I have now, O my God! aided by Thy grace, endeavored to discover the number of my transgressions, and have examined, to the best of my power, the state of my conscience. But, alas! O Judge of the living and the dead! how far different is my judgment from Thine! How many offences are still perhaps hidden from my view, though perfectly known to Thee! But, my God! as I am persuaded it is not so much a knowledge of their number, as sorrow for their deformity, that Thou requirest, I now earnestly implore of Thee to give me that lively, sincere, efficacious contrition, which I know is a necessary condition of my pardon. My heart was formed by Thee, Thou alone canst change it; it is in Thy hands, and though most ungrateful, most insensible, it is not too obdurate for Thee to penetrate and soften. One drop of Thy adorable blood, one of those precious tears which my offences drew from Thy eyes, would suffice to produce in my soul the most lively contrition. Ah! look on me, eternal Light! and my understanding will be enlightened to conceive the enormity of sin; touch my heart, and it will be broken with sorrow for having ever offended Thee. Convert me, and I shall be converted; for my destruction, my misery, and my misfortune, is from myself, but my salvation must come from Thee, O my most merciful Father! from Thee, Whom I have so ungratefully abandoned, and so grievously offended.