In this case, the essence of the confession is that the speaker sincerely admits to having repeatedly taken items without permission—small products like potatoes, carrots, and an onion—from a relative with whom they live.

Confession of Minor Thefts: Embracing Guilt and Rejecting Self-Decepti

In this case, the essence of the confession is that the speaker sincerely admits to having repeatedly taken items without permission—small products like potatoes, carrots, and an onion—from a relative with whom they live. The confession reveals how the person initially tried to downplay the seriousness of their misdeed through self-justification, but ultimately decided to come clean, explicitly labeling their act as theft. In other words, the confession consists of admitting the act of stealing and exposing their tendency to deceive themselves by minimizing the gravity of their actions.

Here, please: I take at home from my daughter-in-law, the wife of my brother with whom we live together—sometimes a few potatoes, sometimes some carrots, sometimes an onion—secretly. And not only do I not ask for permission, but I also never mention it to her afterwards. Fortunately, I confessed and repented before the priest for taking without asking.

And why didn’t I say it as it should be called?

“I stole!” And with a heavy heart, I went to the church. I met a priest in the churchyard and said to him, “Dear Father, forgive me! I stole!”

Also, a recurring testimony in the same text clarifies that it was specifically the onion that was stolen, highlighting both the trivial nature of the theft and the full significance of admitting one's guilt:
“Self-justification! Cunning downplaying of my grave transgressions!...”
– “And what did you steal?” he asked sternly.
– “I stole an onion,” I meekly and modestly admitted.

Thus, the confession here is not just a verbal acknowledgment of a minor misdeed, but an inner recognition of one’s own mistake and a demonstration of a willingness to accept guilt by abandoning self-justification.