Instructions and Devotions for Confession

ie order to prepare yourself to make a good confession, endeavour in the first place, to recommend the matter earnestly to God; and for some days beforehand frequently and fervently be hs divine grace and assistance: and t e Ured in hei Aai aare koea long edh ina ea ee ae of Some Nampa pba time vo may ser: enter into an f Ane ter into, your, we ve KE above from St. Francis de Steel or teen like ae which an be ‘i ee bein done too hastily, ae Examine your conscience with care and diligence, yet without too much anxiety and scrupulosity. Consult the table of sins to help your memory; and reflect in particular on the evil ‘aes you are most subject to, on the places and "ieee you have art your ares rei on the duties o ae how you have discharged them, &c. And in every sin, whet: of commission or omission, strive to call to your remembrance r number of times you have been gui ilty.

When you have duly examined your conscience, don’t think this is all you have to do, in order to be rightly prepared for confession: met eatest part of the work remains still to be done; and that is to take. proper ti d ca hearty sorrow an detes sins, by which you have offe: good a God, with. aleiz rm = withthe grace of God t 1€ -sins for the future,: andes pret C sions that usually bring you to to take proper sive ice:

Nits ariy DEY In order to obtain ‘this hearty. sorrow for your sins, and this firm purpose of a ment, you must earnesth __ whose gift it is; and yo use of such p meditations, as move you to it. the four last i Ghost. Ah! what a comfort it will be to you to ease your conscience of its load: and what a rack and torture sacrilegiously to conceal it!

Let your confession be humble, without seeking excuses for your sins, or flinging the fault on others: let it be entire as to the kind and number of your sins, and such circumstances as quite change the nature of the sin, or notoriously aggravate it. Be modest in your expressions, and take care not to name any third person.

A Prayer

To implore the Divine Assistance, in order to make a good Confession ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, who hast made me out of nothing, and redeemed me by the precious blood of thy only Son; who hast with so much patience borne with me to this day, notwithstanding all my sins and ingratitude; ever calling after me to return to thee from the ways of vanity and iniquity, in which I have been quite wearied out in the pursuit of empty toys and mere shadows; seeking in vain to satisfy my thirst with muddy waters, and my hunger with husks of swine: behold, O most gracious Lord, I now sincerely desire to leave all these my evil ways, to forsake this region of death, where I have so long lost myself, and to return to thee the fountain of life. I desire like the prodigal child to enter seriously into myself, and with the like resolution to arise without delay, and go home to my Father, tho’ I am infinitely unworthy to be called his child, in hopes of meeting with the like reception from his most tender mercy. But, O my God, tho’ I can go astray from thee fast enough of myself, yet I cannot make one step towards returning to thee, unless thy divine grace stir me up and assist me. This grace then I most humbly implore, prostrate in spirit before the throne of thy mercy; I beg it for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son, who died upon the cross for my sins: I know thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but that he be converted and live; I know thy mercies are above all thy works: and I most confidently hope, that as in thy mercy thou hast spared me so long, and hast now given me this desire of returning to thee; so thou wilt finish the work that thou hast begun, and bring me to a perfect reconciliation with thee, I desire now to comply with thy holy institution of the sacrament of penance, I desire to confess my sins with all sincerity to thee, and to thy minister; and therefore I desire to know myself, and to call myself to an account by a diligent examination of my conscience.

But, O my God, how miserably shall I deceive myself, if thou assist me not in this great work by thy heavenly light. O! remove then every veil that hides any of my sins from me, that I may see them all in their true colours, and may sincerely detest them. O! let me not any longer be imposed upon by the enemy, or by my own self-love, so as to mistake vice for virtue, to hide myself from myself, or any way to flatter myself in my sins.

But, O my good God, what will it avail me to know my sins, if thou dost not also give me a hearty sorrow and repentance for them; without this, my sins will be all upon me still, and I shall be still thy enemy and a child of hell. Thou insistest upon a change of heart, without which there can be no reconciliation with thee: and this change of heart none but thou canst give. O give it me bi ae dear Lord, at this time. Give me a lively faith, and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer; teach me to fear thee, and to love thee. Give me for thy mercy’s sake a hearty sorrow for having offended so good a God. Teach me to detest my evil ways; to abhor all my past ingratitudes;; to hate myself now with a perfect hatred for my many treasons against thee. O give me a full and firm resolution of a new life for the future, and unite me to thee with an eternal band of love, which nothing in life or death may ever break.

Grant me also the grace to make an entire and sincere confession of my sins, and to accept of the confusion of it, as a penance justly due to my transgressions. Let not the enemy with all his artifices prevail upon me to pass over any thing through fear or shame: rather let me die, than to consent to so great an evil: let not self-love deceive me, as I fear it has done too often. O grant, that this confession at least may be good; and for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son, who died for me and for all sinners, assist me in every part of my preparation for it, that I may go through every part of it with the same care and diligence, as I should be glad to do, at the hour of my death; that so being perfectly reconciled to thee, I may never offend thee more. O blessed virgin-mother of my Redeemer, mirror of innocence and sanctity, and refuge of penitent sinners, intercede for me through the Passion of thy Son, that I may have the grace to make a good confession. All you blessed angels and saints of God, pray for me a poor miserable sinner, that I may now for good and all turn from my evil ways, that so henceforward my heart may be for ever united with yours in eternal love, and never more go astray from the soveraign good. Amen.

This or the like prayer may be frequently repeated for some days before confession, in order to obtain of God the grace of making a good confession.