e ST. ANTHONY'S GUlLO, 1933 

DON'T BE AFRAID 
TO GO 

TO CONFESSION 
By 

GILES LAWLOR, O. F. M. 

ST. ANTHONY'S GUILD 
PATERSON , N . J. 



GUILD PAMPHLETS 

By Most Rev. R. J. Cushing 

The Third Order in Our Day 

By Wm. J. Doheny, C. S. C. 

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread 

By Felician A. Foy, O. F. M. 

Christ and You - Redeemers 

By Rev. Richard Ginder 

Life Begins at Baptism The Christian Nobility 
Peace of Mind and Heart 

By Francis J. Greiner, S. M. 

Mary's Work in the World 

By Most Rev. William A. Griffin 

Peopling Heaven: A Thought on Vocations 

By Marion A. Habig, O. F. M. 
Man of Peace Vico Necchi St. Francis Solano 

By Rudolf Harvey, O. F. M. 
A New Birth of Freedom This Nation Under God 
The Pursuit of Happiness What Is Man? 

By Augustine P. Hennessy, C. P. 

God's Troubadour .;tnd His Lady 

By Gordon Krahe, O. F. M. 

What the Mass Is for You 

By Giles Lawlor, O. F. M. 

Don't Be Afraid To Go to Confession 

By James M. Linehan, O. F. M. 
A Living Crucifix 

By Valentine Long, O. F. M. 
The Last Supper Every Day 

Mothers 
On Using the Head 

The Way Home 
Who Believes in Sin Any More? 

Why Not Take God's Word for It? 
Youth - Springtime of .Love 

By Cuthbert Malone, O. F. M. 
St. Paschal Baylon 

LISt continued on inside back C01'er 



DON'T BE AFRAID 

TO GO 

TO CONFESSION 

By 

GILES LAWLOR, O. F. M. 

" How beautiful upon the mountains are 

the feet of him that bringeth good tid-

ings and that preacheth peace." 

- ISAIAS 52:7 

ST. ANTHONY'S GUILD 
Paterson, N. J. 



COPYRlGHT, 1948, BY 

ST. ANTHONY'S GUILD, PATERSON, N.]. 

Imprimi potest: 

BERTRAND ]. CAMPBELL, O. F. M. 

Minister Provincial. 

Nihil obstat: 

BEDE BABO, O. S. B. 

Censor. 

Imprimatur: 

t THOMAS A. BOLAND, S. T. D. 
Bishop of Paterson. 

August 30, 1948. 

New Testament quotations are from the 
CONFRATERNITY OF CHRlSTIAN DOCTRlNE 

REVISION, copyright 1941. 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERlCA 

Deactdified 



FOREWORD 

It is often difficult for a person who is 

suffering from the physical and mental tor-

ments of a neurosis to realize that his diffi-

culties are caused by a hidden conflict. Yet 

this is generally true. In many cases the con-

flict is due to a sin which is still causing 

difficulties because the person has not really 

faced it. For a Catholic this process is very 

simple since it is an essential part of con-

fession. I believe that many nervous and 

mental disorders could be avoided for Cath-

olics if they simply and sincerely confessed 

their sins and realized that since God has 

forgiven them, they no longer need torture 

themselves. Too often people are kept from 

confession by the fear that their sin is too 

great or too horrible or too shameful. Others 

are confused by doubts as to what they should 

confess. To all, a clear, concise explanation 

of how to go to confession should prove most 

helpful. Father Giles Lawlor has filled a 

great need in writing this short pamphlet_ 

JUSTIN L. GREENE, M. D. 

III 





" I t is not the healthy who need 

a physician, but they who are sick." 

(MATT. 9: 12) 

"'I desire mercy, and not sacrI-

fice.' For I have come to call sin-

ners, not the just." 

(MATT. 9: 13) 

"But go rather to the lost sheep 

of the house of Israel." 

(MATT. 10:6) 



@ ST. ANTHONV'S GUILD, 19;1;3 

"The bruised reed He shall not 

break, and the smoking flax He 

shall not quench" (ISAIAS 42:3). 



DON'T BE AFRAID 

TO GO 

TO CONFESSION 

][F YOU are afraid to go to confession, 

)[ you need what the doctors call INFORMA-

TION THERAPY, or, in other words, the in-

formation cure. The true teaching of the 

Church will not cause a neurosis, but a mis-

understanding of the true teaching of the 

Church can cause false fears and hence a 

disordered mental condition. Let us consider 

just what is required of you to make a 

good confession, as regards the telling of 

your sins: 

I 

You must tell all mortal SillS and the 

number of times and the circumstances 

which may change the nature of the Sill. 

II 

You are not obliged to tell venial sins. 

You may tell them; it is splendid if you do. 



If you confess your venial sins, you are not 

obliged to tell the number of times. It is 

praiseworthy if you do. However, if you 

deliberately hold back one or all your venial 

sins, you do not make a bad confession; you 

do not do anything wrong. This is not the 

ideal, of course, but it makes a substantial 

difference in the emotional reaction of a 

scrupulous person if he has a clear idea as 

to what things he is obliged to tell and what 

things he is free not to tell. Indeed, some-

times the confessor may forbid such a peni-

tent even to try telling all his venial sins. 

III 

All that is necessary for a good confession 

as regards the telling of your sins is the 

willingness to tell your mortal sins if they 

come to mind after an honest effort to re-

member them. This effort should be made 

with calmness, and you must not spend too 

long a time in the examination of your con-

sCience. Three or four minutes for the 

ordinary confession is sufficient. In the case 

of a person who has been away from con-

2 



fession for a year, if he has missed Mass, 

committed sins of impurity, practised birth 

control, stolen or cheated, surely these things 

will come to his mind. If he makes a normal 

effort, five or ten minutes should be suffi-

cient. There is no reason for anxiety, for if 

you forget a mortal sin or a number of 

mortal sins, these will be forgiven by the 

absolution of the priest. THE ESSENTIAL 

DISPOSITION IS THE WILLINGNESS TO TELL 

YOUR MORTAL SINS IF THEY COME TO YOUR 

MIND AFTER A NORMAL, HONEST EFFORT HAS 

BEEN MADE. This effort must be normal 

both as to concentration and as to the length 

of time spent on the examination of con-

science. If mortal sins have been forgotten,. 

there remains the obligation to tell them 

the next time you go to confession. There: 

is no reason for anxiety in the meantime,. 

since the sin is already forgiven and since 

you are willing to tell the sin the next time 

you go to confession whether it be one or 

six months from now. If you forgot to tell 

a venial sin there is no harm done, since 

'You were not obliged to tell it in the first 

place. 

3 



IV 

When the catechism says your confes-

sion must be entire, it does not mean you 

must go into every detail to describe the sin. 

It simply means you must tell the kind and 

entire number of mortal sins. If a person 

committed three sins of murder, three sins 

of impurity and three sins of theft, it would 

not be sufficient to say: "I committed nine 

mortal sins." He has told the number but 

has not told the kind. On the other hand, 

it would not be sufficient to say: "I com-

mitted sins of murder, impurity and theft." 

In this case he has told the kind but not 

the number. With these points in mind, it 

is not difficult to understand the obligation 

of telling the number and kind of mortal 

sins. If you tell only your mortal sins and 

omit all your venial sins, your confession IS 

entire. 

4 



@ ST. ANTHONY'S GU ILD, 194;> 

"Behold, thy Mother" 

(JOHN 19:27). 

5 



v 

When the catechism says that you must 

tell the circumstances which may change the 

nature of the sin, again it does not mean 

going into unnecessary detail. It means 

that you are to state any fact which may 

change the nature or kind of the sin. For 

instance, if a man said that he struck a 

woman and that woman happened to be his 

mother, he would have to mention this extra 

serious impiety. If one committed a sin 

against purity, the person would have to 

state whether the sin was committed by 

thought only, by desire, by word; or if by 

act, whether alone or with another. If with 

another, he must add whether the party was 

married or single, of the same or opposite 

sex. If a person stole, the amount must be 

mentioned together with the fact of the 

wealth or poverty of the one from whom it 

was taken. EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE WHICH 

MAY CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE SIN CAN 

USUALLY BE STATED IN ONE SENTENCE. The 

circumstances in these cases will naturally 

suggest themselves to you, or the priest will 

help you. Since there is no intention on 

6 



your part to deceive, there is not the least 

cause for worry. The priest is an expert 

judge, and is always alert to detect these 

circumstances, and you may count on his as· 

sistance. 

VI 

It is not necessary to come to a decision 

as to whether the sin was mortal or venial 

in order to make a good confession. If you 

accuse yourself, it is the priest's office to 

decide. If you cannot decide that it was a 

mortal sin, STOP TRYING TO COME TO A DE-

CISION. For instance, "if a person fears he 

has given a measure of consent to some temp-

tation against purity and cannot tell whether 

it was a mortal sin or a venial sin, i. e., 

whether there was sufficient reflection and 

full consent of the will, he should state that 

he is uneasy about making a decision and 

leave the matter to the judgment of the 

priest. If the incident was a mortal sin, that 

would cover it. The priest always realizes 

that in these cases there may be some meas-

ure or a great measure of consent, so that 

you are not excusing yourself from anything. 

7 



STRICTLY SPEAKING, YOU ARE OBLIGED TO 

CONFESS ONLY WHAT YOU ARE SURE IS A 

MORTAL SIN. If you cannot give the num-

ber of times accurately, you may say, "About 

so many times." You may give the average 

number of times the mortal sin was com-

mitted over the space of a week, a month 

or a year. After you have made a normal 

effort to be accurate, your judgment will 

suffice. If afterward you remember a par-

ticular inst,tnce of committing the sin, that 

nevertheless was confessed when you gave 

the average number of times. If you need 

the proper information on any Command-

ment, you may always ask the priest; he is 

most willing to give it to you. 

VII 

One of the high tortures of an abnormal 

mental condition is the inability to make a 

decision. A very common example is going 

back to lock the door five or six times; go~ 
ing back to turn off the gas five or six times. 

Such a condition is said by doctors to come 

from obsessive compulsive ideas. A pagan 

can contract this malady just the same as a 

8 



Catholic. The fact that a Catholic has to 

make a decision in spiritual matters does not 

mean that the malady is spiritual. The mal-

ady is physical or mental, and is ordinarily 

cUl'ed by natural means. You must go to 

a doctor. The priest can absolve you from 

sin, but he cannot absolve you from a dis-

ease. The priest may help the doctor to 

convince you that it is your body or mind 

that is sick and not your soul. He will also 

be of great aid in pointing out to you what 

is and what is not sin. 

VIII 

You must tell the priest some sin before 

he can give you absolution. If you have no 

mortal or venial sin to confess since your last 

confession, then confess either a venial or 

mortal sin of your past life. You need 

not, however, state the number of times nor 

the circumstances which may change the 

nature of the sin, since it has already been 

confessed. One of the great trials a priest 

has to undergo in the confessional is deal-

ing with people who will not talk to the 

point. They talk about sin for five minutes 

9 



but admit nothing. The priest may know 

you are the biggest liar in the world, but 

you must admit it to him; at least you must 

admit that during your life you told one 

lie. An old grandmother confesses that she 

became angry with her grandchildren. The 

priest is not satisfied that she has committed 

a venial sin, as it may have been only a 

nervous reaction flowing from the annoyance 

caused by the children. While the confession 

of even one venial sin of your past life is 

sufficient to obtain absolution, to limit con-

fession thus is not in the proper spirit. Tell 

something from your past that it humiliates 

you to admit, and you will leave no doubt 

in the mind of the priest that he has suffi-

cient matter for absolution. 

IX 

If you deliberately concealed a mortal sin 

in confession in the past, that confession 

. was bad and sacrilegious. All the confes-

sions after that are also bad and sacrilegious 

until you confess the mortal sin. I am not 

talking about people who THINK they may 

10 



C ST. ANTHONY'$ GU ILD, 19 34 

rr ••• Amen I say to thee, this day thou 

shalt be with Me in Paradise" (LUKE 23:43). 

11 



possibly have done this, or who are AFRAID 

that they did. You must pay no attention 

to such neurotic doubts. You must be pos· 

itively SURE that you deliberately concealed 

the mortal sin. Strange as it may seem, 

there ARE people who have held back mortal 

sins in confession and knew that they were 

doing it. 

If you have ever done such a thing, then 

do not go into a panic. Go into the first 

confessional you come to and tell the priest, 

"1 am now sixty. When 1 was sixteen 1 

<:oncealed a mortal sin in confession." With-

in a minute he can rectify the whole thing. 

x 

Never be ashamed or afraid to confess 

your sins. If you went to a bank teller and 

showed him a $100 bill he would not bat 

an eye, because he has seen many $100 bills. 

If you showed him a $10,000 bill he would 

not be surprised; he has seen many such bills. 

Likewise if you confess a $100 mortal sin or 

a $10,000 mortal sin, the priest will not be 

in the least amazed because of the number 

of them he has met before. He has en-

12 



countered sins of every denomination. The 

priest can never reveal what he has heard 

in the confessional even at the cost of his 

own life. No matter how long you have been 

away, no matter how numerous your sins 

may be, no matter how degrading, you must 

never hesitate to name them in the con-

fessional. Sins you would not dare to tell 

your best friend you can safely tell to the 

priest. He is the only friend you may turn 

to when you have fallen to the lowest depths. 

Even if all society had turned away from 

you in abhorrence and disgust the priest 

would still forgive, for at his ordination he 

received the power to dispense to sinners 

charity from the very heart of Christ. "Can 

a woman forget her infant, so as not to have 

pity on the son of her womb? And if she 

should forget, yet will not I forget thee" 

(Isaias 49: 15). If, like the prodigal son, 

you have tasted the bitter dregs of debase-

ment, hesitate no longer to confess your s:ns, 

and you will leave the confessional as one 

walking on air; glorifying God Who has 

given such power to men. And you will 

wonder at the merciful kindness of God, 

but there will re-echo in your soul the words 

13 



of Christ, "AU power in heaven and on 

earth has been given to Me" (Matt. 28: 18). 

You will envision the scene enacted the first 

Easter Sunday night when the Saviour of 

the world appeared to His Apostles and 

showed them His hands and His side; the 

symbols of the sufferings He endured in 

our name, as an atonement for our sins. 

You will hear Him say to His anointed ones, 

"Peace be to . you! As the Father has sent 

Me, I also send you." And you will hear 

Him say as He breathes upon them, "Re-

ceive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall 

forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose 

sins you shall retain, they are retained" 

(John 20:21-23)_ 

14 



C ST . ANTHO N Y'S GUl LO, 19)3 

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus; 

for He shall save His people from 

their sins" (MATT. 1:21). 

15 



APPENDIX 

Some people do not feel better after con-

fession; they are never satisfied that they 

have fulfilled the requirements properly. 

You remember when our Lord said to the 

man sick of the palsy, "Take courage, son; 

thy sins are forgiven thee," his palsy did 

not leave him. Our Lord had to work an-

other miracle "in the natural order" to cure 

him. 

Depression, i. e., a heavy feeling of misery, 

and neurotic doubts are symptoms of a 

psychoneurosis which is just as truly a dis-

ease as palsy or T. B. God does not work 

miracles without necessity. To cure these 

physical and mental disorders He has given 

us the science of medicine; the physician. 

"Honor the physician for the need thou hast 

of him .... For all healing is from God .... 

The Most High hath created medicines out 

of the earth and a wise man will not abhor 

them" (Ecclus. 38: 1,2,4). How wrong 

would the sick man in the Gospel have been 

if he had doubted the forgiveness of his sins 

because his disease did not leave him. How 

wrong you would be if you doubted the 

16 



forgiveness of your sins because the symp-

toms of your disease do not leave you. "And 

then give place to the physician ... and let 

him not depart from thee, for his works are 

necessary" (Ecclus. 38: 11, 12) . 

17 



THE BLESSING OF ST. FRANCIS 

May the Lord bless thee, 

and keep thee. 

The Lord show His face to thee, 

and have mercy on thee. 

The Lord turn H is countenance to 

thee, and give thee peace. 

May the Lord T bless thee. 

18 



GUILD PAMPHLETS 

List continued from inside front cover 

By Rev. Charles J. McCarthy 
Baptism Boy Wanted 

By Boniface McConville, O. F. M. 
Peace for Troubled Souls A Picture of the Man 

By Owen F. McCormack, O. F. M. 
The Catholic Family 

By Very Rev. James H. Murphy 
The Bread of Life Matrimony 
The Church When You Go to Confession 

Who Are Catholics? 

By Eric O'Brien, O. F. M. 
Apostle of California 

By Isidore O'Brien, O. F. M. 

Blessed Are the Clean 
of Heart 

Brides of Christ 
Christ the Physician 
The Church Our Mother 
Compensation 
Consolation 
The Father's Shadow 
The Gospel Parables-

God and Justice 
Man's True Friend 
Our Moral Life 
Understanding the 

Message of Christ 
Half the Young Men 
Hands 
Let Us Look at Life 

Our Dead 
Light of the Cross 
Our Father Who Art In 

Heaven 
The Plain Truth 
Resignation 
The Sacraments-

Parts I and II 
St. Anthony of Padua 
Sculpturing Truth 
Shadow of the Cross 
Soldiers of Christ 
The Ten Command-

ments of Reason 
The Third Order of St. 

Francis: Instrument 
of Peace 

By Rev. John A. O'Brien 

The Christian Home Until Death Do Us Part 
Falling in Love Why Be Profane? 
Happiness! But Where? Why Not Receive Daily! 

By Conall O'Leary, O. F. M. 
What It Means To Be a Tertiary 

Why the Third Order of St. Francis? 

List continued on outside back cover 



GUILD PAMPHLETS 

List continued from inside back cover 

By Leonard D. Perotti, O. F. M. 

St. SalvatoI' of Horta 
By Thomas Plassmann, O. F. M. 

The Seven Words of Mary 
Upon This Rock 

By Francis J. Remler, C. M. 
A Bank Account In Heaven 

CRtilollcs and Sin Is Life Worth Living? 

By Doctor A. F. Sava 
A Doctor's View of Birth Control 

By Edgar Schmiedeler, O. S. B. 
Concerning Parents Concerning the Family 

Concerning Your Children 

By Eric Schoppe, O. F. M. 

Saint of the Eucharist 

By Rf. Rev. Fulton J. Sheen 
The Lord's Prayer on the Cross 

By R. Southard, S. J. 
Reporter in Heaven 

By Sebastian Weber, O. F. M. Conv. 

Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker - and Christ 
Complete Religion Divine Art of Living 

The Inside Story of God 
The Mystery Inside Catholic Churches 

Superman and the Sacrament of Confirmation 

By Alexander Wyse, O. F. M. 

No Small Matter 
St. Francis, Lover of the Christ-Child 

Shall Heaven Be Filled? Why Penance? 

Indulgence of the Portiuncula; Little Treasury of 
St. Jude ; Little Treasury of St. Philomena; 

Little Treasury of the Sacred Heart; 
Prayers to the Infant Jesus of Prague 

ST. ANTHONY'S GUILD, Paterson 3, N. J. 

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