5 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

1. Examine your conscience – recall the sins that you have committed since your last good confession.

2. Be sincerely sorry for your sins. If you are having trouble with this, take time to meditate on Jesus suffering because of your sin.

3. Confess your sins to the priest.

4. Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins – number/kind.

5. After confession, do the penance assigned.

𝙀𝙭𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

𝟭. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆.

Do I give God time every day in prayer?

Do I seek to love Him with my whole heart?

Have I been involved with superstitious practices or have I been involved with the occult?

Do I seek to surrender myself to God´s word as taught by the Church?

Have I ever received communion in the state of mortal sin?

Have I ever deliberately told a lie in Confession or have I withheld a mortal sin from the priest in Confession?

Are there other “gods” in my life? Money, Security, Power, People, etc.?

𝟮. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒏.

Have I used God´s name in vain: lightly or carelessly?

Have I been angry with God?

Have I wished evil upon any other person?

Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?

𝟯. 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅´𝒔 𝑫𝒂𝒚.

Did I miss Mass on any Sunday or Holyday of Obligation? (Bad weather and being sick do not count)

Have I shown disrespect by leaving Mass early, not paying attention or not joining in the prayers? Did I do unnecessary work on Sunday which could have been done the day before?

Have I been stingy in my support for the Church? Do I give of my time & talent?

𝟰. 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.

Do I honor and obey my parents?

Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children?

Have I given my family good religious example?

Do I try to bring peace into my home life?

Do I care for my aged and infirm relatives?

𝟱. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍.

Have I had an abortion or encouraged or helped anyone to have an abortion?

Have I physically harmed anyone?

Have I abused alcohol or drugs?

Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading him or her into sin?

Have I been angry or resentful?

Have I harbored hatred in my heart?

Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization?

Have I encouraged or condoned sterilization?

Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against humanlife such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization?

Have I participated in or approved of euthanasia?

𝟲. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚

Have I been faithful to my marriage vows in thought and action?

Have I engaged in any sexual activity outside of marriage?

Have I used any method of contraception or artificial birth control in my marriage?

Has each sexual act in my marriage been open to the transmission of new life?

Have I been guilty of masturbation?

Do I seek to control my thoughts and imaginations?

Have I respected all members of the opposite sex, or have I thought of other people as mere objects?

Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity?

Do I seek to be chaste in my thoughts, words,actions?

Am I careful to dress modestly?

𝟳. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍.

Have I stolen what is not mine?

Have I returned or made restitution for what I have stolen?

Do I waste time at work, school, and home?

Do I gamble excessively, thereby denying my family of their needs?

Do I pay my debts promptly?

Do I seek to share what I have with the poor?

Have I cheated anyone out of what is justly theirs, for example creditors, insurance companies, big corporations?

𝟴. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓´𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆.

Have I consented to impure thoughts?

Have I caused them by impure reading, movies, television, conversation or curiosity?

Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations?

Have I behaved in an inappropriate way with members of the opposite sex: flirting, being superficial, etc.?

Do I view pornographic material (magazines, videos, internet, hot-lines)?

Have I gone to massage parlors or adult book stores?

𝟵. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓´𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔

Have I stolen any object, committed any shoplifting or cheated anyone of their money?

Did I knowingly deceive someone in business or commit fraud?

Have I shown disrespect or even contempt for other people’s property?

Have I done any acts of vandalism?

Am I greedy or envious of another’s goods?

Do I let financial and material concerns or the desire for comfort override my duty to God, to Church, to my family or my own spiritual well-being?

𝟭𝟬. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓.

Have I told a lie in order to deceive someone? Have I told the truth with the purpose and intention of ruining someone’s reputation (sin of detraction)?

Have I told a lie or spread rumors which may ruin someone’s reputation (sin of calumny or slander)? Did I commit perjury by false swearing an oath on the Bible?

Am I a busybody or do I love to spread gossip and secrets about others?

Do I love to hear bad news about my enemies?

Do I speak badly of others behind their back?

Am I sincere in my dealings with others?

Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?

𝐀 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

1. You always have the option to go to confession anonymously, that is, behind a screen or face to face, if you so desire.

2. After the priest greets you in the name of Christ, make the sign of the cross. He may choose to recite a reading from Scripture, after which you say: “Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been (state how long) since my last confession. These are my sins.”

3. Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest. You might even want to discuss the circumstances and the root causes of your sins and ask the priest for advice or direction.

4. Listen to the advice the priest gives you and accept the penance from him. Then make an Act of Contrition for your sins.

5. The priest will then dismiss you with the words of praise: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. You respond: “For His mercy endures forever.” The priest will then conclude with:”The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.” And you respond by saying: “Thanks be to God.”

6. Spend some time with Our Lord thanking and praising Him for the gift of His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.

𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

O most merciful God! Prostrate at your feet, I implore your forgiveness. I sincerely desire to leave all my evil ways and to confess my sins with all sincerity to you and to your priest. I am a sinner, have mercy on me, O Lord. Give me a lively faith and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer. Give me, for your mercy´s sake a sorrow for having offended so good a God. Mary, my mother, refuge of sinners, pray for me that I may make a good confession. Amen.

𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Oh 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. Amen.

Source: Fear Not