The Sacrament of Confession, along with Anointing of the Sick, is one of the two sacraments of healing.
Even after Baptism, we suffer the weight of original sin and our own personal sins as well. Christ tells us as much in His story about the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. In this parable, one of the children of the house demands his inheritance, leaves, and spends the money selfishly; shortly afterwards he runs out of money and decides to return home – hoping that he will be able to have some life as a servant. The twist is that after the son confesses his sins, the father forgives him and celebrates his reconciliation – an echo of the previous two parables of Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.
It can personally challenging to go to a priest and admit your sins. A big source of strength for us is that very parable of the Prodigal Son (also called the “Lost Son”). His sinful situation went from bad to worse until he back to the father, admitted his sins, and then received forgiveness and was able to return to his place in the father’s house. Similarly we place ourselves outside of the Father’s grace when we turn to sin. Our entrance back into grace is – just like the prodigal son – is the confession of our sins.
Below are the essentials for confession. First is an examination of conscious to assist you in confessing all of your sins; second is a guide to the Sacrament of Confession to help guide you through the sacrament. See the Mass Times page for the confession schedule.