Notes for Confession

  • Thread starter Thread starter HailHolyQueen90
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Deo_Gratias42 said:
Yeah, being vague doesn’t work for me. You’ve heard of how priests usually forget everything about a confession after the penitent leaves the Confessional? I’m the opposite. As soon as I walk into the Confessional I forget everything. Something like “7-11” would leave wondering what I had meant by that.
Click to expand...
:rotfl::yup:

TRJ enters confessional.
Total silence ensures
Father: My child?
TRJ: Um, Father, sorry, I wrote some notes but now I have no idea what they mean.
Father: Sighs in exasperation
TRJ: I don’t suppose you remember what I confessed last time? Cause it’s probably about the same…no, I suppose you don’t, sorry.
Father: Another sigh
 
Hmm thanks for sharing this wonderful post, I really like to your thread.It is quite helpful discussion according to me, thank you so much for the impressive post…
 
PerfectTiming said:
It’s absolutely fine. I’ve always done it, I’m such a nervous confessor I can’t even remember the rite if I don’t have it written down - I use the Confession app on my iPod touch. If you take it on a piece of paper, just be sure to throw it out once you leave.
Click to expand...
You and me both.

I can’t be contrite in my review while struggling to locate my mental list.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
:rotfl::yup:

TRJ enters confessional.
Total silence ensures
Father: My child?
TRJ: Um, Father, sorry, I wrote some notes but now I have no idea what they mean.
Father: Sighs in exasperation
TRJ: I don’t suppose you remember what I confessed last time? Cause it’s probably about the same…no, I suppose you don’t, sorry.
Father: Another sigh
Click to expand...
:rotfl:
 
Just a friendly tip about how to destroy a list written in ink very easily without the need for fire, if you bring a small flask of oil with you, you can rub that on the writing and it will turn into a blur. I used to do this in school to keep notes from falling into the wrong hands. 😃
 
Ok, I have a confession.

Every night I try to do an examination of conscience and I write everything down that comes to my mind. When it’s time for confession I put all my notes into one and take this amalgamated note into the confessional with me.

This allows me to catch everything and as a result I NEVER worry about; Oh, did I miss something? Oh! I forgot that! Oh… I can’t remember if I did this or not?

This method has helped me a great deal but I don’t suffer from scrupulosity and I’m not sure if it would be a good method for those who lean that way?
 
Speedypizza said:
Just a friendly tip about how to destroy a list written in ink very easily without the need for fire, if you bring a small flask of oil with you, you can rub that on the writing and it will turn into a blur. I used to do this in school to keep notes from falling into the wrong hands. 😃
Click to expand...
Am I the only one who has no problem with others seeing my sins?

I mean, I’m ashamed of my sins but I don’t try to hide them. I’m very open to others about where I fail … I’ve never seen any reason to hide these things from others.

When I’m done confession I just toss my notes into the garbage. I don’t worry about shredding or if someone comes along and picks it up (all they’ll see if the date and a list of sins without anyway to attribute it to me anyway so…?).

BUT the oil trick is interesting. 🙂
 
Speedypizza said:
Just a friendly tip about how to destroy a list written in ink very easily without the need for fire, if you bring a small flask of oil with you, you can rub that on the writing and it will turn into a blur. I used to do this in school to keep notes from falling into the wrong hands. 😃
Click to expand...
Greetings Speedypizza,

That’s pretty interesting. Will any kind of oil work say vegetable oil or canoloa oil or olive oil?

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
Anathama_Sit said:
Greetings Speedypizza,

That’s pretty interesting. Will any kind of oil work say vegetable oil or canoloa oil or olive oil?

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
Click to expand...
I always used vegetable oil as it is cheap and easy to come by, however I know olive oil will work. I would be shocked if canoloa would not work, but I would try it at home first just to be sure.
 
Speedypizza said:
I always used vegetable oil as it is cheap and easy to come by, however I know olive oil will work. I would be shocked if canoloa would not work, but I would try it at home first just to be sure.
Click to expand...
Greetings Speedypizza,

I feel some home experiments coming on. If I can track down soe canoloa oil down and let you know if it works.

Does this work with the Sharpie pens as well?

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
nickybr38 said:
Ok, I have a confession.

Every night I try to do an examination of conscience and I write everything down that comes to my mind. When it’s time for confession I put all my notes into one and take this amalgamated note into the confessional with me.

This allows me to catch everything and as a result I NEVER worry about; Oh, did I miss something? Oh! I forgot that! Oh… I can’t remember if I did this or not?

This method has helped me a great deal but I don’t suffer from scrupulosity and I’m not sure if it would be a good method for those who lean that way?
Click to expand...
Actually, this is what we’re supposed to do. Many priests serious about confession say to do this, as do many saints.
 
YOU WROTE: “If someone goes to confession and has a lot of sins to confess and fears forgetting a couple… Is it ok if they write them down and take the note into the confessional?”
  • Absolutely not. This is a VERY bad practice. The consistent advice of confessors is to NEVER make a list of any kind for confession. Simply reciting what you remember is enough. It is the EFFORT that matters to God. Not how perfect you are at remembering every single little sin. Excessive focus on one’s sins is strongly discouraged by the Roman Catholic Church. Making “sin lists” for confession is a good way to encourage a scrupulous conscience – to encourage an unnecessary focus on sin.
I am shocked and saddened that not one single person on this forum here has mentioned this simple fact. God does not require perfection from us. Merely our love. And God’s love is greater than any sin.

Those who worry about forgetting sins in confession will simply become more worried by making a list. You are NOT to do this. I would strongly recommend that you visit a website called “Scrupulous Anonymous," concerning questions like this. Scrupulous Anonymous is run by the Redemptorist Order of the Roman Catholic Church. It is specifically set up to help those Catholics who are suffering from needless fears about their salvation. The format is deliberately non-threatening. The information there is very accurate and precise, and it has helped thousands of people to recover from an exaggerated sense of sin. It is VERY different from Catholic Answers – and infinitely more helpful in understanding the Catholic Faith from a gentle perspective.

In the case of listing one’s sins in confession, Father Thomas M. Santa, the director of the “Scrupulous Anonymous” website, writes:

“Do not list your sins. This is an example of an impulse that needs to be actively resisted. The listing of sins is not helpful and only makes the condition of scrupulosity (unnecessary fear of sin) more pronounced. It is counterproductive. For every minute that you spend thinking about your sins, choose to spend an additional minute reflecting on the abundant mercy of God and how God’s mercy is offered to you. Perfection is not a condition of God’s mercy, it is rather another manifestation of scrupulosity. Practice trusting your inner wisdom. It may well be the most difficult thing that you do on any particular day but it is necessary to confront your fear and anxiety. You are a wise person, and you are capable of making good decisions.”

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/march2003sa_web.pdf
  • Father Santa identifies that making a list of one’s sins is ITSELF the problem here:
“The listing of sins is often attempted by people in the mistaken belief that effort spent in thoroughly examining their conscience might make the confessional experience less stressful. Exactly the opposite can occur however, in each instance. It does not lessen the experience of anxiety or frustration but rather directly contributes to it. This is a perfect example of what I am talking about when I counsel the need to “act against the impulse.” In each experience the “impulse” that needs to be “acted against” is the list itself. If people can resist the urge, no matter how strong it might be, to begin the process of listing their sins, they would be much better off in the long run.”
  • My own understanding is that where there is one bad practice related to fear of sin, there are usually others. I would advise you to stop reading Catholic Answers at once, along with anything else that might be causing you fear or distress.
(continued below)
 
(continued from above)

Many of the people writing on Catholic Answers are not spiritual experts. They are not priests, they are not trained in theology. They are thus not legitimate sources of information. Much of the advice on Catholic Answers is simply wrong. It causes extraordinary problems and suffering for many of the people reading it. Such confusion seems, to me at least, to be quite evil. Just a quick search of some of the forums on Catholic Answers reveals an extraordinarily unhealthy obsession with sin from many of the people here. This is a very great tragedy. Many of these individuals are in need of serious spiritual and psychological help, which they will not receive on this site.

The priests of the Scrupulous Anonymous website recommend restricting yourself to just one kind voice, to one legitimate source of correct information when attempting to learn about the Church. This can be a trusted and knowledgeable confessor. It can also involve reading the Scrupulous Anonymous website itself. Many of the questions that cause anxiety and fear on Catholic Answers have been entirely answered by the priests of Scrupulous Anonymous. I cannot endorse it highly enough.

Here are some links to Scrupulous Anonymous which should help you:

Keeping a List - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/march2003sa_web.pdf
**
How Can I be Sure** - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/SA_0911.pdf
**
Unnecessary Baggage** - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/SA_0111.pdf

Main Page - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm

Archives - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/archives.htm#SA
  • NOTE: I used to read Catholic Answers regularly. A small amount of the information posted here did prove useful to me. But hardly anything. Most information on Catholic Answers seem intended to provoke needless fear and worry about almost everything under the sun.
The only Catholic website I now read is Scrupulous Anonymous. Although I am not obsessed with sin myself, I find SA to be the only website ANYWHERE on the Internet that contains deliberately accurate and gentle information about Catholic teaching. I would say to anyone reading this who is overly worried about sin: quit reading Catholic Answers immediately and go to Scrupulous Anonymous instead. RESIST the urge to come back here. It will not help matters. Reading and even writing on Catholic Answers can become an addiction in itself. Especially if one is desperately seeking accurate and gentle information, but is not finding it. If you wish to learn more about the Faith, Scrupulous Anonymous is the place. It is the one website on the Internet that goes out of its way not to burden you bad reasoning and an exaggerated sense of sin.

I would STRONGLY recommend every day reading one or two of the letters on the Scrupulous Anonymous ARCHIVES page linked to above. They will gradually replace an unhealthy fear of sin with a gentle and firm confidence in the mercy of God and of Church teaching.

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm
 
Joseph_Kemp said:
(continued from above)

Many of the people writing on Catholic Answers are not spiritual experts. They are not priests, they are not trained in theology. They are thus not legitimate sources of information. Much of the advice on Catholic Answers is simply wrong. It causes extraordinary problems and suffering for many of the people reading it. Such confusion seems, to me at least, to be quite evil. Just a quick search of some of the forums on Catholic Answers reveals an extraordinarily unhealthy obsession with sin from many of the people here. This is a very great tragedy. Many of these individuals are in need of serious spiritual and psychological help, which they will not receive on this site.

The priests of the Scrupulous Anonymous website recommend restricting yourself to just one kind voice, to one legitimate source of correct information when attempting to learn about the Church. This can be a trusted and knowledgeable confessor. It can also involve reading the Scrupulous Anonymous website itself. Many of the questions that cause anxiety and fear on Catholic Answers have been entirely answered by the priests of Scrupulous Anonymous. I cannot endorse it highly enough.

Here are some links to Scrupulous Anonymous which should help you:

Keeping a List - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/march2003sa_web.pdf
**
How Can I be Sure** - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/SA_0911.pdf
**
Unnecessary Baggage** - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/SA_0111.pdf

Main Page - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm

Archives - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/archives.htm#SA
  • NOTE: I used to read Catholic Answers regularly. A small amount of the information posted here did prove useful to me. But hardly anything. Most information on Catholic Answers seem intended to provoke needless fear and worry about almost everything under the sun.
The only Catholic website I now read is Scrupulous Anonymous. Although I am not obsessed with sin myself, I find SA to be the only website ANYWHERE on the Internet that contains deliberately accurate and gentle information about Catholic teaching. I would say to anyone reading this who is overly worried about sin: quit reading Catholic Answers immediately and go to Scrupulous Anonymous instead. RESIST the urge to come back here. It will not help matters. Reading and even writing on Catholic Answers can become an addiction in itself. Especially if one is desperately seeking accurate and gentle information, but is not finding it. If you wish to learn more about the Faith, Scrupulous Anonymous is the place. It is the one website on the Internet that goes out of its way not to burden you bad reasoning and an exaggerated sense of sin.

I would STRONGLY recommend every day reading one or two of the letters on the Scrupulous Anonymous ARCHIVES page linked to above. They will gradually replace an unhealthy fear of sin with a gentle and firm confidence in the mercy of God and of Church teaching.

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm
Click to expand...
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: That applies to people who are scrupulous.

Everything I’ve read from saints have said to make lists.
 
YOU WROTE: “That applies to people who are scrupulous. Everything I’ve read from saints have said to make lists.”
  • This is a very common objection. The answer is this:
As Roman Catholics, we are not obligated to listen to the Saints, or to base our lives on any of their writings at all. The writings of the Saints are not part of the Deposit of Faith. The Catholic Church thus does not obligate us to read or even to know such writings in any way whatsoever.

Catholic Apologist Steven Greydanus, who has written for Catholic Answers Magazine “This Rock,” points out:
**
“The correct dictum is not “If we want to go to Heaven, we listen to the saints.” The saints themselves are the first to tell us that the correct dictum is: “If we want to go to Heaven, we listen to the Church.”**

decentfilms.com/mail/mailbag-19/199

As Roman Catholics, we are entirely free to ignore the writings of the Saints. It is the CHURCH that we must listen to, and no one else. And this very is good. Many Saints advocated extreme behaviors and harsh penitential practices; for example, extreme fasting, prayer, mortification, self-denial, etc. Many of these practices can be vicious and hurtful. They could easily cause people who are very gentle in their Faith to become discouraged, and to fall away from the Church. The Catholic Church is thus very wise in its lack on insistence that we adhere to the writings of the Saints.

If something that a Saint has written is causing you fear or worry, or has become an obstacle to your spiritual life, you are absolutely free to disregard it. There is no sin in this whatsoever.

In the case of making lists of sins for Confession, I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND this article “Keeping a List” from the Scrupulous Anonymous website – which, as stated above, is a website run by the Redemptorist Order, and is specifically set up to help Catholics who suffer from needless fears of going to Hell. And I also reassert their advice: that keeping a list of sins for confession can be bad practice, and can actually ENCOURAGE a person to become overly focused on sin, to actually BECOME scrupulous:

Keeping a List - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/march2003sa_web.pdf

Also, I must again recommend that all those reading this who worry excessively about sin should read the Scrupulous Anonymous website. It is very different from Catholic Answers. In Catholic Answers Forums, there is almost no attempt whatsoever to reduce the fear of those who write in here. Scrupulous Anonymous, however, is ALL ABOUT reducing fear, and about answering questions about religion accurately. If you are worried about an issue associated with the Catholic Church, chances are you will sooner or later find the answer at Scrupulous Anonymous. You may indeed be surprised by how misleading your original reasoning might turn out to be.

The website can be reached here:

Main Page - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm
 
YOU WROTE: “Your posts make me afraid of scrupulosity.”
  • The very LAST thing I am trying to do is make anyone afraid of scrupulosity. Scrupulosity is all ABOUT needless fear in the first place. I am merely trying to bring a little bit of awareness and, hopefully, relief, to those who may be suffering from an over-focus on sin. Making lists of sins for confession can certainly direct too much attention on the sins themselves, rather than on the mercy of God. Such a thing can easily contribute to an exaggerated anxiety about sin.
The entire message of the Redemptorists and the Scrupulous Anonymous website is Christ’s message: Be not afraid.

The last thing people need is to be is more afraid right now.

Scrupulous Anonymous - mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm
 
Joseph_Kemp said:
Those who worry about forgetting sins in confession will simply become more worried by making a list.
Click to expand...
I guess it could work that way for some people, but it didn’t for me, when I made lists. Knowing that I wasn’t going to leave anything significant out made it easier to pray, since I wasn’t distracted by the effort of keeping my little laundry-list of sins at the top of my mind. My memory isn’t so great. Now that I have more practice confessing and I don’t wait so long between confessions, I’ve stopped using lists, but they helped for a while. Whatever helps people to get sin out of their lives and God in is a good thing, and several of us have found list-making to be a practical help. Your mileage may vary.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top