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A Guide for Confession

The basic requirement for a good confession is to have the intention of returning to God like the “prodigal son” and to acknowledge our sins with true sorrow before the priest.

 

Priests welcome you no matter how long it’s been since you have been to Confession, and no matter what you want or need to confess.

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If you need help, especially if you have been away for some time, simply ask the priest and he will help you by “walking” you through the steps to make a good confession.

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The Sacrament of Penance is a powerful help to get rid of our weaknesses, grow in holiness, and lead a balanced and virtuous life.

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On this page:

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Before Confession

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Be truly sorry for your sins. The essential act of Penance, on the part of the penitent, is contrition, a clear and decisive rejection of the sin committed, together with a resolution not to commit it again, out of the love one has for God and which is reborn with repentance. The resolution to avoid committing these sins in the future (amendment) is a sure sign that your sorrow is genuine and authentic. This does not mean that a promise never to fall again into sin is necessary. A resolution to try to avoid the near occasions of sin suffices for true repentance. God’s grace in cooperation with the intention to rectify your life will give you the strength to resist and overcome temptation in the future.

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Examination of Conscience

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Before going to Confession, reflect on the sins committed since your last sacramental confession. A helpful pattern for examination of conscience is to review the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church:

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  • Do I centre my life on God, on fidelity to the Gospel and the Commandments?

  • Do I set aside time for personal prayer?

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  • Do I keep Sunday by participating in the Eucharist? Is Sunday a day of prayer and rest?

  • Do I observe the penitential practices of the Church? Do I keep Lent as a time of prayer?

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  • Do I behave as a Christian in daily and public life?  Is my faith reflected in my employment?

  • Have I taken property of others – including my employer? Am I envious of what others have?

  • Do I share my goods with those in need?

  • Do I respect the reputation of others?

  • Do I care for my family?

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  • Do I model Christian life for my family: parents, wife, husband, children?

  • Do I exercise authority with genuine concern and responsibility? Do I give others the same respect that I expect for myself?

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  • Have I dishonoured my body by thoughts or actions incompatible with Christian life?

  • Am I faithful to my marriage?  Do I set an example of committed single living? 

  • Do I live out my commitments to my spouse and my children to the best of my ability and reflect God’s love and faithfulness?

  • How do I deal with the difficulties, failures and disappointments of life?

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  • Do I tend to the spiritual, physical and medical needs of my body?

  • Can others see the grace of Baptism at work in my life?

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Prayer Before Confession

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Receive my confession,

O most loving and gracious Lord Jesus Christ,

only hope for the salvation of my soul.

 

Grant to me true contrition of soul,

so that day and night I may by penance make satisfaction for my many sins.

 

Savior of the world, O good Jesus,

Who gave Yourself to the death of the Cross to save sinners,

Look upon me, most wretched of all sinners;

Have pity on me, and give me the light to know my sins, true sorrow for them,

And a firm purpose of never committing them again. 

O gracious Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of Jesus,

I implore you to obtain for me by your powerful intercession these graces from your Divine Son. 

St. Joseph, pray for me.

During Confession

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After examining your conscience and telling God of your sorrow, go into the confessional. You may kneel at the screen or sit to talk face-to-face with the priest.

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Begin your confession with the sign of the cross:

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

It has been (length of time) since my last confession.

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The priest may read a passage from holy Scripture and invite you to confess your sins.

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Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest. You might even want to discuss the circumstances and the root causes of your sins and ask the priest for advice or direction.

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Listen to the words of the priest and accept the penance from him. When invited, make an Act of Contrition for your sins:

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O my God,

I am heartily sorry for having offended thee.

And I detest all my sins,

Because of thy just punishments.

But most of all, because they offend thee, my God,

Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.

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I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace,

To sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.

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At the end of confession, listen to the words of absolution, the sacramental forgiveness of the Church through the priest. As you listen to the words of forgiveness you may make the sign of the cross with the priest. The priest will then dismiss you.

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Priest: Give thanks for the Lord for He is good.

Your response: For His mercy endures forever.

Priest: The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.

Your response: Thanks be to God.

After Confession

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Spend some time with Our Lord, thanking and praising Him for the gift of His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.

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Resolve to return to the Sacrament of Penance often. If you recall some serious sin you forgot to tell, rest assured that it has been forgiven with the others, but be sure to confess it in your next Confession.

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Prayers After Confession

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O almighty and most merciful God,

I give You thanks with all the powers of my soul

For this and all other mercies, graces, and blessings bestowed on me,

And prostrating myself at Your sacred feet,

I offer myself to be henceforth forever Yours.

 

Let nothing in life or death ever separate me from You!

I renounce with my whole soul all my treasons against You,

And all the abominations and sins of my past life.

 

I renew my promises made in Baptism,

And from this moment I dedicate myself eternally to Your love and service.

 

Grant that for the time to come,

I may detest sin more than death itself,

And avoid all such occasions and companies as have unhappily brought me to it.

This I resolve to do by the aid of Your divine grace, without which I can do nothing.

 

Amen.

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* * * * *

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My dearest Jesus,

I have told all my sins to the best of my ability.

I have sincerely tried to make a good confession and I know that you have forgiven me.

 

Thank you, dear Jesus!

Your divine heart is full of love and mercy for poor sinners.

I love You dear Jesus; you are so good to me.

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My loving Saviour,

I shall try to keep from sin and to love You more each day.

 

Dearest Mother Mary,

Pray for me and help me to keep all my promises.

Protect me and do not let me fall back into sin.

 

Dear God,

Help me to lead a good life.

Without Your grace I can do nothing.


Amen.

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* * * * *

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What thanks do I not owe to Thee, my God!

Not only for having created me, redeemed me, and called me into the bosom of Thy Church,

But still more for having waited for my return

Whilst I was wandering from Thee in the miserable paths of sin;

For having so often pardoned me,

As I hope Thou hast done this day,

And for having preserved me from so many other sins,

Into which I should have fallen had I not been preserved by Thy gracious hand.

 

But my enemies will not cease to tempt until death,

And if Thou support me not,

Alas! I shall soon begin again to offend Thee more grievously than ever.

 

Grant me then,

Through the merits of Jesus Christ

The precious grace of final perseverance.

 

The Divine Saviour has assured us that whatever we ask in His Name,

Thou wilt grant it to us.

I entreat Thee, therefore, through all that Thy dear Son suffered for me,

Never to let me forsake Thee any more.

 

I feel the greatest confidence that,

If I continue to pray for this grace, I shall obtain it,

Because Thou hast promised to hear our prayers.

 

But I tremble with fear lest, in some unguarded moment,

I should forget my dependence on Thee,

Fail to invoke Thy help,

And thus relapse into my former misery.

 

Grant, therefore, that in all my temptations

I may have instant recourse to Thee,

By invoking the holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

 

Thus, O my Lord, I may confidently hope to die in Thy grace,

And to love Thee forever in heaven,

Where I shall be sure never to be separated from Thee,

And to be consumed in the fire of Thy holy love for all eternity.


Amen.

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