caught and had to go to prison for it, his sorrow would only be natural.  Or if a boy was sorry for telling lies only because he got a whipping for it, his sorrow would only be natural.  Or if a man was sorry for being intoxicated because he lost his situation and injured his health, he would not have the necessary kind of sorrow.  These persons must be sorry for stealing, lying, or being intoxicated because all these are sins against God—­things forbidden by Him and worthy of His punishment.  If we are sorry for having offended God on account of His own goodness, our contrition is said to be perfect.  If we are sorry for the sins because by them we are in great danger of being punished by God, or because we have lost Heaven by them, and without any regard for God’s own goodness, then our contrition is said to be imperfect.  Imperfect contrition is called attrition.

199 Q. What do you mean by saying that our sorrow should be universal?  A. When I say that our sorrow should be universal, I mean that we should be sorry for our mortal sins without exception.

“Universal.”  If a person committed ten mortal sins, and was sorry for nine, but not for the tenth, then none of the sins would be forgiven.  If you committed a thousand mortal sins, and were sorry for all but one, none would be forgiven.  Why?  Because you can never have God’s grace and mortal sin in the soul at the same time.  Now this mortal sin will be on your soul till you are sorry for it, and while it is on your soul God’s grace will not come to you.  Again, you cannot be half sorry for having offended God; either you must be entirely sorry, or not sorry at all.  Therefore you cannot be sorry for only part of your mortal sins.

200 Q. What do you mean when you say that our sorrow should be sovereign?  A. When I say that our sorrow should be sovereign I mean that we should grieve more for having offended God than for any other evil that can befall us.

201 Q. Why should we be sorry for our sins?  A. We should be sorry for our sins, because sin is the greatest of evils and an offense against God our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, and because it shuts us out of Heaven and condemns us to the eternal pains of Hell.

We consider an evil great in proportion to the length of time we have to bear it.  To be blind is certainly a misfortune; but it is a greater misfortune to be blind for our whole life than for one day.  Sin, therefore, is the greatest of all evils; because the misfortune it brings upon us lasts not merely for a great many years, but for all eternity.  Even slight sufferings would be terrible if they lasted forever, but the sufferings for mortal sin are worse than we can describe or imagine, and they are forever.  The greatest evils in this world will not last forever, and are small when compared with sin.  Sin makes us ungrateful to God, who gives us our existence.

“Our Preserver,” because if God ceased to watch over us and provide for us, even for a short time, we would cease to exist.