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At the beginning of the third part of this work, we shall speak
of the second conversion through which one passes, with greater or
lesser generosity, from the purgative way of beginners to the
illuminative way of the advanced. Some souls, because of their
negligence or spiritual sloth, do not pass from the age of beginners
to that of proficients. These are retarded souls; in the spiritual
life they are like abnormal children, who do not happily pass through
the crisis of adolescence and who, though they do not remain children,
never reach the full development of maturity. Thus these retarded
souls belong neither among beginners nor among proficients.
Unfortunately they are numerous. Of these retarded souls, some who
formerly served God with fidelity are now in a state bordering on
indifference. Though in the past they knew true spiritual fervor, we
may say without fear of rash judgment that they seriously misused
divine graces. Had it not been for this misuse, as a matter of fact
the Lord would have continued what He had begun in them, for He does
not refuse His help to those who do what is in their power to obtain
it.
How did these souls reach this state of tepidity? As a rule, two
principal causes are indicated: the neglect of little things in the
service of God and the refusal to make the sacrifices He asks.
THE NEGLECT OF LITTLE THINGS
The neglect of little things seems slight in itself, but it may
become grave in its results. Our daily merit is ordinarily constituted
by little acts of virtue from morning to night. As drops of water
gradually wear away a stone, as drops of rain render the dried-up
earth fertile, so our good acts by their repetition engender a good
habit, an acquired virtue; they preserve it and increase it; and, if
they proceed from a supernatural or infused virtue, they obtain the
increase of this virtue.
In the service of God, things which seem small in themselves are
great in their relation to our last end, to God who should be loved ,
above all else. They are also great by reason of the supernatural
spirit of faith, confidence, and love which should make us accomplish
them. If we acted thus, we would live from morning to night in the
presence of God, which is infinitely precious; and we would live by
Him, by His spirit, instead of living by the natural spirit in
accordance with the inclination of egoism. Little by little there
would grow up in us zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of
souls. Unless we strive in this way, we may end by following the
downward path of practical naturalism, allowing ourselves to be
dominated by the more or less unconscious gross selfishness which
inspires many of our acts.
The neglect of little things in the service of God leads rapidly
to neglect of great things: for example, in the case of a priest or
religious, it leads to the recitation of the Office without true
piety, to scarcely any preparation for Mass, to saying Mass hastily or
assisting at it without the requisite attention, to replacing
thanksgiving by the obligatory recitation of a part of the Office, so
that all personal piety disappears and gradually gives place to piety
that is, in a way, official and exterior. If a priest were to follow
this downward path, he would little by little become a mere
functionary of God. He would end by treating holy things with
carelessness, whereas, on the other hand, he would perhaps acquit
himself with the utmost seriousness in those duties which assure his
reputation as a professor, writer, lecturer, or man of affairs.
Gradually emphasis would be shifted from what is of greatest moment in
life to what is secondary. The holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which
perpetuates in substance on our altars the sacrifice of the cross and
applies its fruits to us, is evidently the most serious and greatest
thing in life for the priest and the true Christian. A Mass well
celebrated or well heard with a spirit of faith is far superior to our
personal activity; it orientates this activity toward its true
supernatural end and renders it fruitful. On the contrary, we swerve
from this end when we reach the stage of seeking self in our activity,
to the point of forgetting the salvation of souls and all that it
demands on our part. Neglect of little things in the service of God
may lead us to this forgetfulness, which renders everything
unfruitful.
We read, on the contrary, in St. Luke: "He that is faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in that which is greater." (1) Whoever
is daily faithful to the smallest duties of Christian life, or to
those of the religious life, will receive the grace to be faithful
even to martyrdom, if he should have to bear witness to God in his
blood. Then will be fully accomplished in him the words of the Gospel:
"Well done, good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will place thee over many things. Enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord." (2) But whoever habitually neglects little
things in the service of God, will end by neglecting great ones. How,
then, will he accomplish the difficult acts that may be required of
him?
THE REFUSAL OF SACRIFICES ASKED
A second cause of tepidity in retarded souls is the refusal to make
the sacrifices which the Lord asks. Some persons feel themselves
called to a more serious, a more perfect life, to true prayer, to the
practice of humility, without which there are no true virtues; but
these souls refuse, if not directly at least indirectly, by seeking
diversion. They do not wish to hear the words that recur daily in the
invitatory of Matins: "Today, if you shall hear His voice, harden not
your hearts." Some, who are preoccupied with doing something, for
example, a book, a work that would let the world know they exist, say
to themselves from time to time: "First of all, it is essential to
become an interior soul; if the soul is empty, it can give nothing. To
do something exterior is unprofitable unless the soul is united to
God." To become an interior soul, only some sacrifices of self-love
would be necessary; God would have to be truly sought instead of self.
Without these sacrifices, how can anyone enter on a true interior
life? If these sacrifices are refused, the soul remains retarded; it
may stay so permanently.
Then it loses zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of its
neighbor, the fervor of charity. It falls into tepidity, which, with
habitual negligence, is affection for venial sin or the disposition of
the will to commit certain venial sins deliberately when the occasion
presents itself. There is finally, as it were, the firm resolution to
remain in this state. In addition to the lack of the spirit of sacrifice, other causes may
produce this tepidity of retarded souls: namely, levity of spirit, the
thoughtlessness with which one tells, for example, officious lies
(i.e., lies of expediency) whenever the occasion offers; spiritual
sloth, which leads finally to the abandonment of the spiritual war
against our defects, against our predominant fault, which quite
frequently tries to pass for a virtue, and gives rise in us to other
more or less inordinate passions. A person thus arrives at
carelessness and indifference in regard to perfection and no longer
truly tends toward it. The fact that he has perhaps promised to tend
toward it by the way of the counsels is forgotten, as is also the
loftiness of the supreme precept: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength
and with all thy mind." (3)
THE TENDENCY TO DERISION
Among the causes of tepidity in retarded souls, the tendency to
derision should be particularly noted. St. Thomas speaks of the
derider when he discusses the vices opposed to justice: insult,
detraction, murmuring against the reputation of our neighbor. He
points out (4) that to deride or to ridicule someone, is to show that
we do not esteem him; and derision, says the saint, may become a
mortal sin if it affects persons or things that deserve high esteem.
It is a grievous sin to ridicule the things of God, or our parents, or
superiors, or good persons who lead a virtuous life. Derision may even
become very grievous by reason of its consequences, for it may turn
weak souls forever away from the practice of good. Job replied to his
friends: "He that is mocked by his friends as I, shall call upon God;
and He will hear him. For the simplicity of the just man is laughed to
scorn." (5) But it is also said of deriders: "He that dwelleth in
heaven shall laugh at them." (6) The terrible irony of heaven will
chastise that of earth.
The derider is himself a retarded soul, holding others back and
becoming, often without being aware of it, the instrument of the
spirit of evil. His cast of soul, which is the direct opposite of
evangelical simplicity, is the one most opposed to supernatural
contemplation. The derider, who wishes "to play the rogue," ridicules
the just man who tends truly to perfection; he emphasizes the latter's
defects and depreciates his good qualities. Why is this? Because he
feels that he himself has little virtue, and he is unwilling to admit
his inferiority. Then, out of spite, he lessens the real and
fundamental value of his neighbor and the necessity of virtue itself.
He may greatly harm weak souls which he intimidates, and, while
working his own ruin, he may labor at their perdition.
THE UNHAPPY RESULTS OF THIS STATE
The saints tell us that retarded and tepid souls may reach such a
state of blindness of spirit and hardness of heart that it is very
difficult to reform them. This statement is borne out by St. Bernard,
who says: "You will more easily see a great number of seculars
renounce vice and embrace virtue than a single religious pass from
tepidity to fervor." (7) The higher a retarded or tepid soul has been
raised, the more deplorable is its fall and also the more difficult is
its conversion; in fact, it reaches the point where it judges its
state to be satisfactory, and no longer has a desire to ascend higher.
When the time of the Lord's visit is disregarded, He sometimes returns
only after long petitions. Retarded souls are in danger; they should
be entrusted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who alone can bring them back
to the Savior and obtain for them the graces that will rekindle in
them the desire for perfection.
On this subject Father Lallemant, S.J., wrote a striking chapter
reminiscent of certain pages from the writings of St. Catherine of
Siena and of Tauler. Lallemant's beautiful book, The Spiritual
Doctrine, contains the following statement:
In a community there may be four classes of religious: some
perfect; others wicked, haughty, full of vanity, sensual, enemies of
regularity; others tepid, cowardly, indifferent; and finally, the
virtuous who tend to perfection, although they may perhaps never
reach it.
Religious belonging to these four classes may be found in the
holiest religious orders, as well as in those communities which have
fallen into relaxed condition; with this difference, however, that in an order
which has fallen from its first fervor, the larger number belong to
the tepid group, and the remainder is composed of a few wicked
souls, of a small number who work at their perfection, and of a very
limited number of perfect souls. But in an order in which regular
observance is still in its vigor, the bulk of the community is
composed of those who tend to perfection, and the remainder
comprises a few perfect souls, a small number of tepid religious,
and very few wicked souls.
We may make a very important observation here: that is, that a
religious order leans toward decadence when the number of the tepid
begins to equal that of the fervent. By the fervent, I mean those
who strive from day to day to make fresh progress in prayer,
recollection, mortification, purity of conscience, and humility.
Those who do not make this effort should be considered tepid,
although they may keep from mortal sin; they corrupt many others, do
extreme harm to the whole body, and are themselves in danger, either
of not persevering in their vocation, or of falling into interior
pride or great darkness.
The duty of supeirors in religious houses is to act in such a
way, as well by their good example as their exhortations, their
individual conferences, and their prayers, that their inferiors may
remain in the ranks of the fervent who tend to perfection;
otherwise, the superiors themselves will bear the punishment, and a
terrible punishment it will be.(8)
All this is only too true and shows how easy it is to become a
retarded soul, to stray from the road of perfection, by ceasing to
live according to the spirit of faith. Then, evidently, it becomes
difficult to admit that the contemplation of the mysteries of faith is
in the normal way of sanctity; or one may conclude that this doctrine
seems true in theory, but is little in accord with the facts. To tell
the truth, we should say that, as a matter of fact, many souls remain
retarded; they are not in order; they do not really tend toward
perfection and certainly do not nourish themselves sufficiently with
the mysteries of faith, with the mystery of the Mass, at which,
however, they frequently assist, but in a manner that is not
sufficiently interior to assure the progress that should be made.
Father Lallemant adds:
There are four things prejudicial to the spiritual life, and on
them are based the evil maxims that slip into holy communities: (I)
the esteem of purely human talents and qualities; (2) the care to
make friends for solely human reasons; (3) a politic conduct
directed only by human prudence, a spirit that is sly and opposed to
evangelical simplicity; (4) superfluous recreations which the soul
seeks or conversations and reading which give a wholly natural
satisfaction to the mind.(9)
These four enemies of the spiritual life give rise, as Father
Lallemant points out in this same chapter, to ambition, the desire for
eminent positions or the wish to make a reputation for oneself in the
sciences, and the seeking after one's ease; all of which are
manifestly opposed to spiritual progress.
In this discussion of retarded souls, a most important
consideration should be noted: namely, that we must be on the alert to
preserve in our souls the subordination of the natural activity of the
mind to the essentially supernatural virtues, especially to the three
theological virtues. These three infused virtues and their acts are
certainly very superior to the natural activity of the mind necessary
for the study of the sciences, of philosophy, and of theology. To deny
this truth would be a heresy; but it is not sufficient to admit it in
theory. Otherwise we would end by really preferring the study of
philosophy and theology to the superior life of faith, to prayer, to
the love of God and of souls, to the celebration of the holy Sacrifice
of the Mass, which would be hurriedly celebrated without any spirit of
faith, in order to give more time to a piece of work, to an
intellectual overloading that would remain quite empty and fruitless,
because it would be destitute of the spirit that ought to animate it.
Thus we would fall into an evil intellectualism, in which there would
be something like the hypertrophy of the reasoning powers to the
detriment of the life of faith, of true piety, and of the
indispensable training of the will. Then charity, the highest of the
theological virtues, would no longer truly hold the first place in the
soul, which might remain forever retarded and in part fruitless.
To remedy this retardation, we should often recall that God in His
mercy continually offers us the grace to make us daily fulfill a
little better the supreme precept, that is, the duty to tend toward
the perfection of charity: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy
whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with
all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself." Let us remember that in
the evening of life we shall be judged on the sincerity of our love of
God.
THE INCLINATION TO EGOISM THAT REMAINS IN US
Tauler in his sermons often speaks of two inclinations in us, the
one good, the other evil. His disciples gathered up his preaching on
this subject in the third chapter of The Institutions. At this
point in our study, we must emphasize the essential elements of this
teaching, by noting the indications of the inclination that seeks
self, and by showing how to bring about the predominance of the other
fundamental inclination by means of which we are in the image of God.
Since all our works draw their value from the intention and love
which produce them, and since all should spring from the love of God,
we ought often to recall the fact that all sins and eternal damnation
come from an evil inclination which seeks self and is opposed to God.
Christ Himself declares: "Unless the grain of wheat falling into
the ground die, itself remaineth alone, but if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit." This is equivalent to saying that without the death
of the evil inclination in us our soul will never become rich in
merits, in fruits of life for eternity. If, on the contrary, the evil
inclination dies, then the seed of eternal life will grow in us. The
knowledge of this evil inclination is, therefore, more useful to man
than knowledge of the entire universe.
By what traits can this evil inclination be recognized? Simply by
the fact that it continually seeks self rather than God in everything.
If at times it gives evidence of love for God and neighbor, such a
manifestation is only a deception and an illusion. This inclination
fancies that it possesses justice and goodness; it often glories in
its works, but chiefly in such as have some appearance of virtue and
holiness. It takes delight in them, attributes them to itself, and,
although it does not love true virtues, it seeks the praise that is
due them.
This evil inclination considers its sins as trifles. Such an
attitude is a proof that it is destitute of true light and does not
know what sin is; for, if it had a true and clear understanding of
what it is to turn away from God, the sovereign Good, it would
doubtless not willingly consent to do so.
This same inclination makes an effort always to appear good,
although it is not. For this reason, some people would not dare to
grieve anyone by a reproof because they could not endure a cross
reply. This inclination at times even imagines that it loves God
fervently, and consequently it reprehends its neighbor for his sins
with extreme asperity. "But," says Tauler, "if it could see its own
sins, it would completely forget those of others, no matter how great
they might be." (11)
Every time this inclination is reproved, it strives to justify and
defend itself, and cannot bear to be corrected. It tells itself that
others have their defects, but that it has always acted with a good
intention or through ignorance or weakness. This inclination reaches
the point of persuading itself that it seeks God in everything,
whereas in reality it seeks itself always and lives only on
appearances and externals. It prefers appearance to reality. Therefore
it seeks itself even in prayer and the taste for spiritual things, in
interior consolations turning the gifts of heaven, whether interior or
exterior, and even God Himself, to its own satisfaction. If it happens
to lose an object of its delight, it immediately seeks another, in
order to rest in it and to refer all to self.
HOW TO BRING ABOUT THE PREDOMINANCE OF THE OTHER
INCLINATION, WHICH IS IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
To bring about the predominance of the good inclination, man must
be a severe guardian and observer of self, of his exterior and
interior senses. He must not allow his senses to become dissipated, to
run after creatures. "He must," says Tauler, "build a cell within his
heart, withdraw to it and live in it as far as possible unknown to the
whole world, that he may be less turned away from divine
contemplation. He must not lose sight of the life and passion of our
Savior." (12) The consideration of Christ's life and passion will give
birth in him to the desire to resemble Christ by humility of heart,
patience, meekness, true love of God and neighbor.
When a man finds that he is not conformed to the divine model, he
will ask the Holy Ghost to give him the grace better to see the
ugliness of sin and its deadly results. He will abase himself with
sincerity and humility, but with confidence in infinite mercy, begging
it to raise him up again.
The more a man promptly mortifies his evil inclination, the more
living and beautiful the image of God that is in him becomes: the
natural image, that is, the soul itself in so far as by nature it is
spiritual and immortal, and the supernatural image, in other words,
sanctifying grace from which spring the infused virtues and the gifts.
Then gradually man begins to think frequently of God instead of
thinking always of himself, and instead of seeking self by referring
everything to self, he begins to seek God in everything that happens,
to love Him truly, effectively, practically, and to refer all to Him.
Tauler concludes: "As long as you seek yourself, as you act for
yourself, as you ask for the reward of and the wages for your actions,
and cannot endure being known by others for what you really are, you
dwell in illusion and error worthy of pity. When you despise another
because of his defects, and when you wish to be preferred to those who
do not live according to your maxims, you do not know yourself, you
are still ignorant of the evil inclination that subsists in you." (13)
It is this inclination that hinders the image of God from being what
it ought to be, so that the soul may truly bear the fruits of eternal
life; therefore the necessity of knowing oneself profoundly in order
to know God and to love Him truly.
These reflections on retarded souls lead us to speak of the
necessity of the second conversion or passive purification of the
senses, which marks, according to St, John of the Cross, the entrance
into the illuminative way of the advanced. We will discuss this
subject in the second volume of this work.
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