Paladin D Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 This is the first time I'm going to Confession, can anyone tell me how it works?
zwergel88 Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 wow, congradulations! :-) what exactly would you like to know, do you mean like what to say or something else?
Fides_et_Ratio Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 (edited) 1. The Priest will begin with the Sign of the Cross. 2. The Penitent begins by saying “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been ____ (number of days, weeks, months, etc.) since my last confession. These are my sins”. ---NOTE: some priests will start it out for you, just by asking, "how long since your last Confession?" But for you, if this is your first, just make sure the first thing you tell the priest is that this is your first Confession... and I'm sure he'll be more helpful in guiding you through it. 3. Confess all mortal sins committed since your last confession by kind and number. You may also confess any venial sins. 4. At the end of your confession say these or similar words: “For these and all the sins I may have forgotten, I am sorry.” 5. The Priest may ask questions for clarification or give you some counsel on a point from your confession. 6. The Priest will give you a penance, and then ask the Penitent to say an act of contrition. 7. The Penitent makes an act of contrition in these or similar words: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all of my sins because of Thy just punishments. 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 sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen. 8. The Priest will give you absolution. (The words necessary for forgiveness are “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”). The Catechism has a lot of good stuff on Confession... I think it starts around the 1420s, I don't have mine handy. Edited July 16, 2004 by Fides_et_Ratio
Paladin D Posted July 16, 2004 Author Posted July 16, 2004 [quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Jul 16 2004, 10:49 AM'] Is it face to face or screen? [/quote] There is a screen, but it's optional.
Paladin D Posted July 16, 2004 Author Posted July 16, 2004 [quote name='Fides_et_Ratio' date='Jul 16 2004, 10:49 AM'] 1. The Priest will begin with the Sign of the Cross. 2. The Penitent begins by saying “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been ____ (number of days, weeks, months, etc.) since my last confession. These are my sins”. ---NOTE: some priests will start it out for you, just by asking, "how long since your last Confession?" But for you, if this is your first, just make sure the first thing you tell the priest is that this is your first Confession... and I'm sure he'll be more helpful in guiding you through it. 3. Confess all mortal sins committed since your last confession by kind and number. You may also confess any venial sins. 4. At the end of your confession say these or similar words: “For these and all the sins I may have forgotten, I am sorry.” 5. The Priest may ask questions for clarification or give you some counsel on a point from your confession. 6. The Priest will give you a penance, and then ask the Penitent to say an act of contrition. 7. The Penitent makes an act of contrition in these or similar words: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all of my sins because of Thy just punishments. 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 sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen. 8. The Priest will give you absolution. (The words necessary for forgiveness are “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”). The Catechism has a lot of good stuff on Confession... I think it starts around the 1420s, I don't have mine handy. [/quote] Thanks!
1337 k4th0l1x0r Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 [quote name='Fides_et_Ratio' date='Jul 16 2004, 09:49 AM'] 1. The Priest will begin with the Sign of the Cross. 2. The Penitent begins by saying “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been ____ (number of days, weeks, months, etc.) since my last confession. These are my sins”. ---NOTE: some priests will start it out for you, just by asking, "how long since your last Confession?" But for you, if this is your first, just make sure the first thing you tell the priest is that this is your first Confession... and I'm sure he'll be more helpful in guiding you through it. 3. Confess all mortal sins committed since your last confession by kind and number. You may also confess any venial sins. 4. At the end of your confession say these or similar words: “For these and all the sins I may have forgotten, I am sorry.” 5. The Priest may ask questions for clarification or give you some counsel on a point from your confession. 6. The Priest will give you a penance, and then ask the Penitent to say an act of contrition. 7. The Penitent makes an act of contrition in these or similar words: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all of my sins because of Thy just punishments. 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 sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen. 8. The Priest will give you absolution. (The words necessary for forgiveness are “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”). The Catechism has a lot of good stuff on Confession... I think it starts around the 1420s, I don't have mine handy. [/quote] That's good advice there. Much better than my recommendation of listening to Tom Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" You all know I'm just kidding.
Fides_et_Ratio Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 [quote name='Paladin D' date='Jul 16 2004, 10:53 AM'] Thanks! [/quote] Anytime! ...I have this thing about following the rules, and knowing exactly how everything is supposed to take place. Some sort of weird scrupulous/OCD sort of thing probably... my poor pastors!
Fides_et_Ratio Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 I always give out that act of contrition too (probably because I think it's the most used)... but it's not even the one I use You have lots of choices for the act of contrition... and a lot of leeway with what you say, so you can sort of pick and choose to find something that really expresses what you want to express. Some options: "O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all of my sins because of Thy just punishments. 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 sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen." (the one I gave you already) "Wash me from my sins and cleanse me of my guilt. I acknowledge my offense, my sin is before me always. Amen." "Father I have sinned against you and am not worthy to be called your son. Be merciful to me, a sinner. Amen." etc., etc. I'm sure you could probably find more if you wanted to.
Birgitta Noel Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 My fav Act of Contrition was one Fr. said I could use when I had to go to confession less than 8 hours after my last one.... "Lord have mercy!" LOL...worked for me!
Lil Red Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 Check out the Word phorum, for examination of consciences.
Fides_et_Ratio Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 [quote name='Lil Red' date='Jul 16 2004, 11:31 AM'] Fides, can I quote you in the Word phorum? Thanks. [/quote] yeah
Paladin D Posted July 17, 2004 Author Posted July 17, 2004 [b][i]Quick Question:[/b][/i] Should I confess all the sins I've ever done? I don't remember them all, some of them are up in the thousands (don't know the exact number). Or should I just confess the sins I've done recently, and say a short prayer along the lines of [b]"And forgive me of my sins that I have forgotten or am unaware of"[/b] or something? Thanks in advance!
zwergel88 Posted July 17, 2004 Posted July 17, 2004 [quote]Should I confess all the sins I've ever done? I don't remember them all, some of them are up in the thousands [/quote] don't worry, when you go to confession you are absolved of all of the sins that you have forgotten as well as the ones you confess
Fides_et_Ratio Posted July 17, 2004 Posted July 17, 2004 [quote name='Paladin D' date='Jul 17 2004, 01:55 PM'] [b][i]Quick Question:[/b][/i] Should I confess all the sins I've ever done? I don't remember them all, some of them are up in the thousands (don't know the exact number). Or should I just confess the sins I've done recently, and say a short prayer along the lines of [b]"And forgive me of my sins that I have forgotten or am unaware of"[/b] or something? Thanks in advance! [/quote] You only have to confess the number of mortal sins. Venial sins are good to confess.. but don't worry so much about numbers there. ALSO-- don't worry/stress about Confession. I am confident that the priest will help you out. I've never been to Confession and had a negative experience. At the end of your "list of sins" (for lack of a better term) you can say pretty much whatever you want... sometimes I've said, "and that's all I can think of, Father.". Once again, don't worry so much about what to say-- the person with the most important words ("I absolve you") are the priest... so don't worry and just be open and honest with your Confession and you'll be fine.
Carnanc Posted July 17, 2004 Posted July 17, 2004 just being honest and sincere and telling all serious sins, and mortal sins is a good confession. instead of worrying for me it helps to do something to increase the sorrow for my sins.
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