by Conférence Sr Maria Theresia (translated)
I especially love these three little virtues: gentleness of heart, poverty of spirit and simplicity of life. » (EA, XIII, p. 92)
SIMPLICITY… PURELY CHRISTIAN VIRTUE
“This virtue is purely Christian, because the pagans, even those who spoke very well of the other virtues, like Plato and Aristotle, had no knowledge of it, nor of humility. Of magnificence, of liberality, of prudence, of constancy, they have written very well, but of simplicity and humility none. Our Lord himself came down from heaven to give knowledge to men, both of one and the other, otherwise they would always have been ignorant of this so necessary doctrine. » (Ent. EA, VI, p. 203) …
CHRISTIAN ORNAMENT “It is a great ornament of Christian life that fidelity, roundness and sincerity of language… There is nothing so good and desirable as simplicity (in language)….The children of God walk without detours and have hearts without withdrawal. “He who walks simply,” says the wise man, “walks full of confidence.” (Pr 10, 9) (VD 3rd part, chap. 30) …
HIS PURPOSE: TO PLEASE GOD “To understand what simplicity is, we must first know that there are three virtues which have such a close relationship and resemblance that there seems to be no difference between them: truth, purity and simplicity. … A pure soul does not have its intentions mixed, but it has only one in everything it does. – Going to prayer to worship God, and adding the intention of obtaining consolations, who does not see that this is impure? Purity therefore has only one intention, or at least does not contain any impure one which does not tend to the glory of God. But simplicity surpasses these two virtues, especially since it looks straight to God. The Bridegroom, in the Song of Songs (IV, 9, makes this clear to us when he assures us that his Wife has “raptured his heart with one of her eyes and with one of her hairs”; meaning: My beloved , my dearest, my dove, you looked at me with your two eyes, but now you have closed the left eye with which you saw the eternal rewards, because you are completely assured and persevering in my love; therefore look more than me, nor think more than me, because “your hair”, namely, your thoughts, you have reduced them all into one which is for me, that is why “you have taken away the heart”. This is perfect simplicity, to have in everything we do only one and only claim to please God, and this is what Our Lord wanted to teach his apostles when he recommended them. to be “prudent as the serpent and simple as the dove.” I know well, he wanted to say, that conversing among men you must be prudent in putting together various kinds of pretensions, but I also want you to be “prudent as the serpent and simple as the dove.” be simple, reducing them all into one, which is my greatest glory. » (EA, IX, pp. 33-34; Sermon of March 23, 1614) We can see that St. Francis de Sales connects “simplicity” to purity of intention and therefore, to direction of intention, which has only one goal: to glorify and love God! There we find Saint Paul when he writes to the Corinthians: “Do you not know? Your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and whom you have received from God; you no longer belong to yourselves, for you have been bought with a price. Therefore give glory to God in your body. » (1 Cor 6, 19-20) A third point that we can emphasize: the passage cited from the sermon of St. Francis de Sales refers us once again to our Directory where it is said: “The Directory offers a number of exercises, it is true; and it is good and proper for beginners to keep their minds organized and occupied. But when, through the progress of time, souls have exercised themselves in this multiplicity of interior acts, and they are shaped, broken down and resourceful, then these exercises must unite into an exercise of greater simplicity… » (Opinion on the Executive Board) …AND LOVE GOD “Simplicity banishes from the soul so much care and solicitude that many have in vain to seek quantity of exercises and means to be able to love God, as they say; and it seems to them that if they do not do all that the saints have done, they cannot be content. Poor people, how much pity there is in them! because they torment themselves in finding the art of loving God, and do not know that there is no other way than to love him. They think that there is a certain finesse to acquiring this love, which nevertheless is only found in simplicity…. “Simplicity truly embraces the means prescribed to each person according to their vocation to acquire the love of God, but this is done without in any way turning away from its end, which is the love of God, so that it wants no other motive to acquire or be incited to the search for this love than its very end, has
otherwise simplicity would not be perfectly simple…simplicity requires that we go there attracted by the desire to please God, without any other regard; and so with all things. » (Ent. EA, VI, p. 205) …
DAUGHTER OF CHARITY “Simplicity is nothing other than a pure and simple act of charity which has only one end, which is to acquire the love of God; and our soul is simple when we have no other pretensions in all that we do or desire… (Marthe and Mary) “Marthe, Marthe, you are troubled by several things; although only one is necessary, which is the one that Madeleine has chosen and which will not be taken away from her. “This simple act of charity which means that we look at and have no other aim in all our actions than the sole desire to please God, is the part of Mary which is alone necessary”, and it is simplicity , a virtue which is inseparable from charity, especially since it looks straight to God, without it ever being able to tolerate any mixture of self-interest; otherwise it would no longer be simplicity, because it cannot tolerate any lining, creatures or the consideration of them have no place in simplicity…” (Ent. EA, VI, p. 203) “You have to be very simple in conversation; However, we must not be inconsiderate, especially since simplicity always follows the rule of the love of God. » (EA VI, p. 210) “Now, sus therefore, to this holy simplicity, sister of innocence, daughter of charity…” (EA XIII, p. 304; letter to Baroness de Chantal) (sus therefore = word of encouragement) …
SISTER OF HUMILITY “This virtue has a great affinity with humility, which does not allow us to have a bad opinion of anyone…” (EA VI, p. 209) “…and as true simplicity humbly refuses burdens, true humility simply exercises them…” (EA XVII, p. 260; to the Mother of Bréchard, July 22, 1616) …
MAKES HAPPY “When will we seek only God? Oh how happy we will be when we have arrived at that point, for everywhere we will have what we seek, and will seek everywhere what we will have. » (EA, XX, p. 265; to Mother de Blonay, February 2, 1622) “The apostles having risen (for they fell on their faces hearing the voice of the Eternal Father), “saw no more than Jesus alone”. (Mt 17, 6, 8) This is the sovereign degree of perfection, of not see more than Our Lord in whatever we do. Many will refrain from looking at the men and things of this world, but there are extremely few who do not look at themselves; even the most spiritual seek and choose among devotional exercises those which are more to their taste and more conformable to their inclinations. However, we must only see God, seek no more than Him, nor have any affection except for Him, and we will be blessed. Souls who have reached this degree of perfection take special care to look at and stand near Our Lord crucified on Calvary, because they find Him more alone there than in any other place. » (E, IX, p. 31, sermon of February 23, 1614) …
MAKES PLEASING TO GOD “Let it be enough for us to know that God wants us to obey, without amusing ourselves by considering the capacity of those to whom we must obey; thus we will subject our minds to walking quite simply in the very happy path of a holy and quiet humility, which will make us infinitely pleasing to God. » (Ent. EA, VI, p. 46) “Oh, how happy we would be if we took no notice of what we do or suffer, but only that we are doing the will of God, and that was all our contentment! “It is a very great and perfect simplicity to voluntarily stop one’s mind only in God alone. Our Lord wants you in this way of such perfect simplicity, most assuredly; this is the most pleasing thing you can do to his Goodness. Remain there and therefore never leave it, except to see and do what he commands for his service; then, immediately withdraw into him, in this simplicity which understands everything. You could not make a sacrifice more pleasing to God, nor more useful to you, because of the activity of your spirit. By fidelity to this exercise, you will achieve the end you claim. » (EA XXI, p. 167, Letter to J from Chantal, 1612-1615) …
PURIFIES GOD’S LOVE “A child, while he is very small, is reduced to a great simplicity which means that he has no other knowledge than his mother; he has only one love, which is for his mother, and in this love only one claim, which is his mother’s breast: lying on this beloved breast, he wants nothing else. The soul that has perfect simplicity has only one love, which is for God; and in this love she has only one claim, which is that of resting on the chest of the heavenly Father, and there, like a child of love, making her home, leaving everything entirely
t the care of oneself to her good Father, without ever again having to worry about anything, except to remain in this holy confidence… “He who is very attentive to lovingly pleasing the celestial Lover has neither the heart nor the leisure to return to himself, his mind continually tending in the direction where love takes him. » (Ent. EA, VI, pp. 216, 217) “You will do well to simply look at Our crucified Lord, and to protest to Him your love and absolute resignation, dry, arid and insensitive as it is, without amusing yourself by considering or examining your evil…” (EA XIII, p. 200 ; to Baroness de Chantal, 1616) …
PURIFIES THE LOVE OF THE NEIGHBOR “Often we think we love a person for God, and we love them for ourselves; we use this pretext, and say that this is why we love him, but in truth we love him for the consolation we ‘receive’ from him: for is there not more sweetness of seeing a soul come to you full of good affection, who conforms in everything to your advice and who goes faithfully and calmly on the path that you have marked out for him, than to see another all worried, embarrassed and weak to follow the good, and to whom must the same thing be said a thousand times? without doubt you will have more suavity. It is therefore not for God that you love him, for the latter person is as much God’s as the first, and you should love him more, for there is more to do for God. It is true that where there is more of God, that is to say, more virtue – which is a participation of divine qualities – we owe more affection…” (Ent. EA, VI, p.127) “Throw all your heart, your ‘desires’, your concerns and your affections into the paternal bosom of God, and he will lead you, even carry you where his love wants you…. “…Who is in the hands of God and who ‘rests in him,’ who has abandoned himself to his love and who has surrendered himself to his good pleasure, what can shake and move him? … “…Then we will be full of gentleness and gentleness towards our neighbors, because we will see these souls in ‘the heart’ of the Savior. Alas! whoever looks at his neighbor outside of there, it is his luck to love him neither purely, nor constantly, nor equally; but there, who would not love him, who would not tolerate him, who would not tolerate his imperfections, who would find him unpleasant, who would find him boring? Now, there is this neighbor, in ‘the heart’ of the Savior; he is there as if very loved and so lovable that the Lover dies of love for him. Then, even the natural love of blood, of conventions, of propriety, of correspondences, of sympathies, of graces will be purified and reduced to the perfect obedience of the all pure love of good divine pleasure. » (EA VI, p. 219)
PURIFIES OUR PRAYER “One must have great determination never to abandon prayer, for any difficulty that may be encountered there, and not to go there with any preoccupation with the desire to be consoled and satisfied; because this would not make our will united and adjusted to that of Our Lord, who wants that entering into prayer we are resolved to suffer the pain of continual distractions, dryness and disgust which will occur to us there, remaining as content as if we had had a lot of consolation and tranquility there; since it is a certain thing, that our prayer will not be less pleasing to God, nor less useful to us for being done with more difficulty. For provided that we always adjust our will to that of God, remaining in a simple expectation and disposition to receive the events of his good pleasure, whether in prayer or in other circumstances, he will make all things profitable and pleasant to us. in the eyes of his divine goodness. It will therefore be good to pray well to stand in peace and tranquility near Our Lord, or ‘before him’, without any other desire or pretension than to be with him and to please him. » (Ent. EA, VI, pp. 348-349) …
DON’T WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING “Simplicity does not interfere with what others do or will do, it thinks of itself; yet she only has for herself those thoughts which are truly necessary, because as for others, she always quickly turns away from them. » (Ent. EA, VI, p. 209) “…Don’t look so much here and there, keep your sight focused on God and on yourself. You will never see God without goodness, nor you without misery, and will see his goodness conducive to your misery and your misery the object of his goodness and mercy. So look at nothing but that, I mean with a fixed, fixed and express view, and everything else in passing. Therefore, do not pay much attention to what others are doing or what they will become, but look at them with a simple, good, gentle and affectionate eye. Do not require more perfection in them than in yourself and do not be surprised by the diversity of imperfections, because imperfection is not more imperfection for being extravagant and strange.
e. Do like the bees, suck honey from all flowers and herbs. » (EA XII, p. 168, letter to the Sister of Soulfour, January 16, 1603) …
KEEP OVER HURRY IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE “The trouble and worry that we have, even regarding the advancement of our souls in perfection, is contrary to perfect simplicity, since this virtue consists of a certain tranquility of heart and inner peace of the soul which stands like Magdalene at the feet of Our Lord, while Martha hastens. This is why he takes her back, because if she had simply taken care to serve him well, she would not have put together so many pretensions to ensure that everything was in good order, and would not have been taken back. The simple soul wants to work to make itself perfect, since God wills it, but it does not hurry, but leaves the event to the divine pleasure. » (EA IX, p. 34; sermon of March 23, 1614) …
IS RARE “This equality of mood, this gentleness and gentleness of heart is rarer than perfect chastity, but it is all the more desirable. » (EA XVII, 260; to the Mother of Bréchard, July 22, 1616) “Blessed are the souls who drink the chalice with Our Lord, who mortify themselves, carry the cross and suffer lovingly for his love, and who also receive from his hand all kinds of events. But, my God, how few there are! However, I do not say this without making some exceptions. » (EA IX, p. 82; sermon of May 6, 1616) “’Self-esteem’ is a bad beast that causes us a lot of damage, preventing us from going simply and smoothly in all our actions, making us seek our own interest and satisfaction in all things. There are very few, even among spiritual people, who look purely at God without seeking their own contentment, desiring only to satisfy Him and not to satisfy themselves. » (EA IX, p. 78, sermon of May 6, 1616 or 1617)
SIMPLICITY: WAY TO HEAVEN “I have told you many times, my dear daughters, that simplicity is the way of heaven…” (EA VI, p. 280) And we must move forward on this path “like little children: while they feel their mother holding them by the cuffs, they boldly go and run all around, and are not surprised by the little things other than the weakness of their legs makes them do it; so, while you perceive that God holds you by the good will and resolution that he has given you to serve him, go boldly, and do not be surprised by these little shocks and ‘bumps’ that you will make; and there is no need to be upset, provided that at certain intervals you throw yourself into his arms and ‘kiss him with love’. Go joyfully and with an open heart as much as you can; and if you do not always go joyfully, always go courageously and confidently. » (EA XII, p. 168; letter to the Sister of Soulfour, January 16, 1603)