Volume III, Treatise IV, Chapter VII

That Penance and Mortification of Our Flesh Ts a Very Good Remedy Against All Temptations to Impurity

‘WE are”, says St. Jerome, “to quench the fiery darts of the Devil by rigorous fasts and long watchings”. Thus he did himself, thus did St. Hilarion, who, as the same saint writes of him, when he found himself troubled with any temptation of the flesh, was presently enraged against his body, and spoke thus to it: Wretch that thou art, I will soon put an end to thy rebellion; I will punish thee with hunger and thirst, lay many a heavy load upon thee, and by exposing thee to violent heats and colds, teach thee rather to think of necessities than of sensuality. The saints very earnestly recommend this remedy to us, some by their words, others by their example, to the end that the flesh may not rebel against the spirit.

We read in the Chronicles of St. Francis, that a secular asked a good religious, why St. John Baptist, having been sanctified in his mother’s womb, should retire to the desert, and lead there such a penitential life as he did. The good religious answered him, by first asking this question,—pray why do we throw salt upon meat that is fresh and good? ‘To keep it the better, and to hinder it from corruption, replied the other. The very same answer I give you, says the religious, concerning the Baptist; he made use of penance as of salt, to preserve his sanctity from the least corruption of sin, and as holy Church sings of him, “that the purity of his life might not be tarnished with the least breath”. Now, if in time of peace, and when we have no temptation to fight against, it is very useful to exercise our bodies by penance and mortification, with how much more reason ought we do so in time of war, when encompassed with enemies on all sides? St. Thomas, following Aristotle’s opinion, says that the word chastity is derived from “chastise”, inasmuch as by chastising the body, we subdue the vice opposite to chastity; and also adds, that the vices of the flesh are like children, who must be whipped into their duty, since they cannot be Jed to it by reason.

But suppose we should by this ill treating of our body, by fastings and other austerities, prejudice our health, St. Jerome says, ‘‘it is better the body should be sick than the soul”; and that our legs should rather shiver and tremble with weakness, than that our chastity should stagger and be ready to fall. Notwithstanding this, discretion is to be used in this point. Mortification is to be measured by our strength, and regulated as the greatness of the temptation and danger shall require. Whenthe. temptation is weak, and scarcely dangerous, we need not employ all our forces against it. But if this intestine war be so violent as to threaten destruction to our chastity, then without question we are not to spare our body, but treat it as an enemy, and resolutely risk all to save our soul. Physicians say, “that violent distempers must have violent remedies”. Now if this is done in the diseases of the body, surely there is more reason for doing it in the fevers and distempers of our soul, which are sometimes more violent, and always more dangerous, than those of our body. ~

Spiritual writers remark, that temptations have two sources and two causes. Sometimes they arise from the body itself, and by it are communicated to the soul, as it commonly happens in young people, and in such as live well and enjoy perfect health. In this case, the body is to be mortified and rudely dealt with, because it is the source of the evil. Sometimes also they proceed from the soul, by means of the Devil, and communicate themselves to the body, and this may be known by several marks. First, when we are more attacked by impure thoughts and images than by revolts of the flesh, or when we never have these revolts but subsequent to such thoughts, which sometimes are very lively even in the most mortified bodies. Thus St. Jerom, though his body was quite reduced by age and mortification, yet could not prevent himself from being present in idea at the balls and amusements of the Roman ladies. Besides, when these ideas occur at a time that we have not the least wish for them, and in a place where there are no causes of them—when they respect neither the time of prayer nor the sanctity of the place we are in—when they are so lively, so fantastical, that the like was never before heard of—when, in fine, we fancy that we hear uttered within ourselves, some words, which we would not upon any account utter; all this shows clearly, that what passes within us, does not proceed from ourselves, but that it is an effect of the persecution of the Devil, and that our flesh has no other share in it than that of being the theatre on which he wages this war against us. We must therefore make use on this occasion of remedies different from the former; and according to all holy men, one of the best is some laudable occupation, which, vigorously engaging the mind, effaces every filthy image that had been impressed thereon. It was with this view, St. Jerom, as he himself owns, applied himself to learn Hebrew, in which he became so great a proficient.

The same St. Jerom relates that a young Grecian, a religious in a monastery in Egypt, was much troubled with temptations of the flesh, and having in vain endeavoured by fastings and other austerities to overcome them, discovered at last the state of his soul to his superior, who having comforted him, took this expedient to cure him. He desired an ancient, grave, and severe monk to make it his business very frequently to contradict this young monk, and to chide and reprehend him very severely, and after this to come and complain as if the other had offended him. This senior seized every opportunity of quarrelling with the young man, and acquitted himself of his charge extremely well. Besides this, he would carry to the superior not only his own complaints, but also those of other religious, who failed not to say, according to the word ~ given them, that the young monk was passionate; and the superior having always severely reprehended him, imposed some heavy penance on him, as if he had been really in fault. This happening every day, the young religious, extremely troubled to see himself thus roughly dealt with, and so many false testimonies daily raised against him, had recourse continually to Almighty God, and laying all his miseries before him, begged with tears that he would take him into his protection, since all the world had forsaken him. Notwithstanding this, all the religious still continued so to torment him, that there was no ‘mischief done in the house which was not immediately laid to his charge, and that by two or three witnesses, so that he had every day new reprehensions and penances given him.

This having lasted about a year, one of the religious asked him how he found himself as to those temptations of the flesh which formerly used to be very irksome to him. “What!” says he, “it is scarce permitted me to live, and can you think ‘Iny thoughts can be employed upon sinful pleasures? It is a great while since all those ideas have been effaced from my mind”. It was thus the superior cured him, finding means to banish the old ideas, by introducing new ones, which were more troublesome but less dangerous. Here St. Jerom takes occasion to praise our living in communities; for had this young man, says he, been alone, who would have helped him to overcome this temptation? In other places he speaks of the advantages those religious who live together have above hermits, and adds these reasons why it was better to live under the obedience of a superior, ‘“because here”, says he, “you do not do your own will, you eat what is set before you, you take such clothes as are given you, you do the task that is set you, you go weary to bed, and are obliged to rise before you have slept enough. Thus, whilst obedience finds you continually engaged, bad thoughts will find no room in your heart, and you will not have time to think upon anything but what obedience appoints”.

St. Francis said, he knew by experience that the devils fled from those that led severe and penitential lives; and on the contrary, that they willingly set upon those that pampered their flesh. And St. Athanasius writes that St. Anthony used to say to his monks, “Believe me, brethren, the Devil is afraid of the prayers of men, he dreads their watchings, fasts, and voluntary poverty”. St. Ambrose applying to this subject these words of the Psalmist, “Ihave covered my soul with fasting, and my garment is haircloth’—/s., |xviii.,—says, that fasting and other rigours used on the body, are very good defensive. weapons against the assaults of the Devil. Our Saviour taught us the same docrine, for having cast out the unclean spirit, which his disciples could not do, he said to them, “This kind of devil cannot be cast out, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29) You see how he joins fasting with prayer, as the most proper means to terrify the impure spirit. In the same manner, when we find ourselves pressed by temptations to impurity, it is not sufficient to fall immediately to our prayers, and there make acts and resolutions opposite to the temptation, but to this we must add mortification, or exercise some severity upon our flesh, yet so as that we do nothing in this kind without the direction of our confessor or superior.

A religious that was much troubled with such temptations as these, one day asking holy brother Giles how he might be freed from them, received from him this answer: Pray, brother, what would you do to a dog that is going to bite you? I would either take up a stick or a stone, says the other, and not cease beating and pelting him till I made him run away. Very well, replied the good brother, do the same to your flesh, which is always barking at you, and the temptation will soon fly from you. This kind of remedy is so efficacious, that the least pain or mortification you put yourself to, will suffice sometimes either to drive the temptation quite away, or at least to divert it. For example, you need do no more than hold your arms stretched out in form of a cross, kneel down, strike your breast, pinch yourself, give yourself a dozen strokes with a discipline, stand upon one leg, or the like.

It is said in the life of St. Andrew, that while he was at Corinth, an old man, by name Nicholas, came to him and told him that he had led a most dissolute life, and that very lately he went to an infamous public-house, with an intention to offend God; but, having the holy gospels about him, the courtesan to whom he paid his addresses, drove him rudely from her, and desired him not to come nigh her, for she saw something extraordinary in him which. affrighted her very much. The old man added, that this accident made him enter into himself, and that now he was come to him for a remedy against his weakness and the vicious habit in which he had grown old. The saint, moved at his sad condition, betook himself to prayer, fasted five days together, beseeching God that he would pardon this poor man’s sins, and make him chaste for the future; at the end of the five days which he had spent in continual prayer for this effect, he heard a voice from Heaven say to him: I grant your petition for the old man, but my will is at the same time, that, as you have fasted for him, so he fast also for himself, and afflict his body, if he desires to be saved. The apostle, in obedience to this voice, enjoined the old man to fast, and all the Christians to pray for him, who, returning home, distributed all his goods to the poor, macerated his body, and fasted six months upon bread and water. Having performed this penance, he died, and God revealed to St. Andrew, who at that time was not at Corinth, that he had shown him mercy.

We read in the Spiritual Meadow, that an hermit addressing himself to one of the old fathers of the desert, discovered to him how violently he was tormented by a thousand impure thoughts; and the old father saying, that he was never disquieted in that manner, this answer scandalized the hermit, who presently departed without saying a word more. But finding another of the ancient fathers, he spoke thus to him: I cannot but tell you what such a one said to me, which was, that he was never troubled with any impure thoughts, at which I cannot refrain from being scandalized: for I think this a thing impossible, and absolutely above the force of nature. Since so great a servant of God has said this, replied the other, without doubt he has his reasons for it; and therefore go back to him again, ask his pardon, and he will satisfy you in the matter. The young hermit followed his counsel, and meeting with the holy man, begged his pardon for his late rude departure, and desired at the same time to know how it was possible that he should never have been tormented with impure thoughts. The reason is, says the holy father, because, since I came to the desert, I have lived upon bread and water, nor did I ever drink or sleep any more than what was barely necessary to support nature, but never enough to satisfy its desires. Upon this account (rod has been pleased, by a special privilege, to exempt me from those temptations which you feel so tormenting.

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