APPENDIX: ON PENANCES MORE USEFULLY IMPOSED

1387. - 1° Vocal prayers, Pater, Ave, Credo, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, the Rosary, or its third part; morning and evening prayers.²

2° Mental prayers, discreetly, according to the capacity of the penitent; for the unlearned, some thought concerning hell, death, or the passion of Christ, morning or evening, e.g. for the time of one Ave.

3° Acts of Faith, Hope, Charity, contrition, trust in God, conformity to the divine will, purpose of not sinning, ... so many times, ... e.g. morning, evening, especially in temptations or dejection of mind.

4° The offering of oneself to God very early in the morning, the Sign of the Cross, various aspirations or ejaculatory prayers to Christ, to the Heart of Jesus, to the Blessed Virgin, to the Guardian Angel. (Ordinarily they are not to be multiplied.)

5° The exercise of the Way of the Cross, especially when it is made in common; nine-day prayers in honor of the Blessed Virgin or of some Saint.

6° The hearing of sermons, assistance at Offices of the Church, e.g. at solemn Mass, Vespers, etc., or at spiritual exercises, or the pious exercise of the Marian Month, or other things of this kind, at least several times.

7° General examination of conscience in the evening, at least for a brief time; likewise particular examination concerning such a defect, or such a depraved custom, from a firm purpose of amendment.

8° Visit to any Church or Altar, or to some one in particular, to pray something there, or to ask the grace of sinning no more.

9° Pious reading, e.g. for a quarter of an hour on Sunday, or one or another chapter, e.g. of the Imitation of Christ, of the Lives of the Saints, or of another pious book, etc.

10° Frequenting of the Sacraments, on such a day, or at such a time, or so many times. Here the confessor should act cautiously, and should not impose the obligation on those who confess rarely, that they approach the tribunal of penance once or twice in a month for a year; but let him not enjoin this except once, and perhaps another time, and only on penitents accepting it willingly.

1388. - 1° Fasting, either entire according to the laws of the Church, or partial according to the physical and moral strength of the penitent. Nevertheless a penance of this kind is not to be imposed except rarely, and only on those who will accept it willingly.

2° Some subtraction of food, which can in no way harm the health of the body, or the offices or labors of the penitent, e.g. half of the usual breakfast on Friday or Saturday, or on the vigil of some feast, etc.

3° Abstinence from wine or intoxicating liquor, on such a day, at such a time, or not to exceed a certain quantity.

4° Some subtraction of ordinary sleep, especially by rising earlier in the morning, or at a determined hour, as a remedy for sloth, or also for preventing impure temptations.

5° To pray on bended knees, or with arms extended in the form of a cross, to kiss the ground for the sake of humility, to undertake brief pilgrimages.

6° To offer to God several times illnesses, sicknesses, or other hardships of life that occur, by bearing them patiently.

7° Sometimes to be deprived of recreation, even honest recreation, e.g. walking; to repress excessive curiosity in hearing, in sight; not to remain so long at the door or windows of the house. This especially suits young women addicted beyond measure to vanity.

8° To chastise the body with moderate discreet mortification, with some scourging, with an uncomfortable posture. - But these are to be enjoined very rarely; indeed they are to be permitted with great discretion.

1389. - Since, generally speaking, contraries are cured by contraries, the following penances can be enjoined, or only advised, with discretion, however, with special attention to the quality and greater good of penitents.

1° Brief prayers are to be imposed on penitents who pray rarely and badly, to be performed morning or evening, for about a week. - For the tepid, pious readings, or ejaculatory prayers to be made several times in the day, yet few, and for few days, lest from forgetfulness they be omitted, or trouble the penitent. - For those tempted against Faith or Hope, acts of Faith, Hope, trust, or the recitation of the Apostles' Creed, etc.

2° For blasphemers, external reverence toward God, toward the Cross, ... e.g. to kiss reverently the Crucifix, or sacred images, or to say devoutly: Blessed be the name of the Lord. Praised be Jesus Christ.

3° For lovers of the world and its pomps, some meditation concerning the vanity of worldly things, e.g. when they rise in the morning or seek their bed, or the renewal of the promises made in Baptism.

4° For those who often omit Mass, some supererogatory Mass to be heard, e.g. a double one on Sunday, or one on a weekday, or some visit to the Most Holy Sacrament to be made several times, etc.

5° For those harboring hatred, some works of charity toward the neighbor, e.g. to greet or speak to an enemy, prudently however; prayer and an act of charity for the neighbor in general, and also specially for enemies; the recitation of the Lord's Prayer for the same, especially these words: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

6° For the lustful, some mortification, or subtraction of conveniences, especially flight of occasions, prayer, frequenting of the Sacraments, frequent renewal of firm purpose, memory of the last things, etc.

7° For thieves and the avaricious, some alms according to their faculties, even if only one coin had to be spent several times on the poor or on the Church. But grave alms are never to be imposed, unless they are accepted willingly.

8° For the proud, certain offices of humility, e.g. to kiss the ground, to visit the poor, or kindly assist them, to treat them humanely, or to elicit various acts of humility, e.g. to say with the publican: Lord, be propitious to me a sinner.

9° For gluttons and drunkards, some subtraction of foods, abstinence from food and drink outside the customary meals, or abstinence from wine on such a day, or a prohibition not to exceed a certain quantity of wine at meals, etc.

Add also the works of mortification which are indicated in n. 1388.