MOST SOULS want the love and joy and peace which come from Absolution, but they lack practical instruction as to how to prepare themselves. Here is a very simple way in which to prepare for a confession.
Go to a place where you can be alone for an hour. A church is the best place. But it is essential that you be quiet and alone with God. For the first few minutes, think about God. Try to realize how much He loves you and the pain He suffered on the Cross in order to redeem you.
Now consider your life. What a failure it has been in many ways; how different from the life of Jesus! Tell him that you are sorry for your sins and that you are resolved to face them all and cleanse yourself of their stain.
Think, now, of some of the chief faults of your life; the sins (some of them perhaps as far back as your childhood) of which you are especially ashamed. Take a sheet of paper and note down the sins you can recall. But remember the great difference between temptation and sin. Temptation is the impulse to think, to say, or to do that which is wrong; but when you overcome the impulse, there is no sin. A sin is surrender to the impulse.
After—but only after—you have noted down all the sins you can recall, it may help you to check up on your list by referring to the Examination of Consciencethat follows. (But get everything noted down on paper, for it will save time for others who may be waiting if you can read the sins off readily in your confession.
If possible, state how many times you have committed each sin, or at all events the greater ones. If you cannot remember the number of times, at least say you have committed the sin often.