On The Violation Of Baptismal Promises

“They fall under the dominion of Satan, who is the most cruel of all tyrants, the hardest of masters, the most implacable of enemies, and the most barbarous of all persecutors. He entertains for them a mortal hatred; he seeks only their destruction and their ruin. If he promises them any good, it is only to render them miserable; if he permits them to taste of momentary pleasure, it is only to plunge them into eternal grief. He hurries them from one disorder into another, with the hope of deriving some gratification from it; but they no sooner taste of the poisoned cup of pleasure than he makes them feel its bitterness. Impieties, injustices, wrath, impurities, avarice, ambition, are the things to which Satan solicits, without ceasing, those who return to him; and, in order to obtain their desires, what pains, what uneasiness must they not undergo. Their heart is continually agitated with fears, with suspicions, with jealousies, and despair; they feel neither peace nor repose, and after he has rendered them miserable in this life, he renders them more unhappy for eternity. What a sad state!”