Page:The Catholic prayer book.djvu/262

 your present  good  purposes. How much  did  it perhaps  cost  you  to  enter  into  yourself — to  examine your conscience — to  prepare  for  your  late  Confession and Communion. Would you  then,  by  relapsing, furnish as  much,  or  rather  ten  times  more  uneasinesp, remorse, and  difficulty  for  a future  occasion,  and  at length  for  the  bed  of  death? Thirdly, consider  the uncertainty of  your  having  a wish,  or  even  an  opportunity to  approach  the  Sacraments,  if  the  grace  you have just  received  be  abused. A desire to  be  reconciled to  God  depends  on  a peculiar  grace,  of  which those who  relapse  deserve  to  be  deprived; and  as  to time,  how  do  you  know  whether  you  may  not  die  in a week  or  a month? Whether your  late  Communion may not  be  your  last? These, and  many  other  good reasons for  continuing  to  act  as  you  are  now  determined  to  do,  will  strengthen  your  resolution,  if you  seriously  reflect  on  them,  whenever  you  feel tempted to  relapse. Remember, however,  that  your best resolutions  will  be  vain,  if  you  are  not  also resolved to  adopt  the  best  means  calculated  to  insure perseverance. Those are  many,  but  the  chief  are, first, such  a horror  of  sin  as  will  dispose  you  to suffer  all  that  could  be  endured  in  this  world,  rather than offend  God  mortally; secondly,  great  care  in avoiding  the  commission  of  venial  sins  deliberately, and with  a clear*  distinct  view  that  you  are  going  to offend  God. This point  is  of  so  much  consequence, that you  should  take  care  not  to  pass  it  over  lightly, because those  multiplied  venial  faults,  though  slight  in themselves,  are  most  dangerous  in  their  consequences. You would  not  consent  to  swallow  a small  quantity of poison  frequently,  though  you  were  sure  it  would not kill  you; why,  then,  should  you,  on  any  occasion, consent, by  a deliberate  venial  fault,  to  swallow  even