A Confession-style prayer for the unconfirmed

[Ariana_Katlyn]

In short, I have sinned. Sins that are (as I feel) better left to God alone to know.

I am unconfirmed, my catechism begins in Oct./Nov. I am looking for a confession-style prayer to say to atone for my sins.

I have not been to church in 3-4 weeks because both of my parents work and I myself have no transportation. My parents do not go to church for themselves, primarily they just accompany me when I go. Neither one of them has been to confession in years.

Any advice?

 

[Waco_Kid]

Ariana,

Best of luck to you in your journey toward Confirmation. I’ll certainly say a prayer for you.

Sins that are (as I feel) better left to God alone to know.

If don’t know (you’ll soon learn in catechism) that ALL mortal sins need to be confessed to a priest. For me, it’s difficult, humbling, and embarrassing to tell any priest my worst sins. I’m always extremely nervous going in; however, I feel AMAZING when it’s over.

I am unconfirmed, my catechism begins in Oct./Nov. I am looking for a confession-style prayer to say to atone for my sins.

No prayer can remove the stain of mortal sin (without a priest’s absolution), but I think a heart-felt Act of Contrition is the perfect prayer for asking for forgiveness from venial sins:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for
having offended you, and I detest
all my sins, because of Your just
punishments, but most of all because
they offend You, my God, who are
all-good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of
Your grace, to sin no more and to
avoid the near occasion of sin.

I have not been to church in 3-4 weeks because both of my parents work and I myself have no transportation. My parents do not go to church for themselves, primarily they just accompany me when I go. Neither one of them has been to confession in years.

Any advice?

Missing mass IS a mortal sin; however, if you cannot get to mass because of circumstances beyond your control, then your are relieved of your obligation to attend. When that does happen, I still confess to a priest just to get it of my chest.

Also during your journey, encourage (with love) your parents to try confession again. It’s great for the soul!

Blessing to you on your faith walk!

 

[Nozzer]

No prayer can remove the stain of mortal sin (without a priest’s absolution), but I think a heart-felt Act of Contrition is the perfect prayer for asking for forgiveness from venial sins:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for
having offended you, and I detest
all my sins, because of Your just
punishments, but most of all because
they offend You, my God, who are
all-good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of
Your grace, to sin no more and to
avoid the near occasion of sin.

There are a lot of similarly contritious prayers out there, in fact there are several rather different versions of the Act of Contrition itself, so I suggest you just pray to God in your own words, with full repentance.

God bless,

Nozzer

 

[Richard_White]

If you are baptized in the Catholic Church, even though you are not confirmed, you can still go to Confession (just in case there is a misunderstanding on your part). As another poster has said, all mortal sin must be confessed to God through a Catholic priest in order to receive God’s complete forgiveness and absolution of sins…for Jesus said to the Apostles, “Whose sin you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sin you retain are retained.”

May God bless you as you journey deeper into the Holy Catholic Faith!

 

[Ariana_Katlyn]

Thank you everyone εїз

 

[InNomineDomini]

No prayer can remove the stain of mortal sin (without a priest’s absolution) …

Actually, an act of perfect contrition does just that.

However, the issue does seem to be a tad complicated, because there’s a difference of opinion on something. On the one hand, some folks think perfect contrition means that you’re **only **sorry for your sins because they offend God. Others think that offending God should be the **primary **reason for your sorrow, but that **other **reasons can be secondary and tertiary and so on.

There’s a good article on this here, and it espouses the second position. (And I really would recommend folks read the whole article, since, it seems to me, there’s a lot of misconceptions about acts of perfect contrition. Moreover, I think the first position is kind of strange. Frankly, I think anyone with that level of charity for God probably has long ago stopped committing mortal sin. Don’t forget that, in the first view, if you love God for His own sake AND because of all He has done for you, you can’t make an act of perfect contrition. You must love God only for His own sake, without a hint of any other type of love, and without any other motivation, such as a desire for heaven or an aversion to hell. That’s a heck of a standard; and, again, I doubt very highly that anyone who could meet it is seriously falling into things like committing fornication or wanting someone to die or stealing vast sums of money or any number of other mortal sins.)

As Colin Donovan from EWTN points out:

There is no way of knowing with an absolute certainty if one has made a perfect act of contrition, but all that is required is the standard of all human action, moral certainty. If you can say an act of contrition in these or similar words truthfully, intending it, then I think you would have moral certainty.

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell;
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

It should be noted, however, that the act of perfect contrition includes the intention to go to Confession at the next, reasonably available opportunity. OP, I can’t tell whether or not you’ve ever been to Confession before. But if you have, then you can go again whenever you like, regardless of whether or not you’ve been Confirmed. If you haven’t, then I believe this can be addressed with your Pastor, although it seems that, on average, folks in that situation make their first Confession a few hours before Confirmation. Perhaps you’re in that boat?