how to confess

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Becca76

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I am a new convert and am very nervous about confession. i am unsure of the procedure… someone please help!
 
First of all, take a deep breath. It’s not as hard as you think.

When you go to confession tell the priest it’s your first time and he’ll help you through it. For that matter, if sometime later you feel unsure about what to do, just tell the priest. He wants to make it as easy as possible.

Here are the steps (taken from a guide put out by the Archdiocese of Washington).

During the Sacrament:
  • The priest gives you a blessing or greeting. He may share a brief Scripture passage.
  • Make the Sign of the Cross and say: “Bless me father, for I have sinned. My last confession was…” (give the number of weeks, months, or years).
  • Confess all of your sins to the priest. The priest will help you to make a good confession. If you are unsure about how to confess or you feel uneasy, just ask him to help you. Answer his questions without hiding anything out of fear or shame. Nothing that you say to the priest will ever be revealed. Place your trust in God, a merciful Father who wants to forgive you.
  • Following your confession of sins, say: “I am sorry for these and all of my sins.”
  • The priest assigns you a penance and offers advice to help you be a better Catholic.
  • Say an Act of Contrition,* expressing your sorrow for your sins. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, then absolves you from your sins.
After you’ve left the Confessional or Reconciliation Room:
  • Complete the penance you received.
*Act of Contrition (please note this is one option):

God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, 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 you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
 
wow, this is exactly what i was looking for… but i am still practically terrified. i feel unprepared. :confused:
 
Sometimes i’m embarrased to say certain things, so at the end i say “for these sins and all my sins I ask for God’s forgiveness”.
 
terryobrien80 said:
Sometimes i’m embarrased to say certain things, so at the end i say “for these sins and all my sins I ask for God’s forgiveness”.
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That’s fine if the things you’re embarrased to say are venial sins, but if they are mortal sins, you need to be more specific and say what they actually are. It’s kind of like going to see the doctor and showing him your hangnail when the real issue is that you’re having blurred vision and chest pains.
 
Andinell said:
wow, this is exactly what i was looking for… but i am still practically terrified. i feel unprepared. :confused:
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It’s okay - this is completely normal. 🙂

The priest is there to help you; that’s his job.

If you get nervous, just go into the Confessional (or to the place where he is hearing Confessions) and say, “Father, I am terribly nervous. This is my first Confession, and I can’t remember what I’m supposed to do.” He will then gently and kindly help you through it. All you have to do from that point on is just answer his questions as honestly as you can. 🙂

Once you get through the first one, make it a habit to go regularly, and over time, you won’t be quite so nervous. (I don’t think the nervousness ever actually goes away completely, though. I always have to pray a lot before I go in there. And remember to breathe.)
 
I know exactly where you are at. I had my first confession this past Tuesday evening with the other candidates in our RCIA class. I was having extreme anxiety over it. I am 47 years old and had quite a bit to come to terms with. I spent a lot of time on the “examination of conscience” and asked the Lord to help me through the process.
It went wonderfully. I did the face to face confession with the priest. He really helped move through the process and I feel so much better now. It is like I have been freed and can say goodbye to some pieces of my past that I was not proud of. I had not been able to do on my own.
Good luck with your confession. Ask God to guide you through the process and you will be fine.
 
Andinell said:
wow, this is exactly what i was looking for… but i am still practically terrified. i feel unprepared. :confused:
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It really isn’t as scary as you build it up to be, or at least it wasn’t as scary as I built it up to! 😊 😃

Just tell the priest it is your first time, and they will guide you. Don’t worry about not knowing how to do everything just right, he will help you. The important part is to confess the sins and receive absolution. And when you do, it will be the most beautiful and freeing thing ever! 😃 👍 :extrahappy: 😃
 
if you are confessing for the first time, or after a lapse of many years, you may want to make an appointment with the priest, but it might also help you to attend a communal penance service, which many parishes offer this week. that is because they will probably lead the group thru an examination of conscience, which should help you very much. It will also be a comfort to be in a church full of people who acknowledge they too are sinners, so you know you are not alone. That might help you better prepare for your own individual confession later. Try to schedule it this week, since priests are very busy during Holy Week, and there might not be another chance before Easter.
 
terryobrien80 said:
Sometimes i’m embarrased to say certain things, so at the end i say “for these sins and all my sins I ask for God’s forgiveness”.
Click to expand...
Sometimes it is difficult to admit to our sins. We need to remember that the priest is in persona Christi (basically giving Jesus a physical presence) and is there to help you.

You will tell him nothing he hasn’t heard before. 🙂
 
Just Do It! :hug3:

My Priest walked me through it all…I’m sure you won’t be his first, first time confession…

Maybe I’m weird, but I did pray for about a year before coming into the Church, for God to give me peace about this Sacrament… and words can never, ever describe the Grace of God that I felt that day, I will never forget it! February 11th, 2008, :dancing: :extrahappy:
 
Relax, I gave my first confession this past weekend on my ACTS retreat. It was wonderful and the priest walked me through the whole process while making me feel absolutely comfortable. I went from sweating bullets to tears of joy in nothing flat.

🙂
 
I will occasionally write things down or use an examination of conscious outline from one of the many websites that cover the subject. My first confession I did write things down and the priest took my list when I was finished and disposed of it for me—I thot it was very symbolic.
 
Ravyn_Guiliani said:
I will occasionally write things down or use an examination of conscious outline from one of the many websites that cover the subject. My first confession I did write things down and the priest took my list when I was finished and disposed of it for me—I thot it was very symbolic.
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I wrote a list too, and the priest used his office shredder to get rid of my list after confession was over…he said God was the one disposing them.

I just had my first confession a couple weeks ago, and confession was a revelation…I had been worrying about it for weeks, but the sacrement was very peaceful, and wonderful, and the priest was very helpful, and gave me good spiritual advice.

I have noticed a new strength to help with my worst sinful habits I had never felt before. Gratias Deo!!!
 
Ravyn_Guiliani said:
I will occasionally write things down or use an examination of conscious outline from one of the many websites that cover the subject. My first confession I did write things down and the priest took my list when I was finished and disposed of it for me—I thot it was very symbolic.
Click to expand...
That’s a cool use of symbolism.
 
Can you confess mortal sins at a communal confession?

I thought only venial sins could be covered?
 
Nancyannheath said:
Can you confess mortal sins at a communal confession?
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When you go in, at the end of the service, to have private Confession with the priest, you can confess anything you want.

There is no such thing as “group absolution” other than in emergency conditions like 9-11, or the Titanic, etc.
 
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