Venial sins in 1st confession?

[cathemeri]

Hi, everyone. I am planning on going to my first confession when churches reopen and I have a doubt: do I need to confess all my sins, mortal and venial? Or only mortal sins?

I have many years of sins to confess and I’m not going to remember every single one I’ve did (except the mortal ones). I know it is reccomended to confess venial sins too, but considering my situation, where I have an entire lifetime of them, do I need to confess them?

I also have another question: I was baptized as a baby but only now I’m discovering my faith. Do I need to go through RCIA and have my First Communion before my first Confession?

Thanks!

 

[Elf01]

I also have another question: I was baptized as a baby but only now I’m discovering my faith. Do I need to go through RCIA and have my First Communion before my first Confession?

I assume you were baptized Catholic, but want to check.

I am planning on going to my first confession when churches reopen and I have a doubt: do I need to confess all my sins, mortal and venial? Or only mortal sins?

You don’t need to confess venial sins. It may be a good idea to, but seeing as it’s a first Confession, and if there is a queue, just getting what you have to say said is great.

 

[cathemeri]

I assume you were baptized Catholic, but want to check.

Yes, I was baptized Catholic.

You don’t need to confess venial sins. It may be a good idea to, but seeing as it’s a first Confession, and if there is a queue, just getting what you have to say said is great.

And do you think I should try to confess at least the venial sins that are more serious?

 

[Elf01]

And do you think I should try to confess at least the venial sins that are more serious?

Ideally, yes, but if you’re uncomfortable or feel it will take time and there is a queue, you don’t have to to make a good Confession, and making a good Confession is the priority.

I also have another question: I was baptized as a baby but only now I’m discovering my faith. Do I need to go through RCIA and have my First Communion before my first Confession?

You should be in the state of grace to receive any sacrament, with the exception of Baptism or Confession.

While technically you don’t need to go through RCIA, the priest may require you to. You’re going to have to ask and see what the process is in your parish.

 

[cathemeri]

Ok. Thanks!

 

[Joe_5859]

You are only obligated to confess mortal sins, so it is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to confess venial sins. For your 1st Confession, I would generally recommend sticking to the big stuff. If there are a few venial sins that you habitually struggle with, you can certainly mention those, but don’t feel you have to recount an exhaustive list of everything from your whole life.

I think this will be different for different people, though. I tend to be a “bullet point” kind of person when it comes to Confession, so I can cover a lot of ground quickly. Others are more narrative in their approach and that would take longer.

And as Elf said, you need to be in the state of grace to receive the Eucharist (and the other sacraments except for Baptism and Confession that put you in that state of grace). So you definitely want to go to Confession first.

If you have not spoken with your priest about this yet, though, I would encourage you to do so. The pastor is ultimately the dispenser of the sacraments, so you don’t want to just decide for yourself to start going to Confession and Communion without looping him in. He will help you prepare to receive the sacraments, including both Confession and the Eucharist.

RCIA is generally the process that people go through, but you should start by speaking with your priest (or with someone he has designated for that purpose). I am the RCIA coordinator at my parish, so I speak with people all the time about these things. Even now, I just started meeting with a guy via Zoom every other week while we are all working from home to help him along the way towards being received into the Church. So there are things that can be happening even now to help you on your journey.

God bless!

 

[Amac1]

Great question - I am also interested in the answers.