Cross, saying: "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.' When the Priest has said, "May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips, that you may sincerely and candidly declare all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen," say the Confiteor as follows:

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"I confess to the Almighty God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the blessed Michael the Archangel, to the blessed St. John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, to all the saints in heaven, and to you, my father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." At these words you should bow your head, and penitently strike your breast; then say how long it is since your last confession ;secondly, whether you were absolved, and have communicated-and thirdly, whether you performed your penance. Then begin your Confession, by accusing your self of any sin which might have been forgotten in your last Confession, or any faults committed in approaching that sacrament. After which, proceed to the accusation of your other sins, beginning by those which you feel most repugnance to mention, as this act of humility and generosity is likely to draw down a blessing from God on the rest of your Confession; you need only preface the first sin with the words, I accuse myself.

When you have accused yourself of all your sins, and submitted any doubts on your mind to the opinion of your director, conclude your Confession, not by saying, "I have no more," as is the ignorant custom of many persons, but in the following form :-" For these, and all the sins of my life, I am most heartily sorry, humbly beg pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you, my father:" then immediately bowing your head, finish the Confiteor as follows :-" Therefore I beseech the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John the Baptist, the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, all the saints in heaven, and you, my father, to pray to God for me." The Priest then says: "May the Almighty God be merciful to you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to everlasting life. May

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the almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution, and full remission of all your sins."

If your confessor judge proper to defer absolution, it would be extremely wrong in you to repine, as a delay is frequently expedient, and, in many cases, absolutely necessary for example, should you unfortunately appear habitually addicted to any mortal sin-unwilling to repair the injuries you have done your neighbour in his property or reputation-habitually inattentive to your duties of obligation-ignorant of the principal mysteries of religion-slothful in examining your conscience-or little penetrated with sorrow for your sins. Under such circumstances, and numberless others, a Priest could not give you absolution without committing sin.-On the contrary, if you be found disposed for absolution, your director will give you penance, which you should receive in the spirit of humility; but if it appear to you impracticable, or such as may notably interfere with your other duties, you may respectfully represent your difficulties. He will then give you notice, that he is about to absolve you. While this sentence of mercy is pronouncing, bow your head in the most respectful manner; imagine yourself at the foot of the Cross, and that the precious Blood of Jesus Christ blots out all your sins. Renew your sorrow for having offended so good a God, and beg of his divine Majesty, that you may rather die than ever offend him by any wilful offence. In these pious sentiments receive the absolution, which is given in the following form:- May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee from every bond of excommunication and interdict, as far as I have power, and thou hast need. I therefore do absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

"May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints; may whatever good thou shalt do, or whatever evil thou shalt suffer, be to thee unto the remission of thy sins, the increase of grace, and the recompense of life everlasting. Amen.

When you leave the confessional, do not disturb your mind by examining whether you have confessed well,

or have forgotten any of your sins, but rest assured, that if you made your Confession with sincerity and the other requisite dispositions, you are, according to the express decision of the Council of Trent, fully absolved from every sin which you may have omitted through forgetfulness, even though it were mortal.-Retire with recollection and respect to some quiet place, and there, indulging for some time the feelings of gratitude and joy which should animate your heart, return most sincere thanks to your merciful and indulgent Father. In doing so, you need not immediately confine yourself to any particular form of prayer; you cannot fail to rejoice, if you have any conception of the greatness of the blessing you have received, in being reconciled to God; the uneasiness and remorse you experienced under the weight of your sins, must make you value the peace and delight of a good conscience, so that you cannot want words to express your gratitude. What would you say to a parent, whom you had grievously offended, but who had at length forgiven and forgotten your unnatural ingratitude? -How would you thank a friend, who had not only delivered you from death, but had even sacrificed his own life for your ransom? God is that parent, who has just pardoned you; he is that friend, who has redeemed you from eternal death;-thank him then, with all your heart and soul, and afterwards devoutly repeat the following

acts.

Prayers after Confession.

O God of infinite goodness! who hast shewn such mercy to a miserable sinner! O most indulgent Father! who hast received once more thy prodigal child, how shall I thank thee? how shall

testify the joy and gratitude that fill my heart? O that I could worthily thank thee, my good God! and acknowledge as I ought, that infinite mercy which forgiveth all my iniquities, which healeth all my diseases. Ps. cii. 3. O! that I could now be heard all over the world, I would publish to all sinners, that thou art a God compassionate and merciful, who wilt not always be angry, nor threa

ten for ever. Ibid. 8, 9. I would invite all who ever had the misfortune of offending thee, to return with their whole hearts, that they may enjoy with me the bliss of having been received into thy grace and favour. Thou wouldst receive them no less mercifully than thou receivedst me; for as a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him. Ibid. 13. My God, thou hast broken the bonds of my sins; thou hast blotted out, with thy own precious blood, the sentence of eternal death which stood against me; thou hast snatched me almost from the brink of hell, and delivered me from the power of the devil, who has now no claim to my soul: as far as the east is from the west, so far hast thou removed my iniquities from me, (Ib. 12.) and by the mouth of thy minister thou hast desired the most unworthy of all sinners to "Go in peace." O divine Jesus! I have obeyed thy command, my heart rejoices, my soul is truly at peace, because I hope I am no longer thy enemy; because thou hast received me with mercy and forgiveness, and satisfied the first and only desire of my heart. But, Lord! hast thou not said, that those to whom much has been forgiven, should love thee much? To whom hast thou ever remitted such ingratitude as mine ?— who had ever so little claim on thy compassion, yet, at the same time, who ever experienced more of thy mercy and goodness? O! let me then love thee, at least, more than those who offended thee less, and to whom less was remitted; let me love thee unceasingly, and sincerely begin, from this happy day, to serve thee alone, and love thee above created things. O most bountiful Redeemer! so worthy of my whole heart, though thou hast mercifully forgiven me, yet I will never pardon myself; -though I firmly trust thou hast forgotten my iniquities, yet I will never forget them, but grieve over them to the last moment of my life.

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more mercy and tenderness I have experienced from thee, the more reason I have to deplore my misfortune in having ever offended so good a God. This day shall be the beginning of my perfect conversion from this moment forward, the recollec tion of my past ingratitude and thy ineffable goodness shall be ever present to my mind, and, with the assistance of thy grace, shall be a double motive for detesting sin, and faithfully observing my resolutions, which I fervently renew, and once more present to thy divine Majesty. Do not refuse to receive, O my God! the remainder of my life. I am heartily sorry for the years I have misspent; they have gone down as a shadow; they have passed away without fruit; but as I cannot recal them, I will at least think of them in the bitterness of my soul. O! let the ardour with which I pursued a life of sin, be in future applied to thy service, that where sin hath abounded, thy divine grace may be still more abundaut. Let the change in my conduct be visible to all, and may I henceforward edify more than I have hitherto scandalized.

O DIVINE Lord! vouchsafe graciously to remember thy holy thoughts from all eternity, and chiefly that tender design of becoming man for the redemption of the world. Pardon me, through the merits of these, all my vain and evil imaginations, as well as the bad thoughts I may have excited in others.

O most compassionate Jesus! I, a wretched sinner, dare to present thee all the words of salvation which have fallen from thy sacred lips, and which others have uttered, or shall hereafter utter to the glory of thy name; and I earnestly beseech thee, through these expressions, full of glory to God, and peace to men, to forgive whatever I have said offensive to thy divine Majesty, or what