Confession
Welcome to the Sacrament of Confession page. This page will detail what Confession is and other questions that may arise from your child preparing to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. There is a video on how to go to confession and an activity at the end.
What is confession?
Confession is where we are able to tell God what we have done wrong and receive forgiveness.
What is a Sin?
A sin is something that we do that goes against God. A sin means that we are damaging our relationship with God.
Why do we go to confession?
We go to confession to help our relationship with God after we have sinned because when we sin, our relationship with God weakens. Confession helps us make it strong again.
How did sin come into the world?
Sin started way back in the Old Testament in the Book of Genesis with Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden when God said they can eat fruit from any of the trees, just not the tree in the middle of the Garden.
God told Adam and Eve if they ate from that tree that they would die. The serpent told them a different story, that they wouldn’t die, but they would be able to tell the difference between Good and Evil, like God.
The serpent managed to convince them to eat from the tree and when they did they had all this knowledge that they didn’t have before. They were even able to make themselves clothes out of the fig leaves.
God came then and realised they had eaten from the tree. They sinned against God because the serpent convinced them and they gave into temptation.
After this, their relationship with God was weakened and they turned away from God.
God, of course, wants our relationship to be as strong with Him as it can and so he sent someone to Earth to help us rebuild our relationship with God.
He sent Jesus.
Genesis 3: 1-24
How do we go to Confession?
We start Confession by going to the priest in a confessional (a room where we are separated from the priest so they can’t see you and you cannot see them). See below a script for your First Confession.
You: In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
you make the sign of the cross
Priest: May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips to make a true and worthy confession
You: Bless me father, this is my First Reconciliation. These are my sins: (say your sins)
Priest: (gives some advice and then a penance, a prayer that the priest asks you to say, that you can go and say after the confession has finished)
You: Say sorry to God by saying: O my God, I thank you for loving me, I am sorry for al my sins, for not loving others, for not loving you. Help me to live like Jesus, and to not sin again. Amen
Priest: I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
The priest then invites you to go in peace, having been forgiven by God.
You then go and say the prayers the priest has given to you and you can light a candle.
Can the priest tell someone else what we have said in our Confession?
No a priest cannot tell someone else what you have said in your Confession.
Why?
Because they are bound by what is called the ‘Seal of Confession’ which means when they become a priest, they make a promise that they will not discuss what was said in the Confession.
This means no matter how bad you think your sins have been or what you confess, the priest is not allowed to tell anyone.
Bible quote
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness”
1 John 1:9
What can I say in my confession?
Confession is about saying what you have done that goes against God. It is about being thoughtful and saying what comes from your heart.
Remember it is about being honest with God.
Use the sheet below to help you prepare for your First Confession.
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Video and Activity
The Video below is a good tool to help think about what can be said during the First Confession.
The activity is a print out which you can write different things you might like to say in your First Confession. Fill in the different boxes answering the questions given to help you think.
Click below for the activity: The Examination of Conscience. Answer the different questions to help you prepare for you First Reconciliation
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