Auricular Confession is entirely optional and is not required as a preliminary to the reception of Holy Communion. Its frequent and systematic practice is not encouraged, as it tends to defeat the true value of the Sacrament in the spiritual life of the individual. Believing, nevertheless, that the grace of Absolution is one of the gifts of Christ to His people (St. John xx., 23), the Church offers this aid to those who desire it, whether by the auricular method or in the public Services. Such absolution from the burden of sin is not to be regarded as enabling a man to escape the consequences of his wrong doing, but rather as a reheartening of the man, a restoration of that inner harmony of nature which has been disturbed by his wrong-doing, a bringng of the man once more into tune with the Divine power which flows through him and of which he is to be the true expression.
