Are you searching for the right prayers to say before and after your confession? Say these prayers!
As a Catholic, it is required that you confess your sins in the ways of the Church. Even though you must have privately confessed your sins to God and sought his forgiveness, it is still required that you confess to a priest who serves as a representative of Christ to use the absolution power vested on him by Christ to absolve you of your sins; (Matthew 16:19).
There are also certain things you ought to do and certain prayers you ought to make before going for confession so as to prepare yourself to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. You ought to reflect on your past, the sins which you must have committed and the right things which you must have failed to do. Having brought to mind all these, you say this prayer to God. This prayer asks for God’s guidance in going for the confession and begs for His grace not to return to such sins:
“Dear Jesus, help me to make a good Confession,
Help me to find out my sins,
Help me to be sorry for them,
Help me to make up my mind not to sin again.
have mercy on me, O Lord, and forgive me.
Mary, my mother, pray for me”.
Having made that prayer, you might add other prayers of your choice before going for the confession. After confessing your sins the priest would ask you to say the “Act of contrition” which is written below:
“O my God, I am very sorry for all my sins,
because they offend you who are so good,
and with your help I will not sin again”.
After making your confession, it would be grace-filling to say this prayer which thanks God for His assistance through the confession and implores His grace with that of Mary, in order not to thread the sinful path anymore:
“Dear Jesus,
thank you for helping me to make a good Confession,
and thank you for taking away my sins.
Help me, dear Jesus, never to offend you again.
Mary, my mother, pray to Jesus for me.
My dear Angel Guardian, help me. Amen”.
Prayers of a repentant heart.
Repentance goes beyond asking for God’s forgiveness of sins committed. Repentance involves a change in one’s way of life, the decision to live one’s life differently from how one used to and to live as God wills for us. As such, anyone who is repentant of his sins must have a positive turn-around and make sure not to return to his former sinful ways of life, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
This prayer below should be said by a repentant child of God:
“I beseech Thee, O Most Blessed Trinity, to shed the fire of Thy merciful love upon this most frigid heart, to let shine upon this most darkened mind, the light of the Son, in whom alone is every grace and truth. Have pity on me, most Merciful God, and regard not my sins and offenses, but in Thy mercy forgive me yet again, and grant me the graces to serve Thee now in fidelity and truth. Amen”.
Here is another prayer of repentance:
“Oh Most humane and adorable Jesus, Your endless grace and mercy flows forth. Before granting the gift of absolution To earnest repenters of sinful ways, You demanded a sacrificial compensation. For a wrongful act cannot be rectified Until punishment has been accepted! Yes, for the salvation of my soul, Jesus, You accepted the price of the Cross! Grant me the grace to remain free of debts, My heart remaining flawless before You, Making Your absolution truly worthwhile!”
Say this beautiful prayer of psalm 51 to implore God’s mercy for your sins today!
Psalm 51 is a prayer of contrition, a prayer asking for God’s mercy and a prayer of repentance. This prayer was said by King David after the prophet, Nathan rightly accused him of committing adultery with Bethsheba and sending her husband, Uriah who was his soldier to be killed in battle (2 Sam11). David broke down in contrition knowing that he had committed a grave sin against God and sought for his forgiveness. In this prayer, he begs for a heart washed and cleansed by God and makes the resolution not to sin against Him anymore:
“1 Be merciful to me, O God,
because of your constant love.
Because of your great mercy
wipe away my sins!
2 Wash away all my evil
and make me clean from my sin!
3 I recognize my faults;
I am always conscious of my sins.
4 I have sinned against you — only against you —and done what you consider evil.
So you are right in judging me;
you are justified in condemning me.
5 I have been evil from the day I was born;
from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.
6 Sincerity and truth are what you require;
fill my mind with your wisdom.
7 Remove my sin, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
and though you have crushed me and broken me,
I will be happy once again.
9 Close your eyes to my sins
and wipe out all my evil.
10 Create a pure heart in me, O God,
and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence;
do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach sinners your commands,
and they will turn back to you.
14 Spare my life, O God, and save me,
and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.
15 Help me to speak, Lord,
and I will praise you.
16 You do not want sacrifices,
or I would offer them;
you are not pleased with burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God;
you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.
18 O God, be kind to Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
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19 Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices
and with our burnt offerings;
and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar”.
Prayer for forgiveness of sins.
It is okay to fall sometimes. We are humans and are not designed to be perfect, even though we can only try.”For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”. (Heb 4:15). And even though you feel weighed down and weary because of your sins, all you need to do is return to God with a contrite heart, ask Him for forgiveness and make sure not to return to sin.
However, it would be useless saying this prayer when you do not sincerely feel sorry for your sins as God doesn’t listen to the prayers of an unrepentant sinners,
“The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Prov 15:29).
So you should say this prayer in humility, in sincere contrition and with resolve not to wrong God by returning to those sins:
“Lord Jesus, I come before you today feeling quite low. As I consider my mistakes, the ways I have sinned against you and others, my heart breaks to see my actions in the mirror of my conscience, and I feel lost.
When I remember the love you have for us, it deepens my grief for what I have done, and I wish I could take it all back.
I know the only way is forward, however. To move in that direction, I desperately need your forgiveness. May your mercy wash me of all my sins and cleanse my heart of evil desires. Your willingness to die on the cross provides me confidence that, if I ask to be forgiven, you will give me this gift.
And once I have freedom from my sin, keep me safe from future temptations and strengthen my heart and resolve to choose what is right. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice that affords me another chance. Amen”.
A Prayer of resolve.
It is one thing to feel sorry for the sins one has committed and another thing to make a resolution not to go back to those sins. This is why it is very necessary to say a prayer of resolve even after confessing your sins to God and seeking his forgiveness.
It takes only the grace of God himself, for one not to return to his past sins. If it was so easy, David who was “the man after God’s heart” would not have sinned against God time without number. Similarly in the case of Solomon, son of David whom God blessed with the greatest wisdom of all time. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. (Heb 4:16).
This prayer below pleads for God’s grace not to return to past sins having resolved not to go back to them:
“Adorable Jesus, my Savior and Master, model of all perfection, I resolve—and will try this day—to imitate Your example, to be like You, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and resigned. I will redouble my efforts to see Your image in all those I meet and deal with this day, and to be as helpful to them as I would be to You. I resolve to avoid this day all those sins which I have committed heretofore and which I now sincerely desire to give up forever. Amen”.
This prayer should be said daily, advisably in the morning. After saying it, make sure to put in efforts not to sin, avoid every sin as much as possible as prayers go hand-in-hand with work.
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Note: While content aims to align with Catholic teachings, any inconsistencies or errors are unintended. For precise understanding, always refer to authoritative sources like the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Always double-check any quotes for word-for-word accuracy with the Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.