Not satisfied with previous confession

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Cupcake143

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I had a previous post of my last confession, and the things I had left out (knew of them from my list, but didn’t say them as I thought they weren’t mortal). Even though I didn’t think they were mortal at the time, after I regretted and wish I had just said them as I had so many other things that were more shameful and embarrassing. I had the courage to confess all those other things, and now i don’t want to go again and confess all of that bc I feel I confessed it the way I wanted to.

My issue is, since I wasn’t satisfied bc of the things I had left out, I didn’t take Eucharist at mass and haven’t taken since. I wanted to go back to the same priest and I plan to do that if I can. I want to just tell him of the things I had left out and if he could advise me if those were mortal or not. If they are not mortal, then was my initial confession valid???
 
First, you should talk to your priest about having confidence in confession. You should not be sitting there worried about whether or not you were satisfied with a particular confession. You should not ever be worried about the validity of a confession, and there should be no reason why you ever think that you invalidated one of your confessions unless you purposefully decided to mess it up, knowing that you are doing so, at that time.

It is my understanding that if you did not explicitly refrain from confessing sins that you knew to be mortal at that time (i.e. you explicitly thought “this sin is mortal, but I’m not going to say it”), then you did not invalidate your confession, and all your sins were forgiven. Should you become conscious of more mortal sins later, you should confess them next time, but there is nothing preventing you from receiving the Eucharist before then.

Further, I’m not entirely sure how it is even possible to discover that a sin you already did was mortal. The closest I can get to that is that we might realize that we’ve been telling ourselves that a sin wasn’t mortal despite actually knowing that it was, but if we honestly did not know that a particular act did not involve grave matter, then it was not a mortal sin.
 
Cupcake143 said:
I had a previous post of my last confession, and the things I had left out (knew of them from my list, but didn’t say them as I thought they weren’t mortal). Even though I didn’t think they were mortal at the time, after I regretted and wish I had just said them as I had so many other things that were more shameful and embarrassing. I had the courage to confess all those other things, and now i don’t want to go again and confess all of that bc I feel I confessed it the way I wanted to.

My issue is, since I wasn’t satisfied bc of the things I had left out, I didn’t take Eucharist at mass and haven’t taken since. I wanted to go back to the same priest and I plan to do that if I can. I want to just tell him of the things I had left out and if he could advise me if those were mortal or not. If they are not mortal, then was my initial confession valid???
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If the sins you refer to aren’t mortal, then you didn’t have to confess them anyway. Somehow I suspect though that your spirit won’t be truly at peace until you do confess them though, so why not simply go back to confession and tell them so that you will feel totally at peace going to communion?
 
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Starrsmother said:
Somehow I suspect though that your spirit won’t be truly at peace until you do confess them though, so why not simply go back to confession and tell them so that you will feel totally at peace going to communion?
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I agree with the above, but I think you could do with mentioning to the priest why you are going back for confession again, as he might have something to say about you missing communion.
 
Cupcake143 said:
I had a previous post of my last confession, and the things I had left out (knew of them from my list, but didn’t say them as I thought they weren’t mortal). Even though I didn’t think they were mortal at the time, after I regretted and wish I had just said them as I had so many other things that were more shameful and embarrassing. I had the courage to confess all those other things, and now i don’t want to go again and confess all of that bc I feel I confessed it the way I wanted to.

My issue is, since I wasn’t satisfied bc of the things I had left out, I didn’t take Eucharist at mass and haven’t taken since. I wanted to go back to the same priest and I plan to do that if I can. I want to just tell him of the things I had left out and if he could advise me if those were mortal or not. If they are not mortal, then was my initial confession valid???
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We need to confess all mortal sins in number and kind (adultery 2x, murder 2x etc) and that which changes the mortal sin (it was a Bishop you murdered thus sacrilege).

Venial sins need not be confessed. Though it is good to confess venial sins frequently (see CCC) - they can be forgiven in many ways.
You did not confess them because at the time you judged they were not mortal and that it was fine that you did not mention them right? You intended to make a complete confession of all mortal sins and was contrite etc right? You just left out what you believed you could leave out.

As such - your confession would not be invalid due to leaving them out.

Nor do you need to repeat the confession on that account.

Even if they turn out now to have been mortal sins.

For you honestly judged they did not need to be confessed. Thus the confession was formally integral.

If it turns out that you misjudged and they were mortal -one just needs to confess them in the next confession.

Now - if you judge them to be mortal - you would then in your next confession confess them -tell him you left them out because of the above. Or if you are not sure - bring the matter before him and confess it as it is before God and seek his direction.

(I will note for some readers - those who struggle with scruples - have a regular confessor and follow his direction - working against any scruples).
 
It is good to mean these words after saying one’s sins: “For these and all my other sins I am heartily sorry etc…”, to make sure God forgives us for the miscounting of the number of sins and the sins we forget, because we most surely do.
 
friardchips said:
It is good to mean these words after saying one’s sins: “For these and all my other sins I am heartily sorry etc…”, to make sure God forgives us for the miscounting of the number of sins and the sins we forget, because we most surely do.
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See my post above.
 
Bookcat said:
If it turns out that you misjudged and they were mortal -one just needs to confess them in the next confession.
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Hello Bookcat. This repeating of the mortal sin during one’s next confession if one misjudged it not to be mortal during the previous confession; would this be just for one’s own guilty conscience, because surely if one has already said: “For these and all my other sins…”, then this means that all sins, even a mortal sin we forget or don’t mention for whatever reason, is taken into account and is already forgiven? I am not challenging what you say, I am just innocently asking because I would like to know myself?
 
friardchips said:
Hello Bookcat. This repeating of the mortal sin during one’s next confession if one misjudged it not to be mortal during the previous confession; would this be just for one’s own guilty conscience, because surely if one has already said: “For these and all my other sins…”, then this means that all sins, even a mortal sin we forget or don’t mention for whatever reason, is taken into account and is already forgiven? I am not challenging what you say, I am just innocently asking because I would like to know myself?
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You mean the confessing of the innocently omitted (forgotten) mortal sin. It is not repeating it for it was never confessed.

Actually no it is not only for peace of conscience.

If it was mortal - one is* obliged *to confess it in the next confession. The obligation to confess all mortal sins remains.

jimmyakin.com/2006/09/a_reader_writes_1.html (Catholic Answers Senior Apologist)

(now there can be certain cases of scrupulosity where a regular confessor needs to direct a person personally in terms of remembered sins -that can perhaps be a different matter - for they can scruple over things (they might tell them -confess an old mortal sin that comes to mind only if your certain it was mortal and certain it was not confessed as it ought–to give an example of how such might be dealt with in that case)).
 
Hi again! Thank you very much for your response and for the link.

So, as long as one didn’t conceal the mortal sin during confession then one has been forgiven of all sins; however, not confessing the remembered mortal sin incurs a new sin, which is why the remembered mortal sin must be confessed in the future.

As for concealing a mortal sin, obviously forgiveness has not been granted for that sin, until confessed - as you already stated.
  • the blog is a gooden:)
 
friardchips said:
As for concealing a mortal sin, obviously forgiveness has not been granted for that sin, until confessed - as you already stated.
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as to the last there- or forgiveness for *any *sins

–one must then also confess that one concealed it and any other mortal sins that had been confessed at the time - and any since…

But hopefully that will never happen. Why go to confession and deliberately hide something one knows was a mortal sin!
 
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