The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-02-13

and no devil" But there is this per-
sonal spirit of evil always in actiV-
ity to tempt us. He tempts us one
by one. He tempts us sometimes to
be proud, sometimes to abase our
selves; sometimes to be falsely char
liable, sometimes to be selfish. He
varies his temptation, not only to our
character, but to our mood. Our Di-
vine Lord was tempted by Satan three
times, in order that the veil of this
invisible world should be drawn aside
for our instruction. We are not all
subject to temptatiOn-and yet temp
tation may be said to be universal.
Satan is the god of this world, the
prince of this eartb, and pervades the
world, in it's corrupt habits, sins and
Iusts, which like Il rafasma covers the
face of mankind and poisons our
souls. Satan uses the world as his
great instrument Of temptation. All
the senses of men are open to temp
tation, the eyes, the ears, and all
ether senses. 1t is not the seeing,
but the looking; not the hearing, but
the listening which destroys our souls.
st. Paul bids us to take the whole
armour or panoply of God. He bids
us cover ourselves with the breast
plate of justice, with the helmet Of
salvation, and to take the shield Of
faith and the sword Of the spirit,
that you may be able to quench the
fiery darts of the wicked one;" that
is, you need armOr to cover you from
head to foot to withstand the attacks
of the enemy of your salvation.
Temptation is no sin. Adam was
tempted in his innocence. Our Di-
vine Lord was tempted. The greatest
saints have been tempted all their
lives. Sin is in the consent of the
will. Resistance Of the will makes
the difference between sin and temp
tation. Satan has no control over our
will. God Himself never forces the
will of man, or it would cease to be
free will. No temptation can become
sin against our own will; if we con-
sent, our will becomes Satan's WILL
1t is so, because we give it to him.
The Word of God says: with all
diligence keep thy heart, for out of it
issues life; and if life, also death"
If we withstand the evil, life comes
out of it; if we consent, death comes
out of it. Not only is temptation no
sin, but it may be made the means
of clarifying God and sanctifying our
own souls. Every time we resist
temptation we make an act of love of
God, which will be more precious than
if it were said on our knees. The
time of temptation, if only we
resist, is not the time in which we
lose grace and purity of heart, but in
which we grow in sanctification. No
one need be discouraged because
tempted. There is no man who is not
tempted. Everyone has his besetting
sin and his besetting temptation. St.
James says: blessed is the man
who endureth temptation, for he shall
receive crown as his reward In
the Proverbs it is said: MY son,
when thou contest to serve the Lord,
stand in justice and in fear, and pre-
pare thy soul for temptation We
must all stand in fear; but when the
temptation comes, if you resist it
your crown will be certain, and those
most tempted, if faithful, will be most
rewarded When we say this petition
we bind ourselves not to go into temp
tation or the occasions of temptation.
The one great rule to keep ourselves
safe in temptation is to observe the
rule that God gave to Abraham:
Walk before Ne and be perfect To
walk in the constant fear and pres
ence of Go II you live in the pres
ence of God you will always keep
your minds pure. God has promised
not to let you be tempted above your
strength, and to be with You in temp
tation. and if faithful he will bruise
Satan under your feet.
Cardinal Manning
IT ia hatiap m no, Iptu1ynd nv 4 yt-tan