When they go to confession, they shall make their preparation in the following manner. Having prostrated themselves in a spirit of humility at the feet of our Crucified Lord, they shall devoutly say the Confiteor as far as the Through my fault and shall ask the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to know their faults well. Then they shall collect all they have found in their daily examinations of conscience since their last confession and, having considered a little if there is anything more, they shall finish the Confiteor saying Through my fault, etc. They shall next very humbly ask pardon of Our Lord and grace to correct themselves. They shall firmly resolve to do this especially in the more important matters which they have noticed. They shall detest their faults and try to excite in their souls a true sorrow for them, small as they may be, for it is always too great an evil to have displeased the sovereign goodness of Our Lord Who is daily so merciful to us.
Having examined their present faults, they shall add to them something from their past life and manifestly sinful (such as slander through hatred or a lie [through vanity or through desire to injure someone) and shall make their act of contrition for all these together.
Then they shall go humbly to their confessor, honoring God and the Holy Priesthood in his person, considering him in confession as an angel whom God sends to reconcile us with His divine goodness.
Let them say purely and simply what concerns themselves, carefully avoiding the mention of the faults of others with their own.
Let them, in the most intelligible manner possible, be concise and clear in their confession, but not so brief as to forget to tell something essential, so that they may explain fully how the thing happened.
Let them not go to confession out of custom or for vain scruples, but with the devotion and the attention befitting an action of the greatest importance and gravity.
Kneeling in the confessional, they shall make the sign of the Cross and say "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. After receiving the priest's blessing, they shall tell all that they discovered in their examination, and they shall add at the end of each confession a sin from their past life, as was mentioned above.
Having finished their confession, they should listen with humility and tranquility to what the confessor will say to them.
After their confession, they shall perform the penance as soon as possible with sincere contrition and a generous resolution to amend.
COMMENTARY
This Article on Confession is so simple that it needs no commentary. But there is greatness in this simplicity. So read it carefully and make sure that you observe it when you go to confession.
Here are other counsels of St. Francis de Sales on Confession drawn from The Introduction to a Devout Life, II, 19.
"Our Savior has left to His Church the Sacrament of Penance that thereby we may cleanse ourselves from all our sins as often us we may be defiled with them. Therefore, never suffer your heart to be infected with gin for any length of time, since you have lo easy a remedy at hand."
"Go to confession humbly and devoutly once a week, and, always, if possible, before you communicate, even though you may not be conscious of any mortal sin, for by confession not only do you receive absolution from the venial sins which you confess, but also a great strength to avoid them in the future, a clear light to discern them well, and an abundant grace to repair all the loss which they have caused you. You will practice the virtues of humility, of obedience, of simplicity and of charity. And in this one act of confession you will exercise more virtue than in any other whatsoever."
"Do not change your confessor lightly, but when you have chosen one, continue to render him an account of your conscience on the appointed days, telling him candidly and frankly the sins which you have committed. And from time to time, once a month perhaps, or once in two months, tell him also the state of your inclinations, even though you may not have sinned by them as, for example, whether you were troubled with sadness or melancholy, or whether yon were inclined to joy, to desires of acquiring goods and similar inclinations."
Prayer for Fidelity to the Article on Confession
My Jesus, Confession is a great act of homage to You, because only You can forgive our sins. Every time I go to Confession I realize this and pay You homage as my Savior, as the One Who saves us from our sins. Every time I go to Confession, I come in contact with Your Precious Blood. May I always receive it abundantly in the Sacred Tribunal. Please give me the grace to prepare for it and the courtesy to thank You for it.