Salesian Literature

Chapter 10  :  Imperfect love is extremely dangerous

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We read of poor Judas (Mt. 27:3-4), after he had betrayed his Master, coming to bring back the silver pieces, admitting his sin and referring respectfully to the blood of the Lamb unstained.  This was the work of that imperfect love left in his heart by the charity which he once had, but which was his no longer.  The descent to ungodliness is a gradual one; the depths of wickedness are rarely reached at one fell swoop.

 

Even after perfumers have left their shops, the scent of the perfumes they have handled clings to them for quite a long time.  So it is with those who have been working in an atmosphere of heavenly fragrance – charity, in other words; traces of its perfume cling to them for a while.

 

I have seen young people, after being well-groomed in the love of God, go to pieces – and yet, even in their disastrous decline, still show signs of past virtue.  Habits, formed while they had charity, such unwilling bedfellows to present depravity – it is hard to tell whether such souls really have lost charity or not, whether they are vicious or virtuous.  Only time can tell, can clearly point to past, not present charity; to imperfect, not perfect love; to the remnant now, where once dwelt charity complete.

 

In itself, of course, this imperfect love is a good thing; it must be, for charity brought it to birth.  Once loyal to charity, while that virtue made the soul its dwelling-place, this love is ever willing to welcome its mistress back.  It cannot do what perfect love can do; no need to look down on it, however, on that account – it is conditioned by its nature.  Stars, for instance, cannot be compared with the sun; taken by themselves, they are of great beauty.  They do not count while the sun is shining; after it has set they come into their own.

 

Good though it may be in itself, however, this imperfect love holds a danger for us; we are sometimes content to have nothing more.  Several inward or outward characteristics lead us to imagine that we really do possess charity, and mislead us into thinking we are holy.  While we are labouring under this false impression, the sins which robbed us of charity increase and multiply so thickly that eventually they completely win our hearts.

 

A pitiful sight, heaven knows, when the holiness on which a soul prides itself is all a dream!  It rests assured of possessing charity; only to find out in the end that its holiness is simply make-believe, its security merely apathy, its joy nothing but a crazy hallucination.

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