Devotions for Confession

Before Confession
REFLECT that this confession may be the last of your life. Therefore, prepare yourself for it as if you were lying sick upon your deathbed, and already at the brink of the grave. Ask God to give you the grace to make a good examination of conscience, the light to see your sins clearly, and the strength to make a sincere confession and to amend your life.

Prayer
Most merciful God, Father in heaven, relying on Thy goodness and mercy, I come to Thee with filial confidence to confess my sins and to implore Thy forgiveness. Thou wilt not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless me and receive me again into Thy favour; I acknowledge that I have been most ungrateful to Thee, but I sincerely repent and detest the wrong I have done, and I desire henceforth to walk in the way of perfection, in accordance with Thy holy will.

О Jesus, my Saviour, my good Shepherd. I have strayed far from the path that Thou hast marked out for me; I did not follow in Thy footsteps; I wandered into forbidden Places, Repentant and sorrowful, I beg to be admitted again into the fold of Thy faithful followers. I want to confess my sins with perfect sincerity, as if I were at the point of death. My Jesus, I look to Thee with confidence for the grace to examine my conscience well.
О Holy Spirit, come in Thy mercy; enlighten my mind and strengthen my will that I may know my sins, humbly confess them, and sincerely amend my life.

Mary, my mother, immaculate spouse of the Holy Ghost, refuge of sinners, assist me in Thy intercession.

Holy angels and saints of God, pray for me, Amen.

Examination of Conscience

Begin by examining yourself on your last confession: whether a grievous sin was forgotten through want of proper examination, or concealed or disguised through shame; whether confessed without a true sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment; whether you have repaired evil done to your neighbour; whether the penance was performed without voluntary distractions; whether you have neglected your confessor’s counsel, and fallen at once into habitual sins.

Then examine yourself on the Ten Commandments, the commandments of the Church, the seven capital sins, the duties of your state of life and your ruling passion. Calmly recall the different occasions of sin which have fallen in your way, or to which your state and condition in life expose you, the places you have frequented, and the persons with whom you have associated. Do not neglect to consider the circumstances which alter the grievousness of the sin, nor the various ways іп which we become accessory to the sins of others.

The Ten Commandments of God

I AM the Lord thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. “Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, not serve them.

2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.

5. Thou shalt not kill.

6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

7. Thou shalt not steal.

8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods.

The Six Precepts of the Church

To hear Mass on Sundays and holy-days of obligation.

То fast and abstain оn the days appointed.

To confess at least once a year.

To receive Holy Eucharist during Easter time.

To contribute to the support of our pastors.

Observe the Church’s laws on marriage.

The Seven Deadly Sins and their Opposite Virtues

Pride ——————— Humility
Covetousness ———-Liberality
Lust ———————- Chastity
Anger ——————– Meekness
Gluttony —————- Temperance
Envy ——————— Brotherly Love
Sloth ——————— Diligence

The Four Sins Which Cry Out To Heaven For Vengeance

1. Wilful murder.
2. The sin of Sodom.
3. Oppression of the poor.
4. Defrauding the labourer of his wages.

Nine Ways of Being Accessory to Another’s Sin

1. By counsel.
2. By command.
3. By consent.
4. By provocation.
5. By praise or flattery.
6. By concealment.
7. By partaking.
8. By silence,
9. By defence of the ill done,

The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy

1. To admonish sinners.
2. To instruct the ignorant.
3. То counsel the doubtful.
4. To comfort the sorrowful.
5. To bear wrongs patiently.
6. To forgive all injuries.
7. То pray for the living and the dead.

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To visit and ransom the captives.
5. To harbor the harbourless.
6. To visit the sick.
7. To bury the dead.

Preliminary Examination

When did you make your last confession? Did you take sufficient pains to awaken contrition? Did you omit to confess a mortal sin either intentionally or through forgetfulness? Did you intentionally neglect to say the penance which was imposed on you, or were you so careless as to forget it? Have you carried out the resolutions you made at your last confession or have you paid no heed at all to them?

Examination on the Ten Commandments of God

1. Have you doubted in matters of faith? Murmured against God, at your adversity or at the prosperity of others? Despaired of His mercy? Have you believed in fortune-tellers or consulted them? Have you gone to places of worship belonging to other denominations?
Have you recommended yourself daily to God? Neglected your morning or night prayers? Omitted religious duties or Practices through motives of human respect? Have you read books, papers, and periodicals of anti- Catholic or atheistic tendency? Made use of superstitious practices? Spoken with levity or irreverence of priests, Religious, or sacred objects?

2. Have you taken the name of God in vain? Profaned anything relating to religion?
Have you sworn falsely, rashly, or in slight and trivial matters? Cursed yourself or others, or any creature? Angered others so as to make them swear, or blaspheme God?

3. Have you kept holy the Lord’s Day, and all other days commanded to be kept holy? Bought or sold things not of necessity on that day? Done or commanded some servile work not of necessity? Missed Mass or been willfully distracted during Mass? Talked, gazed, or laughed in the church?

4. Have you honoured your parents, superiors, and masters, according to your just duty? Deceived them? Disobeyed them? Have you failed in due reverence to aged persons?

5. Have you procured, desired, or hastened the death of anyone? Borne hatred? Oppressed any one? Desired revenge? Not forgiven injuries? Refused to speak to others? ‘Used provoking language? Injured others? Caused enmity between others?

6 and 9. Have you been guilty of lascivious dressing? Been іп lewd company? Read immodest books online porography? Been guilty of unchaste songs, discourses, words, or actions? Wilfully entertained impure thoughts or desires?

7. Have you been guilty of stealing, or of deceit in buying, or selling, in regard to wares, prices, weights, or measures? Have you wilfully damaged another man’s goods, or negligently spoiled them?

8. Have you borne false witness? Called injurious names? Disclosed another’s sins? Flattered others? Judged rashly?

10. Have you coveted unjustly anything that belongs to another?

Examination on the Precepts of the Church

HAVE you gone to confession at least once a year? Received holy communion during Easter-time? Have you violated the fasts of the Church, or eaten flesh meat on prohibited days?
Have you sinned against any other commandment of the Church?

Examine yourself also in regard to the seven capital sins and the nine ways of being accessory to another’s sin.

After the Examination

Having discovered the sins of which you have been guilty, together with their number, enormity, or such circumstances as may change their nature, you should endeavour to incite in yourself a heartfelt sorrow for having committed them, and a sincere detestation of them. This being the most essential of all the disposition requisite for a good confession, with what humility, fervour, and perseverance should you not importune Him Who holds the hearts of men in His hands to grant it to you!

How to Receive the Sacrament

When you are in the presence of the priest, kneel and make the sign of the cross: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Bless, me Father, for I have sinned, it has been …………since my last confession. I accuse myself of the following sins (or: This is a general confession of the sins of my whole life).
You then tell all your mortal sins in kind and number. (For instance; “I have missed Mass on Sunday twice” “I have helped a friend to procure an abortion.” “I committed adultery three times.” “I gambled away a whole week’s pay.”) You may also add your venial sins, but need not tell kind and number. Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest. The simpler and the more honest, the better. Don’t make excuses. Don’t try to disguise or minimize what you have done. Most importantly, think of Christ crucified dying out of love for you. Step on your pride and admit your guilt.
After telling of all your sins add: For these and all my past sins I am truly sorry, and I beg pardon from God and penance and absolution from you, father.
The priest may ask questions to help clear up any doubt about the nature of the sins confessed or to determine if you are truly sorry. The priest may also offer some advice as to how you might amend your life.
The priest then proposes an act of penance in order to make satisfaction for your sins and amend your life.
You then express your sorrow by reciting the Act of Contrition:

Act of Contrition

O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee; and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good, and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen