Hey there, readers!

It’s the first Sunday of 2021 and that means I am finally officially starting this blog journey.  Today, like the first Sunday of each month, I present to you a challenge that I hope will benefit your marriage.  My husband Chris and I will also be doing these challenges, and reporting back on how it goes for us.

January means we are starting a new year- and I think I speak for most of us when I say GOOD RIDDANCE to 2020.  I wanted this month’s challenge to help us start off 2021 with a clean slate, both for our marriages and for our relationship with God.  

So this month’s challenge is…Go to Confession.  

If your spouse is also a practicing Catholic, encourage him or her to go, too.  Bonus points if you go together for a little Confession date (but don’t go into the actual confessional together, obviously).  Even- no, especially- if it’s been years since you last received the Sacrament of Penance, go.  No matter what sins have tarnished or injured your relationship with Christ, He is waiting and LONGING to forgive you for it all and restore the relationship between the two of you.  

Tips for a Good Confession

Here are a few tips for a good confession, if it’s been a while.  Do some kind of examination of conscience in preparation.  An examination of conscience helps you figure out all the sins you will be confessing. There are lots of these available online, but here is a good one specifically for married people. 

When you enter the confessional, you can say “Bless me Father, for I have sinned.  My last confession was (how long ago).”  Alternatively, you can just walk in and tell the priest it has been a while and he will help you through the rest.  You will tell the priest your sins, he will chat with you a bit about them and give you a penance to do.  Remember this, it’s your homework! 

At the end, you will make an act of contrition. The priest can guide you in this if you ask, you can use one of these traditional formats of the prayer, or you can make up your own short prayer. It could be as simple as “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  You will leave with a clean spirit, sacramental grace, and maybe even a feeling of deep peace and comfort (though, importantly, the reality of grace is not dependent on our ever-changing emotions).

So, go.  And, if you can, let us know how it goes in the comments below. Happy New Year!