| We Have Not Sufficient Spiritual Heat to Digest Well All That We Take in for Our Perfection |
For Sunday’s Living Jesus Chat, we will again read an article from a book by St. Francis de Sales called Of Devotion, and of the Principal Exercises of Piety. It explores the importance of generosity in devotion.___________________________________________To prepare for our chat, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Monk in prayer, by ChatGPTSome time ago, there were some holy religious who said to me, “Sir, what shall we do this year? Last year we fasted three times a week, and we took the discipline as often; what shall we do now? Surely we must do something more, as well to render thanks to God for the past year, as to go on always increasing in the ways of God.” “You have said well that we ought always to go forward,” replied I; “but our advancement is not brought about, as you think, by the multitude of exercises of piety, but by the perfection with which we do them, reposing ever more and more trust in our Lord, and more and more distrusting ourselves. Last year you fasted three times a week, and you took the discipline three times. If you wish always to double your exercises, this year it will be the entire week; but next year how will you manage? You will be obliged to make nine days in the week, or to fast twice in the day.” Great is their folly who amuse themselves with desiring to be martyred in the Indies, and do not apply themselves to what they have to do in the place where their vocation is appointed. Greatly also are they deceived who would eat more than they are able to digest. We have not sufficient spiritual heat to digest well all that we take in for our perfection, and nevertheless we are unwilling to cut off those anxieties which make us so desirous of doing a great deal. To read store of spiritual books, especially when they are new—to speak much of God and of spiritual things—excite ourselves, as we say, to devotion—to hear abundance of sermons and conferences—to communicate often—to confess still oftener—to wait upon the sick—to speak copiously of all that passes in our mind, in order to manifest the aim which we have of arriving at perfection, and doing so speedily; are not all these means very well adapted for perfecting ourselves? Yes, provided that all is done according as it is ordered, and that it is always with dependence on the grace of God; that is to say, that we do not put our confidence in all this, good as it is, but in God alone, who only can enable us to draw fruit from our exercises. Consider, I entreat you, the life of those great saints of the desert, of a St. Anthony, who was honored of God and man by reason of his very great holiness. Tell me how did he arrive at that? Was it by dint of reading, or by conferences and frequent communion, or by the multitude of sermons which he heard? Not so; for he did not know how to read, and he had no preachers to hear. How, then, did he arrive at it? It was by making use of the examples of the holy hermits, copying from one his abstinence, from another his prayer; and thus he went about, like a busy bee, picking and gathering the virtues of the servants of God, to compose out of them the honey of a holy edification. You may say the same of St. Paul, the first hermit, of St. Pacomius, and of so many others who were models of perfection. What means it, then, that these holy solitaries, eating so little of those Spiritual viands which nourish our souls unto immortality, were nevertheless always in such good case—that is to say, so strong and so courageous in undertaking the acquisition of the virtues, and in going on to perfection; whilst we, who eat much, are always so thin—that is to say, so cowardly and languishing in the pursuit of our designs? And it seems as if we had no courage and no vigor in the service of our Lord, if we are not supported by spiritual consolations. We ought, then, to imitate those holy religious, applying ourselves to our work, that is to say, to what God demands of us according to our vocation, fervently and humbly; and to think only of this, considering that we cannot find any better means of perfecting ourselves than this. But perhaps someone will reply, “You stay fervently. My God! and how can I do this, for I have no fervor at all?” Not that which you mean so far as regards sensible feeling, which God gives to whom He thinks fit, and which it is not in our power to have when we please. I add also humbly; and do not say, “I have no humility, and it is not in my power to have it,” for the Holy Spirit, who is goodness itself, gives it to whosoever asks for it: but not that humility, or if you please, that sensible feeling of our own littleness, which leads us to humble ourselves so gracefully in everything; but that humility which makes us know our own abjectness, and which makes us love it; for that is true humility. Reflections: Why is the quality and not the quantity of our devotion more important? Or to rephrase: How can amassing devotions be akin to “building our treasures on earth” instead of in heaven?Devotion is good and holy, but how can it lead to pride?In this letter, St. Francis wrote: “Great is their folly who amuse themselves with desiring to be martyred in the Indies, and do not apply themselves to what they have to do in the place where their vocation is appointed.” In recent times, St. Therese of Calcutta said, “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you are—in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools.” Discuss.In the spirit of this letter, discuss this quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:16-18, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”How does humility help inform the practice of devotion and other virtues?How does the above exhortation guide our time at prayer? What are good ways to direct our thoughts and affections? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time U.S. |