Blessed Francis always impressed upon us the necessity of making use for
the glory of God of any good inclinations natural to us. "If you possess
such," he would say, "remember that they are gifts, of which you will have
to render an account. Take care, then, to employ them in the service of Him
who gave them to you. Engraft upon this wild stock the shoots of eternal
love which God is ready to bestow upon you, if, by an act of perfect
self-renunciation, you prepare yourself to receive them."
There are people who are naturally inclined to certain moral virtues,
such as silence, sobriety, modesty, chastity, humility, patience, and
the like, and who, however little they may cultivate these virtues, make
great progress in them. This was the case with many of the great pagan
philosophers as we know, and it is quite true, that with all of us, the
bent and inclination of the mind towards the acquisition of any kind of
excellence, whether moral or physical, is an immense assistance. Still, we
must bear in mind the fact that the acquiring of every moral virtue and
every physical power, nay, of the whole world itself, is nothing, if, in
gaining them, we should lose our own soul. St. Paul tells us this,[1] and
for the same reason, our Blessed Father warns us not to keep our talents
wrapped up in a napkin, not to hide their light under the bushel of nature,
but to trade with them according to the intention of Him who is their
author and distributor. He reminds us that this divine Giver who bestowed
them on us in order thereby to increase His exterior glory, promises us
a reward if we use them as He means us to do, and threatens us with
punishment if we are careless in the matter.
You ask me how we are to deal with these inclinations and manage these
talents or virtues? Well, you have the answer to that question in the words
of our Blessed Father which I quoted: "Engraft on the wild stock of natural
inclination shoots of divine charity."
[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 3.]