recount in the sight of God, in the bitterness of his soul, all his past iniquities; daily to admire and adore that mercy, which has borne with him so long, and to value above all treasures that grace of reconciliation, by which he has been drawn out of so much misery; daily to beg of God with all the fervour of his soul, sooner to take him out of this world, than to suffer him any more to die to him by mortal sin. Good God! grant that this may be always the disposition of our souls. Amen. Amen.
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY.
On doing penance for our sins.
CONSIDER these words of Christ: Luke xiii. 3. 5. Except you do penance, you shall all perish. Behold here a general rule; nor does our Lord make any exception. Penance then is necessary, first, for all those whose conscience accuses them of mortal sin: alas! such as these must either do penance for their sins, or burn for them for all eternity. Poor sinners! their state is most deplorable! they are playing upon the brink of hell, and every moment one or another of them is tumbling down into that bottomless pit; and is it possible they should be so unconcerned under so great and evident a danger? Why then do they not lay hold of the grace of penance, the only plank that can save them after shipwreck; the only means left for the salvation of their souls. Secondly, penance is necessary for all those, who though their conscience accuses them not at present, yet have in their past life been guilty of such mortal offences. Ah! Christians, any one mortal sin is enough for us to do penance for all our life. And how can we do less, if we consider what mortal sin is; what it is
