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Introduction
There are numerous virtues and nuanced offspring of those virtues. You could―somewhat tenuously―allocate certain virtues to certain season, though everyone would differ in their opinion of which virtue belonged where! However, since there are three chief feasts, with their resulting seasons, that occupy the Liturgical Year―namely, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost―we could justly allocate the three Theological Virtues, one to each season. This would be FAITH in the coming, incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ which we celebrate at Christmas; secondly, HOPE in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which we celebrate throughout Lent which is naturally joined to Easter, just as Christ’s death is linked to His resurrection; and, thirdly, CHARITY which is represented by God the Holy Ghost ― “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) ― who brings His fiery charity at Pentecost. Thus, we BELIEVE with FAITH that Christ is the Son of God, Who became incarnate for our redemption and salvation; we HOPE with CONFIDENCE in the merits of Passion and Death that potentially earn our own resurrection and salvation; and we ACCEPT the CHARITY of God sent to us by Christ in the form of the Holy Ghost: “When the Paraclete cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father … the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name” (John 15:26; 14:26).
The above division fall quite naturally―but the divisions of the other virtues is not always as easy as that! Nevertheless, the virtue of HUMILITY seems to span all the seasons, since it is said to be the foundation for all other virtues. Hence, humility can be seen all throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons―especially in the poverty of Mary and Joseph; the humiliating rejections at Bethlehem; the humble birth in a stable or cave; the humiliation of having to flee one’s own country to escape the murderous King Herod, etc.
Likewise, we clearly see humility from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday―from being smeared with a cross of ashes and being told: “Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return!” up to the humiliating tortures in the murderous killing of Jesus before and during the crucifixion. So, too, do we see humility in the Apostles, who had and abandoned and fled from Christ during the Passion, now being faced with Him after His resurrection―some “humble-pie” would have been eaten by the Apostles! Even more so for Peter, who had denied Christ three-times!
Humility also makes it appearance at Pentecost, when the cowardly Apostles, after the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven, were hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem―until the Holy Ghost came and cast out all fear and sent them out with fortitude to preach and humbly die for Christ.
Thus, before treating of the virtues of Faith, Hope and Joy―which are traditionally, and quite rightly, associated with Easter and the resurrection―let us first speak of the virtue of humility, because only a humble man will listen to accept with Faith and Joy the Word of God. The proud man will, in his pride, doubt or even reject the teaching of God and will have no Faith and no Joy in it.
The above division fall quite naturally―but the divisions of the other virtues is not always as easy as that! Nevertheless, the virtue of HUMILITY seems to span all the seasons, since it is said to be the foundation for all other virtues. Hence, humility can be seen all throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons―especially in the poverty of Mary and Joseph; the humiliating rejections at Bethlehem; the humble birth in a stable or cave; the humiliation of having to flee one’s own country to escape the murderous King Herod, etc.
Likewise, we clearly see humility from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday―from being smeared with a cross of ashes and being told: “Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return!” up to the humiliating tortures in the murderous killing of Jesus before and during the crucifixion. So, too, do we see humility in the Apostles, who had and abandoned and fled from Christ during the Passion, now being faced with Him after His resurrection―some “humble-pie” would have been eaten by the Apostles! Even more so for Peter, who had denied Christ three-times!
Humility also makes it appearance at Pentecost, when the cowardly Apostles, after the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven, were hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem―until the Holy Ghost came and cast out all fear and sent them out with fortitude to preach and humbly die for Christ.
Thus, before treating of the virtues of Faith, Hope and Joy―which are traditionally, and quite rightly, associated with Easter and the resurrection―let us first speak of the virtue of humility, because only a humble man will listen to accept with Faith and Joy the Word of God. The proud man will, in his pride, doubt or even reject the teaching of God and will have no Faith and no Joy in it.
Article 1
Humility Before Faith!
Humility Before Faith!
Know Your Roots―The Roots Come First
“God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations” (Ecclesiasticus 10:18). St. Augustine once said, “If you ask me: ‘What is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ?’ I shall reply: ‘First, humility; second, humility, and third, humility!’” We know, of course, that the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, are the greatest virtues because they are God-centered, God-focused, God-related―since they are our only means of communicating with and relating to God. Yet, without the foundation of humility―all tumbles and crashes to the ground, “God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations” (Ecclesiasticus 10:18) ... “for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace” (1 Peter 5:5) … “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord!” (Proverbs 16:5) ... “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble!” (Luke 1:52) … “The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God” (Ecclesiasticus 3:20).
St. Thomas Aquinas explains why humility is pre-eminent: “Humility removes pride, whereby a man refuses to submit himself to the truth of Faith … By way of removing obstacles, humility holds the first place, inasmuch as it expels pride, which ‘God resisteth,’ and makes man submissive.” It takes humility to accept the Word of God, to believe unquestioningly the teachings of Christ, to make an Act of Faith and say: “My God, I believe in Thee and all that Thy Church does teach! Because Thou hast said it―and Thy Word is true!” It is not we ourselves that can obtain this required humility―it would be prideful to think so―but humility, like Faith, is a gift of God that counters the wounds of Original Sin, which include pride and disobedience. Thus Our Lord says: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart!” (Matthew 11:29). In case you cannot see it―there is an indirect connection between meekness and humility. What is meekness? Meekness is an absence of anger. What is anger? Anger is an irate emotion that arises when we cannot get what we want, or things are not happening as we would like them t happen, etc. All of that stems from an excessive self-love. What is excessive self-love? It is pride! What is pride, it is the opposite of humility. Hence anger and pride are “cousins” who are opposed to the “cousins” of meekness and humility.
St. Thomas Exalts and Extols Humility
St. Thomas Aquinas (in his Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 161, “On Humility”) states that humility is such an excellent and necessary a virtue, that it ranks first after the three Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. St. Thomas writes: “As St. Isidore observes, ‘a humble man is so called because he is, as it were, “humo acclinis”‘ [which literally means, “bent to the ground”], i.e. inclined to the lowest place. This may happen in two ways. First, for instance, when one is cast down by another―humility is a punishment. Secondly, for instance, when a man, in considering his own failings, assumes the lowest place―as Abraham said to the Lord (Genesis 18:27): ‘I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.’ In this way humility is a virtue. Humility conveys the notion of a praiseworthy self-abasement to the lowest place. Now this is sometimes done merely by outward signs and pretense―this is ‘false humility,’ of which St. Augustine says that it is ‘grievous pride,’ since it would seem to aim at glory.
“Humility restrains the appetite from aiming at great things against right reason. It belongs properly to humility, that a man restrain himself from being carried towards that which is above him. But it does not follow from this that humility is essentially concerned only with knowledge. For this purpose he must know his disproportion to that which surpasses his capacity. Hence knowledge of one’s own deficiency belongs to humility.
“It is contrary to humility to aim at greater things through confiding in one’s own powers: but to aim at greater things through confidence in God’s help, is not contrary to humility; especially since the more one subjects oneself to God, the more is one exalted in God’s sight. Hence Augustine says: ‘It is one thing to raise oneself to God, and another to raise oneself up against God. He that abases himself before God, him God raiseth up; he that raises himself up against God, him God casteth down.’ … Wherefore humility would seem to denote, in the first place, man’s subjection to God … On the other hand, humility suppresses hope or confidence in self, more than it uses it; wherefore excessive self-confidence is more opposed to humility than lack of confidence is.
“It is written (Philippians 2:3): ‘In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves.’ We may consider two things in man, namely that which is God’s, and that which is man’s. Whatever pertains to defect is man’s: but whatever pertains to man’s welfare and perfection is God’s … We must not only revere God in Himself, but also that which is God’s in each one of us (His gifts), but not with the same measure of reverence as we revere God ... For those who have a share of God’s gifts know that they have them, according to 1 Corinthians 2:12: ‘That we may know the things that are given us from God’ … so as to refer all one’s sufficiency to God, according to 2 Corinthians 3:5, ‘Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God.’
“The first step in the acquisition of virtue may be understood in two ways. First by way of removing obstacles: and thus humility holds the first place, inasmuch as it expels pride, which ‘God resisteth,’ and makes man submissive and ever open to receive the influx of Divine grace. Hence it is written (James 4:6): ‘God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.’ On this sense humility is said to be the foundation of the spiritual edifice. Secondly, a thing is first among virtues directly, because it is the first step towards God. Now the first step towards God is by Faith, according to Hebrews 11:6, ‘He that cometh to God must believe.’ On this sense faith is the foundation in a more excellent way than humility [yet, on the other hand, that belief in God requires humility].
“Aversion from God essentially belongs to pride, and to other sins … To fall off from God is said to be the beginning of pride … Pride is ‘the beginning of all sins,’ (Ecclesiasticus 10:15) … Pride is said to be ‘the beginning of all sin,’ not as though every sin originated from pride, but because any kind of sin is naturally liable to arise from pride … To fall off from God is said to be the beginning of pride … that pride scorns subjection to God, and, as a consequence, it also scorns being subject to a creature for God’s sake … Pride is said to be the most grievous of sins … Among the grievous sins, the first is pride, for it is the cause whereby other sins are rendered more grievous … Psalm 18:13 says, ‘I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin,’ namely from the sin of pride … Pope St. Gregory the Great, held pride to be the ‘queen and mother of all the vices.’ Hence he says: ‘Pride, the queen of vices, when it has vanquished and captured the heart, immediately delivers the heart into the hands of pride’s lieutenants―the seven principal vices, that they may despoil it and produce vices of all kinds!’” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 161, “On Humility”).
“God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations” (Ecclesiasticus 10:18). St. Augustine once said, “If you ask me: ‘What is the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ?’ I shall reply: ‘First, humility; second, humility, and third, humility!’” We know, of course, that the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, are the greatest virtues because they are God-centered, God-focused, God-related―since they are our only means of communicating with and relating to God. Yet, without the foundation of humility―all tumbles and crashes to the ground, “God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations” (Ecclesiasticus 10:18) ... “for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace” (1 Peter 5:5) … “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord!” (Proverbs 16:5) ... “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble!” (Luke 1:52) … “The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God” (Ecclesiasticus 3:20).
St. Thomas Aquinas explains why humility is pre-eminent: “Humility removes pride, whereby a man refuses to submit himself to the truth of Faith … By way of removing obstacles, humility holds the first place, inasmuch as it expels pride, which ‘God resisteth,’ and makes man submissive.” It takes humility to accept the Word of God, to believe unquestioningly the teachings of Christ, to make an Act of Faith and say: “My God, I believe in Thee and all that Thy Church does teach! Because Thou hast said it―and Thy Word is true!” It is not we ourselves that can obtain this required humility―it would be prideful to think so―but humility, like Faith, is a gift of God that counters the wounds of Original Sin, which include pride and disobedience. Thus Our Lord says: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart!” (Matthew 11:29). In case you cannot see it―there is an indirect connection between meekness and humility. What is meekness? Meekness is an absence of anger. What is anger? Anger is an irate emotion that arises when we cannot get what we want, or things are not happening as we would like them t happen, etc. All of that stems from an excessive self-love. What is excessive self-love? It is pride! What is pride, it is the opposite of humility. Hence anger and pride are “cousins” who are opposed to the “cousins” of meekness and humility.
St. Thomas Exalts and Extols Humility
St. Thomas Aquinas (in his Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 161, “On Humility”) states that humility is such an excellent and necessary a virtue, that it ranks first after the three Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. St. Thomas writes: “As St. Isidore observes, ‘a humble man is so called because he is, as it were, “humo acclinis”‘ [which literally means, “bent to the ground”], i.e. inclined to the lowest place. This may happen in two ways. First, for instance, when one is cast down by another―humility is a punishment. Secondly, for instance, when a man, in considering his own failings, assumes the lowest place―as Abraham said to the Lord (Genesis 18:27): ‘I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.’ In this way humility is a virtue. Humility conveys the notion of a praiseworthy self-abasement to the lowest place. Now this is sometimes done merely by outward signs and pretense―this is ‘false humility,’ of which St. Augustine says that it is ‘grievous pride,’ since it would seem to aim at glory.
“Humility restrains the appetite from aiming at great things against right reason. It belongs properly to humility, that a man restrain himself from being carried towards that which is above him. But it does not follow from this that humility is essentially concerned only with knowledge. For this purpose he must know his disproportion to that which surpasses his capacity. Hence knowledge of one’s own deficiency belongs to humility.
“It is contrary to humility to aim at greater things through confiding in one’s own powers: but to aim at greater things through confidence in God’s help, is not contrary to humility; especially since the more one subjects oneself to God, the more is one exalted in God’s sight. Hence Augustine says: ‘It is one thing to raise oneself to God, and another to raise oneself up against God. He that abases himself before God, him God raiseth up; he that raises himself up against God, him God casteth down.’ … Wherefore humility would seem to denote, in the first place, man’s subjection to God … On the other hand, humility suppresses hope or confidence in self, more than it uses it; wherefore excessive self-confidence is more opposed to humility than lack of confidence is.
“It is written (Philippians 2:3): ‘In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves.’ We may consider two things in man, namely that which is God’s, and that which is man’s. Whatever pertains to defect is man’s: but whatever pertains to man’s welfare and perfection is God’s … We must not only revere God in Himself, but also that which is God’s in each one of us (His gifts), but not with the same measure of reverence as we revere God ... For those who have a share of God’s gifts know that they have them, according to 1 Corinthians 2:12: ‘That we may know the things that are given us from God’ … so as to refer all one’s sufficiency to God, according to 2 Corinthians 3:5, ‘Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God.’
“The first step in the acquisition of virtue may be understood in two ways. First by way of removing obstacles: and thus humility holds the first place, inasmuch as it expels pride, which ‘God resisteth,’ and makes man submissive and ever open to receive the influx of Divine grace. Hence it is written (James 4:6): ‘God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.’ On this sense humility is said to be the foundation of the spiritual edifice. Secondly, a thing is first among virtues directly, because it is the first step towards God. Now the first step towards God is by Faith, according to Hebrews 11:6, ‘He that cometh to God must believe.’ On this sense faith is the foundation in a more excellent way than humility [yet, on the other hand, that belief in God requires humility].
“Aversion from God essentially belongs to pride, and to other sins … To fall off from God is said to be the beginning of pride … Pride is ‘the beginning of all sins,’ (Ecclesiasticus 10:15) … Pride is said to be ‘the beginning of all sin,’ not as though every sin originated from pride, but because any kind of sin is naturally liable to arise from pride … To fall off from God is said to be the beginning of pride … that pride scorns subjection to God, and, as a consequence, it also scorns being subject to a creature for God’s sake … Pride is said to be the most grievous of sins … Among the grievous sins, the first is pride, for it is the cause whereby other sins are rendered more grievous … Psalm 18:13 says, ‘I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin,’ namely from the sin of pride … Pope St. Gregory the Great, held pride to be the ‘queen and mother of all the vices.’ Hence he says: ‘Pride, the queen of vices, when it has vanquished and captured the heart, immediately delivers the heart into the hands of pride’s lieutenants―the seven principal vices, that they may despoil it and produce vices of all kinds!’” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 161, “On Humility”).
What Does Your Life Revolve Around?
In his book, Humility and Patience, Fr. William Ullathorne (later to be Archbishop Ullathorne, 1806 –1889), writes: “There is no master so large‑minded, so generous, or so well acquainted with you and your requirements as God; no father so loving and bountiful; no friend so free from all jealousy; none who so completely loves you for your greater good. While, on the other hand, there is no tyrant so narrow-minded, so proud-hearted, so exacting, so suspicious, so utterly bent on keeping you to your own littleness, as the one we all know so well, of whose tyranny we have had such bitter experience, and who goes by the name of “Myself”. Yet it is either God or yourself that you must choose for your master.
“The whole design of God’s beneficent government of souls is to draw them out of themselves and to bring them to His truth and good. This ever-moving Earth is not only attracted to its own center, but it is held on its rapid course by the attraction of the Sun; and, as it turns toward the mighty Sun, it receives its image, and shares in its light, warmth, and fertilizing power. Yet the Sun’s rays are intercepted by the vapors which the Earth produces, and by the turbulence arising from their conflicts.
“And so, by His creative influence, does God hold the ever‑active soul, in which He has placed His image, in its dependence. But when it turns its face with desire to Him Who attracts it, then God sends forth the heavenly influence of His light, grace, and charity upon the soul, attracting it to move toward Him by Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the soul becomes a partaker of God’s goodness. But the soul is not necessitated like the Earth to revolve around the Sun, but is free to make its own choice what to revolve around. If it prefers its own central attraction―and the drawing to itself of the small things around it, instead of the divine attraction, and its own uneasy love, instead of divine love―then that soul is left to its own littleness, is clouded and darkened by its own vapors, and troubled in itself.
“Who can express the magnificence of the light of Faith when it is compared with the light of reason? In the things of God and the soul, reason merely gropes among the shadows reflected here below; while Faith, with its direct light from God, opens out the infinite and eternal prospect of divine truth, which, although obscurely seen, is yet surely seen by the humble mind, giving a breadth and firmness to the mind, that nothing can explain except the action of God in the soul. God and His angels are near to the man of Faith―so near that the gross veil of the body alone intervenes between our soul and the presence of God and our guardian angels.
“When virtue in all its perfection appeared in visible form to the eyes of men, that is to say when Christ was seen, and heard, and touched by men―the humble alone were drawn to Him. The sensual and the proud scorned and crucified Him. Something more than human eyes is required to love that virtue which descends from God. We cannot love that of which there is no element within us; and as the divine grace is the principle of Christian virtue, we first require the grace of humility to open our eyes to the divine beauty of that virtue which alone is worthy of God … When pride throws off obedience to God, humility dies. When the mind rebels against the authority of God as the revealer of truth, Faith dies together with humility.
“The least known among the virtues, and consequently the most misunderstood, is the virtue of humility, and yet it is the very groundwork of the Christian religion … Humility is a grace of the soul that cannot be expressed in words, and is known only by experience. It is an unspeakable treasure of God, and can only be called the gift of God. Our Lord said: ‘Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls!’ (Matthew 11:29). He did not say learn from angels, not from men, not from books — but learn from My presence, My light, and My action within you. The more we are subject to God, the nearer we are to Him. We are not our own God, nor are the things around or beneath us our God, however useful in their place and order, but God is our God, and whatever comes from God that is better than ourselves, helps us grow closer to Him. We have but the capacity for God, and the power of working with the good we receive. Pride is the practical denial of this truth. Humility is the acceptance of this truth” (Archbishop William Ullathorne, Patience & Humility).
Grounded in Humility
Archbishop Ullathorne then explains the foundations of humility upon which the virtue is grounded:
► The first ground of humility is our creation from nothing. We are of a short time; our beginning was feeble, as became our origin, and nothing was the womb of us all. Whence are we? From the creative will of God. What are we? An existence dependent on the will of God. Where are we going? Onwards, ever onwards the body to the dust, the soul to the judgment seat of God. God is the one, absolute, perfect being; we are but existences, the products of His will, dependent on Him for all we are and have; and all this great scene about us that fills our senses is of less value than the last soul that was created and born into this world. For the soul is for God, but this visible universe for the service and probation of the soul.
► The second ground of humility is our intellectual light. That light makes us reasonable creatures. In that light, we see the first principles of truth, order, and justice; it is the foundation of our mind and of our conscience. Man is variable and changeable, and one man differs from another; but the light of truth and justice shines one and the same to all, and the chief difference between one man and another is in the degree of his communion with that light.
► The third ground of humility is in our dependence on the Providence of God. Our life with all its conditions is in the hand of God.
► The fourth ground of humility is in our sins; by them we have deformed and denaturalized our nature, ungraced ourselves before God, and incurred His reprobation.
► The fifth ground of humility is in the weakness, the ignorance, and the concupiscence that we have inherited from Original Sin, and have increased by our actual sins.
► The sixth ground of humility is in the open perils and hidden snares with which we are surrounded. Error in all its forms, and unbelief in all its modes and varieties move in their motley shapes through nearly every grade of life, with the apparent unconsciousness that truth is one and comes from God. The widespread evil of modern life is the amazing indifference to the wellbeing of the soul. An intense activity outside the soul pursues its many ways in the name of progress, although the object or ultimate aim of that progress is neither thought of nor spoken of. It is chiefly a progress, not to, but from the soul; not to, but from God.
► The seventh ground of humility is in the special odiousness and deformity of pride, which is in direct opposition, beyond every other vice, to the order, reason, and truth of things. Pride turns all things from God; humility turns all things to God.
► The eighth ground of humility is in the consideration of what this virtue does for us. It opens the soul to the truth of Christ, and opens the heart to the grace of Christ.
► The ninth ground of humility is the knowledge of God and His divine perfections.
► The tenth ground of humility is the secure rest provided for the soul in the unspeakable benefits of our divine Redeemer.
► The eleventh ground of humility is in our distance in this vale of suffering and tears from the supreme object of our soul, and the risks we run in the meanwhile from our infirmities.
► The twelfth ground of humility is the holy fear of the judgments of God. For unless we shelter ourselves well in the humility of Christ, and do penance, and use the world as though we used it not, we are not safe. Unless, again, a humble dependence on God is the foundation of our life, and the love of God is our ruling affection, we know not in what state God will find us in the hour when we shall pass from this world.” (Archbishop William Ullathorne, Patience & Humility).
Weak as man is, it is humility that will make a foundation strong enough in him for God to build upon and raise the edifice of Faith, that shall last for eternity. The progress of humility is the progress of the soul. We may know the extent of the grace that is given to us by the strength of our humility. The higher a building is planned to be―the deeper must its foundations be in order to support it. The foundation of our perfection and holiness is humility. The deeper the humility, then the higher God can build―as in the case of Our Lady. The Fathers of the Church, the saints and theologians tell us that the gifts and prerogatives conferred on the Blessed Virgin were all given to her because she had the humility to withstand and uphold them.
The Apostasy of Pride
The underlying reason for the massive falling-away from the Faith today, is largely down to a lack of humility―which automatically means an increase in pride. The proud men of today have fallen into Satan’s ploy, which he used upon Adam and Eve, which is to make man a god unto himself: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: ‘No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods!’” (Genesis 3:1-5).
Today, man’s knowledge―we call it “science” (Latin “scientia” meaning “knowledge”)―has become a deity, a god, the ruler of the world, whom everyone adores―so much so that, during the current “Plannedemic”, we hear, not only scientists and politicians, but also bishops and priests, singing the praises of this modern-day god called “Science”, by continually proclaiming the Psalm: “Follow the Science! We must follow the Science!” Yet, just as there are false gods, there is also false science! Thus, in following false science, we end up following false truths―which, bluntly said, are LIES―and we all know who is the “Father of Lies”, don’t we? Yes, the devil―as Our Lord said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). So, in following false science―the science of lies―we end up following the devil―the father of lies.
The same is true in the field of Faith. Today, the science or knowledge of the Faith―call it theology if you wish―has fallen into disuse and disrepair. Even elementary facts―that are taught in a child’s First Holy Communion Catechism―have been forgotten. Most Catholic adults can no longer give you all the Ten Commandments in their correct order, not even in any order―they may know some, but not all. Likewise with listing the Holy Days of Obligation within the year, nor can they tell you the three requirements for a sin to be a mortal sin (and their salvation could depend on this!), nor can they list the conditions required to make a good Holy Communion, nor the number and name of the conditions required to make a good confession (and their salvation could depend on this also!).
As the saying goes: “When you no longer believe in God, then you will believe anything!” Modern-man’s pride (or lack of humility) is clearly seen in Rationalism, Liberalism and Modernism. Rationalism believes that human reason is the chief and ultimate source and judge of knowledge and truth. The Rationalist insists that all opinions, beliefs and actions should be based on reason and knowledge, rather than on religious belief or emotional response. Christian Rationalism is the practice of treating human reason as the ultimate authority in all matters of religion. Liberalism is an extension of Rationalism into the practical field―Rationalism basically proudly says: “I will think what “I” want to think! I will believe what “I” want to believe!”―whereas Liberalism proudly proclaims: “I will do whatever “I” want to do! I will try whatever “I” want to try! I will go wherever “I” want to go!” Whereas Modernism is the imitation of Rationalism and Liberalism in the field of religion. All of this stems from a lack of humility, a refusal to submit oneself to higher authorities and better intelligences―whether they be divine or human. As the saying goes: “When you no longer believe in God, then you will believe anything!” Modern-man, by rejecting the teaching and wisdom of God and Holy Mother Church, believes what he wants to believe, he believes only what he can understand, and puts his stupidity above the intelligence of God and God’s chosen teachers―thus, “Stupid is as stupid does!” As Holy Scripture says: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: ‘I will catch the “wise” in their own craftiness!’” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
Serving the King of Pride
The results of all this pride in thinking (Rationalism), acting (Liberalism) and religious belief (Modernism) are all too clearly seen in today’s Church, Politics, Finance, Culture, and Family. God has said: “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts! Nor your ways My ways!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!’” (Isaias 55:8-9). Yet modern-man replies: “No! Not so! Not so fast! It is my thoughts that come be Your thoughts, O God! And my ways come before Your ways!” Hence it is that all governments of the world advocate, support, do not punish nor prevent, and even legislate for divorce, multiple marriages, same-sex marriages, cohabitation before marriage, cohabitation instead of marriage, contraception, abortion, immodest fashions, sinful television shows, pornography, alcohol and drug abuse, and many, many other sins―which they support, or say are not sins at all. This is all summed-up in the words of Satan towards God: “I will not serve!” ― and that is ultimately who all these proud rulers, legislators, media and fashion moguls, medical murderers support―Satan, either directly or indirectly. As Our Lord said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44).
The result of all this is that Catholics―most of whom have embraced Rationalism (think and believe what you want) and Liberalism (say and do what you want)―have become today’s Modernists (think, believe, say and do what you want in matter of Faith and religion). Hence, the MAJORITY of Catholics today accept divorce, multiple marriages, same-sex marriages, cohabitation before marriage, cohabitation instead of marriage, contraception, abortion, immodest fashions, sinful television shows, pornography (40% look at it), alcohol and drug abuse, and many, many other sins. Most Catholics imagine you can still be a good Catholic even if you do not regularly attend Mass on Sundays! Only a tiny amount of Catholics go to Confession―yet of the mere 20% (now, after COVID lockdowns, only 10%) of Catholics who actually do attend Sunday Mass regularly, ALMOST EVERYONE goes to Holy Communion! They must all be saints then―never Confession, always Communion! On top of all that, one Pope after another―from the more traditional Pope Pius XII to the modernist Pope Francis―all complain Catholics have lost the sense of sin:
Already in 1946 Pope Pius XII lamented: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin.” Pope John Paul II, in 2005, “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin. Christ's invitation to conversion is all the more urgent!” In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. In effect this is correct: If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, we cannot speak of sin. Just as when the sun is hidden the shadows disappear and the shadows appear only if the sun is there, so, too, the eclipse of God necessarily brings the eclipse of sin.” In 2014, Pope Francis added: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!” What makes us lose that “sense of sin”? It is a lack of humility and an abundance of pride―which thinks it knows and judges better that God, knows and judges better than God’s Church.
In his book, Humility and Patience, Fr. William Ullathorne (later to be Archbishop Ullathorne, 1806 –1889), writes: “There is no master so large‑minded, so generous, or so well acquainted with you and your requirements as God; no father so loving and bountiful; no friend so free from all jealousy; none who so completely loves you for your greater good. While, on the other hand, there is no tyrant so narrow-minded, so proud-hearted, so exacting, so suspicious, so utterly bent on keeping you to your own littleness, as the one we all know so well, of whose tyranny we have had such bitter experience, and who goes by the name of “Myself”. Yet it is either God or yourself that you must choose for your master.
“The whole design of God’s beneficent government of souls is to draw them out of themselves and to bring them to His truth and good. This ever-moving Earth is not only attracted to its own center, but it is held on its rapid course by the attraction of the Sun; and, as it turns toward the mighty Sun, it receives its image, and shares in its light, warmth, and fertilizing power. Yet the Sun’s rays are intercepted by the vapors which the Earth produces, and by the turbulence arising from their conflicts.
“And so, by His creative influence, does God hold the ever‑active soul, in which He has placed His image, in its dependence. But when it turns its face with desire to Him Who attracts it, then God sends forth the heavenly influence of His light, grace, and charity upon the soul, attracting it to move toward Him by Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the soul becomes a partaker of God’s goodness. But the soul is not necessitated like the Earth to revolve around the Sun, but is free to make its own choice what to revolve around. If it prefers its own central attraction―and the drawing to itself of the small things around it, instead of the divine attraction, and its own uneasy love, instead of divine love―then that soul is left to its own littleness, is clouded and darkened by its own vapors, and troubled in itself.
“Who can express the magnificence of the light of Faith when it is compared with the light of reason? In the things of God and the soul, reason merely gropes among the shadows reflected here below; while Faith, with its direct light from God, opens out the infinite and eternal prospect of divine truth, which, although obscurely seen, is yet surely seen by the humble mind, giving a breadth and firmness to the mind, that nothing can explain except the action of God in the soul. God and His angels are near to the man of Faith―so near that the gross veil of the body alone intervenes between our soul and the presence of God and our guardian angels.
“When virtue in all its perfection appeared in visible form to the eyes of men, that is to say when Christ was seen, and heard, and touched by men―the humble alone were drawn to Him. The sensual and the proud scorned and crucified Him. Something more than human eyes is required to love that virtue which descends from God. We cannot love that of which there is no element within us; and as the divine grace is the principle of Christian virtue, we first require the grace of humility to open our eyes to the divine beauty of that virtue which alone is worthy of God … When pride throws off obedience to God, humility dies. When the mind rebels against the authority of God as the revealer of truth, Faith dies together with humility.
“The least known among the virtues, and consequently the most misunderstood, is the virtue of humility, and yet it is the very groundwork of the Christian religion … Humility is a grace of the soul that cannot be expressed in words, and is known only by experience. It is an unspeakable treasure of God, and can only be called the gift of God. Our Lord said: ‘Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls!’ (Matthew 11:29). He did not say learn from angels, not from men, not from books — but learn from My presence, My light, and My action within you. The more we are subject to God, the nearer we are to Him. We are not our own God, nor are the things around or beneath us our God, however useful in their place and order, but God is our God, and whatever comes from God that is better than ourselves, helps us grow closer to Him. We have but the capacity for God, and the power of working with the good we receive. Pride is the practical denial of this truth. Humility is the acceptance of this truth” (Archbishop William Ullathorne, Patience & Humility).
Grounded in Humility
Archbishop Ullathorne then explains the foundations of humility upon which the virtue is grounded:
► The first ground of humility is our creation from nothing. We are of a short time; our beginning was feeble, as became our origin, and nothing was the womb of us all. Whence are we? From the creative will of God. What are we? An existence dependent on the will of God. Where are we going? Onwards, ever onwards the body to the dust, the soul to the judgment seat of God. God is the one, absolute, perfect being; we are but existences, the products of His will, dependent on Him for all we are and have; and all this great scene about us that fills our senses is of less value than the last soul that was created and born into this world. For the soul is for God, but this visible universe for the service and probation of the soul.
► The second ground of humility is our intellectual light. That light makes us reasonable creatures. In that light, we see the first principles of truth, order, and justice; it is the foundation of our mind and of our conscience. Man is variable and changeable, and one man differs from another; but the light of truth and justice shines one and the same to all, and the chief difference between one man and another is in the degree of his communion with that light.
► The third ground of humility is in our dependence on the Providence of God. Our life with all its conditions is in the hand of God.
► The fourth ground of humility is in our sins; by them we have deformed and denaturalized our nature, ungraced ourselves before God, and incurred His reprobation.
► The fifth ground of humility is in the weakness, the ignorance, and the concupiscence that we have inherited from Original Sin, and have increased by our actual sins.
► The sixth ground of humility is in the open perils and hidden snares with which we are surrounded. Error in all its forms, and unbelief in all its modes and varieties move in their motley shapes through nearly every grade of life, with the apparent unconsciousness that truth is one and comes from God. The widespread evil of modern life is the amazing indifference to the wellbeing of the soul. An intense activity outside the soul pursues its many ways in the name of progress, although the object or ultimate aim of that progress is neither thought of nor spoken of. It is chiefly a progress, not to, but from the soul; not to, but from God.
► The seventh ground of humility is in the special odiousness and deformity of pride, which is in direct opposition, beyond every other vice, to the order, reason, and truth of things. Pride turns all things from God; humility turns all things to God.
► The eighth ground of humility is in the consideration of what this virtue does for us. It opens the soul to the truth of Christ, and opens the heart to the grace of Christ.
► The ninth ground of humility is the knowledge of God and His divine perfections.
► The tenth ground of humility is the secure rest provided for the soul in the unspeakable benefits of our divine Redeemer.
► The eleventh ground of humility is in our distance in this vale of suffering and tears from the supreme object of our soul, and the risks we run in the meanwhile from our infirmities.
► The twelfth ground of humility is the holy fear of the judgments of God. For unless we shelter ourselves well in the humility of Christ, and do penance, and use the world as though we used it not, we are not safe. Unless, again, a humble dependence on God is the foundation of our life, and the love of God is our ruling affection, we know not in what state God will find us in the hour when we shall pass from this world.” (Archbishop William Ullathorne, Patience & Humility).
Weak as man is, it is humility that will make a foundation strong enough in him for God to build upon and raise the edifice of Faith, that shall last for eternity. The progress of humility is the progress of the soul. We may know the extent of the grace that is given to us by the strength of our humility. The higher a building is planned to be―the deeper must its foundations be in order to support it. The foundation of our perfection and holiness is humility. The deeper the humility, then the higher God can build―as in the case of Our Lady. The Fathers of the Church, the saints and theologians tell us that the gifts and prerogatives conferred on the Blessed Virgin were all given to her because she had the humility to withstand and uphold them.
The Apostasy of Pride
The underlying reason for the massive falling-away from the Faith today, is largely down to a lack of humility―which automatically means an increase in pride. The proud men of today have fallen into Satan’s ploy, which he used upon Adam and Eve, which is to make man a god unto himself: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: ‘No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods!’” (Genesis 3:1-5).
Today, man’s knowledge―we call it “science” (Latin “scientia” meaning “knowledge”)―has become a deity, a god, the ruler of the world, whom everyone adores―so much so that, during the current “Plannedemic”, we hear, not only scientists and politicians, but also bishops and priests, singing the praises of this modern-day god called “Science”, by continually proclaiming the Psalm: “Follow the Science! We must follow the Science!” Yet, just as there are false gods, there is also false science! Thus, in following false science, we end up following false truths―which, bluntly said, are LIES―and we all know who is the “Father of Lies”, don’t we? Yes, the devil―as Our Lord said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). So, in following false science―the science of lies―we end up following the devil―the father of lies.
The same is true in the field of Faith. Today, the science or knowledge of the Faith―call it theology if you wish―has fallen into disuse and disrepair. Even elementary facts―that are taught in a child’s First Holy Communion Catechism―have been forgotten. Most Catholic adults can no longer give you all the Ten Commandments in their correct order, not even in any order―they may know some, but not all. Likewise with listing the Holy Days of Obligation within the year, nor can they tell you the three requirements for a sin to be a mortal sin (and their salvation could depend on this!), nor can they list the conditions required to make a good Holy Communion, nor the number and name of the conditions required to make a good confession (and their salvation could depend on this also!).
As the saying goes: “When you no longer believe in God, then you will believe anything!” Modern-man’s pride (or lack of humility) is clearly seen in Rationalism, Liberalism and Modernism. Rationalism believes that human reason is the chief and ultimate source and judge of knowledge and truth. The Rationalist insists that all opinions, beliefs and actions should be based on reason and knowledge, rather than on religious belief or emotional response. Christian Rationalism is the practice of treating human reason as the ultimate authority in all matters of religion. Liberalism is an extension of Rationalism into the practical field―Rationalism basically proudly says: “I will think what “I” want to think! I will believe what “I” want to believe!”―whereas Liberalism proudly proclaims: “I will do whatever “I” want to do! I will try whatever “I” want to try! I will go wherever “I” want to go!” Whereas Modernism is the imitation of Rationalism and Liberalism in the field of religion. All of this stems from a lack of humility, a refusal to submit oneself to higher authorities and better intelligences―whether they be divine or human. As the saying goes: “When you no longer believe in God, then you will believe anything!” Modern-man, by rejecting the teaching and wisdom of God and Holy Mother Church, believes what he wants to believe, he believes only what he can understand, and puts his stupidity above the intelligence of God and God’s chosen teachers―thus, “Stupid is as stupid does!” As Holy Scripture says: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: ‘I will catch the “wise” in their own craftiness!’” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
Serving the King of Pride
The results of all this pride in thinking (Rationalism), acting (Liberalism) and religious belief (Modernism) are all too clearly seen in today’s Church, Politics, Finance, Culture, and Family. God has said: “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts! Nor your ways My ways!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!’” (Isaias 55:8-9). Yet modern-man replies: “No! Not so! Not so fast! It is my thoughts that come be Your thoughts, O God! And my ways come before Your ways!” Hence it is that all governments of the world advocate, support, do not punish nor prevent, and even legislate for divorce, multiple marriages, same-sex marriages, cohabitation before marriage, cohabitation instead of marriage, contraception, abortion, immodest fashions, sinful television shows, pornography, alcohol and drug abuse, and many, many other sins―which they support, or say are not sins at all. This is all summed-up in the words of Satan towards God: “I will not serve!” ― and that is ultimately who all these proud rulers, legislators, media and fashion moguls, medical murderers support―Satan, either directly or indirectly. As Our Lord said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44).
The result of all this is that Catholics―most of whom have embraced Rationalism (think and believe what you want) and Liberalism (say and do what you want)―have become today’s Modernists (think, believe, say and do what you want in matter of Faith and religion). Hence, the MAJORITY of Catholics today accept divorce, multiple marriages, same-sex marriages, cohabitation before marriage, cohabitation instead of marriage, contraception, abortion, immodest fashions, sinful television shows, pornography (40% look at it), alcohol and drug abuse, and many, many other sins. Most Catholics imagine you can still be a good Catholic even if you do not regularly attend Mass on Sundays! Only a tiny amount of Catholics go to Confession―yet of the mere 20% (now, after COVID lockdowns, only 10%) of Catholics who actually do attend Sunday Mass regularly, ALMOST EVERYONE goes to Holy Communion! They must all be saints then―never Confession, always Communion! On top of all that, one Pope after another―from the more traditional Pope Pius XII to the modernist Pope Francis―all complain Catholics have lost the sense of sin:
Already in 1946 Pope Pius XII lamented: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin.” Pope John Paul II, in 2005, “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin. Christ's invitation to conversion is all the more urgent!” In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. In effect this is correct: If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, we cannot speak of sin. Just as when the sun is hidden the shadows disappear and the shadows appear only if the sun is there, so, too, the eclipse of God necessarily brings the eclipse of sin.” In 2014, Pope Francis added: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!” What makes us lose that “sense of sin”? It is a lack of humility and an abundance of pride―which thinks it knows and judges better that God, knows and judges better than God’s Church.
Article 2
Built On Faith!
Built On Faith!
No Faith―No Chance
A Protestant church once put out an advertizing poster containing the words: “Believing is not a condition for beloving or belonging here.” For the perpetually Bible-focused Protestants, this should be an embarrassment, for God says through Holy Scripture: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that He is, and is a rewarder to them that seek Him!” (Hebrews 11:6)―and Our Lord laments: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8), which is a so-called “rhetorical question”, meaning that it is not really asking a question, but is giving the answer. Through various prophecies we know that at the “End Times” or “Last Days” ―which Our Lady of Fatima indicated that we have already entered ― there will be two major apostasies from the Faith ― the so-called “Minor Apostasy” (which will not be “minor”, but is only called “minor” when compared to the other apostasy) and the “Greater Apostasy”.
This brings to mind a rare interview with Sister Lucia of Fatima by the Liberal and Modernist Italian Jesuit priest, Father Lombardi in 1954. It was recorded in the Vatican weekly “Osservatore della Domenica” on February 7th, 1954. Fr. Lombardi―true to his Liberal and Modernist leanings―had just written a book entitled: Salvation for Those Without Faith. This was the idea―salvation without the Faith―that he was pushing on Sister Lucia during the interview.
Fr. Lombardi: “Tell me, is the ‘Better World Movement’ a response of the Church to the words spoken to Our Lady?”
Lucia: “Father, there is certainly a great need for this renewal. If it is not done, and taking into account the present development of humanity, only a limited number of the human race will be saved.”
Fr. Lombardi: “Do you really believe that many will go to Hell? I hope that God will save the greater part of humanity.” [He had just written a book entitled: Salvation for Those Without Faith]
Lucia: “Father, many will be lost.”
Fr. Lombardi: “It is true that the world is full of evil, but there is always a hope of salvation.”
Lucia: “No Father, many, many will be lost.”
Father Lombardi remembered that Lucia had seen Hell and added: “Her words disturbed me. I returned to Italy with that grave warning impressed on my heart.” It is perplexing that the words of Sr. Lucia had more effect upon him than the words of Holy Scripture, which, as a priest, he must have come across and read many times: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6)―as well as the words of Our Lord, Who, in speaking of our “End Times” or “Last Days” warned with His rhetorical question: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Those Scriptural words belong to DIVINE PUBLIC REVELATION (which we must accept and believe), and they are repeated in DIVINE PRIVATE REVELATION (which does not bind us in the same manner, but which it would be foolhardy to ignore or reject―especially when Private Revelation backs-up or reminds us of Public Revelation). Hence, Our Lady has warned us in Private Revelations about the threats to the Faith in our current times:
“From the end of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of morals, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects [cf. “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the Earth” (Apocalypse 20:7)] ... During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect … These years, during which the evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God ... The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord ... The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … Churches will be locked up or desecrated … and altars sacked … Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith, until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals … The spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God ... as true Faith fades and false light will brighten the people … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth. People will think of nothing but amusement … The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
A Protestant church once put out an advertizing poster containing the words: “Believing is not a condition for beloving or belonging here.” For the perpetually Bible-focused Protestants, this should be an embarrassment, for God says through Holy Scripture: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that He is, and is a rewarder to them that seek Him!” (Hebrews 11:6)―and Our Lord laments: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8), which is a so-called “rhetorical question”, meaning that it is not really asking a question, but is giving the answer. Through various prophecies we know that at the “End Times” or “Last Days” ―which Our Lady of Fatima indicated that we have already entered ― there will be two major apostasies from the Faith ― the so-called “Minor Apostasy” (which will not be “minor”, but is only called “minor” when compared to the other apostasy) and the “Greater Apostasy”.
This brings to mind a rare interview with Sister Lucia of Fatima by the Liberal and Modernist Italian Jesuit priest, Father Lombardi in 1954. It was recorded in the Vatican weekly “Osservatore della Domenica” on February 7th, 1954. Fr. Lombardi―true to his Liberal and Modernist leanings―had just written a book entitled: Salvation for Those Without Faith. This was the idea―salvation without the Faith―that he was pushing on Sister Lucia during the interview.
Fr. Lombardi: “Tell me, is the ‘Better World Movement’ a response of the Church to the words spoken to Our Lady?”
Lucia: “Father, there is certainly a great need for this renewal. If it is not done, and taking into account the present development of humanity, only a limited number of the human race will be saved.”
Fr. Lombardi: “Do you really believe that many will go to Hell? I hope that God will save the greater part of humanity.” [He had just written a book entitled: Salvation for Those Without Faith]
Lucia: “Father, many will be lost.”
Fr. Lombardi: “It is true that the world is full of evil, but there is always a hope of salvation.”
Lucia: “No Father, many, many will be lost.”
Father Lombardi remembered that Lucia had seen Hell and added: “Her words disturbed me. I returned to Italy with that grave warning impressed on my heart.” It is perplexing that the words of Sr. Lucia had more effect upon him than the words of Holy Scripture, which, as a priest, he must have come across and read many times: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6)―as well as the words of Our Lord, Who, in speaking of our “End Times” or “Last Days” warned with His rhetorical question: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Those Scriptural words belong to DIVINE PUBLIC REVELATION (which we must accept and believe), and they are repeated in DIVINE PRIVATE REVELATION (which does not bind us in the same manner, but which it would be foolhardy to ignore or reject―especially when Private Revelation backs-up or reminds us of Public Revelation). Hence, Our Lady has warned us in Private Revelations about the threats to the Faith in our current times:
“From the end of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of morals, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects [cf. “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the Earth” (Apocalypse 20:7)] ... During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect … These years, during which the evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God ... The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord ... The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … Churches will be locked up or desecrated … and altars sacked … Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith, until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals … The spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God ... as true Faith fades and false light will brighten the people … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth. People will think of nothing but amusement … The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
Article 3
Living in Joy!
Living in Joy!
Everyone seeks joy in life. Yet not everyone agrees on what joy is! There can be a true joy and also a false joy―a real joy or a mistaken joy. Just as we say: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”―we could likewise say: “One man’s joy is another man’s misery!” The reverse of that would be: “One man’s misery is another man’s joy!” ― as in the German word “Schadenfreude” which is a word that combines “Schaden”, which means “damage, harm, injure, hurt,” and “Freude”, which means “joy.” It is the experience of joy, hapiness, pleasure, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, injuries, pains, damages, losses, or humiliations suffered by another person.
Speaking of the cross―which is supposed to be a joy to us―St. Augustine writes: “The same cross can lead one man to Heaven and another man to Hell!” We could add: “Joy leads one person to Heaven and another person to Hell.” It all depends upon whether or not our idea of “joy” is a true one or a false one. As St. Thomas writes, “Human Nature is not so completely corrupted by sin as to be totally lacking in natural goodness.” We have an impulse in us that seeks God and other impulses that pull us down to worldly pleasures. If we find joy in sin, then we will be led to the misery of Hell. If we find joy in virtue, then we will be led to the joys of Heaven. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “No man can live without joy. That is why someone who is deprived of spiritual joy, goes over to carnal pleasures.”
C.S. Lewis states: “Joy is the serious business of Heaven!” We had better take the matter of joy seriously, or it might cost us the joys of Heaven! Already in his Summa Contra Gentiles, St. Thomas Aquinas had taken a position similar to St. Augustine’s―which is that perfect happiness is not possible in this lifetime. St. Thomas is uncompromising in his view that our true happiness can only be found in knowledge of God―as he argues in the Summa Theologica: “It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is that perfect good which entirely satisfies one’s desire … This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone … Therefore, God alone constitutes man’s happiness.” (Summa Theologica IIa, q.1. Article 8). No other worldly good or pleasure can truly provide us with the ultimate good we seek. Today, St. Thomas would point to the experience of many rich people and celebrities as evidence for this truth. Despite having every worldly good—fine foods, cars, houses, vacations, friends, family—many of them remain deeply unhappy, even spiraling into the misery of drugs and even suicide. St. Thomas would explain this as follows: when every enjoyment is felt, the soul begins to crave for something more than mere enjoyment. But if one has no knowledge of this “something more” or doesn’t know how to go about finding it, then the enjoyment of worldly things turns to pain and suffering.
However, unlike St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas goes on to maintain that we can achieve a kind of imperfect happiness or imperfect joy here on Earth. Aquinas takes seriously St. Paul’s assurances that “for now we see as through a glass darkly, but then we see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) … “For all seek the things that are their own―not the things that are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:21) ... “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!” (1 Corinthians 2:9) … Therefore, “I rejoice in my sufferings!” (Colossians 1:24) … “We glory also in tribulations!” (Romans 5:3) … “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14) ... “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come―that shall be revealed in us!” (Romans 8:18).
Our Lord Himself indicated this: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” (Luke 12:31) … “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Luke 16:13) … “For how is a man advantaged if he gains the whole world, but loses himself and casts away himself?” (Luke 9:25) … “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) … “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24) … “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) … “Blessed [happy and joyful] are they that suffer persecution for the sake of justice―for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed [happy and joyful] are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:10-12). “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice! And you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy; and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22) and Our Lady echoed the same idea to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next life!” “Give therefore your hearts and your souls to seeking the Lord your God!” (1 Paralipomenon 22:19).
This world is too plagued with unsatisfied desires to achieve that ultimate good which we all seek by nature. “The Lord hath looked down from Heaven to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together! There is no fear of God before their eyes! They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways―there is none that doth good, no not one! They have not called upon God!” (Psalm 13:1-3; Psalm 52:1-6)―and that is why the world is unhappy deep down in their hearts, even though it tries to show a superficial and false happiness on its face. The world pretends and tries to live in a manner that shows it wants paradise on Earth―yet that is impossible. It is, at best a temporary, passing, very short-lived ‘paradise’ that is over before you know it―and often leads souls to Hell if it was a sinful ‘paradise’ on Earth. “The rich, like the flower of the grass, shall he pass away!” (James 1:10) … “Go now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3). “So is he that lays up a treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!” says Our Lord (Luke 12:21).
Our Lord then gives us the parable about the rich man: “And Jesus spoke a similitude to them, saying: ‘The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: “What shall I do, because I have no more room where to store my fruits?” And he said: “This will I do! I will pull down my barns, and will build greater barns; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and all my goods! And I will say to my soul: ‘Soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years! Take thy rest! Eat, drink, make good cheer!’” But God said to him: “Thou fool! This very night do they require thy soul of thee! And whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” So is he that lays up a treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!’ And Jesus said to His disciples: Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life and what you shall eat; nor for your body and what you shall put on. Life is more than just the meat, and the body is more than the clothing! Seek not you what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: and be not lifted up on high. For all these things do the nations of the world seek. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you! Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, and make for yourselves a treasure in Heaven which fails not! For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!’” (Luke 12:16-34). What are we primarily seeking? The joys of Earth or the joys of Heaven? Jesus said that we cannot love and serve God and the world: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24).
Furthermore, God has basically created us with a desire to come to perfect knowledge of Him―but this is hidden from us while we still live in our mortal bodies. True knowledge of God would require being able to see him directly, but this is only possible by a completely purified soul. When this occurs, we will experience the ultimate joy—a pure and everlasting bliss that will be the satisfaction of every human desire and the obliteration of every sadness or worry.
No one who ever said to God, “Thy will be done!” ―not just with his lips, but really meant it with his heart, has ever failed to find joy—not just in Heaven, or even down the road in the future in this world, but in this world at that very moment, here and now. In the very act of self-surrender to God there is joy. It is an experiment that has been performed over and over again billions of times, always with the same result. It is as certain as gravity.
It sounds too good to be true. It sounds like pious exaggeration, a salesman’s pitch. Instant joy? All you have to do is surrender to God? What’s the catch? There is a catch. It’s a big one, but a simple one―you have to really do it, not just think about it. To do it completely requires something we dislike and fear very much―death. Not the death of the body. The body is not the obstacle to true joy. The ego is. Self-will is the obstacle to true joy. We fear giving up our self-will even more than we fear giving up our body to death—even though that ego―the thing St. Paul calls “the old man” in us, or the Adam in us―is the cause of all our misery.
That old self has sold itself to the devil. It’s his microphone. It sits there behind our ears chattering away. When we’re about to give ourselves to God, it instantly whispers to us: “Careful, now. Hold back. Don’t get too close to Him! He’s dangerous! He will make you suffer! He will load you with crosses! In fact, He’s a killer.” The voice speaks some truth. Even the devil has to begin with some truth in order to twist it into a lie. It’s true―God is a killer! He is the killer of sin! If you let Him, he will kill your old, selfish, self-centered, ever-complaining, dissatisfied, wretched, mistrusting, loveless, sinful self. But he will do it only if you want Him to do it―and He will do it only as much as you want Him to. God is a gentleman. He will not force you―He will only invite you.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa, Ia-IIae, q.31, art. 3) says “delights of the soul, which are also called joys, are distinct from bodily delights, which are not called otherwise than delights [pleasures].” In his book, The Spiritual Life, Fr. Tanquerey has several passages on the seeking of pleasures [delights]―which is lower level than joy and is primarily concerned with ‘joy’ or pleasure for the body.
Fr. Tanquerey writes: “Pleasure in itself is not evil. In the Divine Plan pleasure is not an end, but the means to an end. God allows it when directed toward a higher end, that is, toward moral good. The moderate enjoyment of pleasure―if referred to its end moral and supernatural good―is not an evil. In fact, it is a good act―for it tends towards a good end, which is ultimately God Himself. If God has attached pleasure to certain good acts, it is in order to facilitate their accomplishment and to draw us on to the fulfillment of duty. Hence, the enjoyment of pleasure in view of a more perfect acquittal of duty is not forbidden―it is rather in accordance with the order established by God. But to seek pleasure as an end in itself without any relation to duty, is at least dangerous, since it exposes one to slip from lawful to unlawful pleasure. To desire pleasure without any reference to the end that makes it lawful―that is, to desire pleasure as an end in itself and as an ultimate end―is a moral disorder, for it is going counter to the wisdom of a God-established order. Such disorder leads to further evil, because when one’s sole motive of action is pleasure, one is exposed to love pleasure to excess; one is no longer guided by an end which raises its barriers against that immoderate thirst for enjoyment which exists in all of us.”
“Thus, God in His wisdom willed to attach a certain enjoyment to the act of eating, to offer us an incentive towards sustaining our bodily forces. But ungrateful and sensual men use this enjoyment rather to serve their own bodies than to serve Almighty God. The pleasure of eating enslaves them, and, instead of eating in order to live, they rather live in order to eat. Even those who know how to curb their desires and who are guided in taking their meals by the needs of the body, are often deceived by pleasure and taken in by its allurement; they soon go beyond due measure; they gradually come to indulge their appetite and do not consider their needs satisfied, so long as food and drink gratify their palate. Hence, excesses in eating and drinking. Man so cherishes his body that he forgets his soul. Over-solicitous for his health, he is led to pamper the body at every turn. Even those enjoyments which we fancy the most innocent, will, unless we are ever on the alert, lead on to guilty pleasures. If we yield to pleasure in allowing ourselves all lawful joys―how shall we be able to resist when our senses―always hankering after new delights, dangerous or wrong―feel overpowered by the force of always giving in to desires for pleasure? What shall we say of the still more dangerous pleasures of lust, of that deep-rooted and unsightly sore of human nature, of that concupiscence that binds the soul to the body with ties so strong, so difficult to break; of that lust which brings down upon the human race such frightful disorders?” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §193-§194).
“The world―which worms its way into the heart of Christian families, even into religious communities―constitutes a great obstacle to the attainment of salvation and perfection. It stirs up and feeds the fire of concupiscence; it seduces and terrorizes us. The world seduces us with its maxims, with the show of its vanities and with its perverse examples. It holds up maxims which are directly opposed to those of the Gospel. It actually extols the happiness of the wealthy, of the powerful, of the ruthless, of the upstart, of the ambitious, of all those who know how to enjoy life. On the lips of worldlings is ever the cry : ‘Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither! Must not youth have its day, must not each live his life to the full? Many others do this and Almighty God cannot damn all mankind. One has to make a living, and were one to be scrupulous in business one could never become wealthy.’
“The world seduces us with the show of its vanities and pleasures. Most worldly gatherings cater to curiosity, to sensuality, and even to lust. Vice is made attractive by being concealed beneath the guise of what are called innocent fashions and amusements, but which are none the less fraught with danger. Such are, for instance, immodest dress and immodest dances, especially such as seem to have no other purpose than to occasion, wanton looks and gestures. What must be said of most theatrical performances, of public entertainments, of the lewd literature that one encounters at every turn?” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §211-§212).
Speaking of the cross―which is supposed to be a joy to us―St. Augustine writes: “The same cross can lead one man to Heaven and another man to Hell!” We could add: “Joy leads one person to Heaven and another person to Hell.” It all depends upon whether or not our idea of “joy” is a true one or a false one. As St. Thomas writes, “Human Nature is not so completely corrupted by sin as to be totally lacking in natural goodness.” We have an impulse in us that seeks God and other impulses that pull us down to worldly pleasures. If we find joy in sin, then we will be led to the misery of Hell. If we find joy in virtue, then we will be led to the joys of Heaven. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “No man can live without joy. That is why someone who is deprived of spiritual joy, goes over to carnal pleasures.”
C.S. Lewis states: “Joy is the serious business of Heaven!” We had better take the matter of joy seriously, or it might cost us the joys of Heaven! Already in his Summa Contra Gentiles, St. Thomas Aquinas had taken a position similar to St. Augustine’s―which is that perfect happiness is not possible in this lifetime. St. Thomas is uncompromising in his view that our true happiness can only be found in knowledge of God―as he argues in the Summa Theologica: “It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is that perfect good which entirely satisfies one’s desire … This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone … Therefore, God alone constitutes man’s happiness.” (Summa Theologica IIa, q.1. Article 8). No other worldly good or pleasure can truly provide us with the ultimate good we seek. Today, St. Thomas would point to the experience of many rich people and celebrities as evidence for this truth. Despite having every worldly good—fine foods, cars, houses, vacations, friends, family—many of them remain deeply unhappy, even spiraling into the misery of drugs and even suicide. St. Thomas would explain this as follows: when every enjoyment is felt, the soul begins to crave for something more than mere enjoyment. But if one has no knowledge of this “something more” or doesn’t know how to go about finding it, then the enjoyment of worldly things turns to pain and suffering.
However, unlike St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas goes on to maintain that we can achieve a kind of imperfect happiness or imperfect joy here on Earth. Aquinas takes seriously St. Paul’s assurances that “for now we see as through a glass darkly, but then we see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) … “For all seek the things that are their own―not the things that are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:21) ... “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!” (1 Corinthians 2:9) … Therefore, “I rejoice in my sufferings!” (Colossians 1:24) … “We glory also in tribulations!” (Romans 5:3) … “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14) ... “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come―that shall be revealed in us!” (Romans 8:18).
Our Lord Himself indicated this: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” (Luke 12:31) … “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Luke 16:13) … “For how is a man advantaged if he gains the whole world, but loses himself and casts away himself?” (Luke 9:25) … “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) … “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24) … “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) … “Blessed [happy and joyful] are they that suffer persecution for the sake of justice―for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed [happy and joyful] are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:10-12). “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice! And you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy; and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22) and Our Lady echoed the same idea to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next life!” “Give therefore your hearts and your souls to seeking the Lord your God!” (1 Paralipomenon 22:19).
This world is too plagued with unsatisfied desires to achieve that ultimate good which we all seek by nature. “The Lord hath looked down from Heaven to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together! There is no fear of God before their eyes! They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways―there is none that doth good, no not one! They have not called upon God!” (Psalm 13:1-3; Psalm 52:1-6)―and that is why the world is unhappy deep down in their hearts, even though it tries to show a superficial and false happiness on its face. The world pretends and tries to live in a manner that shows it wants paradise on Earth―yet that is impossible. It is, at best a temporary, passing, very short-lived ‘paradise’ that is over before you know it―and often leads souls to Hell if it was a sinful ‘paradise’ on Earth. “The rich, like the flower of the grass, shall he pass away!” (James 1:10) … “Go now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3). “So is he that lays up a treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!” says Our Lord (Luke 12:21).
Our Lord then gives us the parable about the rich man: “And Jesus spoke a similitude to them, saying: ‘The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: “What shall I do, because I have no more room where to store my fruits?” And he said: “This will I do! I will pull down my barns, and will build greater barns; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and all my goods! And I will say to my soul: ‘Soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years! Take thy rest! Eat, drink, make good cheer!’” But God said to him: “Thou fool! This very night do they require thy soul of thee! And whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” So is he that lays up a treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!’ And Jesus said to His disciples: Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life and what you shall eat; nor for your body and what you shall put on. Life is more than just the meat, and the body is more than the clothing! Seek not you what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: and be not lifted up on high. For all these things do the nations of the world seek. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you! Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, and make for yourselves a treasure in Heaven which fails not! For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!’” (Luke 12:16-34). What are we primarily seeking? The joys of Earth or the joys of Heaven? Jesus said that we cannot love and serve God and the world: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24).
Furthermore, God has basically created us with a desire to come to perfect knowledge of Him―but this is hidden from us while we still live in our mortal bodies. True knowledge of God would require being able to see him directly, but this is only possible by a completely purified soul. When this occurs, we will experience the ultimate joy—a pure and everlasting bliss that will be the satisfaction of every human desire and the obliteration of every sadness or worry.
No one who ever said to God, “Thy will be done!” ―not just with his lips, but really meant it with his heart, has ever failed to find joy—not just in Heaven, or even down the road in the future in this world, but in this world at that very moment, here and now. In the very act of self-surrender to God there is joy. It is an experiment that has been performed over and over again billions of times, always with the same result. It is as certain as gravity.
It sounds too good to be true. It sounds like pious exaggeration, a salesman’s pitch. Instant joy? All you have to do is surrender to God? What’s the catch? There is a catch. It’s a big one, but a simple one―you have to really do it, not just think about it. To do it completely requires something we dislike and fear very much―death. Not the death of the body. The body is not the obstacle to true joy. The ego is. Self-will is the obstacle to true joy. We fear giving up our self-will even more than we fear giving up our body to death—even though that ego―the thing St. Paul calls “the old man” in us, or the Adam in us―is the cause of all our misery.
That old self has sold itself to the devil. It’s his microphone. It sits there behind our ears chattering away. When we’re about to give ourselves to God, it instantly whispers to us: “Careful, now. Hold back. Don’t get too close to Him! He’s dangerous! He will make you suffer! He will load you with crosses! In fact, He’s a killer.” The voice speaks some truth. Even the devil has to begin with some truth in order to twist it into a lie. It’s true―God is a killer! He is the killer of sin! If you let Him, he will kill your old, selfish, self-centered, ever-complaining, dissatisfied, wretched, mistrusting, loveless, sinful self. But he will do it only if you want Him to do it―and He will do it only as much as you want Him to. God is a gentleman. He will not force you―He will only invite you.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa, Ia-IIae, q.31, art. 3) says “delights of the soul, which are also called joys, are distinct from bodily delights, which are not called otherwise than delights [pleasures].” In his book, The Spiritual Life, Fr. Tanquerey has several passages on the seeking of pleasures [delights]―which is lower level than joy and is primarily concerned with ‘joy’ or pleasure for the body.
Fr. Tanquerey writes: “Pleasure in itself is not evil. In the Divine Plan pleasure is not an end, but the means to an end. God allows it when directed toward a higher end, that is, toward moral good. The moderate enjoyment of pleasure―if referred to its end moral and supernatural good―is not an evil. In fact, it is a good act―for it tends towards a good end, which is ultimately God Himself. If God has attached pleasure to certain good acts, it is in order to facilitate their accomplishment and to draw us on to the fulfillment of duty. Hence, the enjoyment of pleasure in view of a more perfect acquittal of duty is not forbidden―it is rather in accordance with the order established by God. But to seek pleasure as an end in itself without any relation to duty, is at least dangerous, since it exposes one to slip from lawful to unlawful pleasure. To desire pleasure without any reference to the end that makes it lawful―that is, to desire pleasure as an end in itself and as an ultimate end―is a moral disorder, for it is going counter to the wisdom of a God-established order. Such disorder leads to further evil, because when one’s sole motive of action is pleasure, one is exposed to love pleasure to excess; one is no longer guided by an end which raises its barriers against that immoderate thirst for enjoyment which exists in all of us.”
“Thus, God in His wisdom willed to attach a certain enjoyment to the act of eating, to offer us an incentive towards sustaining our bodily forces. But ungrateful and sensual men use this enjoyment rather to serve their own bodies than to serve Almighty God. The pleasure of eating enslaves them, and, instead of eating in order to live, they rather live in order to eat. Even those who know how to curb their desires and who are guided in taking their meals by the needs of the body, are often deceived by pleasure and taken in by its allurement; they soon go beyond due measure; they gradually come to indulge their appetite and do not consider their needs satisfied, so long as food and drink gratify their palate. Hence, excesses in eating and drinking. Man so cherishes his body that he forgets his soul. Over-solicitous for his health, he is led to pamper the body at every turn. Even those enjoyments which we fancy the most innocent, will, unless we are ever on the alert, lead on to guilty pleasures. If we yield to pleasure in allowing ourselves all lawful joys―how shall we be able to resist when our senses―always hankering after new delights, dangerous or wrong―feel overpowered by the force of always giving in to desires for pleasure? What shall we say of the still more dangerous pleasures of lust, of that deep-rooted and unsightly sore of human nature, of that concupiscence that binds the soul to the body with ties so strong, so difficult to break; of that lust which brings down upon the human race such frightful disorders?” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §193-§194).
“The world―which worms its way into the heart of Christian families, even into religious communities―constitutes a great obstacle to the attainment of salvation and perfection. It stirs up and feeds the fire of concupiscence; it seduces and terrorizes us. The world seduces us with its maxims, with the show of its vanities and with its perverse examples. It holds up maxims which are directly opposed to those of the Gospel. It actually extols the happiness of the wealthy, of the powerful, of the ruthless, of the upstart, of the ambitious, of all those who know how to enjoy life. On the lips of worldlings is ever the cry : ‘Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither! Must not youth have its day, must not each live his life to the full? Many others do this and Almighty God cannot damn all mankind. One has to make a living, and were one to be scrupulous in business one could never become wealthy.’
“The world seduces us with the show of its vanities and pleasures. Most worldly gatherings cater to curiosity, to sensuality, and even to lust. Vice is made attractive by being concealed beneath the guise of what are called innocent fashions and amusements, but which are none the less fraught with danger. Such are, for instance, immodest dress and immodest dances, especially such as seem to have no other purpose than to occasion, wanton looks and gestures. What must be said of most theatrical performances, of public entertainments, of the lewd literature that one encounters at every turn?” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §211-§212).
Article 4
Seeking Perfection
Seeking Perfection
“Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
St. Francis de Sales would say: “Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: ‘Now I begin to love my God!’” It was in such a manner that the Apostle St. Paul acted; even though, after his conversion, he had become a vessel of election, filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ. Yet, to persevere and advance in the heavenly way, he made use of this means, for he said in his Epistle to the Philippians: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Thus the glorious Desert Father, St. Anthony the Great, went from day to day, stimulating himself to virtue. St. Anastasius said of him that he always looked upon himself as a beginner, as if every day were the first in which he was serving God, and as if in the past he had done nothing good and were but just setting foot in the way of the Lord and taking the first steps on the road to Heaven. And this was the very last admonition he left to his monks at his death: “My sons,” he said to them, “if you wish to advance in virtue and perfection, never give up the practice of considering each day that you are then beginning, and of conducting yourselves always as you did on the day you began.”
Thus also we find that St. Gregory, St. Bernard and St. Charles acted and advised others to act. They made use of two beautiful comparisons, saying that we must act in this like travelers, who do not regard the road they have gone over, but, rather, what remains for them to traverse―and this they keep always before their eyes what they still have to cover, even to their journey’s end. Or, like merchants, eager for riches, who make no account of what they have hitherto acquired, nor of the fatigue they have suffered, but put all their thought and care upon gaining new acquisitions, and upon daily multiplying their possessions, as if in the past they had made no profit at all.
One of the means for the acquisition of perfection which was chiefly inculcated and much practiced by St. Philip Neri was a frequent renewal of good resolutions. St. Francis de Sales made, from time to time, a spiritual renewal, and always conceived in it new desires to serve God better.
St. John Berchmans, at his very entrance into religion, planted in his heart a strong resolution to become a Saint, and then he not only remained constant in all the practices and resolutions which he took up for this end, but he went on daily gaining new vigor to his spiritual advantage.
When a holy religious was giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola at Torre di Specchi in Rome, a nun called Sr. Marie Bonaventura, who was living a very relaxed life, did not wish to be present. By many entreaties she was finally induced to attend. The first meditation, on the end of man, enkindled such fervor in her heart that the Father had scarcely finished when she called him to her, and said: “Father, I intend to be a Saint―and quickly!” She then withdrew to her cell, and, writing the same words on a scrap of paper, fastened them to the foot of her crucifix. From this moment, she applied herself with so much earnestness to the practice of perfection that a memoir of her was written at her death, which occurred eleven months later.
St. Teresa of Avila said: “The Lord chiefly desires of us that we should be completely perfect, that we may be wholly one with Him. Let us aim, therefore, at whatever we need to reach this!”
Father Peter Faber, a companion of St. Ignatius and highly esteemed by St. Francis de Sales, often dwelt on the thought that God greatly desires our advancement. And so he endeavored to grow constantly, and not to let a day pass without some progress in virtue, so that he gradually rose to great perfection and a high reputation for sanctity.
St. Francis de Sales would say: “Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: ‘Now I begin to love my God!’” It was in such a manner that the Apostle St. Paul acted; even though, after his conversion, he had become a vessel of election, filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ. Yet, to persevere and advance in the heavenly way, he made use of this means, for he said in his Epistle to the Philippians: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Thus the glorious Desert Father, St. Anthony the Great, went from day to day, stimulating himself to virtue. St. Anastasius said of him that he always looked upon himself as a beginner, as if every day were the first in which he was serving God, and as if in the past he had done nothing good and were but just setting foot in the way of the Lord and taking the first steps on the road to Heaven. And this was the very last admonition he left to his monks at his death: “My sons,” he said to them, “if you wish to advance in virtue and perfection, never give up the practice of considering each day that you are then beginning, and of conducting yourselves always as you did on the day you began.”
Thus also we find that St. Gregory, St. Bernard and St. Charles acted and advised others to act. They made use of two beautiful comparisons, saying that we must act in this like travelers, who do not regard the road they have gone over, but, rather, what remains for them to traverse―and this they keep always before their eyes what they still have to cover, even to their journey’s end. Or, like merchants, eager for riches, who make no account of what they have hitherto acquired, nor of the fatigue they have suffered, but put all their thought and care upon gaining new acquisitions, and upon daily multiplying their possessions, as if in the past they had made no profit at all.
One of the means for the acquisition of perfection which was chiefly inculcated and much practiced by St. Philip Neri was a frequent renewal of good resolutions. St. Francis de Sales made, from time to time, a spiritual renewal, and always conceived in it new desires to serve God better.
St. John Berchmans, at his very entrance into religion, planted in his heart a strong resolution to become a Saint, and then he not only remained constant in all the practices and resolutions which he took up for this end, but he went on daily gaining new vigor to his spiritual advantage.
When a holy religious was giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola at Torre di Specchi in Rome, a nun called Sr. Marie Bonaventura, who was living a very relaxed life, did not wish to be present. By many entreaties she was finally induced to attend. The first meditation, on the end of man, enkindled such fervor in her heart that the Father had scarcely finished when she called him to her, and said: “Father, I intend to be a Saint―and quickly!” She then withdrew to her cell, and, writing the same words on a scrap of paper, fastened them to the foot of her crucifix. From this moment, she applied herself with so much earnestness to the practice of perfection that a memoir of her was written at her death, which occurred eleven months later.
St. Teresa of Avila said: “The Lord chiefly desires of us that we should be completely perfect, that we may be wholly one with Him. Let us aim, therefore, at whatever we need to reach this!”
Father Peter Faber, a companion of St. Ignatius and highly esteemed by St. Francis de Sales, often dwelt on the thought that God greatly desires our advancement. And so he endeavored to grow constantly, and not to let a day pass without some progress in virtue, so that he gradually rose to great perfection and a high reputation for sanctity.
Article 5
Confidence
Confidence
St. Francis de Sales was filled with so much confidence in God that he was in perfect tranquility amid the greatest disasters; for he could not persuade himself, as he often said, that anyone who trusts in a Providence infinite in all respects, has not cause to hope for a good result from whatever it permits to happen to him.
St. Francis de Sales, knowing that all events succeed one another according to the disposal of Divine Providence, rested upon it more tranquilly than an infant upon its mother’s bosom. He said that the Lord had taught him this lesson even from his youth, and that if he were to begin life again, he would despise worldly prudence more than ever, and allow himself to be governed entirely by Divine Providence.
The Lord once appeared to St. Gertrude and said to her: “When anyone has complete confidence in Me and believes that I have the power, the wisdom, and the desire to aid him on all occasions, this ravishes My heart, and does Me such violence that I cannot help favoring such a soul, on account of the pleasure I experience in seeing it so dependent upon Me, and to satisfy the great love I bear to it.”
St. Augustine tells us: “God certainly desires our greatest good more than we ourselves desire it. He knows better than we by what way it can come to us; and the choice of ways is wholly in His hands, as it is He who governs and regulates all that occurs in the world. It is, then, most certain that in all chances that can befall, whatever may happen will always be best for us. Do you desire security? Here you have it. The Lord says to thee, ‘I will never abandon thee, I will always be with thee!’ If a good man made you such a promise, you would trust him. God makes it, and do you doubt? Do you seek a support more sure than the word of God, which is infallible? Surely, He has made the promise, He has written it, He has pledged His word for it, it is most certain”
It is related in the Life of St. Rose of Lima that she had inherited from her mother, who was very timorous and apprehensive of danger, such great timidity that she did not dare, in the night, to go from one room in the house to another without a candle, except for prayer, for the sake of which she conquered every terror. One evening she lingered longer than usual in the little arbor which had been built for her oratory in the garden. Her mother, afraid that some harm might have come to her, resolved to go in search of her; but not having courage to go alone, she asked her husband to accompany her. When Rose saw them, she immediately ended her prayer, and went to meet them; then excusing herself for her tardiness, she went back with them to the house. But on the way, she began to say to herself: “How is this? My mother, who is as timid as I, feels safe in the company of her husband. And am I afraid, accompanied by my Spouse, Jesus, Who without ever leaving me, is continually at my side and in my heart!” This reflection made such an impression on her mind that it banished every terror, so that from that time she was no longer afraid of anything; and in any appearance of danger, she would say: “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”
Surius relates of St. Hugo, Bishop of Lincoln, that he was one night grieved and disturbed by the thought of a disaster which he believed to be impending. Then recollecting himself, he smote his breast and said: “Wretch that thou art! God has promised to aid us in all tribulations, and art thou afraid of anything that may happen?”
St. Vincent de Paul chides us: “We are firmly convinced that the truths of Faith cannot deceive us―and yet we cannot bring ourselves to trust to them! Yet we are far more ready to trust to human reasonings and the deceitful appearance of this world. This, then, is the cause of our slight progress in virtue, and of our small success in what concerns the glory of God! Both for our own profit and the salvation of others, it is absolutely necessary to follow in everything the bright light of Faith, which is accompanied by a certain unction secretly diffused in our hearts. Truly, there is nothing but eternal truth capable of filling our hearts and leading us in a safe path! Believe me, it is enough to be well established upon this Divine foundation, to be sure of quickly reaching perfection, and being able to do great things!”
St. Teresa of Avila said she had known persons eminent in virtue and who had even attained to the prayer of union, who afterwards fell into the power of the demon because of their overweening self-confidence. For when the soul sees herself so near to God and perceives the vast difference between the good things of Heaven and those of earth, and experiences the great love the Lord manifests for her, there springs up from these favors such security of nevermore falling from the happiness she enjoys, that it seems to her impossible that so delightful a life should ever be exchanged for the baseness of sensual delights. With this confidence she begins to expose herself to labors and dangers, without discretion or regard to proportion, not considering that she is not yet in condition to leave the nest and fly, as her virtues are not confirmed and she has no experience of danger.
St. Vincent de Paul further adds: “To rely upon our own talents is a cause of great loss. For when a Superior, a preacher or a confessor places confidence in his own prudence, knowledge and intelligence, God, to make him know and see his insufficiency, withdraws from him His help, and leaves him to work by himself. Whence it happens that all his plans and labors produce little or no fruit. This is often the cause why our undertakings fail” This is clearly seen in the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and the Egyptians. The former placed all their confidence in God, and crossed successfully. The latter placed theirs in their horses, and were drowned.
St. Francis de Sales, knowing that all events succeed one another according to the disposal of Divine Providence, rested upon it more tranquilly than an infant upon its mother’s bosom. He said that the Lord had taught him this lesson even from his youth, and that if he were to begin life again, he would despise worldly prudence more than ever, and allow himself to be governed entirely by Divine Providence.
The Lord once appeared to St. Gertrude and said to her: “When anyone has complete confidence in Me and believes that I have the power, the wisdom, and the desire to aid him on all occasions, this ravishes My heart, and does Me such violence that I cannot help favoring such a soul, on account of the pleasure I experience in seeing it so dependent upon Me, and to satisfy the great love I bear to it.”
St. Augustine tells us: “God certainly desires our greatest good more than we ourselves desire it. He knows better than we by what way it can come to us; and the choice of ways is wholly in His hands, as it is He who governs and regulates all that occurs in the world. It is, then, most certain that in all chances that can befall, whatever may happen will always be best for us. Do you desire security? Here you have it. The Lord says to thee, ‘I will never abandon thee, I will always be with thee!’ If a good man made you such a promise, you would trust him. God makes it, and do you doubt? Do you seek a support more sure than the word of God, which is infallible? Surely, He has made the promise, He has written it, He has pledged His word for it, it is most certain”
It is related in the Life of St. Rose of Lima that she had inherited from her mother, who was very timorous and apprehensive of danger, such great timidity that she did not dare, in the night, to go from one room in the house to another without a candle, except for prayer, for the sake of which she conquered every terror. One evening she lingered longer than usual in the little arbor which had been built for her oratory in the garden. Her mother, afraid that some harm might have come to her, resolved to go in search of her; but not having courage to go alone, she asked her husband to accompany her. When Rose saw them, she immediately ended her prayer, and went to meet them; then excusing herself for her tardiness, she went back with them to the house. But on the way, she began to say to herself: “How is this? My mother, who is as timid as I, feels safe in the company of her husband. And am I afraid, accompanied by my Spouse, Jesus, Who without ever leaving me, is continually at my side and in my heart!” This reflection made such an impression on her mind that it banished every terror, so that from that time she was no longer afraid of anything; and in any appearance of danger, she would say: “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”
Surius relates of St. Hugo, Bishop of Lincoln, that he was one night grieved and disturbed by the thought of a disaster which he believed to be impending. Then recollecting himself, he smote his breast and said: “Wretch that thou art! God has promised to aid us in all tribulations, and art thou afraid of anything that may happen?”
St. Vincent de Paul chides us: “We are firmly convinced that the truths of Faith cannot deceive us―and yet we cannot bring ourselves to trust to them! Yet we are far more ready to trust to human reasonings and the deceitful appearance of this world. This, then, is the cause of our slight progress in virtue, and of our small success in what concerns the glory of God! Both for our own profit and the salvation of others, it is absolutely necessary to follow in everything the bright light of Faith, which is accompanied by a certain unction secretly diffused in our hearts. Truly, there is nothing but eternal truth capable of filling our hearts and leading us in a safe path! Believe me, it is enough to be well established upon this Divine foundation, to be sure of quickly reaching perfection, and being able to do great things!”
St. Teresa of Avila said she had known persons eminent in virtue and who had even attained to the prayer of union, who afterwards fell into the power of the demon because of their overweening self-confidence. For when the soul sees herself so near to God and perceives the vast difference between the good things of Heaven and those of earth, and experiences the great love the Lord manifests for her, there springs up from these favors such security of nevermore falling from the happiness she enjoys, that it seems to her impossible that so delightful a life should ever be exchanged for the baseness of sensual delights. With this confidence she begins to expose herself to labors and dangers, without discretion or regard to proportion, not considering that she is not yet in condition to leave the nest and fly, as her virtues are not confirmed and she has no experience of danger.
St. Vincent de Paul further adds: “To rely upon our own talents is a cause of great loss. For when a Superior, a preacher or a confessor places confidence in his own prudence, knowledge and intelligence, God, to make him know and see his insufficiency, withdraws from him His help, and leaves him to work by himself. Whence it happens that all his plans and labors produce little or no fruit. This is often the cause why our undertakings fail” This is clearly seen in the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and the Egyptians. The former placed all their confidence in God, and crossed successfully. The latter placed theirs in their horses, and were drowned.
Article 6
Hope
Hope
Hope, or trust (which has been called the flower of Hope), is the assurance that God will give us in His own good time what we ask from Him, or something equivalent or better—an assurance which is entirely based on God’s perfections.
Better to understand this virtue, we must distinguish pure, genuine trust from false and impure trust. Pure trust is founded only on the perfections of God, upon His power, His wisdom, His watchful Providence, His goodness, His supremely merciful love. It looks exclusively to God. The impurities that spoil our trust, making of it a vulgar counterfeit, are our human hope, our reliance upon our strength, our own talents, or other natural means, even our own virtues and righteousness. Instead of keeping our look fixed on God, we fix it on ourselves.
Pure, genuine trust is rare. It is like gold which, in its natural state, is usually not found in a pure state and has to be refined in the crucible. Precisely because our confidence is not pure, it is wavering and shaky. It can be compared to a barometer that goes up and down with the weather. When all goes well, when the sun is bright and human appearances are good, then we feel confident. But let clouds darken the sky, let trials, desolation visit us, then our trust is very low and we lose courage.
True confidence is not weakened by unfavorable appearances, difficulties, failures, or other changes in fortune. On the contrary, the souls that hope only in God, and not in self, know that when all our efforts have failed, when things look hopeless, then God’s hand is near. Man has shown that by himself he can do nothing. Now God’s turn has come. He will show that He can do all things.
We should apply these considerations to any trial or difficulty we may have, either physical or spiritual sickness, poverty, desolations, temptations, persecutions, failure in our apostolate or whatever else may be a trial to us. We should especially apply them to or offer them up for those two great things which we should desire before everything else:
(1) the attainment of holiness for ourselves and (2) the saving of other souls. We should have a firm trust, a real confidence and assurance, based on God’s perfections, that, in spite of all difficulties, we shall one day reach that sanctity or holiness, which is the goal of all our spiritual activity, and that we shall, at the same time, save many souls.
We should hope for all this, in spite of our faults and sins. Monseigneur Pie, a famous French prelate, used to say: “God is in need of our faults and sins. If we had none, how could He exercise His wonderful mercy and forgiveness?” Our faults do not change the love of God for us, as the Parable of the Prodigal Son shows so well. But He asks us to be sorry for them and to repair them by our acts of humility and repentant love.
After yielding to a fault or committing a sin, we should never sulk, never be irked at ourselves (this would be the effect of our self‑love and pride), but, like a loving child, we should humbly and trustfully embrace our heavenly Father, imitating these children, who have been naughty and make up for it by lovingly embracing their mothers. “I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
The well‑known story of St. Jerome should encourage us. Our Lord one day said to the saint: “Jerome, give Me something.” And the saint replied: “But, my Lord, I have given You my life, my writings, everything I had.” Yet Jesus insisted and finally said these beautiful words: “Jerome, give Me your sins.” And to Sister Benigna, Consolata Ferrero, the little “secretary” of Jesus, he said, “Benigna, please sell Me your sins”
St. Thérèse, that great heroine of confidence, whose mission it has been to enkindle in legions of “little souls” the hope of reaching sanctity, has a beautiful page (a page perhaps never equaled) to show that we should lose nothing of our confidence on account of our shortcomings.
“It is not,” she writes in her autobiography, “because I have been preserved from mortal sin, that I lift up my heart to God in trust and love. I feel that, even if I had on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence. My heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Savior. I know that He loves the Prodigal Son; I have heard His words to Mary Magdalen; to the woman taken in adultery; and to the woman of Samaria. No one could frighten me, for I know what to believe concerning His mercy and His love. And I know that all that multitude of sins would disappear in an instant, even as a drop of water cast into a flaming furnace.”
The objection may easily occur to us: “Are faults then not obstacles to grace and to our spiritual progress?” They are, indeed, but only when we do not repent of them and when we do not repair them as we should. For souls that have learned the great “art of profiting by one’s sins,” faults become, on the contrary, a great means of progress. Properly repaired, they are like a precious fertilizer for the flowers of our virtues. To them we may apply the words of the Apostle: “All things work together unto good, to those who love God.” Yes, everything says St. Paul, even our sins. St. Mary Magdalen, St. Augustine, St. Angela de Foligno, St. Margaret of Cortona, and many other repentant sinners are eloquent examples that confirm this truth.
We should also hope in spite of our lack of progress and our constant failure in keeping our resolutions. The thought will often come to us, as it came even to the saints: “What progress have I made after so many years? At this rate I shall never reach perfection.” This thought may be useful to arouse us to further efforts, but it should never make us lose confidence.
A prime reason for this is that after all we know so little about our real progress in the spiritual life. The action of God in our souls is often shrouded in mystery. For very good reasons and especially to prevent all secret self‑complacency on our part, he does not want us to know exactly where we stand on the ladder to perfection.
A second reason is that God in his merciful love permits our ills and our helplessness for our good. They are not only useful but necessary for the full development of all our virtues‑‑‑a deep and sincere humility, love of our own abjection, genuine trust based, not on self, but on God’s perfections and above all for the acquisition of a pure, self‑forgetting love of God.
Without those repeated shortcomings, which are as a rule involuntary in fervent souls, we would never become entirely detached from self, never acquire that sincere, deep disgust of self without which we cannot reach the pure love of God ‑‑‑and sanctity. The whole of the spiritual life consists in dying to self in order to live in God. When a generous soul has a thousand times tasted the bitterness of that hateful self, which it used to love often unconsciously in spite of all its defects, then at last, in sheer disgust, it turns away from it and gives all its love to the only object worthy of it: to the infinite lovableness of God.
We should not lose confidence, we have said, because of our ever‑recurring defects. We may add, though it may sound paradoxical, that on the contrary we should have confidence because of them. We are all beggars before God and badly in need of his grace and his help, and we should behave like clever beggars. These do not hide their ulcers and their deformities. Far from it, they expose them and rely on them to excite compassion. Well, we should do the same with God. Show him with great humility and confidence the deep ulcers of our self‑love, of our sensuality, of our pride and vanity; these are sure to excite the compassion of our heavenly Father and to obtain from him ample alms in the form of graces.
We must hope firmly in spite of desolation and aridity and even “mystical night.” When we are in desolation, we feel sad and depressed, unable to pray and, as it were, loveless. We easily imagine that we do not love any more, though perhaps a little while before our hearts seemed consumed with love. And we imagine also that Jesus has left us on account of our iniquities.
In reality our love has not disappeared, not even diminished, and though it is no longer sensible to us, it is quite sensible to Jesus. Our love is no longer warm and delightful, but a sad and suffering love. We are sad, because Jesus our beloved is gone.
Desolation is one of those spiritual seasons which are necessary for the growth of our spiritual life. It is the spiritual winter as compared with the spring and summer of consolation. In winter there are no flowers, no leaves, perhaps no sign even of growth. Yet winter is not death, and the imperceptible buds that slowly form with the first warmth of spring will burst into shining leaves and beautiful flowers.
The winter of desolation and aridity uncovers to us our inherent poverty and makes us experience all our wretchedness, so fostering a holy disgust and contempt for self. And the lights of consolation that follow sooner or later reveal something of the lovableness of God and enkindle in our hearts the fire of divine love. Both consolation and desolation, then, are necessary to lead us on to perfect union with God and to holiness.
Let us never become discouraged and disheartened in the midst of spiritual trials, however long they may last. If God chooses us to pass through the “mystical nights” and especially the “night of the spirit,” we may remain in darkness and strong desolation for years at a stretch. But these nights, which are in reality great though hidden favors, are the crucible in which God thoroughly purifies the virtues, chiefly those of Faith, Hope, and Charity, in the soul that he wants to lead to perfect union with him.
Let us then, in spite of all appearance and difficulties, keep always a firm and blind Hope, based on God’s perfections. In this way we may one day with his grace reach that perfection to which he has called us, and which must always remain the final goal of our spiritual life.
For encouragement let us often recall to mind that famous page of Thérèse about a lift to raise us to sanctity. “You know it has ever been my desire to become a saint, but I have always felt in comparing myself with the saints that I am so far removed from them as the grain of sand which the passerby tramples under foot is remote from the mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds.
“Instead of being discouraged, I concluded that God would not inspire desires which could not be realized, and that I might aspire to sanctity in spite of my littleness. I must bear with myself and my many imperfections. But I will seek out a means of getting to Heaven by a little way―very short and very straight, a little way that is wholly new. We live in an age of inventions; now the rich need not trouble to climb the stairs. They have lifts instead. Well, I mean to try and find a lift by which I may be raised to God, for I am too tiny to climb the steep stairway of perfection. . . . Thine arms then, O Jesus, are the lift which must raise me up even unto Heaven.”
Better to understand this virtue, we must distinguish pure, genuine trust from false and impure trust. Pure trust is founded only on the perfections of God, upon His power, His wisdom, His watchful Providence, His goodness, His supremely merciful love. It looks exclusively to God. The impurities that spoil our trust, making of it a vulgar counterfeit, are our human hope, our reliance upon our strength, our own talents, or other natural means, even our own virtues and righteousness. Instead of keeping our look fixed on God, we fix it on ourselves.
Pure, genuine trust is rare. It is like gold which, in its natural state, is usually not found in a pure state and has to be refined in the crucible. Precisely because our confidence is not pure, it is wavering and shaky. It can be compared to a barometer that goes up and down with the weather. When all goes well, when the sun is bright and human appearances are good, then we feel confident. But let clouds darken the sky, let trials, desolation visit us, then our trust is very low and we lose courage.
True confidence is not weakened by unfavorable appearances, difficulties, failures, or other changes in fortune. On the contrary, the souls that hope only in God, and not in self, know that when all our efforts have failed, when things look hopeless, then God’s hand is near. Man has shown that by himself he can do nothing. Now God’s turn has come. He will show that He can do all things.
We should apply these considerations to any trial or difficulty we may have, either physical or spiritual sickness, poverty, desolations, temptations, persecutions, failure in our apostolate or whatever else may be a trial to us. We should especially apply them to or offer them up for those two great things which we should desire before everything else:
(1) the attainment of holiness for ourselves and (2) the saving of other souls. We should have a firm trust, a real confidence and assurance, based on God’s perfections, that, in spite of all difficulties, we shall one day reach that sanctity or holiness, which is the goal of all our spiritual activity, and that we shall, at the same time, save many souls.
We should hope for all this, in spite of our faults and sins. Monseigneur Pie, a famous French prelate, used to say: “God is in need of our faults and sins. If we had none, how could He exercise His wonderful mercy and forgiveness?” Our faults do not change the love of God for us, as the Parable of the Prodigal Son shows so well. But He asks us to be sorry for them and to repair them by our acts of humility and repentant love.
After yielding to a fault or committing a sin, we should never sulk, never be irked at ourselves (this would be the effect of our self‑love and pride), but, like a loving child, we should humbly and trustfully embrace our heavenly Father, imitating these children, who have been naughty and make up for it by lovingly embracing their mothers. “I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
The well‑known story of St. Jerome should encourage us. Our Lord one day said to the saint: “Jerome, give Me something.” And the saint replied: “But, my Lord, I have given You my life, my writings, everything I had.” Yet Jesus insisted and finally said these beautiful words: “Jerome, give Me your sins.” And to Sister Benigna, Consolata Ferrero, the little “secretary” of Jesus, he said, “Benigna, please sell Me your sins”
St. Thérèse, that great heroine of confidence, whose mission it has been to enkindle in legions of “little souls” the hope of reaching sanctity, has a beautiful page (a page perhaps never equaled) to show that we should lose nothing of our confidence on account of our shortcomings.
“It is not,” she writes in her autobiography, “because I have been preserved from mortal sin, that I lift up my heart to God in trust and love. I feel that, even if I had on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence. My heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Savior. I know that He loves the Prodigal Son; I have heard His words to Mary Magdalen; to the woman taken in adultery; and to the woman of Samaria. No one could frighten me, for I know what to believe concerning His mercy and His love. And I know that all that multitude of sins would disappear in an instant, even as a drop of water cast into a flaming furnace.”
The objection may easily occur to us: “Are faults then not obstacles to grace and to our spiritual progress?” They are, indeed, but only when we do not repent of them and when we do not repair them as we should. For souls that have learned the great “art of profiting by one’s sins,” faults become, on the contrary, a great means of progress. Properly repaired, they are like a precious fertilizer for the flowers of our virtues. To them we may apply the words of the Apostle: “All things work together unto good, to those who love God.” Yes, everything says St. Paul, even our sins. St. Mary Magdalen, St. Augustine, St. Angela de Foligno, St. Margaret of Cortona, and many other repentant sinners are eloquent examples that confirm this truth.
We should also hope in spite of our lack of progress and our constant failure in keeping our resolutions. The thought will often come to us, as it came even to the saints: “What progress have I made after so many years? At this rate I shall never reach perfection.” This thought may be useful to arouse us to further efforts, but it should never make us lose confidence.
A prime reason for this is that after all we know so little about our real progress in the spiritual life. The action of God in our souls is often shrouded in mystery. For very good reasons and especially to prevent all secret self‑complacency on our part, he does not want us to know exactly where we stand on the ladder to perfection.
A second reason is that God in his merciful love permits our ills and our helplessness for our good. They are not only useful but necessary for the full development of all our virtues‑‑‑a deep and sincere humility, love of our own abjection, genuine trust based, not on self, but on God’s perfections and above all for the acquisition of a pure, self‑forgetting love of God.
Without those repeated shortcomings, which are as a rule involuntary in fervent souls, we would never become entirely detached from self, never acquire that sincere, deep disgust of self without which we cannot reach the pure love of God ‑‑‑and sanctity. The whole of the spiritual life consists in dying to self in order to live in God. When a generous soul has a thousand times tasted the bitterness of that hateful self, which it used to love often unconsciously in spite of all its defects, then at last, in sheer disgust, it turns away from it and gives all its love to the only object worthy of it: to the infinite lovableness of God.
We should not lose confidence, we have said, because of our ever‑recurring defects. We may add, though it may sound paradoxical, that on the contrary we should have confidence because of them. We are all beggars before God and badly in need of his grace and his help, and we should behave like clever beggars. These do not hide their ulcers and their deformities. Far from it, they expose them and rely on them to excite compassion. Well, we should do the same with God. Show him with great humility and confidence the deep ulcers of our self‑love, of our sensuality, of our pride and vanity; these are sure to excite the compassion of our heavenly Father and to obtain from him ample alms in the form of graces.
We must hope firmly in spite of desolation and aridity and even “mystical night.” When we are in desolation, we feel sad and depressed, unable to pray and, as it were, loveless. We easily imagine that we do not love any more, though perhaps a little while before our hearts seemed consumed with love. And we imagine also that Jesus has left us on account of our iniquities.
In reality our love has not disappeared, not even diminished, and though it is no longer sensible to us, it is quite sensible to Jesus. Our love is no longer warm and delightful, but a sad and suffering love. We are sad, because Jesus our beloved is gone.
Desolation is one of those spiritual seasons which are necessary for the growth of our spiritual life. It is the spiritual winter as compared with the spring and summer of consolation. In winter there are no flowers, no leaves, perhaps no sign even of growth. Yet winter is not death, and the imperceptible buds that slowly form with the first warmth of spring will burst into shining leaves and beautiful flowers.
The winter of desolation and aridity uncovers to us our inherent poverty and makes us experience all our wretchedness, so fostering a holy disgust and contempt for self. And the lights of consolation that follow sooner or later reveal something of the lovableness of God and enkindle in our hearts the fire of divine love. Both consolation and desolation, then, are necessary to lead us on to perfect union with God and to holiness.
Let us never become discouraged and disheartened in the midst of spiritual trials, however long they may last. If God chooses us to pass through the “mystical nights” and especially the “night of the spirit,” we may remain in darkness and strong desolation for years at a stretch. But these nights, which are in reality great though hidden favors, are the crucible in which God thoroughly purifies the virtues, chiefly those of Faith, Hope, and Charity, in the soul that he wants to lead to perfect union with him.
Let us then, in spite of all appearance and difficulties, keep always a firm and blind Hope, based on God’s perfections. In this way we may one day with his grace reach that perfection to which he has called us, and which must always remain the final goal of our spiritual life.
For encouragement let us often recall to mind that famous page of Thérèse about a lift to raise us to sanctity. “You know it has ever been my desire to become a saint, but I have always felt in comparing myself with the saints that I am so far removed from them as the grain of sand which the passerby tramples under foot is remote from the mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds.
“Instead of being discouraged, I concluded that God would not inspire desires which could not be realized, and that I might aspire to sanctity in spite of my littleness. I must bear with myself and my many imperfections. But I will seek out a means of getting to Heaven by a little way―very short and very straight, a little way that is wholly new. We live in an age of inventions; now the rich need not trouble to climb the stairs. They have lifts instead. Well, I mean to try and find a lift by which I may be raised to God, for I am too tiny to climb the steep stairway of perfection. . . . Thine arms then, O Jesus, are the lift which must raise me up even unto Heaven.”
Article 7
Fortitude
Fortitude
When it comes to doing good, we find enormous difficulties in ourselves: the disordered inclination to evil and to the things of this world; the attraction of creatures called, in Holy Scripture, the “witchery of paltry things” (Wisdom 4:12). We need the Holy Spirit to moderate our affections, to regulate our lives, and to unite us more intimately with God, so that no earthly attraction, no worldly enchantment, can pull us away from His loving embrace. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this by means of the Gift of Fear. Prior to the resurrection of Our Lord, the Apostles were more fearful than courageous. The post-resurrection period required a transition from fear to fortitude. This fortitude would be perfected in them 50 days after the Resurrection with the coming of Holy Ghost at Pentecost―bringing to them the perfection of fortitude as one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost.
According to one translation of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon the Wise has said: “All things are hard” (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Experience teaches us the meaning of his words, and how true they are for human nature. The more noble and generous the undertakings, the greater the difficulties. How many obstacles have to be overcome before we reach eternal happiness! We may recognize our duty with precision and exactitude; we may have a desire to fulfill it and to take the paths God has marked out for us — but our nature finds it so hard! We need such strength and sacrifice; we fail so many times; and knowing that, we may abandon the right road, we give up the undertaking because it seems too painful.
In the spiritual life, there are difficulties and there are also dangers: occasions of sin and obstacles to good. Job said that human life is temptation. St. Peter said that the devil goes about like a roaring lion, looking for a chance to devour us. Dangers come from our associates, from the depths of our own being, and also from the infernal powers that plot against us and keep us from traveling a straight and direct path to perfection and happiness.
We need extraordinary strength to help us bear these difficulties, avoid these dangers, strive toward the accomplishment of the will of God, and finally reach the end for which we were made. Heaven belongs to the strong, and for this reason there are relatively few saints: for few have the fortitude to make the efforts and sacrifices required by perfection.
That we may overcome the difficulties and escape the dangers, God has provided us with a set of virtues grouped around the cardinal virtue of fortitude. These are patience, perseverance, fidelity, magnanimity, and a number of others which, like an army in battle array, stand ready to help us. They are very efficacious, yet they are not sufficient; for virtues, as already explained, although they are supernatural, receive in our practice of them our own stamp: the human character, narrow, limited, and very weak.
Therefore does Holy Scripture say that “the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans” (Wisdom 9:14). Our acts have the seal of weakness and deficiency. If we are to attain salvation, fortitude with its companion virtues is not enough. A gift is needed, the Gift of the Holy Spirit that bears the same name as the virtue of fortitude: the Gift of Fortitude. The Holy Spirit moves us by this Gift so that we are able to overcome difficulties, to avoid dangers, and to have confidence. “I can do all things,” exclaimed the Apostle St. Paul, “in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Let us now analyze the reasons why the virtue of fortitude must be completed by the corresponding Gift. The virtues have a norm distinct from the Gifts. The virtue of fortitude encourages us in laborious works and fills us with the strength to overcome difficulties; but as it functions according to the measure of our human strength, it cannot encourage us to do anything above that strength. All virtue, theologians say, consists in the middle course; any deviation of our will to the right or to the left removes us from virtue. Fortitude, the virtue, certainly does not permit irrational timidity, but neither can it prompt us to undertake with assurance and boldness anything superior to our human strength. We find this prudent counsel in Holy Scripture: “With what is too much for you, meddle not” (Ecclesiasticus 3:22).
Now, is it not too much for human strength to complete every work and avoid every danger? Where is the man strong, great, persevering enough to finish every labor he undertakes and to escape from every peril he finds in his path? The work which the Christian has to achieve, the sanctification of his soul, the winning of eternal salvation, is the greatest and most arduous work known on Earth. Can man, by his own strength — though assisted by divine aids yet still by his own strength — do this tremendous work and avoid all the dangers of a lifetime? Undoubtedly he cannot. He needs some aid that is superior to the virtues; he needs the Gift of Fortitude.
The measure and norm of the Gift of Fortitude is infinite strength, the strength of God. By means of this Gift the Holy Spirit prompts us to do all that the strength of God can do. In the supernatural order, under the movement of the Holy Spirit, creatures are actually clothed with the strength of God. St. Paul does not exaggerate when he says: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). The words may seem boastful and proud: I can do everything.
How can St. Paul say this when the ability to do everything is proper to God alone? What he means is: I can do everything because I depend on God, because I possess His strength, because I am clothed in His divine Fortitude. Such is the norm of the Gift of Fortitude, the infinite strength of God. With this strength we can conquer every difficulty; in fact, we often observe how obstacles become a means to some good end in the all-powerful hands of God. And with this same strength we can overcome all dangers, for none is so grave as to withstand the power of the Most High.
Not only does the Gift of Fortitude help us overcome difficulties and avoid dangers, but it also gives us a confidence like that which the Apostle Paul describes in the passage just cited; a confidence, a security, that produces peace in our souls in the midst of dangers, in struggles, in all our tribulations. There is nothing so glorious as the spectacle offered by the lives of the saints: in the midst of difficulties, in their struggles against the powers of Earth and Hell, they preserved peace and happiness, for they were ruled by the Holy Spirit and worked under the efficacious and omnipotent force of the Gift of Fortitude. Let us take a few examples.
By means of the Gift of Fortitude the saints have attained the incredible perfection that makes them take joy in suffering. It is hardly possible for us to understand how happiness can spring from the very depths of pain, but it is true. St. Francis of Assisi and his companion, on a certain journey, stopped that the saint might explain in what perfect happiness consists. I shall not dwell on the well-known story except to remind you of the conclusion which the Seraph of Assisi gave to it: “O Brother Leo, perfect happiness consists in suffering for Christ, who willed to suffer so much for us.” These are not the words of a scholar trying to impress his audience: they spring from one who had the sincerity of a child. Francis truly means that the greatest happiness, the most perfect happiness, is the celestial happiness of suffering. This he could only say under the influence of the Gift of Fortitude.
St. Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, while being taken to Rome to his martyrdom, gave another example of what the Gift of Fortitude does for the soul. He addressed an amazing letter to the Roman Christians, the purpose of which was to entreat them, in the heart of Christ, not to prevent his martyrdom: “ ... If the wild beasts do not throw themselves upon me, as has happened with some martyrs, I shall incite them to do so. Forgive me, my children, but I know what is good for me; for I am the wheat of Christ and I must be crushed by the teeth of wild beasts so that I may be converted into immaculate bread.” These are the words and the attitude of a very wise man, a man under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who enjoys the efficacious strength of the Gift of Fortitude.
In other saints we find the Gift of Fortitude having an influence on acts that are not so extraordinary and heroic. Pope Gregory VII is an example of it in his gigantic struggle against the enemies of the Church. The superhuman strength shown by St. Teresa, in the reform of the Carmelite Order, likewise manifests the working of the Gift of Fortitude. She endured enormous difficulties in her contacts with all kinds of people, while, at the same time suffering a tremendous desolation of soul. Could she have accomplished her work without the Gift of Fortitude?
It is necessary even in ordinary life. Every Christian finds himself, at some time or other, in a difficult situation, in which he needs the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Fortitude is also indispensable to perseverance in virtue, to the efforts that must be made to attain Heaven. Without it, the heart is lacking in peace and confidence.
Thanks be to God, we received the Gift of Fortitude on the day of our Baptism. We keep it as long as we have grace in our soul. The Holy Spirit is within us, and we can receive His efficacious aid whenever it is needed.
The Degrees of the Gift of Fortitude
(1) In the first degree we can do all that is absolutely necessary for the salvation of our soul; all that God commands us, even extraordinary and heroic things.
(2) In the second degree our spirit acquires a superior strength, not only that we may accomplish what is absolutely necessary, what is of precept, but also that we may do the things of Counsel, according to the duties and the spirit of each soul in the state in which God has placed it.
(3) In the third degree the Gift of Fortitude elevates us above every created good; it makes us conquer ourselves, and places us in the very heart of God, where boundless confidence and unchanging peace reign.
If only we knew the Gift of God; if only we knew what a marvelous world we carry within our soul! If only we realized the incomparable and divine beauty of the supernatural world! In the exterior world there are marvelous things. Who is not delighted with the sweet fragrance of spring? Who has not experienced the mysterious charm of the dewy woods? Who does not feel the grandeur of the ocean when he hears its mighty voice, when he sees the surge and beat of its great waves? Who does not experience a delicious peace while contemplating on a tranquil night the stars that sparkle so mysteriously in the heavens? Yet all this is nothing in comparison with the supernatural world.
Or if we pass to the realm of science and art, to all the marvelous works that man has produced, this is still nothing in comparison with our interior world, because there we have God. His graces and Gifts are found in the sanctuary of our soul, and so we carry a divine world within us. Yet, for the most part, the greater majority of people are blind to this! Jesus said: “Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). And as Holy Scripture adds: “But our God is in Heaven. The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have mouths and speak not: they have eyes and see not. They have ears and hear not: they have noses and smell not. They have hands and feel not: they have feet and walk not: neither shall they cry out through their throat. Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them” (Psalm 113:11-16).
According to one translation of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon the Wise has said: “All things are hard” (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Experience teaches us the meaning of his words, and how true they are for human nature. The more noble and generous the undertakings, the greater the difficulties. How many obstacles have to be overcome before we reach eternal happiness! We may recognize our duty with precision and exactitude; we may have a desire to fulfill it and to take the paths God has marked out for us — but our nature finds it so hard! We need such strength and sacrifice; we fail so many times; and knowing that, we may abandon the right road, we give up the undertaking because it seems too painful.
In the spiritual life, there are difficulties and there are also dangers: occasions of sin and obstacles to good. Job said that human life is temptation. St. Peter said that the devil goes about like a roaring lion, looking for a chance to devour us. Dangers come from our associates, from the depths of our own being, and also from the infernal powers that plot against us and keep us from traveling a straight and direct path to perfection and happiness.
We need extraordinary strength to help us bear these difficulties, avoid these dangers, strive toward the accomplishment of the will of God, and finally reach the end for which we were made. Heaven belongs to the strong, and for this reason there are relatively few saints: for few have the fortitude to make the efforts and sacrifices required by perfection.
That we may overcome the difficulties and escape the dangers, God has provided us with a set of virtues grouped around the cardinal virtue of fortitude. These are patience, perseverance, fidelity, magnanimity, and a number of others which, like an army in battle array, stand ready to help us. They are very efficacious, yet they are not sufficient; for virtues, as already explained, although they are supernatural, receive in our practice of them our own stamp: the human character, narrow, limited, and very weak.
Therefore does Holy Scripture say that “the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans” (Wisdom 9:14). Our acts have the seal of weakness and deficiency. If we are to attain salvation, fortitude with its companion virtues is not enough. A gift is needed, the Gift of the Holy Spirit that bears the same name as the virtue of fortitude: the Gift of Fortitude. The Holy Spirit moves us by this Gift so that we are able to overcome difficulties, to avoid dangers, and to have confidence. “I can do all things,” exclaimed the Apostle St. Paul, “in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Let us now analyze the reasons why the virtue of fortitude must be completed by the corresponding Gift. The virtues have a norm distinct from the Gifts. The virtue of fortitude encourages us in laborious works and fills us with the strength to overcome difficulties; but as it functions according to the measure of our human strength, it cannot encourage us to do anything above that strength. All virtue, theologians say, consists in the middle course; any deviation of our will to the right or to the left removes us from virtue. Fortitude, the virtue, certainly does not permit irrational timidity, but neither can it prompt us to undertake with assurance and boldness anything superior to our human strength. We find this prudent counsel in Holy Scripture: “With what is too much for you, meddle not” (Ecclesiasticus 3:22).
Now, is it not too much for human strength to complete every work and avoid every danger? Where is the man strong, great, persevering enough to finish every labor he undertakes and to escape from every peril he finds in his path? The work which the Christian has to achieve, the sanctification of his soul, the winning of eternal salvation, is the greatest and most arduous work known on Earth. Can man, by his own strength — though assisted by divine aids yet still by his own strength — do this tremendous work and avoid all the dangers of a lifetime? Undoubtedly he cannot. He needs some aid that is superior to the virtues; he needs the Gift of Fortitude.
The measure and norm of the Gift of Fortitude is infinite strength, the strength of God. By means of this Gift the Holy Spirit prompts us to do all that the strength of God can do. In the supernatural order, under the movement of the Holy Spirit, creatures are actually clothed with the strength of God. St. Paul does not exaggerate when he says: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). The words may seem boastful and proud: I can do everything.
How can St. Paul say this when the ability to do everything is proper to God alone? What he means is: I can do everything because I depend on God, because I possess His strength, because I am clothed in His divine Fortitude. Such is the norm of the Gift of Fortitude, the infinite strength of God. With this strength we can conquer every difficulty; in fact, we often observe how obstacles become a means to some good end in the all-powerful hands of God. And with this same strength we can overcome all dangers, for none is so grave as to withstand the power of the Most High.
Not only does the Gift of Fortitude help us overcome difficulties and avoid dangers, but it also gives us a confidence like that which the Apostle Paul describes in the passage just cited; a confidence, a security, that produces peace in our souls in the midst of dangers, in struggles, in all our tribulations. There is nothing so glorious as the spectacle offered by the lives of the saints: in the midst of difficulties, in their struggles against the powers of Earth and Hell, they preserved peace and happiness, for they were ruled by the Holy Spirit and worked under the efficacious and omnipotent force of the Gift of Fortitude. Let us take a few examples.
By means of the Gift of Fortitude the saints have attained the incredible perfection that makes them take joy in suffering. It is hardly possible for us to understand how happiness can spring from the very depths of pain, but it is true. St. Francis of Assisi and his companion, on a certain journey, stopped that the saint might explain in what perfect happiness consists. I shall not dwell on the well-known story except to remind you of the conclusion which the Seraph of Assisi gave to it: “O Brother Leo, perfect happiness consists in suffering for Christ, who willed to suffer so much for us.” These are not the words of a scholar trying to impress his audience: they spring from one who had the sincerity of a child. Francis truly means that the greatest happiness, the most perfect happiness, is the celestial happiness of suffering. This he could only say under the influence of the Gift of Fortitude.
St. Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, while being taken to Rome to his martyrdom, gave another example of what the Gift of Fortitude does for the soul. He addressed an amazing letter to the Roman Christians, the purpose of which was to entreat them, in the heart of Christ, not to prevent his martyrdom: “ ... If the wild beasts do not throw themselves upon me, as has happened with some martyrs, I shall incite them to do so. Forgive me, my children, but I know what is good for me; for I am the wheat of Christ and I must be crushed by the teeth of wild beasts so that I may be converted into immaculate bread.” These are the words and the attitude of a very wise man, a man under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who enjoys the efficacious strength of the Gift of Fortitude.
In other saints we find the Gift of Fortitude having an influence on acts that are not so extraordinary and heroic. Pope Gregory VII is an example of it in his gigantic struggle against the enemies of the Church. The superhuman strength shown by St. Teresa, in the reform of the Carmelite Order, likewise manifests the working of the Gift of Fortitude. She endured enormous difficulties in her contacts with all kinds of people, while, at the same time suffering a tremendous desolation of soul. Could she have accomplished her work without the Gift of Fortitude?
It is necessary even in ordinary life. Every Christian finds himself, at some time or other, in a difficult situation, in which he needs the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Fortitude is also indispensable to perseverance in virtue, to the efforts that must be made to attain Heaven. Without it, the heart is lacking in peace and confidence.
Thanks be to God, we received the Gift of Fortitude on the day of our Baptism. We keep it as long as we have grace in our soul. The Holy Spirit is within us, and we can receive His efficacious aid whenever it is needed.
The Degrees of the Gift of Fortitude
(1) In the first degree we can do all that is absolutely necessary for the salvation of our soul; all that God commands us, even extraordinary and heroic things.
(2) In the second degree our spirit acquires a superior strength, not only that we may accomplish what is absolutely necessary, what is of precept, but also that we may do the things of Counsel, according to the duties and the spirit of each soul in the state in which God has placed it.
(3) In the third degree the Gift of Fortitude elevates us above every created good; it makes us conquer ourselves, and places us in the very heart of God, where boundless confidence and unchanging peace reign.
If only we knew the Gift of God; if only we knew what a marvelous world we carry within our soul! If only we realized the incomparable and divine beauty of the supernatural world! In the exterior world there are marvelous things. Who is not delighted with the sweet fragrance of spring? Who has not experienced the mysterious charm of the dewy woods? Who does not feel the grandeur of the ocean when he hears its mighty voice, when he sees the surge and beat of its great waves? Who does not experience a delicious peace while contemplating on a tranquil night the stars that sparkle so mysteriously in the heavens? Yet all this is nothing in comparison with the supernatural world.
Or if we pass to the realm of science and art, to all the marvelous works that man has produced, this is still nothing in comparison with our interior world, because there we have God. His graces and Gifts are found in the sanctuary of our soul, and so we carry a divine world within us. Yet, for the most part, the greater majority of people are blind to this! Jesus said: “Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). And as Holy Scripture adds: “But our God is in Heaven. The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have mouths and speak not: they have eyes and see not. They have ears and hear not: they have noses and smell not. They have hands and feel not: they have feet and walk not: neither shall they cry out through their throat. Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them” (Psalm 113:11-16).
Article 8
Mercy
Mercy
NEITHER STONE NOR CONDONE!
In Holy Scripture we see an event that epitomizes what Jesus is “all about”—as He Himself says elsewhere: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!” (Luke 19:10).
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that in everything that God does, justice and mercy work together. God is never just without being merciful and He is never merciful without being just. Our puny human minds and our narrow-minded human attitudes can only grasp an “either-or” situation—we are either just or we are merciful. If we show mercy, we imagine we robbing justice; or if we show justice then we imagine are stealing from mercy.
We ought to remember the words of God: “My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). “For He saith to Moses: ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy!’” (Romans 9:15). There were not many who were prepared to show mercy to the woman caught in adultery—and let us not forget, they were simply following the law of God, which stated:
“Because she hath done a wicked thing in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house, they shall cast her out of the doors of her father’s house, and the men of the city shall stone her to death, and she shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee. If a man lie with another man’s wife, they shall both die, that is to say, the adulterer and the adulteress: and thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel. If a man have espoused a damsel that is a virgin, and some one find her in the city, and lie with her, thou shalt bring them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned” (Deuteronomy 22:21-24).
When we look at the Old Testament and the New Testament, we could say that the Old Testament was a time when the justice of God was to the fore, whereas the New Testament is a time where the mercy of God is more prominent—due to the merciful arrival and personal sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who came to lay down His life on Calvary so that sinners might find mercy.
We see Our Lord insist upon this mercy and show this mercy many times in both His words and actions—at times rebuking those who were overly focused upon the “justice” side of things, to the extent that they ignored or even refused to apply the “merciful” side.
When the inhabitants of a Samaritan town refused to accept Jesus in their town, because they realized that He was a Jew on His way to Jerusalem (the Jews and Samaritans were sworn enemies of each other), Our Lord’s Apostles, James and John, wanted to bring fire down from Heaven as a vengeful and just punishment:
“And it came to pass, when the days of His assumption were accomplishing, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’ And they went into another town” (Luke 9:51-56).
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus saith to him: ‘I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times! Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all! And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
Mercy is the forgiveness of what need not or ought not to be forgiven. Indeed, mercy follows after, not before, both forgiveness and punishment. Mercy was never designed to minimize the heinousness of sins or to eliminate their possibility. It was meant to affirm their disorder. But their disorder did not prevent God from forgetting them to allow us to begin anew.
Thus, God does not just “forgive” sins because He is merciful. He forgives them in the context of our realizing and acknowledging their disorder. Mercy is designed to encourage virtue, not to undermine it.
If we want to be shown the mercy of God—and who doesn’t?—then we had better show mercy unto others! “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy!” (James 2:13).
Our Lord showed mercy to the woman caught in adultery―whereas the Scribes and Pharisees were ready to stone her to death. “And the Scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery and they set her in the midst, and said to Him: ‘Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery! Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one! But what sayest Thou?’ And this they said tempting Him, that they might accuse Him.
“But Jesus, bowing himself down, wrote with His finger on the ground. When therefore they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said to them: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her!’ And again stooping down, He wrote on the ground.
“But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up Himself, said to her: ‘Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?’
Who said: ‘No man, Lord!’
And Jesus said: ‘Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!’” (John 8:1-11).
OUR LADY ON THE LACK OF MERCY
Our Lady made the following disclosures when speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“I wish on this occasion to reveal to thee the just reproach and indignation of the Most High against mortals … The cause of this reproach, which the Lord and I have to make against men, is the inhuman perversity of men in persisting to treat each other with so much lack of humility and love. In this they commit three faults, which displease the Most High very much and which cause the Almighty and me to withhold many mercies.
“The first fault is, that men, knowing that they are all children of the same Father in Heaven, works of His hands, formed of the same nature, graciously nourished and kept alive by His Providence, reared at the same table of divine mysteries and Sacraments, especially of His own body and blood, nevertheless forget and despise all these advantages, concentrating all their interest upon earthly and trivial affairs, exciting themselves without reason, swelling with indignation, creating discords, quarrels, indulging in detractions and harsh words, sometimes rising up to most wicked and inhuman vengeance or mortal hate of one another.
“The second fault is, that, when through human frailty and want of mortification, incited by the temptation of the devil, they happen to fall into one of these faults, they do not at once seek to rid themselves of it nor strive to be again reconciled, as should be done by brothers in the presence of a just judge. Thus they deny Him as their merciful Father and force Him to become the severe and rigid Judge of their sins; for no faults excite Him sooner to exercise His severity than the sins of revenge and hate.
“The third offense, which causes His great indignation, is, that sometimes, when a brother comes in order to be reconciled, he, that deems himself offended, will not receive him and asks a greater satisfaction than that which he knows would be accepted by the Lord, and which he himself offers as satisfaction to God’s Majesty.
“For all of them wish that God, who is most grievously offended, should receive and pardon them, whenever they approach Him with humility and contrition; while those that are but dust and ashes, ask to be revenged upon their brothers and will not content themselves with the satisfaction, which the Most High himself readily accepts for their own sins.
“Of all the sins, which the sons of the Church commit, none is more horrible than these in the eyes of the Most High. This thou wilt readily understand by the divine light and in the vigor of God’s law, which commands men to pardon their brethren, although they may have offended seventy times seven. And if a brother offend many times every day, as soon as he says that he is sorry for it, the Lord commands us to forgive the offending brother as many times without counting the number.
“And those that are not willing to forgive, He threatens with severest punishment on account of the scandal, which they cause by not forgiving. This can be gathered from the threatening words of God himself: “Woe to him from whom scandal comes and through whom scandal is caused! It were better for him, if he fell into the depths of the sea with a heavy millstone around his neck. This was said in order to indicate the danger of this sin and the difficulty of obtaining deliverance therefrom, which must be compared to that of a man dropping into the sea with a grinding-stone around his neck. It also points out that the punishment is the abyss of eternal pains” (Matthew 18:9). Therefore the command of my most holy Son is good advice to the faithful, that they rather permit their eyes to be torn out and their hands chopped off, than allow themselves to fall into this crime of scandalizing the little ones by not being forgiving.”
In Holy Scripture we see an event that epitomizes what Jesus is “all about”—as He Himself says elsewhere: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!” (Luke 19:10).
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that in everything that God does, justice and mercy work together. God is never just without being merciful and He is never merciful without being just. Our puny human minds and our narrow-minded human attitudes can only grasp an “either-or” situation—we are either just or we are merciful. If we show mercy, we imagine we robbing justice; or if we show justice then we imagine are stealing from mercy.
We ought to remember the words of God: “My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). “For He saith to Moses: ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy!’” (Romans 9:15). There were not many who were prepared to show mercy to the woman caught in adultery—and let us not forget, they were simply following the law of God, which stated:
“Because she hath done a wicked thing in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house, they shall cast her out of the doors of her father’s house, and the men of the city shall stone her to death, and she shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee. If a man lie with another man’s wife, they shall both die, that is to say, the adulterer and the adulteress: and thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel. If a man have espoused a damsel that is a virgin, and some one find her in the city, and lie with her, thou shalt bring them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned” (Deuteronomy 22:21-24).
When we look at the Old Testament and the New Testament, we could say that the Old Testament was a time when the justice of God was to the fore, whereas the New Testament is a time where the mercy of God is more prominent—due to the merciful arrival and personal sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who came to lay down His life on Calvary so that sinners might find mercy.
We see Our Lord insist upon this mercy and show this mercy many times in both His words and actions—at times rebuking those who were overly focused upon the “justice” side of things, to the extent that they ignored or even refused to apply the “merciful” side.
When the inhabitants of a Samaritan town refused to accept Jesus in their town, because they realized that He was a Jew on His way to Jerusalem (the Jews and Samaritans were sworn enemies of each other), Our Lord’s Apostles, James and John, wanted to bring fire down from Heaven as a vengeful and just punishment:
“And it came to pass, when the days of His assumption were accomplishing, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’ And they went into another town” (Luke 9:51-56).
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus saith to him: ‘I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times! Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all! And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
Mercy is the forgiveness of what need not or ought not to be forgiven. Indeed, mercy follows after, not before, both forgiveness and punishment. Mercy was never designed to minimize the heinousness of sins or to eliminate their possibility. It was meant to affirm their disorder. But their disorder did not prevent God from forgetting them to allow us to begin anew.
Thus, God does not just “forgive” sins because He is merciful. He forgives them in the context of our realizing and acknowledging their disorder. Mercy is designed to encourage virtue, not to undermine it.
If we want to be shown the mercy of God—and who doesn’t?—then we had better show mercy unto others! “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy!” (James 2:13).
Our Lord showed mercy to the woman caught in adultery―whereas the Scribes and Pharisees were ready to stone her to death. “And the Scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery and they set her in the midst, and said to Him: ‘Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery! Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one! But what sayest Thou?’ And this they said tempting Him, that they might accuse Him.
“But Jesus, bowing himself down, wrote with His finger on the ground. When therefore they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said to them: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her!’ And again stooping down, He wrote on the ground.
“But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up Himself, said to her: ‘Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?’
Who said: ‘No man, Lord!’
And Jesus said: ‘Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!’” (John 8:1-11).
OUR LADY ON THE LACK OF MERCY
Our Lady made the following disclosures when speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“I wish on this occasion to reveal to thee the just reproach and indignation of the Most High against mortals … The cause of this reproach, which the Lord and I have to make against men, is the inhuman perversity of men in persisting to treat each other with so much lack of humility and love. In this they commit three faults, which displease the Most High very much and which cause the Almighty and me to withhold many mercies.
“The first fault is, that men, knowing that they are all children of the same Father in Heaven, works of His hands, formed of the same nature, graciously nourished and kept alive by His Providence, reared at the same table of divine mysteries and Sacraments, especially of His own body and blood, nevertheless forget and despise all these advantages, concentrating all their interest upon earthly and trivial affairs, exciting themselves without reason, swelling with indignation, creating discords, quarrels, indulging in detractions and harsh words, sometimes rising up to most wicked and inhuman vengeance or mortal hate of one another.
“The second fault is, that, when through human frailty and want of mortification, incited by the temptation of the devil, they happen to fall into one of these faults, they do not at once seek to rid themselves of it nor strive to be again reconciled, as should be done by brothers in the presence of a just judge. Thus they deny Him as their merciful Father and force Him to become the severe and rigid Judge of their sins; for no faults excite Him sooner to exercise His severity than the sins of revenge and hate.
“The third offense, which causes His great indignation, is, that sometimes, when a brother comes in order to be reconciled, he, that deems himself offended, will not receive him and asks a greater satisfaction than that which he knows would be accepted by the Lord, and which he himself offers as satisfaction to God’s Majesty.
“For all of them wish that God, who is most grievously offended, should receive and pardon them, whenever they approach Him with humility and contrition; while those that are but dust and ashes, ask to be revenged upon their brothers and will not content themselves with the satisfaction, which the Most High himself readily accepts for their own sins.
“Of all the sins, which the sons of the Church commit, none is more horrible than these in the eyes of the Most High. This thou wilt readily understand by the divine light and in the vigor of God’s law, which commands men to pardon their brethren, although they may have offended seventy times seven. And if a brother offend many times every day, as soon as he says that he is sorry for it, the Lord commands us to forgive the offending brother as many times without counting the number.
“And those that are not willing to forgive, He threatens with severest punishment on account of the scandal, which they cause by not forgiving. This can be gathered from the threatening words of God himself: “Woe to him from whom scandal comes and through whom scandal is caused! It were better for him, if he fell into the depths of the sea with a heavy millstone around his neck. This was said in order to indicate the danger of this sin and the difficulty of obtaining deliverance therefrom, which must be compared to that of a man dropping into the sea with a grinding-stone around his neck. It also points out that the punishment is the abyss of eternal pains” (Matthew 18:9). Therefore the command of my most holy Son is good advice to the faithful, that they rather permit their eyes to be torn out and their hands chopped off, than allow themselves to fall into this crime of scandalizing the little ones by not being forgiving.”
Article 9
Justice
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.
Justice
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.
With many people, the subject of the previous article, mercy, is a very likeable thought―for we all want mercy. Justice, however, is not quite so popular―for we usually link justice with punishment. Yet that is not the case. Justice is not one-sided, but two-sided―for it not only concerns itself with punishing, but also with rewarding. All of this will unfold as we go along.
St. Thomas Aquinas ranked justice as the second of the four Cardinal Virtues, behind prudence, but before fortitude and temperance. Prudence (“right reason applied to practice”) is the perfection of the intellect, while justice (“habitual inclination of the will”) perfects our will. Justice is the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due―whether it be God or man. Charity may rise above justice, to give someone more than he is rightfully due―but justice always requires perfect precision in rendering to each person what he is due.
Justice, then, respects the rights of others, whether those rights are natural (the right to life and limb, the rights that arise because of our natural obligations to family and kin, the most fundamental property rights, the right to worship God and to do what is necessary to save our souls) or legal (contract rights, constitutional rights, civil rights).
Should legal rights ever come into conflict with natural rights, then natural rights take precedence, and justice demands that natural rights be respected. Thus, law cannot take away the natural right of parents to educate their children in the way that is best for the children. Nor can justice allow the granting of legal rights to one person (such as the “right to an abortion”) at the expense of the natural rights of another (in that case, the right to life and limb). To do so is to fail “to give everyone his or her rightful due.”
Justice is the virtue that seeks to promote fair play. It’s the desire and resolve to give each person his due―in the positive and negative sense. It demands that you reward goodness and punish evil. Justice can be one of three different types:
● Commutative justice is based on the principle of quid pro quo, which is Latin for this for that. Commutative justice requires, for example, that a customer pay a fair price for worthwhile goods.
● Distributive justice involves the relationship between one and many — between an individual and a group — a person and the government, for example.
● Social justice concerns the relationships between individuals and groups between one another and everyone. The common good and equal treatments are the cornerstones of social justice.
Justice disposes us to give everyone what belongs to him. It teaches us to give what is due to God and to man. It makes us willing to live according to the commandments. Justice perfects the will and safeguards the rights of man: his right to life, freedom, honor, good name, sanctity of the home, and external possessions.
The Parts of Justice
The Cardinal Virtues―Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance―are called “cardinal” because other virtues hinge upon them. Our word cardinal goes back to the Latin adjective “cardinalis”, which meant “serving as a hinge.” Thus the Justice has several parts, or subsections, or sub-virtues, each of which are opposed by various vices:
(1) The Virtue of Religion
(2) The Virtue of Obedience/Piety
(3) The Virtue of Observance/Courtesy
(4) The Virtue of Gratitude
(5) The Virtue of Vindication
(6) The Virtue of Truthfulness/Honesty
(7) The Virtue of Fraternity/Affability
(8) The Virtue of Generosity/Liberality
(9) The Virtue of Kindness
(10) The Virtue of Responsibility/Duty
(11) The Virtue of Defense/Protection
The Virtue of Religion
Religion is the good habit of a man to continually praise and worship God, recognizing that he can never give or repay God for all God has done for a man. The habitual acts of the virtue of Religion are carried out consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church through the sub-virtues (good habits) of Prayer, Devotion (reception of the Sacraments, pious acts, adoration) and various forms of Sacrifice (oaths, tithes, alms, fasts, service, self-offering to God). The man who practices the virtue of Religion keeps a daily routine (or, rule) which integrates his priority on seeking God with his worldly responsibilities and follows recognized devotions of the Church. The virtue of Religion is also often revered to as Piety.
The opposing vices of Religion include the bad habits of False Worship (practicing false religions, superstition, idolatry, simony, witchcraft, devil worship) and Irreligion (rejection of God and the duty to praise, worship and honor Him). The man who practices False Worship or Irreligion lives without the blessings of the Sacraments and without the sure grace of the Holy Spirit in his life to guide and strengthen him, and leaves himself vulnerable to the temptations and attacks of Satan and his demons; False Worship and Irreligion inevitably lead to unhappiness and discontent.
The Virtue of Obedience/Piety
Obedience is the good habit of a man who consistently renders people and institutions superior to him their rightful due, including honoring and acts of charity to one’s parents, being loyal to one’s friends and mentors, willingly abiding by the just and moral laws and institutions of one’s country and having a loyalty to one’s country (patriotism). The man of Obedience/Piety has stability in his life, for he willingly belongs, knows his place in society and receives spiritual blessings which come to those who live with appreciation of others.
The opposing vices of Obedience/Piety include the bad habits of Dishonoring Parents, Disloyalty to one’s friends, mentors and country, and Disobedience to rightful authority and just laws. The man who rejects Piety/Obedience arrogantly lives the life of a bitter or uncaring outsider and experiences the suffering of chaos, loneliness and rejection that comes to those who refuse to belong and rebel against the just authority of others.
The Virtue of Observance/Courtesy
Observance/Courtesy is the good habit of a man who recognizes the inherent dignity of every soul and treats others with respect by being cordial, polite, chivalrous, and practicing good manners which seeks not to offend the rightful peace of others. The man who lives with Observance/Courtesy experiences happiness as he seeks to make others comfortable and receives many positive responses from others in return.
The opposing vices of Observance/Courtesy include the bad habit of Rudeness which disregards and disrespects others acts by callous words and behaviors which purposefully or ignorantly rejects the accepted customs of manners and behaviors of society. The Rude man is small and bitter, experiencing life as constant conflict, perhaps even taking perverse pleasure in agitating others.
The Virtue of Gratitude
Gratitude is the good habit of a man which cultivates a continual recognition of the blessings from God and others and responds with words and acts of thanks to express his appreciation of another’s kindness. The Grateful man experiences sustaining joy as he searches for, finds, and gives thanks for the numerous blessings from God and others in his daily life.
The opposing vices of Gratitude include the bad habit of Ingratitude in which a man cultivates a self-centered lack of recognition of the blessings from God and others, a sense of entitlement and often a malformed attitude of being a false victim or misplaced beliefs of persecution. The Ungrateful man lives a life of resentment, anger and isolation, losing the grace of God and the friendship of those who grow weary of extending favors and love to one who is not grateful.
The Virtue of Vindication
Vindication is the good habit of a man who seeks to uphold Justice by recognizing just and unjust acts, defending and encouraging the innocent and those who do good against unjust attack and charitably confronting those who do evil, supporting the rule of law/justice by holding evil-doers to account and ensuring just punishment (Vengeance) when necessary and defending the innocent and weak. The man who charitably exercises the virtue of Vindication helps maintain peace and seeks to call sinners to conversion by holding them to account for their evil against other.
The opposing vices of Vindication include the vice of False Mercy which excuses evil and fails to promote Justice, and the vice of Cruelty/Brutality by which punishment exceeds the crime in amount or type, often with a sadistic and perverse pleasure at the suffering of others or self-righteousness. The man who fails in Vindication may experience false self-righteous pleasure but gravely sins against others by under or over responding to evil.
The Virtue of Truthfulness/Honesty
Truthfulness/Honesty is the good habit of a man who grasps the reality of God and His Truth as preserved in its fullness in the Catholic Church and strives to always form and conform his thoughts, words and deeds to the reality of God’s Truth, particularly in confronting confusion and lies in the world so as to proclaim Christ. The man of Truth courageously speaks the fullness of Truth even when persecution or martyrdom is likely.
The opposing vice of Dishonesty by which man seeks to gain advantage or avoid personal discomfort or persecution by willingly lying or cheating to deceive another and lead them into error, or to deprive them of their rightful reputation or possessions. The Dishonest man experiences the discomfort of being found out because he lives by lies and sins (Slander, Deception), failing to speak the fullness of truth, manipulating others by his words and by what he does and does not do.
The Virtue of Fraternity/Affability
Fraternity/Affability is the good habit of a man who cheerfully seeks to build friendship and brotherhood with others which helps support a healthy and happy social order, deters conflict and is often the first step in evangelization. The man who practices Fraternity experiences the pleasure of good relations with many and the profound joy of building brotherhood with men who hold to the Catholic faith.
The opposing vices of Fraternity/Affability include the bad habits of Indifference by which a selfish man coldly disregards others and Meanness in which a man derives pleasure or perverse joy by causing discomfort or suffering to others. The man who lacks the virtue of Fraternity/Affability experiences the sorrow of isolation and loneliness or the constant turmoil of conflict, and will suffer greatly when his hour of need comes and he has no one to whom to turn.
The Virtue of Generosity/Liberality
Generosity/Liberality is the good habit of a man by which a man uses the treasures God has given him to justly give to those who are truly in need in the right proportion, not counting the cost, and being willing to err by giving to the unworthy so as to never miss a chance to give to those truly in need. The Generous man experiences the joy and satisfaction of imitating Christ and the experience of seeing tangible impact of making another’s life better.
The opposing vice of Generosity is the vice of Greed/Avarice/Covetousness through which the unjust man hordes the treasures God has given him for his own selfish pleasure and allows the needy to suffer. The vice of Greed causes a man to be in constant agitation and can drive some men to commit various crimes including Theft, Robbery, Extortion, and Murder.
The Virtue of Kindness
Kindness is the good habit of a man who has concern for the well-being of others, takes concrete action to relieve the suffering of others, and finds joy in another’s success when consistent with justice. The Kind man has a genuine empathy to suffering and concerns of others, responding with charity to alleviate suffering, encourage and, when called to do so, to admonish and correct those who have strayed from God.
The opposing vices of Kindness include the vice of Envy through which a man has sorrow or anger over the good fortune, reputation, the virtues, or the possessions of another. The Envious man may simmer in hatred or engage in acts to sabotage or diminish the success of others, often feeling perverse joy at the misfortune of another.
The Virtue of Responsibility/Duty
Responsibility/Duty is the good habit of a man by which he strives to justly to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of his core identity and vocation as a Catholic Son/Father and his occupation/work in society and accepting the just consequences for his actions or failure to act. The Dutiful man does his best to live up to the expectations and requirements of his vocation and enjoys the self-mastery of personal excellence and the satisfaction of living up to his noble purpose.
The opposing vice of Responsibility/Duty is primary the vice of Unreliability, the habit of not living up to his commitments and responsibilities, unjustly depriving others what he owes to him by his vocation and being unwilling to make reparations when he fails another. The Unreliable man, who is indifferent to others, experiences the lack of close relationships with those he lets down and, longer term, will face the anxiety and shame as he and others recognize his failures as a man.
The Virtue of Defense/Protection
Defense/Protection is the good habit of a man who responds to unjust attacks upon himself, his family and friends, his country or when he witnesses aggression on the weak by anticipating and preparing himself to be effective when various foreseeable attacks occur. The man who is a Protector enjoys the satisfaction of being well-prepared to stand up against evil and that others can and do count on his protection.
The opposing vices of Defense/Protection include the bad habits of Unjust Aggression by which a man attacks others unjustly out of malice or desire to possess another’s goods (Verbal or Physical Assault, Murder) and Unjust Pacifism by which a man holds to a false pacifism, is cowardly, indifferent or apathetic, causing him to fail to justly protect those in his care or the weak when they are unjustly attacked. The man who fails to build the virtue of Defense/Protection experiences anxiety of a lack of preparedness and ultimately the guilt and shame of his failure to defend those whom he might have protected.
St. Thomas Aquinas ranked justice as the second of the four Cardinal Virtues, behind prudence, but before fortitude and temperance. Prudence (“right reason applied to practice”) is the perfection of the intellect, while justice (“habitual inclination of the will”) perfects our will. Justice is the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due―whether it be God or man. Charity may rise above justice, to give someone more than he is rightfully due―but justice always requires perfect precision in rendering to each person what he is due.
Justice, then, respects the rights of others, whether those rights are natural (the right to life and limb, the rights that arise because of our natural obligations to family and kin, the most fundamental property rights, the right to worship God and to do what is necessary to save our souls) or legal (contract rights, constitutional rights, civil rights).
Should legal rights ever come into conflict with natural rights, then natural rights take precedence, and justice demands that natural rights be respected. Thus, law cannot take away the natural right of parents to educate their children in the way that is best for the children. Nor can justice allow the granting of legal rights to one person (such as the “right to an abortion”) at the expense of the natural rights of another (in that case, the right to life and limb). To do so is to fail “to give everyone his or her rightful due.”
Justice is the virtue that seeks to promote fair play. It’s the desire and resolve to give each person his due―in the positive and negative sense. It demands that you reward goodness and punish evil. Justice can be one of three different types:
● Commutative justice is based on the principle of quid pro quo, which is Latin for this for that. Commutative justice requires, for example, that a customer pay a fair price for worthwhile goods.
● Distributive justice involves the relationship between one and many — between an individual and a group — a person and the government, for example.
● Social justice concerns the relationships between individuals and groups between one another and everyone. The common good and equal treatments are the cornerstones of social justice.
Justice disposes us to give everyone what belongs to him. It teaches us to give what is due to God and to man. It makes us willing to live according to the commandments. Justice perfects the will and safeguards the rights of man: his right to life, freedom, honor, good name, sanctity of the home, and external possessions.
The Parts of Justice
The Cardinal Virtues―Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance―are called “cardinal” because other virtues hinge upon them. Our word cardinal goes back to the Latin adjective “cardinalis”, which meant “serving as a hinge.” Thus the Justice has several parts, or subsections, or sub-virtues, each of which are opposed by various vices:
(1) The Virtue of Religion
(2) The Virtue of Obedience/Piety
(3) The Virtue of Observance/Courtesy
(4) The Virtue of Gratitude
(5) The Virtue of Vindication
(6) The Virtue of Truthfulness/Honesty
(7) The Virtue of Fraternity/Affability
(8) The Virtue of Generosity/Liberality
(9) The Virtue of Kindness
(10) The Virtue of Responsibility/Duty
(11) The Virtue of Defense/Protection
The Virtue of Religion
Religion is the good habit of a man to continually praise and worship God, recognizing that he can never give or repay God for all God has done for a man. The habitual acts of the virtue of Religion are carried out consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church through the sub-virtues (good habits) of Prayer, Devotion (reception of the Sacraments, pious acts, adoration) and various forms of Sacrifice (oaths, tithes, alms, fasts, service, self-offering to God). The man who practices the virtue of Religion keeps a daily routine (or, rule) which integrates his priority on seeking God with his worldly responsibilities and follows recognized devotions of the Church. The virtue of Religion is also often revered to as Piety.
The opposing vices of Religion include the bad habits of False Worship (practicing false religions, superstition, idolatry, simony, witchcraft, devil worship) and Irreligion (rejection of God and the duty to praise, worship and honor Him). The man who practices False Worship or Irreligion lives without the blessings of the Sacraments and without the sure grace of the Holy Spirit in his life to guide and strengthen him, and leaves himself vulnerable to the temptations and attacks of Satan and his demons; False Worship and Irreligion inevitably lead to unhappiness and discontent.
The Virtue of Obedience/Piety
Obedience is the good habit of a man who consistently renders people and institutions superior to him their rightful due, including honoring and acts of charity to one’s parents, being loyal to one’s friends and mentors, willingly abiding by the just and moral laws and institutions of one’s country and having a loyalty to one’s country (patriotism). The man of Obedience/Piety has stability in his life, for he willingly belongs, knows his place in society and receives spiritual blessings which come to those who live with appreciation of others.
The opposing vices of Obedience/Piety include the bad habits of Dishonoring Parents, Disloyalty to one’s friends, mentors and country, and Disobedience to rightful authority and just laws. The man who rejects Piety/Obedience arrogantly lives the life of a bitter or uncaring outsider and experiences the suffering of chaos, loneliness and rejection that comes to those who refuse to belong and rebel against the just authority of others.
The Virtue of Observance/Courtesy
Observance/Courtesy is the good habit of a man who recognizes the inherent dignity of every soul and treats others with respect by being cordial, polite, chivalrous, and practicing good manners which seeks not to offend the rightful peace of others. The man who lives with Observance/Courtesy experiences happiness as he seeks to make others comfortable and receives many positive responses from others in return.
The opposing vices of Observance/Courtesy include the bad habit of Rudeness which disregards and disrespects others acts by callous words and behaviors which purposefully or ignorantly rejects the accepted customs of manners and behaviors of society. The Rude man is small and bitter, experiencing life as constant conflict, perhaps even taking perverse pleasure in agitating others.
The Virtue of Gratitude
Gratitude is the good habit of a man which cultivates a continual recognition of the blessings from God and others and responds with words and acts of thanks to express his appreciation of another’s kindness. The Grateful man experiences sustaining joy as he searches for, finds, and gives thanks for the numerous blessings from God and others in his daily life.
The opposing vices of Gratitude include the bad habit of Ingratitude in which a man cultivates a self-centered lack of recognition of the blessings from God and others, a sense of entitlement and often a malformed attitude of being a false victim or misplaced beliefs of persecution. The Ungrateful man lives a life of resentment, anger and isolation, losing the grace of God and the friendship of those who grow weary of extending favors and love to one who is not grateful.
The Virtue of Vindication
Vindication is the good habit of a man who seeks to uphold Justice by recognizing just and unjust acts, defending and encouraging the innocent and those who do good against unjust attack and charitably confronting those who do evil, supporting the rule of law/justice by holding evil-doers to account and ensuring just punishment (Vengeance) when necessary and defending the innocent and weak. The man who charitably exercises the virtue of Vindication helps maintain peace and seeks to call sinners to conversion by holding them to account for their evil against other.
The opposing vices of Vindication include the vice of False Mercy which excuses evil and fails to promote Justice, and the vice of Cruelty/Brutality by which punishment exceeds the crime in amount or type, often with a sadistic and perverse pleasure at the suffering of others or self-righteousness. The man who fails in Vindication may experience false self-righteous pleasure but gravely sins against others by under or over responding to evil.
The Virtue of Truthfulness/Honesty
Truthfulness/Honesty is the good habit of a man who grasps the reality of God and His Truth as preserved in its fullness in the Catholic Church and strives to always form and conform his thoughts, words and deeds to the reality of God’s Truth, particularly in confronting confusion and lies in the world so as to proclaim Christ. The man of Truth courageously speaks the fullness of Truth even when persecution or martyrdom is likely.
The opposing vice of Dishonesty by which man seeks to gain advantage or avoid personal discomfort or persecution by willingly lying or cheating to deceive another and lead them into error, or to deprive them of their rightful reputation or possessions. The Dishonest man experiences the discomfort of being found out because he lives by lies and sins (Slander, Deception), failing to speak the fullness of truth, manipulating others by his words and by what he does and does not do.
The Virtue of Fraternity/Affability
Fraternity/Affability is the good habit of a man who cheerfully seeks to build friendship and brotherhood with others which helps support a healthy and happy social order, deters conflict and is often the first step in evangelization. The man who practices Fraternity experiences the pleasure of good relations with many and the profound joy of building brotherhood with men who hold to the Catholic faith.
The opposing vices of Fraternity/Affability include the bad habits of Indifference by which a selfish man coldly disregards others and Meanness in which a man derives pleasure or perverse joy by causing discomfort or suffering to others. The man who lacks the virtue of Fraternity/Affability experiences the sorrow of isolation and loneliness or the constant turmoil of conflict, and will suffer greatly when his hour of need comes and he has no one to whom to turn.
The Virtue of Generosity/Liberality
Generosity/Liberality is the good habit of a man by which a man uses the treasures God has given him to justly give to those who are truly in need in the right proportion, not counting the cost, and being willing to err by giving to the unworthy so as to never miss a chance to give to those truly in need. The Generous man experiences the joy and satisfaction of imitating Christ and the experience of seeing tangible impact of making another’s life better.
The opposing vice of Generosity is the vice of Greed/Avarice/Covetousness through which the unjust man hordes the treasures God has given him for his own selfish pleasure and allows the needy to suffer. The vice of Greed causes a man to be in constant agitation and can drive some men to commit various crimes including Theft, Robbery, Extortion, and Murder.
The Virtue of Kindness
Kindness is the good habit of a man who has concern for the well-being of others, takes concrete action to relieve the suffering of others, and finds joy in another’s success when consistent with justice. The Kind man has a genuine empathy to suffering and concerns of others, responding with charity to alleviate suffering, encourage and, when called to do so, to admonish and correct those who have strayed from God.
The opposing vices of Kindness include the vice of Envy through which a man has sorrow or anger over the good fortune, reputation, the virtues, or the possessions of another. The Envious man may simmer in hatred or engage in acts to sabotage or diminish the success of others, often feeling perverse joy at the misfortune of another.
The Virtue of Responsibility/Duty
Responsibility/Duty is the good habit of a man by which he strives to justly to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of his core identity and vocation as a Catholic Son/Father and his occupation/work in society and accepting the just consequences for his actions or failure to act. The Dutiful man does his best to live up to the expectations and requirements of his vocation and enjoys the self-mastery of personal excellence and the satisfaction of living up to his noble purpose.
The opposing vice of Responsibility/Duty is primary the vice of Unreliability, the habit of not living up to his commitments and responsibilities, unjustly depriving others what he owes to him by his vocation and being unwilling to make reparations when he fails another. The Unreliable man, who is indifferent to others, experiences the lack of close relationships with those he lets down and, longer term, will face the anxiety and shame as he and others recognize his failures as a man.
The Virtue of Defense/Protection
Defense/Protection is the good habit of a man who responds to unjust attacks upon himself, his family and friends, his country or when he witnesses aggression on the weak by anticipating and preparing himself to be effective when various foreseeable attacks occur. The man who is a Protector enjoys the satisfaction of being well-prepared to stand up against evil and that others can and do count on his protection.
The opposing vices of Defense/Protection include the bad habits of Unjust Aggression by which a man attacks others unjustly out of malice or desire to possess another’s goods (Verbal or Physical Assault, Murder) and Unjust Pacifism by which a man holds to a false pacifism, is cowardly, indifferent or apathetic, causing him to fail to justly protect those in his care or the weak when they are unjustly attacked. The man who fails to build the virtue of Defense/Protection experiences anxiety of a lack of preparedness and ultimately the guilt and shame of his failure to defend those whom he might have protected.
Article 10
Charity
Part 1: Love of God
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.
Charity
Part 1: Love of God
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Essentially the perfection of the Christian life consists in charity, first and foremost in the love of God, then in the love of neighbor.” Those words are merely an echo of what Our Lord had already said over a thousand years before: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
St. Augustine comments: “All is contained in these brief words: ‘Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with thy soul, and with all thy strength: and love thy neighbor as thyself.’” St. Bernard adds: “God must be loved first, in order that one’s neighbor, too, may be loved in God.” And St. Alphonsus Liguori warns: “He who does not acquire the love of God will scarcely persevere in the grace of God, for it is very difficult to renounce sin merely through fear of chastisement.” Whereas St. Thérèse of Lisieux points out: “If the greatest sinner on Earth should repent at the moment of death, and draw his last breath in an act of love; neither the many graces he had abused, nor the many sins he had committed would stand in his way. Our Lord would receive him into His mercy.”
However, the love of God cannot be practiced without renouncing inordinate self-love. Our excessive love of self gets in the way of practicing a true love of God. St. Peter Claver says: “To love God as He ought to be loved, we must be detached from all temporal love. We must love nothing but Him, or if we love anything else, we must love it only for His sake.”
Here are some extracts from a book by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, entitled On Loving God:
St. Bernard on the Love of God
Here are some extracts from a book by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, entitled On Loving God:
You want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much. I answer, the reason for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is immeasurable love. Is this plain? Without doubt to a thoughtful man! A word to the wise is sufficient―but not everyone is thoughtful and wise! Therefore I set myself joyfully to explain more in detail what is meant above and I will address a word to the unwise also.
We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable. When one asks, “Why should I love God?” ―he may mean, “What is loveable in God?” or “What shall I gain by loving God?” In either case, the same sufficient cause of love exists, namely, God Himself.
And first, of His title to our love. Could any title be greater than this, that He gave Himself for us unworthy wretches? And being God, what better gift could He offer than Himself? Hence, if one seeks for God’s claim upon our love here is the chiefest: “Because He first loved us” (1 John 4.19).
Ought He not to be loved in return, when we think who loved, whom He loved, and how much He loved? For who is He that loved? The same of whom every spirit testifies: “Thou art my God! My goods are nothing unto Thee!” (Psalm 16:2, Vulg.). And is not His love that wonderful charity which “seeks not her own”? (1 Corinthians 13.5). But for whom was such unutterable love made manifest? The Apostle tells us: “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5.10). So it was God who loved us, loved us freely, and loved us while yet we were enemies.
And how great was this love of His? St. John answers: “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16). St. Paul adds: “He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8.32); and the son says of Himself: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13).
This is the claim which God the holy, the supreme, the omnipotent, has upon men, defiled and base and weak. Someone may urge that this is true of mankind, but not of angels. True, since for angels it was not needful. He who succored men in their time of need, preserved angels from such need; and even as His love for sinful men wrought wondrously in them so that they should not remain sinful, so that same love which in equal measure He poured out upon angels kept them altogether free from sin.
St. Augustine comments: “All is contained in these brief words: ‘Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with thy soul, and with all thy strength: and love thy neighbor as thyself.’” St. Bernard adds: “God must be loved first, in order that one’s neighbor, too, may be loved in God.” And St. Alphonsus Liguori warns: “He who does not acquire the love of God will scarcely persevere in the grace of God, for it is very difficult to renounce sin merely through fear of chastisement.” Whereas St. Thérèse of Lisieux points out: “If the greatest sinner on Earth should repent at the moment of death, and draw his last breath in an act of love; neither the many graces he had abused, nor the many sins he had committed would stand in his way. Our Lord would receive him into His mercy.”
However, the love of God cannot be practiced without renouncing inordinate self-love. Our excessive love of self gets in the way of practicing a true love of God. St. Peter Claver says: “To love God as He ought to be loved, we must be detached from all temporal love. We must love nothing but Him, or if we love anything else, we must love it only for His sake.”
Here are some extracts from a book by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, entitled On Loving God:
St. Bernard on the Love of God
Here are some extracts from a book by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, entitled On Loving God:
You want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much. I answer, the reason for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is immeasurable love. Is this plain? Without doubt to a thoughtful man! A word to the wise is sufficient―but not everyone is thoughtful and wise! Therefore I set myself joyfully to explain more in detail what is meant above and I will address a word to the unwise also.
We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable. When one asks, “Why should I love God?” ―he may mean, “What is loveable in God?” or “What shall I gain by loving God?” In either case, the same sufficient cause of love exists, namely, God Himself.
And first, of His title to our love. Could any title be greater than this, that He gave Himself for us unworthy wretches? And being God, what better gift could He offer than Himself? Hence, if one seeks for God’s claim upon our love here is the chiefest: “Because He first loved us” (1 John 4.19).
Ought He not to be loved in return, when we think who loved, whom He loved, and how much He loved? For who is He that loved? The same of whom every spirit testifies: “Thou art my God! My goods are nothing unto Thee!” (Psalm 16:2, Vulg.). And is not His love that wonderful charity which “seeks not her own”? (1 Corinthians 13.5). But for whom was such unutterable love made manifest? The Apostle tells us: “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5.10). So it was God who loved us, loved us freely, and loved us while yet we were enemies.
And how great was this love of His? St. John answers: “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16). St. Paul adds: “He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8.32); and the son says of Himself: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13).
This is the claim which God the holy, the supreme, the omnipotent, has upon men, defiled and base and weak. Someone may urge that this is true of mankind, but not of angels. True, since for angels it was not needful. He who succored men in their time of need, preserved angels from such need; and even as His love for sinful men wrought wondrously in them so that they should not remain sinful, so that same love which in equal measure He poured out upon angels kept them altogether free from sin.
Article 11
Charity
Part 2: Love of Neighbor
Charity
Part 2: Love of Neighbor
The Sinner’s Guide
Venerable Louis of Granada
Chapter 41: Man’s Duty to his Neighbor
Man’s duty towards his neighbor is embraced in the practice of charity and mercy. Read Holy Scriptures and you will appreciate the importance of these virtues. The writings of the prophets, Apostles, and evangelists abound with counsels concerning them.
God teaches us in Isaias that one of the duties of justice is charity to our neighbor. Thus when the Jews exclaimed: “Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded; have we humbled our souls, and thou hast not taken notice?” God answers: “In the day of your fast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors. You fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly. Is this such a fast as I have chosen? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen ― loosen the bands of wickedness; undo the bundles that oppress; let them that are broken go free; and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and homeless into thy house. When thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear, and give thee rest continually, and fill thy soul with brightness.” (Isaias 58). The prophet continues to the end of the chapter to declare the blessings with which God will reward this charity to our neighbor.
Behold how highly the great Apostle extols the virtue of charity; how strongly he recommends it; how minutely he enumerates its advantages. He gives it the first place among the virtues, and tells us that it is the bond of perfection, the end of the commandments, and the fulfillment of the law, (Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13; Colossian 3:14; 1 Timothy 1:5; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14).
It would be difficult to say more in praise of charity. Certainly these words of the Apostle must suffice to make you love and practice this virtue, if you desire to be pleasing to God.
Charity was also a favorite virtue with the beloved disciple. He frequently mentions it in his epistles, with the highest praise and commendation. And not only in his writings but in his discourse did he display the same devotedness to this virtue. So frequently did he repeat to his disciples the touching words, “My little children, love one another,” that at last, as St. Jerome tells us, they became somewhat weary of always hearing the same, and asked him: “Good master, why do you always give us this one command?” His answer, says St. Jerome, was worthy of John: “Because it is the command of the Lord; and if you do this alone it will suffice.” (De Scriptoribus Eccles.).
Without doubt, therefore, he who desires to please God must fulfill this great precept of charity, not only in word but also in deed, “He that hath the substance of this world,” says St. John, “and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18).
Among the works comprised in charity to our neighbor the following are the most important: advice, counsel, succor, forbearance, pardon, edification. These are so strongly linked with charity that the practice of them indicates the progress we have made in the practice of charity.
There are Christians who pretend to love their neighbor, but their charity goes no further than words. Others are willing to give advice, but no more substantial proof of their charity. Others will perform both these duties, but will not refrain from resenting an injury, or will refuse to bear with the infirmities of their neighbor, forgetting that the Apostle tells us: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians. 6:2).
Others, again, while not resenting an injury, continue to harbor it in their hearts and will not freely pardon it. Finally, many fulfill all these obligations, yet in their words or conduct they fail to give their neighbor that edification which is the most important duty of charity. Let us diligently examine our hearts and our actions, and learn how far we fulfill the precepts of this virtue.
It may be said that he who simply loves his neighbor possesses the first degree of charity; he who gives him good counsel possesses the second; he who assists him in poverty or distress possesses the third; he who patiently bears an injury possesses the fourth; he who freely pardons it, the fifth; and he who in addition to all these fulfills the duty of edification to his neighbor has attained the highest degree of charity.
The works of which we have just been treating are what are called positive acts of charity, which teach us what we ought to do for our neighbor. Besides these there are others, called negative duties, which indicate what we must avoid in our intercourse with our neighbor. Such are judging rashly, speaking evil, using abusive or insulting language, injuring his honor or reputation, and giving scandal by words or evil counsel. If you would fulfill the law of charity, avoid all these.
To reduce to practice what we have said, let your love for your neighbor be like that of a mother for her child. See with what devotion a good mother cares for her child; how prudently she counsels him in danger; how faithfully she assists him in his necessities; how ingenious she is in regard to his faults, sometimes patiently bearing them, at other times justly punishing them, or again prudently ignoring them. How earnestly she rejoices in his prosperity; how deeply she grieves at his misfortune as if it were her own! How zealous she is for his honor and advancement; how fervently she prays for him; how cheerfully she denies herself to give to him; how utterly she forgets herself in her care of him! Your charity would be perfect did it resemble this. Though you may not attain this degree, you must nevertheless aspire to it, for the higher you aim the more noble will be your conduct.
You will doubtless urge that you cannot feel such affection for one who is a stranger to you. But you should not regard your neighbor as a stranger. Behold in him rather the image of God, the work of His Divine hands, and a living member of Christ. (Cf. Romans 12:5). Hence St. Paul tells us that when we sin against our neighbor we sin against Christ. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 8:12). Look on your neighbor, therefore, not as a man but as Christ Himself, or one of His living members; for though he is not so in body, he is truly so by participation in the spirit of Christ, and by the reward which is promised to us, for Christ assures us that He will consider as done to Himself all that we do to our neighbor.
Think of the affection which ties of blood establish between creatures, and blush to let nature influence you more powerfully than grace. You will doubtless urge that your relatives are descended with you from the same ancestor, and that the same blood flows in your veins. Remember, however, that there are closer and stronger bonds uniting us as brethren in Christ. In God we have one Father; in the Church one mother; and in Jesus Christ one Lord and Savior. One faith springs from the same source which enlightens all Christians and distinguishes them from the rest of men.
The object of our hope is the same kingdom, where we shall have but one heart and one soul. Baptism has made us children of the same Father, brothers and heirs of the same inheritance. Our souls are nourished with the same Food, the adorable Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes us one with Himself. Finally, we are united in a participation of the same Holy Spirit, who dwells in us by Faith alone, or by the union of Faith and grace, communicating to us life and strength. Behold the union which exists between the members of the same body, however diverse their functions, because they are animated by one soul! How much greater should be the union between the faithful who are animated by the same Divine Spirit, the Holy Ghost Himself!
But, above all, ever keep before your eyes the incomparable example of Our Savior’s love for us. Why did He love us with so much tenderness, devotion, and generosity, if not to encourage us by His example, and oblige us by His benefits faithfully to fulfill the precept which He has imposed upon us? “A new commandment I give unto you,” were His parting words to His Apostles on the night before He suffered; “that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 13:34).
Venerable Louis of Granada
Chapter 41: Man’s Duty to his Neighbor
Man’s duty towards his neighbor is embraced in the practice of charity and mercy. Read Holy Scriptures and you will appreciate the importance of these virtues. The writings of the prophets, Apostles, and evangelists abound with counsels concerning them.
God teaches us in Isaias that one of the duties of justice is charity to our neighbor. Thus when the Jews exclaimed: “Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded; have we humbled our souls, and thou hast not taken notice?” God answers: “In the day of your fast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors. You fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly. Is this such a fast as I have chosen? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen ― loosen the bands of wickedness; undo the bundles that oppress; let them that are broken go free; and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and homeless into thy house. When thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear, and give thee rest continually, and fill thy soul with brightness.” (Isaias 58). The prophet continues to the end of the chapter to declare the blessings with which God will reward this charity to our neighbor.
Behold how highly the great Apostle extols the virtue of charity; how strongly he recommends it; how minutely he enumerates its advantages. He gives it the first place among the virtues, and tells us that it is the bond of perfection, the end of the commandments, and the fulfillment of the law, (Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13; Colossian 3:14; 1 Timothy 1:5; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14).
It would be difficult to say more in praise of charity. Certainly these words of the Apostle must suffice to make you love and practice this virtue, if you desire to be pleasing to God.
Charity was also a favorite virtue with the beloved disciple. He frequently mentions it in his epistles, with the highest praise and commendation. And not only in his writings but in his discourse did he display the same devotedness to this virtue. So frequently did he repeat to his disciples the touching words, “My little children, love one another,” that at last, as St. Jerome tells us, they became somewhat weary of always hearing the same, and asked him: “Good master, why do you always give us this one command?” His answer, says St. Jerome, was worthy of John: “Because it is the command of the Lord; and if you do this alone it will suffice.” (De Scriptoribus Eccles.).
Without doubt, therefore, he who desires to please God must fulfill this great precept of charity, not only in word but also in deed, “He that hath the substance of this world,” says St. John, “and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18).
Among the works comprised in charity to our neighbor the following are the most important: advice, counsel, succor, forbearance, pardon, edification. These are so strongly linked with charity that the practice of them indicates the progress we have made in the practice of charity.
There are Christians who pretend to love their neighbor, but their charity goes no further than words. Others are willing to give advice, but no more substantial proof of their charity. Others will perform both these duties, but will not refrain from resenting an injury, or will refuse to bear with the infirmities of their neighbor, forgetting that the Apostle tells us: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians. 6:2).
Others, again, while not resenting an injury, continue to harbor it in their hearts and will not freely pardon it. Finally, many fulfill all these obligations, yet in their words or conduct they fail to give their neighbor that edification which is the most important duty of charity. Let us diligently examine our hearts and our actions, and learn how far we fulfill the precepts of this virtue.
It may be said that he who simply loves his neighbor possesses the first degree of charity; he who gives him good counsel possesses the second; he who assists him in poverty or distress possesses the third; he who patiently bears an injury possesses the fourth; he who freely pardons it, the fifth; and he who in addition to all these fulfills the duty of edification to his neighbor has attained the highest degree of charity.
The works of which we have just been treating are what are called positive acts of charity, which teach us what we ought to do for our neighbor. Besides these there are others, called negative duties, which indicate what we must avoid in our intercourse with our neighbor. Such are judging rashly, speaking evil, using abusive or insulting language, injuring his honor or reputation, and giving scandal by words or evil counsel. If you would fulfill the law of charity, avoid all these.
To reduce to practice what we have said, let your love for your neighbor be like that of a mother for her child. See with what devotion a good mother cares for her child; how prudently she counsels him in danger; how faithfully she assists him in his necessities; how ingenious she is in regard to his faults, sometimes patiently bearing them, at other times justly punishing them, or again prudently ignoring them. How earnestly she rejoices in his prosperity; how deeply she grieves at his misfortune as if it were her own! How zealous she is for his honor and advancement; how fervently she prays for him; how cheerfully she denies herself to give to him; how utterly she forgets herself in her care of him! Your charity would be perfect did it resemble this. Though you may not attain this degree, you must nevertheless aspire to it, for the higher you aim the more noble will be your conduct.
You will doubtless urge that you cannot feel such affection for one who is a stranger to you. But you should not regard your neighbor as a stranger. Behold in him rather the image of God, the work of His Divine hands, and a living member of Christ. (Cf. Romans 12:5). Hence St. Paul tells us that when we sin against our neighbor we sin against Christ. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 8:12). Look on your neighbor, therefore, not as a man but as Christ Himself, or one of His living members; for though he is not so in body, he is truly so by participation in the spirit of Christ, and by the reward which is promised to us, for Christ assures us that He will consider as done to Himself all that we do to our neighbor.
Think of the affection which ties of blood establish between creatures, and blush to let nature influence you more powerfully than grace. You will doubtless urge that your relatives are descended with you from the same ancestor, and that the same blood flows in your veins. Remember, however, that there are closer and stronger bonds uniting us as brethren in Christ. In God we have one Father; in the Church one mother; and in Jesus Christ one Lord and Savior. One faith springs from the same source which enlightens all Christians and distinguishes them from the rest of men.
The object of our hope is the same kingdom, where we shall have but one heart and one soul. Baptism has made us children of the same Father, brothers and heirs of the same inheritance. Our souls are nourished with the same Food, the adorable Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes us one with Himself. Finally, we are united in a participation of the same Holy Spirit, who dwells in us by Faith alone, or by the union of Faith and grace, communicating to us life and strength. Behold the union which exists between the members of the same body, however diverse their functions, because they are animated by one soul! How much greater should be the union between the faithful who are animated by the same Divine Spirit, the Holy Ghost Himself!
But, above all, ever keep before your eyes the incomparable example of Our Savior’s love for us. Why did He love us with so much tenderness, devotion, and generosity, if not to encourage us by His example, and oblige us by His benefits faithfully to fulfill the precept which He has imposed upon us? “A new commandment I give unto you,” were His parting words to His Apostles on the night before He suffered; “that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 13:34).
Article 12
Fidelity
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.
Fidelity
This article is currently being written. Sections will be posted as they are written. Please check back later.