OCCASIONS OF SIN 47 



Occasions, like temptations, are an indispensa- 

 ble test of virtue. "Who hath been tried . . . 

 and made perfect," says Holy Scripture, "he shall 

 have glory everlasting : he that could have trans- 

 gressed and could do evil things, and hath not 

 done them." 50 



1. All men are in duty bound to avoid, or, if 

 they cannot avoid, to overcome or resist the oc- 

 casions of sin. 51 To determine this duty more 

 definitely, the Scholastics have evolved the fol- 

 lowing distinctions: 



a) Proximate and Remote Occasions. — An 

 occasion is proximate (occasio proximo) if it 

 leads a person to commit sin oftener than not. 

 It is remote (occasio remota) if it leads to the 

 commission of sin only once in a while. 



A proximate occasion of sin may be either ab- 

 solute or relative. It is absolute or proximate in 

 itself (occasio absolute sive per se proximo) if it 

 constitutes a danger for every man and in all 

 circumstances. It is relative (occasio per acci- 

 dens sive relative proximo) if the danger it in- 

 volves differs according to individual character or 

 disposition. Relatively proximate occasions are, 

 e. g., strong drink, the theatre, a certain class of 

 books, plays, etc. 



3rd ed., Faventiae 1882; Aertnys, 50 Ecclus. XXXI, 10; cfr. 1 Cor. 



C.SS.R., Theol. Mor., Vol. II, 7 th V, 10. 



ed., pp. 192 sqq. ; Reuter-Lehmkuhl, 51 Ecclus. Ill, 27; XXXI, 10; 



S.J., Neo-Confessarius, pp. 274 sqq. Matth. V, 29-30; Mark IX, 41-46. 



