The Holy Spirit plays a key role in helping us prepare to encounter Jesus in confession. The very first thing we can do as we prepare for confession is to prayerfully start a conversation with Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to come and reveal our sins. This isn’t as bad as it sounds. The Holy Spirit is a gentle, loving presence opening our hearts and minds to see our own sinfulness.

Then, make an Examination of Conscience to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten our conscience — our ability to recognize ways we’ve fallen short of what God’s calling us to or sinned. This is not to condemn us, but so we can bring these parts of ourselves to God and allow him to fill those places with his forgiveness and holiness and grace. Where in your life do you want more of God’s grace and forgiveness?

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