There is this children's book called If You Give a Mouse a Cookie... I think I may have read it a thousand times (to my children, not for my own reading pleasure). It has to do with cause and effect (yes, I do critically examine children's books) and how one action leads to another. The beginning goes like this: If you give a mouse a cookie, he's gonna want a glass of milk to go with it... (and then proceeds to show the line of events that follow). In other words, if you open yourself up there is potential for a domino effect. With that principle in mind, let me take it a bit further. If you give the devil an opportunity, he's going to want your soul to go with it... That opportunity can be seen as a chance, a compromise, a wink and nod (etc.). All too often people (including devout Catholics) think that they will be fine with just a little sin. They do not consider that one sin leads to another. They forget that many little venial sins can soften your heart to corruption and enable you to give in to a grave sin that you would have never thought possible a short time before. What are your big sins that you struggle with? I can guarantee that they came from something smaller. At some point in time you gave the devil an opportunity and he took it. Then he started working on you--bit by bit, piece by piece--and eventually you gave in to the bigger sin. Watch, therefore, what you are softening on. Pay attention to the little things that do not appear to be a big deal, because they can turn into a big deal in a short amount of time.