Volume II, Treatise I, Chapter IV

Of the Hatred of Ourselves, and of the Spirit of Mortification and Penance U& Produces

Ir we reflect well upon what has been already said, it will be sufficient to give us that holy hatred of ourselves which our Saviour Jesus Christ requires of us; and without which, he says, we cannot be his disciples. For what greater reason can we have to hate our bodies, than to know that it is not only one. of the greatest enemies we have, and even the greatest traitor that we have ever seen, but also a mortal enemy, and a malicious traitor, that every moment — endeavours to inflict death—eternal death on the soul which supports it and bestows all necessaries upon it; a traitor that for a moment’s pleasure, matters not to offend God, and to precipitate itself into an abyss of eternal miseries? If any one should deliver this message to you, know for certain that one of your domestics, who daily eats and drinks at your table has traitorously formed a plan to murder you, what apprehension and terror would not this strike into you? Butif he should add, know more-ever, so deep is his hatred of you, that he cares. not to be put himself to death if he can but kill you; for he knows very well that he shall be taken in the fact, and put to a cruel death, but he cares not at all for the loss of his own life, so he can but destroy yours, with what terror would you not be seized? Would you not imagine every moment that he were coming to give you a mortal stab? And, if you could discover or find out the traitor, what a hatred, would you conceive against him, and what revenge would you not’ take upon him? But our own body is this traitor, that’ both eats and drinks, and lies within us; which knows very well that in hurting our soul he also hurts himself, and that he cannot precipitate her into hell without falling thereinto himself. Notwithstanding, from a desire of doing what he pleases, he tramples all under foot, and values nothing; see then if we have not reason to hate him. How often has this traitor driven you to the brink of hell? How often has he made you offend the goodness of God? How many graces and favours has he made you lose? And how often does he every day expose you to the danger of losing your eternal salvation? What holy indignation ought you not to have against an enemy that has done you so much harm, and deprived you of so much good, and continually exposes you to so great dangers? If we hate the devil, and look upon him as our greatest enemy, by reason of the continual hurt he does us, how much more ought we to hate our flesh, which is a more cruel and dangerous enemy? The devils are so weak that they are not able to hurt us, if our flesh did not combine with them to wage continual war against us.

Behold here what it was that moved the saints to have so great a hatred of themselves; and hence sprung up in them that spirit of mortification and penance, whereby they revenged themselves upon this their enemy, and always kept him in subjection: They took care not to treat their body well, nor to give it any ease or pleasure, being persuaded that this was to furnish their enemy with weapons against themselves, and to give him new force and vigour against them. ‘ Let us take care,” says St. Austin, “not to permit our body to get strength, lest it use it to make war against our soul.””—(Aug. lib. de salut. monit. cap. 35). But let us rather apply to ourselves to discipline and mortify it, thereby hindering it from rebelling against us: ‘ For whosoever educates a domestic servant too delicately, will find him afterwards become too insolent.”—( (Proverbs 29:22))

The ancient anchorets applied themselves with great zeal to this

Cc exercise of mortification of the body; and thought it so necessary to weaken their bodies, that when they had no other means to do it, they had recourse to great labours, which they imposed upon themselves, to extenuate and abate their strength. Palladius relates, that a holy anchoret, finding himself extremely tormented with. proud and vain thoughts, which he was not able to drive away, resolved to take a basket upon his back, and continually to, carry earth in it from one place to another. And when they asked him what he did, “I vex him,” says he, “that vexes me, and revenge myself upon my enemy.’’—(Pallad. in vita S. Mac. Alex.) The same thing is related of St. Macharius: and it is said that Saint Dorotheus, who practised great penance and austerities, being one day asked why he so grievously tormented his body? “It is,” says he, “because it torments me.” St. Bernard, incensed with a holy choler against his body, as against his enemy, breaks forth into these words—“Let God arise,” says he, “and let this armed giant fall at his feet, yea, let him fall, and let this enemy of God be crushed in pieces, this self-lover, this friend of the world, this slave of the devil. What do you think?” adds the saint, ‘“certainly you will show yourselves to be just and righteous judges, and will cry out with me, he is worthy of death, let him be hanged, let him be crucified.”—-(Bern. Serm. 90. de Div. num. 3.)

It is with such courage as this, and with such arms as these, that we ought to fight, and subject our bodies, lest they rebel, and in their revolt, force the mind and reason to take part with them. This victory will gain us another; for having once overcome our flesh, we shall with great ease be able to overcome the devil. Since it is by the help of the flesh, whose rebellion he foments, that he makes war against us, we must therefore wage war against him also, by mortifying and macerating our flesh, thereby hindering it from revolting against us. St. Austin, writing upon these words of the apostle: ‘“For my part I run, not as at an uncertainty: I fight, but not as beating the air: but I chastise my body, and bring it into [subjection,” (1 Corinthians 9:26,27) takes notice, that this is the true means to triumph over the devil. “Chastise your body,” says he, “and you will overcome the devil, for this is the way, the apostle assures us, we must fight against him.” When a captain, in garrison upon the frontiers of the Moors, hears any alarm given, if he has a slave that is a Moor, he presently puts him in chains into a dungeon, lest he should rebel against him, and take part with his enemies. We must use our body after the same manner: we must mortify it; we must clap it into chains, lest, at our enemies’ approach he put himself on their side. Sg

About ReligiousBookshelf.com · A Supernerd Media project