Sins in the Grave

          Boys and girls, would you like to know what I hear in confession?  Well, this morning, I am going to tell you; I’m going to share with you some sample confessions.  Before I do, however, I want you to understand these are not actual confessions that I have heard in the confessional.  A priest should never, ever reveal what he hears in confessions.  He must take those sins to his grave.  Rather, I just looked on the internet, and found these sample confessions.  I share them with you in the hopes that they will jog your memory and help you to make a good confession, too.  I’ll give you three samples.

          Sample one: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, I am a middle-aged woman who has 3 school-aged children and who works part time.  My last confession was five months ago and these are my sins.  I come to church almost every Sunday but I am easily distracted and often day dream or fall asleep.  I have grown indifferent to my husband.  I love my children and I take care of them but I must admit that I do not pay much attention to what they do or who they are with.  I can be very curt with them, maybe mean.  I tend to gossip often at work.  I don’t take good care of myself.  I rarely pray.  I seem to be telling a lot of lies lately.  I am sorry for these sins and the sins of my whole life.”

          Sample two: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  I am a single woman who is working full time.  My last confession was 3 months ago, and these are my sins.  I told a few lies.  I was really mad at one of my co-workers so I started a rumor about her and I know that it hurt her reputation.  I do a lot of flirting for attention and sometimes dress quite seductively.  I got in the habit of taking small things from work.  I know it’s wrong but I do it anyway.  I still work too much, and though I made a commitment to get my life into balance, I don’t seem to be doing much about it.  I am sorry for these sins and the sins of my whole life.”

          Sample three: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  I am a teenager who is a senior in high school.  I play a lot of sports.  My last confession was 10 months ago and these are my sins.  I missed Mass on Sunday at least 10 times.  I copy my friend’s homework because I am too lazy and too tired to do it.  I like to brag a lot because I have been a pretty successful athlete.  I take advantage of girls.  I give my parents a hard time.  I give the appearance of being a good friend, but I don’t really care about my friends very much.  I am sorry for these sins and the sins of my whole life.”

          Boys and girls, I hope these 3 sample confessions gave you an idea of what sins you, too, need to confess.  But I hope it also gives you some peace of mind in knowing that other people are not perfect either -- not your peers, not your parents and not even your priests -- that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.  Now, we’re all going to say our Act of Contrition together, and it’s a really short one that you can easily remember.  Just repeat after me: “Oh, my Jesus, have mercy on me, for I am a sinner.  Amen.”  One last item: non-Catholics are welcome to come talk to a priest, too, but let the priest know you are not Catholic when you walk in.  Good luck.