Uneasy About My Confession

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ok well i just had a much needed confession yesterday, but i left feeling uneasey about something. I had confessed presumption of God’s mercy but then felt that i should confess the specific sins i was presumptous with. I asked the priest about it and he said i didn’t have to, but he’s not exactly the most orthodox priest so i wasn’t sure if I should listen to him. I told him the sins i remembered being presumptous with but as he was saying the words of absolution i felt that i had forgotton some of these presumptous sins and that if i just thought for a bit i could remember them.Well i didn’t and i just left cause i figured i was worrying too much, but now i’m worrying too much:shrug:

i hope i’m just being scrupulous here…
 
ok well i just had a much needed confession yesterday, but i left feeling uneasey about something. I had confessed presumption of God’s mercy but then felt that i should confess the specific sins i was presumptous with. I asked the priest about it and he said i didn’t have to, but he’s not exactly the most orthodox priest so i wasn’t sure if I should listen to him. I told him the sins i remembered being presumptous with but as he was saying the words of absolution i felt that i had forgotton some of these presumptous sins and that if i just thought for a bit i could remember them.Well i didn’t and i just left cause i figured i was worrying too much, but now i’m worrying too much:shrug:

i hope i’m just being scrupulous here…
You are being scrupulous. If you had remembered them, you intended to confess them. It is what is in your heart that counts more than what comes out of your mouth.

Think about it. What about a person who went to confession, like a serial killer, confessed every horrible thing they did, did not forget anything but was intending to go out and kill again. While the right words came out of their mouth, the heart was in a completely wrong place.

You, the words did not come out of your mouth, (maybe, you don’t know cause you only THINK you forgot something!), but you completely were sorry and intended to confess every last wrong, even though the priest said you didn’t have to name each and everyone, you still wanted to humble yourself throughly.

You are just being scrupulous!

God Bless,
Maria
 
The sin of presumption is one sin, regardless of the different circumstances. Essentially the same kind of sin each time.

Eg - if you steal, even if it’s five times, you don’t need to separately confess each instance of theft. You’d simply say ‘I committed the sin of theft five times’. If there are any real differences, you might say ‘I stole a very small amount twice, and a large amount three times’.

There aren’t really such distinctions within the sin of presumption.
 
As well, the next time you genuinely forget to confess a sin, you are obligated to confess it next time you go to confession. Not to confess that you forgot to confess it, which isn’t a sin, but to confess the sin itself. You are validly clear to take communion inbetween those times, assuming you don’t happen upon committing any new mortal sin.

2/1/09 let’s say. Forgot to confess sin xyz, but would had if you remembered.

2/22/09 let’s say. Confess sin xyz and anything else that cropped up since the last confession.
 
I am thinking that the definition of presumption needs to be looked at here. It sounds like every time a sin is committed that one also is guilty automatically of presumption. I don’t believe that is a correct assumption. In fact the very fact that one feels the need to confess sins would be the opposing situation. The one who sins by presumption is the one who sins with no fear of condemnation and hellfire. Not?
 
I am thinking that the definition of presumption needs to be looked at here. It sounds like every time a sin is committed that one also is guilty automatically of presumption. I don’t believe that is a correct assumption. In fact the very fact that one feels the need to confess sins would be the opposing situation. The one who sins by presumption is the one who sins with no fear of condemnation and hellfire. Not?
I’m not sure, but I’m thinking that presumption is the assumption that God will forgive you for the sin and you would thereby use that as a motivation for committing a sin.

It looks like I’m pretty much right there:
newadvent.org/cathen/12403a.htm
 
I’m not sure, but I’m thinking that presumption is the assumption that God will forgive you for the sin and you would thereby use that as a motivation for committing a sin.

It looks like I’m pretty much right there:
newadvent.org/cathen/12403a.htm
A classic case of presumption is if you are tempted to sin mortally, then explicitly think ‘what the heck, I can do it and just go to confession tomorrow’. That’s presumption because just like the person who has no fear of condemnation at all, in this case you’re taking God’s forgiveness too much for granted.
 
It sounds like you’re forgetting about God’s love.

He loves you, and He knows what sins you committed against Him. When you went to confession, intending to be reconciled to Him, you did what He wanted. If you forgot one particular instance of sin, or if the priest said he didn’t need specific details, THAT DOES NOT MATTER!!! God knows what you meant to confess, and you’re fine.

As for presumption, that particular sin lies in committing a sin BECAUSE you know God will forgive you if you later ask Him to. Committing a sin WHILE knowing (intellectually) that He will forgive you is not the same thing. It is only when you improperly commit a sin in reliance on being forgiven that you commit the (additional) sin of presumption. This is because forgiveness requires contrition, and – when you are actually guilty of the sin of presumption – you are incapable of feeling contrite (after all, if you did it on purpose, meaning to go through some meaningless ritual later, only to then commit the sin again, you aren’t contrite, are you?).

In other words, I doubt that you are guilty of presumption. In my view, the mere fact that you feel contrition is evidence of a lack of presumption – because people guilty of presumption, by definition, don’t feel contrite. I think the only problem here is scrupulosity – in your case, viewing God too legalistically, worrying that He will seize the opportunity to say “Gotcha! You’re going to Hell!” because you forgot to dot an “i” or cross a “t” when in fact we know from the Bible that the opposite is true: He will seize every opportunity to welcome you into Heaven.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift from Jesus, who is God’s Word. It is not a trap for the unwary, or the careless, or the ignorant. You went; you were absolved. The priest is granted that power by God, and the power is independent of the priest’s personal moral character. If he absolved you, you are absolved. Period. No “But I wasn’t specific enough;” no “Oops! I left one out;” no “Gosh, do you think I could have broken that one sinful incident down into two separate sins instead of confessing it as one sin.”

Jesus didn’t go through the Incarnation, the Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection just to condemn you for obeying your priest’s instruction during a Sacrament. You confessed; you were absolved. God loves you; so do we.
 
ok well i just had a much needed confession yesterday, but i left feeling uneasey about something. I had confessed presumption of God’s mercy but then felt that i should confess the specific sins i was presumptous with. I asked the priest about it and he said i didn’t have to, but he’s not exactly the most orthodox priest so i wasn’t sure if I should listen to him. I told him the sins i remembered being presumptous with but as he was saying the words of absolution i felt that i had forgotton some of these presumptous sins and that if i just thought for a bit i could remember them.Well i didn’t and i just left cause i figured i was worrying too much, but now i’m worrying too much:shrug:

i hope i’m just being scrupulous here…
Your focus may have been incorrect. Were you there to have your sins forgiven or not? Thinking about ‘other’ sins committed during absolution focuses one away from the awesome grace that we receive from the sacrament of reconciliation. This is also a subtle satanic ploy that needs to be watched next time. Your sins are forgiven. Rejoice in the Lord!
 
It sounds like you’re forgetting about God’s love.

He loves you, and He knows what sins you committed against Him. When you went to confession, intending to be reconciled to Him, you did what He wanted. If you forgot one particular instance of sin, or if the priest said he didn’t need specific details, THAT DOES NOT MATTER!!! God knows what you meant to confess, and you’re fine.

As for presumption, that particular sin lies in committing a sin BECAUSE you know God will forgive you if you later ask Him to. Committing a sin WHILE knowing (intellectually) that He will forgive you is not the same thing. It is only when you improperly commit a sin in reliance on being forgiven that you commit the (additional) sin of presumption. This is because forgiveness requires contrition, and – when you are actually guilty of the sin of presumption – you are incapable of feeling contrite (after all, if you did it on purpose, meaning to go through some meaningless ritual later, only to then commit the sin again, you aren’t contrite, are you?).

In other words, I doubt that you are guilty of presumption. In my view, the mere fact that you feel contrition is evidence of a lack of presumption – because people guilty of presumption, by definition, don’t feel contrite. I think the only problem here is scrupulosity – in your case, viewing God too legalistically, worrying that He will seize the opportunity to say “Gotcha! You’re going to Hell!” because you forgot to dot an “i” or cross a “t” when in fact we know from the Bible that the opposite is true: He will seize every opportunity to welcome you into Heaven.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift from Jesus, who is God’s Word. It is not a trap for the unwary, or the careless, or the ignorant. You went; you were absolved. The priest is granted that power by God, and the power is independent of the priest’s personal moral character. If he absolved you, you are absolved. Period. No “But I wasn’t specific enough;” no “Oops! I left one out;” no “Gosh, do you think I could have broken that one sinful incident down into two separate sins instead of confessing it as one sin.”

Jesus didn’t go through the Incarnation, the Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection just to condemn you for obeying your priest’s instruction during a Sacrament. You confessed; you were absolved. God loves you; so do we.
Careful there, I don’t think talking about “feeling contrition” is entirely the way to go. I have heard this from people better versed than myself, but I have no idea where on the internet I got that. I believe the basic premise is that you can have contrition without feeling it. Any more of an explanation that there was to that I cannot say, but it does sound a bit incomplete.
 
ok well i just had a much needed confession yesterday, but i left feeling uneasey about something. I had confessed presumption of God’s mercy but then felt that i should confess the specific sins i was presumptous with. I asked the priest about it and he said i didn’t have to, but he’s not exactly the most orthodox priest so i wasn’t sure if I should listen to him. I told him the sins i remembered being presumptous with but as he was saying the words of absolution i felt that i had forgotton some of these presumptous sins and that if i just thought for a bit i could remember them.Well i didn’t and i just left cause i figured i was worrying too much, but now i’m worrying too much:shrug:

i hope i’m just being scrupulous here…
It sounds to me like you did your best. Don’t worry and trust in God’s mercy.
 
Listen to the priest’s advice. Repeat the sins next time, but mention they are a repeat. It’s not your place to second guess him; remember humility. You are not faulted for anything he says, and the Sacraments he administers are in no way diminished in effect by his state or errors. Jesus is listening and it is he who will absolve you.

So relax and bask in the light that is the friendship of God.👍 You come out as clean has a new born babe after baptism, and that my friend is the beauty of Christ’s “full” gift to His Church, [unavailable in other religions, but available nonetheless to anyone baptized Christian if they desire to come with sincerity to confess to a Catholic priest].

Andy
 
It sounds like you’re forgetting about God’s love.

He loves you, and He knows what sins you committed against Him. When you went to confession, intending to be reconciled to Him, you did what He wanted. If you forgot one particular instance of sin, or if the priest said he didn’t need specific details, THAT DOES NOT MATTER!!! God knows what you meant to confess, and you’re fine.

As for presumption, that particular sin lies in committing a sin BECAUSE you know God will forgive you if you later ask Him to. Committing a sin WHILE knowing (intellectually) that He will forgive you is not the same thing. It is only when you improperly commit a sin in reliance on being forgiven that you commit the (additional) sin of presumption. This is because forgiveness requires contrition, and – when you are actually guilty of the sin of presumption – you are incapable of feeling contrite (after all, if you did it on purpose, meaning to go through some meaningless ritual later, only to then commit the sin again, you aren’t contrite, are you?).

In other words, I doubt that you are guilty of presumption. In my view, the mere fact that you feel contrition is evidence of a lack of presumption – because people guilty of presumption, by definition, don’t feel contrite. I think the only problem here is scrupulosity – in your case, viewing God too legalistically, worrying that He will seize the opportunity to say “Gotcha! You’re going to Hell!” because you forgot to dot an “i” or cross a “t” when in fact we know from the Bible that the opposite is true: He will seize every opportunity to welcome you into Heaven.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift from Jesus, who is God’s Word. It is not a trap for the unwary, or the careless, or the ignorant. You went; you were absolved. The priest is granted that power by God, and the power is independent of the priest’s personal moral character. If he absolved you, you are absolved. Period. No “But I wasn’t specific enough;” no “Oops! I left one out;” no “Gosh, do you think I could have broken that one sinful incident down into two separate sins instead of confessing it as one sin.”

Jesus didn’t go through the Incarnation, the Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection just to condemn you for obeying your priest’s instruction during a Sacrament. You confessed; you were absolved. God loves you; so do we.
During my first confession, I confessed some things that I knew I had done, and they weren’t too specific at all but they covered the subject…the priest didn’t ask me to be more specific…I recieved absolution and performed my penance…I felt great and now after reading on message boards and such, I feel like I should I have been alot more specific…What advice do you give?
 
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