Q. 736.  When was the Sacrament of Penance instituted?  A. The Sacrament of Penance was instituted after the resurrection of Our Lord, when He gave to His apostles the power to forgive sins, which He had promised to them before His death.

Q. 737.  Are the enemies of our religion right when they say man cannot forgive sins?  A. The enemies of our religion are right when they say man cannot forgive sins if they mean that he cannot forgive them by his own power, but they are certainly wrong if they mean that he cannot forgive them even by the power of God, for man can do anything if God gives him the power.  The priest does not forgive sins by his own power as man, but by the authority he receives as the minister of God.

Q. 738. {190} How do the priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins?  A. The priests of the Church exercise the power of forgiving sins by hearing the confession of sins, and granting pardon for them as ministers of God and in His name.

Q. 739.  How does the power to forgive sins imply the obligation of going to confession?  A. The power to forgive sins implies the obligation of going to confession because as sins are usually committed secretly, the priest could never know what sins to forgive and what not to forgive, unless the sins committed were made known to him by the persons guilty of them.

Q. 740.  Could God not forgive our sins if we confessed them to Himself in secret?  A. Certainly, God could forgive our sins if we confessed them to Himself in secret, but He has not promised to do so; whereas He has promised to pardon them if we confess them to His priests.  Since He is free to pardon or not to pardon, He has the right to establish a Sacrament through which alone He will pardon.

Q. 741. {191} What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily?  A. To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things: 

1.  We must examine our conscience. 2.  We must have sorrow for our sins. 3.  We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God. 4.  We must confess our sins to the priest. 5.  We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.

Q. 742.  What should we pray for in preparing for confession?  A. In preparing for confession we should pray to the Holy Ghost to give us light to know our sins and to understand their guilt; for grace to detest them; for courage to confess them and for strength to keep our resolutions.

Q. 743.  What faults do many commit in preparing for confession?  A. In preparing for confession many commit the faults:  (1) of giving too much time to the examination of conscience and little or none in exciting themselves to true sorrow for the sins discovered; (2) of trying to recall every trifling circumstance, instead of thinking of the means by which they will avoid their sins for the future.

Q. 744.  What, then, is the most important part of the preparation for confession?  A. The most important part of the preparation for confession is sincere sorrow for the sins committed and the firm determination to avoid them for the future.