Do We Have to Confess Past Sins That We Suddenly Remember? - Ask a Marian 

It’s been since I was in 8th grade maybe since my last confession and I am 28 now. It’s been awhile. I’m going tomorrow. 🙏🏻

I've just started the habit of writing down sins, when you write them down you see them and reflect on them more I believe plus you not under pressure when in confession

Would add one additional step is to say a prayer or prayers for the Priestr who will be hearing your confession.

When I remember a pass sin I confess it.I believe my soul reminds me of it for a reason Praying for ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 🙏 ❤

I was just asking God about inadvertently leaving out a sin during confession, and He sent me your beautiful video. Thank you so much!!! 🙏🙏🙏

Father, I prayed for this exact guidance last night, as it has been about 38 yrs since my last confession, and I'd like to return to our church and receive the Eucharist. I'd also like to be confirmed. So, as I was opening up RU-vid just now, I asked our Father to put some guidance in front of me, (because thinking about how to confess after so long feels overwhelming)! I've confessed privately to our Father, but not with a priest present. So just now as I opened RU-vid and prayed for guidance... there was your video in my video feed. Doesn't surprise me. Thank you so much for this! Sincerely, Deb Byrne

The sacrament of Reconciliation is a healing balm to the soul. Let us all take advantage of this sacrament.

I never feel forgiven.. Most times. I dnt knw hw to receive this love, I have a damaged concept of a loving father as mine abused the family during my formative years. I am truly sorry father for a lifetime of sin. Ty, for this. Please pray 4 us.

Thank you father that answer one of question as I am coming back to church

Confess anything you randomly remember. It's kind of like cleaning the gutters out on your house. You might have so much...gunk in your gutter...that your first attempt to clean it out might not be work. You might have to confess over and over again to get all the gunk out that water may flow swiftly through the gutter.

I always say after confessing what I remember, "for these and all my sins of thought, word and deed father, I am sorry".

Confess all sins, ever one of them. Thanks be to GOD.💖

Confess every sin. Don't hold back. If you remember an old sin after you leave, confess it the next time you go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

This has happened to me a few times and felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to take them to confession. I felt so at peace after each confession and have grown in my faith.

Thank you father please pray for Ireland.

A very good practice is to do it in a confessional. First, the faithful have the right to confess in an anonymous way, and second, it prevents the occasion for intimacy, thus protecting both the priest and the faithful.

I had been away from church over 30 years. I started going to confession. I later did a general confession which is recommended. I sat and examined my conscious & wrote down all my sins & how many times they happened. I made an appointment with a priest. I had close to 3 pages. I found that they don't give penance like they used to. I said that's it. They now give one Our Father & 1 Hail Mary . I felt this wasn't enough. Eventually I said Father that's it? I feel I deserve more. I felt so much better really sitting and acknowledging all my sins. Although I still struggle with 1 or 2 sins I keep getting up & trying. The general was hard, but God already knows our sins. I was cringing, but I did it. God bless you all.

Thank You Father! I was wondering the same thing! I keep asking my Guardian Angel to remind me if I have forgotten anything....and they never fail me! HA!

Thank you, Father !

Yes, you do need to confess those sins.

Something I'd recommend is before confession maybe write down a list of the sins you committed to take with you so you don't forget

God bless you father ✝️❤️

THANK YOU FATHER

I haven't been to confession in years. I haven't had much time and I've been very busy. I want to go back and clean my spirit up. I sin a lot and struggle with lust. Every time I sin I go to Jesus for forgiveness in prayer.

I was gone for 16 years and I had the same question thank you for this video

Thank you! I am in a similar situation. I had asked someone this question and was told that all of my sins were forgiven when I returned to the church and gave a “general” confession. Yet, I sometimes remember some major mortal sins.

Father, Thank you for making this video.

Excellent question and answer!

I liked this very helpful!

Thank you Fr

Thank you 🙏

Great answer! Much appreciated and thanks.

Thank you for this Informative video. 🙏

Thank you, Fr. Ken. It's good to see and hear more of the Marian fathers teaching us God's ways through an explanation of the sacrament of reconciliation. God bless you, Fr. Ken.

Thank you

Thank You! =)

That was extremely helpful! I had just been wondering about that this very day.💖

Thank you Father!

Thank you, Fr. KDS

Thank you for making this video. It is very helpful and enlightening.

Awesome

Thank you father.

Good question. I was also thinking about this. Thank you Elaine and thank you father. God bless!

Thank you father for this extraordinary information about the Sacrament of reconciliation.

God bless you

Thank you fr.to great explanation on the Sacrament of reconciliation. Planning to get your book. God bless you 🙏

Thank you so much for this answer, I was wondering the same thing after each confession …thank you so much for enlightening us with your answers Marian fathers , God bless you all 🙏

Become a Marian Helper, one of the best things I did so many years ago, we truly benefit spiritually from all of Jesus Divine Mercy! God bless all priests, the Marian Helpers devotion to Mary We beg and pray will flow into the hearts of all people.. priests and religious! Stockbridge an Oasis of Divine Mercy.. praying we can come again.

Thank you Fr. for your teaching. Thank you for the gift of Church 💒, for the Sacraments. 💖💖💖

What if you forgot to mention, you did not baptize your children. I went to confession after 30 years, told the priest every sin I could remember, after a week of preparation, had two pages worth. For what have I've read, this is a unique mortal sin. I did not know, till a couple of days ago. I knew, I should have baptized them as soon as possible. Just didn't know it was a mortal sin, and it becomes more severe the longer it stands.

In olden days, priests used to advise writing down a list and taking it into the confession. After all, who can remember all their sins, especially from a long time ago?

You have also answered my own dilemma regarding confession. Thank you, Father. You were a great help.

Thank you (:

I thank God for making this video available and accessible to me. You have greatly impulsed a beginning of my understanding this. I have been afraid to offend Him by either withholding, not remembering or over confessing. Blessings

Thank you 🙏🏼 Father!!! 🤎 I hope one day we can also hear from FATHER ANTHONY & FATHER BOB!!! 😊😊😊🌾⛪️ 💐🔔🔔🔔

god bless you father

I also understand it’s good, in preparation to confession, to pray for the priest who will administer the sacrament to us, that my sins may not be for him a cause of scandal or downfall but that he may fully possess the Holy Spirit and be Christ-like. May our lives be conform to God’s holy will as we live them from confession to confession.

I came back to the church about 18 months ago and I spent a good 2 weeks going thru examination of conscious lists off and on to try to capture and jog my memory and I still now will be reminded of sins that I didnt think of fully or deeply enough from years ago. I was away from the church most of my adult life. I thought I did a fairly good job in my return confession and at times it is a bit disheartening to uncover something else and to go back and keep reliving such a sinful life. I am grateful for the chance to confess these sins now but at the same time I wonder if I will ever get to the point where I can come to the end of the confessions which include the I forgot or didnt think about items.

Thank you, Father. For now, confession is not available in our country due to the pandemic. However, this is one question I do also need an answer to.

Amen...❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹🙏

Welcome to the divine mercy family father Santos & Thanks for this explanation.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🕊🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🕯📖🕯

What about when sins are haunting . Today an unpleasant sin that im pretty sure I confessed years and years ago popped into my head and I wonder if this is just evil trying to discourage me and try to lead me into not trusting in Gods Mercy ?

The great danger to avoid is becoming scrupulous because you will tie yourself in knots.

✝️♥️🙏🏻♥️🙏🏻♥️🙏🏻✝️

this is a breeding ground for OCD. I was diagnosed with OCD almost 40 years ago as a kid. I would never get out of confession if I had to confess everything I remember that bothered me for the past 40 years. I have recently been a little more interested in the church but feeling like I have to confess everything that I constantly over and over in my head just seems like it would be doing a compulsion from OCD.

🙏🏻🔥🙏🏻

Confess your sins you first then we confess ours

Father, are you aware if there are any Priests in the United States who have the gift of reading hearts in the confessional like St. Padre Pio was able to do?

The priests where I'm at say sins that you truly forgot to confess are forgiven

𝓙𝓮𝓼𝓾𝓼, 𝓘 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾... 𝓘𝓷 𝓷𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓟𝓪𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓼 𝓮𝓽 𝓕𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓲 𝓮𝓽 𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓾𝓼 𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓽𝓲.𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓷! 𝓐𝓿𝓮 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓪!! 𝓥𝓲𝓿𝓪 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸 𝓡𝓮𝔂!!!🙏🏼🕊🔥❤️🌹

My priest told me that I need to have faith that I have been forgiven of all sins that I forgot in the past that I started remembering recently.

Father is it always The Holy Spirit that reminds us of a past sin or an element of evil? Susanne 🕊🙏👼📯👱‍♀️💖

Thank u father..

To the Soul Of Jesus Sorrowful Unto Death REMEMBER, O most sorrowful Soul of my Jesus, the fearful agony that Thou didst endure, when plunged into the depths of Thy Father's Justice and Wrath, Thou didst cry out, "My Father, if it be possible, let this bitter Chalice pass from me, nevertheless not My Will but Thine be done;" and when overwhelmed in deepest woe, Thou didst complain that "Thy Soul was sorrowful, even unto death;" and when agonising, dying and deserted by all, even by Thine eternal Father, these words of wondrous mystery were wrung from Thee, "My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?" Remember the sighs, the groans, the anguish of soul, the agony of mind, and the braking of Thy Loving Heart. Remember the many stripes, the blows, the insults, the blasphemies, the thorns, the Blood, the Tears, the stripping of Thy garments, the shame, the prayers, the separation of Thy Holy Soul from Thine adorable Body. Remember the Wisdom of Thy Sacred Head that had contrived so much suffering, and would thus prove the Love of Thy Sacred Heart, for the souls of Thy children. Remember, too, what Mary suffered. Remember the price I have cost Thee, and when Thou beholdest all these fearful tortures, have mercy and pity on my soul, and forgive me through Thy Precious Blood. Why O my crucified, loving Jesus, are so many souls in darkness and sin? Art thou not the Almighty God? The God of Wisdom, of Knowledge, of Light? Art Thou not our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctification, our holy and strong God? Why then is our enemy and Thine so bold? O Lord, for the love Thou hast for souls, for the price we have cost Thee, for the glory of Thy Name, arise and show that Thou art the Living God. Lighten up every darkness by the Light of Thy Divine Wisdom; expel all heresies by spreading the truth of Thy doctrines, and the beauty of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith throughout all nations. Consume all hearts with the burning fire of Thy Love. Draw all souls to Thy Soul, that we console and comfort Thee here, by weeping over sin, which is the cause of Thy intense sorrow. Hide us, dear Jesus in Thy wounds; bathe our souls in Thy most Precious Blood. Stamp Thy Sacred head and Face deeply in our hearts and souls that we may never forget Thee, nor the sorrow we have caused Thee. Remember us, Lord, in Thy Kingdom, Grant us pardon and peace here and eternal happiness in the world to come. Let us keep near Thee, Jesus, in Thy sorrow, that we may be found worthy to dwell for ever with Thee, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, One God in three distinct Persons, in the world without end. Amen. Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Amen.

Thank you for this question and answer, I also struggle a lot with this. I made a general confession some years ago and as far as I can remember I went about it very thoroughly. But still, often certain things from the past come up and I start doubting if I had been thorough enough. Did I not forget some things? I even consider making a second general confession. Should I do that?

No Priest stands between us and God. Confess directly to God, avoid the middlemen.

Let's say a scrupulous person ponders beforehand that something might be a mortal sin (ex. talking to a family member about a potentially "serious" sin committed by another family member i.e. detraction), but they also acknowledge that they could just be acting overly-scrupulous in the situation. Then, despite having concern of committing a mortal sin of detraction, they ultimately end up carrying out the act and revealing the "serious" sin of the family member. Even if the act of "detraction" itself turns out to be venial, is choosing to carry out the act (despite thinking it might be a mortal sin) in and of itself a mortal sin?

How do I avoid constantly dredging things up from the past? I feel like I will never run out of things to confess.

The lord seems to be going back in time with me. As I remove sins most recent others surface from the past taking me further and further back. Last night I had a dream of when I was in college. I have confessed many of these sins in general, but is the Holy Spirit asking me to back to confession and be more specific?

Is Fr Chris sick? He has been coughing a lot.

Hey Father, if in a past general confession I broadly confessed taking part in “drunkenness and wild partying,” but then recently thought of a potentially serious sin where I kept serving alcohol to an intoxicated person when I shouldn’t have... do I need to confess it specifically? Or is it already covered under taking part in “drunkenness and partying”? I struggle with scrupulosity and am unsure.

What if they're mortal, i couldnt remeber the sins because i was in 6th grade that time im in 8th now

I have a question and you are one of the few that tries to answer. If narrow is the gate, and few be that find it, how could God ever be happy or joyful knowing that the majority of his creation was being tormented? How could I be at peace knowing some of my loved ones aren’t in heaven?

😁

How do you remember sins that you have forgotten? Sins that you pushed away since you began to walk with Christ?

I'm struggling with past sins and knowing if they're "mortal" or not. I just randomly remembered a time when my car broke down, and the toe truck driver who was driving me to the shop took a "hit" of his vape, which most likely was marijuana. I didn't say anything while sitting in the passenger seat...is that a "mortal" sin because, technically, it's against the law for him to do that and I said nothing? And if it happened months ago do I need to bring it to confession?

So, if I’m scrupulous to a point where it’s a physical detriment, when my confessor commanded me to stop going over the past and reconfessing sins, I was correct in obeying him? Because... I’m still very scrupulous.

I find it hard to believe that if one commits a mortal or grave sin as an adult , given the three requirements are met that you simply forget even if years have passed. God desires everyone to go to heaven. Just one mortal sin can send you to hell!!

I WAS TOLD BY A PREIST THAT EVEN CONFESSED SINS MUST BE PURIFIED IN PERGATORY.

Hey Fr. I'm having trouble understanding the "full knowledge" aspect of mortal sins. If someone knows that an act is wrong (for example, underage drinking) but doesn't know that it will cut them off from God's grace, is that still a mortal sin? Basically, does someone need to know that committing an act is a mortal sin in order for it to be "mortal"? Or is just knowing something is wrong and doing it anyway fulfill the requirements of "full knowledge"?

Does an Act of Contrition need to be said in a confessional in order to for the confession to be considered valid ?

It is not a bad idea to tape a copy of the Act of Contrition inside your churches confessional.

What about grave sins you committed some 20 years ago and thought you had confessed them but now you doubt if you did?

I keep bringing the same sins to confession. Ive been battling an addiction to porn for a long time. I keep failing and I feel discouraged.

Do we confess past sins or current ones? I would think past and of course present but im not sure. I just want to do it right.

Okay, I know we SHOULD do this, and I always do anyway, but is it actually REQUIRED if we genuinely forgot and have a firm resolve not to commit those sins again? I have truly heard some priests say yes and others say no on this same question! The ones that say no say that if we decide not to mention it again, but out of a true desire to be completely straightforward with God, not concealing anything, then this is okay. Otherwise, it is not. So, is this not actually true?!

Father I have a question if one of my sins has been forgiven by confession, and in one of them I did it again Should I confess it again?

Should a person go to confession if they have no grave sins to confess? It my understanding it's good practice to go to confession once a month.

How come years ago depending on how much you gave you could get a plenary indulgence.why doesn't that apply now. I'm not a believer,and never would be.