The reason why eternal darkness and separation from God is possible to devils and man is that the will may become so turned away from God, and so diametrically opposed to Him, that the faintest stirring of a wish to return to obedience is absent. If any lost spirit could at any time repent, its salvation would be possible. Eternal death is due to the fact that men may become so alienated from the life that is in them, so full of hatred of good, that they cannot turn to God, and hereafter, when they view the consequences, may still never will the return, but persevere in their rebellion and hatred of what is good.
It is consequently of the utmost importance that we should watch over our wills, and strive to bring them to perfect conformity with the Will of God, for in that alone lies our security, in that alone true blessedness.
Fourth Friday in Lent.
CONDITIONS THAT DIMINISH GUILT.
1. We have seen that in order that sin may be deadly, it must have been committed with knowledge of what was proposed, in the exercise of liberty to act or not to act, and with deliberate determination of the will.
Now it is obvious that the same act may be very much less guilty in one man than in another according as these faculties exist in more or less activity.
We will now consider some of the more simple extenuating causes that may make a sin really to be—to the soul of him who has committed it—a fault only.