Questions on confesssion & Reconciliation

[queencastle]

Thank you . And please take that Word of God to heart .

The priest , looking at your list of sins , knew the sort of things you were going to say , but like the father in the parable of the Prodigal , he stopped you short , accepting your confession and embracing you in love and forgiveness .

No need for a long list . As a repentant sinner you encountered Jesus in the sacrament and received his forgiveness .

Thanks

 

[queencastle]

I’ve had a similar experience. When I made first confession in several years, I also had a list of my previous sins which I wished to confess. Eventually, when I did confess it, the priest interrupted me as I was reading off the list, gave his spiritual direction, assigned my penance, and recited the prayer of absolution. While this appears to be somewhat more orthodox than yours, I was still perturbed by the fact that I could not complete my list of sins. When I did an online search of my circumstances, it appeared that the prayer of absolution was supposedly fully valid and I need not repeat my confession again.

Subsequently, I decided that the best answer would be obtained from my priest, not the internet warriors, and I consulted him. He understood my situation, and told me that I should confess my sins all over again, right from the top. He was a wonderful priest. He patiently allowed me to read my long list of personal sins racked up over the years, after which he gave me an equally long pastoral talk on the whys and hows in developing personal holiness to fight Satan. Subsequently, he gave me the prayer of absolution. It was probably the best and most cathartic experience I’ve ever had.

My advice to you is this: find another priest and explain your situation to him. We do not have the theological or pastoral insight to decide this for ourselves. The priest is best equipped to give you the necessary spiritual direction, and you should consider it. In a limited sense, priests are like physicians of souls - if you are ever in doubt, you may seek a second opinion, but you should not try to self-medicate.

This aside, I welcome you back into the fold of the Church! It is most befitting that yesterday’s parable spoke of the prodigal son. We celebrate your return and we pray for your continued development in faith.

Thank you.

 

[queencastle]

I’ve been to penitential services, and I am happy to assure you that nobody should be able to overhear your confession. The musician will usually play some soft music and the choir may sing a chant during the confession, so your voices will be drowned out by the ambient sounds. If you are still uneasy, you may attend the next penitential service to observe the proceedings. If you decide it is safe for you to make a confession there, you may. If you think it is not, then you are not obligated to go forward for confession.

However, if you have mortal sins to confess, I personally feel that private confession is best. Mortal sins require special attention and spiritual direction which can be difficult to obtain in a group setting like a penitential service as there is a time pressure on the individual priests to see as many individuals as possible. Nonetheless, I recognise the role of penitential services to help make it easier for large groups of people to benefit from the graces of penance, especially for those waffling on the edges.

Additionally, could I ask if your sister has been confirmed as a Catholic yet? I should point out that the Sacrament of Penance is only permitted for confirmed Catholics. If she is still a candidate, she should not go for the Sacrament until she is confirmed and accepted into the Church.

Thanks for the insight into group penance services. Actually the candidates do go to confession before first communion. The unbaptized (Elect) don’t need to because baptism absolves their sins. But the candidates must go because they have been baptized in another denomination. They are confirmed and receive first communion in the same mass at Easter. They must go to confession before first communion.

 

[Filii_Dei]

Thanks for the insight into group penance services. Actually the candidates do go to confession before first communion. The unbaptized (Elect) don’t need to because baptism absolves their sins. But the candidates must go because they have been baptized in another denomination. They are confirmed and receive first communion in the same mass at Easter. They must go to confession before first communion.

Thank you for the information. I was under the impression that baptised candidates undergo the same process as the unbaptised (ie: they must be accepted into the Church at Easter Vigil first) before they may partake of the Sacraments. I think I must have misunderstood it somewhere. My apologies.

 

[queencastle]

Thank you for the information. I was under the impression that baptised candidates undergo the same process as the unbaptised (ie: they must be accepted into the Church at Easter Vigil first) before they may partake of the Sacraments. I think I must have misunderstood it somewhere. My apologies.

No problem Happy Monday!

 

[devoutchristian]

Thank you . And please take that Word of God to heart .

The priest , looking at your list of sins , knew the sort of things you were going to say , but like the father in the parable of the Prodigal , he stopped you short , accepting your confession and embracing you in love and forgiveness .

No need for a long list . As a repentant sinner you encountered Jesus in the sacrament and received his forgiveness .

A person must confess all of their mortal sins that they can remember. So the priest was wrong to cut her confession short.