{"id":152975,"date":"2018-02-20T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-a-general-confession-just-for-a-select-few\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:12:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T19:12:35","slug":"ask-a-priest-is-a-general-confession-just-for-a-select-few","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-a-general-confession-just-for-a-select-few\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ask a Priest: Is a General Confession Just for a Select Few?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Q:\u00a0My questions regard a general confession. I have a friend who has been out of the Church for many years. He is having a very difficult time on all levels (spiritually, emotionally and physically). Because I care for him and want to see him better in all these levels, I suggested that he start by returning to church on a regular basis and consider a general confession. He agreed to it, but when he approached the parish priest he was advised that a general confession was advised only for alcoholics and drug addicts. I know that priests, just like medical doctors, will have different diagnoses and experiences and therefore will give different prescriptions. I am a bit at a loss on this issue, and my friend is confused. Can you please shed light on this issue? \u2013 R.<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC<\/em><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0Thanks for your note and for your concern about your friend.\n<\/p>\n

In principle just about anyone can do a general confession, though this type of confession isn’t common.<\/p>\n

Basically it is a confession in which a penitent does an overview of his life and admits to the full range of categories of sin that he committed, including categories whose sins have already been absolved.<\/p>\n

The general confession helps a person put his relationship with God in perspective. It helps him see all the wrong he has done, offer a profound act of contrition, and to acknowledge all the mercy that the Almighty has shown. The general confession can have a cathartic effect, allowing a person to wrap up his past mistakes, put them in God’s hands, and move on.<\/p>\n

General confessions are more commonly done when people are preparing to embark on a new way of life, for instance, marriage or the seminary. Or it might be done by people, especially religious, doing an annual retreat.<\/p>\n

People who are returning to the faith after years might also do it. In that case even a “regular” confession might be so wide-ranging as to be similar to a general confession.<\/p>\n

It simply isn’t true that a general confession is only for alcoholics or drug addicts. Perhaps there was some miscommunication between your friend and that priest. (An aside: The term “general confession” is sometimes used at rites involving general absolution. But that is another matter.)<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, general confessions are sometimes not recommended. In the case of, say, a scrupulous person, a spiritual director might dissuade the person from making a general confession since it could dredge up too many problems and bad memories for the penitent.<\/p>\n

You mention that your friend has spiritual and emotional problems. Depending on what and how serious they are, a general confession might or might be advisable. It’s hard to gauge this through an e-mail.<\/p>\n

The simplest thing might be for your friend to approach another priest about the general confession.\u00a0Both you and your friend might benefit from watching our retreat guide on confession, \u201cFrom Sorrow to Joy: A Retreat Guide on the Sacrament of Confession<\/a><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Keep learning more with Ask a Priest<\/a><\/h3>\n

Got a question? Need an answer?<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type in your question or send an email to AskAPriest@rcspiritual.wpenginepowered.com<\/a> and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything \u2013 liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events\u2026 Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Edward McIlmail, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC"},"description":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/emcilmail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152975"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=152975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}