How can i Make a Good Confession any suggestion /Tips? my second questions is how often can i make a general confession?

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How can i make a good confession?any suggestions? my second questions is how often can i make a general confession, as some of my past sins come to mind at the,weirdest hour of the day, mostly while praying though.i try to make a note if it and confess them later, even the most embarrassed of them, please share you Tips/experiences .Thanks
 
-Don’t skim over sins
-Let go everything
-Do not be afraid of penence
-Go as soon as possible
-Never be ashamed to tell the father your sins. No matter how disgusting, evil, or shameful they are
-Make sure to end your sin right away. Don’t think that you will eventually get over it. Eventually never comes. Commit your efforts to ending the sin.
 
If it has been a long time since your last confession, then you want to make a good, long-term confession. If you have been confessing pretty regularly, then before confessing sins from long ago, discuss it with your priest; there are various recommendations for that.

Generally, re-confessing is not recommended. We should trust the sacrament of confession and move on from those sins.
 
Examine yourself against the two great commandments Jesus gave us.

Love the Lord God with your entire being, and love your neighbor as yourself.

They are the sum of the Ten Commandments.

Jim
 
General tips and tricks for a good confession:

Prepare with prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through your examination

Examine conscious: can use any combination or all, 10 commandments, beatitudes, or any source that allows you to question and answer your own actions in your own honesty. Here’s a pretty good source for an in-depth examination … http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-wor...entals/penance/examinations-of-conscience.cfm

Jot down the sins on a note pad if you want to make sure you remember them all

Prepare for confession, either by scheduled time or by parish standard confessional times. A general confession is basically reserved for those folks that have been away from the church for quite a while, or at least away from the sacrament of reconciliation for a while. There is no difference between a general confession and a regular confession. Just the term is used to indicate that there may be a bunch of sins, piled on over 20 years, that you may have forgotten about. If you’ve been away for a long time, I would suggest calling the parish and making an appointment for a general confession, that’s good for you as you’ll have the time to go through the sacrament and for the priest, so he doesn’t have to worry about the confessional line piling up at 4:45 when he has to leave at 5:00 for the vigil Mass.

Go to confession, recount your sins in nature and frequency as best you can. Go through your mental list or your note. Advise Father that you have done an examination of conscience and you may have forgotten to say one or some of the sins that came to mind during your examination, for those that you acknowledged then but forgot at the very moment you’re in the chair or on the kneeler, God knows your conscience and would allow for that to be a part of absolution.

And, finally, remember we are all human and the bulk of our sins are very common for most other humans. No matter how embarrassing you think your actions may have been, not to worry for a couple of reasons. One, as most priests have divine amnesia, they aren’t concerned about what you did that was bad, they are concerned about cleansing your soul and preparing your for the Will of God. And, the deeper meaning of why embarrassment would be a good thing, that indicates guilt. Guilt in confession is exactly what we are acknowledging! I did something bad, I regret it, I wish I didn’t do it, and in the future, I know I’m going to do my best not to do that again because this guilt stinx. That’s a contrite heart! wonderful! that’s repentance! wonderful!
 
And, as a super-bonus, memorize your own Act of Contrition! There’s the old standard, the new standard, and then there’s the option to make your own Act. Just make sure if you make up your own, to include the major points …

Here’s a few of the “standards”. I like the second one, seems to be most straight forward … and that’s what my 2nd grader has to memorize, hehe.

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 to avoid the near occasions of sin.

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. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.

O my God, I am sorry for my sins because I have offended you. I know I should love you above all things. Help me to do penance, to do better, and to avoid anything that might lead me to sin. Amen.

and, whatever penance Father gives you, go for the super bonus and double the penance and pray, pray, pray, you’ll be getting graces that you may not even be aware of until the next time an occasion for sin pops up and you realize you have the will and the strength to stay away because you told God the last time you were in the confessional that you would at least try!

Blessed be God Forever.
 
Thank"s,Julius that"s a pretty good suggestion,yea at time its difficult to confess the most embarrassing of them all, but we have to confess them, no matter what it is ,as Jesus is waiting for us, to forgive us asap,like the prodigal sons and daughters, we have to come back to Him .postponing them is the most worst thing, the guilt feeling our conscience keeps pricking us and we don"t know when God is calling us young or old .

we always have to be prepared any time, the efforts to end sin is the most daunting task of them all Hope at each confession, God also fills us with fullness of Grace to resist sin the decision ours is always.
 
Hi Annie, thanks for the advice. I do agree we should trust the sacrament of confession and move on from those sins .Though i go regularly for confession at time i keep repeating the same sins, again and again, so its kinda ,miss out on the details,especially when there is a long confession line, the priest also kinda rushes a bit,i too tend to rush up saying my sins.
That’s the reason i consider a re -confess or make a general confession of my pending list .we keep seeking an old pious priest who has the patience and the experience to give us a good advice.hope many out there have a similar problems.
 
Like Katy, I also ask the Holy Spirit to guide me, and to inspire and guide the priest, and trust that He will.
 
Thanks @Jim,you nailed it well ,to love God ,we are quite comfortable,to love our neighbor is kinda difficult at times, St John say if you don"t love your neighbor whom you see, How can you love God whom you don’t see then your a lair,so forgiveness is the key here as well as keeping a clear conscience before God and Man.

@Katy Catholic, Thanks a lot didn"t expect such a detailed one,most of us forget to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and to revel our sins, actually the Holy Sprite who really reminds our sin and bring it to light, good suggestion to one and all.
Thanks for the links pretty detailed Examination of Conscience for the, youth,individuals, married, children ,Hope others make a note of it or bookmark it, very helpful indeed.

I"v recently came across ,that going against the Beatitudes is mortal sin,good you mentioned it. yes like little kids noting it in a note pad is pretty cool ,sure its not a bad idea at all, especially when you tend to forget or a bit anxious or forgetfully or the devil make you forget them.

Regarding the general confession, even the regular ones can go for it ,since when ever we self introspect our sins before the Lord in the Blessed sacrament,as we sin in our thoughts, words, actions,and omissions, we do need inner healing or of the family tree healing, its very helpful,as @kate pointing out the bunch of sins piled up over the years,eg like childhood pranks or as a teenager ,covered over the years its best to sit before the Blessed Sacrament and surrender everything at the feet of Jesus.yea making an appointment in advance is nice advice ,thanks for all the other suggestions and the Prayers was really awesome!

@(name removed by moderator) Sure its God’s Grace and mercy, when He reminds us of our hidden faults mentioning it to priest is very important especially the particular sin is from years ago ,very good advice, thanks

Psalms 32:1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,whose sin is covered 2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,and I did not hide my iniquity;I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”and you forgave the guilt of my sin
 
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Confession is a good thing to be in the habit of- I think once a month is a reasonable goal. Daily examinations of conscience also help us to fight sin and cultivate virtue and the practice goes a long way in making good confessions. You begin to see habitual sins more clearly and you can bring these up in confession, as well as knowing “hey, this is something I’m prone to do”. I do my best to prepare for Confession either the night before (If I’m going the following morning) or the morning of (If in the afternoon). Carve out a chunk of time for this, and ask the Holy Spirit to make clear to you your sins, especially those which need to be confessed and those that you may be unaware of. Ask for understanding, wisdom and virtue. You can use lists such as those available on the Laudate app, but be careful if you are prone to scruples. I personally make a list, beginning with mortal/grave matter and I take that with me to Confession. I put the big nasty ones first to get them out of the way and avoid the attempt to sugarcoat or omit things.

Also, pray for your confessor. To do this I recommend asking for the intercession of Padre Pio and John Vianney. Ask the Holy Spirit to give your confessor wisdom and good counsel. Pray for the people in line with you as well.

Finally, complete your penance immediately- don’t leave the Church without having done so (unless part or all of your penance cannot be completed in the Church, as in a case where you may have to make restitution or apologize for something or to someone).

Making Confession a regular habit is important as it helps us see this Sacrament for what it is- a spiritual healing that rights our relationship with the Father and bestows grace on us to act virtuously. Frequency reduces the fear and anxiety we may experience.
 
I go to Confession weekly (well, maybe I skip a week every other month or so). YMMV. I make note of my sins when I examine my conscience each night, along with a weekly examination a few hours before Confession - usually done before the Blessed Sacrament. I go to Confession with a written list so that I don’t embellish and don’t excuse my sins…just the facts.

I made a General Confession before I was received as a Lay member into the Carmelite Order - 5.5 years ago. The process of preparing for it took two weeks of serious reflection and examination of conscience. I would not recommend a General Confession be made with any kind of frequency, they are not to be done lightly. Maybe once, after a significant conversion experience or after discussion with a spiritual director. I would recommend a General Confession before a significant life-event, such as entering a religious order (my experience), marriage, etc. Another General Confession could be made with guidance of a spiritual director or priest.
 
@RKS89 Yea,Wonderful idea ,Sure i think we all should make a good Daily examinations of conscience also help us to fight sin and cultivate virtue and the practice goes a long way in making good confessions.@RKS89 i never thought about that, good antidote for habitual sinners like us.

Sure! we all can take the decision to make our daily Examination of Conscious every night before we sleep and say the forgiveness prayer also, so that we can be at peace with ourselves, others etc ,many die in the sleep or never see the light of the day,saying an act of contrition would do good. Yea at times we just say our sins with out preparation nor pray or even worst, with out asking the the Holy Spirit .

@RKS89 suggested to make clear your sins, especially those which need to be confessed and those that you may be unaware of. Ask for understanding, wisdom and virtue revel them,so many bad confessions 😥 so sorry Jesus.have mercy on us!.all .

@RKS89 thanks for the reminder about the Laudate app, i am caught now, like most of us, we have no excuse what’s so ever, to pray nor make excuses for an examination of conscious.though i have this app in my phone, i forgot it altogether, oops! i should rather say, i have been neglectful about it, my goodness me!
Mortal and grave matters, the nasty ones first ,sure fantastic!, satan is furious at this, He or she is slipping away from us! nice suggestion.

Many a times i forget to pray for the confessor and the people in the line, i never thought about that.sure to ask for the intercession of Padre Pio and John Vianney there is also another St of confessionals his name is Leopoldo Mandic, Please click the link or book mark it http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_19831016_mandic_it.html

Also we can pray to our patron saints guardian Angle,St Michael,St Gabriel and St Raphael other saints as well.The most important the most power intercession of Mother Mary
Good final reminder to complete your penance immediately in the Church it self.Thanks a lot its nice suggestion to one and all ,God Bless
 
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@Mary_Ellen Thanks Mary, its wonderful to know your making your examine of conscience each night,that’s a great reminder for all us again and again, we can make it a habit so that we will not forget it easily, Hope we all can try the same here ,other wise no dinner or no bed time coffee 🤔? a reminder on the phone or the alarm is a good idea.

Amazing advice for a weekly examination of conscience (a few hours before Confession - usually done before the Blessed Sacrament.weekend confessions! )Our Guardian Angle will be pleased,after all he dosen"t have to writ all the bad list anyway. Don"t excuse your self, just the facts that’s really nice, no room for self pity here. 😶

@Mary_Ellen I do agree as you said ( two weeks of serious reflection and examination of conscience.before a general confessions and its not to be taken lightly sure Maybe once, after a significant conversion experience or after discussion with a spiritual director. I would recommend a General Confession before a significant life-event, such as entering a religious order (my experience), marriage, etc. Another General Confession could be made with guidance of a spiritual director or priest.)

General confessions also can be done during a retreat or major events of your life as above mentioned and suggestions including the sickness and the dying or bedridden patients,those who are in a family way, or not able to go for a regular confessions, those who are in the military service ,firemen and various other professions can do the same.there is also another very important reason to do a general confession that is if any one has a lot of childhood hurt feelings ,wounds ,who need inner healing prayer time to time there is no reason you shouldn"t do .God Bless
 
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http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

ARTICLE 4
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION

1422 "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."4

I. WHAT IS THIS SACRAMENT CALLED?

1423 It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father5 from whom one has strayed by sin.

It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.

1424 It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a “confession” - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.

It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."6

It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the live of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God."7 He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother."8

II. WHY A SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AFTER BAPTISM?

1425 "You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."9 One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is excluded for him who has "put on Christ."10 But the apostle John also says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."11 And the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses,"12 linking our forgiveness of one another’s offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

1426 Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us “holy and without blemish,” just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish."13 Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life.14 This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.15

III. THE CONVERSION OF THE BAPTIZED
 
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Hi All , A Male relative of mine, goes only for the yearly confession ,he says the Church prescribed at leased once in a year since its a for confessional obligation ,that too, he says i don"t need to say serious sins ,what will the priest think of me? etc and he Deliberately and Knowingly hides his main sins ,though he goes each Sunday for Holy Mass and receives holy communion.how do i make him realize his faults ,no matter what we say he justifies and keeps cross questioning baseless and silly arguments.he abuses and curses all the time.Please suggest

@Julius,@Annie,@JimR-OCDS,@KatyCatholic,@(name removed by moderator),@Trishie,@RKS89,@Mary_Ellen
 
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Pray for him, to be sure. And pray for wisdom and prudence to handle the situation. Maybe pray that someone else be used to convey the gravity of his actions, that the Lord would put someone in his life to say what needs to be said in a way that will reach him.
 
@RKS89 Yea, thanks, sure am praying hope God send some one that he may come to his senses,and get a Godly repentance.

@(name removed by moderator) He Deliberately and Knowingly hides his sins,at the same time, he is self righteous he feels, he didn"t commit serious sins,and justifies them.I thought of arranging a priest ,for a appointed confession or say to the priest all that he does, so he can advice him.but if he is not acknowledging his sins and its kinda forced act, their is no point in arranging the scheduled confession, if his is not co-operating i hope Jesus show mercy on him this Christmas! .we are considering some alternative like a retreat or so not sure? Thanks anyway
 
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If you recall a past sin that you haven’t confessed, confess it. The only problem is that the enemy can make us use that sort of thingto make us crazy and cause scrupulosity,.

Since you only have to confess your sins in number and kind, adding only things which make a sin worse, lack of detail is not a problem.

It is good that you try to see the same priest when you can, and that he gives good advice. After years of repeating the same sins, I ran into a a really helpful priest and was able to really improve by following his advice. My “number” went down gradually but steadily. At the same time, circumstances allowed me to go to Confession more often, so if you can go weekly, I highly recommend it!
 
Your male relative is going to be in a world of trouble if he goes on as you describe! Aside from all the advice to pray for him, in these situations I try to ask questions which might get him to think about what he is doing. Like I might ask: what’s the point, if we avoid telling our worst sins; or, funny, I always heard it was the other way around and we had to confess our worst sins.

Pray to the Holy Spirit for your relative, esp. when you know you will see him, and ask His help for saying something helpful.
 
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