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Confession Made Easy
The confessor's heart often grows sad, when he sees how many Christians are unable to distinguish between mortal and venial sin and, therefore, have a false conscience, so that at times trivial matters cause them the greatest misery. In this volume will be found an exhaustive treatment of sin-mortal and venial. It will show that, since it is the duty of the penitent to confess his sins, with the number and circumstances surrounding them, he must know the difference between duty and counsel, sin and imperfection, between mortal and venial sin. Imprimatur 1910
697 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1910
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January 25, 2021
You might laugh a bit to see a book entitled "Confession Made Easy" weigh in at just over 700 pages. But the author, Fr. Fructuosus, isn't thinking of "easy" as short, but rather as "straightforward."
The main text of the book (which goes through the Commandments and the mechanics of a good confession) goes through page 534. After which there are a number of helpful lists/prayers which are probably better photocopied than accessed directly out of such a large text, including forms for the examination of conscience, including for a General Confession, prayers before and after Confession, as well as many other devotional prayers.
This text is a photographic reproduction of a 1910 text and as such the text would probably shrink to half the page count if it had been re-typeset. Don't be scared away by the number of pages. It's a worthwhile read.
"The sinner who lives in the state of mortal sin can do but one thing and that is, he can still pray, perform good works, and give alms in the hope that God may give him in consideration of those good works the grace of repentance and conversion. The sinner can also pray for others. He can help the poor souls by his good works, but cannot merit for himself." (p. 18)
"For the sake of Christ's sufferings, He is satisfied with small acts of satisfaction. All He asks of you is a sorrowful and sincere confession of your sins, before a priest, and all the stains of your sinful soul will be washed away." (p. 20)
"In like manner, sanctifying grace will increase in you from one confession to the other, from one Communion to the other, and will become for you the foundation of inestimable glory in the world." (p. 27)
"[C]onfession not only cleanses man from sin, but also strengthens against sin, and the cleaner our hearts are, when we receive the sacraments, the more copious the treasure of grace, which we shall obtain." (p. 42)
(regarding mortal sin) "The sinner clings to the creature (men, earthly goods, or pleasures) in an unlawful manner and renounces God as his ultimate end. In this the sinner acts like a child that prefers a piece of sugar to a piece of gold." (p. 67)
"If, generally, you act conscientiously and piously by instinct, you may assume that you have not given your consent to the temptation when it comes to you." (p. 73)
"Resist the evil in the beginning; for once the evil has taken hold, it will be too late for medicine." (p. 111)
"Moreover, if you do not mind venial sins and commit them without the least concern, God will withhold from you many graces, which He would otherwise grant you." (p. 113)
"[I]t would be sinful for you to prefer your own opinion to the generally accepted opinion of the Church." (p. 123)
"[T]o conceal our faith is only allowable in cases where God's glory and man's salvation do not demand an open confession of it." (p. 133)
"Those in the single state of life must practice the virtue of chastity to a greater degree than those who live in the state of matrimony." (p. 147)
"He who lets a whole day pass by without even thinking of God, commits a venial sin, according to the opinion of a great many theologians." (p. 151)
(quoting St. Francis de Sales) "If we were doing nothing else during our prayers, but to fight distractions and temptations, our prayers would nevertheless be good ones, for the Lord is pleased by our good will." (p. 152)
(quoting St. Alphonsus Liguori) "The damned are eternally lost, because they did not pray. Had they prayed, they would not have been damned." (p. 155)
"The Church commands us to hear Mass with devotion. Therefore, he who is merely physically present at Mass, without any religious feeling and without paying attention to what is going on, does not satisfy his obligation at all, commits a mortal sin and is obliged to hear another Mass if possible." (p. 200)
"It will, of course, not do to start on a journey for any trivial reason on a Sunday." (p. 202)
"This much is certain, that when two persons meet on the road of sin and thus join hands in holy matrimony, they make a bad beginning, nor does this augur well for their happiness." (p. 227)
(regarding enemies) "You must not exclude him who has insulted you from the ordinary works of Christian love, nor refuse him the usual signs of recognition. Thus it would be sin to exclude him from your alms, if he were in need. It would be sin, not to reply to the salutation offered or to go out of your neighbor's way, without just reason, especially if he should notice this and think hard of it. You are, however, not bound to force your friendship on him, nor are you bound to enter into friendly conversation with your enemy." (p. 235)
"The commandment of the love of our enemy is an essentially Christian one and diametrically opposed to the principles of the world. 'One must stand for his rights; one must not allow anybody to insult one,' thus speaks the world. We shall, however, not be judged according to the principles of the world, but according to the eternal law of the holy Gospels." (p. 237)
"Be not oversensitive if anyone has slighted or insulted you, nor insist overmuch upon your rights...Be ever ready to offer your hand for peace and do not let the sun go down on your anger." (p. 239)
"Married persons should always bear in mind, that the purer they preserve their conjugal life the better it will be, not only for themselves, but also for their children." (p. 259)
"An acquaintance which was begun without the intention of marrying or without the possibility of marriage is improper, though nothing improper be intended...He who loves the danger perishes in it." (p. 269)
"[W]e are too prone to believe evil against our neighbor rather than good; too readily one judges from outward appearances, and too often outward appearances are deceptive." (p. 291)
"The dead, too, have a right to their good name." (p. 295)
"Make it a rule of your life never to speak about the faults of others, unless you have urgent reasons for so doing and rather be intent on your own affairs." (p. 306)
"If, therefore, we wish to get along in the world, it will be absolutely necessary that we respect the opinions of others and that we give in to others at times for the sake of peace." (p. 325)
(quoting St. Francis de Sales) "There is no other perfection than to love God with one's whole heart and his neighbor as oneself: every other perfection is not genuine." (p. 342)
"[T]he repeated efforts on your part of making a good act of contrition and the intention of avoiding the sin as far as possible are proofs positive that your contrition is a good one." (p. 428)
"Be resolved to avoid in the future that house, that person which caused you to fall into sin, or if you cannot break off all occasions try to limit them to that which is absolutely necessary." (p. 446)
"[I]mperfections not being an offense against God in the real meaning of the term, are not sufficient matter for absolution." (p. 473)
(regarding a General Confession) "No matter how much you are now convinced of the sinfulness of an action, if you did not know the sinfulness of that action when you committed the sin and when you first confessed that sin, then you did not in reality commit that sin, nor need you confess it now or any other time." (p. 491)
(quoting St. Pius X) "Frequent communion is the shortest road to salvation for the individual as well as for Catholics in general: we wish, therefore, to admonish all and encourage them, to draw near to Jesus, who is present and lives in the Blessed Eucharist. He is the cause and fountain head of all good and does not cease, in the impetuosity of His love, to call and invite all to Him, to refresh and console all in their tribulations. The Blessed Eucharist forms the center of Christian life and is the life and soul of the Church." (p. 524)
(quoting St. Catherine of Genoa) "Here in this world we can pay with a few pennies for many gold pieces, in purgatory we shall have to pay with many gold pieces for a few pennies." (p. 532)
The main text of the book (which goes through the Commandments and the mechanics of a good confession) goes through page 534. After which there are a number of helpful lists/prayers which are probably better photocopied than accessed directly out of such a large text, including forms for the examination of conscience, including for a General Confession, prayers before and after Confession, as well as many other devotional prayers.
This text is a photographic reproduction of a 1910 text and as such the text would probably shrink to half the page count if it had been re-typeset. Don't be scared away by the number of pages. It's a worthwhile read.
"The sinner who lives in the state of mortal sin can do but one thing and that is, he can still pray, perform good works, and give alms in the hope that God may give him in consideration of those good works the grace of repentance and conversion. The sinner can also pray for others. He can help the poor souls by his good works, but cannot merit for himself." (p. 18)
"For the sake of Christ's sufferings, He is satisfied with small acts of satisfaction. All He asks of you is a sorrowful and sincere confession of your sins, before a priest, and all the stains of your sinful soul will be washed away." (p. 20)
"In like manner, sanctifying grace will increase in you from one confession to the other, from one Communion to the other, and will become for you the foundation of inestimable glory in the world." (p. 27)
"[C]onfession not only cleanses man from sin, but also strengthens against sin, and the cleaner our hearts are, when we receive the sacraments, the more copious the treasure of grace, which we shall obtain." (p. 42)
(regarding mortal sin) "The sinner clings to the creature (men, earthly goods, or pleasures) in an unlawful manner and renounces God as his ultimate end. In this the sinner acts like a child that prefers a piece of sugar to a piece of gold." (p. 67)
"If, generally, you act conscientiously and piously by instinct, you may assume that you have not given your consent to the temptation when it comes to you." (p. 73)
"Resist the evil in the beginning; for once the evil has taken hold, it will be too late for medicine." (p. 111)
"Moreover, if you do not mind venial sins and commit them without the least concern, God will withhold from you many graces, which He would otherwise grant you." (p. 113)
"[I]t would be sinful for you to prefer your own opinion to the generally accepted opinion of the Church." (p. 123)
"[T]o conceal our faith is only allowable in cases where God's glory and man's salvation do not demand an open confession of it." (p. 133)
"Those in the single state of life must practice the virtue of chastity to a greater degree than those who live in the state of matrimony." (p. 147)
"He who lets a whole day pass by without even thinking of God, commits a venial sin, according to the opinion of a great many theologians." (p. 151)
(quoting St. Francis de Sales) "If we were doing nothing else during our prayers, but to fight distractions and temptations, our prayers would nevertheless be good ones, for the Lord is pleased by our good will." (p. 152)
(quoting St. Alphonsus Liguori) "The damned are eternally lost, because they did not pray. Had they prayed, they would not have been damned." (p. 155)
"The Church commands us to hear Mass with devotion. Therefore, he who is merely physically present at Mass, without any religious feeling and without paying attention to what is going on, does not satisfy his obligation at all, commits a mortal sin and is obliged to hear another Mass if possible." (p. 200)
"It will, of course, not do to start on a journey for any trivial reason on a Sunday." (p. 202)
"This much is certain, that when two persons meet on the road of sin and thus join hands in holy matrimony, they make a bad beginning, nor does this augur well for their happiness." (p. 227)
(regarding enemies) "You must not exclude him who has insulted you from the ordinary works of Christian love, nor refuse him the usual signs of recognition. Thus it would be sin to exclude him from your alms, if he were in need. It would be sin, not to reply to the salutation offered or to go out of your neighbor's way, without just reason, especially if he should notice this and think hard of it. You are, however, not bound to force your friendship on him, nor are you bound to enter into friendly conversation with your enemy." (p. 235)
"The commandment of the love of our enemy is an essentially Christian one and diametrically opposed to the principles of the world. 'One must stand for his rights; one must not allow anybody to insult one,' thus speaks the world. We shall, however, not be judged according to the principles of the world, but according to the eternal law of the holy Gospels." (p. 237)
"Be not oversensitive if anyone has slighted or insulted you, nor insist overmuch upon your rights...Be ever ready to offer your hand for peace and do not let the sun go down on your anger." (p. 239)
"Married persons should always bear in mind, that the purer they preserve their conjugal life the better it will be, not only for themselves, but also for their children." (p. 259)
"An acquaintance which was begun without the intention of marrying or without the possibility of marriage is improper, though nothing improper be intended...He who loves the danger perishes in it." (p. 269)
"[W]e are too prone to believe evil against our neighbor rather than good; too readily one judges from outward appearances, and too often outward appearances are deceptive." (p. 291)
"The dead, too, have a right to their good name." (p. 295)
"Make it a rule of your life never to speak about the faults of others, unless you have urgent reasons for so doing and rather be intent on your own affairs." (p. 306)
"If, therefore, we wish to get along in the world, it will be absolutely necessary that we respect the opinions of others and that we give in to others at times for the sake of peace." (p. 325)
(quoting St. Francis de Sales) "There is no other perfection than to love God with one's whole heart and his neighbor as oneself: every other perfection is not genuine." (p. 342)
"[T]he repeated efforts on your part of making a good act of contrition and the intention of avoiding the sin as far as possible are proofs positive that your contrition is a good one." (p. 428)
"Be resolved to avoid in the future that house, that person which caused you to fall into sin, or if you cannot break off all occasions try to limit them to that which is absolutely necessary." (p. 446)
"[I]mperfections not being an offense against God in the real meaning of the term, are not sufficient matter for absolution." (p. 473)
(regarding a General Confession) "No matter how much you are now convinced of the sinfulness of an action, if you did not know the sinfulness of that action when you committed the sin and when you first confessed that sin, then you did not in reality commit that sin, nor need you confess it now or any other time." (p. 491)
(quoting St. Pius X) "Frequent communion is the shortest road to salvation for the individual as well as for Catholics in general: we wish, therefore, to admonish all and encourage them, to draw near to Jesus, who is present and lives in the Blessed Eucharist. He is the cause and fountain head of all good and does not cease, in the impetuosity of His love, to call and invite all to Him, to refresh and console all in their tribulations. The Blessed Eucharist forms the center of Christian life and is the life and soul of the Church." (p. 524)
(quoting St. Catherine of Genoa) "Here in this world we can pay with a few pennies for many gold pieces, in purgatory we shall have to pay with many gold pieces for a few pennies." (p. 532)
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