Do you want to receive God’s forgiveness?

Don Bosco always held the sacrament of Forgiveness in the highest esteem. Even when burdened by countless commitments, he never failed to make himself available to offer God’s forgiveness to anyone who asked. From the testimonies of his contemporaries, we know that he spent on average two or even three hours a day in the confessional. The reason for this dedication lay in his profound awareness of the truly extraordinary effects of this sacrament, which he had observed through many personal experiences and those of others.
He insisted so much on this sacrament that he urged preachers that, if they had two words to say in a sermon, one should be about confession.

This page is dedicated to those who wish to explore this sacrament further for a confession or to prepare for a general confession (that is, the confession of sins committed throughout one’s entire life, as far as one can remember, even if already confessed previously).

We offer some explanations on the “why” of the sacrament of Confession, on conscience, on the necessary dispositions and on its practice, as well as various methods for the examination of conscience.
The examination of conscience is an act of sincere reflection in the light of God, through which the faithful review their thoughts, words, deeds and omissions since their last confession, to recognise the sins committed and prepare their heart for repentance and conversion. It is, in other words, a matter of applying the universal knowledge of good to a real situation.

To aid in this exercise, Christian tradition has developed various methods for the examination of conscience. It is possible to carry it out from different perspectives, which we propose below: what helps one person might not be as useful for another.

The proposed outlines are quite broad, because they seek to encompass the greatest possible number of common sins. For this reason, and also because the same sins are considered from different points of view, it is not recommended to read them all in preparation for a single confession.

It can instead be useful, for a subsequent confession, to use a different examination: this can help to recognise aspects or habits that do not immediately emerge into consciousness.

Below are the links to the various resources.

The roots of evil and the remedies of the Christian life
Dispositions for a good confession
Examination of Conscience according to the 10 Commandments of God and the 5 of the Church
Examination of conscience according to the seven deadly sins

Examination of conscience according to the theological and cardinal virtues
Examination of conscience according to duties towards God, towards one’s neighbour and towards oneself
Gospel examination of conscience
Examinations of conscience by criteria of Christian perfection
– Examination of conscience on character flaws
– Examination of conscience on the little virtues of the Christian life
– Examination of conscience on the means of holiness
– Examination of conscience on interior mortification
– Examination of conscience on the dispositions for spiritual exercises
– Examination of conscience on conformity to the will of God
– Examination of conscience on preparation for death