n The confession: You say you are sorry for any sins you have committed and admit your responsibility to the priest.
n The penance: You must be prepared to make up for what you have done. A penance to fit your sins is given, e.g. you must say a prayer or help another person. You complete this penance to show that you really want to change your life.
n The act of contrition: Here you should express your genuine sorrow for your sins. You also promise not to repeat these sins in future.
n The absolution: Only God has the power to forgive sins. Here, the priest is authorised to act in God’s place. The priest says a short prayer and absolves you (i.e. forgives your sins).
n The aftermath: You show your thanks to God by living a better life from this point onwards.
The seal of the confession means that a Catholic priest is forbidden from revealing to anyone else what you said to him during the sacrament of reconciliation.
However, a priest has the right to refuse absolution, and is required by the Catholic Church to do so, if he has good reason to believe that the person asking for forgiveness is not genuinely sorry for their sins.
K T S J L A D L M A E P T C S I H Z S D I A A B M T A J O E P E R A E I V S V N S U O N I L F M U N N O E E I S L R T T A A Y E S L E M L T N E C R L T L V E U H A V I A P C A I A R L L T V R C C I P R J I T U O W I O C E E H U G G O J I S M O B A N P M S E H R R M O A N I S L A U T C A V P O A N C C O M M I S S I O N P E F C G N O I T A I L I C N O C E R E Q V O L O M I S S I O N J U C E C N A N E P S T A L I N T S R A W E C W Q X J U W I D S O
