O my Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me.
Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt. (St. Matthew, c. XXVI.,
v. 39.)
1. We should recognize and adore the will of God in everything that
happens to us. The malice of men, nay of the devil himself, can cause
nothing to befall us except what is permitted by God. Our divine Lord has
declared that not a hair of our heads can fall unless by the will of our
Heavenly Father.[12]
2. Therefore in every condition painful to nature, whether you are
afflicted by sickness, assailed by temptations, or tortured by the
injustice of men, consider the divine will and say to God with a loving
and submissive heart: _Fiat voluntas tua_--Thy will be done: O my
Saviour, do with me what Thou willest, as Thou willest, and when Thou
willest.
3. By this means we render supportable the severest pain and the most
trying circumstances. "Do you not feel the infinite sweetness contained
in that one sentence, _the will of God?_" asks Saint Mary Magdalen de
Pazzi. Like unto the wood shown to Moses, that drew from the water all
its bitterness, it sweetens whatever is bitter in our lives.
4. Without this practice, so comformable to faith, and without the light
and strength that result from it, the pains and afflictions of life would
become unbearable. This is what Saint Philip de Neri meant when he said:
It rests with man to place himself even in this life either in heaven or
in hell: he who suffers tribulations with patience enjoys celestial peace
in advance; he who does not do so has a foretaste of the torments of
hell.
5. Not only is it God who sends or permits our troubles, but He does so
for the good of our souls and for our spiritual progress. Do not, then,
make a matter of complaint that which should be a motive for gratitude.
6. Saint Francis de Sales says that the cross is the royal door to the
temple of sanctity, and the only one by which we can enter it. One moment
spent upon the cross is therefore more conducive to our spiritual
advancement than the anticipated enjoyment of all the delights of heaven.
The happiness of those who have reached their destination consists in the
possession of God: to suffer for the love of Him is the only true
happiness which those still on the way can expect to attain. Our Lord
declared that those who mourn during this exile are _blessed_, for they
shall be consoled eternally in their celestial fatherland.[13]
7. Notice that I say, _to suffer for the love of God_, for, as Saint
Augustine remarks, no person can love suffering in itself. That is
contrary to nature, and moreover, there would no longer be any suffering
if we could accept it with natural relish. But a resigned soul loves to
suffer, that is she loves the virtue of patience and ardently desires the
merits that result from the practice of it. A calm and submissive longing
to be delivered from our cross if such be the will of God, is not
inconsistent with the most perfect resignation. This desire is a natural
instinct which supernatural grace regulates, moderates, and teaches us to
control, but which it never entirely destroys. Our divine Saviour
Himself, to show that He was truly man, was pleased to feel it as we do,
and prayed that the chalice of His Passion might be spared Him. Hence you
are not required to be stolidly indifferent or to arm yourself with the
stern insensibility of the Stoics; that would not be either resignation,
or humility, or any virtue whatsoever. The essential thing is to suffer
with Christian patience and generous resignation everything that is
naturally displeasing to us. This is what both reason and faith
prescribe.
*The Redeemer of the World seems to wish to show us in His Agony the
degree of perfection which the weakness of human nature can attain amidst
the anguish of sorrow. In the inferior portion of the soul where the
faculty of feeling resides, instinctive repugnance to suffering, humble
prayer for relief if it please God to accord it; and in the superior
portion of the soul where the will resides, entire resignation if this
consolation be denied. A desire for more than this, unless called to it
by a special grace, would be foolish pride, as we should thus attempt to
change the conditions of our nature, whereas our duty is to accept them
in order to combat them and to suffer in so doing. (See _Imitation_, B.
III., Ch. XVIII-XIX.)
In the following terms Saint Francis de Sales proposes to us this same
example of our Saviour's resignation during His agony: "Consider the
great dereliction our Divine Master suffered in the Garden of Olives. See
how this beloved Son, having asked for consolation from His loving Father
and knowing that it was not His will to grant it, thinks no more about
it, no longer craves or looks for it, but, as though He had never sought
it, valiantly and courageously completes the work of our redemption. Let
it be the same with you. If your Heavenly Father sees fit to deny you the
consolation you have prayed for, dismiss it from your mind and animate
your courage to fulfil your work upon the cross as if you were never to
descend from it nor should ever again see the atmosphere of your life
pure and serene." (Read _The Imitation_. B. III., Chapters XI and XV.)
The same Saint also gives us some sublime lessons in resignation applied
to the trials and temptations that beset the spiritual life. He draws
them from this great and simple thought that serves as foundation for the
Exercises of Saint Ignatius, namely, that salvation being the sole object
of our existence, and all the attendant circumstances of life but means
for attaining it, nothing has any absolute value; and that the only way
of forming a true estimate of things is to consider in how far they are
calculated to advance or retard the end in view. Accordingly, what
difference does it make if we attain this end by riches or poverty,
health or sickness, spiritual consolation or aridity, by the esteem or
contempt of our fellow-men? So say faith and reason; but human nature
revolts against this indifference, as it is well it should, else how
could we acquire merit? Hence there is a conflict on this point between
the flesh and the spirit, and it is this conflict that for a Christian is
called life. (On this subject read _The Imitation_, B. II., Ch. XI.; and
B. III., Ch. XVIII., XIX., XXXVII., XLIX., L. and the prayer at the end
of Ch. XXVII.)
"Would to God," he says elsewhere, speaking on the same subject, "that we
did not concern ourselves so much about the road whereon we journey, but
rather would keep our eyes fixed on our Guide and upon that blessed
country whither He is conducting us. What should it matter to us if it be
through deserts or pleasant fields that we walk, provided God be with us
and we be advancing towards heaven?... In short, for the honor of God,
acquiesce perfectly in his divine will, and do not suppose that you can
serve him better in any other way; for no one ever serves him well who
does not serve him as he wishes. Now he wishes that you serve him without
relish, without feeling, nay, with repugnance and perturbation of spirit.
This service does not afford you any satisfaction, it is true, but it
pleases him; it is not to your taste, but it is to his.... Mortify
yourself then cheerfully, and in proportion as you are prevented from
doing the good you desire, do all the more ardently that which you do not
desire. You do not wish to be resigned in this case, but you will be so
in some other: resignation in the first instance will be of much greater
value to you.... In fine, let us be what God wishes, since we are
entirely devoted to him, and would not wish to be anything contrary to
his will; for were we the most exalted creatures under heaven, of what
use would it be to us, if we were not in accord with the will of God?..."
And again: "You should resign yourself perfectly into the hands of God.
When you have done your best towards carrying out your design (of
becoming a religious) he will be pleased to accept everything you do,
even though it be something less good. You cannot please God better than
by sacrificing to him your will, and remaining in tranquillity, humility
and devotion, entirely reconciled and submissive to his divine will and
good pleasure. You will be able to recognize these plainly enough when
you find that notwithstanding all your efforts it is impossible for you
to gratify your wishes.
For God in his infinite goodness sometimes sees fit to test our courage
and love by depriving us of the things which it seems to us would be
advantageous to our souls; and if he finds us very earnest in their
pursuit, yet humble, tranquil and resigned to do without them if he
wishes us to, he will give us more blessings than we should have had in
the possession of what we craved. God loves those who at all times and in
all circumstances can say to him simply and heartily: _Thy will be
done_."*
XIII.
SCRUPLES.
Having therefore such hope, we use much confidence. (St. Paul, II.
Cor., c. III., v. 12.)
Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because
fear hath pain. And he that feareth is not perfect in charity. (St.
John, I. Epist., c. IV., v. 18.)
1. There are persons who look upon scrupulosity as a virtue, confounding
it with delicacy of conscience, whereas it is, on the contrary, not only
a defect but one of a most dangerous character. The devout and learned
Gerson says that a scrupulous conscience often does more injury to the
soul than one that is too lax and remiss.
2. Scruples warp the judgment, disturb the peace of the soul, beget
mistrust of the Sacraments and estrangement from them, and impair the
health of body and mind. How many unfortunates have begun by scrupulosity
and ended in insanity! How many, more unfortunate still, have begun by
scruples and ended in laxity and impiety! Shun then this insiduous
poison, so deadly in its effects on true piety, and say with Saint Joseph
of Cupertino: _Away with sadness and scruples; I will not have them in my
house._
3. Scrupulosity is an unreasonable fear of sin in matters where there is
not even material for sin. But the victim does not call his doubts and
fears scruples, for he would not be tormented by them if he believed he
could give them that name. He should, however, place implicit reliance in
the opinion of his spiritual guide when he tells him they are such and
that he must not allow himself to be influenced by them.
4. In all his actions a scrupulous person sees only an uninterrupted
series of sins, and in God nothing but vengeance and anger. He ought,
therefore, to consider almost exclusively the attribute of the divine
Master by which He most delights to manifest Himself, _mercy_, and to
make it the constant subject of his thoughts, meditations and affections.
*"We should do everything from love and nothing from constraint. It is
more essential to love obedience than to fear disobedience."--Saint
Francis de Sales.*
5. There is but one remedy for scruples and that is entire and courageous
obedience. "It is a secret pride," says Saint Francis de Sales, "that
entertains and nourishes scruples, for the scrupulous person adheres to
his opinion and inquietude in spite of his director's advice to the
contrary. He always persuades himself in justification of his
disobedience that some new and unforseen circumstance has occurred to
which this advice cannot be applicable." "But submit", adds the Saint,
"without other reasoning than this: _I should obey_, and you will be
delivered from this lamentable malady."
6. By sadness and anxiety the children of God do a great injury to their
Heavenly Father. They thereby seem to bear witness that there is little
happiness to be found in the service of a Master so full of love and
mercy, and to give the lie to the words of Him who said: "Come unto Me
all you that labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you."
*"Woe to that narrow and self-absorbed soul that is always fearful, and
because of fear has no time to love and to go generously forward. O my
God! I know it is your wish that the heart that loves you should be broad
and free! Hence I shall act with confidence like to the child that plays
in the arms of its mother; I shall rejoice in the Lord and try to make
others rejoice; I shall pour forth my heart without fear in the assembly
of the children of God. I wish for nothing but candor, innocence and joy
of the Holy Ghost. Far, far from me, O my God, be that sad and cowardly
wisdom which is ever consumed in self, ever holding the balance in hand
in order to weigh atoms!... Such lack of simplicity in the soul's
dealings with Thee is truly an outrage against Thee: such rigor imputed
to Thee is unworthy of Thy paternal heart."--Fénelon.*
XIV.
INTERIOR PEACE.
Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things.
(St. Luke, c. X., v. 41.)