Counting How Many For Confession?

[KarenJoanna]

So I have been counting books that I read that made me sin in thought but they did not have so much detail in impure things , they were young adult. I have been counting them, but then I get the urge to count them again and again and categorize which ones were not too dirty or the ones I bought and how many i am unsure of whether they made me sin and so on. If I decide to stop counting them and just go to confession and guess the number of books or say a read a few books about 36 that made me sin in thought that were for young adults(fiction) is this enough and would my confession be valid? I feel like a slave to this and I just want to go to confession and forget about getting it "perfect" and counting exact numbers etc... And I am not sure if all of them were dirty or some of them it was my mind. These books were not porn books, they were just teenager fiction books but like anything on tv, they still have some bad things but not in detail

[Cherie]

It sounds to me like you may be struggling with scrupulosity.

In regard to mortal sins, we are supposed to confess both in kind (what the sin was) and number (how many times) with true honesty and to the best of our ability. If you can't remember the exact number, give your best estimate, and tell the priest, "I don't know the exact number, but I think it was ____ times."

Your description makes it sound as though this may not have even been grave matter, though (porn would be; but young adult fiction? Some of it may be very graphic and could be considered grave, but it seems to me that most of that could be considered venial, or an occasion of sin, if anything.) Even in the confessional, if you are unsure, simply ask: "Father, I'm not sure if this is a mortal sin or not, and I'm not sure of the exact number." He is there to help you.

I sincerely ask you to seek the counsel of a good priest and spiritual director. Be open and honest with your struggles regarding this, and listen to his advice. You have my prayers.