Confession is a very serious step. It can be difficult to admit your negative actions not only to an outsider, but even to yourself. This is a conversation with your conscience. And you need to prepare for this conversation in advance, as if this is the last confession in your life.
Instructions
Step 1
There is no definite structure for confession. It is not at all necessary to talk about sins in chronological order or in severity. However, you need to put your thoughts in order in advance. And to make this process easier, put together a little cheat sheet on paper. Write about why you feel remorse. And also the events that led you to commit the wrong act. But do not interfere with other people, you are confessing your sins, not strangers. Otherwise, it will not be confession, but condemnation, and this is a new sin. Do not try to justify yourself, on the contrary, you need to more condemn, blame and denounce your deeds in order to receive forgiveness. Your preparation is the first and most important part of confession.
Step 2
The second part is the sacrament itself. Do not be ashamed before a priest who confesses you, your sins. Because the priest is only a mediator between you and God. The secret of confession is sacred, information from confession is not passed on to anyone. Better to confess after the evening service, the priest will be able to pay more attention to you. Confess your sins frankly and thoroughly. Do not hide anything, you should sincerely regret what you did. Each sin must be discussed separately. It is not enough to say “sinful”, it is important to name sins by their names: gluttony, adultery, money-grubbing, pride. To help you gather your thoughts, the priest may ask you if you have committed a particular sin. If you have not done this, then you should not answer: "maybe yes." And also do not talk about what you did not do without a question from the confessor, otherwise it will look like boasting.
Step 3
You should not talk about the same sin every time if you have confessed it once. Confession should be made with sorrow, regret and contrition for sins, but not with composure or even with a grin. Priests advise to confess at least once every two weeks. At whatever age you come to church, if this is your first confession, then sins are confessed starting from the age of seven.
