This section has been prepared as a spiritual tool for Adults, High School Students, Teachers, Chaplains, Priests, those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confession and those who teach on the subject. 1. Conditions for the Sacrament of Confession.
To properly receive the Sacrament of Confession, one must:
1. Examine his/her conscience. (To do this, one can review the Ten Commandments of God and the Commandments of the Church.)

2. Have a sincere sorrow for having offended God, with a detestation of one's sins.

3. Make a firm resolution to avoid sin in the future and all the dangerous circumstances that lead to sin.

4. Confess one's sins to the priest.

5. Be willing to do penance for the past sins in order to satisfy the Divine Justice for them.

2. Secrecy of the Sacrament.

On the subject of the secrecy of the Sacrament of Confession, the Catechism of the Holy Catholic Church states:

"Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confession is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives. This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the "sacramental seal," because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains 'sealed' by the sacrament." [C. C. C. # 1467]

"The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated under any pretext. 'The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason.'" [C. C. C. # 2490]

3. Restitution.

In the case of stolen goods, the penitent will be reminded of his obligation to:

1. Return the stolen property, or
2. Give its equivalent value to charity.

In the case of wilful damage or destruction of someone's property, the penitent will be reminded of his obligation to:

1. Pay to repair or replace the property, or
2. Give its equivalent value to charity.

4. Receiving the Holy Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin.

To receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin is a sacrilege. One must prepare himself by receiving the Sacrament of Confession prior to receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist to ensure that he is in a state of grace.

On this subject, Saint Paul states: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." [1 Cor. 11:27-30]

5. Sin separates us from God.

The six benefits that are received through the Sacrament of Confession are:

1. Reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers his state of grace;

2. Reconciliation with the Church;

3. The remission of the eternal punishment incurred through mortal sins;

4. The remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;

5. Peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;

6. An increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle.

By approaching the Sacrament of Confession, the penitent obtains pardon from God's mercy for the sins he has committed against God, therefore being reconciled with the Holy Catholic Church which was wounded by the shipwreck of one of its members. (C.C.C. # 1422, 1496)

6. Ways of sinning.

A sin can be committed by thought, desire, word, action or omission.

7. Mortal sin.

For a sin to be serious or mortal, it must meet the following conditions:

1. The thought, desire, word, action or omission must be seriously wrong or considered seriously wrong. It must be serious matter.

2. The sinner must be mindful of the serious wrong. He must have had sufficient reflection upon committing the sin.

3. The sinner must fully consent to the sin. His free will must have consented to it.

8. Guilt by assisting others to sin.

One can be guilty by helping someone else to sin in any of the following ways:

1. By advising someone to sin.

2. By commanding someone to sin.

3. By provoking someone to sin.

4. By consenting to someone's sin.

5. By showing someone how to sin.

6. By praising someone for his sin.

7. By concealing, remaining silent about, doing nothing to prevent someone's sin.

8. By taking part in or enjoying the result of someone's sin.

9. By defending someone's sin.

9. List of possible sins.

Abortion
Adultery
Anger
Animal abuse (chase with motor vehicles, etc...)
Animal neglect
Assault someone
Avarice (making money a god)
Bad confession (did not tell the priest the truth)
Believed in fortune telling (fate versus faith)
Bestiality
Birth Control (practice artificial)
Business cheating
Calumny (accusing others of one's own sins or faults)
Church support neglected
Debts neglected
Disobey parents
Disobey the authorities
Dressed immodestly
Drug Abuse (causing harm to my health)
Drunkedness
Employee not doing a just day's work
Employer not paying just wages
Envy (jealous of the neighbour's possessions)
Fighting (with brothers and sisters)
Fornication (pre-marital sex)
Gambling excess and family neglect
Gluttony (excessive eating)
Gossiped (about friends, neighbours, etc...)
Guilty of parents' sadness or unhappiness by harm or
ungratefulness
Hatred
Holy Day of Obligation (did not attend)
Holy Eucharist received in a state of mortal sin.
Homosexual or lesbian acts
Idolatry
Impure books (read)
Impure movies (watched)
Impure thoughts and desires
Impurity entertained (Internet)
Laziness
Lying (to parents, police officer, in Court)
Masturbated
Murder
Neglected physical welfare of wife/husband/family
Neglected spiritual welfare of wife/husband/family
Neglected teaching the faith by one's example
Neglected teaching the faith to one's children
Prayers neglected at meals
Prayers neglected in morning and night
Prejudiced
Pride
Promote evil practices in society
Property damage
Racist (being)
Revenge (taking)
Sacrilege (violated sacred things, damaged Church,
striking a priest)
Slander
Stealing (name what it is)
Sunday Mass (did not attend)
Superstitious beliefs
Swearing
Traffic laws disobeyed
Used the name of God and Jesus in disrespectful way
Used the name of sacred articles in disrespectful way
White lies (partial truth)

You may also wish to review the following Bible passages: [Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Rev. 21:7-8, 22:15]

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Stations of the Cross
Becoming a Catholic
Catholic Beliefs
Oremus Network
Sin
A Guide for Confession
Explanation of the Mass
Holy Rosary
Mysteries of the Rosary
Seven Sacraments
Holy Days of Obligation
What are Indulgences?
Introduction to Indulgences
Church Teachings on Indulgences
Norms
Indulgenced Works
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Last Things
A List of Roman Catholic Popes
The Ecumenical Councils
Prayer Requests