Question:
Answer:
Baltimore Catechism:
Q. 780. What sins are we bound to confess?
A. We are bound to confess all our mortal sins, but it is well also to confess our venial sins.
Q. 785. Which are the chief qualities of a good Confession?
A. The chief qualities of a good Confession are three: it must be humble, sincere, and entire.
Q. 790. What do you mean by the “kinds of sin?”
A. By the “kinds of sin,” we mean the particular division or class to which the sins belong; that is, whether they be sins of blasphemy, disobedience, anger, impurity, dishonesty, etc. We can determine the kind of sin by discovering the commandment or precept of the Church we have broken or the virtue against which we have acted.
Q. 791. What do we mean by “circumstances which change the nature of sins?”
A. By “circumstances which change the nature of sins” we mean anything that makes it another kind of sin. Thus to steal is a sin, but to steal from the Church makes our theft sacrilegious. Again, impure actions are sins, but a person must say whether they were committed alone or with others, with relatives or strangers, with persons married or single, etc., because these circumstances change them from one kind of impurity to another.