1. Confess Frequently
You don’t “have to” confess frequently, but it is a good idea.
Confession is not just for mortal sins. Frequent Confession is an easy and powerful means to overcome venial sins and lukewarmness. Because we love Jesus, we hate our sins.
Because we hate our sins and understand His power to overcome them, we confess our sins to Him as He request through this Sacrament. Because we love Jesus, we hate our pride.
Because we hate our pride, we imitate His humility (He humbled Himself to take on Flesh and dwelt amongst us!) and confess our sins to His representative (the priest) so He can forgive us directly.
Why not take advantage of the Sacrament where Jesus
Why not approach the Just Judge NOW and accuse ourselves often when there is yet time to repent? Do you really want to wait until you die before you stand before the “Court of GOD” and His perfect Justice?
Glorify His Mercy NOW during this time of Mercy so that His Perfect Justice will be tempered by your disposition to receive and forgive His mercy.
Unless you experience God’s forgiveness, how can you forgive those who hurt you? Don’t resist His will to forgive you - go to confession frequently!
Frequent, good confessions is humble and safe. Today, almost all souls go to Holy Communion on Sunday. But how many go to Confession? How can so much sin in the world be compatible with Holy Communion if all of those Communions were indeed Holy?
If those Holy Communions were associated with frequent Confession, the world would quickly become sanctified!
2. Daily Examination of Conscience
Every night take at least a minute or two and review the day: What did I do wrong? Why did I offend God?Make acts of sorrow. Make a formal Act of Contrition.
How can I do better? Resolutions give strength and integrity to your true contrition for your sins. Keep trying; if you fall; you get up again and keep trying. Jesus came not for the self-righteous for the sinner. The sinner who believes in Jesus will keep trying and by the grace of God will eventually become a saint!
3. Daily Particular Examination of Conscience
Each soul has his strengths given to him by God.
Our strengths are accompanied with our dominant weaknesses. Moreover, your strength is your weakness insofar as you don’t entrust yourself to God and build your foundation upon Christ! Every other foundation will come shattering down.
It is a good idea to spend a minute in the midday (maybe around Noon, the time of the Angelus) to check up on your dominant weakness: How am doing?
Ask Jesus’ forgiveness for your sins that day and renew the battle then and there while the day is far from spent!
The “particular exam” regarding our dominant spiritual fault provides a powerful means to grow in grace and grow in real, lived-out virtue. We don’t “check out” of the plan to continually grow in grace by ignoring the battle; rather we consciously strive then-and-there to serve God first precisely in the matter where we need His grace the most!