Blessed Francis candidly owned that the two passions which it cost him the
most to conquer were "love of creatures and anger." The former overcame by
skill, the latter by violence, or as he himself was wont to say, "by taking
hold of his heart with both hands."
The strategy by which he conquered love of creatures was this. He gave his
affections an altogether new object to feed upon and to live for, an object
absolutely pure and holy, the Creator. The soul, we know, cannot live
without love, therefore all depends on providing it with an object worthy
of its love. Our will is like our love. "We become earthly," says St.
Augustine, "if we love the earth, but heavenly if we love heaven. Nay
more, if we love God, we actually, by participation, become godlike. Osee,
speaking of idolaters, says: _They became abominable as those things were
which they loved_".[1] All our Saint's writings breathe love, but a love
so holy, pure, and beautiful as to justify itself in every expression of
it:--_Pure words ... justified in themselves ... sweeter than honey and the
honeycomb._
As regards the passion of anger, which was very strong in him, he fought
against it, face to face, with such persevering force and success that
meekness and gentleness are considered his chief characteristics.
[Footnote 1: Osee ix. 10.]