RCIA Confession Confusion

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melissaP

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i have been confused about whether i need to go to confession before Easter Vigil. I have been attending RCIA since Sept and i have had a valid Protestant baptism. I always thought that i needed to go to Confession before my confirmation, like a child would.

What confuses me, is why dont I HAVE to go to confession before my confirmation?? My RCIA teacher says that I dont have to because I am NOT a Catholic yet, but what comes first, the chicken or he egg?? My understanding was that you couldn’t receive the Eucharist w/o prior confession. I know that the Catechumens are fine b/c they will be baptized at Easter Vigil, prior to the communion, but what about the Candidates?

Is my teacher ill informed, or should this be a moot point like she says? She says that I can go to confession after I have been confirmed and enter fully into the Catholic Church, and that it will have no bearing on my 1st communion,

any thoughts???

thanks in advance…🙂
 
You do not need to go to Confession before your Confirmation. You may need to go to Confession, however, before you receive Holy Communion.
 
First - welcome!

If you have a valid baptism, you will need to attend Confession before you recieve the Eucharist. I’d advise you to make an appointment TODAY, Priests are very busy during Holy Week.
 
Our RCIA Instructors told us that before we recieve the Eucharist we have to go to confession if we have been baptized before and it was valid. Our 1st communion is also our confirmation.

I would suggest making an appointment if your priest has one available.
 
Yes, you have been greatly misguided and need to make a confession right away. It is indeed a busy week for the clergy so I suggest you call the rectory to make an appointment and indicate that you are going to join the Church at the Easter Vigil and need to make your first confession.

If you have questions on the how and/or why of confession, please post them so we can help you be prepared.

The priest needs to be aware that this person who is in charge of RCIA does not even understand a very simple and basic Catholic understanding.

Peace be with you and have a wonderful Holy Week!

Kelly
 
melissaP said:
i have been confused about whether i need to go to confession before Easter Vigil. I have been attending RCIA since Sept and i have had a valid Protestant baptism. I always thought that i needed to go to Confession before my confirmation, like a child would.
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Yes you need confession of all mortal sins of your past life before receiving either Confirmation or First Communion.
shall we just say your catechist has been misinformed. go directly to your priest in the confession. As a service to your parish, please tattle on her to the priest, I am serious, she is giving wrong information. If you need help preparing, come on back here and search in the sacrament forum under examination of conscience.

to make it easy, go in the reconciliation room or confessional at the time stated in the bulletin this week (there will be special times because it is Holy Week so go early don’t wait til Sat. because there won’t be confessions on Sat. this week).
Sit in the chair in front of the priest or kneel behind the screen.
Father, this is my first confession, because I am a baptized Methodist (whatever) who is being received into the Church at Easter. My sins are (list them in kind and number)
“I killed 14 people, one was self-defense, 13 were deliberate and I have paid my debt to society. I ran my car into Denny’s front window, but it was an accident because I was drunk at the time. I disobeyed my mom 3 times and lied on my last tax return. I watched dirty movie at my brother’s bachelor party.
For this and all the sins of my past life I am heartily sorry.”
The priest will counsel you, (my child, try to work on your anger mangement issues), assign a penance: (3 our Fathers and 3 Hail Mary’s, and pray for all your brothers and sisters in the IRS)
and ask you to say a good act of contrition. Print one off from a website or just Say
O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee
and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more, to avoid whatever leads me to sin, and to do penance. Amen.

He will give you absolution either silently or outloud and bless you. He may say something like Go in Peace. You respond: Thanks be to God. Leave, say or do your penance as soon as possible. then you are good to go.

above advise also applies to baptized Catholics preparing for Confirmation or First Communion.
 
AngelRose81 said:
Our RCIA Instructors told us that before we recieve the Eucharist we have to go to confession if we have been baptized before and it was valid. Our 1st communion is also our confirmation.

I would suggest making an appointment if your priest has one available.
Click to expand...
Confirmation and 1st communion are two different Sacraments. If you are being received into the Church at Easter you will celebrate both during the same Mass, but not at the same time. Yes, if you have been baptized you need confession first. This is a busy week, go early, there will be no confessions Thurs, Fri or Sat in most cases.
 
Since this is bound to be the next question, if you are an ongoing situation that places you objectively in state of mortal sin you cannot confess and receive absolution, or receive any of the other sacraments, unless and until you remedy that situation. That means leaving a cohabitation situation, convalidating a civil marriage, whatever it takes.
 
puzzleannie said:
Confirmation and 1st communion are two different Sacraments. If you are being received into the Church at Easter you will celebrate both during the same Mass, but not at the same time. Yes, if you have been baptized you need confession first. This is a busy week, go early, there will be no confessions Thurs, Fri or Sat in most cases.
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:doh2: Oh, I am such a goof sometimes! I meant to put our 1st communion will be the same night as confirmation!! That’ll teach me to type too fast with my brain lagging behind!! 😛
 
I’m kind of amazed that RCIA directors don’t make first confession preparation a standard part of the RCIA for candidates.
 
My RCIA instructor scheduled confession times for us on Saturday. We are going to practice what will happen that night and then those of us that have been baptized previsouly are going to confession.
 
We were told candidates HAD to confess prior to Vigil. We were encouraged to confess at the penance service, but were also able to go any time prior to that. Several weeks before we were given copies of the “Little Catechism on Confession” so we could read it and prepare.
 
melissaP said:
i have been confused about whether i need to go to confession before Easter Vigil. I have been attending RCIA since Sept and i have had a valid Protestant baptism. I always thought that i needed to go to Confession before my confirmation, like a child would.
Click to expand...
You do. Yes indeed, even if most RCIA programs are pathetic, as most seem to be. Call your local Church now and ask if they have scheduled confessions for particular times on particular days. Most churches do.

I will be going to one of those scheduled confessions this Wednesday afternoon. I already did the BIG FIRST ONE on February 14th. Took an hour, lots of heavy sexual stuff, alcoholism, surgeries not approved by the Catholic Church, etc etc. so this next one is a sort of mopping up, mostly sins of the tongue since 14 February.

So schedule it, go, dump, and you will be ever so much better for it.
 
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