Dec 11 Wed
What is required for a good Confession?
In case of a failure in our interior life, we can reset it with a good Confession and Holy Communion; these are two sacraments fundamental to the life of a Catholic.
“In the sacrament of Penance, Jesus forgives us. Christ’s merits are applied to us there. It is for love of us that he is on the Cross with his arms stretched out, fastened to the wood more by the Love he has for us than by the nails."
These are tips for making a good confession: You need to have:
1. Contrition (i.e., real sorrow for all your sins).
2. A desire to amend your life. You must be willing, with the help of God's grace, to correct your bad habits, and to avoid any person, place, thing, or circumstance that can easily lead you back into the trap of sin.
3. Confession of sins. Your confession should be:
a) Concise. Confessions need not be long. Many confuse confession with simple spiritual conversation, direction, and counseling. It is true that, at times, direction can play a role in confession, but only secondarily. Don't beat around the bush; be quick and direct.
b) Concrete. A good sacramental confession must not be vague or abstract. A person who confesses, "Sometimes I'm a bad person" or "I'm not as holy as I should be," welcome to the club! Everyone in the world (except Jesus and Mary) would have to admit it! So be specific in your confessions, confess sinful thoughts, words, or actions, and any strictly relevant surrounding information, such as number, intent, and circumstances.
c) Clear. An evident sign of the action of the Holy Spirit is clarity and transparency. On the contrary, the devil can often be detected by confusion, ambiguity, and uncertainty. As Jesus said: "Let your speech be yes, yes, or no, no".
d) Complete. The Church establishes that all mortal sins you remember (after an honest examination of conscience) must be specified in kind (type) and number.
For example, if one deliberately misses Holy Mass on Sunday, the number of times must be specified. This is what we mean by complete!
“Sincerity is indispensable if we are to achieve greater union with God. If you have an ugly “toad” inside you, my son, let it out! As I have always advised you, the first thing you must mention is what you wouldn’t like anybody to know. Once the “toad” has been let out in Confession — how well one feels!”
It is also of great benefit to confess venial sins since your last Confession – especially habitual venial sins or those that trouble you most. However, there is no requirement to confess all venial sins (as that can be a practical impossibility).
If you have no mortal sins, you must confess venial sins as they would be part of the necessary matter.
You should never intentionally hide any sin from your confessor.
4, You must have the intention of performing the penance that the priest assigns as penance.
One should perform the penance as soon as possible.
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