What Puts You at Ease Before Confession?

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I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
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Hey,

What helps me is simply remembering that the confessor is there to help people come closer to God, and that God called this man to hear your confession. In a way, they WANT us to come to confession because it allows us to be reconciled back to Christ. Plus he’s heard every sin in the book.

Derek
 
Firstly - it’s meant to be at least a little bit unpleasant, since we are dealing with sin after all. You don’t want to get too used to or comfortable about confession.

How you deal with it depends on why you are ‘dreading’ it.

Are you worried that your sins are so awful that the priest is going to say something uncomplimentary to you? That’s extremely rare. Priests have pretty much heard it all, so you are unlikely to shock them. And they themselves confess - maybe worse sins than yours - and so most of them know full well that a kind word goes a lot further than a harsh one in the confessional.

Are you worried that he will recognise you afterwards and think differently (worse) about you because of your sins? See the above.

Maybe he will say something a bit rough - and maybe that will be Jesus speaking through him to tell you something you need to hear. He wasn’t always a pussycat, if you look through the Gospels!

Are you embarrassed by your sins? Find it hard to admit them to another person? Think of those feelings as getting a headstart on your penance and promise yourself to use them as an incentive in future to avoid sin.

Remember also that you are really confessing to Jesus, who already knows everything you’ve done, and is just waiting for you to name it like a patient has to name the symptoms of their illness (even when it’s embarrassing to do so) before they can get proper treatment from their doctor.

Above all, say a little prayer before you enter the confessional for the grace to make a good and honest confession, and a little prayer as well for the priest who will be hearing your confession (it’s not always so easy for them either, I’m sure). And look forward to the glorious feeling of being relieved of your burden of sin afterwards.

God bless.
 
Hey,
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What helps me is simply remembering that the confessor is there to help people come closer to God, and that God called this man to hear your confession. In a way, they WANT us to come to confession because it allows us to be reconciled back to Christ. Plus he’s heard every sin in the book.
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Derek
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Thanks 🙂
Yeah, I think something that helps me is thinking there’s not many things that’ll surprise him.
 
Thank you very much LilyM. That feeling after confession is such a relief 😃
 
I have learned that preparing in advance, before I go to confession helps me. I usually do the examination of conscience more than once. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you and give you peace,strength and courage to go through your confession. Never hesitate to ask the priest for help.

I also use this app (for iPhone and android) - Confession - http://www.littleiapps.com/confession/#. It helps me a lot with my preparation.

You’ll be in my prayers.:gopray:

Hope this helps! Peace and all good!
 
Pray, and think to yourself that after confession you will be in a state of grace. How wonderful it is to be in friendship with the Lord our God and know that Christ forgives all of our sins when we are truly sorry.👍
 
I always pray before going into the confessional, asking for the strength to just lay it out there to the priest in all its gory detail. Brutal honesty is a must. Be very direct and don’t fool around. I can assure you that the priest has heard it before, probably many times, and will not flinch when you confess your little sins.

After absolution, you will feel fantastic, on top of the world, so loved by God. I know I never feel better, closer to God, than after a good confession.

Good luck and God bless.
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
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Well, what makes me feel better is not thinking about the Confession itself, but thinking about after, and how happy I am to know I have been forgiven of past sins. What also helps me is to remember that it is a very good humbling experience and God wouldn’t want us to do it unless it was good for us. I also remember that once I actually step foot into the confessional and start, I never actually feel nervous and I’m making it a bigger deal in my mind than it really is. Well, scratch that, it is a big deal, but not in the light I’m putting it in. It is not a place in which a Priest hears my faults and judges me, but a place where a Priest hears my shortcomings, gives me advice to avoid these things in the future, and then absolves me completely of them. Also, before you go, remember to pray for your confessor, and ask God, Mary, and all the Saints to give you the strength to say whatever you must.
 
What puts me at ease?

Prayer.

Being prepared.

The knowledge that my priest is always kind and encouraging (as are most).

Knowing that God loves to forgive.

Knowing that there is nothing that our Merciful Lord can not forgive.
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
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Jesus is there, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. That makes everyone reverent.

Also, if there are any children waiting to confess, I watch them and remember how nervous I used to get when I was their age. And I think how innocent they are in reality and how innocent I used to be. (Of course, then I also get depressed thinking about how I have to confess REAL sins now…😦 )

But honestly, I’m never at ease before I confess. I don’t see how anyone could be. The nature of sin is that it puts us out of contact with Jesus. I wouldn’t want to be at ease in that condition!

:nope:
 
I read scripture.

Maybe something from 1 John, or a bit of the Psalms…
Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.**
(Psalm 51:11-14)*

I sometimes pray “Into your hand’s Lord I commend my spirit” as I walk into the confessional and “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace. Your word has been fulfilled” as I exit.

Last time I said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (cf John 21:17) right before I stated my sins.

For me scripture is soothing.

-Tim-
 
I pray before I go asking God to show me what I need to confess. Then when it is time I just go and one other thing I sometimes do. I write down what I want to say and then when I come out and after I do my penance, I tear up the paper. Great feeling. You walk out of the Church into the light and feel awesome.
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional.
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A double scotch. 😃

But seriously, I dread it too. I think what helps me most is going often, because I think anything you do a lot you can’t help getting comfortable with. That, and knowing it will be over soon. whew

Edit: OH! Also? A list. I keep a small notebook with lists of my sins. I’m so nervous in the confessional, I’d never remember my sins. Plus, sometimes I can’t remember if I confessed something, so I can look back and see if it’s on a past list.
 
constantconvert said:
A double scotch. 😃

But seriously, I dread it too. I think what helps me most is going often, because I think anything you do a lot you can’t help getting comfortable with. That, and knowing it will be over soon. whew

Edit: OH! Also? A list. I keep a small notebook with lists of my sins. I’m so nervous in the confessional, I’d never remember my sins. Plus, sometimes I can’t remember if I confessed something, so I can look back and see if it’s on a past list.
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I was going to say a shot and a beer. 😉

For myself, I think about how cool it is to walk out of there sin-free. That and knowing my priest has heard it all before, and lots worse than I’ve ever done.
 
kykid said:
I always pray before going into the confessional, asking for the strength to just lay it out there to the priest in all its gory detail. Brutal honesty is a must. Be very direct and don’t fool around. I can assure you that the priest has heard it before, probably many times, and will not flinch when you confess your little sins.

After absolution, you will feel fantastic, on top of the world, so loved by God. I know I never feel better, closer to God, than after a good confession.

Good luck and God bless.
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I hear this a lot. Everyone feels so great after confession. Personally I don’t feel any different, except relieved that I don’t have to do it again for a week or two.
 
Knowing that the confessional is the safest place in the world. You can say anything there and be absolutely assured it will never come back to haunt you. Not only that, but it will be forgiven.

What makes me personally at ease is going to my regular confessor, a priest who knows and understands me better than I know myself, and extends the love of God to me every single time through his encouragement. I know I will come out lifted up. It’s almost as if he knows those sins are not really part of me and is just as eager as I am to get rid of them. One time when I was ill, he visited me at home and heard my confession in the kitchen. We sat on chairs by the table, and the trash can just happened to be in between us. Afterward, I remarked on that, and how it seemed the sins were just falling into the can. He said the only thing better would have been if the trash can could have made the sins disappear after they fell in.
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
Click to expand...
Prayer
 
KelseyBelsey said:
I’m going to confession tomorrow and I’m dreading it. I’m wondering what puts other Catholics at ease before you enter the confessional. What comforts you or makes you feel less nervous? Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂
Click to expand...
Knowing how I’m going to feel afterward. I’m actually usually pretty excited to go to Confession. That refreshing feeling of having the weight of my sins lifted off my shoulders is something I look forward to.
 
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