ehh, it’s never to early to confess. I am myself am a little eager to go to my first confession and get all my past wrongs off and out.
Oh, well, he e-mailed me back and my first confession will be on the 18th, two days before my Confirmation!
. Needles to say I was mortified that I would not be able to remember something important. The priest was most understanding. I was in tears then but today I laugh about the whole thing
. I do not know if anyone is ever ready in their minds for their first confession. Do not worry: God is ready!A good confession, even if it your first one, should not take too long, maybe 30 minutes at most. A normal Confession should only take 5 or 10 minutes. The priest does not want to hear every nitty gritty detail. You simply confess the sin and the number of times you have committed it, to the best of your recollection. If the priest wants to know more about a particular sin he will ask. Don’t worry if you (genuinely) forget some sins. They are also forgiven along with the ones you do confess but should at least be mentioned at your next Confession.
WHAT? No lights??? You mean you sit in the dark? Is this true?My First confession had a big “ooops”…I was 15 and made a nice long list on a piece of paper so that I would be sure not to forget anything. I had no idea that there were no lights in the confessional
KB
That doesn’t make sense! The priest has to see you! That’s why you can either “hide” behind that thing or sit face to face with the priest.
Venial sins are forgiven at each mass. Not a problem. Now, if you kill someone, that’s a whole other story!
Actually the priest does not have to see you except through a screen which was my case (I actaully know of no rule that says the one confessing must be visible to the priest). There was a small room next to where the priest sat and that was where the one confessing kneeled. That was the way things were done and still can be if one so desires. I am not sure what you mean “hide behind that hing” - can you please explain? Just because one does not confess face to face does NOT mean they are hiding.
Well, you see, our RCIA group had a tour of the parish and our director showed us the Confessionals. Inside was two chairs that the preist and the penitent could sit, therefore, they could see eachother. When you walked in, there was this “screen” thing where you would kneel BUT the preist can’t see you behind it but he can hear your voice obviously. That’s what I meant by “thing”
I’ve been in confessionals with lots of light, a little light, and no light at all. Typically in the no light confessionals, there is a screen in the door that allows light (not much) in from the church. If your taking a list, you may want to research the lighting situation before you go in or you will be forced to go off of memory.
Yeah. Check out the lighting situation again. My church has plenty of light in the confessional, as there is a little window in it and then an overhead light for the evenings. The other parish I go to has a dim yellow-y light but you can still see, the room is much bigger as well.
One time I went to confession and it was pitch black dark. I mean total darkness.