The Catalog of Good Deeds: Q&A

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Question: I was Baptized five years ago. I have never been to Confession. I want to confess during the Great Fast. Is it necessary to remember and tell about what I did before Baptism? I’ve heard that when a person is Baptized, then he is considered clean before God and doesn’t need to confess what was before Confession, even if it was something horrible: I had an abortion. Is this the case? After all, the soul of my killed child exists all the same. Could Baptism have taken this sin from me? Do I need to talk about it at Confession?

Answer: In the Mystery of Baptism, man is cleansed of all sins, regardless of age. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Rom. 6:3-8). This truth is consolidated in the Symbol of faith: “I confess on Baptism for the remission of sins.” St John of Damascus writes: “Therefore, the forgiveness of sins is give through Baptism to all equally, and the grace of the Spirit according to the measure of faith and pre-cleansing.”

If a sin (including mortal ones) were after Baptism, forgiveness is given to man through sincere repentance. St Dimitry of Rostov writes: “Are sins always forgiven if we repent of them according to the necessary correction? Always; at the same time, when the sinner calls out to the Lord with a contrite heart, he is heard by Him, like the publican, Zacchaeus, Manasseh, David, the sinful woman, etc.

Source: http://ishmaelite.blogspot.com/2010/06/sins-before-baptism.html

Question: What does the following phrase from the First Catholic Epistle of St. John the Theologian mean: “All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death” (1 Jn 5:17)?

Answer: Every departure from the commandments of God and breaking of the law of God (in deed, word, and even thought) is a sin. In another place in the same catholic epistle the Apostle writes: “sin is lawlessness” (1 Jn 3:4). Sins are conscious and unconscious, committed by ignorance and carelessness. Among conscious sins mortal sins are given special place. To them belong: conscious and intentional apostasy from faith, obstinate denial of God, hatred and ill-will to people (“The one not loving his brother abideth in death,” 1 Jn 3:14), bold condemnation of the commandments of God. They are committed in the deep inculcation in man of sin and attachment to evil. Mortal sins exterminate in man love for God and make man dead to the reception of Divine grace. The greatest sin is that against the Holy Spirit (c.f., Mt. 12:31-32; Mk 3:28-30; Lk 12:10). It is not forgiven.

The Holy Apostle John the Theologian is saying that one should pray for those who have not sinned unto death. For those who have sinned unto death, he does not give instruction, but also does not immediately forbid it. Their stubborn rejection of the truth, disbelief, obduracy and hardness in sin makes prayer for them, as a rule, fruitless. The most effective medicine for them is affliction. The question is appropriate: why not send all sinners such afflictions? The Lord, Who knows the condition of every heart, knows to whom to send afflictions, and who would sin even more if sent afflictions. And Divine love is extended unto such people. Since the lot of such unrepentant sinners is not identical, their punishment will be according to the degree of transgression, since God does not want that their afflictions to increase. For those, who are capable of spiritual growth, afflictions are a great and salvific act of God’s mercy.

Source: http://ishmaelite.blogspot.com/2010/06/sins-unto-death.html

Q: I read that the sins that you name during your confession will not be recorded by the Satan and will not be brought to light after you die. Holy Fathers and some priests recommend to confess thoroughly and precisely. You and some other priests recommend to confess only roots of sins. My question is: If I confess only the roots of my sins, will certain instances of my sinful actions, words, thoughts and feelings be remembered in the afterlife?

A: Repentance is the mystery of God and human being working together to change the life of that human being. It’s a creative process. Repentance makes one acknowledge his wickedness and inability to fight that wickedness. The individual is inclined to change himself but knows for a fact that he cannot do so using his own power. At that point, he asks for God’s help. Practically speaking, if I repent of drinking, for instance, I have to be adamant in my willingness to quit, and do everything I can to quit, and ask God to help me quit drinking. Saint Mary of Egypt gives a good example of proper repentance. She went into the desert and quit drinking. She spent seventeen years in the wilderness struggling with thoughts about wine and drinking. She yielded fruit of repentance and achieved not only liberation from her sinful passions but also the heights of holiness with God’s help. However, she did not confess her sins to a priest. She told Zosimas about her life just one year prior to her death, and she didn’t mention all details, she did not confess in church, and there were no special rituals.

Confession is a church ritual that corroborates one’s personal repentance. This ritual can be void. If I believe that it’s enough just to name my sins and make a list of them on a paper sheet, the Sacrament isn’t going to take place (and neither will forgiveness be granted). You can cough out the list of your sins without the penitential feeling, and it will be totally useless or even harmful, if you mistakenly believe that all your sins are forgiven just because you mentioned them by name.

The practice of “detailed confession” is not about repentance. It’s about the monastic practice of disclosing one’s thoughts and seeking spiritual guidance. A novice or a monk comes to his elder daily and discloses all his thoughts in the tiniest detail, and tells him about all events that happened during the day. The wise elder gives him advice on how to improve his spiritual standing and how to fight sins. The spiritual father is like a doctor who analyses his disciple’s symptoms, prescribes the right remedies, and supervises the process of recovery. This kind of communication takes up an awful lot of time, which is impossible to accomplish in a parish setting. First off, not every priest can be a spiritual father. A newly-ordained 25-year-old dude won’t be able to give you a sound advice. He hasn’t defeated his own sins yet, so he doesn’t know how to treat yours. Secondly, if you start spending two hours with a priest every day, the priest won’t have the time to listen to other parishioners and to pay attention to his own family. Your husband will also most likely be suspicious. Finally, if you just imagine that everyone who wants to confess talks with a priest for just ten minutes (not two hours) on Saturday night (not every day), listening to 20 confessors will take up 200 minutes, or three and a half hours. If the confession happens during the All-Night Vigil, when is the priest going to serve? If the confession starts after the Vigil, at what hour will you get home—especially if you bear in mind that you’ve got to attend the Liturgy the next day! Of course, if the priest has enough time to listen to you and give you his advice, you should seize this opportunity but be aware of what I’ve said.

It seems to me that the priests who demand a detailed report from their female parishioners are either too curious of the female parishioners’ private lives (believe me, they don’t haunt men with so many questions during the confession) or they have an exaggerated opinion of their counseling skills, or they simply don’t understand the essence of what they do and try to copy what they’ve read in some old books. With that said, I can be completely wrong. I’ve tried to explain my take on it. You can ask other priests to give their opinion on the question that you’ve asked, and then you’ll be able to decide which answer is the most suitable and useful for your spiritual well-being.

Q: There must be a reason why Holy Fathers recommend naming sins clearly so as to be ashamed of them. Why do you think they recommend it?

A: This is meant to help a person to struggle with his sins. If you’re ashamed, the feeling of shame will help you to stop and not repeat the sin the next time. So yes, you should name some sins in plain terms, especially if you’re ashamed of them. But please don’t describe them in detail! First of all, take pity on the priest. Sadly, his profession makes him a trench latrine for everyone to dispose of their filth. But I don’t think you should overuse it. Hope you understand. Moreover, if you struggle with a certain passion, detailed memories of your feelings, sensations, emotions, and actions related to that passion will likely cause an upheaval in your soul, which is already sick, isn’t it? You should act wisely.

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

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