This is called an examination of conscience. Review your life with the help of questions based on the Ten Commandments. There are various types of examinations of conscience but regardless of which one you use to prepare yourself for the Sacrament it should be rooted in Scripture; particularly, the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes.
Ask the priest to help you - This is what Father became a priest to do: to make us friends with God again.
Remember that God loves you - He wants to give you this free gift of His mercy and His love. Listen to this homily - A priest reminds us about the amazing love of God in the confessional. Listen to the Homily Here. The Sacrament of Reconciliation may be face-to-face or anonymous, with a screen between you and the priest. Choose the option that is the most comfortable for you. When you enter the confessional, the priest will give you a blessing or greeting.
He may also share a brief Scripture passage. It helps us to examine our lives, and to make a good confession, so that we can be at peace with Christ and with one another. The important thing, of course, is to love, and to live our Catholic faith with our whole heart.
But now and then it is useful to spell out what this really means, and to make sure that we are not kidding ourselves. This Examination of Conscience is not to be used every day, or even at every confession — we do not need to go through a checklist every time.
It is here for us to look at every now and then. It is based around the Ten Commandments. As we reflect on it, we can ask the Lord to shine his light into our hearts. Some things will not apply to us; but if something in particular touches our conscience, then we can bring it to confession. His love never fails or changes. He loves us passionately, with infinite kindness and tenderness.
The only reason we remember our sins is so that we can turn to him and receive his forgiveness, and learn to love him in a new and deeper way. How to go to Confession. General advice Sometimes we get nervous about going to confession. After confession If it is possible now, do your penance in the church before you leave; e. You shall not have strange gods before me.
Do I seek to love God with all my heart? Do I stay faithful to Jesus, even when I have difficulties or doubts? Do I make at least some time for prayer every day? Do I hold on to the practice of my Catholic faith, or have I turned away from it, or spoken against the teachings of the Church?
Have I been involved with the occult, e. Have I put faith in horoscopes? Have I received Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin? When things are difficult, do I hope in God, or do I give in to self-pity and despair? Do I get angry and resentful with him? Do I make a sincere effort to come to Mass on time, and to listen and pray during the Mass?
Do I fast for an hour before receiving Holy Communion apart from water and medicine? Am I reverent in church? Do I try to keep Sunday as a day of prayer, rest and relaxation, avoiding unnecessary work?
Do I honour and respect my parents? Do I show kindness to my brothers and sisters? Do I treat my children with love and respect? Do I carry out my family duties Do I support and care for the well-being of all family members, especially the elderly and the sick? Do I honour and obey my lawful superiors, and follow the just laws of my country? Do I love my neighbour as myself? This means that you need to be sorry for your sins. There are two forms of contrition.
Perfect contrition and imperfect contrition. Some people become anxious because they would wonder if they are truly sorry. It is fine if you have imperfect contrition. We are all growing and if we are taking our relationship with God seriously, then His grace moves us towards the more perfect form of contrition. To be clear, the definitions are as follows: [6]. Imperfect Contrition : You are sorry for your sins because you fear that God will punish you for them. Perfect Contrition : You are sorry for your sins because you have offended God, who is infinitely good and who loves you beyond all measure.
If someone jabs at you or purposely makes your life more difficult and always says they are sorry, but keeps doing it, you begin to wonder if they are really sorry.
People who are sorry for an offense try very hard not to hurt the person again. Sometimes it happens again, but you can tell who is trying and who is not.
Avoid friends who drink a lot. If you struggle with pornography, have your wife or friend password protect your computer, install Covenant Eyes software. Get a dumb phone. Do whatever it takes.
You know yourself and you know when and how you get into trouble. Think about your habits and create a plan that prevents you from falling into the traps that you know are already set. The actual confessing of sins is the part that most people are afraid of. You do not need to fear. There is nothing you are going to confess that the priest has not already heard. He has listened to confessions of lying, cheating, gossiping, violence, pornography use, fornication, homosexual behavior, abortion, sterilization, IVF use, etc.
He has heard it all. Confession is one of the biggest reliefs and the greatest gift God extends to us. After you are absolved of your sins, the priest will give you a penance that you should do as soon as possible. This is usually a saying a few prayers but sometimes the priest gets creative. If you are given a penance that you cannot do, like a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, wearing a hair shirt, or 10 years of hard labor, joking of course! Related: If you are really struggling, consider finding a Spiritual Director.
Our Lord knows you. He knows you are trying. He loves you profoundly, but it does not mean that you should forget about this important battle though. I have personally battled pervasive mortal sin in my life that held over for a while because of a time in my life when I was undisciplined, far from Jesus, and careless with my decisions.
Jesus Christ overcame it for me, through the sacrament of confession and fought alongside me.
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