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CONFESSION
BEFORE CONFESSION
SHOULD you have to wait a long time for Confession,
you should not waste this time, but employ it profitably to your spiritual advancement.
Ten minutes may be taken for the weekly preparation for
Confession. After arriving in the Chapel, spend the first few
moments in asking for the grace to make a good Confession
and to have sincere sorrow. The remainder may be devoted
to Examination of Conscience. But the chief attention must
be given to making a good Act of Contrition and Purpose of
amendment. Those little faults which you may not confess,
or have forgotten, do not at all prevent the fruit of the
Sacrament, while the absence of Contrition would render it
invalid. To make sure of having Contrition, always accuse
yourself of some sin of your past life for which you feel
sure you have contrition. By thus rendering your contrition
secure, you will assure the validity of the absolution.
The Confiteor and also the Act of Contrition should be
recited before entering the Confessional.
The formula of Confession is as follows:
Bless me. Father, for I have sinned. I confess
to Almighty God and to you, Father. Since my
last Confession (time) I accuse myself of ...
For these and all the sins of my past my life especially . . . I am heartily sorry and ask pardon
of God and penance and absolution of you. Father..
The accusation should be short and precise. At the moment when the Priest pronounces the absolution, think only
of making well the Act of Contrition, and of receiving the
Sacrament with all the humility and gratitude of which yon
are capable. Then go before the Blessed Sacrament, make
a short visit, renew your resolutions, and perform your
penance. After that return to your various duties.. We should endeavor to render ourselves this testimony,
that we have each time corresponded to so great a benefit.
Let us always confess as if it were on our death bed.
St. Vincent, addressing the first Sisters of Charity, especially
as follows: I Have many times told those among you whom
I know well, that you should be content with accusing yourselves in your ordinary Confession, of three sins, since by
the mercy of God I do not think any of you commit mortal
sins. By accusing yourselves of three venial sins, which
cause you the most pain and confusion, it will be more easy
for you to remember them, to excite yourselves to Contrition,
and to form the resolution of correcting yourselves; while
by undertaking to confess a great number of venial sins, it
will not be possible for you to detest all of them, or to succeed in avoiding so many at once. Practice obedience, therefore, on this point, and submission will obtain for you the
grace to correct the venial sins of which you do not accuse
yourselves, as well as those which you do mention.
Some time since, I felt great consolation in hearing one of
the greatest servants of God whom I know give an account of
your Sisters at Angers. He said to me: "Father, I know
of none who make better Confessions than your Sisters of
the Hospital. What they say seems to proceed from hearts
truly penitent, and they accuse themselves so clearly and
promptly, that it is easy to perceive that they seek only the
grace of God. You see, my Sisters, the same thing was
proposed to them as to you. Be likewise obedient on this
point, I beg you, St. John Berchmans rule for Confession was as allows: For my
method of Confession I will observe what is common to the Institute, and my interior disposition at the moment of receiving absolution shall be to consider myself at the
feet of my Crucified Jesus, receiving the drops of His Precious
Blood, flowing from His wounds, for the purification of my
soul; and hearing from His Sacred Lips these words of
grace, "Go in peace, your sins are forgiven." On quitting
the holy tribunal I will most affectionately thank my Judge
for the merciful decree He has just pronounced in my favor.
I will renew my protestations of fidelity, and acquit myself
of my penance; and in conclusion, will say with humble gratitude, "Accept, 0 Lord, the Confession I have just made,
however imperfect it may have been; receive it through the
prayers and merits of the Blessed Virgin, and of my holy
patrons. If any fault has glided in, either in this or any of
your former Confessions, whether from want of integrity in the
accusation, from want of vehemence in the sorrow, or from
want of strength in the purpose of amendment, be pleased
to supply for all sins by Thy infinite mercy, and grant that the absolution I have received on earth my be ratified in
Heaven. Amen. Preparation
PRAYER FOR LIGHT AND HELP
0 Lord, my God, I come to You once more for the forgiveness of my
sins, my many sins. I come to You in this Sacrament of mercy for
that forgiveness which is the fruit of Your great mercy.
The deepest need of my soul, the need that is ever
deepening as life goes on, is union with You, my
God—that there should be nothing between You
and me. Only my sins, and the consequences of
my sins, hinder this union, and so You call me to
You again and again, that You may wash me yet
more from my iniquity and cleanse me from my
sin. Create a clean heart in me, 0 God!
Cleanliness of heart is my best preparation for
Holy Communion, it is the one disposition You
require. Finding it when You come to me, Your
Real Presence will produce all its blessed fruits,
and by a close union here prepare me for a union
hereafter that will satisfy even the boundless
craving for You that You have put into my soul.
And therefore, again and again, I say to You,
create a clean heart in me, 0 God!
Father, glorify Thy name. Glorify in me the
power of the Precious Blood. It would be a great
glory to You to make anything of me. Sometimes
we hold up a work for admiration, saying, "See I
and that was made out of nothing." So let me
glorify You one day, my patient God. You have
begun a good work in me; it concerns You more
than me that it should be completed. Reward
Yourself for all the labor and disappointment I
have caused You. Bring me up to Your ideal.
You can, and You have the will. Show me some
day to Your Heavenly Court, and say, "Behold
the work of My hands, brought at last to this—
not only out of nothing, but in spite of frailty
and opposition and sinfulness of every kind.
Your design in this Sacrament is to give me
not only the forgiveness of my sins, but also the
most powerful means, next to the Holy Eucharist,
for attaining to the perfection at which by my
vocation I am bound to aim.
Selfknowledge and humility, strength and courage, peace, progress and earnest perseverance in
Your service—all these are its fruits, all these I
shall receive in proportion to the dispositions I
bring. Help me, then, to improve my dispositions
each time I approach it.
Before the words of absolution, I shall hear
other words, in which the priest in Your name
frees me from all censures, as far as I can and
Thou needest it. Ah, Lord, if only You would
say these words to me in another sense. If You
would promise me grace in this Sacrament to be
measured only by Your omnipotent generosity and
by my need, "as far as I can and Thou needest it." You alone know the amount of grace to which
these words would entitle me; the demand on
Your Divine treasury for which You must be
prepared if my need is to be met. And do You
stint me? Do You put any limit to the grace I
may receive? None. What You look for chiefly
is desire. "He that thirsteth, let him come, and
he that will, let him take the water of life freely."
Your holy servant the Cure d'Ars bids us, when
we go to pray, open our hearts as the fish opens
its mouth when it sees the wave coming. Much
more do You bid us enlarge our hearts when we
draw near to Your magnificent Sacraments. Open
thy mouth wide and I will fill it. If any man
thirst, let him come to Me and drink. If thou
didst know the gift of God, . . . thou perhaps
wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have
given thee living water. My God, could You
press us more earnestly to ask for what You are
so ready to give? I do know, in part at least,
this gift of God. I ask, and with all the earnestness of my soul, for this living water; and ask
that I may thirst for it ever more and more, as I
come hither to draw. So shall I glorify Your
mercy, so shall I fulfil Your designs, so shall I
magnify the power of the Precious Blood.
And now, my God, I take up the easy part You assign me, in the
great work we are to do together. Help me with Your grace throughout.
Enlighten my mind, and inflame and strengthen
my will. And first enlighten my mind. Show
me my soul as I shall see it in that day when You
will search Jerusalem with lamps, as I shall see
it in the hour of my Particular Judgment. It is
not the faults of mere frailty that will affright me
then, but the deliberate opposition to Your will,
deliberate infidelity to grace, deliberate meanness
in my dealings with You. Faults of surprise in
which my will had little share do not estrange me
from You. It is my will You look at. It is the
acts of my will I have to examine—the voluntary
carelessness in Your service, the wilful transgressions of Your law laid down for me in Your
Commandments, in my Vows, in my Rules. What
have You thought of the past week, my God—of
my relations with You, with my Superiors, with
my equals ? What should I have ready at once for
Confession, if you were to show Yourself to me
now and bid me kneel down for absolution? This
I will take to Your feet, of this I will accuse
myself, on this shall my purpose of amendment
fall—the rest I need not mind. Two or three
faults in which there was wilfulness, and perhaps
some shabbiness with You that will help me to a
blush—this with a sin of my past life, for which I
renew my sorrow, will be abundant matter for
loving selfaccusation, loving sorrow, loving purpose of amendment for the future?
Holy Spirit, Lord of Light!
From Thy clear celestial height
Thy pure beaming radiance give!
Come, Thou Father of the poor!
Come, with treasures that endure!
Come, Thou Life of all that live!
Light immortal! Light Divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill. Here invoke the aid of the Most Holy Spirit to obtain
light to discover your sins and faults. Remember that there
are five important exercises to be performed when preparing
for confession, via:
1. Thank God for His benefits and immense patience in
bearing; with you.
2. Ask for tight to see your soul . . . to know your.
self. When a room is dark, the window blinds down, we do
not perceive the dust; but the blinds are withdrawn to
allow the sun's beams to enlighten the darkness, then we see
even the most minute specks.
3. Search diligently to discover:
a. The causes of your ordinary faults.
b. The roots of your chief faults.
c. The motives which chiefly influence you. Take
a. Your daily Religious duties.
b. Your Vows.
c. The principal virtues—humility, charity, purity.
d. Your relations with superiors; equals, inferiors; externs; sick; children.
e. Your weekly Religious duties.
f. Sins and faults of omission. 4. Make deep and fervent acts of sorrow.
5. Resolve to avoid the occasions of sin in the future, and
resolve to try to overcome one particular fault more carefully until your next Confession.
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