Writing down sins for confession

[stove]

In the Ask An Apologist Forum, Michelle Arnold wrote that you can give a written list of sins to your priest to read for confession ( forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=21586 ):

You certainly can bring a list if you wish …] you could also simply hand the list to your confessor to read rather than reciting the entire list. If he has questions about the sins listed, he’ll ask.

But the CCC states you must confess with the lips:

CCC 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.”

Who is right?

 

[rtconstant]

I would assume both. To confess with the lips I would think is speaking more to a spirit of being willing to make known your sins and to give full confession. After all not everyone is even physically able to confess with their lips so I don’t think it was meant in overly litteral sense.

To be honest I’ve thought about doing this simply because I inveritably forget something every time I go to confession and as I’m admittedly over-scrupulous this drives me batty. Also I sometimes get overly wordy when I speak so wrighting things down win there is only half and hour for the whole parish each week might be a time saver.

This is just my opinion though.

 

[JimG]

You couldn’t hand such a list to the priest in my parish, at least not in the confessional. Because there is no physical way to hand something through the grille to the priest.

 

[jam070406]

I’ve written down my sins as to not blank out once I got in the confessional. The priest I went to, an old, very orthodox priest, had no problem with it. I explained that I wrote them down to be thorough and not forget anything when I confessed to him. He was fine with it and said, “we’re all human.”
I know of others that have also done this. I don’t think it’s a problem.
That is, if you read the list and not just hand it to him.

 

[savedsinner]

The only bad thing I could think of by using a list of your sins is that if you forget it in the confessional once you leave, and then the person right behind you finds it and reads it. It could prove embarrassing. :blushing:

 

[LilyM]

The only bad thing I could think of by using a list of your sins is that if you forget it in the confessional once you leave, and then the person right behind you finds it and reads it. It could prove embarrassing. :blushing:

I tend to use a code only understandable to myself - a letter or two standing for each sin rather than the whole word. That way it doesn’t matter if it’s found. Besides which, the person after you won’t necessarily assume it’s yours, could be anyone’s!

 

[stove]

I agree that making a list is fine. My question had to do with giving the list for the priest to read instead of speaking the sins aloud.

 

[awalt]

I was always taught you have to CONFESS your sins. It’s possible that handing them to a Priest is ok if for example you can’t speak due to illness or disability…

 

[FightingFat]

I always make a list, I have an examination of conscience I use and write down where I feel I am at fault. I feel it helps me to have a note in front of me in order to make a better confession.

 

[CarrieH]

I always make a list, unless I have only one or two sins to confess. I don’t hand it to the priest, though – I tell him verbally what my sins are. I use a lot of my own abbreviations, so if anyone found it, they would have to make a conscious effort to figure out what my sins were, and that would be their own sin! When I get home, I take my list outside and burn it, giving thanks that my sins have been “burned away” from my soul because I confessed them.

 

[JimG]

My mother once told a story from her own childhood. In Catholic elementary school, apparently she and other kids used to do just that–write down a list of their sins for confession. Standing in line once for the confessional, she realized she had forgotten her list. Not to worry. She just borrowed the list of one of the girls in line behind her.

 

[robert_ambrose]

in the 1900s a woman took a list of sins to confession, she read them out to the priest,she was so nervous that when she got outside,she checked her list to see if she missed any sin, to her surprise the paper was clean of any writing. the priest was padre pio’ i was told that story at primary school in the 1940s.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

You couldn’t hand such a list to the priest in my parish, at least not in the confessional. Because there is no physical way to hand something through the grille to the priest.

If the grille is mesh, a person could hand it out without opening the door all the way, or slide it under the priest’s door.

It is assumed that, once the priest has the list, he’ll be asking questions to better help the penitent. So, the person will be confessing the actual sins, even if it’s only to “yes” or “no” verify the list.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I was on a mens retreat once, where there were over 90 of us. There were three priest. Two of the priest stood up in front of the altar, where there was a large bowl of incense burning. The other priest was in the confessional.

Those of us who would be going to the priest at the altar, would write down their sins on a slip of paper. We would go to the priest and he would read our sins. Then, he would then place the slip of paper into the burning bowl of incense, then give us some counseling, give us our penance and absolution. As I watched the slip of paper ignite into flame, I felt my sins being purged from my soul. I thought it was a great way of making a confession.

Jim

 

[LilyM]

I was on a mens retreat once, where there were over 90 of us. There were three priest. Two of the priest stood up in front of the altar, where there was a large bowl of incense burning. The other priest was in the confessional.

Those of us who would be going to the priest at the altar, would write down their sins on a slip of paper. We would go to the priest and he would read our sins. Then, he would then place the slip of paper into the burning bowl of incense, then give us some counseling, give us our penance and absolution. As I watched the slip of paper ignite into flame, I felt my sins being purged from my soul. I thought it was a great way of making a confession.

Jim

There’s certainly something to be said for the therapeutic value both of writing down your sins before confession and of symbolically destroying the list afterwards - even if it’s only by tearing it into little fragments as I tend to do.

Of course there are times I feel like just putting it away because I get a sneaking suspicion I’ll just be bringing it out again next Confession …

 

[benedictgal]

I was on a mens retreat once, where there were over 90 of us. There were three priest. Two of the priest stood up in front of the altar, where there was a large bowl of incense burning. The other priest was in the confessional.

Those of us who would be going to the priest at the altar, would write down their sins on a slip of paper. We would go to the priest and he would read our sins. Then, he would then place the slip of paper into the burning bowl of incense, then give us some counseling, give us our penance and absolution. As I watched the slip of paper ignite into flame, I felt my sins being purged from my soul. I thought it was a great way of making a confession.

Jim

Unfortunately, Pope John Paul II condemened this kind of “penitential service” when he met with the Austrialian Bishops Conference. He said that this was not the way the sacrement of Penance was to be administered. He maintained that you needed individual, sacramental confession. He said that the type of service that the Australians were using (which sounded quite like what you wrote about) was invalid and ilicit.

Furthermore, he instructed the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to reiterate the proper form of administering the sacrament of Penance.

The Catholic Liturgical Library has the documents in its website.

Incidentally, the former pastor of one of our local mission parishes decided to employ the same service that you described. I pointed out to our Cursillo leader that this type of practice was reprobated by Pope John Paul II. He said that the priest had levity on how to administer. Someone called the Bishop’s office and the Bishop responded in the negative and the service was cancelled. Needless to say, I was not treated well by the group. I do feel somewhat alienated from the group. I am no saint, by any means. However, the integrrity of the sacrament must be protected.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Unfortunately, Pope John Paul II condemened this kind of “penitential service” when he met with the Austrialian Bishops Conference. He said that this was not the way the sacrement of Penance was to be administered. He maintained that you needed individual, sacramental confession. .

I think what the Pope was refering to, if memory serves me correct, is that there were priest who were having people write their sins down on slips of paper, then they would proceed to the altar and they themselves would place the slips of paper into the fire, without a priest ever reading them. Once done, the priest would give the entire congregation absolution. There was no individual confession.

This is not what was done on the retreat I was on. The priest read, each person’s confession. He gave counseling and penance, and individual absolution. The only difference is that the person wrote his sins down instead of speaking them. It would be no different than the way a deaf person confesses.

Jim

 

[LilyM]

Unfortunately, Pope John Paul II condemened this kind of “penitential service” when he met with the Austrialian Bishops Conference. He said that this was not the way the sacrement of Penance was to be administered. He maintained that you needed individual, sacramental confession. He said that the type of service that the Australians were using (which sounded quite like what you wrote about) was invalid and ilicit.

‘the Australians’? You make it sound like this type of penitential service (which I’ve never seen done, by the way, in all my 34 years, though I’ve seen rubrical second rites of confession - consisting of communal liturgies followed by regular individual confession) is all we ever do over here!

 

[m134e5]

Who is right?

You need to name your sins out loud in confession, unless there is a legitimate reason you can’t (you can’t speak, or the priest can’t hear- or is hard of hearing and you would be overheard if you spoke any louder).

A lot of people think that taking a list into confession is a good idea- that it keeps you from forgetting sins and therefore helps you make a more complete confession. That is fine, if your reason for doing so is to say as much as you can to give the priest a chance to offer the best advice he can give- but you must understand that your confessions are not invalidated if you honestly forget to name a mortal sin in confession. If you struggle with scrupulosity, it would be **spiritually damaging **to take a list with you- you need to learn to trust that the Holy Spirit will let you know what you need to confess. If you forget things, maybe you should spend more time preparing for confession.

 

[benedictgal]

I think what the Pope was refering to, if memory serves me correct, is that there were priest who were having people write their sins down on slips of paper, then they would proceed to the altar and they themselves would place the slips of paper into the fire, without a priest ever reading them. Once done, the priest would give the entire congregation absolution. There was no individual confession.

This is not what was done on the retreat I was on. The priest read, each person’s confession. He gave counseling and penance, and individual absolution. The only difference is that the person wrote his sins down instead of speaking them. It would be no different than the way a deaf person confesses.

Jim

You do need to verbalize your sins in confession. The only exception to this rule is for the hearing impaired. These incidents are what happens when someone begins to get “creative” with the sacraments. We are not called to be creative when it comes to the sacraments. We are called to receive and believe.