Choose a topic from Part 3 Suppl:
1. Confession of sins is to be made with true supernaturalsorrow and sincerity of heart. Otherwise, the absolution of thepriest cannotbe effective. Nor does the effect of absolutiontake place in a penitent who confesses without sorrow andafterwards repents.
2. Confession is to be entire; that is, all mortal sins inkind and number, according as they are remembered by the penitent,are to be confessed. Otherwise, the confession would savor ofhypocrisy. And even one remembered mortal sin left unconfessedwould keep the soul from union with God, and it would render theconfession sacrilegious.
3. Confession is made by the penitent sinner in person,not by sending another as agent or proxy, or by mailing a letter.The penitent is to confess his own sins, manifesting them to thepriest in some intelligible manner.
4. The requisite qualities of confession, therefore, arethat it should be humble, sincere, and entire.
"A tree that is cultivated and guarded through the care of its owner produces its fruit at the expected time.
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St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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"Whom do you seek, friend, if you seek not God? Seek him, find him, cleave to him; bind your will to his with bands of steel and you will live always at peace in this life and in the next."
St Alphonsus de Liguori
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"O Lord, my God, who will seek you with simple and pure love, and not find that you are all one can desire, for you show yourself first and go out to meet those who seek you?
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St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
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