Confession is a very serious step. It can be difficult to admit to your negative actions not only to an outsider, but even to yourself. This is a conversation with my conscience. And you need to prepare for this conversation in advance, as if this is the last confession in your life.
Instruction manual
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There is no particular structure of confession. It is not necessary to talk about sins in chronological order or in severity. However, you need to put your thoughts in order in advance. And to make this process easier, make a small “cheat sheet” on paper. Write about why you feel remorse. And also the events that led you to commit the wrong thing. But do not interfere with other people, you confess your sins, not strangers. Otherwise, it will not be a confession, but a condemnation, but this is a new sin. Do not try to justify yourself, on the contrary, you need to condemn, blame and convict more of your deeds in order to receive forgiveness. Your preparation is the first and very important part of the confession.
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The second part is the sacrament itself. Do not be ashamed of the priest confessing you of your sins. Because the priest is only a mediator between you and God. The secret of confession is sacred, information from the confession is not passed on to anyone. It is better to confess after the evening service, the priest will be able to give you more attention. Confess your sins openly and in detail. Do not hide anything, you must sincerely regret what you did. Every sin must be discussed separately. It is not enough to say: “sinful, ” it is important to name sins by their names: gluttony, adultery, money-grubbing, pride. To help you gather your thoughts, the priest may ask you if you committed a sin. If you did not do this, then you should not answer: "maybe yes." And also don’t talk about what you didn’t do, without a question confessing you, otherwise it will look like boasting.
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You should not talk about the same sin every time if you confessed it once. Confession should be with sorrow, regret and contrition of sins, but not with composure or even with a grin. Priests advise to confess at least once every two weeks. No matter what age you come to the temple, if this is your first confession, then sins are confessed, starting from the age of seven.
