 Nists came breathing up from the muddy cravings of the flesh, and the springs of puberty, and they overcast and darkened my heart, so that I could not tell the difference between the clear skies of genuine love and the fog of lust. Both love and lust roiled in confusion, and they swept my weakling youth over the falls of desire and plunged me into a gulping whirlpool of crimes. The Saint confesses that in his youth, he and his friends praised one another for their sexual exploits, competed to see who could sin the most, and even lied to exaggerate their misdeeds. In this way they spurred one another to sin. He loved his friends, and he loved to be loved by his friends, more than he loved God. How many of us can identify with that temptation?