Volume I, Treatise I, Chapter I

The Great Value We Ought to Set on Spiritual Things

“T wisHED for a right understanding of things,” says the Wise Man, “and God gave it me, I called upon him, and he filled me with the Spirit of Wisdom, which I preferred before sceptres and crowns, and believed that riches and precious stones deserved not to be compared thereunto; for all the gold and silver upon earth is nothing but a little sand and clay, in comparison of wisdom.” (Wisdom 7:7) The true wisdom which all of us ought to desire is Christian perfection. Now, this consists in uniting ourselves to God by love, according to these words of St. Paul,—“Above all things I recommend charity unto you, which is the bond of perfection, whereby we are united to God.” (Colossians 3:14) We ought, therefore, set as great value on perfection, and on everything conducive to its attainment, as Solomon says he set on wisdom; and we ought to believe with St. Paul,—“That if we gain Jesus Christ it is enough; for all the rest is nothing but dirt and ordure.” (Philippians 3:8) This is the best means we have of attaining perfection. For the degree to which this esteem ascends in our hearts will be the measure of our own spiritual advancement in particular, and of that of religion in general. The reason is, because we desire nothing but according to the estimation we hold it in. For our will being a blind faculty that pursues nothing, but what the understanding proposes to it, that value, which our understanding sets upon any object, becomes of necessity the measure of our desires. And our will being the absolute mistress that commands all the interior and exterior faculties of our souls, we never exert ourselves for the attainment of any object, but according to that degree wherein our will is moved to desire it. In order, then, that we earnestly desire it, and diligently exert ourselves for its attainment, it is necessary that we hold in high estimation whatever relates to our advancement in perfection. For, these things bear such reciprocal relation, that the measure of the one is the infallible rule of the other.

To carry on his trade to advantage, a jeweller should know well the value of precious stones: otherwise he may happen to sell at a low rate a jewel of great value. Our traffic is in precious stones; “and we are all merchants in the kingdom of heaven, and seek for fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45) We should, therefore, be good judges of the merchandise we trade in, lest, by a strange abuse, we give gold for ‘dirt, and part with heaven, for earth. ‘ Let not the wise man,” says our Saviour, by the mouth of the Prophet Jeremy, “glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in the abundance of his wealth; but let him that does glory, glory in his knowledge of me.” (Jeremias 9:23) The most valuable of all treasures consists in the knowledge, love, and service of God; this is our greatest, and, indeed, our only affair; or to say better, it is for this we were created; for this we entered into religion; and it is in this alone, as in our only end, we ought to repose ourselves, and establish our greatest glory.

‘I wish, therefore, that this esteem of perfection and of spiritual things conducive to it, would make a deep impression on the hearts of all men, and particularly of religious; and that we take care to encourage each other to it, not only by our words, and ordinary conversation, but much more by our actions, and the general tenor of our lives. By this means, those as yet but novices in the way of virtue, and such as are more advanced in it, and all in general, must acknowledge, that in religion we should attach importance to spiritual things only. In fine, as St. Ignatius sets forth in his Constitutions: ‘“What we value most in religious persons is not depth of learning, nor great talents for preaching, nor any other natural or human endowment; but it is humility and obedience, a spirit of recollection and prayer.” (Cons. p. 10.) It is this we must, from the beginning, imprint on the minds of all who are received into: religion, and it is with this milk they, who intend to lead a holy life, must be first fed. When they perceive, that, of all things, piety is most valued, that it is the practice those convinced of the vanity of the world are engaged in, and that the pious are chiefly loved and esteemed, then they will presently apply their thoughts, and use their endeavours, not to acquire great learning, or to become famous preachers, but to excel each other in humility and mortification. By this, however, I do not mean, that gaining general esteem or good will should be our motive for embracing virtue. I only assert, that when it shall be known that virtue is the only thing esteemed in religion, we shall be more convinced, that it is the only thing truly deserving of esteem. For every one coming thus to the knowledge of the true way in which he should walk, will devote himself without reserve to virtue—will apply himself solely to his spiritual advancement, and will believe that everything else is but vanity and folly.

From all this, it can be readily inferred, what a dangerous example is set religious societies, by those who introduce no other topic than human science, and who are constantly bestowing praises on such as are eminent for learning. This example is the more dangerous, because seeing them so highly valued by the graver sort of men, new beginners will conclude, that it is by the acquisition of these things they: will be entitled to respect and preferment. Upon this account, learning is the only object they propose to themselves, and the desire of acquiring it increasing daily, the love of humility and mortification insensibly decays in their hearts. At length they make so little account of the one in comparison of the other, that from intense application to study, they omit what is of strictest obligation. Hence it comes to pass, that many of them relax, are perverted, and forsake religion. Now, instead of instilling into the minds of these beginners, the vain desire of being reputed men of learning, were it not better to represent to them, how important and necessary a thing it is to acquire virtue and humility, and how unprofitable, or rather how dangerous it is, without humility, to be possessed of talents and earning.

In his Life of St. Fulgentius, abbot, Surius has a passage very applicable to the present subject. He tells us, that among the religious in the monastery of this holy abbot there were some, who laboured hard, and devoted themselves entirely to the service of the community, but who applied not with equal fervour to prayer, spiritual reading, and interior recollection. Now St. Fulgentius never thought so much of these, as of others. He always showed a far greater love and esteem for those who, though unable, by reason of their weak and sickly constitution, to be of any service to the convent, were yet devoted to spiritual things, and careful to advance in virtue, And doubtless he acted right. For, if we are not humble and submissive to the will of our superiors, what will it avail us to have talents, and other good qualities? If on this ground we claim greater liberties and exemptions, it certainly were far better for us never to have had talents at all. The case were different indeed, if in the account which is, one day, to be demanded of the superior, God should ask him,—‘‘ Were his subjects men of study and science?” But no! these are the questions God will ask him,—“Have those committed to your charge improved themselves in the science of saints?” ‘ Have they advanced daily in virtue?” ‘‘Have they been employed according to their talents, without suffering their exterior occupations to check their interior advancement °” It is this, in. the opinion of a very holy man (Tho.-a-Kempis, xiii. c. 3), for which every particular person also shall be accountable to Almighty God, who, on the day of judgment, will not ask us, what we have read, but what we have done—nor how learnedly we have spoken, but how religiously we have lived?

The sacred text relates, that our blessed Saviour having sent his disciples to preach, they returned full of joy, telling him, «‘ That even the devils were subject to them, in his name.” ‘To whom our Saviour answered,—“Rejoice not that you work miracles, and that the devils are subject to you; but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17,20) We ought, then, to place all our joy and happiness in acquiring the kingdom of heaven, for without that all the rest are nothing. ‘ What will it avail a man to gain the whole world, if he loseth his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

And if we say, what our Saviour himself says, that these occupations which tend to the conversion of souls ought not to make us forget what we owe to our own salvation, since it -were useless to have contributed to save all the world, if we do not endeavour to save ourselves—what may we not, with greater reason, say of other occupations? Certainly, it is unreasonable in a religious man, to be so entirely absorbed in study, or in any other worldly employment, as to neglect his interior—to neglect prayer, examination of conscience, penance and mortification—to give to spiritual things the last and lowest place in his thoughts—to employ in devotion, that time only which remains after the discharge of other duties, and in case he could not compass both, to choose rather to omit his spiritual duties, than to be remiss in the others. This, in a word, were to live not as a religious person, but as a man who had no relish for heavenly things.

St. Dorotheus reports, that his disciple Dositheus discharged the duty of infirmarian so well, was so attentive to the sick, made their beds, dressed their rooms, kept all things so neat, and in such good order, that the saint going one day to visit the infirmary, Dositheus said to him: “Father, I have a thought of vain glory, which tells me, that I do my duty perfectly well in this employment; and methinks you ought to be perfectly well satisfied with me.” But the answer of the good abbot gave a check to the presumption of his disciple. “TI allow,” said St. Dorotheus, “that you are grown a very good infirmarian, and very careful; but I do not perceive as yet, that you are become a good religious man.” (Patr. tom. 3. Doct. 11.) Let every one, therefore, use his utmost endeavours, that no man may say of him, you are a good infirmarian or a good porter—you are a great scholar, a learned doctor, or a celebrated preacher; but you are not a good religious man. For in fact, we entered religion only to become true religious. It is this character we ought to prefer to all others—it is this we ought to seek after with the utmost diligence, and have perpetually before our eyes. Indeed all other things, compared to our advancement in piety, ought to be looked upon as accessaries only, according to the words of our Saviour: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all those things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)

We read that some of the Fathers in the desert (Cass. lib. 10), unable to apply themselves continually to prayer and spiritual reading, yet resolving not to spend any of their time idly, employed all their leisure hours in making baskets of palms, or in some other manual labour. And at the end of the year many of them burnt what they had made, having laboured only to give themselves occupation and to avoid idleness. So ought we to make what relates to our spiritual advancement, our chief business, and to apply ourselves to all our other affairs, even to those which regard the edification of our neighbour, with the same spirit as these holy Fathers did to making their baskets, that is, without weakening, in the slightest degree, ‘our obligations of working out our salvation and aspiring to perfection. We must then proceed upon this ground, and hold it an infallible maxim, that the spiritual exercises conducive to our advancement in piety must.ever be preferred to all other things, and that none of these duties must ever be omitted or neglected on any account whatever. For it is that which maintains us and advances us in virtue: and if we are once negligent therein, we shall soon feel our neglect prejudicial to us. We have but too often experienced, that the derangement of our interior proceeds from our growing cold in spiritual exercises. ‘My heart is withered within me,” says the Psalmist, “because I have forgotten to eat my bread.” (Psalms 101:5) Ifthe food of our souls is wanting, it is certain, we shall become very feeble and languishing. St. Ignatius earnestly recommends this point, and often insists upon it. “The study,” says he, in one place, “of novices and of all others ought to be that of self-denial, and of the most proper means of advancing in virtue and perfection.” (III. p. 1. § 28. and R. 12. Sum. Const. &c.) And in another place he says, “Let all devote sufficient time to their spiritual exercises, and endeavour to advance daily in virtue, according to the measure of grace God has given them.” And elsewhere he adds, “Let every one be as exact as possible in spending well the time allotted for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading.” And these | words, “as exact as possible,” deserve, no doubt, particular attention. ’

Here we can readily perceive, that in whatever business we are engaged, whether in discharging the duties of the trust reposed in us, or in obeying our superiors, it is by no means their intention, that, on this account, we omit our usual spiritual exercises. For it cannot be the intention of any superior, that we should fail in the observance of our rules, and particularly of rules so important and indispensable. Let no one, therefore, attempt to excuse the neglect of his spiritual exercises, under the specious pretext of obedience, alleging, that he could not attend to prayer, the examination of conscience, or to spiritual reading, because he was obliged to fulfil the duties of obedience. For after all, it is not obedience, but it is our own tepidity and the little relish we have for piety, that hinders us from performing these things. St. Basil (Bas. Ser. Per.) says, we ought to be very exact in giving to Almighty God the time allotted for our spiritual exercises, And as, whenever it happens, that we have not had time to eat and sleep in consequence of our being obliged to watch with a sick person, and to assist him in dying well, we take great care to refresh immediately our wearied bodies, and will be sure to find time for doing so; in like manner, in case we are hindered from making our prayer or examination of conscience at the usual hour, we must ardently desire to supply that omission, and to acquit ourselves of these duties as soon as we possibly can.

Whenever, during the time of the spiritual exercises, we are, through necessity, employed otherwise by our superiors, their intention is not that we neglect, but only that we defer for a while these spiritual exercises, and afterwards resume and fully perform them, according to the saying of the Wise Man:— “Let nothing hinder you from praying always.” (Ecclesiasticus 18:22) He does not say, “hinder no man,” but “let nothing hinder you;” t.¢., let no business make you omit your prayers; and certainly nothing can make a good religious man omit them, because he will always find sufficient leisure for them.

In the book called Bibliotheca Patrum, it is written of St. Dorotheus, that though he was often obliged to go very late to bed, and occasionally to rise in the night in order to entertain strangers and passengers of whom he had the care, yet he never omitted rising to prayer, at the same hour with the other religious of the convent. When he perceived that, in consequence of his great fatigues, the brother whose office it was to call up the rest of the religious did not knock at the door of his cell, he requested of one of his companions to do him that kindness, though he lately had a violent fever, and was not quite recovered from it. Thus indeed he showed a real desire of not omitting his spiritual duties, and by not, on every trifling indisposition, dispensing with himself in them, he was enabled to observe his rule during the rest of the day. We read likewise in the same book, that an aged holy monk saw once an angel incensing all the religious who made haste to come to prayer, and incensing the very seats of those other religious, who, by reason of lawful avocations, could not be present at this duty:- but the angel did not incense the seats of such as, through sloth, neglected to come to choir. This is very proper both to comfort those who, called elsewhere by obedience, cannot assist with the rest at the: common exercises of devotion, and to teach us, not, through our own fault, to absent ourselves from them.

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