in order to cooperate with the assistance which God gives her; this is an abuse of grace.
Now this sin, as we have said, is severely punished in Purgatory. St. Magdalen de Pazzi tells us that one of her sisters in religion had much to suffer after death for not having on three occasions corresponded to grace. It happened that on a certain feast-day she felt inclined to do some little work; it was only some simple piece of embroidery, but it was not at all necessary, and could be conveniently postponed to some other time. The inspiration of grace told her to abstain from it through respect for the solemnity of the day, but she preferred to satisfy the natural inclination which she had for that work, under pretext that it was but a trifle. Another time, noticing that the observance of a certain point of the Rule had been omitted, and that by making it known to her superiors some good would have resulted to the community, she omitted to speak of it. The inspiration of grace told her to perform this act of charity, but human respect withheld her. A third fault was an ill-regulated attachment to her relatives in the world. As spouse of Jesus Christ, all her affections belonged to the Divine Spouse; but she divided her heart by being too much occupied with the members of her family. Although she knew that her conduct in this respect was defective, she did not obey the impulse of grace, nor did she labour strenuously to correct it. This sister, otherwise most edifying, died some time after, and Magdalen prayed for her with her usual fervour. Sixteen days passed, when she appeared to the saint to announce her deliverance. Magdalen expressing her astonishment that the sister had been so long in suffering, it was revealed to her that this soul had to expiate her abuse of grace in the three cases of which we have just spoken, and that these faults would have detained her longer in her torments had not God taken into consideration the more satisfactory part of her conduct. He had abridged her sufferings on
