Not going to Confession yet

[divinefaith]

I have not been to confession in several years. This year I started to feel the rush to get back into the Sacramental life but I am in a mess. I’m going thru anxiety, I’m still not clear on my spiritual life especially as I still question some Church beliefs and I still wont know how to verbalize sins I’ve committed within the Confessional.

My goal is to find a spiritual director (I
have found a couple who I will contact) so that my spiritual life will be cleared up first then I will hopefully be guided back to the sacrament.
Any opinions about the route I’m taking? I hope God understands

 

[Thankfulness]

May God who gives you the desire to go to Confession, give you the courage to go to receive the joy of peace of soul in God’s forgiveness.

 

[DJK100]

I have not been to confession in several years. This year I started to feel the rush to get back into the Sacramental life but I am in a mess. I’m going thru anxiety, I’m still not clear on my spiritual life especially as I still question some Church beliefs and I still wont know how to verbalize sins I’ve committed within the Confessional.

My goal is to find a spiritual director (I
have found a couple who I will contact) so that my spiritual life will be cleared up first then I will hopefully be guided back to the sacrament.
Any opinions about the route I’m taking? I hope God understands

God is calling you back. Just be open to His voice and you will be fine. I think your plan is fine. If you need a spiritual director first by all means go that route. Afterall, you know yourself and your needs the best. In the meantime, are there any questions regarding Church beliefs we can help you with so that we can help facilitate your journey home?

As for confession, it can be anxiety producing however, once you do it you will feel a ton better. As for verbalizing your sins. You just have to suck it up and do it. I always say the most anxiety producing once first to get them out of the way so I am not worried about them all throughout the reconcilliation.

Hope this helps and welcome back (hopefully).

 

[asnate]

Don’t be afraid, go straight to confession, Holy Spirit will help you.
You feel you are not ready - might be, but God is ready, He is waiting for you.
God Bless!

 

[Joan_M]

I have not been to confession in several years. This year I started to feel the rush to get back into the Sacramental life but I am in a mess. I’m going thru anxiety, I’m still not clear on my spiritual life especially as I still question some Church beliefs and I still wont know how to verbalize sins I’ve committed within the Confessional.

My goal is to find a spiritual director (I
have found a couple who I will contact) so that my spiritual life will be cleared up first then I will hopefully be guided back to the sacrament.
Any opinions about the route I’m taking? I hope God understands

Do not delay. Go to confession. You can find a spiritual director later. If you are living in a state of mortal sin, you need to go to confession as fast as you can. Don’t worry about “how to verbalize” the sins. Tell the priest how long it has been since your last good confession and ask his help to make a good confession. Then just state the sins. All sins have names. Just use them. Tell the priest about the beliefs in which you have doubts. All will be well, but the most important thing right now is to return to a state of grace.

 

[divinefaith]

more points:

my goal is to confess by the end of the year so that I would abide by the Church’s precept of confessing mortal sins at least once a year. so I am not planning on going another few years (not even another year) without recieving the Graces of God.

The priest at my local church seems to dissent from some Church teachings, judging by some homilies he’s made in the past. I would look for another Parish first so not a good idea for me to confess tomorrow.

I am currently taking medication which is making me excessively nervous. I tend to shake and shiver when Im intimidated

I understand I should get a move on and stop taking the risks but I can’t tell how patient God is with me. Is He demanding I go right now regardless of my state or
does He understand I need to refresh my spirituality?

Thanks for your advice guys. I dont mean to appear stubborn but Im still pondering.

 

[77stanthony77]

I had not gone to confession in a long time. Over 10 years, especially after my husband died. I started going last year. It was not so bad. You will go when u are ready. I suffer from axiety. will be praying for you. Am going to Mass and Communion today

 

[Saburo]

…I still wont know how to verbalize sins I’ve committed within the Confessional.

Hopefully, you haven’t actually committed any sins within the Confessional.:bigyikes::tsktsk:

But seriously, I challenge you to come up with a sin that an experienced confessor has not heard before. Really — go ahead and spill it. Nobody knows you here. Unless you have killed and eaten your neighbors, you are just an ordinary sinner and at risk of putting the priest to sleep with your ordinary sins. Many priests have taken confessions from criminals in prison, former prostitutes, and Sailors. Think you can beat that?

Probably most Catholics have questions about some church teaching. If your concern is particularly unusual, the priest will at least have something different to consider that day. You might give the gift of being interesting and inspiring a future sermon.

Just do it. As they say, if you have to kiss a frog, don’t stare at it too long.

 

[divinefaith]

I had not gone to confession in a long time. Over 10 years, especially after my husband died. I started going last year. It was not so bad. You will go when u are ready. I suffer from axiety. will be praying for you. Am going to Mass and Communion today

Thank you!

Hopefully, you haven’t actually committed any sins within the Confessional.:bigyikes::tsktsk:

But seriously, I challenge you to come up with a sin that an experienced confessor has not heard before. Really — go ahead and spill it. Nobody knows you here. Unless you have killed and eaten your neighbors, you are just an ordinary sinner and at risk of putting the priest to sleep with your ordinary sins. Many priests have taken confessions from criminals in prison, former prostitutes, and Sailors. Think you can beat that?

Probably most Catholics have questions about some church teaching. If your concern is particularly unusual, the priest will at least have something different to consider that day. You might give the gift of being interesting and inspiring a future sermon.

Just do it. As they say, if you have to kiss a
frog, don’t stare at it too long.

No I havent committed a sin in the confessional lol
I wouldnt say my sins are out of the ordinary, but the process of finding a whole list of sins, the number each was committed, the way to express it seems so difficult. I did give my conscience a go at examination last month, but some guidance would be good.
To be honest I dont want to stare at that frog any longer

 

[PiousTemplar]

Thank you!

No I havent committed a sin in the confessional lol
I wouldnt say my sins are out of the ordinary, but the process of finding a whole list of sins, the number each was committed, the way to express it seems so difficult. I did give my conscience a go at examination last month, but some guidance would be good.
To be honest I dont want to stare at that frog any longer

It shouldnt be that hard friend. Just grab a piece of paper and over the next couple of days just put down any sins that you have remembered committing on it. You can give some info on how many times it was committed, but the Church isn’t asking you to say "I committed theft 605 and a half times in the past 13 days and 4 hours’. If you forget to mention any sin in the confessional that you remember afterwards, just plot it down on the ‘next weeks confession’ list. I suggest going to confession weekly for the first couple of weeks.

 

[JRKH]

Dear One -
Peace be with you -

Know that God is extremely patient. He is leading and guiding you so do not be anxious about the timing. Just go as soon as you feel up to it.

As already said, a spiritual director is a great idea, so do look into this.

Now - to the matter of trying to come up with the sins etc in order to do a proper confession.
I have been where you are now…
My first confession back after 35 years was terrible, I was not properly prepared and yet I know that all my sins were forgiven whether I remembered them or not. This provided me with a great deal of consolation.
Later (about three months) when I was more convicted of the seriousness of sin in my life I did a more thorough examination of conscience and went back to confession armed with this confession of my deep sinfulness and a much more firm and “perfect” contrition.

For this examination of conscience, including so many years away from Church, I chose to use the “Seven Deadly Sins” instead of the more standard Ten Commandments. I did this because I knew it was futile to try and think of the number of times I committed a sin against a specific commandment. My sins were so many in number and so many in type that it was overwhelming me. The Seven deadly Sins on the other hand is less about numbers and actions and more about the underlying flaws and faults that my sinful actions sprang from.
So - I examined myself, my character more so than my actions, against these deadly sins, wrote down how these faults of character led me into my many sins and then took what I wrote to confession with me and read it aloud to my confessor.
I came out of confession so relieved and released that I cannot express the weight lifted from me.

The reason I explain this is because you sound like someone who has undergone counseling and indeed are seeking additional counseling and this method of examination would be very similar to what one might do with a counselor.

Peace
James

 

[MissRose73]

I hope you have had the chance to go to Confession. I used to go only 2 times a year before Easter and Xmas only. This year, I’ve re-committed myself to going more than 2 times in a year from this point forward as I was not always attending Mass, etc as I should have been doing. I’ve repented my sins, I feel much better, and find that I am more focused now.