Is it Necessary to Confess the Sin that Is Forsaken?

Question to a priest

Last winter, after worshiping the relics of the Saint Blessed Matrona of Moscow, miraculously, sin which I could not overcome for many years left me. Do I need to confess this sin, if it is in the past?

Answer of the priest Dimitry Vasiliev, the clergyman of the church of Saint Princess Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles in Kalininsk.

Even if you have forsaken the sin through the prayers of St. Matrona, this does not mean that you do not need to confess it. If the sin included, for example, accidental killing? Even if not a single person was killed after that one for decades, does this mean that confession is superfluous? However, concealing the sin in confession, we fall under the words that we hear every time before we are covered with the epitrachilion: "If you conceal something from me, you will have a double sin." Find the strength in yourself to open up to the confessor, because even when you come to the doctor whom you know, you will not be embarrassed by the fact that your illness is very personal in nature – here the situation is the same.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/796-is-it-necessary-to-confess-the-sin-that-is-forsaken

Scary Demonic Vision Due to Concealment of Sins

"The Great Watch". From the cell notes of Hieromonk Jerome.

One of devoted people, wishing to retire to the monastery, asked the hegumen to accept him to the cenoby. After many of his desires expressed before the hegumen, he was asked to live a little as he lives and go to obedience, which was then assigned to him. From the very moment he received obedience, he showed a spirit of defiance by the fact that he did not like obedience or the cell. When the hegumen made a remark to him, he was very alarmed, but, however, he went on convinced by an older one, who told him about the power of obedience, he apparently set to work. And when he just got down to it, a demon suddenly appeared in the middle of the day and said to him: “And you dared to leave me! Didn’t I console you, giving you various pleasures at the request of your heart? ”Of course, the newcomer was very scared, because after that wriggling snakes and other reptiles appeared, he began to cry and scream hysterically.

Then they told the confessor, who instructed him not to cry and not to be afraid of anything. When asked why this happened, he spoke out that he concealed his weaknesses in confession, not wanting to be ashamed of the confessor. Then the first days he felt a great fear, but when he made the sign of the Cross, then everything stopped. This novice, however, lived in the monastery for only about three months and, embarrassed more and more, left for his homeland.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/795-scary-demonic-vision-due-to-concealment-of-sins

The Reason of the Cooling of Faith in God May Be the Lack of Real Repentance for Some Sin

Questions to a priest on the Spas TV channel.

Protopriest Alexander Nikolsky.

A woman, let’s suppose, comes up to me, and says: now I haven’t taken Communion for a year already. I say: why? She says: I don’t know. I say: what sin did you commit a year ago? “I betrayed my husband, (well, for example), but I repented of it.” “What does it mean you have repented?” – “Well, I said about it in the Confession.” “Do you consider yourself wrong that you cheated on your husband?” – “No, you know, father, this betrayal has given me a lot”. I say: “What did it give you?” – “Well, such a spiritual, moral development, something else, something else. It’s even hard for me to consider this a sin.” “That's why you don’t go to the church.” The only thing that separates us from God is sin. Sin separates us from God. And when a person formally mentioned his sin in Confession - well, some, I mentioned one for example, maybe the other one, but he didn’t repent of it heartily with the contrition of the heart, he didn’t reject it internally, he kept the form of repentance, but there was no repentance, - this led him inevitably to cooling. Therefore, you just need to find out what sin lies at the basis of this cooling, or maybe it is a mortal sin, or maybe it is like when I said that football is more interesting than the Liturgy, and begin to repent of this sin, struggle, and force yourself to do the opposite.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/794-the-reason-of-the-cooling-of-faith-in-god-may-be-the-lack-of-real-repentance-for-some-sin

Shame to Confess Sins (Questions to a Priest)

Question to a priest

February 11, 2013

Hello! The situation is such that I committed one sin. I repent of it, but I can’t confess to the priest - I’m embarrassed and ashamed. I can’t tell him that. Before God, I repented of everything long ago. Is it necessary to confess to the priest?

Katia

Katia, it is a must to confess to the priest. Sin is destroyed, it loses its strength only when we expose (reveal) it. The devil is afraid when he is exposed, when his deeds are revealed, and he runs away. You feel false shame – you should be ashamed to sin. Until sin is revealed in confession, it is not forgiven, and this sin will be with you until you repent in it during the confession to the priest.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

---

March 29, 2013

Hello, Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)! Thank you very much for your advice! I have one more question. But what if, during confession, you cannot confess of some sin? If you are ashamed, scary and uncomfortable talking about it? I very much repent of my sins and dream of confessing. But I’m scared, I don’t know why. Please tell me what is to be done. Thank you.

Marina

Marina, you need to imagine that you are standing before God Himself, who has known everything for a long time already, He knows everything. And now, just like a father in front of a child, He is already ready to forgive and not punish, waiting for acknowledgment - please forgive me, yes, it was I who did it.

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko) 

Communion When Concealing Sins

Schema-archimandrite Abraham (Reidman). Unworthy communion as an aspect of spiritual life.

Report at the conference "Life of the Eucharistic Community".

Schema-archimandrite Abraham (Reidman)

I hesitated for a long time which topic of the report I should choose. Today it is no longer necessary to insist on the benefits of frequent communion, because it is becoming a tradition of our Church. At the latest Bishops’ Council, decisions were made both about proper preparation for communion and about the need to receive communion often. For example, by the decisions of this Council, believers are allowed to take daily communion at the Bright Week, which at the time of my youth seemed completely impossible. Reflecting on what may be interesting and important for all of us, I decided to raise a question, perhaps reflecting the negative aspects of the Eucharistic life, however, relevant and useful. This is a question of unworthy communion.

First of all, I want to remind you of the famous words of the Apostle Paul from the First Epistle to the Corinthians about how the sacrament of the Eucharist was established and with what feelings and thoughts we should receive it.

This is what the apostle Paul says: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. [1 Cor. 11, 23–26].

The Ladder about Discernment

St. John of Sinai. "The Ladder of Divine Ascent". Step 26.

On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues

1. Discernment in beginners is true knowledge of themselves; in intermediate souls it is a spiritual sense that faultlessly distinguishes what is truly good from what is of nature and opposed to it; and in the perfect it is the knowledge which they possess by divine illumination, and which can enlighten with its lamp what is dark in others. Or perhaps, generally speaking, discernment is, and is recognized as, the assured understanding of the divine will on all occasions, in every place and in all matters; and it is only found in those who are pure in heart, and in body and in mouth.

2. He who has piously destroyed within him the three passions [gluttony, cupidity, vainglory] has destroyed the five [lust, anger, despair, despondency, pride (St. Gregory of Sinai, ch. 91)] too; but he who has been negligent about the former will not conquer even one passion.

3. Discernment is undefiled conscience and purity of feeling.

4. Let no one on seeing or hearing something supernatural in the monastic way of life fall into unbelief out of ignorance; for where the supernatural God dwells, much that is supernatural happens.

5. Every satanic conflict in us comes from these three generic causes: either from negligence, or from pride, or from the envy of the demons. The first is pitiable, the second is disastrous, but the third is blessed.

6. After God, let us have our conscience as our aim and rule in all things, so that we may know which way the wind is blowing and set our sails accordingly.