Catholic Confession & Prayer Guide
Seventeen short pieces that together cover what the Church has historically asked Catholics to know about preparing for confession and praying daily. Catechism-grounded, plain language, no filler. Read them in any order.
How to Prepare for Confession
The four things the Church asks for: examine your conscience, ask for contrition, decide to amend your life, plan what to say. The pillar guide for the whole site.
Examination of Conscience
What it is, how to do one, and three traditional structures: the Decalogue, the seven deadly sins, the Beatitudes. Includes the difference between the daily examen and the examination for confession.
Ten Commandments Examination
A commandment-by-commandment examination drawn from the Catechism (CCC 2052–2557). Concrete questions for each, suitable for adults. The most thorough piece in the guide.
What to Say in Confession
A line-by-line script for the rite itself, with two example confessions — one for regular monthly use, one for the return after a long absence.
The Act of Contrition
Both traditional and modern versions, with a plain-language explanation of every line and the difference between perfect and imperfect contrition.
Confession After a Long Time Away
If it has been years or decades since your last confession: what to do, what to say, what to expect. The most empathetic piece in the guide.
Mortal vs. Venial Sin
The three conditions for mortal sin (CCC 1857), what counts as grave matter, how the distinction matters for confession and Communion, and where the line is honestly unclear.
How Often Should You Go to Confession?
The Church's minimum (once a year), the saints' counsel of frequent confession, mortal sin and Communion, and how to find a rhythm between laxity and scrupulosity.
The Five-Step Ignatian Examen
St. Ignatius of Loyola's daily Examen prayer, in fifteen minutes a day. The single most-recommended evening prayer practice in Catholic spirituality.
By the Seven Deadly Sins
Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth — the capital sins, with Catechism-cited questions for each. The examination for depth: it surfaces the root behind the acts.
By the Beatitudes
The eight Beatitudes (Matthew 5) as a positive examination — not what to avoid but what to become. The contemplative structure, for growth and direction.
Examination of Conscience for Men
The full Decalogue, with the duties and besetting sins that most often surface for men: anger, purity, honesty in work, and leading a household in prayer. Catechism-cited.
Examination of Conscience for Women
The whole moral law with attention to the tongue, comparison and envy, resentment, and the duties of wife, mother, and daughter. Catechism-cited.
Examination of Conscience for Teens
The Ten Commandments in plain language, written for real teenage life — phones, friends, family, and purity — with reassurance for the nervous.
Examination of Conscience for Married Couples
Fidelity and openness to life, patience with your spouse, and forming children in the faith — the duties particular to the married state. Catechism-cited.
Examination of Conscience for Single Adults
Chastity, honesty at work, prayer, and charity — the graces and temptations particular to the single life. Catechism-cited.
Examination of Conscience for Children
A simple, gentle examination for children preparing for First Confession — the commandments in a child's language, with a note for parents and catechists.
Confess. is the app companion to this guide — the same examinations, the Act of Contrition, an In-Confession Mode, and a guided five-step Examen, all on your phone. Free, encrypted, no account.
Download Confess.