]

Let us remember, however, that involuntary distraction is not sin. If
as soon as we are conscious that the mind has wandered we bring it back
again, our souls are clear. We may wander again the next minute, but
as long as we {59} continue by acts of the will to bring the attention
back again, no sin is upon us.

The sin, at such times, lies in being disheartened, but a little
reflection on the principle involved will keep us safe. Satan seeks to
interrupt our prayers because he fears them; and God help the poor
blinded soul who is happy and satisfied because the Evil One does not
think his devotions are worth interrupting.

V. _The Sacrament of Temptation_

If temptation be so universal, and if, as is usually the case, it is a
condition which is attached more particularly to the lives of those who
are making the greatest effort of conformity to the divine will, we are
irresistibly drawn to the conclusion that there must be some signal
blessing to be gained from enduring it.

St. James tells us, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord
hath promised to them that love Him."[35] This apostolic beatitude can
hardly be said to refer only to the blessedness that comes from so
meeting temptation as merely to escape sin. This would make the
beatitude a poor thing that might {60} be supposed to belong as truly
to the man who is never tempted at all. The Apostle is, we can be
sure, speaking of a special blessing that comes from bearing a part in
the spiritual warfare; and he goes on to say that the crown which
constitutes the reward is not one that is promised to those who succeed
in the negative work of merely avoiding sin, but to those who excel in
the positive service of God, and exercise love,--"the crown of life
which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him." So we see that
the crowning blessing derived from being tempted is that it affords us
the best possible opportunity of exercising that divine love which must
be the motive underlying all our spiritual life and action.

So it may be said that the temptation of the present moment is the
sacrament of the present moment. A sacrament is the outward and
visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace; and temptation, if met
with the right disposition, is a sign of a special grace with which God
desires to adorn our souls, a grace which we make our own whenever we
fight valiant