I will faithfully put in practice the advice given me by my director. O my God, have mercy on me, and give me grace to keep these my resolutions, that so I may have the happiness to renounce all sin, and obtain from thee the full pardon of all my offences. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SATISFACTION.

JESUS CHRIST died upon the cross for our sins, and offered to his Eternal Father a full and superabundant satisfaction for them. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John, ii. 3.

When the Almighty Father, in consideration of his Son's bitter death, forgives our sins, and the eternal punishment due to them in the holy Sacrament of Penance, the order of his justice requires, that some temporal punishment should be undergone by the penitent siuner. This debt of temporal punishment may, however, be redeemed by penitential works, such as almsdeeds, prayer, and fasting, and by bearing with patience and resignation the miseries and afflic tions with which Divine Providence may please to visit us in this valley of tears. Hence, before the penitent sinner is absolved from his sius. some penance or penitential works, such as those just mentioned, are imposed upon him by the minister of God; the performance of which is

called satisfaction, and forms the third part of the Sacrament of Penance. The sincere penitent will therefore be careful to perform this penance in due time, and in a truly penitential spirit.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOLY COMMUNION.

Let a man prove (or try) himself, says St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 28, and so let him eat of that bread, &c. This proving or trying yourself is the first and most necessary preparation for the holy communion, and consists in looking diligently into the state of your soul, in order to discover what indispositions or sins may lie there concealed, and to apply a proper remedy to them by sincere repentance and confession: lest otherwise approaching the Holy of Holies with a soul defiled with the guilt of mortal sin, you become guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and receive judgment to yourself, not discerning the body of the Lord. 1 Cor. ix. For this reason you must go to confession before communion, in order to clear your soul from the filth of sin.

Prepare yourself by acts of virtue, more especially of faith, love, and humility; that so you may approach your Lord with a firm belief of his real presence in this sacrament, and of that great sacrifice which he heretofore offered upon the cross for your redemption, of which he here makes you partaker; with an ardent affection of love to him, who has loved you so much, and who, out of pure love, gives himself to you; and with a great sentiment of your own unworthiness

and sins, joined with a firm confidence in the mercies of your Redeemer.

It is a good plan to choose some particular object for which you will make your communion, and to offer it up for that intention. Then place yourself with great recollection in the presence of God, and if you find you want help to do this, read over the following acts of preparation. Take care not to read them in a hurry, but rather with your heart than your eyes, slowly and devoutly. It is not necessary to read a great many prayers in order to make a good preparation. Some of the following prayers might be read over the night before communion.

A

PREPARATORY PRAYER,

CONTAINING THE CHIEF ACTS OF DEVO TION PROPER BEFORE COMMUNION.

1. Direct your Intention.

LORD Jesus Christ, King of everlasting glory, behold I desire to come to thee this day, and to receive thy body and blood in this heavenly sacrament, for thy honour and glory, and the good of my soul: I desire to receive thee. because it is thy desire,

and thou hast so ordained; blessed be thy name for ever. I desire to come to thee like Magdalen, that I may be delivered from all my evils, and embrace thee my only good. I desire to come to thee, that I may be happily united to thee, that I may henceforth abide in thee, and thou in me, and that nothing in life or death may ever separate me from thee.

2. Commemorate the Passion of Christ.

I desire, in these holy mysteries, to commemorate, as thou hast commanded, all thy sufferings, thine agony and bloody sweat; thy being betrayed and apprehended; all the reproaches and calumnies all the blows and buffets which thou hast endured for me; thy being scourged, crowned with thorns, and loaded with a heavy cross for my sins, and those of the whole world; thy crucifixion and death, together with thy glorious resurrection and triumphant ascension. I adore thee, and give thee thanks for all that thou hast done and suffered for us; and for giving us in this blessed sacrament, this pledge of

our redemption, this victim of our ransom, this body and blood which were offered for us.

3. Make an Act of Faith.

I most firmly believe, that in this holy sacrament thou art present verily and indeed; that here are thy body and blood, thy soul and thy divinity. I believe that thou, my Saviour, true God and true man, art really here, with all thy treasures; that here thou communicatest thyself to us, makest us partakers of the fruit of thy passion, and givest us a pledge of eternal life. I believe that there cannot be a greater happiness than to receive thee worthily, nor a greater misery than to receive thee unworthily. All this I most steadfastly believe, because it is what thou hast taught us by thy word, and by thy church.

4. Conceive a great Fear, and humble yourself.

But, O my God, how shall I dare approach to thee, so wretched a worm