CONFESSION GUIDE FOR ADULTS
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
I am
the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.
-Do I give God time every day in prayer?
-Do I seek to love Him with my whole heart?
-Have I been involved with superstitious practices or have I been
involved with the occult?
-Do I seek to surrender myself to God's word as taught by the Church?
-Have I ever received communion in the state of mortal sin?
-Have I ever deliberately told a lie in Confession or have I withheld a
mortal sin from the priest in Confession?
-Are there other "gods" in my life? Money, Security, Power, People,
etc.?
You
shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
-Have I used God's name in vain: lightly or carelessly?
-Have I been angry with God?
-Have I wished evil upon any other person?
-Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?
Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
-Have I deliberately missed Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation?
-Have I tried to observe Sunday as a family day and a day of rest?
-Do I do needless work on Sunday?
Honor
your father and your mother.
-Do I honor and obey my parents?
-Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children?
-Have I given my family good religious example?
-Do I try to bring peace into my home life?
-Do I care for my aged and infirm relatives?
You
shall not kill.
-Have I had an abortion or encouraged or helped anyone to have an
abortion?
-Have I physically harmed anyone?
-Have I abused alcohol or drugs?
-Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading him or her into sin?
-Have I been angry or resentful?
-Have I harbored hatred in my heart?
-Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization?
-Have I encouraged or condoned sterilization?
-Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life such as
artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization?
-Have I participated in or approved of euthanasia?
You
shall not commit adultery.
-Have I been faithful to my marriage vows in thought and action?
-Have I engaged in any sexual activity outside of marriage?
-Have I used any method of contraception or artificial birth control in
my marriage?
-Has each sexual act in my marriage been open to the transmission of new
life?
-Have I been guilty of masturbation?
-Do I seek to control my thoughts and imaginations?
-Have I respected all members of the opposite sex, or have I thought of
other people as mere objects?
-Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity?
-Do I seek to be chaste in my thoughts, words, actions?
-Am I careful to dress modestly?
You
shall not steal.
-Have I stolen what is not mine?
-Have I returned or made restitution for what I have stolen?
-Do I waste time at work, school, and home?
-Do I gamble excessively, thereby denying my family of their needs?
-Do I pay my debts promptly?
-Do I seek to share what I have with the poor?
-Have I cheated anyone out of what is justly theirs, for example
creditors, insurance companies, big corporations?
You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
-Have I lied? Have I gossiped?
-Do I speak badly of others behind their back?
-Am I sincere in my dealings with others?
-Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?
-Do I keep secret what should be kept confidential?
-Have I injured the reputation of others by slanders?
You
shall not desire your neighbor's wife.
-Have I consented to impure thoughts?
-Have I caused them by impure reading, movies, television, conversation
or curiosity?
-Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations?
-Have I behaved in an inappropriate way with members of the opposite
sex: flirting, being superficial, etc.?
You
shall not desire your neighbor's goods.
-Am I jealous of what other people have?
-Do I envy the families or possessions of others?
-Am I greedy or selfish?
-Are material possessions the purpose of my life?
A GUIDE TO CONFESSION
How to go to Confession
You always
have the option to go to confession anonymously, that is, behind a
screen or face to face, if you so desire.
After the
priest greets you in the name of Christ, make the sign of the cross. He
may choose to recite a reading from Scripture, after which you say:
"Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been (state how long) since
my last confession. These are my sins."
Tell your
sins simply and honestly to the priest. You might even want to discuss
the circumstances and the root causes of your sins and asks the priest
for advice or direction.
Listen to
the advice the priest gives you and accept the penance from him. Then
make an Act of Contrition for your sins.
The priest
will then dismiss you with the words of praise: "Give thanks to the Lord
for He is good. You respond: "For His mercy endures forever." The priest
will then conclude with: "The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in
peace." And you respond by saying: "Thanks be to God."
Spend some time with Our Lord thanking and praising Him for the gift of His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.
O most merciful
God! Prostrate at your feet, I implore your forgiveness. I sincerely desire
to leave all my evil ways and to confess my sins with all sincerity to you
and to your priest. I am a sinner, have mercy on me, O Lord. Give me a
lively faith and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer. Give me, for
your mercy's sake a sorrow for having offended so good a God.
Mary, my mother, refuge of sinners, prays for me that I may make a good
confession. Amen.
AN ACT OF CONTRITION
Oh my God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
And failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance,
to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ
suffered and died for us.
In His name, my God, have mercy. Amen.