How do I go to confession? A step-by-step guide

Before you go

1. Pray for light to see your sins honestly.
2. Examine your conscience using the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes. Note especially any mortal sins and roughly how many times.
3. Look up times. Most parishes hear confessions on Saturday afternoon or by appointment.

In the confessional

You may usually choose to kneel behind a screen (anonymous) or sit face to face.

1. Make the Sign of the Cross. Say: "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time] since my last confession." If it has been years, or this is your first time as an adult, say so.
2. Confess your sins clearly and simply — kind and number for serious sins. You do not need to tell a long story.
3. End with: "For these and all my sins, I am sorry."
4. Listen to the priest's counsel. He will give a penance — usually prayers or an act of charity.
5. Pray an Act of Contrition. Any heartfelt words of sorrow are enough; many parishes have the prayer card in the confessional.
6. Receive absolution. Make the Sign of the Cross as he finishes.
7. The priest may say "Go in peace." Answer, "Thanks be to God."

Afterward

Do your penance promptly. Then rest in the truth that you are forgiven. "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins" (1 John 1:9).

If you are nervous

Priests have heard everything. Most will tell you that the moments they treasure most are when someone returns after many years. The parable of the prodigal son ends not with a lecture but with a father running out to meet his child (Luke 15:20).