Reconciliation questions

[neisan]

Okay,I went through my first confession yesterday(which was great,though I need to go back) and I had a few questions.Here they are:

-If you accidentally forget something in confession,is it a sin?

-If a person dies before they can reconcil,but they really wished to go,does that person go to hell?

-Finally,let’s say person confesses to impure acts,what acts does that cover?

 

[Trishie]

**Dear neisan,
I thought it might help for you to find answers already given to your questions by CAF Apologists.

Your question “-If a person dies before they can reconcil,but they really wished to go,does that person go to hell?”**

EXAMPLE 1
Q:“
I arrived a few minutes early for confession, but the priest never showed. If I had I been hit by a bus and died, would my sins have been forgiven since I showed up for confession?
”
A:
While the act of showing up for confession does not, in itself, obtain forgiveness of sins, it may be an indication of contrition—“sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with a resolution not to sin again” (CCC 1451). Contrition does forgive sins when it is perfect. The Catechism explains: “When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (CCC 1452).

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession

Q:“
Suppose someone committed a mortal sin (meeting all the conditions of grave matter, full knowledge, and free will) and later sincerely and fully repented of it. The person desired to go to confession as soon as possible to be reconciled with God but was killed in an accident before doing so. What would be the state of that person’s soul? I know there’s a “baptism of desire”; is there such a thing as a “reconciliation of desire”?

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession/page2
”

EXAMPLE 2
A:
In a sense, the Church does indeed recognize a “reconciliation of desire”—perfect contrition. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines contrition as “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again” (CCC 1451).

For contrition to forgive mortal sins it must arise out of our love of God. “When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (CCC 1452).

 

[Trishie]

Responses to your question:-If you accidentally forget something in confession,is it a sin?

EXAMPLE 1

If I cannot recall if I mentioned a particular sin the last time I went to confession but recall it now, should I mention it in my next confession, or was it absolved already?
”
A:
It was absolved already. If it is a venial sin, you do not need to confess it. If it was a mortal sin, it was absolved, provided you at least implicitly intended to mention it if you had remembered it. What this means is that you confessed all known sins and would have confessed whatever others you committed had you recalled them. So if you now recall a mortal sin, mention it the next time you go to confession.

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession/page5

EXAMPLE 2

I recently went to confession, received absolution, and did my penance. Subsequently I remembered something I did years ago that I never confessed. Am I absolved of that one as well? If the sin was mortal, does that need to be addressed specifically?
”
A:
So long as you intended to confess all your mortal sins and otherwise make a good confession, then the sacrament was valid, and you were forgiven all your mortal sins. The fact that afterward you remembered another one does not mean that you are in a state of mortal sin.

The Code of Canon Law states, “A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and in number all grave sins committed after baptism and not yet directly remitted through the keys of the Church nor acknowledged in individual confession, of which one is conscious after diligent examination of conscience” (CIC 988:1). Since you remembered this grave sin, you should mention it in your next confession.

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession/page7

EXAMPLE 3

catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/confession/page8

 

[bellaok2010]

Okay,I went through my first confession yesterday(which was great,though I need to go back) and I had a few questions.Here they are:

-If you accidentally forget something in confession,is it a sin?

-If a person dies before they can reconcil,but they really wished to go,does that person go to hell?

-Finally,let’s say person confesses to impure acts,what acts does that cover?

sorry, What do u mean ?

 

[Trishie]

I’ll look into your third question too, but remember our class being taught about confessing something like this
“I sinned (number of times as near as one knows) against purity by myself…or with other/others.” In the latter a person is complicit in another person’s sin. The meaning of both statements would be clear to the priest, and perhaps a less awkward way of confessing such sins. It’s embarrassing for anyone to have to confess such sins, but the priest will have heard the sins confessed many times. If the priest wished you to explain more, he would tell you so.

You can find the specifics of sins against purity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art6.shtml

May God help you to gently and peacefully live as a faithful Catholic, trusting in God’s unfailing mercy. May you experience God’s love in your life.

God’s kindest blessings to you.

Warm regards, Trishie

 

[JRKH]

Okay,I went through my first confession yesterday(which was great,though I need to go back) and I had a few questions.Here they are:

Congratulations.
As a note on these questions - you can always ask your confessor.

-If you accidentally forget something in confession,is it a sin?

Accidentally forgetting something is not a sin and, unless it is a “mortal sin” (not likely to be “forgotten”), the sin you forgot is forgiven by the absolution.
Of course, you can still mention it at your next confession.

-If a person dies before they can reconcil,but they really wished to go,does that person go to hell?

No

-Finally,let’s say person confesses to impure acts,what acts does that cover?

Ift covers any “Impure acts”. If you are concerned about a specific thing I offer two options. First, if your not sure of something, ask your confessor. Second, If the act causes you “distubance of spirit”, then confess it.

Peace
James

 

[Julian0404]

End your confession with : “Forgive me for these sins and all the sins of my past life”,

and provided you are not intentionally withholding sins that you do not wish to confess, then all the sins you have truly forgotten will be forgiven.

 

[Joe_5859]

Okay,I went through my first confession yesterday(which was great,though I need to go back) and I had a few questions.Here they are:

Congrats!

-If you accidentally forget something in confession,is it a sin?

Sin is a deliberate choice against God. You cannot accidentally sin. If you forgot something (which is only natural when it’s your first Confession and you’re trying to remember a whole life’s worth!), bring it up next time (if it was mortal). But you have already been forgiven.

-If a person dies before they can reconcil,but they really wished to go,does that person go to hell?

CCC 1257: “…God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.”

I know this is about Baptism, but the same rule applies. The only way that God has revealed to us that we can be assured and know that we have been forgiven is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (and also Baptism, Eucharist, and Anointing of the Sick, in certain respects). However, since God instituted the Sacraments, he is not bound by them. If He wants to forgive people through other means, he can. But He has not revealed that to us.

So we hope for the salvation of those who have not been able to receive this sacrament, but for ourselves we want to make sure we partake of Reconciliation as often as possible and not leave anything to chance.

-Finally,let’s say person confesses to impure acts,what acts does that cover?

Any act that is impure.

In Confession, we need to be specific, giving the type and approximate quantity of mortal sins, but we do not need to give every sordid detail. We don’t want to simply say “impure acts” and use these two words to cover masturbation, fornication, adultery, et al. Usually, a priest will ask clarifying questions if he feels you are being too vague.

An example for one’s first Confession might be “for impure acts with myself about 2 or 3 times a week from age 16 to 19, usually while looking at pornography, and impure acts with 4 girls on about 3 dozen occassions from age 18 to 22.” You don’t need to give a descriptive play-by-play of every single sexual encounter. But you want to give the priest the general idea of the type and severity of the sins.

 

[neisan]

Thank you all so much:thumbsup:.As a sidenote,I am going to ask my parents to ask me to take me this Saturday to confession.A little voice in my head said to wait another week,but I told it to be quiet.i know that voice is NOT mine or God’s and will never listen to it again.:aok: