What’s involved in going to confession?
The rite for the sacrament of penance involves four parts: contrition, confession, penance and absolution.
1. Contrition: a sincere sorrow for having offended God and the most important act of the penitent. There can be no forgiveness of sin if we do not have sorrow and a firm resolve not to repeat our sin.
2. Confession: confronting our sins in a profound way to God by speaking about them — aloud — to the priest.
3. Penance: an important part of our healing is the “penance” the priest imposes in reparation for our sins
4. Absolution: the priest speaks the words by which “God, the Father of Mercies” reconciles a sinner to Himself through the merits of the Cross.
