A short sermon of a Benedictine monk!

Augustine Wirth O.S.B.

"Now, my dear Christians, I would have you remember that in dealing with the world, we are fighting as it were in the very camp of the enemy. We are like sailors in a naval battle, forced to board the enemy's ship, and fight it out with the foe upon his own timbers. We are in the midst of the world, breathing a worldly atmosphere, afected by its maxims, influenced by its fashions, constantly arrayed by its customs against the law of God, against the Church, against conscience. Here, indeed, must we valiently show fight, here must we battle manfully, if we would not be dragged into the snares of our treacherous enemy, or compromise our colors, lower the banner of the Cross, to some artful insidious plea of necessity or wider uselfulness. It is the age of so-called "liberal Catholics;" and we have every danger to fear from those champions of human respect who would pit the good opinion of a corrupt world against the grand old unworldly, immutable Church, whose glory is the Cross, the humiliations, the abject poverty of her Crucified Spouse.
                  If God has not given us the grace of a religious vocation, my brethren, we cannot help coming in contact with these omnipresent foes, with men who are perverse, (as the apostle says,) whose principles are not of God, bit of the world, and of a world which is "placed" in "iniquity." Is it any wonder, dear Christians, under these circumstances, that it is impossible to avoid all temptations? O beware of the spirit of the world! Fast and pray; watch day and night, for crafty and cruel annd mighty is the enemy who lingers at your door. Yes, should you even withdraw from the world and all worldy pursuit, - should you, like the anchorites of old, flee even into the monasteries of the desert, Satan will follow you there, and your body, with its corrupt tendencies and evil inclinations, will open a hand-to-hand combat with the soldier of our Lord Jesus Christ. The enemy within the walls - ah! is not that a foe to be, perhaps, more dreaded than any other exterior enemy. Pride and self-love have blinded many, and have sent more souls to destructions than Satan and the world combined. Were it not for the concupiscence of the flesh and the desires of corrupt nature, neither the devil nor the world would so easily succeed in drawing man from the service of God, - from the sweet yoke of the Gospel, - into the infernal slavery of hell.
               Christians, especially you who are in earnest and wish to save your immortal souls, be not astonished if temptations, even the most violent, dreadful and obscene, assail you. We read in the Gospel of today, that our dear Lord permitted himself, for our instruction, to be tempted even to the degrading sin of idolatry; thus showing us, for our encouragement, that involuntary temptations are not sinful, and that the soul which resists evil has no cause to fear. But if you would be secure against all the assaults of your spiritual foes, my brethren, you must faithfully and perseveringly make use of the means to overcome them."

Perfect contrition and imperfect contrition!

I was reading the other day in St. Thomas Aquinas Catechism-instructions about the difference between perfect and imperfect contrition. In these times when the Chair of St.Peter is vacant, and the Church is living in exile, many of us do not have a Priest around and therefore have no access to the Sacrament of Confession.
             When you go to a Priest for Confession it is enough to have "imperfect contrition" for your sins in order to be absolved from those sins. Imperfect contrition means that if you are sorry for your sins because you fear hell and dread the loss of Heaven, it is enough to receive the forgiveness you so desperately need. This is the beauty of this Sacrament, a grace of God given to poor sinners.
             But when you don't have a Priest to hear your confession, an act of "perfect contrition" is needed to receive forgiveness. This is much harder to obtain, because it happens outside the Sacramental graces of Penance. It means that you have to regret your sin(s) firstly because you love God and are heartbroken because you have offended and hurt Him by your sin(s). See the difference? But do not despair, it is not impossible to receive forgiveness for your sins without the Sacrament of Penance. God is merciful and has not forgotten His exiled Church. Confess your sins every day, and beg for Gods mercy, for He is ready to forgive a poor sinner at any time!

An act of Contrition:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life.
Amen.

An act of perfect Contrition:
My God, I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee above all things with all my soul, with all my heart and with all my strength; I love Thee because Thou art infinitely good and worthy of being loved, and because I love Thee, I repent with all my heart of having offended Thee; have mercy on me, a sinner.
Amen
(From the Raccolta with an indulgence of 300 days.)

I urge all of you, one and all, to memorize and use these Acts of Contrition. There are of course much more to be said about the subject, and I encourage you to learn more about what the Church teaches on this subject! One reliable source is the book "Denzinger."