How do you start your confessions?

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When I received the Sacrament of Reconciliation yesterday the priest made the first move .

He greeted me with a blessing .

When he had done that I saw no need to ask him to bless me for he had already done so , so I simply told him when I last received the sacrament and the sins I wished to confess .

Some people are more at ease with a set formula of words . Others are more relaxed using their own words .

I am happy with either way.
 
Bookcat said:
Same way as normal -but that it is your first confession and your coming into full communion with the Church at Easter (and of course your state in life).

(No heathen part - a validly baptized Christian is not a heathen …

Nor the protestant part --for you will not be and even now are no longer a protestant Christian …but rather your a Christian who was not in full communion and who is now coming into full communion with the Catholic Church)
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Beautiful words, Bookcat. I’m actually starting to experience being (a small) part of this Great Family called the RCC.
 
HOW TO GO TO CONFESSION CHEAT SHEET
Enter the confessional: You may either kneel at the screen or in
front of the priest.
Make the Sign of the Cross and say: “In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Bless me Father for I have
sinned, it has been _____ days/weeks/months since my last confession
(or, this is my first confession). (Also mention if you did
not receive absolution or if you did not perform your penance.)
Tell your sins to the priest: Confess all mortal sins that you have
recalled in your examination of conscience. Name each sin and tell
how many times you committed it. If you don’t know the exact
amount of times you committed the sin, give an estimate and tell the
priest that it is the best you can remember. Conclude by saying, “I
am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life.”
Listen to the words of the priest: He might give you some instruction
and then will give you a penance. Make sure you understand
and are able to complete the penance the priest gives you.
When the priest invites you to, pray your Act of Contrition: “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 art 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.”
Listen to the words of absolution: Absolution means your sins
have been forgiven. Make the sign of the cross during the absolution.
Remember the priest is representing Christ (in Persona Christi).
(If the priest says, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good”, answer,
“For His mercy endures forever.”)
Thank the priest before you leave and then perform your penance
as soon as possible.
 
If the priest doesn’t lead me in the Sign of the Cross, then I make the Sign of the Cross and quietly say “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Then I continue on with “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” I don’t bother with “these are my sins” as it’s kinda obvious, I just continue on with my accusations: “I broke the First Commandment by…, I have been Prideful in doing such-and-such.”

When in doubt, just tell the priest it’s either your first Confession or that you’ve not been to Confession for a long time and am not sure what to do or have forgotten. He should be happy to help you through the process.
 
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned it’s been X days since my last confession and I accuse myself of the following sins” then I proceed with my list 😃
 
Would a Protestant who converts to Catholicism in his 50’s be expected to try to remember all the sins he’s ever committed in his lifetime and confess them to the priest on his first confession or just the worst ones that he remembers?

When I have sinned since becoming a Christian in my late teens, I have confessed my sins soon after committing them or when I felt guilt for having done them, which is usually soon afterwards, either immediately or within a day or so. I received Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at a Billy Graham Crusade, for those of you familiar with Billy Graham crusades and started confessing and repenting of my sins at that time.

I confessed them to God in the name of Jesus Christ and I honestly can’t remember all the sins I committed in my lifetime because I believe that God forgave them and removed my transgressions as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12 ).

I find the thought of having to remember all of them again and recount them to a priest a daunting task. I remember my most serious ones, but a person does a lot of sinning in 50+ years, unfortunately.

I am considering Catholicism and find the idea of Reconciliation refreshing, liberating, and necessary along with the possibility of receiving godly counsel from a priest in the process.

However, I suspect my first official confession would be a long one. In my case, I suppose I would need to schedule a special one outside of normal confession hours because I envision my first one being long and a bit embarrassing while recalling the sins of a lifetime.

By the way, how much detail is asked for by the priest? Is it a general description, like “I cheated on a test back in high school” or “I purposely sat next to Mary Lou because she was cute and the best student in the class in that subject and I hadn’t studied appropriately for the exam”.

Is it typical for an older person’s first Reconciliation to be a long one in which he makes a special appointment outside of normal confession hours?

Thanks. Sorry if I am asking too many questions.
 
Tommy999 said:
Would a Protestant who converts to Catholicism in his 50’s be expected to try to remember all the sins he’s ever committed in his lifetime and confess them to the priest on his first confession or just the worst ones that he remembers?

When I have sinned since becoming a Christian in my late teens, I have confessed my sins soon after committing them or when I felt guilt for having done them, which is usually soon afterwards, either immediately or within a day or so. I received Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at a Billy Graham Crusade, for those of you familiar with Billy Graham crusades and started confessing and repenting of my sins at that time.

I confessed them to God in the name of Jesus Christ and I honestly can’t remember all the sins I committed in my lifetime because I believe that God forgave them and removed my transgressions as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12 ).

I find the thought of having to remember all of them again and recount them to a priest a daunting task. I remember my most serious ones, but a person does a lot of sinning in 50+ years, unfortunately.

I am considering Catholicism and find the idea of Reconciliation refreshing, liberating, and necessary along with the possibility of receiving godly counsel from a priest in the process.

However, I suspect my first official confession would be a long one. In my case, I suppose I would need to schedule a special one outside of normal confession hours because I envision my first one being long and a bit embarrassing while recalling the sins of a lifetime.

By the way, how much detail is asked for by the priest? Is it a general description, like “I cheated on a test back in high school” or “I purposely sat next to Mary Lou because she was cute and the best student in the class in that subject and I hadn’t studied appropriately for the exam”.

Is it typical for an older person’s first Reconciliation to be a long one in which he makes a special appointment outside of normal confession hours?

Thanks. Sorry if I am asking too many questions.
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I can answer this but it might benefit more people if you started a new thread.
 
I had learned ‘forgive me father for I have sinned’ for my first reconciliation in the 90s, here in WI. Usually the Priest always starts with the sign of the cross, however, so it usually doesn’t start with that.
 
I have the habit of staring with a verse from scripture, typically either of the following…

*Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. (John 21:17)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love;
according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
(Psalm 51:1)*

John 21:17 is a very traditional way of starting a confession. Saying these verses helps remind me that although confess to a priest, it is really the action of Jesus in the confessional. I sometimes carry a Bible with me open to either of those verses, especially if I use the verse from the penitential Psalm number 51.

Then I go into the standard, “Father, it has been one week since my last confession” etc.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
I have the habit of staring with a verse from scripture, typically either of the following…

Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. (John 21:17)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love;
according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
(Psalm 51:1)

John 21:17 is a very traditional way of starting a confession. Saying these verses helps remind me that although confess to a priest, it is really the action of Jesus in the confessional. I sometimes carry a Bible with me open to either of those verses, especially if I use the verse from the penitential Psalm number 51.

Then I go into the standard, “Father, it has been one week since my last confession” etc.

-Tim-
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very nice. I might need to borrow this.
 
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