“Minimal requirements” for a valid confession

Over at Jimmy Akin, there’s a discussion thread on the sacrament of confession. I thought the subject might be of interest to the readers of Adventus so I’m transcribing the comments that I wrote, with some additional info.

Someone asked “What are the minimal requirements for a valid confession?”

The sacrament of reconciliation is not only the confession of your sins but it’s also the confession of God’s love and infinite mercy! Giving some details about particular sins certainly helps the priest to give a good diagnosis, but this humbling experience is also part I think of the healing process. People give specific details to doctors, psychologists/ psychoanalysts and- gasp- radio-hosts- all the time!

The sacrament of confession is– with the sacrament of the anointing of the sick- a sacrament of healing as well as forgiveness. If we want to “tap” into the healing power of the sacrament, if we want to expose our souls to the abundance of God’s grace, our confessions need to be a bit specific. It’s true, we don’t always need to give every “gritty details” (as Jimmy [Akin] says, “the important thing is not the words that are used but that the priest understands the species of the sin that is being confessed”) but some basic details are sometimes called for- especially if those details can change the gravity of the sin. Remember that God wants us offer ourselves as we are, because it is the truth that sets us free : “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” (Psalm 51:8).

I believe the “minimal requirements” for a valid confession are

1) contrition for sins committed (”perfect” or “imperfect” contrition) ;

“Catholic teaching distinguishes a twofold hatred of sin; one, perfect contrition, rises from the love of God Who has been grievously offended; the other, imperfect contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc.” (New Advent Encyclopedia).

2) confession of all mortal sins (*) since last confession (without willfully withholding any) ;

My advice is to confess all sins that have a grave matter, whether you personally think they were (objectively) mortal or not. Let God be the judge of that!

Regarding details, as Jimmy Akin said, as long as the priest understands the species of the sins that are being confessed and that you’re not withholding details that can change the nature or the gravity of the sins, you’re fine.

3) doing “penance” for your sins (the one given by the priest) as an act of reparation;

4) the sincere desire to repent and to try your best not to sin again.

Those would be ‘minimal’ requirements’.

For an “optimal confession”, make sure your confession is done first of all in a prayerful recollection (with a good examen of conscience prior to the confession itself). Ask the Lord for a good contrition! Confess not only your grave sins but any venial sins you’ve been struggling with since your last confession. Ask for God’s grace in overcoming these sins. Don’t be afraid to name some specific areas of your life which are in need of strength and/or healing. Perhaps you’re overly shy or easily stressed out (not necessarily sins per se, but sometimes some unconscious wounds are at the base of these personality quirks– for example, excessive pride in the case of shyness— “what will people think of me???”)— ask the Lord to help you through the grace of his sacrament. Ask the priest for advice regarding certain situations.

For your penance, be zealous : don’t simply do the priest’s penance, add some of your own! Read some Bible passages which pertain to the sins with which you’ve been having the hardest time. Pray Psalm 51(50), the Miserere (which should be the minimal required penance for every mortal sin!— it’s not though, and I don’t personally give it as a penance because not enough Catholics know how to flip through a Bible… that is, when they have one!)

(*) Reminder : the three conditions required for a mortal sin are grave matter (e.g., a serious violation of one of God’s commandments), full knowledge (the person knows that it is a sin and understands why) and full consent (there person committed the sin without any constraints, either exterior constraints e.g. “someone made me do it!” or interior/mental/psychological constraints e.g. addictions, intoxication (under influence of alcohol, drugs), anxiety, fear, severe stress, sickness, tiredness, etc… These types of influences can affect a person’s consent, depending on what the sin is and the specific situation.

Whenever we speak of a sin as being a “mortal sin”, we have to remember that those 3 conditions are always required for a factual sin to be mortal. Of course, it’s not easy to judge the “mortality” of a given sin; that is why it’s always important to humbly confess sins that have a grave matter.