CHAPTER VIII: THE SCHOOL OF HUMILITY AND PATIENCE.
THE SCHOOL OF HUMILITY AND PATIENCE.
§ 1. The praise of humility.
§ 2. The chief acts of it.
§ 3. The virtue of patience. __________________________________________________________________
§ 1. The Praise of Humility.
OH, how worthy of praise is the virtue of holy humility! I admonish thee, again and again, most especially to cultivate this virtue; for it was this in particular that Christ wished us to learn from Him. He saith: "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart " (St. Matth. xi. 29). This He ever taught, both by word and by example. Wherefore He again speaks thus: "Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall nut enter into the kingdom of heaven " (St. Matth. xviii. 3). This He most lovingly regarded in His Virgin Mother, as she herself bears witness, saying: "He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid " (St. Luke i. 48). It is chiefly by this that all the Saints have been and are men after God's heart. In short, the whole discipline of Christian wisdom is contained in this virtue. If thou dost not desire nor strive to be humble, in vain thou persuadest thyself that thou hast charity, and that a pleasing dwelling may be found in thee for the Holy Spirit, who resteth on none but the humble. Charity is ever joined to humility, and humility to charity; and it is impossible that any one should have charity who is not humble. For, as St. Paul saith: "Charity is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, but is meek and patient." Without humility and charity thy works and thy exercises, how great soever they may seem to be, will be rotten and empty. But true humility is to be sought for within the heart. If interior humility be wanting, that which is external is nothing but hypocrisy. __________________________________________________________________
§ 2. The Acts which are Special to Humility.
Let thy heart be humble and submissive. Acknowledge thy nothingness, thy infirmity and powerlessness, confess thy ingratitude towards God, thy malice and thy vileness. Of thyself, thou art indeed nothing, and without the help of God's grace thou canst have no good desire, do no good action, nor even conceive one pious thought. Of thyself, thou art ever prone to evil; and if God did not keep thee, there is no crime so horrible that thou wouldst not commit it. Wherefore thou shouldst not esteem thyself above any man, however wicked. If thou hast not been guilty of grave sins, then, because of the goodness of God, which has not permitted thee to fall into them, and has granted thee the power of leading a good life, thou hast still more reason to humble thyself than he who, after the perpetration of many crimes, has obtained pardon and has been received into the favour of God.
Since thou hast nothing of thy own but sin, do thou attribute every good thing that thou hast or doest to the mercy and loving-kindness of God, seeking the praise and glory of God, not thine own. Take not to thyself so much as an atom of the gifts of God; even if thou alone hadst done all the good works of all men, thou shouldst remain as naked and destitute (as regards thy opinion of thyself, and the undue esteem of thy works,) as if thou hadst done no good thing. If thou usurpest and ascribest to thyself any of the gifts of God, and if thou desirest to be held in honour of men on account of any interior or exterior grace, there lurketh in thee great pride. Hold that most pernicious pest in abhorrence; and if, perchance, it conies into thy mind, consent not to it. Say to God: "O Lord, I would rather die than consent; I renounce all impurity." Not only ascribe no good to thyself, but cast back upon thyself the blame of all the evil that is done in the world. Confess thyself to be utterly unworthy of the benefits and gifts which thou receivest from God, and be grateful to Him; acknowledge that thou art not worthy that the earth should bear thee.
Doubtless, since thou hast by thy sins grievously offended the Lord of supreme majesty and holiness, it would be but just that God Himself and all creatures should torment thee horribly. Wherefore thou shouldst not be astonished, nor disturbed in mind, when thou feelest thyself interiorly dry, barren, unsettled, in darkness, and as if abandoned by God; or when thou art oppressed by daily and heavy crosses, difficulties or temptations, and when others despise and persecute, or even strike thee, and insult and speak evil of thee. Thou thinkest then, perhaps, that God is angry with thee; but that anger is fatherly, and proceeds from love. Be not discontented with so loving a Father, when He tries thee, or allows thee to be tried by adversity. Be meek, patient, and resigned, and give thanks.
Thou must, however, have a reasonable fear, knowing that God sees many faults in thee, while thou, perhaps, perceivest only one, or none at all; fear, I say, and impute to thy sins what thou hast to suffer, acknowledging that thou hast deserved worse things; but by no means imagine thyself, on account of these punishments, not to be dear to God. On the contrary, they should make thee very confident that thou art dear to Him: "For the Lord scourgeth every son whom He receiveth " (Heb. xii. 6). Chant in thy heart these words of the Prophet: "I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God my Saviour. I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He judge my cause. He will bring me forth into the light, I shall behold His justice" (Mich. vii. 7, 9). Beseech the Lord Jesus that He will satisfy for thy sins; but bear patiently for the love of Him what thou dost suffer.
Pardon speedily from thy heart all the offences of those who hurt and annoy thee, and show thyself benignant towards them, returning good for evil, and bearing quietly and with equanimity their sharp words and threatening gestures, and cruel deeds, and what ever wrong they may have inflicted on thee or on thy friends. And lest this should seem to thee too difficult in practice, place before the eyes of thy mind what thy Lord Jesus Christ endured for thee, and the example that He gave thee, who, when He suffered, murmured not, was not angry nor sought for revenge, but most mercifully prayed for His enemies. [6] Wouldst thou not think thou hadst obtained an immense good, if thou couldst in anything resemble thy King?
It sometimes happens by the permission of God, that a good man, who seeks God alone, falls into some grievous trouble and affliction, either from natural temperament and indisposition, or from the influence and changes of the weather, or by the operation of the evil spirit, or from other causes; this man, thinking he is displeasing to God, then usually loses his peace of mind, and is subject to sadness and disturbance. If such distress come upon thee, do not thou wish to shake it off violently, nor seek out divers ways of ridding thyself of it, but receive the annoyance humbly from the Hand of God, as something most salutary for thee, and endure it with a tranquil and resigned mind, even if it should last many years, or for thy whole life; for thus will God and the Angels dwell with thee, taking delight in thy humility and patience. __________________________________________________________________
[6] 1 Pet. ii. 23; St. Luke, xxiii. 34 __________________________________________________________________
§ 3. The Virtue of Patience.
Tribulations in this life are most precious gifts of God, and there is no more certain sign of divine election than to bear adversity with humility and resignation for the sake of God. By means of cold, heat, sickness, and every other exterior and interior trial, God purifies, sanctifies, and wonderfully adorns the souls of His elect. And when He sees that they are unable to bear collars of gold, He adorns them at least with garlands of flowers, that is to say, with lighter tribulations. He would never permit even the least breath of wind to disturb His elect, unless He knew that it was expedient for their salvation. It is of more profit to a man to endure even a moderate trial patiently, for the honour and love of God, than to accomplish great works. Humble patience and resignation in adversity, sound sweetly in the ears of God, and bring Him quickly to the aid of the afflicted. Hence the Prophet saith: "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart " (Ps. xxxiii. 19).
Whatever thou now sufferest, God foresaw from eternity that thou wouldst suffer it in this manner; He foresaw the day and the hour when this suffering was to befall thee. But thou hast no reason to be fearful; for the merciful Lord will lay upon thee nothing that will exceed thy strength, which is clearly known to Him. He will most carefully interpose His Hand between thee and the lire of tribulation, lest thou shouldst be too much tormented, as doth an indulgent mother, when she undresses her little child before a material fire. Offer devoutly to God, to His eternal praise, these same tribulations and all thy pains, small as well as great, joined and united to the Passion or the sufferings of Christ; thus will they be of inestimable merit, and most phasing to God.
Learn, I pray thee, to receive solely from the Hand of God, all things that happen to thee, whether in soul or body, or in what belongs to thee; for whatsoever happens, happens by His wise disposal, nor can any misfortune touch thee except by the permission of God. Even did all the demons at once desire to rush upon thee, they could not come nigh thee, unless God permitted it; wherefore thou shouldest not fear them, but God. As I have said, learn to receive from the Hand of the Lord of goodness all things as being best for thee, though perchance such, a calamity and affliction may fall upon thee as may seem to be adverse to thy salvation. For it is impossible that what thou receivest simply from the Hand of the Lord should not be the best and most profitable to thee, since God gives to those of good-will nothing but what is best and most conducive to their salvation; and this is as certain as that God exists. If He were to give to Satan the power to vex thee for all the remainder of thy life with horrible bodily sufferings, thou mightest perhaps consider it an intolerable misfortune, and a terrible judgment of God upon thee; and yet it would not only be no hindrance to thy salvation, but would greatly further it, if thou didst receive it from the Hand of God, and endure it humbly for the honour and love of God.
Thou must also receive from the Hand of the most merciful God those afflictions and crosses of which thou art thyself the cause, or which happen from thy own fault. Yet thou must ever lament the evil thou hast done, and by no means lay the blame of it on God, who can never be the author of sin; nor on the devil, who had not the power of forcing thee to sin; but impute it solely to thyself, who didst consent to sin. Whenever any vexation or hardship is inflicted on thee by creatures, turn straightway the eyes of thy heart to thy Heavenly Creator and Father, who, out of love, permits this for thy good. Let thy mind dwell rather on Him, than on the creatures which bring the tribulation, for these are as it were the instruments, the tools which the Supreme Artificer uses as He wills, and as He knows to be profitable to His elect. If thou art disturbed and losest patience as often as men speak evil of thee or thine, or inflict any injury upon thee, thy tranquillity of mind rests not on God, but is placed in men, and depends on men. And if this were so, then verily wouldst thou be most unhappy and miserable. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________