Question about Confession

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expectthebest

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I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrement. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession? If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?

Tks
 
expectthebest said:
I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrement. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession? If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?

Tks
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If you made a diligent examination of conscience, then you need not confess the forgotten sin at all. You may confess it in a subsequent confession, at any time, but it is not necessary.
 
expectthebest said:
I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrament. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession?
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We are obliged to confess a remembered mortal sin at our next Confession.
If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?
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Our next regular Confession. There is certainly no need to obsess over possibly forgotten past sins.

See:

catholicexchange.com/forgotten-mortal-sins

and

wdtprs.com/blog/2011/09/quaeritur-how-to-confess-past-forgotten-sins/
 
expectthebest said:
I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrement. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession? If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?

Tks
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Dear Best… Happy New Year! It seems simple to understand. We know our hearts and so does God. If our hearts are heavy because of sin we need to confess it in order to be cleansed of it no matter how long ago the sin or if we have forgotten it temporarily… So yes, if it comes to mind we should confess it especially if it is a mortal sin as you mentioned… That way we’re not fooling ourselves or fooling God, as if we could…🙂 For God knows us better than we know ourselves…Romans 8:27-37 But also that God reveals things about ourselves the closer we get to Jesus and Jesus light lives in us and that is how Jesus purifies us so it’s not surprising that past sins would come to light…By His light we are driven to become light… Matthew 5:14 And also as it is written.
.
Psalm 90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

So there should be nothing stopping a confession at the earliest opportunity…🙂
 
I was always taught to confess any forgotten mortal sins at my next confession. But…do not obsess over any forgotten mortal sins because they have already been forgiven. If one or more forgotten mortal sins just happen to pop into my memory, I will (and have) confess them at my next confession.
 
I was taught by the Sisters of Charity to conclude my sins with:
For these, and all the sins of my past life, I am truly sorry."

Still do da it. No confessor has objected. 👍
 
expectthebest said:
I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrement. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession? If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?

Tks
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You are obliged to confess a forgotten mortal sin at the next soonest confession

It says so in the Catechism which are the rules of the church.

Also:
Every mortal sin must be confessed by name, by number, and by anything that adds or takes from the gravity of the sin.
 
This is where it gets confusing. I have received different answers from different respondents. These are the same differences that prompted me to ask the question in the first place. Some say you must confess, others not. Some say you must confess at the soonest opportunity like with any other mortal sin that hasn’t whenever that is.

Also, what if you can’t remember if you confessed a mortal sin or not? Are then obliged to confess it, possibly again? Not remembering for sure could be a real problem, especially over many years.
 
There is is only one who knows the right answer. You could wait and ask or err on the side of caution.
 
expectthebest said:
This is where it gets confusing. I have received different answers from different respondents. These are the same differences that prompted me to ask the question in the first place. Some say you must confess, others not. Some say you must confess at the soonest opportunity like with any other mortal sin that hasn’t whenever that is.

Also, what if you can’t remember if you confessed a mortal sin or not? Are then obliged to confess it, possibly again? Not remembering for sure could be a real problem, especially over many years.
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That might be because some of the answers posted which may appear different are actually parts of the same right answer. PaulfromIowa provided 2 reliable links. Or ,you might like to check out canonist Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL 's answer posted at EWTN - principally because Rev. Gantley admits to previously answering similar questions partly incorrectly - so he’s obviously given the answer a lot of thought, and subsequently cultivated and edited his answer. He does a more than sufficient job on the hair-splitting questions. He should be able to tie it all together for you with his article Confession of Forgotten Mortal Sins .

Personally, I would just confess it at the next confession - which is what most have recommended in their posts.
 
What about timing? Some say at our next confession which might be several months away. At least one other indicated at our soonest opportunity which would mean as soon as possible under the threat of hell. This is a big difference.
 
expectthebest said:
I understand that if one forgets to confess a mortal sin, or if it didn’t come to mind at the time, the sin is forgiven as part of the Sacrement. Where is am seeing some differences of opinion is what to do afterwards. Are we obliged to confess the sin at a subsequent Confession if it comes to mind? Or, are we just encouraged to Confess the sin at a subsequent Confession? If obliged, are we bound to go to Confession at our very soonest opportunity? Or, just the next time we go, whenever that may be?

Tks
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You are obliged, not merely encouraged, to confess it at your next confession, but you are not bound to have to rush to the next available confession on account of this. You can do this whenever you make your next regular or necessary confession, for as long as you still remember it. You can clarify by stating that it was a forgotten sin and that you’re mentioning it now.

This also does not mean you need to go back to your past and comb through everything for every possible mortal sin you may have committed and forgotten. This is a recipe for scrupulosity, and the Church does not want her children troubled with the past.

Also, my confessor made this clear for me: let’s say you confessed to a particular species of sin, say, fornication, and you’ve been a longtime fornicator, years on end. Then you repent and to the best of your ability, mention the approximate number of times you committed the sin, are absolved and at peace. THEN, you recall, you may have had a few more instances, say, fornication with people you’ve forgotten about (hey, could happen!).

In this case, you do NOT have to re-confess the forgotten instances, because you’ve confessed the same species of sin; only the number was off, but that’s not because of any malice or negligence on your part. The sins have been confessed and directly remitted in the Sacrament, and do not count as “forgotten” sins.
 
porthos11 said:
You are obliged, not merely encouraged, to confess it at your next confession, but you are not bound to have to rush to the next available confession on account of this. You can do this whenever you make your next regular or necessary confession, for as long as you still remember it. You can clarify by stating that it was a forgotten sin and that you’re mentioning it now.

This also does not mean you need to go back to your past and comb through everything for every possible mortal sin you may have committed and forgotten. This is a recipe for scrupulosity, and the Church does not want her children troubled with the past.

Also, my confessor made this clear for me: let’s say you confessed to a particular species of sin, say, fornication, and you’ve been a longtime fornicator, years on end. Then you repent and to the best of your ability, mention the approximate number of times you committed the sin, are absolved and at peace. THEN, you recall, you may have had a few more instances, say, fornication with people you’ve forgotten about (hey, could happen!).

In this case, you do NOT have to re-confess the forgotten instances, because you’ve confessed the same species of sin; only the number was off, but that’s not because of any malice or negligence on your part. The sins have been confessed and directly remitted in the Sacrament, and do not count as “forgotten” sins.
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Tks to all. Really appreciate the help.
 
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