Making Use of Sacrament of Reconciliation
Confession Available Daily
December 03, 2007
Scripture enjoins us to confess our sins “one to another.”
That is, there is a mediation of God’s
grace of forgiveness to us. That mediation is through the ministers
of the Church. Jesus’s first gift after His resurrection: “Peace be
with you. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven; whose
sins you shall retain, they are retained.” Sin damages us
individually and the Church. Hence when we have sinned seriously,
we must be reconciled as an individual to the Church. That’s why
Jesus gave us the opportunity and blessing that is the sacrament of
reconciliation, or confession.
Some steps for the sacrament:
1. Examine your conscience, your memory of sins you have committed.
Use a memory device such as a list of possible sins. Remember that
any offense against the virtues is a sin. Try with God’s grace to
remember every serious sin. These must be confessed. If you forget
one, you can confess it at your next opportunity. If you hold one
inside, however, it’s like an acid on your soul: it hurts the whole
confession process. Get them all out. If you are afraid of your
memory, write your sins down on a slip of paper you can later
destroy.
2. For each sin, determine that since they separate you from God,
you want God’s help to avoid them in the future. If you don’t have
a resolve to stop that sin, it can’t be forgiven. If you later fall
into sin again, it doesn’t invalidate your confession, but it will
need to be confessed again. The sacrament gives you the grace to
avoid sin.
3. When it is your turn, enter the reconciliation room. You may
kneel behind the screen for
anonymity or sit where you can confess face-to-face. Remember that
the priest is Christ for you.
Say that you are sorry for your sins and about how long it’s been
since you’ve confessed to a priest. That helps the priest diagnose
your spiritual condition. The priest may never reveal your
sins to anyone else. Confess all your sins, serious and not
serious. The priest will listen. He may ask you some questions to
help you, and give you some advice.
4. At the conclusion of your celebration, the priest may ask you to
pray an act of contrition in his
presence. He will assign you a penance, usually one or more
prayers, and give you absolution.
Christ is forgiving your sins at that moment. After they are
absolved, they no longer exist (although
they may leave some residual effects).
5. Thank the priest, leave the reconciliation room and return to
the chapel, where you should perform your penance and make the act
of contrition if you haven’t already. Praise and thank God for the
gift of forgiveness. Make some resolution to do good, and then go
out forgiven to do it.
An Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I
detest all my sins because of Your just punishments, but most of
all because they offend You, my God, Who art all-good and deserving
of all my love. You gave Jesus as the sacrifice for all my sins. I
firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more, to do
penance and to avoid the near occasions of sin.
Central Catholic's chaplain is available every day during lunch periods for confession.
