Lenten Reflection: Sloth, the Seventh Capital Sin

"Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, and an idle soul shall suffer hunger." Proverbs, 19:15.

At Long Beach, California, tnere is a section called Signal Hill. Some years ago two lots and a house were for sale on that hill. A man and his wife were looking for a place to live. Here was an ideal location. Here they could look down over the picturesque city of Long Beach stretching along the Pacific. And the price was most reasonable - only $1500. They were on the point of purchasing the place, when his wife objected: "I don't want to climb that hill every day."

As a result they did not purchase the property. Imagine their regret when they heard a short time later that oil had been discovered on Signal Hill. They had lost a golden opportunity; they had passed up a chance to be millionaires.

Their regret only grew as the fame and productiveness of the spot in­creased. Everyone of its 1350 acres yielded 322,000 barrels of oil. Since 1921 Signal Hill has produced upwards of 435 million barrels of crude oil, which would be valued at about the same number of dollars. The black gold gushes in streams from over 890 producing wells.

The man who had failed to buy the house and two lots at the paltry price of $1500, later estimated that at the lowest figure he had lost at least two million dollars.

And the wife who had refused to walk up that hill? Who can describe her feelings of remorse at her unwillingness to make that little effort to climb the hill? How miserable she must have felt ,when she saw that "black gold" gushing so profusely from the spot which might have been hers. Too late she realized that she would not have had to climb that hill very often. They could have leased the lots and lived in luxury elsewhere. But that chance was gone - through her refusal to climb a hill, through her selfish sloth.

Many another treasure has been missed through this sin of sloth, the seventh of the capital sins. Many a blessing of soul and body has been lost through spiritual and physical laziness. Many will never get to heaven because they are unwilling to climb the hill that leads to our home above.

This story is particularly fitting during Lent when we walk the way of the cross with Christ and follow Him as He climbs a hill, the cross on His bruised and burning back. Our Savior gave His all to climb that hill, so that we might all share the unlimited riches that gush forth from the gashes in His hands and feet and side. Sloth has kept many from climbing that hill, just as sloth kept the couple of our story from climbing a hill to material riches.

1. What is sloth? The sin of sloth means an excessive love of ease and idleness, an unwillingness to exert the body or the soul. Sloth means a laziness that leads to neglecting either our physical or spiritual duties.

Sloth, the seventh capital sin, is a distress of soul at the thought of what one has to do in order to secure or to keep the friendship of God.

2. Since we intend to emphasize spiritual sloth, rather than physical lazi­ness, as the former is more important, we should point out at the very begin­ning the difference between sloth and lukewarmness. Lukewarmness or tepidity, as it is sometimes called, is a decided distaste for religious and spiritual things in general. This dislike causes a person to perform his reli­gious duties in a careless, indifferent, lazy manner.

Sloth, on the other hand, is a disgust for spiritual practices, so strong that it makes a person disregard and even despise the friendship of God. We must not confuse either of these sins with what is usually called dry­ness, that is, a certain difficulty or drag in performing our spiritual duties. Sloth and lukewarmness are voluntary, and hence sinful; dryness is invol­untary, and hence not sinful.

3. How serious a sin is sloth? Sloth is seriously sinful for two main rea­sons:

A. It makes a man neglect the principal purpose of his life, the one thing necessary, namely, the salvation of his soul. Accordingly, it is a sin against the charity he owes himself, the love he should have for his own soul and salvation.

B. Sloth is directly opposed to the commandment that we love God with our whole heart, and our whole mind, and our whole strength, and our whole soul. In other words, sloth is opposed to the first and principal commandment, that of loving God.

C. Accordingly, sloth is a mortal sin, when it is fully voluntary, fully willed, and when it makes a person regret or neglect serious duties and obligations or even less important ones. It is a venial sin when it is not entirely voluntary.

D. Tepidity or lukewarmness, which means a careless, lazy performance of our religious duties, is not in itself seriously sinful, but it is extremely dangerous. It often leads to sloth. Our Lord used some strong language about tepidity or carelessness.

"I would that thou were cold or hot. But because thou are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit thee out of my mouth." Apocalypse, 3:16.

4. Sloth betrays itself in many ways:

A. In avoiding as much as possible all manual labor or physical effort. The wife in our story, by refusing to climb that hill, showed her physical sloth and laziness. Of course, in a day when people aro heart-trouble conscious, the wife might have feared that the climb would be harmful to her heart. She may even have had heart trouble. But the story does not say anything about that. However, we must be careful in judging people who are physically slow and even apparently lazy.

B. In seeking bodily ease and comfort. Look at the Catholic who slouches and lounges at Mass, and you are looking at a slothful person. To be at ease at times is good for the body and the mind, but constantly to seek the easiest position and the softest chair is definitely harmful to both body and soul.

C. In a dislike for concentrating the mind in some mental effort, or the soul in some spiritual act. Physical laziness is more or less evident, and is more or less ugly and repulsive. But mental laziness is not always so evident, yet it is even more common. You have all met the man and the woman who cannot be aroused to take in a new idea. They regulate their lives and their thinking by some out-worn formula, by some rule or fad that was in vogue in the distant past. Such people might even be energetic, hardworking as far as their bodies are concerned, but their minds are inactive, sluggish, lazy. They will never change their viewpoint. They will never fit in their thinking with changed conditions, with newly discovered facts, and with a new approach to old problems.

Among such, I class those Catholics who never read a good Catholic paper, magazine or pamphlet, and least of all a good Catholic book. Their religious ideas are those of mere beginners. They do not know, for example, that there is a Christian, Catholic, and thoroughly scientific explanation of evolution. They are too lazy to learn what the Catholic Church teaches on questions like labor and management, the Pope's points for world peace, and similar questions of the day. They are mentally lazy. According to your time and ability you should continue studying your religion.

D. In putting off things that must be done. Such procrastination has been called "the thief of time," and rightly so. Those who live in "Put-off Town" are the sons and daughters of sloth. They will put off answering a letter. They will put off paying a bill. They wil1 put off visiting a sick person. Yes, they will put off doing the dishes and finishing the washing, wasting precious minutes and even hours.

The worst citizen of "Put-off Town" is the Catholic who puts off going to the sacraments, who puts off saying his prayers until he is too sleepy to center his mind on them, who puts off changing his ways for the better in religious matters. His eldest children are called, "Plenty of Time," "No Hurry," and "Wait a While."

E. In giving up before a task is completed. How many lack this sterling stick-to-it-iveness. They start mowing the lawn, but quit when they are half finished. They paint one side of the garage and stop before they even see the other side.

But the worst quitters, for such we must call them, are the spiritual quitters, men and women who start out Lent, for example with the determination to attend Mass every day, or to perform some special penance. How long do they last? The least lazy excuse makes them give up their resolution. During Lent pareticularly slothful souls must watch our Lord closely see Him persevering for forty long days in the desert, must watch him as He perseveres through the bitter tortures of His passion, must watch and follow Him as He sticks to His task of saving us, stays with it to the bitter end-on a cross.

F. In habitual tardiness, starting late and coming late to every kind of activity. They are late in rising, late for work, late for appoint­ments, late with meals, late with assignments whether in the office or at school, and late with almost everyone of their daily duties.

Chief among these are late-comers to Mass. Coming late to the Holy Sacrifice is a positive sign of laziness, a capital sin. They are too lazy to get up a few minutes earlier; too lazy to get things ready the night before; too lazy to make an extra effort, or even an ordinary effort, to be on time for the greatest Action, the Holy Sacrifice. Such sloth is a sin, don't forget.

G. In excusing oneself for neglecting duties. You have met the type. He forever has an excuse for failing to do little tasks about the home. The wife, in turn, is forever explaining why she did not sew on that button. Appoint them to some parish society work. They fail to come through. But will they admit any fault in this? Not on your life. They have always an apparently excellent excuse to offer. Such sloth is sinful and sickening.

H. In wasting effort on useless activities. There is the ironing wait­ing to be done, but mother listens to a radio program, reads a bit in the paper, talks on the telephone - anything except get down to the task at hand. Wea re almost all guilty in some way or other of this "dawdling" and "doodling." It springs from sloth.

Another form of useless effort is staying up too late at night, making it difficult or impossible to rise at the proper time, and making a person unfit for his work when he does get up. From childhood on human beings want to stay up late - listening to the radio, watching television, and listlessly lolling over the pictures in magazines. A certain amount of social life is necessary for health of body and soul; some need more recreation than others. Nevertheless it is a sign of sloth when we give all our time and energy, or most of it, to useless pastimes.

I. In too much chatter. Here, again, conversation is an important ele­ment of normal life, but long telephone conversations, endless and aimless talk about things of no moment, "jawing" needlessly with workers while on the job, are signs of sloth or dodging duty.

J. In neglecting the particular duties of our state in life. The doctor who is slow and indifferent in answering a call; the nurse who neglects any care of her patient; the worker who is slipshod; thu mother who gives as little time as possible to her children and home: tho head of the house who fails to be a father as well as a bread-winner - all are slaves of sloth.

5. Sloth has many evil effects:

A. It brings on poverty, physical as well as spiritual. It drives out all desire for spiritual things. Sloth explains the dislike many have for religious practices, which they either neglect entirely or hurry through as quickly as possible. One example of this is the Catholic who comes late to Mass and who hurries away before, or as soon as, Mass is over.

B. Sloth causes cowardice in meeting problems and difficulties. In smaller or larger form, setbacks and trials come to all. The lazy man folds his hands, twiddles his thumbs, and groans about his bad luck.

C. Sloth suffocates the soul. It chokes off essential grace, the life of the soul, by neglecting prayer, the sacraments, and other spiritual duties.

D. Sloth causes a person to waste talents, opportunities, time and effort, the very things that will help him to climb the hill to heaven.

E. The slothful person is abnormally curious about the doings and sayings of others. He is tempted to idle gossip and unkind talk.

F. The slothful man turns to dangerous diversions, like bad company, drinking, gambling. How true the saying: "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

6. Any Catholic who can see will readily realize the remedies for sloth. May I suggest a few of them:

A. Learn the duties of your calling or state in life. Actually write them down, putting the principal obligations first, listing them in the order of their importance. Then try to take care of them in that order. Whatever your main work is, do that well.

The story is told of Ethel Barrymore, of the famous family of actors. She was once playing in Kansas City. In the audience was Sinclair Lewis, who remarked after the performance: "Ethel, I don't believe you did as well as you could this afternoon. You let us down."

The grand old lady of the stage bristled: "No Drew or Barrymore," she retorted, "ever goes on the stage, no matter how he feels, or how large or small the crowd is; no matter whether it is New York City or some small town; that he does not give the best that he has to an audience. For we have learned through four generations that we get back just about what we give."

What a stirring principle, not only for the actor, but for those who play on the real stage of life!

B. To overcome sloth, stop and think. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Here one of the best incentives is the daily good inten­tion, the offering up first thing in the morning of all the thoughts nnd words and actions of that day. Nothing puts meaning into daily duties, nothing gives more zest to humdrum tasks and labor, like the offering of the entire day to Almighty God. The more frequently and fervently one repeats that good intention, the more interesting and profitable life becomes, the more you will develop the virtue opposite the vice of sloth, namely, zeal.

C. Make a daily or weekly list of duties that must be performed, even of such simple tasks as patching clothes or answering letters. A popular magazine some years ago carried an article by a housewife who always seemed swamped by the tiny tasks and big jobs of her home. Finally she hit upon the plan of writing down what she had to do, what she wanted to do. Then she worked down the list, item by item, checking off each as it was accomplished. She came out from under her pile of duties with surprising ease and speed. Try it.

D. Have some sort of daily schedule. In our complex, modern life this is difficult, but necessary. It gives peace and balance. The Catholic, for example, who has a regular time for saying his prayers, for doing some religious reading, for receiving the Sacraments, will get them done faithfully and fervently.

One could scarcely find in all history a busier man than Leonardo Da Vinci, who was not only one the three greatest painters the world has known, but who was also a remarkable success in five other fields of activity. It was he who declared:
"O God, thou givest everything for the price of an effort."

Yes, and that everything includes heaven. God gives heaven for the price of an effort.

E. Fan the love of God in your heart. If you really love God, you will make the best use of your time, your talents, your energies, accord­ing to His plan. You need not wait for this fervor. The Christian who waits for feeling before he does something is like the woodsman on a frosty morning standing with his axe leaning against his knee.

"Good morning, my friend," asks a traveler, "what are you going to do?"

"I am going to cut down this tree," he replies.

"Why don't you get at it?" inquires the traveler.

"I'm waiting until I begin to sweat," declares the woodsman.

If he started chopping he would start to sweat. If you start doing things for God, you too will begin to feel the fervor of God's love in your heart.

F. Recall the labors of Christ for you - His long, laborious years as a carpenter, His preaching and teaching, and above all the taxing, fatiguing labor of His passion and death. All of it was done for you.

7. There is no better time than Lent to root out the vice of sloth and plant the virtue of zeal and diligence. May Christ, the Worker, inspire and help you to work for the welfare of your body, but above all for the good of your soul. Amen.
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Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)

Lenten Reflection: Envy, the Sixth Capital Sin

"Let us not become desirous of vain-glory, provoking one another, envying one another." Galatians, 5:26.

In Greek history we read of a youth who so distinguished himself in the public games that his fellow citizens raised a statue in his honor in order to keep fresh' the memory of his victories. This statue so excited the spirit of envy in the heart of another young man who had been defeated in the contests, that he stole out one night under cover of darkness to destroy the sculptured figure. After hours of effort he succeeded in moving the statue from its base, but it slipped and fell, crushing the envious one to death.

Envy always has the same effect. It harms and: even destroys the one who is guilty of it. It hurts the heart and the character of the one who gives way to the feeling of spite. We hope by our ill-will to injure others. We may wound them slightly, but in doing so we kill ourselves, as did the Athenian youth.

It was a pagan, a man unenlightened by the teachings of Christ, Socrates, who taught that no evil man can harm a good man, and that all the fatal wounds to character are self-inflicted. Even the innocent may suffer from the spite of others, but the suffering will not affect their souls unless they allow the poison of envy and discontent to corrupt them.

1. Envy, the sixth capital sin, means a sadness and annoyance at another’s temporal or spiritual good, as seeming to lessen our own good. Envy means a sorrow or sadness over some blessing of body or soul which another has, with the thought that his success seems to be harmful to our own interests or excellence. It means discontent at the good fortune of another.

2. When voluntary and deliberate envy is a serious sin. 'We see the grievousness of this vice when we consider:

A. That it is directly opposed to the all-important virtue of charity, charity that weeps with them who weep, and rejoices with them who rejoice, as St. Paul commands us:

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep." Romans, 12:15.

Envy does the very opposite: it is glad when others are sad, and sad when others are glad. Charity turns enemies into friends; envy turns friends into enemies.

B. That envy is opposed to reason in that it grieves over something that is good, namely, the good fortune of our neighbor. It is furthermore unreasonable because it brings nothing to the person guilty of it, except misery, annoyance, and discontent.

C. That it is a sin against the Holy Ghost, an offense against the goodness of God, in so far as it draws evil out of good, while the Good God always draws good out of evil. It is a twisting and perversion of the divine plan, as we see in the very beginning of the human race:
"For God created man incorruptible and to the image of likeness He made him.
"But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world:
"And they follow him that are of his side." Wisdom, 2:23-24.

D. That it is so subtle, so crafty, so active and yet so quiet that it hides its presence even from the person guilty of it. Envy is so low and so mean that it makes its possessor unwilling to admit its presence even to himself.

3. From its effects we can see that envy is one of the most dangerous of all sins:

A. From envy proceed blindness of mind, errors in judgment, and hardness of heart. We see proofs of this in both the Old and the New Testaments:

i. We see it in the story of Joseph who, through the envy of his brothers, was sold by them and carried off into Egypt. Their father, Jacob, loved Joseph above all his sons. This they could not stand, and as the Bible tells us:

"His brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him." Genesis, 37:4.

ii. We see envy in all its evil ill-will in the story of Jesus before Pilate, an incident which comes forcibly to mind during this Lenten season. When the crowd asked Pilate to condemn Christ to death, he asked them:

"Do you wish that I release to you the king of the Jews?"

"For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him up out of envy.

"But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead." St. Mark, 15 :9-11.

Envy so blinded their thinking and twisted their judgment that they preferred a robber and cut-throat to the redeeming Christ.

B. From envy come sarcasm, backbiting, slander, calumny, and all the many-headed damages and injuries which arise from these sins.

i. Sarcasm is a mean and bitter taunt, a keen and cutting .remark. It tears the heart of its victim, as a vicious dog would tear the flesh of one he bites. Although every right-thinking person despises sarcasm, and rightly, we find too much of it especially in circles where we should expect to never find it - in the home, in our fellow workers, even in parish societies and affairs. Sarcasm springs from an envious heart. It betrays the sarcastic person as one guilty of this capital vice.

ii. Back-biting is just as common, and possibly more criminal. You know the type. Let's call her Mrs. A. When she talks to Mrs. B. she will always talk unkindly about Mrs. C., "bite" Mrs. C. in the back when she is not present. When Mrs. A. is with Mrs. C. she will talk about Mrs. B., "bite" her in the back. And you can wager your bottom dollar that she will talk about you when your back is turned. In this back-biting Mrs. A., reveals one symptom of an envious heart.

C. Envy causes devilish plots, cold-blooded murders, mean-minded treacheries, and public and private calamities of all kinds.

i. It was envy of God that made the evil one take form of a serpent and lead our parents into the first sin. Re-read that story:

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. . .

"No," said the serpent to Eve, "you shall not die the death.

"For God knowa that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis, 3:1-5.

ii. It was envy that provoked the first murder. Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, both made offerings to the Lord. The Lord "had respect" to the offerings of Abel, but not to those of Cain. In the heart of the latter sprang up a feeling of envy and anger. Cain invited Abel out into a field and there he slew him. (Genesis, 4:1-14).

iii. It was envy, blind unreasoning envy, that prompted a member of the Athenian assembly to vote for the banishment of Aristides the Just. According to the story, Aristides himself was present when the vote was taken. One illiterate member, who could neither read nor write. went up to Aristides, not knowing who he was, and asked him to write the name of Aristides on his shell to show that he wanted him banished. As Aristides wrote his own name on the ballot that was meant to send him into banishment, he asked the fellow If ho knew Aristides, or if he had anything against him.

"No," answered the ignorant and envious fellow, "I don't know him and I don't know anything about him, but I get tired of hearing him spoken of as Aristides the Great."
Behold the blindness and the bias and the bile of the envious.

D. Envy causes miserable repining at another's success. This we find in every walk of life, especially among those who are more or less equal, among those in the same class at school, in the same trade, in the same club, in the same profession, and in the same parish society. The good fortune of another, the election of another to some society office, the attainment of fame or fortune by someone who would he otherwise equal, causes the envious heart to feel and even to express dejection and discontent, makes him complain and grumble and even criticize.

E. Envy leads its victim to belittle the merits and accomplishment of others, again particularly of those in the same group.

"Yes," they will admit, "she is a good home-maker, but-." Inevitably there is a "but," in other words, some drawback, some point to belittle.

4. To fool and express sorrow over another's temporal or spiritual good not because we feel it harms our own interests, but for some other good reason, is not the sin of envy. Thus a person might feel sorry about another's prosperity or success entirely because he knew that this success would be harmful to the welfare of others or to the public at large. This would really be charity rather than envy. If one, for example, felt sorry when he saw a business man without principles, or a professional person who stooped to immoral practices, or a scheming politician, achieving goals beyond his deserts, it would not be envy to grieve about that success.

Furthermore, if a person is sad only because he himself does not have as much as another, and he seeks his own lawful advancement and not the harm of another, he does not commit the sin of envy. We might rather call it emulation, a striving to equal or excel another by just and lawful means. It is expressed in the spirit of big-hearted competition, which is good in every walk of life. In fact, this rightful rivalry is the spur to much of the progress in all fields of human endeavor. It is essential in the spiritual life, where we see before us almost constantly the inspiring example of the saints. Their example should inspire in us a desire to imitate, a desire to follow their cooperation with grace, their charity, their chastity, their zeal for the service of God.

5. To what ridiculous lengths envy can lead is shown in the fairy story of the shoemaker. He was not the ordinary run of cobbler. He was extra special, so much so that the fairies hired him to make their shoes. The only leather he used was cut from the skin of a snake killed the previous year. They were soft and comfortable and the fairies would wear no other kind. Wherever the fairies went they drew admiration and praise for their fine footwear.

Into the cobbler's heart came the thought that these fairy folk were getting all the attention, while he was doing the work. Envy led him into this trend of thought:

"Here I am slaving away at my last, bending over until my back is all out of shape, seldom seeing the sun, and never getting the glory for my work. It isn't fair. I know what I will do. I'll make myself a pair of the softest, shiniest shoes anyone ever wore, and then I'll strut out among the flowers and get some attention."

He put all the other pairs of shoes aside and worked day and night on his own. The fairies, from the king and queen on down, came for their shoes, but they were not ready. Gradually he lost his trade, but he cared not a bit. He was going to create a commotion. At last the shoes were finished. He put them on and started out.

"Land of mercy," cried his wife, "you are not going out in those gorgeous shoes with your leather apron on. Buy yourself a dress coat."

He bought a fine coat and was again about to start out when his wife screamed:

"Land sakes, now you need a cane."

He bought a cane and was strutting out the door when his wife burst into laughter:

"You silly man," she cried, "your top hat and new coat and cane and beautiful shoes do not hide your bent back. You are nothing but a dressed up shoemaker. Everybody will laugh at you, as I must laugh."

He took a look in the mirror and almost had to laugh at himself, as he admitted:

"What my wife says is true. I was a good shoemaker, but I make a poor fairy gentleman."

He had sense enough to admit his foolishness. He went home to his shoemaker's last, and left the bright shoes for more nimble feet.

Would that we all had sense enough to recognize envy when it shows its treacherous head. And would that we all might use the remedies to overcome this capital vice. If the Scribes and Pharisees, the principal enemies of Christ, had been honest enough with themselves they would have admitted their envy as the principal cause of their opposition to the Savior of the world. If all the envious hearts were revealed to the world what a disgusting display that would be. And if all envy were removed, how happy humanity would be.

6. What are the cures for this capital crime of the heart?

A. Ask God to give you a true spirit of love for everyone, a true, heart felt charity, especially toward those whom you envy. Try praying for those whose success makes you sad. Honestly ask God to help you see that various people have various gifts and blessings.

B. Consider the evils brought on by envy. They are all opposed to the fundamental law of Christ: Love one another. How can we love our neighbor if our minds are blinded with bias and our hearts are saddened at his success? How can we love our neighbor if we stoop to sarcasm, slander, back-biting and rash criticism? How can we love our neighbor when our hearts hatch plots to bring him harm? How can we love our neighbor with a heart that is sad when that neighbor succeeds? How can we love our neighbor when we belittle his work and efforts?

C. Consider, on the other hand, the happiness of a heart that is free of this hideous hatred. The heart free of envy is a heart at peace with itself and at peace with everyone else. It is a heart that is willing to do things for others, willing to live the law of love, even at the cost of sacrifice. It is a heart that is satisfied with its own lot in life, and never permits the good fortune of others to make it unhappy.

Consider the unhappiness of our shoemaker when his heart was envious, and his contented happiness after he had rooted envy out of his heart. Every human being can have that same blessed experience.

D. Share your joys and share your sorrows with others. Enter into the joys and sorrows of those with whom you live. Express your sympathy when they have difficulties; and express genuine congratulations, when they have success. This is something we can all develop, no matter how small the circle in which we move.

Oh, how Christ­like the person who can pay a compliment to one who has earned some merit or reward.

E. Realize that envy and pride are co-workers in evil, twin devils who destroy peace of the individual and peace of the community. Then try to develop a true sense of humility, the foundation of all true love of neighbor, the foundation of all true appreciation of the tal­ents, accomplishments, and good fortune of others.

F. Bring home to yourself with absolute conviction that money and success and fame are not everything. They are not the completely satisfying articles they appear to be at a distance. Much more valuable than these tinsel satisfactions are genuine love, true-blue friend­ship and inner contentment. The man who is satisfied with his own place in life, the man who can, at the same time, view with a smile the success of others, is a happy, yes, a successful man.

7. On November 11, 1950, a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer asked three people this question:

"What do you think is the best way to overcome jealousy?"

A. One young lady answered that the jealous and envious person must develop self-confidence, improve himself.

B. A young man said the best way is to analyze the situation, .delve down into the facts, and don't let emotions take control. He pointed out that the jealous and envious person lets his imagination and emotions run away with him.

C. A third gave this solution: Grow up; become mature, mentally and spiritually.

Our newspapers and magazines have a great deal about jealousy and envy, proving the importance of the subject.

8. Most important is this subject in the Church. Racial, social, and economic envy hamper and even halt many projects of the Church. One member of the choir envies another because she was chosen to sing a solo. Our society officers are often the object of green-eyed envy. Good work already done is torn apart, and good work to be done is never attempted, through fear of envy and its train of miserable evils.

9. Search your soul tonight. Be not blind to this hidden monster of envy. Think of the sufferings and death of our Lord, brought on by the envy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Look at the stations of the cross. See the torture to which envious hearts put the sweet and loving Savior of the world.

Then look into His loving Heart, opened to us on the cross, that Sacred Heart hrobbing with love for even His enemies, that Heart which was ever understanding and appreciative, that Divine Heart which was always glad at the good-fortune of others, that Heart which must be our Model if we ever hope to overcome the capital sin of envy, if we ever hope to be in very truth - like our Lord. Amen.
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Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)

Lenten Reflection: Lust, the Third Capital Sin

"O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory: for the memory thereof is immortal: because it is known both with God and with men.

"When it is present, they imitate it: and they desire it when it hath with­ drawn itself, and it triumpheth crowned forever, winning the reward of undefiled conflicts." Wisdom, 4:1-2.

Way back in the year 303 a mother and her daughter were kneeling at an Italian grotto near Catania in Sicily, the spot where the remains of the Virgin-Martyr St. Agatha were buried. The mother's name was Eutychia, a wealthy widow, who was suffering from a hemorrhage. The daughter's name was Lucy, who was beautiful beyond words, and who had vowed her virginity to God, despite the desire of her mother to marry her to a charm­ing and accomplished young man. Both were praying that the Lord would cure the elder woman's ailment. Secretly Lucy was asking light and wis­dom that her mother might see things her way. Long and fervently they had prayed when suddenly St. Agatha appeared to Lucy and told her:

"Your faith has come to your mother's aid. The Lord Jesus Christ will through you render Syracuse illustrious because by your virginity you have prepared for Him a pleasant dwelling in your heart."

Both prayers of Lucy were answered. Her mother was healed in body and also in heart, consenting to Lucy's desire to consecrate herself entirely to the Lord, and dispose of her wealth to the poor.

Meanwhile the young man to whom she had been betrothed, in his anger and disappointment, reported to the pagan governor that Lucy was a Chris­tian and an enemy of the gods of Rome. The Roman governor called our heroine before him, and was struck with her marvelous beauty.

"If you want to save your life, worship our gods," commanded the governor. "I do not worship devils," was Lucy's firm and calm reply.

Cleverly but vainly the governor tried to shake her constancy. When he asked her how she could answer him so clearly and fearlessly she told him that it was the "spirit of the Father" in her, explaining that they who lead a chaste and holy life are the temple of the Holy Spirit. A devilish and brutish plan leaped into the mind of the pagan governor. He would place this innocent girl in a house of impurity, where her innocence would be taken from her by force. Without flinching Lucy declared:

"If you order me to suffer violence against my will, I shall not only lose my chastity but will win a double crown."

"Take her away," cried the governor, "take her away."

But the rough soldiers could not move her from the spot. Fuming and furious, and blind to the miracle, the governor ordered a fire built about her, but the flames did not harm her. Then he ordered a soldier to draw his sword and stab her. The pure blood of the virgin-martyr St. Lucy spurted over the shining whiteness of the marble floor.

In this traditional story of the martyrdom of St. Lucy there is an even greater contrast than that between her red blood and the white floor. It was the striking contrast between her snow-white purity and the bloody lust of her persecutors.

1. Lust, the third of the capital sins, means an immoderate love of fleshly pleasure. It is an unregulated and uncontrolled desire for impure satis­factions. It is a vice that creeps into every walk of life. The fact that people are married does not free them from the fetters of lust, or at least from the danger of lustful desires.

2. This sin is directly opposed to the sanctity of God, who created the human body for a holy purpose, and who makes the body of a Christian His dwelling place, as St. Lucy so firmly and clearly explained to her pagan judge.

Through the Sixth and the Ninth Commandments God has forbidden all forms of lust. The Sixth Commandment forbids all sins of impurity with another's wife or husband, which is the strict meaning of adultery, and it also forbids all other external acts of impurity with ourselves or with others. The Ninth Commandment forbids all interior sins, whether of thought or desire, which are contrary to chastity.

We sin against this Ninth Commandment when we purposely and knowingly cause or keep impure thoughts or desires. This applies not only when we have an impure thought and desire to carry out some impurity, but also when we take pleasure in a thought and do not desire its accomplishment, and even when we are conscious of such thoughts or desires and wilfully neglect or refuse to put them away.

3. Every sin of lust is a mortal sin, when committed with sufficient knowledge and with full consent of the will. Some sins of lust are more grievous than others, because they are more unnatural, more hateful and more condemnable. Impurity is a capital sin:

A. Because God has forbidden impurity of all kinds by His Sixth and Ninth Commandments as well as by frequent, direct condemnation of lust through the pages of Sacred Scripture.

B. Because God has punished in terrible and dreadful ways the sin of impurity. Read the story of­

i. The deluge that covered the earth in Genesis, 7:11.

ii. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, 19:24.

iii. And the death of 24,000 Israelites in Numbers, 25:9.

C. Because it reduces man to the level of a selfish, unthinking beast, putting the lower brute passions above the higher part of man.

D. Because it is considered by all men as a most shameful sin. The very fact that the lustful seek darkness and secrecy is a proof of the shame and disgrace that attaches to this vice.

4. Rightly can we call impurity a capital sin, when we consider its dread­ful and certain consequences:

A. Unlike almost all other sins, which affect only one or the other power, such as the mind, the will, or some of the senses, lust ruins man's entire being, body and soul, and becomes the one constant thought and brutish aim of his existence.

B. Lust drives a man to every other kind of sin in order to satisfy his immoderate craving for sexual pleasure. It causes lying, slanders, stealing, murder, marital unfaithfulness, and disregard for lawful authority. Every day the news brings you proof, glaring, positive proof that lust is the source of a host of other sins.

C. Impurity ruins the dignity of the human being. Whoever does not look at the sexual appetite through the eyes of God's law, sinks to the level of a brute. And whoever gives himself to the practice of unnatural impurities such as homozexuality, sinks lower than the brute. Lust makes man a slave. It weakens will power and destroys health.

D. Impurity undermines human society by poisoning the very source of life, namely, marriage and the family. These are built, as society is built, on moral purity and strength. When impurity becomes nationwide, it destroys, as it did so terribly and so decisively ancient Rome.

E. Impurity causes the loss of more souls than any other kind of sin.
Why?

i. It is the easiest to commit, especially in our age of unlimited freedom and license.

ii. It is the hardest to abandon, because it affects the entire crea­ture - his body and his soul.

iii. It blinds the intellect. The mind that is impure cannot concen­trate and cannot think clearly, because impurity is constantly present and over-powering.

iv. It hardens the heart. The urge to immoderate sexual satisfac­tion becomes so strong that the normal, healthy emotions of the heart are smothered.

v. It creates a distaste for religion, a disgust for prayer, a weak­ening and final loss of faith, and impenitence at the last. Just as lust causes many to leave the Church, so it causes many to stay out of the Church. We recall the incident of the last cen­tury that took place in the parlor of Chateaubriand, the famous French author. His guests for the most part were unbelieving scientists, authors and painters. They spoke of religion only to say that it was impossible for an educated man of modern times to be a believer. Chateaubriand stood up and spoke:

"Gentlemen, place your hands upon your hearts. Would you not become believers, if you could live pure lives?"

In our day many would have to answer "Yes" to that question. They would become believers, if they could lead pure lives; rather, if they wanted to lead pure lives. Ask those who leave the Church, and if they are honest, most will declare that at bottom their stumbling-block was impurity.

vi. Lust causes some of the most loathsome, painful diseases, and has caused more deaths than all the wars of history. Look at the social and sexual diseases so common in our country today, sapping the strength of our manhood, destroying the health of families, causing untold misery and expense. Unfortunately this disastrous result of impurity is the only one considered by some individuals. It is not a sufficient deterrent to lust. Speak­ing of the impure man Job declares:

"His bones shall be filled with the vices of his youth, and they shall sleep with him in the dust." Job, 20:11.

5. Lust shows itself in various ways:

A. It is lust purposely and knowingly to cause or to keep impure pictures in the mind.

B. It is lust to read impure, sexy books and magazines or to watch such shows on TV.

C. It is lust knowingly to attend movies that are morally objectionable.

D. It is lust to hear and repeat sexy stories, and talk of sexual things for the pleasure of it.

E. It is lust to touch oneself impurely, or to cause impure feelings in oneself by reading, or by looking at impure pictures.

F. It is lust to touch another sexually, or to arouse impure feelings in oneself or in another by prolonged, passionate kissing, by touching another's body in improper places, or by impure conversation, con­duct, or dress. Too many have the mistaken idea that the only serious sin of lust is going the limit.

G. It is lust to use any artificial and unnatural method of birth control.

6. There is only one way to overcome this capital sin of lust, and that is to develop the opposite virtue of chastity. Chastity is that virtue which keeps us pure in body and soul before God and man.

It is a virtue that makes men like to angels. It is even called "the angelic virtue." It gives a soul great power with God: it keeps the mind clear; it warms the heart; it strengthens the will; it provides a fertile field and nourishment for all the other virtues. It even works miracles, as we saw in the story of St. Lucy, whom the soldiers could not budge physically when they were commanded to take her to a place of sin. Purity has a positive influence over human beings, even drawing the admiration of the impure. It gives a deep and lasting interior peace, and fills the heart with true love for God and man.

7. Such a necessary, excellent, and beautiful virtue is certainly worth striving for. What are the means? You have heard them time and again from the Church, but perhaps in this serious time of Lent when we see our Lord suffering in body and soul for the impurities of the world, when we see Him stripped and beaten and bleeding, when we behold Him nailed to a tree for the lusts of men, perhaps at this time we will consider more seriously not only the wickedness of lust, but the wonderful beauty of purity.

A. The first step to purity is to really want to be pure. If we really want to be chaste over half the battle is won. The trouble is that many want to eat their cake and have it in this matter. They want to be pure and impure at the same time. Make your choice, a deter­mined choice.

B. Avoid the occasions. Avoid as you would a contagious disease those places, people, situations, which led you into sin in the past, or which tempted you severely, or which you have heard are usually the cause of sin.

They tell the story that Gene Tunney, the former heavyweight champion boxer of the world was being tendered a party by some New York admirers. The hall was filled. After the banquet they put on a floor show, a feature of which was a number of scantily dressed girls. At once Tunney, the champion, rose, reached for his hat, and declared for all to hear:

"Gentlemen, I did not come to be insulted. These things are against all decorum and decency, and I will not be a part of them. You will have to excuse me. Good-night."

He left the hall. Soon others followed and in a short time there was no one left to watch the shady show. Tunney never showed himself more of a champion than when he left this occasion of sin and delivered a telling blow for chastity.

C. Have a humble attitude in the matter, realizing that without God's grace you cannot be chaste. Realize and repeat the words of Wisdom:

"And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was." Wisdom, 8:21.

D. Along with this humble attitude, have confidence in God. With God's help you can count on victory. Never forget the words of St. Paul:

"God is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength but with the temptation you may be able to bear it."1 Corinthians, 10:13.

E. The soul who wishes to be pure must pray. God will give His help to those who ask it. It would be revealing to know how little, if at all, impure people pray. Here's a suggestion: have some short prayer for purity which you will say frequently and regularly. For example:
"Immaculate Heart of Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy."

A prayer to the Infant Christ, to St. Anthony, or to your patron or favorite saint, should be ever in your heart and often on your lips. Say that prayer often in your untempted moments, so that when temptation comes, your favorite appeal to God will rise at once from your heart and you will get the help you need. All too often we
throwaway our best weapon, prayer, just when we need it the most, that is, when we are tempted. A crucifix, a holy picture, your Rosary will be priceless reminders and helps in this regard.

Regular habits of prayer are helpful and necessary. Morning and evening prayers need not be lengthy, but they do need to be regular and fervent. If the couple who practice birth control would kneel down and pray together each evening, they would soon abandon their lustful practice.

If those keeping company would say a prayer to­gether, they would not fall into sin so easily. If individuals would pray at those times and places when they know they often commit personal sins, solitary sins, they would soon overcome the habit. An excellent practice, used by thousands with effect, is that of saying three Hail Marys every day for the virtue of purity. Try it.

F. Another essential for purity is penance or self-denial. People who never deny themselves things which are lawful, can never develop the will power to say "No" to what is unlawful, especially when it is prompted by the powerful passion of lust. What penance are you doing during this Lent? If you are lax in penance, you are having trouble in being pure. Think of what the great saints did to remain pure. St. Paul did hard manual labor to overcome temptations to impurity; St. Jerome cut his breast with a stone and studied the difficult language of Hebrew; St. Anthony of the desert worked the soil and lived on bread and water; St. Benedict rolled himself naked in a thorny bush; St. Bernard jumped into an icy pond; St. Francis of Assisi toiled and prayed, and threw himself into a thorn bush. If saints went to such lengths to preserve holy purity, how can you expect to be pure unless you practice some penance?

G. Keep busy, first with the duties of your state in life, your job, your school work. Have something definite to do in your free time. On dates and in the company of others plan what you will do. It makes social life more interesting and more safe.

H. Receive the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion as fre­quently as possible. You cannot approach the table of the Lord fre­quently and remain impure. Either you will give up Communion or you will give up your sins of sex.

I. Choose the best, the healthful, the wholesome in the matter of read­ing, recreation, companions, sports and social activities. Drop the book and drop the companion who cause you impure temptations.

8. With the inspiring example of St. Lucy before you, an example that has been repeated throughout the centuries, an example which you will find all around you, if you look closely and wisely, with her example and the help and protection of God, you can make yourself worthy of the praise of the Book of Wisdom:
"O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory." Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)

Lenten Reflection: Avarice, The Second Capital Sin

"Covetousness is the root of all evils, and some in their eagerness to get rich have strayed from the faith and have involved themselves in many troubles." 1 Timothy, 6:10.

The story is just as pointed as it is old of the man whose soul was con­trolled by the devil of avarice. He had a lot of money, but he wanted more. In his fear that thieves might learn of his riches and come to steal them he had a strong room built deep down beneath the foundations of his house. The door to this room was made of iron and was cleverly concealed in the wall.

Every time he got hold of some more gold this grasping fellow would hurry to his hiding place and add it to his heaps of coins. One day he acquired a particularly large amount of money, and he was particularly eager to add it to his treasures. He hurried to his secret chamber, but in his haste he forgot to take the key from the outside of the lock. He entered, quickly closed the door, dropped the new-won coins one by one on the piles of gold and silver, gloating over every piece. As he started to leave he dis­covered to his horror that the door was locked and could be opened only from the outside. He screamed and shouted for help; he tried to dig and scrape his way out. But the room was so strongly built that there was no hearing him and there was no escape.

Meanwhile his family wondered where he was. They thought some mis­fortune had befallen him. They searched everywhere. They asked his friends and business acquaintances. No one had seen him. At last the news reached a locksmith who immediately remembered that this miser had engaged him to make a strong door with a spring lock that would lock itself when the door was closed. He hurried to the home, told the family and rushed to the secret door. There was the key in the lock - outside. They opened the door and found the dead body of the man sprawling with his arms extended over the heaps of coins, embracing his treasures in his death­struggle, still worshipping in death the god of gold he had adored during life.

1. That man had been killed by the devil of avarice, the second capital sin. Avarice or covetousness means an excessive love of money and worldly goods. Those material possessions may take the form of books or pictures, buildings or land, cars or jewelry. Usually, however, to the avaricious man gold is god. All his affection, all his ambition, all his talents and all his energies are principally and often exclusively devoted to getting more and more gold, money and goods.

2. Avarice attacks in every walk of life. It is a vice that affects both the rich and the poor, the high and the lowly. Have we not all seen men of means, men who have plenty of this world's goods, still straining with every ounce of their strength, and with every power of mind and body, to build up a still bigger bank account? Have we not seen men and women who own several houses or hundreds of acres of land or boxes full of jewelry, still striving to get more? But the covetous are not limited to the wealthy. There are avaricious people among the poor. They would give anything to have more of this world's goods. Their hearts are set on riches, even though they do not have them. They strive for things which are beyond their reach.

3. The more food you give this devil of avarice, the more he wants. The covetous heart is ever adding to what it has; it is never satisfied. St. Bern­ardin of Siena brings this out in a conversation he carries on with a money­grabber:
"Now, 0 miser, how much money do you want?" asks our saint.

"If I had ten thousand florins," replied the miser, "I would consider myself
well off."

A florin was worth about 50 cents. Let's say the man wanted ten thousand dollars. Suppose St. Bernardin gives him the ten thousand and a few days later asks what he has done with them. "Oh, I have spent them," answered the miser, "and I need some more. There was a tenant of mine to whom I lent a hundred. Then I spent some on cattle, and fifty I used to repair a house, oh, more than fifty."

When our saint asked him how much he now wanted the avaricious one exclaimed:

"Oh, I need fifteen thousand at least."

"What are you going to do with that much money?" asked St. Bernardin.

"Oh, there is a house beside mine that I would do very well to possess. And between the two houses there is a plot of land. If I could have that, nobody would be able to get at me to do me any harm."

No sooner did he spend the fifteen thousand than he wanted twenty-­five thousand. When the saint asked him why, the fellow declared:

"What would I do with it? Well, to begin with, there is a certain castle that greatly attracts me. And I want to have a room by each one of the gates. You know I can't bear foggy weather. And so if it is foggy in one place, I must have somewhere to go where it is clear."

St. Bernardin winds up his sermon on the subject by sarcastically saying that the man would then want grand clothes and equipment, and would not be satisfied even if he had a hundred thousand dollars.

Revise this story and the amounts of money, and you have a picture of many people, including some Catholics. Indeed, some of our modern gold-seekers would not stop at a hundred thousand or a million.

4. Such covetous hearts are also wretched and miserable. They cannot be content. They never relax. They never rest. They never sleep. They never stop grasping.

5. The covetous man has many marks, many characteristics by which we can recognize him. Pay close attention to these marks. Some of these labels may fit you:

A. He is heartless and inhuman toward everyone, including those who are in extreme need. His condition is brought out in the famous German folk story about a poor charcoal burner who in the kindness of his heart always tried to do good turns for others. Often he wished for riches that he might help others still more. One day a wicked-looking spirit met him in the woods and told him he would make him rich on condition that he exchange his heart of flesh for a wonderful mechanical heart. The poor man did not fancy the con­dition, but he consented to the bargain. The evil spirit cast him into a deep sleep. When he awoke he could feel the mechanical heart beating regularly in his breast but it, felt cold, very cold. Riches came to him, but his heart was harsh and stony, his manner over­bearing. Everything he touched turned to gold, but the more money he made, the harder his heart became. As old age crept upon him he longed, but in vain, for his warm human heart. The man who gives in to a greed for gold, always has to make this cruel exchange. His heart becomes hard.

B. The avaricious man is mean and stingy. He becomes what we call in common language a "skinflint," a "cheapskate," a "tightwad." He shows this stinginess everywhere:

i. He shows it at home where he scarcely allows enough money to pay for the necessities of life. The skimpy allowance he gives his wife scarcely pays for the groceries and running expenses. He denies his wife and children any pleasure or amusement that costs money, not because he does not have the money, but because he wants to build up a bank account.

ii. The avaricious man is stingy outside the home. Ask him to help in a charity drive of any kind and he will try to find an excuse for not giving. If he does weaken he will give a dollar when he should give a twenty. His support of the Church is as cheap as he can pos­sibly make it. To cover up his stinginess with the Lord he will rant and rave about expensive church furnishings, about the priests bleed­ing the parishioners, and winds up demanding where all the money goes to.

iii. This stingy fellow is stingy also in his social life. That is where he gets the nickname of "cheapskate." He will never treat unless he is forced. He lets others pay the way, and pick up the bill.

For tips he picks the smallest coins out of his pocket. It is not a question of prudent economy; it is miserliness and meanness with regard to money.

C. When you see a Catholic who gives little or nothing to the missions, who gripes about the orphan collection, who waits and waits to make his measly contribution to the building fund, mark him down as a miser. The man who thinks only of his own bank account will be blind and deaf to all the good work of the Church.

D. Because it might cost him something in the way of money, time, or energy, the covetous man will avoid serving on committees or as an officer of parish organizations. He is stingy not only with his silver; he is stingy with his service. He takes no practical interest in parish or community affairs.

E. He delays in paying his bills, causing needless expense and incon­venience to his debtors. He figures that in the meantime he can draw the interest on the money which should be used for meeting his obligations.

F. He becomes uneasy and even angry at trifling losses or expenses. He flies into a rage if one of the family accidentally breaks some­thing, or if something is spoiled or lost.

G. Often the avaricious man is guilty of violating the Tenth Command­ment, namely, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods." Covet here means to want in the wrong way. He cannot bear to see another with a better car or more property or a bigger bank account. He is miserable at the financial success of others. The good fortune of his neighbor makes him unhappy.

An old legend brings out this con­nection between avarice and jealousy. A business man, while on a journey, overtook two travelers. One was a greedy, avaricious man; the other was of a jealous and envious make-up. When they came to the parting of their ways, the merchant said he wanted to give them a parting gift. Whoever made a wish first would have his wish ful­filled, and the other man would get a double portion of what the first had asked for. The greedy man knew what he wanted, but he was afraid to express his wish, because he wanted a double portion, and could not bear to think of his companion getting twice as much as he would receive. Meanwhile the envious man was unwilling to wish first, because he could not stand the idea that his companion would get twice as much as he would get. Each waited and waited for the other to wish first. Finally the covetous man took the envious man by the throat and threatened to choke him to death unless he made his wish. At that threat the envious man said:

"All right, I will make my wish. I wish to be blind in one eye."

At once he lost the sight of one eye, and his avaricious companion went blind in both eyes. That is how avarice and the other capital sin of envy blind and curse the souls of men.

H. Avarice is also one of the principal causes of the controversy and struggle between labor and management that has brought on so much bitterness and so many costly, crippling strikes and violence. Not always, but often, the demands of labor rise from avarice and not from justice. On the other hand, the refusal of management to grant just demands finds its foundation in covetousness, a desire for greater profits.

This vice creeps into other business and social relations. The grocer who cheats, the butcher who gives unjust weights, as well as the customer who tries to outdo the merchant, all are inspired by avarice. Yes, it is one of the capital, principal vices of mankind, a vice we must weed out at all costs and at all efforts.

6. We must keep clearly in mind the difference between avarice and prudent economy. It is not wrong to be thrifty, to be saving and economical. In fact, wasteful and extravagant living is the opposite vice. How can a person tell whether he is stingy or merely economical?

By asking himself whether he is guilty of anyone of the indications or marks of the covetous person, as I have just outlined them for you. If your saving makes you unfeeling toward the poor and suffering, if it makes you stingy toward your family, your parish, and other charities, if it keeps you from cooperating in parish affairs, if it prompts you to delay paying your debts, if it makes you extremely sad when you lose something or miss a chance to make money - then you can be sure that the devil of avarice has a hold on your heart.

7. Once you have recognized this evil spirit of greed in your make-up, start at once to root it out. How can a covetous man overcome this vice?

A. He should realize that he is merely a pilgrim on this earth, and that he cannot take his treasures with him. He should recall the words of St. Paul to St. Timothy, words which are divinely addressed to all of us :
"Godliness with contentment is indeed great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and certainly we can take nothing out." 1 Timothy, 6:6-7.

B. He should think less of earth and more of heaven, recalling and living the words of that same letter of St. Paul to St. Timothy regarding the rich:
"Let them do good and be rich in good works, giving readily, sharing with others, and thus providing for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, in order that they may lay hold on the true life." 1 Timothy, 6:18.

C. The avaricious man must consider the emptiness of mere things, helpless things, like money and land and belongings. Think of the wretched man in the story with which we started tonight - the man who was accidentally locked in the secret room with all his treasures. His piles of gold were helpless to open a door or secure him assist­ance. Stocks and bonds and bank accounts will be worthless on the day of doom. They will be worse than worthless, if we have violated God's law in acquiring them.

D. The covetous soul should weigh the evils of avarice: it hardens the heart, it blinds the eyes, it cripples the hand of giving, it limits the joys of life to cold, unsatisfying gold.

E. He should seek to know the will of God, especially as expressed in the Tenth Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."

F. Above all he should strive to acquire that virtue which is the direct opposite of avarice, namely, generosity.

8. Generosity is that virtue which withdraws the affections from earthly goods and prompts a person to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It shows itself:

A. In active charity toward the poor. Suppose you suspect that you are covetous. Test yourself by giving to some poor person or some charitable cause at the next opportunity.

B. In supporting good works. The next time there is a collection for the missions, the orphans, or war relief, double your contribution. Prove to yourself that you are not avaricious. Incidentally, you will double your blessings.

C. In developing greater confidence in God. The more you put your trust in earthly treasures, the less you put your confidence in God. Yes, be thrifty, be economical, be saving, but be so in a prudent, reasonable way. We find generous souls in every walk of life.

9. About twenty years ago there died in Davenport, Iowa, a man who was nicknamed "Hummer." His real name was Henry Kahl, but they called him "Hummer" Kahl because he got things done efficiently and quickly. His life reads like an Alger story - poverty to riches. Born in 1875, he had to go to work at the age of 12. At 16 he was driving a team for a con­tractor. He worked energetically and efficiently, became a foreman and then a partner in the business. As head of a contracting firm he never asked his men to do anything that he could not do. He was fearless as well as tireless. No one was surprised when he became a millionaire. And no one was surprised at his generosity in the giving of time and energy and money to individuals and worthy causes. His keenest delight was to do someone a kindness unnoticed. He was the very opposite of an avari­cious man, so that the then Bishop Rohlman could say of him:

"To his fellow citizens he remains a demonstration that a man can reach wealth and success through honesty and hard work. To those of our faith he will be a challenging example of a man who made his mark in a material way, and was withal a thoroughly practical Catholic."

Would that this could be said of everyone of you.

10. Finally, in this question of avarice and liberality, we can do no better than think of our Lord and how He purposely gave everything He had in the service of others. Think of how He was stripped of even His clothing in His passion and death.

By way of contrast, recall the avaricious Judas who sold His Master for thirty pieces of silver. What a contrast! Tonight and during this Lent choose to be more like the Master and less like Judas. Trust not riches. Trust in God. Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)

Lenten Reflection, Lent and the Capital Sins - Pride

Pride, the First Capital Sin
________________

"Now when he had risen from the dead early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had cast seven devils." St. Mark, 16:9.

No doubt many have seen the movie, "King of Kings." Produced years ago by Cecil De Mille, and shown throughout the country, the film is an understanding and respectful life of Christ, the King of kings. Many scenes are dramatic and stirring.

One of the most interesting parts of the play is that which pictures Mary Magdalen meeting our Lord for the first time. She came to Christ - ­a sinner; she left - a saint. She came - proud, sensual, and vain; she left­ - humble and mortified. She came - guilty; she left - forgiven. It was intensely interesting to see how this change took place.

Christ merely looks at Mary, looks into her very soul. And that look of our Lord softens her proud heart. She draws back some distance. She cannot bear that sad, loving look. The struggle in her soul is clearly shown in the picture. Each in its turn, the seven deadly sins come in the guise of devils and whisper into the ear of Magdalen. Each in turn is repulsed by her, as she drinks in grace from the gaze of Christ. The devil of pride and the devil of avarice, together with the devils of lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth, are firmly brushed aside. Finally Mary is free of her old tempters. In shame she drops her head. In modesty she covers her half­-nude body. She rushes to Christ and falls at His feet. There she secures the forgiveness for which her entire being is crying out.

Like Mary Magdalen, we also are beset and enslaved by at least some if not all of these same death-dealing devils, the seven capital sins. It is not our privilege to look into the physical face of Jesus, as she did. Never­theless, we can go before Christ present in the tabernacle, and by faith look into His face as He looks into our hearts. We should plan to do just that during this Lent. We want to consider the seven deadly or capital sins. We want to let the grace of God work in us as it did in Magdalen. Gradually we will gain the grace to cast off, as she did, our habits of pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth.

We call these the seven capital sins because each is a source and seed from which all other sins proceed. They are the seven principal devils who deal out spiritual death. They are the seven principal diseases of the soul, the causes of all spiritual sickness. Christ drove them out of Mary Mag­dalen; He will drive them out of us, as we come into His Eucharistic presence during these Lenten days of penance and prayer. May the love of Christ drive out these seven sources of sin - His greatest enemies and our greatest enemies.

1. The first capital sin and leader of them all is pride, which means an unregulated opinion and love of one's own excellence. The proud man con­siders himself greater and more important than he really is. He thinks he has some greatness which actually does not belong to him. The proud man considers himself more than he is in the eyes of God. He forgets that he is a creature; he forgets that all his gifts have come from God. It is a vice that can creep into any heart.

The following story is told of the famous preacher Abraham of Santa Clara. One day a lady came to him tearfully bewailing the fact that she was the greatest of all sinners. She told the illustrious pulpit orator that no one could compare with her in the number and seriousness of spiritual crimes. The wise Father Abraham knew that this lady was always praying in church. In his good sense and experience with souls he saw at once that this lady was accusing herself and humbling herself, not out of true humil­ity, but from deep-rooted pride. He knew that one who is truly humble does not display her humility. Accordingly he told her:

"It is much to be regretted that you publish the fact that you are such a great sinner. I do not wish to have anything to do with an individual who proclaims herself to be the greatest sinner in the world."

At this the would-be humble one became very angry and exclaimed:

"Who can say a word against me? I have done nothing wrong. I spend the greater part of my time in church. I fast frequently, and perform other good works."

The preacher smiled, bowed, and left. That woman was proud. She had a high opinion of herself. She considered herself better than others. She displayed one of the signs of pride.

2. Pride shows itself in various ways:

A. By giving to oneself the credit for all the good one has and all the good one does. All our talents, all our blessings, are from God. To Him belongs the credit.­

B. By disobedience to lawful authority, and by insisting on one's own will in everything or most things. In our day of license this is a common occurrence. We do have freedom, but freedom does not mean that we can do anything we want. Obedience to the laws of God's Church and to the laws of the land is still our duty. To con­sider oneself above such laws and directions and regulations is a mark of the proud man.

C. By stubborn unwillingness to consider or to cooperate with the desires and plans of others. How often we find this type of pride in our homes and places of work. Such a simple thing as planning a picnic may make the proud man or woman insist on what he or she wants as to time and place and food and the form of fun to be enjoyed on that outing.

D. By refusing advice or assistance. Pity the man who will never ask for advice. Double pity on the man who never seeks spiritual or religious advice. Many more Catholics, especially the young, should ask their spiritual leaders, their priests, about their plans with regard to a vocation or to marriage or some other important step in life. The man who tries to travel an unknown wilderness or to scale the Alps without a competent guide is no more senseless than the Cath­olic who refuses to ask and accept advice on his spiritual path through life.

E. By growing impatient at correction by lawful authorities. It does hurt our pride to be told that we have done wrong or have made a mistake. It hurts our pride to take directions and orders from others. When a young person, for example, refuses to accept the advice and admonition of his or her parents or teachers, he proves himself a proud person. In the pulpit and in the confessional your priests have to correct, and point out what is wrong. A proud person will resent such correction.

Two young fellows were once arguing about what day Christmas would fall on that year. One maintained that it would be Wednesday. The other stoutly asserted that it would come on Thursday. After a great deal of heated debate and betting of hundreds of dollars, they decided to consult a calendar, only to learn that it would fall on Friday. Both were wrong. Did they admit it? Not on your life. The Wednesday debater laughed:

"Oh, I knew it was Friday all the time."

And the Thursday fellow declared that he was one day closer than the other to the actual day. How often such scenes take place in our homes and offices.

F. By looking down upon and criticizing others, The lady with a new hat will look down upon the woman wearing last year's headgear. The woman with the new bonnet should not take the credit to her­self. She should give it to the ostrich who supplied the feathers and to the milliner who designed and made the hat.

The same holds for the critic. Pointing out the faults of others is one of the easiest and trickiest habits to fall into. Whether the action we criticize is intentional or not, we do not know what caused the person to do it, how much he was tempted, and how often.

G. By boasting and bragging about our accomplishments. Knowing that people despise a bragger, the proud man will find clever ways of letting it be known what wonders he has performed.

Here we must point out that there is such a thing as just pride. We should have a reasonable pride in our appearance, in our family, our school, our work, and above all in our Church. It is the right kind of pride when we strive to excel in our studies, in our profes­sion or in our trade.

H. By ignoring, forgetting and passing over our own faults. What a miserable wretch is the fellow who never admits a fault, who blinds himself to the mistakes he has made, who even thinks that he cannot make a mistake.

I. By an unreasonable fear of failure. Some Catholics never can make up their minds to attempt anything worthwhile, because they are senselessly afraid that they might fail and others might laugh. This is one reason many young people never make a start in some profes­sion or career, a frequent reason many boys and girls do not tryout a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life. At bottom it is a proud fear of failure, in addition to a lack of self denial.

J. By being needlessly concerned about the impression we are making on others. Why worry what others think, as long as you are doing your best and looking your reasonable best. In general, other people bother about us much less than we think. There are other ways in which pride shows itself, but these I mentioned are the most com­mon.

3. Pride is definitely a sin:

A. It was the first sin committed in heaven and on earth. It was the sin of Lucifer who shouted:

"I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." (Isaias, 14:13).

It was the sin of our first parents who ate of the forbidden tree because Satan promised that it would make them like God.

B. For that very reason pride is the greatest sin - it is aimed directly against God, and is the breeding place of all other vices. How much God hates this vice the Bible tells us:

i. "God resists the proud." 1 Peter, 5:5.

ii. "I will not give my glory to another." Isaias, 42:8.

iii. "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled." Luke, 18:14.

C. Pride is also the most dangerous vice, because it is so natural and sly. One can easily be tricked into thinking one is better than others. It is dangerous also because it leads to other sins, as Sacred Scrip­ture declares:

"From pride all perdition took its beginning." Tobias, 4:14.

"Pride goes before destruction." Proverbs, 16:18.

4. Suppose you suspect that you are proud, that you are guilty of one of these ways in which pride betrays itself. What can you do about it?

A. Study the life of our Lord, especially His forty days of penance and prayer during that first Lent. Recall His humility all through life, particularly during His passion and death. Look at our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemani, and listen to His prayer: "Not my will, but thine be done."

B. Read and imitate the lives of the saints. They were all humble souls, no matter what they had accomplished for the Lord, no matter what their success, what their virtues, and what their position.

C. Consider the emptiness of created things. How empty is fame, how empty is praise, how empty the little satisfactions we get from boast­ing and criticizing.

D. Remember that you came from nothing, you are nothing, and you
can do nothing, except in so far as God helps you.

E. Realize the hatred and dislike that God has for pride, and how He has punished the proud: pride plunged Lucifer from the heights of heaven; pride brought on the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel; pride brought defeat to Pharao and to Goliath; pride reduced Nabuchodonosor to the condition of an animal; pride drew Christ's divine criticism upon the Pharisees and the Scribes.

F. See the beauty and the excellence of humility, as the Book of Prov­erbs, 11:2, tells us:

"Where humility is, there also is wisdom."

5. The best way to overcome pride is to learn the meaning, the value, and the necessity of humility, the foundation of all other virtues. Humility is that virtue which teaches us to look on all good as coming from God. If we could only get this thought into our living - everything worthwhile is from God. Essentially humility is the truth, and the truth is that all we have is from God.

6. True humility brings in its train many virtues pleasing to God. Among them we might mention:

A. Meekness and gentleness.
B. Confidence and trust in God alone.
C. Charity and genuine sympathy.
D. Sorrow for our sins and the sins of the world.
E. Deep gratitude to God for all His gifts.

7. How does humility prove itself? How can I be sure that I am prac­tising this essential virtue? It is proven by­:

A. Ready obedience to superiors, whether it be at home, at school, at work, in your parish, or in public life. Christ gives the perfect exam­ple of such obedience. He was obedient even unto death.

B. Yielding your opinion to that of others, even in unimportant matters, such as come up constantly in daily life.

C. Moderation and modesty in the way you dress, in the carriage of your body, in the tone of your voice, and in the expression of your opinions.

D. Willingness and readiness to ask advice and to accept it when given.

E. Gentleness and kindness in our dealings with others, especially with those who are inferior in social status, education, wealth, or talents. Christ continually showed gentleness toward the sick and the poor and the outcast.

F. Willingness to do big and little favors for others that take time and effort on our part. Look at Christ. Nothing was too much for Him, when it was a question of doing good to someone.

G. Keeping calm and undisturbed amid insults, misfortunes, delays, and interference with our plans and programs. Look at our Lord during His passion and death. How patient, how uncomplaining, how for­giving.

H. Accepting humiliations when they come. This is extremely impor­tant. There can be no humility without humiliations, and humilia­tions come every day. A correction by a teacher, a mistake in making change, even a breach of etiquette, can be an occasion for practicing humility. Christ accepted the bitterest humiliations, not because He deserved them, but because He wanted to take them in our place.

I. Avoiding praise of oneself and of one's accomplishments.

J. Performing humble tasks, whether they are in our everyday line of duty, or whether we must go out of our way to perform them.

This point is illustrated by a story from the beginning of the last century. A well-dressed young man bought several things at a store, and asked for a boy to carry them home for him. The clerk told him they had no boy at the time, and that the packages could be easily carried. "What!" exclaimed the youth, "Carry them myself? Don't you know that I belong to one of the oldest families in Vir­ginia ?"

Just then an elderly, distinguished looking gentleman stepped up, took the packages, and said:
"Come on, I'll carry them for you."

On reaching his home, the young man wanted to pay his elderly helper, but the gentleman refused with these words:
"I did not carry them for money."

The young man asked someone standing near who the old man was. The bystander replied:
"Why, that is John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."

The surprised young man had the good sense to take the lesson in humility.

8. In a similar way the supreme lesson in humility is taught us as our Lord carries the cross for us, as He submits to ridicule and torture, as He dies the humiliating death on a cross.

9. As we enter this sacred season of Lent Mother Church puts ashes on our brow to remind us of our humble origin and to remind us of what will be­come of all earthly things - they will turn to dust. What a lesson in humility!

10. They tell of a very bright boy who always knew his lessons perfectly, who was well-behaved and courteous at all times. He was the pride and joy of his teacher, a discerning person who did not want her pupil to become unreasonably proud. She brought to class one day two pictures­ - one of Jesus talking to the doctors in the temple and answering all their questions, the other a picture of Jesus hanging in death upon the cross.

At once the bright boy saw the point. There was Jesus, who knew all things, who could do all things, yet who humbled Himself to a shameful death upon the cross.

May Christ's humility drive out our pride, as His love and grace drove pride from the heart of Mary Magdalen. Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)

Lenten Reflection: Sloth, the Seventh Capital Sin

"Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, and an idle soul shall suffer hunger." Proverbs, 19:15.

At Long Beach, California, tnere is a section called Signal Hill. Some years ago two lots and a house were for sale on that hill. A man and his wife were looking for a place to live. Here was an ideal location. Here they could look down over the picturesque city of Long Beach stretching along the Pacific. And the price was most reasonable - only $1500. They were on the point of purchasing the place, when his wife objected: "I don't want to climb that hill every day."

As a result they did not purchase the property. Imagine their regret when they heard a short time later that oil had been discovered on Signal Hill. They had lost a golden opportunity; they had passed up a chance to be millionaires.

Their regret only grew as the fame and productiveness of the spot in­creased. Everyone of its 1350 acres yielded 322,000 barrels of oil. Since 1921 Signal Hill has produced upwards of 435 million barrels of crude oil, which would be valued at about the same number of dollars. The black gold gushes in streams from over 890 producing wells.

The man who had failed to buy the house and two lots at the paltry price of $1500, later estimated that at the lowest figure he had lost at least two million dollars.

And the wife who had refused to walk up that hill? Who can describe her feelings of remorse at her unwillingness to make that little effort to climb the hill? How miserable she must have felt ,when she saw that "black gold" gushing so profusely from the spot which might have been hers. Too late she realized that she would not have had to climb that hill very often. They could have leased the lots and lived in luxury elsewhere. But that chance was gone - through her refusal to climb a hill, through her selfish sloth.

Many another treasure has been missed through this sin of sloth, the seventh of the capital sins. Many a blessing of soul and body has been lost through spiritual and physical laziness. Many will never get to heaven because they are unwilling to climb the hill that leads to our home above.

This story is particularly fitting during Lent when we walk the way of the cross with Christ and follow Him as He climbs a hill, the cross on His bruised and burning back. Our Savior gave His all to climb that hill, so that we might all share the unlimited riches that gush forth from the gashes in His hands and feet and side. Sloth has kept many from climbing that hill, just as sloth kept the couple of our story from climbing a hill to material riches.

1. What is sloth? The sin of sloth means an excessive love of ease and idleness, an unwillingness to exert the body or the soul. Sloth means a laziness that leads to neglecting either our physical or spiritual duties.

Sloth, the seventh capital sin, is a distress of soul at the thought of what one has to do in order to secure or to keep the friendship of God.

2. Since we intend to emphasize spiritual sloth, rather than physical lazi­ness, as the former is more important, we should point out at the very begin­ning the difference between sloth and lukewarmness. Lukewarmness or tepidity, as it is sometimes called, is a decided distaste for religious and spiritual things in general. This dislike causes a person to perform his reli­gious duties in a careless, indifferent, lazy manner.

Sloth, on the other hand, is a disgust for spiritual practices, so strong that it makes a person disregard and even despise the friendship of God. We must not confuse either of these sins with what is usually called dry­ness, that is, a certain difficulty or drag in performing our spiritual duties. Sloth and lukewarmness are voluntary, and hence sinful; dryness is invol­untary, and hence not sinful.

3. How serious a sin is sloth? Sloth is seriously sinful for two main rea­sons:

A. It makes a man neglect the principal purpose of his life, the one thing necessary, namely, the salvation of his soul. Accordingly, it is a sin against the charity he owes himself, the love he should have for his own soul and salvation.

B. Sloth is directly opposed to the commandment that we love God with our whole heart, and our whole mind, and our whole strength, and our whole soul. In other words, sloth is opposed to the first and principal commandment, that of loving God.

C. Accordingly, sloth is a mortal sin, when it is fully voluntary, fully willed, and when it makes a person regret or neglect serious duties and obligations or even less important ones. It is a venial sin when it is not entirely voluntary.

D. Tepidity or lukewarmness, which means a careless, lazy performance of our religious duties, is not in itself seriously sinful, but it is extremely dangerous. It often leads to sloth. Our Lord used some strong language about tepidity or carelessness.

"I would that thou were cold or hot. But because thou are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit thee out of my mouth." Apocalypse, 3:16.

4. Sloth betrays itself in many ways:

A. In avoiding as much as possible all manual labor or physical effort. The wife in our story, by refusing to climb that hill, showed her physical sloth and laziness. Of course, in a day when people aro heart-trouble conscious, the wife might have feared that the climb would be harmful to her heart. She may even have had heart trouble. But the story does not say anything about that. However, we must be careful in judging people who are physically slow and even apparently lazy.

B. In seeking bodily ease and comfort. Look at the Catholic who slouches and lounges at Mass, and you are looking at a slothful person. To be at ease at times is good for the body and the mind, but constantly to seek the easiest position and the softest chair is definitely harmful to both body and soul.

C. In a dislike for concentrating the mind in some mental effort, or the soul in some spiritual act. Physical laziness is more or less evident, and is more or less ugly and repulsive. But mental laziness is not always so evident, yet it is even more common. You have all met the man and the woman who cannot be aroused to take in a new idea. They regulate their lives and their thinking by some out-worn formula, by some rule or fad that was in vogue in the distant past. Such people might even be energetic, hardworking as far as their bodies are concerned, but their minds are inactive, sluggish, lazy. They will never change their viewpoint. They will never fit in their thinking with changed conditions, with newly discovered facts, and with a new approach to old problems.

Among such, I class those Catholics who never read a good Catholic paper, magazine or pamphlet, and least of all a good Catholic book. Their religious ideas are those of mere beginners. They do not know, for example, that there is a Christian, Catholic, and thoroughly scientific explanation of evolution. They are too lazy to learn what the Catholic Church teaches on questions like labor and management, the Pope's points for world peace, and similar questions of the day. They are mentally lazy. According to your time and ability you should continue studying your religion.

D. In putting off things that must be done. Such procrastination has been called "the thief of time," and rightly so. Those who live in "Put-off Town" are the sons and daughters of sloth. They will put off answering a letter. They will put off paying a bill. They wil1 put off visiting a sick person. Yes, they will put off doing the dishes and finishing the washing, wasting precious minutes and even hours.

The worst citizen of "Put-off Town" is the Catholic who puts off going to the sacraments, who puts off saying his prayers until he is too sleepy to center his mind on them, who puts off changing his ways for the better in religious matters. His eldest children are called, "Plenty of Time," "No Hurry," and "Wait a While."

E. In giving up before a task is completed. How many lack this sterling stick-to-it-iveness. They start mowing the lawn, but quit when they are half finished. They paint one side of the garage and stop before they even see the other side.

But the worst quitters, for such we must call them, are the spiritual quitters, men and women who start out Lent, for example with the determination to attend Mass every day, or to perform some special penance. How long do they last? The least lazy excuse makes them give up their resolution. During Lent pareticularly slothful souls must watch our Lord closely see Him persevering for forty long days in the desert, must watch him as He perseveres through the bitter tortures of His passion, must watch and follow Him as He sticks to His task of saving us, stays with it to the bitter end-on a cross.

F. In habitual tardiness, starting late and coming late to every kind of activity. They are late in rising, late for work, late for appoint­ments, late with meals, late with assignments whether in the office or at school, and late with almost everyone of their daily duties.

Chief among these are late-comers to Mass. Coming late to the Holy Sacrifice is a positive sign of laziness, a capital sin. They are too lazy to get up a few minutes earlier; too lazy to get things ready the night before; too lazy to make an extra effort, or even an ordinary effort, to be on time for the greatest Action, the Holy Sacrifice. Such sloth is a sin, don't forget.

G. In excusing oneself for neglecting duties. You have met the type. He forever has an excuse for failing to do little tasks about the home. The wife, in turn, is forever explaining why she did not sew on that button. Appoint them to some parish society work. They fail to come through. But will they admit any fault in this? Not on your life. They have always an apparently excellent excuse to offer. Such sloth is sinful and sickening.

H. In wasting effort on useless activities. There is the ironing wait­ing to be done, but mother listens to a radio program, reads a bit in the paper, talks on the telephone - anything except get down to the task at hand. Wea re almost all guilty in some way or other of this "dawdling" and "doodling." It springs from sloth.

Another form of useless effort is staying up too late at night, making it difficult or impossible to rise at the proper time, and making a person unfit for his work when he does get up. From childhood on human beings want to stay up late - listening to the radio, watching television, and listlessly lolling over the pictures in magazines. A certain amount of social life is necessary for health of body and soul; some need more recreation than others. Nevertheless it is a sign of sloth when we give all our time and energy, or most of it, to useless pastimes.

I. In too much chatter. Here, again, conversation is an important ele­ment of normal life, but long telephone conversations, endless and aimless talk about things of no moment, "jawing" needlessly with workers while on the job, are signs of sloth or dodging duty.

J. In neglecting the particular duties of our state in life. The doctor who is slow and indifferent in answering a call; the nurse who neglects any care of her patient; the worker who is slipshod; thu mother who gives as little time as possible to her children and home: tho head of the house who fails to be a father as well as a bread-winner - all are slaves of sloth.

5. Sloth has many evil effects:

A. It brings on poverty, physical as well as spiritual. It drives out all desire for spiritual things. Sloth explains the dislike many have for religious practices, which they either neglect entirely or hurry through as quickly as possible. One example of this is the Catholic who comes late to Mass and who hurries away before, or as soon as, Mass is over.

B. Sloth causes cowardice in meeting problems and difficulties. In smaller or larger form, setbacks and trials come to all. The lazy man folds his hands, twiddles his thumbs, and groans about his bad luck.

C. Sloth suffocates the soul. It chokes off essential grace, the life of the soul, by neglecting prayer, the sacraments, and other spiritual duties.

D. Sloth causes a person to waste talents, opportunities, time and effort, the very things that will help him to climb the hill to heaven.

E. The slothful person is abnormally curious about the doings and sayings of others. He is tempted to idle gossip and unkind talk.

F. The slothful man turns to dangerous diversions, like bad company, drinking, gambling. How true the saying: "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

6. Any Catholic who can see will readily realize the remedies for sloth. May I suggest a few of them:

A. Learn the duties of your calling or state in life. Actually write them down, putting the principal obligations first, listing them in the order of their importance. Then try to take care of them in that order. Whatever your main work is, do that well.

The story is told of Ethel Barrymore, of the famous family of actors. She was once playing in Kansas City. In the audience was Sinclair Lewis, who remarked after the performance: "Ethel, I don't believe you did as well as you could this afternoon. You let us down."

The grand old lady of the stage bristled: "No Drew or Barrymore," she retorted, "ever goes on the stage, no matter how he feels, or how large or small the crowd is; no matter whether it is New York City or some small town; that he does not give the best that he has to an audience. For we have learned through four generations that we get back just about what we give."

What a stirring principle, not only for the actor, but for those who play on the real stage of life!

B. To overcome sloth, stop and think. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Here one of the best incentives is the daily good inten­tion, the offering up first thing in the morning of all the thoughts nnd words and actions of that day. Nothing puts meaning into daily duties, nothing gives more zest to humdrum tasks and labor, like the offering of the entire day to Almighty God. The more frequently and fervently one repeats that good intention, the more interesting and profitable life becomes, the more you will develop the virtue opposite the vice of sloth, namely, zeal.

C. Make a daily or weekly list of duties that must be performed, even of such simple tasks as patching clothes or answering letters. A popular magazine some years ago carried an article by a housewife who always seemed swamped by the tiny tasks and big jobs of her home. Finally she hit upon the plan of writing down what she had to do, what she wanted to do. Then she worked down the list, item by item, checking off each as it was accomplished. She came out from under her pile of duties with surprising ease and speed. Try it.

D. Have some sort of daily schedule. In our complex, modern life this is difficult, but necessary. It gives peace and balance. The Catholic, for example, who has a regular time for saying his prayers, for doing some religious reading, for receiving the Sacraments, will get them done faithfully and fervently.

One could scarcely find in all history a busier man than Leonardo Da Vinci, who was not only one the three greatest painters the world has known, but who was also a remarkable success in five other fields of activity. It was he who declared:
"O God, thou givest everything for the price of an effort."

Yes, and that everything includes heaven. God gives heaven for the price of an effort.

E. Fan the love of God in your heart. If you really love God, you will make the best use of your time, your talents, your energies, accord­ing to His plan. You need not wait for this fervor. The Christian who waits for feeling before he does something is like the woodsman on a frosty morning standing with his axe leaning against his knee.

"Good morning, my friend," asks a traveler, "what are you going to do?"

"I am going to cut down this tree," he replies.

"Why don't you get at it?" inquires the traveler.

"I'm waiting until I begin to sweat," declares the woodsman.

If he started chopping he would start to sweat. If you start doing things for God, you too will begin to feel the fervor of God's love in your heart.

F. Recall the labors of Christ for you - His long, laborious years as a carpenter, His preaching and teaching, and above all the taxing, fatiguing labor of His passion and death. All of it was done for you.

7. There is no better time than Lent to root out the vice of sloth and plant the virtue of zeal and diligence. May Christ, the Worker, inspire and help you to work for the welfare of your body, but above all for the good of your soul. Amen.
__________________
Adapted from Lent and the Capital Sins
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1952)