The hopes of the new converts

Nothing must be said to them that creates premature hope in them. That is, ordinarily, nothing should be suggested to those who believe in sin, who can make them believe that they have already experienced the new birth, until they discover it themselves. In general it is very wrong to give people the hope that they are Christian. Most likely we judge prematurely. Otherwise, it is in any case preferable that they discover it by themselves, if they do not see it immediately.

When you see people conceiving hope mixed with doubts, it is usually a proof that the work is not complete. If they have repented, they need a weaning; they still love the world, they did not break with their sins effectively, they did not understand what their profession of piety implied.

If you have, or if they themselves have doubts about their account, there is most likely a good reason to doubt. Sometimes they express the hope of being to Christ, then they remember a sin that they must confess to men, a circumstance in which they have meditated, deceived, and they must make reparation ; but their reputation or their purse are so seriously involved that they hesitate and refuse to do their duty. This contrasts the Spirit, throws an obscure veil over their consciousness and, as it rightly causes them to doubt that they are truly converted.

If a soul is really converted, and it has hesitations, it is usually because there is a neglected duty. We must search these souls, bring light, bring them to the fulfillment of this duty, and not allow them to have faith in their conversion until they fill it. Ordinarily it is good to present to them a simple and penetrating truth which pierces them, something which wilts their false hopes. Do it while these souls are under the action of the Spirit of God. If you do it the way it should, it can not be bad.

Jeremy Sourdril