CHAPTER V.
THE DANGER TO WHICH AN IMPERFECT RELIGIOUS, WHO IS BUT LITTLE AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF HER IMPERFECTIONS, EXPOSES HER SALVATION.
I. One can and should avoid all venial sins plainly voluntary.
The first step to be taken in the formation of a garden is to root out all useless and noxious weeds, and to put in their place fruitful and salutary plants. It was in this way the Almighty commanded Jeremiah to proceed when he imposed upon him the arduous task of cultivating the Church. Go, I have set thee this day over the nations and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, to build, and to plant. To become a saint, then, a religious must, in the first place, endeavor to eradicate from her soul all imperfections, and to plant in their stead the virtues of the Gospel.
"The first devotion," says St. Teresa, "is to take away all sins."
I do not speak of grievous sins, from which I suppose the religious who reads this book to be exempt. I hope that she has never lost the grace of God infused by baptism, or at least that she has recovered it, and that she is resolved to suffer a thousand deaths rather than forfeit it again. To prevent the danger of relapse, I entreat her to keep always in mind the alarming doctrine so strongly inculcated in the Holy Scriptures, and taught by St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and other Fathers, that God has fixed for each person the number of sins which he will pardon. Being ignorant of this number, we should tremble, lest, adding another to our past sins, we complete the measure of our iniquities, be abandoned by God, and lost forever. This thought has powerful efficacy in dispelling the illusion by which the devil so often induces Christians to relapse into sin. Holding out the hope of pardon to them, he says: You may indulge your passions for this time; you will afterwards confess it, and obtain forgiveness. Oh! if Christians were penetrated with the salutary fear that any new sin should never be forgiven, would they not be struck with horror at the very idea of relapse? But through a false hope of pardon, innumerable souls return to their former crimes, until the measure of their iniquities is filled up, and they are thus irremediably lost.
Nor do I speak of venial faults of imperfect advertence, or of human frailty, when I say that a religious should cleanse her soul from all sins. From such imperfections no one is exempt: For, says St. James, in many things we all offend. Even the saints have fallen into the sins of frailty. If, says St. John, we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Our corrupt nature is so strongly inclined to evil, that it is impossible for us, without a most special grace (which has been given only to the Mother of God), to avoid, during our whole lives, all venial sins — even those that are but imperfectly deliberate. God permits such defects even in souls dedicated to his love, to keep them humble, and to make them feel that, as they fall into light transgressions, in spite of all their resolutions and promises, so but for his divine support they should likewise be precipitated into grievous crimes. When we are guilty of a venial fault we must humble our souls, and, confessing our weakness, must endeavor to multiply prayer, and to implore the Here, then, I mean to speak only of deliberate and fully voluntary venial sins. All these may be avoided, and are seldom or never committed by holy souls, who live with the firm and constant resolution rather to suffer death than, with full advertence, to be guilty of a venial violation of God's holy law. St. Catharine of Genoa used to say, that to a soul inflamed with the pure love of God the smallest fault is more intolerable than hell itself. Hence she frequently protested that, rather than wilfully commit a venial sin, she would suffer to be cast into an ocean of fire. It is no wonder that the saints had such a horror of the smallest sin: for, illuminated by the light of God, they saw and felt that the least offence against his infinite Majesty is a much greater evil than the death and destruction of all men and angels. " What sin," says St. Anselm, " will the sinner dare to call small? For when can it be a slight fault to dishonor God?" ' Who shall ever be daring enough to assert that such a sin, because it is venial, is not a great evil? Can it be ever said that an indignity to the Lord is but of little moment? If a subject said to his sovereign, In other things I will obey you, but not in this, because it is unimportant, — what censure and chastisement would he not deserve?
Hence St. Teresa used to say: " Would to God we had a horror not of the devils, but of every venial sin from which we may suffer far greater injury than from all the devils in hell." She would frequently say to her spiritual children," From all deliberate sins, however small, may God deliver you." Religious should take particular care to avoid the least offence of God. Of them St. Gregory Nazianzen says: " Do you know that in you a wrinkle is a greater deformity than the greatest wounds are in seculars?" ' If a servant, whose occupation renders cleanliness impossible, appear in soiled clothes before the king, he treats her with compassion rather than with severity. But if he sees a stain on the garments of his spouse, the queen, he is indignant, and bursts out into expressions of complaint and reproach. Jesus Christ is likewise indulgent to the sins of seculars, but bitterly complains of the faults of his spouses. Unhappy the religious who is regardless of light defects! She shall never become a saint, and shall never enjoy peace. St. Teresa, while she led an imperfect life, made no progress in virtue, and enjoying neither spiritual consolation nor sensual pleasure, lived in a state of continual misery. It is because they are heedless of their imperfections that so many nuns are always unhappy. They are, on the one hand, far removed from the pleasures of the world, and, on the other, never experience the joy and tranquillity of a good conscience. For, since they are not generous to God, he he is justly sparing in his favors to them. Let us offer our whole being to God, and he will give himself entirely to us. I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me.
But you will say, venial sins however great, though they may prevent me from being a saint, will never deprive me of the grace of God, nor of eternal life; and for me it is enough to obtain salvation. Whosoever speaks thus should reflect on the words of St. Augustine: " Where you have said it is sufficient, you have perished." Do you then say that for you it is sufficient? If you do, you are lost. To understand this truth, and to see the danger of venial sins, particularly when they are deliberate and habitual, it is necessary to consider that the habit of light faults inclines the soul to grievous transgressions. Thus the habit of slight aversions disposes the will to mortal hatred, the habit of small thefts to gross rapine, and the habit of sensual attachments to impure affections. St. Gregory says that " the soul never remains where it falls;" no, she always sinks still lower. As mortal diseases frequently proceed from slight indisposition, so grievous transgressions often have their origin in habitual venial sins. " Trivial detractions," says Father Alvarez, "slight aversions, culpable curiosity, acts of impatience and intemperance, do not kill the soul; but they render her so weak, that when assailed by any grievous temptation she has not strength to resist it, and falls."
Venial sins do not indeed separate the soul from God, but they estrange her affections from him, and thus expose her to great danger of losing his grace. When Jesus was taken in the garden, St. Peter did not wish to abandon his Master, but followed him afar off. Many, though unwilling to be separated from Jesus Christ by mortal sins, will follow him only at a distance, and will make no effort to abstain from venial faults. But how many of that class of Christians have imitated the conduct of St. Peter, who three times denied that he was a disciple of the Redeemer, and to his denial added the guilt of perjury? St. Isidore says, that in punishment of their indifference, and the tepidity of their love to him, God justly permits those who disregard venial faults to fall into mortal sins. He that contemncth small things shall fall by little and little. [1]
Do not then, therefore, says St. Dorotheus, say that the habit of venial sins is only a small evil; but reflect on its consequences. A bad habit is an ulcer which infects the soul; and as it diminishes her strength to avoid light faults, so it gradually renders her unable to resist grievous temptations. " Do not," says St. Augustine, "contemn them because they are numerous: ruin is to be apprehended from their multitude, though not from their magnitude." Despise not your faults because they are venial, but tremble because they are many: for the greatness of their number may bring upon you that destruction which the heinousness of their malice does not deserve. You, says the saint in another place, carefully fly from the danger of being crushed by a rock; but I caution you to shun the risk of suffocation by a heap of sand. By a collection of sand the holy Father means frequent habitual venial transgressions, which, when committed with deliberation and without efforts of amendment, destroy in the soul the fear of committing mortal sins. And whoever fears them but little, will easily fall into them. Hence St. John Chrysostom has gone so far as to assert that we should, in a certain manner have a greater dread of habitual venial sins than of mortal sin. Because the latter naturally excites horror; but as the habit of the former generates negligence and contempt for small faults, so likewise it induces a disregard for grievous transgressions. Hence the Holy Ghost says: Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines.[2] He does not tell us to catch the lions, or the leopards, but the little foxes. We tremble at the approach of the lion or of other fierce animals, and therefore we take care to guard against their attacks; but we fear not little foxes, and therefore through our negligence they by their excavations dry up the root and destroy the vine. In like manner, frequent and voluntary faults, though small, dry up the good desires of the soul, which are the roots of spiritual life, and thus produce decay and ruin.
Habitual and voluntary venial sins expose the soul to the danger of perdition: first, because, as we have already seen, they incline the will to mortal sin, and diminish its strength to resist temptations. Let us consider besides how they deprive her of numberless helps from God, which he had prepared for her.
To incline the will to good, the understanding must be continually illuminated by the light of God; and to become pliant and obedient to the motions of grace, the will requires the constant assistance of God. Besides, to resist the powers of hell, we stand in need of the continual protection of the Lord. Without it, we should all yield to the temptations of the devil, which of ourselves we are utterly unable to overcome. It is God that either enables us to conquer all the powers of darkness, or prevents the devil from suggesting temptations to which we would yield. Hence Jesus Christ has taught us the prayer, and lead us not into temptation; that is, preserve us from those temptations to which we would consent. Now, what are the effects of venial sins? They diminish the lights, the helps, and the protection of God; so that the soul, being darkened, weak, and dry, will lose all affection for the things of God, will become attached to the things of the world, and thus exposed to great danger of renouncing the grace of God for the sake of earthly goods. Besides, in punishment of venial sins Almighty God permits the soul to be assailed with more violent temptations. Whosoever is ungenerous to God does not deserve liberality from him. He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly.[3] Blessed Henry Suso, in the vision of the rocks, described in his life, seeing a great many on the first rock, asked who they were. Jesus Christ answered: " These are the tepid who only seek to avoid mortal sin." The holy man then asked whether they should be saved. " If," replied the Redeemer, " they die in the state of grace, they shall be saved; but their danger is much greater than they imagine. They think they can serve God and the senses; but this is scarcely possible; for it is exceedingly difficult to persevere in the grace of God and at the same time to indulge in sensual pleasures."
Be not without fear about sins forgiven.[4] Why does the Holy Ghost admonish us to be afraid of sin which has been already pardoned? Because after the guilt is remitted the temporal penalties of sin still remain; and among them we must reckon the withdrawal of God's graces. Hence the saints never ceased to weep for their faults, though only venial, and even after they had been forgiven; for they always trembled lest their past transgressions should be punished by the subtraction of the graces necessary to obtain eternal life. A favorite who has offended his sovereign will not be raised to his former rank and dignity immediately after he has obtained pardon, nor until he has given strong proofs of a determination to atone by subsequent services for his past misconduct. And when Christians insult the Majesty of their God he justly withdraws his protecting arm and his former familiarity, until by tears of sorrow and other good works they have expiated their guilt. The more frequently the soul displeases God, the more will he retire from her. By repeated faults her weakness and her inclination to evil are increased, while the graces of God are diminished, and then she will easily fall into eternal ruin.
2. Venial Sins injure, above all, the Religious, who are most especially called to Perfection.
Every Christian who, because he desires to do only what is necessary for salvation, commits habitually deliberate venial sins, is, as we have seen, exposed to the danger of being lost. How much more perilous must be the state of a religious who, with full knowledge, and without any thought or effort of amendment, commits light faults, saying, For me it is sufficient to be saved. The spouse of Jesus being called to religion, is called not only to be saved, but also to be a saint. Now St. Gregory says that he who is called to sublime sanctity will not be saved without it. Jesus Christ said one day to Blessed Angela of Foligno: " They who, after being enlightened by me to walk in the way of perfection, will only tread in the ordinary path, shall be abandoned by me." It is certain that every religious is called and commanded to walk in the way of perfection. It is to enable her to become a saint that God has bestowed upon her so many special lights and graces. Now if she lead a life of habitual negligence and continual defects, without ever seeking to correct them, she will justly forfeit all claim to the helps necessary for the fulfilment of her obligations, and thus she will neither become a saint nor be saved. St. Augustine says that God ordinarily abandons tepid souls who, reckless of the consequences, wilfully neglect their duties and disregard their defects. "God is accustomed to desert the negligent."[5]
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