The
Steps to Confession
are:
Examination of Conscience
There are several ways to make a good examination of conscience.
• A rather common one consists in reviewing our life in the light of the
10 Commandments and the 6 Precepts of the Church, and see
| - if,
- how often,
- how gravely we have failed to keep them. |
• Another way consists in reflecting on the basic Christian virtues (e.g.:
faith, hope, love of God and neighbor, patience, purity, honesty, etc.),
and see if we have practiced them or not.
• We must be aware of the gravity and the number of our sins, and if
they were committed in thoughts, words, deeds or by omission.
• A sin is either venial or mortal.
It is mortal if these 3 conditions are fulfilled:
♦ grievous matter (it must be seriously bad in itself, as blasphemy
or impurity, for instance);
♦ full knowledge (you must know what you are doing at the
time you do it);
♦ full consent of the will (you must do it freely, deliberately and
willfully).
If one of these conditions is not satisfied, the sin is venial.
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Contrition
As the faithful require instruction on the nature and efficacy of the parts of Penance, we must begin with contrition. This subject demands careful explanation; for as often as we call to mind our past transgressions, or offend God anew, so often should our hearts be pierced with contrition.
The Meaning Of Contrition
By the Fathers of the Council of Trent, contrition is defined: A sorrow and detestation for sin committed, with a purpose of sinning no more. and a little further on the Council, speaking of the motion of the will to contrition, adds: If joined with a confidence in the mercy of God and an earnest desire of per forming whatever is necessary to the proper reception of the Sacrament, it thus prepares us for the remission of sin.
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Contrition Is A Detestation Of Sin
From this definition, therefore, the faithful will perceive that the efficacy of contrition does not simply consist in ceasing to sin, or in resolving to begin, or having actually begun a new life; it supposes first of all a hatred of one's illspent life and a desire of atoning for past transgressions.
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Confessing Your Sins to God through His
Priests
When the Sacrament
is typically offered: before Masses, Saturday afternoons, and by appointment.
When you get to the church at the time the Sacrament is offered, you may
or may not find a line of people standing or lined up in a pew outside the
Confessional. Just take your place in line, keeping a wide berth of the
Confessional itself if it is occupied by a fellow penitent (it is very rude
to be near the Confessional when someone else is using it!).
Some confessionals have a green light shining when a priest is ready and
available in the Confessional, and a red light shining when someone is in
the Confessional with him, receiving the Sacrament. Others don't. In any
case, when it's your turn, enter the Confessional and kneel. You may barely
see the priest on the other side of the grille (the screen which separates
you).
When you are ready to begin, make the Sign of the Cross and say, in a whisper, but loud enough so he can hear you:
Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned. It is ( N days, weeks, months, years ) since my last Confession.
I accuse myself of the following sins.
You then name the
sins you need to confess, indicating, in the case of mortal sins, how many
times you've committed them. If you're unsure of exact numbers -- but only
if you are unsure -- tell him "about how many" times you've committed the
sin. Ex., "I've lied to my mother twice, I stole a candy bar from work once,
I've had lustful thoughts too many times to count, etc." Don't go into a
lot of detail, don't name other people who may have sinned with you, but
do tell him what he needs to know in order to understand relevant circumstances
of the particular sins -- that is, circumstances that might mitigate your
culpability or make you more culpable. For example, telling him about stealing
a loaf of bread because you were starving will elicit a different penance
and spiritual direction than if you tell him you stole a stack of money because
you wanted to buy some porn. If you are unsure as to whether a particular
act was a sin, tell him. As you speak, he may stop you to ask you questions
for clarification.
When you are finished, indicate so by saying something like the following
traditional words:
For these and all
the sins of my past life, I ask pardon of God, penance, and absolution from
you, Father.
Penance
Now the priest
will give you penance to help you pay for the temporal effects of your sins.
He might ask you to say certain prayers (the old
"Say 3 Hail Marys"), he may ask you to read certain parts of Scripture. If
there is restitution to be made, he might ask you to do so. Whatever he asks
you to do, accomplish it as soon as possible after leaving the
Confessional.
Act of Contrition
Now you will make
an Act of Contrition to express your sorrow at having offended God and resolving
to sin no more. The traditional way of doing this is to recite aloud the
prayer called "Act of Contrition":
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. I firmly resolve, with the
help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
Absolution
Now comes the good
part (it may come as you make your Act of Contrition, so don't be
confused if the priest starts whispering in Latin as you pray): Christ, through
His priest, grants you absolution in a form that includes the words below.
Without the words in italics (the very form of the Sacrament), the Sacrament
is not valid:
Dominus noster
Jesus Christus te absolvat; et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo ab omni
vinculo excommunicationis (sespensionis) et interdicti in quantum possum
et tu indiges. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Deinde, ego te absolvo
a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
English:
May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you
from every bond of excommunication and interdict, so far as my power allows
and your needs require. [making the Sign of the Cross:] Thereupon, I absolve
you of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
He will pray a
prayer for you:
Passio Domini nostri
Jesu Christi, merita Beatae Mariae Virginis et omnium sanctorum, quidquid
boni feceris vel mail sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem
peccatorum, augmentum
gratiae et praemium vitae aeternae.
English:
May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin
Mary and of all the saints obtain for you that whatever good you do or whatever
evil you bear might merit for you the remission of your sins, the increase
of grace and the reward of everlasting life.
The Sacrament is now complete. The priest will dismiss you, perhaps with
a final blessing. Thank him, cross yourself, and
leave the Confessional.
Carrying out your Penance
As soon as possible,
carry out the penance you were given. Do all you can to avoid near occasions
of sin, to bear patiently the temporal effects of the sins you've committed,
to make restitution to anyone you've harmed. You may add penances of your
own devising to the one(s) the priest gave you. But, no matter what, savor
the sweet knowledge that you are forgiven. Praise to our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world! He has said
the word, and you have been healed!
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