General Confession
A General Confession, as understood by St. Ignatius of Loyola is a form of Confession whereby one spends 3 to 10 days preparing for a confession of all one's 'sins up to that time.' The main goal of the "general confession" is to turn one's life from one of sin to a more devout one. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have done much to popularise this form of confession, with such a confession being the significant end-point of the First Week of his Spiritual Exercises.
In Anglicanism, the expression "General Confession" is also used for the act of contrition in Thomas Cranmer's 1548 order of Communion and later in the Book of Common Prayer.
