The devil does not bring sinners to hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labours to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession.

Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori: For All the Sundays of the Year (ed. TAN Books, 2012) - ISBN: 9781505103038