On Our Human Feebleness and Sins

How great is the frailty of human nature which is ever prone to evil! Today you confess your sins and tomorrow you again commit the sins which you confessed. One moment you resolve to be careful, and yet after an hour you act as though you had made no resolution.

We have cause, therefore, because of our frailty and feebleness, to humble ourselves and never think anything great of ourselves. Through neglect we may quickly lose that which by God’s grace we have acquired only through long, hard labor. What, eventually, will become of us who so quickly grow lukewarm? Woe to us if we presume to rest in peace and security when actually there is no true holiness in our lives. It would be beneficial for us, like good novices, to be instructed once more in the principles of a good life, to see if there be hope of amendment and greater spiritual progress in the future.

From Imitation of Christ

It is no wonder that our some of our confessors get a little impatient with us in the Confessional.  Do we really make a conscientious effort to avoid the same sins?  Are you overwrought with feelings and emotions that we forget our resolutions and/or promises to God?  Are we so self-involved at the moment that nothing else matters but ourselves?