What is the confession? Answer:
Confession has two parts: one, that one confesses the sin; the other, that one receives absolution or forgiveness from the confessor, as from God Himself, and does not doubt it, but firmly believes that the sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.
What sins should one confess?
Before God we should confess all sins, even those we do not recognize, as we do in the Lord's Prayer. But before the confessor we should confess only those sins that we know and feel in our hearts.
Which are they?
Look at your status according to the ten commandments, whether you are father, mother, son, daughter, master, wife, servant, whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, indolent, whether you have harmed anyone by word or deed, whether you have stolen, omitted, neglected, done harm.
Dear, introduce me a short way to confess.
Response:
This is how you are to speak to the confessor:
Worthy, dear Lord, I beg you to hear my confession and speak forgiveness to me for the sake of God.
Sage an.
I poor sinner confess myself guilty before God of all sins, especially I confess before you that I am a servant, a handmaid etc. But I serve, alas, unfaithfully to my Lord; for here and there I have not done what they told me, have provoked them to anger and cursing, have neglected and harmed, have also been shameful (i.e. unashamed, shameless) in words and deeds, have been angry with my equals, have murmured and cursed against my wife etc. I am sorry for all this and ask for mercy, I will mend my ways.
So a Mr. or Mrs. say:
In particular, I confess before you that I have not faithfully raised my child, my servant and my wife to the glory of God. I have cursed, set evil examples with lewd words and works, harmed my neighbor, spoken evil of him, sold too dear, given false and not whole goods; and what more he has done against the commandments of God and his estate. etc.
But if anyone does not complain of such or such greater sins, he should not worry, or continue to look for sin, or invent it, and thus make a torture out of confession; but tell one or two that you know, so: In particular, I confess that I have once cursed; item, once been unhandsome with words, once spilled this N.
met have etc. So let it be enough. But if you do not know any (which should not be possible), then do not say anything in particular, but take the forgiveness to the general confession, which you do before God against the confessor.
On this the confessor shall say:
May God have mercy on you and strengthen your faith, Amen.
Next:
Do you also believe that my forgiveness is God's forgiveness?
Yes, dear Lord.
On it he speaks:
As you believe, so be it done to you. And I, by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Go in peace!
But those who have a great burden of conscience, or who are distressed and challenged, a confessor will well know how to comfort them with more sayings and stir them to faith. This alone should be a common way of confession for the simple.