directly opposite to that of the sins committed. For examples, see pp. 187, 188. 29. In estimating the gravity of a fault, the Confessor should remember that its heinousness depends rather on the premeditation with which it has been committed, than upon the consequences which it involves. 30. The Confessor should endeavour to ascertain what is the besetting sin of the penitent, and should direct his efforts and arrange his penances rather for its eradication than for the suppression of any casual manifestation of sin. 31. It is sacrilege of the very gravest kind for the Priest to disclose what has been revealed to him in Sacramental Confession. His silence must extend (1) to all things actually confessed, of which he may not speak, out of the confessional, even to the penitent himself, except by the desire or permission of the latter; (2) to the offences of other persons casually referred to in confession, and not otherwise known to the Priest; (3) to all hints, innuendoes, or indirect references as to the matter of confession, and, as a rule, to the names of the penitents. If the Priest meet with a case with which he does not know how to deal, and for whose treatment he must seek advice, he should state it in such broad and general terms as to avoid any probability of identifying the person on whose behalf he makes the inquiries. The obligation to silence on the part of the Priest does not terminate with the death of the penitent, but is perpetually binding. NOTES ON DIRECTION. 1. The object of Direction is to form JESUS CHRIST in the soul (Gal. iv. 19), and especially to give a religious tone to secular life. 2. Direction, therefore, is guidance in questions of practical action, afforded to Christians in doubt or difficulty, by one who is wiser in spiritual matters than they. 3. Therefore, unlike the Sacramental rites of the Church, the efficacy of Direction depends on the personal character and abilities of the Director. 4. It follows that although a Priest may not decline the office of Confessor, which is part of his ordinary ministerial duty, he is at liberty to decline that of a Director if he feel himself incompetent to fulfil its requirements. 5. There is thus no necessary connexion between the office of Director and Confessor, although for convenience' sake they are frequently combined. Thus the Exhortation in the Communion Office implies that "ghostly counsel and advice" are to be sought for from the Priest who pronounces "Absolution." 6. As no sacerdotal character is necessary for giving advice in spiritual things, the office of Director may be, and often has been, exercised by Laymen. 7. The natural Director of a wife is her husband, of a child its parents, and nothing but grave faults of omission or commission can excuse the interposition of any other person, even of a Priest. 8. Direction has chiefly to do with adjusting the conflicting claims of Society and of the Church, of conventional laws and of Evangelical precepts, and, in gencral, where temporal and spiritual well-being seem to be opposed. 9. The advice given should be of an eminently practical nature, and take as a rule the common-sense view of a subject. 10. Therefore, while the best Director is one who combines deep spirituality with profound intellect, yet, when these qualifications are not to be found united, mental power and experience should have the preference. they are compelled to commit one of two sins, and will seek counsel as to which is the less heinous. The Director must always point out that such an alternative of moral evil is impossible. There must always be a right path, since otherwise GOD would be the compeller to sin. 19. As the Director has to deal chiefly with external modes of ac11. A Director should confine tion, his counsels must be indefihimself to general guidance, and nitely modified according to the enter as little as possible into mi-condition of those who consult nute details. He should endeavour him. rather to instil maxims and principles, than to construct a code of minute observances. 12. The amount of detail will vary according to the intelligence of the inquirer; the less instructed he is, the more definite must be the rules laid down for his guidance. 13. The Director should aim at strengthening the sense of personal responsibility in those who consult him, and at increasing the sensitiveness and vigour of their consciences. 14. Over-direction commonly weakens the conscience by leading persons to lean rather upon external aid than upon those natural instincts of right and wrong which have been implanted in them by GOD. A wise physician will discourage the habitual use of drugs, and will rather urge attention to regimen and exercise. 15. The Director should therefore reserve his aid for matters of real difficulty. If applied to in simple and obvious cases he should rather, by appealing to the conscience of the inquirer, endeavour to draw the answer from his lips. 16. To avoid the grave perils of over-direction, the Director will take care that the interviews which he grants shall be short and infrequent. 17. In matters of doubt or of conflicting duties, the less pleasant way is usually the safer. 18. Persons often imagine that 20. He should remember that whilst it is impossible to fix the moral standard too high, yet the practical standard in such matters as devotions, almsgivings, acts of self-denial, &c., must fluctuate according to individual needs and circumstances. 21. In dealing with persons who are troubled with unnecessary scruples, the Director will do well to suggest some course of active em ployment for both mind and body which shall aim at the benefit or pleasure of another, in order to draw them out of themselves. 22. In the case of persons of a demonstrative temperament, if the Director has reason to suppose them unreal and sentimental, he may ascertain the truth, and often effect a cure, by counselling them to undertake some benevolent work of a routine and uninteresting description. 23. With persons of highlywrought and enthusiastic temperament, he should point out that the most obvious and commonplace duties, as they are the nearest, are also the most imperative, but if there be no signs of extravagance or neglect of local duties, the Director should be careful not to check devotion which passes the ordinary standard. 24. A constant change of Directors is unadvisable, but there are two cases in which it is desirable to sever the connexion between guide and pupil. (1) When constraint a compliance with the suggestions of the Director, and appears to be substituting his dictates for the operations of conscience. has grown up between them, and they are no longer on a footing of mutual confidence. (2) When the pupil exhibits too blind and slavish NOTES ON MISSIONS. The object of a Mission is to rouse in the careless a sense of sin, and a desire for pardon, and to excite all who attend it to greater earnestness in the work of salvation. If possible, the Mission should be conducted by two Priests who may assist one another, each taking that part of the work for which he has a special capacity. as When an exceptional effort, such a Mission, is undertaken, no pains should be spared to secure the work being done thoroughly. It is desirable that the Mission should be conducted by strangers, (1) because their arguments and appeals from the pulpit will, by reason of their freshness, be more likely to affect and influence the congregation than those of the Parish Priest, whose ordinary manner and train of thought are more or less familiar to the people. (2) Because those who may become convinced of grievous secret sins will have less scruple in confessing them to a stranger than to one whom they will be frequently secing afterwards. The time occupied should not be less than a week. It is well for a short Mission to begin on the evening of one Sunday and end with a general Communion on the morning of the Sunday following. Every effort should be made to insure a good beginning and a good ending to the Mission. During the fortnight previous to the Mission the Parishioners should be carefully visited,-leaflets and tracts distributed, and the people urged personally and individually to avail themselves of the advantages which it offers. The Mission Priests will naturally consult with the Parochial Clergy as to the general plan of the spiritual campaign, which will necessarily vary according to the circumstances of the parish. They should not, however, be hampered by restrictions, but be allowed to do their own work in their own way. There should be at least one Celebration of the Blessed Sacrament at an early hour every morningtwo are preferable,the former being not later (say) than six o'clock. Matins and Evensong will of course be said, but it will be better for these to be independent of the Mission services. The more freedom that characterizes the Mission Services, within reason, the better. Metrical Litanies, and other Hymns of a rousing and emotional character, should be very freely employed. Mere routine and conventionality should be scrupulously eschewed. Sensationalism, within such limits as good sense will dictate, will be effective, when commonplace would be utterly powerless. The chief agencies employed in a Mission are Preaching-Meditations-Bible Classes-Prayer Meetings-Public and Private Conferences-and the Confessional. Sermons should, of course, be extempore, delivered with as much life and vigour as may be, and con taining a good supply of illustration and anecdote. Directness and plain speaking should be their characteristics, and they should not exceed half an hour in duration. It is often advisable to call upon the congregation to kneel, if a fit opportunity offers, in the course of the sermon, the preacher inviting his hearers to join with him in saying the Veni Creator, or similar appropriate devotion. Aspirations and Colloquies may be fitly introduced. The other agencies above mentioned have been treated of so well in a small publication by the Evangelist Fathers, entitled, "Suggestions as to the Conduct of a Mission" (Knott, Greville Street, E.C.), that it is thought superfluous to speak of them here in detail. The Mission should close with a General Communion. At the evening service immediately preceding this there should be a solemn renewal of Baptismal Vows, and so far as possible each person who has attended should make some special resolution, suggested by the Mission. It is found a good plan to give to each person who has made a first Confession during the Mission, or who has otherwise distinguished himself by earnestness and devotion, a medal or cross as a memento. The greatest possible facility should be afforded to persons wishing to consult the priest, who ought to be easily accessible at all times, and to all persons. NOTES ON RETREATS. The object of a Retreat is to deepen the Spiritual sense of those who are already living religious lives. The means employed are Retirement from the world; Silence; Meditations conducted by a Priest; and Mental Prayer. or women, but should not be for both on the same occasion. Some one special object is usually taken on which all the Meditations have a bearing, more or less direct. It is usual for the Priest Conductor to give three Meditations a day, but sometimes an "Instruction," explanatory of some question which has come up in the course of A Retreat commonly lasts three the previous Meditations, takes the whole days, in addition to an open-place of the midday Meditation. ing address on the first evening, and a general Communion on the last morning. Thus, if the opening address be given on Tuesday evening, the Communion will be on Saturday morning. Sometimes circumstances may not admit of more than one day being given up to a Retreat. Other modifications as to time, &c., are adopted as occasion requires. A College or Religious House is the best place in which to hold a Retreat. Retreats may be either for men The Conductor, kneeling, begins each Meditation by reciting the Veni Creator, in which all join. After this he says the Collect for Whitsun Day, and any other appropriate prayer. He then, after stating the subject, gives the " Prelude," which is frequently a wordpicture of some event, Scriptural or otherwise, illustrative of the grace which he desires to enforce. This is intended to place the minds needs. Printed papers arranged of those present in a proper attitude for profiting by what is to follow. After this all take their scats-the Conductor, sitting down, begins his Meditation, which generally lasts about three-quarters of an hour. At its conclusion, all again kneel, the Conductor recites the Anima Christi, with any appropriate Collect. He then retires to the Sacristy or other fit place where any of those present may resort to him for advice or confession. Persons in Retreat generally provide themselves with a note-book and pencil to take down anything that especially strikes them in the Meditation. After a Meditation those in Retreat remain in the Chapel, and occupy themselves in Mental Prayer or Spiritual Reading. Every Retreat should finish with a distinct Resolution made by each person present according to his with blanks for filling up are usually provided for this purpose. These are signed kneeling, before the Blessed Sacrament, and are to be kept by each person for future reference. Sometimes a general renewal of Baptismal vows is made on the evening before the closing Communion, but this appears more suitable for a Mission than for a Retreat. In the latter, excitement is not advisable. An admirable Paper on Retreats, from the pen of the Rev. T. T. Carter, will be found in the volume of Essays entitled "The Church and the World," 1866. This should be carefully studied by any one who desires to make himself acquainted with the spirit and routine of such exercises. In the arrangement of materials for Meditations, the "Manresa" by S. Ignatius Loyola will be found most useful. JUSTIFICATION. Justification is the process by which fallen man is admitted to and retained in a state of grace, and of acceptance with GOD. To justify is a legal or forensic term, signifying, strictly taken, to declare a person righteous when he is not righteous. But when God is the Justifier, a further idea is involved. His eyes cannot away with iniquity. He cannot declare that a man is righteous when he is not so, nor look with favour upon an unholy creature. Further, as man did not become guilty except by becoming sinful, so he cannot become innocent except by becoming holy. GOD'S Word, which is with power, is the instrument of His deed. The Voice of the LORD is mighty in operation, and therefore when He says, "Let the soul be just," it becomes just. So that Justification is an announcement or fiat of Almighty GOD, declaring the soul righteous, and by that declaration conveying pardon for the past and making it actually righteous. Hence those who are counted righteous by GOD are actually made righteous in being counted so (comp. 2 Thess. i. 5; Rev. iii. 4). Thus GOD does not belie Himself by accounting us righteous when we are not so, but He makes us righteous by an inward renovation of the soul (S. John i. 29; Acts iii. 19; Rom. viii. 1; Eph. v. 8). Justification, being needed, could be had either by GoD's dispensing |