Chapter XXIV: Rule of Life for a Religious That Desires to Become a Saint

Rising in the Morning.

As soon as you hear the signal for rising, imitate the infant on awakening, that instantly looks for its mother’s milk: the moment you awake raise your heart to God by an act of love, offer him the actions of the day, and beg of him to assist you. You must, then, according to the advice of St. Teresa, not remain turning in bed, but rise immediately, as if the bed were on fire; otherwise you will, as I have said in another place, lose the flower of merit.

While you are dressing, do not lose your time, but employ it in repeating some ejaculation or prayer; for example: “My God, I wish only for Thee, and nothing more. I offer Thee all that I shall do and suffer during this day. My Jesus, mercy. Lord, assist me always, and make me do Thy will,” etc. You will do well - to use such ejaculations in the intervals between your actions, such as in going to choir, to the refectory, or in the occupations that do not require application of mind. These moments employed in this manner produce great fruit in the course of time.

As soon as you are dressed, place yourself before the crucifix, and make the morning acts of thanksgiving, of love, of oblation of all your actions and prayers during the day. And, above all, ask with fervor help from Jesus and Mary, to serve God well during the day.

Mental Prayer.

With regard to mental prayer, I do not intend to repeat here what has been already said on this subject in Chapter XV. I will only say a few words on the manner of making it.

After the three acts—of faith in the presence of God, of humility, and petition to God for light—always read the point, or listen to another reading it, and then stop to reflect on the sentiment that has made the greatest impression upon you.

Afterwards make pious affections towards God, such as acts of thanksgiving, of humiliation, of confidence, and, above all, of contrition and of love, and petitions to God for light and help, for resignation to his will, and for the gift of his love. And when you feel aridity, employ yourself then particularly in praying for God’s graces. It will be enough to say and repeat: My Jesus, mercy. My God, assist me.

Finally, cast a glance at your conscience, and see if there is anything in it displeasing to God; remove whatever you find to be offensive to him, and make a particular resolution to correct the fault.

Be careful always to make meditation as well in the morning as in the evening. Should you on any day be unable to make your usual meditation, make at least a part of it. Be persuaded that you will never make progress in perfection unless you have a great love for mental prayer.

The Divine Office.

It is necessary to say something on the divine office, as it has not been treated in the body of the work.

All men should be continually employed on this earth in thanking the Lord for his benefits, and in asking the graces necessary for the attainment of salvation. But because seculars live in the midst of the distractions arising from worldly concerns, the holy Church wishes that in her name, and in the name of all Christians, ecclesiastics and religious should praise God, and pray for the whole world, by reciting the divine office, which is nothing more than a memorial or petition composed by God himself, that he may the more readily hear our prayers, and relieve our wants. Hence, a hundred private prayers have not as much efficacy as a single petition offered in the divine office. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi used to say, that, in comparison with the divine office, all other prayers are of little merit. Hence, when she heard the bell for the office, she exulted with joy, and giving up every occupation, she ran to the choir, thinking that she was going to perform the office of the angels in praising God, and imploring graces for poor sinners. St. Catharine of Bologna felt such joy in reciting the office, that she desired to end her life in chanting the Psalms; and she would say that a nun that persevered till death in reciting the office in the choir, might be ranked among the saints.

But it is not enough to say the office: it is necessary to say it as it ought to be said—with reverence and attention. If you say it with distraction, rolling the eyes about on dissipating objects, or what is worse, occasionally smiling, and speaking without necessity, know that a severe purgatory is prepared for you in the next life. It is related of two nuns, that for inattention of this kind they were condemned to severe torments. A Cistercian nun called Gertrude appeared after death to a companion, and said that she was suffering in purgatory for not having observed silence in reciting the office. St. Antonine relates¹ that a holy Father once saw a devil in the choir putting several things into a bag. Being asked what he was doing, the evil spirit answered that he was laying up all the words and syllables omitted or badly pronounced by the religious, in order to charge them with their inattention at the judgment-seat of God. In the life of St. Lutgarde¹ we read that God sent a plague into a convent of nuns, in punishment of the negligent manner in which they recited the office. Prayer made with attention is an odoriferous incense that is very pleasing to God, and obtains treasures of graces. But, on the other hand, prayer made without devotion and with distraction is a fetid smoke, that provokes the divine wrath; for God himself said to St. Bridget that they that recite the divine office negligently, dishonor him more than they glorify him. Hence, St. Thomas says² that he who prays with voluntary distraction (though the prayer be not of obligation) is not exempt from sin, for he appears to treat God with contempt—just as a person that speaks to others without attending to what he says is guilty of disrespect towards them.

In the Cistercian chronicles we find an account of the celebrated vision that St. Bernard had one night, while he chanted the Psalms in choir along with his monks. At the right hand of each monk he saw an angel writing: some of the angels wrote in letters of gold, others in letters of silver; some wrote with ink, others with water; others, in fine, held the pen in the hand without writing at all. Our Lord afterwards gave the saint to understand that the letters of gold signified the fervor with which some of the monks recited the office; the letters of silver represented prayers said with devotion, but with less fervor; the letters of ink denoted attention to the pronunciation of the words, without devotion; and the letters of water indicated the negligence of those that were distracted, and paid but little attention to the words that they pronounced with the tongue. Finally, the angels that were not writing at all denoted the irreverence of those that were voluntarily distracted.

I hope, dear sister, that you are not one of those who, in saying the office, are voluntarily distracted. A person is understood to be voluntarily distracted when, after adverting to the thought that distracts him, he attends to it, although he sees that it takes away his attention from the office. Be careful henceforth to recite the office with proper attention. You go through the labor of reciting the office, and will you, for the sake of avoiding the little trouble or exertion necessary to say it with due attention, voluntarily lose the merit of it, and render yourself deserving of punishment? Adopt, then, the following method: When you enter the choir, after blessing yourself with holy water, first adore the Most Holy Sacrament, offer to the honor of Jesus Christ the office you are going to recite, ask his assistance, and then go to your place, and imagine that the Lord is looking at you from heaven, that his ears are attentive to the prayers that you recite, and that the angels are present to offer your petitions to God. While the religious were one day reciting Matins, Blessed Herman saw a multitude of angels with golden censers in their hands, offering to God the prayers of the religious.

Be not disturbed at the distractions you suffer in the office; as long as they are not voluntary they are not sinful. God compassionates the misery of our nature. Thoughts frequently enter the mind without being wilful, and when not wilful, they are not displeasing to God. St. Thomas says¹ that even souls rapt in contemplation cannot remain long on high, but are drawn down by the weight of human misery to involuntary distractions. Endeavor, not only in the beginning but also during the course of the office, to renew your attention from time to time, such as at the beginning of each Psalm,

You already know that, according to St. Thomas and the generality of divines, there are three kinds of attention to the office: to the words, to the sense, and to God. To the words, by endeavoring to pronounce them distinctly. To the sense, by attending to the signification of the words. To God, by adoring him, loving him, and asking his graces. Any of the three is sufficient for the fulfilment of the obligation of saying the office; but he that recites it merely with attention to the words, without attention to the sense or to God, will never say it with devotion or fruit. Endeavor, then, to excite in your heart the sentiments you read. It is true that many passages of the Psalms are obscure, but many of them are also clear, and are full of petitions, of affections of love, of confidence, and of contrition.

The most perfect kind of attention is attention to. God; and in order to practise this kind of attention it will be particularly useful to meditate, during the different parts of the office, on different circumstances of the Passion. For example, during the first Nocturn you can meditate on the washing of the feet; during the second, on the institution of the Most Holy Sacrament; and during the third, on the prayer of our Lord in the garden. During Lauds, on his capture, and on the maltreatment that he received in the house of Caiphas; during Prime, on his scourging; during Tierce, on the crowning with thorns; during Sext, on the journey to Calvary; at None, on the three hours that Jesus remained hanging on the cross; at Vespers, on his death; and during Complin, on his burial. But the meditations should not be so profound, nor be made with such application of the mind as to fatigue the head. They should be made with sweetness, so that the mind may be assisted with holy thoughts, and may at the same time attend, in some manner, to the words recited by the other side of the choir.

Every time you say the Pater noster, apply the heart in a special manner to the words, sanctificetur nomen tuum, by which you mean to say, Lord, make Thyself known and loved by all. Adveniat regnum tuum; reign in our hearts by grace in this life, and by glory in the next. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in celo et in terra; grant that Thy will may be done on earth as the saints do it in heaven. In saying the Gloria Patri, you can make different affections: of faith, of thanksgiving, of complacency in the felicity of God, and of desire to honor him and to suffer for his glory. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, in saying the Gloria Patri, always bowed down her head, intending to offer it to the executioner in honor of the faith; and she sometimes made this act with such fervor, that she became pale as if she felt that her head was about to be cut off. In repeating the Ave Maria so often in the office, you can obtain many graces through this divine mother. Such is the manner of reciting the divine praises with devotion, and with great advantage to yourself.

Some nuns esteem and call the divine office a great burden; and I say that they who say it without devotion, and with an anxious desire to finish it soon, have reason to call it so. For they have to toil for two hours, or at least for an hour and a half, in reciting it without relish, and with great pain. But to good religious who say the office with devotion, offering to God holy affections and petitions, it gives spiritual delight; and if it be called a burden, it is, as has been said in another place, the burden of the wings that raise the soul to God, and unite it more closely to him.

For the instruction of nuns, and to relieve them from uneasiness of conscience, I will here subjoin the privileges that have been granted to them by the Sovereign Pontiffs. 1.

Clement VII. granted to all religious who are sick, and to the infirmarians, the privilege of being able to satisfy the obligation of the divine office by saying six or seven psalms assigned by the Superior, along with seven Paters and two-Credos. Martin V. granted to religious that are in a state of convalescence the privilege of fulfilling the obligation of the office, by reciting the part of it that their confessor may assign. Observe, that by the sick I mean those that labor under an infirmity, which of itself would not excuse them from the office. Observe, also, that privileges granted to religious of the male sex are also granted to nuns; for what is granted to the former is understood to be granted to the latter, in all that is accommodated to them, and reciprocally. 2.

Leo X. granted permission to religious to anticipate the long offices, and to reserve the short offices for days on which they are more busily employed. 3.

Innocent IV. granted to the nuns of St. Clare (and through them to all nuns who have enclosure, for they all partake of one another’s privileges) permission to comply with the divine office, by reciting the office of lay-sisters when there is any reasonable cause, such as when they are tormented with scruples, or greatly fatigued, or when they were employed for the greater part of the 4 day in useful occupations, or when, in the opinion of the Superior or confessor, they are not as yet well instructed in the office of the choir nuns; and nuns can avail themselves of this privilege without permission of the Superior, because it was granted absolutely and without any condition.”¹

¹ Summ. p. 2, tit. 9, c. 12, § 3.

¹ 16 Jun.

² 2. 2, q. 83, a. 13.

¹ 2. 2, q. 83, a. 13.

¹ Salmantic. Theol. mor. tr. 16, c. 3, n. 55-62.

IV. The Hearing of Mass.

In order to hear Mass with devotion, it is necessary to know that the sacrifice of the altar is the same as that which was once offered on Calvary, with this difference, that on Calvary the blood of Jesus Christ was really shed, but on the altar it is shed only in a mystical manner. Had you been present on Calvary, with what devotion and tenderness would you have attended that great sacrifice! Enliven your faith, then, and consider that the same action is performed on the altar, and that the same sacrifice is offered not only by the priest, but also by all that attend Mass. Thus, all perform, in a certain manner, the office of priests during the celebration of the Mass, in which the merits of the Passion of our Saviour are applied to us in a particular manner.

It is, moreover, necessary to know that the sacrifice of the Mass has been instituted for four ends: 1. To honor God; 2. To satisfy for our sins; 3. To thank God for his benefits; 4. To obtain the divine graces.

The following is a method that will enable us to hear Mass with great fruit: 1. By the oblation of the person of Jesus Christ, God and man, to the Eternal Father, we give to God infinite honor—we give him greater honor than he would receive from the oblation of the lives of all men and all angels. 2.

By the oblation of Jesus Christ in the Mass, we offer to God a complete satisfaction for all the sins of men, and especially for the sins of those that are present at Mass; to whom is applied the same divine blood by which the human race was redeemed on Calvary. Thus, by each Mass more satisfaction is made to God than by any other expiatory work. But although the Mass is of infinite value, God accepts it only in a finite manner, according to the dispositions of those that are present at the holy sacrifice, and therefore it is useful to hear several Masses. 3.

In the Mass we render to God an adequate thanksgiving for all the benefits that he has bestowed upon us. 4.

During the Mass we can obtain all the graces that we desire for ourselves and for others. We are unworthy of receiving any grace from God, but Jesus Christ has given us the means of obtaining all graces, if, while we offer him to God in the Mass, we ask them of the eternal Father in his name, for then Jesus himself unites with us in prayer. If you knew that while you pray to the Lord, the divine Mother, along with all paradise, united with you, with what confidence would you pray! Now when you ask of God any grace during the Mass, Jesus (whose prayers are more efficacious than the prayers of all heaven together) prays for you, and offers in your behalf the merits of his Passion.

You will do well, then, to. divide the Mass into four parts, in the following manner.

Offer the sacrifice of the Mass to honor God, saying:

My God, I adore Thy Majesty; I would wish to honor Thee as much as Thou deservest; but what honor can I, a miserable sinner, give Thee? I offer Thee the honor that Jesus renders to Thee on this altar.

Offer the sacrifice in satisfaction for your sins, saying:

Lord, I detest above every evil all the offences that I have given Thee: I am sorry for them above all things, and in satisfaction for them I offer Thy Son, who sacrifices himself again for us on this altar, and through his merits I pray Thee to pardon me and to give me holy perseverance.

Offer Jesus to the Eternal Father in thanksgiving for all the graces that he has bestowed upon you, saying:

Lord, I am unable to thank Thee; I offer Thee the blood of Jesus Christ in this Mass, and in all the Masses that are at this moment celebrated throughout the world.

You will ask with confidence the graces of which you stand in need, and particularly sorrow for your sins, the gift of perseverance and of divine love; and you will recommend to God, in a special manner, your sisters in religion, poor sinners, and the souls in purgatory. I do not find it amiss if during Mass you recite vocal prayers; but I beg you not to neglect to discharge towards God the four obligations that I have indicated to you: namely, honor, expiation, thanksgiving, and prayer. I also ask you to hear as many Masses as possible in the manner in which I have taught you; for then every Mass will obtain for you a treasure of merits. Should you be permitted to lay out any money, procure Masses to be celebrated in your church, as well for your own benefit as to give the nuns an opportunity of hearing them. But I entreat you not to be of the number of those religious who, desirous of hearing many Masses, extol those priests that say them hurriedly, in contempt of the ceremonies and to the great scandal of those persons that are present. Read what is said on this subject in the preceding chapter.

With regard to confession and Communion, enough has been said in Chapter XVIII.

V. The Refectory.

Would to God that some nuns did not, by their intemperance and want of reserve in the refectory, lose all they had gained in their spiritual exercises. You can practise many virtues in the refectory. 1.

Obedience, by going to meals the instant you hear the signal, in order to be present at the grace that is said. 2.

Purity of intention, by intending to take your meals, not for your own satisfaction, but to do the will of God, who wishes you to support the body that it may help you to serve him on this earth. But before you begin to take food, beg of God the grace not to exceed the bounds of necessity. 3.

Mortification, by abstaining from something, or leaving a part of what pleases you most, or at least by contenting yourself with what you receive from the Community, and not seeking for anything particular, nor complaining that what you receive is not well dressed, or not properly seasoned. Endeavor also to perform some mortification at table, particularly during novenas, and on Fridays and Saturdays, by eating on your knees, or sitting on the floor; be not disturbed if others laugh at you, for then your merit will be increased. 4.

Modesty of the eyes, by keeping them cast down, not looking about to observe what your companions are doing or eating. 5.

Silence, which is so necessary in the refectory. Be careful then to attend to what is read. It is a delightful thing to nourish the soul with the pious sentiments that are read, while the body is nourished with food. By attending to the reading you will also avoid the faults that are committed by the indulgence of the appetite. Read Chapter VIII, § III.,¹ on the mortification of the taste.

¹ Vol. X. p. 229.

Recreation.

It is the will of God that they that love him should take recreation from time to time, in order to unbend the bow. Be glad in the Lord, said David, and rejoice, ye just.² But he says in the Lord; which implies that in recreation there should be moderation and modesty. 1.

Moderation, because when too long, recreation will not be free from faults; hence, the moment the time fixed by rule is expired, you should be silent and retire. Do not imitate those that wish to finish the discourse that has been introduced, and thus spend time unprofitably. St. Jane Frances Chantal used to say: “If I threw away a moment of time, I would consider myself a robber before God. Perhaps the time is mine, so that I can spend it as I please? God has given it to me in measure, and will demand an account of every moment.”

Recreation must also be modest; which implies, first, that you abstain from self-praise, from detraction, and from certain jests that are painful to your companions, and also from interrupting others when they speak. Secondly, modesty implies that you abstain from speaking in a very loud tone, and also from immoderate laughter. I say immoderate laughter; for, as St. Francis de Sales writes, as it is an irregularity to laugh during serious occupations, so it is very improper never to laugh at recreation. Hence his disciple St. Jane Frances Chantal used to say: “When I am among our young religious, I laugh in order to encourage them to enjoy the recreation, for this is necessary.” Thirdly, modesty implies that you abstain from contending with any one, from speaking of things of the world, such as marriages, festivities, splendid dresses, etc. St. John of the Cross used to say, that to speak of these worldly trifles cannot be free from all fault.

I do not say that during recreation you should always speak on serious topics. Laugh, amuse yourself, speak even on entertaining subjects, but preserve recollection, by interiorly making occasional acts of the love of God, or petitions for his graces. Frequently introduce discourses on God, endeavoring to draw spiritual good from conversations that are indifferent. Imitate St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who thus converted the recreation hall into a sanctuary; for the students sometimes went from recreation more fervent than from meditation. I pray you read on this subject what I have written in Chapter VIII. § II., on modesty. Abstain also from all particular attention to those for whom you may feel a preference: if you do not, you will give displeasure to others, and disturb the whole recreation. Be equally free with all, even with those whose dispositions may be least pleasing to you, and imitate St. Teresa, by conversing more with them than with the others.

But what shall we say of recreations that are practised in certain monasteries during the carnival, when some of the common exercises are allowed to be performed in private, the good order of the Community and the rule of silence are not observed, and the nuns spend a part of the day and night in dancing, singing profane songs, and even take part in acting comedies? There we see spouses of Jesus Christ disguised as worldly spouses,^1* and even what is worse, disguised as men with wig and sword, bold enough sometimes to show themselves in

² “Lætamini in Domino et exsultate, justi.”—Ps. xxxi. 11.

¹ True Spouse of Christ, Vol. I. page 226.

• Every one sees that there is question here of very great abuses that existed in certain relaxed convents of Italy.—Ed. this condition at the grate and at the door, to the great scandal of seculars! What a disgrace for a nun to exchange her holy veil for the head-dress of a worldling! I know not how the Superior can permit such irregularities without grievous scruples of conscience. It is related that St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi saw in an ecstasy many persons belonging to the religious state who were damned because they had worn secular clothes with an inordinate affection. O God! it is during the carnival that instead of thinking of worldly amusements religious should then more than ever remain before Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, or in their cell, at the foot of the crucifix, to bewail the many offences with which seculars insult him. Religious who seek such amusements do not love Jesus Christ. During the carnival, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi watched entire nights praying for sinners. How pleasing to Jesus Christ are the prayers of his spouses, who seek to console him at that time when he is most abandoned by the world! Our Lord gave St. Gertrude to understand that he rewards with special graces the acts of virtue which are offered to him during the carnival. And while St. Catharine of Sienna was praying to him during the carnival, our Lord called her his spouse, in return for the homage that she offered to him at a time when so many insults were offered to him.

But if, during that time, you wish to indulge in amusement, amuse yourself in a manner becoming a religious. If you wish to sing, sing spiritual songs; but take care never on any account to dance. The very fact of taking your companion by the hand may cause you many bad thoughts and temptations. If you are invited to take part in any little opera, avoid it as much as possible, for it will at least distract you for a month or two, hindering you from saying your prayers and from being recollected; and refuse absolutely unless the opera be altogether sacred; or if it should be necessary to put on a secular dress, refuse, even though you should be upbraided with incivility, with a want of education, or hypocrisy. Others may reproach you, but God will praise you.¹ Never gaze at masquerades; else you will run the risk of-seeing and hearing things contrary to modesty.

Be careful not to omit your spiritual reading on any day. Enough has been said on this subject in Chapter XVII. Make your visit to the Most Holy Sacrament: read Chapter XVIII. § II.² Attend also to your work: see Chapter XVI. § II.³ You should never omit to say at least five decades of the Rosary. Read Chapter XXI.⁴

¹ “Maledicent illi, et tu benedices.”—Ps. cviii. 28.

² Page 82.

³ True Spouse of Christ, Vol. I. page 490.

⁴ Page 130.

The Examination of Conscience, with other Instructions.

A religious should make two examinations in the day: the general and particular examination. The general examination is made in the evening, the particular is made in the morning before dinner, on some particular defect into which a person falls more frequently. Worldly spouses remain for several hours before the glass; the spouse of Jesus Christ should, at least twice in the day, place herself in the presence of God in order to cleanse the soul.

With regard to the practice of these examinations, the particular is short, for in it a person gives only a glance at the predominant failing and makes a short act of sorrow.

The general examination should be longer. In making it, first ask light of God to enable you to discover the faults you have committed. Then call to mind the actions of the day, and examine whether you have fallen into any defect, such as sloth in rising in the morning, or in obeying any of the calls of the bell; impatience, vanity, in wishing to be seen by others; words of disrespect to companions, idle or uncharitable words, lies of excuse, intemperance in eating, voluntary distractions at prayer or at the Office, looks of curiosity, loss of time, omission of good works, little detractions, want of respect to Superiors, defects against poverty, etc.

But when you commit any fault do not wait till evening to make an act of contrition: make it immediately, and then remain in peace. Be comforted when you feel remorse of conscience for your faults, for it is a good sign; it is a sign that you have a horror of your defects. Woe to the nun that is not afraid of light faults; she is in danger of falling into grievous transgressions.

After the examination make acts of faith, hope, and charity, etc. I here subjoin short acts of these virtues for your convenience.

My God, because Thou hast revealed them to the holy Church, I believe all the truths that she proposes to our belief. I believe that Thou art a just rewarder, that Thou dost reward the saints with heaven, and dost punish the wicked in hell. I believe the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. I believe the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, and all the other articles that the Church believes.

Trusting in Thy promises, I hope, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to obtain from Thee, because Thou art powerful, faithful, and merciful, the pardon of my sins, holy perseverance, and the glory of paradise.

And because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and I repent of all the offences that I have offered to Thee. With the aid of Thy grace, which I ask for this moment and for my whole life, I purpose to die rather than ever more offend Thee. I also purpose to receive the holy sacraments during life and at my death.

You should know that Benedict XIV. has granted an indulgence of seven years and seven times forty days to all the faithful as often as they say these acts, and a plenary indulgence to those who continue to say them every day for a month.

After these acts, say your usual prayers to St. Joseph, to your angel guardian, to your holy advocates, along with the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, which you should never omit.

Go then to take the necessary repose. The devil tempts some nuns to spend a part of the night in prayer, in order to deprive them of the entire of the following day. One day St. Francis could not sleep, but after making the sign of the cross on his pillow he saw the tempter going away. He then said to his companion: “Brother, this devil wished to prevent me from sleeping, that I might be unable to pray on to-morrow.” Take, then, the repose that is necessary for you. In taking off the habit, kiss it, and, in undressing, be careful to practise the greatest possible modesty. Sprinkle the bed with holy-water. Before going to sleep, say: Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit:¹ intending that every breath you draw during your repose may be an act of divine love: let your last words be: My Jesus, I wish for Thee, and for nothing else.

Be careful to make all your novenas with devotion: such as the novena of Christmas, of Pentecost, of the seven festivals of Mary, of your holy patron, along with the devout exercises, and the mortifications that your confessor will prescribe. But during these novenas endeavor to employ yourself in acts of love, and in visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and to an image of the Blessed Mother, more than in vocal prayers.

Be careful also to make, every month, a day’s retreat, spending the entire day in mental prayer, thanksgiving after Communion, spiritual reading, etc., and rigorous silence. A day’s retreat contributes greatly to preserve and increase fervor. I also recommend you, in addition to the spiritual exercises that are made in common, to make the spiritual exercises for eight or ten days in private. For this purpose I shall briefly mention in this chapter the spiritual maxims on which you can meditate.

The virtues that you should be most careful to practise in the monastery are meekness and obedience. Meekness in bearing affronts: a person living in a Community who is unwilling to bear affronts can never advance in the way of God. Obedience in promptly executing what the rules prescribe, and what the Superiors direct. Do not listen to any one that proposes a maxim that savors little of obedience. St. Teresa used to say: If principles opposed to obedience are to be instilled into religious, it would be better there were neither nuns nor convents. Do not begin to examine whether the Superior, in giving you any directions, was influenced by passion: it is the will of God that you obey; and if you are unwilling to obey, do not speak either of perfection, or of the love of God. You already know that all sanctity consists in submitting your own will to the will of your Superiors.

¹ “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum.”

VIII. The Necessity of Banishing Melancholy, and what ought a

Person to do who finds that she has become a Nun against her Inclination.

I. It is necessary to avoid melancholy, which is the pest of devotion, and a source of a thousand faults. As long as you are disturbed you will always fall into many defects; you will do no good, and almost all your prayers, meditations, Communions, spiritual readings, and other exercises will be unprofitable; because they will be performed badly, and with a thousand distractions. Remember that all your inquietude and troubles arise from not accepting crosses with resignation from the hand of God. The will of God renders all tribulations sweet and amiable. Read what has been said in Chapter XIV.¹ You complain that you are infirm, despised, persecuted, and in aridity; unite yourself to the divine will, and these sufferings will be no longer painful to you.

If you tell me that you are not so much tormented by these external crosses as by the interior scruples of conscience, and by fears of being at enmity with God, I answer that your confessor has, as I suppose, already ordered you to speak no more of your past life. By the grace of God you abhor your past sins; you are resolved to die rather than commit even a deliberate venial sin: you frequent the sacraments, and seek to belong entirely to God. All these are signs that you enjoy his grace and friendship. Why, then, are you disturbed? Why do you say: Who knows how I stand before God? How shall I die? Have I confessed all my sins? Is my confessor deceived? The devil tells me that I shall be damned. Behold the usual tales of scrupulous nuns! Ah! abandon yourself into the arms of divine mercy, and say in all tranquillity: Lord, I obey Thy minister, and thus I hope in Thy blood to be saved, and never to lose Thy grace.

With regard to the present, I hope, if you are troubled in mind, that you have no attachment to the venial faults that you daily commit, and that they are not fully deliberate: detest them as soon as you perceive them, and then remain tranquil.

But, Father, my greatest troubles arise from doubts of consenting to grievous sins when I am assailed by bad thoughts. I have already spoken on this subject in Chapter XVIII. § II.¹ I here briefly repeat that a person of a timorous conscience, when he is not certain of having fallen into mortal sin, should remain certain of being in the state of grace; because it is impossible for him whose will is confirmed in good purposes to revolt against God without having a clear knowledge of his consent. When your confessor tells you to disregard these fears, and to go to Communion without confession, obey him blindly, and do not listen to the devil, who seeks to disturb you with scruples in order to make you abandon the way of perfection. When you feel agitated, say to the Lord: My Father, I leave my soul in Thy hands: if it please Thee that this cross should continue till death, I am content; do not permit me to offend Thee, make me love Thee, and I do not refuse to suffer as much as Thou pleasest. St. Francis de Sales says that God loves with a tender love the souls that thus abandon themselves into his paternal bosom, leaving themselves to be governed by his divine Providence; for he will make all things co-operate to their good, helping these chosen souls to follow him with the will without any other support than that of his divine pleasure.”²

II. But perhaps you will tell me you can never have peace, because you find that you have entered religion to please your parents, and against your own will. I answer thus: If, at the time of your profession, you had not a vocation, I would not have advised you to make the vows of religious; but I would have entreated you to suspend your resolution of going back to the world, and casting yourself into the many dangers of perdition that are found in the world. I now see you placed in the house of God, and made either voluntarily or unwillingly the spouse of Jesus Christ. For my part I cannot pity you more than I could pity a person that had been transported, even against his will, from a place infected with pestilence and surrounded by enemies, to a healthful country, to be placed there for life, secure against every foe.

I add: Grant that what you state is true; now that you are professed in a convent, and that it is impossible for you to leave it, tell me what do you wish to do? If you have entered religion against your inclinations, you must now remain with cheerfulness. If you abandon yourself to melancholy you will lead a life of misery, and will expose yourself to great danger of suffering a hell here and another hereafter. You must then make a virtue of necessity. And if the devil has brought you into religion for your destruction, let it be your care to avail yourself of your holy state for your salvation, and to become a saint. Give yourself to God from the heart, and I assure you that by so doing you will become more content than all the princesses and queens of this world. Being asked his opinion regarding a person who had become a nun against her will, St. Francis de Sales answered: It is true that this child, if she had not been obliged by her parents, would not have left the world; but this is of little importance, provided she knows that the force employed by her parents is more useful to her than the permission to follow her own will. For now she can say: If I had not lost such liberty, I would have lost true liberty. The saint meant to say that had she not been compelled by her parents to become a nun, her liberty which would have induced her to remain in the world would have robbed her of the true liberty of the children of God, which consists in freedom from the chains and dangers of the world.

You may say in reply: But how can I be content if I have not been called to religion? But what does it matter that you have not had a vocation from the beginning? Although you have not become a nun in obedience to a divine call, it is certain that God has permitted your profession for your welfare: and if he did not call you then, he certainly calls you now to be his without reserve.

St. Paul, the first hermit, went into the desert, not to remain in it, but to fly from the persecution that was then carried on against the Church; but he was afterwards called by God to remain in the desert: he remained, and became a saint.

When St. Teresa first entered a monastery she entered not without reluctance; she said that in leaving her father’s house the pain that she felt was so great that she thought it equal to the pain that she should suffer at death; and in her life it is related that she took the habit, as it were, by force. But after all she became a great saint, and the reformer of the Carmelite Order.

Blessed Hyacintha Marescotti, a religious of the convent of St. Clare, in Viterbo, was also induced to take the sacred veil against her inclination, and for ten years led a very imperfect life. But being one day illumined with a divine light, she gave herself entirely to God, and persevered till death, for the space of twenty-four years, in a life of holiness, so that she has deserved to be venerated on the altar.

Likewise Sister Mary Bonaventure, a nun in the convent of the Torre Dei Specchi, entered against her will; but after a life of tepidity and dissipation she went, during the first meditation of the spiritual exercises, and threw herself at the feet of Father Lancicio, of the Society of Jesus, and courageously said to him: “Father, I have learned what God wishes from me. I wish to be a saint, and a great saint, and I wish to be one immediately.” And by the divine aid she executed her purpose; so abundant were her tears that she could say no more; but she went to her cell, and at the foot of the crucifix wrote the following protestation: I, Mary Bonaventure, this day, in the beginning of the spiritual exercises, offer myself entirely to Thee, O my God. I promise to love nothing but Thee, O my Jesus! Accept, O most loving Redeemer! this paper, bathed in my tears, which I consecrate to Thee as the pledge of my love. I leave it in the wound of Thy side, that through the merits of Thy blood Thou mayest pardon my sins, and establish me in Thy love, so that I may be no longer mine, and may be all Thine.

It is in this manner you must act: resolve this moment to belong entirely to God, and make the same protestation before the Blessed Sacrament, or at the foot of the crucifix, and doubt not that if you are resolute in your determination the Lord will stretch forth his hand to raise you to a high degree of sanctity. Thus your misfortune, as you call it, will be a source of the greatest happiness, as it was to Sister Bonaventure, who in a short time became a saint. She survived her conversion only a year, but she died rich in merits; for during that year all her time was spent in meditations and works of penance; and she expired in celestial peace, and immediately after death there were manifest signs of her admission to glory.

Have courage, then, and rejoice, now that God calls you to his perfect love, and say: I know, O Lord, that Thou dost wish me entirely for Thyself: love which is divided is not true love.

But remember that to become a saint desires are not sufficient; it is necessary to put the hand to the work. Begin to make a little more mental prayer, make a spiritual reading every day, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, and to an image of Mary. When reproved, be humble; when despised, be silent; cut off all correspondence; begin to mortify the appetite, curiosity, and self-will. Be not diffident, but begin the work, and by degrees you will succeed. Self-love will live in us as long as we have life, and therefore we must constantly endeavor to cut down the noxious plants that spring up in our garden. To become a saint without trouble is impossible.

¹ True Spouse of Christ, Vol. I. page 421.

¹ Page 55.

² Entret. 2.

Summary of the Virtues WHICH THE RELIGIOUS THAT WISHES TO BECOME A SAINT

SHOULD PRACTISE.^*

It would be useful for religious to read this abstract on the day of retreat, in order to see in what virtue they fail. 1.

To desire always to advance in the love of Jesus Christ. Holy desires are the wings with which souls fly to God. Hence it is necessary to meditate frequently on the Passion of our Lord. To make frequent acts of the love of Jesus Christ during the day, beginning as soon as you awake in the morning, and endeavoring to fall asleep making an act of love. And always to ask of Jesus Christ his holy love. 2.

To go to Communion as often as possible, with the permission of your director. And during the day to make several spiritual Communions, at least three. 3.

To visit the Most Holy Sacrament at least once in the day; and in the visit to ask perseverance and holy love, after the acts of faith, thanksgiving, and love. And when you meet with troubles, losses, affronts, or any other cross, have recourse to the Blessed Sacrament, from the place in which you find yourself at the time. 4.

Every morning, at rising, to offer yourself to suffer in peace all the crosses that will happen during the day, and when they happen always to say: Lord, Thy will be always done. 5. To rejoice in the infinite happiness of God. She that loves God more than herself ought to rejoice in his felicity more than in her own.

• This summary is an appendix that belongs to the work, as may be seen, page 160. The author has made a similar one for the faithful in general, as we may see in Vol. III., page 360.—Ed.

6. To desire paradise, and therefore to desire death in order to be delivered from the danger of losing God, and to go to love him for eternity, and with all your strength. 7.

To desire, and to labor that all may love Jesus Christ; and therefore to speak frequently to the sisters of the love of Jesus Christ. 8.

To treat God without reserve, not refusing him anything that you know to be pleasing to him; and even to choose what is most pleasing to him. 9.

To pray every day for the souls in purgatory, and for poor sinners. 10. To perform all your actions through the sole motive of giving pleasure to Jesus Christ, saying, at the beginning of each action: Lord, may this be entirely for Thee! 11.

To offer yourself several times in the day to suffer every pain for his sake, saying: My Jesus, I give myself entirely to Thee: here I am; do with me whatsoever Thou pleasest. 12.

To resolve to die rather than commit a deliberate venial sin. 13.

To abstain from even lawful gratifications, at least two or three times in the day. 14.

To spend two hours, or at least an hour every day in mental prayer. 15.

To love solitude and silence, in order to converse alone with God: hence it is necessary to love the choir and the cell, and to shun the grate, the door, and the terrace. 16.

To perform all the exterior mortifications that you are allowed by obedience, but to attend particularly to interior mortifications; such as not to indulge curiosity, to be silent when you receive an affront, and never to do anything through self-satisfaction. 17.

To perform every spiritual exercise as if it were the last time you are performing it; and on that account to think frequently on death in your meditations. And when you are in bed, consider that there you will one day breathe your last. 18.

Not to abandon your usual devotions, or any other good work, through human respect, through aridity, or tediousness. 19.

Not to complain, in sickness, of the inattention of the physicians or of the sisters; and to endeavor to conceal your pains, except when it is necessary to mention them to the physician. 20.

To banish melancholy, preserving tranquillity, and a uniform serenity of countenance in all crosses. He that wishes what God wishes should never be afflicted. 21.

In temptations, to have recourse immediately and with confidence to Jesus and Mary, and to continue constantly to repeat the names of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. 22.

To place all your confidence, first, in the Passion of Christ, and then in the intercession of Mary, and to ask every day this confidence from God. 23.

After a fault, never to give way to disturbance of mind or to diffidence, even though you should relapse several times into the same fault; but instantly to repent of it, and trusting in God, to renew your resolution to correct it. 24.

To render good to all those that treat you badly, at least by praying to God for them. 25.

To answer with meekness all those that offend you by acts or words, and thus to gain them to God. 26.

When you are disturbed, you will do well to remain silent until the mind is composed; otherwise you ‘will commit a thousand faults without perceiving them. 27. In correcting others, endeavor to select a time when neither you nor the person to be corrected are disturbed otherwise the correction will do more harm than good. 28.

Always to speak well of others, and to excuse the intention when you cannot excuse the action. 29.

To assist others to the best of your ability, and particularly those that are opposed to you. 30.

Neither to say nor to do anything disagreeable to others, unless when it is more pleasing to God that you should say or do it. And when you sometimes fail in charity to your neighbor, to ask pardon, or at least to speak to the person with kindness; and always to speak with meekness, and in a low tone. 31.

To offer to God the affronts that you receive, and not to complain of them to others. 32.

To observe punctually the rules of the monastery. St. Francis de Sales used to say that the most austere penance of a religious is to deny self-will, and to be content that the observance of the Rule be the priest that every moment offers such a sacrifice to God. He would frequently say that the predestination of religious is annexed to the love of their Rule. And to Superiors he used to say, that to fulfil their office they should do nothing else than observe the Rule, and see that it be observed by others. 33.

To regard the Superiors as the person of Jesus Christ, and therefore to obey them punctually and without reply. 34.

To love the most lowly offices. To select the poorest things. To humble yourself even to inferior sisters. Not to speak of yourself either well or ill: for speaking ill of yourself sometimes foments pride. Not to excuse yourself when reproved, nor even when you are calumniated, unless it is absolutely necessary to excuse yourself in order to prevent scandal to others. 35.

To visit the sick, and to assist them according to the best of your ability, particularly those that are abandoned. 36.

To say frequently to yourself, I have come to the convent, not to indulge in pleasure, but to suffer; not to lead a life of comfort, but of poverty; not to be honored, but to be despised; not to do my own will, but the will of others. 37.

To renew always the purpose to become a saint, and not to lose courage in any state of tepidity in which you may find yourself. 38.

To renew every day the vows of your profession. 39.

To conform to the divine will in all things opposed to the senses, in sorrows, infirmities, affronts, contradictions, losses of property, death of relatives or of other persons that are dear to you. And to direct all your actions, Communions, and other prayers to that end, always asking of God to make you love him, and fulfil his holy will in all things. 40.

To recommend yourself to the prayers of other devout persons; but to recommend yourself more to the saints in heaven, and particularly to the Blessed Virgin, setting a great value on the devotion to this divine mother, and endeavoring to infuse it into others.

Spiritual Maxims for a Religious.^*

Of what use will it be to gain the whole world and to lose one’s soul?

Everything has an end; but eternity has no end. All may be lost, provided God be not lost. No sin, however small, is a light evil.

• This is an appendix that, like the preceding, belongs to the work, as we may see, page 206. These maxims are also offered to all the faithful in Vol. III., page 358.—Ed.

If we desire to please God, we must deny ourselves. That which is done for our own satisfaction is all loss.

In order to save ourselves we must be in constant fear of falling.

Let me die, so that I may please God.

The only evil that we ought to fear is sin. All that God wills is good, and therefore to be desired.

He who desires nothing but God is happy, and contented with everything that happens.

I ought to imagine to myself that there are no others in the world but God and myself.

The whole world cannot satisfy our heart; God alone can satisfy it.

All good consists in loving God. And loving God consists in doing his will.

All our riches are in prayer. He who prays obtains everything that he can desire.

Let us consider that day lost on which we omit our mental prayer. “He who leaves off praying,” says St. Teresa, “casts himself into hell of his own accord.”

Let us not pass a day without reading some spiritual book.

Points of honor are the plague of spirituality.

To be humble of heart, and not merely in word, it is not sufficient to say that we are deserving of all contempt, but we must also be glad when we are despised. And what has a Christian learnt to do, if he cannot suffer an affront for God’s sake? When you are insulted, take it all cheerfully.

He who thinks of hell, which he has deserved, finds every trouble easy to bear.

He who loves poverty possesses all things. In the things of this world we must choose the worst; in the things of God we must choose the best.

An obedient soul is the delight of God.

True charity consists in doing good to those who do us evil, and in thus gaining them over.

Of what use are the riches and honors of this world at the hour of death?

It is a great grace of God to be called to his holy love.

God does not leave a single good desire unrewarded.

All attachment, even to good things (except to God), is bad.

Let us be grateful, and first of all to God. Let us therefore resolve to deny him nothing, making choice of those things which are most pleasing to him.

The most beautiful prayer is when in sickness we unite ourselves to the will of God.

A holy life and sensual pleasures cannot agree together.

He who trusts in himself is lost; he who trusts in God can do all things.

And what greater delight can a soul have than to know that it is pleasing God.

God is ready to give himself to those who leave all for his love.

The only way by which we can become saints is the way of suffering.

It is by aridity and temptations that God tries those who love him.

No one can be lost who loves God and trusts in him.

Let us beg of God to give us a tender devotion to his divine Mother.

He who looks on Jesus crucified suffers everything in peace. He who loves God most

in this world is the happiest. All that is not done for God, turns to pain. No kind of disquietude, although for a good end, comes from God.

It is enough that we do not stand still; we shall arrive in the end.

He who desires only God is rich and happy: he is in want of nothing, and may laugh at the whole world.

Nothing can satisfy one whom God does not satisfy.

God, God, and nothing more.

We must overcome all to gain all.

Aspirations of Love to Jesus Christ.^*

My Jesus, Thou alone art sufficient for me.

My Love, do not permit me to separate myself from Thee.

When shall I be able to say, “My God, I cannot lose Thee any more?”

Lord, who am I, that Thou shouldst desire so much to be loved by me?

And whom shall I love if I love not Thee, my Jesus?

Here I am, Lord; dispose of me as Thou pleasest.

Give me Thy love; I ask nothing more.

Make me all Thine before I die.

Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus Christ have pity on me.

My God, I wish for Thee alone, and nothing more.

O my Jesus! would that I could be entirely spent for Thee, as Thou didst spend Thyself entirely for me. If I had died while I was in sin, I could no more have loved Thee; now that I can love Thee, I will love Thee as much as I can.

To Thee do I consecrate all the remainder of my life.

I wish only, and I wish in all things, that which Thou dost desire.

When I see Thee for the first time, my Jesus, may it be with a look of mercy!

May I die rather than ever offend Thee again!

• These Aspirations are also referred to, page 156.

Thou wilt not leave me; I will not leave Thee: so shall our love endure in this world and in the next.

I should be too ungrateful, O my Jesus! if I loved Thee but little, after so many graces.

Thou didst give Thyself all to me; I give myself all to Thee.

Thou lovest those that love Thee. I love Thee; do Thou also love me.

If I love Thee but little, give Thou me the love Thou requirest of me.

What hast Thou not done to oblige me to love Thee? Make me conquer all things to please Thee.

Accept the love of a soul that has offended Thee so deeply.

Show me the immense good Thou art, that I may love Thee exceedingly.

I desire to love Thee exceedingly in this life, that I may love Thee exceedingly in the next.

I hope to love Thee for all eternity, O eternal God!

Oh, that I had always loved Thee! Oh, that I had died rather than have offended Thee!

I give Thee my will, my liberty; dispose of me as Thou pleasest.

May my only happiness be to please Thee, O Infinite Goodness!

O my God! I rejoice in that Thou art infinitely happy.

Thou art omnipotent; make me a saint.

Thou hast sought me while I was fleeing from Thee; Thou didst love me when I despised Thy love: abandon me not, now that I seek Thee and love Thee.

May I this day give myself wholly to Thee!

Send me any chastisement; but deprive me not of the power of loving Thee.

I thank Thee that Thou givest me time to love Thee. I love Thee, my Jesus, I love Thee; and I hope to die repeating, “I love Thee, I love Thee.”

I desire to love Thee without reserve, and to do all that I know to be pleasing to Thee.

I love Thy good pleasure more than all the pleasures of the world.

I accept all the troubles that may happen to me, provided I love Thee, O my God. O my Jesus, that I could die for Thee, as Thou didst die for me!

Oh, that I could make all men love Thee as Thou deservest!

O will of God! thou art my love.

O God of love! give me love.

O Mary! draw me all to God.

O my Mother! make me always have recourse to thee. It is for thee to make me a saint. This is my hope.