This week we will pray for children making their First Confession. May God be with them, dispelling all their fears and filling them with his love and confidence.
The Sacraments of Christ
"Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to apostolic traditions and to the consensus ... Of the Fathers", we profess that "the Sacraments of the new law were... All instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Saviour has passed over into his mysteries."
Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant. Cf. (CCC 1114-1116).
How to make a good confession
Pray and ask God to help you to know your sins.
Ask for the gift to be honest and to be truly sorry for the wrongs you have done.
Ask God for the grace to live only as a child of God.
When you go before a Priest make the sign of the cross.
(In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.)
Then say; Bless me Father, for I have sinned. If it is not a First Confession it will be necessary to say how long it was since the last confession.
Name all your sins before the Priest and before God.
The Priest may say a few words to encourage you or give you a prayer to say as a pennance to do afterwards.
You then say an Act of Contrition, the Priest will absolve you from your sins in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Act of Contrition
Oh my God,
I thank you for loving me,
I am sorry for all my sins,
for not loving others
and not loving you.
Help me to live like Jesus
and not to sin again.
Amen.
After Confession:
Give thanks to God for his gift of forgiveness and do the pennance you were given.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
My Dearest Jesus, Thank you for your wonderful gift of forgiveness.
Thank you for my Parents, my teachers and priests,
who teach me about you and how to live a good life.
Thank you for all the good things you have given to me.
But mostly, thank you for the gift of your love.
Amen
Remember...
When you go to Confession you are meeting God, who died for your sins on the cross, to assure you of how much he loves you. The Priest is the hands of Christ to bless you, the ears of Christ to listen to you and the voice of Christ to speak to you. When the Priest absolves you, it is Christ himself who wipes out all your sins and makes them as if they had never been. There is no sin so great that it cannot be forgiven. Anything you say to God and the Priest in Confession is never mentioned again. Regular confession is a good way of keeping your soul healthy and attaining inner peace. The soul is like a house that needs regular cleaning.
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we find our Joy and Peace with Jesus Christ.