II
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Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint and Coppens, Charles
To prepare for such a review, we should consider those sins especially which are more likely to be committed by religious. In mentioning them we shall follow the order of the Decalogue.
The First Commandment regards the worship of God. Under this head come wilful distractions or negligences in prayer, which may spoil considerable parts of our spiritual exercises; disrespectful handling of holy things, and the unworthy reception of the Sacraments. This last sin is of course rare among religious, but very grievous if it should occur; for it bears the guilt of sacrilege.
The Second Commandment requires the observance of our vows. The vow of poverty is violated when a religious disposes of any temporal goods without permission of his superior, acting as if it were his own property. That of chastity attaches to the violation of the sixth and ninth commandments the additional guilt of sacrilege. The vow of obedience is violated when a religious refuses or neglects to do what he is commanded to do under obedience, or does what he is thus forbidden.
The Third Commandment is not likely to be violated by religious.
The Fourth Commandment obliges subjects to reverence and obey their superiors when they mean to impose an obligation of conscience; and they must be supposed to mean it when the good of souls or the glory of God requires them thus to use their authority. A precept of obedience in virtue of the vow is rarely imposed; but commands in matters of some importance derive from the natural law power to oblige any subjects to obey their lawful superiors, independently of any vow. If serious consequences are likely to follow from the violation of the command, the sin may be grievous.
The Fifth Commandment says: “Thou shalt not kill,” and forbids all wilful injury to another’s or to one’s own body. Of course religious are not likely to injure others violently; but this commandment may be violated in many other ways. One may neglect his own health or injure it by indiscretion in the use of food and drink, thus bringing on diseases by which many a life is shortened. A superior or an infirmarian may neglect the proper care of sick or delicate persons, a pastor or teacher that of school children, etc. Injury done to the souls of others by scandal, or bad example, may also be considered under this commandment; and there are very many ways of giving scandal.
The Fifth Commandment also forbids quarrelling, unreasonable anger, hatred and revenge. A religious teacher, for instance, must be careful that, when obliged to punish children, he does not allow himself to be prompted by passion; and revenge is totally opposed to the spirit of Christ.
The Sixth Commandment forbids any act of impurity wilfully committed; and it has this peculiarity that it admits of no slight matter, but the sin is always grievous when the impure pleasure is sought or admitted with full knowledge and full consent.
The Seventh Commandment forbids stealing and all injustice done to others in their material possessions. The religious state is a strong protection against these sins; still it does not make them impossible. It may happen that a religious does not fulfill all the conditions of a contract; as for instance, when a teacher neglects his class or some of his pupils, so that these do not really get the value of the tuition charges.
The Eighth Commandment enjoins both truthfulness and regard for another’s good name. A lie is never allowed, and mental reservations must not be used but for good reasons, lest human intercourse lose the charm and security of mutual confidence.
Any lessening of another’s good name without sufficient reason is sinful, and it is doubly so when the accusation is false; even a rash judgment or suspicion is wrong, yet it may be mistaken without being rash. The great rule is: “See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another” (Tob. iv, 16).
The Ninth and Tenth Commandments forbid sinful thoughts and desires in matters forbidden by the Sixth and Seventh Commandments. On this point St. Ignatius remarks that when an evil thought is promptly dismissed, there is merit, not sin; and if it returns again and again and is always resisted, there is more and more merit. But a venial sin is committed when one listens to the evil suggestion so as to dwell a little on it, or to admit some carnal delight, or to be somewhat negligent in rejecting it. A grievous sin supposes that the thought or desire is fully consented to.