HOW WE ABANDON THE LOVE OF GOD FOR THE LOVE OF CREATURES
The misery of forsaking God for the creature happens like this. We do not love God continuously, because in this mortal life charity is in us as a simple habit. As philosophers have noted, we use habits when we like and never against our desire. Therefore, we do not use the charity which is in us, that is, we do not occupy our spirit with the exercises of the holy love. Rather we keep it busy with something else. Or being idle by itself, it remains useless and negligent. In such a situation, Theotimus, our spirit could suffer from something evil and be surprised by any temptation. The habit of charity is at that time deep down in our soul carrying out its duty, leading us to reject the bad suggestion. Even then it will not urge us or lead us to the action of resistance unless we second it. This is how habits work. As charity leaves us our freedom, it often happens that the evil object casts its attractions deep into our hearts. We hold on to it with excessive delight which begins to grow, making it very difficult for us to get rid of it. In the words of Our Lord, like thorns it chokes in the end the seed of grace and of heavenly love (Mt 13:22 and Lk 8:11). This is what took place to our first mother, Eve. Her fall began with a certain enjoyment she had in her conversation with the serpent. She took delight in hearing of her increase in knowledge and in seeing the beauty of the forbidden fruit. Her delight grew with the enjoyment and the enjoyment was increased by her delight. In the end, she found herself so entangled that she gave her consent and committed the disastrous sin. Into it she afterwards enticed her husband.
Pigeons are seen who, moved by vanity, show off in the air sometimes, gliding this way and that, admiring the beauty of their feathers. It is then that the falcons who catch sight of them fall upon them and seize them. This they would never do if the pigeons were flying their normal flight, as they have wings stronger than those of birds of prey. Alas, Theotimus, if only we did not occupy ourselves with the emptiness of passing pleasures, especially in the delight of self-love! Rather, having once received charity, if we were careful to fly straight to where it would take us, we would never be caught by suggestions and temptations. But like doves, led astray and deceived by self-esteem, we turn in on ourselves and occupy our hearts too much with creatures. And so we find ourselves often caught by surprise in the talons of our enemies who carry us off and destroy us.
To prevent temptations from attacking us is not what God wills. He wills that by resistance to temptation our charity may get more exercised and by fighting gain victory and by victory obtain triumph. But the fact that we have some sort of inclination to take pleasure in the temptation arises from the condition of our nature. It loves good so greatly that it is liable to be enticed (1 Jas 1:14) by everything that appears to be good. What temptation offers us as bait is always something of this sort. As Holy Scripture teaches (1 Jn 2:16), it is either some good, honourable in the eyes of the world, to urge us to the pride of a worldly life; or a good delightful to the senses, to lead us to disordered bodily desires; or a good useful to make us wealthy to move us to avarice and the disordered desires of the eyes. If only we kept our faith fully attentive to its task! It is able to discern the true good things we are to pursue and the false we are to reject. Surely it would serve as a reliable sentinel to charity. Charity would receive from it warning of evil approaching the heart under the pretence of good. Charity would repulse it at once. But usually we keep our faith either asleep or less alert than is required for the preservation of our charity. And so we are quite often surprised by temptation which leads our senses astray. Then our senses rouse the inferior part of our soul to rebellion. And so it often happens that the superior part of reason yields to the pressure of the revolt, commits [mortal] sin and loses charity.
Similar was the progress of the revolt which the disloyal Absalom stirred up against his good father David (2 Kings 15), putting forward proposals which appeared to be good and which were accepted by the unfortunate Israelites. Their prudence was drowsy and asleep. He appealed to them in such a way that he moved them to a complete revolt. So David was forced to go away from Jerusalem weeping, with all his most faithful friends. He did not leave in the city any men of distinction except Sadoc and Abiathar, priests of the Eternal, with their children. Sadoc was a seer, that is, a prophet. Similarly, my very dear Theotimus, self-love, finding our faith inattentive and asleep, offers us things that appear to be good but are empty. It leads astray our senses, our imagination and the faculties of our souls. It attacks our free will in such a way that it is led to a complete revolt against the holy love of God. Then, like David leaving Jerusalem, the love of God goes away from our heart with all its attendants, that is, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the other heavenly virtues. These are the inseparable companions of charity, if not her properties and abilities. In the Jerusalem of our soul there does not remain any virtue of importance except Sadoc the seer, that is, the gift of faith which can make us see things that are eternal, along with its practice. There also Abiathar, that is, the gift of hope. But both are there in pain and sadness, though they maintain in us the Ark of the Covenant, that is, the character and title of Christian obtained by Baptism.
Alas, Theotimus, what a pitiful sight for the angels of peace! They see the Holy Spirit and his love leaving our sinful souls. In truth I believe that if they could weep they would shed endless tears (Isa 33:7). With a mournful voice they would lament our misery, singing the sad song that Jeremias sang sitting on the threshold of the deserted temple and contemplating the ruin of Jerusalem in the time of Zedekiah; How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal (Lam 1:1).