power. If you find yourself
inclined to any of these sins in your youth, stop them at once.

"Envy" is the desire to see another meet with misfortune that we may be
benefited by it. We are glad when he does not succeed in his business,
we are sorry when anyone speaks well of him, etc. Envy comes under the
Eighth Commandment.

"Sloth" is committed when we idle our time, and are lazy; when we are
indifferent about serving God; when we do anything slowly and poorly and
in a way that shows we would rather not do it. They are slothful who lie
in bed late in the morning and neglect their duty. Slothful people are
often untidy in their personal appearance; and they are nearly always in
misery and want, unless somebody else takes care of them. Sloth comes
under the First Commandment, because it has reference in a special
manner to the way in which we serve God. How, then, shall we best
destroy sin in our souls? By finding out our chief capital sin and
rooting it out. If a strong oak tree is deeply rooted in the ground, how
will you best destroy its life? By cutting off the branches? No. For
with each returning spring new branches will grow. How then? By cutting
the root and then the great oak with all its branches will die. In the
same way our capital sin is the root, and as long as we leave it in our
souls other sins will grow out of it. While we are trying to destroy our
sins without touching our capital sin--our chief sin--we are only
cutting off branches that will grow again. Indeed a great many people
are only cutting off branches all the time and that is why they are not
benefited as much as they could be by the prayers they say, Masses they
hear, Sacraments they receive, and sermons they listen to. But do not
imagine that because you are not becoming better, when you pray, hear
Mass, and receive the Sacraments, you are doing no good at all. That
would be a great mistake, and just such a thing as the devil would
suggest to make persons give up their devotions. What is the use, he
might say, of your trying to be good? You are just as bad as you were a
year ago. Do not listen to that temptation. Were it not for your prayers
and your reception of the Sacraments, you would become a great deal
worse than you are. Suppose a man is rowing on the river against a very
strong tide. He is rowing as hard as he can and yet he is not advancing
one foot up the stream. Is he doing nothing therefore? Ah! he is doing a
great deal: he is p