Confession Question

[havok579257]

Ok, what if before going to confession someone convinced themself they were not commiting a sin when they really were so they did not confess the sin. Then after confession they realize they really did commit a sin and they should have confessed it in confession. Does this invalidate the entire confession? Is not confessing sins in confession a mortal sin?

Edited August 17, 2011 by Lil Red

[Jaime]

There is a legalistic answer to your question to be sure. But the deeper question is "how do I approach confession?" If I approach it as if I'm dealing with an IRS audit, I'm going to be defensive and evasive. "Will the priest ask me about this? Do I need to get specific about that? Is my penance going to be greater if I really tell him everything?" . If I approach it as a relationship that I value, that is a different approach all together.

Confession is healing sacrament not a punishing one. Our need for forgiveness is for ourselves, not for God. If we want to be in relationship with Christ we need to talk to him, we need to thank him from time to time, and on occasion we need to say "I'm sorry". Its also a process. Each time we go to confession, hopefully the process becomes more thoughtful and introspective. (Just like any relationship)

So if you had convinced yourself that you hadn't hurt your best friend, then later you realized you had, would you still owe him an apology? Yes. Because you want to repair the relationship.