Volume I, Treatise VII, Chapter IX

That It Ts Very Profitable to Add Some Penance to Our Examen

St. Ienativs contents not himself with our only having a lively sorrow in our hearts for our faults, or with our making a firm purpose not to relapse; for to ensure our thorough amondment, he desires that we add some corporal penance to our particular examen; and that we afterwards inflict it upon ourselves, as often as we fall into the imperfection we wish to amend. Father Lewis Granada recouats the example of several servants of God, with whom he was acquainted, who praised this method; and amongst others he speaks of one, who was wont to bite his tongue very severely, when in his examen he found he had during the day let drop any improper expression. He mentions another who disciplined himself at night very rigorously for all ° the faults he found he had fallen into that day. The holy Abbot Agatho carried a pebble stone in his mouth for three whole years together, thereby to obtain the virtue of silence. Foras a hair-cloth serves to mortify the flesh, andis a perpetual admonition to observe chastity; so this pebble stone served him as a bridle to curb his tongue, and a continual admonition not to give himself too much liberty in speaking. We read also that St. Ignatius, being in-the beginning of his conversion subject to laugh very much, overcame this difficulty by disciplining himself as often as he found himself faulty herein; inflicting as many strokes at night as he found he had transgressed during the whole day. And without doubt, it cannot but be a very great help, thus to add some penance to our examen; because the fear of chastisement makes us stand more upon our guard. Let a horse be ever so lazy, the spur will make him go forwards; and if he knows we have one, it is enough to make him go, though we never spur him with it. If every time we break silence, we were obliged to take a public discipline, or to fast three days on bread and water, which was the ancient practice of religious, we should certainly be far more reserved in speaking than we are.

Besides this advantage, and the merit that penance carries along with it, and that it serves for satisfaction and expiation of our faults, it still contains another advantage, which is, that God is wont to hear the prayers and desires of those who mortify themselves, and afflict their bodies. And this is one of the effects that the saints attribute to exterior penance and mortification, which St. Ignatius takes particular notice of in his book of Spiritual Exercises. ‘ From the first day,” says the angel to Daniel, “that you applied your mind to the understanding of spiritual things, by your afflicting your body in God’s presence, your prayers were heard.” (Daniel 10:12) So that Daniel added fasting and other austerities to his prayer, whereby he obtained the liberty of his people, and merited that God should reveal to him several great mysteries, and bestow many signal graces and favours upon him. We see also that it is a means, always very much practised by the Church, for the imploring God’s assistance in those public calamities it has suffered, and in all the wants and necessities of the faithful. When an infant expresses not its desires of the breast by pressing and earnest signs, the nurse oftentimes refuses it, or makes it stay the longer. But when by cries and sobs it asks itshe cannot refuse the giving it presently. God treats ud after the same manner, when we ask the virtue of humility, patience, chastity, or a victory over some particular temptation, or any other thing whatsoever; and when we only offer up our desires and prayers to him, he often does grant us what we ask; or at least he defers it for a long time. But when we join penance to prayer, when we mortify our flesh, and afflict ourselves before him, then we more easily and more certainly obtain all that we desire or wish for. God loves the just very tenderly, and when he sees them torment and afflict their bodies to obtain anything of him, he has compassion on them, and shews great mercy to them. If the Scripture says, that Joseph, seeing the tears and affliction of his brethren, could not refrain any longer from discovering himself to them, what will God do to those whom he loves far more tenderly than Joseph loved his brethren? what will Jesus Christ our brother do, when he sees our mortification and the sorrow we suffer? It is, therefore, a means which cannot but be of great advantage and profit to us in every respect.

All this agrees very well with what Cassian says, when he describes the manner wherein we ought to behave ourselves in the spiritual war we make against ourselves in our particular examen. Because the chief thing we aim at is the obtaining what we stand most in need of, and what is most necessary for us. For our examen is made, in order to extirpate that passion and bad inclination wnich chiefly domineers over us—which draws us after it with greater violence—which exposes us to greater dangers, and causes us to fall into the most grievous sins: and because hereby also we endeavour to overcome that vice whose defeat gives us an assurance of a victory over all the rest; and to gain that virtue the possession of which will help us to gain all others. What care, therefore, what precaution, and what application ought not a religious take, in a thing that is of so great importance as this is to him? “He ought,” says Cassian, “to make it his chief endeavour, he ought to apply his whole study and attention to obtain it. He must offer up all his fasts, all the sighs and earnest desires of his heart to accomplish this object.” (Cass. coll. v. Abb. Serap. cap. xiv.) But it ig not only in our particular examen that we are seriously to apply ourselves to this: we must do the same in our prayer; and not only in the ordinary time prescribed for prayer, but also very often throughout the whole day by elevating our hearts to God, saying with sighs and groans—Lord, give me humility; Lord, give me chastity; Lord, give me patience. We must also, for this end, often visit the blessed sacrament, begging with fervour of Jesus Christ the grace we stand most in need of, and have recourse also to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and of the saints, in order to obtain it. Our fasts, disciplines, all our austerities, and all the particular devotions we practise, must tend to nothing else but to the attainment of this. And lastly, it being a business of so great importance to us, we must continually have it in our mind and in our thoughts. And if’in this manner we take it to heart, we shall soon perceive the great profit we get by ourexamens; because God, beholding our afflictions, will hear our prayers, and grant the accomplishment of our desires. And this, moreover, deserves to be so much the more taken notice of; because we may hereby help ourselves upon all occasions, and in all temptations. St. Bonaventure relates that the Blessed Virgin appearing once to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, told her that God did not ordinarily grant any particular grace or favour to a soul, but by means of prayer and corporal mortifications.

About ReligiousBookshelf.com · A Supernerd Media project