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Downloadable handout about First Confession
Downloadable handout about First Confession
HANDOUT FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION.pdfConfession is usually the second of the sacraments (after Baptism). Like Adam and Eve, after we sin, we hide from God and cannot fully participate in his loving presence. The Sacrament of Reconciliation allows us to reunite with God.
We prepare for it by examining our conscience.
Catholics may attend Confession face-to-face or in a confessional (with a screen). It may be done frequently, but a practicing Catholic should attend Confession yearly (ideally during Lent).
No one is allowed to share what is said in the confession. This conversation is understood to be a sacred time.
How do you examine your conscience? What happens during the sacrament?
Five Steps for a Good Confession:
Five Steps for a Good Confession:
1. Examine your conscience.
2. Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
3. Confess your sins to a priest.
4. Resolve to change your life.
5. After your confession do the penance the priest assigns.
An examination of conscience for children. based on the 10 commandments
An examination of conscience for children. based on the 10 commandments
adapted from by Fr. Edward Filardi, Gaithersburg, Maryland
I. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.
Do I give time every day to God in prayer?
Do I put my trust in superstitions or good luck charms, rather than God alone?
Have I rejected any Church teaching or denied that I was a Catholic?
Have a valued something more than God?
II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Have I used the words "God" or "Jesus" in anger or irreverently?
Have I used foul or ugly language?
Have I wished evil on another?
III. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.
Have I missed Mass on Sunday or any holy day of obligation?
Do I arrive at church late or leave early?
Do I try to be reverent and pay attention during Mass?
Do I avoid unnecessary work on Sunday?
Do I make Sunday a day of prayer or rest?
IV. Honor your father and your mother.
Do I respect and obey my parents or those who take care of me?
Have I dishonored or mistreated them by word or deed?
Am I willing to help around the house or must I be nagged a hundred times?
Do I try to get along with my brothers and sisters?
Am I a tattletale or bully?
Do I give a good example, especially to younger siblings?
Do I respect others in authority: priests, nuns, police, old people, baby-sitters?
V. You shall not kill.
Do I beat up others or hurt their bodies?
Do I say cruel things, or make fun of others to hurt their feelings?
Do I say mean things about others behind their backs?
Have I stopped speaking to anyone?
Do I encourage others to do bad things?
Do I try to love all people, born and unborn?
VI. You shall not commit adultery.
Do I treat my body and other people's bodies with purity and respect?
Do I look at television shows, movies, social mediaor pictures that are bad?
Am I modest in my speech and the clothes I wear?
Do I keep the promises I make?
VII. You shall not steal.
Have I taken things that were not mine from a store or another person?
Have I destroyed or misused another person's property for fun?
Do I return things that I borrow? In good condition?
VIII. You shall not commit false witness against your neighbor.
Am I honest in my school work?
Do I tell lies to make myself look good?
Do I tell lies to protect myself from punishment?
Do I tell lies that make another person look bad or get them in trouble?
IX. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
Do I allow my parents to spend time with one another, or do I get jealous and want them to pay attention only to me?
Do I get mad when I have to share my friends?
Are there kids I will not play with or be mean to because they look different?
X. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
Am I jealous or envious of the things or abilities that others have?
Am I thankful to God and my parents for what they have given me?
Do I share the things I have with my family, friends and poor people?
Procedure
Procedure
The priest will guide you through the sacrament. Generally as you begin, you say,
"Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been _____ since my last confession" (fill in the time, or say, this is my first confession.
Then tell the mortal (serious) sins first, and then the venial (less serious) sins afterwards.
After you have finished you say the Act of Contrition.
When you leave the place of confession, you should whatever penance the priest tells you to do. (Usually it is a certain number of prayers).
The Act of Contrition
The Act of Contrition
Oh 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 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 sin no more, to amend my life, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Amen.
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