But this sorrow, O Lord, this repentance, must be thy free gift; and if it comes 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 misery and ingratitude, and grieve from my heart for having offended thee 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 change of life, and 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.

An Act of Contrition.

O Lord Jesus Christ, lover of our souls, who, for the great love wherewith thou hast loved us, wouldest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; I grieve from the bottom of my heart that I have offended thee, my most loving Father and Redeemer, unto whom all sin is infinitely displeasing; who hast so loved me that thou didst shed thy blood for me, and endure the bitter torments of a most cruel death. O my God! O infinite Goodness! would that I had never offended thee. Pardon me, O Lord Jesus, pardon me, most humbly imploring thy mercy. Have pity upon a sinner for whom thy blood pleads before the face of the Father.

O most merciful and forgiving Lord, for the love of thee I forgive all who have ever offended me. I firmly resolve to forsake and flee from all sins, and to avoid the occasions of them; and to confess, in bitterness of spirit, all those sins which I have committed against thy divine goodness, and to love thee, O my God, for thine own sake, above all things and for ever. grace so to do, O most gracious Lord Jesus.

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Grant me

Aspirations before or after Confession.

My Lord and my God, I sincerely acknowledge myself a vile and wretched sinner, unworthy to appear in thy presence; but do thou have mercy on me, and save me.

Most loving Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am unworthy to be called thy child; make me as one of thy servants, and may I for the future be ever faithful to thee.

It truly grieves me, O my God, to have sinned, and so many times transgressed thy law; but wash me now from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

I detest my sins, O Lord: I abhor my wickedness: I confess my ingratitude, and seek refuge in thy mercy.

From this moment I purpose never more to offend thee: oh, let me suffer all kinds of pain and infamy, nay even death itself, rather than return to my former course of life, and live thy enemy.

O loving Father, assist me by thy grace, that I may bring forth worthy fruits of penance, and not suffer my sins to go unpunished.

Now, O Lord, I begin to live, not trusting in my own strength, or in the resolutions I make, but in the multitude of thy mercies. Perfect, O God, the work which thou hast begun in me. Thou hast given me peace and understanding but, wretched sinner that I am, how ungratefully have I abused all thy gifts. And yet now, with all the tenderness of a loving Father, thou recallest me from sin, and rescuest me from hell and everlasting damnation.

Alas! my soul is full of anguish and confusion at the recollection of the many sins whereby I have offended thee, my merciful Redeemer, made myself a slave to the devil, and provoked thy anger.

Oh, that I had never transgressed thy commandments, nor fallen into such an abyss of misery and calamity! Oh, that I had never sinned! Happy those souls who have preserved their innocence: oh, that I had been so happy!

But now I am resolved, with the help of thy grace, to be more watchful over myself, to amend my failings, and fulfil thy law. Look down on me with the eyes of mercy, O God, and blot out my sins.

Forgive me what is past, and, through thine infinite good

ness, secure me, by thy grace, against all my wonted failings for the time to come.

My sins surpass in number the sands of the sea, and I confess myself, O Lord, unworthy of thy mercy; but thy goodness is above all my offences.

Thou hast declared, O Lord, that there is joy in heaven for the conversion of a sinner; grant me, then, the grace of true repentance, and let heaven rejoice at my amendment.

Thou willest not the death of a sinner, but that he be converted and live; grant me, then, that spiritual life which I need; for behold, O Lord, I sincerely desire to live to thee.

Thou didst come, O dear Redeemer, not to call the just, but sinners, to repentance; behold a miserable sinner here before thee: oh, draw me powerfully to thyself.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquities. Sprinkle me with thy precious blood, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let not thy precious blood, my dear Saviour, be shed for me in vain; but may it now bring forth in me the fruit of sincere repentance, and open to me the way to life everlasting.

thy infinite mercies ?

How great is thy goodness, O Lord, in having so long spared such a worthless servant, and waited with so much patience for his amendment. What return shall I make for Oh, let this mercy be added to the rest, that I may never more offend thee: this single favour I earnestly beg of thee, O Lord, viz. that I may for the future renounce my own way to follow thine.

Help me, O Lord my God, and have compassion on my sinful soul. Amen.

Directions for Confession.

Approach the confessional in a humble and contrite spirit, and, with your head and hands uncovered, kneel down by your confessor. Then, making the sign of the cross, say, Benedicite, or, "Father, give me thy blessing." After he has given the benediction, say the Confiteor, as far as the words, mea culpa;" then say, "Since my last confession, I accuse myself of Here name all the sins which you have recalled to mind since your last confession; and, in confessing them, be sure to observe these rules:

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1. Let your confession be entire; i. e. do not knowingly conceal any one sin, otherwise, so far from obtaining absolution, you do but add to your sins. State the kind of sins you have committed, and, as far as you can, their number; and mention any circumstances which you think aggravate the character of your sins: as, e.g. sins of thought are worse in church than out of it; anger may be felt for a longer or shorter time, or with more or less consent of the will; and so

on.

2. Let your confession be pure. Let every thing be mentioned sincerely and exactly, without any disguise or dissimulation; let certain things be mentioned as certain, doubtful as doubtful. Avoid all excuses for yourself, either direct or indirect; and take the greatest care not to throw blame on any one else, or to mention or point at any third person. Avoid all superfluous words and matter, and every thing which does not directly concern the integrity of the confession. Be as concise as you can, consistently with fulness and candour.

3. Let your confession be humble, remembering that you are, in an especial manner, in the presence of God, from whom, through his priest, you are seeking and expecting pardon. The thought of God at this moment will be your best protection against all false shame, insincere trifling, and affectation. After you have confessed all your sins, according to these rules, say, "For these and all my sins which I have ever at any time committed against God, my neighbour, or myself, I am heartily sorry, for the love of God; I purpose amendment, and seek pardon of God, and penance and absolution from thee, my ghostly Father; Ideo precor, or, "Therefore I beseech, Blessed Mary," &c., to the end of the Confiteor.

Then listen attentively and humbly to the direction and advice of your confessor, and be fully resolved to do whatever he bids you to do, either in the way of penance, or restitution, or reparation, or for the avoiding of sin in future.

After Confession.

1. As soon after confession as you conveniently can, perform your penance, and renew your resolutions of avoiding all sin, and of adopting all the means for so doing, by avoiding the occasions and temptations of sin; and then you may have a perfect confidence, with devout thankfulness, that all your sins, through the mercy of God, are forgiven.

2. Consider how you can amend your life. This will be best done by fixing your attention on one or two of your more prominent defects of character, and directing your chief efforts to overcome these by such means as the following:-1. Conceive a strong desire to overcome these faults, frequently renew your resolution, and examine yourself particularly upon them. 2. When you commit them, punish yourself in some way for it. 3. Endeavour always to have the thought of Christ present in your mind, and direct short prayers to him, especially when you are attacked by temptations, or when you are necessarily exposed to the danger of sinning. 4. Meditate frequently on those subjects most calculated to excite your fears, hopes, and affections, as death and judgment, the love of God, his kindnesses to you, his promises, &c. Be earnest, and persevere, with a good hope of victory, through the grace of Christ.

Prayers after Confession.

I.

Accept, O Lord, I beseech thee, this my confession, and mercifully pardon all my deficiencies, that, according to the greatness of thy mercy, I may be fully and perfectly absolved in heaven; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, &c.

II.

O almighty and most merciful God, who, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, hast vouchsafed once more to receive this prodigal child, after so many times going astray from thee, and to admit him to this sacrament of reconciliation; I give thee thanks with all the powers of my soul for this and all other mercies, graces, and blessings bestowed on me, the most unworthy of all sinners; and prostrating myself at thy sacred feet, I offer myself now to be henceforth for ever thine. Oh! let nothing in life or death ever separate me from thee. I once more renounce with my whole soul all my treasons against thee, and all the abominations and sins of my past life. I renew my promises made in baptism,