EXPLORE · RETURNING TO CONFESSION
FREE SAMPLE · DAY 1 OF 7
Returning to Confession
Day 1: The Father Is Calling You Home
1 · ARRIVE
Merciful Father, you see me as I am and call me toward your love. Quiet the fear that makes me hesitate. Give me the courage to acknowledge my sins, the humility to accept your help, and the hope to begin this journey with an open heart. Amen.
2 · ENCOUNTER
Luke 15:18-20 — “I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee: I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.”
Source: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. 1
3 · UNDERSTAND
I want you to notice when the father begins to move. His son is still a long way off. There has been no lengthy explanation, no carefully arranged account of everything that went wrong. The father sees him, is moved with compassion, and runs toward him. Before we discuss what you must say in confession, I want us to stay with that scene (Luke 15:20).
The son has already made a decision. He will return and acknowledge that he has sinned. His father's welcome does not make that honesty unnecessary. It gives us a setting in which to understand it: the son is returning to a relationship he has wounded, and the father receives him with mercy. Both the wrongdoing and the welcome matter. If we lose either, we lose something essential in Jesus' parable.
Now bring that picture into your own preparation. You may know precisely why you have stayed away. Perhaps you are embarrassed by a particular sin. Perhaps the years have accumulated until the thought of beginning feels overwhelming. Or perhaps you simply do not remember how confession works. You can acknowledge those obstacles without allowing them to decide your next step. The first thing you need today is a willingness to turn toward God.
The Catechism explains that this return begins through God's grace. Interior conversion reorients our life toward him and includes a desire to change, sustained by hope in his mercy and help (CCC 1430-1433). That means your preparation can begin with a very simple prayer: help me return. You do not have to manufacture confidence before asking for grace. You can ask for it while you are still afraid.
There will be practical work in the days ahead. We will examine our choices, consider contrition, and prepare to speak clearly to a priest. Today, let the father's movement shape the way you approach that work. When you look at the wrong you have done, keep looking toward the God to whom you are returning. Jesus places repentance and compassion in the same story. Let us keep them together throughout this journey.
And take one concrete step. Find a real opportunity for confession. These seven days are a guide to preparation; you may approach the sacrament sooner if it is available. You can begin the return today.
Sources: Luke 15:18-20, quoted above; Catechism of the Catholic Church, hereafter CCC, 1430-1433: 1
4 · MEDITATE
What is the main obstacle keeping me from confession, and how does the father's welcome in Luke 15 speak to it?
What honest step toward God can I take today, even if I still feel afraid?
5 · RESPOND
Father, I acknowledge that I need your mercy. You know the choices I regret and the things I find difficult to say aloud. Give me an honest heart and the courage to return. Help me trust your grace enough to take the next step. Amen.
Today I will find my parish's confession times or request an appointment. I will record one real opportunity to go.
6 · REMEMBER
The Father's mercy gives me courage to return honestly.
Continue with Day 2
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