Confession Is An Experience Of God’s Boundless Mercy
In confession we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God.
Confession Times
Monday-Friday (6:30am-6:50am)
Saturday (7:30am-7:50am & 4:00pm-5:00pm)
Mondays: 7:30pm (during Adoration)
Wednesdays: 6:30pm (during CCD)
or by Appointment.
Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. The Sacrament of Penance is God’s gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven.
6 Steps For A Good Confession
- Determine what sins you have committed since your last confession
- Be sincerely sorry for your sins
- Confess your sins to the priest
- Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins
- After confession, do the penance the priest gives you
- Pray daily for the strength and grace to avoid the occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved
Use this guide prior to going to confession: Examination of Conscience
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all of my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
The Confession of Sins
- It’s good for anyone to have someone to unburden yourself to. Everyone needs a spouse/person that they can tell their problems, concerns, or issues to. Even our wrong doing needs to be heard by someone; often a spouse or close friend. That’s what Paragraph 1455 reminds me of—even from a human stand point we need someone to talk to. It helps us to heal.
- Yes, we can “tell our sins directly to God, and God knows our sins,” but what the church provides priests, people in the place of Christ who can impart God’s forgiveness. We cannot do that ourselves, and even our friends and their consolation cannot replace the great message of forgiveness that comes from God’s words of absolution.
- Christ told his Apostles to go out and forgive men’s sins. Those who you forgive are forgiven, and those sins you retain are retained. Those are the words of Jesus Christ. What better authority do we have? One of His major commands to his Apostles and successors would be to exercise God’s mercy and forgiveness.
- An important thing to remember is the Confessional is for healing—not judging. The priest is not judge; he just offers forgiveness. The priest does not accuse anyone in the confessional. The penitent is there to accuse themselves of wrong doing, not the priest. The priest cannot read anyone’s soul. That’s why a properly formed conscience is the best guide to Confession. If people need a deeper insight into their souls, then they need to study the Ten Commandments and the Precepts of the Catholic Church, and the Moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Many Good examinations of Conscience can be found online and on the NCCB website; National Council of Catholic Bishop’s website. Many good examinations for married people, single people, examinations based on the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Many good resources to help people build up their moral examinations for good confession