Why a Good Confession is Important

Making a Good Confession

The sacrament of confession
We are told that Catholics are required to make a confession at least once in
a year. Others who have are more inclined to the spiritual life, make
confession a kind of devotion - similar to how we make the sacrament of the
Eucharist also a devotion by attending Mass every day. However, the law
of the Church is that the obligation to make confession is at least once a
year.

The quality of our confessions
Though many go to confession many times a year and some even do so
regularly, what is important is not so much the quantity of our confessions
but the quality of our confessions. By this, it means that we are called
to make good confessions. Compared to a bad confession which is done
without seriousness, without the necessary preparation and without a contrite,
humble, and penitent heart, a good confession is the opposite - one that
is done with utter seriousness, with the necessary examination of conscience
and the qualities of heart and soul that are important to receive the grace
of the sacrament.

Examination of conscience
Before intending to go to confession, it is important to examine our souls.
The traditional way of doing so is making the ten commandments as a guide
to examine our conscience. Another tradition is by being aware of the seven
capital sins: pride, avarice, lust, gluttony, sloth, anger, and envy. There
are other traditions and so many ways of examining our conscience. A modern
or new way of examining our conscience does not focus so much on the negatives
but on the status of our relationships. Thus, when one would examine one's
conscience with this new way, one only needs to examine one's relationship
with God, with others, with God's creation (nature and environment) and with
our self. If we use these four parameters to examine how we fall short of
Christ's teaching, then it will help us see where we have sinned.

The procedure in making a confession

First is to make an appointment with a priest or to find out what time
your parish or another parish gives confessions.
You can make your examination of conscience an hour before the confession
proper. This way, you will be able to compose well what you will confess.
As you make the confession with the priest, these is what you will say:
Bless me Father for I have sinned. My last confession was last ________.
Since my last confession I __________...
Then from this introductory to the priest, you can make the confession. It
need not be dramatic, but just simple and conversational, but with all the
qualities of heart and soul necessary to make it a good confession - humility,
honesty, lowliness, seeking the mercy of God, penitent, being sorrowful for
one's sins, and others.
As you finish with your confession, wait for the priest to give some
spiritual advice and a bit of spiritual encouragement and then bow your
head in humility for his absolution.
Make sure you remember the penance the priest gives because after the
confession proper, one must make this penance. It is good to make it right
after the confession proper so that one will not forget what the penance given
to you is.
One of the standard prayers to do after confession and which the priest
also requires of us who approach the sacrament is to make the Act of Contrition.
This is the Act of Contrition:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You and I detest all my
sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell, but most of
all because I have offended You, my God, Who are all-good and deserving of
all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my
sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

A sacrament of healing and reconciliation
The sacrament of confession is a sacrament of healing and reconciliation. We
are healed of our sins and are reconciled back to God and the Church. The
sacramental grace that we receive in the sacrament of confession is a healing
grace that consoles our soul and lightens the burden of guilt that we carry
because of our sinful actions. Whenever we approach this sacrament, let us
remind ourselves that God loves us and even if we have sinned seriously
against Him and did wrong to our brothers and sisters, we will receive His
mercy and forgiveness if we only humble ourselves and go back to Him with
a repentant and penitent heart and soul. And even if the obligation to go
to confession is only once a year, let us not take for granted the opportunity
to do so many times a year if we can do so. We have to however remind
ourselves that we must opt for good confessions and not numerous confessions.

Dennis-Emmanuel Cabrera
February 22, 2005

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