Sorrow for sin is the first of the three elements in the Sacrament of Penance, and the most necessary, for it is the virtue of Penance reduced to action. Without true sorrow there can be no forgiveness of sin, and no validity in the sacramental forms; the confession, however accurate, is worthless; the sacred words of absolution are null and void; there is no sacrament, but sacrilege instead. Sin is primarily an act of the soul; consciousness and deliberate intent are necessary for responsibility; and conversely the action of the intelligence and will are the primary requirement for the reversal of sin; and without this action, any external ceremony is simply worthless, even though it be of divine institution like the sacrifices of the Jewish temple. Sorrow for sin is the human atonement to God; it is the best that man can offer: it is all that God strictly requires. Our sorrow is indeed defective and inefficacious by itself; but its union with the penance and atonement of Christ by means of the Sacrament of Penance, gives it a new value, and makes it available unto the remission of sin. Sorrow for sin is one of the great duties owing to God by man; it arises out of his offences, and should be proportioned to them. Cultivate a continual sense of your wickedness and of sorrow for it, and frequently bring it into union with Christ's atonement by means of the sacrament.
