Holiness—we Catholics want it. But many of us feel as though we are wandering in the dark in search of it.
Is it just an accumulation of virtues? Is it some threshold we cross? How will we know when we’re there? If this sounds like you . . . good. You want to be holy, and that’s one of the first steps.
This is a great starting point. But many who find themselves in the starting blocks approach the spiritual life far too generally, rather than precisely. They work to overcome their sins, but they fight broadly, without identifying the central fault that governs the rest.
Progress in the spiritual life is not random—it requires clarify to purpose and precision of effort. Many strive for holiness while leaving untouched the thing that most prevents it. The masters of the craft, the great saints and spiritual writers (such as Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, whom we will quote throughout this article*), insist on something more focused, and this begins with the identifying and purification of one’s predominant fault.
What Is the Predominant Fault?
The predominant fault is not simply one sin among many. As Garrigou-Lagrange defines it, “the predominant fault is the defect in us that tends to prevail over the others, and thereby over our manner of feeling, judging, sympathizing, willing, and acting.”
In essence, the predominant fault is the one area in each of our lives with which we struggle most. It is the root of many if not all of our other sins, and without its purification, our efforts to fight sin will become tired and largely less successful, like treating symptoms but not the cause.
We each have a predominant fault. It is not merely an isolated weakness, but rather something that colors the whole of our interior life. It shapes how we interpret situations, how we respond to others, how we make decisions, and even how we approach God.
For this reason, Garrigou-Lagrange calls the predominant fault “our domestic enemy, dwelling in our interior.” It is not external or occasional. It is interior and constant, present wherever we go.
And because it is so central, it is also profoundly dangerous. “If it develops,” he warns, “it may succeed in completely ruining the work of grace or the interior life.”
This may sound off-putting, but it is certainly corroborated by experience. (Think of how many of us go to confession regularly confessing the same sins!) We may pray regularly, practice virtue in many areas, yet remain deeply hindered because one central defect continues to operate unchecked. The structure appears stable, but it is vulnerable at its core—like “a crack in a wall that seems to be solid but is not so.” Or again, “like a devouring worm in a beautiful fruit,” the corruption works from within, often unnoticed until the damage is too big to ignore.
Identifying Your Predominant Fault
The predominant fault is not always obvious. In fact, it often hides itself. “The predominant fault is less apparent, for it tries to hide itself and to put on the appearances of a virtue.” This is understandable especially in today’s age, so attentive to our own psychology: we hide from our pains, trauma, and difficulties and put on many masks. It is a common story.
Some examples:
Pride may appear as zeal or magnanimity. Cowardice may present itself as humility. Indulgence may disguise itself as charity. In each case, the soul can be deceived precisely where it believes itself to be most secure.
For this reason, self-knowledge is not automatic—and our self-perception is often misleading. (This is a great reason to get a spiritual director! “The heart is deceitful,” says Jeremiah 17:9.) Knowledge of self must be sought honestly. As Garrigou-Lagrange insists, “If we do not know it, we cannot fight it; and if we do not fight it, we have no true interior life.”
So How Do We Discern it?
Garrigou-Lagrange gives us several practical but insightful questions. We must ask ourselves: “Toward what do my most ordinary preoccupations tend?” and “What is generally the cause or source of my sadness and joy?” Additionally, we must focus on specifically the types of temptations with which we are frequently hit (or smacked as it sometimes feels!).
“The predominant fault is the weak spot. . . . The enemy of souls seeks exactly this easily vulnerable point.” The devil doesn’t go and tempt every person to do the worst possible sin; he focuses on the weakest points, which are most likely to tear us from the loving embrace of God. Therefore, the common recurrence of particular sins can point us in the right direction to find out what our own predominant fault may be.
Once It is Recognized, It Cannot Be Ignored
The spiritual life demands that once we identify what our predominant fault it, we must go to battle against it: “Because the predominant fault is our principal interior enemy, we must combat it.”
Our fight must be intentional, with a battle plan. “We must not make peace with our fault.” Finding out one’s predominant fault is taking the red pill, which forces one to embrace the truth and respond to it.
There is no blissful ignorance, either, because failing to identify one’s predominant fault will prevent deeper growth. “Prior to victory over this fault, the fountain of graces is not yet adequately opened on our soul, for we still seek ourselves too much and do not live sufficiently for God.”
Therefore, we must seek to discover it and immediately begin the difficult work of overcoming it. “Without this persevering and efficacious struggle, we cannot sincerely aspire to Christian perfection.”
How to Overcome the Predominant Fault
Like much of the spiritual life, this is not necessarily complicated, but it is difficult. There are some practical steps we can take.
- The first step is prayer. We must ask God for the light to see our predominant fault clearly, and for the grace to overcome it. Garrigou-Lagrange stresses that our prayer must be sincere.
- Examination of conscience: We should undertake the practice of a frequent examination of conscience. This will help us identify patterns in our spiritual lives and add to the framework of our attack against our predominant fault.
- Penance: Garrigou-Lagrange says, “It is also highly proper to impose a sanction, or penance . . . each time we fall into this defect,” which “makes reparation for the fault and sanctification for the penalty due it.”
Very importantly, we must proceed with perseverance. There is often a temptation to discouragement—we are talking about the deepest and most wounded part of ourselves here. This temptation must be resisted. “God never commands the impossible.” He will always give the grace to accomplish that which he asks.
The overcoming of the predominant fault is liberating: “Thus, little by little, we grow to be ourselves . . . to be supernaturally ourselves minus our defects.” This is the true goal of the spiritual life. We are to become united to God, purified and made holy in our own uniqueness. Therefore, overcoming our predominant fault will make us more ourselves. But
instead of instinctively referring everything to self, as is the case when the predominant fault reigns, we will turn everything back to God, think almost continually of him, and live for him alone; at the same time we will lead to him those with whom we come into contact.
*Apart from Scripture, all quotations in this article are taken from “The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude to Eternal Life, Volume 1” by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange.