9 Mistakes for Making a Good Confession

  1. Not choosing to do an examination of conscience. There are plenty of good sources to help examine the conscience. I like the one provided in this prayer book.
  2. Intentionally withholding mortal sins. Similar to going to a physician and telling him all of the symptoms affecting you, it is important to tell Jesus all the mortal sins you know you committed.
  3. Choosing not to do the penance. In like manner to number 2, a physician will prescribe something to help you get better. The penance is our way of atoning for them sinfulness we chose.
  4. Confessing your wife’s sins instead of your own. The sacramental grace only affects the person confessing. There is no need to confess someone else’s sins.
  5. Making unnecessary excuses for sins. There is a proper place in telling the priest certain circumstances so that he can get an idea of the accountability of a sin but the confessional is not really the place for an excuse.
  6. Confessing future sins. This is simply impossible.
  7. Not desiring to amend your life. Wanting to change your life and put Christ back on is part of the sacrament. There may be sins you struggle with more often than others. There may be sins you commit on a regular basis but do not lose hope or give up. Keep going to confession and trying to amend your life.
  8. Willfully not being contrite or sorrowful for the sins committed. There are many times I have not felt sorrow for sins. In fact, there have been times that I wished certain actions were not sins. It is hard to have sorrow for something you wished was not true. In spite of my wishes, I know certain actions are wrong regardless of my feelings. In these cases, I choose to be sorrowful. It is difficult at times but asking the Holy Spirit for help to even start being sorrowful is a good beginning.
  9. Not going to confession at all. It is hard to make a good confession if you think it is not needed to go at all. I have heard all kinds of reasons: a bad confessional experience, embarrassment of sins committed, despairing of God’s all merciful heart, no time to go. If you are not going to confession after committing a mortal sin, let me tell you, you are missing out on something extraordinary. Receiving God’s mercy and forgiveness is incredible!
J.Q. Tomanek

J.Q. Tomanek

J.Q. lives in the country of Texas with his wife Denise, a Southern Belle from Trinidad and Tobago, and his three children. He holds two graduate degrees from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, an MBA and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Having taught for five years in Catholic education, he now works in the construction industry in Victoria, TX. He is a parishioner of Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Parish in the Diocese of Victoria.

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3 thoughts on “9 Mistakes for Making a Good Confession”

  1. Pingback: Obama Silent on ISIS, Iraqi Christians Hopes Fade - Big Pulpit

  2. How common is mortal sin? I know that I am a sinner, but when I notice that I have wandered into sinful territory, I flee to prayer. In other words, although I know some of my sins are grave, they are not done with full consent of my will (knowing that they are grave and choosing to do them anyway). I confess my sins every 3-4 months and always attend weekly Mass and Holy Days of Obligation – is it possible that God has granted me the grace to avoid mortal sin? Or am I fooling myself?

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