A proper confession requires preparation

Friday, Feb. 05, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY — “The Sacrament of Penance is one of the Church’s precious treasures, since authentic world renewal is accomplished only through forgiveness. Nothing can improve the world if evil is not overcome. Evil can be overcome only by forgiveness,” said Pope Benedict XVI.

Through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, also called confession, Catholics seek to be freed from sins. The Church recommends frequent confession in order to grow closer to Jesus Christ and to the Church.

“The Sacrament of Penance is an experience of the gift of God’s boundless mercy.  Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers,” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Confession requires preparation. An examination of conscience helps people to realize more specifically in what ways they have sinned. Asking the Holy Spirit to aid in the examination might help thinking about the sins with respect to who and what the person has favored more than God. 

After examining his or her conscience, the person preparing for confession must be ready to repent before entering the confessional.

“A good confession requires that the person has really made an examination of his/her conscience and he or she is looking for God’s mercy,” said Father Eleazar Silva, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish.

Confession is an encounter with God in which the person experiences God’s mercy first hand, Fr. Silva said.

”Hispanic people tend to do long confessions because they talk about the circumstances while they confess their sins,” said Fr. Silva, adding that Anglo Catholics more often recite a list of sins.

But no matter the way a Catholic makes his or her confession, “a good confession must be humble, sincere and entire,” said Fr. Silva.

After a person confesses, the priest will impose a penance. Some of the chief means of penance are prayer, attending Mass, fasting, almsgiving, performing works of mercy and the patient endurance of sufferings. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 3 in 10 Latino Catholics said that they go to confession a few times a year and 12 percent of them said that they partake in the sacrament at least monthly.

According to the statistics, among the Latino Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, about 4 in 10 go to confession.

Overall, 4 in 10  Catholics in the United States say they go to confession at least once a year.

Pope Francis has publicly urged Catholics to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, reminding them that “we are all sinners.”