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Sloth is a reluctance to attend to duty, and,
according to Cassian, it is especially a weariness or
distate for spiritual things. The peril to which this
vice exposes us is clearly set forth in these words
of Our Saviour: "Every tree that bringeth not forth
good fruit shall be cut down and shall be cast into
the fire." (Matt. 7:19). Against its evil effects He
again warned His disciples when, exhorting them to
diligence, the opposite of sloth, He told them to
watch and pray, for they knew not when the Lord of
the house would come. (Cf. Mk. 13:35). Therefore,
if this shameful vice attack you, banish it by the
thoughts we are about to suggest. First call to
mind the extraordinary labors which Our Lord endured
for you; the many sleepless nights He spent in prayer
for you; His weary journeys from city to city,
healing the sick, comforting the sorrowful, and
raising the dead. How ardently, how unceasingly He
devoted Himself to the work of our redemption!
Consider particularly how, at the time of His
Passion, He bore upon His bruised and bleeding
shoulders the heavy weight of His cross for love of
you. If the God of majesty labored thus to deliver
you, will you refuse to cooperate in your own
salvation? When this tender Lamb endured such rude
labors to free you from your sins, will you endure
nothing to expiate them? Remember, too, the weary
labors of the Apostles, who preached the Gospel to
the whole world. Think of the sufferings endured by
the martyrs, confessors, virgins, anchorites, and by
all who are now reigning with Christ. It was by their
teaching and their toil that the Faith of Christ
spread through the known world and that the Church
has been perpetuated to the present day. Turn your
eyes towards nature, and you will find nothing idle.
The heavens, by their perpetual motion, unceasingly
proclaim the glory of their Creator. The sun, moon,
and stars, with all the brilliant planets which
people almost infinite space, daily follow their
courses for the benefit of man. The growth of plants
and trees is continual until they have attained their
appointed strength and proportions, Behold the
untiring energy with which the ant labors for its
winter's food; with which the bees toil in building
their hives and storing them with honey. These
industrious little creatures will not allow an idler
to exist among them; the drones are all killed.
Throughout nature you find the same lesson. Will
not man, therefore, blush for a vice which the
instinct of irrational creatures teaches them to
avoid? To what labor do not men condemn themselves
for the acquisition of perishable riches, the
preservation of which, when they are obtained, is an
ever-increasing source of care and anxiety! You are
striving for the kingdom of Heaven. Will you show
less energy, will you be less diligent, in toiling
for spiritual treasures, which can never be taken
from you? If you will not profit by time and
strength to labor now, a day will come when you will
vainly seek these present opportunities. Sad
experience tells us how many have thus been
disappointed. Life is short, and obstacles to good
abound. Do not; therefore, let the promptings of
sloth cause you to lose advantages which will never
return, for "the night cometh when no man can work."
(Jn. 9:4).
The number and enormity of your sins demand a
proportionate penance and fervor to satisfy for them.
St. Peter denied his Master three times, but never
ceased to weep for his sin, though he knew it had
been pardoned. St. Mary Magdalen to the end of her
life likewise bewailed the disorders of her youth,
though she heard from Our Saviour's lips these sweet
words: "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Numerous are the
examples of those who, returning to God, continued
during life to do penance for their sins, though many
of them had offended God far less grievously than
you. You daily heap up your sins; and can you
consider any labor too severe to expiate them? Oh!
Profit by this time of grace and mercy to bring forth
fruits worthy of penance, and by the labors of this
life to purchase the eternal repose of the next. Our
works in themselves are paltry and insignificant, but
united to the merits of Christ they acquire infinite
value in the sight of God. The labor endures but a
short time; the reward will continue for eternity. We
are told of a saint who was wont to exclaim at the
striking of the clock: "O my God! Another hour has
flown � one of those hours sent me in which to work
out my salvation, and for which I must render an
account to Thee." Let his example inspire us with a
determination to profit by the time which is given us
to lay up works for eternal life. If overwhelmed
with labors, remember that we must enter Heaven by
the way of tribulation, and that he only will be
crowned who strives lawfully. (Cf. 2Tim. 2:5). If
tempted to abandon the struggle, remember that it is
written: "He that shall persevere unto the end, he
shall be saved." (Matt. 10:22). Without this
perseverance, our labor will neither bear fruit nor
merit reward. Our Saviour would not descend from the
cross when asked by the Jews, for the work of our
redemption was not yet accomplished. If, then, we
desire to follow in the footsteps of our Divine
Model, let us labor to the end with unwearied zeal.
Is not the reward which awaits us eternal? Let us
continue to do penance; let us carry our cross after
Christ. What will it avail us to have weathered the
storms and triumphed over the perils of the sea of
life, if we suffer shipwrecks as we are about to
enter the port of eternal rest? Let not the
duration or difficulty of the labors alarm you. God,
who calls you to combat, will give you victory. He
sees your weakness; He will support you when you
falter, and He will reward you when you conquer.
Reanimate your failing courage, not by comparing the
difficulties of virtue with the pleasures of vice,
but by comparing the labor which precedes virtue with
the trouble which surely follows vice. Place side by
side the fleeting pleasure of sin and the eternal
happiness of virtue, and you will see how preferable
is God's service to the fatal repose to which sloth
allures you. Yet do not allow victory to render
you indolent, for success often lulls us into a
dangerous confidence. Never abandon your arms; for
your enemies never sleep, and life without
temptations is as impossible as a sea of perpetual
calm. A man is usually tempted most at the beginning
of a good life, for the devil has no need to tempt
those who have abandoned themselves to his control.
But he is unceasing in his efforts against those who
have resolved to give themselves to God. Therefore,
let him never find you unprepared, but, like a
soldier in an enemy's country, be always ready for
combat. If you are sometimes wounded, beware of
throwing away your arms and surrendering in dismay.
Rather, imitate those brave warriors whom the shame
of defeat spurs to more heroic resistance and greater
deeds of valor. Thus you will rise from a fall with
new strength. You will see the enemy to whom you were
formerly submitted now flying before you. And if, as
it may happen in battle, you are repeatedly wounded,
do not lose heart, but remember that the valor of a
soldier does not consist in escaping wounds, but in
never surrendering. We do not call a combatant
defeated when he is covered with wounds, but when he
loses courage and abandons the field. And when you
are wounded lose no time in applying a remedy; for
one wound is more easily cured than two, and a fresh
wound more quickly than one that has been inflamed by
neglect. Do not be satisfied with resisting
temptation, but gather from it greater incentives to
virtue, and with the assistance of God's grace you
will reap profit rather than harm from the attacks of
the enemy. If you are tempted to gluttony or
sensuality, retrench something from your usual
repasts, even though they in no way exceed the limits
of sobriety, and give yourself with more fervor to
fasting and other practices of devotion. If you are
assailed by avarice, increase the amount of your alms
and the number of your good works. If you feel the
promptings of vainglory, lose no opportunity of
accepting humiliations. Then, perhaps, the devil may
fear to tempt you, seeing that you convert his snares
into occasions of virtue, and that he only affords
you opportunities of greater good. Above all things
fly idleness. Even in your hours of relaxation do not
be wholly unoccupied. And, on the other hand, do not
be so absorbed in your labors that you cannot from
time to time raise your heart to God and treat with
Him in prayer.
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