Ridiculously Long Confession

[TimOliv]

The OP used the word despicable sins. Yes, it’s an assumption but those would seem to be mortal. Venial sins do not require confession as they can be forgiven in the Eucharist. Usually venial sins are not so embarrassing that you would choose to omit them. I would ASSUME some of the sins are mortal.

As all sins are despicable I don’t see the use of the word as including only mortal sins.

As you said, usually venial sins are not so embarrassing as you would choose to omit them, however, there are some that are. I refer you, in fact, to a certain Archbishop in Poland who was revealed to have cooperated with Secret Police during the Iron Curtain days…

 

[ComputerGeek25]

I would just make an appointment with the priest for a confession. I would explain to him that “hey, I withheld some stuff, but this time I came prepared.” He may give you guidence on how to confess everything. Usually, priests are fair, and if you come to confession, you are sorry at least on some level. And God doesn’t play “Gotcha”

I know some preists (or at least I’ve heard about others too), may not ask for you to go through everything again.

For example, I found myself in a similar situation. I didn’t go to confession for 15+ years. I made a page of “one liners,” with some examples in case the priest needed clairifications. Some of my “one liners” were general, and I only read some of the examples for these. Afterwards, I felt kinda bad about it, so in my next confession, I told the priest, “In my last confession, I wasn’t specific enough about x, and didn’t really feel a need to confess it because I felt it fell under y, which I did confess.” He just nodded, and didn’t really ask about anything else about it. There have been other times that I felt I phrased something poorly or it came out the wrong way. Again, God doesn’t play “gotcha” and at least I knew enough to come to the box.

 

[MTD]

All of you keep saying the same thing. However, I saw no mention of a mortal sin being withheld, so how’s about we stop pointing that if a mortal sin is withheld then the confession is invalid, k?

No mention has been made of a mortal sin in the OP, just sins that were not mentioned during confession.

For all of you I’d like you to consider how exactly you’d get 20 pages of MORTAL sin built up, while its possible, for your dedicated Catholic striving to better him or herself, I’d say that is a pretty hefty list and, barring further detail, I would ASSUME the sins we are talking about are venial.

Part of your confusion, I believe, comes from not knowing this thread is a follow-up to this one: Withholding SIns During Confession.

Maria

 

[teachccd]

As all sins are despicable I don’t see the use of the word as including only mortal sins.

As you said, usually venial sins are not so embarrassing as you would choose to omit them, however, there are some that are. I refer you, in fact, to a certain Archbishop in Poland who was revealed to have cooperated with Secret Police during the Iron Curtain days…

Yes, all sins are despicable but the Church recognizes the difference in the gravity of sins. When one calls their sins despicable one might assume that they would include mortal sin. Relieving myself in public may be an embarrassing venial sin (or mortal depending on the intention) but I would highly doubt that most of the OP’s sins would be this type so as to omit them from previous confessions. But anyway this horse is beat and I think that the Church’s teaching on withholding known mortal sins in confession has been put to bed here…God Bless

 

[believers]

I have recently discovered that many, if not all, past confessions I have ever made were invalid due to the intentional withholding of numerous sins. Add to that the fact that I have an extremely guilty conscience, and now I have been drafting up an extremely long paper to try to confess every single sin I can possibly think of in as much detail as I can in order to satisfy myself that my next confession will be valid. I will have to schedule an appointment with a priest for this as it will be much too long for a Saturday confessional. This will also be incredibly difficult to endure with the plethora of despicable sins throughout my life, but that’s another story. Also another story is that I am facing a dilemna with trying to reconcile certain things in my life, most notably my job, with being able to get myself into a position where I can feel like I have some type of firm purpose of amendment so that the confession will be valid. This is also something I am struggling with and trying to figure out before I confess.

But my main question is this: I have to read off this entire paper in order to assure myself I have absolutely confessed to everything. Right now I’m up to 20 typed pages and it could end up longer by the time I confess. If I read my confession off of a paper, will it detract from the validity of the confession? Confession can be difficult regardless, but I keep thinking that by reading these things off of the paper I will be able to relieve some of the burden from myself by just mindlessly reading things rather than forcing myself to think of them off the top of my head. Reading them might therefore be easier and might reduce the level of humility I face during the confession. Does anyone see a problem with me reading these things in order to ensure a full confession?

20 pages typed?! psst… just confess them to God. He’ll forgive you. And don’t forget to repent.

 

[water]

20 pages typed?! psst… just confess them to God. He’ll forgive you. And don’t forget to repent.

Believers, with all due respect, you are giving wrong advice to the Original Poster who might want to practice his Catholic belief.

 

[believers]

Believers, with all due respect, you are giving wrong advice to the Original Poster who wants to practice his Catholic belief.

Sorry guys… I thought I was helping.

1Jo 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psa 32:5
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

 

[water]

Sorry guys… I thought I was helping.

You are not helping. Are you trying to convert someone out of Catholic by saying he doesn’t have to go to confession?

I needed to ask you to make sure I don’t misunderstand you. Do you believe that we, as Catholic, need to confess to priest?

It is just a yes or no question. I don’t want to debate in this particular forum. It is not for debating here for this particular topic.

 

[believers]

You are not helping. Are you trying to convert someone out of Catholic by saying he doesn’t have to go to confession?

What if he misses a sin like adultery by looking at a woman with lust? Or, what if he commits murder by hating someone? Does he go to purgatory if he misses just one sin?

 

[water]

What if he misses a sin like adultery by looking at a woman with lust? Or, what if he commits murder by hating someone? Does he go to purgatory if he misses just one sin?

I edited my post a bit late, Please re-read my previous post.

 

[LilyM]

Sorry guys… I thought I was helping.

1Jo 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psa 32:5
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Yeah but read 1 Samuel - I think it’s Chapter 13. David needed the prophet Nathan to TELL him that God had forgiven his sin - so do we need the priest to do the same for us. It is for this very reason Christ gave the Apostles the power to do so. Forgiveness, at least for serious sins, can’t just be assumed.

Besides which, it’s obvious that God hears all confessions, even those done through the intermediation of a priest. Do you think God stops up his ears because we’re NOT confessing privately?

 

[jmcrae]

Do you think God stops up his ears because we’re NOT confessing privately?

Good point. "Whereever two or three are gathered … "

 

[jmcrae]

Sorry guys… I thought I was helping.

1Jo 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psa 32:5
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

The Jews confessed their sins to God by selecting the animal that represented that sin, and offering it to the priest for sacrifice.

We don’t offer animals to the priest - we just name our sins to him.

 

[JimG]

I have recently discovered that many, if not all, past confessions I have ever made were invalid due to the intentional withholding of numerous sins.

In the first place, you ought to let the priest be the one to decide whether or not your previous confessions were valid.

Secondly, 20 pages does sound rather too detailed and too scrupulous to me. Most sins are boringly repetitive, and a lot of years of sin can be confessed in a sentence or two.

Finally, your original post doesn’t take that long to read. It’s less than 20 pages and yet summarizes the situation from your standpoint quite well.

Go ahead and take those 20 pages with you, but first, give the priest a summary just like your original post. Then let him guide you. And once he does, don’t second guess him.

And when you’re out of the confession, put it all behind you and don’t worry about whether or not it was done correctly.

 

[believers]

Yeah but read 1 Samuel - I think it’s Chapter 13. David needed the prophet Nathan to TELL him that God had forgiven his sin - so do we need the priest to do the same for us. It is for this very reason Christ gave the Apostles the power to do so. Forgiveness, at least for serious sins, can’t just be assumed.

Besides which, it’s obvious that God hears all confessions, even those done through the intermediation of a priest. Do you think God stops up his ears because we’re NOT confessing privately?

Intermediation through a man is unnecessary. Jesus is our Priest and he said we can go directly to the Father. Leave it to the catholic church to add more steps. Only making it harder to confess your sins when you can just confess them right where you are and right when it happened.

 

[believers]

In the first place, you ought to let the priest be the one to decide whether or not your previous confessions were valid.

Secondly, 20 pages does sound rather too detailed and too scrupulous to me. Most sins are boringly repetitive, and a lot of years of sin can be confessed in a sentence or two.

Finally, your original post doesn’t take that long to read. It’s less than 20 pages and yet summarizes the situation from your standpoint quite well.

Go ahead and take those 20 pages with you, but first, give the priest a summary just like your original post. Then let him guide you. And once he does, don’t second guess him.

And when you’re out of the confession, put it all behind you and don’t worry about whether or not it was done correctly.

Don’t forget to include every time you have ever looked at girl with lust or anyone he has hated.

 

[JimG]

Intermediation through a man is unnecessary. Jesus is our Priest and he said we can go directly to the Father. Leave it to the catholic church to add more steps. Only making it harder to confess your sins when you can just confess them right where you are and right when it happened.

It was Jesus who instituted the sacrament of confession. It was He who told his apostles, “whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them.” (John 20:23). Do you think he intended for that gift to be ignored?

 

[Island_Oak]

The title of your post pretty much covers it–you border on being self-absorbed and pathologically scrupulous if you not only have drafted such a long-winded document, but intend to inflict a reading of the same upon some unsuspecting priest.

I would agree with whomever suggested contacting your priest and making an appointment. Express the concern you have, the length of time since your last confession and then listen and ACCEPT the guidance the priest WILL likely offer about how to make a full and complete confession. It is a form of pride (in a twisted sort of way) to assume that your issues are so unique and extensive that they should take up the better part of a priest’s allocated confession time. Take your humility and contrition with you and then rejoice in the freedom you will feel upon letting God do what He does best–loves us and welcomes us back into His presence and grace!

 

[jmcrae]

Don’t forget to include every time you have ever looked at girl with lust or anyone he has hated.

He can say, “I looked with lust on many beautiful girls,” and “I was angry with this person and that person for the period from age 16 until the year after I graduated from University.”

 

[LilyM]

Intermediation through a man is unnecessary. Jesus is our Priest and he said we can go directly to the Father. Leave it to the catholic church to add more steps. Only making it harder to confess your sins when you can just confess them right where you are and right when it happened.

Of course we do that as well. So all bases are covered

And it’s an extra necessary step. As the previous poster said, Jesus gave the power to forgive to the Apostles, clearly his intention was for it to be used by them, by way of people confessing their sins to them (since they weren’t usually mind readers). And they passed it on to their successors, our priests.

And for good reason - it makes us take our sins more seriously when we are required to confess them aloud to another. I for one would find it much easier to sin if only God and myself needed to hear my confession afterwards.

As for intermediation through man being unnecessary … don’t you think baptism is necessary (‘unless a man be born again by water and the Spirit’ … ‘go and baptise all men’)? Isn’t an intermediary necessary for baptism? You can’t just jump into your own shower and declare YOURSELF baptised!

Isn’t marriage necessary? Yet a couple can’t marry themselves - they need a minister or intermediary of some kind to do it for them.

God chooses to work upon us through others. Otherwise it wouldn’t be necessary for you to attend church to hear the words of your pastor, or to read the words of the Evangelists or Paul either - God would just zap all knowledge of himself and his will into you insttantaneously!