Today we are going to talk about how we make our Confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We will divide it into three parts: what we do beforehand, what we do at the time, and what we do afterwards.

Beforehand

Self-examination

Before we can confess our sins, we have to think out what they are and write them down so that we don’t forget any of them when the time comes.  This thinking out is called self-examination.  We have to confess everything we can remember, all sins of thought, word, act and of omission – that is, things we ought to have done but did not do.  Some of the sins will be especially against God, some against other people, and some against ourselves.

If you have a book to help you, you will find a list of self-examination questions, but whatever you do, don’t go through them one by one writing down what applies.  Instead, first of all pray to God and ask him to show you all your sins.  Then read through your list and, having done so, close the book. 

Simple, plain language

After that think out carefully what you have done wrong, and write it down simply and plainly in your own words.  By simply and plainly, I mean this: don’t say, “I have taken something which did not belong to me”.  Say, “I have stolen something”, and say what the something is.  Don’t say, “I have said things which were not true”.  Say, “I have told lies”.

How often

In a first Confession, we confess every sin that we can remember having committed since the day of our Baptism.  If we have already been to Confession before, we confess everything we can remember since our last Confession.  In our self-examination we also write down how many times we have committed each particular sin.  Some sins we will remember having done perhaps once or twice, but with others we will not know the exact number of times, and so we use such words as a few times, sometimes, many times, often, very often or habitually.

Saying sorry to God

When you have written down everything that you can remember, open your book again and go through the list of self-examination questions to see if there is anything you have forgotten.  If there is, add it to what you have already written down.  Lastly tell God you are sorry for all you have done.

The best place to make this written self-examination is in church, but you can make it anywhere else where you can be quiet and alone.

At the time

You go into the church at one of the times when Confessions are heard, and kneel down and say the prayers provided in your book and ask God to help you make a good Confession.  If there are other people waiting to make their Confession, you wait your turn.

Confess your sins

When your turn comes, go up to the confessional (the place where the priest hears Confessions), kneel down and use the form on the printed card provided.  When you come to the words, “In particular I confess since my last confession” you say how long ago it was, or else when it was.  If it is a first Confession you use the words “in this my first Confession”.  Then you read out everything you have written down, and at the end say the end of the prayer on the card, or your book, which starts, “O God, for these, and all other sins that I cannot now remember, I ask your forgiveness”. (1)

Advice and guidance

In the Common Worship form, the priest then gives advice or guidance and any help you need to complete your Confession; for example, by helping you to put into words a particular sin you have committed.  If we have stolen anything, or have deliberately destroyed something belonging to another, we must make restitution if we can as soon as possible.  That is to say, we must give back what we have stolen or replace what we have destroyed, but we need not let the other person know that it is we who are responsible.  We can, for example, make restitution through the priest.

Penance

The priest will give us a ‘penance’ which may be a prayer or a hymn for us to say.  We say it silently to God as soon as we get back to our place.  The penance is a sign of our repentance and wish to make amends for the damage our sins have caused in the world. 

Act of contrition

After this we say an act of contrition, such as this one in Common Worship:

“My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin. 
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen”. (2)

Absolution

The priest will then give absolution (forgiveness).  Then you know that all your sins are wiped away, and there is nothing between your soul and God to keep you from him.

Afterwards

When the priest says:

“The Lord has put away your sins” and
“Go in peace, and pray for me, a sinner”, (3)

you go back to your place.  You can give the priest your self-examination paper to burn, or you can burn it yourself at the first opportunity.

Say the penance and thank God

When you get back to your place, you at once say the penance given to you by the priest.  Then you thank God for his goodness to you.  You can say the prayers of thanksgiving after Confession in your book, or Psalm 103 which begins, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me praise his holy Name”, and is a very suitable act of thanksgiving.

Go out and be happy!

Then you can go out and be happy.  For God’s forgiveness brings great happiness which people who do not go to Confession have no idea of.  And not only does confession and forgiveness bring us great joy, it also brings great joy to Our Lord and our Holy Guardian Angel.  For Jesus is glad to see us receive the forgiveness which he won for us at the terrible cost of the Crucifixion; and, as he has told us, “…there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (NRSV, Luke 15:10).

We should go to Confession if we fall into serious sin, and before the great Festivals of the Church, and in particular before Easter.

SUMMARY

1. Before we can make our Confession, we have to think out and write down every sin we can remember having committed in thought, word, act and omission.  This is called self-examination.  We must also say how often we have committed each sin – once, twice, a few times, often, and so on.

2. On our return to our place after making our Confession, we at once say the penance which the priest has given us.

3. God’s complete forgiveness, which we receive when we make a good Confession, brings great joy to Our Lord, our Holy Guardian Angel, and to ourselves.

4. We should go to Confession regularly, and in particular before Easter.

References

1. ©The Archbishops’ Council (2006) Common Worship.  Reconciliation and Restoration: Recovering Baptism.  The Reconciliation of a Penitent: Form One.  Available from:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/downloads/pdf/cirecon.pdf  (Accessed 24 August 2010) (Internet).

2. ©The Archbishops’ Council (2006) Common Worship.  Reconciliation and Restoration: Recovering Baptism.  The Reconciliation of a Penitent: Form One. Available from:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/downloads/pdf/cirecon.pdf  (Accessed 24 August 2010) (Internet).

3. ©The Archbishops’ Council (2006) Common Worship.  Reconciliation and Restoration: Recovering Baptism.  The Reconciliation of a Penitent: Form One. Available from:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/downloads/pdf/cirecon.pdf  (Accessed 24 August 2010) (Internet).