An Easy Way to Become a Saint - October 8

Continued from yesterday...

...Confession

What must we do to get all these graces?

Confession is very easy, but it is, as we saw, very holy, very wonderful, a Divine Sacrament. Therefore, we must make a short but feroent preparation. The reason why so many confessions do so little good is that Catholics do not make this fervent preparation.

To go to Confession without a serious preparation is to tempt God and profane this most holy Sacrament. Confession is easy, but we must treat it with respect. God tells us that He does not cast His pearls before swine. These words are very strong, but very true.

We must pray fervently, by saying, for instance, the first three Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, or we may say the prayers we find in our prayerbook.

Then we make a careful examination of conscience, that we may see and be able to confess our faults clearly and briefly.

The most important part of our preparation is to excite ourselves to sorrow, real sorrow, for our sins and make a firm resolution to avoid all mortal sins, and as far as we can, venial sins, especially any notable venial sin.

If we are not sincerely sorry for our sins, and if we are not firmly resolved to avoid sins, we are insulting God when we go to Confession....

[Continued tomorrow]
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From An Easy Way to Become a Saint
by E. D. M. (1949)
The Catholic Printing Press
Lisbon, Portugal
With Ecclesiastical Approbation
13th June 1949