How to Confession a Sermon on the Cross

If you confess that you have pronounced some lie, though without malice, have spoken some improper word or been excessive in your amusements, repent, and firmly resolved to amend. Do not make only those superficial accusations that some make as a matter of course. By making such a confession you will say nothing definite which can enable your confessor to understand the state of your conscience. For example, when you would accuse yourself of not having loved your neighbor as much as you ought, this may well be because you took no notice of some poor person in distress whom you might have easily helped and comforted.