My First Reconciliation Guide I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life John 14:6
5 Steps to a Good Confession Know your sins Be sorry for them Decide not to sin again Confess your sins to a priest Do the penance The Effects of the Sacrament of Reconciliation Sins forgiven Grace received to overcome sin Reconciled with God and the Church Peace and consolation Preparation for judgment
Prayer before Confession O my Savior Jesus! I come to confess my sins and to beg your forgiveness in the holy Sacrament of Penance. Send your Holy Spirit to help me remember my sins and to confess them carefully. O Mary, my heavenly Mother, pray for me that I may make a good confession! My dear guardian angel, help me to recall every sin with true contrition and desire to sin no more.
Examination of Conscience 1 st Commandment: I am the LORD Your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. Have I refused to believe anything that the Holy Catholic Church teaches? What was it? Have I failed to study my faith as I should? Have I put my friends, activities, and the things I have before God in my heart? 2 nd Commandment: You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. Have I taken the holy name of God in vain? How many times? Have I spoken disrespectfully of a priest? Or holy things? How many times? Have I used bad language? How many times? 3 rd Commandment: Remember to keep holy the LORD s day. Have I missed Mass on Sundays through my own fault? How many times? Have I misbehaved in church? How many times? Have I not made time for God in prayer or paid no attention to my prayers? How many times? 4 th Commandment: Honor your father and mother. Have I been disrespectful or disobedient to my parents or teachers? How many times? Have I tried to provoke them? How many times?
5 th Commandment: You shall not kill. Have I had any fights or quarrels? How many times? Have I made fun of anybody or called them names? How many times? Have I picked on anyone or tried to provoke them? How many times? 6 th Commandment: You shall not commit adultery. Have I done anything dirty or impure? How many times? 7 th Commandment: You shall not steal. Have I stolen anything? Have I harmed anyone s property? Have I cheated anyone? Have I helped others to commit sin in any way? 8 th Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Have I lied about anyone? How many times? Have I told other lies? To whom? How many times? Have I talked behind other people s backs? How many times? Have I kept bad company? 9 th Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor s wife. Have I purposefully thought of dirty or impure things? 10 th Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor s goods. Have I desired to have for myself what belongs to others? Are there any other sins that I need to confess?
Form for the Sacrament of Reconciliation Priest: Greeting & the Sign of the Cross Makes the sign of the cross Priest: Opening Prayer Amen. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, this is my first Confession. After your first Confession you say, It has been [amount of time] since my last Confession. These are my sins. (Name all of your sins.) When finished, say: For these sins and the sins of my whole life, I am very sorry. Priest: Gives words of advice then gives you your penance Remember the sacrament is not complete until you do your penance, do it right away! Priest: Now make a good act of contrition Pray the Act of Contrition Priest: Gives Absolution (the words which remove sins) Amen. Thank you, Father
Act of Contrition O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You. I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments, but most of all because they offend 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 Mary, I am Thine, and all I have is Thine
Prayer After Confession I thank Thee, sweet Jesus, for forgiving my sins and giving me the grace I need to never commit these sins again. Amen. Don t forget to do your penance!