But it is necessary to explain what are the qualities of a good confession.

Various qualities are spoken of by spiritual writers as belonging to a good confession. The most important of them are included in the four following ones. Confession

should be,

1. Humble. He who has a proper sense of the evil of sin, and is truly sorry for the guilt which he has incurred, will manifest his sins with true humility of heart. He will present himself before the tribunal of Christ in the same dispositions with which the penitent publican entered the Temple of God, striking his breast and saying, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." He will take the position of a culprit, and confess his sins with humility and shame, and not seek to make confession a cloak for praising himself, like the proud Pharisee, whose prayer consisted of a catalogue of his pretended virtues.

2. Short. Confession should be an accusation of our guilt, and should not be mixed up with narrations which no way help to manifest the state of our conscience. For, as in the other sacraments, that is the fittest and most proper matter, which is the most free from the admixture of any other substance; so that confession is the best which consists simply of a candid acknowledgment of our guilt. St. Francis of Sales warns us against using such expressions as, "I accuse myself of not loving God as much as I ought; of not loving my neighbour as myself; of not saying my prayers and preparing for the sacraments in the best dispositions I was able." Such general declarations are, to say the least, useless. Unless the penitent, after a diligent examination of conscience, can call to mind some particular in which he has been wanting in the love of God, or of his neighbour, he should pass the subject over in silence. But this is a pardonable fault compared with the practice of those who make confession a history of their troubles, or, what is worse, whose confession is a manifestation of others' sins rather than of their own. The name of a third person should not be mentioned in confession, nor should the fault of another be made known, unless it is quite necessary for the manifestation of one's

own guilt. So important is it to keep the confession of our sins separate from all other subjects, that even when persons require counsel, unless it be necessary for their present confession, they do well to defer it till after they have received absolution.

3. Sincere. Confession should be made with truth and simplicity. We should endeavour to manifest as far as we are able the exact state of our conscience. We should therefore speak of what is certain as certain, and of what is doubtful as doubtful. We should avoid all expressions likely to mislead our confessor, or which tend either to increase or to lessen our actual guilt. Some persons are fond of excusing themselves, and of attributing all the blame to others. If they have been angry, they say they were provoked; if they have neglected any of their duties, they say they could not help it. Others, on the contrary, through a desire to be on the safe side, exaggerate the number of their sins, or omit the mention of circumstances which either take away or materially lessen their guilt. Thus they will perhaps accuse themselves of missing Mass on a Sunday without making known that they were sick, or so far away that they were not able to be present. We should endeavour to state the case exactly as it is in the sight of God, without seeking to make ourselves either better or worse than we really Again, the sincerity of our confession will teach us to approach this sacrament with the sole view of obtaining the pardon of our sins. Thus they are wanting in sincerity who use confession as a means of recounting their distress, in order to obtain alms.

are.

4. Full or entire. While avoiding the mention of every thing which does not help to manifest the state of our conscience, we are strictly bound to make a full and candid acknowledgment of our guilt, so far as we have been able to remember it after a diligent examination of our conscience. He who has once grievously offended Almighty God after baptism, though it were only in thought, has no other remedy but to 'confess his sin, where

confession is possible. He may be sorry for it; he may avoid it for the future; he may do penance for it all his

life; but if he will not confess it, he cannot obtain pardon of God. Nay, if he once wilfully omits a sin which he believes he is bound to confess, he will not only have to accuse himself of that sin, but until he has done so all his confessions will be sacrilegious, and will have to be repeated before he can hope for forgiveness.

The integrity of confession requires us to accuse ourselves, 1st, of the mortal sins of which we believe ourselves guilty; 2dly, of the number of times we have committed them, according to the best of our recollection; and 3dly, of all such circumstances as change the nature of the guilt. Thus, for example, if a person has told lies, it would not be enough to say he had sinned against the eighth commandment, but he must state in what particular he has offended; for rash judgment and detraction are no less sins against the eighth commandment than lies. Nor is it enough to say he has told lies, but he must mention the number of times. Where the exact number is known, it must be confessed; where it is uncertain, we should mention the number which we believe is nearest the truth; or at least we should state the average number of times a week or a month that the sin has been committed. Nor is this sufficient; but if the untruths which we have spoken have inflicted a serious injury on any one, that circumstance must be mentioned, because it changes the nature of the guilt. It is quite a different sin to tell a lie in excuse, by which no one is injured, and to tell a lie in order to destroy the character of some one we dislike, or to tell a lie when we are examined on oath. With regard to sins which are mortal or venial according to the amount of matter, the penitent should state whether he has transgressed the precept in a greater or less degree. Thus if he has been guilty of theft, he should declare whether the value of the thing stolen was great or small. Here the question will be asked, How are we to know what circumstances change the nature of the sin? It is difficult to lay down a general rule which will apply to all cases, but in practice the best and safest rule to follow, is to mention all those circumstances which we believe in our conscience very much increase our guilt. As it is not

necessary to confess venial sins, so it is not necessary to mention circumstances which slightly change the nature of the guilt. Unless, therefore, we have reason to believe the particular circumstances of the case either increase or lessen our guilt to a considerable extent, we need not scruple to omit all mention of them.

CHAP. CXV. Of the Manner in which Confession should be made.

AFTER the full explanations which have already been given, it will be sufficient to sum up in a few words all we have to do in order to prepare well for Confession. (1) As we cannot succeed without the help of God's grace, our first act will be to place ourselves in the presence of God, and to beg His assistance in order that we may make a good confession. We should in particular pray for light to know our sins, both as to their number and malice. (2) We must be ready to do all on our part to coöperate with the grace which God will give us. We must therefore diligently exert ourselves to find out all the sins which we have committed, together with such circumstances as we are bound to confess. (3) The sight and recollection of our sins will naturally arouse in our breasts feelings of repentance and sorrow; but as contrition is so necessary, we should earnestly beg it of God and make a diligent use of the means already explained for obtaining it. We should remember that our contrition is to remedy the past and provide for the future. It should move us to make acts of sorrow and detestation for past sin, and a firm purpose of amendment for the time to come.

When the preparation has been well made, the penitent should present himself at the Confessional, and ask the priest's blessing, saying, "Pray, father, give me your blessing." Then the priest will answer, "May the Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips, that thou mayest truly and humbly confess thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." The penitent will then recite the first part of the Confiteor, or "I confess," after which he should begin his confession,

in some such form as this: My last confession was, e.g. a month ago, when I received absolution and performed my penance. Since that time I accuse myself of doing so and so, or of being guilty of such and such sins, so many times.' If the penitent did not receive absolution the last time he made his confession, or if he made a bad confession, it will not do simply to confess the sins which he has committed since that time. His former sins are still upon his soul, and have to be confessed before he can be forgiven. In every case, therefore, the accusation must go back at least to the time when the penitent last made a good confession and received absolution.

It is necessary, therefore, to repeat the former confessions,

1. When absolution has not been given, even though the sins have been confessed with good dispositions.

2. When the penitent reasonably believes that he has confessed his sins without having had any sorrow for them, or purpose of amendment.

3. When he has wilfully left out a sin which he believes he was bound to confess. As a general rule, the penitent should not trouble himself about his past confessions. When he has once received absolution, he should take for granted that the confession has been properly made, unless he has some clear and strong reason to believe either that he had no contrition, or that, through his own fault, he has concealed a sin which he ought to have confessed. Confession, being required by God as a condition for the remission of sin committed after baptism, should be made readily and freely. The penitent should not wait for the priest to ask questions, nor wilfully express himself in such a manner as to render any question necessary. He should do his best to make his confession himself, and not require it to be made for him; nor should he act like those who seem to be examining their conscience all the time they are making their confession. There are some persons who mention a sin and then make a long pause, as if they were trying to recollect something else; when at last they have brought out another sin, they again pause, and so continue to waste their own and their confessor's time. If