Our Chaplain, Fr. Quinn Mann, is available in the person of Christ to absolve you of your sins two days a week or by appointment. The times listed below are while UW Oshkosh is in session.
Thursdays 6:00 -6:45pm
Sundays 6:00-6:45pm
For a printable Word Document Click Below
How to go to Confession & Examination of Conscience
How to Make a Good Confesssion
Preparation: Before going to confession, the penitent examines his/her conscience to visibly see the ways in which he/she has turned his/her back on God.
Priest: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Penitent: AMEN
Next the priest briefly urges the penitent to have confidence in God.
Penitent: Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been ______
days/weeks/months/years since my last confession. These are my sins…
Confession of Sins and the Act of Penance
The penitent then confesses his/her sins. If necessary, the priest should help the penitent to make a complete confession and to have sincere sorrow for sins against God. The sorrow a penitent feels for his/her sins is known as contrition and must include a resolve to sin no more and to avoid all future occasions of sin. Through the confession of sins, the penitent “looks squarely at the sins he/she is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens him/herself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.” The priest then offers suitable advice to help the penitent begin a new life and leads the penitent to resolve to make appropriate restitution for the harm he/she has caused others. The priest imposes an act of penance on the penitent. The penance corresponds to the seriousness and nature of the sins and may suitably take the form of prayer, self-denial, and especially service to one’s neighbor and works of mercy. Such a “penance” serves not only to make up for the past but also to help the penitent to begin a new life and provides the penitent with an antidote to weakness.
The Prayer of the Penitent
After this, the penitent prays a prayer expressing sorrow for his/her sins and resolving not to sin again. This is called an Act of Contrition.
Examination of Conscience
Do I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, and strength? Is He the highest priority in my life? Do I hold any idols over Him? Do I place other things—friends, family, sports, school, music, entertainment, games—any thing as a higher priority than God. Do I give the Lord my day? Or do I reserve prayer only for the times most convenient to me? Do I believe in the Trinity? Do I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, 100%, and truly man, 100%. Am I embarrassed to be a Christian?
Do I take the Lord’s name in vain? Do I ever use the phrase “oh my God” in reference to anything other than worship of Him? Do I use the name of Jesus, or Christ, as a cuss or as an exclamation? Do I honor the name of the Lord? Do I ask those around me to do the same, or do I let them use His name in vain as well.
Do I honor the Sabbath? Do I attend every Sunday Mass, or do I find excuses—such as sports, illness, busyness, even something Christian—to avoid going to Sunday Mass. Do I dread being at Mass? Do I constantly look around and study other people in the pews, or am I focused on each word, each part of the Mass? Do I judge how others pray? Do I examine my conscience before receiving the Eucharist? Am I conscious of Who I am receiving in the Eucharist? Do I keep all of Sunday as God’s day, or do I only give Him one hour and then forget Him the rest of the day?
Do I honor my mother and my father? Do I disregard what they ask me to do? Do I think about them condescendingly, or think that I know more than they do? Is my opinion of them honoring the Lord? Do I speak harshly of them when they are not around? Am I embarrassed of them? Do I reach out to them, call them, ask them how their day is going? Do I avoid them?
Do I kill? Do I kill others with my thoughts of judgment? Do I speak death upon another; do I call others names, or do I label them at all. Do I hold grudges? Is there anyone I have not forgiven? Is there anyone to whom I need to ask for forgiveness? Do I uphold abortion, or contraception? Do I listen to music which rips apart or degrades other people? Do I attack my body with cruel assessments? Do I hate myself? Do I hate my body? Do I hate the Lord?
Do I commit adultery? Do I honor my body? Do I see it as made by God? Do I honor God with all that I do with my body? Do I treat other’s bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit? Do I masturbate? Do I engage in pornography? Have I used another person’s body for my own pleasure? Have I fantasized about another person’s body? Have I, or do I, engage in oral sex? Have I ever forced my own desires on another person, either by introducing my thoughts into their mind, or by asking them to do these things?
Do I steal? Have I taken money from my family, or my friends? Do I steal people’s dignity away by talking about them in judgment, or by condemning them? Do I regard other people and their possessions with respect? Have I cheated? Have I betrayed another person? Do I take attention away from those who deserve it? Do I need to be the center of attention?
Do I covet other people and their possessions? Do I long for the latest tech device? Do I place myself above another? Do I desire the worst, or even something less, than what someone deserves because they have what I do not? Do I desire another’s talent, skill? Do I desire another’s past? Have I forsaken the plan God has for me?
Do I bear false witness against another? Do I entertain gossip? Do I create gossip? Have I kept silent when I knew I could defend someone? Do I defend all my actions, even if they are wrong? Do I claim to have the answer, when I know that I do not? Have I lied about my faith? Have I been ashamed of the Church?
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