1. Christian liberty of spirit, so earnestly recommended by the saints,
consists in not becoming the slave of anything, even though good, unless
it be of God's will. Thus our purest inclinations, our holiest habits,
our wisest rules of conduct, should yield without murmur or complaint to
every manifestation of this divine will, in order that they may never
become for us obstacles or impediments to good or the occasion of trouble
and disquietude. By this means only can we perform all our actions with
cheerful confidence and devout courage.
*"I leave you the spirit of liberty; not that liberty which hinders
obedience, for such is the liberty of the flesh, but that which excludes
scruples and constraint.... We ask of God above all things that his name
be hallowed, that His kingdom come, that His will be done on earth as it
is in heaven. All this implies the spirit of liberty; for provided God's
name be sanctified, that His divine Majesty reign in you, that His will
be done, the spirit desires nothing more."[16] (_Imitation_, B. III.,
Chap. XXVI.)*
2. St. Francis de Sales, speaking on this important subject, says: "He
who possesses the spirit of liberty will on no account allow his
affections to be mastered even by his spiritual exercises, and in this
way he avoids feeling any regret if they are interfered with by sickness
or accident. I do not say that he does not love his devotions but that he
is not attached to them."
3. A soul that is attached to meditation, if interrupted, will show
chagrin and impatience: a soul that has true liberty will take the
interruption in good part and show a gracious countenance to the person
who was the cause of it. For it is all one to it whether it serve God by
meditating or by bearing with its neighbor. Both duties are God's will,
but just at this time patience with others is the more essential.
4. The fruits of this holy liberty of spirit are prompt and tranquil
submission and generous confidence. Saint Francis de Sales relates that
Saint Ignatius ate flesh meat one day in Holy Week simply because his
physician thought it expedient for him to do so on account of a slight
illness. A spirit of constraint would have made him allow the doctor to
spend three days in persuading him, he adds, and would then very probably
have refused to yield. I cite this example for the benefit of timid souls
and not for those who seek to elude an obligation by unwarranted
dispensations.
*This matter is of such importance and a just medium so difficult to
follow in practice, that it seems useful to transcribe the following
passage from Saint Francis de Sales in its entirety, with the rules and
examples it contains, in order that the proper occasions for the exercise
of this virtue and its limitations may be well understood.
"A heart possessed of this spirit of liberty is not attached to
consolations, but receives afflictions with all the sweetness that is
possible to human nature. I do not say that it does not love and desire
consolations, but that its affections are not wedded to them.... It
seldom loses its joy, for no privation saddens a heart that is not set
upon any one thing. I do not say it never loses it, but if it does so it
quickly regains it.
The effects of this virtue are sweetness of temper, gentleness, and
forbearance towards everything that is not sin or occasion of sin,
forming a disposition gently susceptible to the influences of charity and
of every other virtue.
The occasions for exercising this holy freedom are found in all those
things that happen contrary to our natural inclinations; for one whose
affections are not engaged in his own will does not lose patience when
his desires are thwarted.
There are two vices opposed to this liberty of spirit,--instability and
constraint, or dissipation and servility. The former is a certain excess
of freedom which causes us to change our devout exercises or state of
life without reason and without knowing if it be God's will. On the
slightest pretext practices, plans and rules are altered and for every
trivial obstacle our laudable customs are abandoned. In this way the
heart is dissipated and spent and becomes like an orchard open on all
sides, the fruit whereof is not for the owner but for the passers-by.
Constraint or servility is a certain lack of liberty owing to which the
mind is overwhelmed with vexation or anger when we cannot carry out our
designs, even though we might be doing something better. For example: I
resolve to make a meditation every morning. Now if I have the spirit of
instability or dissipation I am apt to defer it until evening for the
most insignificant reason,--because I was kept awake by the barking of a
dog, or because I have a letter to write, although it be not at all
pressing. If on the contrary I have the spirit of constraint or servility
I will not give up my meditation even though a sick person has great need
of my aid just then, or if I have an important and urgent dispatch to
send which should not be deferred; and so on.
It remains for me to give you some examples of true liberty of spirit
which will make you understand it better than I can explain it. But,
before doing so, it is well that I should say there are two rules which
it is necessary to observe in order not to make any mistake on the
subject.
The first is that a person must never abandon his pious practices and the
common rules of virtue unless it is plainly evident that God wills that
he do so. Now this will is manifested in two ways,--through necessity and
through charity. I desire to preach this Lent in some little corner of my
diocese; however, if I get sick or break my leg I need not give way to
regret or inquietude because I cannot do as I intended, for it is evident
that it is the will of God that I serve Him by suffering and not by
preaching. Or, even if I am not ill or crippled, but an occasion presents
itself of going to some other place which if I do not avail myself of the
people there may become Huguenots, the will of God is sufficiently
manifest to make me amiably change my plans. The second rule is that when
it is necessary to make use of this liberty of spirit from motives of
charity, care should be taken that it is done without scandal or
injustice. For instance: I may know that I should be more useful in some
distant place not within my own diocese: I should have no freedom of
choice in this matter for my obligations are here and I should give
scandal and do an injustice by abandoning my charge.
Thus it is a false idea of the spirit of liberty that would induce
married women to keep aloof from their husbands without legitimate reason
under pretext of devotion and charity.... This spirit rightly understood
never interferes with the duties of one's vocation nor prejudices them in
any way. On the contrary, it makes every one contented in his state of
life, as each should know it is God's will that he remain in it.
Saint Charles Borromeo was one of the most austere, exact and determined
of men; bread was his only food, water his only drink; he was so strict,
that during the twenty-four years he was an Archbishop he went into his
garden but twice, and visited his brothers only on two occasions and then
because they were ill. Yet this austere priest when dining with his Swiss
neighbors, which he often did in order to move them to amend their lives,
did not hesitate to join them in drinking toasts and healths on every
occasion and in doing so to take more than was necessary to quench his
thirst. Here is true liberty of spirit exemplified in the most mortified
man of his time. An unstable spirit would have gone too far, a spirit of
constraint would have thought it was committing a mortal sin, a spirit of
liberty would act in this way from a motive of charity.
Saint Spiridion, a bishop of olden times, once gave shelter to a pilgrim
who was almost dying of hunger. It was the season of Lent and in a place
where nothing was to be had but salt meat. This Spiridion ordered to be
cooked and then gave it to the pilgrim. Seeing that the latter,
notwithstanding his great need, hesitated to eat it, the Saint, although
he did not require it, ate some first in order to remove the poor man's
scruples. That was a true spirit of liberty born of charity."--Saint
Francis de Sales.*
5. Again, it is this Christian spirit of freedom that excludes fear and
uneasiness in regard to all those things which God has not permitted us
to know. It gives us a sweet and tender confidence as to the pardon of
our past sins, the present condition of our souls and our eternal
destiny. It reminds us continually that although we have deserved hell,
our divine Lord has merited heaven for us, and that it would be doing a
great injury to His goodness not to hope for pardon for the past,
assistance of divine grace for the present, and salvation after death.
Finally, it teaches us to drown our remorse for sin in the ocean of the
divine mercy.
6. I earnestly exhort you never to make indiscreet vows in the hope of
thus increasing the merit of your ordinary works. One can attain the same
end by many ways that are easier and less dangerous. Those who are guilty
of this imprudence often run the risk of breaking their vows and of thus
sinning gravely. And if they avoid this misfortune it is only at the
expense of their peace of soul, sacrificed to a craven and unquiet
servitude which is totally incompatible with the tranquillity and
confidence required in the great work of our spiritual perfection.
7. Many pious persons are too prone to advise obligations of this kind.
If they do so to you, humbly excuse yourself by saying that you do not
possess the extraordinary virtue requisite in order to fulfil them
without disquietude. Saint Francis de Sales disapproved of all the
particular vows made by Saint Jane Frances de Chantal and declared them
null. I have almost invariably found persons bound by such solemn
obligations restless and agitated, and have frequently seen them exposed
to the gravest falls.
8. Do not allow yourself to be misled by the example of some of the
saints who made vows. Rarely is the desire to imitate certain
extraordinary practices of theirs an inspiration of divine grace: rather
is it a temptation from the devil inciting us to pride and temerity.
Saint Francis de Sales exclaimed: "Give me the spirit that animated Saint
Bernard and I shall do what Saint Bernard did." Let us apply ourselves, I
repeat, to the imitation of those simple and solid virtues by which the
saints attained sanctity, and be content to admire those supernatural
acts that suppose it already acquired.
9. To bind one's self by arbitrary vows without compromising salvation,
three things are necessary: 1st. supernatural inspiration urging one to
make them; 2d. extraordinary virtue so as never to violate them; 3d.
unalterable tranquillity in order to preserve peace of soul in keeping
them.
XVII.
CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.
Conduct me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth. (Psalm
LXXXV.)
Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.
(Psalm CXXVI.)
1. A Christian is not obliged to be perfect, but to tend continually
towards perfection; that is to say, he must labor unceasingly and with
all his strength to increase in virtue. To make no attempt to advance is
to go back.
*You see it is a question not of succeeding but of laboring earnestly and
sincerely. Success does not depend upon us. God grants that or refuses it
or defers it according to what He knows is best for us.
"Let us do three things, my dear daughter, says Saint Francis de Sales:
first, have a pure intention to look in all things to the honor and glory
of God; second, do the little we can towards this end, according to the
advice of our spiritual father; third, leave the care of all the rest to
God. Why should he torment himself who has God for the object of his
intentions and does all that he can? why should he be anxious? what has
he to fear? God is not terrible for those whom He loves; He is satisfied
with little for He knows well that we have not much to give."
... "Allow yourself to be governed by God; do not think so much of
yourself; make a general and universal resolution to serve God in the
best manner you are able and do not waste time in examining and sifting
so minutely to find out what that may be. This is simply an impertinence
due to the condition of your acute and precise mind which wishes to
tyrannize over your will and to control it by fraud and subtlety.... You
know that in general God wishes us to serve Him by loving Him above all
things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of Him; and in particular,
to fulfil the duties of our state of life; that is all. But it must be
done in good faith, without deceit or subterfuge, and in the ordinary way
of this world, which is not the home of perfection; humanly, too, and
according to the limitations of time; to do it in a divine and angelic
manner and according to eternity being reserved for a future life. Do not
therefore be so anxious to know whether or not you have attained
perfection. This should never be; for were we the most perfect creatures
on earth we ought not to dwell upon or glory in it but always consider
ourselves imperfect. Our self-examination must never be for the purpose
of discovering if we are imperfect, for this we should never doubt. Hence
it follows that we must not be surprised at seeing ourselves imperfect,
since we can never be otherwise in this life; nor on that account give
way to despondency, for there is no remedy for it. But, yes; we can
correct our faults gently and gradually, for that is the reason they are
left in us. We shall be inexcusable if we do not try to amend them, but
quite excusable if we are not entirely successful in doing so, for it is
not the same with imperfections as with sins."--Saint Francis de Sales.*
2. Now the means to be employed in laboring for perfection and in making
progress in virtue do not consist in multiplying prayers, fasts and other
religious practices. Some good religious who had fasted three times a
week during an entire year, thought that in order to satisfy the
obligation of advancing more and more in virtue they ought to fast four
times a week the following year. They consulted Saint Francis de Sales on
the subject. He laughingly answered them: "If you fast four times a week
this year so as to advance in perfection, you will be obliged for the
same reason to fast five times the next year, then six, then seven times;
and the number of your fasts being always the guage of the degree of
perfection you shall have attained, it will be necessary for you, under
pain of advancing no more, thereafter to fast twice a day, then thrice,
then four times, and so on." What Saint Francis de Sales said of fasting
is just as applicable to all other devout practices.
3. Instead, then, of continually adding to your religious exercises,
study to perfect yourself in the practice of those you already perform,
doing them with more love and peace of soul, and with greater purity of
intention. Should it happen that you are unable to perform all your usual
devotions conveniently, omit a portion of them so that the remainder may
be done with greater tranquillity. The spirit of perfection, says Saint
Bernard, does not consist in doing great things, but in doing common and
ordinary things perfectly. _Communia facere, sed non communiter_.[17]
*"Most people when they wish to reform, pay much more attention to
filling their life with certain difficult and extraordinary actions, than
to purifying their intention and opposing their natural inclinations in
the ordinary duties of their state. In this they often deceive
themselves, for it would be much better to make less change in the
actions and more in the dispositions of the soul which prompt them. When
one is already leading a virtuous and well regulated life it is of far
greater consequence, in order to become truly spiritual, to change the
interior than the exterior. God is not satisfied with the motions of the
lips, the posture of the body, nor with external ceremonies: What he
demands is a will no longer divided between Him and any creature; a will
perfectly docile ... that wishes unreservedly whatever He wishes and
never under any pretext wishes aught that He does not wish.
This will, perfectly simple and entirely devoted to God, you should bear
with you into all the circumstances of your life, and everywhere that
divine Providence leads you.... Even mere amusements may be transformed
into good works, if you enter into them only through a kindly motive and
to conform to the order of God. Happy indeed the heart of her for whom
God opens this way of holy simplicity! She walks therein like a little
child holding its mother's hand and allowing her to lead it without any
concern as to whither it is going. Content to be free, she is ready to
speak or to be silent; when she cannot say edifying things she says
common-place things with an equally good grace; she amuses herself by
making what Saint Francis de Sales calls _joyeusetés_, playful little
jests, with which she diverts others as well as herself. You will tell me
perhaps that you would prefer to be occupied with something more serious
and solid. But God would not prefer it for you, seeing that He chooses
what you would not choose, and you know His taste is better than yours:
you would find more consolation in solid things for which He has given
you a relish, and it is this consolation of which He wishes to deprive
you, it is this relish which He wishes to mortify in you, although it may
be good and salutary. The very virtues, as they are practised by us, need
to be purified by the contradictions that God makes them suffer in order
to detach them the better from all self will. When piety is founded on
the fundamental principle of God's holy will, without consulting our own
taste, or temperament or the sallies of an excessive zeal, oh! how
simple, sweet, amiable, discreet and reliable it is in all its movements!
A pious person lives much as others do, quite unaffectedly and without
apparent austerity, in a sociable and genial way; but with a constant
subjection to every duty, an unrelenting renunciation of everything that
does not enter into God's designs in her regard, and, finally, with a
clear view of God to whom she sacrifices all the irregular inclinations
of nature. This indeed is the adoration in spirit and in truth desired by
Jesus Christ, our Lord, and His eternal Father. Without it all the rest
is but a religion of ceremonial, and rather the shadow than the reality
of Christianity."--Fénelon.*
4. Apply yourself in a particular manner to become perfect in the
fulfilment of the duties of your state of life; for on this all
perfection and sanctity are grounded. When God created the world He
commanded the plants to produce fruit, but each one according to its
kind: _juxta genus suum_.[18] In like manner our souls are all obliged to
produce fruits of holiness, but each according to its kind; that is to
say, according to the position in which God has placed us. Elias in the
desert and David on the throne had not to become holy by a like process;
and Joshua amidst the tumult of arms would have sought in vain to
sanctify himself by the same means as Samuel in the peaceful retreat of
the Temple. This instruction is addressed to those who being placed in
the world would wish to practise there the virtues of the cloister, or
whilst residing in palaces would attempt to lead the life of the
solitaries of the desert. They bear fruits which are excellent in
themselves, no doubt, but not according to their kind, _juxta genus
suum_, and hence they do not fulfil the will of God.
5. Perfection has but one aim and it is the same for all,--to wit, the
love of God; but there are divers ways of attaining it. Among the saints
themselves we find most striking differences. Saint Benedict was never
seen to laugh, whereas Saint Francis de Sales laughed frequently and was
always animated, bright and cheerful. Saint Hilarion considered it an act
of sensuality to change his habit, whilst, on the other hand, Saint
Catherine of Sienna was extremely particular about bodily cleanliness
which she looked upon as a symbol of purity of soul. If you consult Saint
Jerome you hear only of fear of the terrible judgments of God: read Saint
Augustine and you will find only the language of confidence and love. The
minds, dispositions and characters of men are as varied as their
physiognomies; grace perfects them little by little but does not change
their nature. Hence in our endeavors to imitate the ways of such or such
a saint for whom we feel a particular attraction, we should not condemn
those of the others, but say with the Psalmist: _Omnis spiritus laudet
Dominum_.[19] Consult your director as to whom and what may be most
suitable for your imitation.
6. Never be afraid that you are not following the way of perfection
because you still have defects and commit many faults. This was true of
the greatest saints, for Saint Augustine declares that all of them could
exclaim with the Apostle Saint John: "If we claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." "He who came into the
world with sin," says Saint Gregory the Great, "cannot live there without
sin."
* "Act like the little child who, when it feels that its mother is
holding it by the sleeve, runs about quite boldly and without being
surprised at all the little falls it gets. Thus, as long as you find that
God is holding you by the good will and the resolution He has given you
to serve Him, go on bravely and do not be astonished that you stumble and
fall occasionally. There is no need to be troubled about it, provided
that at certain intervals you cast yourself into your Father's arms and
embrace Him with the kiss of charity. Go on your way, then, cheerfully
and heartily, doing the best you can; and if it cannot always be
cheerfully, let it at least be always courageously and faithfully."
--Saint Francis de Sales.*
7. But we must bear in mind the vast difference that exists between the
love of sin and sin committed inadvertently or from weakness. (See
_Confession_, [S] 14.) Affection for sin is the sole obstacle to
perfection. Thus the most learned Fathers of the Church make a
distinction between two kinds of tepidity: that which can be avoided and
that which cannot be avoided. The former condition is that of a soul that
retains an attachment for certain sins; the other, that of one falling
into sin through frailty and from being taken unawares, which has been
the case even with the greatest saints.
8. Therefore in place of troubling yourself about these accidental falls,
inseparable from human nature, make them turn to your spiritual advantage
by causing them to increase your humility. It often happens, says Saint
Gregory the Great, that God allows great defects to remain in some souls
at the beginning of their spiritual life that by means of them they may
grow in self-knowledge and learn to place their entire confidence in Him.
Saint Augustine tells us that God in his infinite wisdom has been better
pleased to bring forth good out of evil than to hinder the evil itself.
Thus when you learn to draw fruits of humility from your faults, you
correspond to the sublime designs of God's unspeakable providence.
9. Should you happen to fear that you are not walking in the true way of
perfection, consult your director and place implicit reliance upon the
answer he gives you. Who is the saint that has not had to suffer because
of a like doubt? But they were all reassured by the consideration of
God's infinite goodness and by obedience to their spiritual father.
*Some persons, although conscious of a sincere desire to serve God,
nevertheless are disposed to feel alarmed about their spiritual
condition, at the remembrance of all they have heard and read in regard
to false consciences, self-illusion and the deceptive security of those
who are following a wrong path. There are two ways of forming a false
conscience: first, by choosing among our duties those for which we feel
most attraction and natural tendency, and then, in order to give
ourselves up to them more than is necessary, to persuade ourselves we can
neglect the others. Thus a person with a preference for exterior acts of
religion will spend all day praying or attending sermons and offices of
the Church and considers herself very devout, although she may have been
neglecting her temporal duties. Another, being differently disposed, will
apply herself exclusively to the duties of her state of life, sacrificing
to them without regret those of religion, quite convinced that one who is
faithful in all the domestic relations, and gives to every one his due,
cannot possibly be otherwise than pleasing to God. The second way of
making a false conscience consists in giving the preference in our esteem
and practice to those among the Christian virtues which find their
analogies in our natural dispositions, for there is not one of the
virtues that has not its correlative amongst the various qualities of the
human character. Persons of a gentle and placid disposition will affect
meekness, the practice of which will be very easy for them and require no
effort; and imagining they exercise a christian virtue when in reality
they only follow a natural bent, they are liable to fall into a culpable
weakness. Those who, on the contrary, have an exact and rigid mind will
esteem justice and order above all else, making small account of meekness
and charity; and thus justifying themselves falsely by their natural
temperament, they follow the tendency of the flesh whilst believing they
obey the spirit, and may easily become addicted to excessive severity.
It is evident, therefore, that the first rule to be observed in order to
avoid these dangerous illusions and to walk securely in the way of
perfection, is to apply ourselves in a special manner to the practice of
those duties for which we feel least innate attraction, and always to
mistrust our natural virtues however good they may appear. Then there is
one consideration that should serve to reassure all Christians who are in
earnest about their salvation; whilst they act in good faith and deal
frankly and sincerely with their confessor, it is impossible for them to
become the victim of a false conscience.
In the following passage Saint Francis de Sales recommends us to watch
carefully over our natural tendencies and to substitute for them as much
as possible the inspirations of grace, which he calls living according to
the spirit:
"To live according to the spirit, my beloved daughter, is to think, speak
and act according to the virtues that are of the spirit, and not
according to the senses and feelings which are of the flesh. These latter
we should make serve us, but we must hold them in subjection and not
allow them to control us; whereas with the spiritual virtues it is just
the reverse; we should serve them and bring everything else under
subjection to them.... See, my daughter, human nature wishes to have a
share in everything that goes on, and loves itself so dearly that it
considers nothing of any account unless it be mixed up in it. The spirit,
on the contrary, attaches itself to God and often says that whatever is
not God's is nothing to it; and as through a motive of charity it takes
part in things committed to it, so through humility and self-denial it
willingly gives up all share in those which are denied it.... I am
diffident and have no self-confidence, and therefore I wish to be allowed
to live in a way congenial to this disposition; any one can see that this
is not according to the spirit.... But, although I am naturally timorous
and retiring, I desire to try and overcome these traits of character and
to fulfil all the requirements of the charge imposed upon me by
obedience; who does not see that this is to live according to the spirit?
Hence, as I have said before, my dear daughter, to live according to the
spirit is to have our actions, our words and our thoughts such as the
spirit of God would require of us. When I say thoughts, I of course mean
voluntary thoughts. I am sad, says some one, consequently I shall not
speak; magpies and parrots do the same: I am sad, but as charity requires
me to speak, I shall do so; spiritual persons act thus: I am slighted and
I get angry: so do peacocks and monkeys. I am slighted and I rejoice
thereat: that is what the Apostles did."
In fine, to live according to the spirit is to do in all circumstances
and on all occasions whatever faith, hope and charity demand of us,
without even waiting to consider if we are or are not influenced by our
natural disposition. (_The Imitation of Christ_, B. III., Ch. LIV.)*
10. Generally speaking it is only after a long and painful struggle that
one succeeds in climbing the mount of perfection. There are some statues,
says Saint Francis de Sales, that it has cost the artist thirty years'
labor to perfect. Now the perfecting of a soul is a much more difficult
work. We must therefore set about it with tranquillity, patience and
confidence in God. We shall always obtain what we wish soon enough if we
obtain it at the time God pleases to grant it.
PART THIRD.
SOCIAL LIFE.
XVIII.
CHARITY.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one for another. (St. John, c. XIII., v. 35.)
He who saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, he is in
darkness even until now. (St. John, Ep. I., c. II., v. 9.)
1. Our divine Lord has said that His disciples should be known by their
love one for another. This christian virtue of charity makes us love our
neighbor in God, the creature for the sake of the Creator. Love of God,
love of our neighbor,--these virtues are two branches springing from the
same trunk and having but one and the same root.
2. Assist your brethren in their needs whenever you can. However, you
should always be careful to consult the laws of prudence in this matter
and to be guided by your means and position. Supply by a desire to do
good for the material aid you are unable to give.
3. When your neighbor offends you he does not cease on that account to be
the creature and the image of God; therefore the christian motive you
have for loving him still exists. He is not, perhaps, worthy of pardon,
but has not our Saviour Jesus Christ, who so often has forgiven you much
more grievous offences, merited it for him?
4. Observe, however, that we can scarcely avoid feeling some repugnance
for those who have offended us, but to feel and to consent are two
distinct and widely different things, as we have already said. When
religion commands us to love our enemies, the commandment is addressed to
the superior portion of the soul, the will, not to the inferior portion
in which reside the carnal affections that follow the natural
inclinations. In a word, when we speak of charity the question is not of
that human friendship which we feel for those who are naturally pleasing
to us, a sentiment wherein we seek merely our own satisfaction and which
therefore has nothing in common with charity.
*"Charity makes us love God above all things; and our neighbor as
ourselves with a love not sensual, not natural, not interested, but pure,
strong and unwavering, and having its foundation in God.... A person is
extremely sweet and agreeable and I love her tenderly: or, she loves me
well and does much to oblige me, and on that account I love her in
return. Who does not see that this affection is according to the senses
and the flesh? For animals that have no soul but only a body and senses,
love those who are good and gentle and kind to them. Then there is
another person who is brusque and uncivil, but apart from this is really
devout and even desirous of becoming gentler and more courteous:
consequently, not for any gratification she affords me, or for any
self-interested motive whatever, but solely for the good pleasure of God,
I talk to her, aid her, love her. This is the virtue of charity indeed,
for nature has no share in it."--Saint Francis de Sales. (Read St. Luke,
C. VI., vv. 32-33-34.)
The literal and exact fulfilment of the evangelical precept is often
found impracticable. How, we say, is it possible to have for all men
indiscriminately that extreme sensibility we feel for everything that
touches us individually, that constant solicitude for our spiritual or
temporal interests, that delicacy of feeling that we reserve for
ourselves and for certain objects specially dear to us?--And yet it is
literally _au pied de la lettre_, that our Lord's precept should be
observed. What then is to be done? An answer will be found in the
following passage from Fénelon, and we shall see that it is not a
question of exaggerating the love of one's neighbor, but of moderating
self-love, and thus making both the one and the other alike subordinate
to the love of God:
"To love our neighbor as ourselves does not mean that we should have for
him that intense feeling of affection that we have for ourselves, but
simply that we wish for him, and from the motive of charity, what we wish
for ourselves. Pure and genuine love, love having for its sole end the
object beloved, should be reserved for God alone, and to bestow it
elsewhere is a violation of a divine right."*
5. But although it is forbidden us to show hatred or to entertain it
voluntarily against the wicked and those who have offended us, this is
not meant to prevent us from defending ourselves or taking such
precautions against them as prudence suggests. Christian charity obliges
and disposes us to love our enemies and to be good to them when there is
occasion to do so; but it should not carry us so far as to protect the
wicked, nor leave us without defence against their aggressiveness. It
allows us to be vigilant in guarding against their encroachments, and to
take precautions against their machinations.
6. Always be ready and willing to excuse the faults of your neighbor, and
never put an unfavorable interpretation upon his actions. The same
action, says Saint Francis de Sales, may be looked upon under many
different aspects: a charitable person will ever suppose the best, an
uncharitable one will just as certainly choose the worst.
*"Do not weigh so carefully the sayings and doings of others, but let
your thought of them be simple and good, kindly and affectionate. You
should not exact of your neighbor greater perfection than of yourself,
nor be surprised at the diversity of imperfections; for an imperfection
is not more an imperfection from the fact that it is extravagant and
peculiar."*
7. It is very difficult for a good christian to become really guilty of
rash judgment, in the true sense of the word,--which is that, without
just reasons or sufficient grounds he forms and pronounces in his own
mind in a positive manner a condemnation of his neighbor. The grave sin
of rash judgment is frequently confounded with suspicion or even simple
distrust, which may be justifiable on much slighter grounds.
8. Suspicion is permissible when it has for its aim measures of just
prudence; charity forbids gratuitously malevolent thoughts, but not
vigilance and precaution.
9. Suspicion is not only permissible, but it is at times an important
duty for those who are charged with the direction and guardianship of
others. Thus it is a positive obligation for a father in regard to his
children, and for a master in regard to his servants, whenever there is
occasion to correct some vice they know exists, or to prevent some fault
they have reasonable cause to fear.
10. As to simple mistrust, which should not be confused with suspicion,
it is only an involuntary and purely passive condition, to which we may
be more or less inclined by our natural disposition without our free-will
being at all involved. Mistrust, suspicion, rash judgment are then three
distinct and very different things, and we should be careful not to
confound them.
XIX.
ZEAL.
But if you have bitter zeal, and there be contentions in your heart,
glory not, and be not liars against the truth: for this is not wisdom
descending from above, but earthly, sensual, diabolical. (St. James,
Cath. Ep., c. III, vv. 14 and 15.)
For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God. (St. James, Cath.
Ep., c. I., v. 20.)
1. Zeal for the salvation of souls is a sublime virtue, and yet how many
errors and sins are every day committed in its name! Evil is never done
more effectually and with greater security, says Saint Francis de Sales,
than when one does it believing he is working for the glory of God.
2. The saints themselves can be mistaken in this delicate matter. We see
a proof of this in the incident related of the Apostles Saint James and
Saint John; for our Lord reprimanded them for asking Him to cause fire
from heaven to fall upon the Samaritans.[20]
3. Acts of zeal are like coins the stamp upon which it is necessary to
examine attentively, as there are more counterfeits than good ones. Zeal
to be pure should be accompanied with very great humility, for it is of
all virtues the one into which self-love most easily glides. When it does
so, zeal is apt to become imprudent, presumptuous, unjust, bitter. Let us
consider these characteristics in detail, viewing them, for the sake of
greater clearness, in their practical bearings.
4. In every home there grows some thorn, something, in other words, that
needs correction; for the best soil is seldom without its noxious weed.
Imprudent zeal, by seeking awkwardly to pluck out the thorn, often
succeeds only in plunging it farther in, thus rendering the wound deeper
and more painful. In such a case it is essential to act with reflection
and great prudence. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent,
says the Holy Spirit.[21] Prudent zeal is silent when it realizes that to
be so is less hurtful than to speak.
5. Some persons are even presumptuous enough in their mistaken zeal to
meddle in the domestic affairs of strange families, blaming, counselling,
attempting to reform without measure or discretion, thus causing an evil
much greater than the one they wish to correct. Let us employ the
activity of our zeal in our own reformation, says Saint Bernard, and pray
humbly for that of others. It is great presumption on our part thus to
assume the rôle of apostles when we are not as yet even good and faithful
disciples. Not that you should be by any means indifferent to the
salvation of souls: on the contrary you must wish it most ardently, but
do not undertake to effect it except with great prudence, humility and
diffidence in self.
6. Again, there are pious persons whose zeal consists in wishing to make
everybody adopt their particular practices of devotion. Such a one, if
she have a special attraction for meditating on the Passion of our divine
Lord or for visiting the Blessed Sacrament, would like to oblige every
one, under pain of reprobation, to pass long hours prostrate before the
crucifix or the tabernacle. Another who is especially devoted to visiting
the poor and the sick and to the other works of corporal mercy,
acknowledges no piety apart from these excellent practices. Now, this is
not an enlightened zeal. Martha and Mary were sisters, says Saint
Augustine, but they have not a like office: one acts, the other
contemplates. If both had passed the day in contemplation, no one would
have prepared a repast for their divine Master; if both had been employed
in this material work, there would have been no one to listen to His
words and garner up His divine lessons. The same thing may be said of
other good works. In choosing among them each person should follow the
inspirations of God's grace, and these are very varied. The eye that sees
but hears not, must neither envy nor blame the ear that hears but sees
not. _Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum:_ let every spirit praise the Lord,
says the royal prophet.[22]
7. Bear well in mind that the zeal which would lead you to undertake
works not in conformity with your position, however good and useful they
may be in themselves, is always a false one. This is especially true if
such cause us interior trouble or annoyance; for the holiest things are
infallibly displeasing to God when they do not accord with the duties of
our state of life.
8. Saint Paul condemned in strong terms those Christians who showed a too
exclusive preference for their spiritual masters; some admitting as truth
only what came from the mouth of Peter, others acknowledging none save
Paul, and others again none but Apollo. What! said he to them, is not
Jesus Christ the same for all of you! Is it then Paul who was crucified
for you? Is it in his name you were baptized?[23] This culpable weakness
is often reproduced in our day. Persons otherwise pious carry to excess
the esteem and affection they have for their spiritual directors, exalt
without measure their wisdom and holiness, and do not scruple to
depreciate all others. God alone knows the true value of each human
being, and we have not the scales of the sanctuary to weigh and compare
the respective wisdom and sanctity of this and that person. If you have a
good confessor, thank God and try to render his wisdom useful to you by
your docility in allowing yourself to be guided; but do not assume that
nobody else has as good a one. To depreciate the merits of some in order
to exalt those of others at their expense is a sort of slander, that
ought to be all the more feared because it is generally so little
recognized.
9. "If your zeal is bitter," says Saint James, "it is not wisdom
descending from on high, but earthly, sensual, diabolical."[24] These
words of an Apostle should furnish matter of reflection for those persons
who, whilst making profession of piety, are so prone to irritability, so
harsh and rude in their manners and language, that they might be taken
for angels in church and for demons elsewhere.
10. The value and utility of zeal are in proportion to its tolerance and
amiability. True zeal is the offspring of charity: it should, then,
resemble its mother and show itself like to her in all things. "Charity,"
says Saint Paul, "is patient, is kind, is not ambitious and seeketh not
her own."[25]
*"You should not only be devout and love devotion, but you ought to make
your piety useful, agreeable and charming to everybody. The sick will
like your spirituality if they are lovingly consoled by it; your family,
if they find that it makes you more thoughtful of their welfare, gentler
in every day affairs, more amiable in reproving, and so on; your husband,
if he sees that in proportion as your devotion increases you become more
cordial and tender in your affection for him; your relations and friends,
if they find you more forbearing, and more ready to comply with their
wishes, should these not be contrary to God's will. Briefly, you must try
as far as possible to make your devotion attractive to others; that is
true zeal."--Saint Francis de Sales.*
11. Never allow your zeal to make you over eager to correct others, says
the same Saint; and when you must do it remember that the most important
thing to consider is the choice of the moment. A caution deferred can be
given another time: one given inopportunely is not only fruitless, but
moreover paralyses beforehand all the good that might have subsequently
been done.
12. Be zealous, therefore, ardently zealous for the salvation of your
neighbor, and to further it make use of whatever means God has placed in
your power; but do not exceed these limits nor disquiet yourself about
the good you are unable to do, for God can accomplish it through others.
In conclusion, zeal, according to the teachings of the Fathers of the
Church, should always have truth for its foundation, indulgence for its
companion, mildness for its guide, prudence for its counsellor and
director.
*"I must look upon whatever presents itself each day to be done, in the
order of Divine Providence, as the work God wishes me to do, and apply
myself to it in a manner worthy of Him, that is with exactness and
tranquillity. I shall neglect nothing, be anxious about nothing; as it is
dangerous either to do God's work negligently or to appropriate it to
one's self through self-love and false zeal. When our actions are
prompted by our own inclinations, we do them badly, and are pretentious,
restless, and anxious to succeed. The glory of God is the pretext that
hides the illusion. Self-love disguised as zeal grieves and frets if it
cannot succeed. O my God! give me the grace to be faithful in action,
indifferent to success. My part is to will what Thou willest and to keep
myself recollected in Thee amidst all my occupations: Thine it is to give
to my feeble efforts such fruit as shall please Thee,--none if Thou so
wishest."--Fénelon.*
XX.
MEEKNESS.
Blessed are the meek for they shall possess the land. (S. Matth., c.
V., v. 4.)