When We Are in Sin, Our Soul is all Diseased

When We Are in Sin, Our Soul is all Diseased

'When we are in sin, our soul is all diseased, all rotten; it is pitiful. The thought that the  - good God sees it ought to make it enter into itself. And then, what pleasure is there in sin? None at all. We have frightful dreams that the devil is carrying us away, that we are falling over precipices. Put yourself on good terms with God; have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance; you will sleep as quietly as an angel. You will be glad to waken in the night, to pray to God; you will have nothing but thanksgivings on your lips; you will rise I towards Heaven with great facility, as an eagle soars through the air.' 

'That we may understand how horrible and detestable is this sin, which the demons make us commit, but which they do not commit themselves, we must consider what a Christian is. . . A Christian, created in the image of God, redeemed by the Blood of a God! . . . We are created to reign one day in heaven, and if we have the misfortune to commit this sin, we become the den of the devils. Our Lord said nothing impure should enter into His kingdom. Indeed, how could a soul that has rolled itself in this filth go to appear before so pure and so holy a God? We are all like little mirrors, in which God contemplates Himself. How can you expect that God should recognize His likeness in an impure soul?' 

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons