the holy prophet admonish us that, if we wish to express before God our true and in ward sorrow for our sins, we must rend our hearts. And the prophet David adds, that we must not only rend them, but bruise them as it were, and reduce them to powder: " A contrite [contritum] and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." This comparison clearly shows that, in order to appease God by penance, it is not sufficient to say in words, " I am sorry for my sins;" but we must feel a deep and inward sorrow of heart, which can scarcely be experienced without tears and sobs. It is wonderful how strongly the holy Fathers speak of true contrition. St. Cyprian in his Sermon on the Lapsed saith: "As greatly as we have offended, so much must we weep; for a deep wound a long and careful course of medicine is necessary. Our penance must not be less than our crime; we must be continually praying, passing the day in weeping, and the night in watching. We must spend all our time in tears and lamentations, lying on ashes alone, and clothed in sackcloth." St. Clement of Alexandria calls penance the " baptism of tears;" St. Gregory Nazianzen, in his Second Sermon on Baptism, says: " I shall receive penitents, if I see them watered with their tears." Theodoret, in his Epitome of the Divine Command, writes: " That the wounds which we receive after baptism may indeed be healed, but not, as formerly
