Guide for making an Individual Confession:

Steps for making a good Confession:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you toknow your sins.
Examine your conscience.
Express in prayer your sorrow for having
committed these sins, or pray for the help
to be truly sorry.
Resolve not to commit these sins again,
and to avoid the situations that lead to sin.
Confess your sins to the priest.
Pray or perform the penance the priest
gives you as soon as possible.

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Act of Contrition
O my God I am heartily sorry for having
offended You, and I detest all my sins becauseYour just punishments, but most of all because
they offend You, my God, who are all good anddeserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, withthe help of Your grace, to sin no more and to
avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

Begin by making the sign of the cross and saying:“Bless me Father for I have sinned. I has
been (how long?) since my last confession.”Children’s

The priest may give you a blessing at this time. If
he has already done so, continue by confession
your sins, in kind and number, to the best of yourability:

Guide to

“These are my sins…”•You may conclude by saying:“For these and all my sins, I am sorry.”Prayer Before Confession
Come Holy Spirit into my soul. Enlighten mymind that I may know the sins I ought to confess,and grant me your grace to confess them fully,
humbly and with contrite heart. Help me tofirmly resolve not to commit them again. O
Blessed Virgin, Mother of my Redeemer, mirror ofinnocence and sanctity, and refuge of penitentsinners, intercede for me through the Passion ofYour Son, that I may obtain the grace to make agood confession. All you blessed Angels andSaints of God, pray for me , a most miserable
sinner, that I may repent from my evil ways, thatmy heart may henceforth be forever untied withyours in eternal love. Amen.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria

Confession

If you do not know how to confess, feel uneasy, orforget your sins, ask the priest to help you.
•The priest may offer some advice and will assign
you your penance. He may then ask you to pray anAct of Contrition•The priest will then grant you Absolution:

God, the Father of mercies, through the death andresurrection of his Son has reconciled the world toHimself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for theforgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve youfrom your sins n the name of the Father, and of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit.
Respond: “Amen.”•The priest may say:“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”
Respond: “His mercy endures forever!”Priest: “Go in peace.”•After Confession, pray or perform your penance assoon as possible. It is a good practice to pray andextra prayer for your priest-confessor.

Let the children come to me, and do not prevent
them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs
to such as these. (Matthew 19:14)

Examination of Conscience

V:

The Ten Commandments:

•

I:

•

I am the Lord your God: you shall not havestrange gods before me.

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II:

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Do I tell God that I love Him?
Do I thank God every day for all He has
given me?
Do I pray to God every day?

••You shall not take the Name of the Lord
your God in vain.

•••
III:

Have I said God’s name in adisrespectful way?
Have I said bad words?
Have I made fun of holy things?

••
VI:

••
••
IV:

••••
•
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Have I missed Mass on Sunday (orSaturday evening)?
Do I pay attention and pray at Mass?
Have I fasted an hour before receiving
Communion?
Have I misbehaved in Church, talked,played, or distracted others?

Have I treated anyone unkindly ordisrespectfully?
Have I hit, kicked, or fought with mybrothers and sisters, or anyone else?
Have I hurt someone’s feelings by callingthem names or making fun of them?
Have I hurt someone’s feelings by notplaying with them or leaving them out ofactivities?
Have I been angry and wanted to hurtsomeone?
Do I forgive people when they apologize
or do I stay mad at them?
Do I take care of my body by eating theright food and going to bed on time?

VIII:

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IX:

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VII:

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Have I watched bad thing on TV?
Do I respect other people’s privacy,
especially members of my family?
Do I knock at a closed door before
entering?
Do I close the door when I am in thebathroom or getting dressed?

X:•••
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Do I obey my parents, teachers, and those
who care for me quickly and cheerfully or
do I have to be reminded?
Have I talked back to my parents?
Do I help my parents and do my share ofthe work at home without complaining?
Have I treated any adult disrespectfully?
Do I tell my parents that I love them?
Have I broken any of the rules of my homeor school?

••••••
Did I take something that didn’t belong tome?
Did I break or lose something that was notmine and not fix or replace it?
Do I ask first if I would like to borrow
something that does not belong to me?
Do I return on time everything that Iborrow?
If I find money or something that does notbelong to me do I try to find out who lostit?
Have I been selfish and not shared mythings with others?

You shall not bear false witness against yourneighbor.

Have I lied?
Have I said bad things about someone
behind their back?
Have I cheated on a test or in a game?
Do I play fair?
Have I talked about something that I
should have kept to myself?
Do I keep my promises?

Am I jealous of someone because theirparents let them do things that myparents don’t let me do?
Do I wish that I had different parents,brothers, or sisters?
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

You shall not steal.

Honor your father and mother.

Have I wasted food or other things?

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

You shall not commit adultery.

••

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

•You shall not kill.

••

Am I envious because others have things
that I want?
Am I greedy?
Have I been upset or unhappy whensomeone got something I wanted?
Have I been envious when something
good happened to someone?
Have I been too critical of others?
Am I grateful for the things I have?