Ethan Walker
A good Catholic confession requires preparation and sincerity. Begin with prayer and place yourself in the presence of God, seeking forgiveness and healing. Review your life since your last confession, examining your thoughts, words, and actions against the Ten Commandments and the seven deadly sins. Express sincere sorrow for your sins and make a firm resolution not to sin again. Confess your sins to an ordained priest, distinguishing between venial and mortal sins. After absolution, perform your penance, which may include prayer, offerings, or good deeds. Remember that confession is a sacrament of reconciliation, offering God's mercy and forgiveness.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Requires preparation |
| Prayer | Begin with a prayer asking for God's help |
| Review life | Review your life since your last confession, searching your thoughts, words and actions |
| Examination of conscience | Based on the Ten Commandments and with an awareness of the seven deadly sins |
| Be sorry for your sins | Express sincere sorrow for having offended God |
| Resolve not to sin again | Make a firm resolution not to sin again |
| Confess to a priest | Confess your sins to an ordained priest |
| Distinguish between venial and mortal sins | Distinguish between venial and mortal sins, as the latter need to be confessed in both kind and number |
| Act of Contrition | Say an Act of Contrition, expressing your sorrow for your sins |
| Absolution | The priest, acting in the person of Christ, then absolves you from your sins |
| Penance | The priest gives a penance, which may consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy or sacrifices |
| Receive forgiveness | Rejoice, as you have received the forgiveness of Christ |
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What You'll Learn
Prepare with prayer and self-reflection
Preparing for confession through prayer and self-reflection is a vital step in the Catholic tradition. It is a time to seek healing and forgiveness through repentance and a resolve to sin no more. Begin with a prayer, asking for God's help and placing yourself in His presence. A suggested prayer is:
> "O most merciful God! Prostrate at your feet, I implore your forgiveness. I sincerely desire to leave all my evil ways and to confess my sins with all sincerity to you and to your priest. I am a sinner, have mercy on me, O Lord. Give me a lively faith and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer. Give me, for your mercy's sake, a sorrow for having offended so good a God. Mary, my mother, refuge of sinners, pray for me that I may make a good confession. Amen."
After this, it is time for self-reflection, which involves reviewing your life since your last confession. This is called an "examination of conscience", and it is guided by the Ten Commandments and an awareness of the seven deadly sins. Some questions to ask yourself during this process include:
- Have I gossiped or spoken badly about others behind their backs?
- Am I sincere in my dealings with others?
- Am I critical, negative, or uncharitable in my thoughts about others?
- Do I keep secrets when I should be confidential?
- Have I injured others' reputations through slander?
- Have I consented to impure thoughts, or caused them through my reading, watching, or listening choices?
- Am I jealous of what others have?
- Do I pray to banish impure thoughts and temptations?
This self-reflection is a time to search your thoughts, words, and actions, looking for areas where you have not conformed to God's commands to love Him and others. It is a time to be sorry for your sins and make a firm resolution not to repeat them.
Through prayer and self-reflection, you prepare your heart and mind for the sacrament of confession, seeking God's guidance and forgiveness.
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Examine your conscience
To prepare for a good Catholic confession, it is important to examine your conscience. This involves reviewing your life since your last confession and identifying areas where you have fallen short of God's commandments and the teachings of the Church. This process is guided by the Ten Commandments and an awareness of the seven deadly sins.
- Have I given God time every day in prayer?
- Have I sought to love God above all else?
- Have I placed anything before my devotion to God?
- Have I gossiped or spoken badly about others behind their backs?
- Am I sincere in my dealings with others?
- Am I critical, negative, or uncharitable in my thoughts about others?
- Do I keep secrets when I should be maintaining confidentiality?
- Have I injured the reputations of others through slander?
- Have I consented to impure thoughts, or caused them through my reading, viewing, or listening choices?
- Do I pray to banish impure thoughts and temptations?
- Have I behaved inappropriately with members of the opposite sex, such as flirting or being superficial?
- Am I jealous of what others have?
- Do I envy the families or possessions of others?
- Am I greedy or selfish?
- Are material possessions the main focus of my life?
By asking yourself these questions, you can identify specific ways in which you have sinned and areas where you need to seek forgiveness and make amends. This examination of conscience is a crucial step in preparing for a meaningful and honest confession.
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Express sincere sorrow
To express sincere sorrow during a Catholic confession, you must have contrition, which is a sincere sorrow for having offended God. This sorrow must be heartfelt and come from within, not just spoken as empty words. It is important to recognise that your sins are an offence against God, who is all good and deserving of your love.
You should be heartbroken that you have hurt God and resolve to make amends and avoid sinning in the future. This is true repentance. Your sorrow should be interior, supernatural, supreme, and universal. Interior sorrow comes from your heart, not just your lips. It is interior when it comes from a place of genuine remorse and regret for your actions.
Your sorrow is supernatural when it arises from your faith in God and a recognition that your sins offend Him and His goodness. It is also supernatural when it comes from a fear of God's punishment or the loss of heaven. Your sorrow is supreme when you hate sin above all other evils and are willing to do anything to avoid offending God in the future. You should be willing to endure any hardship rather than commit a sin that would displease God.
Finally, your sorrow is universal when you are sorry for every mortal sin you have committed. If you are contrite for only some of your mortal sins, not even one of them will be forgiven. Therefore, it is essential to have sincere sorrow for all your sins to receive God's forgiveness.
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Confess your sins
To make a good Catholic confession, you must be truly sorry for your sins and have a firm resolve not to repeat them. This is called "contrition" and is a key part of the process. Begin with prayer, asking for God's help and forgiveness. Then, review your life since your last confession, searching for thoughts, words, and actions that did not conform to God's commands. This is called an "examination of conscience" and can be guided by the Ten Commandments and an awareness of the seven deadly sins.
After this self-reflection, you are ready to confess your sins to an ordained priest. Be honest and name your sins aloud, distinguishing between venial and mortal sins as the latter need to be confessed in both kind and number. Withholding a mortal sin will nullify your absolution. Confess all the sins you can remember, and do not be ashamed, for "if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know".
After you have confessed your sins, you will say an Act of Contrition, expressing your sorrow and firm resolution to sin no more. The priest will then give you your penance, which may include prayers, offerings, works of mercy, or sacrifices. Perform your penance as soon as possible and rejoice in the forgiveness of Christ!
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Receive absolution
After confessing your sins, you will be absolved by the priest, who acts in the person of Christ. The priest will pray for your sins to be forgiven by God. The priest will say the Prayer of Absolution:
> God the Father of mercies through the death and resurrection of his Son as reconciled the world to himself and the sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Make the sign of the cross when the priest says, "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The priest will then conclude with the words, "Go in peace," to which you respond, "Thanks be to God."
After receiving absolution, spend some time with God, thanking and praising Him for His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.
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Frequently asked questions
Confession involves an examination of conscience, rooted in the Ten Commandments and an awareness of the seven deadly sins. This is followed by a sincere expression of sorrow for one's sins (contrition), naming the sins aloud to a priest, receiving penance and advice, and finally, absolution from the priest.
Begin with a prayer, asking for God's help and forgiveness. Reflect on your actions since your last confession, searching for any thoughts, words, or actions that did not conform to God's commands. Make a firm resolution not to sin again and ask God to help you make a good confession.
Start by telling the priest how long it has been since your last confession. Then, confess your sins, distinguishing between venial and mortal sins. Mortal sins must be confessed in both kind and number. After confessing your sins, express your sorrow and say an Act of Contrition.
