What is the procedure of Confession at a Catholic Church?

Question

do you have to confess everything? What if it's your first time. Because then you'd have a lot of confessing to do! This is a serious question.

Answer 1

You should confess the sins that are are weighing on your mind and harming your relationship with God the most.

For some people it might take some time. God is not in a hurry. Sincerity is important not efficiency.

This is one way how to go to Confession:

+ Get yourself ready by making an examination of your conscience.

+ After the priest greets you with the Sign of the Cross make the Sign of the Cross and say: “Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been (say how long) since my last confession. These are my sins…”

+ Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest. Don’t be embarrassed.

+ When you are done listing your sins please say: “…I am sorry for these sins and all the sins I can’t remember.”

+ Listen to the advice the priest gives you and accept the penance from him. Then make an Act of Contrition for your sins:

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.
Amen.

+ The priest will then conclude with the words: “Your sins are truly forgiven, Go in Peace”. You respond: “Thanks be to God.”

+ Perform your penance as soon as possible.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

If it's your first Confession, you're not expected to confess all your sins in specific. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the sins that really bother you and that need to be confessed.

The actual proceedure can be done in several ways: you can go to the Confessional anonymously and the only contact with the priest will be through a grill in the wall. Or you can confess face to face.

You make the Sign of the Cross and say, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first Confession." Then mention your sins and answer any questions the priest may ask.

He will talk to you for a while, then give you your Penance and absolve you of your sins. Then thank the priest, make the Sign of the Cross, and leave the Confessional. You don't have to say your penance right away, but it's a good idea to do it soon.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

ImACatholic explained it well.

The only other thing to remember is to be complete.

Don't hold back on confessing any serious sins that you can remember, because if you do, than your entire confession will be invalid, no matter whether the priest absolves you or not.

Confessing all serious sins is necessary because even one of those can act to separate you from the grace of God.

If you honestly forget to confess something, and only remember it later, don't worry about it too much. Just make sure you remember to confess it the next time.

Being complete, contrite, and truly repentant, is what we mean when we say we've made a "good confession".

Finally, make sure you actually hear the priest say the words of absolution, before you leave the confessional.

And don't forget to thank him.

What he does there for you, he does only because God asks it of him. Hearing confessions is hard work.

Answer 4

A serious answer to a serious question:

You go into the confessional and say "Forgive me father for I have sinned" (or something to that effect. Can't really say it in english correctly because I learned it in spanish and my last confession was 40 years ago ). Then you proceed in recounting your sins. From the sublime to the ridiculous.....including "bad thoughts and having stuck the chewing gum under the bench in school". Then you get a penance, which you absolve.

The first time is your First Communion, which places you anywhere between age 7 and 10 (in latinamerican countries).

Once the penance is absolved you are free of sin, and free to go out into the world and sin again until next confession. Ehem. Yes, I'm catholic and very sarcastic, i.e. I'm a bad catholic.

Answer 5

Have you ever see the movie "Angela's ashes" alot of confession in that one. You go into the booth, the priest can't see who you are. You tell them all the terrible things you did lately and ask for forgiveness. He will say yer you are naughty go say 10 Hail Mary's. Which you go and do. Now you are a clean slate - so you can sin all week and confess next sunday. Gotta love the catholics.

Answer 6

No you don't have to confess all your sins to the priest, but you need to confess all of them to Jesus so you can be forgiven.
To confess all your sins to the priest is the proper way.

Answer 7

You go in and say "bless me father, for I have sinned. my last confession was X {days, weeks, months, years} ago. Since then I have {list sins here}."

Then the priest tells you what acts of contrition to perform, which often involve various forms of sex with the priest if you're under age.

Answer 8

You go talk to a priest, get whatever off your chest that you want to, then go say some prayers.

Answer 9

stand in line, talk dirty to a priest,do some penance(hail mary's, our fathers)leave unaffected. or else pray to God yourself,repent and ask for forgiveness in Jesus' name