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A Pocket Guide to Confession
This pocket guide is meant to serve as an aid to such a varied group as those Confess regularlyAre becoming CatholicAre making their First ConfessionHave been away from this sacrament for some timeAre waiting for a sign that God can forgive whatever horrible sin has been committedYou will Answers to basic questions about ConfessionHelps to preparing to make a good Confession by examining your conscience and praying before you celebrate the sacramentA walk through the sacramentHow to use the experience of the Apostle Peter as a model for your own ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ.
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
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October 11, 2025
Michael Dubruiel passed away a few weeks ago. I have reviewed a few of his books, and read parts of others. His passing is a great loss to the Catholic faith community. His writing brings alive the faith in fresh and insightful ways. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him and can only state that he was a gentleman and a scholar.
This little book is meant as a guidebook to confession, but it accomplishes so much more than that. He had a way of making the faith more vital, more real, more experiential. In this little book, he walks the reader through the purpose, practice and experience of the sacrament of reconciliation. He draws extensively from biblical sources to support the church's teachings and his own arguments. He also references the catechism of the Catholic Church to show why he is stating what he explains in the book. He shares from his own experience. He states "Our sins rupture our relationship with God. They hurt Him." This book will help you understand the practice of confession better and get the most out of it. It will help you restore your relationship with God, your relationships with others and help you develop a plan and tools to grow your own spiritual life through examination of conscience and through praying after confession and meditations on the experience of forgiveness. This is a great little book from which all Catholics could benefit.
His publisher, Our Sunday Visitor, is doubling his royalties to start a college fund for his children. You can help by ordering his books here. His books have always been towards the top of my 'To read List' his sudden passing has prompted a greater priority in my reading schedule. For we never know how much time we have.
Note review from 2009.
New Review from 2025 rereading of the volume, in context of the series.
After reading Dr Hahn’s A Pocket Guide to St. Paul from OSV I have been able to track down all but one in the series. I have been jumping around reading them. I have read books by Michael before, and looked forward to working through this volume. I am always interested in reading about confessions, and consider it absolutely central to my faith and life. At the time of writing this review this book and series appear to be out of print. It has been fewer than 20 years since it released, and not even the eBook appears to be available currently. This is a wonderful little read.
The description of this volume states:
“This pocket guide is meant to serve as an aid to such a varied group as those:
Confess regularly.
Are becoming Catholic.
Are making their First Confession.
Have been away from this sacrament for some time.
Are waiting for a sign that God can forgive whatever horrible sin has been committed.
You will find:
Answers to basic questions about Confession.
Helps to preparing to make a good Confession by examining your conscience and praying before you celebrate the sacrament.
A walk through the sacrament.
How to use the experience of the Apostle Peter as a model for your own ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ.”
The chapters in this booklet are:
Introduction
Questions and Answers about Confession
Examining Your Conscience before Confession
A Prayer to Say before Confessing Your Sins
The Elements of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession)
Entering the Confessional or Reconciliation Room
Reception of the Penitent
The Liturgy of the Word (optional)
Confession and Penance
Act of Contrition
Absolution
Dismissal
Prayers to Say after Confession
(Along with Your Penance)
Meditation: Making Confession a
Life-Changing Experience
Notes
I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“Claire Furia Smith, in her book Catholicism: Now I Get It!, confessed that when she made her first confession she took a list and a flashlight with her — the list so she wouldn't forget what she had done and the flashlight so she-would be able to see the list in the dark confessional. In some ways, Claire's first experience is enlightening: going to confession is all about shedding light on our darkness — letting the light of Christ redefine who God created us to be and letting go of all that tends to define us when we hold on to our list of misdeeds.”
“This great sacrament that Jesus has given to the Church offers each of us the opportunity to once again leave behind whatever the “such were some of you” might be in our own lives and reclaim our new identity — not based on our sinfulness, but on the purpose for which God has created us.”
“This great sacrament that Jesus has given to the Church offers each of us the opportunity to once again leave behind whatever the “such were some of you” might be in our own lives and reclaim our new identity — not based on our sinfulness, but on the purpose for which God has created us.”
“Father Tadeusz Dajczer points out in his excellent book on the spiritual life, The Gift of Faith,’ that there are two ways to experience the sacrament of Reconciliation. The first is an egocentric (meaning a me-centered) way. The second is a theocentric (meaning a God-centered) way. He points out that many times we go to confession in order to feel better about ourselves (an egocentric way) and not out of any real sense that we have hurt God by our actions (a theocentric way).”
“Our sins rupture our relationship with God. They hurt Him. An analogy might help us understand this better. When a child rejects the love of his or her parents, the parents are hurt by this act. They do not stop loving the child, in fact they suffer all the more because of their love and concern for the child.”
“This is not only a sacrament of healing, but it is also a sacrament of conversion. When you and I celebrate it with the aim of truly repenting — changing the way we think about the world we live in and viewing it as Christ has taught us and continues to teach us through His Church — then we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit.”
“We should realize that just as Christ founded the Church and the Church is His Body, we who are in Christ hurt not only God when we sin but the Church. One only has to think of how the sins of Christians damage the visible sign of Christ in the world through His Church.”
“What steps must one follow in order to celebrate this sacrament fruitfully?
1. Examination of conscience (review one’s relationship with God and others)
2. Contrition/repentance (sorrow for one’s sins and a desire to not sin again)
3. Confess sins (tell one’s sins to a priest)
4. Satisfaction (perform the penance given by the priest)”
“The priest will then impose a penance. He may ask you to say certain prayers or to do a charitable work. If for some reason, you feel you cannot do it — for instance, you don’t know the prayer he asks you to do as a penance — you should tell him. He may modify the penance or tell you where you can find the prayer. Your fulfillment of the penance is called making satisfaction and it is an important element of the sacrament.”
“Some sample penances include but certainly are not limited to:
Say three Our Fathers
Perform an act of kindness
Say a prayer for the person you have hurt”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This little volume is a n excellent little read. From what I have read from Michael’s pen and in this series I am not surprised! It is easy to engage with. This volume could be read by a secondary school student. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian would benefit from reading. I should note I read and reviewed this volume in 2009, but wanted to read it again while working through the whole series.
I just wish this book and the series were still in print, I have already tracked down a few used copies to pass on to others.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
This little book is meant as a guidebook to confession, but it accomplishes so much more than that. He had a way of making the faith more vital, more real, more experiential. In this little book, he walks the reader through the purpose, practice and experience of the sacrament of reconciliation. He draws extensively from biblical sources to support the church's teachings and his own arguments. He also references the catechism of the Catholic Church to show why he is stating what he explains in the book. He shares from his own experience. He states "Our sins rupture our relationship with God. They hurt Him." This book will help you understand the practice of confession better and get the most out of it. It will help you restore your relationship with God, your relationships with others and help you develop a plan and tools to grow your own spiritual life through examination of conscience and through praying after confession and meditations on the experience of forgiveness. This is a great little book from which all Catholics could benefit.
His publisher, Our Sunday Visitor, is doubling his royalties to start a college fund for his children. You can help by ordering his books here. His books have always been towards the top of my 'To read List' his sudden passing has prompted a greater priority in my reading schedule. For we never know how much time we have.
Note review from 2009.
New Review from 2025 rereading of the volume, in context of the series.
After reading Dr Hahn’s A Pocket Guide to St. Paul from OSV I have been able to track down all but one in the series. I have been jumping around reading them. I have read books by Michael before, and looked forward to working through this volume. I am always interested in reading about confessions, and consider it absolutely central to my faith and life. At the time of writing this review this book and series appear to be out of print. It has been fewer than 20 years since it released, and not even the eBook appears to be available currently. This is a wonderful little read.
The description of this volume states:
“This pocket guide is meant to serve as an aid to such a varied group as those:
Confess regularly.
Are becoming Catholic.
Are making their First Confession.
Have been away from this sacrament for some time.
Are waiting for a sign that God can forgive whatever horrible sin has been committed.
You will find:
Answers to basic questions about Confession.
Helps to preparing to make a good Confession by examining your conscience and praying before you celebrate the sacrament.
A walk through the sacrament.
How to use the experience of the Apostle Peter as a model for your own ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ.”
The chapters in this booklet are:
Introduction
Questions and Answers about Confession
Examining Your Conscience before Confession
A Prayer to Say before Confessing Your Sins
The Elements of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession)
Entering the Confessional or Reconciliation Room
Reception of the Penitent
The Liturgy of the Word (optional)
Confession and Penance
Act of Contrition
Absolution
Dismissal
Prayers to Say after Confession
(Along with Your Penance)
Meditation: Making Confession a
Life-Changing Experience
Notes
I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“Claire Furia Smith, in her book Catholicism: Now I Get It!, confessed that when she made her first confession she took a list and a flashlight with her — the list so she wouldn't forget what she had done and the flashlight so she-would be able to see the list in the dark confessional. In some ways, Claire's first experience is enlightening: going to confession is all about shedding light on our darkness — letting the light of Christ redefine who God created us to be and letting go of all that tends to define us when we hold on to our list of misdeeds.”
“This great sacrament that Jesus has given to the Church offers each of us the opportunity to once again leave behind whatever the “such were some of you” might be in our own lives and reclaim our new identity — not based on our sinfulness, but on the purpose for which God has created us.”
“This great sacrament that Jesus has given to the Church offers each of us the opportunity to once again leave behind whatever the “such were some of you” might be in our own lives and reclaim our new identity — not based on our sinfulness, but on the purpose for which God has created us.”
“Father Tadeusz Dajczer points out in his excellent book on the spiritual life, The Gift of Faith,’ that there are two ways to experience the sacrament of Reconciliation. The first is an egocentric (meaning a me-centered) way. The second is a theocentric (meaning a God-centered) way. He points out that many times we go to confession in order to feel better about ourselves (an egocentric way) and not out of any real sense that we have hurt God by our actions (a theocentric way).”
“Our sins rupture our relationship with God. They hurt Him. An analogy might help us understand this better. When a child rejects the love of his or her parents, the parents are hurt by this act. They do not stop loving the child, in fact they suffer all the more because of their love and concern for the child.”
“This is not only a sacrament of healing, but it is also a sacrament of conversion. When you and I celebrate it with the aim of truly repenting — changing the way we think about the world we live in and viewing it as Christ has taught us and continues to teach us through His Church — then we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit.”
“We should realize that just as Christ founded the Church and the Church is His Body, we who are in Christ hurt not only God when we sin but the Church. One only has to think of how the sins of Christians damage the visible sign of Christ in the world through His Church.”
“What steps must one follow in order to celebrate this sacrament fruitfully?
1. Examination of conscience (review one’s relationship with God and others)
2. Contrition/repentance (sorrow for one’s sins and a desire to not sin again)
3. Confess sins (tell one’s sins to a priest)
4. Satisfaction (perform the penance given by the priest)”
“The priest will then impose a penance. He may ask you to say certain prayers or to do a charitable work. If for some reason, you feel you cannot do it — for instance, you don’t know the prayer he asks you to do as a penance — you should tell him. He may modify the penance or tell you where you can find the prayer. Your fulfillment of the penance is called making satisfaction and it is an important element of the sacrament.”
“Some sample penances include but certainly are not limited to:
Say three Our Fathers
Perform an act of kindness
Say a prayer for the person you have hurt”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This little volume is a n excellent little read. From what I have read from Michael’s pen and in this series I am not surprised! It is easy to engage with. This volume could be read by a secondary school student. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian would benefit from reading. I should note I read and reviewed this volume in 2009, but wanted to read it again while working through the whole series.
I just wish this book and the series were still in print, I have already tracked down a few used copies to pass on to others.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
Displaying 1 of 1 review