Volume I, Treatise I, Chapter VII

That a Good Means of Attaining Perfection Is to Continually Think on What We Are Deficient In—without Thinking on What We Have Acquired

“Ler him that is just become still more just, and let him that 8 holy become still more holy.” (Apocalypse 22:13) St. Jerom and venerable Bede tell us, that our Saviour in saying, ‘‘ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled,”

wished to teach us, that we must never think we are just enough, but must always aspire to greater justice, as St. John recommends in the above passage. To this effect, St. Paul proposes to us an excellent means, he himself had made use of. ‘“Brethren,” says he, “I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do; forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I pursue towards the mark for the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13) If, then, the apostle of the Gentiles, the vessel of election, does not believe himself -perfect, who will dare think himself so? He believes not that he has attained perfection, but endeavours all he possibly can, to acquire it. For this purpose, he forgets all he has done, and only looks to what he is deficient in, and it is to obtain this, that-he excites and encourages himself with all his might. All the saints have very much extolled and earnestly recommended this means as having been prescribed and recommended by the apostle. Hence St. Basil and St. Jerom teach, that whoever wishes to be a saint, must forget what he has done, and constantly think on what he has still to do, and that he is truly happy who advances daily, and who never thinks on what he did yesterday, but what he has to do to-day in order to make new progress.

But St. Gregory and St. Bernard descend more to particulars, and say, that this means prescribed by St. Paul consists of two principal parts. The first is to: forget the good we have done,

_ and never to look back at it. Certainly we stand much in need of this warning in particular for it is very natural in us to cast our eyes on what is pleasing, and to turn them away from what may be displeasing. Hence taking pleasure in looking at our improvement, and the good we fancy we have done; and on the contrary, feeling it painful to think on our spiritual wants and poverty, we are inclined to dwell rather on the former, than on the latter. St. Gregory says, that as a sick man in a burning fever, is always searching for the coolest and softest part of his bed to find a little ease, even so human weakness ordinarily fixes its eye on the good it has done. But St. Bernard says, that there is extreme danger in this. For if you look only to the good works you have done, you will readily yield to vain glory, preferring yourself to others; you will not endeavour to ascend, believing yourself already arrived at a high degree of perfection. In a word, you will begin to grow tepid, and from tepidity falling into negligence, you will quickly bring on your ruin. The example of the Pharisee in the gospel shows us plainly what must befall those who act in this manner. He casts his eyes on the good works he had done, and then enumerating them, he says, “I thank thee, O God, that Iam not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or such as this publican. I fast twice in the week: I give tithes of all that I possess, And the publican standing afar off would not do so much as lift up his eyes to heaven: but striking his breast, saying, O God be merciful to me asinner. I declare to you,” says our Saviour, “this man went down to his house more justified than the other.” (Luke 18:11,14) Thus we see the one by humbling himself was justified, while the other by his criminal presumption drew upon himself the sentence of his condemnation and of his death. This is the plan the devil has formed against us. By always representing to us the good we have done, his design is to instil into us an high esteem of ourselves, and a contempt of our neighbour, that by yielding to pride, we may bring on our own condemnation.

There is still another danger, as St. Bernard says, in looking back on the good we have done. For we will, in consequence, make no effort to advance; we will grow cold in the business of ’ heaven, and at length fancying that we have done enough, we will think only on resting ourselves. As travellers when they begin to grow weary, look behind and consider the journey they have made; just so when those on the road of perfection begin to get tired, they look back to the journey they have. made, and imagining they have advanced a great deal, they content themselves, and through shameful sloth, stop half way.

In order to avoid these inconveniences, we must always think not on what we have already done, but on what still remains to be done. For the former tempts us to stop, while the latter incites us to go on with our work. This is the second branch of the means the apostle teaches us—to have our eyes fixed on what we are deficient in, that we may be encouraged to attain. it. St. Gregory explains this by several familiar comparisons, and says, that as a man who owes a thousand crowns does not think his debt discharged by his having paid three or four hundred, but still reflects on what he is still to pay, and cannot be at ease till he has fully satisfied his creditor, so we, whoare deeply indebted to Almighty God, ought not to reckon upon what we have paid, but always consider what we are still to pay in order to satisfy the debt that remains, and mind nothing else than applying ourselves continually to find out the means of doing so. “Again as men on a road, who travel with a firm resolution of arriving at their journey’s end, never look back to see how many miles they have already gone, but consider how far they have yet to go, and think of nothing else till they arrive at the destined place: in like manner, we, who are travellers in this world, and purpose to go to heaven, our native country, ought not to consider how far we have gone, but how far we have yet to go, and how to get thither. Whena man, adds he, undertakes a journey to any place, it avails him nothing to have gone a great way, unless he continues to go on till he comes to his journey’s end, because it is only at his arrival there he can expect the recompense of all his labour. It is therefore of no avail, that you run well at first, if you get tired in the middle of your course; and hence the apostle counsels us— Run so as you may carry the prize.” (Il Cor. ix. 24.) Never look back upon the space you have left behind, but keep your eyes fixed upon the goal you aim at. Consider that it is perfection you ought to aspire to, and think how far you have yet to go toarrive there, and, in consequence, you will make haste still to advance; for, as Chrysostom says, a man never ceases to run whilst he thinks he is not yet arrived at the end of his journey.

St. Bernard says, that we ought to imitate merchants, who, though they have acquired considerable property and encountered much hardship and pain, yet so far from being content with their gain or discouraged by their losses, constantly endeavour to acquire additional property, as if hitherto they had neither done nor gained anything. It is in the same manner, says he, we ought constantly endeavour to increase our store, and to enrich ourselves in humility, charity, mortification, and in all the virtues; and, in a word, like good merchants for heaven, we ought make no account of the slight pains we have hitherto felt nor of the riches we have acquired. It is for this reason our blessed Saviour, in St. Matthew, compares the kingdom of heaven to a merchant, and commands us, “To traffic till he comes.” (Luke 19:13)

And the better to explain this example proposed by our Saviour himself, you must observe what great care the merchant always takes not to lose any opportunity of gaining. Let your conduct be the’same as his. Lose no opportunity of making some new progress in virtue, and as St. Ignatius says, “‘ Let us encourage one the other never to lose any degree of perfection, which, by the mercy of God, it is in our power to attain.” (Reg. 15. Sum.)

Suffer nothing to escape without endeavouring to derive some advantage from it. An angry word is said to you; you are commanded to do something against your will; an opportunity of humbling yourself is offered—from all these things, if made proper use of, you will derive considerable advantage. We ought to seek after occasions of this nature, and purchase them at any price: and as a merchant never lies down with more satisfaction than after the day on which he made several good and advantageous bargains; so a religious ought to think that he never succeeds better in his profession, and ought never to go to bed with more comfort, than after the day whereon he met with many occasions of exercising his humility and patience. A merchant is no ways troubled at the losses of another, nor is he angry with him upon this account, but thinks and often reflects with joy on his own particular gain: in like manner, a religious ought never examine whether another did well or ill in giving him the mortification he received, nor be angry with him for it, but he ought to rejoice at the particular advantage he derived therefrom. If we acted in this manner, we would not so readily lose our peace of mind on such occasions. For when those very things which of their own nature are capable of depriving us of it, and exciting discontent in us, are the only things we seek after and desire, what can happen, that can ever disturb our peace, or cause us any affliction of mind?

Consider, moreover, with what great care and industry the merchant applies to everything which can promote his own interest; how he thinks of nothing else, and how ardently he undertakes any affair wherein there is the least appearance or hope of gain: whether he is at table; whether he lies down or gets up; whether he is asleep or awake; in fine, wheresoever he is, or whatsoever he does, that affair alone engages his thoughts and allows him not to enjoy repose. In the same manner we must proceed in the affair of our salvation, having our mind and heart entirely engaged with it; and we should be ever attentive to derive some spiritual profit from every even the least occasion that presents itself. This is the thought which should always accompany us, at table, at our going to bed, and getting up; in all our actions and in all our exerciges, at all times, and in all places during our whole life. This is our only business. If we do this well, we need desire nothing more, and in fact, it is not worth our while to trouble ourselves even for a moment about everything else. To all this St. Bonaventure (B. II. Rel. Prof. c. i.) adds, that as a good merchant never finds in one country all he wants, but often travels into different countries to find many things; even so a religious ought to seek for his spiritual advancement not only in prayer, meditation, and interior consolations, but also in resisting temptations, in mortifying his senses, in suffering injuries, pain, and labour, and in discharging his duty on all occasions that present themselves.

If we seek, in this manner, after virtue, we shall be rich in a short time. ‘Ifyou seek for wisdom,” says Solomon, “as men seek for riches; and if you dig for it, as you would to find a treasure, you shall then know what is the fear of the Lord, and you shall learn the true science of God.” (Proverbs 2:4,5) What God demands of us here, says St. Bernard, is not much; since for gaining the treasure of true wisdom, which is God himself, he requires no more exertion on our part than is usually made to gain earthly riches which are subject to a thousand accidents, and whereof the enjoyment is so short and so troublesome. To keep, then, a proportion in things, were it not proper, that as there is an infinite difference between spiritual and temporal goods, so there should also be as great a difference between our manner of seeking the one and that of our seeking the other. It is also a great shame and confusion to ts, that worldly men desire those things that are pernicious to them with more earnestness than we desire those things that are of the greatest advantage, and that they run faster to death, than we do to life.

It is set down in Ecclesiastical History (Part II. B. VI. c. i.) that the holy Abbot Pambo going one day to Alexandria, and meeting with a courtezan very finely dressed, began to weep bitterly, crying out several times: Alas! what a wretched man Tam! And his disciples having asked him, why he wept so bitterly? he answered: Would you not have me weep to see this unfortunate woman take more care and diligence to please men, than I do to please God; and to see her take more pains to lay snares for men, in order to drag them into hell, than I use endeavours to gain them to Jesus Christ, and to conduct them to heaven? We read also of St. Francis Xaverius that he was ashamed and extremely troubled on seeing that merchants had arrived before him in Japan, and that they had been more diligent to sail thither to sell their merchandise, than he had been to carry thither the treasures of the gospel, to propagate the faith, and to increase the kingdom of God. Let us adopt the same sentiments, and be filled with a holy confusion, on seeing, “That the children of this world are wiser” (Luke 16:8), and more careful in the concerns of this life, than we are in the affairs of heaven, and let this: prevent us from remaining any longer in our sloth and tepidity.

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