question about Reconciliation

  • Thread starter Thread starter ohcharlie2000
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
O

ohcharlie2000

Guest
First time here. Just posting to say hello to everyone. So…Hello 🙂 Also, I have a question about confession. I made my first one in 20 years two nights ago. Everything I read stated that the priest may ask me to say an act of contrition along with other possible instructions such as saying an Our Father, etc… I had a very emotional confession that night, and never was told to say the act of contrition. I did all the other things Father had asked me to do. Is this confession complete without it according to the church? Or did Father maybe put it off considering the state I was in? Just curious. I did say for this and all my sins, I am truly sorry, but just not in conjunction with the act of contrition. Any help or information would be appreciated.

I hope to see some replies.
 
I would think the most important thing was contrition not the words of the prayer. The act of confessing was a prayer in and of itself. Welcome to the Forums!
 
Charlie,

Welcome to the forums!

God Bless you on your confession. While contrition is an essential and integral component of confession, an actual verbal act of contrition is not. . . the act is to elicit actual contrition.

See forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=59065 for a Catholic Answer Forums Apologist answer to your exact question.

Does that help at all?
God bless you and once again welcome to the forums,
VC
 
Is this confession complete without it according to the church?
Click to expand...
This post might help:
ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=451575&Forums=9&Experts=0&Days=2005&Author=&Keyword=act+of+contrition&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=2&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=

What you need for the confession to be valid is:
  1. Sorrow for you sins
  2. Firm purpose of amendment (for example you can’t confess having an affair and go into the confessional unwilling to stop your affair)
  3. Confession of all remembered mortal sins by kind and (approximate) number (robbing about two dozen banks is different than robbing two) and any mitigating circumstances (stealing $100 from the Church is different than stealing from Bill Gates).
  4. Absolution.
The first three parts are what you need to do. Don’t obsess over the validity of the sacrament. As long as you did the three above steps and received absolution ALL YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN! Doubting the validity of the sacrament is one of the devil’s tricks so once you’ve made a worthy confession and received absolution your sins are forgiven. Don’t go back to see if you confessed all your sins. Since it’s been 20 years you’ve most likely forgot quite a few but those are forgiven along with your other sins once you received absolution. If you remember anything you know for sure is a mortal sin mention it at your next confession. However, remembering an unconfessed (although forgiven) mortal sin doesn’t plunge you back into a state of mortal sin and you are free to receive the Sacraments (as long as you don’t commit another mortal sin since your last confession).

I’m glad you partook in this great Sacrament after such a long time. If you have any further questions please feel free to post.

May God Bless you.
 
40.png
brotherhrolf:
I would think the most important thing was contrition not the words of the prayer. The act of confessing was a prayer in and of itself. Welcome to the Forums!
Click to expand...
Yup! God love you, Charlie. Welcome. In fact, when lines are long :rolleyes: if everyone says the Act of Contrition, it can add a LOT of time and even cause some people not to be able to confess. You need to MEAN it; you do not necessarily need to SAY it.
 
This website has been an amazing thing to have since that confession and each of your words has put me at peace. God works is wonderful ways. As I learn to work thru this website today, I am learning such wonderful things that my 16 formal years of Catholic Education along with the rest afterward has not yet presented to me in my life. Maybe it is just that my eyes and heart are more open to learning and accepting it now.

Anyhow, thanks for the information given by those of you who replied and may still be replying.
 
40.png
ohcharlie2000:
First time here. Just posting to say hello to everyone. So…Hello 🙂 Also, I have a question about confession. I made my first one in 20 years two nights ago. Everything I read stated that the priest may ask me to say an act of contrition along with other possible instructions such as saying an Our Father, etc… I had a very emotional confession that night, and never was told to say the act of contrition. I did all the other things Father had asked me to do. Is this confession complete without it according to the church? Or did Father maybe put it off considering the state I was in? Just curious. I did say for this and all my sins, I am truly sorry, but just not in conjunction with the act of contrition. Any help or information would be appreciated.

I hope to see some replies.
Click to expand...
The verbal “Act of Contrition” or “Act of Sorrow” is considered to be part of the Rite of Reconciliation. If omitted it does not invalidate the Sacrament. I suggest that you say it now and consider saying it every night before going to sleep.
 
40.png
ohcharlie2000:
. Everything I read stated that the priest may ask me to say an act of contrition along with other possible instructions such as saying an Our Father, etc… I had a very emotional confession that night, and never was told to say the act of contrition. I did all the other things Father had asked me to do. Is this confession complete without it according to the church? Or did .
Click to expand...
if Father absolved you yoru confession was complete and proper and your sins are forgiven. the act of contrition does not have to be a formal recited prayer. Perhaps he considered you expressed contrition heartily during what you said to him and than no further expression was necessary. do not second guess confession after you leave as long as you have been absolved.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top