If only 10% of this is true, we are compelled to gouge out our eye and chop off our hand, for it is better to enter Heaven with only one of these, then it is to enter Hell with both.

St. John Climachus tells the story of an old hermit who fell dangerously ill. Some hours before his death he seemed to be beside himself. He glanced fearfully around on every side, like one who is surrounded by enemies. The dying man imagined himself before a tribunal, answering accusations brought against him. The bystanders saw no one, but they heard distinctly what was said.

"It is true," said the hermit, "that I committed that sin; but I confessed it, and fasted three years for it on bread and water...that is true, too; I acknowledge it. But I confessed it and did penance for it. As for that other sin, I did not commit it, and you accuse me falsely... There, I have no excuse to offer -- I am guilty of that sin; but I throw myself on the mercy of God."

The rigorous account which was demanded of this old hermit in the hour of his death is sufficent to alarm us all. Which of us has led a life of penance for forty years? All of us, it is true, can say, "I have committed such and such a sin," but which of us can say with the hermit, "I have confessed it, and fasted three years for it on bread and water?' Which of us, then, can flatter himself with having no reason to fear the judgement of God?

After the hour of death, the veil of eternity is drawn aside, and the soul stands for the first time trembling and alone in the presence of her Maker. Two eternities are before her; an eternity of happiness or an eternity of despair. In the very moment after death, while the eyes are still being closed, and the body is being prepared for burial...the soul has heard her eternal judgment pronounced -- either to Heaven or to Hell. This moment shall come for every one of us, and it is our most Sacred Duty to prepare well for it while we have yet time.

St. Paul assures us that, if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged. The Prodigal Son was not judged by his father, because he judged himself. He accused himself of all his crimes. "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you." He sentenced himself to just punishments. "I am now not worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants." This self-accusation and self-judgement saved him. His father forgave and received him with unspeakable joy. "Let us go and make merry. This, my son, was lost and is found again."

If we wish to meet Jesus Christ as a mild Judge, we must imitate the example of the Prodigal Son; we must judge and accuse ourselves sincerely, with an upright heart. If we wish to stand with hope and courage before the tribunal of Jesus Christ, we must not neglect now to approach the Tribunal of Mercy, which Jesus Christ Himself has established in the Sacrament of Penance.

Before death, in the Tribunal of Mercy or Sacrament of Penance, we have no other accusers but ourselves. Our Guardian Angel is beside us, and awaits our sentence, not with sorrow, but with joy. Jesus Christ is also present, not as an angry Judge, but as a merciful Savior. If we are truly repentant, the sentence will always be, "I absolve you from your sins."

At death, in our final hour, our accusers will be the devil and any damned souls which we may have ruined by scandal through our bad example. If we die in Mortal Sin, our sentence will infallibly be, "I condemn you for your sins."

Let us follow the soul of a Christian into the Tribunal of Justice, who often, during life, neglected his religious duties, and finally died in a State of Mortal Sin.

The voice of his friends and family have died on his ear, and he begins to hear other voices. He no longer sees the people in the room. They have vanished from his sight, and he now sees others in their place. At the foot of his bed was his neighbor, but now it is someone else. It is a form, beautiful indeed, but yet majestic and terrible. It is someone he had never seen before; and yet he should have recognized that face, for it seems familiar to him. It is the very face he had so often seen in Church at Holy Communion. It is the face his mother looked upon as she was dying. It is the face we shall all look upon when we die. Yes, it is Jesus Christ.

He recognizes that face now; it is the very same, and yet how different! When he saw that face in pictures, it was crowned with thorns, but now it is Crowned in Glory. When he saw Jesus in Church, Jesus was naked and bleeding on the Cross, but now He is as bright as the sun, and clothed with garments of royal splendor. Jesus is looking at him with eyes of fire, and the unhappy soul turns away from those piercing eyes to find that there are other forms beside him too.

There stands one at his right hand and another on his left. Who are they? He should know them, for they know him more than even he knows of himself. When he was born, they stood beside him, and throughout his whole life. They watched him in his fearful struggle at death, and now they stand beside him as witnesses in this terrible Tribunal of Justice.

The one on his right is a bright and beautiful being, with golden locks and airy wings. He knows it; it is his Guardian Angel. The other one, on his left, is a black and hideous demon of hell. He crouches like a ravenous tiger. His looks are full of hate, malice, and triumph too; for he has dogged the steps of this poor soul all along, day after day, year after year, and now at last the time has come for him to seize his reward.

Oh! how unspeakable is the surprise and terror of this unhappy soul at such a sight! But why is Jesus there? Why are the angel and demon there? He knows but too well: it is to judge him. He is to be sentenced by an unerring Judge -- by Jesus Christ Himself. Compared to the Tribunal of Mercy or Sacrament of Penance, this is something new to the poor soul, to be judged without mercy.

The poor soul during life rarely accused himself through an examination of his own conscience, because it was too much trouble. He was sometimes even afraid to look into his own heart. Whenever the thought of death and judgement came to his mind, he banished it quickly, and consoled himself with the vague hope that he would escape in someway or another. Calling himself a Christian, he thought that perhaps God would not be so strict with him. He had not been a very bad man, for he never denied his faith. He knew many others that were worse than he was, and he thought that perhaps God would pardon him for not being worse than he was. He did not know exactly how he would escape, but he imagined he would get out of it someway or another.

It is the same old story...

Almighty God said to Eve, "Eat not of this fruit; for if you eat of it you shall surely die."

Now, when the serpent asked Eve why she did not eat of the fruit, she answered, "If we eat of it, perhaps we shall die."

And the serpent said, "No, no, you shall not die."

So it is always the same old story... God forbids, the sinner doubts, and the devil denies.

God forbids us to commit it; but the sinner begins to reason and to doubt the Truth of God's Words, and then the devil comes and tells him, "No, no, God only wishes to frighten you. There is no great harm in that sin. No, no, you shall not die." And the sinner doubts God's Words, and believes the devil.

So it has gone on from day to day since the beginning of Adam and Eve's fall; but now, when it is too late, the unhappy poor soul sees how he has been deceived by the devil. It is clear to him now, but the knowledge comes too late; and he sees the devil gloating in malicious triumph over his dead body.

The poor soul is now a trembling culprit, standing before his Eternal Judge. By what law is he to be judged? By those very Ten Commandments that he broke so often. God had said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. I am the Lord your God; you shall have no God but me." And the sinner preferred his money, his passions, and pleasures from other sinful creatures.

God had said, "You shall not take my name in vain," and the poor soul had dishonored the Holy Name of God by his curses and blasphemies.

God had said to him, "You shall sanctify the Sundays and Holydays," but the poor soul had not kept those days holy.

God had said, "You shall not steal," and he had stolen by defrauding his neighbor from articles of value he found, but never returned.

God had said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," but the poor soul had spoken bad of him, and kept a grudge against him for years.

God had told him, "You shall not commit murder," and the poor soul had murdered his own soul by drunkenness.

God had said to him, "You shall not commit any sin of impurity, " and the poor soul had sinned a thousand times in thought, word, and in action.

The poor soul had grown so bold in sin that he thought God would not notice it, but now he knows that the devil and his own passions kept him blindfolded all the while. Now, every sin of his past life rises up against him. Every sin that he committed from the cradle to the grave, every sin of thought, word, action, and omission -- all appear; not one is hidden or forgotten.

The enemy of his soul, the devil, is now his accuser. And the devil, full of pride and malice, boasts with defiance, "he is mine."

"I claim this soul as mine," he shrieks. "Look at it; does it not resemble me? Will you take a soul like that, full of sin, and place it in Heaven?"

At these words, the poor soul looks upon himself and sees for the first time the horrid sight of one that is spirtually dead -- rotting in Mortal Sin. Each sin had branded its own frightful mark upon that soul. There he sees the foul corruption of lust, the black scars of anger and hate, and the horridness of greed.

His poor soul was once radiant with light and beauty, lovely and pure as the angel that stands by his right side. During that time, it was a Temple of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost. It was purer than silver, and brighter than the finest gold. It was a radiant star in the hand of the Most High God. What is it now? What a terrible change! The soul that was a Temple of God has become a temple of uncleanness; the Temple of the Holy Ghost is now a den of demons.

"I claim this soul as mine," cries the demon again, with a tone of defiance; and as he speaks he points to the dead body as it lies on the bed, the very place he died.

"I claim those eyes as mine, by all the lustful looks they have ever given.

I claim those ears as mine, by all the slander, gossip, and scandal they have readily listened too.

I claim this mouth as mine, by all the immodest words, all the curses and blaphemies it has ever spoken.

I claim those hands as mine, by all the thefts and immodest acts they have ever committed.

I claim those feet as mine, for they were ever swift to carry him to the places of vice and sin, while being slow to carry him to the House of God.

"See!" cries the demon, "this soul is mine; it bears my mark." And as the devil speaks, he points to the foul marks of sin and shame, which the poor soul knew so well how to conceal during life, but which can no longer be concealed in death.

"This man is a Christian," again cries the demon with a mocking snear.

"In Baptism, he promised solemnly to renounce me, but how has he kept his promise? Has he not always been my willing servant?

In Baptism, he promised to renounce my works, and yet has he not always worked for me? I ordered him to take revenge, and he instantly obeyed me. I tempted him to lust, and he not only defiled his heart, but he even went so far as to glory in his shame. I urged him to injustice, and at my bidding, he held onto his possessions instead of giving to the poor. Yes, he worked for me. It was by his own advice that I led so many others astray. It was by his actions that I brought so many innocent souls to ruin. It was by his own example that I gained over so many faithful followers.

In Baptism, he promised to renounce my pomps and my glory; and where did I ever display my glory that I did not find him there ready to serve me? I displayed my pomp in the theater with immodest images and in the dance room with immodestly dressed women, and he chose me over the light from his Guardian Angel. I displayed my pomp in the gambling-house and bar-room, and he chose to follow me by his blasphemies and drunkeness. Even in the Church, in the House of God, I displayed my pomp by sending there vain women, my faithful servants, and there he chose me through his lustful glances and desires.

Just Judge! I appeal to you, has he renounced me, has he renounced my works, has he renounced my pomps?"

Then Satan turns to the sinner. "See, wicked wretch," he cries, "can you deny this?" And as he speaks, he unfolds before the poor soul the long list of his sins...

"Do you remember the sin you committed in that house on such a night? I have taken care to note it down, as I knew you were so forgetful.

Here, too, are the sins you committed that night in the ballroom, in the theater, and on your way home. Can you deny them?

Here are noted down, all the impure thoughts to which you consented to in your heart; here are written all those immodest words, all those blasphemies, all your bad desires, and actions. You told your Confessor that you could not remember the number of your sins.

Here is the number. I call God to witness if it is not the truth.

Do you remember those sins that you were ashamed to tell your Confessor? Here they are, carefully noted down.

Do you remember those important circumstances that you concealed? I make them known to you now."

How overwhelming is the shame and confusion of this unhappy man, as he sees all his sins now brought forth against him! The devil has indeed told the truth, because the truth now serves his purpose better than falsehood. He knows he is a liar, and therefore he needs someone to acknowledge the truth of his accusations.

"I have," he says, "witnesses, if you want them. Shall I call them up?" Jesus Christ gives his permission, and quick as a flash of light, a troop of lost spirits come up from Hell. They glare on the sinner as they fix on him a look of recognition.

"Aha!" cries one of them with a fiendish laugh, "I think you know me;" and as she speaks, she holds out her long, withered fingers towards him. "Do you not remember me? I am that unhappy girl whom you suduced. You led me to ruin."

Yes, he knows her, though she is horribly changed. He recognizes that voice and remembers that face. But there is another standing before him, and he shudders as he sees her. It is his poor wife, who had put up with all his harsh treatment, whom he had so often cursed and outraged in his drunkeness. Through want and hunger, she was led to steal, and at last, through grief and despair, she was led to drunkenness herself.

"O husband!" she shrieks, "you were my torment during life; I will now be your torment throughout all eternity."

But there are others standing near him, a young man and woman -- he knows them too. They are his children. He received them from God to raise up for Heaven, but he has neglected that Sacred Duty by scandalizing them through bad example. They could not find any love at home. They lost all affection, all respect for their parents, and after their day's work, one went to the bar, while the other went to the dance room. And only after a short time, they too died in Mortal Sin.

"O father!" they shriek, "father!" How the name, which was once a term of fondness, now pieces his soul! "O father! you gave us life only to lead us to Hell. We will not leave you; we will cling to you, and drag you deeper and deeper into the eternal flames."

Has not the demon won his case? But wait; perhaps the sinner during life completed penance. Has not his Guardian Angel anything to say in his favor? Alas! he looks sad; he has nothing good to say.

"O Jesus, most Just and Holy Judge!" answers his Guardian Angel, "all these accusations are true. I have given this man all the graces which You had in store for him. He had the faith, he had the Sacraments, he had many special graces, the Jubilee, the Mission, all my calls and warnings, but in the end, he heeded them not.

I, myself, often spoke to his heart. I urged him to do penance, but he neglected it. He was seldom at Mass, and when he did go, he loaded his soul with new sins -- sins of irreverence and sins of sacrilege.

He seldom went to the Sacrament of Penance, and when he went, it was only to profane Your Precious Blood, O Jesus! for he approached the Sacrament without sincere purpose of amendment. He soon fell back into his old sins, and at last he died without repentance.

There is, then, nothing left for me now but to resign my charge, and to return the beautiful crown -- the crown which You had destined for him, but which You will place on the head of someone else." The crown of immortality, the garment of glory, the never-ending joys of Heaven, all might have been his, but now they are lost forever. Oh! how the demon exults; for he is now sure of his reward.

"O Christ!" he shrieks, "do you not hear what the angel says? You would not believe me or my witnesses, but now your angel has said it.

I did not create him, and yet he has always served me. You created him, and yet he refused to obey You.

I never died for him, and yet he has been my willing servant. You died for him, and yet he has blasphemed Your Name and broken Your Commandments.

You tried to allure him by kindness, but You were never able to win his affections. I led him to Hell, and he was always ready to follow me.

O God! you condemend me to Hell for a single sin, for a sin of thought; and this man has committed thousands of sins of thought, word, and action. Eternal God, I demand justice!"

The demon speaks boldly and boastfully, but Jesus Christ allows him to do so, because he speaks the truth. The poor soul trembles as he hears the words of the demon. He turns to Jesus and begs for mercy.

"O Jesus! have mercy! Oh! do not let me perish; for You have died for me. I never denied my faith. Have mercy on me! Only one-quarter of an hour more, and I will do penance!"

Can Jesus resist such an appeal? Can He turn away His face from such a soul? If there would have been a real disposition to do penance in the heart of that sinner during life, he might have obtained pardon. But, in the world after death, there is no penance, no mercy, no pardon for one who dies in Mortal Sin. As soon as the soul has crossed the threshold of eternity, his will becomes forever fixed either in the State of Mortal Sin or in Sanctifying Grace -- "for wherever the tree falls, there is shall lie." (Eccles 11:3)

The poor soul now only has the desire to escape punishment, but not to avoid his attachment to sin. Jesus, then, must pronounce the eternal sentence, as His Divine Justice requires it.

"O wicked man! says Jesus, turning to the sinner, "you ask for mercy, but it is now too late; the time for mercy for you has passed. You ask for mercy, and you never showed any mercy to yourself, to your wife, and children. You cry for mercy; but did not I show you mercy all the days of your life?

I sent you my priests, and you refused to hear them. They warned you, and you despised their warning. They showed you the way to Heaven, but you would not follow. You preferred to listen to the demon during life, so you will have him for all eternity.

Depart, then, accursed soul, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his followers."

Now, Jesus Christ is gone. The angel is gone. The devil approaches the dead body. He begins to wash the forhead, removing the Mark of Christ, the Holy Cross that he received in Baptism. The devil stamps his own seal of damnation.

At this moment, the poor soul feels the full extent of his misery and choice. His soul is transformed into a hideous beast. "I am damned forever! Oh! I never thought it would come to this! Will I never see Jesus Christ again? Will I never enter Heaven?" As he utters these words, the mocking voices of myriads of demons ring wildly in his ear, "Never! forever!"

We know what a comfort it is in suffering to be able to say, "It was not my fault; I did what I could." But even this comfort will not be left to the lost sinner. He will say to himself, "I might have been saved. What the angel said is all true. I was a Christian. I had the means of salvation. I was never happy in my wicked life. My sins made me miserable during life. What a fool I was! I might have done penance, and I would have been happier for time and eternity. How little God asked of me! I had the Mission, I had the Jubilee, and other opportunites. If I had but profited by them, I would not now be here. Now I can see that, that accident, that sickness which made me so impatient, was a warning from God. Now I understand it was God that called me by means of that friend. God that spoke to my heart in that book, but I would not hear His Voice. Now I see that it was God that spoke when my conscience warned me not to go to that place, to give up that company; and when I had sinned, in spite of this warning, it was God who sent me that terrible remorse. But I hardended my heart, I closed my eyes to the light. O fool that I was! What trouble I took to be damned, and how little was required of me to be saved! I am damned through my own fault. I had time enough to save my soul. How many hours have I lost in gambling and drinking, in gratifying my sinful desires! I had so many opportunities; had I only used even one-half of them well, I would now be in Heaven. I could have been saved just as well as so many others who had as much to fight against as I. They, too, had business to attend to; they, too, lived in the world, in the midst of dangers and temptations, and yet they are saved."

Alas! the unhappy poor soul laments in vain; his sorrow comes too late. The demons seize him, dragging him further down into the dismal dungeon of Hell. And now, multitudes of damned souls and demons shout with triumph, "one more Christian is ours! one more soul lost!"

This judgement is passed and executed in a moment. The body is not yet cold, and the soul who dies in Mortal Sin is now in Hell. The friends and relatives of the deceased are standing around the body, entirely unconscious of what had just happened. Some come to take a last look at their dear friend, and as they gaze on the face of him, they say, "Oh! how natural he looks! He looks as if he were smiling still. His suffering is now over." They only reflect onto the soul, that which they hope to reflect onto themselves, that Heaven is guaranteed to all people, because God is only infinitely merciful. And therefore, they that speak little about God's infinite justice also thinks little about the possibility of going to Hell if dying in a State of Mortal Sin. This is an everyday occurrence.

Brothers and Sisters, meditate on this: wherever and whenever death overtakes a man, there Jesus Christ meets him and judges him. Have you ever been at such a place, doing such a thing, thinking something, or saying something you shouldn't? Would you have wanted to meet Jesus Christ during these moments to be judged for all eternity?

It may be yet today, tomorrow, or soon -- much sooner than we expect. It may be in the very act of sin. Before it is too late, go to Jesus in the Tribunal of Mercy or the Sacrament of Penance, and receive His mercy with a sorrowful heart and a sincere amendment of life. For after death, there shall be no more mercy, but only justice -- unerring justice.

It was these truths that St. Philip Neri impressed so deeply upon the mind of many of his followers, especially a young man who came to him one day and said, "O father! I have some good news to tell you. My parents have at last consented to send me to the university, where I intend to study law."

"Very well," said St. Philip Neri; "and when you have finished your studies, what will you do then?"

"Oh! then," said the young man, "I shall receive my diploma and be admitted to the bar."

"And when you have received your diploma and are admitted to the bar, what will you do then?"

"Then I expect to receive a great deal of patronage, and hope to become renowned for wisdom and eloquence," said the young man.

"And what then?" asked St. Philip Neri.

"Oh! then perhaps I shall become a judge or a governor, or receive some other important public office. I shall become wealthy, and be honored, and admired."

"And what will you do then?" asked the saint once more.

"Well, then, when I have grown old, I shall rest and enjoy the fruits of my labors in a calm old age," said the young man.

"Well, supposing all this comes true," said the saint, "what will you do then?"

"Then... Then..." said the young man, in a more sober tone, "why, then I suppose I must die, like every one else."

"Yes, you must die at last," said St. Philip Neri, in a tone of fearful earnestness; "but what then? What shall you do when your trial comes -- when you shall be yourself the accused, Satan the accuser, and Almighty God your Judge?"

The young man was now quite serious; he little expected such a conclusion. The terrible thought of the hour of death, the strict judgement after death, and the endless eternity that awaited him in Heaven or Hell -- all this opened his eyes to the folly of earthly greatness. He went home, thought over the matter seriously, and at last, englightened and strengthened by God, he quitted the world and consecrated himself to the service of God in a monastery, in order to prepare most earnestly for that final "what then?" -- that is to say, that awful judgement which shall be followed by eternity.

Let us be wise and prepare in time for the hour of death, when the past, present, and future will fill our souls with terror, when the world will recede from us, when the temptations of the devil will be most fierce, and when we shall have to give a strict account of all our thoughts, words, and actions.

It is, therefore, the greatest wisdom to prepare well for that last moment by making a good confession and being charitable to the poor. If we do these things, along with purifying our souls every day more and more, and pondering the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell, we shall have no fear of God in the hour of death.

St. Augstine says, "as soon as we begin to hate our sins, condemn them, and accuse ourselves of them in confession, then God is on our side." It is then that all our works, especially our charity to the poor, are pleasing to God, and will inspire us with great confidence in the Mercy of God. "Blessed is he that understands the concerns of the poor and the needy," says holy Daivd; "the Lord will deliver him on the evil day." The evil day is the day, the hour, of death.

But in this hour, the charitable Christian will experience great confidence in God. "Alms, shall be," says Holy Scripture, "a great confidence before the Most High God to all those that give it." (Job 4:12)

And again it is said, "Almgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have life everlasting." (Tobit 12:8-9)

"The goods of this world," says St. Ambrose, "will not follow us after death. Only the works of Charity will accompany the dying. They will preserve them from hell."

Again, "give alms out of your substance, and turn not away your face from any poor person; for so it shall come to pass that the face of the Lord shall not be turned from you. According to your ability be merciful. If you have much, give abundantly; if you have a little, take care ever so to give willingly a little." (Tobit 4:7-9)

St. Cyprian says that Tabita was restored to life on account of her charity towards the poor. "This woman," says Holy Scripture, "was full of good works and alms-deeds which she did." (Acts 9:36-40)

St. Francis de Sales says, "a death-bed is a good one if it has charity for a mattress."

St. Vincent de Paul said, "that those who have been charitable in the course of their life towards the poor generally have no fear of death at the end of their life; that he had witnessed this in many instances; and that for this reason he recommended to all those who were afraid of death to be charitable to the poor."

"Yes," says St. Jerome, "I cannot remember ever to have read that a man who was given to works of charity died a bad death. He has too many intercessors in Heaven, and it is impossible that the prayer of many should not be heard." "Works of charity alone," remarks a certain author, "lead man to God and God to man. I never saw a charitable person die a bad death."

This confidence is a fruit of their charity to the poor for they know that whatever they have given to the poor, they have given to our Lord Himself, as our Divine Savior has declared, "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:40)

For this reason, the Fathers of the Church say that whatever is given in alms is put, as it were, into the savings-bank of Heaven by the hands of the poor. "Secure your riches, " exclaims St. John Chrysostom; "they are fleeting. How can you secure them? By giving them in alms you will make them stay with you; but by keeping them, you will make them leave you. Keep grain locked up, and it will be eaten up by worms and disappear; sow it out, and it will yield a rich harvest and remain. Thus, in like manner, riches put under lock and key will disappear; but given in alms to the poor, they will yield a hundred-fold."

St. Cyprian says the same, "a capital deposited in the hands of Jesus Christ cannot be confiscated by any goverment, nor can it become the prey of dishonest lawyers. That inheritance is secure which is deposited with God."

The alms, then, which the charitable man has given will inspire him in the hour of death with great confidence in Jesus Christ, his Eternal Judge. In vain shall his sins rise up to accuse him, because the poor will excuse him. He has given his alms to Jesus Christ Himself, in the Person of the Poor. "We are your works," they will cry out to him. "We are so many advocates before the Tribunal of Justice to defend your cause. We will gain for you the good graces of the Eternal Judge. We will prevail upon Him to pronounce sentence in your favor."

What a happiness for us to have in our power these two easy means of securing Heaven -- confession of our sins and charity to the poor! Yes, our good confessions and our works of charity will gloriously prevail upon Jesus Christ to pronounce the sentence:

"Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you gave me food;

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink;

I was a stranger, and you welcomed me;

I was naked, and you clothed me;

I was sick, and you visited me;

I was in prison, and you came to me."

The Confiteor

I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the Saints, and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed:

through my fault,

through my fault,

through my most grevious fault,

therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangle, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, and you, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me.

Amen

Source

The Prodigal Son

Original 1875 Publication

Fr. Michael Muller, 1825 - 1899

CSSR or the Redemptorist founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori