18. Let us, then, with the whole strength of our faith, give praise to God; let us give our full confession, since the powers of heaven rejoice over our repentance, all the angels rejoice, and Christ also rejoices, who once again with full and merciful moderation exhorts us, laden with sins, overwhelmed with crimes, to cease from wickedness, saying, “Turn ye, and return from your impieties, and your iniquities shall not be to you for a punishment. Cast away from you all your impieties which ye have committed against me; and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And why do ye deliver yourselves over to death, O house of Israel? For I do not desire the death of the sinner.”73    Ezek. xviii. 30–32.  “I am He, I am He who blot out thy crimes, and I will not remember them. But do thou have in mind, and let us judge; tell thou thy wickednesses first, that thou mayest be justified.”74    Isa. xliii. 25, 26.  While the way of mercy, brethren, is open,75    [A virtual refutation of the dogma of purgatory, and all the trading in Masses which it involves. The pious Hirscher, in his Kirchlichen Zustände der Gegenwart (Tübingen, 1849; a translation of which, by the American editor of this series, was published, Oxford, 1852), bewails the corrupting influences of this system, though he died in the Papal communion.] let us entreat God with full atonements; let us humble ourselves, that we may be exalted; let us acquiesce in the divine exhortation, whereby we may escape the day of the Lord and His anger. For thus He says: “Look, my son, upon the nations of men, and know who hath hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded; or has remained in His commandments, and has been forsaken; or has called upon Him, and He has despised him. For the Lord is loving and merciful, and forgiving in time of tribulation their sins to all those that seek after Him in truth.”76    Ecclus. ii. 10, 11.  Therefore He says, “First tell thou thy sins, that thou mayest be justified.” Let there be first in your hand that prayer full of confession.77    [The Lord’s prayer; p. 454, note 1, supra.]

XVIII. Demus igitur totis viribus fidei nostrae Deo laudem, demus plenam confessionem: quandoquidem super poenitentia nostra gaudeant virtutes coelorum, gaudeant Angeli omnes, gaudeat et Christus; qui nos denuo peccatis oneratos, delictis obrutos, plena et clementi moderatione cessare a facinore hortatur, dicens: Convertite vos, et redite ab impietatibus vestris: et non erunt vobis iniquitates vestrae ad poenam. Projicite a vobis omnes impietates vestras quas fecistis adversum me: et facite vobis cor novum et spiritum novum. Et ut quid vos morti traditis, domus Israel? Non enim 1218B desidero mortem peccatoris. (Ezech. XVIII, 30-32) Ego sum, ego sum, qui deleo facinora tua; et non commemorabor te: tu autem in mente habe, et judicemus. Dic tu facinora tua prius, ut justificeris (Isa. XLIII, 25, 26). Dum patet, fratres, indulgentiae aditus, Deum plenis satisfactionibus deprecemur. Humiliemus nos, ut exaltari possimus. Acquiescamus divinae exhortationi, qua evadere liceat diem Domini et iram. Dicit enim sic: Respice, fili, nationes hominum, et scito. Quis speravit in Domino, et confusus est; permansit in mandatis illius, et derelictus est; aut invocavit eum, et despexit illum? quoniam pius et misericors Dominus, et remittens in tempore tribulationis peccata, omnibus inquirentibus se in veritate (Eccli. II, 11-13). Ait ergo: Dic tu facinora tua prius, ut justificeris. Prae manu sit vobis oratio illa exomologeseos plena.