change of theory, but he moves along a lower level and with less self-reproach as time goes on.
Such a priest may still keep to the letter of his rule of life, and to the times of his horarium, but the interior spirit has declined. He does fewer things with an actual intention, many with a virtual intention, but most with only a habitual intention. He never omits his Mass, nor is absent from the confessional, nor neglects a sick call; but the spirit or mind in which all these things are done is lowered. He is punctual and exact from custom, and from a habit which gradually becomes unconscious. In saying the Divine Office much is said without intellectual attention. Psalm after psalm goes by without advertence, and, when said, no verse in it is remembered. The same befalls the mysteries of the Rosary; and even in the Holy Mass distractions spring off from the mementos of the living and of the departed. Thoughts run on like a double consciousness. The material action of the Mass may be faultless, but the intrusive thoughts overpower the perception of the words. So, again, in the confessional he hears with a wandering mind and absolves with distraction. Still more by the bedside of the sick or dying he is mechanically correct in giving the last Sacraments, but without a living word of consolation
