April 30
The path traced by the apostle to the Christian is to divest himself of the vices of the old man, or man's land, and clothed with the virtues taught by Jesus Christ. As for shedding the vices, he says, "mortify your members land." The sanctified Christian baptism is not free from rebellions of the senses and passions, hence arises the imperative to mortify our passions, while in this life.
The same holy apostle saw itself quite strongly the rebellion of the senses and passions, so they issued this lament: "I myself with my mind am serving God and the flesh I serve the law of sin (ie the law of lust). "As if to say, I myself am a servant of the law of God with the mind, but with the flesh I am subject to the law of sin. All of which goes to the spiritual consolation of so many poor souls, assaulted by anger or lust, feel in themselves a painful contrast: do not want to feel, or have these movements, these resentments, or such vivid imaginations, feelings sensual, poor things, without them wanting in them arise and are opposed, experience a violent propensity to evil itself in the act they want to do good.
These poor creatures are some who believe offend the Lord to feel itself the violent propensity to evil. Comfort, chosen souls, in this there is no sin, for the same holy apostle, vessel of election, itself experienced that horrible contrast: "I find in me - he says - in the act of wanting to do good, a force that I inclined to evil. "Feel the stimulus of the flesh, even violently, can not constitute a sin when the soul is determined to do so with the consent of the will.
(November 16, 1914, to Raffaelina Cerase - Letters. II, p. 226)
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