Trouble with confession

[DarkLight]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess. I know I am far from perfect, but I simply cannot find sins in my life.

My life right now is incredibly boring. I go to work, do my job, and come home right after (on the last bus out of town). I try to do some schoolwork or housework in the evenings, or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax. Same thing on weekends. I do go to Mass once a week; I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

I read examinations of conscience and half of them aren’t even relevant. The other half I’m doing fine on. I know this can’t be right, but I’m just not finding anything to confess lately.

 

[zgraf]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess.

OK.

My life right now is incredibly boring.

Have you prayed and asked God to help you find meaning in your life?

Or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax

Are you making a conscious effort to use your time wisely – as you think God would want you to? How do you think God feels about the choices you make?

I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

Are you guilty of not putting God first in your life? Are you selfish with your time?

I read examinations of conscience and half of them aren’t even relevant. The other half I’m doing fine on. I know this can’t be right, but I’m just not finding anything to confess lately.

Consider this: the example of the saints shows us that the holier a person is, the more AWARE he/she aware is of their sins and how they offend God. The saints will often take great pains to prevent committing even a small venial sin.

 

[DarkLight]

I feel like God really hasn’t given me much opportunity to be unselfish. I’m making the best use of time I can. I would like to do something like volunteer but the systems I’d need to be able to do so aren’t in place. The lack of public transit really is a big deal - I can’t afford a car, which means I’m basically trapped in my rural apartment once I get home from work, as well as on most of weekends.

I’m working on praying more but that’s really all I can do. Between work and school and housekeeping, almost all my time that I have the energy to be doing work, is being used.

 

[OLJ2013]

Be prayerful to seek God’s help to show you your sins and He will make you come to realize it. God uses people as an instrument to tell us we did something inappropriate. You can surely start there.

 

[sloth]

if you haven’t committed a mortal sin then there isn’t a need to go to confession right?

I went to confession today because I had previously received Communion while having a mortal sin on my soul ( needing confession ). Knowingly doing this is the mortal sin of Sacrilege. If you need confession we are supposed to abstain from the Eucharist until reconciling with the church.

 

[St_Francis]

if you haven’t committed a mortal sin then there isn’t a need to go to confession right?

I went to confession today because I had previously received Communion while having a mortal sin on my soul ( needing confession ). Knowingly doing this is the mortal sin of Sacrilege. If you need confession we are supposed to abstain from the Eucharist until reconciling with the church.

There are other reasons for going to Confession. We get extra grace from participating in the sacrament; we are then able to obtain for ourselves or for Holy Souls more indulgences, etc.

And when we love God, we always want to apologize for our transgressions against Him, even if they are minor.

 

[Trident_H]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess. I know I am far from perfect, but I simply cannot find sins in my life.

My life right now is incredibly boring. I go to work, do my job, and come home right after (on the last bus out of town). I try to do some schoolwork or housework in the evenings, or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax. Same thing on weekends. I do go to Mass once a week; I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

I read examinations of conscience and half of them aren’t even relevant. The other half I’m doing fine on. I know this can’t be right, but I’m just not finding anything to confess lately.

Then I think you are doing fine. Just look into those sins of omission, but otherwise try not to let this get to your head (unless you actually do want to go back to confession)!

 

[kuttichan1]

if you haven’t committed a mortal sin then there isn’t a need to go to confession right?

I went to confession today because I had previously received Communion while having a mortal sin on my soul ( needing confession ). Knowingly doing this is the mortal sin of Sacrilege. If you need confession we are supposed to abstain from the Eucharist until reconciling with the church.

 

[Vico]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess. I know I am far from perfect, but I simply cannot find sins in my life.

My life right now is incredibly boring. I go to work, do my job, and come home right after (on the last bus out of town). I try to do some schoolwork or housework in the evenings, or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax. Same thing on weekends. I do go to Mass once a week; I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

I read examinations of conscience and half of them aren’t even relevant. The other half I’m doing fine on. I know this can’t be right, but I’m just not finding anything to confess lately.

Do you mean mortal sins? Venial sins are more common and can lead to mortal sins.

(CCC 1855 “Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.”)

(CCC 1863 “Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.”)

It is helpful to focus on cultivating the virtues that are counter to the deadly sins: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, humility.

 

[DarkLight]

Do you mean mortal sins? Venial sins are more common and can lead to mortal sins.

(CCC 1855 “Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.”)

(CCC 1863 “Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.”)

It is helpful to focus on cultivating the virtues that are counter to the deadly sins: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, humility.

No I don’t. I’m just not able to find anything at all in examining my conscience. I go to work and do my job and then come home and do work. That’s it.

 

[Vico]

No I don’t. I’m just not able to find anything at all in examining my conscience. I go to work and do my job and then come home and do work. That’s it.

Matthew 25 always inspires me:
31And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

Sheep

34Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: 36Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. 37Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? 39Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? 40And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

Goats

41Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. 43I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. 44Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? 45Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me. 46And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.

 

[InThePew]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess. I know I am far from perfect, but I simply cannot find sins in my life.

My life right now is incredibly boring. I go to work, do my job, and come home right after (on the last bus out of town). I try to do some schoolwork or housework in the evenings, or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax. Same thing on weekends. I do go to Mass once a week; I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

How frequently are you going to confession?

 

[DarkLight]

How frequently are you going to confession?

I’m trying to go about once a month or so.

 

[jmcrae]

I’m trying to go about once a month or so.

Rather than think about what you did, think about things you didn’t do.

Did you miss an opportunity to be kind to someone, in some small way? Not that you were unkind, but was there a chance to smile when you didn’t, or was there a chance to say something encouraging to someone, where you stayed quiet, or completely missed that the person was even standing there. Things like that where you can grow in virtue.

 

[DarkLight]

Rather than think about what you did, think about things you didn’t do.

Did you miss an opportunity to be kind to someone, in some small way? Not that you were unkind, but was there a chance to smile when you didn’t, or was there a chance to say something encouraging to someone, where you stayed quiet, or completely missed that the person was even standing there. Things like that where you can grow in virtue.

Part of what’s driving this is that I’m in a period of enforced isolation. I don’t really interact with people outside of the context of my job. I’d like to but I don’t have the opportunity out in the middle of nowhere with limited transportation. So a lot of things I’d otherwise be aware of just aren’t applying.

 

[geekborj]

Lately I’ve been struggling with knowing what to confess. I know I am far from perfect, but I simply cannot find sins in my life.

My life right now is incredibly boring. I go to work, do my job, and come home right after (on the last bus out of town). I try to do some schoolwork or housework in the evenings, or spend time messing around on the internet or playing games to relax. Same thing on weekends. I do go to Mass once a week; I’m not involved in anything else because I can’t get to it.

I read examinations of conscience and half of them aren’t even relevant. The other half I’m doing fine on. I know this can’t be right, but I’m just not finding anything to confess lately.

If you are sincere, you will always find something to confess. Check out the general idea instead of specific actions. More or less we are sinning in the line of the Seven Capital Sins. Confession at least one sin would uncover many more. Even the greatest of saints fall seven times a day (stand up eight times).