How the devil seduces us
St. John Eudes (17th century): “In order to ensnare us, the Devil gives sin a captivating appearance, that he might the more easily cause us to commit it. It was thus he seduced our first parents: by promising them the knowledge of good and evil. He even dared to tempt our Lord Himself in the same manner; offering Him all the possessions of the earth if He would only commit one sin. We find that in all his attempts to draw us into sin, he invariably holds out a hope of some temporal advantage. Thousands of Christians daily yield to this temptation, and lose the eternal happiness of the other life to enjoy the false pleasures of this world.”
Source: How the Devil seduced the first parents
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
by St John Eudes
O admirable Mother of God! How many sins have I committed for which thou hast obtained pardon for me, and how many others would I have committed if thou hadst not preserved me? How often have I seen myself on the brink of Hell in obvious danger of falling into it but for thy most benign hand which saved me? How often would the Roaring Lion of Hell have devoured and swallowed up my soul had not the charity of thy heart opposed him? Alas! Without thee, my dearest and my all-good Mother, where should I be today? I should be in the fiery furnace of Hell from which I would never emerge!