Prayer before Confession: what to pray to prepare your heart
A prayer before Confession asks God to prepare your heart: to send his Holy Spirit for light, to give you true sorrow for your sins, and to meet you with his mercy. Here are traditional prayers to say before you confess, and prayers of thanksgiving to say afterwards.
Updated October 2, 20269 min read
In short
- A prayer before Confession is not required for a valid sacrament, but it opens your heart, settles your nerves and helps you make an honest examination.
- Begin by asking the Holy Spirit for light, then pray for true sorrow for your sins and trust in God’s mercy.
- Traditional prayers for this moment include the “Come, Holy Spirit”, the Confiteor (the “I confess” prayer) and Psalm 51 (50), the Miserere.
- A few quiet minutes are enough; what matters is honesty before God, not long or perfect words.
- After you confess, thank God for his mercy and ask for the grace to persevere, using a prayer such as the Anima Christi.
On this page
Why pray before Confession?
A prayer before Confession prepares your heart to receive God’s mercy. It is not required for the sacrament to be valid, and you should never stay away because you have not found the “right” words. But a few quiet minutes of prayer calm your nerves, open you to the Holy Spirit, and help you make an honest examination of conscience. Every sincere act of prayer, the Catechism says, revives the spirit of conversion within us (CCC 1437).
Prayer before Confession does one thing above all: it turns the sacrament from a task into a meeting. You are not filing a report; you are coming home to a Father who is waiting. Humility is the foundation of this prayer — we come “out of the depths” of a contrite heart, not from the height of our pride (CCC 2559). So the prayers below ask for light to see your sins, sorrow to hate them, and trust that God forgives.
A prayer to the Holy Spirit for light
Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to show you your sins as God sees them — with truth, and with mercy. This is the first prayer to say before Confession, because self-knowledge is a gift of grace before it is an effort of memory. The Church prays it at the start of anything important.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of thy love.
Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created;
and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit didst instruct the hearts of the faithful,
grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A traditional prayer of the Roman Church (the versicle and collect of the Holy Spirit), public domain. The verse “Send forth thy Spirit” is from Psalm 104 (103):30.
A short prayer for true sorrow
Next, ask God for true sorrow for your sins. Contrition is “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again” (CCC 1451). It does not have to be a strong feeling; it is a decision of the heart, and it too is a gift you can ask for. Even imperfect sorrow — sorrow born of the fear of sin’s consequences — is a true gift of the Holy Spirit and enough for the sacrament (CCC 1453).
My God, you know me better than I know myself.
Give me light to see my sins clearly,
and sorrow to hate them as you do.
Not because I fear punishment only,
but because they have wounded your love.
Grant me a humble and contrite heart,
and the firm resolve, with your help, to begin again. Amen.
A simple prayer offered as a model; pray it in your own words. For the Church’s traditional prayer of sorrow, see our guide to the Act of Contrition.
The Confiteor: the “I confess” prayer
The Confiteor — Latin for “I confess” — is the Church’s great confession prayer, said at the start of Mass and often as part of preparing for Confession. In it you admit, before God and the whole Church in heaven and on earth, that you have sinned “in thought, word, and deed”, and you ask the saints to pray for you. Striking the breast at “through my fault” is the ancient gesture of the humble heart.
I confess to almighty God,
to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel,
to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
and to all the Saints,
that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed:
through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.
Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin,
the Angels and Saints,
to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.
The traditional form of the Confiteor, in a public-domain English translation. The Roman Missal’s current translation differs slightly and is under copyright.
Psalm 51 (50): the Miserere
Psalm 51 (50), called the Miserere from its first word in Latin, is the Church’s greatest prayer of repentance. King David prayed it after his sin, and Christians have prayed it before Confession ever since. Pray it slowly; let its words become your own.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin… Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels… A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
How to pray before Confession, and how long
There is no fixed length. Ten to fifteen quiet minutes before you go is enough for most people: time to pray to the Holy Spirit, examine your conscience, and make an act of sorrow. If it has been many years, take longer — perhaps over a few evenings — and do not worry about remembering everything exactly.
Settle and ask for light
Find a quiet place, in church before Confession or at home the evening before. Silence your phone and pray the “Come, Holy Spirit”.
Examine your conscience
Go honestly through your life since your last good confession, usually by the Ten Commandments. Our examination of conscience gives the questions.
Make an act of sorrow
Pray the Confiteor, Psalm 51 or an Act of Contrition, and resolve, with God’s help, to avoid these sins and what leads to them.
Go in trust
Bring what you found to the priest and say it simply. The grace is God’s work, not the reward of perfect words.
A prayer after Confession: thanksgiving and perseverance
The prayer does not end at the absolution. A prayer after Confession gives thanks for the mercy you have received and asks for the grace to keep your resolutions. The sacrament restores you to God’s grace and is usually followed by “peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation” (CCC 1468). First do any penance the priest gave you; then rest for a moment in that peace and thank God.
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me.
Within thy wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me,
and bid me come to thee, that with thy saints I may praise thee for ever and ever. Amen.
The Anima Christi, a medieval prayer long used in thanksgiving after Confession and Communion, public domain.
Then ask simply for perseverance: “Lord, keep me close to you; help me begin again.” If you still feel no peace, or you find yourself going over the same old sins again and again, read our guide to praying for forgiveness and tell your confessor: he can help you find the freedom Christ won for you.
Common questions
What is a good prayer to say before Confession?
Begin with the “Come, Holy Spirit”, asking God for light to see your sins and sorrow to hate them. Then pray the Confiteor, the “I confess” prayer, or Psalm 51, the Miserere, as you examine your conscience. End with an act of sorrow. These are the traditional prayers, but you may also pray simply in your own words: what God asks for is an honest and humble heart.
Do I have to pray before Confession?
No. A prayer before Confession is strongly encouraged, but it is not required for the sacrament to be valid, and you should never stay away because you feel unprepared. What the sacrament needs is sorrow for your sins and the intention to confess them honestly. If you can manage only a few words, tell God you are sorry and ask him to help you make a good confession.
What should I pray after Confession?
First do the penance the priest gave you, which is itself a prayer. Then thank God for his mercy and ask for the grace to keep your resolutions. Many people pray the Anima Christi, a psalm of praise, or simply rest a few minutes in God’s peace. A short prayer of thanksgiving helps the grace of the sacrament take root in daily life.
How long should I pray before Confession?
For most people, ten to fifteen quiet minutes is enough: time to ask the Holy Spirit for light, examine your conscience and make an act of sorrow. If it has been many years, take longer, perhaps over a few evenings. There is no required length; a short, honest prayer is worth more than a long, distracted one.
Is the Confiteor the same as the Act of Contrition?
They are different prayers. The Confiteor, the “I confess” prayer, is a general acknowledgment that you have sinned, said at Mass and in preparing for Confession. The Act of Contrition is a prayer of sorrow and resolution, usually said during Confession itself, after you have confessed your sins. Both express repentance, and you can use both when you prepare.
Can I pray before Confession in my own words?
Yes. Traditional prayers like the Confiteor and Psalm 51 are a great help, especially when you are nervous, but God listens to a heart more than to a formula. You can simply ask the Holy Spirit for light, tell God honestly what you have done and that you are sorry, and ask for the grace to change. Speak to him as you would to a father who loves you.
Sources
Cited by paragraph and verse, so you can read them in full. In the end, your priest has the final word.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1437
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1451–1454
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1468
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2559
- Psalm 51 (50)
- Luke 18:9–14
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
Confession Compass is an independent educational tool, not an official body of the Catholic Church. It never absolves sins: only a priest, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can absolve.
Keep reading
The Act of Contrition: the prayer, its meaning, and how to pray it
The act of contrition is the prayer of sorrow for sin said in confession. Read the traditional act of contrition in full, with its meaning and how to pray it.
Examination of conscience: how to prepare for Confession
An examination of conscience for adults, by the Ten Commandments: what it is, how to make one in fifteen minutes, and the questions to ask before Confession.
Prayer for forgiveness: how to ask God to forgive your sins
A prayer for forgiveness asks God for mercy from the heart: traditional Catholic prayers of repentance, how to pray them, and what the Church teaches.