A Year with the Saints. Anonymous

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      St. Ignatius constantly compared one day with another, and the gain on one day with the gain on another. Thus he advanced daily and entertained a constant desire of advancing still more, that he might reach the summit of perfection to which God called him.

      St. James the Apostle received great praise because he went on advancing daily in the Divine service.

      24. To be pleased at correction and reproofs shows that one loves the virtues which are contrary to those faults for which he is corrected and reproved. And, therefore, it is a great sign of advancement in perfection.----St. Francis de Sales

      When a monk once visited the Abbot Serapion, he suggested that first of all, they should pray together. But the visitor refused, saying that he was a great sinner and unworthy to wear the habit. A little while after, the Abbot addressed him thus: "My brother, if you wish to become perfect, remain at work in your cell and do not talk much, for going about a great deal is not desirable for you." At these words the monk was not a little perturbed. When the Abbot perceived this, he added, "What is the matter, brother? A moment ago you said you were so great a sinner that you were not worthy to live; and now, when I have shown you, in charity, what you need, are you angry? From this, it would seem that your humility is not genuine. If you wish to be humble in truth, learn to receive admonitions humbly." At this reproof, the monk recollected himself, acknowledged his fault and went away greatly edified.

      The Empress Leonora requested her confessor and those ladies of her court with whom she was most intimate that when they observed anything in her that needed amendment or improvement, to inform her of it with all possible freedom, as they would tell her the pleasantest news; and when they did it, she thanked them very cordially.

      When St. Peter was reproved by St. Paul he was not angry; neither did he stand upon his dignity as Superior, nor look down upon the other for having been a persecutor of the Church, but received the advice in good part.

      We read of St. Ambrose, that when anyone informed him of a fault, he thanked him as for a special favor; and there was a certain Cistercian who was especially pleased at an admonition, and used to say an Our Father for whoever gave it.

      St. John Berchmans always entertained a great desire to have his faults told him in public and to be reproved for them, and if this ever happened he was much pleased. With this intention, he used to write them on scraps of paper, which he gave to the Superiors, that they might read them and reprimand him for them. Not content with this, he asked of the Superior that four of his companions might keep their eyes on him and admonish him. One of these testified that having once drawn his attention to a slight omission into which he had fallen, on account of being occupied in another work of charity at the time, he thanked him cordially for the warning and said the beads for him three times, promising that he would always do the same whenever he would inform him of any defect.

      25. The finest assurance that we can have in this world of being in the grace of God does not consist at all in sentiments of love to Him, but in complete and irrevocable abandonment of our whole being into His hands, and in the firm resolution never to consent to any sin either great or small.----St. Francis de Sales

      We read in old chronicles of a young lady who was so severely afflicted that she seemed to be suffering the pains of Hell. After remaining for a long time in this state, she one day turned her whole heart to God in this prayer: "My sweetest Lord, only remember that I am a poor creature of Thine! for the rest, do with me what pleases Thee, now and through eternity! I abandon myself into Thy hands, and am ready to suffer these torments as long as it shall please Thee." This act of resignation, which she made from her heart with all sincerity, was so pleasing to God that it was scarcely finished when He united her to Himself and immersed her blissfully in the immense ocean of His Divinity.

      St. Catherine of Genoa said: "I am no more my own; whether I live or die, I am my Saviour's; I have no longer any possession or interest of my own. My God is all; my being consists in being wholly His. O world! thou art always the same, and until now, I have been always the same; but, from this time forth, I will be such no longer."

      26. Let us learn from Jesus in the manger, to hold the things of the world in such esteem as they deserve.----St. Francis de Sales

      The Ven. Beatrice of Nazareth saw, in a vision, the whole system of the universe beneath her feet and God alone above her head, so that she was standing, as it were, between God and the world----the world beneath, God above, and she herself in the middle. By this, she understood that the height of perfection is gained when one has over his head only God, and all else under his feet, making no more account of it than if it did not exist, placing all his love and interest in God, and nothing else, not even himself, except in God.

      St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland, after becoming a nun would never mention or listen to any worldly news unless it concerned the honor of God and the salvation of souls.

      27. If you wish for a method brief and compendious, one which contains in itself all other methods and is most efficacious in conquering all temptations and difficulties, and acquiring perfection, this is the exercise of the presence of God.----St. Basil

      A priest who was an intimate friend of the same St. Basil suffered mny severe temptations and many grievous threats from Julian the Apostate, but always held his ground firmly against them. He himself assigned this reason for his victory: "It was because," he said, "in all that time, so far as I remember, the Divine Presence never escaped my mind."

      Joseph, when solicited to evil, replied, "How shall I do this under the eye of God?" And Susanna said, "It is better for me to fall into your hands without fault, than to sin in the sight of God." St. Ephrem being solicited to sin by a woman of evil life, professed his readiness, provided the scene of their transgression should be the public square. But when the woman objected to this condition on account of the shame it would involve, "Then," replied the Saint, "you fear shame before the eyes of men, and do you not fear it before the Angels of God?" By this consideration, he brought about her conversion.

      When Tais learned that God beheld her in the commission of sin, she resisted a thousand temptations and became a Saint.

      28. To be able to advance much in perfection, it is necessary to apply ourselves to one thing by itself----to a single book of devotion, to a single spiritual exercise, to a single aspiration, to a single virtue, and so on. Not, indeed, that all other things ought to be quite rejected and passed by, but in such a way that this to which one is applying himself may usually be aimed at more in particular and as the special object of the most frequent effort, so that if one chance to turn to others, these may be like accessories. To do otherwise, by passing from one exercise to another, is to imitate those who spoil their appetite at a banquet by tasting a little of every delicacy. It is perpetually seeking, and never attaining, the science of the Saints, and so it results in losing that tranquillity of spirit in God, which is the "one thing needful" that Mary chose. We must, however, guard ourselves here from one fault, into which many fall. It is that of attaching ourselves too much to our own practices and spiritual exercises. This, naturally, makes us feel dislike for all methods not conformed to our own; for each one thinks that he employs the only suitable one, and considers as imperfect those who do not work in the same way. Whoever has a good spirit draws edification from everything, and condemns nothing.----St. Francis de Sales

      Although the Saints profited by everything, yet each of them chose some practice of his own in which he exercised himself particularly. For example, the favorite author of St. Francis de Sales was Scupoli; that of St. Dominic, Cassian; the most frequent ejaculation of St. Francis was, "My God is my all!" that of St. Vincent de Paul, "In the name of the Lord!" that of St. Bruno, "Oh, Goodness!" Some had the presence of God for their spiritual exercise; some, purity of intention; some, resignation to the Divine Will; and others, the renunciation of themselves. СКАЧАТЬ