Weak confession

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DavidCro

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In Aprli of this year, I confessed my sins. The last time I did so was many, many years ago. I was born and raised a Catholic, and somewhere in my teenage years I lost my faith. First I was an atheist, and even hated God, then I became indifferent. And in April of this year I confessed my sins! Between the time I lost my faith in God and my confession, I have sinned greatly. During my confession I even cried… It was just before Easter. God called me out of nowhere, I just felt the necessity to confess my sins. But I was astonished when priest told me to say Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be as my repentance. For all my awful sins, only five minutes of prayer?! The priest told me that it would be nice if I COULD pray Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be every day. I did so, and I do it now. I became a better man - no doubt about it. But nevertheless, when I remember some things I done before I become ashamed. I did things for which I would give a World to change… I hate myself from the past. What can I do to know my sins were forgiven, because I feel they aren’t, because I feel so much ashamed of what I did. Is it fine to pray God to give me the punishment equal to my sins?
 
Satan is playing with your mind. You are forgiven through the Sacrament of Reconciliation by the words of absolution by the priest in the stead of Christ.

Go in peace.
 
What you have are scruples. The devil is putting this on you. St. Ignatius went through the same thing. Just know that you are forgiven and in God’s grace. It would be acceptable to do some sort of penance, like fasting.

Also, if you go to confession and receive communion the Sunday after Easter, all punishment for your sins are remitted.
 
Often, people feel that their penances are lacking.

A penance doesn’t remove all our eternal punishment, no worries, you’ll pay due in pergatory. A penance simply allows us to show our sorrow to God. It sounds like your penance was wonderfully creative and very good for your soul. Be at peace. If this continues to bother you, you may want to consider speaking to a priest to get spiritual advice, or even to a Catholic therapist who can help you come to grips with the reality of being forgiven.
 
The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as a gentle rain from Heaven.

If St. Augustine (tons of sexual stuff), St. Paul (actually killing Christians), and St. Peter (publicly denying God) can be forgiven, so can you.
 
misstherese said:
Also, if you go to confession and receive communion the Sunday after Easter, all punishment for your sins are remitted.
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Here are the requirements to receive the plenary indulgence on the Divine Mercy Sunday which is the Sunday after Easter:

Three conditions for the plenary indulgence

And so the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the Audience granted on 13 June 2002, to those Responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences:
a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!");
A partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation.

For those who cannot go to church or the seriously ill

In addition, sailors working on the vast expanse of the sea; the countless brothers and sisters, whom the disasters of war, political events, local violence and other such causes have been driven out of their homeland; the sick and those who nurse them, and all who for a just cause cannot leave their homes or who carry out an activity for the community which cannot be postponed, may obtain a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin, as has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you).
If it is impossible that people do even this, on the same day they may obtain the Plenary Indulgence if with a spiritual intention they are united with those carrying out the prescribed practice for obtaining the Indulgence in the usual way and offer to the Merciful Lord a prayer and the sufferings of their illness and the difficulties of their lives, with the resolution to accomplish as soon as possible the three conditions prescribed to obtain the plenary indulgence.
(The Decree of Indulgence 29 June 2002) https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/decree.htm
 
The priest gave you absolution. So, your sins are forgiven if you are truly repentant. It sounds like you are truly repentant because of the pain you feel.

The pains you feel about your past sins are a good sign. It’s part of the consequence of sin. If you feel the pain here on earth, then you are less likely to feel the pain from that particular sin in purgatory. So don’t sweat it.
 
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🙃 I didn’t understand that at all. lol. could you explain it a little more simply?
 
misstherese said:
Also, if you go to confession and receive communion the Sunday after Easter, all punishment for your sins are remitted.
Click to expand...
As another chatter says, in order to gain that Plenary indulgence, as it is Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus has a few requests of us.

But yes, Jesus will forgive the punishment for all our past sins if we do the work asked.
 
Your sins are not forgiven because of the penance you do, you cannot “buy” your forgiveness, Jesus paid the price on the Cross on Calvary.

The only acts needed for you to receive the Lords forgiveness are contrition for your sins, confession of your sins, and absolution for your sins.

Penance, or satisfaction, is a way of showing good will to God acknowledging your sins are forgiven and you will work to restore your relationship with God. It is a way of reducing some of the temporal punishment due to your sins, but the guilt of those sins has been paid in full by Christ and the Sacrament.

In fact, the penance a priest gives after Confession is not even a necessary part of the Sacrament. You could not do the penance at all, or do a different penance and still be forgiven. It is a suggestion, not a mandatory part of the Sacrament.
 
Sure
For a plenary indulgence you need to:
  1. Go to confession
  2. Take Communion
  3. Say prayers for the pope
  4. Say the prayers and devotions in honor of the Divine Mercy
  5. Have a total detachment to even venial sin
Hope that helps
 
1, 2, 3, and 5 are always the prerequisites for any plenary indulgence whatsoever.

If any of those things is not met, a partial indulgence is granted.

The hardest one by far is detachment from all venial sin.

Theres a hagiographical story of a holy Priest and Saint, and he had a huge Congregation and he told them about a plenary indulgence.

Later that night an angel told the Saint that only two people out of the hundreds there would receieve a full plenary indulgence and not just a partial - himself, and an old holy woman that was there.
 
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I agree that detachment from sin is the hardest part.

I heard the same story about only the priest and one old woman would get the plenary indulgence. Cure d’Ars perhaps?
 
Possibly, not sure.

Sounds like a Cure d’Ars story but I’m not sure.
 
Found it.

It’s from the Vitae of St. Philip Neri

There is an account of St. Philip Neri, who died in 1595, preaching a jubilee indulgence in a crowed church. A revelation was given to him that only two people in the church were actually getting it, an old char-woman and the saint himself.
 
Actually that is separate from what Jesus said to Saint Faustina.

Our Lord Jesus said, “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet…Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”

That is all that is needed to be completely remitted of the punishment of sins on that day.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and, during the ceremony, he declared:
  1. It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday”. A plenary indulgence was formally attached to the day, several decades after the message.
It is, however, perfectly acceptable to go for a plenary indulgence.
 
For the Indulgence granted by Jesus we are also to venerate the image of Divine Mercy in public and do an act of mercy.

For the Plenary indulgence, which is granted by holy Father the Pope, we must meet the normal requirements for a Plenary indulgence
 
Thanks everyone! I have another question I’ll ask in a different thread 🙂
 
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