Chapter XXXV. Of some Reasons why Men live without Weeping for their Offences against God, without Virtues, and without Christian Perfection

THE reasons why man sleeps on in lukewarmness, and neither rises out of sin, nor advances in virtues as he ought, are many: the following are some of them.

Because man does not dwell within himself, to see what goes on in his inner house, and who is its owner; but with a wandering and curious mind wastes his days in pastimes of vanity. And even if he is occupied with things which are lawful and good in themselves, and with such as concern virtues and Christian perfection, he does not give his mind to them.

And if at times he thinks and becomes conscious of his need, and is called and moved by God to change his life, he answers, "To-morrow, to-morrow"; "By and by, by and by." But neither "to-day" nor "now" ever arrive; for through this vice of procrastination and delay, each "to-day" brings forth a new "to-morrow," and each "now" a new "by and by."

Nor are there wanting those who, believing that a change of life consists in certain devotions, spend all the day in reciting "Our Father," &c., without ever setting to work to mortify their disorderly passions, which cause them to cleave to creatures.

Others give themselves to exercises of virtue, but build without having laid their foundation, for every virtue has its proper foundation. Thus, humility has its foundation in the desire to be but little or nothing accounted of, to be despised by others, and to be vile in its own sight; therefore he who first lays this foundation, afterwards gladly accepts the stones of the building of humility. Then, increasing in the desire to be despised, and willingly receiving slights from others, he goes on acquiring humility; above all, often seeking it from God by virtue of the Humiliation of His Son.

And yet all this may be done by some, without either love of the virtue, or desire to please God. Here arises a want of consistency in the exhibition of this virtue; such persons to some are humble, to others are proud; humble to some, but proud to those whose esteem is of no importance to their designs.

There are others who desire Christian perfection, but seek it in their own strength, which is very feeble, by their own industry and exercises, and not from God, in distrust of themselves, and so they go backward rather than forward.

Again, there are those who have but just entered on the path of holiness, who persuade themselves that they have at once attained perfection, and so, having become vain in themselves, their virtues become vain also.

If then you would acquire Christian virtue and perfection, you must first distrust yourself, then trust in God, and strive to kindle in yourself the desire, as much as possible, of advancement day by day.

Watch also, so that no opportunity, whether it be great or small, of exercising a virtue be lost; and if you have missed some occasion of the kind, inflict on yourself some punishment, and do not suffer it to pass without chastisement.

And however far you may have advanced towards perfection, regard yourself day by day as one who is beginning, and study to perform every act with as much care, as if on it alone all perfection depended, and so with the second, the third, and all following actions.

Guard yourself against little faults as carefully, as diligent persons guard themselves against great ones.

Embrace virtue for virtue's sake, and for the sake of pleasing God, and then you will be the same, whether you are alone or in the presence of others. And you will learn in this way sometimes to leave a virtue for a virtue, and God for God. Do not swerve to the right hand nor to the left, neither turn back. Be discreet; love to be alone, to meditate and pray, beseeching God continually that He will grant you the virtue and perfection for which you are seeking, since God Himself is the Fountain of all virtues, and of the perfection to which He hourly calls us.