How to confess well? The basic thing is to make an examination of conscience. Let us sit in silence, concentration and meditation and let us think about what we have recently offended God with. Let us make a specific list of sins which we want to confess before the Lord. By God. When making this list, avoid generalities. Let us present concrete faults; let us not conceal them, because an insincere confession is a sin.
The sacrament of penance is a confession of guilt before God. Let us not be embarrassed by the presence of a priest whose job it is to help us. Let us remember that priests are obliged to secret confessions.
After the examination of conscience, it is time for the confession itself. The formula for the act of penance can be found in every Communion booklet. Most of us are probably perfectly familiar with it. We begin by telling the priest when we last received the sacrament of Penance. The main purpose of confession is to confess our sins followed by a firm resolution to improve. Afterwards, the priest instructs us; he tries to guide us on the right path and gives us advice. At the same time, he asks us to do penance, which is an act of reparation to God. This is followed by contrition for sins ("God be merciful to my sinful soul..."). The next step is absolution. In special cases, when we are dealing with a grave sin, the priest may refuse to give absolution. However, this is extremely rare. When you leave the confessional, you should immediately begin to do penance. We should remember that the condition of a good confession is sincere regret for sins and an attempt to avoid them in the future.