The nun sanctified by the virtues of her state
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| 1 " Vidit . . . quod bonum esset, . . . et pulchrum oculis, aspectuque delectabile, et tulit." Gen. iii. 6. 2 " Nostris tantum initiis opus habet." 3 " Per oculos intrat ad mentem sagitta amoris." De modo bate viv. s. 23. 4 " Oculus meus deprædatus est animam meam." Lam. iii. 51. 5 " Deprimendi sunt oculi, quasi quidam raptores ad culpam." Mor. J. 21, c. 2. 6 " Pulchritudo ejus captivam fecit animam ejus." Judith, xvi. 11
Seneca says that " blindness is a part of innocence." 1 And Tertullian relates 2 that a certain pagan philosopher, to free himself from impurity, plucked out his eyes. Such an act would be unlawful in us: but he that desires to preserve chastity must avoid the sight of objects that are apt to excite unchaste thoughts. Gaze not about, says the Holy Ghost, upon another s beauty; . . . hereby lust is enkindled as a fire. 3 Gaze not upon another s beauty; for from looks arise evil imaginations, by which an impure fire is lighted up. Hence St. Francis de Sales used to say, that "they who wish to exclude an enemy from the city must keep the gates locked." Hence, to avoid the sight of dangerous objects, the saints were accustomed to keep their eyes almost continually fixed on the earth, and to abstain even from looking at innocent objects. After being a novice for a year, St. Bernard could not tell whether his cell was vaulted. In consequence of never raising his eyes from the ground, he never knew that there were but three windows to the church of the monastery, in which he spent his novitiate. He once, without perceiving a lake, walked along its banks for nearly an entire day; and hearing his companions speak about it, he asked when they had seen it. St. Peter of Alcantara kept his eyes constantly cast down, so that he did not know the brothers with whom he conversed. It was by the voice, and not by the countenance, that he was able to recognize them. The saints were particularly cautious not to look at persons of a different sex. St. Hugh, bishop, when compelled to speak with women, never looked at them in the face. 75 St. Clare would never fix her eyes on the face of a man. She was greatly afflicted because, when raising her eyes at the elevation to see the consecrated host, she once involuntarily saw the countenance of the priest. St. Aloysius never looked at his own mother in the face. It is related of St. Arsenius, that a noble lady went to visit him in the desert, to beg of him to recommend her to God. When the saint perceived that his visitor was a woman, he turned away from hen She then said to him: " Arsenius, since you will neither see nor hear me, at least remember me in your prayers." " No," replied the saint, " but 1 will beg of God to make me forget you, and never more to think of you." From these examples may be seen the folly and temerity of some religious who, though they have not the sanctity of a St. Clare, still gaze around from the terrace, in the parlour, and in the church, upon every object that presents itself, even on persons of a different sex. And notwithstanding their unguarded looks, they expect to be free from temptations and from the danger of sin. For having once looked deliberately at a woman who was gathering ears of corn, the Abbot Pastor was tormented for forty years by temptations against chastity. St. Gregory states that 1 the temptation, to conquer which St. Benedict rolled himself in thorns, arose from one incautious glance at a woman. St. Jerome, 2 though living in a cave at Bethlehem, in continual prayer and macerations of the flesh, was terribly molested by the remembrance of ladies whom he had long before seen in Rome. Why should not similar molestations be the lot of the religious who wilfully and without reserve fixes her eyes on persons of a different sex? " It is not," says St. Francis de Sales, " the seeing of objects so much as the fixing of our eyes upon them that proves most pernicious." 1 Dial. 1. 2, c. 2. 2 Ep. ad Eustoch. 1" Pans innocentire, cœcitas." DC Remed, fort. 2 Apolog. c. 46. 3 "Ne circumspicias speciem alienam; ... ex hoc concupiscentia, quasi ignis, exardescit." Ecclus. ix. 8, 9. "If," says St. Augustine, " our eyes should by chance fall upon others, let us take care never to fix them upon any one." 1 Father Manareo, when taking leave of St. Ignatius for a distant place, looked steadfastly in his face: for this look he was corrected by the saint. 2 From the conduct of St. Ignatius on this occasion, we learn that it was not becoming in religious to fix their eyes on the countenance of a person even of the same sex, particularly if the person is young. But I do not see how looks at young persons of a different sex can be excused from the guilt of a venial fault, or even from mortal sin, when there is proximate danger of criminal consent. " It is not lawful," says St. Gregory, " to behold what it is not lawful to covet." 3 The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. Brother Roger, a Franciscan of singular purity, being once asked why he was so reserved in his intercourse with women, replied, that when men avoid the occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions. The indulgence of the eyes, if not productive of any other evil, at least destroys recollection during the time of prayer. For, the images and impressions caused by the objects seen before, or by the wandering of the eyes, during prayer, will occasion a thousand distractions, and banish all recollection from the soul. It is certain that without recollection a religious can pay but little attention to the practice of humility, patience, mortification, or of the other virtues. Hence it is her duty to abstain from all looks of curiosity, which distract her mind from holy thoughts. Let her eyes be directed only to objects which raise the soul to God. 1 " Oculi vestri, etsi jaciuntur in aliquam, figantur in nulla." Reg. ad serv. D. n. 6. 2 Lancicius, De ext. corp. comp. n. 304. 3 " Intueri non licet, quod non licet concupiscere." St. Bernard used to say, that to fix the eyes upon the earth contributes to keep the heart in heaven. "Where," says St. Gregory, " Christ is, there modesty is found." 1 Wherever Jesus Christ dwells by love, there modesty is practised. However, I do not mean to say that the eyes should never be raised or never fixed on any object. No; but they ought to be directed only to what inspires devotion, to sacred images, and to the beauty of creation, which elevate the soul to the contemplation of the divinity. Except in looking at such objects, a religious should in general keep the eyes cast down, and particularly in places where they may fall upon dangerous objects. In conversing with men, she should never roll the eyes about to look at them, and much less to look at them a second time. To practise modesty of the eyes is the duty of a religious, not only because it is necessary for her own improvement in virtue, but also because it is necessary for the edification of others. God only knows the human heart: man sees only the exterior actions, and by them he is edified or scandalized. A man, says the Holy Ghost, is known by his look 2 By the countenance the interior is known. Hence, like St. John the Baptist, a religious should be a burning and shining light 3 She ought to be a torch burning with charity, and shining resplendent by her modesty, to all who 76 behold her. To religious the following words of the Apostle are particularly applicable: We are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men." 4 And again: Let your modesty be known to all men: the Lord is nigh5 1 " Ubi Christus est, modestia est." Ep. ad Dioclem. 2 " Ex visu cognoscitur vir." Ecclus. xix. 26. 3 " Lucerna ardens et lucens." John, v. 35. 4 " Spectaculum facti sunnis mundo, et Angelis et hominibus." i Cor. iv. 9. 5 " Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus; Dominus prope esu" Phil. iv. 5. Religious are attentively observed by the angels and by men; and therefore their modesty should be made manifest before all; if they do not practise modesty, terrible shall be the account which they must render to God on the day of judgment. Oh ! what devotion does a modest religious inspire, what edification does she give, by keeping her eyes always cast down ! St. Francis of Assisi once said to his companion, that he was going out to preach. After walking through the town, with his eyes fixed on the ground, he returned to the convent. His companion asked him when he would preach the sermon. We have, replied the saint, by the modesty of our looks, given an excellent instruction to all who saw us. It is related of St. Aloysius, that when he walked through Rome the students would stand in the streets to observe and admire his great modesty. St. Ambrose says, that to men of the world the modesty of the saints is a powerful exhortation to amendment of life. "The look of a just man is an admonition to many." The saint adds: "How delightful it is to do good to others by your appearance !" " It is related of St. Bernardine of Sienna, that even when a secular, his presence was sufficient to restrain the licentiousness of his young companions, who, as soon as they saw him, were accustomed to give to one another notice that he was coming. On his arrival they became silent or changed the subject of their conversation. It is also related of St. Gregory of Nyssa, and of St. Ephrem, that their very appearance inspired piety, and that the sanctity and modesty of their exterior edified and improved all that beheld them. When Innocent II. visited St. Bernard at Clairvaux, such was the exterior modesty of the saint and of his monks, that the Pope and his cardinals were moved to tears of devotion. Surius 3 relates a very extraordinary fact of St. Lucian, a monk and martyr. By his modesty he induced so many pagans to embrace the faith, that the Emperor Maximian. fearing that he should be converted to Christianity by the appearance of the saint, would not allow the holy man to be brought within his view, but spoke to him from behind a screen. 1 Plerisque justi aspectus admonitio est." 2 " Quam pulchrum ergo, si videaris, et prosis !" In Ps. cxviii. s. 10. 3 Die 1 Jan. 1" Et ipse elevatis oculis in discipulos . . . " Luke, vi. 20. 2" Cum sublevasset ergo oculos Jesus. . . ."John, vi. 5. 3 "Obsecro vos per mansuetudinem et modestiam Christ!." 2 Cor. x. i. 4 Serm. de Ascesi. 5" Averte oculos meos, ne videant vanitatem." Ps. cxviii. 37. That our Redeemer was the first who taught, by his example, modesty of the eyes, may, as a learned author remarks, be inferred from the holy evangelists, who say that on some occasion he raised his eyes. And he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples 1 When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes. 2 From these passages we may conclude that the Redeemer ordinarily kept his eyes cast down. Hence the Apostle, praising the modesty of the Saviour, says: I beseech you, by the mildness and modesty of Christ. 3 I shall conclude this subject with what St. Basil said to his monks: If, my children, we desire to raise the soul towards heaven, let us direct the eyes towards the earth. 4 From the moment we awake in the morning, let us pray continually in the words of holy David: Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity.5 2. MODESTY IN GENERAL. We must practise modesty, not only in our looks, but also in our whole deportment, and particularly in our dress, our walk, our conversation, and all similar actions: I. Modesty of dress is not incompatible with neatness or cleanliness. But how disedifying is the conduct of the religious who attends too much to the neatness of her person and to the fineness or richness of her apparel, who wears superfluous ornaments, whose dress is made in a manner apt to attract notice, and whose whole appearance exhibits worldly vanity ! Speaking of seculars, St. Cyprian says that "women decorated with gold, necklaces, and precious stones lose the ornaments of the soul."1 What would the saint have thought of the religious who imitates worldlings in the vanity of her dress ? " The ornaments of a woman are," says St. Gregory Nazianzen, " to be conspicuous for probity; to converse with the divine oracles; to seek wool and take hold of the spindle; and to keep a restraint on her eyes and on her lips." 2 Yes, the ornaments of holy women are probity of life; continual conversation with God by prayer; constant labor; and a perpetual guard over the eyes and tongue, by modesty and by silence. II. A religious should be modest in her walk. " Let your gait," says St. Basil, " be neither slow nor vehement." 3 Your walk, to be modest, must be grave, neither too quick nor too slow. 77 III. A religious must practise modesty in sitting. She must avoid every slothful posture; she must abstain from crossing her feet, and from putting one limb on the other. IV. She must be modest at meals, by taking her food without avidity, and without rolling her eyes around in all directions, as if to observe how and what the others eat. V. Above all, a religious must be modest in her conversation, by abstaining from all the words unbecoming the religious state. She must be persuaded that all words that savour of the world are indecorous in a religious. 1 " Auro, margaritis, et monilibus adornatæ, ornamenta cordis perdiderunt." De Disc, et Hab. virg. 2 Mulierum ornamentum est probitate florere, colloquium cum divinis oraculis habere, fuso et lanae operam dare, oculis et labiis vinculum injicere." Adv. mul. se orn. 3 " Incessus sit nec segnis nec vehemens." Ep. 1 ad Greg. "If," says St. Basil, " a worldling make use of scurrilous expressions, he is not noticed. But if a man who professes to lead a perfect life appear to depart in the slightest degree from his duty, he is instantly remarked by all." 1 In a secular, no one observes indecent words, because they are common in the world; but if religious who profess to aspire to sanctity be guilty of the smallest impropriety, universal attention is immediately directed to their conduct. To observe modesty in words at the common recreations, you must attend to the following rules: 1. You must abstain from all murmurings, even against manifest abuses. 2. You must never interrupt the person that is speaking. And, says the Holy Ghost, interrupt not others in the midst of their discourse? How scandalous is it to see a religious engrossing to herself the whole conversation 2 to see her ready to stop the sisters in the middle of a word, or of a sentence, and thus show her pride by pretending to know everything, and constituting herself mistress of all ! Such conduct is a source of great annoyance to all that join in the conversation. However, every religious should speak occasionally during the hours of recreation, and particularly when the others are silent; for, should all abstain from speaking, the end of the rule which prescribes recreation would be frustrated. But modesty requires, particularly from the young, that, after speaking as much as will be necessary for the ends of the recreation, they show a stronger inclination to listen than to speak. The best rule, then, is to speak when others are silent, and to be silent when others are speaking. 1 " De vulgo aliquis si scurriles voces emittat, baud facile quisquam attenderit; at qui vitae genus perfectum profitetur, hunc, si latum unguem ab officio suo recedere visus sit, omnes confestim observant. " Reg.fus. disp. int. 22. 2 " In medio sermonimi, ne adjicias loqui." Ecclus. xi. 8. 3. You must abstain from certain jests and jocose remarks on the real and known defects of others; for such jokes offend the persons to whom they are applied. 4. You must never utter a word of self-praise; when you are praised by others, you must raise your heart to God, and change the subject of conversation; and when you are contradicted or ridiculed, you must not be angry. Whenever the companions of St. John Francis Regis made him the subject of their jests at recreation, he endeavoured with great good-humor to keep up the conversation, that, by being the object of their laughter, he might contribute to their amusement. 5. You must speak always in a low tone, and never in such a manner as to offend the ears of others. " Let no one," says St. Ambrose, " offend by too loud a voice." 1 6. You must observe modesty and moderation in laughter. St. Gregory relates, that the Mother of God appeared once to a devout virgin called Musa, and told her that, if she wished to please her, she must restrain immoderate laughter. " They who seek after piety," says St. Basil, " must take care not to pour forth their souls in laughter." 2 All that aspire to perfection should avoid excessive laughter. Moderate laughter, which shows the serenity of the soul, is neither a violation of decorum nor opposed to devotion. A religious should always present an appearance of modesty and devotion, but not of sadness and melancholy. By appearing sad and afflicted she dishonors religion, and gives all who behold her to understand that sanctity, instead of infusing peace and joy, fills the soul with sorrow and melancholy. But by a cheerful countenance she encourages others to the practice of piety. Two courtiers of a certain monarch, having witnessed the joy with which an aged monk remained in solitude, renounced the world, and remained in his retreat. 1 " Ne cujusquam offendat aurem vox fortior." De Offic. 1. i, c. 18. 2" Cavendum est, ab iis qui pietati student, ne in risum effusi sint." Reg. fus. disp. int. 1 7. 7. Lastly, you must not speak of things of the world; such as marriages, feasts, comedies, or of splendid dresses: you must not speak of eating, nor praise or censure the dishes that are brought to table. St. Francis de Sales used to say that " well-behaved persons never think of the table but when they sit at it." When religious hear unseemly 78 discourses, they should, like St. Aloysius, propose some useful question, or take occasion from what is said to introduce some pious subject of conversation. To be able to converse with his companions on spiritual subjects during recreation, he was accustomed to spend, each day, half an hour in reading the life of a saint, or some other book of devotion. When among the juniors, he was the first to introduce a religious subject. When with priests, or with his seniors, he proposed a case of conscience, as if for his own information, and thus succeeded in making the conversation turn upon holy things. In a short time his companions knew that he did not relish any but pious conversation, and therefore they sought on every occasion to gratify his wishes. When they happened to be discoursing on any other subject, when he came among them, they would immediately begin to speak of God. Every one is inclined to speak continually of what he tenderly loves. St. Ignatius of Loyola appeared not to know how to speak of anything but God, and was therefore called the " Father who speaks always of God." Prayer. My Jesus, pardon me, for Thy mercy s sake, the numberless faults which I have committed for want of sufficient modesty, and of which I now repent with my whole heart. All my defects have arisen from my little love of Thee. I acknowledge that I do not deserve mercy; but Thy wounds and Thy death encourage and oblige me to hope. O my God ! how often have I insulted Thee? And with what tenderness hast Thou pardoned all my sins? I have promised to be faithful to Thee, and still I have returned to my sins! Shall I wait till Thou abandon me to my tepidity, and thus to eternal misery? I desire, O Lord, to amend ; and I place all my confidence in Thee, and purpose to seek continually Thy assistance to be faithful to Thee. Hitherto I have trusted in my own resolutions, and have neglected to recommend myself to Thee. This self-confidence and neglect of prayer have been the cause of my past sins. Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me and assist me; give me grace to recommend myself to Thee in all my wants. I love Thee, O my Sovereign Good, and desire to love Thee with all my strength; but without Thee I can do nothing. Give me Thy love : give me holy perseverance. I hope for all things from Thy infinite goodness. O Mary, Mother of God, thou knowest how much I confide in thee ; assist me ; have pity on me. III. The Mortification of the Appetite. St. Andrew Avellini used to say, that he who wishes to advance in perfection should begin zealously to mortify the appetite. " It is impossible," says St. Gregory, " to engage in the spiritual conflict, without the previous subjugation of the appetite." l Father Roggacci, in his " Treatise on the one thing necessary," asserts that the principal part of external mortification consists in the mortification of the palate. Since the mortification of the taste consists in abstinence from food, must we then abstain altogether from eating? No; it is our duty to preserve the life of the body, that we may be able to serve God as long as he wills us to remain on earth. But, as Father Vincent Carafa used to say, we should attend to the body with the same feelings of disgust as a powerful monarch would perform by compulsion the meanest work of a servant. 1 " Non ad conflictum spiritualis agonis assurgitur, si non prius gulæ appetitus eclomatur." Mor. 1. 30, c. 26. " We must," says St. Francis de Sales, " eat, in order to live; but we should not live as if for the purpose of eating." Some, like beasts, appear to live only for the gratification of the palate. "A man," says St. Bernard, " becomes a beast by loving what beasts love." l Who ever, like brute animals, fixes his heart on the indulgence of the appetite, falls from the dignity of a spiritual and rational creature, and sinks to the level of senseless beasts. Unhappy Adam, for the pleasure of eating an apple, is " compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them." In another place, St. Bernard says that, on seeing Adam forget his God and his eternal salvation, for the momentary gratification of his palate, the beasts of the fields, if they could speak, would exclaim: "Behold Adam is become one of us." 2 Hence, St. Catharine of Sienna used to say, that " without mortifying the taste, it is impossible to preserve innocence, since it was by the indulgence of his appetite that Adam fell." Ah ! how miserable is the condition of those whose God is their belly! 3 How many have lost their souls by intemperance ! In his Dialogues, 4 St. Gregory relates, that in a monastery of Sienna there was a monk who led a very exemplary life. When he was at the point of death, the religious, expecting to be edified by his last moments, gathered around him. " Brethren," said the dying man, "when you fasted, I ate in private, and therefore I have been already delivered over to Satan, who now deprives me of life, and carries away my soul." After these words he expired. The same saint relates 5 in another place, that a certain nun, seeing in the garden a very fine lettuce, pulled and ate it, in opposition to her Rule. 1 " Beluinus est homo, amando talia, qualia belure." 2-“Puto, jumenta dicerent, si loqui fas esset; Ecce Adam factus est quasi unus ex nobis. " In Cant. s. 35. 3" Quorum deus venter est." Phil. iii. 19. 4 Dial. 1. 4, c. 38. 5 Ibid. 1. i, c. 4. 79 She was instantly possessed by a devil, who tormented her grievously. Her companions called to her aid the holy Abbot Equitius, at whose arrival the demon exclaimed: "What evil have I done ? I sat upon the lettuce; she came and ate it." The holy man, by his commands, compelled the evil spirit to depart. In the Cistercian records we read that St. Bernard, once visiting his novices, called aside a brother whose name was Acardo, and said that a certain novice, to whom he pointed, would on that day fly from the monastery. The saint begged of Acardo to watch the novice, and to prevent his escape. On the following night, Acardo saw a demon approach the novice, and by the savoury smell of a roasted fowl tempt him to desire forbidden food. The unhappy young man awoke, and, yielding to the temptation, took his clothes and prepared to leave the monastery. Acardo endeavoured in vain to convince him of the dangers to which he would be exposed in the world. Overcome by gluttony, the unhappy man obstinately resolved to return to the world: there, the narrator adds, he died miserably. Let us then take care not to be conquered by this brutal vice. St. Augustine says, 1 that food is necessary for the support of life; but, like medicine, it should be taken only through necessity. Intemperance is very injurious to the body as well as to the soul. It is certain that excess in eating is the cause of almost all the diseases of the body. Apoplexy, diarrhoea, headaches, complaints of the stomach and bowels, and innumerable other maladies, spring from the immoderate use of food. But the diseases of the body are only a small part of the evils that flow from intemperance; its effects on the soul are tar more disastrous. 1 Conf. 1. 10, c. 31. |