As Jesus and the Saints were so diligent, we should also avoid Sloth
2 min • Digitized on November 24, 2021
From The Sinner’s Guide, page 368
By Venerable Louis of Granada
CHAPTER XXXVI.
REMEDIES AGAINST SLOTH.
Sloth is a reluctance to attend to duty, and, according to Cassian, it is especially a weariness or distaste for spiritual things.
The peril to which this vice exposes us is clearly set forth in these words of our Saviour: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and shall be cast into the fire.” [St. Matt. vii. 19.]
Against its evil effects He again warned His disciples when, exhorting them to diligence, the opposite of sloth, He told them to watch and pray, for they knew not when the Lord of the house would come. [St. Mark. xiii. 35.]
Therefore, if this shameful vice attack you, banish it by the thoughts we are about to suggest.
First call to mind the extraordinary labors which our Lord endured for you; the many sleepless nights He spent in prayer for you; His weary journeys from city to city, healing the sick, comforting the sorrowful, and raising the dead. How ardently, how unceasingly He devoted Himself to the work of our redemption!
Consider particularly how, at the time of His Passion, He bore upon His bruised and bleeding shoulders the heavy weight of His cross for love of you.
If the God of majesty labored thus to deliver you, will you refuse to co-operate in your own salvation? When this tender Lamb endured such rude labors to free you from your sins, will you endure nothing to expiate them?
Remember, too, the weary labors of the Apostles, who preached the Gospel to the whole world. Think of the sufferings endured by the martyrs, confessors, virgins, anchorites, and by all who are now reigning with Christ.
It was by their teaching and their toil that the faith of Christ spread through the known world and that the Church has been perpetuated to the present day.