Christian perfection, according to the testimony of the
Gospels and Epistles, consists chiefly in charity which unites us to
God.(1) This virtue corresponds to the supreme precept of the love of
God. We read also: "He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God
in him." (2) "But above all these things have charity, which is the
bond of perfection." (3)Some theologians have questioned whether
for perfection, properly so called, not that of beginners or of
proficients, but that which characterizes the unitive way, a great
charity is necessary, or whether this perfection can be obtained
without a lofty degree of this virtue. Some authors doubt it.(4) They
even declare that a high degree of charity is not necessary to
perfection, properly so called, because, according to the testimony of
St. Thomas, "the very least grace is sufficient to resist any degree
of concupiscence." (5)
The majority of theologians answer, on the contrary, that
perfection, properly so called, is obtained only after long exercise
of the acquired and infused virtues, an exercise by which their
intensity increases.(6) Before reaching the age of perfection, the
perfect man must have been a beginner, then a proficient. In the
perfect man, not only can charity conquer many temptations, but it has
in fact triumphed over many, and has thereby notably increased.
Therefore Christian perfection, properly so called, that of the
unitive way, cannot be conceived without a lofty charity.(7)
If we were to read the contrary in the works of St. John of the
Cross, for example, we would think we were dreaming and that there was
a typographical error. It seems altogether certain that, as for adult
age greater physical strength is needed than for childhood (although
accidentally certain particularly vigorous adolescents may be stronger
than certain adults), likewise for the state of the perfect a loftier
charity is also needed than for that of beginners (although
accidentally certain saints have a greater charity at the beginning
than certain perfect souls already advanced in age).
The common teaching of theologians on this point seems clearly
founded on the very preaching of the Savior, especially that of the
beatitudes found in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. This
page of the Gospel admirably expresses all the elevation of Christian
perfection to which Christ calls all of us. The Sermon on the Mount is
the abridgment of Christian doctrine, the solemn promulgation of the
New Law, given to perfect the Mosaic Law and to correct erroneous
interpretations of it; and the eight beatitudes given at its
beginning, are the abridgment of this sermon. They thus wonderfully
condense all that constitutes the ideal of the Christian life and show
all its loftiness.
Christ's first preaching promised happiness and showed the means to
obtain it. Why does He speak first of all of happiness? Because all
men naturally wish to be happy. They pursue this end unceasingly,
whatever they may wish; but they often seek happiness where it is not,
where they will find only wretchedness. Let us listen to our Lord, who
tells us where true and lasting happiness is, where the end of our
life is, and who gives us the means to obtain it.
The end is indicated in each of the eight beatitudes. Under
different names, it is eternal happiness, whose prelude the just may
enjoy even here on earth; it is the kingdom of heaven, the promised
land, perfect consolation, the full satisfaction of all our holy and
legitimate desires, supreme mercy, the sight of God our Father. The
means are quite the contrary of those suggested by the maxims of
worldly wisdom, which proposes an entirely different end.
St. Augustine and St. Thomas admirably explain the order of these
eight beatitudes. An ascending order, it is the inverse of that of the
Our Father, which descends from the consideration of the glory of God
to that of our personal needs and of our daily bread.
The first three beatitudes tell the happiness that is found in the
flight from sin and deliverance from it, in poverty accepted for love
of God, in meekness, and in the tears of contrition. The two following
beatitudes are those of a Christian's active life: they correspond to
the thirst for justice and to mercy exercised toward one's neighbor.
Then come those of the contemplation of the mysteries of God: the
purity of heart which prepares the soul to see God, and the peace
which springs from true wisdom. Finally, the last and most perfect of
the beatitudes unites all the preceding ones in the very midst of
persecution endured for justice' sake. These are the final trials, the
condition of sanctity.(8)
We shall follow this ascending order to get a precise idea of
Christian perfection, taking care not to lessen it. We shall see that
Christian perfection goes beyond the limits of asceticism, or of the
exercise of the virtues according to our own activity, and that it
implies the eminent exercise of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The
superhuman mode of the gifts, when it becomes frequent and manifest,
characterizes the mystical life, or the life of docility to the Holy
Ghost.
Following St. Augustine, St. Thomas teaches that the beatitudes are
acts proceeding from the Holy Ghost or from the virtues perfected by
the gifts. (9)
THE BEATITUDES OF THE DELIVERANCE FROM SIN
The beatitudes of the deliverance from sin correspond to the purgative
way, which is proper to beginners and which is prolonged in the way
the proficients and the perfect ought to follow. Whereas the world
declares that happiness is in the abundance of exterior goods, of
riches, and in honors, Christ states without any other preamble, with
the calm assurance of absolute truth: "Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Each beatitude has many degrees. Happy they who are poor without
murmuring, without impatience, without jealousy, even if bread should
be lacking, and who work while placing their trust in God. Blessed are
they who, though more fortunate, have not the spirit of riches, pomp,
and pride, but are detached from the goods of earth. More fortunate
still are they who will leave all to follow Christ, who will make
themselves voluntarily poor, and who will truly live according to the
spirit of this vocation. They will receive the hundredfold on earth
and eternal life. These poor are they who, under the inspiration of
the gift of fear, follow the road which, though narrow at first,
becomes the royal road to heaven, on which the soul dilates more and
more, whereas the broad road of the world leads to hell and perdition.
Elsewhere Christ declares: "Woe to you that are filled: for you shall
hunger." (10) On the other hand, blessed is that poverty which, as the
life of St. Francis of Assisi shows, opens the kingdom of God that is
infinitely superior to all wealth, to the miserable riches in which
the world seeks happiness.
Blessed are the poor, or humble of heart, who do not cling to the
goods of the body, or to those of the spirit, or to reputation, or to
honor, and who seek only the kingdom of God.
The desire of riches divides men, engenders quarrels, lawsuits,
violence, and war among nations; but Christ says: "Blessed are the
meek, for they shall possess the land." Blessed are they who do not
become irritated against their brethren, who do not seek to take
vengeance on their enemies, to dominate others. "If one strike thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him also the other." (11) Blessed are the
meek who do not judge rashly, who do not see in their neighbor a rival
to be supplanted but a brother to be helped, a child of the same
heavenly Father. The gift of piety inspires this meekness in us with a
filial affection toward God our common Father. The meek are not
stubbornly attached to their own judgment; they express themselves
quite simply in a straightforward manner, and do not feel the need to
call heaven to witness in trivial matters.(12) To be thus
supernaturally meek, even with those who are acrimonious, demands a
great union with Him who said: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble
of heart"; with Him who did not crush the broken reed or extinguish
the smoking flax. According to Bossuet, the broken reed is sometimes
our angry neighbor, who is broken by his own anger. We must not crush
him by taking vengeance on him. Christ has been compared to the lamb
which lets itself be led to the slaughter without uttering a
complaint. The meekness we are discussing is not that which does not
offend anyone because it is afraid of everything; rather, it is a
virtue which presupposes a great love of God and of one's neighbor,
the flower of charity, as St. Francis de Sales says. This meekness
doubles the value of the service rendered. Moreover, it succeeds in
stating the whole truth, in making counsel and even reproaches
acceptable; for he who receives them feels that they are inspired by a
great love. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land, the
true, promised land. Even now they possess spiritually the hearts that
trust in them. Whereas the world says that happiness lies in
pleasures, Christ declares: "Blessed are they that mourn; for they
shall be comforted." To the evil rich man it was said: "Thou didst
receive good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things;
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."(13) Blessed are they
who, like the beggar Lazarus, suffer patiently without consolation
from men, for their tears are seen by God. More blessed still are
those who weep for their sins, and through an inspiration of the gift
of knowledge know experimentally that sin is the greatest of evils,
and by their tears obtain its pardon. Lastly, more blessed, says St.
Catherine of Siena,(14), are those who weep for love at the sight of
the infinite mercy, of the goodness of the Savior, of the tenderness
of the Good Shepherd, who sacrifices Himself for His sheep. These
receive even here on earth consolation infinitely superior to that
which the world can give. Such are the beatitudes which are found in
the flight and deliverance from sin. THE
BEATITUDES OF THE ACTIVE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN There are other holy
joys which the just man finds when, freed from evil, he seeks the good
with his whole heart. The man of action, who allows himself to be
carried away by pride, declares that happy is that man who lives and
acts as he pleases, who is not subject to anyone, and who imposes his
will on others. Christ says: "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst
after justice: for they shall have their fill." Justice, in the broad
sense of the word, consists in rendering to God what is due Him, and
then for the love of God giving also to the creature what is due him.
In recompense, the Lord gives Himself to us. This is the perfect
order, in perfect obedience that is inspired by love which enlarges
the heart. Blessed are they who desire this justice, even to the
extent of hungering and thirsting for it. In a certain sense, they
will be filled even in this life by becoming more just and more holy.
This is a blessed thirst, for Christ says: "If any man thirst, let him
come to Me and drink. He that believeth in Me, as the Scripture saith:
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (15) That we may
keep this thirst when sensible enthusiasm falls away, and preserve
this hunger and thirst for justice in the midst of contradictions,
hindrances, and disillusions, we must receive with docility the
inspirations of the gift of fortitude. This gift prevents us from
weakening, from letting ourselves be disheartened, and it lifts up our
courage in the midst of difficulties. St. Thomas says: "The Lord
wishes to see us hunger and thirst for this justice to such an extent
that we can never be satiated in this life, as the miser never has
enough gold." These hungering souls "will be satiated only in the
eternal vision, and on this earth in spiritual goods. . . . When men
are in the state of sin, they do not experience this spiritual hunger:
when they are free from all sin, then they experience it." (16) In a
Christian's action this hunger and thirst for justice should not be
accompanied by a bitter zeal toward the guilty. Therefore Christ adds:
"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." In our life,
as also in that of God, justice and mercy should be united. We cannot
be perfect without going to the help of the afflicted, of the sick, as
the good Samaritan did. The Lord will give the hundredfold to those
who give a glass of water for love of Him, to those inviting to their
table the poor, the crippled, the blind, who are mentioned in the
parable of the guests. The Christian should be happier to give than to
receive. He ought to pardon offenses, that is, to give to those who
have offended him more than is due them; he ought to forget insults
and, before offering his gift at the altar, go and be reconciled with
his brother. The gift of counsel inclines us to mercy, makes us
attentive to the sufferings of others, makes us find the true remedy,
the word that consoles and uplifts. If our activity were frequently
inspired by these two virtues of justice and mercy and by the gifts
corresponding to them, our souls would find even here on earth a holy
joy and would be truly disposed to enter into the intimacy of God.
THE BEATITUDES OF CONTEMPLATION AND UNION WITH GOD
Some philosophers have thought that happiness lies in the knowledge of
truth, especially of supreme truth. This was the teaching of Plato and
Aristotle. They were but little preoccupied with purity of heart, and
their lives, on more than one point, were in contradiction with their
doctrine. Christ tells us: "Blessed are the clean of heart: for they
shall see God." He does not say that those are blessed who have
received a powerful intellect, who have the leisure and means to
cultivate it; but rather, blessed are the clean of heart, even though
they may be naturally less endowed than many others. If they are clean
of heart, they shall see God. A truly clean heart is like the limpid
waters of a lake in which the azure of the sky is reflected, or like a
spiritual mirror in which the image of God is reproduced. That the
heart may be pure, a generous mortification is prescribed: "If thy
right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. . . . If thy fight hand
scandalize thee, cut it off." (17) We must particularly watch over
purity of intention: for example, not giving alms through ostentation,
not praying to draw upon ourselves the esteem of men, but seeking only
the approbation of "the Father who seeth in secret." Then will be
realized the words of the Master: "If thy eye be single, thy whole
body shall be lightsome." (18) Even here on earth, the Christian
will, in a sense, see God in his neighbor, even in souls that at first
seem opposed to God. The Christian will see God in holy Scripture, in
the life of the Church, in the circumstances of his own life, and even
in trials, in which he will find lessons on the ways of Providence as
a practical application of the Gospel. Under the inspiration of the
gift of understanding, this is the true contemplation which prepares
us for that by which, properly speaking, we shall see God face to
face, His goodness, and His infinite beauty. Then all our desires will
be gratified, and we shall be inebriated with a torrent of spiritual
delights. This contemplation of God ought, even here on earth, to be
fruitful. It gives peace, a radiating peace, as the seventh beatitude
says: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God." According to St. Augustine and St. Thomas, this
beatitude corresponds to the gift of wisdom, which makes us taste the
mysteries of salvation and see, so to speak, all things in God. The
inspirations of the Holy Ghost, to which this gift renders us docile,
gradually manifest to us the wonderful order of the providential plan
even in those things, and at times especially in those things, which
at first disconcerted us, in the painful and unforeseen events
permitted by God for a higher good. One could not thus perceive the
designs of Providence, which directs our lives, without experiencing
peace, which is the tranquillity of order. That we may not be
troubled by painful and unexpected events, that we may receive all
from the hand of God as a means or an occasion of going to Him, we
need great docility to the Holy Ghost, who wishes to give us
progressively the contemplation of divine things, the requisite for
union with God. Hence we received in baptism the gift of wisdom, which
has grown in us by confirmation and frequent Communion. The
inspirations of the gift of wisdom give us a radiating peace, not only
for ourselves but for our neighbor. They make us peacemakers; they
help us to calm troubled souls, to love our enemies, to find the words
of reconciliation which put an end to strifes. This peace, which the
world cannot give, is the mark of the true children of God, who never
lose the thought of their Father in heaven. St. Thomas even says of
these beatitudes: "They are a kind of preparation for future
happiness." (19) Lastly, in the eighth beatitude, the most perfect
of all, Christ
shows that all He has said is greatly confirmed by affliction borne
with love: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The final trials
especially, the requisites for sanctity, are indicated here.
Christ's surprising statement had never been heard before. Not only
does it promise future happiness, but it declares that a soul should
consider itself happy even in the midst of afflictions and
persecutions suffered for justice. This is an altogether supernatural
beatitude, which is practically understood only by souls enlightened
by God. There are, moreover, many spiritual degrees in this state,
from that of the good Christian who begins to suffer for having acted
well, obeyed, and given good example, up to the martyr who dies for
the faith. This beatitude applies to those who, converted to a better
life, encounter only opposition in their surroundings. It applies also
to the apostle whose action is hindered by the very people he wishes
to save, when they will not pardon him for having spoken the Gospel
truth too clearly. Entire countries sometimes endure this persecution,
such as the Vendee during the French Revolution, Armenia, Poland,
Mexico, and Spain. This beatitude is the most perfect because it is
that of those who are most clearly marked in the image of Jesus
crucified. To remain humble, meek, and merciful in the midst of
persecution, even toward persecutors, and in this torment not only to
preserve peace but to communicate it to others, is truly the full
perfection of Christian life. It is realized especially in the last
trials undergone by perfect souls which God purifies by making them
work for the salvation of their neighbor. All the saints have not been
martyrs, but they have, in varying degrees, suffered persecution for
justice' sake, and they have known something of that martyrdom of the
heart which made Mary the Mother of Sorrows. Christ insists on the
reward promised to those who thus suffer for justice: "Blessed are ye
when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is
evil against you, untruly, for My sake. Be glad and rejoice, for your
reward is very great in heaven." These words of Christ kindled in the
souls of the apostles the desire for martyrdom, a desire which
inspired the sublime utterances of St. Andrew and St. Ignatius of
Antioch. These words live again in St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic,
and St. Benedict Joseph Labre. Inspired by these words, these saints
were "the salt of the earth," "the light of the world," and they built
their houses not on sand but on rock, houses that have been able to
weather all storms and have not been overthrown. These beatitudes,
which, as St. Thomas says,(20) are the superior acts of the gifts or
of the virtues perfected by the gifts, go beyond simple asceticism and
belong to the mystical order. In other words, the full perfection of
Christian life belongs normally to the mystical order; it is the
prelude of the life of heaven, where the Christian will be "perfect as
the heavenly Father is perfect," seeing Him as He sees Himself and
loving Him as He loves Himself. St. Teresa writes: "They read that
we must not be troubled when men speak ill of us, that we are to be
then more pleased than when they speak well of us; that we must
despise our own good name, be detached from our kindred. . . with many
other things of the same kind. The disposition to practice this must
be, in my opinion, the gift of God; for it seems to me a supernatural
good." (21) In other words, this disposition goes beyond simple
asceticism or the exercise of the virtues according to our own
activity or industry; it is the fruit of a great docility to the
inspirations of the Holy Ghost. Moreover, the saint says: "If a soul
loves honors and temporal goods, it is in vain that it will have
practiced prayer or rather meditation for many years; it will never
advance very much. Perfect prayer, on the contrary, frees the soul
from these defects." (22) This is equivalent to saying that without
perfect prayer a soul will never reach the full perfection of
Christian life. The author of The Imitation also expresses
the same idea when speaking of true peace: "If thou arrive at an
entire contempt of thyself, know that then thou shalt enjoy an
abundance of peace, as much as is possible in this thy earthly
sojourn." (23) This is why, in the same book of The Imitation, the
disciple asks for the superior grace of contemplation: "I stand much
in need of a grace yet greater,
if I must arrive so far that it may not be in the power of any man nor
anything created to hinder me. . . . He was desirous to fly freely to
Thee who said, 'Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and
be at rest?' (Ps. 44:7.) . . . Unless a man be disengaged from all
things created, he cannot freely attend to things divine. And this is
the reason why there are found so few contemplative persons, because
there are few that know how to secure themselves entirely from
perishable creatures. For this a great grace is required, such as may
elevate the soul, and lift it above itself. And unless a man be
elevated in spirit, and free from attachment to all creatures, and
wholly united to God, whatever he knows and whatever he has is of no
great importance." (24) This chapter of The Imitation belongs,
properly speaking, to the mystical order; it shows that only therein
is the true perfection of the love of God found. St. Catherine of
Siena speaks in. the same way in her Dialogue.(25) As we have
seen, this is the very teaching given us by Christ in the beatitudes,
especially as St. Augustine (26) and St. Thomas understood them, that
is, as the elevated acts of the gifts of the Holy Ghost or of the
virtues perfected by the gifts. This is truly the full normal
development of the spiritual organism or of "the grace of the virtues
and the gifts." The beatitudes show it to us, not in an abstract and
theoretical form, but in a concrete, practical, and vital manner.
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