Returning to the Church & Confession

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dcampbe1

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Hello all,

I would appreciate any insight you may have on the following:

I returned to the Catholic church a little less than a year ago after being away for about ten years. One of the first things I did upon returning was go to confession. At that time, I confessed to all sins that I could remember committing during that 10 year span. However, as time has passed, I have remembered some additional sins, which I have not confessed yet. Do I need to go confess each of these past sins every time I remember a new one from those ten years I was away? Or since I made a good faith effort to recall all sins in my first confession back, are these already forgiven?

Thoughts?
 
Do the best you can. Remember that part of the formula we were taught as kids is:
“For these and all the sins of my past life, I am truly sorry”.

Welcome home!
 
If a sin from my past is on my mind or on my heart, I make haste to the mercy seat of Christ. (Mercy Seat of Christ = the Sacrament of Reconciliation). If it is important enough for me to think about, it is important enough for me to confess. I want nothing between my Lord and me. When I came back to the Church, I went to confession, but then I began to remember stuff from my past (i.e., sins) in dribs and drabs. Every time I remembered something, I would go back to confession. I think the good Lord knew that it would have been too overwhelming to have done this all at once. If a priest had told me, “Forget about it,” I think I would have found another priest because in the end it comes down to living with my own conscience and me (personally) standing before God on Judgment Day.
 
When we receive absolution in confession, we are forgiven for all our sins, including venial sins that we did not mention and mortal sins that we forgot, so long as we didn’t deliberately omit a mortal sin or try to deceive the priest. We are required to mention any mortal sins we forgot at our next confession, but they are already forgiven. Be at peace!
 
dcampbe1 said:
Hello all,

I would appreciate any insight you may have on the following:

I returned to the Catholic church a little less than a year ago after being away for about ten years. One of the first things I did upon returning was go to confession. At that time, I confessed to all sins that I could remember committing during that 10 year span. However, as time has passed, I have remembered some additional sins, which I have not confessed yet. Do I need to go confess each of these past sins every time I remember a new one from those ten years I was away? Or since I made a good faith effort to recall all sins in my first confession back, are these already forgiven?

Thoughts?
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All remembered MORTAL sins should be confessed at your next confession. If you are not sure, then bring it up and ask the priest.
 
dcampbe1 said:
Hello all,

I would appreciate any insight you may have on the following:

I returned to the Catholic church a little less than a year ago after being away for about ten years. One of the first things I did upon returning was go to confession. At that time, I confessed to all sins that I could remember committing during that 10 year span. However, as time has passed, I have remembered some additional sins, which I have not confessed yet. Do I need to go confess each of these past sins every time I remember a new one from those ten years I was away? Or since I made a good faith effort to recall all sins in my first confession back, are these already forgiven?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Welcome home! 👍
 
Weird, I am going through the same thing. I came back after being gone for a long time. And, I was always horrible at confession. I kinda made up my own rules and believed that if I said an Act of Contrition and confessed to God, that I was good. I believed that us Catholics had it wrong.

I believe that going to Eucharistic Adoration made me really believe in our Catholic faith.

After not having been to confession for 25 years, I returned after my husband’s annulment, this past spring. I keep remembering old sins. I guess, I have almost a lifetime to remember, and so I am being reminded of some I forgot about here and there. The last confession I had, I recalled a sin from many years ago, And, this evening, I happened to recall another old one. Oh no, here we go again, another missed sin! I thought, wow, no matter how much I examine my conscience I still am coming up with some oldies after my confessions. Then I thought, the Holy Spirit is revealing a little extra at a time to me, as it would be overwhelming as OP stated.
 
3_Dog_Night said:
If a sin from my past is on my mind or on my heart, I make haste to the mercy seat of Christ. (Mercy Seat of Christ = the Sacrament of Reconciliation). If it is important enough for me to think about, it is important enough for me to confess. I want nothing between my Lord and me. When I came back to the Church, I went to confession, but then I began to remember stuff from my past (i.e., sins) in dribs and drabs. Every time I remembered something, I would go back to confession. I think the good Lord knew that it would have been too overwhelming to have done this all at once. If a priest had told me, “Forget about it,” I think I would have found another priest because in the end it comes down to living with my own conscience and me (personally) standing before God on Judgment Day.
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Thank you so much for your reply. You verbalized what I was sort of thinking regarding living with my own conscience and gave me the extra push I needed to go back and confess once more this morning. Also, I think you’re right – doing this all at once would have been too much.
 
ineeda said:
Weird, I am going through the same thing. I came back after being gone for a long time. And, I was always horrible at confession. I kinda made up my own rules and believed that if I said an Act of Contrition and confessed to God, that I was good. I believed that us Catholics had it wrong.

I believe that going to Eucharistic Adoration made me really believe in our Catholic faith.

After not having been to confession for 25 years, I returned after my husband’s annulment, this past spring. I keep remembering old sins. I guess, I have almost a lifetime to remember, and so I am being reminded of some I forgot about here and there. The last confession I had, I recalled a sin from many years ago, And, this evening, I happened to recall another old one. Oh no, here we go again, another missed sin! I thought, wow, no matter how much I examine my conscience I still am coming up with some oldies after my confessions. Then I thought, the Holy Spirit is revealing a little extra at a time to me, as it would be overwhelming as OP stated.
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Thanks for your reply and insight 🙂 I am glad to know I am not alone.
And after hearing yours and others’ conclusion that the old sins are being revealed a little at a time because it would be too overwhelming to handle all at once, I absolutely agree. Pretty amazing realization. 🙂
 
I just want to thank everyone in general for your replies. I already had some of your advice/and reasoning floating around in my head, but I think I needed to see some confirmation that I was on the right track.

Also, thank you to the simple replies of “welcome home” – I am so happy to be back :)👍
 
I am glad my comments were helpful to you. I commented from my experience. Each time something would come up, I would get that “oh, no!” sinking type of feeling. It took obedience and humility to keep going back to the confessional each and every time. I have not particularly enjoyed learning these virtues, but it is for my greater benefit.

The good news is that at some point the “drips and drabs” slow down to non-existent. At least I have not had anything “old” for some time and I hope I am finished with all that stuff coming up in my memory. It took nearly a year to be done with the past. I think I am finally “free and clear” now.

I have been preparing for Total Consecration (33 Days to Morning Glory) – September 15th (Our Lady of Sorrows). In preparation, I will be going to confession. What I feel the Lord is leading me to do is a confession, where I “collect and confess” all that old stuff that was revealed to me by “drips and drabs.”

I asked my parish priest whether this was something that the Church would allow and whether this is something a priest would hear. He said, “Yes,” that it is – but to be careful not to get caught up in guilt and shame. He told me it is called a “general confession” and he said it would be excellent to do in preparation for Consecration.

I have no doubt I have been forgiven for all of those sins that I have previously confessed.
The point to a “general confession” is seeing myself as the Lord sees me, as a more comprehensive picture. Know myself – know that there is nothing good inside of me. I am filled with filth and corruption and decay; but for His grace I would be lost.

I would not generalize, however, that my experience should be everyone’s experience. If I weren’t doing the Consecration and if I didn’t feel lead to do it, I would not be going back for a “general confession.” I have always taken the approach that once confessed, it is over and done with and I am forgiven. “As far as the east is from the west …”
 
This is an important thread and I thank everyone for educating me.

I also carry the burden of not confessing some old sins committed during my younger days when I was away from the Church. I have talked to God in my heart and sincerely asked for his pardon. Now, I have returned to the Catholic Church and have not repeated those sins, am I not absolved of old sins?
 
Joe55 said:
This is an important thread and I thank everyone for educating me.

I also carry the burden of not confessing some old sins committed during my younger days when I was away from the Church. I have talked to God in my heart and sincerely asked for his pardon. Now, I have returned to the Catholic Church and have not repeated those sins, am I not absolved of old sins?
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Joe, welcome home!

If the sins were grave matter, you are obliged to confess them to a priest, even if you no longer commit them and even if they were from a long ago. If it’s been a while since your last confession, you might consider making an appointment to meet with the priest so you can take your time or if you think you might need help understanding whether a particular sin was mortal or not.
 
nodito said:
Joe, welcome home!

If the sins were grave matter, you are obliged to confess them to a priest, even if you no longer commit them and even if they were from a long ago. If it’s been a while since your last confession, you might consider making an appointment to meet with the priest so you can take your time or if you think you might need help understanding whether a particular sin was mortal or not.
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Thank you. I know they were mortal sins in Catholic teaching. But, it would be so embarrassing to reveal to another human being. I need to continue to pray for courage to face a priest.
 
Joe55 said:
Thank you. I know they were mortal sins in Catholic teaching. But, it would be so embarrassing to reveal to another human being. I need to continue to pray for courage to face a priest.
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I can’t tell you how many incredibly embarrassing sins I’ve confessed. Go anonymously (behind the screen) and say the worst sins first. It’s like ripping off a band-aid.

I’ll pray for you.
 
pianistclare said:
Do the best you can. Remember that part of the formula we were taught as kids is:
“For these and all the sins of my past life, I am truly sorry”.

Welcome home!
Click to expand...
And as kids I was taught to say “for these and all the sins I cannot now remember, I am truly sorry.” Either way, may God bless you.
 
pianistclare said:
Do the best you can. Remember that part of the formula we were taught as kids is:
“For these and all the sins of my past life, I am truly sorry”.

Welcome home!
Click to expand...
Could we deliberately hide some sins of past life and still get absolution from the priest by reciting these magic words? Is the Sacrament of Penance still valid?
 
Could we deliberately withhold sins of past life and still get absolution from the priest by reciting these magic words? Is the Sacrament of Penance still valid?
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You cannot deliberately withhold mortal sins during confession. This would make your confession invalid. I am not sure about deliberately withholding venial sins but since you are there, why not confess everything to God?

Trust me, I did this earlier this year when I returned to the Church after a long absence. I deliberately withheld a mortal sin. After my invalid confession, something didn’t seem right to me. Something was eating at me. So I did some research and found out I committed a Mortal Sin by deliberately omitting some sins from my confession. I went to confession the next week and before starting I told my priest what I had done and felt so guilty. You have to remember, you are confessing to God. God knows all of your sins so why try to hide them from Him? I know some sins can be embarrassing to confess but you have to humble yourself before the Lord and admit to him what you have done or what you have failed to do. I know it is hard sometimes, but God gave us this sacrament to reconcile ourselves with Him.
 
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