Prepare your Confession
Examine your conscience, then begin, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been … since my last confession,” tell your sins simply, pray an act of contrition, and receive absolution.
Your first journey is free, with no card and no name. Premium, if you want it, is $9.99 a month; cancel anytime.
Until you sign up, your words stay only in this browser tab. Nothing is sent.
Your guidance is prepared by software from Church teaching, not by a person, and what you write is never used to train AI.
- No one at Compass can read what you write: once saved, your words are encrypted. Never sold, never used to train AI.
- It is not confession and never absolves: it prepares you for the priest, who alone can absolve.
- Rooted in Catholic teaching, with Catechism references and three Scripture passages.
An example of what you get
Example, not a real person
I’ve been short-tempered with my family, and I talked about a colleague behind her back.
- What the Church teaches
- Respect for another person’s good name rules out words that unjustly harm it (CCC 2477). Charity is patient and kind (1 Cor 13:4; CCC 1825), at home too.
- How serious it is
- Most likely venial: lighter matter, still worth confessing (CCC 1862). The Church warmly recommends confessing everyday faults; it helps us grow (CCC 1458).
- What to say to the priest
- “It has been about two months since my last confession. I have been impatient and spoken harshly to my family several times, and I spoke badly about a colleague behind her back. For these and all my sins, I am sorry.”
Yours is written for what you share. No one at Compass can read it.
Your first journey, free
- What the Church teaches about it
- Three Scripture passages
- A traditional prayer
- Preparing for Confession: what to say and why
Confession in five steps
Examine your conscience
Look honestly at your life in the light of God’s word, often by the Ten Commandments (CCC 1454). Fifteen quiet minutes is usually enough; some people write a short list.
Begin with the opening words
Make the sign of the cross and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been … since my last confession.” Roughly how long is fine.
Tell your sins simply
Name every mortal sin you remember, and roughly how often; you may add the venial sins that trouble you (CCC 1456, 1458). If you are unsure how to say something, the priest will help.
Listen, and accept your penance
The priest may offer a few words of counsel, then a penance, usually a prayer or a good act (CCC 1460). Remember it, and do it afterwards.
Pray an act of contrition and receive absolution
Express your sorrow in the traditional prayer or your own words. The priest absolves you “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”; you answer, “Amen,” and go in peace.
Common questions
Can I confess straight to God?
You can tell God you are sorry at any moment, and you should. Sorrow that comes from love of God, called perfect contrition, forgives even grave sins, but it includes the firm resolve to go to Confession as soon as you can (CCC 1452). Christ gave the apostles the power to forgive sins (John 20:23), and for grave sins individual confession to a priest remains the ordinary way back to God and the Church (CCC 1484). Everyday faults are forgiven in other ways too, though the Church strongly recommends confessing them (CCC 1458).
Is this a confession?
No. Compass is not confession, never absolves and is not protected by the seal of confession. Only a priest, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can absolve sins. Compass helps you prepare: what the Church teaches about what you wrote, and how to put it into words for the priest.
Who can read what I write?
Before you sign up, your words stay only in this browser tab: nothing is sent, and closing the tab clears them. Once you create your account and send them, they are encrypted, so no one at Compass can read what you write. They are never sold and never used to train AI.
What does it cost?
Your first journey is free, with no credit card and no name required. It gives you what the Church teaches about what you wrote, three Scripture passages, a traditional prayer, and what to say in Confession and why.
What if it has been many years?
You are welcome back, however long it has been. Tell the priest at the start, “It has been many years, and I’m not sure of the steps,” and he will guide you. You do not need to remember every detail of the years: name the serious sins you recall and be honest about the rest.