with
every sin. For example, if a boy should confess that he went to see a
friend, and after that met another friend, and when he came home he was
asked what had kept him, and he told a lie. Now, the going to see the
friend and the meeting of the other friend, and all the rest, was not a
sin: the sin was telling the lie, and that was all that should have been
confessed. Therefore, tell only the sins. Then tell only your own sins,
and be very careful not to mention anyone's name--even your own--in
confession. Be brief, and do not say, I broke the First Commandment or
the Second by doing so and so; tell the sin simply as it is, and the
priest himself will know what Commandment you violated. Again, when you
have committed a sin several times a day do not multiply that by the
number of days since your last confession and say to the priest, I have
told lies, for example, four hundred and forty-two times. Such things
only confuse you and make you forget your sins. Simply say, I am in the
habit of telling lies, about so many, three or four--or whatever number
it may be--times a day. Never say "sometimes" or "often" when you are
telling the number of your sins. Sometimes might mean ten or it might
mean twenty times. How then can the priest know the number by that
expression? Give the number as nearly as you can, and if you do not know
the whole number give the number of times a day, etc. Never say "maybe"
I did so and so; because maybe you did not, and the priest cannot judge.
Tell what you consider your worst sin first, then if there be any sin
you are ashamed to tell or do not know how to tell, say to the priest:
"Father, I have a sin I am ashamed to tell, or a sin I do not know how
to tell"; and then the priest will ask you some questions and help you
to tell it. But never think of going away from the confessional with
some sin that you did not tell. The devil sometimes tempts people to do
this, because he does not like to see them in a state of grace and
friends of God. When you are committing the sin, he makes you believe it
is not a great sin, and that you can tell it in confession; but after
you have committed it he makes you believe that it is a most terrible
sin, and that if you tell it, the priest will scold you severely. So it
is concealed and the person leaves the confessional with a new sin upon
his soul--that of sacrilege. When Judas was tempted to betray Our Lord,
he thought thirty pieces of silver a great deal of