The nun sanctified by the virtues of her state
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| 3. Disciplines or flagellations are a species of mortification strongly recommended by St. Francis de Sales, and universally adopted in religious Communities of both sexes. All the modern saints, without a single exception, have continually practised this sort of penance. It is related of St. Aloysius that he often scourged himself unto blood three times in the day. And at the point of death, not having sufficient strength to use the lash, he besought the Provincial to have him disciplined from head to foot. Surely, then, it would not be too much for you to take the discipline once in the day, or at least three or four times in the week. However, the practice of this penance should be regulated by the confessor. 1 Direct, asc. tr. 2, a. i, c. 4.
4. Lastly, vigils or watchings consist in the retrenchment of sleep. It is related of St. Rose, that to prevent sleep, and thus be able to spend the night in prayer, she tied her hair to a nail fastened in the wall. When she was overcome by sleep the inclination of the head caused pain sufficient to awake her. Of St. Peter of Alcantara we read that for forty years he slept but an hour, or at the most an hour and a half, each night; and that he might not be overcome by sleep, he lay with his head on a piece of wood fixed in the wall of his cell. Such austerities cannot be practised by all, nor without a special grace. Indeed, watching is a species of penance in which great moderation and discretion should be observed. Severe watchings generally render us unfit for the exercise of the mental faculties, for the recitation of the office, for prayer, and spiritual reading. St. Charles Borromeo, in consequence of watching during the night, was sometimes overcome by sleep even during public functions, and was therefore obliged to prolong the time for rest. However, they that pretend to virtue should not, like brute animals, give to their body all the repose that the flesh desires. It is necessary to take as much rest as is requisite, and no more. Generally speaking, women require less sleep than men. In general, five, or at the most six hours sleep is sufficient for women. At least, dear sister, be careful to rise at the first sound of the morning bell, and not to remain, like the sluggard, turning about in bed after having heard the signal for rising. St. Teresa used to say that a religious should leap out of bed the instant she hears the bell. The saints have not only curtailed the time for sleep, but have also practised various mortifications in the manner of taking repose. St. Aloysius was accustomed to scatter fragments of wood and of stones over his bed. St. Rose of Lima lay on the trunks of trees, the space between which was filled with broken earthenware. The Venerable Sister Mary Crucified, of Sicily, used a pillow of thorns. These austerities are extraordinary, and are not adapted to all persons. But a religious should not seek a bed of down; if a straw bed be not injurious to her health, why should she require a mattress of hair? or, if a single mattress be sufficient for her, why does she make use of two ? To bear with patience the excessive heat or cold of the seasons is a very useful mortification of the sense of touch. St. Peter of Alcantara went barefooted and bareheaded throughout the winter, and never wore more than a single coat, which was generally torn. You cannot practise such rigors; but would it be too much for you to refrain from approaching the fire during the winter? St. Aloysius, even when he lived in Lombardy, where the cold is very intense, never approached the fire. You can, at least on one day of the week, bear with patience, and accept as a penance from the hands of God, the cold and heat of the seasons. St. Francis Borgia, on arriving one night at a college in the country, found the gates locked, and was therefore obliged to remain all night exposed to the cold and the snow, which fell heavily. In the morning the religious expressed great regret at what had happened. Be assured, replied the saint, that though I suffered much in the body I was greatly consoled in spirit by the reflection that God rejoiced at my pains. It appeared to me that God himself sent to me from heaven the flakes of snow that fell upon me. Prayer. My beloved Redeemer, I blush to appear before Thee with so many attachments to earthly pleasures. During life Thou hast thought of nothing but of suffering for me. But, forgetful of Thy pains, and of Thy love for me, I have hitherto attended only to my own gratification. In my past life I have had nothing of the character of a religious, and of Thy spouse, except the habit and the name. I would deserve to be banished from this holy place, where Thou hast favored me with so many lights and graces, which I have always repaid with ingratitude. I have certainly made many good purposes ; and though I have frequently promised, I have not fulfilled them. O my Jesus, give me strength: I desire to do something for Thee before I die. If I were now to die, how unhappy should I be ? Thou dost prolong my life that I may become a saint. I desire to be perfect : I love Thee, O my God and my Spouse ; and I desire to love Thee as becomes Thy spouse. I wish to think only of pleasing Thee. Pardon me all the offences that I have hitherto offered to Thee : I detest them with my whole heart. O God of my soul, to gratify myself I have insulted Thee, my treasure and my life, who hast loved me so much. Assist me to give myself entirely to Thee from 85 this day forward. Holy Virgin Mary, my hope, come to my aid, and obtain for me the grace to do something for God before the hour of my death. CHAPTER IX. RELIGIOUS POVERTY. I The Vow of Poverty, the Perfection of Poverty, and Community Life. ALL the views of the world are opposed to the laws of God: in the estimation of the world riches are the basis of greatness; but in the eyes of God poverty is the foundation of sanctity. It is not certain that the rich are damned; but the Redeemer has declared that It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 1 Hence the founders of every religious order have endeavoured to establish in all the Communities of their Institute a perfect spirit of poverty as the basis of the common good. St. Ignatius of Loyola 2 called religious poverty the fortification by which the spirit of fervor is preserved. The truth of this observation is demonstrated by daily experience; for in the Communities in which poverty is maintained fervor flourishes, and in which poverty is violated irregularities soon prevail. Hence the powers of hell labor so hard to introduce a relaxation of poverty into the observant Orders. Speaking of her own religious, St. Teresa once said from heaven: " Let them endeavor to have a great esteem for poverty; for while it lasts fervor will be maintained." 3 1 " Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem intrare regnum cœlorum." Matt. xix. 24. 2 Const, p. 10, 5. 3 Way of Perf. ch. 2. Poverty is justly styled by the holy Fathers the guardian of virtues, since in religious it preserves mortification, humility, detachment from creatures, and, above all, interior recollection. In treating of religious poverty it is necessary to distinguish between the perfection of poverty and that which is the object of the religious vow. The vow implies that a religious has no dominion over worldly goods, and that her use of them is dependent on the will of her Superior. But, alas ! this is a rock on which many religious are lost. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi saw many nuns in hell for the transgression of the vow of poverty. In the Chronicles of the Capuchins 1 it is related that the devil once took away from among his brethren and in their presence a religious, from whose sleeve, at the moment when he was carried off, a breviary fell, which the unhappy man had, in violation of the vow of poverty, appropriated to his own use. The fact related by St. Cyril to St. Augustine 2 is still more alarming. In Thebais there was a convent containing two hundred nuns who did not live according to the rules of holy poverty. St. Jerome appeared to one of them, who was more exact than the rest, and commanded her to admonish the abbess and the other nuns that, if they did not amend, a frightful chastisement should be inflicted upon them. The good religious executed the command, but her advice was received with derision. While at prayer she was again commanded to repeat the admonition, and, should it be fruitless, to depart immediately from the convent. She obeyed a second time; but the abbess, instead of profiting by the advice, threatened to expel the sister from the monastery if she said any more on the subject. " 1 Cepari. Vit. c. 59. 2 Inter op. S. Aug. E. B. App. ep. 19, c. 8. You shall not," replied the nun, " expel me; for I will depart instantly, that I may not be involved in the common ruin." Scarcely had she gone out when the monastery fell, and crushed to death all the religious. Woe to those that introduce into religion a relaxation of holy poverty. Examine, dear sister, whether you keep money or any other kind of property without leave. And remember that the permission of the Superior is invalid, whenever its object is not just; for she cannot permit you to retain what cannot be lawfully kept. All the money, furniture, clothes, and whatever species of property you possess, all that you receive from your relatives, or for the fruits of your industry, belong not to you, but to the monastery. You have only the use of what the Superior gives you. Hence, if you dispose of anything without her leave, you are guilty of theft, and of a sacrilegious theft, by violating the vow of poverty. Be persuaded that the Lord will demand a very rigorous account. Hence, zealous Superiors are always most exact and severe in chastising every fault against that virtue. Cassian 1 relates that among the ancient Fathers, the procurator, in consequence of allowing a few lentils to be wasted through negligence, was deprived of the benefit of common prayers, and was excluded from the holy Communion till he had done public penance. It is related of Rinald, the prior of the Dominican convent at Bologna, that he chastised very severely a lay-brother for having taken without permission a shred of cloth to mend his habit, and that he caused the cloth to be burned at Chapter, in presence of the whole Community. What has been just said regards the vow of poverty; but the perfection of holy poverty requires that a religious be divested of every affection for the goods of the earth, and that she make use of them only as far as is necessary for 86 the preservation of life. It was this that the Redeemer wished to signify to the young man, who asked what he should do in order to attain perfection. 1 De Cœnob. inst. 1. 4, c. 20. “If�, says Jesus, thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give it to the poor. 1 The Saviour told him that he should renounce all his possessions without a single exception. For when, as St. Bonaventure says, the spirit is encumbered with the weight of any temporality, the soul can not rise to union with God. " Burdened with the load of temporal things, the spirit cannot ascend to God." 2 " The love of terrestrial objects," according to St. Augustine, " is the birdlime of the spiritual wings," 3 which impedes the flight of the soul to God. And again the holy Doctor says: " By the great wing of poverty a Christian quickly flies to heaven." 4 Hence, St. Laurence Justinian exclaimed: "O blessed voluntary poverty! possessing nothing, fearing nothing; always cheerful, always abounding, because it turns to advantage every inconvenience." 5 It was for our edification and instruction that Jesus Christ wished to live in continual poverty on earth. Hence, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi called poverty the spouse of Jesus. " Poverty," says St. Bernard, " was not found in heaven it abounded on earth; but man did not know its value: therefore the Son of God, longing after it, came down from heaven to choose it for himself, and to make it precious to us."6 1 " Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende quæ habes, et da pauperibus." Matt. xix. 21. 2 "Cum sarcina temporalium, spiritus ad Deum non potest ascendere." 3 " Amor rerum terrenarum viscum est spiritualium pennarum." Serm. 112, E. B. 4 " Magna penna paupertatis, qua cito volatur in regnum coelorum. De Adv. D. s. 4. 5 " O beata paupertas voluntaria: nihil possidens, nihil formidans; semper hilaris, semper abundans; et cum nihil habeat, omne incommodum suo facit profectui deservire !" De Disc. man. c. 2. 6 " Paupertas non inveniebatur in coelis; interris abundabat, et nesciebat homo pretium ejus; hanc itaque Dei Filius concupiscens descendit, ut cam cligat sibi, et nobis faciat pretiosam." In Vig. Nat. D. s. I. Being rich, says St. Paul, he became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich. 1 Our Redeemer was the Lord of all the riches in heaven and on earth, but he wished to be miserably poor in this life, in order to enrich us, and to excite us by his example to the love of poverty, which, by withdrawing our affections from temporal goods, procures for us eternal riches. He wished to be poor during his whole life. Poor in his birth he was born not in a palace, but in a cold stable, having only a manger for his cradle and straw for his bed. Poor in his life and poor in all things, he dwelt in a miserable hut containing but a single room; which served for all the purposes of life. Poor in his garments and in his food. St. John Chrysostom says, that the Redeemer and his disciples ate nothing but barley-bread; and this may be inferred from the Gospel. 2 Poor, in fine, in his death: leaving nothing behind him but his miserable garments; and these, even before his death, were divided among the soldiers. Thus for his winding-sheet and sepulchre he depended on the bounty of the charitable. Hence, Jesus once said to Blessed Angela of Foligno: " If poverty were not a great blessing, I should not have chosen it for myself, nor should I have left it as an inheritance to my elect." It was because they saw Jesus poor that the saints loved poverty so much. Father Granada and Father M. Avila discussed one day the reason why St. Francis of Assisi had such an affection for poverty. Father Louis of Granada maintained that it was because the saint wished to be freed from every impediment to a perfect union with God. But Father Avila asserted with more truth, that the ardent love of St. Francis for holy poverty arose from his ardent love of Jesus Christ. 1 " Propter vos egenus factus est, cum esset dives, ut illius inopia vos divites essetis." 2 Cor. viii. 9. 2 John, vi. 9. And surely a soul that loves Jesus Christ intensely cannot but exclaim with the Apostle: I count all things as dung, that I may gain Christ. I esteem all the goods of the earth as dung, and therefore I despise them all, that I may gain Jesus Christ. Hence, St. Francis de Sales used to say, that when a house is on fire the furniture is thrown out of the windows; and long before, the Holy Ghost said: If a man should give all the substance of his house for lore, he shall despise it as nothing? The ardent lover cheerfully despises all things through the love which he bears to God. From the Sacred Scriptures we learn that the reward of poverty is most certain, and great beyond measure. It is most certain; because Jesus Christ has said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To the other beatitudes, heaven is promised only as a future reward. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. 3 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God4 But to the poor in spirit God’s kingdom is promised as a present recompense: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven5 Because, to those that are truly poor in spirit the Lord gives very great helps, even in this life. Hence, Cornelius à Lapide says, 6 that since, by the decree of God, the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor, they have a full right to it." The reward of poverty is very secure, and great beyond conception. 1" Omnia arbitror . . . ut stercora, ut Christum lucrifaciam " Phil. iii. 8. 87 2"Si dederit homo omnem substantiate domus suæ pro dilectione, quasi nihil despiciet eam." Cant. viii. 7. 3" Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram." 4" Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt." 5"Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum cœlorum." Matt. v. 3, 4, 8. 6"Ex Dei decreto, ad pauperes pertinet regnum cœlorum; ipsi, in illud, plenum jus habent." In Matth. 1. c. " The less we have here," says St. Teresa, " the more we shall enjoy in God’s kingdom, in which the mansion of each is proportioned to the love with which he shall have imitated the life of Jesus Christ."1 " O happy commerce," exclaims St. Peter Damian, " where clay is given away and gold received." 2 O happy traffic ! in which we renounce the goods of the earth, which are but mire, and receive in exchange the graces of God and eternal rewards; which are more precious than the purest gold. The poor in spirit shall also have the honor of sitting with Jesus Christ as the judges of the world. Behold, says St. Peter to Jesus, we have left all things and have followed thee : what, therefore, shall we have ? 3 And Jesus said to them : Amen, I say to you, that you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the seat of his Majesty, you shall also sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel 4 God has promised eternal glory here after, and a hundredfold in this life, to all who abandon earthly goods for his sake. And every one that hath left house or lands for my name s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting5 This promise is fulfilled in all the poor in spirit who, because they desire nothing on earth, possess all riches: As having nothing and possessing all things. 6The Redeemer has justly compared riches to thorns, 7 for in proportion to their abundance, riches torment the soul by cares, by fears, and by the desires of increased possessions. 1 Found, ch. 14. 2 " Felix tale commercium, ubi datur lutum, tollitur aurum ." Epist. 1. 7, ep. 7. 3 " Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te; quid ergo erit nobis ?" Matt. xix. 27. 4 " Amen dico vobis, quod vos qui secuti estis me, in regeneratione, cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis sure, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes dumlecim tribus Israel." Ihid. 28. 5 "et omnis qui reliquerit domum . . . aut agros propter nomen nieum, centuplum accipiet, et vitam æternam possidebit." Ibid. 29. 6 " Nihil habentes, et omnia possidentes. " 2 Cor. vi. 10. 7 Matt. xiii. 22. Hence, St. Bernard says, that while the avaricious, because their desire of riches is never satiated, like mendicants, thirst after the goods of this world; the poor in spirit, because they wish for nothing upon earth, despise mammon. " The avaricious man, like a mendicant, hungers after earthly things; the poor man, like a lord, contemns them." 1 Oh ! how great is the happiness of a religious, who desires and possesses nothing upon earth. She enjoys true peace a blessing more valuable than all worldly goods, which can never content a soul destined to be made happy only by the possession of God. Thus the poor in spirit receive a great reward in this as well as in the next life. But where shall we find a religious truly poor in spirit ? Let us examine in what true poverty of spirit consists. It consists, first, not only in the absence of all property, but also in the destruction of every desire which has not God for its object. " A pauper meets me," says St. Augustine, " and still I seek a man who is poor." 2 Yes, in the world the number of the indigent is countless, but few of them are poor in spirit and desire. St. Teresa used to say, that the religious who appears to be bereft of all property, but at the same time is not poor in spirit, deceives the world and herself. What will her actual poverty profit her? The poor that desire the possession of riches suffer indeed the pains of want, but do not practise the virtue of poverty. " He that desires the goods of the earth," says St. Philip Neri, " will never become a saint." You, dear sister, have abandoned the world; you have left all things, and will you, after so many sacrifices, expose yourself to the danger of being lost, or at least of not being a saint? 1 " Avarus terrena esurit ut mendicus, fidelis contemnit ut dominus." In Cant. s. 21. 2 " Occurrit mihi pauper, et quæro pauperem " Serm 14, E. B. Ah ! be content with humble food and raiment; seek to become a saint, and do not, for miserable trifles, risk your eternal inheritance. But, says the Apostle, having food and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content 1For they that will become rich fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which draw men into destruction and perdition2 Whoever covets worldly riches shall fall into the snares of the enemy, and into numberless desires, which lead to death and to eternal misery. Poverty of spirit consists, secondly, in keeping the heart detached, not only from what is valuable, but also from what is trifling. The adhesion of the smallest portion of earth prevents the free ascent of a feather in the air; and the possession of a particle of worldly goods, in opposition to the perfection of poverty, impedes the perfect union of a religious with God, and the enjoyment of true peace. Thorns (or riches), however small, torment the traveller, and diminish the expedition of his journey. To be perfect, it is not necessary for a religious to abandon large possessions; no, it is sufficient to leave in effect and in affection the little that it is in her power to relinquish. St. 88 Peter gave up little; but because, in affection, he left all that he possessed (Behold, we have left all things), he merited to hear from Jesus Christ that he was chosen for one of the Redeemer s assessors at the general judgment. You shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel 3 1 " Habentes autem alimenta, et quibus tegamur, his content! simus." I Tim. vi. 8. 2 " Qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in tentationem et in laqueum diaboli, et desideria multa inutilia et nociva, quæ mergunt homines in inheritum et perditionem." Ibid. 9. 3 Matt. xix. 27. There are some religious who have an affection, not for precious stones, nor for vessels of gold, but for certain miserable trifles, such as some article of furniture, a book, or the like. They have not renounced all attachments to the goods of the earth, but have transferred their affections from things of value to trifles, and their solicitude about these trifles occasions as many imperfections and as much inquietude as the care of large possessions. If seculars are lost, they are lost for the attainment of something great in the eyes of the world; but what a pity, says Cassian, 1 to see a nun, after having left the world, and after having renounced her inheritance and liberty, lose the crown of a saint for trifles that are vile and miserable even in the estimation of worldlings. " The adversary," says St. Eucherius, " exults when he sees us, who contemned the most valuable goods, overcome in matters of the smallest importance." 2 What a source of triumph to the devil to find a person who has left considerable possessions shamefully conquered by the love of trifles. " Some," says Cassian, " who despise the most magnificent property, we see disturbed for a needle or a pen, and thus fall into the occasions of death." 3 St. Eucherius asserts what appears very extraordinary, that " the love of property, unless it be perfectly eradicated, is most ardent in small things." 4 Most ardent, and therefore most criminal; for by attachment to trifles a religious shows a greater avidity for earthly goods than by an affection for what is valuable. Hence Jesus Christ has said, So likewise, every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple 5 1 Collat t. 5, c. 21. 2" Exsultat adversarius, quando nos videt ad hoc maxima contempsisse, ut in minimis vinceremur." Ad Monach. hom 5. 3 Prædiorum magnificentiam contemnentes vidimus, pro acu, procalamo, commoveri; et inde occasiones mortis incurrunt!" Coll. i. c. 6. 4" Habendi amor, nisi ad integrum resecetur, ardentior est in parvis Ad Monach. hom. 4. 5" Qui non renuntiat omnibus quæ possidet, non potest meus esse discipulus." Luke, xiv. 33. |