Part II, Good Works, Virtue, Sin, Vice: Sin

III. SIN.

1. He who wittingly and willingly transgresses one of God's commandments is guilty of sin.

Adam and Eve in paradise transgressed the commandment of God; they knew it well, and no one, not even the serpent, compelled them to violate it. Thus they committed a sin. The commandments of God are principally the Ten Commandments, and the precept to do works of mercy, besides all other precepts enjoined upon us in God's name. The commandments either enjoin or prohibit some act, therefore they are divided into sins of commission and sins of omission. As the divine law is for the safeguarding of the majesty of God, or for our own welfare or the good of our neighbor, we sin in transgressing that law, either against God, our neighbor, or ourselves. Sin is nothing else but revolt against and disobedience to God (Rom. iv. 15; 1 Johif iii. 4). The sinner throws off the yoke of God, saying: "I will not serve" (Jer. ii. 20). He attacks God, he would fain destroy Him, that He might no longer see and punish his transgressions. When we commit sin, we take up arms against God, we crucify again the Son of God (Heb. vi. 6), by making the Redeemer's blood of no avail. The malice of the sinner pains Our Lord more deeply than all the sufferings of His Passion, just as the loss of his wages is more grievous to the workingman than all the toil he has gone through. How foolish it would be of any one in the world to offend an individual on whom his whole future happiness depended; how much more foolishly then do we act, when we make Him our enemy Whose aid is indispensable to us for all things and at all times, and on Whom our eternal salvation depends. If your life was at another man's mercy, would you venture to insult that man? Remember your existence depends entirely upon the will of God; it hangs as by a thread, at any moment He could cast you back into the nothingness whence you came, and yet you do not fear to provoke His anger. Miserable mortals that we are, we cannot tolerate the slightest indignity offered us by our fellow-men, who are our equals, and yet we ourselves show the utmost disrespect to the Lord of heaven !

It is not counted as a sin if we commit an evil action, of the sinfulness of which we are ignorant, through no fault of our own, nor if our will does not consent to the evil deed.

450 Good Works, Virtue, Sin, Vice.

Noe's intoxication was guiltless, because he was not aware of the inebriating qualities of wine. If one eat meat on Friday, forget ting that it is Friday, it is no sin. But it is quite otherwise if it is in consequence of a long-continued habit of sin that one fails to seethe guilt of an action, or if one's ignorance of its sinfulness is due to culpable negligence. " It is one thing," says St. Gregory, " not to know, another to wish not to know ; for he who closes his eyes that he may not see the truth is a despiser of the law." Those who in the present day avoid hearing sermons will have no excuse before God. We do not commit sin so long as we do not consent to what is evil. The early Christians had incense forcibly thrust into their hands, and were compelled to cast it upon the altar; were they to blame? Evil thoughts are suggested by the devil, but if we do not consent to them, we commit no sin, any more than we are responsible for what we do in our dreams. We should not allow these thoughts to disquiet us, but simply put them out of our minds. But actions done without our will most certainly are sinful, if we are to blame for the cause of those actions. The misdeeds of a drunken man are unquestionably sins, if in any way he foresees them as a consequence of his intoxication.

2. Sin is in its essence an unlawful turning towards the creature and turning away from God.

St. Bonaventure says that turning towards creatures is the source of all sin. Earthly creatures are only a means for the attainment of everlasting felicity; they are in no wise the final end of man. It is with them as with drugs; used in moderation they are beneficial, but used immoderately they are injurious and a hindrance in the way of our salvation. Therefore God only allows us to use creatures within a certain limit, and in fact only in so far as they are necessary or helpful to our eternal happiness ; for instance, He permits us to take such nourishment as is needful for the support of nature, but forbids excess in eating and drinking; He permits us to have possessions of our own, but not to take what belongs to our neighbor. He who uses creatures to a greater extent, or otherwise than God ordains (doing violence to the creature, Rom. viii. 22), wanders away from God and from his final end; he prefers transient joys to eternal bliss (Wisd. ii. 1-9). Thus a child, if a lump of sugar and a piece of gold be offered him, chooses the sugar. The sinner forsakes God, the fountain of living waters, and digs to himself broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. ii. 13). Sin is a species of idolatry; for the sinner worships the creature in the place of the Creator ; his sin is his god. By sin man becomes the servant of the creature, he becomes dependent upon creatures; he is like a fish caught upon a hook, and held fast by it. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin (John viii. 34). He .is worse than a servant, for a servant can run away; but the servant of sin cannot escape from sin; he carries it with him whithersoever he goes.

3. Sin is the one only evil upon earth; it robs man of the supernatural beauty of the soul, it makes him resemble the devil, and brings misery upon him even while he is on earth.

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Sin is the one only evil in the world. We mortals are accustomed to regard the sufferings and contradictions of this life as evils, whereas they are graces in reality; since, far from separating us from God, they bring us nearer to Him. Through sin man becomes worthless in God's sight; through sin, he, who is made of nothing, returns to his original nothingness. St. John Chrysostom says: "Many consider eternal damnation to be the greatest of all evils; but for my part, I always assert that to offend Jesus Christ is a far greater evil." Sin is a greater evil than the annihilation of the world, nay, of a million worlds, with their countless inhabitants. Sin is the only real disgrace. When it was said to St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, who bore the title of Apostolic Legate, that it was a degradation to him to wash his own linen, he replied: " Nothing degrades the Christian except sin." Through sin the supernatural beauty of the soul is lost. As a white robe is soiled and stained if it comes into contact with the mud of the streets, so the soul loses her supernatural beauty, which consists in sanctifying grace, and contracts a hideous stain, through the inordinate love of creatures. On some one observing to St. Francis Chantal, when shewas nursing a leper, that she might easily take the disease, she answered : " I fear no leprosy but the leprosy of sin." Sin renders man like to the devil. Sinners are imitators and followers of the devil (Wisd. ii. 25). They are made one with him by sin. " He that committeth sin is of the devil " (1 John iii. 8). They even become his children by sin (v. 10). Our Lord said to the Pharisees in the Temple : " You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do" (John viii. 44). Sin makes the misery of man even while he is on earth. If the heavenly bodies forsook their orbits, they would be dashed to pieces ; if the train becomes derailed, a catastrophe ensues. So God's rational creatures, the human race, are overtaken by disaster if they transgress the law God has laid down for them. The sinner rebels against the rules of his own reason, the rules of society, the rules that govern the universe; for this he has to endure the reproaches of conscience, the penalties of the law, and the chastise ments of God.

The Development of Sin

A house does not fall all at once ; at first a few drops of rain that are scarcely noticed soak into the walls, soften the mortar and loosen the stones; presently the whole building collapses. The devil sets to work in a similar way to destroy the soul. We learn from Eve's example how sin begins.

Sin arises generally in the following manner: 1. First of all an evil thought comes into the mind, which in itself is not sinful. (Temptation.)

Within the heart there are two masters, whose characters are diametrically opposed ; what one praises, the other blames. One of these is concupiscence, the other conscience. Hence when an evil thought comes into the mind, a struggle immediately arises : conscience admonishes and holds us back, concupiscence incites and urges us to evil. We can no more prevent bad thoughts from coming into the

452 Good Works, Virtue, 8iny Vice.

mind, than an island in mid-ocean can prevent the waves from dashing on its shores; but as the island resists the force of the breakers, so we can withstand the assaults of temptation. We must instantly turn our thoughts elsewhere ; by means of prayer, or the remembrance of death or of judgment. " In all things remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin" (Ecclus. vii. 40). Or we may recall to mind the terrible consequences of sin. What is of the greatest importance is to turn one's thoughts at once; a fire just lighted is easily extinguished, a disease may be arrested in its first stage. Slay your enemy while he is young and feeble. Stifle evil thoughts at their birth; banish them the moment they present themselves.

2. If evil thoughts are not instantly expelled, they awaken in the mind complacency in what is evil, and that is already a venial sin.

Complacency or satisfaction in what is evil, may also be a mortal sin if we willingly take pleasure in something which is forbidden under pain of mortal sin. The evil thoughts which the devil puts into our mind may be compared to eggs; as after a period of incubation the young bird is produced from the egg, so sin is produced from evil thoughts if they are cherished in the breast and regarded with complacency. " When concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin" (Jas. i. 15). "Evil thoughts are an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. xv. 26). Forget not that God is omniscient; He sees all your thoughts. He knows them better than you do yourself, and at the judgment they will every one be disclosed.

3. The evil desire next arises; this has a turpitude corresponding to that of the sinful action towards which it is directed.

An evil desire is an act of the will, or deliberate consent. That which proceeds from the heart (i.e., the will), that is sin (Matt. xv. 19). Before God the will to sin counts as the deed of sin. He who entertains an evil desire has committed the sin already in his heart (Matt. v. 28). He who has consented to a mortal sin is like a stag, fatally wounded by the huntsman, which, if it escapes capture, cannot escape death. Evil desires may be compared to the little worms which perforate the keel of a vessel and render it unseaworthy, if they do not cause it to sink. So evil desires arrest the course of the good and pious on their voyage to the celestial haven, or even cause them to sink into the nethermost abyss. Many evil desires are mortal sins (Council of Trent, 14, c. 5). He who knows not how to tame his evil lusts, is like a rider whose horse takes fright and bolts, dragging him through bogs and morasses, for he will be drawn into mortal sin and finally cast into hell. How unhappy are you, if you cherish sinful desires in your heart !

4. Finally comes the resolution to commit the sin.

The evil concupiscence was merely a wish or longing for the sinful object. The resolution is a final decision to adopt the means necessary to the attainment of that object. Up to this point the sin is still an interior sin.

5. If occasion then presents itself for the sin, the exterior act is committed.

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An exterior sin is attended by worse consequences than an interior sin; it augments the malice of the will, destroys the sense of shame, often gives scandal, brings misery on the sinner, and is more severely punished by God. A king has intrusted the defence of a fortress to his general. A messenger is sent in disguise to this general, bearing a letter, in which a large sum of money is offered him if he will surrender the fortress. Three courses of action are open to the general; either he will reject the offer and have the messenger hanged for a spy; or he may enter into negotiations with him at first, and presently break them off; or he may open the gates to the enemy. Our soul is that fortress ; we are its commandant and our adversary is the devil. He sends out envoys seeking by all manner of promises and representations to estrange us from God. If we indignantly reject his advances, our loyalty to God is thereby confirmed; if we take pleasure in his suggestions, we begin to fail in fidelity to God and deserve punishment; but if we commit the sin, we surrender our soul to the devil, who enters in with all his satellites. After mortal sin, the soul is in a state of sin. When water is once frozen, it remains a block of ice, until it is melted by heat. Thus it is with ths man who falls into mortal sin; he continues in a state of sin until he is brought to repentance. Hence we say: That man lives in sin, or, he died in his sins, etc.

6. By the repetition of exterior sins the habit of sin, or vice, is contracted.

If mortal sin be repeated many times the habit of sin is formed; that is to say the sinner acquires a certain proficiency in wickedness, and the will is permanently inclined to evil. The Fathers point to the three instances in which Christ raised the dead as exemplifying mortal sin in its three stages : interior sin, exterior sin, and the habit of vice. Whoso only sins in his heart, is like the daughter of Jairus, who lay dead within the house ; he who commits sin outwardly, is like the young man at Nairn, who was carried out of the city gates; while he who is given up to vice is like Lazarus, who had lain several days in the grave. In the first two instances Our Lord merely bade the dead arise, in the last He was troubled in spirit, He wept, He caused the stone to be removed and called loudly into the interior of the sepulchre. This He did to signify the great difficulty of reawakening one who is sunk in vice to the life of the Spirit.

7. Every outward sin and every vice brings, as its own punishment, other sins and vices of a different nature in its train.

The grace of God departs from every man who has fallen into mortal sin. Not so temptation. In fact the evil enemy bestirs himself the more to bind his captive more tightly. Now since temptation cannot be overcome without God's grace, the sinner falls lower and lower, from one sin to another. The sins which follow upon _ a sin may therefore be called the chastisement of sin. Holy Scripture expresses the withdrawal of grace in words such as these: "God blinded the eyes, or hardened the heart of the sinner" (e.g., Pharao). "God delivered him up to a reprobate sense" (Kom. i. 28).

454 Good Works, Virtue, Sin, Vice.

8. If any vice is firmly rooted in the soul, it oftentimes brings after it sins of the worst type, and those that are said to cry to Heaven for vengeance; finally it produces complete obduracy in the sinner.

He who has for a lengthened period been given over to a life of sin, does not shrink from the greatest excesses. And just as perfection in virtue procures for mortal man upon earth happiness which is almost that of heaven, and exalts him to union with God, so there are different grades in vice, by which the soul descends to the condition of the reprobate and her complete separation from God is consummated. Finally he who is the slave of vice is often inspired by a bitter hatred against God, and wilfully and of set purpose resists the influence and action of the Holy Spirit; and at last by final impenitence commits the sin against the Holy Ghost which cannot be forgiven.

The Kinds of Sin

There are different kinds of sin.

Circumstances which alter the nature of a sin must be specified in confession (Council of Trent, 14, 5).

All those sins which violate different commandments, or which are opposed to different virtues, are distinct in their nature one from the other; as also are those sins by which one and the same commandment is transgressed, or which are opposed to one and the same virtue, in different ways.

For instance, theft and lying are two different kinds of sins, because by theft the Seventh, by lying the Eighth Commandment, is broken. Pride and avarice are sins of a different kind, because they are opposed to two different virtues, humility and liberality. Theft and cheating are two sins of a different nature because they violate the Seventh Commandment in two several ways. Presumption of God's mercy and despair are two sins of a different nature, because they are opposed to the virtue of hope in two different ways.

1. Sins are generally divided into sins of word, of thought, and of deed.

Hatred and murder are two different kinds of sin, because the Fifth Commandment is transgressed by them in two different ways, by thought and by deed. Boasting in speech and ostentation in dress are two different kinds of sin, because they offend against the virtue of humility in two different ways, by word and by deed.

2. A distinction also exists between our own sins, and the sins in which we co-operate.

Our own sins are those which we ourselves commit.

The sins in which we co-operate are those which we do not indeed commit ourselves, but for which we are to blame. We may be accessory to another's sin by command, counsel, consent,

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praise, assistance, defence; by provocation or by silence, or by abstaining from punishing the ill done, although we might and ought to have prevented it.

The sinner is like a man with the leprosy ; he leads others into sin as the leper infects others with his loathsome disease. In that case the guilt of their sin lies at his door. If a man sets fire to a house, he is to blame for the conflagration; if he gives his neighbor poison, he is answerable for his neighbor's death. The same is true of us if we lead any one into sin, or even if we do not endeavor to prevent the sin. To leave a crime unpunished is to teach others to commit it. If the bodyguard of an emperor were to hear that an attempt had been made on the person of their imperial master, they would be sorely alarmed, for they would know that to allege that they had no part in it would be of no avail as an excuse; in like manner we shall have good cause for apprehension, if through our cowardice or negligence an affront has been offered to the divine majesty. He who might prevent an evil deed and does not do so, is to blame for that deed. In illustration of this remember how Herod commanded the murder of the holy innocents. Aaron consented to the Israelites' demand and made the golden calf. The Jews were pleased because Herod had put the Apostle James to death ; this induced him to apprehend St. Peter, with the intention of executing him also (Acts xii.). Saul assisted the men who stoned Stephen, by taking care of their garments. Job's wife provoked her husband to anger and impatience; Tobias' wife did the same. Heli, the high priest, did not rebuke his sons for their misdeeds nor correct them ; for this God reprimanded him by Samuel's mouth (1 Kings in.). Those, too, who, being members of a council, through human respect do not protest against the passing of unjust decrees, are guilty of sin; the prophet compares such persons to dumb dogs, not able to bark (Is. Ivi. 10).

Earthly potentates, legislative bodies, parents and superiors, employers of labor, editors of periodicals, and publishers, may easily render themselves guilty of the sin of others.

If the ruler of a nation enters upon an unjust war, is he not answerable for all the crimes which are perpetrated in that war? Who is to blame when laws are passed antagonistic to religion, where by the salvation of many is imperilled ? Who is to blame when the daily papers are the means of stirring up national and religious ani mosities and rousing the spirit of persecution? Whose in such cases is the greater sin?

He who is to blame for another man's sin deserves punishnent quite as much as if he had committed the sin himself.

He who tempts another to sin is perhaps the more blameworthy of the two. Remember that God punished Eve more severely than Adam, because she led him into sin. Even to this day the consequences of original sin weigh more heavily upon the weaker than upon the sterner sex. To tempt others to sin is also a sin against charity. It is like the devil who, not content with being evil himself, seeks to make others evil. For this reason Our Lord exclaims:

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• Woe to that man by whom the arandal eometh. It were better for him that a millstone should be banged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt, xriii. 6).

The Comparative Hagsitude of Six

1. All ax* are not equally great

Our Lord compares some sins to ******* others to gnats (Matt. xxiii. 24); or again He compares scone to motes, others to beams (Matt. Tii. 3) ; He contrasts the depth of ten thousand talents with that of a hundred pence (Matt, xriii. 33 feq.\ He said to Pilate: « He that hath deftwered Me to thee hath the greater sin"* (John.xbc. 11).

1. A sin is all die greater the more important is the object it injures, the clearer die knowledge of the sLofuines? of the deed, and die greater the liberty of action enjoyed by the doer.

-i- :^T nr~- -".. • :-r. I_Y. •"_ ". -.-_ -7 :..".- :. :r. -:-.'.-.:-: : :: :i_: ::::.:;:- :: * against which the evil act is directed. If God is thereby is much more sinful than if the offence were against one w-men. Or if it be directed against a man's fife, it is if his propertj alone was attacked. A great deal depends > knowledge possessed of the smfolnesB of the action. It givalet in a CJirJsiian than in a heathen. If a priest

sin, it is wwue for him dan for an ordinary *"»*!> I perhaps in religions matters, because the priest has a ledge of the win of God. Oor Lord says: " The servant be will of his lord and did not according; to his win, shall ith many stripes; bat he that knew not, and did things ripes,shan be beaten with few stripes " (Luke xii. 47, 4S).

your knowledge, the more rigorously win yon be judged,

is not holy in proportion to your knowledge. The more le giauLft bc&lowvd on yon, die more heinous your transrnalbr much dfprndff npon whether a man has or has not '-"-" -'-- ---:-" -L-:.~ --- —'L "- ::.-.:_: .". :-. -.- •':. . :r —^ [ to fierce temptation, is far less culpable than one who

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nmstanees of person, cause, time, place, wipaTig ob erfl ffoma^pgiicis^ of a an ma v enhance its guilt.

mee: it is worse for a monarch to sin openly than for one

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Sin. 157

etc. (1 Cor. v

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whether a an is mortal or venkL Only one thing is certain:

Mortal sin is not possible unless God is no longer the final end towards which onr intention is directed.

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it is a mortal or a venial sin. ~ Let no one presnme. say? ^T_ Alphonsns, u to assert any ?in to be mortal, unless be is qraiie • it: otherwise he may lead men to despair, and even east them into hefl: instead of raising them out of the HUT* of sin. be will phmpe -.. :--;-::-- :: ' Z" -^ :iz - -" - - " - ~ ..... - =

458 Good Works, Virtue, Sin, Vice.

God has ceased to be the centre towards which all his affections converge. Mortal sin is a turning away of our whole being from God, and a turning to creatures as our ultimate end.

3. He commits a mortal sin who consciously and of his own free will does grievous dishonor to God or wrong to his neighbor in a weighty matter; who does injury to his own life, or to the life, the property, or the reputation of his neighbor.

Idolatry, heresy, blasphemy, perjury, serious desecration of Sundays and holydays, come under the category of mortal sins, because they are a direct affront to the majesty of God. To injure one's health slightly through thoughtlessness is a venial sin; suicide is a mortal sin. A man who beats his neighbor commits a venial sin, but if he injures his body to any great extent, it is a mortal sin. To steal a halfpenny is a venial sin, to defraud one's neighbor of a large sum of money is a mortal sin. To disclose the faults of another without necessity is a venial sin, but to lodge a false accusation against him is a mortal sin, because in that case the wrong done him is in an important matter. We cannot commit a mortal sin, unless we are conscious of the siiifulness of the act. Thus children who have 110 conception of the abominable nature of some act which as a rule is a mortal sin, cannot be guilty of grievous sin. It is also requisite that a man should act of his own free will. One who perhaps does a very sinful deed under the mastery of intense fear, having been intimidated by threats, can scarcely be said to have committed mortal sin. » A man may also be so distracted in consequence of illness that he scarcely knows what he does. Beware then how you pass judgment upon your neighbor's misdeeds ; you are not omniscient !

4. He commits a venial sin who only injures something of trifling consequence; or who, though he injures something of great importance, injures it very slightly, or does so almost unconsciously and to some extent unwittingly.

Yet that which is ordinarily only a venial sin, may become a mortal sin; if, that is to say, great scandal is given thereby, or great harm done, or if the venial sin is committed out of contempt for the law.

Attacks upon religion or upon a man's good name in the public journals can scarcely be reckoned as venial sins, as they give rise to great scandal and occasion no small mischief. If a man were to do wrong and say boastingly, I do it precisely because it is forbidden, he is guilty of grievous sin.

Venial sins if repeated may become mortal, if they are the means of doing great harm.

He who steals a trifling sum time after time from the same person does very wrong, if the small sums mount up to a considerable figure. As water that gradually filters through a tiny leak in the vessel finally causes it to sink, so venial sins affect the destruction of the soul. Many fibres of hemp twisted together form a strong rope

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fit to hold back a mighty ship; so a number of venial sins form a cord that keeps the soul back from journeying towards heaven.

5. All mortal sins are not of equal magnitude, nor are all venial sins of the same importance. The most heinous sins are the sins against the Holy Ghost, and those that cry to heaven for vengeance.

6. He commits a sin against the Holy Ghost who persistently and wilfully resists the action of the Holy Ghost.

It often occurs in the course of one's life, that the Holy Spirit in cites us to prayer or other good works, and by reason of distractions or the cares of this world we do not obey His voice. This is not, however, the sin against the Holy Ghost. That sin is only committed when a man persistently and wilfully withstands the inspirations of the Holy Ghost and dies in an attitude of resistance to Him. The Pharisees and Scribes were perfectly aware that Christ was the Messias; they were convinced of it by the miracles He worked, by the excellence of His doctrine, by the sanctity of His life, by the fulfilment of the prophecies, by His own utterances, but their arrogant pride did not allow them to recognize Him, for then they would have been obliged to alter their lives. Although they knew better, they declared Him to be possessed of the devil ("John viii. 48), His works to be the work of the devil (Matt. xii. 24), and persecuted Him as much as was within their power. Thus they resisted the known truth. King Pharao knew the exit of the Israelites from Egypt to be the will of the true God, from the intrepid conduct of Moses and the wonders he wrought; yet in spite of Moses' admonitions he adhered to his own will. He hardened his heart against salutary exhortations. Freemasons will not allow a priest to approach them when they are on their death-bed. " They stop their ears, not to heat, and make their heart as the adamant stone" (Zach. vii. 11). They persist of set purpose in impenitence. The Holy Ghost acts like a man who finds his enemy asleep in the snow, and wakes him, lest he should die of cold. But the sleeper, far from being grateful for this act of kindness, thrusts away his benefactor, and settles himself again to sleep. Thus he who sins against the Holy Ghost, refuses to be aroused from his spiritual torpor by the influence of grace. He may also be likened to a sick man, who not only will not have his wounds healed, but accelerates his own death.

The sin against the Holy Ghost is for the most part the result of a wicked course of life.

It belongs essentially to mortal sin to darken the understanding, and alienate the will from God. The more sins a man commits, the more his understanding is darkened, and the more his will, already estranged from God, is hardened, until at length he finds himself in a deplorable state of blindness and impenitence. The soul is like a room of which the shutters are closed ; sin prevents the light of the Holy Spirit from penetrating into it. Holy Scripture says of Pharao that God hardened his heart (Exod. ix. 12). That is, He allowed his heart to become obdurate, as the penalty of his rins. Like ill weeds, which not merely continue what they are in spite of fair Weather and fertilizing rains, but grow all the more rank on account

460 Good Works, Virtue, Sin, Vice.

of these favorable conditions, the wicked only become worse under the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit. A pillar that is straight stands all the firmer if a weight be placed upon it, but if once it leaves the perpendicular, pressure upon it will cause it to fall. So if the heart is upright, the teaching of wisdom confirms it in integrity, but the depraved heart only sinks lower in vice. A neglected education, bad books, or pride, are often the cause of the heart being closed against the action of the Holy Spirit. The heathen persecute missionaries and put them to death, because they are so blinded by idolatry that they will not renounce their foolish ideas. Anti- Christian periodicals are the means of prejudicing many of their readers against the doctrine and practice of holy Church. Pride caused the so-called Old Catholics to refuse to accept the dogma of Papal Infallibility when it was defined by the Vatican Council in 1870.

Whosoever has committed the sin against the Holy Ghost cannot obtain forgiveness of sin from God, and for this reason: Because he thrusts from him the grace of conversion.

Our Lord says : " The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, neither in this world or in the world to come" (Matt, xii. 32). The sick man cannot be cured of his malady if he refuses to take the remedy which is known to be unfailing; nor can the soul recover from its sickness if it reject grace, the infallible means of cure. Final impenitence is the only offence which God will not pardon; it is a greater insult to Him than sin itself.

Those who sin against the Holy Ghost often come to a miser able end here, and are consigned to eternal damnation hereafter.

The sin against the Holy Ghost is not a sin of frailty, it is a sin of diabolical malice, and therefore it is deserving of more severe punishment. King Pharao, with all his army, was drowned in the Red Sea (Exod. xiv.) ; the Jews, who rejected and even killed the prophets (Matt, xxiii. 37), had to expiate their impenitence bitterly in the year 70, on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, when there came upon them the tribulation Our Lord predicted, " such as had not been from the beginning of the world, neither shall be " (Matt. xxiv. 21). A clever physician continues to prescribe for his patient although his medicines produce no immediate improvement, trying to save him by every expedient his skill can devise; but if the patient cannot be induced to swallow the drugs, and even goes so far as to throw them out of the window, the physician discontinues his visits. God acts in a similar manner towards the sinner who resists actual grace; He forsakes him entirely. To him may be applied the words the prophet Samuel addressed to King Saul : " Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath rejected thee " (1 Kings xv. 26). He who has committed the sin against the Holy Ghost cannot be saved, because at the hour of death he is without the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit and sanctifying grace. His spiritual condition is that of the reprobate.

7. Sins that cry to heaven for vengeance are sins of great

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malice. They are : wilful murder, oppression of the poor, defraud ing laborers of their wages, and the sin of Sodom.

These sins are of so abominable a nature, that every man's feelings must revolt against them. When Cain killed his brother Abel, God said to him : " The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to Me from the earth " (Gen. iv. 10). Every nation on the face of the earth punishes murder with exceptional severity, generally by the execution of the criminal. The oppression of the helpless Israelites in Egypt was a sin that cried to heaven (Exod. iii. 7). The Pharisees were guilty of this sin; they oppressed the poor and prayed long prayers (Matt, xxiii. 14). God expressly forbade the Jews to injure the widow and orphan (Exod. xxii. 22; Ecclus. xxxiv. 26). To keep back the wages of the needy (Deut. xxiv. 14), is a sin that cries to heaven, also on some pretext or other to defraud them of the whole amount (Jas. v. 4). In the Middle Ages an action brought by a working man took precedence of all others in the law courts, and judgment was given within three days. The sin of Sodom takes its name from the inhabitants of Sodom, who were guilty of unnatural sins, by reason of which they were destroyed by God, Who rained down upon them brimstone and fire (Gen. xix. 24). The Dead Sea is still a mournful memorial of their sin; one so shameful that it must not be named among us.

In the present day sins that cry to heaven are sometimes committed by employers, in their conduct towards their defence less workpeople.

Many employers make their people work in unhealthy and overcrowded rooms, unheated in winter time; they do not allow them a proper interval for rest and for their meals; they do not pay them enough to enable them to live decently; they require of them more work than they can do, and of a kind which they have no right to demand of them. The exploitation and oppression of the laborer has in our day given rise to the abuses of social democracy.

8. A distinction must be made between venial sins and imperfections. Imperfections are faults which are due not to a bad will, but to human frailty.

Uncivil manners, lies told in joke, involuntary distractions in prayer, etc., are imperfections. " Venial sins," says St. Francis of Sales, " arise from a bad will, imperfections do not." But, although imperfections are not actually sins, yet they are wrong and ought to be avoided.

The Consequences of Sin

Mortal sin makes a man supremely unhappy. Many are the scourges of the sinner (Ps. xxxi. 10). God calls to the sinner, saying : " Know thou and see that it is an evil and bitter thing for thee to have left the Lord thy God" (Jer. ii. 19). A man who has forsaken God meets with a similar fate to the man who went from Jerusalem — the dwelling-place of the living God — down through rough

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ways to Jericho. The punishment of sin follows immediately upon it, although the Day of Judgment is not yet come.

1. Mortal sin deprives a man of sanctifying grace, and delivers him into the power of the devil.

The Holy Ghost departs immediately from one who has committed a mortal sin. As the dove will not remain in unclean places, so the Holy Ghost will not remain in a heart that is denied by mortal sin. The ungodly say to God: "Depart from us" (Job xxii. 17). Mortal sin is a thief, for if it gains access to the soul, it robs it of grace, its most precious treasure. It is the death of the soul ; a man killeth in deed through malice (Wisd. xvi. 14). Sin when it is completed, begetteth death (Jas. i. 15). Thus there are men who live and yet are dead. " Sinners," says St. John Chrysostom, " are dead while they live, and the just live after they are dead." " Thou dost weep," says St. Augustine, " over a body from which the soul has departed, but not over a soul from which God has withdrawn Himself." When God abandons the soul, the devil enters into it. By mortal sin the temple of the Holy Ghost is transformed into a den of robbers, the sister of the angels into the companion of fallen spirits. As a ship that has lost her rudder is driven about at the mercy of the current, so the soul that has lost divine grace is driven by Satan into perdition. Sin gives the devil power over the soul, for through sin man places himself under servitude to obey the devil (Eom. vi. 16). As every one thinks he may treat a widow as he chooses, as she has no one to protect her, so the demons do not hesitate to set upon the sinner; they cry : " God hath forsaken him ; pursue him and take him, for there is none to deliver him" (Ps. Ixx. 11). The loss of sanctifying grace entails upon the sinner the following terrible consequences: (1) He loses the supernatural beauty of the soul and becomes unclean before God; (2) He loses charity towards God and towards his neighbor; (3) His understanding is completely darkened, arid his will immensely weakened; (4) He loses the merit of all the good works he had previously performed, and none of those which he does in a state of mortal sin gain for him a reward hereafter; (5) Finally, he is liable to fall into other mortal sins.

Through mortal sin we lose the supernatural beauty of the soul and become unclean before God.

Mortal sin is to the soul what decay is to an apple; the rotten ness destroys the color, the scent, the flavor of the fruit, all, in short, that gives it worth and beauty; so sin robs the soul of all that makes it fair and precious. It would be a sore blow to a bride if she were to be so much disfigured by a severe illness as to become an object of repulsion to her betrothed; it is much the same with the soul that is guilty of mortal sin; she is thereby so much disfigured that Christ, her Spouse, regards her with aversion. Through mortal sin charity to God and to one's neighbor is lost. When the earth travels away from the sun, winter sets in ; so the heart of man becomes cold when it is estranged from God by mortal sin ; the flame of charity is then extinguished. The understanding is completely darkened by mortal sin. As heavy clouds hide the light of the sun from our sight and involve us in darkness, so mortal sin obscures the eye of reason, and

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renders us incapable of perceiving the brightness of the Sun of justice. A man who has fallen into mortal sin perceiveth not, as the Apostle says, the things that are of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. ii. 14). As a mirror covered with mildew no longer reflects the objects presented to it, so the soul which is sunk in sin can no longer receive the impressions of divine grace. The sinner is blinded, and fails as fully to see the misery and danger of his condition as one who wanders in the darkness of night beside a quarry; were the sinner in a state of grace, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he would be no less startled and alarmed at his spiritual condition than the traveller would be on perceiving in the daylight what a perilous path he had trodden. By reason of this blindness sinners are often gay and light-hearted in spite of their deplorable state. As the maniac laughs frantically while he tears his own flesh, so our erring brethren make merry while in their madness they inflict serious in jury on their soul. A living body feels the prick of a needle; not so a corpse. Thus it is with the soul: As long as it preserves its life, it is sensitive to the least sin; but if it be dead, it experiences no stings of conscience, even if it be guilty of grievous crimes. Through mortal sin the will is immensely weakened. When the cold is extreme one's limbs are benumbed and paralyzed; so by mortal sin man loses the power to do what is good. He is held captive by mortal sin, as a bird is by bird-lime. Through mortal sin we lose the merit of all the good works we have previously performed. God says by the mouth of His prophet: "If the just man turn himself from his justice and do iniquity, all his justices which he hath done shall not be remembered" (Ezech. xviii. 24). The just man who falls into mortal sin, may be compared to a merchant who has accumulated great treasures, and whose vessel founders just as he enters the harbor. Mortal sin sweeps away at one stroke all our good works and our merits, as a sharp frost cuts off all the fair flowers in one night, or as a hailstorm ruins the crops of a whole year. He who falls into mortal sin earns no reward in heaven for the good works he performs while in a state of sin. As a branch cut off from the vine withers away and bears no fruit, so a man who has lost sanctifying grace can do no works that are meritorious. The apostles labored all night and took nothing; so the sinner during the night of sin cannot, in spite of his utmost exertions, gain any merit for heaven. The soul of a sinner is like a desert where nothing grows, but which is the haunt of reptiles and beasts of prey. How desolate is that spot where God is not ! how parched without the dew of heaven, how sterile without the vivifying Sun of grace ! One mortal sin makes it easy to commit others. When the soul has left the body, decomposition begins; and spiritual decay soon sets in v/hen the Holy Spirit has departed from the soul. A grievous sin which has not been effaced by penance is the precursor of many others, which follow it as its punishment. " The man," says St. Augustine, " who persists in his iniquity, adds sin to sin."

2. Mortal sin brings down upon the sinner both eternal damnation and temporal chastisement.

By mortal sin we incur eternal damnation. As one throws away an apple that is rotten throughout, so God repudiates the soul that

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is stained with mortal sin. He who has fallen into mortal sin has lost the wedding garment, i.e., sanctifying grace; he will be cast into the exterior darkness (Matt. xxii. 13). Mortal sin is an act of high treason against the King of kings. This crime of high treason is punished on earth by a long term of imprisonment; as the majesty of God infinitely exceeds that of any earthly monarch, the punishment of mortal sin is of eternal duration. The man who commits mortal sin is as foolish as Esau, who for one mess, sold his first birthright (Heb. xii. 16), since for the sake of a momentary gratification he relinquishes his title to the kingdom of heaven. Blessed Thomas More, when sentenced to death, would not be persuaded to acknowledge the royal supremacy, for he said : " How foolish should I be, were I to barter everlasting honor and felicity for the transient happiness of a few fleeting years." Mortal sin brings temporal chastisements upon the sinner. God sends earthly punishments to restore the spiritual health of the sinner. The temporal penalty most certain to follow upon mortal sin is interior disquietude. Mortal sin destroys the serenity, the cheerfulness of the soul, as a high wind disturbs and ruffles the smooth surface of a lake. " The wicked are like the raging sea, that cannot rest" (Is. Ivii. 20). Apprehension and terror follow mortal sin like its shadow. He who lives in mortal sin, carries hell about with him (St. John Chrysostom). Remember the fate of the fratricide Cain (Gen. iv. 14). The sinner's evil conscience daily calls to him: "Where is thy God?" (Ps. xli. 4.) What peace can the sinner enjoy when he knows that an almighty arm is uplifted against him? A flash of lightning, a peal of thunder, affects the sinner as much as the devout prayers of the faithful ; in every sound he thinks to hear his sentence of condemnation. God has ordained that inordinate passions should be their own punishment. Spiritual consolations and sensual gratifications can no more co-exist than fire can mingle with water. Those who delight in worldly vanities are not capable of tasting spiritual joys. Mortal sin, moreover, brings temporal misfortunes on the sinner. Of this our first parents afford a striking example. They were driven out of paradise, condemned to labor in the sweat of their face, and made subject to death, because of their sin. The most ordinary consequence of sin is sickness; hence Our Lord said to the man whom He had cured : " Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen unto thee " (John v. 14). Want is sometimes the punishment of sin; witness the prodigal son (Luke xv.). The loss of property and of reputation are also consequences of sin, as is the case with thieves and drunkards. The guardian angels cease to protect those who give themselves up to sin. St. Basil says that as smoke drives away bees, so sin causes our good angel to depart. If a slave betrays his master, not his master alone, but all the members of his master's household are enraged with him. As David's servants were angry with Semei, who threw stones at the king, so the holy angels are displeased with the sinner who offends God. How great is man's folly! He is afraid of eating anything deadly, but he does not fear deadly sin, which causes the death of the soul.

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The Consequences of Venial Sin

Venial sin is a slight thing in itself, but it deprives us of much that is good; just as a hair, if it gets into the pen, spoils the best handwriting.

1. Venial sin gradually leads to mortal sin, and eventuates in the loss of sanctifying grace.

Venial sin makes mortal sin easy. As a spot of decay in an apple gradually spreads until the whole fruit is rotten, so the man who does not heed venial sins will soon fall into mortal sin. As sickness precedes death, so venial sins precede mortal. He who begins by neglecting trifling faults, will end by committing grievous sins. Venial sins may be compared to the dust which settles on our clothes, and if it be not brushed off will spoil them in the end; it is the moth that frets away the garment of sanctifying grace. God permits those who make light of venial sin to fall into mortal sin as the chastisement of their negligence. " Avoid small sins," says St. John Chrysostom, " for they will grow into great sins." " He that is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in that which is greater" (Luke xvi. 10). As one who wants to cleave a log of wood makes a small incision, and then drives in the wedge, so the devil tempts us first to commit slight offences, and gradually leads us to greater transgressions. Venial sin is all the more dangerous because it deprives us of many actual graces, without which we cannot overcome the as saults of temptation. A mirror when covered with dust cannot reflect an image clearly, and the mirror of the soul, if its surface be obscured by the dust of venial sin, is almost impervious to the rays of the Sun of justice. A personage of distinction cannot be expected to approach a man who is frightfully disfigured by some cutaneous disease, much less to embrace him, or even suffer him to kiss his hand; so God will not admit you to His friendship or delight you with His consolations if your soul is defaced by venial sin. Venial sin lessens our diligence in the pursuit of what is good. A trifling in disposition often incapacitates us for the performance of the duties of our calling; in like manner venial sin weakens the will and in disposes it for good works. It diminishes the force of charity, and makes a man lukewarm in the service of God. To him may be applied the words of Holy Scripture : " Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth" (Apoc. iii. 16).

2. There are temporal penalties due to venial sin, and these will come down upon us either on earth or after death in purgatory.

Zachary was struck dumb because he would not believe the message of the angel (Luke i. 20) ; Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his incredulity (Numb. xx. 12). Ananias and Saphira fell dead at St. Peter's feet in consequence of the deception they practised. Those who at their death are in a state of venial sin, will have to pass through the fires of purgatory in order to expiate them before gaining admittance to heaven. On this ac-

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count the saints inflicted severe penalties upon themselves for the least sin. Venial sin must needs be a great evil, since God, Who is a merciful and gracious Father, punishes it with such rigor, namely by temporary exclusion from His kingdom, and prolonged suffering in purgatory.