Mortal sin.. Its malice

To understand how great is the malice of mortal sin we must first know who God is, and what a wretched being man is who dares to despise Him. Before God all the Saints and Angels are as nothing, and it is a worm of the earth who has the insolence to despise Him!

I. What is mortal sin? According to St. Thomas and St. Augustine, it is a turning-away from God; an act of contempt for God's grace and love, and a throwing-of of all respect for Him, by which the sinner declares to God's very face: I will not serve Thee! I will act as I please, and, if by so doing, I displease Thee and forfeit Thy friendship, I care not!

To understand how great is the malice of mortal sin, we must first know who God is, and what a wretched being man is who despises Him. Before God all the Saints and Angels are as nothing, and shall a worm of the earth have the insolence to despise Him?

But more than this. Man, by committing sin, not only despises a God of infinite majesty, but a God Who has so loved him as to die for the love of him. An eternity, therefore, would not be sufficient to bewail but one mortal sin.

He who commits mortal sin dishonours God by preferring before Him a whim, a fit of passion, a wretched gratification. A God so great and so good! And so dishonoured!

O Lord, if Thou hadst not sacrificed Thyself on the Cross for the love of me, I should lose all hope of pardon; but Thy death gives me confidence. Into thy hands I commend my spirit (Ps. xxx. 6). I commend to Thee my soul for which Thou hast been pleased to shed Thy Blood and sacrifice Thy life; grant that it may love Thee and never more lose Thee. I love Thee, my Jesus, my Love, and my Hope. And how shall I ever be able, after having learned how much Thou hast loved me, to separate myself from Thee, my only Good?

What an affliction it is to us to be injured by one for whom we have done much! God is not capable of grief; but could He grieve, He would die of grief and sorrow at being despised by a creature for whom He gave even His very life.

O my accursed sins, a thousand times do I detest and abhor you! You have caused me to offend my Redeemer, Who has loved me so much!

Unhappy souls, now confined in hell, you who, during life, said that sin was a slight evil, have you not to acknowledge now that all your torments are far less than what you deserved for your sins?

II. Sin must surely be a great evil since God, Who is Mercy itself, is obliged to punish it with an eternal hell. Yea, more! In order to satisfy Divine justice for sin, a God was obliged to sacrifice His own life!

O God, we know that hell is the most horrible punishment, and have we no fear of sin, which may cast us into that hell? We know that God has died, in order that He might be able to pardon our sins; and do we still continue to commit sin?

The loss of the least worldly possession makes us uneasy and sad; and does the loss of God distress us not?—a loss that should not fail to overwhelm us with affliction and grief for the remainder of our lives!

I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for having given me time to bewail my offences against Thee. O Jesus, I abhor and hate them. Give me still greater sorrow, still greater love, that I may lament all my sins, not so much on account of the punishment I have deserved for them, as for having offended Thee, my most amiable God.

What disquiet and fears agitate a courtier who is afraid of having offended his prince? And do we, who know for certain that we have displeased God, and forfeited His friendship, live tranquil, without grief or sorrow!

What care do not men take to avoid poison, which destroys only the body? And yet what great negligence in regard to sin which poisons the immortal soul, and robs us of God!

Let us not be ensnared by that wile of the devil, by which he suggests to us how easily we can afterwards confess a sin. Oh, how many has the enemy drawn into hell by this stratagem!

O my God, for how many years have I deserved to dwell in hell! Thou hast been waiting for me, that I may forever bless Thy mercy, and love Thee. Yes, my Jesus, I bless Thee and love Thee; and I trust in Thy merits that I shall nevermore be separated from Thy love. But if after so many graces and mercies I again offend Thee, how shall I presume that Thou wilt not abandon me, or ever again forgive me? Permit it not, O Lord, that I ever offend Thee again!