HOW TO GO TO CONFESSION:
Prepare by examining your conscience. You can simply reflect on how well you have lived up to the Ten Commandments:
1) I am the Lord your God; you shall have no strange gods before me.
2) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3) Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
4) Honor your father and your mother.
5) You shall not kill.
6) You shall not commit adultery.
7) You shall not steal.
8) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9) You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10) You shall not cove your neighbor’s goods.
When you enter the confessional, greet the priest by saying “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been [amount of time] since my last confession.” You may stay behind the privacy screen or sit face-to-face with the priest. Then state your sins and how often they occur.
The priest will give you a penance and invite you to say an act of contrition. You can say your own or use this one:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because of your just punishments. But I am sorry most of all because they offend you who are all good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
The priest will then give you absolution and send you out into the world by saying “Go in peace.”
Prepare by examining your conscience. You can simply reflect on how well you have lived up to the Ten Commandments:
1) I am the Lord your God; you shall have no strange gods before me.
2) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3) Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
4) Honor your father and your mother.
5) You shall not kill.
6) You shall not commit adultery.
7) You shall not steal.
8) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9) You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10) You shall not cove your neighbor’s goods.
When you enter the confessional, greet the priest by saying “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been [amount of time] since my last confession.” You may stay behind the privacy screen or sit face-to-face with the priest. Then state your sins and how often they occur.
The priest will give you a penance and invite you to say an act of contrition. You can say your own or use this one:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because of your just punishments. But I am sorry most of all because they offend you who are all good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
The priest will then give you absolution and send you out into the world by saying “Go in peace.”