Getting Started
Prepare by asking the Holy Spirit to help you make a
good Confession and then sit quietly and examine
your conscience.
After you have examined your conscience . . . Enter
Confessional or Area Where Priest Is Hearing Confession
If you need help to make a good Confession, say, "Father,
I need your help to make a good Confession." Father will
assist you by asking some questions during your confession. Answer
his questions by telling him the truth in a simple and straightforward
way.
Begin by making the Sign of the Cross and saying
"In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Next, mention how long it has been since your last confession.
Example: "Father, it has been approximately (say the number
of days, weeks, months, years) since my last Confession."
If this is your first Confession, say, "Father, this is my
first Confession," and then mention how long it has been
since you were baptized.
Next, mention all the things you did or failed to do
that you are sorry for since your last Confession. (It is fine to
bring in a written list of what you want to confess if this will help
you remember) Indicate when you are finished telling your sins by
saying something like, "For these and for all the sins of
my life I am truly sorry."
Father will then offer you some advice. After giving
you advice, he may give you a penance (very often the penance is the
recitation of some particular prayers. If possible you should complete
the penance immediately after your confession.) He may then ask you
for an Act of Contrition. If he does, you may recite this prayer:
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against
you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your
help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads
me to sin. Amen.
After the Act of Contrition, the priest will give you
absolution (forgiveness) for your sins. When he is finished giving
you absolution, the priest will bless you and kindly dismiss you.
It is nice to say "Thank you, Father," at this point.
When you exit confession it is best to complete your
penance at church. If there is penance beyond prayers, complete your
penance as soon as possible.
Examination of Conscience
First Commandment: I am the Lord your God. You
shall not have strange gods before me.
- Do I give God time every day in prayer?
- Do I seek to love Him with my whole heart?
- Have I been involved with superstitious practices or the occult?
- Do I seek to live my life according to God's teachings and the
Precepts of our Catholic Church?
- Have I ever received Communion in a state of mortal sin?
- Have I ever deliberately withheld a mortal sin from a priest in
confession?
Second Commandment: You shall not take the name
of the Lord your God in vain.
- Have I used God's name in vain: lightly, cursing or carelessly?
- Have I wished evil upon another person?
- Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?
Third Commandment: Remember to keep holy the Lord's
Day.
- Have I deliberately missed Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation?
- Do I try to observe Sunday as a family day and a day of rest?
- Do I do needless work on Sunday?
Fourth Commandment: Honor your Father and your
Mother.
- Do I honor and obey my parents as appropriate?
- Do I care for my aged and infirm relatives?
- Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children?
- Have I given my family good religious example?
- Do I pray for my family and try to bring peace into my home life?
Fifth Commandment: You shall not kill.
- Have I had an abortion or encouraged anyone to have an abortion?
- Have I physically harmed anyone?
- Have I afflicted another person with verbal or emotional abuse?
- Have I been so unkind in my words to someone that they are deeply
hurt?
- Have I abused alcohol, drugs or tobacco?
- Have I misused food in a way that is harmful to my health?
- Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading them into sin?
- Have I been angry or resentful?
- Have I harboured hatred in my heart?
Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery.
- Have I been faithful to my marriage vows in thought and action?
- Have I engaged in any sexual activity outside of marriage?
- Have I used any means of birth control that are against the teachings
of the Church?
- Have I been guilty of masturbation?
- Have I willfully entertained impure thoughts or used pornography?
- Have I respected all people and not treated them as objects?
- Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity?
- Am I careful to dress modestly?
Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal.
- Have I stolen what is not mine?
- Have I returned or made restitution for what I have stolen?
- Do I gamble excessively, thereby denying my family of their needs
or denying payment of debts owed?
- Do I do my best to pay my debts promptly?
- Do I seek to share what I have with those in need?
Eighth Commandment: You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.
- Have I lied?
- Have I gossiped?
- Have I spoken behind someone else's back?
- Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?
- Do I keep secret what should be kept confidential?
Ninth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor's
wife.
- Have I consented to impure thoughts?
- Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations?
Tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor's
goods.
- Am I jealous of what other people have?
- Do I envy the families or possessions of others?
- Am I greedy or selfish?
- Are material possessions the purpose of my life or work?
- Do I trust that God will care for all of my material and spiritual
needs?
- Do I buy or take more than I need out of bad habit or to keep
up with others?
The Precepts of the Catholic Church
Have you been attentive to following the precepts of
the church?
First precept: You shall attend Mass on Sundays
and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor . . . requires
the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of
the Lord as well as the principle liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries
of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first
place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the
Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and
activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.
Second precept: You shall confess your sins at
least once a year . . . ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the
reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's
work of conversion and forgiveness.
Third precept: You shall receive the sacrament
of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season . . . guarantees
as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection
with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.
Fourth precept: You shall observe the days of
fasting and abstinence established by the Church . . . ensures the
times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts
and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.
Fifth precept: You shall help to provide for
the needs of the Church . . . means that the faithful are obliged
to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to
his own ability.