Page:MeditationsOnTheMysteriesOfOurHolyV1.djvu/289

 i. The first commandment commands the principal works that appertain to the virtue of faith, hope, charity and religion; i.e., to adore one only God, to believe firmly all such things as He has revealed to His church, to hope for those which He has promised, and to love Him more than all things that are created. Against this I may sin, i. By idolatry or infidelity, adoring false gods, or denying that which He has revealed, or doubting of it I may also sin, as the Scripture says, in adoring the idols of my own judgment and will, rebelling against the will of Almighty God, or holding as my " God" my " belly" or money;  or denying God by my works, or not observing due loyalty towards Him. ii. I sin in despairing to obtain heaven, or pardon for my sins, or that Almighty God will hear my prayers according to His promise; and, on the other hand, presuming to obtain this without using the means that God has ordained for that purpose, iii. Through hatred, or want of love, loving some creature more than Almighty God, or rejecting the will of God 'to fulfil that of the creature; or in being remiss in loving Him with all my heart, mind, and soul, and with all my strength, much forgetting both Him and His benefits.

ii. The second commandment prohibits every defect whatsoever in the truth, justice, reverence, and necessity of an oath, so that I may not, by swearing, affirm anything contrary to my belief, or promise anything without an intention to fulfil it, or anything that is evil, or not fulfil that which is good; nor swear without necessity or utility, nor without considering well what I say; nor without that reverence which is due to the sovereign name of Almighty God, whenever I take it in my mouth. I may also sin in breaking my vow, or in deferring without cause to fulfil it,