The obstacle of human inclinations

On the other hand, it is natural to feel the attraction, not of sin, but of those noble human things which we have left behind for love of Jesus Christ without, for this reason, losing our inclination for them. Because we had this inclination, the commitment we made was a truly generous and detached gift of self.

Self-giving is renewed every day

And because we preserve that commitment, our fidelity is a continual act of self-giving: love, unselfishness and magnanimity, which are lasting and not just the result of inertia. St Thomas says, eiusdem autem est aliquid constituere, et constitutum conservare.⁸ What gave rise to your self-giving in the first place, my child, also has to preserve it.