The enemy (I think) likes to lead people gently by small steps and small rationalizations: "this is not a big deal" or "I deserve this small personal satisfaction after all of my labors for the Church" or "other people do this so I can too"; the goal is to ease a person along from imperfect motives, to deliberate venial sins, to grave ma…
The enemy (I think) likes to lead people gently by small steps and small rationalizations: "this is not a big deal" or "I deserve this small personal satisfaction after all of my labors for the Church" or "other people do this so I can too"; the goal is to ease a person along from imperfect motives, to deliberate venial sins, to grave matter, by the gradual numbing of one's conscience. The enemy is also happy to take a fortress through the weakest point in its walls and leave the strongest part standing (an empty shell with no charity inside would be the pinnacle of hypocrisy so that would be fine, no need to raze it.) So it is possible for a person to look virtuous from several angles, where strong habits of virtue are intact, but to be a bit moth-eaten from the back where it is not seen in a mirror... pick one of the capital sins such as anger or gluttony and it's easy to excuse someone: he is a good preacher, so what if he likes fine dining or yells at people. There is no one whom the enemy is not *trying* to undermine so instead of pondering "how did this happen" (the order should ponder it though), I myself will ponder "where is my weak point where the enemy is sapping my fortification as we speak"; where do I make excuses for myself but would spot the rot immediately if my frenemy (person I encounter often who drives me crazy) made the same excuses.
The enemy (I think) likes to lead people gently by small steps and small rationalizations: "this is not a big deal" or "I deserve this small personal satisfaction after all of my labors for the Church" or "other people do this so I can too"; the goal is to ease a person along from imperfect motives, to deliberate venial sins, to grave matter, by the gradual numbing of one's conscience. The enemy is also happy to take a fortress through the weakest point in its walls and leave the strongest part standing (an empty shell with no charity inside would be the pinnacle of hypocrisy so that would be fine, no need to raze it.) So it is possible for a person to look virtuous from several angles, where strong habits of virtue are intact, but to be a bit moth-eaten from the back where it is not seen in a mirror... pick one of the capital sins such as anger or gluttony and it's easy to excuse someone: he is a good preacher, so what if he likes fine dining or yells at people. There is no one whom the enemy is not *trying* to undermine so instead of pondering "how did this happen" (the order should ponder it though), I myself will ponder "where is my weak point where the enemy is sapping my fortification as we speak"; where do I make excuses for myself but would spot the rot immediately if my frenemy (person I encounter often who drives me crazy) made the same excuses.