temptation, make themselves believe that they are cleansed from their imperfections the first day of their purgation, and esteeming themselves perfect, though scarce as yet roughly moulded, endeavour to fly without wings.
O Philothea, in what danger are they of relapsing. having been taken too soon out of the physician's hands? "Rise not before it is light," says the prophet: "rise after you have rested;" and he himself practising this lesson, and having been already washed and purified, yet desires to be cleansed again.
The exercise of cleansing the soul neither can nor ought to end but with our lives. Let us not, then, afflict ourselves with our imperfections, for our perfection consists in resisting them; and we cannot resist them without seeing them, nor vanquish them without encountering them. Our victory lies not in feeling them, but in not consenting to them. But to be disturbed by them is not to consent to them: nay, it is necessary, for the exercise of our humility, that we should be sometimes wounded in this spiritual combat; but we are never to be considered conquered, unless we either lose our life or our courage. Now, imperfections or venial sins cannot deprive us of spiritual life, for that is only lost by mortal sin. It then remains only that they deprive us not of our courage. "Deliver me, O Lord,” said David, “from cowardice and faint-heartedness." It is a happy condition for us in this war if by always fighting we can be always conquerors.
CHAPTER VI.
The first Purification, which is from mortal sin.
The first purification which ought to be made is from sin; the means to make it is the sacrament of penance. Seek the most worthy confessor you can:
