Confession Pro Tips | Fr. Patrick Briscoe & Fr. Joseph-Anthony Kress

January 16, 2025

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: This is Father Joseph Anthony Kress.

Fr. Patrick: And this is Father Patrick Briscoe. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Welcome to Godsplaining. Thank you for joining us today. Please like, comment, and subscribe and share this episode with those that you think will enjoy it. If you would like to support us, please see the link to our Patreon page, which is in the show notes or the description of this episode. Oh, Father Patrick, how are you doing today? 

Fr. Patrick: (In Irish accent) Oh, Father Joseph-Anthony. You sort of had a bit of, touch of the Irish there. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yes, I am not Irish in the slightest. And we are not doing this episode in accents, although that might be– 

Fr. Patrick: That’s the end of the brogue? Brogue-splaining?

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Brogue-splaining. Can you imagine if we did an entire episode with like funny accents? 

Fr. Patrick: Oh good Heavens.

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Maybe future episodes. 

Fr. Patrick: Let’s put that down there. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: That’s not today’s episode. No, we are talking about the great Sacrament of Confession, the great sacrament of mercy and forgiveness and justice and all those fun things. But you are a priest and I am a priest. You are a sinner, I am a sinner and so we have both had experiences of the confessional on, quote unquote, both sides of the screen. Can you speak to an experience in the confessional on either side where it was a little funny? >> 

Fr. Patrick: Yeah, part of the mystery… 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: That you can speak of. – 

Fr. Patrick: Part of the mystery of the sacraments, not to seem irreverent, we know when listeners get the in the wrong opinion. We believe in this stuff. That’s kind of the point of Godsplaining. (laughing) We believe in all this. But the mystery of this sacraments, right, is that God takes up the whole of our life, and takes up this human stuff, and allows the things that are part of our reality to transcend that reality and pierce the halls of Heaven, right, to be transformed in and through His grace. So confession is probably the moment where that, where humanity meets Heaven with the most collision, you know, maybe I would say it’s good, because there’s a lot of collision, a lot of colliding…because there’s just this touch point, right? – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah, yeah. – 

Fr. Patrick: Again, our weakness, all of humanity’s there. So once I was on pilgrimage in Lourdes and, you know, it’d been a kind of stressful series of weeks with these young people arrangements where less than ideal, I would say they were kind of as they were rolling on a lot of lot of plans didn’t go according to plan as we were. So we were, so we had arrived with just a little bit of tension in our team and our group, I would say. And I needed the confessional. I needed that healing needed that mercy there in Lourdes and was excited to make a confession in Lourdes. It’s part of the whole pilgrim experience, right? So I so I wait my time and I go there in the Saint John Vianni Chapel It’s right if you’re walking up to Lourdes. It’s on the right side as you’re approaching the main sanctuary of course and so I’m waiting there for for an English speaker And I get into the box and this is lovely English Benedictine. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Oh fantastic. 

Fr. Patrick: The Diocese of Portsmouth was on pilgrimage that week. And so I get this charming English Benedictine. And I get through my whole confession very emotionally gives me some great, fatherly, monkish advice. And it comes time for me to recite the Act of Contrition. And my mind has gone blank. I can think of nothing to say. And so he’s so he sort of warmly laughs and prompts me and I begin our recovery. Oh, okay, you know, I’m able to get the prayer out. And then it comes time for him to give absolution and he pauses. And his mind goes totally blank. So then I have to prompt the priest in the words of absolution. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Oh, my gosh. 

Fr. Patrick: It’s a very funny exchange, you know, of, uh, uh, one of those moments where the physician has to heal himself, I suppose. Oh, yeah. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah. Um, I Yeah. I remember myself being in the box. This one forget what day it was, but it was one where it was a few hours of confession. And I was like kind of at a certain point you lose, like you’re able just to focus in the moment, but like you know, you’re exhausted. Let’s just put it that way. I was exhausted. Okay. And I’m sitting there and I’m hearing confessions and I don’t remember anything from the confessional, except this one moment, which was the penitents I hear, they confess all their sins, they say they’re acting contrition, I give them their penance. And then after their Act of Contrition, it comes time for me to give absolution and I raise my hands and I say, “Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts…” and I was like, I started saying the prayer of blessing before meals, and I was like, “Oh, no, no, no, no, you’re not dinner, you are not dinner, this is, yeah.” And that was our moment where like, look, we have a card of absolution on the priests’ side. So in that moment where you panicked, it’s right there in front of you, I was like, “Okay, just read it off the card, you’ll be fine.” I was like, man, just to pray that prayer of blessing, prayer of meals instead of absolution, turns out it doesn’t forgive sins, oddly enough. 

Fr. Patrick: So it’s nice to know that you’re not a cannibal in the confessional.

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yes, exactly. That’s, we wanna communicate that to our listeners.So we’ve done a number of episodes on the Lord’s mercy. We’ve done a number of episodes on the sacraments and the sacramental economy, of which confession is one of those and a very important one. And I mean, sometimes maybe even more frequented than Mass itself depending on who you speak to. But because the confession as a sacrament is one of those sacraments that you can repeat and we are actually prescribed to repeat that multiple times, at least once a year, and even more frequently is beneficial. But we need to kind of pause and think about how do we actually approach that sacrament? How do we prepare for it? So that’s what we want to talk about this episode. I know we’ve talked a little bit off-camera about different ways that we can prepare for this sacrament since we do have to attend to it multiple times in our life. And you’ve talked about a few different points. So I think we have what, seven points that we wanna touch on. 

Fr. Patrick: I got some things to say. – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: (Irish accent) I got some ‘tings’ to say over here. But yeah, we’re gonna talk about different elements in ways to actually prepare for the sacraments so that we can receive the fullness of Lord’s mercy, His forgiveness, His patience, His joy in this sacrament. So yeah, let’s lead into it. 

Fr. Patrick: Boom, so in our pro tips, I mean, as you’ve alluded to, I think the first thing is to be ready for that encounter. So I think there are some some penitents, you know, who see the opportunity to go to confession, you see an available confessor and they pounce and then they end up spending time in the confessional getting ready for confession. Do not do that. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Please don’t. 

Fr. Patrick: Do not do that yourself. Don’t do that to the priest, confessor, you know, to enter into the confessor take the time to be prepared. And so that means going through an examination of conscience to really think, what have I done, what have I failed to do? Right. And there are many such examinations of conscience available. The US bishops have a good one. There are examinations of conscience based on the virtues. There are some based on the Ten Commandments. So all different kinds of have ways. Find an aid like that and use it to help you inform your conscience because sometimes people will come into the professional and they’ll say, well, father, you know, I just, it’s been a month since my last confession and I want to make my confession, but I can’t really think of anything that I’ve done. Well, scripture says the just man’s in seven times daily. So it’s been a month, seven times 30, you know, like we’ve got plenty of things that we can play this out. Yeah, yeah. But, but, but all of that is, is made available that exchange of grace is made available to us again when we’re reflected when we’ve taken the time to look through an examination of conscience and really focusing on, really focusing on our failures in Christian living. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah. You kind of mentioned, I mean, we joked about kind of the human side of the sacrament in our kind of banter at the beginning, but I’m not going to lie as a priest hearing confession sometimes somebody walks in and we’re like, “Yeah, Father, I don’t know. Could you walk me through it?” It was like, “I’m sorry. What were you doing for the last 20 minutes in line? Like you had the time?” I couldn’t prepare. It’s like, “I know there’s a line out there.” And I know that alone. I know you were standing there. So it was like, “The whole examination of tensions.” – And most priests don’t get me wrong. Myself included, we’ll walk somebody through an examination. That’s not bad, but it’s like, come on, we can do a little bit of this. I have also found this is another pro tip if we’re gonna do like one A or one B. I think one another pro tip that I would give is sometimes it’s very difficult to do an examination, especially if it’s been a while since the last confession right if you’re there and it’s been three, four, five, six months If you’re there and it’s been six, seven, eight, ten, years. It’s hard to do an examination and think oh gosh What if I would if I missed something? What if I you know? So I found actually a really good practice to be in is to do a daily examination. That doesn’t mean go to confession every day, but at the end of your day, actually do an examination of your day. You know, just like you said, what have I done? What have I failed to do against the love of God and love of neighbor, right? And then you kind of start to see trends. You kind of start to say, Oh, over this last week because of, you know of projects I was working on or relationships I’ve had, I’ve been really struggling with patience.” You start to see trends because you’re doing it, you’re reflective each and every day. Not reflective in the sense that you want to punish yourself for all those things, but you just have it in the eye to see, “These are my spiritual trends right now. Maybe struggling in this area or this area. So that way when you do step in line for the confessional, you kind of already have a bevy of reflection to kind of dig back on. You don’t feel like, how do I think back three months ago? What was happening three months ago? I don’t know. It’s hard for me to figure out. It’s like if we can get it a little bit into the practice of doing somewhat of a daily examination, then it’s a little easier to kind of see some of the trends of our faults failing sins, specifically the sins that we can bring to the Sacrament of Confession. 

Fr. Patrick: Yeah. And I think in that you’ve got, you’ve made a good point that I just won under his score, which is that for most Catholics, a good practice for people that are serious about the spiritual life is to go to confession once a month. That should be the goal. Now, there are some people, especially if you’re struggling with a major habitual sin. Some may use you, you might need more support in that. But once a month is pretty much the goal of the kind of golden standard…

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Four to six weeks in that timeline, I think that’s a healthy frequency of confession. And that’s easy to reflect on. You kind of look over the last month as well, especially if you’re doing daily examinations. So, all right, preparation, done. Number two, what do we got? 

Fr. Patrick: Next up, I think it’s important for us to cultivate really a sense of sorrow for sin. And this isn’t to say that confession has to be a forced emotional experience, but sorrow for sin is something that we can pause in, right? We can’t assert it, we can make a willful act of sorrow, of contrition, right? That’s the word we use in the Tradition of the Church, for our sin. And I think that’s very important, because if we’re not really attentive to being sorrowful for our sins, then the desire to change is muted in us. And so sorrow for sin, this is the point in the Tradition, sorrow for sin isn’t simply so that we would continue to be this kind of conflict with guilt all of the time. It’s to motivate us to make a firm purpose of amendment to change. So those two things are actually are closely intertwined. Sorrow and amendment. So in order that our amendment that our desire to change would be greater our desire for sorrow should be should be stoked. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah Yeah, I think that’s really important when we look at the kind of constitutive elements of the sacrament It’s the you know the remote matter is past sins, sins of the past, not future ones. ‘Cause they’re not there yet, right? – 

Fr. Patrick: And not other people’s. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: And not other people’s sins, like your own. Which you have done in the past, that’s a remote matter, but the proximate matter is actually sorrow. And that’s why we have the expression of sorrow, the Act of Contrition, the middle of that. So it’s really important to see that that’s actually an integral part of the sacrament. And as you were mentioning that it’s not just this kind of punishment or hatred of that, but it’s actually this kind of motivating factor to saying like, actually I do despise these sins and I have a heart to change. And that actually gives us a certain, I don’t know, faculty to be with our feet planted in reality. Saying that like, I’m very recognized, I recognize I’m weak, I’m a sinner, and that I will most likely sin again in the future. But for what I bring here, I do have sorrow for them. And I wish this wasn’t the case, and…

Fr. Patrick: I want to be otherwise. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: That doesn’t mean that I am shattered at the possibility I could do it again. And there’s a humility in that, but same for what I bring here, I actually have deep sorrow for doing these things or say in these words that, you know, my expression at this moment is sorrow for that. Now that, once again, doesn’t mean that there’s a, we cut off the possibility that we would ever do that again in the future. You know, it’s like, well, yeah, I’m weak, and I experience temptations, and I make this moment to express my sorrow, but also my confidence in the grace of God to persevere through this earthly pilgrimage. – 

Fr. Patrick: Yeah, I would say, so next up, but in addition to this, and this is closely related right, because it can help us frame that kind of sorrow, is being sensitive to actually naming our sins in kind and number. Now this isn’t necessary, this could caveat further just, man, the knee that you made as we were chatting earlier. I mean, it is not necessary technically to confess venial sins according to kind of the number. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Absolutely not. 

Fr. Patrick: But it is necessary for grave sins, for mortal sins. And part of that is not to force, again, it’s not to force shame or to make the process of confession more difficult for the penitent, but it’s to face things as they actually are. To face reality right and to cultivate a kind of sense of sorrow for and to say, “No, I did this thing, I did it this many times, and I regret that I did it this many times, and I don’t want to do it again.” That’s all part of the same process in there. So kind and  number. And if you can do that, have a ready ballpark for the priest. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yes, absolutely. 

Fr. Patrick: And set him up for it. So to say, to say, I sin against chastity, I sin against chastity with myself, or with someone else that’s helpful for the confessor to know, and I sin against chastity this many times. Those are good, And I sinned against chastity this many times. Those are good clarifying points, right? That just makes a confession clear and honest and integral. – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah, and I think that’s something we, well, we mentioned a little bit before the episode is with venial sins, we can speak honestly about those. And especially with mortal sins, we do ask for the frequency of it. Is this a singular event or is this kind of repeated event? Because that changes things if somebody is in an addiction. And they’re struggling to get themselves out of it and that it’s a repeated thing or that it does change. But I’ve seen so many individuals come into the confessional knowing that number and kind are important, but they then apply to all sins and even the slightest of venial sins, which are real, but then they really stress out about the frequency of those. And it calls the mind a really, really kind of stupid image, but I don’t know why it always sticks in my head of a movie, a parody movie where they’re parodying Star Wars and they’re trying to comb the desert for something and they have these gigantic like hair combs that they’re combing the desert. And I feel like people, like when they apply that, that…

Fr. Patrick: Solid SpaceBalls reference. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: There it is. Yeah, yeah, just wanted to make sure that we’re out there. 

Fr. Patrick: We salute you, Mel Brooks. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: (laughing) But I feel when people feel that pressure that I have to kind of comb the deserts of my life to find every miniscule number. And if I miss a number, especially for our venial sins, then there’s a way that tends to lead to a scrupulosity. So I think just understanding that, yes, number and kind for the mortal sins. And as best as we can, even if it’s a ballpark, if we can’t, those things are where it needs. With the venial sins, we can be a little more general with that. And that doesn’t, inauthenticate it, that doesn’t mean we’re not actually sorrow for it, but we don’t want to impose this pressure to kind of comb our life with a fine tooth comb. And if we miss something, then I got to start over again. It’s like, no, no, not quite. 

Fr. Patrick: Right. Because Holy Communion is a remedy for venial sin. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yes. 

Fr. Patrick: Making the sign of the cross with holy waters is a remedy for venial sins. They’re all these remedies for venials and beyond just that of the confessional. And I think that’s important for people to know. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yep. All right. What are we on? Pro tip four? 

Fr. Patrick: Four, nice work. Um, so four, I have to say, uh, readily accept your penance, because that’s what that’s, that’s the part that the priest offers on behalf of the Church. And so what this means implicitly is that the part that is not as important is his counsel. Sometimes people go into the confessionall expecting that the priest is going to say something that’s going to change their life. Well chances are pretty good that he’s not going to do that actually. You know why? Because your sins are boring. And your sins are the same as everybody else’s sins. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Ya boring. Ya boring.

Fr. Patrick: And they’re only a few things we can speak into them, and that’s part of the mystery of sin. Yeah, is that we do as St. Paul tells us what what we know we shouldn’t do but but where weak can so we fall to these things again and the priest knows that and so his counsel is going to encourage you to turn away from those things to do something different but he’s gonna recognize that you do the same thing all the time. And that is that is part of the mystery of sin, which means it’s part of the mystery of the confessional, that the council, frankly, is probably not gonna be that great. So don’t judge the efficacious nature of your confession based on how you feel having received that council from the priests. You know, so people think, oh, that was such a good confession. The priest gave me such great counsel. It’s like, okay, well, praise be God. You know, and then you walk out of the confession, you say that was a terrible confession. The priest gave me terrible advice. Also, praise be God. Because newsflash, you’ve accepted your penance here and your sins are still forgiven. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah. And I think this is also when we’re talking about penance here. It’s a great thing to recognize that the constitutive parts of the sacrament do not include penance. Right? Because I’ve heard people come back to me and like, “I forgot my penance, are my sins forgiven?” Well, the sins are forgiven with the vocalization of absolution. Right? And your penance is an act of justice. So it is a necessary part of that. You need to receive a penance. So if a priest doesn’t give you one, feel free to ask, “Hey, what’s my penance?” So it is part of it, it’s there. But your sins are forgiven, not upon the completion of the penance. The sins are forgiven with the words of absolution. 

Fr. Patrick: Yeah, absolution is part of it. No, that’s a good point. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: So ’cause I heard it was like, “Oh, I forgot my penance for three days, “were my sins forgiven then?” I’m like, “Yes, when the priest said the words.” So, it’s an integral part of the sacrament, but my sins aren’t forgiven when I complete the penance. Sins are forgiven with the absolution.

Fr. Patrick: So, what do you do then, Fr. Joseph-Anthony if you do forget your penance? 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Thank you so much for asking. – 

Fr. Patrick: Do you interrupt the priest in the confessional, say, “I’m sorry, Father, I forgot my penance. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah. You can bring it to your next confession and say, Father, I forgot my penance from the last one. You know, can I, that’s part of this confessional and then his penance that he gives for that confessional will then suffice for that as well. Number five. 

Fr. Patrick: Pray the Act of Contrition. So, you know, a pro tip for making a good confession, have an Act of Contrition ready. You know, have one that you can say reliably unless you’re confessing in Lourdes. And as I have one that you know that you pray to your point for the Joseph-Anthony about making the examination and pray the Act of Contrition every night when you do the exam. And then the Act of Contrition is integrated into your prayer life. I learned the act of contrition because we said it I think we said it on Fridays in elementary school I remember it being yeah read over the announcements and we and we prayed it and I know that Dominican sisters often do that in their schools. On Friday everyone everyone praise the actual contrition together as a kind of expression of communal penance, right? Sorrow for things done and things failed to do that week. So point is, have an act of contrition that you know, pray one regularly. And then that way when it comes to that moment in the compassionately, you’re not flustered, it just rolls off your tongue with ease. – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah, yeah. That advice of like, when you’re doing a daily examination, well, then tack on an Act of Contrition, right? You know, the confiteor that we say at Mass, classic example of that, you know, most of us kind of are familiar with that so we can use that one. What is it? The Jesus Prayer? 

Fr. Patrick: A lot of Spanish speakers use the Confiteor. You know, “Father, can I say it in Spanish?” And then you get the Confiteor. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: One of the things that it was in vogue for a few decades, I don’t find it in vogue as much now, but you do find it on occasion. Is this like emphasis for that kind of expression of personal sorrow, right? And when we said an Act of Contrition is your expression of sorrow. And there was a time in kind of this practice of the sacraments where it was encouraged that you express your sorrow in your own words. And I find that that’s a little dangerous because sometimes people dance around the things and never actually express their sorrow. 

Fr. Patrick: It’s like God, sorry, sins. That’s what you need to say.

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah. It’s like, Lord, thank you for this moment. I thank you for the grace and the support of the things. And they kind of dance around this reality, never actually get to a point where they say, I’m sorry. And as a confessor, when they’re like, “Father, do mind if I say my own Act of Contrition?”, yeah, okay, let me hear it. But you have to be very attentive that there is an expression of sorrow mixed into that. So I do think these kind of formulaic ones do, are written in such a way that they cover it all. And so don’t be afraid to memorize that. That doesn’t mean you it separates you from your personal expression of sorrow, but it’s actually a trust as I memorize or kind of embody this expression of sorrow. Like I said, it was kind of a practice I was in vogue for a few decades there. You don’t find it so much, but I would say just kind of be wary if you’re in the sacrament. There are Acts of Contrition that are to be memorized and to be used. 

Fr. Patrick: It’s a good point though, isn’t it? Because you can recite words that you know well without thinking twice of them. So it’s a good challenge. It’s a good challenge to say, memorize these words. And when you pronounce them, pronounce them in such a way that they’re meaningful. You know, don’t overdo it, you’re not dramatizing the professional for the BBC. But you can say the words in such a way that you’re thinking about them and thinking about what they actually mean. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: It’s a good point. Number six. 

Fr. Patrick: Number six, receive absolution. And what I mean by that is, focus on the words that the priest is saying. You know, sometimes when you get into the confessional, you just so this happens to me anyway. I’m just so happy to have made it to the other side. Like I don’t even think about what the words of absolution mean. I really don’t. It’s like, oh, thank God, you know, Father Cabrades just crank that out here, you know, let’s go down there in the in the bowels of the Basilica. Just happy to be nearing the end of my confession, right? And, and the point of receiving the absolution of thinking what the words mean means allowing the mercy of the Church to roll over you. This is one of the reasons when I explain this argument to people that I insist, no, we have to go, we have to confess in person. And it’s so that you can hear the person has to make, a confession has to go to this Sacrament of Penance. So the person can therefore receive forgiveness from the church. That’s what you’re receiving in the name of Jesus, you are receiving forgiveness from the church. So embrace that. Allow it to wash over you. You know, when the priest says, I absolve you from your sins, it is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to you through his church. Those words are yours. And it means you’re really forgiven. So allow that allow that to resonate within you in that moment. – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: I love how you phrase it as just to receive absolution. And I find we get caught up enough. Did I say, did I say it rightly? – 

Fr. Patrick: Yeah, that’s right!  When the priest is praying absolution, you can still be thinking like, I forgot to mention this. You have to focus on what we’re doing, you’re being forgiven!

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Did I cover all my sins? Oh, shoot, did I miss one? Yeah, did I express my sorrow adequately enough? And in those moments when you do that, you’re, it’s a weird kind of, yeah, it’s a weird manipulation where it’s like, the ability for my sins to be forgiven is more on my shoulders than on God to forgive me. Did I express my sorrow well enough? Like, is this an adequate, like now I’m in charge of saying, did I do enough to get the Lord’s forgiveness? It’s a weird, palladium way. It’s a weird thing where I actually am in control. But to sit there and say, okay, I said what I said, I said my sorrow, now what’s the response? I’m waiting for it. I don’t know what this response is going to be. And then you hear the priest in the name of Jesus say, I absolve you. And then you’re like, okay, there’s my verdict. I’m absolved. And just to actually have the disposition to receive whatever that is and not to say, did I do it well enough? Did I phrase it in the right way? It’s like, no, just receive in that moment. And that’s really, really important. – 

Fr. Patrick: It’s standing before the bench, the verdict is being delivered by the court in the name of Christ and you were being exonerated. So listen to it. – 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah, yeah, it’s crazy. Thanks be to God, right? Okay, number seven. – 

Fr. Patrick: Well, that was actually a great transition because I think the last part of making a good convention, the last project I have to offer is to be thankful for this sacrament. You know, and I know this is difficult, right? Because as one priest, I know likes to joke, “Sin on your time, confess on mine.” It’s difficult to make it to the confessional, especially when you’re a family, you’ve got young kids, life falls pulls you in a thousand directions. Setting time aside to the, you know, to get to the confession can be really difficult, to be discouraging if you sit there and wait and the priest has to go. It’s like, well, that’s the posted time. So there’s a little exhortation there to have mercy on the priest who’s trying to do a thousand things in his life, right? But understand that sometimes it’s just not to be, right. So when the sacrament comes, when you’re able to take advantage of it, make an act of thanksgiving in gratitude for it, the same way that we make an act of thanksgiving for Holy Communion. We return to our place, we say a beautiful act of thanksgiving for receiving our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Well, I think the same should be true of us as we you know, we, we prayer our penance. Good. Very good. And then we say, thank you, Jesus, for this opportunity to come before you in university. Thank you, Jesus, for your Church, which bestows these treasures of forgiveness in your name, upon me and mine. And so I think that that last moment can be, can be a beautiful thing to help us treasure this sacrament, and really value what it is that the Lord is giving to us. And again, fight the temptation that our confessions would be wrote to or mechanical. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: Yeah, I’ve always found too when I don’t know, just you get in the rhythm and habit of things. Like when I end confession, it’s like, you know, Amen, after the prayer of absolution, Amen, Amen. Go in peace. Thanks be to God. Everybody just, it’s like, no. After the prayer of absolution, amen. Amen. Go in peace. Thanks be to God. Like that’s a rejoicing in the mercies of God. But then when you go back out in the church and you pray your, or you pray your penance, then say a quick prayer of thanksgiving. Just thank you Lord for this moment. Thank you for your sacraments. Thank you for allowing the priests to be here. Say a quick prayer for that priest for that confessor. Even if it was, you know, less than inspiring. Yeah, the less than edifying or whatever, but just say a quick prayer for the confessor as well. Like those kind of responses of thanksgiving are, I think, are really, really really important and it actually reinforces a grateful heart which and then hopefully once again that motivation both of sorrow and gratitude helps us to motivate ourselves to the virtuous life and a grace filled life and away from sin. So to take those moments and to be unafraid to express your gratitude and express your sorrow for the sorrow for sins, but gratitude for the Lord’s mercy, as well. So, all right, I think that’s it. I think we’ve covered all of our seven pro tips for the sacrament of confession. So thank you for joining us on this episode. Please like, comment, and subscribe to this episode and subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen or watch this podcast. Please check out our website for new merchandise that we have available as well as upcoming live events. One of those live events I want to kick over to, Father Patrick, so you can mention to you because this is our first time announcing it. So, Father Patrick, what have we got going on? 

Fr. Patrick: Now, this is pretty beautiful. So, this year, during the canonization of Pier Georgio Frassati, Godsplaining will be there in Rome. We’re not sure yet exactly who of the friars will be there. I’ll certainly be there, Fr. Gregory will be there. Everything else has just kind of developing, but we’re going to do several events in concert with the Dominican Order. There are going to be some beautiful things that are going on there. So, check out the Jubilee of Youth, which is taking place at the end of July, and the canonization Mass of Pier Georgio Frassati August 3rd. So the way that we’re running this though, you have to make your own arrangements, your own flight, get your own place to stay. There are several great websites where you can stay in convents, in hostels, very inexpensive in Rome. So we got this would be the best way to do this actually for our listeners, for our viewers. And then we’ll put out our events as they come together to invite everyone to join us at a kind of set a number of things there through the week. So there’ll be more information coming out about that through the podcast, information on how to register for the official Vatican events when that comes, ’cause you’ll need to do that, and we’ll pass that information on to you. So stay tuned as that develops. 

Fr. Joseph-Anthony: So we look forward to seeing you at our live events, including if you’re able to get to Rome to join us there, and check out the links in our show notes and descriptions as a way to help support us, and check out our Patreon for that way to support us. Please know of our prayers for you and please keep praying for us. God bless you.