Before going to confession, remember to never bring your phone in the confessional (as a phone even in airplane-mode may be hacked by the government or another enemy.)  Rather, write out your sins on a piece of paper that you may wish to bring into the confessional.  Then, begin your confession by saying to the priest your state in life (married, single, priest religious) and then say how long it’s been since your last confession (one week, one month, one year, etc.).  Say, “I accuse myself of the following sins…” as you keep in mind the traditional Four C’s of Making a Good Confession:

  1. Clear.  Someone recently told me about an account in Fr. FX Shouppe’s book The Dogma of Hell where a penitent purposefully obfuscated his confession of a mortal sin and ultimately went to hell for it being considered an unconfessed sin.  Look—we priests have heard every sin under the sun.  You will not shock us.  We believe the one thing greater than your ability to sin is our heavenly Father’s ability to forgive you.  So, there is no need to confess your sins in an unclear or tricky or coded manner.  Just say the sin clearly, even if it’s embarrassing.  If you don’t play games or use ambiguous parlance to confess your sins, you will leave with a clear conscience.  And it might save your soul. …

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