PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

X REQUIREMENTS FOR MAKING A WORTHY CONFESSION X

To receive this Sacrament worthily, five things are necessary:1) examination of conscience. 2) sorry for our sins. 3) resolution to sin no more. 4) confession of our sins to the priest. 5) to carry out the penance imposed. In order to prepare oneself for a good confession, it is good to implore God for His light and grace. The following prayers can be helpful:

X PRAYER TO THE HOLY TRINITY, TO THE MOTHER OF GOD, X

AND TO THE ANGELS AND SAINTS

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

O Jesus, my Savior, my Good Shepherd, I have strayed far from the path that You have marked out for me. I did not follow in Your footsteps; I wandered into forbidden places. Repentant and sorrowful, I beg to be admitted again into the fold of Your faithful followers. I want to confess my sins with the same sincerity as I should wish to do at the moment of my death. My Jesus, I look to You with confidence for the grace to examine my conscience well.

O Holy Spirit, come in Your 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 Spirit, Refuge of Sinners, assist me by your intercession.

Holy angels and my patron saints and all the saints of God, pray for me. Amen.

St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene pray for me!

X EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE X

a) On the Ten Commandments

1.) Have I deliberately entertained doubts in matters of faith? Believed in or consulted fortune-tellers? Frequented places of false worship? Read books against the faith? or listened willingly to remarks against it? Neglected my religious duties through human respect? Been guilty of presumption or despair? Been irreverent in church or toward sacred persons or things or been deliberately distracted during prayers? Belonged to forbidden societies? Been guilty of superstitious practices?

2.) Have I taken the name of God in vain? Spoken with disrespect of holy things? Sworn falsely, rashly, or in trivial things? Cursed or blasphemed, or caused others to do so?

3.) Have I kept holy the Sundays and holy days of obligation? Assisted at the Divine Liturgy and abstained from servile work on such days? Have I_ prevented others from doing the same?

4.) Have I honored and obeyed my parents, pastors, and other superiors as was just? Have I been respectful to the elderly? Conscientious in my charge over children and others who depend on me?

5.) Have I desired, hastened, or procured the death of anyone? Been guilty of hatred and anger? Quarreled with, or oppressed or provoked anyone? Desired revenge? Given scandal? Refused to forgive?

6.) and 9.) Have I deliberately entertained impure thoughts or desires? Have I deliberately associated with people who were to me a source or occasion of sin against purity? Listened to immodest stories? Read bad books or attended dangerous amusements? Have I committed any impure act either alone or with others? Been an occasion of sin to others by my talk, manner of dress, or actions?

7.) and 10.) Have I taken or kept what is not mine? Cheated others or harmed them in property? Coveted what belonged to others? Neglected to make restitution?

8.) Have I borne false witness against my neighbor or in his favor? Have I injured others by lying, rash judgment, or flattery; by disclosing the faults or sins of others, or by any other fault against charity? Have I been guilty of untruth in any matter?

b.) On the Commandments of the Church

Have I kept holy the Sundays and holy days of obligation, by hearing the Divine Liturgy and avoiding unnecessary servile work? Have I kept the days of fast and abstinence, as far as I was obliged to do so? Have I gone to confession and Holy Communion during Easter time? Have I contributed toward the support of the Church according to my means? Have I observed the laws of the Church concerning matrimony? Have I encouraged others in the practice of the faith when I could have done so?

Have I helped or encouraged others to sin: 1) By counseling them to do so? 2) By commanding them to sin? 3) By consenting to their sin? 4) By provocation? 5) By praise or flattery? 6) By concealment? 7) By partaking? 8) By silence? 9) By defense of the ill done?

Pride: Have I been guilty of excessive self-esteem? Have I been too proud of my appearance, family, talents, position, money, and the virtues I imagine I possess? Have I been guilty of undue ambition, of attracting notice and praise and of seeking undeserved honors, distinctions, and other worldly favors? Was I presumptuous, pretending to be greater than I really am; did I boast of my deeds or abilities? Have I looked down upon others and hurt others by my pride.

Envy: Have I harbored any bitter feeling at the excellence or good fortune of those who are better or happier, with a desire to rob them of what they have? Have I rejoiced over their misfortune? Have I injured their name through gossip, detraction, hatred, scandal or other sins?

Gluttony: Have I endangered or injured my health or reason by eating or drinking to excess? Have I made others drunk, or sought to make them so, or boasted of having made them so?

Avarice: Have I desired or loved too much the things of this world and sought after them eagerly? In my covetousness have I hurt anyone in any way?

Sloth: Have I been guilty of laziness of mind or body, which has prevented me from discharging my duty? Have I wasted time in idleness and useless occupation? Have I avoided work?

Forgive me my sins, O Lord, forgive me my sins; the sins of my youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul, the sins of my body; my idle sins, my serious voluntary sins, the sins I know, the sins I have concealed so long, and which are now hidden from my memory. I am truly sorry for every sin, for all the sins of my childhood up to the present hour, my sins of omission and commission.

Eternal and Almighty God! Only You alone can bring good out of evil by Your almighty power and holiness; therefore, I beseech You, My Lord, check and counteract the evil consequences of all my misdeeds and omissions and let me be an example of Your mercy to all.

I know my sins have hurt You, O my Savior; let me be freed from the bonds of evil, through Your most bitter Passion, O my Redeemer.

When you approach the priest you should, as always, greet him with: Glory be to Jesus Christ / _____ _____ ______

I confess to Almighty God, One in the Holy Trinity, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, to all the saints, and to You Father, all my sins (or simply: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.)

It has been (mention how long) since my last confession and these are my sins.

(You may ask the priest for help in recalling sins you may have committed, or you may ask questions concerning your spiritual life or problems or doubts.)

When you have finished your confession and the priest directs you to make an act of contrition, you may express your sorrow by saying the following act of contrition, or any act of contrition you may know from memory:

For these and all the sins of my life I am most heartily sorry because by them I have offended God. I firmly resolve to amend my life and to sin no more. I humbly ask penance and absolution of you, Father.

The priest may give you spiritual direction and then absolve you of your sins in the name of the Trinity. Before you leave it is polite to thank the priest or to once again greet him with: Glory be to Jesus Christ / _____ _____ ______

You now go and say a prayer thanking God for His mercy and don’t forget to perform the penance you’ve been given!