Part III, Chapter III

Of Patience

“Patience is necessary for you; that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36) If our Saviour himself has declared (Luke 21:19), “In your patience you shall possess your souls,” should it not be, Philothea, a great happiness for man to possess his soul? — and the more perfect our patience, the more absolutely do we possess them. Let us frequently call to mind, that as our Lord has saved us by patient sufferings, so we also ought to work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions; enduring injuries and contradictions with all possible meekness.

Limit not your patience to this or that kind of injuries and afflictions, but extend it universally to all those that it shall please God to send you. Some are unwilling to suffer any tribulations but those that are honorable; for example, to be wounded in battle, to be a prisoner of war, to be persecuted for religion, or impoverished by some lawsuit determined in their favor; now these people do not love the tribulation, but the honor wherewith it is accompanied; whereas he that is truly patient suffers, indifferently, tribulations, whether accompanied by ignominy or honor. To be despised, reprehended, or accused by wicked men is pleasant to a man of good heart; but to suffer blame and ill-treatment from the virtuous, or from our friends and relations, is the test of true patience. I admire the meekness with which the great St. Charles Borromeo suffered a long time the public reprehensions that a great preacher of a strictly reformed order uttered against him in the pulpit, more than all the assaults he received from others; for as the sting of a bee is far more painful than that of a fly, so the evils we suffer from good men are much more insupportable than those we suffer from others; and yet it often happens that two good men, having each of them the best intentions, through a diversity of opinion, foment great persecutions and contradictions against each other.

Be patient, not only with respect to the subject of the affliction which may befall you, but also with regard to its accessories or accidental circumstances. Many could be content to encounter evils, provided they might not be incommoded by them. I am not vexed, says one, at being poor, if it had not disabled me to serve my friends, to give my children proper education; or to live as honorable as I could wish. It would give me no concern, says another, were it not that the world would think it happened through my own fault. Another would be content to suffer the scandal patiently, provided no one would believe the detractor. Others are willing to suffer some part of the evil, but not the whole; they do not complain on account of their sickness, but for the want of money to obtain a cure, or because they are so troublesome to those about them. Now, I say, Philothea, we must not only bear sickness with patience, but also be content to suffer sickness under any disorder, and in any place, amongst those persons, and with those inconveniences, which God pleases; and the same must be said of other tribulations. When any evil befalls you, apply the remedies that may be in your power, agreeably to the will of God; for to act otherwise would be to tempt divine Providence. Having done this, wait with resignation for the success it may please God to send; and, should the remedies overcome the evil, return him thanks with humility, but if, on the contrary, the evils overcome the remedies, bless him with patience.

Attend to the following advice of St. Gregory: whenever you are “justly accused” of a fault, humble yourself, and candidly confess that you deserve more than the accusation which is brought against you; but, if the charge be false, excuse yourself meekly, denying your guilt, for you owe this respect to truth, and to the edification of your neighbor. But if, after your true and lawful excuse, they should continue to accuse you, trouble not yourself nor strive to have your excuse admitted; for, having discharged your duty to truth, you must also do the same to humility, by which means you neither offend against the care you ought to have of your reputation, nor the love you owe to peace, meekness of heart, and humility.

Complain as little as possible of the wrongs you suffer; for, commonly speaking, he that complains sins, because self-love magnifies the injuries we suffer, and makes us believe them greater than they really are. Make no complaint to choleric or censorious persons; but if complaints be necessary, either to remedy the offence or restore quiet to your mind, let them be made to the meek and charitable, who truly love God; otherwise, instead of easing your heart, they will provoke it to greater pain; for, instead of extracting the thorn, they will sink it the deeper.

Many, on being sick, afflicted, or injured by others, refrain from complaining or showing a sensibility of what they suffer, lest it should appear that they wanted Christian fortitude, and resignation to the will of God; but still they contrive divers artifices, that others should not only pity and compassionate their sufferings and afflictions, but also admire their patience and fortitude. Now this is not a true patience, but rather a refined ambition and subtle vanity. “They have glory,” says the apostle, “but not with God.” The truly patient man neither complains himself nor desires to be pitied by others; he speaks of his sufferings with truth and sincerity, without murmuring, complaining, or aggravating the matter. He patiently receives condolence, unless he is pitied for an evil which he does not suffer, for then he modestly declares that he does not suffer on that account, and thus he continues peaceable betwixt truth and patience, acknowledging, but not complaining of the evil.

Amidst the contradictions which shall infallibly befall you in the exercise of devotion, remember the words of our Lord (John 16:21): “A woman when she is in labor, hath sorrow because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth her child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” For you have conceived Jesus Christ, the noblest child in the world, in your soul, and until he is quite brought forth, you cannot but suffer in your labor; but be of good courage, these sorrows once past, everlasting joy shall remain with you for having brought him forth. Now you shall have wholly brought him forth, when you have entirely formed him in your heart and in your works, by an imitation of his life.

In sickness offer up all your griefs and pains as a sacrifice to our Lord, and beseech him to unite them with the torments he suffered for you. Obey your physician, take your medicines, food, and other remedies, for the love of God, remembering the gall he took for your sake; desire to be cured, that you may serve him, but refuse not to continue sick, that you may obey him; and dispose yourself for death, if it be his pleasure, that you may praise and enjoy him forever.

Remember, that as bees, whilst making their honey, live upon a bitter provision, so we can never perform acts of greater sweetness, nor better compose the honey of excellent virtues, than whilst we eat the bread of bitterness, and live in the midst of afflictions. And as the honey that is gathered from the flowers of thyme, a small bitter herb, is the best, so the virtue which is exercised in the bitterness of the meanest and most abject tribulations is preferable.

Consider frequently Christ Jesus crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, and overwhelmed with all sorts of troubles, sorrows, and labors; and remember that all your sufferings, either in quality or quantity, are not comparable to his, and that you can never suffer anything for him equal to that which he has endured for you.

Consider the torments the martyrs have suffered, and those which many at present endure more grievous without any comparison than yours, and then say: Alas! are not my sufferings consolations, and my pains pleasures, in comparison of those, who, without any relief, assistance, or mitigation, live in a continual death, overcharged with afflictions infinitely greater than mine?

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