Page:Thecompleteascet01grimuoft.djvu/103



The first  step  to  be  taken  in  the  formation  of  a  garden is  to  root  out  all  useless  and  noxious  weeds,  and  to put  in  their  place  fruitful  and  salutary  plants. It was in this  way  the  Almighty  commanded  Jeremiah  to  proceed when  he  imposed  upon  him  the  arduous  task  of cultivating  the  Church. Go, I  have  set  thee  this  day  over the  nations  and  over  kingdoms,  to  root  up,  and  to  pull  down, and  to  waste,  and  to  destroy,  to  build,  and  to  plant.  To  become a  saint,  then,  a  religious  must,  in  the  first  place, endeavor to  eradicate  from  her  soul  all  imperfections, and to  plant  in  their  stead  the  virtues  of  the  Gospel.

"The first  devotion,"  says  St. Teresa, "is  to  take  away all  sins."

I do  not  speak  of  grievous  sins,  from  which  I  suppose the religious  who  reads  this  book  to  be  exempt. I hope that she  has  never  lost  the  grace  of  God  infused  by  baptism, or  at  least  that  she  has  recovered  it,  and  that  she is resolved  to  suffer  a  thousand  deaths  rather  than  forfeit it  again. To prevent  the  danger  of  relapse,  I  entreat her  to  keep  always  in  mind  the  alarming  doctrine so strongly  inculcated  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and taught by  St. Basil, St. Jerome, St.  Augustine,  and  other Fathers, that  God  has  fixed  for  each  person  the  number of sins  which   he  will  pardon. Being ignorant  of   this