Manning describes what I see daily-dead minds, dead souls.
He asks, “Why is it that so many people manifest no spark of this light (of the
Holy Ghost)? What is it that destroys this gift which they have in them by
Baptism? A mortal sin extinguishes it. By one mortal sin sanctifying grace and
the love of God are lost; and with the love of God are lost this gift (of
knowledge) and all the seven gifts….and…this Christian common sense—this light
of the knowledge of our duty to God, and to our neighbour, and to ourselves—may
be very faint and low. And what is it that clouds it? The venial sins that we
commit so easily—sins of worldliness, sins of self-indulgence, sins of temper,
sins of jealousy, sins of pride, sins of vain-glory, sins of sloth, and the
like; wherever there is any sin, but, above all, wherever there is any tampering with
unbelief, wherever there is any parleying with the spirit of doubt, wherever
the intellect which is in you is exposed by your own free will to the
perversions of falsehood….”
Strong words, but such are necessary for us, the generation
of persecution.
Be strong. Be quiet. Cling to God’s gifts.
To be continued….
