Chapter XIX: Purity of Intention

Purity of intention consists in performing all our actions through the sole motive of pleasing God. It is necessary to know that the good or bad intention with which an act is performed makes the act good or bad in the sight of God. If, said our Lord, thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darksome.¹ By the eye the holy Fathers understand the intention, and by the body they understand the action. Hence Jesus Christ tells us that if our intention be simple, that is, if we have no other object than to please him, our works are good, and resplendent with the light of purity: but if our intention be twofold, that is, if any vicious end enters into our actions, they are sinful. Holy simplicity admits no other end than the pleasure of God. Hence a pure intention is the soul of our actions: it gives them life, and makes them pleasing in the eyes of God.

In the estimation of men, the value of an act increases in proportion to the time spent in its performance; but before God the value of an act increases in proportion to the purity of intention with which it is performed. For, as the Scripture says, men look only to the external acts, but God regards the heart; that is, the will with which they are performed. For man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.² Can there be any action more excellent than to suffer martyrdom, and give one’s life for the faith? But St. Paul says: If I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.¹ Though I should give my body to the flames, unless I give it for God, it profits me nothing. No, for as St. Augustine says, it is neither torments nor death, but the cause and intention that make a martyr.”² Hence the royal prophet said: I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow.³ Some offer to God sacrifices without marrow, that is, without a pure intention of pleasing him; and such oblations God does not accept. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to say that God rewards our actions in proportion to the purity of our intention of pleasing him. Hence St. Augustine has written: “Attend not to what a man does, but to the motive of his conduct:”⁴ for, adds St. Ambrose, the good that you will do shall be proportioned to the purity of intention with which you do it for the divine glory.⁵

Who is she, says the Holy Ghost, that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?⁶ Myrrh signifies mortification, frankincense prayer, and the powders of the perfumer represent all other virtues. But the spouse is praised for all; because all her virtues form a pillar of odoriferous smoke, which ascends to God; that is, all her actions have no other end than to please her divine Spouse.

¹ “If your eye is single, your whole body will be luminous; but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark.”—Matt. vi. 22.

² “Homo enim videt ea quæ parent; Dominus autem intuetur cor.”—1 Kings, xvi. 7.

¹ “And if I should hand over my body so that I may burn, but have not charity, it profits me nothing.”—1 Cor. xiii. 3.

² “Martyrem non facit pœna, sed causa.”—Serm. 331, E. B.

³ “Holocausta medullata offeram tibi.”—Ps. lxv. 15.

⁴ “Non valde attendas quid homo faciat, sed quid, cum facit, respiciat.”—In Ps. xxxi. en. 2.

⁵ “Tantum facis, quantum intendis.”

⁶ “Who is she who ascends through the desert, like a little column of smoke from the spices of myrrh and frankincense and every powder of the perfumer?”—Cant. iii. 6.

We have in the Gospels two great proofs and examples of the great value of a good intention before God.

The first example is related by St. Luke. Whilst our Redeemer travelled through the cities and towns preaching the kingdom of God, he was one day accompanied by a great crowd: a woman having an issue of blood made her way through the throng until she succeeded in touching the hem of his garment. He asked: Who is it that touched me? Surprised at the question, the disciples answered: Master, the multitude throng and press thee, and dost thou say, Who touched me? But our Lord meant not the material touch, but the faith and devotion with which the woman had touched his garment. Hence St. Augustine has written: “Many press round Jesus Christ, but few touch him.”¹ Many nuns submit to great labor through the monastery, in order to increase the revenues of the convent, in order to celebrate their festivals with great pomp, and perform many actions that appear to be great; but because their intention is not pure, they press round Jesus Christ, but do not touch him; hence they annoy rather than please him.

The other example is that of the poor widow that put her two mites into the treasury of the temple, into which others had cast large sums. But of her the Saviour said: Amen, I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury.² In his exposition of this passage, St. Cyprian says that by these words, our Lord meant that he regards not so much the action that is performed, as the affection and purity of intention with which it is performed.³

¹ “Tangit Christum fides paucorum; premit eum turba multorum.”—Serm. 62, E. B.

² “Amen dico vobis, quoniam vidua hæc pauper plus omnibus misit.”—Mark, xii. 41.

³ “Considerans, non quantum, sed ex quanto dedisset.”—De Op. et Eleem.

Let us come to what is practical. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to say to her novices: “Never seek yourselves in any of your exercises.” A religious that seeks herself in her actions, by performing them in order to be praised, or to please herself, imitates the man that puts the wages he receives for his labor into a bag with holes. He, says the Prophet Aggeus, that hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes.¹ That is, she loses all her works. Hence, our Lord says to all: Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them.”² Be careful, he says, not to act through the sole motive of being seen and praised by men; if you do, when you ask a reward from me, I will answer: You have received your reward, you have obtained the praise that you sought, what can you now expect from me? In the Life of St. Pachomius, Surius relates that a certain monk made two mats, whilst his companions made but one; he showed the two mats to the saint in order to receive praise, but the saint said to the other monks: “Behold, this monk has worked till night, and has offered his work to the devil.” But let us examine the marks by which you may know whether your works have been truly done for God.

The first mark is, if, when your undertaking has not been successful, you are not disturbed, but remain as tranquil as if you had attained your object. This will certainly be the case when you have acted only for God; because when you see that he has not wished your efforts to be crowned with success, neither will you wish it; for you know that he demands an account, not of the success or failure of your undertaking, but of the purity of your intention.

¹ “Qui mercedes congregavit, misit eas in sacculum pertusum.”—Agg. i. 6.

² “Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis.”—Matt. vi. 1.

The second mark is, to rejoice at the good done by others, as if it had been done by yourself. He that seeks nothing but the divine glory, cares not whether it is promoted by another or by himself.

The third mark is, not to desire one office more than another, one occupation more than another, but to be content with whatever is prescribed by obedience; because in everything you then seek nothing but the pleasure of God.

The fourth sign is, in your good works not to desire approbation nor thanks, but to remain, even when censured and maltreated, in the same tranquillity of mind, satisfied at having succeeded in pleasing God, which was your sole object.

And should it ever happen that any of your actions are greatly praised by others, and that you are tempted to vainglory, and to take complacency in the praises bestowed upon you, you need not annoy yourself by endeavoring to banish the temptation by contrary acts; it is better to pay no attention to the evil suggestion, and in conformity with the advice of Father John d’Avila, to say: “You have come too late, for I have already given my work to God.” When you perform any act of virtue, such as when you observe the Rule with exactness, when you remain in the choir to pray, or retire to your cell, or perform an act of mortification, or assist the lay-sisters in their work, or perform similar acts of edification in order to give good example to others, do not, through the fear of being seen and praised, abstain from such acts, as long as you do all for God. The Lord wishes that others should see our good works, that thus they may be induced to imitate them, and give glory to God. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.¹ All consists in doing our actions with an upright intention. Should vainglory assail us, let us say with St. Bernard, who, when tempted to vanity in the act of preaching, said: “I have not commenced my sermon for you, neither shall I, through fear of you, abstain from finishing it.”¹ in preaching I have sought only to please God. St. Francis Xavier used to say, that a person that has deserved hell by his sins should regard the praises of men as insults and mockery. St. Teresa says: “When we seek to please God only, the Lord will give us strength to conquer all vainglory.”²

Our intention may be good in three ways: first, when we perform an act in order to obtain from God temporal goods; when, for example, a person gives alms, procures Masses to be offered, or fasts in order to be delivered from any infirmity, calumny, or other temporal affliction. This intention is good, provided it is accompanied with resignation to the divine will; but it is the least perfect, because the object is earthly. Secondly, when we do an act in order to make satisfaction to the divine justice for the pains due to our sins, or to obtain from God spiritual goods, such as virtue, or an increase of merits and of glory in heaven; this intention is far more perfect than the former. But the most perfect of all is when, in our works, we seek only to please God and to do his holy will. This intention is also the most meritorious; for the more we forget ourselves in our good actions; the more God will remember us, and the more abundantly he will pour his graces upon us, as he himself once said to St. Catharine of Sienna: “My daughter, think of me, and I will think of you.” He meant to say, think only of pleasing me, and I will take care of your progress in virtue, of your victories over your enemies, of your perfection, and of your glory in heaven. This was what the sacred spouse meant when she said: I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me.¹

Oh! that you had the spirit of that holy woman, who was seen by a religious of the Order of St. Dominic when travelling to Palestine along with St. Louis, king of France. In one hand she carried a vessel of water, and in the other a lighted torch. Being asked by the religious why she carried them, she replied, With this water I would wish to extinguish hell, and with this torch I would wish to burn heaven, that all might serve God, not through fear of hell nor hope of heaven, but only through love, and in order to please him. To act from such a motive, is to imitate the love of the saints in bliss, who seek nothing but the pleasure of God; for, as St. Thomas says² they rejoice more in the felicity of God than in their own. It is to enter into the joy of the Lord, into which each of the blessed is invited when he enters heaven: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.³ Hence, says St. Bernard⁴ a person acts with a perfect motive when he acts not that he may be pleasing to God, but because the actions that he performs are pleasing to him; when he is so forgetful of himself that he acts not that God may be pleased with him, but only that his acts may be agreeable to him. Hence the saint used to say: “May I love Thee on account of Thyself.” Lord, grant that I may love Thee, not to please myself, but only to gratify Thee, and to do Thy will.

St. Francis de Sales used to say: “The spouse that loves Jesus Christ does not purify herself in order to be pure; she does not adorn herself in order to be beautiful, but only to please her Spouse.” The confidence that she feels in the goodness of her lover frees her from all solicitude and fear of not being sufficiently beautiful, and makes her satisfied with a calm and faithful preparation, proceeding from a good heart. Let us imitate the divine Saviour, who said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. When nothing remains but to die the death of love, living no longer to ourselves, but procuring that Jesus Christ may live in us, by saying: Let this be done, O Lord, because it is pleasing to Thee.

And here, let it be observed, that it is better and safer to act

through a motive of doing the will of God, than with the intention of promoting his glory; because we shall thus escape all the delusions of self-love. Under the pretence of seeking the glory of God, we often do our own will; but on the other hand, when we endeavor to do the divine will, and what is most pleasing to God, we can never err. And let us be persuaded, that the greatest glory we can give to God consists in doing his will. It was thus our Saviour always acted, doing as he several times declared, all things in order to do the will of his eternal Father: I seek not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.¹ In another place, he says: I do always the things that please him.”² Hence, of Jesus it was justly said, that he had done all things well.³ And, says St. John Chrysostom⁴ if we imitate his example, and succeed in pleasing God, what else need we seek? If you have been worthy of doing anything pleasing to God, what better reward do you require? Does it appear to you a small thing, that you, a miserable creature, should be able to give pleasure to God?

¹ “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”—Matt. v. 16.

¹ “Nec propter te cœpi, nec propter te desinam.”

² Life, ch. 10.

¹ “Ego Dilecto meo, et ad me conversio ejus.”—Cant. vii. 10.

² De Beatit. c. 7.

³ “Intra in gaudium Domini tui.”—Matt. xxv. 21.

⁴ “When she acts, not that she herself may please God, but . . . because what she does pleases God.”—De Divers. s. 103.

¹ “Non quæro voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui misit me.”—John, v. 30.

² “Ego, quæ placita sunt ei, facio semper.”—John, viii. 29.

³ “Bene omnia fecit.”—Mark, vii. 37.

⁴ “Si dignus fueris agere aliquid quod Deo placet, aliam, præter id, mercedem requiris?”—De Compunct. l. 2.

Let us be persuaded, that the Lord does not demand of us great things, but only that we present to him the little we do, with a pure intention. St. Augustine says¹ that if, because you are poor, you have nothing to give to God, your will affords much to give him, if you offer him what you do through the sole motive of pleasing him. To every soul the Lord says: Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm.² If you wish to please me, put me as a seal upon your heart, and upon your arm; that is, make my pleasure the sole end of all your desires, and of all your actions. The Lord goes so far as to say, that a person that acts for the sole end of pleasing him, becomes his sister and his spouse, and wounds his heart with the wound of love, so that he cannot but love her. Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse: thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes.³ By one of her eyes, is signified the sole object of the soul to do the divine will in all its exercises; in making meditation only to please God, in going to Communion only to give pleasure to God, obeying Superiors only to obey God, recognizing God in them, as the Apostle says: Serving as to the Lord, and not to men.⁴ Thus the soul does all its actions in order to give glory to God, fulfilling the advice of the same Apostle: Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.⁵

The Venerable Beatrix of the Incarnation, once a spiritual child of St. Teresa, used to say: “No price can be an equivalent for the smallest action done for God.” She had just reason to say so, for all actions performed to please God are acts of divine love that deserve an eternal reward. Hence, Father Rodriguez has written, that purity of intention is a celestial alchymy, that changes iron into gold; that is, it converts into the gold of holy charity the meanest works, such as eating, sleeping, working, or recreation. Hence, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was of opinion that the person that performed all his actions with a pure intention would go straight to heaven, without passing through purgatory.

Be careful, O blessed spouse of the Lord, from the moment you awake in the morning, to direct all the actions of the day to God, offering them in union with the actions that our Saviour performed during his mortal life; thus your works will be more acceptable to God. Endeavor to renew your intention at the beginning of every action at least at the beginning of the principal actions, such as your meditations, Communions, hearing Mass, work, meals, and recreation; saying always, at least mentally: “Lord, in this action I intend not my own pleasure, but only the accomplishment of Thy will.” A holy hermit, as St. Jure relates¹ was accustomed to raise his eyes to heaven, and to remain in that posture for a little time before he began any action. Being asked why he did so, he said: “I am endeavoring to direct my aim.” He meant to say, that as the archer looks towards the mark in order to direct the arrow, so it is necessary to raise our eyes to God, that all our actions may be holy. In the course of our employments, it is advisable to renew, from time to time, our intention of pleasing God. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, when she saw a novice employed at any work, would say to her: “Sister, for what end do you perform that action?’ And if the novice did not instantly answer that she did it for God, the saint would reprove her. Should you find yourself engaged in occupations prescribed by obedience, be not uneasy, because you cannot spend that time in prayer as you would wish. Father Balthasar Alvarez, being one day very much occupied, and desiring to finish his work, in order to go to prayer, heard our Lord say: “Although you are not with me, let it be sufficient for you to be employed for me.”¹

The days of those that do all their actions for God shall, as the Psalmist has said, be full days: And full days shall be found in them.”² By full days he meant days that are entirely employed in pleasing God. On the other hand, days that are not spent for God are empty days. Hence the Psalmist says that the wicked do not live half their days:³ Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. A holy Franciscan, as we read in the Chronicles, being asked how long he was a religious, answered: “Ah! unhappy me, I have worn this holy habit for seventy-five years, but I know not how long I have been a religious, not in name but in truth: I cannot say that I have been a true religious even for a single moment.” Would to God that what he said through humility might not be said with truth by some who have been more than thirty years in religion, and have not as yet begun to be religious.

Hence, St. Eusebius said: “Consider that you have lived only for the days on which your actions have had the light of purity;⁴ that is, on which your actions have been performed through the sole motive of pleasing God. Examine your conduct, then, dear sister, and see how many of your actions are really pure, are done solely for God, and free from all self-love; and should you find that hitherto they have not been pure, endeavor henceforward to perform them through the sole motive of pleasing God, and thus you will have the happiness of hearing from the Lord on the day of your death: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of the Lord.¹ Rejoice, my good servant, because you have been faithful in a few things, by performing your works through the sole motive of pleasing me, I will give you many and great rewards.

¹ “Si non habet arca quod donet, habet cor et voluntas.”

² “Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum super brachium tuum.”—Cant. viii. 6.

³ “Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa; vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum.”—Cant. iv. 9.

⁴ “Servientes sicut Domino, et non hominibus.”—Eph. vi. 7.

⁵ “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do all things for the glory of God.”—1 Cor. x. 31.

¹ Knowl. and Love, b. 3, ch. 15, s. 3.

¹ Life, ch. 2.

² “Explevit tempora multa.”—Wisd. iv. 13.

³ “Viri sanguinum et dolosi non dimidiabunt dies suos.”—Ps. liv. 24.

⁴ “Illum diem vixisse te computa, qui puritatis habuit lucem.”—Ad Monach. hom. 9.

¹ “Euge, serve bone et fidelis; quia super pauca fuisti fidelis, super multa te constituam.”—Matt. xxv. 21.

Prayer. O my Jesus, when shall I cease to be ungrateful to Thee. When shall I begin to love Thee with a true love? Oh! infinite Goodness, so unknown and despised in this world! I am sorry that I have miserably been among the number of so many ungrateful souls. But I do not wish to die among them. Lord, assist me; make me entirely Thine before I die. Give me Thy love—a fervent love, that will make me forget all creatures to remember Thee only: a strong love that will make me conquer all difficulties, when there is question of giving pleasure to Thee; a perpetual love that will never more be dissolved between me and Thee. I love Thee, my dear Redeemer, and I hope for every grace through the blood Thou hast shed for me.

I hope for all things from thy intercession also, O Mary, my refuge, my mother, and my hope.