Was my confession valid - Left out a sin

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In general it is a good idea to confess all sins you know of, even if they are merely venial. Naturally it would be good to confess all sins that are grave matter, even if one is unsure if there were mitigating factors, if one is able.

God bless.
 
Arkansan said:
This is not correct. Masturbation is a distinct type of sin from other impure acts (e.g. fornication, incest), and must be specifically identified. He can use a euphemism that is understood to be masturbation, but simply giving the genus of the sin is insufficient.
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Not all of us confess in English 😉

Most priests are not idiots, and in particular a regular confessor will get to know what you mean. Priests will also ask if another party was involved. If not, the meaning becomes pretty clear. Priests are also pretty sensitive to a penitent’s embarrassment, and won’t seek to needlessly make the penitent even more uncomfortable.
 
BlackFriar said:
Correction - you involuntarily “withheld” it due to surprise/shock.
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I’d not say this was involuntary. It was purposeful. Culpability might be reduced by the circumstances. But it was an intentional act.
 
rainy4 said:
Honestly it makes it especially difficult to admit on a face-to-face confession when so many people generalize it as a guy problem
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I get this. Most people might think this way but I doubt the priest does. He has heard it all. He knows women commit this sin as well. There is an element of humiliation in confession. This is uncomfortable, but it breaks down our pride and helps us become humble. That doesn’t mean we like it but it can help to keep that in mind.
 
My pastor stated about a month ago, that masturbation and viewing of porn are the two most confessed sins he’s heard since his ordination about six yeas ago.

It’s true women masturbate, it’s nothing compared to the frequency of males doing it.

Males are stimulated by sight and in our confused culture today, sexual images of females on tv, in magazines and of course the internet, is near impossible to avoid.

As a 66 year old male the only thing I can say to young males is, don’t give into despair when you fail. God understands.

Also, the temptation lessons greatly as you age. It never goes away, but becomes much easier to deal with.

I have no doubt that hormones are the driving force behind the desire.

Until the reason not to give in to the temptation becomes greater than the desire, you’ll continue to fail. But again, don’t give into despair, which is where Satan wants you.

Jim
 
You confess in kind and number.

You may say “I sinned against the 6th Commandment on two occasions”. The priest will ask for more details if he needs them.
 
Is killing in self defence purposeful…and therefore voluntary also? Yet the commandment is Thou shall not kill…

So it seems that an indirect act of “mechanical purpose” and a voluntary act of “direct intention” are not to be assumed as the same thing as you seem to assume here.
Just as the Church teaches.
 
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Killing in self defense can definitely be purposeful. You can form intention in a moment. Whether it is or isn’t in a particular case depends on the details.
 
Yes I have as many of us this problem. Sins of the flesh. Eating too much, is another sin many of us commit. I’ve never had a problem confessing this myself face to face though. I’ve never used the screen.
 
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BlackFriar said:
You have a right to anonymity, you were deprived of that choice.
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Indeed. I am astounded that a confessional “setup” could be such that one makes the discovery that its face to face “too late” so to speak.
 
exnihilo said:
I’d not say this was involuntary. It was purposeful. Culpability might be reduced by the circumstances. But it was an intentional act.
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While I might think your speculation is more likely right than wrong, we can’t know the mind of the person sufficiently to be certain.
 
rainy4 said:
I went to confession today but didn’t realize until I went in that it was face-to-face, and not behind a screen like I’m used to. When I was listing my sins, I couldn’t get myself to admit to the priest that I had committed masturbation, so I left it out. Now I’m really worried that I invalidated my entire confession by doing that, because I don’t know whether it was a mortal or venial sin.
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Since masturbation is objectively grave matter, and I won’t opine on whether you’ve met the two subjective conditions, AND I don’t know whether you’re scrupulous or not, I would say treat it as mortal sin for the purpose of confession, consider your previous confession bad, and repeat all these sins at your next confession, plus the fact that you may have made a bad confession, and explain it as you have done here.

From an objective standpoint, it sounds to me you’ve made a bad/invalid confession. If I were in your shoes, I would treat it as such.

And next time, while a screen is good, don’t make a big deal about face to face.
 
I am here on this forum because during a confession my priest asked me if I knew what scrupulosity was. I said yes because, well, I thought I did. But something told me to look into it and that led me here. What I see is that scrupulosity goes far deeper than what happened to me that day in confession. I see the word “legally” and “Canon Law” and I am frankly astonished. We are talking about sins, not statutes. This is a simple matter; go back to confession. Go to a priest you don’t know if you can’t face that original one, but go. Confess, TO HIS FACE your masturbation which most definitely is a grave sin … AND tell him what happened in the prior confession. Let him tell you what to do. Accept his advice, accept his absolution and accept your penance. Our Priests are empowered by Jesus to forgive our sins in His name. I have never once seen Canon Law and never intend to; that’s a Priest’s domain or an academic’s. But I know the Ten Commandments and I know about Matthew 22:37-40. Anything else I will ask a Priest. You should do the same.
 
Anton said:
Go to a priest you don’t know if you can’t face that original one, but go. Confess, TO HIS FACE your masturbation which most definitely is a grave sin
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Please.
I think you mean its “grave matter”.
And no, there is no requirement that one confess face to face…though it is beneficial for the scupulous that a priest knows your history.
 
Perhaps my semantics are a bit lacking but you know exactly what I meant. As far as “grave matter - grave sin” goes, I once read it described as a “grave sin” in a Catholic publication, I guess it stuck in my mind. Of course one is not required to confess to the Priest’s face but this was the original problem, the inability to face the Priest, that’s why I wrote that, just giving advice from my own personal experience. Problems like this must be faced head on, as it were, before we can put them behind us and move on. That’s all I meant; I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear on that. In any event it was considered to be a sin when it was left out of the last confession, or so it seems to me. My advice stands: go to confession and relate the last confession to the priest and be guided by him, not by advice from a forum.
 
Anton said:
…and be guided by him, not by advice from a forum.
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Indeed, yet you yourself gave some rather categorical advice anyways that:
  1. The op must go face to face (capitalised)
  2. There was grave sin involved (ie personal mortal sin).
Hence my concern…you dont seem to be aware of what you wrote as opposed to what you meant. We can only go by the former, especially a young op seeking advice.
 
What you say is true, I did give that advice. I thought it was good advice, something I would say to someone I cared about. I really believe this is best put in the hands of a Priest and not a lay person. Perhaps that is all I should have said. If I offended or confused anyone, I apologize.
 
For the penitent: Catechism
1450 “Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction.” 49
49 Roman Catechism II,V,21; cf. Council of Trent (1551): DS 1673.
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