Problem With Confession, Please Help

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devonsams

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Hello Everybody, first of all I’d like to say that I have problems in Confession, I’m just too ashamed to say my sins to the priest, I don’t know what to do, I wish God could forgive me in other way than saying my sins to the priest, I’m too shy to confess and I face this problem for long time, please, everybody could help me with this one? Thanks.
 
It is quite normal to feel nervous. It is difficult, but remember that you are not talking to Jesus. The priest has to set aside his personal views and relationship with you and represent Christ’s forgiveness and encouragement. Be assured that he is there to support you in improving your walk with God, not to look down on you. Consider whether going to a different parish to confess would make you feel more comfortable.
 
devonsams said:
Hello Everybody, first of all I’d like to say that I have problems in Confession, I’m just too ashamed to say my sins to the priest, I don’t know what to do, I wish God could forgive me in other way than saying my sins to the priest, I’m too shy to confess and I face this problem for long time, please, everybody could help me with this one? Thanks.
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Everyone feels this way, when I came back to church after living a life of sin and I do mean sin and lots of it and I had confess, I was extremely ashamed but that is why we have confession for the humility of it! and the priest is not there to judge you , you will ALWAYS be forgiven as long as you are sorry

if it really bothers you go to a parish where you don’t ever go to so the priest you confess to you wont see regularly except for maybe confessions it may help…

but God decided to mediate his forgiveness through the priests SO YOU MUST MUST GO TO CONFESSION as soon as possible , the more you do it the easier it gets and I have had to say sins I would never tell anyone else not even my closests friends or family… and Believe me the priests have heard it ALL , they will not be surprised

also if you don’t already know it - learn or take a card with the act of contrition with you because they will ask you to say it at the end

I will pray for you!
 
Before I became Catholic, I, too, was quite worried about confessing my sins to a priest. When I was in RCIA, I had asked my priest after class one day about confessions and he said that they hear them so often that they are even able to quickly put the face-to-face confessions out of their minds and they certainly don’t remember any of the anonymous confessions because, even though they are HUGE things for us, a priest hears these same confessions from tons of people all the time. If we confess to adultery or masturbation, how often do you think a priest hears these SAME confessions? TONS! So I promise you that nothing you say will shock or surprise him and he will be so glad you confessed it!!! (Not to mention, you will be, too!) As others have suggested, you might attend a different parish just for confession until you get used to doing it on a regular basis. Take a deep breath and go to confession. 🙂 I can’t explain how good you will feel afterward! 🙂
 
hieroglyph said:
It is quite normal to feel nervous. It is difficult, but remember that** you are not talking to Jesus**. The priest has to set aside his personal views and relationship with you and represent Christ’s forgiveness and encouragement. Be assured that he is there to support you in improving your walk with God, not to look down on you. Consider whether going to a different parish to confess would make you feel more comfortable.
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I assume you meant “you are talking to Jesus.”
 
I write them down and read them off. That way I don’t spazz out and forget something. Having a piece of paper to look at and play with helps with some of the nervous energy too. Also confessing really helps keep you on track because when it’s over you realize that you NEVER want to have to repeat some of those sins in the confessional again!
 
I have two possible suggestions to offer.
  1. Try doing confession from behind a screen. If your parish does not offer this option, look around for one that does.
  2. Tell the priest about this problem. I’d wager he has “heard it before” and would be willing and able to help try to calm your fears.
Hope that this is of help to you.

Peace
James
 
dshix said:
I assume you meant “you are talking to Jesus.”
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I think the meaning was “you are not talking directly to Jesus” (which could be pretty intimidating). You are talking to a man who is, himself, a sinner.
 
devonsams said:
Hello Everybody, first of all I’d like to say that I have problems in Confession, I’m just too ashamed to say my sins to the priest, I don’t know what to do, I wish God could forgive me in other way than saying my sins to the priest, I’m too shy to confess and I face this problem for long time, please, everybody could help me with this one? Thanks.
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I went to confession monthly for two years without mentioning a sin that I was ashamed of. When I finally said it to the priest, there was no reaction at all. Except of course, relief on my part, In retrospect, it was important for me to own up to it, and I never returned to that sin.

The fact that your conscience is calling you so strongly to confess it makes it all the more important that you do. And remember, the priest is on your side. He wants to cleanse you of your sins. He will not judge you, he will rejoice at your cleansing.

I’m told that the priests are the happiest with those that come back to confession after a long time away because that is true redemption.

Do it most of all because you want to get back into the grace of God, who you love above all things. Trust me on this. When you get out of the confessional, you’ll be wondering why you made such a big deal about asking forgiveness, when it is freely given.
 
DexUK said:
EXCELLENT article.

One of the best I’ve ever read about Confession.

Truly inspiring.
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It definitely helped me out! I used to be nervous about going to Confession. I still do get nervous a little, but nowhere near as bad as I used to be. Something that helped me as well was to get in the habit of going once a month, and having a friend make that commitment with you. I’m still in the process of forming that habit, but I find that it’s becoming easier to go. 🙂
 
We have the same feelings at first because there’s a guilt that we felt in ourselves. We are a shame to confess it, especially when the priest is our close friend. But if you really can’t do it, choose a priest who doesn’t know you, in that way you can confess your sins. God knows everything… 🙂
 
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