For one tear that is shed by a sinner can move Him,
And your sins will drop off in His tender embrace.
Then come to His feet, and lay open your story Of suffering and sorrow, of guilt and of shame;
For the pardon of sin is the crown of His glory, And the joy of Our Lord to be true to His name.
XLIV. Is Confession Difficult?
1.YOU, my young friend, may belong to the number of those who reply without a moment's hesitation in the affirmative to the question which stands at the head of this chapter. You perhaps consider confession to be a heavy burden. But listen to the opinion expressed on this subject by a famous French poet. I refer to Francis Coppee, whose varied talent is justly admired. He received a Christian education, and for some time subsequently to his first communion performed his religious duties with fervor. But after a few years the errors of youth, and his aversion to confess certain misdeeds, changed this pious frame of mind. Bad books, bad example, and evil associates did the rest, and caused him to become absolutely indifferent to religion.
But serious illness, which prostrated him for years on a bed of suffering, opened the
