Prayers often Given for Penance

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS THE LORDS PRAYER

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Going to CONFESSION
The general way to make confession is: 1. Go into the confessional and kneel. 2. Make the sign of the cross. 3. Say to the priest:

HAIL MARY

Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first confesssion. OR {It has been (say how many days, weeks, months, years) since my last confession.}
4. Tell the priest all your sins, such as:

These are my sins....(tell your sins).

If there is any sin you find hard to confess, say, Father, help me, for there is a sin I do not know how to confess. The priest will help you anytime you ask during your confession. When you have finished, say:

Father, these are all the sins I remember.

The confessor-priest may ask you questions or say a few words to you, and will give you your PENANCE. Ask if you do not understand something about your penance. 5. The priest will then say, Make an act of contrition or Are you sorry for your sins? 6. Say loud enough for the priest to hear: I am sorry for all my sins; or an act of contrition, such as:

7. The priest will be saying a prayer of absolution while you say your act of contrition.

When you are done praying and the priest is done with the absolution, say:

Thank you, Father.

and leave the confessional.

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because of Your just punishments, but most of all, because they offended You, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
Or say the following, bowing your head and striking your chest (*) three times as you say:

8. Go to a pew, kneel down and say your penance. If there is any other penance that you need to do outside of church, remember to do it as soon as possible. Another good prayer to say in thanksgiving to Jesus is:

*God, be merciful to me, a sinner. *God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me. *Innumerable are my sins; forgive me, O God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Dear Jesus, I thank you for taking away my sins. From now on, I wish to live for You alone, love You with my whole heart, obey You and please You. I will never hurt you again, because that would make Your wounds bleed all over again. Dear Mother Mary and my Guardian Angel, always keep me close to Jesus, because I do not want to offend Him again. Amen.

If you forget at any time how to make your confession and do not have a prayer book to help you, please just ask your confessor-priest to help you.