The Lord, knowing that we were fragile, left us the Sacrament of Penance, where the soul is not only restored but, if it had lost grace, emerges with new life. We must approach this sacrament with complete, humble, and contrite sincerity, and with a desire to make amends. A Confession well made presupposes a deep examination (deep does not necessarily mean long, especially if we confess frequently): if possible, before the Tabernacle, and always in the presence of God. In the examination of conscience, Christians see what God expected of their lives and what they have actually been; the goodness or malice of their actions, omissions, lost opportunities... the intensity of the fault committed, and the amount of time they remained in it before asking for forgiveness¹⁰.
The Christian who desires to have a delicate conscience, and therefore confesses frequently, "will not be satisfied with a simply valid confession, but will aspire to a good confession that effectively helps the soul in its aspiration toward God. For frequent confession to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to take this principle with total seriousness: without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins. From this arises the fundamental rule for those who confess frequently: do not confess any venial sin of which you have not seriously and sincerely repented.
"There is a general repentance. It is the sorrow and detestation for the sins committed throughout one's past life. This general repentance is of exceptional importance for frequent confession"¹¹, as it helps to heal the wounds left by weaknesses, purifies the soul, and makes it grow in love for the Lord.
Whenever necessary, sincerity will lead us to descend to those small details that make our weaknesses better known: how? when? for what reason? for how long? We should avoid both insubstantial, tedious details and overgeneralization, stating with simplicity and delicacy what happened and the true state of the soul, avoiding vague statements like "I wasn't humble," "I was lazy," "I lacked charity"... things which, on the other hand, are almost always applicable to the common run of mortals. When practicing frequent Confession, we must always ensure that it is a personal act in which we ask the Lord for forgiveness for very concrete and real weaknesses, not for diffuse generalities.
This sacrament of mercy is a safe refuge; there, wounds are healed, what was already worn and aged is rejuvenated, and all wrongdoings, large and small, are remedied. For Confession is not only a judgment in which debts are forgiven, but also medicine for the soul.
Impersonal Confession often hides a touch of pride and self-love that tries to mask or justify what is humiliating and leaves one, humanly speaking, in a bad light. Perhaps, to make this act of penance more personal, it might help us to mind even the way we confess: "I accuse myself of..." for this sacrament is not a report of things that happened, but a humble and simple self-accusation of our errors and weaknesses before God Himself, who will forgive us through the priest and flood us with His grace.
HCD