I was making my latest podcast yesterday and St. Francis de Sales was taking about inspirations from God.

He said something about sin and virtue that I had never quite heard before. He was talking about how with sin and virtue there are three steps taken.

With sin, there is the initial temptation.

With virtue, there is the initial inspiration.

Then, with sin, we take delight it the temptation.

With virtue, we take pleasure in thinking of living it out.

Lastly, with both, there is the consent to do it.

He says, “With sin there are three steps taken backwards, with virtue there are three steps taken upwards.”

So often, we think sin just kind of happens out of our control. We just stumble into it—oops! That’s not true. We are tempted, the temptation delights us in a not good way, and then we consent.

With virtue, it’s not just something that happens to us. We have to consent to live it out. Many times, we pray asking God to just make us patient or courageous. He will never just—poof!—make us something. He will inspire us to live it out, we must take pleasure in the idea of living it out, and then consent to do it.

With both sin and virtue, the will is involved, Catholic Pilgrims. May we always use our will rightly.

Have a blessed day.

*Ceiling is found in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston, SC.