Such a visit fulfils any kind of quasi-obligation. At the same time there are reasons worth considering for not looking on so short an exercise as meeting what is aimed at. A priest's visit should surely be an event in his day--as it were a stocktaking of his daily work, when he puts his difficulties as well as his consolations with all confidence before his Lord, and while offering thanks for the latter, begs special grace for the former. This demands that he should not be hemmed in by considerations of time, and he would also wish to be alone at such a moment. It is a sort of complement to his examination of conscience, and should be an attractive exercise. Surely, then, if ever he wishes to pray spontaneously and without the restraint of words, a good visit will leave its impress on the whole day's work. Then in the evening, as the last act of the day, comes the actual examination of conscience. As we so frequently urge when speaking on the Sacrament of Penance, the examination is only a means to an end. The end aimed at is sorrow for sin, and good resolve for the future. Now in the priest's case we are met with a definite danger. Many priests do not say regular night prayers as the laity do; for they consider that for them Compline is the best form of night prayer. But it does not contain any definite examination of conscience. The part which corresponds thereto-- the _Confiteor_--seems the reflection of days when life was simpler, but it contains the most important part, the Act of Contrition. In these days a more systematic examination is called for and is now commanded. It would be well if this exercise were taken a little more seriously, and in this matter we might do worse than imitate a good Catholic living in the world. The recitation of the Rosary does not call for much comment here. Freedom and facility in its use is one of the chief characteristics of modern Catholicity, whether of priest or layman. The fact that nearly all religious of both sexes wear a large Rosary prominently as part of their habit shows how completely the Church has adopted the devotion as part of her life. Many a layman--or laywoman--recites the third part-- five mysteries--daily; and there is surely nothing wonderful in a priest being asked to do the same. [1] Canon 125. [2] Canon 805. [3] "Sacerdos ne omittat ad Eucharistici Sacrificii oblationem sese piis precibus disponere, eoque expleto, gratias Deo pro tanto beneficio agere" (Canon 810). [4] The alternative answer, often given, that the priest can make his preparation and thanksgiving in his own room can hardly be taken seriously. It is possible that there are some few priests who do this; but the ordinary rule is that if the preparation and thanksgiving are not made in the church, they are either not made at all, or at least curtailed to very small dimensions. [5] _Preparation for Death_, Father Coffin's Edition, p. xv. [6] _The Priest_, etc., p. 26.