this proceeds from natural timidity, which they cannot overcome, they should be encouraged with patience and charity; but if it comes from their own fault, because they have taken no sufficient pains to recollect their sins, they should be taught that the examination of conscience and the act of contrition belong to the preparation, and should be made before they present themselves to the priest.

When the penitent has made a full and candid accusation of all that he can remember, he should add, “For these and all my other sins, which I cannot now remember, I am heartily sorry; I purpose amendment for the future, I most humbly ask pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you, my ghostly Father." After this he should recite the second part of the Confiteor, and as soon as he has finished he should listen with silence and docility to the counsels which are addressed to him. He should look on his confessor, in the tribunal of penance, as the representative of Jesus Christ, and therefore he should never address him by his name, but call him 'Father,' much less should he dispute with him, or set up his own judgment above that of his confessor. If it be clear that the confessor has misunderstood something which has been said, or if he propose a remedy or give a penance, which circumstances render impossible in the particular case, the penitent should explain himself with brevity and simplicity, but he should not forget that he kneels at the feet of the priest as one who is guilty before his judge. He should submit implicitly to the judgment of his confessor, as to the expediency or necessity of giving or refusing absolution. For though the priest is appointed judge in the tribunal of penance, with power to acquit or condemn, he cannot give or withhold absolution at his pleasure, but is guided by principles which determine how he is to deal with his penitent. If he believe the penitent to be well disposed, and there is no special reason for thinking a delay will produce greater good, he is bound to give absolution immediately. If, however, he has reason to doubt of the disposition of the penitent, or if he has clear and strong grounds to hope a delay will do good, he should defer absolution. Finally, if it be clear the penitent is not

in proper dispositions,-if, for instance, he refuse to pardon an injury, or to restore ill-gotten goods,-the confessor is bound to deny absolution. In all these cases it is the duty of the penitent to submit; and to complain when absolution is deferred or denied, would generally be a clear sign that the proper dispositions were wanting.

CHAP. CXVI. On Satisfaction.

THE word 'satisfaction' is sometimes used to signify the restitution which is necessary in the case of sins of injustice, or the reparation of our neighbour's honour or good name unjustly taken away by sins of detraction, calumny, or in any other way. When, however, satisfaction is spoken of as a part of the Sacrament of Penance, it means the faithful performance of the penance enjoined by the priest. As the sins of the penitent are remitted when the absolution is pronounced by the priest, it is evident that the actual performance of the penance is not necessary for the forgiveness of sins. All that is required for the validity of the sacrament, is that the penitent should accept it when given, and have the intention of fulfilling it. The actual performance of the penance, however, is necessary for the integrity or completeness of the sacrament; so that if the penitent were to change his mind after confession, or neglect to do his penance, his past sins would still be forgiven, but he would commit a new sin. To understand the necessity of making satisfaction, or of doing penance for our sins, we must bear in mind that every sin is followed by two consequences; 1st, the guilt or stain which it leaves on the soul, and 2dly, the debt of punishment or satisfaction, which must be offered to God to atone for the injury or offence offered to Him by sin. If the guilt of the sin be grievous, the punishment which it deserves is eternal, while in smaller sins the punishment is only temporal. The guilt of sin is blotted out by sincere repentance, joined in the case of mortal sin with the actual reception, or at least the desire, of the Sacrament of Penance. When God pardons the sin, He always remits

the eternal punishment due to mortal sin, and at least a part of the temporal punishment due to the smaller sins of which we repent. But in place of the eternal punishment due to mortal sin, He generally requires some temporal chastisement or satisfaction which must be made by our penitential works in this life, or which will be expiated hereafter in purgatory. Our dispositions may be so perfect as to move God to remit at the same time both the guilt and the entire debt of punishment due to sin; but this is not usually the case. In the same sort of way as, when a person has been suffering from a severe illness, the body is left for a time weak and delicate, even after the cure has been effected, so, as a rule, there remains a debt of satisfaction to be made to God after our sins have been forgiven. We have instances of the remission of the guilt. while a part of the temporal punishment was left, in Moses, who was pardoned his sin, but yet in punishment was not allowed to enter the promised land; and in David, who was assured on the part of God by the prophet Nathan that his sins had been forgiven; nevertheless a severe punishment was inflicted upon him, on account of these very sins, which were already forgiven (3 Kings xii. 13, 14).

In what way, then, is this debt of temporal punishment cancelled? As every sin leaves behind it a dark stain of guilt and a debt of punishment, so our virtuous actions produce two opposite good effects. The first of these is called merit, and the latter satisfaction. By merit we mean a title to a reward, and by satisfaction something which atones for a past fault. Thus if a child who has been undutiful to his parents is sorry for his faults, and does all he can to please them, by the promptness and diligence with which he obeys their wishes, he not only becomes more pleasing to them and more deserving of a reward, but he at the same time compensates or makes satisfaction for his former misconduct. So is it in our dealings with God. Our good works not only render us more pleasing in His sight, and gain for us a title to a reward in heaven, but they also help to cancel the debt of punishment due to our sins. Our merit, or title to a reward, belongs to ourselves alone and cannot benefit others,

but our satisfactions may be applied to others, or may help to enrich the treasury of the Church. We cannot suppose that the satisfactory merits of the saints, after they have fully atoned to God for the small sins which they have committed, are lost. These satisfactions, therefore, are applied according to the pious intention of those who gain them, or they are applied for the benefit of the Church in general. It is from the accumulated stores of satisfactory merit derived from the good works of the saints, of the Blessed Virgin, and, above all, of Jesus Christ Himself, that the treasury of the Church is formed, from which, as we shall presently see, she dispenses the rich abundance of holy indulgences. We have now cleared the way to answer the question which was proposed, viz. How may we cancel the debt of temporal punishment due to our sins?

1. By the faithful performance of the penance enjoined by the priest in confession. The good works which are imposed by the confessor in the Sacrament of Penance are calculated by their own nature, as is shown by the explanation already given, to satisfy for the punishment due to sin; but by virtue of the power of the keys they are also raised to a sacramental efficacy. The performance of the penance will therefore remit a much larger share of the temporal punishment, than the same good work would do if it were not enjoined in the Sacrament of Penance.

2. We may also discharge our debt by offering for this intention the satisfactory merit of our good works. Thus the three eminent good works, prayer, fasting, and alms-deeds, are specially efficacious for this purpose; and under the name of prayer are included all acts of piety and religion, as under the head of fasting are included all acts of mortification, whether they consist of self-imposed penances, or whether they are the sufferings and reverses of this life patiently endured as a punishment for our sins. So, too, under the term "alms-deeds" all acts of charity, whether spiritual or corporal, are comprised.

3. The third way by which the temporal punishment due to sin is removed is by gaining indulgences. The importance of this subject, however, calls for a more detailed explanation of it.

CHAP. CXVII. On Indulgences.

In order to understand the nature and meaning of indulgences, we must carefully bear in mind what has been already said respecting the twofold consequences of sin, viz. guilt and punishment. The guilt, as already explained, may be removed, while a portion of the temporal punishment yet remains to be expiated in this life, or to be exacted hereafter in purgatory. We must also bear in mind the satisfactory merit which belongs to our good works, and that the superabundant satisfactions of the saints, of the Blessed Virgin, and above all of Christ, form a rich treasure, which is intrusted to the keeping and dispensation of the Church.

In the words of the Catechism, an indulgence is defined, "a remission of the temporal punishment which often remains due to sin after its guilt has been remitted." It is not, then, in any sense a pardon of the guilt of sin, whether past, present, or future, but it always supposes that the guilt has been already removed, before its benefit can be applied to the soul. In virtue of the power of the keys given to the Church, and of the promise that whatever she should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and that whatever she should loose upon earth should be loosed also in heaven, the Church possesses power from our Lord to apply to her children the satisfactions of Christ and of His saints, and so to cancel the debt of temporal punishment which they have deserved. We have an example of the exercise of this power recorded by St. Paul. One among the Corinthians had been guilty of a very great sin, and St. Paul imposed a very severe penance upon him (1 Cor. v. 1-6); but afterwards, at the intercession of the faithful, and owing to the great contrition of the penitent, the Apostle, in the name of Christ, released him from the penalty which he had imposed. "What I have pardoned, if I have pardoned any thing, for your sakes have I done it in the person of Christ" (2 Cor. ii. 10). That is to say, if the sincere sorrow and the penitential exercises of the incestuous Corinthian have left any thing to ex