belong to you. There is no better plan of resisting them than this, however frequently these assaults may come.
You may finish your meditation with this, or some similar request,—"Deliver me, O my Creator and Redeemer, from my enemies, to the honour of Thy Passion and of Thy unspeakable Goodness;" and then give no further thought to the sin, for the bare remembrance of it is not without danger.
Never, at any time, stay to dispute with such temptations, whether you have consented or not; for this is a device of the Devil, who seeks, under the guise of a good motive, to harass you and render you distrustful and despondent; or hopes, by keeping your attention on such questions, to plunge you into some wrong pleasure.
Therefore, in this temptation (when you are not clear as to whether you have consented or not) it will be sufficient to confess the whole as briefly as possible to your spiritual father, and then to rest satisfied with his opinion upon the matter, without thinking about it more. Be careful, however, that you lay bare before him every thought, and do not let human respect or shame hinder you from doing so.
For if in all cases we need the virtue of humility in order to overcome our enemies, we must exercise it in this more than in any other;
