uct him in
the way of meditation, and shall oblige him to make some meditations from
the first week of exercises. You shall counsel him to practise some
mortification of his body; for example, to fast, or to discipline
himself, which will help him to conceive a true sorrow for his offences,
and to shed the tears of penance. Besides this, if the penitents have
enriched themselves by sinister ways, or if, by their malicious talk,
they have blasted the reputation of their neighbour, cause them to make
restitution of their ill-gotten goods, and make reparations of their
brethren's honour, during the space of those three days. If they are
given to unlawful love, and are now in an actual commerce of sin, cause
them to break off those criminal engagements, and forsake the occasions
of their crime. There is not any time more proper to exact from sinners
those duties, the performance of which is as necessary as it is
difficult; for when once their fervour is past away, it will be in vain
to demand of them the execution of their promise; and perhaps you will
have the trouble of seeing them fall back into the precipice, for want of
removing them to a distance from it.

"In administering the sacrament of penance, take heed of discouraging
those who begin to discover the wounds of their souls to you, by
appearing too rashly and too hastily severe. How enormous soever their
sins may be, hear them, not only with patience, but with mildness; help
out even their bashfulness, by testifying to them your compassion, and
not seeming to be amazed at what you hear. Insinuate into them, that you
have heard in confession sins of a much more crying nature: and, lest
they should despair of pardon for their faults, speak to them of the
infinite mercies of the Lord.

"When they declare a crime in such a manner that you may perceive they
are in trouble how to speak, interrupt them, by letting them know, that
their sin is not altogether so great as they may think; that by God's
assistance you can heal the most mortal wounds of the soul; bid them go
on without any apprehension, and make no difficulty of telling all. You
will find some of them, whom either the weakness of their age or sex will
hinder from revealing to you their most shameful sins. When you perceive
that bashfulness has tied their tongue, be before-hand with them; and, by
the way of a charitable prevention, let them know, that they are neither
the first, nor the only persons, who have