Methinks there is a story there......

Well that is a whole lot better than the middle lane of a freeway, which was the only thing I could come up with.....

True but when one starts questioning whether one has confessed one's sins "perfectly" then one could possibly become scrupulous. My daughter, who is going to be 10 in just a couple of weeks, is something of a perfectionist (she plays the violin and if she makes a mistake she will start the song all over again), and Fr. has already warned her about scruples.

I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I did not learn about the Sacrament of Reconciliation during RCIA, so I had to learn about confession on my own. By following the advice and guidelines from this thread, I was able to confess properly today. The Father said I made a "real good confession" so I'll pass that compliment on to you guys since I pretty much just used your formula.

It was a great experience too. I always thought of confession as an obligatory act; something that I just had to do because it was required. But I left that confessional feeling very blessed and rejuvenated. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm kind of looking forward to my next confession. The absolution was just...awesome.

Anyways, thanks again everyone.

Damooster, Confession is amazing! I am so happy for you! Frequent Confession has been extremely helpful for me both for the graces received and in forming my conscience.

May non-Catholics (or wannabe Catholics as the case may be) recieve Reconciliation? I plan on starting RCIA in the fall, but would it be acceptable for me to go to confession before I am officially a part of the church?

Normally not. If you are in an immediate danger of dying you can confess. Normally you confess close to your entrance into the Church.

Ah, well I guess I'll just have to wait. Thanks for the info, and God bless!

My First confession is on the 26th of this month, 36 years worth to go through.
I was baptised Church of England as a baby, joined and baptised LDS (mormon) when I was 21 and thought at the time a lot of things had been sorted out and wiped clean.
Then I found out about the Catholic Church and it was only the other day thinking about having to make my first confession that I realised no wonder some things from my past keep haunting my thoughts.

I have never been forgiven for the sins I commited, they never were wiped clean, anything I did confess to my past church leaders meant nothing, I have still been carying them around.

I thought I was worrying about going, the more I think about it the more I cant wait ! I am so looking forward to finally being able to be reconciled with the Lord.

It will be an awesome day!!!

Lisa

That sounds an awful lot like the priest insinuating you did something you didn't (causing you to confess something you didn't do), not to mention it can be inappropriate. Is the above scenario common, or is it only listed for an example? The above scenario seems to fit into all the classic anti-Catholic stereotypes about priests: *you* not the priest, should have control of what you're confessing - that's why (at least how I understand it) the priest can then decide whether or not to grant absolution. Isn't the priest deciding whether or not to absolve you of your sins part of the sacrament? I have only been to confession once since returning to the church, but I don't recall the priest ever being nosy, for lack of a better word.

Edited to add: I have to take anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. A major side effect of these types of medication is diminished libido. Diminished libido means there are some sins I probably won't be doing anytime soon - some sins I don't *want* to do. Just wanted to clarify that for any priests on the message board - if you get a male confessor who isn't confessing something, there's often a valid reason for the omission.

I have never gone through a dialogue like that with someone. Sometimes I do have to ask questions--for example, if someone was not sufficiently clear on what they did ("I did something bad" is not specific enough)--and sometimes people just need help examining their conscience if they're out of the habit. But I was never taught to do anything like that, and I've never had it done, and I've never heard of anyone who actually did it.

I've had a priest probe a little on occasion, when he thought it in my best interest to do so (wasn't quite like the dialog laid out here).

For example, if I go to a priest who knows me well for confession, and he hears me confess something that he finds very surprising, he may well ask me for some details about that, he may look for what might have led me to the temptation to commit that sin in the first place. This not only helps the confessing Catholic to make a good confession, but also helps the priest in determining the most appropriate penance.

I never assume that a penitent is guilty of any given sin, and I would think that very few priests do (and will be so bold as to say that none should).

I read online somewhere one priest saying that he automatically assumed that young penitents were guilty of sins against purity, no matter what was confessed.

It's too bad.

In my RCIA class we're given a lengthy list of things to accomplish before we're confirmed. There are no dates on any of them, some of them can be done right away (reciting the Hail Mary, Our Father, etc) but some of them obviously take a bit longer to get to (taking communion). I'm curious if I am allowed to do my first confession now since we don't have a date given....and to let you know, we're heading into the second part of our RCIA class.

Thanks in advance!
Nancy

It's usually done shortly before your confirmation.