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The Christmas Cycle
shorten the time of temporal punishment due to sin more easily by meeting and conquering
temptations than we ever could in purgatory. Temptations also keep us conscious of our inner
weakness and preserve us from pride when we might be tempted to think that we have attained
a high degree of virtue. These temptations give us an occasion to practice virtue and make it
a permanent part of our character. Not only is our strength and virtue increased and proved
by temptation, but our merit also is greatly increased when we make a successful conquest
of temptations. A man who knows his own weaknesses is zealous in prayer. If we suffered no
temptations, we should become easygoing and slothful in the spiritual life, and should make
very little progress. One grows strong only by frequent and regular exercise, and this fact is as
true of the spiritual life as it is of physical life. We should take comfort, then, in the words of the
Apostle: “Count it all joy when you shall fall into divers temptations” ( Jas 1:2).
“The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while men
were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat, and went his way. And
when the blade was sprung up and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And
the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed
in thy field? Whence, then, hath it cockle?” (Gospel.) Like the servants of the good man, we may
be greatly surprised to discover the cockle in the field of our soul. We become restless and fear lest
we should be overcome by temptation. Immediately we ask, “Shall we go gather it up?” We wish
to be entirely free from temptation, rid of it for good. Probably we are wishing merely to avoid the
struggle necessary to overcome the temptation. Our zeal is often merely another form of self-love.
The closer the Lord wishes to draw us to Himself, the more pure we must be; and we can
become pure only by being tried as gold is tried in the fire. “All the saints passed through many
tribulations and temptations and profited by them. And they that could not support temptation,
became reprobate and fell away. There is no order so holy nor place so retired where there are
not temptations and adversities.” 6
“Suffer both to grow until the harvest.” By the time of the harvest is meant the time of our
death. If our strength in virtue and our reward in heaven are to increase, then the temptations
by which we acquire our virtue and reward must also increase. The devil is more eager to tempt
the holy and pious soul so that he can decrease its reward, or if he finds it possible, deprive it of
its eternal happiness altogether.
The pious soul does not consider sins of omission as serious as sins of commission, and
therefore falls more readily into them. Sins of omission are also less apt to arouse real contrition
in the sinner. If the soul is truly pious, however, it will be wary of all sins, and therefore
immediately on the alert when temptations of any kind arise. “The right hand of the Lord hath
wrought strength; I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord” (Offertory).
God strengthens the soul by trying it with temptations.
Prayer
O Lord, we beg Thee in Thy never-failing goodness to guard Thy family, and since it depends
entirely on the hope of Thy heavenly grace, defend it always by Thy protection. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
6
Imitation of Christ, bk. 3, chap. 13.
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