International Public Notice: What Happened in 1871?

 By Anna Von Reitz

There are three principal international jurisdictions: Land, Air, and Water.  

Thus, we have land law, city law, and sea law.  

This is the underlying structure set in place by Rome circa 750 BC, and which they adopted from the Greeks. 

To have a sovereign government, you have to have operations established in all three international jurisdictions.  The American Government won all three as a result of the Revolutionary War and the peace process that followed, however, the peace process also resulted in treaties between the former combatants, and those peace treaties were implemented as power-sharing service contracts known as "constitutions" --- one each, in each of the principal jurisdictions. 

Thus, the Federal Constitution issued in 1787 and which covered certain delegated powers in the land jurisdiction is called "the Law of the Land".  All American commercial corporations formed under this Constitution by "the United States Federal Republic" were bound to function lawfully.   

The British Territorial Constitution issued in 1789 and which covered certain delegated sea powers operates under the Law of the Sea.  All British Territorial United States commercial corporations formed under this Constitution were bound to function legally.  

The Holy Roman Empire Constitution issued in 1790 and which covered certain delegated air jurisdiction functions operates under the Law of the Air.  All commercial corporations formed under this Constitution function under Municipal Law.

All three of these Federal Subcontractors function exclusively in international jurisdictions of law.  All three are administered by "persons" occupying various offices and bearing specific duties as "citizens" owing service to the government(s) involved.  

Thus, the employees of the United States Federal Republic owed their duty to the American People exclusively and provided delegated services in the jurisdiction of the land.  

The employees of the British Territorial Government owed their duty to the British Monarch and worked under their direction, but were under contract to provide stipulated services to the American People in the jurisdiction of the sea. 

The employees of the Holy Roman Empire owed their duty to the Pope and worked under the direction of his secular government, and were under contract to provide stipulated services to the American People in the jurisdiction of the air. 

Now, you have the background and the players identified and are enabled to rightly interpret what went on in 1871. 

In 1861, the original Confederation of States-of-States formed in 1781 under the Articles of Confederation, fell apart and ceased to operate for lack of a quorum to conduct business.   

This had disastrous consequences for the United States Federal Republic, because the Confederation doing business as the States of America held their constitutional service contract and directed their activities under The Constitution for the united States of America (emphasis added).  

As you can now see, this first Federal Constitution was issued to the Confederation doing business as the States of America.  

When the Confederation went dark, so did the United States Federal Republic. 

Ten years later, with no Notice being made outside the District of Columbia, the British Territorial U.S. Congress seized upon the "abandoned" assets of the United States Federal Republic as salvage.   

This happened on February 2nd 1871, whereupon the British Monarch received and unlawfully converted all the original Federal corporations into British Territorial holdings and began operating as the United States, Incorporated. 

Of course, this was done in-house and hushed up as a "national security matter" without any mention of which "nation" was being secured. 

Essentially, our British Service Vendors --  British Navy interests embedded under The Constitution of the United States of America -- saw their chance to substitute their foreign hegemony for the intended American Service Vendors.

So they acted in Gross Breach of Trust and self-interest to purloin property that didn't belong to them and to undertake duties and provide services as Successors to Contract, that they were never authorized to provide. 

In the process they unlawfully converted American Corporations and incorporated them as British Crown franchises -- the assets of the United States Federal Republic were cashiered and rolled over into the United States, Incorporated --- salvaged as abandoned property without Notice to the American People and the American States. 

That is what happened on February 2nd 1871 and this clandestine Breach of Trust and Service Contract --- the "good faith service" Britain and the British Monarch owed to the American People under The Constitution of the United States of America -- is what allowed the British to commandeer our Federal Government and "surrender" American assets to the British King. 

Of course, it's all self-interested fraud and illegal as hell under international law, and a treasonous violation of the Brit's own Service Contract, The Constitution of the United States of America, but so long as nobody knew, nobody could object.  

Thus, the great secrecy and the effort made by the Tories to appear to be Americans operating the American Federal Republic--- while in fact operating as British Subjects.  Those guilty of these crimes against this country and against the interests of its people will claim that they acted under conditions of war and emergency, but in fact there was no war --- only an illegal commercial mercenary conflict duplicitously named "The American Civil War" which they engendered --- and there were never any emergency powers granted.  

The actual American Government, the employer of these miscreants, was left purposefully in the dark, its officers harassed and bullied, while the Brits asset-stripped and subjected the same American People they are and were contractually obligated to serve "in good faith".  

We are now at a time wherein this Great Fraud has run its course, and both the British and Papist Secular Governments are revealed to be parasitic entities that have long operated in Gross Breach of Trust and in violation of their own Service Contracts. 

We have provided an apt example of how these two colluding foreign powers have conspired to undermine the American Government and the Federal United States Government, too, by observing their operations in Alaska.  

The two foreign "citizenries" provided by the two Federal Subcontractors colluded among themselves to create a state-of-state Constitution, the State of Alaska Constitution, that is a mutual services compact that the General Public wasn't even allowed to vote on.  

Embedded in this "Constitution" is a secondary Municipal Government franchise doing business as the STATE OF ALASKA, so that we have the British Territorial State of Alaska substituting itself as the owner -- a position belonging to the actual State Assembly --- and the Papist Municipal Government providing the enforcement and "local" government for this scheme. 

This has all been done in Breach of Trust and lacking full disclosure, in gross violation of the "good faith services" provisions of both The Constitution of the United States of America and The Constitution of the United States. And we've called them on it. 

The Municipal Corporations have contracts with the British Territorial Corporations and the British Territorial Corporations are all commercial entities; this means that the Municipal Corporations have no contracts with anyone here but the Brits and the original American Government that predates the United States Federal Republic and which is the Delegator of the Delegated Powers. 

Our American Government is, by definition, first in line and first in time. Our nation-states are the only viable international sovereign government(s) possessing all three international jurisdictions and having established known borders.  

Thus we say, the Federal Subcontractors are operating in default, and have failed to perform in good faith.  These corporations have used practices of non-disclosure and entrapment and false claims of emergency authority to undermine, denigrate, and defraud their employers. These treasonous and clandestine activities and misrepresentations have been carried out against the interests of the American People and the American Government for sixteen decades, but the truth is finally out. 

Issued by: 

Anna Maria Riezinger - Fiduciary

The United States of America

In care of: Box 520994

Big Lake, Alaska 99652

December 22nd 2025

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A Global Monetary Reset May Already Be Underway

Here’s the Evidence https://youtu.be/DLiThXVk2ZI

Mike just went on stage and said something he rarely says publicly:

"There's no way to stand on the sidelines this time." 

According to him, the monetary system isn't heading toward a reset — we're already in it. And what happens next could change who holds wealth for the next generation.

Here's what he's seeing: 

• Gold's surge isn't just a gold story... it's a dollar falling story.
• A global silver rush is happening everywhere except the U.S. — historically a sign the top is nowhere close.
• Bullion banks are caught in a physical short squeeze — the kind Mike warned about years ago.
• And the most surprising part? Mike says this cycle won't give people time to "think it over." When the U.S. rush begins, it'll be too late to react. 

If you haven't watched this yet, don't miss it — this is Mike at his clearest, most unscripted, most urgent. 

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By Paul Stramer

In 2024 we started using the new mint in Indiana to stamp and ship our silver rounds, after over 18 years with the previous mint in Utah. 

After receiving the first three orders and finding the quality to be even better than the product from the old mint we started taking orders for these new Divisible one ounce silver .999 fine rounds.

The new and much larger minting company has multiple facilities around the country including in Indiana, California and Nevada.

I now have a good working relationship with the new company and am making even more announcements about the improved way we are doing this business. Here are some of the things that are changing for the better for you, our customers.

1. The old 500 ounce minimum order is gone. The new minimum order is now 60 ounces. 

2. They will be very competitive in their price structure, and right now we are offering a price plan based on the volume of metal in each order. See below.

3. The shipping will be faster, and the wait time will be less than it was. Each order will be shipped with full insurance. I made my first 3 orders and all those orders arrived here for local customers and our stock. The total time from order to arrival was just 12 days for those orders. Since then we have had several large orders go out and be delivered within 2 weeks.

These will be shipped from Indiana or Nevada depending on where the order is going, by UPS Ground, fully insured.

 We will still be accepting wire transfers, or cashiers checks like always. 

We can only lock an order after we have received the funds. Here is the formula we use to figure your price.

Go to this link on Kitco.com and look up the ask price of silver. https://www.kitco.com/price/precious-metals

It's in the first table on that page. 

For a 60 oz. to 99 oz. order, take the ask price and add $3.95

For a 100 oz. to 199 oz. order, take the ask price and add $3.75. 

For a 200 oz. to 299 oz. order, take the ask price and add $3.50. 

For a 300 oz. to 999 oz. order, take the ask price and add $3.25. 

All orders over 1000 ounces will be $3.00 over spot ask price.

Take that number times the number of ounces (60 or over) and then add $25.00 for each 60 to 100 ounce box for shipping, or for large orders add $40 per 500 ounce box for shipping.

Once we have your funds we will run this same formula to finalize the price with shipping.

Be sure to call us when you are ready to order so we can answer your questions.

When you call I will get your email address and send you the bank info for wire transfers or the mailing info for your payment. You can then reply with your shipping address for UPS.

If you have any questions here is my contact info.

Office phone  406 889 3183  8 AM to 2 PM and 4PM to 6 PM weekdays.

Cell  406 253 4257  when I am not in the office. Try the Office line first.

pstramer@gmail.com   or  pstramer@eurekadsl.net

Thanks for your support over the years.  We are now open and taking orders.

Paul Stramer   S.A.G. 

International Public Notice: Too Stupid to Be an Accident

 By Anna Von Reitz

Some years ago, we had a sit down meeting with some top British bureaucrats and bankers.  We observed to them that their Bad Behavior and Breach of Trust with regard to their American contracts would inevitably sour their reputation throughout the world and be the cause of loss of both business and prestige.  

Who, looking at what the Brits have done in America and throughout the Commonwealth --- the whole Bait and Switch routine -- in violation of their constitutional service contracts, the unlawful conversion of natural political status and aggravated identity theft of average Americans, Canadians, and Aussies, the illegal pretense of war used to seize upon land assets never belonging to them, and so much more --  yes, who in their right mind would ever, under any circumstance, want to do business with Britain again?  

They seemed unphased, arrogant, and reckless.  Their attitude then, and apparently, now, was --- who cares?  We are badasses and crooks.  You still have to do business with us. 

We'll force you to do business with us.  

We'll stuff our debt notes down your throats.  We will force you to buy from the Company Store and charge whatever price we please. 

Just look at what they did to the Nordstream gas pipeline, if you don't believe it.  

And yet, ultimately, business has to be consensual.  It has to be mutually beneficial in the long run.  Otherwise, everyone piles up on the offenders and before you know it, balance and sanity is restored. The truth wins.  

The entire European Union just had its "British Badass" Moment, and is also beginning to taste what we warned the Brits about yea, so many years ago: the EU didn't just "freeze" Russian assets to the tune of $245 Billion invested in the EU, they stole the Russian assets and made their return contingent upon Russia paying war reparations to Ukraine. 

And Russia, very properly, brought suit against Euroclear, for allowing this; it has also begun the process of nationalizing all European assets in Russian Territory--- around $800 Billion in assets, and they come out smelling like roses, with no contingency for return of the assets.  

All these horrible losses have to be sustained by individual European corporations like BMW and Siemens and Deutsche Bank, and the idiot politicians thought they would come out ahead on this? 

No, it's too stupid.  It has to be part of a greater plan to collapse the economy of the EU and wipe out the EURO, because on top of the obvious $800 Billion loss versus the $245 Billion gain, the EU has crossed its own Rubicon, and they won't be able to do an "about face" and march back over the bridge they have burned.  

The EU has allowed itself to politicize business to the extent that assets are not safe in the EU.  The EU's idiotic sacrifice of trust and respect in the business arena over a war that is already lost, has led Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister, to compare it to "tying ourselves to a corpse".  

He's not wrong. 

The asset migration out of the EU is happening faster than the flood of Somali migrants pushing in.  

Over 2 million people have died in the war in Ukraine, half again as many have been injured and an estimated 11 million have been displaced, incalculable damage has been done to infrastructure, and the richest agricultural land on the planet has been polluted beyond recognition.  But Russia won.  And Russia's new weapons, including the new hypersonic Orshink missile, will ensure that Russia wins, if and when it has to defend its interests again.  

If that wasn't enough, President Xi just reminded the EU of the Chinese-Russian Alliance.  Xi is pretty much saying, Russia doesn't appear to need our help cleaning up the situation in Ukraine, but if they do, China will be glad to help.  

The outcome of the war is not only done, it's done-done. 

The odd thing is that it was done before it got started.  The only wildcard was the United States of America, Incorporated, which under Biden or a similar Leftist regime, might have been goaded into siding with Ukraine. 

As it is, all that remains is to cut a peace deal and begin picking up the pieces and bearing the costs. 

Britain skirted around the EU theft of Russian assets, but it nonetheless has tried to undermine President Trump's efforts to broker a peace deal. 

This seems anchored more to a dislike for Donald Trump than any practical reason for their Bad Behavior, egging Zelensky on, and blocking efforts to establish "world peace" in time for Christmas Eve -- the magic time when the World Trust may be unlocked, if and only if, the whole world is at peace. 

Even Benjamin Netanyahu saw the light and agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, if "peace" means getting his paws on a share of World Trust assets. 

Starmer, with the entire UK in rags and rages, with everyone from the King to the Labour Party MPs ready to walk, apparently doesn't see the need of billions of dollars-worth of social welfare and infrastructure money to help Great Britain and its people out of a death spiral.  He hates his native country that much. 

Nice little Nazis that Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen are (for God's sake, everyone, just look at their names and look at what they are doing) they want to see Britain burn, and burn it will, if someone doesn't grow a backbone and put an end to the problem that such leadership poses. 

We suggest treason charges and an admiralty docket, but the Privy Council is waffling, too concerned about Prince Andrew's "secret" storage unit and its contents to save the country -- that is, to the extent that England remains a country.  

The English people still have Ivan Talbot, stubbornly standing up for England, still holding the Hereditary Office of Lord High Steward, still holding a claim on Shrewsbury.  The "nasty little man" with his "pedantic Christian values" may live in Australia and be a bitter pill for some--- as he was for the late Queen, but he is loyal and he is Christian and he has a credible, honorable lineage that has fought for England since Crecy.  

His parents endured Burma during World War II.  

Talbot could, if called upon, take the Coronation Vow with a straight face and not secretly void it by signing new legislation within three days.  Any Muslims who wanted to cause trouble, riot, rape Christian girls, slash people on British subways, etc., would be put to sea in an open boat or worse, after a proper trial, of course.  Immigration laws would be enforced.  No wishy-washy exists in Ivan Talbot. 

It would be back to tea and crackers in no time flat, and that is still an option that the beleaguered English people have. 

Issued by: 

Anna Maria Riezinger - Fiduciary

The United States of America

In care of: Box 520994 

Big Lake, Alaska 99652

December 21st 2025

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International Public Notice: Reply About Germania to the World Court

 By Anna Von Reitz

In a few hours, the World Court will attempt to decide the fate of much of western Europe based on events that happened in the Dark Ages. A man named Robert, obviously, an Englishman, will make the argument that the Franks beat the Visigoths, and thereby secured the victory over Rome.  

This circuitous line of reasoning neatly avoids the following facts: 

(1) The Franks were Netherlandish cousins of the Visigoths who settled in Southern Sweden a few miles north of the Franks and all were (and are) related within the greater Northern Clan known as the Cherusci, that is, the Belle Chers--- note the word "Cher" imbedded in both names -- that settled in Hannover and beat the Romans in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., taking out three of four Roman Legions and preventing the Romans from crossing the Rhine River.  

(2) The purported leader of the "Visigoths" that the apologists claim the Franks overcame was Ulric, a British-born chieftain -- who was not a Visigoth at all, nor an Ostrogoth, either.  He was a Romano-British scion of the same clans that populated every country from Ireland to Hungary, and from the Baltic to Spain. Between the Visigoths, the Franks, and the Romano-Brits, all settled within a space of less than 300 miles of each other, there is no difference but betting rights. 

(3) Whether we call it Gaul, or Franconia, or Normandy or Germany or Geetland, Teutonia or Prussia or Ireland or Wales or Spain or Italy, we are, long ago, talking about the self-same Northern Tribal people that originally inhabited virtually all of western Europe -- and except for the knife-like vertical insertion of the Slavic Poles, Czechs, and Slovenians and the Ugric-speaking Finns and Hungarians forming a break across the face of Europe, there is nobody else there, until you reach the Basques and Andorrans and Portuguese.

(4) The names applied to the same people changed whenever the prelates in Rome found it expedient to create a "new" political identity for their own  purposes, and started calling the Gauls the Franks and next called the Franks the French and then also called them the Normans and the Armoricans and the Germans and the Teutons and so on.  

Here's a map with a bird's eye view of just how central Hannover,  the German ancestral capitol of the Cherusci, really is. 

All this shuffling and renaming and pretense of "redefining" peoples by changing the labels Rome applied to them was taking place 1500 years ago.  The Cherusci themselves were not confused by this; witness the Hanoverian Kings sitting on the British Throne hundreds of years after the Roman obfuscation began.  Witness the Norman Invasion based on ancestral French claims to the British throne. Witness the Irish kings of Armagh. Or was it Armagnac? 

Witness the DNA of the very tall, white-skinned, red-haired Mound Builders in the American Midwest, the very tall, white-skinned, red-haired Ulstermen, and the very tall, white-skinned, red-haired Vikings of Greenland, Norway, and Sweden.  

The same warrior tribal peoples indigenous to western Europe from the Baltic to the Balkan states arrived there in prehistory, 10,000 - 15,000 years ago, and though they have learned to speak different languages and adopted different cultural values, they are still part of the same tribal nation and clan system, share the same basic DNA markers (with variations, of course) and the same predominant blood type.  

The Cherusci remember this because they were the Sea Kings who tied it all together with vast shipping fleets, who created the Hanseatic League, who ultimately created the Dutch East India Company, and the British East India Company, too, who sailed from Armorica to America, who are the true, central, indigenous tribal nation built of many nations underlying all of western Europe --- one of the true Progenitor nations, and one of the first leagues of nations in the world. 

Today, the Cherusci lay claim to all of western Europe and call upon the Europeans to remember their shared blood and heritage, their many far-flung outposts, their sea-faring history; we call upon the nations of western Europe to remember who they truly are. 

Brothers. Sisters. Separated by times and tides and influences, but underneath it all, the same.  

Tell the World Court that it isn't up to them to make any decisions about the true ownership of western Europe.  It certainly does not belong to a man named Robert.  It belongs to the underlying root race, the Cherusci, who beat Rome's legions in 9 A.D. and to this day, stand undefeated in war. 

The Church knows this, so there is no excuse. 

Issued by: 

Anna Maria Riezinger - Fiduciary

The United States of America

In care of: Box 520994

Big Lake, Alaska 99652

December 21st 2025

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International Public Notice: The Secret of the West

 By Anna Von Reitz

The secret of the West is that it is the East. 

We have been deeply indoctrinated and taught to think of migration from the East to the West, from Western Europe to the "New World". 

What if, as we have found on so many other occasions, the truth is that the original migration was from the West, the exact opposite of what we have been taught --- and only appears to be from the East because we circled the globe?  

This is what the latest DNA studies indicate.  

It also appears that the most important demarcation was not the various migrations east and west, but instead, a far more primordial and fundamentally more stable population parameter established by the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. 

Beginning 800,000 years ago, white-skinned European-type people inhabited Russia, and they spread out from there in both directions, East and West, populating most of the Northern Hemisphere.  Their blood type was A.  This remains the most common blood type throughout the Northern Hemisphere. 

Even before that, going back 1.5 million years ago, dark skinned African-type people inhabited Africa, and they, too, spread out, and populated most of the Southern Hemisphere.  Their blood type was O.  This remains the most common blood type throughout the Southern Hemisphere. 

Blood type B is overall less common in both hemispheres, and concentrates in a bandwidth across Southern China, Central Asia, and India, where it may be the blood type of up to 25% of the population.  This indicates the presence of a third progenitor race, and possibly a fourth, carrying the blood type AB. 

The explanation?  Different origins, different diets, different cellular antigen complexes.  

We are looking at different breeds of what we have called "mankind" and described as "races" based on skin-color and other physical attributes, but unsettling as it may be to think of ourselves in these terms, it may be more fruitful to think in terms of breeds -- and breeding programs. 

Looking at mankind as animals is nothing new, and indeed, breeding programs tampering with our DNA and manipulating it for effect is what the Sumerian texts describe in some detail.  Adamu, we are told, was created by skillful genetic engineering and carried for eleven months in the body of an Annunaki princess who literally gave birth to the first man.  

This, of course, does not shed any light on the greater question of who or what created DNA and mitochondria and who or what first cultivated five different autonomic brainstems -- the Annunaki and our hominid ancestors already existed as viable populations when "Adamu" drew his first breath. 

The evils of eugenics -- and the benefits -- thus far predate the famous nineteenth-century eugenics movement. 

Should we be shocked, considering how casually we have established and maintained breeding programs to preserve different breeds of every imaginable domestic animal?  And quite a few non-domestic animals as well? 

The greater mysteries of DNA remain locked in the untold reaches of the epigenetic code that determines gene expression, and the mysterious missing codons of Chromosome 2, which clearly shows that it was tampered with and subjected to gene splicing ages ago. 

Genetic memory, cell memory, and water memory remain at the forefront of all the great questions impacting our individual lives. Research has clearly indicated that we carry forward genetic memories from our immediate forebears and that trauma endured by our ancestors continues to be expressed as the Bible puts it, "unto the third and fourth generation".  

It's not only the sins of our Fathers that find expression for generations after they have experienced war and disease and depravity, but their joys and talents as well.  Thus we find that such disparate talents as careers in world exploration and art "run" in families, and appear and disappear and reappear like a fugue, silently running in the background of average lives, just waiting for the right combination to give rise to a prodigy. 

The last several decades, especially in America, we have been struggling through the last gasp of the inheritance we bear as a result of the so-called American Civil War.  

Awareness of the ways in which we have all been subjected to slavery and peonage, awareness of the ways in which our government was undermined, our courts overtaken, and the way that our own lives have continued to be impacted by the unresolved evils of this great struggle, have all come to a head here and now, for reasons predetermined by genetic memory.  

Learning to recognize genetic memory, cellular memory, and the memory of water is part of our growing up process as a species. Learning to walk the knife-edge that holds each one of us sacred, and at the same time, can admit our animal-nature as part of our fundamental truth, is part of our challenge, too. 

We readily accept the idea that someone may be a "born musician" or a "born artist" --- yet we lag behind in realizing that someone may just as easily be a born bureaucrat, engineer, or criminal.  We don't like to think of things in this way and we are loath to engage the implications, and yet they remain, like the echoes of the American Civil War, staring us in the face. 

It's time to grow up, wake up, and start taking responsibility for the scientific and technological growth that has proliferated faster than our conscious ability to integrate it, and key to this is the importance of "growing our awareness" of our world and ourselves in light of all this new information.  

Instead of letting our consciousness sink beneath the waves of a surveillance state, we must choose a different path -- right about now. 

Issued by: 

Anna Maria Riezinger -- Fiduciary

The United States of America

In care of: Box 520994

Big Lake, Alaska 99652

December 21st 2025

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International Public Notice: The Reset of 1700

 By Anna Von Reitz

What was going on in 1702?  The wrap-up and consolidation of the changes brought about by the English Civil War, the formation of the British Union, the War of the Spanish Succession and its aftermath which placed a German Queen on the British Throne, and.... the cover up of a debacle of unknown origin and cause. 

All over the world we encounter the Great Mudflood:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5b2_bT96Bk

This is no longer a question; a worldwide earthquake of unimaginable proportions took place sometime between 1694 and 1702 resulted in disastrous and widespread liquefaction of the Earth's surface, resulting in buildings sinking straight down 10 to 20 feet with some buildings disappearing entirely -- swallowed by the Earth, literally.  

This predates the date of 1800 initially proposed by a hundred years. 

What this means for Bible enthusiasts is that the Great Shaking, the Mother of all Earthquakes foretold by Jesus, has already happened. 

And it was covered up. 

There are many, many events, wars, commercial ventures, explorations and details of ancient kingdoms that are well-known to us today; we can give a fairly accurate account of day to day life in Ancient Babylon --- yet we remain ignorant of events that occurred worldwide 300 years ago?  

This is not credible, except as a deliberate, orchestrated, and conscious cover-up designed to hide the existence of the Great Mudflood and the damages sustained.  

Look sharp, because the deeper we dig, the more convoluted and covered up the history becomes --- and the more deeply tied to commercial interests. 

Issued by: 

Anna Maria Riezinger -- Fiduciary

The United States of America

In care of: Box 520994

Big Lake, Alaska 99652

December 21st 2025

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Fourth Sunday In Advent

Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year

On this Sunday the Church redoubles her ardent sighs for the coming of the Redeemer, and, in the Introit, places the longing of the just of the Old Law upon the lips of the faithful, again exhorting them through the gospel of the day, to true penance as the best preparation for the worthy reception of the Savior. Therefore at the Introit she prays:

INTROIT Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just (Is. 45). Let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Savior. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands (Ps. 18:2). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Raise up, O Lord, we pray Thee, Thy power, and come, and with great might succor us: that, by the help of Thy grace, that which our sins impede may be hastened by Thy merciful forgiveness. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (I Cor. 4:1-5). Brethren, Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful. But to me, it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man's day: but neither do I judge my own self. For I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time, until the Lord come: who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise from God.

Why is this epistle read on this day?

The Church desires by this epistle to impress those who received Holy Orders on Ember Saturday with the dignity of their office, and exhorts them to fill it with becoming fidelity and sanctity, excelling the laity in piety and virtue, as well as in official dignity. She wishes again to remind the faithful of the terrible coming of Christ to judgment, urging them, by purifying their conscience through a contrite confession, to receive Christ at this holy Christmas time, as their Savior, that they may not behold Him, at the Last Day, as their severe judge.

How should the faithful regard the priests and spiritual superiors?

They should esteem and obey them as servants, stewards, and vicars of Christ; as dispensers of the holy mysteries (I Cor. 4:1); as ambassadors of the most High (II Con 5:20). For this reason God earnestly commands honor to priests (Ecclus. 7:31), and Christ says of the Apostles and their successors (Lk. 10:16): Who despiseth you, despiseth me; and St. Paul writes (I Tim. 5:17): Let the priests that rule well be esteemed worthy of double honor: especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.

Can the priest dispense the sacraments according to his own will?

No, he must have power from the Church, and must exercise his office faithfully, in accordance with the orders of the Church, and act according to the will of Christ whose steward he is. The priest dare not give that which is holy to dogs (Mt. 7:6), that is, he is not permitted to give absolution, and administer the sacraments to impenitent persons, under penalty of incurring eternal damnation.

Why does St. Paul consider the judgment of men a small matter?

Because it is usually false, deceptive, foolish, and is consequently not worth seeking or caring for. Man often counts as evil that which is in itself good and, on the contrary, esteems as good that which is evil. St. Paul says: If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10). Oh, how foolish, and what poor Christians, therefore, are they, who not to displease man, willingly adopt all silly customs, and fashions in dress, manners and appearance, making themselves contemptible to God, the angels, and saints. Recall the beautiful words of the Seraphic St. Francis: "We are, what we are in the sight of God, nothing more"; learn from them to fulfil your duties faithfully, and be indifferent to the judgment of the world and its praise.

Why does not St. Paul wish to judge himself?

Because no one, without a special revelation from heaven, can know if he be just in the sight of God or not, even though his conscience may accuse him of nothing, for "man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred" (Eccles. 9:1). Thus St. Paul goes on to say, that though he was not conscious of any wrong, he did not judge himself to be justified, God only could decide that. Man should certainly examine himself as much as is in his power, to find if he has anything within him displeasing to God; should he find nothing he must not judge himself more just than others, but consider that the eyes of his mind may be dimmed, and fail to see that which God sees and will reveal to others at the judgment Day. The Pharisees saw no fault in themselves, and were saintly and perfect in their own estimation, yet our Lord cursed them.

ASPIRATION "O Lord, enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight no man living can be justified" (Ps. 142:2).

GOSPEL (Lk. 3:1-6). In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina, under the high priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of the Lord came to John the son of Zachary in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Why is the time in which St. John commenced to preach so minutely described?

The Evangelist, contrary to his usual custom, describes the time minutely, and enumerates exactly, in their precise order, the religious and civil princes in office, that, in the first place, it could not be denied that this was truly the time and the year in which the promised Messiah appeared in this world, whom John baptized, and the Heavenly Father declared to be His beloved Son. Furthermore, it shows the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Patriarch Jacob (Gen. 49:10), that when the scepter would be taken away from Juda, that is, when the Jews would have no longer a king from their own tribes, the Savior would come.

What is meant by: "The word of the Lord came to John"?

It means that John was commissioned by divine inspiration, or by an angel sent from God, to preach penance and announce to the world the coming of the Lord. He had prepared himself for this work by a penitential, secluded life, and intercourse with God. We learn from his example not to intrude ourselves into office, least of all into a spiritual office, but to await the call from God, preparing ourselves in solitude and quiet, by fervent prayer and by a holy life, for the necessary light.

What is meant by: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths"?

It means that we should prepare our hearts for the worthy reception of Christ, by penance, amendment, and the resolution to lead a pious life in future. To do this, every valley should be filled, that is, all faintheartedness, sloth and cowardice, all worldly carnal sentiments should be elevated and directed to God, the highest Good, by firm confidence and ardent desire for heavenly virtues; the mountains and hills should be brought low, that is, pride, stubbornness, and ambition should be humbled, and the obstinate will be broken. The crooked shall be made straight, that is, ill-gotten goods should be restored, hypocrisy, malice, and double dealing be renounced, and our intentions turned to God and the performance of His holy will. And the rough ways shall be made plain, that is, anger, revenge, and impatience must leave the heart, if the Lamb of God is to dwell therein. It may also signify that the Savior put to shame the pride of the world, and its false wisdom by building His Church upon the Apostles, who, by reason of their poverty and simplicity, may be considered the low valleys, while the way to heaven, formerly so rough and hard to tread, because of the want of grace, is now by His grace made smooth and easy.

ASPIRATION O my Jesus! would that my heart were well prepared and smooth for Thee! Assist me! O my Savior to do that which I cannot do by myself. Make me an humble valley, fill me with Thy grace; turn my crooked and perverted will to Thy pleasure; change my rough and angry disposition, throw away in me whatever impedes Thy way, that Thou mayst come to me without hindrance. Thou alone possess and rule me forever. Amen.

INSTRUCTION ON THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

“Preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins"(Lk. 3:3).

What is penance, and how many kinds are there?

Penance, says the Roman Catechism (Cat. Rom. de Pcenit. 54), consists in the turning of our whole soul to God, hating and detesting the crimes we have committed, firmly resolving to amend our lives, its evil habits and corrupt ways, hoping through the mercy of God to obtain pardon. This is interior penance, or the virtue of penance. The sincere acknowledgment of our sins to a priest and the absolution he accords, is exterior penance, or the holy Sacrament of Penance, which Christ instituted (Jn. 20:22-23), through which the sins committed after baptism, are remitted.

Which of these penances is necessary for the forgiveness of sins?

Both are necessary, for unless the conversion of the heart to God, a true consciousness of, and sorrow for sin, the firm purpose of amendment and confidence in God's mercy, precede the confession, declaring all our sins to a priest cannot obtain forgiveness of mortal sin committed after baptism. At the same time a really contrite turning to God, will not, without confession to a priest, obtain forgiveness, except when by circumstances, a person is prevented from approaching the tribunal of penance. Such a person must, however, have the ardent desire to confess as soon as possible.

Can any one who has committed mortal sin be saved without penance?

No, for penance is as necessary to such a one as baptism, if he wishes not to perish: Unless you do penance, says Christ, you shall all likewise perish (Lk. 13:3, 5).

Is this penance performed at once?

This penance is necessary every day of our lives: that is, we must from day to day endeavor to be heartily sorry for our sins, to despise them, to eradicate the roots of sin, that is, our passions and evil inclinations, and become more pleasing to God by penance and good works.

Why do so many die impenitent?

Because they do not accept and use the many graces God offers them, but put off their repentance. If such sinners, like the godless King Antiochus (II Mac. 9) intend to repent on their deathbed for fear of punishment, they usually find that God in His justice will no longer give them the grace of repentance, for he who when he can repent, will not, cannot when he will. "Who will not listen at the time of grace," says St. Gregory, "will not be listened to' in the time of anxiety." And it is to be feared that he who postpones penance until old age, will not find justice where he looked for mercy.

Can all sinners do penance?

With the grace of God all can, even the greatest sinners; as a real father God calls them when He says: As I live ...I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: and why will ye die, O house of Israel? And the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from his wickedness (Ezech. 33:11-12).

Do all who go to confession perform true penance?

Unfortunately they do not; for all is not accomplished with confession. If there is no sincere detestation of sin, no true sorrow for having offended God; if the evil inclinations and bad habits are not overcome, ill-gotten goods restored, and calumny repaired, the occasions of sin avoided; if a sincere amendment of life, or, at least, its earnest purpose does not follow, then indeed, there cannot be the least shadow of true repentance, not even though such persons confess weekly. But alas! we see many such. And why? Because many think repentance consists simply in confession, and not in the amendment of their lives. Only those obtain pardon who are truly penitent, and perform all that is enjoined upon them in confession. It is well, therefore, to read and carefully act according to the following instructions.

 

I. ON THE EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

The foundation of true repentance, interior and exterior (see the preceding pages), is the vivid knowledge of our sins. There are many who are unconscious of the most grievous sins in which they are buried; blinded by self-love they do not even regard them as sins, do not confess them, perform no penance for them and are consequently eternally lost. To prevent this great evil, the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV c.5) ordered a careful examination of conscience before confession, and afterwards to confess the sins which are discovered by that examination.

Why should we examine our conscience?

Because, as St. Ignatius says, no one can become fully aware of his own faults, unless God reveals them by a special light; we should, therefore, first of all, daily ask the Holy Ghost to enlighten us, and should then examine our thoughts, desires, words, actions, and omissions since our last valid confession and how often we have sinned in these respects. To know this, we should let our conscience, that is, the inner voice which tells us what is good and what is evil, speak freely, without flattering ourselves, or passing it by negligently. St. Charles Borromeo says, we should place before our eyes the Ten Commandments of God and carefully compare our life and our morals with them; it is well also to examine ourselves on the seven deadly sins, and remember the places and persons with whom we have been in contact, the duties of our state of life, the vices to which we are most inclined, the consequences that were, or might have been produced upon ourselves or others. At the same time, we should imagine ourselves standing before the judgment seat of God, and whatever would cause us fear there, whatever we could not answer for there, we should look upon as sins, be sorry for, and confess.

Is it a sin not to examine ourselves long and carefully?

Certainly it is a sin for those to examine their consciences carelessly, who live unfaithfully and in mortal sin, and who seldom confess, because they expose themselves frivolously to the danger of leaving out great sins, and consequently they make a sacrilegious confession, committing thereby a new and grievous sin.

Those who daily ask God for enlightenment and examine their conscience at least every evening before going to bed, will prepare themselves properly before approaching the tribunal of penance. "Behold, you have a book in which you write your daily expenses," says St. Chrysostom, "make a book of your conscience, also, and write there your daily sins. Before you go to bed, before sleep comes, take your book, that is, your conscience, and recall your sins, whether of thought, word, or deed. Say then to your soul: Again, O my soul, a day is spent, what have we done of evil or of good? If you have accomplished some good, be grateful to God; if evil, resolve to avoid it for the future. Shed tears in remembrance of your sins; ask forgiveness of God, and then let your body sleep."

II. ON CONTRITION

"O man," cries St. Augustine, "why dost thou weep over the body whence the soul has departed, and not over the soul from which God has withdrawn?" The idolatrous Michas (Judg. 18:23-24) complained bitterly, because his idols were taken from him; Esau grieved greatly over the loss of his birthright and his father's blessing (Gen. 27:34). Should we not therefore, be filled with sorrow, when by our sins we have lost God and Heaven?

What is contrition, and how many kinds are there?

"Contrition is a hearty sorrow and detestation of our sins, with a firm purpose of sinning no more" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XIV, can. 4). If this grief and detestation comes from a temporal injury, shame or punishment, it is a natural sorrow; but if we are sorry for our sins, because by them we have offended God, and transgressed His holy law, it is a supernatural sorrow; this, again, is imperfect when fear of God's punishment is the motive; it is perfect, if we are sorry for our sins, because we have offended God, the supreme Lord and best of Fathers.

Is natural sorrow sufficient for a good confession?

It is not, because it proceeds not from a supernatural motive, but from the love or fear of the world. A mere natural sorrow for our sins worketh death (II Cor. 7:10). If one confess his sins having only a natural sorrow for them, he commits a sacrilege, because the most necessary part of the Sacrament of Penance in wanting.

What other qualities are necessary for a true contrition?

Contrition should be interior, proceeding from the heart and not merely from the lips; it must be universal, that is, it must extend to all the mortal sins which the sinner has committed; it must be sovereign, that is, he must be more sorry for having offended God, than for any temporal evil; it must be supernatural, that is, produced in the heart by supernatural motives; namely, because we have offended God, lost His grace, deserved hell, etc.

What kind of sorrow must we have in order to obtain forgiveness of our sins?

That sorrow which proceeds from a perfect love of God, and not from fear of temporal or eternal punishment. This perfect contrition would suffice for the forgiveness of sins, if in case of danger of death, there should be a great desire, but no opportunity to confess to a priest. But the Holy Catholic Church has declared (Conc. Trid., Sess. XIV, can. 4) the imperfect contrition which proceeds from the fear of eternal punishment to be sufficient for the valid reception of the holy Sacrament of Penance.

Who are those who have reason to fear they have aroused only a natural sorrow for their sins?

Those who care little about knowing what true sorrow is; those who often commit grievous sins, and do not amend their lives; for if true sorrow for sin had been excited in their hearts, with the firm purpose of amendment, the grace of God in this Sacrament would have strengthened the resolution, and enabled them to avoid sin, at least for a time. On account of their immediate relapse we justly doubt whether they have validly received the sacrament of penance and its sanctifying grace.

How can the sinner attain true sorrow?

The sinner can attain true sorrow by the grace of God and his own co-operation. That both are necessary is shown by the prophet Jeremias (jet. 31:18-19), who prays: Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted: for Thou art the Lord, my God. For after Thou didst convert me, I did penance: and after Thou didst skew unto me, I struck my thigh (with sorrow). To which God replies: If thou wilt be converted, I will convert thee Qer. 15:19). We see, therefore, that the first and most essential means for producing this sorrow is the grace of God. It must begin and complete the work of conversion, but it will do this only when the sinner earnestly and faithfully co-operates. When God in whatever way has admonished the sinner that he should be converted, let him ardently implore God for the grace of a true conversion, invoke the intercession of the Mother of the Savior, his guardian angel, and like the holy penitents, David, Peter, and Magdalen, let him meditate upon the truth that God is a just judge, who hates sin, and will punish it in the eternal torments of hell. Having placed these truths vividly before his eyes, the sinner will reflect further whether by his sins he has not himself deserved this punishment, and if by the enlightenment of God he finds he has, he will also see the danger in which he stands, that if God should permit him to die impenitent, he would have to suffer forever in hell. This fear of eternal punishment urges the sinner to hope in God's mercy; for He wishes not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; again, our Redeemer says: I came to call the sinner to repentance, and, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who does penance, than over ninety-nine just. He considers the patience of God towards him, the graces bestowed upon him during his sinful life; namely his creation, redemption, sanctification in baptism, and many others. He will now contemplate the beauty and perfection of God: "Who art Thou, 0 my God," he cries, "who art Thou who bast loved me with such an unspeakable love, and lowest me still, ungrateful, abominable sinner, that I am! What is all the beauty of this world of the angels and of the blessed spirits compared to Thine! Thou fountain of all beauty, of all goodness, of all that is amiable, Thou supreme majesty, Thou infinite abyss of love and merry! I for one vain thought, a short, momentary pleasure, a small, mean gain, could forget, offend and despise Thee! Could I sell, could I forfeit heaven, and eternal joy with Thee! O, could I repair those crimes! Could I but wash them out with my tears, even with my blood?" Through such meditations the sinner, by the grace of God, will be easily moved to sorrow. Without such or similar reflections the formulas of sorrow as read from prayer books or recited by heart, are by no means acts of contrition.

Should we make an act of contrition before confession only?

We should make an act of contrition before confession, and not only then, but every evening after the examination of conscience; we should make one immediately after any fault committed, above all when in danger of death; for we know not when God will call us to judgment, or whether we shall then have the grace to receive the sacrament of Penance with proper preparation.

III. ON THE PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT

The purpose of amending our life is as necessary for the remission of sin, as contrition; for how could he obtain forgiveness from God, who has not the determination to sin no more? The will to sin cannot exist with the hatred of sin.

What is necessary for a firm purpose?

A firm purpose of amendment requires: the determination to avoid sin; to flee from all occasions that might bring the danger of sinning, all persons, places, societies in which we usually sin; bravely to fight against our evil inclinations and bad habits; to make use of all means prescribed by our confessor, or made known to us by God Himself; to repair the injustice we have done; to restore the good name of our neighbor, and to remove the scandal and enmity we have caused.

Who, then, have no true purpose of amendment?

Those who do not truly intend to leave the frivolous persons with whom they have associated, and committed sin; to remove the occasions of cursing, swearing, drunkenness, and secret sins, etc.; who have the intention to borrow or to contract debts which they know they cannot pay, or do not even care to pay; to squander the property of their wives and children, letting them suffer want; to frequent barrooms, or saloons, fight, gamble, indulge in vile, filthy conversations and detraction, murmur against spiritual and temporal superiors, throw away precious time, and bring, even compel others to do the same. The saloon-keepers, who for the sake of money allure such wretched people, keep them there, and what is still worse, help to intoxicate them, participate in their sins.

IV. ON CONFESSION

Confession is a contrite acknowledgment of our sins to a priest who is duly authorized, in order to obtain forgiveness. This acknowledgment of our sins is an important and necessary part of the holy Sacrament of Penance.

Even in the Old Law, a certain kind of confession was prescribed and connected with a sacrifice, called the sacrifice of Atonement; but the forgiveness of sins was effected only through faith in the coming Redeemer, towards whom this sacrifice pointed (Lev. 5:5-6; Num. 5:7; compare Mt. 3:6). In the new Law, Christ gave to the apostles and their successors, power to forgive, and to retain sins (Jn. 20:21-23), and in doing so made them judges. Without confession on the part of the sinner, they cannot act as judges, and do justice in regard to giving punishment and remedies (Conc. Trid., Sess. XIV can. 6), and as the sinner is but seldom able to make an act of perfect contrition, which obtains the forgiveness of sin without confession, it was necessary that the most merciful Lord, as the Roman Catechism says (de poen. 5. 36), through the means of confession to the priest, should provide in an easier manner for the common salvation of man. Confession, at the same time, is the best means of bringing man to a knowledge of his sins and of their malice. Therefore, even Adam was obliged to acknowledge his sins, and in the same way Cain was asked by God concerning his brother's murder, although God, the Omniscient, knew the sins of both. The desire to ease the troubled conscience, seems born in man. Thus David says of his crime: Because I was silent, my bones grew old, whilst I cried out all the day long (Ps. 31:3); and in the book of Proverbs it is said; He that hideth his sins, shall not prosper: but he that shall confess and forsake them, shall obtain mercy (Prov. 28:13). Constant experience in life verifies these words, and heretics could not entirely abolish private confession, though they rejected the Sacrament of Penance.

Is confession a human law, or a human invention?

No, confession was instituted by Christ Himself; for after His resurrection He appeared to His apostles and disciples, and said to them: Peace be with you! As the Father hath sent me, I also send you; that is, the same power to remit sin which the Father has given me, I give to you. When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained (Jn.20:21-23; compare Mt. 18:18). In these words Christ evidently gave to the apostles and their successors the power to forgive and retain sins. This they can do only when the sins are confessed to them; and, therefore, Christ, when instituting the forgiveness of sins, instituted and connected with it the acknowledgment, that is, the confession of sins. This regulation of Christ was complied with by the first Christians in humility of heart, as is proved in the Acts of the Apostles, where we read: And many (referring to the Christians at Ephesus) of them that believed, came confessing and declaring their deeds (Acts 19:18). And the apostle James exhorts his own: Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved (Jas. 5:16). The work founded by Christ must stand, as long as the world, and as the apostles and disciples of our Lord died, their successors necessarily continued the work, and received the same power from Christ. This is verified by the whole history of His Church. In the very beginning of Christianity, the faithful with great sorrow confessed to the priest all their transgressions, even the smallest and most secret, after which, they received absolution. "Let us be sincerely sorry as long as we live," says St. Clement of Rome, a disciple of St. Paul (Ep. 1. ad Cor.), "for all evil which we have committed in the flesh, for having once left the world, there will no longer be any confession and penance for us." Tertullian (217 A.D.) writes of those who hid their sins, being ashamed to confess them: "Can we also hide from the knowledge of God that which we conceal from a fellow creature" (Lib. de qcen. 5. 36). Origen ('1254), after speaking of baptism, says: "There is still a severer and more tedious way of obtaining remission of sin: when the sinner moistens his pillow with tears, and is not ashamed to confess his sins to the priest of the Lord" (Hom. 3 in Lev.). St. Cyprian ('1258) writes of those Christians who during the persecutions of his time, had not sinned by openly denying the faith: "Yet because they had but thought of doing so, they make a sorrowful and simple confession to God's priests" (Sib. de laps.). Basil (f 379) writes: "Necessarily the sins must be made plain to those to whom the power of the mysteries is confided, that is, to the priests" (In reg. brew 288). Many more testimonies could be brought from the earliest centuries of Christianity, which make it clear, that Christ Himself instituted confession, and that the faithful always availed themselves of it as a means of remission of sin. It would not have been possible for a human being, though he were the mightiest prince, to have imposed upon Catholic Christianity so hard an obligation as confession, without the special command of Christ the Son of God; nor could any one have invented it without the faithful at once revolting. It is also well known that, in the Oriental Churches which separated from the true Church in the earliest ages, private confession to a priest is yet valued as a divine institution. The Catholic institution of confession, with which, in the earliest centuries, there was even connected a public confession, before the whole congregation, for notorious sinners, is as old as the Church itself, as Pope Leo the Great (f 461) proves (Ep. 136); "The secret, auricular confession was introduced into the Church as early as the times of the apostles, or their immediate successors." It was instituted by Christ, the God-Man, and instituted for the purpose of enabling the apostles and the priests, their successors, to remit in the confessional the sins committed after baptism, if the sinner heartily regrets them, sincerely confesses, and renders satisfaction for them, or to retain them if he be unworthy of absolution. From this it is seen that the enemies of the Catholic Church oppose, in rejecting confession, the plain expression of the holy Scriptures, and of entire Christian antiquity, and that it is a detestable calumny to assert that confession is simply a human invention. The divine institution of confession always was and is a fountain of sweetest consolation for sinful man, and thousands have experienced that which is said by the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV can. 3, depart.): "The effect of this Sacrament is reconciliation with God, followed by peace, cheerfulness and consolation of the heart in those who worthily receive this Sacrament."

What will aid us to make confession easy?

The consideration of the manifold benefits arising from it; first, forgiveness of all, even the most grievous sins, remission of the guilt and eternal punishment; secondly, the certainty of having again been made a child of God; thirdly, the sweet consolation and desired peace of conscience; fourthly, the necessary remedies which a pious and prudent confessor will prescribe for the cure of the diseases of the soul; finally, the prayer and exhortation of the priest which will also add to the complete conversion of the sinner.

What should be done to participate in these benefits?

Besides that which has already been said of the examination of conscience, and especially of sorrow for sin, the confession must be sincere and open-hearted; that is, a correct and exact confession not only of all mortal sins, their kind, circumstances and number, without excuses, or veiling or lessening them, but also a faithful revelation of all other spiritual affairs, fears, doubts, and other wounds of the soul; for a wound which is not shown to the physician, cannot be healed. We should not seek those confessors who are only "mute dogs" (Is. 56:10), and give absolution without hesitation, but we should trust the direction of our souls to learned, pious, and zealous priests, and remain under their guidance, as in physical sickness we remain under the care of an experienced physician, and accept their words as if Christ Himself had spoken.

How should the false shame which prevents confession be overcome?

It should be remembered that the priest in the confessional is the representative of Christ, and that whoever lies to the confessor, seeks to deceive God Himself, who abominates a lie, and at the Last Day will publicly put such a liar to shame. The confessor takes the place of Christ, and after His example must be merciful to the sinner, if, a sinful man himself, he hopes to receive merry and grace from God. At the same time, no confessor is allowed to reveal the slightest thing heard in confession, even should it cost him his life. It may be considered further that he who conceals a sin in confession, and thus obtains absolution by false pretences, receives no remission, but, on the contrary, commits a new sin, "When man uncovers his sins, God covers them; when man conceals his sins, God reveals them," says St. Augustine. Man can be deceived, but not God, the Omniscient; and who is ashamed to show his wounds to the physician? Why should it be a cause of shame to throw out the poison of sin by a sincere confession? To sin only is shameful, to confess sin is not shameful. But if by all these reflections we are still unable to overcome ourselves so as to confess our sins to a certain confessor we may seek another in whom we have confidence.

V. ON SATISFACTION AFTER CONFESSION

Satisfaction is the diligent performance of all the works of penance imposed upon us by the confessor. With this, however, a true penitent will not be satisfied; for in our times, on account of the weakness and little zeal of Christians, a light penance is imposed that they may not be deterred from the reception of the holy Sacraments. To avoid relapsing into sin, one must do penance, and bring forth worthy fruits (Lk. 13:3), for God will only then give the grace to persevere. We satisfy God by fasting, prayer, almsdeeds, avoidance of the snares of the world, diffidence in ourselves, and especially by patient endurance of the afflictions and sufferings which He imposes upon us. Those who have committed sin must do penance in this life or submit to everlasting penance in the next.

Is the heretic right in asserting that man does not need to render satisfaction since Christ has rendered it complete on the cross?

He is entirely wrong. Christ on the cross did indeed render satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, and man is not capable to atone for one single sin but it does not follow from this that man is not required to do something. To render satisfaction means to perform a duty which has been neglected. Instead of obeying God, the sinner by his sins disobeys Him. Satisfaction for disobedience requires perfect obedience from the sinner: but this, because of his weakness and corruption, no man is able to render therefore Christ rendered it for us by His perfect obedience even unto the death of the cross. But because Christ has been thus obedient for us, must we not be somewhat obedient also? or which is the same, because Christ for love of us has atoned for our sins by perfect obedience to His Heavenly Father, are we to do no penance for ourselves? It is precisely by this atonement made by Christ that we receive the power of rendering satisfaction. But for this we must, first of all, ask the grace, i.e., pray, to restrain our earthly desires, i.e., fast, and by means of active love (charity) make ourselves susceptible to this grace. St. Paul the Apostle, who calls himself the greatest of sinners, writes of himself: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh for his body, which is the Church (Col. 1:24); and to the Corinthians he writes: But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps: when I have preached to others (meaning penance and conversion), I myself should become cast away (I Cor. 9:27). Christ Himself did not censure the Ninivites for their fasting and their penance in sackcloth and ashes, but gave them as an example (Mt. 12:41). In the Old Testament we find that even after remitting the sin, God imposed a punishment for it. Thus He let the child of king David die, as punishment for his adultery, even though He had forgiven the sin (II Kings 12:13, 14); thus Moses and Aaron, because they once distrusted God, were not permitted to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:24; Deut. 34:4). According to this doctrine of the Bible, the Catholic Church teaches that there remains a temporal punishment which the sinner must expiate either in this world, or in the next, though on account of the infinite merits of Christ the guilt and eternal punishment of sin are taken away by absolution. In the earliest times of the Church certain works of penance were imposed, which were then very severe, and in the course of time, owing to the indolence of the faithful, were much moderated.