In Matters of Faith.
Have you been guilty of heresy, or disbelief of any article of faith, or of voluntarily doubting of any article of faith?Have you rashly exposed yourself to the danger of infidelity, by reading bad books, keeping wicked company, going into places of worship belonging to other communions during the time of their service, and joining with them in their worship?Have you, by word or deed, denied your faith, or railed at or despised holy things?Have you been ignorant of the articles of your faith and the duties of your religion, or have you been negligent in instructing, or procuring the necessary instructions for those under your care?Have you given credit to dreams, taken notice of omens, or made any other superstitious observations?Have you used charms or spells, or consulted fortune-tellers, or made use of any other superstitious practices to find out things to come, recover things lost, &c. How often? and with what scandal and ill example to others?
Of Hope.
Have you despaired of salvation, or of the forgiveness of your sins?Have you rashly presumed upon God's goodness, continuing to offend him because he is merciful; going on in your sins, without any thought of amendment, depending upon a death-bed repentance?Have you relied upon yourself rather than upon divine grace; or neglected for a long time to return to God by repentance, after falling into mortal sin?
Of Charity.
Have you loved any creature as much or more than God?Have you murmured against the providence of God, resisted his inspirations, refused to submit to his divine will, not prevented evil when you could and ought, committed sins through human respect?
Of Religion.
Have you made a sacrilegious confession or communion?Have you received the sacraments of confirmation or matrimony in the state of mortal sin?Have you abused the holy scripture, or profaned holy places or sacred things?Have you blasphemed God or his saints?Have you been negligent in the divine worship, seldom or never adoring and praising God, or giving him thanks for his benefits?Have you prayed but seldom, or with little attention, or omitted to make acts of faith, hope, and charity?Have you behaved with irreverence in the house of God, or broken any vow or solemn promise made to him?Have you neglected to hear mass on Sundays and holy-days of obligation? or have you heard it with wilful distractions, or not taken care that your children or servants should hear it?Have you neglected confession and communion at Easter, or omitted the penance enjoined you, or acquitted yourself of these religious duties carelessly?Have you sworn falsely, or what you did not certainly know whether it was true or false?Have you broken your lawful oaths, or sworn to do any thing that was wicked or unlawful?Have you had a custom of swearing rashly or inconsiderately, by the name of God, by your soul, or by the way of imprecation upon yourself or others?Have you sworn by the blood or wounds of God, or any other blasphemous oath, or been accessory to others swearing, cursing, or blaspheming?Have you spent the Sundays or holy-days of obligation in idleness or sin, or been the occasion of others so spending them?Have you done any servile work without necessity upon those days?Have you broken the days of abstinence, or eaten more than one meal on fasting days, or been accessory to others so doing? How often, &c.
In Thoughts.
Have you been deficient in point of charity towards your neighbour?Have you judged rashly of him?Have you willfully entertained thoughts of hatred, aversion, rancour, or a coldness and resentment against him?Have you, on this account, endeavoured to avoid meeting or speaking to him?Have you envied him in his merit, reputation, fortune or employments?Have you conceived desires of revenge against him, and wished that harm might befall him?Have you been hard-hearted, or without any feeling or compassion for him in his affliction?Have you felt in yourself a secret pleasure and satisfaction when any disgrace happened to him, and discontent in seeing him thrive and flourish?[These sins may vary in their malice, according to the length of time we were thus affected, or the relation we stand in to the different persons in question, or according to the greater or less importance of the matter under our consideration.]
In Words.
Have you spoken harshly to your neighbour; given him abusive language; railed at him; miscalled him; mocked and ridiculed him; exposed him to scorn; affronted him; censured his conduct; found fault with every thing he did; put wrong constructions upon his actions; calumniated or detracted him; been pleased to hear others speak ill of him; listened to and encouraged the calumny or detraction when you could prevent such discourses? [N.B.—The motive for speaking thus, the number of persons present, and the subject of this uncharitable language, must be specified, as we are bound to repair the injury to the best of our power.]We also sin by ill-natured reports or insinuations, malicious expressions, whether true or false; by giving bad advice and bad example; by instilling bad or dangerous principles; by flattering others, or approving of evil; by giving false testimony; by discovering the secrets or the faults of others; by abusive words, reproaches, bad wishes or imprecations, &c.
In Actions.
Have you wronged, deceived, or circumvented your neighbour in buying or selling?Have you injured him by stealing, cheating, usury, extortion, or any unlawful contract? by putting off false money, or using false weights or measures?Have you bought or received stolen goods?Have you contracted debts without design of paying them?We also sin by wronging our creditors, or our own family, by prodigal expenses; by refusing to pay our just debts when able, or by culpable extravagance rendering ourselves unable to pay them by neglecting the work or business for which we were hired, and obliged by contract to perform; in fine, by unjustly taking or keeping any thing of value belonging to another; in which case it is impossible to obtain forgiveness without making restitution to the best of our power. [And here it is to be observed, that where two or more jointly injure another, in goods or reputation, they are jointly and severally obliged to restitution; that is to say, they are bound to contribute their respective proportions towards repairing the injury; and every individual of them is answerable before God for the whole injury, when either or any of the accomplices refuse to repair their portion thereof.]
In Omissions.
Have you neglected to succour, comfort and assist your neighbour in necessity?Have you neglected to restore ill-gotten goods, or to repair injured characters?Have you refused to be reconciled to an enemy, or to perform duties of obligation, such as respect and love towards parents, obedience to superiors, &c.Sins Against Ourselves Are Committed
By Pride.
In having too great an esteem for ourselves, and haughtily despising othersIn being too apt to speak of our own affairs, or in our own praise;In aspiring to honours and preferment through vanity;In affecting to be humble, or in deceiving others by hypocrisyIn being influenced in what we do by human respects, for obtaining the applause and esteem of menIn being too much wedded to our own opinions and inclinations;In being too solicitous about our health;In being too fond of the pleasures, comforts, and conveniences of life.
By Avarice.
In being backward in giving alms according to our ability;In squandering away in gaming, or in vain and foolish expenses, the substance that Providence hath given for the relief of the poor and distressed;In not only refusing them an alms which we can afford, but in refusing it with bitterness, reproaches, imperious, ill-natured language, or with an insulting air;In being too much attached to the goods of this life; where it must be ever remembered, that whatever isreallysuperfluous to us belongs of right to the poor; that where there is much, much should be given; and that where there is only a little, even some of that little should be cheerfully given; for "God loves the cheerful giver."
By Envy.
In being sorry for the prosperity of othersRejoicing at their misfortunesIn wishing with jealousy for what belongs to them.
By Impurity.
In willfully dwelling upon, or taking pleasure in unchaste thoughts.[N. B.—The penitent must here mention whether these bad thoughts were entertained during a considerable time, and how long; whether they were accompanied with desires of committing the evil; whether they caused irregular motions; whether in a holy place; and, finally, whether the objects of these sinful desires were single or married, kindred or relations, or persons consecrated to God.]
By Words.
In speaking obscenely, or with a double meaning, which is as bad, if not worse; in listening with pleasure to such vile language. [N. B.—this sort of discourse is still more criminal, when it passes between two persons of a different sex. We also sin grievously this way, by singing unchaste songs, by giving toasts and sentiments contrary to modesty, or by permitting them to be given when we can prevent them, or by not retiring on such occasions.]
By Looks.
In viewing immodest objects;In reading bad books;In keeping indecent pictures;In frequenting plays and public assemblies, which are but too often the schools of vice, where dangerous objects are held up to view, and where vice is represented, not in its native horrible colours or consequences, but as mere gaiety.Comedies also are so full of indecent sentiments and indelicate allusions, as cannot but offend a modest ear, and have an immoral tendency. They are not only powerful incentives to this vice, but are besides evidently unlawful, for the following reason: viz. because we cannot assist at them without contributing, by our purse and our example, to maintain a set of people in a profession, or way of life, which was always deemed infamous by the Catholic Church. Under this head likewise may be classed, the tempting of others to sin, by dissolute glances, gestures, or immodesty in dress or behaviour.
By Actions.
In abusing and defiling the sanctity of marriage by such liberties and irregularities as are contrary to the order of nature;in touching ourselves or others immodestly;in permitting indecent liberties to be taken with us. [N.B.— It is necessary to explain every thing, in order to make known such circumstances as may increase or diminish the guilt, with as much modesty as possible; and also to declare, whether we have employed, or neglected to employ the necessary means of overcoming this vile passion. We should carefully distinguish what is wilful, from what is not; an effect of deliberation, from one of mere negligence; also the number of these bad actions, or at least the length of time we continued in the habit of committing them; with what sort of persons we have sinned, or desired to sin, but this without mentioning their names. And as it too often happens with young persons, who have miserably fallen into a certain sin of a lonely and abominable nature, either to conceal this crime, or not faithfully confess how often they have been guilty of it, we therefore earnestly beseech such to reflect seriously on the fatal evils in which they involve themselves. Let them consider, that all those confessions, and the communions which follow them, are only so many sacrileges, removing them still farther from God, and provoking his just indignation against them; that the longer they continue in this state of Hypocrisy, the more difficult it must be to overcome their bashfulness, and the more anguish they must feel in their own interior; that no practice is more destructive of health, beauty, or genius, than this; that it deforms and debilitates the wretched perpetrator; that it must, not only in a moral, but also in a physical sense, degrade him beneath the rank of the brute creation, and render him contemptible to mankind.]
By Gluttony.
In exceeding the bounds prescribed by temperance;in eating or drinking to excess;in exciting others to do so;in not observing with due exactness the days of fasting and abstinence enjoined by the church;in exceeding the quantity which is usually allowed at collation.
By Anger.
In abusing, quarrelling, striking, or wishing evil to others; in provoking others to quarrel or fight. Which sins are still more heinous when parents or superiors are the objects thereof.
By Sloth.
In neglecting our religious or moral duties;in performing them carelessly;in leading a life of idleness, voluptuousness, and dissipation;in passing our time unprofitably, when the duties of our state call on us to labour.We are also guilty by following the bent of our inclinations, and gratifying self-love;by studying too much our own ease;by too great a remissness in mortifying our passions or senses.
Having discovered the different sorts of sins of which you have been guilty, together with their number, enormity, or such aggravating circumstances as may considerably increase their malice or change their nature, your next endeavour should be to excite in your breast aheart-felt sorrowfor having committed them, and a sincere detestation of them. This being the most essential, as well as the most difficult, of all the dispositions requisite to a good confession, with what humility, fervour, and perseverance should you not importune Him who holds the hearts of men in his hands, to grant it you!
In the mean time, seriously meditate on those powerful motives for exciting contrition, which the church holds forth to her children; and in order to feel their force the more effectually, endeavour to enliven your faith, to strengthen your hope, and inflame your charity, by devoutly reciting the acts of the three theological virtues (page30). In the next place reflect on those motives which are most capable of alarming, and at the same time of melting your heart into compunction; such as the everlasting torments of hell; the eternal loss of God, and of the joys of heaven, the horror and filthiness of sin; the goodness of God in all he has done, and all he still does, and all he will do for us, if we continue to love and serve him; particularly that astonishing instance of his love and undeserved mercy, in forbearing to cut your slender thread of life, and to precipitate you into eternal torments in the very height of your rebellion against him. This consideration alone must necessarily engage you to cry out with ecstatic surprise and astonishment, "How good must God be in himself who has been so good to me, his faithless and ungrateful child!" He saw nothing in you deserving of his mercy; he saw every thing in you that merited his wrath and indignation.This last reflection on the infinite goodness of God, if dwelt on with due attention, cannot fail to inflame your heart with an unfeigned love of Him for his own sake,the purest and best of all motives. Whilst the heart is thus softened by divine love into compunction for your sins, form an unshaken resolution of never more offending him, of doing your utmost to amend your life, of satisfying for your sins, and of repairing any injury you may have done your neighbour, either in his character or property.If, with these sentiments glowing in your breast, you cast yourself at the feet of your confessor and reveal to him all the sins you can recollect,with tearsof compunction, and in a truly penitential spirit, be assured you shall returnwith joyfrom the tribunal of confession, and feel realized in yourself the consoling promise of the Holy Spirit, that "They who sow in tears, shall reap in joy." Psalm cxxv.
Begin by devoutly making the sign of the cross, + saying at the same time,Bless me, O Father, for I have sinned.Then repeat theConfiteor, or "I confess to the Almighty," &c. till you come to the words, "through my fault," at which strike your breast, glowing with compunction, like the humble publican in the gospel; and so proceed to accuse yourself with candour and sincerity, telling first how long it is since you were last at confession, whether you were then absolved, (a circumstance of the utmost importance, which many are too negligent in attending to,) and whether you performed your penance. Having confessed all the sins you can remember, listen with docility to your confessor, whilst he endeavours to excite you to contrition, and prescribes the various means, either of atoning for the sins you have confessed, or of preventing future relapses.
We are taught by the holy Council of Trent, that those who would obtain the grace of justification, should be thus disposed: they must have faith; they must fear the justice of God; they must hope for mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord; they must begin to love God; they must hate sin; they must sincerely resolve to change their lives, and keep the commandments. To infuse these necessary dispositions into the soul of the penitent, is the intent of the following prayers:
I am fully sensible, O my God, that there cannot be a greater misfortune than to have displeased thee, who art infinitely good and worthy of all our affections. I tremble when I consider how terrible a misfortune it is to fall unprepared into thy hands; for who can bear that dreadful sentence:Depart from me, ye accursed, into eternal fire!—Matthew xxv. But the thought of losing thee, O Lord, alarms me still more than any other punishment whatsoever. Thy patience in waiting for me, thy readiness to pardon me, the multitude of thy mercies, which I have so often experienced, are now present to my mind; they upbraid me most forcibly.Thou hast brought me forth from nothing, created me to thine own image and likeness, ransomed me with thy precious blood, and after I had rebelled and become a slave to Satan, thou didst still bear with me, adopt me as thy child, and prefer me to thousands who were never enlightened by thy holy law. Yet I have deserted thee, I have tired myself in the ways of iniquity, I have hated thy discipline, I have turned my back on all thy commandments. Though thou hast called me, yet have I refused to return; though thou hast frequently stretched out thy hands to me, yet I have paid no regard to thy invitations. Wretch that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death? Who shall give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that day and night I may weep for my ingratitude? I have sinned! what shall I do to appease thee? O Guardian of men! behold I acknowledge my iniquity. My transgressions are become a heavy burden upon me. I am not worthy to appear before thee, nor even to lift up my eyes before thy throne. From the depth of my misery I cry out to thee: O Lord, hear my voice, and be merciful to a poor sinner! Thy mercies surpass all thy works; thou willest not my death but my conversion; nor didst thou come to call the just, but sinners to repentance. Thou art always mindful of thy word, on which I rely: receive thy prodigal child, nor let me henceforth be ever separated from thee.
Though I have sinned, O Lord, and done evil in thy sight, yet I shall never say, as Cain did, that "my crimes are too great to be forgiven." I know that in mercy thou dost display thy power; and that though my sins were multiplied in number even beyond the grains of sand in the sea, atoms in the air, or drops of water in the ocean, yet thy mercies are still infinitely greater. Without this consideration I should certainly despair. But thine own repeated assurances, and the frequent proofs thou hast given of thy tenderness towards sinners, support my confidence in thee whenever my enemy attempts to weaken it. Thou art truth itself; and therefore thy word can never deceive us. Thou hast declared that thou wilt entirely forget the iniquities of the sinner, if he be truly converted, and cease to do evil; thou hast told us, that a contrite and humble heart shall always find favour with thee. Thy sacred oracles are full of these sweet consolations, and thy invariable conduct towards sinners speaks the same soothing language. Thou didst pardon David, though his sin was most grievous; Magdalen, a sinner by profession; Peter, who denied thee with oaths; the adulteress, convicted in thy presence; the penitent thief on the cross: all these obtained forgiveness, because they sought it sincerely. Nay more, thy tenderness was shown even to the traitor Judas; nor were even the cruel Jews excluded from thy prayers: and shall I not also, O my God, cry out to thee for mercy?Yes; for relying on thy wonted goodness, I shall never be confounded. My sins are enormous, it is true, and stand always against me; but the more hideous they are, the more I detest them. Against thee, O God, have I sinned; and to thee I cry out for pardon. O that I had never offended thee, because thou art infinitely good. O that my sorrow for having offended thee were as great as my offences. O that I might grieve for them even unto death, and feel those bitter pangs with which thy soul was overwhelmed in the Garden of Olives. Let the inexpressible anguish of mind thou didst there feel, thy sighs, thy tears, thy fainting, and thy bloody sweat, O Lord! plead now in my behalf, and supply the defects of my imperfect sorrow. Let them draw down thy mercies, O heavenly Father, and restore me again to thy favour.
I have now before me, O Lord, a sad prospect of the manifold offences by which I have displeased thy divine Majesty, and which I am assured will appear in judgment against me, if I repent not, and my soul be not disposed by a hearty sorrow, to receive thy pardon. But this sorrow, O Lord, this repentance, must be thy free gift; and if it come not from the hand of thy mercy, all my endeavours will be in vain, and I shall be for ever miserable. Have mercy therefore on me, O Father of Mercies! and pour forth into my heart thy grace, whereby I may sincerely repent of all my sins.Give me a true contrition, that I may bewail my past miseries and ingratitude, and grieve from the bottom of my heart for having offended so good a God. Permit me not to be deluded with a false sorrow, as, I fear, I have been too often, through my own weakness and neglect; but let it be now thy gift, descending from thee, the Father of Lights, that so my repentance may be accompanied with amendment and a change of life, that I may be fully acquitted from the guilt of all my sins, and once more received into the number of thy servants: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thou hast, O Lord, given power to thy church to forgive sins in thy name. Thou hast promised pardon to those who do penance. Behold the prodigal child; nay, worse than the prodigal. I have disfigured and denied my soul, that was created to thy own image and likeness. I have forfeited my title to that eternity of happiness which was prepared for me. I have nourished sin in my bosom, the most poisonous of serpents, and the most hateful of monsters. Alas! I have offended him by whose blood I was redeemed. I have been the cause of his sufferings; I have renewed his death, and crucified him again by my sins. Oh! who will give sorrow to my heart, and a fountain of tears to mine eyes, that I may bewail my iniquities in the bitterness of my soul. Have compassion on me, O most loving Father! I throw myself into the arms of thy infinite mercy.Clothe me with thy grace, and admit me to thy sacrament of reconciliation. Cast out of my heart whatever thou knowest profanes, or defiles thy temple. Root out of my soul whatever is displeasing unto thee, and lay in me the foundation of a new life. I renounce and utterly detest all my sins, for the love of thee. O my God of infinite bounty and goodness! I am heartily sorry for having offended thee. I beg and hope for pardon, through the merits of thine only Son, my Saviour, Jesus Christ. Accept his passion and death in satisfaction for my offences, and for his sake have mercy on me, who place my whole trust and confidence in thee. Amen.
O holy Virgin, Mother of God, and sure refuge of penitent sinners, intercede for me at this moment, that the confession which I am about to make may not render me more guilty, but may obtain for me the remission of all my sins, and the necessary graces to avoid them hereafter. Amen.
O merciful God, as at the words of thy angel, St. Peter was immediately restored to liberty, by the chains falling off from his feet; so grant, dear Lord, that by the words of this holy sacrament, pronounced by thy priest, the chains of my sins may be loosed, and all my offences pardoned. Amen.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O Thou who suffered for me, have mercy on me. Sprinkle me with thy blood, O Jesus, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
Is it possible, O my God, that having been a criminal but a few moments ago, I should now be cleansed from my sins by virtue of this sacrament? Yes, I firmly believe it; because thou hast left to thy church the power of forgiving sins, and hast inclined my heart to comply with the necessary conditions for obtaining pardon. Thou hast declared to thy apostles, that "whatever they should loose on earth, should be loosed also in heaven; and that whosoever sins they should forgive, should be forgiven." This is the sacred warrant of their tribunal, whose authority thy faithful have ever acknowledged. Here are the keys of thy heavenly kingdom, solemnly made over to thy church in our favour; we are therefore obliged to have recourse to them. This power was not confined to the apostles, no more than the power of baptising nations; but being granted in as general terms, doth in like manner, extend to their successors. I give thee thanks, O my God, for this tender proof of thy love, and invite all creatures to glorify thee for it. Thou hast invested a power in the sons of men, which thou wouldst not confer on angels or archangels;whatever ye shall bind on earth, &c.was not addressed to them."The princes of this world have dominion only over the body, but the power of the priest affects the very soul. The eternal Father hath given all power to his Son; but then I behold this very power delivered by the Son to mortals. The Jewish priests could only pronounce those clean whose bodies had been already cleansed from the leprosy; but to our priests it was given, not merely topronounce clean, but really tocleanse, not the infections of the body, but the very stains of the soul."—[St. Chrys. b.iii.of the Priesthood.] "Thus thy manifold mercy hath provided succour for human frailty; that as by baptism, so also by penance, the hope of life should be renewed; for Christ Jesus, our Mediator, authorized the rulers of his church to impose penance upon persons confessing, and to admit them, thus purified by wholesome satisfaction, to share in the sacraments."—[St. Leo. ep.23.] This is an effect of that precious blood which thou, O amiable Redeemer, hast shed for my sake: I acknowledge the wonders of thy love in accepting this poor satisfaction, in pardoning all, in forgetting all, instead of punishing me as I deserved. It is necessary to be what thou art, a God of infinite goodness, to deal in such a compassionate manner with so miserable a sinner: and therefore, I humbly beseech thee to imprint on my heart a just sense of this favour, that I may gratefully remember it all the days of my life, and extol without ceasing the multitude of thy mercies. Amen.
O most sweet Lord Jesus! graciously vouchsafe to remember all those holy thoughts that have passed in thy divine mind from the beginning of the world to this very moment, and particularly thy tender design in becoming man for the redemption of the world: pardon, through the merits of these, not only all the evil thoughts and vain imaginations I have ever conceived of myself, but also those I might have excited in the minds of others. Amen.
O most pious Lord Jesus! I, a poor sinner, do humbly remind thee of all those words of salvation which have ever fallen from thy sacred lips, or which others have uttered, or shall hereafter utter, to the glory of thy holy name. I earnestly beseech thee, through these divine expressions, to forgive whatever I have spoken offensive to thee, or what others, through my means, may have sinfully uttered. Amen.
O most amiable Lord Jesus Christ! look on all the good works thou has performed for our salvation; and be pleased now to pardon whatever I have committed against thee. Mercifully direct all my thoughts, words, and actions, to thy greater glory, and regulate them by the model of thine own blessed life. Amen.
O Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who invitest the sinner to return to thee, kindly receiving, refreshing, and consoling him, remember that with thy precious blood thou wert pleased to redeem me. To thy sacred wounds I fly for refuge; and as in thy mercy thou didst pray for thine enemies, and pour forth thy life for thy persecutors and tormentors, so impart here to me the benefit of thy passion; Grant I may never again crucify thee by mine offences, but that sincerely grieving for what is past, and resolutely striving against future temptations, I may fervently persevere in thy service to the end.
Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my whole being. O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
Receive, O Lord, in thy great mercy, the poor remains of my life. I am heartily sorry for the years I have misspent; they have vanished as a shadow, they have passed away without fruit; but as I cannot recall them, suffer me at least to think of them in the bitterness of my soul. Suffer me no longer to yield to my accustomed failings. Let the ardour with which I pursued a life of sin, be henceforth more diligently applied to thy service, that where sin hath abounded, thy grace may still more abound. Remember, O Lord Jesus! that it is not thy desire to lose any of those whom thy Father hath given thee, but rather to have mercy always, and to spare; to destroy no one, but to save all; because thy Father hath sent thee into the world, not to judge the world, but to grant us life through thee. May, therefore, O Lord, thy boundless merits plead for me now, and at my last moments, that I may obtain the full remission of my sins; that I may truly know thee; that I may ever love thee; that I may tend to thee incessantly; and at length arrive to the eternal enjoyment of thee, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, &c. Amen.
I sincerely detest all my sins, and am fully resolved, O Lord, through the assistance of thy divine grace, never to offend thee hereafter. I therefore earnestly beseech thee to confirm all those good resolutions I have made. Increase my fervour in thy service, and render it efficacious, that my change of life may be visible to all, and that in future my conduct may be as edifying as it has been heretofore scandalous. Amen.
O that I had never sinned! O that I had never transgressed thy commands, my God! Happy those souls who have preserved their innocence, and never lost that grace they received at the baptismal font! Most loving Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am not worthy to be called thy child. I confess my ingratitude, and seek refuge in thy mercy. I have wandered like a sheep that is gone astray; but have compassion on me, and save me. Forgive me what is past; and through the bowels of thy infinite goodness, grant me a true steadiness of spirit, that from this moment I may never offend thee more.
O blessed Virgin Mary, my holy patron, [name him or her,] and all ye Saints and Angels, praise and extol our Lord for his boundless goodness towards me a most miserable sinner. Beseech him to accept of this my humble confession, and to supply, through his infinite mercies, all its deficiencies. Beg of him to ratify in the archives of heaven, the sentence of absolution which his minister, the priest, hath pronounced in my favour at the tribunal of confession. Amen.
As there is no religious duty of greater consequence, or more conducive to our happiness both here and hereafter, than to receive worthily the blessed Eucharist; so there can be no greater favour conferred on a Christian, than to communicate early in life, and afterwards frequently. Hence it becomes the indispensable duty of such as have the education of children committed to their care, not only to impress on their tender minds a lively and active sense of the excellency of this sacrament, but also to enforce the necessity of frequently receiving it. "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever."—John, vi. The obligation of communicating at Easter is binding on every member of the church who has arrived at the age of discretion; i.e. when reason and reflection, guided by the gift of divine faith, arrive at such a state of maturity, as may enable them to distinguish the flesh of Jesus Christ, under the exterior appearance of bread and wine, from the ordinary food of the body. It is further to be observed, that as purity of heart is the most proper disposition to receive worthily; so, of consequence, the less advanced the age of a Christian, the more untainted, in general, is his baptismal innocence. But, on the other hand, it is to be remarked, that the longer a Christian defers his first communion, the greater is the danger that either domestic affairs, or the violence of those passions to which young persons in general are more or less subject, should cause him to put it off to a more advanced age, or perhaps to the very hour of death!—a fatal delusion, which has betrayed numbers of Christians into the abyss of eternal perdition.Let parents, therefore, and others concerned in the education of children, attend to the advice of the great St. Charles Borromeus on this subject: "When children," says he, "of both sexes, arrive at the age of ten years, provided they are capable of being easily prepared for communion, suffer them not, under pretence of ignorance, (as it is often the case,) to defer it any longer; but rather let them be prepared in good time, to participate of a sacrament which abounds with such precious and inestimable advantages."
With respect to frequent communion, the best advice is to follow the counsel of a wise and prudent director. But remember, that according to the spirit of Jesus Christ and his church, you should communicate frequently. Our divine Redeemer gives himself to us in the blessed Eucharist under the forms of bread and wine, hereby intimating, that as our corporal life cannot be supported without the ordinary food of the body, so our spiritual life cannot be maintained but by the blessed Eucharist, which is the food and nourishment of our souls. Hence it is that he assumes the most tender and affectionate titles of spouse, brother, friend, &c. in order to incite us to approach him frequently in this divine sacrament.
The spirit of the church is further made known by the advice of the holy Council of Trent, which exhorts all the faithful to communicate often, and particularly whilst they assist at the celebration of the divine mysteries. To those testimonies may be added the exhortations of the holy fathers, the example of the saints, the practice of the primitive Christians, and the experience of all pious and devout persons in every age, as so many corroborating proofs of the happiness and advantage of frequent communion.
But if it be a happiness to communicate early in life, and frequently during the course thereof, it may be also said that there cannot be a greater misfortune than to communicate unworthily; it being a most flagrant abuse of what is most sacred in religion. To avoid then so great an evil, reflect seriously on these words of St. Paul: "Let a manprove himself, and so eat of that bread, and drink of that chalice; for he that eateth and drinkethunworthily, eateth and drinkethdamnationto himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." Now thisprovingconsists in putting yourself into such a state, that your conscience may not reproach you with any essential obstacle to the receiving of this sacrament, that is, with the conscious guilt of any mortal sin whatever.This you can answer for, provided you have endeavoured to make as exact, as fervent, and as perfect a confession as you would wish to make at the hour of death; and you should certainly be equally careful and fervent in so doing, there being not less purity required to receive Jesus Christ in this life, than to appear before the judgment-seat of God in the next.
Above all things it must be remembered, that the essential point in thisprovingof yourself, is, "to quit the occasions of sin, and to repair the scandal it hath caused:" without a fixed determination of so doing, the accusation and detestation of it are absolutely insufficient.
But this purity of conscience, which exempts from mortal sin, and every criminal attachment, though it may prevent the communion from being sacrilegious, yet it is not sufficient to render it so fruitful and advantageous as it should be. Wherefore, the more you prepare yourself for this sacrament, the greater abundance of grace you will require. In order, then, to prevent the mistake of such as do not think it necessary to prepare for receiving this holy sacrament before the very day of communion, the following pious practices are earnestly recommended:
I. Some days before communion perform all your actions and prayers, in order to obtain the graces necessary for so important a duty. Offer them up in the morning with this intention, and do some good work, such as an alms, an act of mortification, or a fast, with the same design.
II. Visit our Lord in the blessed sacrament morning and evening, to beg that he would himself by his grace dispose your heart to receive him worthily.
III. Read every day a chapter out of the 4th Book of theImitation of Christ, or some other approved book that treats of the Eucharist.
IV. On the eve of your communion be more recollected than usual: think often upon the happiness you are to enjoy the ensuing day in receiving your God. As this should be your last thought at composing yourself to rest, so it should also be your first at awaking.
V. Represent to your imagination that your angel guardian addresses you in these words: "Behold the spouse cometh: go forth now and meet him." Arise as early as possible to receive the great guest, who designs to honour you with this visit. Keep a profound silence till you return from mass; and let it appear by your modesty and recollection, that you are deeply penetrated with the consciousness of the sanctity of an action of the most ineffable dignity and excellence.
VI. Whenever you go to communion have always in your mind some particular intention—such as the acquiring of some virtue; overcoming such a temptation; the knowing of God's will with regard to yourself; the relief of the souls of the faithful departed; the conversion of infidels, heretics, and of sinners in general; for nothing is more capable of exciting fervour in devotion, than some particular end to which it is referred.
O sacred Mother of God, pure and spotless Virgin! thou didst not bear the Saviour of the world in thy sacred womb for thine own sake alone, but for ours also. May not I then, O Mother of mercy, hope to partake of his merits, and obtain, through thy powerful intercession, some share of the same holy dispositions of soul which thou thyself didst possess at the time thou didst conceive him. O that the same divine Spirit which then prepared thy body and soul for his reception, would now shed his precious gifts on me, since it is the same God-Man that I am also about to receive. Obtain for me a pure heart for his dwelling-place, and a firm and constant resolution to support myself in his grace; but above all, inspire me with an infinite horror of the detestable sin of impurity, which, in a particular manner, contaminates the soul of man, and renders it unworthy of communicating; because, by dishonouring my flesh, I dishonour the flesh of Jesus Christ also.Alas! if thy immaculate virginal womb was not too pure for a God to become incarnate therein, how can I presume to present myself at the table of the God of purity, and receive him into a heart contaminated with the smallest stain of a vice so abominable in the sight of infinite purity and sanctity?
I firmly believe, O my divine Jesus, that thou art really present in the blessed sacrament of the altar. I believe that it contains thy body and blood, accompanied by thy very soul and divinity. I acknowledge these truths; I believe these wonders; I adore the power that has wrought them, the same power that said: "Let there be light, and light was made." I submit my senses and reason to thy divine authority. I praise and glorify thy infinite goodness, which hath prepared this heavenly banquet for the food and nourishment of my soul. Blessed be thy name for ever. Accept my homage; accept, O my God, my most hearty thanks. But what am I, that thou shouldst work such wonders for my sake? How shall such a filthy sinner as I am, presume to approach thee, who art the inexhaustible source of infinite purity and sanctity? How shall I venture to lift up my eyes to heaven, much less to receive thee within my breast?I tremble at the sentence of thy apostle: "Whosoever shall eat this bread or drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord;" [1Corinthiansii.] for I acknowledge myself to be nothing but dust and ashes; a poor, miserable worm of the earth, subject to many vices, and void of all virtue and merit. Alas! my life has been nothing but sin and misery. I have nothing to confide in but thy boundless mercy; nor should I ever presume to approach thy sacred table, and partake of the bread of angels, were I not encouraged by thy infinite goodness, and excited by thy own most pressing invitations. It is therefore in thy mercy, which is above all thy works, that I put my whole trust; and since thou art pleased to call me to this divine banquet, behold I come to it, like Magdalen, to be happily united to thee, and to lay down all my sins at thy feet, to be cancelled by thy precious blood. I come to commemorate thy sufferings, as thou thyself hast ordained. I come, as one sick, to the Physician of Life; as one blind, to the Light of eternal Glory; as one poor, needy, and distressed, to the King of heaven and earth. To thee I expose all my wounds, that they may be healed. To thee I fly for protection, hoping that thou wilt be to me a Saviour, and that thou wilt wash away every sin that may defile me. Remove my blindness, relieve my necessities, and clothe me with grace, that I may receive the adorable sacrament of thy body and blood with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, as may be for thy honour and glory, and the salvation of my soul.I am not worthy, O Lord, to receive thee; alas, I am not! but thou canst, if thou wilt, make me worthy: say but the word, then, and my soul shall be healed. Thou hast heretofore said to the leper in the gospel, "I am willing; be thou healed;" and he was immediately cured of his disease. My soul is covered with an universal leprosy: heal me then, O my Saviour, in like manner; cleanse my soul from its stains; remove from it all guilt; extinguish in it every evil disposition; adorn it with the necessary virtues, and make it a fit abode for thy reception. May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul to life everlasting.
Who is he whom thou art about to receive? O my soul, be still and attentive. Who is he thou art going to receive? Thy God! thy Redeemer! who, for love of thee, shed torrents of blood during his agony in the garden of Gethsemani! who for love of thee, suffered his sacred head to be pierced with a crown of thorns, and his virginal flesh to be rent and torn at the pillar with whips and scourges! who, for love of thee, suffered himself to be clothed in a purple garment, and derided as a mock king, with a reed for his sceptre! who, for love of thee, suffered his sacred hands and feet to be fastened with gross nails to the wood of the cross! in fine, who, for love of thee, hung thereon, in the most ignominious manner, between two thieves, suffering for the space of three hours the most excruciating pains and tortures! and at last expired for thy redemption!After such stupendous instances of thy love for man, who can refuse a return of love to thee, Lord Jesus? I love thee, O my God! and ardently wish, that as every breath I draw is an increase of my life, so it may be of my love for thee, till at last I love thee as thou thyself requirest, "with my whole heart, with my whole soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength;" for thou art the God of my heart, and the life of my soul; thou art my treasure, my joy, my comfort, my support, my strength, my armour, my defence, my only hope and comfort in this place of banishment and vale of tears, and the supreme object of my happiness in heaven.
As the wearied stag pants after the fountains of water, so does my soul languish after thee, the ocean of all sweetness; it thirsts after thee with the most vehement desire, and longs to drink plentifully of those fountains which issue from the inexhaustible source of thy infinite goodness for my comfort and refreshment. O sweet Jesus! permit me now to experience the multitude of thy tender mercies. Have compassion on me and save me, for thou never forsakest such as place their hope in thee.Purify my heart with the fire of divine love, that it may this day become a fit abode for thy reception; O come and make it thy dwelling-place for ever. I am sorry, and will be sorry as long as I live, for having ever offended thy infinite goodness; forgive me, dear Lord, my past trespasses, and be thou my keeper for the time to come, that I may never more offend thee.
Hail, saving victim, who for me and all mankind was offered on the cross! Hail, precious blood flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord, and washing away the sins of the world! As I now desire to receive thee, veiled in this sacrament, so I hope hereafter to behold thee, face to face, in the kingdom of heaven.
O all ye blessed Angels and Saints of God, I humbly beg the assistance of your prayers and intercession, that I may with a clean heart and a pure conscience, approach the Holy of Holies, and receive this divine sacrament with such reverence and humility as may be for my soul's salvation.
Which may be used with great spiritual advantage before Communion, according to each person's leisure and devotion.
Imagine that our Saviour invites yon into the same room in which he ate his last supper with his apostles, to be witness of the miracle he is there going to perform, and to give you the communion with his own sacred hands. How fervent soever your sentiments might have been on that solemn occasion, they ought not to be less so at present: for as he ordained that this divine food should be daily renewed for the nourishment of the faithful, till his second coming to judge mankind at the end of the world, so he gives himself no less to us at present, than he did at that time to his apostles.Take them now for your model. The account which we have in the gospel, of this last mysterious supper, will furnish you with proper acts for communion. Read them attentively; make them your own by reflection; and let them sink deeply into your heart.
The Gospel of St Luke, chap, xxii., informs us, that our Saviour sat down, and his twelve apostles with him, to eat the Paschal Lamb, or accomplish the Supper of the Old Law, and institute that of the New in its stead. Who could be otherwise than astonished at seeing a God admit his creatures, nay, even his very enemies, to partake of his adorable body? "When he loved his own who were in the world," says his beloved disciple, St. John, "he loved them unto the end." But this was loving them, not merely to the end of this mortal life, but even beyond it, to the very end of ages with the utmost excess, and to the farthest limits of love. Contemplate, therefore, with the most attentive recollection, the excellence, the depth, and the extent of the boundless love of our divine Redeemer, of which this mystery is an epitome.
Could we ever believe, O Lord, or even imagine, that thy love for us was so excessive, had not thine own infallible word convinced us of its truth? Hadst thou, when thou wert about to quit this world, left us thy adorable heart as a pledge of thy affection; or hadst thou, when thy side was pierced, ordered thy precious blood to be distributed throughout thy church; such favours would have justly claimed our most grateful acknowledgments. But this would not satisfy the extent of thy love; thou didst choose, in a god-like manner, to penetrate into the very centre of our hearts, and give thyself to each of us particularly, entirely, and for ever.With what amazement, then, must not the angels and the whole hierarchy of celestial intelligences, have beheld such a prodigy! Were they not in some measure jealous to see mankind thus uncommonly favoured? But what didst thou discover in me, O Lord, that could thus attract thee? Or what couldst thou possibly expect from my indigence? Can I become the dwelling-place of him who is the delight of the blessed? Alas! had I even the innocence of thy beloved disciple John, or the ardent love of thy zealous apostle St Peter, I should then have some little claim to sit down at thy table; but since I am removed at so great a distance from such holy dispositions, vouchsafe, O Lord, to supply my deficiency by the effusion of thy grace. Whence is this favour to me, O my merciful Redeemer? "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou shouldst visit him?" Psalm viii.
Founded on these tender words, which our Saviour pronounced immediately before the Supper: "With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you."—Luke, xxii. 15. For why should we not feel the most ardent desire to be united to our Lord in this sacrament, when we see him so desirous to visit us, and take up his dwelling in our hearts? Endeavour to excite this desire, by considering how much you stand in need of this bread of life, and by the great esteem this heavenly nourishment deserves.