SIN, TOLERATION OF

For two years the hydraulic earthquake stabilizers in the thirteen-story “Nuevo Leon” apartment building in Mexico City were left out of service. Then, unexpectedly, at 7:30 a.m. on September 19, 1985, a devastating earthquake shook Mexico City. The thirteen-story building began to sway. Without hydraulic stabilizers to cushion the shocks, the building continued to sway until finally a third of it broke loose at the foundation and fell over sideways. Another third came crumbling down, floor on floor, crushed like a tin can. Only one third was left standing. For fifteen days rescuers dug through the rubble to search for survivors. Unfortunately, for most, the results of neglecting the inner defects were tragic.

So it is with our inner spiritual life and sin. To neglect the one is to open ourselves to the tragic results of the other.1289