Grace

The Sacrament of Confession (also called Penance or Reconciliation) is primarily about grace, love, and forgiveness. God loves us unconditionally and is always sending his grace and love to us.

Every moment, from every direction, grace is being sent to you. However, you decide how open you are to receiving this grace. You can also ask for more grace.

Take a moment now to ask God for more grace and for an awareness of his loving presence.

(CCC# 1422-1442)

4 Parts to Confession

The Sacrament of Confession is made up of four essential parts.

  1. Sorrow: In order to be ready for the sacrament of Confession, you need to be sorry for your sins. However, there are two types of being sorry. One: You are afraid of the consequences of having sinned. Two: You really truly feel bad and do not want to sin again. As long as you are at least a little bit sorry in either of these ways, the sacrament will provide you grace and reconciliation.

  2. Confession: You have to say your sins out loud to a priest in person.

  3. Absolution: The priest says the words of absolution (forgiveness) to you.

  4. Penance: During Confession, the priest will give you prayers or actions to do after you leave the confessional. These prayers or actions are a way for you to show God you are sorry and are truly willing to change your ways.  Jesus' death on the cross is what fully makes up for our sins, but doing an act of penance allows us to make an offering with Jesus.

Sorrow (or repentance) does not mean you know how to avoid sinning again. Repenting simply means you admit you were wrong and are willing to turn back to God. His repare for confession, if you are open to it, will make you into the type of person that avoids sin in the future. Repenting simply means turning from sin and turning to God in the present tense.

(CCC# 1450-1460)

Brief History of Confession

Why and how did anyone ever begin to confess their sins to a priest in the first place?  In John 20:21 Jesus said to his Apostles "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained". Jesus gave his Apostles the ability to exercise forgiveness in His name. Only God can forgive sins, but He did give the Aposltes the gift to administer his forgiveness.

Early Christians understood that baptism forgives all past sins and initiates us into the family of God. However, there had to be a way for a baptized person to come back into the family of God if he/she ended his/her relationship with God and the Church on purpose (mortal sin). Initally, and even today, the primary purpose of the Sacrament of Confession is to reconcile those who have severed their relationship with God and the Church.

However, with time, Christians realized that they could receive the graces of the sacrament of Confession even if they did not completely break their relationship with God. They could go to Confession to repent of lesser offenses (venial sins) and to receive forgiveness, guidance, and the grace to not sin again.

Mortal Sin: Committing a grave (very serious) offense against God knowing full well that it is a serious offense and knowing that it will declare your relationship with God to be over. Mortal sins intentionally end our relationsihp with God and the Church. Intending such a consequence can be hard to imagine for many people. Often people committ grave offenses but are not fully aware of their gravity or potential consequences. In these cases, a serious commandment was violated, but it did not likely have the effect of breaking one's relationship with God completely. Nevertheless, the primary role of the sacrament of Confession is to reconcile those who have gravely sinned back to God.  Commonly understood sins of a grave nature are idolatry, murder, and adultery. Today Catholics are called to receive the sacrament of Confession once per year even if no mortal sins were comitted.

 (CCC# 1446-1448)

Do I Need a Priest?

The role of the priest in the sacrament of Confession is to stand in the place of and make present the person of Jesus Christ in a mysterious and sacramental way. The priest's role is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ in a personal and concrete way to the person going to confession (the penitent).

Going to a priest is by no means a substitute for personal prayer. The sacrament does not advocate the elimination of a personal conversation with Jesus in favor of the sacrament of Confession. Rather, the sacrament offers a guaranteed encounter with the forgiving ministry of Christ and improves one's personal and communal relationship with Christ. When the Holy Spirit combines the graces of personal prayer and an understanding of the sacrament of confession in one's mind, one finds the same Jesus of the Bible waiting for him/her lovingly in the sacrament of Confession.

While standing in the place of Christ, the human nature of the priest also represents to the penitent, the human dimension of the Church. Our sins not only damage our relationship with God but also with all humanity. By confessing to the priest, the man, you are also admitting your wrong doings to all of humanity in a symbolic way.

(CCC# 1441-1445)

Ongoing Grace

Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead do more than provide forgiveness. The power and grace coming from Jesus' death and resurrection also provide sufficient grace to never sin again. The root of sin is often deep and requires inner healing. Many times we sin not because we are turning from God, but because we felt, in the moment, as if we had nowhere else to turn. Jesus, however, desires more for us. He desires a nearness to us that makes it constantly clear that we can turn to Him and that He will be there. As His grace permeates our lives, we tend to desire sin less and desire God more. Confession is an important gift and tool along this journey. But, like a marriage, our relationship with God is not simply about sin and forgiveness. While sins need to be repented of, God desires a loving, long term, committed relationship with us. And, He has initiated that relationship through his son, Jesus. Take a moment now to turn from your sins and return back to Jesus lovingly in both sacrament and prayer.

...the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true, "spiritual resurrection," restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God. (CCC# 1468, Lk 15:32)

About This App

Great care was taken to remain faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church when creating this app. However, this app is one of many possible individual reflections on the Sacrament of Confession. No one app could fully express the richness of the Catholic tradition.

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Prepare for Confession

Start Here

Preparing for Confession often includes examining your conscience. Click through the following 10 commandments and allow the Holy Spirit to remind you of any sins you have committed. If you'd like to make a note of a particular sin to help jog your memory during the actual Confession, you can put a check next to the question.

When you press the button at the very bottom of the page, the app will move all of your checked sins to the "Guide to Confession" page. Make sure you click "erase sins" on the Guide to Confession page to clear the check marks on this page.

(CCC# 1454)

Commandment I

I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.

Commandment II

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

Commandment III

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

Commandment IV

Honor your father and your mother.

Commandment V

You shall not kill.

Commandment VI

You shall not commit adultery.

For those who are Married

Commandment VII

You shall not steal.

Commandment VIII

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (You shall not lie.)

Commandment IX and X

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
Go to the Confession Guide

Begin Here

Blessing

When it is your turn for Confession, sit down in the chair or kneel at the kneeler near the priest. He may give you a blessing as you are sitting down. You then say:

"Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been ___ months(weeks/years) since my last confession. These are my sins."

Confession

Now, share your sins. If you used the Prepare for Confession section of this app, your sins will appear below. Some have "and/or" statements and you may only need to say one of the options included.

You sins will show up here if you use the "Prepare for Confession" section of this app.

The priest may ask a clarifying question or two about your sins. He will then give advice and counsel. He will also give some form of penance to do after the confession. It may be a prayer, a meditation, or some action.

Act of Contrition:

The priest may ask you to say the following prayer. Or, he may ask you to pray it later.

"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."

Absolution

The priest will extend his hand and say the prayer of absolution. Bow your head while he prays and receive the forgiveness of Christ.

The priest may give you a final blessing. If the final blessing ends in "Go in peace," you respond:

Thanks be to God.

You can thank the priest as you leave.

Penance

Remember to do the prayers or acts of penance the priest gave you. Doing the act of penance completes the Sacrament of Confession.

Erase Sins