Prayer to the Holy Ghost :
Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray :
O God, Who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us by the same Spirit, to relish what is right and evermore to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Now make your examination of conscience.
Act of Contrition. After the Examination of Conscience :
O my God, I am most heartily sorry for all my sins, and I detest them above all things from the bottom of my heart, because they displease Thee, O my God, Who art most deserving of all my love, for Thy most amiable and adorable perfections. I firmly resolve, with the assistance of Thy grace, never more to offend Thee, and to amend my life. Increase my sorrow, O my God, and strengthen me in my resolution.
Ah, my Jesus, I see how much Thou hast done and suffered for me, and I have been so ungrateful to Thee. How many times, for the sake of some miserable pleasure or fancy, have I bartered away Thy grace, and have lost Thee, O God of my soul!
My dear God, pardon me: I am sorry; I grieve with my whole heart, and I hope for pardon from Thee, because Thou art infinite goodness. If Thou wert not infinite goodness, I should lose hope, and I should not even have the courage to ask Thee to have mercy on me.
Say seven Hail Mary's in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows. After each Hail Mary recite the stanza:
Bid me bear, O Mother blessed!
On my heart the wounds impressed:
Suffered by the Crucified.
*500 Days Indulgence each time. (No. 341)
Make frequent acts of contrition while waiting to go to Confession. Picture vividly to yourself, that the Priest represents our Lord Himself and accuse yourself of your sins and their necessary circumstances to the Priest as you would to our Lord Himself and follow the directions and advice the Confessor gives you.
After Confession :
"O God and Father of Heaven, prostrate on my knees before Thee, I render Thee thanks for the great grace Thou hast granted me without any merit of mine. I now again possess Thy grace and favor. Through the holy sacrament of Penance, in the name of Jesus, all my sins have been forgiven. I am again become a child of God, through Jesus Christ, converted from the state of sin to the state of grace. Praise and thanks be to Thee, O God, for the sweet consolation that I now experience within myself! Strengthen me, that I may sin no more, and never again lose this consolation and peace of conscience, and may shun the occasion of sin.
Most Holy Virgin Mary, assist me. Thou art the Mother of perseverance; all my hope is in thee. "My Queen! My Mother! I give myself entirely to thee; and to show my devotion to thee, I consecrate to thee this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being, without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, guard me as they property and possession."
Hail Mary, etc.
"O God and Father of Heaven, prostrate on my knees before Thee, I render Thee thanks for the great grace Thou hast granted me without any merit of mine. I now again possess Thy grace and favor. Through the holy sacrament of Penance, in the name of Jesus, all my sins have been forgiven. I am again become a child of God, through Jesus Christ, converted from the state of sin to the state of grace. Praise and thanks be to Thee, O God, for the sweet consolation that I now experience within myself! Strengthen me, that I may sin no more, and never again lose this consolation and peace of conscience, and may shun the occasion of sin.
Most Holy Virgin Mary, assist me. Thou art the Mother of perseverance; all my hope is in thee. "My Queen! My Mother! I give myself entirely to thee; and to show my devotion to thee, I consecrate to thee this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being, without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, guard me as they property and possession."
Hail Mary, etc.