Please Help!!!

[Nick]

If you have a mortal sin that you committed some years ago, and you cannot remember if you ever confessed it, what do you do? Also, how much detail do you have to give about the nature of your sin, specifically lust or impure thoughts. is it enough to say “I have had impure thoughts” or “I have lusted” or do you need to go into greater detail. Is it neseccary to re-confess any sins that have not been properly confessed (given enough details)? Also, is it nessecary to have mental fantasies in order to committ lust or can it be committed by strong physical attraction to another person? Thank you for your help.

 

[Church_Militant]

If you’re not sure tell the priest that and then confess it again. God knows what He’s doing and will lead you along the way.

 

[UKcatholicGuy]

Nick:

If you have a mortal sin that you committed some years ago, and you cannot remember if you ever confessed it, what do you do?

To be safe, and to put your mind to rest, I’d just confess it next time you go.

Also, how much detail do you have to give about the nature of your sin, specifically lust or impure thoughts. is it enough to say “I have had impure thoughts” or “I have lusted” or do you need to go into greater detail.

I think as long as you’re not trying to “hide” anything, you don’t need play-by-play details. I usually say, “I lusted after (x number) of girls.” Or, and sadly this happends, if it’s truly just too many times to count, I say that. “I lusted too many times to count since my last confession.”

Is it neseccary to re-confess any sins that have not been properly confessed (given enough details)?

It’s necessary to re-confess any mortal sins that you may have forgotten to confess. If you intentionally did not confess any mortal sin, well then you need to confess next time that you made a bad confession, in addition to whatever you withheld. But again, as far as re-confessing something because you didnt go into “enough detail”, unless you intentionally were hiding something, I don’t see why you should re-confess with more detail. Usually, stating the nature of the sin is all that’s required. ie, lust, masturbation, etc. and usually the # of times.

Also, is it nessecary to have mental fantasies in order to committ lust or can it be committed by strong physical attraction to another person? Thank you for your help.

I’ve had the same questions before. From what I’ve learned, lust is a sexual desire; it’s more than normal attraction (which isnt sinful at all). If you think a girl is incredibly beautiful, that’s great! That’s how God made you to feel. The sin is when you look upon her as a sexual object and entertain sexual thoughts about her. But I don’t want to be the final authority on such an important issue, so I would strongly advise seeking out an orthodox priest who is faithful to the Church and get his advice.

May God bless you,

-UK

 

[Jesus4Me]

Nick:

If you have a mortal sin that you committed some years ago, and you cannot remember if you ever confessed it, what do you do? Also, how much detail do you have to give about the nature of your sin, specifically lust or impure thoughts. is it enough to say “I have had impure thoughts” or “I have lusted” or do you need to go into greater detail. Is it neseccary to re-confess any sins that have not been properly confessed (given enough details)? Also, is it nessecary to have mental fantasies in order to committ lust or can it be committed by strong physical attraction to another person? Thank you for your help.

It sounds to me like you may need to re-confess. I always feel such peace after confession and it doesn’t sound like you are at peace with this. It could be that since you don’t remember you may not have confessed to begin with. As for the detail, I always go into as much detail as possible. It always makes the confession seem more meaningful for me.

Also, I agree with UK that physical attraction is not lust, but to act on it, whether fantasy or reality, is.

 

[wcknight]

IF you truely forget to confess a mortal sin, you may be covered because your last statement at confession says you are sorry for 'these and ALL of the sins of your past life".

However to be on the safe side I would include that in my next confession.

IF you deliberately left out a mortal sin, then of course you will have to confess it AND confess leaving it out of your prior confession also. Leaving a mortal sin out of a confession makes that confession invalid.

Saying a specific number of times may not be accurate if you are not sure of the exact number, saying a few times, or frequently or several times or just guilty of such and such a sin would be better.

The important thing is to be honest and sincere as possible. And out of consideration for others, being brief and to the point would help also. ALL mortal sins need to be mentioned but only one or two minor ones. If you do the best job you can, God will forgive ALL your sins even the ones you forget to mention.

Christ’s Peace.

 

[chevalier]

When I was having the same problem and kept whining, the priest told me off for not believing in God’s mercy enough. He gave me three minutes to deal with it. To have an unabsolved sin after confession, you would have to have kept a mortal one secret from the priest.

When you recall a mortal sin you had previously forgotten, mention it in the next confession. Or better go confess it. You can’t have any sin for forgetting if you hadn’t been negligent or anything. Weakness is not sin.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

wcknight:

IF you truely forget to confess a mortal sin, you may be covered because your last statement at confession says you are sorry for 'these and ALL of the sins of your past life".

However to be on the safe side I would include that in my next confession.

As I understood it, if you honestly forgot, then you are covered. I wonder if re-confessing it could be problematic because that implies you weren’t certain of God’s mercy the first time around? I’ve heard that confessing the same sin multiple times signifies weakness of faith and marginal belief in the sacrament. If it was forgiven because you honestly forgot, then in effect you did confess it.

OTOH, if it’s something that really bothers me, I might want to mention it again just to get some quick pastoral advice. For example, “Father, I accidentally left this out of a previous confession, and it is weighing on my heart.” That way you are not acting in faithlessness, but speaking honestly and handing over your troubles to the Lord.

Then again, what do I know? I don’t go to confession nearly often enough.

 

[stubiegirl]

While I can totally understand wanting to be totally forgiven from you sin, beware of scruples. St. Ignatius of Loyola talks about how if one is prone to have a sensitive conscience, the Devil will increase that sensitivity in order to push the soul to doubt God’s mercy and grace. I highly recommend asking for St. Ignatius’ intercession as well as reading his Autobiography and the part of The Spiritual Exercises regarding scruples.

Take it to prayer and TRUST in the Lord! (yeah. i know. easier said than done!) God Bless