The nun sanctified by the virtues of her state
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| This vice, according to St. Thomas, in the first place, darkens the soul, and renders it unfit for spiritual exercises, but particularly for mental prayer. As fasting prepares the mind for the contemplation of God and of eternal goods, so intemperance diverts it from holy thoughts. St. John Chrysostom says that the glutton, like an overloaded ship, moves with difficulty, and that in the first tempest of temptation he is in danger of being lost. " Take," says St. Bernard, " even bread with moderation, lest a loaded stomach should make you weary of prayer." 1 And again he says: " If you compel a person who takes a heavy meal to watch, you will extort from him wailing rather than singing." 2 Hence it is the duty of religious to eat sparingly, and particularly at supper: for in the evening a false appetite is frequently created by the acid that is produced by the food taken at dinner. Whoever satisfies his appetite in the evening, is exposed to great danger of excess; and in consequence of indigestion will frequently feel his stomach overburdened in the morning, and his head so stupid and confused that he will not be able to say a " Hail Mary." Do not imagine that the Almighty will, at the time of prayer, infuse his consolations into the souls of those who, like senseless beasts, seek delight in the indulgence of the appetite. "Divine consolation," says St. Bernard, "is not given to those that admit any other delight." : Celestial consolations are not bestowed on those that go in search of earthly pleasures. 1 Panem ipsum cum mensura studebo sumere, ne, onerato ventre, stare ad orandum taedeat." in Cant. s. 66. 2" Si ad vigilias surgere indigestum cogis, non cantum, sed planctiim potius extorquebis." Apol. ad Guill. c. 9. 3" Divina consolatio non tribuitur admittentibus alienam." De vit. et Mor. cler. c. 21.
Besides, he that gratifies the taste will readily indulge the other senses; for, having lost the spirit of recollection, he will easily commit faults, by indecent words and by unbecoming gestures. But the greatest evil of intemperance is, that it exposes chastity to great danger. "Repletion of the stomach," says St. Jerome, " is the hotbed of lust."1 Excess in eating is a powerful incentive to incontinence. Hence, Cassian says that "it is impossible for him who satiates his appetite not to experience conflicts." 2 The intemperate cannot expect to be free from temptations against purity. To preserve chastity, the saints practised the most rigorous mortifications of the appetite. "The devil," says St. Thomas, "vanquished by temperance, does not tempt to lust." 3 When his temptations to indulge the palate are conquered he ceases to provoke incontinence. He that attends to the abnegation of the appetite makes continual progress in virtue. That the mortification of the palate will facilitate the conquest of the other senses, and enable us to employ them in acts of virtue, may be inferred from the following prayer of the Church: "Q God, who by this bodily fast extinguishest our vices, elevatest our understanding, bestowest on us virtue and its reward, etc." 4 By fasting, the Lord enables the soul to subdue her vices, to raise her affections above the earth, to practise virtue, and to acquire merits for eternity. Worldlings say: God has created the goods of this earth for our use and pleasure. Such is not the language of the saints. 1 " Ventris saturitas seminarium libidinis est." Adv. Jovin. 1. 2. 2 " Impossibile est saturum ventrem pugnas non experiri." De Can. inst. 1. 5, c. 13. 3 " Diabolus, victus de gula, non tentat de libidine." 4 " Deus, qui corporali jejunio vitia comprimis, mentem elevas, virentem largiris et præmia." Preface of Lent. The Venerable Vincent Carafa, of the Society of Jesus, used to say, that God has given us the goods of the earth, not only that we may enjoy them, but also that we may have the means of thanking him, and showing him our love 80 by the voluntary renunciation of his gifts, and by the oblation of them to his glory. To abandon, for God’s sake, all worldly enjoyments, has always been the practice of holy souls. The ancient monks, as St. Jerome 1 relates, thought it a great defect to make use of food dressed with fire Their daily sustenance consisted of a pound of bread St Aloysius, though always sickly, fasted three times in the week on bread and water. St. Francis Xavier during his missions was satisfied each day with a few grains of toasted rice. St. John Francis Regis, in the great fatigues of his missions took no other food than a little flour steeped in water. The daily support of St. Peter of Alcantara was but a small quantity of broth. We read in the life of the Venerable Brother John Joseph of the Cross, who lived in our own days, and with whom I was intimately acquainted, that for twenty-four years he fasted very often on bread and water, and never ate anything but bread and a little herbs or fruit. When commanded, on account of his infirmities, to use warm food, he took only bread dipped in broth. When the physician ordered him to take a little wine, he mixed it with his broth to increase the insipidity of his scanty repast. I do not mean to say, that to attain sanctity it is necessary for nuns to imitate these examples; but I assert that whoever is attached to the pleasures of the table, or does not seriously attend to the mortification of the appetite, will never make any considerable progress in perfection. In religious Communities there are generally several meals in the day: hence, they who neglect the mortification of the taste will daily commit a thousand faults. 1 Ad Eustoch. Let us now come to the practice of denying the appetite. In what is it to be mortified ? St. Bonaventure answers: " In the quantity, the quality, and the manner" 1 I. In the quality, adds the saint, by seeking not what is delicate, but what is simple. 2 The saint says, in another place, that small is the progress of the religious who is not content with what is offered to her, but requires that it be prepared in a different manner, or seeks more palatable food. A mortified religious is satisfied with what is placed before her; and instead of seeking after delicacies, she selects among all the dishes that may be presented to her, the least palatable, provided it be not prejudicial to health. Such was the practice of St. Aloysius, who always chose what was most disagreeable to the taste. "Wine and flesh," says Clement of Alexandria, "give strength indeed to the body, but they render the soul languid." 3 From the sacred Canons we learn that formerly monks were not permitted even to taste flesh. " To a monk, the privilege of either . taking or of tasting flesh is not granted." 4 Speaking of himself, St. Bernard says: "I abstain from flesh, lest I should cherish the vices of the flesh." 5 Give not wine to kings, says the Wise Man." 6 By kings, in this place, we are to understand, not the monarchs of the earth, but the servants of God, who rule their wicked passions and subject them to reason. In another place Solomon says: Who hath woe? . . . Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups? 7 1 " In qualitate, in quantitate, et modo." DC Prof. rel. 1. 2, c. 47. 2 " Ut non delicata requirat, sed simplicia." 3 "Vinum et carnium sagimen robur quidem adducunt corpori, sed animam reddunt languidam." Strom. 1. 7. 4 " Carnem raonacho nee sumendi nee gustandi est concessa licentia." DC Consccr. d. 5, c. 32. 5" Abstineo a carnibus, ne carnis nutriant vitia." in Cant. s. 66. 6" Noli regibus dare vinum." Prov. xxxi. 4. 7" Cui vae ? . . . nonne his qui commorantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis." Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. Since, then, the word woe, in the Sacred Scriptures, according to St. Gregory, signifies everlasting misery, woe, eternal woe, shall be the lot of all who are addicted to wine ! Because wine is a luxurious thing 1 and incites to incontinence. " My first advice," says St. Jerome, in one of his epistles to the virgin Eustochia, " is, that the spouse of Christ fly from wine as from poison. Wine and youth are a twofold incentive to pleasure." 2 If you desire to preserve the chastity which becomes the spouse of Jesus, avoid wine as poison: wine and youth are a double fire, which kindle the desire of unlawful pleasures. From the words of the holy Doctor we may infer that he who has not enough of courage or of bodily strength to abstain altogether from flesh and from wine, should at least use them with great moderation: otherwise he must be prepared for continual molestation from temptations against purity. A mortified religious would also do well to abstain from superfluous seasonings which serve only to gratify the palate. The seasonings used by the saints were ashes, aloes, and wormwood. I do not require such mortifications of you; nor do I recommend very extraordinary fasts. On the contrary, it is, according to Cassian, 3 the duty of all that are not solitaries, and that live in Community, to avoid, as a source of much vain glory, whatever is not conformable to the common usages of the monastery. " Where," says St. Philip Neri, " there is a common table, all should eat of what is served up." Hence he frequently exhorted his disciples to "avoid all singularity as the origin of spiritual pride." 4 1 " Luxuriosa res vinum." Prov. xx. i. 2 " Hoc primum moneo, ut sponsa Christi vinum fugiat pro veneno; vinum et adolescentia, duplex inoendium voluptatis est." 3 De Cœnob. inst. 1. 5, c. 23. 81 4 Bacci, 1. 2, ch. 14-17. A courageous religious finds opportunities of practising mortification without allowing it to appear to others. St. John Climacus partook of whatever was placed before him; but his refection consisted in tasting rather in eating what was offered to him; and thus, by his abstemiousness, he practised continual mortification of the appetite without the danger of vanity. St. Bernard 1 used to say that he that lives in Community will take more pleasure in fasting once, while his companions at table take their ordinary repast, than in fasting seven times with them. However, religious may, without the danger of vain glory, occasionally perform very rigorous mortifications. For example, by living on bread and water on days of devotion, on Fridays and Saturdays, on the vigils of the Blessed Virgin, and on similar occasions; for such fasts are ordinarily practised by fervent religious. If, on account of bodily infirmity, or through want of fervor you do not practise rigid fasts, you should at least not complain of the common fare; and should be content with whatever is brought to table. St. Thomas never asked for particular food, but was always satisfied with what was placed before him, and ate of it with great moderation. Of St. Ignatius we read that he never refused any dish, and never complained that the food was not well dressed or well seasoned. It is the duty of the Superior to provide the Community with wholesome food, but a religious should never complain when what is laid before her is rare or overdone; when it is scanty, smoked, insipid, or too highly seasoned with salt. The poor, provided they receive what is necessary for the support of life, take what is offered to them without conditions or complaints; and a religious should, in like manner, accept whatever is laid before her as an alms from Almighty God. 1 De Grad. humil. gr. 5. II. With regard to the quantity, St. Bonaventure says that " food ought not to be taken too often, or in excess, but in such a quantity that it may be a refection and not a burden to the body." 1 Hence the rule of all who seek perfection is never to eat to satiety. " Let your repast be moderate," says St. Jerome, "so that the stomach will never be replete." 2 Some religious fast one day and eat to excess on the next. St. Jerome says that it is better to take always a reasonable quantity of food than to fast sometimes, and afterwards to commit excess. The same holy Doctor remarks that satiety is to be avoided in the use, not only of delicacies, but also of the coarsest food. 3 If a nun commit excess, it matters not whether she eat of partridges or of vegetables: the bad effects of her intemperance are the same in both cases. St. Jerome s rule for determining the quantity of food is that a person should always rise from the table in such a state that he may be able to apply immediately to prayer or to study. " When," says the holy Doctor, " you eat, think that it will be your duty to pray or to read immediately after." 4 An ancient Father wisely said, that " he who eats a great deal, and is still hungry, will receive a greater re ward than the man who eats little and is satiated." Cassian 5 relates that to comply with the duty of hospitality a certain monk was one day obliged to sit at table many times with strangers, and to partake of the refreshment prepared for them, and that after all he arose the last time with an appetite. 1 " Ut non nimis et saepius quam decet, ut sit refectio corporis, non onus." 2 "Sit tibi moderatus cibus, et nunquam venter expletus." 3 " Sed et ex vilissimis cibis vitanda satietas est." Adv. Jovin. 1. 2. 4 " Quando comedis, cogita quod statim tibi orandum et legendum sit." Epist. ad furiam. 5 De Cœnob. inst. 1. 5, c. 25. This is the best and most difficult sort of mortification; for it is easier to abstain altogether from certain meats than, after having tasted them, to eat but little. He who desires to practise moderation in eating would do well to diminish his meals gradually till, by experience, he ascertains the quantity of food necessary to support the body. It was in this manner that St. Dorothy trained his disciple, St. Dositheus, to the just practice of mortification. But the most secure means of removing all doubts and scruples with regard to fasts and abstinence is to follow the advice of your director. St. Benedict 1 and after him St. Bernard 2 say that mortifications that are performed without the permission of one’s confessor are not meritorious, because they are the fruit of a criminal presumption : "What is done without the permission of the spiritual Father will be regarded as presumption, and shall not be rewarded." 3 All, but particularly nuns, as we have said above, should make it a general rule to eat sparingly at supper, even when there is some apparent necessity for a plentiful meal; for in the evening all are subject to a false appetite, and therefore a slight excess will occasion, on the following morning, headaches, fullness of the stomach, and by consequence a repugnance and incapacity for all spiritual exercises. 1 Reg. ch. 49. 2 In Cant. s. 19. 3 " Quod sine permissione patris spiritualis fit, præsumptioni deputabitur, non mercedi." Abstinence from drink, except at meals, may be safely observed by all, unless when, in particular circumstances, such as in the heats of summer, the want of liquid might be prejudicial to health. However, St. Laurence Justinian, even in the burning heats of summer, never drank out of meal-time; and to those who asked how he could bear the 82 thirst, he replied: "How shall I be able to bear the burning thirst of purgatory if I cannot now abstain from drink ?" On fasting days the ancient Christians abstained from drink till the hour of their repast, which was always taken in the evening. Such is the practice of the Turks at the present day during their fasts of Lent. We should at least observe the rule that is universally prescribed by physicians, not to take any drink for four or five hours after dinner. III. With regard to the MANNER of eating, St. Bonaventure says that " food should not be taken unseasonably nor inordinately, but religiously." 1 1. Food should not be taken unseasonably; that is, before the hours prescribed for the Community. To a penitent who could not abstain from eating till the hour of meals, St. Philip Neri said: "Child, if you do not correct this defect you will never advance in virtue."2 Blessed, says the Holy Ghost, is the land whose princes eat in due season 3 And happy the monastery whose members never eat out of the hours of meals. When St. Teresa heard that some of her nuns had asked permission from the Provincial to keep eatables in their cells, she reproved them very severely: " Your request," said the saint, " if granted, would lead to the destruction of the monastery." 4 2. To avoid the fault of taking your food inordinately, you must be careful not to eat with avidity, with eagerness, or with haste. Be not greedy in your feasting? says the Holy Ghost. 5 1 " Ut non importune requiratur (cibus), nee inordinate sumatur, sed religiose." 2 Bacci, 1. 2, ch. 14. 3 " Beata terra . . . cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo." Eccles. x. 17. 4 L. to F. G ration, Febr. 27, 1581. 5" Noli avidus esse in omni epulatione." Ecclus. xxxvii. 32. Your object in eating must be to sup port the strength of the body, and to be able to serve the Lord. To eat through mere pleasure cannot be excused from the guilt of venial sin; for Innocent XL 1 has condemned the proposition which asserts that it is not a sin to eat or to drink from the sole motive of satisfying the palate. However, it is not a fault to feel pleasure in eating; for it is, generally speaking, impossible to eat without experiencing the delight which food naturally produces. But it is a defect to eat like beasts through the sole motive of sensual gratification, and without proposing any reasonable end. Hence the most delicious meats may be eaten without sin if the motive be good and worthy of a rational creature; and in taking the coarsest food through attachment to pleasure there may be a fault. In the Lives of the Fathers 2 it is related that though the same food was served to all the monks of a certain monastery, a holy bishop saw some of them feasting on honey, others on bread, and others on mire By this vision he was given to understand that the first ate with a holy fear of violating temperance, and were accustomed at meals to raise their souls to God by holy aspirations; that the second felt some delight in eating, but still returned thanks to God for his benefits; and that the third ate for the mere gratification of the taste. To practise temperance in the manner of eating, you must not perform indiscreet fasts, which would render you unable to serve the Community, or to observe your Rule. Transported with a certain fervor, by which the Almighty animates their zeal for virtue, beginners are often very indiscreet in their fasts and other works of penance. Their rigors sometimes bring on infirmities, which disqualify them for the duties of the Community, and sometimes make them give up all exercises of piety. Discretion is necessary in all things. 1 Propos. 8. 2Vit. Patr. 1. 6, libell. I, n. 17. A master who intrusts a servant with the care of a horse will be equally displeased whether the animal be rendered unfit for use by an excess or by a want of food. St. Francis de Sales used to say to his nuns of the Visitation, that " continual moderation is better than fits of violent abstinence interspersed with occasional excesses. Besides, such abstinences make us esteem ourselves more holy than others who do not practise them."1 It is certainly the duty of all to avoid indiscretion, but it has been justly remarked by a great spiritual master (and the remark deserves attention), that the spirit seldom deceives us by suggesting excessive mortifications; while the flesh, under false pretences, frequently claims commiseration, and procures an exemption from what is displeasing to its propensities. The following are some of the mortifications that are very useful: 1. To abstain from delicacies agreeable to the taste, and in some measure injurious to health. 2. To refrain from the fruits that come first in season. 3. To deprive yourself throughout the year from some particular fruit, determined by lot. 4. To abstain once or twice in the week from all fruit, and every day from a portion of what is laid before you. 5. To deny yourself some delicacy, or merely to taste it, and say with St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, that it is not useful for you. 6. To leave, every day, according to the advice of St. Bernard, a part of what is most pleasing to the palate. " Let every one," says the saint, " offer at table something to God." 2 83 To check for some time the desire of drinking or of eating what is before you; and to abstain from wine, spirits, and spices. Such abstinence is particularly useful for young persons. 1 Introduct. p. 3, ch. 23. 2" Unusquisque super mensam aliquid offert Deo." Reg. c. 49. The preceding mortifications may be practised without pride, or injury to health. It is not necessary to perform all of them. Let each person observe the abstinences that her Superior or director permits. It is certainly better to practise small and frequent works of penance, than to perform rare and extraordinary fasts, and afterwards lead an unmortified life. Prayer. My dear Redeemer, I am so tepid and full of defects, that I am ashamed to appear before Thee. Had I corresponded to Thy graces, I should now be a seraph by the ardor of my love. But I am more imperfect than ever. How often have I promised to become a saint, and to consecrate myself entirely to Thee? But my promises have been so many treasons. I console myself with the reflection, that I have to deal with infinite Goodness. Do not abandon me, O Lord ! but continue to strengthen me, for I desired to amend, by the assistance of Thy grace. I do not wish to resist the love that Thou bearest me; I see that Thou dost wish me to become a saint ; and to please Thee, I desire to sanctify my soul. I promise to mortify my senses, particularly by abstaining from certain pleasures. {Name them). Ah ! my Jesus, I know that to gain my heart Thou hast done too much. Great, indeed, should be my ingratitude if I denied Thee anything, or loved Thee but little. I do not wish to be any longer ungrateful. Thou hast been infinitely good to me; I shall not be ungenerous to Thee as I have hitherto been. I love Thee, O my Spouse; I am sorry for all the displeasure that I have given Thee. Pardon me, and assist me to be faithful to Thee. O Mary, thou hast always been faithful to God, obtain for me the gift of fidelity to his graces during the remainder of my life. IV. The Mortification of the Sense of Hearing, of Smell, and of Touch. I. The sense of HEARING must be mortified by not listening to indecent words, to detraction, or to worldly conversations, which fill the mind with a thousand thoughts and images, that afterwards distract and disturb the soul in prayer, and in the other exercises of devotion. Should you ever happen to be present at such discourses, endeavor to cut them short by proposing some useful question. If that be not sufficient, you ought either to retire or remain silent, and cast down your eyes, to show how much you dislike such language. II. To mortify the SMELL, you must abstain from the use of perfumes and of scented waters: such delicacies are unbecoming even in worldlings. Animated by the spirit of charity and mortification, the saints felt as much delight in the offensive odours that surround the sick and the infected, as they would in a garden of the most fragrant flowers. Let it be your study to imitate their example, and to bear patiently the disagreeable smell that you may experience in the rooms of the sick. III. With regard to the TOUCH, you must take the greatest care to avoid all, even the smallest, defects. For every fault committed by the indulgence of that sense exposes the soul to the danger of eternal death. I cannot explain myself fully on this subject: I shall only say, that to preserve the precious jewel of purity, religious should observe all possible modesty and caution, not only towards others, but also towards them selves. Even in his last agony St. Peter of Alcantara would not allow any of his brethren to touch any part of his body. Feeling himself touched by one of them, he exclaimed: "Withdraw, touch me not; I am still alive, and may still offend God." This sense of touch must be kept under the greatest restraint by external mortifications, of which I shall now speak. These mortifications are reduced to four heads to fasts, haircloths, disciplines, and watchings. 1. In the preceding section enough has been said of fasting. 2. Haircloths are of various kinds: some are made of strong or coarse hair; the others are bands or chains of brass or iron wire. The former may be injurious to persons of a delicate constitution: for, as Father Scaramelli justly remarks, 1 they inflame the flesh, and weaken the stomach by drawing its natural heat to the external surface of the body. The latter may be worn on the arms, thighs, or shoulders without injury to the health, but not on the breast or round the body. These are the ordinary species of haircloths, and may be safely used by all. Far different from them were the hair cloths worn by the saints. D. Sancia Carriglio, the celebrated penitent of Father M. Avila, wore a shirt of coarse hair which reached from the neck to the knees. St. Rose of Lima used a long hair-shirt interwoven with needles, and carried a broad iron chain round her loins. St. Peter of Alcantara wore on his shoulders a large plate of iron, which was so rough, and covered with sharp projections, that it kept the flesh in a state of continual laceration. Would it then be too much for you to wear a small band of iron from morning till the hour of dinner ? 84 |