Eschiver le pechié mortel
The Resolve Against Mortal Sin
The king exhorts his daughter to cultivate a holy desire to please God and to maintain an unwavering commitment to avoid mortal sin at any cost.
Dear daughter, have a deep desire to please Him more, and take great care and diligence to avoid anything you believe would displease Him. Especially, you must have this resolve: that you would not commit a mortal sin for anything that might happen, and that you would rather suffer having all your limbs cut off and your life taken from you by cruel martyrdom than knowingly commit a mortal sin.1
Read the original Latin
Chiere fille, aiez grant désir comment vos li puissiez plus plaire; et metez grant cure et grant diligence a eschiver les choses que vous cuiderez qui li doient desplere. Especiaument vous devez avoir ceste volenté, que vos ne feriez pechié mortel pour chose qui peust avenir, et que vous souferriez ainçois que len vous trenchast touz les membres, et que len vos ostast la vie par cruel martire, que vos feissiez pechié mortel a escient.
Notes
- 1 ↩Old French pechié mortel a escient = mortal sin committed knowingly/deliberately; rendered as 'knowingly commit a mortal sin' to keep the deliberate-consent force of a escient.
Teachings to His Daughter Isabelle companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit