There is that twinge, when we do something we know is wrong, or is at least “iffy” — and that feeling itself is something of a second chance. For he is not dead in spirit who still feels the regret; he kills himself when he ignores that twinge, when he purposefully suffocates it. Those who feel guilty are not less so, but those who squelch the realization of that guilt compound their sin. And of course, the best thing to do when we feel that twinge is to take it to heart — as John the Baptist said in a dramatic fashion, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” When you combine that with Our Lord’s “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” we may say with somewhat less flourish: be sorry, because you never want to not to feel that feeling: the good in you, speaking up: it is one small reason your sins may be forgiven.