If you want all your sins forgiven, then, Yes, you really do need to confess all your mortal sins. And it’s worth it too.
Here’s why:
When it comes to forgiveness there is nothing like confession.
Through it God washes away our sins and strengthens us.
During Lent is a great time to go to confession. Don’t put it off because Easter will be here sooner than you know it.
How do I know if I’ve committed a moral sin?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the three conditions for a sin to be mortal:
- When the sin is seriously wrong
- When the person who commits the sin knows that it is wrong
- When the person commits the sin with full willful consent
When you are not sure, then your conscience is probably giving you a hint and it’s a good idea to confess that sin to a priest.
What about venial sins?
If you don’t have any mortal sins to confess, it is still a good idea to confess your venial sins (sins that aren’t mortal) periodically, because confession gives us the grace to resist sin, helps us to alter our sinful habits, and makes us less prone to fall into mortal sin.
As the video above illustrates, when we make a good confession, all our sins get washed away.
Think of it like washing your clothes regularly. Just because you don’t have visible stains on your shirt doesn’t mean that it’s clean, especially after wearing it for weeks without washing it. Of course, most people have the habit of doing their laundry pretty regularly. Similarly, going to confession regularly is a very good habit for keeping your soul clean. And your soul is worth a lot more than the shirt on your back.
The good news: Jesus forgives!
Take advantage of this time of grace to cleanse your soul of sin by going to confession. You’ll be glad you did.
Biltrix 
I’ve experienced such transformations through confession. The burden being lifted off my shoulder is always felt physically, and immediately. The positive change prolongs onward helping me to move forward. Thank you for hearing our confessions Father!
Cardinal Dolan has been promoting the sacrament of confession as the sacrament of the year of faith for that reason. It strengthens, encourages, and moves us forward. What a blessing our Lord gave us in this sacrament of forgiveness!
God bless!
“Because you don’t have visible stains on your shirt, doesn’t mean that it is clean.” Love it!!!! What a wonderful way for us to connect to “sins and confession of said sins.” That is a keeper for me. Thanks for post and God Bless, SR
Images always help get the point across. And even if we already get the point, they help drive the message in deeper. I’m glad you liked the post, SR. God bless!
This is a great! Kudos to the Brothers in Black for another entertaining, informative video. At our parish, we’re 2 weeks away from First Confessions and 2 weeks away from a diocese-wide day of confession where all parishes are hearing confessions for extended hours. I’m forwarding this video to the parents of my Catechism class in order to help in the preparation of their kids and to encourage the parents to get to confession too. Thanks, James for posting this.
That’s great to know, Terry. I’m glad that these videos will be used for this. The illustrative example will certainly stick with the kids (and the parents).
I’ll let the “Brothers in Black” know that you’ll be sharing the video and using it to prepare kids for their first confession. Thanks!
I’ve always enjoyed Reconciliation, James. Maybe due to my learning to receive it face-to-face, rather than the “screen”.
Just makes it very relaxed, like going to visit an old friend.
And I LOVE the video.
The guys that make them are a talented bunch!
One of them was ordained in December, and I believe the other two brothers will be ordained next year and hence they will become “Fathers in Black”. They really are great fellas, talented as you say and very smart too (which is a good quality for a seminarian nowadays).
Thanks JTR and God bless!
I find that by confessing my sins, I’m less likely to commit those sins again. The monsignor at my church likes to do confession face-to-face, which makes mortal sins less fun to enact.
The monsignor sounds like a man of wisdom and experience. Thanks for your comment, Jade. God bless!
Great message! I find weekly confession very helpful. But, “motral sins”? Is committing a typo in the first paragraph a “motral” sin, or just a venial sin?
Yes, yes. It’s that embarrassing third type of sin we rarely talk about. Kind of like this: http://twitchy.com/2013/03/01/sci-fail-genius-obama-says-he-cant-do-a-jedi-mind-meld/ followed up by this: http://twitchy.com/2013/03/01/derp-meld-white-house-tries-fails-to-capitalize-on-obamas-jedi-gaffe/ followed again by, we still know what’s best for you, America.
Live long, use the force, and thanks all the reblogs.
Reblogged this on Perpetual Learner.
In other words, thanks for pointing that out. I fixed the typo. God bless!