Volume III, Treatise V, Chapter VII

Obedience in Spiritual Matters

Ir is not only in things which seem to bear relation to flesh and blood that we are to submit our judgment to that of our superior, but even in those also which have no relation at all to the body, but are altogether spiritual. Let no one think, that in these things he is more at liberty to swerve from the will and judgment of his superior, than in the others. On the contrary, submission and obedience of the understanding is far more necessary here; because spiritual things, being of their nature more elevated, the danger would be far greater, and the fall more disastrous, if we had no one to direct us. This is a truth so evident, that Cassian says the Devil makes use of nothing more to precipitate monks into sin, than to persuade them to contemn in spiritual matters the advice and counsel of the seniors, and to follow the dictates of their own understanding. The same author (Cass. Coll. ii. c. 5, and seq), and St. John Climacus cite examples of several hermits much given to prayer and spirituality, and advanced in years, who, trusting too much to their own reason, and becoming their own directors, were at last deceived by the Devil’s illusions. The 178 Devil urged one of them to sacrifice his own son that lived in the same monastery with him. This poor man, imagining that he should hereby become another Abraham, would certainly have put it in execution, had not his son by seeing him prepare the cords and whet his knife, suspected his design, and fled from him. He suggested to another to throw himself from a precipice, and made him believe that he should obtain a crown of martyrdom by it, and go immediately to Heaven.

Cassian likewise cites the example of Heron the hermit, who lived in such retirement and abstinence, that upon Easter-day, when all the hermits used to dine together and have better fare than usual, he staid in his cell, and was abstemious to that degree, that he made no addition to his ordinary fare, which was only bread and water. This austere life made him so proud, and wedded him so much to his own opinion, that he persuaded himself that he was a great saint; that he had no more danger to apprehend in this life; and that if he should throw himself headlong into a well, the angels would bear him up and preserve him from being hurt. Full of this fancy, and not doubting but that God would work a miracle to make his virtue and merit known to the world, he threw himself one night into a deep well, out of which some of the brothers, who ran hither upon the noise of the fall, with great difficulty pulled him up half dead. Notwithstanding this, the illusions of the Devil had made so deep an impression upon him, that for the three days he lived after it, neither his own unhappy experience, nor all they could say to disabuse him and to make him repent, could efface this impression from his mind. This proves clearly how extremely dangerous it is even for persons advanced both in years and perfection, to rely too much upon their own judgment, and not to submit to those whom God has placed as guides over them. And therefore a holy man said with reason, that one that is too confident of himself needs not the Devil to tempt him, since he is become the greatest tempter and devil to himself.

St. Chrysostom tells us, that he who depends altogether upon his own judgment, though he be ever so well versed in spiritual matters, is in far greater danger of falling, than one who is a novice in a spiritual life, but who gives himself up to the conduct of another. He compares the first to a skilful pilot, who, trusting to his art and abilities, puts to sea in a ship that has neither sail nor oar; and the second to a passenger, who, being altogether unacquainted with sea affairs, embarks in a well-rigged vessel with an experienced master. Let none then deceive themselves by thinking that in spiritual affairs, for example, in the spiritual exercise, or the practice of penance and mortification, they can dispense with obedience, and guide themselves by their own reason. For, as Cassian justly observes, to transgress the superior’s command through a desire of labouring, is no less a disobedience, than to transgress it through a desire of remaining idle. ‘ Always remember this maxim”, says St. Basil (Exhort. ad Vit. Mon.), never to do anything contrary to the advice or without the knowledge of your superior; for these hidden doings are a kind of secret theft and sacrilege; they are also extremely prejudicial to you, nor can they ever turn to your profit. I admit that you look upon them to be good, but if so, why do you conceal them? Why do not you ask your superior’s leave to do them? He wishes you as well as you do yourself; apply to him; he will not deny you, and then God will bless all your undertakings. Do not expose yourself for want of a little submission, to do that which is not only unprofitable, but also highly prejudicial to you: and take care that God say not to you, as he said once to his people by the prophet Isaias, offer me no more of your unprofitable sacrifices” —Jsat., i, 13.

We must never command evil to be done, say St. Gregory and St. Bernard; nor must we obey, when there is question of our committing sin. But when there is only question of omitting a good act, which obedience prohibits, we are obliged to submit to obedience. The tree which God prohibited Adam and Eve to eat of, was not bad in itself, but on the contrary very good and excellent; yet God, to give them an occasion to merit more by submission and obedience to their Creator, was pleased to forbid them the use of a thing which, abstracting from the prohibition, had nothing bad in it, and which, were it not for the prohibition, they could have eaten of very innocently. Now a superior sometimes does the same to his religious that are under his care; he forbids them things that are good of themselves, and he does this either because these things are not proper for them, or in order to try their submission and obedience.

St. Basil says that the perfection of obedience in inferiors shines less brightly in their abstaining from evil, than in their abstaining from good which they are forbidden to do. His reason is, because they have always an obligation of abstaining from evil, independent of any particular prohibition; but that it is only in virtue of a particular prohibition they abstain from what is good in itself; so that we may justly say, that their obedience appears far more in the latter, because there is nothing but obedience which restrains them. On the contrary, want of submission in things purely spiritual, shows more in-docility and more attachment to self-will. For in other things, for example, in silence, modesty, temperance, and the like, satisfaction and pleasure may have a part in the disobedience; whereas in matters purely spiritual, and opposite to flesh and blood, nothing but a desire to do our own will, and a proud mind, can move us to disobey. So that, whatever comes from hence, even the things we undertake for our spiritual advancement and to render ourselves more pleasing to God, produce no other effect than to remove us farther from perfection, and to render us more displeasing to God and superiors. There is danger in riding a hard-mouthed horse; for, not feeling the bit, he cannot be mastered, and he may run away with the rider, and even throw him down a precipice. Hence, as a horse, to be good, must be soft-mouthed and yield to the curb, or to the least check of the bridle; in like manner, a religious ought to be flexible, complying, easy to be governed, never resisting the curb of obedience, but suffering himself to be guided as his superiors think proper.

We read in Ecclesiastical History (Zvag. }. i. Hist. Eccl. ec. 13, 14), that St. Simon Stylites chose for his retirement to live upon a pillar forty cubits high, and practised such penance there as the like had never been known before. He was continually exposed to all the inconvenience of heat and cold; he passed whole Lents without eating or drinking, and added so many other austerities to these, that some, thinking it impossible fur a man.to undergo such rigorous penances, doubted whether or not he were really a man. Several fathers of the desert hearing of this strange and new way of living, met to consult about it, and the result of their debate was to send a messenger to him in their names, who should say to him: What new kind of life is this that you lead? Why have you forsaken the high road marked out to us by so many saints, and taken this bye-way which never man trod before you? The fathers of the desert, from whom I come, have met in full assembly about you, and command you to come down from your pillar, to live like them, and to distinguish yourself no longer by such singularities. This messenger had also in his commission, that, in case he should not obey these orders, he should be forced to a compliance; but if he should obey them, and be willing to leave his pillar, he should then declare to him, in their names, that they permitted him to live there, and to continue his new rigid way of living, because they were satisfied by this obedience that God had called him to it. He that had this charge given him, went to the saint, and delivered his orders. He had scarce finished these words, “the fathers of the desert have ordered you to come down from your pillar’, but the saint put himself in a posture of descending and of obeying their orders. The messenger seeing this great obedience, put the second part of his commission in execution, and spoke thus to the servant of God: “Take courage, father, and continue this sort of life with the same generosity you have begun to embrace it; it is God has called you to it, your obedience declares it, and all the fathers of the desert are of this opinion”. Let us take notice here, on the one hand, how readily Stylites obeys, how soon he abstained from a holy action, to which he really believed God had called him; and on the other, in what esteem the ancient fathers held obedience and submission, since they really believed that they needed no other proof of God’s having called him; and on the contrary, they require no other sign - but disobedience to their orders, to conclude that his vocation was not from Heaven.

Confessors and spiritual directors usually adopt the same method, in order to discern by what kind of spirit their penitents are led in those practices of devotion which they impose upon themselves. One, for example, has a great desire to communicate frequently, and his confessor will have him not do it so often. Another is much given to mortification, as fasting, disciplines, and hair-cloth; another will sleep upon the bare ground; another scarce allows himself any sleep at all; and so of the rest. Without doubt all these desires of penance and mortification are very commendable, and of the two extremes, that which is contrary to the inclinations of our nature, ought to be the less suspected, because there is always reason of distrust in those things which have an appearance of self-love in them. But the best and surest way of all is, to give an account of all your thoughts and actions to your superior or confessor, and act according to their advice; for it is most certain that by this means you will merit much more and please Almighty God far better. And let due attention be paid to this doctrine, as. it is both holy and infallible. If, for example, a religious intends to impose some mortification upon himself, and if his superior, whom he has acquainted with it, forbids him to do it, I say, that by omitting it he shall be so far from losing the merit of the good action he intended to do, that he will even acquire additional merit in the sight of God. For he has merited by the good actions he had intended to do, because he had an efficacious will of doing them, and he has the merit of obedience, because it is through obedience he abstains from doing them. Nay, sometimes it may happen that this obedience may be far more meritorious than the good works themselves, upon account of the great resignation that is requisite, both to abstain from doing what we so earnestly desire, and to submit our will and judgment to that of our confessor or superior. This is what was revealed to St. Bridget in the following manner. This saint was used (Lib. 4, Revel. S. Bri., c. 26) to practise great austerities, and her spiritual director at once curtailed several of those she practised, thinking fit to do so for the good of her health. She obeyed him in this, though with some difficulty, fearing lest it might retard her spiritual progress. Being once thus piously uneasy, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her, and said to her: Daughter, suppose two persons agree to fast one day out of devotion, and one of them that is his own master performs the fast, and has his reward for it, but the other living under obedience, does not fast that day, because his superior will not give him leave, certainly this last will receive a double reward; the one for his real design to fast, and the other for his submitting to obedience.

The heathens were no strangers to this sort of obedience, as we may infer from the esteem they held it in. Plutarch says, that Agesilaus, king of Lacedemon, having been successful in war in Asia, whereby he restored the Grecian cities to their ancient liberty, and being upon the point to carry his victorious arms into Persia, received orders from the ephori, or supreme magistrates, to return home; and that he instantly abandoned his enterprise, and put all things in readiness to obey these orders. And never, says he, did this prince acquire more glory than he did by setting this example of respect and obedience to his native country.

But why search abroad for examples, since we have some of this kind, and those the most admirable, set by members of our own society? Witness the opinion our holy founder had of St. Xaverius’s obedience, when he resolved to call him from the Indies, where he laboured so profitably in the conversion of souls. St. Xaverius was at this time wonderfully successful in his evangelical expeditions. He had converted many thousands, and was on the point of gaining whole kingdoms to Jesus Christ. Notwithstanding all this, St. Ignatius having written a letter, and only subscribed it with a single I, to give him notice to return, he doubted not that upon the receipt of it he would leave his glorious enterprises, forsake the eastern world, and return forthwith to Rome, whither obedience called him. And had not God called him to Heaven to receive the recompense of his labours before that letter came to his hands, he would certainly have obeyed.

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