In his fatherly love, his kindness and his clemency, God does not punish immediately, so that you may recognize the extent of his loving regard for you and of his compassion. He would rather wait for you than punish you in your sin.

See, then, how God instructs and incites you, so that you may be converted from your sins, late though it is, and come to salvation. See how he exhorts you, doomed to death as you are, so that you may live; and with what sweetness and gentle compassion he cajoles you, so that he does not deny a father's love even to the sinner.