offended thee. Pardon me, O Lord Jesus, most humbly imploring thy mercy. Have pity upon a sinner for whom thy blood pleads before the face of the Father.

O most merciful and forgiving Lord, for the love of thee I forgive all who have ever offended me. I firmly resolve to forsake and flee from all sins, and to avoid the occasions of them; and to confess, in bitterness of spirit, all those sins which I have committed against thy divine goodness, and to love thee, O my God, for thine own sake, above all things and for ever. Grant me grace so to do, O most gracious Lord Jesus.

Penitential Psalms, see p. 129.

Aspirations before or after Confession.

My Lord and my God, I sincerely acknowledge myself a vile and wretched sinner, unworthy to appear in thy presence; but do thou have mercy on me, and save

me.

Most loving Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am unworthy to be called thy child; make me as one of thy servants, and may I for the future be ever faithful to thee.

It truly grieves me, O my God, to have sinned, and so many times transgressed thy law; but wash me now from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. loving Father, assist me by thy grace, that I may bring forth worthy fruits of penance.

Oh, that I had never transgressed thy commandments! Oh, that I had never sinned! Happy those souls who have preserved their innocence: oh, that I had been so happy!

But now I am resolved, with the help of thy grace, to be more watchful over myself, to amend my failings, and fulfil thy law. Look down on me with the eyes of mercy, O God, and blot out my sins.

Forgive me what is past, and, through thine infinite

goodness, secure me, by thy grace, against all my wonted failings for the time to come.

Thou didst come, O dear Redeemer, not to call the just, but sinners to repentance; behold a miserable sinner here before thee: oh, draw me powerfully to thyself.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquities. Sprinkle me with thy precious blood, and I shall be whiter than snow.

How great is thy goodness, O Lord, in having so long spared such a worthless servant, and waited with so much patience for his amendment. What return shall I make for thy infinite mercies? Oh, let this mercy be added to the rest, that I may never more offend thee: this single favour I earnestly beg of thee, O Lord, viz. that I may for the future renounce my own way to follow thine.

Help me, O Lord my God, and have compassion on my sinful soul. Amen.

Prayers after Confession.

Accept, O Lord, I beseech thee, this my confession, and mercifully pardon all my deficiencies, that, according to the greatness of thy mercy, I may be fully and perfectly absolved in heaven; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, &c.

Or,

O almighty and most merciful God, who, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, hast vouchsafed once more to receive thy prodigal child, after so many times going astray from thee, and to admit me to this sacrament of reconciliation; I give thee thanks with all the powers of my soul for this and all other mercies, graces, and blessings bestowed on me; and prostrating myself at thy sacred feet, I offer myself to be henceforth for ever thine. Oh! let nothing in life or death ever separate me from thee. I renounce with my whole soul

all my treasons against thee, and all the abominations and sins of my past life. I renew my promises made in baptism, and from this moment I dedicate myself eternally to thy love and service. Oh! grant that for the time to come I may abhor sin more than death itself, and avoid all such occasions and companies as have unhappily brought me to it. This I resolve to do, by the aid of thy divine grace, without which I can do nothing. I beg thy blessing upon these my resolutions, that they may not be ineffectual, like so many others I have formerly made; for, O Lord, without thee I am nothing but misery and sin. Supply also, by thy mercy, whatever defects have been in this my confession, and give me grace to be now and always a true penitent, through the same Jesus Christ thy Son.

Amen.

A Thanksgiving after Confession.

I return unto thee, O Lord Jesus, and give thee thanks that thou hast been pleased to cleanse me from the foul leprosy of my sins. Blessed be thy Name, O Lord, for ever and ever. Truly thou art a Saviour who rejectest none that come unto thee seriously desiring to repent, but receivest them into thy favour, and numberest them with thy children. I acknowledge and adore thy mercy, and dedicate myself wholly to thy service hereafter. Assist my weakness, and suffer me not again to fall into my past sins and to be separated from thee; but so bind my heart and soul to thee with the cords of thy love, that I may say with the Apostle, Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?

PRAYERS FOR OBTAINING PLENARY INDUL

GENCES.1

Preparatory Prayer.

Almighty and everlasting God, I trust that, by thy mercy, I am absolved from all my sins, and delivered from eternal damnation; yet since I am still obnoxious to the temporal punishments due unto my sins, and my own works are not sufficient to make satisfaction for them, I fly to the inexhaustible treasury of the merits of thy only-begotten Son and of thy saints, that, by their abundance, my defects and infirmities may be supplied. I cheerfully offer myself to do all those things which are appointed for obtaining this end. Receive them,

O Father of mercies, in union with the passion and death of the same thy Son, and make me, although unworthy, partaker of this plenary indulgence.

Our Father.

Hail Mary.

Prayer to God the Father, for the Exaltation of our
Holy Mother the Church.

O eternal Father, be mindful of thy congregation which thou hast possessed from the beginning. Acknowledge the Church as the spouse of thine only-begotten Son, for which he hesitated not to shed his blood. So exalt it, I beseech thee, with the beauty of holiness, the riches of grace, and the fulness of thine inheritance, that it may shine forth worthy of its divine Spouse, and of the great price of its redemption. Look mercifully upon all the sons of this holy Mother, and gather all nations into their number; that all may acknowledge, with living faith, thee the Father, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, in the unity of the Holy Ghost,

For obtaining the Indulgences, it is sufficient to say with devotion five Our Fathers and five Hail Mary's; but the following are the forms commonly used. They are applicable either to those who use them or to the souls in purgatory, and may be said either at the time of the Jubilee or any other occasion.

one God; and may call upon thee with steadfast hope, and embrace thee with perfect charity. Amen.

Our Father. Hail Mary.

y. Behold, O Lord, and visit this vine.

Ry. And perfect that which thy right hand hath planted.

Look down, we beseech thee, O Lord, upon this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ did not refuse to be delivered into the hands of sinners, and to undergo the torment of the cross; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

To God the Son, for the Extirpation of Heresies.

O Jesus, the true light that lightenest every one that cometh into the world, grant, I beseech thee, by the inestimable virtue of thy passion and death, that, the darkness of heresies and errors being driven away, all may embrace the light of thy truth, and be brought O thou good Shepherd, into the bosom of thy Church. who didst lay down thy life for thy sheep, protect thy flock, and defend it from the violence and cunning of those who come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Grant that all may acknowledge one shepherd, and be of one fold. Abide with us, O Lord, as thou hast said, Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. Make manifest that thy Church is founded on a rock, and that the gates of Amen. hell cannot prevail against it.

Our Father. Hail Mary.

V. Deliver not up to beasts of prey the souls that put their trust in thee.

Ry. And forget not, O Lord, for ever the souls of thy poor.

Hear the prayers of thy Church, O Lord, we beseech thee, and turn away thine anger from us; that all adversities and errors being done away, we may serve thee in freedom and security; through our Lord, &c.