Volume III, Treatise V, Chapter XV
That Obedience Does not Hinder Us from Representing Our Difficulties to the Superior: the Manner of Doing It
To represent our difficulties to our superior is so far from being a sin, that on the contrary we are bound to do so; and he would do amiss that should fail in this particular, as we have a rule that expressly commands it. As too much solicitude concerning our body, says the rule, is not commendable, so a moderate care to preserve our health and strength, in order to do God service, is lawful and just, and all religious are bound thereunto. And hence, if any one finds his diet, clothing, lodging, or employment, prejudicial to his health, or judges something else to be necessary for it, he ought inform the superior or the person under whose care he is. St. Ignatius shows great wisdom in this rule; for, though it be true that all the care of our health and life depends chiefly on our superiors, yet, because they are not angels, nor can know our particular wants, nor have always our private necessities before their eyes, it is thought fit we should aid them in this point, by representing our necessities to them, in order to have them supplied. The principal thing is to represent them in a proper manner; for it is much to be feared that we be actuated by self-love, or ‘guided too much by our own judgment. Hence St. Ignatius requires that, tv be on our guard against ourselves on this occasion, we observe two things: the first is, to pray before we make the application, and if we then find it necessary, we are to make our application to him that is charged to provide for us. Yet we must not think that he would have us just kneel down to say an Ave Maria, and so go to our superior with our petition; but the prayer he speaks of is a serious recollection and strict examination whether your proposal be with a view to God’s greater glory or rather to your own private interest. If, after this examination, you find that self-love is your motive, desist from your proposal; but if you seriously judge that you have no other motive than God’s greater glory, you may confidently make it.
The second precaution which our holy founder gives, is totally to acquiesce in our superior’s determination after we have represented our case to him, either by word of mouth or in writing for the better help of his memory; and whether he grants or denies his request, not to make any reply to his orders, or renew our instances either by ourselves or others, since we ought to be persuaded that whatever he ordains, after information given him, shall tend most to the service of God and to our spiritual advancement. We ought therefore so dispose ourselves, both before and after the proposal made, as to be equally ready, not only to obey what the superior shall ordain, but also to receive it with satisfaction, as being the most advantageous for us. This indifferency of mind towards the thing proposed, is of very great importance in this matter, since it makes a denial, as well as a grant, equally welcome to us, and easily shows whether we seek God or ourselves in our request. For, if we aim at nothing but. God’s great glory and the accomplishment of his divine will, we are sure to derive content and satisfaction from our superior’s orders, since we can no longer doubt but that they are a declaration of God’s will, On the other hand, if a refusal troubles us, and if we fret, it is a sign that we were not indifferent to the thing proposed, and that our private interest, not God’s, lay at the bottom, since we are so uneasy at not having obtained our desires. So that the fruit we should endeavour to reap from the prayer we make antecedent to our proposal, ought to be to beg this entire resignation to the will of our superior concerning the thing proposed; and this is the best disposition of mind in the present circumstances, and makes us as glad of a denial as of a grant. It would also be very well to consider, after our superior has granted our request, whether a refusal of the same would have been as agreeable to us; and if we find that it would, we may look upon it as a very good sign, and we may hereupon assure ourselves that we shall fulfil God’s will, not our own, in the performance of what we asked leave to do.
This presupposed, I assert that to represent our necessities to our superior with this indifference and resignation, is so far from being contrary to the perfection of obedience, that it is the most perfect and most mortified way of proceeding. And not to do it in a case of necessity, is not only an express disobedience to the rule above cited, but also a great want of interior mortification. You know, for example, that such or guch a thing is injurious to you—that you stand in need of such thing—yet you remain silent, only thinking within yourself that if your wants are supplied by the superior, all is well, and if they are not supplied, all is equally well; and you think that these ideas spring from a desire of mortification and of suffering for God; but you must know that this is so far from springing from an humble, patient, and mortified spirit, that it is nothing else than self-love and a fear of suffering; for you look on your present condition as less painful than the bare representation of your necessities to your superior, solely lest he would think you too solicitous for yourself and too attentive to your private conveniencies. This sometimes also proceeds from your want of indifferency to the thing you propose, or because upon the like occasion you have met with a flat denial, which has made you resolve never to petition any more unless absolute necessity should oblige you. But pray, whence comes this resolution? Certainly from 4 want of indifferency towards the thing proposed, and also from a want of courage to bear a refusal; and for these reasons you are better pleased to keep your difficulties to yourself,’and suffer them in private, than represent them to your superior. Consider, however, a moment, how far the Devil imposes upon us, and how violent our self-will is, which makes us better pleased to suffer because we wish to suffer, than to address ourselves to the superior merely through fear of being refused. Nay, if we consult even self-interest, we shall see that obstinacy of this kind betrays much folly. For, let us suppose the worst; let us suppose that the superior does not grant your request. Pray, tell me would it not better in this case that what you now suffer from attachment to your own will, you would then suffer out of obedience and a submission to the will of God? Besides this, you would have the merit of having complied with that rule which commands you to state your wants; and when you will have stated them, you need not apprehend the consequences; for, whatsoever should happen afterwards would not be ascribed to you, but to your superior, and to God himself, who directs you by your superior. It was to obviate these inconveniencies, and to remove the repugnance and bashfulness which we might feel in exposing our wants, that this rule was established. For, why should any one be afraid or blush to do what this rule prescribes him? Can the superior take it ill to see this rule kept? Does not the general custom in our order of representing our least difficulties to the superior, render this practice easy? Let not then your want of mortification make it hard and difficult.
But all the difficulty consists in making the proposal with indifferency and resignation; and as this is a matter of consequence, I will endeavour to enlarge upon it. When we have anything to propose, we must not prepossess our minds with the thought that the thing to be proposed is most convenient for us; for, if we be refused, this would certainly make us uneasy, but in making our proposal we must remain in a doubt, and await with indifference the resolution of the superior; and in this case, happen what will, we are sure to be at ease. When a scholar doubts upon a point of learning, he proposes his difficulty by way of doubt, and with deference as to his master’s opinion upon it, and therefore abides by his decision. It is thus we ought to propose our difficulties to the superior, still doubting of the convenience of the thing demanded, and never determining to this or that side, till the superior has first explained himself. For then we must believe that his conclusion is most conducive to our welfare; we must under this impression abide by it, and receive it with joy. So that in the, prayer we make before the proposal, we are not to examine whether our design conduces most to God’s glory, but only whether it be convenient to acquaint the superior with it, and whether we seek God or ourselves in our request; as to the expediency or inexpediency of it, we are to suspend our Judgment till the superior has determined.
Too great attention cannot be paid to this point; for on it depends not only our making the proposal in a proper manner, but also our receiving the superior’s answer with satisfaction and quiet of mind. Now, as it is so ordinary a thing amongst us to have recourse to our superior upon the least occasion or necessity, it is of the utmost importance that we do it well; and religious discipline would receive a deep wound if we take it ill to be refused anything by our superiors—if we be troubled at it, and think that they have no kindness for us—if we censure them ourselves, and perhaps induce others to censure their moroseness, stiffness, and severity. Here we should consider, that if our natural parents, when we were under their power, refused us several things, and yet that we took it very well of them, and did not in consequence diminish our love and respect towards them, it is much more rational to act in the same manner towards our spiritual parents, especially since we have made profession of renouncing our own wills and of overcoming ourselves. Superiors heretofore used to train up their religious to this kind of mortification; and to make them the better able to support a denial, they would frequently refuse them such things as they might have granted them without the least inconvenience. And in those days the religious were so zealous for their spiritual advancement, that they were glad of such occasions of mortifying their wills. How comes it then to pass that we, when denied even those things that are really prejudicial to us, show ourselves hereupon uneasy, and complain of it? And what if this should be the reason why superiors sometimes, though much against their will, must grant what is prejudicial to us in order to avoid a greater evil? A true religious ought to dread and abhor a disorder of this nature, as we have already said elsewhere.
But that this manner of stating our wants may be the more perfect, we ought to have not only this interior resignation and indifference we have already spoken of, but also show it by our words and actions, which must accord to our thoughts and bear witness of our interior; and the more visible this accordance is, the more perfect the manner of stating our wants will be. But if we could so make our statement, that without giving room to the superior to find out our own inclinations, we would enable him to decide on what is most expedient for him to order, this mode of stating our wants would be the most perfect of all.
This may be made more clear by a rule regarding provincials, which says, that when the provincial wishes to consult the fathers of his province upon any matter, he must propose it in such manner as not to discover his own sentiments, lest the knowledge thereof should abridge their liberty and bring them over to his opinion..Thus subjects ought to represent their wants to a superior by using simple language, whereby he cannot at all discern their wishes, lest, knowing their frailty, he might be too condescending; in fine, we must use such words as may just suffice to declare our case, but leave him at liberty to ordain what he shall think most convenient, without having regard to our particular inclinations.
We have in holy Scripture two admirable examples of the conduct we ought to observe on this occasion. The first is set by our Blessed Lady when present with her Son at the marriage feast of Cana: she said, ‘‘ They have no wine” (John 2:3) She does not say, Lord, supply this want, for you can do it, and prevent all confusion of the new married couple; no, she barely states their want. The second example is that of Mary and Martha, who, when their brother Lazarus was sick, sent an. account thereof to the Saviour of the world. The sacred text mentions that they sent this message to him: “Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick” (John 11:3) ‘ Observe”, says St. Austin,. ““they do not bid him come, because to one that loves, a bare declaration is sufficient. They durst not say, come and cure him; nay, they durst not even so much as use the centurion’s language, by saying, Lord, speak the word where you are, and it shall be done here. They only said: Lord, he whom thou lovest is fallen sick. For it is enough, O Lord, that thou knowest our wants, since thou never forsakest those who love thee”. Thus we ought to propose our wants to our superior by plainly and simply representing them without manifesting our desires, which if we do, we may be assured that we do not seek ourselves in the proposal, and that the measures our superiors shall take will not spring from condescension.
St. Ignatius, speaking in his constitutions of those who find the air of the country they live in not to agree with them, takes express notice of this way of proposing it to the superior. He that finds himself in this condition, says he, must not ask to change air, or signify any desire of it, but must barely represent his indisposition, with the impossibility he is in of complying with the duties of religion, and then leave all the rest to the superior’s care. This done, it belongs to the superior to judge whether it be more fitting for him to change air, in order to recover his his health, and thereby to become more capable of doing service to his order; or, whether it be better for this person in particular, in regard of his spiritual improvement and God’s greater glory, to let him remain where he is, notwithstanding the small service he does; nay, though he should: be altogether unserviceable and useless. If this be St. Ignatius’s opinion in so considerable a business as that of our health, what would he say concerning a great many things of less moment? But because we cannot always conceal our inclinations in the proposal we make, there are some (and it is a very laudable custom) who, having represented their case very modestly and handsomely, earnestly desire the superior not to regard their particular inclination, and that he would set nothing before his eyes but God’s greater honour and glory. These persons use all possible means to make him sensible that hereby he would show the greater charity towards them, and confer this comfortable blessing upon them of being sure to do entirely the will of God; whereas, should he out of too much compliance condescend to them, they would be extremely afflicted at it, and look upon themselves as not doing the will of God and of their superiors, but rather their own.
About ReligiousBookshelf.com · A Supernerd Media project