Please help me with confession!

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iellk

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I am really struggling wih this. I just moved in with a roomate who is a born again christian and there concepts seem to make sense to me but I amm scared to death because I have not been going to a Catholic Church. I have Mortal sins lots of them and I have evn lied in confession my problem is that I cannot go and tell the Priest even behind the screen I cannot speak these things out loud. So I was wondering are these people right in telling me that I do not have to go to confession that I can confess my sins to God. I don’t know what to do I am so confused. I just cannot sit and tell a Priest these sins so what do I do I know that if you die with Mortal sin you go to hell and I am scared because I know that I am going to die soon. So could you PLEASE help me and tell me what to do. I tried e-mailing Priests that I didnt know and told them this and that I cannot talk about it and they have all given me the same answer so I don’t know what to do. PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!!:confused:
 
iellk said:
I am really struggling wih this. I just moved in with a roomate who is a born again christian and there concepts seem to make sense to me but I amm scared to death because I have not been going to a Catholic Church. I have Mortal sins lots of them and I have evn lied in confession my problem is that I cannot go and tell the Priest even behind the screen I cannot speak these things out loud. So I was wondering are these people right in telling me that I do not have to go to confession that I can confess my sins to God. I don’t know what to do I am so confused. I just cannot sit and tell a Priest these sins so what do I do I know that if you die with Mortal sin you go to hell and I am scared because I know that I am going to die soon. So could you PLEASE help me and tell me what to do. I tried e-mailing Priests that I didnt know and told them this and that I cannot talk about it and they have all given me the same answer so I don’t know what to do. PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!!:confused:
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Christians who are not Catholics do not believe in the wonderful sacraments that Catholics have. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the sacraments, and when we receive them with the right dispositions they give us much grace. Catholics do not only have the Bible, we have the Magisterium (teaching authority), and Tradition with a capital “T”. That is why we obey the Church and follow the teachings that the Lord entrusted to the Church.

Pray for the courage to go to a priest for confession. The priest is a stand-in for Christ, and the priest has the power, from Christ, to absolve sins. Explain to the priest before you begin your confession that you are uncomfortable and need some help from him. Do not be afraid - he has heard much worse and is not there to scold you but to forgive you and give you advice.

You will feel wonderful when you do this. God bless you, and do pray for the courage to go, and then trust the Lord and go to the sacrament of reconciliation!
 
iellk said:
I am really struggling wih this. I just moved in with a roomate who is a born again christian and there concepts seem to make sense to me but I amm scared to death because I have not been going to a Catholic Church. I have Mortal sins lots of them and I have evn lied in confession my problem is that I cannot go and tell the Priest even behind the screen I cannot speak these things out loud. So I was wondering are these people right in telling me that I do not have to go to confession that I can confess my sins to God. I don’t know what to do I am so confused. I just cannot sit and tell a Priest these sins so what do I do I know that if you die with Mortal sin you go to hell and I am scared because I know that I am going to die soon. So could you PLEASE help me and tell me what to do. I tried e-mailing Priests that I didnt know and told them this and that I cannot talk about it and they have all given me the same answer so I don’t know what to do. PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!!:confused:
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Go to confession, and when your telling the priest pretend that your adressing Jesus.
 
I returned to church after many years, and had some pretty big stuff to confess. I’d met a priest I really liked, a very understanding and compassionate man, and I went to him. After the first time, I was able to go to the face to face confession, something I never thought I’d do. I went Saturday, and even the other priest at the church was really nice and didn’t make me feel bad in anyway.

There’s nothing you can tell the priest he hasn’t heard before, no matter how awful you think it is, it’s nothing new. Take Kleenex. A lot of people cry at confession, especially if it’s been a long time. I still find it hard to go, but this particular priest can always make me feel better by reminding me that no matter what I’ve done, God is ready and willing to forgive me.
 
I went to confession after 15 years away.

My confessor and I broke for lunch about half way through my list. 😊

Write out a list and yes, bring a handkerchief. I bawled like a boobaby.

Felt great afterward. Still feels great today, just remembering that day.

👍
 
iellk said:
I am really struggling wih this. PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!!:confused:
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Of course your Protestant friend is right. You can get on your knees right now and Confess to God what you have do - you don’t NEED a Priest to do that, BUT getting on your knees right now and confessing to God is NOT the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

A Sacrament is an action of the Church through which Christ continues to minister to His people. So, by going to Confession not only (hopefully) will the Priest (in the person of Christ with the authority of Christ) absolve you of your sins, but you will also receive the grace you need to NEVER commit that same sin again. You will receive the graces that you need to draw nearer to God and to holiness. A Sacrament is a divine HELP - take advantage of it. And you may have to keep going back for years confessing the same dumb stuff, but every time you go you get a little more help. The Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation is what I call a chronic care Sacrament - you keep taking it for the rest of your life.

As far as your shame or embarrassment goes - I can’t tell you how to be a humble sinner and trust in the mercy of God. All I can tell you is that Jesus has dun heard it all buddy and there is nothing you can confess to the priest that he hasn’t heard. You’re just another guy who has the same issues that every body else has had over the last 2,000 years. I don’t know what makes you think that you are so freakin special that you actually believe that you commit sins that the rest of us don’t. Get out! Now you are too special to go to confession like the rest of us. You really think a lot of yourself don’t you? :rolleyes: 🙂

Contact me back channel if you need some more pep/motivational talk - I got plenty 👍
 
(Part 1)

Well, the first thing i would point out is, the reason for confession is not for forgiveness alone, so “just confessing to God” is really besides the point.
we go to confession not just to be forgiven, but also to receive sanctifying grace back into our soul, and then also by going to confession we receive the necessary graces we need in order to combat and overcome our sins.
just as you needed a sacrament to take away your original sin and give you sanctifying grace for the first time, you also need a sacrament to give it back when you lose it, since you cannot receive baptism more than once, so Jesus instituted the sacrament of confession.
a sacrament is a sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, by which invisible grace and inward sanctification are communicated to the soul, there are 3 things necessary to constitute a sacrament, namely, a visible sign, an invisible grace, and that it has been instituted by Jesus Christ.
“He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” John 20:21

there are many reasons Jesus instituted this sacraments, one being, how else could you possibly be sure that you have been forgiven? Jesus has never even hinted in any way that we may simply say we are sorry directly to Him and be forgiven, and Jesus also knows very well, that words are cheap, and to truly say “I love you and i am sorry” we must go to greater lengths, we must humble ourselves and not just say “i love you”, but also prove it…confession is an act of humility, you are humbling yourself before Jesus, and showing Him that you will do anything for His forgiveness, which you do not deserve at all, and what a very small price to pay to be forgiven, we deserve hell after all, and Jesus could have made it alot harder to seek His forgiveness, but instead He has provided such an easy way, behind a screen, where you can remain anonymous, with any priest you want,
it is truly God you are going to, but God knows what’s best, and He knows the great benefits this sacrament will give you,
it is also an act of obedience to God, so even if you do not understand it, you should be obedient to God anyways, and still do it.
by going to confession, you are not just saying you’re sorry, you’re proving it, God doesn’t want our cold and shallow words, didn’t Jesus suffer and die the most cruel death for love of us? and what are we willing to suffer for love of Him? confession is such a small price to pay in comparison, although we should continue doing penances even after confession, and for the rest of our lives.

in the bible we are told - “Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death?” Romans 6:3

that means, that it is by Christs death that we are baptized, and so it is by His death that in baptism we are forgiven and cleaned of all of our sins, and given sanctifying grace…but because Christ died only once, so then only once can we be baptized,
and so by what can we be forgiven again? since it is in Christs death that we have baptism?
it is in His sufferings that we can be forgiven again, and so it is by the sacrament of penance(confession) that we are made in like form with Christ in His sufferings,
we must be part of the Mystical Body of Christ in order to be saved, and to be part of that mystical body, we must be made in like form with it.

just remember when you are talking with your born again friends, that even the devil himself can make sense to you, but only if you are not well enough educated yourself, so what you must do is seek the teachings of God through HIS church, the Catholic church is the only church founded by God Himself, every other religion is man made, and as we well know, man is imperfect, whereas God is infinitely perfect, and He could not have made a mistake in creating His church, even if there are errors and corrupt people in His church, it still remains that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18
no religion is made up of perfect people, but the catholic religion is the only one actually made by one who is perfect, even if there have been errors within the church, if that were any reason to abandon a religion, then all religions should be abandoned…
 
(Part 2)

well, to answer your questions more specifically,
i know you might feel like you are the worst sinner in the world and the priest will be disgusted with you, but the truth of the matter is, whatever you have to confess has most likely been confessed to your priest a thousand times, he has really heard it all before, and he truly wants to see you forgiven just as much as you do, maybe even more,
the fact that you are so sorry and want to repent of your sins is a sure sign that you will be forgiven, so you have nothing to worry about,
and to make it even easier, as i have read and been told by several priests, they very often don’t even remember your confession after you have confessed, especially if they don’t know you, so that makes it seem even more like it’s just between you and God.

i know it’s hard sometimes, especially when you have not gone for a long time, i’ve been there,
but once you’ve gone, and when you come out, you feel such a great weight lifted off of you,

one thing you can do to get your sins out easier is, ask the priest for help, tell him you have not been to confession in a long time, and you are having trouble telling all of your sins, tell him there are some you feel embarrassed to tell, and chances are, he will know what you are referring to, and will help you.

also, before confession, and always before examining your conscience, implore assistant from the Holy Ghost, for the grace to rightly know, repent of, and confess your sins,
and also ask your guardian angel to help you, since he is the one who has been there always as a witness to your sins, and can help you to recall them, and guide you to make a good confession.

confession is something Jesus instituted just for you, it is for your benefit only, and although it may be hard now, you will find that after going for awhile, you’ll be more dependent on it than afraid of it,
there are many things the sacrament of penance does for us that “just confessing to God” does not do, such as - it remits the sins committed after baptism, it remits the eternal, and at least part the the temporal, punishment due to our sins, it restores or increases sanctifying grace, and it confers other particular graces to enable us to lead a holy life…

well, i would really like to say more, but i don’t want to go on to long, so i hope this helps,
but one more thing i think will help is this -
audiosancto.org/
sermons from the priests of the priestly fraternity of Saint Peter, i’m sure you will find they are very informative and inspiring to listen to, and also make alot of sense :3
also - youtube.com/user/AFaithfulServant#g/c/291A7A1EB7543269
Fulton J. Sheen is awesome, you will like him,
and in both those sites you will find talks on confession,

ok, so i hope this helps, take care, i will be praying for you.
 
There has only been 1 original sin and it isn’t yours, so like several who have advised you, you are not going to shock the Priest.
However, I would advise calling the parish and making an appointment. It will take a while so the priest will need to block some time out.
When I truly came back to the church, I went to confession holding onto a rosary so hard it left all the bead impression in my palms.
The embarassement you feel is natural, because it is the opposite of your sins. We sin in pride “thinking” it feels good, no one knows, I’ve gotten away with it - until we realize GOD always knows. Confession is the sacrament that “breaks your pride”, so it is uncomfortable to return after many years. Today I try to go once a month for the 1st Saturday graces provided by the Virgin Mary. And now it feels good.
Confession is a choice as was your sin. Sin is easy - confessing is embarassing. Sin leads to eternal damnation. Confession is the sacrament that removes the sin that leads to eternal damnation. Despite knowing that, some people chose to die in sin rather than speak the truth of their sins and be free. As terrible as you now feel, multiply that 100x’s for the better and that is how you will feel when you have made a good confession - don’t hold anything back.
 
Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation is very important, though I understand that it can be difficult to go.
Remember that the priest is the representative for Christ, so you are speaking to Christ during confession. (And on that matter, our Lord is speaking through the priest). Sometimes one may feel ashamed or embarrassed of his sins, but you must try not to be afraid to speak to the priest. What is said in the Confessional never leaves, and the priest is bound to never speak or act in anyway regarding one’s confession.
These might help (possibly):
-Making a list can help in case you forget some sins, or the wording won’t come out.
-A great thing to do is to calm down and pray (in front of the Blessed Sacrament is great if possible) before entering the confessional. Ask Jesus for help and the strength to make a good confession.
-Make sure you are sorry for your sins. Holy Fear is an acceptable reason for being sorry, but also remember that sins hurt God and for that reason one should be repentant as well.
-Try to say every mortal sin (venial sins do not need to be said). What I like to do at the end of my confession is to add “for these sins and any I have forgotten…” just in case.

I hope this helps. I’ll be praying for you!
God bless.
 
Try this. Go to confession and tell the priest that you have made some bad confessions that you need to repair and that you are too upset and embarrassed to say your sins out loud. He can help you by asking questions like, “Did you do this or that?” You answer truthfully, express your sorrow, and it’s all OK. It would be best to do this by appointment so that others in line don’t have to wait for a long time, but if you just can’t do that, then don’t. Whatever it takes, go to confession!

Praying for you!
Betsy
 
Away from the Church for many years, and with so many sins, piled higher than my head I went to Mass, went to Eucharistic Adoration, prayed at home, prayed in the car, prayed on hillsides, prayed on riverbanks, all leading up to going to Reconciliation. I had purchased a little book about makeing a good confession (4" X 6") that listed the ten commandments and under each one, listed all the possible ways one could commit a sin. I took the book with me into the confessional, told the priest that I needed the book for prompting so I did not forget any sins, and he smiled and told me that the Holy Spirit was guiding me and to please continue. This was truly the most difficult thing I have ever done, but Oh! so beautiful and joyous to receive absolution from Jesus for all my horrible sins.

The mercy of Jesus is an ocean and our sins, no matter how many are but tiny drops that disappear as soon as we release them to Him. I will pray for you, my friend.:signofcross:
 
iellk said:
I am really struggling wih this. I just moved in with a roomate who is a born again christian and there concepts seem to make sense to me but I amm scared to death because I have not been going to a Catholic Church. I have Mortal sins lots of them and I have evn lied in confession my problem is that I cannot go and tell the Priest even behind the screen I cannot speak these things out loud. So I was wondering are these people right in telling me that I do not have to go to confession that I can confess my sins to God. I don’t know what to do I am so confused. I just cannot sit and tell a Priest these sins so what do I do I know that if you die with Mortal sin you go to hell and I am scared because I know that I am going to die soon. So could you PLEASE help me and tell me what to do. I tried e-mailing Priests that I didnt know and told them this and that I cannot talk about it and they have all given me the same answer so I don’t know what to do. PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!!:confused:
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You need to go to Confession - Buck up! I’ve gone to Confession shaking and sweating when I’ve had to confess a mortal sin. Shame is a good thing. The biblical basis for it is John 20:21-23 and 1 John 1. Confess everything! Don’t hide anything. You’ll be amazed how God’s Grace works! Think of the word “TRUST” - take a chance. Believe me, there’s nothing that they haven’t heard. The priest will think so much more of you by confessing everything. We are in a battle every day (Eph 6) and we need this grace.
 
You know what? Forget making an appointment to go to a priest for confession. Make an appointment with a priest for lunch and a chat. Take the stress off yourself. Meet with a priest somewhere besides a church. A walk in the park perhaps. Decide to simply make a friend. That friend just happens to be a priest. Sooner or later you’ll feel comfortable enough to bare your soul and he’ll have gotten to know you enough to guide you.

And although you must be charitable towards your roommates, ignore their advice, however well-intentioned. Christ invented the Sacraments for a reason. Start going to church. Listen to the homilies. There might (and should be) a Catholic group at a local college. The priests there deal with these situations all the time. Check it out. The key is, don’t isolate yourself from you faith because of sin. That’s how you succumb to incorrect teaching.

God Bless You, you are in my prayers.
 
bkayw said:
I went to confession after 15 years away.

My confessor and I broke for lunch about half way through my list. 😊

Write out a list and yes, bring a handkerchief. I bawled like a boobaby.

Felt great afterward. Still feels great today, just remembering that day.

👍
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25 years here, I had a laundry list on my PDA. The priest laughed and said: “Read on”. Man what a load off that was!
 
TO my mind, one of the most important parts of going to confession is that you have to struggle a little to make the confession. If you are doing that then you’re probably truly repentant and showing to God how truly sorry you are. Be brave and do it.
 
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