Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. Faith makes us aware of God's judgment, and thusarouses fear of incurring penalties for sin. This isservile fear. And faith also makes the soul fear to beseparated from God by sin, and to deserve the penalties ofsin. This is filial fear. Servile fear is an effect oflifeless faith; filial fear is an effect of living faith.
2. Faith raises the heart and reason to the love of God,and so takes away or lessens our tendency to cling to creaturalgoods. Thus, an effect of faith is the purifying of the heart.
"Whoever wants to stand alone without the support of a master and guide will be like the tree that stands alone in a field without a proprietor. No matter how much the tree bears, passers-by will pick the fruit before it ripens.
"
St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church
* * *
"The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God's will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God."
St Alphonsus de Liguori
* * *
"Obedience is a short cut to perfection."
St Philip Neri
* * *