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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9184-8.txt b/9184-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b6fe8b --- /dev/null +++ b/9184-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14898 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, by Jean Pierre Camus + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales + +Author: Jean Pierre Camus + +Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9184] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on September 12, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldorondo, Tiffany Vergon, William Flis, and Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES + + + + +Nihil Obstat: + + + F. THOS. BERGH, O.S.B, + CENSOR DEPUTATUS + +Imprimatur: + + E. CANONICUS SURMONT + VICARIUS GENERALIS + +Westmonasterii +die 27th Maii 1910 + + + + +THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES + +BY HIS FRIEND + +JEAN PIERRE CAMUS +BISHOP OF BELLEY + +NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION +WITH A PREFACE BY HIS GRACE THE +ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER. + +TRANSLATED BY J. S. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Preface by the Archbishop of Westminster +Sketch of Jean Pierre Camus, Bishop of Belley +The French Publisher to the reader in 1639 + +Upon perfect virtue +Blessed Francis' estimate of various virtues +Upon the lesser virtues +Upon increase of Faith +Upon temptations against Faith +Upon the same subject +Upon confidence in God +Our misery appeals to God's mercy +Upon self distrust +Upon the justice and mercy of God +On waiting upon God +On the difference between a holy desire of reward and a mercenary spirit +Continuation of the same subject +God should suffice for us all +Charity the short road to perfection +Upon what it is to love God truly +Upon the Love of God in general +All for Love of God +The same subject continued +Upon the Love of God called love of benevolence +Disinterested Love of God +Upon the character of a true Christian +Upon not putting limits to our Love of God +Upon the law and the just man +Upon desires +How Charity excels both Faith and Hope +Some thoughts of Blessed Francis on the Passion +Upon the vanity of heathen philosophy +Upon the pure love of our neighbour +Upon bearing with one another +Upon fraternal correction +Upon finding excuses for the faults of our fellow-men +Upon not judging others +Upon judging ourselves +Upon slander and detraction +Upon hasty judgments +Upon ridiculing one's neighbour +Upon contradicting others +Upon loving our enemies +Upon forgiving our enemies +Upon the virtue of condescension +How he adapted himself to times, places and circumstances +Upon the deference due to inferiors and dependents +On the way to treat servants +Another instance of his gentleness with his servants +His never refusing what was asked of him +Upon almsgiving +His hopefulness in regard, to the conversion of sinners +His solicitude for malefactors condemned to death +Upon the small number of the elect +To love to be hated; and to hate to be loved +Upon obedience +Upon the obedience that may be practised by Superiors +An instance of his obedience +Upon the Love of Holy Poverty +Upon the same subject +Upon poverty of spirit +His love of the poor +Upon the Christian view of Poverty +Upon Prosperity +Upon Chastity and Charity +Upon purity of heart +Upon Chastity and Humility +Upon Modesty +The contempt he felt for his body +Upon his Humility +Upon humbleness in speech only +Upon various degrees of Humility +Upon Humiliation +Humility with regard to perfection +Upon excuses +Upon our good name +Upon despising the esteem of men +Upon the virtues we should practice when calumniated +Upon some spiritual maxims +Upon Patience +How to profit by bearing with insults +Upon bearing with importunities +That he who complains sins +His calmness in tribulations +His test of patience in suffering +Upon long illnesses +His holy indifference in illness +Upon the shape of the Cross +A diamond Cross +Holy Magdalen at the foot of the Cross +Upon the power of gentleness and patience +A rejoinder both striking and instructive +His favourite beatitude +His gravity and affability +How he dealt with a criminal who despaired of salvation +Upon mortification +Upon the same subject +Upon fasting +Doubts solved as to soldiers fasting +The golden mean in dispensations +Upon the words "Eat of anything that is set before you" +Upon the state of perfection +Marks of progress in perfection +Upon the perfection aimed at in Religious Houses +Upon Frugality +His esteem of the virtue of simplicity +His love of exactitude +The test of Religious Vocation +Upon following the common life +Upon Vocations +Upon Prudence and Simplicity +The same subject continued +Upon mental prayer +Upon Aspirations +Upon interior recollection and ejaculatory prayers +Upon doing and enduring +Upon Mortification and Prayer +Upon the Presence of God +His unity of spirit with God +His gratitude to God for spiritual consolations +Upon the shedding of tears +Upon joy and sadness +On the degrees of true devotion +The test of true devotion +What it means to be a servant of God +That devotion does not always spring from Charity +Upon perfect contentment in the privation of all content +Upon the Will of God +His resignation to the Will of God +That we must always submit ourselves to God's holy Will +His sublime thoughts on holy indifference +Nothing save sin happens to us but by the Will of God +Upon the same subject +Upon abandoning ourselves to God +Upon interior desolation +Upon the presence in our souls of the Grace of God +Upon our wish to save our soul +Upon good natural inclinations +How to speak of God +Upon eccentricities in devotion +Upon Confraternities +Upon intercourse with the world +Against over-eagerness +Upon the same subject +Upon liberty of spirit +Upon nature and grace +Upon exaggerated introspection +Upon interior reformation +His vision of the Most Holy Trinity +His devotion to our Blessed Lady +His devotion to the Holy Winding Sheet of Turin +Upon merit +Upon good will and good desires +Against the making of rash vows +Upon the pro-passions of Our Lord +His victory over the passions of love and anger +Upon our passions and emotions +How he came to write his Philothea +Upon the example of the Saints +Upon the love of God's word +His love of retirement +How he sanctified his recreations +What he drew from lines of poetry +Upon being content with our condition in life +Upon self-sufficiency and contentedness +His reverence for the sick +Upon the care of the sick +Upon speaking well of the dead +Upon Death +Upon wishing to die +Upon the desire of Heaven +What it is to die in God +Upon length of life +Upon Purgatory +Upon Penance +Upon penitent confusion +Upon interior peace amidst anxieties +Upon discouragement +Upon rising after a fall +Upon kindliness towards ourselves +Upon imperfections +The just man falls seven times in the day +Upon the purgative way +Upon venial sin +Upon complicity in the sins of another +Upon equivocating +Upon solitude +Upon vanity +Upon the knowledge which puffs up +Upon scruples +Upon temptations +Upon the same subject +Thoughts on the Incarnation +Upon Confession and Communion +Upon Confession +Upon a change of confessor +Upon different methods of direction +Advice upon having a Director +Upon true and mistaken zeal +Upon the institution of the Visitation Order +His defence of his new Congregation of the Visitation +Upon the odour of sanctity +He rebukes Pharisaism +Upon religious Superiors +Upon unlearned Superiors +Upon the founding of Convents +Upon receiving the infirm into Communities +Upon self pity +Upon the government of Nuns by religious men +That we must not be wedded to our own plans +His views regarding Ecclesiastical dignities +His promotion to the Bishopric of Geneva and his refusal of the + Archbishopric of Paris +A Bishop's care for his flock +Upon the first duty of Bishops +Upon the pastoral charge +Upon the care of souls +Upon learning and piety +Advice to Bishop Camus as to resigning his See +The joyous spirit of Blessed Francis +Upon daily Mass. His advice to a young Priest +A Priest saying Mass should be considerate of others +Blessed Francis encourages the Bishop of Belley +Upon a compassionate mind +Upon doing one's duty without respect of persons +The honour due to virtue +Upon memory and judgment +A Priest should not aim at imitating in his sermons some particular + preacher +Upon short sermons +Upon preaching and preachers +Blessed Francis and the Bishop of Belley's sermon +Upon controversy +The same subject continued +Upon reason and reasoning +Upon quoting Holy Scripture +Upon political diplomacy +Upon ambition +Upon courts and courtiers +Upon the Carnival +An instance of his compassion for animals +Upon hunting +Upon the fear of ghosts +His portrait +Upon his true charity + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The Spirit of a Saint we may, perhaps, regard as the underlying +characteristic which pervades all his thoughts, words, and acts. It is the +note which sounds throughout the constant persevering harmony which makes +the holiness of his life. Circumstances change. He grows from childhood to +boyhood; from youth to manhood. His time of preparation is unnoticed by the +world until the moment comes when he is called to a public activity which +arrests attention. And essentially he remains the same. In private as in +public, in intimate conversation as in writings or discourses, in the +direction of individual consciences as in the conduct of matters of wide +importance, there is a characteristic note which identifies him, and marks +him off apart even from other heroes of sanctity. + +We owe to a keen and close observer a knowledge of the spirit of St. +Francis de Sales for which we cannot be too grateful. Let it be granted +that Mgr. Camus had a very prolific imagination; that he had an unconscious +tendency to embroider facts; that he read a meaning into words which their +speaker had no thought of imparting to them. When all such allowances have +been made, we must still admit that he has given to us a picture of the +Saint which we should be loath to lose; and that his description of what +the Saint habitually thought and felt has made Saint Francis de Sales a +close personal friend to many to whom otherwise he would have remained a +mere chance acquaintance. + +The Bishop of Belley, while a devoted admirer, was at the same time a +critical observer of his saintly friend. He wanted to know the reasons of +what he saw, he did not always approve, and he was sufficiently indiscreet +to put questions which, probably, no one else would have dared to frame. +And thus we know more about St. Francis than about any other Saint, and we +owe real gratitude to his very candid, talkative, and out-spoken episcopal +colleague. + +Many years ago a brief abridgment of the "Spirit of St. Francis de Sales" +was published in English. It served its purpose, but left unsatisfied +the desire of his clients for a fuller work. To-day the Sisters of +the Visitation, now established at Harrow-on-the-Hill, give abundant +satisfaction to this long-felt desire. Inspired by the purpose of the late +Dom Benedict Mackey, O.S.B., which his premature death prevented him from +accomplishing, and guided by the advice which he left in writing, these +Daughters of St. Francis of Sales, on the occasion of their Tercentenary, +give to the English-speaking world a work which, in its wise curtailment +and still full detail, may be called the quintessence of the Spirit of +their Master, the Founder of their Institute. We thank them for their +labour; and we beg God's blessing upon this book, that it may be the means +of showing to many souls that safe and easy way of sanctification and +salvation, which it was the special mission of the saintly Bishop of Geneva +to make known to the world. + +FRANCIS, ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER. + +May 18th, 1910. + + + + +SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF + +JEAN PIERRE CAMUS, + +BISHOP OF BELLEY. + + +Jean Pierre Camus came of an illustrious, and much respected family of +Auxonne in Burgundy, in which province it possessed the seigneuries of +_Saint Bonnet_ and _Pont-carré_. + +He was born in Paris, November 3rd, 1584. + +His grandfather was for some years Administrator of the Finances under King +Henri III. Though he had had the management of the public funds during +a period when fraud and dishonesty were as easy as they were common, he +retired from office without having added a single penny to his patrimony. +On one occasion having received from Henri III. the gift of a sum of 50,000 +crowns, which had been left by a Jew who had died intestate, and without +children, this upright administrator sent for three merchants who had lost +all their property in a fire, and distributed it among them. + +The father of our Prelate, inheriting this integrity, left an honourable +name, but few worldly goods to his children. + +Faithful, and devoted to the interests of his king, Henri IV., he gave part +of his fortune to the support of the good cause, the triumph of which he +had the happiness of witnessing. He died in 1619. + +The mantle of paternal loyalty and patriotism undoubtedly descended upon +the young J. P. Camus, for second only to his love for God, and His Church, +was his devotion to France, and its king. + +On his mother's side, as well as on his father's, he was well connected. +Her family had given to France chancellors, secretaries of state, and other +distinguished personages, but noble as were the races from which he sprang +their chief distinction is derived from the subject of this sketch. + +"This one branch," says his panegyrist, "bore more blossoms and more fruit +than all the others together. In John Peter the gentle rivulet of the +Camus' became a mighty stream, yet one whose course was peaceful, and +which loved to flow underground, as do certain rivers which seem to lose +themselves in the earth, and only emerge to precipitate themselves into the +waters of the ocean." + +Books and objects of piety were the toys of his childhood, and his youth +was passed in solitude, and in the practices of the ascetic life. His +physical strength as it increased with his years, seemed only to serve to +assist him in curbing and restraining a somewhat fiery temperament. His +wish, which at one time was very strong, to become a Carthusian, was not +indeed fulfilled, it being evident from the many impediments put in its +way, that it was not a call from God. + +Nevertheless, this desire of self-sacrifice in a cloistered life was only +thwarted in order that he might sacrifice himself in another way, namely, +by becoming a Bishop, which state, if its functions are rightly discharged, +assuredly demands greater self-immolation than does that of a monk, and is +indeed a martyrdom that ceases only with life itself. + +If he did not submit himself to the Rule of the Carthusians by entering +their Order, he nevertheless adopted all its severity, and to the very end +of his life kept his body in the most stern and rigorous subjection. + +This, and his early inclination towards the religious life, will not a +little astonish his detractors, if any such still exist, for it is surely +a convincing proof that he was not the radical enemy of monasticism they +pretend. In his studies he displayed great brilliancy, being especially +distinguished in theology and canon law, to the study of which he +consecrated four years of his life. + +After he had become a Priest his learning, piety, and eloquence not only +established his reputation as a preacher in the pulpits of Paris, but soon +even crossed the threshold of the Louvre and reached the ears of Henry IV. +That monarch, moved by the hope of the great services which a prelate might +render to the Church even more than by the affection which he bore to the +Camus family, decided to propose him for a Bishopric, although he was but +twenty-five, and had not therefore reached the canonical age for that +dignity. + +The young Priest was far too humble and also too deeply imbued with a sense +of the awful responsibility of the office of a Bishop to expect, or to +desire to be raised to it. When, however, Pope Paul V. gave the necessary +dispensation, M. Camus submitted to the will both of the Pontiff and of the +King, and was consecrated Bishop of Belley by St. Francis de Sales, August +30, 1609. + +The fact that the two dioceses of Geneva and Belley touched one another +contributed to further that close intimacy which was always maintained +between the Bishops, the younger consulting the elder on all possible +occasions, and in all imaginable difficulties. + +Bishop Camus had already referred his scruples regarding his youth at the +time of his consecration to his holy director. The latter had, however, +reminded him of the many reasons there were to justify his submission, +viz., the needs of the diocese, the testimony to his fitness given by so +many persons of distinction and piety, the judgment of Henry the Great, in +fine the command of His Holiness. In consecrating Mgr. Camus, St. Francis +de Sales seems to have transmitted to the new Prelate some of the treasures +of his own holy soul. Camus was the only Bishop whom he ever consecrated, +and doubtless this fact increased the tender affection which Francis bore +him. John Peter was, what he loved to call himself, and what St. Francis +loved to call him, the latter's only son. There was between the two holy +Prelates a community of intelligence and of life. "Camus," says Godeau, the +preacher of his funeral discourse, "ever sat at the feet of St. Francis de +Sales, whom he called his Gamaliel, there to learn from him the law of God: +full as he himself was of the knowledge of Divine things." + +We must bear this in mind if we wish to know what Camus really was, and +to appreciate him properly. He was by nature ardent, impetuous, and +imaginative, eager for truth and goodness, secretly devoted to the austere +practices of St. Charles Borromeo, but above all fervently desirous to +imitate his model, his beloved spiritual Father, and therefore anxious to +subdue, and to temper all that was too impetuous, excitable, and hard in +himself, by striving after the incomparable sweetness and tenderness which +were the distinguishing characteristics of St. Francis de Sales. + +Mgr. Camus was endowed with a most marvellous memory, which was indeed +invaluable to him in the great work to which both Bishops devoted +themselves, that of bringing back into the bosom of the Church those who +had become strangers, and even enemies to her. + +His chief defect was that he was over hasty in judging, and of this he +was himself perfectly well aware. He tells us in the "Esprit" that on one +occasion when he was bewailing his deficiency to Francis, the good Prelate +only smiled, and told him to take courage, for that as time went on it +would bring him plenty of judgment, that being one of the fruits of +experience, and of advancing years. + +Whenever Mgr. Camus visited the Bishop of Geneva, which he did each year +in order to make a retreat of several days under the direction of his +spiritual Father, he was treated with the greatest honour by him. + +St. Francis de Sales gave up his own room to his guest, and made him +preach, and discharge other episcopal functions, so as to exercise him in +his own presence in these duties of his sublime ministry. + +This was the school in which Camus learnt to control and master himself, to +curb his natural impetuosity, and to subjugate his own will, and thus to +acquire one, in our opinion, of the most certain marks of saintliness. + +The Bishop of Geneva was not contented with receiving his only son at +Annecy. He often went over to Belley, and spent several days there in +his company. These visits were to both Prelates a time of the greatest +consolation. Then they spoke, as it were, heart to heart, of all that they +valued most. Then they encouraged one another to bear the burden of the +episcopate. Then they consoled each other in the troubles which they met +with in their sacred ministry. + +It never cost the younger Bishop anything to yield obedience to the elder, +and no matter how great, or how trifling was the occasion which called for +the exercise of that virtue, there was never a moment's hesitation on the +part of the Bishop of Belley. + +The latter, indeed, considered the virtue of obedience as the one most +calculated to ensure rapid advance in the spiritual life. He tells us that +one day at table someone having boasted that he could make an egg stand +upright on a plate, a thing which those present, forgetting Christopher +Columbus, insisted was impossible, the Saint, as Columbus had done, quietly +taking one up chipped it a little at one end, and so made it stand. The +company all cried out that there was nothing very great in that trick. +"No," repeated the Saint, "but all the same you did not know it." + +We may say the same, adds Camus, of obedience: it is the true secret of +perfection, and yet few people know it to be so. + +From what we have already seen of the character of John Peter Camus, we +may imagine that gentleness was the most difficult for him to copy of the +virtues of St. Francis de Sales; yet steel, though much stronger than iron, +is at the same time far more readily tempered. + +Thus, in his dealings with his neighbour he behaved exactly like his model, +so much so, that for anyone who wanted to gain his favour the best plan was +to offend him or do him some injury. + +I have spoken of his love of mortification, and a short extract from the +funeral discourse pronounced over his remains will show to what extent he +practised it. + +Godeau says: "Our virtuous Bishop up to the very last years of his life, +slept either on a bed of vine shoots, or on boards, or on straw. This +custom he only abandoned in obedience to his director, and in doing so I +consider that he accomplished what was far more difficult and painful than +the mortifications which he had planned for himself, since the sacrifice of +our own will in these matters is incomparably more disagreeable to us than +the practising of them." + +This austerity in respect to sleep, of which, indeed, he required more than +others on account of his excitable temperament, did not suffice to satisfy +his love for penance, without which, he said, the leading of a Christian +and much more of an episcopal life was impossible. To bring his body into +subjection he constantly made use of hair-shirts, iron belts, vigils, +fasting, and the discipline, and it was not until his last illness that +he gave up those practices of austerity. He concealed them, however, +as carefully as though he had been ashamed of them, knowing well that +such sacrifices if not offered in secret, partake more of the spirit of +Pharisaism than of the gospel. This humility, notwithstanding, he was +unable to guard against the pardonable curiosity of his servants. One of +them, quite a young man, who was his personal attendant during the first +years of his residence at Belley, observing that he wore round his neck the +key of a large cupboard, and being very anxious to know what it contained, +managed in some way to possess himself of this key for a few moments, when +his master had laid it aside, and was not in the room. + +Unlocking the cupboard he found it full of the vine shoots on which he was +accustomed to sleep. The bed which everyone saw in his apartment was the +Bishop's; the one which he hid away was the penitent's. The one was for +appearance, the other for piety. He used to put into disorder the coverings +of the bed, so as to give the impression of having slept in it, while he +really slept, or at least took such repose as was necessary to keep him +alive, on the penitential laths he had hidden. + +Having discovered that through his valet the rumour of his austerity had +got abroad, he dismissed the young man from his service, giving him a +handsome present, and warning him to be less curious in future. But for +his failing, however, we should have lost a great example of the Bishop's +mortification and humility. + +The latter virtue John Peter Camus cultivated most carefully, and how well +he succeeded in this matter is proved by the composure, and even gaiety and +joyousness, with which he met the raillery heaped upon his sermons, and +writings. + +Camus, like the holy Bishop of Geneva, had throughout his life a special +devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and never failed in his daily recital of +the Rosary. Every evening it was his habit to read a portion of either _The +Spiritual Combat_, or the _Imitation of Jesus Christ_; two books which he +recommended to his penitents as next in usefulness to the gospels. + +Following him in his Episcopal career we find that as the years rolled +on his reputation passed beyond the confines of France, and reached the +Vatican. + +Pope Paul V., who knew him intimately, held him in high esteem, and all the +Cardinals honoured him with their friendship. + +Had it not been for his own firm resistance to every proposal made to him +to quit his poor diocese of Belley, Mgr. Camus would assuredly have been +transferred to some much more important See. + +And here we may again quote the words of his panegyrist, to indicate the +fruits produced by his zeal in the little corner of the vineyard of the +Divine Master, which had been confided to his skilful hands. + +Godeau says, "The interior sanctity which he strove to acquire for himself +by prayer, by reading holy books, by the mortification of his senses, +by the putting aside of all secular affairs when engaged in prayer, by +humility, patience, and charity, were the inexhaustible source whence +flowed all his external works, and whence they derived all their purity and +vigour." + +As regarded the poor and needy in his diocese, Mgr. Camus was no less +generous in ministering to their temporal than to their spiritual wants. +He looked upon himself as simply a steward of the goods of the Church. He, +indeed, drew the revenues of his diocese, but only as rivers draw their +waters from the sea, to pay them back again to it with usury. + +More than once in years of famine he gave all his corn to the poor, not as +Joseph did in Egypt by depriving them of their liberty, but by depriving +himself of what was necessary for his support, and treating himself no +better than the rest of the poor. + +One day he was told that the dearness of wine was the cause of great +distress among working people. He immediately gave orders that his own wine +should be sold, but after a most curious and unusual fashion. He would not +have any fixed price set upon it, but only desired that an open bag should +be held, at the door of the cellar so that purchasers might throw in what +they pleased. You may be sure that the bag was not very full and that the +buyers availed themselves to the utmost of his liberality. + +What, however, do you think he did with the small amount of money which he +found in the bag? Even that he forthwith distributed among the poor! Surely +if anything can approach the miraculous transformation of water into wine +it is Bishop Camus' mode of selling it! + +After having established in his diocese that order and peace which are +the fruits of the knowledge and observance of the duties of religion, and +having formed a body of clergy remarkable for their piety and learning, +Mgr. Camus thought he ought to advance even a step further. + +He felt that it was his duty to have in his Episcopal city a community of +Religious men who by their example should assist both clergy and laity in +their spiritual life. He did this by building, at his own expense, in 1620, +a Capuchin Monastery. + +For a long time he supplied these Friars with all that they needed, and +finally gave them his own library, which was both choice and extensive. + +He was equally cordial in his relationship with other Orders, welcoming +them gladly to his own house, and often making retreats in their +Monasteries. + +Camus was too intimately connected with Francis de Sales not to have with +him a community of spirit. + +Knowing how useful the newly-formed Order of the Visitation would be to the +Church, he also founded at Belley, in 1662, a Convent, to which he invited +some nuns of the New Congregation. This Institution of the holy Bishop +of Geneva was vigorously attacked from its very beginning. It was called +in derision, _the Confraternity of the Descent from the Cross_, because +its pious founder had excluded from this order corporal austerities, and +had adapted all his rules to the reforming of the interior. The Bishop +of Belley declared himself champion of this new Institution. Indeed, his +ardent soul was always on fire to proclaim and to maintain the glory of the +Church. At whatever point She was attacked or threatened there Camus was to +be found armed _cap-a-pie_ to defend her. + +As for his own temporal interests, they were to him matters of absolute +indifference when weighed in the balance of that beloved Church. His own +words, however, speak best on this subject. + +On one occasion, when a Minister of State wrote to ask him something +contrary to those interests, backing up his request with the most liberal +promises, the Bishop of Belley, after courteously excusing himself from +complying with the request, wound up his answer to the statesman with these +remarkable words: _This is all that can be said to you by a Bishop who, as +regards the past, is under no obligation to anyone; as regards the present +without interest; and as regards the future has no pretentions whatever._ + +We have said that the Bishop of Belley was indefatigable in labouring for +the sanctification of his people, but this did not in any way prevent him +from bestowing due care upon the interests of his own soul. + +With this object in view he considered that after long years of toil for +his flock he ought to retire from the world, so as to have more time to +devote to himself. To live in solitude had been the desire of his youth, as +we know it was ever his desire through all the period of his Episcopate; +but his spiritual guide, the holy Bishop of Geneva, always succeeded in +dissuading him from laying down the pastoral staff to take refuge in the +cloister. + +However, after the death of his illustrious friend and counsellor, this +desire returned to Camus with redoubled force. For seven years, out of +respect for the advice of his dear dead friend, he abstained from carrying +out his purpose, and during that time of waiting, relaxing nothing in the +ardour of his love for his people and his zeal for the Church, he devoted +himself to the work of repairing and restoring his Cathedral, which was +accomplished in the year 1627. + +When in 1837 this ancient edifice was pulled down in order to be rebuilt, +an inscription was discovered stating this fact, which is not otherwise +mentioned in any extant writings, probably because those in which it was +recorded were among the rich archives of the Chapter destroyed by the fury +of the vandals of 1793. + +At last, in 1628, Camus finally decided to give up his Episcopal charge to +one who was indeed worthy of such a dignity. + +This was Jean de Passelaigne, Abbot of Notre Dame de Hambic, Prior of St. +Victor of Nevers, and of La Charité-sur-Loire, Vicar-General of the Order +of Cluny. + +Then, having obtained the King's consent, Camus retired from the diocese +of Belley, which he had ruled so happily and so well for twenty years, to +the Cistercian Abbey of Annay, there to exercise in the calm of solitude +all those virtues to the practice of which he said the stir and bustle +inseparable from the episcopal functions had not allowed him to devote +himself. This he did, it would seem, towards the end of 1628, or the +beginning of 1629. + +The Abbey of Annay, which the King gave to him on receiving his resignation +of the See of Belley, was situated in Normandy, near Caen. There Camus +dwelt for some time, not, however, leading an idle life, for we find that +a great many of his works were printed at Caen. He also succeeded in +introducing into this Religious House, and into the neighbouring one of +Ardaine, that reform which it was the desire of his heart to bring back to +all the Monasteries of France. It was while in Normandy that he made the +acquaintance of Père Eudes, and between these two holy Priests the closest +friendship sprang up, founded on a mutual zeal for the salvation of souls. + +The Bishop of Belley was not long allowed to enjoy his quiet retreat at +Annay. François de Harlay, Archbishop of Rouen, being unable at that time, +owing to ill health, to exercise his duties as a Bishop, felt convinced +that Providence had sent Mgr. Camus into his diocese on purpose that he +might share his labours. His earnest entreaties prevailed upon the good +Bishop to emerge from his retreat and help to bear the burden which pressed +so heavily upon a sick and failing Prelate. + +At Belley he had been accountable to God alone for the discharge of those +duties which he had for a time laid aside; now at the call of charity +he did not hesitate to take up the burden again to ease another. He was +appointed Vicar-General to the Archbishop of Rouen, renouncing, like St. +Paul, his liberty in order to become the servant of all men, and thus gain +more souls to Jesus Christ. + +Although in this new sphere Camus laboured with the utmost devotion and +untiring energy, living a life of ascetic severity, fasting, sleeping on +straw, or spending whole nights in prayer, while his days were given to +preaching, confirming, hearing confessions, visiting the sick, consoling +the afflicted, advising, exhorting, patiently listening to the crowds who +flocked to consult him, yet he still felt certain that the voice of God +called him to solitude and to a perpetual retreat. + +Desiring to spend the rest of his days among the poor whom he loved +so well, he came to Paris, and took up his abode in the Hospital for +Incurables, situated in the Rue de Sèvres. He reserved for himself out of +his patrimony and benefices only 500 livres, which he paid to the hospital +for his board and lodging, distributing the remainder among the needy. + +In this hospital he passed his time in ministering to the sick, dressing +their wounds, consoling, and instructing them, and performing for them all +the functions of an ordinary Chaplain. + +Even if he went out to visit friends in the vicinity of Paris, he never +returned later than five o'clock in the evening. Occasionally he preached +in the chapel of the Duke of Orleans before His Royal Highness, and at +such times denounced vehemently the luxury and indolence of Princes and +courtiers. + +There was at this time a diocese in a no less pitiable condition than was +Belley when Mgr. Camus was, at the King's desire, placed in charge of +it. This diocese was that of Arras, and on the 28th of May, 1650, he was +appointed by Louis XIV., acting under the advice of the Queen-Regent, to +administer all the affairs of the diocese until such time as a new Bishop +should be nominated to the vacant See by His Majesty and our Holy Father +the Pope. Into this laborious task of sowing, ploughing, cultivating a vast +weed-grown, and unpromising field, Camus threw himself with all his old +ardour and energy. He did so much in a very short time that his name will +long be remembered among the descendants of those from whom the troubles +of the times snatched him so suddenly, but not before he had bound them to +France while leading them to God by bands of love stronger than citadels or +garrisons. + +Political disturbances and the calamities of war having prevented this +indefatigable servant of God from carrying on his work at Arras, he +withdrew again in the following year to the Hospital of the Incurables at +Paris, there to await better times, and also doubtless the expected Bull +from the Sovereign Pontiff. However, the great Rewarder called Camus to +Himself before the Pope had sanctioned his appointment to the Bishopric of +Arras. + +But ere we close this slight sketch of the life of the good Bishop, and +speak of its last scenes, we must say a word about the gigantic literary +labours which occupied him more or less from the time of his retirement to +the Abbey of Annay, in 1628, till his death, in 1652. + +It was his great love for the Church which made him take pen in hand. +Varied as were the subjects on which he wrote, his writings, whether +controversial, dogmatic, devotional or even light and entertaining, had but +one single aim and end--the instruction of mankind and the glorification of +Catholicism. + +If we bear this in mind we shall be ready to forgive the bitterness and +harshness which we may admit characterised many of his writings. To reform +the Monasteries of France, and to deal a death blow to the abuses which had +crept into some of them, was the passionate desire of his heart. + +This, and not a personal hatred of monks, as his enemies have averred, was +the moving spring of his actions in this crusade of the pen. At the same +time we do not deny that his natural impetuosity and keen sense of humour +made him too often, in accordance with the bad taste of the day, present +the abuses which he wished to reform, in so ridiculous and contemptible a +light, as to provoke and irritate his enemies, perhaps unnecessarily. + +Yet, if in this he showed the lack of judgment which he had years before +lamented in himself, can anyone who knows what those times were, and who is +as jealous for the honour of God as he was, blame him? There was another +evil of the day which the good Bishop witnessed with grief and indignation, +and set himself zealously to reform. This was the publishing of romances, +or novels, which, as then written, could only poison the minds of their +readers, inflame their passions, and weaken their sense of right and wrong. +He pondered the matter, and having made up his mind that it would be +absolutely useless to endeavour to hinder their being read, as this would +only increase the obstinacy and perversity of those who took pleasure in +them, he decided on adopting another method altogether, as he himself said, +he "tried to make these poor diseased folk, with their depraved taste and +morbid cravings, swallow his medicine under the disguise of sweetmeats." + +That is to say, he himself began to write novels and romances for them; +romances which, indeed, depicted the profligacy of the age, but in such +odious colours as to inspire aversion and contempt. Vice, if described, was +held up to ridicule and loathing. The interest of the story was so well +kept up as to carry the reader on to the end, and that end often showed +the hero or heroine so entirely disabused of the world's enchantment as to +retire voluntarily into convents, in order, by an absolute devotion of the +heart to God, to repair the injury done to Him, by giving to the creature +the love due to Him alone. + +These books passed from hand to hand in the gay world, were read, were +enjoyed, and the fruit gathered from them by the reader was the conviction +that God being Himself the Sovereign God, all other love but that of which +He is the object and the end, is as contrary to the happiness of man as it +is opposed to all the rules of justice. + +Let us hear what Camus himself says as to his motive and conduct in the +matter of novel writing.[1] + +"The enterprise on which I have embarked of wrestling with, or rather +contending against those idle or dangerous books, which cloak themselves +under the title of novels, would surely demand the hands of Briareus to +wield as many pens, and the strength of Hercules to support such a burden! +But what cannot courage, zeal, charity, and confidence in God accomplish?" + +He goes on to say that though he sees all the difficulties ahead, his +courage will not fail, for he holds his commission from a Saint, the holy +Bishop of Geneva, in whose intercessions, and in the assistance of the God +of Saints, he trusts, and is confident of victory. + +He tells us in several of his works, and especially in his "Unknown +Traveller," that it was St. Francis de Sales who first advised him to use +his pen in this manner, and that for twenty-five years the Saint had been +cogitating and developing this design in his brain. + +In the same little pamphlet Camus points out the methods he followed as a +novel writer. + +"It consists," he says, "in saying only good things, dealing only with good +subjects, the single aim of which is to deter from vice, and to lead on to +virtue." + +He was an extraordinarily prolific and rapid writer, scarcely ever +correcting or polishing up anything that he had put on paper. This was a +defect, but it was the natural outcome of his temperament, which was a +curious combination of lightness and solidity, gaiety and severity. + +Few people really understood him. He was often taken for a mere man of the +world, when in truth he was one of the stoutest champions of the Church, +and in his inner life, grave and ascetic, macerating his flesh like a +monk of the desert. He wrote in all about 200 volumes, 50 of these being +romances. + +In the latter, which drew down upon him such storms of bitter invective, +owing to his freedom of language in treating of the vices against which +he was warning his readers, we do not pretend to admire his work, but +must remind readers that his style was that of the age in which he lived, +and that Camus was essentially a Parisian. We have said that he wrote at +least fifty novels; we may add that each was cleverer than that which had +preceded it. Forgotten now, they were at the time of their appearance +eagerly devoured, and it is morally impossible but that some good should +have resulted from their production. + +And now old age came upon the busy writer--old age, but not the feebleness +of old age, nor its privileged inaction. As he advanced in years he seemed +to increase in zeal and diligence, and it was not till suddenly stricken +down by a mortal malady that his labours ceased. + +Then on his death-bed in a quiet corner of the Hospital for Incurables in +humility, patience, and a marvellous silence, only opening his lips to +speak at the desire of his confessor, calm and peaceful, his eyes fixed +upon the crucifix which he held in his hands, Jean Pierre Camus gave up his +soul to God. This was on the 25th of April, 1652. He was 67 years old. + +He had in his will forbidden any pomp or display at his funeral, and his +wishes were strictly obeyed. + +Some time after his death a stone was placed by the Administrators of +the Hospital over the tomb of the good Bishop, who had been so great a +benefactor to that Institution, and who rests beneath the nave of its +Church in the Rue de Sèvres. + +When he felt the first approach of illness, about six weeks before his +death, he made his will, in which he left the greater part of his money to +the Hospital, founding in it four beds for the Incurables of Belley. + +And now our work is done.... The object has been to make John Peter Camus +known as he really was, and to cleanse his memory from the stains cast upon +it by the jarring passions of his contemporaries. + +If we have succeeded in this the reader will recognise in him a pious +Bishop, armed with the scourge of penance, an indefatigable writer in the +defence of good morals, of religion, and of the Church--a reformer, and not +an enemy of the Monastic Orders; finally a Prelate, who laboured all his +life to copy the Holy Bishop of Geneva, whom he ever regarded as his +father, his guide, and his oracle. + +One word more. Those pious persons who wish to know better this true +disciple of the Bishop of Geneva have nothing to do but to read the _Spirit +of Saint Francis de Sales_. There they will see the Bishop of Belley as +he really was. There they can admire his ardent piety, the candour of his +soul, the fervour of his faith and charity; in a word, all that rich store +of virtues which he acquired in the school of that great master of the +spiritual life who was for fourteen years his Director. + +[Footnote 1: In the preface of his book, entitled "Strange Occurrences."] + + + + +THE FRENCH PUBLISHER TO THE READER, 1639. + + +Since the holy death of Blessed Francis de Sales, Prince and Bishop of +Geneva, which took place on December 28th, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, +in the year 1622, many writers have taken up the pen to give the public the +knowledge of the pious life and virtuous conversation of that holy Prelate, +whom some have very fitly called the St. Charles of France. + +The writer, however, with whom we are most concerned is Monseigneur Jean +Pierre Camus, Bishop of Belley, whose work we are now introducing to our +readers. After the death of Blessed Francis this faithful friend and +devoted disciple was entreated, urged, conjured, in season and out of +season, by an infinity of persons, to employ the literary faculty given to +him by God in communicating to the world the many rare things which he had +had the opportunity of observing in the life and conversation of Blessed +Francis, under whose direction and discipline he had been for fourteen +years. + +M. Camus constantly excused himself under the plea that many had already +taken the work in hand, and that he did not care to put his sickle into +another man's crop, nor to make books by simply transcribing those of +others, as is done by many writers of our day. At last, however, he allowed +himself to be persuaded by some members of the Order of the Visitation, +founded by the holy Bishop, to write the life, or, more properly speaking, +to delineate the spirit of his beloved Master. + +Having promised to do this, he considered that he had, at least partially, +fulfilled his promise by publishing some pious Treatises conformable to the +spirit of the holy Prelate. It was, however, afterwards thought better to +gather up, and, as it were, glean from M. Camus' own sermons, exhortations, +conferences, conversations, books, and letters, that Spirit of Blessed +Francis which he had imbibed, in common with all the holy Bishop's +disciples and spiritual children. + +To make this collection was not difficult, because there was scarcely +a sermon, conference, or spiritual lesson given by him in which he did +not say something about the Saint, so deeply imbued was he with his +instructions. + +One of the most intimate and familiar friends of the Bishop of Belley, +having given his attention to the matter, now lays before you as the +result, this book to which he has given the title: _The Spirit of Blessed +Francis de Sales, represented in his most remarkable words and actions._ +This holy Bishop was mighty in works and in words; he was not one of those +who say much that is good but who do not practise it. To say and to do was +with him the same thing, or rather, his doing surpassed his saying.... + +In this collection offered to you, there is but little formal arrangement, +the component parts were gathered up as they fell from the lips or the pen +of Monseigneur Camus. It is a piece of mosaic work, a bouquet of various +flowers, a salad of divers herbs, a banquet of many dishes, an orchard of +different fruits, where each one can take what best suits his taste. + + + + +_Note.--In this translation an endeavour has been made to group together +the sections treating of the same subject. These are scattered, without +order, through the three volumes of the French edition._ + + + + +THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES + + +UPON PERFECT VIRTUE. + +Blessed Francis de Sales thought very little of any virtue unless it was +animated by charity; following in this the teaching of St. Paul, who +declares that without charity the greatest virtues are as nothing. Thus, +even the faith which works miracles, the almsgiving which leads a man to +sell all his goods to feed the poor, the spirit of martyrdom which impels +him to give his body to be burned, all, if without charity, are nothing.[1] + +That you may clearly understand the distinction which he drew between the +natural excellence of certain virtues, and the supernatural perfection +which they acquire by the infusion of charity, I will give you his exact +words on the subject, as they are to be found in his Treatise on the Love +of God. + +He says: "The light of the sun falls equally on the violet and the rose, +yet will never render the former as fair as the latter, or make a daisy as +lovely as a lily. If, however, the sun should shine very clearly upon the +violet, and very mistily and faintly upon the rose, then without doubt +it would make the violet more fair to see than the rose. So, Theotimus, +if with equal charity one should suffer death by martyrdom, and another +suffer only hunger by fasting, who does not see that the value of this +fasting will not, on that account, be equal to that of martyrdom? No, for +who would dare to affirm that martrydom is not more excellent in itself +than fasting.... Still, it is true that if love be ardent, powerful, +and excellent, in a heart, it will also more enrich and perfect all the +virtuous works which may proceed from it. One may suffer death and fire for +God, without charity, as St. Paul supposes[2], and as I explain elsewhere. +Still more then may one suffer them with little charity. Now, I say, +Theotimus, that it may come to pass that a very small virtue may be of +greater value in a soul where divine love fervently reigns, than martyrdom +itself in a soul where love is languishing, feeble, and dull. Thus, the +least virtues of our Blessed Lady of St. John, and of other great Saints, +were of more worth before God than the most exalted perfections of the rest +of His servants."[3] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3.] +[Footnote 2: 1 Cor. xiii. 3.] +[Footnote 3: Bk. xi. chap. v.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' ESTIMATE OF VARIOUS VIRTUES. + +1°. He preferred those virtues the practice of which is comparatively +frequent, common, and ordinary, to others which we may be called upon to +exercise on rare occasions. + +2°. He considered, as we have seen, that the degree of the supernatural +in any virtue could not be decided by the greatness or smallness of the +external act, since an act in itself altogether trivial, may be performed +with much grace and charity, while a very brilliant and dazzling good work +may be animated by but a very feeble spark of love of God, the intensity of +which is, after all, the only rule by which to ascertain its true value in +His sight. + +3°. The more universal a virtue, the more, he said, it is to be preferred +before all others, charity only excepted. For instance, he valued prayer as +the light which illumines all other virtues; devotion, as consecrating +all our actions to God; humility, which makes us set but little value on +ourselves and on our doings; meekness, which yields to all; patience, which +includes everything besides. He valued these, I say, more than magnanimity, +or liberality, because such virtues can be more rarely practised and they +affect fewer subjects. + +4°. He was always on his guard against showy virtues, which of their very +nature encourage vainglory, the bane of all good works. + +5°. He blamed those who measure virtues by the standard set up by the +world, who prefer temporal to spiritual alms; haircloth, fasting, and +corporal austerities to sweetness, modesty, and the mortification of the +heart; virtues by far the more excellent. + +6°. He greatly condemned those who select the virtues most agreeable to +their taste, and practise these alone, quite regardless of those which are +specially adapted to their state of life. These people, indeed, serve God, +but after a way of their own, not according to His will: a by no means +uncommon mistake, which leads many, otherwise devout-minded, far out of the +right path. + + +UPON THE LESSER VIRTUES. + +He had a special affection for certain virtues which are passed over by +some as trivial and insignificant. "Everyone," he used to say, "is eager to +possess those brilliant, almost dazzling virtues which cluster round the +summit of the Cross, so that they can be seen from afar and admired, but +very few are anxious to gather those which, like wild thyme, grow at the +foot of that Tree of Life and under its shade. Yet these are often the most +hardy, and give out the sweetest perfume, being watered with the precious +Blood of the Saviour, whose first lesson to His disciples was: _Learn of Me +because I am meek and humble of heart._"[1] + +It does not belong to every one to practise the sublime virtues of +fortitude, magnanimity, endurance unto death, patience, constancy, and +courage. The occasions of exercising these are rare, yet all aspire to them +because they are brilliant and their names high sounding. Very often, too, +people fancy that they are able, even now, to practise them. They inflate +their courage with the vain opinion they have of themselves, but when put +to the trial fail pitiably. They are like those children of Ephrem, who +distinguished themselves wonderfully by, in the time of peace, hitting the +target with every arrow, but in the battle were the first to fly before the +enemy. Better had their skill been less and their courage greater. + +Opportunities of acquiring offices, benefices, inheritances, large sums +of money, are not to be met with every day, but at any moment we may earn +farthings and halfpence. By trading well on these small profits, many have +in course of time grown rich. We should become spiritually wealthy and lay +up for ourselves much treasure in Heaven did we employ in the service of +the holy love of God, the small opportunities which are to be met with at +every hour of our lives. + +It is not enough to practise great virtues; they must be practised with +great charity, for that it is which in the sight of God forms the basis of +and gives weight and value to all good works. An act of lesser virtue (for +all virtues are not of equal importance) done out of great love to God is +far more excellent than a rarer and grander one done with less love. + +"Look at this good soul, she gives a cup of cold water to the thirsty with +such holy love that it is changed into the water of life, life eternal. The +Gospel which makes light of the weightiest sums cast into the treasury, +reckons of the highest value two mites offered out of a great and fervent +love."[2] + +"These little homely virtues! How seldom is mention made of them! How +lightly they are esteemed! Kindly concessions to the exacting temper of our +neighbour, gentle tolerance of his imperfections, loving endurance of cross +looks, peevish gestures, cheerfulness under contempt and small injustices, +endurance of affronts, patience with importunity, doing menial actions +which our social position impels us to regard as beneath us; replying +amiably to some one who has given us an undeserved and sharp reproof, +falling down and then bearing good humouredly the being laughed at, +accepting with gentleness the refusal of a kindness, receiving a favour +graciously, humbling ourselves before our equals and inferiors, keeping +on kindly and considerate terms with our servants. How trivial and poor +all this appears to those who have their hearts lifted up with proud +aspirations. We want, they seem to say, no virtues but such as go clad in +purple, and to be borne by fair winds and spreading sails towards high +reputation. They forget that those who please men are not the servants +of God, and that the friendship of the world and its applause are worth +nothing and less than nothing in His sight."[3] + +[Footnote 1: Matt. xi. 29.] +[Footnote 2: Cf. _Treatise on the Love of God_. Bk. iii. c. ii.] +[Footnote 3: Cf. _The Devout Life_. Part iii. c, i., ii., and vi.] + + +UPON INCREASE OF FAITH. + +_Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!_ Lord, increase the Faith in us! +And how is this increase of Faith to be brought about? In the same way, +assuredly, as the strength of the palm tree grows with the load it has to +bear, or as the vine profits by being pruned. + +A stoic philosopher remarked very truly that virtue languishes when it has +nothing to overcome. What does a man know until he is tempted? + +Our Blessed Father[1] when visiting the bailiwick of Gex, which adjoins +the city of Geneva, in order to re-establish the Catholic religion in some +parishes, declared that his Faith gained new vigour through his intercourse +with the heretics of those parts, who were sitting in darkness and in the +shadow of death. + +He expresses his feelings on this subject in one of his letters: "Alas! in +this place I see poor wandering sheep all around me; I approach them and +marvel at their evident and palpable blindness. O my God! the beauty of +our holy Faith then appears by comparison so entrancing that I would die +for love of it, and I feel that I ought to lock up the precious gift which +God has given me in the innermost recesses of a heart all perfumed with +devotion. My dearest daughter, I thank the sovereign Light which shed +its rays so mercifully into this heart of mine, that the more I go among +those who are deprived of Faith, the more clearly and vividly I see its +magnificence and its inexpressible, yet most desirable, sweetness."[2] + +In order to make great progress in the spirit of Faith, which is that of +Christian perfection, Blessed Francis was not satisfied with simple assent +to all those truths which are divinely revealed, or with submission to the +will of God as taught in them, he wanted more than this. It was his desire +that we should be actuated in all our dealings by the spirit of Faith, as +far at least as that is possible, so as to arrive at last at that summit +of perfect charity which the Apostle calls the more excellent way, and of +which he says that _he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit_. + +[Footnote 1: St. Francis de Sales was spoken of as _Our Blessed Father_, +not only by the Visitation Nuns, but in the whole neighbourhood of Annecy.] +[Footnote 2: Cf. _The Depositions of St. Chantal_. Point 24th.] + + +UPON TEMPTATIONS AGAINST FAITH. + +_He who is not tempted what knows he?_ says Holy Scripture. God is +faithful, and will not permit us to be tempted beyond our strength; nay, if +we are faithful to Him, He enables us to profit by our tribulation. He not +only helps us, but He makes us find our help in the tribulation itself, in +which, thinking we were perishing, we cried out to Him to save us. + +Those who imagine themselves to be in danger of losing the Faith, when the +temptations suggested to them by the enemy against this virtue, harass and +distress them, understand very little of the nature of temptations. For, +besides that temptation cannot harm us, as long as it is displeasing to us, +which is the teaching of one of the early Fathers, it actually, in such +case, produces an absolutely contrary effect to what we fear, and to the +aim of our adversary, the devil. For just as the palm tree takes deeper and +stronger root, the more it is tossed and shaken by the winds and storms, +so the more we are tossed by temptation, the more firmly are we settled in +that virtue which the temptation was striving to overthrow. + +As we see from the lives of the Saints, the most chaste are those who +oppose the greatest resistance to the goad of sensuality, and the most +patient are those who struggle the most earnestly against impatience. It +is for this reason that Holy Scripture says: _Happy is he who suffers +temptation_, since, _after his trial, the crown of life awaits him_.[1] + +In this way the more violent are the temptations against Faith with which +a soul is troubled, the more deeply does that virtue bury itself in the +heart, and is there held all the more tightly and closely, because of our +fear lest it escape. + +Blessed Francis provides us in one of his letters with three excellent +means of resisting and overcoming temptations against Faith. The first, is +to despise all the suggestions of the Evil One. They are outside and before +our heart rather than within it, for there peace maintains its hold, though +in great bitterness. This so exasperates our proud enemy, who is king over +all the children of pride, that, seeing himself disdained, he withdraws. + +The second is not to fight against this temptation by contrary acts of +the understanding, but by those of the will, darting forth a thousand +protestations of fidelity to the truths which God reveals to us by His +Church. These acts of Faith, supernatural as they are, soon reduce to ashes +all the engines and machinations of the enemy. + +Our Saint gives us his third means, the use of the discipline, saying that +this bodily suffering serves as a diversion to trouble of mind, and adds +that the devil, seeing the flesh, which is his partisan and confederate, +thus maltreated, is terrified and flies away. This is to act like that +King of Moab, who brought about the raising of the siege of his city, by +sacrificing his son on the walls, in the sight of his enemies, so that, +panic-stricken, with horror at a sight so appalling, they took at once to +flight. + +[Footnote 1: James i. 12.] + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +When the tempter sees that our heart is so firmly established in grace that +we flee from sin as from a serpent, and that its very shadow, which is +temptation, frightens us, he contents himself with disquieting us, seeing +that he cannot make us yield to his will. + +In order to effect this, he stirs up a heap of trivial temptations, which +he throws like dust into our eyes, so as to make us unhappy, and to render +the path of virtue less pleasant to us. + +We must take up shield and sword to arm ourselves against great +temptations; but there are many trivial and ordinary ones which are better +driven away by contempt than by any other means. + +We arm ourselves against wolves and bears; but who would condescend to do +so against the swarms of flies which torment us in hot weather? Our Blessed +Father, writing to one who was sorrowful and disquieted at finding herself +assailed by temptations against Faith, though these were most hateful and +tormenting to her, expresses himself thus: + +"Your temptations against Faith have come back again, even though you never +troubled yourself to answer them. They importune you again, but still you +do not answer. + +"Well, my daughter, all this is as it should be: but you think too much +about them; you fear them too much; you dread them too much. Were it not +for that, they would do you no harm. You are too sensitive to temptations. +You love the Faith, and would not willingly suffer a single thought +contrary to it to enter your mind; but the moment one so much as occurs to +you you are saddened and troubled by it. + +"You are too jealous of your purity of Faith. You fancy that everything +that touches it must taint it. + +"No, my daughter, let the wind blow, and do not think that the rustling of +the leaves is the clash of arms. A little while ago I was standing near +some beehives, and some of the bees settled on my face. I wanted to brush +them off with my hand. 'No,' said a peasant to me, 'do not be afraid, and +do not touch them, then they will not sting you at all; but if you touch +them they will half devour you.' I took his advice, and not one stung me. + +"Believe me, if you do not fear these temptations, they will not harm you; +pass on and pay no heed to them." + + +UPON CONFIDENCE IN GOD. + +On this subject I must relate a charming little instance of our Blessed +Father's perfect confidence in God, of which he told me once with his +accustomed simplicity, to the great consolation of my soul, and one which +I was delighted afterwards to find related in a letter addressed to one of +his most intimate friends. + +"Yesterday," he said, "wishing to pay a visit to the Archbishop of Vienne, +I went on the lake in a little boat, and felt very happy in the thought +that my sole protection, besides a thin plank, was Divine Providence. The +wind was high, and I was glad, too, to feel entirely under the command of +the pilot, who made us all sit perfectly still; and, indeed, I had no wish +to stir! Do not, however, my daughter, take these words of mine as proofs +of my being very holy. No, they are only little imaginary virtues which I +amuse myself by fancying I possess. When it comes to real earnest, I am by +no means so brave." + +The simplicity of the Saint's thoughts when on the water, and of his way +of mentioning them, shows how childlike was his trust in God. It reminds +one of the happiness with which St. John leaned upon the Saviour's breast. +A saying, too, of Saint Teresa which I have read in her life comes to my +mind. She declared she was never more absolutely content than when she +found herself in some peril which obliged her to have recourse to God; +because then it seemed to her that she was clinging more closely to His +holy presence, and saying to Him, as did Jacob to the Angel, that she would +not let Him go until He had blessed her. + + +OUR MISERY APPEALS TO GOD'S MERCY. + +To a soul overwhelmed by the consideration of its infidelities and miseries +he wrote these words of marvellous consolation. + +"Your miseries and infirmities ought not to astonish you. God has seen +many and many a one as wretched as you, and His mercy never turns away +the unhappy. On the contrary, by means of their wretchedness, He seeks to +do them good, making their abjection the foundation of the throne of His +glory. As Job's patience was enthroned on a dung-hill, so God's mercy is +raised upon the wretchedness of man; take away man's misery, and what +becomes of God's mercy?" + +Elsewhere he writes: "What does our Lord love to do with His gift of +eternal life, but to bestow it on souls that are poor, feeble, and of +little account in their own eyes? Yes, indeed, dearly beloved children, +we must hope, and that with great confidence, to live throughout a happy +eternity. The greater our misery the greater should be our confidence." +These, indeed, are his very words in his second conference. + +Again in one of his letters he says: "Why? What would this good and +all-merciful God do with His mercy; this God, whom we ought so worthily to +honour for His goodness? What, I say, would He do with it if He did not +share it with us, miserable as we are? If our wants and imperfections did +not serve as a stage for the display of His graces and favours, what use +would He make of this holy and infinite perfection?" + +This is the lesson left us by our Blessed Father, and we ought, indeed, +to hope with that lively hope animated by love, without which none can +be saved. And this lively hope, what is it, but a firm and unwavering +confidence that we shall, through God's grace and God's mercy, attain to +the joy of heaven, which, being infinite, is boundless and unmeasurable. + + +UPON SELF-DISTRUST. + +Distrust of self and confidence in God are the two mystic wings of the +dove; that is to say, of the soul which, having learnt to be simple, takes +its flight and rests in God, the great and sovereign object of its love, of +its flight, and of its repose. + +_The Spiritual Combat_, which is an excellent epitome of the science of +salvation and of heavenly teaching, makes these two things, distrust of +self and confidence in God, to be, as it were, the introduction to true +wisdom: they are, the author tells us, the two feet on which we walk +towards it, the two arms with which we embrace it, and the two eyes with +which we perceive it. + +In proportion to the growth of one of these two in us is the increase of +the other; the greater or the less the degree of our self-distrust, the +greater or the less the degree of our confidence in God. But whence springs +this salutary distrust of self? From the knowledge of our own misery and +vileness, of our weakness and impotence, of our malice and levity. And +whence proceeds confidence In God? From the knowledge which faith gives us +of His infinite goodness, and from our assurance that He is rich in mercy +to all those who call upon Him. + +If distrust and confidence seem incompatible with one another, listen to +what our Blessed Father says on the subject: "Not only can the soul which +knows her misery have great confidence in God, but unless she has such +knowledge, it is impossible for her to have true confidence in Him; for it +is this very knowledge and confession of our misery which brings us to God. +Thus, all the great Saints, Job, David, and the rest, began every prayer +with the confession of their own misery, and unworthiness. It is a very +good thing to acknowledge ourselves to be poor, vile, abject, and unworthy +to appear in the presence of God. That saying so celebrated among the +ancients: _Know thyself_, even though it may be understood as referring +to the knowledge of the greatness and excellence of the soul, which ought +not to be debased or profaned by things unworthy of its nobility, may +also be taken as referring to the knowledge of our personal unworthiness, +imperfection, and misery. Now the greater our knowledge of our own misery +the more profound will be our confidence in the goodness and mercy of God; +for between mercy and misery there is so close a connection that the one +cannot be exercised without the other. If God had not created man, He would +still, indeed, have been perfect in goodness; but He would not have been +actually merciful, since mercy can only be exercised towards the miserable. +You see, then, that the more miserable we know ourselves to be the more +occasion we have to confide in God, since we have nothing in ourselves in +which we can trust." + +He goes on to say: "It is a very good thing to mistrust ourselves, but at +the same time how will that avail us, unless we put our whole confidence +in God, and wait for His mercy? It is right that our daily faults and +infidelities should cause us self-reproach when we would appear before +our Lord; and we read of great souls, like St. Catherine of Siena and St. +Teresa, who, when they had been betrayed into some fault, were overwhelmed +with confusion. Again, it is reasonable that, having offended God, we +should out of humility and a feeling of confusion, hold ourselves a little +in the background. When we have offended even an earthly friend, we feel +ashamed to meet him. Nevertheless, it is quite certain that we must not +remain for long at a distance, for the virtues of humility, abjection, and +confusion are intermediate virtues, or steps by which the soul ascends to +union with her God. + +"It would be no great gain to accept our nothingness as a fact and to strip +ourselves of self (which is done by acts of self-humiliation) if the result +of this were not the total surrender of ourselves to God. St. Paul teaches +us this, when he says: _Strip yourselves of the old man and put on the +new_.[1] For we must not remain unclothed; but clothe ourselves with God." + +Further on our Saint says: "I ever say that the throne of God's mercy is +our misery, therefore the greater our misery the greater should be our +confidence."[2] + +As regards the foundation of our confidence in God, he says in the same +conference: "You wish further to know what foundation our confidence ought +to have. Know, then, that it must be grounded on the infinite goodness of +God, and on the merits of the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ +with this condition on our part that we should preserve and recognise in +ourselves an entire and firm resolution to belong wholly to God, and to +abandon ourselves in all things and without any reserve to His Providence." + +He adds that, in order to belong wholly to God, it is not necessary to +_feel_ this resolution, because feeling resides chiefly in the lower +faculties of the soul; but we must recognise it in the higher part of the +soul, that purer and more serene region where even in spite of our feelings +we fail not to serve God in spirit and in truth. + +[Footnote 1: Col. iii. 9.] +[Footnote 2: Conference ii.] + + +UPON THE JUSTICE AND MERCY OF GOD. + +You ask me a question which would be hard for me to answer had I not the +mind of our Blessed Father to guide and assist me in the matter. + +You say: Whence comes it that Almighty God treated the rebel Angels with so +much severity, showing them no mercy whatever, and providing for them no +remedy to enable them to rise again after their fall; whereas to men He is +so indulgent, patient towards their malice, waiting for them to repent, +long suffering, and magnificent in His mercy, bestowing on them the copious +Redemption of the Saviour? + +Well, He tells us in his _Treatise on the Love of God_[1] that: "The +angelic nature could only commit sin from positive malice, without +temptation or motive to excuse, even partially. Nevertheless, the far +greater part of the Angels remained constant in the service of their +Saviour. Therefore God, who had so amply glorified His mercy in the work +of the creation of the Angels, would also magnify His justice; and in His +righteous indignation resolved for ever to abandon that accursed band of +traitors, who in their rebellion had so villainously abandoned Him." + +On man, however, He took pity for several reasons. First, because the +tempter by his cunning had deceived our first father, Adam; secondly, +because the spirit of man is encompassed by flesh and consequently by +infirmity; thirdly, because his spirit, enclosed as it is in an earthly +body, is frail as the vessel which enshrines it, easily overbalanced by +every breath of wind, and unable to right itself again; fourthly, because +the temptation in the Garden of Eden was great and over-mastering; fifthly, +because He had compassion on the posterity of Adam, which otherwise would +have perished with him; but the sixth, and principal cause was this: +Almighty God having resolved to take on Himself our human nature in order +to unite it to the Divine Person of the Word, He willed to favour very +specially this nature for the sake of that hypostatic union, which was +to be the masterpiece of all the communications of Almighty God to His +creatures. + +Do not, however, imagine that God so willed to magnify His mercy in the +redemption of man that He forgot the claims of His justice. No, truly; for +no severity can equal that which He displayed in the sufferings of His Son, +on whose sacred Head having laid the iniquities of us all, He poured out a +vengeance commensurate with His Divine wrath. + +If, then, we weigh the severity displayed by God towards the rebel Angels +against that with which He treated His Divine Son when redeeming mankind, +we shall find His justice more abundantly satisfied in the atonement made +by the One than in the rigorous punishment of the others. In fine here, as +always, His mercy overrides His judgments, inasmuch as the fallen Angels +are punished far less than they deserve, and the faithful are rewarded far +beyond their merits. + +[Footnote 1: Bk. ii c. iv.] + + +WAITING UPON GOD. + +On this subject of waiting upon God I remember hearing from Blessed Francis +two wonderful explanations. You, my dear sisters, will, I am sure, be glad +to have them, and will find them of great use, seeing that your life, +nailed as it is with Jesus Christ to the Cross, must be one of great +long-suffering. + +He thus interpreted that verse of the Psalmist: _With expectation have I +waited on the Lord, and He was attentive to me._[1] + +"To wait, waiting," he said, "is not to fret ourselves while we are +waiting. For there are some who in waiting do not wait, but are troubled +and impatient." + +Those who have to wait soon get weary, and from weariness springs that +disturbance of mind so common amongst them. Hence the inspired saying that +_Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul_.[2] Of all kinds of patience +there is none more fitting to tedious waiting than longanimity. Strength is +developed in dangers; patience drives away the sadness caused by suffering; +constancy avails for the bearing of great evils; perseverance for the +carrying out a good work to its completion; but longanimity has to do with +sufferings which are painful because they are long enduring. + +Such pains are tedious, but not often violent, for violent sufferings +are, as a rule, not lasting; either they pass away, or he on whom they +are inflicted, being unable to bear them, is set free by death. To wait, +indeed, for deliverance from evils quietly, but without any anguish or +irritation, at least in the superior part of the soul, is to wait, waiting. +Happy are those who wait in this manner, for their hope shall not be +confounded. Of them the Psalmist says that God will remember them, that +He will grant their prayers, and that He will deliver them from the pit +of misery.[3] Those who act otherwise, and who in their adversity give +themselves up to impatience, only aggravate their yoke, instead of +lightening it. + +They are like the bird which beats its wings against the wrist or perch on +which it is poised, but cannot get free from its chain. + +Wise Christians making a virtue of necessity and wishing what God wishes, +make that which is necessary voluntary, and turn their suffering to their +eternal advantage. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xxxix, i.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm xiii. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Psalm xxxix. 3.] + + +UPON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOLY DESIRE OF REWARD AND A MERCENARY SPIRIT. + +I am asked if there is not something of a mercenary spirit in these words +of our Blessed Father: "Oh, how greatly to be loved is the eternity of +Heaven, and how contemptible are the fleeting moments of earth! Aspire +continually to this eternity, and despise heartily this decaying world." + +You will observe, if you please, that there is a great deal of difference +between a proper desire of reward and a mercenary habit of mind. The proper +desire of recompense is one which looks principally to the glory of God, +and to that glory refers its own reward. A habit of mind which, according +to the teaching of the Holy Council of Trent, is most excellent.[1] + +But a mercenary habit of mind is shown when we stop short voluntarily, +deliberately, and maliciously at our own self-interest, neglecting and +putting on one side the interests of God, and when we look forward only +to the honours, satisfactions, and delights given to the faithful, and +exclude, as it were, the tribute of glory and homage which they render for +them to God. + +As regards these words of our Blessed Father's, I am perfectly certain +that, whatever they may at first sight seem to mean, they are assuredly the +expression of thoughts, utterly unselfish, and totally devoid of the spirit +of self-seeking. He had written just before: "Take good heed not to come to +the feast of the Holy Cross, which is a million times fuller of exquisite +pleasures than any wedding feast, without having on the white robe, +spotless, and pure from all intentions save that of pleasing the Lamb." + +Again, I should like to read to you an extract from one of his letters, in +which you will see that he knew how to distinguish, even in Paradise, our +interests from those of God: So pure and penetrating was his sight that it +resembled that single eye of which the Gospel speaks,[2] which fills us +with light and discernment in things spiritual and divine. He speaks thus +in his letter: "I have not been able to think of anything this morning save +of the eternity of blessings which awaits us. And yet all appear to me as +little or nothing beside that unchanging and ever-present love of the great +God, which reigns continually in Heaven. For truly I think that the joys of +Paradise would be possible, in the midst of all the pains of hell, if the +love of God could be there. And if hell-fire were a fire of love, it seems +to me that its torments would be the most desirable of good things. All +the delights of Heaven are in my eyes a mere nothing compared with this +triumphant love. Truly, we must either die or love God. I desire that my +heart should either be torn from my body or that if it remains with me it +should hold nothing but this holy love. Ah! We must truly give our hearts +up to our immortal King, and thus being closely united to Him, live solely +for Him. Let us die to ourselves and to all that depends on ourselves. It +seems to me that we ought to live only for God. The very thought of this +fills my heart once more with courage and fervour. After all, that our Lord +_is_ our Lord is the one thing in the world that really concerns us." + +Again, in his Theotimus,[3] he says: + +"The supreme motive of our actions, which is that of heavenly love, has +this sovereign property, that being most pure, it makes the actions which +proceed from it most pure; so that the Angels and Saints of Heaven love +absolutely nothing for any other end whatever than that of the love of the +Divine goodness, and from the motive of desiring to please God. They all, +indeed, love one another most ardently; they also love us, they love the +virtues, but all this only to please God. They follow and practise virtues, +not inasmuch as these virtues are fair and attractive to them; but inasmuch +as they are agreeable to God. They love their own felicity, not because it +is theirs, but because it pleases God. Yea, they love the very love with +which they love God, not because it is in them, but because it tends to +God; not because they have and possess it, but because God gives it to +them, and takes His good pleasure in it." + +[Footnote 1: _De Justificat_, cap. 12.] +[Footnote 2: Matt. vi. 22.] +[Footnote 3: Bk. xi. 13.] + + +CONTINUATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT. + +There are some gloomy minds which imagine that when the motive of charity +and disinterested love is insisted upon all other motives are thereby +depreciated, and that it is wished to do away with them. But does he who +praises one Saint blame the others? If we extol the Seraphim, do we on that +account despise all the lower orders of Angels? Does the man who considers +gold more precious than silver say that silver is nothing at all? Are we +insulting the stars when we admire and praise the sun? And do we despise +marriage because we put celibacy above it? + +It is true that, as the Apostle says, charity is the greatest of all +virtues, without which the others have neither life nor soul; but that does +not prevent these others from being virtues, and most desirable as good +habits. In doing virtuous actions the motive of charity is, indeed, the +king of all motives; but blessed also are all those inferior motives which +are subject to it. We may truly say of them what the Queen of Sheba said of +the courtiers of Solomon: _Happy are thy men who always stand before thee +and hear thy wisdom._[1] + +Nay, even servile and mercenary motives, although interested, may yet +be good, provided they have nothing in them that cannot be referred to +God. They are good in those who have not charity, preparing them for the +reception of justifying grace. They are also good in the regenerate, and +are compatible with charity, like servants and slaves in the service and +households of the great. For it is right, however regenerate we may be, to +abstain from sin, not only for fear of displeasing God, but also for fear +of losing our souls. The Council of Trent tells us that we are not doing +ill when we perform good works primarily in order to glorify God; and also, +as an accessory, with a view to the eternal reward which God promises to +those who shall do such in His love and for His love. In great temptations, +for fear of succumbing, the just may with advantage call to their aid the +thought of hell, thereby to save themselves from eternal damnation and the +loss of Paradise. But the first principles of the doctrine of salvation +teach us that, to avoid evil and do good, simply from the motive of pure +and disinterested love of God, is the most perfect and meritorious mode of +action. + +What! say some:--Must we cease to fear God and to hope in Him? What, then, +becomes of acts of holy fear, and of the virtue of hope? If a mother were +to abuse the doctor who had restored her child to life, would it not excite +a strong suspicion that it was she herself who had attempted to smother it? +Did not she who said to Solomon: _Let it be divided_,[2] show herself to be +the false mother? They who are so much attached to servile fear can have no +real desire to attain to that holy, pure, loving, reverent fear which leads +to everlasting rest, and which the Saints and Angels practise through all +eternity. + +Let us listen to what Blessed Francis further says on this subject. + +"When we were little children, how eagerly and busily we used to collect +tiny scraps of cloth, bits of wood, handfuls of clay, to build houses and +make little boats! And if any one destroyed these wonderful erections, how +unhappy we were; how bitterly we cried! But now we smile when we think how +trivial it all was. + +"Well," he goes on to say, "let us, since we are but children, be pardoned +if we act as such; but, at the same time, do not let us grow cold and dull +in our work. If any one knocks over our little houses, and spoils our small +plans, do not let us now be unhappy or give way altogether on that account. +The less so because when the evening comes, and we need a roof, I mean when +death is at hand, these poor little buildings of ours will be quite unfit +to shelter us. We must then be safely housed in our Father's Mansion, which +is the Kingdom of His well-beloved Son." + +[Footnote 1: 2 Paral. ix. 7.] +[Footnote 2: 1 Kings iii. 26.] + + +GOD SHOULD SUFFICE FOR US ALL. + +A person of some consideration, and one who made much profession of living +a devout life, was overtaken by sudden misfortune, which deprived her of +almost all her wealth and left her plunged in grief. Her distress of mind +was so inconsolable that it led her to complain of the Providence of God, +who appeared, she said, to have forgotten her. All her faithful service and +the purity of her life seemed to have been in vain. + +Blessed Francis, full of compassionate sympathy for her misfortunes, and +anxious to turn her thoughts from the contemplation of herself and of +earthly things, to fix them on God, asked her if He was not more to her +than anything; nay, if, in fact, God was not Himself everything to her; +and if, having loved Him when He had given her many things, she was not +now ready to love Him, though she received nothing from Him. She, however, +replying that such language was more speculative than practical, and +easier to speak than to carry into effect, he wound up by saying, with St. +Augustine: _Too avaricious is that heart to which God does not suffice._ +"Assuredly, he who is not satisfied with God is covetous indeed." This word +_covetous_ produced a powerful effect upon the heart of one who, in the +days of her prosperity, had always hated avarice, and had been most lavish +in her expenditure, both on her own needs and pleasures and on works of +mercy. It seemed as if suddenly the eyes of her soul were opened, and she +saw how admirable, how infinitely worthy of love God ever remained, whether +with those things she had possessed or without them. So, by degrees, she +forgot herself and her crosses; grace prevailed, and she knew and confessed +that God was all in all to her. Such efficacy have a Saint's words, even if +unpremeditated. + + +CHARITY THE SHORT ROAD TO PERFECTION. + +Blessed Francis, in speaking of perfection, often remarked that, although +he heard very many people talking about it, he met with very few who +practised it. "Many, indeed," he would say, "are so mistaken in their +estimate of what perfection is, that they take effects for the cause, the +rivulet for the spring, the branches for the root, the accessories for the +principle, and often even the shadow for the substance." + +For myself, I know of no Christian perfection other than to love God with +our whole heart and our neighbour as ourselves. All other perfection is +falsely so entitled: it is sham gold that does not stand testing. + +Charity is the only bond between Christians, the only virtue which unites +us absolutely to God, and our neighbour. + +In charity lies the end of every perfection and the perfection of every +end. I know that mortification, prayer, and the other exercises of virtue, +are all means to perfection, provided that they are practised in charity, +and from the motive of charity. But we must never regard any of these means +towards attaining perfection as being in themselves perfection. This would +be to stop short on the road, and in the middle of the race, instead of +reaching the goal. + +The Apostle exhorts us, indeed, to run, but so as to carry off the +prize[1], which is for those only who have breath enough to reach the end +of the course. + +In a word, all our actions must be done in charity if we wish to walk in +a manner, as says St. Paul, worthy of God; that is to say, to hasten on +towards perfection. + +Charity is the way of true life; it is the truth of the living way; it is +the life of the way of truth. All virtue is dead without it: it is the very +life of virtue. No one can reach the last and supreme end, God Himself, +without charity; it is the way to Him. There is no true virtue without +charity, says St. Thomas; it is the very truth of virtue. + +In conclusion, and in answer to my repeated question as to how we were to +go to work in order to attain to this perfection, this supreme love of God +and of our neighbour, our Blessed Father said that we must use exactly the +same method as we should in mastering any ordinary art or accomplishment. +"We learn," he said, "to study by studying, to play on the lute by playing, +to dance by dancing, to swim by swimming. So also we learn to love God and +our neighbour _by loving_ them, and those who attempt any other method are +mistaken." + +You ask me, my sisters, how we can discover whether or not we are making +any progress towards perfection. I cannot do better than consult our +oracle, Blessed Francis, and answer you in his own words, taken from his +eighth Conference. "We can never know what perfection we have reached, for +we are like those who are at sea; they do not know whether they are making +progress or not, but the pilot knows, knowing the course. So we cannot +estimate our own advancement, though we may that of others, for we dare +not assure ourselves when we have done a good action that we have done it +perfectly--humility forbids us to do so. Nay, even were we able to judge of +the virtues of others, we must never determine in our minds that one person +is better than another, because appearances are deceitful, and those who +seem very virtuous outwardly and in the eyes of creatures, may be less so +in the sight of God than others who appear much more imperfect." + +I have often heard him say that the multiplicity of means proposed for +advancement towards perfection frequently delays the progress of souls. +They are like travellers uncertain of the way, and who seeing many roads +branching off in different directions stay and waste their time by +enquiring here and there which of them they ought to take in order to +reach their journey's end. He advised people to confine themselves rather +to some special spiritual exercise or virtue, or to some well-chosen +book of piety--for example, to the exercise of the presence of God, or +of submission to His will, or to purity of intention, or some similar +exercise. + +Among books, he recommended chiefly, _The Spiritual Combat_, _The Imitation +of Jesus Christ_, _The Method of Serving God_, _Grenada_, _Blosius_, +and such like. Among the virtues, as you know well, his favourites +were gentleness and humility, charity--without which others are of no +value--being always pre-supposed. + +On this subject of advancement towards perfection, he speaks thus in the +ninth of his Conferences: + +"If you ask me, 'What can I do to acquire the love of God?' I answer, +_Will_; i.e., _try_ to love Him; and instead of setting to work to find out +how you can unite your soul to God, put the thing in practice by a frequent +application of your mind to Him. I assure you that you will arrive much +more quickly at your end by this means than in any other way. + +"For the more we pour ourselves out the less recollected we shall be, and +the less capable of union with the Divine Majesty, who would have all we +are without reserve." + +He continues: "One actually finds souls who are so busy in thinking how +they shall do a thing that they have no time to do it. And yet, in what +concerns our perfection, which consists in the union of our soul with the +Divine Goodness, there is no question of knowing much; but only of doing." + +Again, in the same Conference, he says: "It seems to me that those of whom +we ask the road to Heaven are very right in answering us as those do who +tell us that, in order to reach such a place, we must just go on putting +one foot before the other, and that by this means we shall arrive where we +desire. Walk ever, we say to these souls so desirous of their perfection, +walk in the way of your vocation with simplicity, more intent on doing than +on desiring. That is the shortest road." "And," he adds, "in aspiring to +union with the Beloved, there is no other secret than to do what we aspire +to--that is, to labour faithfully in the exercise of Divine love." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. ix. 24.] + + +UPON WHAT IT IS TO LOVE GOD TRULY. + +In connection with this subject of the love of God and of our neighbour, +I asked our Blessed Father what _loving_ in this sense of the word really +was. He replied: "Love is the primary passion of our emotional desires, +and a primary element in that emotional faculty which is the will. So that +to will is nothing more than to love what is good, and love is the willing +or desiring what is good. If we desire good for ourselves we have what +is called self-love; if we desire good for another we have the love of +friendship." + +To love God and our neighbour, then, with the love of charity, which is +the love of friendship, is to desire good to God for Himself, and to our +neighbour in God and for the love of God. We can desire two sorts of good +for God: that which He has, rejoicing that He is what He is, and that +nothing can be added to the greatness and to the infinity of His inward +perfection; and that which He has not, by wishing it for Him, either +effectively, if it is in our power to give it to Him, or by loving and +longing, if it is not in our power to give it. For, indeed, there is a good +which God desires and which is not His as it should be in perfection. That +external good, as it is called, is the good which proceeds from the honour +and glory rendered to Him by His creatures, especially by those among +them endowed with reason. This is the good which David wishes to God in +so many of his Psalms. Among others, in the _Praise ye the Lord from the +heavens_,[1] and in the _Bless the Lord, O my soul_.[2] + +The three children also in the fiery furnace wish this good to God by their +canticle: _All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord._[3] + +If we truly love God we shall try to bring this good to Him through +ourselves, surrendering our whole being to Him, and doing all our actions, +the indifferent as well as the good, for His glory. + +Not content with that, we shall also strive with all our might to make our +neighbour serve and love God, so that by all and in all things God may be +honoured. + +To love our neighbour in God is to rejoice in the good which our neighbour +possesses, provided, indeed, that he makes use of it for the divine glory; +to render him in his need all the assistance which lies within our power; +to be zealous for the welfare of his soul, and to work for it as we do +for our own, because God wills and desires it. That is to have true and +unfeigned charity, and to love God sincerely and steadfastly for His own +sake and our neighbour for the love of Him. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxlviii. 1.] +[Footnote 2: Id. ciii. 1.] +[Footnote 3: Dan. iii. 57.] + + +UPON THE LOVE OF GOD IN GENERAL. + +A whole mountain of virtues, if destitute of this living, reigning, and +triumphant love, was to Blessed Francis but as a petty heap of stones. He +was never weary of inculcating love of God as the supreme motive of every +action. + +The whole of his Theotimus (_The Treatise on the Love of God_) breathes +this sentiment, and he often told me that it was impossible to insist upon +it too strongly in our teaching and advice to our people. "For, in fact," +he used to say, "what is the use of running a race if we do not reach the +goal, or of drawing the bow if we do not hit the target?" Oh! how many good +works are useless as regards the glory of God and the salvation of souls, +for want of this motive of charity! And yet, this is the last thing people +think of, as if the intention were not the very soul of a good action, and +as if God had ever promised to reward works not done for His glory, and not +applied to His honour. + + +ALL FOR LOVE OF GOD. + +You know very well how Blessed Francis valued charity, but I will give you, +nevertheless, some more of his teaching on this great subject. + +To a holy soul who had placed herself under his direction, he said: "We +must do all things from love, and nothing from constraint. We must love +obedience rather than fear disobedience. I leave you the spirit of liberty: +not such as excludes obedience, for that is the liberty of the flesh, but +such as excludes constraint, scruples, and over-eagerness. However much you +may love obedience and submission, I wish you to suspend for the moment the +work in which obedience has engaged you whenever any just or charitable +occasion for so doing occurs. This omission will be a species of obedience. +Fill up its measure by charity." + +From this spirit of holy and Christian liberty originated the saying so +often to be met with in his letters: "Keep your heart in peace." That is to +say: Beware of hurry, anxiety, and bitterness of heart. These he called the +ruin of devotion. He was even unwilling that people should meditate upon +the great truths of Death, Judgment and Hell, unless they at the same time +reassured themselves by the remembrance of God's love for them. Speaking to +a holy soul, he says: "Meditation on the four last things will be useful to +you provided that you always end with an act of confidence in God. Never +represent to yourself Death or Hell on the one side unless the Cross is on +the other; so that when your fears have been excited by the one you may +with confidence turn for help to the other." The one point on which he +chiefly insisted was that we must fear God from love, not love God from +fear. "To love Him from fear," he used to say, "is to put gall into our +food and to quench our thirst with vinegar; but to fear Him from love is to +sweeten aloes and wormwood." + +Assuredly, our own experience convinces us that it is difficult to love +those whom we fear, and that it is impossible not to fear with a filial and +reverent fear those whom we love. + +You find some difficulty, it seems, my sisters, in understanding how all +things, as St. Paul says,[1] whether good, bad, or indifferent, can in the +end work together for good to those who love God. + +To satisfy you, I quote the words of Blessed Francis on this subject in one +of his letters. "Since," he says, "God can bring good out of evil, will He +not surely do so for those who have given themselves unreservedly to Him? +Yes; even sins, from which may God in His goodness keep us, are by His +Divine Providence, when we repent of them, changed into good for those who +are His. Never would David have been so bowed down with humility if he had +not sinned, nor would Magdalene have loved her Saviour so fervently had He +not forgiven her so many sins. But He could not have forgiven them had she +not committed them." + +Again: "Consider, my dear daughter, this great Artificer of mercy, who +changes our miseries into graces, and out of the poison of our iniquities +compounds a wholesome medicine for our souls. Tell me, then, I beseech +you, if God works such wonders with our sins, what will He not effect with +our afflictions, with our labours, with the persecutions which we have to +endure? No matter what trouble befalls you, nor from what direction it may +come, let your soul be at peace, certain that if you truly love God all +will turn to good. And though you cannot see the springs which work this +marvellous change, rest assured that it will take place. + +"If the hand of God touches your eyes with the clay of shame and reproach, +it is only to give you clearer sight, and to cause you to be honoured. + +"If He should cast you to the ground, as He did St. Paul, it will only be +to raise you up again to glory."[2] + +[Footnote 1: Rom. viii. 28.] +[Footnote 2: Rom. viii. 28.] + + +THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. + +"All by love, nothing by constraint." This was his favourite motto, and the +mainspring of his direction of others. He has often said to me that those +who try to force the human will are exercising a tyranny which is hateful +to God and man. This was why he had such a horror of those masterful and +dominant spirits which insist on being obeyed, _bon gré mal gré_, and would +have every one give way to them. "Those," he often said, "who love to make +themselves feared, fear to make themselves loved; and they themselves are +more fearful than anyone else: for others only fear _them_, but they are +afraid of every one." + +I have often heard him say these striking words: "In the royal galley of +divine love there is no galley-slave; all the oarsmen are volunteers." And +he expresses the same sentiment in Theotimus, when he says: "Divine love +governs the soul with an incomparable sweetness; for no one of the slaves +of love is made such by force, but love brings all things under its rule, +with a constraint so delightful, that as nothing is so strong as love, +nothing also is so sweet as its strength."[1] And in another part of the +same book he makes a soul, attracted by the delicious perfume shed by the +divine Bridegroom on his path, say: + +"Let no one think that Thou draggest me after Thee like an unwilling +slave or a lifeless load. Ah! no. Thou drawest me by the _odour of Thine +ointments_; though I follow Thee, it is not that Thou draggest me, but that +Thou enticest me. Thy drawing is mighty, but not violent, since its whole +force lies in its sweetness. Perfumes draw me to follow them in virtue +only of their sweetness. And sweetness, how can it attract but sweetly and +pleasantly?"[2] Following out this principle, he never gave a command even +to those who were bound to obey him, whether his servants or his clergy, +save in the form of a request or suggestion. He held in special veneration, +and often inculcated upon me the command of St. Peter: _Feed the flock of +God which is among you, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy +lucre's sake, neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a +pattern of virtue to the flock._[3] + +And here, my sisters, I feel that if will be for your profit, although the +story is not to my own credit, to relate a circumstance which occurred in +the early years of my episcopate. I was young, impetuous, and impatient; +eager to reform the abuses and disorders which from time to time I met with +in my pastoral visitations. Often, too, I know, I was bitter and harsh when +discouraged. + +Once in a despairing mood because of the many failures I noticed in myself, +and others, I poured forth my lamentations and self-accusations to our +Blessed Father, who said: "What a masterful spirit you have! You want +to walk upon the wings of the wind. You let yourself be carried away by +your zeal, which, like a will-of-the-wisp, will surely lead you over a +precipice. Have you forgotten the warning of your patron, St. Peter, _not +to think you can walk in burning heat?_[4] Would you do more than God, and +restrain the liberty of the creatures whom God has made free? You decide +matters, as if the wills of your subjects were all in your own hands. God, +Who holds all hearts in His and Who searches the reins and the hearts, does +not act thus. He puts up with resistance, rebellion against His light, +kicking against the goad, opposition to His inspirations, even though His +Spirit be grieved thereby. He does, indeed, suffer those to perish who +through the hardness of their impenitent hearts have heaped to themselves +wrath in the day of vengeance. Yet He never wearies of calling them to Him, +however often they reject His offers and say to Him, _Depart from us, we +will not follow Thy ways_.[5] + +"In this our Angel Guardians follow His example, and although we may +forsake God by our iniquities, they will not forsake us as long as there is +breath in our body, even though we may have fallen into sin. Do you want +better examples for regulating your conduct?" + +[Footnote 1: Book i. 6.] +[Footnote 2: Book ii. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Peter v. 2, 3.] +[Footnote 4: 1 Peter iv. 12.] +[Footnote 5: Job xxi. 14.] + + +UPON THE LOVE OF GOD, CALLED LOVE OF BENEVOLENCE. + +You ask me what I have to say as regards the love of benevolence towards +God. What good thing can we possibly wish for God which He has not already, +What can we desire for Him which He does not possess far more fully than we +can desire Him to have it? + +What good can we do to Him to Whom all our goods belong, and Who has all +good in Himself; or, rather, Who is Himself all good? + +I reply to this question as I have done to others, that there are many +spiritual persons, and some even of the most gifted, who are greatly +mistaken in their view of this matter. + +We must distinguish in God two sorts of good, the one interior, the +other exterior. The first is Himself; for His goodness, like His other +attributes, is one and the same thing with His essence or being. + +Now this good, being infinite, can neither be augmented by our serving God +and by our honouring Him, nor can it be diminished by our rebelling against +Him and by our working against Him. + +It is of it that the Psalmist speaks when he says that our goods are +nothing unto Him. + +But there is another kind of good which is exterior; and this, though it +belongs to God, is not in Him, but in His creatures, just as the moneys of +the king are, indeed, his, but they are in the coffers of his treasurers +and officials. + +This exterior good consists in the honours, obedience, service, and homage +which His creatures owe and render to Him: creatures of whom each one +has of necessity His glory as the final end and aim of its creation. And +this good it is which we can, with the grace of God, desire for Him, and +ourselves give to Him, and which we can either by our good works increase +or by our sins take from. + +In regard to this exterior good, we can practise towards God the love of +benevolence by doing all things, and all good works in our power, in order +to increase His honour, or by having the intention to bless, glorify, and +exalt Him in all our actions; and much more by refraining from any action +which might tarnish God's glory and displease Him, Whose will is our +inviolable law. + +The love of benevolence towards God does not stop here. For, because +charity obliges us to love our neighbour as ourselves from love of God, we +try to urge on our fellow-men to promote this Divine glory, each one as far +as he can. We incite them to do all sorts of good, so as thereby to magnify +God the more. Thus the Psalmist said to his brethren, _O magnify the Lord +with me, and let us extol His name together_.[1] + +This same ardour incites and presses us also (_urget_ is the word used by +St. Paul) to do our utmost to aid our neighbour to rise from sin, which +renders him displeasing to God, and to prevent sin by which the Divine +Goodness is offended. This is what is properly called zeal, the zeal which +consumed the Psalmist when he saw how the wicked forget God, and which +caused him to cry out: _My zeal has made me pine away, because my enemies +forgot thy words_.[2] And again, _The zeal of thy house hath eaten me +up_.[3] + +You ask if this love of benevolence might not also be exercised towards God +in respect of that interior and infinite good which He possesses and which +is Himself. I reply, with our Blessed Father in his Theotimus, that we can +wish Him to have this good, by rejoicing in the fact that He has it, and +that He is what He is; hence that vehement outburst of David, _Know ye, +that the Lord he is God_.[4] And again, _A great King above all gods_. + +Moreover, the mystical elevations and the ecstasies of the Saints were acts +of the love of God in which they wished Him all good and rejoiced in His +possessing it. Our imagination, too, may help us, as it did St. Augustine, +of whom our Blessed Father writes: + +"This desire, then, of God, by imagination of impossibilities, may be +sometimes profitably practised in moments of great and extraordinary +feelings and fervours. We are told that the great St. Augustine often made +such acts, pouring out in an excess of love these words: 'Ah! Lord, I am +Augustine, and Thou art God; but still, if that which neither is nor can be +were, that I were God, and thou Augustine, I would, changing my condition +with Thee, become Augustine to the end that Thou mightest be God.'"[5] + +We can again wish Him the same good by rejoicing in the knowledge that we +could never, even by desiring it, add anything to the incomprehensible +infinity and infinite incomprehensibility of His greatness and perfection. +Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy +glory: Praise to God in the highest. Amen. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xxxiii. 4.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm cxviii. 139.] +[Footnote 3: Psalm lxviii. 10.] +[Footnote 4: Psalm xciv. 3.] +[Footnote 5: Book v. c. 6.] + + +DISINTERESTED LOVE OF GOD. + +You know that among the Saints for whom our Blessed Father had a special +devotion, St. Louis of France held a very prominent position. + +Now, in the life of the holy King, written by the Sieur de Joinville, +there is a little story which our Blessed Father used to say contained the +summary of all Christian perfection; and, indeed, its beauty and excellence +have made it so well known that we find it told or alluded to in most books +of devotion. + +It is that of the holy woman--whose name, though written in the Book of +Life, is not recorded in history--who presented herself to Brother Yves, +a Breton, of the Order of St. Dominic, whom King Louis, being in the Holy +Land, had sent as an ambassador to the Caliph of Syria. She was holding in +one hand a lighted torch, and in the other a pitcher of water filled to the +brim. + +Addressing the good Dominican, she told him that her intention was to burn +up Paradise with the one and to put out the fire of Hell with the other, +in order that henceforth God might be served with a holy and unfeigned +charity. That is to say, with a true and disinterested love, for love of +Himself alone, not from a servile and mercenary spirit; _i.e._, from fear +of punishment or hope of reward. + +Our Blessed Father told me that he should have liked this story to be told +on all possible occasions, and to have had engravings of the subject for +distribution, so that by so beautiful an example many might be taught to +love and serve God with true charity, and to have no other end in view than +His Divine glory; for true charity seeks not her own advantage, but only +the honour of her Beloved. + + +UPON THE CHARACTER OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN. + +A Salamander, according to the fable, is a creature hatched in the chilling +waters of Arctic regions, and is consequently by nature so cold that it +delights in the burning heat of a furnace. Fire, said the ancients, cannot +consume it nor even scorch it. + +"Just so is it with the Christian," said Blessed Francis. "He is born in a +region far away from God, and is altogether alien from Him. He is conceived +in iniquity and brought forth in sin, and sin is far removed from the way +of salvation. Man is condemned before his very birth. _Damnatus antequam +natus_, says St. Bernard. He is born in the darkness of original sin and in +the region of the shadow of death. But, being born again in the waters of +Baptism, in which he is clothed with the habit of charity, the fire of the +holy love of God is enkindled in him. Henceforth his real life, the life of +grace and of spiritual growth, depends absolutely upon his abiding in that +love; for he who loves not thus is dead; while, on the other hand, by this +love man is called back from death to life." + +"Charity," he continued, "is like a fire and a devouring flame. The little +charity which we possess in this life is liable to be extinguished by the +violent temptations which urge us, or, to speak more truly, precipitate us +into mortal sin; but that of the life to come is a flame all-embracing and +all-conquering--it can neither fail nor flicker. + +"On earth charity, like fire, needs fuel to nourish it and keep it alive; +but in its proper sphere, which is Heaven, it feeds upon its own inherent +heat, nor needs other nourishment. It is of vital importance here below +to feed our charity with the fuel of good works, for charity is a habit +so disposed to action that it unceasingly urges on those in whom the Holy +Spirit has shed it abroad to perform such works. This the Apostle expresses +very aptly: _The charity of Christ presseth us_.[1] + +"St. Gregory adds that the proof of true, unfeigned love is action, the +doing of works seen and known to be good. For, if faith is manifested by +good works, how much more charity, which is the root, the foundation, the +soul, the life, and the form of every good and perfect work." + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. v. 14.] + + +UPON NOT PUTTING LIMITS TO OUR LOVE OF GOD. + +Blessed Francis used to say that those who narrow their charity, limiting +it to the performance of certain duties and offices, beyond which they +would not take a single step, are base and cowardly souls, who seem as +though they wished to enclose in their own hands the mighty Spirit of God. +Seeing that God is greater than our heart, what folly it is to try to shut +Him up within so small a circle. + +On this subject of the immeasurable greatness of the love which we should +bear to God, he uttered these remarkable words: "To remain long in a +settled, unchanging condition is impossible: in this traffic he who does +not gain, loses; he who does not mount this ladder, steps down; he who +is not conqueror in this combat, is vanquished. We live in the midst of +battles in which our enemies are always engaging us. If we do not fight +we perish; but we cannot fight without overcoming, nor overcome without +victory, followed by a triumph and a crown." + + +UPON THE LAW AND THE JUST MAN. + +You ask me the meaning of the Apostle's saying that _the law is not made +for the just man_.[1] Can any man be just unless he accommodate his actions +to the rule of the law? Is it not in the observance of the law that true +justice consists? + +Our Blessed Father explains this passage so clearly and delicately in his +Theotimus that I will quote his words for you. He says: "In truth the just +man is not just, save inasmuch as he has love. And if he have love, there +is no need to threaten him by the rigour of the law, love being the most +insistent of all teachers, and ever urging the heart which it possesses to +obey the will and the intention of the beloved. Love is a magistrate who +exercises his authority without noise and without police. Its instrument is +mutual complacency, by which, as we find pleasure in God, so also we desire +to please Him."[2] + +Permit me to add to these excellent words a reminder which ought not, I +think, to be unprofitable to you. Some imagine that it is enough to observe +the law of God in order to save our souls, obeying the command of our +Lord: _Do this_, that is to say, the law, _and you shall live_,[3] without +attempting to determine the motive which impels them to observe the law. + +Now the truth is that some observe the law of God from a servile spirit, +and only for fear of losing their souls. Others chiefly from a mercenary +spirit for the sake of the reward promised to those who keep it, and, +as our Blessed Father says very happily: "Many keep the Commandments as +medicines are taken, rather that they may escape eternal death than that +they may live so as to please our Saviour." One of his favourite sayings +was: "It is better to fear God from love than to love Him from fear." + +He says also: "There are people who, however pleasant a medicament may +be, feel a repugnance when required to take it, simply from the fact of +its being medicine. So also there are souls which conceive an absolute +antipathy to anything they are commanded to do, only because they are so +commanded." As soon, however, as the love of God is shed forth in the heart +by the Holy Spirit, then the burden of the law becomes sweet, and its yoke +light, because of the extreme desire of that heart to please God by the +observance of His precepts. "There is no labour," he goes on to say, "where +love is, or if there be any, it is a labour of love. Labour mingled with +love is a certain _bitter-sweet_, more pleasant to the palate than that +which is merely sweet. Thus then does heavenly love conform us to the will +of God and make us carefully observe His commandments, this being the will +of His Divine Majesty, Whom we desire to please. So that this complacency +with its sweet and amiable violence anticipates the necessity of obeying +which the law imposes upon us, converting that necessity into the virtue of +love, and every difficulty into delight."[4] + +[Footnote 1: Tim. i. 9.] +[Footnote 2: Book viii. c. 1.] +[Footnote 3: Luke x. 28.] +[Footnote 4: Cf. _Treatise on the Love of God_. Book viii. c. 5.] + + +UPON DESIRES. + +To desire to love God is to love to desire God, and consequently to love +Him: for love is the root of all desires. + +St. Paul says: _The charity of God presses us_.[1] And how does it press us +if not by urging us to desire God. This longing for God is as a spur to the +heart, causing it to leap forward on its way to God. The desire of glory +incites the soldier to run all risks, and he desires glory because he +loves it for its own sake, and deems it a blessing more precious than life +itself. + +A sick man has not always an appetite for food, however much he may wish +for it as a sign of returning health. Nor can he by wishing for it obtain +it, because the animal powers of our nature do not always obey the rational +faculties. + +Love and desire, however, being the offspring of one and the same faculty, +whoever desires, loves, and whoever desires from the motive of charity is +able to love from the same motive. But how, you ask, shall we know whether +or not we have this true desire for the love of God, and having it, whether +it proceeds from the motions of grace or from nature? + +It is rather difficult, my dear sisters, to give reasons for principles +which are themselves their own reason. If you ask me why the fire is hot +you must not take it amiss if I simply answer because it is not cold. + +But you wish to know what we have to do in order to obtain this most +desirable desire to love God. Our Blessed Father tells us that we must +renounce all useless, or less necessary desires, because the soul wastes +her power when she spreads herself out in over many desires, like the river +which when divided by the army of a Persian King into many channels lost +itself altogether. "This," he said, "is why the Saints used to retire into +solitary places, so that being freed from earthly cares they might with +more fervour give themselves up wholly and entirely to divine love. This is +why the spouse in the Canticles is represented with one eye closed, and all +the power of vision concentrated in the other, thus enabling her to gaze +more intently into the very depths of the heart of her Beloved, piercing it +with love. + +"This is why she even winds all her tresses into one single braid, using it +as a chain to bind and hold captive the heart of her Bridegroom, making Him +her slave by love! Souls which sincerely desire to love God, close their +understanding to all worldly things, so as to employ it the more fully in +meditating upon things Divine. + +"All the aspirations of our nature have to be summed up in the one single +intention of loving God, and Him alone: for to desire anything otherwise +than for God is to desire God the less."[2] + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. v. 14.] +[Footnote 2: Cf. _Treatise on the Love of God_. Book xii. 3.] + + +HOW CHARITY EXCELS BOTH FAITH AND HOPE. + +Not only did Blessed Francis consider it intolerable that moral virtues +should be held to be comparable to Charity, but he was even unwilling +that Faith and Hope, excellent, supernatural, and divinely infused though +they be, should be reckoned to be of value without Charity, or even when +compared with it. In this he only echoed the thought and words of the great +Apostle St. Paul, who in his first Epistle to the Corinthians writes: +_Faith, Hope, and Charity_ are three precious gifts, _but the greatest of +these is Charity_. + +Faith, it is true, is love, "a love of the mind for the beautiful in the +divine Mysteries," as our Blessed Father says in his _Treatise on the +Love of God_,[1] but "the motions of love which forerun the act of faith +required from our justification are either not love properly speaking, or +but a beginning and imperfect love," which inclines the soul to acquiesce +in the truths proposed for its acceptance. + +Hope, too, is love, "a love for the useful in the goods which are promised +in the other life."[2] "It goes, indeed, to God but it returns to us; its +sight is turned upon the divine goodness, yet with some respect to our own +profit." + +"In Hope love is imperfect because it does not tend to God's infinite +goodness as being such in itself, but only because it is so to us.... In +real truth no one is able by virtue of this love either to keep God's +commandments or obtain life everlasting, because it is a love that yields +more affection than effect when it is not accompanied by Charity."[3] + +But the perfect love of God, which is only to be found in Charity, is a +disinterested love, which loves the sovereign goodness of God in Himself +and for His sake only, without any aim except that He may be that which He +is, eternally loved, glorified, and adored, because He deserves to be so, +as St. Thomas says. And it is in the fact that it attains more perfectly +its final end that its pre-eminence consists. This is very clearly shown by +Blessed Francis in the same Treatise where he tells us that Eternal life or +Salvation is shown to Faith, and is prepared for Hope, but is given only +to Charity. Faith points out the way to the land of promise as a pillar of +cloud and of fire, that is, light and dark; Hope feeds us with its manna of +sweetness, but Charity actually introduces us into it, like the Ark of the +Covenant, which leads us dry-shod through the Jordan, that is, through the +judgment, and which shall remain amidst the people in the heavenly land +promised to the true Israelites, where neither the pillar of Faith serves +as a guide, nor the manna of Hope is needed as food.[4] + +That which an ancient writer said of poverty, that it was a great good, yet +very little known as such, can be said with far more reason of Charity. +It is a hidden treasure, a pearl shut up in its shell, and of which few +know the value. The heretics of the present day profess themselves content +with a dead Faith, to which they attribute all their justice and their +salvation. There are also catholics who appear to limit themselves to that +interested love which is in Hope, and who serve God as mercenaries, more +for their own interest than for His. There are few who love God as He ought +to be loved, that is to say, with the disinterested love of Charity. Yet, +without this wedding garment, without this oil which fed the lamps of the +wise Virgins, there is no admittance to the Marriage of the Lamb. + +It is here that we may sing with the Psalmist: _The Lord hath looked down +from Heaven upon the children of men to see if there be any that understand +and seek God_, that is, to know how He wishes to be served. _They are all +gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doeth +good, no, not one_.[5] This means that there is not one who doth good +in spirit and in truth. Yet, what is serving Him in spirit and in truth +but resolving to honour and obey Him, for the love of Himself, without +admixture of private self-interest? + +But whoever has learnt to serve God after the pattern of those His beloved +ones, who worship Him in spirit and in truth, in burning Faith and Hope, +animated by Charity, may be said to be of the number of the holy nation, +the royal Priesthood, the chosen people, and to have entered into the +sanctuary of true and Christian holiness, of which our Blessed Father +speaks thus: "In the sanctuary was kept the ark of the covenant, and near +it the tables of the law, manna in a golden vessel, and Aaron's rod, which +in one night bore flowers and fruit. And in the highest point of the +soul are found: 1°. The light of Faith, figured by the manna hidden in +its vessel, by which we recognize the truth of the mysteries we do not +understand. 2°. The utility of Hope, represented by Aaron's flowering and +fruitful rod, by which we acquiesce in the promises of the goods which +we see not. 3°. The sweetness of holy Charity, represented by God's +commandments, the keeping of which it includes, by which we acquiesce in +the union of our spirit with God's, though yet are hardly, if at all, +conscious of this our happiness."[6] + +[Footnote 1: Book ii. 13.] +[Footnote 2: Book i. c. 5.] +[Footnote 3: Book ii. 17.] +[Footnote 4: Book i. 6.] +[Footnote 5: Psalm xiii. 2, 3.] +[Footnote 6: Book i. 12.] + + +SOME THOUGHTS OF BLESSED FRANCIS ON THE PASSION. + +Our Blessed Father considered that no thought is of such avail to urge us +forward towards the perfection of divine love as the consideration of the +Passion and Death of the Son of God. This he called the sweetest, and yet +the most constraining of all motives of piety. + +And when I asked him how he could possibly mention gentleness and +constraint or violence in the same breath, he answered, "I can do so in +the sense in which the Apostle says that the Charity of God presses us, +constrains us, impels us, draws us, for such is the meaning of the word +_Urget_.[1] In the same sense as that in which the Holy Ghost in the +Canticle of Canticles tells us that _Love is as strong as death and fierce +as hell_." + +"We cannot deny," he added, "that love is the very essence of sweetness, +and the sweetener of all bitterness, yet see how it is compared to what +is most irresistible, namely, death and hell. The reason of this is that +as there is nothing so strong as the sweetness of love, so also there is +nothing more sweet and more lovable than its strength. Oil and honey are +each smooth and sweet, but when boiling nothing is to be compared with the +heat they give out. + +"The bee when not interfered with is the most harmless of insects; +irritated its sting is the sharpest of all. + +"Jesus Crucified is the Lion of the tribe of Judah--He is the answer to +Samson's riddle, for in His wounds is found the honeycomb of the strongest +charity, and from this strength proceeds the sweetness of our greatest +consolation. And certainly since our Lord's dying for us, as all Scripture +testifies, is the climax of his love, it ought also to be the strongest of +all our motives for loving Him. + +"This it is which made St. Bernard exclaim: 'Oh, my Lord, I entreat Thee +to grant that my whole heart may be so absorbed and, as it were, consumed +in the burning strength and honeyed sweetness of Thy crucified love, that +I may die for the love of Thy love, O Redeemer of my soul, as Thou hast +deigned to die for the love of my love.' + +"It is this excess of love, which on the hill of Calvary drained the last +drop of life-blood from the Sacred Heart of the Lover of our Souls; it is +of this love that Moses and Elias spoke on Mount Thabor amid the glory of +the Transfiguration. + +"They spoke of it to teach us that even in the glory of Heaven, of which +the Transfiguration was only a glimpse, after the vision of the goodness +of God contemplated and loved in itself, and for itself, there will be no +more powerful incentive towards the love of our Divine Saviour than the +remembrance of His Death and Passion. + +"We have a signal testimony to this truth in the Apocalypse, where the +Saints and Angels chant these words before the throne of Him that liveth +for ever and ever: _Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and +divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction +from every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth._"[2] + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. v. 14.] +[Footnote 2: Apoc. v. 12, 18.] + + +UPON THE VANITY OF HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. + +I was speaking on one occasion of the writings of Seneca and of Plutarch, +praising them highly and saying that they had been my delight when young, +our Blessed Father replied: "After having tasted the manna of the Fathers +and Theologians, this is to hanker for the leeks and garlic of Egypt." When +I rejoined that these above mentioned writers furnished me with all that I +could desire for instruction in morals, and that Seneca seemed to me more +like a christian author than a pagan, he said: "There I differ from you +entirely. I consider that no spirit is more absolutely opposed to the +spirit of christianity than that of Seneca, and no more dangerous reading +for a soul aiming at true piety can be found than his works." + +Being much surprised at this opinion, and asking for an explanation, he +went on to say: "This opposition between the two spirits comes from the +fact that Seneca would have us look for perfection within ourselves, +whereas we must seek it outside ourselves, in God, that is to say, in +the grace which God pours into our souls through the Holy Ghost. _Not I, +but the grace of God with me_.[1] By this grace we are what we are. The +spirit of Seneca inflates the soul and puffs it up with pride, that of +Christianity rejects the knowledge which puffs up in order to embrace the +charity which edifies. In short, there is the same difference between the +spirit of Seneca and the christian spirit that there is between virtues +acquired by us, which are, therefore, dead, and virtues that are infused +by God, which are, therefore, living. Indeed, how could this philosopher, +being destitute of the true Faith, possess charity? And yet well we know +that without charity all acquired virtues are unable to save us." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. xv. 10.] + + +UPON THE PURE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR. + +Our Blessed Father, in his Twelfth Conference, teaches how to love one's +neighbour, for whom his own love was so pure and so unfeigned. + +"We must look upon all the souls of men as resting in the Heart of our +Saviour. Alas! they who regard their fellow-men in any other way run the +risk of not loving them with purity, constancy, or impartiality. But +beholding them in that divine resting place, who can do otherwise than love +them, bear with them, and be patient with their imperfections? Who dare +call them irritating or troublesome? Yes, my daughters, your neighbour is +there in the Heart of the Saviour, and there so beloved and lovable that +the Divine Lover dies for love of him." + +A truly charitable love of our neighbour is a rarer thing than one would +think. It is like the few particles of gold which are found on the shores +of the Tagus, among masses of sand. + +Hear what he says on this subject in the eighth of his Spiritual +Conferences: + +"There are certain kinds of affection which appear very elevated and very +perfect in the eyes of creatures, but which in the sight of God are of low +degree and valueless. Such are all friendships based, not only on true +charity, which is God, but only on natural inclinations and human motives. + +"On the other hand, there are friendships which in the eyes of the world +appear mean and despicable, but which in the sight of God have every +excellence, because they are built up in God, and for God, without +admixture of human interests. Now acts of charity which are performed for +those whom we love in this way are truly noble in their nature, and are, +indeed, perfect acts, inasmuch as they tend purely to God, while the +services which we render to those whom we love from natural inclination are +of far less merit. Generally speaking, we do these more for the sake of the +great delight and satisfaction they cause us than for the love of God." He +goes on to say: "The former kind of friendship is likewise inferior to the +latter in that it is not lasting. Its motive is so weak that when slighted +or not responded to it easily grows cold, and finally disappears. Far +otherwise that affection which has its foundation in God, and therefore a +motive which above all others is solid and abiding. + +"Human affection is founded on the possession by the person we love of +qualities which may be lost. It can, therefore, never be very secure. On +the contrary, he who loves in God, and only in God, need fear no change, +because God is always Himself." Again, speaking on this subject, our +Blessed Father says: "All the other bonds which link hearts one to +another are of glass, or jet; but the chain of holy charity is of gold +and diamonds." In another place he remarks: "St. Catherine of Sienna +illustrates the subject by means of a beautiful simile. 'If,' she says, +'you take a glass and fill it from a spring, and if while drinking from +this glass you do not remove it from the spring, you may drink as much as +you please without ever emptying the glass.' So it is with friendships: if +we never withdraw them from their source they never dry up." + + +UPON BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER. + +He laid great stress at all times on the duty of bearing with our +neighbour, and thus obeying the commands of Holy Scripture, _Bear ye one +another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ_,[1] and the +counsels of the Apostle who so emphatically recommends this mutual support. +"To-day mine, to-morrow thine." If to-day we put up with the ill-temper of +our brother, to-morrow he will bear with our imperfections. We must in this +life do like those who, walking on ice, give their hands to one another, so +that if one slips, the other who has a firm foothold may support him. + +St. John the Evangelist, towards the close of his life, exhorted his +brethren not to deny one another this support, but to foster mutual +charity, which prompts the Christian to help his neighbour, and is one of +the chiefest precepts of Jesus Christ, Who, true Lamb of God, endured, and +carried on His shoulders, and on the wood of the Cross, all our sins--an +infinitely heavy burden, nor to be borne by any but Him. The value set by +our Blessed Father on this mutual support was marvellous, and he went so +far as to look upon it as the crown of our perfection. + +He says on the subject to one who was very dear to him: "It is a great part +of our perfection to bear with one another in our imperfections; for there +is no better way of showing our own love for our neighbour." + +God will, in His mercy, bear with him who has mercifully borne with the +defects of his neighbour. + +_Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you. +Good measure of_ blessings, _and pressed down, and shaken together, and +running over shall they give into your bosom_.[2] + +[Footnote 1: Gal. vi. 2.] +[Footnote 2: St. Luke vi. 37, 38.] + + +UPON FRATERNAL CORRECTION. + +Speaking, my dear sisters, as he often did, on the important subject +of brotherly or friendly reproof, our Blessed Father made use of words +profitable to us all, but especially to those who are in authority, and +have therefore to rule and guide others. + +He said: "Truth which is not charitable proceeds from a charity which is +not true." + +When I asked him how we could feel certain that our reproofs were given out +of sincere charity, he answered: + +"When we speak the truth only for the love of God, and for the good of our +neighbour, whom we are reproving." + +He added: "We must follow the counsels of the great Apostle St. Paul, when +he bids us reprove in a spirit of meekness.[1] + +"Indeed gentleness is the intimate friend of charity and its inseparable +companion." This is what St. Paul means when he says that charity is +_kind_, and _beareth all things_, and _endureth all things_.[2] God, who +is Charity, guides the mild in judgment and teaches the meek. His way, His +Spirit, is not in the whirlwind, nor in the storm, nor in the tempest, nor +in the voice of many waters; but in a gentle and whispering wind. _Mildness +is come upon us_, says the Royal Psalmist, _and we shall be corrected_.[3] + +Again Blessed Francis advised us to imitate the Good Samaritan, who poured +oil and wine into the wounds of the poor wayfarer fallen among thieves.[4] +He used to say that "to make a good salad you want more oil than either +vinegar or salt." + +I will give you some more of his memorable sayings on this subject. Many +a time I have heard them from his own lips: "Always be as gentle as you +can, and remember that more flies are caught with a spoonful of honey than +with a hundred barrels of vinegar. If we _must_ err in one direction or +the other, let it be in that of gentleness. No sauce was ever spoilt by +too much sugar. The human mind is so constituted that it rebels against +harshness, but becomes perfectly tractable under gentle treatment. A mild +word cools the heat of anger, as water extinguishes fire. There is no soil +so ungrateful as not to bear fruit when a kindly hand cultivates it. To +tell our neighbour wholesome truths tenderly is to throw red roses rather +than red-hot coals in his face. How could we be angry with any one who +pelted us with pearls or deluged us with rose water! There is nothing more +bitter than a green walnut, but when preserved in sugar there is nothing +sweeter or more digestible. Reproof is by nature harsh and biting, but +confectioned in sweetness and warmed through and through in the fire of +charity, it becomes salutary, pleasant, and even delightful. _The just +will correct me with mercy, and the oil of the flatterer shall not anoint +my head_.[5] _Better are the wounds of a friend than the kisses of the +hypocrite_;[6] if the sharpness of the friend's tongue pierce me it is only +as the lancet of the surgeon, which probes the abscess and lacerates in +order to heal." + +"But (I replied) truth is always truth in whatever language it may be +couched, and in whatever sense it may be taken." In support of this +assertion I quoted the words spoken by St. Paul to Timothy: + +_Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, +rebuke in all patience and doctrine; but, according to their own desires, +they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and will, +indeed, turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned into +fables._[7] + +Our Blessed Father replied: "The whole force of that apostolic lesson lies +in the phrase: _In all patience and doctrine_. Doctrine signifies truth, +and this truth must be spoken with patience. When I use the word patience, +I am trying to put before you an attitude of mind which is not one of +confident expectation, that truth will always meet with a hearty welcome, +and even some degree of acclamation; but an attitude of mind which is on +the contrary prepared to meet with repulse, reprobation, rejection. + +"Surely, seeing that the Son of God was set for a sign of contradiction, we +cannot be surprised if His doctrine, which is the truth, is marked with the +same seal! Surprised! Nay, of necessity it must be so. + +"Consider the many false constructions and murmurings to which the sacred +truths preached by our Saviour during His life on earth were exposed! + +"Was not this one of the reproaches addressed by Him to the Jews: _If I say +the truth you believe me not._ + +"Was not our Lord Himself looked upon as an impostor, a seditious person, +a blasphemer, one possessed by the devil? Did they not even take up stones +to cast at him? Yet, He cursed not those who cursed Him; but repaid their +maledictions with blessings, possessing His soul in patience." + +Blessed Francis wrote to me on this same subject a letter, which has since +been printed among his works, in which he expressed himself as follows: + +"Everyone who wishes to instruct others in the way of holiness must be +prepared to bear with their injustice and unreasonableness, and to be +rewarded with ingratitude. Oh! how happy will you be when men slander you, +and say all manner of evil of you, hating the truth which you offer them. +Rejoice with much joy, for so much the greater is your reward in Heaven. It +is a royal thing to be calumniated for having done well, and to be stoned +in a good cause." + +[Footnote 1: Gal. vi. 1.] +[Footnote 2: 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 7.] +[Footnote 3: Psalm lxxxix. 10] +[Footnote 4: St. Luke x. 34.] +[Footnote 5: Psalm cxl. 5.] +[Footnote 6: Prov. xxvii. 6.] +[Footnote 7: Tim. iv. 2, 4.] + + +UPON FINDING EXCUSES FOR THE FAULTS OF OUR FELLOW-MEN. + +I was one day complaining to him of certain small land-owners, who having +nothing but their gentle birth to boast of, and being as poor as Job, yet +set up as great noblemen, and even as princes, boasting of their high +birth, of their genealogy, and of the glorious deeds of their ancestors. I +quoted the saying of the wise man, that he hated, among other things, with +a perfect hatred the poor proud man, adding that I entirely agreed with +him. + +To boast in the multitude of our riches is natural, but to be vain in our +poverty is beyond understanding. + +He answered me thus: "What would you have? Do you want these poor people to +be doubly poor, like sick physicians, who, the more they know about their +disease the more disconsolate they are? At all events, if they are rich in +honours they will think the less of their poverty, and will behave perhaps +like that young Athenian, who in his madness considered himself the richest +person in his neighbourhood, and being cured of his mental weakness through +the kind intervention of his friends, had them arraigned before the judges, +and condemned to give him back his pleasant illusion. What would you have, +I repeat? It is in the very nature of nobility to meet the rebuffs of +fortune with a cheerful courage; like the palm-tree which lifts itself up +under its burden. Would to God they had no greater failing than this! It is +against that wretched and detestable habit of fighting duels that we ought +to raise our voice." Saying this, he gave a profound sigh. + +A certain lady had been guilty of a most serious fault, committed, indeed, +through mere weakness of character, but none the less scandalous in the +extreme. Our Blessed Father, being informed of what had happened, and +having every kind of vehement invective against the unfortunate person +poured into his ears, only said: "Human misery! human misery!" And again, +"Ah! how we are encompassed with infirmity! What can we do of ourselves, +but fail? We should, perhaps, do worse than this if God did not hold us by +the right hand, and guide us to His will." At last, weary of fencing thus, +he faced the battle, and the comments on this unhappy fall becoming ever +sharper and more emphatic, exclaimed: "Oh! happy fault, of what great good +will it not be the cause![1] This lady's soul would have perished with many +others had she not lost herself. Her loss will be her gain, and the gain of +many others." + +Some of those who heard this prediction merely shrugged their shoulders. +Nevertheless, it was verified. The sinning soul returned to give glory to +God, and the community which she had scandalized was greatly edified by her +conversion and subsequent good example. + +This story reminds me of the words used by the Church in one of her +offices. Words in which she calls the sin of Adam thrice happy, since +because of it the Redeemer came down to our earth--a fortunate malady, +since it brought us the visit of so great a Physician. + +"Even sins," says our Blessed Father, in one of his letters, "work together +for good to those who truly repent of them." + +[Footnote 1: Office for Holy Saturday.] + + +UPON NOT JUDGING OTHERS. + +Men see the exterior; God alone sees the heart, and knows the inmost +thoughts of all. Our Blessed Father used to say that the soul of our +neighbour was that tree of the knowledge of good and evil which we are +forbidden to touch under pain of severe chastisement; because God has +reserved to Himself the judgment of each individual soul. _Who art thou_, +says Sacred Scripture, _who judgest thy brother?_ Knowest thou that +_wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself_?[1] + +Who has given thee the hardihood to take upon thyself the office of Him +Who has received from the Eternal Father all judgment? That is to say, all +power of judging in Heaven and on earth? He observed that a want of balance +of mind, very common among men, leads them to judge of what they do not +know, and not to judge of what they do know. They, as St. Jude declares, +_blaspheme in what they know not, and corrupt themselves in what +they know_.[2] They are blind to what passes in their own homes, but +preternaturally clear-sighted to all happening in the houses of others. + +Now what is this that a man knows not at all? Surely, the heart; the secret +thoughts of his neighbour. And yet how eager is he to dip the fingers of +his curiosity in this covered dish reserved for the Great Master. And what +is it that a man knows best of all, or at least ought to know? Surely, +his own heart; his own secret thoughts. Nevertheless, he fears to enter +into himself, and to stand in his own presence as a criminal before his +judge. He dreads above aught besides the implacable tribunal of his own +conscience, itself alone more surely convicting than a thousand witnesses. + +Our Blessed Father pictures very vividly this kind of injustice in his +Philothea, where he says: "It is equally necessary in order to escape being +judged that we both judge ourselves, and that we refrain from judging +others. Our Lord forbids the latter[3] and His Apostle commands the former. +If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged.[4] Our way is the very +reverse. What is forbidden to us we are continually doing. Judging our +neighbour on all possible occasions, and what is commanded us, namely, to +judge ourselves, that the last thing we think of."[5] + +"A certain woman" (Blessed Francis continued with a smile), "all her life +long had on principle done exactly the contrary to what her husband wanted +her to do. In the end she fell into a river and was drowned. Her husband +tried to recover the body, but was found fault with for going up the +stream, since she must, necessarily, float down with the current. 'And +do you really imagine,' he exclaimed, 'that even her dead body could do +anything else but contradict me?' We are, most of us, very like that +woman," said the Saint. "Yet it is written: _Judge not, and you shall not +be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned._"[6] + +How, then, you will say, is it lawful to have judges and courts of justice, +since man may not judge our neighbour? I answer this objection in Blessed +Francis' own words: + +"But may we, then, under no circumstances judge our neighbour? Under no +circumstances whatever--for in a court of justice it is God, Philothea, not +man, who judges and pronounces sentence. It is true that He makes use of +the voice of the magistrate, but only to render His own sentence audible +to us. Earthly judges are His spokesmen and interpreters, nor ought they +to decide anything but as they have learnt from Him of Whom they are +the oracles. It is when they do otherwise, and follow the lead of their +own passions, that they, and not God, judge, and that consequently they +themselves will be judged. In fact, it is forbidden to men, _as_ men, to +judge others.[7] This is why Scripture gives the name of gods[8] to judges, +because when judging they hold the place of God, and Moses for that reason +is called the god of Pharaoh."[9] + +You ask if we are forbidden to entertain doubts about our neighbour when +founded on good and strong reasons. I answer we are not so forbidden, +because to suspend judgment is not to judge, but only to take a step +towards it. We must, nevertheless, beware of being thereby hurried on +to form a hasty judgment, for that is the rock on which so many make +shipwreck; that is the flare of the torch in which so many thoughtless +moths singe their tiny wings. + +In order that we may avoid this danger he gives us an excellent maxim, one +which is not only useful, but necessary to us. It is that, however many +aspects an action may have, the one we should dwell upon should be that +which is the best. + +If it is impossible to excuse an action, we can at least modify our blame +of it by excusing the intention, or we may lay the blame on the violence +of the temptation, or impute it to ignorance, or to the being taken by +surprise, or to human weakness, so as at least to try to lessen the scandal +of it. If you are told that by doing this you are blessing the unrighteous +and seeking excuses for sin, you may reply that without either praising or +excusing his sin you can be merciful to the sinner. + +You may add that judgment without mercy will be the lot of those who have +no pity for the misfortunes or the infirmities of their brother, and who +in him despise their own flesh. We all are brethren, all of one flesh. +In fact, as says our Blessed Father, those who look well after their own +consciences rarely fall into the sin of rash judgment. To judge rashly is +proper to slothful souls, which, because they never busy themselves with +their own concerns, have leisure to devote their energies to finding fault +with others. + +An ancient writer expresses this well. Men who are curious in their +inquiries into the lives of others are mostly careless about correcting +their own faults. The virtuous man is like the sky, of which the stars are, +as it were, the eyes turned in upon itself. + +[Footnote 1: Rom. ii. 1.] +[Footnote 2: St. Jude 10.] +[Footnote 3: St. Matt. vii. 1.] +[Footnote 4: 1 Cor. xi. 31.] +[Footnote 5: _The Devout Life_, Part iii. 28.] +[Footnote 6: St. Luke vi. 37.] +[Footnote 7: _The Devout Life_, Part iii. 28.] +[Footnote 8: Psalm lxxxi. 1, 6.] +[Footnote 9: Exod. vii. 1.] + + +UPON JUDGING OURSELVES. + +"We do," as Blessed Francis has said, "exactly the reverse of what the +Gospel bids us do. The Gospel commands us to judge ourselves severely +and exactly, while it forbids us to judge our brethren. If we did judge +ourselves, we should not be judged by God, because, forestalling His +judgment and confessing our faults, we should escape His condemnation. On +the other hand, who are we that we should judge our brethren, the servants +of another? To their own Master they rise or fall. + +"Let us not judge before the time until the Lord shall reveal what is +hidden in darkness and pierce the wall of the temple to show what passes +therein. Man judges by appearances only. God alone sees the heart; and it +is by that which is within that true judgment is made of that which is +without. + +"So rash are we in our judgments that we as often as not seize the +firebrand by the burning end; that is, we condemn ourselves while in the +very act of rebuking others. The reproach of the Gospel, _Physician, heal +thyself_,[1] we may take to ourselves. So also that other, _Why seest thou +the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and seest not the beam that is in +thy own eye_?[2] To notice which way we are going is the first condition +of our walking in the right way, according to the words of David, _I have +thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies_.[3] So, on +the other hand, we go astray if we do not pay attention to the path we are +following. Judge not others and you will not be judged; judge yourselves, +and God will have mercy on you." + +[Footnote 1: St. Luke iv. 23] +[Footnote 2: St. Matt. vii. 3] +[Footnote 3: Psalm cxviii. 59] + + +UPON SLANDER AND DETRACTION. + +There is a difference between uttering a falsehood and making a +mistake--for to lie is to say what one knows or believes to be false; but +to mistake is to say, indeed, what is false, but what one nevertheless +thinks in good faith to be true. Similarly, there is a great difference +between slandering our neighbour and recounting his evil deeds. The wrong +doing of our neighbour may be spoken of either with a good or with a bad +intention. The intention is good when the faults of our neighbour are +reported to one who can remedy them, or whose business it is to correct the +wrong-doer, whether for the public good or for the sinner's own. + +Again, there is no harm in speaking among friends of harm done, provided it +be from friendliness, benevolence, or compassion; and this more especially +when the fault is public and notorious. + +We slander our neighbour, then, only when, whether true or false, we +recount his misdeeds with intention to harm him, or out of hatred, envy, +anger, contempt, and from a wish to take away his fair name. + +We slander our neighbour when we make known his faults, though neither +obliged so to do nor having in view his good nor the good of others. The +sin of slander is mortal or venial according to the measure of the wrong we +may thereby have done to our neighbour. + +Our Blessed Father used to say that to do away with slander would be to +do away with most of the sins of mankind. He was right, for of sins of +thought, word, and deed, the most frequent and often the most hurtful in +their effects are those committed with the tongue. And this for several +reasons. + +Firstly, sins of thought are only hurtful to him who commits them. They are +neither occasion for scandal, nor do they annoy anyone, nor give anyone bad +example. God alone knows them, and it is He alone who is offended by them. +Then, too, a return to God by loving repentance effaces them in a moment, +and heals the wound which they have inflicted on the heart. + +Sins of the tongue, on the other hand, are not so readily got rid of. A +harmful word can only be recalled by retracting it, and even then the minds +of our hearers mostly remain infected with the poison we poured in through +the ears; and this, in spite of our humbling ourselves to recall what we +have said. + +Secondly, sins of deed, when they are publicly known, are followed by +punishment. This renders them rarer, because fear of the penalty acts as a +curb on even the basest of mankind. + +But slander (except the calumny be of the most atrocious and aggravated +kind) is not, generally speaking, such as comes before the eye of the law. +On the contrary, if in the guise of bantering it is ingenious and subtle it +passes current for gallantry and wit. + +This is why so many people fall into this evil; for, says an ancient +writer: "Impunity is a dainty allurement to sin." + +Thirdly, slandering finds encouragement in the very small amount of +restitution and reparation made for this fault. Indeed, in my opinion, +those who direct souls in the tribunal of penance are a little too +indulgent, not to say lax, in this matter. + +If anyone has inflicted a bodily injury on another see how severely +the justice of the law punishes the outrage. In olden days the law of +retaliation demanded an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If a man +stole the goods of another he was condemned to the galleys, or even to +the gibbet. But in the case of slander, unless, as I have said, it be of +the most highly aggravated kind, there is scarcely a thought of making +reparation, even by a courteous apology. Yet those who sit in high places +value their reputation much more than riches, or life itself, seeing that +among all natural blessings, honour undoubtedly holds the first rank. +Since, then, we cannot gain admittance into heaven without having restored +that which belongs to another, let the slanderer consider how he can +possibly hope for an entrance there unless he re-establishes his +neighbour's reputation, which he tried to destroy by detraction. + + +UPON HASTY JUDGMENTS. + +Our Blessed Father insisted most earnestly upon the difference which exists +between a vice and sin, reproving those who spoke of a person who had +committed one or more grave faults as vicious. + +"Virtuous habits," he would say, "not being destroyed by one act contrary +to them, a man cannot be branded as intemperate because he has once been +guilty of intemperance." + +Thus when he heard anyone condemned as bad because he had committed a bad +act, he took pains with his accustomed gentleness to modify the charge by +making a distinction between _vice_ and _sin_, the former being a habit, +the latter an isolated act. + +"Vice," he said, "is a habit, sin, the outcome of that habit; and just +as one swallow does not make a summer, so one act of sin does not make a +person vicious. That is to say, it does not render him a sinner in the +sense of being steeped in and wholly given over to the dominion of the +particular vice, the act of which he has committed once, or even more than +once." + +Being asked whether in conformity with this principle it would not be +equally wrong to praise anyone for a single act of virtue, as if that +virtue were his or her constant habit, he replied: "You must remember that +we are forbidden to judge our neighbour in the matter of the evil which he +may appear to do, but not in the good. On the contrary, we may and should +suppose that he has the good habit from which the act seen by us naturally +springs. Nor can we err in such a supposition, since the very perfection +of charity consists in its excess. But when we judge evil of others, our +tongue is like the lancet in the surgeon's hand, and you know how careful +he must be not to pierce an artery in opening a vein. We must only judge +from what we see. We may say that a man has blasphemed and sworn, if we +have heard him do so; but we may not in that account alone say that he is +a blasphemer; that is, that he has contracted the habit of blasphemy, +substituting the vice for the sin." + +The objection was raised that it would follow that we must never attempt to +judge whether a person is or is not in a state of grace, however holy his +life may seem to be; since no one knows whether he is worthy of love or of +hate, and least of all we, who know our neighbour far less intimately than +he knows himself. To this he replied, that if faith, according to St. +James, is known by its works,[1] much more is charity so known, since it is +a more active virtue, its works being the sparks from seeing which we learn +that its fire is still burning somewhere. And though when we saw a sin, +which is undoubtedly mortal, being committed, we might have said that the +sinner was no longer in a state of grace, how do we know that a moment +afterwards God may not have touched his heart, and that he may not have +been converted from his evil ways by an act of contrition? This is why we +must always fear to judge evil of others, but as regards judging well, we +are free to do so as much as we please. Charity grows more and more by +hoping all good of its neighbour, by thinking no evil, by rejoicing in +truth and goodness, but not in iniquity. + +[Footnote 1: St. James ii. 17, 26.] + + +UPON RIDICULING ONE'S NEIGHBOUR. + +When in company he heard anyone being turned into ridicule, he always +showed by his countenance that the conversation displeased him, and would +try to turn the subject by introducing some other. When unsuccessful in +this he would give the signal to cease, as is done in tournaments when the +combatants are becoming too heated, and thus put a stop to the combat, +crying: "This is too much! This is trampling too violently on the good man! +This is altogether going beyond bounds! Who gives us the right to amuse +ourselves thus at the expense of another? How should we like to be talked +about like this, and to have our little weaknesses brought out, just to +amuse anybody who may chance to hear? To put up with our neighbour and his +imperfections is a great perfection, but it is a great imperfection to +laugh at him and his short-comings." + +He expresses himself to Philothea on the same subject as follows: + +"A tendency to ridicule and mock at others is one of the worst possible +conditions of mind. God hates this vice exceedingly, as He has often shown +by the strange punishments which have awaited it. Nothing is so contrary +to charity, and still more so to devotion, as contempt and disparagement +of our neighbour. Now derision and ridicule are always simply contempt, so +that the learned are justified in saying that to mock at our neighbour is +the worst kind of injury that we can by mere word inflict on him; because +all other words of disparagement are compatible with some degree of esteem +for the person injured, but ridicule is essentially the expression of +contempt and disdain."[1] + +Now Holy Scripture pronounces woe upon those who despise others, and +threatens them with being despised themselves. God always takes the part +of the despised against the despiser. Our Lord says: _He who despises you, +despises Me_;[2] and speaking of little children, _Take heed that you +despise not one of them_.[3] And Almighty God in comforting Moses for an +insult offered to the great law-giver by the Children of Israel, says: +_They have not despised you, but Me_. + +On one occasion when Blessed Francis was present some young lady in the +company was ridiculing another who was conspicuously ill-favoured. Defects +born with her were what were being laughed over. He gently reminded the +speaker that it is God Who has made us and not we ourselves and that all +His works are perfect. But the latter assertion only making her jeer the +more, he ended by saying: "Believe me, I know for a fact her soul is more +upright, more beautiful, and better formed than you can possibly have any +conception of." This silenced her and sent her away abashed. + +On another occasion he heard some people laughing at a poor hump-back who +was absent at the time. Our Blessed Father instantly took up his defence, +quoting again those words of Scripture: _The works of God are perfect_. +"What!" exclaimed one of the company. "Perfect! and yet deformed!" Blessed +Francis replied pleasantly: "And do you really think that there cannot be +perfect hunchbacks, just as much as others are perfect because gracefully +made and straight as a dart!" In fine, when they tried to make him explain +what perfection he meant, whether outward or inward, he said: "Enough. What +I tell you is true; let us talk of something better." + +[Footnote 1: _The Devout Life_, Part iii. c. 27.] +[Footnote 2: Luke x. 16.] +[Footnote 3: Matt. xviii. 10.] + + +UPON CONTRADICTING OTHERS. + +There is no kind of disposition more displeasing to men than one which is +obstinate and contradictory. People of this sort are pests of conversation, +firebrands in social intercourse, sowers of discord. Like hedgehogs and +horse-chestnuts, they have prickles all over them, and cannot be handled. +On the other hand, a gentle, pliable, condescending disposition, which is +ready to give way to others, is a living charm. It is like the honeycomb +which attracts every sort of fly; it becomes everybody's master, because it +makes itself everybody's servant; being all things to all men, it wins them +all. + +People of a peevish, morose disposition soon find themselves left alone +in a mighty solitude; they are avoided like thistles which prick whoever +touches them. Our Blessed Father always spoke with the highest praise of +the dictum of St. Louis, that we should never speak evil of anyone, unless +when by our silence we should seem to hold with him in his wrong-doing, and +so give scandal to others. + +The holy King did not inculcate this from motives of worldly prudence, +which he detested; nor was he following the maxim of that pagan Emperor, +who declared that no one, in quitting the presence of his Sovereign, should +ever be suffered to go away dissatisfied, a saying dictated by cunning and +with the object of teaching his fellow-potentates to win men by fair words. +No, St. Louis was travelling by a very different road, and spoke in a truly +Christian spirit, desiring only to hinder disputes and contentions, and to +follow the advice of St. Paul, who wishes that we should _avoid contentions +and strivings_.[1] But if, when it is in our power to do so, we do not +openly condemn the fault or error of another, will not that be a sort of +connivance at, and consequently a participation in, the wrong-doing? Our +Blessed Father answers that difficulty thus: "When it is a question of +contradicting another, and of setting your opinion against his, it must +be done with the utmost gentleness and tact, and without any desire to +wound the feelings of the other; for nothing is gained by taking things +ill-temperedly." + +If you irritate a horse by teasing him he will, if he has any mettle, take +the bit between his teeth and carry you just where he pleases. But when you +slacken the rein he stops and becomes tractable. + +So it is with the mind of another; if you force it to assent, you humble +it; if you humble it, you irritate it; if you irritate it, you utterly lose +hold of it. The mind may be persuaded; it cannot be constrained; to force +it to believe is to force it from all belief. _Is mildness come upon us_? +says David; _then are we corrected_.[2] The Spirit of God, gentle and +sweet, is in the soft refreshing zephyrs, not in the whirlwind, nor in +the tempest. It is God's enemy, the devil, who is called a spirit of +contradiction; and such human beings as imitate him share his title. + +[Footnote 1: Titus iii. 9.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm lxxxix. 10.] + + +UPON LOVING OUR ENEMIES. + +Some one having complained to Blessed Francis of the difficulty he found +in obeying the christian precept commanding us to love our enemies, he +replied: "As for me, I know not how my heart is made, or how it happens +that God seems to have been pleased to give me lately altogether a new +one. Certain it is that I not only find no difficulty in practising this +precept; but I take such pleasure in doing it, and experience so peculiar +and delightful a sweetness in it, that if God had forbidden me to love my +enemies I should have had great difficulty in obeying Him. + +"It seems to me that the very contradiction and opposition we meet with +from our fellow-men, ought to rouse our spirit to love them more, for they +serve as a whetstone to sharpen our virtue. + +"Aloes make honey seem sweeter; and wine has a more delicious flavour if we +drink it after having eaten bitter almonds. It is true that mostly a little +conflict and struggle goes on in our minds: but in the end it will surely +come to pass with us what the Psalmist commands when he says: _Be angry and +sin not._[1] + +"What! Shall we not bear with those whom God Himself bears with? We who +have ever before our eyes the great example of Jesus Christ on the Cross +praying for His enemies. And then, too, our enemies have not crucified us; +they have not persecuted us, even to death; we have not yet resisted unto +blood. + +"Again, who would not love this dear enemy for whom Jesus Christ prayed? +For whom He died? For, mark it well, He prayed not only for those who +crucified Him, but also for those who persecute us, and Him in us. As He +testified to Saul when He cried out to Him: _Why persecutest thou Me_?[2] +That is to say, Me in My members. + +"We are not, indeed, obliged to love the vices of our enemy; his hatred of +good, the enmity which he bears us; for all these things are displeasing to +God, Whom they offend; but we must separate the sin from the sinner, the +precious from the vile, if we desire to be like our Saviour." + +He did not admit the maxim of the world: "We must not trust a reconciled +enemy." In his opinion the exact contrary of this dictum is more in +accordance with truth. + +He used to say that "fallings out" in the case of friends only serve +to draw the bonds of friendship closer, just as the smith makes use of +water to increase the heat of his fire. He added, as a well-known fact in +surgery, that the callosity which forms over a fractured bone is so dense +that the limb will never break again at that particular place. + +Indeed, when a reconciliation has taken place between two persons hitherto +at variance, it is almost certain that each will set to work, perhaps even +unconsciously, to make the newly-cemented friendship firmer. The offender +by avoiding further offence, and atoning as far as possible for what is +past, and the offended person by endeavouring in a truly generous spirit to +bury that past in oblivion. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm iv. 5.] +[Footnote 2: Acts ix. 4.] + + +UPON FORGIVING OUR ENEMIES. + +On the subject of the forgiveness of enemies, Blessed Francis told me of +an incident which occurred at Padua (possibly at the time that he was +studying there). It appears that certain of the students at that university +had a bad habit of prowling about the streets at night, pistol in hand, +challenging passers-by with the cry of "Who goes there?" and firing if they +did not receive a humble and civil answer. + +One of the gang having one night challenged a fellow-student and received +no answer, fired, and took such good aim that the poor young man fell dead +on the pavement. Horrified and amazed at the fatal result of his mad prank, +the student fled, hoping to hide from justice. + +The first open door that he saw was that of the dwelling of a good widow, +whose son was his friend and fellow-student. Hastily entering, he implored +her to hide him in some safe place, confessing what he had done, and that, +should he be taken, all was over with him. + +The good woman shut him into a little room, secret and safe, and there +left him. Not many minutes had elapsed before a melancholy procession +approached, and the dead body of her son was brought into the house, the +bearers telling the distracted mother in what manner he had been killed, +and after a little questioning, giving the name of the youth who had shot +her child. + +Weeping and broken-hearted, she hurried to the place where she had hidden +the wretched homicide, and it was from her lips that he learned who it was +that he had deprived of life. + +In an agony of shame and grief, tearing his hair, and calling upon death to +strike him down, too, he threw himself on his knees before the poor mother; +not, indeed, to ask her pardon, but to entreat her to give him up to +justice, wishing to expiate publicly a crime so barbarous. + +The widow, a most devout and merciful woman, was deeply touched by the +youth's repentance, and saw clearly that it was thoughtlessness and not +malicious intent that had been the moving spring of the deed. She then +assured him that, provided he would ask pardon of God and change his way +of life, she would keep her promise and help him to escape. This she did, +and by so doing imitated the gentle kindness of the prophet who spared the +lives of the Syrian soldiers who had come to murder him, he having them in +his power in the midst of Samaria.[1] + +So pleasing to God was this poor widow's clemency and forgiveness that He +permitted the soul of her murdered son to appear to her, revealing to +her that her pardon, granted so readily and sweetly to the man who had +unintentionally been his murderer, had obtained for his soul deliverance +from Purgatory, in which place he would otherwise have been long detained. + +How blessed are the merciful! They shall obtain mercy both for themselves +and for others! + +[Footnote 1: 4 Reg. vi. 12. 23] + + +UPON THE VIRTUE OF CONDESCENSION. + +I will give you our Blessed Father's views on this subject, first reminding +you how unfailingly patient he was with the humours of others, how gentle +and forbearing at all times towards his neighbour, and how perseveringly he +inculcated the practice of this virtue, not only upon the Daughters of the +Visitation, but upon all his spiritual children. + +He often said to me: "Oh, how much better it would be to accommodate +ourselves to others rather than to want to bend every one to our own ways +and opinions! The human mind is like pulp, which takes readily any colour +mixed with it. The great thing is to take care that it be not like the +chameleon, which, one after the other, takes every colour except white. +Condescension, if unaccompanied by frankness and purity, is dangerous, and +much to be avoided. + +"It is right to take compassion upon sinners, but it must be with the +intention of extricating them from the mire, not of slothfully leaving them +to rot and perish in it. It is a perverted sort of mercy to look at our +neighbour, sunk in the misery of sin, and not venture to extend to him the +helping hand of a gentle but out-spoken remonstrance. We must condescend in +everything, but only up to the altar steps; that is to say, not beyond the +point at which condescension would be a sin, and undeserving of its name. +I do not say that we must at every instant reprove the sinner. Charitable +prudence demands that we rather wait the moment when he is capable of +assimilating the remedies suitable for his malady, and till God shall _give +to his hearing joy and gladness, and the bones that have been humbled shall +rejoice_.[1] Turbulent zeal, zeal that is neither moderate nor wise, pulls +down in place of building up. There are some who do no good at all, because +they wish to do things too well, and who spoil everything they try to +mend. We must make haste slowly, as the ancient proverb says. He who walks +hurriedly is apt to fall. We must be prudent both in reproving others and +in condescending to them. _The King's honour loveth judgment._"[2] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm l. 10.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm xcviii. 4.] + + +HOW BLESSED FRANCIS ADAPTED HIMSELF TO TIMES, PLACES, AND CIRCUMSTANCES. + +When the Chablais was restored to the Duke of Savoy, Bishop de Granier, +the predecessor of our Holy Founder, eager to further the design of His +Highness to bring back into the bosom of the Roman Church the population +that had been led astray, sent to it a number of labourers to gather in +the harvest. Among these, one of the first to be chosen was our Saint, +at that time Provost of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Geneva, and +consequently next in dignity to the Bishop. + +With him were sent some Canons, Parish Priests, and others. Several members +of various Religious Orders also presented themselves, eager to be employed +in this onerous, if honourable, mission.[1] + +It would be impossible to give a just idea of the labours of these +missionaries, or of the obstacles which they encountered at the outset of +their holy enterprise. The spirit of Blessed Francis was, however, most +flexible and accommodating, and greatly tended to further the work of the +people's conversion. + +He was like the manna which assimilated itself to the palate of whoever +tasted it: he made himself all things to all men that he might gain all for +Jesus Christ. + +In his ordinary mode of conversation and in his dress, which was mean and +common, he produced a much less jarring effect upon the minds and eyes of +these people than did the members of Religious Orders with their various +habits and diversities. + +He, as well as the secular Priests who worked under him, sometimes even +condescended so far as to wear the short cloaks and high boots usual in the +country, so as more easily to gain access to private houses, and not to +offend the eyes of the people by the sight of the cassock, which they were +unaccustomed to. To this pious stratagem the members of Religious Orders +were unwilling to have recourse, their distinctive habit being, in their +opinion, almost essential to their profession, or at least so fitting that +it might never lawfully be laid aside. + +Our Blessed Father went on quite a different tack, and caught more flies +with a spoonful of the honey which he was so much in the habit of using, +than did all the others with their harsher methods. + +Everything about him, whether external or internal, breathed the spirit of +conciliation; all his words, gestures, and ways were those of kindliness. + +Some wished to make themselves feared; but he desired only to be loved, and +to enter men's hearts through the doorway of affection. On this account, +whether he spoke in public or in private, he was always more attentively +listened to than anyone else. + +However much the Protestants might attack him and purposely provoke him, +he, on his side, ever dealt with them in a spirit absolutely free from +contention, abstaining from anything likely to give offence, having often +on his lips those beautiful words of the Apostle: _If any man seem to be +contentious, we have no such custom, nor the Church of God._[2] + +To come now to the particulars which I promised you, let me tell you how +our Blessed Father, having read in St. Augustine's works and in those of +other ancient Fathers that in the early centuries Christian Priests, in +addressing heretics and schismatics, did not hesitate to call them their +brethren, inferred that he might quite lawfully follow so great an example. + +By doing so he conciliated these people to such an extent that they flocked +to hear him, and were charmed with the sweetness and gentleness of his +discourses, the outcome of his overflowing kindliness of heart. This mode +of expression was, however, so offensive to preachers who were in the +habit of speaking of heretics as rebels against the light, uncircumcised +of heart, etc., that they called a meeting, in which they resolved to +remonstrate with the Provost (Blessed Francis), and to represent to +him that, though he meant well, he was in reality ruining the cause of +Catholics. + +They insisted that he was flattering the pride so inherent in heresy, that +he was lulling the people to sleep in their errors by sewing pillows to +their elbows; that it was better to correct them in mercy and justice than +to pour on their heads the oil of wheedling, as they called the kindliness +of our Saint. + +He received their remonstrances pleasantly, and even respectfully, without +defending himself in any way, but, on the contrary, appearing to yield +to their zeal, albeit somewhat sadly and unwillingly. Finding, however, +that he did not begin to act upon their suggestions, as they had promised +themselves he would do, some of them sent a written appeal to the Bishop, +representing to him that he would have to recall the Provost and his +companion missioners, who with their unwise and affected levity ruined in +one day more souls than they themselves could convert in a month. + +They went on to compare the labour of the missioners to Penelope's web: to +say that our Saint preached more like a Huguenot pastor than a Catholic +Priest, and, in fine, that he went so far as to call the heretics his +brethren, a thing so scandalous that the Protestants had already conceived +great hope of bringing him over to their own party. + +The good Bishop, however, better informed as to the real state of the case, +paid little heed to this appeal, dictated by a bitter zeal, rather than by +the true science of the Saints. He merely exhorted each one to persevere, +and to remember that every spirit should praise the Lord according to the +talents committed to it by God. + +Our Blessed Father, being informed of these complaints made against him +to his Bishop, would not defend himself, but commended his cause to the +judgment of God, and, silently but hopefully, awaited the result. Nor was +his expectation disappointed, for experience soon showed that the too +ardent eagerness of these zealots was more likely to delay than to advance +the work. + +To crown all this, the preachers who had objected to his method had ere +long themselves to be set aside as unfit. + +On one occasion when I was talking with him and had turned the conversation +on this subject, he said to me: "These good people looked through coloured +spectacles. They saw all things of the same hue as their own glasses. My +predecessor soon found out who were the real hindrances to the conversion +of the Protestant Cantons." + +On my asking him how he could in reason apply the term "brethren" to +persons who certainly are not such, since no one can have God for his +Father who has not the Catholic Church for his mother, and since, +therefore, those who are not in her bosom cannot be our brethren, he said +to me: "Ah! but I never call them brethren without adding the epithet +_erring_, a word which marks the distinction with sufficient clearness. + +"Besides, they are in fact our brethren by Baptism, which they duly +administer and receive. Moreover, they are our brethren according to the +flesh, for are we not all children of Adam? Then, too, we are fellow +citizens, and subjects of the same earthly prince. Is not that enough to +constitute a kind of fraternity between us? + +"Lastly, I look upon them as children of the Church, at least in +disposition, since they are willing to be instructed; and as my brethren +in hope, since they also are called to inherit eternal life. In the early +days of the Church it was customary to give the title of brethren to +catechumens, even before their baptism." + +These reasons satisfied me and made me esteem highly the ingenious method +suggested to him by the Holy Spirit to render these unruly and untaught +souls docile and tractable. + +[Footnote 1: M. Camus must have been misinformed. St. Francis had but few +fellow-workers in the early years of his mission in the Chablais. [Ed.]] +[Footnote 2: 1 Cor. xi. 16.] + + +UPON THE DEFERENCE DUE TO OUR INFERIORS AND DEPENDENTS. + +Blessed Francis not only taught, but practised deference and a certain +obedience towards his inferiors; towards his flock, towards his fellow +citizens, and even towards his servants. He obeyed his body servant in what +concerned his rising, his going to bed, and his toilet, as if he himself +had been the valet and the other the master. + +When he sat up far into the night either to study or to write letters, he +would beg his servant to go to bed, for fear of tiring him by keeping him +up. The man would grumble at his request, as if he were being taken for +a lazy, sleepy-headed fellow. Our Blessed Father patiently put up with +grumblings of the sort, but would complete what he had in hand as quickly +as possible, so as not to keep the man waiting. + +One summer morning Blessed Francis awoke very early, and, having some +important matter on his mind, called this servant to bring him some +necessaries for his toilet. The man, however, was too sound asleep to be +roused by his master's voice. The good Prelate therefore, on rising, looked +into the adjoining room, thinking that the man must have left it, but +finding him fast asleep, and fearing to do him harm by waking him suddenly, +dressed without his assistance and betook himself to his prayers, studies, +and writing. Later the servant awoke, and dressed, and, coming to his +master's room, to his surprise found him deep in his studies. The man asked +him abruptly how he had managed without him. "I fetched everything myself," +replied the holy Prelate. "Am I not old enough and strong enough for that?" +"Would it have been too much trouble to call me?" said the man grumblingly. +"No, indeed, my child," said Blessed Francis, "and I assure you that I did +call you several times; but at last, thinking that you must have gone out, +I got up to see where you were, and, finding you sleeping profoundly, I had +not the heart to wake you." "You have the heart, it seems, to turn me into +ridicule," retorted the man. "Oh, no, my friend," said Francis. "I was +only telling you what happened, without a thought of either blaming you or +making fun of you. Come, I promise you that for the future I will never +stop calling you till you awake." + + +UPON THE WAY TO TREAT SERVANTS. + +His opinion was that masters, as a rule, commit many grave faults with +regard to their servants, by treating them with harshness and severity. +Such conduct is quite unworthy of christians, and, in them, worse even than +the behaviour of pagans in olden times to their slaves. + +He himself never uttered an angry or threatening word to any one of his +domestics. When they committed a fault, he corrected them so mildly that +they were ready at once to make amends and to do better, out of love to +their good master rather than from fear of him. + +Once, when I was talking to him on this subject, I quoted the saying +that "Familiarity breeds contempt, and contempt hatred." "Yes," he +said, "improper familiarity, but never civil, cordial, kindly, virtuous +familiarity; for as that proceeds from love, love engenders its like, and +true love is never without esteem, nor, consequently, without respect for +the object loved, seeing that love is founded wholly on the estimation +in which the thing or person beloved is held. You know the saying of the +ancient tyrant: _Let them hate me, provided that they fear me_. Speaking on +this subject, we may well reverse the motto and say: _Let them despise me, +provided only that they love me_. For if this contempt produces love, love +after a while will stifle contempt, and sooner or later will in its place +put respect; since there is no one that one reverences more, or has a +greater fear of offending, than a person whom one loves in truth and +sincerity of heart." + +With regard to this, he told me a story, which he alludes to in his +Philothea. Blessed Elzéar, Comte d'Arian, in Provence, was so exceedingly +gentle in his treatment of his servants that they looked upon him as a +person positively deficient in understanding, and behaved in his presence +with the greatest incivility and insolence, knowing well his persevering +tolerance of injuries and his boundless patience. His wife, the saintly +Delphina, feeling more acutely than he the disrespectful conduct of their +servants, complained of it to him, saying that the menials absolutely +laughed in his face. "And if they do," he answered, "why should I be put +out by these little familiarities, pleasantries, and bursts of merriment, +seeing that I am quite certain they do not hate me? They have not yet +struck me, spat in my face, or offered me any of those indignities which +Jesus Christ our Lord suffered at the hands of the high priest's servants, +and not alone from those who scourged Him, derided Him, and crucified +Him. Is it fitting that I, who glory in being the servant of Jesus Christ +crucified, should desire to be better treated than my Master? Does it +become a member to complain of any hardship under a Head wearing no crown +but one of thorns? All that you tell me is but a mere jest compared with +the insults heaped upon our divine Lord. The contempt of my servants--if, +indeed, they do despise me--is a splendid lesson, teaching me to despise +myself. How shall we practise humility if not on such occasions as these?" + +Our Blessed Father went on to say: "I have proposed this example rather for +your admiration than for your imitation, and that you may see of what means +holy love makes use, in the hearts which are its own, in order to lead them +to find rest in the very things which trouble those who are less devout. +What I would say on the subject of servants is this; that, after all, they +are our fellow-men and our humble brethren, whom charity obliges us to +love as ourselves. Come, then, let us love them as ourselves, these dear +yoke-fellows, who are so closely bound to us, who live under the same roof, +and eat and drink of our substance. Let us treat them like ourselves, or +as we should wish to be treated if we were in their place, and of their +condition in life. That is the best way to deal with servants." + + +ANOTHER INSTANCE OF BLESSED FRANCIS' GENTLENESS WITH HIS OWN SERVANTS. + +Like master, like man. Not only were all our Blessed Father's servants +virtuous (he would not have suffered any who were not, to form part of his +household), but, following their master's example, they were all singularly +gentle and obliging in their manners and behaviour. + +One of them, a young man, handsome, virtuous, and pious, was greatly sought +after by many of the citizens, who thought he would prove a most desirable +son-in-law, and to this end they encouraged his intercourse with their +daughters. About the several advantageous matches proposed to him he always +used to tell the Bishop. One day the latter said to him, "My dear son, your +soul is as dear to me as my own, and there is no sort of advantage that I +do not desire for you and would not procure for you if I could. That you +know very well, and you know, too, that it is possibly only your youth that +dazzles the eyes of certain young girls and makes them want you for their +husband; but I am of opinion that more age and experience is needed before +you take upon yourself the cares of a family. Think well over the matter, +for when once embarked it will be too late to repent of what you have done. + +"Marriage is an Order in which the profession must be made before the +novitiate; if there were a year's probation, as there is in the cloister, +there would be very few professions. After all, what have I done to you to +make you wish to leave me? I am old, I shall soon die, and then you can +dispose of yourself as you please. I shall bequeath you to my brother, who +will provide for you quite as advantageously as these proposed matches +would have done." + +He said this with tears in his eyes, which so distressed the young man that +he threw himself at the Bishop's feet, asking his pardon for having even +thought of quitting him, and renewing his protestations of fidelity and of +determination to serve him in life and death. + +"No, no, my son," he replied; "I have no wish to interfere with your +liberty. I would, on the contrary, purchase it, like St. Paul, at the cost +of my own. But I am giving you friendly advice, such as I would offer to my +own brother were he of your age." And in very truth he treated the members +of his household; not as servants, but as his brothers and children. He was +their elder brother or their father, rather than their master. + + +THE HOLY BISHOP NEVER REFUSED WHAT WAS ASKED OF HIM. + +He practised to the letter the divine precept: _Give to him who asketh of +thee_,[1] though, indeed, he possessed so few earthly goods that it was a +standing marvel to me how he could give away as much as he did! Truly, I +believe that God often multiplied the little which was really in his hands. + +As regards heavenly goods, he was lavish of them to all who came to him +as petitioners. He never refused spiritual consolation or advice either +in public or in private, and his readiness to supply abundantly and +spontaneously this mystical bread of life and wisdom was surprising. His +alertness when requested to preach was also peculiarly remarkable, as +his action was naturally heavy, and his habit of thought, as well as his +enunciation, somewhat slow. + +On one occasion, in Paris, he was asked to preach on a certain day, and +readily consented to do so. One of his attendants then reminded him that he +was engaged to preach elsewhere on the same day. "No matter," the Bishop +replied, "God will give us grace to multiply our bread. _He is rich towards +all who invoke Him._"[2] His servant next remarked that some care was +surely due to his health. "What!" exclaimed Blessed Francis, "do you think +that if God gives us the grace to find matter for preaching, He will not +at the same time take care of the body, the organ by means of which His +doctrine is proclaimed? Let us put our trust in Him, and He will give us +all the strength we need." + +"But," objected the other, "does God forbid us to take care of our health?" + +"By no means," answered the Bishop; "but He does forbid a want of +confidence in His goodness ... and," he added seriously and firmly, "were I +requested to preach a third sermon on that same day, it would cost me less +both in mind and body to consent than to refuse. Should we not be ready to +sacrifice, and even, as it were, to obliterate ourselves, body and soul, +for the benefit of that dear neighbour of ours whom our Lord loved so much +as even to die for him?" + +[Footnote 1: Matt. v. 43.] +[Footnote 2: Rom. x. 12.] + + +UPON ALMSGIVING. + +Our Blessed Father had, as we know, so high an idea of the virtue of +charity, which, indeed, he said was only christian perfection under another +name, that he disliked to hear almsgiving called charity. It was, he said, +like putting a royal crown on the head of a village maiden. + +In answer to my objection that this was actually the case with Esther, who, +though only a slave, was chosen by Assuerus to be his queen, and crowned by +his royal hand, he replied: "You only strengthen my argument, for Esther +would have remained in her state of servitude had she not become the spouse +of Assuerus, and, queen though she was, she only wore her crown dependently +on his will and pleasure. So almsgiving is only pleasing to God, and worthy +of its reward, the heavenly crown of justice, in as far as it proceeds +from charity, and is animated by that royal gift which converts it into +an infused and supernatural virtue, which may be called either almsgiving +in charity, of charitable almsgiving. But, just as the two natures, the +divine and the human, were not merged in one another in the mystery of the +Incarnation, although joined in the unity of the hypostasis of the Word, +so this conjunction of charity with almsgiving, or this subordination of +almsgiving to charity, does not change the one into the other, the object +of each being as different as is the Creator from the creature. For the +object of almsgiving is the misery of the needy which it tries as far as +possible to relieve, and that of charity is God, Who is the sovereign Good, +worthy to be loved above all things for His own sake." "But," I said, +"when almsgiving is practised for the love of God, can we not then call +it charity?" "No," he replied, "not any more than you can call Esther +Assuerus, and Assuerus Esther. But you can, as I have said above, call it +alms given in charity, or charitable almsgiving. + +"Almsgiving and charity are quite different, for not only may alms be given +without charity, but even against charity, as when they are given knowing +they will lead to sin." + +In a remarkable passage in Theotimus the Saint asks: "Were there not +heretics, who, to exalt charity towards the poor, deprecated charity +towards God, ascribing man's whole salvation to almsdeeds, as St. Augustine +witnesses?"[1] + +[Footnote 1: Love of God. B. xi. c. 14.] + + +OUR SAINT'S HOPEFULNESS IN REGARD TO THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. + +Our Blessed Father was always full of tenderness, compassion, and +gentleness towards sinners, but he regarded and treated them in different +ways according to their various dispositions. + +A sinner who had grown old in evil, who clung obstinately to his wicked +ways, who laughed to scorn all remonstrances, and gloried in his shame, +formed a spectacle so heart-breaking and so appalling to the holy Bishop, +that he shrank from contemplating it. When he had succeeded in turning his +thoughts to some other subject, on their being suddenly recalled to it, he +would shudder as if a secret wound had been touched, and utter some devout +and fervent ejaculation such as this: "Ah! Lord, command that this blind +man see! Speak the word only, and he shall be healed! Oh, my God, those who +forsake Thee shall be forsaken; convert him, and he shall be converted!" + +With obstinate sinners of this class his patience was unwearied. For such, +he said, God Himself waited patiently, even until the eleventh hour; +adding that impatience was more likely to embitter them and retard their +conversion than remonstrance to edify them. + +For the sinner who was more open to conviction, and was not so obstinate +in his malice, for him who had, that is to say, lucid intervals in his +madness, Blessed Francis had the most tender affection, regarding him as a +poor paralytic waiting on the edge of the pool of healing for some helping +hand to plunge him into it. To such he behaved as did the good shepherd of +the Gospel, Who left the ninety-nine sheep in the desert to seek after the +hundredth which had gone astray. + +But towards the sinner when once converted, how describe his attitude of +mind! He regarded him not as a brand snatched from the burning, not as a +bruised reed, not as an extinguished taper that was still smoking, but as +a sacred vessel filled with the oil of grace, as one of those trees which +the ancients looked upon as holy because they had been struck by fire from +Heaven. It was marvellous to observe the honour which he paid to such a +one, the esteem in which he held him, the praises which he bestowed upon +him. + +He always considered that souls delivered by God from the mouth of +the roaring lion were in consequence likely to be more vigilant, more +courageous in resisting temptation, and more careful in guarding against +relapses. + +He did all he could to cover the faults of others, his goodness of heart +being so great that he never allowed himself to think ill even of the +wicked. He attributed their sinfulness to the violence of temptation and +the infirmity of human nature. When faults were public and so manifest that +they could not be excused, he would say: "Who knows but that the unhappy +soul will be converted? The greatest sinners often become the greatest +penitents, as we see in the case of David. And who are we that we should +judge our brother? Were it not for the grace of God we should perhaps do +worse than he." + +He never allowed the conversion of a sinner to be despaired of, hoping on +till death. "This life," he said, "is our pilgrim way, in which those who +now stand may fall, and those who have fallen may, by grace, be set on +their feet again." Nor even after death would he tolerate an unfavourable +judgment being passed on any. + +His reason for this was that as the original grace of justification was not +given by way of merit, so neither could the grace of final perseverance be +merited. + +With regard to this subject he related to me an amusing incident which +occurred whilst he was a missioner in the Chablais. Amongst the Priests and +Religious who were sent to help him was one of a humorous temperament, and +who did not hesitate to show that he was so, even in the pulpit. One day, +when preaching before our Blessed Prelate against the heresiarch[1] who +had raised the standard of revolt in Geneva, he said that we should never +condemn any one as lost after death, except such as are by Scripture +denounced; no, not even the said heresiarch who had caused so much evil +by his errors. "For," he went on to say, "who knows but that God may have +touched his heart at the last moment and converted him? It is true that out +of the Church and without the true faith there is no salvation; but who can +say that he did not at the moment of death wish to be reunited with the +Catholic Church, from which he had separated himself, and acknowledge in +his heart the truth of the belief he had combated, and that thus he did not +die sincerely repentant?" + +After having surprised the congregation by these remarks, he most +unexpectedly concluded by saying: "We must certainly entertain sentiments +of boundless confidence in the goodness of God, Who is infinite in mercy to +those who invoke Him. Jesus Christ even offered His peace, His love, and +His salvation to the traitor Judas, who betrayed Him by a kiss. Why, then, +may He not have offered the same favour to this unhappy heresiarch? Is the +arm of God shortened? + +"Yet, my brethren," he continued, "believe me, and I assure you I lie not, +if this man is not damned he has had the narrowest escape man ever had; and +if he has been saved from eternal wreck, he owes to God _the handsomest +votive candle that a person of his condition ever offered!_" + +As you may imagine, this _finale_ did not draw many tears from the +audience! + +[Footnote 1: Calvin.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' SOLICITUDE FOR MALEFACTORS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. + +He often went to carry consolation to prisoners, and sometimes accompanied +condemned criminals to the place of execution, that he might help them to +make a good death. + +At such times, too, he kept to the methods we have already described as +used by him in his visiting of the rest of the dying. After having made +them unburden their conscience, he left them a little breathing space, and +then at intervals suggested to them acts of faith, hope, and charity, of +repentance, of resignation to the Will of God, and of abandonment to His +mercy; not adding to their sufferings by importunity, long harangues, or +endless exhortations. + +So happily did the Blessed Prelate succeed in this method of treatment, +that sometimes the poor criminals whom he accompanied to their execution +went to it as to a marriage feast, with joy and peace, such as they had +never experienced in the whole course of their lawless and sinful lives, +happier far so to die than to live on as they had done. "It is," he would +say to them, "by lovingly kissing the feet of God's justice that we most +surely reach the embrace of His tender mercy. + +"Above all things, we must be confident that they who trust in Him shall +never be confounded." + + +UPON THE SMALL NUMBER OF THE ELECT. + +Blessed Francis' extreme gentleness always led him to lean towards +indulgent judgment, however slight in a particular case the apparent +justification might be. + +On one occasion there was a discussion in his presence as to the meaning of +those terrible words in the Gospel: _Many are called, but few chosen_.[1] +Some one said that the chosen were called a little flock, whereas the +unwise or reprobates were spoken of as many in number, and so on. He +replied that, in his opinion, there would be very few Christians (meaning, +of course, those who are in the true Church, outside which there is no +salvation) who would be lost, "because," he said, "having the root of the +true faith, the tree that springs from it would sooner or later bear its +fruit, which is salvation, and awakening, as it were, from death to life, +they would become, through charity, active and rich in good works." + +When asked what, then, was the meaning of the statement in the Gospel as to +the small number of the elect, he replied that in comparison with the rest +of the world, and with infidel nations, the number of Christians was very +small, but that of that small number very few would be lost, in conformity +to that striking text, _There is no condemnation for those that are in +Christ Jesus_.[2] Which really means that justifying grace is always being +offered them, and this grace is inseparable from a lively faith and a +burning charity. Add to this that He who begins the work in us is He who +likewise perfects it. We may believe that the call to christianity, which +is the work of God, is always a perfect work, and therefore leads of itself +to the end of all perfection, which is heavenly glory. + +[Footnote 1: Matt. XX. 16.] +[Footnote 2: Rom. viii. 1.] + + +TO LOVE TO BE HATED, AND TO HATE TO BE LOVED. + +This maxim of our Blessed Father's seems strange and altogether contrary to +his sweet and affectionate nature. + +If, however, we look closely into it, we shall find that it is full of the +purest and most subtle love of God. + +When he said that we ought to love to be hated, and hate to be loved, he +was referring in the one case to the love which is in and for God alone, +and in the other to that merely human love, which is full of danger, which +robs God of His due, and of which, therefore, we should hate to be the +object. He expresses himself thus: + +"Those who have nothing naturally attractive about them are very fortunate, +for they are well assured that the love which one bears them is excellent, +being all for God's sake alone." + + +UPON OBEDIENCE. + +Blessed Francis always said that the excellence of obedience consists not +in doing the will of a gentle, courteous superior, who commands rather by +entreaty than as one having authority, but in bowing the neck beneath the +yoke of one who is harsh, stern, imperious, severe. He was, it is true, +desirous that those who had to judge and direct souls should do so as +fathers rather than as masters, as, indeed, he did himself, but at the same +time he wished those in authority to be somewhat strict, and those subject +to them to be less sensitive and selfish, and consequently less impatient, +less refractory, and less given to grumbling than most men are. + +He used also to say that a rough file takes off more rust and polishes iron +better than a smooth and less biting one, and that very many and very heavy +blows of the hammer are needed to temper a keen sword blade. + +"But," I said to him, when discussing this subject, "as the most perfect +obedience is that which springs from love, ought not the command to be +given lovingly, so as to incite the subordinate to a loving obedience?" He +answered: "There is a great deal of difference between the excellence of +obedience and its perfection. + +"The excellence of a virtue has to do with its nature; its perfection with +the grace, or charity, in which it is clothed. Now, here I am not speaking +of the supernatural perfection of obedience which emanates most assuredly +from the love of God; but of its natural excellence, which is better tested +by harsh than by gentle commands. + +"Excessive indulgence on the part of parents and superiors is only too +often the cause of many disorders. + +"More than this, even as regards the supernatural perfection of obedience, +it is very probable that the harshness of the command given helps its +growth, and renders our love of God, which is our motive in obeying, +stronger, firmer, and more generous. When a superior commands with +over-much gentleness and circumspection, besides the fact that he +compromises his authority and causes it to be slighted, he so attracts and +attaches his inferior to himself that often unconsciously he robs God of +the devotedness which is His due. The result is that the inferior obeys the +man whom he loves, and because he loves him, rather than God in the man, +and for the love of God alone. + +"On the other hand, harshness tests far better the fidelity of a heart +which loves God sincerely. For, finding nothing pleasing in the command +except the sweetness of divine love, to which alone it yields obedience, +the perfection of that obedience becomes the greater, since the intention +is purer, more direct, and more immediately turned to God. It was in this +spirit that David said that, _for the sake of the words_ of God--that is, +of His law--he had _kept hard ways_."[1] Our Blessed Father added this +simile to explain his meaning further: + +"Obeying a harsh, irritating, and vexatious superior is like drawing clear +water from a spring which flows through the jaws of a lion of bronze. It +is like the riddle of Samson, _Out of the eater came forth meat_; it is +hearing God's voice, and seeing God's will alone in that of a superior, +even if the command be, as in the case of St. Peter, _Kill and eat_;[2] it +is to say with Job, _Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him._"[3] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xvi. 4.] +[Footnote 2: Acts x. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Job xiii. 15.] + + +UPON THE OBEDIENCE THAT MAY BE PRACTISED BY SUPERIORS. + +Asking him one day if it was possible for persons in authority, whether +in the world or in the cloister, to practise the virtue of obedience, +he replied: "Certainly, and they can do so far more perfectly and more +heroically than their subjects." + +Then, seeing my astonishment at this apparent paradox, he went on to +explain it in the following manner: "Those who are obliged, either by +precept or by vow, which takes the place of precept, to practise obedience, +are, as a rule, subject only to one superior. Those, on the other hand, +who are in authority, are free to obey more widely, and to obey even in +commanding, because if they consider that it is God Who puts them over the +heads of the others, and Who commands them to command those others, who +does not see that even their commanding is an act of obedience? This kind +of obedience may even be practised by princes who have none but God set +over them, and who have to render an account of their actions to Him alone. +I may add that there is no power on earth so sublime as not to have, at +least in some respects, another set over it. Christian kings render filial +obedience to the Roman Pontiff, and the sovereign Pontiff himself submits +to his confessor in the Sacrament of Penance. But there is a still higher +degree of obedience which even Prelates and the greatest among men may +practise. It is that which the Apostle counsels when he says: _Be ye +subject to every human creature for God's sake_.[1] Who for love of us +not only became subject to the Blessed Virgin and to St. Joseph, but made +Himself obedient to death and to the death of the Cross, submitting Himself +in His Passion to the most sinful and degraded of the earth, uttering not a +cry, even as a lamb under the hand of him who shears it and slays it. It is +by this universal obedience to every creature that we become all things to +all men in order that we may win all to Jesus Christ. It is by this that we +take our neighbour, whoever he may be, for our superior, becoming servants +for our Lord's sake." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Peter ii. 13.] + + +AN INSTANCE OF OUR SAINT'S OBEDIENCE. + +On one occasion, when the Duke of Savoy, being pressed by many urgent +public needs, had obtained from the Pope a Brief empowering him to levy +contributions on the Church property in his dominions, Blessed Francis, +finding some slackness and unwillingness on the part of the beneficed +clergy of the diocese to yield obedience to this order, when he had called +them together to settle what was to be done, spoke with just indignation. +"What! gentlemen," he cried, "is it for us to question and reason when two +sovereigns concur in issuing the same command? Is it for us, I say, to +scrutinize their counsels, and ask, Why are you acting thus? Not only to +the decrees of sovereign courts, but even to the sentence of the most +insignificant judges appointed by God to decide differences in our affairs, +we yield deference so far as not to enquire into the motive of their +decisions. And here, where two oracles who have only to render account to +God of what orders they give, speak, we set to work to enquire into their +motives and reasons as if we were charged to investigate their conduct. +Assuredly, I will take no part in such doings. Our virtue, indeed, lags +sadly behind that of those christians--only lay people too--of whom St. +Paul said that being wise themselves they _gladly suffered bondage, +stripes, every sort of ill-usage from the foolish_,[1] and of whom, in +another place, he says that they _took with joy the being stripped of their +own goods_, knowing that they had _a better and a lasting substance_.[2] +And the Apostle, as you know, is speaking to men who had been unjustly +despoiled of their whole property by robbers and tyrants, whereas you will +not give up a small fraction of yours to assist in the public need of our +good Prince, to whose zeal we owe the re-establishment of the Catholic +religion in the three divisions of the Chablais, and whose enemies are the +adversaries of our faith! Is not our Order the first of the three estates +in a christian kingdom? Is there anything more just than to contribute of +our wealth, together with our prayers, towards the defence of our altars, +of our lives, and of our peace? The people are lavishing their substance +and the nobility their blood for the same cause. Remember the late wars, +and tremble lest your ingratitude and disobedience should plunge you again +into similar troubles." + +Adding example to precept, he paid so heavy a tax upon a part of his own +revenue that none could say he did not practise what he preached, and +all those who had ventured to oppose him in the matter were not only +effectually silenced, but covered with confusion and put to a just shame. + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. xi. 19, 20.] +[Footnote 2: Heb. x. 34.] + + +UPON THE LOVE OF HOLY POVERTY. + +_Godliness with contentment_, says Holy Scripture, _is great gain_.[1] + +So content was the godliness of Blessed Francis that, although deprived of +the greater part of his episcopal revenues, he was fully satisfied with the +little that was left to him. + +After all, he would say, are not twelve hundred crowns a handsome income +for a Bishop? The Apostles, who were far better Bishops than we are, had +nothing like that sum. It is not for us to fix our own pay for serving God. + +His love of poverty was truly striking. At Annecy he lodged in a hired +house, which was both handsome and roomy, and in which the apartments +assigned to him as Bishop were very elegantly furnished. He, however, took +up his abode in an uncomfortable little room, where there was hardly any +light at all, so that he could truly say with Job: _I have made my bed in +darkness_;[2] or with David: _Night shall be my light in my pleasures_;[3] +or again, _I am like a night raven in the house, or as a sparrow all alone +on the housetop_.[4] + +He called this little room, or, to speak more truly, this sepulchre of a +living man, Francis' chamber, while to that in which he received visitors, +or gave audience, he gave the name of the Bishop's chamber. + +Truly, the lover of holy poverty can always find a means of practising it, +even in the midst of riches. + +Blessed Francis, indeed, always welcomed poverty with a smiling +countenance, though naturally it be apt to cast a gloom and melancholy upon +the faces both of those who endure it and of those who only dread it. + +Involuntary poverty is surly and discontented, for it is forced and +against the will. Voluntary poverty, on the contrary, is joyous, free, and +light-hearted. To show you how cheerfully and pleasantly he talked on this +subject, I will give you one or two of his remarks. + +Once, showing me a coat which had been patched up for him, and which he +wore under his cassock, he said: "My people really work little miracles; +for out of an old garment they have made me this perfectly new coat. Am I +not well-dressed?" + +Again, when his steward was complaining of down-right distress, and of +there being no money left, he said: "What are you troubling yourself about? +We are now more like our Master, Who had not even where to lay His head, +though as yet we are not reduced to such extremity as that." "But what are +we to do?" persisted the steward. "My son," the Bishop answered, "we must +live as we can, on whatever goods we have, that is all." "Truly," replied +the other, "it is all very well to talk of living on our goods when there +are none left to live upon!" "You do not understand me," returned the +Bishop; "we must sell or pledge some of our furniture in order to live. +Will not that, my good M.R.,[5] be living on our goods?" + +It was in this fashion that the Saint was accustomed to meet cheerfully +money troubles, so unbearable to weaker characters. + +On one occasion I expressed my admiration at his being able to make so good +a show on his small means. "It is God," he said, "Who multiplies the five +loaves." On my pressing him to tell me how it was done, "Why, it would not +be a miracle," he answered, with a smile, "if we knew that. Are we not most +fortunate to live on only by help of miracles? _It is the mercy of God that +we are not consumed_." "You go quite beyond me," I said, "by taking that +ground. I am not so transcendently wise." + +"Listen," he replied. "Riches are truly thorns, as the Gospel teaches us. +They prick us with a thousand troubles in acquiring them, with more cares +in preserving them, and with yet more anxieties in spending them; and, most +of all, with vexations in losing them. + +"After all, we are only managers and stewards, especially if it is a +question of the riches of the Church, which are the true patrimony of +the poor. The important matter is to find faithful dispensers. Having +sufficient to feed and clothe ourselves suitably, what more do we want? +Assuredly, _that which is over and above these is of evil_.[6] + +"Shall I tell you what my own feeling is? Well and good, but I must do so +in your ear. I know very well how to spend what I have; but if I had more +I should be in difficulty as to what to do with it. Am I not happy to live +like a child without care? _Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof_. +The more any one has to manage the longer the account he has to render. We +must make use of this world as though we were making no use of it at all. +We must possess riches as though we had them not, and deal with the things +of earth like the dogs on the banks of the Nile, who, for fear of the +crocodiles, lap up the water of the river as they run along its banks. If, +as the wise man tells us, _he that addeth knowledge addeth also labour_; +much more is this the case with the man who heaps up riches. He is like +the giants in the fable who piled up mountains, and then buried themselves +under them. Remember the miserable man who, as the Gospel tells us, thought +that he had many years before him in which to live at his ease, but to whom +the heavenly voice said: _Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of +thee; and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided_? In truth +happy is he only who lays up imperishable treasures in Heaven." + +He would never allow himself to be called _poor_; saying, that any one who +had a revenue sufficient to live upon without being obliged to labour with +head or hands to support himself should be called _rich_; and such, he +said, was the case with us both. + +To my objection that our revenues were nevertheless so very small that we +must be really considered poor, for little, indeed, must we be working if +our labour was not worth what we got from our bishoprics, he replied: "If +you take it in this way you are not so far wrong, for who is there who +labours in a vineyard and does not live upon its produce? What shepherd +feeds his flock and does not drink its milk and clothe himself with its +wool? So, too, may he who sows spiritual seed justly reap the small harvest +which he needs for his temporal sustenance. If then he is poor who lives by +work, and who eats the fruit of his labour, we may very well be reckoned +as such; but if we regard the degree of poverty in which our Lord and +His Apostles lived, we must perforce consider ourselves rich. After all, +possessing honestly all that is necessary for food and clothing, ought +we not to be content? Whatever is more than this is only evil, care, +superfluity, wanting which we shall have less of an account to render. +Happy is poverty, said a stoic, if it is cheerful poverty; and if it is +that, it is really not poverty at all, or only poverty of a kind that is +far preferable to the riches of the most wealthy, which are amassed with +difficulty, preserved with solicitude, and lost with regret." + +Our Saint used to say that, as for the cravings of nature, he who is not +satisfied with what is really enough will never be satisfied. I wish that +I could give any just idea of his extraordinary moderation even in the use +of the necessaries of life. He told me once that when the time came for him +to lay down the burden of his episcopal duties and to retire into solitude, +there to pass the rest of his life in contemplation and study, he should +consider five hundred crowns a year great wealth; in fact, he would not +reserve more from either his patrimony or his Bishop's revenue, adding +these words of St. Paul: _Having food, and wherewith to be covered, let us_ +(priests) _be content_.[7] He gave this as his reason. "The Church," he +said, "which is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, is established on foundations +directly opposed to those of the world, of which our Saviour said His +kingdom was not. Now, on what is the kingdom of this world founded? Listen +to St. John: All that is in the world is the _concupiscence of the flesh, +or of the eyes, and the pride of life_; that is to say, the pleasures +of the senses, avarice, and vanity. The Church then will be founded on +mortification of the flesh, poverty, and humility. Pleasures and honours +follow in the train of wealth; but poverty puts an axe to the roots of +pride and sensual enjoyments. Some, says David, blaming them, glory in the +multitude of their riches; and St. Paul exhorts the rich of this world not +to be high-minded. + +"It is a perilous thing for humility and mortification to take up their +abode with wealth." This is why he wished for nothing but bare necessaries, +fearing that superfluity might lead him into some excess. + +When I reminded him that if we had this superfluity we might give alms out +of it, as it is written, _Of what remaineth give to the poor_, he replied, +that we knew well enough what: we ought to do; but that we did not know +what we should do, and that it was always a species of presumption to +imagine ourselves able to handle live coals without burning ourselves, +seeing that even the Angel in the vision of the Prophet took them up with +tongs! + +[Footnote 1: 1 Tim. vi. 6.] +[Footnote 2: Job. xvii. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Ps. cxxxviii. 11.] +[Footnote 4: Ps. ci. 8.] +[Footnote 5: Georges Roland.] +[Footnote 6: Matt. v. 37.] +[Footnote 7: Tim. vi. 8.] + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +Our Blessed Father was so absolutely indifferent to the goods of this world +that I never heard him so much as once complain of the loss of almost all +his episcopal revenue, confiscated by the city of Geneva. He used to say +that it was very much with the wealth of the Church as with a man's beard, +the more closely it was clipped the stronger and the thicker it grew +again. When the Apostles had nothing they possessed all things, and when +ecclesiastics wish to possess too much, that too much is reduced to +nothing. + +His one hunger and thirst was for the conversion of souls, living in wilful +blindness to the light of truth which shines only in the one true Church. +Sometimes, he exclaimed, sighing heavily: "Give me souls, and the rest take +to Thyself." Speaking of Geneva, to which city, in spite of its rebellion, +he always applied terms of compassion and affection, such as "my dear +Geneva," or "my poor Geneva," he said to me more than once: "Would to +God that these gentlemen had taken such small remains of my revenue as +they have left to me, and that we had only as small a foothold in that +deplorable city as the Catholics have in La Rochelle, namely, a little +chapel in which to say Mass and perform the functions of our religion! You +would then soon see all these apostates come back to their senses, and we +should rejoice over the return to the Church of these poor Sunamites, who +are so forgetful of their duty."[1] This fond hope he always nourished in +his breast. + +He used to say that Henry VIII. of England, who at the beginning of his +reign was so zealous for the Catholic faith, and wrote so splendidly +against the errors of Luther, that he acquired for that reason the glorious +title of Defender of the Faith, having, by yielding to his passion, caused +so great a schism in his kingdom, even had he desired at the close of +his life to return to the bosom of the Church which he had so miserably +abandoned, would, on setting to work to attain this most happy end, have +found the impossibility of recovering for the clergy and restoring to them +the property and wealth which he had divided among his nobles, a serious +difficulty. + +"Alas!" our Blessed Father exclaimed, commenting upon this fact, "to think +that a handful of dust should rob Heaven of so many souls! The business of +every christian, and especially of the clergy, is the keeping of God's law. +The Lord is the portion of their inheritance and of their cup. He would +have made to them an abundant restitution of all that had been theirs, by +gentle but effective means. They whose thoughts are fixed upon the Lord +will be nourished by Him. The just are never forsaken nor reduced to beg +their bread; they have only to lift their eyes and their hopes to God and +He will give them meat in due season; for it is He who gives food to all +flesh. Moreover, it is much easier to suffer hunger with patience than to +preserve virtue in the midst of plenty. It is not every one who can say +with the Apostle: _I know how to abound, and I know how to suffer need_.[2] +A thousand fall on the left hand of adversity, but ten thousand on the +right hand of prosperity; for iniquity is the outcome of luxury, and the +sin of the cities of the plain had its origin in a superabundance of bread; +that is to say, in their wealth. To be frugal and devout is to possess a +great treasure." + +[Footnote 1: Cantic. vi. 12.] +[Footnote 2: Philipp. iv. 12.] + + +UPON POVERTY OF SPIRIT. + +Three virtues, he said, were necessary to constitute poverty of spirit: +simplicity, humility, and christian poverty. Simplicity consists in that +singleness of aim which looks only to God, referring to Him alone those +innumerable opportunities which come to us from objects other than Himself. +Humility is that conviction of our own inferiority and destitution which +makes the truly humble man regard himself as always an unprofitable +servant. Christian poverty is of three kinds. First, that which is +affective, but not effective. This can be practised in the midst of wealth, +as in the case of Abraham, David, St. Louis, and many other holy persons, +who, though rich in this world's goods, were ready in a moment to accept +poverty with cheerfulness and thankfulness if it should please God to send +it to them. + +Second, effective but not affective poverty, which is a very unhappy +condition. Those who are weighed down by it feel all its distressing +consequences and are miserable because they cannot possess the many things +which they ardently desire. + +Third, affective, united with effective poverty, which is recommended in +the Gospels, and which may happen to be our lot, either from birth or from +some reverse of fortune. + +If we are reconciled to our condition in life, however humble, and bless +God Who has placed us in it, then we tread in the footsteps of Jesus +Christ, of His holy Mother, and of the Apostles, who all lived a life of +poverty. + +Another way of practising this poverty is to follow the counsels of Jesus +Christ, Who bids us _sell all that we have and give it to the poor_, +imitating our divine Master in that poverty which He embraced for us, +that we, through it, might be made rich. And never is this command more +practically and worthily obeyed than when the man who has abandoned all his +worldly goods for the sake of Christ, labours, not only in order to sustain +his own life, but that he may have the wherewithal to give alms. + +Thus did the Apostle glory when he said: _For such things as were needful +for me, and them that are with me, these hands have furnished_.[1] + +[Footnote 1: Acts xx. 34.] + + +FRANCIS' LOVE OF THE POOR. + +To love our neighbour is not only to wish him well, but also to do him +all the good that it is in our power to do. If we fall short of this, we +deserve the reproach of St. James, addressed to those who, though they have +ample means for giving material aid to the poor, content themselves with +bare words of comfort. + +The love of Blessed Francis for the poor was so intense that in their case +he seemed to become a respecter of persons, preferring them to the rich, +both in spiritual and in temporal matters. He was like a good physician who +in visiting the sick shows the most tender solicitude for those afflicted +with the most terrible diseases and lingers longest by their bedsides. + +One day I had to wait my turn to go to confession to him for a very +long time, he being engaged in hearing a poor blind beggar woman. When +I afterwards expressed my surprise at the length of her confession, he +said: "Ah! She sees far more clearly the way to go to God than many whose +eyesight is otherwise perfect." + +On another occasion, sailing with him on the lake of Geneva, I heard +the boatman calling him "Father," and addressing him with corresponding +familiarity. "Listen," he said to me, "to those good people. They are +calling me their Father; and, indeed, I do believe they love me as such. +Oh! how much more real happiness they give me than those who call me 'My +Lord.'" + + +UPON THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF POVERTY. + +On one occasion I quoted that saying of Seneca: "He is truly great who +dines off earthenware as contentedly as if it were silver; but he is +greater still who dines off silver with as much indifference as if it were +earthenware." + +"The philosopher," he said, "is right in his judgment; for the first feasts +on mere fancy, leading to vanity; but the second shows that he is superior +to wealth, since he cares no more for a precious metal than for clay. + +"Yet, Oh! how ridiculous; how empty is all mere human philosophy! This same +philosopher who speaks so eloquently again and again of the contempt of +riches, was all his life immersed in them; and at his death left thousands +behind him. Does it not seem to you that, this being his own case, his +talking about poverty makes him like a cleric expatiating on the art of +war? We had far better listen to St. Paul, who speaks as a past master on +the subject of poverty, since he practised it so thoroughly that he chose +rather to live on what he could earn by the labour of his hands than on +what the preaching of the Gospel might bring in to him, as to the other +Apostles. Yes, we must needs listen to and believe St. Paul when he says +that he esteems all things as dung in comparison with the service of Jesus +Christ, counting as loss what he once held as gain."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Philipp. iii, 8.] + + +UPON PROSPERITY. + +Blessed Francis objected strongly to the use of the word _fortune_, +considering it unworthy of utterance by christian lips. The expressions +"fortunate," "by good fortune," "children of fortune," all common enough, +were repugnant to him. "I am astonished," he said once, "that Fortune, the +most pagan of idols, should have been left standing, when christianity so +completely demolished all the rest! God forbid that any who ought to be the +children of God's providence alone become children of fortune! and that +those whose only hope should be in Him put their trust in the uncertainty +of riches!" + +He spoke yet more strongly of such as professing to be nailed with Jesus +Christ to the Cross and to glory only in His reproaches and sufferings, yet +were eager in heaping up riches, and, when amassed, in clinging fondly to +them. "For," he said, "the Gospel makes christian blessedness to consist +in poverty, contempt, pain, weeping, and persecutions; and even philosophy +teaches us that prosperity is the stepmother of true virtue, adversity its +mother!" + +I asked him once how it was that we are so ready to have recourse to +God when the thorn of affliction pierces us, and so eager in asking for +deliverance from sickness, calumny, famine, and such like misfortunes. "It +is," he said, "our weakness which thus cries out for help, and it is a +proof of the infirmity which encompasses us; for as the best and firmest +fish feed in the salt waters of the open sea, those which are caught in +fresh water being less pleasing to the taste, so the most generous natures +find their element in crosses and afflictions, while meaner spirits are +only happy in prosperity. + +"Moreover," he continued, "it is much easier to love God perfectly in +adversity than in prosperity. For tribulation having nothing in itself +that is lovable, save that it is God's gift, it is much easier to go by it +straight to the will of God, and to unite ourselves to His good pleasure. +Easier, I say, than by prosperity, which has attractions of its own that +captivate our senses, and, like Dalila, lull them to sleep, working in us +a subtle change, so that we begin insensibly to love for its own sake the +prosperity which God sends us, instead of bestowing all our grateful love +on God Who sends it, and to Whom all thanks and praise are due!" + + +UPON CHARITY AND CHASTITY. + +Feeling at one time troubled and perplexed in mind as to the bearing +of these two virtues upon one another, and as to the right manner of +practising each, so that one should never run counter to the other, I +carried my difficulties to our Blessed Father, who settled them at once in +the following words; "We must," he said, "in this matter draw a careful +distinction between persons who occupy positions of dignity and authority, +and have the care of others, and those private individuals who have no one +to look after but themselves. The former must deliver their chastity into +the keeping of their charity; and if that charity is real and true it will +not fail them, but will serve as a strong wall of defence, both without and +within, to their chastity. On the other hand, private individual's will do +better to surrender the guardianship of their charity to their chastity, +and to walk with the greatest circumspection and self-restraint. The reason +of this is that those in authority are obliged by the very nature of their +duties, to expose themselves to the dangers inseparable from occasions: in +which, however, they are assisted by grace, seeing they are not tempting +God by any rashness. + +"Contrariwise, those private individuals who expose themselves to danger +without any legitimate excuse run great risk of tempting God and losing His +grace; since it is written that _he that loveth danger_ (still more he that +seeketh it) _shall perish in it_."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Eccles. iii. 27] + + +UPON PURITY OF HEART. + +I can never express to you, or convey a right idea, of the high esteem in +which he held purity of heart. He said that chastity of body was common +enough even among unbelievers and among persons addicted to other vices; +but that very few people could truly say, my heart is pure. + +I do not say that by this purity of heart he meant the never being troubled +by sinful desires, for that would be making the virtue of chastity to +consist in insensibility; and what do those who are not tempted know about +the matter? + +No; he placed it in never yielding to unlawful affections. To these we +should rather give the name of _infections_, since they infect the will, +and interfere with the safe custody of the heart, which is the well-spring +of the spiritual life. + + +UPON CHASTITY AND HUMILITY. + +Speaking of the humility and chastity of the Blessed Virgin the holy +Prelate said: "These two virtues, although they have to be continually +practised, should be spoken of so rarely that this rarity of speech may +rank as silence. The reason is that it is difficult to mention these +virtues or to praise them either in themselves or in any individual who +possesses them, without in some way sullying their brightness. + +"1. There is, in my opinion, no human tongue which can rightly express +their value, and to praise them inadequately is in a way to disparage them. + +"2. To praise humility is to cause it to be desired from a secret self-love +and to invite people to enter its domain through the wrong door. + +"3. To praise humility in any individual is to tempt him to vanity and to +flatter him dangerously; for the more he thinks himself humble the less +he will really be so; and possibly when he sees that others consider him +humble he will think that he must be so. + +"4. As regards chastity, to praise it in itself is to leave on the mind a +secret and almost imperceptible image of the contrary vice, and therefore +to expose the mind to some danger of temptation. There is a sting hidden in +the honey of such praise. + +"5. To praise it in any individual is in a measure to expose him to the +danger of falling. It is to put a stumbling-block In his way. It is +to inflate that pride which under a fair disguise may lure him over a +precipice. + +"6. We must never be content to rely upon our hitherto untarnished purity +of life, but must always fear, since innocence is a treasure which we carry +in a vessel of glass, easily broken. + +"7. In a word, the virtues of humility and chastity always seem to me like +those subtle essences which evaporate if they are not kept very tightly +corked. + +"8. However, although I consider it wise very seldom to speak of these two +virtues, it is wise to practise them unceasingly, humility being one of the +most excellent virtues of the soul, and purity that fair white adornment of +the body which is its honour, and which, like a lily growing among thorns, +brings forth a wonderful flower, whose fruit is honour and riches. + +"9. Nevertheless, I do not mean that we are to be so scrupulous as _never_ +to dare to speak of these virtues; not even to praise them when occasion +warrants or demands our doing so. No, indeed. In one sense they can never +be sufficiently praised, nor ever sufficiently valued and cultivated. What +I mean is that we gain little by praising them. Our words in praise of a +virtue are of little account in comparison with the smallest fruit; that +is, with the least of the acts of a virtue. + +"I add this because I know you attach too much importance to my words, and +take them as literally as if they were oracles." + + +UPON MODESTY. + +Our Blessed Father, speaking of the virtue of modesty, and dilating upon +one of its chief properties, namely, its extraordinary sensitiveness to +the slightest injurious influence, made use of two beautiful comparisons: +"However pure, transparent, and polished the surface of a mirror may be, +the faintest breath is sufficient to make it so dull and misty that it is +unable to reflect any image. So it is with the reputation of the virtuous. +However high and well established it may be, according the words of +wisdom: _Oh! how beautiful is the chaste generation!_ [1] a thoughtless, +unrestrained glance or gesture is quite sufficient to give occasion to a +slanderous tongue to infect that reputation with the serpent's venom, +and to hide its lustre from the eyes of the world, as clouds hide the +brightness of the sun. + +"Again, look at this beautiful lily. It is the symbol of purity; it +preserves its whiteness and sweetness, amid all the blackness and +ruggedness of the encircling thorns. As long as it remains untouched its +perfume is delicious and its dazzling beauty of form and colour charms +every passer-by; but, as soon as it is culled, the scent is so strong as +to be overpowering, and should you touch the petals they lose their satin +smoothness as well as all their pure and white loveliness." + +[Footnote 1: Wisd. iv. I.] + + +THE CONTEMPT HE FELT FOR HIS BODY. + +Since our Blessed Father was not, like the martyrs, privileged to offer his +body, both by living and dying, as a victim for God, he found out, with the +ingenuity of love, a method of self-humiliation and self-sacrifice to be +carried out after his death. + +When quite young and still pursuing his studies at Padua, falling +dangerously ill, and his life being despaired of, he begged his tutor to +see that when he was dead his body should be given into the hands of the +surgeons for dissection. "Having been of so little use to my neighbour in +life," he said, "I shall thus at least, after my death, be able to render +him some small service." + +Happily for us, God in His great mercy spared this precious life, being +contented, as in the case of the sacrifice of Isaac, with the offering of +His faithful servant's will and with his generous contempt for his own +flesh. + +A motive which urged Blessed Francis to the above resolution, besides his +desire of self-humiliation and immolation, was the hope of putting an end +to the scandalous practice then prevailing among the surgical and medical +students at Padua of secretly by night going to the cemeteries to disinter +newly-buried bodies. This they did when they had failed to obtain those +of criminals from the officers of justice. Innumerable evils, quarrels, +and even murders resulted from this practice, and the indignation of the +relatives and friends of the deceased persons whose corpses were stolen may +be imagined. By setting the example of a voluntary surrender of his own +body for dissection our Blessed Father hoped to diminish such orders. + + +UPON OUR SAINT'S HUMILITY. + +It was of course impossible for Blessed Francis to be ignorant of the high +esteem in which his piety was held, not only by his own people, but by +all who knew him. This knowledge was, however, as may well be believed, +a source of pain to him, and often covered him with confusion. He seldom +spoke on the subject, for true humility rarely speaks, even humbly, of +itself. Yet on one occasion, when more than usually worried by hearing +himself praised, he allowed these words to fall from his lips: "The truth +is that these good people with all their eulogiums, and expressions of +esteem, are sowing the seed of a bitter fruit for me to gather in the end. +When I am dead, imagining that my poor soul has gone straight to Heaven, +they will not pray for it, and will leave me languishing in Purgatory. Of +what avail then will this high reputation be to me? They are treating me +like those animals which suffocate their young by their close pressure and +caresses, or like the ivy which drags down the wall it seems to crown with +verdure." + +I will now give you some examples of his humility. He was sometimes told +that people had spoken ill of him. Instead of excusing or defending +himself, he would say cheerfully, "Do they say no more than that? +Certainly, they cannot know all, they flatter me, they spare me: I see very +well that they rather pity than envy me, and that they wish me to be better +than I am. Well! God be praised for this, I must correct my faults, for if +I do not deserve reproof in this particular matter, I do in some other. It +is really a mercy that the correction is given so kindly." If anyone took +up his defence and declared that the whole accusation was false, "Ah! +well," he would say, "it is a warning to make me careful not to justify +it, for surely they are doing me a kindness by calling my attention to the +dangers of this rock ahead." + +Then, noticing how indignant we all were with the slanderers, "What," he +would exclaim, "have I given you leave to fly into a passion on my account? +Let them talk--it is but a storm in a teacup, a tempest of words that will +die away and be forgotten. We must be sensitive indeed if we cannot bear +the buzzing of a fly! Who has told us that we are blameless? Possibly these +people see our faults better than we see them ourselves, and better +than those who love us do. When truths displease us, we often call them +slanders. What harm do others do us by having a bad opinion of us? We ought +to have a bad opinion of ourselves. Such persons are not our adversaries, +but rather our allies, since they enlist themselves on our side in the +battle against our self-love. Why be angry with those who come to our aid +against so powerful an enemy?" + +It happened once that a certain simple-minded woman told our saint bluntly +that what she had heard of him had caused her to loose all esteem for +him. Blessed Francis replied quietly that her straightforward words only +increased his fatherly affection for her, as they were an evidence of great +candour, a virtue he highly respected. + +The woman proceeded to declare that the reason she was so greatly +disappointed in him was because she had been told that he had taken her +adversary's part in a law-suit instead of acting as the father of all and +siding with none. "Nay," rejoined the Saint, "do not fathers interfere in +the quarrels of their children, judging between right and wrong? Besides, +the verdict of the court should have convinced you that you were in the +wrong, since it was given against you; and had I been one of the judges I +must have decided as they did." + +The woman protested that injustice had been done to her, but the Saint +quietly and patiently reasoned with her and assured her that although it +was natural that she should feel angry at first, yet, when the bandage of +passion had fallen from her eyes, she would thank God for having deprived +her of that which in justice she could not have retained. + +This person finally admitted that she had been in the wrong, but enquired +if Blessed Francis was really not annoyed at her having lost her high +opinion of him, having formerly regarded him as a Saint. He assured her she +was wrong in having done so, and that, far from being annoyed, his esteem +for her was all the greater on account of this, her correct judgment. +"Believe me," he went on to say, "I am speaking from a sense of truth, and +not out of false humility, when I maintain that my friends over-rate me. +The fact is, they try to persuade themselves that I really am what they so +ardently desire me to be. They expose me to the danger of losing my soul +by pride and presumption. You, on the contrary, are giving me a practical +lesson in humility, and are thus leading me in the way of salvation, for it +is written, _God will save the humble of heart._" + + +UPON MERE HUMBLENESS OF SPEECH. + +He disliked expressions of humility unless they clearly came from the +heart, and said that words of this kind were the flower, the cream, and the +quintessence of the most subtle pride, subtle inasmuch as it was hidden +even from him who spoke them. He compared such language to a certain +sublimated and penetrating poison, which to the eye seems merely a mist. + +Those who speak this language of false humility are lifted up on high, +whilst in thoughts and motives they remain mean and low. He considered +similar fashions of speech to be even more intolerable than the words of +vain persons who are the sport of their hearers, and whose empty boasting +makes them to be like balloons, the plaything of everybody. A mocking laugh +is sufficient to let all the wind which puffs them out escape. Words of +humility coming merely from the lips, and not from the heart, lead surely +to vanity, though by what seems the wrong road. Those who utter them are +like people who take their salary gladly enough, but insist on first making +a show of refusing and of saying that they want nothing. + +Even excuses proffered in this manner accuse and betray the person who +offers them. The truly humble of heart do not wish, to _appear_ humble, but +to _be_ humble. Humility is so delicate a virtue that it is afraid of its +own shadow, and cannot hear its own name uttered without running the risk +of extinction. + + +UPON VARIOUS DEGREES OF HUMILITY. + +Blessed Francis set the highest value upon the virtue of humility, which he +called the foundation of all moral virtues, and together with charity, the +solid basis of true piety. + +He used to say that there was no moral excellence more literally christian +than humility, because it was not known even by name to the heathen of old. +Even of the most renowned among ancient philosophers, such virtues as they +possessed were inflated with pride and self-love. + +Not every kind of humility pleased him. He was not willing to accept any as +true metal until he had put it to many a test and trial. + +1. He required in the first place that there should be genuine +self-knowledge. To be truly humble we must recognise the fact that we +come from nothing, that we are nothing, that we can do nothing, that we +are worth nothing, and in fine that we are idle do-nothings, unprofitable +servants, incapable of even forming a single good thought, as of ourselves. +Yet self-knowledge, he said, if it stood alone, however praiseworthy in +itself, would only render those who possessed it the more guilty if they +did not act up to it, in order to become better; because moral virtue being +in the will, and mere knowledge only in the understanding, the latter alone +cannot in any way pass current as true virtue. + +2. He even had some doubt of humility though residing in the will, because +it is quite possible to misuse it, and to turn humility itself into vanity. +Take for instance those who, having been invited to a banquet, take at +once possession of the very lowest place, or of one which they know to +be inferior to that due to their rank. They may do this on purpose to be +invited to go higher amidst the applause of the company, and with advantage +to themselves. He called this a veritable entering into vanity, and through +the wrong door: for the truly humble do not wish to appear humble, but only +vile and lowly. They love to be considered as of no accounts and, as such, +to be despised and rebuffed. + +3. Even this did not satisfy him. He was not content with mere natural +virtue, but insisted that humility must be Christian, given birth to, +and animated by charity. Otherwise he held it in small esteem, refusing +to admit that among christians it suffices to practise virtues in pagan +fashion. But what is this infused and supernatural humility? It is to love +and delight in one's own humiliation, for the reason that by its means we +are able to give glory to God, Who accepts the humility of His servants, +but puts far away from His heart the proud in spirit. + +4. Again, our Saint taught that in striving to please God by bearing +humiliations, we should aim at accepting such as are not of our own choice +rather than those that are voluntary. He used to say that the crosses +fashioned by us for ourselves are always of the lightest and slenderest, +and that he valued an ounce of resignation to suffering above pounds' +weight of painful toil, good though it might be in itself, undertaken of +one's own accord. + +5. Quiet endurance of reproaches, contempt, or depreciation, was, in his +opinion, the true touch-stone of humility, because it renders us more +like to Jesus Christ, the Prototype of all solid virtue, Who humbled +and annihilated Himself, making Himself obedient unto death, even the +ignominious death of the Cross. + +6. He commended voluntary seeking after humiliations, yet he insisted upon +great discretion being practised in this search, since it easily happens +that self-love may subtly and imperceptibly insinuate itself therein. + +7. Next he considered that the highest, or more properly speaking, +deepest degree of humility is that of taking pleasure and even delight in +humiliations, reputing them to be in truth the greatest of honours, and +of being just as much ill-content with honours as vain persons are with +contempt and contumely. + +In illustration of this he would quote Moses, who preferred the reproach of +Israel to the glories of a kingdom offered to him by Pharaoh's daughter; of +Esther, who hated the splendid ornaments with which they decked her to make +her pleasing in the eyes of Assuerus; of the Apostles, whose greatest joy +was to suffer shame and reproach for the name of Jesus; and of David, who +danced before the Ark amid a crowd of buffoons and mountebanks, and who +exulted in thus making himself appear contemptible in the eyes of Michol, +his wife. + +8. Blessed Francis called humility a descending charity, and charity an +ascending humility. The former he compared to those streams which come down +from the heights and flow down into the valleys. The latter to the slender +column of smoke spoken of in the Canticle[1] which rises up towards Heaven, +and is composed of all the sweet essences of the perfumer. + +9. The Saint next gives a rare lesson on the measure or means of gauging +humility. Obedience is to be its source and touch-stone. This teaching he +grounded on the saying of St. Paul: that our Lord _humbled Himself, making +Himself obedient_.[2] "Do you see," he would say, "by what scale humility +must be measured? By obedience. If you obey promptly, frankly, cheerfully, +without murmuring, expostulating, or replying, you are truly humble. Nor +without humility can one be easily and really obedient, for obedience +demands submission of the heart, and only the truly humble look upon +themselves as inferior to all and as subject to every creature for the love +of Jesus Christ. They ever regard their fellow-men as their superiors, they +consider themselves to be the scorn of men and the off-scouring of the +world. Thus these two virtues, like two pieces of iron, by friction one +with the other, enhance each other's brightness and polish. We are humble +only in as far as we are obedient, and in fine we are pleasing to God only +in as far as we have charity." + +10. He recommended all to endeavour to steep their every action in the +spirit of humility, as the swan steeps in water each morsel she swallows, +and how can this be done except by hiding our good works as much as we can +from the eyes of men, and by desiring that they may be seen only by Him +to Whom all things are open, and from Whom nothing can be hid. Our Saint +himself, urged by this spirit, said that he would have wished, had there +been any goodness in him, that it might have been hidden from himself as +well as from all others until the Judgment Day, when the secrets of all +hearts will be revealed. The Gospel itself exhorts us to observe this +secrecy, for it warns us to serve God in secret, and by hiding our virtues, +our prayers, our almsgiving, fittingly to worship Him, Who is a hidden God. + +11. Blessed Francis did not, however, desire that we should put ourselves +to the constraint and discomfort of avoiding good actions simply because of +their being praiseworthy in the eyes of others. What he approved of was a +noble, generous, courageous humility, not that which is mean, timid, and +cowardly. True, he would not that anything should be done for so low a +motive as to win the praise of men, but at the same time he would not have +an undertaking abandoned for fear of its success being appreciated and +applauded. "It is only very weak heads," he said, "that are made to ache by +the scent of roses." + +12. Above all things, he recommended people not to speak either in praise +or blame of themselves save when doing so is absolutely necessary, and +then with great reticence. It was his opinion (as it was Aristotle's) that +both self-praise and self-blame spring from the same root of vanity and +foolishness. "As for boasting, it is," he said, "so ridiculous a weakness +that it is hissed down by even the vulgar crowd. Its one fitting place is +in the mouth of a swaggering comedian. In like manner words of contempt +spoken of ourselves _by_ ourselves, unless they are absolutely heartfelt +and come from a mind thoroughly convinced of the fact of its own misery, +are truly the very acme of pride, and a flower of the most subtle vanity; +for it rarely happens that he who utters them either believes them himself +or really wishes others to believe them: on the contrary, the speaker +is mostly only anxious rather to be considered humble, and consequently +virtuous, and seeks that his self-blame should redound to his honour. +Self-dispraise in general is no more than a tricky kind of boasting. It +reminds me of oarsmen who turn their backs on the very place which with all +the strength of their arms they are striving to reach." + +The above sentiments of Blessed Francis with regard to humility are very +striking, but it is much more worthy of note that he himself carried his +principles strictly into practice. His actions were so many model lessons +and living precepts on the subject. O God! how pleasing must the sacrifice +of his humility have been in Thine eyes which look down so closely upon the +humble, but regard the proud only from afar. + +[Footnote 1: Cant. iii. 6.] +[Footnote 2: Philipp. ii. 8.] + + +UPON HUMILIATION. + +The great lesson which on all possible occasions Blessed Francis inculcated +on those who were fortunate enough to come into contact with him, and to +treat with him concerning their soul's welfare, was that which our Saviour +teaches. _Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart._[1] Not, +however, that he attached the meaning to the words meek, and humble, often, +but very erroneously, given to them. + +By meekness he did not understand a kind of honeyed sweetness, too often +mixed with a good deal of affectation and pretention. A wolf's heart may +be hidden under the fleece and gentle seeming of a lamb, and underneath an +outside covering of humility may lurk secret arrogance, such that while +appearing to lie down to be trodden under men's feet, those humble after +this fashion may by pride in their own pretended state of perfection be +putting all men under their own feet. Our Lord's words, _If any man will +come after Me, let him deny himself take up his cross, and follow Me_, +Blessed Francis, in one of his letters, explained as follows: + +"It is to walk side by side with our crucified Bridegroom, to abase +ourselves, to humble ourselves, to despise ourselves even to the death of +all our passions; yea, I say, even to the death of the Cross. But observe, +my dear daughter, that this abasement, this humility, this contempt of +ourselves, must, as I have told you before, be practised gently, quietly, +persistently, and not only sweetly, but gladly and joyously." + +[Footnote 1: Matt. xi. 20.] + + +HUMILITY WITH REGARD TO PERFECTION. + +Whatever perfection the just man may recognize in himself, he is like the +palm tree, which, says the Psalmist, the higher it rears its lofty head the +deeper down in the earth it casts its roots. + +And certainly, since all our perfection comes from God, since we have no +good or perfect gift which we have not received from the Father of Lights, +we have no reason to glorify ourselves. + +Truly, we can do nothing of ourselves as of ourselves, all our sufficiency, +in good, proceeding from God. Our vanity is such that as soon as we begin +to suspect we are not guilty, we regard ourselves as innocent, forgetting +that if we do not fail in one direction we do in another, and that, as St. +Gregory says, our perfection, in proportion to its advancement, makes us +the better perceive our imperfections. + +Without purity how should we recognise impurity? It is light which makes +us understand what darkness is. Many people not discerning in themselves +certain particular vices think that they possess the opposite virtues, and +are deceived. + +Again, seeing themselves freed from some earthly passions they imagine +themselves to be clothed in heavenly affections; and thus their ill-advised +heart is darkened, they feed upon wind, and walk on in the vanity of their +thoughts. + +Our Blessed Father, reflecting one day upon the condition of his soul +and feeling it to be enjoying great peace owing to its detachment from +creatures, made his own the sentiments of the great Apostle, who, though +not feeling himself guilty of anything, yet did not therefore consider +himself justified, and who forgetting the past pressed on always +farther and farther, never thinking that he had yet reached the goal of +perfection.[1] + +I must read you the passage in which he expresses this view of himself:-- + +"I find my soul a little more to my liking than usual, because I see +nothing in it which keeps it attached to this world, and because it is more +alive to the things of the next, to its eternal joys. Ah! if I were but as +closely and consciously united to God as I am dissevered and alienated from +the world, how happy I should be! And you, too, my daughter, how rejoiced +you would be! But I am speaking of my feelings, and my inward self; as +regards the exterior, and, worst of all, as regards my deportment and +behaviour, they are full of all sorts of contradictory imperfections. The +good which I wish to do, I do not do; but nevertheless I know well that +truly and with no pretence, I do wish to do it, and with a most unchanging +will. But, my Daughter, how can it be that out of such a will so many +imperfections show themselves as are continually springing up within me? +Certainly, they are not of my will, though they be _in_ my will, and _on_ +my will. They are like the mistletoe which grows and appears on a tree and +in a tree, although it is not of the tree, nor out of the tree." + +[Footnote 1: Philipp. iii. 13.] + + +UPON EXCUSES. + +Although to excuse ourselves for our faults is in many circumstances +blameworthy, whilst in general to accuse ourselves of them is laudable, +still when self-accusation is carried too far, it is apt to run into +affectation, making us wish to pass for something different from what we +really are, or, with scrupulosity, making us persuade ourselves that we are +what we describe ourselves to be. + +It is true that the just man is his own accuser and that, knowing his +faults, he declares them simply, in order to be cured of them by wholesome +corrections. It is also true that it is a bad thing to excuse oneself, an +excuse being always worse than the fault committed, inasmuch as it shows +that we think we were right in committing the fault; a persuasion which is +contrary to truth. + +If our first parents had not excused themselves, the man throwing the blame +on the woman, the woman on the serpent, and if, on the contrary, confessing +their sin, they had repented, they would have crushed the serpent while in +the act of wounding them, and God, who had invited them to this repentance +by His loving rebuke, _Adam, where art thou?_ would in His mercy, have +surely pardoned them. + +This was what made David pray that God would set a watch before his mouth, +and on his lips, lest he should be led to utter evil words. By evil words +he means excuses which we invent to cover our sins.[1] + +Our Blessed Father advises us as follows: "Be just, and without mature +consideration, neither excuse nor accuse your poor soul, lest if you excuse +it when you should not, you make it insolent, and if you accuse it lightly, +you discourage it and make it cowardly. Walk simply and you will walk +securely." I once heard him utter these striking words: "He who excuses +himself unjustly, and affectedly, accuses himself openly and truly; and he +who accuses himself simply and humbly, deserves to be excused kindly and to +be pardoned lovingly." + +There is a confession which brings confusion, and another which brings +glory. Confession, says St. Ambrose, is the true medicine for sin to him +who repents of wrong doing. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxl. 3, 4.] + + +UPON OUR GOOD NAME. + +It is hardly likely that Blessed Francis could have been ambitious of the +empty honours attached to an office at court since he did not even trouble +himself to keep up his own reputation, except in as far as it might serve +to advance the glory of God, which was not only the great but the one +passion of his heart. + +When a very serious accusation against him was carried to the court, he +tells us: "I remained humble and silent, not even saying what I might have +said in my defence, but contenting myself with bearing my suffering in my +heart. The effect of this patience has been to kindle in my soul a more +ardent love of God, and also to light up the fire of meditation. I said to +God: Thou art my Protector, and my Refuge in this tribulation, it is for +Thee to deliver me out of it. O God of truth, redeem me from the calumny of +men!" + +He wrote as follows on the same subject to a holy soul who was far more +keenly interested in what concerned him than in what affected herself: +"After all, Providence knows the exact amount of reputation which is +necessary to me, in order that I may rightly discharge the duties of the +service to which I have been called, and I desire neither more nor less +than it pleases that good Providence to let me have." + + +UPON DESPISING THE ESTEEM OF MEN. + +He had no desire that we should make light of our reputation, or be +careless about it, but he wished us to guard it for the service of God +rather than for our own honour; and more to avoid scandal than to glorify +ourselves. + +He used to compare reputation to snuff, which may be beneficial if used +occasionally and moderately, but which clouds and injures the brain when +used in excess; and to the mandrake which is soothing when smelt at a +distance, but if brought too close, induces drowsiness and lethargy. + +In his Philothea he devotes one chapter to the subject of guarding our +reputation, while at the same time practising humility.[1] He did not, +however, content himself with teaching by precept; he went much further, +and continually impressed his lesson on others by his example. On one +occasion, writing to me about some slanderous reports which had been spread +in Paris against him, on account of conscientious and holy advice which he +had given to virtuous people who had sought counsel of him, he expressed +himself in these words: "I am told that they are cutting my reputation to +pieces in Paris, but I hope that God will build it up again, stronger than +ever, if that is necessary for His service. Certainly I do not want it +except for that purpose, for, provided that God be served, what matters +whether it be by good or evil report, by the exaltation, or by the +defamation of our good name?" + +"Ah," he said to me one day, "what is a man's reputation, that so many +should sacrifice themselves to this idol? After all,--it is nothing but +a dream, a phantom, an opinion, so much smoke; praise of which the very +remembrance perishes with its utterance; an estimate which is often so +false that people are secretly amused to hear themselves extolled for +virtues, whose contrary vices they know to be dominating them, and blamed +for faults from which they are happily quite free. Surely those who +complain of being slandered are over-sensitive! Their little cross, made of +words, is so light that a breath of wind carries it away. The expression, +'stung me,' meaning 'abused me,' is one that I have never liked, for +there is a great deal of difference between the humming of a bee, and its +stinging us! We must indeed have sensitive ears, if mere buzzing stings +them! + +"Truly, those were clever people who invented the proverb: 'A good name is +better than riches'; preferring reputation to wealth, or, in other words, +vanity to avarice. Oh, my God! how far removed is this from the spirit +of faith! Was there ever any reputation more torn to pieces than that of +Jesus Christ? With what insults was He not overwhelmed? With what calumnies +was He not loaded? And yet the Father has given Him a name which is above +every name, and exalted Him the more, the more he was humbled. Did not the +Apostles also come forth rejoicing from the presence of the Council where +they had received affronts--for the name of Jesus? + +"Oh, it is a glorious thing to suffer in so worthy a cause! But too often +we will have none but open persecutions, so that our light may shine in the +midst of darkness, and that our vanity may be gratified by a display of our +sufferings. We should like to be crucified gloriously in the midst of an +admiring crowd. What! think you that the martyrs when they were suffering +their cruel tortures, were praised by the spectators for their patience? On +the contrary, they were reviled and held up to execration. Ah! there are +very few who are willing to trample under foot their own reputation, if so +be, they may thereby advance the glory of Him Who died an ignominious death +upon the Cross, to bring us to a glory which has no end." + +[Footnote 1: Part iii. chap. vii.] + + +UPON THE VIRTUES WE SHOULD PRACTISE WHEN CALUMNIATED. + +Blessed Francis was once asked if we ought not to oppose calumny with the +weapons of truth, and if it was not as much our duty to keep, for God's +sake, our good name, as our bodily strength. He answered that on such +occasions many virtues were called into exercise, each claiming precedence +over the other. + +The first is _truth_ to which the love of God and of ourselves in God, +compels us to bear testimony. Nevertheless that testimony has to be calm, +gentle, kindly, given without Irritation or vehemence, and with no anxiety +about consequences. Our Saviour, when He was accused of having a devil, +answered quite simply, "_I have not a devil._"[1] + +If you should be blamed for any scandalous fault, of which, however, you +know you are not guilty, say candidly and quietly that, by the grace +of God, you are innocent of such a sin. But, if you are not believed, +_humility_ now claims her right and bids you say that you have indeed many +greater faults unknown to the world, that you are in every way miserable +and that if God did not sustain you in your weakness, you would commit far +greater crimes than you are accused of. + +This sort of humility is in no way prejudicial to truth, for was it not +from the depths of true humility that David cried out saying, that if God +had not aided him his soul would have dwelt in hell.[2] + +Should the tempest of evil speaking continue, _silence_ steps to the front, +and offers her calm resistance to the storm, following the teaching of +the Royal Prophet, who says: _And I became as a dumb man not opening his +mouth._[3] + +Answering is the oil which feeds the lamp of calumny, silence is the water +which extinguishes it. If silence is unavailing, then _patience_ reminds +you that it is her turn to act, and, coming forward; shelters you with her +impenetrable shield; patience, as Holy Scripture tells us, makes our work +perfect. + +If we be still assailed, we must call to our aid _constancy_, which is a +kind of double-lined buckler of patience, impervious to the most violent +thrusts. + +But should evil tongues, growing yet sharper and keener, cut to the very +quick, _longanimity_, which is an unfailing, undying patience, is ready to +enter the lists, and eager to help us. For when persecution, instead of +yielding to our patience, is only the more irritated thereby, like a fire +which burns more fiercely in frosty weather, then is the time for us to +practise the virtue of longanimity. + +And last of all comes _perseverance_, which goes with us to the very end +and without which the whole network of virtues would fall to pieces; for +_it is the end which crowns the work_, and _he who perseveres to the end +shall be saved_. + +Indeed, who can say how many more virtues claim a place in this bright +choir? Prudence, gentleness, modesty of speech, and many another, circle +round their queen, holy charity, who is indeed the life and soul of them +all. Charity it is which bids us bless those who curse us, and pray for +those who persecute us; and this same charity not unfrequently transforms +our persecutors into protectors and changes slanderous tongues into +trumpets to sound our praise. + +[Footnote 1: John viii. 49.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm xciii. 17.] +[Footnote 3: Id. xxxvii. 14.] + + +UPON SOME SPIRITUAL MAXIMS. + +On one occasion somebody quoted in his presence the maxims of a very great +and very holy person (St. Teresa) on the way to attain perfection. + + Despise the world. Despise no man. + Despise yourself. Despise being despised. + +"Be it so," observed our Blessed Father, "as regards the three first +sayings, but, in regard to the fourth, to my mind, the very highest degree +of humility consists in loving and cherishing contempt, and in being glad +to be despised. David so acted, when he showed himself pleased to be +despised as a buffoon by his own wife Michol. St. Paul, too, gloried in +having been scourged, stoned, and looked upon as a fool, the off-scouring +and very refuse of the world. The Apostles came forth rejoicing from the +presence of the Councils in which, for the love of Jesus, they had been +loaded with opprobrium, contumely, and contempt. A really humble man +despising himself, is only too glad to find others ready to agree with him, +and to help him to humble himself. He receives reproaches as God's good +gift, and deems himself unworthy of aught else." + +He had something, too, to say about the first three maxims. Taking the +world in the sense of the universe, it is, he said, a great stage, on +which are shown the wonders of Almighty God, all of Whose works are very +good--nay, are perfect. But, even taking the word "world" in the sense in +which it is mostly used in Scripture, meaning the company of the wicked, he +said, that we should indeed despise their vices, yet not themselves; for +who knows but that they will in the end, be converted? How many vessels of +contempt have been, by the change of the right hand of God, transformed +into vessels of honour? + +To despise no one, which is the second dictum, seems at first sight to +contradict the first, if, by "the world" be meant the vicious and not +merely their vices. It is certainly very right to despise no one, but it +is still more reasonable and more advantageous to ourselves, who wish to +advance in perfection, to value and esteem all men, because created by God +to His image, and because fitted for partaking of His grace and of His +glory. + +The third maxim, which tells us to despise ourselves, also needs some +explanation. We ought not under pretence of humility to slight and despise +the graces which God has given us. To do so would be to throw ourselves +over the precipice of ingratitude in order to avoid perishing in the +pitfall of vanity, "Nothing," said he, "can so humble us before the mercy +of God, as the multitude of his benefits; nothing can so abase us before +the throne of His justice, as the countless number of our misdeeds. We need +never fear that the good things God has given us will feed our pride, as +long as we remember that whatever there may be _in_ us that is good, it is +not _of_ us." + + +UPON PATIENCE. + +I was complaining to him one day of a great injury which had been done to +me. He answered, "To anybody but you I should try to apply some soothing +balm of consolation, but your circumstances, and the pure love which I bear +to you, dispense me from this act of courtesy. I have no oil to pour into +your wound, and, indeed, were I to affect to sympathise with you, it might +only increase the pain of the wound you have received. I have nothing but +vinegar and cleansing salt to pour in, and I must simply put in practice +the command of the Apostle: _Reprove, entreat_.[1] You finished your +complaint by saying that great and tried patience was needful to enable a +man to bear such attacks in silence. Certainly, your patience is not of so +high a stamp, since you reserve to yourself the privilege of lamentation!" + +"But, Father," I replied, "you see it is only into your heart that I pour +out my sorrow. When a child is troubled to whom should it turn if not to +its kind father?" "You, a child, indeed; and for how long do you mean to +go on clinging to your childhood? Is it right that one who is the father +of others, one to whom God has given the rank of a Bishop in His Church, +should play the child? When we are children, says St. Paul, we may speak as +children, but not when we are become men. The lisping which pleases us in a +baby is altogether unsuitable for a sturdy boy. Do you wish me to give you +milk and pap instead of solid food? Am I like a nurse to breathe softly on +your hurt? Are not your teeth strong enough to masticate bread, the hard +bread of suffering? Have you forgotten how to eat bread? Are your teeth +set on edge by eating sour grapes? It is a fine thing, indeed, for you to +complain to an earthly father, you, who ought to be saying with David to +your heavenly Father: _I was dumb and I opened not my mouth, because thou +hast done it_.[2] + +"'But,' you will say, 'it is not God but wicked men who have done this to +me!' + +"Ah, indeed! and do you forget that it is what is called the permissive +will of God which makes use of the malice of men, either to correct you or +to exercise you in virtue? Job says: _The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken +away_. [3] He does not say: The devil and the thieves took my goods and my +dear ones from me: he sees only the hand of God which does all these things +by such instruments as it pleases Him to use. You seem unfortunately to +have no wish to rank yourself with him who said that the rod and staff with +which God struck him brought him consolation; [4] and that he was like a +man helpless and abandoned, yet, nevertheless, free from the dead;[5] that +he was as one deaf and dumb, who paid no heed to the insults poured into +his ears; [6] that he was humbled in the dust, and kept silence even from +good words, which might have served to justify him and to defend his +innocence. + +"'But, Father,' you continue, 'how is it that you have become so harsh, and +have changed your gentleness, as Job says to Almighty God, into cruelty? +Where is your unfailing compassion?' I answer, my compassion is as great +and as sincere as ever; for God knows how much I love you, since I love you +more than myself, and how I should reproach myself if I allowed my heart to +be hardened against you. It is, however, too clear that the injury you have +received is resented by you, since you complain of it. We do not usually +complain of what pleases us, quite the reverse, we are glad and rejoice and +expect to be congratulated, not pitied. Witness the great parables of the +finding of the lost sheep and the lost groat.' + +"'Well,' you reply, 'and do you really want me to tell you that black looks +exhilarate me, and that I can bear smoke puffed in my face without even +sneezing?' + +"O man of little faith and of most limited patience! What then of our +Gospel maxims as to giving our cheek to the smiter, and our beard to those +who pluck it out; what of the beatitude of the persecuted; of the giving +our coat to him who takes away our cloak; of blessing those who curse us; +of a cordial and hearty love of our enemies? Are these sayings, think you, +only curiosities to be put in a cabinet; are they not rather those seals of +the Spouse, which He desires us to set upon our hearts and our arms, on our +thoughts and on our works? + +"Well, well, I pardon you from indulgence, to use the expression of the +Apostle, but, on condition that you will be more courageous for the future, +and that you will shut up tightly in the casket of silence all like favours +which God sends to you, so as not to let their perfume escape, and that +you will render thanks in your heart to our Father in Heaven, Who deigns +to bestow upon you a tiny splinter from the Cross of His Son. What! you +delight in wearing a heavy cross of gold upon your breast, and you cannot +bear the weight of one light as is your own upon your heart, but must needs +try to rid yourself of it by complaining! Then, again, even when it is +gone, you must needs talk about what you have put up with, and would like +me to consider you patient merely because you do not openly resent the +wrong done you. As if the great virtue of patience consisted only in the +not revenging yourself, and not much more, as it really does, in uttering +no word of complaint. + +"Moreover, it appears to me that you are quite wrong in so much as talking +about being _patient_ under injuries such as you have suffered. Patience is +too distinguished a virtue to be needed for so trivial an act--the lesser +good qualities of moderation, forbearance, and silence would amply suffice. +_In silence and In hope shall your strength be_."[7] So he dismissed me, +ashamed of myself, it is true, but, like the giant of fable, strengthened +by having fallen. On leaving him I felt as if all the insults in the world +would henceforth fail to make me utter one single word of complaint. I was +much consoled afterwards by coming across, in one of his letters, the same +remark about moderation and forbearance as he had then addressed to me. +He writes: "Nothing can have a more tranquillizing effect upon us in this +world than the frequent consideration of the afflictions, necessities, +contempts, calumnies, insults, and humiliations which our Lord suffered +from His birth to His most painful death. When we contemplate such a +weight of bitterness as this, are we not wrong in giving to the trifling +misfortunes which befall us, even the names of adversities and injuries? +Are we not ashamed to ask a share of His divine patience to help us to bear +such trifles as these, seeing that the smallest modicum of moderation and +humility would suffice to make us bear calmly the insults offered to us?" + +[Footnote 1: 2 Tim. iv. 2] +[Footnote 2: Psalm xxxviii. 10.] +[Footnote 3: Job i. 21.] +[Footnote 4: Psalm xxii. 4.] +[Footnote 5: Psalm lxxxvii. 5, 6.] +[Footnote 6: Psalm xxxvii. 15.] +[Footnote 7: Isaiah xxx. 15.] + + +HOW TO PROFIT BY BEARING WITH INSULTS. + +He used to say that a harvest of virtues could be gathered in from a crop +of affronts and injuries, because they offer us in abundance opportunities +of making such acts as the following: + +1. Of _justice_; for who is there that has not sinned and consequently has +not deserved punishment? Has anyone offended you? Well, think how often +you have offended God! Surely, therefore, it is meet that creatures, the +instruments of His justice, should punish you. + +2. But perhaps you were justly accused? Well, if so, simply acknowledge +your fault, asking pardon of God as well as of men, and be grateful to +those who have accused you, even though they have done it in such a manner +as to add unnecessary bitterness to your suffering. Remember that medicines +are none the less salutary for being nauseous. + +3. But may-be you were accused falsely? If so, calmly and quietly, +but without hesitation, bear witness to the truth. We owe this to our +neighbours, who might, if we were silent, believe the charge brought +against us, and thus be greatly disedified. + +4. Yet, if, after this, people persist in blaming you, abandon any further +defence of yourself, and conquer by silence, modesty, and patience. + +5. _Prudence_ has its own part to play in the conflict; for there is no +better way of dealing with insults than by treating them with contempt. +He who gives way to anger looks as if he acknowledged the truth of the +accusation. + +6. _Discretion_, too, comes to the aid of prudence by counselling +toleration. + +7. _Courage_ in all its power and grandeur raises you above yourself. + +8. _Temperance_ bridles your passions and curbs them into submission. + +9. _Humility_ will make you love and value your humiliation. + +10. _Faith_ will, as St. Paul says, stop the mouths of lions, and more than +this, it will, he says, set before our eyes for our loving contemplation +and imitation Jesus Christ Himself, overwhelmed with insults and calumnies, +yet silent, unmoved, as one who hears not and is dumb. + +11. _Hope_ will hold out before you an imperishable crown, the reward of +your trials and sufferings which endure but for a moment. + +12. _Charity_, last of all, will come to you and abide with you--charity, +patient and sweet, benign and yielding, believing all, hoping all, enduring +all, ready and willing to suffer all. + +The more we value our eternal salvation the more heartily shall we welcome +suffering. + + +UPON BEARING WITH IMPORTUNITIES. + +Blessed Francis laid great stress upon the necessity of patience when +we are importuned. "Yet," he would say, "patience seems almost too +great a power to invoke in this matter. In reality a little gentleness, +forbearance, and self-control ought to suffice. Still, when we speak of +patience it must not be as if it were to be employed only in the endurance +of really great evils, for, while we are waiting for these notable +occasions that occur rarely in a lifetime, we neglect the lesser ones. We +imagine that our patience is capable of putting up with great sufferings +and affronts, and we give way to impatience under the sting or bite of an +insect. We fancy that we could help, wait upon, and relieve our neighbour +in long or severe sickness, and yet we cannot bear that same neighbour's +ill-bred manner, and irritating moods, his awkwardness and incivility, +and above all his _importunity_, especially if he comes just at the +wrong moment to talk to us about matters which seem to us frivolous and +unimportant. + +"We triumphantly excuse ourselves for our impatience on these occasions by +alleging our deeps sense of the value of time; that one only thing, says an +ancient writer, with regard to which avarice is laudable. + +"But we fail to see that we employ this precious time in doing many things +far more vain and idle than in the satisfying the claims of our neighbour, +and possibly less important than those about which he talks to us, +occasioning what we call loss of time. + +"When we are conversing with others we should try to please them and to +show that their conversation is agreeable to us, and when we are alone we +should take pleasure in solitude. Unfortunately, however, our minds are +so inconsistent that we are always looking behind us, like Lot's wife. In +company we sigh for solitude, and in solitude, instead of enjoying its +sweets, we hanker after the company of others." + + +THAT HE WHO COMPLAINS SINS. + +One of Blessed Francis' most frequent sayings was: He who complains, seldom +does so without sinning. Now, you are anxious to know what exactly he +meant by this, and if it is not allowable to complain to superiors of +wrongs which have been done us, and when we are ill, to seek relief from +suffering, by describing our pains to the physician, so that he may apply +to them the proper remedies. + +To put this interpretation on the words of Blessed Francis is to overstrain +their meaning. The letter killeth, and needs to be interpreted by the +spirit that quickeneth, that is, to be taken gently and sweetly. + +Our Blessed Father condemns complaining when it borders upon murmuring. He +used to say that those who thus complained sinned, because our self-love +always magnifies unduly any wrongs done to ourselves, weighing them in the +most deceitful of balances, and applying the most extravagant epithets to +things which if done by us to others we should pass over as not worth a +thought. + +He did not consider it at all wrong to claim from a court of justice, +quietly, calmly, and dispassionately, reparation of injuries done to our +property, person, or honour. He has, indeed, devoted a whole chapter in his +Philothea[1] to demonstrating that we may, without failing in humility or +charity, do what is necessary for the preservation of our good name. But +human weakness is such that it is difficult even in a court of justice to +keep our temper and retain a proper equanimity: hence the proverb that, in +a hundred-weight of law, there is not so much as an ounce of good nature. + +It was also his wish that when sick we should state what ails us quite +simply and straightforwardly to those who can relieve us, always +remembering that God commands us to honour the physician.[2] To Philothea +he says: "When you are ill offer your sufferings, pains, and weakness to +the service of our Lord, and entreat Him to unite them to the torments +which He endured for you. Obey the physician; take medicine, food, and +other remedies for the love of God; remembering the gall which He accepted +for love of you. Desire to recover your health that you may serve Him, but, +if He so will, do not refuse to linger long upon your bed of pain, so as to +obey Him; in fine, be ready to die if that is His pleasure, that you may +praise and enjoy Him."[3] + +It was his opinion that when we complain, however justly, a certain amount +of self-love is always at the bottom of the complaint, and that a habit of +grumbling is a positive proof of our being too tender of ourselves and too +cowardly. + +After all, of what use are complaints? They do but beat the air and serve +to prove that if we suffer wrong it is with regret, with sadness, and not +without some desire of revenging ourselves. An ungreased wheel makes the +most noise in turning, and in like manner, he who has the least patience is +the first to grumble. + +We must remember, however, that all men deceive themselves. Those who +complain do not mean to be considered impatient. On the contrary, they +tell you that if it were not this particular thing, they would speak and +act differently; but that, as it is, if God did not forbid vengeance they +would assuredly take it in the most signal manner. Poor Israelites! really +brought out of Egypt, but yet still hankering after the leeks and garlic of +that miserable country! Truly such feebleness of mind is pitiable, and most +unworthy of a soul avowedly consecrated to the service of the Cross of +Jesus Christ. + +It is not that we are absolutely forbidden to complain under great +sufferings of body or mind, or under great losses. Job, the mirror of the +patient, uttered many complaints, yet without prejudice to that virtue +which made him so highly esteemed by God, and renders him famous in all +ages. It would not only be unwise, but possibly a sin, so to conceal bodily +suffering--under the pretext of being resolved not to complain--as to +refuse to have recourse to either physician or remedies, and thereby to +risk bringing ourselves down to the gates of the grave. + +Even God, the All-Perfect, does not refrain from pouring forth His +complaints against sinners, as we know from many parts of Holy Scripture. +We must then in this matter preserve a just medium, and although it behoves +us sometimes to suffer in silence, yet at other times we must make known +our sufferings, since _that suffering is truly the most wretched which, +amid torments, has no voice_.[4] + +The Son of God, the pattern of all perfection, wept and cried aloud at the +grave of Lazarus and on the Cross, showing that He pities our sufferings +and shares our griefs. The measure of our complainings must be fixed by +discretion, which St. Anthony calls the regent and ruler of the kingdom of +virtues, appointed to guard it from the encroachments of sin, ever striving +to gain dominion there. + +Our Blessed Father gives us the following lesson on the subject: "We must," +he says, "abstain from a but little noticed, yet most hurtful imperfection, +against which few people guard themselves. This is, that when we are +compelled to blame our neighbour or to complain of his conduct, which +should be as seldom as possible, we never seem to get done with the matter, +but go on perpetually repeating our complaints and lamentations; a sure +sign of irritation and peevishness and of a heart as yet destitute of true +charity. Great and powerful minds only make mourning about great matters, +and even these they dismiss as quickly as possible, never giving way to +passion or fretfulness." + +[Footnote 1: Part iii. chap. vii.] +[Footnote 2: Eccles. xxxviii. 1, 12.] +[Footnote 3: Part iii. chap. 3.] +[Footnote 4: Virgil, Æneid I.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' CALMNESS IN TRIBULATION. + +The similitude of the nest of the halcyon or kingfisher, supposed to float +on the sea, which our Saint describes so well and applies so exquisitely in +one of his letters, was the true picture of his own heart. The great stoic, +Seneca, says that it is easy to guide a vessel on a smooth sea and aided by +favourable winds, but that it is in the midst of tempests and hurricanes +that the skill of the pilot is shown.[1] + +So it is with the soul, whose fidelity and loyalty towards the Divine Lover +is well tested by sufferings and sorrows. + +The more he was crossed, the more he was upset, and, like the palm tree, +the more violently the winds beat against him, the deeper and stronger +roots he threw out. His own words express this truth so perfectly as to +leave no doubt on the subject. He says: "For some time past the many secret +contradictions and oppositions which have invaded my tranquil life have +brought with them so calm and sweet a peace that nothing can be compared to +it. Indeed, I cannot help thinking that they foretell the near approach of +that entire union of my soul with God, which is not only the greatest but +the sole ambition and passion of my heart." + +Oh! blessed servant of Jesus Christ, how absolutely you practised that +teaching which you impress so strongly on us in your Theotimus, in the +words of blessed Brother Giles. + +"One to one! one soul to one only love! one heart to one only God!" + +To that only God, the King eternal, Immortal, invisible, be honour and +glory for ever and ever! Amen. + +[Footnote 1: _Senec, De Providentia_, cap. iv.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' TEST OF PATIENCE IN SUFFERING. + +One day he was visiting a sick person who, in the midst of intense +suffering, not only showed great patience in all her words and actions, +but plainly had the virtue deeply rooted in her heart. "Happy woman," said +Blessed Francis, "who has found the honey-comb in the jaws of the lion!" + +Wishing, however, to make more certain that the patience she showed was +solid and real, rooted and grounded in Christian charity, and such as to +make her endure her sufferings for the love and for the glory of God alone, +he determined to try her. He began to praise her constancy, to enlarge upon +her sufferings, to express admiration at her courage, her silence, her good +example, knowing that in this way he would draw from her lips the true +language of her heart. + +Nor was he deceived, for she, sincere and absolutely patient Christian that +she was, answered him: "Ah! Father, you do not see the rebellious struggles +of all my senses and feelings. In the lower region of my soul everything is +in confusion and disorder, and if the grace and fear of God were not to +us as a tower of strength I should long ago have altogether given way and +rebelled against God. Picture me to yourself as like the Prophet whom the +Angel carried by one hair of his head; my patience, as it were, hangs on a +single thread, and were it not for the mighty help God is to me I should +long ere now have been in hell. + +"It is not then my virtue but the grace of God in me which makes me show +so much courage. My own part in the matter is but pretence and hypocrisy. +Were I to follow my own impulses I should moan, struggle, break out into +passionate and bitter words, but God restrains my lips with bit and bridle, +so that I dare not murmur under the blows dealt by His hand which I have +learnt through His grace to love and honour." + +Our Blessed Father, on leaving her sick-room, said to those who were with +him, "She has, indeed, true and Christian patience. Instead of pitying her +for her sufferings we ought rather to rejoice over them, for this high +virtue is only made perfect in infirmity. But do you notice how God hides +from her own eyes the perfection which He is giving her? Her patience is +not only courageous, but loving and humble; like pure balm, which, when +unadulterated, sinks to the bottom of the water into which it is cast. Be +careful, however, not to repeat to her what I have just said to you lest, +by doing so, you should excite in her movements of vanity, and spoil the +whole work of grace, whose waters only flow through the valley of humility. + +"Let her peacefully possess her soul in patience, for she is at peace even +in this extremity of bitterness." + + +UPON LONG ILLNESSES. + +Violent sicknesses either pass quickly or they carry us to the grave; slow +maladies drag wearily on and exercise the patience of the sufferers, nor +less that of those who tend them. + +Our Blessed Father says on the subject: "Long sicknesses are good schools +of mercy for those who wait upon the sick and of loving patience for those +who suffer. + +"They who wait upon the sick are at the foot of the Cross with our Lady and +St. John, whose compassion they imitate; the sick man himself is on the +Cross with our Saviour, Whose Passion he imitates. + +"But how can we imitate either this compassion or this Passion if we do +not suffer from the motive of the love of God? For the Blessed Virgin and +St. John, the beloved Disciple, were moved by a compassion as much more +sorrowful than ours, as their love for the Crucified, their own dearest +Lord, was greater than ours can be. It was at the foot of the Cross that +the sword of grief pierced Mary's soul, and it was there that the beloved +disciple drank that chalice of bitterness, which, after permitting him to +share the glories of Thabor, the Saviour predicted should be his." + +The whole life of a true Christian is one long period of suffering. Those +who endure not with Jesus Christ, are not fit to reign with Him. "O soul +in grace," says our Blessed Father, "thou art not yet the spouse of Jesus +glorified, but of Jesus crucified. This is why the rings, necklaces, and +other ornaments which He gives you, and with which He is pleased to adorn +you, are crosses, nails, and thorns; and the marriage feast He sets before +you gall, hyssop, and vinegar. It is in Heaven we shall possess the rubies, +diamonds, and emeralds, the wine, the manna, and the honey." The world is a +vast quarry in which are hewn out and shaped those living stones which are +to build up the heavenly Jerusalem, as the Church sings: + + _Tunsionibus, pressuris, + Expoliti lapides + Suis cooptantur locis, + Per manus Artificis: + Disponuntur permansuri + Sacris ædificiis._[1] + + Thou too, O Church, which here we see, + No easy task hath builded thee. + Long did the chisels ring around! + Long did the mallet's blows rebound! + Long worked the head, and toiled the hand! + Ere stood thy stones as now they stand. + +[Footnote 1: Office of the Dedication of a Church.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' HOLY INDIFFERENCE IN ILLNESS. + +As regards our Blessed Father's patience in time of sickness, I myself was +with him in one only of his illnesses, but others, who saw him in many +and were frequent witnesses of his patience, gentleness, and absolute +indifference to suffering, tell us marvels on that subject. + +For my part, on the one occasion when I saw him stretched upon his bed, +suffering with so much endurance and sweetness, the sight at once recalled +to me what St. Catherine of Genoa tells us of a certain soul in Purgatory. +This poor soul she represented as so perfectly united to God by charity +that it was physically unable to utter the slightest complaint, or to have +the faintest shadow of a desire, which was not absolutely in conformity +with the divine will. Such souls, she says, wish to be in Purgatory exactly +as long as God shall please, and this, with a will so contented and so +constant, that for nothing in the whole world would they be elsewhere +unless it were His will. This is exactly how our Blessed Father suffered, +without in any way losing heart, because of the services which he might +have been able to render to God and his neighbour had he been in health. He +wished to suffer because to do so was the good pleasure of God, Who held +the keys of his life and of his death, of his health and of his sickness, +and of his whole destiny. + +If he was asked whether he would take this or that, physic or food, whether +he would be bled or blistered, or the like, he had but one answer to give: +"Do with the patient what you please, God has put me at the disposal of the +doctors." Nothing could be more simple or obedient than his behaviour, for +he honoured God in the physicians, and in their remedies, as He Himself has +commanded us all to do. + +He always told the doctors and attendants exactly what was the matter +with him, neither exaggerating his malady by undue complaints, nor making +his suffering appear less than it really was by a forced and unnatural +composure. The first he said was cowardice, the second dissimulation. +Even although the inferior and sensible part of his soul might be under +the pressure of intense pain, there always flashed out from his face, and +especially from, his eyes, rays of that calm light which illumined the +superior and reasonable part of his nature, shining through the dark clouds +of bodily affliction. Hence the weaker his body, the stronger became his +spirit, enabling him to say with the Apostle: + + _Gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities, + That the power of Christ may dwell in me._[1] + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. xii. 9.] + + +UPON THE SHAPE OF THE CROSS. + +"The Cross," Blessed Francis says, "is composed of two pieces of wood, +which represent to us two excellent virtues, necessary to those who desire +to be fastened to it with Jesus Christ, and on it to live a dying life, and +on it to die the death which is life. These two great virtues most due to +Christians are humility and patience." + +He wished, however, that those two virtues should be rooted and grounded +in charity, that is to say, not only be practised in charity, that is, in +a state of grace, without which they are of no value for Heaven, but also +from the motive of charity. This is how he expresses himself:-- + +"Divine love will teach you that in imitation of the great Lover we must be +on the Cross in company with humility, deeming ourselves unworthy to endure +anything for Him Who endured so much for us; and in company with patience, +so as not to wish to come down from the Cross, not even all our life long +if so it pleases the Eternal Father. + +"The motto of Blessed Teresa was, To suffer or to die; for divine love had +attached this faithful servant of Jesus crucified so closely to the Cross +that she wished not to live, save that she might have opportunities of +suffering for Him. + +"The great and seraphic St. Francis considered that God had forgotten +him and lovingly complained when he had passed a day untouched by any +suffering; and just as he called poverty his mistress, so he called pain +his sister." + +Our Blessed Father's motto was "To love or to die." In his Treatise on the +Love of God he cries out: "To love, or to die! To die and to love! To die +to all other love in order to live to Jesus' love, that we may not die +eternally, but that living in Thy eternal love, O Saviour of our souls, we +may eternally sing, Vive Jesus, Live Jesus. I love Jesus. Live Jesus, Whom +I love! I love Jesus, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Book xii, c. 13.] + + +A DIAMOND CROSS. + +It was one day reported very seriously to Blessed Francis as though it +were some misdemeanor, that one of his penitents who was accustomed to wear +on her breast a rich diamond ornament, had had the diamonds made up into +a cross which she wore in the same manner as before, and that this was a +cause of scandal to certain persons. "Ah! he cried, how true it is that the +Cross is an occasion of scandal to some, and of edification to others! I do +not know who advised this lady to do what she has done, but for my part I +am much edified, and only wish that all the gew-gaws and trinkets worn by +women could be altered in the same holy manner. That would indeed be to +make vessels of the Tabernacle out of their mirrors."[1] + +Among his letters I came across lately and with much pleasure, one which +I think must have been written to this very lady. In it he says: "When I +last had the pleasure of seeing you, dear madam, you were wearing outwardly +on your heart a cross; love it fervently, I beseech you. It is all gold if +you look at it with loving eyes. On one side it is true that you see the +Beloved of your heart, dead, crucified amid nails and thorns; but on the +other side you will find a cluster of precious stones ready to adorn the +crown of glory which awaits you, if only, meanwhile, you wear lovingly the +crown of thorns with your King who willed to suffer so much that He might +enter into His joy." + +To a lady advanced in years and distinguished by her piety, who was +living in my diocese, and whom, out of reverence and affection, he used +to call his mother, he wrote as follows, when the infirmities of old +age were pressing heavily upon her: "I see very plainly that you must +from henceforth accustom yourself to the maladies and infirmities which +declining years bring with them. Ah, dear Lord! What happiness for a soul +dedicated to God, to be much tried by suffering, before quitting this life! +My dearest mother, how can we learn the lesson of generous and fervent love +save amid thorns, crosses, languor, and faintness, and more especially +when these sufferings are prolonged and lingering. Our dear Saviour showed +us the measure of His boundless love by that of His labours, and of His +sufferings. Show, my dear mother, your love to the Bridegroom of your heart +on the bed of pain; for it was on that bed that He fashioned your heart, +even before it came into existence, He beholding it as yet only in His +divine plan. Ah! this Divine Saviour has reckoned up all your pains, all +your sorrows, and has paid with His Precious Blood for all the patience +and the love which you need in order rightly to direct your labours to His +glory and to your own salvation. Content yourself with calmly desiring to +be all that God wills you to be." + +[Footnote 1: Exod. xxxviii. 8.] + + +HOLY MAGDALEN AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. + +Our Blessed Father had a special reverence for the picture of Magdalen at +the foot of the Cross, calling it sometimes the library of his thoughts. +Perhaps this representation was before his mind's eye, when just before he +rendered up his soul to God he murmured these words: _Wash me yet more from +my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin_.[1] "Oh!" he exclaimed, when he was +looking one day at this picture in my house at Belley, "how happy, and how +profitable an exchange this penitent made! She bestowed tears on the Feet +of Jesus Christ, and in return those Feet gave back to her Blood, but Blood +that washed away all her sins, for Christ has cleansed us from every stain +in His Blood, and by the sprinkling of this hyssop has made us, coal-black +though we were, white as snow! Oh, gracious rain made by God to fall upon +His inheritance, how sweet, how much to be desired thou art!" + +"Magdalen seeks our Saviour while she holds Him. She demands Him of +Himself. She does not see Him in the form she looked for: therefore, +unsatisfied, she seeks Him away from Himself. + +"She expected to see Him in His robe of glory, not in the poor garb of a +gardener; nevertheless she knew that it was He when He uttered her name +_Mary_.[2] + +"My dear sister, my daughter, it is our Lord in the clothing of a gardener +whom you meet every day in one place or another, and in the various +mortifications which present themselves to you. + +"You wish He would offer you grander mortifications. Oh! my God! the +grandest are not the best. Do you not believe that He says to you also +_Mary, Mary?_ Ah! before you see Him in His glory, He wishes to plant in +your garden many flowers, small and lowly indeed, but such as He loves. +That is why He wears a gardener's dress. + +"May our hearts be for ever united to His Heart, and our wills to His good +pleasure." + +[Footnote 1: Psalm l. 4.] +[Footnote 2: John xx. 16.] + + +UPON THE POWER OF GENTLENESS AND PATIENCE. + +An ecclesiastic in Blessed Francis' diocese, had, because of his vicious +and scandalous life, been sent to prison. After a few days' sojourn there +he testified the deepest repentance, and with tears and promises of +amendment entreated the officers of the prison to allow him to be taken to +the Holy Prelate, who had already pardoned many of his offences, that he +might at his feet plead again for forgiveness. + +This request was at first refused, as the officers considered that his +scandalous life deserved punishment, if only as an example to others, +and they knew that with Blessed Francis, to see a sinner was to pity and +forgive him. + +At last, however, they yielded to the priest's passionate entreaties, and +he was taken before his Bishop. Throwing himself on his knees before the +Holy Man, he implored mercy, declaring that he would lead a new life, +and set an example of all that was edifying, whereas before he had given +nothing but scandal. Blessed Francis on his part knelt down before the +culprit, and with many tears, addressed these remarkable words to him; "I, +too," he said, "ask you to have pity upon me, and upon all of us who are +priests in this diocese, upon the Church, and upon the Catholic, Apostolic, +and Roman religion, the honour of which you are ruining by your scandalous +life. For that life gives occasion to the adversaries of our Faith, who +are always on the watch like dragons to detect our slightest failings, to +condemn us. For a priest to sin, I tell you, is to give occasion to devils +to mock at the lives of our clergy, and to blaspheme our Holy Faith, I +ask you also to have pity on yourself, and on your own soul which you are +losing for all eternity, and to seek anew God's favour, I exhort you in the +name of Jesus Christ to return to God by a true repentance, I conjure you +to do this by all that is most holy, and sacred in Heaven, or on earth, by +the Blood of Jesus Christ which you profane, by the loving-kindness of the +Saviour, whom you crucify afresh, by the Spirit of Grace against whom you +are rebelling." These remonstrances, or rather the Spirit of God speaking +by the mouth of this zealous Pastor, had such effect that the guilty man +was by this change of the Right Hand of the Most High converted into a +perfectly different being, and became as notable an example of virtue as +he had been an occasion of scandal. + +Again--There was in his diocese a certain ecclesiastic who for very grave +faults, and for the scandal occasioned by them, was not only imprisoned and +treated while in prison with the greatest severity, but moreover, after +regaining his liberty, remained for six months suspended from all +ecclesiastical functions. + +Our Blessed Father most unwillingly yielded to the entreaties of the +officers of justice not in any way to interfere in the matter, but to let +the law take its course, and to leave the offender in their hands to be +treated with exceptional rigour. + +So little, however, did this mode of dealing with the criminal answer, +that, though while in prison he had been tractable, humble, lavish of +promises of amendment, and apparently penitent, when once he had shaken off +his fetters he relapsed into all his old evil habits, and passed from bad +to worse. The authorities were in fine constrained to deprive him of his +benefice, and to banish him from the diocese. + +A few years later a very similar case occurred in which the officers showed +the same unwillingness to permit the intervention of Blessed Francis, and +this from no want of respect or love for him, but, as before, from a fear +lest his gentleness and charity should hinder the course of justice. + +In this case, however, the holy Bishop was firm. "If," he said, "you forbid +him to appear before me, you will not forbid me to appear before him. You +do not wish him to come out of prison, suffer me then to go to prison with +him, and to be the companion of his captivity. We must comfort this poor +brother, who entreats us for help. I promise you that he shall not leave +the prison except with your leave." + +Accompanied by the officers of justice he then proceeded to the prison. +No sooner did he see the poor man kneeling humbly before his Bishop, and +accusing himself of his sins, than the holy Prelate embraced him tenderly, +and turning to his gaolers said: "Is it possible that you do not see that +God has already pardoned this man? Is there any condemnation for one who is +in Christ Jesus? If God justifies him, who shall condemn him? Certainly not +I." + +Then, turning to the culprit, he said: "Go in peace, my brother, and sin no +more, I know that you are truly penitent." + +The officials protested that the man was a hypocrite, and like that other +suspended priest would himself soon show that they were right. "It is, +however, possible," replied the Saint, "that had you treated that other +priest with lenity, he, too, would have truly repented; beware, then, lest +his soul should one day be required at your hands. For my part, if you will +accept me as this man's bail, I am ready to pledge my word for his good +behaviour. I am certain that he is sincerely repentant, and even if he is +deceiving me, he will do more injury to himself than to me, or others." + +The guilty man, bursting into tears, declared himself willing to undergo +any penance that might be imposed upon him, and even to give up his +benefice of his own accord, if the Bishop should judge this to be the +proper course. + +"I should be much grieved if you were to take that step," replied Blessed +Francis, "the more so as I hope that, just as the steeple in falling +crushed the church, so now being set up again it will make it more +beautiful than before." + +The officials gave way, the prison doors were thrown open, and after a +month's suspension, _a divinis_, the penitent resumed all the duties of his +sacred office. Thenceforth he lived so holy and exemplary a life as fully +to verify the predictions of his holy Bishop, who, when these two memorable +instances, one of perversion and the other of conversion, were once +afterwards discussed before him, said: "It is better by gentleness to make +penitents than by severity to make hypocrites." + +I will now relate some other instances of Blessed Francis' extraordinary +gentleness and of its softening effect upon others. + +He had made himself surety for a considerable sum of money for one of his +friends, who, at the time when payment was due, happened to be in Piedmont +levying troops for the service of His Highness the Duke of Savoy. + +The creditor becoming impatient for the discharge of the debt, applied to +the good Bishop, and insisted upon his making the money good, paying no +attention whatever either to his gentle remonstrances, or to his assurances +that the debtor, though unable at present to leave his troops, would do so +as soon as was consistent with his duty to his Prince and his country, and +that meantime his regular payment of the interest, and the knowledge that +he was worth a hundred times more than the sum owing, ought surely to +satisfy the creditor. + +Blessed Francis remained perfectly calm and unmoved amid the storm of +invectives and reproaches that followed this remonstrance, and which were +accompanied by furious demands reiterated again and again, that he himself +as surety should repay the money. + +At last, speaking with incredible gentleness, the Saint said: "Son, I am +your Pastor. Can you as one of my flock, have the heart to take the bread +out of my mouth in place of helping to feed me? You know that I am much +straitened in circumstances, and have really only barely enough for my +maintenance. I have never had in my possession the sum which you demand of +me, but for which, out of charity, I made myself surety: do you wish to +seize for it my goods, rather than those of the real debtor? Well, if so, +I have some patrimony. I give it up to you: there is my furniture. Turn it +all out into the public square, and sell it. I put myself absolutely into +your hands to do as you please. I only ask of you to love me for God's +sake, and not to offend Him in any way by anger, hatred, or scandal. If you +will do this I am content." + +The only reply to this was a fresh outburst of furious invectives and +accusations, to which our Blessed Father replied with unalterable serenity: +"Sir, since my indiscretion in making myself surety for my friend is the +cause of your anger, I will with all the haste possible do what I can to +satisfy you. At the same time, I wish you to know that had you plucked +out one of my eyes, I would have looked as affectionately at you with the +other, as at the dearest friend I have in the world." + +The creditor retired, covered indeed with confusion, but still muttering +injurious words, and calling the holy Bishop a hypocrite, a bigot, and the +like. Blessed Francis immediately sent an account of the affair to the real +debtor, who came as quickly as was possible and at once discharged the +debt. The creditor, full of shame and repentance, hastened to ask pardon of +our Blessed Father, and he, receiving the prodigal with open arms, treated +him ever afterwards with special tenderness, calling him his _friend +regained_. + +Again, when he was in Paris in 1619, having gone there with the Cardinal of +Savoy, who wished to be present at the marriage of his brother, the Prince +of Piedmont, with Madame Christine of France, the King's sister, our +Blessed Father was told that a man of tolerably good position professing +the so-called Reformed Religion wished to see him. + +Introduced into the Bishop's apartment, the Protestant, without the +smallest sign of reverence, or even courtesy, addressed him in these words: + +"Are you what they call the Bishop of Geneva?" + +"Sir," replied our holy Prelate, "that is my title, though in that city +I am not so much in request as I am in the other parts of the diocese +committed to my charge." + +"Well, I should just like to know from you, who are regarded everywhere as +an apostolic man, whether the Apostles were in the habit of going about in +carriages?" + +Our Blessed Father, in telling me this story, owned that he was somewhat +taken aback by the suddenness of this attack! Collecting his thoughts, +however, and remembering the case of St. Philip the Deacon, who, though not +the Apostle of that name, was undoubtedly an apostolic man, and who went +up into the chariot of Queen Candace's eunuch, he answered quietly that +they did so when convenience required it, and the occasion for doing so +presented itself. + +"I should be very glad," replied the man, scornfully, "if you could show me +that in Scripture." The Bishop quoted the instance to which we have just +referred. His opponent, not noticing the fact of this not being St. Philip +the Apostle, retorted, "But this carriage was not his own, it belonged +to the eunuch, who invited him to come up into it," "I never told you," +answered Francis, "that the carriage was his own. I only said that when +the occasion presented itself the first preachers of the Gospel rode in +carriages." "But not in gilded coaches such as yours, sir," returned the +Protestant, "nor drawn by such splendid horses, nor driven by a coachman in +such superb livery. Why, the King himself has nothing better! This is what +I complain of; and this it is in you which scandalizes me. And you, above +all, who play the Saint, and whom the papists look upon as such. Fine +Saints, forsooth, who go to Paradise so much at their ease!" + +Blessed Francis, seeing at once where the shoe pinched, answered gently, +"Alas, sir, the people of Geneva who have seized upon the property +belonging to my See have cut me down so close as regards money that I have +barely enough to live upon in the most frugal way. As to a carriage, I have +never had one, nor money enough to buy one." "Then that splendid carriage, +which is, so to speak, regal, in which I see you every day driving about +the city is not your own?" rejoined the antagonist. "Certainly not," +replied the Bishop, "and you are quite right in calling it regal, for it +belongs to His Majesty, and is one of those set apart by him for people +who, like myself, are mere attendants of the Princes of Savoy. The royal +livery worn by the servants ought to have shown you this!" "Now, indeed," +said the Protestant, "I am satisfied, and I esteem you. I see that you +are in the right, and that, notwithstanding, you are humble." After some +further remarks he put some questions as to the birth and manner of life of +the Saint, and was so perfectly contented with his replies that he quitted +him with expressions of esteem and affection, and ever afterwards held him +in the highest respect. + +Again, preaching during an Advent and Lent at Grenoble, not only a great +concourse of Catholics flocked to hear him, but also such numbers of +Protestants of the Geneva following that their ministers became alarmed and +held meetings to decide what measures should be taken to avert a storm, +which threatened desolation to their strongholds and was fast emptying +their conventicles. They decided at last on a personal conflict with their +opponent, choosing one of their most furious pastors, a man of violent +temper and bitter tongue, to argue with Blessed Francis, and, as they +expected, to worst him in a controversy. The holy Bishop, who had already +had much practice and success in this kind of warfare at Thonon, Ternier, +and Gaillard, the bailiwicks of his diocese which he had brought back into +the bosom of the True Church, cheerfully agreed to the proposal. In answer +to the remonstrances of his friends, and especially of one gentleman of +Belley, a man of the greatest probity and piety, who painted the Protestant +ministers in the blackest colours, and told the Bishop that insults would +literally be heaped upon him, he replied, "Well, that is exactly what we +want; this contempt is just what I ask. For how great is the glory to +Himself that God will derive from my confusion!" On his friends reminding +him that he would be exposing his sacred office to derision, "What of +that?" replied the Bishop, "did not our Saviour suffer shame for us--were +not insults heaped upon Him?" + +"Oh," said the other, "you aim too high." "To tell you the truth," said +our Saint, "I am hoping that God will give me the grace to endure insults +without end, for when we are finely humbled He will be gloriously exalted. +You will see conversion upon conversion following the train of this affair, +a thousand falling on the left hand and ten thousand on the right, God is +wont at all times to make our infamy redound to His honour. Did not the +Apostles come forth rejoicing from those assemblies in which they had +suffered contumely for the name of Jesus? Take courage, God will help us; +those who hope in Him never lack any good thing and are never confounded." + +Was it possible to carry patience further than this? Doubtless, had the +meeting taken place, the envenomed darts of heresy would have glanced aside +from the spotless, shining shield of Faith carried by Blessed Francis, but +the devil, fearing to be worsted in the fight, suggested so many prudent +reasons to the Protestant Minister's friends, who, in reality, had their +doubts about both his virtue and his capacity for conducting the conference +that they got it forbidden by the Lieutenant of the King, though himself at +that time a heretic. + +Another striking example of patience. A person of some influence and +consideration once applied to Blessed Francis asking him to obtain an +ecclesiastical preferment for a certain Priest. The Bishop replied that +in the matter of conferring benefices he had, of his free will, tied his +own hands, having left the choosing of fitting subjects to the decision +of a board of examiners, who were to recommend the person to be appointed +after due examination of the merits and talents of the candidates. As for +himself, he said, he simply presided over the meeting. Should, however, the +gentleman's friend present himself as a candidate, he, the Bishop, would +promise to bear the recommendation in mind. The petitioner felt piqued at +this answer, and quite losing his temper, replied to the Bishop in the most +disrespectful and even insulting manner. The gentle firmness with which +his anger was met only infuriated him the more, and he eventually lost all +command over himself. It was in vain that the Bishop tried to soothe him by +proposing to examine the claimant privately. This had no effect. + +The Saint then said gently but gravely: "Do you then wish me to give the +charge of my sheep blindfolded and to the first comer? Ask yourself if +there is reasonableness in such a request as you are making?" + +But not even this appeal to his reason turned the flood of the man's wrath, +and he quitted the Bishop's presence in a passion of disrespect impossible +to describe. A most excellent Priest who had been in the room all through +the interview asked the Bishop, after the departure of his impudent +visitor, how he could bear such treatment with the patience he showed. +"Well," he answered, "it was not he himself that spoke, it was his passion. +After all he is one of my best friends, and you will see that my silence on +this occasion will only make our friendship the stronger. + +"More than this. Has not God from all eternity foreseen that these insults +would be offered to me to-day, and foreseen, too, that He would bestow +on me such grace as would enable me to bear them joyfully? Should I not +drain the chalice held to my lips by the hands of so loving a Father? Oh! +how sweet is this inebriating cup, offered to me by a hand which from my +infancy I have learnt to adore." "But," returned the Priest, "were not your +feelings stirred at all by this treatment?" + +"Well," replied the Bishop, "I tried to overcome them by fixing my thoughts +on the good qualities of the man whose friendship I have so long and so +happily enjoyed. Then, too, I hope that when this storm in a tea-cup has +subsided and the clouds of passion have lifted, my friend will come back to +me with peace in his heart and serenity on his countenance." + +Nor was the Saint's expectation disappointed. His friend did come back, and +with many tears begged his forgiveness; a forgiveness which was, you may be +sure, granted so fully and with such loving readiness as to increase the +fervour and sincerity of their old and mutual affection. + + +A REJOINDER BOTH STRIKING AND INSTRUCTIVE. + +In the course of his long mission in the Chablais, he one day preached on +that text which commands us to offer the right cheek to him who smites +us on the left. As he came down from the pulpit he was accosted by a +Protestant who asked him if he felt that he could practise what he had just +preached, or whether he was not rather one of those who preach but do not +practise. + +The Saint replied: "My dear brother, I am but a weak man and beset by +infirmities. At the same time, miserable though I feel myself to be, God +teaches me what I ought to do. I cannot tell you what I should actually do, +because though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. At the same time +we know, that while without grace we can do nothing, with its aid we can do +everything; a reed in the hand of grace becomes a mighty staff that cannot +be broken. If we are told to be willing to give our life itself in defence +of our faith, how much more does it behove us to endure some small affront +for the maintenance of charity! Moreover, were I to be such a recreant to +the grace of God as not to bear an insult of this kind patiently, let me +remind you that the same Gospel which reproves those who preach but do not +practise, warns us against following the example of such teachers, though +it bids us do what they tell us to do." + +"Yet," resumed the other, "our Saviour never presented the other cheek to +the servant of the High Priest who struck Him; on the contrary He resented +the act." + +"What!" cried the holy Bishop, "you place our Lord on a level with those +who preach but do not practise! That is blasphemy! As for us, we entertain +more reverent feelings towards that Model of all perfection. It is not +for us to comment on the actions of Him who, as we firmly believe, could +not act otherwise than most perfectly. Neither is it for us to dare to +say: 'Why hast Thou done thus?' Yet we may well remember His zeal for +the salvation of that impious man's soul, and the remonstrances which He +deigned to use in order to bring him to repentance. Nay, did He not offer +not only His cheek to the smiter, but His whole sacred Body to the cruel +scourging which covered Him with wounds from Head to Foot?" + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' FAVOURITE BEATITUDE. + +He was once asked which, in his opinion, was the most perfect of the eight +Beatitudes. It was thought that he would answer: "The second, Blessed +are the meek," but it was not so; he gave the preference to the eighth: +_Blessed are they that suffer for justice' sake_. He explained his +preference by saying that "the life of those who are persecuted for +justice' sake is hidden in God with Jesus Christ, and becomes conformable +to His image; for was not He persecuted all through His earthly life for +justice' sake, although He fulfilled it in all its perfection? Such persons +are, as it were, shrouded by the veil which hides the countenance of God. +They appear sinful, but they are just; dead, but they live; fools, but they +are wise; in a word, though despised in the sight of men, they are dear to +God with whom they live for ever. + +"Should God have given me one particle of justice, enabling me thereby to +do some little good, it would be my wish that in the Day of Judgment, when +all secrets are revealed, God alone should know my righteousness, and that +my sinful actions should be proclaimed to all creatures." + + +HIS GRAVITY AND AFFABILITY. + +Grace produced in him that wonderful and perfectly harmonious blending +of gravity and affability, which was perhaps his most distinguishing +characteristic. There was in his whole demeanour and in the very expression +of his face a lofty and dignified beauty which inspired reverence and even +a sort of fear--that is, such fear as engenders respect and makes any undue +familiarity impossible. Yet, at the same time he displayed such sweetness +and gentleness as to encourage all who approached him. No one, however +conscious of his own want of attractiveness, feared a repulse from the holy +Bishop, and all, feeling sure of a welcome, were only eager to please and +satisfy him. + +For my own part I must confess that when I succeeded in doing anything +which he was able to praise, and which consequently gave him pleasure, I +was so happy and elated that I felt as if I were raised to the seventh +heaven! Indeed, had he not taught me to refer everything to God, many of +my actions would, I fear, have stopped half-way thither. People of high +standing in society, accustomed even to come into close contact with +royalty itself, have assured me that, in the presence of our Saint, they +felt a subtle influence guarding, restraining, elevating them as no other +companionship, however noble and distinguished, could ever do. It was as +though in him they saw some reflection of the all-penetrating intelligence +of God Himself, lighting up the inmost recesses of their heart, and laying +bare its mysteries. + +Yet his affability was no less marvellous, making itself felt the instant +you came in contact with him. It was not like a quality or grace acquired; +it was not in any way apart from his own personality, it was as if he were +affability personified. Hence that power of winning over others, of making +himself all things to all men, of gaining the support of so many in his +plans and schemes, all of which had but one aim and object, namely, the +increase of the glory of God and the promotion of the salvation of souls. + + +HOW BLESSED FRANCIS DEALT WITH A CRIMINAL WHO DESPAIRED OF SALVATION. + +He was once asked to visit in prison a poor criminal already condemned to +death, but who could not be induced to make his confession. The unhappy man +had committed crimes so terrible that he despaired of the forgiveness even +of God, and having often during his lifetime met death face to face in +battle and in duels, he appeared to be quite ready again to meet it boldly; +nay, so hardened was he by the devil that he even spoke calmly of hell, as +of the abode destined for him for eternity. + +Our Blessed Father finding him in this frame of mind, and altogether cold, +hard, and reckless, proclaiming himself the prey of Satan and a victim +prepared for hell, thus addressed him: "My brother, would you not rather be +the prey of God and a victim of the Cross of Jesus Christ?" "What," cried +the criminal, "do you think that God would have anything to do with a +victim as repulsive as I am?" + +"Oh, God!" was the silent prayer of Blessed Francis, "remember Thine +ancient mercies and the promise which Thou hast made never to quench +utterly the smoking flax nor wholly to break the bruised reed. Thou who +wiliest not the death of the sinner, but rather that he should be converted +and live, make happy the last moments of this poor soul." + +Then he spoke aloud replying to the despairing words of the poor wretch, +for, horrifying though they were, they had proved to the skilled workman +that there was something left to work upon, that faith in God was not yet +wholly dead in that poor heart. "At any rate, would you not rather abandon +yourself to God than to the evil one?" "Most assuredly," replied the +criminal, "but it is a likely thing indeed that' God would have anything +to do with a man like me!" "It was for men like you," returned the Bishop, +"that the Eternal Father sent His Son into the world, nay for worse than +you, even for Judas and for the miscreants who crucified Him. Jesus Christ +came to save not the just, but sinners." + +"But," cried the other, "can you assure me that it would not be presumption +on my part to have recourse to His mercy?" "It would be great presumption," +replied our Saint, "to think that His mercy was not infinite, far above all +sins not only possible but conceivable, and that His redemption was not so +plentiful, but that it could make grace superabound where sin had poured +forth a flood of evils. On the contrary, His mercy, which is over all His +works, and which always overrides His justice, becomes so much the greater +the greater the mountain of our sins. + +"Upon that very mountain he sets up the throne of His mercy." With words +such as these, kindling, or rather re-animating the spark of faith not yet +wholly dead in the soul of the wretched man, he relighted the flame of +hope, which up to that moment was quite extinguished, and little by little +softened and tamed the man's natural temper, rendered savage by despair. He +led him on at last to resignation, and persuaded him to cast himself into +the arms of God for death and for life; to deal with him according to His +own good pleasure, for his whole future in this world, or in the next. + +"But He will damn me," said the man, "for He is just." "No, He will pardon +you," replied Blessed Francis, "if you cry to Him for mercy, for He is +merciful and has promised forgiveness to whoever implores it of Him with a +humble and contrite heart." "Well," replied the criminal, "let Him damn me +if he pleases--I am His. He can do with me what the potter does with his +clay." "Nay," replied the holy Bishop, "say rather with David, _I am Thine, +O Lord, save me_." Not to make the story too long, I may tell you that the +holy Bishop brought this man to confession, repentance, and contrition, and +that he died with great constancy, sincerely acknowledging his sins and +abandoning himself entirely to the most holy will of God. The last words +which our Blessed Father made him utter were these: "O Jesus, I give myself +up to Thee--I abandon myself wholly to Thee." + + +UPON MORTIFICATION. + +It is far better to mortify the body through the spirit than the spirit +through the body. To deaden and beat down the body instead of trying to +reduce the swelling of an inflated spirit is like pulling back a horse by +its tail. It is behaving like Balaam, who beat the ass which carried him, +instead of taking heed to the peril which threatened him and which the poor +beast was miraculously warning him to avoid. + +One of the three first Postulants who entered the Convent of the +Visitation, established by me at Belley, left it before taking the novices' +habit being unable to understand how Religious could be holy in an Order in +which she saw so few austerities practised. She has since then, however, +been disabused of her error, and has repented of it. + +At that time she was under the guidance of those who considered that +holiness consisted in mortifications in respect of food and clothing: as if +the stings of the flesh cease to be felt when you no longer eat of it, +and as if you could not be temperate over partridges and gluttonous over +cabbages. + +Our Blessed Father, writing to a novice in one of his convents who was +perplexed on this subject, says: "The devil does not trouble himself much +about us if, while macerating our bodies, we are at the same time doing our +own will, for he does not fear austerity but obedience. + +"What greater austerity can there be than to keep our will in subjection +and In continual obedience, Reassure yourself then, O lover of voluntary +penance, if, indeed, the works of self-love deserve to be called penances! +When you took the habit after many prayers and much consideration, it was +thought good that you should enter the school of obedience and renunciation +of your own will rather than remain the sport of your own judgment and of +yourself. + +"Do not then let yourself be shaken, but remain where our Lord has placed +you. It is true that there you suffer great mortifications of heart, seeing +yourself so imperfect and so deserving of reproof and correction, but is +not this the very thing you ought to seeks mortification of heart and +a continual sense of your own misery? Yet, you say, you cannot do such +penance as you would. My dear daughter, tell me what better penance can be +given to an erring heart than to bear a continual cross and to be always +renouncing self-love?" + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +Blessed Francis was no great friend of unusual mortifications, and did +not wish them to be practised except in the pressing necessity of violent +temptations. + +In such cases it was his desire that those so assailed should try to repel +force by force, employing that holy violence which takes heaven by storm, +for, as by cutting and burning health is restored to the body, so also by +these caustic remedies holiness is often preserved in the soul. + +He used to say that to those who made all kinds of exterior austerities +their custom, the custom in time becomes a second nature;[1] that those who +had hardened their skin no longer felt any inconvenience from cold, from +hard couches, or coarse garments, and that when the flame of concupiscence +kindled this dry wood they possessed no remedy which they could apply to +extinguish the fire. + +They are like the pagan king, who had so accustomed himself to feed upon +poison that when he wished to end his miseries with his life by taking it, +he was obliged to live on against his will, and to serve as a sport to his +enemies. + +The devil cares very little about our body being laid low so long as he can +hold on to us by the vices of the soul; and so cunning is he that often out +of bodily mortifications, he extracts matter for vanity. + +Our holy Bishop wrote as follows to a person who regretted that her health +prevented her from continuing her accustomed austerities: + +"Since you do not find yourself any longer able to practise corporal +mortifications and the severities of penance, and since it is not at +all expedient that you should think of doing so, on which point we are +perfectly agreed, keep your heart calm and recollected in the presence of +its Saviour; and as far as possible do what you may have to do solely to +please God, and suffer whatever you may have to suffer according to His +disposal of events in this life with the same intention. Thus God will +possess you wholly and will graciously allow you to possess Him one day +eternally." + +With regard to the various kinds of mortification, that which is inward and +hidden is far more excellent than that which is exterior, the former +not being compatible, as is the latter, with hypocrisy, vanity, or +indiscretion. + +Again, those mortifications which come upon us from without, either +directly from God or through men by His permission, are always superior to +those which depend upon our own choice and which are the offspring of our +will. + +Many, however, find here a stumbling block, being very eager to embrace +mortifications suggested by their own inclinations, which, after all, +however apparently severe, are really easy because they are what nature +itself wants. + +On the other hand, mortifications which come to them from without and +through others, however light they may be, they find insupportable. For +example, a person will eagerly make use of disciplines, hair-shirts, and +fasting, and yet will be so tender of his reputation that if once in a way +laughed at or spoken against, he will become almost beside himself, robbed +of his rest and even sometimes of his reason; and will perhaps in the end +be driven to the most deplorable extremities. + +Another will throw himself with ardour into the practice of prayer, +penance, silence, and such like devotions, but will break out into a fury +of impatience and complain indignantly and unrestrainedly at the loss of a +law-suit, or at the slightest damage done to his property. + +Another will give alms liberally and make magnificent foundations for the +relief of the poor and sick, but will groan and tremble with fear when +himself threatened with infirmity or sickness, however slightly; and upon +experiencing the least possible bodily pain, will give vent to interminable +lamentations. + +In proportion as people are more or less attached to honours, gain, or mere +pleasures, they bear with less or more patience the hindrances to them; nor +do the majority of men seriously consider that it is the hand of God which +gives and which takes away, which kills and which makes alive, which exalts +and which casts down, as it pleases Him. + +In order to heal this spiritual malady in a certain person our Blessed +Father wrote to her: "Often and with all your heart kiss the crosses which +God has laid upon your shoulders. Do not consider whether they are of +precious and sweet-scented wood or not. And, indeed, they are more truly +crosses when they are of coarse, common, ill-smelling wood. It is strange, +but one particular chant keeps ever coming back to my mind, and it is the +only one I know. It is the canticle of the divine Lamb; sad, indeed, but at +the same time harmonious and beautiful--_Father, not my will, but Thine be +done_."[2] + +[Footnote 1: It is not to be inferred that Saint Francis countenanced +self-indulgence. He only wished to remove the idea common in his day, +that devotion must be accompanied by austerity.--[Ed.]] +[Footnote 2: Luke xxii. 42.] + + +UPON FASTING.[1] + +One day when we were talking about that holy liberty of spirit of which +he thought so highly, as being one of the great aids to charity, Blessed +Francis told me the following anecdote, which is a most practical +illustration of his feelings on the subject. + +He had been visited by a Prelate, whom, with his accustomed hospitality +and kindness, he pressed to remain with him for several days. When Friday +evening came, our Blessed Father went to the Prelate's room inviting him to +come to supper, which was quite ready. + +"Supper!" cried his guest. "This is not a day for supper! Surely, the least +one can do is to fast once a week!" Our holy Bishop at once left him to do +as he pleased, desiring the servants to take his collation to his room, +while he himself joined the chaplains of the Prelate and his own household +at the supper table. + +The chaplains told him that this Prelate was so exact and punctilious in +discharging all his religious exercises, of prayer, fasting, and such like, +that he never abated one of them, whatever company he might have. Not +that he refused to sit down to table with his visitors on fast days, but +that he ate nothing but what was permitted by the rule he had imposed on +himself. Our Blessed Father, after telling me this, went on to say that +condescension was the daughter of charity, just as fasting is the sister of +obedience; and that where obedience did not impose the sacrifice, he would +have no difficulty in preferring condescension and hospitality to fasting. +The lives of the Saints furnish frequent examples of this. Above all, +Scripture assures us, that by hospitality some have merited to receive +Angels; from which declaration St. Paul takes occasion to exhort the +faithful not to forget liberality and hospitality, as sacrifices well +pleasing to God.[2] + +"Remember," he said, "that we must not be so deeply attached to our +religious exercises, however pious, as not to be ready sometimes to give +them up. For, if we cling to them too tightly, under the pretext of +fidelity and steadfastness, a subtle self-love will glide in among them, +making us forget the end in the means, and then, instead of pressing on, +nor resting till we rest in God Himself, we shall stop short at the means +which lead to Him. + +"As regards the occurrence of which I have been telling you, one Friday's +fast, thus interrupted, would have concealed many others; and to conceal +such virtues is no less a virtue than those which are so concealed. God is +a hidden God, who loves to be served, prayed to, and adored in secret, as +the Gospel testifies.[3] You know what happened to that unthinking king +of Israel, who, for having displayed his treasures to the ambassadors of +a barbarian prince, was deprived of them all, when that same heathen king +descended upon him with a powerful army. + +"The practice of the virtue of condescension or affability may often with +profit be substituted for fasting. I except, however, the case of a vow, +for in that we must be faithful even to death, and care nothing about what +men may say, provided that God is served. _They that please men have been +confounded, because God hath despised them._"[4] + +He asked me one day if it was easy for me to fast. I answered that it was +perfectly easy, as it was a rare thing for me to sit down to table with any +appetite. "Then," he rejoined, "do not fast at all." On my expressing great +astonishment at these words, and venturing to remind our Blessed Father +that it was a mortification, strongly recommended to us by God Himself. + +"Yes," he replied, "but for those who have better appetites than you have. +Do some other good work, and keep your body in subjection by some other +mode of discipline." He went on, however, to say that fasting was, indeed, +the greatest of all corporal austerities, since it puts the axe to the root +of the tree. The others only touch the bark lightly; they only scrape or +prune it. Whereas when the body waxes fat it often kicks, and from this +sort of fatness sin is likely to proceed. + +"Those who are naturally sober, temperate, and self-restrained have a great +advantage over others in the matter of study and spiritual things. They +are like horses that have been well broken in, horses which have a strong +bridle, holding them in to their duty." + +He was no friend to immoderate fasting, and never encouraged it in his +penitents, as we see in his "Introduction to a Devout Life," where he gives +this reason against the practice: "When the body is over-fed, the mind +cannot support its weight; but when the body is weak and wasted. It cannot +support the mind." He liked the one and the other to be dealt with in +a well-balanced manner, and said that God wished to be served with a +reasonable service; adding--that it was always easy to bring down and +reduce the bodily forces, but that it was not so easy a matter to build +them up again when thus brought low. It is easy to wound, but not to heal. +The mind should treat the body as its child, correcting without crushing +it: only when it revolts must it be treated as a rebellious subject, +according to the words of the Apostle: _I chastise my body and bring it +into subjection_.[Footnote 5] + +[Footnote 1: The Saint is here speaking of fasts of devotion, not of +those of obligation.--[Ed.]] +[Footnote 2: Heb. xiii. 2, 16.] +[Footnote 3: Matt. vi. 6.] +[Footnote 4: Psalm lii. 6.] +[Footnote 5: 1 Cor. ix. 27.] + + +DOUBTS SOLVED AS TO SOLDIERS FASTING. + +I was so young when called to the episcopate that I lived in a state of +continual mistrust and uncertainty; doubtful about this, scrupulous about +that; ignorance being the grandmother of scruples, as servile fear is their +mother. + +At the time of which I am going to speak, the residences of our Blessed +Father and myself were only eight leagues apart, and in all my perplexities +and difficulties I had recourse to his judgment and counsel. I kept a +little foot-boy in my service, almost entirely employed in running to and +fro between Belley and Annecy, carrying my letters to him and bringing +back his replies. These replies were to me absolute decrees; nay, I should +rather say oracles, so manifestly did God speak by the mouth and pen of +that holy man. + +On one occasion it happened that the captains of some troops--then +stationed in garrison on the borders of Savoy and France, on account of a +misunderstanding which had arisen between the two countries--came to me +at the beginning of Lent to ask permission for their men to eat eggs and +cheese during that season. This was a permission which I had never given +except to the weak and sickly. I learned from the men themselves that they +were exceedingly robust and hearty, and only weak and reduced as regarded +their purses, their pay being so small that it barely supplied them with +food. Nevertheless, I did not consider this poor pay a sufficient reason +for granting a dispensation, especially in a district where Lent is so +strictly kept that the peasants are scandalized when told that on certain +days they may eat butter. + +In my difficulty I despatched a letter at once to our Blessed Father, whose +reply was full of sweetness and kindness. He said that he honoured the +faith and piety of the good centurions, who had presented this request, +which, indeed, deserved to be granted, seeing that it edified, not the +Synagogue, but the Church. He added that I ought not only to grant it, but +to extend it, and instead of eggs, to permit them to eat oxen, and instead +of cheese, the cows of whose milk it is made. + +"Truly," he went on to say, "you are a wise person to consult me as to what +soldiers shall eat in Lent, as if the laws of war and necessity did not +over-ride all others without exception! Is it not a great thing that these +good men submit themselves to the Church, and so defer to her as to ask her +permission and blessing? God grant that they may do nothing worse than eat +eggs, cheese, or beef; if they were guilty of nothing more heinous than +that, there would not be so many complaints against them." + + +THE GOLDEN MEAN IN DISPENSATIONS. + +"It is quite true," said our Blessed Father, on one occasion, "that there +are certain matters in which we are meant to use our own judgment, and in +which, if we judge ourselves, we shall not be chastised by God. But there +are others in which, with the eye of our soul, that is, with our judgment, +it is as with the eye of the body, which sees all things excepting itself. +We need a mirror. Now, this mirror, as regards interior things, is the +person to whom we manifest our conscience, and who is its judge in the +place of God." + +He went on to say that in the matter of granting dispensations to his +flock, he had told a certain Prelate, who had consulted him on the subject, +that the best rule to give to others, or to take for oneself in such +questions, is to love one's neighbour as oneself, and oneself as others, in +God and for God. "If," he continued, addressing the Prelate, "you now take +more trouble about granting these necessary dispensations to others than in +getting them for yourself, the time will come when you will be generous, +easy, and indulgent towards others, and severe and rigorous towards +yourself. Perhaps you imagine that this second line of conduct is better +than the other. It is not, and you will find the repose and peace of your +soul only in the golden mean, which is the one wholesome atmosphere for the +nourishing of virtue." + + +UPON THE WORDS, "EAT OF ANYTHING THAT IS SET BEFORE YOU." + +Our Blessed Father held in great esteem the Gospel maxim, _Eat such things +as are set before you_.[1] He deemed it a much higher and stronger degree +of mortification to accommodate the tastes and appetite to any food, +whether pleasant or otherwise, which may be offered, than always to choose +the most inferior and coarsest kinds. For it not seldom happens that the +greatest delicacies--or those at least which are esteemed to be such by +epicures--are not to our taste, and therefore to partake of them without +showing the least sign of dislike is by no means so small a matter as may +be thought. It incommodes no one but the person who so mortifies himself, +and it is a little act of self-restraint so secret, so securely hidden from +others, that the rest of the company imagine something quite different from +the real truth. + +He also considered that it was a species of incivility when seated at a +meal to ask for some dish which was at the other end of the table, instead +of taking what was close at hand. He said that such practices were evidence +of a mind too keen about viands, sauces, and condiments; too much absorbed +in mere eating and drinking. If, he added, this careful picking out of +dishes is not done from greediness or gluttony, but from a desire to choose +the worst food, it smacks of affectation, which is as inseparable from +ostentation as smoke from fire. The conduct of people who do this is not +unlike that of guests who take the lowest seats at the table, in order +that they may, with the greater _éclat_, be summoned to the higher places. +The following incident will show his own indifference. One day poached +eggs were served to him, and when he had eaten them, he continued to dip +his bread in the water in which they had been cooked, apparently without +noticing what he was doing. The guests were all smiling. Upon discovering +the cause of their amusement, he told them it was too bad of them to +undeceive him, as he was taking the sauce with much relish, verifying the +proverb that "Hunger is the best sauce"! + +[Footnote 1: Luc. x. 8.] + + +UPON THE STATE OF PERFECTION. + +The degree of perfection to which our Blessed Father brought his Religious +he makes manifest to us in one of his letters. + +"Do you know," he says, "what the cloister is? It is the school of exact +correction, in which each individual soul must learn the lesson of allowing +itself to be so disciplined, planed, and polished that at length, being +quite smooth and even, it may be fit to be joined, united, and absolutely +assimilated with the Will of God. + +"To wish to be corrected is an evident sign of perfection, for the +principal point of humility is realizing our need of it. + +"A convent is a hospital for the spiritually sick. The sick wish to be +cured, and, therefore, they willingly submit to be lanced, probed, cut, +cauterized, and subjected to any and every pain and discomfort which +medicine or surgery may suggest. + +"In the early days of the Church, religious were called by a name which +signifies healers. Oh! my daughter, be truly your own healer, and pay no +heed to what self-love may whisper to the contrary. Say to yourself, since +I do not wish to die spiritually, I will be healed, and in order to be +healed I will submit to treatment and correction, and I will entreat the +doctors to spare me nothing which may be required to effect my cure." + + +MARKS OF PROGRESS IN PERFECTION. + +Our Blessed Father, who did not like people to be too introspective and +self-tormenting, said that they should, however, walk as it is written of +the Maccabees, _Caute et ordinate_;[1] that is, with circumspection and +order, or, to use a common expression, "bridle in hand." And one of the +best proofs of our advancement in virtue is, he said, a love of correction +and reproof; for it is a sign of a good digestion easily to assimilate +tough and coarse food. In the same way it is a mark of spiritual health +and inward vigour to be able to say with the Psalmist, _The just man shall +correct me in mercy and shall reprove me._[2] + +It is a great proof of our hating vice, and of the faults which we commit, +proceeding rather from inadvertence and frailty, than from malice and +deliberate intention, that we welcome the warnings which make us think on +our ways, and turn back our feet (that is to say, our affections) into the +testimonies of God, by which is meant the divine law. + +An old philosopher said that to want to get well is part of the sick man's +cure. The desire to keep well is a sign of health. He who loves correction +necessarily desires the virtue contrary to the fault for which he is +reproved, and therefore profits by the warnings given him to escape the +vice from which his fault proceeded. + +A sick person who is really anxious to recover his health takes without +hesitation the remedies prescribed by the physician, however sharp, bitter, +and painful they may be. He who aims at perfection, which is the full +health, and true holiness of the soul, finds nothing difficult that helps +him to arrive at that end. Justice and judgment, that is to say correction, +establish in him the seat of perfect wisdom. In a word, _better are the +wounds of a friend_ (like those of a surgeon who probes only to heal) _than +the deceitful kisses of a_ flatterer, _an enemy_.[3] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Mach. vi. 4.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm cxl. 5.] +[Footnote 3: Prov. xxvii. 6.] + + +UPON THE PERFECTION AIMED AT IN RELIGIOUS HOUSES. + +Our Blessed Father was speaking to me one day on the subject of exterior +perfection, and on the discontent expressed by certain Religions, who, in +their particular order, had not found the strictness and severity of rule +they desired. He said: "These good people seem to me to be knocking their +heads against a stone wall. Christian perfection does not consist in +eating fish, wearing serge, sleeping on straw, stripping oneself of one's +possessions, keeping strict vigils, and such like austerities. For, were +this so, pagans would be the more perfect than Christians, since many of +them voluntarily sleep on the bare ground, do not eat a morsel of meat +throughout the whole year, are ragged, naked, shivering, living for the +most part only on bread and water, and on that bread of suffering, too, +which is far harder and heavier than the blackest of crusts. If perfection +consisted in exterior observances such as these, they would have to go back +in perfection were they to enter even the most strictly reformed of our +Religious Houses, for in none is a life led nearly so austere as theirs. + +"The question then is in what does the essential perfection of a Christian +life consist? It must surely in the first place include the assiduous +practice of charity, for exterior mortifications without charity are of no +account. St. Paul, we know, reckons martyrdom itself as nothing, unless +quickened by charity. + +"I do not exactly know what standard of perfection they who insist so much +upon exterior mortification wish to set up. + +"Surely the greater or lesser degree of charity is the true measure of +sanctity and the measure also of the excellence of religious rule. Now, in +what rule is charity, the queen of the virtues, more recommended that in +that of St. Augustine? which seems to be nothing but one long discourse on +charity. + +"However, it is not a question of comparing one rule with another, it is +rather of noticing which rule is as a matter of fact best observed. For +even had other rules, in regard to the exterior perfectness of the life +they prescribe, every advantage over that of St. Augustine, who does +not know that it is safer to enter a community in which a rule of less +excellence is exactly observed, rather than another where a higher kind +of rule is preached but not kept? Of what use are laws if they are not +observed? + +"The consequence, in my opinion, of the mistake made by those who put +over-much stress on esteem of mortification, is, that even Religious get +accustomed to make use in their judgments of those lying balances of which +the Psalmist speaks,[1] and that the simple-minded are forced to trust to +the guidance of blind leaders. Hence it has come to pass that true and +essential perfection is not what the majority of people think it to be, nor +is it reached by the road along which the many travel. May God have pity on +us, and bless us with the light of His countenance, so that we may know His +way upon the earth, and may declare His salvation to all nations, and may +He turn aside from us in this our day, that which He once threatened to +those who thought themselves wise: _Let them alone, they are blind leaders +of the blind._"[1] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm lxi. 10.] +[Footnote 2: Matt. xv. 14.] + + +UPON FRUGALITY. + +The following notable example of frugality and economy was related to me by +our Blessed Father himself. + +Monseigneur Vespasian Grimaldi, who was Piedmontese by birth, made a +tolerably large fortune in France as an ecclesiastic, during the regency of +Catherine de Medicis. He was raised to the dignity of Archbishop of Vienne +in Dauphiné, and held several other benefices which brought him in a large +revenue. Having amassed all these riches at court, his desire was to live +there in great pomp and splendour, but whether it was that God did not +bless his designs, or that he was too much addicted to extravagance and +display, certain it is that he was always in difficulties, not only about +money, but even about his health. + +Weary at last of dragging on a life so troubled and so wretched, he +resolved to quit the court, and to retire into a peaceful solitude. He had +often in past days remarked the extraordinary beauty of the banks of Lake +Leman, where nature seems to scatter her richest gifts with lavish hand, +and there he resolved to fix his abode in a district subject to his own +sovereign, the Duke of Savoy, and settling down in that quiet spot to spend +the remainder of his days in peace. He selected for this purpose the little +village and market town of Evian, so called because of the abundance and +clearness of its lovely streams and fountains. The little town is situated +on the very margin of the lake, and backed by an outlying stretch of +country is as charming to, the eye as it is rich and fertile. + +There, having given up his archbishopric and all his benefices, reserving +only to himself a pension of two thousand crowns, he established a retreat +into which he was accompanied by only three or four servants. + +He was at this time sixty-five years old, but weighed down by physical +infirmities much more than by the burden of his years. He had chosen this +particular spot purposely because there was no approach to it from the high +road, and there was little fear of visits from that great world of which he +was now so weary, in the crush and tumult of which he had spent so large a +portion of his life in consequence of his position at court. + +Another reason for his choosing Evian was that the little township being +in the diocese of Geneva, which is included in the province of Vienne in +Dauphiné, in settling there he was not leaving his own province. + +Living then in this calm retreat, free from all bustle and all burdens of +office, with no show and state to keep up, having nothing to attend to but +the sanctification of his soul and the restoration of his bodily health, a +marvellous change was soon observed in him. Inward peace gave back to him +health so vigorous and settled that those who had known him in the days of +his infirmity declared him to be absolutely rejuvenated, and truly he did +feel in his soul a renewal of strength like that of the eagle. This he +attributed to exercises of the contemplative life to which he now devoted +himself with fervour. + +We see thus how true is the divine oracle which tells us that to those who +seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice all temporal things necessary +shall be given,[1] for God prospered this good Prelate in even his worldly +affairs. + +The small sum of money which he had reserved for himself, and which he +spent in the most frugal and judicious manner possible, so increased that +when he died at the age of a hundred and two or a hundred and three years, +he left behind him more than 6,000 crowns. + +By his will he ordered the whole to be distributed in benefactions and alms +throughout the neighbourhood, and in fact it relieved every necessitous +person to be found round about. + +It was this very Mgr. Vespasian Grimaldi who, assisted by the Bishops +of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, and of Damascus, conferred episcopal +consecration upon Blessed Francis in the Church of Thorens, in the diocese +of Geneva, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, December +8th, 1602. + +From this notable example we may easily gather: + +1. That for Prelates the atmosphere of Courts is not to be recommended. + +2. That it is favourable neither to the growth of holiness nor the +maintenance of physical health. + +3. That great fortunes entail great slavery and great anxieties. + +4. A peaceful, tranquil, and hidden life, even from the point of view of +common sense and of the dictates of nature, is the happiest. + +5. That much more is this so when looked at in the light of grace and of +the soul's welfare. + +6. That the old saying is quite true that there is no surer way to increase +one's income than that of frugality and judicious economy. + +7. That one never has money enough to meet all the claims of worldly show +and vain ostentation. + +8. That he who lives in the style the world expects of him is never rich, +while he who regulates his expenditure simply by his natural needs is never +poor. + +9. That almsdeeds is an investment which multiplies itself a hundredfold +even in this present life and ensures the fruit of a blessed eternity in +the next, provided only they have been given in the love, and for the love +of God. + +[Footnote 1: Matt. vi. 33.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' ESTEEM OF THE VIRTUE OF SIMPLICITY. + +Our Blessed Father had the highest possible esteem for the virtue of +simplicity. Indeed, my sisters, you know what a prominent place he gives to +it in his letters, his Spiritual Conferences, and elsewhere. Whenever he +met with an example of it he rejoiced and openly expressed his delight. I +will here give you one instance which he told me, as it were exulting over +it. After having preached the Advent and Lent at Grenoble, he paid a visit +to La Grande Chartreuse, that centre of wonderful devotion and austerity, +the surroundings of which are so wild, solitary, and almost terrible in +their ruggedness, that St. Bernard called it _locus horroris et vastæ +solitudinis_. + +At the time of his visit, the Prior General of the whole Order was Dom +Bruno d'Affringues, a native of St. Omer, a man of profound learning and of +still more profound humility and simplicity. I knew him well, and can bear +witness to the beauty of his character, which in its extreme sweetness and +simplicity had something in it not of this earth. + +He received Blessed Francis on his arrival with his usual delightful +courtesy and sincerity. After having conducted him to a guest chamber +suited to his rank, and having talked with him on many lofty and sublime +subjects, he suddenly remembered that it was some feast day of the Order. +He therefore took leave of the Bishop, saying that he would gladly have +stayed with him much longer, but that he knew his honoured guest would +prefer obedience to everything else, and that he must retire to his cell +to prepare for Matins, it being the feast of one of their great Saints. + +Our Saint approved highly of this exact observance of rule, and they +separated with mutual expressions of respect and regard. + +On his way to his cell, however, the Prior was met by the Procurator of +the Monastery, who asked him where he was going and where he had left his +Lordship, the Bishop of Geneva. "I have left Him," the Prior answered, "in +his own chamber, and I took leave of him that I might go to our cell and +be ready to say Matins to-night in choir because of to-morrow's feast." +"Truly, Reverend Father," said the Procurator, "you are well up in the +ceremonies of the world indeed! Why, it is only a feast of our own Order! +Do we, out in this desert, have every day for our guests Prelates of such +distinction? Do you not know that God takes pleasure when for a sacrifice +to Him we offer hospitality and kindliness? You will always have leisure to +sing the praises of God; you will have plenty of other opportunities for +saying Matins; but who can entertain such a Prelate better than you? What +a disgrace to the house that you should leave him thus alone!" "My son," +replied the Reverend Father, "I see that you are quite right and that I +have certainly done wrong." So saying he at once retraced his steps to +the Bishop of Geneva's apartment, and finding him, there said humbly: "My +Lord, on leaving you I met one of our brethren who told me that I had been +guilty of discourtesy in leaving you thus all alone; that I should have an +opportunity at another time of making up for my absence from Matins, but +that we do not every day have a Bishop of Geneva under our roof. I see that +he is in the right and I have come back at once to ask your pardon, and to +beg you to excuse my apparent rudeness, for I assure you truthfully that +_it was done in ignorance_." + +Blessed Francis was enraptured with this straightforwardness, candour, and +simplicity, and told me that he was more delighted with it than if he had +seen the good Prior work a miracle. + + +BLESSED FRANCIS' LOVE OF EXACTITUDE. + +This same Dom Bruno was remarkable for his exactitude and punctuality, +virtues which our Blessed Father always both admired and praised. He was +so exact in the observance of the smallest monastic detail that no novice +could have surpassed him in carefulness. At the same time he never allowed +himself to be carried away by indiscreet fervour, beyond the line laid down +in his rule, knowing how much harm would be done to his inferiors by his +not preserving a calm and even tenor of life, making himself all things to +men, that he might win them and keep them for Jesus Christ. + +He would never allow the smallest austerities to be practised beyond those +prescribed by the Constitutions of the Order. Though rigorous towards +himself he was marvellously indulgent towards those whom he governed in +the monastery. For himself he had the heart of a judge, for them that of a +mother. + +Our holy Bishop, drawing a comparison between him and his predecessor, who +was addicted to such excessive austerities that it seemed as if he had +either no body at all, or one of iron, said: "The late Prior was like those +unskilful physicians who by their treatment fill up our cemeteries: for +many who desired to imitate his mortified life, and through a zeal without +knowledge, tried to do what was beyond their strength, ended by falling +into the pit. On the other hand, the actual Prior of the Grand Chartreuse, +by his gentleness and moderation, maintains among his monks, peace and +humility of soul, together with health of body, making them preserve their +strength for God, that is to say, so as to serve Him longer and with +greater earnestness in those exercises which tend to His glory. In doing +this he follows the example of the Patriarch Jacob, who, on his return +from Mesopotamia, could have reached his father's house much sooner had he +accepted the offer of camels made by his brother Esau, when he came to meet +him. But Jacob preferred to accommodate his pace to that of his little +ones, of his children, and even of the lambs of his flock, rather than +to press on at the risk of throwing his household and followers into +disorder." This example was a favourite one with our Blessed Father, and I +am reminded of another of the same kind, which he valued almost as much. +"Have you read," he once said to me, "the life of Blessed Aloysius Gonzaga +of the Society of Jesus? If you have, perhaps you have remarked what it was +that made that young prince so quickly become holy, and almost perfect. It +was his extreme exactitude and punctuality, and his faithful observance of +the constitutions of his Order. This was such that he refused to put one +foot before the other, so to speak, or draw back a single step in order +to gratify himself. This, not of course in regard to things commanded, or +forbidden, for the law of God leaves us in no doubt about such, but in +those indifferent matters which, being neither commanded nor forbidden, +often make correct discernment difficult." There are some who imagine that +this way of discerning the will of God is impracticable for persons in the +world, and that it is only out of the world, as they call the cloistered +life, that one can have recourse to it. Now, although we do not deny that +in the well-regulated and holy life of a convent by means of obedience, +and through the medium of superiors, the knowledge of God's will in things +indifferent can be more perfectly ascertained, and more readily acted upon, +than in any other state of life, still we venture to maintain that even in +the world it is easier to ascertain God's will, even in things indifferent, +than might at first sight appear." + +It was one of Blessed Francis' common maxims that great fidelity towards +God may be practised even in the most indifferent actions, and he +considered that to be a lower degree of fidelity which is only available +for great and striking occasions. He who is careful with farthings, how +much more so will he be with crowns? + +Not that he loved scrupulous minds, those, namely, which are troubled and +anxious about every trifle. No, indeed, but he desired that God should +be loved by all with a vigilant and attentive love, exact, punctual, and +faithful in the smallest matters, pictured to us by the rod the Prophet +used when watching the boiling caldron, to remove all the scum as it rose +to the surface.[1] + +And you may be sure that what he taught by word, he himself was the first +to practise. He was the most punctual man I ever knew, the most exact, +though without fussiness or worry. He was not only most accurate in all +details of the service of the altar and of the choir, but, even when +reciting his office in private, he never failed to observe all minutiæ of +ceremonial in every way, bowing his head, genuflecting, etc., as if he were +engaged in a solemn public function. In his intercourse with the world he +was just as exact; he omitted no detail required by courtesy, he spared no +pains to avoid giving inconvenience or annoyance to anyone. People who were +old fashioned in their punctilious civilities, and tedious and lengthy in +their ceremonious discourse, he treated with the most sweet and gracious +forbearance, letting them say all they had to say, before he replied, and +then answering as his duty and the laws of politeness required. + +All his actions were regular as clockwork, and the holy presence of God was +the loadstar of his soul. One day I was complaining to him of the too great +deference which he paid me. "And for how much then do you," he answered, +"account Jesus Christ, whom I honour in your person?" "Oh!" I replied, "if +you take that ground, you ought to speak to me on your knees!" + +Once two persons happened to be playing a game of skill when Blessed +Francis was in the room. One was cheating the other. Our holy Prelate, +indignant at this, remonstrated at once. "Oh," was the careless reply, +"we are only playing for farthings." And "supposing you were playing for +guineas," returned Francis, "how would it be then? He, who despises small +faults will fall into great ones, but he who is faithful and honest in +small matters will also be honest in great ones. He who fears to steal a +pin will certainly not take a guinea. In fine, he who is faithful over a +little shall be set over much." + +I should like while I am on this subject to add a short saying which was +often on the lips of this Blessed Father. "Fidelity towards God consists in +abstaining from even the slightest faults, for great ones are so repulsive +in themselves that often enough nature deters us from committing them." + +[Footnote 1: Jer. i. 11, 13.] + + +A TEST OF RELIGIOUS VOCATION. + +Here I will relate a pleasant little incident which befell Dom Bruno, of +whom I have spoken above. Our Blessed Father often quoted it as an example +for others. + +The Germans, particularly those on the banks of the Rhine, have a special +devotion to St. Bruno, who was a native of Cologne, in which city he is +highly honoured. + +A young man, a native of the same place, had a most ardent desire to enter +the Carthusian Order, but his parents, influential people of the city, +prevented his being received into the Chartreuse of Cologne, or into any +other Carthusian monastery in the neighbourhood. + +The youth, greatly distressed at this repulse, left the city in haste, and +took refuge among the holy mountains where St. Bruno and his companions +made their first retreat. Presenting himself at the Grande Chartreuse +he asked to see the Rev. Fr. Prior, and throwing himself at his feet, +entreated that he might be clothed with the habit of the Order, concealing +nothing from him, neither his birth, nor his place of residence, nor +the circumstances of his vocation, etc. The Prior, observing that he +was fragile in appearance and of an apparently delicate constitution, +remonstrated, pointing out to him how great were the austerities of the +Order, and reminding him of the bleakness of the hills amidst which the +monastery was situated, and of the perpetual winter which reigns there. +The young man replied insisting that he knew all this, and had counted the +cost, but that God would be his strength, and enable him by His grace to +overcome all obstacles. "Even though," said he, "_I should walk in the +shadow of death I shall fear no evil provided that God be with me_." Then +the Prior took a more serious tone. Determined to test to the utmost the +courage and resolution of the postulant, he asked him sharply if he knew +all that was required of those who aspire to enter the Carthusian Order. +"Are you aware," he said, "that in the first place we require him to work +at least one miracle? Can you do that?" "I cannot," replied the young +man, "but the power of God within me can. I trust myself entirely to His +goodness. I am certain that having called me to serve Him in this vocation, +and implanted in me a thorough disgust for the things of the world, He will +not permit me to look back, nor to return to that corrupt society which, +with all my heart and soul, I have renounced. Ask of me whatever sign you +will, I am convinced that God will work a miracle, even through me, in +testimony of this truth." + +As he spoke the blood mounted to his forehead, his eyes shone like stars, +his whole visage seemed on fire with enthusiasm. + +Dom Bruno, astonished at the vehemence of his words, opened his arms, and +clasping him to his heart received him at once among his children. Then +turning to those who stood around him, "My brothers," he said, "his is an +undeniable vocation. May God of His clemency often send such labourers +into the harvest of the Chartreuse." And to the young postulant, "Have +confidence, my son, God will help you, and will love you, and you will love +Him, and will serve Him among us. This is the miracle we expect you to +work." + +You will ask me, perhaps, what use our Blessed Father could make of this +example. I will tell you. When he was admitting any young girl into your +congregation, my sisters, he invariably referred to it. He used to speak +to her only of Calvary, of the nails, the thorns, the crosses, of inward +mortification, of surrender of will, and crucifixion of private judgment, +of dying wholly to self, in order to live only with God, in God, and for +God: in fine, of living no longer according to natural inclinations and +feelings, but absolutely according to the spirit of faith, and of your +congregation. + +Did anyone object that your Order was not so rigorous, or severe, as he +made it out to be; but that, on the contrary, the life led by its members +was easy, without many outward austerities, as was proved by the fact that +even the infirm and sickly were admitted into it, and attained to the same +sanctity as the rest, he replied: "Believe me, that if the body is there +preserved as if it were a vessel of election, the spirit is there tested +and tried in all possible ways, since the spirit that fails to stand every +possible trial is no stone fit for the building up of this congregation." + +He went on to quote from the life of St. Bernard. Against that holy man it +was once urged that the austerities and bodily macerations practised in +his Order frightened away young men, and deterred them from entering it, +"Many," said the Saint, "see our crosses, but see not how well we are able +to carry them. It happens to our crosses, as it does to those which are +painted on the walls of a church when the Bishop in consecrating it makes a +second cross upon them with holy oil. The people see the cross made by the +painter, but they do not see that with which the Bishop has covered it. Our +crosses, so plainly visible, are softened by very many inward consolations, +which are concealed from the eyes of worldlings because they understand +not the spiritual things of God, nor see how we can find peace in this +bitterness which so repels those whose only thought is of themselves, and +of their own pleasures. In very truth," our Blessed Father continued, "the +worldling may notice in the rosebed of religion only the loveliness of +the flowers, and the sweetness of their perfume, but these conceal many +a thorn. The crosses of community life are hidden because the sisters of +this congregation have by _interior_ mortification to make up for what is +lacking in external austerities. + +"This law of your Institute has been established out of consideration for +the weak and infirm, who may be admitted among you, and to whose service +the stronger members have to devote themselves. This is the reason why all +who purpose to enter the Order have to resolve to make war to the death +against their private judgment, and still more against their self-will +and self-love. This is why all ought to mortify all their passions and +affections, and absolutely to bend their understanding under the yoke of +obedience, to live, in short, no longer according to the old man, but +entirely according to the new man, in holiness and in justice. So to live +as to bear a continual cross even until death, and dying upon it, with the +Son of God, to say, _With Christ I am nailed to the Cross_, and _I live, +now not I, but Christ liveth in me._"[1] + +[Footnote 1: Gal. ii. 19, 20.] + + +UPON FOLLOWING THE COMMON LIFE. + +He always praised _common_ life very highly. His exalted opinion of its +merits made him refuse to allow the Sisters of the Visitation to practise +extraordinary austerities in respect to dress or food. For these matters +he prescribed rules such as can easily be observed by anyone who wishes to +lead a christian life in the world. His spiritual daughters, following this +direction, imitate the example of Jesus Christ, of His Blessed Mother, and +of the disciples of our Lord, who led no other kind of life. For the rest, +they have at all times to submit themselves to the discretion and judgment +of their superiors, whose duty it is to decide for them on the expediency +of extraordinary mortifications after hearing the circumstances of the case +of any individual sister. + +Our Saint himself often, indeed, practised bodily mortifications, but +always with judgment and prudence, for he knew full well that the object of +such austerities is the preservation of purity of soul, not the destruction +of bodily health. + +In one word, he practically set the life of Jesus Christ before that of St. +John the Baptist. + + +UPON THE JUDGING OF VOCATIONS. + +Although our Blessed Father has given you the fullest possible instructions +on this subject, in his seventeenth Conference, entitled, _On voting in a +Community_, I see that you are not quite satisfied in the matter. + +I know very well that your dissatisfaction does not arise from any unworthy +motive, but only from a conscientious desire to do your duty to God, and +to the sisters whom you have in a way to judge. To relieve your minds of +doubt, I am about to supplement the teaching of that Conference with a few +thoughts suggested to me at various times by Blessed Francis himself, which +I put before you in words of my own. + +In the first place, we must be careful never to confuse the terms +_vocation_ and _avocation_, for their meaning is very different. + +An _avocation_ is the condition of life in which we serve God. + +A _vocation_ is His call to that condition of life. When we call a servant +to command him to do something, the calling him is one thing, his obeying +and employing himself as directed quite another; and this, even if he do +the work precisely as he is told, and no more. Now, there are two sorts of +vocation. The first is the call to faith or grace; the second, the call to +a particular avocation in life. + +To follow the first vocation, viz., to Faith, is necessary for salvation, +since he who refuses to listen to this call and to obey its voice risks +the loss of his immortal soul. A pagan or heretic called by God to embrace +Christianity or to submit to the Catholic Church, and to the end neglecting +this call, must needs be lost, for out of the true Church there is no +salvation. Again, if a member of the true Church who is spiritually dead in +mortal sin, refuse to listen to the call, or vocation, of preventing grace +which bids him return to God by confession, or by contrition of heart, he +is in a state of damnation. + +Not so, however, with the second kind of call or vocation. As this is only +to some particular condition of life in the world or the cloister, although +we must not neglect it, but must listen with respect to what it may please +God to say to our heart, yet essentially it is not of vital importance to +the welfare of our soul that we should follow such a call, since, at the +most, it is but an inward counsel, which may be acted upon or not according +to our choice. + +And now remember that the counsels given in Holy Scripture are not +precepts.[1] Our Blessed Father has often said that it would be not only +an error, but a heresy, to maintain that there is any kind of legitimate +calling or avocation in which it is impossible to save one's soul. On the +contrary, in each, grace is offered, by means of which we may safely walk +before God in holiness and justice all the days of our life. + +To deny this would be to cut off from the hope of salvation, not thousands +only, but millions of men and women, those, namely, who are engaged all +their lives long in occupations which they have undertaken, not only +without a vocation from God, but sometimes even against their own +inclination. + +This is the teaching of this Blessed Father in his Philothea, where he +says, "It is an error, nay, a heresy, to wish to exclude the highest +holiness of life from the soldier's barrack, the mechanic's workshop, the +courts of princes, or the household of married people." + +He used to say that it is not sufficient merely to love our calling, but +that our most earnest endeavours as true and faithful Christians should be +to strive to attain perfection in that same calling. + +He remarked, too, that we do wrong to waste time in arguing as to what that +perfection consists in. The glory of God should be the one aim of every +devout soul. + +Only by the practice of virtue can that final end be reached, and no virtue +unaccompanied by charity avails to attain to it. Therefore, charity is the +bond of all perfection, nay, itself is all perfection. + +He attached much more importance to the spirit in which a vocation is +followed out, than to the mere fact of its being embraced. + +And this because the salvation of our souls, which we shall owe to God's +grace, does not depend so much on the nature of our particular vocation or +calling, but on our own persevering faithful submission to the will of God, +which will of God is the salvation of us all. + +Now, as we can save our souls, so we can also lose them in any calling +whatsoever. + +Would you desire a more unmistakable vocation than that of King Saul, or +one more glorious than that of Judas? Yet both were lost. Where will you +find one more troubled, and more interrupted by sin, than that of King +David? Yet in spite of all that happened to him, how happy was its issue. + +The vocation of a certain young lady who resolved upon taking the veil, but +only out of a sort of despair, and because irritated against her family, +was nevertheless approved by our Blessed Father, who to justify his +approval gave the following explanation. + +"As regards the vocation of this young lady, I consider it good, mingled +though it be in her mind with imperfections and desirable though it would +have been that she should have come to God simply and solely for the sake +of the happiness of being wholly His. Remember that those whom God calls to +Himself are not all drawn by Him with the same kind, or degree, of motives. + +"There are but few who give themselves absolutely to His service from the +one only desire to be His, and to serve Him alone. + +"Among the women whose conversion the Gospel has made famous, Magdalen +alone came through love, and with love. + +"The adulteress came through public shame, the woman of Samaria from +private and individual self-reproach, the woman of Canaan in order to +be healed of bodily infirmity. Again, among the saints, St. Paul, the +first hermit, at the age of fifteen, took refuge in his cave to escape +persecution. St. Ignatius Loyola came through distress and suffering, and +so on with hundreds of others. We must not expect all to begin by being +perfect. It matters little how we commence, provided only that we are +firmly resolved to go on well, and to end well. Certainly Leah intruded +with scant courtesy into Rachel's promised place, as the wife of Jacob, yet +she afterwards conducted herself so irreproachably, and behaved with such +modesty and sweetness, that to her rather than to Rachel was vouchsafed the +blessing of being an ancestress of our Lord. + +"Those who were compelled to come into the marriage feast in the Gospel, +ate, and drank of the best, nor, had they been the guests for whom the +banquet was prepared, could they have fared better. If, then, we would have +a pledge of their good living and perseverance, we must lock at the good +dispositions of those who enter Religion rather than at the motives which +impel them: for there are many souls who would not have entered the convent +at all if the world had smiled upon them, and whom we nevertheless may find +to be resolute in trampling under their feet the vanities of that same +world." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. vii.] + + +UPON PRUDENCE AND SIMPLICITY. + +"I know not," said our Blessed Father, on one occasion, "what this poor +virtue of prudence has done to me that I find it so difficult to love it: +if I do so at all, it is only because I have no choice in the matter, +seeing that it is the very salt of life, and a light to show us the way out +of its difficulties. + +"On the other hand, the beauty of simplicity charms me. I would rather +possess the harmlessness of one dove than the wisdom of a hundred serpents. +I know that a combination of wisdom and simplicity is useful, and that the +Gospel recommends it to us;[1] but I am of opinion that in this matter it +should be as it is with certain medicines, in which a minute dose of poison +is mixed with many wholesome drugs. If the doses, of serpent and dove were +equal, I would not trust the medicine; the serpent can kill the dove, the +dove cannot kill the serpent. Besides, there is a sort of prudence that is +human and worldly which Scripture calls carnal wisdom,[2] as it is only +used for wrong-doing, and is so dangerous and so subtle that those who +possess it are unconscious of their own danger. They deceive others, yet +are the first to be themselves deceived. + +"I am told that in an age so crafty as our own prudence is necessary, if +only to prevent our being wronged. I say nothing against this dictum, but +I do believe that more in harmony with the mind of the Gospel is that +which teaches us that it is great wisdom in the sight of God to suffer +men to devour us, and to take away our goods,[3] bearing the loss of them +joyfully, knowing that a better and a more secure substance awaits us. In +a word, a good Christian should always choose rather to be the anvil than +the hammer, the robbed than the robber, the victim than the murderer, the +martyr than the tyrant. Let the world rage, let the prudence of so-called +philosophy stand aghast, let the flesh despair; it is better to be good and +simple than clever and wicked." + +[Footnote 1: Matt. x. 16.] +[Footnote 2: Rom. viii. 6.] +[Footnote 3: 2 Cor. xi. 20.] + + +THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. + +Some of the friends of our Saint, actuated by this spirit of worldly +prudence, having seen the flattering reception given by the public to +his Philothea, which had at once been translated into various languages, +advised him not to write any more books, as it was impossible that any +other work from his pen should meet with equal success. + +These remarks were unwelcome to our Blessed Father, who afterwards said to +me: "These good people no doubt love me, and their love makes them speak +as they do, out of the abundance of their hearts; but if they will only be +so good as to turn their eyes for a moment from me, vile and wretched as I +am, and fix them upon God, they will soon change their note; for if it has +pleased Him to give His blessing to that first little book of mine, why +should He deny it to my next? And if from little Philothea He made His +glory to shine forth, as He brought forth the light from darkness,[1] and +the sacred fire from the clay[2], is His arm thereby shortened, or His +power diminished? Can He not make living and thirst-quenching water flow +forth from the jaw-bone of an ass? But these good people do not dwell upon +such considerations; they think solely of my personal glory, as if we ought +to desire credit for ourselves, and not rather ascribe all to God, who +works in us whatever good seems to emanate from us. + +"Now, according to the spirit of the Gospel, so far from its being right to +depend upon the applause of the world, St. Paul declares that if we please +men, we are not the servants of God,[3] the friendship of the world being +enmity with God. If then that little book has brought to me some vain +and unmerited praise, it would be well worth my while to build upon its +foundation some inferior work, so as to beat down the smoke of this +incense, and earn that contempt from men which makes us so much the more +pleasing to God, because we are thereby more and more crucified to the +world." + +[Footnote 1: Gen. i. 2, 3.] +[Footnote 2: Mach. i. 19, 22.] +[Footnote 3: Gal. i. 10.] + + +UPON MENTAL PRAYER. + +I once asked our Blessed Father if it was not better to take one single +point for mental prayer, and to draw from this point one single affection +and resolution, as I thought that by taking three points and deducing from +them very many affections and resolutions great confusion and perplexity +of mind were occasioned. He replied that unity and simplicity in all +things, but especially in spiritual exercises, must always be preferred to +multiplicity and complexity, but that to beginners, and to those little +skilled in this exercise, several points should be proposed so as fully to +occupy their minds. + +I enquired whether, supposing that a single point were taken, it would not +be better to dwell likewise upon only one affection and resolution rather +than upon several. He answered that when Spring is richest in flowers, bees +make the least honey, because they are so delighted to flutter from flower +to flower that they do not give themselves time to extract the essence and +spirit of which they form their combs. Drones make a great deal of noise +and produce a very small result. And to the question whether it was not +better often to repeat and dwell upon the same affection and resolution, +rather than to develop and expand it by thinking it out, he replied that we +ought to imitate painters and sculptors, who work by repeating again and +again the strokes of their brush and chisel, and that in order to make a +deep impression on the heart it is often necessary to go over the same +thing many times. + +He added that as those sink, who in swimming move their legs and arms too +rapidly, it being necessary to stretch them leisurely and easily, so also +those who are too eager in mental prayer, faint away in their thoughts, +their distracted meditations causing them only pain and dissatisfaction. + +I am asked to explain that saying attributed by our Blessed Father to the +great St. Anthony, that he who prays ought to have his mind so fixed upon +God, as even to forget that he is praying. Here is the explanation in our +Saint's own words. He says in one of his Conferences: "The soul must be +kept steadfastly in this path (that, namely, of love and confidence in God) +without allowing it to waste its powers in continually trying to ascertain +what precisely it is doing and whether its work is satisfactory. Alas! our +satisfactions and consolations do not always satisfy God: they only feed +that miserable love and care of ourselves which has to do neither with God +nor with the thought of God. Certainly, children whom our Lord has set +before us as models of the perfection to be aimed at by us are, generally +speaking, especially in the presence of their parents, quite untroubled +about what is to happen. They cling to them without a thought of providing +for themselves. The pleasures their parents procure them they accept in +good faith and enjoy in simplicity, without any curiosity whatever as to +their causes or effects. The love they feel for their parents and their +reliance upon them is all they need. Those whose one desire is to please +the Divine Lover have neither inclination nor leisure to turn back upon +themselves, for their minds tend continually in the direction whither love +carries them."[1] + +There is a saying of Tauler's, that holy man who wrote a book on mystic +theology, which our Blessed Francis held in high esteem, and was never +weary of inculcating upon those of his disciples who were anxious to lead a +devout life, or who, having already entered upon it, needed encouragement +to make progress in it. Tauler was asked where he, who was so great a +contemplative, and who held such close and familiar communication with God, +had found God. He answered, "Where I found myself." On being further asked +where he had found himself, he said, "Where I forgot myself in God." + +He went on to say, "We must lose ourselves in order to find ourselves in +God, as it is written: _He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that +hateth his life in this--world keepeth it unto life eternal._[2] _No man +can serve two masters, God and mammon._[3] To follow one you must of +necessity quit the other. _There is no fellowship between light and +darkness or between Christ and Belial._[4] + +"The two lovers who built, one the City of Jerusalem, the other the City of +Babylon, of whom St. Augustine speaks, have nothing in common. It is the +struggle of Esau and Jacob over again." + +[Footnote 1: Conf. xii.] +[Footnote 2: John xii. 25.] +[Footnote 3: St. Matt. 24.] +[Footnote 4: Cor. vi. 14, 15.] + + +UPON ASPIRATIONS. + +As the Saint's own ordinary and favourite spiritual exercise was the +practice of the presence of God, so he advised those whom he directed in +the ways of holiness to devote themselves most earnestly to recollection, +and to the use of frequent aspirations or ejaculatory prayers. + +On one occasion I asked him whether there would be more spiritual loss in +omitting the exercise of mental prayer or in omitting that of recollection +and aspirations. He answered that the omission of mental prayer might be +repaired during the day or night by frequent withdrawal of the mind into +God and by aspirations to Him, but that mental prayer unaccompanied by +aspirations was, in his estimation, like a bird with clipped wings. He went +on to say that: "by recollection we retire into God, and draw God into +ourselves, as it is written: _I opened my mouth, and panted, because I +longed for Thy commandments_,[1] by which is meant the mouth of the heart +to which God always graciously inclines His ear. In the Canticle the bride +says that her Beloved led her into His _cellar of wine, he set in order +charity in me_.[2] Or, as another version has it, _He enrolled me under the +banner of His love_. Just as wine is stored up in vaults or cellars, and +as soldiers gather under their standards or banners; so all the faculties +of our soul gather together around the goodness and love of God by short +spiritual retreats, made from time to time throughout the day. But when are +they made, and in what place? At any moment, and in any place, and there +is no meal, or company, or employment, or occupation of any sort which can +hinder them, just as they on their part neither hinder nor interfere with +anything that has to be done. On the contrary, this is a salt which seasons +every kind of food, or rather a sugar which never spoils any sauce. It +consists only in inward glances from ourselves and from God, from ourselves +into God, and from God into ourselves, without pictures or speech, or any +outward aid; and the simpler this recollection is the better it is. As +regards aspirations, they also are short but swift dartings of the soul +into God, and can be made by a simple mental glance cast towards Him. _Cast +thy care_, or thoughts, _upon the Lord_,[3] says David. The more vigorously +an arrow is shot from the bow the more swift is its flight. The more +vehement and loving is an aspiration, the more truly is it a spiritual +lightning-flash. These transports or aspirations, of which we have so many +formulas, are the better the shorter they are. One of St. Bruno seems to me +excellent on account of its brevity: _O goodness of God_; that also of St. +Francis, _My God and my all_! and that of St. Augustine, _Oh! to love, to +go forward, to die to self, to reach God_!" + +Our Blessed Father treats excellently of these two exercises in his +Philothea, and recommends them strongly, saying that they hold to one +another, as did Jacob and Esau at their birth, and follow one another, +as do respiration and aspiration. And just as in respiration we draw the +fresh outer air into our lungs, and by aspiration drive out that into which +the heat of our bodies has entered, so by the breath of recollection we +draw God into ourselves, or retire into God, and by aspirations we cast +ourselves into the arms of His goodness. + +Happy the soul that often thus breathes, and thus aspires, for she abides +in God and God in her. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxviii, 131.] +[Footnote 2: Cant. ii. 4.] +[Footnote 3: Psalm liv. 23.] + + +UPON INTERIOR RECOLLECTION AND EJACULATORY PRAYERS. + +The two exercises which he especially recommended to his penitents were +interior recollection and ejaculatory aspirations and prayers. By them, he +said, the defects of all other spiritual exercises might be remedied, and +without them those others were saltless, that is, without savour. He called +interior recollection the collecting or gathering up of all the powers of +the soul into the heart, there to hold communion with God, alone with Him, +heart to heart. + +This Blessed Francis could do in all places and at all hours without being +hindered by any company or occupations. This recollection of God and of +ourselves was the favourite exercise of the great St. Augustine, who so +often exclaimed: "Lord, let me know Thee, and know myself!" and of the +great St. Francis, who cried out: "Who art Thou, my God and my Lord? and +who am I, poor dust and a worm of the earth?" This frequent looking up to +God and then down upon ourselves keeps us wonderfully to our duties, and +either prevents us from falling, or helps us to raise ourselves quickly +from our falls, as the Psalmist says: _I set the Lord always in my sight: +for He is at my right hand, that I be not moved_.[1] + +_Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by Thy will thou hast conducted +me, and with Thy glory Thou hast received me_.[2] He teaches us how to +practise this exercise in his Philothea, where, dealing with the subject of +aspirations or ejaculatory prayers, he says: "In this exercise of spiritual +retreat and ejaculatory prayers lies the great work of devotion. We may +make up for the deficiency of all other prayers, but failure in this can +scarcely ever be repaired. Without it we cannot well lead the contemplative +life, and can only lead the active life very imperfectly; without it repose +is idleness, and labour only vexation. This is why I conjure you to embrace +it with your whole heart, and never to lay it aside."[3] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xv. 8.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm lxxii. 24.] +[Footnote 3: Part ii. c. xii. and xiii.] + + +UPON DOING AND ENDURING. + +His opinion was that one ounce of suffering was worth more than a pound of +action; but then it must be of suffering sent by God, and not self-chosen. +Indeed, to endure pain which is of our own choosing is rather to do than +to suffer, and, speaking in general, our having chosen it spoils our good +work, because self-love has insinuated itself into our motives. We wish to +serve God in one way, while He desires to be served in another; we wish +_what_ He wishes, but not _as_ He wishes it. We do not submit ourselves +wholly and as we should do to His will. + +A person who was very devout and who was accustomed to spend much time +in mental prayer, being attacked with severe headache, was forbidden by +her doctor to practise this devotion, as it increased her suffering and +prevented her recovery. The patient much distressed at this prohibition +wrote to consult our Blessed Father on the subject, and this is his reply: + +"As regards meditation," he says, "the doctors are right. While you are +so weak, you must abstain from it; but to make up you must double your +ejaculatory prayers, and offer them all to God as an act of acquiescence +in His good pleasure, which, though preventing you from meditating, in no +way separates you from Himself, but, on the contrary, enables you to unite +yourself more closely to Him by the practice of calm and holy resignation. +What matters it how or by what means we are united to God? Truly, since +we seek Him alone, and since we find Him no less in mortification than in +prayer, especially when He visits us with sickness, the one ought to be as +welcome to us as the other. Moreover, ejaculatory prayers and the silent +lifting of the heart to God, are really a continued meditation, and the +patient endurance of pain and distress is the worthiest offering we can +possibly make to Him who saved us through suffering. Read also occasionally +some good book that will fill up what is wanting to you of food for the +spirit." + + +UPON MORTIFICATION AND PRAYER. + +Our Blessed Father considered that mortification without prayer is like a +body without a soul; and prayer without mortification like a soul without +a body. He desired that the two should never be separated, but that, like +Martha and Mary, they should without disputing, nay, in perfect harmony, +unite in serving our Lord. He compared them to the scales in a balance, one +of which goes down when the other goes up. In order to raise the soul by +prayer, we must lower the body by mortification, otherwise the flesh will +weigh down the soul and hinder it from rising up to God, whose spirit will +not dwell with a man sunk in gross material delights or cares. + +The lily and the rose of prayer and contemplation can only grow and +flourish among the thorns of mortification. We cannot reach the hill of +incense, the symbol of prayer, except by the steep ascent on which we +find the myrrh of mortification, needed to preserve our bodies from the +corruption of sin. + +Just as incense, which in Scripture represents prayer, does not give forth +its perfume until it is burned, neither can prayer ascend to Heaven unless +it proceeds from a mortified heart. Mortification averts temptations, and +prayer becomes easy when we are sheltered under the protecting wings of +mortification. When we are dead to ourselves and to our passions we begin +to live to God. He begins to feed us in prayer with the bread of life and +understanding, and with the manna of His inspirations. In fine, we become +like that pillar of aromatic smoke to which the Bride is compared, +compounded of all the spices of the perfumer.[1] + +Our Blessed Father's maxim on this subject was that: "We ought to live in +this world as if our soul were in heaven and our body in the tomb." + +[Footnote 1: Cant. iii. 6.] + + +UPON THE PRESENCE OF GOD. + +The practice of recollection of the presence of God was so much insisted +upon by our Blessed Father that, as you know, my sisters, he recommended it +to your Congregation to be the daily bread and constant nourishment of your +souls. + +He used to say that to be recollected in God is the occupation of the +blessed; nay, more, the very essence of their blessedness. Our Lord in +the Gospel says that the angels see continually, without interruption +or intermission, the face of their Father in heavens and is it not life +eternal to see God and to be always in His most holy presence, like the +angels, who are called the supporters of His throne. + +You know that whenever you are gathered together for recreation, one of +you is always appointed as a sort of sentinel to watch over the proper +observance of this holy practice, pronouncing from time to time, aloud, +these words: "Sisters, we remind your Charities of the holy presence of +God," adding, if it has been a day of general communion, "and of the holy +communion of to-day." + +Our Blessed Father on this subject says in his _Devout Life_: "Begin all +your prayers, whether mental or vocal, by an act of the presence of God, +Adhere strictly to this rule, the value of which you will soon realize."[1] + +And again: "Most of the failures of good people in the discharge of their +duty come to pass because they do not keep themselves sufficiently in the +presence of God." + +If you desire more instruction on the matter, read again what he has +written about it in the same book. + +[Footnote 1: Part ii. chap. 1.] + + +HIS UNITY OF SPIRIT WITH GOD. + +_He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit_,[1] says St. Paul. + +Our Blessed Father had arrived at that degree of union with God which is in +some sort a unity, because the will of God in it becomes the soul of our +will, that is, its life and moving principle, even as our soul is the life +and the moving principle of our body. Hence his rapturous ejaculation: +"Oh! how good a thing it is to live only in God, to labour only in God, to +rejoice only in God!" + +Again, he expresses this sentiment even more forcibly in the following +words: "Henceforth, with the help of God's grace, I will no longer desire +to be anything to any one, or that any one be anything to me, save in God, +and for God only. I hope to attain to this when I shall have abased myself +utterly before Him. Blessed be God! It seems to me that all things are +indeed as nothing to me now, except in Him, for whom and in whom I love +every soul more and more tenderly." + +Elsewhere he says: "Ah! when will this poor human love of attentions, +courtesies, responsiveness, sympathy, and favours be purified and brought +into perfect accordance with the all pure love of the Divine will? When +will our self-love cease to desire outward tokens of God's nearness and +rest content with the changeless and abiding assurance which He gives to +us of His eternity? What can sensible presence add to a love which God has +made, which He supports, and which He maintains? What marks can be lacking +of perseverance in a unity which God has created? Neither presence nor +absence can add anything to a love formed by God Himself." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. vi. 17.] + + +HIS GRATITUDE TO GOD FOR SPIRITUAL CONSOLATIONS. + +In one of his letters written to a person both virtuous and honourable, in +whom he had great confidence, he says: "If you only knew how God deals with +my heart, you would thank Him for His goodness to me, and entreat Him to +give me the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, so that I may rightly act +upon the inspirations of wisdom and understanding which He communicates to +me." He often expressed the same thought to me in different words. "Ah!" he +would say, "how good must not the God of Israel be to such as are upright +of heart, since He is so gracious to those even who have a heart like mine, +miserable, heedless of His graces, and earth-bound! Oh! how sweet is His +spirit to the souls that love Him and seek Him with all their might! Truly, +His name is as balm, and it is no wonder that so many ardent spirits follow +Him with enthusiastic devotion, eagerly and joyously hastening to Him, led +by the sweetness of His attractions. Oh! what great things we are taught +by the unction of divine goodness! Being at the same time illumined by +so soft and calm a light that we can scarcely tell whether the sweetness +is more grateful than the light, or the light than the sweetness! Truly, +the breasts of the Spouse are better than wine, and sweeter than all the +perfumes of Arabia.[1] + +"Sometimes I tremble for fear that God may be giving me my Paradise in this +world! I do not really know what adversity is; I have never looked poverty +in the face; the pains which I have experienced have been mere scratches, +just grazing the skin; the calumnies spoken against me are nothing but +a gust of wind, and the remembrance of them dies away with the sound of +the voice which utters them. It is not only that I am free from the ills +of life, I am, as it were, choked with good things, both temporal and +spiritual. Yet in the midst of all I remain ungrateful and insensible to +His goodness. Oh! for pity's sake, help me sometimes to thank God, and to +pray Him not to let me have all my reward at once! + +"He, indeed, shows that He knows my weakness and my misery by treating me +thus like a child, and feeding me with sweetmeats and milk, rather than +with more solid food. But oh, when will He give me the grace, after having +basked in the sunshine of His favours, to sigh and groan a little under the +burden of His Cross, since to reign with Him, we must suffer with Him, and +to live with Him, we must die together with Him? Assuredly we must either +love or die, or rather we must die that we may love Him; that is to say, +die to all other love to live only for His love, and live only for Him who +died that we may live eternally in the embrace of His divine goodness." + +[Footnote 1: Cantic. i. 1, 2.] + + +UPON THE SHEDDING OF TEARS. + +Although he was himself very easily moved to tears, he did not set any +specially high value on what is called the gift of tears, except when it +proceeds, not from nature, but directly from the Father of light, who sends +His rain upon the earth from the clouds. He told me once that, just as +it would be contrary to physical laws for rain, in place of falling from +heaven to earth, to rise from earth to heaven; so it was against all order +that sensible devotion should produce that which is supernatural. For this +would be for nature to produce grace. He compared tears shed, in moments of +mental excitement, by persons gifted with a strong power of imagination, +to hot rains which fall during the most sultry days of summer, and which +scorch rather than refresh vegetation. But when supernatural devotion, +seated in the higher powers of the soul, breaking down all restraining +banks, spreads itself over the whole being of man, he compared the tears +it causes him to shed to a mighty, irresistible and fertilising torrent, +making glad the City of God. Tears of this sort, he thought much to be +desired, seeing that they give great glory to God and profit to the soul. +Of those who shed such tears, he said, the Gospel Beatitude speaks when it +tells us that: _Blessed are they that weep_.[1] + +In one of his letters he writes as follows: "I say nothing, my good +daughter, about your imagining yourself hard of heart, because you have no +tears to shed. No, my child, your heart has nothing to do with this. Your +lack of tears proceeds not from any want of affectionate resolve to love, +God, but from the absence of sensible devotion, which does not depend at +all upon our heart, but upon our natural temperament, which we are unable +to change. For just as in this world it is impossible for us to make rain +to fall when we want it, or to stop it at our own good pleasure, so also it +is not in our power to weep from a feeling of devotion when we want to do +so, or, on the other hand, not to weep when carried away by our emotion. +Our remaining unmoved at prayer and meditation proceeds, not from any fault +of ours, but from the providence of God, who wishes us to travel by land, +and often by desert land, rather than by water, and who wills to accustom +us to labour and hardship in our spiritual life." On this same subject +I once heard him make one of his delightful remarks: "What!" he cried, +"are not dry sweetmeats quite as good as sweet drinks? Indeed they have +one special advantage. You can carry them about with you in your pocket, +whereas the sweet drink must be disposed of on the spot. It is childish +to refuse to eat your food when none other is to be had, because it is +quite dry. The sea is God's, for He made it, but His hands also laid the +foundations of the dry land, that is to say, of the earth. We are land +animals, not fish. One goes to heaven by land as easily as by water. God +does not send the deluge every day. Great floods are not less to be feared +than great droughts!" + +[Footnote 1: Matt. v. 5.] + + +UPON JOY AND SADNESS. + +As the blessedness of the life to come is called joy in Scripture, _Good +and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord_, so also--it is in +joy that the happiness of this present life consists. Not, however, in all +kinds of joy, for the _joy of the hypocrite_ is _but for a moment_,[1] that +is to say, lasts but for a moment. + +It is said of the wicked that they _spend their days in wealth, and in a +moment go down to hell_,[2] and that _mourning taketh hold of the end of +false joy._[3] + +True, joy can only proceed from inward peace, and this peace from the +testimony of a good conscience, which is called _a continual feast_.[4] + +This is that joy of the Lord, and in the Lord, which the Apostle recommends +so strongly, provided it be accompanied by charity and modesty. + +Our Blessed Father thought so highly of this joyous peace and peaceful joy +that he looked upon it as constituting the only true happiness possible in +this life. Indeed he put this belief of his into such constant practice +that a great servant of God, one of his most intimate friends, declared him +to be the possessor of an imperturbable and unalterable peace. + +On the other hand, he was as great an enemy to sadness, trouble, and undue +hurry and eagerness, as he was a friend to peace and joy. Besides all that +he says on the subject in his Philothea and his Theotimus, he writes thus +to a soul who, under the pretext of austerity and penance, had abandoned +herself to disquietude and grief: Be at peace, and nourish your heart with +the sweetness of heavenly love, without which man's heart is without life, +and man's life without happiness. Never give way to sadness, that enemy of +devotion. What is there that should be able to sadden the servant of Him +who will be our joy through all eternity? Surely sin, and sin only, should +cast us down and grieve us. If we have sinned, when once our act of sorrow +at having sinned has been made, there ought to follow in its train joy and +holy consolation. + +[Footnote 1: Job xx. 5.] +[Footnote 2: Job xxi. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Prov. xiv. 13.] +[Footnote 4: Ibid. xv. 15.] + + +UPON THE DEGREES OF TRUE DEVOTION. + +Loving devotion, or devout love, has three degrees, which are: 1. When we +perform those exercises which relate to the service of God, but with some +sluggishness. 2. When we betake ourselves to them with readiness. 3. When +we run and even fly to execute them with joy and with eagerness. + +Our Blessed Father illustrates this by two very apt comparisons. + +"Ostriches never fly, barn door fowls fly heavily, close to the ground, and +but seldom; eagles, doves, and swallows fly often, swiftly and high. Thus +sinners never fly to God, but keep to the ground, nor so much as look up to +Him. + +"Those who are in God's grace but have not yet attained to devotion, fly +to God by their good actions rarely, slowly, and very heavily; but devout +souls fly to God frequently and promptly and soar high above the earth."[1] +His second comparison is this: + +"Just as a man when convalescent from an illness walks as much as is +necessary, but slowly and wearily, so the sinner being healed from his +iniquity walks as much as God commands him to do, but still only slowly and +heavily, until he attains to devotion. Then, like a man in robust health, +he runs and bounds along the way of God's commandments; and, more than +that, he passes swiftly into the paths of the counsels and of heavenly +inspirations. In fact, charity and supernatural devotion are not more +different from one another than flame from fire, seeing that charity is +a spiritual fire, and when its flame burns fiercely is called devotion. +Thus devotion adds nothing to the fire of charity except the flame, which +renders charity prompt, active, and diligent, not only in observing the +commandments of God, but also in the practice of the counsels and heavenly +inspirations." + +[Footnote 1: _The Devout Life_. Part i. c. i.] + + +THE TEST OF TRUE DEVOTION. + +It was his opinion that the touchstone of true devotion is the regulation +of exercises of piety according to one's state of life. He often compared +devotion to a liquid which takes the form of the vessel into which it is +put. Here are his words to Philothea on the subject [1]: "Devotion," he +says, "must be differently practised by a gentleman, by an artisan, by a +servant, by a prince, by a widow, by a maiden, by a wife, and not only +must the practice of devotion be different, but it must in measure and in +degree be accommodated to the strength, occupations, and duties of each +individual. I ask you, Philothea, would it be proper for a Bishop to wish +to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian monk? If a father of a family +were as heedless of heaping up riches as a Capuchin; if an artisan spent +the whole day in church like a monk; if a monk, like a Bishop, were +constantly in contact with the world in the service of his neighbour, +would not the devotion of each of these be misplaced, ill-regulated, and +laughable? Yet this mistake is very often made, and the world, which cannot +or will not distinguish between devotion and indiscretion in those who +think themselves devout, murmurs against and blames piety in general, +though in reality piety has nothing to do with mistakes such as these." + +He goes on to say: "When creating them, God commanded the plants to bring +forth their fruits, each according to its kind; so He commands christians, +who are the living plants of His Church, to produce fruits of devotion, +each according to his state of life and calling." + +At the close of the same chapter, our Blessed Father says: "Devotion or +piety, when it is real, spoils nothing, but on the contrary perfects +everything. Whenever it clashes with the legitimate calling of those who +profess it, you may be quite certain that such devotion is spurious. 'The +bee,' says Aristotle, 'draws her honey from a flower, without injuring that +flower in the least, and leaves it fresh and intact as she found it.'" + +[Footnote 1: _The Devout Life_. Part i. c, 3.] + + +WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SERVANT OF GOD. + +Some think that they are not making any progress in the service of God +unless they feel sensible devotion and interior joy continually, forgetting +that the road to heaven is not carpeted with rose leaves but rather +bristling with thorns. Does not the divine oracle tell us that through much +tribulation we must enter the Kingdom of Heaven? And that it is only taken +by those who do violence to themselves? Our Blessed Father writes thus to a +soul that was making the above mistake: + +"Live wholly for God, and for the sake of the love which He has borne to +you, do you bear with yourself in all your miseries. In fact, the being a +good servant of God does not mean the being always spiritually consoled, +the always feeling sweet and calm, the never feeling aversion or repugnance +to what is good. If this were so, neither St. Paul, nor St. Angela, nor St. +Catherine of Siena, could have served God well. To be a servant of God is +to be charitable towards our neighbour, to have, in the superior part of +our soul, an unswerving resolution to follow the will of God, joined to +the deepest humility and a simple confidence in Him; however many times we +fall, always to rise up again; in fine, to be patient with ourselves in our +miseries, and with others in their imperfections." + +Another error into which good people fall is that of always wanting to find +out whether or not they are in a state of grace. If you tranquillize them +on this point, then they begin to torment themselves as to the exact amount +of progress they have made, and are actually making, in this happy state of +grace, as though their progress were in any way their own work. They quite +forget that though one may plant and another water, it is God who gives the +increase. + +In order to cure this spiritual malady, which borders very closely upon +presumption, he gives in another of his letters the following wise counsel: + +"Remember that all that is past is nothing, and that every day we should +say with David: Now only am I beginning to love my God truly. Do much for +God, and do nothing without love, let this be your aim, eat and drink for +this." + + +THAT DEVOTION DOES NOT ALWAYS SPRING FROM CHARITY. + +"Do not deceive yourself," he once said to me, "people may be very devout, +and at the same time very wicked." "But," I said, "they are then surely +not devout, but hypocrites!" "No, no," he answered, "I am speaking of true +devotion." As I was quite unable to solve this riddle, I begged him to +explain it to me, which he did most kindly, and, if I can trust my memory, +more or less as follows: + +"Devotion is of itself and of its own nature a moral and acquired virtue, +not one that is supernatural and infused, otherwise it would be a +theological virtue, which it is not. It is then a virtue, subordinate to +that which is called Religion, and according to some is only one of its +acts;[1] as religion again is subordinate to one of the four cardinal +virtues, namely justice. Now you know that all the moral virtues, and even +the theological ones of faith and hope, are compatible with mortal sin, +although become, as it were, shapeless and dead, being without charity, +which is their form, their soul, their very life. For, if one can have +faith so great as to be able to move mountains, without charity, and yet, +precisely because charity is absent, be utterly worthless and wicked; if it +is possible to be a true prophet and yet a bad man, as were Saul, Balaam, +and Caiphas; to work miracles as Judas is believed to have done, and yet to +be sinful as he was; if we can give all our goods to the poor, and suffer +martyrdom by fire, without having charity, much more may we be devout +without being charitable, since devotion is a virtue less estimable in +its nature than those which we have mentioned. You must not then think it +strange when I tell you that it is possible to be devout and yet wicked, +since we may have faith, mercy, patience, and constancy to the extent of +which I have spoken, and yet, with all that be stained with many deadly +vices, such as pride, envy, hatred, intemperance, and the like." + +"What then," I asked, "is a truly devout man?" He answered: "I tell you +again that, though in sin, one may be truly devout. But such devotion, +though a virtue, is dead, not living," I rejoined: "But how can this dead +devotion be real?" "In the same way," he replied, "as a dead body is a real +body, soulless though it be." I rejoined: "But a dead body is not really a +man." He answered: "It is not a true man, whole and perfect, but it is the +true body of a man, and the body of a true man though dead. Thus, devotion +without charity is true, though dead and imperfect. It is true devotion +dead and shapeless, but not true devotion living and fully formed. It +is only necessary to draw a distinction between the words, _true_, and +_complete_ or _perfect_, which is done so clearly by St. Thomas,[2] in +order to find the solution of your difficulty. He who possesses devotion +without charity has _true_, but not _perfect_ or _complete_ devotion; in +him who has charity, devotion is not only true but perfect. By charity he +becomes good, and by devotion devout; losing charity he loses supernatural +goodness and becomes sinful or bad, but does not necessarily cease to be +devout. This is why I told you that one could be devout and yet wicked. +So also by mortal sin we do not necessarily lose faith or hope, except we +deliberately make an act of unbelief or of despair." + +He had expressed a somewhat similar idea in the first chapter of his +Philothea, though I had not then noticed it. These are his words: + +"Devotion is nothing more than a spiritual agility and vivacity, helped +by which charity acts more readily; or better, helped by which we more +readily elicit acts of charity. It belongs to charity to make us keep God's +commandments, but it belongs to devotion to make us keep them promptly and +diligently. This is why he who does not observe all the commandments of God +cannot be considered either good or supernaturally devout, since in order +to be good we must have charity, and to be devout we must have besides +charity great alertness and promptitude in doing charitable actions."[3] + +In another of his books, speaking to Theotimus, he says: + +"All true lovers of God are equal in this, that all give their heart to +God, and with all their strength; but they are unequal in this, that they +give it diversely and in different manners, whence some give all their +heart, with all their strength, but less perfectly than others. This +one gives it all by martyrdom; this, all by virginity; this, all by the +pastoral office; and whilst all give it all by the observance of the +commandments, yet some give it with less perfection than others."[4] + +We must remember that true devotion cannot be restricted to the practice of +one virtue only; we must employ all our powers in the worship and service +of God. One of the chief maxims of Blessed Francis was that the sort of +devotion which is not only not a hindrance but actually a help to us in our +legitimate calling is the only true one for us, and that any other is false +for us. He illustrates this teaching to Philothea by saying that devotion +is like a liquid which takes the shape of the vessel into which it is put. +He even went further, boldly declaring that it was not simply an error but +a heresy to exclude devotion from any calling whatever, provided it be a +just and legitimate one. This shows the mistake of those who imagine that +we cannot save our souls in the world, as if salvation were only for the +Pharisee, and not for the Publican, nor for the house of Zaccheus. This +error which approaches very nearly to that of Pelagius, makes salvation to +be dependent on certain callings, as though the saving of our souls were +the work of nature rather than of grace. Our Blessed Father supports his +teaching in this matter by many examples, proving that in every condition +of life we may be holy and may consequently save our souls, and arrive at a +very high degree of glory. + +He concludes by saying: "Some even have been known to lose perfection +in solitude, which is often so helpful for its attainment, and to have +regained it in a busy city life which seems to be so unfavourable to it. +Wherever we are, we can and ought to aspire to the perfect life." + +[Footnote 1: S. Thomas 2a, 2ae, Quaest, lxxxi., art. 2.] +[Footnote 2: 2a, 2ae, Quaest, lxxxii. to lxxxviii.] +[Footnote 3: _The Devout Life_, Part i., chap. 1.] +[Footnote 4: Book x., chap. 3.] + + +UPON PERFECT CONTENTMENT IN THE PRIVATION OF ALL CONTENT. + +It is true that the devout life, which is nothing but an intense and +fervent love of God, is an angelic life and full of contentment and of +extraordinary consolation. It is, however, also true that those who submit +themselves to the discipline of God, even while experiencing the sweetness +of this divine love, must prepare their soul for temptation. The path +which leads to the Land of Promise is beset with difficulties--dryness, +sadness, desolation, and faint-hearted fears--and would end in bewildering +discouragement, did not Faith and Hope, like Joshua and Caleb, show us the +fair fruits of this much to be desired country, and thus animate us to +perseverance. + +But He who brings light out of darkness, and roses out of thorns, who helps +us in all our tribulations, and performs wonders in heaven and earth, makes +the happy souls whom He leads through His will to His glory to find perfect +content in the loss of all content, both corporal and spiritual when once +they recognize that it is the will of God that they should go to Him by the +way of darkness, perplexity, crosses, and anguish. + +In saying this I am putting into my own words the thoughts of our Blessed +Father as expressed in the eleventh chapter of the sixth book of his +_Treatise on the Love of God_. + + +UPON THE WILL OF GOD. + +Meditating this morning on that passage of Holy Scripture which tells us +that the life of man is in the good will of God,[1] I reflected that to +live according to the will of the flesh, that is, according to the human +will, is not really life, since the prudence of the flesh is death; but +that to live according to the will of God is the true life of the soul, +since the grace attached to that divine will imparts a life to our soul far +higher than the life our soul imparts to our body. + +The divine will is our sanctification, and this sanctification is the gate +of eternal life; of that true life in comparison with which the life which +we lead on earth is more truly a death. To live in God, in whom is true +life, is to live according to His will. + +Our life, then, is to do His will. This made St. Paul say that he lived, +yet not he himself, but that Jesus Christ lived in him,[2] because he had +only one will and one mind with Jesus Christ, I was rejoiced to find that +unconsciously my thoughts on this subject had followed closely in the +track of our Blessed Father's when he meditated on the same passage. This +I discovered on reading these words in one of his letters: + +"This morning, being alone for a few moments, I made an act of +extraordinary resignation which I cannot put on paper, but reserve until +God permits me to see you, when you shall know it by word of mouth. Oh! how +blessed are the souls who live on the will of God alone. Ah! if even to +taste a little of that blessedness in a passing meditation is so sweet to +the heart which accepts that holy will with all the crosses it offers, what +must the happiness be of a soul all steeped in that will? Oh! my God, what +a blessed thing is it not to bring all our affections into a humble and +absolute subjection to the divine love! This we have said, this we have +resolved to do, and our hearts have taken the greatest glory of the love of +God for their sovereign law. Now the glory of this holy love consists in +its power of burning and consuming all that is not itself, that all may be +resolved and changed into it. God exalts Himself upon our annihilation of +ourselves and reigns upon the throne of our voluntary servitude." + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xxix. 6.] +[Footnote 2: Gal. ii. 20.] + + +HIS RESIGNATION TO THE WILL OF GOD. + +It happened that Blessed Francis fell ill at the very time when his +predecessor in the Bishopric of Geneva was imploring the Holy See to +appoint him as his coadjutor. + +The illness was so serious that the physicians despaired of his life, +and this our Blessed Father was told. He received the announcement quite +calmly, and even joyfully, as though he saw the heavens open and ready to +receive him, and being entirely resigned to the will of God both in life +and in death, said only: + +"I belong, to God, let Him do with me according to His good pleasure." + +When someone in his presence said that he ought to wish to live if not +for the service of God at least that he might do penance for his sins, +he answered thus: "It is certain that sooner or later we must die, and +whenever it may be, we shall always have need of the great mercy of God: we +may as well fall into His pitiful hands to-day as to-morrow. He is at all +times the same, full of kindness, and rich in mercy to all those who call +upon Him: and we are always evil, conceived in iniquity, and subject to sin +even from our mother's womb. He who finishes his course earlier than others +has less of an account to render. I can see that there is a design afoot to +lay upon me a burden not less formidable to me than death itself. Between +the two I should find it hard to choose. It is far better to submit myself +to the care of Providence: far better to sleep upon the breast of Jesus +Christ than anywhere else. God loves us. He knows better than we do what is +good for us. _Whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's._[1] +_He has the keys of life, and of death._[2] _They who hope in Him are never +confounded._[3] _Let us also go, and die with Him._" And when someone +said it was a pity he should die in the flower of his age (he was only +thirty-five), he answered: "Our Lord was still younger when He died. The +number of our days is before Him, He can gather the fruits which belong +to Him at any season. Do not let us waste our time and thoughts over +circumstances; let us consider only His most holy will. Let that be our +guiding star; it will lead us to Jesus Christ whether in the cribs or on +Calvary. Whoever follows Him shall not walk in darkness but shall have the +light of eternal life, and shall be no more subject to death." + +These were the words, this was the perfect resignation, of our Blessed +Father. Who can say we have not here the cause of the prolongation of his +days, even as a like resignation led to the prolonging of those of King +Ezechias. + +[Footnote 1: Rom. xiv. 8] +[Footnote 2: Apoc. i. 18.] +[Footnote 3: Psalm xxiv. 3.] + + +THAT WE MUST ALWAYS SUBMIT OURSELVES TO GOD'S HOLY WILL. + +In 1619, when our Saint was in Paris with the Prince of Savoy, a gentleman +of the court fell dangerously ill. He sent for Blessed Francis, who, when +visiting him, remarked with some surprise that, although he bore his +physical sufferings with great patience, he fretted grievously about other +troubles seemingly of very small moment. He was distressed at the thought +of dying away from home, at being unable to give his family his last +blessing, at not having his accustomed physician by his side, etc. Then he +would begin to worry about the details of his funeral, the inscription on +his tombstone, and so on. Nothing was right in his surroundings; the sky of +Paris, his doctors and nurses, his servants, his bed, his rooms, all were +matters of complaint. "Strange inconsistency!" exclaimed the holy Bishop. +"Here is a brave soldier and a great statesman, fretted by the merest +trifles, and unhappy because he cannot die in exactly the circumstances +which he would have chosen for himself." I am glad to be able to add that +in spite of all this the poor man made a holy and a happy end. + +But Blessed Francis afterwards said to me: "It is not enough to will what +God wills, we must also desire that all should be exactly, even in the +minutest detail and particular, as God wills it to be. For instance, in +regard to sickness we should be willing to be sick because it pleases God +that we should be so; and sick of that very sickness which God sends us, +not of one of a different character; and sick at such time, and in such +place, and surrounded by such attendants, as it may please God to appoint. +In short, we must in all things take for our law the most holy will of +God." + + +HIS SUBLIME THOUGHTS ON HOLY INDIFFERENCE. + +Many of the saints, and especially St. Catherine of Siena, St. Philip Neri, +and St. Ignatius Loyola, have spoken in the most beautiful and elevated +language of that holy indifference which, springing from the love of God, +makes life or death and all the circumstances of the one or the other +equally acceptable to the soul which realizes that all is ordered by the +will of God. + +Let us hear what our Blessed Father says on this subject in his _Treatise +on the Love of God_. + +"God's will is the sovereign object of the indifferent soul; wheresoever +she sees it she runs after the odour of its perfumes, directing her course +ever thither where it most appears, without considering anything else. She +is conducted by the divine will, as by a beloved chain; which way soever it +goes she follows it: she would prize hell with God's will more than heaven +without it; nay, she would even prefer hell before heaven if she perceived +only a little more of God's good-pleasure in that than in this, so that +if--to suppose what is impossible--she should know that her damnation would +be more agreeable to God than her salvation, she would quit her salvation +and run to her damnation."[1] + +This is, indeed, a bold and daring proposition, but to convince you +how tenaciously he clung to it I would remind you of his words in the +Conferences;[2] on the same subject: "The saints who are in heaven are so +closely united to the will of God that if there were even a little more of +His good-pleasure in hell than in paradise they would quit paradise to go +there." And again in the same Conference: "Whether the malady conquers the +remedies or the remedies get the better of the malady should be a matter +of perfect indifference. So much so that if sickness and health were put +before us and our Lord were to say to us: 'If thou choose health I will not +deprive thee of a single particle of my grace, if thou choose sickness I +shall not in any degree increase that grace, but in the choice of sickness +there is a little more of my good-pleasure,' the soul which has wholly +forsaken herself and abandoned herself into the hands of our Lord will +undoubtedly choose sickness solely because it is more pleasing to God. Nay, +though this might mean a whole lifetime spent on her couch in constant +suffering, she would not for any earthly consideration desire to be in any +other condition than this." + +[Footnote 1: Bk. ix., c. 5.] +[Footnote 2: Conf. ii.] + + +NOTHING, SAVE SIN, HAPPENS TO US BUT BY THE WILL OF GOD. + +"Nothing happens to us," Blessed Francis was accustomed to say, "whether of +good or of evil, sin alone excepted, but by the will of God." Good, because +God is the source of all good. _Every best gift and every perfect gift is +from above, coming down from the Father of lights_.[1] Evil, for, _Shall +there be evil in the city which the Lord hath not done_?[2] The evil here +spoken of is that of pain or trouble, seeing that God cannot will the evil +of crime, which is sin, though he permits it, allowing the human will to +act according to the natural liberty which He has given to it. Properly +speaking, sin cannot be said to happen to us, because what happens to +us must come from without, and sin, on the contrary, comes from within, +proceeding from our hearts, as holy Scripture expressly states, telling us +also that _iniquity comes from our fatness_,[3] that is to say, from our +ease and luxury. + +Oh, what a happiness it would be for our souls if we accustomed ourselves +to receive all things from the fatherly hand of Him who, in opening it, +fills all things living with blessing! What unction should we not draw +from this in our adversities! What honey from the rock, what oil from the +stones! And with how much moderation should we not behave in prosperity, +since God sends us both the one and the other, that we may use both to the +praise and glory of His grace. + +[Footnote I: St. James i. 17.] +[Footnote II: Amos iii. 6.] +[Footnote III: Psalm lxxii. 7.] + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +I must confess to you, my sisters, that I was astonished to read in one of +our Saint's letters that our Lord Jesus Christ did not possess the quality +of indifference in the sensitive part of His nature. + +I will give the exact words in which this wonderful fact is stated. "This +virtue of indifference," he says, "is so excellent that our old Adam, and +the sensitive part of our human nature, so far as its natural powers go, +is not capable of it, no, not even in our Lord, who, as a child of Adam, +although exempt from all sin, and from everything pertaining to sin, yet in +the sensitive part of his nature and as regards his human faculties was in +no way indifferent, but desired not to die upon the Cross. Indifference, +and the exercise of it, is entirely reserved for the spirit, for the +supreme portion of our nature, for faculties set on fire by grace, and in +fine for Himself personally, inasmuch as He is divine and human, the New +Man. How, then, can we complain when as far as this lower portion of our +nature is concerned we find ourselves unable to be indifferent to life, +and to death, to health, and to sickness, to honour and to ignominy, to +pleasure and to pain, to comfort and to discomfort, when, in a word, we +feel in ourselves that conflict going on which the vessel of election +experienced in such a manner as to make him exclaim: _Unhappy man that I +am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?_"[1] + +The love of ourselves is so deeply rooted in our nature that it is +impossible wholly to rid ourselves of it. Even grace does not do away with +our self-love, but only reduces it to the service of divine charity. + +By the love of self I mean a natural, just, and legitimate love, so +legitimate indeed as to be commanded by the law of God which bids us love +our neighbour as ourselves; that is to say, according to God's will, which +is not only the one way in which we can rightly love our neighbour, but +also the one way in which we are commanded to love ourselves. + +Nevertheless, this love of ourselves, however just and reasonable it may +be, turns only too easily, and too imperceptibly, into a self-love, which +is unlawful and forbidden, but into which even persons the most earnest and +the most spiritual are at times surprised. + +We often think we love someone, or something in God, and for God, when it +is really only in ourselves, and for ourselves, that we do so. We think +sometimes that we have only an eye to the interests of God, which is His +glory, when it is really our own glory which we are seeking in our work. +This is when we stop short voluntarily at the creature to the prejudice +of the Creator; as comes to pass in all sin, whether mortal or venial. We +must therefore watch and be constantly on our guard lest we fall into this +snare. From it we must snatch our soul as we would a bird from the snare +of the fowler. We shall be safe if we remember that every just and lawful +love in us is always either in actual touch with the love of God, or can be +brought into such touch, whilst self-love is never in such touch, nor can +ever be brought into it. + +This is the test by which we can detect the false coin that is mixed up +with the true. + +[Footnote 1: Rom. vii. 24.] + + +UPON ABANDONING OURSELVES TO GOD. + +I cannot tell you, my sisters, how great a point our Blessed Father made +of self-abandonment, _i.e._, self-surrender into the hands of God. In one +place he speaks of it as: "The cream of charity, the odour of humility, the +flower of patience, and the fruit of perseverance. Great," he says, "is +this virtue, and worthy of being practised by the best beloved children +of God."[1] And again, "Our Lord loves with a most tender love those +who are so happy as to abandon themselves wholly to His fatherly care, +letting themselves be governed by His divine Providence without any idle +speculations as to whether the workings of this Providence will be useful +to them to their profit, or painful to their loss, and this because they +are well assured that nothing can be sent, nothing permitted by this +paternal and most loving Heart, which will not be a source of good and +profit to them. All that is required is that they should place all their +confidence in Him, and say from their heart, _Into Thy hands I commend my +spirit_, my soul, my body, and all that I have, to do with them as it shall +please Thee."[2] + +You are inclined, my sisters, to say that we are not all of us capable of +such entire self-renunciation, that so supreme an act of self-abandonment +is beyond our strength. Hear then, too, what our Blessed Father goes on to +say. These are his words in the same Conference: "Never are we reduced to +such an extremity that we cannot pour forth before the divine majesty the +perfume of a holy submission to His most holy will, and of a continual +promise never wilfully to offend Him." + +[Footnotes 1, 2: Conf. 2.] + + +UPON INTERIOR DESOLATION. + +As there are, more thorns than roses in our earthly life, and more dull +days than sunny ones, so also in our spiritual life our souls are more +frequently clouded by a sense of desolation, dryness, and gloom, than +irradiated by heavenly consolations and brightness. + +Yet our Blessed Father says that "those are mistaken who think that, even +in Christians, whose conscience does not accuse them of sins unconfessed, +but on the contrary bears good witness for them, a heavy heart and +sorrow-laden mind is a proof of God's displeasure. + +"Has God not said that He is with us in tribulation, and is not His Cross +the mark of the chosen? At the birth of Jesus, while the shepherds were +surrounded by the light which shone from heaven and their ears filled with +the songs of angels, Mary and Joseph were in the stable in the darkness of +night, the silence only broken by the weeping of the Holy Child. Yet who +would not rather be with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in that shadowy gloom +than with the shepherds even in their ecstasy of heavenly joy? St. Peter, +indeed, amid the glories of Thabor said: _It is good to be here, let us +make here three tabernacles_.[1] But Holy Scripture adds: _Not knowing what +he said_. + +"The faithful soul loves Jesus covered with wounds and disfigurements on +Calvary, amid the darkness, the blood, the crosses, the nails, the thorns, +and the horror of death: loves Him, I say, as dearly, as fervently as in +His triumph, and cries out from a full heart amid all this desolation: + +"Let us make here three tabernacles, one for Jesus, one for His holy +Mother, and one for His beloved disciple." + +[Footnote 1: Luke ix, 33.] + + +UPON THE PRESENCE IN OUR SOULS OF THE GRACE OF GOD. + +There is, I think, no greater temptation than one which assails many good +people, namely, the desire to know for certain whether or not they are in a +state of grace. + +To a poor soul entangled in a perfect spider's web of doubt and mistrust, +our Blessed Father wrote the following consoling words: "To try and +discover whether or not your heart is pleasing to God is a thing you must +not do, though you may undoubtedly try to make sure that His Heart is +pleasing to you. Now, if you meditate upon His Heart it will be impossible +but that it should be well pleasing to you, so sweet is it, so gentle, so +condescending, so loving towards those of His poor creatures who do but +acknowledge their wretchedness: so gracious to the unhappy, so good to the +penitent. Ah! who would not love this royal Heart, which to us is as the +heart both of a father and of a mother?" + +As regards interior desolation there are some souls who seem to think +that no devotion is worthy of the name which is not sensible and full of +emotion. + +To one who complained to our Blessed Father of having lost all relish for +exercises of piety, he wrote in the following words: "The love of God +consists neither in consolations nor in tenderness--otherwise our Lord +would not have loved His father when He was sorrowful unto death, nor when +He cried out, _My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?_[1] That is to +say, then, when He performed the greatest act of love that it is possible +to imagine. + +"The truth is, we are always hungering after consolation, for a little +sugar to be added to our spiritual food; in other words, we always want to +experience our feelings of love and tenderness, and thereby to be cheered +and comforted." + +[Footnote 1: Matt. xxvii. 46.] + + +UPON OUR DESIRE TO SAVE OUR SOUL. + +Faith teaches us, by means of the Holy Scriptures, that God ardently +desires that we should be saved,[1] and that none should perish. His will +is our sanctification, that is to say, He wishes us to be holy. Moreover, +to prove that His desire is neither barren nor unhelpful, He gives us in +His holy Church all the graces necessary for our salvation, so that if we +are lost it will only be because of our own wilful malice. + +Unfortunately, however, though it may be that all desire to save their +souls, all are not willing to accept the means offered them for so doing. +Hence the disorders which we see in the world around us and the truth, +that, while many are called few are chosen. On this subject our Blessed +Father speaks as follows in his Theotimus: + +"We are," he says, "to will our salvation in such sort as God wills it; +now He wills it by way of desire, and we also must incessantly desire it, +in conformity with His desire. Nor does He will it only, but, in effect, +gives us all necessary means to attain to it. We then, in fulfilment of the +desire we have to be saved, must not only wish to be saved, but, in effect, +must accept all the graces which He has provided for us, and offers us. +With regard to salvation itself, it is enough to say: I desire to be saved. +But, with regard to the means of salvation, it is not enough to say: I +desire them. We must, with an absolute resolution, will and embrace the +graces which God presents to us; for our will must correspond with God's +will. And, inasmuch as He gives us the means of salvation, we ought to +avail ourselves of such means, just as we ought to desire salvation in such +sort as God desires it for us, and because He desires it."[2] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Tim. ii. 4.] +[Footnote 2: _The Love of God_. Bk. viii. 4.] + + +UPON GOOD NATURAL INCLINATIONS. + +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.] + + +HOW TO SPEAK OF GOD. + +St. Francis loved those words of St. Peter: _If any man speak, let him +speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the +power which God administreth_,[1] and of St. Paul: _All things whatsoever +you do, whether in word or in work, do them in the name_ (that is to say, +to the honour and glory) _of our Lord Jesus Christ_.[2] + +That we may carry out this excellent precept in our actions, our Blessed +Father gives us some remarkable teaching. In one of his letters he says: +"We must never speak of God or of things relating to His worship, that +is, of religion, carelessly, and in the way of ordinary conversation, but +always with great respect, esteem, and devotion." + +This advice applies to those who speak of God, and of religious matters +as they would of any ordinary topics of conversation, without taking into +account the circumstances of time, place, or persons. St. Jerome complained +of this abuse, saying that whilst there are masters and experts in every +art and science, only on matters of theology and Holy Scripture, the +foundations of all arts and sciences, can few be found to speak well. Yet +questions relating to them are discussed most flippantly at table, and in +public places; the hare-brained youth, the uneducated labourer, and the +dotard, give their opinions freely on the highest mysteries of the Faith. + +Again, Blessed Francis says: "Always speak of God as of God, that is to +say, reverently and devoutly, not in a self-sufficient, preaching spirit, +but with gentleness, charity, and humility."[3] + +In the same book he gives his advice to Philothea in the following words: +"Never, then, speak of God or of religion for form's sake, or to make +conversation, but always with attention and devotion. I tell you this, +that you may not be guilty of an extraordinary sort of vanity, which is +observable in many who profess to be devout. These people, on all possible +occasions, throw in expressions of piety and fervour without the least +thought of what they are saying, and, having uttered these phrases, imagine +that they themselves are such, as their words would indicate, which is not +at all the case." + +[Footnote 1: 1 St. Peter iv. 11.] +[Footnote 2: Col. iii 17.] +[Footnote 3: Part iii., chap. 26.] + + +UPON ECCENTRICITIES IN DEVOTION. + +Blessed Francis had a great dislike of any kind of affectation or +singularity practised by devout persons, whether in Religious houses or in +the world. He went so far as to say that it rendered their piety not merely +offensive, but ridiculous. + +He wished every one to conform as far as possible to the way of life proper +to his or her calling, without affecting any peculiarity. He gave as his +authority for this desire the example of our Lord, who, in the days of His +flesh, condescended to make Himself like to His brethren in all things +excepting sin. + +The holy Bishop inculcated this lesson upon his penitents, not only by +word, but much more by his example. Never during the whole fourteen years +which, happily for me, I spent under his direction studying most closely +all his actions, his very gestures, his words, and his teaching; never, I +say, did I observe in him the faintest shadow of singularity. + +I must confess to having, in order to find out exactly what he was, +practised a _ruse_, which some might think inexcusable or impertinent. +Every year he paid me a week's visit, and before he came I took care to +have some holes pierced in the doors or boarding of his rooms, that I might +closely observe his behaviour when quite alone. Well, I can truly say that +whatever he did, whether he prayed, read, meditated, or wrote, in his lying +down and in his rising up, at all times and in all circumstances, he was +the same--calm, unaffected, simple--his outward demeanour corresponding +with the interior beauty of his soul. Francis quite alone was the very same +as Francis in company. I think, myself, that this was the result of his +continual attention to the presence of God, a practice which he recommended +so strongly to all who were under his direction. + +When he prayed, it was as though he saw the angels and the saints gathered +round him. He remained for hours calm, motionless as a statue, and +changeless in expression. + +Never, even when alone, did he for the sake of greater comfort sit or stand +or assume attitudes other than those he permitted himself when in public. +He never so much as crossed his legs, or rested his head on his hand. The +unvarying but easy gravity of his demeanour naturally inspired an unfailing +love and respect. + +He said that our exterior deportment should be like water which, the better +it is, the more is it tasteless. + +I was much pleased on hearing a very famous and devout person,[1] whom +I met in Paris, say this to me about our Saint. That nothing brought so +vividly to his mind what the conversation of our Lord Jesus Christ must +have been among men, as the presence and angelic deportment of the holy +Bishop, of whom one might truly say that he was not only clothed with, but +absolutely full of, Jesus Christ. Nor will this appear strange to us if we +remember that the just soul, that is to say, the soul which is in a state +of grace, is said to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, and is +called a participator of the divine nature. + +[Footnote 1: St. Vincent de Paul.] + + +UPON CONFRATERNITIES. + +He advised devout people to give in their names boldly, and without much +consultation, to the confraternities which they happened to meet with, so +as to become by this means participators of grace with all those who fear +God and live according to His law. He pitied the scruples of those good +souls who fear to enrol themselves, lest, as they ignorantly imagine, they +should sin by not fulfilling certain duties laid down in the rules given +for the guidance and discipline of these confraternities, but which are +rather recommended than commanded. + +"For," he said, "if the rules of Religious Orders are not in themselves +binding under pain of either mortal or venial sin, how much less so are the +statutes of confraternities? + +"The following out of the recommendations given to their members to do +certain things, to recite certain prayers, to take part in certain meetings +or processions, is a matter of counsel, and not of precept. To those who +perform such pious actions, Indulgences are granted, which those who do not +practise them fail to gain; but such failure, even if wilful, is not a sin. +There is much to gain, and nothing to lose." + +On this subject he speaks thus to Philothea: + +"Enter readily into the confraternities of the place in which you are +living, and specially into those whose exercises are the most fruitful and +edifying. In doing this, you will be practising a kind of obedience which +is very pleasing to God, and the more so because although the joining +confraternities is not commanded, yet it is recommended by the Church, who, +to show that she desires Catholics to enrol themselves therein, grants +Indulgences and other privileges to their members. Then, too, it is always +a charitable thing to concur and co-operate with others in their good +works. And although it may be that we should make quite as good exercises +by ourselves as we do in common with our fellow-members, yet we promote the +glory of God better by uniting ourselves with our brethren and neighbours, +and sharing our good deeds with them."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Part ii., chap. 15.] + + +UPON INTERCOURSE WITH THE WORLD. + +There are some good people whose zeal not being sufficiently tempered +with knowledge, as soon as they desire to give themselves up to a devout +life, fly from society and from intercourse with others as owls shun the +company of birds that fly by day. Their morose and unsociable conduct +causes a dislike to be taken to devotion instead of rendering it sweet +and attractive to all. Our Blessed Father was altogether opposed to such +moroseness, wishing His devout children to be by their example a light to +the world, and the salt of the earth, so as to impart a flavour to piety +which might tempt the appetite of those who would otherwise surely turn +from it with disgust. To a good soul who asked him whether Christians who +wished to live with some sort of perfection should see company and mix +in society, he answers thus: "Perfection, my dear lady, does not lie in +avoiding our fellow-men, but it does lie in not over-relishing social +pleasures and in not taking undue delight in them. There is danger for us +in all that we see in a sinful world, for we run the risk of fixing our +affections upon things worldly; at the same time to those who are steadfast +and resolute, the mere sight of the things of this world will do no harm. +In a word, the perfection of charity is the perfection of life, for the +life of our soul is charity. The early Christians, who were in the world in +their body though not in their heart, undoubtedly were very perfect."[1] + +As regards the world's opinion of us, and the estimation in which we are +held by others, it is not well to be too sensitive. At the same time, to +be altogether indifferent about our reputation is blameworthy. Our Blessed +Prelate teaches his Philothea exactly what we have to do: + +"If," he says, "the world despises us, let us rejoice, for it is right--we +see for ourselves that we are very contemptible. If it esteems us, let us +despise its esteem and its judgment, for it is blind. Trouble yourself +very little about what the world thinks; do not ask or even care to know. +Despise equally its appreciation and its contempt, and let it say what +it will, good or evil. I do not approve of doing what is not right, that +people may have a bad opinion of us. Transgressing is always transgressing, +and we are thereby making our neighbour transgress likewise. On the +contrary, I desire that, keeping our eyes always fixed upon our Lord, we do +what we have to do without regarding what the world thinks of us, or its +behaviour towards us. We need not endeavour to give others a good opinion +of ourselves, yet neither have we to try to give a bad one, and especially +must we be careful not to do wrong with this intent. + +"But we can never stand quite well with the world; it is far too exacting. +If out of compliance we yield to it, and play and dance with it, it will be +scandalized; and if we do not, it will accuse us of hypocrisy and gloom; +if we are well-dressed it will impute to us some bad motive; and if we are +ill-dressed it will call us mean; it will style our gaiety dissoluteness +and our mortification gloom. It will exaggerate our failings and publish +our faults; and if it cannot find fault with our actions it will attack our +motives. Whatever we do the world will find fault. If we spend a long time +at confession it will ask what we can have to say; if we take but a short +time, it will say that we do not tell everything. If one little cross word +escape us it will pronounce our temper unbearable; it will denounce our +prudence as avarice, our gentleness as folly. Spiders invariably spoil the +bees' labour. Therefore, do not mind what opinion the world has of you, +good or bad; do not distress yourself about it, whichever it be. To say +that we are not what the world thinks, when it speaks well of us, is wise, +for the world, like a quack doctor, always exaggerates." + +You question me, regarding the contempt which we should feel for the world +and the world's opinion of us; in other words you want to know exactly +what St. Paul means when he says that, being crucified to the world and +the world to us, we should glory only in the Cross of our Saviour Jesus +Christ.[2] + +This seems to you a paradox; light evolved from darkness, and glory from +shame. Let me remind you that the Christian religion is full of such +paradoxes, and that we belong to an all-powerful God, who has given life to +us by His death; who has healed us by His wounds, and who makes us rich by +His poverty. I cannot, however, explain the difficulty to you better than +by quoting the words of our Blessed Father in one of his letters. He says: +"In this alone lies our glory, that our divine Saviour died for us, the +Master for His slaves, the just for the unjust." + +[Footnote 1: Cf. _The Devout Life_. Part iv., c. 7.] +[Footnote 2: Galat. vi. 14.] + + +AGAINST OVER-EAGERNESS. + +Blessed Francis advised his penitents to avoid above all things, excessive +eagerness, which, in his view, is the mortal foe of true devotion. He says: +"It is far better to do a few things well than to undertake many good works +and leave them half done." + +This was the mistake of the man in the Gospel who began to build and was +not able to finish because he had not counted the cost beforehand. There +are some who think they are never doing well unless they are doing much. +They are like the Pharisees who considered the perfection of prayer to +consist in its length. Our Lord reproves them for this and much more for +devouring widows' houses with their long prayers. In one of his Conferences +the Saint speaks thus: "It is not by the multiplicity of things we do that +we acquire perfection, but by the perfection and purity of intention with +which we do them." + +And this is what he says on the subject in his Theotimus: "To do few +actions but with great purity of intention and with a firm will to please +God, is to do excellently. Such greatly sanctify us. Some men eat much, and +yet are ever lean, thin, and delicate, because their digestive power is +not good; there are others who eat little, and yet are always in excellent +health and vigorous, because their stomach is good. Even so, there are +some souls that do many good works and yet increase but little in charity, +because they do those good works either coldly and negligently, or have +undertaken them rather from natural instinct and inclination than because +God so willed and with heaven-given fervour. On the contrary, others +there are who get through little work, but do it with so holy a will; and +inclination, that they make a wonderful advancement in charity; they have +little talent, but they husband it so faithfully that the Lord largely; +rewards them for it."[1] + +[Footnote 1: _Love of God_. B. xii., c. 7.] + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +Our Blessed Father always insisted on the necessity of discretion as +well as charity in our devotion, and warned us against that want of +self-restraint and calmness, which he called eagerness. This, he said, is, +indeed, the _remora_ of true devotion, and its worst enemy, the more so +because it decks itself in the livery of devotion, in order more easily +to entrap the unwary and to make them mistake zeal without knowledge for +genuine fervour. + +He was very fond of that saying of an ancient Emperor: "Make haste +slowly," and of another: "Soon enough, if well enough." He would rather +have a little done thoroughly well, than a great deal undertaken with +over-eagerness. One of his favourite maxims was "Little and good." In order +to persuade us that he was right, he used to warn us against thinking that +perfection depends on the number of our good works, exterior or interior. +When asked what then became of that insatiable love of which the masters of +the spiritual life speak, that love which never thinks that it has reached +the goal, but is always pressing on farther and farther, spanning the whole +extent of heaven with giant strides, he answered: "The tree of that love +must grow at the roots, rather than by the branches." He explained his +meaning thus: To grow by the branches is to wish to perform a great number +of good works, of which many are imperfect, others superfluous like the +useless leaves which overload the vine, and have to be nipped off before +the grapes can grow to any proper size. On the other hand we grow at the +roots when we do only a few good works, but those few most perfectly, that +is to say, with a great love of God, in which all the perfection of the +Christian consists. It is to this that the Apostle exhorts us when he bids +us be rooted and grounded in charity if we would comprehend the surpassing +charity of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. True devotion, he used to say, +should be gentle, tranquil, and discreet, whereas eagerness is indiscreet, +tempestuous, and turbulent. + +Especially he found fault with the eagerness which attempts to do several +things at once. He said it was like trying to thread more than one needle +at a time. One of his favourite mottos was: "Sufficient to the day is the +labour thereof." + +When he was reproached, as he sometimes was, with bestowing such earnest +and undivided attention on the most trivial concerns of the people who came +to him for sympathy and advice, he answered: "These troubles appear great +to them, and, therefore, they must be consoled, as if they really were so. +God knows, too, that I do not want any great employment. It is perfectly +indifferent to me what my occupation is so long as it is a serving of Him. +To do these small works is all that is, at the time being, asked of me. Is +not doing the will of God a work great enough for anyone? We turn little +actions into great ones when we perform them with a supreme desire to +please God, who measures our services, not by the excellence of the work we +do, but by the love which accompanies it, and that love by its purity, and +that purity by the singleness of its intention." + + +UPON LIBERTY OF SPIRIT. + +He was a great enemy to every sort of spiritual restriction and constraint, +and was fond of quoting the words of St. Paul: _Where the spirit of God is, +there is liberty_.[1] And again: _You are redeemed with a great price, do +not make yourselves slaves again_.[2] He had advised a lady of rank to work +with her own hands, in order to avoid sloth, and, as she was well to do, +he suggested to her to devote her manual labour to the adornment of altars +or to the service of the poor, following the advice of the Apostle, who +counsels us to labour with our hands to provide for the wants of the needy. +This lady, who always followed his suggestions to the very letter as if +they were commands, having done some little piece of work for herself, felt +a scruple about the matter, as though she had failed in the exact obedience +which she had resolved to yield, not only to the commands of the holy +Prelate, but even to his opinions. She therefore, asked him if she ought +to give in alms exactly what a piece of work she had done for herself was +worth. Moreover, having been advised to fast on Fridays she wished, she +said, in order to gain more merit to make a vow that she would always +practise this mortification. + +Here is his reply: "I approve of your Friday fasts, but not that you should +make any vow to keep them, nor that you should tie yourself down, tightly +in such matters. Still more do I approve of your working with your hands, +spinning and so forth, at times when nothing greater or more important +claims your attention, and that what you make should be destined either for +the altar or for the poor, I should not, however, like you to keep to this +so strictly, that if it should happen that you do something for yourself or +for your family you should feel obliged to give the poor the value of your +work. For, holy liberty and freedom must reign, and we must have no other +law than love, which, when it bids us to do some kind of work for our own +family or friends, must not be looked upon as if it had led us to do wrong. +Still less does it require us to make amends, as you wished to do seeing +that whatever it invites us to take in hand, whether for the rich or for +the poor, is equally pleasing to our Lord." What do you think of this +doctrine, you who go by rule and measure in valuing an act of virtue? Is +liberality displayed towards the rich, in your opinion, worth as much as +alms given to the poor? See now, this holy Bishop follows a very different +rule, and measuring the one action and the other by the golden standard of +charity, esteems them as equal, provided both be done with equal charity. + +[Footnote 1: II. Cor. iii. 17.] +[Footnote 2: Cor. vii. 23] + + +UPON NATURE AND GRACE. + +In certain minds there seems always to lurk some remains of Pelagianism, a +hydra from which though bruised and crushed by the Church--the pillar and +bulwark of the Truth--new heads are ever springing forth. + +Many, as I am willing to believe, from lack of consideration, ascribe too +much to nature, and too little to grace, making too great capital of the +matter of moral virtues, and too little of the manner in which they are +practised. These people forget that in our works God does not regard how +much we do, but with how much love we do it, _non quantum, sed ex quanta_, +in the language of the schools. + +On this subject our Blessed Father gives the following excellent advice to +a pious person who, because she had to devote the greater part of her time +to household affairs and to mix a good deal in society was discouraged, and +thought it almost impossible for her to lead a devout life. + +"Do not," he says, "look at all at the substance of the things which you +do, but rather, poor though they be, at the honour by which they are +ennobled, that of being willed by God, ordered by His Providence, and +arranged by His wisdom, in a word, that of being pleasing to God. And +if they please Him, whom can they reasonably offend? Strive, my dearest +daughter, to become every day more pure in heart. + +"This purity of heart consists in setting on all things their true value, +and in weighing them in the balance of the sanctuary, which balance is only +another name for the wilt of God." In the same way in his Theotimus he +teaches that acts of the lesser virtues are often more pleasing to God, and +consequently more meritorious, because done with great love, than the most +splendid virtues when practised with less of heavenly charity. Charity is +the pure gold which makes us rich in immortal wealth. + + +UPON EXAGGERATED INTROSPECTION. + +Blessed Francis was not at all fond of too much self-introspection, or of +the habit of turning an unimportant matter over and over a hundred times in +the mind. He called this pernicious hair-splitting; or, with the Psalmist: +"Spinning spiders' webs."[1] People given to it he used to say are like the +silkworm, which imprisons and entangles itself in its own cocoon. In his +twelfth Conference he speaks further on this subject. + +"The soul," he says, "which is wholly bent on pleasing its divine Lover, +has neither desire nor leisure to fall back upon itself. It presses on +continually (or should do so) along the one straight path which has that +love for its aim, not allowing itself to waste its powers in continual +self-inspection for the purpose of seeing what it is doing or if it is +satisfied. Alas! our own satisfactions and consolations do not satisfy God, +they only feed that miserable love and care of ourselves which is quite +apart from God and the thought of Him." + +A great deal of time is wasted in these useless considerations which would +be far better employed in doing good works. + +By over considering whether we do right, we may actually do wrong. + +St. Anthony was once asked how we might know if we prayed properly. "By not +knowing it at all," he answered. He certainly prays well who is so taken up +with God that he does not know he is praying. The traveller who is always +counting his steps will not make much headway. + +[Footnote 1: Cf. Ps. lxxxix. 10.] + + +UPON INTERIOR REFORMATION. + +Our Blessed Father used to say that, generally speaking, grace worked as +nature, and not as art, does. Art only reproduces what appears outwardly as +in painting and sculpture, but nature begins her work from within, so that +in a living creature the internal organs are formed before the skin, whence +the saying that the heart is the first living part of man. + +When, therefore, he wished to lead souls on from a worldly to a devout +life, he did not at first suggest changes in the exterior, in the dressing +of the hair, in the fashion of garments, and so on. No, he spoke only to +the heart, and of the heart, knowing that when once that stronghold is +gained, nothing else can resist. + +"When a house is on fire, said he, see how all the furniture is thrown out +of the window! So is it when the heart is possessed by true love of God, +all that is not of God seems then to it of no moment at all. _If a man_, +says the Canticle of Canticles _give all his riches for love he will think +that he has done nothing_."[1] + +I will give you a trifling illustration of this teaching which may be +useful to you. A lady of high rank, having placed herself under the +direction of the holy Prelate, became more and more assiduous in attending +the services of the Church, spending much time in prayer and meditation, +and, in what leisure was left her from her household cares, visiting the +sick and poor. Her friends and acquaintances, however, observed with +surprise that she made no change at all in external matters, that her +dress was as rich as ever, and that she laid aside none of her magnificent +ornaments. + +This so scandalized them that they began to murmur openly, not only against +her, but also against her director. They even went so far as to accuse her +of hypocrisy, forgetting that a hypocrite always tries to appear better in +the eyes of others than he really is, whereas she, in spite of interior +amendment, remained quite unchanged in her exterior. + +The truth was that she did not in the least care for her ornaments, but as +it was her husband's will that she should dress as before, she followed +the example of Esther, who, though she detested all vain pomp and show, to +please Assuerus, decked herself out with magnificence. + +On one occasion some busybody told our Blessed Father that this lady, +devout though she was, had not even given up wearing ear-rings, and +expressed great surprise that he who was so good a confessor had not +advised her to have done with the like vanities. To all this Francis +replied with his accustomed gentleness, and with a touch of humour: "I +assure you, I do not know that she has got ears, much less ear-rings in +them. She always comes to confession with her head so completely enveloped +in a great hood or scarf that I cannot see so much as its shape. Then, too, +let us remember that the saintly Rebecca of old, who was quite as virtuous +as this lady, lost nothing of her sanctity by wearing the ear-rings which +Eleazer presented to her as the gift of his master Isaac!" + +Thus did our Blessed Father deal with matters which are a stumbling-block +to the weak and foolish, showing how true it is that all things work +together for good to those who are good, and that to the pure all things +are pure. + +[Footnote 1: Cant. viii. 7.] + + +HIS VISION OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. + +All Christians ought to be not only devout but absolutely devoted to the +most Blessed Trinity. It is the most august and fundamental of all our +mysteries; it is that to which we are consecrated by our entrance into the +holy Church, for we are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and +of the Holy Ghost. + +But you, my sisters, ought in an especial manner to be devoted to this +great and ineffable mystery, remembering the wonderful vision which our +Blessed Father, your founder, had on the day of his episcopal consecration. +In that sublime vision Almighty God showed him most clearly and +intelligibly that the three adorable Persons of the most Holy Trinity were +operating in his soul, producing there special graces which were to aid him +in his pastoral office, at the very moment that the three Bishops who were +consecrating him, blessed him, and performed all the holy ceremonies which +render this action so great and so solemn. Thenceforth he always regarded +himself as consecrated to the ever-Blessed Trinity and as a vessel of +honour and sanctification. + +Then, too, in the year 1610, he both founded and opened your Institute +on the day dedicated by the Church to the memory and adoration of that +incomprehensible mystery. Trinity Sunday that year happening to fall on the +Feast of St. Claude, he gave you that saint as your special intercessor +with the most Holy Trinity. + +Again, you Congregation began with three members only, and this of set +purpose, in order to honour the Blessed Trinity as well as to accomplish +what is written in the Gospel, that when two or three are gathered together +in the name, that is to say, for the glory of God, He will be in the midst +of them, and will animate and govern them by His spirit; the spirit of +love, unity, and concord, which makes us keep the unity of the spirit in +the bond of peace, and renders us one through love, as the Father, the Son, +and the Holy Ghost are one only, in nature, essence, and substance. It is +this peace of God, passing all understanding, which has up to the present +time kept all the convents of your Order in unity. Woe to him who shall +break down this defence and rampart! May the ever-Blessed Trinity avert +this misery, and both regard and preserve you always, as adopted daughters +of the Father, adopted sisters of the Son, and spouses of the Holy Ghost! +Amen. + + +HIS DEVOTION TO OUR BLESSED LADY. + +Astrologers, as you know, make a great point of observing what star is +rising on the horizon at the moment of a person's birth. They call it the +ascendant, and it forms, as it were, the apex of their horoscope. Well, +this is an idle fancy, but we may draw from it a useful suggestion. It +would be good for us to notice what star was in the ascendant in the +heavens, that is to say, what blessed Saint's feast day illumined the +heaven of the Church militant at the moment of our birth. I cannot tell you +how much this knowledge has helped many a soul. + +Ah! how bright and glorious an ascendant our Blessed Father had! seeing +that he was born under the very sign and protection of the Mother of God, +on one of the days in the Octave of her Assumption, August 21st, 1567. + +No wonder that he always had a special devotion to her and showed it +in every possible way; among others, in giving her name to many of the +confraternities and congregations established by him in the Church. No +wonder either that he had so great a love of purity, and that under the +protection, and with the assistance of the Queen of Virgins, he should have +consecrated himself to God in holy virginity and continence. + +You know that it was on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception that he +received episcopal consecration, and at the same time that inward unction +which we learn so much of from the history of his life. + +He also dedicated his Theotimus[1] to the Queen of Sovereign Charity, and +preached continually and with extraordinary sweetness and fervour upon the +perfections and greatness of that divine Mother. + +Finally, my dear sisters, there was nothing that he recommended so much to +his spiritual children as this devotion to the Blessed Virgin. You, indeed, +more than all others, ought to bear witness to this, seeing that he made +you daughters of holy Mary, under the title of the Visitation, marked +thereby to distinguish you from so many other congregations consecrated to +the honour and service of God under the title of Our Lady. + +His devotion to our Blessed Lady was, indeed, as might have been expected +from one so single-minded and sincere as he, eminently practical, From his +earliest youth he sought her protection and aid in all difficulties and +temptations. When he was pursuing his studies while at college in Paris, +the evil spirit was permitted by God to insinuate into his mind the +terrible idea that he was one of the number of the damned. This delusion +took such possession of his soul that he lost his appetite, was unable to +sleep, and day by day grew more and more wasted and languid. His tutor +and director noticing how his health was affected and how pale, listless, +and joyless he had become, often questioned him as to the cause of his +dejection and evident suffering, but his tormentor who had filled his mind +with this delusion, being what is called a dumb devil, the poor youth could +give no explanation. + +For one whole month he suffered this mental torture, this agony of soul. He +had lost all the sweetness of divine love, but not, happily, his fidelity +to it. He looked back with bitter tears to the happy time when he was, as +it were, inebriated with that sweetness, nor did any ray of hope illumine +the darkness of that night of despair. + +At last, led by a divine inspiration, he entered a church to pray that this +agony might pass. + +On his knees before a statue of the Blessed Virgin he implored the +assistance of the Mother of Mercy with tears and sighs, and the most +fervent devotion. + +He ended by reciting the _Memorare_, that devout prayer attributed to St. +Augustine or St. Bernard, and which was such a favourite with our Blessed +Father and taught by him to all his penitents. + +I may here mention that it was from his lips that I first learnt that +prayer, that I wrote it down in the beginning of my breviary, and have made +constant use of it in all my necessities. + +But, to return to my story. No sooner had he finished this appeal to the +Mother of Mercy than he began to experience the power of her intercession. +He seemed to hear the voice of God within him saying: "I am thy salvation: +Oh! man of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt? Thou art mine and I +will save thee; have confidence; I am He who has overcome the world." + +Then, in a moment, the devil departed from him; the delusions with which +that wicked one had filled his mind vanished; joy and consolation took +their place; where darkness had reigned light assumed the empire, and +Francis felt he could never sufficiently thank God for this deliverance. + +Can you wonder that after such a battle and such a victory won through +the intercession of the Mother of God he always advised those who were +undergoing temptation to have recourse to her powerful aid? She is indeed +_terrible_--to our foes--_as an army in battle array, and a tower of +strength against the face of our enemies_; and what marvel seeing that it +is she who has crushed the serpent's head? + +[Footnote 1: _The Treatise on the Love of God_.] + + +HIS DEVOTION TO THE HOLY WINDING SHEET OF TURIN. + +With regard to our Blessed Father's explanation of his special devotion +to the Holy Winding Sheet, as connected with circumstances preceding his +birth, I may here say a few words. + +He was born, as you know, on the 21st of August, 1567. His mother was +then very young, not quite fifteen, and frail and delicate in health. It +happened that at that very time the Holy Winding Sheet, then in the Chapel +of Chambery, was, by command of His Highness of Savoy, and at the request +of the Princess Anne d'Este, wife, by her second marriage, of James of +Savoy, Duke of Nemours and Prince of Geneva, brought to Annecy. Charles, +Cardinal of Lorraine, and Louis, Cardinal of Guise, were at the time at +Annecy, where the sacred relic was displayed with great solemnity and +exposed to the veneration of the multitudes who flocked to the place from +all parts. + +Among these crowds came the father and mother of Blessed Francis, and we +may well believe that God made use of this holy relic to imprint upon both +the mother and the unborn child some special influence of grace. + +There is another winding sheet at Besancon (for our Lord was buried +in two, Holy Scripture itself suggesting this by the use of the word +_linteamina_,[1] linen cloths), that city being the metropolis of the +ecclesiastical province, in which the Bishopric of Belley is situated. + +One day when our Blessed Father was passing by the place the authorities +had the relic exposed in his honour, and begged him to preach upon the +subject. He did so, with tears of emotion and such a torrent of vehement +eloquence, as went straight to the hearts of all who listened to him. + +In his own diocese he took care to have the feast of the Holy Winding Sheet +kept in all the churches. He generally himself preached on that day, and +always with much feeling and devotion. + +He had a most special devotion to the Holy Winding Sheet, as it is to be +seen at Turin. He had it copied or represented in all sorts of different +ways, or, I should rather say, by all sorts of different arts; in +embroidery, in oil painting, in copperplate, in coloured engraving, in +miniature, in demi-relief, in etching. He had it in his chamber, his +chapel, his oratory, his study, his refectory; in a word, everywhere. + +On one occasion I asked him the reason of this. He answered: "It is the +great treasure of the House of Savoy, the defence of the country; it is our +great relic; more than this, it is the miraculous picture of the sufferings +of Jesus Christ, traced with His own blood. And then, too, I have a special +reason for my devotion to this holy relic, seeing that before I was born my +mother dedicated me to our Lord, while contemplating this sacred standard +of salvation. + +"It is said that he who carries the standard into battle, rather than +surrender it to the enemy, should wrap its folds round his body and glory +in so dying. Ah! What a happiness it would he if we could thus fold round +about us the Holy Winding Sheet, buried with Jesus Christ for love of Him, +in whom we are buried by baptism." + +[Footnote 1: Luke xxiv. 12.] + + +UPON MERIT. + +Every good work can, as you know, have four qualities: it can be +meritorious, satisfactory, consolatory, or impetratory. + +In order to have the two first qualities it must be performed when we are +in a state of grace; that is to say, through the motive of charity, or, at +least, in charity. + +But the two last it can have, although imperfectly, without charity; for +how many sinners there are who feel consolation in doing works which are +morally good, and how many who in praying impetrate graces and favours from +the mercy of God. + +Between the two first qualities of good works there is this difference, +that the first abides with and belongs wholly and entirely to the +person who performs the work, and cannot be communicated; that power of +communication being reserved solely for the merits of Jesus Christ our +Lord, which do not stop short, as it were, and end in Him, but can be, and, +in fact, are, communicated to us. Neither the saints in heaven nor those on +earth have power to communicate to us one tittle of their merits; not the +former, because in glory they are rewarded far beyond their deserving; +not the latter, because they have not yet reached the goal, and whatever +sanctity they may possess, they may, through sin, fall away from it, and +all have need of the grace and mercy of God to keep them from so falling. + +The second quality, however, is communicable, because we can share in the +necessities of one another, and can make satisfaction one for another; +spiritual riches being no less communicable than temporal ones, and the +abundance of some being able to relieve the starvation of others. Hear what +our Blessed Father says on this subject in his eighteenth Conference: "We +must never think that by going to Holy Communion for others, or by praying +for them, we lose anything. We need not fear that by offering to God this +communion or prayer in satisfaction for the sins of others we shall not +make spiritual profit for ourselves. The merit of the communion and of the +prayer will remain with us, for we cannot merit grace for one another; it +is our Lord alone who can do that. We can beg for graces for others, but we +can never merit them." + + +UPON GOOD WILL AND GOOD DESIRES. + +Good will being of so great importance, you ask me of what use it is, if it +does not manifest itself by its works. + +And St. Gregory tells us that where there are no works there can be no love +at all, or at least none that is sincere. Our Blessed Father will give the +best possible answer to your question. These are his words: + +"The angel who proclaimed the birth of our infant Saviour sang glory to +God, announcing that he published joy, peace, and happiness to men of good +will. This was done in order that no one might be ignorant that to receive +this Child all that is needed is to be of good will, even though as yet +one may have effected nothing of good, for Christ comes to bless all good +wills, and, little by little, He will render them fruitful and of good +effect, provided we allow Him to govern them. + +"With regard to good desires, it is, indeed, marvellous that they should so +often come to nothing, and that such magnificent blossoms should produce so +little fruit. + +"He gives, however, a reason for this, which pleases me very much. + +"God knows, he says, why He permits so many good desires to require such +length of time and such severe effort to bring them to action, nay, more +than this, why sometimes they are never actuated at all. + +"Yet if there were no other profit from them than that resulting from the +mortification of a soul which loves God, that would be much. + +"In fact, we must not desire evil things at all; good things we must desire +only in moderation; but desire supremely, and in a limitless degree, that +one only divine Good, God Himself." + + +AGAINST THE MAKING OF RASH VOWS. + +A certain person of my acquaintance[1] having learnt on good authority that +Blessed Francis had in his early youth made a vow to say his rosary every +day, wished to imitate him in this work of piety, and yet did not like to +make the vow without first consulting him. + +He received the answer: "Beware of doing so." My friend replying: "Why do +you refuse to others the advice which you took for yourself in your youth?" +Blessed Francis continued: "The very word _youth_ decides the question, +because I made the vow at that time with less reflection, but now that I am +older I say to you, Do not do it. I do not tell you not to say your rosary; +on the contrary, I advise you as earnestly as I can, and even conjure you +not to allow a single day to pass without reciting that prayer, which is +most pleasing to God, and to the Blessed Virgin. But do it from a firm and +fixed purpose, rather than from a vow, so that if you should happen to omit +it either from weariness or forgetfulness, or any other circumstance, you +may not be perplexed by scruples, and run the risk of offending God. For it +is not enough to vow, we must also pay our vow, and that under pain of +sin, which is no small matter. I assure you that this vow has often been a +hindrance to me, and many a time I have been on the point of asking to be +dispensed, and set free from it, or at least of having it changed into some +other work of equal worth, which might interfere less with the discharge of +my duties." + +"But," rejoined this person, "is not what is done by vow more meritorious +than what is done only from a firm and settled purpose?" "I suspected that +was it," replied Blessed Francis; "in that case who do you wish should +profit by what you do?" "A fine question," cried the other, "my neighbour, +do you think? No, certainly, I want to gain it for myself." "Then there +is nothing more to be said," replied Blessed Francis. "I see I have been +making a mistake, I imagined, of course, that you wished to make your vow +to God, for God, and for His sake, and so by your vow to merit or gain +something for God. What! Are we to talk of our merits and graces as if He +needed them, and were not Himself absolute merit and infinite goodness and +perfection?" + +Our Blessed Father loved to see this bird beating its wings against the +bars of its cage. At last to let him fly, he said: 'But what then is merit, +but a work pleasing to God, and a work done in His grace, and by His help, +and for His love--a work which He rewards with increase of grace and +glory?' "Certainly," said the other, "that is how I, too, understood it." +"Well, then," replied he, "if you understand it thus, why do you contend +against your understanding and your conscience? Are we not meriting for +God, when we do a good work in a state of grace and for the love of God? +And ought not the love of God which seeks nothing but His interests, +that is to say, His glory, to be the chief end and final aim of all our +good works, rather than the reward we thereby merit, which is merely an +accessory?" + +"And of what use to God are the merits and good works of men?" continued +the other. "For one thing," replied he, "God thereby saves you from taking +a false step. You are standing on the brink of a precipice, and you have +your eyes shut. Let me give you a helping hand." + +"In very truth, no good works of ours, though done in a state of grace and +for the love of God, can increase His interior and essential glory. The +reason is that this glory, being God Himself and consequently infinite, +can neither be increased by our good actions nor diminished by our sins; +and it is in this sense that David says that God is God and has no need of +our goods.[2] It is not thus, however, with the exterior glory which is +rendered to Him by creatures, and for the obtaining of which He drew them +forth out of nothingness into existence. This is finite, by reason of its +subject, God's creature, and therefore can be increased by our good works +done in and for the love of God, or, on the other hand, diminished by our +evil actions, by which we dishonour God, and rob Him of His glory, though +only of glory which is exterior and outside of the divine nature. + +"Now that we do increase the exterior glory of God by our good works, done +as I have said, is evident from the testimony of the Apostle, when he calls +the man who is purified from sin by justifying grace: _A vessel unto honour +sanctified and profitable to the Lord prepared unto every good work._[3] + +"Indeed, it is the very fact that a work done in grace increases the +exterior glory of God, which makes it meritorious, His goodness being +pledged by His promise to glorify those who glorify Him, and to give the +crown of justice to those who fight the good fight, and who do, or endure, +anything for the glory of His name. This is why I said that we must merit +for God, that is to say, we should refer our actions to the glory of God, +and act out of love for Him. So we shall merit eternal life, provided +always we be free from mortal sin, since God is not pledged to give the +glories of heaven to any but those who shall labour in His grace. + +"If, on the other hand, we wish to merit for ourselves, that is to say, +if we positively intend that the whole aim of our labour be the reward of +grace, or glory, which we hope for: and if we do not, in performing our +good works seek first and chiefly the glory of God; then we really merit +nothing for ourselves, since we do nothing for God. The reason of this is +that there is so close a relationship between merit and reward (the two +Latin names for them, _meritum_ and _merces_, having the same root and +meaning), that one cannot exist without the other any more than a mountain +without a valley, or paternity without sonship. + +"You see now that in the theory you have unwittingly adopted you entirely +destroy the nature of true merit, and are in danger of being shipwrecked +on the same rock as those heretics of our day who hold that good works are +unprofitable for salvation. I am convinced, as you may well believe, that +you are as far from wishing to run the risk with them as you are from +sharing their belief. + +"Remember this, that in order to do a good work in true charity you must +not make your own interest your ultimate aim, but God's interest, which is +nothing else but His exterior glory. The more, too, that you think of God's +interest the more He will think of yours, and the less you trouble yourself +about reward, the greater will your reward be in heaven, because pure love, +never mercenary, looks only to the good of the beloved one, not to its own. +This is the end and aim of the sacred teaching that we must seek first the +_Kingdom of God_, that is to say, His glory, knowing assuredly that in +seeking this all good things will be added unto us. + +"He who only wishes to merit for himself does nothing for God and merits +nothing for himself: but, on the other hand, he who does everything for God +and for His honour merits much for himself. + +"In this game he who loses, wins; and he who thinks only of winning for +himself, plays a losing game. His good works are, as it were, hollow, and +weigh too lightly in the divine balance. He falls asleep on his pile; of +imaginary spiritual wealth, and awakening finds he has nothing in his +hands. He has laboured for himself, not for God, and therefore receives +his reward from himself and not from God. Like a moth, he singes his wings +in the flame of a merit which is truly imaginary, no work being really +meritorious except that which is done in a state of grace, and with God for +its last end." + +"All this," replied the person, "does not at all satisfy me on the point +which I brought forward, namely, as to whether work done by vow is not more +meritorious than that which is done without it, seeing that to the action +of the particular virtue which is vowed is added that of the virtue of +religion which is the vow." + +"Certainly," replied our Blessed Father, "as regards the question whether +it is more meritorious to say the Rosary by vow rather than of one's free +choice, it is undoubtedly, as you say, adding one act of virtue to another +to do so in discharge of one's vow, for is not prayer the highest of all +religious actions? Again, if I pray with devotion and fervour, am I not +adding to prayer another religious action, which is devotion? If I offer to +God this prayer, as incense, or a spiritual sacrifice, or as an oblation, +are not sacrifice and oblation two religious actions? Moreover, if by this +prayer I desire to praise God, is not divine praise a religious act? If in +praying I adore God, is not adoration one also? + +"And if I pray thus with devotion, adoration, sacrifice, oblation, and +praise, have we not here five acts of the virtue of religion added by me to +the sixth, which is prayer?" + +"But," rejoined the other, "the vow is more than all that." "If," replied +Blessed Francis, "you say that the act of making a vow is in itself more +than all these six together, you must really bring me some proof of its +being so." + +"I mean," said the other, "than each of these acts taken separately," +"That," returned our Blessed Father, "is not the opinion of the Angelical +Doctor,[4] who, when enumerating the eleven acts of religion, places the +making a vow only in the eighth rank, with seven preceding it, namely, +prayer, devotion, adoration, sacrifice, oblation, the paying of tithes, and +first-fruits; and three after it: the praise of God, the taking of lawful +oaths, and the adjuring of creatures in God. + +"It is not that the act of making a vow is not an excellent thing; but we +have no right to set it above other virtues which surpass it in excellence, +and other good works of greater worth. We must leave everything in its +place, going neither against the order of reason nor against that of divine +charity. A man who boasts too much of his noble birth provokes scrutiny +into the genuineness of his claim and risks its being disallowed." + +"All the same," persisted this person, "I maintain that a good work done by +vow is more meritorious than one done without it, charity, of course, being +taken for granted." "It is not enough," replied Francis, "to take charity +for granted. We must also suppose it to be greater in the man who does the +action with a vow than in the one who does it without; for if he who says +some particular prayer, because bound by vow, has less charity than he who +says the same without being so bound, he, doubtless, has, and you will not +deny it, less merit than the other, because merit is not in proportion to +the vow made, but to the charity which accompanies it, and without which it +has neither life nor value." + +"And supposing equal charity, vow, or no vow," resumed the person, "will +not the action done by vow have greater merit than the other?" "It will +only have the same eternal glory for its reward," replied our Blessed +Father, "in so far as it has the same amount of charity, and thus each will +receive the same reward of eternal life. + +"But as regards accidental glory, supposing that there were a special halo +for the vow which would add a fourth to the three of which schoolmen treat, +or, if you wish, that there should be as many special and accidental halos +of glory as there are kinds of virtue, they will be unequal in accidental +glory. + +"But then we should have to prove that this multiplicity of halos, or +accidental glories, exists, in addition to the three of which the schoolmen +speak. This I would ask you now to do, though I am doubtful as to the +result." + +"Of what then does it avail you," said the other, "to have made that vow +about which I have been consulting you?" + +"It renders me," replied our Blessed Father, "more careful, diligent, and +attentive in keeping my word to God, in binding myself closer to Him, +in strengthening me to keep my promise (for I do not deny that there is +something more stable in the vow than in mere purpose and resolution), in +keeping myself from the sin I might incur, if I should fail in what I have +vowed, in stimulating me to do better, and to make use of this means to +further my progress in the love of God," "You do not then pretend to merit +more on account of it?" said the other. "I leave all that to God," replied +Francis, "He knows the measure of grace which He gives, or wishes to give +me. I desire no more, and only as much as it may please Him to bestow on me +for His glory. Love is not eager to serve its own interests, it leaves the +care of them to its Beloved, who will know how to reward those who love Him +with a pure and disinterested love." + +I close this subject with two extracts from the writings of our Blessed +Father. In the first he says: "I do not like to hear people say, We must do +_this_, or _that_, because there is more merit in it. There is more merit +in saying, 'We must do all for the glory of God.' If we could serve God +without merit--which cannot be done--we ought to wish to do so. It is to be +feared that by always trying to discover what is most meritorious we may +miss our way, like hounds, which when the scent is crossed, easily lose it +altogether." + +[Footnote 1: Undoubtedly M. Camus himself. Note.--It is considered by +critics that M. Camus puts much of his own into the month of St. Francis +in this section.--[Ed.]] +[Footnote 2: Psal. xv. 2.] +[Footnote 3: 2 Tim. ii. 21.] +[Footnote 4: S. Thom. 2a, 2ae, Quaest, xxiii. art. vii.] + + +UPON THE PRO-PASSIONS OF OUR LORD. + +I have been asked whether our Lord Jesus Christ had passions. I cannot do +better than answer in the exact words of our Blessed Father, taken from his +Theotimus. He says: + +"Jesus Christ feared, desired, grieved, and rejoiced. He even wept, grew +pale, trembled, and sweated blood, although in Him these effects were not +caused by passions like to ours. Therefore the great St. Jerome, and, +following his example, the Schools of Theology, out of reverence for +the divine Person in whom they existed, do not dare to give the name of +passions to them, but call them reverently pro-passions, to show that in +our Lord these sensible emotions, though not passions, took the place +of passions. Moreover, He suffered nothing whatever on account of them, +excepting what seemed good to Him, governing and controlling them at His +will. This, we who are sinners do not do, for we suffer and groan under +these disorderly emotions, which, against our will, and to the great +prejudice of our spiritual peace and welfare, disturb our souls."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Book I. chap. 3.] + + +HIS VICTORY OVER THE PASSIONS OF LOVE AND ANGER. + +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.] + + +UPON OUR PASSIONS AND EMOTIONS. + +One day, at a time when I was writing a treatise on the subject of +the human passions--which treatise was afterwards published among my +Miscellaneous Works--I went to him to be enlightened upon several points. + +After having answered my questions, and satisfied my mind, he asked me: +"And what will you say about the affections?" I must confess that this +question surprised me, for though I am quite aware of the distinction +between the reasonable and the sensitive appetite, I had no idea that there +was such a difference between the passions and the affections, as he told +me existed. I imagined that when the passions were governed by reason, they +were called affections, but he explained to me that this was not so at +all. He said that our sensitive appetite was divided into two parts: the +concupiscent and the irascible.... + +The reasonable appetite is also divided, like the sensitive, into the +concupiscent and the irascible, but it makes use of the mind as its +instrument. + +The sensitive concupiscent appetite is again subdivided into six passions: +1, love; 2, hate; 3, desire; 4, aversion; 5, joy; 6, sadness. The irascible +comprises five passions: 1, anger; 2, hope; 3, despair; 4, fear; 5, +courage. + +The reasonable appetite, which is the will, has just as many affections, +and they bear the same names. There is, however, this difference between +the passions and the affections. We possess the passions in common with +the irrational brute creation, which, as we see, is moved by love, +hate, desire, aversion, joy, sadness, anger, hope, despair, fear, and +fearlessness, but without the faculty of reason to guide and regulate the +impulse of the senses. + +The carnal man, that is to say, he who allows himself to be carried away +by the impetuosity of his feelings, is, says the Psalmist: _compared to +senseless beasts and is become like to them_.[1] + +He, however who makes use of his reason, directs his affections uprightly +and well, employing them in the service of the reasonable appetite, only in +as far as they are guided by the light and teaching of natural reason. As +this, however, is faulty and liable to deceptions and illusions, mistakes +are often made which are called by philosophers disorders of mind. + +But when the regenerate, that is to say, the Christian who possesses both +grace and charity, makes use of the passions of his sensitive appetite, +as well as of the affections of his reason, for the glory of God, and for +the love of Him alone, this does not happen. Then he loves what he ought +to love, he hates what he ought to hate, he desires what God wills that +he should desire, he flies from what displeases God, he is saddened by +offences done against God, he rejoices and takes delight in the things +which are pleasing to God. Then his zeal fills him with anger and +indignation against all that detracts from the honour due to God; he hopes +in God and not in the creature, he fears nothing save to offend God, he is +fearless in God's service. Thus, the Psalmist, a man after God's own heart, +was able to say that his flesh, that is, the passions seated in his senses, +and his heart, namely, the affections rooted in his mind, _rejoiced in the +living God_.[2] + +The winds, which, as some of the ancients held, come forth from the caverns +and hollows of the earth, produce two very different effects upon the sea. +Without winds we cannot sail, and yet through them tempests and shipwrecks +happen. The passions and affections shut up in the two caverns of the +concupiscent and the irascible appetite are so many inward impulses which +urge us on to evil if they are rebellious, disorderly, and irregular, but +if directed by reason and charity, lead us into the haven of rest, the port +of life eternal. + +This is what our Blessed Father taught me, and if you desire any more +information on the subject you will find it in his _Treatise on the Love +of God_.[3] His words did indeed open my eyes! They were of the greatest +assistance to me in writing the book I alluded to. + +[Footnote 1: Psal. xlviii. 13.] +[Footnote 2: Psal. lxxxiii. 3.] +[Footnote 3: Book 1. chap. 5.] + + +HOW HE CAME TO WRITE HIS PHILOTHEA. + +There is something remarkable about the origin of this book, _An +Introduction to the Devout Life_, addressed by him to Philothea, that +is, to every soul which desires to love and serve God, and especially +to persons living in the world. One peculiarity about it is that it was +composed two years before its author had thought of writing any book at +all. He says on this subject in his preface: + +"It was by no choice or desire of mine that this _Introduction_ saw the +light. Some time ago, a soul[1] richly endowed with honourable and virtuous +qualities, having received from God the grace to aspire to the devout life, +desired my special assistance in the matter. I, on my part, having had +much to do with her in spiritual concerns, and having for a long time past +observed in her a great aptitude for such a life, took great pains in +instructing her. I not only led her through all the exercises suitable to +her condition and aspirations, but I also gave her some written notes, +to which she might refer when necessary. Later on she showed these to a +learned and devout Religious man, who, considering that they might be of +use to many, strongly urged me to publish them, which he easily persuaded +me to do, because his friendship had great power over me, and because I +valued his judgment very highly." + +I am able to give some further details. This soul richly endowed with +honourable and virtuous qualities, as our Blessed Father described her to +be, was a lady from Normandy of good family, who had married a gentleman of +note in Savoy. His estates were partly in the diocese of Geneva, where he +mostly resided, and he was nearly related to our Blessed Father. The lady, +who was of a most pious disposition, decided that she could not possibly +choose a better guide in the devout life than our Saint, her Bishop, and +her relative by marriage. + +Blessed Francis instructed her carefully both by word of mouth and also by +written lessons, which she not only kept and treasured up, but sorted and +arranged according to their various subjects, so as to be able to find in a +moment the counsel she wanted. + +For two years she went on steadily collecting and amassing these precious +documents as one by one he wrote them for her. At the end of that time, +owing to the disturbed state of the country, a great change came over her +life. Her husband served his Prince, the Duke of Savoy, in the war in +Piedmont, and was obliged to leave the management of all his affairs and +of his property to his wife, who was as skilful in such matters as she was +devout. + +The business of a great lawsuit in which her husband was concerned obliged +her to take up her residence for more than six months at Chambery, where +the senate or parliament was held. + +During her stay in this place she took for her director Père Jean Ferrier, +the Rector of the Jesuit College, and confessor to our Blessed Father. In +her difficulties she applied to this Father for advice, and he willingly +gave it. + +Sometimes it agreed with what Blessed Francis had said to her on similar +occasions, sometimes it differed. When it differed, in order to prove that +she was not speaking at random, and that she had something stronger than +her own memory to rely upon, she would show him some of the written +memoranda of which I have spoken. + +The good Priest, who was deeply versed in all spiritual matters, found so +much in them that was profitable and delightful, that on one occasion he +asked her if she had many more of the same sort. + +"So many, Father," she replied, "that if they were arranged in proper order +they would make a good-sized volume." + +The Father at once expressed his wish to see them all, and after having +slowly and thoughtfully perused them, begged as a further favour that he +might have several copies made of them. + +This being readily granted, he distributed the said copies among the +Fathers of the College, who fully appreciated the gift, and treasured it +most carefully. + +When this lady returned to Geneva, the Father Rector wrote a letter by her +to our Blessed Father, praising her many virtues and her business talents, +and begging him to continue to guide and counsel a soul so rich in all +Christian graces and heavenly dispositions. He then went on to extol in the +highest terms the written teaching with which he (Francis) had assisted +her. Our Blessed Father read Père Ferrier's first letter, he has told me, +without giving a thought to the matter of his own writings. But when this +was followed by letter upon letter urging and imploring him not to keep +such a treasure buried, but to allow other souls to be enlightened and +guided in the way of salvation by his teaching, our Blessed Father was +puzzled. He wrote to Père Ferrier saying that his present charge was so +onerous, and engrossing, that he had no leisure for writing, and moreover +that he had no talent for it, and could not imagine why people wanted him +to attempt to do so. Père Ferrier replied, saying that if his Lordship +did not publish the excellent instructions which he had given in writing +to this lady he would be keeping back truth unlawfully, depriving souls +of great advantages, and God of great glory. Our Blessed Father, much +surprised, showed the letter to the lady, begging her to explain it. She +replied that Père Ferrier had made the same request to her, entreating her +to have the memoranda, given her for her private direction, published. + +"What memoranda?" said Blessed Francis. "Oh! Father," replied the lady, "do +you not remember all those little written notes on various subjects which +you gave me to help my memory?" "And pray what could be done with those +notes?" he enquired. "Possibly you might make a sort of Almanack out of +them, a sentence for every day in the year." "An Almanack!" cried the lady. +"Why, Father, do you know that there are enough of them to fill a big book! +Little by little the pile has grown larger than you would think! Many +feathers make a pound, and many strokes of the pen make a book. You had +better see the papers, and judge for yourself. The Father Rector has had +them copied, and they make a thick volume." "What!" cried Blessed Francis, +"has the good Father really had the patience to read through all these poor +little compositions, put together for the use of an unenlightened woman! +You have done us both a great honour, indeed, by giving the learned doctor +such a trifle to amuse himself with, and by showing him these precious +productions of mine!" "Yet he values them so much," replied the lady, "that +he persists in assuring me that he has never come across any writings more +useful, or more edifying; and he goes on to say that this is the general +feeling of all the Fathers of his house, who are all eager to possess +copies. If you refuse to take the matter in hand, they will themselves see +that this light is not left much longer under a bushel." "Really," said our +Blessed Father, "it is amazing that people should want me to believe that +I have written a book without meaning it. However, let us examine these +precious pearls of which so much is thought." + +The lady then brought to him all the bundles of notes which she had shown +to Père Ferrier. Our Blessed Father was astonished to see how many there +were, and wondered at the care which the lady had taken to collect and +preserve them. He asked to be allowed to look them through again, and +begged Père Ferrier not to attempt to send to the press disconnected and +detached fragments which he had never for a moment thought of publishing. +He added, however, that if on examination he thought that what had been +written for the consolation of one soul might prove useful to others, he +would not fail to put them into good order, and to add what was necessary +to make them acceptable to those who might take the trouble to read them. + +This he did, and the result was the _Introduction_,[2] which we are +therefore justified in saying was composed two years before its author +thought of writing it! + +The simplicity, beauty, and usefulness of this book is well known. It +showed the possibility of living a holy life in any station, amid the +tumult of worldly cares, the seductions of prosperity, or the temptations +of poverty. It brought new light to devout souls, and encouragement to all, +whether high or low, who were desirous of finding and following Jesus. + +But, alas! there is a reverse side to the picture. I mean the +misrepresentations and calumnies which our Blessed Father had to endure +from those who pretended that the principles on which the book was +based were absurd, and that it inculcated a degree of devotion quite +impracticable in ordinary life. + +I can hardly speak calmly about this matter, and so content myself with +remarking that in spite of bitter opposition the book has already, in my +own time, passed through thirty editions in French, and has been translated +not only into Latin, but into Italian, Spanish, German, English, in short, +into most European languages. + +In order that you may not think, however, that I have exaggerated in what I +have said of the opposition which it excited, I will close the subject with +our Blessed Father's own calm and gentle words of lament. In his preface to +the _Treatise on the Love of God_, he says: + +"Three or four years afterwards I published the _Introduction to a Devout +Life_ upon the occasion, and in the manner which I have put down in the +preface thereof: regarding which I have nothing to say to you, dear reader, +save only that, though this little book has in general had a gracious and +kind acceptance, yes, even amongst the gravest Prelates and Doctors of the +Church, yet it has not escaped the rude censure of some who have not merely +blamed me but bitterly and publicly attacked me, because I tell Philothea +that dancing is an action indifferent in itself, and that for recreation's +sake one may make puns and jokes. Knowing the quality of these censors, I +praise their intention, which I think was good. I should have desired them, +however, to please to consider that the first proposition is drawn from +the common and true doctrine of the most holy and learned divines; that +I was writing for such as live in the world, and at court; that withal I +carefully point out the extreme dangers which are found in dancing; and +that as to the second proposition, it is not mine but St. Louis', that +admirable King, a Doctor worthy to be followed in the art of rightly +conducting courtiers to a devout life. For, I believe, if they had weighed +this, their charity and discretion would never have permitted their zeal, +how vigorous, and austere soever, to arm their indignation against me." + +[Footnote 1: Madame de Charmoisy, née Louise Dutchatel. [Ed.]] +[Footnote 2: The Saint added advice given by him to his mother and +others. [Ed.]] + + +UPON THE EXAMPLE OF THE SAINTS. + +God said to Moses: _Look, and make it_ (the tabernacle) _according to the +pattern that was shewn thee in the mount_,[1] and he did so. The ancient +philosopher was right when he described the art of imitating as the +mistress of all others, because it is by making copies that we learn how to +draw originals, "The way of precept is long," said the Stoics, "but example +makes it short and efficacious." Seneca, treating of the best method of +studying philosophy, says that it is to nourish and clothe ourselves with +the maxims of eminently philosophical minds. + +Blessed Francis always inculcated this practice of imitating others in +virtue. Hence his choice of spiritual books to be read and followed. With +respect to the Lives of the Saints, he advised the reading by preference of +those of holy men and women whose vocation has either been identical with +or very much like our own, in order that we may put before ourselves models +we can copy more closely. + +On one occasion, however, when I was telling him how I had taken him for my +pattern, and how closely I watched his conduct and ways, trying thereon to +model my own, and that he must be careful not to do anything less perfect, +for if he did, I should certainly imitate it as a most exalted virtue, he +said: "It is unfortunate that friendship, like love, should have its eyes +bandaged and hinder us from distinguishing between the defects and the good +qualities of the person to whom we are attached. What a pity it is that you +should force me to live among you as if I were in an enemy's country, and +that I have to be as suspicious of your eyes and ears as if you were spies! + +"Still I am glad that you have spoken to me as you have done, for a man +warned is a man armed, and I seem to hear a voice saying: 'Child of earth, +be on thy guard, and always walk circumspectly, since God and men are +watching thee!' Our enemies are constantly on the alert to find fault and +injure us by talking against us; our friends ought to observe us just as +narrowly but for a very different reason, in order, namely, that they may +be able to warn us of our failings, and kindly to help us to get rid of +them. + +"_The just man_, says the Psalmist, _shall correct me in mercy, and shall +reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head_. By the oil +of the sinner is meant flattery. Do not be offended with me if I assure you +that you are still more cruel to me, for you not only refuse to give me a +helping hand to aid me in getting rid of my faults, which you might do by +wholesome and charitable warnings, but you seem by your unfair copying of +my faults to wish, to make me an accomplice in your own wrong doings! + +"As for me, the affection God has given me for you is very different. My +jealousy for God's honour makes me long so ardently to see you walk in His +ways that your slightest failing is intolerable to me, and so far am I from +wishing to imitate your faults, that, if I seem to overlook them for a +time, I am, believe me, doing violence to myself, by waiting with patience +for a fitting opportunity to warn you of them." + +[Footnote 1: Exod. xxv. 40.] + + +UPON THE LOVE OF GOD'S WORD. + +Blessed Francis considered--as indeed I have already told you in another +place--that to love to listen to God, speaking to us, either by the living +voice of His Priests, or in pious books, which are often the voice of His +Saints, was one of the strongest marks of predestination. + +But he also insisted on the folly and uselessness of listening to, or +reading, without putting in practice the lessons so conveyed to us. This, +he said, was like beholding our faces in a glass, then going our way, and +forgetting what we are like. It is to learn the will of our Master and not +to take pains to fulfil His commands. + +In his Philothea he says: + +"Be devoted to the word of God, whether it comes to you in familiar +conversation with your spiritual friends, or in listening to sermons. +Always hear it with attention and reverence, profit by it as much as +possible, and never permit it to fall to the ground. Receive it into your +heart as a precious balm, following the example of the Blessed Virgin, who +kept carefully in her heart every word that was spoken in praise of her +divine Child. Do not forget that our Lord gathers up the words which we +speak to Him in our prayers, in proportion to the diligence with which we +gather up those He addresses to us by the mouth of His preachers." + +As regards spiritual reading, he recommended it most strongly as being food +for the soul, which we could always keep at hand, at all times and in all +places. He said that we might be where we could not always hear sermons, or +easily have recourse to a spiritual director and guide, and that our memory +might not always serve us to recall what we had been taught, either by +preachers, or by those who had instructed us specially and individually +in the way of salvation. He therefore desired those who aspired to lead a +devout life to provide themselves with pious books which would kindle in +their hearts the flame of divine love, and not to let a single day pass +without using them. He wished them to be read with great respect and +devotion, saying that we should regard them as missives "sent to us by the +Saints from heaven, to show us the way thither, and to give us courage to +persevere in it." + + +HIS LOVE OF RETIREMENT. + +It is well known that if our Blessed Father had lived to return from Lyons, +his intention was to retire from the world and its activities in which he +had so long taken a part, and to lead henceforth a purely contemplative +life. + +With this intention he had, some years before his death, caused a little +hermitage to be built in a most suitable and sequestered spot on the shores +of the beautiful lake of Annecy. This, however, he had had done quite +quietly without giving any idea of the real purpose for which it was +destined. + +On this same shore there is a Benedictine Monastery called Taloire, +easily accessible, as it is built on the slope of the Hill. Into it he +had introduced some salutary reforms, and he was on terms of the most +affectionate intimacy with the holy men who lived a hidden life in its +quiet seclusion. + +At the top of a neighbouring spur of this same mountain, on a gentle and +smooth rising ground, surrounded by rich vineyards and delightful shrubs of +various kinds, watered by clear streams, stood an old chapel, dedicated to +God, under the name of St. Germain, a Saint who had been one of the first +monks in the Monastery and who is greatly honoured in that part of the +country. Blessed Francis secretly gave the necessary funds for repairing +and decorating this chapel, and for building round it five or six cells +pleasantly enclosed. This hermitage, the Superior said, would be most +useful to his monks, enabling them to make their spiritual retreats in +quiet solitude. Indeed, from time to time he sent them there for this +purpose, in accordance with the rule of St. Benedict, which so greatly +recommends solitude, a rule practised to the letter in the hermitages of +Montserrat in Spain. + +Here, then, in this quiet and lonely retreat, it was the intention of +Blessed Francis to spend the last years of his life, and when he spoke upon +the subject in private to the good Prior, he expressed himself in these +words: "When I get to our hermitage I will serve God with my breviary, my +rosary, and my pen. Then I shall have plenty of happy and holy leisure, +which I can spend in putting on paper, for the glory of God and the +instruction of souls, thoughts which have been surging through my mind for +the last thirty years and which have been useful to me in my sermons, in my +instructions, and in my own private meditations. My memory is crowded with +these, but I hope, besides, that God will inspire me with others, and that +ideas will fall upon me from heaven thick and fast as the snowflakes which +in winter whiten all our mountains. Oh! who will give me the wings of a +dove, that I may fly to this holy resting place, and draw breath for a +little while beneath the shadow of the Cross? _I expect until my change +come!_"[1] + +[Footnote 1: Job xiv. 14.] + + +HOW HE SANCTIFIED HIS RECREATIONS. + +Blessed Francis, gentle and indulgent to others as regards recreation, was +severe towards himself in this matter. He never had a garden in either of +the two houses which he occupied during the time of his episcopate, and +only took walks when the presence of guests made them necessary, or when +his physician prescribed them for his health, for he obeyed him faithfully. + +But he acted otherwise with his friends and neighbours. He approved of +agreeable conversation after meals, never showing weariness, or making them +feel ill at ease. When I went to visit him, he took pains to amuse me after +the fatigue of preaching, either by a row on the beautiful lake of Annecy, +or by delightful walks in the fine gardens on its banks. He did not refuse +similar recreations which I offered him when he came to see me, but he +never asked for or sought them for himself. Although he found no fault +with those who talked enthusiastically of architecture, pictures, music, +gardening, botany, and the like, and who devoted themselves to these +studies or amusements, he desired that they should use them as mystical +ladders by means of which the soul may rise to God, and by his own example +he showed how this might be done. + +If any one pointed out to him rich orchards filled with well-grown fruit +trees: "We," he would say, "are the agriculture and husbandry of God." If +buildings of just proportion and symmetry: "We," he would say, "are the +edifice of God." If some magnificent and beautifully decorated church: "We +are the living temples of the living God. Why are not our souls as richly +adorned with virtues?" If flowers: "Ah! when will our flowers give fruits, +and, indeed, be themselves fruits of honour and integrity?" + +When there was any talk of budding and grafting, he would say: "When shall +we be rightly grafted? When shall we yield fruits both plentiful and well +flavoured to the heavenly Husbandman, who cultivates us with so much care +and toil?" When rare and exquisite pictures were shown to him: "There is +nothing," he would say, "so beautiful as the soul which is made to the +image and likeness of God." + +When he was taken into a garden, he would exclaim: "Ah! when will the +garden of our soul be planted with flowers and plants, well cultivated, +all in perfect order, sealed and shut away from all that can displease the +heavenly Gardener, who appeared under that form to Magdalen!" At the sight +of fountains: "When will fountains of living water spring up in our hearts +to life eternal? How long shall we continue to dig for ourselves miserable +cisterns, turning our backs upon the pure source of the water of life? Ah! +when shall we draw freely from the Saviour's fountains! When shall we bless +God for the rivers of Israel!" + +And so on with mountains, lakes, and rivers. He saw God in all things and +all things in God. + + +WHAT HE DREW FROM SOME LINES OF POETRY. + +One day we went together into the cell of a certain Carthusian monk, a man +whose rare beauty of mind, and extraordinary piety, drew many to visit him, +and in later days have taken his candlestick from under its bushel and set +it up on high as one of the lights of the French Church. + +He had written in capital letters round the walls of his cell these two +beautiful lines of an old Latin poet: + + _Tu mihi curarum requies, tu nocte vel atra + Lumen, et in solis tu mihi turba locis._[1] + + Thou art my rest in grief and care, + My light in blackest gloom; + In solitude which thou dost share, + For crowds there is no room. + +Our Blessed Father read and re-read these lines several times, thinking +them so beautiful that he wished to engrave them on his memory, believing +that they had been written by some Christian poet, perhaps Prudentius. +Finding, however, that they were composedly a pagan, and on a profane +subject, he said it was indeed a pity that so brilliant a burst of light +should only have flashed out from the gross darkness of heathenism. +"However," he continued, "this good Father has made the vessels of the +Egyptians into a tabernacle, lining it with the steel mirrors which had +lent themselves to feminine vanity. Thus it is that to the pure all +things are pure. This, indeed, is quite a different thing from the way of +acting of those who make light of the holy words of Scripture, using them +carelessly and even jestingly in idle conversation, a practice intolerable +among Christians who profess to reverence these oracles of salvation." + +We then began to analyse these beautiful lines, taking them in the sense in +which the holy monk had taken them when he wrote them on his walls, namely, +as addressed to God. Our Blessed Father said that God alone was the repose +of those who had quitted the world and its cares to listen to His voice +speaking to their hearts in solitude, and that without this attentive +hearkening, solitude would be a long martyrdom, and a source of anxiety in +place of a centre of tranquillity. + +At the same time he said that those who were burdened with Martha's busy +anxieties would not fail to enjoy in the very midst of their hearts the +deep peace of Mary's better part, provided they carried all their cares to +God. + +We saw afterwards another inscription containing these words of the +Psalmist: + + _This is my rest for ever and ever: + Here will I dwell for I have chosen it._[2] + +"It is in God," said our Blessed Father, "rather than in a cell, that we +should choose our abode, never to change it. Oh! happy and blessed are they +who dwell in that house, which is not only the house of the Lord, but the +Lord Himself. Happy, indeed, for they shall praise Him for ever and ever." + +Then we came upon another inscription, bearing these words: _One thing I +have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may see the delight +of the Lord and visit His Temple._[3] + +"This true dwelling of the Lord," said he, "is His holy will; which is +signified by the word delight; i.e., pleasure. Since in God there is no +pleasure that is not good, what difference can there be between the _good +pleasure_ and the _will_ of God? The will of God never tends but towards +goodness." + +We then went back to the second part of the Latin distich: _Tu nocte vel +atra, lumen: my light in blackest gloom._ + +"Yes, truly," he said, "Jesus born in Bethlehem brought a glorious day-dawn +into the midst of night; and by His Incarnation did He not come to +enlighten those who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death? He +is, indeed, our Light and our Salvation; when we walk through the valley of +the shadow of death we need fear nothing if He is at our side. He is the +Light of the world; He dwells in light inaccessible, light that no darkness +can overtake. He alone can lighten our darkness." + +Upon the last clause of the beautiful verse: + + _Et in solis tu mihi turba locis. + In solitude which thou dost share, For crowds there is no room._ + +he said: "Yes, communion with God in solitude is worth a thousandfold +the pleasantest converse with the gay crowds who throng the doors of the +wealthy; for the rich man can only maintain his splendour by dint of much +toil, and is worn out by his cares and by the importunity of others. +Miserable, indeed, are riches acquired at so great cost, retained with so +much trouble, and yet lost with such painful regret." + +This was one of his favourite sayings: "We must find our pleasure in +ourselves when we are alone, and in our neighbour as in ourselves when we +are in his company. Yet, wherever we may be, we must primarily find our +pleasure in God alone, who is the maker of both solitude and society. He +who does otherwise will find all places wearisome and unsatisfying; for +solitude without God is death, and the society of men without God is more +harmful than desirable. Wherever we may be, if God is there, all is well: +where He is not, nothing is well: without Him we can do nothing that has +any worth." + +[Footnote 1: Tibul iv., Eleg xiii. ii. 12.] +[Footnote 2: Psal. cxxxi. 14.] +[Footnote 3: Psal. xxvi. 4.] + + +UPON BEING CONTENT WITH OUR POSITION IN LIFE. + +Perhaps there is nothing of which men are more apt to complain than of +their own condition in life. This temptation to discontent and unhappiness +is a favourite device of the enemy of souls. The holy Bishop used to say: +"Away with such thoughts! Do not sow wishes in other people's gardens; do +not desire to be what you are not, but rather try most earnestly to be the +best of what you are. Try with all your might to perfect yourself in the +state in which God has placed you, and bear manfully whatever crosses, +heavy or light, may be laid upon your shoulders. Believe me, this is the +fundamental principle of the spiritual life; and yet, of all principles +it is the least well understood. Every one follows the bent of his own +taste and desires; very few find their sole happiness in doing their duty +according to the pleasure of our Lord. What is the use of building castles +in Spain, when we have to live in France! + +"This, as you remember, is old teaching of mine, and by this time you ought +to have mastered it thoroughly." + + +UPON SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND CONTENTEDNESS. + +There is one kind of self-sufficiency which is blameworthy and another +which is laudable. The former is a form of pride and vanity, and those whom +it dominates are termed conceited. Holy Scripture says of them that they +trust in themselves. This vanity is so absurd that it seems more deserving +of contempt and ridicule than of grave blame. + +But to turn to good and rational contentedness. Of it the ancient stoic +said that what is sufficient is always at our command, and that what we +labour for is superfluous; and again, that if we live according to the laws +of nature we shall never be poor, but if we want to live according to our +fancies we shall never be rich. + +To be contented with what really suffices, and to persuade ourselves that +what is more than this Is either evil or leading to evil, is the true means +of leading a tranquil, and therefore a happy, life. + +This is not only my own opinion, but it is also that of our Blessed Father, +who congratulates a pious soul on being contented with the sufficiency she +had. "God be praised for your contentment with the sufficiency which He has +given you. Persevere in thanking Him for it. It is, indeed, the beatitude +of this poor earthly life to be contented with what is sufficient, because +those who are not contented when they have enough will never be contented, +how much soever they may acquire. In the words of your book--since you call +it your book--Nothing will ever content those who are not contented when +they have enough." + + +THE REVERENCE OF BLESSED FRANCIS FOR THE SICK. + +If the poor, by reason of their poverty, are members of Jesus Christ, the +sick are also such by reason of their sickness. Our Saviour Himself has +told us so: _I was sick, and you visited Me_.[1] For if the great Apostle +St. Paul said that with the weak he was weak,[2] how much more the divine +Exemplar, whom he but copied? + +Our Blessed Father expressed as follows his feelings of respect and honour +towards a sick person to whom he was writing. "While I think of you sick +and suffering in your bed, I regard you with special reverence, and as +worthy of being singularly honoured as a creature visited by God, clothed +in His apparel, His favoured spouse. When our Lord was on the Cross He was +proclaimed King even by His enemies, and souls who are bearing the cross +(of suffering) are declared to be queens. Do you know why the angels envy +us? Assuredly, because we can suffer for our Lord, whilst they have never +suffered anything for His sake. St. Paul, who had been raised to heaven and +had tasted the joys of Paradise, considered himself happy only because of +his infirmities, and of his bearing the Cross of our Lord." + +Farther on he entreats her, as a person signed with the Cross, and a sharer +in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, to commend to God, though in an agony +of pain, an affair of much importance which concerned the glory of God. He +held that in a condition such as hers was, prayer would be more readily +heard, just as our Saviour, praying fervently on the Cross, was heard for +His reverence. The Psalmist was of the same opinion, saying that God heard +him willingly when he cried to Him in the midst of his tribulation, and +that it was in his afflictions that God was nearest to him. + +Our Blessed Father believed that prayers offered by those who are in +suffering, though they be short, are more efficacious than any others. He +says: "I entreat you to be so kind as to recommend to God a good work which +I greatly desire to see accomplished, and especially to pray about it when +you are suffering most acutely: for then it is that your prayers, however +short, if they are heartfelt, will be infinitely well received. Ask God at +that time also for the virtues which you need the most." + +[Footnote 1: Matt. xxv. 36.] +[Footnote 2: Cor. xi. 29.] + + +UPON THE CARE OF THE SICK. + +One day we went together to visit a very aged lady in her last illness. Her +piety, which was of no ordinary kind, made her look forward calmly to the +approach of death, for which she had prepared by the reception of the +Sacraments of Penance and of the Blessed Eucharist. She only awaited the +visit of her doctor before asking for that of Extreme Unction. + +All her worldly affairs were in perfect order, and but one thing troubled +her, namely, that her children who had all assembled round her, on hearing +of her danger, were too indefatigable in their attendance upon her, and +this, as she thought, to the detriment of their own health. Our Blessed +Father wishing to comfort her, said tenderly: "Do you know that I, on the +contrary, when I am ill, am never so happy as when I see my relatives and +servants all busy about me, tiring themselves out on my behalf. You are +astonished, and ask me why I feel like this. Well, it is because I know +that God will repay them generously for all these services. For if a cup of +cold water given to a poor man in the love and for the love of God receives +such a reward as eternal life; if our least labours undertaken for the love +of God work in us the weight of a supreme glory, why should we pity those +whom we see thus occupied, since we are not ill-disposed towards them, nor +envious of their advantages? _For unto you it is given_, said St. Paul to +the christians of his day, _not only to believe in Christ, but also to +suffer for Him_. + +"The reapers and vintagers are never happier than when they are heavily +laden, because that proves the harvest, or the vintage, to have been +plentiful. In truth, if those who wait on us, whether in health or in +sickness, are only considering us, and not God, and are only seeking to +please us, they make so bad a use of their toil that it is right they +should suffer for it. He who serves the prophet for the love of the prophet +shall receive the reward of the prophet. But, if they serve us for the +love of God they are more to be envied than pitied; for he who serves the +prophet in consideration of Him who sends him shall receive the reward of +God, a reward which passes all imagination, which is beyond price, and +which no words can express." + +In his visiting of the sick when on their death-bed our Blessed Father was +truly an angel of peace and consolation. He treated the sick person with +the utmost sweetness and gentleness, speaking from time to time a few words +suited to his condition and frame of mind, sometimes uttering very short +ejaculatory prayers, or aspirations for him, sometimes leading the sufferer +to utter them himself, either audibly, or, if speech was painful to him, +secretly in his heart; and then allowing him to struggle undisturbed with +the mortal pains which were assailing him. + +He could not bear to see the dying tormented with long exhortations. That +was not the time, he would say, for preaching, or even for long prayers; +all that was needed was to keep the soul sustained in the atmosphere of the +divine will, which was to be its eternal element in heaven, to keep it up, +I say, by short beatings of the wings, like birds, who in this way save +themselves from falling to the earth. + + +UPON SPEAKING WELL OF THE DEAD. + +When any of his friends or relatives died he never tired of speaking well +of them nor of recommending their souls to the prayers of others. He used +to say: "We do not remember our dead, our dear ones who have left us, +nearly enough; and the proof that we do not remember them enough is that we +speak of them too seldom. We turn away conversation from that subject as +though it were a painful one; we let the dead bury their dead, their memory +die out in us with the sound of the funeral knell, seeming to forget that +a friendship which can end even with death can never have been a true one. +Holy Scripture itself tells us that true charity, that is, divine and +supernatural love, is stronger than death! It seems to me that as a burning +coal not only remains alive but burns more intensely when buried under +ashes, so sincere and pure love ought to be made stronger by death, and to +impel us to more fervent prayers for our deceased friends and relatives +than to supplications for those who are yet living. + +"For thus we look upon the dead more absolutely as in God, since, having +died in Him, as we piously believe, they rest upon the bosom of His mercy. +Then, praise can no longer be suspected of flattery, and, as it is a kind +of impiety to tear to pieces the reputation of the dead, like wild beasts +digging up a corpse to devour it; so it is a mark of piety to rehearse and +extol the good qualities of the departed, since our doing so incites us to +imitate them: nothing affecting us so deeply and so strongly as the example +of those with whom we come in close and frequent contact." + +In order to encourage people to pray for the dead he used to represent +to them that in this one single work of mercy all the other thirteen are +included, explaining his statement in the following manner. "Are we not," +he would say, "in some sort visiting the sick when we obtain by our prayers +relief or refreshment for the poor Souls in purgatory? + +"Are we not giving drink to the thirsty and feeding the hungry when we +bestow the cool, refreshing dew of our prayers upon those who, plunged in +the midst of its burning flames, are all athirst and hungering for the +vision of God? When we help on their deliverance by the means which Faith +suggests, are we not most truly ransoming prisoners? Are we not clothing +the naked when we procure for souls a garment of light, the light of glory? + +"Is it not an act of the most princely hospitality to obtain for them an +entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem, and to make them fellow-citizens with +the saints and servants of God in the eternal Zion? + +"Then, as regards the spiritual works of mercy. Is it not the most splendid +thing imaginable to counsel the doubtful, to convert the sinner, to +forgive injuries, to bear wrongs patiently? And yet, what is the greatest +consolation we can give to the afflicted in this life compared to the +solace our prayers bring to the poor souls who are in such grievous +suffering?" + + +UPON DEATH. + +Strictly speaking, the sojourn which we make on earth, in the days of our +flesh and which we call life, is rather death than life, since "every +moment leads us from the cradle to the grave." + +This made an ancient philosopher say that we are dying every day of our +lives, that every day some portion of our being falls away, and that what +we call life is truly death.[1] + +Hence the beautiful saying of the wise woman of Thecua: _We all die, and +like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth._[2] + +Nature has imprinted in the hearts of all men a horror of death. Our +Saviour, even, taking upon Himself our flesh and making Himself like to His +brethren, sin only excepted, would not be exempted from this infirmity, +although He knew that the passage into another world would set Him free +from all miseries and transport Him into a glory which He already possessed +as regarded His soul. Seneca says that death ought not to be considered an +evil when it has been preceded by a good life. + +What makes death so formidable is that which follows upon it. We have, +however, the shield of a most blessed hope to protect us against the +terrors that arise from fear of the divine judgments. This hope makes us +put our trust, not in our own virtue, but solely in the mercy of God, and +assures us that those who trust in His goodness are never confounded. + +But, you say, I have committed many faults. True, but who is so foolish as +to think that he can commit more sins than God can pardon? Who would dare +to compare the greatness of his guilt with the immensity of that infinite +mercy which drowns his sins in the depths of the sea of oblivion each time +we repent of them for love of Him? It belongs only to those who despair +like Cain to say that their sin is so great that there is no pardon for +them,[3] for _with God there is mercy and plentiful redemption, and He +shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities_.[4] + +Listen to the words of holy consolation which were addressed by our Blessed +Father to a soul encompassed and assaulted by the terrors of death and of +the judgment to follow. They are to be found in one of his letters. "Yes," +he says, "death is hideous indeed, that is most true, but the life which is +beyond, and which the mercy of God will give to us, is much to be desired. +There must be no mistrust in your mind, for, miserable though we may be, +we are not half so miserable as God is merciful to those who desire to +love Him, and have fixed their hope in Him. When St. Charles Borromeo was +at the point of death he had the crucifix brought to him, that by the +contemplation of his Saviour's death he might soften the bitterness of +his last agony. The best remedy of all against an unreasonable dread is +meditation upon the death of Him who is our life; we should never think of +our own death without going on to reflect upon that of Christ." + +[Footnote 1: Senec. Epist. 24.] +[Footnote 2: Kings xiv. 14.] +[Footnote 3: Gen. iv. 13.] +[Footnote 4: Psal. cxxix. 7-8.] + + +UPON WISHING TO DIE. + +You ask me if we are permitted to wish for death rather than offend God any +more? I will tell you a thought which I believe was suggested to me by our +Blessed Father, but I cannot distinctly remember on what occasion. + +"It is always dangerous to wish for death, because this desire, generally +speaking, is only to be met with in those who have arrived at a very high +pitch of perfection, which we dare not think we have reached, or else in +persons of a morose and melancholy temperament, and but seldom in those of +ordinary disposition like ourselves." + +It is alleged that David, St. Paul, and other saints expressed their +longing to be delivered from the burden of this body so that they might +appear before God and be satisfied with the vision of His glory. But we +must remember that it would be presumptuous to speak the language of +Saints, not having their sanctity, and to imagine that we had it would +be inexcusable vanity. To entertain such a wish because of sadness, +disappointment, or dejection is akin to despair. + +But, you say, it is that you may no longer offend God. This, no doubt, +shows great hatred of sin, but the Saints longed for death, more that +they might glorify God. Whatever we may pretend, I believe it to be very +difficult to have only this one end in view, in our desire to die. Usually +it will be found that we are simply discontented with life. To get to +heaven we must not only not sin, but we must do good. If we refrain from +sin we shall escape punishment, but more is required to deserve heaven. + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +There are some who imagine that St. Paul desired to die in order only that +he might sin no more when he said that he felt in himself a contradiction +between the law of his senses and of his reason; and, feeling this, cried +out: _Oh! unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this +death?_[1] These people, therefore, as though they were so many little +Apostles, when they are, by some trifle, goaded to impatience, instantly +say that they desire to die, and pretend that their only wish is to be in +a condition in which they cannot possibly offend God. This is, indeed, to +cover up mere impatience and irritation with a fine cloak! But what is +still worse, it is to wrench and distort the words of the Apostle and apply +them in a sense of which he never thought. Our Blessed Father, in one of +his letters, gives an explanation of this passage which is so clear and so +excellent that I am sure if will be useful to you. He speaks thus: "_Oh, +unhappy man that I am_, said the great Apostle, _who shall deliver me from +the body of this death?_ He felt within himself, as it were, an armed host +of ill humours, antipathies, bad habits, and natural inclinations which +conspired to bring about his spiritual death; and because he fears them he +declares that he hates them, and because he hates them he cannot support +them without pain, and his grief makes him burst out into the exclamation +which he himself answers in these words: _The grace of God by Jesus +Christ_. This will deliver him not from the death of the body with its +terrors, not from the last combat, but from defeat in the struggle, and +will preserve him from being overcome. + +"You see how far the Apostle is from invoking death, although elsewhere +he desires to be set free from the prison of the body that he may be with +Jesus Christ. He calls the mass of temptations which urge and incite him +to sin a body of death, sin being the true death of the soul. Grace is the +death of this death and the devourer of this abortion of hell, for where +sin abounded grace superabounds. + +"Grace, which has been merited for us by Jesus Christ our Saviour, to whom +be honour and glory for ever and ever." + +[Footnote 1: Rom. vii. 24.] + + +UPON THE DESIRE OF HEAVEN. + +Here is a little village story to show how often true and solid piety is to +be found among the lowly and ignorant, of whom the world thinks not at all. +I had it from the lips of our Blessed Father, who loved to tell it. + +While visiting his diocese, passing through a little country town, he was +told that a well-to-do inhabitant was very ill and desired to see him, and +to receive his blessing before he died. Our Blessed Father hastened to his +bedside and found him at the point of death, yet in full possession of all +his faculties. When he saw the Bishop the good farmer exclaimed: "Oh! my +Lord, I thank God for permitting me to receive your blessing before I die." + +Then the room being cleared of all his relations and friends, and he being +left quite alone with the holy Prelate, he made his confession and received +absolution. His next question was, "My Lord, shall I die?" The Bishop, +unwilling to alarm him unnecessarily, answered quietly and reassuringly +that he had seen people far more ill than he recover, but that he must +place all his trust in God, the Master of life and death, who knows the +number of our days, which cannot be even one more than he has decreed. + +"But, my Lord," returned the man, "do you really yourself think that I +shall die?" "My son," replied the good Prelate, "a physician could answer +that question better than I can. All I can tell you is that I know your +soul to be just now in a very excellent state of preparation for death, and +that perhaps were you summoned at any other time, you might not be so fit +to go. The best thing you can do is to put aside all desire of living and +all care about the matter, and to abandon yourself wholly to the providence +and mercy of God, that He may do with you according to His good pleasure, +which will be undoubtedly that very thing which is best for you." + +"Oh, my Lord," cried the sick man, "it is not because I fear to die that +I ask you this, but rather because I fear I shall not die, for I can't +reconcile myself to the idea of recovering from this sickness." + +Francis was greatly surprised at hearing him speak in this manner, for +he knew that a longing to die is generally either a grace given to very +perfect souls such as David, Elias, St. Paul, and the like; or, on the +contrary, in sinners a prelude to despair, or an outcome of melancholy. + +He therefore asked the man if he would really be sorry to live, and, if so, +why such disgust for life, the love of which is natural in all men. + +"My Lord," answered the good man, "this world appears to me to be of so +small account that I cannot think why so many people care for nothing +beyond what it has to give. If God had not commanded us to remain here +below until He calls us by death I should have quitted it long ago." + +The Bishop, imagining that the man had something on his mind, or that +the bodily pain he was enduring was too much for him, asked him what his +trouble was--perhaps something about money? + +"Not at all," replied he, "I have up to the present time, and I am seventy, +enjoyed excellent health, and have abundant means. Indeed, I do not, thank +God, know what poverty is." + +Francis questioned him as to his wife and children, asking him if any one +of them was an anxiety to him. "They are each one a comfort and a delight +to me," he answered, "Indeed, if I had any regret in quitting this world it +would be that I shall have to part from them." + +More and more surprised, and unable to understand the man's distaste for +life, the Bishop said: "Then, my brother, why do you so long for death?" + +"My Lord," replied he, "it is because I have heard in sermons so much about +the joys of Paradise that this world seems to me a mere prison." Then, +speaking out of the fullness of his heart, and giving vent to his thoughts, +he uttered marvellous words concerning the Vision of God in Heaven, and the +love kindled by it in the souls of the blessed. + +He entered into so many details respecting the rapturous joys of Eternity +that the good Bishop shed tears of delight, feeling that the good man +had been taught by God in these things, and that flesh and blood had not +revealed them to him, but the Holy Spirit. + +After this, descending from those high and heavenly speculations, the poor +farmer depicted the grandeur, the wealth, and the choicest pleasures of the +world in their true colours, showing their intrinsic vileness, and how in +reality they are vanity and vexation of spirit, so as to inspire Blessed +Francis himself with increased contempt for them. The Saint, nevertheless, +did no more than silently acquiesce in the good man's feelings, and to calm +the excitement under which he saw that he was labouring, desired him to +make acts of resignation, and indifference as to living or dying. He told +him to follow the example set by St. Paul, and by St. Martin, and to make +his own the words of the Psalmist: _For what have I in heaven? And besides +Thee what do I desire upon earth?_[1] + +A few hours later, having received Extreme Unction from the hands of the +holy Bishop, the man quietly, and apparently without suffering, passed from +this world. So likewise may we when our last hour comes fall gently asleep. +_Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!_ + +Another story told me by our Blessed Father relates to himself and a man +with whom he came in contact. + +When he was at Paris in the year 1619, this gentleman, who was not only +rich in this world's goods but also in piety and charity, came to consult +him on matters of conscience, and began thus: "Father, I am much afraid +that I shall not save my soul, and therefore I have come to you to beg you +to put me in the right way." + +The Bishop asked him what was the cause of this fear. He answered: "My +being too rich. You know Scripture makes the salvation of the rich a matter +of such difficulty that, in my case, I fear it is an impossibility." + +Francis, thinking that perhaps he had made his money dishonestly, and that +on that account his conscience was now pricking him, questioned him as to +this. + +"Not at all," he answered, "My parents, who were excellent people, left +me no ill-gotten goods, and what I have added to my inheritance has been +amassed by my own frugality and honest work, God preserve me from the sin +of appropriating what belongs to my neighbour! No, my conscience does not +reproach me in that respect." + +"Well, then," said the Bishop, "have you made a bad use of this wealth?" + +"I live," he replied, "in such a manner as becomes my rank and position, +but I am afraid that I do not give enough to the poor, and you know that we +shall be one day judged on this point." + +"Have you any children?" asked Francis. + +"Yes," he replied; "but they are all well provided for, and can easily do +without me." + +"Really," said the Bishop, "I do not see whence your scruples can arise; +you are the first man I have ever met who has complained to me of having +too much money; most people never have enough." + +It was easy to set this good soul at rest, so docile was he in following +the Bishop's advice. The latter told me afterwards that he found upon +enquiry that the man had formerly held high appointments, discharging his +duties in them most faithfully, but had retired from all in order to devote +himself to works of piety and mercy. Moreover, he passed all his time in +churches or hospitals, or in the houses of the uncomplaining poor, upon +whom he spent more than half his income. By his will, after his many pious +legacies were paid, it was found that our Lord Himself was his real heir, +for he gave to the town hospital a sum of money equal to that which was +divided among his children. I may add that a life so holy and devoted was +crowned by a most happy death. Truly, _Blessed are the merciful, for they +shall obtain mercy!_ + +[Footnote 1: Psal. lxxii. 25.] + + +WHAT IT IS TO DIE IN GOD. + +On one occasion Blessed Francis was asked what it was to die in God; what +was the meaning of those words: _Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, +that they may rest from their labours, for their works follow them._[1] + +He replied that to die in God was to die in the grace of God, because God +and His grace are as inseparable as the sun and its rays. He was asked +again, if to die in God meant to die while in habitual grace, or to die in +the exercise of charity, that is to say, whilst impelled by actual grace. +He answered that in order to be saved it was enough to die in habitual or +sanctifying grace, that is to say, in habitual charity; seeing that those +who die in this state, as for instance newly-baptized infants, though they +may never have performed a single act of charity, obtain Paradise by right +of inheritance, habitual charity making them children of God by adoption. +Those, however, who die, not only in the holy and supernatural state of +habitual charity, but whilst actually engaged in works of charity, come +into the possession of heaven by a double title, that of inheritance and +that of reward; therefore is it written that _their works follow them_. +The crown of justice is promised by the just Judge to those who shall have +fought a good fight and finished their course with perseverance, even to +the end. + +Going on to explain what is meant by man's dying in actual grace, he +said that it was to die while making acts of lively faith and hope, of +contrition, resignation, and conformity to the will of God. He added these +words, which have always remained deeply impressed on my mind: "Although +God is all-powerful, it is impossible for Him to condemn to eternal +perdition a soul whose will, at the moment of its leaving the body, is +subject to, and united with, His own." + +[Footnote 1: Apoc. xiv. 13.] + + +UPON LENGTH OF LIFE. + +Judging from outward appearances, from the vigour of his frame, from his +sound constitution, and from the temperate simplicity of his manner of +life, it seemed probable that Blessed Francis would live to an advanced +age. + +One day I said as much to him, he being at that time about forty-two or +forty-three years old. "Ah!" he replied with a sigh, "the longest life is +not always the best. The best is that which has been best spent in the +service of God," adding these words of David: _Woe is me that my sojourning +is prolonged; I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar, my soul hath +been long a sojourner._[1] I thought he was secretly grieving over his +banishment from his See, his beloved Geneva (he always called it thus), +wrapped in the darkness of error, and I quoted to him the words: _Upon the +rivers of Babylon there we sat, and wept._[2] + +"Oh! no," he answered, "it is not that exile which troubles me. I am only +too well off in our city of refuge, this dear Annecy. I meant the exile of +this life on earth. As long as we are here below are we not exiled from +God? _While we are in the body we are absent from the Lord._[3] _Unhappy +man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace +of God by Jesus Christ._"[4] + +I ventured in reply to remind him how much he had to make his life happy: +how his friends esteemed him, how even the very enemies of religion +honoured him, how all who came in contact with him delighted in his +society. + +"All that," he answered, "is beneath contempt. Those who had sung Hosanna +to the Son of God three days later cried out _Crucifige_. Such things +do not make my life any dearer to me. If I were told that I should live +as long again as I have already done, and that without pain, without +law-suits, without trouble, or inconveniences of any kind, but with all +the content and prosperity men desire in life, I should be sadly disturbed +in mind! Of what small account are not the things of time to him who is +looking forward to a blessed Eternity! I have always praised the words of +the Blessed Ignatius de Loyola, 'Oh! how vile and mean earth appears to me +when I meditate upon and look up to heaven.'" + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxix.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm cxxxvi. 1.] +[Footnote 3: Cor. v. 6.] +[Footnote 4: Rom. vii. 24-35.] + + +UPON PURGATORY. + +Concerning Purgatory, St. Francis used to say that in the controversy +with Protestants there was no point on which the Church could support her +doctrine by so many proofs, drawn both from the Scriptures and from the +Fathers and Councils, as on this. He blamed those who oppose the doctrine +for their lack of piety towards the dead. On the other hand, he reproved +those Catholic preachers who, when speaking of Purgatory and of the pains +and torments suffered there by the holy souls, do not at the same time +enlarge upon their perfect love of God, and consequent entire satisfaction +in the accomplishment of His will, with which their own will is so +indissolubly united, that they cannot possibly feel the slightest movement +of impatience or irritation. Nor can they desire to be anywhere but where +they are, were it even till the consummation of all things, if such should +be God's good pleasure. + +On this subject he recommended the careful study of the _Treatise on +Purgatory_, written by blessed Catherine of Genoa. By his advice I read the +book with attention, and have often re-read it, always with fresh relish +and profit. I have even invited Protestants to read if, and they have been +quite satisfied by it. One young convert admitted that had he seen this +Treatise before his conversion it would have helped him more than all the +discussions into which the subject had led him. + +St. Francis was of opinion that the thought of Purgatory ought rather to +comfort than to terrify. "The majority of those," he used to say, "who +dread Purgatory do so in view of their own interests, and out of self-love, +rather than for God's interests. The cause of this is that those who preach +on the subject are in the habit of depicting only the pains of that prison, +and say not a word on the joy and peace which the souls therein detained +enjoy. It is true that the torments of Purgatory are so great that the most +acute sufferings of this life cannot be compared with them; but, then, on +the other hand, the inward satisfaction of the sufferers is such that no +amount of earthly prosperity or contentment can equal it. 1°. The souls who +are waiting there enjoy a continual union with God. 2°. Their wills are in +perfect subjection to His will; or, to speak more correctly, their wills +are so absolutely transformed into the will of God that they cannot will +anything but what He wills. 3°. If Paradise were open to them, they would +rather cast themselves down into hell than appear before God stained and +denied as they see themselves still to be. 4°. They accept their Purgatory +lovingly and willingly, because it is the good pleasure of God. 5°. They +wish to be there, in the manner in which it pleases God that they should +be, and for as long as He wills. 6°. They cannot sin. 7°. They cannot feel +the slightest movement of impatience. 8°. Nor be guilty of the smallest +imperfection. 9°. They love God more than themselves and more than any +other creature, and with a perfect, pure, and disinterested love, 10°. They +are in Purgatory consoled by the angels. 11°. They are secure of their +salvation. 12°. They are in a state of hope, which cannot but be realized. +13°. Their grief is holy and calm. 14°. In short, if Purgatory is a species +of hell as regards suffering, it is a species of Paradise as regards +charity. The charity which quickens those holy souls is stronger than +death, more powerful than hell; its lamps are all of fire and flame. +Neither servile fear nor mercenary hope has any part in their pure +affection. Purgatory is a happy state, more to be desired than dreaded, +for all its flames are flames of love and sweetness. Yet still it is to +be dreaded, since it delays the end of all perfection, which consists in +seeing God, and therefore fully loving Him, and by this sight and by this +love praising and glorifying Him through all eternity." + + +UPON PENANCE. + +He compared penance to an almond tree, not only in allusion to the word +_amendment_ and the expression, amend your ways, both of which in the +French language resemble in sound the word _almond_, but by a very +ingenious comparison. + +"The almond tree," he said, "has its blossom of five petals, which as +regards number bear some resemblance to the five fingers of the hand, its +leaves are in the shape of a tongue, and its fruit of a heart. Thus the +Sacrament of Penance has three parts which make up its whole. The first +which concerns the heart is _contrition_, of which David says that God +heals those who are contrite of heart,[1] and that He does not despise the +humble and contrite heart.[2] + +"The second, which concerns the tongue, is _confession_. The third, +which regards the hand, that is to say, the doing of good works, is +_satisfaction_. Moreover," he went on to say, "as there are almonds of two +kinds, the one sweet, the other bitter, which being mixed make a pleasant +flavour, agreeable to the palate, so also in penance there is a certain +blending of sweetness and bitterness, of consolation and pain, of love and +regret, resembling in taste the pomegranate, which has a certain sharp +sweetness and a certain sweet sharpness far more agreeable than either +sharpness or sweetness separately. Penance which had only the sweetness +of consolation would not be a cleansing hyssop, powerful to purge away +the stains of iniquity. Nor, if it had only the bitterness of regret and +sorrow, without the sweetness of love, could it ever lead us to that +justification which is only perfected by a loving displeasure at having +offended the Eternal, Supreme, and Sovereign Goodness." + +Our Blessed Father treats of this mingling of love and sorrow proper to +true penitence with so much grace and gravity in his Theotimus that I think +nothing grander or sweeter could be written on the subject. Here is an +extract. "Amidst the tribulation and remorse of a lively repentance God +often kindles at the bottom of our heart the sacred fire of His love; this +love is converted into the water of tears, then by a second change into +another and greater fire of love. Thus the penitent Magdalen, the great +lover, first loved her Saviour; her love was converted into tears, and +these tears into an excellent love; whence our Saviour told her that many +sins were pardoned her because _she had loved much_. The beginning of +perfect love not only follows upon penitence, but clings to it and knits +itself to it; in one word, this beginning of love mingles itself with the +end of penitence, and in this moment of mingling penitence and contrition +merit life everlasting."[3] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxlvi. 3.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm l. 19.] +[Footnote 3: _Love of God_, Book II, c. 20.] + + +UPON PENITENT CONFUSION. + +Our Blessed Father had a wonderful aptitude for distinguishing between what +was real and genuine and what was false in the shame manifested by his +penitents. He used to say that when this confusion was full of trouble and +agitation it proceeded from self-love, from vexation and shame at having +to own our sins and imperfections, not from the spirit of God. This he +expresses in his second Conference in these words: + +"We must never suffer our confusion to be attended with sadness and +disquietude; that kind of confusion proceeds from self-love, because we +are troubled at not being perfect, not so; much for the love of God as for +love of ourselves." An extract from Theotimus will close this subject most +suitably: + +"Remorse which positively excludes the love of God is infernal, it is like +that of the lost. Repentance which does not regret the love of God, even +though as yet it is without it, is good and desirable, but imperfect: it +can never save us until it attains to love, and is mingled with it. So +that, as the great Apostle said, even if he gave his body to be burned, and +all his goods to the poor, and had not charity it would all be of no avail; +we, too, may say with truth, that, however great our penitence may be, even +though it make our eyes overflow with tears of sorrow, and our hearts to +break with remorse, still if we have not the holy love of God it will serve +us nothing as regards eternal life."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Book ii. c. 19.] + + +UPON INTERIOR PEACE AMIDST ANXIETIES. + +It is a great mistake when souls, in other respects good and pious, imagine +that it is impossible to preserve inward peace amid bustle and turmoil. +There are some even, strange to say, who though dedicated to God by +their holy calling, complain if they are employed by their community in +laborious and troublesome offices, calling them distracting functions and +occupations. Assuredly, these good people know not what they say, any more +than did St. Peter on Mount Thabor. + +What do they mean by distracting occupations? Possibly those which separate +us from God? I know nothing which can separate us from His love except +sin, which is that labour in brick and clay in which the infernal Pharaoh, +tyrant of souls, and king over the children of pride, employs his unhappy +subjects. These are the strange gods who give no rest either by night or by +day. But with that exception, I know of no legitimate occupation which can +either separate us from God, or, still more, which cannot serve as a means +to unite us to Him. This may be said of all callings, of those of soldiers, +lawyers, merchants, artisans. + +Our Blessed Father devotes two chapters in his Theotimus to this subject, +but he speaks even more explicitly upon it in one of his letters, in +which he says: "Let us all belong wholly to God, even amid the tumult and +disturbance stirred up round about us by the diversity of human affairs. +When can we give better proof of our fidelity than amid contrarieties, +Alas! my dearest daughter, my sister, solitude has its assaults, the world +has its disorder and uproar; yet in either we must be of good heart, since +everywhere heaven is close to those who have confidence in God, and who +with humility and gentleness implore His fatherly assistance. Beware of +letting your carefulness degenerate into trouble and anxiety." + +"Tossed about upon the waves and amid the winds of many a tumult, always +look up to heaven, and say to our Lord: 'O God, it is for Thee that I set +my sails and plough the seas; be Thou my guide and my pilot!' And then +console yourself by remembering that when we are in port the joys which +will be ours will blot out all remembrance of our toils and struggles to +reach it. We are now voyaging thither in the midst of all these storms, and +shall safely reach our harbour if only we have an upright heart, a good +intention, firm courage, eyes fixed on God, and place all our confidence +in Him. If the violence of the tempest makes our head dizzy, and we feel +shaken and sick, do not let us be surprised, but, as quickly as we can, let +us take breath again, and encourage ourselves to do better. I feel quite +sure that you are not forgetful of your good resolutions as you pursue your +way; do not then distress yourself about these little attacks of anxiety, +and vexation, caused by the multiplicity of domestic affairs. Nay, my dear +daughter, all this tumult gives you opportunities of practising the dearest +and most lovable of the virtues recommended to you by our Lord. Believe me, +true virtue is not nourished in external calm any more than are good fish +found in the stagnant waters of the marshes." + + +UPON DISCOURAGEMENT. + +Our Blessed Father used to say that the most cowardly of all temptations +was discouragement. When the enemy of our salvation makes us lose hope +of ever advancing in virtue he has gained a great advantage over us, and +may very soon succeed in thrusting us down into the abyss of vice. Those +who fly into a passion at the sight of their own imperfections are like +people who want to strike and bruise their own faces, because they are not +handsome enough to please their self-love. They only hurt themselves the +more. + +The holy Bishop wishing to correct this fault in one of his penitents said +to her: "Have patience with every one, but especially with yourself. I +mean, do not be over-troubled about your imperfections, but always have +courage enough at once to rise up again when you fall into any of them. I +am very glad to hear that you begin afresh every day. There is no better +means for persevering in the spiritual life than continually to be +beginning again, and never to think that one has done enough." + +On these words we may make the following reflections: + +1. How shall we patiently suffer the faults of our neighbour if we are +impatient over our own? + +2. How shall we reprove others in a spirit of gentleness if we correct +ourselves with irritation, with disgust, and with unreasonable sharpness? +What can come out of a bag but what is in it? + +3. Those who fret impatiently over their own imperfections will never +correct themselves of them, for correction, if it is to be of use, must +proceed from a tranquil, restful mind. _Cowardice_, says David, _is the +companion of trouble and tempest_. + +4. He who has lost courage has lost everything, he who has thrown up the +game can never win, nor can the soldier who has thrown away his arms return +to the fight, however much he may want to do. + +5. David said: _I waited for him that saved me from pusillanimity and a +storm_. He who believes himself to be far advanced in the ways of God has +not yet even made a good beginning. + +6. St. Paul, who had been raised to the third heaven, who had fought so +many good fights, run so many splendid races, and had kept the Faith +inviolate, in spite of all, never thought that he had finished his work, +or reached the goal, but always pressed forward as though he had but just +begun.[1] + +7. This mortal life is but a road leading to heaven. It is a road to which +we must steadily keep. He who stops short in it runs the risk of not +reaching safely the presence of God in which it ends. He who says, I have +enough, thereby shows that he has not enough; for in spiritual things +sufficiency implies the desire for more. + +[Footnote 1: 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4.] + + +UPON RISING AFTER A FALL. + +Our Blessed Father was a great enemy to hurry and over-eagerness, even in +rising up again after a fall. + +He used to say that if our act of contrition is more hurried than humble we +are very likely to fall again soon, and that this second fall will be worse +than the first. + +As he considered our penitence incomplete without an act of the love of +God, so also he maintained recovery from a fall to be imperfect if not +accompanied by tranquillity and peace. He wished us to correct ourselves, +as well as others, in a spirit of sweetness. Here is the advice which he +gives on the subject. + +"When we happen to fall from some sudden outburst of self-love, or of +passion, let us as soon as possible prostrate ourselves in spirit before +God, saying, with confidence and humility: Have mercy on me, for I am weak. +Let us rise again with peace and tranquillity and knot up again our network +of holy indifference, then go on with our work. When we discover that +our lute is out of tune, we must neither break the strings nor throw the +instrument aside; but listen attentively to find out what is the cause of +the discord, and then gently tighten or slacken the strings, according to +what is required." + +To those who replied to him that we ought to judge ourselves with severity, +he said: "It is true that with regard to ourselves we ought to have the +heart of a judge, but as the judge who hastily, or under the influence of +passion, pronounces sentence, runs the risk of committing an injustice, +but not so when reason is master of his actions and behaviour, we must, in +order to judge ourselves with equity, do so with a gentle, peaceful mind, +not in a fit of anger, nor when so troubled as hardly to know what we are +doing." + + +UPON KINDLINESS TOWARDS OURSELVES. + +Since the measure and the model of the love which God commands us to bear +towards our neighbour ought to be the just and Christian love which we +should bear towards ourselves, and as charity, which is patient and kind, +obliges us to correct our neighbours' faults with gentleness and sweetness, +our Blessed Father did not consider it right that we should correct +ourselves in a manner different from this, nor be harsh and severe with +ourselves because of our falls and ill-doings. In one of his letters he +wrote as follows: "When we have committed a fault, let us at once examine +our heart and ask it whether it does not still preserve living and entire +the resolution to serve God. It will, I hope, answer yes, and that it would +rather die a thousand deaths than give up this resolution. Let us go on to +ask it further. Why, then, are you stumbling now? Why are you so cowardly? +It will reply: I was taken by surprise: I know not how; but I am tolerably +firm now. Ah! my dear daughter, we must pardon it; it was not from +infidelity, but from infirmity that it failed. We must then correct +ourselves gently and quietly, and not irritate and disturb ourselves still +more. Rise up, my heart, my friend, we should say to ourselves, and lift up +our thoughts to our Help, and our God. + +"Yes, my dear daughter, we must be charitable to our own soul, and not +rebuke it over harshly when we see that the fault it has committed was not +fully wilful." + +Moreover, he would not have us accuse ourselves over-vehemently and +exaggerate our faults. At the same time, he had no desire that in regard to +ourselves we should err on the side of leniency. He wanted us to embrace +the happy medium, by humiliating without discouraging ourselves, and by +encouraging ourselves with humility. In another letter he says: "Be just, +neither accuse nor excuse your poor soul, except after much consideration, +for fear lest if you excuse yourself when you should not, you become +careless, and if you accuse yourself without cause, you discourage yourself +and become cowardly. Walk simply and you will walk securely." + + +UPON IMPERFECTIONS. + +"Some people have so high an opinion of their own perfection that should +they discover any failings or imperfections in themselves they are thrown +into despair. They are like people so anxious about their health that the +slightest illness alarms them, and who take so many precautions to preserve +this precious health that in the end they ruin it." + +Our Blessed Father wished us to profit, not only by our tribulations, but +also by our imperfections, and that these latter should serve to establish +and settle us in a courageous humility, and make us hope, even against +hope, and in spite of the most discouraging appearances. "In this way," he +said, "we draw our healing and help from the very hand of our adversaries." +To a person who was troubled at her imperfections, he wrote thus: "We +should, indeed, like to be without imperfections, but, my dearest daughter, +we must submit patiently to the trial of having a human, rather than an +angelic, nature. Our imperfections ought not, indeed, to please us; on the +contrary, we should say with the holy Apostle: _Unhappy man, that I am, who +shall deliver me from the body of this death!_[1] But, at the same time, +they ought not to astonish us, nor to discourage us: we should draw from +them submission, humility, and mistrust of ourselves; never discouragement +and loss of heart, far less distrust of God's love for us; for though He +loves not our imperfections and venial sins, He loves us, in spite of them. + +"The weakness and backwardness of a child displeases its mother, but she +does not for that reason love it less. On the contrary, she loves it more +fondly, because she compassionates it. So, too, is it with God, who cannot, +as I have said, love our imperfections and venial sins, but never ceases to +love us, so that David with reason cries out to Him: _Have mercy on me, O +Lord, for I am weak._"[2] + +[Footnote 1: Rom. vii. 24.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm vi. 3.] + + +THE JUST MAN FALLS SEVEN TIMES IN THE DAY. + +A good man meditating upon this passage, and taking it too literally, fell +into a perfect agony, saying to himself: "Alas! how many times a day, then, +must not I, who am _not_ just, fall?" Yet during his evening examination of +conscience, however closely and carefully he searched, and however much +he was on the watch during the day to observe his failings and faults, he +sometimes could not make up the number. Greatly troubled and perplexed +about this, he carried his difficulties to our Blessed Father, who settled +them in this way: + +"In the passage which you have quoted," he said, "we are not told that the +just man sees or feels himself fall seven times a day, but only that he +does fall seven times, and that he raises himself up again without paying +any heed to his so doing. Do not then distress yourself; humbly and frankly +confess what you have observed of faulty in yourself, and what you do not +see, leave to the sweet mercy of Him who puts out His hand to prevent those +who fall without malice, from being jarred or bruised against the hard +ground; and who raises them up again so quickly and gently that they never +notice it nor are conscious of having so much as fallen." + +The great imperfection of most of us proceeds from want of reflection, but, +on the other hand, there are many who think overmuch, who fall into the +mistake of too close self-inspection, and who are perpetually fretting over +their failings and weaknesses. + +Blessed Francis writes again on the subject: "It is quite certain that as +long as we are imprisoned in this heavy and corruptible body there will +always be something wanting in us. I do not know whether I have already +told you that we must have patience with every one; and, first of all, with +ourselves. For since we have learnt to distinguish between the old Adam +and the new, between the outward man and the inward, we are really more +troublesome to ourselves than any of our neighbours." + + +UPON THE PURGATIVE WAY. + +Of the three ways leading to perfection the first is called the purgative, +and consists in the purifying of the soul; from which, as from a piece +of waste ground, we must take away the brambles and thorns of sin before +planting there trees which shall bear good fruit. This purgation has, +however, two different stages; that which precedes the justification of the +soul, and that which follows it. This latter may again be subdivided into +two parts. There is not only the freeing of the soul from sin, whether +mortal or venial, but there is also its purgation from any inclination or +attachment to either the one or the other. + +It is not enough to be purged from deadly sin; we must labour incessantly +to rid ourselves of any love, however slight, of the sin from which we have +been cleansed, otherwise we shall be only too likely to fall back into it +again. It is the same as regards venial sins. Our Blessed Father speaks of +this purgative way in his Philothea as follows: + +"We can never be wholly pure from venial sins, at least, never for any +continuous length of time, but we can and may get rid of any sort of +affection for these lesser faults. Assuredly it is one thing to tell +falsehoods once or twice, lightly and thoughtlessly, and in matters of +small importance; and another to take delight in lying and to cling fondly +to this sort of sin."[1] + +Besides venial sins, there are certain natural propensities and +inclinations which are called imperfections, since they tend towards +evil, and, if unchecked, lead to excesses of various kinds. They are not, +properly speaking, sins, either mortal or venial; nevertheless they are +true failings and defects of which we must endeavour to correct ourselves, +inasmuch as they are displeasing both to God and man. Such are propensities +to anger, grief, joy, excessive laughter, flattery, favouritism, self-pity, +suspicion, over-eagerness, precipitancy, and vain affections. We must +strive to rid ourselves of those defects which, like weeds, spring up +without being sown in the soil of our corrupt nature, and incline us to +evil from our birth. + +The means of getting rid of all these evils, whether mortal sins, venial +ones, imperfections, or attachment to any or all of these, you will find +most clearly set forth by our Blessed Father in the same book.[2] + +I once asked him what was the true difference between venial sin and +imperfection, and I will try to recall his teaching on the subject that +I may impart it to you. Every venial sin is an imperfection, but every +imperfection is not a venial sin. In sin there is always malice, and malice +is in the will, hence the maxim that nothing involuntary is sin; and +according to the degree of this malice, whether great or small, and +according to the matter on which it is exercised, the sin is either mortal +or venial. + +You ask me if imperfections are matters sufficient for confession, as well +as venial sin. Our Blessed Father considered that it was well to accuse +ourselves of them in order to learn from the confessor how to correct +ourselves of and get rid of them. He did not, however, think them +sufficient matter for the Sacrament, and for this reason when his penitents +only told him of imperfections he would make them add some venial sin +committed in the past, so as to furnish sufficient matter for absolution, I +say sufficient, but not absolutely necessary matter, for it is only mortal +sin that has these two qualities. + +[Footnote 1: Part i. chap. 22.] +[Footnote 2: Part i. chaps. 6, 7, 22, 23, 24.] + + +UPON VENIAL SIN. + +He compares venial sin to the diamond which was thought by its presence to +prevent the loadstone from attracting iron. A soul attached to venial sin +is retarded in its progress in the path of justice, but when the hindrance +is removed God dilates the heart and makes it to run in the way of His +commandments. + +You ask me if a great number of venial sins can ever make up a mortal one, +and consequently cause us to lose the grace of God. + +No, indeed! Not all the venial sins which ever existed could make one +mortal sin: but nevertheless, not many venial sins are needed to dispose +us to commit a mortal one, as it is written that _he that contemneth small +things shall fall by little and little,[1] and that he who loves danger +shall perish in it_.[2] + +For, according to the maxim of St. Bernard, received by all spiritual +writers, not to advance in the way of God is to fall back, not to sow with +Him is to scatter, not to gather up is to lose, not to build is to pull +down, not to be for God is to be against Him, not to reap with Him is to +lay waste. Now to commit a venial sin is essentially a not working with +God, though it may not be a positive working against Him. + +"Charity," says our Blessed Father, "being an active quality cannot be long +without either acting or dying: it is, say the early Fathers, symbolized +by Rachel. _Give me children_, she said to her husband, _otherwise I shall +die_.[3] Thus charity urges the heart which she has espoused to make her +fertile in good works; otherwise she will perish." + +Venial sin, especially when the soul clings to it, makes us run the risk of +losing charity, because it exposes us to the danger of committing mortal +sin, by which alone charity is driven forth and banished from the soul. On +this subject our Blessed Father, in the chapter from which we have already +quoted, speaks as follows: "Neither venial sin, nor even the affection to +it, is contrary to the essential resolution of charity, which is to prefer +God before all things; because by this sin we love something outside reason +but not against reason. We make too much and more than is fit of creatures, +yet we do not positively prefer them before the Creator. We occupy +ourselves more than we ought in earthly things; yet we do not, for all +that, forsake heavenly things. + +"In fine, venial sin impedes us in the way of charity, but does not put us +out of it, and, therefore, venial sin, not being contrary to charity, never +destroys charity either wholly or partially." + +Further on he says: "However, venial sin is sin, and consequently it +troubles charity, not as a thing that is contrary to charity itself, but as +being contrary to its operations and progress and even to its intention. +For, as this intention is that we should direct all our actions to God, it +is violated by venial sin, which is the referring of an action to something +outside of God and of the divine will." + +[Footnote 1: Eccle. iii. 27.] +[Footnote 2: Id. iii. 27.] +[Footnote 3: _The Love of God_. Book iv. chap. 2.] + + +UPON COMPLICITY IN THE SINS OF ANOTHER. + +There are some scrupulous minds which are perplexed by everything and +frightened at shadows. In conversation, and in mixing with others, a faulty +word which they may hear or a reprehensible action they may witness, +however much they may in their secret hearts detest it, is at once charged +upon their own conscience as a partaking in the sins of others. + +They are also troubled with doubts, and are uncertain whether it is their +duty or not to denounce the faults of their neighbour, to express their +own disapproval, and to rebuke the offender. To a soul perplexed on this +subject our Blessed Father gives the following wholesome advice: "As +regards conversation, my dear daughter, do not worry about anything said +or done by others. If good, you can praise God for it, if evil, it will +furnish you with an opportunity of serving God by turning away your +thoughts from it, showing neither surprise nor irritation, since you are +not a person of sufficient importance to be able to put a stop to bad or +idle talk. Indeed, any attempt on your part to do so would make things +worse. Acting as as I bid you to do you will remain unharmed amid the +hissing of serpents and, like the strawberry, will not assimilate their +poison even though licked by their venomous tongues." + + +UPON EQUIVOCATING. + +Our Saint used to say that to equivocate was, in his opinion, to canonize +lying, and that simplicity was, after all, the best kind of shrewdness. The +children of darkness, he said, use cunning and artifice in their dealings +with one another, but the children of God should take for their motto the +words: He that walketh sincerely walketh confidently. + +Duplicity, simulation, insincerity always betray a low mind. If, in the +language of the wise man, _the lips that lie kill the soul_, what can be +the effect of the conversation of one who habitually speaks with a _double +heart_?[1] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xii. 3.] + + +UPON SOLITUDE. + +Some one was praising country life, and calling it holy and innocent. + +Blessed Francis replied that country life has drawbacks just as city life +has, and that as there is both good and bad company, so there is also good +and bad solitude. Good, when God calls us into it, as He says by a prophet, +_I will lead her into the wilderness and I will speak to her heart_.[1] +Bad, when it is of that kind of which it is written, _Woe to him that is +alone_.[2] + +As regards holiness and innocence, he said that country folk were certainly +far from being, as a matter of course, endowed with these good qualities. + +As for temptations and occasions of sin, he said: "There are evil spirits +who go to and fro in desert places quite as much as in cities; if grace +does not hold us up everywhere, everywhere we may stumble. Lot, who in the +most wicked of all cities was holy and just, when in solitude fell into +the most dreadful of sins. Men carry themselves about with them and find +themselves everywhere, and frailty can no more be got rid of by them than +can the shadow by the body that casts it. + +"Many deceive themselves greatly and become their own seducers by imagining +that they possess those virtues, the sins contrary to which they do not +commit. The absence of a vice and the possession of its contrary virtue are +very different things. + +"To be without folly is, indeed, to have the beginning of wisdom, but it is +a beginning so feeble as by itself scarcely to deserve the name of wisdom. + +"Abstaining from evil is a very different thing from doing good, although +this abstaining is of itself a species of good: it is like the plan of a +building compared with the building itself. Virtue does not consist so much +in habit as in action. Habit is in itself an indolent sort of quality, +which, indeed, inclines us to do good, but does no more, unless inclination +be followed by action. + +"How shall he who has no one in command set over him learn obedience? He +who is never contradicted, patience? He who has no superior, humility? And +how shall he who, like a misanthrope, flies from intercourse with other +men, notwithstanding that he is obliged to love them as himself, how shall +he, I say, learn brotherly love? + +"There are many virtues which cannot be practised in solitude; above all, +mercy, upon the exercise of which we shall be questioned and judged at the +last day; and of which it is said: _Blessed are the merciful, for they +shall obtain mercy_."[3] + +[Footnote 1: Osee ii. 14.] +[Footnote 2: Eccle. iv. 10.] +[Footnote 3: Matt. v. 7.] + + +UPON VANITY. + +It is a vanity of the understanding to think ourselves more than we really +are; but it is a far more dangerous vanity of the will to aspire to a +condition higher than our own, and to persuade ourselves that we are +deserving of it. He who thinks himself to be more than he is has in his +mind some picture of content and satisfaction, and consequently some sort +of tranquillity like one who finds his peace and repose in his riches. + +But he who aspires to a condition more exalted than his own is in a +constant state of disquietude, like the needle of the compass which +trembles incessantly until it points to the north. An ancient proverb makes +the happiness of this life to consist in wishing to be what we are and +nothing more. + + _Quod sis esse velis, nihilque malis._ + +Blessed Francis who, in his own opinion, had already risen too high in +the hierarchy of the Church, turned his thoughts rather to giving up his +dignities than to seeking promotion. He looked forward to the calm retreat +of solitude rather than the dignity of illustrious offices. + +He was even apprehensive of the high esteem in which he knew that he +was held, dreading lest he should be less the servant of God for thus +delighting men. + +On one occasion some worthy soul having warned him to keep humble amid +the praises and acclamations bestowed on him, he answered: "You please me +greatly by recommending holy humility to me, for, do you know, when the +wind gets imprisoned in our valleys, among our mountains, even the little +flowers are beaten down and the trees are uprooted. I am situated rather +high up and, in my post of Bishop, am tossed about most of all. O Lord! +save us: command these winds of vanity to cease to blow and there will be a +great calm. Stand firm, O my soul, and clasp very tightly the foot of our +Saviour's holy Cross: the rain which falls there in plenteous showers on +all sides stills the wind, however violent it may be. + +"When I am there, O my God, as I sometimes am, how sheltered is my soul, +and how refreshed by that crimson dew! but no sooner have I moved a single +step away than the wind again takes me off my feet!" + + +UPON THE KNOWLEDGE WHICH PUFFS UP. + +You wish to know what St. Paul means when he says that _knowledge puffs up_ +and that _charity edifies_.[1] I imagine he means by the knowledge which +puffs up, that which is destitute of charity and which consequently tends +only to vanity. _All those are vain_, say the sacred Scriptures, _who have +not the knowledge of God_;[2] and what is this knowledge of God if not +the knowledge of His ways and of His will? It is the God of knowledge who +teaches this knowledge to men; the science of the saints, the science which +makes saints, the science of salvation, a science without which all else is +absolute ignorance. He who thinks that he knows something and does not know +how to save his soul, does not yet know what it is most important to know. +Those who know many things without knowing themselves, and without knowing +God in the manner in which even in this present life he can be known +and desires to be known, resemble the giants in the fable, who piled up +mountains and then buried themselves beneath them. + +Do not, however, think for a moment that, in order to save our souls, or to +be truly devout, we must be ignorant; for, as sugar spoils no sauce, +true knowledge is in no wise opposed to devotion. On the contrary, by +enlightening the understanding it contributes much to fervour in the will. +Listen to what our Blessed Father says on this subject in his Theotimus: +"Knowledge is not of itself contrary, but very useful to devotion. Meeting, +they should marvellously assist one another; though it too often happens +through our misery that knowledge hinders the birth of devotion, because +_knowledge puffeth up_ and makes us proud, and pride, which is contrary +to all virtue, ruins all devotion. Without doubt, the eminent science +of a Cyprian, an Augustine, a Hilary, a Chrysostom, a Basil, a Gregory, +a Bonaventure, a Thomas, not only taught these Saints to value, but +greatly enhanced their devotion; as again, their devotion not only +supernaturalized, but eminently perfected their knowledge."[3] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. viii. 1.] +[Footnote 2: Sap. xiii. 1.] +[Footnote 3: Book vi. chap. 4.] + + +UPON SCRUPLES. + +It was Blessed Francis' opinion that scruples have their origin in a +_cunning_ self-esteem. I call it _cunning_ because it is so subtle and +crafty as to deceive even those who are troubled by it. As a proof of this +assertion he evidenced the fact that "those who suffer from this malady +will not acquiesce in the judgment of their directors, however discreet and +enlightened in the ways of God they may be; obstinately clinging to their +own opinions instead of, by humble submission, accepting the remedies +and consequent peace offered to them. Who can wonder at the prolonged +sufferings of the sick man who resolutely refuses every salutary remedy +which he is entreated to take? Who will pity one who suffers himself to die +of hunger and thirst, although everything that could satisfy the one and +quench the other be placed within his reach? + +"Holy Scripture teaches us that the crime of disobedience is equal in +guilt to that of idolatry and witchcraft. But what shall we say of the +disobedience of the scrupulous, who so idolize their own opinions as to be +absolutely slaves to them, and whom no sort of remonstrance or reasoning +will convince of the idleness of their unfounded fears. + +"They will tell you, in answer to your judicious and soothing arguments, +that you are only flattering them, that they are misunderstood, that they +do not explain themselves clearly, and so on. + +"This is, indeed, a malady difficult of cure, because, like jealousy, +its fires are fed by everything with which it comes in contact. May God +preserve you from this lingering and sad disease, which I regard as the +quartan fever or jaundice of the soul." + + +UPON TEMPTATIONS. + +"If we only knew how to make a good use of temptations," said our Blessed +Father, "instead of dreading, we should welcome them--I had almost said +desire them. But because our weakness and our cowardice are only too well +known to us, from our long experience, and from many sorrowful falls, we +have good reason to say, _Lead us not into temptation_. + +"If to this just mistrust of ourselves we united confidence in God, who is +stronger to deliver us from temptation than we are weak in falling into it, +our hopes would rise in proportion to the lessening of our fears. _For by +Thee I shall be delivered from temptation, and through my God I shall go +over a wall._"[1] + +With such a support can we not boldly tread upon the asp and the basilisk, +and trample under foot the lion and the dragon?[2] As it is in temptation +that we learn to know the greatness of our courage and of our fidelity to +God, so it is by suffering temptation that we make progress in strength of +heart, and that we learn to wield the weapons of our warfare, which are +spiritual against the spiritual malice of our invisible enemies. Then it is +that our soul, clothed in the panoply of grace, appears terrible to them as +an army in battle array, and as the hosts of the Lord. + +Some think that all is lost when they are tormented by thoughts of +blasphemy and impiety, and fancy that their faith is gone. Yet as long as +these thoughts merely distress them and they are resisted, they cannot harm +them, and such stormy winds only serve to make souls become more deeply +rooted in faith. As much has to be said of temptations against purity and +other virtues, for the maxim is quite a general one. + +There is no good Christian who is not tempted. The angel said to Tobias: +_Because thou wast acceptable to God it was necessary that temptation, +should prove thee._[3] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xxvi. 30.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm xc. 13.] +[Footnote 3: Job xii. 13.] + + +UPON THE SAME SUBJECT. + +You ask me why God permits the enemy of our salvation to afflict us with so +many temptations, which put us into such great danger of offending God and +losing our soul. I might answer you in words from Holy Scripture, but I +will give you our Blessed Father's teaching on the subject, which is only +an interpretation of what St. Paul and St. James tell us in their epistles: +"Do you know," he says, "what God does in temptation?" + +He permits the evil one to furbish up his wares and to offer them to us for +sale, so that by the contempt with which we look upon them we may show our +affection for divine things. + +Must you then, my dear sister, my dearest daughter, because of this +temptation, fret and disquiet yourself and change your manner of thought? + +Oh, no! by no means, it is the devil who prowls round about your soul, +peeping and prying to see if he can find an open door. He did this with +Job, with St. Anthony, with St. Catherine of Siena, and with an infinity of +good souls whom I know, as well as with my own, which is good-for-nothing, +and which I do not know. And have you, my good daughter, to distress +yourself about what the devil attempts? Let him wait outside and keep all +the avenues of your soul fast shut. In the end he will be tired out, or if +not God will force him to raise the siege. + +Remember what I think I have told you before. It is a good sign when the +devil stirs up such a tumult outside the fortress of your will, for it +shows he is not inside it. + +One cause of our interior trouble and mental disturbance is the difficulty +we experience in discerning whether a temptation comes from within or from +without, whether it is from our own heart or from the enemy, who takes up +his position as a besieger before that heart? You may apply the following +test in order to find out. + +Does the temptation please or displease you? One of the ancient Fathers +says that sins which displease us cannot harm us. How much less then +displeasing temptations! + +Notice that, as long as the temptation displeases you there is nothing to +fear, for why should it displease if not because your will does not consent +to it?" + +"But," you say, "if I, as it were, dally with the temptation, either from +inadvertence or torpor, or slothful unwillingness to reject and repel it, +is not that in a way taking pleasure in it?" "The evil of temptation is +not measured by its duration: it may be working against us all our life +long, but while it displeases us it cannot make us fail into sin; on the +contrary, being repulsive to us, this very antipathy not only preserves +us from being infected by its venom, but adds strength to our virtue and +jewels to our crown." + +"But I am so much afraid of taking pleasure in it!" + +"That very fear is a proof that it displeases you, for we are not afraid of +that which pleases us. We are not terrified except by what displeases us, +just as we can only enjoy what is good or has the appearance of being good. + +"If you were able all the time to look upon temptation as an evil it cannot +have pleased you." + +"Still, is it wrong to find pleasure in thinking of what is sinful?" "If +this pleasure is felt before we reflect that the thing is evil it is of no +consequence, since voluntary malice and consent are needed to make this +pleasure a sin." + +"How shall we know whether or not we have yielded this consent?" +"Assuredly, it is difficult to define the nature of voluntary consent. This +difficulty gave rise to the saying of the Psalmist, _Who can understand +sins?_[1] + +"This, too, is why he prays to be delivered from his secret faults, that is +to say, from sins which he cannot easily discern." + +I will, however, on this subject give you another excellent lesson which I +learned from our Blessed Father. + +"When you are doubtful," he said to me, "whether or not you have consented +to evil, always take the doubt for a negative, and for this reason. A true +and full consent of the will is necessary to form a real grave sin, there +being no sin in what is not voluntary. Now full consent is so clear that +there can never be left in the mind a shadow of doubt about its having +taken place." + +This plain teaching surely cuts the gordian knot of our perplexities. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xviii. 13.] + + +THOUGHTS ON THE INCARNATION. + +There are two opinions held by theologians on the subject of the +Incarnation. Some hold that had Adam never sinned the Son of God would not +have become incarnate, others that the Incarnation would have taken place +even had our first parents remained in the state of innocence and original +justice in which they were created. For, as they urge, the Word was made +flesh, not to merely be a redeemer and restorer of the human race, but that +through Him God might be glorified. Our Blessed Father held this second +opinion, which he advanced, not only in familiar conversation and in the +pulpit, but also in his writings. In his Theotimus he expresses himself +thus: "God knew from all eternity that He could create an innumerable +multitude of beings with divers perfections and qualities, to whom He +might communicate Himself. And considering that amongst all the different +communications which were possible, none was so excellent as that of +uniting Himself to some created nature, in such sort that the creature +might be engrafted and implanted in the Divinity, and become one single +person with it: His infinite goodness, which of itself and by itself tends +towards communication, resolved and determined to communicate Himself in +this manner. So that, as eternally there is an essential communication in +God, by which the Father communicates all His infinite and indivisible +divinity to the Son in producing Him, and the Father and the Son together +producing the Holy Ghost, communicate to Him also their own singular +divinity; so this sovereign sweetness was so perfectly communicated +externally to a creature that the created nature and the divinity retaining +each of them its own properties were, notwithstanding so united together +that they were but one same person. Now of all the creatures which that +Sovereign Omnipotence could produce, He thought good to make choice of +human nature which afterwards in effect was united to the person of God +the Son, He created it, and to it He destined the incomparable honour of +personal union with His divine majesty, to the end that for all eternity it +might enjoy above all others the treasures of His infinite glory."[1] + +This thought has always pleased me exceedingly; this thought, I mean, of +the communication of God, in the worthiest manner possible, namely, through +the mystery of the Incarnation. But ah! What shall we then say of the +mystery of the most holy Eucharist, which is, as it were, an extension of +the Incarnation! In the holy Eucharist the Son of God, in His overflowing +mercy, not content with having made Himself the Son of Man, a sharer in +our humanity and our Brother, has invented a wondrous way of communicating +Himself to each one of us in particular. By this He incorporates Himself in +us, and us in Him. He dwells in us, and makes us dwell in Him, becoming +our food and support, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, by a grace +which surpasses every other grace, since it contains in itself the author +of all grace! Truly, we possess in this divine mystery, though veiled and +hidden under the sacramental species, Him whom the angels desire to see, +even while they see Him continually. Nor is there any difference between +their possession and ours, except in the manner in which it is effected. +For if they have the advantage of sight, we have that of a closer intimacy, +seeing that He is only before them as the Beatific Vision, while He +is actually within us, as the living and life-giving bread, a bread +strengthening our heart, or, rather, the very heart of our heart, or the +soul of our heart, or the heart of our soul. And if the heart of the +disciples of Emmaus burned within them when He only spoke to them on their +way, what ardour should be kindled in our breasts by the receiving of Him +who came to bring the fire of divine love upon earth, that it might inflame +and kindle all hearts! + +You ask me whether we are happier in having been redeemed from that state +of original sin into which our first parents fell than had we been born in +the innocence which was theirs at their creation. + +At first sight it would seem that never to have been bound by the chain of +misery and evil with which the first sin of Adam fettered us would surely +have been more desirable than even to be loosed from it by the divine +goodness! This, however, is a merely human judgment, revealed to us by +flesh and blood. The light of faith, far brighter and more ennobling, +teaches us a sublimer lesson. This is what our Blessed Father says on the +subject: + +"Who can doubt of the abundance of the means of salvation, since we have +so great a Saviour, for the sake of whom we have been made, and by whose +merits we have been ransomed. For He died, for all, because all were dead, +and His mercy was more far-reaching when He built up anew the race of men +than Adam's misery when he ruined it. + +"Indeed, Adam's sin was so far from quenching God's love for mankind, that, +on the contrary, it stirred it up, and invited it. So that by a most sweet +and loving re-action, love was quickened by the presence of sin, and as if +re-collecting its forces for victory over evil, made _grace to superabound +where sin had abounded_.[2] Whence, Holy Church, in an excess of devout +wonder, cries out (upon Easter-eve), 'O truly necessary sin of Adam, which +was blotted out by the death of Jesus Christ! O happy fault which merited +to have such and so great a Redeemer!' Truly, Theotimus, we may say, as did +he of old, 'We were ruined, had we not been undone; that is, ruin brought +us profit, since in effect human nature, through being redeemed by its +Saviour, has received more graces than ever it would have received if Adam +had remained innocent.'"[3] + +One of the marvels of divine Omnipotence is that it knows by a secret +power, reserved to itself alone, how to draw good from evil, the contrary +from the contrary; water from, fire, as in the furnace of the three +children[4] and fire from water, as in the sacred fire which was found in a +well, the thick water of which was changed into fire. By this secret power +He makes all things work together for good to those who love Him. + +"Truly," says our Blessed Father, in the same place, "as the rainbow +touching the thorn _aspalathus_, makes it more odoriferous than the +lily, so our Saviour's Redemption, touching our miseries makes them more +beneficial and worthy of love than original innocence could ever have been. + +"_I say to you_, says our Saviour, _there shall be joy in Heaven upon one +sinner that doth penance; more than upon ninety-nine just, who need not +penance_,[5] and so the state of redemption is a hundred times better than +that of innocence. + +"Verily, by the watering of our Saviour's Blood, made with the hyssop +of the Cross, we have been re-clothed in a whiteness incomparably more +excellent than the snowy robe of innocence. We come out, like Naaman, from +the stream of salvation more pure and clean than if we had never been +leprous, to the end that the divine majesty, as He has ordained also for +us, should not be _overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good_,[6] _that +mercy_ (as a sacred oil) should keep _itself above judgment_,[7] and _God's +tender mercies be over all His works_."[8] + +[Footnote 1: Book ii. chap. 4.] +[Footnote 2: Col. i. 16.] +[Footnote 3: _The Love of God_. Book ii, c. 5.] +[Footnote 4: Daniel iii. 50.] +[Footnote 5: Luke xv. 7.] +[Footnote 6: Rom. xii.] +[Footnote 7: James ii. 13.] +[Footnote 8: Psalm cxliv. 9.] + + +UPON CONFESSION AND COMMUNION. + +These two Sacraments were styled by Blessed Francis the two poles of the +christian life, because around them that life ever revolves. One purifies +the soul, the other sanctifies it. He greatly admired the saying of St. +Bernard that all the spiritual good which we possess is derived from the +frequent use of the Sacraments. He would say that those who neglect the +Sacraments are not unlike the people in the Parable, who would not accept +the invitation to the Marriage Feast, and who thus incurred the wrath of +the Lord who had prepared it. Some plead as their excuse that they "are not +good enough"; but how are they to become good if they keep aloof from the +source of all goodness? Others say: "We are too weak"; but is not this the +Bread of the strong? Others; "We are infirm"; but in this Sacrament have +you not the Good Physician Himself? Others: "We are not worthy"; but does +not the Church direct that even the holiest of men should not approach +the Feast without having on his lips the words: _Lord! I am not worthy +that Thou shouldst enter under my roof?_ To those who plead that they are +overwhelmed with cares and with the business of this life, He cries: _Come +to me all you that labour and are burdened and I will refresh you._[1] If +any fear to come lest they should incur condemnation, are they not in yet +greater danger of being condemned for keeping away? Indeed, the plea of +humility is as false as that of Achaz, who detracted from the glory of God +when he feigned to be afraid of tempting Him. What better way of learning +to receive Him well can there be than receiving Him often? Is it not so +with other acts which are perfected by frequent repetition? + +He extolled highly the precept of St. Augustine on this subject. It was his +desire that any person (he was speaking of the laity) free from mortal sin, +and without any affection for it, should communicate confidently yet humbly +every Sunday,[2] if not advised by his confessors to do so oftener. He does +not say "anyone who is without venial sin," for from that who is exempt? + +His sentiments with regard to Holy Communion were most sweet and so +tempered by divine love, that reverent fear was in no way prejudicial to +confidence, neither was confidence to reverence. He fervently desired that +we should annihilate ourselves when receiving the Blessed Sacrament, as +our Lord annihilated Himself in order to communicate Himself to us, bowing +down the heaven of His greatness to accommodate and unite Himself with our +lowness. + +But you will be better satisfied to hear his feelings expressed in his own +words. + +They were addressed, not directly, but through the medium of another, to a +person, who from a false idea of humility dared not approach this divine +mystery, and who, in the words but not in the spirit of St. Peter, +entreated her Saviour to depart from her. + +"Tell her," he says, "to communicate fearlessly, calmly, yet with all +humility, in order to correspond with the action of that Spouse who in +order to unite Himself with us annihilated Himself and lovingly abased +Himself to the extent even of becoming our food and our pasturage; +condescending thus to us who are the food and pasturage of worms. Oh! my +daughter, those who communicate according to the spirit of the Heavenly +Bridegroom, annihilate themselves and say to our Lord: feed on me, change +me, annihilate me, convert me into Thyself. There is nothing, I think, +in the world of which we have more absolute possession, or over which we +have more entire dominion, than over the food which, for our own +self-preservation, we annihilate. + +"Well, our Lord has condescended to this excess of love, namely, to give +Himself to us for our food; and as for us, what ought not we to do in order +that He may possess us, that He may feed on us, that He may make us what He +pleases?" + +Read what is said on this subject in the "Devout life" and the +"Conferences." + +[Footnote 1: Matt. xi. 28.] +[Footnote 2: By the recent Decree of Pope Pius X., His Holiness +desires that, with such dispositions, it should be daily.--[Ed.]] + + +UPON CONFESSION. + +Our Blessed Father thought so much of frankness, candour and ingenuousness +in Confession, that when he met with these virtues in his penitents he was +filled with joy and satisfaction. + +It happened one day that he received a letter from one of his spiritual +daughters telling him that she had been betrayed into the sin of malicious +envy (by which she meant jealousy) of one of her sisters. He answered her +letter as follows: "I tell you with truth that your letter has filled my +soul with so sweet a perfume, that I can affirm that I have not for a long +time read any thing so consoling. I repeat, my dear daughter, that this +letter awakens in me such fresh ardour of love towards God who is so good, +and towards you whom He desires to make so good, that I can only make an +act of thanksgiving for this to His divine Providence. Thus it is, my +daughter, that we must always without a moment's hesitation thrust our +hands into the secret recesses of our hearts to tear out the foul growths +which have sprung up there, from the mingling of our self-love with our +humours, inclinations, and antipathies. Oh, my God! What satisfaction for +the heart of a most loving Father to hear a beloved daughter protest that +she has been envious and malicious! How blessed is this envy, since it is +followed by so frank a confession! Your hand in writing your letter made a +stroke more valiant than ever did that of Alexander!" + + +UPON A CHANGE OF CONFESSOR. + +I have told you by word of mouth, and now I repeat in writing, so that you +may better remember it, that the scruple of scruples is not to dare to +change one's Confessor. The Priest who should put this scruple into your +head deserves to be left, as himself scrupulous, and unsafe. Virtue, like +truth, is always to be found half way between two faulty extremes. To be +always changing one's Confessor, and never to dare to do so, or sooner to +omit Confession than to confess to any one but our usual Confessor, are two +blame-worthy extremes. + +In the one case we show ourselves volatile and ill-balanced; in the other +we are cowardly. If you ask me which of the two is the more to be avoided +I should say the second, and this because it seems to me to indicate a low +tone of mind, human respect, attachment to the creature, and in general +a slavish spirit which is quite contrary to the spirit of God, who only +dwells there, where there is perfect liberty. + +St. Paul tells us that being redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ +we ought not to make ourselves slaves of men. + +Possibly, however, you would more readily submit your judgment to that of +our Blessed Father than to mine. + +I remind you then how highly he thought of this holy christian liberty. You +may be quite sure that he inculcated it on persons like yourself living in +the world since, as I am going to show you, he made a great point of it +with his Religious. + +The Holy Council of Trent having decreed that three or four times a year +all nuns should have extra-ordinary Confessors given to them to relieve +them from the yoke and constraint which might ensue from being always under +the direction of one and the same ordinary Confessor, our Blessed Father +decreed that every three months, in the four Ember weeks the Sisters of the +Visitation, of which Order he was the Founder, should have an Extraordinary +Confessor, carefully recommending to the Superiors to ask for one even +oftener for any Sisters who might desire or really need his help. + +Blessed Teresa[1] was also very careful to ensure to her Sisters this holy +and reasonable liberty, which renders the yoke of the Saviour sweet and +light as it should be, and her daughters, the Carmelites, still value their +privilege as she did. + +Our Blessed Father used, moreover, to say that Religious men to whom +the direction of nuns was entrusted, and all convents subject to their +jurisdiction, would do well to observe the excellent rule and custom +some of them have of never leaving a Confessor for more than a year in a +convent. + +He added that Superiors should reserve to themselves the power of +withdrawing Confessors even before the time for which they were appointed +had expired, and indeed whenever it may please them, and should not keep +any Confessor longer than the time for which he was appointed, unless for +some very urgent reason or pressing necessity. + +To show you that it was not only to me that our Blessed Father expressed +his opinion on this point, this is how he wrote about it to a Superior of +the Visitation. + +"We ought not to be so fickle as to wish without any substantial reason to +change our Confessor, but, on the other hand, we should not be immovable +and persistent when legitimate causes make such a change desirable, and +Bishops should not so tie their own hands as to be unable to effect the +change when expedient, and especially when either the Sisters or the +Spiritual Father desire it." + +[Footnote 1: St. Teresa was not then canonised. [Ed.]] + + +UPON DIFFERENT METHODS OF DIRECTION. + +In the year 1619 our Blessed Father went to Paris where he remained for +eight or nine months. I was there at the same time, having been summoned +for the Advent and Lent sermons. + +Many pious persons came to consult him on their spiritual concerns, and +thus gave him the opportunity of observing the variety of methods employed +by God to draw souls to Himself, and also the different ways in which His +Priests guide and direct these same souls. + +Among others, he told me of two priests celebrated for their preaching, and +who also applied themselves most zealously to the administration of the +Sacrament of Penance. Both were faithful servants of God and exemplary in +the discharge of their functions, but yet so different in their methods of +direction, that they almost seemed to oppose one another, though both had +the one single aim in view, namely, to promote the service and the glory of +God, "One of them," said the Saint, "is severe and almost terrible in his +preaching. He proclaims the judgments of God like the very trump of doom. +In his special devotions, too, he speaks of nothing but mortifications, +austerities, constant self-examination and such like exercises. Thus, +by the wholesome fears with which he fills the minds of his penitents, +he leads them to an exact observance of God's law, and to an anxious +solicitude for their own salvation. He does not harass them with scruples, +and yet keeps them in a marvellous state of subjection. + +"The effect of his direction is that God is greatly feared and dreaded by +them, that they fly from sin as from a serpent, and that they earnestly +practise virtue. This divine fear is coupled with a high esteem for their +Director, and a friendship for him, holy indeed, but so strong and vehement +that it seems to these souls as though, were they to lose their guide, they +must needs go astray. + +"The other Director leads souls to God by quite a different path. His +sermons are always on the love of God. He inculcates the study of virtue +rather than the hatred of vice. He makes his penitents love virtue more +because it pleases God, than because it is itself worthy of love, and he +makes them hate vice more because it displeases God than because of the +sufferings which it brings upon those who are slaves to it. + +"The effect of this direction is to make souls conceive a love for God +that is great, pure and disinterested; also a great affection for their +neighbour for the love of God; while, as for their sentiments towards their +Director, they approach him with reverential awe, beholding God in him and +him in God, having no affection for his person beyond that due to all our +fellow-men." + +Our Blessed Father never told me the name of this Director, nor even gave +me the slightest hint as to who he was, and I therefore sought no further +explanation, contenting myself with admiring the ways of God and His +various desires for the good of the souls whom He calls to His service. I +became penetrated, too, with the conviction that by many different routes +we can reach one and the same goal. _Let every spirit praise the Lord_. + + +ADVICE UPON HAVING A DIRECTOR. + +I asked him one day who was his Director. Taking from his pocket the +_Spiritual Combat_, he said: "You see my Director in this book, which, +from my earliest youth, has, with the help of God, taught me and been my +master in spiritual matters and in the interior life. When I was a student +at Padua, a Theatine Father instructed and gave me advice from it, and +following its directions all has been well with me. It was written by a +very holy member of that celebrated congregation, the author concealing his +own name under that of his Orders which makes use of the book almost in the +same way as the Jesuits make use of the Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola." + +I reminded him that in his Philothea[1] he recommends people to have a +living Director. "That is true," he answered, "but have you not noticed +that I say he must be chosen out of ten thousand?[2] Because there is +scarcely one in a thousand to be found having all the qualities necessary +for this office, or who, if he has them, displays them constantly and +perseveringly; men being so variable that they never remain in one state, +as Holy Scripture assures us."[3] + +I asked him if we must then run uncertainly and pursue our way without +guidance. He answered: "We must seek it among the dead; among those who are +no longer subject to passion or change, and who have ceased to be swayed +by human interests. As an Emperor of old said that his most faithful +counsellors were the dead, meaning books, so we may say that our safest +spiritual directors are books of piety." + +"But what," I asked, "are those who cannot read to do?" "They," he replied, +"must have good books read to them by people in whom they can have absolute +confidence. Besides, such simple souls as these do not, as a rule, trouble +themselves much about methods of devotion, or, if they do, God for the most +part bestows on them such graces as to make it plain that He Himself is +their Teacher, and that they are truly _Theodidacts, or taught by God_." + +"Must we then," I asked, "give up all spiritual guides?" "By no means," he +answered, "for besides the fact that we are bound to obey the law of God +coming to us through our Superiors, both spiritual and temporal, we must +also defer most humbly to our Confessors, to whom we lay bare the secrets +of our conscience. Then, when we find difficulties in the books which we +have chosen for our guidance, difficulties which, as we read, we cannot +settle to our satisfaction, we must consult those who are well versed in +mystic language, or rather, I should say, in spiritual matters, and listen +humbly to their opinion. We must not, however, always consult the same man; +for, besides the fact that Holy Scripture warns us that _there is safety +where there is much counsel_,[4] we must remember that if we always +consulted the same living oracle, he would in time become superior to the +dead one; that he would make himself a supplanter, a second Jacob, pushing +aside the book which we had chosen for our guide, and assuming dominion and +mastery over both dead and living, that is, over the book and the reader +who had chosen it for his direction. To prevent this encroachment, I had +almost said this unfelt and imperceptibly increasing tyranny, it is well +when we meet with difficulties to consult several persons, following the +advice given by the Holy Ghost through the Apostle St. Paul not to make +ourselves the slaves of men, having been delivered and redeemed at so great +a price, even that of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ."[5] + +In answer to my remark that I very much preferred as a book _The Imitation +of Christ_ to the _Spiritual Combat_, he said that they were both the works +of writers truly animated by the Spirit of God, that they were indeed +different in many respects, but that it might be said of each of them as it +is of the Saints: _There was not found the like to him._[6] + +He added that in such matters comparisons were always more or less odious; +that beauty, however it might vary, was always beauty; that the book of +_the Imitation_ had in some respects great advantages over _the Combat_, +but that the latter had also some advantages over _the Imitation_. Among +these he mentioned with special commendation its arrangement and that it +goes deeper into things and more thoroughly to the root of the matter. He +concluded by saying that we should do well to read the one and not neglect +the other, for that both books were so short that to do this would not put +us to much expenditure of time or trouble. + +He valued _the Imitation_, he said, greatly for its brevity and conciseness +as an aid to prayer and contemplation, but _the Combat_ as a help in active +and practical life. + +[Footnote 1: Book 1. c. 10.] +[Footnote 2: This hyperbole of St. Francis is sometimes pushed to excess, +It is a question, too, if M. Camus always understood him rightly. [ED.]] +[Footnote 3: Job xiv. 2.] +[Footnote 4: Prov. xi. 14.] +[Footnote 5: 1 Cor. vii. 23.] +[Footnote 6: Eccle. xliv. 20.] + + +UPON TRUE AND MISTAKEN ZEAL. + +Zeal was a virtue which Blessed Francis ever regarded with a certain amount +of suspicion, "It is," he used to say, "generally speaking, impetuous, and +although it strives to exterminate vice by reproving sinners, it is apt, if +not guided by moderation and prudence, to produce most disastrous effects. + +"There is a zeal so bitter and fierce that it pardons nothing, exaggerates +the smallest faults, and, like an unskilful physician, only makes the +disease of the soul more serious. There is zeal of another kind, which is +so lax and weakly tender, that it forgives everything, thinking in so doing +to practise charity, which is patient and kind, seeks not her own, and +bears all wrongs done to her even joyfully; but such zeal, too, is quite +mistaken, for true charity cannot endure without grief any wrong done to +God, that is to say, anything contrary to His honour and glory. + +"True zeal must be accompanied by knowledge and judgment. It pardons +certain things, or, at least, winks at them, until the right time and place +are come for correcting them; it reproves others when it sees there is +hope of amendment, leaving no stone unturned when it thinks there is a +possibility of preserving or advancing the glory of God. + +"It is certain that zeal tempered with gentleness is far more efficacious +than that which is turbulent and boisterous. This is why the Prophet, +wishing to demonstrate the power of the Messiah to bring the whole universe +under the sweet yoke of obedience to Him, does not speak of Him as the Lion +of the Tribe of Juda, but as the Lamb, the Ruler of the Earth. The Psalmist +says the very same thing in a few words: _Mildness is come upon us, and we +shall be corrected._" + +I was complaining one day to our Saint of injuries which I had suffered +through the mistaken zeal of some persons of eminent virtue, and he replied +thus: "Do you not know that the best honey is made by the bees which have +the sharpest sting?" It is true, indeed, that nothing hurts us so much as +wrong done by those on whose support we reckoned, as David knew well when +he said: "_For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with +it, and if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would +perhaps have hidden myself from him, but thou, a man of one mind, my guide, +and my familiar--who together didst take sweet meats with me: in the house +of God we walked with consent._"[1] + +"Consider," the Saint went on to say, "by whom Jesus Christ was betrayed." +Listen to the words spoken by him through the mouth of His Prophet, spoken +moreover of His most sacred wounds, "_With these I was wounded in the house +of them that loved me._"[2] + +And, after all, is not hope always at the bottom of Pandora's box? Virtuous +people carried away by this mistaken zeal, will, directly their eyes are +opened, only too gladly recognise the truth, and will love you more than +ever. Pray to God to enlighten them and to deliver you from the attacks of +calumny. And if the worst comes to the worst, is it not the duty of a true +Christian to bless those who curse him, to pray for those who persecute +him, and to render good for evil, provided he really wishes to be a +faithful child of the Heavenly Father, who makes His sun to shine, and His +rain to fall, on the wicked as well as on the good.[3] + +Let your sighs and lamentations be breathed softly into the ear of God +alone, saying to Him: + +"_They will curse, and Thou wilt bless, and they that look to Thee shall +not be confounded._"[4] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm liv. 13-16.] +[Footnote 2: Zach. xiii. 6.] +[Footnote 3: Matt. v. 44-45.] +[Footnote 4: Psalm cviii. 28.] + + +UPON THE INSTITUTION OF THE VISITATION ORDER. + +When he instituted the Congregation of the Visitation of Holy Mary in the +town of Annecy, where he resided, he had no intention either of multiplying +Religious Houses or of forming a new Order or Institute with vows, of which +he said there were already enough in the Church. His idea was to form an +assembly of devout widows and maidens, free and unbound either by monastic +vows or enclosure, who should, in their house, occupy themselves with +prayer and manual labour, only going out for two objects, namely, to +discharge their own domestic duties or to perform works of mercy done for +their neighbour to the glory of God. Those who embraced this mode of life +practised it with such success that not only the town of Annecy, but all +the country round felt the influence of their holy life, and was greatly +edified by their example; while the sick and poor, whom they visited in +their distress, were both consoled and relieved by them. + +Later on, these holy women formed a little settlement at Lyons, but not +to the satisfaction of the then Archbishop, afterwards Cardinal, de +Marquemont. This Prelate, although a person of much excellence, having +lived the greater part of his life in Rome, where he was Auditor to the +Rota, was so thoroughly imbued with all the Italian maxims as to the +management of women that he could not endure their living thus without +vows or enclosure. He therefore not only advised, but even urged our +Blessed Father to insist upon their choosing some one of the monastic +Rules approved by the Church, and upon their taking perpetual vows, and +preserving an inviolable enclosure. Our Blessed Father, who was extremely +pliable, condescending, and ready to yield to the will of others, allowed +himself to be persuaded by this great Prelate. + +The Archbishop then promised that he would submit to the approbation of +Rome the Constitutions which the holy Bishop had prepared for the guidance +of this simple community, provided that they were in accordance with the +Rule of St. Augustine. + +Our Blessed Father also induced his dear daughters to lay aside their +original manner of life in order to embrace this second, which took the +shape of an Order properly so called, having perpetual vows. + +Since this change he has often told me that the Congregation owed its +establishment simply to the providence and ordering of God, Whose Spirit +breathes where He wills, and Who effects changes with His own right hand +when it pleases Him; and Whose own perfection it is which makes His works +admirable in our eyes. + +"As for me," he once said to me, "I am filled with astonishment when I +reflect that, alone and unaided, but with extraordinary calmness of mind, I +have done what I wished to undo, and undone what I wished to do." + +"What do you mean by that?" I asked. And he replied: "I never thought for a +moment of forming a Religious Order, being of opinion that their number is +already amply sufficient. No, I only intended to gather together a little +company of maidens and widows without solemn vows and without enclosure, +having no wealth, but that of holy charity, which is indeed all silk and +gold, and is the great bond which unites all Christians, the true bond +of all perfection, the bond of the Spirit of God, the spirit of holy and +absolute liberty." He went on to say that their occupation had hitherto +been, as I have already told you, prayer, manual labour, and visiting the +sick and destitute. "I fear," he added, "that there will be quite an uproar +in the little town when, under the new system, their vows and enclosure +oblige them to abandon their works of mercy. Indeed, I gave their Order the +title of the Visitation of Holy Mary that they might take for their pattern +in their visits to the sick, that visit which the Blessed Virgin paid to +her cousin St. Elizabeth, with whom she dwelt for three months, to help +her and to wait upon her. Now that they are enclosed, they will be rather +visited than visitors; but since the holy providence of God so orders it, +may that providence be for ever blessed." All that I have just told you is +clearly expressed in the letter written by him on the subject of the change +to Cardinal Bellarmine, which can be seen in the volume of his letters. In +remembrance, as it were, of his first design, he expresses his desire to +obtain from the Holy See, through the intervention of the great Cardinal, +three privileges for this Institution. The first, that it should only be +obliged to recite the office of the Blessed Virgin. The second, that widows +should be allowed to be received and to live there, wearing their secular +dress, without taking any vows, and with power to come out if at any time +the necessity of their affairs should oblige them to do so. The third, that +even married women should be allowed to enter, and to remain for a short +time with the permission of their husbands and of the Spiritual Father, +without being either Benefactresses or Foundresses. The letter justifies +all this, and is full of beautiful and sensible reasons for it. I know also +that during his lifetime, when the twelve first Houses of the Order were +established, he saw that in them all those rules were carried out. + +I cannot here refrain from quoting for you a passage from Cardinal +Bellarmine's reply to the letter written to him by our Blessed Father +on this subject. It shows very plainly how highly that good and learned +Prelate approved of the first design for the constitution of this Order, +and how little he favoured the change of plan, which has, nevertheless, we +must admit, redounded greatly to the glory of God and to the edification of +the whole Church. + +The Cardinal says in this letter: "I will give you the same advice as I +should take for myself were I in similar circumstances. I should then keep +these maidens and widows exactly as they are at present, not making any +change in a state of things which is so admirable. For, before the time of +Boniface VIII. there were consecrated persons in the Church, the Eastern +as well as the Western, mentioned by the Fathers. Among the Latins, St. +Cyprian, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine; among the Greeks, St. +Athanasius, St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, and many others; but they were not +enclosed in their convents in such a manner that they could not come out of +them when, necessary. And your most Reverend Lordship is aware that simple +vows are no less binding and are of no less merit in the sight of God +than solemn ones. Indeed, the solemnizing of vows, as well as the rule of +Enclosure, was originated by an ecclesiastical decree of the said Boniface +VIII. Even at the present day, the convent of noble ladies, founded by St. +Frances of Rome, nourishes in that city, although without any enclosure or +solemn profession. Therefore, if in your country maidens and widows live in +so holy a manner, without being either cloistered or enclosed, and are able +thus to be of use to those in the world, I do not see why their mode of +living should be changed." + +What our Blessed Father dreaded for the Institute was what happens to those +Institutes which fail in exactitude of observance. And he often quoted +Saint Bernard's saying that though devotion had given birth to riches, +these unnatural daughters had stifled their mother. Whenever he heard of +any House established in his time beginning to complain of want of comforts +or conveniences he would say: "One day they will have only too many." +All his letters are full of exhortations to put up with discomforts, and +to lean upon Providence, casting all care upon God, Who feeds the young +ravens, satisfies the hunger of all flesh, and fills every living creature +with blessings. Wealth, not poverty, was what he feared for his Order. This +is what he says in the Constitutions: "For the more perfect observance of +the holy virtue of poverty, when once the buildings of the convents are +finished, the revenues shall be limited according to the place where each +convent is situated, to the end that even in this a proper mean may be +kept, and that there be no superfluity of goods in the Community, but only +a fair sufficiency, and when this is once attained nothing further shall +be taken for the reception of the Sisters coming to it, but what shall +be requisite to keep up and maintain well the just competency of the +convent."[1] + +And in the letter which he wrote to the most Serene Infanta, Margaret of +Sovoy, Dowager Duchess of Mantua, to invite her to take this Congregation +under her protection, he says: + +"This Congregation does not solicit alms, but is established in such a +manner that the ladies who enter it give a dowry in order to maintain +the buildings, the sacristy, the chaplain, and to defray the expenses of +illness, etc., either by means of a regular and perpetual income, or by +some other way which cannot injure anyone or interfere in any possible +manner with the payment of the taxes and subsidies due to his most Serene +Highness the Duke. I hope also that the above-mentioned Congregation will +in a few years' time be endowed with revenues sufficient for the support +of the Community, Thus widows without children, and young girls who desire +to serve God in chastity, obedience, and poverty, will have every facility +for entering it, since they will be received without any other payment than +that of a dowry or pension provided by their family for their support." + +[Footnote 1: Constitution 5.] + + +HIS DEFENCE OF HIS NEW CONGREGATION OF THE VISITATION. + +On one occasion, some one speaking to him, my Sisters, of your +"Congregation," said: "But what do you mean to do with all this crowd of +women and maidens? Of what use will they be to the Church of God? Are there +not already enough of such institutions into which these applicants might +be drafted? Would you not be doing better if you were to establish some +College for the training and education of Priests, and spend your time on +them instead of on these persons to whom one must repeat a thing a hundred +times before they can retain it? And then, after all, if they do, it is a +treasure buried, a candlestick under a bushel. Is it not a case of painting +on water and sowing on sand?" + +Our Blessed Father, smiling graciously, answered with his extraordinary +serenity and sweetness: "It is not for me to work with costly materials; +goldsmiths handle the precious metals, potters only clay. Believe me, God +is a skilled workman; with poor tools He can accomplish wonderful work. He +is wont to choose weak things to confound the strong; ignorance to confound +knowledge, and that which is nothing to confound that which seems to be +something. What did He not do with a rod in the hand of Moses? With the +jaw-bone of an ass in that of Samson? With what did He vanquish Holofernes? +Was it not by the hand of a woman? When He willed to create the world, out +of what did He form it, save nothingness? Believe me, great fires are often +kindled from small sparks. Where was the sacred fire found when the Jews +returned from their captivity among the Medes? In a little mud! + +"This weaker sex is deserving of being treated with great tenderness; we +must take much more care of it than we do of the stronger one. St. Bernard +says that the charge of souls is for the weak far more than for the strong. +Our Lord never refused His assistance to women. He was generally followed +by several of them, and they did not forsake Him on the Cross, where he was +abandoned by all His disciples excepting His beloved John. The Church +who gives the title of devout to this sex does not hold it in such low +estimation as you do. + +"Besides, do you reckon as nothing the good example which they may set +wherever God calls them? Is it unimportant in your opinion to be a sweet +odour in Jesus Christ, an odour of life eternal? Of the two requisites for +a good pastor, precept and example, which think you is the most estimable? +For my part I think more of an ounce of example than of a hundred pounds' +weight of precept. Without a good life doctrine turns into scandal; it is +like a church bell, it calls others, but itself never goes in; hence the +reproach: _Physician, heal thyself_. + +"Even if holy women only served as perfumes for the Church they would not +be useless. A great deal of incense is employed by her in her ceremonies! + +"It is true that there are, as you say, a great many other Congregations +already in the Church, into which some of those who are enrolled in this +new one might enter; but there are, besides, many in the Visitation who, +on account of their age or infirmities, or because of their feebleness +of constitution, though they be young, are quite incapable of enduring +the bodily austerities imposed by other Orders, and therefore cannot be +admitted into them. If we receive into this one some who are strong and +healthy, it is that they may wait upon the weak and delicate, for whom this +Congregation has chiefly been instituted, and to put in practice that holy +command: _Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of +Christ._[1] + +"As for your exhortation to me to think about forming a Congregation of +Priests, do you not see that that is already planned by M. de Berulle, a +great and faithful servant of God, who has far more capacity for the work, +and much more leisure also, than I can get? Remember how heavily burdened +I am with the charge of a diocese, in which is situated such a place as +Geneva, the very fountain-head of the errors which are troubling the whole +Church. In conclusion, let us leave great designs to great workmen. God +will do what He pleases with my little plan." + +[Footnote 1: Gal. vi. 2.] + + +UPON THE ODOUR OF SANCTITY. + +Our Blessed Father held in the very highest esteem the odour of sanctity, +and revered those who by their good example shed it abroad through the +world, not for their own glory, but for the glory of God. + +On another occasion when some morose and captious person was finding fault +with the Visitation Order, and after taking exception to it because of its +newness, wound up by saying to Blessed Francis, "And then of what use will +it be to the Church?" The holy Prelate answered pleasantly: "To play the +part of the Queen of Sheba." "And what part is that?" returned the man, "To +render homage to Him who is greater than Solomon, and to fill the whole +militant Jerusalem with perfumes and sweet odours." + +In one of his Conferences he expresses the same thought as follows: "In +my opinion the divine Majesty has made choice of you to go forth as +perfume-bearers, seeing that He has commissioned you to go and scatter far +and wide the sweet odours of the virtues of your Institute. And as young +maidens love sweet odours (for the Bride in the Canticle of Canticles says +that the name of her Beloved is _as oil_, or balm, shedding on all sides +the sweetest perfumes, and _therefore_, she adds, the _young maidens_ +have followed Him, attracted by His divine perfumes), so do you, my dear +sisters, as perfume-bearers of the Divine Goodness, go forth, shedding +all around the incomparable sweetness of sincere humility, gentleness, +and charity, so that many young maidens may be attracted thereby, and may +embrace your manner of life, and that they may even in this world enjoy, +like you, a holy loving peace and tranquillity of soul, and in the world to +come eternal happiness." + + +HE REBUKES PHARISAISM. + +On one occasion when the Sisters of the Visitation had made a foundation +in a city famous for the piety of its inhabitants and in which there +were already a number of Religious Houses highly esteemed for external +austerities and severe discipline, they met with much criticism and even +harsh treatment on account of their own gentler and apparently easier rule. + +In the end, they made known to Blessed Francis what they had to put up +with. + +I ought, perhaps, to say that, among other ill-natured remarks, they had +been reproached with having strewn a path of roses to lead them to Heaven, +and with having brought our Saviour down from the Cross; meaning that they +did not practise many corporal austerities. Those who said this quite +forgot the fact that this Order of the Visitation was founded for the +reception and consolation largely of women, whether young or old, weak in +bodily health, though strong and healthy in mind, whose feeble frames could +not support the external rigour demanded by other Communities. + +Our Blessed Father, as I told you, having heard from letters addressed to +him by the Superior, of the harsh treatment and sufferings of his poor +daughters, wrote to her several times on the subject. The following words +of his are especially remarkable for their beauty: + +"Beware, my daughter, of replying in any way whatever to these good +Sisters, or to their friends in the world, unless, indeed, you do so +with unalterable humility, gentleness, and sweetness. Do not defend +yourselves,[1] for such is the express command of the Holy Ghost. If they +despise your Order because it appears to them inferior to theirs, they +violate the law of charity, which does not permit the strong to despise the +weak, or the great the small. Granted that they are superior to you, do the +Seraphim despise the little Angels, or the great Saints in Paradise, those +of inferior, nay, of the lowest rank? Oh, my dear daughter, whoever loves +God the most will be the most loved by Him, and will be the most glorious +up in Heaven. Do not distress yourself, the prize is awarded to those who +love." + +[Footnote 1: Rom. xii. 19.] + + +UPON RELIGIOUS SUPERIORS. + +Speaking of Superiors, I may tell you that Blessed Francis divided them +into four classes. "First," he said, "there are those who are very +indulgent to others, and also to themselves. Secondly, there are those who +are severe to others, and equally so to themselves. Thirdly, there are some +who are indulgent to their subordinates and rigid to themselves. Fourthly, +there are those who are indulgent to themselves and rigorous to others." + +He condemned the first as careless and criminal persons, heedless of their +duties: they abandon the ship they should pilot, to the mercy of the waves. + +A Superior of the second kind often spoils everything precisely because he +wishes to do too much, and falls into those exaggerations which have lent +truth to the saying, "Absolute right is absolute injustice." "He who would +rule well," runs an ancient aphorism, "must rule with a slack hand." We +must not hold our horse's bridle over tightly, for though we may save him +from stumbling we hinder him even from walking. + +Superiors of the third class are better because they put a kindly +construction upon the faults and infirmities of others less known to them, +as they necessarily are, than their own. This is the reason why they are +severe to themselves and indulgent to others--a line of conduct which +generally meets with the approval of their subjects. The latter are the +more edified because they see their Superiors observing those very laws +from which they have dispensed them. It is just so with the laity: they are +mostly more anxious about the morals of their clergy than they are about +their own. + +Superiors of the fourth and last kind are truly unfaithful servants. They +resemble those Pharisees who _laid on the shoulders of other men heavy +burdens which_ they themselves would not touch with the tip of their +finger. + +Our Blessed Father wished that all these four classes could be merged in +a fifth, that of which the watchword should be holy equality according to +that precept both of nature and of the Gospel: "Do to others as you would +be done by; treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and +treat yourself as you know you ought to be treated." In fact, since each +man is to himself his nearest neighbour, we all recognise the injustice +of demanding in the life of others what we do not practise in our own. To +command others to do what we do not ourselves do is to be like Urias, who +carried his own condemnation and death-warrant in his bosom. + +One day, in his presence, I was praising a certain Superior for his extreme +goodness, gentleness, patience, and condescension, which attracted all +hearts to him, just as flies are attracted to a honeycomb. He answered, +"Goodness is not good when it puts up with evil; on the contrary, it is bad +when it allows evils to go on which it can, and should, prevent. Gentleness +in such a case is not gentleness, but weakness and cowardice. Patience in +such a case is not patience, but absolute stupidity. + +"When we suffer evil which we could prevent, we do not merely tolerate but +become accomplices in wrong-doing. I am of opinion that subjects are made +good by bad, I mean, by harsh and disagreeable Superiors. The severity of +a mother is more wholesome for a child than the petting of an indulgent +nurse, and the firmness of a father is always more useful to his children +than their mother's tenderness. The rougher the file the better it smoothes +the iron, and the more rust it rubs off; the hotter the iron, the better +the surface it gives to the cloth." He related with regard to this subject +an anecdote which will both please and profit you. + +The head of a certain Religious Order, which was at the time undergoing +a vigorous reform, had, with the consent of the Provincial Chapter, +established a Novitiate House which was to serve as the one only Seminary +for the whole province. It was decided that no novice should be clothed +until he had been examined by three Fathers of the Order appointed for that +purpose. The first was to enquire into the birth and condition of those +who presented themselves for examination, the second into their literary +capacity, and the third into their manner of life and vocation. This last, +in order to get a firm grip on the pulse of the postulants, and to sound +their vocation to the very quick almost always asked them if they would +have courage and patience enough to put up with bad Superiors, bad in the +extreme, cruel, rude, peevish, choleric, melancholy, captious, pitiless, +those, in a word, whom they would find it impossible to please or satisfy. + +Some, evading the question, replied that there could be none such in the +Order, or, at least, would not be suffered to remain in office, seeing that +it was governed with so much gentleness and benignity, and that its yoke +was so sweet and desirable. The examiner, who did not like evasive and +ambiguous replies of this sort, determined to get an answer that should +be straight-forward and to the point. Taking a much sterner tone, he +represented a Superior to them as a sort of slave-driver: a man who would +govern his subjects by blows and stripes, and who yet would expect them to +drink this chalice of bitterness as if offered to their lips by the hand of +God. + +Some of the postulants fearing the test, became pale or crimson with +agitation, and either answered nothing, showing by their silence that they +could not swallow the pill, or, if they answered at all, declared that +they could not believe he was speaking seriously, and that they were not +galley-slaves. + +These he dismissed at once as unfit to be received into the Order. + +Others, however, full of courage and constancy, still answered, that they +were prepared for any ill-treatment, and that nothing could deter them from +carrying out their God-inspiring resolution. That no creature, however +cruel and however unfeeling, could separate them from the love of Jesus +Christ, nor from His service. These the examining Father received with open +arms into the bosom of the Order. + +You may judge from this how skilful was this master of novices in hewing, +hammering, and cutting the stones he was endeavouring to fit for the +spiritual edifice of the Order. Our Blessed Father himself, in spite of all +the sweetness and gentleness of his natural disposition, did not fail to +follow this plan to a certain extent, representing to all who came to him, +desiring to enter into religion, the interior and spiritual crosses which +they must resolve to carry all their life long, not the least heavy of +which, and at the same time not the least useful in helping them to make +great advance in perfection would perhaps be the severity of Superiors. + + +UPON UNLEARNED SUPERIORS. + +A certain community having had their Superior taken from them on account of +their complaints of the severity of his rule, and having a new one set over +them in his place, came to Blessed Francis to pour out their grievances on +the subject of their recently appointed head. They declared that he was an +ignorant man. "What is to be done with you?" cried our Blessed Father, "you +remind me of the frogs to whom Jupiter could not give a king who was to +their taste. We ought certainly to wish to have good and capable Superiors, +but still whatever they may be we must put up with them." One of the +complainers was so wanting in discretion as to say that their one-eyed +horse had been changed into a blind one. Blessed Francis suffered this jest +to pass, merely frowning slightly, but his modest silence only unchained +the tongue of another scoffer who presumed to say that an ass had been +given to them instead of a horse. Then Blessed Francis spoke, and, rebuking +this last speech, added in a tone of gentle remonstrance, that the first +remark, though far from being respectful, was more endurable because it was +a proverb and implied that a Superior had been given to them who was less +capable than his predecessor, and that this was expressed in figurative +terms, as David speaks of himself in relation to Almighty God in one of +the Psalms when he says: _I am become as a beast before Thee._[1] "The +second sarcasm, however," he added, "has nothing figurative in it, and is +absolutely and grossly insulting. We must never speak of our Superiors in +such a manner, however worthless they may be. Remember that God would have +us obey even the vicious and froward,[2] and he that _resisteth the power +resisteth the ordinance of God_." + +Then taking up the defence of this much-abused Superior, "Do you imagine," +he said, "that it is not within the power of God to exalt in a moment one +who is poor in spirit by bestowing on him the gift of intelligence? Is not +He the God of knowledge? Is it not He who imparts it to men? Are not all +the faithful taught of God? + +"The science of the Saints is the science of Salvation, and this is a +knowledge more frequently given to those who are destitute of the knowledge +which puffs up. In what condition think you was Saul when God raised him to +the throne of Israel? + +"He was keeping his father's asses. On what did Jesus Christ ride +triumphant on Palm Sunday? Was it not upon an ass?" + +Again, in his eleventh Conference, he says: "If Balaam was well instructed +by an ass, we may with greater reason believe that God, Who gave you this +Superior, will enable him to teach you according to His will, though it may +not be according to your own." + +He wound up his remarks on the subject of the new Superior by saying: "I +understand that this good man is most gentle and kind, and that if he does +not know much he does none the less well, so that his example makes up for +any deficiency in his teaching. It is far better to have a Superior who +does the good which he fails in teaching, than one who tells us what we +ought to do, but does not himself practise it." + +[Footnote 1: 1 Peter ii. 18.] +[Footnote 2: Rom. xiii. 2.] + + +UPON THE FOUNDING OF CONVENTS. + +You know, my Sisters, with what circumspection and prudence our Blessed +Father moved in the matter of foundations. During the last thirteen years +of his life, in which he established your Congregation, he only accepted +twelve convents and refused three times as many, saying, as was his wont, +"Few and good." He was always very particular about the Superiors to whom +he committed the charge of monastic houses, knowing the immense importance +of such choice and its influence upon all the members of a Religious +family. + +He was fond of comparing a convent to a beehive, and in one of his +Conferences applies this comparison to your own Order as follows:--"Your +Congregation," he says, "is like a bee-hive which has already sent forth +various swarms: but with this difference, that when bees go forth to +settle in another hive and to begin a new household each swarm chooses a +particular queen under whom they live and dwell apart. + +"You, my dear souls, though you may go into a new hive, that is, begin +a new house of your Order, have always only one and the same King, our +crucified Lord, under Whose authority you will live secure and safe +wherever you may be. Do not fear that anything will be wanting to you, for, +as long as you do not choose any other King He will ever be with you; +only take great care to grow in love and fidelity to His divine goodness, +keeping as close to Him as possible. Thus all will be well with you. Learn +from Him all that you will have to do; do nothing without His counsel, for +He is the faithful Friend who will guide you and govern you and take care +of you, as with all my heart I beseech Him to do."[1] + +Very often I urged him to consent to certain foundations which it was +proposed to make, but He always gave me some good reason for refusing. + +It was not without trouble and difficulty that we obtained a little colony +for Belley. He often said to me: "The Sisters are as yet but novices in +piety, they must be left to grow a little stronger; have patience, for we +shall be doing quite enough if the little we do is what pleases our divine +Master. It is better for them to grow at the roots by virtue rather than +in the branches by forming new houses. Will they, do you think, be more +perfect because they have more convents?" + +[Footnote 1: Conf. 6.] + + +UPON RECEIVING THE INFIRM INTO COMMUNITIES. + +Regarding the reception of the infirm, he might have exclaimed with St. +Paul: _Who is weak and I am not weak_? Blessed Francis shared largely in +this spirit, so much did he love the infirm, whether of body or of mind. He +loved the poor in spirit; poor, that is, whether in earthly goods or in the +wisdom of the world, and he used to say that their simplicity was a soil +suitable for the planting of all sorts of virtues, that it would yield much +fruit in due season. He was of opinion that during the year of Novitiate +established in all communities preparatory to the embracing of religious +life, too much attention was paid to the consideration of infirmities, both +spiritual and corporal, just as if convents were not in reality so many +hospitals for healing the diseases of body and mind. Hence, he added, came +the name of _Therapeutes_, that is, curers, healers, or operators, formerly +given to Monks. + +It is true that there are certain bodily diseases which from the fact of +their being infectious necessitate the separation of such as are afflicted +with them from the healthy. So also there are spiritual maladies, such as +incompatibility of temper and incorrigibility of defects, which may make +it proper to refuse those who are thus disqualified for entering Religion, +just as in former days, persons suffering from these disabilities could be +dismissed even after Profession. + +In one of his letters he thus expresses his feeling for the infirm: "I am," +he says, "a great partisan of the infirm and am always afraid lest the +inconveniences to which they must naturally put the Community should excite +a spirit of human prudence in our convents and banish the spirit of charity +in which our Congregation was founded, and which is our safest guide in +selecting our Sisters. I take, then, the side of your infirm applicant, +and provided that she be humble and ready to recognise and appreciate your +charity, you must receive the poor girl; it will be a constant opportunity +for the Sisters to practise the holy virtue of loving-kindness." + + +UPON SELF-PITY. + +Gentle and compassionate as his disposition was, full of tenderness, and +sympathy for the feeble and the frail, Blessed Francis was nevertheless +strict and severe in his dealings with those whom he knew to be too lenient +to themselves, either in temporal or spiritual matters. + +He who practised so much severity in his own case, assuredly had the right +to advise others to do as much, and especially, like him, to refrain +from complaining at the inconveniences and sufferings endured in time of +sickness. He succeeded in inspiring his Daughters of the Visitation with +his spirit, teaching them that true Christian patience, which is neither +apathy nor insensibility, nor the dull stupid endurance of the Stoics; but +a sweet and reasonable submission to the Will of God, coupled with cheerful +obedience to the physician whom He commands us to honour, and a grateful +acceptance of the remedies prescribed for us. + + +UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF NUNS BY RELIGIOUS MEN. + +It was never his opinion that nuns should be under the jurisdiction and +guidance of other Religious, especially of those of their own Order. + +For this he alleged several very weighty reasons, which I have been careful +to bear in mind that I may impart them to you at the right time and place. + +For the present, however, I will content myself with reading you one of his +letters, and with afterwards making a little comment upon it. + +"I observe," he says, "that many influential people are inclined to think +that Religious Houses should be under the authority of the Ordinaries, +according to the old rule revived lately throughout almost the whole of +Italy; whilst others would have them to be under Superiors of their own +Order, conformably to a custom introduced about four or five hundred years +ago, and almost universally observed in France. For my own part, I confess +that I cannot bring myself to adopt the view of those who desire that +convents of women should be placed under the guidance of Religious men, +still less of the Fathers of their own Order. And in this I feel that I am +of the same mind as the Holy See, which always, where it can be reasonably +brought about, opposes itself to the government of nuns by Regulars. + +"I do not say that such government is not sometimes advantageous, even at +the present day, but I do say that it would be far better if in general it +were done away with. And this for many reasons. + +"It seems to me that it is no more difficult for the Pope to exempt the +nuns of any Order from the jurisdiction of the Fathers of that same Order, +than it is for him to exempt monasteries from the jurisdiction of their +Ordinary, a procedure inspired no doubt by the most excellent motives, and +that has been carried out successfully for so many centuries. + +"The Pope has, as a matter of fact, kept our own nuns in France under the +rule of the Bishops, and it appears to me that these same good nuns do +not know what is good for them when they seek to be transferred to the +jurisdiction of a Religious Order, seeing that Regular Superiors are apt +to be a little rigorous in the exercise of their authority, and to deprive +those under them of holy liberty of spirit." + +I would call your attention to the fact mentioned by our Blessed Father +that almost everywhere in Italy the nuns are under the guidance and +jurisdiction of the Bishops. Of this I was myself an eye-witness, and I +noticed at Florence, that out of fifty convents, only four are not under +the jurisdiction and direction of the Archbishop. + +I would also remind you that the Holy Apostolic See has, as far as +possible, and for many reasons, revived this ancient form of government of +nuns. That these reasons exist it is well to bear in mind, though it may +not always be prudent to urge them in public. + +Again, if in former times it was thought advisable to exempt nuns from the +guidance and jurisdiction of their Ordinaries, or Diocesan Pastors, at the +present day there are far more weighty reasons for replacing them under the +authority of the Bishops, and for taking from the Regulars this exceptional +jurisdiction. + +This is exactly what our Blessed Father thought about the matter. Remember +then always that to put convents under the Bishops is to bring things back +to their first and purest state, for as regards exemption we can assuredly +say that _from the beginning it was not so_. + +It seems, too, to me, that nuns who desire the guidance of Monks, +especially of Fathers of their own Order, are true daughters of Zebedee; +they know not what they ask, nor what they want, nor what they are doing. + + +THAT WE MUST NOT BE WEDDED TO OUR OWN PLANS. + +Our Blessed Father used to praise very highly the conduct of Blessed +John of Avila as having been prompted by great strength of mind, and +extraordinary forgetfulness of self in that his zeal made him not only +love his neighbour as himself but even more than himself. I will give you +an instance of this in Francis' own words, addressed to Theotimus: "The +Blessed Ignatius of Loyola, having with such pains set up the company of +Jesus, which he saw produced many fair fruits, and foresaw many more that +would ripen in time to come, had, nevertheless, the nobleness of soul +to resolve that, though he should see it dissolved (which would be the +bitterest pain which could befall him) within half an hour afterwards, +he would be stayed and tranquil in the Will of God. John of Avila, that +holy and learned preacher of Andalusia, having a design to form a company +of reformed Priests for the advancement of God's glory, and having +already made good progress in the matter, as soon as he saw the Jesuits +in the field, thinking they were enough for that time, immediately, with +incomparable meekness and humility, renounced his own undertaking. Oh, how +blessed are such souls, bold and strong in the undertakings God proposes +to them, and withal tractable and facile in giving them up when God so +disposes. It is a mark of a most perfect Indifference to leave off doing a +good work when God pleases, and to return, our journey half accomplished +when God's Will, which is our guide, so ordains."[1] I may tell you, my +Sisters, that you have only to change the name of John of Avila into that +of the Blessed Francis de Sales, and you can apply to an event in his life +these very words. I know that he had in his mind a scheme of forming a +Congregation of Priests, not bound by monastic vows, something on the +pattern of your Order of the Visitation in its beginning; but, of course, +conformable to the calling of the Priesthood. Hearing, however, that +Pierre de Berulle, that faithful servant of God, afterwards a Cardinal, +had established the Congregation of the French Oratory, now so greatly +distinguished for its piety and learning, he abandoned his enterprise, +rejoicing that God should have given this holy commission to one less busy +than himself, and therefore more capable of ordering all things in this +holy Society, and thus promoting the glory of God. I have said, that he +meant to take the Visitation as a model of this projected Congregation of +Priests, intending them to develop, and to prosper side by side. I must +add, however, that even before the formation of your Congregation he had +made an attempt in the same direction by drawing together a little company +of hermits on the gloomy but holy mountain of Notre Dame de Voiron, and +preparing for them laws and constitutions in the observance of which they +have lived with great sanctity ever since. + +You know also that his zeal was so condescending in its nature, and that he +was so little wedded to his own opinions, that, though the Visitation had +flourished for four or five years with great edification to others as well +as to itself, yet as soon as His Grace the Archbishop of Lyons, afterwards +Cardinal de Marquemont, had represented to him that it would better for +it to be re-constructed with vows and enclosures like other Orders, he +consented to change its whole constitution. + +Speaking of great works undertaken for the glory of God, which, owing to +the illness or death of their founder or head, sometimes seem in danger of +falling to the ground, Blessed Francis said: "There are some undertakings +which God wishes to be begun indeed by us, but completed by others. Thus +David gathered together materials for the temple which his son Solomon +built, St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius Loyola, sighed for the grace +of martyrdom, and sought for it by all possible means; yet God would not +crown them with it, contenting Himself with the offering of their will. + +"To submit ourselves simply and cheerfully to the Will of God in the +failure of undertakings which concern His glory is an act of no small +resignation." + +[Footnote 1: Book ix. chap. 6.] + + +HIS VIEWS REGARDING ECCLESIASTICAL DIGNITIES. + +It is certain that two great Pontiffs, Clement VIII. and Paul V., held +Blessed Francis in the highest possible esteem. Paul V. more than once when +speaking to me dwelt upon his merit, and said how suitable and indeed how +necessary such a Bishop was for a diocese like that of Geneva. + +We know, too, that the same Pope often thought of raising him to the +dignity of Cardinal. Our Blessed Father was himself well aware of this, and +mentioned it in letters written to his confidential friends, some of which +have since been published. + +It is probable that the fact that this honour was never conferred upon him +was owing to the political difficulties which beset the Supreme Pontiff in +these matters. + +Puzzled at his not receiving the hat, I one day expressed to him my great +surprise at the delay. "Why," he answered, "can you really think this +dignity would in any way conduce to my serving our Lord and His Church +better than I can now do? Would Rome, which would be the place of my +residence, afford me more opportunities for so doing, than this post in +which God has placed me? Should I have more work there, more enemies to +fight against, more souls to direct, more cares, more pious exercises, more +visits to make, or more pastoral functions to discharge?" + +"You would enter," I replied, "into the solicitude of all the churches; and +from the direction of one particular Church you would be promoted to share +in the care of the Universal Church, becoming, as it were, the co-assessor +of the Holy See." "Nevertheless," he replied, "you see Cardinals of our +own day, who when they were Bishops and had dioceses were distinguished +for their piety, quit their residence at Rome, which is only theirs by a +positive and ecclesiastical law, in order to return to their flocks among +which the law of God has fixed their homes, bidding them watch over these +flocks and feed and guide the souls entrusted to them." + +He then told me a memorable circumstance concerning the great Cardinal +Bellarmine of saintly memory. That Prelate was promoted to the dignity, +unknown to himself and against his will, by Clement VIII. Under the +pontificate of Paul V., who succeeded Leo XI., he was promoted to the +Archbishopric of Capua, again contrary to his own wishes, but by the desire +of the Pope. He bowed beneath this yoke, but not until he had remonstrated +with the Holy Father, who, in reply, simply commanded him to take upon +himself the episcopal charge. + +Immediately after his consecration he prepared to take up his residence at +Capua. The Pope, who desired his services at Rome, sent for him, and asked +him if he was quite resolved to live in his diocese. The Cardinal replied +that he was, because unwillingly as he had accepted this charge he had done +so with the conviction that his Holiness felt he could dispense with his +services at Rome, nor would otherwise have placed him over the diocese of +Capua. The Pope replied that he would dispense him from residing in his +diocese. "Holy Father," he answered, "that is not what I have been teaching +in the schools all my life. I have always held that the residence of +Bishops in their diocese is commanded by the law of God, and that therefore +they cannot be dispensed from observing it." "At least," returned the Pope, +"give us half the year." "And during those six months," replied Bellarmine, +"at whose hands will the blood of the lost sheep of my flock be required?" +"Then, at least, three months," pleaded the Pope. The Cardinal gave the +same answer as he had given about the six, and, in fact, soon took his +departure for Capua, where he remained in uninterrupted residence for three +years, in the course of which time, as a relaxation from the labours of his +office, he wrote his beautiful Commentary on the Psalms. + +Such was the high value set by the holy Cardinal upon the residence of a +Bishop among his flock: and St. Charles Borromeo, and more recently his +worthy successor, Cardinal Borromeo, have been as uncompromising as +Bellarmine was. As for our Blessed Father, he only valued the Honours and +dignities of the Church and of the world in proportion as they afford means +for serving God and advancing His glory. This was the golden standard with +which he measured the holy City of Jerusalem. + + +HIS PROMOTION TO THE BISHOPRIC OF GENEVA AND HIS REFUSAL OF THE +ARCHBISHOPRIC OF PARIS. + +Although in the life of our Blessed Father his promotion to the Bishopric +of Geneva is described at great length, yet, in my opinion, the subject has +been treated very superficially, and no attempt has been made to give a +full account of the matter. + +The truth is that the Saint had all his life but one aim in regard to the +following out of his holy vocation, namely, to serve God in whatever sacred +office he might be called to fill. He had passed through all the various +ecclesiastical offices of Canon, Parish Priest, Provost, Dean of the +Cathedral Church, Preacher, Confessor, and Missionary, when M. de Granier, +at that time Bishop of Geneva, inspired by God, desired to make him his +successor. In this, as in all other matters, our Saint recognised the +inspiration, and with a single eye, that saw God only, committed himself +entirely to His providence. + +He did nothing at all either to hinder or to further the design, leaving +it all to M. de Granier, who obtained the consent of the Duke of Savoy +to propose Francis to his Holiness. It was, however, a condition that he +should at once present himself at Rome to be examined in full Consistory. +He was therefore obliged to undertake the journey thither. This journey, +as we know, is fairly well described by the writers of his life. They tell +also of his success, and of the approval bestowed upon him by Pope Clement, +who used the inspired words: _Drink water out of thine own cistern, and the +streams of thine own well. Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and in the +streets divide thy waters._[1] From so excellent a vocation what but good +results could be expected? A good tree cannot bear evil fruit. We know well +how worthily Blessed Francis walked in the vocation to which he had been +called, and how the light of his holy life, like the dawn of morning, shone +more and more unto the perfect day. + +In the year 1619, having come to Paris with the Princes of Savoy, he +remained there for eight months, during which time it is impossible to give +any idea of all that he did for the glory of God and the good of souls. The +eyes of all men in this great theatre were turned upon him, as were those +of the Romans upon Cato, when one day he showed himself in their assembly. + +It was not only by the people of Paris that he was thought so much of, but +also by their pastor, the Cardinal de Retz (Peter de Gondi), a Prelate of +incomparable gentleness, benignity, liberality, modesty, and every other +delightful quality. The sweet attractive grace of Blessed Francis' manners +and conversation produced such an effect upon him that he at once desired +to make him his coadjutor, with right of succession. + +Not expecting any opposition from the holy Bishop, and having gained the +consent of the King, he thought that nothing remained to be done but to +carry out the formalities prescribed by the Roman Congregations. Francis, +however, with marvellous adroitness, warded off the blow, leaving the +great Cardinal penetrated with admiration of his virtue if without the +satisfaction of gaining his compliance. + +Among the various reasons for this refusal which are to be found in his +letters, one or two please me especially. For instance, he said that he did +not think he ought to change a poor wife for a rich one; and again, that if +he did ever quit his spouse it would not be to take another, but in order +not to have one at all, following the Apostolic counsel: _Art thou bound, +to a wife, seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife, seek not a +wife_.[2] + +It is true that honours and dignities are but trifles; yet to despise +and refuse them is not a trifling thing. It is easy to disdain them from +a distance, but difficult to deal with them face to face, and either to +quit them when we possess them, or to refuse them when they are offered. +_Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish, and that hath not +gone after gold nor put his trust in money, nor in treasures. Who is he? +and we will praise him, for he hath done wonderful things in his life._[3] + +Such a one, my Sisters, believe me, was your Father and mine, my preserver +and your Founder, Blessed Francis de Sales. + +[Footnote 1: Prov. v. 15, 16.] +[Footnote 2: 1 Cor. vii. 27.] +[Footnote 3: Eccle. xxxi. 8, 9.] + + +A BISHOP'S CARE FOR HIS FLOCK. + +Good digestions assimilate all kinds of food, and convert it into wholesome +nourishment, and so in like manner holy souls turn all that they meet with +into material for instruction and into help towards their eternal profit. +Thus, the great St. Anthony, saw the Creator on every page of the book +of nature and in all living creatures. The tiniest flower, growing and +blossoming at his feet, raised his thoughts to Him Who is the Flower of the +Field and the Lily of the Valley, the Blossom springing from the root of +Jesse. + +Those who are smitten by some passionate human love are so absolutely +possessed by it that they think of nothing else, and since their tongue +speaks out of the abundance of their heart this is their one subject of +conversation, all others being distasteful to them. They write the name of +the beloved object on rocks and trees, and wherever they can they leave +behind them some carved token or emblem of their affection. + +Just so was it with our Blessed Father. His delight was to make all +subjects of conversation, all incidents that might occur, further in one +way or another the glory of God, and kindle His divine love in the hearts +of others. On one occasion, when he was visiting that part of his diocese +which lies among the lofty and bleak mountains of Faucigny, where it is +always winter, he heard that a poor cowherd had lost his life by falling +over a steep precipice while trying to save one of his herd. From this +incident he drew a marvellous lesson upon the care which a Bishop ought to +take of the flock entrusted to his charge by God, showing that he ought to +be ready to sacrifice even life itself for its salvation. He thus relates +the incident, and gives his comments on it in one of his letters. + +"During the past few days I have seen mountains, terrible in their +grandeur, covered with ice ten or twelve inches thick; and the inhabitants +of the neighbouring valleys told me that a herdsman going out to try and +recover a cow which had strayed away fell over a precipice from a height of +thirty feet, and was found frozen to death at the bottom. Oh, God! I cried, +and was the ardour of this poor herdsman in his search for the beast that +had strayed, so burning that even the cold of those frozen heights could +not chill it? Why, then, am I so slothful and lax in the quest after my +wandering sheep? This thought filled my heart with grief, yet in no wise +melted its frozen surface. I saw in this region many wonderful sights. The +valleys were full of happy homesteads, the mountains coated with ice and +snow. Like the fertile and smiling valleys, the village mothers play their +homely part, while a Bishop, raised to such a lofty eminence in the Church +of God, remains ice-bound as the mountains. Ah! will there never rise a sun +with rays powerful enough to melt this ice which freezes me!" What zeal for +souls, what humility, what holy fervour breathe in these words! + + +ON THE FIRST DUTY OF BISHOPS. + +"Being a Bishop," he used to say to me, "you are at the same time a +superintendent, sentinel, and overseer in the House of God, for this is +what the word Bishop means. It is then your part to watch over and guard +your whole diocese, making continual supplications, crying aloud day and +night like a watchman on the walls, as the prophet bids you do, knowing +that you have to render an account to the great Father of the family of all +the souls committed to your care. + +"But especially you ought to watch over two classes of people who are the +heads of all the others, namely, the Parish Priests and the fathers of +families, for they are the source of most of the good and of most of the +evil which is to be found in parishes or households. + +"From the instruction and good example given by Parish Priests, who are the +shepherds of the flock, proceeds all the advance of that flock in knowledge +and virtue. They are like the rods of which Jacob made use to give the +colours he wanted to the fleeces of the lambs. Teaching does much, but +example does incomparably more. It is the same with fathers and mothers of +families: on their words, but still more on their conduct, depends all the +welfare of their households. + +"As Bishop you are the master-builder, the superintendent. It is your duty +then to watch over the leaders of your flock and over those who, like Saul, +are a head taller than the rest. Through them healing and blessing flows +down upon others, even as Aaron's ointment descended from his head to the +very hem of his garment. + +"This is why you ought continually to exhort and instruct, in season and +out of season, for you are the Parish Priest of all Parish Priests, and the +Father of all Fathers of families." + + +UPON THE PASTORAL CHARGE. + +On one occasion I was complaining to him of the difficulties which I met +with in the discharge; of my episcopal duties. He replied that on entering +the service of God we must prepare ourselves for temptation, since no one +could follow Jesus Christ or be of the number of His true disciples except +by bearing His Cross, nor could anyone enter Heaven except by the path and +through the gate of suffering. "Remember," he said, "that our first father +even in the state of innocence was put into the earthly Paradise to work in +it and to keep it. Do you imagine that he was banished from it in order to +do nothing? Consider how God condemned him and all his posterity to labour, +and to till an ungrateful earth which produced of itself nothing but +thorns and thistles. There is much more toil and difficulty in weeding and +cultivating souls than any earthly soil, rough, stony, and barren though +it may be. The art of arts is the direction of souls, it is of no use to +undertake it unless we have made up our minds to innumerable labours and +disappointments. + +"The Son of God being a sign of contradiction, can we wonder if His work is +exposed to the same; and if He had so much difficulty in winning souls, +is it likely that his coadjutors and those who labour with Him will have +less?" + +Then fearing to depress me by the enumeration of so many difficulties, he +went on to cheer me with the example of the Prince of Pastors, the Bishop +of our souls, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who preferred shame and +toil to joy, that He might further the work of oar salvation. + +He added that of the Apostles, and other Pastors of the Church, reminding +me that if we think much of the honour of being their successors we +must, with the inheritance, accept its burdens, nor shelter ourselves +by, in legal phrase, _disclaiming liability for debts beyond the assets_ +inherited. Otherwise, he said, we should be like that kinsman of Ruth who +wished to have the inheritance of the first husband, but not to marry the +widow and raise up to him an heir. + +He generally wound up his remarks with some reminder of that love which +makes all that is bitter to be sweet: sometimes quoting to me those words +of St. Augustine, "Where we love, there is no labour, or if there is any we +love the labour itself, for he who labours in loving, loves to labour for +the beloved object." + + +UPON THE CARE OF SOULS. + +A Priest once complained to Blessed Francis of the thorns besetting his +path in life, of the difficulties of his holy calling, of the anxieties +inseparable from it, but chiefly of the intractableness of stiff-necked +Christians, who refuse to submit to the easy yoke of Jesus Christ, and to +do what their duty requires. The Bishop replied that their obstinacy was +not so much to be wondered at as the weakness of their Pastors who were so +easily discouraged and impatient, just because they saw that the seed sown +by their labours did not forthwith produce the plentiful harvest they +desired. + +"The peasant is not blamed for failing to reap an abundant harvest, but +only for not carefully cultivating his field, and for not doing all that +is necessary to make his land productive. Discouragement is a mark of +excessive love of self and of zeal unaccompanied by knowledge. + +"The best lesson for those who have the care of souls, is that which the +Apostle gives to all in the person of one: _Preach the word: be instant +in season and out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and +doctrine._[1] + +"In this text the word _patience_ is the key to the whole mystery, for +patience has its perfect work when it is accompanied by charity, which is +patient, kind, and is the virtue by which we possess our souls in peace." + +The charge of souls means having to bear with the weak, for the strong +are able to go on by themselves in their progress towards what is good. +Our holy Bishop explained this by two beautiful similitudes: "The plumage +of birds is heavy, and yet without this load they could neither raise +themselves from the ground nor hover in the air. The burden borne by holy +souls is like a load of cinnamon, which, by its perfume invigorates him who +carries it. So souls which are weak serve to make their Pastors, who bear +the burden of them, rise on wings towards Heaven, and on earth to run in +the way of God's commandments." + +The other comparison Is this: "Notice," he said, "a shepherd driving a +flock of sheep: if one of them breaks a leg the shepherd at once takes +it on his shoulders to carry it back to the fold, and this single one +is certainly a heavier load than all the rest together, who go along of +themselves. In like manner souls which of themselves advance in the way +of God afford little occasion for their Pastors to exercise care and +vigilance. It is of the faulty and intractable they have chiefly to think, +St. Bernard says that the care of souls is not a care of the strong, but of +the infirm, for if any one helps thee more than he is helped by thee, know +that thou art not his father but his equal." + +Even the prophets complain of men of obstinate and rebellious hearts. To +work among them is to go down to the sea in ships and to do our business in +great waters, for these waters are God's people with whom we have to deal. + +[Footnote 1: 2 Tim. iv. 2.] + + +UPON LEARNING AND PIETY. + +By rights, the more learned a man becomes the more pious should he be. This +does not, however, always happen, and if we must choose between the two, +there is no doubt that it is better to be uneducated but pious, rather than +to be learned without being religious-minded. + +Blessed Francis remarked one day when we were speaking of a Parish Priest +whose holy life was highly praised, but with whose defects as a teacher +great fault was found: "It is quite true that knowledge and piety are, as +it were, the two eyes of a Priest; still, as a man can, by dispensation, +receive Holy Orders even though he has only one eye, so also it is quite +possible for a Parish Priest to be a most faithful servant in his ministry +by simply leading a zealous, exemplary, and well-regulated life. The +function of teaching may be discharged by others, who, as St. Paul says, +are instructors but not fathers.[1] But no one can be a pattern to others +except by giving good example, and this cannot be done by proxy." + +Besides, the Gospel tells us that we are to pluck out the eye which +offends. It is better to enter heaven with one eye, than to be cast into +hell-fire with two.[2] "There is, indeed," he continued, "a degree of +ignorance so gross as to be inexcusable and to render him who is plunged +into it in very truth a blind leader of the blind. When, however, a man is +in good repute for his piety he surely has within him that true light which +leads him to Jesus Christ and enables him to show light to others. It is as +though he said to them, like Gideon, _Do as I do_, or with St. Paul, _Be ye +followers of me, as I also am of Christ_.[3] Such a one does not walk in +darkness and those who follow him are sure to reach the haven. Though he +has not talents of learning and erudition such as would make him shine in +the pulpit, yet he has enough if he can, as the Apostle says, _exhort in +sound doctrine and convince the gainsayers_.[4] Remark," he added, "how +God taught Balaam by the mouth of his ass." Thus, his charity dexterously +covered the defects of his neighbour, and by this lesson he taught us to +value an ounce of piety more than many pounds of empty learning. + +[Footnote 1: 1 Cor. iv. 15.] +[Footnote 2: Matt. xviii. 9.] +[Footnote 3: 1 Cor. iv. 16.] +[Footnote 4: Tit. i. 9.] + + +ADVICE TO BISHOP CAMUS AS TO RESIGNING HIS SEE. + +When I was consulting him once as to whether or not I should follow the +bent of my own inclination in the matter of retiring into a private and +solitary life, he, wishing to ascertain by what spirit I was led, answered +me in the beautiful words of St. Augustine: _Otium sanctum diligit charitas +veritatis, et negotium justum suscipit veritas charitatis_.[1] Charity, the +holy love of eternal truth, draws us into retirement, that we may in that +calm leisure contemplate things divine; but when our hearts are filled with +true charity we are none the less urged to undertake good works in order to +advance the glory of God by serving our neighbour. + +Although he esteemed Mary's part--called in the Gospel "the better +part"--much more highly than Martha's, yet it was his opinion that +Martha's, undertaken purely for the love of God, was more suitable to +this present life, and that Mary's had more in common with that of a +blessed eternity. He only made an exception as regards some special and +extraordinary vocations, some irresistible and most powerful attractions, +acting upon the soul, and in the case of those who do not possess the +talents requisite for serving as Martha served, and have only those +suitable for a purely contemplative life. Also those who, having expended, +all their physical strength in the service of the Church, withdraw into +solitude towards the close of their life, there to prepare for that last +journey which is ordained for all flesh. + +For this reason he repulsed and silenced me--not indeed harshly, for his +incomparable sweetness was incompatible with harshness--but firmly and +decidedly whenever I spoke to him of quitting my post and of resigning the +helm into the hand of some more skilful pilot. He called my desire to do so +a temptation, and in the end closed the discussion so peremptorily that, +during his lifetime, I never ventured to revive it with anyone. + +He dealt in almost exactly the same manner with that virtuous soul[2] the +corner-stone of the spiritual edifice of the Congregation of the Visitation +which he founded, for he kept her in the world for more than seven years, +bringing up and educating the children whom God had given her and affording +spiritual help to her father and father-in-law. He kept her back, I say, +for this long period, before permitting her to retire into the solitude of +the cloister; so exact was he in himself following, and in leading those +who were under his direction to follow, the holy light of faith rather than +the false and lurid glimmers of their natural inclinations. + +On a previous occasion a certain Bishop whom I knew well asked him whether +in his opinion it would be allowable for him to give up his Bishopric with +its heavy burdens and retire into private life, bringing forward as an +example St. Gregory of Nazianzen, surnamed the Theologian, the oracle of +his time, who gave up the charge of three Bishoprics, Sozima, Nazianzen, +and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, that he might go and end his days +In rural life, on his paternal estate of Arianzen. + +Our Blessed Father replied that we must presume that these great Saints +never did anything without being moved to do it by the Spirit of God, and +that we must not judge of their actions by outward appearances. He added +that St. Gregory in quitting Constantinople was only yielding to pressure +and violence, as is proved by the manner in which he said his last Mass in +public, and which brought tears into the eyes of all who heard him. + +This same Bishop replying that the greatness of his own charge terrified +him, and that he was overpowered by the thought of having to answer for +so many souls: "Alas!" said Blessed Francis, "what would you say, or do, +if you had such a burden as mine on your shoulders? And yet that must not +lessen my confidence in the mercy of God." + +The Bishop still complaining and declaring that he was like a candle which +consumes itself in order to give light to others, and that he was so much +taken up with the service of his neighbour that he had scarcely any leisure +to think of himself and to look after the welfare of his own soul, our +Blessed Father replied: "Well, considering that the eternal welfare of your +neighbour is a part, and so large a part, of your own, are you not securing +the latter by attending to the former? And how, indeed, could you possibly +work out your own salvation except by furthering that of others, seeing +that you have been called to do so precisely in this manner?" + +The Bishop still objecting and saying that he was like a whetstone which is +worn out by the mere sharpening of blades, and that while trying to lead +others to holiness he ran the risk of losing his own soul, our Holy Prelate +rejoined: "Read the history of the Church and the lives of the Saints, +and you will find more Saints among Bishops than in any other Order or +avocation, there being no other position in the Church of God which +furnishes such abundant means of sanctification and perfection. For +remember that the best means of making progress in perfection is the +teaching others both by word and example. Bishops are by their very office +compelled to do this and to strive with all their heart and soul to be a +pattern and model to their flocks. The whole life of a Christian on earth +is a warfare, and should be one unceasing progress towards the goal of +perfection. Were you to do as you propose it would be in a manner to look +behind you, and to imitate the children of Ephraim, who turned back when +they should have faced the enemy. You were going on so well, who is it who +is holding you back? Stay in the ship in which God has placed you to make +the voyage of life; the passage is so short that it is not worth while +changing the boat. For, indeed, if you feel giddy in a large vessel, how +much more so will you in a slight skiff tossed by every motion of the +waves! A lower condition of life, though less busy and apparently more +tranquil, is none the less equally subject to temptation." + +This reasoning so convinced the Bishop[3] that he remained faithful to his +post in the army of Holy Church. + +[Footnote 1: De Civit. Dei. Lib. 19. cap 19.] +[Footnote 2: St. Jane Frances de Chantal.] +[Footnote 3: This Bishop was evidently M. Camus himself. [Ed.]] + + +THE JOYOUS SPIRIT OF BLESSED FRANCIS. + +So light-hearted and gay was he, so truly did his happy face express the +serenity and peace of his soul that it was almost impossible to remain for +any time in his company without catching something of this joyous spirit. + +I feel sure that only those of dull and gloomy temperament can take +exception to what I am going to relate in order to illustrate our Blessed +Father's delightful gift of pleasantry in conversation. + +On one occasion when I was paying a visit to him at Annecy two young girls, +sisters, and both most virtuous and most devout, were professed in one of +the convents, he performing the ceremony, and I, by his desire, giving +the exhortation. While preaching, although I said nothing to my mind very +heart-stirring, I noticed that a venerable Priest who was present was so +much affected as to attract the attention of everyone. After the ceremony, +when we were breakfasting with the holy Bishop, the Priest being also at +table, I asked Blessed Francis what had been the cause of such emotion. He +replied that it was not to be wondered at seeing that this good Priest had +lost his aureola, and had been reduced from the high rank of a martyr to +the lowly one of a Confessor! + +He went on to explain that the Priest had been married, but that on the +death of his wife, who was a most saintly woman, he had become a Priest, +and that all the children of that happy marriage had been so piously +brought up that every one of them had devoted himself or herself to the +service of the Altar, the young girls just professed being of the number. + +The tears shed by the Priest were therefore of joy, not of sorrow, for he +saw his most ardent desire fulfilled, and that his daughters were now the +Brides of the Lamb. "But," I cried, "what did you mean by saying that a man +married to such a wife as that was a Martyr? That may be the case when a +man has a bad wife, but it cannot be true in his case." + +Our Blessed Father's manner changed at once from gaiety to seriousness. +"Take care," he said to me in a low voice, "that the same thing does not +happen to you; I will tell you how, by-and-by, in private." + +When we were alone afterwards I reminded him of his promise. "Take care," +he said again with some severity of aspect, "lest if you yield to the +temptation which is now assailing you something worse does not befall you." +He was alluding to my desire to give up the burden of my Bishopric and to +retire into more private life. + +"Your wife," he went on to say, meaning the Church, whose ring when he +consecrated me he had put on my finger, "is far more holy, far more able +to make you holy than was that good man's faithful wife, whose memory is +blessed. It is true that the many spiritual children whom she lays in your +arms are a cause of so much anxiety that your whole life is a species +of martyrdom, but remember that in this most bitter bitterness you will +find peace for your soul, the peace of God which is beyond all thought +or imagination. If you quit your place in order to seek repose, possibly +God will permit your pretended tranquillity to be disturbed by as many +vexations as the good brother Leone's, who, amid all his household cares in +the monastery, was often visited by heavenly consolations. Of these he was +deprived when, by permission extorted from his Superior, he had retired +into his cell in order, as he said, to give himself up more absolutely to +contemplation. Know (Oh! how deeply these words are engraven on my memory) +that God hates the peace of those whom He had destined for war. + +"He is the God of armies and of battles, as well as of peace, and he +compares the Sulamite, the peaceful soul, to an army drawn up in battle +array and in that formation terrible to its enemies." I may add that our +Blessed Father's predictions were perfectly verified, and after his death +when the very things he had spoken of happened to me I remembered his words +with tears. + +As I write I call to mind another instance of his delightful manner which +you will like to hear. + +Young as I was when consecrated a Bishop, it was his desire that I should +discharge all the duties of my holy office without leaving out any single +one of them, although I was inclined to make one exception, that of hearing +confessions. I considered myself too young for this most responsible work, +and wanting in that prudence and wisdom which are born of experience. + +Our Blessed Father, however, thought differently in the matter, and I, +holding this judgment in so much higher esteem than my own, gave way, bent +my neck under the yokes and took my place in the confessional. There I +was besieged by penitents, who scarcely allowed me any time for rest or +refreshment. + +One day, worn out with this labour, I wrote to St. Francis, saying, among +other things, that intending to make a Confessor he had really made a +Martyr. + +In answering my letter he said that he knew well that the vehemence of +my spirit suffered the pangs of a woman in travail, but then I must take +courage and remember that it is written, _a woman when she is in labour +hath sorrow because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the +child she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into +the world_.[1] + +[Footnote 1: John xvi. 21.] + + +UPON DAILY MASS. HIS ADVICE TO A YOUNG PRIEST.[1] + +To a Priest whom I know well, and whom our Blessed Father loved much in Our +Lord, he gave most excellent advice, and in a very kindly manner, conveyed +it to him by means of an ingenious artifice. + +The Priest was young, and owing to his extreme youth, although he was a +Parish Priest, he dreaded saying Mass often, contenting himself with doing +so on Sundays and holidays. + +Our Blessed Father, wishing to lead him to say his Mass every day, devised +this plan. He presented him with a little box covered with crimson satin, +embroidered in gold and silver and studded with pearls and garnets. Before +he actually put it into his hands, however, he said to him, "I have a +favour to ask of you which I am sure you will not refuse me, since it only +concerns the glory of God, which I know you have so much at heart." "I am +at your command," replied the Priest. "Oh, no," said the Bishop, "I am not +speaking to you as one who commands, but as one who requests, and I make +this request in the name and for the love of God, which is our common +watchword." After that, what could the Priest possibly refuse him? His +silence testified his readiness to obey, better than any words could have +done. + +Blessed Francis then opening the box showed him that it was quite full of +unconsecrated hosts, and said, "You are a Priest, God has called you to +that vocation, and also to the Pastoral Office in His Church. Would it be +the right thing if an artisan, a magistrate, or a doctor only worked at his +profession one or two days in the week? You have the power to say Holy Mass +every day. Why do you not avail yourself of it? + +"Consider that the action of saying Mass is the loftiest, the most august, +of all the functions of religion, the one which renders more glory to God +and more solace to the living and the dead than any other. + +"I conjure you, then, by the glory of Him in whom we live and move and have +our being, to approach the Altar every day, and never, except under extreme +necessity, to fail to do so. + +"There is nothing, thank God, to prevent your doing this. I know your +soul as well as a soul can be known, and of this you are yourself quite +aware, you who have so frankly unfolded to me the inmost recesses of +your conscience. Far from seeing any impediment, I see that everything +invites you to do what I ask, and that you may so use the daily and +supersubstantial Bread I make you this present, entreating you not to +forget at the holy Altar him who makes you this prayer on the part of God +Himself." + +The young Priest was somewhat surprised, and without attempting to evade +the implied rebuke contented himself with submitting to the judgment of the +holy Bishop his secret unworthiness, his youth, his unmortified passions, +his fear of misusing so divine a mystery by not living as they should live +who each day offer it up. + +"All this excusing yourself, replied our Blessed Father, is only so much +self-accusing as would appear if I chose to examine your reasons in detail +and weigh them in the scales of the sanctuary. But without entering into +any discussion of them let it suffice that you refer the matter to my +judgment. I tell you then, and in this I think that I have the Spirit of +God, that all the reasons which you bring forward to dispense yourself +from so profitable an exercise of piety are really those which oblige you +to practise it. This holy exercise will ripen your youth, moderate your +passions, weaken your temptations, strengthen your weakness, illuminate +your path, and the very act of practising it will teach you to do so with +greater perfection. Moreover, if the sense of your unworthiness would make +you abstain from it out of humility, as happened to St. Bonaventure, and if +your own unfitness makes the custom of daily celebrating productive in your +soul of less fruit than it should, consider that you are a public person, +and that your flock and your Church have need of your daily Mass. More than +that, you ought to be stimulated and spurred on by the thought that every +day on which you refrain from celebrating you deprive the exterior glory +of God of increase, the Angels of their delight, and the Blessed of a most +special happiness." + +The young Priest deferred to this counsel, saying "_Fiat, fiat_," and from +that time for a space of thirty years has never failed to say Mass daily, +even when on long journeys through France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and in +heretical countries. He never failed, I repeat, even under conditions which +seemed to make the saying of Mass impossible. + +Such power have remonstrances when tempered with kindness and prudence. + +[Footnote 1: Possibly M. Camus himself. [Ed.]] + + +A PRIEST SAYING MASS SHOULD BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS. + +He was told that I was very lengthy in my preparation for saying Holy Mass, +and that this was a cause of inconvenience to many who either wished to +be present at it or to speak to me afterwards. I was accustomed, by his +orders, to say daily Mass at a fixed hour, and not in the private chapel +of the Bishop's house, unless I happened to be ill, but in a large chapel +adjoining the Cathedral Church, where synods, ordinations, and similar +pastoral functions were held. The bell rang for this Mass always at a few +minutes before the appointed hour, but those who knew the length of my +preparation in the sacristy did not hurry to come to it, and those who did +not know lost patience, and in winter time often got chilled to the bone. + +Our Blessed Father, wishing to correct this fault in me, waited quietly +till the right moment came for doing so. He was paying me one of his annual +visits at Belley, when it chanced that one morning he was detained very +late in his room writing some letters which he had to send off without loss +of time. When eleven o'clock drew near, his servants, knowing that he never +failed to say Mass unless hindered by illness or some real impediment, came +to remind him that he had not yet done so. + +The Altar in the private Chapel had been prepared for him. He came out of +his room, wearing as usual his rochet and mosetta, and after saluting those +who had come to see him and to hear his Mass, said a short prayer at the +foot of the Altar, then vested and celebrated the holy sacrifice. Mass +ended, he knelt down again, and, after another short prayer, joined us with +a face of angelic serenity. Having greeted each of us affectionately, he +entered into conversation with us, until we were called, as we soon were, +to table. I, who watched his actions most closely and ever found them +regular and harmonious as a stave of music, was amazed at the brevity of +this preparation and thanksgiving. In the evening, therefore, when we were +alone together, I said, using the filial privilege which I knew was mine, +"Father, it seemed to me this morning that your preparation for Mass and +your thanksgiving were very hasty and short." + +He turned suddenly, and, embracing me, exclaimed, "Oh, how delighted I am +that you are so straightforward in telling me home truths! For three or +four days I have been wanting to do the same thing to you, but did not know +how to begin! Now, tell me what do you say as to that lengthiness of yours +which inconveniences everybody? All complain, and quite openly, though +possibly these complaints have not yet reached your ears, so few dare speak +the truth to Bishops. Doubtless it is because no one loves you as I do that +I have been asked to speak about this. My commission is quite authentic, +though I do not show you the signatures. A little of your superfluity +handed over to me would do us both good, by making you go more quickly and, +me more slowly. + +"Do you think," he continued, "that the people who are so anxious to assist +at your Mass have any sympathy with your long preparation before-hand in +the sacristy? Still less those who are waiting to speak to you after Mass, +with your interminable thanksgiving. + +"Many of these people come from a distance, and have business engagements +in the town." + +"But, Father," I said, "how ought we to make our preparation? Scripture +says, _Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth +God_.[1] How much more, then, must we prepare with all care for the +stupendous act of celebrating Mass, before which, in the words of the +Preface, the powers of Heaven tremble? How can one play on a lute without +tuning it?" "Why do you not make this preparation earlier, in your morning +exercise, which I know, or at least I think, you never neglect?" "I rise at +four o'clock in the summer, sometimes sooner," I replied, "and I do not +go to the Altar till about nine or ten o'clock." "And do you suppose," he +returned, "that the interval from four to nine is very great to Him, in +_Whose sight a thousand years are as yesterday?_"[2] + +This passage, so well applied, was like a sudden illumination to me. "And +what about the thanksgiving?" I said. "Wait till your evening exercise to +make it," he answered; "you make your examination of conscience, surely +so great an act will have its weight; and is not thanksgiving one of the +points of self-examination? Both these acts can be made more at leisure and +more calmly in the morning and evening: no one will be inconvenienced by +them, and they will interfere with none of your ordinary duties." "But," +I objected, "will it not be a cause of disedification to others to see me +so quick over things? _God should not be adored hurriedly_." "We may hurry +as much as we like," he replied; "God goes faster than we do. He is as the +lightning which comes forth from the east and the next moment flashes in +the west. All things are present to Him; with Him there is neither past nor +future. How can we escape from His spirit?" I acquiesced, and since then +all has gone well in this matter. + +[Footnote 1: Eccle. xviii. 23.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm lxxxix. 4.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS ENCOURAGES THE BISHOP OF BELLEY. + +Owing to the fact that the See of Belley had been vacant for four years, +a dispensation was obtained from the Bishop enabling me, at the age of +twenty-five, to be consecrated Bishop, and at the same time to be put in +possession of that See to which the King, Henry IV., had already appointed +me. + +Blessed Francis Himself consecrated me, in my own Cathedral Church of +Belley, August 30th, 1609. + +After a while scruples began to disturb my mind on account of this +consecration, seemingly so premature. I had, as it were, been made a +captain when I had scarcely enlisted as a soldier. I carried my troubles to +the director of my conscience, this Blessed Father who consoled and cheered +me by suggesting many excellent reasons for this unusual state of things. +The necessities of the diocese, the testimony to my character of so many +persons of dignity and piety, the judgment of Henry the Great, whose memory +he held in high honour, and, last of all, and above all, the command of His +Holiness. He concluded by urging me not to look back, but rather to stretch +forward to the things which were before me, following the advice of St. +Paul. + +"You have come to the vineyard," he went on to say, "in the first hour of +your day. Beware lest you labour there so slothfully, that those who enter +at the eleventh hour outstrip you both in the work and in reward." + +One day I said jestingly to him: "Father, virtuous and exemplary as you are +considered to be, you have committed one fault in your life, that of having +consecrated me too early." + +He answered me with a laugh which opened a heaven of joy to me. "It is +certainly true," he said, "that I have committed that sin, but I am much +afraid God will never forgive me for it, for up to the present moment I +have never been able to repent of it. I conjure you by the bowels of our +common Master to live in such a manner that you may never give me cause for +regret in this matter and rather, often to stir up in yourself the grace +which was bestowed upon you from on high by the imposition of my hands. I +have, you must know, been called to the consecration of other Bishops, but +only as assistant. I have never consecrated any one but you: you are my +only one, my apprenticeship work. + +"Take courage. God will help us. + +"_He is our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear? He is the +Protector of our life, of whom shall we be afraid?_" + + +UPON A COMPASSIONATE MIND. + +Although his soul was one of the strongest and most well-balanced possible, +yet it was capable of the tenderest and most compassionate feelings for the +sorrows of others. He did not repine over the miseries and infirmities of +human nature, he only desired that all souls should be strengthened by +grace. + +To a lady who was heart-broken at the death of a sister whom she +passionately loved, he wrote: + +"I will not say to you, do not weep, for, on the contrary, it is just +and reasonable that you should weep a little--but only a little--my dear +daughter, as a proof of the sincere affection which you bore her, following +the example of our dear Master, who shed a few tears over His friend +Lazarus, but not many, as do those whose thoughts, being bounded by the +moments of this miserable life, forget that we, too, are on our way to +Eternity, in which if we live well in this life we shall be reunited to our +beloved dead, nor ever be parted from them again. We cannot prevent our +poor hearts from being affected by the changes of this life, and by the +loss of those who have been our pleasant companions in it. Still never must +we be false to our solemn promise to unite our will inseparably to the Will +of God." + +Again, let me remind you how tenderly he expresses himself on the sorrowful +occasions of the death of his dearest relatives and friends. "Indeed," he +says, "at times like these I myself weep much. Then my heart, hard as a +stone with regard to heavenly things, breaks and pours forth rivers of +tears. But God be praised! They are always gentle tears, and, speaking to +you as to my own dear daughter, I never shed them without a loving grateful +thought of the providence of God. For, since our Saviour loved death and +gave His death to be the object of our love, I cannot feel any bitterness, +or grudge against it, whether it be that of my sisters or of anyone else, +provided it be in union with the holy death of my Saviour." + +And in another place he says: + +"I must say just one word in confidence to you. There is not a man living +who has a heart more tender and more open to friendship than mine, or who +feels more keenly than I do the pain of separation from those I love; +nevertheless. I hold so cheap this poor earthly life which we lead that I +never turn back to God with a more ardent affection than when He has dealt +me some blow of the kind or permitted one to be dealt me." + + +UPON DOING ONE'S DUTY, WITHOUT RESPECT OF PERSONS. + +After I had preached several Advents and Lents in various towns of my +diocese of Belley, he thought it well that I should do so in my own native +city, Paris. + +Well knowing, as he did, the various views and judgments of the great world +which rules there, he wished to teach me to care very little what people +said about me, and he impressed the lesson upon me by relating to me the +following story of an aged Priest and the college clock. + +A good Father being incapacitated by infirmities even more than by age from +fulfilling the duty of teaching binding on his Order, and yet being anxious +to have some little useful employment, was entrusted by his Superior with +the winding and regulating the college clock. + +Very soon, however, he came to complain of the difficulty and almost +impossibility of his work; not, he said, that it was at all beyond his +strength, but that it was quite beyond him to satisfy everyone. When the +clock was a little slow, he said, the young men who had difficult and +troublesome work to do indoors, complained, declaring that the town clocks +were much faster, and to please them he would put it on a little. As soon +as this was done complaints burst forth from those whose work lay outside +the college, in visiting the sick and prisoners, or providing for the needs +of the household in the city. They came back declaring that the town clocks +were much slower, and reproaching me for having put theirs on. + +The Superior settled the matter by telling the good Father to let the +clock take its own course, but always to use soft words to those who might +complain, and to assure each one of them that he would do his best to keep +the clock right if possible. "So let it be with you," concluded our Blessed +Father. "You are going to be exposed to the criticism of many; if you +attend to all that they say of you, your work, like Penelope's, will never +be done, but every day you will have to begin it over again. + +"Even some of your friends will in perfect good faith give you suggestions +on matters which seem to them important, but which in reality are not so at +all. + +"One will tell you that you speak too fast, another that you gesticulate +too much, a third that you speak too slowly, and don't move enough--one +will want quotations, another will dislike them; one will prefer doctrinal, +another moral lessons; some one thing, some another. + +"They will be like drones who do nothing but disturb the working bees, and +who, though they can sting, yet make no honey." + +"Well! what is to be done in all this?" + +"Why, you must always answer gently, promising to try and correct yourself +of your faults whatever they may be, for there is nothing which pleases +these counsellors so much as to see that their suggestions are accepted +as judicious, and, at least, worthy of consideration. In the meantime go +your own way, follow the best of your own character, pay no heed to such +criticisms, which are often contradictory one of the other. + +"Keep God before your eyes, abandon yourself to the guidance of the spirit +of grace, and say often with the Apostle, 'If I yet pleased men I should +not be the servant of Christ,' who said of Himself that He was not of this +world. Neither, indeed, were His Apostles, for the friendship of the world +is enmity with God. + +"It is no small matter for a steersman in the midst of a storm to keep +the rudder straight. Of little consequence ought it to be to us that we +are judged by men. God is our only true judge, and it is He Who sees the +secrets of our hearts, and all that is hidden in darkness." + + +THE HONOUR DUE TO VIRTUE. + +Honour is like thyme which the pagans thought ought only to be burnt on the +Altar of Virtue. In ancient Rome the Temple of Honour could only be entered +through the Temple of Virtue. + +The virtue of Blessed Francis de Sales was so generally recognized by +both Catholics and Protestants that he may be truly said to have been +universally reverenced. + +A remarkable instance of this occurred at Grenoble, the chief town of +Dauphiné, in the year in which he went there to preach during Advent and +Lent. Monsieur de Lesdigiuères, the King's Viceroy at Grenoble, and Marshal +of France, was not yet converted to the Catholic Faith. He, however, +received the Bishop with affectionate warmth, and paid him extraordinary +honours. He frequently invited him to his table, and often visited him +in his house, sometimes even being present at his sermons, for he really +valued the teaching of the holy Bishop, and thought most highly of his +virtue. The Protestants of Grenoble took fright at this, more particularly +because of the long, private interviews which took place between the +Magistrate and the holy Bishop. + +Wherever he went the King's representative spoke of Blessed Francis in the +highest terms, and invariably made a point of giving him his title, Bishop +of Geneva. In short, he paid him such deference as excited universal +astonishment. + +In vain did the Huguenot clergy storm and rage, in vain did they threaten +to excommunicate anyone having dealings with the Bishop. They could not +prevent the majority of their congregations from pressing every day to hear +the Saint's sermons, which created a great sensation amongst them. + +The Huguenot preachers, far from gaining fresh adherents, saw their flock +steadily dwindling away. + +At last, in despair, the Consistory determined to send a deputation to +remonstrate with M. de Lesdigiuères on the warm welcome he was giving the +holy Bishop, and on his own behaviour in scandalizing the whole Protestant +party by attending Blessed Francis' sermons. + +The deputation, formed of the elders and most notable men of the sect, +reached the Marshal's house early in the morning, so that he was not even +dressed when their request for an interview was brought to him. + +Being a man who would not be dictated to, he sent down word to the +Huguenots that if they came to visit him as friends, or to communicate any +matter of business to him, he would receive them gladly, but if they meant +to remonstrate with him, in the name of the Consistory or ministers, on the +politeness he was showing to the Bishop of Geneva, they might rest assured +that they would go out through the window faster than they had come in by +the door! + +This message was enough. The deputation broke up at once; but with how many +lamentations over this unexpected reception, given by one whom they had +reckoned upon as the chief stay and prop of their sect. + +Their next plan was to send one of the principal noblemen of the province, +a Protestant like themselves, upon the same errand as before. He, however, +fared no better than the deputation. + +Tell those gentlemen (said M. de Lesdigiuères) that I am old enough to know +the rules of politeness. + +Up to the age of thirty I was myself a Roman Catholic. I know how Roman +Catholics treat their Bishops, and with what respect these Bishops are +treated by Kings and Princes. They hold a rank altogether different from +that of our ministers, who, even the highest among them, are only Parish +Priests, since they themselves deny the very existence of the order of +Bishop, however good a foundation for it there may seem to be in the +teaching of Holy Scripture. As for me, my belief is that they will in the +end be sorry they have given up this distinction of rank. "Tell M. B. (he +was a minister of low birth, had formerly been M. de Lesdigiuères' servant, +and owed to him his actual position in the so-called Reformed Church of +Grenoble) that when I see among Huguenot ministers, sons and brothers of +sovereign Princes, as I do among Roman Catholic Bishops, Archbishops, and +Cardinals, I will perhaps change my mind as to how to treat them socially. + +"As regards the Bishop of Geneva, I can only say that if I were in his +place and were, as he is, sovereign Prince of this city, I would see that I +was properly obeyed, and that my authority was duly recognised. I know what +are his rights and titles better than B ... or any of his colleagues can +possibly do; it is for me to give them a lesson on the subject, and for +them, if they are wise, to listen. It is not for young, uneducated men to +presume to show a man of my age and rank how to behave himself." + +After this the Viceroy redoubled his attentions to the holy Bishop, to whom +he paid every honour in his power. + +On the other hand, he himself received such good impressions of our +religion from what he saw of the Bishop that they greatly facilitated his +conversion, which took place after he had been promoted to the rank of +Constable. + +He died an excellent Catholic, and most happily. + + +UPON MEMORY AND JUDGMENT. + +On one occasion Blessed Francis was complaining to me of the shortness of +his memory. I tried to console him by reminding him that even if it were +true, there was no lack in him of judgment, for in that he always excelled. + +In reply, he said that it was certainly unusual to find a good memory and +excellent judgment united, although the two qualities might be possessed +together by some in a moderate degree. He added that there were of course +exceptions to the rule, but such exceptions were mostly of rare and +extraordinary merit. + +He gave as an instance one of his most intimate friends, the great Anthony +Favre, first President of Savoy, and one of the most celebrated lawyers of +his time, who united in his own person remarkable keenness of judgment with +a marvellous memory. "In truth," he went on to say, "these two qualities +are so different in their nature, that it is not difficult for one to push +the other out. One is the outcome of vivacity and alertness, the other is +not unfrequently characteristic of the slow and leaden-footed." + +After some more conversation with me on this subject, in which I deplored +my want of judgment, he concluded with these words: "It is a common thing +for people to complain of their defective memory, and even of the malice +and worthlessness of their will, but nobody ever deplores his poverty of +spirit, i.e., of judgment. In spite of the Beatitude, everyone rejects such +a thought as a doing an injustice to themselves. Well, courage! advancing +years will bring you plenty of judgment: it is one of the fruits of +experience and old age. + +"But as for memory, its failure is one of the undoubted defects of old +people. That is why I have little hope of the improvement of my own; +but provided I have enough to remember God that is all I want.[1] _I +remembered, O Lord, Thy judgments of old: and I was comforted._" + +[Footnote 1: Psalm cxviii. 52.] + + +A PRIEST SHOULD NOT AIM AT IMITATING IN HIS SERMONS ANY PARTICULAR +PREACHER. + +I esteemed him so highly, and not without reason, that all his ways +delighted me. Among others, I thought that I should like to imitate his +style of preaching. Can it be said that I chose a bad model or was wanting +in taste? + +Do not, however, imagine for a moment that I have ever aimed at reproducing +his lofty and deep thoughts and teaching, the eloquent sweetness of his +language, the marvellous power which swayed the hearts of his audience. No, +I have always felt that to be beyond my powers, and I have only tried to +mould my action, gestures, and intonation after the pattern set by him. +Now, as it happened, that owing to his constitution and temperament his +speech was always slow and deliberate, not to say prosy, and my own quite +the opposite, I became so strangely changed that my dear people at Belley +(where the above incident occurred) almost failed to recognise me. They +thought a changeling had been foisted upon them in the place of their own +Bishop, whose vehement action and passionate words they dearly loved, even +though sometimes they had found his discourses hard to follow. In fact, I +had ceased to be myself; I was now nothing more than a wretched copy with +nothing in it really recalling the original. + +Our Blessed Father heard of this, and being eager to apply a remedy chose +his opportunity, and one day, when we were talking about sermons, quietly +remarked that he was told I had taken it into my head to imitate the Bishop +of Geneva in my preaching. I replied that it was so, and asked if I had +chosen a bad model, and if he did not preach better than I did. + +"Ah," he replied, "this is a chance for attacking his reputation! But, no, +he does not preach so badly, only the worst of it is that they tell me you +imitate him so badly that his style is not recognisable: that you have +spoiled the Bishop of Belley yet have not at all succeeded in reproducing +the Bishop of Geneva. You had better, like the artist who was forced to put +the name of his subject under every portrait he painted, give out that you +are only copying me." "Well, be it so," I replied, "in good time you will +see that little by little from being a pupil I have become a master, and in +the end my copies will be taken for originals." + +"Jesting apart," he continued, "you are spoiling yourself, ruining your +preaching, and pulling down a splendid building to re-fashion it into one +which sins against the rules of nature and art. You must remember, too, +that if at your age, like a piece of cloth, you have taken a wrong fold, it +will not be easy to smooth it out." + +"Ah! if manners could be changed, what would I not give for such as yours? +I do what I can to stir myself up, I do not spare the spur, but the more I +urge myself on, the less I advance. I have difficulty in getting my words +out, and still more in pronouncing them. I am heavier than a block, I can +neither excite my own emotions, nor those of others. You have more fire in +the tip of your fingers than I have in my whole body. Where you fly like +a bird, I crawl like a tortoise. And now they tell me that you, who are +naturally so rapid, so lively, so powerful in your preaching, are weighing +your words, counting your periods, drooping your wings, dragging yourself +on, and making your audience as tired as yourself. Is this the beautiful +Noemi of bygone days? the city of perfect loveliness, the joy of the whole +earth?" + +Why should I dwell more on his reproof? Sufficient to say that he cured me +of my error, and I returned to my former style of preaching, God grant that +it may be for His glory! + + +UPON SHORT SERMONS. + +He highly approved of brevity in preaching, and used to say that the chief +fault of the preachers of the day was lengthiness. + +I ventured to ask how that could be a fault, and how he could speak of +abundance as if it were famine? + +He answered: "When the vine is thick in leaves it always bears less fruit, +multiplicity of words does not produce great results. You will find that a +powerful and spirited horse will always start off promptly, and as promptly +pull up. A poor post hack, on the contrary, will go on several paces after +his rider has reined him in. Why is that? Because he is weak. So it is +with the mind and intellect. He who is strong leaves off speaking when +he pleases, because he has great control over himself, and readiness of +judgment. A weak-minded man speaks much, but loses himself in his own +thoughts, nor thinks of finishing what he has to say. Look at all the +homilies and sermons of the ancient Fathers and observe how short they +were, yet how much more efficacious than our lengthy ones! Wise St. +Francis of Assisi, in his Rule, prescribes that the preachers of his Order +shall preach the Gospel with brevity, and gives an excellent reason: +'Remembering,' he says, 'that: _a short word shall the Lord make upon the +earth_.'[1] The more you say, the less your hearers will retain. The less +you say, the more they will profit. Believe me in this, for I speak from +experience. By overloading the memory of a hearer we destroy it, just as +lamps are put out when they are filled too full of oil, and plants are +spoilt by being too abundantly watered. When a discourse is too long, by +the time the end is reached, the middle is forgotten, and by the time the +middle is reached the beginning has been lost. Moderately good preachers +are accepted, provided they are brief, and the best become tiresome when +they are too lengthy. There is no more disagreeable quality in a preacher +than prolixity." + +Our Blessed Father sometimes surprised me by saying that we ought to be +pleased if, when going up into the pulpit to preach, we saw before us a +small and scattered audience. "Thirty years of experience," he said, "have +made me speak thus: I have always seen greater results from the sermons +which I have preached to small congregations than from those which I have +delivered in crowded churches. An occurrence which I am going to relate +will justify what I say. + +"When I was Provost, or rather Dean, of my church, my predecessor in this +diocese, sent me, in company with some other Priests, to instruct in the +Faith the inhabitants of the three bailiwicks of the Chablais, namely, +Thonon, Ternier, and Gaillard. The towns being full at that time of +Huguenots, we had no access to them, and could only say Mass and give +instruction in some scattered and rather distant chapels. + +"One Sunday, when the weather was very bad, there were only seven persons +at my Mass, and these few suggested to some one to tell me that I ought +not to take the trouble of preaching after Mass, as it was the custom then +to do, the number of hearers being so small. I replied that neither did a +large audience encourage me, nor a scanty one discourage me; provided only +that I could edify one single person, that would be enough for me. + +"I went up; therefore, into the pulpit, and I remember that the subject +of my sermon was praying to the Saints, I treated it very simply and +catechetically, not at all controversially, as you know that is neither my +style nor is the doing so to my taste. I said nothing pathetic, and put +nothing very forcibly, yet one of my small audience began to weep bitterly, +sobbing and giving vent to audible sighs. I thought that he was ill, and +begged him not to put any constraint upon himself, as I was quite ready to +break off my sermon, and to give him any help he needed. He replied that he +was perfectly well in body, and he begged me to go on speaking boldly, for +so I should be administering the needful healing to the wound. + +"The sermon, which was very short, being ended, he hurried up to me, and +throwing himself at my feet cried out: 'Reverend sir, you have given me +life, you have saved my soul to-day. Oh, blessed the hour in which I came +here and listened to your words! This hour will be worth a whole eternity +to me.' + +"And then, being asked to do so, he related openly before the little +congregation, that, having conferred with some ministers on this very same +subject of praying to the Saints, which they made out to be sheer idolatry, +he had decided on the following Thursday to return to their ranks (he was a +recent convert to Catholicism), and to abjure the Catholic religion. But, +he added, that the sermon which he had just heard had instructed him so +well, and had so fully dispersed all his doubts, that he took back with his +whole heart the promise he had given them, and vowed new obedience to the +Roman Church. + +"I cannot tell you what an impression this great example, taking place in +so small a congregation, made throughout the country, or how docile and +responsive to the words of life and of truth it made all hearts. I could +allege other similar instances, some even more remarkable." + +For myself I now prefer small congregations, and am never so well pleased +as when I see only a little group of people listening to my preaching. +Seneca once said to his friend Lucillus that they themselves formed a +theatre wide enough for the communication of their philosophy, and, +speaking of those who came to hear his teaching, he says: _Satis sunt +pauci, satis est alter, satis est unus. A few are enough--two are +enough--nay, one is enough._ Why should not a Christian Philosopher be +content with what was enough for this Stoic? + +[Footnote 1: Rom. ix. 28.] + + +UPON PREACHING AND PREACHERS. + +On the subject of preaching, Blessed Francis had very definite and weighty +thoughts. He considered that it was not sufficient for a preacher to teach +the ways of God to the unrighteous, and by converting the wicked, to build +up by his words the walls of Jerusalem, that is, of holy Church, while +making known to God's people the ways of divine providence. He wanted more +than this, and said that every sermon ought to have some special plan, +with always for its end the giving glory to God and the converting and +instructing of those who were to hear it. Sometimes this would be the +setting forth of a mystery, sometimes the clearing up of some point of +faith, sometimes the denouncing of a particular vice, sometimes the +endeavouring to plant some virtue in the hearts of the hearers. + +"No one," he said, "can sufficiently lay to heart the importance of having +a definite aim in preaching; for want of it many carefully studied sermons +are without fruit. Some preachers are content to explain their text with +all the painstaking and mental effort that they can bring to bear upon the +subject. Others give themselves up to elaborate and exhaustive research +and excite the admiration of their hearers, either by their scientific +reasonings, their eloquence, the studied grace of their gestures, or +by their perfect diction. Others add to all this beautiful and useful +teaching, but so that it only slips in here and there, as it were, by +chance, and is not expressly dwelt upon. But when we have only one aim, and +when all our reasonings and all our movements tend towards it and gather +round it, as the radii of a circle round the unity of its centre, then the +impression made is infinitely more powerful. Such speaking has the force +of a mighty river which leaves its mark upon the hardest of the stones it +flows over. + +"Drones visit every flower, yet gather no honey from any. The working +bee does otherwise: it settles down upon each flower just as long as is +necessary for it to suck in enough sweetness to make its one honeycomb. So +those who follow my method will preach profitable sermons, and will deserve +to be accounted faithful dispensers of the divine mysteries; prudent +administrators of the word of life and of eternal life." + +When our Blessed Father heard a certain preacher praised up to the skies, +he asked in what virtues he excelled; whether in humility, mortification, +gentleness, courage, devotion or what? When told that he was said to preach +very well, he replied: "That is speaking, not acting: the former is far +easier than the latter. There are many who speak and yet act not, and who +destroy by their bad example what they build up with their tongue. A man +whose tongue is longer than his arm, is he not a monstrosity?" + +On one occasion, of some one who had delighted all his hearers by a sermon +he had preached, it was said: "To-day he literally did wonders." The Saint +replied: "If he did that he must be one of those absolutely blameless men +of whom Scripture says 'they have not sought after gold, nor hoped for +treasures of gold and silver.'" Another time he was told that this same +preacher had on a particular day surpassed himself. "Ah!" he said, "what +new act of self-renunciation has he made? What injury has he borne? For it +is only after overcoming ourselves in this way that we surpass ourselves." + +"Do you wish to know," he continued, "how I test the excellence and value +of a preacher? It is by assuring myself that those who have been listening +to him come away striking their breasts and saying: 'I will, do better'; +not by their saying: 'Oh how well he spoke, what beautiful things he said!' +For to say beautiful things in fluent and well-chosen words shows indeed +the learning and eloquence of a man; but the conversion of sinners and +their departing from their evil ways is the sure sign that God has spoken +by the mouth of the preacher, that he possesses the true power of speech, +which is inspired by the science of the Saints, and that he proclaims +worthily in the name of Almighty God that perfect law which is the +salvation of souls. + +"The true fruit of preaching is the destruction of sin and the +establishment of the kingdom of justice upon earth.[1] By this justice, of +which the prophet speaks, is meant justification and sanctification. For +this, God sends his preachers, as Jesus Christ sent His Apostles, that +they may bring forth fruit, and that this fruit may remain,[2] and by +consequence that they may labour for a meat which perishes not, but which +endures unto life everlasting."[3] + +When I was in residence in my diocese I never failed to preach on every +possible day in Advent and Lent, besides doing so on all Sundays and +holidays. Some good people who set themselves up as judges in such matters, +full of worldly prudence said that I was making myself too common, and +bringing the holy function of preaching into contempt. + +This came to the ears of our Blessed Father, and he, despising such poor +earthly wisdom, observed, that to blame a husbandman or vinedresser for +cultivating his land too well was really to praise him. Speaking to me on +the subject, and fearing that all that had been said might discourage me, +he related to me what follows: "I had," he said, the best father in the +world, but as he had spent a great part of his life at court and in the +camp, he knew the maxims that hold in those conditions of life far better +than he did the principles of holy living. + +"While I was Provost," he continued, "I preached on all possible occasions, +whether in the Chablais, where I was busy for many years uprooting heresy, +or, on my return, in the Cathedral, in parish churches, and even in the +chapels of the most obscure Confraternities. While at Annecy I never +refused any invitation whencesoever it came to preach. One day my good +father took me aside and said to me: 'Provost, you preach too often. Even +on week days I am always hearing the bell ringing for sermons, and when I +ask who is preaching I invariably get the same answer: "The Provost, the +Provost." In my time, it was not so; sermons were rare, but then they +_were_ sermons! They were learned and well studied, more Greek and Latin +was quoted in one of them than in ten of yours; people were delighted and +edified, they crowded to hear them, just as they would have crowded to +gather up manna. Now, you make preaching so common that no one thinks much +of it, and you yourself are held in far less esteem.' + +"You see my good father spoke according to his lights and quite sincerely. +You may be sure he was not wishing me ill, but he was guided by the maxims +of the world in which he had been brought up. + +"Yet what folly in the sight of God are all the principles of human wisdom! +If we pleased men we should not be the servants of Jesus Christ, He +Himself, the model of all preachers, did not use all this circumspection, +neither did the Apostles who followed in His footsteps. _Preach the word: +be instant in season out of season._[4] + +"Believe me, we can never preach enough, especially in this border-land of +heresy, heresy which is only kept alive by sermons, and which will never be +destroyed except by that very breath of God which is holy preaching. + +"If you will take my advice, therefore, you will shut your eyes against the +counsels of your worldly-wise monitors and listen rather to St. Paul, who +says to you: _But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an +evangelist, fulfil thy ministry._[5] + +"Moreover, when the Apostle continues, _Be sober_, he refers to temperance +in eating and drinking, not to sobriety or restraint in the discharge of +pastoral duties. Blessed is the pastor who shall be found watching and +feeding his flock! I tell you that the divine Master will set him over all +his goods. And when the Prince of Pastors shall come he will receive from +His hand a crown of glory which can never fade." + +[Footnote 1: Dan. ix 24.] +[Footnote 2: John xv. 16.] +[Footnote 3: Id. vi. 27.] +[Footnote 4: 2 Tim. iv. 2, 3.] +[Footnote 5: 2 Tim. iv. 5.] + + +BLESSED FRANCIS AND THE BISHOP OF BELLEY'S SERMON. + +One day I was to preach at the Visitation Convent at Annecy, the first +established convent of the Order, and I knew that our Blessed Father, as +well as a great congregation, would be present. I had, to tell the truth, +taken extra pains in the consideration of my subject, and intended to do my +very best. I had chosen for text a passage in the Canticle of Canticles, +and this I turned and twisted into every possible form, applying it to the +Visitation vocation which I extolled far too extravagantly to please the +good Bishop. + +When he and I were alone together afterwards, he told me that, though my +hearers had been delighted with me, and could not say enough in praise of +my sermon, there was one solitary exception, one individual who was not +pleased with it. On my expressing surprise and much curiosity to know whom +I could have hurt or distressed by my words, he answered quietly that I +saw the person now before me. I looked around--there was no one present +but himself. "Alas!" I cried, "this is indeed a wet blanket thrown upon +my success. I had rather have had your approbation than that of a whole +province! However, God be praised! I have fallen into the hands of a +surgeon who wounds only to heal. + +"What more have you to say, for I know you do not intend to spare me?" + +"I love you too much," he replied, "either to spare or to flatter you, +and had you loved our Sisters in the same way, you would not have wasted +words in puffing them up in place of edifying them, and in praising their +vocation, of which they have already quite a sufficiently high opinion. + +"You would have dealt out to them more salutary doctrine, in proportion as +it would have been more humiliating. Always remember that the whole object +of preaching is to root out sin, and to plant justice in its stead." + +On my replying to this that those whom I addressed were already delivered +from the hands of their enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and +were serving God securely in holiness and justice, "Then," he said, "since +they are standing, you should teach them to take heed lest they fall, and +to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. + +"It is right, indeed, for you to encourage them to persevere in their holy +undertaking, but you must do so without exposing them to the danger of +presumption and vanity. Enough said; I know that for the future you will be +careful in this matter." + +The next day he sent me to preach in a convent of Poor Clares, an Order +renowned for the exemplary life of its members and for their extraordinary +austerities. I took good care to avoid the rock on which I had struck +the day before, and against which he had warned me. There was as large a +congregation as before, but I confined myself to plain and simple language, +without a thought of studied rhetoric. + +I did not praise the austerities of the good nuns, nor did I labour to +please any of my hearers, their edification was my sole object. + +On our return to the house, our Blessed Father said, embracing me tenderly, +that though most of those present were dissatisfied, and compared my sermon +most unfavourably with that of the preceding day, yet, that he, on the +contrary, who had then found fault with me, was now perfectly contented and +pleased, and that he believed that God was pleased also. "As for your past +faults," he continued, "I give you a plenary indulgence for them all. + +"If you continue to preach as you have just done, whatever the world may +say, you will be doing much service for the Master of the Vineyard, and +will become a fitting servant of His Testament." + +One day I was preaching before him at Annecy in the church which he used +as his cathedral. He was surrounded by all his canons, who, with the whole +Chapter, attended him to the bench where he was in the habit of sitting to +hear sermons. + +This particular one of mine pleased him as regarded its matter and +delivery, but I suffered an allusion to escape me referring to his own name +of Sales, and implying, or rather affirming, that he was the salt (_Sal +es_) with which the whole mass of the people was seasoned. + +This praise was so distasteful to him that, on our return from the church, +he took me to task for it, in a tone and with a manner as severe as was +possible to his gentle nature. "You were going on so well," he said. "What +could have induced you to play these pranks? Do you know that you spoilt +your sermon by them? Truly, I am a fine sort of salt, fit only to be thrown +into the street and trampled under foot by the people. For certainly you +must have said what you did say in order to put me to shame--you have found +out the right way to do that--but, at least, spare your own friends." + +I tried to excuse myself, alleging that what the Bishop of Saluces once +said to him had suddenly come into my heads and that, quite without +premeditation, the very same words escaped my lips, "But," he replied, "in +the pulpit such things must not escape our lips. I am quite aware that +this time they really did escape you, but you must not allow it to happen +again." + +I may here explain, for your benefit, what I meant by this reference to a +saying of the Bishop of Saluces. That holy prelate, who died in the odour +of sanctity, and who was a disciple of Sr. Philip Neri, was an intimate +friend of our Blessed Father's. + +On one occasion, when the latter was passing through Saluces on his way +to the shrine of Our Lady of Montdeay, the good Bishop received him with +every mark of respect, and begged him to preach in his cathedral. After +the sermon, he said to him, "My Lord, truly _tu Sal es; at ego, neque sal, +neque lux_." That is to say, "You are a true salt (_Sal es_), and I am +neither salt nor light," alluding to the word Saluces (_Sal lux_), his +diocese.[1] + +[Footnote 1: NOTE.--Another version says that it was St. Francis who +answered: "On the contrary, _tu sal et lux_." See "Vies de S. F. de Sales." +by his nephew, Charles Auguste de Sales and Hamon. Also the life of Blessed +Juvenal Ancina, the said Bishop of Saluces. [Ed.]] + + +UPON CONTROVERSY. + +The gentleness of his disposition made Blessed Francis averse to disputing, +either in private or public, in matters of religion. Rather, he loved to +hold informal and kindly conferences with any who had wandered from the +right way; and by this means he brought back countless souls into the +Catholic Church. His usual method of proceeding was this. He first of all +listened readily to all that his opponents had to say about their religion, +not showing any sign of weariness or contempt, however tired he might be +of the subject. By this means he sought to incline them to give him in his +turn some little attention. When, if only out of mere civility, he was +given in his turn an opportunity of speaking, he did not lose a moment of +the precious time, but at once took up the subject treated by the heretic, +or perhaps another which he considered more useful, and deduced from it +briefly, clearly, and very simply the truth of the Catholic belief, and +this without any air of contending, without a word which breathed of +controversy, but neither more nor less than as if dealing in a catechetical +instruction with an Article of the Faith. + +If interrupted by outcries and contemptuous expressions, he bore the +annoyance with incredible patience, and, without showing himself disturbed +in the least, continued his discourse as soon as ever an opportunity was +given to him. + +"You would never believe," he said, "how beautiful the truths of our holy +Faith appear to those who consider them calmly. We smother them when we +try to dress them up, and we hide them when we aim at rendering them too +conspicuous. Faith is an infused, not a natural, knowledge; it is not a +human science, but a divine light, by means of which we see things which, +in the natural order, art invisible to us. If we try to teach it as human +sciences are taught, by ocular demonstrations and by natural evidence, we +deceive ourselves; Faith is not to be found where human reason tries only +to support itself by the experience of the senses. + +"All the external proofs which can be brought to bear upon our opponents +are weak, unless the Holy Spirit is at work in their soul's, teaching them +to recognise the ways of God. All that has to be done is to propose to +them simply the truths of our Faith. To propose these truths is to compel +men to accept them, unless, indeed, they resist the Holy Spirit, either +through dullness of understanding, or through uncircumcision of the heart. +The attaching over much importance to the light of natural reason is a +quenching of the Spirit of God. Faith is not an acquired, but an infused +virtue; it must be treated with accordingly, and in instructing heretics we +must beware of taking to ourselves any part of the glory which belongs to +God alone. + +"One of the greatest misfortunes of heretics is that their ministers in +their discourses travesty our Faith, representing it as something quite +different from what it really is. For example, they pretend that we have +no regard for Holy Scripture; that we worship the Pope as God; that we +regard the Saints as divinities; that we hold the Blessed Virgin as being +more than Jesus Christ; that we pay divine worship to images and pictures; +that we believe souls in Purgatory to be suffering the selfsame agony and +despair as those in Hell; that we deprive the laity of participation in +the Blood of Jesus Christ; that we adore bread in the Eucharist; that we +despise the merits of Jesus Christ, attributing our salvation solely to the +merit of our good works; that auricular confession is mental torture; and +so on, endeavouring by calumnies of this sort to discredit our religion +and to render the very thought of it odious to those who are so thoroughly +misinformed as to its nature. When, on the contrary, they are made +acquainted with our real belief on any of these points, the scales fall +from their eyes, and they see that the fascination and cajolery of their +preachers has hidden from them the truth as to God's goodness and the +beauty of God's truth, and has put darkness before them in the place of +light. + +"It is true that at first they may shrug their shoulders, and laugh us to +scorn; but when they have left us, and, being alone, reflect a little on +what we have told them, you will see them flutter back like decoyed birds, +saying to us, 'We should like to hear you speak again about those things +which you brought before us the other day.' Then they fall, some on the +right hand, others on the left, and Truth, victorious on all sides, brings +them by different paths to know it as it really is." + +He gave me many instances of conversions he had himself made in this manner +during his five years' mission in the Chablais. + +He gave them to show how useful this mode of proceeding was, and how far +more helpful to souls than mere controversy can be. + + +THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. + +Blessed Francis did not approve of controversial sermons,[1] "The Christian +pulpit," he used to say, "is a place for improving of morals, not for +wrangling about them, for instructing the faithful in the truth of their +belief, rather than for convincing of their error those who have separated +themselves from the Church. An experience of thirty years in the work of +evangelising makes me speak thus. We made some trial of the controversial +method, when God through us led back the Chablais to the Catholic Faith, +but when I attempted to throw my treating of controversial subjects in the +pulpit into the form of a discussion, it was never successful. In place +of reclaiming our separated brethren, this method scares them away; when +they see that we are of set purpose attacking them, they instantly put +themselves on their guard; when we bring the lamp too close to their eyes, +they start back from the light. Nor have I ever observed that any of my +fellow labourers in this work of the Lord were more successful in following +out this plan, of fencing, as I may more justly call it, even though +they engaged in it with the utmost enthusiasm, and in a place where the +congregation all sang hymns together, and each one in his turn acted the +preacher, each saying exactly what he liked, and no one taking any kind of +official lead among them. + +"But, in truth, this fencing was what St. Paul calls beating the air.[2] I +do not mean that we must not prove Catholic truths, and refute the contrary +errors; for the weapons of the spiritual armoury and of the Word of God are +powerful to destroy all false teaching which rears itself up against the +truth, and to condemn disobedience to God; but we must not slash with our +words as desperate fencers do, but rather manage them dexterously, as does +a surgeon when using his lancet--he probes skilfully, so as to wound the +patient as little as possible." + +And, indeed, Blessed Francis' way of dealing with this branch of theology, +bristling with thorns as it does at every point, was so sweet and pleasant +as to make it, as it were, blossom into roses. I could relate many +instances of the success of his preaching, without employing controversy, +in bringing back wanderers from the fold, equally with other sinners, into +the Church. + +He accomplished this by simply stating great truths, and bringing them home +to his hearers. One of the most remarkable instances, perhaps, is that of +the Protestant lady, who hearing him preach on the Last Judgment at Paris +in the year 1619, having been attracted more by curiosity than by any good +motive to listen to the sermon, there received that first flash of light +which afterwards guided her into the bosom of the true Church, into which +later she was followed by all the members of her noble family, one that +has since given us many celebrated divines and preachers. This incident, +however, with many more of the same kind, is fully related in the life of +our Blessed Father. So successful was he with Protestants that Cardinal +du Perron used to say that if it were only a question of confounding the +heretics, he thought he had found out the secret, but to convert them he +felt obliged to send for the Bishop of Geneva. + +[Footnote 1: Note.--It is more correct to say that St. Francis preferred +moral sermons to controversy.] +[Footnote 2: 1 Cor. ix. 26.] + + +UPON REASON AND REASONING. + +He used to say that reason never deceives, but reasoning often does. When a +person went to him with some complaint, or about some troublesome business, +he would always listen most patiently and attentively to any reasons which +were put before him, and, being full of prudence and good judgment, he +could always discern between what had any bearing on the matter and what +was foreign to it. When, therefore, people began obstinately to defend +their opinions by reasons, which, plausible though they might appear, +really carried no weight sufficient to secure a judgment, he would +sometimes say very gently, "Yes, I know quite well that these are your +reasons, but do you know that all reasons are not reasonable?" Someone on +one occasion having retorted that he might as well assert that heat was not +warm, he replied seriously, "Reason and reasoning are two different things: +reasoning is only the path leading to reason." Thus he would endeavour to +bring the person who had strayed away from truth back to it. Truth and +reason can never be separated, because they are one and the same thing. + + +UPON QUOTING HOLY SCRIPTURE. + +St. Charles Borromeo never read the Scriptures except on his knees, just +as if he were listening to God speaking on Mount Sinai in thunder and +lightning. + +Blessed Francis also would not allow the Bible to be treated with anything +but the most extreme reverence, whether in public speaking, in writing, or +in private reading. + +He was especially averse to that habit which some preachers have of +plunging into the mystical meaning of a passage, whether allegorical or +figurative, before they have explained its literal sense. "To do this," he +said, "is to build the roof of a house before laying the foundation. Holy +Scripture must be treated with more reverence and more consistency--it is +not material to be cut according to our fancy, and made into ornamental +garments such as fashion suggests." + + +UPON POLITICAL DIPLOMACY. + +On one occasion I expressed my surprise to our Blessed Father that his +Serene Highness Charles Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, who was one of the most +excellent Princes and foremost politicians of his age, should never have +employed him in his affairs, especially in those which regarded France, +where they did not prosper. + +As may be supposed, I explained the reason of my surprise, insisting that +his gentleness, patience, skill, and probity were certain to bring about +the desired result. + +He listened in silence, and then answered with a seriousness and +earnestness which put me to shame, "You say too much, you exaggerate: you +imagine that others esteem me as you do, you who are always looking at me +through a magnifying glass. However, let us put that aside. As regards our +Prince, my feeling is very different from yours, for in this very matter I +consider that he shows the excellence of his judgment. + +"I will tell you why I speak and think this. In the first place, I have +not all that skill and prudence in the management of affairs with which +you credit me. Is it likely I should have? The mere words, human prudence, +business, politics, terrify me. That is not all. To speak frankly, I know +nothing of the art of lying, dissimulating, or pretence, which latter is +the chief instrument and the mainspring of political manoeuvring; the art +of arts in all matters of human prudence and of civil administration. + +"Not for all the provinces of Savoy, of France, nay, not for the whole +empire, would I connive at deceit. I deal with others frankly, in good +faith, and very simply; the words of my lips are the outcome of the +thoughts of my heart. I cannot carry two faces under one hood; I hate +duplicity with a mortal hatred, knowing that God holds the deceitful man in +abomination. There are very few who, knowing me, do not at least discern +this much of my character. They therefore judge very wisely that I am by no +means fit for an office in which you have to speak peace to your neighbour +whilst you are plotting mischief against him in your heart. Moreover, I +have always followed, as a heavenly, supreme, and divine maxim, those great +words of the Apostle: _No man being a soldier to God entangleth himself +with secular business that he may please Him to whom he hath engaged +himself._"[1] + +[Footnote 1: Tim. ii, 4.] + + +UPON AMBITION. + +St. Francis was truly like Aaron called to the pastoral charge by God +alone, without his having used artifices or other means to procure himself +such honour. This plainly appears from his life written by so many worthy +persons. + +His Bishopric was, indeed, no sinecure, being a most onerous burden. He +says of it himself in one of his letters: + +"The affairs of this diocese are not streams, they are torrents which +cannot be forded." Alluding to the words of the prophet: _And, it was a +torrent which I could not pass over_.[1] + +Towards the close of his life, when Madame Christina of France, the King's +sister,[2] married His Serene Highness the Prince of Piedmont, heir to the +Duke of Savoy, she wished to have Blessed Francis in some official position +close to her person, and, to effect this, proposed to make him her Grand +Almoner. Certain prelates who had been themselves hoping to obtain this +office, seeing their design thus frustrated, murmured bitterly, bursting +forth into angry invectives against the Saint, as if by cabals, and +intrigue, according to the custom of the world, he had succeeded in gaining +the post for himself. St. Francis, however, was merely amused by what he +called the buzzing of flies, and wrote to one in whom he could confide: + +"Her Highness and the Prince of Piedmont wish me to become the Princess's +Grand Almoner, but you will believe me readily enough, I am sure, when I +tell you that I neither, directly nor indirectly, have shown any wish to +obtain this office. No, truly, my dearest Mother, I have no ambition save +that of being able to employ the remainder of my days usefully in the +service and to the honour of our Lord. Indeed, I hold courts in sovereign +contempt, because they are centres of the power of this world, which I +abhor each day more and more--itself, its spirit, its maxims, and all its +follies." + +[Footnote 1: Ezech. xlvii. 5.] +[Footnote 2: Louis XIII.] + + +UPON COURTS AND COURTIERS. + +Blessed Francis did not hold the opinion of many that the courts of Princes +are places the very atmosphere of which is so tainted as to infect all who +frequent them, and to be invariably prejudicial to the health and holiness +of the soul. + +Those who describe a court in terms of this sort are usually very ignorant +on the subject. They speak of what they have never seen nor heard about +from competent witnesses. A soul which has received the grace of God, and +preserves it, can work out its salvation anywhere, nor is there any harmful +intercourse so disease-laden that it cannot be overcome by this heavenly +antidote, "David, and after him St. Louis," says our Holy Bishop, "in the +press of the perils, toils, and travails which they endured, as well in +peace as in war, did not cease to sing in truth: '_What have I in Heaven, +and, besides Thee, what do I desire upon earth?_'"[1] + +"St. Bernard lost none of the ground which he desired to gain in this holy +love by passing much time in the courts and armies of great Princes where +he laboured to guide matters of state to the advancement of God's glory. +He changed his habitation, but he changed not his heart, nor did his +heart change its love, nor his love its object; in fine, to speak his own +language, changes were made round about him, but not in him. + +"His employments were different, yet he was indifferent to all employment, +and different from them all, his soul not taking its colour from his +affairs and conversations, as the chameleon does from the places where it +is, but remaining ever wholly united to God, ever white in purity, ever red +with charity, and ever full of humility. + +"I am not ignorant, Theotimus, of that wise man's counsel, + + He ever flies the Court and legal strife + Who seeks to sow the seeds of holy life: + Rarely do camps effect the soul's increase, + Virtue and faith are daughters unto peace. + +"And the Israelites had good reason to excuse themselves to the +Babylonians, who urged them to sing the sacred Canticles of Sion: _How +shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?_[2] But do not forget +that those poor people were not only among the Babylonians, but were also +their captives, and whoever is intent only on winning the favours of +princes, dignities, military honours, alas! he is lost, he cannot sing the +hymn of heavenly love. But he who is at Court, in the army, at the bar, +only because it is his duty, God helps him, and heavenly sweetness is an +_Epithem_ on his heart, to preserve him from the plague which rages round +about him. + +"There are some kinds of fish, such as salmon, and the like, which, instead +of losing their flavour, become better and more agreeable to the taste when +they forsake the salt water of the sea for the sweet water of rivers. + +"Roses smell sweeter when planted near garlic, and in like manner there are +souls which grow more fervent in places where libertinism and irreligion +seem to drag all virtue at their chariot wheels."[3] + +Our Blessed Father's piety was of this sort, for, knowing that he who is +consecrated to God should not entangle himself in the intrigues of the +world.[4] he speaks thus to one in whom he confided: "I must confess that, +as regards business, especially that of a worldly nature, I feel myself +more than ever to be nothing but a poor priest, having, thank God, learnt +at court to be more simple and less worldly." + +Truly, we may say here with the wise man: _Who is he and we will praise +him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life._[5] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm lxxii. 25.] +[Footnote 2: Psalm cxxxvi. 4.] +[Footnote 3: _Love of God_. Book xii. c. 4.] +[Footnote 4: 2 Tim. ii. 4.] +[Footnote 5: Eccles. xxxi. 9.] + + +UPON THE CARNIVAL. + +His sad time each year was the Carnival, those days of disorder and licence +which, like a torrent, carry away into excesses of one sort or another even +the staunchest and most fervent in their piety. He felt, indeed, like Job +of old, who offered sacrifices and prayers, and afflicted both body and +soul with fasts and mortifications, while his children were passing their +time in revellings and banquetings. + +As our Blessed Father was all things to all men, and weak with the weak, so +he also burned with the scandalised; and who would not be scandalised to +see the Pagan festival of the Bacchanalia celebrated among Christians? For +this very reason, as we know, the name of God is blasphemed by many, and +the Catholic religion unjustly blamed, as if it permitted what it cannot +prevent, as if it commanded what it tolerates with reluctance, as if it +ordered what it detests and declaims against by the mouth of its preachers. +Perhaps you would like to hear the words in which our Blessed Father pours +forth his lamentations over this period of the year, so full of disorder +and confusion. + +"I must tell you," he says, "that now I have come to my sorrowful time. +From the Epiphany even to Lent my heart is full of strange sensations. +Miserable and detestable as I am, I am weighed down with grief to see the +loss of so much devotion, I mean the falling off of so many souls. These +two last Sundays I have found our communions diminished by one-half. That +has grieved me very much, for even if those who made them do not give way +to sin, why, and for what, do they now omit them? For nothing at all--out +of mere vanity, it is that which grieves me." + + +AN INSTANCE OF HIS COMPASSION FOR ANIMALS. + +The Church inculcates on the Clergy perfect gentleness and kindness. This +is why they may never take any part in anything involving bloodshed. His +having shed the blood of a fellow man, even when required by the interests +of justice, is considered a canonical irregularity, and deprives a Priest +of the right to celebrate Holy Mass. + +Blessed Francis was remarkable for his gentleness and tender-heartedness +towards all creatures. I will give you a little instance of this. + +One day he was at my house, when a nobleman of distinction called upon us. +This gentleman was at the head of a hunting party, and seeing in my orchard +a roebuck which had been given to me and which was peacefully feeding, he +proposed, as he said, to amuse our Blessed Father by setting his dogs upon +the poor animal, and to confine the hunt to my orchard. + +The good Bishop's remonstrances were in vain. But though he refused to go +to the orchard, he could not avoid being a witness, however unwillingly, of +what took place, as his room overlooked the ground. Great numbers of people +came to enjoy the spectacle; the horns were blown, the dogs barked, while +the poor roebuck, as if it knew who would fain have been its deliverer, +bounding towards the window near which the Bishop was seated, seemed, like +a suppliant, to be imploring his help. + +Blessed Francis drew back, and begged as earnestly that the hunt might be +given up as if he had been asking pardon for a criminal. + +He did not see the end, for the animal was at once brought to bay and +despatched. They wanted him to see it when dead, but he did not deign so +much as to look at it, and when the venison was served at table, he most +unwillingly partook of the dish. "Alas," he exclaimed, "what hellish +pleasure! This is just how infuriated demons pursue poor souls by +temptations to sin, so as to precipitate them into the abyss of everlasting +death, yet of that no one thinks." + + +UPON HUNTING. + +Blessed Francis was sometimes taxed with over much good nature and +gentleness, and was told that this was the cause of many disorders which +would not have occurred had he been more wholesomely severe. He, however, +answered calmly and sweetly that he had always in his mind the words of +the great St. Anselm, the glory of our Alps, among which he was born. +That Saint, he observed, was in the habit of saying that if he had to be +punished either for being too indulgent or being over-rigorous, he would +far rather it should be for the former. He gave as his reason that judgment +with mercy would be meted out to the merciful, and that God would always +have more pity on the pitiful than on the rigorous. He went on to recall +that most sound maxim: Sovereign right is only sovereign injustice, and +remarked that in Holy Scripture those pastors who were over-severe were +invariably blamed. + +Our Saint used always to say that sugar never yet spoilt any sauce, but +that too much salt or vinegar often did. + +His speaking of St. Anselm's gentleness reminds me of the story told of the +same Saint by Blessed Francis in his Philothea. "One day," he says, "as he, +St. Anselm, was travelling, a hare, being closely run by the hounds which +pursued it, took refuge between his horse's feet, and the dogs remained +yelping around unable to molest their prey in this its strange sanctuary. +His followers were highly entertained at so novel a spectacle, but Saint +Anselm groaned and wept. 'Even thus,' said he, 'do the enemies of the soul +pursue it and drive it into all manner of sins, until at the last they can +kill and devour it, and whilst the terrified soul seeks for some refuge and +help, its enemies mock and laugh if it finds none.'"[1] + +Our Blessed Father, following the example of the holy Archbishop, was +invariably kind and gentle, even with the brute creation. He not only +himself never did them harm, but he prevented, as far as he could, any +being done to them by others, for he believed that those who thus inflict +pain on innocent creatures often, even at the risk of their own lives, +display a cruel and malevolent kind of courage. He went so far as to regard +it as a venial sin to injure creatures for the sole pleasure of harming +them where no advantage of any sort would accrue to ourselves; his reason +being that we in this way deprive them of the joy to be found in mere +existence bestowed upon them by God. + +"What, then," he was asked, "do you say to the chase, and to the killing +of animals for the food of man?" "As regards the food of man," he replied, +"the very words you use justify the act, and it is that end which justifies +the chase." From this we may conclude that the mere pleasure of the chase +was not sufficient, in his opinion, to render lawful the indulging in it. + +Although he blamed the superstition of the Turks, who think that they +acquire merit in the sight of God by lavishing kindness on senseless +brutes, even the most savage and cruel, such as wolves and lions, still he +used to say that this pity had a good natural source, and that those who +were so compassionate to animals were likely to be no otherwise to men, +nature teaching us not to despise our own flesh. In spite of these +feelings, he was very far from falling into those mistakes which casuists +enumerate as the result of excess in gentleness and kindness. + +The various writers of the life of Blessed Francis tell us how it was +commonly remarked that all animals by natural instinct seemed to recognise +his tender, compassionate feelings for them, and that when hunted and +pursued, they at once took refuge with him, witness the pigeons, which at +different times when he was saying the Divine Office, flew for safety and +shelter into his very hands. + +[Footnote 1: _Devout Life_. Part II. c. 13.] + + +UPON THE FEAR OF GHOSTS. + +Fear is a natural passion, which, like all the others, is in itself neither +bad nor good, but bad when it is excessive and disquieting, good when it +is subordinate to reason. There are some who, because naturally timid and +apprehensive, would never dare to speak in public. Others are so afraid +of thunder and lightning that they faint in a storm. Others are afraid of +noises at night, and have a horror of darkness and solitude. Others, again, +have so great a fear of ghosts and apparitions that they dare not sleep +alone in a room. + +I have been told, on good authority, that one of our Bravest and most +distinguished Generals, who went to battle as gaily and confidently as he +would go to a marriage, declared that he could never suffer his valet, +after settling him for the night, to leave his sleeping apartment, it being +quite impossible for him to sleep when left alone at night. Our Blessed +Father writes in the following consoling manner to a pious person who +suffered from the weakness of being afraid of ghosts: + +"I am told," he says, "that you are afraid of spirits. The Sovereign Spirit +of our God is everywhere, and without His Will or permission no other +spirit dare stir. Those who fear this Divine Spirit ought not to fear +any other. You are beneath His wings, like a little chicken under those +of its mother; what do you fear? In my youth I, too, was a prey to these +imaginations, and in order to get the better of them I forced myself +when quite a child to go alone into places which my fancy had peopled +with fantastic terrors. I went alone, I say, but my heart was armed with +confidence in God. Now I am grown so strong in this confidence that +darkness and the solitude of the night are delightful to me, since in +solitude I realise better the all-embracing Presence of God. The good +angels are there round about us like a company of soldiers on guard. _The +truth of God_, says the Psalmist, _shall compass thee with a shield; thou +shall not be afraid of the terror of night_.[1] + +"This feeling of safety you will acquire little by little, in proportion +as the grace of God grows in you: for grace engenders confidence, and +confidence is never confounded." + +See how, with this timid, fearful soul, he makes himself weak and infirm. +If I may be permitted to add to this great example my own poor and +worthless experience, I would say that when I was young I was greatly +afflicted with this weakness. It was indeed, perhaps, the chief impediment +to my entering the Order of St. Bruno, which is, in my opinion, the +holiest, as it certainly is the most retired and the most steadfast of all +the religious orders. I, however, lost this infirmity as soon as I had +received the imposition of hands from the Blessed Francis de Sales, and I +may add that Almighty God permitted me to succeed, in the episcopal chair, +three Saints of that order which I revered so much, namely, Saints Artauld, +Audace, and Anthelme.[2] + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xi. 5.] +[Footnote 2: Six Carthusians occupied the See of Belley: Ponce de +Balmay, St. Anthelme, Raynauld, St. Arthaut, Bernard, and Bd. Boniface +of Savoy. (_Trésor de Chronologie, Chez Palmé, Paris, 1880_). +Audace, first Bp. of Belley, was not canonised, nor was he a Carthusian.] + + +HIS PORTRAIT. + +I have known great servants of God who would not on any account allow their +portraits to be painted, imagining that their doing so must involve some +degree of vanity and dangerous self-complacency. Our Blessed Father was not +of this opinion, but, making himself all things to all men that he might +win all to Jesus Christ, he made no objection to having his portrait taken +when asked to do so. He gave as his reason that since we are obliged by the +law of holy charity to communicate to our neighbour the representation of +our mind, imparting to him without dissimulation or jealousy what we have +learnt concerning the science of salvation, so we ought to be still less +niggardly in pleasing our friends by placing before their eyes the picture +of our outward self which they so earnestly desire to have. + +If we see, not only without annoyance, but even with pleasure, our books, +which are the portraits of our minds, in the hands of our fellow men, why +grudge them the picture of our countenance, if it contribute anything to +their satisfaction. On this subject he expresses himself as follows in one +of his letters: "Here, then, is the picture of the earthly man, for I am +unwilling to refuse you anything which you desire. + +"I am told that my portrait has never been really well painted. That, I +think, matters very little, _surely man passeth as an image. Yea, and he is +disquieted in vain._[1] + +"I borrowed it in order to send it to you, for I have not myself got my +own portrait. Ah! if the image of my Creator were imprinted in all its +splendour on my soul, how gladly would I let you see it! + + "_O Jesu, tuo lumine, luo redemptos sanguine, + sana, refove, perfice, tibi conformes, effice. Amen._" + +Thus did he turn every subject into an occasion of elevating the soul to +God. + +[Footnote 1: Psalm xxxviii. 7] + + +UPON BLESSED FRANCIS' TRUE CHARITY. + +Since charity was the animating motive of all that our Holy Bishop thought, +said, or did, and since it was in truth his very spirit, we cannot better +close these reminiscences of that saintly spirit than by quoting the words +of the Prince of the Apostles: _Before all things have a constant charity +among yourselves, for charity covers a multitude of sins. Let every one +behave himself according to the dispensation of grace. If any man speak, +let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as +of the power which God administers, that in all things God may be honoured +through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory and empire for ever and ever. +Amen._[1] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Peter iv. 8, 10, 11.] + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales +by Jean Pierre Camus + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES *** + +This file should be named 9184-8.txt or 9184-8.zip + +Produced by Charles Aldorondo, Tiffany Vergon, William Flis, and Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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