Catholics - have you ever confessed?

It’s now generally called “reconciliation” and practicing Catholics are supposed to participate once a year during Lent/Easter time.

It’s now generally done face to face, sometimes in a large service with many priests hearing the confession of many parishioners simultaneously, all whispered but in full view of everyone else.

Back in 1986 I went to confession for the first time in a dozen years. I went into a small room with a window overlooking a private walled garden. I sat opposite a priest, and told him it had been many years since I had gone to confession or been to church.

His response was, “Just tell me what has bothered you the most over the years.” I told him, and then he said, “I grant you absolution as part of the sacrament, God forgave you when you walk dingo this room, now iti time for you to forgive yourself. Your penance is to sit in a pew and reflect on five good things you have done over the last ten years.”

Only first confession. It was a waste of time… I didn’t get any advice and I was told to say a few hail marries I said no and walked out.. I thought it would be like a psychology session. Big mistake.

I’m not into it & choose to make my confessions to God via prayer. As a former Baptist, it’s how I was taught.

I used to. Just to go through the process you had to know this whole dialogue that you shared with the priest. You still had the option of going in anonymous, but I never did. What I hated the most was the Act of Contrition. There was one line: “I firmly resolve…to sin no more…” I struggled with that line so much. How is it possible that I can sin no more? I always make mistakes, even my faith told me that! I felt like I was lying and not being sincere since. Even though I was going to “try” to be a better person, I still knew was inherently bad as my faith suggests. I knew I was going to just go and sin again. I felt like I was in a vicious loop of sinning by absolving myself from sinning. It was ridiculous, as if I wasn’t supposed to question the words coming out of my mouth and just go along with the dialogue in a robotic way. Hmm….that kind of sounds like another Sunday routine that I went through….

I went on a rant; I’m sorry. To answer your question further, the expectations are that you are truly sorry (in the words of the Act of Contrition, “heartily sorry”) for your sins. There’s a really long dialogue that you go through verbatim, and somewhere in there you have an ad lib., which is telling your priest about your sin(s). At least when I was a kid that’s how I was taught from two sources—they gave me a paper to read from. In the end, the priest relieves you of your sins and gives you a penance, which is a suggested punishment for your actions. This could be anything from a set of prayers to apologizing to your brother.
The priest is sworn by the Church to never reveal what is told to him during Reconciliation. So if you confess that you murdered ten people and someone else was framed for it, the priest is sworn to not tell anybody.
This was a few years ago, but knowing the way the Catholic Church is, I doubt anything has changed.

Thanks everyone!

@dxs: “So if you confess that you murdered ten people and someone else was framed for it, the priest is sworn to not tell anybody.”

Can a priest be forced – legally – to provide info obtained during confession/reconciliation?

I’m a practicing Catholic and yes we still have confession. I have noticed over the years that fewer and fewer people go to confession on Saturday afternoons. when I was younger the lines were long for confession every Saturday. Technically we are suppose to go to confession before receiving Holy Communion at Mass if we have any sins. I think the reason people don’t go to confession anymore is due to the liberal views of society and many people today think nothing is a Sin.

The one time a year I see long lines for confession in my Parish is during Lent and right before Easter. This is to fulfill “Easter Duty” that many practicing Catholics still observe.

@BeenThereSaidThat brings up the issue of a “state of grace” prior to Communion. Before Vatican Council II, general teaching looked at any small infraction as a “mortal sin” and not a “venial” sin.

A mortal sin is a willful action that distances or turns one’s back to God; a venial sin is a minor action that if we are mindful of our behavior we won;t commit, but as humans will commit.

Venial sins may be rectified by a sincere prayer of admission and participation in Communion; Mortal sins need an act of Reconciliation/Confession.

When I was a child, a “dirty thought” (a dirty thought was something like “wow, look at the boobs on Lenore) was grounds for confession. Now a days, the general thought is that only most egregious actions and motivations call for Reconciliation.

Since this is in Social, and about Catholics, I have to share that I recently learned that the Catholic church was strongly against the use of table forks in the 1600’s when they became popular. Too sissified.

Every good Catholic does his/her first confession, like first communion or being confirmed.

@hominid I suppose the priest could be forced to tell through the use of some extreme torture or the use of some majorly efficient drugs…

@hominid I was told not by my Catechism teachers, but they also weren’t the most reliable teachers for factual information. I wouldn’t doubt it though—it’s yet another religious freedom.

@hominid @dxs The seal of the confessional is not open to scrutiny or inquiry by law enforcement or the courts in the US. It has been upheld in courts in the US, and is considered a central tenet of a religious belief.