Was my confession invalid

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terri95

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I went to confession this weekend.
There was a particular sin I committed that I didn’t confess out of nervousness. I didn’t really commit the sin intentionally, so I didn’t think it was mortal, but I wanted to confess it “just in case” and to get it off my conscience. And now I it bothers me for not confessing it, and now I’m kind of worried that I was downplaying my sin in my head by convincing myself that it wasn’t a mortal sin or something.
After confession, I didn’t get that “lightweight feeling” because not only was I worried I messed up my confession, but I was a complete nervous wreck during my confession-I have an anxiety disorder- paused a lot and forgot to mention a lot of things- it was so bad the priest asked me if I had ever gone to confession before.
However, for the past few days I haven’t been getting upset as easily, I’ve been praying more often and I feel like God is really helping me be aware of and avoid sins. I feel at peace yet at the same time, in my mind, I worry about this. I know feelings don’t really mean that much, so I don’t really know if any of this actually says anything. 🤷
Does anyone have an answer. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to confession/ talk to a priest any time soon- please help
 
I think you need to confess your sin and get it off your chest; you will feel much relief. Prayers, Erin
 
terri95 said:
I went to confession this weekend.
There was a particular sin I committed that I didn’t confess out of nervousness. I didn’t really commit the sin intentionally, so I didn’t think it was mortal, but I wanted to confess it “just in case” and to get it off my conscience. And now I it bothers me for not confessing it, and now I’m kind of worried that I was downplaying my sin in my head by convincing myself that it wasn’t a mortal sin or something.
After confession, I didn’t get that “lightweight feeling” because not only was I worried I messed up my confession, but I was a complete nervous wreck during my confession-I have an anxiety disorder- paused a lot and forgot to mention a lot of things- it was so bad the priest asked me if I had ever gone to confession before.
However, for the past few days I haven’t been getting upset as easily, I’ve been praying more often and I feel like God is really helping me be aware of and avoid sins. I feel at peace yet at the same time, in my mind, I worry about this. I know feelings don’t really mean that much, so I don’t really know if any of this actually says anything. 🤷
Does anyone have an answer. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to confession/ talk to a priest any time soon- please help
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All sins are intentional. If, for example, an impure thought pops into your head unwilled, than that is not a sin.
 
I thought I would contribute some advice for the future…

There is nothing wrong with writing down what you want to say in confession or making some kind of notes for yourself to bring in with you. Confession can make people anxious (even those without an anxiety disorder), and writing things down can alleviate the added pressure of trying to remember everything you wanted to say.

If you think it was a venial sin, then what you should do is call it to mind next time you receive Holy Communion. A worthy reception (i.e.one in which the recipient has no conscious mortal sin) actually has the power to forgive venial sins for which a person is repentant.

If you think there is a good chance it is mortal, then you do need to go back to confession (before receiving Holy Communion again). In the meantime, if you don’t think you will be able to get there for a while, it is a good idea to say an act of contrition privately. Even if you can’t receive sacramental absolution right now, God can still hear you. 😉 Good luck!
 
enbell said:
I think you need to confess your sin and get it off your chest; you will feel much relief. Prayers, Erin
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That would be the best thing to do but I am unable to go to confession. so what I want to know now was if leaving out that sin was another sin and whether or not my confession was valid. I just want to know if I made things right with God
Katholish said:
I thought I would contribute some advice for the future…

There is nothing wrong with writing down what you want to say in confession or making some kind of notes for yourself to bring in with you. Confession can make people anxious (even those without an anxiety disorder), and writing things down can alleviate the added pressure of trying to remember everything you wanted to say.
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I wish I could have written things down
Let me explain my situation. I’m in my teens. My parents only raised me catholic because my grandparents insisted. This weekend was because I was part of an event at my friends church that involved confession. My parents agreed to let me go because I had to for a school project. But usually I don’t get the chance to go to mass or confession… maybe once every years at school.
Katholish said:
If you think it was a venial sin, then what you should do is call it to mind next time you receive Holy Communion… If you think there is a good chance it is mortal, then you do need to go back to confession (before receiving Holy Communion again).
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I thought it was venial, but then after thinking longer about it I started wondering why it bothered me so much.

Anyway, here’s the sin I left out, with details changed but the idea is the same.
It has to do with telling a lie in confession. (See, i am not good at confession at all :mad:)
I confessed to something such as ruining something belonging to a sibling in a fight. The priest asked if I apologized to my sister and if I made it up to her. ( I never directly apologized, I just said something like “I didn’t mean to break it; let’s not fight anymore and I’ll take you to the mall” )
I was going to say “yes” but then I thought to myself, that’s probably a lie and I can’t lie during confession because there’s no way I came all the way here to commit another mortal sin so I said “sort of”, which seemed natural to say at the time.
I didn’t give it much thought until my last confession this weekend. when I suddenly remembered my previous confession and started wondering if I might have deceived the priest. I thought to myself, well since I didn’t intend to commit a mortal sin and lie, it wasn’t, but that I’d confess it anyway since I thought it’d be better to confess all my sins
Hoping that was not confusing.
Now that I typed that out I think I didn’t confess it because I was embarassed that my explanation would be long and sound confusing. Which is a really stupid reason 😦

Anyway I just want to make things right with God.
 
If it is preventing you from experiencing peace of mind, you should go back and confess it. You will be in my prayers.
 
In circumstances such as this, as well as missing Mass, you are justified in being disobedient to your parents, as you’re not required to obey your parents if they tell you to sin. You’re a Catholic. You’re obligated to live as one.
 
There seems to be a need to state a couple of simple points to set this person’s mind at ease.
  1. It is the priest’s duty, not yours, to determine whether your confession is valid. He judges whether you have adequately confessed your sins and are contrite. When he is satisfied on both counts he pronounces absolution. When he absolves he does so in the person of Christ (persona Christi) and you are absolved of all sins, including the ones you didn’t confess and the ones you confessed inadequately. There is never any need for you to review your confession after that. It is finished. Go in peace!
The **only **exception is if you **deliberately **omit a mortal sin. Clearly you did not. In the first confession the priest asked you a question, and you gave a brief and honest answer. This answer was accepted by the priest. There is no sin, not even venial, on your part. We are permitted in confession to omit details and, in fact, are encouraged to do so. If we make an honest mistake for the sake of brevity there is no sin - we are not expected to stay in the confessional for hours, or to keep returning, until everything is fully confessed. In the second confession you believed that the first “sin” (which was no sin at all) was not mortal, so you didn’t confess it. That confession was also valid.
  1. It is not a sin to miss Mass if you have a “serious reason” (Catechism #2181) As a child without your own transport in a non-supportive, or hostile, home you appear to have some cause, however it would depend on all the circumstances. This is a separate issue for you to consider. Discuss it with a priest. He can give you dispensation to attend Mass only when you are able.
In summary, I am advising you to trust the absolution you received in that confession, and to “go in peace”, and not think about it again. However, you have received conflicting advise here so will probably remain unsure until you talk to a priest. If that is the case then please talk to a priest when you are able to. Not because you need to, but simply for your own peace of mind.

You are in my prayers. I am so glad to see a teenager trying to live as a faithful Catholic.

~ Edmundus
 
terri95,
Anyway, here’s the sin I left out, with details changed but the idea is the same.
It has to do with telling a lie in confession. (See, i am not good at confession at all )
I confessed to something such as ruining something belonging to a sibling in a fight. The priest asked if I apologized to my sister and if I made it up to her. ( I never directly apologized, I just said something like “I didn’t mean to break it; let’s not fight anymore and I’ll take you to the mall” )
I was going to say “yes” but then I thought to myself, that’s probably a lie and I can’t lie during confession because there’s no way I came all the way here to commit another mortal sin so I said “sort of”, which seemed natural to say at the time.
I didn’t give it much thought until my last confession this weekend. when I suddenly remembered my previous confession and started wondering if I might have deceived the priest. I thought to myself, well since I didn’t intend to commit a mortal sin and lie, it wasn’t, but that I’d confess it anyway since I thought it’d be better to confess all my sins
Hoping that was not confusing.
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There are three things required to make a sin mortal.
  1. It must be grave matter (in other words, the Church most consider the action objectively wrong and mortally sinful).
  2. I must be committed with full knowledge that it is very wrong and sinful.
  3. I must be chosen willingly and without coercion.
From the description you offered of a similar type situation, there is nothing that would suggest a mortal sin. Knowing an deliberately lie to a priest in confession might be grave matter, but nothing you have said leads me to the conclusion that you went into confession intending to deceive the priest. Perhaps in hindsight you are unhappy with the words you chose, but there doesn’t sound like there was an intention to deceive. Secondly, it doesn’t even sound like you thought the action was seriously wrong at the time, and only doubted yourself subsequently.

I see no cause to worry if you commited a mortal sin, it doesn’t even seem to have come close.
 
Thank you all for explaining and for your prayers
  1. It is not a sin to miss Mass if you have a “serious reason” (Catechism #2181) As a child without your own transport in a non-supportive, or hostile, home you appear to have some cause, however it would depend on all the circumstances. This is a separate issue for you to consider. Discuss it with a priest. He can give you dispensation to attend Mass only when you are able.
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thank you for your advice
If I have to chance to talk to a priest then I’ll ask for sure.
 
Edmundus sure explained it well. I hope you find peace with your thoughts - take care 🙂
 
Katholish said:
There is nothing wrong with writing down what you want to say in confession or making some kind of notes for yourself to bring in with you. Confession can make people anxious (even those without an anxiety disorder), and writing things down can alleviate the added pressure of trying to remember everything you wanted to say.

!
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That is a practice I follow .

Writing things down can also help in preparing to receive the sacrament .
 
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