refuse himself what is allowable, because he often indulged in what was forbidden.

States of Christian Life and Vocation, According to the Doctors and Theologians of the Church by Jean-Baptiste Berthier

St. Paul, who among the apostles was the last to be converted to Jesus Christ, embraced evangelical perfection immediately after his marvellous conversion. Many new converts to the faith of the Church enter the religious state soon after their reception into the fold of Christ. Who would be so bad an adviser as to recommend them to remain in the world rather than seek in a monastery a shelter for their baptismal grace? Who but a silly man would attempt to make them alter their holy resolves ? This suffices, then, to show how ridiculous it is to pretend that we should keep away from the religious life all those who have not for a long time observed the commandments of God. "^[3]

As to repentant sinners, it is plain that, even after the most grievous sins, they may enter the path of the counsels. Furthermore, to speak properly, it is especially befitting for them to undertake the life of the counsels. For one has all the more reason to refuse himself what is allowable, because he often indulged in what was forbidden. And the more grievous the harm we have done to ourselves by sin, the more we ought to increase our gains by repentance. For this reason Pope Stephen, writing to one Astolphus, who had been guilty of heinous crimes, said to him : " Follow our counsel : enter a monastery." We might adduce, in support of this doctrine, many examples of the saints. Several of them, after a life of terrible sin, began immediately to practise the counsels, and shut themselves up in the most austere monasteries, without devoting any previous time to the commandments.^[4] " When people tell us that, before entering on the counsels, one should have a habit of keeping the commandments, it is as if they said that we should first keep the commandments imperfectly before trying to observe them fully which is a foolish assertion. Who, then, is senseless enough to stop one that wishes to love God and his neighbor perfectly, and first restrict him to imperfect charity ? Have we to fear lest a man should reach too soon perfect love for God ?

" Again, who will bid him that seeks to observe continence or virginity, begin by living chastely in the married state? Who would dare to advise a person desirous of embracing poverty for the sake of Jesus Christ, first to live amid riches and observe the laws of justice, as if the possession of wealth were a preparation for the practice of poverty, whereas, on the contrary, wealth throws many obstacles in its way? Are we bound to say to a young man : Live among persons of the opposite sex or among libertines, so as to form yourself to chastity , which you will afterward observe in religion as if it were easier to cultivate that virtue in the world than in the cloister? Those who parade such a doctrine resemble generals that, at the very outset, would expose to the severest shocks of war raw recruits that have only recently been drafted into the army.

" Yet we are willing to grant that those who, in the world, have faithfully kept the commandments will afterward be able to make greater spiritual progress in religion ; but if, on the one side, the observance of the commandments in a secular life makes a man fitter for the practice of the counsels, on the other, the habit of secular life is an obstacle to the practice of perfection.^[5] The religious state is a school that draws us away from evil, and conducts us more easily to perfection. Persons of feeble virtue, and but little versed in the fulfilment of God's law, have greater need than others of the means of preservation which the religious life affords : it is easier for them to shun sin in religion than it would be were they living under the freedom of the world.^[6] Religious observance, at the same time that it removes the hindrances to perfect charity, also does away with the occasions of sin ; for it is evident that fasting, watching, obedience, and other exercises of the same nature, keep a man from the excesses of intemperance, from failing in chastity, and from every other kind of sin. Entering religion, therefore, is an advantage, not only to those who have long fulfilled the commandments, since it leads them to far greater perfection, but for those also who have not done so, because, thereby, it is easier for them to keep from sin and acquire perfection.^[7] Holy orders demand previous holiness ; but the religious state is a means to holiness. The superstructure of holy orders can be laid only on foundations dried and solidified by virtue; the burden of religion of itself dries its own foundations, and relieves man from the moisture and vitiating influences of passion. "^[8] These last words of the Angelic Doctor are worthy of remark; and they show that we must never confound the conditions requisite for entering religion with those that are indispensable for taking holy orders. Deception on this point would expose us to exclude from the religious state persons who are exceedingly in need of it, and for whom that life may be strictly obligatory, as we have already stated in the fifth chapter of this section. For there are souls guilty only because they are cast among occasions, or because they have not in the world sufficient means of preservation. Give them the shelter and resources of the religious life, and they will pass their days without difficulty in the grace of God.

great danger in worldly allurements

St Cyprian,—or whoever is the Author of that Treatise of the single life of tho Clergy,—says that, " the farther a man is from adversity, the less he feels it; and he that comes not where there is much pleasure, is less stirred to pleasure; and he that sees not riches, is less tempted with avarice. To me it seems too violent a thing for a man always to have his eye upon what is delightful, and pleasing, and still to strive and overcome himself in abstaining from it; and it cannot last long - for it is a saying received even among Philosophers, that no violent thing is lasting. We see and experience it daily by the combat we suffer in overcoming our appetite and delight in meat; if a variety of dainty dishes are set before us, they set such an edge upon our stomach, that we have some difficulty to keep within the limits of temperance and moderation. But if a man see not these things, it is then very easy to abstain; because the thought of the same things does not so much whet the appetite as the sight of them; and the same may be said of all other things ; for the nature of our desire and passion is the same, and the force of sense is alike in all. What St. Augustine in his confessions, relates of Alipius, expresses very clearly the great danger in worldly allurements; and St. Basil tells us, not only to bridle our inward passions and desires, but to avoid the meeting with such external things as are apt to inflame them, and so darken our judgment and understanding, as to raise trouble and tumult within us. For it is ill, but pardonable, to be overcome in a fight which another raises against our will; but to bring trouble voluntary upon ourselves, and to thrust ourselves upon mischief when we need not, scarce deserves either pardon or pity. From all this we may easily discover the danger of a secular, and see plainly the happiness of a Religious life; for as St. Macarius said, this general renunciation of all things, not only invites, but compels us to seek heavenly things; and, no doubt, that is the chief reason why Christ advises us to forsake our kindred, and to sell all, and give it to the poor; for knowing that the Devil uses these as instruments to draw us to earthly things, Our Redeemer bids us leave them all, that we may perforce seek heavenly things, and keep our hearts fixed upon God.

Origin and progress of religious orders, and Happiness of a religious state

By Fr. Hieronymus Platus

vain reading begets vain thoughts and extinguishes devotion

Preaching by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Fathers should not allow their children to read
romances. These sometimes do more harm than even
obscene books; they put fantastical notions and affections into young persons heads,
which destroy all devotion, and afterwards impel them to give themselves
up to sin. "Vain reading," says St. Bonaventure,
"begets vain thoughts and extinguishes devotion."
Make your children read spiritual books, ecclesiastical histories, and the lives of the saints.
And here I repeat:
Do not allow your daughters to be taught their lessons
by a man, though he be a St. Paul or a St. Francis of
Assisi. The saints are in heaven.

5. Be careful, also, not to permit your sons to act
plays, nor even to be present at an immodest comedy. St.
Cyprian says: "Who went chaste to the play, returned
unchaste." A young man or woman goes to the play
full of modesty and in the grace of God, and returns
home without modesty and at enmity with God.

What a parent must do to eliminate occasions of sin for children

Preaching by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

1. A father must prevent his children from associating with bad company, or with ill-conducted servants, or with a master who does not give a good example.

2. He must remove from his house any male or female servant that may be a source of temptation to his daughters or sons. Virtuous parents do not admit into their house young female servants when their sons are grown up.

3. He should banish from his house all books that treat on obscene subjects, or on profane love, romances, and all similar works; such books are the ruin of innocent young persons. Videumaun tells us of a young man who was an example to all his fellow-citizens. He accidentally read an obscene book, and fell into such horrid crimes that he became the scandal of the entire people. His conduct was so scandalous that the magistrates were obliged to banish him from the city. Another young man, who had failed in his efforts to seduce a woman, put a book in her way that treated on love, and thus he made her lose her honor and her soul. A parent is still more strictly bound to remove the class of books that has now become so common, which, besides the other poison, contains also errors against faith or against the Church.

4. He is bound to remove from his house immodest pictures, particularly if they are obscene. Father Rho tells us that Cardinal Bellarmine went into a private gentleman s house, where he happened to see some immodest pictures; so he said to him: "My friend, I am come to entreat you for God s sake to do a work of charity in clothing the naked." The gentleman promised to do so; so the Cardinal pointed to the picture, saying- "There are the naked people I mean." Oh, how delighted is the devil when he sees in any house an immodest picture ! It is related in the life of Father John Baptist Vitelli that a troop of devils was once seen in the hall of a certain nobleman offering incense to an immodest picture that hung there, in return for the souls which they gained by it.

5. A parent should forbid his children to frequent masquerades or public dancing-houses, or to act a part in comedies. He should not allow his daughters to be taught by any strange man. Oh, how dangerous is it for young women to receive instructions from men! Instead of learning to read, they learn to commit mortal sins. A parent should get his daughters instructed by a woman, or by a little brother; I say little, for even in a brother, when he is grown up, there is some danger.

Parents must be very particular never to allow their sons and daughters to sleep in the same bed, and much less in the same bed with their father and mother. They should also take care not to permit their daughters to converse alone and familiarly with any man, though he be the first saint in the world. The saints in heaven only are incapable of falling; but the saints on earth are flesh like others, and if they do not avoid the occasions of sin, may become devils. Hence, a father will do well to recommend the most virtuous and steady of his daughters to let him know secretly whenever she sees any of her sisters keep up such familiarity, or when she sees any other disorder in the family. II. With regard to the advancement of piety.

avoid even the remote occasion of sin such as looking in the face, saluting with affection

Preaching by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

St. Francis of Assisi, speaking of persons who have the fear of God, gives an excellent advice concerning remote occasions: he says that for persons who fear to lose God, the devil, in the occasions, does not at first excite them to grave faults; he begins by attaching them with a hair, which afterwards, in time, may through his suggestions become a chain, and he thus succeeds in dragging them into mortal sin. Hence in our relations with persons of the other sex, we should take care to break off from the beginning every kind of attachment, however feeble it may be, by avoiding even the remote occasions, such as looking them in the face, saluting them with affection, receiving notes or presents from them, and much more, saying tender words to them.

a trade that is an occasion of sin must be abandoned

The new glories of the Catholic church, tr. from the Ital. by the fathers of the London oratory: ""

The means that the saints took in order to not see the vanities of the world

The means that the saints took in order to not see the vanities of the world

The stratagem which she practised in order to avoid appearing at assemblies, or accompanying her mother in the visits she paid to her friends and relations, was not less surprising; for she rubbed her eyelids with pimento, which is a very sharp burning sort of Indian pepper: by this means she escaped going into company, for it made her eyes red as fire, and so painful, that she could not bear the light. Her mother having found out this artifice, reprimanded her for it, and mentioned the example of Ferdinand Perez, who had lost his sight by a similar act of indiscretion; Rose answered modestly, "It would be much better for me, my dear mother, to be blind all the rest of my life, than to be obliged to see the vanities and follies of the world."


St. J-M-B Vianney:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/CATARS.htm

We may refrain from warming ourselves; if we are sitting uncomfortably, we need not try to place ourselves better; if we are walking in our garden, we may deprive ourselves of some fruit that we should like; in preparing the food, we need not eat the little bits that offer themselves; we may deprive ourselves of seeing something pretty, which attracts our eyes, especially in the streets of great towns. There is a gentleman who sometimes comes here. He wears two pairs of spectacles, that he may see nothing. . . . But some heads are always in motion, some eyes are always looking about. . . . When we are going along the streets, let us fix our eyes on Our Lord carrying His Cross before us; on the Blessed Virgin, who is looking at us; on our guardian angel, who is by our side. How beautiful is this interior life! It unites us with the good God. . . . Therefore, when the devil sees a soul that is seeking to attain to it, he tries to turn him aside from it by filling his imagination with a thousand fancies. A good Christian does not listen to that; he goes always forward in perfection, like a fish plunging into the depths of the sea. . . . As for us, Alas! we drag ourselves along like a leech in the mud.

A more safe way: wear a baseball cap or a brim hat that covers the eyes somewhat.

necessity of avoiding occasion of sin

St. Basil says that God assists the
man who is engaged in the contest against his own will;
but he who voluntarily places himself in the battle, does
not deserve compassion, and is therefore abandoned by
God. And, before him, Ecclesiasticus said: He that loveth
danger, shall perish in it? He that loves danger, and goes
in search of it, shall perish in it: nor is it of any use to
hope for aid from God; to trust in God, and to expose
one s self voluntarily to the occasion of sin, is not a holy
but a rash confidence, which merits chastisement.

True Spouse of Jesus Christ

Courtship often can be proximate occasion of sin

Preaching by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Finally, some one may ask whether it is a mortal sin to make love. What can I say? Ordinarily speaking, I say that persons who give themselves up to love-making are scarcely free from the proximate occasion of sinning mortally. Experience shows that few of them are exempt from grievous sins. If they do not commit mortal sin in the beginning of their courtship, they will in the course of time very easily fall into it: for at first they speak together through a predilection for each other's conversation; this predilection afterwards grows into a passion; when the passion has taken root, it blinds the mind, and precipitates the soul into a thousand sins of bad thoughts, of immodest words, and, in the end of sinful acts. Cardinal Pico de la Mirandola, bishop of Albano, forbade the confessors of his diocese to absolve those lovers who, after being duly admonished, continued to hold long conversations together, particularly if they should be alone, or if the conversations should be of great length, or clandestine, or by night. "But, Father," some of them will say, "I have no bad intention. I have not even bad thoughts." Young men and young girls, avoid these amatory conversations with persons of a different sex. In the beginning the devil does not suggest bad thoughts, but when the affection has taken root it will not allow you to see the evil you do; and almost without knowing how, you will find that you have lost your soul, your God, and your honor. Oh! how many innocent young persons does the devil gain in this way!

Sermons of St. Alphonsus de Liguori:

Sermon "On Bad Thoughts":

Some young men will ask: Father, is it sinful to make love? I say: I cannot assert that of itself it is a mortal sin: but persons who do so are often in the proximate occasion of mortal sin; and experience shows that few of them are found free from grievous faults. It is useless for them to say that they neither had a bad motive nor bad thoughts. This is an illusion of the devil; in the beginning he does not suggest bad thoughts; but when, by frequent conversations together, and by frequently speaking of love, the affection of these lovers has become strong, the devil will make them blind to the danger and sinfulness of their conduct, and they shall find that, without knowing how, they have lost their souls and God by many sins of impurity and scandal. Oh! how many young persons of both sexes does the devil gain in this way! And of all those sins of scandal God will demand an account of fathers and mothers, who are bound, but neglect, to prevent these dangerous conversations. Hence, they are the cause of all these evils, and shall be severely chastised by God for them.

Above all, in order to avoid bad thoughts, men must abstain from looking at women, and females must be careful not to look at men. I repeat the words of Job which I have frequently quoted: I made a covenant with my eyes that I should not so much as think upon a virgin. he says that he made a covenant with his eyes that he would not think. What have the eyes to do with thinking? The eyes do not think; the mind alone thinks. But he had just reason to say that he made a covenant with his eyes that he would not think on women; for St. Bernard says that through the eyes the darts of impure love, which kills the soul, enter into the mind." Hence the Holy Ghost says: Turn away thy face from a woman dressed up. It is always dangerous to look at young persons elegantly dressed; and to look at them purposely, and without a just cause, is, at least, a venial sin.

exposing oneself to proximate occasion of sin without necessity is sin in itself

http://www.archive.org/stream/alphonsusworks15liguuoft/alphonsusworks15liguuoft_djvu.txt (Preaching by St. A. Liguori)

Occasion of Sin

It would also be a miracle if we exposed ourselves to the occasion, and did not fall. According to St. Bernardine of Siena, it is a greater miracle not to fall in the occasion of sin, than to raise a dead man to life. St. Philip Neri used to say that in the warfare of the flesh, cowards that is, they who fly from occasions are always victorious. You say: I hope that God will assist me. But God says : He that loveth the danger shall perish in it. God does not assist those who, without necessity, expose themselves voluntarily to the occasion of sin.

Some also believe that it is only a venial sin to expose themselves to the proximate occasion of sin. The catechist must explain that those who do not abstain from voluntary proximate occasions of grievous sin are guilty of a mortal sin, even though they have the intention of not committing the bad act, to the danger of which they expose themselves. So, also, women must be taught it is a sin to take pleasure in being admired and desired by men, if this pleasure arises from vanity, and not from a wish to be married to them.

God does not assist those who, without necessity, expose themselves voluntarily to the occasion of sin. It is necessary to know that he who puts himself in the proximate occasion of sin is in the state of sin, though he should have no intention of committing the principal sin to which he exposes himself.

...

By proximate occasions even saints have fallen, and persons on the point of expiring
have been lost.

We must carefully abstain from looking at persons, the sight of whom may tempt us to bad thoughts. St. Bernard says: "Through the eyes the arrows of impure love enter, and kill the soul." And the Holy Ghost says: Turn away thy face from a woman dressed up? Is it, then, a sin to look at a woman? Yes, it is at least a venial sin to look at young women; and when the looks are repeated, there is also danger of mortal sin. St. Francis de Sales says that to look at dangerous objects is bad, but to look a second time is still more injurious. One of the ancient philosophers blinded himself voluntarily in order to be freed from unchaste suggestions. It is not lawful for us Christians to destroy our sight physically, but we should destroy it morally by turning the eyes away from objects which may excite temptations.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga never looked at women; even speaking to his mother he kept his eyes cast down upon the ground. It is equally dangerous for women to look at young men.

It is necessary to avoid all bad company, and all assemblies where light bantering and flirting go on between men and women. 'With the holy thou wilt be holy . . . and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted.' If you keep company with the virtuous, you shall be virtuous; if you associate with the unchaste, you too will indulge in impurity. St. Thomas says that a man will be like the companions with whom he converses.

Must avoid sinners and heretics

"It is an illusion to seek the company of sinners on the pretence of reforming them or of converting them; it is far more to be feared that they will spread their poison to us." - St. Gregory Nazianzen

"So great is my aversion for the company of heretics, or of conversation with them, that I say we ought not even go near them." - St. Anthony the Abbot

"St. Anthony the Abbot would not speak to a heretic, except to exhort him to the true faith; and he drove all heretics from his mountain, calling them venomous serpents." - St. Athanasius

"I entreat you to shun, whenever possible, the society of those who profess false doctrines." - St. John Eudes

If anyone walks according to a foreign doctrine, he is not of Christ nor a partaker of His passion. Have no fellowship with such a man, lest you perish along with him, even though he should be your father, your son, your brother, or a member of your family. St. Ignatius of Antioch

"These men are Protestants; they are heretics! Have nothing to do with them!" - St. Anthony Mary Claret (Anthony Mary: THE MODERN APOSTLE, Claretian Missionaries, Dominguez Seminary, Compton, CA: 1934, p.28)

Taken from Apologetic Digest (use interlibrary loan) by Michale Malone.

Presumption of expecting help in temptation when one has voluntarily put oneself in it

The Manna of the Soul Meditations for Each Day of the Year By Paolo Segneri:

"the second temptation
was to presumption, as though God's help must always be at
hand even in a peril which was voluntarily incurred"

We can't go into a certain state of life we know to be dangerous for our salvation and expect the God's help in the difficulties of that state, which could have been avoided.