How to make a good Confession

[The Tax Collector]

I have made an appointment to see an English-speaking priest here in Paris this week to make my first Confession in 41 years. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have come back to the Church. My French is okay, but not good enough for the purposes of Confession.

Anyway, I have been making a list of my sins (ugh, so many and so horrible) that I feel like creating an Excel spreadsheet to organize them and number them.

Any tips on making a thorough Confession after eons away from the Church?

I just made my first general confession earlier this past easter.  A good confession starts with a sincere and heartfelt examination of conscience.  For myself with my general confession, I spent a lot of time in consideration, and I ended up with an excel list also.  What the list allowed me to do, and what it may allow you to do is see a root cause for much of your sin (addictions, sexual hurt) , and I would reference the list during the confession so that you do not  forget anything, given the time between confessions, so that you do not end up with a case of scruples afterwards for what you may have forgotten to say.  After my general confession, it was one of the few times I felt at ease with the world.

A good template for an examination of conscience is as follows...

http://www.fatima.org/essentials/requests/examconc.asp

God bless.