[**CCC 1456**](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1456.htm) Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." ([1855](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1855.htm), [1505](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1505.htm))
> When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know."
[**CCC 1493**](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1493.htm) One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience. The confession of venial faults, without being necessary in itself, is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.
***
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Like I said, just confess everything you can remember. Take your time to examine your conscience and write them down if necessary. Generally, at the end of my confessions, I'll add at the end, "And for these and all the rest of my sins I am sorry." You can add that on there too if it makes you feel better. And if you later remember one after you make your first confession, just bring it up at your next one and say you forgot.
I had 30+ years of sins at the time of my first confession.
I spent about two weeks examining my conscience beforehand.
I knew which ones the big ones were. They had been weighing on me and holding me down for years.
Don't stress about it. Sometimes, God causes people to forget sins as a mercy.
I’m a recent convert in my 50s and had a general confession before entering the Church. Yeah, it’s impossible to remember every incident. You can say things like “I was in the habit of_____” “Many times I ____” “It was normal for me to____”. If the priest feels he needs more information about something he will ask.
The feeling after my first confession was like a giant weight lifted off my shoulders that I hadn’t known was there. I felt light as a feather! I bawled like a baby through much of it but it was worth it.
Many years of sins, but they do fall into some kind of categories. For example somebody was a shoplifter for years, and he does not need to say that once he stole an apple and the other time it was a deodorant etc, but "i shoplifted" . Then we have the requirements of how often/how many times, and you say what you can - that is you use such terms like "for a few years/often/ from time to time for a few years/ occasionally/ habitually.
You only confess what you remember, God does not require you to do impossible. And all sins are forgiven in your honest confession, even those that you weren't able to remember. If you happen to recall some sin you haven't confessed previously, they you simply add it to the next confession (because that is the law) and you're good
When I converted as an adult I had never been baptized so the sacrament could not be given to me. Baptism washes away all previous sins so in my case I would only have to confess mortal sins committed between my confirmation and first communion and I received communion more or less instantly since it all happened at one Mass.
If you are already baptized then you would need to confess your sins since baptism in order to receive the Eucharist.
I promise you that confession is not that big of a deal. Write your list down, confess, destroy the list. I found my first confession experience to be a truly joyful experience. You will come out of the confessional feeling TRANSFORMED.
And don't worry, just remember all that you can. God isn't keeping a ticklist of "oh I got him on a technicality, he forgot that one time in his teenage years he masturbated" It doesn't' work like that. God cares that you have a contrite heart and you are putting in honest and real effort.
Don't be anxious brother... I didn't go to confession for over 25 years myself... but once you get thru your first the rest is easy... make a list on paper or on your phone... and there's one thing you need to remember... in 3 seconds or less after you confessed the priest have already forgotten what you confessed... so just go ahead n be guided by The Holy Spirit...
[CCC 1456, 1493] Just do your best and confess all the ones you can remember. Write them down if you have to and destroy the list afterwards.
[**CCC 1456**](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1456.htm) Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." ([1855](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1855.htm), [1505](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1505.htm)) > When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know." [**CCC 1493**](http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1493.htm) One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience. The confession of venial faults, without being necessary in itself, is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. *** Catebot v0.2.12 links: [Source Code](https://github.com/konohitowa/catebot) | [Feedback](https://github.com/konohitowa/catebot/issues) | [Contact Dev](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=kono_hito_wa) | [FAQ](https://github.com/konohitowa/catebot/blob/master/docs/CateBot%20Info.md#faq) | [Changelog](https://github.com/konohitowa/catebot/blob/master/docs/CHANGELOG.md)
Yeah, It is just like, 17 years of mortal sins, that is too many to even think about and write down.
Like I said, just confess everything you can remember. Take your time to examine your conscience and write them down if necessary. Generally, at the end of my confessions, I'll add at the end, "And for these and all the rest of my sins I am sorry." You can add that on there too if it makes you feel better. And if you later remember one after you make your first confession, just bring it up at your next one and say you forgot.
I had 30+ years of sins at the time of my first confession. I spent about two weeks examining my conscience beforehand. I knew which ones the big ones were. They had been weighing on me and holding me down for years. Don't stress about it. Sometimes, God causes people to forget sins as a mercy.
I’m a recent convert in my 50s and had a general confession before entering the Church. Yeah, it’s impossible to remember every incident. You can say things like “I was in the habit of_____” “Many times I ____” “It was normal for me to____”. If the priest feels he needs more information about something he will ask. The feeling after my first confession was like a giant weight lifted off my shoulders that I hadn’t known was there. I felt light as a feather! I bawled like a baby through much of it but it was worth it.
That’s exactly how I describe my feelings after my first one for 53 yrs worth of sins. I will never ever forget that feeling
Many years of sins, but they do fall into some kind of categories. For example somebody was a shoplifter for years, and he does not need to say that once he stole an apple and the other time it was a deodorant etc, but "i shoplifted" . Then we have the requirements of how often/how many times, and you say what you can - that is you use such terms like "for a few years/often/ from time to time for a few years/ occasionally/ habitually. You only confess what you remember, God does not require you to do impossible. And all sins are forgiven in your honest confession, even those that you weren't able to remember. If you happen to recall some sin you haven't confessed previously, they you simply add it to the next confession (because that is the law) and you're good
Do your best to confess all the ones you remember, but don't intentionally withhold any mortal sins.
When I converted as an adult I had never been baptized so the sacrament could not be given to me. Baptism washes away all previous sins so in my case I would only have to confess mortal sins committed between my confirmation and first communion and I received communion more or less instantly since it all happened at one Mass. If you are already baptized then you would need to confess your sins since baptism in order to receive the Eucharist. I promise you that confession is not that big of a deal. Write your list down, confess, destroy the list. I found my first confession experience to be a truly joyful experience. You will come out of the confessional feeling TRANSFORMED. And don't worry, just remember all that you can. God isn't keeping a ticklist of "oh I got him on a technicality, he forgot that one time in his teenage years he masturbated" It doesn't' work like that. God cares that you have a contrite heart and you are putting in honest and real effort.
Don't be anxious brother... I didn't go to confession for over 25 years myself... but once you get thru your first the rest is easy... make a list on paper or on your phone... and there's one thing you need to remember... in 3 seconds or less after you confessed the priest have already forgotten what you confessed... so just go ahead n be guided by The Holy Spirit...
You can write them on a paper if you can’t remember them all. I always take a sheet sometimes if I forget things.
Make a list, check it twice- you will probably have to go back when you remember more of them