The converts confession dilemma, feedback needed!

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Inquisitor_rex

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Hello everyone,
This is my first post and I’ll try not to bore my fellow brothers and sisters.
I am a recent convert to Our Lords Church (started learning in 2016, was initiated into the Church 2017) and was born Lutheran with a baptism and everything. I also received a “baptism” at age 8 or 9 at an evangelical family camp. Between then and my mid 20’s I eventually fell away and heaped up mortal sin after mortal sin. When I joined the Catholic Church my poarents had lost the certificates for baptism that I had and my childhood Lutheran Church dragged it’s feet giving it to me. Before Easter vigil and the reception of the sacraments especially Christ’s body and blood I wanted to be in a state of grace and do a first confession even asking the priest’s the day of if such were possible each saying “No, we dont have a certificate for you and thus we want to be cautious in doing confession.” Another priest told me that “Conditional baptism remits sin” which if I knew I wasn’t baptized would be true but in this case unless two ministers screwed up I’m pretty I would have a wet head. I will say when I did receive the baptism from my priest I felt an energy of sorts but that is hardly a proper sign of validity or removal of sins. I received confirmation and communion that night and so I ask, did I receive in a sacrilegious manner? This has been bothering me off and on for a year and I do weekly confessions but never have I brought up my past sins before converting to Catholicism. Any advice?

Pax Christi!
 
I’m hesitant to make a judgement here because I don’t know for sure and don’t want to steer you wrong. I think you should ask your priest next you’re in Confession.
 
Yes, speak to your pastor or confessor about this. If you were validly baptized as a child, you should have confessed mortal sins since your baptism. I don’t think that you were guilty of any sacrilege when you converted, as you were just doing what you were told.
 
To be fair, God has given me the grace of forgetfulness in the confessional with me confessing more recent sins and forgetting older ones. I do not think I’ve been devoid of sanctifying grace. I have been told by one of the priest’s I can be a touch scrupulous however.
 
As catholics, we believe in Heaven, Purgatory and sometimes Hell. When you are in Purgatory you are being punished for the unresolved sins you committed in your physical life.
Therefore I think it is best that, in your own time, you confess your sins to God. Whether it be through confession or prayer, ask for forgiveness. If you genuinely mean it, then hopefully you will be forgiven, if so, then you have accomplished what I think you would want to.
 
Something similar happened to me. I can sympathize. If you were following what you were told then you weren’t sinning. You weren’t committing sacrilege.

What I would do is make a general confession. Examine your whole life. Try as best you can to remember all your past sins. But don’t confess sacrilege for following what you were told. Or if you are unsure about that at least explain the situation. After that trust in God’s mercy. God isn’t playing a gotcha game looking to send you to Hell.
 
Thank you both!

As part of my Lenten devotion I will be doing a general confession. Pray for me and pray that I may receive the grace of compunction!
 
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