, who art, after God, our hope and consolation in this place of exile, to thee I have recourse with sincere confidence, though most undeserving of thy patronage. I know, on the one hand, how much I stand in need of being converted from my very heart; yet, on the other, the heinousness of my crimes strikes me terror. To thee, then, I betake myself to thee who art our sovereign mediator with thy dear Son Jesus, as He is with His eternal Father. To thee, after Jesus, must I look for my amendment. Vouchsafe then, O Mother of mercy, to obtain for me the grace of a true and lasting conversion. I wish to change my life entirely. In this I am sincere; but my evil habits and ill use I have made of so many saving inspirations, the multitude and heinousness of my sins, and the bonds by which the world holds me, while they render amendment difficult, call for thy special assistance. Grant it to me in spite of my unworthiness. In thee I trust; do thou not reject me. Although deserving of eternal punishment, I throw myself at thy feet, sorrowful and repentant. My sins, I own, have taken from me the strength which grace imparts, have cast me out from among the adopted sons of God, have deprived me of the right to everlasting happiness, and drawn on me instead the wrath of heaven. Tell me what I must do to regain the friendship of thy Son, Jesus. Beg of Him, by His precious Blood, His bitter Passion, and cruel death on the cross, to pardon my offenses, and He will pardon them. Tell Him thy desire for my salvation, and He will save me. But as I can still fail into sin and lose the life of grace amid the dangers which encompass me, ever watch thou over me, and I shall surely triumph over the enemies who incessantly work for my ruin. Instill into my heart a lively faith, a firm hope, an ardent charity, and all the virtues suitable to my state of life; and obtain for me constancy in good, and final perseverance. In fine, be thou my loving Mother here below, and my advocate at the hour of death, that I may be of the number of those to whom the divine Son shall say: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, posses the kingdom prepared for you.” Amen.

 

[St_Francis]

I really don’t see myself being able to do this. I know it’s possible of course, they’re just words I have to say. But I don’t think I could tell **anyone **everything like that, not even my family or any of my few friends. I normally have trouble just talking to priests. It’s going to be so humiliating…

Yes, it will be. I hate not only realizing that I am a sinner, but the more i pray, the more awful my old sins looks. It is horrid to realize how awful I was.

The good news is that once you confess this sin, it will be off your soul! You will be back on good terms with God! You know you won’t be telling anything He doesn’t already know…

And once you have made a good Confession, your prayers will be more efficacious. When you are in a state of mortal sin, it’s as if your sins were blocked from reaching God, just as if a man stole money from his employer, his employer would be reluctant to help him until after he had apologized, right?

In God’s eyes, you already humiliated yourself when you committed the sin; the problem here is that you want to hide from that humiliation. Think to yourself that you are already humiliated, and Confession, far from humiliating you, will be a liberation from hiding from the fact you are already humiliated.

Pray, pray, pray…

(Some more bad news–if you have received Communion since your bad Confession, you need to confess that too, and until you make a good Confession, you must refrain from receiving.)

 

[St_Francis]

Oops, I forgot to add that I found praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, meditating hard on Christ’s Passion was very helpful, and it was also helpful to think He said about His executioners: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. That reassured me that God would forgive *any *sin!

 

[chefmomster2]

I really don’t see myself being able to do this. I know it’s possible of course, they’re just words I have to say. But I don’t think I could tell **anyone **everything like that, not even my family or any of my few friends. I normally have trouble just talking to priests. It’s going to be so humiliating…

Have good courage! I remind myself that I am much more afraid of ETERNITY without love, light, joy, hope, companionship…anything good or beautiful or inspiring. I have had bad days, bad weeks, and bad years, but a bad eternity with no possible hope of anything better?

Fear hell more than you fear reconciliation!

 

[Googler]

Saint Dominic Savio was born in Riva di Chieri, Italy, on April 2, 1842. He looked so frail and weak on the morning of his birth that his father rushed him that same evening to the parish church for Baptism. But Dominic survived and began serving Mass when he was five years old, one of his greatest joys. He was often seen at five o’clock in the morning in front of the church on his knees in rain or snow, waiting for the doors to be opened. On the occasion of his First Holy Communion he made the resolution to die rather than sin, as he had frequently expressed his determination and ambition to become a Saint.

I’m sure Saint Dominic’s was a perfect contrition.
But imperfectly, we need only to understand that dying in a state of grace leads to eternal life.
And dying in mortal sin leads to eternal death.

For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:2

 

[oneofmany]

This is one area when I wished there were women priests. I feel more comfortable around women since my counselors were women and my doctor is a woman. I know that can never be. I do like to go to old priests though for confession. Some priests look so young and much younger than I am.

I am also nervous going to confession since I have anxiety. Just make your list, go when you feel comfortable to go and to whom you want to go to. Then go in, say what you came to say and say contrition and it is over. Whew.

Sometimes we just need to tell ourselves, “God understands.” I had an old Irish priest tell me, “Oh, God understands better than any of us.”