Volume III, Treatise VI, Chapter VIII

Some Other Causes of the Non-observance of Rules.—the Remedy that May be Applied Thereunto

As it is sometimes through a kind of timidity and reserve that we fail to observe our rules, or, to say better, as it is through a spirit of immortification, and because we have not strength to overcome the repugnance we have to go and ask permission of our superior for a small matter, it is fit that we provide for this difficulty. Ido not require of you to abstain from eating, drinking, or speaking; nor would I hinder you from receiving what is offered you: the only thing I desire is, that you would do all with leave, for since you may do it with the blessing of God and with the good will of your superiors, why do you desire to do it otherwise? But you will say, must I every moment then importune my superior about mere trifles, which would tend only to hinder him from his business and to give him trouble? Behold here precisely the abuse I wish tqgcorrect, and the error I would disabuse you of. Superiors.are so far from being displeased when one goes to ask leave for anything, that they are very much pleased thereat. It is their business to hearken to you at all times; and religion, which is a2 mother that seeks your advantage, and that knows of how great merit obedience is in God’s sight, has so great a desire that you should be very obedient, and should do nothing without leave, that to facilitate the means thereof, it keeps one or two superiors in every house, whose office it is to give you leave as often as you ask it. Since, therefore, they know that they are established for this end, they will take as much care not to be angry when you have recourse to them, as a merchant or tradesman would when you go to him for anything belonging to his trade, or to buy any merchandise of him; and if you harbour any other thought than this of your superiors, it is wronging them and thinking that they do not their duty.

Moreover, why should a superior be troubled, that you should ask leave for a thing which he knows you cannot do without?

Should you go to him to entertain him with frivolous, idle, and _ superfluous discourse, you might have reason to fear the importuning him; but to go to him, when by your rules you are obliged to do so, is to do him a pleasure, because he ought to be glad to see that those under his charge keep an exact account of even the least things. What troubles and displeases him is the liberty which some take, in dispensing with the rules and in doing things without leave, as if they had no superior to go to; which is as if they made no account at all of their rules, and looked upon them as nothing. Behold here what we ought to avoid, that we may give no trouble to our superiors.

From hence we may draw this consequence, that as in regard to the things in which our hands are tied by the rules, and to do. which we have not permission, we ought feel no difficulty to ask it; even so, we ought freely to tell our brother, who is instructed as well as ourselves in the rules, that we have not the permission. This advertisement is of great importance; because a great many easily permit themselves rather to break their rules, than to mortify themselves by declaring that they have no leave either to speak or to receive what their brother would give them. They pretend sometimes to excuse themselves, by saying that it is because they have no wish to mortify their brother that they violate a rule, and that they dared not tell him that they had not permission. But this is to have a bad opinion of your brother, and to believe him so little faithful in the observance of his rules as to imagine that you would hereby mortify him. Your exactness would rather have edified him; and that which he did was perhaps to try you, and to see your fidelity in the observance of your rules, You are a religious, and therefore ought to glory in and not be ashamed of the performance of the duties of your profession. Wherefore observe punctually your rule, and your brethren will be so far from having anything to say against you, that they will esteem you the more for it.

Some others, to excuse the liberty they take in breaking their rules, say, they do it not to appear scrupulous, which is also a very bad excuse. For to be an exact observer of one’s rules, is not to appear scrupulous. It only makes a person appear truly religious. What a strange thing, then, would it be, should this give an occasion of shame! One of the abuses that is in the world is, that as soon as a secular gives himself to piety, frequents the sacraments, lives in retirement, he is presently exposed to the scoffs and railleries of seculars; and from hence it happens that many dare not make open profession of piety, being like in this to the Jew who went to find out our Saviour by night, not daring to go to him in the day-time. But it is not the same in religion, and God preserve us from such a misfortune as this would be! We have the advantage to live here amongst persons who make profession of piety and aspire to perfection; and he who makes the greatest progress in virtue, is he who is most esteemed. But notwithstanding, if it should happen that for this reason any one should receive contradiction from one of his brethren, yet a religious’ who ought to be firm and unshaken in the love of God, should not, upon this account, neglect at any time to aspire to perfection, or be ashamed to appear the disciple of Jesus Christ. ‘For he who shall be ashamed of me and my

words”, says our Saviour, “the Son of man will be ashamed of him and disown him when he shall come in his own majesty, and in that of his Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26) If a man had taken one of his servants to follow him, and this servant, out of a foolish vanity, and that he might not seem to belong to his master, should affect to keep at a great distance from him when he went into the city, would not he deserve to be turned away? A religious who is ashamed to pass for a servant of Jesus Christ, and who for this reason omits to observe his rules, ought justly apprehend theé like treatment. But in order to disabuse ourselves still more of this awkward bashfulness, we must fix this truth deep in our minds, that when we are careful and punctual in observing our rules, seculars themselves are no less edified at us than our brethren are. If you are, for example, in conversation with him when the bell rings, you would please him more by telling him civilly that obedience calls you away, and that therefore you are obliged to quit him, than by all you could have been able to say to him had you still remained with him; and the more aged and dignified the person is that you treat in this manner, the more he will be edified at it. We ought not therefore imagine, that to bind ourselves to an exact observance of our rules, or to say we have not this or that leave, is any offence against civility, or looked upon as scrupulosity; for there is no religious or secular that can find anything blame-worthy herein; but on the contrary, they will hereby be the more edified. If the thing in question were something extraordinary, or if you were not obliged to do it by your rules, you might perhaps have some reason not to do it for fear of appearing too singular and to pass for an hypocrite; but here the question is about your ordinary duty and the obligations of your profession. Moreover, if you permit yourself once to neglect your rules, it is to open a gap to do the same at another time in a matter of greater consequence; and on the other hand, if you make it appear that you are bound to an exact observance of your rules, you will thereby remove occasions of breaking them afterwards, and will obtain much quiet and repose. There is still another advantage herein, which is, that besides the good you do to yourself, you do also a very great kindness to your brother; for perhaps he did not think at all of the rule, and you, by your example, make him think of it, which is the best kind of advertisement you could give him.

The history of the Jeromites makes mention (Luke, xxviii.), of a certain religious who was a great observer of silence, and who had hereby gained the esteem and veneration of every one. A person of quality having heard him much spoken of, wished very much to see him and have some discourse with him, and one day having met him as he went to his little garden, he followed and called after him to cblige him to stay. The holy man, however, did not wait for him nor make him any answer, till being both entered into his garden, he cast himself at his feet, and then putting his hands before his face he spoke thus to him: Perhaps, sir, you know not that I cannot speak without leave of my superior; and after these words he prostrated himself again upon the earth and said not a word more; so that the secular, who would not importune him any longer, left him, and as the history remarks, returned home more edified at the silence of this religious than he should have been had he had ever so long a conversation with him.

The same history speaks (chap. xxi.) of another holy religious who kept silence so exactly in all the places where it was forbidden to speak, for example, in the church and cloister, that in them he never spoke to any one, nor even answered any one that spoke to him. It one day happened that king Henry walking in the cloister of the monastery where this religious was, perceived him pass by, and esteeming him very much by reason of his sanctity, he called him to entertain himself with him. But the servant of God would neither stop nor answer till he was out of the cloister, and then the king asked him why he did not sooner

VOL. Ul. 22 answer him. Sire, replied the holy man, it is not permitted to any of the religious to speak in the cloister, and therefore I did not answer your majesty till 1 was out of it. And the history takes notice that this prince was extremely edified at his answer.

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