THE EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE AND THE RESOLUTION TO
AMEND
THE VOICE OF CHRIST
ABOVE all, God's priest should approach the celebration and
reception of this Sacrament with the deepest humility of heart and
suppliant reverence, with complete faith and the pious intention of
giving honor to God.
Carefully examine your conscience, then. Cleanse and purify it
to the best of your power by true contrition and humble confession,
that you may have no burden, know of no remorse, and thus be free to
come near. Let the memory of all your sins grieve you, and especially
lament and bewail your daily transgressions. Then if time permits,
confess to God in the secret depths of your heart all the miseries
your passions have caused.
Lament and grieve because you are still so worldly, so carnal,
so passionate and unmortified, so full of roving lust, so careless in
guarding the external senses, so often occupied in many vain fancies,
so inclined to exterior things and so heedless of what lies within, so
prone to laughter and dissipation and so indisposed to sorrow and
tears, so inclined to ease and the pleasures of the flesh and so cool
to austerity and zeal, so curious to hear what is new and to see the
beautiful and so slow to embrace humiliation and dejection, so
covetous of abundance, so niggardly in giving and so tenacious in
keeping, so inconsiderate in speech, so reluctant in silence, so
undisciplined in character, so disordered in action, so greedy at
meals, so deaf to the Word of God, so prompt to rest and so slow to
labor, so awake to empty conversation, so sleepy in keeping sacred
vigils and so eager to end them, so wandering in your attention, so
careless in saying the office, so lukewarm in celebrating, so
heartless in receiving, so quickly distracted, so seldom fully
recollected, so quickly moved to anger, so apt to take offense at
others, so prone to judge, so severe in condemning, so happy in
prosperity and so weak in adversity, so often making good resolutions
and carrying so few of them into action.
When you have confessed and deplored these and other faults
with sorrow and great displeasure because of your weakness, be firmly
determined to amend your life day by day and to advance in goodness.
Then, with complete resignation and with your entire will offer
yourself upon the altar of your heart as an everlasting sacrifice to
the honor of My name, by entrusting with faith both body and soul to
My care, that thus you may be considered worthy to draw near and offer
sacrifice to God and profitably receive the Sacrament of My Body. For
there is no more worthy offering, no greater satisfaction for washing
away sin than to offer yourself purely and entirely to God with the
offering of the Body of Christ in Mass and Communion.
If a man does what he can and is truly penitent, however often
he comes to Me for grace and pardon, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I
desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his
way and live";[50] I will no longer remember his sins, but all will be
forgiven him. |
Of the examination of conscience, and purpose of
amendment
The Voice of the Beloved
Above all things the priest of God must draw
nigh, with all humility of heart and supplicating reverence, with full
faith and pious desire for the honour of God, to celebrate, minister,
and receive this Sacrament. Diligently examine thy conscience and
with all thy might with true contrition and humble confession cleanse
and purify it, so that thou mayest feel no burden, nor know anything
which bringeth thee remorse and impedeth thy free approach. Have
displeasure against all thy sins in general, and specially sorrow and
mourn because of thy daily transgressions. And if thou have time,
confess unto God in the secret of thine heart, all miseries of thine
own passion.
2. Lament grievously and be sorry, because thou
art still so carnal and worldly, so unmortified from thy passions, so
full of the motion of concupiscence, so unguarded in thine outward
senses, so often entangled in many vain fancies, so much inclined to
outward things, so negligent of internal; so ready to laughter and
dissoluteness, so unready to weeping and contrition; so prone to ease
and indulgence of the flesh, so dull to zeal and fervour; so curious
to hear novelties and behold beauties, so loth to embrace things
humble and despised; so desirous to have many things, so grudging in
giving, so close in keeping; so inconsiderate in speaking, so
reluctant to keep silence; so disorderly in manners, so inconsiderate
in actions; so eager after food, so deaf towards the Word of God; so
eager after rest, so slow to labour; so watchful after tales, so
sleepy towards holy watchings; so eager for the end of them, so
wandering in attention to them; so negligent in observing the hours of
prayer, so lukewarm in celebrating, so unfruitful in communicating; so
quickly distracted, so seldom quite collected with thyself; so quickly
moved to anger, so ready for displeasure at others; so prone to
judging, so severe at reproving; so joyful in prosperity, so weak in
adversity; so often making many good resolutions and bringing them to
so little effect.
3. When thou hast confessed and bewailed these
and thy other shortcomings, with sorrow and sore displeasure at thine
own infirmity, make then a firm resolution of continual amendment of
life and of progress in all that is good. Then moreover with full
resignation and entire will offer thyself to the honour of My name on
the altar of thine heart as a perpetual whole burnt-offering, even by
faithfully presenting thy body and soul unto Me, to the end that thou
mayest so be accounted worthy to draw near to offer this sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving to God, and to receive the Sacrament of My
Body and Blood to thy soul's health. For there is no oblation
worthier, no satisfaction greater for the destroying of sin, than that
a man offer himself to God purely and entirely with the oblation of
the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Communion. If a man shall
have done what in him lieth, and shall repent him truly, then how
often soever he shall draw nigh unto Me for pardon and grace, As I
live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but
rather that he should be converted, and live. All his transgressions
that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him.(1) |