Confession: Why do we need it? How to do it?

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USCCB:
"Not only does it [the Sacrament of Penance] free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."
Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church. The Sacrament of Penance is God's gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven. In confession we have the opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). "
Saints:
Francis De Sales: "Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls."
Faustina: Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.
Ambrose on conversion: "“there are water and tears; the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance.”
Thomas Aquinas: In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.
Canon Law:
960: "Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute constitute the only ordinary way by which the faithful person who is aware of serious sin is reconciled with God and with the Church; only physical or moral impossibility excuses the person from confession of this type, in which case reconciliation can take place in other ways."
Second Vatican Council:
Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1446: "Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.”"
Catechism/Fellowship of Catholic University Students:
Do you ever wish you could just start over? Want a more intimate relationship with God? Feel at odds with everyone or even yourself? The Church has an "app" for that.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation:
  1. [You] Imparts God's Love (CCC 1424)
  2. [You] Sacrament of forgiveness (CCC 1424): One more benefit of being Catholic. There are lots of benefits, including a sense of community, liturgical rites to help us encounter God in prayer, and the wonderful sense of humanity exemplified in the saints, from Mary, the loving Mother of God, to Augustine, the exasperating son of Monica. The sacrament that leads us to inner peace is among the greatest boons.
  3. [You] Restores us to God (CCC 1468): Closeness to God. Confession helps you realize that you have a close connection to God and receive his grace through the sacraments. What can be better than knowing God’s on your team, or, to be less arrogant about it, that you are on God’s.
  4. [You] Regular confession helps form our conscience, fight evil tendencies, lets us be healed by Christ, and enables us to progress through life in the Spirit. (CCC 1458): Forced time to think. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. To examine our lives and acknowledge failings marks the first step of making things right with God, others and ourselves. Life can be more worth living when you ponder the meaning of your own life.
  5. [You] Brings "spiritual resurrection" and restoration of dignity and blessings of being children of God (CCC 1468): Realistic self-perception. Confession helps overcome arrogance when you have to admit you’re as much of a sinner as anyone else. It helps build tolerance for others’ perceived shortcomings. It brings balance from the other end of the spectrum. If you felt like you were unforgivable (still pride), you realize that you did something bad but you are still a child of God.
  6. [You] Joins us in an intimate friendship with God (CCC 1468): Confidentiality guaranteed. There’s nothing like confessing your sins to someone guaranteed not to tell anyone else. Sometimes you need to talk in absolute confidence. Even under subpoena, a priest can’t tell anyone what’s said to him in confession. He can’t even hint at it. Now that’s confidentiality.
  7. [You] Strengthens the sinner's heart and mind (CCC1469): Housekeeping for the soul. It feels good to be able to start a clean life all over again. Like going into a sparkling living room in your home, it’s nice when clutter is removed – even if it’s your own.
  8. [You] Reconciles our self with our inmost being (CCC 1469): Low cost therapy. It’s free, which makes it cheaper than a psychiatrist for dealing with guilt. It serves as a low scale exorcism, revealing lies believed and restoring the soul and mind to health.
  9. [Church & everyone else] Reconciles us to the Church and others (CCC 1469): A better neighborhood. Confession leaves you feeling relieved and restored, thereby cutting back the inclination to sin. Sin not only harms our relationship with God but also others and ourselves. Our soul is damaged, conflicted by lies believed against known truths. Our sin always affects others spiritually, physically, and/or mentally. Grace of this sacrament restores you to God, your health spiritually and mentally, and encourages you to make amends with those you have hurt. Additionally, you’re energized to, as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “go and sin no more.”
  10. [Church & Everyone else] Repairs and restores fraternal communion (CCC 1469): Contribution toward world peace. Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, said that the imbalances in the world that lead to war and tensions “are linked with that basic imbalance which is rooted in the heart of man.” Peace of soul leads to peace of heart leads to peace beyond oneself.
  11. [Church & Everyone else] Has a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church (CCC 1469): A balm for the desire for revenge. When you have been forgiven you can forgive others. If the perfect Jesus forgives me, who am I to want to avenge the slights in my life. Think: “Why did they promote him over me?’ or “Mom played favorites!”
  12. [All Creation] Reconciles us with all of creation (CCC 1469)
Pope Francis:
"Everyone says to himself: ‘When was the last time I went to confession?’ And if it has been a long time, don’t lose another day! Go, the priest will be good. And Jesus, (will be) there, and Jesus is better than the priests - Jesus receives you. He will receive you with so much love! Be courageous, and go to confession,” - February 19, 2014


I am a Theology major attending Holy Apostles College and Seminary. I am a Knight of Columbus and a Newman Ambassador for Pius XII Newman Center.

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