i went to reconciliation for the first time in awhile and it was so hard. does it always have to be so hard? i cried and felt so awful…it does get better right? how often do you guys go? in a way i feel better now, and in a way i can’t stop being sad and embarrassed. uggggggh.
Hopefully it WILL get better. I once went after not going for a long time, but the embarrasment and shame was BEFORE I went. I figured God already knew what I had done. Going to confession wasn’t easy, but it was good. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. The dirt was washed away, the shame was gone. Grace flowed in.
I go every couple of months, but for a long time we went once every year or so. Last year one of my boys asked me why we only went once a year, and I didn’t have a good answer for him, so we’ve been going every 2 or 3 months since then.
Yes, confession is hard. That difficulty can serve some good purposes - it serves as an incentive not to sin again for one thing. Something to think of when you’re tempted!
For another, you can offer all the emotions you go through to God as an atonement for your sins - think of it as getting a jump start on your penance
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I once went after not going for a long time, but the embarrasment and shame was BEFORE I went. I figured God already knew what I had done. 
Going to confession wasn’t easy, but it was good. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. The dirt was washed away, the shame was gone. Grace flowed in.
and I didn’t have a good answer for him, so we’ve been going every 2 or 3 months since then.