QUOTATION: How the Religiously Insincere Act with God

You sometimes say of a man, "he is friendly, or courteous, or respectful, or considerate, or communicative; but, after all, there is something, perhaps without his knowing it, in the background. He professes to be agreed with me; he almost displays his agreement; he says he pursues the same objects as I; but still I do not know him, I do not make progress with him, I have no confidence in him, I do not know him better than the first time I saw him." Such is the way in which the double-minded approach the Most High,—they have a something private, a hidden self at bottom. They look on themselves, as it were, as independent parties, treating with Almighty God as one of their fellows. Hence, so far from seeking God, they hardly like to be sought by Him. They would rather keep their position and stand where they are,—on earth, and so make terms with God in heaven; whereas, "he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God." [John iii. 21.]

--Blessed John Henry Newman, “Sincerity and Hypocrisy”, Parochial and Plain Sermons, Volume 5.

QUOTATION: Judgement Day

Alas! How will you present yourselves before the judgement-seat of Christ, with the imperfect mixed feelings which now satisfy you, with a certain amount of faith, and trust, and fear of God’s judgements, but with nothing of that real delight in Him, in His attributes, in His Will, in His commandments, in His service, which saints possess in such fullness, and which alone can give the soul a comfortable title to the merits of His death and passion?

--Blessed John Henry Newman, “Purity and Love”

QUOTATION: Fight Your Spiritual Weaknesses

Fight against that weakness which makes you lazy and careless in your spiritual life. Remember that it might well be the beginning of lukewarmness... and, in the words of the Scripture, God will vomit the lukewarm out of his mouth.

--St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 325

QUOTATION: The Lukewarm

The lukewarm do not embrace the cross; they merely drag it along.

--St. Teresa of Avila

QUOTATION: Lukewarmness

You marvel, doubtless, why a soul that is cold should be less displeasing to God than one that is lukewarm. The reason for this is that coldness, or the state of the sinner devoid of all virtues, is more easily cured than lukewarmness, which represents the man of few virtues, and these only exterior practices without the life of charity. The man who is loaded with sins can be brought to realize his malady, and so induced to take the proper remedies. But the man who is lukewarm rests on that false security which, as was the case with the Pharisee, leads him to believe that he possesses all the treasures of virtue. Though these soulless practices avail him naught, he will not realize his sad state, and consequently will take no measures for amendment.

--Louis de Granada, The Sinner's Guide

QUOTATION: Human Frailty

From the lukewarmness that is unavoidable, the saints themselves are not exempt; and this comprises all the failings that are committed by us without full consent, but merely from our natural frailty. Such are, for example, distractions at prayers, interior disquietudes, useless words, vain curiosity, the wish to appear, tastes in eating and drinking, the movements of concupiscence not instantly repressed, and such like. We ought to avoid these defects as much as we possibly can; but, owing to the weakness of our nature, caused by the infection of sin, it is impossible to avoid them altogether.

--St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Holy Eucharist

QUOTATION: The Church

Lukewarm Christians are those who want to build a Church to their own specifications... but it is not the Church of Jesus.

--Pope Francis

QUOTATION: Religious Insincerity

Here is the test between earnestness and insincerity. You say you wish to be a different man; Christ takes you at your word, so to speak; He offers to make you different. He says, "I will take away from you the heart of stone, the love of this world and its pleasures, if you will submit to My discipline." Here a man draws back. No; he cannot bear to lose the love of the world, to part with his present desires and tastes; he cannot consent to be changed. After all he is well satisfied at the bottom of his heart to remain as he is, only he wants his conscience taken out of the way. Did Christ offer to do this for him, if He would but make bitter sweet and sweet bitter, darkness light and light darkness, then he would hail the glad tidings of peace;—till then he needs Him not.

--Blessed John Henry Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, Volume 1, “Knowledge of God's Will without Obedience”

QUOTATION: Lukewarm Souls

The reason why the lukewarm run so great a risk of being lost is because tepidity conceals from the soul the immense evil which it causes.

--St. Alphonsus Liguori