RCIA newly received: How to go to Confession

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I have only gone to confession once, before the Easter Vigil. I made a private appointment and sat and talked to the priest, but I didn’t know “how” to go to confession, and if they gave us any detailed instructions on how to do it in RCIA I don’t remember it (frustrating). I may have missed it.

I would like to go through the steps correctly for the sake of respecting the sacrament. Can anyone help me?

When I go into the confessional, I make th e sign of the cross and say, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned,”

Now at this point I am confused. Do I wait for Father to bless me, (and do I make the sign of the cross again??) and say “Lord you know all things, you know that I love you”

OR do I simply say, “It has been 1 month since my last confession”

And then, do I wait for Father to bless me again? And then confess my sins?
 
welcome home!

Kneel in front of the screen, or sit in the chair facing the priest, your choice. Begin right away, bless yourself and say
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been one month since my last confession (or this is my first confession. My sins are . . .
list them in kind and number (or frequency), use the actual name of the sin not a cute euphemism. He has heard it all and will not be shocked, embarrassed or amused.
I missed Mass twice (number)
I steal doughnuts from the coffee truck daily. (frequency)
For these and for all the sins of my past life I am heartily sorry.
Wait for the priest to speak and give his instruction and advice, including penance. Say the act of contrition when he tells you and wait for absolution. If he does not tell you to recite this prayer, say it as soon as you leave the confessional and do your penance.

some priests will greet you, and some will not, especially if there are a great many penitents waiting.
be prepared, be accurate, be brief.
 
I was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil 2005 and have had a lot of difficulty with Confession. There was little to no instruction during my RCIA program and the few times I’ve gone to the Sacrament I felt confused about how to do it. One of our priests usually tells me I am depressed and asks me why I am at Confession. This particular priest is not much in favor of Confession and prefers to give General Absolution during the Mass.

Thank you so much for the instruction in the above replies. The pamphlet is particularly good and I am going to print it out.

I wonder how often one should go to Confession. I have been told it is only for mortal sins but then I’ve heard others say it is good to confess venial sins as well. Do you have any suggestions or comments on this? Thank you.
 
I suggest regular confession. It is very healing and we grow in faith more as we give our venial sins over in confession. We start to see our selves as God sees us and we are more quickly to be able to see right from wrong.

Once a year is all that is required but many like to go monthly or weekly, for spiritual growth and direction.
 
patricia said:
I was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil 2005 and have had a lot of difficulty with Confession. There was little to no instruction during my RCIA program and the few times I’ve gone to the Sacrament I felt confused about how to do it. One of our priests usually tells me I am depressed and asks me why I am at Confession. This particular priest is not much in favor of Confession and prefers to give General Absolution during the Mass.

Thank you so much for the instruction in the above replies. The pamphlet is particularly good and I am going to print it out.

I wonder how often one should go to Confession. I have been told it is only for mortal sins but then I’ve heard others say it is good to confess venial sins as well. Do you have any suggestions or comments on this? Thank you.
Click to expand...
I haven’t heard how often BXVI goes to confession but JPII went weekly. Personally I try to go at least once a month. You might want to seek out a Priest who is a better confessor then the one you have been going to see. Remember that Priests are human and each have different gifts.
 
DallasCatholic said:
I haven’t heard how often BXVI goes to confession but JPII went weekly. Personally I try to go at least once a month. You might want to seek out a Priest who is a better confessor then the one you have been going to see. Remember that Priests are human and each have different gifts.
Click to expand...
Our regular priest is awesome in the confessional but unfortunately we are not given any schedule as to which priest will be hearing confessions. I get so nervous but hope in time that I will do better. Thank you for your response.
 
It has been many years since my last confession…most of my life actually. And being here, i had the same concerns and questions. I had a few here walk me through it, and it was very emotional for me. But then again, so am i.

For me, the rubricks, the laws, the words used interfered with getting to the meat of the process, and i could not properly guage the authenticity, debth, and degree of sins…still do not, but i know God is patient, and i keep trying.

I found great solace in a particular examination of conscience on the web: Father Pat’s Examination of Conscience. Put that into a google bar and you will see the list and catagories from 1-10 of the commandments. I was shocked how i still in my frustration in life often confess, Thou shalt not kill. You see, there is much to be said to yell at your children, or call down someone in anger. We still kill their spirit.

So, there is also the indeviduality of priests for format. I say the best thing to do is go in, and tell him you are not sure, and ask him to walk you through it. He will, as your soul is his responsibilty and he cherrishes these events. The other thing is to go to the office of the church, and ask for information on the format of the act of reconcilliation. They will be glad to give you things.

Good luck, and welcome home…
’
Lana
 
patricia said:
I was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil 2005 and have had a lot of difficulty with Confession. There was little to no instruction during my RCIA program and the few times I’ve gone to the Sacrament I felt confused about how to do it. One of our priests usually tells me I am depressed and asks me why I am at Confession. This particular priest is not much in favor of Confession and prefers to give General Absolution during the Mass.

Thank you so much for the instruction in the above replies. The pamphlet is particularly good and I am going to print it out.

I wonder how often one should go to Confession. I have been told it is only for mortal sins but then I’ve heard others say it is good to confess venial sins as well. Do you have any suggestions or comments on this? Thank you.
Click to expand...
I try to confess once a week because I know that I have sinned in that week willingly and knowingly. True you are only required to confess when in a state of Mortal Sin, but you can confess any time you know that you have sinned and you feel contrition for them.
 
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