Confession Book A Pocket Guide to the Sacrament of Reconciliation with God(How to Make a Good Catholic Confession with an Examination of Conscience): including the Secret of Confession for Freedom and Forgiveness

Introduction

The Sacrament of reconciliation as a way to remove the barrier of sin between God and man was established by Christ himself, his very first words: 'Peace be to you!' as He was inaugurating the Sacrament of Confession, on the first Easter Sunday was an indication that he understood our human nature. He recognized that we are at Peace and truly happy when there is no barrier between our souls and God as children of God. Therefore, Christ, who came on earth to bring Peace to men of goodwill, instituted this channel as a way of bridging any gap between God and us. The obstacle in question is sin; the means of removing it is Confession. Christ Jesus, while commissioning his apostles and appointing St Peter as the head of his church, Our Lord declared to St. Peter: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mathew. 16:19).

He affirmed this command again while talking to all the Apostles: Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mathew. 18:18).

Finally, He pronounced and instituted this great Sacrament, using these words in a clear, unequivocal way:

Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. (John 20:21-23).

And after that the Holy Spirit we begin to see the exercising of this Sacrament as it is stated in the Acts of the Apostles: And many of them that believed, came forward and openly confessed their deeds, (Acts 19:18).

Also in the epistle of St. James, he wrote: Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. (James 5:16).

It is pretty apparent that for the apostles to be able to fulfil this decree given by Jesus that: Whose sins you shall forgive, they shall be forgiven them and Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven Naturally the earlier apostles, or a priest of today, would have to hear the Confession of the penitent to administer this command and it would be naturally impossible to do so unless the penitents confessed their sins themselves.

Confession is the gateway to Peace on earth and paves the way to happiness in heaven. Therefore it is very crucial to make a good confession. All that you have to do is follow this beautiful handy guide for Confession for better examination of conscience and to gain deep consolation and strength, and you will make a good confession.

What Does the Saints and the Church Say about the Sacrament of Confession

Approach your confessor; open your heart to him; reveal to him all the corners of your soul; accept the counsel you will receive from him with great humility and simplicity. In doing so, you attract the favours of God, who always ensure that the counsels we received from others,

but especially from those who are the guides of our souls, profit us for eternity because obedience endears us to God.

- St. Francis de Sales

The courage to confess our evil works is the first beginning of right doings. You do the truth and become translated to light.

- St. Augustine

Christ established the Sacrament of reconciliation for penitents: majorly to establish a channel for recovering baptismal grace and reconcile us back to our brethren in Christ. This Sacrament of Penance offers us a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The early Fathers of the Church refers to this Sacrament as the second board of salvation when you have suffered*after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1446

Daughter, when you approach this fountain of My mercy called confession, the Blood and Water which flows from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and exalts it. Each moment you go to confession, soak your whole being in My mercy, with great trust and confidence, so that I may pour my limitless grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know that I am the one you come to see in the confessional and am waiting for you. The priest is my representative, but it is I who transforms you. Here the anguish of the soul is exterminated by divine mercy. Remind souls at the confessional that graces are drawn simply with a trust jar. The greater their trust, so is my outpouring generosity to them.

- St. Faustina (Divine Mercy in My Soul)

Personal and basic confession and absolution comprise the only expected way by which a Christian in need of reconciliation with God and with the Church is affected; it is only in circumstances where it is physically or morally impossible, can anybody be excused from the confession of this kind, in which case reconciliation can take place in other means.

- Code of Canon Law 960

A man is sometimes sick in the body's life, and usually medicine is administered to save him from dying, likewise inthe spiritual life, a man is sick as a result of sin. For that reason, he requires medication to be healed. This grace is given through the Sacrament of penance.

- St. Thomas Aquinas

Those who come to the confessional, receive pardon from God's mercy for sinning against him and are, at the same time, brought back in communion with the Church which they have hurt by their offences and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labours for their conversion.

- Vatican II, Lumen Gentium II

The want of proper examination, true repentance, and a firm purpose of to change for better is the root of bad confessions and the ruin of souls.

- St. Benedict Joseph Labre

After confession, a crown of righteousness is bestowed to penitents.

- St. John Chrysostom

Confession requires honesty and courage – it involves giving over ourselves, moving past sin, to embrace the mercy of a compassionate God who easily forgives.

- Blessed Pope John Paul II – September 14, 1987

On the other hand, those who recognize that they are weak and sinful entrust themselves to God and obtain from him grace and pardon. This is exactly message that must be covey to those who access the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that whatever the sin committed if it is humbly recognized. The person involved turns with trust to the priest-confessor. They never fail to experience the soothing joy of God's forgiveness.

- Pope Benedict XVI – On the Sacrament of Confession 

Secrets and Benefits of Confession

Greater Self-awareness bringing about personal validation and forgiveness and an increase in self-knowledge 

It was Socrates who said man know thyself. Self-knowledge has been lauded for centuries as a great virtue.

The sacrament of Confession gives us the rare opportunity we all need to look inwards and take stock of our thoughts and actions .it forces us to stop and realize that what we did to someone is wrong, cruel, or unjust. You hurt someone who has only been nothing but good and loving to you. You become aware that you hated someone, or perhaps a specific group of people, just for being who they are. Or you didn't care enough to look out for others rather than just yourself and what you will gain. Too often, you may have deliberate want to hurt someone. What such reflections brings is a greater awareness that we have 'miss the mark' or 'made a mistake' and realized that evil is a part of you. You come to understand from your actions that you're not the good person you thought you were. This is where Confession of sins brings you the opportunity to forgive yourself and makes you aware that you are fallible, and you have tendencies to err or commit evil.

Confessing