The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius : $b adapted to...

We have now fully understood the end, or purpose, of our creation, which is to praise, reverence and serve God and thereby save our souls. We must next consider what will be the result if we freely refuse to live for that end, and prefer to do our own will in opposition to the will of God. The Lord is not going to prevent us from doing so; He will not interfere with the exercise of our free will. Were a child, in the fervor of its first Communion, most earnestly to beseech God to let it die young rather than live to commit a mortal sin, He would no doubt give it additional graces to avoid sin, but He will not control the child’s freedom. Every one of us must carve out his own future by his own free choice. We know what we have to do to make that future sovereignly happy; and we are now to consider prayerfully what evils threaten us if we refuse to do it. For this purpose we will now study certain historical facts, and see how other persons have fared.