On February 17, 2010, Ash Wednesday will be celebrated. Ash Wednesday is the official signal start of the Lenten Season in the Catholic Church’s liturgical year. And in this coming season of lent, we are once again given the opportunity to renew our lives with the Lord. We are once again given the chance to examine our conscience and better our selves in living the Christian life. The first step is not the abstinence or sacrifices, because all of them will follow. The first big step is to confess regularly. And when we say confess, it is not just a matter of removing the stain of sin in our soul, but being really sorry for our sins and repent for everything we have done against God and fellow brothers and sisters. Most especially trying as hard as we can not to commit them again for the Love of God. OTWOMD | Bluepanjeet.Net will journey with you this Lenten season as we jump start the coming week with this Steps in making a good confession.

ELEMENTS OF MAKING A SINCERE CONFESSION

1. A thorough examination of conscience since your last confession is necessary.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you” (Matthew 11:28).

2. Inform the priest of the approximate length of time since your last confession and your basic vocation in life (i.e. single, married, widowed, etc.), as this helps him place your confessional information in some context.

“A man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away; will he not leave the ninety-nine out on the hills and go in search of the stray?” (Matthew 18:12).

3. More serious, or mortal sins, are, as best as possible, to be named specifically and with some indication of their frequency. Less serious, or venial sins, ideally are mentioned specifically too, but may be mentioned more generally for the sake of brevity.

“While the prodigal son was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was deeply moved. He ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

4. In order to receive the effects of absolution from sin, there needs to be a sincere desire to reject the sinful behaviors confessed and a willingness to respond to God’s grace by attempting to avoid all future sin and occasions of sin.

“God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

ACT OF CONTRITION

Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all of my sins because of your just punishments, but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Following is a suggested way of examining your conscience in preparation for a fruitful confession of sin. It focuses on the Ten Commandments and gives examples of the kinds of sins that tend to be committed against each of those divine precepts.

I. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have false gods before me.

• Have I rejected God’s revelation as it comes to me through the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church?
• Have I served money, power, sexuality or any other lesser good as if it were the supreme good to be sought?
• Have I despaired of God’s help?
• Have I presumed upon God’s mercy?
• Have I placed faith in superstition?

II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

• Have I disrespected the holiness of God and of things or persons specially associated with God?
• Have I made false oaths or failed to keep vows made in God’s sight?

III. You shall keep holy the Sabbath day.

• Have I Failed through my own fault to worship God on Sundays or designated Holy Days of Obligation?
• Have I kept Sunday holy by using it as a time for recreation and family, as a day of charitable activity and by making extra time for prayer?
• Have I rested sufficiently to renew me for the tasks of the remainder of the week?
• Do I pray regularly and attentively throughout the week?

IV. You shall honor your father and your mother.

• Have I fulfilled obligations towards my parents, especially in their advancing years?
• Have I been respectfully obedient to those who are legitimate authorities in my life?

V. You shall not kill.

• Have I contributed to or concurred in any way with the taking of human life through abortion, euthanasia or other threats to human life?
• Have I done damage to another’s reputation or well being in any way?
• Have I jeopardized my own well being through the use of alcohol, drugs or some other self-destructive behavior?
• Have I wished for ill fate to befall another?
• Have I done anything that gives bad example to others and might lead them to fall into sin themselves?

VI and IX. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.

• Have I engaged in willful sexual intercourse outside of marriage?
• Within marriage, have I engaged in sexual activity without regard for expressing true love for my spouse or without openness to the possibility of receiving the gift of human life?
• Have I been sexually impure with another or with myself?
• Has my marriage been celebrated in the Catholic Church or with the permission of the Catholic Church?
• Have I pursued and entertained lustful thoughts?
• Have I been careful about the sexual content of materials I read or view?

VII and X. You shall not steal. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

• Have I respected the property of others?
• Have I taken the good of another or done willful damage to them?
• Have I taken the intellectual property of others by taking their ideas without giving credit?
• Have I deprived others of a just wage?
• Have I failed to give my employer a day’s work for a day’s pay?
• Have I failed to share my resources with those less fortunate than me?
• Have I been discontent with my own blessings from God and envied those of my neighbor?

VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

• Have I told serious lies?
• Have I gossiped?
• Have I disclosed the faults of another without serious reason to do so?

TRUST IN THE LORD’S MERCY… HE FORGIVES