Is this a good way to say confession? Its my first time and I am quite nervous!

[helpme93]

Forgive me father for I have sinned. This is my first confession.

These are my sins

1. I have comitted impure acts with myself numerous times.
2. I have viewed impure content on the internet numerous times.
3. I have taken the Eucharist while being in the state of mortal sin.

I am sorry for these and for all the sins of my past life

Act of Contrition

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

Planned to read off of this in the confessional this evening.

 

[Bookcat]

These are all grave matter things …so if they were mortal sins (full knowledge and complete consent)* one is obliged to confess all mortal sins in number and in kind*…(and circumstances that change the sin like it was your brother you murdered). (if one is doubtful that they were actually mortal sins at the time…say so…but in your case I would still confess them adding that one is not sure if they were mortal at the time for the ones one is not sure of…)

If one forgets a mortal sin…one is to mention it next confession…no worries.
(Of course do not hide any mortal sins! that is a different matter!

As to number…if one does not know the number one does what one can…if one can say
“around 2-3 times a month for the last 10 years” one says such…or …around 15-20 times… or around 10 times more or less…sometimes one can only say many many times …

We are not obliged to be Mr. Spock…26.028 times…

As to kind…one says “adultery 2x, murder 6x…Received the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin around 4-5 times a month for the last couple years.” etc …this will help: (from Jimmy Akin of CA)

jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2007/03/specific_confes.html

The Priest can help you of course…tell him it is your first confession…(I assume you are a baptized Catholic…and not in an invalid marriage )

We need to trust Jesus…repent of our mortal sins in particular and be firmly amended against them…

One only has to confess mortal sins …but it is good to confess some venial ones too…

and remember Jesus is the Good Shepherd…he loves you and desires to give you true life

 

[Jim_Roberts]

Forgive me father for I have sinned. This is my first confession.

These are my sins

1. I have comitted impure acts with myself numerous times.
2. I have viewed impure content on the internet numerous times.
3. I have taken the Eucharist while being in the state of mortal sin.

I am sorry for these and for all the sins of my past life

---

This is an excellent way of accusing yourself of these sins. It is encouraged not to bring in a laundry list with you.

Just tell the priest what you remember and if you cannot remember, the sin is already forgiven when the priest say I absolve you of all your sins.

It is God waiting in the confessional and t he Holy Spirit not be afraid.

 

[Bookcat]

You can bring a list…no problem…

And if you forget a mortal sin…one is to mention it in the next confession even if already absolved indirectly.

 

[helpme93]

Well, I went to confession but people took too long and I was turned away. Will have to go back on Saturday. I guess god wants me to reflect even more on my sins for a little while longer so that i truly will be forgiven.

It wasn’t as scary as i thought. I didn’t confess, but by standing in line i did see the set up and did not seem near as intimidating as i thought.

Thanks for the support! I truly wouldn’t have had the courage without your encouragement. This is an awesome support group.

God Bless!

 

[Bookcat]

Well, I went to confession but people took too long and I was turned away. Will have to go back on Saturday. I guess god wants me to reflect even more on my sins for a little while longer so that i truly will be forgiven.

It wasn’t as scary as i thought. I didn’t confess, but by standing in line i did see the set up and did not seem near as intimidating as i thought.

Thanks for the support! I truly wouldn’t have had the courage without your encouragement. This is an awesome support group.

God Bless!

( I would not put it that way…not turned away …time just ran out at the moment for one reason or another!)

Feel free to call the Priest…and make an appointment earlier

 

[helpme93]

( I would not put it that way…not turned away …time just ran out at the moment for one reason or another!)

Feel free to call the Priest…and make an appointment earlier

Sorry if that came off wrong. I meant no negative feelings in my words.

 

[Elizabeth502]

OP, I do not mean to be presumptuous or forward here, but is that an exhaustive list? (Please don’t share with us your sins any further; this is private material.) I only ask because you have listed mostly sins against the Sixth Commandment (and one against the First), and most people, for a first Confession, have other things to confess: throughout our lives we sin against many of the Commandments. The Fifth Commandment is one that easily gets overlooked because it is associated with “killing,” but what falls under that are sins like excessive anger, verbal abuse, unnecessary fighting, driving recklessly (endangering lives), endangering our own health to a serious degree, etc.

Most people don’t “Steal” (different Commandment), but they sin against this commandment by cheating on taxes, acquiring goods illicitly in some way, profiting off of others, “stealing” time from an employer by low productivity, etc.

Do you have a thorough examination of conscience to follow? There are three that I can recommend, that have been listed on this discussion forum. Two of these also divide between mortal and venial sins, but I would also leave you with this advice from an earlier thread by a poster whom I respect, a religious brother in an Order:

we can approach the Sacrament of Penance not as a legalistic mechanism for the forgiveness of our sins – which it is not. But, instead, it becomes a Sacrament of Healing – which it is. When we form our disposition to the Sacrament of Penance in this ways I think that many of these questions melt away. The anxiety of being a faithful penitent flees from us as an unwanted spirit and we are filled with a spirit of peace.

This sets the disposition. But, there is a practical aspect to the Sacrament that is important. This can be identified as honesty. Be honest with yourself and be honest with your confessor. Tell the confessor what you think are mortal sins and what are not mortal sins, and let him know in advance that you will be confessing both or just one or just the other. This will help the confessor determine the disposition he should have to you. Approached with this level of honesty you will help avoid scrupulosity or permissiveness because you will lay it all before the confessor for him to judge.

Last, leave your sins in the confessional. You will sin again because you are human. So, reconcile yourself to that fact and learn to live a life that is completely dependent upon the Lord’s mercy and not ones own power.

His advice does not contradict the need to examine all the facets and areas of our sins, but rather addresses our attitude.

You do need to mention approximate frequency of any serious sin. (Example: If you committed perjury once, say that. If you regularly committed perjury, then you need to admit that’s been regular over a period of _____months/years)

 

[thistle]

Forgive me father for I have sinned. This is my first confession.

These are my sins

1. I have comitted impure acts with myself numerous times.
2. I have viewed impure content on the internet numerous times.
3. I have taken the Eucharist while being in the state of mortal sin.

I am sorry for these and for all the sins of my past life

Act of Contrition

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

Planned to read off of this in the confessional this evening.

Its Bless me father for I have sinned.

 

[ClayPots47]

1. I have taken the Eucharist while being in the state of mortal sin.

Change this to " I have received the Eucharist while being in the state of mortal sin". we do not “take” Our Lord, we receive Him.

I also agree with what Elizabeth502 wrote. Also, so you don’t have the same thing happen on Saturday that happened today, go early.

 

[Elizabeth502]

Here are the links:

catholicparents.org/examination_of_conscience.html

(and click on examination for adults)
That one above is the one I would recommend for someone who is a novice at this.

gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=18604915

Concentrate on the mortal ones initially; as you get more experience in the sacrament, you will recognize more often, and be moved to confess, persistent venial sins as well. The ‘counsels’ are really for those who go to very frequent confession and want to examine how they can root out faults and become more virtuous in their spiritual journey. Those sections could be ones you want to look at later. It’s a different way of organizing sin, but it covers all the signficant areas.

blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploa…repentance.pdf

^ A different approach. Not that helpful for naming categories of sin, but an excellent way to put in perspective the toxic ways we can affect our world. Also, the list, while general, helps to remind us to examine specific actions (sins) we may have forgotten or brushed off as unimportant. It also names (too generally) sins of omission (“failure to…”). You can’t be general or list “tendencies” in Confession, you must name specific occasions/acts of commission or serious acts of omission, but again the list may help you to remember such specific occasions.

All 3 are good to have in one’s “library” of examens, i.m.o. There are also shorter ones (often) linked to various parish bulletins. Just make sure that you cover all the major areas of sin during your examen (all the commandments), not just a couple.

Hope that helps.