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Aspirations of a penitent Soul, for having abandoned the Service of God.

O, RETURN to me ye days of holiness and peace, in which I was united to God, and God to me! in which I tasted how sweet is his holy service in which the dews of celestial consolation were poured into my soul. O days of happiness, whither have ye fled! How happy was my lot, when my heart was pure and united to her God! My days were then full of innocence and joy; a joy that was pure, a joy that was holy. What is become of all that then delighted me so much! in what fatal hour has my heart been changed! Restore to me, O God, those happy days! restore to me the peace of my soul! replace me in that serenity of mind, which I once enjoyed; and when thou hast reinstated me in the possession of that blessing, never let sin deprive me of it again; impart to me also that strength and ardour which are to support me in temptation,-animate me in combat,-and arm me against the attacks of the enemies of my salvation, always prepared against me, and seeking my destruction. Let thy grace always assist me, O God, and support me in the holy resolutions I have made. Amen.

¶ The Confessor sits in the Tribunal of Confession, in quality of a Spiritual Judge: the Penitent in quality of a Suppliant kneels down by his side, hav ing his face turned from him, and in a low tone of vcice he says, pray Father give me thy blessing. The Priest answers, May the Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips, that thou mayest truly and humbly confess thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Penitent then repeats the general Confession Prayer, I confess to Almighty God, &c. to the words through my most grievous fault: and

then immediately begins his Confession thus: "Since my last confession, which was a week, fortnight, or a month ago, I accuse myself that " and having sincerely declared all the sins he can remember, he concludes thus: For these and all my other sins and imperfections, which I cannot call to mind, I am heartily sorry, purpose amendment, and humbly beg pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you my ghostly Father. Then let him finish the Confes. sion Prayer, therefore I beseech, &c. The Priest then gives the Penitent that Advice which is most suited to his particular circumstances, and in Satis faction to the offended Deity, enjoins him some Prayers, or Alms Deeds, or other pious good Works, which he is to offer to God in union with the infinite Satisfaction of Jesus Christ; after which he absolves him in the following manner :

MAY the Almighty God have mercy upon thee, forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord give thee the pardon, absolution, and the remission of thy sins. Amen.

May our Lord Jesus absolve thee: and by his authority I absolve thee from every bond of excommunication, and interdict, as far as I have power, and thou hast need. I therefore do absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the B. V. Mary, and of all the saints; may whatsoever good thou shalt do, or evil thou shalt suffer, be to thee, unto the remission of thy sins, the increase of grace, and the recompence of life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS AFTER CONFESSION.

I RETURN now to thee, O Father of mercy, and God of all consolation! I am here in thy presence covered with confusion at the remembrance

of my sins, with my heart broken with grief, but at the same time penetrated with the most lively sentiments of humble gratitude. After I had re-› belled against thee, my Lord, and my God, and: become by my pure malice, the object of thy tera rible indignation; instead of abandoning me to my unhappy lot, thou hast come thyself to seek this strayed sheep; thou hast come to meet this miserable prodigal child; thou hast restored to ine my first garment, and made me enter again into thy favour. Hateful as I was to thy eyes by reason of my sins, scarce have I confessed themy but I am assured thou hast forgiven them. What shall I give thee, O my God, for so great a bene fit? What shall I do in acknowledgement of the same? Thou hast, by the sweet efficacy of thý› grace, broken the shameful and multiplied bands, of my sins; the least I can do, to shew my grai titude to thee, for doing so, is to offer to thee on this, and all the days of my life, a sacrifice of praise, and to bless and extol continually, the immense fulness of thy mercy; to detest with my whole heart all my sins throughout the remainder of my days; and to make a firm pur pose of dying rather than ever to displease thee any more. I do it with all my heart, O my God, and will do it to my death. I never will cease to glorify thee, the best of Lords and Masters; to love thee the most amiable of all Fathers; and to render eternal thanks to Jesus my Divine. Redeemer, my divine Saviour. May all thy Angels, O Lord, may all thy Saints give thanks to thee for all thy infinite bounties to me. O God of my heart, may the heavens and the earth, and all creatures join in rendering thee perpetual praises for the same. Amen.

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O MY soul, return infinite praises and thanks to thy Lord, who hast vouchsafed to pardon thy sins, to heal thy infirmities, to deliver thee from

death, to shew mercy to thee, to strengthen thee with his grace. How merciful art thou, O God of bounty! how sweet, how lovely, how patient art thou! thou hast not treated me as my ingratitude deserved. After the manner of a compassionate and affectionate Father towards his children, thou hast had pity on me, thou hast delivered my soul, thou hast saved me from reprobation. I have confessed my sins to thee and thou hast pardoned them. Be thou for ever blessed. I beg of thee to continue thy mercy to wards me; and vouchsafe to receive the thanksgiving which I give thee, offering to thee the merits of my Redeemer, thy Son, to supply for my defects. O Jesus, who hast loved me, and eleansed me from my iniquities, I prostrate myself at thy feet to thank thee, as the leprous person, for having cured me of the leprosy of my sins. I adore thee, after the example of Thomas, and I acknowledge thee for my God, and my Lord. I protest with the Apostle Peter, penitent and afflicted for his sin, that I love thee with my whole heart. O never permit sin any more to separate me from thee,

THE recollection of graces and favours which I have received of thy infinite mercy, have still more increased my abhorrence of sin and my repentance for having committed it against thee, O God of mercy, my most loving Lord. How much do I repent for having offended thee, my Creator, my Redeemer, my God infinitely good, my truly bountiful Father! May this heart of mine be grieved and broken with sorrow. May these eyes of mine weep bitterly, because I have departed. from my God; I have despised him, I have undervalued him. Pardon me, O Lord, and reject not the sacrifice which I will offer to thee during the remainder of my life, of a heart truly contrite and humbled,

Good Resolutions, and Prayers to beg the Grace to observe them.

Now I have resolved, and will instantly begin O God of mercy and author of this my resolution, to live no more but for thee; I will never forget thy holy law; I will endeavour to know it, will meditate on it, and will observe it. I abhor sin, and will fly from it as from a serpent. I will fly from all the occasions and dangers of it, and abstain altogether from evil. Penetrated with a

lively sense of gratitude, and with thy holy love, I will keep at a distance from every thing that can displease thee, and will do every thing that I shall know to be acceptable to thee.

O God strengthen me in these holy purposes: lead me in the way of thy commandments, never suffer iniquity to rule over my heart. I place in thee all my confidence. This is thy work, vouchsafe to render it still more and more perfect; to the end, that advancing from virtue to virtue, I may at last possess thee in thy heavenly kingdom. Amen.

PRAYERS BEFORE COMMUNION.

¶ A Prayer to Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of the Altar.

O EVER glorious priest and divine pontiff Jesus Christ, who on account of our miseries and iniquities, didst offer thyself to the Eternal Father, a pure and immaculate victim on the Altar of the Cross, and didst bequeath to us in these Sacramental mysteries, thy blessed body and blood for the life and nourishment of our souls, I beseech thee by that same blood which purchased our redemption, and by that ineffable charity which induced thee to make a sacrifice of thy whole self for us, that thou wilt now enable me to approach thy holy Sacrament this day with reverence and

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