Confession: how it goes, how to prepare, what to say to the priest

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Repentance or confession is a sacrament in which a person who confesses his sins to a priest, through his forgiveness, is resolved from sins by the Lord Himself. The question of how to confess correctly, what to say to a priest, is asked by many people who join church life. The preliminary confession prepares the soul of the penitent for the Great Meal - the Sacrament of Communion.

The essence of confession

The Holy Fathers call the sacrament of repentance the second baptism. In the first case, at Baptism, a person receives cleansing from the original sin of the forefathers Adam and Eve, and in the second, the penitent is washed away from his sins committed after baptism. However, because of the weakness of their human nature, people continue to sin, and these sins separate them from God, standing between them as a barrier. They cannot overcome this barrier on their own. But the Sacrament of Penance helps to be saved and acquire that unity with God acquired at Baptism.

The gospel says about repentance that it is a necessary condition for the salvation of the soul. A person throughout his life must continuously struggle with his sins. And, despite all the defeats and falls, he should not lose heart, despair and grumble, but repent all the time and continue to carry his life's cross, which the Lord Jesus Christ laid on him.

Consciousness of one's sins

In this matter, the main thing is to learn that in the Sacrament of Confession, a penitent person is forgiven all his sins, and the soul is freed from sinful bonds. The ten commandments received by Moses from God and the nine Beatitudes received from the Lord Jesus Christ contain the entire moral and spiritual law of life.

Therefore, before confessing, you need to turn to your conscience and remember all your sins from childhood in order to prepare a real confession. How it passes, not everyone knows, and even rejects, but a true Orthodox Christian, conquering his pride and false shame, begins to spiritually crucify himself, honestly and sincerely confess his spiritual imperfection. And here it is important to understand that unconfessed sins will be defined for a person in eternal condemnation, and repentance means victory over oneself.

What is real confession. How does this sacrament go?

Before you confess to a priest, you need to seriously prepare and realize the need to cleanse the soul from sins. To do this, one must reconcile with all the offenders and with thosewho have been offended, refrain from gossip and condemnation, any obscene thoughts, viewing numerous entertainment programs and reading lightweight literature. It is better to devote your free time to reading the Holy Scriptures and other spiritual literature. It is advisable to confess a little in advance at the evening service, so that during the morning Liturgy you will no longer be distracted from the service and devote time to prayerful preparation for Holy Communion. But already, as a last resort, you can confess in the morning (mostly everyone does this).

For the first time, not everyone knows how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, etc. In this case, you need to warn the priest about this, and he will direct everything in the right direction. Confession, first of all, involves the ability to see and realize one's sins, at the moment of saying them, the priest should not justify himself and shift the blame to another.

Children under 7 years old and all newly baptized communion on this day without confession, only women who are in purification (when they have their period or after childbirth until the 40th day) can not do this. The text of the confession can be written on a piece of paper so as not to stray later and remember everything.

The Order of Confession

A lot of people usually gather in the church for confession, and before approaching the priest, you need to turn your face to the people and say out loud: “Forgive me, a sinner,” and they will answer: “God will forgive, and we forgive”. And then it is necessary to go to the confessor. Approaching the lectern (high book stand), crossing himself and bowing at the waist, without kissing the Cross andThe Gospel, with your head bowed, you can proceed to confession.

Previously confessed sins do not need to be repeated, because, as the Church teaches, they have already been forgiven, but if they are repeated again, then they must be repented of again. At the end of your confession, you must listen to the words of the priest and the permissive prayer. When he finishes, cross himself twice, bow at the waist, kiss the Cross and the Gospel, and then, after crossing himself and bowing again, accept the blessing of your father and go to your place.

What to repent of

Summing up the topic “Confession. How does this sacrament go”, you need to familiarize yourself with the most common sins in our modern world.

Sins against God - pride, lack of faith or unbelief, denial of God and the Church, careless execution of the sign of the cross, not wearing a pectoral cross, violation of the commandments of God, mentioning the name of the Lord in vain, careless fulfillment of prayer rules, not attending church, prayer without diligence, talking and walking in the temple during the service, belief in superstitions, turning to psychics and fortune tellers, thoughts of suicide, etc.

Sins against one's neighbor - upsetting parents, robbery and extortion, stinginess in almsgiving, hardness of heart, slander, bribery, resentment, barbs and cruel jokes, irritation, anger, gossip, gossip, greed, scandals, tantrums, resentment, betrayal, cheating, etc.

Sins against oneself - vanity, arrogance, anxiety, envy, vindictiveness, desire for earthly glory and honors, addiction tomoney, gluttony, smoking, drunkenness, gambling, masturbation, fornication, excessive attention to one's flesh, despondency, longing, sadness, etc.

God will forgive any sin, nothing is impossible for him, a person only needs to truly realize his sinful deeds and sincerely repent of them.

Communion

They usually confess in order to take communion, and for this you need to pray for several days, which means prayer and fasting, attending evening services and reading at home, in addition to evening and morning prayers, the canons: the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, the Penitent, to Communion, and if possible, or rather, at will - the Akathist to Jesus the Sweetest. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, they proceed to the sacrament on an empty stomach. After receiving the Sacrament of Communion, one must read the prayers for Holy Communion.

Don't be afraid to go to confession. How is she going? You can read about this exact information in special brochures that are sold in every church, they describe everything in great detail. And then the main thing is to tune in to this true and saving deed, because an Orthodox Christian must always think about death so that it does not take him by surprise - without prayers of repentance and communion.