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RELIGIOUS REPERTORY,

FOR JUNE, 1814.

ON THE DISPOSITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.

As the Sacrament of Penance has been instituted for the purpose of bestowing upon Man the forgiveness of sin, through the merits of his Redeemer, and as from the beginning no Sin was forgiven, without true sorrow on the part of the offender, and as it is unnatural to suppose that a person should be entitled to pardon of an offence for which he had expressed no regret, it is a matter of course that the first disposition for this Sacrament should be * sorrow for Sin.

This sorrow in sometimes called Contrition, and sometimes Attrition-they are different degrees of the same virtue, arising from m re or less perfect motives; Contrition is the more perfect, as being founded upon the best possible motive, which is charity, or the love of God on his own account-Attrition is the less perfect, because founded upon less perfect motives, which are the love of God in conséquence of the benefits which he bustows upon us, and the hatred of Sin, which is offensive to him, and injurious to us, in as much as it deprives us of Heaven and subjects us to punishment in Helt.

Contrition is so called from a Latin word which signifies to grind down, because this sorrow at once breaks down the heart of the sinner who is affected with grief for having offended his Creator Attrition is derived from from a word of the saine language, which signifies to wear away slowly, because although it does not immediately produce the same effect as Contrition, yet it gradually conduces to the same end—the humiliation and reconciliation of the sinner through the merits of Jesüz Christ

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Either Coutrition or Attrition is indispensably necérsary for the Sacrament of Penance and for good Attrition, it is certainly requisite that the sinner should not only be sorry from the motives above mentioned, but moreover, he should have an inclination to love God on his own account-fie should have incipient Charity,

The terrors of remorse, the horror of punishment, the hare fear of losing Heaven, are by no means sufficient to prepare a wretched transgressor for the Sacrament -person still attached to sin, and in the habit of offending, may feel remorse for his iniquity, and yet sin against his conscience. He may dread the punishment which is threatened against the evil doer. and still contiune to do evil. He may regret having exposed himself to the loss of Heaven, and still do nothing to regain it. Nor is the bare abstinence from evil to be esteemed as Contrition, bẹcause this abstinence may arise from inability or disgust, For wearisomeness as well as from regret; and we find that all penitents, who had proper dispositions, have uniformly, besides ceasing to do evil, continued to lament their past misconduct. It is not recorded tligt David continued to sin with Bethsabee--and the single act by which the murder of Urias was procured, bad ceased and was not repealed; and still David was a sinner for the space of nine months; he had ceased to do evil and yet he was not contrite. Judas betrayed the Redeemer; he could not betray another, because another could not be found- and even if there was another in existence, it is probable he would not be treacherously delivered up by Judas Are we then to say that Judas was contrile? Certainly not—The abstinence from sin must arise from the regret for having committed it, and Contrition being a habit, must be lasting. Hence the Royal Prophet, after the reproof of Nathan, and when he felt true sorrow for his sins, cried out, even after the pardon of Heaven was announced to him, *" Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse nie from my sin; because I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me"-And again he says, t My sorrow is continually before me." Ilence the true

Psalm 50.

Psalm 37

Penitent

Fenitent must continually regret having done what was offensive to God, besides ceasing to offend.

And although our Redeemer has satisfied for the sins of men, and without his atonement our efforts would prové unavailing, yet he did not exempt us from temporal pain, Hor forbid us to do Penance, but on the contrary, the disposition to afflict ourselves for having sinned, is one of the very first and most natural effects of Contrition', and as such it has been manifest in the old law and in the news The merits of Christ were, applicable to the persons who lived before his arrival upon earth, as well as to those who have since professed his law, because no one could be saved without the application of those merits. Hence, if Christ's sufferings did not render this external Penance unnecessary or injurious in the old law, they cannot make the practice useless or hurtful in the new and in the example of those whose conduct the Almighty has approved, we find the justification of this practice, and the lesson for the penitent Christian. The people of Ninive not only ceased from their iniquity and besought pardon for their transgression, but afflicted, themselves for their sins by fasting and wailing, and being clothed in sack-cloth, and they also manifested their sorrow by covering.their heads with ashes.When the rebellions children of Israel were desirous of pardon af ter having transgressed on any occasion, their Contriti ch, was accompanied by affliction of the body. David, the model of penitents, speaks for himself, *I have lu◄ boured in my groaning cvery night; I will wash my bed, I will water my couch with tears.†. Through the voice of my groaning my bone hath cleared to my flesh. For did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping. And in the new law we find the great Apostle St. Paul ‡ chastise his body, and bring it under subjection. He tells us also, that

they who are Christ's, have eruoified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences thereof; and in his Epistle to the COLLOSSIANS, he says, that he fills up in his own flesh these things which are wanting in the Sufferings of Christ.

Plasm 6. 'salm. 101.

1 Cor. 9.C. 27 v. §Gal. 5 C..24 v. G. 24

For

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