will and there is no will where there is no knowledge Thus when Noe by drinking Wine at first was overseen his excess in drink was not a Sin because he knew not then the force of wine nor could know it Secondly when ignorance proceeds from our fault by an express will or grosse and affected ignorance it neither takes away nor diminishes at all the Sin on the contrary it rather augments it The reason is because he that desires the cause desires also the effect If then I desire to be ignorant of the evil that is in an action and it happen by that ignorance that I Sin more freely and without remorse I am the voluntary cause of the Sin whose enormity I would not know Such was the ignorance of the unchast old men in the History of Susanna of whom it is said Dan. 13.9 That they cast down their Eyes that they might not see Heaven nor remember the Judgments of God. Such is the ignorance of those that will not be instructed in what they ought to know nor advertised of the evil they do and who will not understand to do well As the Prophet saith Psal 35.4 This is what frequently happens to young People Thirdly as the total ignorance of any evil in an action taketh away all the Sin when it doth not proceed from our fault so the ignorance of the part of the evil in which is a Sin takes away part that is diminisheth the Sin This is to be understood of that ignorance which doth not proceed from our fault nor is it in our power to be better instructed Such is the ignorance of young People when they begin to fall into Sins of impurity for they know well enough that there is ill in it which appears by the doubts they have in their Conscience and by the shame they have to Confess But they do not understand that the ill is so great as in reality it is untill such time as they are instructed and till then their Sins are not so great altho' they be almost always Mortal Sins ARTICLE II. Of Sins of Frailty or of Passion THe Sins of frailty are those which proceed from the will moved with some passion Passions are actions of the sensitive Appetite which is an inferiour part of the Soul and moves towards things forbidden by the law of God such as are Love Hatred Sadness Fear Anger Some push on the Soul to do that which is forbidden it as Love Hatred Joy Choler others withdraw it from doing the good which is commanded as Fear Sadness Despair Those cause the Sins of Action These the Sins of Omission Passions diminish the liberty of the will because being push'd on or withdrawn by other causes then by her self she doth not act with all the liberty she hath in that action either to do or not do what she will. Besides these Passions diminish also the judgment hindring the understanding which guides the will from judging of things so clearly as otherwise it would They diminish by consequence the Sin which is found in an action or omission and this differently sometimes less sometimes more and sometimes totally and othertimes they diminish them not at all but rather augment them They diminish sometimes but little when they are but light and the will may easily overcome them They diminish the Sin much when they are strong and violent because for that time they notoriously diminish the judgment and liberty however as long as they leave man with the knowledge of the evil which he does the Sin continues still They totally take away the Sin when they are so violent that they totally cloud the reason so that one doth not perceive at all that there is a Sin which never happens but in the first motions of passion which being a little appeas'd the mind returns to it self and knows what it has done and from thenceforward he Sins if he continues in his Passion In fine Passions do not at all diminish the Sin when they are voluntary and this happens when they are willingly excited or when one entertains them and endeavours to augment them as it happens too often and in this case they are not Sins of Passion but of malice ARTICE III. Of Sins of Malice BY Sins of Malice we do not understand here Sins which are maliciously committed whether purely to displease God or for the sole pleasure which one takes in doing ill These Sins are rather Sins of Devils then men and those who are so unfortunate as to Sin thus begin in this world to live the life of Devils which God often punisheth also with the punishment of Devils which is Obstinacy and Impenitence These are the Sins which our Saviour calls Mat. 12.32 Sins against the holy Ghost which are neither forgiven in this world nor the next Sins of Malice whereof I speak in this place are those which are committed without Ignorance and without Passion that is with full knowledg and entire liberty and they are called Sins of Malice because being commited neither out of ignorance nor passion they proceed only from the ill inclination of the will which scruples not to offend God upon condition it may compass the enjoyment of its Pleasures or other sensible content which it seeks by Sin. These Sins are very great and highly displeasing in the sight of God being they have nothing to excuse them as the two former had These must be Confessed very exactly declaring fully this circumstance that they committed them knowing well what they did and on set purpose and it is necessary that they do great pennance for them As these Sins are great so they ought to be rare and unheard of amongst Christians but it happens by a sad misfortune that there is nothing more common And if the lives of men were well examined the greatest part of Sins would be found to be Sins of Malice For as concerning Ignorance tho' much of it is found amongst the ordinary Sins of men and for that reason it is said that every man that Sins is ignorant How often doth it happen that the ignorance with which they Sin is affected and voluntary one searches after it expressly and with design he will be ignorant of that which he is obliged too know he will not be instructed he fears to look too narrowly into his own actions and he obliged to the good by the knowledge which he shall have of it To do thus is it not to desire the Sin upon set purpose and out of malice for this reason they fly all those things that may instruct them as reading of Books Sermons or amongst Preachers they care not for those that reprehend vice or discover the ablest Ghostly Father They seek the less understanding and most indulgent They do not consult at all about the doubts of Conscience or if they do they discover not all they seek after favourable resolutions to indulge themselves in remiss false opinions they frame a Conscience to
Confession or Confess but in haste without necessary dispositions or having time to Confess defer it to the last extremity of their sickness being more taken up with the grief and apprehension of death then moved with the thought of their Salvation and Conversion Or else also those who confess themselves in due time yet have no true sorrow for their sins but are sorry rather by reason of the Evils that surround them then upon any motive of the Fear or Love of God these also altho' they have all the exteriour marks of true Penitents as having duly performed all the exteriour acts of Penance which makes us believe that they are truly Converted and departed in the grace of God Yet in effect they shall be damned for ever In fine Theotime it cannot be denied but that there are a great number of Christians Damned It is also most certain that this doth not happen but because they have not done true Penance for their Sins before their death and why have they not done it Except it were that death suprized them in the state of sin and did not give them time or means to do Penance or at least perform it as they ought But how happened it that they were so surprized unless it were that by the just judgment of God those menaces were executed against them wherewith he so often threatned to punish their hard and obdurate hearts by suprising them when they thought the least of it and abandoning them at the hour of their death O Theotime they must be extremely deaf and in a deep Lethargy who are not awakened with these Thunder-claps and they must be very infensible not to fear the dreadfull effects of these menaces of Almighty God which happen dayly to many of the World. Be afraid then and apprehend the severity of all misfortunes that may attend you That which happens unto many may perhaps happen unto you and if it should befall you in what condition would you remain for all Eternity CHAP. VII The Conclusion of this Exhortation AS this great Exhortation comes from God himself it is proper also that he himself should give us the Conclusion and that we should learn from him what we ought to conclude and perform after we have heard his voice that calls us to our Salvation We shall learn it from the Apostle St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews 3. Chapter where he exhorts the Christians not to be rebellious to the voice of God and not to imitate the obdurateness and rebellion of the Jews which God punished so rigorously Hearken then to his words and his conclusion Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith to day if you shall hear my Voice harden not your hearts as in the provocation according to the day of the temptation in the Wilderness where your fathers tempted me Heb. 3. He pursues and urges strongly this advice as well in this Chapter as in the following where he shews that the Jews were not rejected of God but for their incredulity and resistance that they made to his words To whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest but unto them that obeyed not so that we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief Heb. 3.18 He adds afterwards how the Christians ought to fear the like Chastisement Let us therefore fear says the Apostle lest at any time by forsaking the promise of entring into his rest any of you should seem to be deprived Let us therefore study to enter into that rest lest any man fall after the same example of incredulity Heb. 4. And about the End of this Epistle in the 12 Chapter he renews again this so important an Advertisement by these words which ought to be engraven in all the hearts of Christians See that you despise not him that speaketh to you for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on Earth much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from Heaven Heb. 12. See Theotime the Advertisements which the Apostle gives to all those whom God has favour'd so as to speak to them for their Salvation and call them by his voice to their Conversion Consider them attentively with the reasons he alledgeth and think well upon it what you are to do Assure your self that it is to you that God addresses himself when you have understood the above-mention'd pressing Exhortation which he hath made for your Conversion Be afear'd to fall into the dreadfull chastisements with which God hath punished the obstinacy of the Jews and use all your endeavours to avoid them you cannot by any other means escape them then by seriously complying with the desire which God hath of your Salvation and making now a firm resolution to return unto him by Penance and a perfect change of your former life for effecting whereof I propose the following means PART II. Of Contrition CHAP. I. What we are obliged to do in Vertue of the precedent Exhortation WE read in the Acts of the Apostles that the Jews and other Inhabitants of Hierusalem having understood the first Sermon which St. Peter made them of the Death and Resurrection of the Son of God upon the day of Pentecost were so lively touched that they immediately demanded what they should do to be saved Now when they heard saith the Scripture this they were moved in their hearts and said unto Peter and the other Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we do The St. answered them in these terms Do Penance and be Baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of Sins and you shall receive the Grace of the Holy Ghost Acts. 2. Dear Theotime if the words which you have read above which are Gods own words whereby he Exhorts you to treat of your Salvation have made that impression on your mind which they ought to make your heart will certainly be washed with sorrow and compunction unless you be totally obdurate more obstinate then the Jews Now I cannot believe this of you wherefore methinks I hear you demand of me what must I do that I may obey the Voice of God and become a good and real Convert and a true Penitent To which I answer with the chief of the Apostles do Penance for your Sins and receive the Sacrament not of Baptism since you have once received it and it cannot without Sacrilege be repeated but of Penance to obtain hereby the remission of your Sins and the Grace of the Holy Ghost which will assist you to lead a new Life Let us betake our selves to Holy Penance which is a Second Baptism a Baptism of tears and sorrow to cleanse therewith all our Sins Baptisemus lachrimis conscientiam qui peccatis inquinavimus Vitam St. Ambr. Let us wash our Consciences with tears who have defiled our Lives mith a great number of offences Let us weep before God our Creator and cast our selves into the arms of our Coelestial father
the Body whereas by the death of the Soul we are deprived or separated from Almighty God. Is there any misery to be compared to this of being deprived of God O my God! how is it possible that men should esteem thee so little If a man lose a perishable good as a Friend or an Estate this he laments most grievously and we loose our selves and are not at all concerned can there be any thing either more unjust or more injurious Is not that most exactly true which St. Augustine saith upon this Subject He seems not to have the bowels of Christian Charity who laments a Body from which the Soul is departed and doth not at all weep for a Soul from which God is separated That I may yet make you understand more sensibly the deplorable state of a Soul fallen into the displeasure of God and your own condition if you are under that misfortune I shall propose here an admirable and moving description which a Holy Author made in these words which he addresses to a Soul fallen into Mortal Sin and to you your self if you are in that unhappy state Aperi oculos anima misera vide quid eras quid nunc es quo loco eras quo nunc es Eras sponsa altissimi eras templum Dei vivi eras vas electionis Thalamus regis aeterni Thronus Salomonis Sedes Sapientiae eras soror Angelorum Haeres caelorum quoties dico eras eras toties tibi lachrimandum est cum subitam tuam cogitas mutationem Sponsa Dei facta est adultera diaboli Templum Spiritus Sancti mutatum est in Speluncam latronum vas Electionis in vas corruptionis Thalamus Christi in Volutabrum porcorum Sedes Sapientia in Cathedram pestilentiae Soror Angelorum in Sociam Daemonum quae instar Columbae ante◠in Caelum Volitabat nunc valut serpens reptat in terra Plange itaque super te anima misera plange quia te plangunt caeli te plangunt Sancti te plangunt lacrymae Pauli quia peccasti peccati quod commisisti paenitentiam non egisti Open thy eyes miserable Soul saith this holy Doctor speaking to a Soul which is fall'n into Mortal Sin and see what you were and what you are in what place you were and where you now are at present You were the Spouse of the most high You were the Temple of the living God you were a Vessel of election the Couch of the eternal King the Throne of the true Salomon the seat of Wisdom you were Sister to the Angels and Heir of Heaven and as often as I say you were you were so often ought you to lament and weep when you consider your sudden change Your Soul which was the Spouse of God is become the Adulteress of Satan the Temple of the Holy Ghost is changed into a Den of Thieves the Vessel of Election into a Vessel of Corruption the Bed of Solomon into a dunghill of unclean Beasts the Seat of Wisdom into the Chair of Infection the Sister of the Angels is become a Companion of the Devil and she who mounted like a Dove even unto Heaven creeps now upon the Earth like a Serpent Bewail then your self O miserable Soul bewail and lament since the Heavens weep for you since all the Saints deplore your misery the tears of St. Paul are shed for you because you have sinned and have not done Pennance for what you have committed These words Theotime are not to be read slightly read them often applying them to your self with attention and without doubt if you are not totally obdurate they will make a great impression on your heart when you consider attentively the unfortunate and deplorable state your Soul is brought into by Sin. ARTICLE II. Of the effects of Sin in Heaven and upon Earth IF you desire another reason of the hatred and horrour you have conceived against Sin Theotime raise your thoughts to Heaven and see the disorders it hath caused there This Infernal Fury hath spared nothing it hath conveyed it's rage even unto the house of God which it hath filled with War and Confusion it hath banished one part of the Angels thence and shut the door to men and to you your self let us see these misfortunes one after another God in the beginning of the World created an innumerable multitude of Celestial Spirits of several Orders and different perfections with which he filled Heaven and composed his Heavenly Court for the performance of his will both in Heaven and on Eaath His design was to replenish them all with the happiness of his sight and the perfect possession of the Divinity And for this effect besides the natural perfections he endowed them with he had created them in his grace and adorned them with all supernatural virtues thus to afford them a means to dispose themselves to Glory which he had prepared for them and to merit it by their actions and the practice of those same virtues When they were in this state behold Theotime what Sin did When they were as I said in this state brim full of mighty hopes upon the point of receiving the fruit of the grace and virtues which God had communicated unto them and to enjoy the perfect vision of the Divinity which would have secured their happiness for ever behold Sin by their inadvertency steals into the mind of one part of them overthrows their fair hopes and makes a confusion in the house of God himself This was a mischievous thought of Pride begun in one of the chiefest Angels who permitting himself to be surprized by the love of his own perfections and the brightness of his excellent beauty aspired to surpass all others in that degree that he would in some things be like unto God himself demanding an Authority equal with his in the government of all Creatures choosing rather as St Bernard considers to be separated from God then be Subject unto him Miser qui sine Deo esse maluit quà m sub Deo. Lucifer was follow'd in this extravagance by many of the other Angels who adhering to his pride listed themselves as it were under his banner They had not persisted long in this Rebellion when God who cannot endure the guilt of Sin be it in whom it will gives us upon occasion of this first disobedience the manifest marks of the hatred he bears to that infernal Monster For by a Solemn Decree the effect of his indignation he banisheth from his Kingdom this Rebellious Angel with all his followers and casts them down headlong from the height of Heaven to the most profound pit of Hell. Thus that Celestial Spirit who was but the instant before he sinn'd one of the most beautifull Creatures of God and as one may say the Master-piece of all his works initium viarum suarum became by his sin an infernal Dragon a sworn and unreconcilable enemy both to God and Man. What is it that hath caused this lamentable
of your Sins you must read over these same Motives with much attention again and again not once or twice but many times you must begg continually of God that he will vouchsafe to grant you his Grace to understand them well and that your Soul may be moved with them in reading them you must pause some time upon those which touch you most you must weigh them well and imprint them in your heart and having understood them cast your self upon your knees and deplore your Sins in the presence of God upon those motives which you conceived best and which affected you most demand of him pardon and beseech him to shew his mercy toward you making use of this or the like prayer O my God! have pitty on me and let me partake of the effects of thy great mercy I acknowledge now the evil which I have done and apprehend the grievousness of my Sins Thou art he O my God whom I have offended whom I have attacqued rebellious ungratefull and perfidious Creature as I am Thee have I abandoned to follow my pleasures and passions I have lost thy grace and I who have been created to thy Image and likeness by my Sins have made my foul like unto those monsters of ingratitude the Devils I have lost Heaven my blessed Country I have merited Hell and Eternal Damnation which I shall never be able to avoid without the assistance of thy great mercy But above all I have infinitely offended thy bounty The injury which I have offered it is so great that it caused thy Son Jesus Christ my Saviour to suffer death O my God! how can I worthily deplore so great an evil who will give water to my head and a fountain of Tears unto my eyes to deplore night and day my misery and malice and to do Penance for my sins Make this or the like prayer but make it from the bottom of your soul make it with an humble and contrite heart in the presence of God in acknowledgment of your sins and misery Run it not over briefly take time to make it make it long and for many days Put your self in the State of a true Penitent in the sight of God and that you may perform it better make use of this means which I shall give you CHAP. XIII Of Examples of Penance taken out of Holy Writ ALltho ' what we have said may be very effectual to excite Contrition and a true sorrow for our Sins yet we will add in this place another means which without question must needs be more efficacious They are some Examples of true Penitents which we find in the Holy Scripture as well in the Old as New Testament These are the true models by which we may frame ours and learn what is true Penance and how to practice it Reade then Theotime and attend Consider David after his Sin how full of interiour trouble and concern he was for the evil he had done bedewing as he saith his bed with his tears and having always his Sins before his eyes demanding mercy of God and beseeching him to turn away his eyes from his Iniquities not to take away from him his Holy Spirit not to contemn the Sacrifice which he offer'd him of an afflicted mind of an humble and contrite heart Behold a true Penitent behold what true Contrition is Vade fac similiter Imitate this Example and you are a true Penitent You will find these excellent dispositions of a penitent mind in the seven Penitential Psalms if you reade them wth attention Behold King Ezechias weeping and lamenting in the presence of God and promising him to pass again over in his heart and in the bitterness of his Soul all his mis-spent years to bewail his Sins and obtain remission of them Reade his Canticle which begins Ego dixi in dimidio Esai 38. Cast your eyes upon the good Israelites who were sent Captives into Babilon after the taking of Jerusalem doing Penance for their Sins which had thrown them into that miserable state crying out to God from the bottom of their hearts Baruch 2. We have sinned against the Lord our God in not obeying his word To the Lord our God belongs justice and uprightness but to us nothing but shame and confusion which our iniquities have deserved We have sinned we have done evil we have dealt unjustly O Lord our God in all thy Commandments Turn from us thy anger hear O Lord our Prayers and our Petitions open thy eyes and consider that the dead praise thee not but the Soul which is sensible and afflicted with the greatness of the evils she hath done and performs due Penance for them Consider Manasses also in his Conversion groaning under the weight of his Sins and lamenting his Iniquities with such a sorrow that he acknowledged himself unworthy even to lift up his eyes towards Heaven so great he confest were his offences You will perceive these words to proceed from a truly penitent Soul overwhelmed with sorrow for his Sins Oratio Manasses 'T is true O Lord I have infinitely offended thee and my Sins are more in number then the Sand of the Sea I am unworthy to lift up my eyes towards Heaven to demand thy mercy having provoked thy anger as I have done by my Iniquities But now O my God I prostrate my self from my heart before thee to beg thy mercy I have sinned O my God I have sinned I acknowledge all the evil I have done pardon O Lord pardon I beg of thee and earnestly beseech thee do not destroy me with my Iniquities do not reserve me to the utmost rigour of thy Justice do not condemn me for ever unto the fire of Hell Remember that thou art my God the God of Penitents and thy immense bounty will best appear in me whilst it makes thee to save a miserable Sinner unworthy of thy grace and gives me occasion to praise thee eternally for thy infinite goodness Go to the Gospel and there you will find more pressing examples of Penance and Contrition There you may see a holy Penitent moved to that degree with sorrow for her Sins that she seeks the Son of God and having found him casts her self at his feet washes them with her tears such was the compunction of her heart and so abundantly did they flow wipes them with her hair and annoints them with precious Ointment thus consecrating these Riches that Hair those Tears to pious uses which till then she had employ'd in vanity And thus that sorrow she had so happily conceived broke forth into all the Signs of the love of God and spared nothing to serve him from whom she expected the remission of her Sins So that She deserved to hear from the mouth of our Saviour Luc. 7.47 that her Sins were forgiven her because she loved much There you shall find the head of the Apostles unfortunately fall'n denying his divine Master three several times But he had scarce ended his last denial when
our Saviour by a glance of his eye which penetrated Peters heart makes him to remember himself acknowledge his fault and conceive so great a grief that going out he wept bitterly for the Sin. Egressus foras flevit amare Mat. 26.75 And the grief continued all his life You will find in the Gospel two other examples of true penance which the Son of God himself proposed in two parables which he set forth for that intent The first is in the person of the Prodigal Son under which figure he sets before our eyes a perfect pattern of a Sinner returning again to God by means of Penance Luk. 15. This poor strayed young man after he had spent all his Estate is forced by the sense of his miseries to reflect or return to himself and say O how many hired Servants are there in my Fathers house who abound with bread and live at case and I miserable wretch am ready to starve with hunger I will arise and go to my Father and say Father I have sinned against Heaven and against you I am not now worthy to be called your Son permit me only to be like one of your hired Servants He had no sooner spoke these words but presently without delay he puts them in execution Leaves the place of his misery comes and casts himself at his Fathers feet to beg pardon and mercy at his hands and such and so great was this his repentance that whereas he only demanded a place amongst his Servants he was admitted unto that of his Son which he had lost Consider well this pattern Theotime imitate it in your Repentance and return to God. First Practice well that which is signified by these words in se reversus returning into himself for one must return into ones self to return to God that is to say one must acknowledge the miserable condition to which he is reduced by Sin the distance from God the loss of his grace the lack of Spiritual favours and particularly of Divine Inspirations and above all the continual danger of Damnation wherein one is Secondly in this view of your misery conceive a horrour of it and form in your heart a prompt and firm resolution to return unto your Heavenly Father in those words of the Prodigal Son Surgam ibo ad Patrem I will rise from my misery and I will go towards my Eternal Father I will declare my fault and ask him pardon submitting my self in all things to his will. Thirdly do not deferr no more then the Prodigal Son the performance of your resolution begin immediately and in earnest to do Penance for your Sins Prostrate your self in the presence of God and beg his pardon prepare your self for a good Confession using all the necessary means to make it well and in this Confession or even before make use often of those words of the Prodigal Pater peccavi in Coelum coram te jam non sum dignus vocari filius tuns fac me sicut unum de mercenariis tuis But ponder well what they signify for by those words you profess to God that you have grievously offended his Fatherly bounty that as a degenerate Child you have abused all his graces that you have not been ashamed to affront him even in his prefence and in the sight of the whole Court of Heaven that you acknowledge your self unworthy to appear before him or from thence forward to be treated by him as his Child that you only implore his mercy and the pardon of your Sins protesting to serve him faithfully from henceforward to do Penance and accomplish all his Commands as a good and faithfull Servant O what an excellent pattern is this Theotime if you did but know how to imitate it well The other example is that of the Publican in whose person the Son of God hath again represented to the life the dispositions which he requires in a true Penitent And that he might set it forth to the best advantage behold over against him a false or feigned Penitent who had nothing in him besides an appearance or a deceitfull shew of Penance Two men saith he Luke 18. went up into the Temple to pray the one was a Pharisee the other a Publican the Pharisee standing prayed thus with himself O God I give thee thanks that I am not like other men Thieves Adulterers Vnjust as also this Publican I fast twice a week I pay exactly the tenths of all my goods Behold an example of a feign'd Penitent who hath no sorrow for his own sins but who looks more into the sins of others then his own who justifies himself by the sins he hath not committed instead of condemning himself for those he is guilty of who esteems himself just before God when he is exempt from some certain sins altho' he commit others and sometimes greater Who thinks he sufficiently satisfies for his sins by some exterior good works as fasting and the like neglecting in the mean time Penance of heart and amendment of life Behold the Idea of a false Penitent which is but too frequently found amongst Christians Look now upon the Picture of a true one On the contrary saith our Saviour the Publican standing afar off would not so much as lift up his Eyes to Heaven but knockt his breast saying God have mercy upon me Miserable Sinner In this Example are set forth all the dispositions of a true Penitent First a profound humility which made him stay below in the Temple at a distance and separated from others as if he apprehended himself by reason of his sins unworthy to approach to God or intermix himself amongst the just But by how much he retired farther off in himself by so much saith St. Augustine he approached nearer to God. Publicanus autem de longinquo stabat Deo tamen ipse propinquabat cordis conscientia removebat pietas applicabat Serm. 36. de vers Dom. Secondly the shame and confusion he had to appear before God with a Conscience loaden with sins a confusion so great that it hindred him from raising his Eyes towards Heaven Thirdly the sorrow he had in his heart for having grievously offended God in token whereof he knocks his breast denoting by that action saith St. Ciprian the sins concealed within Sed percutiebat pectus suum ut peccata intus inclusa testaretur De Orat. Dominica Fourthly the pardon he emplored of God as a true Penitent having no other motive but his own unworthiness on the one side and on the other the pure mercy of God by which alone he hoped for pardon and not by his own Merits Behold Theotime Examples and patterns of true Penance by which we ought to form and model ours They are proposed to us by the Holy Ghost for that end and the two last were drawn and formed by the Son of God to teach us how to behave our selves in that great action For this reason if you resolve upon Penance and a serious Conversion you
but a weakness of mind or to say better a folly For Theotime can there be a greater folly then not to desire to cure a great evil by another which is much less then to chuse rather to damn ones soul for ever then to save it by a shame or confusion which lasts but for a moment What would you say of a Criminall who having deserved death should refuse the pardon offer'd him by the King upon this Condition that he would discover his Crime in secret to a Judge appointed by him would not all cry out that this man had lost his Wits yet this is his case who conceals any thing in Confession Blind that you are who chuse rather to dye and be lost Eternally then confess your sins to the Judge whom God hath appointed to take cognizance of them who will rather hide the wound that will cause your death then shew it to the Chirurgion who will cure it without fail who chuse rather to blush one day before God in the presence of Angels Men and the whole Court of Heaven then now to be ashamed and blush but for one moment before your Ghostly Father When you conceal your Sins from Men do you think by that means to hide them from the sight of God you fear the sight of Man and apprehend not at all that God should know them Is not this to disesteem the Divinity and scoff at God. In reality this shame is not so great a punishment if we do but make a true Judgment of it But suppose it were a thousand times greater consider that it is but a punishment for your sins and that you have deserved it yea and a far greater confusion and an eternal disgrace why then will you not suffer it Behold the great advantages it will bring you the remission of your Sins the quiet of your Conscience the friendship of God and Eternal Salvation O happy confusion It is this of which the wise man speaks Eccl. 4.25 There is a confusion that brings grace and Glory as there is another which brings Sin which is that mischievous shame of which we speak in this place But in fine consider one thing to which there is no reply viz. That it is impossible you should ever be saved without confessing that sin which you are troubled to declare Perform all the good work you please of Prayers Austerity or Alms-deeds as long as you retain any one mortal Sin in your heart without declaring it in Confession there is no Salvation for you and if you dye in that State you are lost for ever Do not tell me that you will confess it some day or other hereafter but for the present that you cannot do it Remember that the longer you defer it the greater will your shame and confusion be and you will have more trouble to declare it But in expectation of that day I ask whether in the interim you will go to Confession or no if you will then you will commit so many sacrileges as will make you a thousand times more Criminal in the sight of God and which will draw upon your head the divine anger and vengeance If you do not go to Confession in what a disorder and confusion do you put your conscience and to what danger do you expose your Salvation who hath told you that that day or time will come which you propose to your self and that you shall not dye before and without Confession being you would not confess when you had both time and means to do it For Conclusion my dear Theotime if you be in that miserable State I conjure you to look to your self open your eyes and awake from that Lethargy Consider how it is the Devil that deceives you and raises in you that wicked shame or that foolish fear by which he would work your eternall Damnation as he hath done to many others of your age and condition Call to mind that poor possessed person in the Gospell whom the Devil had render'd both deaf and dumb His misery did in such a manner move the Son of God that he wept Mark 7. Suspiciens in Caelum ingemuit ait Ephpheta quod est adaperire statim solutum est vinculum linguae ejus loquebatur recte Raising up his eyes to Heaven saith the Gospell he wept and said be open and presently his tongue was untyed and he spake plain The miseries which we consider in the body of that possess'd man are found dayly in the Soul which the Devil hath possess'd by Sin only with this difference that the condition of this Second is far more dangerous then the first They were the spiritual miseries represented in the body of the deaf and dumb man which drew tears and sighs from the Son of God. Take pitty on your self and render not your self unworthy of the compassion he hath for you Be no longer deaf to the commands he hath given you to declare your Sins in Confession nor to all those reasons which oblige you to it Courage make a strong resolution and execute it readily and have a care you be not remiss The Son of God will assist you in it with his grace he will open your mouth freely to confess your Sins you will receive a thousand Consolations from him and praising his holy name you will sing forth bene omnia fecit surdos fecit audire mutos loqui He hath done all things well he hath made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak CHAP. IX Of the preparation for Confession or Examen of Conscience THere is no doubt but we ought to prepare our selves for Confession and being our memory ordinarily speaking is not so tenacious as to keep in mind things past except we apply our selves to call them back it follows that the same authority which obligeth us to an entire Confession of our sins doth oblige us also to make before-hand an examen of Conscience that so we may remember the three things above-mentioned viz. The Species the Number and the most notorious Circumstances This made the Council of Trent say that one is obliged to declare all their sins which they remember after a diligent examen It is certain that no general rule can be prescribed for this preparation which doth not depend upon the circumstances of the Person of his capacity of time of necessity and such like for there is more time required to prepare ones self for an Annual then for a Monthly Confession Those who have an ill memory or who observe not their daily actions or seldom examen their Consciences have need of a longer preparation then others We must follow herein that most judicious method which the Catechism of the Council prescribes In confessione summa illa eura diligentia ad hibenda est quam in rebus gravissimis ponere solemus Catechis ad Parac de Poenit. Sacram. n. 62. That is to use the same diligence in this preparation we are wont to employ