they have most grievously offended His divine Majesty. For by so doing, besides other advantages, they will secure the validity of their confession, if they do not conceive sufficient sorrow for the venial sins which they are going to confess. For this purpose, after having confessed those small faults which they have committed since their last confession, they ought to mention some particular sins of their past lives for which they feel particularly sorry, saying, for instance, I accuse myself again of the sins of my past life, and especially of those committed against the virtue of N. N. (here let them mention some particular virtue).

SECTION II.

Second property of a good and fruitful confession-Humility.

Amongst the principal reasons for which our Blessed Lord enjoined to all sinners the obligation of confessing their sins, one is that of curbing their pride, and of forcing them in a certain manner to humble themselves beneath His almighty hand. As by sin they have been guilty of the execrable boldness of erecting themselves against God, and rebelling against their sovereign Lord, so it is but just that they should humble themselves in His presence before they can again obtain His friendship and be cleansed from their sins. This is exactly the doctrine of St. Thomas, who says, that'sacramental confession must terminate in self-humiliation.' After this he explains the quality of this humiliation, and says that it consists in this, that the sinner acknowledges and owns himself to be a weak, wretched, and miserable creature,— Debet esse humilis ut se miserum confiteatur infirmum. We have a most striking example of this in the publican of the Gos

pel, who, covered with confusion for his sins, dares not to raise his eyes on high; but, striking his breast, acknowledges himself to be a great sinner. This will be the sentiment with which it will be most profitable to our souls that we should approach to the holy tribunal; 'for,' as St. Augustine remarks, 'the humiliation which we feel in the act of confessing our sins has great power towards moving God to forgive them.' 'It was a particular mercy on the part of God,' continues the same Father, 'to have so disposed, that the mere act of bewailing our sins in secret between Him and ourselves should not be sufficient to obtain the remission of them; but that we should, moreover, be bound to reveal them to His sacred minister; for this is a most especial assistance to us in conceiving that' holy confusion, which is most useful for obtaining our forgiveness from God.

We shall be greatly assisted to obtain this spirit of humility if we contrast the infinite majesty of God, whom we have offended, with our own baseness. If even the highest seraphim cannot raise their eyes to contemplate the face of God without humbling themselves profoundly at the sight of His greatness and of their own littleness, what should be our sentiments of humility when we consider the infinite majesty of the God whom we have injured and our own vileness! If the culprit cannot look on the face of his prince whom he has grievously offended without trembling and blushing, how can we contemplate the immortal King of Glory, whom we have grievously outraged by our sins, and not feel overwhelmed with shame and confusion? Ah, blessed is that man who has learnt to break down his arrogant nature, and to bewail his sins in a spirit of humility; for God will be propitious to him, and will bestow upon him His heavenly blessings. “A

contrite and humble heart," says holy David, "Thou, O Lord, shalt not despise." This spirit of humility, with which we ought to approach to the holy tribunal, requires that, in confessing our sins, we should abstain most carefully from alleging false or useless excuses, and especially from diminishing our guilt, and from laying upon others the blame which entirely belongs to us. Let us approach this holy sacrament deeply penetrated with this feeling, that we come to discover, and not to defend our sins; to condemn, and not to justify our conduct; to subdue, and not to indulge our pride.

SECTION III.

Third property of a good and fruitful confession-Sincerity.

The holy Council of Trent has expressly defined that the obligation of confession extends to every and each mortal sin; and that we cannot fail to fulfil this duty without becoming guilty of a most horrible sacrilege, and changing into a source of eternal death what has been established by Christ as a means for raising us to eternal life. There are some persons who are not at all ashamed to plunge themselves into vice, and to disgrace themselves by the filthiest crimes before God and His angels; but when the question is of confessing them to the minister of God, in order to cleanse their souls from them, and to rise from their vile and alarming state, they begin to feel ashamed; and, what is still worse, they sometimes suffer themselves to be so far overwhelmed by this shame, as to prefer living under the slavery of sin, and endangering the ruin of their immortal souls, rather than reveal with perfect sincerity the state of their conscience to the minister of Christ. But, alas! what will it avail them to

sins, and thus to

have spared themselves a slight humiliation here upon earth, when a just and avenging God shall overwhelm them with eternal confusion in the bottomless pit? The confusion which follows the confession of our sins upon earth is brief, and accompanied by many blessings; because the person to whom we unveil our conscience, besides holding the place of God, and acting by His authority, is bound by the most sacred ties to an inviolable secresy, and cannot make use of the information which he receives except to our own profit. Now, is it not the highest folly to conceal from him our condemn ourselves to eternal shame? Is it not the extreme of madness to hide our sins from one who has power to remit them, and thus to condemn ourselves to undergo the tremendous confusion of seeing them manifested to the whole world in the day of judgment, when our Lord, as the Apostle Paul says, “shall enlighten the hidden things of darkness, and manifest the secrets of the heart?" "when," as holy Job says, "heaven and earth shall reveal all iniquities, and rise up in judgment against the wicked?" Ah, for God's sake, let each one look to himself, and shield himself against so awful and tremendous an evil! If, unhappily, we are fallen into grievous sin, we have no other choice but either confession or damnation. There is no medium; we must either undergo a little confusion whilst still in this mortal flesh, or be loaded with shame and disgrace for all eternity.

Whoever, therefore, wishes to escape everlasting shame, and to secure to himself the attainment of eternal glory, must bow down to the command of Christ, and confess his sins with all candour and sincerity, concealing nothing, disguising nothing. Whoever conceals one single mortal sin in confession, deprives himself of all the benefit

of absolution, and leaves the sacred tribunal with all his former crimes upon him, and that of a sacrilege in addition. He comes to seek peace, and he carries away with him anxiety and distress. He comes to be blessed, he

returns laden with curses. He

who lies to the Lord, Lying lips destroy the

shews himself to be His enemy. soul. Tempted by Satan, the father of lies, Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, and was immediately struck dead. Woe to the fool who thinks to deceive God, and who goes to Him without having truth upon his lips and in his heart! "It were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.'

Although the obligation of unveiling ourselves with perfect sincerity to the minister of Christ in the Sacrament of Confession extends only to mortal sin, yet it is most important that we should manifest to him, with the same candour and sincerity, even our slightest faults. We are not strictly bound,' writes St. Francis of Sales, ' to confess venial sins; yet if we would perfectly cleanse our souls, in order the more easily to attain to true devotion, we ought to be careful to make known to our spiritual physician the evil, however slight, of which we would be cured.'

This candour in discovering thoroughly our conscience to the minister of Christ, without concealing from him any sin, however slight, besides assisting us in obtaining a greater purity of heart, has also great power to remove us from the danger of falling into grievous faults, to which we should otherwise be exposed; for by unveiling with all sincerity our little infirmities to our spiritual physician, we shall be greatly assisted by him, not only to cure them, but to guard against future relapse; whereas if we