50 SIN 



sary proximate occasion of sin, which does not in- 

 volve immediate danger (quae non est in esse), 

 he is in duty bound to convert the same into a re- 

 mote occasion by fervent prayer, devout reception 

 of the Sacraments, frequent renewal of the firm 

 purpose of not consenting to sin, and especially 

 by avoiding the company of those with whom he 

 has sinned before or of whom he has reason to 

 apprehend that they will tempt him. Should 

 these means prove ineffective, all other consider- 

 ations must be set aside and the occasion strictly 

 shunned, even at the risk of life. 



c) A physically necessary occasion which can- 

 not be gotten away from, must be neutralized by 

 the use of extreme caution and other available 

 means. If a man is a proximate occasion of sin 

 to himself, he should mortify his body and try 

 everything in his power to control his passions. 

 "I chastise my body," says St. Paul, "and bring 

 it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have 

 preached to others, I myself should become a 

 castaway." 58 A warning example to all is Pe- 

 ter's denial of Christ. 59 



Readings. — F. Hense, Die Versuchungen und Hire Gegenmit- 

 tel, 3rd ed., Freiburg 1902. — Th. Slater, S.J., A Manual of Moral 

 Theology, Vol. II, pp. 220 sq. — St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, 

 ia, qu. 114, art. 1-5. — Th. H. Simar, Die Theologie des hi. Pau- 

 lus, 2nd ed., pp. 67 sqq. — M. Hagen, S.J., Der Teufel itn Lichte 

 der Glaubensquellen, Freiburg 1899. — W. H. Kent, art. "Devil" 



68 1 Cor. IX, 27. 69 Matth. XXVI, 69 sqq. 



