Repentance or confession is a sacrament in which a person who confesses his sins to a priest, through his forgiveness, is allowed from sins by the Lord Himself. The question of how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, is asked by many people who are involved in church life. A preliminary confession prepares the soul of the penitent for the Great Meal - the Sacrament of Communion.
The essence of confession
The sacrament of repentance is called by the Holy Fathers the second baptism. In the first case, at Baptism, a person receives cleansing from the original sin of the ancestors of Adam and Eve, and in the second case, the penitent is washed from his sins committed after baptism. However, from the weaknesses of their human nature, people continue to sin, and these sins separate them from God, standing between them a barrier. They are not able to overcome this barrier on their own. But the Sacrament of Penance helps to be saved and gain that communion with God acquired at Baptism.
The Gospel of repentance says that it is a prerequisite for the salvation of the soul. Throughout life, a person must constantly struggle with his sins. And, despite all sorts of defeats and falls, he should not lose heart, despair and grumble, but all the time repent and continue to bear his life cross, which the Lord Jesus Christ laid on him.
Consciousness of sins
The main thing in this matter is to learn that in the Sacrament of Confession to the repentant person all his sins are forgiven, and the soul is freed from sinful bonds. The ten commandments received by Moses from God, and the nine commandments of bliss received from the Lord Jesus Christ, contain the entire moral and spiritual law of life.
Therefore, before confessing, you must turn to your conscience and remember all your sins from childhood, in order to prepare a real confession. Not everyone knows how she goes, and even rejects, but a truly Orthodox Christian, defeating his pride and false shame, begins to spiritually crucify himself, honestly and sincerely admit his spiritual imperfection. And here it is important to understand that unconfessed sins will be defined as eternal condemnation, and repentance will mean victory over oneself.
What is real confession. How does this sacrament go
Before confessing to the priest, it is necessary to seriously prepare and realize the whole necessity of cleansing the soul of sins. To do this, you need to reconcile with all the offenders and those who have been offended, refrain from gossip and condemnation, all kinds of obscene thoughts, viewing numerous entertainment programs and reading lightweight literature. It is better to devote free time to reading the Holy Scriptures and other spiritual literature. It is advisable to confess a little in advance at the evening service, so that during the morning Liturgy you will no longer be distracted from the service and devote time to prayer preparation for Holy Communion. But already, in extreme cases, you can confess in the morning (basically everyone does).
For the first time, not everyone knows how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, etc. In this case, the priest needs to be warned about this, and he will direct everything in the right direction. Confession primarily involves the ability to see and acknowledge your sins; at the time of their utterance, the priest should not justify himself and shift the blame to another.
Children under 7 years old and all newly baptized on this day receive Communion without confession, this should not be done only to women who are in purification (when they have their periods or after giving birth until the 40th day). The text of the confession can be written on a piece of paper so as not to go astray later and remember everything.
Confession order
A lot of people usually gather in the church for confession, and before approaching the priest, one must turn to face people and say out loud: "Forgive me, a sinner," and they will answer: "God will forgive, and we forgive." And already then it is necessary to go to the confessor. Going up to the lectern (high stand under the book), crossing yourself and bowing to the waist, not kissing the Cross and the Gospel, bowing your head, you can proceed to confession.
It is not necessary to repeat the previously confessed sins, for, as the Church teaches, they have already said goodbye, but if they were repeated again, then they must again be repented. At the end of his confession, it is necessary to listen to the words of the priest and permissive prayer. When he finishes - to cross himself twice, bow to the waist, kiss the Cross and the Gospel, and then, having crossed himself again and bowing, accept the blessing of his father and go to his place.
What to repent of
Summing up the theme “Confession. How does this sacrament go? ”, It is necessary to familiarize yourself with the most common sins in our modern world.
Sins against God - pride, lack of faith or disbelief, renunciation of God and the Church, careless fulfillment of the sign of the cross, not wearing the cross, violating the commandments of God, mentioning the Lord’s name in vain, carelessly fulfilling prayer rules, not attending church, praying without zeal, talking and going to church temple during the service, faith in superstition, appeal to psychics and fortune-tellers, thoughts of suicide, etc.
Sins against one's neighbor - parental chagrin, robbery and extortion, avarice, cruelty, slander, bribery, resentment, barbs and evil jokes, irritation, anger, gossip, gossip, greed, scandals, tantrums, resentment, betrayal, treason, etc. d.
Sins against oneself - vanity, arrogance, anxiety, envy, revenge, desire for earthly glory and honors, addiction to money, gluttony, smoking, drunkenness, gambling, masturbation, fornication, excessive attention to one's flesh, despondency, melancholy, sadness etc.
God will forgive any sin, nothing is impossible for him, a person only needs to truly realize his sinful deeds and sincerely repent of them.
Participle
Usually they confess in order to take communion, and for this we need to talk for several days, which means prayer and fasting, attending evening services and reading at home, except for evening and morning prayers, the canons: the Virgin, the Guardian Angel, the Penitent, for Communion, and if possible or rather, at will, Akathist to Jesus the Sweetest. After midnight, they no longer eat or drink; they begin the sacrament on an empty stomach. After accepting the Sacrament of the Sacrament, one must read the prayers for Holy Communion.
Do not be afraid to go to confession. How is she going? You can read the exact information about this in special brochures that are sold in every church; everything is described in great detail in them. And then the main thing is to tune in to this faithful and saving work, because the Orthodox Christian must always think about death so that she does not take him by surprise - without prayers of repentance and communion.