Are sins completely forgotten once forgiven?

Thank you. Same to you and yours!

Not quite sure what order I would fall under..... I have a pretty regular routine now, I feel like I'm doing the right things.... Morning Rosary group followed by Daily Mass about 5 times per week (as work allows), morning and nightly prayers from 2 pocket size publications (Pocket Book of Catholic Prayers St. Joseph Edition, and My Catholic Handbook), try to read the bible daily, I joined the men's ministry group, recently have started going to our once per week Rosary/Benediction service, been to Adoration a couple of times ( planning on joining that ministry for an assigned hour), Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosary every day, wearing sacramentals (Crucifix, Miraculous Medal, and St. Benedict Medal). I also stopped and prayed at the Divine Mercy Chapel in Stockbridge, MA this past September.

 

I am coming very late to this thread and the posts are so much on the mark it would be hard to add anything else.

I read a beautiful sotry from a saint visionary one time( I forget who she was).

Anyway she was talking to Jesus one time and referred to a sin she had committed in the past. Jesus looke dpuzzled and told her He did not knwo what she was talking about. Then He explained to her that when we went to confession He looses all memory of our sins. I thought this was a beautiful way of putting it.

After my conversion when I went to see my Spiritual Director and he was puzzled that my past life did not cause me to loose sleep at night; all the terrible, terrible things I had done, that it didn;t seemt o bother me at all.

At the time I quoted Isaiah:

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

He still looked puzzled , but I explained that I was simply taking God at His word.

But I think looking down the years there are two things . Firstly there is the grace of frogiveness but there is also the great grace of forgiving ourselves. This is no slight grace.

Secondly there is not only sin but the effects of sin. To relieve this as others mention we need to sek a Plenary Indulgence.

https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/general_conditions.htm

For myself I do this without fail, every Divine Mercy Sunday. I think for a very great sinner like myself, a Plenary Indulgence is a very,very big deal indeed.

https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/general_conditions.htm



'

 

FP, your right were your supposed to be. God Bless you

 

How do you know this?

How does it work if people are talking about their or someone else's past forgiven sins? God can obviously know what they are saying....

 

At the time I quoted Isaiah:

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

I was told once that if you hold on to a sin after going to confession and receiving God's forgiveness that it is the devil that is playing with your head. That holding on to guilt is not coming from God but the devil. I therefore think if you have sinned, confessed and repented then that is it, you are forgiven. After all Jesus died for our sins. We should therefore believe him then that he forgives us. I do however think it is something most of us struggle with and I do think it is Satan planting the doubt in our minds.

 

I rejoice in the saying ; When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. Now how could anyone worry about the sins they have regretted and confessed, after hearing that.

And if you need to make further atonement for sin confessed. Any time someone hurts you or offends you; forgive them. This will prove to you that if you can forgive, Jesus will not be outdone in generosity. Let the devil be damned where he belongs. Rejoice in the love and Mercy and forgiveness of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

I just took a questionnaire to see what Medieval Religious Order I would most likely follow. It came back as Knights Templar. Not sure what that means for me in terms of modern study.......

 

Can you give a link to the site? if you remember it lol.

Sounds neat FP...would be a good Thread to start on its own

 

http://catholic-link.org/2015/11/01...belong-to-if-you-lived-in-the-medieval-times/

This was from the same site someone else posted on about what Saint would like to be your friend. It also has some other fun quizzes, like "which title of Mary do you most associate with."

 

I'm a Benedictine.

 

Also, just to follow up, I did do my first confession during Christmas week at our Parish reconciliation. Although I wasn't able to get all 45 years plus said ( it seemed the Priest was quick to absolve me of everything quickly, I almost felt rushed), I did get the " biggies" that were really weighing on me out of the way though. He absolved me of everything whether I stated it or not.

Just wondering what others think. Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone. God Bless All.

 

Next confession, maybe state your concerns to the Priest that you felt rushed . At least you got the biggies out of the way, venial sin is forgiven daily during the prayers of the Mass and/or our own Act of Contrition.

Something ive found to be true. Find a Church in your Diocese that has frequent Confession( Found usually on the Diocese web page) and talk to the Priest. To me, they give good guidance

Welcome to the Family FP....Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you and Family

 

Im also a Templar with you FP...lol

Im not a movie guy so I just picked one ,so my results could be off. Perhaps I might not be a good warrior to go into battle with... lol

 

I thought I would circle around back to my original thread based on responses on one of the other threads regarding the Warning and the Illumination of Consciousness.

Question 1- Would the adult catechumens ( actually considered the elect I believe now after the ceremony with our Bishop) who will be receiving all 3 Sacraments at the Easter Vigil, still see all their previous sins after their Baptism?

Question 2- Would anyone who gains the plenary indulgence this year by going through the Doors of Mercy as well?

I am still struggling with wrapping my head around all of this.

Update on my journey- have done two confessions so far, still dealing with feeling like I haven't confessed enough. I pray I am not prone to despair or being scrupolous, but although both priests absolved me of everything, it seems that I still have doubt because I didn't verbalize or count in numbers every single sin from the last 45-50 years. Other than that, I am really enjoying the spirituality and graces I am feeling this my first "real" Lenten Season. I have been reading Matthew Kelly's books (Dynamic Catholic)and getting his daily emails for Lent, which I really enjoy. I also found out that our Parish received approval from the Bishop that those of us being brought into the Church with the Rite of Reception will also be doing so at the Easter Vigil which is exciting. With the change of dates I plan on doing the 33 day Consecration to Divine Mercy ending on Divine Mercy Sunday, and getting to 1 of our 6 Diocese Holy Doors shortly thereafter.

Thanks to all of you on the forum as you have been an integral part of my journey so far (differences in opinions included......, as long as we all remember 1 Corinthians 16:14).

May God Bless all of you.

 

God is merciful,and He forgives us easily, the problem is we have difficulty in forgiving ourselves. Like you I struggled for some years over my past,even though I had confessed my sins to different priests. But I kept doubting if I confessed sincerely or correctly. This year,the Year of Mercy God granted me a special grace in knowing I am forgiven. During confession in the Vatican I expressed my concern to the priest and I expected a nice reassuring response. But instead his answer shook me and shattered the lack of trust I had in God's mercy. He told me That I had the problem, not God. He already forgave me long ago and that I was believing and trusting in the lies of the devil. I was given insight that if the pope himself was to hear my confession I'd still doubt! A great disturbance in my soul took place and the foundation of lies and doubt fell away. I finally accepted God's forgiveness into my soul. I now realise my lack of trust hurt Jesus more than my sins. Don't doubt God's goodness and mercy,it is beyond our comprehension. Talk to a priest in the confessional tell him about your sins and fears and then leave it at the feet of Jesus, knowing you are loved and forgiven! Pray in this Year of Mercy for the grace to know and experience the mercy of God in your life, you will not be disappointed! Trust is the key!
God bless you in journey.

 

Thank you for your reply. While reading it, all I kept thinking was this was exactly what I needed to hear and makes complete sense to me. It helps put it in perspective. It is my own pride, which I've read is the evil ones greatest asset, getting in the way. I struggle with this and pray often for humility. I will take your advice with my next confession. May God Bless you.

 

I am just out of mass. Due to First Confessions we had a visiting priest say our evening mass in one of our chapels. He is a lovely priest who stands in for our priests every so often. Anyhow for our mass tonight he used the Gospel from Sunday's mass. His homily was beautiful and inspiring. I instantly thought of this thread and how I would post on it. He spoke of how no one should ever be afraid of confession. No matter how long it had been since they last attended. He spoke of the woman who committed adultery whom the Pharisees presented to Jesus. Jesus did not ask her exactly what she had done. He didn't probe into the allegations against her. He simply said that he without sin should cast the first stone. When no one condemned her, he told her he didn't either and that she should go and sin no more. The priest went on to talk about Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified and the Good thief on the cross said "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." The priest said- these are two of the most general confessions you will get-no details and Jesus forgave them both. The priest said that anyone presenting themselves to God for confession is forgiven their sins. Our God is so wonderful and his gift of mercy is never ending. Florida Panther I hope this helps you with your confession. It has certainly lifted my spirits.

 

Thank you Marie-Lou. I went this Saturday to my fourth overall confession, this time with a list using Father Harndon's Examination of conscious, explained some of my concerns- including despair. I even went to one of the churches in our diocese that has the Holy Doors for this year of Mercy (figuring every little bit helps ). The Priest stopped me about halfway through and relayed the same parable from the Sunday Gospel. He then asked if I thought God had the power to forgive my sins? He then asked me if God can forgive me then who was I not to believe they were forgiven and then forgive myself. He absolved me of everything I had done and anything I had forgotten. I finally felt forgiven and free of all my previous sins. There is nothing compared to His Mercy!! I am so looking forward to the Easter Vigil and am able to receive worthily the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks to all on the forum for helping me along on my journey!!

May God Bless all of us.

 

Wonderful thread this. For convenience will all concerned accept from me a general "like"?