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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Was my Confession Valid	Cody	Sunday, July 7, 2013
Question: Yesterday I went to confession and there are a couple of things that make me concerned for its validity. First, I rushed the examination of conscience. Since I had been keeping track of my sins, throughout the week, I figured that I only needed brief reflection to recall them. I wasn't planning on using a traditional examination of conscience, but instead was only going to reflect for a while. I became distracted and only did this for a few minutes before leaving to go to my parish. Once there I did have 15 minutes in the confession line to reflect on my sins. Still in the confessional I forgot a couple mortal sins because they were eclipsed, in my mind, by other sins. This may seem like a weird thing to ask, but I have been told that such a situation could invalidate a confession. Is this true? Also, during confession I found my self tongue tied and unable to say a word. As a result, I defined it instead. This didn't make the sin appear less grave. In actuality the term wasn't this sin, but what I did with it and thought about it was. All of that was confessed. Did this invalidate my confession? Thanks.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), CCL, LTh, DD, LNDC Dear Cody: Forgetting some sins does not invalidate your Confession. If you were to deliberately and consciously refuse to confess some grave sin, that would invalidate the Confession. Since you forgot, your Confession is valid. When the priest absolves you all your sins are forgiven, when those you honestly forget. If you remember those sins later, you can bring them to your next Confession, but any honestly forgotten sins are already forgiven. As for the tongue-tied situation, it sounds like you still confessed the sin. Confessing a sin is confessing a sin whether it is by naming the word of the sin (which is what one needs to do normally) or by describing the sin if one gets tongue-tied. From what you are telling me, your Confession was completely valid, but I wasn't there, so the only person who can that definitively is your priest. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Was my Confession Valid

Cody

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Question:

Yesterday I went to confession and there are a couple of things that make me concerned for its validity.

First, I rushed the examination of conscience. Since I had been keeping track of my sins, throughout the week, I figured that I only needed brief reflection to recall them. I wasn't planning on using a traditional examination of conscience, but instead was only going to reflect for a while. I became distracted and only did this for a few minutes before leaving to go to my parish. Once there I did have 15 minutes in the confession line to reflect on my sins. Still in the confessional I forgot a couple mortal sins because they were eclipsed, in my mind, by other sins. This may seem like a weird thing to ask, but I have been told that such a situation could invalidate a confession. Is this true?

Also, during confession I found my self tongue tied and unable to say a word. As a result, I defined it instead. This didn't make the sin appear less grave. In actuality the term wasn't this sin, but what I did with it and thought about it was. All of that was confessed. Did this invalidate my confession?

Thanks.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), CCL, LTh, DD, LNDC

Dear Cody:

Forgetting some sins does not invalidate your Confession. If you were to deliberately and consciously refuse to confess some grave sin, that would invalidate the Confession.

Since you forgot, your Confession is valid. When the priest absolves you all your sins are forgiven, when those you honestly forget. If you remember those sins later, you can bring them to your next Confession, but any honestly forgotten sins are already forgiven.

As for the tongue-tied situation, it sounds like you still confessed the sin. Confessing a sin is confessing a sin whether it is by naming the word of the sin (which is what one needs to do normally) or by describing the sin if one gets tongue-tied.

From what you are telling me, your Confession was completely valid, but I wasn't there, so the only person who can that definitively is your priest.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum