It’s not just the mistakes we’re aware of that we need to recognise and confess; it’s also those we may, intentionally or otherwise, have pushed out of our consciousness. The following prayer, written by Thomas Wilson (1663–1755) and taken here from my 2007 book A Calendar of Classic Prayer, one-time Bishop of Sodor and Man, helps us do just that.
Forgive my sins, O Lord;
the sins of my present and sins of my past,
the sins which I have done to please myself,
and the sins which I have done to please others.
Forgive my casual sins and my deliberate sins,
and those which I have tried so hard to hide
that I have hidden them even from myself.
Forgive me, O Lord, for all of them,
for Jesus Christ’s sake.
Amen.