Part 5, Chapter 11
Microscopes can help us see the very small details of things. They can help us to zoom in on the cell. It is amazing how up close we can get. This is especially true with the newer microscopes. Microscopes help us to see what something is made up of. We are thus able to see the building blocks of things.
In the devout life, we need to get zoomed in on what is truly important. “Consider that nothing except holiness and devotion can satisfy your soul in this world” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 198). We need to see that for the devout life to work there are building blocks that help us to get there. Thus being holy and working on devotion help to build us in being faithful to God. Habits that are good (virtues) help us to be holy and devout. We need virtues, and they sure help us to be focused on God and not ourselves. Vices (bad habits), on the other hand, cause us to focus on ourselves and stir up in us many emotions that aren’t good. “It is one charm of all virtues that they fill the soul with untold sweetness after being practiced, whereas vice leaves it harassed all ill at ease” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 198-199). It seems that when we look at the building blocks of virtues vs vices at a microscopic level, we see that virtue helps us to grow toward God, and that vice destroys growth. Therefore, we need virtue in living the spiritual and devout life.