Letters 132–134

Letter 132

flnjttet; 80 to tlie JFumre*

•fi WISH you all the benefit you are seeking in retreat; above all, that you may find rest in a simple line of conduct, without looking forward anxiously to the future. That future is in God's Hands, not yours; God will rule it according to your need. But if you seek to forecast it in your own wisdom, you will gain nothing but anxiety and anticipation of inevitable trouble. Try only to make use of each day; each day brings its own good and evil, and sometimes what seems evil becomes good if we leave it to God, and do not forestall Him in our impatience.

Be sure that God will grant you whatever lime you need to attain to Him. . Perhaps He may not give you as much as you would like. for your own plans, or to please yourself under the pretext of seeking perfection, but you will find that neither time nor opportunity for renunciation of self and self-pleasing will be lacking. All other lime is lost, however well spent it may seem. Be assured that you will find all such matters adapted to your real needs. In proportion as God disconcerts your own inclinations He will uphold your weakness. Do not be afraid, leave all to Him; only by a quiet, pleasant, well-regulated system of occupation avert melaur choly and ennui, which are the most dangerous temptation to your natural disposition. You will always find freedom in God so long as you do not give way to the fancy that you have lost your liberty.

Letter 133

laDn Ditrctlom

The best things are often the most spoilt, because their abuse is worse than that of what is less good. And this accounts for direction being so much run down. The world looks upon it as the art of leading weak minds, and using them for self-interested purposes. The director is supposed to be a man who makes use of religion to insinuate himself, to govern, to satisfy his own ambition; and where the other sex is concerned, direction is often suspected of great trifling and unworthiness. So many people who have neither been trained nor dtfly selected meddle with the direction of soulS) that we cannot wonder if irregularities and unedifying events sometimes occur.

Nevertheless, it is equally true that amid such deplorable occurrences the office of leading souls to God is that ministry of life which was committed by our Lord Jesus Christ to His Apostles; and therefore direction is a sacred office which must not be despised, although it may be lowered and dishonoured by men who are unworthy of so great trust. Surely it were folly to despise a diamond because it is found sticking in a heap of dirt! Jesus Christ has done nothing without a purpose. He has set pastors over His flock, and they should direct it; for the pastor's duty is to lead the sheep, to know them each individually (*' He calleth. . . by name" 0> so our Lord tells us, to be quicksighted

' John X. 3. "■— ■! Ml ■ II ■■ ■ ■ I ■ T to their wants, to study their diseases, bear with their infirmities, find out the fitting remedies; to seek those that go astray, and carry them on his shoulders back to the fold; to lead the sound sheep to good pastures, and protect them from the ravening wolf. This is the part of the true director; and no other save the natural pastor would be needed if these pastors, overwhelmed with the number of their fiocks, and sometimes themselves ill adapted to their pastoral work, did not often lack the time, zeal, and experience necessary to lead souls on to evangelical perfection. Some one of these three things is often wanting among the natural pastors, and therefore we are permitted to choose some saintly priest to take up the pastor's work and authority, according as he may be most suited to carry out the work of God*s ministry on behalf of each one of us. It is a supplement to the deficiency of pastoral work.

. This seems to me the true idea of direction; and such a director, says S. Francis de Sales, ought to be chosen frpm out a thousand — nay, from out ten thousand! He should be wise, enlightened, selfrestrained, experienced, detached frpm earthly things, incapable of flattery, clear of the slightest suspicion as to doctrine or precept, upright, .firm, indifferent to the world and its dazzling greatness — in a word, so entirely a man of God, as to seek Him only in all his counsels. You will say it is easier to describe such a man than to find him! True, but such are to be found if they are rightly sought. I will tell you how to seek him. j

First of all, give due heed to a man's public

DIRECTION 269 character, in order to avoid such as are undesirable. I do not mean that you should seek out men who are in fashion, or sought after in the great world, but that you should avoid those who are generally disapproved, or looked upon as questionable by competent people. Both good and bad reputations/ which are very general, have for the most part some foundation. As to men who have a certain fashion* able name, it is absurd to seek them; it is merely carrying worldliness and vanity into the most weighty religious matters, seeking to be conspicuous, to be classed among people of consequence, to make good connections — in short, it is a bit of hypocritical vanity which separates a man from God, and extinguishes the Spirit of Grace. Do you seek a director who has nothing to do with the world, and is not sought of it, and who, so far from forwarding you in it, will lead you from it

With this view find out the simplest, most solid men, those least given to show, whose own conduct gives reason to suppose that their counsellors are wise; men who make so good a use of direction that you may fairly believe their choice has been good, and that they can help you to find *hat you want. It is well to see the director you think of choosing several times, and make trial of consulting him, to find out whether you can speak to him with all necessary freedom, and whether you are likely to get what you want from him. You should see to this before deciding, so as not to be exposed to a change afterwards. Beware of choosing a director in order to please others, out of any policy, or by mere accidental, circumstances — from any other tfO SPIRtTlML LETTERS reason, in short, save because you have f6und a Vnxc man of God. A choice made from worldly motives might imperil your salvation. If any one has unhappily fallen into such an error, his only remedy is to stop short bravely, and set his conscience free to seek the help he needs elsewhere

But, you will say, what is the good of all these investigations in the case of a person >vho is not competent to judge of a director's capacity? I grant that the generality of people are scarcelycapable of exercising so much discernment, and that we might despair of their making a good choice if ive trusted solely to their natural powers; but God's Goodness supplies that which is wanting to man's capacity in what concerns a nearer approach to Himsel£ When you have given yourself up to His fatherly guidance, follow what He will put into your heart in all simplicity. A good intention, a simple heart, disinterestedness and freedom from sdf-will, a fear of falling into hands not best fitted for carrying out God's Will in you, and, lastly, trust in His Grace, will be your guides; He will see your heart, and will satisfy it according to your faith. Try only to seek a director with a view to learn entire selfmortification, and to put away self entii*ely. .God, Who never fails those who are true of heart, will grant your heart's desire, and will send the Angel Raphael to you. Mind, I am not counting on your wisdom, but on God. Pray continually, humble yourself, set aside all that has a semblance of selfseeking in it; let there be nothing to make you un\yorthy of the help you crave. Put away what- 9yer might hinder your docility to. the guide you

DIRECTION 271 seek, and he will not be denied you; I cannot say how he will come, but he will come. A conversation, a chance, some mere trifle will open your eyes, and you will perceive the man you want.

He will have his faults, like any other man — natural defects, which may repulse you, and tempt yqu to disobedience; but we should have to give up all obedience to men if we are to wait till they are perfect. Moreover, he will be subject to imperfections in the matter of grace, whiqh will be still more trying; but they will do no harm, provided he — the director — does not foster them by resisting the Spirit of Grace. And if his intentions were to cease to be pure and upright, God would not suffer him to go on directing simple, recollected ^uls which had given themselves up in good faith to his guidance. As to the trifling imperfections which are permitted to linger about the holiest directors for their own humiliation, it is very important not to take scandal at them. They are often very useful, for they make a man gentle, lowly, meek, able to sympathise, by reason of his own experience, with the foibles of those he directs, patient in awaiting the slow workings of grace, attentive in watching for God^s opportunities, incapable of being taken by surprise when he encounters failings, and, Anally, moderate in his zeal. It was through his wicked denial of our Lord, say tKe Fathers, that S. Peter became fit to be the foremost Apostle, and to feel for the infirmities of each member of his flock. As to perfection in a director, you have doubtless a right to look (or it, but it is not possible to compare men's perfcc-

27 tions, or to judge of their real inner life; so that you must bo guided by the main outward tokens visible, such as detachment, a retired life, steady perseverance in duty, patience, gentleness, even temper, the absence of all luxury and frivolity, stedfastness in good, without harshness or excess, experience in prayer and the interior life, and, lastly, a certain aptness to give necessary help to those who seek it without lapsing into useless ii»tercourse. There should be nothing save what is serious, modest, and edifying in interviews which Simply concern eternal life. The director loses his authority, lowers his ministry, becomes unworthy of it, and does- mortal harm to souls, if he is not serious and reserved in his demeanour. Not that such a reserve hinders that expansion of heart, fatherly kindness, and ease which are necessary to attract souls, for genuine seriousness is simple, kindly, considerate, and even cheerful; it is far removed from a harsh, affected severity which repels men. But, unfortunately, lax, self-indulgent people, especially women, are apt to suppose that whatever is serious and grave must be cold and hard; and they will fancy that they are not properly attended to if they are not allowed to say a hundred useless things before coming to the real point In this way they are disgusted with the directors who would help them most, and rather take to such as are willing to waste time over theiiL Oh, if all such people would but consider how precious time is to a priest who is bound to pray for himself and the whole Church, to meditate deeply on God's Law, and to work incessantly to win sinful souls.

DIRECTION 273 they would fear to waste such valuable time in superfluous talk I

You ought to talk to God's minister in a simple, straightforward, accurate, concise way, remembering how many claims he has upon his time. It is just because people are neither simple nor humble that they do not go straight to their point, but beat about so lengthily before coming to the real question. Moreover, many persons really aim more at a merely comfortable intercourse than at a vigorous, straightforward direction which will help them to find God through self-denial.

If people only sought the counsels of perfection, direction would not take-up much time. We do not want a great many consultations^ when it is only a question of silence, obedience, endurance, retirement, patient forbearance towards others without expecting the same for ourselves, resistance to inclination and habit, conformity to God's designs for us, setting aside jealousy and touchiness. Upright souls are content to say little and do much. There is still less room for much consultation in Community life, where everything is regulated by constitutions, daily rules, and the orders of Superiors. God's Will is in the heart; and if Superiors make mistakes, or are partial, their orders, however damaging to themselves, will not fail to be good for us, and their very failings sometimes help us more than their virtues to set at nought our own self-will. God turns everything to the sanctification of His children when they lean upon Him with pure hearts.

Further, I would say that when the Superiors of a Community have the requisite qualities,

/Wi. 5/. L. -/.] S experience and holiness, to guide others, their guidance is preferable to that which comes from without; and in like manner, when other thing^s are equal, the pastor is preferable to a stranger. It is a mistake to surround direction with so much mystery. It is practically counsel taken in order to help forward a person's perfection. A Superior who has acquired the habit of self-mortification, and has 'gained experience, will see more readily what needs correction, what are the natural habits and disposition of an inferior, what will help him most in his daily course, than one from without who caiinot watch his ordinary life, and only knows him through the medium of his own representations. . \ Some may say, with reference to religion. What need is there for a director, when the Rule is a written direction, and one's will has been already surrendered to one's Superiors? To this I answer that Superiors cannot always give as much attention as your interior life may claim, while it is. all-imiportant that you should not direct yourself, for you would be blind in any matter which concerns youi* own interest, or where some disguised passion influences you. You do not know what the source is of troubles which disgust you with your duties and make you slothful in your calling; you want to be upheld and encouraged under a trial which bears you down; you are exposed to trying, perilous temptation: well, in all such cases nothing is more dangerous than to listen only to your own heart's promptings, and you need a man of God who will take the place of pastor, and who will give diligence in guiding you amid all these precipices. Who wiU

DIRECTION 275 guide and uphold yoii? Yourself? But it is yotf yourself who need to be guided, who are tempted; weak, blind, disheartened, at war with yourself.. Your sharpest temptations come from self; you are your own worst enemy. You need some one who is not sufTerLng from your faults or passions or selfwilled leanings, some one from without, to help yoif to get free; some one whq will be as earnest in striving to correct your faults as you often are tb palliate and condone them. ^

Again, prayer — which is the channel of all grace, and the means of union with God — is exposed to all manner of deceptions and illusions unless you are' directed by some one who is experienced in God's Ways. . The very remedy which is intended to" heal all yojur sickness may be turned to deadly poison. You need a gentle, temperate direction, but one which is stedfast and Rrm, which will drag you away from your passions, humble your mind, take away your self-conceit and self-reliance, undeceive' your high ideas.of your own wisdom, and hinder you from seeking in God's Gifts that which can be found in Himself only. So far from thinking such help unnecessary, you may well cry out, **What can I do without such an one? But where is lie to be found? is there such help on earth for nle? " God will find him for you, if you deserve it by the sincerity of your intentions.

My God, if I dared nvurmur, the only thing of >yhich I could complain would be that Thou dost oot send more such guides into Thy Church, There are so many who have a show of godliness withoutreal knowledge or holiness! so many who possess __. - - ■-,-,. ^ merely a dull dry learning, but are incapable of 1 understanding Thy Ways, and whom therefore Thou justly rejected! I thank Thee, Lord, for that Thou dost hide the mysteries of Thy Grace from such men, who are great in their own eyes, while Thou revealest them to the meek and lowly. There are many learned and pious men whose piety is un^^ practical, and who remain without, never having been drawn within the courts of Thy Sanctuary. It is sad to think ho>Y such directors, in spite of good intentions, hinder and keep back souls, which they only narrow, whereas God's Holy Spirit seeks to enlarge them! Others, again, have only experience without learning; or, more correctly, they fancy that they have experience without really possessing it. How full of danger all these things are! Where, then, O God, are the bright shining lamps fixed in Thy House to enlighten and kindle Thy children? Sadly few they are in number; where shall we find them? Blessed are those that find them; let all such thank Thee, and make good use of their advantage. Honest, straightforward, simple souls, where are ye? tell me where to find you, and I shall know where good directors are to be found, for God will give them to such as you; you will draw them forth by your prayers. God will raise them up expressly to carry out His plans for you, because you have given yourselves up freely to His Grace. Other men will go on with insufficient help; they deserve no better, for the Heavenly Father gives to each one of His children in proportion to the measure of his faith and hearty trust in God.

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Letter 134

flDit JPrequent Commmtion.

I AM in nowise surprised, sir, to learn from your letter that certain persons are scandalised at seeing you communicate almost daily. Such people form their opinion of your frequent communions solely upon certain preconceived ideas of the penitential discipline of the early Church. But in this case it is not a question of men guilty of mortal sin, who must necessarily submit to the discipline of repentance before communicating; it is a question of the faithful Christian, whose conscience seems to be clean, who leads a regular life, is sincerely devout, and submissive to the direction of an experienced spiritual guide. This Christian is weak, but he is conscious of his own weakness, and has recourse to the Heavenly Food for strength; he is full of imperfections, but he mourns over them, and strives diligently to correct them. I have no hesitation in saying that a wise director, to whom he is obedient in all simplicity, may and ought to permit such a man to communicate almost daily. My reasons are as follows:^—

I. The Fathers teach us that the Eucharist is that daily bread for which we ask in the Lord's Prayer. Jesus Christ gives Himself to us beneath the form of bread, the natural food of man, in order to associate us with His Risen and Glorious Body; and thus the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, interpreted by Catholic tradition, invites us to daily communiQn. Indeed, the Fathers apply to the

«78 SPIRITUAL LlSTl'ERS

Eucharist that parable in which our Lord describes the king who, having made ready his feast, and hearing the empty excuses of his invited guests, sends forth first to the " streets and lanes," and then to the "highways and hedges," to seek men, who are to be ^ compelled to come in, that the house may be filled.*' '

In primitive times this spirit of the original instil lution was followed. The first faithful "continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, arid in breaking of bread and in prayers." ** All that believed were together," and " they, continuing" PAir.Y with one accord in the temple, and breaking' bread ixorci house to house," ' etc. ; by which " fellowship in the breaking of bread," we learn from tradition, was meant participation in the Eucharist. Thus we gather that those faithful who led a Christian life were daily fed with the heavenly bread in one place or another. S. Paiil confirms this fact: "When ye come together in one place," he says, "this is not to eat the Lord's Supper." ' The "coming together" was for that purpose, and the Apostle, rebuking the Corinthians for neglect of the "Lord's Supper*'. amid the disorderly habits into which they had lapsed, indicates that their assembly had lost its purpose through irreverent use of that holy food. According to the Apostle's explanation pf the institution, the "coming together" was "to eat the Lord's Supper: " the two things formed a whole.

In those early times three things were never separated, namely, the gathering together, the

• Liike xiv. 23. ' Acts il. 4a. 3 i Cor. xi. aa

FkEQUENT Communion 279

mystic feast, and the love-feast following, called Agafie, All the faithful tnet together, all communicated, and all ate in common after the Comimunion. If your critics appeal to antiquity, by all means, here it is. What can be more primitive or purer testimony than the Acts of the Apostles and S. Paul's Epistles?

Such critics may reply that these early Christians were saints. Granted. The word saint means a man called out from among sinners, and in this sense all good men are saints, inasmuch as they are separated by God's sanctifying grace from His enemies. But without pretending to put Christians of our day on the same level with those of the early Church, I cannot but observe that while the Apostles apply the word saint to the faithful of that period, they also rebuke them for many failings^ such as jealousy, partiality, dissension, etc' We find labourers in the vineyard of the Gospel, such as Demas, forsaking it " for love of the present world; " and you need only turn to S. Cyprian's writings to ascertain that the early faithful fell into so much laxity and such grievous disorder, that it needed persecution to revive their faith. S; Cyprian says that long repose had corrupted their traditionary discipline, until heavenly. correction revived their drooping, dormant faith. "Every one was absorbed in increasing his patrimony, and, forgetting alike what was the rule of the faithful in the Apostles' times, and ought always to be their rule, they were greedily intent on heaping up riches; yhere was no more zeal among the pastors, nor fervent belifcf among those ministering at the altars,

28o no mercy in good works, no discipline in manners. The men disfigured their beards, and the women painted their faces; God's handiwork was disguised. The hearts of the simple were led astray by wiles, and the brethren were deluded by evil stratagiem; unholy marriages were contracted with unbelievers, and the members of Christ offered to idols. False witriess and perjury prevailed; authorities were set at nought, and men slandered one another pitilessly, amid their implacable hatred. Many Bishops, who should have upheld the people by their teaching and example, despised the Lord's ministry committed to them, and were involved in secular callings, forsaking their pulpits and flocks to wander in foreign countries in pursuit of merchants' gain. Needy members of the Church were left in want while they were amassing riches; by fraud and lying they usurped other men's goods, and indulged in frightful usury. At the first appearance of the enemy a large proportion of brethren betrayed their faith, not carried away by the torrent of persecution, but voluntarily lapsing."*

Again, we need only read what S. Augustine says to his catechumens, to prepare them for finding maiiy whose lives are slack among professing Christians. He goes so far as to sny that a man must himself be good in order to find out who in the Church is good. Nor can we forget that among the faithful at Corinth there were some who fell into grievous faults even at the Sacred Feast itself, so that S. Paul exclaims, " This is not to eat the Lord's Supper. . . . Despise ye the house of

God? . . . Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. . . . For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." ' So even the primitive Christians, even those who were under apostolic guidance, were by no means free from imperfection; yet they " continued daily in breaking of bread," etc. Surely the faithful of our time may follow them in daily breaking of bread, so long as they are humble and earnest in striving to correct their faults.

II. The Canons attributed to the Apostles are doubtless very ancient, and contain the ordinary discipline of primitive times. The IXth Canon says that " if a clerk, having offered his oblation with others, does not communicate, he shall state his reasons, so that, if valid, they may be accepted; if not, he shall be excluded from Communion, as giving cause for scandal to the people." So we see that in early times it was a scandal for a clerk to make his offering without communicating, and that such scandal was punished by privation of the Sacrament.

The Xth Canon says that " all the faithful who come to Church, hear Holy Scripture, but do not remain for prayer or communicate, shall be deprived of Communion (that is, be excommunicated), because they are a source of scandal to the Church."

So you see the scandal given, either by clerk or layman, by offering his oblation without partaking, was so" great that both were excommunicated. We see by this how rare and extraordinary a thing it was for any of the faithful to assist at the Divine

' I Cor. xL -■ ■ — ^1^— M II I Ml ■ I ■ ■ ■ ■! ■ ■— — ■ ■■ I ■ ■ ■ ■ » I ■ ■ — ■ ■■ , _ — «-

Mysteries without communicating, and that when such did occur, that he was bound to.remove the scandal by giving his reasons for avoiding^ Communion.

III. If we appeal to antiquity, let us hear what S. Justin says, a martyr almost contemporary with the Apostles. " When he who presides has made the. thanksgiving, and all the people have gladly joined with him, confirming what has been done with their prayers, those whom we call deacons and ministers distribute to all present the bread and wine which were the matter of thanksgiving, so that all may partake. This food we call the Eucharist, and none other may partake of it. . . . We do not take it as common food or drink. But even as our Lord Jesus, made Flesh by the Word of God, took to Himself human flesh and blood for love of us, so we have learnt that this food over which the thanksgiving has been spoken, in order that it may ineffably feed our flesh and blood, is the Flesh and Blood of the Incarnate Jesus. . . . On the day called after the sun, all who are in town or country assemble in one place. . . . Together we rise to pray* Prayers ended, we offer bread, wine, and water. All those who are present share in the distribution and communication of those things which were the matter of thanksgiving, and then they are sent to the absent by the hands of the deacons."

. It is essential to observe that, according to this trustworthy description, the Eucharist was not only distributed to each of the faithful present, but further, it was sent by the deacons to such as were absent.

FTiEQUENT COMMUKION ^83

€ * — ^ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■1 ■■ ■ ■ ,1, - ■ , . I. ,. ■ ., ^.. . , ■

So far were they in those days from thinking that any of the faithful present ought to be deprived of k, or that even those who were unavoidably absent ought to undei'go so hard and dangerous a privation on the day of solemn assembly. It is true that S. Justin only speaks of the Sunday gathering together; but at that time the Christians were often unable, owing to persecution, to meet together daily, and we learn from TertuUian that after receiving the Eucharist from the hands of their ministers 6n (h^ day of assembly, each one kept the consecrated bread at home, and made his fasting Communion privately.

IV. Tertuilian, commenting on the words "Give us this day our daily bread," says: " In the Bread is understood H is Body — This is My Body, Wherefore in praying for daily bread we pray to be per-t petually in Christ, and undivided from His Body."* This, then, is a daily prayer for the Holy Eucharist as our food for each day. Again, Tertuilian, warning his wife against second marriage with a heathenj says: " The more thou shalt take care to hide, the more suspected wilt thou be, the more needful to guard against heathen curiosity. Wilt thou escape Ijotice when thou signest thy bed, thy body? . . . when thou risest in the night to pray? and wilt thou not be thought to be working somewhat of sorcery? Will not thy husband know what thou tastest in secret before all food.'* and if he knoweth it to be bread, will he not believe it to be that which it is reported? " "

' S. Cyprian's Trealises^ De Orat. vi. : Library cf the Fathers, - Tertuj.lian, De Uxor, ii. 5: Library of the Fathers, You see it is not here a question of a rare act, which the woman could easily conceal from her heathen husband, but, on the contrary, of a Communion almost as frequent as signing the Cross, or lying down to sleep, or rising in the night to pray. It is a question of bread which the woman would take every day, before the other food which she would never omit to take. Such was the secret domestic Communion of those who were unable to meet in the place of assembly. The same Father says that a Christian woman, not married to a heathen, is able to partake in the sacrifice without scruple, and is not hindered in her daily duty (*' diligentia quotidiana "). So that he expects even a woman who is very far from perfection, having united herself to an idolater, to seek daily Communion.

Elsewhere TertuUian speaks of every one communicating on the " days of stations; " ' and again: " The Sacrament of the Eucharist, commanded by the Lord at the time of supper, and to all, we receive! at our meetings before daybreak, and from the hands of no others than the heads of the Church.'* ^ You see that the Communion was general, like the AgiPp^Sj for all except those actually undergoing penance.

V. S. Cyprian follows in the same line. " This bread," he says, " we pray may be given us day by day, lest we who are in Christ, and who daily receive the Eucharist for food of salvation, should by the admission of any grievous crime, and our

' De Orat. xix. The Wednesday and Friday of each week.

FREQUENT COMMUNION 285 therefore being shut out from Communion, and forbidden the heavenly bread, be separated from the Body of Christ. . . . Seeing that Christ says that if any man eat of His Bread he shall live for ever, it follows that while it is manifest that those do thus live who appertain to His Body, and receive the Eucharist by right of communication, so. also is it matter both for our fears and prayers that none of us, by being forbidden Communion, be separated from the Body of Christ, and so remain far from salvation, as Himself threatens and de'clares; ' Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of

Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you.'

Hence, then, we pray that our Bread — that is,

Christ — may be given to us day by day, that we who abide in Christ, and live in Him, may not draw back from His sanctification and His Body." '

I j/, These words are explicit, and leave no room for questioning. *• We ask. . . and receive day by day,^ Reception was daily, as was the request.

Those who knew themselves to be unworthy to communicate by reason of any mortal sin would not dare to seek their daily bread with the faithful at the celebration of the Mysteries.

2nd^ None among the faithful was deprived of Communion on the day of assembly unless he had fallen into ^^ any grievous crime ^^ (" int'ercedente aliquo graviore delicto"). Assuredly those venial sins, of which S. Augustine says that they may be blotted out by the recital of the Lord's Prayer; those imperfections which the Apostles, taught by Jesus Christ, confessed daily in that prayer, could

' /?/ Orai, Dont. xiiL

never be confounded with the "grievous crime" which excluded a man from Communion. The expression evidently distinguishes the greater sins