Questions about Confession

[feeling_guilty]

1. Suppose a non-Catholic who believes in all Catholic teachings and is truly repentant of his/her sins went to Confession even he/she knew that he/she should not do so. He/she wanted penance to repair for his/her relationship with God and he/she did as what the priest told him/her. So is that person committing mortal sin?
2. I usually say ‘and I’m asking forgiveness for the venial and mortal sins which I accidentally left out’ after apologising for the sins I remembered in Confession. So am I absolved for all sins?
3. The priests I met usually gives the ‘Say three Hail Mary’ (today it was five) penance. Why is this so? The priests seem to be reciting a formula in the Confession.
4. Anyone who has the experience of being scolded to cry by the priest during a Confession?
5. How to make a more perfect contrition?
6. Any priest who does not absolve sins and rejects your Confession? (I heard of some stories of St. Padre Pio in which the faithful were not absolved.)
7. I always sin despite my wish that I won’t harm Jesus again. I feel that my penance is trivial when compared with Jesus’s Crucifixion. And I feel my penance is insufficient for me to avoid Purgatory or even Hell. But at the same time I want to have reparation for my sins. Am I being hilarious and contradictory?

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is perhaps the most obfuscating Sacrament to me - why? It’s because even if I go to Confession with a truly sorry heart, I seldom cry before or after Confession. I know that my sins are absolved, but I don’t experience any special signs of relief, e.g. feeling that my heart has a kindling flame or having symbolic dreams at the night of absolution, etc. Haha…

Am I crazy to think of the above questions?

 

[Trishie]

I don’t see a mortal sin in question 1, but I might suggest that if the person truly believes in Catholic truth and doctrine, that they approach a priest regarding becoming Catholic.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=588642&highlight=non-catholic+confession

1. Yes you are forgiven those accidentally omitted, but mention any mortal sin in the next confession.
   forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=791960&highlight=Confession
   forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=738084&highlight=Confession
2. Regarding form of Confession
   forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=743809&highlight=Confession
   Not all priests do ask for ‘three Hail Mary’s’. Some might ask for the Lord’s Prayer…or some other alternative.
3. If so, perhaps one is receiving the grace to rethink and amend one’s behavior?
   forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=195538&highlight=Confession
4. forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=232665&highlight=Confession
5. If they make a sincere confession with an honest desire and intention to make reparation and to try to avoid future sin, then a Catholic validly approaching confession should have no reason to expect to be denied absolution.
6. forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=66900
   We can continue to sincerely and faithfully try, no matter how often we fail, responding to God’s grace as we grow in love of God, love of others in practical and prayerful charity.

It’s not foolish to ask questions, but sometimes a wise thing, rather than to remain confused.

May God continue to bless you.
Kindly,
Trishie

May God abundantly bless you.

 

[Vico]

1. Suppose a non-Catholic who believes in all Catholic teachings and is truly repentant of his/her sins went to Confession even he/she knew that he/she should not do so. He/she wanted penance to repair for his/her relationship with God and he/she did as what the priest told him/her. So is that person committing mortal sin?
2. I usually say ‘and I’m asking forgiveness for the venial and mortal sins which I accidentally left out’ after apologising for the sins I remembered in Confession. So am I absolved for all sins?
3. The priests I met usually gives the ‘Say three Hail Mary’ (today it was five) penance. Why is this so? The priests seem to be reciting a formula in the Confession.
4. Anyone who has the experience of being scolded to cry by the priest during a Confession?
5. How to make a more perfect contrition?
6. Any priest who does not absolve sins and rejects your Confession? (I heard of some stories of St. Padre Pio in which the faithful were not absolved.)
7. I always sin despite my wish that I won’t harm Jesus again. I feel that my penance is trivial when compared with Jesus’s Crucifixion. And I feel my penance is insufficient for me to avoid Purgatory or even Hell. But at the same time I want to have reparation for my sins. Am I being hilarious and contradictory?

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is perhaps the most obfuscating Sacrament to me - why? It’s because even if I go to Confession with a truly sorry heart, I seldom cry before or after Confession. I know that my sins are absolved, but I don’t experience any special signs of relief, e.g. feeling that my heart has a kindling flame or having symbolic dreams at the night of absolution, etc. Haha…

Am I crazy to think of the above questions?

To receive the sacrament of penance one has to be baptised. If that it the case, then it depends on if the church of baptism is Apostolic or not. If not coming into full communion with the Catholic Church, then these canons apply:
Can. 844
3 Catholic ministers may licitly administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick to members of the oriental churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they ask on their own for the sacraments are properly disposed. This holds also for members of other churches which, in the judgment of the Apostolic See, are in the same condition as the oriental churches as far as these sacraments are concerned.
4 If the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the national conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community, and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed.
If baptised and coming into full communion with the Catholic Church, this rule applies from The National Statutes for Catechumenate:
36. The celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation with candidates for reception into full communion is to be carried out at a time prior to and distinct from the celebration of the rite of reception.

 

[Mary_Ellen]

1. Suppose a non-Catholic who believes in all Catholic teachings and is truly repentant of his/her sins went to Confession even he/she knew that he/she should not do so. He/she wanted penance to repair for his/her relationship with God and he/she did as what the priest told him/her. So is that person committing mortal sin?

I don’t think so, but they should reveal that they are not Catholic when they approach the Sacrament.

1. I usually say ‘and I’m asking forgiveness for the venial and mortal sins which I accidentally left out’ after apologising for the sins I remembered in Confession. So am I absolved for all sins?

I believe so. I usually end my confession with, “…For these and for all my sins I am truly sorry.”

1. The priests I met usually gives the ‘Say three Hail Mary’ (today it was five) penance. Why is this so? The priests seem to be reciting a formula in the Confession.

Often times I’ll get three to five HM, a Chaplet of Mercy, or a scripture meditation. Different priests have different styles, there’s no set formula.

1. Anyone who has the experience of being scolded to cry by the priest during a Confession?

Yes, I have been scolded just for having a written list when going into confession. That was pretty bad but my spiritual advisor had given me permission to use one so I’m gonna keep using it.

1. How to make a more perfect contrition?

I find that meditating on Christ’s Passion helps - our sins are, after all, the reason he suffered and died.

1. Any priest who does not absolve sins and rejects your Confession? (I heard of some stories of St. Padre Pio in which the faithful were not absolved.)

Fortunately I’ve not had this experience.

1. I always sin despite my wish that I won’t harm Jesus again. I feel that my penance is trivial when compared with Jesus’s Crucifixion. And I feel my penance is insufficient for me to avoid Purgatory or even Hell. But at the same time I want to have reparation for my sins. Am I being hilarious and contradictory?

Trust in the Lord’s words: He told the Apostles that whatever sin they forgave would be forgiven and that power has been passed down to our present-day bishops and priests. Listen to the words of absolution - they are real and true! Your penance IS insufficient for you to avoid Hell - it is Christ’s death and resurrection that saves us. Penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ! (see Catechism of the Catholic Church #1460)

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is perhaps the most obfuscating Sacrament to me - why? It’s because even if I go to Confession with a truly sorry heart, I seldom cry before or after Confession. I know that my sins are absolved, but I don’t experience any special signs of relief, e.g. feeling that my heart has a kindling flame or having symbolic dreams at the night of absolution, etc. Haha…

Am I crazy to think of the above questions?

No, you don’t seem crazy to me. The sacraments are not a matter of emotions, they are deeper and more mysterious than that.

 

[CatholicRaven]

Looks like most of your questions have been answered well already. So I’ll just add a few thoughts of my own.

If the non-Catholic is doing as their priest directly instructed them, then it is not a mortal sin. However, if there is confusion or question, they should discuss this with the priest again for clarity, and mention their non-Catholic status in Confession, as well, if the confessor is a different priest.

I have been to the same confessor multiple times, and have had different penances depending on the sins that I am struggling with most. Sometimes it’s three or five Hail Marys, or a few Our Fathers, but he usually also says that I should pray for a specific intention, usually related in some way to one of my sins.

I have cried in Confession, but not because of scolding by the priest. I was simply blessed with an intense sorrow for my sins at that time. It’s only happened twice in my adult life, and I don’t always “feel something” when I leave the Confessional, either, but that doesn’t mean that Confession was any less effective or important.

Regarding St. Padre Pio, as I understand it, he was gifted by God with the ability to read the hearts of the penitents. If he witheld absolution in the confessional, it was likely because he knew that the person did not have sufficient sincerity at the time of their confession. I would suspect this would be relatively rare, even for a priest who heard confessions for ten to twelve hours a day (as Padre Pio did).

HTH!