539. There are two obligations incumbent on one after self-examination: prayer and confession. Prayer should be that the Lord may have pity, grant the power to resist the evils of which one has repented, and supply the inclination and affection for doing good, since man without Him cannot do anything (John 15:5). Confession should be that one sees, recognises and acknowledges one's evils, and reveals oneself as a wretched sinner. There is no need to list one's sins before the Lord, nor to pray that they may be forgiven. There is no need to list one's sins, because one has examined them and seen them in oneself; consequently they are present to the Lord, because they are to oneself. The Lord has also guided the person in self-examination, disclosed the sins, and inspired sadness and together with this an effort to desist from them and begin a new life.
[2] There are two reasons why prayer ought not to be offered before the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. First, because sins are not wiped out, but taken away; and this happens as one subsequently desists from them and embarks on a new life. For there are countless longings attached like a cluster around every evil; these cannot be taken away in an instant, but only one after another, as a person allows himself to be reformed and regenerated. The second reason is that the Lord, being mercy itself, forgives everyone his sins, and does not hold even one of them against a person. For the Lord says, 'They do not know what they are doing.' But still this does not mean that the sins are abolished; for when Peter asked how many times he should forgive his brother his offences, whether as many as seven times, the Lord said:
Not up to seven times, I tell you, but up to seventy times seven times. Matt. 18:21, 22. What then will the Lord not do? Still there is no harm in someone, whose conscience is oppressing him, gaining relief by listing his sins before a priest of the church, so as to receive absolution. This is because by this means he is led into the habit of examining himself and reflecting on the evils he commits day by day. This, however, is a natural confession; the one described above is spiritual.
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