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 “AT THE GATES OF THE SANCTUARY” 
 
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 JOHN THOMSON AND J. F. THOMSON, M.A. 
 
AT THE GATES 
 
 OP THE 
 
 SANCTUARY 
 
 OR 
 
 THE POSTULANT AND THE NOVICE 
 
 FROM THE LATIN WORKS OF 
 
 DOM. RUPEBT PRESINGER, O.S.B. 
 
 BY THE VERY REV. 
 
 FRANCIS CUTHBERT DOYLE, O.S.B. ' 
 
 CANON OF NEWPORT AND MENEVIA 
 
 LONDON : WASHBOURNE, 18 Paternoster Row 
 
 DUBLIN 
 GILL & SON 
 
 50 O’CONNELL ST. UPPER 
 
 NEW YORK, CINCINNATI 
 AND CHICAGO 
 BENZIGER BROS. 
 
 1888 
 
 [All rights reserved] 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL. MASS. 
 

 J^ihil (Dbstat. 
 
 RR. DD. Thomas Augustinus Bury, O.S.B., 
 
 Abbas. 
 
 R. A. D. Gulielmus Romualdus Woods, O.S.B., 
 
 Canon. Theolog. 
 
 imprimatur. 
 
 RR. DD. Edwardus Anselmus O’Gorman, D.D., O.S.B., 
 Abbas S. Albani, Presses Generalise 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE. 
 
 On the thirtieth day of December, in the year 1688, 
 Rupert Presinger, the devout author of the following 
 pages, was born at Ausee, in the Diocese of Passavia 
 in Upper Styria. At the usual age at which boys 
 are sent to school, he was intrusted by his pious 
 parents to the care of the Benedictine Monks of St. 
 Lambert’s Abbey, which was then, and still con- 
 tinues to be, one of the greatest glories of his native 
 province. This centre of Benedictine influence owes 
 its origin to the Duke of Carinthia, a certain Mar- 
 quardus who, in the very year in which the Norman 
 Conqueror first set foot upon our shores, established 
 it to be the home of holy Religious, who should con- 
 tinually pray for his well-being both temporal and 
 eternal. These unwearied workers speedily built it 
 up into a spiritual stronghold, whence the good odour 
 ot Christ was diffused abroad through all the sur- 
 rounding peoples. By their gentleness, their sanctity, 
 and their blameless lives, they gradually led them 
 into a willing subjection to His light and easy yoke. 
 They themselves rapidly increased and multiplied, and 
 
VI 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 were, consequently, forced so to extend their borders, 
 that at last their Abbey became one of the grandest 
 and noblest monuments of mediaeval Christianity. 
 After encountering well-nigh every vicissitude of 
 fortune, and stoutly resisting the shocks and the 
 storms which have laid prostrate and swept away 
 thrones and dynasties which seemed destined to last 
 for ever, it stands erect even in these our days, 
 hoary with the snows of eight hundred winters, yet 
 gifted with a vigorous youthfulness which reminds 
 us of the undecaying vitality of the Church of God. 
 
 To this venerable sanctuary of religion and of 
 polite learning, the youthful Presinger brought from 
 his holy home a character admirably adapted to 
 receive the impress of a divine vocation. He was 
 solidly pious, deeply imbued with sentiments of lively 
 faith, trained to labour, and accustomed to act upon 
 the idea of duty. He possessed, moreover, intel- 
 lectual ability of no mean order, but even in his 
 early years gave promise of that excellence which 
 he afterwards attained, when deep study, under the 
 guidance of thoroughly competent masters, had im- 
 parted to his intelligence that keenness of edge and 
 that brilliancy of polish, which only the friction of 
 mind upon mind is able to produce. Dowered with 
 qualities such as these, it is needless to say that, 
 from the exceptionally favourable circumstances in 
 which his lot was cast, and from the able tuition of 
 the distinguished masters under whose influence he 
 was brought, Presinger derived all the spiritual as 
 
translator’s preface. vii 
 
 well as all the intellectual advantages which the 
 former were able to ensure, and the latter could put 
 within his reach. After passing with great credit 
 through the various grades which complete the circle 
 of Collegiate learning, he ended his school-boy life at 
 St. Lambert’s, carrying away with him the repute 
 of being a scholar of great promise, and a youth of 
 conduct so exemplary that he was pointed out to 
 future generations of students as a model on which 
 to fashion their lives and manners. 
 
 As he left the shelter of his beloved Alma Mater 
 and faced the great world which lay beyond its walls, 
 two widely divergent paths presented themselves to 
 his mental vision, and a voice made itself heard 
 within his heart, asking a question oftentimes before 
 debated there, but now calling for an immediate and 
 decisive answer. On which of these two ways should 
 he choose to walk for the remainder of his life- 
 pilgrimage : should he choose the one leading through 
 the Cloister to eternal rest, or the other on which 
 he would be obliged to pass through the storms and 
 the battles of the world, to death, the grave, and 
 perhaps a doubtful eternity ? 
 
 In the case of one nurtured as he had been in this 
 sanctuary of monastic virtue, it was not difficult to 
 divine upon which of the paths he would definitively 
 set his feet. For, during the most impressionable 
 years of his existence, he had been under the in- 
 fluence of the children of St. Benedict. In the noble 
 Church of their Abbey, he had day by day listened 
 
viii translator’s preface. 
 
 with reverential awe to the solemn chant of the 
 Divine Office. In the lecture-room, he had been 
 brought into personal contact with them, and had 
 felt the irresistible charm of their modesty, their 
 patience, and their unwearied assiduity. In the 
 playground, he was attracted to them, and fell be- 
 neath the spell of their unaffected, easy, fatherly 
 mode of converse. Also, he had not failed to mark 
 their laborious, unselfish lives ; their mutual charity ; 
 their simplicity of aim ; their manliness ; their de- 
 votedness. The combination of all these determining 
 influences acted upon the germ of that divine voca- 
 tion already planted in his heart by God, as the 
 genial warmth of the sun acts upon the seed that is 
 buried in the earth. It awoke into activity the 
 principle of life that was slumbering within it. It 
 enabled it to put forth its strength, and to burst 
 through the doubts, the hesitations, and the un- 
 certainties which for years had enveloped it. It 
 drew it forth into the bright daylight, and caused it 
 to blossom into the sure, unwavering, fixed resolve 
 to leave all things, in order to tread in the footsteps 
 of Christ. He had then just attained his eighteenth 
 year. He was in the full bloom of early youth. His 
 heart was pure and unsullied ; it had never tasted of 
 the world’s pleasures ; it was unversed in any of its 
 wickedness, its wiles, or its intrigues. There was, 
 therefore, no obstacle in the way to hinder him from 
 promptly obeying the call of God. The shadow of 
 the great Master had fallen upon him; that per- 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 IX 
 
 suasive voice had said : “ Follow Me,” and forthwith 
 he had left all things, and thrown in his lot with 
 those who were treading in the paths of perfection. 
 
 But it was not at St. Lambert’s, the home of his 
 youth, that he accomplished the desire of his heart, 
 and entered the ranks of the monastic army. For 
 some reason, which is not explained, St. Peter’s at 
 Salzburg was chosen to be the field of his spiritual 
 warfare.* Thither he directed his steps ; and there, 
 after the usual preliminary probation, and the devout 
 exercises of a retreat, was clothed with the holy 
 habit on the 4th of November, 1706. 
 
 This famous Abbey, which exists in well-nigh all 
 its ancient splendour, even to the present day, is so 
 celebrated, and, at the same time, is so intimately 
 connected with the brief history of Dom. Presinger, 
 that we may be pardoned for pausing for a moment 
 to give it a passing notice. It was founded in the 
 year 581, by St. Bupert, Apostle of the Bavarian 
 Nation. From that date until the invasion of the 
 Carantanian Slavs, towards the end of the sixth 
 century, it increased and prospered ; and year by 
 year widened the circle of its beneficent influence 
 upon the surrounding population. But the advent 
 of these barbarous tribes put as effectual a stop to 
 the progress of its civilising power, as the biting east 
 wind does to the growth of the sprouting corn. 
 
 * I take this opportunity of acknowledging my debt of gratitude 
 to the Monks of this noble Abbey, for their kindness and courtesy in 
 furnishing me with all the details of Dom. Presinger’s life. 
 
X 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 Their presence banished good-fortune from the 
 Cloisters of the Monks. Discipline lost its nerve 
 and relaxed its hold. Learning fled from the schools. 
 All things fell into a state of apparent collapse, and 
 remained in this pitiable condition till the year 739. 
 Then St. Boniface arrived ; and, with the zeal of an 
 Apostle, and the untiring energy of his race, threw 
 himself heart and soul into the difficult task of once 
 again making the vineyard of the Lord to burst forth 
 into the bloom and the fruitfulness of a very paradise 
 of God. Under his able administration, the work of 
 repair, of reconstruction, of uprooting, and of plant- 
 ing went on with an earnestness and a thoroughness 
 that speedily changed the whole aspect of affairs. 
 Discipline once again recovered its constraining 
 power ; learning returned to the halls whence it had 
 fled ; piety, virtue, religion, found their wonted 
 shelter in the hallowed Cloisters, which they had 
 built to be a refuge from the storms and the troubles 
 of the world. St. Benedict’s Rule was introduced 
 into the Community to be its guide in the narrow 
 way, and to replace one which has so utterly perished 
 as to leave behind not a trace of its existence. 
 
 The life of the monastic tree had not quite died 
 out. Though its huge arms had been snapped off, 
 and its green foliage tom away by the violence of 
 the tempest, there was a vivifying principle still left 
 in the parent stock. Under the fostering care of 
 Boniface, it once again put forth its boughs and 
 branches ; it covered itself with green foliage ; as of 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 yore, men came to shelter under its refreshing shade, 
 and brought with them whatever of moral worth or 
 of intellectual power there was left in the land. For 
 the three succeeding centuries, it continued to be 
 the nursing mother of profound scholars, of saintly 
 men, of all that was noble, and great, and virtuous. 
 But, in the tenth century, another storm burst upon 
 it, when the Hungarians, like a devastating whirl- 
 wind, swept down upon all that region over which 
 St. Peter’s exercised its beneficent sway. Once 
 again there was destruction, desolation, almost total 
 ruin. Yet, in spite of calamities that seemed to be 
 overwhelming, the vital principle was never quite 
 extinguished. Whenever there was a lull in the 
 storm, and the air was cleared of political or of social 
 disturbances, it once again revived, and diffused its 
 power and its energy throughout the apparently de- 
 caying trunk and branches. Through an ever- varying 
 fortune, the Abbey bravely struggled on, sheltering 
 the light of science in its cloisters, and keeping the 
 lamp of faith ever brightly burning among its hal- 
 lowed shrines. Thanks to the loving-kindness of 
 God, it has withstood the storms of more than a 
 thousand years, and yet remains powerful, erect, 
 flourishing in this our nineteenth century, a marvel 
 of greatness and of magnificence, recalling to the 
 wondering eyes of the travel-loving Englishman a 
 vivid picture of the glories of which our own country 
 once could boast in the departed ages of faith. 
 
 It was, then, in the gray old cloisters of this 
 
Xll 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 historic Abbey, round which there clustered so many 
 thrilling memories of the past, that Presinger entered 
 upon the duties of the Religious Life. He was young 
 and inexperienced, but he came to God as a child, 
 with a child’s simplicity, a child’s humility. These 
 virtues, crowning his purity of heart, made him a 
 Novice such as it is a joy unto Religious men to wel- 
 come into their midst. There were stamped upon 
 his character those marks which make us exclaim as 
 soon as we perceive them : “ The finger of God is 
 here ”. He was eager for the “ Work of God,” both 
 in its liturgical signification and in that wider sense 
 in which it includes everything that, in any way 
 whatever, has any connection with the divine service. 
 He was prompt in obedience, and in this respect 
 showed that truly religious spirit which, while it 
 nerved him courageously to perform acts that cost 
 him many a pang and entailed much self-effacement, 
 did not suffer him to set aside, or to treat with con- 
 tempt or with indifference, even the most insignificant 
 rule, simply because it seemed to be of little account. 
 He bravely encountered humiliation, and neyer turned 
 aside from anything that brought him in contact with 
 this keen instrument of Christian perfection. When, 
 in order to test of what metal he was made, his 
 superiors reviled him, he held his peace ; when they 
 derided him, he accepted their derision as his due ; 
 when they employed him in lowly offices, he mani- 
 fested a joy which was evidently unfeigned. Conse- 
 quently, when his year of probation came to a close, 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 and the question of his profession was debated at the 
 Monastic Council board, there was no hesitation 
 about the admission of one so well disposed, and so 
 manifestly called by the voice of God, to walk in the 
 path of Holy Keligion. Only one week was suffered 
 to elapse between the day which completed his year 
 of Novitiate and the day — to him for ever afterwards 
 holy and memorable — when, in the presence of his 
 Abbot and of the wide circle of his Brethren, he irre- 
 vocably bound himself to the service of God. This 
 eventful day in his life was the 11th of November, 
 1707. 
 
 Passing from the Novitiate, and from the study of 
 asceticism, the daily practice of which had moulded 
 him into a spiritual athlete, Presinger entered upon 
 a new phase in his monastic life. He began that 
 course of higher study which was to prepare him 
 for the exalted office of the priesthood, and, at the 
 same time, to endow him with that intellectual cul- 
 ture which the Benedictine Order has ever held in 
 such high esteem. For the acquisition of this 
 culture there were at Salzburg exceptionally great 
 facilities, which but very few other monastic houses 
 could command.. These were put within his reach 
 by the existence there of a flourishing University, 
 which owed its foundation to the zeal and the energy 
 of Abbot Joachim, who, in 1617, with the authorisa- 
 tion of the Archbishop and the substantial aid of 
 Abbot Gregory, inaugurated its career of usefulness. 
 So eager was this enterprising Abbot to open these 
 
XIV 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 fountains of learning, that he would not wait till 
 there had been erected suitable buildings in which 
 to deliver the lectures. While they were in course 
 of construction, he threw open the cloisters of his 
 Abbey, and had the professors there, dispensing their 
 treasures of erudition to crowds of eager and inquisi- 
 tive students. For more than two hundred years the 
 light of secular as well as of theological science 
 poured forth its brilliant rays from this centre of 
 Benedictine learning, and was finally extinguished 
 only in the first decade of this nineteenth century, 
 by the stifling jealousy of a hostile Government. 
 Presinger applied himself with all the energy of his 
 character to the prosecution of his studies, and 
 availed himself to the full of all the advantages 
 offered to him by distinguished teachers, and the 
 contact with minds as eager and as enthusiastic in the 
 pursuit of knowledge as was his own. During his Uni- 
 versity career he was raised to the priesthood. In 
 the following year, 1711, he presented himself before 
 the examining board to defend a number of difficult 
 theological theses. This test of scholarship he 
 underwent with great credit, and won from the 
 Faculty the much-coveted honour of the Doctor’s 
 degree. 
 
 Though indefatigable in the pursuit of knowledge, 
 and particularly in the pursuit of that professional 
 knowledge which it is indispensable for a priest to 
 acquire, he never for a moment laid aside the study 
 of that true wisdom, without which the most pro- 
 
 l 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 XV 
 
 found erudition profiteth nothing. Therefore, he 
 made it his chief aim in life to become a perfect 
 Religious. Everything else was thrust by him into 
 a position subordinate to that one absorbing pursuit. 
 In his eyes, to know, without at the same time re- 
 ducing to practice that which he knew, appeared to 
 be the height of folly. Hence he strove daily to 
 walk towards God, by those paths which most 
 directly lead men to Him. He eagerly did “ God’s 
 Work ” He humbly submitted his neck to the yoke 
 of obedience. He shrank not from humiliation, nor 
 from the pain which it inflicts. In this, as in every 
 other work which he undertook, he was thoroughly 
 in earnest ; and his earnestness, with the co-opera- 
 tion of divine grace, made him that which he aimed 
 at being a true Monk, a true Religious. A proof 
 of the high esteem in which he was held by his 
 Superiors, is the fact that, at the early age of five- 
 and-twenty, he was intrusted with the important 
 task of training the Novices in the paths of per- 
 fection. The Superiors knew full well that, though 
 young in point of years, he was mature in charac- 
 ter, for already, even in his early manhood, he 
 showed that gravity, that discretion, and that pru- 
 dence, which only length of days and a wide ex- 
 perience in the ways of the world are able to impart 
 to most other men. 
 
 To the important office confided to his care, he 
 brought, not only a mind richly stored with theo- 
 logical lore, but also a heart well disciplined by all 
 
XVI 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 the austere practices of an ascetical life. He himself 
 had borne the yoke which he was to impose upon 
 others, and had trodden the paths through which he 
 had to lead them to perfection. There was, moreover, 
 about him a sweetness of manner, a kindly, courteous 
 mode of address, a sympathetic, winning tone of 
 voice, which drew to him the confidence and the love 
 of those who came to seek a home in the Cloister. 
 These qualities gave to him that golden key by which 
 he was able to penetrate into the most secret cham- 
 bers of their hearts ; thence to cast forth the hidden 
 causes of unrest ; the evil habits contracted before 
 their abandonment of the world ; and the various 
 other obstacles which stand in the way of divine 
 grace. The young Novices speedily discovered that 
 they were in the hands of a Master who not only 
 was well qualified to teach them all the mysteries of 
 the spiritual life, but who set them an example 
 which compelled them to put in practice the pre- 
 cepts which he taught. For the space of nine years 
 he held, with great credit to himself, and with great 
 profit to the Community, this arduous and most im- 
 portant post. A new sphere of usefulness was then 
 thrown open to him, by his election to the office of 
 Cloistral Prior. In this capacity, he had to take the 
 Abbot’s place and to act with his authority, when- 
 ever the latter was absent from the Monastery. As 
 in the office of Novice-Master, so also in this of 
 Cloistral Prior, he was ever careful to carry into 
 effect one of his fundamental principles : he himself 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 XVII 
 
 first did that which he expected his subjects to do. 
 He aimed at being that which Prior signifies — the 
 first in every religious practice, virtue, and duty. Of 
 duty, he made himself the loyal servant, and faith- 
 fully yielded obedience to the multitudinous calls 
 which that uncompromising taskmaster exacted from 
 him. It was remarked by those who were under his 
 authority, that few were so observant of silence, few 
 so punctual at the calls of obedience, few so in- 
 defatigable in mental toil, as was the humble, 
 gentle, devout Prior, whose whole life was to them 
 a daily and hourly admonition “to go and do in 
 like manner ”. 
 
 As the Abbot’s substitute, he was frequently called 
 upon to adjudicate in the contentions and the dis- 
 putes which arose between Monk and Monk, and 
 also in those which but too often broke out among 
 the numerous dependents of so great an Abbey. 
 Many opportunities were, consequently, afforded 
 him of exercising and of manifesting his patience, 
 his prudence, and his powers of discrimination. 
 Those who, in these critical junctures, were forced 
 to appeal to him, were loud in their praise of his 
 rigorous impartiality. Calmly and silently he 
 listened to each of the contending parties, till they 
 had nothing more to say either in accusation or in 
 defence. Then, in a few brief words, he summed up 
 the case for each side, and delivered his sentence 
 with so much gentleness, that even the vanquished 
 
 retired without any feelings of resentment against 
 
 b 
 
xviii translator’s preface. 
 
 him, or any suspicion of bias, or of unfairness in his 
 judgment. His charming frankness of manner, his 
 plain, straightforward way of dealing with everybody, 
 made it impossible for them to do otherwise. He 
 disarmed hostile criticism ; he appeased every angry 
 feeling ; he subdued hearts ; for he had that most 
 potent of charms, the power to rule souls : “Ars 
 artium, regimen animarum ”. 
 
 During the years when he held the post of Novice- 
 Master, and also during the term of his Priorship, 
 which lasted till his death, he employed whatever 
 leisure he could snatch from his many duties, in 
 writing spiritual treatises for the use of those who 
 were under his care. In order to prepare for the 
 Keligious Life those who were still living in the 
 world, he wrote the treatise on the Postulant. To 
 help those who came to the Cloister worthily to 
 prepare for their reception, he next wrote his Retreat. 
 Then came the admirable little work on the Novice. 
 These three, united under the title At the Gates of the 
 Sanctuary , are now, as we believe, for the first time 
 published in English. For the guidance of those 
 who after him might be intrusted with the training 
 of Novices, he wrote a short work entitled, The 
 Novice-Master . Besides these, he drew up A Guide 
 for Benedictine Priests ; and, in order to prepare him- 
 self for death, composed also two short tracts, which 
 he called respectively, The Benedictine who Daily keeps 
 Death before his Eyes , and The Benedictine Sick omd 
 Dying. For a considerable time before his holy 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 XIX 
 
 death he carried in his own bosom a perpetual memento 
 mori in the pulmonary complaint which eventually 
 opened for him the gates of Paradise. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1741, it was evident 
 to all that the end was not now far off, and that the 
 dread messenger had already laid his hand upon 
 him, to call him away. He himself knew this per- 
 fectly well. He did not shrink from his icy touch, 
 nor tremble at his summons. For years he had 
 familiarised himself with the contemplation of that 
 grim countenance, and now that it had come so 
 nigh to him, he did not recoil from it as from the 
 face of an enemy, but rather smiled a welcome to it 
 as to that of a friend who had come to conduct him 
 to the bosom of Jesus Christ. By reason of his 
 great weakness, he had for some time retired to the 
 Monastic Infirmary. There he calmly and cheer- 
 fully awaited the end, which came, at last, upon the 
 fifteenth day of January. On account of the great 
 difficulty which he experienced in breathing, the 
 dying Religious sat in his chair, facing the altar, 
 with his eyes intently fixed upon the tabernacle. 
 He had that day received all those sacred rites which 
 prepare the soul for its passage into eternity. He 
 was in the full possession of his faculties. His lips 
 moved incessantly in humble prayer, and joined in the 
 fervent acts which his attendants from time to time 
 suggested to him. Thus the day wore on. Night 
 closed in, and hour succeeded hour, till it was now 
 close upon midnight. Presently the great bell of the 
 
XX 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 Abbey began to toll for the Matin Office. Already 
 the Brethren were assembling in Choir to sing the 
 praises of God, when the attendants perceived that 
 the last moment had arrived. The Community were, 
 therefore, hurriedly called from the Church to the 
 Infirmary, and tearfully gathered round their be- 
 loved Prior. While they were supplicating for him 
 the divine mercy, while their plaintive voices were 
 still sounding in his ear, while the words of prayer 
 were still trembling upon his own lips, — his spirit 
 gently passed away into the bosom of God. 
 
 A truly beautiful death, following upon a holy and 
 beautiful life ! A life of complete submission to rule 
 minutely obeyed, because it indicated to him the 
 will of God. A life of charity, filled with good 
 works ; a life of unselfishness, of purity, of lowly 
 humility; a life, in one word, modelled upon that 
 of Christ. May the study of his works, which were 
 not written exclusively for his own Order, but for 
 Religious of all other Institutes, and for those who 
 are aspiring to minister at the Holy Altar, encourage 
 many to tread in his footsteps, and to copy his 
 virtues, that, by imitating his holy life, they may 
 deserve to close their days in that peaceful, child- 
 like trust in God which robs death of all his terrors, 
 and makes of him but the doorkeeper of our Father’s 
 house. 
 
 St. Michael’s Priory, Hereford, 
 
 Easter , 1888. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 FIRST PART. 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 General Principles for Making Choice of a State of 
 
 . Life, 1 
 
 Section I . — Thoughts for those who are deliberating about 
 
 the choice of a State of Life, . . . . . . . . 6 
 
 Section II . — Method of Procedure, . . . . . . . . 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Instruction for those who are thinking of Entering the 
 
 Order of St. Benedict, . . . . . . . . . . 17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Practical Conclusions to be Drawn from the Preceding 
 
 Chapter, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Postulant must Truly Seek God, 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 On Avoiding Mortal Sin as the Most Horrible of Evils, 54 
 Section I . — Motives for Avoiding Mortal Sin, . . . . 54 
 
 Section II . — Motives for Avoiding Mortal Sin, drawn from 
 St. Benedict’s Rule, . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 
 
XXII 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Section III . — Not only Sin itself, but also the Ways and 
 the Occasions which Lead to it, must be carefully 
 Avoided, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 
 
 Section IV . — Special Care must be taken not to Expose 
 yourself to the preceding Occasions of Sin at the time 
 when you take Leave of the World, . . . . . . 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Postulant must Frequently Exercise Himself in 
 those Virtues which Constitute the Essence of 
 the Religious State, . . . . . . . . . . 90 
 
 Section I . — The Postulant must Exercise Himself in Acts 
 
 of Poverty, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 
 
 Section II . — The Postulant must Strive to keep his Chastity 
 
 Unstained, 99 
 
 Section III . — Of the Way in which the Postulant must 
 Exercise Obedience, . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of the Way in which the Postulant must Prepare Him- 
 self to Practise “ Stability and Amendment of 
 Manners,” 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Postulant’s Solicitude for the “Work of God,” 123 
 Section I . — Of Penance and of the Holy Eucharist, . . 123 
 
 Section II. — Prayer, Hearing Mass, Devotion to the Saints, 132 
 Section ///.—Spiritual Reading, Examination of Con- 
 science, Exercise of the Three Theological Virtues, . . 139 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Humility, Patience, Modesty, 148 
 
 Section I . — Humility, 148 
 
 Section II. — Patience, . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 
 
 Section III. — Modesty, and the Manner in which the Body 
 
 should be Treated, 156 
 
CONTENTS. xxiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of Perseverance in Your Vocation, and of the Way in 
 
 WHICH You OUGHT PROXIMATELY TO PREPARE YOUR- 
 
 self to Enter Religious Life, 168 
 
 Synopsis of the Preceding Chapters, 189 
 
 Points of Meditation : 
 
 1. Truly Seeking God, . . . . 190 
 
 2. Horror of Sin, . . . . . . 191 
 
 3. The Three Vows, . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 
 
 4. Stability, 192 
 
 5. Solicitude for the “Work of God,” .. .. .. 193 
 
 6. Humility and Patience, 194 
 
 7. The Presence of God, . . . . 194 
 
 8. Perseverance, . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 
 
 SECOND PART. 
 
 MEDITATIONS FOR THE RETREAT 
 
 WHICH PRECEDES THE RECEPTION OF THE HOLY HABIT. 
 
 Preliminary Instruction, . . . . . . . . . . 196 
 
 Preparatory Meditation, . . . . . . . . . . 201 
 
 First Day: 
 
 1. Rising from Sleep, 205 
 
 2. Attention to the Voice of God, . . . . . . . . 207 
 
 3. The Fear of God, 211 
 
 Second Day: 
 
 1. Girding the Loins, . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 
 
 2. Knowledge of our Last End, 217 
 
 3. Horror and Hatred of Sin, 220 
 
XXIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Third Day : 
 
 1. Esteem and Love of your Calling — Desire of Winning 
 
 Perfection — Good Will, 
 
 2. Distrust of One’s Self — Confidence in God — Prayer, . . 
 
 3. Preparation Requisite on the part of the Body, 
 
 Fourth Day : 
 
 1. Benefit of a Religious Vocation, . . 
 
 2. End of a Religious Vocation in General, 
 
 3. End of a Vocation to the Benedictine Order in Parti- 
 
 cular — The Means, General as well as Particular, 
 which are to' be Used by those who are Called to 
 this Order, 
 
 Fifth Day : 
 
 1. First Requisite in a Good Novice, “ That he should 
 
 Truly Seek God,” 
 
 2. Qualities Requisite on the part of those who Seek the 
 
 Lord, 
 
 3. Hindrances which Oppose those who are Seeking God, 
 Sixth Day: 
 
 1. Second Requisite in a Good Novice, “ That he should 
 
 be Eager for the Work of God,” 
 
 2. Motives Urging us to Carry into Effect this Second 
 
 Requisite, 
 
 3. Examples which, in this respect, have been left us by 
 
 Christ, the Saints, and the Perfect, 
 
 Seventh Day : 
 
 1. Third Requisite in a Good Novice, “ That he should be 
 
 Eager for Obedience,” .. 
 
 2. Motives which should Induce us to Acquire this Third 
 
 Requisite, . . . . . . 
 
 3. Christ’s Love of us, and the Example of His Saints, 
 
 Urging us to Acquire Obedience, 
 
 Eighth Day : 
 
 1. Fourth Requisite in a Good Novice, “ Eagerness for 
 
 Humiliation,” 
 
 2. Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Degrees of Humility, 
 
 3. Remaining Degrees of Humility, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 225 
 
 229 
 
 231 
 
 234 
 
 238 
 
 242 
 
 247 
 
 251 
 
 256 
 
 260 
 
 264 
 
 268 
 
 273 
 
 277 
 
 281 
 
 285 
 
 290 
 
 295 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV 
 
 THIRD PART. 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction, . . . . . . . . . . 301 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 “ Let Him be in the Novitiate, where he shall Medi- 
 tate, and Eat, and Sleep,” 303 
 
 Section I . — Of being in the Novitiate, . . . . 303 
 
 Section II . — Of Meditation, Food, and Sleep, .. .. 305* 
 
 Section ///.—Counsels to the Novice, after the Reception 
 
 of the Habit, . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Novice Master, . . ... . . . . . . . . 324 
 
 Section I . — Necessity for a Master, . . . . . . . . 324 
 
 Section II . — Of the Love, Esteem, and Confidence which 
 
 a Novice ought to Show to his Master, . . . . . . 331 
 
 Section III . — Of the Novice’s Candour with respect to his 
 
 Master, . . . . . . . . . . ' . . 334 
 
 Section IV . — Of the Novice’s Obedience to his Master, in 
 
 Imitation of the Obedience of Christ, . . . . . . 341 
 
 Section V. — St. Dorotheus on the Abandonment of our 
 
 own Judgment, . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of Truly Seeking God, . . . . . . . . . . . . 355 
 
 Section I . — Truly Seeking God, . . . . . . . . 355 
 
 Section II . — Avoiding Evil, 361 
 
 Section III. —God must be Sought with Simplicity of Heart, 365 
 Section IV . — God must be Sought with Joy, . . . . 375 
 
 Section V . — God must be Sought with Brave and Un- 
 daunted Spirit, . . . . 381 
 
 Section VI . — Of Truly Seeking God, made Manifest by the 
 
 Doings and the Sayings of Christ, . . . . . . 387 
 
 c 
 
XXVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Op being Solicitous for the “ Work of God,” . . . . 393 
 
 Section I . — What a Novice must do to Show that he is 
 
 Solicitous for the “ Work of God,” 393 
 
 Section II . — Particular Counsels for each of the Exercises 
 
 comprised under the name “ Work of God,” . . . . 401 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the Eagerness of the Novice for Obedience, . . 421 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Novice must be Eager for Humiliation, . . . . 429 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 That all the Rigour and the Austerity by which we 
 
 Tend towards God be Laid before the Novice, . . 439 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Words: “And if He Promise Stability and Per- 
 severance,” .. 450 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Thrice Reading the Rule, . . . . . . . . . . 456 
 
 A Brief Digest of the Rule, . . . . . . . . 458 
 
 Matins — Psalmody, . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 
 
 After Matins — Meditation, . . . . . . . . '. . 459 
 
 Chapter of Faults, . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 
 
 Daily Occupations, . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 
 
 Eating and Drinking, . . • . . . . . . . . . . 462 
 
 Servers and Readers — After Meals — Mutual Intercourse 
 
 and Conversation, . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 
 
 Reading, Compline, Examination of Conscience, Sleep, . . 466 
 
 On Chapter 22, from Turrecremata — Vows, Obedience, . . 467 
 
 Chastity, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • 468 
 
 Poverty — Amendment of Manners, and Stability, . . 470 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV11 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Words Addressed to the Novice, 473 
 
 Trial of Patience, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 475 
 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Final Instructions, 
 
 478 
 
FIRST PART. 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Geneeal Pbinciples foe Making Choice of a 
 State of Life. 
 
 The choice of a State of Life is a matter of very great 
 importance, inasmuch as upon it, in great measure, will 
 depend your joy of heart, your peace of conscience, your 
 progress in spiritual things, your perseverance in the path 
 of virtue, and, in one word, your happiness both in this 
 world and in the world to come. If your choice should 
 happen to be a mistaken one, it will cloud your life with 
 sorrow, it will fill it with troubles, it will lead you into 
 endless faults and errors, it will expose you to the danger 
 of eternal damnation. Hence St. Gregory Nazianzen 
 could say with truth : “It is a matter of so great 
 moment, that it is the cause either of a religiously 
 ordered life, which leads to eternal happiness, or of a 
 badly regulated one, which conducts to eternal misery 
 Only that choice can be said to be good which is made 
 in obedience to the divine call : “ Every plant which My 
 Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up ”.+ 
 This is literally true. Therefore, in this matter of the 
 choice of a State of Life, pay special attention to the 
 
 Oratio , 23. 
 
 1 
 
 f St . Matth . xv. 13. 
 
2 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 divine call, and manfully carry into effect that which 
 it counsels you to do ; for, unless you act in this way, 
 you are deliberately exposing yourself to the danger of 
 hell fire. For, if many of those who were, and who 
 are, undoubtedly called by God, have perished, and do 
 actually perish, what will be the fate of those who 
 choose a State of Life without troubling themselves to 
 inquire whether God has called them to it. Do not 
 stifle any conscientious qualms concerning this matter, 
 with the thought that there have been some who, in 
 spite of their heedlessness of the Lord’s invitation, have 
 chosen a State of Life, and who yet have been mercifully 
 assisted by our good God, when they repented of their 
 evil, ill-advised proceeding. This is an extraordinary 
 grace, and therefore cannot, without rashness, be 
 brought forward as an inducement for others to act in 
 the same way ; because the number of those who have been 
 lost by so doing far exceeds the number of those who 
 have been mercifully spared and saved. Beware, then, 
 of trusting your eternal happiness to an issue so uncer- 
 tain. God, it is true, is exceedingly merciful ; and, to pre- 
 vent those who have made an erroneous choice in their 
 selection of a State of Life from being swallowed in the 
 abyss of despair when they discover their mistake and 
 repent of it, does oftentimes give some such signal proofs 
 of His infinite loving kindness and mercy ; but He by no 
 means wishes thereby to encourage the presumptuous dar- 
 ing of those who, in the hope of afterwards rectifying their 
 error, follow their own whim in choosing a State of Life 
 without paying any attention whatever to the call of God. 
 
 This divine call is, in various ways, made known to 
 men. To some it is manifested by revelation, to others 
 by the command of a Superior ; for one man the choice 
 is made by others, for another it is pointed out by the 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 3 
 
 inspiration of the Holy Ghost ; prudent deliberation with 
 their own heart discloses it to some, while to others it 
 is discovered through the counsel of men who are wise 
 and experienced in the ways of God. The manifestation 
 of God’s calling, by means of a direct revelation, is extra- 
 ordinary and of rare occurrence. Therefore, it is neither 
 to be looked for nor to be desired ; for it would be rash to 
 seek or to pray for prodigies of this kind. Also, it is very 
 seldom that the choice of a State of Life is made at the 
 command of a Superior ; for each is free to choose the 
 State of matrimony, or of continency, or of religion. 
 Moreover, it is the common and certain teaching of Theo- 
 logians, that those who have attained the age of puberty 
 may choose whatever State of Life shall seem good to 
 them ; and, if there is question of the Religious State, they 
 are not bound even to ask their parents’ consent, still less 
 to wait for their order to embrace it. In one case only 
 are they called upon to tarry for the parental assent, and 
 that is, when their father or their mother depends upon 
 them for the necessaries of life. States of Life which are 
 determined for us by the election of others are all those 
 offices, the appointment to which emanates from the 
 will and the votes of others. In this case, also, prudent 
 consultation with the wise and experienced is not to be 
 set aside, inasmuch as it is one of the ordinary means for 
 ascertaining the will of God. Persons are inspired to 
 choose a State of Life when it is made manifest to 
 their intelligence, by means of internal illumination, that 
 a certain State is very expedient for them, and when 
 their will is moved, in an efficacious manner, to choose 
 it. This method is not the usual one which is employed 
 by God, but it is sometimes made use of by Him, chiefly 
 for the purpose of moving men to embrace either the 
 Religious State or the State of Continency, and to under- 
 
4 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 take lowly and laborious offices.* 1 Hence, it is evident 
 that, out of these six ways for making known the Divine 
 Will to men, with respect to their calling, there are only 
 two which are general or universal. These are : prudent 
 consultation with one’s own heart, and with those who 
 are wise and experienced. 
 
 In order successfully and profitably to take counsel 
 with one’s own heart, certain conditions are requisite, 
 some of which must precede and others must follow this 
 consultation. Those which must precede are, first, purity 
 of heart, arising from a real horror of sin, and from a 
 careful avoiding of every transgression, and particularly 
 of every transgression which is of a grievous nature ; for 
 “ wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a 
 body subject to sins ”.f In the next place, all passions 
 must, as far as possible, be quelled, all unruly affections 
 reduced to order, all clinging to earthly things cut loose 
 from the soul. Of this the reason is not far to seek ; 
 for these hinder it from acquiring purity of heart, and, 
 by preventing the acquisition of that, deprive it of the 
 light which is necessary for seeing and for recognising 
 that for which God is asking, since only of the pure of 
 heart is it said : “ Blessed are the clean of heart, for they 
 shall see God J Besides being pure, the soul must be in 
 a state of indifference ; it must be like a clean sheet of 
 canvas, or of parchment, upon which God may in such 
 a way write His good pleasure as that it may without 
 difficulty be read. They who have not this quality of 
 indifference, who cleave with tenacity of purpose to a 
 particular position, or to an office, are like unto parch- 
 ment which has already been covered with other char- 
 acters, and which, therefore, is unsuitable for presenting 
 
 * Be Ponte de Christ. Homin. 'perfect ., tom. ii. , tr. i., cap. 6. 
 t JVisd. i. 4. + St. Matth. v. 8. 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 5 
 
 to the eyes of a reader any information which one might 
 desire to write upon it. Hence, in the opinion of 
 ascetical writers, they have not the requisite qualifica- 
 tions for this important deliberation. There must be 
 joined with this indifference respecting any state, or any 
 office, prayer which is humble, earnest, and full of faith ; 
 prayer which acknowledges the weakness of human reason, 
 and hopes that the Lord, Who abundantly giveth wisdom, 
 will, without stint, bestow it upon those who confidently 
 ask for it. 
 
 Prayer to God should be accompanied by fervent 
 petitions to the Saints, and to the immaculate Virgin, 
 by a devout reception of the sacraments of the Eucharist 
 and of Penance, and by other good works undertaken for 
 the success of the object which we have in view. Another 
 very powerful help is meditation upon the eternal truths ; 
 for, as this act of deliberating about the choice of a State 
 of Life is a very spiritual matter, needing much heavenly 
 wisdom to carry it to a successful issue, it is only be- 
 coming that, before beginning it, the mind, by means of 
 careful thought, should be imbued with those thrilling 
 verities, by means of which it is sure to be safely guided 
 in its secret consultations. Chief among these truths are 
 the end for which we were created, the certainty of death, 
 the uncertainty of the time of death, the severity of God’s 
 judgment, the eternity of rewards and of punishments, the 
 brevity of the present life, the fleeting nature of the 
 world’s pleasures, and the like. 
 
 Besides these preliminary conditions, there are others 
 which must enter into the actual deliberation upon your 
 choice of a State of Life. The first of these is that there 
 should be selected a suitable time in which you will be 
 able, without let or hindrance, to give the full attention 
 of your mind to a matter of so great importance. The 
 
6 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 time, however, of the deliberation ought not to be pro- 
 longed beyond four or, at the most, eight days. In the 
 second place, during this time you should withdraw 
 yourself from your ordinary occupations, and retire into 
 solitude, according to that : “ I will lead her into soli- 
 tude, and I will speak to her heart ”. Those persons 
 who have the opportunity of making a retreat, and of 
 going through the Spiritual Exercises, ought to thank 
 God for so signal a mercy. However, there are but few 
 who can be persuaded to do this ; and even among those 
 who are willing, there are also but few who have the 
 leisure to do it. Those who have this leisure should, as 
 far as possible, retire into solitude by laying aside all 
 their ordinary business and their daily cares. They 
 should forego their usual recreations, neither visiting 
 others nor receiving visits from them ; they should 
 avoid all conversations except with their Spiritual 
 Eather ; and, instead of pouring themselves out upon 
 these manifold objects which call forth their faculties 
 from the one great and all-absorbing purpose of life, they 
 should go to some church to visit the Beloved of their 
 souls, to converse with Him, and to treat with Him about 
 the matter which they have most at heart, calling upon 
 the Saints to aid them by their powerful suffrages to bring 
 their suit to a favourable end. Lastly, when they enter 
 upon the deliberation itself, they should, in a most special 
 manner, implore the divine help with all the humility 
 and the fervour of their souls, and, at the same time, should 
 revolve in their minds either these or similar thoughts. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Thoughts for those who are deliberating about the choice of 
 a State of Life. 
 
 You have not here a lasting city. You will depart 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 7 
 
 hence ; yon will die ! Thus is it appointed for all men ! 
 At the hour at which you least of all are thinking of 
 death, then you will die. You will leave all things 
 behind you, and you will be by all things abandoned. 
 You will enter eternity. That eternity, as the word 
 itself implies, will never come to an end. This will be 
 either a happy eternity among the Saints of God in the 
 enjoyment of all that is good, or an unhappy one among 
 the damned in the endurance of all that is evil. You 
 are free to choose either the one or the other. Make 
 your choice ; but, understand this well— a happy eternity 
 is the consequence of a good death, and a good death is 
 the consequence of a good life. On the other hand, an 
 unhappy eternity is the consequence of a bad death, a 
 bad death is the consequence of a bad life, at least in the 
 ordinary course of God’s providence. 
 
 If you desire to die a good death, and to win for your- 
 self a happy eternity, you must of necessity choose to 
 lead a good life, for the simple reason that you cannot 
 count upon the extraordinary favours of God. To lead 
 a good life is to turn away, by repentance, from the evil 
 which has been committed, and from that also which 
 may be committed. To do good is to practise virtues 
 with respect to God, to your neighbour, and to yourself. 
 Any one, by the aid of God’s grace, is able to do this in 
 any State of Life whatever, ecclesiastical, or secular, or 
 religious. 
 
 But, carefully avoid that error into which men so 
 frequently fall, and take notice that to be able to lead a 
 good life is quite a different thing from actually leading 
 one. All men are able to do this ; very few, compara- 
 tively speaking, actually do it. Do you ask why? I 
 will give you two reasons. First, there are fewer aids 
 and means for turning aside from evil, and for doing 
 
8 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 good in the one State than there are in the other. 
 Secondly, there are many more hindrances to the practice 
 of good, many more occasions of sin, and many more 
 dangers of falling into it in the one State than there are 
 in the other. To be in the midst of these and not to be 
 hurried away into the commission of sin, is to be amid 
 thorns and not to be torn by them ; to be amid snares 
 and not to be caught by them ; to be amid the waves 
 and not to be swallowed by them ; to be amid flames 
 and not to be burnt by them ; to be amid enemies and 
 not to be hurt by them ; to be in a slippery way and not 
 to fall upon it ; to be in a labyrinth and not to be lost in 
 it. This is the good fortune of but a very few. It is, 
 we might almost say, a miracle. 
 
 On the. other hand there are, in the one State, first, 
 more numerous and more efficacious helps and means for 
 leading a good life than there are in the other. Secondly, 
 there are fewer occasions and dangers of leading a bad 
 life in the one than there are in the other. For any one 
 who does not, of set purpose, intend to lead a wicked life, 
 it is not only an easy but a pleasant and almost a neces- 
 sary thing in the one State to lead a good life. Therefore, 
 we may with prudence believe that in the one State more 
 are damned for all eternity, and that in the other more 
 are saved for all eternity. Therefore, now that your mind 
 is clear, and that your soul is free from every disturbing 
 element, in God’s presence make your resolve to enter 
 some certain State of Life. If, out of a distrust in your 
 own judgment, you look for those who will advise you, 
 go unto those who are incorruptible, to those who are 
 wise, to the Doctors of the Church ; go to one who is at 
 the point of death, and who is about to be presented 
 before the dread tribunal of God ; go to your friends who 
 are imprisoned in the cleansing fires of Purgatory ; go to 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 9 
 
 your Angel-Guardian, to the blessed Saints, yea, even to 
 the rich glutton, and to those who are lost for ever in 
 the flames of hell ! Above all, go unto Jesus Christ, 
 Who loves you more than all others can possibly love 
 you. All will give you one and the same advice. Ah ! 
 if then you are wise, and if you have any love for your- 
 self, choose that State of Life which is the most secure. 
 The more you love yourself, the less dangerous will be 
 the State of Life which you will choose. Urged on by 
 prudence as well as by self-love, you are ready to do this. 
 Therefore, as he who is about to undertake a journey 
 chooses for himself a steed that is without fault in wind 
 or in limb, rather than one that is lame ; as he who is 
 about to sail the seas prefers a sea- worthy vessel to one 
 that is leaky ; as he who is travelling takes the smooth 
 and safe road in preference to that which is rough and 
 insecure ; as he who is about to transact some business 
 of great moment employs for its execution sure means 
 rather than those which are doubtful ; and, among those 
 which are sure, selects those which are better adapted for 
 gaining his end, rather than those which are less suited 
 for that purpose — so do you also act. The business 
 which you have on hand is most momentous ; it is 
 eternity, to which you are at every moment hurrying on, 
 and that eternity will be for you either a happy or a 
 miserable one. 
 
 Section II. 
 
 After carefully reflecting upon the foregoing considera- 
 tions, write upon a sheet of paper the various States of 
 Life about which you seek to deliberate. Under each of 
 these note down the particular end at which it aims, the 
 principal means which it employs for gaining man’s 
 eternal destiny, its method of life, the labours which 
 
10 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 have to be undergone, the burthens which have to be 
 borne, and the dangers which have to be encountered in 
 it. In the next place, weigh well your strength of body, 
 examine the talents which you possess, pass in review 
 your good as well as your bad habits, and, after duly 
 reflecting upon all these, write after each that which you 
 are able to do, and that also which you are not able 
 to do. Then accurately observe for which of these 
 States it is that you feel most inclination ; for how 
 long a time you have felt this inclination ; what was 
 the circumstance which first gave rise to it ; whether it 
 has constantly persevered ; whether it has suffered any 
 change ; what that change is ; and whence it took its 
 origin. Lastly, in addition to all this, consider the 
 motive by which you have been influenced in all these 
 matters. 
 
 When you have faithfully carried out these counsels, you 
 must not straightway and with impetuosity leap at the 
 conclusion which they suggest to you, but with most earnest 
 prayer you must over and over again commend to God 
 the success of your undertaking. After you have written 
 out the paper which we have advised you to draw up, it 
 is necessary that you should confess and communicate, 
 in order to submit the matter to your Divine Guest, and 
 to ask His good pleasure concerning it. At last, when 
 you have once again carefully considered every circum- 
 stance, choose that State in which, personally, you find 
 more helps to your salvation, fewer hindrances to the 
 accomplishment of it, and better opportunities for pro- 
 moting the honour and the glory of God. You may 
 then, with perfect safety, take this step ; but, neverthe- 
 less, first ask the advice of some prudent man, lest you 
 may not have adverted to everything about the State, 
 and may have been hurried away by the inconsiderate 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 11 
 
 impetuosity of youth. For, no matter how diligent may 
 have been the care which you have taken, it can never 
 be so great as to render superfluous the counsel of a 
 pious, prudent, and experienced man. 
 
 For this consultation you must choose, in preference to 
 every one else, a pious and prudent man, who is not in- 
 fluenced by passion, who seeks not his own advantage 
 and honour, but truth, the eternal wellbeing of those 
 who ask his advice, God’s honour and glory, and the 
 manifestation of God’s will, in order to carry it into 
 effect. Hence, in this matter, you must not admit to 
 your consultations carnal friends, relations, parents, and 
 men of the world, but only those whose sentiments are 
 such as we have just described. After you have made 
 your choice, it is absolutely necessary that you should 
 lay before this your Director all your desires, inclina- 
 tions, and inspirations with respect to temporal as well 
 as to spiritual things. You should let him have a clear 
 idea of your temptations, of your internal affections and 
 movements ; also, of the good and of the evil habits 
 which you may have contracted, as well as of the vices 
 to which you feel yourself inclined. Unless he have all 
 these circumstances distinctly before his eyes, it will be 
 a difficult matter for him to point out to you in what 
 State you will best be able to work out your salvation. 
 Then explain to him the notes which you have made in 
 the private examination to which you have subjected 
 yourself. Ask his advice upon them, and do that which 
 he shall prescribe for you; for, you may be fully per- 
 suaded that the more exactly and the more diligently you 
 follow out his instructions, the more speedily and the 
 more certainly will you be made to know the divine will 
 in your regard. 
 
 Although boys, who are not yet fourteen years of age, 
 
12 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 ought not, by reason of their unripeness of judgment, 
 formally to deliberate about the State of Life which they 
 wish to embrace, nevertheless, after they come to the 
 use of reason, they should, with all care, be taught to 
 accustom themselves to serve God, to hate sin, to shun 
 the dangerous occasions of offending God, to love spiritual 
 things, to turn away from vanities, to preserve their 
 innocence from every stain, and at Mass and at Holy 
 Communion frequently to pray to God to make known 
 His good pleasure respecting the State of Life which He 
 wishes them to choose. But, after the completion of 
 their fourteenth year, or, at least, about that time, the 
 actual inquiry concerning the State which they ought to 
 embrace should not any longer be deferred ; for, that age 
 is considered by the Church to be ripe enough for this 
 inquiry, since it has decreed that when they have com- 
 pleted their sixteenth year they may be admitted to 
 Religious Profession. Moreover, this period of life, by 
 reason of its innocence, its simplicity, and the ardour of 
 its devotion, is much more apt for the reception of divine 
 light, for the perception of God’s will, and for the faith- 
 ful execution of it, than one that is more advanced. In 
 a word, at this stage of his existence a youth is more 
 easily turned to good, is more ardent in the pursuit of it, 
 more ready to ask and to carry into effect good advice 
 and spiritual direction, all which, as is evident from what 
 we have already said, are very helpful, and, ordinarily 
 speaking, even necessary for making a good choice. 
 
 With regard to following out in act the vocation unto 
 which you feel that you have been called by God, you 
 must carefully examine into the kind of life unto which 
 your choice has determined you, for upon its nature will 
 depend the way in which you must proceed to put it into 
 execution. If you have made up your mind to enter the 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 13 
 
 married state, it stands to reason that, while you are still 
 under age, you must not think about acting upon the reso- 
 lution which you have made. What you must do, in the 
 meantime, is diligently to pursue your studies, or carefully 
 to instruct yourself in the mysteries of some profession, 
 or of some trade, and particularly to exercise yourself in 
 the practice of piety and of virtue. Thus, at one and the 
 same time, you will be providing for your future susten- 
 ance, and be fitting yourself to bring up and to govern 
 your household in a Christian and Catholic manner. 
 If you have resolved to enter the Clerical State, in which, 
 according to Ecclesiastical Law, no one can be admitted to 
 Sacred Orders until his twenty-first year, you must, in 
 the meantime, apply yourself to study, and especially to 
 the practice of virtue, that when the time comes you 
 may be fit for the discharge of clerical duties, and may 
 not imperil either your own salvation or the salvation of 
 other men, should the care of their souls be ever intrusted 
 to your keeping. Finally, if you have made choice of 
 the Beligious State, all delay which does not proceed 
 from one of the causes presently to be mentioned is very 
 hurtful and dangerous, as is proved by those writers who 
 treat of this subject ; but, as we here touch upon it only 
 incidentally, we will not stay to recount the many 
 tragical stories by which they make this evident. The 
 causes for which your entrance to Beligious Life may 
 lawfully be deferred are as follows : — (1) If your parents 
 are so poor that, without your assistance, they are 
 unable, except with great difficulty, to gain their liveli- 
 hood. (2) If you cannot be received into the Beligious 
 Order so soon as you expected, although you have done 
 your utmost to accomplish your design. (3) If you are 
 accepted by a Beligious Order, but are nevertheless 
 advised by the Superiors to wait yet somewhile longer 
 
14 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 for the purpose of completing your studies. (4) If you 
 are labouring under some illness which incapacitates 
 you for bearing the burthens of Religious Life. Should 
 this illness be of such a nature that it is incurable, this 
 will be an evident sign that you are not called by God to 
 that Order.* For these causes entrance to Religious 
 Life is, with good reason, deferred. It is the aim and 
 the purpose of this little work to prevent this time of 
 delay from being hurtful to those persons who feel that 
 they have a call from God, but who are, nevertheless, 
 unable to obey that call, in consequence of some of these 
 impediments. It is to teach them how they may most 
 profitably spend their time in the world in preparation 
 for worthily receiving the habit. Let those who, either 
 for slight reasons, or through the mischievous persuasion 
 of others, put off their entrance into Religion be on their 
 guard, and try to steer the vessel of their soul clear of 
 the rocks upon which the souls of others, who were 
 influenced by similar motives, have made miserable 
 shipwreck, and have perished for ever. Let them not 
 think that they will force God to bestow upon them the 
 grace to obey His call at the time when it shall seem 
 good to them to listen to it. The Spirit breatheth where 
 He wills ; He breathes and passes by. The moment for 
 the distribution of His favours has been preordained by 
 Him ; it is not subject to the caprice of wayward men. 
 
 * The delay spoken of in the text must be understood of a long 
 delay. Whenever there is a good reason for deferring one’s entrance 
 either into the Religious State or into Clerical life, it is advisable to 
 put off presenting one’s self for acceptance into the one or into the 
 other. A delay of six months, or of even a year or two, would not, 
 according to circumstances, be considered to be long. Grave incon- 
 venience to others, in consequence of our leaving home, would consti- 
 tute a sufficiently valid reason for delaying our entrance into Religion 
 or into the Clerical State. — Trs. 
 
GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 15 
 
 In addition to all that has already been said, you must 
 keep the following principles steadily in view during the 
 course of your deliberation upon this matter : — (1) It is 
 a sure sign that God does not will you to choose any 
 State for the performance of the duties of which you 
 have neither the ability nor any hope of acquiring the 
 ability. (2) No prudent man ought to choose a State of 
 Life simply and solely because either his relatives or his 
 friends have been in it. (3) Your last end must ever be 
 kept in view. This is nothing else than the honour and 
 the service of God, and your own eternal salvation. 
 Hence, all such reasons as urge you, through motives of 
 flesh and blood, to win the applause and the goodwill of 
 men, or to procure sensual pleasure, must not, by any 
 means, be suffered to sway your counsels. No State of 
 Life should ever either be chosen on account of such 
 reasons or be rejected because of them ; for it is certain 
 that the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. 
 That you should firmly hold this opinion is a matter of 
 the greatest importance. (4) In time of consolation, or 
 of desolation, no definite resolve ought ever to be made. 
 (5) A vow must never be taken without the approbation 
 of your Spiritual Father. (6) Vocations which are sudden 
 and impetuous are always to be regarded with suspicion. 
 They are rarely made of durable stuff, and, therefore, 
 should be carefully searched into before they are followed. 
 (7) When actually deliberating about your vocation, the 
 four trusty Councillors— Death, Judgment, Hell, and 
 Heaven — must never be set aside. Their advice should 
 always be listened to, and strenuous efforts be made 
 diligently to carry it into effect, 
 r Lastly, bear in mind that it is a very serious matter 
 for any one to choose a State of Life for which he is 
 manifestly unsuited, or to which he perceives that he is 
 
16 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 not called by God, or is in doubt whether there is not in 
 the way some secret impediment for the removal of which 
 he does not employ moral diligence. Hence, that person 
 is guilty of a grievous sin who enters a Religious Order 
 knowing that he is labouring under some infirmity, or 
 that he has some bodily defect on account of which he 
 feels certain that in a short time he will not be able to 
 go through the duties of Regular Observance ; or, although 
 he does not feel certain, but has only some doubt about 
 it, yet does not take the trouble to consult those who 
 could enlighten him upon the subject.* Now, although 
 this obligation rests upon each person in particular, 
 nevertheless, because it may happen that owing to his 
 youth he either may not give to these matters that 
 attentive consideration which they deserve, or may not 
 have a sufficiently serious idea of their gravity, it is the 
 praiseworthy custom of almost all Religious Orders to 
 subject to a rigorous examination all who apply to them 
 for the habit. To their various questions they require 
 them, sometimes even upon oath, to give a truthful 
 answer, in order by these stringent measures to prevent 
 the losses which might otherwise accrue to the Order, 
 and to ward off the countless ills which might arise from 
 the neglect of these salutary precautions. 
 
 * If this is true of bodily defects and infirmities, with far greater 
 reason is it true of habits of grievous sin which the would-be Religious 
 or the would-be Priest has not been able to overcome. Also it is true 
 of a distaste for the duties and the occupations of the life to which the 
 person aspires. — Trs. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Instruction for those who are thinking of Entering 
 the Order of St. Benedict. 
 
 The Benedictine Order derives its name from its first 
 founder, St. Benedict, whose life and praises, written by 
 St. Gregory the Great, may be found in the fourth book 
 of the Dialogues of that illustrious Pontiff. It came into 
 existence about the year 510. During that year, and in 
 those which immediately followed it, twelve Monasteries 
 were established in the province of Valeria. About the 
 year 529, our holy Father went to Monte Cassino, and 
 there built the Monastery which is known even to the 
 present day by the name of that place. It was there, as 
 we learn from St. Gregory, that, under the guidance of 
 the Holy Spirit, he wrote his Rule, “ which is both 
 excellent for discretion and also eloquent for style”.* 
 He began to write this Rule at Subiaco, about the year 
 510, and finished it at Monte Cassino, about the year 
 536. It was first approved of, in the usual manner, by 
 the Bishops of the various Dioceses in which St. Bene- 
 dict and his disciples founded Monasteries. After this, 
 towards the year 562, it was implicitly approved of by 
 Pope John III., who, in a document granting certain 
 privileges to the Monastery of St. Medard, says: “Let 
 the Monks devote themselves to the service of God, freely 
 without hindrance, and in all their acts obey the Rule of 
 
 * Dialog . , lib. iv. , cap. 36. 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 St. Benedict ”. A third and express approbation was 
 given to it by St. Gregory the Great, in a Synod held at 
 Rome in the year 595. A fourth approbation was 
 accorded to it by Pope Zachary, who came to the Chair 
 of St. Peter in the year 741. 
 
 St. Placid, the protomartyr of our Order, was the first 
 to introduce the Holy Rule into Sicily, while its saintly 
 author was still alive. St. Maurus carried it with him 
 into France ; and, in course of time, a whole army of 
 illustrious men, conspicuous both for their learning and 
 for their sanctity, diffused the laws of the holy Patriarch 
 throughout almost the whole world. 
 
 The principal end of this Order is primarily and chiefly 
 to secure, with the aid of divine grace, and by the means 
 furnished by a contemplative life, the personal sanctifica- 
 tion and salvation of its individual members. It is not, 
 however, repugnant to its purpose, that those who enrol 
 themselves under its standard should apply themselves 
 to the apostolic work of trying to save the souls of other 
 men by the duties of the active life. This may be said 
 to be even a part of its purpose from its very foundation 
 by St. Benedict ; nevertheless, it is a part of its purpose 
 in such a way that the active life must always be 
 secondary to the contemplative life, and be undertaken 
 by its members only when it shall seem good to Superiors 
 to permit it, and in that measure which it shall please 
 them to sanction. For the attainment of personal 
 sanctity it employs those three means, which are common 
 to other Religious Orders, namely, the vows of poverty, 
 chastity, and obedience. 
 
 The vow of poverty consists in the abdication of all 
 proprietorship, and of all right to have or to possess or 
 to dispose of anything as if it was their own. So that a 
 Religious, whether within or without the Monastery, 
 
PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 19 
 
 cannot, under any pretext, have as his own, or possess, 
 or receive, or give to another anything whatsoever, 
 unless for so doing he has from his Superior free permis- 
 sion, which is at least either tacitly given or reasonably 
 presumed. All things are left in the hands of the Supe- 
 rior, and he may dispose of them at his pleasure.* Super- 
 fluities, however, cannot be held even with the Superior’s 
 permission. All this must be understood of the poverty 
 of the individual members of the Order. As a Commu- 
 nity, they have dominion, properly so called, of which the 
 administrators are the Abbot and the Officials appointed 
 by t him. 
 
 The vow of chastity imposes the obligation of per- 
 petually abstaining, not only from all unlawful actions 
 contrary to it, but also from those which are lawful; and 
 this obligation extends not only to acts but to desires, 
 and to complacency in anything that is opposed to 
 chastity. Therefore, any Religious who should commit 
 any sin against this vow would incur, besides the guilt of 
 a grave transgression against the sixth commandment, 
 the additional guilt of the sin of sacrilege. 
 
 The vow of obedience consists in the perpetual denial 
 of one’s own judgment and of one’s own will, in readiness 
 to obey, and in actual obedience to Superiors in all things 
 which are not against, nor below, nor beyond the Rule. 
 In order that this obedience may be virtuous and meri- 
 torious, it is not enough simply to fulfil the command of 
 him who issues the order ; in addition to this, the order 
 must be executed without murmuring of heart or of 
 tongue, with a good will, and on the impulse of some 
 supernatural motive. 
 
 Besides these vows, which are common to all Religious 
 
 * Taking care, however, to observe the Canon Law in the disposal of 
 property. 
 
20 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Bodies, our Order takes upon itself two other means of 
 perfection, and makes special mention of them in the 
 act of Profession. The first of these is stability , by which 
 a Benedictine is obliged not only not to wish to return to 
 a worldly life, nor to go to a less severe Order, but, even 
 within his own Order, not to go from one Monastery to 
 another, nor to live outside the cloister of the Monastery 
 in which he was professed, nor in the world, nor in other 
 Monasteries.* The second is what is called amendment of 
 manners. This is a zeal for and an attempt to reach 
 perfection, by conformity with the Rule of St. Benedict, 
 or by the practice of virtues marked out for us by rule, 
 even when the Superior does not compel us to be zealous 
 for, and to make efforts to attain, perfection. Therefore, 
 the aim of a Benedictine ought to be, not only not to 
 violate any of his vows, but to observe them day by day 
 with an ever increasing degree of perfection. 
 
 The Benedictine spirit consists in true and complete 
 obedience, and because our holy Father says that “ the 
 first degree of humility is obedience,” f it must consist in 
 humility also. Hence, he who enters this Order ought 
 to be resolved never at any time, nor for any reason, to 
 wish, or to pretend, or to try either directly or indirectly 
 to exercise any office or any ministry in religion, whether 
 in parishes or in any other capacity, J or to retain it for a 
 
 * Through necessity, or through utility, a Monk may live out of his 
 cloister. 
 
 f Reg. I. , cap. v. 
 
 J This does not apply to the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation, to 
 which missionary work has been intrusted by the Holy See. Each of 
 its members may be sent forth from the Monastery to share in the 
 labours of the pastoral office. It is the Superiors, however, that 
 determine the time at which their subjects are to begin and the time at 
 which they are to desist from the glorious task, where it is to be under- 
 taken, and in what measure they are to devote themselves to it. — Trs. 
 
PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 21 
 
 longer or for a shorter period, or in any way whatever 
 which is not in conformity with that which shall seem 
 good to the Abbot. Moreover, he ought to be so indiffe- 
 rent, so tranquil, so ready to yield himself up to the 
 orders of obedience, as to commit unto God, and also 
 unto his Superior for love of God, inasmuch as the Superior 
 is God’s vicar, all care of himself with respect to employ- 
 ments and to other matters of a like nature. 
 
 The same spirit should make him readily accept all 
 lowly and abject duties, if any such should ever be 
 assigned to him ; and should he never be intrusted with 
 any office except one that is laborious and humble, he 
 should remain in perfect contentment of mind. The 
 good service of obedience must be given not only to the 
 Abbot, but also to the Superiors whom it may please him 
 to appoint, and even unto one another. This, however, 
 must be so arranged that the due subordination of one 
 person to another be not lost sight of. 
 
 In such matters as food, drink, clothing, bedding, place 
 of abode, and the like, the Benedictine method of life, 
 although much softened, is, nevertheless, quite rigorous 
 enough to secure all the ends for which corporal austerity 
 is employed by religious men. Permission to eat flesh 
 meat has, in almost all places, been granted by a legiti- 
 mate dispensation from the Holy See ; * in many Monas- 
 teries, however, the fasts ordained by the Buie, on 
 Wednesdays, on Fridays, and during Advent, are strictly 
 observed. Nevertheless, any one, with the permission of 
 his Superior or of his Spiritual Father, may without 
 singularity live a still more mortified life. 
 
 From the very foundation of the Order the public 
 worship of God in choral psalmody has ever been re- 
 garded as one of the principal duties of St. Benedict’s 
 
 * Granted in 1336 by Pope Benedict XII. 
 
22 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 children; and this they have always performed to the 
 immense advantage both of the Church at large and of 
 private individuals. So highly has it been esteemed by 
 our Fathers, that, not content with offering it up to God 
 at stated times during the night and during the day, they 
 have, in many places, established what is called “ the 
 round of perpetual praise,”* in order that, during the day 
 and during the night, there may not be an hour in which 
 the incense of prayer is not ascending before the throne 
 of God. Our esteem for this sacred duty, and our care to 
 perform it with due solemnity, ought not to be less 
 during these our days than they were in the days that 
 have gone by ; but, with respect to the celebrating of it 
 during the night hours, the custom is not the same in all 
 places. In some, Matins are begun at about four o’clock 
 in the morning, while in others, the ancient practice of 
 rising to chant them a little after midnight is still kept 
 up in full vigour. 
 
 Besides Choir-duties, Benedictine Monks have to 
 meditate, to read, to pray, to learn the Ecclesiastical 
 chant, and the ceremonial of the Church : they have to 
 apply to study ,t to manual labour, to the copying of 
 
 * Laus perennis. 
 
 •f The studies of any Religious Order are determined by the end 
 which it proposes to itself, as one of the subordinate aims of its exist- 
 ence. In our Congregation this end is twofold — viz., the instruction of 
 youth in our Colleges, and the pastoral work of the Apostolic Mission. 
 Th ^efcr 3, the studies by which we prepare ourselves to gain this end 
 are directed to the acquisition of that learning which will make us 
 efficient professors, and enlightened pastors of souls. With regard to 
 the Professors of our Colleges, it is the duty of Superiors to select for 
 this office only those who are thoroughly competent to discharge this 
 important function. If none such can be found among their subjects, 
 they are bound, in justice to the parents who intrust their children to 
 them, to seek elsewhere for men who are able to instruct these chil- 
 dren in the various branches of knowledge which enter into the curri- 
 
PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 23 
 
 books; they have to teach humanities and the higher 
 studies in the Colleges, to administer the sacraments to the 
 faithful, to instruct in Christian doctrine children and the 
 uneducated, to preach, and to give missions. Some of 
 these occupations are common to the whole Order, as 
 well as to each of its members singly ; others, however, 
 are common to the whole Order, but yet in such a 
 way that it is left to the prudence of the Superior to 
 select the occupations which shall be intrusted to each 
 person in particular. It is not true, therefore, that the 
 Benedictine Life is an idle one ; nor that there is not any 
 scope in it for the use of talents ; nor that talent is held 
 in but scant esteem in its Monasteries. 
 
 St. Benedict gives to his children four tests wherewith 
 to try by what spirit those persons are led who wish to 
 enter his Order. He bids them inquire, first, whether 
 
 culum of a liberal education. The course of studies by which our 
 Religious are trained and fitted for the duties of their missionary life 
 is fixed by the Constitutions of our Congregation. These Constitutions 
 ordain that each Monk shall go through a complete course of Ecclesi- 
 astical studies, consisting of two years of philosophy, and of three or 
 four years of theology. Every year he is subjected to a rigorous exami- 
 nation. If he is discovered to be an apt scholar, he is ordered by 
 Superiors frequently to exercise himself in public disputations, so as 
 to fit himself to defend a theological or a philosophical thesis before 
 the Academy or the University at which he is studying. Should he 
 show himself to be careless about these matters, he is not suffered to go 
 upon the Apostolic Mission. The Fathers who drew up these various 
 enactments were so deeply impressed with the necessity for the acquisi- 
 tion of ecclesiastical science, that they empowered the President-General 
 to compel the Superiors of the various Monasteries to be diligent in 
 fostering these ecclesiastical studies. To make sure that these ordi- 
 nances concerning studies have been faithfully carried out, the Regulce 
 Missionis furthermore require that, before any Monk shall be declared 
 fit for the care of souls, he must have gone through the complete course 
 of philosophy and of theology, and have devoted two years more to the 
 study of casuistry, polemical theology, and Sacred Scripture. — TVs. 
 
24 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 the Novice truly seeks God; secondly, whether he is 
 eager for the “ Work of God,” — that is to say, the 
 Divine Office, or any other duty connected with the 
 service of God; thirdly, whether he is eager for obe- 
 dience; fourthly, whether he is eager for “humiliation”. 
 The time requisite for the Novitiate is one full, entire 
 year. At the end of that year, the Profession is made, 
 and the Novice, after having made it, “is not allowed/’ 
 as our holy Father says, “ to go forth from the Monastery, 
 nor to shake off the yoke of the Rule, which yoke, after 
 so mature a deliberation, he might either have accepted 
 or refused ”. 
 
 The Benedictine Order differs from the Mendicant 
 Order, and from several others, in this, that it is not 
 ruled by one head, but is divided into Congregations, such 
 as the German, the Swiss, the Bavarian, the English, in 
 each of which the supreme head is the President ; next 
 to him come the Visitors ; but each Monastery is ruled 
 by its own Abbot or by its Prior, as the case may be. 
 Every Monastery has its own Prior or its own Abbot ; 
 but between the Monasteries and between the Abbots 
 there is no connection which induces dependence upon 
 and subordination to one another. In some Congrega- 
 tions the Abbots are perpetual ; but in others they are 
 elected for a, certain fixed number of years, and on the 
 expiration of their term of office, may be superseded by 
 others who are chosen to take their places. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Practical Conclusions to be Drawn from the 
 Preceding Chapter. 
 
 Although many are the prerogatives of this holy Order, 
 which has given to the Heavenly Kingdom so many famous 
 Saints, and to our holy Mother the Church so many 
 Pontiffs, Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, 
 Apostolic men, learned Doctors, so many zealous pro- 
 moters of devotion to Our Lady, so many authors of 
 Sacred Rites, so many inventors of various arts, and 
 enlightened students of sciences, which have helped to 
 advance the wellbeing of peoples and of nations ; neverthe- 
 less, we pass over all these, and others of a similar nature, 
 from the conviction that he who is deliberating about 
 embracing a particular State of Life ought to confine his 
 attention chiefly to an examination of the end which the 
 Religious Order proposes to itself, of the means which it 
 employs to gain that end, of the ability which he himself 
 possesses for the carrying out of that end, and for the 
 use of those means, and, lastly, of the hindrances which 
 may stand in his way to prevent him from following his 
 wishes. For what use will the sanctity of a Religious 
 Order be to him, or what advantage will the number of 
 its illustrious children bring to him, if he have neither 
 the courage nor the strength to reach their lofty sanctity, 
 or to imitate their virtuous lives? Therefore, hold in 
 high esteem all the holy Orders which have been ap- 
 proved of by the Church ; and if you feel that you are 
 
26 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 called to any of them, do not choose that one which 
 surpasses the rest in the brilliancy of its prerogatives, 
 but that which, upon a careful consideration of the end 
 proposed and of the means employed by it to gain that 
 end, shall seem to you, with the aid of God’s all-helping 
 grace, to be best adapted for winning perfection and for 
 securely leading you to the kingdom of heaven. Look 
 upon it as a sure sign of a bad spirit, if you are so drawn 
 to one Order, or to one particular Monastery, as to 
 contemn, either in heart or in word, any other Order, or 
 any other Monastery ; for, where charity is not, there 
 the Spirit of God cannot be. God is Charity ; and he 
 that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him.* 
 
 With respect to the particular end which the Benedic- 
 tine Order proposes to itself, f take notice that, if you per- 
 ceive yourself to be called by God, to labour chiefly for the 
 salvation of souls, it would not be wise of you to enter 
 this Order, since it might happen that you would never 
 be appointed by your Superiors to perform works of the 
 active life.J In like manner, your choice of the Bene- 
 dictine Order would not be a good one, if you were so 
 bent upon living in it for your own personal sanctification 
 only as not to be ready, at the bidding of Superiors, to 
 undertake works of the active life ; for as almost every 
 Monastery has attached to it the care of the souls of 
 those who worship in its Church, and of those also who 
 live in places which are subject to, and which belong to it, 
 
 * 1 St. John iv. + See preceding chapter. 
 
 J In the English Benedictine Congregation every member either is 
 sent, or may be sent, to work upon the mission. Like a soldier, he 
 both goes forth and returns at the word of command. "Whenever he 
 is kept in the Monastery for his whole life, or for the greater part of 
 it, it is because the good of his Congregation requires it. The general 
 rule is that, at some time or other, he is sent to share in the glorious 
 labour of saving the souls for which Christ died. — Trs. 
 
BOSTON COLLEGE UBRM* 
 
 chestnut HILL, MAS t 
 
 PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 27 
 
 it is necessary that each member of the Community, as far 
 as in him lies, should be prepared to perform these paro- 
 chial duties whenever it shall seem good to his Superiors 
 to appoint him to them, in order that in this way the 
 obligations imposed by pious foundations may be satisfied, 
 and the common good of the faithful he preserved from 
 harm. Moreover, weigh well the advantages and the 
 disadvantages which a mixed life of this kind brings with 
 it. But, at the same time, bear in mind that he who 
 humbly, obediently, and for the love of God, submits 
 himself to the guidance of his Superior, and puts himself 
 at his disposal, will escape almost all the dangers which 
 threaten his stability ; whereas these same dangers ought 
 to fill with fear the heart of him who, of his own free- 
 will, and under pretence of zeal for souls, but in reality 
 out of a love of his own ease, and for other motives of a 
 similar nature, either wrings from his unwilling Superior 
 the charge of a parish, or accepts and performs the duties 
 of this important office which has been freely given to 
 him, but performs them, not with a pure intention, but 
 for the purpose of suiting his own personal convenience. 
 We have said that to enter the Benedictine Order would 
 not be wise, on the part of a person who perceives that 
 God is calling him, to labour chiefly for the conversion of 
 souls. Yet it should ever be borne in mind that our 
 neighbours’ salvation is promoted, not only by preaching 
 and by parochial work, but also by prayers — and espe- 
 cially by the prayers of the Divine Office — by good 
 example, and by works of piety, all which may be 
 performed within the walls of our homes. Therefore, a 
 careful examination should be made by those who are 
 deliberating about their vocation, in order to see whether 
 they can discover in themselves any signs that God is 
 calling them to the active work of labouring for the 
 
28 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 salvation of their neighbours’ souls. If they discover 
 that these manifestations of His will are to be found in 
 their case, they must not lose sight of that which we 
 have already said — namely, that, in our Order, they may 
 never be appointed to share in these holy and apostolic 
 labours.* Nevertheless, occasions will not be wanting, 
 when even those who are not destined for this honourable 
 office may manifest their zeal for souls in that secondary 
 way of which we have already spoken. This is oftentimes 
 the source of greater advantages to the faithful, and is 
 attended with less danger to the individual Religious, 
 than are those praiseworthy works of the external, active 
 life led by even the most laborious of the parochial 
 Clergy. 
 
 With respect to the other means of sanctification 
 which are common to all Religious Orders, — that is to 
 say, the three Vows, remember : (1) It is far better not 
 to make vows than, when they have been made, not to 
 keep them. (2) With regard to poverty, you must be 
 resolved to divest yourself of all affection towards tem- 
 poral goods, of whatever kind they may be, and that, too, 
 for the whole period of your mortal life. See, therefore, 
 that you fall not into a trap, which commonly enough 
 ensnares many, and which, on that very account, is all the 
 more dangerous. From time to time either you will see, or 
 you will hear, that certain Religious, and especially those 
 who hold office, possess many things which ought to be 
 accounted mere superfluities and curiosities rather than 
 necessities. On such occasions, what is more natural 
 than that you should say within yourself: “ After my 
 
 * This holds good of the English Benedictine Congregation also, in 
 which missionary work has so prominent a place ; for though its 
 members may be sent to work on the missions, yet they cannot claim 
 it as a right, and they may be, and often are, never sent at all. — Trs. 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 29 
 
 novitiate, and the lapse of a few years, I also shall be in 
 possession of similar goods *\ See that you assent not 
 to a suggestion which is so hurtful to the spirit of true 
 monasticism, and, above all things, that you embrace 
 not the Religious State in the hope that you will be able 
 to satisfy this greed for having and for holding • for, if 
 these be your intentions, you will run the risk of losing 
 your eternal reward. The spirit which you ought to 
 bring with you to the cloister must be one that is full of 
 eagerness to observe the Vows; not one that will be 
 easily moulded by the example of this or of that particular 
 Religious, but, fashioned upon the prescriptions of the 
 Rule, upon the example of the Saints, and upon their 
 teaching. Without this spirit, you will expose yourself 
 to a thousand dangers of falling into grievous errors. 
 Therefore, the securing of it is a matter that is worthy of 
 your most careful attention. Hence, unless you are 
 firmly resolved to give up, for the whole term of your 
 mortal life, all affection to any possessions whatever, and 
 not to use them except in so far as it shall seem good to 
 your Superior to allow you to use them, you do not as 
 yet grasp the idea of what it is to vow perpetual poverty ; 
 and, therefore, you must humbly pray to God to give you 
 a clearer insight into this most important subject. 
 
 With respect to chastity, which is the second sub- 
 stantial vow, we place before you for your most serious 
 consideration a circumstance of the greatest moment. 
 Carefully examine into the life which you have hitherto- 
 led. Has it been free from any disgraceful fall into the 
 vice which is opposed to the angelic virtue ? If you have 
 at any time fallen, have you seriously risen from your fall, 
 and how long a time has elapsed since your conversion ? 
 Have you sunk yourself so deeply into the mire that it. 
 will be most difficult for you to extricate yourself from 
 
30 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 it, on account of the evil habits which you have con- 
 tracted ? If you can say that you are of the number of 
 those who have not fallen into this sin, then, trusting in 
 the grace of God, embrace the Eeligious Life. But, as 
 God resists the proud, and gives His grace only to the 
 humble, frequently suffering those who have heretofore 
 led innocent lives, as far as this matter of purity is 
 concerned, shamefully to fall into sin as a punishment 
 of their pride, beware, and see that you never allow this 
 vice to enter your heart. Do not presume upon your 
 virtue ; for if you do, you will run great risk of losing in 
 Eeligious Life, by a double crime of sacrilege and of im- 
 purity, that treasure which, by the merciful protection of 
 God, you have preserved intact amid the dangers of the 
 world. But if, unfortunately, you are of the number of 
 those who have fallen, and contracted the habit of this 
 sin, even in that case you cannot be prevented from 
 entering Eeligion, since the fact of having fallen is not 
 an impediment to the taking of such a step. The doctrine 
 of St. Thomas upon this matter is worthy of note; for 
 he teaches that boys who have fallen into the sin of 
 impurity, recent converts to the Faith who may have led 
 incontinent lives, and sinners who have turned from their 
 evil courses, may all be admitted to Eeligious Life. 
 “ Now, although we should not dare to gainsay this 
 opinion, both because we have a great reverence for the 
 Angelic Doctor, and because we have known a few such 
 persons whose entrance into Eeligion in these circum- 
 stances has been crowned with success, yet we have 
 never advised any to embrace our State who, for at least 
 six months previously, had not withheld themselves 
 from the commission of all mortal sin, and who did not 
 give us reason to hope that they would never again fall 
 back into it. For, ordinarily speaking, those who do not 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 31 
 
 fulfil these conditions either do not persevere in Religion, 
 or, if they do, they continue to offend God by mortal sin, 
 which is sometimes known by others ; they make the 
 House of God, as far as in them lies, a very den of thieves; 
 they deprive themselves of the spiritual advantages which 
 our State brings to those who live religiously in it, and 
 they not unfrequently render our very calling itself in- 
 famous by their public scandals, and sometimes by their 
 apostasy.” * All this is true of any one who sins 
 mortally; but it is especially true of those who griev- 
 ously offend God by sinning against chastity. Such as 
 these must be careful not to take upon themselves the 
 burthen of the Religious Life for any other purpose than 
 to satisfy God for their sins, and to bring forth worthy 
 fruits of penance. According to St. Gregory: “Worthy 
 fruits of penance are brought forth by that man who, in 
 exact proportion to the extent in which he heretofore 
 indulged in that which is unlawful, now withholds him- 
 self from the enjoyment of even that which is lawful ”. 
 He, therefore, who desires to fortify himself against a 
 relapse, and to escape the peril of eternal damnation, 
 must keep alive within himself, during the whole period 
 of his mortal life, the spirit of sincere repentance. 
 
 With respect to those who have not only miserably 
 fallen back again into their sins, but who are bound down 
 with the chain of an evil habit, this is our verdict, resting 
 upon the judgment of men who are renowned for their 
 prudence : Not only do we not advise them to enter our 
 Order, but we have no hesitation whatever in most 
 earnestly dissuading them from taking any such step; 
 not indeed because we think, as some have asserted con- 
 cerning our own and other Religious Bodies, that the 
 life in it and in them is of too easy a nature to help 
 
 * F. Lanciscius, Opus, i., cap. 10. 
 
32 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 sinners to overcome their passions ; God forbid that we 
 should ever entertain any such idea, or that we should 
 fasten either upon our own or upon any other Religious 
 Order a charge so calumnious ! This would be to admit 
 that we are destitute of those means by which even the 
 most abandoned may, by the aid of God’s all-helping 
 grace, return from the evil of their ways. The reason 
 why we dissuade from entering Religion any one who is a 
 slave to this vice, is one which is drawn from the person 
 of the habitual sinner himself. It is because he .will 
 culpably neglect to make use of those means which the 
 Order puts into his hands for self- correction. 
 
 What then, you will say, is your advice to those who 
 are thus circumstanced? We answer: “Let them enter 
 the married state ”. But, if they perceive that they are- 
 called by God to the Religious Life, let them choose an 
 Order which is very austere in point of bodily mortifica- 
 tions. This the Benedictine Order certainly is not. We 
 would never advise any one who is ruled by an over- 
 mastering habit of vice to enter our Order. For, although 
 the exercise of internal mortification is in full vigour 
 among its members, and although there is maintained, 
 in all external observances, a moderately rigorous dis- 
 cipline, which any one, with leave of his Superior, is at 
 liberty to supplement by still greater austerities, never- 
 theless, so vigorous is the vitality of an evil habit, that, 
 unless those who have been under its sway be forced to 
 employ sharper methods of mortification, and unless the 
 very roots of their unruly passions be, as it were, with 
 violence, plucked out of them, they will almost for a 
 certainty burst afresh through the thin layer of virtue’s 
 soil which has been spread over them. 
 
 It will be understood, as a matter of course, that we 
 except from these general rules all those particular cases 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 33 
 
 concerning which we have moral certainty of the mar- 
 vellous change wrought by the hand of the Most High. 
 He is able, with the greatest ease, suddenly to enrich 
 the poor, to raise the needy from the dust, to exalt the 
 beggar from the dunghill, to seat him among the princes 
 of His people, and it may be that he who is thus favoured 
 will, perhaps, in the kingdom of God, far surpass many 
 of those who have led innocent lives. This might be 
 proved by the examples of many men, who, after having 
 in the world lived most wickedly, have been mercifully 
 snatched by God from their evil courses, and set upon 
 the path of righteousness. Many of these, even in our 
 own Order, have reached an eminent degree of sanctity. 
 Their names are now written in the catalogue of the 
 Saints, and from their thrones in heaven they invite all, 
 no matter how wicked their lives may have been, to tread 
 in their footsteps. They exhort them, by a strong and 
 persevering purpose of amendment, accompanied by a 
 penitential life, to open wide, to the influence of divine 
 goodness, the doors of their hearts, which for years have 
 been locked fast against it. 
 
 We will reserve that which we have to say about 
 obedience for a future Section, in which we will put 
 before you some few considerations which are well 
 worthy of your notice. 
 
 You must not forget that stability strews very grave 
 difficulties in the path of a man who is headstrong and 
 censorious, who is desirous of seeing and of being seen, 
 who is a lover of novelty, and full of the spirit of contra- 
 diction, who wishes that all things should be regulated 
 to meet his views, who is restless and puffed up with the 
 malignant spirit of pride. To such a man as this, who 
 wrongly attributes to those Orders which profess stabi- 
 lity, all the inconveniences which, in reality, spring from 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 his own heart, Superiors naturally enough seem despotic 
 and unsympathetic, companions and brethren appear to 
 be wondrously imperfect, and are, of course, the causes 
 of his disgust and his weariness. Sameness of place is 
 to him a grievous burthen, hateful and irksome beyond 
 the power of human endurance. His cell is too small. 
 His Monastery is without renown among men. Any one 
 who is so disposed will advance both his own eternal 
 salvation and the wellbeing of Religion, by carefully 
 abstaining from entering either this or any other Order. 
 He, however, who is well-disposed, charitable, gentle, 
 humble, unselfish, and patient, need not fear the incon- 
 veniences of stability ; he will draw thence, even in this 
 life, signal fruit and merit, and in the life to come, glory 
 that will never fade. Now is the time to think the 
 matter over within your own heart, and to choose 
 that which you wish, and which you ought, to 
 choose. 
 
 With respect to amendment of manners — conversio 
 morum — it is very necessary that you should bring with 
 you to Religious Life an ardent desire of spiritual pro- 
 gress, and a practical love and esteem of the means 
 which Holy Religion affords and prescribes for ensuring 
 it. Know, therefore, that you must lay aside the manners 
 of the world ; at the same time that you cast off its dress, 
 you must divest yourself of its sentiments, of its way of 
 acting, and of its way of living. For, if you leave the 
 world in body only, and bring with you to Religious Life 
 worldliness in your heart and in your manners, without 
 having any serious and efficacious purpose of correcting 
 your defects, it would be much better for you to remain 
 in the world in body also, rather than that, by the com- 
 bination of two things so incompatible as are the world 
 and Religion, you should introduce to the Cloister a 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 35 
 
 monstrosity which is hateful to God, and disgraceful to 
 the Religious State. 
 
 Since the spirit of the Rule and of the Benedictine 
 Order consists, as we have already said, in obedience and 
 in humility, it is sufficiently evident, we think, that it is 
 to the interest of him who aspires to be a member of the 
 Order, either to enter it with his heart already imbued 
 with these virtues, or to have his soul free from those 
 dispositions which are hostile to them. These disposi- 
 tions are boldness, arrogance, and pride. Unless these 
 unlovely weeds, which usually push themselves to the 
 surface of a hard and obstinate character, be speedily 
 plucked up by the very roots, they will scatter on every 
 side noxious germs, which will prove most fatal to obedi- 
 ence and to humility, twin fruits which thrive and flourish 
 in every well-regulated Monastery and in every Religious 
 Order which is worthy of the name. Therefore, let him 
 who is deliberating with himself about entering any of 
 the various Orders, examine with special care whether 
 these pernicious weeds are springiog up in the soil of his 
 heart. Let him diligently search into his own character 
 to see whether he is bold, forward, and arrogant, whether 
 he is obstinately bent on having his own way, and stiff- 
 necked in maintaining his own opinions. If he comes to 
 the conclusion that he is so, let him, as speedily as 
 possible, pluck up, scatter and destroy these hurtful 
 weeds ; or, if he will not act in this way, let him not 
 presume to disfigure and to infect with the tares of his 
 faulty character the flourishing garden of Holy Religion. 
 Moreover, to the Benedictine spirit are diametrically 
 opposed all those purposes, those hopes, and those other 
 vain projects which some persons cherish in their minds, 
 of one day coming forth before the world, and of filling 
 certain honourable offices, which will serve to show off 
 
36 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 their talents. If these ideas are in your mind, now that 
 you are deliberating about this State of Life, first of all 
 completely wipe them out from the tablets of your 
 memory, and then entertain the design of entering the 
 Cloister. If you do not act thus, you will there seek in 
 vain for any consolation, and you will be troubled with a 
 thousand anxious thoughts. 
 
 With respect to what has been said in the preceding 
 chapter on the subject of austerity, three things are to 
 be kept in view. 
 
 First, from the fact of the Benedictine method of 
 life being a mitigated form of monastic observance, 
 it would be quite a mistake to infer that it is, there- 
 fore, a soft and lax method, and one that is void of 
 austerity. 
 
 Secondly, that these mitigations, which are permitted 
 in less rigid Orders, are granted because of various weak- 
 nesses ; they are not given that those persons who do not 
 need them may employ them to suit their own ease and 
 comfort ; but that those who, from time to time, require 
 some little indulgence may not have any cause or any 
 occasion of murmuring, or of being sad, or of giving 
 over their eagerness in the service of God, through 
 the absence of such indulgences — and this, too, to the 
 great detriment of regular observance — or of procuring 
 these conveniences and these little privileges from other 
 sources. It is evident from this that those persons are 
 guilty of mocking God who, on entering Religion, are 
 bent upon following a lax mode of life, and who put it 
 before themselves almost as the end of their existence ; 
 for they prove by this conduct that their intention is not 
 to serve God, but their appetites and their unruly flesh. 
 This is a snare against which those persons ought to be 
 specially on their guard who in the world are living in 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 37 
 
 poverty, and who, consequently, may look upon Religious 
 Life as a more comfortable mode of existence. 
 
 Thirdly, that the internal austerities which have to be 
 endured in this Order are neither few in number nor 
 light in weight. Therefore, though less rigorous in ap- 
 pearance than other Orders are, yet there are to be en- 
 dured in it far more bodily inconveniences than those 
 who have not had experience of them would ever suspect. 
 Consequently, any one who enters it must be prepared 
 manfully, perSeveringly, and with a resolute will, to bear 
 all that is hard, painful, and contrary to the natural in- 
 clinations of flesh and blood ; for if he be not so disposed, 
 either he will fail though sheer weariness and disgust, or 
 he will lead a miserable life through the repugnance of 
 his will, which, by its fretting, will eat away the very life 
 of his frail tenement of clay. 
 
 With respect to the observation which we made in one 
 of the paragraphs of the preceding chapter, the Postulant 
 must take into consideration his bodily strength, to see 
 whether it will be equal to the performance of the Choir 
 duties which have to be gone through both by day and 
 by night. But of even greater importance than this is 
 the ridding his mind of that false idea concerning the 
 perpetuity of Choir work, namely, that it begets in the 
 heart an intolerable w T eariness. This is far from being 
 true ; for the duty of Choir is a source of consolation and 
 of joy to all those Religious w T ho, in fervour and in 
 humility, truly seek God. Of this those persons who 
 have had experience in the “Work of God” are fully 
 aware, and the Postulant himself will taste this joy and 
 will feel this consolation, if he aim at being of the num- 
 ber of those who are fervent and humble. But if he 
 think that Choir work is suitable only for those who are 
 unfit for any other employment, who are illiterate and 
 
38 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 simple-minded, he will most certainly feel the duties of 
 the Divine Office an intolerable weariness. Any one so 
 disposed is unworthy, even once to perform, in the pre- 
 sence of God, of His Angels, and of right-minded men, an 
 action of so great worth. Therefore, it will be far better 
 for him to devote to the ordinary business of a secular 
 life whatever talent he may chance to possess, rather 
 than to enter the Cloister with notions such as these, and 
 thereby contribute to the destruction of religious humility 
 and devotion. However, it will be well for him to hear 
 what are the sentiments of the Saints with respect to this 
 solemn rite. St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi says: “So 
 high is the dignity of the office of praising God in Choir, 
 that the blessed Spirits, pure as they are, scarcely dare, 
 with fear and trembling, to perform it ”. A little farther 
 on she continues : “ The spiritual exercise which is most 
 pleasing to God, and which wins the greatest share of His 
 divine favour, is collectively and individually to praise 
 Him. This truth, however, is but little understood.” 
 i\.gain : “ Compared with the celebration of the Divine 
 Office in Choir, private meditation and private prayer 
 are of little worth We forbear to add anything further 
 to these words, for from them you will easily perceive 
 
 * According to the universal consensus of Theologians, meditation is 
 more excellent than psalmody. Some explanation, therefore, is neces- 
 sary in order to get at the true meaning of this sentence. When the 
 Saint says that “ private meditation and private prayer are of little 
 worth compared with the celebration of the Divine Office in Choir,” 
 she is doubtless speaking of psalmody in one of these two ways : (1) 
 “ In sensu composite, that is to say, psalmody is better than meditation 
 when obedience calls us to psalmody. (2) Secundum quid, that is to 
 say, better by reason of some special kind of merit resulting from it, as 
 if we were to say, speaking of satisfactory merit, ‘ the merit of prayer 
 is quite inferior to that of almsgiving ’ : or again, speaking of the merit 
 of reward in heaven, ‘ the merit of almsgiving is little compared with 
 that of bodily austerities — Trs. 
 
PEACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 39 
 
 what are the sentiments of those who are filled with the 
 Spirit of God concerning this important religious duty. 
 
 With respect to the observations made in another 
 paragraph of the preceding chapter, the Postulant must 
 once again examine whether he has the strength and the 
 talent requisite for the performance of these duties. 
 Also, he must be careful to shift from his path that rock 
 of offence deposited there by the author of the calumnious 
 assertion that, “ in this Order, scarcely any use is made 
 of talent, both because in Monastic Houses it is held in 
 little esteem, and because the localities in which these 
 Houses are situated do not afford any scope for the 
 exercise of it”. Again: “With the exception of Choir 
 work and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Benedictine 
 life is all idleness These and other sayings of a like 
 nature have in them an ill-omened ring. However, as it 
 is not our purpose to refute these absurdities, but to point 
 out unto those who are deliberating about the choice of 
 a State of Life, a smooth and safe path which will con- 
 duct them without fail to the end which they propose to 
 themselves, all that we ask of you is that you suffer not 
 yourself to be blown about by every windy word that is 
 uttered ; but first carefully search into that which is said 
 to see whether it is true. When you have done this, you 
 may proceed to act upon the, conclusion at which you 
 have arrived. Unless you accustom yourself to this 
 method of procedure, you will expose yourself to errors 
 without number, to the peril of losing your vocation, and 
 of straying from the right path. Take notice, therefore, 
 that nothing so stands in the way of spiritual progress 
 and of the attainment of even eternal salvation itself as 
 does an idle life, from which are generated all kinds of 
 vicious habits. In order not to lead such a life, you must 
 bring with you to Religion the determined will strenu- 
 
40 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 ously to labour for God till your last breath. Whosoever 
 enters the Cloister with this resolve need not fear that 
 he will not be able to find both work on which to exercise 
 his talents and occasions of using them to the best ad- 
 vantage. These talents, be it observed, are oftenest em- 
 ployed with greater safety to ourselves and with more 
 profit to our neighbours, in places far removed from the 
 haunts of men, than in the great centres of industry, in 
 which we run the risk of being ruined by the adulation 
 of those who are but too ready to flatter our inborn 
 vanity. But if any one has not the intention of labouring 
 for God, it were better for him to remain in the world. 
 He has no right whatever to consume the substance of 
 pious founders and to occupy the place of a strenuous 
 worker. But, in addition to this, let him bear in mind 
 the strict account which he will one day have to give of 
 the talents which he has hidden under a bushel, either by 
 not using them, or by using them in such a way as prac- 
 tically to make them of no avail. As, in the “ Betreat 
 for Postulants,” we shall have to speak at considerable 
 length of the characteristic marks of a Novice, and of the 
 trials to which he is subjected, we will not here enter 
 into any further details upon these matters, but will con- 
 tent ourselves with counselling you diligently to search 
 into all your natural propensities, whether good or evil, 
 and to consider how it will fare with them when tested 
 by the trials to which you will be exposed. The energy 
 and the regular observance of your Beligious Life will 
 depend upon whether these propensities can bear these 
 tests. Above all things take special care to have a pure 
 and sincere intention of truly seeking God, by your en- 
 trance into this Order, since without this it is impossible 
 for you either to persevere in Religion, or, if you persevere, 
 to live in it with a peaceful mind. 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 41 
 
 He who is thinking about entering our Order ought, 
 after he has determined to choose our State of Life, to 
 proceed even farther still in his deliberations, by fixing 
 upon the place and the Monastery in which he wishes to 
 follow out his vocation. But, upon this important point, 
 let him first, in prayer, take counsel with God, then seek 
 advice of some prudent man, and lastly, consult the 
 wishes of his own heart. For, as this Order is not ruled 
 by one head, but each Monastery is governed by an 
 Abbot, in whose person is vested the right of receiving 
 Postulants to the Novitiate, and, as there is a great 
 diversity of practices and of observances in these different 
 Monasteries, you must specially consider in what place 
 and in what Monastery you desire to test your stability, 
 and to dedicate yourself wholly to the service of God. 
 Concerning these practices and observances which must, 
 of necessity, be submitted to your consideration, we think 
 that they may be reduced to two classes, the first of 
 which embraces those disciplinary observances which are 
 in force in any given place, and the second, all such 
 matters as your own bodily strength and natural consti- 
 tution. With respect to the first class, examine whether 
 the vows are observed in any given Monastery, and in 
 what way they are observed ; whether charity, humility, 
 and religious decorum flourish among the Brethren ; 
 whether vices, scandals, and freedom from restraint are 
 held in abomination by them, and, whenever they crop 
 up, are visited with suitable chastisement. Take 
 notice, however, that Regular Observance is in full vigour, 
 not only in those places in which there are no evils— and 
 these places are few in number, since even in the Apos- 
 tolic College one traitor was found — but also in those 
 Monasteries in which there are some few who are evil 
 and vicious, provided only that their vices and their evils 
 
42 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 are not suffered to go unpunished. With respect to the 
 second class, consider whether the situation of the 
 Monastery will be hurtful to your bodily health, and 
 whether you have strength sufficient to undergo the 
 work which is usually performed there. Full of vanity, 
 however, are all those considerations made by certain 
 characters, about the splendour of the monastic buildings, 
 the grandeur of the Monastery, the number of its servants, 
 its privileges, its dainty fare, the recreations permitted 
 there, and other matters of a similar nature. All those 
 who either give a thought to such matters as these, or 
 consider that some account ought to be taken of them, 
 clearly show that they savour not the things which are 
 above, but the things which are below, and that they are 
 seeking after temporal advantages, not after the honour 
 and the glory of Christ. 
 
 Neither any place nor any Monastery ought to be held 
 in less esteem because men of the world say : “ Those 
 who live there are melancholy in mood, bilious in tem- 
 perament, strange in dress, and uncouth in manner ”. 
 For these very reasons it ought to be regarded as worthy 
 of greater veneration, for in it little chance will be given 
 for conversing with the world. Eeligious modesty is 
 carefully guarded, no dissolute behaviour is perceived, 
 no levity, no excess either in words or in acts. Would 
 that every Cloister were peopled with similar melancholy, 
 bilious, and strange-mannered men. Finally, the per- 
 petuity of Abbots will not seem a grievoaaJnirthen to a 
 Eeligious who is humble and obedient, no matter how 
 heavy may he the crosses and how disagreeable the in- 
 conveniences which thence arise. These are sure to be 
 painted in the most lugubrious colours before the eyes of 
 Postulants, by men who are destitute of a truly religious 
 spirit. If this should have the effect of turning them 
 
PEACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 43 
 
 away from the Benedictine Order, then let those who do 
 not wish to live under perpetual Superiors bear in mind, 
 that there are other Religious Bodies, the officials of 
 which are not elected for life, and into these they may 
 enter.* Should none of these either meet with their 
 approval or be able to satisfy their aspirations, then we 
 feel sure that no one will attempt to deprive them of 
 that liberty which they prize so highly. They can stay 
 in the world if they are so minded. Another grievance 
 is that, in our Order, Superiors are elected to office by 
 the Chapter-men. This enactment comes from the Holy 
 Rule itself. It has been in force for many centuries. It 
 has been confirmed by Pontifical authority. If it brought 
 in its train all the perilous inconveniences with which it 
 is credited, it would surely never be tolerated, nor would 
 it ever have been established by St. Benedict, who, as 
 St. Gregory says, “ was full of the spirit of all the just ”. 
 Therefore, we once again repeat : “ He that is able to 
 take it, let him take it ”.+ 
 
 In addition to all this, we add from the works of the 
 venerable Blosius, that celebrated passage in which he 
 describes to the life what ought to be the character of 
 the man who is thinking of entering our Order. This 
 should be carefully read and reflected upon by all Postu- 
 lants. These are the words of the pious author : “If 
 you desire to be admitted into fellowship with us, to live 
 with us in our Monastery, and there to serve Christ Our 
 Lord, you must, first of all in your conduct, do what is 
 
 * In the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation each Superior’s term of 
 office expires at the end of four years. 
 
 + In our Congregation the members of each Monastery who are in 
 Holy Orders have a vote, but this vote is not final. The five Definitors 
 chosen by Chapter elect some one from the names suggested by the 
 voters. — Trs. 
 
44 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 commanded by Christ : 1 He who wishes to come after 
 Me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross daily 
 and follow Me ’. Therefore, if, for God’s sake, you are 
 prepared to abandon everything, and truly to deny your- 
 self ; if you are ready, as far as in you lies, to give up 
 your own will, and to curb your vicious inclinations and 
 passions ; if you will manfully renounce all the pomps, 
 the pleasures, and the enticements of the world ; if, with 
 the help of God, you wish to lay aside all the glitter of 
 pride, and to take up whatever is lowly and simple ; if, 
 for the love of Christ, you will not refuse to endure 
 rebukes, injurious treatment, trials, and various other 
 inconveniences of body and of mind ; if you feel yourself 
 disposed to bear these and similar crosses, you may, 
 with confidence, take upon yourself the monastic method 
 of life, trusting for support from the most compassionate 
 mercy of God. But, if you will not completely renounce 
 yourself, it is not expedient for you, without the spirit of 
 a Religious, to enter Religion. In the Monastery you 
 will have to live, not by your own judgment but by 
 another’s judgment, and in all things to manifest a spirit 
 that is humbly obedient. Whenever, in the name of 
 God and in accordance with that which is consonant 
 with the dictates of Holy Religion, any command is 
 imposed upon you, you will have to carry it into effect, 
 without either murmur or contradiction. When you 
 desire to be at rest, you will probably be overburthened 
 with labour ; when you think that you will be promoted 
 to honourable offices, you will be set to do the lowliest 
 work ; in short, when you wish to do either this or that, 
 you will be told to do something of which you have not 
 even thought. Therefore, in every circumstance in which 
 you may find yourself placed, you must be ready to do 
 the bidding of him who commands. Never, at any time, 
 
PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 45 
 
 will yon be able to say, ‘I am ready to obey these orders, 
 but I will not obey those You will have to obey in all 
 things that are reasonably commanded, and that are 
 neither evil in themselves nor contrary to your holy 
 profession. In this breaking of your self-will, and in this 
 contradiction of your own personal inclinations, you will, 
 it is true, suffer much tribulation, and encounter many 
 difficulties. At one time the devil and your own unmorti- 
 fied flesh, at another men who have not the fear of God 
 in their hearts will urge you to murmur and to refuse, but, 
 in spite of these, you must patiently persevere in carrying 
 out your good purpose, and in casting far from your mind 
 these wicked suggestions. It will no longer be lawful 
 for you to seek for superfluities and for delicacies; you 
 cannot now permit yourself to indulge in the free and 
 easy ways, and in the other luxurious liberties of a 
 worldly life ; but leaving, once and for ever, its vanities 
 and its dangerous amusements, and quitting the broad, 
 smooth way of its votaries, you must, for the rest of your 
 days, tread in the strait and difficult way of penance. 
 You will be obliged to content yourself with the greatest 
 simplicity both in food and in lodging; to endure the 
 want of even necessary things ; frequently to fast ; always 
 to preserve an inviolate chastity ; to occupy yourself in 
 prayer, in meditation, in holy reading ; to be sparing in 
 your words, and studious of the laws of silence ; to lead 
 a life that is widely different from that of persons who 
 j are living in the world; rarely to pass beyond the en- 
 closure of the Monastery; to possess nothing, however 
 insignificant it may be, as if it were your own ; ever to 
 j strive after purity of heart ; to seek only heavenly things ; 
 ; unweariedly both by day and by night, in heat and in 
 cold, to assist at the Divine Office and to take part in 
 the Divine Service; in fine, to cleave, in all things, to 
 
46 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 that which is becoming to the Religious Life, and with 
 prudent foresight to reject whatever is, in any way, con- 
 trary to its holy spirit. But if, at any time, abandoning 
 the fear of God, you begin to lead a negligent life, and by 
 your pride, your disobedience, your murmuring, and your 
 contradictory spirit, to disturb Superiors and to be 
 burthensome to the rest of the Brethren, understand 
 that you will be most severely punished. However, let 
 not these difficulties deter you from embracing Religious 
 Life ; distrust yourself and put all your confidence in Our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. He strengtheneth the weak, lifteth 
 up those who are cast down, maketh the rough ways 
 plain, and changeth into sweetness that which is bitter. 
 That which to men seems impossible, He makes, by means 
 of His divine grace, not only most easy, but also most 
 pleasant. He it is that hath said : ‘ Come to Me all ye 
 who labour and who are heavily burthened and I will 
 refresh you. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me 
 because I am meek and humble of heart, for My yoke is 
 sweet and My burthen light.’ The entrance to the way 
 of salvation is, for the most part, narrow, full of sorrow 
 and of difficulty ; but, once that first step to the better 
 land has been taken, the rest of the road is traversed 
 with joy unutterable, because with every forward stride 
 the love of God increases in the heart, and that heart is 
 expanded with the ardour of charity, which enables it to 
 do and to suffer great things for God. To Him be honour 
 and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 
 
CHAPTER IY. 
 
 The Postulant must truly Seek God. 
 
 When, after serious deliberation, you have determined 
 to give yourself to the service of God, in the Order of our 
 holy Pather St. Benedict or in the Order of any other 
 Religious Pounder, you must be careful to return most 
 humble thanks to God for having conferred upon you so 
 singular a benefit. Very often and very fervently beseech 
 Him, Who has inspired you with the will to serve Him, 
 to grant you the grace also to make that will efficacious. 
 Beg of Him continually to preserve and to increase within 
 you the love and the esteem which you already feel for 
 the State unto which He has called you. This is asking 
 much from you, and yet it is not enough. For, in addi- 
 tion to this, you must live an exemplary life, such as an 
 upright youth who is aspiring to Religion ought to lead, so 
 that from it those who are around you will be able to see 
 that your aim is to tread in the paths of perfection. To 
 point out to you the best and easiest way to lead such a 
 life as this while you are yet in the world, is the object of 
 this little work. If, in compliance with its teaching, you 
 endeavour to put in practice the lessons which it incul- 
 cates, you may confidently enter upon the path of Holy 
 Religion with every prospect of reaching the much 
 desired goal at which you aim. In the preceding Chapter 
 we have already explained the method which we consider 
 to be the best for the accomplishment of this purpose, 
 
48 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 and therefore in the present we will devote our attention 
 to the consideration of the necessity which lies upon the 
 Postulant for truly seeking God in the Religious life. 
 
 In the fifty-eighth Chapter of the Rule, our holy Law- 
 giver, St. Benedict, tells us that those who enter his 
 Order must, above everything else, make the true and 
 real search after God the primary end of their existence. 
 Therefore, the main object in the life of any one who 
 aspires to be a Benedictine, or, indeed, to be a Religious 
 of any other Order, must be, with all his heart and with 
 all his might, truly to seek God. If, previously to choos- 
 ing St. Benedict’s Order, he has already made this the 
 aim of his existence, he must continue to do so, and must 
 persevere, with ever-increasing fervour, in daily so doing. 
 
 Truly to seek God is nothing else than, in all things 
 and by all things, to have a most pure intention of the 
 greater glory of God, “ that in all things God may be 
 glorified In this, our true happiness, our real glory, 
 and our only beatitude, are to be found. Therefore, from 
 this moment, offer yourself wholly to this supreme Lord 
 of us all, and consecrate yourself to His honour and to 
 His love. For His glory, let your words be uttered, and 
 your thoughts be directed, and your works be performed. 
 Be not satisfied with having entered this State with a good 
 intention : it is furthermore required of you, not to do any 
 action, either good or indifferent, without either actually 
 or virtually referring it to the glory of God. The pleasure 
 which this oblation gives to Him may be estimated from 
 the words which our Divine Lord addressed to His 
 beloved spouse, St. Gertrude : “ If you take but one step, 
 or pick up but one straw, or speak but one word, or do 
 some friendly action to any one, or say for the dead, ‘ May 
 
 Regula , cap. lvii. 
 
TEULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 49 
 
 they rest in peace,’ or utter a prayer, whether for the just 
 or for sinners, My goodness will accept it, if any of these 
 acts be performed with a good intention To make it 
 quite clear that this promise was not given to St. Gertrude 
 only, the Divine Spouse, in another place, says : “ Who- 
 ever, while eating, or drinking, or when going to sleep, 
 or while doing anything else of this nature, shall say 
 either in his heart or with his lips, * 0 Lord ! I accept 
 this food, or, I accept anything else, with that love where- 
 with Thou didst sanctify this same object, when, in Thy 
 holy humanity, Thou didst make use of it for the worship 
 of Thy Father, and for the salvation of the human race, 
 in order that, in union with Thy divine love, it may pro- 
 cure an increase of joy to all the heavenly Spirits, to all 
 the men on earth, to all the souls in Purgatory,’ — on each 
 of these occasions upon which he accepts any convenience 
 with some such intention, he puts before Me a kind of 
 impenetrable shield, protected by which, I am defended 
 from the various attacks which, by worldlings, are directed 
 against Me The Venerable Blosius illustrates this by 
 an example : “If two friends walking together in a garden 
 or in a field, see a little flower — the plucking or the not 
 plucking of which is a matter of the greatest indifference 
 — and yet the one, for God’s sake, refrains from taking it, 
 while the other, without any intention whatever, stoops 
 and plucks it up, although this latter, by so doing, does 
 not commit any sin, and is in other respects his com- 
 panion’s equal in grace and in merit, yet, for all eternity, 
 the difference between the two in grace and in glory, in 
 consequence of the good intention wherewith the one re- 
 frained from plucking the flower, will be as great as is the 
 difference between heaven and earth : of such mighty 
 
 * Inslit lib. iv., cap. 13. 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 import is the doing of even the most insignificant act 
 with a good intention In order to put this principle 
 in practice, give heed to the following observations. 
 
 Let the care and the good intention with which you 
 have determined to enter Religion be free from all self- 
 seeking, and from all worldly and earthly considerations. 
 Of this we have already spoken. t Pay particular attention 
 to it, for it is a matter of the greatest importance. 
 
 When you wake in the morning, direct your first 
 thoughts to God, and to Him offer and wholly consecrate 
 both yourself and all that you possess. Our Lord used 
 to say to St. Mechtilde : “ Whosoever, when rising in the 
 morning, with his whole heart, sighs unto Me, and asks 
 Me to make perfect all the works which he may do 
 during the course of that day, so draws Me to himself by 
 that act, that, as a body has life from the soul by which 
 it ‘is animated, so his soul has life from Me By 
 the mouth of the Wise Man, Eternal Wisdom pro- 
 mises that He will be found by all those who, in the 
 morning, watch for Him : “ Blessed is the man that 
 watcheth daily at my gates ; § he that awaketh early 
 to seek me shall not labour, for he shall find me 
 sitting at his door ; || he that watcheth for me shall 
 embrace my sweetness ’ MI Now, although these words 
 are capable of many other meanings, yet they may very 
 aptly be applied to those persons who give to God the 
 
 * According to St. Thomas, such acts and merits receive from God 
 an increase of only accidental glory, unless they are done with intense 
 charity. When, however, these acts are accompanied by such a love as 
 this, they receive an increase of essential glory. In the opinion of 
 Suarez, and of other theologians, the words of the text seem to be 
 exaggerated. — Trs. 
 
 + Chap. iii. $ Instit., lib. iv., cap. 29. § Prov. viii. 34. 
 
 || Wisd. vi. 15. H Ecclus. iv. 13. 
 
TRULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 51 
 
 first fruits of their thoughts, especially at the beginning 
 of each day, and desire to consecrate them unto Him, by 
 seeking Him with all sincerity. Our good God will never 
 turn away His face from those who, from early dawn, 
 strive to devote themselves to His service. 
 
 Besides this morning oblation of yourself and of your 
 daily actions, you ought also, by means of an actual good 
 intention, to offer up each particular act, both that which 
 is in itself good, as well as that which is of its own nature 
 indifferent. This is in strict accord with that injunc- 
 tion of the Apostle : “All whatsoever you do in word or in 
 work, all things do ye in the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, giving thanks to God, and to the Father by Him 
 By using the word all he excepts nothing, and, therefore, 
 all that you do, whether it is in itself holy, or is a matter 
 of mere indifference, ought to be directed to the honour 
 of Christ. The Wise Man inculcates this when he says : 
 “In all thy works keep the pre-eminence ”.f But this 
 pre-eminence is to be looked for, not so much in the 
 excellence of the works which are performed, as in the 
 excellent way in which each of them is done. Hence, 
 this particular passage of Holy Writ does not command 
 you to do excellent works, but to do your works in an 
 excellent manner. But, to do excellently well your daily 
 actions, there is required, over and above, an outwardly 
 perfect manner, great uprightness of intention, by direct- 
 ing to the greater honour and glory of God whatever you 
 may chance to do, and by never undertaking anything 
 which aims at a mark lower than God Himself. This is 
 nothing but the strictest justice ; for, as we were created 
 for God, and as He is our last end, any action performed 
 by us which does not tend to Him is in a certain sense 
 
 Coloss. iii. 17. 
 
 t Ecclus. xxxiii. 23. 
 
52 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 an unrighteous action. It is of no value, inasmuch as it 
 does not gain the end for which it ought to have been 
 done. Nor must you be content with uprightness in 
 your intention only ; your works must be made still more 
 pleasing and meritorious by being united to the works 
 which Jesus did, and by being done with a desire on your 
 part to accomplish for the honour of God far more than 
 the little which you are actually able to effect. More- 
 over, you must, with most earnest supplication, pray the 
 Divine Goodness to bring to a happy issue the work 
 which you have undertaken, and to preserve you in its 
 execution from spoiling it with defects arising from vain 
 glory, impatience, weariness, and inattention. All this 
 will, perchance, seem to you to be full of difficulty. 
 
 But do not shrink from undertaking it. Be not 
 affrighted. Steadily persist in the work, and you will 
 learn by experience that what, in the beginning, was 
 not without difficulty, in process of time will become not 
 only easy, but even delightful, to say nothing of the vast 
 stores of merit which you will be able to lay up for your- 
 self by the assiduous repetition of these acts. It will 
 contribute much to render this exercise easy if you make 
 yourself familiar with certain formulas, which ought to 
 be used at the beginning of each action, and to be re- 
 peated with fervent affection many times during the 
 course of the day. The following will give you some 
 idea of what nature these formulas ought to be : “ O 
 Lord ! incline unto mine aid. O Lord ! make speed to 
 help me ! O God ! my heavenly Father, in union with 
 the merits and with the works of my Lord Jesus Christ, 
 I wish, for Thy sake, to rise,” &c. Or again: “I offer 
 to Thee, O heavenly Father! in union with the merits 
 and the works of Christ, this rising from bed,” &c. Or 
 again : “It is purely for Thy sake, O heavenly Father ! 
 
TRULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 53 
 
 that I rise, eat, recreate myself,” &c. Father Lanciscius, 
 among other things, advises the Postulants who wish to 
 enter the Society of Jesus, mentally to offer to God every 
 step which they take during the course of the day, saying : 
 “For Thy sake, 0 Lord ! for Thy sake 
 Truly to seek God it is necessary to conceive a great 
 horror and hatred of sin, which can withdraw you 
 from God and hinder you from ever finding Him. This 
 is a matter of so grave moment that it deserves to be 
 treated of in a separate Chapter. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 On Avoiding Mortal Sin as the most Horrible of 
 Evils. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Motives for avoiding Mortal Sin. 
 
 St. Benedict most earnestly exhorts his children never 
 to be forgetful of themselves, always to be mindful of that 
 which God hath commanded, and to remember that those 
 who contemn God fall into hell for their sins. Conse- 
 quently, he implores them at all times to keep themselves 
 free from sin and vice of thought, of word, of eyes, of 
 hands, of feet, of self-will, and speedily to cut off the 
 desires of the flesh. Thus ought he also to act, who at 
 the call of God aspires to enter the Order of this loving 
 Father or of any other Religious Founder, for unless he 
 do this there is grave reason to fear that he will be 
 abandoned by our most merciful, but at the same time 
 most just God, Who sees all our actions, Who searches 
 the reins and the heart, Who knows the thoughts of men. 
 Being abandoned by Him he will fall away from grace, 
 and will, perhaps, lose the glory of everlasting life. Of 
 this there are many instances on record, of which, at the 
 end of this Chapter, we will relate but two. These will 
 serve to fill you with salutary fear, and, if they be thought 
 over with prayerful attention, will generate in your 
 heart, with respect to sin, that supremely necessary 
 
AVOIDING MOKTAD SIN. 
 
 55 
 
 horror and detestation which are the first germs of a 
 better life. 
 
 The first motive which we suggest to you for avoiding 
 the guilt of mortal sin is one which Father Lanciscius 
 used to put before the minds of young men who intended 
 to enter Religion.* Addressing them, it was his custom 
 to say : “ If, heretofore, you have been in the habit of 
 committing mortal sin, never again be guilty of it ; both 
 because of those reasons which ought to withhold even 
 secular persons, who are never to be Religious, from the 
 commission of it, and because you ought, while you are 
 still living in the world, to try whether you are able to 
 lead such a life as Religious are bound to lead. They 
 have as great a horror of mortal sin as of death itself ; 
 and those among them who are farther advanced in 
 perfection would prefer to be thrust into hell — if only 
 they could there have the grace of God — rather than be 
 guilty of any deadly sin, which drives the grace of God 
 from the soul.” A little farther on he says : “I would 
 never advise any persons to enter Religion who, for at 
 least six months previously, had not abstained from the 
 commission of any grievous sin, and who did not feel 
 within themselves an assurance that they would never 
 again be guilty of it”. His reason for saying this is given 
 in the following words : “ Unless they are thus minded, 
 they either do not persevere in Religion, or, if they do, 
 they continue to offend God by their old habit of mortal 
 sin, and sometimes by new sins of quite a different 
 character. As far as it is in their power to do so, they 
 make the House of God a den of thieves ; they de- 
 prive themselves of those blessings which the Religious 
 State brings to those who in it live religiously ; and not 
 unfrequently they cover it with infamy, by public 
 * Opusc. i., cap. 7. 
 
56 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 scandal or by open apostasy Still farther on, he says : 
 “ I know that there have been some men of abandoned 
 lives who, up to the very moment of their entrance into 
 Eeligion, were entangled in the meshes of mortal sin and 
 of long-standing evil habits ; and yet, as soon as they 
 embraced the Eeligious State, were completely changed, 
 and, from that time forth, led lives of angelic purity. 
 But I have also known many others, who, on this 
 account, either immediately, or after a long time, have 
 fallen away from their vocation. Why was this ? Simply 
 and solely because they attempted in Eeligion to ob- 
 serve the Evangelical Counsels without having previously 
 endeavoured in the world to keep the Commandments of 
 God. They tried to do that which is impossible — to con- 
 struct a lofty fabric of sanctity without having previously 
 laid down the solid foundations upon which it is to stand. 
 By omitting to do this, they did not comply with an in- 
 dispensable condition which nothing else than a miracle 
 of grace can supply. Therefore, if in Eeligion you wish 
 to lead a life which will be altogether free from the afore- 
 mentioned scandals, dangers, and grave sins, safe from 
 the disgrace which invariably is fastened upon it in con- 
 sequence of these disorders, and from eternal damnation, 
 which is their ultimate punishment, with all the power 
 of your soul flee from and detest mortal sin, while you 
 are still living in the world. For, as St. Thomas says : 
 
 ‘ The practice of the precepts, during a life spent in the 
 world, prepares one for the better observance of the 
 counsels during a life passed in Eeligion. But, an evil 
 habit of sin, contracted during a life in the world, is a 
 grave hindrance to the leading of a good life in the Eeli- 
 gious State.’”* Therefore, if you have ever, during your 
 past life, mortally offended God, firmly resolve, after 
 * Opusc. xvii., cap. 6. 
 
AVOIDING MORTAL SIN. 
 
 57 
 
 having blotted out your sins by a sorrowful confession, 
 never again, upon any consideration whatever, to offend 
 the divine Goodness, and henceforth to pass your time in 
 the faithful service of the Lord of Majesty. 
 
 A second motive is the special favour granted to you 
 by God, in giving you a call to the Religious State. 
 Besides the countless benefits which you share in common 
 with other men, He has conferred upon you very many 
 particular marks of His loving kindness, of which this 
 divine vocation is one that is granted but to one out of 
 ten hundred thousand. Will you, then, dare, after these 
 considerations, to insult your Benefactor? to oppose His 
 all-holy Will ? to trample His Law under your feet ? 
 This would be an insufferable act of ingratitude. “ A 
 shuddering horror, accompanied by consternation of mind, 
 rushes in upon me,” says St. Basil, “ when I contemplate 
 the benefits which God has showered down upon us, and 
 reflect that, in return for them, He does not ask for our 
 thanks, but only for our love. I am filled with a well- 
 grounded dread that, unless I comply with His request, 
 I shall be rejected by God, and shall become a subject of 
 shame to Jesus Christ.” * But, if so great a Saint was 
 filled with horror, lest, notwithstanding the graces and the 
 favours wherewith God had enriched him, he should be- 
 come a disgrace unto Christ, by giving himself up to the 
 pursuit of sinful vanities, with how much greater reason 
 ought you to dread the commission of any grievous sins ; 
 you who, in addition to your many other spiritual advan- 
 tages, have received from God a call to the Religious 
 State? Not only would you become an occasion of dis- 
 grace unto Christ, but you would load Him, as far as it 
 lies in your power to do so, with contumelious insults, and 
 
 Regula fusius. 
 
58 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 would crucify again unto yourself the Son of God, and 
 make of Him a mockery.* 
 
 Our good God, by calling you to the Religious State, is 
 preparing to enrol you among the members of His house- 
 hold, for of Religious it may with truth be said that they 
 are the “domestics of God”. Will you then dare, by 
 the guilt of mortal sin, to expel God from the house of 
 your soul ? Will you so far forget your allegiance as to 
 give admission to His and to your most implacable foes ? 
 Will you be so utterly foolish as, of your own accord, to 
 subject and to bind yourself to these fell murderers? 
 Yet, what else do you do when you sin, for, St. Augus- 
 tine says : “He who accepts any temporal gratification 
 as the reward of his faithlessness to God, sells his soul to 
 the devil ”.+ It was on account of acts such as these that 
 Our Lord thus complained to St. Bridget : “In these 
 days I am wholly forgotten and neglected. I am like a 
 deposed monarch, to fill whose throne the people choose 
 a rapacious robber and load him with honours. It is My 
 will that My throne should be in the heart of man. Over 
 him I ought to reign as King and Lord, because I made 
 him and redeemed him from the destruction which was 
 his due. But now he has violated the plighted word 
 which in baptism he gave to Me. He has contemned the 
 laws which I gave him. He has chosen to do his own 
 will and has refused to give ear unto Me. Moreover, he 
 prefers a robber to Me ; he gives his allegiance to him 
 who is in very deed a robber, because he steals from Me 
 the souls of those whom I have redeemed with My 
 precious blood.” God grant that you may never be 
 guilty of such perfidy as this. 
 
 The third motive is that he who enters the Religious 
 
 Heb. vi. 6. 
 
 f In Epist. ad Rom. 
 
AVOIDING MORTAL SIN. 
 
 59 
 
 State needs the special blessing of God, not only rightly 
 to begin that holy method of life, but also worthily to 
 persevere in it till the last day of his earthly pilgrimage. 
 Therefore, he ought not to anger God by adding fresh 
 sins to those which he has already committed, for these 
 new offences turn aside the blessing of God, call down 
 His curse, and put an obstacle in the way of grace, which 
 is so necessary for us. To these words particular atten- 
 tion ought to be paid by those persons who, while still 
 living in the world, deliberately put themselves in the 
 occasions of sin, because they imagine that, after their 
 assumption of the Religious habit, they will lead a holy 
 life, and pass the rest of their days in doing penance for 
 the excesses of their youth. Let those who deceive 
 themselves by this egregiously illogical assumption ask 
 themselves the plain question : “ Whence will come the 
 force or power by which I shall be able to do this? Will 
 it come from myself or from God ? It cannot come from 
 myself, because Jesus Christ has said : ‘ Without Me you 
 can do nothing’; and St. Paul: ‘We are not able to 
 think anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our 
 ability comes from God’.” If you bear in mind how 
 complete is your dependence upon God for the power 
 to do good, you will easily conclude that the best way 
 to obtain the divine assistance is not by grossly injuring, 
 contemning, trampling under foot, and so far as in you 
 lies slaying Him Who is able to bestow it upon you. Is 
 it likely that any man would grant a favour to him who, 
 in his very presence, insults and flouts and sets him at 
 naught ? Therefore, if you purpose to lead a good and 
 holy life in Religion, be careful while you are yet engaged 
 in secular pursuits to make strenuous efforts to win the 
 grace and the blessing of Him “ from Whom every good 
 and perfect gift descends ”. 
 
60 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Terrible is the punishment which God inflicts upon 
 those who are ungrateful to Him for the divine vocation 
 which He has bestowed upon them, and who fear not to 
 outrage Him by one or by many mortal sins. Some- 
 times it is by temporal misfortunes, at others by eternal 
 torments, that He vindicates the honour of His insulted 
 majesty. We will bring forward only two examples of 
 the divine justice, that those who chance to read these 
 pages may be filled with saving fear, and may learn, at 
 the expense of another, never to imperil their eternal sal- 
 vation. A young Spanish gentleman, who had made up 
 his mind to enter Eeligious Life, was tempted by the 
 devil to indulge in every species of unholy pleasure before 
 bidding adieu to the world. He yielded to the seductions 
 of the enemy, and in the gratification of his unruly 
 passions utterly forgot the call which he had received to 
 higher and nobler things. Instead of turning away from 
 the broad and even way which leads to hell, as he had at 
 first intended, he now determined to serve the flesh 
 rather than the spirit. While he was rushing madly 
 onward in his infamous course, the hand of God struck 
 him with a grievous malady, which chained him down 
 upon a bed of pain. Day by day the evil increased in 
 virulence. His parents, his friends, his director, seeing 
 his danger, all united their exhortations, urging him to 
 confess his sins and to prepare for the worst. But to no 
 purpose ! Not only would he not listen to them, but in 
 return for their charitable solicitude for his eternal wel- 
 fare he loaded them with reproaches. In the meantime, 
 the shadow of death fell upon him ; his strength hourly 
 decreased; his hearing partly failed; his sight grew dim; 
 but no sign of repentance came from him. His weeping 
 parents, his sorrowing friends, all prayed and besought 
 him to turn to God. While they were saying : “ Let 
 
AVOIDING MORTAL SIN. 
 
 61 
 
 thine ears be attentive to the voice of our supplication. 
 Behold our Saviour from the Cross stretcheth out His 
 arms to embrace thee,” the dying man stopped his ears in 
 order to shut out these supplications and prevent them 
 from reaching his intelligence. Then he cried out, in a 
 voice full of horror : “ Because I have called, and thou 
 hast refused to listen, I also will laugh at thy destruc- 
 tion”. With these terrible words upon his lips, he 
 breathed forth his soul. The sad fate of this youth is 
 well calculated to fill us with terror. It gives us an un- 
 mistakable proof of the imminent risk of damnation 
 incurred by those persons who, after receiving from God 
 a call to aspire to better things, venture to taste of 
 worldly pleasures. Had this wretched youth abstained 
 from raising the fatal cup to his lips, the probability is 
 that he would never have lost the grace of his vocation, 
 nor have made so unhappy an end. 
 
 Even more tragical still was the fate of a certain young 
 Austrian nobleman, who, as it was afterwards ascertained, 
 had preserved his innocence untarnished even until the 
 last night of his life. At College, he was to all his school- 
 fellows a model of the greatest purity and innocence. As 
 he had determined to enter the Beligious State, his father 
 made a great feast on the day before the youth was to 
 depart to put his resolve into execution. His friends 
 were invited to rejoice with him, and to bid him “ God- 
 speed ”. Everything went off to the satisfaction of all, 
 and the guests departed to their homes. On the following 
 morning, the young man when called made no reply to 
 the words of the person who went to awake him. This 
 alarmed his parents, and, when no answer was returned 
 to their own repeated knocking, they ordered the door of 
 his room to be burst open. This was done. They then 
 entered his chamber, went to his bedside, and discovered. 
 
62 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 to their horror, that he was dead ! The bereaved father 
 himself carried the tidings of the sad event to the holy 
 priest who had been his son’s professor, and besought 
 him to pray for his child, that, if he had passed from this 
 world with any stains of sin upon his soul, they might 
 speedily be washed away. The priest received the news 
 with unfeigned sorrow ; but rejoiced that heaven had, on 
 that day, welcomed one other Saint within her gates. 
 “ Your darling child’s singular innocence of life,” said he 
 to the father, “ might well dispense with any suffrages 
 offered up for the repose of his soul. Nevertheless, I will 
 celebrate the Holy Sacrifice for him, that God may be 
 moved all the sooner to wipe away any slight stain which 
 may, perchance, detract somewhat from the dazzling 
 brightness of his purity, and retard his entry into heaven.” 
 He straightway proceeded to the sacristy to vest, but as 
 soon as he had opened the door, it was shut violently in 
 his face. Once again he essayed to push it open, when 
 it was once more closed by an invisible force which it 
 seemed impossible to resist. Filled with an involuntary 
 fear, the priest cried out : “I adjure you, in the name of 
 Christ, tell me who you are, whence you are, and where- 
 fore you have come hither ! ” “ Ah, Father ! ” said a 
 
 sorrowful voice, “ I am the soul of your scholar, who 
 died last night !” “ Do you ask for assistance,” inquired 
 
 the priest ; “ and, if so, in what way shall we be able to 
 give it to you?” “ Alas !” replied the youth, “ you can- 
 not aid a soul that is lost for ever !” “ What ! ” exclaimed 
 
 the horror-stricken priest ; “ is it possible that you are 
 in hell! — you, the example of every virtue!” “Yes,” 
 answered the youth, “ I am in hell ! Till yesterday, I 
 kept unstained the grace which I received in baptism. 
 After supping heartily, I retired to rest, weary with 
 dancing, and filled with thoughts far different from those 
 
AVOIDING MORTAL SIN. 
 
 63 
 
 wherewith I used to occupy myself. I passed in review 
 the worldly pleasures of which I had already heard so 
 much. I began to consider what manner of delight there 
 is in what is called carnal pleasure, and I resolved to 
 taste, upon the following day, of this forbidden fruit, before 
 I quitted the world for ever. Led on by these thoughts 
 into the proximate occasion of sin, I yielded to the 
 pleasure which they afforded. This caused me to burst 
 a blood-vessel. The rush of blood choked me, and I 
 died before I had time either to be sorry for or to confess 
 this my first and my last sin.” 
 
 Into some of the particulars of this sad story let us 
 now inquire with more minute detail. This youth was a 
 mirror of innocence and of uprightness even unto the last 
 day of his life, and yet, for the single sin of one evil 
 thought, consented to after the reception of the grace of 
 a divine vocation, he lost his vocation, his life, and his 
 eternal beatitude ! What are the thoughts which this 
 terrible judgment causes to arise in your mind ? Have 
 you never, up to the present moment, stained your soul 
 with a more grievous transgression than was that of the 
 unhappy young man ? If you have never sinned, then 
 thrice happy are you ! But beware ! See that you never, 
 at any time, be guilty of any grave offence against God ! 
 For, after the example which you have just read, who 
 knows whether your first sin may not be your last, for 
 which there will be no time to repent ! But, if your 
 conscience reproaches you with having committed either 
 one sin or many grave sins, be very much afraid that, if 
 you add yet one other to those which you have already 
 blotted out by true repentance, you may block up the 
 way of eternal life, and put in it an impassable barrier 
 which will shut you out from the kingdom of heaven. 
 In the next place, observe the various steps by which the 
 
64 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 wretched youth came at last to his fatal fall. First, 
 he partook of a sumptuous feast previously to bidding 
 the w T orld farewell. Secondly, he engaged in a dance 
 with others. Thirdly, sated with the good things of 
 the feast, and wearied with worldly amusement, he 
 retired to rest, but without filling his mind with those 
 holy thoughts wherewith he was accustomed to occupy 
 it. Fourthly, the memory of certain carnal pleasures, of 
 which he had occasionally heard, returned to his mind. 
 Fifthly, he began to consider what is the nature of carnal 
 pleasure, and to dwell upon the idea of it. Finally, he 
 resolved to have an experimental knowledge of it before 
 he bade adieu to the world for ever, and was induced to 
 make this experiment by the thought that he would have 
 the chance of expiating this sin by means of confession. 
 Behold the ways which seem to men to be right, or, at 
 least, not to be evil, of which the end leads to temporal 
 and to eternal death, unless, indeed, we walk with exceed- 
 ing great caution through them. If you give heed to 
 that which we teach, you will altogether turn away 
 from some of these ; through others you will walk with 
 great circumspection, lest perchance you should dash your 
 foot against a stone, upon which, if you fall, you will be 
 bruised ; but, if it fall upon you, it will grind you to 
 powder. 
 
 After we have laid before you some few extracts from 
 the Buie of St. Benedict, in each of which you will find 
 a motive for avoiding mortal sin, we will, in another 
 Section, treat of the ways which lead to deadly sins. 
 From these ways, all who aspire to the Religious Life 
 must be careful to turn aside, with as great horror as 
 they would from the sins themselves unto which they 
 lead. 
 
MOTIVES FEOM THE KULE. 
 
 65 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Motives for Avoiding Mortal Sin, drawn from St. Benedict's 
 
 Rule. 
 
 As a supreme hatred and detestation of mortal sin 
 constitute the first principles of a holy life, we consider 
 that our labour will be spent in vain unless we succeed 
 in implanting deeply in the minds of those who read 
 these pages a thorough aversion for this greatest of evils. 
 With this end in view, we will quote from the Holy Buie 
 certain passages in which St. Benedict suggests to his 
 children various motives to deter them from the commis- 
 sion of sin, and to induce them to accept the sweet yoke 
 of Our Lord’s Commandments. 
 
 In the Prologue to his Eule our great Lawgiver points 
 out to us the first motive in the following words: “That 
 He Who hath now vouchsafed to reckon us in the number 
 of His children may not hereafter be saddened by our 
 evil deeds . It was, then, at the time when you merited 
 to receive Him by faith that Our Lord first deigned 
 mercifully to reckon you among the number of His 
 children. Or, as St. John puts it : “But as many as 
 received Him He gave them power to be made the sons 
 of God Afterwards you were adopted into the number 
 of His children by an altogether new and singular mani- 
 festation of His fatherly compassion, when, through the 
 grace of your vocation, you resolved to leave the world 
 and to obey the voice of Christ, speaking to you and 
 saying : “ Hearken, O my son ! and see, and incline thy 
 ear, and forget thy people and thy father’s house ”.+ 
 What a condescension on the part of the Eternal Father. 
 
 “ We deserve not,” says Smaragdus, commenting upon 
 
 * St. John i. 12. 
 
 t Ps. xliv\ 11. 
 
66 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 this passage, “ to be reckoned among the number of His 
 servants ; and yet He deigns to count us among the 
 number of His children Great is the dignity bestowed 
 upon us, that whereas we are children of wrath and 
 sinners from our very childhood, we are mercifully called 
 to be the sons and heirs of God, heirs indeed of God, and 
 co-heirs with Christ. This, then, is that merciful and 
 most loving Father Whom you sadden when you fall into 
 grievous sin. God forbid that you should ever again 
 wring with sorrow the heart of One Who so tenderly 
 loves you. 
 
 The second motive is contained in the following words 
 of the Prologue: “We must at all times so serve Him 
 with the goods which He hath bestowed upon us, that 
 He may neither as an angry Father disinherit us His 
 children, nor as a dread Lord, exasperated by our offences, 
 deliver us up to perpetual punishment as wicked servants 
 who would not follow Him to glory”. Here you have 
 given to you a twofold motive for avoiding sin. The 
 first is the fear of losing your paternal inheritance ; the 
 second is the dread of incurring an everlasting punish- 
 ment. Therefore, if by the .sweet name “Father” and 
 by the filial dread of piercing with sorrow that Father’s 
 heart, you are not moved to abstain from the commission 
 of evil, let the well-grounded fear of losing your birth- 
 right withhold you from evil ways. Oh ! if you were 
 but truly wise, and did but clearly understand how great 
 a good is contained in this your paternal inheritance, 
 we have no hesitation in saying that you would make a 
 most efficacious resolution never again to offend your 
 loving Father, but, by obeying Him in all things, to shield 
 yourself from the direful evil of losing your eternal 
 heritage. This is styled by the Prince of the Apostles, 
 “incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, reserved for us in 
 
MOTIVES PROM THE RULE. g 7 
 
 heaven Who, then, will be so foolish as to esteem it of 
 
 hSLTT m? T EsaU) who ’ for a mess of pottage, sold 
 
 but A u the time he C0Unted ifi of l^tle worth 
 
 but afterwards when he perceived by the blessing be- 
 
 h m hew° n tb u ^ ^ b6en tak6C awa yfrom 
 
 Zl r r a SOrr ° W 80 Vebeaent ‘hat, as 
 
 the Scripture expresses it, “ he roared out with a great cry, 
 
 Of a t f-WR 1 great OOIlsterna ti on lamented and wept ”.f 
 ru here are many who have imitated Esau bv 
 depriving themselves of their heavenly dower for a vile 7 
 momentary and most disgraceful pleasure. These will 
 Wnt without hope of consolaJn, and will roar Tu 
 
 That J “ y When> alas! time sha11 be no longer. 
 that V grieV0US a calamit y may never befall you, and 
 with ^ 0U , may never be compelled to lament your folly 
 
 wht ™ h" "if ^ l0 ° k WdI t0 your ^maf interests 
 
 mo t low ;M he ‘r- D0 DOt P r0TOke to ^th your 
 ng Father, but, by every means in your power 
 
 strive to prove yourself a docile and obedient child P 
 
 that^hel th ° Ugh ^ W DOt “ y doubt whatever but 
 that the foregoing considerations have made you resolve 
 
 altogether to flee from and to detest sin, yet ifyouTmtd 
 
 of so slavish a temper as not to be moved by that 
 
 Which cannot fail to fill you with horror: “Lest as I 
 up'to nern ® Xa ® perated by your ounces, He deliver you 
 
 future life of bhss 1 That Great Being Who, previous* 
 
 * 1 Peter i. 4. 
 
 t Gen. xxvii. 34. 
 
68 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 to a man’s commission of sin, ever shows Himself to be 
 a most loving Father, and frequently calls him as a most 
 dear child to accept the splendid inheritance which He 
 offers to him, as soon as man stains himself with the 
 guilt of sin, is justly provoked and moved to indignation 
 by his audacity. He is able in^ a moment to consign him 
 to the flames of hell as a worthless servant, who, despising 
 every mark of fatherly love bestowed upon him, does not 
 hesitate to brave the irresistible wrath of the Omnipotent. 
 
 From the same Prologue the third motive is taken : 
 “ Therefore the days of our life are prolonged for the 
 amendment of our evil deeds, according to these words of 
 the Apostle : ‘ Knowest thou not that the patience of 
 God leadeth thee to repentance ’ ”. Therefore, if the days 
 of our life are lengthened, in order to afford us time for 
 doing penance, has not he who, by oft-repeated offences, 
 presumes to wear out the patience of God, good reason to 
 fear that, at the moment when he least expects it, the 
 Lord will cut the thread of life, and force him, fruitlessly 
 and for ever, to weep over those grievous sins which he 
 would not wash away during the time mercifully granted 
 for repentance, but which he dared to augment by multi- 
 plied transgressions ? For this reason the Apostle, im- 
 mediately after the words quoted by St. Benedict, adds : 
 “ But according to thy hardness, and impenitent heart, 
 thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of 
 wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God ”. 
 Commenting on this passage, Menochius says : “ On that 
 dreadful day, Christ the just Judge will make manifest 
 before the eyes of all, the thoughts and the works of men. 
 He will judge them with divine justice. He will show the 
 gravity of the sin by the punishment which is due to it.” 
 St. Gregory, explaining the words of Job, “ God hath 
 given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto 
 
MOTIVES FROM THE RULE. 
 
 69 
 
 pride,” * says : “He who sins, and who, after his sin, is 
 suffered to breathe the breath of life, is thus mercifully 
 tolerated, in order that he may withhold himself, for the 
 future, from all iniquity. But he who, though patiently 
 borne with, yet does not abandon his iniquitous courses, 
 only the more closely binds himself in the bonds of guilt, by 
 accepting the favour of God’s long-suffering mercy. At 
 the last day, the most just Judge will reckon as heinous 
 offences all these tokens of His mercy ; because the 
 sinner employed these gracious favours, bestowed for the 
 purpose of leading him to repentance, only to assist him 
 to persevere in his career of sin. Therefore, when any 
 one perceives that God is patiently awaiting his return to 
 better ways, he ought to consider that these delays of 
 divine justice are so many indubitable signs of his future 
 damnation. The present forbearance of the Judge will 
 but add to the punishment and intensify the pain which 
 is awaiting the sinner. Even the means which might be 
 used to snatch him from the jaws of eternal death, be- 
 come the occasional causes which will the more surely 
 thrust him into it.”t These words may well strike terror 
 into every soul. The more surely to fix in the minds of 
 his children the motive which they convey, St. Benedict, 
 in the seventh Chapter of the Rule, in almost identical 
 words, exhorts them to flee from and to detest sin, 
 saying : “We must always take heed, Brethren, lest, as 
 the Prophet saith in the Psalm : God, at some time, 
 should look down from heaven, and behold us gone aside 
 to evil, and become unprofitable ; and, though He spare 
 us for the present, because He is merciful, and expecteth 
 our conversion, He may hereafter say to us : These 
 things thou hast done, and I have held My peace ”.J 
 
 * Cap. xxiv. 23. + Moralia , lib. xvi. X Hag., cap. 7, grad. 1. 
 
70 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Explaining this passage, Smaragdus says : “ To be silent, 
 not to render evil for evil, but for a long time to await 
 the sinner, in order that he may repent, is the usual way 
 of God’s dealing with him. If He were to take summary 
 vengeance upon him for his wickedness, God would not 
 be silent ; He would answer the sinner. But, if that 
 man for whom God waits a long time, in order that he 
 may have leisure to repent, does not return from his evil 
 ways, God on a sudden strikes him ; but then it is that 
 the sinner may perish for ever.” Weigh well these 
 words ; and if you are one of those who are bold enough 
 to go on offending God by their sins, you have good 
 reason to fear that the words of the Commentator will 
 be exemplified in your person. When you think that 
 you are most secure, the Lord God of vengeance will 
 summon you to the bar of divine justice, there to receive 
 your well-merited chastisement. 
 
 From the seventh Chapter St. Benedict draws a fourth 
 motive for avoiding grievous sin. It is expressed in these 
 words : “ Remember that those who contemn God fall 
 into hell for their sins ”. If by means of serious and oft- 
 repeated meditation you were to go down into that place 
 of torment prepared for those who set at naught the God 
 of supreme Majesty, with what a shuddering horror would 
 your soul be filled, and how salutary would be the resolu- 
 tions which you would make, carefully to avoid all occa- 
 sions of sin ! It would effect in you that which a vision 
 of hell effected in the case of Hugo, Prince of Tuscany. 
 This youth, caressed by all the flattering blandishments 
 of great prosperity, and ensnared in all those deceitful 
 meshes with which sin entangles the feet of the young 
 and inexperienced, plunged headlong into every species 
 of vice. Although warned by a marvellous apparition of 
 our Blessed Lady to quit his evil courses and to return 
 
MOTIVES FROM THE RULE. 
 
 71 
 
 to a better method of life, he paid no attention to the 
 admonition of her for whom, with an astonishing incon- 
 sistency, he ever preserved, even in the midst of his 
 licentious career, a most tender and filial devotion. 
 While living in this reckless way, it happened that as he 
 was one day hunting, he was overtaken by a violent 
 thunder-storm, and sought shelter from its fury in a cave 
 which he discovered hard by the place in which he 
 chanced to be engaged in the chase. As he crept into 
 the dark recesses of this cavern, Almighty God vouchsafed 
 to present before his eyes a vision which eventually led 
 to his conversion and to the salvation of his soul. It 
 seemed to him that there glared before him a vast 
 furnace, round which stood workmen engaged in some 
 metallic handicraft. But as he looked he perceived with 
 horror that they drew forth from the roaring fire the 
 lacerated members of human bodies. Heads, arms, 
 thighs, and legs were all taken to the anvil and there 
 beaten with the smith’s hammer as if they were flaming 
 iron which was to be fashioned into any shape that it 
 might suit the design of the workers to make. Thinking 
 that he had come unawares upon an impious gang of 
 magicians and necromancers against whom he had 
 proved himself an implacable foe, he began to pour out 
 upon them the most awful threats of vengeance. Scarcely 
 had he ceased to speak, when one of them, turning upon 
 him with a terrible scowl, cried out : “ Softly, softly, 
 friend ; we are not, as you suppose us to be, magicians 
 and necromancers. We are the ministers of divine 
 justice. This is the way in which we deal with the un- 
 clean hunters after carnal pleasures, when the hand of 
 God consigns them to our care. At present we are daily 
 expecting the arrival of a certain Hugo, the master of 
 this place. If he should come into our power, he shall 
 
72 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 expiate upon this anvil all the abominations of his licen- 
 tious life.” This vision proved a most effectual remedy 
 for the lustful fever which had burnt out his spiritual 
 life ; for, mounting his horse, he rode away quite a 
 different man from what he had been. In all earnest- 
 ness he set about the task of trying to escape so horrible 
 a fate, and for this purpose resolved to begin by a general 
 and public confession of his sins. Upon a day which had 
 been previously fixed by him he came to the Cathedral 
 Church, walking between the Archbishop of Ravenna 
 and Eustachius, the Archbishop of Turin. There, in the 
 presence of a great multitude gathered together by the 
 strangeness of the event, he fell upon his knees and cried 
 aloud : “ I will not any longer be Hugo ”. This he ac- 
 complished to the very letter by putting off the old man 
 and by clothing himself in the new, who is created by 
 God in the holiness of justice and of truth. 
 
 Mark well the words : “I will no longer be Hugo,” in 
 order that if you have heretofore followed his example 
 by straying from the paths of God’s Commandments, 
 you may now, after a serious consideration of the 
 torments of hell, imitate him in his repentance, and 
 efficaciously resolve no longer to be that which hereto- 
 fore you have been. It is to this you are invited by St. 
 Benedict, in the words by which he places before you 
 the fourth motive for avoiding mortal sin. But if, owing 
 to the special providence of God, you have up to the 
 present time been preserved from any grave offence 
 against His infinite holiness, be very much afraid that if 
 you were now to commit but one such sin, you would 
 straightway be condemned to eternal torments. Oh, if 
 many had but seriously reflected upon these considera- 
 tions, they would not now be burning in the unquench- 
 able flames of hell ! 
 
MOTIVES FROM THE RULE. 
 
 73 
 
 Fifth motive. “ Let him think that he is always 
 beheld from heaven by God ; and that all his actions, 
 wheresoever he may be, lie open to the eye of God.” * 
 The wonderful conversion of an infamous harlot, of 
 which mention is made by Surius, in his life of St. 
 Ephrem, proves to us the power which this motive has 
 to shield the soul from sin. It seems that a wretched 
 woman one day solicited the Saint to gratify the lusts of 
 the flesh. In order to open her eyes to the infamy of her 
 position, he at once pretended to assent to her proposal, 
 on condition that she would sin in the public market- 
 place of the city. “ Oh no,” said she, “ there I should be 
 seen by the people, and the disgrace which would fall 
 upon me would cover me with eternal confusion.” Then 
 turning upon her, the Saint replied : “ If you think that 
 the fact of being seen by men is sufficient to shame you 
 from this deed, do you not fear, are you not in dread of 
 the eyes of the Lord Who sees all things, both those 
 which are done in secret and those which are done in 
 public? Will you not withhold yourself from doing evil 
 in the presence of Him Who stirs up within us the 
 accusing voice of conscience, and can make it punish us 
 for all eternity with its stinging reproaches?” These 
 few words sufficed to extinguish the fire of lust in the 
 bosom of this wretched creature, to release her from the 
 slavery of sin, and to cause her to change the evil courses 
 which she had been pursuing, for the rough and rugged 
 paths of a penitential life. Casting herself at the feet of 
 the Saint, she implored pardon for her manifold sins, and 
 besought him to be her guide, that she might never again 
 wander from the way of salvation, upon which she then 
 set her feet. He promised that which she asked, and 
 not only gave her wise precepts to instruct her mind, but 
 * Beg., cap. 7, grad. 1. 
 
74 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 also placed her in a Monastery, in which holy women 
 cared for her with all compassionate tenderness and 
 charity. Thus did he lead unto the gates of heaven one 
 who had attempted to conduct him to the gates of hell. 
 What was it that withheld Joseph from committing the 
 crime unto which he was tempted? What was it that 
 made Susannah prefer death rather than yield to the 
 wishes of the reprobates who strove to rob her of her 
 chastity? It was the consciousness of the presence of 
 the ever- watchful eye of God. For, when she saw that 
 she must choose either life with dishonour, or death, 
 with shame before men, but with glory before God, she 
 boldly said : “ It is better for me to fall into your hands 
 than to sin in the sight of the Lord”.* Imitate the 
 example of these two reverential worshippers of God’s 
 presence, and you also will learn by experience how 
 efficacious is the support with which it furnishes the 
 soul, to enable it to escape the snares of sin. “ If,” says 
 St. Chrysostom, “ we are loth to sin before our fellow- 
 men, and are careful to do nothing unbecoming our 
 dignity when even our servants are looking on, consider 
 how powerful a check it will be upon us, if we ever keep 
 before our minds the fact that we are never, for a single 
 instant, out of the presence of God’s all-seeing eye.” f 
 “ Who is there,” asks St. Basil, u that will either enter- 
 tain an evil thought, or do an evil deed, if he believe 
 that God is in every place, and that He is present at 
 every action ? ” It is only when men assume either that 
 God is not looking at them, or that He cares not for the 
 deeds which they do, that they are bold enough to pro- 
 ceed to the commission of crimes. “ The eyes of the 
 Lord,” saith Ecclesiasticus, “ are far brighter than is the 
 
 Daniel xiii. 23. 
 
 + St. Chrys., Horn, iv., In Epist. ad Rom . 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 75 
 
 sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the 
 bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, 
 into the most hidden parts.” * 
 
 We think that these thoughts, prayerfully revolved in the 
 mind, will carry with them weight sufficient to urge you 
 to flee from and to detest sin. Therefore, passing over 
 many other motives which might be brought forward in 
 addition to those which we have just placed before you, 
 we will now point out to you the ways and the occasions 
 which lead to sin, in order that, knowing what they are, 
 you may, with all care and earnestness, endeavour to 
 avoid them. He who will not do this is as yet quite 
 ignorant of the malice of mortal sin, and does not detest 
 it with that loathing and that hatred with which he 
 ought to turn away from everything which might lead 
 him into this, the greatest of human ills. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Not only sin itself, but also the ways and the occasions which 
 lead to it, must be carefully avoided . 
 
 The illustrious Father Lanciscius, of the Society of 
 Jesus, in one of his spiritual works, describes the five 
 ways which lead to sin. All these, from the very fact of 
 being occasions of evil, are themselves evil, and must, 
 therefore, be carefully avoided by those who are thinking 
 of embracing the Religious State. As the book in which 
 he treats of them is not in the hands of many, and as it 
 would be wearisome to transcribe whole pages from it, it 
 will suit our purpose far better if we treat of these ways 
 in a manner which will harmonise with the general tenor 
 of this little work. 
 
 The first way which, as a rule, leads men into sin is 
 
 Ecclus. xxiii. 28. 
 
76 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 converse with those who are themselves sinners. These, 
 by the bad example of their own evil lives, by their 
 obscene talk, and, worse still, by their advice and counsel, 
 incite others to the commission of sin. They impel them 
 to drunkenness. They introduce them to society which 
 either is absolutely immoral, or is, at least, of so disreput- 
 able a character, that no one who cares for the purity of 
 his soul would have any connection with it. They take 
 them to dancing parties, to questionable theatrical repre- 
 sentations, to places of public resort, in which, without 
 any necessity, they are forced, by the very circumstances 
 of the case, to mingle with, to look at, and to converse 
 with women. It is but reasonable, therefore, to expect 
 that anyone who is thinking of entering Eeligion will 
 studiously keep aloof from the company of men of this 
 stamp, even if, by so doing, he should give them mortal 
 offence. This is only what St. Benedict himself did. 
 Writing of him, St. Gregory says: “When he was sent 
 to Eome to study Humanities, and saw how many of his 
 school-fellows were leading dissolute lives, he drew back 
 the foot which he had, as it were, set upon the threshold 
 of the world, lest by the evil conversation of those who 
 were around him, he also should fall into that dangerous 
 and godless gulf. Therefore, giving over his books, and 
 forsaking his father’s house and wealth, with a mind 
 resolved to serve God only, he sought for some place in 
 which he might attain to the desire of his holy purpose.”* 
 Speaking of this heroic act, Clavenau says : “It was not 
 without fear that St. Benedict lived amid his unruly 
 fellow-students. Bor he had good reason to be in dread, 
 lest any taint of the unclean herd of sinners among whom 
 his lot was cast should dim the brightness of his own 
 virginal purity. Those who like these, are vicious, idle 
 * Dialog., lib. ii. 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 77 
 
 scapegraces, take counsel together and mature their plans 
 of wickedness as they sit in the taverns, chasing away 
 sobriety, indulging in gluttonous excesses, and striving to 
 surpass one another in the depth of their potations. In 
 their midst, shameless women may be seen, with drunken 
 leer, smiling at one, caressing another, and inflaming the 
 hearts of all with the fire of lust. No one who is pure of 
 heart can pass by, without being filled with shame. His 
 blush of offended modesty is the signal for an outburst of 
 derisive laughter. Only the unclean are received with 
 acclamations of delight. How bitterly does St. Augus- 
 tine, in his Confessions , lament over the incalculable 
 harm which the companionship of the wicked had 
 wrought in his own soul ! They gloried in their shame, 
 and were so openly licentious in his presence that he 
 blushed because he was not so shameless as they were.” * 
 In imitation of St. Benedict, whose Order, or that of any 
 other Founder, you desire to enter, resolve from this 
 moment to please God only. Despise and quit the com- 
 pany of those who either have been, or who actually are, 
 unto you an occasion of offending God. Be afraid lest 
 the weakness of youth should beguile you into sin, and 
 lest the plague which goes forth from the company and 
 the conversation of the wicked should infect your soul 
 and drag you down into the grave of sin. 
 
 A second way leading to mortal sin is all unnecessary 
 and curious contemplation of corporeal beauty, no matter 
 whether it is the corporeal beauty of man or of woman. 
 Oh, how many have made miserable shipwreck of their 
 virtue upon this rock ! It is to prevent you from suffer- 
 ing a like disaster that we offer you an infallible preserva- 
 tive in the example of St. Benedict. It seems, as St. 
 Gregory tells us, that the image of somebody whom he 
 * Lib. ii., cap. 19. 
 
78 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 had seen, very probably while he was at school in Borne, 
 was once again, by the cunning of the devil, presented to 
 his imagination. The vivid picture of her beauty which 
 that most skilful artist was able to conjure up before his 
 mental vision, was so enchanting, and kindled in his 
 bosom so great a fire of passion, that, for a moment, the 
 idea of quitting his solitude flashed across his brain. 
 Now, observe, as St. Vincent Ferrer, in his Sermon on 
 St. Benedict, is careful to point out, that although this 
 most holy youth was then in the flower of his age, yet his 
 bodily frame was well-nigh dead and cold by reason of 
 the rigorous course of austerity to which he had sub- 
 jected it. The lengthened vigil, the gnawing fast, and 
 the piercing chill of his mountain cavern had done their 
 work. Yet, even in one so apparently dead to all fleshly 
 lusts, that single spark shot forth from his memory was 
 enough to enkindle so fierce a conflagration that the 
 thought of for ever throwing up the celestial life which 
 he had so heroically begun to lead was suggested to his 
 mind. “ What think you of this,” exclaims Father 
 Clavenau, writing upon this incident, “you who, with a 
 stare so bold, so impudent, fix your lascivious eyes upon 
 every object, and print upon your imagination every line 
 of beauty which you are able to discover? Nothing 
 escapes your eagle glance ; you pluck up every flower that 
 blooms ; you inhale the perfume of every garden that is 
 in blossom. St. Benedict passed his days in the depths 
 of a vast solitude, with naught but rugged, barren rocks 
 to meet his gaze ; and yet a seemingly insignificant 
 trifle was the occasion of a tumult in his soul so fierce, 
 so overmastering, as almost to drive him away from the 
 service of God. You, however, live in the midst of 
 populous cities ; on every side you are compassed with 
 your fellow-men ; and yet you have no fear for the grace 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 79 
 
 of God, which is in such imminent peril. Benedict’s 
 flesh was tamed into submission ; the fire of passion in it 
 was well-nigh extinct ; his food was of the simplest ; his 
 drink was water from the lake hard by. But you are full 
 of lusty life ; your fare is rich and succulent ; your drink 
 is luscious wine, which pours a very stream of liquid fire 
 through your youthful veins. When Benedict was 
 weary, the unyielding rock received his aching limbs ; 
 a couch of down awaits you when you seek repose. No 
 other sounds fell on his ears than the wind whistling 
 through the mountain pines. But in your ears syren 
 voices sing enchanting strains. Yet, this Saint of God, 
 in consequence of having once seen a woman, was en- 
 veloped in a tempestuous storm of evil imaginations, the 
 violence of which almost wrecked the vessel of his soul. 
 Does your chastity sleep secure, though circled with a 
 glittering array of armed foes, all eager to rob you of 
 your treasure, and to murder your soul? If this hap- 
 pened in the greenwood, what will happen in the dry ? " * 
 Should these words of Father Clavenau’s fall like well- 
 merited reproaches upon the ear of your conscience, look 
 well to yourself, and set your house in order ; otherwise, in 
 your case, also, may come to pass that which the Prophet, 
 in another sense, laments as a calamity which had hap- 
 pened to himself : “ My eye hath wasted my soul ”.f 
 The third way which leads to sin is the reading, 
 whether in prose or in verse, of books which treat of 
 matters that are obscene. Among these you must reckon 
 all those novels which, under the thin gauze of con- 
 ventional love-making, endeavour to conceal the hideous 
 skeleton of carnal sin ; all anatomical and medical works 
 which deal with the various parts of the human frame, 
 and with the diseases by which they are affected. These 
 * St. Luke xxiii. 31. 
 
 + Lament, iii. 51. 
 
80 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 books are particularly objectionable, inasmuch as they are 
 usually illustrated by plates, which are oftentimes more 
 dangerous to the reader than is the letterpress itself. 
 You will easily understand how displeasing to God is the 
 perusal of all such productions as these, if you recall to 
 mind what happened, in his early youth, to the illustrious 
 St. Odo. As he was one day preparing to read Virgil, he 
 fell asleep, and dreamt that he was tortured with burning 
 thirst. As he hastened to slake the fire which was in- 
 wardly consuming him, some one presented to his lips a 
 most costly vessel ; but, as he grasped it, and was about 
 to drain it to the dregs, he perceived, with horror, that it 
 was filled with hissing serpents. Starting back, in his 
 alarm, he awoke, and perceived that it was only a dream ; 
 but a dream which had come as a warning from God. 
 Taking it as such, he determined, from that time forth, 
 to devote himself to the study of the Sacred Book. Now, 
 if an over-great eagerness to read Virgil, whose poetry is 
 so chaste that he is called the Virgin , was visited by God 
 with so severe a reproof, with what wrath must He look 
 down upon those who gloat over the impure pages of 
 authors who picture before them, in vivid colours, 
 enormities and vices such as were those which now lie 
 buried under the waters of the Dead Sea? Therefore, 
 abstain from the reading of all such works. Avoid them 
 as you would avoid dishonour and death. The poison 
 which they instil into the mind is sweet as honey to the 
 taste, but it is keen and venomous as a serpent’s tooth to 
 destroy the life of the soul. Imitate St. Odo, and, as St. 
 Benedict says: “ Willingly give ear to holy reading 
 In fact, as far as you can do so without interfering with 
 those other duties which are suitable to your state, de- 
 vote yourself wholly to the study of the Sacred Book. 
 
 * Reg. cap. iv., Instr. 56. 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 81 
 
 The fourth way leading to mortal sin is idleness. This 
 must be shunned with the greatest care ; for, as St. 
 Benedict tells us : “ It is an enemy of the soul”.* Ex- 
 plaining this sentence of our holy Father’s Rule, Cardinal 
 Turrecremata cites the following testimonies : “St. 
 Bernard, in his treatise De Considerations, says : 1 Idle- 
 ness must be avoided, because it is a most tender nursing- 
 mother of all that is frivolous and trifling* but a hard, 
 pitiless stepmother of all that is serious and virtuous. 
 More than any other vice, it has the trick of tripping up 
 the heels of the mightiest men, and of plunging them 
 headlong into crimes of the blackest dye. Why is this ? 
 Because it strangles virtue, nourishes pride, and paves 
 the way to hell.’ The philosopher Seneca says of idle- 
 ness : ‘ There are men whose bodily frame does not 
 work any harm, and yet their idle mind hurries them on 
 to the commission of a thousand mad crimes. It is idle- 
 ness that is the prolific parent of all the ignominious 
 sins of the soul.’ Commenting upon the Prophet 
 Ezekiel, St. Augustine says : ‘ When a man is at one 
 and the same time fearless of God and given up to idle- 
 ness, this latter becomes for him a skilful teacher of all 
 that is most iniquitous : “ This was the sin of Sodom thy 
 sister, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance, and the 
 idleness of her and her daughters In his thirty-fourth 
 homily, St. Chrysostom says : * The vice of fornication 
 wells up, as it were quite naturally, from idleness, which 
 is one of its sources. He, however, whose mind is fully 
 occupied with a multitude of busy cares, has not time to 
 attend to the commission of evil deeds.’ In his Treatise 
 on the Supreme Good St. Isidore says : ‘ Every ser- 
 vant of God ought always to be engaged in reading, in 
 working, or in praying, in order to keep at bay the tiger- 
 * Reg., cap. xlviii. + Ezclc. xvi. 49. 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 spirit of fornication, which will assuredly force its way 
 into the heart of him also who is given up to idleness 
 To these human testimonies we may add that of the 
 Holy Ghost, Who, in the Sacred Scripture, speaking of 
 the vice of idleness, says : “ Desires kill the slothful ” : 
 “He that followeth idleness shall be filled with poverty”.* 
 Hence among the Egyptian Monks there was a proverb 
 to the effect that “the laborious Monk has only one 
 devil to tempt him ; but the idle Monk is urged on to do 
 evil by a whole legion of devils”. Consequently, you 
 must hate idleness and set a high value upon every 
 moment of time. When the evil one comes to suggest 
 his filthy images to your mind, let him find you always 
 busily occupied. If he come upon you in an idle moment, 
 he will take advantage of it to hurry you into sin. 
 
 The frequent commission of deliberate venial sins is 
 the fifth way which leads to the frightful evil of deadly 
 sin. We have need to be on our guard against this, with 
 even greater watchfulness than against the other ways 
 already mentioned ; because, to the inexperienced eyes 
 of youth, it looks so free from all danger. Eor, venial 
 faults seem to be such triflingly light things. But, bear 
 in mind that these are light, only in comparison with 
 mortal sin. In themselves and absolutely, they are 
 grave, so grave, indeed, as to exceed any merely temporal 
 ill, no matter how terrible that may be. Eor, just con- 
 sider calmly and dispassionately all the circumstances of 
 the matter. Is that a slight evil which offends the infi- 
 nite Majesty of God; which injures our Heavenly Father; 
 which can be atoned for only by the priceless merits of 
 Jesus Christ ; which is punished by a most merciful God 
 with the most awful severity, both in this life and in the 
 life to come? What would you think of a child, who is 
 * Ibid., xxviii. 19. 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 83 
 
 loved by bis father as the very apple of his eye, who is 
 reared by him, and educated with more than maternal 
 care, for whom there is prepared a rich inheritance, on 
 whom is daily poured forth all the wealth of affection 
 stored up in the heart of a fond parent — what, we repeat 
 would you think of him, if he were to scorn, to insult, to 
 strike, and to wound him who has, throughout life, well- 
 nigh worshipped him ? Of what value would you deem 
 his excuse, if, when asked to desist from this unnatural 
 conduct, he were to laugh in your face and say : “ What 
 I do is a mere trifle ! I do not kill my father ! There- 
 fore I do not mean to give over what you are pleased to 
 term ‘my unnatural conduct’.” What would you think 
 of him, if, when warned again and again to be more 
 dutiful, and to make some return of affection to him who 
 is lavishing his love upon him, he were to reply, only by 
 redoubling his offences and his insults? Would his acts 
 appear to you to be mere trifling offences? I have no 
 hesitation in saying that you would look upon him as a 
 monster of ingratitude. Well, then, is not God your 
 Father, Who made you, and created you, and possessed 
 you ? Has He not, when you were enslaved by sin, and 
 lying under its bondage, freed you and redeemed you, by 
 the sweat, and the blood, by the labour, the stripes, and 
 the death of His only-begotten Son ? Has He not reared 
 you with all care ? Has He not raised you to the dignity 
 of being a son of God ? Is He not preparing for you, in 
 heaven, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, never 
 fading? Do you, then, consider it to be a matter of 
 little moment, when by means of deliberate venial 
 sins you deride, contemn, and spit upon a Father 
 Who is so kind and so loving to you ; that you scourge, 
 spit upon, and trample under your feet His only-be- 
 gotten Son, Who has done and suffered so much for 
 
84 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 you ? Yet this is the outrage of which you are guilty by 
 the commission of these seemingly slight venial sins ; for, 
 as mortal sin, as far as it is possible for it to do such a 
 thing, aims at destroying God, so, also, venial sin aims 
 at deriding, insulting, and contemning His beloved Son. 
 Again, should you consider it to be a matter of little 
 moment to be covered with wounds, and sores, and 
 ulcers ; to be burnt up with fierce heat ; to languish 
 under malignant disease; to be the subject of all the 
 maladies which find a home in our public hospitals ; and 
 at the same time to be the sport of devils, who would 
 torment you in all the ingenious ways in which they 
 exercise their wrath upon the persons of those whom they 
 are suffered to harass by obsession ? If these ills do not, 
 by any means, seem to you to be slight, why should 
 deliberate venial sin appear to you to be a mere nothing ; 
 for the united ills of the world, compared with it, dwindle 
 into insignificance. In fact, with the exception of deadly 
 sin, it is the only evil in the world, so that we should not 
 be allowed to commit it, if by so doing we could ward off 
 this swarm of calamitous misfortunes which are ever 
 stinging and torturing the race of men. 
 
 Besides, you must ever bear in mind that deliberately 
 to commit venial sin is full of deadly peril to the soul, 
 particularly if it is oftentimes repeated. For this en- 
 genders a bad habit ; blinds the eyes of the mind ; extin- 
 guishes in the heart all pious affection towards God; 
 and, although it does not deprive the soul of sanctifying 
 grace, which is its life, yet it cools the fervour of charity. 
 It causes God to withdraw certain special, actual graces. 
 It makes Him loth to extend to us that particular protec- 
 tion and guardianship which He has over all those who 
 are His faithful servants. From the combination of all 
 these losses, which are the result of a habit of venial sin, 
 
AVOIDING OCCASIONS. 
 
 85 
 
 we may conclude that the man who is enslaved by it is 
 nigh to a disastrous fall into mortal sin. This is the 
 consequence which daily experience proves to be the 
 almost inevitable outcome of this seemingly slight in- 
 fidelity to God. Of this, the Holy Scripture, the writings 
 of the Fathers, and of pious Authors give ample testi- 
 mony. All unite in proclaiming that the habit of venial 
 sin paves the way for the commission of mortal sin. 
 Because it would weary the reader to adduce quotations 
 from their writings, in proof of the correctness of this 
 statement, and also, because it is easy to find, in other 
 books, all that they have said upon this subject, we will 
 not attempt to reproduce them here. 
 
 The sixth way which leads to deadly sin is all 
 dangerous intercourse with even those who are not 
 wicked. The Authors whose words we cited in the 
 beginning of this Section consider to be dangerous all 
 prolonged and unnecessary conversations with women; 
 all excessively tender manifestations of affection; the 
 frequenting of taverns; dancing, gaming, and the like, 
 even though these various actions are done only to 
 satisfy the exigencies of Society, and not to carry out 
 any evil intention. These are usually regarded as 
 occasions of sin, and therefore are to be avoided by him 
 who is about to enter Religion, lest, while in very sight 
 of the haven of refuge, he should make miserable ship- 
 wreck of his virtue.* With good reason may we expect 
 that those who have this purpose in their hearts will 
 carefully withdraw themselves from these occasions. 
 For what business have those who are resolved to live 
 
 * They are not necessarily occasions of sin, since they do not 
 directly lead to it. Persons must be guided, in these matters, by 
 those to whom they lay open their conscience, as that which is an 
 occasion for one man is not necessarily an occasion for another. — Trs. 
 
86 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 only for God, to waste their time in the company of 
 women ? to indulge in tender friendships ? to give tender 
 manifestations of love ? and, in one word, to burthen 
 themselves with the habits of worldly-minded people ? 
 Though all the votaries of the world may scorn you, call 
 your careful guardianship of your heart “ prudery,” 
 and endeavour to persuade you that there is no danger 
 in doing that which they do, yet have the courage to 
 make little account of their scorn, and to give but scant 
 credence to their words. Tell them that you are not of 
 the world ; that you do not wish to be of the world ; and 
 that you do not care to run the risk of incurring the ills 
 which usually fall upon those men who rashly expose 
 themselves to danger. Say, in the depth of your heart : 
 “ To Thee, O good God! Who hast deigned to call me to 
 Thy service, and to Thee only, will I plight my faith. 
 To Thee do I yield myself, with all the affection of my 
 heart. To Thee, O Christ ! will I attach myself. I will 
 love only Thee, Whose Mother is a Virgin, Whose 
 Bather knoweth not a woman. If I love Thee, I shall 
 be chaste. If I embrace Thee, I shall be a virgin, 
 indeed.” # 
 
 A seventh way leading to mortal sin is all loose, 
 scurrilous conversation, which may so easily slip into 
 that which is obscene. Now, although all Christians are 
 obliged, by their profession, to shun this, inasmuch as 
 St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says: “Let not 
 obscenity, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility be so much 
 as named among you, as becometh Saints ” ; + yet, it 
 ought especially to be avoided by the children of St. 
 Benedict, who, in his Holy Buie, most sternly proscribes 
 all such discourse, which by the fools of the world is 
 
 * Office, of St. Agnes, noct. i., respons. 3. 
 
 t Cap. v. 3, 4. 
 
OCCASIONS BEFORE LEAVING THE WORLD. 
 
 87 
 
 sometimes mistaken for jocularity. “As for buffoonery,” 
 says our holy Father, “ and idle words, or for such as 
 move to laughter, we utterly condemn and forbid them 
 in all places, nor do we allow a disciple to open his 
 mouth to give them utterance.” * Is it possible for 
 any condemnation of such words to be either more 
 severe or more uncompromising? 
 
 Section IY. 
 
 Special care must be taken not to expose yourself to the pre- 
 ceding occasions of sin , at the time when you take leave 
 of the world. 
 
 A very common snare by which the devil entangles the 
 feet of those who aspire to the Religious State, draws 
 them into sin, hinders them from following out their 
 vocation, and sometimes succeeds in bringing about even 
 their eternal damnation, is the custom, prevalent in some 
 places, of what is called “ leave-taking, or bidding fare- 
 well to the world ”. Only God can tell the number of 
 the unhappy wretches, who, caught in the^e toils, are 
 now forced to weep bitter and unavailing tears over their 
 folly, which, at the very moment when they were about 
 to become the servants and children of God, made them 
 the bond-slaves of the devil and victims of the Almighty’s 
 wrath. What other name can we give to that luxurious- 
 ness of dress, to those interminable feastings, to those 
 songs and dances, to those games and pastimes, 
 and to all those other useless squanderings of money, 
 than so many entangling nets, in which unwary 
 youths are caught by the vanities of the world, 
 and, under the foolish pretence of bidding it an 
 eternal farewell, are hurried into deplorable excesses. 
 Can that be called “ bidding adieu to the world,” which 
 
 Reg., cap. vi. 
 
88 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 is nothing more nor less than the binding down of the 
 wretched soul, in the closest and strongest bonds, to the 
 vilest servitude of the world ? It is not in this way that 
 men usually go to God, to Religion, to their true country. 
 This is a path which leads in quite another direction, and 
 of it we may safely say : “ It seemeth just to a man, but 
 the ends thereof lead to death”.* We read in St. Luke, 
 that a young man who was called by Our Lord to follow 
 Him made answer : “ Lord, suffer me first to go and to 
 bury my father ”. Our Lord said to him : “ Let the dead 
 bury their dead ; but go thou and preach the kingdom of 
 God ”.+ Now, if Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God, would 
 not allow those whom He called unto His service to en- 
 tangle themselves in worldly cares and business, even 
 under the pretence of filial piety, what answer, think 
 you, would He make to those who should ask Him to 
 suffer them first to feast with their friends ; to wear, for 
 yet some little time longer, gay and fashionable apparel ; 
 to join in the dance, and to taste the other delights and 
 vanities of the world ? The same Evangelist relates that 
 another youth said to Jesus : “I will follow Thee, Lord ; 
 but let me first take leave of them that are at my house 
 Our Lord made answer: “ No man putting his hand to 
 the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of 
 God ”.J Explaining this passage, Euthymius says: “ He 
 who wishes to be a disciple of Christ, ought once and for 
 ever to despise all things else and to follow Him ; lest, 
 by turning his eyes away from Him, he be fascinated by 
 the alluring objects which he has left behind. Can any 
 one, then, be so foolish as to believe that, after hearing 
 the call of Jesus Christ, he may turn back not only his 
 eyes, but his whole being, to enjoy the vanities and the 
 
 Prov. xiv. 12. 
 
 + St. Luke ix. 59. 
 
 %lbid., ix. 61, 62. 
 
OCCASIONS BEFORE LEAVING THE WORLD. 
 
 89 
 
 delights of the world ? It is very much to be feared that 
 those who see nothing blameworthy in such conduct will 
 render themselves unfit for the kingdom of God in this 
 world, that is to say, for the Religious State, and for the 
 everlasting kingdom of God in the world to come. 
 
 Therefore, if you are in earnest about bidding adieu to 
 the world, let it be done once and for ever. “ Farewell, 
 all you with whom I have indulged in bad, or in danger- 
 ous conversations ! Farewell, idleness, lewdness, and 
 prurient curiosity ! Farewell, intemperance in drink, and 
 all gluttonous indulgence of my appetite ! Farewell, all 
 that which the world esteems and does ! I will give heed 
 to the exhortation of the Apostle, and carry it into effect : 
 ‘ ‘ Let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the 
 armour of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day : 
 not in rioting and in drunkenness, not in chambering and 
 in impurities, not in contention and in envy, but put ye 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ.” * 
 
 * Rom. xiii. 12, 13, 14. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 The Postulant must frequently exercise himself in 
 those Virtues which constitute the Essence of 
 THE BeLIGIOUS STATE. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 The Postulant must exercise himself in Acts of Poverty. 
 
 He who has resolved to consecrate himself to the service 
 of God in the Eeligions State must not rest satisfied 
 with avoiding the occasions of sin, and with keeping 
 himself free from its guilt. Besides having these two 
 negative virtues, he must strenuously devote himself to 
 the performance of good works ; for, if he defers the 
 practice of these until he has actually embraced Beli- 
 gious Life, he shows, by that very fact, that he has only 
 a slight esteem and a superficial love of his vocation, 
 inasmuch as he thinks that he may enter upon that 
 holy profession, without having acquired any virtues, 
 and without having any desire to acquire them. How 
 will he be able, without the shielding protection of this 
 nuptial garment, to stand beneath the searching gaze of 
 the Eternal King ? Even in the presence of an earthly 
 potentate, he would be covered with confusion, if he 
 were forced to appear in torn and threadbare apparel. 
 Now, if the maidens who were destined to stand before 
 King Assuerus were, for the space of six months, every 
 day, anointed with oil of myrrh, and, for the space of 
 other six months, with costly aromatic unguents, and 
 at last, only in the twelfth month, were allowed to enter 
 
PRACTICE OF POVERTY. 
 
 91 
 
 his presence, after every means had been employed to 
 adorn and to educate them for that honour, with what 
 a wealth of spiritual science ought those persons to be 
 endowed, who are to stand before the King of kings, the 
 Lord of lords, and to be admitted among the number of 
 His servants ! That you may be able to observe some 
 order in the acquisition of those virtues which constitute 
 these spiritual treasures, we will first speak of those 
 which are identified with, and are essential to, the 
 Keligious State. This State is said to be a method of 
 life in which men tend to acquire perfection, by the three 
 vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. From this 
 definition, it is evident that the three virtues which are 
 the objects of these vows are of the essence of the 
 Keligious State. Hence, if any person does not make 
 profession of all three, he is not, in the strict sense of 
 the word, a Religious. Therefore, it is necessary that, as 
 far as his condition of life will permit, the Postulant 
 should practise the acts of those virtues which will 
 afterwards constitute the subject matter of his vows. 
 In the first place, then, let us consider by what acts he 
 may practise religious poverty. 
 
 This consists in the abdication of all right of owner- 
 ship over anything whatever; in the withdrawal of our 
 affection from temporal possessions ; and in the abandon- 
 ment of superfluity in food, dress, furniture, and the 
 like. Now, although he who aspires to lead the Keli- 
 gious Life is master of his property, as long as he 
 remains in the world, yet he may, by observing the 
 following counsels, and by the aid of God’s grace, prepare 
 himself for the practice of poverty when he does even- 
 tually take the final step, by giving up all things in order 
 to follow Christ. 
 
 Loosen the affections of your heart from undue cleaving 
 
92 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 to worldly possessions, so that, if by any accident, or by 
 any mischance, you should happen to be deprived of 
 them, you would be able to bear their loss with a calm 
 and imperturbed mind. How pleasing to God is a dis- 
 position such !as this, which, in the midst of wealth, 
 keeps the heart nobly free from all attachment to earthly 
 dross, is clearly manifested by an incident which is re- 
 lated in the life of St. Severinus, Archbishop of Cologne. 
 At the time in which this illustrious Prelate lived, there 
 was a holy hermit whose life was a marvel of great and 
 admirable virtue. He was the son of one of the chief 
 nobles of the country, and had been delicately nurtured 
 amid all the luxuries which his high rank and his im- 
 mense wealth could command. As was natural, his 
 parents, when he had arrived at man’s estate, thought of 
 procuring for him a suitable bride. An alliance which 
 satisfied their fondest wishes opportunely presented itself, 
 and on the appointed day the future helpmate of their 
 son was brought, with great pomp and splendour, to their 
 ancestral abode. But when, upon the evening of his 
 marriage day, their son entered his bridal chamber, like 
 another Valerian,* he found — to his utter amazement — 
 standing in the middle of the room, a youth of majestic 
 beauty and commanding mien, who, with great gentle- 
 ness, addressing him, said : “If thou wilt but follow and 
 obey me, I will give thee far greater wealth, and I will 
 crown thee with a more resplendent glory than is any to 
 which thou canst aspire here below ”. The bridegroom 
 expressed his readiness and his willingness to go whither- 
 soever it should please him to lead ; and forthwith they 
 both left the Castle. As the future hermit passed out, he 
 picked up and carried off with him a wooden cup, which 
 was used for pouring wine into the vessels of gold and of 
 * The husband of St. Cecily. 
 
PRACTICE OF POVERTY. 
 
 93 
 
 silver which were set before the guests. Together they 
 penetrated into the deepest recesses of a vast solitude ; 
 and there for a long time the young noble gave himself 
 up to the austerities and the devout exercises of the 
 solitary life. At last he began most earnestly to beseech 
 God, the Just Judge, to point out to him the man with 
 whom he was to have an equal reward in heaven. In 
 answer to his prayer, it was made known to him that his 
 recompense was to be equal to that which should be be- 
 stowed upon a certain Severinus, Archbishop of the 
 Church of Cologne. When he furthermore petitioned 
 that there should be granted to him the favour of seeing 
 this holy Prelate, the young man whom he had first met 
 in his own bridal chamber once again stood before him, 
 and conducted him to the abode of the Archbishop. It 
 happened that when they arrived, a vast number of 
 guests had assembled at the palace to celebrate some 
 local festival. After the Divine Office, they gathered 
 together in the great hall, and a sumptuous banquet was 
 spread before them. Perceiving the number and the 
 delicacy of the dishes, the choice nature of the wines, the 
 wealth of silver plate, the servants and the retainers, the 
 hermit was downcast at the thought that he was to 
 receive only the same reward that a man was to obtain 
 who held possession of those very things which he had 
 abandoned. But his guide, knowing what was passing in 
 his thoughts, severely reprehended him, and told him 
 that the Archbishop was less attached to all this worldly 
 wealth, and pomp, and glory, than he was to the 
 wretched wooden vessel which he had carried off with 
 him from his ancestral abode. Whereupon, returning to 
 the place whence he had come, he thanked God for the 
 mercy which had been vouchsafed to him, and during the 
 rest of his life humbly besought God that he might be 
 
94 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 found worthy to share in the same reward which the 
 Just Judge should bestow upon the Archbishop Se- 
 verinus. Imitate the conduct of this holy man, and if 
 God has bestowed upon you the riches of this world, 
 attend to the counsel of the Eoyal Prophet : “If riches 
 abound, set not thy heart upon them If, on the other 
 hand, you are forced to live in straitened circumstances, 
 set not your heart upon the little which you possess, but 
 try to be like the first four most holy followers of our 
 Divine Lord. Their whole wordly substance consisted 
 in a few worn-out fishing-nets, upon which they depended 
 for their daily bread ; nevertheless, because they left 
 even these when Jesus called them to follow Him, their 
 reward was not less than that of the Evangelist St. 
 Matthew, who gave up great wealth in order to be a 
 disciple of Our Lord. 
 
 For the love of Christ, Who Himself was poor, be 
 ready and willing, from time to time, to have a practical 
 experience of the inconveniences of poverty. You may 
 do this both by depriving yourself of some unnecessary 
 comfort, and by cheerfully submitting to some discomfort 
 which you might easily either remove or avoid. Thus 
 you will imitate our good Jesus, Who, though Master of 
 the Universe, Lord of Angels and of men, yet divested 
 Himself of whatever was pleasing to flesh and blood, 
 whereas He might, had He so willed it, have enjoyed to 
 the full all innocent earthly pleasures, and have warded 
 off those numberless ills which pressed so heavily upon 
 Him : “For our sakes He became poor, whereas He was 
 rich ”.t Hence it came to pass that He was born in an 
 open stable, amid the snows and the ice of winter ; He 
 was laid in a manger instead of in a soft bed ; He 
 suffered, as the poor are forced to suffer them, the ills 
 
 t 2 Cor. viii. 9. 
 
 Ps. lxi. 
 
PRACTICE OF POVERTY. 
 
 95 
 
 of hunger, thirst, cold, and heat. Therefore, imitate 
 His bright example, and, through love of Him, deprive 
 yourself of those numberless little unnecessary luxuries 
 with which you so carefully surround yourself, and do 
 not shrink, like a coward, from everything which might 
 inflict upon you either inconvenience or discomfort. 
 
 Lay aside, and have a contempt for that puerile 
 vanity which shows itself in finery of dress, in an over- 
 great attention to, and a care of the hair, and in other 
 matters of a like character. In these respects, the 
 conduct of the ancient philosophers is well worthy of 
 our imitation. These men, enlightened by only natural 
 reason, and animated with a love of science, divested 
 themselves not only of superfluities, but also of many 
 things which are considered to be necessities. They 
 put to shame many of us, who are wedded to our little, 
 unnecessary objects of vanity, and who will not, for 
 God’s sake, give up that which these men instinctively 
 cast aside as worthless, and as unbecoming those who 
 are endowed with the god-like faculty of reason. Of a 
 truth, one whose affection cleaves to these things shows 
 clearly enough that he has little or nothing of the spirit 
 of Jesus Christ. This lover of poverty was content, 
 during His whole life, with one poor garment of cheap 
 and common texture, and was willing to feel the need of 
 even that which is thought to be necessary. In so doing, 
 He gave to those who wish to follow Him an example 
 of the spirit with which they ought to be animated in 
 their use of temporal goods. Therefore, while culti- 
 vating that neatness of person, and that propriety of 
 dress, for which no one will find fault with you, look 
 upon it as unbecoming a Christian, to be studiously 
 careful in the adornment of your person, and openly avow 
 that you have determined to tread in the footsteps of 
 
96 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Him Who had not whereon to lay His head. There- 
 fore, banish from your dressing-table perfumes, oils, 
 pomades, mirrors, hair-curling implements, and the 
 multitudinous other vanities which silly youths employ 
 to beautify those heads, which lack all other adornment. 
 Such things are quite out of place in the rooms of those 
 who have determined to follow Him : “ Who was poor 
 and in labours from His youth ”. 
 
 If God has blessed you with the substance of this 
 world, be not so foolish as to squander it in gaming, or 
 in purchasing curiosities, or in surrounding yourself with 
 those useless trifles which cumber the chambers of men, 
 who have more wealth than wisdom. Imitate our 
 Blessed Lady, the Mother of Jesus Christ. What did 
 she do with the costly gifts and the treasures bestowed 
 upon her by the Wise Men, who came from the East 
 Country to worship her Son? In all probability she 
 spent them upon the poor, who were so dear to the 
 Infant Saviour, reserving for herself nothing but that 
 which was necessary to satisfy her few and simple wants. 
 What a brilliant example of detachment from these tran- 
 sitory things does she put before us, by thus refreshing 
 and comforting the poor with that which was given for 
 her own use, and by employing her wealth for those pur- 
 poses and upon those objects which were so well deserving 
 of her charity ! When that young man, of whom men- 
 tion is made in the Gospel, had heard from Christ : “If 
 thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and come, 
 follow Me, and thou shalt have a never-failing treasure 
 in heaven,” he went away sad, for he was very rich. 
 You have done that which he had not the courage to do ; 
 you have resolved to leave all, and to follow Christ. But, 
 for yet a little while, you will not have to make the actual 
 sacrifice, which you are bent upon making. Therefore, 
 
PEACTICE OF POVEETY. 
 
 97 
 
 in the interval, prove by your actions, and by your manner 
 of life, that you have withdrawn your affections from your 
 wealth. Do not look upon it as a hardship that you 
 cannot any longer conduct yourself as a rich man would 
 conduct himself, and you will thus be heaping up for 
 yourself vast possessions in the treasure-house of heaven. 
 
 You should not be careless about anything which you 
 possess, nor should you suffer either slovenliness or dirt 
 to appear in any of the various objects with which you 
 are surrounded. Study rather, without affectation and 
 without vanity, to be scrupulously neat and clean. A 
 poor habit was always a pleasing object to St. Bernard; 
 but not a dirty one. Our Holy Father, also, though a 
 zealous lover of poverty, yet, in precise terms, prescribes 
 cleanliness, when, in the thirty-second chapter of the 
 Rule, he orders a severe rebuke to be administered to any 
 one “who shall treat the property of the Monastery in a 
 slovenly or in a negligent manner ” ; and also when, in 
 the thirty-fifth chapter, he ordains that, on Saturdays, 
 there should be a general washing : ‘ 1 On Saturday, let 
 him who endeth his week in the kitchen make all things 
 clean. Let him wash the towels wherewith the Brethren 
 wipe their hands and their feet. He shall deliver to the 
 Cellarer, clean and whole, all the vessels of his office.” On 
 the same subject, the philosopher Seneca says : “ Your 
 dress need not be splendid ; but, at the same time, it need 
 not be dirty Therefore, let neatness and cleanliness 
 be the characteristic marks of everything that belongs to 
 you — of your room, your clothes, your books, your furni- 
 ture. Never suffer any untidiness nor any dirt to be seen 
 
 * “ Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 
 
 But not expressed in fancy ; rich, not gaudy ; 
 
 For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” 
 
 — Hamlet, act L, sc. 3. 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 in any of these. Do not be ambitious to have an un- 
 limited supply of every necessity, nor to own the best of 
 everything, but content yourself with a few things, and 
 those, too, of the cheap and common sort. It is St. 
 Benedict’s wish that his children should be satisfied with 
 whatever is meanest and poorest. He allows them but 
 few things ; and yet does not deny them what is neces- 
 sary for their wants. His ordinances, in this respect, 
 will sit lightly upon those who, while still in the world, 
 make it their aim to do without many of those con- 
 veniences for which others crave ; but they will he as a 
 burthen of lead upon the necks of those who multiply 
 their wants, and who will have nothing but that which 
 is dearest and best. Even in Religious Life, this taste 
 will cling to them. They will desire to satisfy it ; and 
 this cannot be done without injury to the virtue of 
 poverty. Their minds will be filled with the thought of 
 these things, and their hearts will cleave to them with 
 great affection, and with a tenacity which it is difficult to 
 loose. “ My Brethren,” says St. Bernard, “ you are fully 
 convinced, — and God grant that your conviction may 
 never be intensified by sad experience, — of the enervating, 
 the emasculating effect upon the will-power and upon the 
 mental vigour of men, which is exercised by that which 
 is beautiful, and by that which has about it the fascinat- 
 ing attraction of cultured society. For, although the 
 pleasure which such objects are able to afford consists in 
 anticipation rather than in actual fruition, and although 
 there are some men who use these as though they used 
 them not, yet the affection with which the heart cleaves 
 to such possessions is far more easily overcome and 
 plucked out of the soul by abstinence from their enjoy- 
 ment, than it is sated by their continual use. The reason 
 is not far to seek. It is nothing more nor less than that 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 99 
 
 our external surroundings contribute not a little to the 
 moulding of the internal dispositions of our soul. Thus, 
 in some men, concupiscence is bridled and kept within 
 due bounds by the poverty of the life which they lead. 
 In others the love of poverty itself is fostered by the 
 simplicity with which they compass themselves. In effect, 
 it is only proper that a disregard for outward polish and 
 for mere material elegance should be one of the marks of 
 a mind which is intent upon internal things. It is an 
 indication that it is living in quite another atmosphere, 
 and is busied about quite another class of objects different 
 from those which engross the thoughts of carnal-minded 
 men. It brings about, in the soul, the repose of a good 
 conscience, and is an unmistakable sign that all these 
 earthly trappings are vile and worthless in its eyes.” * 
 
 Section II. 
 
 The Postulant must strive to keep his Chastity unstained. 
 
 The object of the second essential vow of the Religious 
 State is chastity. This virtue must be cultivated, and 
 guarded with the most jealous care, by him who desires 
 to enter Religion : first, because of its own special intrinsic 
 excellence, which imprints upon the souls of those who 
 are clean of heart a certain angelic character, endears 
 them to God, to our Blessed Lady, and draws down 
 upon them a copious shower of graces and of favours 
 from the Fountain of Mercy. Secondly, because of the 
 horrible evils in which the contrary vice enfolds its slaves, 
 who carry these evils with them into Religious Orders, 
 if they should unhappily succeed in making their pro- 
 fession in them. Therefore, he who intends to enter the 
 Religious State ought to be fired with as great an ardour 
 
 * St. Bernard, Be Vita Solit. Coll., 16. 
 
100 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 to acquire the virtue of purity, and to preserve it free 
 from stain, as inflames the bosom of the miser to hoard 
 up wealth, and inspires him with courage to defend it 
 from the clutches of the prowling thief. Any one who 
 pretends to be thus minded must give a practical proof 
 that the sentiments which he entertains with respect to 
 chastity are genuine. How can he do this ? By avoiding, 
 with the greatest care, everything which might tarnish 
 its splendour; everything which might threaten its de- 
 struction ; by undertaking, with heroic courage, every- 
 thing which will keep its brightness free from the 
 slightest speck or stain. 
 
 We have already, in the preceding chapter, treated of 
 the dangers which beset the virtue of chastity, and of 
 the various ways which lead to its total loss. While so 
 doing, we pointed out the means which are to be em- 
 ployed for the purpose of avoiding deadly sin. The chief 
 of these is the careful shunning of the various occasions 
 which lead to it. Now, although these occasions must 
 be avoided, in the case of other sins, yet there is a 
 special necessity for so doing in the case of those which 
 lead to impurity, for, unless a man flees from them, it is 
 morally impossible that the flower of chastity should 
 long continue to bloom in his heart. However, in spite 
 of all that has already been said, we will venture to give 
 you yet one other piece of advice. It is this : never be 
 induced to believe that it is sufficient, with respect to 
 occasions dangerous to purity, to avoid only those which 
 are more proximately conducive to sin. On the contrary, 
 be firmly persuaded that any one who wishes to preserve 
 untarnished the splendour of his chastity, must shun 
 even the shadow of the contrary vice. In this respect, 
 no precaution is too great. Therefore, avoid all that is 
 remotely offensive to modesty and to purity. Be par- 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 101 
 
 ticularly careful to set a guard over your bodily senses, 
 lest you should be led on by a curiosity, which in itself 
 may be innocent, to indulge in actions over which you 
 would have to weep bitter tears of repentance. Avoid all 
 unnecessary contact with others, and all light behaviour. 
 Let nothing that is either soft or effeminate be noticeable 
 in your conversation. Let it not be seen in your gait, 
 nor in the glance of your eyes, nor in the smile which 
 plays upon your lips, nor in any motion of your body. 
 Wherever you chance to be, have a great respect for 
 yourself. If you are undressing, or have already retired 
 to rest, or are engaged in the performance of any other 
 action, always behave just in the same way in which 
 you would conduct yourself if you were standing in the 
 presence of a grave and venerable man. For, although 
 no human eye beholds you, yet the penetrating, the 
 searching, the all-seeing eye of God is upon you. Not 
 one single act of yours can escape its glance, and, in His 
 own good time, He will weigh them all with unerring 
 accuracy. If they have been offensive to modesty, he 
 will punish them with terrible severity. Now, if the 
 presence of a venerable man be able to prevent you from 
 the commission of any shameful deed, will not the ever- 
 abiding presence of God be able to restrain your lust? 
 Your faith teaches you that you cannot screen yourself 
 from His eyes. This is the argument which St. Bernard 
 uses to impress upon the minds of his Monks this awe- 
 inspiring thought : “ Never dare,” he says, “ to do in God’s 
 presence that which you would be ashamed to do in mine 
 After these few prefatory remarks, we will now pro- 
 ceed to point out to you the other means which you must 
 continually employ, and the other acts which you must 
 strenuously perform, if you wish to be duly prepared for 
 the observance of perpetual chastity in the Beligious State. 
 
102 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 “ Against the rock Christ let the lover of chastity 
 dash all the evil thoughts which come into his heart.” * 
 This may be done in several ways. First, by humbly 
 and earnestly beseeching Our Lord to give you the 
 victory; secondly, by throwing yourself, with complete 
 confidence, into His arms, putting all your hope in Him, 
 and utterly distrusting yourself and your own strength ; 
 thirdly, by devoutly meditating upon His bitter Passion. 
 For, like those who gazed upon the brazen serpent, he 
 who looks upon Christ crucified will be preserved from 
 the destructive and venomous fangs of the infernal 
 serpent. The wondrous efficacy of this means made 
 St. Austin wish that others should benefit by it, as he 
 himself had benefited, and, therefore, in one of his 
 works, the thus writes of it: “When any foul thought 
 knocks for admission at the door of my heart, I run for 
 protection to the wounds of Christ. When the flesh is 
 crushing me down beneath its tyrannous power, I free 
 myself from its iron grasp by the remembrance of His 
 stripes. When the malignant devil lies in wait to 
 ensnare me, I flee for refuge to the tender compassion of 
 my Lord, and the evil one abandons his purpose. If the 
 fiery heat of lust scorches the members of my body, its 
 fever is cooled by the recollection of those gaping 
 wounds which bled for me. For all my ills I have been 
 able to discover no remedy which is more efficacious 
 than are the wounds of my Lord. In them I sleep 
 secure ; in them I rest without fear.” In the chapter 
 which follows that from which these words are taken, 
 the Saint says : “ There is no remedy which so effec- 
 tually cools, in our blood, the fever heat of lust, as does 
 the death of Our Redeemer. Lo, He hangs upon the 
 
 Reg., cap. iv., instr. 50. 
 
 t Manuale , cap. xxii. 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 103 
 
 Gross, and opens wide His arms, and stretches forth 
 His hands to catch the sinner to His bosom ! I wish to 
 live, and I desire to die, in the loving embrace of my 
 Saviour.” Therefore, whenever importunate thoughts 
 come to the door of your mind, clamouring for admission, 
 represent to yourself the Passion and the death of Christ. 
 Remember that He is looking at you through the mist of 
 blood which has dimmed His eyes, that He is speaking 
 to you, while all the time His life-blood is ebbing fast 
 away. Then stir up in your heart a generous resolve to 
 abandon the uncleanness of the flesh, that you may put 
 on the purity of the spirit. Say, with St. Bernard : 
 “ My Lord is hanging on His Cross of pain, and shall I 
 give myself up to fleshly delights? ” Take notice that, in 
 the counsel which St. Benedict gives us, to dash the evil 
 thoughts of our minds against the rock Christ, he puts 
 in the phrase the word “presently ” and orders us pre- 
 sently or at once to do this. It is not without a very 
 good reason that he has used this little word. For, of a 
 surety, if in any matter there is for the soul peril in 
 delay, it is unquestionably in this slippery matter of 
 impurity. Therefore, evil thoughts must quickly be dealt 
 with, before they have time to take root. “It is only 
 through thought,” says St. John Damascene, “ that we 
 come to the performance of acts. The beginning of every 
 act lies in some thought. At first, this thought is but 
 a very small germ; then it grows by every fresh 
 accession of reflection, till at last it becomes something 
 very great. Therefore, never let any evil thought gain 
 the mastery over you, but, while it is still young and 
 weak, prevent it from fastening its grip upon your soul ; 
 for, unless you do this, it will be only with the utmost 
 exertion that you will be able afterwards to shake it off. 
 Hence it is that St. Benedict counsels us “ speedily to 
 
104 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 cut off all desires of the flesh” ;* and, in the Prologue 
 to his Rule, bids us “ take our thoughts while they are 
 still young, and dash them against the rock Christ 
 Explaining this passage, Cardinal Turrecremata says : 
 “ The malignant spirit is reduced to naught, when we lay 
 hold of his first suggestions, and crush them while they 
 are still in their infancy, before they have acquired 
 strength 
 
 “ And as I knew,” says the writer of the Book of 
 Wisdom, “ that I could not otherwise be continent unless 
 God gave it, I went to the Lord and besought Him with 
 my whole heart.” t That which this illustrious man did 
 to obtain chastity, St. Benedict, in these well-known 
 words of his Prologue, exhorts us to do : “Let us beg of 
 Our Lord to supply, by the assistance of His grace, that 
 which our nature is unable to perform”. But, in order 
 to obtain from God the priceless gift which you ask, you 
 must pray for it with a heart that is profoundly humble, 
 that is utterly distrustful of itself, and that has a bound- 
 less confidence in God. To fill it with these sentiments, 
 let the following supplication of Holy Church often be on 
 your lips, and let it frequently, during the course of the 
 day, rise from your heart like an odour of sweetness be- 
 fore the Lord : “ Inflame, 0 Lord ! my reins and my 
 heart with the fire of Thy Holy Spirit, that, with a chaste 
 body, I may serve Thee, and with a pure heart be pleas- 
 ing unto Thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord Greater 
 weight and efficacy will be added to this prayer, if you 
 be not unmindful to call to your aid Mary, the most 
 glorious Mother of God, Queen of heaven and of earth. 
 Make yourself a devout client of this Virgin of virgins, 
 and she will stand by your side in all the conflicts which 
 
 Reg., cap. vii., grad. 1. 
 
 * Wisd. viii. 21. 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 105 
 
 you must, of necessity, go through in defence of the 
 treasure of your purity. There were two youths, with 
 whom we were acquainted, who, by their filial piety 
 towards her, had secured for themselves her maternal 
 love and protection. One of them was in the habit of 
 frequently thus addressing her : “ 0 most pure Mother ! 
 by thy holy virginity, and by thy immaculate conception, 
 chasten my heart and my flesh, in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost *\ The 
 other was accustomed, every morning and every night, to 
 add to the Hail Mary the following oblation of himself : 
 “ Most holy Virgin ! I give thee my eyes, my ears, my 
 mouth, my hands, and my heart. Help me, by thy 
 powerful intercession, never more to offend either God or 
 thee, my loving protectress ! Whenever I am tempted, 
 I resolve to raise my heart to thee, and to say : ‘ Most 
 holy Virgin ! now is the moment of trial. Come to my 
 aid, 0 Lady ! for I belong to Jesus and to thee.’ ” So 
 salutary was the effect which they both experienced from 
 their prayer, and so substantial was the aid which it 
 procured for them, that the first made the following 
 declaration upon oath : “ From that day I was never 
 afterwards, throughout the rest of my life, troubled by 
 the sting of the flesh ; and others, also, whom I induced 
 to take up the practice, experienced from it a similar 
 beneficial result”. The second did not hesitate to say 
 that he “felt himself so strengthened in the hour of 
 temptation, that he deemed it impossible that he should 
 ever again fall into deadly sin”.* If the scope of this 
 little work allowed it, we would gladly put before you 
 many other examples, all tending to prove the same 
 thing ; however, as that would lead us beyond the limits 
 which are marked out for us, we will content ourselves 
 * Nadasi, Annus Marian. 
 
106 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 with exhorting you to impress upon yourself the conclu- 
 sion which they must force upon you, and that is, “ in 
 various ways, and by a persevering devotion, to venerate 
 this most holy Virgin Then God will lend a ready and 
 willing ear to your prayer, for He has appointed that we 
 should have everything through Mary.* Listen to the 
 words of exhortation which St. Bernard addresses to 
 you : “ 0 thou, whosoever thou art, that knowest thyself 
 to be here, — not so much walking upon firm ground, as 
 tossed to and fro by the gales and the storms of this life’s 
 ocean, — if thou wouldst not be overwhelmed by the tem- 
 pest, keep thine eyes fixed upon this star’s clear shining. 
 If the hurricanes of temptation rise against thee, and thou 
 art running upon the rocks of trouble, look to the star, 
 call on Mary. If the waves of pride, or of ambition, or 
 of slander, or of envy toss thee, look to the star, call on 
 Mary. If the billows of anger, or of avarice, or of the 
 enticements of the flesh beat against thy soul’s frail little 
 bark, look to Mary. ... In danger, in difficulty, in doubt, 
 think on Mary, call on Mary. Let her not be away from 
 thy mouth, or from thy heart ; and that thou mayest not 
 lack the succour of her prayers, turn not aside from the 
 example of her life. If thou follow her, thou wilt never 
 go astray. If thou pray to her, thou wilt never despair. 
 If thou keep her in mind, thou wilt never wander. If 
 she hold thee, thou wilt never fall. If she lead thee, 
 thou wilt never be weary. If she help thee, thou wilt 
 reach home safely at the last.” + Also, have a special 
 devotion to St. Joseph, to St. John Baptist, to the Evan- 
 gelist St. John, to our holy Father St. Benedict, 
 and to those other Saints who were particularly illus- 
 
 * It was through her that mankind received Jesus Christ; and 
 “ how hath He not with Him given us all things ? ” — Trs. 
 
 + Homilia ii. , super “ Missus est ”, 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 107 
 
 trious for their heroic defence of this angelic virtue, that, 
 through their merits and their intercession, you may 
 obtain from God that heavenly gift for which they so 
 gloriously contended while on the battlefield of this life. 
 
 “ Be mindful of thy last end, and thou shall never sin.”* 
 It is for this reason that St. Benedict orders us “to have 
 death always before our eyes ; to fear the day of judg- 
 ment ; to be afraid of hell ; with a spiritual thirst to 
 desire life everlasting ”.+ In order to comply with his 
 precept, some persons are accustomed to make a kind of 
 rosary out of these thoughts, and thus to impress them 
 upon their minds. At the Cross they say : “Be mindful 
 of thy last end, and thou shalt never sin ” ; at each of the 
 large beads : “ O eternity, eternity ! ” at each of the 
 small ones : “ 0 death ! 0 judgment ! 0 hell ! O heaven ! ” 
 Between each of these may be said: “O death! how 
 soon must I endure the stroke of thy dart ! 0 judgment ! 
 how terrible wilt thou be, if I yield to sin ! O hell ! with 
 what severity wilt thou torture those whom thou shalt 
 swallow into thy flaming gulfs ! O heaven ! how full wilt 
 thou be to me of never-fading delights, if I yield not now 
 to the degrading pleasures of sin ! 0 eternity of pain ! 
 
 O eternity of joy unspeakable ! 0 eternity, eternity ! ” 
 
 As soon as we perceive that we are assaulted by fleshly 
 desires, we ought at once to remember that God is always 
 present with us, according to these words of the Prophet, 
 in which, addressing the Lord, he says: “O Lord! all 
 my desire is before Thee ”4 As we have already, in a 
 preceding chapter, § treated, at considerable length, of this 
 means, nothing further need here be said about it. 
 
 Whoever is determined to keep his chastity unstained 
 must not be soft and tender in his treatment of his body. 
 
 * Ecclus. vii. 40. + Reg., cap. iv., instr. 41, 44, 45, 46. 
 
 X Reg., cap. vii., grad. 1. § Chap, v., sect. 3. 
 
108 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Hence it is that St. Benedict orders us “to chastise our 
 bodies ; to love fasting ; not to seek for delights ; not to 
 be given to wine ; and not to indulge ourselves in over- 
 much eating Of the manner in which you ought to 
 treat your body, we will speak farther on ; for the pre- 
 sent let it be sufficient for you to read, in the words of 
 St. Gregory, the account of that glorious victory which 
 our holy Father gained over his flesh while he was yet a 
 mere stripling : 
 
 “ On one occasion, when the servant of God was alone, 
 the author of evil, under the form of a little bird, came 
 to tempt him. This bird began to fly about his head, 
 and came so close to him, that he might, had it so pleased 
 him, have caught it with his hand. When he signed 
 himself with the sign of the holy Cross, the bird flew 
 away. But the holy man was at once assaulted by a 
 temptation of the flesh, so terribly violent, that during 
 the whole course of his preceding life he did not remem- 
 ber to have ever suffered the like. It seems that there 
 was a certain lady whom he had seen in former years, 
 the memory of whose beauty was so vividly brought back 
 to his mind by the spirit of evil, that it enkindled in his 
 soul so fierce a fire of concupiscence, that it well-nigh 
 consumed him in its flames ; for it so nearly overcame his 
 fixed resolve, that he was on the point of for ever quitting 
 his solitude. But God’s grace was at hand to deliver 
 him from the impending evil. For, coming to himself, 
 and seeing the chasm upon the brink of which he had 
 been standing, he stripped off his habit, and plunged 
 naked into a brake of thorns and of briars which was 
 hard by his cave, and in these rolled about till his whole 
 body was horribly pierced and torn by their sharp points. 
 Thus, by turning pleasure into pain, he healed the wound 
 
 * Cap. iv., instr. 11, 12, 13, 35, 36. 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 109 
 
 of his soul, by inflicting wounds upon his body, and by 
 the outward agony of his flesh quenched the fire which 
 raged within his heart. From that time forth, as he 
 afterwards told his disciples, he felt that the revolt of the 
 flesh had been so thoroughly quelled within him, that his 
 enemy dared not again to lift up his head.” * 
 
 Let the heroic act of our holy Father stir up your zeal, 
 and inspire you with the resolve not to treat your body 
 over-indulgently, but to accustom it to endure hardship, 
 by making use of the various means which we will, in 
 due time and place, explain to you ; for he who daintily 
 feeds his slave will afterwards find him stubborn and 
 rebellious. 
 
 Surius relates that St. Bernardine of Siena was so 
 modest and pure, that, if an unbecoming word chanced 
 to reach his ear, a burning blush of shame suffused his 
 whole countenance, just as if he had received a sharp 
 blow upon the cheek. This was so well known, that 
 even his school companions, when at play, abstained 
 from uttering any coarse expressions, if they perceived 
 that he was hard by. The servants, also, of his ances- 
 tral home had so high an idea of his spotless purity, 
 that, whenever he was within ear-shot, they did not dare 
 to say anything which was in the least degree immodest. 
 An almost similar testimony is given of the angelic purity 
 of St. Francis of Sales. We would have you resemble these 
 two Saints of Holy Church, so that, in your presence, no 
 one will ever have the hardihood to say anything which 
 would bring a blush to your cheek, and that the sweet 
 odour of your chastity may diffuse its perfume around 
 the persons of all those with whom you come in contact. 
 Thus, wheresoever you chance to be, you will be the 
 good odour of Christ unto all who know you. 
 
 * Dialog., lib. ii., cap. 2. 
 
110 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 The zealous lovers of this angelic virtue were not 
 afraid, even in their youthful years, to guard, under the 
 protecting shield of a vow, the jewel of their chastity, 
 which they kept, with jealous care, in the casket of 
 their hearts. From among the many who had the 
 courage to act thus, we will select only two, who were 
 remarkable for the love with which they cultivated this 
 queen of virtues. The first is St. Edmund, a Monk of 
 our own Order, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury ; 
 the second is St. Aloysius, one of the glories of the 
 illustrious Society of Jesus. Of St. Edmund, Surius 
 says : “ This Saint did not simply flee from the foul, 
 degrading pleasures of the flesh, he held them in absolute 
 abhorrence ; and although he earnestly endeavoured to 
 implant the other virtues in his soul, yet he made it his 
 special aim to acquire and to attend, with unwearying 
 care, the delicate virtue of chastity, well knowing that 
 saying of the Wise Man : ‘ Incorruption bringeth near to 
 God’.* As a natural consequence of this diligence, he 
 was enabled, by the aid of grace, to keep his virginity 
 inviolate till the last hour of his life. But, to make 
 assurance doubly sure, he consulted a prudent confessor 
 as to the best means for guarding from all stain this 
 easily tarnished virtue. By his advice, he one day, 
 while kneeling in prayer before an image of Mary, ever 
 Virgin, made a vow of chastity, commending himself to 
 her special protection, and choosing her as his bride. 
 To make the compact into which he then entered firm 
 and lasting, he drew forth a golden ring, upon which was 
 engraved the angelic salutation, and, placing it upon the 
 finger of her image, besought his Queen to regard him, 
 from that day forth, as her most loving spouse. Shortly 
 before his holy death, he told those who stood around 
 
 Wisd. vi. 20. 
 
PRACTICE OF CHASTITY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 him, that ever afterwards, when he implored the aid of 
 that Mother of Mercy, he straightway obtained the favour 
 for which he asked — the cessation of harassing tempta- 
 tions, consolation and support in the midst of bitter per- 
 secution, healing remedies for various weaknesses and 
 maladies, heavenly joy in the midst of his afflictions and 
 sorrows.” 
 
 Of St. Aloysius, Cepari, his biographer, thus writes : 
 “After this holy youth had read a little work which 
 treated of the mysteries of the Eosary, he felt a very strong 
 desire to do something which would be acceptable to 
 the Queen of heaven. While thinking what it would be 
 best for him to undertake in her honour, it occurred to 
 him that nothing would be more pleasing to her than 
 the consecration to her, by vow, of his virginity. This 
 act would enable him to tread in her footsteps, at least, 
 as far as it was possible for one so lowly to imitate a model 
 so exalted. He, therefore, while praying one day before 
 an image of our Mother Mary, vowed to God that, with 
 the help of His almighty grace, he would keep his vir- 
 ginity entire and inviolate for the rest of his mortal life. 
 So exactly, and with such unwavering fidelity, did he 
 observe this vow, that those who had the privilege of 
 being his confessors declared that his body was free from 
 the incitements to lust, and his mind clear as an un- 
 clouded sky, from all the vapours of unholy thoughts 
 and unseemly imaginations. A privilege so great, sur- 
 passing, as it does, the inborn power of human nature, 
 was given to him by God, as a special and peculiar gift, 
 at the request of the immaculate Mother.” 
 
 With what sentiments do examples like these inspire 
 your heart ? If they are those of admiration and of 
 approval, we may say to you what Our Lord said to the 
 man in the Gospel : “Go thou, and do in like manner”. 
 
112 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Therefore, tread in the footsteps of these two Saints; 
 bind yourself, at least, for some time, by the vow of 
 chastity. But take notice that you must not, on any 
 account, nor for any reason, do this without first consult- 
 ing your director, and obtaining his sanction for the 
 step which you meditate. From him you must make it 
 a practice to ask advice, not only in the tribunal of 
 penance, but out of it, concerning all matters which 
 have reference to your eternal welfare, and particularly 
 with reference to everything that regards your personal 
 purity. By acting thus, you will be complying with one 
 of our holy Father’s injunctions, which urges us always 
 “ to reveal to our Spiritual Father the evil thoughts 
 which enter our hearts”.* No practice is better than 
 this for preventing your feet from being entangled in 
 the snares of the devil. Therefore, never conceal any- 
 thing from your spiritual guide, whether it is a tempta- 
 tion or a doubt, but particularly if it is anything which 
 concerns your virtue. Unless you do this, you will 
 never be safe, but will always be on the brink of the 
 very serious danger of being deceived by the wiles of the 
 most wicked one. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Of the way in which the Postulant must exercise Obedience. 
 
 Obedience is the third essential vow of the Religious 
 State. The virtue which is the object of this vow, 
 together with the virtue of humility, constitutes the 
 spirit of St. Benedict’s Order. It is but rational, there- 
 fore, to expect that any one who feels himself called to 
 serve God in it will be careful, before he assumes the 
 holy habit, to exercise himself in the various acts of this 
 its characteristic virtue. To help you to do this, we will 
 * Reg., cap. iv., instr. 50, 51. 
 
PRACTICE OF OBEDIENCE. 
 
 113 
 
 point out several ways in which you may accustom 
 yourself to give up your own will, by the practice of 
 holy obedience. 
 
 With respect to all commands which may be given to 
 you by masters, by parents, and by any one else who has 
 authority over you, show yourself to be as flexible as a 
 young sapling is before the winds which beat against it. In 
 accepting any advice which they may choose to impart, 
 let your intelligence and your will be as impressionable 
 as wax is to receive the images which we wish to fix 
 upon it. Give a ready obedience not only to their ex- 
 press orders, but also to their unspoken wishes. If, 
 while in the world, you act in this way with those who 
 have authority over you, you will not fail in Religious 
 Life to act in a similar way with your Superiors ; and, 
 by so doing, you will be a source of joy and of consola- 
 tion to their hearts. St. Fulgentius used to subject him- 
 self to all his mother’s commands, in order that his 
 actions might be like unto those of Jesus Christ, of 
 Whom the Holy Scripture says that He was most 
 submissive to His parents. St. Herman, from his 
 earliest years, took special care that his heart should 
 not be the slave of his own good pleasure, but the 
 loyal subject of his parents’ will, and of the Superiors 
 whom they placed over him. These he obeyed with 
 reverential fear. And, even with the companions of 
 his school-life, he conducted himself in a manner so 
 kind and accommodating, that they were knit to him in 
 the ties of the fastest friendship. St. Aloysius was filled 
 with so great a love of obedience that, as his tutor 
 testified, he never transgressed even his slightest wish. 
 Learn from these examples with ready will to bear the 
 yoke of obedience ; then Religious Life will be for you a 
 very paradise. In that which you do, through obedience, 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 be not slow, nor sullen, nor half-hearted ; on the con- 
 trary, always endeavour to be quick, generous, and 
 joyous: “for God loveth a cheerful giver”. Obedience 
 which is marked by characteristics such as these will at 
 one and the same time be acceptable to God, and most 
 pleasing to those unto whom it is given, for His sake. 
 
 Be very careful to eliminate from your obedience all 
 intentions which are the result of natural impulse or of 
 natural inclination. Try rather to animate, with some 
 supernatural motive, everything which you do through 
 obedience, by adoring, venerating, and worshipping God 
 and His most holy will in your Superiors, and in that 
 which they command. For, as St. Benedict says : “ The 
 obedience which is given to them is given to God, Who 
 hath said, ‘ He that heareth you, heareth Me * ”* There- 
 fore, it is of the greatest importance that you should have 
 this supernatural motive in all that you do ; for otherwise 
 your obedience will be neither solid nor virtuous. Ac- 
 custom yourself, therefore, to fulfil the commands of your 
 Superiors, not as if you were obeying mere men; but 
 receive and carry into effect each of their orders, as if 
 you were obeying a mandate that had come direct from 
 God. Do not take notice of the natural qualities of those 
 who are placed over you, nor of the manner in which 
 they issue their instructions and require your submission ; 
 for, by closing your eyes to these merely accidental cir- 
 cumstances, you will be enabled to seat your obedience 
 upon a sure and solid foundation, which will not be 
 shaken even by the most rigorous and unpalatable pre- 
 cept which it is possible for them to impose upon you. 
 
 Accustom yourself never to do anything simply and 
 solely because it pleases you, or is convenient for you, or 
 gratifies some whim or some fancy ; but be ready to con- 
 * Reg., cap. v. 
 
PRACTICE OF OBEDIENCE. 
 
 115 
 
 tradict your own will, and to refuse it that which it asks 
 you to do. Thus, when you feel prompted to examine 
 with curiosity any particular object, or to gainsay the 
 opinions advanced by another person, or to hear some 
 piece of news, or to taste some pleasure, or to behold 
 some rare sight, do not yield to the inclination which is 
 stirring within you ; but say to yourself : “ For Thy sake, 
 
 0 my God ! I will not examine this object ; I will listen 
 with patience to the arguments which are laid before me ; 
 
 1 will not seek to hear that which I desire to hear ; I 
 will deny myself this pleasure ; I will close my eyes, and 
 not gratify them with the contemplation of this curiosity *\ 
 
 Now, although each of these acts of self-renunciation 
 may, in itself, seem to be a very small, insignificant 
 matter, yet no words can adequately express their ad- 
 mirable aptitude for disposing the will, in due season, 
 to perform even heroic acts of obedience. On the other 
 hand, very little virtue can be expected from one who 
 everywhere and in everything seeks his own personal 
 convenience, his own pleasure, his own satisfaction ; who 
 yields to his whims, and has not the courage to make 
 the slightest sacrifice. If we may look for very little 
 that is good, we have reason to fear that, from his heart 
 will spring forth very much that is evil. Therefore, by 
 that which you do in the way of obedience, show that 
 you are master of yourself; and, as you desire to be a 
 follower of Christ, strive to do that which He requires 
 from all who would tread in His footsteps : “ He that 
 will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
 Cross daily, and follow Me ” 
 
 Draw up for yourself a rule of life, and in it mark out 
 the hours which are to be devoted to prayer, to study, 
 and to recreation. Submit this, for approbation, to your 
 Spiritual Director, and then strictly adhere to it. Punctu- 
 
116 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 ally perform each of your duties, at the time appointed 
 for it, even when it is somewhat inconvenient for you to 
 do so, and you feel more inclined to busy yourself about 
 something else. In addition to many other advantages 
 which this wholesome discipline will bring with it will 
 be this : that you will acquire the habit of being always 
 occupied in that which is in accordance with your 
 Superior’s wishes, and not in that which is the subject 
 of your own whimsical choice. This is a circumstance 
 which powerfully conduces to make Religious men per- 
 fect in the virtue of obedience. Accustom yourself to 
 impregnate with it every action which you perform, and 
 your Religious Life will be full of sweetness ; for the 
 well-spring of whatever bitterness there may be in a life 
 of this nature is the fact that men wish to be ruled and 
 to be occupied in accordance with their own views and 
 wishes, and not in accordance with the views and the 
 wishes of their Superiors. 
 
 Finally, to all those who, in any way, have authority 
 over you, be truly and unfeignedly reverential ; and, as 
 St. Benedict says: “Love them with sincere and humble 
 charity By venerating them, show your reverence for 
 God, and in all places and on every occasion uphold their 
 honour and defend their good name. By acting in this 
 way, you will be filled with the spirit of our Order, and 
 throughout the whole course of your life you will be 
 flooded with that quiet of soul, with those spiritual joys 
 and sweetnesses, which will very materially aid you to 
 advance with rapid strides in the way of perfection. 
 
 Cap. lxxii. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of the Way in which the Postulant must Prepare 
 Himself to Practise “ Stability and Amendment 
 of Manners ”. 
 
 In the preliminary instruction to this little work, we 
 said that, besides the vows common to all Religious 
 Orders, Benedictines undertake, and in the act of their 
 profession make explicit mention of, two other means of 
 perfection, which are “ Stability and amendment of 
 manners ” : Promitt o stabilitatem et conversionem morum 
 meorum. That you may come from the world, duly pre- 
 pared to make use of these, we will, in this chapter, lay 
 before you for your instruction certain practices which, if 
 properly employed by you, will rob stability of whatever 
 might prove a hindrance to you, and will cause you, with 
 the help of God’s grace, rapidly to advance in the strait 
 and rugged path which leads up heavenwards. 
 
 Make it your business to love solitude, and, as far as 
 you are able, to create around you a solitude in which to 
 dwell. For you will be preparing yourself for Religious 
 Life only after a very indifferent fashion if, previously to 
 taking the decisive step, you are eager to satisfy your 
 curiosity by wandering about the streets of the city, by 
 seeking occasions for useless conversations, and by 
 seizing upon any excuse to escape from the stillness of 
 your own room. The quiet of the cell and of the cloister 
 will weigh like a burthen of lead upon the shoulders of 
 him who has given himself unbounded libert to wander 
 
118 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 from place to place, to mix with worldly society, to see 
 friends, and to be seen by them. The dissipation of 
 mind which this engenders is bad enough, but the loath- 
 ing for stability and for solitude which is the consequence 
 of it, the multitude of distracting images which swarm 
 out of it, and the crowd of unruly affections with which 
 it fills the heart, augment its evil results a hundredfold. 
 Be careful, then, to guard yourself against any distaste 
 for solitude, and in order to add strength to your desire 
 to cultivate quite the opposite taste, consider the 
 examples which, in this respect, the Saints give you. 
 When the Venerable Jane Mary Bonhomia, an illustrious 
 Sister of our Order, had determined to embrace the 
 Monastic Life, her father wished to take her to see all 
 the wonders and the beauties of Venice before she for 
 ever bade adieu to the world. He meditated doing this 
 under the false impression that she would afterwards be 
 able more easily to endure the rigours of cloistral life. 
 But the holy maiden, already quite wearied out with these 
 and other amusements of a similar nature, said to him : 
 “ I wish to leave the world, because its pleasures and its 
 amusements disgust and weary me. Instead of causing 
 me joy, they fill my soul with bitterness.” 
 
 In your solitude you must not, however, be idle ; for 
 idleness in solitude is the nurse of melancholy. By the 
 variety of the occupations with which you are busied, 
 your seclusion from the world must, at one and the same 
 time, be made delightful to your soul and fruitful in good 
 works performed for the love of God. Therefore, love 
 work, and profitably occupy every moment of precious 
 time. Entertain yourself with God and with His holy 
 Angels. Read such books as will cultivate your mind 
 and fill your heart with sentiments of true Christian 
 piety. Then solitude, instead of being wearisome, will 
 
STABILITY AND AMENDMENT OF MANNERS. 119 
 
 be a never-failing source of the purest joy. In the Life 
 of St. James Alem, the Dominican, it is related that even 
 as a boy he was never seen to be idle. When he was 
 obliged to go out and take part in public life, he earnestly 
 besought God to keep a guard over him, and to turn 
 away his eyes lest they should gaze upon vanity. Of St. 
 Burchard it is told that when his pious parents set him 
 to study his lessons, he was never seen to indulge in that 
 giddiness and inattention which are so commonly to be 
 met with in children. He gave himself up to his liberal 
 studies ; and when not actually engaged in these, he 
 might be seen either visiting the churches or occupied in 
 the performance of some praiseworthy action, which gave 
 a glimpse of the holy spirit with which he was animated. 
 St. Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, was most dili- 
 gent during his youth in the pursuit of learning. He was 
 ever eager to apply himself to study ; but he showed far 
 greater eagerness to lead a holy life. He studied as if he 
 was to live for ever ; and he lived as if he was presently 
 to die. 
 
 Towards all those with whom you live, be respectful, 
 gentle, compassionate, and ever on the alert to do them 
 a service. Guard yourself against contracting a disputa- 
 tious temper of mind, and beware of obstinacy in defend- 
 ing your own opinions. By acting thus, you will free 
 yourself from much mental disquiet, which of a certainty 
 will destroy your peace if you pursue an opposite course. 
 For, as you will have to pass your days in the company 
 of the same Brethren, whose dispositions may be quite 
 different from your own, quarrels and heated discussions 
 will naturally break out between you and them, if you 
 pertinaciously adhere to your own notions of things, and 
 be ever ready to enter the lists with any one who feels in- 
 clined to call these notions in question. St. Benedict, in 
 
120 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 his Rule, carefully legislates for all this. The principles 
 which he lays down for our guidance are as follows : 
 “ Honour all men. Do not unto another that which 
 you would not have another do unto you. Injure no 
 man, but patiently endure any injury that is done unto 
 you. Speak not ill of those who speak ill of you; on 
 the contrary, speak well of them. Love not conten- 
 tion.”* In another chapter he says : “ In honour, pre- 
 vent one another. Bear patiently with one another’s 
 infirmities, whether of body or of mind. Contend with 
 one another in the virtue of obedience. Let no one 
 follow that which he thinketh profitable to himself, 
 hut rather that which is profitable to another. Show 
 unto one another all brotherly charity, with a chaste 
 love.”f If you be careful to make these principles 
 underlie the ordinary actions of your every-day life, you 
 will experience no difficulty, no inconvenience, no annoy- 
 ance, in having to live with the same people, and to lead 
 with them a common life ; on the contrary, you will find 
 it very easy, delightful, and fruitful in many great and 
 singular graces, which God will bestow upon you. But, 
 in order to secure a permanent influx of these heavenly 
 favours, and to make your virtuous actions firm and 
 solid, you must not be induced to perform them through 
 natural motives. You would be acting through such 
 motives as these, if, for example, you were charitable to 
 one of your neighbours, because his disposition is like 
 your own ; or were deferential to some other, because he 
 is held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends ; or 
 were submissive and obedient to some other, because he 
 is thought to be learned, or to be endowed with great 
 natural gifts. Instead of being swayed in your conduct 
 by these or by similar considerations, always endeavour 
 * Cap. iv., instr. 8, 9, 30, 32, 46. t Cap. lxxii. 
 
STABILITY AND AMENDMENT OF MANNERS. 121 
 
 to have a supernatural motive for your actions. Thus, 
 never either pay honour or show respect to those with 
 whom you are living, nor do them any kindness, nor sub- 
 mit your will to them, because of the natural good 
 qualities which you may fancy that you see in them. 
 Set these ideas aside, and in their persons consider the 
 image of the great God, impressed upon their souls, the 
 price of the ransom with which they were redeemed, and 
 the illimitable capacity for eternal beatitude with which 
 they have been endowed. The effect of this will be that 
 no one will be shut out from the warmth of your love, 
 even though, to eyes which never look beyond the 
 appearances of things, he may seem to be utterly destitute 
 of every quality which could claim your affection, and 
 may be disfigured by every imperfection which could raise 
 your abhorrence and disgust. 
 
 To prepare yourself for the task of “ mending your 
 manners,” which will be imposed upon you in Eeligious 
 Life, begin at once, without a moment’s delay, to uproot 
 and to cast out those evil habits which, at any time, 
 you may have had the misfortune to contract ; and 
 encourage yourself, not once only, but frequently during 
 the course of the day, to make greater progress in the 
 love and the service of Almighty God. When St. 
 Aloysius was but seven years of age, he turned with so 
 great eagerness to the worship of his Eedeemer, and gave 
 himself up with so great earnestness to works of penance, 
 that afterwards he was accustomed to call this period of 
 his life the time of his conversion. We specially com- 
 mend to your imitation the fervour of our holy Father, 
 even during his childhood, in adoring and in paying 
 homage to God. Also, the intense devotion in the divine 
 service, even in their tenderest years, of St. Placid, of 
 St. Maurus, and of the innumerable other Saints of our 
 
122 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Order. This was so great, that never afterwards did 
 they suffer any diminution of its ardour, but, on the 
 contrary, by their exercise of the great theological 
 virtues, daily added fresh fuel to the flames, till at last 
 their heat melted the link which bound them to life, and 
 set them at liberty to enter upon the joy of their Lord. 
 
His Holiness Pope Pius X. 
 
! gacTesto Protestant Institutions. Why then, among 
 so many Catholics as wealthy as they are pious, could there not 
 be found willing hearts to do the same thing in favor of a Work 
 justly called the wonder of our age? In placing therein a por- 
 tion of their savings, they deposit in the bank of God? Indeed 
 many Catholics do this annually; but could not both their num- 
 ber and their offerings increase? 
 
 Diocesan Directors. 
 
 It is the honor and strength of the Holy Childhood to have 
 at its head as Directors eminent Priests. There are already 
 some in many of the Dioceses ; but could there not also be some 
 in the others? Such is the esteem that the Central Council of 
 Paris professes for the American Clergy that it hopes soon to 
 see Directors in the greater part of the Dioceses. 
 
 Observations. 
 
 The annual contributions may be given at all times ; but for 
 the Houses of Education, the most favorable time is at the open- 
 ing of the Classes, the beginning of the New Year, the month 
 of the Infant Jesus and the month of Mary. 
 
 The medals are only given to the new Associates. The num- 
 ber of Annals sent is in proportion to the figures of the Col- 
 lections. 
 
 The Collections are remitted, by Heads of Groups, to the 
 Directors, who should send them in at the end of the year. 
 
 Mothers may pay for their coming children, as the living 
 may also do for the dead. 
 
 The Central Director for the United States is 
 
 REV. JNO. WILLMS, C. S. Sp., 
 
 L. B. 598, PITTSBURG, PA. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Postulant’s Solicitude for the Work of 
 God. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Of Penance and of the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 Solicitude for the “Work of God” is one of the char- 
 acteristic marks of a good Novice and of a good Religious. 
 The phrase is a comprehensive one, embracing many- 
 excellent qualities, and may be taken to signify a zeal 
 for whatever properly pertains to the worship and the ser- 
 vice of God. Under it, therefore, we may classify such 
 works as : frequenting the Sacraments, prayer, the hearing 
 of Holy Mass, devotion to the Saints, spiritual reading and 
 conversation, examination of conscience, and the acts of 
 the principal theological virtues. On each of these sub- 
 jects we will now say a few words, which will point out 
 to you what your conduct ought to be with respect to 
 them. 
 
 A frequent approach to the Sacraments of Penance and 
 the Holy Eucharist is one of the most ordinary duties of 
 the Religious Life. It is only natural, therefore, to con- 
 clude that it should be regarded as a duty incumbent also 
 upon those who are desirous of enrolling themselves 
 among the members of any Religious Order. To all such 
 persons it was the advice of Father Lanciscius to go to 
 these sources of grace at least once in each week. For 
 this there are two reasons : First, that by so doing they 
 
124 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 may be preserved from falling into deadly sin, the 
 dangerous occasions of which present themselves to 
 them well-nigh every day. From these the Holy 
 Sacraments deliver them ; for, as St. Bernard says : “ One 
 of the effects of the Holy Eucharist is to preserve the 
 will from giving its assent to grievous sin ”. Secondly, 
 that they may preserve the grace of their vocation, and 
 may more easily and more speedily obtain their entrance 
 into Religious Life. 
 
 Yet, even in a matter so excellent as the reception of 
 these Sacraments undoubtedly is, there is a danger, 
 against which the young must be especially on their 
 guard. It is that of approaching to these fountains of 
 mercy, out of mere custom, without any piety, or any 
 signs of spiritual progress. Naturally enough, you will 
 ask, how it is that lukewarmness such as this should 
 invade the human heart. It has its origin, we think, 
 in the fact that the reception of these Sacraments is not 
 preceded by that careful preparation which so holy an 
 action imperatively demands. As a natural consequence, 
 the frequent use of them is very apt to degenerate into a 
 mere habit of custom. To prevent this evil in your case, 
 and, if it should unhappily have laid hold of you, to 
 apply to it an effectual remedy, we will now put before 
 you the conditions which are requisite, and the prepara- 
 tion which is necessary on your part, if, from the frequent 
 use of these Sacraments, you desire to reap that benefit 
 which they are calculated and intended to work in your 
 soul. 
 
 In the first place, you must fill your mind and your 
 heart with a great esteem, and a great love of these 
 fountains of grace. We need not point out to you all 
 the claims which they have upon your profoundest 
 reverence. These claims are very numerous, and books 
 
PENANCE AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 
 
 125 
 
 written by learned authors to uphold them are every- 
 where to be found in abundance. Therefore, passing 
 over in silence much that might be said to enhance your 
 esteem of them, we will suggest only one practice, which 
 will be of great assistance in keeping alive that spirit of 
 awe with which you should approach to receive them. 
 This is, to stir up within yourself a high idea and a deep 
 love of them, by calling to mind and by meditating upon 
 all those things which you are obliged, with the certainty 
 of divine faith, to believe respecting them. This exercise 
 should always be employed when you are about to 
 approach either to the Sacrament of Penance or to that 
 of the most Holy Eucharist. 
 
 When preparing to present yourself before the tribunal 
 of Penance, first, with all humility and fervour of soul, 
 implore the divine aid, to enable you worthily to accept 
 its cleansing and healing sentence. Then use moral 
 care and diligence in searching into the inmost folds of 
 your conscience to discover your sins. But let your 
 chief aim be to elicit, through a supernatural motive, a 
 most sincere and heartfelt act of detestation and of 
 sorrow for sin. After this make a firm resolve never 
 again to offend God. These acts constitute the chief 
 elements of the Sacrament of Penance. They must not 
 be made in an offhand, careless sort of way ; and to 
 prevent this from happening, we advise you to write 
 down those supernatural motives which, from past ex- 
 perience, you know have most weight in moving your 
 will to repent. When you are about to confess, put 
 these motives before your mind, and ponder upon them 
 with deep and earnest thought. Also, it will be ad- 
 visable, every time that you approach this Sacrament, 
 not only to make a general purpose of avoiding sin and 
 the dangerous occasions which lead to it, but also to set 
 
126 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 before yourself some definite fault, or some particular 
 imperfection which must be corrected. When you have 
 done this, select those means which, with the aid of 
 God’s grace, will enable you to carry your resolve into 
 effect. 
 
 When you are actually about to go to confession, 
 endeavour to remember that excellent piece of advice 
 which is given to us by St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi : 
 “With much thought and with great reverence approach 
 the holy Sacrament of Penance. For you are going to 
 receive the blood of the Incarnate Word. By means of the 
 Priest’s absolution, that blood is poured into the vessel of 
 your soul. On the instant you are vested with a dignity 
 so august, and a beauty so radiant, so resplendent, that, 
 if you could see yourself, you would feel inclined to fall 
 down and adore.” In the same chapter she says: “To 
 make your confession pleasing to God, reveal your sins in 
 such a way that they will cover you with confusion ; and 
 bear in mind that, in that confession, and by the words of 
 absolution, you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ”. 
 Towards the end she says : “ Let your confession be 
 frequent ; let it be made with great exactitude ; let your 
 preparation for it be full of diligence ; and let the actual 
 avowal of your sins be made with a heart that is bowed 
 down with shame It is well to take particular notice 
 of this last-named quality ; for best is that confession 
 which fills us with the greatest confusion and sorrow for 
 our sins. The remaining conditions for a good confession 
 may be found in any book of instruction upon this 
 subject. 
 
 The penance imposed perform with great exactitude, in 
 the fulness of a contrite heart, and with gratitude to God 
 for the pardon which He has bestowed. After you have 
 made your thanksgiving, endeavour, by leading a devout 
 
PENANCE AND HOLY EUCHAEIST. 
 
 127 
 
 life, to amend the evil which you have committed in the 
 past. 
 
 Lastly, if you can possibly do so, choose for your Con- 
 fessor an upright, learned, and prudent man. Confess to 
 him, and do not lightly change him for another. Be not 
 ashamed to lay open before him your own secret self. 
 Have for him the greatest possible reverence as the 
 father, physician, and judge of your soul. Obey him 
 without hesitation, as the Vicar of God, and as one 
 who is solicitous for your advancement in the paths of 
 perfection. 
 
 Having said thus much of the Sacrament of Penance, 
 let us now turn our attention to the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 One of the best preparations for the worthy reception 
 of Holy Communion is an exceedingly great purity 
 of conscience. All other preparations, without this, are 
 of little avail. Hence, particular care must be taken by 
 those who are about to approach the Holy Table that 
 they draw nigh to it, not only without being conscious of 
 any grievous sin, but also without having any affection 
 to venial sin. Their minds should be quite free from any 
 inordinate passion of the flesh, which ever tends to in- 
 dulge in that which delights and pleases the bodily 
 senses of man. Aptly, therefore, does St. Laurence 
 Justinian say : “ The purer the mind is, the closer is its 
 union with God. The more the heart is cleansed from 
 the filth of sin, the more lowly in its own opinion, the 
 more fervent in divine love, the more eager in the pursuit 
 of virtue, the more holy in life, the better is it prepared 
 to receive that all-holy body of the Lord, Who gave 
 Himself up to death in order to redeem us.” 
 
 On the evening before the day upon which you are about 
 to communicate, make your preparation in this, or in some 
 similar manner. Either before you retire to rest, or at 
 
128 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 any time which you find most convenient, reflect upon 
 the ardent desire which Jesus has to be united with you 
 by means of the most Holy Sacrament. Then conceive 
 in your heart an intense longing to receive Him, and in 
 these sentiments await the approach of sleep. During 
 the whole day which precedes your Communion, not 
 only abstain from the smallest act which could in any- 
 way defile your conscience, but also begin to adorn your 
 soul for the reception of your Divine Guest, by fervent 
 acts of the various virtues, and particularly by acts of 
 lively faith, hope, charity, contrition, and humility. Let 
 your conversation be of holy things. Let the reading of 
 some devout book fill your mind with good thoughts, and 
 let some slight mortification at table remind you of the 
 heavenly banquet of which you are so soon to be a 
 partaker. 
 
 In the morning, as soon as you awake from sleep, rise 
 with joyous alacrity, and immediately direct your mind 
 to the consideration of the great privilege which is await- 
 ing you. It was the practice of St. Mary Magdalene de 
 Pazzi to do this, not only on the the morning of Holy 
 Communion, but also, if her slumber was broken during 
 the night which preceded it, her first reflection always 
 was : “I am going to the Holy Table ”. 
 
 Whenever this happiness is granted to you, be careful 
 to approach the treasury of mercy with the utmost purity 
 of intention. In this all-holy act, seek only the greater 
 glory of God, closer union with Him, pardon of your 
 manifold sins, victory over your temptations, progress in 
 virtue, protection against a relapse into sin, and per- 
 severance till death in faithfully accomplishing all the 
 duties of your calling. 
 
 When the time for Communion draws nigh, call to 
 mind and endeavour to follow the counsel given to us by 
 
PENANCE AND HOLY EUCHARIST. 
 
 129 
 
 St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi : “ For some few moments 
 before Holy Communion, meditate upon, and try to fill 
 your whole soul with this astounding truth : ‘ He Whom 
 I am going to receive is God ! ’ The little profit which 
 is gained from the frequent eating of this heavenly bread 
 is the result of the little thought which is given to its 
 sublime nature. We do not think sufficiently about it, 
 and consequently we fail to realise the stupendous privi- 
 lege which is accorded to us, in being suffered to draw 
 nigh to, and to receive into our bosoms, the great Almighty 
 God ! ” A little farther on, she says : “ Take this food, 
 as Jesus bids you, in memory of Him and of His bitter 
 Passion ”. 
 
 You must approach this Sacred Banquet with a com- 
 posure of the outward senses, and a modesty as great as 
 the unspeakable Majesty which lies concealed beneath its 
 mean elements requires and imperatively demands. 
 
 The following words of St. Mary Magdalene will tell 
 you what you ought to do after you have partaken of 
 this heavenly feast : “ When you have received the Lord 
 into your bosom, try so to depend upon Him, as if in the 
 world there was nothing else than Christ crucified ”. 
 These few moments, during which you hold the Omni- 
 potent a prisoner, are the most opportune for treating 
 with Him about that which, for you, is the one thing 
 necessary ; they are the best for listening to His sweet 
 accents of love ; they constitute the most favourable 
 time for devoting yourself to His service. He Who is 
 your guest is God ! Therefore, with all the power of 
 your soul, attend unto that which He says to you. He 
 who has Jesus for his Master needeth no other book 
 from which to learn, no other teacher from whom to look 
 for knowledge. During these few blissful moments, give 
 full scope to all the loving affections of your heart. 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Praise Him for His mercy ; thank Him for His graces ; 
 resign yourself into His hands to be disposed of at His 
 good' pleasure ; offer yourself a willing victim to suffer 
 any tribulation whatever which may serve to advance 
 His glory ; with all the intensity of your will, desire to 
 worship the Blessed Trinity by means of the most Holy 
 Sacrament, and to give aid unto the whole world. 
 
 By a constant watchfulness over your heart, through- 
 out the rest of the day of your Communion, endeavour to 
 make it holy unto the Lord. Suffer not any trouble to 
 ruffle the calm of your soul, lest God depart from you ; for 
 “ the Lord is not in commotion Very often repeat to 
 yourself : “I have this day received my Lord and my 
 God”. 
 
 Lastly, always make one Communion a preparation 
 for the one which is to succeed to it. By this we mean 
 that, after you have communicated, you should be watch- 
 ful over yourself, until the time arrives for once again 
 receiving your Divine Guest. 
 
 It is to be hoped that you will try to put in practice 
 these various counsels which we have given you with 
 respect to Holy Communion. To encourage you to do 
 this, we will lay before you, from the Life of St. Aloysius , 
 one other example, in which you will see, as in a mirror, 
 with what fervour of devotion a soul which truly seeks 
 God, and which is solicitous for His divine service, pre- 
 pares itself to receive these holy Sacraments. When at 
 Plorence, he went to confession more frequently than was 
 his custom, and laid bare before the eyes of the Rector of 
 the College all the secrets of his inmost soul. In doing 
 this, he was full of reverence towards his Spiritual Guide, 
 and showed as great a modesty of demeanour and a dis- 
 dain of self as if he was a sinner of the deepest dye, and 
 had surpassed all other men in the multitude and in the 
 
PENANCE AND HOLY EUCHARIST. 
 
 131 
 
 heinousness of his crimes. On one occasion, the con- 
 sciousness of his own unworthiness to appear in the 
 sight of God so far overcame him that, as he cast himself 
 upon his knees at the feet of his Confessor, he swooned 
 away, and had to be raised by his tutor and conducted 
 back to his rooms. It was from this time that he began 
 to lead a stricter kind of life. For this purpose he made 
 it a practice studiously to search into all his actions, in 
 order mercilessly to weed out any fault which he dis- 
 covered striking its roots down into the heart of them. 
 This daily scrutiny caused him to perceive in his charac- 
 ter a certain tendency to the vice of anger. As soon as 
 he became aware of this, he applied himself so vigorously 
 to repress it that, throughout the rest of his life, no one 
 could detect in him the slightest trace of this passion. 
 Whenever he was about to approach the Holy Table, his 
 appearance, his words, his acts, breathed naught but a 
 most deep consciousness of the great honour and the 
 happiness which he was about to receive. Several priests, 
 perceiving the glowing ardour of his love for this divine 
 Sacrament, made it a practice, on these days, to converse 
 with him, and they avowed that their celebration of the 
 heavenly mysteries on the following morning was more 
 devout than usual, in consequence of the warmth of 
 devotion which his example had infused into their breasts. 
 Filled with holy thoughts and with burning desires to 
 receive the great Guest Whom he was about to entertain 
 on the Sunday, this youthful Saint used to retire to rest 
 on the Saturday night. As soon as he awoke his mind 
 at once returned to think of Him Whom his soul loved 
 best. Then for an hour previously to receiving Holy 
 Communion he meditated upon the admirable union 
 which is effected by the Eucharist between Jesus Christ 
 and the devout soul. As soon as this time had elapsed, 
 
132 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 he went to the church to hear Mass, during which he 
 knelt as immovable as a statue. Approaching the Altar, 
 he received from the hands of the priest the body of his 
 Lord and God, and then, retiring to some quiet corner, 
 cast himself upon his knees, and prayed like one without 
 either sense or motion. It was with difficulty that he 
 rose from his knees, and tore himself away from the 
 presence of the tabernacle. His reluctant steps told how 
 painful it was for him to quit the courts of the Lord. To 
 all who looked upon him, the radiance of his countenance 
 spoke of the sweetness and the unspeakable delights with 
 which his soul was inundated, by the presence within 
 him of Jesus Christ. During the rest of the morning he 
 gave himself up to silent prayer, to meditation, and to 
 devout reading, taken chiefly from the works of St. 
 Bernard or of St. Augustine. 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Prayer , Hearing Mass , and Devotion to the Saints. 
 
 In the fourth chapter of the Rule, St. Benedict tells 
 his children that one of the great means of perfection is 
 oftentimes to give themselves up to devout prayer. Not 
 only in this chapter, but also in many other passages, he 
 so arranges everything that all his enactments tend to 
 help them most religiously to recite the Divine Office 
 both by day and by night, and unceasingly to occupy 
 their minds with God. See, therefore, that you neglect 
 not to exercise yourself in mental prayer, as well as in 
 vocal prayer, and by every other means within your 
 reach, to stir up in your heart a true spirit of solid piety. 
 In order to help you in this, we will suggest to you a 
 few practices, which will contribute very much towards 
 developing within you a qualification so indispensable in 
 one who aims at leading the Religious Life. 
 
PEAYEE, MASS, DEVOTION TO SAINTS. 133 
 
 For your various prayers and practices of piety have 
 fixed and stated times, and see that for each of these 
 practices you have the approval of your Spiritual Director. 
 Among the many exercises by which men worship and 
 serve God, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass holds the chief 
 place. You ought never to let slip any opportunity of 
 being present at it ; and while assisting at these tre- 
 mendous mysteries, the external reverence of your body 
 and the internal reverence of your mind ought to be fed 
 by your attentive consideration of that which lies con- 
 cealed beneath the outward forms which appeal to your 
 senses. 
 
 Take the trouble to say, with piety and devotion, your 
 morning and your night prayers; do not thoughtlessly 
 hurry over the grace both before and after meals ; be 
 particularly careful to say the “ Angelus ’’ with reverence, 
 and never omit to pray for the dying and for the dead, 
 when the “ passing bell ” warns you either that a soul is 
 trembling on the brink of eternity, or that it has already 
 winged its flight to the judgment-seat of God. If these 
 holy practices are not performed in this way — that is to 
 say, with attention and devotion — they become a merely 
 mechanical lip-service, which is worthless in the sight of 
 God. 
 
 Do not, however, rest content with vocal prayer only, 
 hut accustom yourself to mental prayer also. For this 
 purpose, for at least a quarter of an hour after you rise 
 in the morning, endeavour to meditate upon some of the 
 mysteries of Our Lord’s life ; and in the evening try to 
 occupy yourself in the same devout exercise, always 
 making at the end of it some particular resolution which 
 you must endeavour to carry into effect. St. Theresa 
 tells us that she derived incalculable benefit from think- 
 ing, for a short time before she retired to rest, how Jesus 
 
134 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 lay upon the ground in the Garden of Olives, covered 
 with the sweat of blood which His agony had forced 
 from Him. She did not, at the time when she was 
 accustomed to do this, know anything about the exercise 
 of meditation, and yet the unwitting practice of it en- 
 riched her with innumerable graces and favours. 
 
 You will be making a most useful and most lucrative 
 mental prayer if, throughout the course of the day, you 
 offer to God, intimately present within you, each of the 
 actions which you perform, by often, and with great affection 
 of heart, turning to Him, to ask Him for some fresh gift, 
 to thank Him for past graces, and in various other ways 
 humbly and reverently to hold converse with Him, and 
 wholly to resign yourself to the disposal of His holy will. 
 For, as St. Theresa, in her Mistress of Mental Prayer , says : 
 “ Mental prayer is nothing else than a friendly conversa- 
 tion with God, by Whom we know that we are most 
 tenderly beloved ”. Therefore, have a high esteem of it. 
 No words can adequately describe the priceless value of 
 the fruit which springs from it. Only personal experience 
 can do this for us, and that too in a way which is far 
 more persuasive than it is possible for any merely human 
 eloquence to be. 
 
 With respect to your devotion to the Saints of God, 
 you must remember that, first of all, both before and 
 above everything else, supreme worship must be given to 
 the Holy and undivided Trinity ; then to Jesus Christ, 
 Who suffered for us, and Who is ever present with us in 
 the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. When this im- 
 portant duty has been fulfilled, you may pay your meed 
 of reverential homage to the Saints of God. Chief among 
 these, and most deserving of your filial devotion, is the 
 most blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and 
 of earth. After her, you should choose, from among the 
 
PEAYEE, MASS, DEVOTION TO SAINTS. 135 
 
 glorious citizens of the kingdom of heaven, some par- 
 ticular Saints, to be your patrons, your guides, and your 
 intercessors before the throne of mercy. Your Guardian 
 Angel, St. Joseph, and St. Benedict undoubtedly claim 
 from you a special love and service. Forget not, in this 
 your devotion to the Saints, those holy souls who have 
 passed out of this world, and who, on account of their 
 imperfections, are detained in the penal fires of Purgatory. 
 Pray also for those who are living in the deplorable state 
 of mortal sin, for the dying, and for all who are labouring 
 under any corporal or under any spiritual trial, or diffi- 
 culty, or necessity. 
 
 It w T ould be superfluous, on our part, to point out to 
 you the various motives which should animate you in 
 each of these acts ; for we take it for granted that you 
 are both sufficiently well instructed not to need, in this 
 respect, any counsel from us, and also so exceedingly 
 well disposed to perform all these acts of piety, as not to 
 require from us any urging or any further exhortation. 
 
 Therefore, passing over all these motives, of which you 
 will find an abundance in any spiritual book, we will 
 offer a few suggestions which may be of service to you in 
 regulating your devotion to the various Saints and to the 
 great Lord of all the heavenly hosts. 
 
 Your devotion to the Blessed Trinity will best be 
 manifested by a child-like faith in all that the Church 
 teaches concerning this adorable mystery. In the next 
 place, pay a most profound reverence to the omnipresent 
 personality of God. In everything which you do that 
 pertains to the divine worship, let there be apparent an 
 exceedingly great fervour and devotion. When you 
 make the sign of the Cross, and when you bow at the 
 “ Glory be to the Father,” perform both these acts with 
 great reverence and with profound adoration of the most 
 
136 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Holy Trinity. Both in prosperous and in adverse cir- 
 cumstances, with all confidence resign yourself into the 
 hands of Divine Providence, which, with infinite wisdom 
 and goodness, disposes and arranges all things. 
 
 Cultivate a great devotion to the bitter Passion of Our 
 Lord ; and, in order that this may be a true and solid 
 devotion, daily meditate upon some portion of that 
 sorrowful history which the Evangelists have written 
 for our instruction. Unite whatever you do with the 
 meritorious actions which our Saviour performed during 
 those three hours of intense agony. 
 
 Whenever you see an image of Christ crucified, pay it 
 reverence ; ask of God a blessing upon yourself through 
 the sufferings of His only-begotten Son, and lovingly 
 kiss the five wounds which speak to you with such mute 
 eloquence. When you retire to rest, let your place of 
 repose be in the wounds of Him Who has so tenderly 
 loved you ; and, as you lie in bed, fold your arms over 
 your bosom in the form of a Cross, and thus compose 
 yourself to sleep. Whenever the temptations of the 
 devil assail you, flee for refuge to those same wounds of 
 your Lord, and in them you will find a sure place of 
 safety against the seductive power which temptation 
 possesses over our poor fallen nature. 
 
 Besides being devout to Our Lord’s Passion, you must 
 cultivate an ardent affection for the most holy mystery of 
 the Blessed Eucharist. You will fill your heart with the 
 requisite sentiments, with respect to this compendium of 
 all God’s wonderful works, by always preparing with 
 great devotion and with burning love for the reception of 
 this adorable Sacrament ; by frequently making spiritual 
 Communions, especially during the time of Holy Mass ; 
 by visiting the Prisoner of the Tabernacle once or twice 
 during the course of each day ; by internally adoring 
 
PEAYEE, MASS, DEVOTION TO SAINTS. 137 
 
 Him, every time you bend your knee before the Altar 
 upon which He reposes ; by having recourse to Him in 
 your necessities, your doubts, and your difficulties ; by 
 frequently saying : “ Blessed be Jesus in the most Holy 
 Sacrament of the Altar 
 
 Show your child- like love of and your devotion to our 
 dearest Mother Mary, by commending yourself to her 
 maternal protection, both in the morning and in the 
 evening ; by saying the “ Ave Maria ” in her honour 
 every time that the clock strikes ; by daily protesting 
 to this loving Mother that you are her son, her servant, 
 her slave ; by uncovering your head whenever you pass 
 her statue, and by bowing whenever her name is men- 
 tioned ; by striving to imitate her in her three special 
 virtues — humility, charity, and chastity ; by having 
 recourse to her for protection in time of temptation ; by 
 every day reciting at least some portion of her Rosary ; 
 by performing some good work in preparation for her 
 festivals ; and by devoting Saturdays, and the other days 
 consecrated to her, to the exercise of works of piety. 
 
 Be devout to your Guardian Angel ; everywhere re- 
 member his presence with you, even when you are alone ; 
 and reverence him by never being guilty of any act, or 
 of any thought, or of any word which would, in the least 
 degree, cause him displeasure. Often thank him for his 
 faithful custody of you ; call upon him for aid in tempta- 
 tion, and be on the alert to catch and to follow out his 
 whispered inspirations. 
 
 Cherish in your heart a great devotion also to your 
 Patron Saints. In each of them fix your eyes upon some 
 particular virtue which you will endeavour to imitate. 
 Thus, in St. Joseph, select for imitation, purity of heart ; 
 in St. Aloysius, modesty ; in St. Maurus, obedience. 
 Oftentimes thank God for all the graces which He has 
 
138 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 bestowed upon them. As their festival days come round, 
 make a diligent preparation to spend them well, and de- 
 voutly reverence them by works of piety when these 
 feasts are kept by the Church. In all your necessities, 
 lovingly have recourse to those whose name you bear. 
 During the course of each week you may honour and 
 reverence the Saints, by some such method as the follow- 
 ing. On Sunday, turn all your attention to the worship 
 of the most Holy Trinity. Let Monday be devoted to 
 your Guardian Angel. Tuesday will serve to celebrate 
 the glorious graces and favours bestowed upon St. Bene- 
 dict. Wednesday may be given to St. Joseph. Thursday 
 should be consecrated to the worship of the most Holy 
 Sacrament. Friday will recall the bitter Passion of Our 
 Divine Lord. Saturday must end your week of prayer, 
 by the devout exercises with which you will honour Our 
 Lady, the ever-blessed Mother of God. 
 
 In order to prevent your devotion to God and to the 
 Saints from being a mere piece of formality, a lip-service 
 and nothing more, frequently, and with great fervour of 
 soul, offer up to the most Holy Trinity, the merits of the 
 holy life and the bitter Passion of Jesus Christ. Do this 
 especially during the Holy Sacrifice, whenever you are 
 in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and after each 
 of your Communions. It was by this means that St. 
 Mary Magdalene de Pazzi brought many sinners back 
 from their evil ways to a life of virtue, and freed count- 
 less holy souls from the cleansing fires of Purgatory. 
 Constantly exercise yourself in the use of ejaculatory 
 prayers, and in these recommend to God your various 
 friends and all their troubles and their necessities. 
 Endeavour to help others in their difficulties and trials, 
 chiefly by means of your own edifying example, and, 
 whenever circumstances permit, by your pious and 
 
SPIRITUAL READING-. 
 
 139 
 
 earnest exhortations. If yon can prevail upon others to 
 join yon in these holy exercises, by all means try to do 
 so, and induce them to offer to God their prayers and 
 their virtuous actions, that, by them, their fellow- 
 Christians may obtain help. Should you desire, with 
 a sincere affection of charity, to offer up all the fruit of 
 your good works and of your devotions, for the suffering 
 souls who are commonly thought to be unable to help 
 themselves, you will do a work which is most pleasing 
 to God, most beneficial to the souls of those- who are 
 awaiting their deliverance, and most profitable to your- 
 self. Such charity cannot fail to merit an exceedingly 
 great reward ; and the gratitude of those who, through 
 your suffrages, are admitted to the joys of heaven will 
 make them plead unceasingly for you before the throne 
 of God. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Spiritual Reading, Examination of Conscience , Exercise of 
 the Three Theological Virtues. 
 
 To keep alive the spirit of your vocation, and to pre- 
 serve in their first fervour the good dispositions of your 
 heart towards Eeligious Life, you must provide spiritual 
 nutriment for your soul by holy reading, by edifying con- 
 versation, by daily examination of conscience, and by 
 frequent repetition of the acts of the great theological 
 virtues — faith, hope, and charity. It is by these means 
 that the soul is fed with that which maintains its inward 
 life, that it is inflamed with holy desires, and trained to 
 the practice of all good. But, since the use of these 
 various implements for advancing in perfection is one of 
 the commonest and most ordinary duties of Cloistral 
 Life, you should prepare yourself to derive all possible 
 advantage from them by daily reading a few pages of 
 
140 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 some standard spiritual work ; by never neglecting 
 with all care to examine your conscience ; by often 
 making acts of faith, hope, and charity ; and, if an occa- 
 sion presents itself, by engaging in holy conversation 
 with those from whom you may gain wisdom. 
 
 Two things are requisite to render spiritual reading 
 profitable : it should be made without curiosity and with- 
 out haste ; for curiosity and haste are two elements which 
 put an effectual stop to the growth of any fruit which 
 might otherwise spring from it. Therefore, when you 
 take up any works of a spiritual nature, let your only 
 end be to improve your soul in its knowledge and in its 
 love of God. Slowly peruse these pages, and thought- 
 fully dwell upon the matter which they present to your 
 consideration. After finishing two or three paragraphs, 
 pause for a short time to let the truth which they tell 
 you sink deep into your mind. This will stir up the 
 affection of your heart ; you will form strong resolves to 
 do the good, to the practice of which the book exhorts 
 you, and to avoid the evil against which it warns you to 
 be on your guard. If you read the life of a Saint, mark 
 well by what principles he guided himself in the way of 
 life ; by what spirit he was led onwards ; with what 
 affection and with what promptitude his will impelled 
 him to act for God ; what he did, and what he left un- 
 done ; with what grace, consolation, and repose of con- 
 science his actions and his sufferings were crowned ; with 
 what increase of merit they were performed, and with 
 what glory they were rewarded. Ask yourself : “If this 
 Saint were placed in precisely the same circumstances in 
 which I am at this moment, in what way would he con- 
 duct himself? by what principles, by what affections 
 would he guide himself ? in what manner would he act ? 
 If I were placed in the same circumstances in which the 
 
SPIRITUAL READING. 
 
 141 
 
 Saint found himself, how would I have acted? ” In this 
 way you will learn in what your principles, your affec- 
 tions, and your methods of action are defective, and also 
 what that is which imparts to the principles, the affec- 
 tions, and the methods of action pursued by the Saints 
 their perfection and their exceedingly great worth. If, 
 however, the history of the Saint’s life recounts some 
 impure temptation to which he was subjected, you must 
 be careful not to place yourself in imagination in the 
 circumstances in which he found himself. For this 
 would at once bring before you that enemy who can be 
 overcome only by flight. It would cause you yourself 
 to be assaulted with a similar storm of passion, brought 
 on by your own fault, and, consequently, exceedingly 
 dangerous, inasmuch as God usually does not bestow His 
 all-powerful grace on those who thrust themselves into 
 danger. He has promised this aid only to those who 
 are, as it were, caught in these tempests, and not to 
 those who steer themselves into the regions in which 
 they abound. Therefore, in your reflections upon that 
 which you read, never place before your imagination any 
 images which would fan into a flame within you the 
 smouldering fires of concupiscence. In your choice of 
 books, be guided by the advice of your Confessor. Such 
 works as the Following of Christ , the Introduction to the 
 Devout Life , and the Lives of Saints, will always meet 
 with his approval. 
 
 You ought, from time to time, to hold a spiritual con- 
 ference either with your ghostly father, or with some priest 
 approved of by him. Also, we would recommend you to 
 speak of pious and holy subjects with your companions 
 and fellow-students. The conference with your ghostly 
 father is necessary, in order to preserve your vocation 
 from the many hurtful influences which are brought to 
 
142 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 bear upon it, and also to enable yon, while in the world, 
 to lead a pure and perfect life. During the course of 
 your interview with him, lay open before him the whole 
 state of your soul, and particularly the temptations which 
 assail its purity. Give him a clear insight into its in- 
 clinations and propensities, whether these are good or 
 evil. Ask his advice about the difficulties which you 
 meet in your daily life, and let your aim be to leave 
 nothing hidden in your conscience, but to make him look 
 into its most secret depths. The advantage of candour 
 like this is that you will never be entangled in the snares 
 of the devil, who entraps with the appearance of that 
 which is good the self-sufficient, the secret, and the 
 reticent. 
 
 The subject-matter of your spiritual conversations with 
 others may be the last four things, the endless duration 
 of eternity, and the brilliant examples of every species of 
 virtue left us by the Saints. In these you will find a 
 superabundance of materials for your conversations with 
 your companions.* St. Theresa, in her early youth, was 
 so inflamed with the love of Jesus, in consequence of a 
 conversation which she had had with her young brother, 
 that, in order to prove her love for Christ, she set out 
 with him, hand in hand, to seek martyrdom among the 
 Saracens. She tells us that she filled her heart with 
 great fervour by frequently repeating the words : “ For 
 ever and ever ”. If you make a judicious use of your 
 conversation, you will exercise a very salutary influence 
 upon those with whom you are brought in contact ; and 
 the result of that influence will oftentimes be more 
 
 * It is advisable that young people should never obtrude these 
 topics upon others of their own age. Provided that their con- 
 versations are pure and innocent, it is to be desired that they should 
 leave these matters alone. — Trs. \J ^ 
 
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 143 
 
 fruitful than is that produced by eloquent sermons, of 
 which the immediate end has been to persuade and to 
 convert. 
 
 With respect to examination of conscience, which we 
 said is one of the means for preserving in you the spirit 
 of your vocation, bear in mind that there are two kinds 
 — the one general, the other particular. The general 
 examination is made at the end of each day, and in the 
 following manner. First, there is offered up to God an 
 act of thanksgiving for all the benefits received from the 
 divine bounty, especially during the course of that day. 
 Secondly, a humble petition for aid to perform in a suit- 
 able manner this salutary action, is next presented before 
 the throne of mercy. Thirdly, an inquiry is made into 
 all the acts of the day, and also into the omissions of 
 which we have been guilty, to see what we have done 
 amiss, and what we have altogether left undone, with 
 respect to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. The 
 examination is then concluded by a very sincere act of 
 sorrow for that which we have done amiss, and by a firm 
 purpose of amendment of the faults which we have com- 
 mitted. It is most necessary that these last two acts 
 should be made with the utmost care and fervour, inas- 
 much as it is in these that the whole virtue of the 
 examination consists. The object of the particular ex- 
 amination is to correct some special fault, which you 
 perceive to be more hurtful to you than is any of the 
 rest. The way to make it is, first, every morning to 
 invoke the divine aid to enable you to avoid that one 
 fault which you habitually commit, or to practise that 
 one virtue in which you are accustomed most frequently 
 to fail ; secondly, to take certain means for avoiding that 
 fault during the course of the day, and for practising that 
 virtue ; thirdly, to notice the number of faults of which 
 
144 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 yon are guilty in these various acts, about which you 
 made your resolve in the morning. 
 
 We will conclude this chapter by a few words upon 
 the method of which you may make use to practise the 
 acts of the three theological virtues — faith, hope, and 
 charity. Before you can fruitfully exercise your faith, 
 you must labour to acquire a sufficient knowledge of the 
 various dogmas revealed by God, and proposed for our 
 belief by Holy Church. Then make a point of frequently 
 eliciting many acts of this virtue, through the motive 
 upon which it rests. This is nothing else than the 
 authority of Him Who reveals to us that which is the 
 object of our faith, Who neither can deceive nor be 
 deceived. Acquire the habit of living a life of faith, by 
 never resting in the natural things with which you are 
 surrounded, but by using them as so many steps whereby 
 to ascend to that which is supernatural. Thus, when 
 during the night-time you lift up your eyes to the heavens 
 above your head, and see the sky all ablaze with multi- 
 tudinous glittering stars, or when, during the day-time, 
 you behold the earth “ in verdure clad,” and decked out 
 with its variegated robe of many-coloured flowers, adore, 
 with your mind illuminated by a living faith, the omni- 
 potence, the wisdom, and the goodness of Him Who 
 created all these wondrous works of nature. Whenever 
 your ear is charmed by sweet music, think of the strains 
 of angelic minstrelsy which flood the courts of heaven, 
 and then sigh after your beloved fatherland. Whenever 
 your palate is regaled with luscious viands, think of the 
 hunger and the thirst of the souls in Purgatory, of the 
 vinegar and the gall which Christ had to taste upon 
 Calvary, and thus in many other ways endeavour not to 
 rest upon the report of things which the material creation 
 presents to your soul. This will not guide you aright to 
 
THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES. 
 
 145 
 
 see the utter emptiness and the worthlessness of earthly 
 things, nor to pronounce upon them the judgment which 
 their hollowness deserves. Look at them in the brilliant 
 light with which faith illuminates all things ; see in what 
 way the Saints behaved with respect to them, and 
 revolve in your mind the words which Christ spoke 
 about them. He did not deem men happy because 
 they were rolling in wealth, or were honoured by the 
 world, or were living in the enjoyment of that which is 
 usually considered to be most deserving of the pursuit of 
 the worldly wise. No ; He acted and thought in a way 
 exactly the reverse of that in which the world acts and 
 thinks. Therefore, live according to that which faith 
 dictates, and not according to that which the senses 
 report to you. Highly esteem everything which in any 
 way has reference to faith, although to the eyes of a 
 worldling it may seem to be a trifle beneath the notice 
 of a sensible man. Consequently, reverence all the rites 
 and the ceremonies of the Church ; hold in great respect 
 the use of holy water ; and be most devout in your 
 employment of the other Sacramentals * instituted for 
 our benefit by that most loving Mother. 
 
 In exercising the virtue of hope, remember that its 
 essential motive consists in this, that God is supremely 
 good, most faithful in accomplishing that which He has 
 promised, most powerful in carrying it into effect, most 
 wise in knowing all our needs, and most merciful in 
 
 * Theologians usually give six Sacramentals : the Lord’s Prayer, 
 or others prescribed by the Church ; holy water ; blessed bread ; the 
 Confiteor ; alms ; the blessing of a Bishop or of an Abbot. These 
 are called Sacramentals, because they bear some similitude to the 
 Sacraments, in that they procure the remission of venial sin, 
 whereas the Sacraments procure for us the grace which justifies. 
 — Belluart, De Sacram dissert, vii., art. iv. 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 having pity upon us. In order to exercise this virtue, 
 lift up your eyes ; contemplate your heavenly fatherland ; 
 look upon it as the goal of all your soul’s aspirations, the 
 resting-place in which you will find eternal repose and 
 happiness. To realise this truth, you must use both the 
 ordinary and the extraordinary means provided by God 
 for this purpose. Trust not in your own strength ; for, 
 of yourself, and without the aid of divine grace, you are 
 not able to do even the least act that is meritorious of 
 eternal life. Never let your happiness depend upon any 
 temporal thing whatever : “ Put not your trust in princes ; 
 in the children of men, in whom there is no safety In 
 adversity, in tribulation, in temptation, in necessity, 
 whether spiritual or corporal, never despair, but rest 
 secure in the hope of a divine reward, saying with the 
 Apostle : “ I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth 
 me ”.+ “ Patience worketh trial, and trial hope, and hope 
 confoundeth not.” J “ My children, behold the genera- 
 tions of men ; and know ye that no one hath hoped in the 
 Lord and hath been confounded ”.§ Reject as injurious to 
 God all thoughts which tend to lessen your confidence in 
 Him, and to generate faintheartedness. On the contrary, 
 cherish all those which beget courage, joyousness in His 
 service, and increase of hope in Him. This was the 
 advice which Father Lanciscius gave to those who were 
 about to enter the Novitiate. Take it to yourself, act 
 upon it, and never despair of the mercy of God. 
 
 Finally, the essential motive of charity is the supremely 
 infinite goodness of God in Himself, without any respect 
 whatever to us. The chief acts of this virtue are two in 
 number : the love of God above all things, for His own 
 sake; and the love of our neighbour, for God’s sake. 
 
 + Philip, iv. 13. 
 
 § Ecclus. ii. 11. 
 
 Ps. cxlv. 2, 3. 
 Rom. v. 4. 
 
THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES. 
 
 147 
 
 We exercise charity or love, with respect to God, by 
 observing the commandments which He has imposed 
 upon us ; for Our Lord says : “ He that hath My com- 
 mandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me ” ;* 
 by conforming in all things our will with the will of God ; 
 by continually endeavouring to advance from that which 
 is good to that which is better. This kind of love of God 
 is the best and the most solid. To the manifestation of 
 this love towards Our Creator, all our internal affections 
 and our desires must tend ; then it will in very truth be 
 profitable to whomsoever shall elicit it. 
 
 As we have already, in this third section, treated of 
 the obligation of charity towards our neighbour, we will 
 content ourselves with here referring you to that which 
 we have said upon this subject. 
 
 St. John xiv. 21. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Humility, Patience, Modesty. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Humility. 
 
 Next in importance after the theological virtues, the 
 vows, and all those other matters which pertain to the 
 virtue of Religion, are humility, patience, modesty, and 
 a knowledge of the manner in which you ought to treat 
 your body. It is not enough, therefore, that you should 
 practise only those virtues of which we have already 
 spoken ; you must, while you are yet living in the 
 world, make every effort to lay in your soul the solid 
 foundations also of those which are mentioned at the 
 head of this chapter. 
 
 In order to aid you in your endeavours to accomplish 
 this, we will say a few words on each of them in suc- 
 cession. 
 
 We have already told you, in the third chapter of this 
 little work, that St. Benedict considers the spirit of his 
 Institute to consist in obedience, joined with humility. 
 To any one who reads the Holy Rule this is manifest ; 
 for almost every page is redolent of these two virtues, 
 and commends the exercise of them to us. 
 
 If any doubt whatever existed as to the truth of this 
 statement, it would at once be set at rest by a perusal of 
 the fifty-eighth chapter, in which our holy Father, in 
 precise terms, tells us what manner of man he ought to 
 be who aspires to join this Order ; for he says that no 
 
HUMILITY. 
 
 149 
 
 one must even be admitted into the Monastery till he 
 has been tried in humility, and has patiently borne with 
 the scant courtesy which is purposely dealt out to him. 
 In what acts, then, ought you to exercise yourself, while 
 you are still living in the world, in order that, by the 
 practice of them, you may make yourself fit to enter 
 upon the Religious Life. These shall at once be laid 
 before you. 
 
 Whatever good you may seem to possess, whether in 
 natural talents or in supernatural gifts, attribute it all, 
 without any exception, unto God ; for it is from Him 
 that whatever is good and perfect cometh down. This 
 is the counsel which St. Benedict gives to all his followers : 
 “ When you see any good in yourself, attribute it to 
 God, and not to yourself ; but know that evil is done by 
 yourself, therefore attribute it to yourself Con- 
 sequently, if God has endowed you with brilliant talents, 
 or bestowed upon you a happy disposition, or surrounded 
 you with wealth, or crowned you with success in study, 
 or with a rapid advance in virtue, do not foolishly 
 imagine that aught of this is owing to yourself ; do not, on 
 account of it, take any vain complacency in yourself, and 
 prefer yourself to others. On the contrary, humbly 
 acknowledge that all these are the gratuitous favours of 
 God ; be thankful to your liberal benefactor, and offer to 
 Him whatever glory may be reflected upon you by the 
 possession of His gifts. 
 
 Never prefer yourself to any one, no matter how worth- 
 less, or despicable, or abject he may seem to be. In- 
 stead of being guilty of this folly, be ready not only to 
 admit by word of mouth, but to believe in your very 
 heart, that you are not superior to any one.+ To enable 
 you to do this, bear in mind these words of St. Gregory 
 * Reg., cap. iv., instr. 42, 43. + Cap. vii., grad. 7. 
 
150 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 the Great: “The more worthless a soul is in its own 
 eyes, the more precious it is in the eyes of God. Hence, 
 it was said to Saul : ‘ When thou wast a little one in 
 thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes 
 of Israel?’ That is to say: Thou wast great in My 
 estimation when thou wast little in thy own ; but now 
 that thou seemest to thyself to be something, to Me 
 thou art as nothing. Therefore it is that I say, the more 
 precious a man is in his own estimation, the more worth- 
 less he is in the estimation of God. Consequently, if you 
 wish to be of some account with Him, be not of any 
 account with yourself.”* 
 
 “ You incur no risk whatever,” says St. Bernard, “ by 
 thinking yourself to be far below others ; but not only do 
 you incur a very grave danger, you also bring upon your- 
 self a positive evil by exalting yourself even a little above 
 any one else, and that, too, even in thought, since Truth 
 Himself may see that the person whom you thus set 
 beneath yourself is in every respect your superior. 
 Wherefore, compare not yourself with those who are 
 greater, nor with those who are less, nor with those who 
 are equal, nor with any one at all.” f 
 
 If you should chance to be accused of any fault, or to 
 be corrected for any misdemeanour, do not excuse your- 
 self ; but particularly do not incur the guilt of a lie to 
 shield yourself from punishment, or to preserve the 
 esteem in which you are held. Bather than do this, and 
 lose an opportunity of gaining a victory over yourself, be 
 ready to endure any ill whatever. St. John Climacus 
 tells us of a certain Macedonius, who, for not returning 
 to the Monastery upon the day appointed by the Superior, 
 was deprived of his rank in the Community, and placed 
 last among those who had but recently come to Beligious 
 * Moralia , lib. xviii., cap. 22. f Sermo 37. 
 
HUMILITY. 
 
 151 
 
 Life. Without a murmur he accepted the penalty, as if 
 some other person and not himself had been rebuked. 
 For forty days he remained in the lowest place; but 
 during all that time, as he afterwards was heard to 
 declare, his soul was flooded with graces so great, and he 
 was in a state of peace so profound, that he could not 
 call to mind any period of his life during which he had 
 been so highly favoured by God. No such graces as 
 these will ever flow in upon the soul of him who, with 
 some wretched excuse, strives to hide every defect, and 
 shrinks like a craven from incurring any confusion for 
 Christ’s sake. 
 
 Be not angry with those who unjustly accuse, or correct, 
 or punish, or in any other way do you an injury. If you 
 cannot, with a willing and gladsome heart, bear these trials, 
 endure them at least with a heart that is patient. Thus 
 acted that Father of the Desert who, although well able 
 to repel the revilings of those who railed against him, 
 yet, with a strong mind, preferred to bear them, that 
 he might thus accustom himself, by patiently suffer- 
 ing little ills, to encounter and to bear those which are 
 greater. It is men of this stamp that St. Benedict 
 wishes all his children to be ; for, in the fourth chapter 
 of his Buie, he tells them : “Not to render evil for evil ; 
 not to do any injury, but patiently to endure any injury 
 done to them ; to love their enemies ; not to speak ill of 
 those who speak ill of them, but, on the contrary, to 
 speak well of them In order to nerve yourself to do 
 these deeds of Christian charity, look upon the face of 
 Jesus Christ, of Whom the blessed Angela of Foligno 
 writes : “ The second company with which Our Lord 
 was ever associated as long as He lived were scorn, 
 ignominy, and shame. For He lived as if He was an 
 * Instr. 29, 30, 31, 32. 
 
152 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 abject and a slave ; not as a ransomed slave, but as one 
 who bad been sold into slavery. Worse still, as a slave 
 who is reputed wicked. For He was driven into exile ; 
 He was loaded with reproaches ; He was derided, bound 
 with cords, struck with the hard fists of His enemies, 
 cruelly scourged, and at last put to a most disgraceful 
 death, without having any one to utter a word in His 
 defence ; just as if he was some worthless, miserable 
 wretch, fit to be ranked only among criminals, and like 
 them to be thrust out of the world as being unworthy to 
 live. When any one, during the days of His mortal 
 pilgrimage, wished to confer upon Him some temporal 
 honour, He invariably refused it, either by word or by 
 deed. He fled from the honour which the world, at 
 times, felt compelled to offer to Him, but gladly went 
 to meet and to embrace the shame which it heaped upon 
 His head. He accepted it, indeed, but without in any 
 way either giving occasion to it, or being the cause of 
 it.” 
 
 Attentively consider all these facts, and in your measure 
 strive to imitate that which Jesus Christ did. If you do 
 this, you will present yourself for reception into Religious 
 Life, adorned with those virtues and endowed with those 
 qualities which St. Benedict so ardently desires to see in 
 the hearts of those who wish to embrace his Institute. 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Patience. 
 
 Speaking of those who wish to join his Order, St. 
 Benedict says : “ Let all the rigour and the austerity by 
 which we tend to God be laid before them It is 
 necessary, therefore, for you to make up your mind to 
 
 * Reg., cap. lviii. 
 
PATIENCE. 
 
 153 
 
 carry the Cross, if yon wish to lead the life of a Religions. 
 Do not believe those who tell yon that, in the Cloister, 
 yon will find that which is grateful to self-love, pleasing 
 to sense, and easy to the natural man. If yon do, you 
 will be filled with trouble when you discover, as yon 
 most certainly will discover, that just the reverse will be 
 your portion ; and you will be tempted to say : “I never 
 expected such things”. You will chafe under your 
 trials ; and, perhaps, at last quite worn out with the 
 irritation which they engender, you will return to the 
 worldly life which you had renounced. Therefore, man- 
 fully take up the Cross of Christ, and, coming to the 
 service of God, prepare your soul for temptation. For 
 unless you undertake it with some such disposition as 
 this, and like your Divine Model, Jesus Christ, be pre- 
 pared to suffer very many things painful to flesh and 
 blood — from superiors, from equals, and from inferiors — 
 either you will not persevere, or, in your Religious Life, 
 you will be in a perpetual state of worry and of agitation 
 of mind. Therefore, be prepared for these trials, and you 
 will be a true and living member of the Religious Body. 
 
 That this preparation may be a real and efficacious 
 one, it is not enough for you to resolve, at some future 
 time of Religious Life, patiently to endure these trials. 
 You must have a practical experience of them. You 
 must put the Cross upon your shoulder by performing, 
 while you are still in the world, some of the following 
 actions, or of actions similar to them. 
 
 Frequently and fervently beseech God to give you the 
 spirit of suffering much for love of Him. For, as suffer- 
 ing of any kind is very repugnant to our nature, you 
 must, by humble prayer, beseech Him to supply, by the 
 aid of divine grace, that force which your nature of itself 
 is unable to put forth. 
 
154 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 When adversities crowd in upon you, do not lose 
 courage, nor give over your good purposes. “ For,” as St. 
 Thomas says, “ the good of patience consists in this, that 
 it enables one not to abandon the practice of virtue 
 because of the troubles which are brought upon one by 
 others, no matter how great these troubles may be.” # No 
 doubt, some persons will call you a devotee, a would-be 
 saint, or even a hypocrite, if you strive exactly to observe 
 all the various counsels contained in this little work. 
 They will, perhaps, avoid your company, shun your con- 
 versation, and in many other ways cause you annoyance. 
 But do not be so weak-minded as to be overcome by 
 such paltry persecutions. Bather be all the more per- 
 sistent in your pious practices, because of the slight 
 opposition which they put in your way. Endeavour 
 with greater perfection to accomplish your various duties, 
 and do not abandon your good undertakings, no matter 
 what others may say either about you or about them. 
 
 To those from whom you suffer either these or any 
 other trials, do not show signs of anger, or of hatred, or 
 of revenge ; and especially do not let any of these 
 passions be made manifest by your actions or by your 
 words. On the contrary, as Our Lord teaches, love all 
 those who maltreat you ; be kind to them, and never let 
 pass an opportunity of doing them a service. Both these 
 acts of charity are urged upon his children by St. Bene- 
 dict : “If any things that are hard, contrary, and injuri- 
 ous are done to you, with a quiet conscience patiently 
 embrace them, and, in suffering them, grow not weary nor 
 give over, since the Scripture saith : ‘ He only that 
 persevereth to the end shall be saved ’. Again : ‘ Let 
 thy heart be comforted and expect the Lord ’. To show 
 that the faithful man ought to bear all things for Our 
 * Lib. ii., cap. 2, q. 136, a. 4 ad. 2. 
 
PATIENCE. 
 
 155 
 
 Lord, be they ever so contrary, it saith, in the persons of 
 the sufferers : * For Thee we suffer death all the day 
 long; we are esteemed as sheep for the slaughter’. 
 Being assured by hope of a reward from God’s hands, 
 they go on rejoicing and saying : * But in all things we 
 overcome by the help of Him Who hath loved us ’. 
 Moreover, in order, by patience in adversities and in 
 injuries, to follow the precepts of the Lord, ‘ When 
 struck upon one cheek,’ He bids us ‘ offer the other 
 To him who taketh away our coat, He tells us to leave 
 our cloak also ; and, being constrained to carry a burthen 
 one mile, to go twain. With St. Paul the Apostle, to 
 suffer false brethren and persecutions ; to bless those who 
 revile and speak ill of us.” * Therefore, strive by your 
 deeds to fulfil the precept which our holy Father in 
 these words has given to you. 
 
 Never flee away nor turn aside from those things 
 which cause you displeasure; but, with a heart braced 
 up to endure, accept them from the hand of God, saying 
 with holy Job : “If we have received good things at the 
 hand of God, why should we not receive evil? ” t — espe- 
 cially since these very adversities, if regarded in the light 
 of faith, are themselves great benefits of God, bestowed 
 by Him only upon His intimate and faithful friends. 
 With good reason, therefore, does Father Alvarez call 
 them “a golden hail falling from heaven”. Though 
 they may destroy some few clusters in the vineyard of 
 your life, yet the gold of which they are made is far more 
 precious than are the clusters which by them are de- 
 stroyed. Therefore, bear with patience whatever may 
 happen to you through the loving dispensation of Divine 
 Providence, and compel your reluctant will to submit, 
 that your soul may not be deprived of so great a good. 
 
 * Reg., cap. vii., grad. 4. + Chap. ii. 10. 
 
156 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 There passes not over yonr head a day that does not 
 bring with it many small trials. Now, if with constancy 
 you bear these, and do not wish to take the smart out of 
 them, you will, in a short space of time, lay up for your- 
 self great spiritual treasures. You will dispose and 
 inure your soul to bear many more and far heavier 
 crosses. 
 
 If any real or any fancied injury is inflicted upon you, 
 or upon others, carefully abstain from either saying or 
 doing anything which would savour of resentment or of 
 revenge ; accept, as a part of the heritage of Jesus Christ, 
 any pain which it may cause you, and leave all the rest 
 to God. In order to help you to act thus, do not asso- 
 ciate with those persons who, in like circumstances, 
 under various pretexts, always resent the ill-treatment 
 which they have received, especially if they consider that 
 this is inflicted upon them by Superiors. Go not within 
 the circle of their influence, even though for keeping 
 beyond the radius of it you are considered to be cowardly, 
 a person of little worth, and, in consequence, are sub- 
 jected to the contradictions, the reproaches, and the 
 scorn of those who cannot win you over to be of their 
 way of thinking. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Of Modesty , and of the Manner in which the Body should 
 he treated. 
 
 It is only natural to expect that those who are aspiring 
 to the Religious State will prepare themselves for that 
 angelic life by great modesty of person, and by such a 
 treatment of their bodies as will materially aid them 
 afterwards to fulfil the duties which that State entails. 
 Por, if those who minister unto kings are scrupulously 
 careful that neither in their dress nor in their persons 
 
MODESTY. 
 
 157 
 
 there shall be anything which might offend the eyes of 
 their masters, with much more reason ought those who 
 are the servants of the King of heaven to strive to be 
 angels in their manner of life. We will, therefore, give 
 you some few rules, the observance of which will serve 
 to engender in you that decorous behaviour which ought 
 to mark every movement of a Christian youth, and 
 remove from your conduct whatever may savour either 
 of worldliness or of affectation. 
 
 In your intercourse with others, avoid laying your 
 hands upon them ; do not pull them about ; and do not 
 act with them in a rough, unbecoming manner. Keep 
 your head easily erect, and do not bend it to the right or 
 to the left. Do not keep turning it about in a light, giddy 
 sort of way, but whenever you have occasion to do so, do 
 it with gravity and with dignity. Suffer not your eyes 
 to have unrestrained freedom to look upon every object ; 
 let them not travel from one thing to another ; do not 
 satisfy their curiosity, and sternly withhold them from 
 looking upon that which it is not lawful for you to see. 
 When you are seated, do not seek the easiest and most 
 luxurious postures, but deny yourself somewhat, even in 
 such matters as these, by not crossing your legs, and 
 thus inflicting upon yourself a slight mortification. Take 
 care never to let any passion which is disturbing your 
 mind cast a reflection of itself, as in a mirror, upon your 
 face ; so that anger, impatience, ill-temper, or any other 
 cause of unrest, may never be seen there. Study rather 
 to make the calm serenity of a mind at ease, and the 
 cheerfulness engendered by a good conscience, shine forth 
 in your countenance. Carefully avoid everything which, 
 either in your person or in your dress, may be offensive 
 to good manners. 
 
 Let your gait be neither too quick nor too slow, but 
 
158 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 aim at a medium pace, which, without being hurried, is 
 yet speedy. Therefore, never walk at a running pace, 
 unless some good reason requires it. In walking, do not 
 sway about from side to side, nor snap your fingers, nor 
 make any noise with your hands. Avoid all affectation 
 in your gait, and everything that savours of aping the 
 manners of the great. 
 
 In conversing with others, do not stand too close to 
 them, nor yet at an inconvenient distance. While any 
 one is speaking, never interrupt him. In listening to 
 that which is said, do not give ear with open mouth and 
 staring eyes. If you are forced to cough while con- 
 versing with any one, be careful either to turn away 
 your face from him, or to cover your mouth with your 
 hand. Do not yawn while in company, and if you do, 
 let it be done without noise, and always with your hand 
 covering your mouth. You must endeavour to blow 
 your nose with as little resonance as possible. Avoid 
 staring at people with a fixed and stony gaze. It is un- 
 becoming, and for some people dangerous, to give their 
 eyes this indecorous liberty. If you must look into the 
 faces of others, let it be done with all modesty. When 
 you laugh, let it not be in a loud and boisterous manner, 
 “for the fool exalteth his voice in laughter”. Towards 
 all with whom you live, be respectful, gentle, kind-hearted, 
 sympathetic, and carefully on your guard against ever 
 saying a bitter word concerning them. Do nothing to 
 them that is either disagreeable or injurious. Should 
 you by any chance give them offence, do not be ashamed, 
 with all frankness, humbly to ask their pardon. 
 
 In your dress let there be nothing that is jaunty, or 
 uncommon, or unbecoming. Not only in the presence 
 of others, but also when you are alone, let modesty veil 
 you as with a garment of honour. Shun all vanity in 
 
MODESTY. 
 
 159 
 
 dress, and have the good taste to do without superfluous 
 ornaments. Be ashamed to be of the number of those 
 who frequently consult the mirror, to see what report it 
 will give of their personal appearance. 
 
 When you are in church, let singular reverence for the 
 holy place be observable in every movement of your body. 
 Your downcast eyes and clasped hands should bear wit- 
 ness to the internal piety which thus casts its reflection 
 upon your outward hearing. If it is your privilege to 
 minister at the Altar, take care not to look about you. 
 Avoid talking in the holy place, and repress all laughter. 
 Be not weak enough, through human respect, to be 
 guilty of these faults. Instead of being offended with 
 you for not joining in this unbecoming levity, sensible 
 persons will be much edified by your behaviour, and 
 taught to correct that which, in this matter, may be 
 amiss in their own conduct. While you are praying, do 
 not manifest any extraordinary signs of devotion. Do 
 not sigh aloud. Do not pray so as to be heard by your 
 neighbours, nor with a hissing noise. All such eccen- 
 tricities are occasions of disturbance to others. 
 
 Repress a too great eagerness to go to meals; and, 
 when seated at the table, be not the first to begin to eat, 
 but wait till those who are older have begun their meal. 
 Carefully avoid picking out the best of everything for 
 yourself, and make it a rule to take that which first 
 presents itself. Do not sit with your arms or with 
 your elbows on the table. It is a grave breach of good 
 breeding to eat quickly, or to fill the mouth to repletion 
 with any kind of food. So guard the movements of your 
 body as not to spill anything, nor to soil the tablecloth. 
 Never do anything while at table to cause any one who is 
 in your company either uneasiness or disgust. Be care- 
 ful, therefore, neither to eat nor to drink in an audible 
 
160 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 manner. In speaking to others, while at table, do so 
 only when your mouth is empty. 
 
 Try to observe the following counsels for guarding 
 against faults of the tongue : 
 
 Never interrupt any one who is speaking. If you are 
 discussing any question, never contradict him who is 
 maintaining the opposite opinion to that which you are 
 defending. Do not deride nor address to any one biting 
 words of sarcasm. In speaking, let not your tone of 
 voice be loud ; do not talk continuously ; do not make 
 use of ridicule ; nor of scurrility ; nor of expressions 
 which are imperious, or proud, or uncharitable. Avoid 
 boastful language, and everything which would depreciate 
 another’s worth. Shun all affectation in your words, 
 and banish from your conversation everything which, 
 either directly or indirectly, either implicitly or explicitly, 
 detracts from your neighbour’s good fame. Most studi- 
 ously guard yourself against every species of lying ; for 
 it is impossible for a liar ever to make any solid progress 
 in virtue. 
 
 To the preceding precepts, which are intended to secure 
 a polished exterior, we will now add a few others, which 
 will give you some idea of the way in which you ought 
 to treat your body, so as to keep its various senses in 
 conformity with right reason. Dor if i^ be indulged in 
 its natural propensities, it will bring upon the soul very 
 grave losses. He Who can neither deceive nor be 
 deceived hath said: “He that nourisheth his servant 
 delicately from his childhood, afterwards shall find him 
 stubborn In this passage, the word “ servant ” is 
 generally taken, by Interpreters, to mean the body. 
 Therefore, not without good reason may we say that 
 many, who while living in the world were over indulgent 
 
 Prov. xxix. 21. 
 
TREATMENT OF THE BODY. 
 
 161 
 
 to their bodies, have afterwards, in Religious Life, ex- 
 perienced the truth of this sentence. They have found 
 their servant the body, stubborn, badly trained, and re- 
 fractory. Therefore, to enable you, in good time, to look 
 to your own interest, and to show you how to tame your 
 flesh before it has had leisure to grow intractable, we will 
 lay before you a few rules, drawn from the counsels of 
 the Venerable Thomas of Jesus. 
 
 In your treatment of your body, you must be guided, 
 not by its unruly appetite, but by that which its neces- 
 sities require. These necessities must be measured by 
 that which is befitting the particular state of each indi- 
 vidual. It is owing to the non-observance of these 
 principles that so many evils and sins are to he seen in 
 the conduct of those who are living in the world. They 
 suffer the body’s appetites, and not its legitimate neces- 
 sities, to be their guides. Each person ought, therefore, 
 to lay open to a Director his condition of life, and then 
 suffer himself to be guided by that impartial judge in the 
 use of what is deemed suitable to the circumstances in 
 which Providence has placed him. 
 
 You must be very cautious in allowing yourself any 
 indulgence in those things towards which your natural 
 inclination feels itself particularly drawn. Hence, you 
 must observe, and narrowly watch, these propensities, 
 for it is from them that all the excesses of which men 
 are guilty usually take their rise. 
 
 Give special heed to your own spiritual advancement, 
 and, in this respect, be always inclined to believe that 
 you do far less than you might. For that man most 
 egregiously deceives himself who fancies that he does far 
 more than he is able. Hence, in your use of those things 
 which you deem to be necessities, lean to the side of 
 parsimony rather than to that of lavish expenditure. 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Choose by preference that kind of austerity which is 
 best adapted for the correction of those faults into which 
 you most frequently fall, and to which you feel yourself 
 most forcibly drawn by your natural inclinations. Thus, 
 to correct the sins of the tongue, silence is better than 
 fasting, and, to repress luxury, custody of the bodily 
 senses is more effective than silence. Those persons who 
 act upon a different principle do not make any progress, 
 even though they may subject themselves to the greatest 
 hardships. All the various kinds of penitential exercises, 
 which consist in fasting, watching, hair-shirts, disciplines, 
 lying upon hard beds, and wearing rough clothing, are 
 very salutary if they are undertaken in obedience to the 
 precept of the Church, or are imposed by your state of 
 life, or are made use of with the advice of a prudent 
 Director ; but they are singularly prejudicial if they inter- 
 fere with your necessary duties ; nay, they are positively 
 evil if they are taken up to gratify your self-will. The 
 more thoroughly they subject the flesh to the spirit the 
 better they are, provided only that necessary mortifica- 
 tions, such as the avoiding of grave sin, are joined with 
 them. 
 
 Most safe in practice, and most necessary in applica- 
 tion, is that kind of austerity which puts the curb of 
 mortification upon our senses; which guards the eyes 
 from looking at evil ; closes the ears and prevents them 
 from listening to it ; bridles the tongue ; keeps the body 
 from the luxury of idleness, the soul from the tempest of 
 wrath, the whole man from the occasions of sin ; which 
 crushes self-will, holds back the judgment, and lowers 
 that esteem and that lofty opinion which we have of our 
 own worth. You may practise this kind of mortification 
 without any danger, and without any fear of falling into 
 excesses, which usually are hard to correct. It is from 
 
TEEATMENT OF THE BODY. 
 
 163 
 
 this kind, however, that the natural man shrinks with 
 far more aversion than from external rigours, which 
 touch only the flesh. These latter he feels but for the 
 moment in which they are applied ; but the former con- 
 stitute a sort of permanent sting, which is very galling 
 to our unregenerate hearts. 
 
 But that austerity which is best of all consists in per- 
 petual recollection of soul, and in constant prayer. By 
 the Saints and by those who are experienced in such 
 matters, this is held as certain. A proof of its truth may 
 be seen in this one simple fact, that, as a rule, men 
 prefer to undergo any amount of external labour rather 
 than spend a little time in prayer. The reason of this is 
 not far to seek. It is that in prayer our liberty of 
 thought is restricted. From this restriction the natural 
 man turns away with undisguised aversion, because by 
 it his disorderly appetites are held in check; his will is 
 kept within due bounds ; it cannot go forth to that which 
 it desires; it is bowed down under a yoke; it is not 
 suffered to give free ingress to thoughts which disturb 
 the quiet of the heart. In one word, by prayer the 
 whole man is held captive. His desires are not gratified, 
 his body is not flattered, his discomfort is not relieved, 
 and nothing is permitted which heretofore he was at per- 
 fect liberty to do. Now, although custom may so inure 
 him to all these inconveniences that, in spite of them, he 
 will at last lead a life of quiet cheerfulness, full of consola- 
 tion and of sweetness, owing to the complete subjection to 
 the spirit to which they have reduced the rebellious flesh, 
 yet that flesh is thereby so weakened, so worn out, so 
 well-nigh destroyed, that it will need some little care. 
 This care, however, must be bestowed upon it in weight 
 and in measure, with a view only to enable it to go on 
 living this continual death, and to prevent it from being 
 
164 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 a positive hindrance to the spirit. It is much to be 
 desired that those who wish to practise mortification 
 would take up this kind of austerity. If they do so, they 
 will gain more solid profit from it alone than they could 
 ever hope to obtain from a multiplicity of other exercises. 
 They who, on account of their weakness, or on account 
 of the duties of their state of life, can never hope to 
 practise great austerity, will be able by means of this in 
 all security to win that after which they would otherwise 
 never be able to aspire. The reason is because with 
 them the virtue of penance is in its right place. Now, 
 although that which has already been said is amply 
 sufficient to give you a correct idea of the way in which 
 you ought to govern your body, yet we cannot refrain 
 from urgently recommending to you a love of sobriety 
 and of holy abstinence. These are characteristic marks 
 of every Saint, without which we read that no one 
 has ever yet attained to a notable degree of perfection 
 and of sanctity. St. Benedict earnestly commends the 
 practice of them to his children. Among the “ Instru- 
 ments ” of good works we find that he introduces such 
 precepts as the following : “Do not seek after delights; 
 do not love feasting ; be not given to drinking wine ; be 
 not a great eater In the thirty-ninth chapter of the 
 Rule he warns them “ to avoid excess and surfeiting, 
 that they be not overtaken by gluttony; because there 
 is no sin which is more contrary to the Christian pro- 
 fession ”. Hence that saying of Our Lord : “ Take heed 
 to yourselves, lest perchance your hearts be overcharged 
 with surfeiting and drunkenness”. In the fortieth 
 chapter he says : “ Let us agree, at least, not to drink 
 to satiety, but sparingly ; because wine maketh even the 
 wise to fall away ”. 
 
 * Reg., cap, iv., instr. 12, 13, 35, 36. 
 
TREATMENT OF THE BODY. 
 
 165 
 
 With respect to fasting, we do not urge you to under- 
 take any very burthensome practice of this nature, but 
 we earnestly recommend to your notice the following 
 excellent precepts : 
 
 Strive to curb and to hold in check the excesses of 
 your appetite, since the faults which are committed in 
 this respect are not so much in the food which we take 
 as in the appetite with which we take it. 
 
 Neither eat nor drink for the mere pleasure which you 
 receive from your food. Always have some higher motive 
 in your mind, lest you become like the animals, which 
 seek only pleasure from their food. 
 
 In order to hinder your body from wholly giving itself 
 up to its food, “ Be not,” as Ecclesiasticus advises, 
 “ greedy in your feasting, and pour not out yourself upon 
 any meat 
 
 Let the quantity of food which you take be regulated 
 by the necessity which you feel for it ; by the strength 
 which you have to keep up ; by your natural constitution, 
 and by the bodily occupations in which you are engaged. 
 Anything which goes beyond these limits is faulty and 
 ought be corrected. 
 
 Do not desire, and still less seek, for luxurious feast- 
 ing, for costly viands, and for exquisitely prepared dishes. 
 
 Be not eager to use, with your food, those condiments 
 which contribute to it nothing else than a stimulant 
 to whet the appetite. 
 
 As a rule, do not partake of rare and generous wines, 
 which may prove dangerous to the purity of your soul 
 and your body. 
 
 When you are in good health, do not, unless compelled 
 by necessity, either eat or drink out of meal-time. 
 
 While you are taking your meals, endeavour to sanctify 
 * Ecclus. xxxvii. 32. 
 
166 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 this ordinary and necessary action by pious thoughts and 
 by loving affections of soul. Call to mind, for example, 
 the vinegar and the gall which were given to your 
 Saviour as He hung upon the Cross ; the hunger and the 
 thirst of the souls in Purgatory ; the exceeding great 
 goodness of God, Who so lovingly makes provision for 
 all your necessities. 
 
 Also, accustom yourself to perform, for the love of God, 
 a few little acts of self-denial, by not helping yourself to 
 some delicacy, by abstaining from the ordinary condi- 
 ments, and by refraining, for a short time, from eating 
 or from drinking, when you feel particularly urged to do 
 both the one and the other. 
 
 If you be careful to attend to these few hints which 
 we have thrown out with respect to the matter of mortifi- 
 cation, you will go to the Monastery well prepared to 
 begin Eeligious Life, in which one of the first lessons to 
 be learnt is how to curb and to restrain the appetite ; for 
 no solid progress can be made in virtue till, by practical 
 experience, this lesson has been learnt. 
 
 If you are of the number of those who have not acquired 
 even the rudiments of these preliminary lessons in self- 
 denial, but who have been over-delicate in the treatment 
 of their bodies and afraid of even the name “mortifica- 
 tion,” we address to you these words of the Apostle St. 
 Paul : “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercy of God, 
 to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing 
 unto God, your reasonable service Do not turn a 
 deaf ear to so earnest an exhortation ! Be not one of 
 those who are slaves to their bellies, to money, to honour, 
 to pleasure — for the sake of which they willingly undergo 
 much discomfort. Por God, however, Who gave them 
 all that they have, they will suffer nothing. Do not you 
 
 Rom. xii. 1. 
 
CAEE OF HEALTH. 
 
 167 
 
 be so ungrateful, but resolve to pay unto your Lord the 
 worship which is His due, no matter what pain it may 
 cost you. You are ready enough to put yourself to grave 
 inconvenience, in order not to give offence to any one for 
 whom you have a great esteem. To God, however, Who 
 merits all the love of your heart, will you be less con- 
 descending than you are to a mortal man ? Immolate to 
 His honour both yourself and your own convenience, 
 and it will be unto Him an oblation of praise, concern- 
 ing which the Prophet sings : “ The sacrifice of praise 
 shall glorify me”.* Offer to your supreme Lord the 
 sacrifice of justice, by keeping a strict guard over all 
 your senses, but particularly over your eyes. Mortify 
 your sense of taste, your sense of feeling, and set a guard 
 over all those other avenues through which your dis- 
 orderly passions seek for gratification. Withhold them, 
 not only from the enjoyment of those pleasures which 
 are unlawful, but also from those which are lawful. 
 Never indulge in any pleasure for the mere purpose of 
 the enjoyment which you may derive from it, but with 
 the intention of pleasing God, Who will accept this as a 
 most precious sacrifice, for which He will bountifully 
 reward you both in this world and in the world to come. 
 
 Ps. xlix. 23. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of Perseverance in your Vocation, and of the Way 
 
 IN WHICH YOU OUGHT PROXIMATELY TO PREPARE 
 
 YOURSELF TO ENTER RELIGIOUS LlFE. 
 
 The obstacles which are thrown in the way of those who 
 wish to enter Religions Life, by their fellow-men, by the 
 devil, and by their own perverse nature, are neither few 
 in number nor insignificant in character. It is, therefore, 
 necessary for you not to lose courage when you meet 
 with them, but, with a determined will, and with a heart 
 full of confidence in God, to surmount them as best you 
 may. To inspire you with the determination manfully 
 to face and perseveringly to labour at their removal, we 
 will bring before your notice some few examples of 
 youths who have given special proofs of constancy in 
 their vocation, that, fired by a noble desire to emulate 
 their courageous perseverance, you may fearlessly en- 
 counter the difficulties which stand in your way, may 
 prove successful in removing them from your path, and 
 thus prepare yourself for the reception of those divine 
 favours with which our good God is wont to reward 
 those who are generous in His regard. 
 
 St. Gall could not be shaken in his resolve to embrace 
 Religious Life by the tears of his father, by the caresses of 
 his mother, by the sorrow of their retainers, nor by the 
 bright prospect which his noble birth opened out before 
 him. Setting aside all these, and giving himself up to 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 169 
 
 the love and the service of God, he humbly submitted him- 
 self to the yoke of monastic life. 
 
 When St. Columbanus was preparing to quit his father- 
 land, in order to devote himself in solitude to the service 
 of God, his mother, with tears of sorrow, besought him 
 not to abandon her. “ Have you not heard,” said he to 
 her, “ that saying of Our Lord : 1 He that loveth either 
 father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me ’ ? ” 
 As she clung to the door and endeavoured to hinder his 
 departure, he implored her to let him go. But she would 
 not, and, with loud cries and lamentations, at last laid 
 herself down across the threshold, protesting that she 
 would never give him her consent to go. Stepping over 
 her prostrate form, he left his ancestral abode, beseech- 
 ing her not to give way to grief, and telling her that she 
 should never see his face again, for that he was going 
 whithersoever the Lord should point out to him a way. 
 
 It is related in the Life of St. Wallaric, Abbot of 
 Leu^n, that although his father, with most earnest 
 entreaties, urged him to quit the Monastery and to return 
 to a worldly life, yet he could not prevail upon him to do 
 so. To all his reasonings and prayers, the son gave no 
 other answer than: “I will never return to my earthly 
 home ”. 
 
 After the noble and illustrious Virgin Busticola had 
 embraced cloistral life, her mother sent to the convent in 
 which she was living some of her servants, bearing a 
 large amount of money, jewellery of priceless value, and 
 splendid raiment, that by these they might tempt her 
 daughter to leave her retirement and return with them 
 to her home. But all to no purpose. Her child’s deter- 
 mination was built upon the firm foundations of those 
 truths which faith reveals to us. She spurned these 
 worldly baits as she would have spurned the mire of the 
 
170 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 streets, and remained all her holy life fixed in her firm 
 resolve. 
 
 After St. Guido had made up his mind to devote him- 
 self to Monastic Life, his father, not knowing anything 
 of his son’s intention, urged him to enter the married 
 state. In answer to his repeated exhortations and argu- 
 ments, Guido at last said : “ There are two maidens who 
 have won my affection, and I wish to have your advice 
 as to which of them I ought to choose for my bride. The 
 one is most nobly born, rich in vast possessions, powerful 
 in the wide range of her influence, and dowered with a 
 beauty of form entrancing to behold.” By this he meant 
 the Monastic Life, towards which all the affections of his 
 soul were attracted by a sort of charm which it seemed 
 impossible for him to resist. “ With respect to the other 
 maiden, although I love her almost to distraction” — 
 meaning by this one the world, with its bewitching 
 pleasures — “ yet she is every way inferior to the first. 
 Now, I ask you to advise me what it were best that I 
 should do. Which of these two shall I take to be my 
 wedded wife ? ” His father, without the slightest hesita- 
 tion, said : “ By all means choose the first, and do every- 
 thing in your power to make her your own”. Taking 
 him at his w T ord, Guido at once entered the Clerical State, 
 then made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and being warned 
 from heaven to enter the Order of St. Benedict, em- 
 braced the Monastic Life, and spent the rest of his days 
 in the practice of every virtue. 
 
 Omitting many other similar examples of constancy in 
 the pursuit of that vocation which God vouchsafes to 
 chosen souls, we will relate the wonders which, in this 
 respect, are recorded of the great St. Bernard. From 
 the recital of them, you will learn not only to be faithful 
 to the call which has been given to you, but also to draw 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 171 
 
 others to tread in your footsteps. Both by word and by 
 deed you will animate them "with courage to take upon 
 their shoulders the sweet yoke of Christ ; and those 
 among them who are wavering in their resolution, your 
 good counsel will strengthen to enter with confidence 
 upon the Religious State. 
 
 When St. Bernard began to know the world, and to 
 reflect that the life of one who lives amid its ceaseless 
 distractions and its engrossing pleasures is very like unto 
 that which a man leads who is living over the den of a 
 venomous serpent, he began seriously to entertain the 
 thought of fleeing away from a position of so great peril. 
 He saw that the world offered him great wealth, vast 
 possessions, and held out before him hopes of even greater 
 means of self-gratification. But his keen eye took in at 
 a glance their real worth, and his heart pronounced them 
 to be hollow and valueless. In the silence of his own 
 bosom a voice made itself heard, and said to him : 
 “ Come to Me, all ye who labour and who are heavily 
 burthened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke 
 upon you, and you shall find rest for your souls.” Pre- 
 paring to obey the call thus given to him, he began to 
 look about him, and to take counsel with himself as to 
 the best place in which he could most easily find for his 
 soul that rest after which his heart so earnestly yearned. 
 At once there occurred to his mind that recent foundation 
 which was afterwards known as “the Cistercian Order 
 Up to that date few had been the number of those who 
 had knocked at its gates for admission ; for the austerity 
 of its Rule and the poverty of its members frightened 
 away all except souls which were of heroic mould. But, 
 as the heart of him who truly seeks God is dismayed by 
 no sacrifice which is required of it, neither the poverty 
 nor the austerity of the new foundation had any terrors 
 
172 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 for Bernard. He fixed his eye steadfastly upon it, and 
 saw that in it he might be securely hidden from the gaze 
 of the world, safe from the troubling of men, protected 
 from the pride of noble birth, from the vanity of intel- 
 lectual superiority, and from the repute of great sanctity. 
 
 As soon as his brothers and his relatives perceived that 
 his thoughts were turned towards Beligious Life, they 
 left nothing undone to direct their current into quite 
 another channel, by endeavouring to persuade him to 
 apply the faculties of his mind to the pursuit of science 
 and of letters. The glowing picture of worldly fame 
 which they painted before his imagination for a time 
 arrested his attention, and, as he afterwards confessed, 
 almost prevailed upon him to turn away from the career 
 unto which God was calling him. But the memory of 
 his holy mother was opportunely flashed into his mind, 
 and made him pause before taking what might have been 
 for him a fatal step. It seemed to him that she often- 
 times met him and, with tears and words of reproach, 
 rebuked him for thinking of such trifles, whereas she 
 had with such infinite care educated him to aspire to 
 higher and nobler things. At last, while on his way to 
 visit his brothers, who were serving under the Duke of 
 Burgundy at the siege of the Castle of Grancey, these 
 thoughts began to raise in his mind a cloud of troubles 
 which beyond measure saddened and perplexed him. As 
 he rode along, weighed down with the thoughts which 
 oppressed him, he came to a little wayside church. 
 Halting for a few moments, he dismounted, and entered 
 the sacred edifice. Casting himself upon his knees, he 
 bent his head, and his pent-up feelings found vent in a 
 flood of tears. Stretching forth his hands and lifting up 
 his voice, he poured forth his soul in prayer to God. 
 This was the turning-point in his career. He rose from 
 
PEESEVEEANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 173 
 
 his knees and went forth from the Sanctuary, with the 
 resolve of his heart fixed for ever. He would, with God’s 
 help, he naught else than a Eeligious. 
 
 It was not to a deaf ear that the voice which spoke 
 within him said : “ Let him who heareth say, Come ” ; for 
 from that moment the fire which God had kindled in his 
 bosom, in order that therewith Bernard might inflame 
 all his brothers, flashed from side to side, as the devour- 
 ing element does when some vast forest is all ablaze, 
 igniting first that which is near, and then that which is 
 afar off. With the exception of his youngest brother, 
 who was not yet old enough to embrace the Monastic 
 State, but was left behind to console their aged father, 
 the flame of divine love caught up and carried off the rest 
 to the haven of Eeligious Life. In the next place, it 
 clasped in its purifying embrace his relatives ; then his 
 companions ; then those of his friends in whose .souls 
 there lay smouldering the embers of a thorough conver- 
 sion to God. Bernard’s uncle, Gauldry, was the first to 
 follow the example of his illustrious nephew. He was a 
 man high in the esteem of the world ; possessing great in- 
 fluence among the men of his time ; a soldier of no mean 
 skill and courage; and lord of the Castle of Trouillon. 
 Immediately after him, Bartholomew, who was younger 
 than the rest of the brothers who followed Bernard, came 
 into his views and yielded to the salutary warnings which 
 bade him seek the things that are above, and not those 
 that are upon the earth. Then Andrew, who also was 
 younger than Bernard, and who had but recently begun 
 his military career, was with some difficulty won over to 
 share in this holy undertaking. For at first he was deaf 
 to all argument, until, suddenly exclaiming, “ I see my 
 mother,” he also joined the devoted little band, and be- 
 came a soldier of Christ at the very moment in which 
 
174 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 he ceased to be a soldier of the world. His holy mother 
 at that time appeared to him, and, with a calm and 
 joyous countenance, congratulated her sons on account 
 of the heroic purpose which they had in their minds. 
 He was not the only one of the brothers who witnessed 
 this wondrous apparition. Bernard, also, tells us that 
 he was favoured with a similar vision. 
 
 Guido, the eldest of this saintly family, was at this 
 time a married man, and had struck his roots deeply 
 into the soil of the world. Bernard’s proposal to embrace 
 the Monastic Life was at first received by him with some 
 hesitation ; but, when he came to think the matter over, 
 and to weigh all the reasons which urged him to throw 
 in his lot with those who were now turning their backs 
 upon all that earth could promise them, he resolved to 
 follow in their footsteps if his wife could be prevailed 
 upon to give her consent. This seemed utterly impos- 
 sible ; for she was young, nobly born, and a mother. 
 But Bernard saw no great difficulty in the matter. He 
 told his brother without any hesitation that this lady 
 would either of her own accord give her consent, or, if 
 she refused to acquiesce in the designs of God, that God 
 Himself would remove her from this world. The pur- 
 pose which her husband had in view was gently broken 
 to her. At the very mention of such a proceeding, she 
 at once expressed her determination never to yield up her 
 rights as a wife and a mother. Thereupon her husband, 
 in that spirit of child-like faith for which he was after- 
 wards so renowned, resolved to cast away all that he 
 possessed in the world, to lead the life of a labourer, and 
 to live by the sweat of his brow. But the hand of God 
 was not long in finding out her who would not suffer one 
 whom He was calling to Himself to rid himself of the 
 trammelling cares of the world. A grievous malady 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 175 
 
 attacked her and, by scourging her body, purified her 
 heart, and softened it to receive the impress of divine 
 grace. She saw that it was hard for her to kick against 
 the goad, and sending for Bernard, humbly asked his 
 pardon, at the same time begging that she also might be 
 permitted to embrace the Religious Life. Her wishes 
 were gladly acceded to ; she made a vow of chastity, and, 
 entering a Convent of Religious women, passed the rest 
 of her days in the exercises of a perfect life. 
 
 The next in age to Guido was Gerard. He also was a 
 soldier, wary and far-seeing, most amiable in disposition, 
 and by all with whom he came in contact very tenderly 
 beloved. With that worldly wisdom of which men think 
 so highly, he attributed the facility with which the others 
 had so readily acquiesced in Bernard’s plan, to a certain 
 fickleness and frivolity of mind which we are not surprised 
 to find in some characters. To all his saintly brother’s 
 earnest exhortations and counsels he opposed an obstinate 
 resistance, till at last Bernard, illuminated with the light 
 of faith, and wondrously fired with the zeal of fraternal 
 charity, said to him : “ Naught but pain will give you 
 understanding ”. Then, with his finger touching Gerard’s 
 side, he said : “ The day will come, and that very soon, 
 when a lance, piercing through this place, will open for 
 the salutary advice which you now despise a way into 
 your heart. You will be filled with fear, but you will not 
 die.” Thus he spoke, and the sequel fully verified his 
 every word. For after a few days, Gerard, while en- 
 gaging the enemy, was wounded, surrounded by the foe, 
 and taken prisoner. Feeling the lance pierce his side, 
 in the very place indicated by his brother, and being 
 filled with a sudden fear of death, he cried out as they 
 were dragging him away : “I am a Monk ! I am a Monk 
 of Citeaux.” Notwithstanding this protestation he was 
 
176 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 hurried off and shut up in a house, a close prisoner. A 
 messenger soon carried the tidings of this mishap to 
 Bernard, who, on receiving the news, said to him : “I 
 knew and predicted that this would come to pass. It is 
 hard for him -to kick against the goad. His wound, 
 however, is not unto death, but unto life.” The event 
 proved the truth of these words, for Gerard speedily 
 recovered from the hurt which he had received, and 
 persevered in his intention of carrying into effect the vow 
 which he had made. But though freed through this 
 providential accident from the bonds which bound him 
 to the world, he was not immediately released from the 
 material chains which kept him a prisoner. These were 
 the only impediments which now hindered him from at 
 once obeying the call of God to take upon himself the 
 yoke of Beligious Life. Divine Providence, however, in 
 this respect also, again came to his assistance, and 
 struck them from his limbs. His brother Bernard 
 hastened to visit him, and tried, by every means at his 
 disposal, to procure his instant liberation. But all to no 
 purpose. He was not allowed even to speak with him. 
 In these circumstances, he did all that he could to con- 
 firm him in his good purpose. Drawing nigh to the 
 house in which he was confined, Bernard raised his voice 
 and cried out, in tones loud enough to reach his brother’s 
 ear : “ Know that we are soon to enter upon our Monastic 
 Life. As you are not suffered to go with us, strive to be a 
 Monk in the place in which you are ; for that which we 
 wish to do, and yet cannot carry into effect, is accounted 
 by God as already done.” 
 
 Gerard, wounded and a prisoner, began to be weighed 
 down with anxiety. But God did not forget His afflicted 
 servant; for, after a few days, while he was sleeping 
 upon his uneasy couch, it seemed to him that he heard a 
 
PEESEVEEANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 177 
 
 voice within him saying : “ This day, Gerard, yon will be 
 set at liberty It was then the holy season of Lent, 
 and as he sat, towards evening, wrapt in thought about 
 what he had heard during his sleep, he touched with his 
 hand the chain with which he was bound. To his great 
 astonishment, it snapped in two, so that he was able to 
 move about. But he was not yet a freeman. The door 
 of his place of confinement was fast shut ; and before the 
 gates of the house, a great number of beggars had col- 
 lected. How should he be able to leave this cell, and, 
 having effected that, how escape unobserved through the 
 men who stood without ? While reflecting thus with him- 
 self, he arose and went towards the door, not so much in 
 the hope of escaping, as of satisfying his curiosity. Stretch- 
 ing forth his hand to examine the fastenings, he touched 
 the lock, when, to his great surprise, it came away in his 
 hands, and the door stood open for his egress. Passing 
 onward through the front entrance, and walking with 
 difficulty because of his fetters, he made for the neigh- 
 bouring church, in which the Vesper-office was going on. 
 The crowd of poor people standing before the door of the 
 house whence he issued, seeing what was done, and being 
 filled with fear, fled away without uttering a single cry. 
 
 As Gerard drew near the Church, one of the members 
 of the house in which he had been imprisoned — a relative 
 of its master — came out through the great doorway, and 
 seeing him hastening towards the sacred edifice, said : 
 “ You are too late, Gerard ”. These words startled him ; 
 but the man presently added : “If you make haste, you 
 will still hear some of the service ”. Saying these words, 
 he helped Gerard up the steps leading to the Church, not 
 knowing what had happened ; for it seems that his eyes 
 were miraculously prevented from taking in the situation. 
 It was only when Gerard was actually entering the 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Church doors, and he could no longer withhold him, that 
 he became conscious of what had really happened, and 
 that the prisoner had escaped. 
 
 It was thus that God freed His servant, at one and the 
 same time, from bodily captivity and from the bondage 
 in which the world had held him enthralled. From this 
 incident of Gerard’s conversion, we may see how perfect 
 was Bernard at this, the beginning of his conversion to 
 God, inasmuch as Our Lord made known to him that 
 which was to he, as clearly as if it had already occurred. 
 For when with his finger he touched his brother’s side, 
 the lance seemed to him to be there, as really as it after- 
 wards was when one of the enemy thrust it in during 
 the heat of the furious conflict. 
 
 But to return to Bernard. Those who were animated 
 with the same spirit wherewith he was actuated gathered 
 round him and went with him to pray in the Church. 
 As they entered the door, the priest was reading from 
 the Epistles of St. Paul that lesson in which the Apostle 
 says : “ God is faithful ; for He Who hath begun a good 
 work in you will perfect the same unto the day of Jesus 
 Christ”. Hearing these appropriate words, the saintly 
 youth received them as if they had been spoken to him 
 from heaven. He exulted and rejoiced, for he felt that 
 the hand of God was with him. From that auspicious 
 day he began to preach and to gather to his standard as 
 many chosen souls as he was able to win over to share 
 in his enterprise. He put on the new man, and those 
 who heretofore were accustomed to hear from his lips 
 nothing but brilliant conversations about literary matters 
 and the ordinary gossip of a worldly society, were now 
 surprised to hear him speaking of the most serious 
 questions, and of the necessity for a thorough change of 
 life. He showed them that the joys of earth are fleet- 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 179 
 
 ing ; that life itself is full of many miseries ; that death 
 is striding on with rapid pace ; that the life to come, 
 both for the good and for the wicked, is to last for ever. 
 As many of those who heard him as were pre-ordained 
 by God to be sharers in his great design, moved by the 
 power of divine grace, by the fascination of his eloquent 
 words, by his prayers and by his earnestness, yielded 
 themselves up willing captives to his master-mind, and 
 followed him in his pursuit of religious perfection. 
 Among these was Hugo, Count of MaQon, a man re- 
 nowned both far and near for his noble birth, his un- 
 sullied probity, and his great wealth. In after life he 
 was taken from the Monastery of Pontigny, which he 
 built, and on account of his sanctity made Bishop of the 
 Church of Auxerre. As soon as he heard of the con- 
 version of Bernard, who was his bosom friend and most 
 cherished companion, he lamented his loss just as if he 
 had actually died, so utterly did he consider him to be 
 cut off from the world. Very different, however, were 
 his sentiments after he had for some time conversed 
 with Bernard, upon a certain occasion when chance had 
 brought them together. As the saintly youth spoke, the 
 Spirit of truth shot the bright rays of His light into 
 Hugo’s heart, and quite changed his sentiments and his 
 views. He gave his hand in fellowship to Bernard, and 
 the friends were once again more closely united in the 
 bonds of true brotherly affection than they had ever been 
 before, for Hugo was resolved to tread in his footsteps 
 by renouncing the world. They parted, but after a few 
 days our Saint learned with sorrow that the arguments 
 and the reproaches of Hugo’s friends had turned him 
 aside from his holy purpose. Taking advantage of a 
 Bishops’ meeting, which was to be held in the province 
 in which the Count resided, Bernard hastened to recall 
 
180 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 him to a sense of the risk which he ran in thus looking 
 back, after having put his hand to the plough. Hugo’s 
 false friends at once guessed the purpose for which 
 Bernard had come, and cleverly cut off from him all 
 means of approaching the deserter, or of even communi- 
 cating with him. But although thus shut off from 
 speaking to Hugo himself, he was not debarred from 
 speaking to Hugo’s God ; and therefore, from the depth 
 of his soul he cried unto the Lord for the salvation of his 
 perishing friend. Our merciful Saviour w T as not deaf to 
 the prayer which came up before Him, for He sent down 
 upon the assemblage, which had gathered in the open 
 fields, a sudden and violent deluge of rain, which caused 
 all to seek shelter in the neighbouring village. This 
 was an opportunity favourable to Bernard’s purpose ; 
 seeing Hugo, he caught him by the arm, and said to him : 
 “You shall brave this downpour with me ”, Hugo did 
 not resist. They were left alone together, and yet not 
 quite alone, for God was with them, and instantaneously 
 restored serenity to the heavens above their heads and 
 to the perturbation which troubled Hugo’s heart. With- 
 out any reluctance, he once again made his promise, and 
 never more violated his plighted word. 
 
 Sinners, indeed, saw this victory, and were wroth ; 
 they gnashed with their teeth and pined away in sorrow ; 
 but Bernard, trusting in the Lord, gained a glorious 
 triumph over the world. He now began, both in private 
 and in public, to preach his crusade in favour of the 
 Beligious Life, and that, too, with a force so great and 
 an eloquence so persuasive that, wherever he appeared, 
 mothers hid their sons ; wives would not let their hus- 
 bands listen to him ; friends dragged away their friends 
 from his presence, because the Holy Spirit had given 
 to him such words of power that men were unable to 
 
PEESEVEEANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 181 
 
 resist the magic of his influence. As the number of 
 those who came within the reach of this invisible force 
 increased and were drawn into fellowship with Bernard, 
 men were able to say of them that which the Evangelist 
 said of the first believers : “ The multitude of them had 
 hut one heart and one soul. They dwelt together in 
 unity, nor did any of the others dare to join himself to 
 them.” At Chatillon they had a house which was com- 
 mon to all. In this they assembled, and dwelt, and held 
 conferences. Any one who was not of their society did 
 not dare to enter ; and those who ventured to do so were 
 overcome by that which they saw and by that which they 
 heard. They adored the Lord, and proclaimed aloud 
 that God was among them, and then either joined their 
 company or departed from among them, weeping, indeed, 
 over themselves, and pronouncing them truly happy and 
 blessed. For never before was such a thing known in 
 those parts as that the conversion of any one should be 
 foretold. Bernard and his company lived together in 
 the secular habit for about six months after they had 
 determined to embrace the Religious Life. This they did 
 to give time for their number to increase, and for some 
 among them to settle their worldly affairs, previously 
 to bidding an eternal farewell to all that had hitherto 
 bound them to earth. 
 
 As day succeeded day, they began to wonder whether 
 the evil one would succeed in luring away from the 
 narrow path any of their number ; and God was pleased, 
 by a kind of revelation, to make known to them that 
 which was about to happen. For during the night one 
 of them had a vision, in which it seemed to him that 
 they were all gathered together in one place, and were 
 eating some food of marvellous brightness and of most 
 delicious taste. He remarked, however, that while the 
 
182 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 rest with the utmost delight were feasting upon it, two 
 of their company were left without any share in the 
 banquet. For one of them did not take any portion of it, 
 and, though the other raised the food to his mouth, yet, 
 instead of eating it, he scattered it all about him. The 
 sequel explained the meaning of this extraordinary vision. 
 For one gave up the undertaking and went back into the 
 world before the day came for taking the decisive step, 
 and the other, though he made the first step with the 
 rest, yet did not continue to walk in the ways of justice. 
 In after years, some of the Brethren met him wandering 
 about, like another Cain, a fugitive from the face of the 
 Lord. As far as could be guessed from his appearance, 
 he seemed to be leading a low and miserable kind of 
 existence, and to be without any particle of manly 
 courage. Towards the end of his life he came back to 
 Clairvaux, forced to take this step by bodily infirmities 
 and by cruel want ; for though horn of a noble family, he 
 was an outcast from among his kinsfolk, acquaintances, 
 and friends. Yet he did not give up self-will, though he 
 gave up all power to possess any property. He died at 
 last, not inside the Monastery, as a brother, but outside, 
 like a mendicant, asking for charity. 
 
 The day at last came for the devoted little band to 
 carry into execution the vow which they had made. 
 Bernard went forth from his home, followed by his 
 brothers. He was their spiritual father, for, by the 
 word of life, he had begotten them unto Christ. As they 
 were going away, Guido, the eldest, seeing his youngest 
 brother, Nivard, who was then a little boy, playing with 
 his companions in the open square, said to him : “ Well, 
 my little Nivard, all our possessions will now belong to 
 thee ! ” The child, looking up into his face, with a kind 
 of inspiration, replied ; “ Heaven for thee and earth for 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 183 
 
 me ! That is not a fair division ! ” With these words in 
 their ears, the brothers sped on their way. The boy 
 remained at home with their aged father ; but after a 
 time, when the maturity of early youth had expanded 
 his mind and enlarged his bodily frame, he followed his 
 brothers into the Cloister. Nor father, nor relatives, nor 
 friends were able to detain him in the world. The voice 
 of God was calling, and he generously answered, and 
 went the way in which it invited him to walk — the road 
 to heaven. 
 
 Attentively consider the noble example given to you 
 by these men, of constancy in following out the vocation 
 vouchsafed to them by God, and do your utmost to imi- 
 tate the lofty pattern of self-denial which they set before 
 your eyes. 
 
 The advice which we have hitherto given to you is, as 
 it were, only a remote kind of preparation for your 
 entrance upon Eeligious Life. The nearer you draw to 
 the happy moment in which you are to enter the Cloister, 
 the more earnest ought your endeavour to be to fit 
 yourself to become a worthy servant of the Divine 
 Majesty. Therefore, imitate the conduct of the Israel- 
 ites when they were about to leave the land of their 
 bondage. For previously to immolating their victims to 
 the Lord God, they made a journey of three days into 
 the wilderness. For the same space of time, therefore, 
 before you offer yourself in the Monastery, a victim unto 
 God, go into solitude, — not by withdrawing yourself from 
 the company and the conversation of men, for that is not 
 practicable at this particular juncture, but by taking off 
 your mind from the cares and the affections which earthly 
 things are wont to engender in the soul, and by disposing 
 yourself for the final and complete oblation of yourself. 
 
 During these three days, make a special offering to 
 
184 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 the Holy Trinity of all yonr works, your words, your 
 thoughts, that through the merits of Our Saviour and the 
 intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and of our holy Bather 
 St. Benedict, you may obtain the grace to begin with 
 great fervour your practice of the Religious Life. In 
 order to obtain this grace, endeavour, if it is in your power 
 to do so, to visit four times each day the most Holy 
 Sacrament of the Altar, and for this purpose make two 
 visits each morning and two each afternoon. 
 
 At these visits, on the first day, pass in review all the 
 benefits bestowed upon you by your most loving God, 
 from the first moment in which you began to be until 
 this present hour, and stir up in yourself ardent affections 
 of gratitude for these favours. Is it not, therefore, right 
 and just that you should, with all your strength, serve, 
 love, and obey so great a Benefactor ? Think, also, upon 
 the vanity and the deceit of the world, and how unworthy 
 an act it would be on your part to abandon God in 
 order to love and to serve it. Prove that you deem it to 
 be so, by not giving up your heart to any of the joys 
 which it may this day offer to you for your acceptance. 
 Moreover, as a proof of your gratitude, recite, with the 
 most devout affection of which you are capable, the 
 hymn Te Deum Laudamus. 
 
 On the second day, in the bitterness of your soul, 
 think of the ingratitude which you have shown to God, 
 in return for the great and manifold benefits which He 
 has bestowed upon you, and from the depth of a contrite 
 heart exclaim: “Remember not, O Lord! the sins of 
 my youth, and my ignorances. A contrite and humbled 
 heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.’ 7 Towards evening, 
 prepare yourself to make, on the following day, your 
 sacramental confession, with all those conditions of 
 which we have already spoken in a preceding chapter. 
 
PERSEVERANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 185 
 
 Eepeat, with sentiments of deep sorrow, the Psalm 
 Miserere. If necessary, strive to keep alive within you 
 this internal grief of soul, by pious conversations with 
 devout men. 
 
 On the third day, reflect upon the benefit of your 
 calling to the Eeligious State, and endeavour to elicit 
 most ardent desires of embracing that happy condition 
 of life. Especially do this when you draw nigh to sit as 
 a guest at the banquet of the most Holy Eucharist. 
 Spend the day in enkindling and in keeping alive within 
 you the flames of these earnest desires. If any worldly 
 pleasures are offered to you, by no means suffer your 
 soul to be stained with them. Against their entrance, 
 shut fast the gate of your heart, and keep them at a safe 
 distance from the palace of your soul. The following 
 prayers will be useful to you during these three days of 
 preparatory recollection. 
 
 Desire of Religious Life. 
 
 O my Saviour, my dearest Jesus ! Who for love of me 
 didst abide upon this earth for three-and-thirty years; 
 Who didst deign to become man, and to suffer in soul 
 and in body confusion and pain for my sake, when will 
 that happy day arrive upon which, after the example of 
 so many of both sexes and of every rank in life, who for 
 love of Thee have shut themselves up within the walls of 
 the Cloister, have retired into the desert, have dwelt in 
 the caves and in the holes of the earth, I also shall 
 abandon everything for Thy sake ; shall be clothed 
 in & poor habit ; and shall conceal myself in the shade of 
 some monastic retreat ? 
 
 But, O my Love ! how can I abandon everything, I 
 who have so little from which to withdraw myself? 
 Very few are the possessions which I can call my own. 
 
186 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 Yet, few as they are, I am willing to give them up and 
 to retire into the desert of some Cloister, in imitation of 
 Thy austere forerunner, St. John the Baptist, of whom holy 
 Church thus sings-: 
 
 “ While yet a child thou dwelledst in the desert, 
 
 Turmoil of cities leaving far away, 
 
 Lest into paths of idle conversation 
 Thy tongue should stray ”. 
 
 Yet, O my dearest Jesus ! though destitute of much 
 that I might abandon, I desire entirely and completely 
 to leave my kindred and my acquaintance ; to give up 
 the world, which is the occasion of so many temporal 
 consolations and conveniences; to cut myself off from 
 the knowledge and the familiar friendship of men, and 
 especially of those among them w T ho are considered to be 
 great ; to withdraw from the reach of the world’s favours, 
 from its news, its liberty of action, and its honours ; but 
 particularly to quit myself, my inclinations, my self-will, 
 my judgment, my sentiments, and all objects that are 
 pleasing to me. 
 
 For my sake Thou didst will to be poor ; and I, on my 
 part, desire to observe voluntary poverty; to feel the 
 absence and the need of many little conveniences; to 
 endure the pain which is engendered by the privation of 
 them ; to possess nothing, and to be able to give away 
 nothing, without the permission of Superiors. 
 
 Thou Thyself wast of a Virgin born, and, therefore, 
 didst love more than the rest the virginal St. John, who 
 was chosen by Thee to be an Apostle while he was still 
 a virgin, and who ever after continued to be a virgin. 
 Thou didst commit Thy Virgin Mother to his care, and 
 him to the care of Thy Virgin Mother, because the 
 special glory of his chastity had made him worthy of 
 Thy special love. I also am soon about to vow to Thee 
 
PEESEVEEANCE IN VOCATION. 
 
 187 
 
 perpetual chastity ; therefore, with the aid of Thy grace, 
 I will strive to be exceedingly modest ; I will endeavour 
 to preserve perfect moral integrity and purity both of 
 mind and of body ; and, as the best means of securing 
 this, I will constantly, with the greatest care, with the 
 utmost zeal, watch over the senses of my body, and keep 
 my mind continually occupied with Thee, O my God ! 
 
 For my sake, 0 ardent Lover of my soul ! Thou wast 
 obedient to the bitter and most ignominious death of the 
 Cross ; and I, for love of Thee, desire to vow obedience 
 according to the Rule of St. Benedict. By this I mean 
 to promise to Thee that obedience which, in various 
 places and passages of his Holy Rule, is prescribed and 
 ordered. Therefore, as a true victim of this lowly virtue, 
 I will for love of Thee always obey every order, no 
 matter how hard and contrary to my natural inclination 
 it may chance to be. I will obey with joy, because this 
 opportunity of denying my self-will is vouchsafed to me. 
 I will obey even when obedience covers me with con- 
 fusion, fills me with repugnance, lowers my reputation, 
 and detracts from my honour. 
 
 Thou hast said in the Sacred Scripture : “ It is good for 
 a man when he hath borne the yoke from his youth 
 
 0 grant that I may enjoy this great privilege ! Do 
 Thou, O Lord ! take possession of my soul and of my 
 body, before that the world, the flesh, and the devil lay 
 hold of them. The first-fruits of my youth, the bloom of 
 my early years, and the outcome of my reason are Thine. 
 
 1 pray and beseech Thee to guard them for Thyself. 
 
 From the first moment of Thy most holy Incarnation, 
 
 Thou didst suffer for me ! Why then, ungrateful wretch 
 that I am, do I put off suffering for Thee ? Why do I 
 not, from my earliest youth, begin to suffer for Thee ? 
 
 Lament, in. 27. 
 
188 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 I will presently go to that home of piety, in which, to- 
 gether with the holy Angels and the Prophets of old, it 
 will be my privilege to rise at midnight to confess nnto 
 Thee. In the solitude of my cell, I will lovingly converse 
 with Thee only. I will listen to Thy voice speaking unto 
 me, till my soul be melted within me. Then I shall be 
 enabled to cover myself with well-merited confusion, by 
 choosing to be an abject in the house of God, rather than 
 to dwell in the tabernacle of sinners. 
 
 There, in God’s house, I will not live for myself, but 
 only in order to mortify myself and to spend myself in 
 Thy service. 
 
 For love of me Thou didst remain fastened to the Cross. 
 Thou didst not leave it, as Thou mightest so easily have 
 done, until pious hands, at the appointed time, loosed 
 Thee from Thy bed of pain. Wherefore, out of love for 
 Thee, I also desire to promise that stability, in accordance 
 with which, I will not, without the freely accorded per- 
 mission of my Superior, leave the precincts of the 
 Monastery, nor loose my neck from the yoke of the Rule. 
 I will make my stability in the Congregation, not an idle 
 stability, but a stability that is busy in the continual 
 exercise of solid virtue. As our holy Father desires, I 
 will make the Cloister a kind of spiritual workshop, in 
 which I will ply those various implements or tools of 
 good works, of which he gives a list in the fourth chapter 
 of the Rule. 
 
 I desire to vow unto Thee amendment of manners, 
 and thereby to make myself averse from the actions of the 
 world, and continually turned towards the execution of 
 acts of greater perfection, but particularly to that perfec- 
 tion which St. Benedict, in the Rule, inspired by Thee, 
 endeavours to teach me. 
 
 Through love of me, 0 most sweet Jesus ! Thou didst 
 
SYNOPSIS. 
 
 189 
 
 subject Thyself to human laws, to the hard law of 
 Circumcision, and to the other ordinances of the Old 
 Covenant, although these could in noway be binding upon 
 Thee. Tor love of Thee, I desire, and I will strive to 
 the utmost of my power, to observe all the laws and the 
 commands imposed upon me by the Eule of thy servant 
 St. Benedict, by Superiors, Thy Eepresentatives, whether 
 these are immediate Superiors or only mediate, and also 
 to those whom they may appoint as their substitutes. 
 
 O my beloved Eedeemer, and all ye holy Angels, and 
 ye Saints of God, whose relics are preserved with pious 
 veneration in the Monastery in which I am about to be 
 received, be ye witnesses of these my most earnest 
 desires. Be not only witnesses, but also my most 
 efficacious helpers, to observe with fidelity all those 
 obligations which, in due time, I shall have to fulfil, in 
 virtue of my vows. By nature, and by a thousand other 
 ties, I am Thine, 0 my God and my love ! I desire also 
 to be Thine for ever, by actual giving of myself to Thee, 
 in my holy profession, by my state of life, by law, by the 
 place in which I live, by the habit which I wear, and by 
 my every act. Therefore, uphold me, O Lord ! according 
 to Thy word, and I shall live, and let me not be con- 
 founded in my expectation. Amen. 
 
 Synopsis of the Matter contained in the Preceding 
 Chapters. 
 
 In each week, choose a convenient day and hour for the pur- 
 pose of retiring to some secluded spot, in order to meditate upon 
 that which you have learnt from this little work. In order to do 
 this with that methodical exactitude which will ensure its success, 
 first begin by eliciting a lively act of faith in the Divine Presence ; 
 then adore the infinite Majesty, before Whom your faith tells you 
 
190 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 that you ever stand. After this, make a humble petition for light 
 to know your defects, and for grace to amend them. In the next 
 place, pass in review the points of meditation presently to be laid 
 before you ; and, as you reflect upon these, mark, either upon 
 paper or upon the tablets of your memory, your various defects 
 which conscience may point out to you. When you see these, 
 your manifold shortcomings, humbly ask from God pardon for 
 having committed them. Lastly, make a firm purpose of amend- 
 ment, for exciting which the following motives will be found 
 very serviceable : 
 
 1. It is your interest to correct these defects. 2. Your 
 soul will be filled with great consolation if you endeavour to 
 do so. 3. You are obliged to undertake this task, not only 
 because you are a Christian, but also because God has bestowed 
 upon you the singular favour of a vocation to Religious Life. 4. 
 At the hour of death, you will be glad to have corrected them. 
 
 5. If you have not succeeded in so doing, you will be covered 
 with confusion when you stand before the tribunal of Jesus Christ. 
 
 6. You will be rewarded with the joys of paradise, if you win 
 the victory over self. 7. Your ingratitude would be monstrous, 
 if, notwithstanding the benefits which God has conferred upon 
 you, and the love which He has lavished upon you, you either 
 were unwilling to amend, or were always trying to put off from 
 day to day the necessity for so doing. 8. By correcting your 
 faults, you will give great joy to God, and you will be rendering 
 to Him a most acceptable service. 
 
 Endeavour, by these various motives, to stir up the affections 
 of your heart, to form new purposes of amendment, to devise 
 means for carrying these purposes into effect, and humbly and 
 fervently to beseech God for the grace which will enable you to 
 do so. 
 
 Points for Meditation drawn from the Preceding 
 Chapters. 
 
 1. Truly Seeking God. 
 
 Examine whether your intention in choosing religious life is 
 really pure and uninterested. Does your zeal for God manifest 
 itself by the turning of your thoughts to Him on waking in the 
 
SYNOPSIS. 
 
 191 
 
 morning, and by the referring of yonr actions throughout the 
 course of the day to His greater honour and glory ? 
 
 2. Horror of Sin. 
 
 Do you, upon examination, find yourself in such a frame of 
 mind that you can with confidence say that you are in the state 
 of grace, so that, if you were presently summoned to the bar of 
 divine justice, you would not have reason to fear eternal damna- 
 tion 1 If you cannot, after a careful scrutiny, feel that you are 
 in these holy dispositions, but are conscious that your soul is 
 burthened with the guilt of one, or of many grievous sins, then 
 at once fall upon your knees, elicit a sincere act of heartfelt 
 sorrow, make a firm resolve at the earliest opportunity to wash 
 away these deadly sins, and be determined never again to be- 
 smear your soul with them. Are you living in the proximate 
 occasion of mortally offending our good God ? What zeal do you 
 show in avoiding all dangerous conversations ; in curbing the 
 licence of the bodily senses, and particularly the sense of sight ; 
 in abstaining from the reading of bad books ; in withholding 
 yourself from the commission of deliberate venial sins ; in setting 
 your face against unseemly talk ? What are your sentiments 
 with respect to those liberties in which some persons think that 
 they may indulge on pretence of bidding an eternal farwell to 
 the world % 
 
 3. The Three Vows. 
 
 What care do you take to exercise yourself in acts of poverty, 
 of chastity, and of obedience 1 
 
 First, with respect to poverty. Examine whether you cleave 
 with overgreat affection to earthly and transitory things. A test 
 of this will be, if you be willing to have a practical experience of 
 the privations to which poverty subjects those who are really 
 poor. Do you waste your money, by foolishly expending it in 
 the purchase of curiosities and of useless knick-knacks % Do you 
 ever take care to succour the suffering members of Christ’s body 
 in the persons of the poor 1 
 
 Secondly, with respect to chastity. Do you show your love of 
 this angelic virtue, by the earnestness with which you strive to 
 
192 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 win and to possess it ? What care do you take to shun, not only 
 the proximate, but also the remote, occasions which lead to the 
 loss of it, yea, even every speck which might detract somewhat 
 from its spotless brightness 1 Are you careful, upon the first 
 advent of evil thoughts to your mind, to dash them against the 
 rock, Christ ? Do you frequently lift up your heart, in fervent 
 prayer to God, for the gift of chastity ; and, for the same end, do 
 you implore the suffrages of the most pure Virgin Mother, and of 
 the other Saints ? Are you accustomed, especially in time of 
 temptation, to call to mind the awe-inspiring images of the great 
 eternal truths ? Do you aim at having constantly before your 
 memory the fact that God is ever present with you ; and are you 
 daily striving to keep your heart fully occupied with Him, 
 inasmuch as this is one of the most efficacious remedies against 
 the demon of impurity ? Are you wont to be over soft and 
 gentle in the treatment of your body ? If, while in the company 
 of others, you either see or hear anything contrary to this 
 delicate virtue, do you strive to emulate the conduct of St. 
 Bernardine of Siena and of St. Francis de Sales % Are you 
 sincere and outspoken with your Spiritual Father concerning all 
 doubts and temptations in matters of holy purity ? 
 
 With respect to obedience. Do you show to your parents and 
 to all those who, in any way, have authority over you, that 
 deferential bearing which they have a right to expect from you ; 
 and do you pay to their orders that prompt attention which 
 Almighty God requires ? 
 
 In your obedience, is that which you do, done purely and 
 simply from some supernatural motive, and not rather because it 
 pleases you, or is convenient, or is delightful to you 1 In matters 
 which are lawful, do you ever try to deny yourself, and to subdue 
 your natural inclinations and tastes ? How do you fill up your 
 time ? If each of its hours has been marked out for certain 
 duties, are you careful never to thrust aside any duty which is 
 somewhat disagreeable to you, in order to occupy yourself with 
 one which is more suitable to your taste and to your humour 1 
 
 4. Stability. 
 
 With respect to this, and to that other duty, “ amendment of 
 
SYNOPSIS. 
 
 193 
 
 manners,” about which special mention is made in the Benedictine 
 form of profession, examine in what way you are preparing for 
 the fulfilment of them during your Religious Life. Therefore, see 
 whether you have an affection for solitude, and, as far as is com- 
 patible with your present condition, whether you seek after it ; 
 not an idle solitude, but one that is at once fruitful and delightful, 
 by reason of the various and useful occupations with which its 
 hours are filled up. Are you kind, respectful, gentle, and 
 sympathetic towards all with whom you live, carefully shunning 
 contention and obstinacy in adhering to your own ideas ? Do 
 you earnestly apply yourself to the necessary task of uprooting 
 any evil habits which you may have contracted ; and how often, 
 and with what intensity of purpose, do you enkindle within your 
 heart ardent desires of daily making greater progress in the ways 
 of perfection ? 
 
 5. Solicitude for the “ Work of God ”. 
 
 Examine into the manner in which you prepare to receive the 
 Sacraments of Penance and of Holy Eucharist ; into the pious 
 affections which you bring with you to these fountains of grace ; 
 and into the favours and the blessings which you are able to draw 
 thence. Have you certain devotional acts which you are 
 accustomed to perform, and certain prayers -which you are wont 
 to say 1 ? With what fervour do you recite your morning and 
 your evening prayers ? Do you daily assist at Holy Mass, 
 examine your conscience, read some spiritual work, meditate upon 
 some mystery of our Lord’s Passion, and, by means of ejaculatory 
 prayers, of internal converse with God, and of pious affections, 
 endeavour to lift up your heart to heavenly things ? In what 
 way do you worship the most Holy Trinity, the Blessed Sacrament, 
 and Christ suffering on the ignominious Cross ? What reverence 
 do you pay to the Blessed Virgin, to your Guardian Angel, to St. 
 Joseph, to St. Benedict, and to your other holy Patrons? How 
 often do you confer with your Spiritual Father, about matters 
 affecting the welfare of your soul ? Do you ever, when a 
 favourable opportunity presents itself, speak with your equals and 
 with your companions about God, and about holy things, and in 
 this way begin to show your zeal for the souls of men ? How 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 THE POSTULANT. 
 
 often do you exercise yourself in eliciting acts of faith, of hope, 
 of love of God and of your neighbour ? 
 
 6. Humility and Patience. 
 
 Consider whether you are in the habit of attributing to God, 
 and not to yourself, whatever good you may perceive to be in 
 yourself ? Are you feelingly convinced that whatever evil there 
 is in you, is the outcome of your own heart, and therefore must 
 be attributed to yourself ? Is there any one to whom you prefer 
 yourself ? Do you excuse yourself, when you are either accused 
 of, or corrected for, any fault ; and are you so cowardly as to tell 
 a falsehood in order to escape punishment, or to deprecate the 
 anger of those from whom you fear it ? At your entrance upon 
 Religious Life, are you ready truly to take up the Cross of Jesus 
 Christ ? Do you frequently and fervently pray to God for the 
 grace and the strength to suffer much for love of Him ? When 
 any adversity falls upon you, does it fill you with dejection and 
 make you desist from your good purposes 1 Do you suffer your 
 indignation to break forth against those who are the occasions, 
 or the causes, of any mishap to you ? Do you associate with those 
 who, on account of the correction administered to them by 
 Superiors, conspire to do them injury ? 
 
 7. The Presence of God. 
 
 Are you careful when alone, as well as when you are in the 
 company of others, to observe that modesty, and that gravity of 
 behaviour, about which we have already laid down for your 
 guidance certain rules and principles 1 Are you in the habit of 
 being too soft and indulgent towards your body 1 In what way 
 do you guard your senses, and how do you curb the passions of 
 your nature ? Have you acquired the habit of imposing upon 
 yourself, with the advice of your Spiritual Father, certain slight 
 bodily mortifications 1 How do you conduct yourself in point of 
 sobriety in food, in drink, in abstinence from certain dainties, 
 and from more sumptuous fare ? Do you aim at putting a 
 restraint upon your appetite with respect to meat and to drink ? 
 In eating and in drinking, is it your chief purpose to enjoy the 
 
SYNOPSIS. 
 
 195 
 
 natural pleasure which is to be derived from your food ? Do you 
 seek after, and strive to obtain, delicate fare, and to be present 
 at feasting ? Are you fastidiously nice in the use of all the con- 
 diments which are placed upon the table % Do you make it a 
 practice to avoid strong and generous wines, partaking of only 
 those which are ordinary 1 Do you, without any reasonable 
 cause, either eat or drink out of meal-time ? While at table, are 
 you careful to season your meat and your drink with pious 
 affections and holy aspirations 1 Do you ever, for love of God, 
 impose upon yourself some slight mortification when you are at 
 table 1 
 
 8. Perseverance. 
 
 Are you firm in your resolve to enter the Cloister and to lead 
 the Religious Life 1 Do you meet with hindrances and contra- 
 dictions with respect to this resolve ? Are you eager, as the time 
 for your admission draws nigh, to make more strenuous efforts to 
 present yourself to God, a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto 
 Him ? 
 
 After duly exercising your mind upon these considerations, 
 be careful always to observe those counsels which are given in 
 the beginning of the Synopsis. 
 
SECOND PAET. 
 
 MEDITATIONS FOR THE RETREAT 
 
 WHICH PRECEDES THE RECEPTION OF THE HOLY HABIT. 
 
 Preliminary Instruction. 
 
 Two things are requisite to ensure a successful issue to 
 these Spiritual Exercises : First, the removal of those 
 obstacles which either wholly or in part stand in the way 
 of their beneficial influence; secondly, the employment 
 of those means which serve to widen the sphere of their 
 usefulness. Therefore, you, who are about to leave the 
 world in order to enter the Monastic or Religious State, 
 must take special care to come to the Cloister, not in 
 body only, but in soul and in mind also ; leaving behind 
 you in the world all voluntary remembrance and all dis- 
 orderly love of it, of relatives, and of other things con- 
 nected with it. For, unless you do this at the very 
 outset, you will create around yourself an atmosphere 
 which will retard the growth of any fruit that might 
 otherwise spring from these exercises ; and you will put 
 an effectual block in the way of your advancement in 
 religious life. Banish from your mind all anxiety, all 
 care, all sadness and every other disturbing element of 
 whatever nature it may be. If any of these should 
 happen still to lurk in your heart, straightway with all 
 
PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTION. 
 
 197 
 
 frankness and sincerity manifest it to yonr Spiritual 
 Father ; otherwise you will not be at peace ; you will 
 consequently be putting a hindrance in the way of 
 grace, and be worrying yourself to no purpose. 
 
 When you have thrust aside these obstacles, attend to 
 the admonition which our holy Father gives in the 
 Prologue t& his Eule : “ Whatever good work thou dost 
 begin, beg of God, with most earnest prayer to perfect,” 
 and humbly ask the grace and the assistance of heaven 
 to accomplish your noble undertaking. Then commend- 
 ing yourself to the guidance of Christ crucified, put 
 yourself under the protection of Our Lady, of your Angel, 
 of Saint Benedict, and of the other Saints, and intrust 
 this important undertaking to their safe keeping. In the 
 next place, gratefully acknowledge the favour bestowed 
 upon you by God, Who has chosen you for this State in 
 preference to many others, and Who permits you, in these 
 exercises, so freely to approach to, and to commune with 
 Him about the important business of your eternal salva- 
 tion. How many are there to whom are denied both 
 the opportunity and the will of doing this ! Therefore, 
 since God puts these graces at your disposal, take heed 
 that you receive them not in vain. Frequently in the 
 course of these exercises encourage yourself with the 
 words of our holy Father : “ Let us therefore arise, since 
 the Scripture stirreth us up and saith : £ It is now the 
 hour for us to rise from sleep,’ and our eyes being opened 
 to the deifying light, let us with wondering ears attend 
 to the admonition which the divine voice daily addresseth 
 to us, saying : ‘ To-day if you shall hear His voice, harden 
 not your hearts ’ ”. Again : “ Our Lord, fulfilling His 
 promises, daily waiteth for us to answer, by our deeds, 
 these His holy admonitions. Therefore, the days of our 
 life are prolonged for the amendment of our evil deeds, 
 
198 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 according to these words of the Apostle : ‘ Knowest 
 thon not that the patience of God leadeth thee to repent- 
 ance ? ’ ” 
 
 Ponder within yourself, and ever keep in view, the pur- 
 pose of these spiritual exercises. It is to learn how to 
 put off “the old man,” and to put on “the new”. It is to 
 develop within you the will to accomplish this difficult 
 task ; to turn your heart from evil, and to make it do 
 good ; to cause you to return, by the labour of obedience, 
 unto God, from Whom you departed by the sloth of dis- 
 obedience. Use every effort to compass these ends ; and 
 bear in mind that by the “ old man ” is meant your 
 former sinful life, while, by the “new man,” you must 
 understand the new life modelled upon that of Jesus 
 Christ. In order to assist yourself in putting off the old 
 man, endeavour to understand the malice and the gravity 
 of sin, and conceive for it the utmost detestation and 
 horror. Reading, followed by deep thought upon that 
 which you have read, will powerfully assist you in the 
 acquisition of this knowledge, and in the conception of 
 this horror for sin which it deserves. But in order to 
 produce these beneficial effects, both your reading and 
 your reflection must be made neither in a superficial nor 
 in a careless way, but seriously and studiously, as be- 
 seems an action of which the aim is to acquire that 
 salutary fear of God upon which the foundation of the 
 Spiritual Life is based. In the next place, during these 
 days of Retreat, make a survey of your whole past life, 
 and if you discover that it has been defiled with the 
 follies and the sins of youth, put off the old man with his 
 acts, by means of a general confession ; fill your heart 
 with sorrow for, and with detestation of, all your offences, 
 and seriously resolve to lead so holy a life in the future 
 as to please God and to atone for all your irregularities. 
 
PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTION. 
 
 199 
 
 Should your conscience not reproach you with any 
 grievous sin, then humbly thank God for His careful 
 watchfulness over you ; hut do not, on that account, 
 omit to make a general confession ; and, for the rest of 
 your days, be on your guard against pride, conceit, 
 presumption, and lukewarmness. With all sincerity 
 acknowledge that you are the last and least of men. 
 Avoid even the remote occasions of grievously offending 
 God ; and, inasmuch as you have been favoured by Him 
 with signal graces, endeavour, after the example of our 
 Blessed Lady, to serve Him with greater fervour ; for, 
 although she was without spot or stain, nevertheless 
 she was the humblest and most unassuming of His 
 creatures. But if, presuming upon the innocence of your 
 former life, you begin to esteem yourself to be better than 
 others are, to expose yourself to dangers, and gradually 
 to fall into a tepid, negligent manner of life, you may 
 with good reason fear that, in the Cloister, you will lose 
 that which ought there to have been in the greatest 
 security. Terrible are the judgments of God with respect 
 to those who are ungrateful, lukewarm, and presump- 
 tuous. 
 
 Furthermore, if you are weak and fear a relapse into 
 sin, either on account of the bad habits which you have 
 contracted in the world, or on account of some other 
 cause, do not rest satisfied with simply standing in fear, 
 but, with all sincerity and frankness, lay open your state 
 to your Superior, and confer with him as to the best 
 means of striking off, by God’s grace, the chains which 
 bind you. Unless, with all sincerity, you do this, the 
 lessons given you during the Novitiate will not bear any 
 fruit ; for “ Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, 
 nor dwell in a body subject to sins ”. 
 
 In order “ to put on the new man,” implant in your 
 
200 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 heart an intense love of, and a profound respect for, your 
 vocation ; and, for this purpose, spend some short time 
 every day in reflecting upon this inestimable benefit. 
 Firmly resolve always to be grateful for it, and so to 
 shape your life as to correspond with it, and, by that 
 means, to clothe yourself with the “new man”. Let 
 your efforts at self-reform consist in truly seeking God, 
 in being prompt for the “ Work of God,” and in being 
 ready for obedience and for humiliation. These are the 
 four dispositions which our holy Father expects to find in 
 every good Novice ; and he who shall bring them with 
 him to the Eeligious Life will speedily be changed into 
 quite another man. Therefore, the days of the spiritual 
 exercises should be employed in earnestly endeavouring 
 to acquire these dispositions, and in firmly resolving to 
 act as he is sure to act whose heart is animated with the 
 fervour which they never fail to inspire. 
 
 Now that you clearly understand the full scope or 
 purpose of these exercises, offer up to God most fervent 
 prayers and supplications, especially during Holy Mass 
 and the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, that He would 
 deign to accomplish this work within you, in a manner 
 conformable with His holy will. For the same purpose, 
 implore the powerful intercession of the Immaculate 
 Mother of God, of our holy Father St. Benedict, and of 
 your Patron Saints. Well knowing how important it is 
 to make a good beginning, and that failure is usually the 
 result of every difficult work which is begun with care- 
 lessness and indifference, be determined to set about this 
 matter of your Eeligious Life, with a large-hearted, 
 generous love of God. Therefore, consider the right 
 commencement of it to be a matter of as great moment 
 as if your whole life, your progress in perfection, and 
 your reward of heavenly glory depended upon it. “ That 
 
PREPARATORY MEDITATION. 
 
 201 
 
 man,” says St. Dorotheus, “who, at the very outset, doth 
 violence to himself, denieth himself, and persevereth in 
 this course, will undoubtedly gain the victory over his 
 passions and enjoy true rest and lasting peace.” There- 
 fore, kneeling before your crucifix, make a firm resolve to 
 spring, with modest alacrity, from your bed, in the morn- 
 ing ; to overcome all repugnance arising from sensuality 
 and from sloth, to offer your first thoughts to God, and 
 then to employ them in reflecting upon the subject of 
 that day’s meditation ; to begin and to go through each 
 action with a good motive ; to be observant of modesty 
 and of silence ; to avoid everything which may be an 
 occasion of distraction ; and exactly to adhere to the 
 arrangement of time marked out in the ‘ ‘ Horarium ”. 
 But, as we cannot of ourselves do any good, implore with 
 earnest prayer the divine assistance, through the most 
 bitter Passion and Death of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Preparatory Meditation to be made on the Day 
 
 BEFORE THE RETREAT. 
 
 “ Hearken, 0 my son, to the precepts of thy Master, and incline the 
 ear of thy heart willingly to hear and effectually to accomplish the 
 admonition of thy loving Father, that by the labour of obedience thou 
 mayest return to Him from Whom thou didst depart by the sloth of 
 disobedience.” — Prolog, in Regulam. 
 
 1. How mild and affectionate is the greeting of our 
 holy Father St. Benedict, to him who has just escaped 
 from the storm-tossed ocean of the world, into the secure 
 haven of monastic life ! He calls him “ son What an 
 honour and a consolation it is to belong to the family of so 
 illustrious a Father; to live under the protection of so 
 
202 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 powerful a patron ; to be cared for by the forethought of 
 so vigilant a guardian ! Only prove yourself to be a 
 worthy son of so noble a Sire, and you will be rewarded 
 in this life, you will be consoled in death, you will be 
 crowned with glory in the world to come. Therefore, 
 thank God with all your heart for having given you 
 this Father, patron, and guardian ; and having resolved 
 worthily to prepare yourself for adoption into his family, 
 be determined henceforth to live in such a way as to be 
 in very deed, and not in name only, a child of St. Bene- 
 dict. For this purpose, consider what are the disposi- 
 tions which he expects to find in those who aspire to be 
 his children. They are three in number — namely, humbly 
 to hearken to his precepts ; willingly to accept them ; and 
 efficaciously to carry them out in practice. 
 
 2. He points this out clearly enough in the words : 
 “ Incline the ear of thy heart willingly to hear, and effec- 
 tually to accomplish Any one who does not possess 
 these necessary dispositions is unworthy to bear the 
 name “child of St. Benedict”. Therefore, an essential 
 condition for the enjoyment of his fatherly protection is 
 that, during the Retreat, during the whole Novitiate, and 
 during your Religious Life, you should hearken to the 
 admonitions of your Rule, to the instructions of your 
 Superior, and to the inspirations of God, bestowed during 
 prayer and spiritual exercises ; that you should receive 
 them with humility of heart ; for the knowledge of 
 spiritual things is hidden from the wise and prudent, and 
 is revealed to little ones; with a mind prompt, willing, 
 and desirous of heavenly science ; for “ a good ear will 
 hear wisdom with all desire”. If you listen with un- 
 willingness and on compulsion only, what benefit can you 
 possibly expect to derive from it? Finally, give an 
 attentive ear unto all that is taught ; apply to reading 
 
PEEPAEATOEY MEDITATION. 
 
 203 
 
 and to meditation, not for the purpose of sharpening your 
 intelligence, but for the purpose of making your will put 
 in practice the instructions which you have received, the 
 lessons which you have learned, and over which you have 
 pondered. When an opportunity of so doing presents 
 itself, rouse yourself into action by the argument which 
 Christ addressed to the Jews, who gloried in being the 
 sons of Abraham, without, however, caring to practise 
 the virtues of Abraham : “If you are the children of 
 Abraham, do the works of Abraham,” intimating by these 
 words that the privilege of which they boasted was 
 profitless to them unless their lives corresponded in 
 brilliancy of virtue with the honourable and noble source 
 whence they gloried to have sprung. In like manner it 
 will profit you nothing to be called, and to be a son of 
 St. Benedict, unless you endeavour to love that which 
 he loved, and to practise that which he taught. What 
 then is your resolution in this respect ? 
 
 3. The reason for which these dispositions are re- 
 quisite, not only during the days of your retreat, but 
 also during the period of your probation, is to be found 
 in these words of our holy Father: “That by the labour 
 of obedience thou mayest return to Him, from Whom 
 thou didst depart by the sloth of disobedience,” or, as 
 we have already said, that you may put off the old man 
 and may clothe yourself with the new ; that you may 
 decline from evil, and may do good by the aid of the 
 various means which shall be suggested to you in the 
 following meditations, in your spiritual reading, in the 
 exercises, and in the instructions which are to come, 
 each in its due time and place. All that you have to do 
 at present is firmly to resolve to bring with you to these 
 instructions a docile heart, and a will ready to carry out 
 in act the lessons which they will impart. But, in order 
 
204 
 
 THE EETEEAT. 
 
 to strengthen this resolve, consider well the necessity for 
 it. So indispensable is it, that, without its support, you 
 will never be able to obtain the object of your desire ; 
 for, as St. Bernard says : “ The ardent lover of obedience 
 will not bestow upon him who is disobedient so great an 
 outpouring of His Own Spirit, as that he will prefer to 
 die rather than not to obey Yet, fear not the phrase, 
 “by the labour of obedience”; for, if at the time when 
 you were disobedient to His precepts, you did not hesi- 
 tate, as the Prophet insinuates, to make God weary with 
 your sins, how can you refuse to endure labour for His 
 sake, in satisfaction for your misdeeds ? But if, by 
 the assistance of God’s grace, you have hitherto kept 
 yourself free from every stain of grievous sin, and if, on 
 that account, you think yourself exempt from the obliga- 
 tion of labouring in the work of obedience, it is to be 
 feared that you have hut a very inadequate notion of the 
 magnitude of so unspeakable a favour ; for, if you had a 
 right notion of it, you would perceive, in very truth, that 
 it is not owing to any innate power of your own, but to 
 the merits of Christ, and to the infinite loving-kindness 
 of God. Ought it then to be a subject of complaint that 
 you must, by means of a little labour, endured in con- 
 formity with God’s will, gratefully acknowledge the 
 labour which Christ underwent, the wounds w'hich He 
 received, and the death which He suffered for your sake? 
 Carefully weigh all these matters, and, from the con- 
 sideration of them, form for yourself suitable resolutions. 
 
FIRST DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 Rising feom Sleep. 
 
 “ Let us, therefore, at last arise, since the Scripture stirreth us 
 up and saith : ‘It is now the hour for us to arise from sleep’.” — 
 Frol, in Jiegulam. 
 
 1. There is a threefold kind of sleep, in which the bulk 
 of men pass their youth. Some fall into it at the very 
 dawn of reason. These are they who, although endowed 
 with faith and with the other virtues which flow from the 
 grace of their baptism, yet when they reach the years of 
 discretion, take no pains seriously and effectually to turn 
 to their last end. In consequence of this, and because 
 they are stupefied by the vapours of their evil passions, 
 they lead an animal rather than a rational life. Others 
 pass the spring-tide of their life in all the freshness of 
 spiritual strength and vigour, but little by little, either 
 through the influence of wicked companions, or through 
 that concupiscence which is born with us, their bloom 
 fades away, their strength dries up, and they sink into 
 the wretched slumber of vice, verifying in themselves 
 that which the Apostle wrote of the Galatians : “ They 
 began in the spirit and would now be made perfect by the 
 flesh”.* Again, there are others who, by a singular 
 
 Gal. iii. 3. 
 
206 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 mercy of God, have not been overcome by the sleep of 
 mortal sin, and yet they are in grievous danger, because 
 they pass their youth in a torpor of soul, little befitting 
 those who have been so highly favoured ; they are guilty 
 of a multitude of venial sins in their service of God, and 
 in matters pertaining to their eternal salvation ; they live 
 in no small danger of being, at last, oppressed with the 
 sleep of deadly sin, when their spiritual strength has been 
 quite exhausted. To which of these classes do you 
 belong ? How have you passed the years of your youth? 
 Seriously weigh these matters, and let your heart be 
 moved with affections suitable to the thoughts which 
 your mind will suggest. 
 
 2. No matter in which of the aforesaid kinds of sleep 
 you may have heretofore passed your life, you must at 
 last arise from a torpor which is at once so hurtful 
 and so full of the deadliest peril. You must arise 
 without delay ; for such, according to interpreters, is the 
 meaning of the phrase : “ Let us arise ”. You have slept 
 long enough. Oh, how many before you have slept their 
 sleep, and have not been awakened from it, till the time 
 for never-ending watching had begun ! Behold, through 
 the loving-kindness of God, there is given to you the 
 opportunity of anticipating, and of avoiding, by timely 
 vigilance, the dread wakefulness of the eternal prison- 
 house. Why then do you delay ? 
 
 3. Weigh with careful thought these words of the 
 Apostle: “It is now the hour for us to arise from 
 sleep”. St. Benedict endeavours by them to rouse you 
 from your slumber. Consider the many hours which 
 in your past life you have spent in sin, in lukewarmness, 
 in blameworthy idleness, and in the other faults of your 
 youthful years. It is with reference to these that the 
 Apostle says to you: “Through the loving-kindness of 
 
ATTENTION TO THE VOICE OF GOD. 
 
 207 
 
 God, now at last has come the hour in which, by a 
 speedy and serious turning to Him, you may redeem the 
 time that is past”. Moreover, remember that during 
 all these hours the Divine Goodness has patiently borne 
 with you, and awaited your repentance. Now He 
 announces to you, by the mouth of His Apostle, that the 
 hour has come. If you suffer it to pass unheeded, mercy 
 will give place to justice, and kindness will be turned 
 into wrath. In the words of the Prophet, God says : “I 
 have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have 
 been patient. I will speak now as a woman in labour.” * 
 Also, those words of the Apostle, “ For now our salva- 
 tion is nearer than we believed,” will powerfully help to 
 shake from their lethargic slumber the souls of those 
 who have composed themselves to sleep. Oh, if you did 
 but truly believe, with a living faith, that your salvation 
 depends upon the good use which you make of this very 
 hour, how speedily would you put an end to all delay, 
 and not suffer a single moment of time, so precious, to 
 slip away without turning with all your heart unto God, 
 Who so lovingly invites you to Himself. 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 Attention to the Voice of God. 
 
 “ And our eyes being opened to the deifying Light, let us with 
 wondering ears attend to the admonition which the divine voice 
 daily addresseth to us, saying : ‘ To-day if you shall hear His voice, 
 harden not your hearts — Prol. in Reyulam. 
 
 1. As on waking from our natural sleep, we once again 
 resume the full vigour and the full use of our bodily 
 
 Isaias xlii. 14. 
 
208 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 senses, so also ought we to arise to full spiritual activity, 
 when, by sincere repentance, we awake out of the sleep 
 of a life which has been passed in vice and in neglect of 
 duty. But it is the mind’s eye which, in accordance 
 with the admonition of our holy Father, we are espe- 
 cially to open to the deifying light, and the soul’s ear, to 
 the sweet accents of the divine voice. Therefore, hasten 
 to obey so salutary an exhortation, and as by the pre- 
 ceding meditation you have shaken off all torpor of mind, 
 delay not to open wide your eyes, which act is the first 
 that is performed by one who is awaking from sleep. 
 Manifold and very brilliant are the lights which our good 
 God displays before you. The reasoning faculty given to 
 you, in preference to so many other creatures, is that light 
 concerning which the Psalmist says : “ The light of Thy 
 countenance is signed upon us, 0 Lord ! ” * Your call- 
 ing to the Catholic Church is that light of which St. 
 Peter writes : “ Who hath called you out of darkness 
 into His marvellous light ”.f The divine inspirations are 
 the lights of which King David says : “ Thou enlightenest 
 wonderfully from the everlasting hill ”, J Finally, by 
 His most holy teaching, and by the example of His most 
 blameless life, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is the Light 
 which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this 
 world. Therefore, in another place He says of Himself : 
 “I am the Light of the world ”.§ Open then your 
 eyes to gaze upon these lights, and see whether it 
 may not, with truth, be said of you also: “He loved 
 darkness rather than the light”. || Deplore your 
 lamentable blindness, and, opening wide your eyes, 
 consider and resolve carefully to follow out, in the 
 
 * Ps. iv. 7. +1 Pd. ii. 9. J Ps. lxxv. 5. 
 
 § St. John vili. 12. || Idem., iii. 19. 
 
ATTENTION TO THE VOICE OF GOD. 
 
 209 
 
 future, that which sound reason, faith, God, and Christ 
 teach you to do. 
 
 2. Not only your eyes must be opened to the divine 
 light, but also your ears must be opened to the divine 
 voice. God has a voice by which He calls men to the 
 knowledge and the love of Himself ; and, if they have 
 sinned, to the doing of penance. This voice calls to us 
 through all created things, which all and everywhere 
 proclaim the wonderful wisdom, omnipotence, and good- 
 ness of God : “ The heavens declare the glory of God, and 
 the firmament declareth His handiwork If men un- 
 gratefully turn a deaf ear to this voice, and, abandoning 
 God, pour forth their love upon created objects, He does 
 not cease, on that account, in a thousand wonderful ways, 
 to call them unto repentance. How have you listened to 
 His voice ? By listening to it, what advance have you 
 made in the knowledge and the love of God ? Have you 
 not far more frequently given your ear to the voice of the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil, each of which flattered 
 you ? Therefore, now, at least, hearken with astonished 
 ears to the voice of the Lord calling you to penance ; 
 otherwise you may, with good reason, fear that He will 
 one day address to you the terrible reproof : “I called, 
 and you refused ; I also will laugh in your de- 
 struction ”. t 
 
 3. Consider, also, in particular, what our good God, 
 by the mouth of the Prophet, deigns to say to your heart : 
 “ To-day, if you shall hear His voice, harden not your 
 heart J By these words, what else does He ask of you 
 than that you should take away from your heart all hard- 
 ness which prevents it from accepting the divine inspira- 
 tions ; that you should straightway resolve to give these 
 a most cordial welcome ; that, rejecting with scorn the 
 
 * Ps. xviii. 1. + Prov. i. 24, 26. X Ps. xciv. 8. 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 THE EE TEE AT. 
 
 suggestions of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to all 
 which you have lent a too ready ear, and by so doing 
 have turned your heart to stone — you should now, at last, 
 eagerly desire to hear the whisperings of the Divine Word. 
 Who is there who would not desire to do so ? Who is so 
 bold and so senseless as to refuse to attend to the Lord 
 of Majesty, when He deigns to speak unto him? “ How 
 prodigous is our folly,” says St. Bernard, “ if, while the 
 Lord of Majesty is speaking to us, we senselessly turn 
 away from Him to busy ourselves about irrelevant trifles ! ” 
 How gross and deserving of chastisement is the insult 
 which we worms of the earth offer to Him, when we will 
 not condescend to listen to that which the Lord of all 
 things says unto us. Yet, how great and how unutter- 
 able is the loving-kindness of our good God, Who every 
 day looks upon us as we turn away our ears and harden 
 our hearts ! In spite of this He speaks to us, and cries 
 out to us in the streets, yea, in the very streets ; for He 
 calls to us with the far-reaching compass of His infinite 
 love. Behold, O Lord ! Thou needest none of our goods, 
 and yet Thou dost say : “Be converted, O ye sons of 
 men!” Thou dost exclaim: “ Return, return, 0 Suna- 
 miters; return, return that we may behold thee!”* 
 Weigh well these words of the saintly Doctor, and con- 
 clude this meditation with an earnest prayer that God 
 would take away the stony heart from your bosom, give 
 you a heart of flesh, and enshrine His own Holy Spirit 
 in the midst of it. 
 
 Sermo xxiii. de Diver sis. 
 
FEAE OF GOD. 
 
 211 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 The Feae of God. 
 
 “ ‘ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith 
 to the Churches. ’ What saith He ? ‘ Come, ye children, and 
 
 hearken unto me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.’ ” — Prol. 
 in Itegulam. 
 
 1. Consider, now, what has to be done, when your 
 torpor of mind has been shaken off ; when your eyes and 
 your ears have been opened ; and when the hardness of 
 your heart has been taken away. In the first place, and 
 before everything else, you must learn to fear the Lord ; 
 for it is written : “ The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
 of wisdom”.* St. Bernard explains, in an admirable 
 manner, the necessity for this fear, and also its various 
 offices : “I have learnt,” he says, “ that there is nothing 
 which so effectually merits the grace of God, preserves it 
 when once it has been obtained, and recovers it when it 
 has been lost, as never at any time to be high-minded, but 
 rather to stand in lowly fear”.f At present you are 
 chiefly concerned about the recovery of divine grace, 
 which you have, perhaps, lost by the sins of your youth. 
 But if, through a singular mercy of God, you have kept 
 it intact until the present day, you must strain every 
 nerve to hold it fast, and to merit a daily increase of your 
 store. Therefore, you must become a docile scholar in 
 learning the fear of the Lord. “Fear,” continues St. 
 Bernard, “ when grace is with you ; fear when it departs 
 from you, and when it once again returns to you : this is 
 always to be in a state of fear. Blessed is the man who 
 is always fearful.” 
 
 2. If grace depart from you, how will the fear of God 
 enable you to recover it, and, when once recovered, to 
 
 Ps. cx. 10. 
 
 + Sermo liv. in Cantic. 
 
212 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 keep it in yonr possession ? “ When grace is withdrawn,” 
 says St. Bernard, “ fear lest yon may straightway fall 
 into sin. Fear, because you perceive that God is angry 
 with you. Fear, because He has ceased to guard you.” 
 This fear will cause you not to remain for a single 
 moment subject to the displeasure of Him Who is able 
 to cast both soul and body into hell, but will make you 
 strive, with your whole heart, to return to your God, and, 
 in every possible way, to use all the various means re- 
 commended by the Church, to appease His offended 
 Majesty. “ If grace is recovered,” proceeds St. Bernard, 
 “ fear still more lest you should fall back into sin, accord- 
 ing to that of the Gospel : ‘ Behold thou art made whole. 
 Go and sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to 
 thee.’ ” Do you hear ? To relapse into sin is much worse 
 than to fall into it for the first time. Hence, because the 
 danger is now much greater, let your fear also increase 
 in intensity. “ This fear ought to stir you up to make use 
 of efficacious means for self-correction, for avoiding occa- 
 sions, for overcoming bad habits, for taming the passions, 
 and for conquering temptations. Unless it engender, in 
 your soul, some such resolves as these, you will not be 
 able, for any length of time, to preserve the grace which 
 you have recovered. If you lose it, how great will be 
 your loss ! Therefore, be ever full of fear, lest so lament- 
 able an occurrence should befall you. 
 
 3. Lastly, consider the effect which the fear of the 
 Lord produces in the soul, when grace is present within 
 it. “When grace is with you,” says St. Bernard, “fear 
 lest you may not make a good use of it.” The Apostle 
 addresses to us a similar warning : “ See that you receive 
 not the grace of God in vain’’.* Writing to his disciple 
 
 * 2 Cor. vi. 1. 
 
FEAR OF GOD. 
 
 213 
 
 Timothy, he says : “ Neglect not the grace that is within 
 thee Also, speaking of himself, he says : “ The grace 
 of God that is in me hath not been void”.f For, being 
 filled with the knowledge of God, he was well aware that 
 the neglect of a gift, or the use of it for any other purpose 
 than for that for which it was intended by the giver, is 
 an insult to him. 
 
 Moreover, when writing to the Corinthians, he says : 
 “ Let him that thinketh himself to stand, take heed lest 
 he fall ”4 Those who are not conscious of having com- 
 mitted any grave sin ought carefully to lay up in their 
 minds this warning, in order always to live in salutary 
 fear; for, as sinners ought to fear because they have 
 fallen, so also ought the just to fear because they may 
 fall. Let them be afraid of themselves, and of their own 
 weakness; let them never presume upon their own 
 strength; nor prefer themselves to others; nor in any 
 way be guilty of pride. Let them never think that they 
 are quite secure ; nor incautiously go into danger ; nor 
 expose themselves to the peril of sin ; let them never set 
 themselves up as guides in the Spiritual Life, nor ever 
 cease imploring, with most fervent prayer, the aid of 
 divine grace. If they neglect to do this, they may fall 
 at any moment. Therefore, let him who thinketh him- 
 self to stand, take heed lest he fall. 
 
 Unless you solidly build yourself up in these lowly 
 sentiments of fear, you will speedily be overthrown. 
 Therefore, follow the advice of the Wise Man : “ Keep 
 the fear of God, and grow old therein”^ 
 
 * 1 Tim. iv. 14. + 1 Cor. xv. 10. \ Idem. , x. 12. 
 
 § Ecclus. ii. 6. 
 
SECOND DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 Gikding the Loins. 
 
 “ Our loins, therefore, being girt with faith and with the obser- 
 vance of good works, and our feet being shod with the guidance of 
 the Gospel of peace, let us walk in His ways.” — Prol. in Regulam. 
 
 1. The Religious State is very properly called “the 
 way of the Lord,” both because it is the King’s high-road 
 which leads direct to God, and because in it are 
 especially exercised those virtues and those evangelical 
 counsels which Jesus Christ, Who calls Himself the Way, 
 has taught us both by word and by example. In order 
 to make the entrance to this way an easy one, our holy 
 Father, in the above-cited words, suggests to us the dis- 
 positions of soul, which will cause us to make little 
 account of the seeming obstacles that stand before us. 
 Do you, therefore, who are now at the very entrance of 
 this way, attentively listen, that you may the more 
 readily catch what these are, and may diligently employ 
 the means which will procure them for you. But first 
 lift up your mind to God, and return to Him most heart- 
 felt thanks for having pointed out to you this path, and 
 humbly beseech Him to give you grace to enter upon it, 
 and to traverse its whole length in such a manner as will 
 please His Divine Majesty. 
 
 2. The first disposition necessary for entering upon 
 
GIRDING THE LOINS. 
 
 215 
 
 this way is to gird up your loins. Commenting upon 
 these words, Turrecremata says : “ If we desire speedily 
 and without impediment to run along this way, we must 
 gird up the loins both of our body and of our mind”. 
 Chastity girds up the loins of our body, in reference to 
 which Our Lord says : “ Let your loins be girt ” ; and St. 
 Gregory : “We gird up our loins, when, by self-restraint, 
 we repress the luxury of the flesh”. But it is by faith, 
 and by the practice of good works, that we gird up the 
 loins of our mind. Weigh well these words; for it is 
 upon the exact performance of that which they inculcate 
 that your progress in the Religious Life will depend. 
 
 (1) Therefore, your loins must be girt with the girdle of 
 chastity. What eagerness do you display to possess this 
 angelic virtue ? Be assured that, unless it be so great 
 and vehement as to cause you to prefer death rather than 
 incur dishonour, you will never find out the King’s high- 
 way in the Religious State, but will travel along the 
 brink of frightful chasms, over which God grant that you 
 may never slip, and fall headlong into the yawning abyss ! 
 
 (2) You must be girt with the girdle of faith and of good 
 works. For he who wishes securely to travel this road 
 must be equipped with the principles of faith ; he must 
 cast far from him all worldly prudence and worldly 
 maxims, which are contrary to that true Christian 
 wisdom, and to that unvarying rule of faith which Jesus 
 Christ, both by word and by example, has put before all 
 His followers. (3) In addition to faith, you must have 
 good works also ; for faith without works is dead. St. 
 Bernard, speaking to the same purpose, says : “ Do you 
 believe in Christ ? Then, do the works of Christ, in order 
 that your faith may be a living faith, that love may put 
 life into your faith, and that action may prove it to be 
 alive.” What are your sentiments upon these matters? 
 
216 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 Pray unto God, and with respect to them make strong 
 and serious resolves. 
 
 3. Another disposition necessary for making this jour- 
 ney without ever stumbling on the way, is that your feet 
 should be well shod. By the feet of the soul are usually 
 understood the affections, which must, by means of 
 virtues, be protected against the various hurtful obstacles 
 which are to be met with in the service of the Lord ; 
 just as our feet are covered with shoes to protect them 
 from the stones of the highway. This protecting of the 
 affections is brought about in two ways : First, by culti- 
 vating those virtues which are opposed to the vicious 
 habits which you have contracted, so that, if up to the 
 present time you have been slothful in the service of 
 God, you must now be industrious ; if heretofore drowsy, 
 now wakeful ; if heretofore given up to the pleasures of 
 taste, now sober and abstemious; if unchaste, now pure 
 of heart; if attached to self-will, now obedient in all 
 things. Secondly, by aiming at solid virtue ; for he 
 who pursues only the shadow of virtues will always be 
 exposed to the danger of dashing his feet against the 
 stones, and of yielding to the temptations which invariably 
 attack those who are about to undertake this journey. 
 Therefore, wisely accept this salutary advice, and in due 
 time make provision for the successful prosecution of the 
 journey of your Beligious Life. Fix your eyes upon the 
 holy Fathers, who in so great numbers have preceded 
 you on this royal way, and continually beseech Our Lord 
 to give you the grace courageously to tread in their 
 footsteps. 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF OUE LAST END. 
 
 217 
 
 MEDITATION II * 
 
 Knowledge of our Last End. 
 
 “ Let us, therefore, now prepare our hearts and our bodies to fight 
 under the holy obedience of His commands.” — Prol. in Regulam. 
 
 First Preparation : the Knoivledge of our Last End , and of the * 
 Benefit of Creation. 
 
 1. From all eternity God has been most happy in Him- 
 self. He has no need of anything whatever. Yet, out 
 of His infinite goodness, being desirous of communicating 
 Himself to His creatures, He, in the beginning, created 
 the heavens, the earth, the whole fabric of the universe, 
 and completed His labour on the sixth day. On that 
 same day, when the world was furnished with every 
 variety of created objects, and when all things had been 
 established in their due order, He created man, according 
 to His own image and likeness, and set him over the 
 fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts 
 of the field, the whole earth and over every creeping thing 
 that moveth upon the face of the earth. Therefore, what- 
 ever exists in the heavens and in the wide circuit of the 
 earth, has been made for man’s use and benefit. The Angels 
 were created, in a certain sense, to keep him in all his ways; 
 the heavens, to be his everlasting abode ; the heavenly 
 bodies, to concur, as universal causes, by their movement 
 and by their influence, in the preservation and in the re- 
 novation of mankind and of all inferior creatures ; the four 
 elements, stones, plants, animals, the heavenly bodies 
 and minerals, to preserve his life, to heal his maladies, to 
 
 * This and the four suceeding Meditations treat of the pre- 
 paration necessary, on the part both of the soul and of the body, for 
 entering either the Benedictine or any other Keligious Order. 
 
218 
 
 THE EE TEE AT. 
 
 comfort him and to afford him pleasure during his mortal 
 pilgrimage. Have you ever reflected upon this immense, 
 this unspeakable benefit of creation, by which, without 
 any previous merit on his part, but solely through the 
 boundless love of God, man has been raised to so sublime 
 a pre-eminence over all the other creatures of the earth ? 
 Who will not cry out with the Psalmist : “ What is man 
 that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou 
 shouldst visit him?”* After recalling all these blessings 
 and privileges, reason thus with yourself : this immense 
 benefit is so common to the whole human family, that it 
 nevertheless touches each individual member of it in 
 particular ; therefore it touches me. Has, then, the God 
 of infinite majesty, Who needeth not my goods, been 
 from all eternity mindful of me ? Has He, then, setting 
 aside so many other possible beings, given me existence, 
 and that, too, no low form of existence, hut one which is 
 so excellent as that of man, who is made to the image 
 and the likeness of God, Whom all created things obey 
 and serve? Then, turning to God, say with St. Augus- 
 tine : “ Whence is this to me, O most loving, most high 
 God, most merciful Father, most powerful Creator, and 
 ever most gentle, what are my deserts, what is the grace 
 with which I am endowed, that Thou shouldst be pleased 
 to call me into being? O Wisdom, Who openest the 
 mouths of the speechless; O Word, by Whom all things 
 are made, open Thou my mouth ; give me the voice of 
 praise, and I will recount all the mercies which Thou, 
 from the beginning, hast bestowed upon me.”t Deplore 
 your own and other men’s ingratitude, in not estimating 
 at its right value this surpassing and excellent benefit. 
 
 2. The ultimate end for which God created these and 
 
 Ps. viii. 5. 
 
 + Soliloq., cap. vii. 
 
KNOWLEDGE OF OUE LAST END. 
 
 219 
 
 many other objects is that man may know, may love, 
 and may serve Him. This is the end appointed by God 
 for every man, without exception : if he attain it, he will 
 be eternally happy ; if he do not, he will be for ever 
 miserable. It is God’s will that material things should 
 serve man, in order that man himself may serve God. 
 He has made an infinite variety of them. He has multi- 
 plied them beyond measure. He has bestowed upon 
 them magnitude, beauty, power, perfection, that from 
 the contemplation of them man may learn the omni- 
 potence, the wisdom, and the goodness of the Creator, 
 and may love Him with a love far surpassing that with 
 which he loves any created thing whatever. If man 
 will but give to Him a love such as this, He promises to 
 him a life of eternal happiness ; if, however, neglecting 
 God, he fastens the love of His heart upon created 
 things, and serves them, He threatens him with pains 
 and penalties that will last for ever. Therefore, carefully 
 examine into the life which you have heretofore been 
 leading. Has it been in conformity with an end of such 
 sublime dignity? Have you, from the first dawn of 
 reason till this present hour, spent your years in the 
 way in which you are obliged to spend them — in know- 
 ing, in loving, and in serving your Creator ? How many 
 hours, days, weeks, months, and perhaps whole years, 
 have you devoted to the love and the service of earthly 
 and most worthless things ? Arise, therefore, now at 
 last ; detest your former slothfulness ; make a firm pur- 
 pose of amendment ; from this moment begin, as it were, 
 for the first time, to make a right use of your reason ; 
 consecrate the faculties of your soul, of your body, and 
 of your whole self to the love and the service of God. 
 The greater has been the length of time which you have 
 devoted to the service of the world, and to the love of its 
 
220 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 vanities, the more intense ought to be the earnestness 
 and the fervour with which you should now be animated. 
 
 3. Consider what an excellent opportunity our good 
 God affords you for carrying your firm resolve into effect, 
 by calling you, in preference to so many others, unto the 
 Eeligious State. The world subjects its votaries to a 
 wretched bondage, and in this way withdraws them 
 from the service of their lawful Master ; for no one can 
 serve two masters. It feeds them with the love of 
 temporal goods and of abominable pleasures, and in 
 this way leaves them without any love for their Creator, 
 the supreme and only good ; for two loves so contrary to 
 each other cannot at the same time find a resting-place 
 in the same heart. Religious Life, on the other hand, 
 has this one end in view — to free those who enter upon 
 it from the tyrannical slavery of the world ; to remove 
 from their path whatever would be prejudicial to a sincere 
 love of their Creator, Who is most worthy of all their 
 love ; and to furnish them with all the most efficacious 
 means for making continual progress in the service and 
 in the love of God. Give thanks for so singular a grace, 
 and firmly purpose to make a good use of these most 
 excellent opportunities for laying up for yourself treasures 
 in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 Horror and Hatred of Sin. 
 
 The Second Preparation : Knowledge of the Gravity of Sin — 
 Deep Horror and Hatred which it ought to inspire. 
 
 1. Sin is the greatest of evils. Among those things which 
 the world calls evil, it is the only real evil, inasmuch as 
 it is only sin which attacks God Himself, Who is the 
 
HORROR AND HATRED OF SIN. 
 
 221 
 
 true, the essential good. It strives to snatch Him away 
 from man, whereas all the other evils which are so much 
 dreaded by us — such as war, famine, fire, pestilence — 
 cannot deprive us of our true good. Consider, there- 
 fore, why it is that we fear so little that greatest of 
 evils as to thrust ourselves of our own free will into it ; 
 while we dread with such genuine terror, and by every 
 means in our power strive to escape from, those temporal 
 ills which are ills only in appearance. O the blindness 
 of mortal man ! Do you, at least, open your eyes ; look 
 into yourself ; and find out what progress you have made 
 in hatred and in horror of every sin; and know for 
 certain, that unless you entertain for it a horror which 
 is appreciatively supreme, you will never taste of the 
 liberty and of the felicity which the Religious State 
 promises to those who, with proper dispositions, enter 
 upon it. 
 
 2. God is in Himself the supremely good Creator, 
 Preserver, Redeemer, Judge, and Benefactor of mankind. 
 Consequently, man is bound faithfully to serve Him, and 
 to love Him above all created things, with an apprecia- 
 tively supreme love. But, by sinning, he rebels against 
 Him, under each of these titles, and, shaking off the yoke, 
 says: “I will not serve”. He fastens his whole love 
 upon objects the foulest and most worthless, and by his 
 acts throws the heavenly Court and all its bright inhabi- 
 tants into a stupor of sorrow and of amazement. There- 
 fore it is that God Himself cries out : “Be astonished, O 
 ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof be very desolate. 
 Por My people have done two evils. They have forsaken 
 Me, the Fountain of living water, and have digged for 
 themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no 
 water.” * Reflect upon each of God’s titles: Creator, 
 * Jerem. ii. 12. 
 
222 
 
 THE EE TREAT. 
 
 Preserver, Redeemer, Judge, Benefactor ! Oh, if you had 
 but known and clearly understood them, how could you 
 have dared in the past, how will you ever dare in the 
 future, to abandon and to forget that supreme, essential 
 Good, that most loving Father, to Whom you are indebted 
 for your very existence ? Is this the return which you 
 make to Him Who has preserved you ? Is it thus that 
 you treat Him Who, for love of you, took upon Him- 
 self human nature, was born in a stable, was laid in a 
 manger ? Is it thus that you behave towards Him Who, 
 being preserved amidst countless pains, injuries, and 
 miseries, to die for you, underwent an agony and a sweat 
 of blood ; Who was violently seized by His enemies, 
 was hurried and dragged through the streets, was struck 
 by His captors, was falsely accused, was scourged, was 
 crowned with thorns, mocked, loaded with the Cross, 
 crucified ; and Who, at last, amid unspeakable torments, 
 gave up His soul to God ? Have you been so bold as to 
 maltreat Him, Who is able to cast both soul and body 
 into hell ; Who will come to judge the living and the 
 dead; Who will render to every one according to his 
 works ? Is this the gratitude which you manifest towards 
 Him, Who, in addition to the afore-mentioned benefits, 
 has heaped upon you many others which are not perceived 
 by the bodily senses ? Without any merit on your part, 
 but solely by His loving condescension, He has called you 
 into His most marvellous light by the Catholic Faith and 
 by baptism, while at the same time He has suffered so 
 many thousands to grope in the darkness of unbelief. By 
 His sweet and wonderful providence, He has led you 
 about, taught you, and guarded you as the apple of His 
 eye. Over you He has spread the wings of His fatherly 
 protection ; He has taken you up, and has carried you in 
 His arms. Finally, to say nothing of other benefits which 
 
HORROR AND HATRED OF SIN. 
 
 223 
 
 are too numerous to be mentioned, He has established 
 you in the Holy Land of Eeligious Life, to eat the fruits 
 of the field ; to suck the sweetest honey of spiritual con- 
 solation from the rock ; to enjoy the oil of heavenly 
 unction ; to partake of the butter and of the milk, of the 
 fat of the land, of the marrow of wheat, and of the deep 
 red blood of the grape, all which may, in a spiritual sense, 
 be most aptly understood of the good things of the Eeligious. 
 Life. Oh, if you had but attentively revolved these and the 
 like thoughts in your mind, could it possibly have come 
 to pass that, after being so enriched and so highly favoured 
 in every possible way, you would abandon the Lord your 
 Creator, and depart from God your Saviour ? 
 
 3. How wretched is the state of a Eeligious, who is not 
 filled with an appreciatively supreme horror of sin ! 
 For, if we consider his state with respect to mortal sin, it 
 is evident — and we shudder as we think of it — that he is 
 living in peril of eternal damnation. Moreover, while he 
 is in this truly pitiable condition, every action which he 
 performs, in virtue of ordinary obedience, he puts into a 
 sack pierced with holes. It is impossible for such a one 
 to enjoy a single moment of true peace. But, if we look 
 at his condition with respect to venial sin, we must ac- 
 knowledge that, if he is habitually given up to these 
 defects, it is as impossible for him ever to obtain any 
 mental repose, as it is for one who is loaded with fetters 
 to walk freely. Furthermore, it is to be feared — and 
 this is not by any means a matter of rare occurrence — 
 that, as a punishment of his ingratitude, God will abandon 
 him to a state of lukewarmness, and to the blindness 
 which springs from it. In consequence of this he will 
 by degrees fall into graver sins ; then into a habit of sin, 
 and into a kind of spiritual lethargy; afterwards, into 
 contempt; and at last into final impenitence. Having 
 
224 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 thus become reprobate, he will incur that punishment 
 which will last for all eternity. From an attentive con- 
 sideration of all these evil consequences, you will clearly 
 understand how necessary for him, who wishes to enter 
 upon the Eeligious Life, is this second preparation. 
 Therefore, make efficacious resolutions with respect to 
 everything which has reference to it. 
 
THIRD DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 Esteem and Love of youb Calling — Desibe of 
 Winning Pebfection — Good Will. 
 
 1. Yon cannot have failed to remark how negligently, 
 and in what an offhand manner, people are accustomed to 
 treat those things which they neither esteem nor love. 
 Also, it cannot have escaped yonr notice that the love 
 and the esteem which they have for any object infuse 
 such a vigour into their actions as to cause them willingly, 
 and with exactitude, to do everything that is in any way 
 connected with that which they esteem and love. From 
 this it is evident that your advance in the Religious Life 
 will depend upon the love and the esteem which you 
 have for your calling. Many and forcible are the argu- 
 ments which might be adduced to prove this. However, 
 we will bring forward only one ; listen attentively to it, 
 for in it is contained the comparison which St. Bernard 
 makes between the Religious and the Secular Life. 
 
 “ In the Monastery life is contemplative, in the world 
 it is active; in the Monastery life is saintly, in the 
 world it is sinful ; in the Monastery life is spiritual, in 
 the world it is carnal ; in the Monastery life is heavenly, 
 in the world it is earthly ; in the Monastery life is peace- 
 ful, in the world it is full of contention ; in the Monas- 
 tery life is tranquil, in the world it is full of unrest ; in 
 the Monastery life is chaste, in the world it is given 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 over to luxury ; in the Monastery life is perfect, in the 
 world it is full of defects ; in the Monastery life 
 virtuous, in the world it is vicious; in the Monastery 
 life is just, in the world it is unjust.”* This and much 
 more to the same purpose concerning the Benedictine 
 Order in particular, you will find in the succeeding 
 meditations. But, for the present, let that which has 
 been said suffice to convince you of the necessity for this 
 love, in order that, if you still feel yourself somewhat 
 remiss in this respect, you may strive, by every means in 
 your power, to stir up the flagging energy of your heart. 
 But, at the same time that you esteem and love your 
 own calling, beware of contemning, or of feeling an 
 aversion from the other States of Life, and from the other 
 Religious Orders. This kind of love is not of God, “ for 
 charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed 
 up”.+ 
 
 2. In order that your love of your calling may be solid, 
 it must be joined with a great desire of reaching that 
 degree of perf ection which may be obtained in it. He 
 who loves his calling for any other purpose than for that 
 of winning the perfection which may be gained in it, does 
 not, in reality, abandon the world, but only covers his 
 worldliness with the monastic habit. Therefore, if you 
 wish to follow the Religious Life, you must bring with 
 you to the Cloister a great desire of perfection. But if 
 you esteem and love your calling either because you 
 think that in it your manner of life will be easier, your 
 food richer, your drink more pleasant, your leisure more 
 abundant ; or because you hope to be advanced to 
 dignities and to honours, you will be wretched indeed, for 
 your soul will lack that preparation which would make 
 
 St. Bernard, Ejpist. ad Sororem. 
 
 1 1 Cor. xiii. 4. 
 
ESTEEM AND LOVE OF CALLING, ETC. 227 
 
 you savour the things that are of God. In order, then, 
 that your desire of perfection may be strong and ardent, 
 bear in mind that God liberally communicates Himself 
 unto those who eagerly aspire to perfection, according to 
 these well-known words : “ Blessed are they that hunger 
 and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill or, 
 as Our Lady expresses it, in her Canticle : “ He hath 
 filled the hungry with good things ’\+ Therefore, stir up 
 within yourself this desire, in order that you may largely 
 participate in the outpouring of His liberality. 
 
 3. As the way of perfection is very strait, it is neces- 
 sary, if you wish to walk in it with evenness of mind, 
 that you should bring with you a willingness to accept 
 all that you will be taught by your Master and by 
 spiritual books, no matter how repugnant to your natural 
 inclination, to your notions of honour, and to your self- 
 love it may chance to be. The special reward of this 
 good will is that constant tranquillity which was an- 
 nounced by Angelic Choirs upon that night when Our 
 Saviour first entered this world : “ And on earth peace to 
 men of good will”. But an evilly disposed will puts an 
 effectual stop to the influx of those spiritual favours 
 which ought to flood the soul; for “wisdom will not 
 enter a malicious soul”. However, as all other good 
 and perfect gifts follow in the wake of wisdom — “ail 
 other good things came to me with her ” — so these seven- 
 fold gifts of hers will flow past us if she will not enter our 
 hearts. In order, therefore, that you may clearly under- 
 stand in what consists that good will which is of such 
 vital importance to you, we will here point out the marks 
 by which it may be known. (1) A truly good will has 
 that man who prefers to die a thousand deaths rather 
 
 St. Matt. v. 6. 
 
 + St. Luke i. 53. 
 
228 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 than, by mortal sin, offend Almighty God. (2) Who will 
 not deliberately commit even a venial sin; and if he 
 should have the misfortune to do so, will grieve for his 
 transgression. (3) Whose only anxiety is, lest he should 
 lose his heavenly home and God. (4) Who frequently 
 laments over his sins, and firmly resolves never more to 
 repeat them. (5) Who distrusts himself, and places all 
 his confidence in God. (6) Who willingly receives correc- 
 tion, and is not filled with indignation, but humbly 
 resolves to amend that for which he has been corrected. 
 (7) Who, with the superior part of his soul, patiently ac- 
 cepts all adversities as sent by God ; thinks that he has 
 deserved them ; and for all things gives God thanks. (8) 
 Who is not headstrong, but gladly listens to, and follows 
 the advice of the wise. For good will is simple-minded, 
 and in its own affairs has a higher esteem of other men’s 
 judgment than it has of its own. (9) Who neither wills 
 nor desires to will anything else than that which God 
 wills, but entirely commits himself to the providence of 
 God, even in matters which are repugnant to sensitive 
 nature. (10) Who, in the depth of his heart, desires not 
 anything, nor seeks, nor fears anything save God only. 
 (11) Who is content with all that God arranges, and 
 approves of it as being the best that could happen. (12) 
 Who gladly accepts occasions of humbling himself and 
 of withdrawing himself from the notice of men ; who loves 
 not the world, but ardently sighs after heaven; who 
 eagerly strives to imitate the Saints, in order that he may 
 be admitted into their blessed company. Examine 
 whether your will has any of these marks, and if it has 
 not, at least desire to have them ; for he who truly wishes 
 to have good will is, without doubt, already in possession 
 of it. 
 
DISTRUST OF SELF, ETC. 
 
 229 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 Distrust of One’s Self — Confidence in God — 
 Prayer. 
 
 1. All these preparatory dispositions will be worth 
 nothing, unless they be accompanied by distrust of self, 
 by confidence in God, and by all-powerful prayer. 
 Therefore, understand well, that without the aid of God, 
 and the merits of Christ, you are utterly incapable of 
 doing any supernaturally good action ; for Our Lord 
 says: “Without Me, you can do nothing”;* and St. 
 Paul : “We are not sufficient (i.e., able) to think any- 
 thing of ourselves, as of ourselves ; but our sufficiency is 
 from God”.+ Hence it is evident that you must be 
 deeply penetrated with a sense of your own weakness, 
 and, therefore, be altogether distrustful of yourself. For 
 so great are the weakness, the helplessness, and the 
 inconstancy of the human will, that no trust either can 
 be or ought to be put in it, especially when, as in the 
 present instance, there is question of actions which 
 surpass the force of nature. Consider, then, the horrible 
 condition of even the most excellent men, who, putting 
 too great trust in their own strength, are in a moment 
 cast down headlong, and thrust into hell. From their 
 wretched fate learn wisdom, and, with an utter distrust 
 of self, begin to pursue the course of your spiritual life. 
 
 2. Because of your exceedingly great weakness, you 
 must never either withdraw from or give up your good 
 resolutions, even when you find yourself in the midst of 
 the gravest difficulties ; with all the more earnestness 
 have recourse to our good God, by means of complete 
 
 St. John xv. 5. 
 
 + 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
 
230 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 trust in Him. As, then, “ all our sufficiency is from God,” * 
 Who giveth abundantly to all men, and suffereth not 
 any one to be tempted beyond bis strength ; Who is able 
 and willing to help us ; and Who knows how to do so, in 
 all our necessities ; in the might of Whose power we can 
 do all things, — what else must we do than persevere in 
 the confidence which we have towards Christ and God ? 
 Therefore, from this time forth, commit yourself to the 
 most loving protection of God, by having recourse in all 
 your necessities to Him Who says : “Because he hoped 
 in Me, I will deliver him ; I will protect him because he 
 hath known My name ”.+ On account of the negligences 
 and the faults which you commit, never lose courage in 
 His service ; but, having humbly acknowledged them and 
 blotted them out by repentance, arise with new courage, 
 and never give up the good work which you have under- 
 taken. “No one hath hoped in the Lord and hath been 
 confounded.” J 
 
 3. From the avowal of your own weaknsss, and the 
 acknowledgment of the goodness and the power of God to 
 succour you in all your needs, there springs prayer, by 
 which we beseech Him, through His divine grace, to 
 effect that which our frail nature is of itself unable to 
 accomplish. To the constant exercise of this holy action, 
 especially at the beginning of every good work, St. 
 Benedict most earnestly exhorts his children, saying : 
 “ Whatever good work thou dost begin, beg of Him with 
 most earnest prayer to perfect ”.§ 
 
 The work which you are undertaking is one of great 
 importance ; therefore, it would be a mark of presump- 
 tion in you to begin it without most earnest prayer. 
 Consider with what ardour our holy Father, when fleeing 
 
 * 2 Cor. in. 5. + Ps. xc. 14. $ Ecclus. ii. 11. § Frol, in Reg. 
 
PREPARATION ON PART OF THE BODY. 
 
 231 
 
 from Rome to undertake his Religious Life, commended 
 himself unto God, and implored the divine aid. His 
 example, and that of the other Saints of our Order, who 
 all began their Monastic Life with most fervent prayer, 
 will teach you to go and do in like manner. Therefore, 
 in this respect, tread in the footsteps of those who have 
 gone before you. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 The Preparation Requisite on the Part of the 
 Body. 
 
 1. God must be worshipped by man, not with the body 
 only, nor with the soul only, but with his whole being. 
 This is only just, for God has given Himself entirely unto 
 man, and from His hands man has received all the good 
 things which he possesses. Therefore, after having 
 meditated upon the preparation for the service of God 
 necessary on the part of the soul, you must now consider 
 what preparation is requisite on the part of the body. 
 Your first disposition with respect to the body must be 
 that, regarding it in no other light than in that of an 
 instrument, or a servant of the soul, you should treat it 
 in a way befitting its lowly condition : “ Bread, and 
 correction, and work for a slave 
 
 The body, indeed, must be nourished, but with 
 common food — “ bread for a slave ”. If it rebels, it 
 must be beaten with rods — “ correction for a slave 
 In fine, see that it grows not sluggish with idleness — 
 “work for a slave”. But it may be that, from your 
 earliest youth, you have brought up your servant in too 
 
 Ecclus. xxxii. 25. 
 
232 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 dainty a manner, and that yon now discover that he has 
 grown insolent. If this is so, bear in mind, on that very 
 account, that the obligation which rests upon you of at 
 last bringing him to a sense of his true position, is all the 
 more weighty and imperative. 
 
 2. In the course of the Religious Life we have to 
 endure many things which are burthensome and distaste- 
 ful to the body : such are watching, fasting, abstinence, 
 cold, continual labour, fatigue, and similar inconveniences. 
 In order manfully to bear all these, bring with you a 
 firm, fixed resolve. If hitherto you have passed your 
 days amid all the pleasures which flatter the flesh, think 
 of that which is written in the Book of the Apocalypse : 
 “ As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in 
 delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to 
 her”.* Consider all that Christ, the Son of the Eternal 
 Father, suffered for your sake, in His most holy body ; 
 reflect upon all the torments, the crosses, and the afflic- 
 tions which the Saints went through, in order to win the 
 palm of victory; pass in review all the hardships and 
 the troubles which men of the world will readily bear, 
 in order to obtain a little glory, a few acres of land, and 
 even objects more worthless still, while you — to your shame 
 be it said — will not do far less to obtain the kingdom of 
 heaven. “No one,” says St. Gregory, “can attain to 
 great rewards, except through great labours.” f Imitate 
 those Saints who made a sort of compact with them- 
 selves, not to give to their bodies any rest during this 
 mortal life, in order that, after the great resurrection, 
 they might be able to rejoice in perpetual peace, and to 
 abound with delights. This is the second disposition 
 which is requisite on the part of the body. 
 
 Apoc. xviii. 7. 
 
 t Rom. xxxvii. in Lucam. 
 
PEEPAEATION ON PAET OF THE BODY. 
 
 233 
 
 3. The third consists in forcing the body, not only to 
 undergo all the labour and to bear all the annoyances 
 which, in consequence of regular observance, fall to its 
 lot, but also oftentimes to prevent it from enjoying even 
 those pleasures which are in themselves lawful. This it 
 may do by frequently performing some slight acts of self- 
 denial — in seeing, in hearing, in tasting, in smelling, in 
 touching, and in speaking. This right ordering of the 
 outward man, which cannot be effected save by oft- 
 repeated acts of self-denial, is the first work which must 
 be undertaken by beginners. If it be neglected, they 
 will not, without great difficulty, attain to interior things, 
 and probably they will never at all attain to them. You 
 have now a clear idea of the preparation necessary, both 
 on the part of the soul and on the part of the body, for 
 making a good entry upon the service of God in the 
 Beligious State. All that now remains to be done is 
 that you should carry out in act all that you have 
 learned. In the following meditation, you will hear our 
 holy Father’s instructions concerning the manner in 
 which you are to conduct yourself during the course 
 of your Novitiate. 
 
FOURTH DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 The Benefit of a Religious Vocation. 
 
 1. Reflect upon the benefit of a Religions Vocation, and 
 consider it with respect to those dangers from which it 
 sets yon free. If yon think but for a few moments upon 
 the character of the world, and upon its unutterable 
 wickedness, the magnitude of the favour w^hich God has 
 bestowed upon you, in snatching you from its seething 
 whirlpool, will begin to unfold itself before you. 
 
 The world is an abyss of darkness so dense, that its 
 votaries are not able to see themselves, nor the foul gar- 
 bage upon which they are feeding, nor the abominations 
 of the place in which they are dwelling, nor the horrors 
 of that to which they are hastening : “ they know not, 
 neither have they understood ; they walk in darkness ”. 
 Hence they think that they are wise, whereas they are 
 fools ; they think that they are something, whereas they 
 are nothing ; they call good evil , and evil good. 
 
 The world is false, deceitful, and truth is not found in 
 it. Outwardly it is all gold ; within it is all clay. It is 
 like unto a dunghill covered with snow. It is like unto 
 a sepulchre : all beautiful without, but within full of 
 rottenness and of corruption. Behold how deceitful is 
 the world, which devours even those who love it, accord- 
 ing to that saying of St. Augustine : “ Thou lovest the 
 world, and it will swallow thee ”. Its wealth is deceit- 
 
BENEFIT OF RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 
 
 235 
 
 ful ; its favour is deceitful ; its power and glory are deceit- 
 ful, as may be proved by the testimony of numberless 
 witnesses, and by examples which are occurring every 
 day. 
 
 The life of the world is very laborious : “We wearied 
 ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have 
 walked through hard ways”.* Pass in review all its 
 darling pursuits, and you will find that the vices which 
 cluster round them are but so many insatiable vultures, 
 preying upon the vitals of the soul. 
 
 The world is full of dangers. Who can enumerate 
 them, whether they are considered as threatening the 
 life of the body, or the far more precious life of the soul. 
 Having revolved these and similar thoughts in your mind, 
 exalt and praise the goodness and the mercy of God, Who 
 hath drawn you out of darkness into His marvellous 
 light ; out of a prison full of deceit, oppression, toil, and 
 danger, into an abode of truth, peace, rest, and security. 
 Therefore, rejoice, as they did, who were saved in the 
 Ark, from the waters of the Deluge ; as Lot rejoiced, 
 when snatched from the flames of Sodom ; as the Israelites 
 rejoiced, when they escaped from the slavery of Pharaoh 
 and from the wrath of his army ; as the three Children 
 rejoiced, when protected from all harm even in the midst 
 of the Babylonian furnace. 
 
 2. Consider the magnitude of these benefits, viewed 
 with respect to the advantages which a Religious enjoys 
 in the life which he has embraced. The first of these is 
 that, from the fact of being called to Religious Life, he has 
 great reason to hope that he is among the number of the 
 predestined : “ O happy Religious Life,” exclaims St. Ber- 
 nard ;t “ O blessed life, angelic life ! In very truth Reli- 
 
 Wisd. v. 7. 
 
 + Sermo de Margar. 
 
236 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 gious Life is a paradise. This is no other than the house 
 of God, and the gate of heaven. O most beautiful gate ! 
 through which we enter the kingdom of heaven ; by which 
 the reward of heaven is carried away and possessed ; by 
 which we obtain the patrimony of our eternal inheritance ! ” 
 The second is the “ hundredfold” which is given to him 
 in this life, when, instead of one father, of one mother, of 
 a few brothers, of a home, of external, temporal, earthly 
 possessions, he receives as many fathers and brothers as 
 there are members of the Order, who will all love and stand 
 by him with a more sterling show of affection than would 
 those whom he has left, for God’s sake. He receives, more- 
 over, a commodious dwelling-place, and is well provided 
 with food, raiment, and all internal spiritual blessings. 
 In return for the nothingness of the world, he obtains his 
 God, and with Him all other things besides. The third 
 is that he is furnished with every opportunity of entirely 
 giving himself up unto God, and to the care of his own 
 salvation, provided that he does not attempt to busy him- 
 self about matters which do not concern him. Fourthly, 
 he has a share in all the good that is done by the whole 
 Order, by the Monastery in which he lives, and by so 
 many thousands of Saints in heaven and upon earth. 
 
 Fifthly, he has at his disposal every means for advanc- 
 ing in perfection, such as holy books, religious exercises, 
 the frequent use of the Sacraments, the right distribution 
 of his time, the good example of his Brethren, a Buie 
 which leads most directly to heaven, the guidance and 
 the advice of his Superiors, and of those who love him as 
 their brother, and ungrudgingly share with him their 
 own goods. 
 
 Sixthly, he has the opportunity of amassing an incal- 
 culable store of merits, growing out of the virtue of 
 obedience, if only he will observe the Buie, follow the 
 
BENEFIT OF RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 237 
 
 method of Monastic Life, and accept the advice of his 
 elders ; all which practices, from their very perfection, 
 are deserving of the highest esteem. St. Bernard thus 
 sums up the advantages of Religious Life : “In Holy 
 Religion, one lives more purely ; falls more rarely ; rises 
 more speedily ; advances more cautiously ; is more 
 frequently bedewed with heavenly grace ; rests more 
 securely ; dies more confidently ; is cleansed more 
 speedily ; is rewarded more abundantly Weigh well 
 each of these advantages, and turning to God, give 
 thanks for so singular a benefit. Firmly purpose to lead 
 such a life in Holy Religion as will effectually guard you 
 against ever despoiling yourself of these munificent 
 favours. 
 
 Reflect upon the horrible nature of the evil which a 
 Religious commits, who, after so many and so signal 
 graces received from God, still persists in being His 
 enemy, and thereby, of his own free will, deprives him- 
 self of so great a mass of spiritual wealth. That you 
 may never incur so enormous a loss, flee from every 
 deliberate sin as you would flee from the face of a 
 serpent ; detest all lukewarmness ; strive to comprehend 
 with your intelligence, to embrace with your will, and to 
 carry out in act, all that will further the end for which 
 you entered Religion, and will prove useful in aiding you 
 to accomplish your purpose. Then earnestly beseech 
 God, Who has inspired you with the will to do this, 
 to give you the grace to effect that which He has 
 inspired. 
 
 Sermo de quaer. : bona marg. 
 
238 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 The End of the Religious Vocation in General. 
 
 1. He who is called by God to the Religious State does 
 not fully respond to so gracious an invitation by the mere 
 fact of entering one of the Orders approved of by the 
 Church. To do that is to pay but a very small portion 
 of the debt of gratitude which he incurs in consequence 
 of having been the object of so marked an expression of 
 God’s favour. The great bulk of it consists, after taking 
 this first step, in fixing the eye of his soul upon the 
 purpose for which he has embraced Religious Life, then 
 in following out that purpose with unswerving tenacity 
 of will, by keeping ever present before his mind the end 
 for which Almighty God has established Religious 
 Orders in His Church. This end, as those who have 
 written upon the subject admit, is none other than the 
 attainment of Christian perfection. To discover, and to 
 gain possession of, this precious pearl, all things else 
 must be abandoned. For it is that hidden treasure in 
 comparison with which the wealth of the world must be 
 considered to be of little value. Therefore fix the eye of 
 your mind upon it as upon the mark at which you are to 
 aim, and make a strong resolve with the help of God’s 
 grace to win it for yourself, even at the cost of all the 
 wealth, of all the pleasures, and of all the honours of the 
 world. 
 
 2. Religious perfection, as Castaniza observes, does 
 not consist in a notable degree of science and of learning ; 
 nor in eloquence ; nor in deeds which, in the eyes of men, 
 are considered to be great and wonderful ; it does not 
 consist in apparitions, visions, illuminations, and in 
 other divine favours ; nor in heroic works of moral virtue ; 
 
END OF RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 
 
 239 
 
 nor in austerity of life, such as extraordinary bodily 
 mortifications, the use of hair-shirts, of fasting, and of 
 watching ; nor in spiritual sweetnesses, and in pious and 
 fervent affections ; nor in a multiplicity of daily prayers ; 
 nor in assiduous attendance in Choir ; nor in the obser- 
 vance of silence prescribed by Eule, in solitude of life, 
 in the discipline of a reformed Rule, and in other exter- 
 nal practices of a like nature. These are but so many 
 means to gain perfection, some of which means are more 
 necessary for that purpose than others ; among which we 
 may count self-denial, the practice of virtues, and of 
 patience under trials. Although these are the earthly re- 
 wards of perfection, and the signs by which we may judge 
 of its presence in the soul, yet they may all be found in 
 one who is absolutely void of any Christian perfection 
 whatever. In order, therefore, that you may secure for 
 yourself the possession of true perfection, give special 
 heed to the following counsels. First, let not your chief 
 aim, during your Novitiate, and during the time of your 
 Religious Life, be to exercise yourself in one, or even in 
 many of the laudable practices just enumerated, but to 
 use them with the advice of your Spiritual Father, as 
 means to obtain real, solid perfection. Secondly, be not 
 overwhelmed with sadness, nor troubled in mind, if you 
 have not so quick an intelligence, and possess not so 
 much learning and facility of speech as you would wish ; 
 if you have not strength of body to endure extraordinary 
 mortification; if you do not experience those spiritual 
 consolations, and those tender affections with which some 
 persons are favoured ; if you cannot apply to those mani- 
 fold prayers, and to those deep meditations in which some 
 are able to exercise themselves. Be not down-hearted, 
 as though, by not being able to do these things, you were 
 incapacitated for obtaining the end of your vocation ; for 
 
240 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 it does not consist in any of them. Thirdly, take not 
 any vain complacency in yourself; esteem not yourself 
 to be better than others are, no matter how excellent 
 your natural ability, your learning, and your talent may 
 be, since these advantages are held in but scant esteem 
 by God, Who did not take them away from His greatest 
 enemies, the devils, to whom you are far inferior in all 
 such gifts. Do not flatter yourself, be not puffed up with 
 pride, if you practise austerities, and are favoured with 
 spiritual consolations, and give yourself up to long prayers, 
 because practices of piety such as these, are found in men 
 who are imperfect, who are slaves to their passions, and 
 enemies of God. Fourthly, especially beware of giving 
 way to sadness, to murmuring, or to disquiet, if by the 
 fatherly providence of God, either directly through His 
 own action, or indirectly through the action of Superiors, 
 you are prevented from employing either one or many of 
 the aforementioned means, of which you desire to make 
 use, such, for instance, as either learning or eloquence ; or 
 if through sickness or through obedience you are taken 
 away from those pious exercises which you were accus- 
 tomed to perform with great pleasure and peace of soul. 
 This is a matter of no small moment. Therefore, deeply 
 reflect upon it, and, with most ardent affection, turning 
 to God, make such resolves both in this respect and in 
 respect to those other matters proposed in this considera- 
 tion, as will be a source of consolation to you now, and 
 for all eternity. 
 
 3. Consider in what essentially consists that religious 
 perfection, which we have said is the end of your voca- 
 tion. It consists in the love of God, as the Holy Spirit 
 teaches: “The end of the commandment is charity”.* 
 
 1 Tim. i. 5. 
 
END OP RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 
 
 241 
 
 “ But above all these things have charity, which is the 
 bond of perfection,” * “ Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of 
 the law.” f This charity, however, in order to be perfect, 
 must be like to a firmly rooted and fruitful tree ; for 
 charity which is not deeply rooted either quickly withers 
 or is prostrated by every wind of temptation ; and a 
 charity which does not bear fruit cannot be pleasing to 
 God. The roots of charity during this present life are 
 faith and hope. Without these it cannot stand firm ; for 
 the Apostle says : “ Now there remain faith, hope, and 
 charity, these three — but the greatest of these is charity”.^ 
 Its fruits are the acts of the other moral virtues, which 
 spring up and flourish because of its presence in the soul. 
 If it has not these, it is like unto that tree spoken of in 
 the Gospel, which tree bore leaves only. It is liable to 
 the curse of God. By faith and by hope charity is kept 
 in full vigour, and is able to resist all the attacks of the 
 devil, the world, and the flesh, which aim at its destruc- 
 tion ; for no temptation, no adversity, no snare, is able 
 to prevail against a strong faith and a firm trust in God. 
 The pages of Holy Writ are full of proofs which establish 
 this truth : “ By faith the Saints conquered kingdoms, 
 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 
 escaped the edge of the sword, became valiant in battle ; 
 others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they 
 might find a better resurrection § Besides the ex- 
 ceeding glory which the Sacred Writings give to charity, 
 they point out to us the acts of other virtues, each in its 
 own kind as belonging to charity ; so that there is not 
 any species of perfection which it does not possess in 
 order to enable us to live worthily in this state of life. 
 
 * Coloss. in. 14. + Rom. xiii. 10. X 1 Cor. viii. 13. 
 
 § Heb. xi. 32, 35. 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 Yon are not bound actually to be perfect, but only to tend 
 unto it, as every Christian is bound to tend to it, by the 
 means afforded by his state of life, and also as a future 
 Religious, by employing these means, which you find 
 ready to your hand in your present calling. What pro- 
 gress have you made thus far ? You must not desist from 
 tending towards this perfection, till the day of your death. 
 Let not any difficulty prevent you from entering upon, 
 and from pursuing its ways. These ways the evil spirits 
 beset like robbers ; the world with its deceits will go 
 forth to meet you ; the flesh will prove refractory. But 
 nevertheless, do you be courageous. Take unto your- 
 self the impenetrable shield of faith and of steadfast trust 
 in God, and the more you distrust yourself the greater 
 let your confidence be in God, committing yourself wholly 
 to His guidance. Be not downcast if you advance slowly ; 
 but, with humble and long-suffering patience, bear with 
 your own imperfections. Provided that you desist not from 
 making serious efforts to advance, you will most assuredly 
 experience the marvellous forethought and the secret 
 direction of our good God in your behalf. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 The End of your Vocation to the Benedictine Order 
 
 IN PARTICULAR — The MEANS, GENERAL AS WELL AS 
 PARTICULAR, WHICH ARE TO BE USED BY THOSE WHO 
 ARE CALLED TO THIS ORDER. 
 
 1. Besides the general end which, as we saw in the 
 preceding meditation, is perfection, each Religious Body 
 has some particular purpose for which it was instituted. 
 This may be called its proximate end; and, if viewed 
 with respect to its ultimate and to its mediate end, may 
 
END OF VOCATION TO THE BENEDICTINE ORDER. 243 
 
 be considered as the principal means by which it accom- 
 plishes its purpose. Some have poverty for their proxi- 
 mate end ; others, silence ; others, mortification of the 
 flesh; others, the preaching of the Word of God. The 
 Benedictine Order, however, puts before those who make 
 profession of its Buie, the acts of the contemplative life 
 as its primary proximate end. These acts are all those 
 which immediately tend to the sanctification and the 
 salvation of their own souls. Nevertheless, its secondary 
 and less principal end, — which is not, however, an acci- 
 dental end, but one which is its own from its very 
 institution, — are the works of the active life, directed to 
 the perfecting and the saving of souls, but so ordered 
 that the active is always subservient to the contempla- 
 tive life. Moreover, this active life is never taken up by 
 any of its members, except at the command of Superiors, 
 and in that measure and in that degree which it may 
 seem good to them to appoint. Therefore, if you wish 
 to be a true Benedictine, give yourself up primarily and 
 wholly to your own advancement in sanctity, and, with 
 all possible earnestness and striving, work out your own 
 salvation, leaving everything else to the will and the dis- 
 posal of your Superiors. Consequently, you may gather 
 from this, that he whose chief aim is to labour for his 
 neighbour, has quite missed the purpose of the Bene- 
 dictine Order ; for it may happen that he may never be 
 intrusted with any such charge during the whole course 
 of his life. Examine, therefore, into the motives by 
 which you are swayed. 
 
 2. The Benedictine Order, in a most special manner, 
 places before its members, as means for the acquisition 
 of personal perfection, true obedience and humility, 
 which are such characteristic features of its spirituality, 
 that, in a certain sense, the attainment of them may 
 
244 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 be looked upon as its end ; and he who fails to acquire 
 them cannot, with truth, be called a Benedictine. One 
 may be a Benedictine without great corporal austerity, 
 without external solitude, without any other heroic 
 actions, but, without obedience and humility, he can no 
 more be a true Benedictine than there can be a sun with- 
 out light, or a fire without heat. Therefore it is that 
 our holy Father and Legislator, in the beginning of the 
 Prologue to his Buie, informs those who come to him 
 that they must learn to be obedient: “Hearken, my son, 
 and effectually accomplish the admonitions of thy loving 
 Father, that by the labour of obedience thou mayest 
 return to Him from Whom thou didst depart by the 
 sloth of disobedience. To thee, therefore, are my words 
 directed, who, renouncing thy own will, dost take upon 
 thee the strong and bright armour of obedience, to fight 
 under the Lord Christ, our true King.” Again, as the 
 same holy Father, in the fifth chapter of the Rule, says 
 that obedience cannot exist without humility — of which 
 experience gives us most practical proofs — deservedly is 
 humility joined with obedience, and on these two virtues 
 the spirit and the end of the Order are said to rest. As 
 special meditations will be given farther on concerning 
 these two fundamental virtues, which our holy Lawgiver 
 considers to be essential for a good Novice, in order to 
 ay down a solid basis, do you, in the meantime, examine 
 with what affection you are drawn towards these virtues, 
 and be assured that your advancement in Holy Religion 
 will be in exact proportion to your advancement in 
 obedience and in humility. 
 
 3. Before proceeding to consider the particular means 
 which are most suitable for rightly beginning your 
 Novitiate, and for bringing it to a successful issue, you 
 must, first of all, learn the general means employed by 
 
END OF VOCATION TO THE BENEDICTINE ORDER. 245 
 
 every Religious Body, and then the particular means 
 employed by the Benedictine Order, by which each 
 strives to gain its end, or, in other words, to win religious 
 perfection. The first general means are the vows — 
 poverty, chastity, and obedience, The second is the Rule 
 itself, written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 
 The third are stability and amendment of manners. 
 The fourth are the Constitutions, ceremonies, laudable 
 customs, admonitions, instructions of the Order, of the 
 Monastery, of Superiors, of our Spiritual Fathers. The 
 fifth, which is implicitly contained in the former, but is 
 nevertheless worthy of special attention, is the frequent 
 and devout use of the Sacraments of Penance and the 
 Holy Eucharist. From the consideration of these 
 various means, gather the following precepts for your 
 own special benefit : (1) Although while a Novice you 
 are not bound by the vows of Religion, nevertheless you 
 would act very foolishly if you were resolved to practise 
 the virtues which are promised to God by the vows, only 
 after , and not before , you have made those vows ; but, in 
 the meantime, while you are still free, were determined 
 to be unduly attached to worldly things, to indulge in 
 self -gratification, or at least in that self-gratification 
 which is not gravely sinful, or which is not contrary to 
 chastity — and this even people who live in the world are 
 bound to do — and to give yourself free scope to commit 
 other faults of a similar character. To act in this way 
 would, we repeat, be foolish ; for it would expose you to 
 the danger of falling away even after your profession, in 
 consequence of the evil habits which you would contract. 
 For it is ordained that the year of probation should go 
 before Religious Profession, not only that you may 
 acquire a speculative knowledge of all that you will after- 
 wards have to do for the rest of your life, but also that 
 
246 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 you may acquire good habits and prove by actual experi- 
 ment whether you are able to bear the yoke which will 
 be laid upon your shoulders by the obligation of the 
 vows. (2) Conceive a very high esteem of the Holy 
 Rule, both because its primary Author is the Holy Spirit 
 — St. Benedict, filled with the spirit of all the Just, being 
 but its secondary author — and because this is the law 
 under which you wish to serve, and for which you one 
 day will have to render an account. Also because it is 
 the most direct way of going to God. (3) To facilitate 
 the acquisition of that stability which will repress the 
 spirit of curiosity and of pride, be charitable, meek, 
 humble, complaisant, and patient towards all, and from 
 your inmost soul look upon yourself as inferior to every- 
 body else. (4) Observe with the utmost exactitude all 
 the public and the private regulations of Superiors, not 
 through motives of human respect nor through fear of 
 any one, but through a supernatural love of religious per- 
 fection. (5) Finally, be most carefully on your guard 
 against ever suffering the frequent use of the Sacraments 
 to degenerate into mere routine, which is so detrimental 
 to perfection, and so grave a hindrance to all advance in 
 the ways of God, that in our limited space it is impos- 
 sible adequately to describe it. Therefore resolve to act 
 in such a manner as will become one who is invested 
 with so great a dignity. 
 
FIFTH DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 The First Requisite in a Good Novice, “ that he 
 
 SHOULD TRULY SEEK GOD 
 
 1. The great St. Bernard tells ns what it is “ truly to 
 seek God,” when he says : “It is, to seek for nothing 
 else as we seek for Him ; it is to seek for nothing else 
 besides Him ; it is to seek for nothing else after Him ; 
 it is to seek for nothing in preference to Him, nor with 
 Him ; and it is not to turn away from Him to any created 
 thing whatever”.* A Benedictine monk thus describes a 
 Novice who truly seeks God: “He truly seeks God, who, 
 in his secret life, does not aim at anything else ; who 
 neglects himself in all things ; who altogether abandons 
 his self-will and attends entirety to the well-being of his 
 soul. It is, in very truth, a terrible calamity that men 
 should be led to the Religious Life, by the devil and by 
 the flesh ; that they should live in the Monastery as if 
 they had come to live for themselves ; and that, having 
 come to seek God, they should find only themselves, and, 
 by finding themselves during the years of fleeting time, 
 should lose themselves for all eternity.” f Of which 
 number are you ? With what intention have you entered 
 the Monastery? In what w T ay do you purpose to live 
 during the time of your Novitiate, and after it has come to 
 a close ? Confess the matter as it realty is, and deceive 
 
 Sermo xxxvii. de Divers. f Gerardus Belgicus. 
 
248 
 
 THE EETEEAT. 
 
 not yourself ; God searcheth the reins and the heart, and 
 there is naught that can be hidden from Him. Do you 
 truly seek God and your own salvation in this Order ? 
 Have you been lured hither by any human respect, or by 
 any worldly consideration ? If the former motive has 
 led you hither, exult, rejoice, and praise God, because He 
 has dealt mercifully with you ; and be assured that you will 
 find Him when in truth you seek Him. But if the latter 
 motive has influenced you, go not one step farther, until 
 you have generously and with all your soul detested these 
 evil intentions, ejected them from your soul, and cast 
 them behind your back for ever. Protest, with all the 
 earnestness of which you are capable, that you wish to 
 enter Religion for no other purpose than to love God and 
 to save your soul. If you cannot with your whole heart 
 determine to do this, lay the matter before your Spiritual 
 Father, and take counsel with him concerning it ; but if 
 you will not do this, one of these two things will happen : 
 either you will not persevere in the career upon which 
 you have entered, or you will live in it a most wretched 
 life. 
 
 2. Consider how important it is that each should be 
 led to enter the Religious Life by a right and sincere 
 intention of seeking God. “ If once the heart be cor- 
 rupted in its intention, the action which follows will be 
 securely held by the wily enemy ; for he sees that the 
 whole tree will bear fruit for him, the root of which he 
 shall have pierced with his venomous tooth.” * We 
 must use the utmost vigilance, lest, while occupying our- 
 selves with good works, our mind be stained with a per- 
 verse intention, f Have you never seen a plant or a tree, 
 the root of which is dead ? Although it remains green 
 
 S. Greg., Mor cdia , lib. i. 
 
 + Ibid. 
 
TRULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 249 
 
 and flourishes for a short time, yet it presently withers 
 and dies. So is it also with one who enters Religions 
 Life, and remains in it without a good intention. Our 
 intention is like to a root, which, when it has decayed, 
 speedily infects the rest of the tree — that is to say, our 
 life and our morals ; and though it may at first exhibit some 
 signs of life, and may give forth a good odour, yet, after a 
 short time, it will either be uprooted and cast forth from 
 the garden of Religious Life — “ I passed by, and lo, it was 
 not ! ” * — or, if it be suffered to remain, because its root, 
 or evil intention, is not changed and has been concealed, 
 not only will it not bear any fruit of virtue, but it will 
 lose, through its own fault, the worth of its most excellent 
 external growth or actions, and will become unto others 
 an object of loathing. But to God, to the Founders of 
 the Religious Order, and to others better than ourselves, 
 we shall be hurtful, inasmuch as we shall be occupying 
 ground to which we have not any right, and of which we 
 are unworthy. Have a great dread of so wretched a 
 state. Take your own affairs in hand. Turn yourself 
 wholly to God, and, concerning your intention, take with 
 Him those measures which will conduce to your eternal 
 well-being. 
 
 3. As an evil intention is productive of very bad effects, 
 so, on the contrary, a good intention of truly seeking God 
 is productive of very good effects. Of these latter we 
 will place before your mind’s eye two, which we beg of 
 you to examine with all care. The first of these is a 
 wondrous repose and tranquillity of soul, even in the 
 midst of adversity and contradiction. What was it that 
 made the Spouse, in the Canticles, so self-possessed as 
 not to be provoked by blows, wounds, and injuries, to 
 
 Ps. xxx vi. 36. 
 
250 
 
 THE EE TEE AT. 
 
 betray any movement of indignation ? It was, without 
 doubt, because she was intent on seeking her Beloved. 
 This desire of finding Him, wherewith her soul was ani- 
 mated, made her insensible to all else, and incapable of 
 being influenced thereby. A somewhat similar result 
 happens in the case of those who, with a sincere desire of 
 seeking and of finding God, enter Religious Life, and per- 
 severe in their good dispositions ; for nothing can take 
 away peace and repose of mind from him who is able to 
 say : “I have entered Religion with no other intention 
 than with that of seeking my Beloved, for Whose sake I 
 am ready to endure hardships, injuries, and contradic- 
 tions”. The second effect is perseverance. That which 
 lures so many from Religious Life, and from good under- 
 takings, oftentimes is nothing else than the fact either of 
 never having seriously determined to seek only God and 
 to adhere to Him, or of having been induced to enter 
 Religion for some temporal motive. When they discover 
 that they neither are able, nor are permitted to have that 
 for which they crave, they withdraw their hand from the 
 plough, and look back to the worldly life whence they 
 came. But he who has determined truly to seek only 
 God possesses with that very resolve a great earnest of 
 his perseverance ; because our good Lord flees not from 
 those who seek Him, but willingly goes forth to meet 
 them, and imparts strength to enable them to persevere 
 and to resist whatever may oppose their steps, “ for they 
 that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good 
 Therefore, if you wish to enjoy, in Religious Life, an un- 
 interrupted peace and repose of mind, even in the midst 
 of the trials which will not fail to test of what metal you 
 are made; if you desire to persevere in it until death, 
 
 Ps. xxxiii. 11. 
 
QUALITIES OF TRULY SEEKING GOD. 251 
 
 daily advancing more and more in all good — make use of 
 the means which have been proposed to you in this medi- 
 tation ; truly seek your God with your whole heart ; de- 
 test any other intention ; and, if any such shall creep in, 
 humbly ask pardon for it. Turning to your most loving 
 God, offer yourself entirely unto Him, as Christ offered 
 Himself when He entered the world, when He was pre- 
 sented in the Temple, when He was immolated upon the 
 Cross ; offer yourself with a most pure intention, as our 
 Blessed Lady, as St. Benedict, and as all the Saints did. 
 Most earnestly beseech our good God to accept your 
 offering ; to be pleased with it ; to help you by His grace, 
 and to give you strength to complete, by perseverance, 
 that which you have begun for His glory. 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 The Qualities which are Required on the Part of 
 those who Seek the Lord. 
 
 1. The first quality concerns the manner in which we 
 seek God. This must be “with our whole heart”. God 
 Himself points out this to us when He says : “ When 
 thou shalt seek there the Lord thy God, thou shalt find 
 Him; yet so if thou seek Him with all thy heart, and all 
 the affections of thy soul “ Why, O man ! ” asks St. 
 Anselm, “ dost thou wander about seeking the goods of 
 soul and of body? Seek them by love, and in thy search, 
 love the one Good in which are all good things, and it is 
 enough. Desire the simple good which is all good, and 
 it is enough.” What is more just than that with your 
 whole heart, you should seek only Him, unto Whom you 
 
 Deut. iv. 29. 
 
252 
 
 THE EETEEAT. 
 
 owe yourself upon so many titles ? You belong wholly 
 to God, because He created you, and, by preserving you 
 in life, continues the work of your creation. You belong 
 to God in a far more excellent way than other creatures 
 of the earth do, because of the more excellent manner of 
 your creation; for He fashioned you to His own likeness. 
 You belong to Him, not only upon the title of creation, 
 but also upon the title of redemption : “ You are not 
 your own, for you are bought with a great price 
 Jesus Christ bought you at a price of infinite worth, 
 which is none other than His labour, His sorrow, His 
 blood, His suffering, His death, all which are worth 
 infinitely more than you are. It follows from this that 
 you are wholly God’s, inasmuch as you belong to Him 
 upon an infinity of titles. Turning, therefore, unto God 
 with all the affection of your heart, cry out with St. 
 Bernard : “ If I owe my whole life to You for having 
 made me, what shall I add for the fact of Your having 
 repaired me, and of having repaired me at so great a 
 cost ! By Your first act, You gave me to myself ; by 
 Your second, You gave Yourself to me ; and by giving 
 Yourself, You restored me to myself. Therefore, having 
 been given and restored, I owe myself for myself, and I 
 owe myself upon a twofold title. What return shall I 
 make to You, O God ! for Yourself ? Even if it was pos- 
 sible for me to spend myself a thousandfold, what am I 
 compared with You, O my God ? ” f Determine, at least, 
 to do that which it is in your power to do — namely, to 
 spend your whole heart in seeking God, and never more 
 to divide it between Him and creatures. Eor having 
 done this in the past, grieve with all the earnestness of 
 your soul, and most humbly ask pardon. 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 20. 
 
 *t* Trad, de dilig. Deo. 
 
QUALITIES OF TKULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 253 
 
 2. The second quality has reference to time, and is 
 that you shall seek God from your first entrance into the 
 Monastery, until the last moment of your life. Hence 
 the Psalmist exhorts us “to seek His face always”;* and 
 St. Augustine says : “ While we are here, let us always 
 seek ; and let not the fruit of our finding be the end of 
 our seeking. For, because He is to be sought only here, 
 we do not, therefore, say that He is not to be sought 
 always ; but we say that He is always to be sought here, 
 lest at any time we should think that we are to desist 
 from searching for Him.” f The words of St. Leo har- 
 monise well with those of St. Augustine: “No one 
 draws nigher to the knowledge of truth than the man 
 who is intelligent in divine matters ; yet, though he shall 
 have made great progress in this learning, there will 
 always be something for him to seek after. For, he who 
 imagines that he has already arrived at the goal towards 
 which he is tending, does not find that after which he is 
 seeking, but fails in the search.” { Therefore, do not 
 kindle the fire of your zeal for piety and for perfection, 
 in order that it may burn only for the year of your Novi- 
 tiate. 
 
 Do not feed yourself upon the empty and hurtful hope 
 of one day having more "liberty ; but, bear in mind, and be 
 fully persuaded that the Eeligious State is one of perpetual 
 violence to nature ; and that the contest ceases not till 
 the soul is separated from the body. This life is not the 
 time for ease, but for labour. During the year of 
 Novitiate, only the foundations of your spiritual life are 
 laid ; on these, your whole subsequent life till your last 
 breath is built, and should go on daily increasing in per- 
 fection. By your Eeligious Profession, by your priest- 
 
 Ps. civ. 4. 
 
 t In loc. cit. 
 
 £ Sermo ix. de Nativ. 
 
254 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 hood, and by the various offices of trust which are given 
 to you, you are burthened with a greater obligation of 
 advancing in perfection. They are not so many reasons 
 for obtaining greater freedom of action, nor for claiming 
 exemptions. Even until the hour of death, man is never 
 allowed to give over his pursuit of perfection ; and this 
 holds good, in a very special way, of the Religious man. 
 These are principles of the Religious Life, most necessary 
 and most incontrovertible. They will meet and destroy 
 all those hurtful opinions in the contrary sense, which are 
 the roots whence very baneful fruit may spring. With 
 what sentiments are you filled with respect to these 
 principles ? On these sentiments much will depend ; for 
 the recently baked vessel long retains the odour of the 
 liquor which is first poured into it. 
 
 3. The third quality is that with fortitude and with 
 undaunted mental courage you should seek God : “ Seek 
 ye the Lord and be strengthened.”* Many are the 
 opposing difficulties, many the bitter enemies wdio in the 
 beginning confront those who are seeking God. 
 
 Unless you arm yourself against these with great forti- 
 tude of soul, you will grow weary of fighting ; from being 
 weary, you will fall into languor; and from being 
 languid, you will altogether give over the contest. “ My 
 son,” says Ecclesiasticus, “ when thou comest to the 
 service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare 
 thy soul for temptation.” t “ Let all the rigour and the 
 austerity,” says our holy Father, “by which we tend 
 towards God, be laid before the Novice.” X 
 
 St. Martin used to say that Jesus could nowhere be 
 found except upon the Cross. You see, then, how neces- 
 sary it is for you to have this quality, if you would not 
 
 * Ps. civ. 4. + Cap. ii. 1. X R&g., cap. lxviii. 
 
QUALITIES OF TRULY SEEKING GOD. 255 
 
 give over your search after God. Therefore, prepare 
 yourself for all that is rigorous' and austere — that is to 
 say, for many bodily inconveniences, for watchings, for 
 opprobrious treatment and the like, for weariness, afflic- 
 tions, and desolations, — and resolve, for the love of God, 
 and in imitation of His despised and mortified Son Jesus, 
 willingly and with generosity to endure all these heavy 
 crosses, not to desist on account of their weight from 
 seeking your Beloved, but rather to persevere, like the 
 faithful Spouse, during the night of tribulation, and in 
 the midst of injuries and of wounds : “ By night I sought 
 Him Whom my soul loveth ; the watchmen who kept the 
 city found me, they struck and wounded me, the keepers 
 of the walls took away my veil from me But, as a 
 set-off against this, bear in mind that our good God will 
 not suffer you to be tried beyond your strength, but will 
 make also with the temptation issue that you may be 
 able to bear it. We have His own word for this : “I am 
 with him in tribulation, I will deliver him and I will 
 glorify him ”.f Again, “The Lord is nigh unto them 
 that are of a contrite heart, and He will save the humble 
 of spirit ”.J Of this the Spouse had experience, for she 
 says of herself : “When I had a little passed by them, 
 I found Him Whom my soul loveth ; I held Him, and I 
 will not let Him go”.§ You also will experience the 
 like ; therefore enter with fortitude upon your new state 
 of life, and you will afterwards confess that you have 
 been most amply repaid for all the labours which you 
 have undergone, and for all the inconveniences and the 
 afflictions which you have suffered. 
 
 * Cant., cap. iii. 1, 3, and cap. v. 7. + Ps. xc. 15. 
 
 I Ps. xxxiii. 19. § Cant. iii. 4. 
 
256 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 The Hindrances which Oppose those who are 
 Seeking God. 
 
 1. He who desires to win for himself anything which 
 he holds in high esteem is careful to look forward some- 
 what and to remove from his path any obstacle which 
 may either delay or hinder him in the attainment of that 
 at which he aims. You are now, with all your heart, 
 seeking God ; therefore make it your business to discover 
 and to remove all those things which may block your 
 path. With some, the first obstacle is an immoderate 
 love of parents and of relatives. “ Jesus is not found 
 among His kinsfolk and acquaintance.” Affection for 
 these has made very many give up the search for Him ! 
 How do you find yourself disposed in this respect ? That 
 affection makes a Eeligious liable to be disturbed by 
 everything which pains and troubles his relatives, and 
 therefore it not unfrequently causes him to lose the 
 repose and the peace for which, while living in the world, 
 he so much longed. In addition to this, it robs him of 
 God Himself, Who is the Prince of peace. This love of 
 relatives, when not strictly confined to its proper place, 
 becomes for a Eeligious a positive snare, which so 
 entangles him in the wretched cares of the world, that he 
 is sometimes tripped up by them and plunged headlong 
 into a seething whirlpool of unrest. But even if these 
 evils do not result from it, a love of relatives, which 
 exceeds the just limits of right reason, ought to be 
 brought within due bounds, for otherwise it either 
 retards the attainment of perfection, or, if a certain 
 measure of perfection has already been acquired, it very 
 considerably diminishes even that measure. Hence our 
 
HINDRANCES OF TRULY SEEKING GOD. 257 
 
 most loving Lord would not suffer the disciple whom he 
 called to follow Him, to go away first to bury his father 
 and to settle his worldly affairs with his relatives, 
 signifying thereby, as St. Jerome observes, “ that we 
 ought to take off the keen edge of our love of kindred, in 
 order to avoid the peril to which it exposes us If you 
 wish to escape the danger either of altogether giving up 
 searching for God with your whole heart, or of growing 
 torpid and negligent in your search, generously renounce 
 all these affections ; choose God for your Father, Mary 
 for your Mother, and cleave to them with all the affection 
 of your heart. 
 
 2. A second impediment which hinders us from seek- 
 ing God is an undue regard for other men’s example 
 which is present before our eyes, or which we have seen 
 in the past, or of which we may, perhaps, have heard. 
 The mighty influence which this exercises over the minds 
 of men, and particularly over the minds of young men, 
 and the power which it possesses of drawing them away 
 from God, seem to be almost beyond the bounds of 
 credibility. Wherefore, strongly fortify yourself against 
 this power and this influence, and resolve, by the follow- 
 ing means, to remove the obstacles which they put in 
 your way : (1) Implant in your mind this firm resolve : 
 “ I will live in this Order in every respect holily, perfectly, 
 and according to the Rule of the Institute, which in a 
 few days I shall embrace. I will observe all the ordin- 
 ances which I know are prescribed, even though there be 
 no one else in the Monastery who observes them ; yea, 
 even though there shall never be any one else who will 
 observe them. For I have not come to Religious Life 
 to live as others either are living or shall live, but as all, 
 
 Epist. cxxviii. ad Fabianum. 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 must live who desire to follow the spirit of the Institute. 
 Therefore I will not fashion my life upon the conduct of 
 others, but upon the rules which at my entrance are 
 given me to read. These I will follow as the maxims 
 which I have to take for my guides and as the square of 
 all my actions. From this moment till the end of my 
 life I will adhere to this purpose.’’ (2) Never excuse 
 your defects and imperfections by appealing to the evil 
 example of others, for by so doing you will be co-operat- 
 ing with them in loosening the bonds of religious dis- 
 cipline and in augmenting the number of the lukewarm. 
 (3) Fix your eyes upon the example of Christ and of His 
 Saints, but especially upon the example which those 
 Saints of your own Order have given, inasmuch as they 
 are perfect men. Put more trust in the lessons and in 
 the teaching of your Spiritual Father than you put in 
 anything which may be taught in the opposite sense, 
 because it is by his instrumentality that God has decreed 
 to promote your eternal well-being. (4) Do not, how- 
 ever, constitute yourself judge of those whom you may see 
 acting contrariwise, but imagine that what Christ said to 
 St. Peter is addressed to you also: “What is that to 
 thee? do thou follow Me”. It is your duty to make 
 much of them, but not to imitate them. 
 
 3. The third and worst impediment are vicious habits, 
 untamed passions, a licentious life, and bodily senses which 
 are not under control. Therefore, leave no stone unturned, 
 and with careful scrutiny examine whether there may 
 not, perchance, be still lurking in your soul some mis- 
 deed of the past. Drag it from its hiding-place, and cast 
 it forth as speedily as possible; for, if you love the 
 danger you will perish in it, and will never attain to the 
 possession of God. If, then, you perceive that you are 
 entangled in the meshes of any bad habit, weigh well 
 
HINDRANCES OF TRUDY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 259 
 
 the gravity of the evil and of the danger in which you 
 are living ; then, with implacable hatred, attack the vice 
 which has made you captive ; be most heartily sorry for 
 it, and detest the foul deeds from which it springs. 
 Never again be guilty of it, but earnestly apply yourself 
 to the exercise of acts of the opposite virtue. In order 
 that you may duly put in practice all these various 
 counsels of piety, knock at the door of divine mercy 
 by most fervent prayer; be frank and outspoken with 
 your Spiritual Father, and follow his counsel and advice. 
 With respect to the bridling of your untamed passions, 
 concerning which a more minute instruction shall be 
 given to you in its proper time and place, you may note 
 and observe this one piece of advice : “ Love the one, 
 true good”. This is in conformity with right reason, 
 which helps a man, and pushes him forward towards 
 virtue, to repose of mind and of conscience, to his last 
 end, to salvation, to God. On the other hand, attack 
 with relentless hatred that which is really evil — namely, 
 any sin whatever, and every imperfection; then your 
 salvation is secure, and there will not be any way left 
 open for the entrance of the passions. Finally, setting 
 aside all principles and maxims which sanction a looser 
 method of life, hold in very high esteem the careful 
 guarding of the senses. In order to carry into effect 
 these various counsels, stir up your soul by all those 
 reasons by which you think that it will be moved ; and 
 when you offend in any respect, impose some penance 
 upon yourself. Deplore your past errors, and humbly 
 ask pardon and grace. 
 
SIXTH DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 The Second Condition requisite in a Good Novice, to 
 
 WIT, THAT HE SHOULD BE EAGER FOR THE “ WORK OF 
 
 God”. 
 
 1. By the “ Work of God,” our holy Lawgiver means 
 the Divine Office, or, according to some interpreters, 
 psalmody ; but the Abbot Smaragdus and others take it 
 in a wider sense. Writing on this passage of the Buie, 
 Smaragdus says : "The ‘Work of God’ signifies all those 
 duties which properly pertain to God, such as prayer, 
 holy reading, the night-watches,* the daily round of 
 service, fasting, and the ‘Divine Office’”. It is about 
 these that our holy Father so earnestly wishes the 
 Novice to be solicitous. 
 
 They are the chief occupations upon which a Bene- 
 dictine Religious ought to be intent ; for they are most 
 in conformity with the principal end of the Order — 
 namely, the contemplative life. Under this head comes 
 not only vocal but also mental prayer. This latter is 
 made by means of various considerations, either inter- 
 spersed with, or followed by, fervent aspirations. Also, 
 we may regard as pertaining to the “ Work of God,” 
 recollection of mind, examination of conscience, the 
 
 Vigilice — Matins. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR THE “ WORK OF GOD ”. 
 
 261 
 
 hearing of Holy Mass, the use of the Sacraments, spiri- 
 tual conferences, and, in fine, everything which is directed 
 to His honour and worship. Opportunities for the exer- 
 cise of all these are found in abundance in this Order. 
 It will be to your advantage seriously to resolve to make 
 a good use of them. 
 
 2. What is meant by “ being solicitous for the Work of 
 God”? Our blessed Lord forbade us to be solicitous 
 about earthly matters : “Be not solicitous, saying : What 
 shall we eat, or what shall we drink But in matters 
 which pertain to the honour of God, solicitude is most 
 praiseworthy. Hence, in this respect, God, by the mouth 
 of the Prophet Micheas, instructs each of us : “I will 
 show thee, O man ! what is good, and what the Lord re- 
 quireth of thee : verily to do judgment, and to love mercy, 
 and to walk solicitous with thy God ”.+ He, therefore, is 
 solicitous for the “ Work of God,” and deserves to be 
 called so (1) who prefers nothing whatever to “ the Work 
 of God,” as St. Benedict requires that his children should 
 do.J (2) Who carefully looks forward, arranges, and makes 
 everything ready for that heavenly occupation, in accord- 
 ance with that precept of Ecclesiasticus : “Before prayer, 
 prepare thy soul ; and be not as a man that tempteth 
 God,” § and with the injunctions which are to be found 
 in the ninth and tenth chapters of the Holy Buie. (3) 
 Who is quick in coming to Matins and to the various 
 “Hours” of the day Office; who, as soon as he has 
 heard the signal, laying aside every occupation in which 
 he may happen to be engaged, hastens to the Oratory 
 with all speed, and yet with gravity, lest he should give 
 occasion for light behaviour.|| (4) Who, after due pre- 
 
 ♦ St. Matth. vi. 25. + Mich. vi. 8. t Reg ., cap. xliii. 
 
 § Ibid., cap. xviii. 23. || Ibid., cap. xliii. 
 
262 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 paration, assists at the Divine Office with the greatest 
 reverence, humility, modesty, attention, and devotion; 
 who, in the worship of God, is careful not to sin even 
 venially;* for, St. John Chrysostom says: “We ought 
 to have more care of the divine worship than we have of 
 our own lives” :+ that is to say, we ought to be ready to 
 lose our life rather than be guilty of any deliberate sin 
 in the worship of God. (5) Who accurately observes all 
 the times prescribed for the spiritual exercises, and never 
 through his own fault, or through negligence, either omits 
 any of them or changes them. (6) Who gladly speaks of 
 God and of spiritual things. In fine, who performs all 
 his duties, not on compulsion, nor against his will, nor 
 through human motives, but freely and with a burning 
 desire of pleasing God. Act in this way during the course 
 of your Novitiate and for the rest of your life, and, in con- 
 sequence of having fulfilled this condition, you may be 
 quite at ease about the realisation of your fondest hopes. 
 Nevertheless, forget not to beseech our good God to 
 supply, by the aid of His grace, that which weak human 
 nature is unable to effect. 
 
 3. Consider what are the means and the various prac- 
 tices which are necessary for the exact fulfilment of this 
 condition. The first is a great esteem for those occupa- 
 tions which have immediate reference to the Divine 
 Office. What a privilege does the courtier esteem it to 
 be when he is admitted to the familiar converse and 
 service of his prince. Shall you, then, consider it a 
 matter of little moment to be able to address, to serve, 
 and to be occupied about the business of Him, “ Whom 
 to serve is to be a king 
 
 The second is a careful guarding of the tongue and of 
 
 Cap. xix. 20. 
 
 + De Incomp. Dei. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR THE “WORK OF GOD”. 263 
 
 the external senses. It was a saying of St. Mary 
 Magdalen de Pazzi, that the “ tongue of a Religious who 
 is not delighted with silence is incapable of savouring 
 divine things”. Also, St. Bernard says: “The tongue 
 being thin and flat is a most excellent implement for 
 emptying the heart — as the conscience of many among 
 us will bear me witness — unless, indeed, we are all so 
 perfect that, after long conversations, our minds are never 
 found empty, our meditations less devout, our affections 
 dried up, and our holocausts of prayer less fat, by reason 
 of the words which we either have spoken or have 
 heard”.* Therefore it is not without good reason that 
 our holy Lawgiver, in the fourth chapter of the Rule, 
 immediately before the fifty-sixth, the fifty-seventh, and 
 the fifty-eighth instrument of good works — by which he 
 commends to our practice holy reading and prayer — 
 places four other instruments which are designed for the 
 proper management of the tongue. How great a hin- 
 drance to the attainment of this condition is put in our 
 way by any want of custody of the senses is manifest to 
 all, for this deficiency gives an occasion for a multitude 
 of images to crowd into the mind ; it causes it to become 
 soft, and renders it sensual in its nature, “ and the 
 sensual or carnal man,” as St. Paul says, “ perceiveth 
 not those things which are of the Spirit of God ; for it is 
 foolishness to him, and he cannot understand”.! The 
 third is a quiet, tranquil mind, free from inordinate af- 
 fections. No one can freely draw nigh to God, if he is 
 still fastened to the earth by badly regulated affections. 
 
 On this subject listen to what Father Alvarez has to 
 say : “ By too great affection to creatures, the heart is 
 made captive and deprived of that liberty, and of that 
 
 St. Bernard, Sermo xvii. de Diver . 
 
 t 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 
264 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 nobility with which God endowed it when He created 
 man. It becomes incapable of, and unfit for, familiar 
 converse with Our Lord God. Therefore cut yourself 
 loose from all these affections ; descend to particulars ; 
 mark that which has heretofore chiefly delayed you from 
 fleeing to God, and resolve to cast it out of your heart. 
 In the next place, weigh well the necessity for acquiring 
 this tranquillity of mind in order rightly to fulfil this 
 condition, for it is impossible for a mind that is not at 
 rest properly to perform these actions, which are the 
 works of the Spirit of peace. Therefore, in order always 
 to keep your mind in peace, take these words to heart : 
 “ In all matters which do not depend upon your own 
 will, and which are not in your power, commit yourself 
 entirely to the hands of Divine Providence, which most 
 justly, most wisely, and most holily ordains all things. 
 In other matters, however, after having made a prudent 
 and honest use of human means, be so resigned in mind 
 that, whether the issue answers your expectation or does 
 not, you will be certain that it is all the work of Divine 
 Providence. Oh, how great peace of mind will you enjoy 
 if you perfectly observe this rule ! With how great glad- 
 ness and exultation will you serve the Lord and enter 
 His most holy presence ! 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 Motives which should Urge us to Carry into 
 Effect this Second Condition. 
 
 1. The first motive which should urge a Novice and 
 a Religious to an exact and careful performance of the 
 “Work of God ” is to be found in the very nature and the 
 
MOTIVES FOE EAGEENESS. 
 
 265 
 
 etymology of the word “Religious”. For it is derived from 
 the word “religion,” which signifies a virtue, chief among 
 the moral virtues, the acts of which tend directly to the 
 worship of the Deity ; for those who are devoted to the 
 Religious State bind, consecrate, vow, and hand themselves 
 over for the divine worship by acts of the virtue of reli- 
 gion, such as are vows, prayer, devotion, adoration, the 
 praise of God in Choir, sacrifice, and the rest. According 
 to Lactantius,* the word religion is derived from the 
 Latin word “religare,” which means to bind , because 
 religion fastens and ties us down to the service of 
 Almighty God. See, therefore, that you be not a Religious 
 in name only, as you most certainly will be, if you be 
 negligent, cold, and inattentive in the performance of 
 whatever has reference to the divine worship and service, 
 and if you look upon these duties as among the last and 
 least which claim your attention. Be determined wholly 
 to consecrate yourself from this time till the latest 
 moment of your life to the praise and the service of your 
 Creator ; and literally to carry into effect the command 
 of our holy Father, “ Never to prefer anything to the 
 Work of God,” by endeavouring to the utmost of your 
 power to be truly solicitous for that glorious office. 
 
 2. A second motive is the great worth and dignity of 
 the “ Work of God”. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used 
 to say : “ The dignity of praising God is so great that 
 the heavenly spirits, pure as they are, scarcely dare even 
 with fear and trembling to perform it ”. “0 unspeakable 
 glory,” cries out St. Jerome, “ you are able, while yet in 
 the frail tabernacle of the body, to look upon the face of 
 God ! Here let our minds grow strong ! Let this day 
 utter speech unto day, and let night to night show know- 
 
 Div. Instit., lib. iv., cap. 28 . 
 
266 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 ledge. Here strive to be in the midst of the angelic choirs 
 and in the company of the Saints, that on your liberation 
 from the prison of the body, they may come with joy and 
 gladness to meet you, as being friends already well- 
 known to them.” * From these words of the holy Doctor 
 you may gather that this occupation is one which is 
 angelic, and therefore most excellent. This he states in 
 terms more precise when commenting upon the hundred- 
 and-fifteenth Psalm ; he says : “ That which the Angels 
 do in heaven is the Monk’s occupation on earth ”. 
 Happy shall you be if, during your mortal life, you quit 
 yourself well of this duty ; of a certainty those blessed 
 Spirits will meet you on your departure hence, that you 
 may with them continue for all eternity that which you 
 so gloriously began in this life. 
 
 3. The observance of this condition is one of the 
 principal means of cherishing, preserving, and increasing 
 the Beligious Spirit ; while, on the other hand, the 
 neglect of it brings on laxity and a total falling away 
 from the first fervour which animated you. Give heed- 
 ful note to that which men, eminent for their learning 
 and their sanctity, have said upon this subject : “ As the 
 building up within us of all virtues tends to the perfection 
 of our prayer, so also all these same virtues, unless bound 
 up and held together by the crowning grace of prayer, 
 cannot remain firm and stable for any length of time ”.+ 
 “If,” says St. John of Jerusalem, “you wish to continue 
 in the way of perfection, you must pray.” J “A servant 
 of God,” says St. Bernard, “ ought incessantly to read and 
 to pray, in order to prevent evil from taking possession of 
 his soul.” § The same holy Father speaks very much to 
 
 In Reg. Monach ., oap. xxvi. 
 Inst. Monach ., cap. viii. 
 
 + Cassian, Collat. ix., cap. ii. 
 
 § St. Bernard, De Ordind. vita. 
 
MOTIVES FOE EAGEENESS. 
 
 267 
 
 the point when he says : “When occupied on one occasion 
 with manual labour, I began to think about the exercises 
 of a spiritual man, and it occurred to me that there are 
 in them four steps or degrees — namely, reading, medita- 
 tion, prayer, and contemplation. This is that ladder by 
 which Monks ascend to heaven/’ * With this view the 
 opinion of Blosius is in accord. “ If,” says he, “ neglect- 
 ing your interior, you care only for external things ; if 
 you do not diligently apply to holy reading and to other 
 religious exercises, and only at rare intervals lift up your 
 thoughts to eternal things, you are no Monk.” + Also 
 St. Bonaventure speaks most forcibly when he says : 
 “Of a truth, that Religious who is not assiduous at 
 prayer, not only is wretched and useless, but also bears 
 about in a living body a soul which, in the eyes of God, 
 is dead. Every Religious Congregation is imperfect, is 
 barren, yea, is on the verge of destruction, if it seeks not 
 the spirit of divine sweetness, and directs not its chief 
 aim to the pursuit of internal purity of heart. Again: 
 “ You must carefully withhold yourself from interrupting 
 your pursuit of devotion ; for it is by devotion that all 
 true Religious Life is preserved, and that the practice of 
 virtue is made rich and fruitful. Barren is every 
 Religious Order which is not impregnated with it ; totter- 
 ing is the edifice of good works which is not held 
 together by the frequent exercise of devout prayer ; for it 
 is like a stone wall which has been built up without any 
 mortar to hold it together. In every Religious Order in 
 which the fervour of devotion has grown cold, every other 
 implement for the acquisition of the virtues is found to 
 be unequal to the task.” § The miseries of such an 
 
 * Scala Clau.8tralis. + Spec. Monach. 
 
 t Be Profectu Relig ., lib. ii., cap. 69. 
 
 § Be Profectu Relig., lib. vi., cap. 3. 
 
268 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 Order are more specifically described by Jerome Savona- 
 rola, who, after earnestly commending the attentive per- 
 formance of the “ Divine Work,” and especially of 
 prayer, concludes thus : “Religious who reflect not upon 
 these things, but live without any consideration of their 
 own end, become lukewarm, restless, murmurers, am- 
 bitious, wrathful, talkative, sensual ; they are mere 
 players, and are harder to convert than people of the 
 world. Unless God in His mercy calls them back to 
 their first charity, they fall into other abysses whence 
 they may never again be drawn forth.” Do not these 
 words fill you with fear? Therefore look well unto 
 yourself, lest at any time — which God forbid — you should 
 fall into the depth of miseries so great, and inflict so 
 grievous a wound upon Holy Religion, which is your 
 Mother. Make a most firm resolve to devote yourself to 
 the exact fulfilment of this condition ; and may God 
 grant you grace to be faithful to your purpose ! 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 Examples which, in this Respect, have been Left us 
 by Christ, the Saints, and the Perfect. 
 
 1. There is, in the force of example, a wondrous power 
 of persuasion ; hence the common saying : “ Words move 
 men; example hurries them along”. In order, there- 
 fore, more thoroughly to rouse yourself up to follow in 
 the footsteps of your Lord, attentively consider the 
 examples of solicitude for the “ Work of God ” which 
 Jesus Christ has left behind Him for you to imitate. 
 
 We will here merely touch upon some few of these, 
 leaving the rest to your own meditation. 
 
EXAMPLES OF CHRIST AND THE SAINTS. 
 
 269 
 
 (1) Christ came into the world, and in all that He 
 suffered, in all that He did, in all that He taught, had 
 never any other end in view, as He Himself tells us, 
 than the glory of His Father : “I honour My Father, I 
 seek not My own glory”.* (2) When, unknown to His 
 parents, He remained in Jerusalem, and after three days 
 was found by them, His most holy Mother asked Him 
 why He had done so to them? He answered : “ Did ye 
 not know that I must be about My Father’s business ”.+ 
 (3) Wearied with journeying, and seated by the well, 
 His disciples requested Him to eat. He said to them : 
 “ I have meat to eat, of which you know not. My 
 meat is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, that 
 I may perfect His work.”J (4) This solicitude to ac- 
 complish the work of His Father shows forth so mani- 
 fest in Christ, that even His bitterest enemies could 
 not deny it. Therefore, He openly reproached them for 
 their unbelief ; because, although they saw these works, 
 yet they did not believe : “ The works which the Father 
 hath given Me to perfect, the works themselves which I 
 do, give testimony of Me, that the Father hath sent 
 Me”.§ Again: “If I do not the works of My Father, 
 believe Me not”.|| (5) Praying to His Father, He says 
 
 of Himself : “I have glorified Thee on the earth ; I have 
 finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do’M! For 
 this reason, shortly before His death, He cried out from 
 the Cross : “ It is finished”; that is to say, the work for 
 which He came into the world. It would take too long 
 to bring forward each instance, and especially to show 
 how assiduous, reverent, humble, attentive, fervent, 
 resigned, and constant was His prayer. Setting aside 
 
 * St. John viii. 49. + St. Luke ii. 49. + St. John iv. 31, 34. 
 
 § St. John v. 36. || Ibid., x. 37. H Ibid., xvii. 4. 
 
270 
 
 THE BETBEAT. 
 
 everything else, consider and contemplate Him, previ- 
 ously to His Passion, praying in the Garden of Olives, 
 and you will find in this act all the qualities of a good 
 prayer. Turn, then, and look upon the face of Christ ; 
 stir yourself up by His most holy example ; resolve in 
 all that you do, and in all that you suffer, never to seek, 
 and never to be solicitous about anything else than the 
 glory of God — that in all things God may be glorified. 
 
 Prefer nothing to the “ Work of God,” even though 
 you may, in consequence, be obliged to suffer some in- 
 convenience. Let all men see that you are intent upon 
 this work, and that you are engaged in carrying it into 
 effect. Then, when you are about to die, you will be 
 able to console yourself, and to say with truth : “0 God 
 of my soul ! I have finished the work which Thou didst 
 give me to accomplish ”. 
 
 2. Fix your eyes upon the example which the Saints of 
 our Order have left unto us, but particularly upon that 
 of our holy Father and Lawgiver, St. Benedict, who, 
 in words of so great weight, recommends unto us in his 
 Rule this solicitude about the “ Work of God ”. Do you 
 think that his actions did not correspond with his doc- 
 trine ? 
 
 St. Gregory says of him : “If any one desires to have 
 a thorough knowledge of the life and the manners of St. 
 Benedict, he will find all these set forth in his Rule, for 
 the holy man could not act in a way which did not har- 
 monise with his teaching How great was the zeal of 
 St. Maurus, his first disciple, in the cultivation of this 
 species of solicitude, is manifest from the fact that St. 
 Benedict admired him for it, and often proposed him to 
 his other followers as an example of regular observance 
 and of all other virtues. 
 
 * Dialog ., lib. ii. 
 
EXAMPLES OF CHRIST AND THE SAINTS. 
 
 271 
 
 Thrice during the Divine Office the holy Bishop, St. 
 Ludger, was told by the messengers of Charlemagne 
 that the Emperor wished to speak with him. On each 
 occasion he answered : “I will follow you to your 
 Master, as soon as the Divine Office is finished”. When 
 it was over, he went to the Emperor. “ Why,” said the 
 Monarch, “ did you not come upon the first summons ? ” 
 “ O King ! ” replied the Bishop, “ I came not, because I 
 deemed it fitting to prefer God unto thee and unto all 
 created things. This thou didst command me when 
 thou didst commit to me the pastoral charge. There- 
 fore, when called by thy messengers, I considered it un- 
 becoming to interrupt my service of Him.” Weigh well 
 these few words, and learn to prefer the “ Work of God” 
 to every other work. This you will do, if you desire to 
 be a true Benedictine, and a worthy imitator of those 
 holy Fathers who have preceded you in the Beligious 
 Life. 
 
 3. Consider also the examples of the other Saints, who 
 directed all their zeal to the advancement of their souls 
 in religious perfection. 
 
 St. Macarius, for the space of sixty years, was never 
 negligent at prayer. Cassian relates that the first Monks 
 were so solicitous about the study of heavenly things, 
 that they applied themselves for whole days and nights 
 to the reading of the Sacred Scripture, to prayer, and to 
 manual labour. 
 
 So absorbed were they in these pursuits that neither 
 the desire of food nor the memory of it interrupted their 
 labour, except on every second or on every third day. 
 Father Francis Suarez, of the Society of Jesus, used to 
 say that he would willingly lose all the science which 
 he had acquired by many years of labour, rather than 
 omit one “Hour” of prayer. Endeavour to rival these 
 
272 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 brilliant examples of solicitude for the “ Work of God,” 
 and firmly resolve for the future to comply to the utmost 
 of your power with this second condition. In order that 
 you may be able to do so, humbly ask the aid of God’s 
 grace. 
 
SEVENTH DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 The Thied Requisite in a Good Novice, that he 
 
 SHOULD BE EaGEB FOB OBEDIENCE. 
 
 1. How fortunate is the wayfarer who, in the midst of 
 a trackless wilderness, meets with a trusty guide, under 
 whose direction he reaches in safety his long-wished-for 
 home ! This is precisely what has happened to you ; for 
 our holy Father St. Benedict presents himself to you in 
 the midst of the innumerable dangers of error wherewith 
 you are surrounded, and in eloquent words points out to 
 you the sure way by which you may reach God and 
 your true country. Therefore, attentively listen to that 
 which this wisest of fathers whispers in your ear : “ Know, 
 Brother, that by this path of obedience you shall go unto 
 God “ Behold how the Lord, in His loving-kindness, 
 discovers unto you the way of life ! ” What more, then, 
 have you to do than gladly to receive this admonition 
 and instruction of your gentle Father, efficaciously to 
 carry it out, and at once to enter upon this royal way by 
 true and unreserved obedience. 
 
 2. But who is the obedient man, or who is he who 
 really deserves to be called “a man eager for obedience”? 
 It is he, and only he, that with his whole heart 
 endeavours to throw into his obedience those qualities 
 
 Reg., lxxi. 
 18 
 
274 
 
 THE EE THE AT. 
 
 which our most holy Lawgiver, in the fifth chapter of 
 his Rule, prescribes. The first and essential quality of 
 true obedience is to obey Superiors as we should obey 
 God Himself. Mark well these words, because if this 
 quality be wanting, you will never have that true obedi- 
 ence which our holy Father expects to find in his 
 disciples, even though you should with the utmost 
 promptitude carry into effect every wish of your Superiors 
 and of your Brethren, fulfil every command to the very 
 letter, and undertake duties which are most difficult to 
 perform. He does not look for a military nor for a 
 politic obedience, but for an obedience which is religious 
 and virtuous. Such, undoubtedly, obedience never will 
 be, unless it spring from a truly supernatural motive. 
 Some are naturally inclined to obey any one, even when 
 obedience implies some inconvenience to themselves ; 
 but these are not virtuously obedient, and consequently 
 they easily fail altogether in this, their merely natural 
 obedience, whenever the Superior, or the manner in 
 which he gives his command, or the matter which he 
 orders, happens to run counter to their humour. Of 
 what nature is your inclination to obey ? Let your chief 
 care and solicitude be to have your obedience spring from 
 a supernatural motive, and to obey just as if the com- 
 mand had come straight from God. The second essential 
 quality is that in your obedience you should give up your 
 own will and judgment, “ in order,” as our holy Father 
 says, “ not to live according to your own will, nor to 
 follow your own desire and pleasure, but to abide in your 
 Monastery, to will to have an Abbot over you, and to 
 walk according to his command and direction *\* For 
 to do that which is commanded is not enough ; your 
 
 J Reg., cap. v. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR OBEDIENCE. 
 
 275 
 
 obedience is worthless, if either yonr reason or yonr will 
 murmurs, and either judges or wishes that something 
 should be done different from that which has been 
 ordered. The third quality is that obedience should be 
 speedy , or, as St. Benedict says, that “ it should know 
 not any delay ”. He who delays, who waits for a second 
 or for a third order, who, if he cannot escape doing the 
 work, yet finds out various excuses and pretexts for 
 putting it off, is not by any means eager for obedience. 
 The fourth quality is that obedience should be universal 
 — that is, that it should extend to all honest and lawful 
 commands which are not contrary to the Rule, but in 
 conformity with the sixtieth instrument of good works : 
 “ To obey in all things the command of the Abbot ” ; 
 and with the third degree of humility, “ with all obedi- 
 ence to submit one’s self to one’s Superior,” even when 
 things that are impossible are prescribed.* The fifth 
 quality is that obedience should be joyous and ready, 
 “because God loveth a cheerful giver”. A sad counte- 
 nance, or a sad heart, takes away from obedience all good- 
 ness, both in the eyes of God and of men, and makes the 
 commands which are given very burthensome. Finally, 
 obedience ought to be joined with humility and with 
 patience, in order that, “ if things that are hard, contrary, 
 and injurious, be commanded, we may embrace them 
 with a quiet conscience, and in suffering them grow not 
 weary nor give over, since the Scripture saith : He only 
 that persevereth to the end shall be saved ”.+ Let the 
 impress of these qualities be deep in your mind, and, in 
 order that you may have this supremely necessary 
 virtue, in which, when it is coupled with humility, the 
 spirit of the Benedictine Order consists, use every means 
 
 Reg . , cap. lxviii. 
 
 + Ibid., cap. vii. 
 
276 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 in your power to interweave all these various qualities 
 with your dutiful submission. 
 
 3. Reflect, now, upon the means by which this virtue, 
 together with its manifold qualities, is to be acquired. 
 First, look upon the Superior as holding the place of God 
 Himself, Who has said : “ He that heareth you, heareth 
 Me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me ”. For, of 
 a truth, Superiors are God’s Vicars upon earth, and as 
 such, all reverence, love, and obedience must be shown 
 to them, although they may happen to be full of defects, 
 and be difficult to live with; for, from characters like 
 these “ a greater reward is gotten,” and we are counselled 
 by St. Peter “ to be subject to our Masters, not only to 
 the good and gentle, but also to the froward”.* This 
 thought is of the greatest importance, and must be 
 pondered upon with all care, especially in the beginning, 
 in order that through it this good habit may be acquired. 
 Secondly, in small matters, which are quite lawful, fre- 
 quently elicit acts of self-denial, saying : “ My God, for 
 love of Thee, I will not look at this object ; I will not 
 listen to these words ; I will not make this remark” ; for 
 by similar acts oft-repeated there is acquired a habit of 
 mortification in matters which are of greater moment, 
 and thus, that most implacable enemy, self-will, which 
 slays and condemns to eternal torments multitudes of 
 souls, is killed little by little ; for, as St. Bernard says : 
 “ Let self-will cease to exist, and there will be an end of 
 hell ”. Thirdly, in all things recognise the hand of Divine 
 Providence ; acknowledge His guidance in the arrange- 
 ments which are made by Superiors ; in these Superiors 
 behold the Godhead carrying out His good pleasure 
 through the instrumentality of men ; and, in consequence 
 
 St. Peter ii. 18. 
 
MOTIVES FOR EAGERNESS. 
 
 277 
 
 of this, suffer yourself to be directed by them, just as 
 children are by their parents. Diligently make use of 
 these means, and you will be prepared for the reception 
 of that Benedictine spirit which, as we have already in- 
 timated, consists in true obedience and in humility. 
 
 MEDITATION. II. 
 
 Motives which should Induce us to Acquire this 
 Third Requisite. 
 
 1. In order deeply to implant in the heart the love of 
 obedience, and to cause that love to bud forth into a pro- 
 fusion of acts, our holy Father, in the fifth chapter of his 
 Rule, suggests to his disciples four very powerful motives, 
 which, if suffered to take possession of the soul, cannot 
 fail to cause the virtue of obedience there to fructify most 
 luxuriantly. The first motive is love of Christ : “ count- 
 ing nothing more dear to them than is Christ The 
 second is the obligation imposed by their State. The 
 third is the fear of hell. The fourth is heavenly glory. 
 
 Of the first of these we will treat in the following 
 meditation ; at present, direct your thoughts to the last 
 three, and gird yourself up to a constant study and a 
 pursuit of obedience. 
 
 In the first place, therefore, attentively consider the 
 State of life which you desire to embrace. This State 
 requires you to be a Regular; to be detached; to be 
 God’s servant,— that is to say, one who is a soldier, a 
 wayfarer, and a zealous disciple. 
 
 But you cannot pretend to have any of these charac- 
 
 Eeg., cap. v. 
 
278 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 teristics, without true obedience. How can you be a 
 Regular unless you are observant of Rule ? How can you 
 be detached without renunciation of your own will ? 
 How can you be a soldier without obedience to your 
 Leader ; or a wayfarer without a guide to point out to 
 you the right path ; or a student without a Master to 
 instruct you; or a servant without a Lord, whom you 
 must serve ? 
 
 Do you wish to live conformably with the State which 
 you have embraced? Be obedient. Although, during 
 the Novitiate, you are not bound by the vow of obedience, 
 yet, unless during that year of probation you wholly give 
 up your own will, you inflict an injury upon God, upon 
 the holy Founders, and upon others who desire to live in 
 true obedience, and whose place you are occupying. Not 
 only do you commit this act of injustice, but also you 
 expose yourself to the danger of breaking your solemn 
 vow when at last you are burthened with its heavy obli- 
 gation. 
 
 2. The second motive which incites men to be obedient 
 is the fear of hell. This fear is full of real power. Have 
 you not left the world and come to Religious Life espe- 
 cially in order that you may escape the dread fire of that 
 prison-house ? What folly, then, would it be for you 
 once again to expose yourself to the peril of falling into 
 it ? Self-will built up that abode of torture ; therefore, 
 unless you renounce self-will, you will ruin yourself. 
 “It is self-will,” says St. Bernard, “ that has once 
 again brought us back into the thraldom of darkness ; it 
 has once again made us subject to the empire of death ; 
 it will finally condemn our souls to hell.” * Our holy 
 Father points out the like dreadful end to those who will 
 
 Sermo xi. de Divers. 
 
MOTIVES FOR EAGERNESS. 
 
 279 
 
 not obey, when he says : “ Finally, death shall be inflicted 
 as a just punishment upon the disobedient sheep 
 Interpreters take this to mean not only temporal, but 
 also eternal death, which is called the second death. 
 “It is certain,” says Martene, explaining this passage, 
 “ that disobedient Monks merit for themselves both 
 temporal and eternal death, inasmuch as they despise 
 God Himself when they contemn the Abbot and his 
 teaching. Our Lord saith : ‘ He that despiseth you 
 despiseth MeV’f There is no lack of examples which 
 would make manifest the fact that this dreadful punish- 
 ment has been already inflicted upon some. Therefore, 
 abhor self-will and disobedience as much as you abhor 
 hell itself. Love and follow the guidance of obedience 
 with as great an ardour as is that with which you desire 
 to be saved from these eternal punishments. Willingly 
 submit your neck, during this life, to the sweet yoke of 
 obedience ; for if you refuse to do this, there will be 
 imposed upon you at the end of your life an intolerable 
 yoke, which you will not be able to shake off. 
 
 3. The third motive for obedience is the contemplation 
 of the glory of life eternal. O blessed country ! who is 
 there that, inflamed with the love and with the desire of 
 thee, would not most readily give up, for a short time, 
 his judgment and his will, in order to possess in thee all 
 that may be willed and desired ! O happy obedience ! 
 which, by a secure and easy way, leads men to the king- 
 dom of heaven ! “ Obedience,” says St. John Climacus, 
 
 “ is a willing death, a secure danger, a ready excuse in 
 the presence of God, a journey conducting to repose,” of 
 which the Psalmist says : “ When He shall give sleep to 
 His beloved ; behold the inheritance of the Lord ”4 The 
 
 Reg., cap. ii. 
 
 t Ibid., cap. v. 
 
 X Gh'ad. iv. 
 
280 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 Wise Man says that the obedient man shall triumph over 
 all his enemies. “An obedient man shall speak of 
 victory.”* But shall this victory be without its due 
 reward ? Most certainly not ! For, in another place, 
 the Holy Spirit says : “To him that overcometh, I will 
 give to eat of the tree of life, that is in the paradise of 
 my God’\f Labour, therefore, as a valiant soldier of 
 Christ ; strive manfully by the most efficacious means, 
 and with the glorious arms of obedience ; conquer self- 
 will, if you desire, in paradise, to be for ever satisfied 
 with the sweet feast of God’s never-failing banquet. 
 Look at the glorious Choirs of the Saints, and at the 
 countless multitudes of your own Brethren, and you will 
 see how great are the rewards which the truly obedient 
 enjoy. One of the Fathers, when rapt in ecstasy, saw 
 standing before the throne of God four classes of men. 
 The first consisted of those who, when they were stricken 
 down upon the bed of sickness, gave thanks to God. 
 The second comprised those who, on earth, had exercised 
 hospitality. The third was made up of those who lived 
 in solitude, and saw not their fellow-men. The fourth 
 consisted of those who, for God’s sake and through love 
 of obedience, were subject to their Superiors. The last 
 class, who had been obedient, were far higher than the 
 other three ; were adorned with golden raiment ; and en- 
 joyed a greater degree of glory. The old Monk asked 
 him, who during the vision had pointed out these things 
 to him, why the fourth class were more resplendent with 
 glory than the rest? He answered and said : “Because 
 all the others, from time to time, had opportunities of 
 doing their own will, even in the good works which they 
 performed ; but the obedient, by renouncing their own 
 
 Prov. xxi. 28. 
 
 + Apoc. ii. 7. 
 
Christ’s example of obedience. 
 
 281 
 
 will, depended upon the will of their Spiritual Father, 
 and, therefore, have obtained a more abundant measure 
 of glory than the rest Therefore, deny your own 
 will, and have it always ready to do the bidding of your 
 Superior. Act thus to the end of your life, and strive 
 ever to advance higher and higher in the scale of perfec- 
 tion. Thus, you also will be counted among the number 
 of those who are of this fourth class, and with them you 
 will enjoy a more glorious reward. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 Christ’s Love of us, and the Example of His 
 Saints, urging us to acquire Obedience. 
 
 1. Consider, then, the height and the depth, the length 
 and the breadth, of Christ’s love for you. What human 
 intelligence is able to give even a faint idea of it ? For 
 your sake He came into this world ; assumed human 
 nature ; was born in a stable ; was laid in a manger ; 
 began His life in poverty, passed it in poverty, and ended 
 it in pain and in contempt. St. Francis Xavier, fired 
 with divine love, cries out : “ Thou, my Jesus, hast 
 embraced me upon the Cross ! Thou didst endure the 
 nails, the lance, pains and sorrows innumerable, the 
 sweat of blood, anguish unutterable, and death ; and all 
 this for me, and for me, a sinner ! ” I ask you, therefore, 
 do you love Him, Who has loved you so much ? Can 
 you answer with St. Peter: “ Thou knowest, Lord, that 
 I love Thee ” ? If you can do so, more is asked of you — 
 to prove by deeds that which it is so easy to say in 
 
 *Rosweid, Vitce Patrum, lib. iii., No. 141. 
 
282 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 words. “ My son,” says St. John, “ let us not love in 
 word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth Hence 
 St. Gregory says: “The proof of love consists in acts 
 which make it evident ”. But, you may ask : “ By what 
 works am I to prove my love ? ” Hear what St. Paul 
 says on this subject : “ The charity of Christ presseth us, 
 that they who live may not now live to themselves, but 
 unto Him Who died for them ”.t Therefore let this be 
 your aim in life, no longer to live for self — that is to say, 
 for your own pleasure and for the gratification of your 
 own will — but rather for Christ, by the humble submis- 
 sion of your will to His will, and to that of all those who, 
 as being your Superiors, hold His place. This is the 
 strongest motive which our holy Bather suggests to his 
 children to incite them to offer unto God the sacrifice of 
 an obedience absolute in every respect, “ to esteem 
 nothing more highly than they esteem Christ”. If to 
 this you add the consideration of the examples of perfect 
 obedience which He has given, you cannot but purpose 
 and desire with the most burning affection of your heart 
 to follow the footsteps of this Master and Leader. 
 Therefore attentively consider how your most loving 
 Saviour spent His whole life in the continual practice of 
 obedience, for, as St. Paul testifies, “ He was obedient 
 unto death ; even unto the death of the Cross ”.+ He 
 was obedient to his Eternal Father, to His Mother, to St. 
 Joseph, to wicked men, to His unjust Judges, to His 
 executioners, to His enemies. In order that He may be 
 present with us, under the species of bread and of wine, 
 He every day, and at well-nigh every moment of the day, 
 obeys the voice of His priests, even though they may 
 chance to be impious, abominable, and actuated by the 
 
 1 St. John iii. 18. 
 
 + 2 Cor. v. 14-15. 
 
 Philip, ii. 8. 
 
Christ’s example of obedience. 283 
 
 most unworthy motives. He was obedient in all things 
 without any exception ; in matters which He saw 
 might be ordered far better otherwise ; in matters which 
 were commanded in excitement of mind, with perversity 
 of will, with the intention of destroying Him ; in matters 
 the most difficult, the most painful, the most full of op- 
 probrium to Himself ; even unto death, and unto the 
 death of the Cross. Well might He say by the mouth 
 of the Prophet : “I do not resist. I have not gone 
 back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my 
 cheeks to them that plucked them ; I have not turned 
 away my face from them that rebuked me and spat 
 upon me.” # Imprint this upon your mind. Never let 
 the memory of it fade away, that by recalling it you 
 may spur yourself on to imitate the glorious example of 
 your Lord. 
 
 2. Reflect upon the example of those Saints who, by 
 their obedience, have proved themselves to be true 
 disciples and children of their and of your holy Father. 
 St. Maurus, when ordered by St. Benedict to run and 
 draw St. Placid from the water into which he had fallen, 
 hastened to obey the command, and, walking upon the 
 water to the place whither the stream had carried St. 
 Placid, thinking all the while that he was upon dry land, 
 manifested by this miracle the wonderful efficacy of obe- 
 dience, f The Archbishop St. Bardo sharply rebuked a 
 disobedient Monk, and told him that the sum of the divine 
 service is obedience, for the sake of which Christ sub- 
 mitted Himself even unto death. J As soon as St. Ger- 
 vinus became a Monk, he was obedient unto all, and by 
 this means endeared himself to all. St. Wulstan, Bishop 
 of Worcester, was so obedient and so submissive to those 
 
 § Isaias 1. 5-6. + S. Gregorii, lib. ii. Dialog. 
 
 Mabillon. 
 
284 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 who had authority over him, that, no matter how hard 
 and difficult their commands might be, he nevertheless 
 straightway willingly set about the accomplishment of 
 them, although he might not be able really to carry his 
 good-will into effect. St. Dominic Exiliensis, renouncing 
 his own will, followed up the pursuit of obedience with 
 all the power and the zeal of his soul ; and by searching 
 the examples which have been left unto us by the Saints, 
 came to the conclusion that obedience is the foundation 
 of all virtues. St. Peter Damian, in order more effica- 
 ciously by his own example to stir up his hearers to 
 obedience, was accustomed to say : “If anything was 
 ordered under obedience, this word inspired me with so 
 great fear that nothing was able to delay me in the 
 execution of the command which had been imposed”. 
 Therefore, love obedience, which is so pleasing to God 
 and to man ; and, during the third point, immolate your- 
 self wholly unto God as a holocaust of obedience. 
 
EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 The Fourth Requisite in a Good Novice — Eagerness 
 for Humiliation. 
 
 1. What does St. Benedict mean when he says, that 
 the Novice should be eager for humiliation? He means 
 that he should be truly, and from the very bottom of his 
 heart, of a lowly mind. 
 
 But in order that you may clearly understand in what 
 consists true, solid humility, or lowliness of mind — a 
 virtue which is of such vital importance to every Novice 
 and to every Religious, but especially to those who are 
 either Novices or Religious of the Benedictine Order — 
 we put before you, for your careful study, the “ mystic 
 ladder of humility,” by which you may climb to the very 
 summit of that perfection which it is possible to attain 
 in this life, and at last reach even unto the possession of 
 God Himself. 
 
 This ladder is none other than that of which our holy 
 Father speaks, in the seventh chapter of the Rule. To 
 those who have the courage to mount its various steps, 
 he promises, even while they are in this life, the perfec- 
 tion of that charity which casteth out fear ; and in the 
 life to come, that heavenly exaltation “ which eye hath 
 not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived”. 
 This ladder consists of twelve steps or degrees, by which 
 
286 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 all the actions and the offices of true humility are 
 described with the minutest accuracy. 
 
 If you climb to the topmost round, you will win for 
 yourself that fourth quality which a good Novice or a 
 Benedictine Religious, or, indeed, a Religious of any 
 other Institute, ought to possess. But, in order to fill 
 your heart with courage great enough to face the toil of 
 mounting this ladder, you must, in the first place, bear 
 in mind the magnitude of the reward which is to be 
 bestowed, both in this life and in the life to come; and, 
 in the next place, you must fix your eyes upon the 
 earthly Angels who are already ascending by that glorious 
 way. By these we would have you understand the 
 Saints and the perfect ; but particularly the Master and 
 Model of perfect humility, Christ Jesus, Who, from the 
 first moment of His most holy conception till the last 
 breath of His mortal life, ever persevered in the practice 
 of the most profound humility. This filled both Angels 
 and men with a stupor of amazement, and made them 
 clearly comprehend that it is this virtue which, more 
 than others, He wished us to learn of Him : “ Learn of 
 Me, because I am meek and humble of heart ”* 
 
 2. Therefore, the first step or degree of humility is the 
 fear of the Lord ; and with reason, for the beginning of 
 wisdom is the fear of the Lord. This may be said to be 
 the foundation of the whole spiritual edifice, or — to 
 adhere to the original figure — it is that step without 
 which one cannot mount any higher, for, as the second, 
 the third, and the succeeding steps necessarily pre- 
 suppose the existence of the first, so also do the remain- 
 ing degrees or steps of this and of the other virtues 
 necessarily presuppose the fear of the Lord. Hence 
 
 St. Matth. xi. 29. 
 
Vocations for Women. Conditions of] 
 Admission Into tho Convents, Con-j 
 gregations, Religious Institutes, Etc.: 
 According to Authentic Information 
 and the Latest Regulations. By 
 Rev. H. Hohn. With a Preface by 
 His Eminence Cardinal Francis 
 Bourne. New York. Benziger Bros. 
 
 This is a companion book to another 
 [treating of Vocations for Men. Its in- 
 formation answers the question so 
 often asked by the young woman who 
 feels called to the religious life: How 
 shall I go about it? In regard 
 to each religious institute it tells the 
 the respective 
 ^ion, the pecu- 
 iie requisite 
 mces, time 
 L^ent, pos- 
 and the 
 thments. 
 >ble to 
 ques- 
 xact 
 
iterpreted as damaging "to 
 |ion of the Church they will twist the 
 |;ommonest happenings into something 
 )f terrible omen, and cable it far and 
 ride as the sign of Rome’s defection, 
 lome must be surprised at some of 
 |.he things which are so accurately re- 
 ported as having happened there. But 
 It none of them so much as the latest 
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EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 287 
 
 that saying of the Wise Man : “ Unless thou hold thyself 
 diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly 
 be overthrown”.* The marks and the effects of this 
 fear are : first, a great and supreme detestation of all 
 sin, not only of mortal sin — the commission of which 
 would, on the part of a Eeligious, be horrible beyond 
 the power of words to express — but also of even that 
 which is venial, and more especially if it is deliberate ; 
 secondly, a flight from all occasions of even slightly 
 offending our good God; thirdly, careful guardianship of 
 ourselves against forgetfulness of anything which it is 
 incumbent upon us to remember and to do, either as 
 Christians or as Eeligious ; fourthly, watchfulness over 
 our thoughts and desires, and the speedy repression of all 
 those which are unlawful ; fifthly, denial of self-will ; 
 sixthly, a care for and an esteem of small things. Do 
 you perceive in yourself any of these marks ? If you do 
 not, then at once earnestly direct your attention to 
 the acquisition of them, and, when you have acquired 
 them, to the careful preservation of them. Be on your 
 guard, however, against the admission into your heart of 
 any other fear than the fear of the Lord. Worldly fear 
 dreads the evil of punishment, and the losses which men 
 are able to inflict upon us ; it dreads to displease them, 
 or to offend them, or to incur their resentment. Pro- 
 perly speaking, this fear is called human respect. Unless 
 it is made subordinate to the fear of the Lord, it often- 
 times succeeds in casting out of the heart the fear of 
 God. 
 
 Oh, how worthless, how full of unrest, how fickle, how 
 mean is that man’s heart which is held captive by this 
 fear ! Do you cast it forth from your heart ; and when 
 
 Ecclus. xxvii. 4. 
 
288 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 you have done this, most firmly resolve to do everything 
 carefully, holily, and honestly, as though there were in 
 existence no other beings than yourself and God. There- 
 fore, “ Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long ; 
 because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy 
 expectation shall not be taken away 
 
 3. Consider the second, the third, and the fourth 
 degrees of humility. Join these three degrees together, 
 because they are necessary for true obedience, which we 
 have elsewhere said is inseparable from humility, and is 
 for that reason counted among the degrees of this in- 
 estimable virtue. 
 
 The second degree teaches us to deny self-will. 
 This can and must be done, first, by a due observance 
 of the divisions of time, not only with respect to time 
 itself — by doing everything at the moment at which it 
 is ordered to be done, and by accomplishing that which 
 has been commanded — but also with respect to the 
 manner in which each thing must be done, namely, in- 
 ternally, with a good and supernatural motive, through 
 love of God, of our own perfection, and with pious affec- 
 tion of heart ; externally, with all exactitude and dili- 
 gence, without the intermixture of anything that does 
 not pertain to it, with all modesty, and with the other 
 circumstances which are proper and fitting to each action. 
 (2) By a willing compliance and obedience in all matters 
 which are left to our free choice ; (3) and that, too, in 
 matters which are repugnant to self-will. (4) By a speedy 
 denial of our own will in the daily recurring occasions 
 which present themselves for the exercise of this virtue. 
 Also, when any extraordinary chance for so doing may 
 offer itself. Oh, how many and how glorious will be the 
 
 Prov. xxiii. 17. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 289 
 
 crowns which you will win by the exercise of this self- 
 denial, if only you will go on perseveringly doing this for 
 God’s sake to the very end ! 
 
 The third degree of humility prescribes that, in imita- 
 tion of Christ, obedience should be given to the Elders. 
 On this we have spoken at considerable length in the 
 preceding Meditations. 
 
 Finally, the fourth degree is to join patience and 
 meekness with humility ; for, as it is impossible that there 
 should always be issued commands which are in accord- 
 ance with our natural inclinations, and, as it will some- 
 times happen that orders which are hard, contrary to our 
 instincts , and galling to our inborn notions of our own dignity 
 are given to us, we repeat that patience and meekness must 
 be joined with obedience. Do not grow weary. Do not 
 give up the contest as hopeless. Above all things, never 
 abandon your good beginnings through disgust and 
 bitterness of soul. On the contrary, do manfully, let 
 your heart be strengthened, and wait for the Lord, 
 bearing in mind that through many tribulations we 
 must enter the kingdom of God ; “ also, that Christ 
 Himself, Whom all the Saints have followed, had to 
 suffer, and so to enter into His glory”. Are you better 
 than Christ ? Are you superior to His Virgin Mother 
 and to the holy Apostles, that you seek for another 
 way to heaven different from that by which they have 
 gone thither? 
 
 How little account will a man make of all that in 
 this life appears hard and bitter, if he keep before the 
 eyes of his mind those flames which are never extin- 
 guished, that outer darkness, that gnashing of teeth, 
 and that everlasting weeping and wailing which are 
 in hell ! 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 Of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Degrees of 
 Humility. 
 
 1. By the fifth degree of humility, our holy Lawgiver 
 teaches you to make known to your Spiritual Father all 
 your evil thoughts and the secret faults which you com- 
 mit. This may be done in two ways : in confession, and 
 out of confession. By the manifestation which is made 
 in confession, we mean the sacramental confession itself. 
 As this sacred action has very often to be performed in 
 the course of the Religious Life, the following counsels 
 must be observed if you desire to make it with fruit. 
 We speak, as a matter of course, about the confession of 
 venial sins ; because we take it for granted that he who 
 has once for all made up his mind to serve God in 
 Religion, will never again return to his evil courses, 
 if he should have had the misfortune previously to have 
 fallen into sin ; or, if he have never been guilty of any 
 grave offence, that he will not, during the course of his 
 Religious Life, mortally offend our good God. In the 
 first place, therefore, take special care to go to this 
 Sacrament, not out of mere custom, nor to follow the 
 example of others, nor to comply with the wishes of 
 Superiors ; on the contrary, approach it with living faith, 
 with steadfast hope, with a great affection for, and an 
 ardent desire of, purity of conscience and of your own 
 personal advancement in perfection. 
 
 Secondly, do not examine with scrupulosity and 
 anxiety into the state of your conscience ; for, as there is 
 no obligation to confess these venial faults, so also there 
 need not be any scrupulous examination into them. 
 Nevertheless, even with respect to these, a reasonable 
 
FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH DEGREES OF HUMILITY. 291 
 
 diligence will not be misplaced, for it is very advantageous 
 to confess them. Half the difficulty with respect to this 
 examination will be overcome by him who is in the habit 
 of daily scrutinising his conscience. 
 
 Thirdly, as soon as the examination has been made, 
 an act of sorrow, accompanied by a firm purpose 
 of amendment, must straightway be elicited, lest these 
 important parts of penance should altogether escape 
 your memory. In order that you may have true sorrow 
 for sin, never for a moment lay aside the firm resolve 
 which you have made to love and to serve God, to pursue 
 righteousness and truth, and with all your strength to 
 strive after perfection. Also, take special care never to 
 make little account of offending God by venial sin. With 
 respect to the purpose of amendment, it is sufficient to 
 have a general intention of avoiding venial sins, and of 
 gradually diminishing them in gravity, or in species, 
 or in number, or in the affection which you have for 
 them, or in the amount of deliberation with which 
 you commit them. In order more efficaciously to 
 grieve for them, call to mind those sins of which you are 
 most ashamed, and which you most ardently desire to 
 avoid. If none occur to your memory, you may choose 
 out, from your past confessions, some particular sins, and 
 once again submit them to the keys, as most displeasing 
 to you and also most easy to reform. 
 
 Fourthly, the actual confession of your sins ought to be : 
 (1) Humble — that is to say, you ought internally to admit 
 that you are really guilty; moreover, it should be of such a 
 nature as that the deportment of your body may indicate 
 the sorrow of your soul. (2) Shamefaced — that is, the sins 
 ought to be revealed slowly and with confusion of soul. 
 The more the confession has of this sentiment of shame 
 and of sorrow, the better and the more pleasing is it to 
 
292 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 God, from Whose treasure-house it is bestowed upon 
 men of good-will. It offers unto Him a full satisfaction, 
 obtains a more copious measure of grace, gains a more 
 decisive victory over self and the devil, and more effec- 
 tually moves the Confessor to sentiments of mercy and 
 of affection, inasmuch as it completely and with all sin- 
 cerity makes known to him the miseries of human nature, 
 and the confusion with which sin covers the soul. (3) Sincere 
 and candid , by explaining everything, as far as possible, 
 clearly, distinctly, prudently, and without anxiety. (4) 
 Short f by omitting all idle and useless circumlocutions. 
 
 (5) True, by neither adding anything in order to humble 
 yourself, nor by taking away anything in order to excuse 
 your faults ; by confessing that which is doubtful as 
 doubtful matter, and that which is certain as certain 
 matter, just as you perceive it in your own conscience. 
 
 (6) Finally, let your confession, with respect to your Con- 
 fessor, be full of confidence and of faith. Do not look 
 upon him as a mere man, but as the representative of 
 God. Hence, treat him with all reverence, both in the 
 sacred tribunal and out of it, inasmuch as he is, with 
 respect to you, a father, a physician, and a friend, with 
 whom you must frankly communicate, without being 
 ashamed to open out before his eyes the most secret 
 recesses of your heart. Therefore, turn to God, and, 
 with the most ardent affection of your soul, thank Him 
 for a benefit of so great magnitude, and resolve for the 
 future to make the best possible use of it. 
 
 With respect to the manifestation of conscience which 
 is made out of confession, we exhort you to allow your 
 whole soul to be seen by your Spiritual Director. To his 
 eyes it ought to be as if it was of crystal, so that he may, 
 whenever he pleases, look into it, and know it as well, or 
 even better, than you yourself know it. Do not wait till 
 
FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH DEGREES OF HUMILITY. 293 
 
 he asks leave to search its inmost folds, but beg of him 
 to inspect them, and do you yourself lay them open 
 before his eyes. Do not, by your silence and by your 
 secrecy, invite the devil to tempt you, but straightway 
 acquaint your Spiritual Guide with his first suggestions. 
 For to hide one’s self from one’s Spiritual Father, and to 
 avoid being well known by him, is a grave fault in a 
 Novice ; it is the first stone of the devil’s house, the 
 first step towards tepidity, unrest, and ruin. This open- 
 ness with the Spiritual Father is so necessary for, and 
 ought to be so peculiarly the characteristic of, the 
 Novice, that no other quality ought to be recommended 
 with more urgency to your notice ; for this is so much of 
 a necessity for you that, if it is wanting, nothing else can 
 supply its place ; and if you possess it you will not long 
 be lacking in any other good qualities. Oh, how great 
 consolation, repose, and tranquillity do those persons 
 begin to experience in their souls who are careful to 
 follow out to the very letter all these sage counsels. 
 Those who neglect to act upon the wisdom which they 
 contain, are tossed hither and thither by the conflicting 
 emotions of an uneasy mind, and expose themselves to 
 the greatest danger of offending God, and of altogether 
 falling away from their holy calling. 
 
 2. “ The sixth degree of humility is that a Monk 
 should be content with all that is meanest and poorest, 
 and in everything that is enjoined him should consider 
 himself to be an evil and worthless servant.” Therefore 
 always be content with all that is poorest in eating and 
 in drinking ; in clothing, in furniture, in place of abode ; 
 and with all that is meanest as to state, position, oc- 
 cupation ; being ever mindful of Jesus Christ, Who was 
 poor. Never at any time be ambitious of obtaining, and 
 still less be desirous of procuring, advancement to ec- 
 
294 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 clesiastical dignities and offices, to honourable occupa- 
 tions, and to high rank, but, with respect to these and to 
 other matters of a like nature, depend entirely upon the 
 will of your Superior, contenting yourself with the 
 lowest, the most abject offices and duties, saying with 
 the Prophet : “ I have been brought to nothing, and I 
 knew it not. I have become as a beast before Thee, and I 
 am always with Thee.” * What greater happiness, what 
 greater dignity, can be imagined than to be always with 
 the Lord ? Acquire this degree of humility and you will 
 not care for, still less will you aim at, winning for your- 
 self that which the world esteems so highly ; but you 
 will enjoy a most profound peace. Your loving Saviour 
 disdained not to abide until His thirtieth year in a lowly 
 workshop, and was willing humbly to obey St. Joseph in 
 order to teach you to find contentment in the execution 
 of every office to which your Superiors may think fit to 
 appoint you, although you yourself may imagine that 
 you are capable of filling posts of far greater importance. 
 
 3. The seventh degree, in which the whole substance 
 of humility is, as it were, contained, is that you not only 
 should proclaim with your tongue but also should believe 
 in your heart that you are the most abject of beings, and 
 inferior to all. Therefore, never prefer yourself to any 
 one, no matter how much more amply endowed you may 
 imagine yourself to be in natural gifts and favours ; on 
 the contrary, frequently say to yourself : “ W T hat hast 
 thou that thou hast not received? ” Christ Jesus willed 
 to be the last of men. Will you, then, prefer yourself to 
 Him? Never judge any man; particularly if there is 
 question of the intentions and of the affections of his 
 heart. Only God can know secrets of this nature : 
 
 “ Therefore,” says the Apostle, “ judge not before the 
 * Ps. lxxii. 22. 
 
REMAINING DEGREES OF HUMILITY. 
 
 295 
 
 time until the Lord come. Who both will bring to light 
 the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest 
 the counsels of hearts”.* Oh, how different from the 
 judgments of men will be the judgments of God ! To 
 show, in very deed, that you are fully convinced of this 
 in your own case, and at the present time, stir up, dis- 
 pose, resign, offer yourself, and resolve heroically, and 
 with a determination which nothing can shake, never, 
 by any sign, nor by any manner of acting, to let it be seen, 
 that you take amiss any correction or any humiliation 
 which is given to you by a Superior, or by an equal, or by 
 an inferior, whether friendly or hostile ; whether in a 
 discreet or in an indiscreet manner; whether with 
 bitterness or with benevolence ; whether with sharpness 
 or with sweetness ; whether publicly or privately ; 
 whether within or without the Monastery ; but, with a 
 quiet mind, most humbly, meekly, peacefully, and with 
 great love of God — Who permits such things to happen, 
 and suffers men to try you — to bear it with all patience. 
 Thus, in whatever dignity you may be placed, in what- 
 ever state you may find yourself, whether happy or 
 wretched, whether lofty or lowly, whether you be in 
 health or in sickness, receive with a quiet mind all that 
 comes upon you, without excusing yourself by reason of any 
 sudden chance, or of any unforeseen circumstance ; with- 
 out exception of any matter, or of any person whatever. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 Of the Remaining Degrees of Humility. 
 
 1. By the eighth degree of humility, two kinds of 
 singularity are forbidden : the one, which sins by excess ; 
 * 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
296 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 the other, which sins by defect. He is singular by 
 excess who, of his own accord, undertakes works which 
 go beyond his State, as, for instance, if a Benedictine 
 were to endeavour to lead the life of a hermit. On the 
 other hand, he is singular by defect who follows a 
 method of life which is less perfect than that to which 
 he has bound himself, and does not do that which his 
 State requires of him. 
 
 To obtain the eighth degree the following precepts 
 must be observed : (1) Never prefer private exercises of 
 piety to those which are common. Have a greater 
 esteem for obedience than for any particular acts of devo- 
 tion. Set a high value upon exercises which are common 
 to the whole Community ; love them ; perform them with 
 care ; and neither desire nor procure for yourself, upon 
 far-fetched pretences, any exemptions whatever. (2) 
 Take care never, either by word or by example, to give 
 any occasion for scandal, or for the slightest relaxation of 
 regular discipline. Give heedful note to that which we 
 have said on this matter in a former meditation. 
 
 He, however, is not by any means to be accused of 
 singularity who, with firm determination, faithfully 
 guards the statutes of the Buie, though living among 
 those who have somewhat relaxed the rigour of strict 
 observance. These latter ought, with far more truth, to 
 be called singular , inasmuch as they are living and acting 
 in a manner which is contrary to Buie. Let it be your 
 aim to do what God, and St. Benedict, and your 
 Superiors require from you, without paying any attention 
 to that which others may either say or do, being careful 
 at the same time not to pass any judgment upon them or 
 upon their actions. 
 
 Spurred on by the example of so many thousand 
 Saints of our Order who have won heavenly glory for 
 
REMAINING DEGREES OF HUMILITY. 
 
 297 
 
 themselves by the way of regular observance, resolve 
 manfully to tread in their footsteps. 
 
 2. The ninth, tenth, and eleventh degrees of humility 
 teach you how you are rightly to regulate the times for 
 speaking and for keeping silence. The times and the 
 places appointed by our holy Father for keeping silence 
 are the hours of the night, beginning with the end of 
 Compline and lasting till after the little Chapter at Prime 
 on the following morning ; also during meals, if they are 
 appointed by Eule and there is no dispensation granted 
 by the Superior to engage in conversation. On these 
 occasions the strictest silence — summum silentium — 
 must be kept. The times and the places in which 
 ordinary silence is observed — that is to say, silence which 
 for some urgent necessity may be broken, and a few words 
 be spoken in a low tone of voice — are all other times 
 with the exception of those which have already been 
 mentioned. The places in which silence has to be 
 observed, and which have been specially mentioned by 
 St. Benedict, are the Eefectory, the Dormitory, and the 
 Oratory. To these some writers add the Sacristy. 
 
 In order to make this time of silence profitable, let your 
 heart speak to God. “ Oh. how full of glory is that 
 silence,” says St. Bernard, “ in which the words of the 
 Lord are pure words, are chaste words.” * To conceive 
 a love for the observance of silence look at Jesus Christ, 
 the perfect exemplar of every virtue. Although He is 
 eternal wisdom, and might have converted many thou- 
 sands by His preaching, yet for thirty years He holds 
 His peace and says nothing. To the amazement of the 
 pagan judge, He is silent during His trial, though He 
 might by a word have delivered Himself from all His 
 sufferings. Attentively consider the counsels which the 
 
 * Be Ordin. Vita , cap. iv. 
 
298 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 Holy Spirit gives concerning silence r “ Death and life 
 are in the hands of the tongue “A man full of 
 tongue shall not be established in the earth.’’ t “ If any 
 man think himself to be religious, not bridling his 
 tongue, that man’s religion is vain.” J “In silence and 
 in hope shall your strength be.” § Silence is the worship 
 of justice. With respect to the matter of your speech, 
 beware of ever uttering words which are scurrilous and 
 idle, or which excite to laughter ; these our holy Father 
 utterly condemns in all places, and does not allow his 
 disciples to open their mouths to give them utterance. || 
 “ O Jesus Christ ! Who hast carefully weighed Thy 
 copious tears, Thy continual sorrow and affliction of 
 heart, how canst Thou be softened, dissolved, melted by 
 levity ? ” 
 
 In the chapter on the “ Instruments of Good Works,” 
 you will find that the following “instruments” have 
 reference to this subject : 27, 28, 32, 39, 40, 52, 53, 54, 
 67.H 
 
 Let your manner of speaking be : (1) Mild ; that is, 
 let it be sweet, temperate, quiet. (2) Let it be without 
 laughter, with modest cheerfulness, but without stern- 
 ness, and without harshness. (3) Your speech should be 
 humble; that is, it should not be larded with big, 
 swollen, pompous, boastful, and biting words. (4) It 
 should be grave, both in matter and in manner. With 
 respect to the matter of it, it should be upright and void 
 of everything that would be unbecoming in a mouth con- 
 secrated to God. With respect to the manner, it ought 
 not to be accompanied with gestures of the hands, and 
 with movements of the body. These offend against the 
 rules of religious modesty. (5) Your words should be 
 
 * Prov. xviii. 21. + Ps. cxxxix. 12. J S. Jaimes i. 26. 
 
 § Isaias xxx. 15. || Reg., cap. vi. H Ibid., cap. iv. 
 
REMAINING DEGREES OF HUMILITY. 
 
 299 
 
 few and rational; that is to say, they should be so 
 maturely and prudently weighed and considered before- 
 hand, that if you were suddenly called upon to give a 
 reason for what you have said, you would at once be 
 able to do so ; and the reason which you give ought to 
 be such that it would meet with the approval of God. 
 (6) Your words ought not to be uttered in a loud tone of 
 voice. In this respect, put before your mind’s eye the 
 example of our most loving Saviour, Who was so 
 moderate in His use of words that He never spoke any 
 which were not most holy, most useful, most admirably 
 adapted to the occasions upon which they were spoken, 
 and to the needs of the persons for whose benefit they 
 were uttered. They were, at the same time, most suit- 
 able to the manner in which they were delivered. 
 
 Give to this your attentive consideration, and imitate 
 the example which is put before you. 
 
 3. The twelfth degree of humility, which prescribes 
 lowliness in external behaviour and a strict custody over 
 the eyes, has its source : (1) In the remembrance of sin 
 — “Thinking himself guilty for his sins”. (2) In the 
 constant remembrance of the dread judgment seat — “Let 
 him think that he is about to be presented before the 
 tribunal of God ”. (3) In the remembrance of the Pub- 
 
 lican’s conduct, and of the words of the Eoyal Prophet. 
 Add unto these (4) the example of Jesus Christ. How 
 great, how excellent, think you, must have been the 
 modest composure of this Master of self-abasement ? 
 
 Of a truth, it was none other than that which exhibited 
 to the eyes of all who looked upon Him, God’s own 
 beautiful prototype of modesty and of humility. 
 
 Picturing to himself the outward appearance of Our 
 Divine Lord, St. Bernard says : “ When I utter the name 
 *' Jesus,’ I place before myself a man meek and humble 
 
300 
 
 THE RETREAT. 
 
 of heart; kind, moderate, chaste, merciful; in fine, a 
 man remarkable for all holiness and righteousness 
 Never turn your mind’s eye away from the contemplation 
 of this model. Conform yourself with Him. Imitate 
 Him. Strive to be another Jesus. 
 
 “ Thus, when all these degrees of humility have been 
 ascended, the Monk will presently come to that love of 
 God which is perfect and casteth out fear, to that love 
 whereby everything which in the beginning he observed 
 through fear, he will now begin to do by custom, without 
 any labour, and, as it were, naturally ; not now through 
 the fear of hell, but for the love of Christ, out of a good 
 custom and a delight in virtue. All this Our Lord will 
 vouchsafe to work by the Holy Ghost in His servant, 
 now that he is cleansed from defects and sins.” * These 
 are the words with which our holy Father concludes his 
 chapter on humility. Do you, therefore, “ in your heart 
 dispose to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears,” that you 
 may deserve to see the God of gods in Sion. Be not 
 satisfied with having seen this ladder in vision only, as 
 Jacob saw it, nor with having contemplated the as- 
 cending forms of others who are leading the lives of 
 earthly Angels, but do you also arise, advance, and, laying 
 hold of the sides, go upwards, and cease not till you 
 obtain possession of God Himself, Who is standing upon 
 the topmost round. Then there will be unto you joy 
 and glory unutterable, before God, and Angels, and men. 
 
 Sermo xxv. in Cantic. 
 
 + Reg., cap. vii. 
 
THIRD PART. 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 In the fifty-eighth chapter of the Rule, our holy Father 
 treats of the method which is to be observed in the 
 admission to the Brotherhood of those persons who may 
 wish to join his Institute. His words, in that passage, 
 give ample instruction to the Abbot, the Community, the 
 Novice Master, and the Novice himself, concerning their 
 respective duties upon this important subject. However, 
 as it is our intention in this little work to deal chiefly 
 with the dispositions which are requisite on the part of 
 the Novice, and with the obligations which bind him, we 
 will confine our remarks to those matters for which St. 
 Benedict legislates when treating of the Novice. 
 
 These are : “ That he should be sent to the Novitiate, 
 and should there meditate, and eat, and sleep ; that he 
 should be placed under the guidance of an Elder or 
 Spiritual Father ; that he should truly seek God, and be 
 eager for the ‘ Work of God,’ for obedience, and for 
 humiliation In the next place, that all the rigour and 
 the austerity of the Rule should be clearly set before his 
 eyes ; that he himself should promise to be steadfast in 
 
302 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 his purpose ; that thrice during the year of probation — 
 that is to say, in the second, the eighth, and the twelfth 
 month — the Eule should be read to him, to give him an 
 accurate knowledge of the kind of life which he wishes to 
 embrace. 
 
 On each of these occasions, that the following words 
 should be addressed to him : “ Behold the Law under 
 which thou desirest to fight : if thou canst observe it, 
 enter ; if thou canst not, then freely depart Further- 
 more, that his patience should be tested in every possible 
 way. Finally, that if, after mature deliberation, he shall 
 promise to observe all the Eule, and in all things to obey 
 his Superiors ; and if, after having spent a whole year 
 under the training of the aforementioned discipline, he 
 shall be found worthy to be received into the Brother- 
 hood, he shall, at last, be admitted into the Community. 
 From that time forth, according to the enactment of the 
 Eule, he must not leave the Monastery, nor withdraw 
 his neck from the yoke of obedience, which he took upon 
 himself after such ripe deliberation; whereas he might, 
 had he so willed it, easily have refused to carry so 
 weighty a burthen. 
 
 Under these twelve heads is contained all that our 
 holy Father wishes to be taught to the Novices. There- 
 fore, it shall be our aim in this work to develop in as 
 many chapters the lessons which he wishes to be con- 
 veyed to them. These shall be set before you with so 
 great minuteness, that you will know how to use, to the 
 best advantage, your year of trial. They will enable you 
 to look at yourself, as it were in a mirror, and to see 
 whether you have acquired those qualities which our 
 holy Father expects to find in those who desire to be 
 ranked among the number of his children. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 “ Let him be in the Novitiate, whebe he shall 
 Meditate, and Eat, and Sleep.” 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Of being in the Novitiate. 
 
 In treating of the education of Novices, our holy Father 
 first makes arrangements about the place in which the 
 process of their spiritual training is to be carried on ; 
 for he was well aware of the important part which this 
 seemingly unimportant matter plays in the beginning 
 of the Religious Life. He calls this place the “ Celia 
 Novitiorum,” or the Novitiate — a house standing apart 
 from the abode of the rest of the Brethren, and 
 standing apart in order to instil into the minds of the 
 Novices a love of solitude ; for it is in solitude that men 
 receive more abundantly of the outpouring of God’s 
 grace, and become better skilled in courageous resistance 
 to the onslaughts of the devil, who ordinarily with great 
 fury attacks those who are beginning their spiritual life. 
 St. Benedict has given, in his own person, an excellent 
 example of a love of solitude ; for, in his early youth, 
 and while himself a mere Novice, he fled from the tumult 
 of Rome, and hid himself in a desert place. There, by 
 one heroic act of self-denial, he triumphed over the devil, 
 the world, and the flesh, as may be seen in his life. Our 
 Divine Lord also taught us to love solitude, when 
 previously to His missionary labours He retired into a 
 
304 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 desert place, and by vanquishing the devil, in the three- 
 fold temptation wherewith that wicked spirit essayed to 
 break down His virtue, gained a glorious victory over our 
 common enemy. 
 
 Do you, therefore, in the same spirit with which Jesus 
 Christ entered the desert, enter the cell which is assigned 
 to you ; or, in that spirit with which He entered the 
 stable, at the moment of His birth ; or, with which our 
 holy Father entered the solitude of Subiaco. Gird up 
 your loins to fight against the devil, the world, and the 
 flesh, and to meet the other difficulties and trials which 
 will assail you in the wilderness. Frequently repeat to 
 yourself these memorable words of the Wise Man: “Son, 
 when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice 
 and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation”.* 
 But, though full of fear, do not lose your confidence in 
 God ; for it is written : “No one hath hoped in the 
 Lord, and hath been confounded ”.f The whole second 
 chapter of Ecclesiasticus is well worthy of your perusal, 
 on the first day of your entrance into Religious Life. 
 
 Therefore, love your cell as if it were a very heaven 
 upon earth ; for, as St. Bernard remarks, “ Coelum, the 
 Latin word for heaven, and cella , the Latin word for cell^ 
 are near of kin ” ; or, as we might say in English, “ cell 
 and celestial are near of kin”. A little farther on he 
 says : “ The ascent from one’s cell to the celestial 
 kingdom is a matter of frequent occurrence ; but rarely 
 does it happen that any one descends from his cell to the 
 nether pit ; unless, indeed, it be that he goes thither 
 only in thought during his day of life, in order to save 
 himself from having to descend thither after his death. 
 But, after death, seldom is any one cast into hell from 
 his monastic cell ; for scarcely any, except those who 
 * Ecclus. ii. 1. t Cap. ii. 11. 
 
IN THE NOVITIATE. 
 
 305 
 
 are destined to eternal life, persevere in it till death.” * 
 Therefore, with great fervour, enter your cell and remain 
 hidden in it as constantly as your duties will allow. 
 When first you enter it, fall upon your knees, and give 
 God thanks for the special mark of favour which He has 
 shown to you in calling you to His holy service, and 
 deigning to enrol you among the number of His children. 
 Make a firm resolve never to forsake Him, but faithfully 
 to persevere in your calling until death, saying with the 
 Psalmist : “ This is my rest for ever and ever ; here will 
 I dwell, for I have chosen it ”.+ 
 
 Lastly, in order that our most bountiful God may 
 bestow upon you grace to carry this resolve into effect, 
 with all humility beseech Him to come to your aid. 
 Never suffer the esteem and the love which you have for 
 your religious calling to diminish, but strive daily to 
 increase them ; for it is certain that your progress in 
 perfection, during your Religious Life, will be in exact 
 proportion to your increase in these most necessary 
 qualities. 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Of Meditation , Food, and Sleep. 
 
 After determining the place in which the Novice is to 
 be trained, our holy Father next informs him that, with 
 the exception of the time which is devoted to such neces- 
 sary duties as are bodily nourishment and rest, his life, 
 during the year of probation, must be employed in medi- 
 tation. But in what sense this word is used, we will now 
 proceed to explain. 
 
 According to Bernard of Cassino, Turrecremata, and 
 
 * Be Vita Solit., cap. iv. 
 
 20 
 
 Ps. cxxxi. 14. 
 
306 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Smaragdus, meditation must be taken to mean *i reading, 
 psalmody, vocal prayer, mental prayer, and in fact any- 
 thing else which pertains to spiritual duties”; so that 
 they regard meditation as a generic rather than as a 
 specific term. Therefore, by employing it in this way, 
 our holy Father wishes to intimate that, during the year 
 of Novitiate, you do not belong wholly to yourself, but 
 that, however much you may be occupied in other honest 
 and necessary duties, you must wish to free yourself 
 from their entanglements, to give yourself to the pursuit 
 of spiritual things, and in these, both by day and by 
 night, to exercise the faculties of your soul. For if, as 
 it is commonly asserted, other sciences require the atten- 
 tion of the whole man, with how much greater reason 
 may we say that this sublime science of spirituality, 
 dealing as it does with practical rather than with specu- 
 lative matters, demands ' that he should throw into the 
 study of it, and especially at the beginning, all the 
 mental power which he is able to command ? Therefore, 
 at your first entrance into the Novitiate, imagine that 
 our holy Father addresses to you those words which St. 
 Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy : “ Exercise thyself 
 unto godliness ; for bodily exercise is profitable to little 
 (which may be said of all that does not, by a good inten- 
 tion and by obedience, pertain to the spirit and to God), 
 but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of 
 the life that now is, and of that which is to come 
 
 Again, as meditation, according to Menochius,! properly 
 signifies to exercise one’s self in thought, in speech, and 
 in act, you need not, in order to comply with our holy 
 Father’s wishes, have your mind always on the stretch ; 
 nor need you withdraw yourself from external work ; 
 all that is required of you is that whatever you do, or 
 
 * 1 Tim. iv. 7, 8. t In Ps . i. 
 
MEDITATION, FOOD, AND SLEEP. 307 
 
 think, or say, should be said, or thought, or done for 
 God, or should at least by a pure intention be referred 
 to Him, conformably with that saying of the Apostle : 
 “ Do all things in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that in all things, and through all things, God may be 
 glorified,” setting aside all human motives, and all human 
 considerations. By acting thus, you will comply with 
 our holy Lawgiver’s wishes in this respect. That which 
 the devout Blosius says, with regard to a pure intention, 
 will find a suitable place here : “ Whenever we are use- 
 fully and honestly engaged in reading or in meditating, 
 in writing or in speaking upon any speculative or upon 
 any spiritual matter, we do not thereby withdraw our- 
 selves from the contemplation of God ; nor are we sepa- 
 rated from Him, when through any lawful necessity, and 
 with a becoming sobriety and moderation of spirit, we 
 apply ourselves to our ordinary affairs ”. 
 
 Furthermore, by using the word meditation , our holy 
 Father wishes you to understand that, during the period 
 of your probation, you should in a most special manner 
 devote yourself to the perfection and the salvation of 
 your own soul, and should not suffer yourself to he filled 
 with a misplaced zeal for the perfection and the salvation 
 of others. St. Theresa, that illustrious mistress of the 
 Spiritual Life, was well aware of the mischief which this 
 snare effects among beginners, who have no sooner tasted 
 of the Lord’s sweetness than they would fain straightway 
 have others share in the delights which they enjoy. In 
 acting thus, they seem to forget that their own personal 
 progress is likely to be retarded ; for they usually pay 
 far more attention to the correction of others’ defects 
 than they do to the correction of their own, and in con- 
 sequence of this are exposed to many afflictions and 
 sorrows. It is with a view to prevent his children from 
 
308 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 being entrapped by this snare, that our holy Father 
 orders those who are Novices in the Spiritual Life to 
 meditate — that is to say, to busy themselves about the 
 sanctification of only their own souls. The same idea is 
 put forth still more clearly by St. Theresa : “In the 
 beginning of our Spiritual Life, our chief care should be 
 bestowed upon our own souls. We should think that, 
 besides God and our soul, there is no one else in the 
 world.” In another place she says : “ It is safest for us 
 to lay aside the care of all persons and of ail things, to 
 be responsible for ourselves only, and to strive to please 
 God. To act thus is, in very truth, of the utmost 
 importance, and is most becoming in one who wishes to 
 be a Religious.” After a due consideration of these 
 various reasons, you should resolve to act upon them, 
 and to bring your life into conformity with that which 
 they teach. Therefore, lay aside all care and all other 
 business. Concentrate your energy upon spiritual things. 
 Refer unto God everything that you do by Rule ; and 
 give your undivided attention to the perfection of your 
 own soul. 
 
 A few remarks will not be out of place here, upon those 
 words of St. Benedict : “ That the Novice not only should 
 meditate in the Novitiate, but also should there sleep and 
 eat ”. These actions must be done in a manner suitable, 
 not only to Religious, but to all who have renounced the 
 pleasures of the world ; so that in the very beginning of 
 your Religious Life you may refrain from eating and from 
 sleeping more than nature requires. For, as we read in 
 the Following of Christ , “ Bridle gluttony, and thou wilt 
 the more easily bridle all inclinations of the flesh”.* 
 “ There is no sin,” says St. Benedicts “ more contrary to 
 the Christian character — and with far greater reason to 
 * Bk. i., cap. xix. + Reg., cap. xxxix. 
 
MEDITATION, FOOD, AND SLEEP. 
 
 309 
 
 the religions character — than gluttony ; therefore, Our 
 Lord saith : 1 Take heed to yourselves lest, perhaps, your 
 hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and with drunken- 
 ness ’.” 
 
 With respect to sleep and to sloth, we read in the 
 Book of Proverbs :* “ Love not sleep, lest poverty 
 oppress thee ” ; and in the Book of Ecclesiastes :f “ Bow 
 down thy shoulder (to Wisdom) and bear her, and be not 
 grieved with her bonds”. Be fully persuaded that, 
 unless you can master yourself in these respects, you 
 will never become a truly religious man ; for, as St. 
 Gregory says : “In the spiritual conflict, no one becomes 
 a victor unless he has first vanquished, by the mortifica- 
 tion of the appetite, all the evil tendencies of the flesh ”. J 
 Speaking of the spirit of sloth, Cassian says : “ He who 
 gives himself up to idleness and to sleep will never 
 obtain true justice, real charity, and lasting glory ; for 
 ‘ Every sleeper shall be clothed with ragged garments ’ ; 
 or, as the Vulgate renders it : ‘ Drowsiness shall be 
 clothed with rags ’ ; § for, of a certainty, the sluggard 
 will not deserve to be clothed with that incorruptible 
 garment, of which the Apostle says : *' Put ye on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ ’. Again : ‘ Having on the breastplate 
 of faith and of charity ’ ; and Our Lord, by the mouth of 
 the Prophet : * Arise, arise, O Jerusalem ! put on the 
 garments of thy glory’. Whoever suffers himself to be 
 oppressed by the sleep of spiritual sloth prefers to be 
 clothed with the rags of idleness rather than with those 
 garments which are the fruit of his own industry.” We 
 will here place before you the method of taking food and 
 sleep which was recommended by St. Bernard ; also, an 
 
 * Cap. xx. + Cap. vi. 26. 
 
 + Moral., lib. xxx., cap. clxv. 
 
 § Cassian, lib. x., cap. xxi. ; Prov. xxiii. 
 
310 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 extract from the works of St. John Climacns, on spiritual 
 sloth. If in the beginning of your Eeligious Life you 
 keep before your eyes and endeavour to practise the 
 counsels which these contain, you will discover that they 
 may be followed out with the greatest ease ; for, as St. 
 Bernard says : “ Your affections will be purified and 
 your will will be renovated, so that everything which at 
 first seemed difficult and well-nigh impossible, will 
 afterwards be performed with the greatest alacrity and 
 ease ; and the pain w T hich at first you experienced in the 
 execution of difficult tasks, will be changed into so great 
 a joy that you will be able to cry out with the Psalmist : 
 ‘ I have run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou 
 didst enlarge my heart * ”.* 
 
 St. Bernard ( De Vita Solit., cap. xi.): “Whether you 
 eat, or drink, or whatever else you do, do all piously, 
 holily, and religiously, for the glory of God. If you 
 eat, let sobriety grace your frugal table; and, while 
 you eat, be not wholly intent upon your food, but 
 at the same time that you nourish your body let 
 not your soul be in want, but either fill it with 
 some thought about the goodness of God, or occupy its 
 faculties with some scriptural text which will supply 
 food for cogitation. Do not in a carnal or in a worldly 
 manner satisfy your bodily needs, but in a way which is 
 befitting a Monk and servant of God. For, to look at the 
 matter from a merely sanitary point of view, the more 
 temperately and the more religiously you take your food, 
 the more easily and the more profitably will you digest 
 it. With respect to the manner in which you eat, you 
 must take care not to suffer your whole soul to go out to 
 your food ; also, you must regulate the time of your re- 
 fection, and the quality of that with which you regale 
 * Ps. cxviii. 32. 
 
METHOD OF ST. BERNARD. 
 
 311 
 
 yourself. As to the time, do not anticipate the hour for 
 refection; as to the quality, conform yourself with the 
 Community, except in cases of evident necessity. With 
 respect to condiments, be satisfied that your food is pala- 
 table ; do not aim at making it delightful ; for our con- 
 cupiscence is evilly enough disposed when it is left to 
 itself, and either is hardly able or is quite unable to 
 satisfy itself ; but it will prove more than a match for us 
 if, instead of being perpetually warred against, it be 
 aided and abetted by us. Then our chastity will be 
 seriously imperilled.’ * 
 
 What we have said with respect to food may with 
 equal reason be said with respect to sleep. Take care, 
 as far as in you lies, that your whole soul never be asleep, 
 lest your rest, instead of being a necessary repose for 
 your wearied body, become the grave of your stifled soul; 
 not the restorer, but the destroyer of your spirit. Sleep 
 is a gratification in which we must never indulge, without 
 a certain amount of distrust. In some respects, it is not 
 unlike drunkenness. For, with the exception of those vices 
 which throw both soul and body into a deep and brutish 
 stupour, there is nothing which is so opposed to our 
 advancement in virtue, nothing which is so utterly lost 
 to our life, as is the time which we devote to sleep. This is 
 a fact which is admitted by all. Therefore, on retiring 
 to rest, always have in your memory something upon 
 which you may calmly sleep ; which will be even con- 
 ducive to sleep ; which will present itself to you when 
 you awake, and restore you to the state of recollection in 
 which you were living on the preceding day. “ Thus 
 night shall be to you like as the day, and night shall be 
 your light in your pleasures.” * Peacefully will you sleep ; 
 quietly will you rest ; easily will you rise ; and having 
 
 * Ps. cxxxviii, 10, 11. 
 
312 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 risen, with eagerness and without difficulty will you re- 
 turn unto that from which you had not altogether de- 
 parted. Temperate sleep is a consequence of temperance 
 in food and temperance in thought. A sleep which is 
 fleshly and brutish, in which utter oblivion swallows 
 every thought and every sense, is an abomination to a 
 true servant of God. That sleep, however, out of which 
 after a suitable period of repose, it is an easy matter to 
 awaken the senses of the body and the faculties of the 
 soul, and to send them forth, like the servants of the 
 householder, to labour at works necessary for the Spirit, 
 such a sleep as this, when taken at the proper time and 
 in due measure, is not by any means to be contemned. 
 
 Therefore let it be your special care with modest alacrity 
 to spring from bed at the very moment in which you are 
 called. This daily victory over self is most pleasing to 
 God, Who frequently rewards it with very signal graces 
 and favours. 
 
 St. John Climacus {Grad. 13) : “ It is especially 
 upon those occasions when difficult duties demand 
 from the soul the exertion of its will-power, that 
 temptations to slothfulness ordinarily present them- 
 selves. Hence, there is no vice which is, to the 
 Monk, the occasion of so many crowns as is the vice 
 of sloth. If you take the trouble to examine the 
 matter, you will find that when he is on foot, it fills 
 him with weariness ; when he is seated, it urges him 
 to recline against the wall. Therefore, let this in- 
 sidious foe be bound by the remembrance of your 
 past sins ; let him be scourged by means of manual 
 labour ; let him be imprisoned by the thought of the 
 good things which are to come ; and the moment that he 
 comes before you, let him be thus interrogated : ‘ Tell 
 me, thou good-for-nothing, idle wretch, whence art thou ? 
 
METHOD OF ST. JOHN CLIMACUS. 
 
 313 
 
 Who are thy following? Who are thy worst opponents? 
 Of whom art thou most in dread ? * To those who thus 
 question him, sloth will answer : * I live with those 
 who, in the tranquillity of their solitude, give me place ; 
 but, with the truly obedient, I find not any spot whereon 
 to lay my head. The name which I bear is “ Legion 
 Some call me insensibility of soul, forgetfulness of 
 heavenly things, want of recollection. My followers who 
 are ever with me are change of place, disobedience to 
 the Spiritual Father, unmindfulness of the Judgment to 
 come, and, not unfrequently, apostasy from the solemn 
 engagements which have been undertaken. As for the 
 enemies, by whom I am held in chains, these are, devout 
 psalmody joined with hard labour, and the constant 
 remembrance of death. But that by which I am utterly 
 undone, is prayer when it is joined with a most steadfast 
 hope in the good things that are to come.’ ” 
 
 Your Novice Master and Spiritual Father, whom you 
 must consult and obey, will no doubt upon this head 
 make for you many other excellent suggestions, which 
 will be admirably adapted to your needs. We cannot do 
 better, then, than conclude these remarks of St. John 
 Climacus by a few apposite words from the illustrious 
 St. Bernard : “A god-fearing, prudent Religious will 
 conduct himself in his cell just in the same way in which 
 a master would behave himself in the midst of his house- 
 hold. He will not, as the Wise Man observes, suffer his 
 flesh to be unto him as a quarrelsome woman ; he will 
 have it inclined unto, and accustomed to obedience ; 
 ready for labour, and prepared to hunger and to be 
 satiated ; to be in abundance and to suffer want. He 
 will not allow his bodily senses to be his rulers, but will 
 make them his servants ; he will keep his intellectual 
 faculties well in hand and ready for work. So well 
 
314 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 ordered and so admirably disciplined will his whole house 
 be, that he will say to one : ‘ Go, and he will go’ ; and to 
 another: ‘Come, and he will come’. He who is thus 
 able, within his own conscience, to rule and to direct 
 himself, may with complete trust be left to himself in 
 his cell. But this disposition is found only in the perfect 
 and in those who are beginning to be perfect. We have 
 placed it before the minds of beginners, to show them 
 that of which they stand in need, and to point out the 
 distance which they have yet to go.” 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Counsels to the Novice after the Reception of the Habit. 
 
 Before treating of other matters prescribed by our 
 holy Father for ensuring your true solid progress in the 
 ways of perfection, we deem it advisable to offer a few 
 very important suggestions which, if accepted in a good 
 spirit, and rightly acted upon, will free you from many 
 erroneous opinions, and save you from the many 
 dangers which usually beset the path of the careless 
 and inexperienced, and sometimes involve them in 
 destruction. First, endeavour, by every means in your 
 power, to preserve and daily to increase your love 
 and esteem of your vocation. For this purpose, never 
 let a day pass without showing your gratitude to 
 our good God for so manifest an expression of His 
 favour. He who has well weighed the magnitude of this 
 special grace, will not rest content with having once or 
 twice testified his thanks for it ; he will frequently during 
 the day pour forth his whole heart in praise and in grati- 
 tude unto God. 
 
 Secondly, remember that, ordinarily speaking, your 
 
COUNSELS AFTER ADMISSION. 
 
 315 
 
 whole future life, your progress in perfection, and the 
 measure of heavenly glory which you will receive, depend 
 upon the manner in which you begin and carry out this 
 great, this all-important work of your probation. “ For a 
 Beligious,” says De Ponte,* “usually goes on living with 
 the same fervent spirit with which he begins his spiritual 
 life. If he begin with lukewarmness, he will go on 
 with lukewarmness ; if he begin with a fervent spirit, 
 he will continue to advance with the same fervour of 
 spirit, and will be enabled easily to keep it in a glow 
 even unto the end.” 
 
 Also, St. Bonaventuref says: “He who begins his 
 religious career with a contempt for religious discipline, 
 is able only with great difficulty afterwards to conceive a 
 respect and a love for it ; for it is an arduous task to 
 change the habits which one has formed for one’s self in 
 the Novitiate”. The reason is not far to seek; for the 
 year of probation is, as it were, the infancy of the 
 Spiritual Life. That which is learnt during this period 
 remains firmly rooted in the mind, even unto old age. 
 Hence that well-known saying of the Wise Man : “A 
 young man according to his way, even when he is old he 
 will not depart from it,” J but will continue to advance 
 with the same pace wherewith he set out on the journey 
 of life. 
 
 This is a fact which is so well attested and so generally 
 admitted, that Cassian§ was able to say : “It is not an 
 uncommon thing to see carnal and worldly-minded men 
 attaining to great fervour in the Spiritual Life ; but 
 scarcely ever do we see those who are lukewarm and 
 negligent in Religion, laying aside their lukewarmness 
 and their negligence God forbid that you should begin 
 
 * Trad, ix., cap. xi. 
 
 J Prov. xxii. 6. 
 
 + Prol. Spec, discip. 
 
 § Collat. iv., cap. xix. 
 
316 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 your new life with coldness ; enter upon it with great 
 earnestness, as St. Bernard advises, who, in his address 
 to the Brethren De Monte Dei , says : “If you are a 
 beginner, perfectly begin your work,” that is to say, with 
 a perfection suitable to a beginner ; from your first 
 entrance neglect none of those duties which, from the 
 words of our holy Lawgiver, you know are incumbent 
 upon a good Novice. In direct opposition to this wish of 
 St. Benedict, is the conduct of those Novices who, after 
 having received the religious habit, put off from day to 
 day all serious, thought of correcting the vices and the 
 faults which they contracted in the world ; who, content 
 with an outwardly decorous behaviour, care very little 
 how it fares with the inward disposition of their heart ; who 
 act through impulse, through human respect, through 
 custom, but without any inward uplifting of the soul to 
 God ; without devotion, and without any of those other 
 qualities which infuse merit into human actions ; who, in 
 fine, persuade themselves that they will seriously apply 
 themselves to the exercise of virtue after their profession, 
 but imagine that for the present it is quite sufficient to 
 have an externally religious behaviour. 
 
 Those who are thus minded have good reason to fear 
 that danger which ever threatens those who with luke- 
 warmness begin their Religious Life — the danger of failing 
 in it, and of perishing miserably. For all who, at the 
 beginning of such a life, give themselves up to sloth dis- 
 cover to their cost that this vice daily acquires a greater 
 hold upon them, and that they themselves hourly be- 
 come less and less masters of themselves, till at last that 
 malediction which David uttered against Mount Gelboe, 
 is verified in their persons : “ Let neither dew nor rain 
 come upon you ; neither be your fields of first-fruits,” * 
 
 * 2 Kings i. 21. 
 
COUNSELS AFTER ADMISSION. 
 
 317 
 
 that is to say, let them not bring forth a copious and 
 early harvest of virtues. For God detests their lukewarm- 
 ness, and therefore does not visit them with the dew and 
 the rain of His heavenly favours. Consequently, they 
 will never have the productiveness of those early Reli- 
 gious who were the first-fruits of the Order ; nor of those 
 other fervent souls, who, at their very entrance, are like 
 unto rich fields, yielding golden crops unto God, as an 
 earnest of those abundant harvests which they will bear 
 for Him during the remaining years of their life. 
 
 Thirdly, although, as we have already said, Religious 
 Life must be begun with great fervour, and the various 
 difficulties and hardships which it entails be met and en- 
 dured with courage, yet, while doing this, the measure of 
 your bodily strength must be taken into account. You 
 must not, through indiscreet fervour, tax it beyond its 
 powers, and thus utterly break it down, to your own 
 great personal loss, and to the loss of Religion ; for when 
 health and strength are gone, you will be unable to per- 
 form the duties of a monastic life ; and, besides this, you 
 will be tempted to fall into a sluggish state of lukewarm- 
 ness ; you will be exposed to the deceits of pride ; you 
 will be inclined to fall into despair ; to become lax ; to 
 assume a false liberty of action ; and finally, altogether 
 to give up the pursuit of perfection. In order, therefore, 
 to make a fair start in your newly undertaken life, you 
 must know that this spirit of discretion is not a thing 
 which can be evolved from yourself : it is to be sought for 
 from your Spiritual Father. From his lips it must be 
 learned. Hence his counsels must be obeyed ; and you 
 yourself must undertake nothing that is either ordinary 
 or extraordinary, without first applying to him for in- 
 struction. 
 
 But, in the age in which we live, indiscretion is not so 
 
318 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 much to be feared as is a spirit of too great discretion. 
 For far more numerous are those who fall into lukewarm- 
 ness, laxity, temptation, impurity, licentiousness, sacri- 
 lege, and apostasy, through false discretion, than are 
 those who fall through indiscretion. Hence it is that 
 St. Theresa, over and over again, deplores the discretion 
 which is visible in these our times. 
 
 Fourthly, in the beginning, you must be specially 
 careful about small things; for as you are yet but 
 weak in virtue, and without the courage necessary 
 for undertaking great and heroic actions — recoiling, 
 perhaps, at the very name “self-denial, or mortifica- 
 tion” — it is imperative that you should begin with that 
 which is small, in order that by frequently exercising 
 yourself in it, you may fit yourself for the execution of 
 that which is greater. For small actions well done pave 
 the way for the successful accomplishment of those 
 which are greater; and small beginnings are oftentimes 
 the germs of mighty works. Therefore, you must neglect 
 nothing ; and as you are not courageous enough to at- 
 tempt deeds of daring, be satisfied with the performance 
 of less brilliant exploits. For, as St. Ambrose* observes, 
 “It is in slight skirmishes that we discover whether we 
 have sufficient courage to go through a toughly contested 
 battle 
 
 Therefore, at first, direct your energy to the achieve- 
 ment of these small victories. You must, for instance, 
 resolve to perform some slight acts of self-denial, saying : 
 “ My God ! for love of Thee, I will not gratify my 
 curiosity by looking upon this object ; I will not satisfy 
 my sense of taste by eating this delicacy ; I will not 
 make remarks which will draw to me the attention of 
 others ”. By the frequent repetition of these and of 
 
 * Dc OJfidis, lib. i., cap. x. 
 
COUNSELS AFTER ADMISSION. 
 
 319 
 
 similar acts, yon will with the aid of God’s grace prepare 
 yourself to execute great and heroic deeds of virtue. In 
 this care of small things may be included the observance 
 of those rules which have reference to such matters as 
 external deportment, religious propriety, and modesty ; 
 for, although the essence of the Spiritual Life does not con- 
 sist in them, yet they are both useful and necessary 
 for laying a solid foundation on which that Life may be 
 built. Any one who contemptuously discards them 
 will never become a truly religious man. For an ancient 
 Father of the desert used to say : “ He who has no care 
 to keep his outward man under due restraint w T ill never 
 keep his inward man within the proper limits ”. 
 
 Therefore, be specially careful to observe, with the 
 utmost exactitude, the rules of religious modesty and 
 decorum ; not to act from natural impulse in anything 
 that you either do or say ; nor through giddiness, but 
 through prudent foresight, mature deliberation, and on 
 the suggestion of sound common- sense. In your dealings 
 with your fellow- Novices and with others, avoid all 
 buffoonery, rudeness, and unbecoming freedom, either 
 in word or in deed. Finally, observe that which our 
 holy Father prescribes in the seventh, the sixty-third, 
 and the seventy-second chapter of the Eule : to wit, 
 reverence, kindness, and humility in your intercourse 
 with others. To this we may add cleanliness and order 
 in cell, wardrobe, desk, bed, and in all other things ; so 
 that nothing dirty, or ill-arranged, or out of place, may 
 be seen in your little room. 
 
 Fifthly, you must avoid, as a most deadly poison, inor- 
 dinate sadness, faint-heartedness, low spirits, and volun- 
 tary trouble of mind. These, under one pretext or 
 another creep into the soul, and are seldom anything 
 else than a snare, in which the devil strives to entangle 
 
320 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 the unwary, in order to make them either altogether 
 throw up their religious calling or not advance in solid 
 virtue. Why should a Religious grieve and afflict him- 
 self, if he sincerely desires to serve God, and reflects 
 upon the happiness of his State ? Oh, that you did but 
 know, and did but rightly esteem at its true value this 
 gift of God bestowed upon you, in preference to so many 
 others ! If you could but see the peril from which you 
 have escaped, and to which poor worldlings are exposed, 
 you would in very deed exult and rejoice, and your joy 
 no adversity, no misfortune would be able to take from 
 you ! Why are you so cowardly, so disturbed in mind, 
 so dejected in heart ? Is it because you frequently fall 
 back into sin ? Let not that discourage you ! If you 
 fall, speedily arise ! If you fall ten times, why, ten 
 times rise again ! If you fall a hundred times, a hundred 
 times rise again ! If you fall a thousand times, a thousand 
 times rise again ! If, after repentance, you again commit 
 the same faults; if your reason is clouded with darkness; 
 if your soul grows languid ; if your taste for spiritual 
 things passes away ; if your fervour cools ; if your courage 
 fails, — even so, be not troubled; pluck up courage; renew 
 your vigour ; resolve to conquer, or to die in the struggle. 
 That which opposes you will, at last, give way before 
 your persistent efforts, and you will be able to go forward 
 with more ease, or at least you will die like a brave 
 soldier, struggling and fighting to the last against your 
 enemies. 
 
 Tranquillity of soul is a treasure of priceless worth ; 
 therefore, be wary lest the evil spirits who, like robbers, 
 infest the path to heaven should snatch it from you. 
 Trusting yourself unreservedly to the loving providence 
 of God, accept from free, or from necessary, or from con- 
 tingent causes, whatever adversity may befall you, just 
 
COUNSELS AFTER ADMISSION. 
 
 321 
 
 as if it had been ordained, or sent, or permitted from all 
 eternity by our good God ; acknowledge that it has been 
 most wisely, most holily, and most justly arranged for 
 your true good ; receive, acquiesce in, and with complete 
 indifference, — with a mind sweetly at peace, and confiding 
 in the goodness of God, — submit yourself to His most 
 holy will and good pleasure. This thought is the fountain- 
 bead of all true and lasting peace of heart. Therefore, 
 fix it immovably in your mind ; act upon the wisdom 
 which it contains ; and let your action pass into a habit, 
 and become the ordinary practice of your daily life. 
 
 Sixthly, you must flee from the commission of any 
 deliberate sin, just as you would flee from the face of a 
 serpent. Let there be no earthly evil for which you have 
 a greater hatred than for the slightest offence against 
 God. This is a matter of so great moment, that 
 Lanciscius, a celebrated master of the Spiritual Life, thus 
 writes of it : “ The chief reason why so many, after com- 
 pleting the Novitiate and joining the Community, begin 
 deliberately to sin and to break the rules, is because they 
 do not carry with them, from the Novitiate, a true 
 knowledge of the enormity and of the turpitude of sin ; 
 and, as an outcome of this knowledge, a hatred and a 
 horror of it, which next to faith, constitute the very 
 foundation, not only of the Religious, but also of the 
 secular life. They, on the other hand, who bring with 
 them from the Novitiate this horror and this hatred of 
 sin, live like perfect Religious; they observe every rule; 
 they make rapid strides in the ways of God ; they yield 
 a complete obedience to Superiors ; they live with others 
 in a peaceful and edifying manner. Therefore, Novices 
 ought to ground themselves well in this hatred of sin, if 
 they really and truly desire to make any progress in 
 virtue.” 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 However, if up to the present time, owing to the 
 merciful interposition of God’s grace, your conscience 
 does not reproach you with the guilt of any serious fault, 
 do not, on that account, allow yourself any greater 
 liberty of action : on the contrary prove your gratitude 
 to God, by carefully avoiding any deliberate sin, no 
 matter how slight it may be. Also, endeavour to nourish 
 in your heart a salutary fear of losing, in the very 
 harbour of safety, that inestimable grace of God, which 
 you have preserved while tossing about upon the storm- 
 swept ocean of a worldly life. Be mindful of that 
 warning which is given to us by the Apostle : “ Let him 
 that thinketh himself to stand, take heed lest he fall”. 
 
 If, however, owing to the sins of your youth, you 
 cannot say, “ My heart is clean,” then, by a sincere con- 
 fession, having rid yourself of your faults, endeavour now 
 at least, and without delay, to return to Him by the 
 labour of obedience, from Whom you departed by 
 the sloth of disobedience. “For as you have yielded 
 your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto 
 iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice 
 unto sanctification.”* “As it was your mind to go 
 astray from God, so when you return, you shall seek 
 Him ten times as much.”+ Very similar to these words 
 is St. John the Baptist’s advice to the Sadducees and the 
 Pharisees, who had been guilty of so many sins : “ Bring 
 forth fruit worthy of penance St. Gregory, J ex- 
 plaining this passage, says : “ By these words, the 
 conscience of each is called upon to acquire, by means of 
 penance, a harvest of good works, far more abundant 
 than were the losses which it sustained by the commis- 
 sion of sin. Therefore, in proportion to the number of 
 the unlawful acts which it performed, ought the number 
 
 * Rom. vi. 19. t Baruch vi. 28. t Homil. xx. in Evang. 
 
COUNSELS AFTER ADMISSION. 
 
 323 
 
 of the lawful acts to be, from which it will abstain . 7 
 For he who bears in mind that, for even one mortal sin, 
 he would now be burning in the everlasting flames of 
 hell, had not God, in His infinite mercy, given him time 
 for repentance, will not shrink from any labour, nor from 
 any trial in the Eeligious Life which he has chosen to 
 lead, precisely in order to satisfy God for the past, and 
 to serve Him more faithfully for the future ; for, of a truth, 
 the sufferings and the trials of this life fall immeasurably 
 short of the least punishment of hell. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Novice Master. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Necessity for a Master. 
 
 Having briefly explained what are the duties of the 
 Novice immediately after his reception to the habit, our 
 holy Father ordains that an Elder, or, as we should say, 
 a Novice-Master, should be appointed over him, to give 
 to him the advantage of his counsel and instruction, and 
 thereby, with the aid of God’s grace, to form him into a 
 perfect man. In order thoroughly to explain this enact- 
 ment of the Rule, let us first examine into the necessity 
 for a Spiritual Master, and then into the duties of the 
 Novice with respect to him. 
 
 Although daily experience affords ample proof of the 
 necessity for a master’s guidance in learning the arts and 
 the sciences, yet it will not be out of place here to make 
 this necessity even more manifest still, by reasons and 
 by authorities ; for it may be that there are men so 
 puffed up with pride and self-sufficiency, as to imagine 
 that they have not any need of a master of the Spiritual 
 Life. If there are any such, we commend the following 
 pages to their careful reading and reflection ; for they 
 may hold it for a certainty that, unless they rid them- 
 selves of all such notions, either they will not persevere 
 
NECESSITY FOE A MASTEE, 
 
 325 
 
 in the path of holy Religion or they will not make any 
 solid progress in virtue, but will live a most wretched 
 life, in daily and in hourly danger of perishing miserably 
 for all eternity. God Himself utters this and many 
 other threats against those who are wise in their own 
 conceit : “Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes, and 
 prudent in your own conceits ” ; * and he it observed that 
 when the word “ woe ” is used in the Sacred Scripture, 
 it foretells the advent of an accumulation not only of 
 temporal ills, but also of those which are eternal. 
 
 The first reason which proves the necessity for a 
 Master is taken from the unanimous consent of the 
 Fathers, both of those who lived in the early ages of the 
 Church, and of those who have flourished in comparatively 
 modern times. All these, without a single exception, 
 are most vehement in their denunciation of those who, 
 contemning the sage counsel of their Elders, desire to 
 live according to the dictates of their own will, and to 
 tread the intricate paths of the Spiritual Life without 
 the assistance of a guide. Among a crowd of others 
 anterior to himself, our holy Father St. Benedict con- 
 siders that Sarahites are the worst kind of Monks, for 
 very many reasons, which it would be superfluous to 
 mention, but chiefly for this, that they live without a 
 shepherd, shut up, not in our Lord’s fold, but in their 
 own ; having for their law their own desires ; deeming 
 that to he holy which they either like or make choice of, 
 hut that to he unlawful which does not meet with their 
 approbation. 
 
 Hence it was a saying of the Monks of old : “If you 
 see a young man by his own will ascending to heaven, 
 hold him by the feet ; drag him down and cast him to 
 
 Isaias v. 21. 
 
326 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 the earth ; for it will profit him nothing These men, 
 who had such a wide experience in the Spiritual Life, 
 used to lay it down as a first principle “ that no one 
 should do anything relying upon his own judgment only; 
 nor should ever allow his mind to trust in its own 
 wisdom ; nor should ever think that he possesses a 
 knowledge free from the danger of error until he is 
 loosed from the trammels of the flesh Let not any one 
 imagine that this view is one which is peculiar to the 
 Fathers of antiquity who lived in times of so great 
 sanctity and austerity, but that a milder and more con- 
 siderate view must be adopted in these our times, when 
 we have to deal with men of inferior sanctity and of less 
 robust constitution. Anyone so minded must remember 
 that, if the times are changed, our holy Eule remains the 
 same, both in the aforementioned enactments and in 
 those in which St. Benedict urges upon us the necessity 
 for self-denial and for full and complete dependence upon 
 the Abbot and upon the Elders ; for he exacts from his 
 disciples this abdication of self-will and this submission 
 to the will of another, as the characteristic marks by 
 which they are to be distinguished from the Sarabites 
 and from the Gyrovagi, who are the worst kind of 
 Monks. 
 
 Moreover, it must not be forgotten that, with respect 
 to these matters, there is not any divergence of opinion 
 between the Monks of ancient and the Monks of modern 
 times. If it were desirable to adduce their testimony on 
 this point, it would be found fully to corroborate the 
 statement which we have made. However, let St. 
 Bernard speak for all, because with him all the spiritual 
 writers of these our times are in most cordial agreement : 
 “ All ye who, being your own guides and teachers, fear 
 not to enter the ways of the Spiritual Life, give an 
 
NECESSITY FOR A MASTER. 
 
 327 
 
 attentive ear unto what I shall say. In the study of this 
 holy art, you are at one and the same time both learners 
 and teachers. How many such have been discovered to 
 have most dangerously wandered from the right path ! 
 For, through ignorance of Satan’s wiles and stratagems, 
 it came to pass that, whereas they began in the spirit, 
 they have ended in the flesh, and have fallen into most 
 heinous crimes. Wherefore, let those who are animated 
 with a like disposition see that they walk circumspectly ; 
 let them imitate the prudence of the Spouse, who would 
 not go to Him Whom her soul desired until He had sent 
 to her those whose guidance would lead her to her 
 Beloved, and teach her the fear of the Lord. He that 
 will not have a teacher gives his hand to the seducer ; 
 and he who leaves his sheep in the pastures without a 
 shepherd is not the feeder of the sheep, but the purveyor 
 of the wolves.” 
 
 The second reason which proves the necessity for a 
 Master in the Spiritual Life, is the triple danger which 
 lies in the path of virtue. In the first place, those who 
 undertake to walk in it are troubled with many harassing 
 doubts ; they meet with snares which may entangle their 
 feet ; there are paths which resemble the way of righteous- 
 ness, and consequently may very easily deceive and mis- 
 lead them. In the next place, this path is infested with 
 robbers ; for, as St. Gregory says : “ While we are on the 
 journey of life, with our faces turned towards our true 
 home, the evil spirits beset our path, like so many rob- 
 bers, ready to pounce out upon us, to despoil us of what- 
 ever treasures of virtue we may chance to possess ”.t 
 Lastly, the path of virtue is long, and to tread its weary 
 way is burthensome to flesh and blood. Hence it is that 
 
 Serm. lxxvii. in Cant. 
 
 f Homil. xxii. in Evang. 
 
328 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 the traveller who, for the first time, enters it is filled 
 with sadness, low spirits, fear, and disgust. Now, with- 
 out the aid of a Spiritual Director, he will not be able to 
 shake off these petty ills, nor to escape from the serious 
 dangers which spring from them. If, however, some 
 such faithful monitor be at hand, he will counsel him in 
 doubt ; he will point out the places in which the snare is 
 set to entrap him ; he will help him over the opposing 
 obstacles ; he will teach him how to discriminate between 
 the true and the false way; he will encourage him to 
 meet and to vanquish his foes ; he will support him in all 
 his difficulties. Besides, as the Wise Man very well 
 observes, “it is better that two should be together than 
 that there should be only one ” ; for they have the advan- 
 tage of each other’s society : if one fall, he will be sup- 
 ported by the other : “ Woe to him that is alone, for when 
 he falleth he hath none to lift him up ; and if a man pre- 
 vail against one, two shall withstand him”.* 
 
 The third reason which proves the necessity for a 
 Master for those who desire to reach perfection in solid 
 virtue, is that this is the will of an all-wise God. For, 
 although it is in His power to instruct men by means of 
 His Angels, or by internal inspirations, yet this is not His 
 usual way. His will is that man should be taught by 
 man. This is evident from the way in which He dealt with 
 His chosen people and with His most illustrious servants. 
 He might have instructed the Children of Israel either 
 personally or by the intervention of an Angel ; yet it was 
 His pleasure that they should receive His teaching through 
 His servant Moses. He might, personally, have instructed 
 the Eunuch of Queen Candace ; but He chose to send 
 Philip, who interpreted for him the passage of the Prophet 
 
 Eccles. iv. 9. 
 
NECESSITY FOR A MASTER. 
 
 329 
 
 Isaias, which it chanced that he was reading. When 
 Saul was struck to the earth by the vision which he saw, 
 on the way to Damascus, Christ, Who then appeared to 
 Him, did not instruct him as He might so easily have 
 done, but sent him to Ananias. He warned the Centurion 
 to call in St. Peter, and bade him accept the Apostle as 
 his teacher. Very apposite to the point of which we are 
 at present treating, is the following incident, of which a 
 detailed account may be found in the Spiritual Meadow. 
 
 An old Monk, who besides being a Monk was vested 
 with the. priestly dignity, was so far favoured by 
 Almighty God as to behold the angelic choirs who stood 
 around in adoring awe, while the divine Mysteries were 
 celebrating. It seems that he was one of those simple 
 servants of God who are far richer in the endowments of 
 grace than of worldly science ; for, in his simplicity and 
 his ignorance, he so pronounced the words of the Liturgy 
 as to give them, in a certain passage, an heretical 
 meaning. A learned Deacon, who assisted him in the 
 Holy Sacrifice, pointed out to him this error, but to no 
 purpose ; for the old man, seeing that the Angels did not 
 show any repugnance or any horror at his words, w T ould 
 not believe that he had been guilty of any mistake. But 
 when the Deacon over and over again urged him to rectify 
 his error, the old man determined to test the truth of the 
 Deacon’s words, and to ask the Angels whether that 
 which the Deacon had said was true. He did so ; and 
 they answered that the Deacon had counselled him 
 aright. “Why, then,” asked he, in great surprise, “did you 
 not correct me ? ” “ Because,” replied one of the Angels, 
 
 “it is God’s ordinance that men should be corrected by 
 men.” Hence we may learn from this, the necessity 
 for submitting ourselves to the guidance of a Spiritual 
 Master, if we do not wish to oppose the Divine Will. 
 
330 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 The practice of the Church in all ages, even unto our 
 own times, furnishes the fourth reason which shows the 
 necessity for a Master. For, from that practice, it is 
 evident that not only Religious, but also laymen who are 
 desirous of greater perfection, are in the habit of asking 
 the advice of others concerning the ways of the Spirit, 
 and of making use of them as masters and guides, in 
 order to escape falling into error, and thus to be able 
 more easily and more speedily to attain to perfection. 
 To say nothing of the crowds of witnesses whom we 
 might call to testify unto the truth of this, consult the 
 holy Rule, and you will there see what a high value our 
 holy Father attaches to dependence in all things upon 
 our Superiors and our Elders ; to subjection to their 
 orders and to their wishes ; to candour in all our 
 dealings with them. Especially is this esteem for such 
 dependence made manifest by his command that, over 
 the Novices there should be appointed a Master, skilled 
 in the art of winning souls to God. The duty of this 
 Master is with all care to watch over them. Now, why 
 is this ? Because St. Benedict, who, as St. Gregory says, 
 was full of the spirit of all the Just, saw most clearly that 
 no one, and especially that no Novice, is sufficient for 
 himself, but that it is necessary for him to submit 
 himself to, and to learn from, a Spiritual Master. 
 Therefore, we may with good reason address to you the 
 words which Tobias addressed to his son : “ Never 
 suffer pride to reign in thy mind, nor in thy words ; for 
 from it all perdition took its beginning”.* Oh, from 
 how many snares of the devil would men have escaped, 
 had they but given themselves up to the guidance of a 
 Master in the Spiritual Life ! 
 
 Tobias iv. 14. 
 
LOVE, ESTEEM, ETC., FOR THE MASTER. 331 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Of the Love , Esteem , and Confidence which a Novice ought 
 to shov) to his Master . 
 
 After proving the necessity for a Spiritual Master, we 
 may now proceed to point out your duties in his regard, 
 in order that, from the knowledge of these and from the 
 faithful discharge of them, you may draw from his 
 guidance and his direction all the advantages which these 
 are calculated to secure for you. Let us, then, in the 
 present section, confine our attention to three of these 
 duties — namely, love, esteem, and confidence. 
 
 Your love for your Master ought to resemble that of a 
 child for his father ; for the chief care of the Master is 
 directed to the spiritual life and to the supernatural good 
 of your soul. You must, however, take care that this 
 love does not degenerate into a merely human, natural 
 affection ; for, in that case, one of these two things will 
 happen : either it will not last, or, if it do, it will not he 
 of any use in advancing your perfection. The reason of 
 this is that love, being the foundation upon which all 
 your duties with respect to your Master chiefly rest, it 
 will follow that if your love be a merely human love, it 
 will have no other strength than that of human 
 nature ; and all your duties resting, of necessity, upon 
 this slender reed, must in consequence be ever subject to 
 change and to imperfection ; hence they will never be 
 productive in your soul of any solid, lasting good. 
 Furthermore, St. Benedict insists upon this love being 
 sincere and humble. Now, a sincere love is one in which 
 there is not any admixture of dissimulation or of flattery, 
 nor any corrupting influence of fear or of hope, but is given 
 to him who is the object of it, only for God’s sake. Besides 
 being sincere, your love must be humble ; for if it have not 
 
332 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 this quality, either it will speedily change into boldness 
 and contempt, or it will cause you to forget your spiritual 
 indigence and your position as a Novice in the science of 
 salvation. 
 
 Secondly, in order that you may have a high esteem of 
 your Master, you must not consider him as a mere man ; 
 you must accustom yourself to regard him as holding the 
 place of God. By this means, your esteem for him, and 
 the outward and the inward reverence which are the 
 result of it, will never be diminished, even though he be 
 full of defects and destitute of those natural qualities 
 which usually compel our respect. It is a very great 
 mistake on the part of those who present themselves as 
 Novices to a Religious Order, to have their eyes wide open 
 to the movements, the actions, and the habits of their 
 Master, in order to pick out his defects, to blame them, 
 to sit in judgment upon them, and to make them the 
 subject of jesting and of merriment in the Common Room. 
 Those who are guilty of conduct like this give an evident 
 proof that they have lost all reverence for the directors 
 of their souls, all taste for the things of God, and that 
 they savour only the gross, rank, fleshly things of earth, 
 in punishment of which perverted taste, as well as of the 
 insult offered, not to man, but to Himself represented by 
 His vicar, God will not suffer them to reap any fruit 
 from the direction of their Master ; but there will fall 
 upon them that retributive justice of which Isaias speaks : 
 “ Woe to thee that despisest ; shalt not thou thyself also 
 be despised ? When being wearied thou shalt cease to 
 despise, thou shalt be despised.” * 
 
 Thirdly, you must have full confidence in your Master. 
 According to St. Thomas, this is nothing else than the 
 
 Cap. xxxiii. 1. 
 
LOVE, ESTEEM, ETC., FOE THE MASTEE. 333 
 
 trust which one man puts in another who is kindly dis- 
 posed towards him, when he reflects that this man is able 
 and willing to help him. Therefore, bear in mind that 
 you have not a more faithful friend, nor one who is more 
 solicitous for your eternal welfare, than your Master is ; 
 consequently, setting aside all natural and human con- 
 siderations, you should be most firmly persuaded that 
 the merciful providence of God has designed this man to 
 be the instrument for securing your salvation, and for 
 perfecting you in the ways of the Spirit. Hence, if with 
 a sincere heart and for God’s sake you seek his advice ; 
 if you believe that which he gives you and courageously 
 carry it out in act, not only you will not suffer any harm, 
 but God will so order matters that everything will work 
 together for you unto good, even though your Master may 
 not have all those natural good qualities which grace the 
 minds of other men. Experience will prove to those who 
 follow this counsel, that what has been said is not a mere 
 piece of pious exaggeration ; whereas, on the other hand, 
 those who, measuring all things by natural reason, will not 
 trust themselves to be directed by any one who has not 
 great intellectual ability, either will never find a man 
 who, according to them, is capable of directing them, and 
 therefore, being left to themselves, will be miserably de- 
 ceived; or, if they do succeed in discovering some one 
 who comes up to their lofty ideal, yet, through their 
 own unworthiness, they will derive more harm than 
 good from his direction, since they do not deserve to 
 be cared for by God, in that special way in which He 
 attends to the welfare of those who trust themselves 
 to the guidance of His vicars or rather of Himself, and 
 who are safely conducted, through the midst of perils 
 innumerable, to the much-desired bourne of eternal 
 happiness. 
 
334 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Section III, 
 
 Of the Novice's Candour with respect to his Master. 
 
 Among the sage precepts which Tobias gave to his son, 
 we find this excellent piece of advice : “ Seek counsel 
 always of a wise man”.* This accords very well with 
 that which is spoken by Ecclesiasticus : f “ My son, do 
 nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when 
 thou hast done”. You should put both these precepts 
 in practice, by often consulting your Master, and by never 
 doing anything without first having sought his advice. 
 In order to render all these consultations profitable, you 
 must lay open your very soul before his eyes, just as a 
 sick man, who sends for a physician, exposes to him all 
 his ills, in order by this means the more effectually to 
 obtain his skilful aid. It would, therefore, ill become a 
 Eeligious to do less for his soul’s health than men of the 
 world are ready to do for the health and the well-being 
 of the body. Consequently, your conscience ought to be 
 as transparent beneath the eye of your Spiritual Father 
 as crystal is ; nothing that lies within it should be hidden 
 from him ; he must know it better than you yourself 
 know it. Do not wait for him to ask your leave to 
 inspect it ; when you find him at liberty, humbly beg him 
 to suffer you to lay it open before him. By being secret 
 and silent, you will invite the attack of the devil ; 
 therefore, hide not from your director the first suggestion 
 by which the evil spirit may strive to insinuate his 
 poison unto your heart. To conceal these things is a 
 serious fault in a Novice ; it is the first stone of the 
 devil’s palace in his soul; it is the first step towards 
 lukewarmness, unrest, ruin ; a lurking-place in which the 
 
 Cap. iv. 19. 
 
 + Cap. xxxii. 24. 
 
CAND0UE WITH THE MASTEE. 
 
 335 
 
 evil one will lie concealed. Love your Superior, even 
 though he may dislike you ; for, if he be harsh and strict 
 with you, he will effect more good in you than one who is 
 gentle and indulgent. This love for your Master is so 
 necessary, and ought to be so characteristic of a Novice, 
 that there is scarcely any other quality which needs to 
 be more earnestly urged upon your notice. It will 
 supply for the absence of many other qualities ; in fact, 
 it is, perhaps, the most desirable of all. With good 
 reason do we say this ; for, since the Novice is, as a rule, 
 ignorant of, and inexperienced in, spiritual things, keenly 
 alive to every movement of the sensitive appetite, unskilled 
 in the wiles of the devil, unable to rein in the impetuosity 
 of the passions, incapable of discriminating between 
 leprosy and leprosy, between good and evil, between 
 spirit and spirit, caring more for the external trappings 
 of Beligious Life than for its hidden virtues, still 
 hankering after the fleshpots of Egypt, incapable of 
 reaching to lofty virtues, prone to earthly and to sensual 
 things, and, though full of the best intentions, yet 
 wanting in that wisdom which would carry them into 
 effect, — since he is thus hampered with difficulties, we 
 consider that there cannot be any proceeding more safe, 
 any line of conduct more advisable, than that he should 
 seek from the hands of another that which he himself 
 does not possess. Thus it will come to pass that he who, 
 on account of the child-like weakness of his spiritual man, 
 is scarcely able to totter along, procures the aid of 
 another, upon whose shoulders he is borne forward ; by 
 whose advice he is guided ; whose commands he obeys ; 
 whose foresight provides for him ; and whose will carries 
 into effect, on his behalf, that which is right. This in a 
 very special manner is a privilege which is found in 
 Religious Life, in which the Superior is, in so peculiar a 
 
336 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 way, the vicar of God and the sure interpreter of His 
 will, that his sentiments are God’s sentiments ; his will 
 is God’s will with respect to the individual good of each 
 Religious ; for God has promised to manifest His will, by 
 the instrumentality of their Superiors, to all who are 
 living under obedience. There is no lack of examples to 
 corroborate this statement ; but of these we will adduce 
 only two, in order to point out the danger of not being 
 open and outspoken with your spiritual guides. 
 
 It is related in the Chronicles of the Franciscan Order 
 that St. Antony of Padua once admitted into the Brother- 
 hood a certain Novice, who, at his reception, did not lay 
 open before him his whole heart, but was secret and reti- 
 cent. Grievous temptations to go back into the world 
 began to assail him, but of these he said nothing. At 
 last he could not endure his state of misery any longer, 
 and made up his mind to flee from the Monastery. A 
 favourable opportunity for so doing presented itself, of 
 which he took advantage ; and, turning his back upon the 
 cloistral life, he quitted the abode of peace. At the gate 
 he found a splendid horse, gaily caparisoned, bearing 
 well-filled saddle-bags, containing arms, clothes, and 
 money. He eagerly seized upon these, mounted, and 
 galloped off with all speed. On his journey, he put up 
 at an Inn, and, while staying there, was smitten by the 
 beauty of the Innkeeper’s daughter. He asked her in 
 marriage of her father, was accepted as a son-in-law, and 
 went through the ceremony of marriage. On the very 
 night of the hurried nuptials, a stranger presented him- 
 self at the Inn, and said to the astonished host : “ Your 
 newly- acquired son-in-law is a Monk. If you doubt my 
 words, steal up softly to his room, uncover his head, and 
 you will see by his shaven crown that I have spoken the 
 truth.” Full of wrath at having been so egregiously de- 
 
CANDOUR WITH THE MASTER. 
 
 337 
 
 ceived, the father-in-law crept np to the chamber, un- 
 covered the head of the unhappy Monk, and, on seeing 
 his tonsure, in a paroxysm of rage, cut the young man’s 
 throat. Then, wishing to console himself for the disgrace 
 which had befallen his house, he went forthwith to take 
 possession of the horse, the arms, and the money, which 
 the Novice, when pressing his suit, had shown to him. 
 But the noble steed had gone ; there were not any arms ; 
 there was not any money ! Bull of terror at this dis- 
 covery, and seeing plainly that he had been cheated by 
 the devil, he went to St. Antony, and related to him the 
 various events just as they had occurred. The Saint per- 
 ceived the devil’s work in this horrible tragedy, and bit- 
 terly mourned the death of the unhappy Novice, who by 
 his wiles had been seduced, betrayed, and most cruelly 
 destroyed. Thus, the refusal to be open with his Superiors 
 brought about the ruin of this wretched Religious. Let 
 his fate be a warning unto others not to have any secrets 
 in their conscience hidden away from the eyes of their 
 Spiritual Father ; for that Novice would never have met 
 with this awful death had he manifested his temptations 
 to St. Antony. 
 
 Another Novice, who was living in the same secret 
 manner in which the preceding Novice had lived, was, by 
 the intercession of St. Antony, happily saved from a 
 similar disaster. It appears that the Saint had in his 
 possession a Book of Psalms which roused all the cupidity 
 of the poor Novice’s soul. He wished to have it, and, 
 through this wish, the temptation came to his soul to become 
 master of it by theft. Though harassed by this thought, 
 he did not reveal it to the Saint. At last, yielding to the 
 seduction of the devil, he stole the Book and fled with it 
 from the Monastery. St. Antony speedily discovered 
 that the Monk had gone, and that his Book had disap- 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 peared with him. Therefore, falling upon his knees, he 
 prayed most earnestly that God would touch the heart of 
 the youth and lead him back to a better frame of mind. 
 Our good Lord listened to the prayer of His holy servant. 
 He filled the heart of the Novice with so great remorse 
 that he returned, and delivered to the Saint the book 
 with which he had fled, saying: “As I ran from the 
 Monastery, and was about to cross the river by the bridge, 
 a most horrible demon stood in my path, and by his 
 threatening aspect compelled me to return hither”. 
 Therefore, whenever the soul of the Novice is troubled 
 with any secret cause of unrest, let him straightway lay 
 open his conscience before his Spiritual Father, and from 
 him seek a remedy ; for delay only increases the danger 
 and hurries men forward into sin. 
 
 In order to aid you in making this manifestation of 
 conscience, we will briefly put before you both the 
 matter which may be the subject of it, and the manner 
 in which the disclosure ought to be made. First, with 
 respect to the matter. This may comprise not only your 
 temptations, passions, evil inclinations, and “ the faults 
 which you have either secretly or openly committed,” "but 
 also your good inclinations, virtuous practices, success 
 in meditation, profit from spiritual reading — in fact, 
 everything which pertains either to the internal state of 
 the soul, or to the external condition of the body — such 
 as are health, mortifications, and the like. To aid 
 you in making this manifestation, we subjoin a few 
 questions, the answers to which will contain almost 
 everything that may constitute the matter of it. 
 
 1. Are you really contented with, and do you highly 
 esteem your Eeligious Calling ? 
 
 2. What difficulties, temptations, -propensities, have 
 
 Reg., cap. vii. 
 
CANDOUR WITH THE MASTER. 
 
 339 
 
 yon with respect to the observance of vows, of stability, 
 and of amendment of manners ? 
 
 3. Is there anything which disturbs, or afflicts, or 
 tortures your mind ? 
 
 4. What difficulties do you experience with respect to 
 rules, prescribed duties, choir, solitude, silence, acts of 
 humility, of patience, &c. ? 
 
 5. What advantage, or what disadvantage, do you 
 receive from common life, and from intercourse with your 
 brethren ? Have you any sympathy for, or any anti- 
 pathy to, any one ? Are you of a contentious spirit ? 
 Do you feel any difficulty in bearing with the moral or 
 with the physical defects and infirmities of others ? 
 
 6. To what occupations, pursuits, books, do you feel 
 yourself most forcibly drawn ? 
 
 7. To what virtues do you feel yourself most inclined, 
 and to the practice of which you receive most frequent 
 calls and inspirations ? 
 
 8. Towards what vices are you most inclined, and con- 
 cerning which you experience most temptations ? 
 
 9. Of what bodily mortifications do you make most 
 frequent use ? To what practices of piety do you feel 
 drawn ? 
 
 10. How do you spend your free time ? 
 
 11. What progress have you made in the prayer of medi- 
 tation ; what advantage do you reap from spiritual reading ; 
 from your general and your particular examination of 
 conscience ; from confession and from Holy Communion ? 
 What difficulties do you find in each of these, and what 
 obstacles prevent you from gathering fruit from them ? 
 
 12. Lastly, what is the state of your bodily health? 
 
 After having considered the matter of the manifestation, 
 
 let us now examine into the manner in which it ought to 
 be made. 
 
340 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 It must be made with a pure and upright intention — 
 that is to say, you must have in view only self-humilia- 
 tion before God, and before His vicar ; instruction in 
 your duties, and the help which is to be gained from 
 those who have had experience in the ways of God. Far 
 be it from you to allow any other motive to influence 
 you, such as going through this action, because it is the 
 custom, because Superiors wish it, and because you will 
 thereby either win their favour or acquire a little vain- 
 glory. All the fruit of this practice depends upon the 
 good intention with which it is performed. The more 
 pure that intention is, the more copious will be the 
 harvest of fruit w 7 hich springs from it. 
 
 You must first invoke the aid of God in order 
 thoroughly to know yourself, and, knowing yourself, to 
 suffer yourself to be known by your Spiritual Father 
 precisely as you are. In the next place, your prayer 
 must be, that light may be given to your Superiors to 
 guide you aright for your greater profit and for the glory 
 of God. Your manifestation of conscience must be made 
 with deep humility ; for, if you be animated with this, 
 you will not fear to cover yourself with well-merited 
 confusion. As for those advantages which you possess 
 in consequence of God’s exceedingly great bounty, to Him 
 only let there be given the honour and the glory which 
 may accrue to you from their possession. For humility 
 such as this is productive of immense good, and although 
 the practice of it goes very much against the grain of our 
 corrupt nature, yet all repugnance to it must be 
 generously overcome in the hope of a heavenly reward. 
 Experience will prove to him who by constant practice 
 has made humility his own, that, together with it, he has 
 acquired all other good things. Therefore, do not mar 
 the excellence of this virtue either by hiding from your 
 
OBEDIENCE TO THE MASTER. 
 
 341 
 
 Spiritual Father, through false shame, any of your 
 defects or your sins, or by aiming at vainglory in mani- 
 festing the favours which have been granted to you by 
 God ; for, take notice that, without humility, all things 
 else are worthless. Yet you must not, on account of 
 temptations to vainglory, omit your manifestation of con- 
 science; for it is a part of the devil’s cunning to keep 
 some from discovering their hidden self, through a species 
 of false shame, and to hinder others who are quite 
 willing to do it, by a fear of vainglory. Beware of yield- 
 ing to his suggestions ; act in direct opposition to them ; 
 protest that you lay open your conscience to your 
 Spiritual Father for no other reason, and with no other 
 intention, than with that of pleasing Almighty God and 
 of learning His holy will. Having done this, treat the 
 devil’s temptations with the contempt which they 
 deserve, and with all simplicity of heart make your 
 manifestation of conscience as usual. Lastly, be ready 
 to follow the advice which is given to you by your 
 Spiritual Father, for upon a temper of mind like this the 
 fruit of the manifestation in great measure depends. But 
 of this we will treat more at large in the following 
 section. 
 
 Section IV. 
 
 On the Novice's Obedience to his Master in Imitation of the 
 Obedience of Christ. 
 
 The last duty of a good Novice, with respect to his 
 Master, is obedience. This may be called the key-stone 
 of all the rest. If it is wanting they are useless. It is 
 because of the great importance of obedience that you 
 are counselled to love your Master, highly to esteem 
 
342 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 him, to confide in him, and to open your heart to him ; 
 for if you do this, you will with great promptitude obey 
 him and carry into effect whatever he shall judge useful 
 and necessary for your spiritual perfection : “ for not the 
 hearers of the Law are just before God ; but the doers of 
 the Law shall be justified 
 
 This must be the fruit of all that we have taught con- 
 cerning your duty towards your Master ; for, as St. 
 Ambrose says : “ The Master’s fruit is the obedience 
 shown to him by his scholars ”.+ Therefore give an 
 attentive ear to that which our holy Father says in the 
 Prologue to his Eule: “Hearken, my Son, to the precepts 
 of thy Master, and incline the ear of thy heart willingly 
 to hear, and effectually to accomplish, the admonition of 
 thy loving Father ” ; for in these words are contained the 
 three conditions without which the sweet fruit of obedi- 
 ence will never be gathered. 
 
 In the first place, the words of your Master are to be 
 heard not only with the ears of the body, but also with 
 the ears of the mind. Therefore, when you seek and 
 obtain advice and counsel from your Master, you must 
 take care that your mind be not filled with distracting 
 thoughts. These, as well as everything else that is 
 a cause of trouble to you, must be laid aside, and your 
 whole mind be given to catch the words of God’s Vicar 
 who speaks to you. In the next place, you must bring 
 with you a mind which is ready and willing to believe 
 that which is told unto you. Those persons are guilty 
 of a grievous error who accept their Master’s instruc- 
 tions only when these are not repugnant to their own 
 judgment. On this subject listen to that which St. 
 Ephrem says : “If to you should seem good anything 
 
 Rom . ii. 13. 
 
 \ In 1 Thesscd. i. 
 
OBEDIENCE TO THE MASTEE. 
 
 343 
 
 which is not accounted so by your Master, believe him in 
 the Lord”. For it is a sign of a speedy fall to be conten- 
 tious and obstinate in maintaining one’s own opinion. 
 Lastly, you must follow the admonitions and the counsels 
 of your Master. If you do this, you will taste and see 
 how sweet is the yoke of the Lord. To you will happen 
 that which in vision befell St. John when he had received 
 the book from the hand of the Angel, and had, according 
 to the Angel’s instructions, eaten it. It was sweet as 
 honey in his mouth. 
 
 In order to stir up within yourself a still greater desire 
 to carry out the counsels which, in this chapter, have 
 been given to you, fix your eyes upon the example put 
 before you by the Apostles, who, leaving all things, gave 
 themselves up wholly to Jesus Christ, to be by Him 
 instructed and formed to virtue. How great, how 
 humble, how sincere was their love of their Master ! 
 How profound was their esteem of Him, how unbounded 
 their reverence ! It was so great that they feared not 
 openly to confess Him, and everywhere to show Him 
 honour. How full of confidence was their recourse to 
 Him in all emergencies ; how childlike and unvarnished 
 the history which they gave to Him of everything which 
 they had done during His absence. Finally, how insati- 
 able was their thirst, how inextinguishable their desire 
 to hear His lessons of heavenly wisdom, and how ardent 
 their zeal to conform their lives with its maxims ! All 
 this is so well known to him who shall even superficially 
 have read the pages of Sacred Scripture, that no words 
 of ours are needed to prove it further. Fix your eyes, 
 therefore, upon these disciples of Our Lord, and learn 
 how properly to conduct yourself in your intercourse 
 with your Master. Take notice of the honour and the 
 glory which they merited by their close imitation of Him 
 
344 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 — they themselves after His ascension became the 
 masters and the teachers of the world. There was, how- 
 ever, even among them one exception — the traitor Judas. 
 He did not wholly give himself up to the guidance of his 
 Master. He held His person, His doctrine, and His 
 example in hatred and contempt. He avoided His 
 company. He tried to deceive Him by pretence 
 and by dissimulation. He turned a deaf ear to 
 His most loving warnings and counsels. At last, 
 when his treachery had excluded him from the Apostolic 
 College, he laid violent hands upon his own life, 
 and died a most horrible death. His fate is a warning 
 of fearful import to those who, in a certain measure, 
 imitate his conduct, by not suffering themselves to 
 be guided by their Master’s counsels. You may, per- 
 chance, be urged to object : “ But my case is far 
 different. Had I the same Master that the Apostles 
 served, I would with exactitude and joy carry out His 
 every desire. I would, with all the powers of my being, 
 love Him and esteem Him. But how can I intrust my 
 conscience and my salvation to a man gifted with so 
 little wisdom, and full of so many imperfections, as I 
 perceive him to have ? ” Let the learned Gerson answer 
 this objection : “ Whoever thou art that dost speak and 
 reason in this fashion, thou art foolish, and guilty of a 
 grave error. For it is not because any given man is 
 prudent, and learned, and devout, that thou hast 
 intrusted both thyself and thy salvation to his hand ; but 
 because he is set over thee by the ordinance of the Rule 
 to be thy Superior and thy Prelate. Therefore in obey- 
 ing him, it is not man that thou art obeying, but, as 
 long as his commands are in accordance with the Law of 
 God, it is God that thou art obeying. In fact, the less 
 worthy of thy esteem is the Superior whom thou dost 
 
ABANDONMENT OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 345 
 
 obey, the more pleasing to God, and the more fruitful to 
 thyself, will thy obedience be ; because it is not on 
 account of the Superior’s merit that thou dost obey him, 
 but on account of thy love of God, Whom he is 
 supposed to represent. To the last, however, be on thy 
 guard, lest while thou seekest and dost not find that 
 security which thou desirest, thou shouldst fall into the 
 snare of rash judgment and of presumption.” * 
 
 Section V. 
 
 St. Dorotheus on the Abandonment of our own Judgment . 
 
 By way of conclusion to this chapter, it will be to your 
 advantage that we should give, word for word, the teach- 
 ing of St. Dorotheus on the necessity for a Spiritual 
 Master, and upon the duties which are owing to him from 
 the scholars who are under his guidance. 
 
 “The Wise Man, in the Book of Proverbs says: ‘Where 
 there is no governor the people shall fall : but there is 
 safety where there is much counsel ’. + Consider, my 
 Brethren, all the wisdom that lies within the compass of 
 these few words ; and mark well the lesson which they 
 convey. They warn us not to be our own teachers ; not 
 to think that we are wise ; not to believe that we are 
 capable of governing ourselves. For we need help from 
 others ; we need those who, under God, may direct us 
 aright. 
 
 “Nothing can be more wretched, nothing more open to 
 errors without number, than is the state of those who 
 have not any guide in the ways of God. For ‘ they who 
 
 Dc prcep . ad Missam . , conf . 3. 
 
 f Prov. xi. 14. 
 
346 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 have no governor shall fall like leaves \ In the early 
 spring the leaves are fresh, green, delightful ; but when 
 they wither and fall, they are contemned and trodden 
 under foot. A similar fate is in store for those who are 
 not governed by any one. At first they are fervent in 
 fasting, in watching, in recollection, and in every other 
 good work ; but by degrees their ardour cools, and if 
 there be no Master at hand to add fresh fuel to it, and to 
 fan the fire into vigorous life, it will die out. Then they 
 will be seized by their enemies, who will do with them 
 that which they please. 
 
 “ But of those who renounce their own will and do all 
 things with the advice of others, it is said : ‘ There is 
 safety where there is much counsel ’ . By these words, 
 the Wise Man does not mean us to understand that we 
 should take advice of some individual man, but that we 
 should frequently do this ; that we should put complete 
 trust in him ; that we should conceal nothing from him ; 
 that we should let him know not merely some things, but 
 all things ; and that in all these things we should seek for 
 his advice. In this way there is safety in much counsel. 
 For, unless we lay open everything before the eyes of our 
 Director, particularly if we chance to be under the spell 
 of some evil habit, or to be labouring under the disadvan- 
 tage of a faulty education, the devil will discover in us 
 some one wish, or some one virtue, and by it will effect 
 our downfall. For when he perceives that a man is 
 averse from evil, he is not so unskilled in the knowledge 
 of the human heart as to urge him to commit some 
 evidently wicked thing. He never says : ‘ Go, indulge 
 your passions in uncleanness. Steal that valuable article 
 from such or such a one.’ He is well aware that our 
 will is not inclined towards such things, and consequently 
 he does not propose to us that for which we have not any 
 
ABANDONMENT OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 347 
 
 desire. But he discovers, as we have said, either that 
 we have some one wish, or that we do some good work, 
 and under the pretext of that good he inflicts upon us a 
 deadly wound. 
 
 “ Hence, in another place it is said : ‘ The wicked one 
 acts wickedly when he mingles justice with his designs \ 
 This wicked one is th£ devil, and then especially does he 
 act wickedly, perversely, when he mixes himself up with 
 our justice. For then it is that he is more powerful, that 
 his stroke is more hurtful, that he is able to act with 
 more telling effect. For when we have the misfortune to 
 get our own way, and to plume ourselves upon our own 
 justice, then it is that we set snares for ourselves ; we 
 think that we are doing good ; and we know not by what 
 means it is that we perish. For how is it possible either 
 that we should seek or that we should know the good 
 pleasure of God, while we believe in ourselves and trust 
 to our own will ? Of this self-will the Abbot Pastor used 
 to say : ‘ It is a wall of brass between man and God ’. 
 Again, ‘It is a rebounding rock, inasmuch as it is con- 
 trary and repugnant to the Divine Will \ But if a man 
 give up self-will, he will be able to say : ‘ In God I 
 shall pass over the wall; my God, His way is undefiled \ 
 Of a truth, the holy Abbot spoke these words with good 
 reason ; for then only does a man see that the way of 
 God is without spot, when he gives up his own will; but 
 as long as he yields to self-will he perceives not this way. 
 Against those who advise him not to yield to self-will, he 
 murmurs bitterly. He contradicts them in his heart, he 
 despises them. How can it be otherwise ; for the obsti- 
 nate and headstrong man will not suffer any one to gain- 
 say his opinion ; he will not accept any advice. ” 
 
 Speaking of a blameless life, the same holy Abbot says : 
 “ If such a life is joined with self-will, the man who is 
 
348 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 leading it is not living well. This sounds and reads very 
 like a paradox. But, in very truth, the death of sin is 
 found wherever what is called a blameless life is 
 conjoined with self-will. Great is the peril of this union ; 
 fearful the dread arising from that which may be the 
 result of it. For, in these circumstances, the wretched, 
 self-willed man falls once and for ever. For who can 
 persuade him to believe that any one can know better 
 than he himself does that which is beneficial to him ? 
 He gives himself over to do his own will, and to follow his 
 own judgment. It is then an easy matter for the devil 
 to trip him up, and to cast him down headlong. There- 
 fore he says : ‘ The wicked one acts wickedly, perversely, 
 when he mingles justice with his acts’. He hates the 
 very word * caution ’ . He says not only that the 
 wicked one hates caution, but also that he cannot bear 
 to hear even its name. Nay, worse still, he hates the 
 very sound by which the idea of caution is conveyed to 
 the mind by the senses. If, for example, anything is 
 said to advise caution, — as for instance : ‘ Before you 
 undertake any important matter, make inquiries for 
 safety’s sake,’ he hates the very fact that any one should 
 make inquiries of another, and should hear anything that 
 may contribute to his well-being. He hates and is averse 
 from the very sound of these words. 
 
 “ What is the reason of this ? It is because he is well 
 aware that his own cunning is discovered by the replies 
 which are given to the questions put to Directors, and by 
 conversations held with them for the purpose of gaining 
 information. Now there is nothing that he holds in more 
 utter abomination, nothing that he fears more, than the 
 being made known. For when he is known, he has not 
 any longer anything wherewith to lay snares for the un- 
 suspecting victims of his hate. Hence, if the soul be 
 
ABANDONMENT OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 349 
 
 fortified against all attack, because it openly confesses its 
 necessities and miseries ; and if, in consequence of this, 
 it have the privilege of hearing from the lips of an intelli- 
 gent and wary man : ‘ Do this ; do not do that. This is 
 good ; that is not good. This is justice ; that is not self- 
 will.’ At -one time, ‘This is not the occasion for doing 
 this At another, ‘ Now is the right moment for doing 
 that ’ ; the devil will be able neither to hurt nor cast it 
 down ; because it is always guided aright, and protected 
 on every side. Hence that saying of the Proverbs is 
 verified in its regard : ‘ There is safety in much counsel 
 The malignant devil, however, does not at all relish this ; 
 he hates it. He wishes to be malignant, and rejoices in 
 those ‘who have no governor’. Why does he rejoice? 
 Because they fall like autumnal leaves. 
 
 “Consider well the history of that Monk, of whom the 
 devil said to the Abbot Macarius : ‘ There is a certain 
 Brother who, at my will, shifts about like a weathercock ’. 
 Such as he are loved by the evil spirit ; over them he 
 exults and rejoices, because they have not any guide, and 
 expose not their necessities to him who, after God, is able 
 to give them assistance. When the holy man saw the 
 wicked spirit going about among the Brethren, offering 
 his allurements to them, he noticed that he did not go to 
 all. From those who, when tempted, were in the habit 
 of at once hastening to the Superior, and of laying open 
 their temptations before him, he kept aloof, and over them 
 obtained not any power. But that wretched Brother 
 whom he discovered to be acting as his own Master, and 
 to be seeking aid from no one, him he accosted, and of 
 him made a plaything. To him he gave thanks as he 
 departed, but heaped imprecations upon the heads of the 
 rest. As soon as the Abbot Macarius had learnt this 
 from the devil, he straightway went to the Brother, and. 
 
350 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 after conversing with him for some time, discovered that 
 this was, in very truth, the cause of his fall. For he 
 would not confess ; he would not manifest the state of 
 his conscience. On this account the devil was able to turn 
 him whithersoever he pleased. The holy Abbot addressing 
 him said : ‘ My Brother, how fares it with you ? ’ 
 
 * Father/ he replied, ‘ owing to your good prayers, very 
 well ! ’ ‘ Are you molested with any temptation? ’ ‘ Up to 
 the present time, all is well.’ He would not confess. 
 At last the holy Abbot succeeded in persuading him to 
 disclose the state of his soul, and thereby wrought in 
 him a complete conversion. 
 
 “ When the evil spirit again came to him, to cast him 
 into sin, he found him firmly rooted in his fixed resolve. 
 It was impossible to move him. The devil, therefore, fled 
 away unsuccessful and covered with confusion. St. 
 Macarius, seeing him once again among the Brethren, 
 asked him : ‘ How fares it with your friend ? ’ ‘ Friend ! ’ 
 
 he cried ; ‘ call him not my friend, he is my enemy ! I 
 hate him, for now he also is perverse. He believes me 
 not, but is even more hostile to me than the rest are.’ 
 This is why our foe hates those who are cautious. But 
 he loves those who lean upon themselves, because they 
 help him, and are a snare unto themselves. 
 
 “ Mark well this fact : no Monk ever falls away from his 
 holy calling, unless it is by trusting his own heart. 
 Some will assign one reason for his fall, and some 
 another ; but if you take the trouble to investigate the 
 matter, you will find that it is owing to his confidence in 
 himself. Do you know any one who has fallen ? Then 
 you may be sure that he has been his own director. 
 There is no step more dangerous, no step more fatal, 
 than to take upon one’s self that perilous office. 
 
 “God in His infinite goodness has always preserved me 
 
ABANDONMENT OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 351 
 
 from that misfortune. When I was in the Monastery, I 
 always manifested all my conscience to the Abbot John. 
 For I never presumed to do anything without consulting 
 him. It happened on one occasion that I said to my- 
 self : * Are you going to make known this circumstance 
 to the Abbot ? Why are you so troublesome to him ? ’ 
 Forthwith I replied : ‘ Anathema to thee and to thy 
 judgment ! Anathema to thy understanding, to thy 
 prudence, and to thy knowledge ! for that which thou 
 hast is from the devil.’ I used then to go to the Abbot 
 and ask his advice ; and it sometimes happened that he 
 told me precisely that which I myself had thought. 
 Then I said to myself : ‘ This is just what I myself 
 might have known, and I have been uselessly troubling 
 the Abbot’. But to this I made answer: ‘Although you 
 yourself might have thought the very same thing, yet 
 that opinion would have been from yourself ; but now 
 it is from the Holy Spirit, therefore it is good. For that 
 which is your own is evil ; it comes from the devil ; it is 
 swayed by passion.’ By acting thus, I never put any 
 faith in my own thoughts, but always consulted those 
 persons who were placed in authority over me. 
 
 “ Believe me, Brethren, in consequence of this, I lived 
 in so great peace and tranquillity that, as I have often 
 before told you, I became alarmed about my state, for I 
 had heard that, by many tribulations, we must enter the 
 kingdom of God, and, looking upon myself, I saw that I 
 was free from them. Therefore was I fearful and full of 
 anxious dread, for I knew not the cause of this unbroken 
 repose. At last the holy Abbot told me that I need not 
 be disturbed on account of the peace in which I was 
 living, for that the security and the rest which I was en- 
 joying are the rewards bestowed upon those who give 
 themselves up to be guided by obedience. Therefore, 
 
352 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 my Brethren, make it a rule to seek counsel, and never 
 to trust to yourselves. If you follow this advice you will 
 know by experience what great safety, and joy, and re- 
 pose of spirit are to be found by complying with it. 
 However, as I have told you that I was not subject to 
 any affliction, listen to that which in this respect befell 
 me. 
 
 “ While I was living in the Monastery, an exceedingly 
 great and intolerable sadness took possession of me. I 
 was in so great straits and grief in consequence of it, that 
 it seemed to me impossible that I should live. All this, 
 however, arose from the machinations of the devil. The 
 trial was, indeed, a very severe one, though it lasted but 
 for a short time. A trial full of trouble, darksome, with- 
 out one consoling thought to cheer, without one moment 
 of repose, without a respite from the load which at once 
 crushed me to the earth and stifled me. The grace of 
 God, however, speedily refreshed my soul, otherwise I 
 should most certainly have despaired. For one day 
 while I was thus so sorely tried and pressed on every 
 side, I happened to be standing in the quadrangle of the 
 Monastery. I was praying to God about this trouble 
 which was oppressing me, when, raising my eyes and 
 looking towards the Church, I beheld a man clad in 
 episcopal robes enter the sanctuary, as if about to 
 celebrate Mass. Although I never without necessity 
 accosted any guest, yet, on this occasion, something 
 impelled me to follow him. For a considerable space of 
 time he stood before the altar, praying with outstretched 
 arms ; and standing behind him, I also prayed with much 
 fear and trembling, for his appearance filled me with 
 a species of terror. 
 
 “ When he had ended his prayer, he turned and came 
 towards me. As he approached, the load of fear which 
 
ABANDONMENT OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 353 
 
 weighed upon me was lifted and cast aside. When he 
 stood before me, he put forth his hand, and touching my 
 breast with his finger, said: ‘With expectation I have 
 waited for the Lord, and He was attentive to me. And 
 He heard my prayer and brought me out of the pit of 
 misery, and the mire of dregs. And He set my feet upon 
 a rock, and directed my steps. And He put a new 
 canticle into my mouth, a song to Our God.’ * These 
 verses of the Psalm he repeated three times, and then 
 departed. From that moment light broke in upon my 
 hitherto darkened soul ; joy, consolation, and sweetness 
 welled up within me; I became quite another man. 
 Hastening after him, I could nowhere find him. He 
 had disappeared. By the mercy of God, I have not been 
 troubled, from that hour till this present moment, with 
 sadness or with fear. God has protected me from them, 
 through the prayers of that holy man. I have spoken 
 thus to you that you may see and may understand the 
 peaceful repose and tranquillity which are the lot of those 
 who do not undertake to guide themselves, but put all 
 their trust in God, and in those who are able to guide 
 them in His ways. 
 
 “ Therefore, Brethren, learn to ask for counsel, and not 
 to trust in yourselves. Your true good is humility ; 
 it is tranquillity ; it is joy. Why should any one fret 
 and trouble himself to no purpose ? It is impossible for 
 any one to be saved except in this way ! But some one 
 will say : ‘ What will he do who has not any one from 
 whom to seek advice ? ’ I answer : * If any one truly and 
 with his whole heart desire to do the will of God, God 
 will not abandon him, but will guide him according to His 
 own divine will*. Of a truth, if any one turn his heart 
 to do the will of God, that merciful Father will enlighten 
 * Ps. xxxix. 2, 4. 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 even a little child to point out to him that which He would 
 have him do. But if any man do not truly wish for 
 the will of God, even though in his perversity he go to a 
 prophet, and seek from him guidance and light, yet God 
 will inspire the heart of the prophet what to answer him, 
 according to that : ‘ If he shall err, and a prophet shall 
 have spoken, I the Lord have made that prophet to err \ 
 Therefore, you ought with all your strength to direct 
 your will unto God, and not to trust to your own heart. 
 But if anything is good, and you hear from a holy man 
 that it is good, you ought to look upon it as undoubtedly 
 good. Yet you ought not by any means to believe that 
 you do that thing well, and in the way in which it ought to 
 be done. You ought, indeed, to do it to the best of your 
 ability ; and then to explain in what way you do it, in 
 order to learn whether you have done it well or ill. Yet, 
 even so, you must not lay aside all care, but must await 
 the judgment of God. For, as the holy man Agatho used 
 to say when any one asked him : ‘ Father, do you also 
 fear?’ ‘Up to the present time, indeed, I have done 
 the best that I was able. Yet, I know not whether my 
 actions have pleased God. For the judgment of God 
 is one thing ; that of men is very different.’ May God 
 preserve us from the danger which is incurred by those 
 persons who rest upon their own judgment. May He 
 make us worthy to walk in the footsteps of our Fathers, 
 who have been pleasing unto Him.” 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of Truly Seeking God. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 Truly Seeking God. 
 
 As we have already, in the “ Postulant,” treated at 
 sufficient length of this and of the other three qualities 
 of a good Novice, we will here omit certain matters 
 which are there dealt with ; but there are certain others 
 which we will take the liberty to glance at once again, in 
 order that they may make a deeper and more lasting im- 
 pression upon your mind. Truly to seek God is a matter 
 of such vital importance that upon it, in reality, the 
 repose and the happiness, both temporal and eternal, of 
 Religious Orders and of Religious men chiefly depend. 
 Hence we deem it necessary to dwell at greater length 
 upon this subject, in order that, by thoroughly understand- 
 ing and duly appreciating it, you may not, in this respect, 
 presume to do anything that is rash, or inconsiderate, or 
 evil, or tainted with the spirit of lukewarmness ; for it 
 would redound to your own great loss as well as to the 
 detriment of religion in general. In order, therefore, at 
 the very outset to prevent all mistakes, we must first lay 
 before you the principal ones which, under this head, 
 may creep into your conduct, and then point out to you 
 the best way to correct them. 
 
 The first mistake is to seek, in Religious Life, any- 
 
356 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 thing else than God only. The second is to profess to 
 seek God, and yet not to do it in the way in which it 
 ought to be done. Those persons are guilty of the first 
 mistake who come to Religious Life, not by the divine 
 impulse and calling, but either through the enticements 
 of flattering promises, or through the terror of threats. 
 Others come to the Monastery of their own accord, in- 
 deed, but with a view to their own advantage. If they 
 remained in the world, they would perhaps have scarcely 
 sufficient wherewith to support a wretched state of exist- 
 ence. In the Monastery they find a good table ; they 
 are respectably clad ; and they have many comforts 
 which they would never have had if they had remained 
 in the world. Of such as these we may say, with the 
 Apostle : “ Many walk of whom I have often told you 
 before, and now tell you weeping, that they are the 
 enemies of the Cross of Christ ; whose end is destruction, 
 whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, 
 who mind earthly things ; seeking the things that are 
 their own, not those that are Jesus Christ’s Others 
 come to be honoured and esteemed, and in due time to be 
 promoted to offices of trust. Consequently, their thoughts 
 are ever running upon advancement, upon the first seats 
 and the first places ; they dream of mitres and dignities, 
 and are in very truth lovers of vanity and searchers after 
 a lie. 
 
 It is not unusual to find, among men of this stamp, 
 persons who, while living in the world, were lowly, un- 
 pretending, and without hope of ever bettering their 
 position ; but, as soon as they enter Religion, their sole 
 aim is to make it a stepping-stone by which to mount to 
 honours. Some are attracted to Religion by the bonds 
 
 Philipp, iii. 18; ii. 21. 
 
TRULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 357 
 
 of flesh and blood ; and their chief study is to promote 
 family interests. Finally, not a few are drawn to the 
 Cloister by mere levity of mind and by childish impulse, 
 neither knowing nor understanding what it is to lead a 
 Religious Life. These, and all those who resemble them, 
 are far from having the first quality which our holy 
 Father requires from the Novices of his Order. Theirs 
 is a very material and substantial error. As long as it 
 holds possession of their minds, this first quality neither 
 has nor can have any existence in their hearts. Oh, if you 
 did but know the magnitude of the evil which, in process 
 of time, you draw down both upon yourself and upon 
 Religion by one or two unrighteous intentions, you would 
 shudder with genuine terror, and would protest both by 
 word and by deed, that you have come to Religion to seek 
 only God. But although you may not, at present, 
 thoroughly grasp and clearly understand this, yet, believe 
 me, words are wholly inadequate to express the extent 
 of the losses arising from evil intentions, which are not 
 completely ejected from the heart. 
 
 Therefore, search into its inmost folds, and if you dis- 
 cover anything which does not tend towards truly seeking 
 God, lay hold of it and cast it forth. But how is this to be 
 done ? Give ear unto the best method which we can 
 devise for you, and endeavour to make a proper use of it. 
 In order completely to rectify this error or mistake, you 
 must search for the root whence it springs, and on that 
 you must fix your grasp. The error grows out of no 
 other root than the false notion that those objects are 
 good towards which you feel yourself attracted ; for, as 
 the Philosophers say : “ There is no one who is so great 
 a fool, as intentionally to labour for that which is evil 
 It is good that all men desire, and towards which they 
 all direct their aim. This will be manifest to any one 
 
358 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 who will give the subject a little thought ; for he will see 
 that the mainspring which sets in motion all human acts, 
 is the desire of and the search after good. For does it 
 not seem to be a good thing that a man should obey his 
 parents ; that he should have an honest livelihood ; that 
 he should be esteemed and honoured by men; that he 
 should help his relatives in their necessities ? Yet, if all 
 these various good things be weighed in the balance of 
 the Sanctuary, if they be scrutinised by the light of faith, 
 and by that which the doctrine and the example of Christ 
 and of His Saints shed upon them, it will be evident that 
 there is not any real solid good in them, but only a cer- 
 tain deceptive appearance of good. They are naught but 
 phantasms of good, unless they are referred to God, Who 
 is the only good, and the last end for Whose service 
 Eeligious Orders were instituted. 
 
 The better to understand this, be it observed that 
 good is of two kinds — the one real , the other apparent. 
 Eeal good is God only, and that which is referred to God, 
 as, for instance, virtue, or perfection, or grace. Apparent 
 good are all human consolations, meat, drink, amuse- 
 ment, wealth, honour, knowledge, bodily conveniences. 
 There are seven characteristic marks by which we shall 
 be able easily to distinguish the one kind of good from 
 the other. 
 
 Good that is not real. (1) Whatever can be obtained in 
 an unlawful way. (2) Whatever is common to that which 
 is good and to that which is evil. (3) Whatever is common 
 to the brute creation and to man. (4) Whatever either 
 interiorly or exteriorly adorns and perfects the body only. 
 (5) Whatever another man is able to take away from us 
 against our will; also, whatever perishes at death is 
 neither a real good nor a real evil, since real good and 
 real evil follow the immortal soul. (6) Whatever either 
 
TKULY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 359 
 
 hinders or takes away a better good. * (7) Whatever a 
 
 man does that is not simply good. 
 
 With the aid of these marks, examine the intentions 
 with which yon chose the Religions State, and on account 
 of which you desire, in due time, to make your solemn 
 profession. Disguise nothing from yourself ; for it is a 
 matter of the greatest importance that you should not. 
 If you have taken this step for God’s sake only, and in 
 order to obtain for yourself the possession of that which 
 is really good, all is well. For having had the grace to 
 make this choice, your thanks are due unto God, Who 
 has called you from the darkness of a worldly life, and 
 has led you into the marvellous brightness of the Religious 
 Life. Be strengthened in the Lord ; be valiant ; and 
 suffer not yourself at any future time to turn aside from 
 the way of righteousness, nor, by an evil intention, to 
 obscure the light which, through God’s merciful bounty, 
 has been made to shine in your heart. But if you perceive 
 that, in your choice of this State, you have been deluded 
 by the deceitful show of apparent good, consider the folly 
 of seeking bodily ease in the abode of mortification and of 
 self-denial; honour, in the school of humility; things 
 pleasing to the senses of worldlings, in the cloistral abode 
 of ascetical men. Even supposing for the moment that you 
 could have in Religious Life all that the world esteems 
 
 * This is somewhat misleading ; for there are many things in 
 themselves good and holy which either impede or prevent a greater 
 good. Thus, a purely contemplative life is confessedly less perfect 
 than one that is mixed — i.e., partly contemplative and partly active. 
 Yet those who embrace the purely contemplative life are pre- 
 vented by their Rule, which is in itself good and holy, from devot- 
 ing themselves to the works of the ministry. The sentence in the 
 text seems to be taken from St. Anselm. But the Saint is speaking 
 of perfection in its metaphysical sense, when he says that “ nothing 
 is a perfection unless it is better than that which is incompatible 
 with it ”. — Trs. 
 
360 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 and loves (a state of things, however, which is utterly 
 impossible), what advantage could you derive from it? 
 What, indeed, but vanity,, affliction of spirit, and the loss 
 of those goods which are real and true : “ What doth it 
 profit a man if he gains the whole world, and suffers 
 the loss of his soul ? ” 
 
 Therefore, despise your craving for merely apparent 
 good, and direct all the intention, the affection, and the 
 strength of your being towards the gaining of the one 
 true good. Say to yourself with St. Anselm: “Why 
 dost thou go about seeking the (apparent) good of soul 
 and of body ? By loving, seek for, and by seeking, love 
 the one good, in which is all good, and it is enough. 
 Desire the simple good, which is all good, and it is 
 enough.” Engrave this resolve upon your mind; fre- 
 quently look upon it. Let nothing ever erase from your 
 memory its deeply incised characters. Then you may 
 be sure that, as long as it lasts, you will never abandon 
 God, and you will be enriched with many graces and 
 with many favours. 
 
 All those persons fall into the other error, who, in their 
 search after God, either do not wish altogether to turn 
 away from evil, or do not seek for Him with sim- 
 plicity of heart, with strength, fortitude, and constancy 
 of mind. With these God cannot be found. Hence it 
 is not to he wondered at that there are so few who truly 
 seek God, since there are so few who, while pretending 
 to seek Him, pursue their search in the proper way and 
 with the requisite dispositions. 
 
 In order to avoid this error, weigh well, and endeavour 
 to put in practice the following precepts, which we will 
 explain in separate sections, that they may more easily 
 imprint themselves upon the memory, and be more firmly 
 grasped by the intelligence. 
 
AVOIDING EVIL. 
 
 361 
 
 Section II. 
 
 In order truly to Seek God , Evil. must especially be Avoided. 
 
 The Eoyal Psalmist says : “ Decline from evil and do 
 good, and dwell for ever and ever By these words he 
 would have us understand that he who desires to attain 
 to real good and to eternal happiness, ought above all 
 things to turn away from evil. But let it be observed 
 that there are two kinds of evils, the one real , the other 
 only apparent . Beal evil is sin, and whatever withdraws 
 us from real good. Apparent evils are trials, sicknesses, 
 and whatever else is contrary to that good which is only 
 apparent. The false and deceitful world proposes the 
 former to its followers, as objects to be sought after with 
 all zeal ; and the latter, as objects to be shunned with 
 equal earnestness. But this wisdom of the world is 
 foolishness with God, Who, being the very Truth itself, 
 loves and seeks for truth in all things. Therefore, whoever 
 desires to seek and to find God, the only true good, must 
 detest with all his might and flee from that which is 
 really evil. 
 
 We have already pointed out that, next to a lively faith, 
 a real practical knowledge of the foulness and the 
 gravity of sin, and, as a natural consequence, a hatred 
 and a horror of it, are the foundations not only of the 
 Beligious but also of the secular state. Motives for 
 avoiding sin may be found in the treatise which we have 
 written for the Postulant ; these with a few slight changes 
 will, with far greater reason, apply to those who are 
 already Novices, and serious attention should be given to 
 the consideration of them. Moreover, Novices must not 
 think that they do all that is required of them when they 
 
 * Ps. xxxvi. 27. 
 
362 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 avoid mortal sins ; they should most earnestly strive to 
 avoid venial sins also, and especially those venial sins 
 which are committed with full deliberation. For, besides 
 disposing the soul to fall into mortal sin, according to 
 that : “ He that contemneth small things shall fall by 
 little and little,” they also give rise to an estrangement 
 between the soul and God, although they do not actually 
 separate it from Him ; and, as we know so well, a divided 
 heart is hateful unto God. Hence the Prophet Osee 
 said: “Their heart is divided, now they shall perish”.* 
 God asks for our whole heart, our whole soul, and our 
 whole strength ; and with justice : for, as He is the 
 Creator, giver, preserver of all that is in our heart and in 
 our whole being, it is but right and just that it should be 
 devoted to His service. Therefore, imitate David, of 
 whom God Himself said : “ He kept My commandments, 
 and followed Me with his whole heart, doing that which 
 is well pleasing in My sight ”.f Hence he could say of 
 himself : “ My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the 
 living God : J for what have I in heaven, and besides Thee 
 what do I desire on earth : my flesh and my heart have 
 fainted away : Thou art the God of my heart, and the God 
 that is my portion for ever. It is good for me to adhere 
 to my God, and to put my hope in the Lord God.” § 
 
 Imitate King Josias, of whom it is written : “ There 
 was no king before him like unto him, that returned to 
 the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and 
 with all his strength *\ || Imitate so many other faithful 
 servants of God, but especially the thousands of Saints, 
 who, in our own Order, have served God with their 
 whole heart and with their whole soul, and who at the 
 present time do actually serve Him, by avoiding even 
 
 * Osee x. 2. + 3 Kings xiv. 8. + Ps. lxxxiii. 2. 
 
 § Ps. lxxii. 25, 26, 28. |j 4 Kings xxiii. 25. 
 
AVOIDING EVIL. 
 
 363 
 
 the shadow of the slightest venial sin. What else does 
 the Lord Our God ask of you, than to fear the Lord your 
 God; to walk in His ways, by declining from evil of 
 every kind ; to love and to serve Him with your whole 
 heart and with your whole soul, that it may be well 
 with you ? Oh, how happy is the man, who, by thus 
 withdrawing himself from all that is really evil, devotes 
 his whole heart and his whole affection to seek God, the 
 only true good ! In his person will be fulfilled the 
 promise which is recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy : 
 “ When thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt 
 find Him ; yet so, if thou seek Him with all thy heart 
 Also that which is found in the Prophet Jeremias : “You 
 shall seek Me, and shall find Me ; when you shall seek 
 Me with all your heart ”.f 
 
 Before we proceed to explain the other methods of 
 truly seeking God, it will be advantageous for you to bear 
 in mind that what has been said thus far, about avoiding 
 the evil of any fault whatever, must be understood also 
 of avoiding and of removing the causes and the occa- 
 sions of sin ; otherwise there will not be any safeguard 
 against a relapse, nor any hope of solid progress, no 
 matter how firm may be your purpose of never again 
 offending God ; for “ he that loveth the danger shall 
 perish in it These causes and these occasions of sin 
 may be divided into those which are internal, and into 
 those which are external. The internal causes are vices 
 and habits of evil, formerly contracted by oft-repeated 
 acts ; unruly passions ; freedom in life ; the absence of 
 custody over the senses ; and the like. External causes 
 are attractive objects, a somewhat loose method of liv- 
 ing, too great familiarity with others, human respect, 
 and over-tender manifestations of affection. Therefore, 
 * Cap. iv. 29. + Cap. xxix. 13. 
 
364 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 examine whether you are under the sway of one or of 
 many bad habits contracted in the world; observe by 
 what passions you are most frequently disturbed ; 
 whether it is by love or by hatred, by anger or by sad- 
 ness. Consider whether you keep your senses within 
 due bounds ; what objects are most dangerous to you ; 
 what is your manner of life ; whether it is in that which 
 you do, or in that which you leave undone that you 
 are led by human respect. 
 
 Weigh well in the presence of God all these questions 
 and others of a similar nature ; make a firm resolve with- 
 out delay to rid yourself of all your bonds and trammell- 
 ing impediments; use those remedies which are best 
 calculated to heal your disorders, and at once set about 
 this all-important task. You must, however, clearly 
 understand that, in this matter, it is most especially 
 necessary that you should have recourse to your Master 
 for counsel and for instruction. To him you must explain 
 all and each of your difficulties ; and when you have done 
 so, be careful to carry into effect the advice which he be- 
 stows. For, by acting thus, you will experience less 
 difficulty, inasmuch as you will be assisted by another, 
 and you will escape the dangers in which those persons are 
 sure to be involved, who, trusting to their own resources, 
 wish to be their own guides and masters in the execution 
 of matters which are encircled with so great difficulties. 
 
 We will not here suggest remedies for each of the evils 
 of which we have spoken, for these remedies depend for 
 their success upon many particular circumstances, and 
 on this account require the particular instruction of your 
 Master, who, taking everything into consideration, must 
 determine whatever shall seem to him most expedient. 
 We may, however, in passing, make mention of one com- 
 mon remedy, which it is most desirable that all should 
 
SEEKING GOD WITH SIMPLICITY. 
 
 365 
 
 employ ; this is nothing else than, many times each day, 
 to excite and to renew within yourself a love of that good 
 which is real, and a hatred of that evil which is real ; to 
 be so disposed towards things that are either good or evil 
 in appearance only, as to accept and to embrace them, 
 in as far as they will conduce to the attainment of real 
 solid good. Those who follow this counsel will speedily 
 perceive how great is the advantage which is to be reaped 
 from this practice ; for they will feel the benefit of it 
 throughout the whole course of their lives. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 God must be sought with Simplicity of Heart. 
 
 Cornelius a Lapide, commenting upon that text of the 
 Book of Wisdom,* “ Seek God in simplicity of heart,” 
 remarks that the word “simplicity” has a variety of 
 meanings. In the first place, it may be taken as opposed 
 to duplicity, cunning, hypocrisy, deceit, and pretence ; 
 for any act which is performed with cunning and deceit 
 cannot, as St. Ambrose observes, have the merit of sim- 
 plicity. In the next place, it may be considered as 
 opposed to curiosity. It is in this sense that the word 
 must be understood when we are commanded to believe 
 with simplicity that which divine faith teaches. Thirdly, 
 “simplicity” may mean that which is unmixed, and in 
 this sense may signify purity ; for that which is simple 
 is pure, whereas that which is mixed is impure, inasmuch 
 as mixtures are made up of a variety of elements. Also, 
 it may, in this sense, be taken for integrity or perfection. 
 It has this meaning in that passage in which Job is said 
 
 * Cap. i. 1. 
 
366 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 to be “a simple man,” that is to say, upright, perfect. 
 Fourthly, some persons understand it to mean generosity. 
 Thus, when St. Paul says, “He that giveth with sim- 
 plicity,” he means, “ liberally ”. In applying all and 
 each of these significations to the proposition with which 
 we began this section, we may say that the Novice 
 ought to seek God, not with duplicity nor with pretence ; 
 not with curiosity, nor with a divided heart ; but with a 
 heart which is pure, upright, perfect, and generous. In 
 this present section we will consider in what way we are 
 to understand each of these epithets. 
 
 The Apostle, in his second Epistle to Timothy says : 
 “In the last days shall come on dangerous times; men 
 shall be lovers of themselves . . . having an appearance, 
 indeed, of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. * 
 St. Peter says : “In the last days there shall come 
 deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts ”. t For 
 who is so little conversant with that which is passing in 
 the world in these deplorable, and verily the last, days of 
 its existence as not to know that it is full of lying, deceit, 
 and hypocrisy? That evil stays not in the world, but in- 
 vades the Cloisters of even Eeligious, in the persons of 
 Novices whose sole aim it seems to be to pass their year 
 of probation under the cloak of pretended piety, and to 
 conceal their evil habits, in order that, after their pro- 
 fession, they may be able more freely to give a loose rein 
 to their disorderly passions. If there should chance to 
 be among those who read these pages any of this number, 
 let him ask himself whether this is truly to seek God ! 
 No, it is to tell a lie unto God, and unto man by means 
 of the habit which he wears. With astonished ears, 
 attend to the maledictions which the Holy Spirit launches 
 
 Cap. i. 2-4. 
 
 *t* 2 Peter iii. 3. 
 
SEEKING GOD WITH SIMPLICITY. 
 
 367 
 
 against all those who are of a double heart : “ Dissemblers 
 and crafty men prove the wrath of God”.* “The 
 bloody and deceitful man the Lord will abhor. ” f “ Thou 
 hast loved malice more than goodness, and iniquity 
 rather than to speak righteousness. Thou hast loved all 
 the words of ruin, O deceitful tongue ! Therefore, will 
 God destroy thee for ever ; He will pluck thee out, and 
 remove thee from thy dwelling-place, and thy root out 
 of the land of the living,” J “ Bloody and deceitful men 
 shall not live out half their days.” § “The Holy Spirit 
 of discipline will flee from the deceitful.” || “ Approach 
 
 not to the Lord with a double heart. Be not a hypocrite 
 in the sight of men, and let not thy bps be a stumbling- 
 block to thee. Watch over them, lest thou fall and bring 
 dishonour upon thy soul, and God discover thy secrets 
 and cast thee down in the midst of the Congregation, be- 
 cause thou earnest to the Lord wickedly, and thy heart is 
 full of guile and deceit.” IT “ Woe to them that are of a 
 double heart, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth 
 two ways.”** “Cursed is the deceitful man!”+f In a 
 word, every one ought to be filled with fear and trembling 
 when he hears from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom itself, 
 that oft-times repeated “Woe!” against those who are 
 hypocrites. 
 
 On the other hand, consider with how many inestim- 
 able graces the virtue of simplicity is enriched : “ The 
 Lord will protect them that walk in simplicity ” ; § § “For 
 every mocker is an abomination to the Lord, and His 
 communication is with the simple ” ; || || “ He that walketh 
 sincerely, walketh confidently”; ITU “The simplicity of the 
 
 * Job xxxvi. 13. 
 § Ps. liv. 24. 
 
 ** Cap. ii. 14. 
 
 §§ Prov. ii. 7. 
 
 + Ps. v. 7. 
 j| Wisd. i. 5. 
 
 ++ Malach. i. 14, 
 HU Prov. iii. 32. 
 
 J Ps. Ii. 5, 6, 7. 
 
 U Ecclus. i. 36-40. 
 tt St. Matth. xxiii. 
 IT II Prov. x. 9. 
 
368 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Just shall guide them ” ;* “A perverse heart is abomin- 
 able to the Lord, and His will is in them that walk 
 sincerely ”; + “He that deceiveth the just, in a wicked 
 way, shall fall in his own destruction : and the upright 
 shall possess his goods. . . . He that walketh uprightly 
 shall be saved.” I To all these texts the following re- 
 markable words of St. Dorotheus may be added : “If 
 any one with simplicity of heart seek God and the will 
 of God, then, in the absence of other teachers, that 
 loving Father will inspire the mind of even a child to 
 guide him and to prevent him from falling ; but if he 
 deceitfully seek God, the Almighty Father will send him 
 a deceitful teacher, who will lead him into error and 
 leave his feet entangled in the snare 
 
 From this it is evident how hateful unto God are all 
 those who walk “two ways”,; who are cunning, who 
 pretend to be that which they are not ; who hide that 
 which they are. They may, at times, by their hypocrisy, 
 succeed in deceiving man, but they cannot deceive God. 
 In His own good time He will make them feel how 
 rigorous an avenger He is of all double-dealing, by 
 suffering their hypocrisy to be laid bare, either before the 
 end of the Novitiate, or on the great judgment-day, when 
 all their hidden sins shall be made manifest, unless, 
 indeed, by hearty repentance they anticipate and prevent 
 that dreadful confusion which must of necessity then fall 
 upon them. Wherefore, let every one take particular 
 notice of, and engrave deeply upon his mind, these words 
 of the Holy Spirit : “If thou be wise, thou wilt be so to 
 thyself ; and if a scorner, thou alone shalt bear the evil ”.§ 
 For, although scorners and deceivers oftentimes become 
 exceedingly troublesome to a Religious Order after their 
 
 + Prov . xi. 20. J Prov. xxviii. 10, 18. 
 
 § Prov. ix. 12. 
 
 Prov. xi. 3. 
 
SEEKING GOD WITH SIMPLICITY. 
 
 369 
 
 admission to it, yet in the end they and they only bear 
 the weight of the evil, when God Himself scorns their 
 hypocrisy; for “He shall scorn the scorners With 
 all this before your mind, see whether it is to your ad- 
 vantage to join those who pretend to seek God, but in 
 reality mock and scorn Him. 
 
 But, besides these pretenders, there is another class of 
 persons who are destined never to find God. These are 
 the curious. According to St. Austin, a curious man is 
 one who eagerly searches into that which in noway 
 concerns him. The evil which it works in the soul of 
 the Novice is treated of by De Ponte, f who “ considers it 
 to be one of the roots of inconstancy, inasmuch as when 
 there enters an Order any one who is eaten up with 
 curiosity, he usually occupies himself in judging either 
 the Order’s affairs which, to him personally, have no 
 reference whatever, or the commands of Superiors, and 
 all the time neglects his own sanctification. Moreover, 
 St. Theresa is very careful to warn beginners to put aside 
 all thought about other things, and about other men, and 
 to occupy themselves solely with themselves, in order that 
 their chief study may be to please God.J In exact accord 
 with this is the advice of St. John of the Cross : § “ Never 
 be scandalised, nor wonder at anything that you may 
 either see or hear ; but keep your soul free from all these 
 things by forgetting them. For, if you examine with 
 curiosity into the lives of others, many things will seem 
 to you to be evil, even though your lot be cast among 
 Angels ; because you do not see the substance of their 
 acts.” 
 
 Wherefore, put before yourself the fall of Lot’s wife, 
 who being troubled at the destruction of Sodom, looked 
 
 * Prov. iii. 34. + Tom. ill.. Tract, v., cap. vii. 
 
 + Vita a. Theresias, cap. xiii. § Cautela iii. contra Mundum. 
 
 24 
 
370 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 back to see how it fared with the wicked city, and was 
 punished by being changed into a pillar of salt, that from 
 this you may understand that God wills you, even though 
 you may be living among devils, to be among them in 
 such a way as that you may not turn back your head to 
 contemplate their deeds, but leave them alone, as in no 
 way concerning you, your only aim being to keep your 
 soul pure before God, without suffering yourself to be 
 hindered in any way from so doing, either by this or by 
 that occurrence. For you may be quite sure that in all 
 Monasteries and in all Eeligious Communities, there will 
 be some cause of trouble ; for the devil never desists from 
 his endeavours to disturb the peace of the Saints ; and 
 this God in His infinite wisdom permits, in order to try 
 them, and to give them opportunities of practising virtue. 
 
 Therefore, unless, as we have said, you look to yourself, 
 you will be in the Monastery as if you were not living in 
 it ; and how great soever may be the efforts which you 
 make to be a true Eeligious, to attain to perfect self- 
 spoliation, and to introversion of spirit, you will not be 
 able to compass your wishes, nor to escape the spiritual 
 harm which there lies in wait to destroy you. For if you 
 look after other men’s business which in noway concerns 
 you, even though you be induced to do this for some 
 excellent purpose, and be led on by burning zeal, yet you 
 will be ensnared by the devil in one way or in another ; 
 and, of a truth, you are effectually caught by him, as often 
 as you permit to enter your soul anything which is an 
 occasion of these distracting thoughts. Eemember that 
 saying of St. James : “If anyone thinketh himself to be 
 religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own 
 heart, this man’s religion is vain”.* These words are 
 
 St. James i. 26. 
 
SEEKING GOD WITH SIMPLICITY. 
 
 371 
 
 to be understood of the internal tongue, no less than of 
 the bodily member, which is “ a world of iniquity”. 
 
 Besides seeking God — after having first cast forth all 
 curiosity — it is also necessary that you should seek Him 
 with a pure, upright, and perfect heart ; not, indeed, perfect 
 with that perfection which we expect to find in those who 
 have grown old in His service ; but with that perfection 
 which is looked for from beginners, according to that 
 well-known saying of St. Bernard : “If you are beginning, 
 begin perfectly ; if you have already made some advance, 
 make this also perfectly. But, if you have attained to 
 some degree of perfection, forgetting the things that are 
 behind, stretch yourself forth to the attainment of those 
 things which are of greater perfection.” * But because 
 we have already f treated of the generosity of heart with 
 which God must be sought, we will, after adding a few 
 more words bring the present section to a close. 
 
 Although, properly speaking, we cannot be large- 
 hearted and generous with respect to God — since He 
 needs nothing that we have, and, upon titles innumerable, 
 we and all that we have belong to Him — yet, in a 
 wide sense, those persons may be said to be large-hearted 
 and generous towards God, who, with great courage, 
 enter the way of God ; who suffer not themselves to be 
 cramped within the limits of vows and of precepts, but 
 with great alacrity hasten to carry into effect whatever 
 they know will please God. God loves and seeks for 
 these souls; for, as He Himself is most generous, He 
 looks for a heart that is also generous — that is to say, 
 a heart that is broad, ample, prepared for everything, 
 desiring and attempting to do great things ; He seeks for 
 such a heart as this in order that He may pour into 
 
 * St. Bernard, Ad fratres De Monte Dei. 
 
 + Chap, i., sect. iii. 
 
372 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 it, as into a vessel which is capable of containing it, all 
 the wealth of His grace and of His liberality. But, that 
 you may the better understand how well fitted is a heart 
 like this, for seeking God, and for finding Him in the 
 shortest possible space of time, listen to that which St. 
 Theresa says on this subject : “ His Majesty loves generous 
 souls, provided that they are humble as well as generous, 
 and that they go forward without presumption, and 
 without any confidence in themselves. I have never seen 
 any one of this character fail in the way, so as to be 
 unable to proceed ; just as I have never seen any one who 
 is timid and pusillanimous, even though he is humble, 
 make so much progress in many years, as they do in a 
 very few. 
 
 “ Of a truth, it is really wonderful what a great help it 
 is, in this way of life, to spur one’s selfionward to undertake 
 great and sublime works ; for, although we may not, at 
 the moment, have sufficient strength to complete them, yet 
 the soul, by attempting to do them, does actually rise to 
 a lofty height, although like a bird, the wings of which 
 are not yet strong enough to hear it upward, it may fall 
 to the earth through fatigue, and stay there for some time. 
 Moreover, I used often to have before my eyes and in my 
 mind that saying of St. Paul : ‘ I can do all things in 
 God ; for, I clearly understood that of myself I could do 
 nothing whatever ’. This was of great assistance to me, 
 as well as that saying of St. Austin : ‘ 0 Lord ! command 
 what thou pleasest, and give what Thou commandest \ 
 For, I used often to think that St. Peter lost nothing by 
 casting himself into the sea, even though he afterwards 
 began to fear.” A little farther on, she points out one of 
 the devil’s snares, by means of which, under the false pre- 
 text of humility, he endeavours so to depress souls that 
 they may not attempt any generous actions ; then she shows 
 
SEEKING GOD WITH SIMPLICITY. 
 
 373 
 
 how the knowledge which she has imparted may be made 
 practically useful, especially with respect to the imitation 
 of the Saints : “ Humility, then, must ever be kept before 
 our eyes ; for, by it we learn that of ourselves we have 
 not this virtue nor this strength. But, it is especially 
 necessary that we should know of what nature this 
 humility ought to be. For, it is my firm belief that the 
 devil does everything in his power to harass those who 
 give themselves to prayer and to the divine service, in 
 order by the worry and the unrest which his attacks 
 engender, to prevent them from making any notable pro- 
 gress in perfection. One of the ways in which he arrests 
 their onward march, is by causing them to have a wrong 
 notion of humility, and to fancy that they are proud if they 
 have any desire to perform sublime and generous actions : 
 to imitate the Saints, to desire martyrdom. For, he in- 
 sinuates that the actions of the Saints are to be admired, 
 rather than to be imitated. But, we may see at a glance, 
 that while some of these actions are, indeed, only to be 
 admired, there are many others which ought also to be 
 imitated. A sickly, delicate man, for instance, would not 
 act wisely, if he straightway desired to fast and to 
 practise the most rigorous austerities, and for this purpose 
 were to retire to a desert, in which he could neither sleep 
 nor find anything to eat. But, yet, even the weakest 
 among us ought to think that they are able, by the grace 
 of God, to do such violence to themselves as to contemn 
 the world, to hold honour in little esteem, and by degrees 
 to divest themselves of a love of wealth. 
 
 “We are, however, so pusillanimous and so abject of 
 soul, as readily to believe that the earth will fail us as soon 
 as we begin to relax somewhat in that excessive care which 
 we take of our bodies, and wish to give ourselves up to 
 the cultivation of our spiritual man; whereas just the 
 
374 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 reverse usually happens; for, no sooner do we devote 
 ourselves to the acquisition, let us say, of attention and 
 of recollection of soul, than all that is needed for our 
 temporal wants is most abundantly supplied to us. We 
 may also imitate the Saints in loving solitude, silence, 
 and many other virtues which will not tell very much 
 upon these our wretched and miserable bodies which 
 induce the soul to give them that which is not their due, 
 and desire to be led onward with so great moderation’ and 
 at so well-regulated a pace. Also, the devil himself, if 
 he sees us at the very outset shaken with fear, strives with 
 all his might to make our virtues of no use to us. He 
 desires nothing with more ardour than to increase this 
 fear, and to persuade us that every practice of mortifica- 
 tion will be injurious to us, and detrimental to our 
 health.” 
 
 Therefore, St. Theresa concludes thus : “It is, then, a 
 matter of great importance, that he who is beginning to 
 apply himself to prayer ” (and the remark holds good in 
 the case of him who is beginning the Religious Life) 
 “ should not be too much depressed and downcast ” 
 (which sentence means that he should be of a large and 
 generous heart with regard to God), “ and I pray you 
 to put implicit trust in me, with respect to this matter ; 
 for in it I have had a long and wide experience ”. 
 
 Therefore, begin your Religious Life with great courage. 
 Away with all pusillanimity, and dejection of soul. Exert 
 yourself to seek God with a great and noble heart. Do 
 not think that you will effect this by your own strength ; 
 but, trusting in God, say with the Apostle : “I can do all 
 things in Him Who strengtheneth me ”. 
 
JOYFULLY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 375 
 
 Section IY. 
 
 God must be Sought vrith Joy. 
 
 The Eoyal Psalmist says: “Let the heart of them 
 rejoice that seek the Lord,” * because God must be sought 
 with a cheerful and joyous heart. To seek Him in this 
 way is but reasonable, for he who seeks God is seeking 
 the supreme good ; and he will most certainly find Him, 
 if he seek Him with his whole heart. God gives joy and 
 strength on the way, and everything that is necessary for 
 us to obtain the end which we have in view. Therefore 
 David says : “ Thou hast not forsaken them that seek 
 Thee, O Lord ! ” f Again : “ Let them not be confounded 
 who seek Thee, O God of Israel Also, our holy 
 Father, in the Prologue to the Rule, says : “ But in 
 process of time, and by long continuance in this holy 
 course and method of life, the way of God’s command- 
 ments is run with unspeakable sweetness of love ”. 
 Because he who finds God is enriched and vivified by 
 Him ; for, “ He is the life and an infinite treasure ”. 
 
 Hence the Psalmist says : “ Seek God, and your soul 
 shall live”.§ Let the heart of those who seek the Lord 
 rejoice, because all who seek Him are in the company of 
 the Saints who are rejoicing and seeking Him. It is 
 related that the face of St. Alramius was always joyous. 
 St. Clare was full of joy even in the midst of her sick- 
 nesses. St. Prosper was joyous at death. St. Romuald* 
 in the midst of the greatest austerities, when attacked by 
 the temptations of the devil and by the envy of wicked 
 men, exercised himself with all the more humility and 
 assiduity in prayer, in fasting, and in the meditation of 
 heavenly things ; nevertheless, his face was always so 
 joyous that it inspired joy into the hearts of those who 
 * Ps. civ. 3. + Ps. ix. 11. X Ps. lxviii. 7. § Ps. lxviii. 33. 
 
376 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 looked upon him. St. William, Duke of Aquitaine, used 
 to sleep upon the bare earth, with a block of wood for his 
 pillow. He wore a hair shirt under his armour, and 
 practised great abstinence, and yet neither grief nor 
 adverse fortune ever changed the uniform serenity of his 
 countenance. Palladius, speaking of the holy Anchorites 
 and the companions of St. Apollo, the Abbot, says : “ You 
 might have seen them exulting in their solitude, and 
 with a joy so great that the like of it is not seen on earth. 
 No one among them was either melancholy or sad, but 
 if any of them wore an expression of sorrow upon his 
 face, the Abbot Apollo immediately asked him the cause, 
 and then each of them told him the secrets of his heart. 
 ‘ Be not sad about your salvation,’ he used to say, ‘ for we 
 shall be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. The Gentiles 
 shall be sad ; the Jews shall weep ; sinners shall lament ; 
 but the Just shall rejoice. Let those who are taken up 
 with earthly things rejoice in them; hut we, who are 
 deemed worthy of so great a hope, how can we do 
 otherwise than always rejoice, especially as the Apostle 
 exhorts us always to rejoice, and to pray without 
 ceasing.’ ” * 
 
 Such are the examples which the Saints have left for 
 our imitation. Now, although no one will expect you to 
 practise the rigorous austerities to which they, by the 
 inspiration of the Holy Spirit, subjected themselves, yet 
 we may with reason require that, amid the contradictions 
 and the adversities which are always to be found in the 
 lives of those who truly seek God, you should maintain a 
 perpetual serenity of mind and of countenance, “ for God 
 loveth a cheerful giver Hence St. Prosper says : 
 “ When you do good, cheerfully do it ; for if you do it 
 
 Thess. v. 16, 17. 
 
JOYFULLY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 377 
 
 with sadness of heart, you do it as a machine rather than 
 as a rational being Listen to the words of the Holy 
 Ghost speaking to you by the mouth of Ecclesiasticus : 
 “ Give not up thy soul to sadness, and afflict not thyself 
 in thy own counsel. The joyfulness of the heart is the 
 life of a man and a never-failing treasure of holiness ; and 
 the joy of a man is length of life. Have pity on thy own 
 soul, pleasing God, and contain thyself. Gather up thy 
 heart in His holiness, and drive away sadness far from 
 thee ; for sadness hath killed many, and there is no 
 profit in it.”f On this passage interpreters have made 
 many excellent remarks, out of which we consider it 
 fitting to select those which treat of the fruits and the 
 effects of joy ; also of the remedies which are considered 
 to be best for the cure of sadness. 
 
 The first fruit of joy is that it is, as it were, the very 
 life of man, whereas sadness is the very death of his life. 
 “ For a joyful mind maketh age flourishing ; a sorrowful 
 spirit drieth up the bones.” J 
 
 The second is that joy is a never-failing treasure of 
 sanctity. Because, as Menochius remarks, joy cherishes 
 sanctity, and sanctity joy : for there is an absence of joy 
 in the breasts of those who are conscious of sin. More- 
 over, joy is a treasure of sanctity, because it makes us 
 perform with eagerness all works of piety such as prayer, 
 fasting, and the like. Sadness, on the other hand, 
 makes us fear and flee from them, and exposes us to fall 
 into countless temptations. For this reason St. Antony 
 recommended his Religious, who led lives of great 
 austerity, to cultivate a joyous spirit, as being at one and 
 the same time both a shield and a remedy against tempta- 
 tion. “ There is one method,” he says, “ of warding off 
 
 * St. Prosper, sect. i. 12. t Cap. xxx. 22, 25. 
 
 X Prov. xvii. 22. 
 
378 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 all harm ; it is to have the spiritual joy of a soul that is 
 always thinking of God. This scatters the deceits of the 
 devil as the wind scatters smoke ; it pursues after its 
 adversaries rather than fears them . 55 
 
 The third fruit is that a man’s joyousness of heart 
 makes him long-lived, whereas sadness shortens his 
 days. Cornelius a Lapide, commenting on this passage, 
 gives the reason for both conclusions when he says : 
 “Joy exhilarates, vivifies, and strengthens the vital 
 forces which preserve the heart and the life of man, and 
 increase their strength. Sadness, however, has just the 
 contrary effect .’ 5 Speaking on the same subject, St. 
 Gregory Nazianzen says : “ Grief brings upon men pre- 
 mature old age ; and time never restores fresh life to him 
 whom sorrow has withered. An uneasy mind, like a 
 moth, eats into the very bones, but a body which throws 
 off all inordinate care is always flourishing . 55 Hypocra- 
 tes, Galen, and physicians generally, are of the same 
 opinion. Hence the School of Salerno gives these 
 counsels for ensuring a hale and hearty condition of 
 body: “If you have no physicians, these will be your 
 physicians : A joyful mind, moderate repose, and an 
 abstemious diet 55 . 
 
 We come now to speak of the remedies which are to 
 be used against sadness. Not to overburthen you with 
 precepts, we will give you but one, which is most 
 excellent. Take it, and make of it the best possible use. 
 It is nothing else than a good conscience, trusting in God, 
 and firmly fixed in Him. For, as St. Chrysostom says : 
 “ Nothing else is deserving of grief than the offence of 
 God. This, and this only, can sadden the mind of a wise 
 man. Wherefore St. Paul always rejoiced, because his 
 soul trusted in God.’ 5 * Also St. Bernard : “ Lead a good 
 * Horn, ad Pop. xxv. 
 
JOYFULLY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 379 
 
 life ; for a good life is always filled with joy, but a guilty 
 conscience is always on the rack ”. In another place he 
 says : “ There is nothing more pleasant, nothing more 
 secure, nothing more abounding in wealth, than a good 
 conscience. It will be tranquil though the flesh oppress, 
 though the world attract, though the devil terrify you. 
 A good conscience will be without fear when the body 
 dies, and when the soul is presented before the tribunal 
 of God. It will be unmoved when both soul and body 
 shall stand before the judgment-seat on the great 
 accounting day.” * It is this that the Holy Spirit com- 
 mands in the words : “ Pleasing God, have mercy upon 
 thy soul ; keep thy heart in His holiness, and drive sad- 
 ness far from thee ” ; or, as Cornelius a Lapide interprets 
 the passage : ‘ ‘ Do you wish to drive sadness far from 
 you, and to have joy always in your heart ? Have 
 mercy upon your soul, by taking care that it is always 
 pleasing unto God ; and for this purpose withhold it from 
 gratifying any of its evil concupiscences. You will 
 accomplish this if you take your heart from them and 
 bind it down to the service of holiness. If you can but 
 effect this, you will cast out of it all sadness.” The 
 words of the Wise Man have the same meaning : “ And 
 I have known that there was no better thing than to 
 rejoice, and to do well in this life,” f for joy and well- 
 doing are closely allied. They go hand-in-hand. There- 
 fore, if you wish always to rejoice, then always do good. 
 
 From this you will easily understand of what joy and 
 of what sorrow we have been speaking, — to wit, of 
 spiritual joy and of worldly sorrow. This latter is not a 
 gift of God, and must, in every possible way, be shunned 
 and kept at a distance ; the former must be cherished, 
 and every possible endeavour be made to increase your 
 * Be inter, domo, cap. xlv. J Eccles. iii. 12. 
 
380 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 store of it. Far from the heart of a Beligious be all 
 worldly joy, which is profane, light, dissolute ; which puts 
 to flight all that is good ; which fills the soul with 
 giddiness, with vanity ; and at last, though by slow 
 degrees, leads it to rejoice when it does evil, and to 
 exult in most wicked things. Of this joy Our Lord says 
 in the Gospel : “Woe to you that now laugh, for you 
 shall mourn and weep 
 
 But, by no means ought we to shun or to put to flight 
 that sorrow or sadness which is begotten of compunction ; 
 which springs from the consideration of one’s own and of 
 other men’s sins ; of the bitter Passion of Christ, the 
 compassion of Our Lady, the dangers which beset the 
 way of salvation, the pains of Purgatory, the prolongation 
 of our stay in this vale of tears, and the like ; for the 
 Scripture says : “ Blessed are they that mourn, for they 
 shall be comforted ”. 
 
 Of this sorrow Cassian says : “ It is very useful, when 
 it is begotten of compunction for sin, or of the desire of 
 perfection, or the contemplation of future beatitude. It 
 is of this that St. Paul is speaking when he says : “ Sorrow 
 that is according to God, worketh penance steadfast unto 
 salvation ; but the sorrow of the world worketh death ”.f 
 But that sorrow which worketh penance steadfast unto 
 salvation is obedient, affable, humble, meek, gentle, and 
 patient, inasmuch as it springs from the charity of God, 
 and through an ardent desire of perfection, incessantly 
 stretches itself forth to every bodily pain, to every mental 
 sorrow ; and being filled with joy, and vivified with the 
 hope of its own advancement, it retains all the sweetness 
 of affability and long-suffering, having in itself the fruits 
 of the Holy Spirit, which fruits the same Apostle 
 enumerates : “ But the fruit of the Spirit are charity, joy, 
 * St. Luke vi. 25. + 2 Cor. vii. 10. 
 
BBAVELY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 381 
 
 peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mild- 
 ness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity”.* 
 
 There follow now both the signs and the effects of the 
 world’s sorrow, which is not according to God. It is 
 most bitter, impatient, hard, full of rancour, of fruitless 
 grief, and of torturing despair. When it has cast its 
 bands around a man, it paralyses his labour ; it crushes 
 his strength, and, being irrational, calls his mind away 
 from salutary grief ; it destroys the efficacy of his prayer, 
 and fastens a withering blight upon all those spiritual 
 fruits which grow out of prayer. Therefore, with the 
 exception of that sorrow which is conceived through a 
 spirit of repentance, or through a zeal for perfection, or 
 through a desire of future good, all other grief is to be 
 rejected and thrust out of the heart, as if it was the spirit 
 of fornication, or of avarice, or of wrath.l As a remedy 
 for vain, misplaced joy, and for all hurtful sorrow, pass 
 in review that which has been said in the first section of 
 this chapter about the love of real good, and the hatred 
 of real evil. If you love nothing but that which is really 
 good, and hate nothing but that which is really evil, you 
 will rejoice only at real good, and you will be sad only at 
 real evil. Thus both your joy and your sorrow will be in 
 accordance with right reason, and with the will of God. 
 
 Section V. 
 
 At dll times God must be Sought with a Brave and Undaunted 
 
 Spirit. 
 
 The Royal Psalmist concludes his exhortation on truly 
 seeking God, with these words: “ Seek ye the Lord, and be 
 
 * Galai. v. 22. + Cassian, Instit., lib. ix., cap. x., xi. 
 
382 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 strengthened; seek His face evermore”.* This verse con- 
 tains two salutary precepts, the fulfilment of which is very 
 necessary for those who desire truly to seek and to find 
 God: first, to seek Him with fortitude; secondly, never to 
 give over seeking Him. On both these we will offer a few 
 suggestions, which will be of considerable advantage to you. 
 
 God is not found in the land of those who live in a 
 soft and effeminate manner ; for, “ narrow is the way that 
 leads to life ”. Moreover, so many are the contrivances, 
 the frauds, and the snares of our enemies ; so many the 
 sometimes open assaults which they make upon those 
 who wish to begin a better life, and especially upon those 
 who wish to undertake the Eeligious Life, that it is said, 
 and not without good reason, that more than ordinary 
 fortitude and courage are necessary in order to preserve a 
 man either from growing cool in his zeal of truly seeking 
 God, and God only, or from altogether failing in his 
 purpose of so doing. “ Wonderful and truly to be dreaded 
 are the onslaughts which the devil makes upon us,” says 
 St. Theresa ; “ for he paints before our minds vivid pictures 
 of the world’s empty glories; he represents its fleeting 
 pleasures as if they were to last for ever ; he tells us of 
 the high esteem in which these are held by its votaries ; 
 he suggests thoughts about our friends and our relatives ; 
 he points out how bodily health is ruined by corporal 
 austerities, and strews in our way a thousand other diffi- 
 culties of a similar nature. How violent, O my Jesus ! 
 are the storms, how dreadful the whirlwinds and the 
 tempests, which are raised by the evil spirit ! Oh, how 
 great is the affliction of the poor, wretched soul, which 
 knows not whether to advance farther or to turn back.” 
 But yet give not way before these evils ; bravely withstand 
 them, trusting in the aid of God, and not in your own 
 
 Ps. civ. 4. 
 
BKAVELY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 383 
 
 strength, which yon know is but a feeble reed. Follow St. 
 Theresa’s advice : “ Be on the watch, and suffer not your- 
 self to be overcome. For if the devil perceive that you 
 are firmly resolved to lose your repose, and all the goods 
 which he can offer, yea, and even your very life, rather 
 than yield one foot, he will cease to molest you.” 
 
 Therefore, do manfully, and be not one of those who, 
 like the men who went with Gideon to the battle, lie 
 prostrate on the river’s bank and drink from the running 
 stream. But bear in mind that you are going to fight 
 against all the devils of hell, and that you cannot case 
 yourself in armour of better proof than in the armour of the 
 Cross.” * To make your resolution all the stronger, re- 
 member that the world is full of deceit and of lies ; that 
 the very pleasures which the devil holds out to you are 
 intermingled with labours, anxieties, and contradictions 
 without number ; that all these things have an end ; for 
 the men who have enjoyed them, even unto satiety, at 
 last die — some of them suddenly ; their memory perishes 
 with them ; there is no longer any recollection of them. 
 They lie mouldering in the dust, and the feet of the 
 passers-by trample upon them. Moreover, attentively 
 consider, and ask yourself in the light which faith pours 
 around you, whether you can procure for yourself a better 
 or a more sincere friend and lover than is God, the Fountain 
 of all good, even though you were to live till the latest 
 moment which is measured out as the limit of human 
 life ? Call to your aid the example of the Saints and of 
 holy men, and say to yourself as St. Augustine did : 
 “Can not you do what these men and these women were 
 able to do, though they were as frail as you yourself are ? ” 
 
 To this, one other most effectual means may be added 
 and employed in order to calm these spiritual tempests. 
 
 * Castle of the Soul, Mans, ii., cap. i. 
 
384 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 It is one that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit, 
 through the mouth of Isaias, and is to be found in the 
 words : “ In silence and in hope shall your strength be”.* 
 On these supports your fortitude must rest. Therefore 
 in silence — that is to say, without murmur, without 
 complaint, with undisturbed mind — tranquilly, silently, 
 and patiently submit yourself to every tribulation as 
 being sent by God, and await your salvation and your 
 deliverance at the hand of the Lord • for, as the Prophet 
 Jeremias says, in the Lamentations : “ It is good to wait 
 with silence for the salvation of God ” ; f and Moses, to 
 the trembling Israelites : “The Lord will fight for you, 
 and you shall hold your peace *\ J Isaias speaks of the 
 strength which is infused into the hearts of men by a 
 firm hope and confidence in God: “They that hope in 
 the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take 
 wings as eagles, they shall run and shall not be weary, 
 they shall walk and shall not faint ” ; § and Jeremias, in 
 the chapter already cited, says : “ The Lord is good to 
 them that hope in Him, to the soul that seeketh Him ”.|| 
 With these the Eoyal Psalmist joins his voice : “ Because 
 he hoped in Me, I will deliver him ; I will protect him 
 because he hath known My name. I am with him in 
 tribulation ; I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” H 
 Further proof from the Sacred Scripture is needless. 
 Therefore with these arms manfully defend yourself 
 against all your enemies, repeating with humble confi- 
 dence these words of the Eoyal Psalmist : “I will love 
 Thee, O Lord ! my strength ; the Lord is my firmament, 
 my refuge, and my deliverance. My God is my helper ; 
 in Him will I put my trust.** The Lord is my light and 
 
 * Cap. xxx. 15. * Cap. iii. 26. t Exod. xiv. 14. 
 
 § Isa. xl. 31. || Serin, iii. 25. H Ps. xc. 14. 
 
 ** Ps. xvii. 2. 
 
BRAVELY SEEKING GOD. 
 
 385 
 
 my salvation ; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the pro- 
 tector of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ? If armies 
 in camp shall stand together against me, my heart shall 
 not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this 
 will I be confident.” * “In Thee, 0 Lord, I have hoped ; 
 let me never be put to confusion.” f 
 
 The second precept is never to give over seeking God ; 
 that is, He must be sought from the first moment in 
 which you enter the Monastery, till the last breath of your 
 mortal life. Therefore never let the idea gain possession 
 of your mind, that it is enough to go through the year of 
 the Novitiate with a certain amount of fervour. Do not 
 buoy yourself up with the empty hope of some time or 
 other enjoying greater liberty. Do not imagine that 
 when yoti have made your profession, or have been 
 ordained a priest, or have been raised to this position of 
 trust, or to that important office, you will then have more 
 freedom for self-indulgence. God forbid that either 
 these, or similar notions, should ever find a resting-place 
 in your brain, or that they should even casually present 
 themselves to your mind ; for unless these, and all other 
 ideas of a like nature, are utterly thrust out and kept at a 
 distance, and the very opposite ideas introduced and 
 cherished in your heart, you are not seeking God ; you 
 have abandoned Him ; you are not advancing towards 
 Him ; you have departed from Him. 
 
 The principles wherewith the mind must, in the very 
 beginning, be imbued, in order to counteract the influence 
 of these hurtful ideas, are the following : “ The Religious 
 State is a perpetual violence to nature ; the present life 
 is not a time for ease, but for labour ; in the Novitiate 
 the foundation of the Spiritual Life is laid, and on that 
 all your future life is built, and daily must that edifice be 
 * Ps. xxvi. 1,3. f Ibid., lxx. 1. 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 cleansed and adorned. By Beligious Profession, by the 
 priesthood, by dignities and offices, new titles for greater 
 responsibility are received, but not for greater freedom of 
 life ; for those who are professed, the Eeligious Life is not 
 a free life, but one in which they are bound, under penalty 
 of sin, to tend to perfection ; so that, if before their death 
 they desist from their attempt to tend to this perfection, 
 they expose themselves to the sentence of eternal dam- 
 nation.” Give an attentive ear to that which is said on 
 this point, by a famous ascetical writer : “Let the Novice 
 and the Religious imprint this resolve indelibly upon 
 both mind and heart. In this Order I wish to seek and to 
 serve God ; I firmly purpose, no matter what may happen 
 to me, to live and to die in this service and in this search ; 
 I will never withdraw the hand which I have put to the 
 plough, nor will I, as Lot’s wife did, look back.” This 
 resolution must be understood not only of not returning 
 to the world, and of not growing remiss, but, also, after 
 profession, of striving to advance with even greater 
 fervour. “Who is the true and faithful Monk ? ” asks 
 St. John Climacus; and he replies : “He who from his 
 entrance into Religion has kept the fire of his spiritual 
 life unextinguished ; he who till his last breath has been 
 constant in adding fire to fire, heat to heat, zeal to zeal, 
 desire to desire 
 
 Therefore do you also be faithful unto death, that you 
 may receive the crown of life, which is given only to those 
 who persevere unto the end, and contend against their 
 foes to the last. Never, at any time, abandon your first 
 charity, but strive daily to increase it, lest you be 
 reproached with the same words with which the Apostle 
 rebuked the Galatians : “ O senseless Galatians, who 
 hath bewitched you ? Are you so foolish that, whereas 
 you began in the spirit, you would now be made perfect 
 
EXAMPLE OF CHRIST, SEEKING GOD. 
 
 387 
 
 by the flesh?”* Never suffer yourself to be shaken in 
 your resolve, by any motives, or by any examples, or by 
 any words of any persons whomsoever. You will not, on 
 the great accounting day, be judged by these things. 
 You will not then be asked either how other men have 
 lived, or what they have said, but in what way you and 
 others have lived according to the Rule and to the State 
 of which you have made profession. 
 
 Section YI. 
 
 Of Truly Seeking God made more manifest by the Doings 
 and the Sayings of Christ . 
 
 In order that you may understand how all that has 
 thus far been said on truly seeking God, is in admirable 
 accord with the teaching and the example of Christ, as 
 both these are described for us in the Gospel narrative, 
 we will take from St. Luke,+ for our consideration, one 
 passage in which mention is made of three men who 
 wished to follow Our Lord. The first of these was 
 rejected ; the other two were admitted, on certain condi- 
 tions, to follow Him. 
 
 “ And it came to pass as they walked in the way that 
 a certain man said to Him : I will follow Thee whither- 
 soever Thou goest.” St. Matthew J calls him a Scribe. 
 This Scribe, as the Fathers think, came to Our Lord with 
 an evil intention — first, to obtain vain glory; for he 
 thought that he would be empowered by Our Lord to 
 work miracles, from which he would win for himself the 
 honour, the applause, and the glory of men. Secondly, to 
 satisfy his avarice ; for, “seeing,” says St. Jerome, “ the 
 
 * Galat. iii. 1, 3. f St. Luke ix. 57. + Cap. viii. 
 
388 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 greatness of the signs which were wrought by Jesus, he 
 hoped that wealth would flow in upon him from the 
 working of similar deeds Thirdly, to seek his own 
 advantage, while in the meantime he cunningly pre- 
 tended to seek the Lord. St. Augustine says that this 
 Scribe wished, through mere curiosity, to follow Christ. 
 This is intimated in Our Lord’s reply, by the words “ the 
 birds have nests Yet, while simulating a wish to be 
 Christ’s disciple, he craftily concealed his real intention. 
 This fraud is signified by the words “ the foxes have their 
 lairs ”. 
 
 Finally, the Fathers take notice, that this Scribe is 
 proudly presumptuous, and therefore that he boldly said 
 to Christ : “ I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou 
 goest Jesus said to him : “The foxes have their lairs, 
 and the birds of heaven their nests, but the Son of man 
 hath not whereon to lay His head Commentators say 
 that the Scribe was repulsed by these words. It was as 
 if Christ had said : “ The Son of man hath not whereon 
 to lay His head in thy faith ; for the foxes have their 
 lairs in thy heart, inasmuch as thou art cunning ; the 
 birds of the air have their nests in thy heart, inasmuch 
 as thou art light and giddy. Thou shalt not follow Me 
 n thy craftiness and in thy levity ; for how can crafti- 
 ness follow simplicity ? ” From these words it is easy 
 to understand the cause of his rejection. But to make 
 the matter still clearer, hear what St. Augustine says : 
 “ Why is it that this Scribe, who was so ready to 
 follow Christ, nevertheless did not find favour in His 
 sight ? It was because Our Lord saw through him. If 
 this man had followed Jesus, it would have been but to 
 seek his own advantage, and not the things that are 
 Christ’s.” * In another place he says : “ Jesus saw that 
 * Sermo vii. de Verb. Bom. 
 
EXAMPLE OF CHKIST, SEEKING GOD. 389 
 
 the man was darkened by crafty simulation, and puffed 
 up with windy self-elation. There was not in him any 
 place in which the Teacher of humility could repose. In 
 striving to become a disciple of Christ, it was not Christ’s 
 grace that he sought, but the glory which might 
 redound to himself from being in Christ’s company.” * 
 
 St. Paschasius speaks thus, on the passage in question : 
 “ Christ rejected this Scribe, who did not wish really to 
 follow Him, but only to pretend to follow Him. He 
 detested his presumption. For how otherwise could He 
 repel this man, who wished to follow Him, and yet 
 retained with Him another man who desired to abandon 
 Him ? ” It is evident, therefore, that this Scribe was 
 rejected by Christ on account of his pride, his duplicity, 
 and his unworthy motives. If you are conscious that 
 there is in your heart any fault of this nature, mark well 
 these words, and fear the threat which is uttered by Ec- 
 clesiasticus : “Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, 
 and let not thy lips be a stumbling-block to thee. Watch 
 over them, lest thou fall and bring dishonour upon thy 
 soul, and God discover thy secrets and cast thee down in 
 the midst of the Congregation. Because thou earnest to 
 the Lord wickedly, and thy heart is full of guile and 
 deceit.” f For although you may, perhaps, for a time 
 deceive men, yet God, to Whom are manifest all the 
 thoughts and the secrets of men’s hearts, will not suffer 
 a plant of so hurtful a nature to occupy the ground of a 
 Beligious Community, or if for some good reason He does 
 permit it, there is grave cause to fear that, on the last 
 day, He will deliver you up to be burnt with unquenchable 
 fire, unless, indeed, sincere repentance intervene between 
 you and His wrath to save you from utter destruction. 
 
 Contra Faustinum, lib. xxii. cap. xlviii. 
 
 + Cap. i. 37-40. 
 
390 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 But to another He said: “Follow Me”. And he' said: 
 “Lord, suffer me first to go and to bury my father”.* 
 This is that second disciple mentioned by St. Luke. 
 According to St. Bonaventure, this man was of a character 
 altogether different from that of the Scribe. He was 
 humble, simple, loving, and faithful. St. Chrysostom, 
 speaking of him, says : “ Observe how great is the 
 difference between these two men : the first says, with 
 impudent boldness : ‘ I will follow Thee whithersoever 
 Thou goest \ The second, although making an excellent 
 petition, does not wish to go away without obtaining his 
 request.’’ f St. Hilary says that, in the words of the 
 Scribe, the absence of faith is apparent ; but not in the 
 words of the disciple. St. Ambrose observes : “ The 
 disciple is forced to stay ; the Scribe is sent away, to give 
 you to understand that the devout are accepted, the in- 
 devout are excluded ”.J Let us now consider the answer 
 which Christ gave to the disciple : “ And Jesus said to 
 him : Let the dead bury their dead ; but go thou and 
 preach the kingdom of God ”. By these words, Christ 
 did not reject the humble, simple, loving, and faithful 
 disciple ; but, by a salutary instruction, taught him to 
 follow in His footsteps, not with a divided but with a 
 whole heart ; also, not to hamper himself with unnecessary 
 care and business, even under the pretext of filial piety. 
 By this excellent lesson He confirmed the doctrine 
 which we have been endeavouring to teach, that, namely, 
 of seeking God with an upright and perfect heart. 
 
 “ And another said : I will follow Thee, Lord ; but let 
 me first take my leave of them that are at my house.” 
 These are the words of the third disciple, who wished to 
 follow Our Lord. The dispositions of this man’s soul 
 
 * St. Luke ix. 59. + S. Chrys., Horn, xxvii. 
 
 t In Lucam , lib. vii., cap. ix. 
 
EXAMPLE OF CHRIST, SEEKING GOD. 391 
 
 seem to have been the same as were those of the second 
 disciple, concerning whom we have just spoken. His 
 mistake was the same as that of the Scribe, for he was 
 chiefly solicitous about temporal matters, and made little 
 account of those which are eternal. This is in direct op- 
 position to the express teaching of Jesus Christ, Who said 
 “ Seek ye first the kingdom of God”. Our most loving 
 Saviour made answer : “No man putting his hand to the 
 plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God 
 Explaining this passage, St. Gregory says : “ By putting 
 one’s hand to the plough, is signified the opening of one’s 
 heart by the ploughshare of compunction, in order to 
 make it bring forth worthy fruits of penance. But to 
 look back is to return to the evil which one has aban- 
 doned.”*' Euthymius observes : “He who follows Christ 
 must once for all despise everything else, and tread in 
 His footsteps ; he must not even take his eyes off Him, 
 lest he be caught and held a prisoner by the attractive 
 spectacle of those things which he has left behind ”.f 
 Hence that saying of St. Chrysostom : “ All good works 
 receive their reward, when they have been persevered in 
 till the end. But if, in the performance of them, any 
 interruption is suffered to take place, no small ruin is the 
 consequence.” It is evident, therefore, with what earnest- 
 ness Christ desires His followers to tread in His footsteps, 
 with a brave, constant, and persevering mind ; and also 
 upon how solid a foundation of Gospel teaching rests the 
 doctrine of truly and with the whole heart seeking God. 
 
 In conclusion, observe how hateful unto God are pride, 
 cunning, and pretence ; for it was because of these vices 
 that He rejected the petition of the Scribe, who wished 
 to be admitted into the number of His disciples. But 
 mark, on the other hand, how acceptable unto Him is a 
 * Horn. iii. in Ezech. + Ayud Sylver., xix. 
 
392 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 soul that is humble, simple, and faithful, such as was the 
 soul of each of the other two. For although both com- 
 mitted a fault, by being too solicitous about worldly 
 matters, yet our most kind Lord did not exclude them 
 from the college of His disciples. He most gently and 
 most wisely laid bare their error, in which they, being 
 men of good-will, did not obstinately persevere, but, in 
 conformity with the instruction which He gave them, 
 hastened to lay aside. 
 
 Therefore, if any Novice, after having attentively 
 considered and well weighed all these matters, shall 
 discover that he has not entered upon the Monastic State 
 with all the good intentions wherewith he ought to have 
 entered upon it, let him not, on that account, be dejected, 
 but laying aside, as speedily as may be, those which are 
 faulty, let him hasten to conform, as far as possible, 
 with the instructions which have been given in the present 
 chapter. But if (which God forbid) he prefers 
 obstinately to go on in his pride, in his hypocrisy, and in 
 his error, let him fear that the terrible threats which are 
 written in the pages of Holy Scripture may become, in 
 his case, fearful realities, and he himself be made an 
 example of that temporal and of that eternal misery, 
 which is the lot of those who do not seek God with a 
 sincere and upright heart: ‘‘Be not deceived; God is 
 not mocked ”. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of being Solicitous foe the “Woek of God”. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 What the Novice must do to show that he is solicitous 
 for the Work of God. 
 
 As we have already, from various points of view, 
 examined the subject of truly seeking God, and 
 have proved that it is the centre round which the 
 whole spiritual life may be said to turn, we are in the 
 next place directed, by the order which our holy Father 
 has prescribed, to instruct you about the solicitude which 
 you ought to show for the “ Work or Service of God 
 This is a subject, the consideration of which opens for us 
 the door of a well-filled garner, whence many lessons for 
 our edification may be drawn ; for, as Interpreters of the 
 Rule inform us, by solicitude for the “ Work of God ” is 
 meant care for all those things which pertain to God, 
 such as both public and private prayer ; worship of the 
 Saints ; recollection of soul, or renovation of spirit ; 
 examination of conscience ; spiritual reading ; the Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass ; the use of the Sacraments, and 
 particularly of the Eucharist and of Penance ; spiritual 
 conferences ; the acts of the various virtues, and especially 
 of the theological virtues. But, because our space is 
 limited, and many of these subjects have already been 
 treated of by other ascetical writers, we purpose, at present, 
 
394 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 to speak of only those matters which are suitable for 
 Novices. We will, therefore, divide the present chapter 
 into two parts. In the first, we will treat in general of 
 what you must do, in order to be solicitous for the 
 “ Work of God ” ; in the second, we will suggest certain 
 counsels which you must follow out in the acts and the 
 exercises which usually go by the name “ Work of 
 God”. 
 
 First of all, and before everything else, you must 
 entertain a high idea, and conceive a great love of all that 
 pertains to God. This idea and this love, you must, by 
 every means in your power, endeavour to cherish and to 
 increase. For as our Order, and all other Orders which 
 have imitated it, are, on the one hand, primarily concerned 
 with the contemplative life ; and as, on the other, it may 
 easily happen, owing to our natural infirmity, that, by 
 familiarity with these duties, we at last fall into a habit 
 of performing them in a mechanical sort of way, and then 
 conceive a dislike for them, it is evidently a matter of the 
 greatest moment to fill the mind with a profound esteem 
 for them, and with a firm conviction that, as the body 
 cannot live without food, so also the spirit, without the 
 support of these principles, cannot retain its vigorous 
 life, but must of necessity faint away and expire. 
 
 You must use all diligence to understand the Breviary, 
 the Monastic Chant, and the ceremonies which are 
 observed in the Order. Before the Divine Office, care- 
 fully search out everything that is to be read ; see it all 
 beforehand, and read it through. Do not content your- 
 self with a merely material knowledge of it, and with 
 only the external observance of all the rites and the 
 ceremonies which accompany it ; besides that, strive to 
 fathom their mystical signification, and to infuse life into 
 them by means of suitable affections. 
 
SOLICITUDE FOR THE “ WORK OF GOD 395 
 
 If the office of giving the signal for proceeding to Choir, 
 or for attending the other spiritual exercises, is intrusted 
 to your care, be exact in the fulfilment of its duties, by being 
 neither before nor behind the appointed time ; thus you 
 will comply with that statute of the forty-seventh 
 chapter, which ordains that “ all things be done at their 
 appointed times Do not cause any delay either during 
 the day Office, or during any conventual acts. For each 
 of the Canonical Hours, and for all other Eeligious 
 exercises, have your own pious intentions, joined with 
 fervent and suitable affections. 
 
 By means of lively faith, endeavour to remember the 
 presence of God and of His holy Angels, and strive with 
 all your might to keep the consciousness of it ever before 
 your mind ; for from this, as from a fountain-head, there 
 flow all the other internal as well as external requisites 
 for profitably assisting at the Divine Office, such as a 
 becoming posture of body, the avoiding of all curiosity, 
 custody of the eyes, repression of laughter, silence, and 
 the rest ; together with the greatest outward reverence, 
 humility, attention, and fervent devotion. 
 
 Exercises of devotion are of two kinds : first, those 
 which are common to all, and are prescribed by Eule ; 
 secondly, those which are private, that is to say, which 
 are adopted by individuals, over and above those to which 
 they are bound. With respect to exercises of the first 
 kind, be careful to conform, in every particular, with the 
 usual custom of the Monastery in which you live, as far 
 as regards time, place, manner, and the rest ; and take 
 it for granted that if, either during the Novitiate, or at 
 any other time, you presume, without a lawful reason, 
 freely approved of by Superiors, either to absent yourself 
 from these, or to be guilty of wilful negligence during the 
 performance of them, it is an unmistakable sign of 
 
396 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 spiritual decay, which, unless speedily checked, will end 
 in total ruin ; just as it is a manifest sign of bodily 
 illness when our ordinary food begins to he nauseous to 
 us, and an indication of the advent of some grave malady 
 which may imperil our life, unless a speedy remedy is 
 applied. Now, although this care must be extended to 
 all duties which are performed in common, yet par- 
 ticular attention should be paid to Choir duties, which 
 claim so large a share of our attention, and in the per- 
 formance of which we spend so considerable a part of our 
 daily life. The devil, knowing well what great advan- 
 tages fervent Eeligious derive from this exercise, 
 endeavours by every means in his power to inspire them 
 with a disgust for it, and to make them hold it in but 
 little esteem. This he strives to do, sometimes by 
 suggesting that other exercises are productive of greater 
 good ; sometimes by scoffing at it ; now it is by his own 
 personal agency ; and again, it is by the agency of others 
 who savour earthly rather than heavenly things. There- 
 fore, the soul must be fully equipped, in order to meet and 
 to turn aside these fiery darts of the most wicked one. 
 Its armour should consist in a firm resolve, constantly to 
 persevere in this holy and truly angelic exercise, through- 
 out the period of this mortal life ; unless, of course,- the 
 express and unsought-for mandate of Superiors shall 
 determine otherwise ; for to this mandate we must yield 
 a ready obedience, while at the same time we retain, 
 fresh and unimpaired, our esteem and our love of this 
 excellent duty. 
 
 With respect to private devotions, the following rules 
 must be observed. In the performance of them, all 
 singularity must be avoided ; that is to say, none of the 
 common exercises prescribed by obedience must, on their 
 account, be either shortened or omitted. They must not 
 
SOLICITUDE FOE THE “ WOEK OF GOD 397 
 
 be considered to be of greater moment than are the 
 ordinary public exercises, especially if these private 
 devotions have reference to some object which is not so 
 noble as is the object of the public exercises. To persist 
 in regarding them as of greater worth would be a 
 grievous mistake, and productive of incalculable mischief 
 in the case of even those who are apparently far advanced 
 in perfection. Hence St. Bernard speaks, with a certain 
 degree of well-merited sarcasm, concerning Religious 
 whose affections are wedded to their own ideas in this 
 respect : “ They are more smugly satisfied with one fast 
 observed by them, while the rest of the Community have 
 dined, than with a fast of seven days made in common 
 with their Brethren ; and one little prayer privately 
 offered up by them, is sweeter than the whole Psalter 
 recited in Choir 
 
 A too great clinging to these private devotions, must be 
 carefully guarded against. The existence of some such 
 obstinate adherence to them would be indicated by the 
 conduct of that Brother, who, when called upon by obedi- 
 ence, or by any other manifestation of the divine will, to 
 accomplish any duty, should be troubled, saddened, 
 and wearied in the execution of the command, without, 
 however, altogether refusing to comply with it ; for, no 
 matter how pleasing they may be to self-will, it is never- 
 theless certain that exercises of piety are pleasing to 
 God, then and then only, when they are in conformity 
 with His divine will. With respect to both the points 
 just mentioned, there is, in the works of Blosius, an ex- 
 cellent passage, in which, describing the devout and 
 obedient Religious, he says : “ He always prefers ordinary 
 duties done through obedience, to those works of supereroga- 
 tion, the performance of which is left to his own discretion, 
 *De Grad Superbioe, 
 
398 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 and this, too, even though the actions ordered by obedi- 
 ence are contrary to his own taste, and seem to him to 
 be barren and insipid. If a Eeligious who is thus minded 
 happens to be engaged in spiritual reading, or in holy 
 meditation, and is suddenly called away by the command 
 of his Superior to perform some worthless, or some use- 
 less action — such, for instance, as gathering up straws — 
 he delays not for a single instant, but straightway, with- 
 out gainsaying the command, without passing any judg- 
 ment upon it, he interrupts his studies in order to obey, and 
 in this way he wisely leaves God for the sake of God. For, 
 that which in itself is worthless and of little moment, is 
 made precious and of marvellous excellence by means of 
 obedience.” In another place, quoting Thaulerus, he says : 
 “If any one, by the grace of God, had reached so high 
 a degree of sanctity as always to see God visibly present 
 before him, and was called away to some work of 
 obedience, he ought humbly to say to Our Lord : * My 
 dearest Father ! permit me, I beseech Thee, to perform 
 this work for love of Thee \ Believe me, such a humble 
 denial of self-will for God’s sake, is far more pleasing to 
 Our Divine Lord than to penetrate into the kingdom of 
 heaven, and to mingle with the company of the blessed 
 Spirits.” In these exercises of piety, and in all the actions 
 which you perform in public, let there be a total absence 
 of affectation. According to the wish of our holy Father, 
 enter the Oratory with all simplicity, and pray with 
 earnestness and compunction of heart. What is said of 
 the Oratory must be understood also of all other places 
 and of all similar actions. 
 
 These private devotions must not be multiplied beyond 
 measure, but be kept within judicious bounds, which 
 ought to be determined by your spiritual Father ; for, 
 anything that is done without his permission must be 
 
SOLICITUDE FOR THE “ WORK OF GOD 
 
 399 
 
 set down to presumption and jbo vainglory, and for it 
 there will not be any reward, as our holy Father observes 
 in the forty-ninth chapter of his Rule. 
 
 With these provisos and safeguards, strive by every 
 means in your power to preserve and to increase a true 
 and sincere spirit of devotion. “Devotion,” according 
 to St. Bernard, “ infuses joy into the germs of all virtues ; 
 it pours the sunshine of cheerfulness into all great works ; 
 it fills with moisture even the arid barrenness of dry bones. 
 For this singular devotion towards God floods the heart 
 with joy; it is, as it were, a sealed and private fountain, 
 set apart in order to water the heart of the spouse with 
 the delights of the bridegroom.” * “ Fervour,” says St. 
 
 Bonaventure, “is devotion’s fire, which ought always to 
 burn upon the altar of the heart. The devout Religious 
 must feed this fire with the wood of divine praise, lest at 
 any time, through sloth, or through other occupations, 
 the flame should die out.” f 
 
 According to this Seraphic Doctor, three things are 
 necessary for the preservation of this spirit of devotion. 
 The first is a constant remembrance of the presence of 
 God: “I set the Lord always in my sight J “My 
 eyes are ever towards the Lord ”.§ For as the Angels, 
 although sent upon various missions, yet always contem- 
 plate the Divinity, so also a virtuous man, to the best of 
 his ability, ought to keep the memory of God’s presence 
 always in his heart. Hence, if at any time that presence 
 fade away, let him reproach himself for suffering this to 
 occur. St. Bernard says : “ Regard as lost all that time 
 in which you do not think of God; for although you 
 cannot always have your thoughts actually directed to 
 Him, yet, at least, when you think of it, direct the eyes 
 
 * In Cantic ., Sermo xxxv. t De Sex alls , cap. viii. J Ps. xv. 8. 
 
 § Ps, xxiv. 15. 
 
400 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 of your heart towards Him. When such an opportunity 
 presents itself, let this recollection of His presence be 
 formed into meditation, or into prayer. Act, in this 
 respect, as those industrious sculptors do, who carry 
 about with them the materials from which to carve their 
 works of art ; for, like them, you will then be able to take 
 advantage of every opportunity which presents itself, not 
 indeed of improving yourself in a worldly art, but of 
 advancing the work of your eternal salvation.”* 
 
 The second is a constant desire to please God in every- 
 thing that you either do or say ; so that being always in 
 His presence, you may carefully avoid what will displease 
 Him, may be sorry if you do anything that offends Him, 
 and may study how to satisfy, daily more and more, His 
 wishes in your regard, according to that of the Apostle : 
 “ We labour, whether absent or present, to please Him”.+ 
 
 The third is in all your actions to begin with prayer ; 
 to return thanks for all benefits ; to offer praise to God ; 
 and in everything that you do, to put trust in the efficacy 
 of prayer rather than in your own labour and industry. 
 “As we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes 
 to Thee ”4 Our holy Father gives the same advice in 
 the Prologue of the Rule : “ First of all, whatever good 
 work thou dost begin, beg of Him with most earnest 
 prayer to perfect 
 
 From this you may learn what is that in which true 
 solid devotion consists. To give you a clearer notion of 
 it, and thus, in the very beginning, prevent any mistake 
 in the matter, we will here cite what Blosius says about 
 true devotion : “ True devotion consists in complete 
 submission of one’s will to the guidance of authority, in 
 resignation, in self-denial, and in humility, rather than 
 in sensible sweetness. To experience aridity and desola- 
 * Medit. vi. + 2 Cor. v 9. £ 2 Paralip. xix. 12. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “THE WORK OF GOD 401 
 
 tion of heart, is certainly far more useful for the advance- 
 ment of your eternal well-being, than to be flooded with 
 loving desires, and feasted upon the luxurious fare 
 wherewith God is wont to regale beginners. Very 
 pleasing unto God is that man who, filled with the spirit of 
 faith and of divine love, can say with all humility, in the 
 midst of his poverty and of his barrenness : “ O Lord ! 
 though I am unclean, and unworthy of any of that conso- 
 lation which many devout persons experience, yet will I 
 not abandon Thee, but will be content, in accordance 
 with Thy good will and pleasure, to be in desolation ”, 
 Spiritual sweetness is not an indubitable sign of sanctity. 
 God, in bestowing it, manifests His goodness ; for He 
 sometimes grants it even unto those who lead most 
 wicked lives. He who is favoured with it ought to look 
 upon it with suspicion, unless, at the same time, he is 
 stirred up by it to fresh fervour of soul, to a hunger for 
 the acquisition of virtue, and particularly for humility, 
 obedience, and the love of God.* 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Particular Counsels for each of the Exercises comprised under 
 the name “ Work of God v . 
 
 In order not to burthen your mind with too many 
 precepts, we will, with respect to the exercises in question, 
 pass over those which may be found in other books, and 
 will mention only those which we deem most deserving 
 of your notice. 
 
 As psalmody is in very truth an angelic office, in which 
 praise is given to God our Creator, in the name of the 
 
 Concl. Animce fi delis, c. xiii. 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 whole Church ; and as it has ever been one of the chief 
 occupations of our Order from its very foundation, it is 
 but right and just that, besides having a high esteem and 
 an ardent love of this holy exercise, you should bring to the 
 performance of it that careful attention, and that decorous 
 behaviour which are required in the service of so great a 
 Lord. While offering up praise in His honour, let these 
 words never fade from your mind : “ Praise ye the Lord 
 because psalm is good ; to our God be joyful and comely 
 praise Therefore, let not your service of God be given 
 with sadness nor by necessity ; not sleepily nor carelessly, 
 but with joy and gladness, as the Psalmist in another 
 place exhorts us, saying : “ Let us make a joyful noise 
 to Him with psalms ” ; f and the reason is, because “ God 
 loveth a cheerful giver”. But in order that joy may 
 never degenerate into light behaviour, let it be decorous, 
 that you may be able to say with the Boyal Psalmist : 
 “I have loved, O Lord ! the beauty of Thy house ” ; i “I 
 will praise Thee in a strong people ”. § To keep alive 
 the requisite attention and devotion, carefully read and 
 meditate upon the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of 
 the Buie, in which are enumerated all the conditions 
 both of public and of private prayer. Pay particular 
 attention to the words, “ with all humility and purity of 
 devotion; and we are to be heard for our purity of heart,” 
 that your aim may be to live a pure life ; and that, if any 
 stain should ever dim its lustre, you may, before prayer, 
 endeavour by sorrow of heart and by deep humility to 
 remove any fault of which you may have been guilty. 
 
 With respect to private vocal prayer, there are two 
 mistakes which must carefully be avoided. The first is, 
 to make little account of, and easily to omit the practice 
 
 * Ps. cxlvi. 1. t Ps. xciv. 2. X Ps. xxv. 8. 
 
 § Ps. xxxiv. 18. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “ THE WOBK OF GOD 403 
 
 of it, because you either have heard, or have somewhere 
 read that this kind of prayer is inferior to the other kinds. 
 The second is, to be so attached to vocal prayers that, 
 provided you get through a certain number of them which 
 you have determined upon with yourself, you care little 
 about other methods of prayer, and trouble not yourself 
 during the recitation of even vocal prayer, to listen to 
 God speaking to your heart, nor to follow the motions 
 of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, bear in mind that you 
 must hold vocal prayer in high esteem, especially in the 
 beginning, and particularly if you are not accustomed to 
 internal recollection ; that it is most necessary for ac- 
 quiring and for preserving the spirit of devotion : for, if it 
 be neglected, the mind will be hurried off to pursue irrele- 
 vant matters, and, like the lifeless trunk of a fallen tree, 
 will not produce any fruit. Hence our advice is, that 
 those prayers which may be said either mentally or 
 vocally — for instance, the morning and the evening 
 prayer — be always begun with vocal prayer, until the 
 mind being softened and made ready for pious affections, 
 scope may then be given for the operation of the Holy 
 Spirit, on condition, however, that when His influence 
 has passed away, recourse be again had to vocal prayer. 
 In this way both mistakes will be avoided. It must not, 
 however, be thought that vocal prayer is so called because 
 it is made with the voice only. To believe this, would 
 be a worse error than is either of the former. Therefore, 
 it must be held as a certainty, that the mere recitation 
 of the words of prayer, without any attention of mind, 
 is not at all worthy to be called prayer. 
 
 Solicitude, with respect to mental prayer, does not 
 consist in a wish to force God in a kind of way to ac- 
 commodate Himself to our preconceived notions and 
 rules ; that is to say, by so obstinately adhering to them 
 
404 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 that, in spite of His sufficiently clear manifestation to us 
 of the manner in which He wishes to treat with us, we 
 nevertheless do not wish to accept the method of which 
 He desires us to make use, but cling to our own various 
 ways of prayer. It consists chiefly in first using all 
 reasonable care to remove the obstacles which stand 
 between the soul and God, such as wandering of mind, 
 immortification of the senses, deliberate venial sins, and 
 particularly those which are committed with some ad- 
 hesion of the affections. In the next place, in a close 
 attention, both during and after prayer, to the movements 
 of the soul towards God and towards pious objects, which 
 movements are usually experienced by those persons who 
 are careful to seek God, and to be solicitous for purity of 
 conscience. Thirdly, in conferring with the Spiritual 
 Father about these matters, in order to learn the will of 
 God, and to understand His method of acting with us 
 during prayer, which method all earthly masters, and all 
 earthly disciples, ought to be willing to follow, rather 
 than to lead and to guide. Unless this matter be care- 
 fully attended to, a great part of that precious time, 
 during which others are heaping up for themselves 
 treasures in heaven, will be spent in vain, and the person 
 who neglects it will never be one of those who taste and 
 see how sweet is the Lord. 
 
 In order to make yourself more susceptible of catching 
 the whispers of divine inspirations, particularly during 
 the time of public and of private prayer, be careful, even 
 out of these times, not to give a loose rein to your thoughts, 
 permitting them to fasten themselves upon any objects 
 which it may please them to select — even though these 
 objects may be of an indifferent nature — but, in the very 
 beginning of your Novitiate, use every effort gently to re- 
 call your mind to itself, and to turn it to God, in order to 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “ THE WORK OF GOD ”. 405 
 
 converse with Him. Do this, especially at times when you 
 are free from other occupations, as, for instance, when you 
 are going from place to place. On these occasions you 
 may give Him thanks for favours received, or ask pardon 
 for faults committed, or offer up petitions for graces which 
 you need, or lay open before Him the various necessities 
 which press upon you. All this need not be done in any 
 set form of words, but in those which your affection may 
 at the moment suggest to you. The advantages to be 
 gained from this kind of spiritual exercise are well known 
 to those who are versed in the mysteries of the Spiritual 
 Life. In order to have an experimental knowledge of 
 them, do you also take up, and make use of, this most 
 excellent exercise. 
 
 Worship of the most holy mystery of the Trinity, and 
 the Eucharist, and devotion to Our Lord’s life and 
 Passion, to our holy Father St. Benedict, to the Guardian 
 Angels, to the other Saints, and to the Blessed Virgin, 
 who, besides her many other titles, is the special 
 Patroness of our Order, do not consist in certain prayers 
 which are daily said at stated times, but in the acts of 
 a lively faith with respect to these mysteries ; in firm 
 confidence in the Saints and in the Angels ; in charity, 
 in resignation, and in the imitation of the virtues which 
 Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints have 
 left for our edification. For, although these prayers, 
 when said at the proper time, and in a suitable manner, 
 are not without their efficacy, yet, unless there be joined 
 with them the practice of solid virtue, they will be with- 
 out that fruit which ought to grow out of them. This 
 may be illustrated by that vision which was vouchsafed 
 to a certain youth, who, though most exact in daily 
 reciting the Rosary in honour of Our Lady, yet scrupled 
 not to lead an impure life. On one occasion, in a dream, 
 
406 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and offered to his lips 
 a most delicious draught, but from a cup so filthy, that 
 he recoiled from it with horror. Wondering how it could 
 be that our good Mother should treat him in this manner, 
 he asked of her the reason. She replied : “ My son, the 
 prayers which you offer in my honour are most pleasing 
 to me ; but the cup in which you offer them, — your 
 impure life, — fills me with aversion and horror 
 Startled by these words, the young man straightway 
 changed his method of life, and subdued his evil 
 passions. 
 
 As frequent recollection of mind, or, as it is called, 
 renovation of spirit, which is usually made at the greater 
 festivals, or every month, or every week, is a very great 
 help to solid advancement in virtue, you must not fail, 
 under the guidance of your Spiritual Father, to take up 
 this laudable exercise. Whenever you go through it, ask 
 yourself the following questions : — (1) Do I truly love my 
 vocation, and esteem it as a most special benefit conferred 
 upon me by divine goodness ? (2) Have I a supreme 
 
 hatred and horror of every sin whatever, even of the 
 slightest, particularly if committed with deliberation ? 
 (3) Have I an ardent desire of perfection, and a love of 
 the True Good ? (4) Do I so cling to any created thing 
 
 whatever, that it would be a matter of some difficulty for 
 me to give it up ? (5) Is there in my life anything which 
 
 would make me hesitate at once to die ? Having 
 carefully examined yourself upon these points, renew 
 within yourself the esteem and the love which you have 
 for your vocation ; show your gratitude to God by an 
 exact observance of all the duties which belong to your 
 calling, and make a firm resolve to do them exactly and 
 well. Renew your horror and hatred of every sin with- 
 out exception ; enkindle afresh your love of true good 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “THE WOKK OF GOD 407 
 
 and of perfection ; and strive to the utmost of your 
 power to remove the obstacles which stand in the way of 
 both these. Give up all inordinate clinging to any 
 created thing whatever, since there is nothing but God 
 that can satisfy the heart and give to it the repose for 
 which it seeks. Finally, so arrange those matters which 
 affect you either from without or from within, that if 
 God should so will it, you would presently and with joy 
 yield up to Him your life. 
 
 In order to purify your conscience, to root out vice 
 from your heart, and, in its stead, to plant virtue, 
 which is the fruit that is to be gathered both from your 
 general and from your particular examinations, — you 
 must not be satisfied with merely knowing your faults ; 
 your chief care must be to grieve for them and to detest 
 them with heart-felt sorrow. Take care, however, not to 
 be downcast on account of your many shortcomings ; 
 humble yourself more thoroughly ; and put your trust in 
 God, Who never abandons those who confide in Him, 
 and persevere in their good purpose, but at last brings to 
 a glorious end the labour which they have undertaken 
 for Him. 
 
 As it is in prayer that we speak to God, and make 
 known to Him our manifold wants, so it is in spiritual 
 reading that He speaks to our souls, and makes known 
 to us His good will and pleasure. Therefore, in order 
 that this holy exercise may be productive of much good 
 in you, be careful to bring to it a docile heart, and to 
 remember that “ Wisdom will not enter into a malevolent 
 soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins”.* Give 
 heedful note to the parable of the Sower, and see that 
 the word of God falls not upon stony ground, nor among 
 thorns, nor by the wayside, but into a good and excellent 
 * Wisd. i. 4. 
 
408 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 heart, in which it will bring forth fruit in patience. Our 
 advice to you is, so to meditate upon that which you read 
 in the pages of different authors, as to draw from it what- 
 ever is good and suitable to your present position and to 
 your needs. You will undoubtedly do this, if you take 
 the trouble to compare that which they say with that 
 which is written in your Eule. By so doing, you will, 
 like the busy bee, draw from these various flowers, not 
 dew only, but honey also ; that is to say, the spirit of 
 our holy Order and of our Rule. 
 
 So great are the treasures which are locked up in the 
 most admirable and most holy Sacrifice of the Mass, 
 and hidden away in the Sacraments of the Church, that 
 he who, while assisting at the one, and participating in 
 the others, is tepid and negligent — as, alas ! but too many 
 Religious are, may, with justice, be said to- care very little 
 about doing the will of our holy Father, and to be in- 
 different about his own salvation. Therefore, when 
 present at this Sacrifice, in which our merciful and com- 
 passionate Lord has made a memorial of His wonderful 
 works, take all possible care to ward off distraction of 
 mind ; assist at it with ever-increasing devotion ; and 
 receive the most Holy Sacrament with burning fervour 
 of love. This devotion chiefly consists in acts of lively 
 faith, hope, and charity, of heartfelt contrition, of deep 
 humility, of complete self-immolation, and of remembrance 
 of the Passion and the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 It is particularly for this last-mentioned end that the 
 most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, and that the 
 unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass were instituted, according 
 to that : “ Do this for a commemoration of Me 
 
 As our holy Father, on account of the importance of 
 silence, seldom gives leave to speak, even to disciples 
 * St. Luke xxii. 19. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “THE WORK OF GOD ”. 409 
 
 who are perfect, although their words may be of good 
 and holy matters, tending unto edification ; moreover, as 
 St. James says : “If any man think himself to be 
 religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own 
 heart, this man’s religion is vain” — you, who are still 
 covered with the dust of the world, will easily understand 
 how necessary for you is the virtue of silence, if you 
 desire to become a truly religious man. Therefore, be 
 ever more ready to keep silence than you are to speak ; 
 for, as St. Benedict says : “ It behoveth a Master to 
 speak and to teach ; and it becometh a disciple to hold 
 his peace and to listen You will never know how to 
 speak to any purpose, unless you have first learnt humbly 
 to hold your peace. But, whenever you are obliged to 
 speak, be careful to eliminate from your words everything 
 that may recall to yourself and to others the memory of 
 what you may have seen, or heard, or done in the world ; 
 all idle words, all that excites immoderate laughter, and 
 all buffoonery ; for our holy Father says : * * Let no one 
 presume to relate unto others what he has either seen or 
 heard outside the Monastery ; because therefrom arise 
 many evil consequences, f But, as for buffoonery, idle 
 words, and such as move to laughter, we utterly condemn 
 and forbid them in all places, nor do we allow a disciple 
 to open his mouth to give them utterance.” J Let your 
 conversation be about God and about spiritual things ; 
 for instance, about the observance of the Buie, the ex- 
 amples of the Saints, and especially of those Saints who 
 belong to your Order, of ecclesiastical and of monastic 
 ceremonies, and the like. But, in speaking of even 
 such matters as these, take care that vanity does not 
 creep in, that there is no boasting, no loud talk, for it 
 is by defects of this nature that is vitiated all the fruit 
 * Reg. cap. vi. + Cap. lxvii. £ Reg., cap. vi. 
 
410 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 which may be gathered from properly regulated spiritual 
 conversations. 
 
 Our last, our most useful, and most necessary advice 
 to you concerns the exercise of the three theological 
 virtues, faith, hope, and charity. These have immediate 
 reference to God, and come most suitably under the name 
 “ Work of God 5 ’. These are the solid foundations upon 
 which rests the whole structure of the Spiritual Life. These 
 are the food on which we live during this our pilgrimage, 
 and without which we faint away and die. These are the 
 light-house which flings its brilliant beams across the 
 troubled waters and points out to us the haven of safety. 
 If its light is either obscured or extinguished, we are 
 tossed about upon the storm- swept sea of life, and are 
 in momentary peril of shipwreck. Fertile is the theme 
 which they suggest, but because it is enough merely to 
 hint at those matters about which Novices ought to show 
 their solicitude with respect to God, we will simply add 
 a few words, which, if carefully attended to, will undoubt- 
 edly help you to satisfy the wishes of your great Law- 
 giver. 
 
 With respect to faith, examine what progress you have 
 made in the knowledge of its mysteries ; and particularly 
 whether, in addition to those things which every Chris- 
 tian who has arrived at the use of reason must know 
 either as means necessary for salvation, or as means 
 necessary only in consequence of a positive precept, you 
 have a wider and more distinct knowledge ; and how great 
 that knowledge is in matters of faith. On all these points 
 make, in the very beginning of the Novitiate, a candid 
 avowal to your Spiritual Father. Deeply imprint upon 
 your mind the essential motive of faith, — necessary for 
 every supernatural act of this virtue, — which motive is 
 nothing else than the authority and the veracity of God, 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “THE WOKK OF GOD ”. 411 
 
 Who vouchsafes the revelation, and Who, being the first 
 and supreme truth, can neither deceive nor be deceived. 
 Hence, so great is the certitude which we have about the 
 truths of faith, that they are as certain and as infallibly 
 true as is God Himself. 
 
 Oftentimes during the course of the day, elicit from 
 this motive, acts of explicit faith with regard to the chief 
 mysteries of our holy Religion, to wit : “ that there is a 
 God ; that He is the rewarder ; that there is a Trinity of 
 Persons ; and that the Second Person took our human 
 flesh”. Produce these, especially when you recite the 
 Creed ; when you make acts of sorrow ; and when you 
 approach the most holy Sacraments of Penance and the 
 Holy Eucharist. The same thing may be said with 
 respect to the acts of hope and of charity, — let them be 
 joined with the acts of faith, and be elicited from their 
 own proper motives. 
 
 The immense advantage to be gained by the exercise 
 of practical faith consists in this, — that it will accustom 
 you to judge of all things, not in accordance with the 
 report which the bodily senses give of them ; nor in the 
 way in w T hich men of the world would have you judge ; 
 nor as their vain and carnal prudence would dictate ; but, 
 according to the rules of faith, to the example left unto 
 you by Christ, and to the teaching which fell from His 
 blessed lips. Then your eyes will be open to see how 
 great is the vanity, how vast the void which there is in 
 many things that are commonly considered to be great 
 and sublime. When you look at, or hear of, or when you 
 are brought in contact with anything, you will not dwell 
 upon the mere natural qualities which it exhibits to your 
 senses, but will rise, in thought, to something that is 
 supernatural. Hence, whenever, during the night time, 
 you gaze upon the firmament, and behold it all ablaze 
 
412 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 with the radiance of countless stars ; or again, when you 
 see the earth in verdure clad and softly carpeted with gay 
 flowers, illumined with the light of faith, you will 
 straightway fall down in adoration before the Lord and 
 Creator of all these things ; you will bend before His 
 omnipotence ; you will admire His wisdom ; you will 
 extol His goodness. 
 
 Also, whenever an occasion presents itself for the per- 
 formance of any arduous work of virtue, such for instance 
 as are certain acts of obedience, of patience, or of any 
 other virtue, the practice of which runs counter to the 
 inclinations of human nature, call to mind what are the 
 dictates of faith with respect to each of these ; and what 
 is the teaching of Christ. Then, hold fast to that which 
 faith teaches ; cleave to it with even greater tenacity 
 than you would cleave to it if you had seen it with the 
 eyes of your flesh ; and in consequence of the certainty 
 with which you hold it, resolutely turn your will to 
 undertake the work, or to bear the weight of the Cross, 
 animating yourself thereunto by the examples of the 
 Saints, of whom St. Paul writes: “By faith they 
 conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, 
 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of 
 fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength 
 from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the 
 armies of foreigners. Others were racked, not accepting 
 deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection. 
 Others had trial of mockeries and of stripes, moreover 
 also of bands and of prisons. They were stoned, they 
 were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to 
 death by the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins, 
 in goat-skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted, of whom 
 the world was not worthy ; wandering in deserts, in 
 mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “ THE WOEK OF GOD 413 
 
 And all these were approved by the testimony of 
 faith.” * 
 
 Behold unto what acts of heroic virtue these holy men 
 were able to gird themselves, when illuminated by the light 
 of a lively faith ! What, then, is the reason why we, in 
 matters which are immeasurably less difficult, show our- 
 selves to be so cowardly and so sluggish? It is because 
 we omit to exercise ourselves in the acts of this lively 
 faith. “ Therefore,” as the Apostle exhorts us, “ laying 
 aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us 
 run by patience to the fight proposed to us ; looking on 
 Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith, Who having joy 
 set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame.” 
 Think diligently upon Him Who bore with so great 
 opposition from sinners, in order that considering His 
 patience you may not be wearied, fainting in your minds. 
 “For, you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against 
 sin.” f Lastly, we advise you to entertain a great esteem 
 for everything which, in any way whatever, has reference 
 to faith, such for instance as the rites and the ceremonies 
 of Holy Church, the sacramentals, indulgences, the oppor- 
 tunities for the gaining of which are very numerous in 
 Religious Orders. 
 
 The second virtue for the acquisition of which you 
 ought to show yourself specially zealous, is a confiding 
 hope in God. Your motive for the pursuit of this theo- 
 logical virtue, is God as the helper of man in the removal 
 of those obstacles and difficulties which stand in his way, 
 and prevent him* from winning the rewards for which he 
 hopes. Thus David says : “ My God is my helper, in 
 Him will I put my trust ”.J In order that this motive 
 may develop its full force within you, consider attentively, 
 and believe with unwavering faith, that only in God are 
 * Eeb. xi. 33, 39. + Hcb. xii. 14. J Ps. xvii. 2. 
 
414 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 to be found those conditions or qualities which are capable 
 of inspiring you with the hope of certainly obtaining this 
 help. These are, that He is both able and willing to 
 come to your aid. As He is wisdom itself, He knows 
 best what is most expedient for you. As He is omni- 
 potent, nothing can prevent Him from giving you assist- 
 ance. As He is infinitely good and merciful, and in 
 addition to this, most faithful in the accomplishment of 
 His promises, you cannot, without offering Him a grave 
 insult, doubt about His good will to give you seasonable 
 aid in your necessities. On these truths of faith, rest the 
 stability and the certitude of our hope. But this hope 
 is not without some dread and fear, arising from the 
 uncertain co-operation of our free will, which is intrinsi- 
 cally weak and infirm of purpose. The virtue of hope 
 may be practised in the following manner. 
 
 Although in every state of life, and particularly in the 
 beginning of every state of life, it is most safe, and even 
 necessary not to be high-minded, but to fear to distrust 
 one’s self and one’s own strength, to have an intimate 
 knowledge of one’s own weakness, and to fear it ; yet, 
 great care must be taken not to become faint-hearted and 
 downcast, in consequence of these and of similar consi- 
 derations ; but to hold it as a sure sign that there must 
 be some fallacy in our reasoning, when it leads us to have 
 a feeble hope and a wavering confidence in the infinite 
 goodness of God. It is on this account that the illustrious 
 Father Lanciscius, in his advice to some students who 
 were about to enter the Novitiate, says : “ Beject as 
 blasphemies all thoughts which tend to diminish your 
 confidence in God, to make you cowardly, and to fill you 
 with sorrow which narrows the generosity of your heart. 
 They are exceedingly hurtful, not only to Novices, but 
 even unto those who have grown old in the service of 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT “ THE WORK OF GOD 415 
 
 God. Therefore, entertain only those thoughts which 
 will give you courage, make you joyous, and increase 
 your hope in God. 
 
 Frequently sigh after, and with your whole heart desire 
 to reach, that happy land — that secure haven of rest — in 
 which all beatitude lies stored up for you; and, in conse- 
 quence of this longing, regulate your affections with respect 
 to temporal goods, in such a way, that they will he fastened 
 upon them only in as far as they may assist you in win- 
 ning the prizes which endure for ever. 
 
 Be careful not to confine your hope to good affections 
 and to ardent desires only, but stir it up manfully to do 
 and bravely to endure, in the way of salvation, all that is 
 irksome and difficult ; for such is the exhortation of the 
 Holy Spirit : “ Do ye manfully, and let your heart be 
 strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord For what 
 is said of faith may be said of hope also : “ Without works 
 it is dead Consequently, the Apostle, while exhorting 
 the Bomans to rejoice in hope, says : “In carefulness not 
 slothful ; in spirit fervent ; serving the Lord. Bejoicing 
 in hope ; patient in tribulation ; instant in prayer.” f 
 Attend unto what our holy Lawgiver says : “In suffering 
 things that are hard, contrary, and injurious, grow not 
 weary, give not over, since the Scripture saith : “ He 
 only that persevereth to the end shall be saved ”. Again : 
 “Let thy heart be comforted, and expect the Lord”. 
 Showing that the faithful man ought to bear all things 
 for Our Lord, be they ever so contrary, the Scripture 
 saith, in the person of the sufferers : “ For thee we suffer 
 death all the day long ; we are esteemed as sheep for the 
 slaughter”. Being assured by hope of a reward from 
 God’s hands, they go on rejoicing and saying : “But in all 
 
 Ps. xxx. 25. 
 
 f Cap. xii. 11, 12. 
 
416 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 things we overcome by the help of Him Who hath loved 
 us 
 
 Frequently repeat to yourself and think over that say- 
 ing of the Apostle : “I can do all things in Him Who 
 strengtheneth me ”.f We glory in the hope of the sons 
 of God. And not only so ; but “ we glory also in tribula- 
 tions, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and 
 patience trial, and trial hope. And hope confoundeth 
 not.” X Take notice, however, that the only reason for 
 his trust in any of these works, is that God has willed us 
 to merit heaven through their instrumentality, aided by 
 His own gracious assistance; but, as Blosius remarks, 
 we put our chief hope of salvation, not so much in the 
 merits of the good works which we have performed, as in 
 the merits and in the compassionate mercy of Jesus 
 Christ ; and when our implacable foe tempts us to want 
 of confidence in God, or to despair of salvation, we meet 
 his suggestions by placing before ourselves the bitter 
 Passion and the death of our dear Eedeemer. 
 
 Finally, take particular notice of the consoling doctrine 
 of this same illustrious writer, when he says: “When 
 you begin to lead a better life, it may, perchance, happen 
 that through human frailty, you will occasionally commit 
 some fault. You will, perhaps, go beyond due bounds 
 through buoyancy of spirits, through impatience, the im- 
 pulse of anger, lukewarmness, sensual and carnal affec- 
 tion ; you will be intemperate in eating and in drinking ; 
 you will be invaded by an exuberance of animal spirits ; 
 you will be immoderately anxious and troubled ; yet, by 
 reason of these and of a multitude of similar defects, you 
 ought not to lose heart, even though you cannot be rid of 
 them for the whole period of your mortal life. On the 
 
 Cap. vii., 4 Grad, humil. + Philip, iv. 13. 
 
 J Rom. v. 3-5. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT THE “ WOEK OF GOD ”, 417 
 
 contrary, after the commission of any fault, humbly lament 
 over it, and grieve that you have not been more watchful 
 and more thoroughly averse from even the slightest stain 
 of sin ; then, having lovingly asked pardon from our most 
 merciful God, take fresh courage, and be confident that 
 you have been received back into His favour. But even 
 if it should happen — which God forbid — that you should 
 ever fall into grievous sin, rise from it every time that you 
 have the misfortune of falling into it, and never despair 
 of salvation. Beturn to your most kind and loving God, 
 and He will gladly receive you. He has both the power 
 and the will to pardon every one who is truly contrite, 
 to draw him from the mire of sin, and to free him from 
 every hindrance to his salvation, no matter of what nature 
 that hindrance may be. 
 
 “ Hence, man cannot more foully dishonour God, nor 
 more gravely insult Him, than by despairing of His 
 mercy, because of the multitude and the heinous nature 
 of his transgressions. His mercy is infinitely greater 
 than are the sins of the whole world. Therefore, never 
 suffer the number, nor the magnitude, nor the gravity of 
 your sins to break down your hope of pardon. For God, 
 Who is supremely good, merciful, clement, and loving, 
 wishes neither for the death nor for the damnation of the 
 sinner, but with the utmost vehemence desires that he 
 should be converted and should attain to the beatitude 
 of eternal life.”* 
 
 The third theological virtue is charity. The essential 
 motive of charity is God as our supreme good and our 
 last end ; or divine goodness as it is in itself, without 
 respect to our own interest or to our own convenience. 
 This is the end or object of all precepts, of all vows, of 
 all Rules. In it perfection consists ; and to this perfec- 
 
 * Sacell. Animce, sect, i., n. 3. 
 
 27 
 
418 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 tion all men, and especially all Religious, are bound to 
 tend. Without this charity no one can be perfect, even 
 though he is endowed with faith, with knowledge, with 
 graces gratuitously given, and with other virtues, as St. 
 Paul expressly teaches in the thirteenth chapter of his 
 first Epistle to the Corinthians. Its acts are two in 
 number — namely, the love of God above all things, and 
 the love of our neighbour for God’s sake. The various 
 ordinances of the Holy Rule are intended to make us 
 continually put these two in practice, and daily to 
 increase in our love of God and in our love of our neigh- 
 bour. Therefore, you must not spare yourself any labour, 
 you must not shrink from any pain, in order daily to 
 make progress in the acts of this, the most excellent of 
 virtues ; and by the removal of those hindrances which 
 are begotten of self-love and of an inordinate attachment 
 to creatures, to cause it to take deeper root in your soul.* 
 
 With respect to the other act, which is the love of our 
 neighbour, or fraternal charity, it would be well to keep 
 before your mind’s eye the love which the primitive 
 Christians had for one another. Speaking of them, the 
 Sacred Text says : “ The multitude of believers had but 
 one heart and one soul There were many bodies, but 
 not many souls ; there were many bodies, but not many 
 hearts, as St. Bernard observes. Happy the Cloister of 
 which the inmates strive to emulate this love of the early 
 Christians ! “ It is this love that makes Religious, 
 
 that makes Monks. The Monastery from which it has 
 vanished is a very hell. Those who live in it are devils. 
 But in what place soever love reigns supreme, there, in 
 very truth, is paradise; its people are Angels.” + We 
 
 * For the various steps by which men attain to the practice of 
 Divine Love, see Blosius, Sacell. Animce , sects. 3 and 4. 
 
 t St. Jerome, Reg. Monach. 
 
COUNSELS ABOUT THE “ WORK OF GOD 419 
 
 may gather from that chapter of our holy Father’s Rule 
 which treats of the “ Instruments of Good Works,” how 
 earnest was his desire that his children should be 
 remarkable for their mutual charity ; for out of the 
 seventy- two “ instruments ” which constitute an ex- 
 cellent compendium of the Rule, well-nigh half are to 
 be employed for the acquisition of brotherly love. This 
 is not all ; for in several other chapters there are 
 admonitions and precepts, the aim of which is to 
 preserve charity among the Brethren. We commend to 
 your special notice that which is said in the seventy- 
 second chapter. Carefully study it, and devote yourself 
 to the continual practice * of that which it inculcates. 
 But take care not to mistake false love, or a love which 
 is not virtuous, for true charity. There is a charity 
 which is hypocritical, which makes a pretence of loving, 
 but is full of bitterness and of deceit. 
 
 Also, there is a charity which, although it is not false 
 and fictitious, yet deserves not the name “ virtuous 
 charity”. This is that charity which is restricted 
 within merely natural limits ; which rests upon merely 
 natural motives, such as are relationship, similarity of 
 tastes, beauty of form, natural talent, sweetness of dis- 
 position, and the like. This species of charity, unless 
 restrained by right reason, usually runs into all kinds of 
 follies, and sometimes even into grave evils. 
 
 Therefore, the charity which is here so highly com- 
 mended, is that spiritual and supernatural charity by 
 which we are united to one another, and by w T hich we 
 love one another, for God’s sake only, inasmuch as we 
 are made to the image of God, redeemed by the most 
 precious blood of Christ, and made capable, through the 
 mercy of God, of the same glory and love. Embrace this 
 charity with your whole heart ; and, as the Apostle says 
 
420 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 to the Corinthians, “ if you are in faith, prove yourselves,” 
 so do we say to you, “ if you are in charity, prove 
 yourself ” ; but prove yourself by doing works which are 
 in conformity with this virtue ; because love manifests 
 itself by deeds. “ My little children,” says St. John, 
 “let us not love in word, but in deed and in truth.”* 
 Let there not go by a single day in which you do not 
 elicit, through a supernatural motive, some acts of this 
 virtue. If you constantly exercise yourself in these, you 
 will be able to cry out with the Eoyal Psalmist : “ Behold 
 how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to 
 dwell together in unity ”. 
 
 Let that which has been said, thus far, concerning each 
 of the subjects treated of in the present chapter, suffice 
 to point out to you the object towards the attainment of 
 which your efforts must be directed, and also by what 
 actions especially you ought to prove your eagerness for 
 the “ Work of God ”. 
 
 1 St. John iii. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the Eageeness of the Novice foe Obedience. 
 
 Although the bond of union which exists between the 
 virtues of humility and of obedience is so close that it is 
 practically impossible to separate the one from the other, 
 yet, in order to adhere to the method which our holy 
 Father has pursued in the Rule,* we will devote a sepa- 
 rate chapter to the consideration of each. In the present 
 chapter we will treat of obedience only, after prefacing 
 that which we have to say upon this virtue by a few 
 observations which are common to obedience and to 
 humility. 
 
 You must know that both these virtues are so necessary 
 for you that, if you showed yourself to be careless and 
 negligent about them, we should have no hesitation in 
 gravely doubting of your perseverance; and if you did 
 persevere, we should have reason to question whether 
 you would ever make any progress in perfection. For, 
 as no one either has lived or can live without air, so, 
 also, no one can be a Benedictine, or, indeed, a Religious 
 of any other Order, except in name only, unless he has 
 obedience and humility, which are the very breath of 
 Religious Life. Read the Rule from cover to cover, and 
 you will find that there is nothing which is more 
 frequently insisted upon than are obedience and humility. 
 It would take too much time to adduce from its pages 
 passages concerning these virtues ; nevertheless, we will 
 * Cap. lviii. 
 
422 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 farther on bring forward some of its most striking 
 sentences, when we come to treat of humility and of 
 obedience. Give an attentive ear to that which Our 
 Lord said to St. Bridget. “ How is it possible for any 
 one who professes to follow a Rule to be ignorant of that 
 Rule which he daily reads and hears read? In that 
 Rule the Monk is taught to be humble and obedient ; 
 to wear a poor habit, and not one that is soft and fine ; 
 a habit which will edify, not one which by reason of its 
 beautiful texture will be an occasion of scandal to others. 
 Who is there whose conscience is so dulled as not to 
 know that he has made profession of humility and of 
 poverty? Therefore, a Benedictine Monk is one who 
 obeys the Rule rather than his own flesh ; who neither 
 in his dress nor in his manners desires to please any one 
 save God only ; who every day desires to die ; who pre- 
 pares himself to go forth from this world ; who is solici- 
 tous as to what manner of account he shall be able to 
 give of his observance of St. Benedict’s Rule.’’ * From this 
 you will see with what good reason we have said that 
 the spirit of our Order consists in obedience and in 
 humility. 
 
 As we have already treated f of the motives which 
 should incite you to humility and to obedience, of the 
 acts by which those virtues should be exercised, and of 
 the conditions by which those acts should be accom- 
 panied, we will now point out a secure way, in which 
 you may prove your solicitude for obedience, without 
 either missing your aim or foolishly persuading yourself 
 that you have made progress, whereas you have not 
 stirred one foot, being deceived by the mere semblance 
 of virtue. 
 
 * Reveled. , lib. iv. , cap. cxxvii. 
 
 + The Eight Days’ Betreat, in the “Postulant 
 
EAGERNESS FOR OBEDIENCE. 
 
 423 
 
 In order to prove yonr eagerness for obedience, at yonr 
 first entrance upon your year of probation, attentively 
 listen to that which our holy Lawgiver says to you : “To 
 thee, therefore, are my words now directed, who, re- 
 nouncing thy own will, dost take upon thee the strong 
 and bright armour of obedience, to fight under the Lord 
 Christ our true King”.* By these words he indicates 
 that he neither legislates for, nor regards as his disciple, 
 any one who will not give up his will, and devote himself 
 to obedience. Therefore, in the very beginning, either 
 straightway renounce your own will, and gird yourself up 
 for the work of obedience, or draw back the foot which 
 you have set upon the threshold of the Novitiate. For, 
 as Trithemius, in his Commentary upon this passage, 
 says : “St. Benedict first of all requires the giving up of 
 self-will, before accepting any one as a scholar ; for he 
 who is still the slave of self-will has no part in this Rule. 
 A Monk who does not lay aside his own will is not that 
 which he is called, and thereby provokes the wrath of 
 God. For the first weapon with which a Monk arms 
 himself is the abdication of his own will ; and unless he 
 gives up that will, he is not a Monk. Therefore, if you 
 wish to be a Monk, give up self-will.” The Abbot John, 
 describing the purpose of the Cenobite, says: “The 
 Cenobite’s purpose in life is to mortify his senses and to 
 crucify his will ”.f “To obey the will of another,” says 
 Sulpitius Severus, “ this is their first virtue.” J There- 
 fore, as our holy Father St. Benedict chose to legis- 
 late for Cenobites, in preference to all other kinds of 
 Monks, inasmuch as he considered them to be the 
 most excellent, it follows that any one who refuses to 
 mortify and to crucify his own will, and to yield obedi- 
 
 * Prol. in Reg. + Cassian, Collat. xix., cap. viii. 
 
 + Dialog., lib. i., cap. v. 
 
424 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 ence to the will of another, cannot pretend to be his 
 child. 
 
 Therefore, your first care must be, in everything, to 
 deny and to cut off self-will. To aid you in this, take 
 the following sentence from the Eule, lay it up in your 
 mind, and, whenever an occasion offers, strive to put it in 
 practice : “ Let no one follow that which he thinketh 
 profitable to himself, but rather that which is profitable 
 to another * O truly golden rule, productive of virtues 
 innumerable ! If all Eeligious did but observe it, each 
 Monastery would be a Paradise ; self-love would be cast 
 forth ; and loving peace would reign supreme. By the 
 words “profitable to another, 5 ’ we must understand in- 
 feriors as well as Superiors ; but yet in such a way that 
 the subordination of one to another, which is prescribed 
 in the seventy-first chapter, be duly observed. St. Bona- 
 venture gives a similar order, but in other words : “In 
 good and in indifferent matters, let your aim be to carry 
 out the wishes of others, rather than your own ; in out- 
 ward actions, study how to deny yourself, by striving in 
 those things which are lawful to do the will of others, 
 particularly if these should be your Superiors 55 . f The 
 aim of a Novice, from the very beginning of his Spiritual 
 Life, ought to be to acquire the habit of never having a 
 choice of or a preference for occupation, for place of 
 abode, or for rank. He should leave all these things in 
 the hands of God, to be disposed of as it shall seem good 
 to Him. He should not dislike anything except sin. 
 This temper of mind is found in all those who have made 
 a good Novitiate; because they have no special care, nor 
 aim, nor desire, save that which it shall please Superiors 
 to choose for them. 
 
 Behold how vast a field for victories over self is here 
 * Cap. lxxii. + Be Remed. Deject ., cap. iv. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR OBEDIENCE. 
 
 425 
 
 stretched out before you ! What opportunities for ac- 
 quiring immense stores of merit are within your reach ! 
 From morning till night, from night till morning, there 
 is scarcely a moment in which you may not win for 
 yourself a glorious triumph over your fallen nature. Even 
 sleep, and meat, and drink, taken in moderation, as well 
 as all other actions of a similiar kind, are not without 
 merit, if performed, not because they are pleasing to you, 
 hut because right reason and the will of God, made known 
 to you by Superiors, require you to perform them. But 
 that you may learn how to combat your self-will and 
 your natural inclinations, accept those things which are 
 displeasing to you — such as are many occurrences which 
 will befall you during the Novitiate and during your 
 future life — as either sent or permitted by God. If you 
 regard them as coming from the hands of a loving Father, 
 you will be corresponding with the most holy designs of 
 providence ; all things will work together for you unto 
 good ; and you will avoid the mistakes usually made by 
 those persons who think that solid obedience may be 
 obtained in some other way, and form for themselves a 
 false ideal of this virtue, that they may not be forced to 
 bid adieu to their own inclinations and affections, unto 
 which they cling with so great tenacity of purpose. 
 Such as these are not considered by God to be obedient. 
 They themselves may imagine that they possess this 
 virtue ; and others, who judge only by outward appear- 
 ances, may be led to think so too, but they have not 
 the essential motive of this virtue. That is nothing else 
 than to execute commands, in order thereby to submit 
 ourselves to the divine will and ordinance, made known 
 to us by God’s representatives, and to go against the dic- 
 tates of self-will, or, at least, not to follow them. 
 
 Hence it is evident that he is not truly obedient, who, 
 
426 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 although he does that which is commanded him, yet 
 does it because he has a nature that is pliable and easily 
 guided ; or because that which is commanded is not re- 
 pugnant to his natural inclination ; or because the person 
 who issues the command, and the manner in which he 
 imposes it, are pleasing to him ; or because he hopes for 
 a reward, or for some advancement ; or because he fears 
 to offend; or for any other reason whatever which is 
 merely natural. To all who obey for motives such as 
 these may be applied these words of the Prophet 
 Aggeus : “You have sowed much, and brought in little ; 
 you have eaten, but have not had enough ; you have 
 drunk, but have not been filled with drink ; you have 
 clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed ; and he 
 that hath earned wages put them into a bag with holes”.* 
 Hence it comes to pass that, when their year of probation 
 is over, or when these motives cease to influence them, 
 or when the Judge on the accounting day begins to 
 question concerning their obedience, their hands will be 
 found empty; because they put into a bag with holes 
 all their laborious works, which were, in all likelihood, 
 more grievous to them than deeds of real and true obe- 
 dience would have been ; and God grant that for having 
 so done, their lot may not be cast with the disobedient ! 
 For it not unfrequently happens that, when the aforesaid 
 human motives cease to influence them, they fear not 
 openly to murmur and to cast off the yoke of obedience. 
 
 We have still much to say concerning this excellent 
 virtue ; but, because it is treated of in countless other 
 spiritual books, we will content ourselves with directing 
 your special attention to the two qualities which must be 
 found in it, whether you are performing actions which 
 are common to the whole Community, or are carrying out 
 * Cap. i. 6. 
 
EAGEENESS FOE OBEDIENCE. 
 
 427 
 
 some particular order of Superiors. These are, that 
 your obedience should be prompt and cheerful. If you 
 read, with careful attention, the fifth chapter of the Rule, 
 to say nothing of the many other passages which treat of 
 obedience, you will perceive how great is the esteem in 
 which these two qualities were held by St. Benedict. 
 According to his teaching, the truly obedient man, as 
 soon as anything is commanded, it matters not whether 
 that is conveyed to him by the striking of a clock or by 
 the tolling of a bell, makes no more delay in executing it 
 than he would make if the call or the order to do it had 
 come direct from God. He straightway leaves that with 
 which he is occupied; forsakes his own will; does not 
 finish that in which he is engaged ; but, with the speedy 
 foot of obedience, follows by his deeds the voice of him 
 who commands, and in a moment carries into effect the 
 order which has been issued. All this he does without 
 sadness, without compulsion. He does it with a soul 
 full of joy, which manifests itself by the cheerfulness of 
 his countenance, knowing that God loveth a cheerful 
 giver. Yet you must not suppose that this joy is always 
 of such a nature that it makes its presence felt. A joy of 
 this kind is not at all times within your reach and under 
 your command. It is a spiritual joy arising from the 
 thought that God, Who is seen with the eyes of faith, is 
 everywhere present, and that it is for His sake that you 
 obey; for to obey Him is the supreme, the only joy of the 
 soul that is truly seeking God. The Prophet Baruch re- 
 presents inanimate nature itself as being filled with this 
 spirit : “ The stars have given light in their watches, and 
 rejoiced ; they were called, and they said : * Here we 
 are ’ ; and with cheerfulness they have shined forth to 
 Him Who made them ”. 
 
 We cannot better bring this chapter to a close than 
 
428 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 by citing words which are well deserving of your attentive 
 consideration. “I have already oftentimes learnt by 
 experience,” says St. Theresa,* “ and I have read in many 
 books, that it is an excellent thing for the soul not to 
 transgress the precept of obedience. I count among the 
 benefits which spring from so doing progress in virtue 
 and the acquisition of humility. Obedience is a great 
 source of security in the midst of that fear and trembling 
 in which we ought to live during this mortal life. In it 
 is found that repose which is so greatly needed in souls 
 which wish to please God ; for if they truly resign and 
 entirely give themselves up to holy obedience, they will 
 not follow any other opinions, nor any other orders than 
 those of their Confessor, or, if they are Religious, than 
 those of their Superior. The devil ceases from his endea- 
 vour to fill them with unrest and disquietude ; because 
 he sees that, in tempting them, he loses rather than 
 gains any influence over them. The feverish and unruly 
 movements of our minds which rejoice in accomplishing 
 the dictates of self-will, and also whenever there is ques- 
 tion of self-gratification, in overriding those of sound 
 reason, cool down and submit themselves to the guidance 
 of right order, when we remember that, with steadfast 
 resolve, we have given up our wills into the hands of the 
 divine will. In consequence of this, we subject ourselves 
 to him whom we have chosen to hold the place of God in 
 our regard.” To corroborate these words of St. Theresa, 
 hear what the Fathers of the Desert say : “A Monk can- 
 not possibly overcome anger, sadness, and the spirit of un- 
 cleanness, unless he has first learnt how to mortify his self- 
 will by means of obedience. Without this, he cannot 
 acquire true humility of heart, nor preserve charity 
 with his Brethren, nor persevere in the Monastic Life.” t 
 
 * Book of Found. Prolog. + SS. JEgypti Patrum Vitce, cap. xxi. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 The Novice must be Eager for Humiliation. 
 
 We are now about to direct your attention to the consi- 
 deration of another virtue, closely allied to that lowly 
 obedience, of which so much has already been said in the 
 preceding chapter. This is none other than humility, 
 which St. Benedict designedly puts before you under the 
 name opprobria , or humiliation. We say that he has in- 
 tentionally used the word opprobria ; for he who has 
 schooled himself to endure humiliation, derision, injurious 
 treatment, and scorn, who is even eager to suffer them, 
 and not to lose any occasion of feeling their sting, — this 
 man may, with truth, be said to have made progress, and 
 great progress, in the virtue of humility. Therefore, you 
 will understand how absolute, how perfect is the humility 
 which our holy Lawgiver requires of you ; and, as a 
 natural consequence, you must not spare any pains to 
 make yourself thoroughly master of this fundamental 
 virtue. 
 
 But, before speaking of it, we will preface that which 
 we have to say by a few words of Gerson’s : * “ Eor 
 thoroughly grasping the deep lessons of true humility,” 
 he says, “ the unction of the Holy Spirit is far more effi- 
 cacious than laborious study; humble prayer, than 
 learned discussion ; the ardent aspiration of the soul, than 
 acuteness of intellect ; and, more than everything else, the 
 
 * Sermo ii. dc Humil., consid. i. 
 
430 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 frequent meditation of our Saviour’s Passion, made by a 
 heart which is full of faith and of love”. Hence, in 
 your struggle to win the virtue of humility, you must 
 with special care endeavour to carry out that advice 
 which St. Benedict gives, with respect to all our good 
 works in general : “ With most earnest prayer beseech God 
 to complete, to perfect your own feeble attempts to begin 
 that which is good ”. 
 
 Now, although we are unable to point out to you a 
 more direct and more safe way for the gaining of true 
 humility than is that of which our holy Father speaks in 
 the seventh chapter of the Rule, when treating of the 
 ladder which reaches up to heaven, by the ascent whereof 
 he promises a sure and speedy acquisition of the greatest 
 perfection, yet, because in another place * we have spoken, 
 at considerable length, concerning this, we will not now 
 delay you by attempting still more to elucidate the matter. 
 We most earnestly exhort you always to exercise yourself 
 in the practice of this virtue of humility ; and when you 
 think that you have done everything that it is possible for 
 you to have done, look upon yourself as an unprofitable 
 servant, who has but done that which it is his duty to do, 
 and give all the glory of your actions to God only. We 
 will here put before you some few counsels, drawn from 
 various parts of the Rule, with the hope that they may 
 be of use to you in the practice of humility. 
 
 “ When you see any good in yourself, attribute it to 
 God and not to yourself.” + Implant this advice deeply in 
 your heart ; for if it take root there, you will hold, as a 
 truth which it is impossible to gainsay, that whatever 
 you have, and whatever you are able to do in the way 
 of natural or of supernatural good, you have from God, 
 
 * Retreat before Reception of the Habit — “ The Postulant 
 + Cap. iv., instr. 42. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 431 
 
 and you are are able to do by the power of God ; that if 
 for a single moment He were to withdraw His concurrence, 
 you would fall back into the nothingness from which you 
 sprang ; that unless He tempered the assaults which the 
 devil makes against you, and put a bridle upon your own 
 lusts, there is not any crime so abominable, any foul 
 deed so execrable, of which you would not be guilty. If 
 you be intimately persuaded of all this, will you not cry 
 out with the Apostle : “ What hast thou that thou hast 
 not received, and if thou hast received, why dost thou 
 glory as if thou hadst not received ? ” # Learn from this 
 counsel how to trace all good and all evil to the sources from 
 which they respectively spring; magnify God only as the 
 author of that which is good in you ; give Him thanks 
 for it, and offer unto Him glory, praise, and honour. As 
 for yourself, acknowledge that you are nothing, that you 
 are destitute of all good, that you are weak and wretched. 
 Plume not yourself upon any good whatever that may 
 have been performed by you. Pursue not the shadows 
 of human glory. St. Bernard speaks with great severity 
 against those who take pride in anything else than in 
 God only : “ Whatever honour you may gain which is 
 not referred to God, that honour you steal from Him. 
 For from what source can any honour flow unto you, 
 who are but putrid dust? Is it from your holiness of life? 
 But it is the Spirit that sanctifieth — not your spirit, but 
 the Spirit of God. Is it from signs and wonders which 
 are wrought by you? They are not the works of your 
 hands, but of the power of God. Does the breath of 
 popular flattery fan your cheek, because you have spoken 
 well and eloquently ? It is Christ that has given you a 
 mouth and wisdom ; for what is your tongue but as a pen 
 in the hand of him who writes. Even this is but lent to 
 
 1 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
432 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 you.” * What would the Saint say if he saw a Novice, 
 still smeared with the mire of a worldly life, hampered 
 by evil habits, enslaved, perhaps, by unruly passions, and 
 yet boasting of his noble birth, priding himself upon the 
 brilliancy of his talents, and upon the wide range of his 
 knowledge, taking vain complacency in his imaginary 
 excellence, and dreaming of future honour and of advance- 
 ment ? 
 
 Cast off your borrowed plumes; give unto God the 
 things that are God’s — namely, the good that you seem 
 to possess — but to yourself restore all that is your own — 
 that is to say, your own nothingness and whatever in 
 you is evil. Unless with a sincere heart you do this, you 
 will make God your adversary ; for He resisteth the proud, 
 and giveth His grace to the humble. You make a pro- 
 fession of humility, by wearing the monastic habit ; do 
 not, then, defile it with the mire of pride ; for nothing is 
 more detestable than a Monk who is proud. “Though 
 pride,” says Peter of Blois, “is always and everywhere 
 hateful, yet it assumes a character which is far more de- 
 testable when it is found in one who makes profession of 
 humility ; for what rust is in iron, what moths are in a 
 garment, what gall is in milk, what poison is in honey, 
 that pride is in one who wears the monastic habit.” 
 
 “With tears and sighs daily in prayer confess your 
 past evils to God, and amend them for the time to- 
 come.” t Among the many ways of exercising humility, 
 this is an excellent one, which has been sanctioned by 
 the practice and by the example of the Saints ; for, as 
 the Wise Man says: “The just is first accuser of him- 
 self” and St. Gregory: “The signs of true humility 
 are, to know one’s own iniquity, and, knowing it, to con- 
 
 * Sermo xiii. in Cant. t > cap. iv. , instr. 58. 
 
 £ Prov. xviii. 17. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 433 
 
 fess it”. # Diametrically opposed to this is that vice 
 which is ingrained in human nature ; namely, the excuse 
 and the defence of self. Accuse yourself, therefore, and 
 avoid either defending or excusing yourself, for both are 
 destructive of humility ; and, although St. Benedict, in 
 the above cited passage, seems to speak of self- accu- 
 sation before God only, yet, in many other parts of the 
 Rule, and particularly in the forty-sixth chapter, he 
 makes special mention of self-accusation, both in the 
 sacred tribunal of Penance and out of it, for any sin or 
 for any excess committed in any place whatsoever. 
 Hence both kinds of accusation are necessary for the 
 Novice. But, in order that this self-accusation may be 
 real, and not pretended, and may not be blackened with 
 the smoke of pride, take notice that some persons accuse 
 themselves, and are ready to be the first to accuse them- 
 selves, not in order that they may be put down, but that 
 they may be exalted. 
 
 Of these St. Gregory says: “Their aim is to be 
 honoured for the confession of their sin, not to be 
 humbled. By self-accusation they wish to appear 
 humble, but do not desire in reality to be humble.” f 
 Others accuse themselves and acknowledge that they are 
 sinners, but do not wish to be regarded as such by those 
 to whom they make this avowal. Of these, the holy 
 Doctor says : u They say that they are sinners, and yet 
 they do not believe that they have sinned. For it often 
 happens that men will admit, in a general sort of way, 
 that they are sinners ; but when they hear other men, 
 who really believe them to be that which they say that 
 they are, reprehending them for their sins, they defend 
 themselves, and strive to prove themselves just. There- 
 fore, he who does this does not speak the truth when he 
 * Moral . , lib. xxii., cap. xiii. + Ibid., lib. xxiv., cap. vi. 
 
 28 
 
434 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 says that he has sinned ; for it is with his lips only, and 
 not with his inmost heart that he makes this confession. 
 For if by so doing he truly desired to be humble, he 
 would never defend himself against those who reprove 
 him for his sin.” Others, again, accuse themselves when 
 they are not in adversity, and when they have not any 
 reason to fear punishment. Of these St. Gregory says : 
 “ It is a very easy thing for any one to confess that he is 
 a sinner, when he does not incur any penalty for his 
 transgression. We may safely say that we are unjust, 
 when we do not feel any chastisement for our injustice. 
 For we speak thus when all about us is peaceful and 
 tranquil; but when we are scourged and corrected for 
 our sin, then we break forth into murmurs.” 
 
 According to St. Gregory’s opinion, he also does not 
 confess his sins who, when chastised for them, thinks 
 that he is handled more severely than he deserves. So 
 far is that man from attaining to true humility by these 
 and by similar modes of self-accusation that, on the con- 
 trary, he runs great risk of daily sinking deeper into the 
 vice of pride. Therefore, let not your accusation of your 
 sins proceed from any other intention than from a true 
 desire of advancing in humility ; let not your words give 
 the lie to the sentiments of your heart ; and take it not 
 amiss either that others should entertain about you 
 ideas similar to those which you entertain about your- 
 self, or that they should correct, and reprehend, and 
 punish you. Say with Job : “I have sinned, and indeed 
 I have offended, and I have not received what I have de- 
 served”;* and with St. Bernard: “I am prepared for 
 stripes, knowing that I have received fewer by far than 
 I have deserved. Let me be chastised as an evil doer, 
 provided only that it is reputed unto me as merit. Per- 
 * Job xxxiii. 27. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 435 
 
 chance He will have compassion upon me, when I have 
 been punished, since He cannot find in me anything to 
 reward.” * This is the safe way of attaining to solid 
 humility, and to true wisdom. Far from it are all those 
 persons who not only shrink from correction and from 
 penance, shun them by every means in their power, and 
 hate them with all the intensity of their soul, but, what 
 is worse still, dislike those who administer the correction, 
 despise them, and by sharp words, by ridicule, and by 
 opprobrious language, exasperate them beyond the power 
 of endurance. 
 
 Give ear to the words of the Wise Man : “ He that 
 loveth correction loveth knowledge ; but he that hateth 
 reproof is foolish ”. f Cornelius a Lapide gives the mean- 
 ing thus : “ He who loves correction, and, whenever he 
 commits a fault and wanders from the right path, suffers 
 himself to be corrected for it, and gladly receives the cor- 
 rection, he truly loves the knowledge of morals, — that is 
 to say, the beauty of virtue ; and hence is truly wise, is 
 truly a philosopher, or lover of wisdom. But the man 
 who hates rebuke, and, when he does amiss, suffers not 
 himself to be corrected, is in very truth a fool : (1) Because 
 he shows his pride and arrogance by thinking himself to 
 be wiser than others are, and, in consequence of this, 
 stolidly and haughtily defends his faults and defects. (2) 
 Because he obstinately persists in his faults and defects, 
 and desires neither instruction nor correction. (3) Because 
 with the folly of a sick man, he neither admits that he is 
 unwell, nor suffers a remedy of any kind to be adminis- 
 tered to him. As, therefore, that man who misses his way, 
 and will not be led back to it, is a fool, so also is he a fool 
 who, after departing from the way of salvation, will not 
 suffer himself again to be directed unto it, by means of 
 * Sermo xliv. in Cantic. + Prov. xii. 1 
 
436 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 correction and of instruction.” Hence, if you wish to gain 
 true humility and the science of salvation, attentively listen 
 to, devoutly receive, and carefully preserve, whatever will 
 conduce to the salvation of your soul. Receive it not as 
 the word of man, but as it truly is, the word of God. Let 
 that word be attended to, not only when it consoles and 
 warns, but also when it rebukes. 
 
 “ Honour all men. In honour prevent one another.”* 
 This counsel is deserving of a more attentive consideration 
 than at first sight it appears to merit. We are of opinion, 
 in fact, that the distance at which any one is living from 
 true humility may be measured by the extent to which 
 he carries his neglect of these apostolic precepts. For as 
 it is a characteristic mark of proud men to contemn others, 
 to think little of them, and to boast like the Pharisee that 
 they are not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, and 
 liars, so also is it a characteristic mark of the truly humble 
 to show honour to all. This honour, however, must be sin- 
 cere, and not that merely superficial pretence of honour 
 which we see manifested by those persons who are only 
 acting a part. It has this quality, when, as the Apostle ad- 
 monisheth : “Through humility, each esteems others to be 
 better than himself ”.+ But when you perceive that the 
 lives of other men are not so perfect as they ought to be, 
 and that their natural gifts are fewer in number than, and 
 of an inferior quality to, your own, take care that these two 
 circumstances are not to you stones of offence and rocks 
 of scandal, by causing you to think that your neighbours 
 are unworthy of that honour which we here recommend 
 you to pay unto them. 
 
 Beware of these stones ! “ He who shall fall upon 
 
 them shall be broken ; but upon whomsoever they 
 shall fall, they shall grind him to powder.” That so 
 * j Reg., cap. v. 8 ; cap. lxxii. + Phil. ii. 3. 
 
EAGERNESS FOR HUMILIATION. 
 
 437 
 
 great a calamity may never happen to you, take special 
 notice of these words of St. Theresa : “ Let it be our aim 
 always to turn our eyes to the virtues and the good 
 qualities which we perceive in others ; if we notice in 
 them any defects, let us cover these with the mantle of 
 our own sins ; and thus, although we may not at first be 
 able to do this with that perfection with which we ought 
 to do it, yet, by degrees, we shall acquire the great virtue 
 of thinking that others are better than we ourselves are. 
 In this way, by God’s grace, — which is necessary for 
 everything, and without which all our diligence, how great 
 soever it may be, is fruitless, — we shall begin to make 
 some progress, provided that we are careful, at the same 
 time, to ask God to grant this virtue to us. For He does 
 not abandon any one who on his part uses all diligence.” * 
 
 Hence a certain Abbot was accustomed to say : 
 “ Humility has no tongue with which to speak of any one 
 as either negligent or proud ; it has no eyes with which 
 to see the faults of others ; no ears with which to hear 
 that which would not benefit its soul ; in fine, it has 
 nothing to do with anything, save with its own sins.” 
 Would that you could carry into effect these excellent 
 precepts which you read ! But you will undoubtedly 
 carry them into effect if, in consequence of frequent medi- 
 tation upon those which we have written for your edifica- 
 tion, you behave respectfully, humbly, and kindly towards 
 those with whom you live ; if your conduct be such that, 
 by your acts, your words, and your bearing, you manifest 
 the esteem, the love, and the honour in which you hold 
 them. 
 
 It will also be of great assistance to you, in cultivating 
 this spirit, to make some pious aspiration of esteem for 
 the persons whom you may chance to meet, saying : 
 
 * Vita , cap. xiii. 
 
438 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 “ Lord ! I am not worthy to loose the latchet of this Thy 
 servant’s shoes. Oh, how many virtues does he possess 
 of which I am destitute ! Blessed be God, Who has 
 deigned to let me share in the company of His faithful 
 servants ! ” Let the following words of St. Bernard 
 bring this chapter to a close : “ Do not make any com- 
 parisons between yourself and others with respect to 
 virtue. For how do you know whether he whom you 
 consider to be the most worthless and most wicked of 
 men, of whose life you have a horror, as most foul, and 
 upon whom you therefore look as worthy of your scorn, 
 and not only of your scorn, who are now living soberly, 
 and justly, and piously, but also of the scorn of even the 
 rest of the reprobate — how know you that one day he 
 will not be far more virtuous than you are, owing to the 
 change which the right hand of the Most High will work 
 in him ; how know you that even now he is not actually 
 your superior in virtue ? Therefore, God has willed us 
 not to choose a good place, nor the last place but one, 
 nor a place among the last : “Sit down,” He says, “ in 
 the lowest place,” that only you may sit last of all, may 
 prefer yourself to none, and may not presume even to 
 compare yourself with others. Behold how great an 
 evil springs from ignorance of ourselves ! It is none 
 other than the sin of the devil — pride, the beginning 
 of all evil.* 
 
 Sermo xxxvii. in Cant. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 That all the Rigour and the Austerity by which we 
 Tend towards God be Laid before the Novice. 
 
 This injunction may seem to lack somewhat of that 
 superhuman discretion for which our holy Father and 
 Lawgiver is justly held in so high esteem. For who is 
 there that will not be filled with alarm, if, immediately 
 after his conversion to God and his escape from the 
 allurements of the world, there is put before him all the 
 rigour and the austerity of the new life which he has 
 embraced? Would it not be far more discreet to speak 
 to him of the sweetness, the joy, the repose which are to 
 be gained in due time, and by so doing to smooth away 
 much of the asperity which is naturally to be looked for 
 in the Novitiate? Would not this line of policy be far 
 more calculated to inspire him with courage to persevere 
 in his arduous undertaking? This is undoubtedly the 
 view of men who savour earthly things rather than the 
 things that are Christ’s ; who are seeking for a broad and 
 easy way to heaven, instead of the narrow and rugged 
 one pointed out by Christ. They take it for granted 
 that whatever is burdensome and disagreeable to sensi- 
 tive nature must be opposed to discretion. 
 
 Far different, however, is the judgment which holy and 
 spiritual men form upon these matters. Different, also, 
 is the judgment which Our Lord formed, Who is the 
 Saint of Saints, the Eternal Wisdom of God. To those 
 
440 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 who came to Him, and wished to be enrolled among the 
 number of His followers, He did not preach that which 
 is soft and pleasant to nature. For what says the 
 Scripture? “Jesus said to all: If any man will come 
 after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross 
 daily and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life 
 shall lose it ; for he that shall lose his life for My sake 
 shall save it.” * In St. Matthew, He says : “ Behold, I 
 send you as sheep in the midst of wolves . . . they will 
 deliver you up in their Councils, and they will scourge 
 you in their Synagogues. And you shall be brought 
 before Governors and before Kings for My sake . . . and 
 you shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake.”+ In 
 imitation of the Divine Master, our holy Lawgiver com- 
 mands that, unto those who come to ask admission to his 
 Order, there shall be preached all that is most rigorous 
 and austere, for which proceeding two reasons are as- 
 signed. These it will be advantageous for you to know 
 before we proceed any farther. 
 
 The first is, to dispose his children at the very outset 
 to enter with a resolute mind upon the royal way of the 
 Cross ; and, by so doing, to lay in their hearts a solid 
 foundation upon which to rear the structure of their 
 spiritual life. He who leaves the Novitiate without 
 being firmly built up in the love of the Cross, exposes 
 himself to very serious danger of falling away ; for since 
 virtue consists in that which it is difficult to do, and 
 since the way of perfection is strait and narrow, unless 
 the beginner know this thoroughly well beforehand, he 
 will hardly be able to persevere amid the difficulties 
 which daily and hourly spring up around him. More- 
 over, the thorns and the briars of adversity and of per- 
 secution, from which the path of those who wish to lead 
 * St. Luke ix. 23. + St. Matth. x. 19. 
 
DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED TO THE NOVICE. 441 
 
 a godly life in Christ Jesus is never free, will choke the 
 good seed which was sown during the Novitiate, but 
 which did not fall upon a good soil capable of bringing 
 forth fruit in patience. Eead attentively the eleventh 
 and twelfth chapters of the Second Book of the Following 
 of Christ, and you will find not only the truth of what we 
 have here stated, but also many other admirable sentiments 
 which will aid you very materially in conceiving a great 
 love of the holy Cross. 
 
 The second reason is that which St. Gregory adduces, 
 to explain why Our Lord, in a similar case, when preach- 
 ing to the people, spoke to them of wars and of seditions : 
 “ Our Lord and Saviour foretells the evils which, in the 
 destruction of the world, are to befall men, in order that, 
 when these misfortunes do actually come to pass, they 
 may cause them less trouble, from the fact of being fore- 
 known. For less grievous is the blow which is foreseen 
 than is that of which we know nothing until it has 
 fallen ; and the ills of life are more easily endured when, 
 by means of prudent forethought, we are able to prepare 
 ourselves with resignation to meet and to bear them.”* 
 In precisely the same way our holy Father, by previously 
 telling his disciples of the trials which are sure to come, 
 thereby arms them against these trials, in order that, 
 when the blow does actually fall, they may not be either 
 disturbed or disheartened. From this it is evident how 
 egregiously mistaken are all those who think that there 
 is some indiscretion in the words of our holy Father ; 
 for, as every one must admit, the man who discloses to 
 the traveller the intricate windings of the way, and the 
 perils which he may incur from robbers, is far more 
 discreet than he who, through fear of alarming him, 
 carefully conceals from him all danger ; for, in this latter 
 * Horn. xxxv. in Evangel. 
 
442 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 case, the peril is discovered only when it is actually upon 
 him, and that, too, to his own irreparable loss. 
 
 Therefore, expect not at any future time to find, in the 
 Order which you intend to embrace, the favours and the 
 delights of the world, but rather those tribulations and 
 crosses by which God in various wonderful ways cleanses 
 His beloved children from sin, builds up in them an 
 edifice of solid virtue, increases their store of merit, and 
 prepares for them a crown of heavenly glory. Know 
 that the Religious State is a state of affliction and of 
 crosses. “ A Monastery,” says St. Chrysostom, “is a 
 house of mourning.” * For this reason the Fathers 
 call Religious “ Crucifixi,” or “the crucified”. For if 
 people of the world — as we have before remarked — are 
 ordered by Christ daily to take up and to carry their 
 cross, with much greater reason are Religious obliged to 
 do so, for they may in very truth say with the Apostle : 
 “We are crucified unto the world, and the world is 
 crucified unto us ”.f Know also that the present life is 
 not the time for rest, but for labour, and that God 
 promises the crown of glory, not to those who are idle 
 and listless, but to those who do violence to themselves, 
 who struggle manfully against their passions and over- 
 come them. “ The kingdom of heaven suffer eth violence, 
 and only the violent bear it away.” J “ He shall not be 
 crowned unless he strive lawfully.” § “To him that over- 
 cometh I will give the hidden manna and a new name.” || 
 
 Understand well that better times will not come for 
 you ; that no attention whatever must be paid unto 
 those who by various promises endeavour to persuade 
 you that in Religious Life you will find many things 
 very pleasing to self-love, to bodily ease, and to conveni- 
 
 * Horn. lix. ad Pop. Constantin. + Galat. vi. 14. 
 
 \ St. Matth. xi. 12. § Tim. ii. 5. || Apoc. ii. 17. 
 
DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED TO THE NOVICE. 443 
 
 ence. Close your ears against their words ; listen not to 
 the voice of these charmers ; turn away your eyes and 
 look not upon their vanity. Attend to the voice of the 
 Holy Spirit speaking to you and exhorting you in the 
 words of the Wise Man : “ My son, walk not with them ; 
 restrain thy foot from their paths “ Son, when thou 
 comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in 
 fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.” f St. 
 Augustine, connecting these words with the text of the 
 83rd Psalm, upon which he is commenting, says : 
 “ Because the Wise Man says : ‘ My son, when thou 
 comest to the service of God, stand in fear, and prepare 
 thy soul for temptation,’ let him who approaches the 
 service of God understand that he is coming to the wine- 
 press ; he will be torn ; he will be trodden underfoot ; 
 he will be crushed; not that he may perish in this 
 world, but that, like the precious juice of the vine, he 
 may flow from the press into celestial wine-vessels ”. 
 
 While speaking of this subject, we commend to your 
 special attention The Prognosticon , a work written by 
 the Venerable Blosius. It is one which is usually put 
 into the hands of Novices, because it places before them 
 the chief difficulties which are to be met with in 
 Religious Life. But lest those who have only recently 
 begun that life, and who are still weak in virtue, should 
 waver in their vocation in consequence of what we have 
 said, and should begin to think that, if the way of 
 Religious Life be so strait and narrow, it would be better 
 to remain in the world, let them attentively read these 
 words of St. Bernard : “ It is but right and just that you 
 should suffer, and die, and be buried with Him Who has 
 suffered, and died, and Who has been buried. For he 
 who says that he is a member of Christ ought to remain 
 * Prov. i. 15. f Ecclus. ii. 1. 
 
444 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 in Christ, and as Christ walked so ought he also to walk. 
 For on account of the Cross it has been said of the elect : 
 
 * They that are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with 
 its vices and concupiscences Therefore, let Christ our 
 Lord spiritually come to us and enter our hearts, just in 
 the state in which He was during His Passion — 
 betrayed ; sold by a disciple ; bought by the Jews as a 
 worthless slave for thirty pieces of silver ; taken 
 prisoner ; dragged along the streets ; bound like a man 
 without help ; His back torn with scourges ; His side 
 opened with a spear ; His hands pierced ; His feet bored 
 through ; giving Himself without a struggle to His 
 murderers ; patiently bowing His head to the blows of 
 the strikers as if it was as insensible to pain as an anvil 
 is under the smith’s hammer, while all the time He is 
 paying to rapacious pirates the ransom of His bitter 
 death for us, who are to be carried from our land of 
 exile across the stormy sea of this life into our blessed 
 fatherland.” * Oftentimes during your meditation 
 reflect upon considerations such as these ; firmly fix 
 them in your heart ; and you will learn by experience 
 with how great an ardour the love of the Cross is able to 
 inflame the soul of man. With a certain great lover of 
 the Cross, you will cry out : “ O good Cross, long 
 wished for, and now prepared for a soul that eagerly 
 desires thee, with great security and joy I come to thee ; 
 do thou also with exultation receive me, the disciple of 
 Him Who hung upon thee ”.+ 
 
 But you may, perchance, say: “ If there is any truth 
 in that which I have just read, why does our most holy 
 Father himself, towards the end of the Prologue to his 
 Eule, console his wavering disciple with the hope of 
 better things which are to follow, when the difficulties of 
 * Sermo de Ccena Bom. + St. Andrew, the Apostle. 
 
DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED TO THE NOVICE. 445 
 
 the beginning have been overcome ? ” These are his 
 words : “ But if in some things we proceed with a little 
 severity — sound reason so advising for the amendment of 
 vices or for the preservation of charity — do not straight- 
 way, for fear thereof, flee from the way of salvation, 
 which is always strait and difficult in the beginning. 
 But, in process of time, and by long continuance in this 
 holy course and method of life, when the heart has once 
 been enlarged, the way of God’s commandments is run 
 with unspeakable sweetness of love.” A somewhat 
 similar promise is made by him at the end of the seventh 
 chapter. In reply to this question, we say that these 
 words of St. Benedict are so far from being in opposition 
 to the mind of the holy Legislator, that, in every respect, 
 they are in exact accord with it'. For to those who shall 
 persevere in good he promises consolation ; but it is 
 none other than that which faith and a sincere love of 
 God are able to procure for the soul ; not that which the 
 world, corrupt nature, and Religious, who by their 
 / wicked lives still cling to the world, promise themselves 
 and look for in vain. The former is true and solid ; the 
 latter is false, empty, and productive of naught save 
 affliction of spirit. We do not forbid you to solace your- 
 self with the former ; we most earnestly exhort you to 
 sigh after it, to seek it in your Religious Life, and 
 to wait for it with patience. We are far from saying 
 that the good Religious will never, during the whole 
 course of his life, taste any solid peace, any repose, any 
 joy and tranquillity. But what we do say, and what we 
 wish deeply to imprint upon the mind of those who have 
 but recently come to Religious Life, is that peace, repose, 
 joy, and solid tranquillity are to be sought for and to be 
 found in nothing else than in the love of the Cross. 
 This is the characteristic mark of the true lover of Jesus 
 
446 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Christ. Hence those sayings which are so startling to 
 the ears of worldly-minded men : “I exceedingly abound 
 with joy in all our tribulation”.* “Count it all joy, 
 when you shall fall into divers temptations.”! “ Either 
 to suffer or to die. To suffer, but not to die.” 
 
 That this is the very temper of our holy Father’s 
 mind is evident from the words which we have cited, and 
 from those with which he concludes the Prologue. For, 
 in the words which have been cited, he mentions no 
 other joy and no other sweetness than those which 
 spring from perfect charity, that has its roots in a living 
 faith ; but it is certain that one who is animated with a 
 charity such as this does not flee from the Cross, but 
 loves it as the Apostles did, “who went from the presence 
 of the Council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy 
 to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus ”. J The words 
 with which our holy Father concludes his Prologue are 
 as follows : “So that, never departing from His School, 
 but persevering in the Monastery in His doctrine until 
 death, we now share, by patience, in the sufferings of 
 Christ, that afterwards we may deserve to be partakers 
 of His Kingdom”. These words, joined with those which 
 precede them, signify that, in this life, we shall run the 
 way of God’s commandments with unspeakable sweet- 
 ness of love, and be partakers of the Kingdom of God 
 in the life that is to come, if, with faith and with un- 
 shaken constancy, we persevere until death in the 
 doctrine of Christ, and in the participation of His 
 Passion. To confirm us in this belief, we have the 
 words of the Apostle : “As you are partakers of the 
 suffering, so shall you be also of the consolation ”. § 
 “ If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.” || 
 
 * 2 Cor. vii. 4. f St. James i. 2. J Acts v. 41. 
 
 § 2 Cor. i. 7. || 2 Tim. ii. 12. 
 
DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED TO THE NOVICE. 447 
 
 Besides the work of Blosins, already mentioned, which 
 treats of those austerities for which you must prepare 
 your soul, you may with advantage consult Lanciscius,* 
 who divides these dura et aspera into three classes; 
 and, quoting Balthasar Alvarez, observes that there are 
 five sources of patience. De Ponte teaches a similar 
 doctrine, f All that these great masters say upon this 
 subject may be summed up under ten heads : (1) Injuries 
 inflicted by the elements, such as cold, heat, tempests, &c. 
 (2) Bodily troubles and inconveniences which happen to 
 us on every side, whether from sickness, or from the want 
 of necessaries. (3) Other men’s manners which are 
 different from our own; also their physical and their 
 moral defects. (4) Ignominy, contempt, injuries. (5) 
 Afflictions of spirit, in matters which pertain to the 
 divine service, as, for instance, aridities, scruples, the 
 molestations of the devil, illusions. (6) Bodily neces- 
 sities, such as hunger, thirst, disease, sadness, weariness. 
 (7) Injuries inflicted by creatures. (8) Spiritual neces- 
 sities, such as ignorance, darkness of mind, involuntary 
 distractions, forgetfulness, passions, inclination to evil. 
 
 (9) Temptations arising from the flesh, the devil, &c. 
 
 (10) Public calamities arising from heresy, rebellion, 
 conflagrations, &c. 
 
 The best way to prepare yourself meritoriously to bear, 
 both during and after your Novitiate, these and similar 
 ills, is a continual and actual exercise of patience, when- 
 ever any occasion of suffering presents itself. At such 
 moments as these, closing your eyes to the causes which 
 inflict pain, whether these causes are rational or only 
 material, lift up unto God your mind, illuminated by the 
 light of faith, and remember that with infinite wisdom, 
 justice, and holiness, He directs each occurrence for His 
 
 * Opusc. iii., cap. v. + Perfect. Christ ., tom. iii. , tract. 5. 
 
448 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 own glory and for your advantage, both temporal and 
 eternal. Strengthened by this thought, adore His all- 
 wise providence ; and trusting in the help of God, commit 
 yourself wholly to Him. If you cannot with a joyous 
 mind subject yourself to Him, at least do so with one 
 that is willing, being assured that he who neglects this 
 daily exercise of patience, and satisfies himself with re- 
 solving to be patient at some future period, is hoping for 
 that which will never come to pass. As the Prophet 
 Osee says : “ He sows the wind, and he shall reap the 
 whirlwind”. Also, Our Lord : “He sows upon a rock, 
 and because he has not any root, in the time of tempta- 
 tion and of adversity he will fall away”. Therefore, 
 whatsoever your hand is able to do, from this time forth, 
 do it earnestly. Daily exercise yourself in patience, in 
 the many opportunities which will never fail to present 
 themselves. Turn not aside, and flee not from them ; for 
 patience is won, not by flight, but by manful endur- 
 ance. “Await on God with patience,” as the Holy Ghost 
 by the mouth of the Wise Man exhorts you. Join your- 
 self to Him, by the consideration of His loving foresight 
 in all things, and endure, that your life may be increased 
 in the latter end.” * Accept everything that befalls you, 
 no matter whence it may come ; endure in sorrow, and 
 in your humility have patience; for gold is tried in the 
 fire, but acceptable men are proved in the crucible of 
 humiliation. 
 
 However, you must bear in mind that in those mis- 
 fortunes which have in them any offence against God, 
 which either expose you to the danger of offending Him, 
 or dispose you to do so, you must keep your patience in 
 such a way as to employ all suitable means for prevent- 
 ing Him from being offended ; for otherwise your endur- 
 * Ecclus. ii. 3. 
 
DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED TO THE NOVICE. 449 
 
 ance will not be meritorious but prejudicial to you. In 
 all other matters in which there is not any such danger to 
 be apprehended, as, for instance, in sickness, or in any 
 misfortune of a similar kind, natural means are to be 
 employed in such a way that, whether they succeed or 
 fail, too great anxiety and internal perturbation may be 
 avoided, and the issue, of whatever nature it may be, be left 
 entirely to the disposition of the divine will. As for matters 
 which lie completely beyond your power, such, for instance, 
 as bad weather, rain, floods, storms, and the like, you 
 must acquiesce in the arrangements of Divine Providence, 
 which, by means of natural causes, wisely regulates and 
 governs all things ; and yet the Church’s prayers, re- 
 cited for the purpose of warding off these evils, may, 
 without any detriment to the virtue of patience, be used, 
 but in the spirit of resignation to whatsoever it may 
 please our good God to appoint. 
 
 29 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Words : “ And if He Promise Stability and 
 Perseverance ”. 
 
 It is certain that these words cannot be understood of 
 the promise of monastic stability which the Novice makes 
 at his profession. Of this solemn engagement mention 
 is made farther on in this same chapter in the words : 
 “ When they admit him to profession, he shall, in the 
 presence of all, make a promise before God and His 
 Saints, of stability It is the opinion of a celebrated 
 author that, in our holy Father’s time, a contract was 
 usually made between the Novice and the Community : 
 the Novice promised not to leave them without a suffi- 
 cient reason ; and the Community not to dismiss him 
 without a grave cause. However that may have been, 
 some such form of contract seems to be quite in accord- 
 ance with the spirit of the Rule ; and, although nothing 
 certain can be determined about the matter, yet we may 
 venture to give an opinion upon the subject, t 
 
 * Cap. lviii. 
 
 t Of whatever nature this promise of Stability may have been, 
 it must of necessity have followed the laws which regulate other 
 promises, that is to say, it must in certain circumstances have been 
 revocable. Against this it may be objected that the contract be- 
 tween the Novice and the Community is not a gratuitous one, 
 inasmuch as the Novice on the strength of it receives food, clothing, 
 and the rest. To this we answer : He receives food, clothing, &c., 
 with an intention on the part of the donor to bind him, denied; 
 without any such intention, granted. Hence the contract remains 
 a purely gratuitous one, and therefore is revocable at will. — Trs. 
 
OF STABILITY. 
 
 451 
 
 It seems to us that in this passage our holy Father 
 intended first to caution the Novice against presuming 
 either to ask for or to retain the Religious habit, when 
 he knows full well that on account of some secret, sub- 
 stantial impediment — such as a notable defect in body, 
 in health, &c. —he cannot with a safe conscience make his 
 profession. For, by entering the Novitiate, he deceives 
 the Community, who, naturally enough, do not wish to ad- 
 mit, or to keep any persons in probation, save only those 
 of whose perseverance they entertain a reasonable hope. 
 Secondly, , against taking the habit with the intention of 
 not persevering, even though there may not be any sub- 
 stantial defect to prevent it. He who. enters the Monas- 
 tery in this way does not enter by the gate, but is a 
 thief and a robber ; for, to say nothing of the other evils 
 which spring from his conduct, he steals the goods of the 
 Monastery, by consuming them against the will of the 
 Community, and, in a spiritual way, murders his own 
 soul. Thirdly, against acting- in such a way as to merit 
 expulsion from the Monastery on account of his bad 
 behaviour. It is not to be expected that, like Jonas, he 
 will find a great fish in the stormy sea of a worldly life, 
 ready to bear him into a place of safety. It is far more 
 probable that, like Pharaoh, he will be swallowed by its 
 foaming billows, to his own irreparable loss. Fourthly, 
 against casting off the Religious habit’, through mere 
 levity of mind, and without a sufficient reason. For, 
 although it is not absolutely and directly a mortal sin to 
 turn a deaf ear to God, Who calls you to the Religious 
 Life— except indeed in a certain case — yet, for many 
 reasons, absolutely and always it is a very dangerous 
 thing to do.* The fearful examples brought forward by 
 the author to whose pages we refer you are very appli- 
 * P. Dirkinck, Fund. Vitce ceter ., cap. iii. 
 
452 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 cable to these our times, and ought to make you wary of 
 putting your hand to the plough, and to prevent you from 
 withdrawing it, without a grave reason, lest you should 
 thereby render yourself unworthy of the Kingdom of God. 
 No words are strong enough to condemn the wickedness 
 of those who, not content with deserting the ranks of 
 Religion, do the devil’s work by trying to induce others 
 to desert with them. To these deservedly may be ad- 
 dressed these words of our Divine Lord : “Woe to that 
 man by whom scandal cometh ! It were better for him 
 that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he 
 cast into the depth of the sea.”* 
 
 As we have spoken of stability, a few words will not 
 be out of place concerning perseverance. St. Gregory 
 says : “ Good is done to no purpose, if the doing of it is 
 abandoned before the end of our mortal life. For he 
 who runs swiftly runs in vain, if he ceases to run before 
 he has reached the goal.” Hence it is that it is said of 
 the reprobate : “Woe to them that have lost patience ”.f 
 Hence He Who is Truth itself says to His chosen ones : 
 “You are they who have continued with Me in My 
 ^temptations J 
 
 ' In our opinion three things are necessary to secure any 
 one’s perseverance in his vocation. If these be properly 
 employed, he will not through his own fault abandon his 
 Order ; nor has any one who has made use of them ever 
 yet looked back and become unfit for the Kingdom of 
 God. The first is prayer ; the second is a great esteem 
 of the Religious vocation ; the third is a careful observ- 
 ance of all those practices of which we have already 
 spoken, when treating of truly seeking God, and of being 
 prompt for the “ Work of God,” for obedience, for re- 
 proach, or, which is the same thing, for the exercise of 
 * St. Luke xvii. 1. + Ecclus. ii. 16. J St. Luke xxii. 28. 
 
OF STABILITY. 
 
 453 
 
 patience and of humility. Prayer has been instituted 
 by God as a means to obtain all good things, according 
 to that: “Ask, and it shall be given you;”* “Your 
 Father from heaven will give the good spirit to them 
 that ask Him”.t Perseverance, however, not only is 
 good in itself, but is the completion of all other good 
 things, and the peculiar gift of God. It follows, there- 
 fore, that prayer is one of the chief, one of the necessary 
 means to obtain it. Therefore, frequently lift your 
 heart unto God, and with humble confidence beseech 
 Him, through His infinite loving-kindness, to bestow 
 this gift upon you, invoking, for this purpose, the aid of 
 the glorious Virgin Mary, mother of God — the special 
 Patroness of our Order, through whom God has willed 
 us to obtain all things ; of St. Benedict ; and of the 
 other Saints, concerning whose worship and veneration 
 we refer you to an excellent work entitled Internal Life 
 with God.X 
 
 With respect to esteem for one’s vocation, to thanks- 
 giving for this singular favour, and to the motives which 
 are best adapted for exciting these sentiments in one’s 
 soul, since illustrious authors have written on all these 
 points, and particularly Jerome Plat, in his book on the 
 Excellence of the Religious State , Nadasi on the Life 
 and the Manner of the Predestined , Humbert on Con- 
 tempt of the World , we commend you to the study of 
 their works. We will content ourselves with simply 
 exhorting you never to be either sluggish or indifferent 
 in the performance of these duties ; for this would be to 
 show yourself ungrateful to God ; and ingratitude, as you 
 know so well, is a hateful thing in His eyes, and the fore- 
 runner of a total abandonment of His service. 
 
 Wherefore, never suffer a day or an hour to pass with- 
 * St. Matth. vii. 7. + St. Luke xi. 13. X By Father Anselm Fischer. 
 
454 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 out offering to our good God, sometimes by short ejacula- 
 tions, at others by longer prayers, your sacrifice of praise 
 and of thanksgiving. “For it is not granted to all to 
 forsake all, to renounce the world, and to take on them 
 the Monastic Life.”* If the chapter from which these 
 words are quoted be frequently read by you, and com- 
 mitted to memory, it will supply an abundance of loving 
 aspirations, admirably adapted for this purpose. There 
 is one piece of advice which, while endeavouring to ex- 
 cite in your heart a high esteem for your vocation, we 
 deem it fitting to give to you, and it is this : Never in 
 thought, or in word, or in writing, to make little of any 
 other Eeligious Order, or State, or Institute, but on all 
 occasions to think, to speak, and to write about them with 
 honour and with praise. W e have already, in another place, 
 spoken upon this subject ; but we here repeat our words, 
 and we would wish, for weighty reasons which need not be 
 mentioned, over and over again to repeat them. In fact, 
 an exact compliance with those precepts which we have 
 given, about truly seeking God, about eagerness for the 
 “ Work of God,” for obedience, and for humiliation, is 
 the surest safeguard of perseverance. This is proved by 
 the daily experience of those who, by their own fault, 
 abandon Eeligious Life. For they come to this unhappy 
 pass, in consequence of having entered Eeligion without a 
 good intention. They began imperceptibly to grow weary 
 of those things which regard the service of God, and the 
 perfection of their interior man ; to omit them ; to dis- 
 obey ; to refuse to humble themselves. Hence it was 
 that, in preceding chapters, we often repeated that 
 certain characteristics are indications of failure in the 
 Eeligious Life, on the part of those persons who are 
 marked with them. For the same reason we strongly in- 
 * Following of Christ , bk. iii. , chap. x. 
 
OF STABILITY. 
 
 455 
 
 sisted upon this, in order that you might the more care- 
 fully avoid the faults upon which we commented, and 
 might not run the risk of losing your calling to this holy 
 State* and of imperilling the eternal salvation of your 
 immortal soul. 
 
 From all that has been said, you will now have a 
 sufficiently clear notion of that which our holy Father 
 means by the words : “ If he promise stability and per- 
 severance We will, therefore, in the following chapter, 
 call your attention to other matters which seem to 
 require an explanation. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Thrice Reading the Rule. 
 
 "That thrice during the year — namely, in the second, the 
 eighth, and the twelfth month of the Novitiate — the Rule be read 
 to him, that he may know unto what he has come.” 
 
 Although this ordinance of our holy Father, concerning 
 the reading of the Rule three times during the course of 
 the year, has reference to the Novice Master rather than 
 to the Novice, yet, because all the efforts of the Master 
 will be futile unless the Novice bring with him a docile 
 heart, it will be very much for your advantage rightly to 
 understand, and duly to carry into effect, those precepts 
 which are useful and necessary for thoroughly imbibing 
 the spirit of the Holy Rule. In the first place, you must 
 entertain a very great esteem for the Holy Rule. It was 
 written by him who, as St. Gregory says, was full of the 
 spirit of all the just ; of whom St. Hildegarde says : 
 “ The lessons which our holy Father St. Benedict 
 teaches were written in fear and in love, in charity and 
 in chastity, so that nothing must be either added to 
 them or taken from them, for they are deficient in no 
 respect, since they are the work of the Holy Spirit 
 Pluck out of your soul that most pernicious idea, if it 
 should chance to have taken root there, to wit, that the 
 Rule neither can, nor ought to be, observed in these our 
 times. Strongly fortify yourself against ever suffering 
 this notion to gain a foothold in your mind, for if it 
 * Comment in Reg. 
 
THRICE READING THE RULE. 
 
 457 
 
 should do so, what advantage can you ever reap from 
 repeatedly reading it, and from listening to the explana- 
 tions which are given of its various chapters ? You will 
 look upon all its enactments as having been commend- 
 able indeed in former times, but as quite unsuitable for 
 the days in which we live. Consequently, you will not be 
 at any pains to try to carry them into effect. Any one can 
 see at a glance how absurd is conduct such as this, and 
 how subversive of our Order, of all regular observance, 
 and of all religious discipline. Understand, therefore, 
 and hold it as a certain fact, that we have chosen for 
 our Legislator the same St. Benedict that our Fathers 
 and predecessors for many ages had as their Master and 
 Ruler. We have the same Rule, and the same obliga- 
 tion to observe it — as far, at least, as the matter of the 
 virtues is concerned — that they had, with the excep- 
 tion, perhaps, of some few accidental matters not per- 
 taining to the essence of Religious Life, which matters 
 have been either changed or completely dispensed with 
 by lawful authority, or by custom. 
 
 Look upon the least observance of the holy Rule, or 
 upon the slightest transgression of it, as a matter of great 
 moment. Do not put off till after your profession the 
 practice of that which is contained in the Rule, and 
 particularly of those matters which have reference to the 
 vows and to the other virtues. To do this would be an 
 exceedingly great mistake. For, since the year of proba- 
 tion is given to you to try yourself, to test yourself by 
 actual experience, to exercise yourself, and to acquire a 
 habit of those virtues which you will be obliged to 
 practise after your profession, what good, we ask, can 
 you hope from yourself after taking your vows, if during 
 the whole Novitiate you have acted, with respect to the 
 virtues which the vows impose upon you, as if they were 
 
458 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 matters with which you were not in any way concerned ? 
 Wherefore, if after your profession you desire to make 
 progress in perfection and to ward off the dangers 
 which entangle the feet of those who, during their 
 Novitiate, have acted in the way which we have been 
 describing, be careful during your year of probation to 
 imbue your mind with the spirit of your holy Order. You 
 will effect this, if you learn to perform your duties in the 
 spirit of the Rule. To facilitate this, we will here lay 
 before you a brief digest of it, adapted to our modern 
 distribution of time ; and to this we will add a few 
 remarks concerning the matter of the vows. 
 
 A Brief Digest of the Rule. 
 
 First of all, whatever good work you begin, beg of Him 
 with most earnest prayer, to perfect (Prol.). (2) In all 
 things glorify God, and truly seek Him (Cap. 57 and 58). 
 (3) Do everything in the spirit of obedience and of 
 humility (Cap. 5 and 7); with a good mind, that is, with a 
 mind which is spiritually joyous, tranquil,, resigned ; and 
 with a serene countenance, because God loveth a cheer- 
 ful giver (Cap. 5). Also, let your actions be done at 
 suitable hours, observing the proper distribution of time 
 (Cap. 31 and 48), with external modesty (Cap. 7.) and, 
 with careful remembrance of the divine presence (Cap. 4 
 and 7). 
 
 Matins. — Having risen, without delay, gently encou- 
 rage* your fellow Novices to hasten to the “Work of 
 God ” ; but yet with all gravity and modesty (Cap. 12). 
 
 Psalmody. — You must reflect in what manner you 
 ought to comport yourself in the sight of God and of 
 His holy Angels. Always be mindful of that saying of the 
 
 * This is done by the Monk who wakens the brethren, saying : 
 Benedicamus Domino. 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 459 
 
 Prophet : “ Serve ye the Lord in fear Again : “ Sing 
 ye wisely”; and, “In the sight of the Angels I will sing 
 unto Thee”. “ So sing in choir, that mind and voice 
 may be in accord ” (Cap. 19). Let the Cantors and the 
 Readers perform their respective duties in such a way 
 as to edify those who hear them. Let those whom the 
 Abbot shall order to undertake these offices perform them 
 with humility, with gravity, and with reverential fear (Cap. 
 47). The verse : “ 0 Lord ! incline unto mine aid,” must 
 be uttered with particular devotion, inasmuch as it is a 
 petition for the divine assistance, and an offering of the 
 whole psalmody of the Divine Office to the Blessed 
 Trinity (Cap. 9). At the “ Our Father,” and particularly 
 when it is said at Lauds and at Vespers, while you repeat 
 that petition, in which you pray that your trespasses may 
 be forgiven, you must cleanse your soul from every 
 blemish which is, in any way, opposed to the virtue of fra- 
 ternal charity (Cap. 13). Each “ Glory be to the Father” 
 must either be said or be listened to with the greatest 
 possible reverence, both internal and external (Cap. 9). 
 The Holy Gospel must he heard while, out of respect and 
 reverential fear, all the Brotherhood remain standing (Cap. 
 11). He who comes late, and he who while reciting either 
 a Psalm or any other portion of the Sacred Liturgy makes 
 a mistake, must do penance for it, in the manner which 
 is prescribed (Cap. 43 and 45). 
 
 After Matins. — When the “Work of God” is finished, 
 all shall silently leave the Oratory, and bow reverentially, 
 adoring and giving thanks to God (Cap. 52). What has 
 been said, thus far, about Matins or the Night Watches, 
 must also be observed in the rest of the Canonical Hours, 
 which are recited during the day. 
 
 Meditation. — “If, when we wish to make some sugges- 
 tion to the powerful, we presume not to speak to them, 
 
460 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 except with humility, and with reverence, with how much 
 greater reason ought we to present our supplications, 
 with humility and purity of devotion, to the Lord God 
 of all things.” Let us bear in mind that we shall be 
 heard, not for our many words, but for our purity of heart 
 and for our penitential tears (Cap. 20). 
 
 That is to say, we must pray with affection of heart 
 rather than with a multiplicity of words and of ideas ; 
 because the fruit of prayer consists chiefly in the action 
 of the will, by which pious affections and good resolu- 
 tions, general as well as particular, are produced, and 
 humble and fervent supplications are made unto God, to 
 bestow grace to carry these into effect, and to grant the 
 petitions which we make for favours both for ourselves 
 and for others. (1) As soon as you hear the signal which 
 summons you to Prime and to the other “ Hours,” lay 
 aside that occupation in which you may chance to be 
 engaged, and repair to the Choir with all speed, and yet 
 with gravity of gait and of demeanour, in order that no 
 occasion may be given for light behaviour. (2) Let 
 nothing be preferred to the “Work of God”. (3) Let 
 no one seek for exemptions from monastic observance, 
 but let each leave all things to the arrangement and to 
 the will of Superiors. This is evidently the mind of St. 
 Benedict, as we may see from what he says in the 
 fiftieth chapter of the Rule. (4) When the “Hours” 
 are recited out of Choir, they ought to be said with 
 reverential fear, on bended knees,* and at the times ap- 
 pointed for them. What has been said with respect to 
 psalmody and to mental prayer ought to be applied to 
 all other vocal prayers, if we desire rightly to quit 
 ourselves of them. 
 
 Chapter op Faults. — The forty-sixth chapter must be 
 * To say the Hours kneeling is by no means obligatory. 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 461 
 
 observed by those who, in any way whatever, are guilty 
 of faults. They must, of their own accord, make satis- 
 faction for them by self-accusation. This ought not to 
 be done out of mere custom, but with real, internal com- 
 punction of heart, with a desire of satisfying God for the 
 sins which we have committed, and of doing better for 
 the future. The same observations will hold good of all 
 private self-accusation made before your Master. 
 
 Daily Occupations, such as spiritual reading, manual 
 labour, and the duties imposed upon each by Superiors. 
 (1) Idleness is an enemy of the soul, and therefore must 
 be avoided (Cap. 48). (2) St. Benedict orders that the 
 
 slothful Brother who gives himself up to idleness or to 
 foolish talking, and neglects his reading, should be re- 
 buked and punished in such a way as to inspire the rest 
 with fear (Cap. 48). (3) One Brother is not to associate 
 
 with another at unseasonable times (Cap. 48). (4) Monks 
 ought to keep silence at all times (Cap. 42). (5) That 
 
 which is said of artisans must be understood also of those 
 who are employed in study, or in any other work for the 
 advantage of the Monastery, — they are to exercise their 
 art, to pursue their researches, to fulfil their duties when 
 they receive an order from the Abbot to do so (Cap. 57). 
 From this we may gather that a Benedictine Monk 
 cannot occupy himself according to his own caprice, but 
 according to the wishes and the direction of his Superiors. 
 St. Benedict intimates as much in many other passages : 
 “ But if any of these artisans, &c., is proud of the skill 
 which he hath in his craft, because he thereby seemeth 
 to gain something for the Monastery, let him be removed 
 from it, and not again exercise it unless, after humbling 
 himself, the Abbot shall permit him” From this you 
 may see in what detestation pride is held by our holy 
 Father. Therefore, beware of it, and so ground yourself 
 
462 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 in true humility, as never at any time to think that, by 
 reason of your noble birth, or of your wealth, or of your 
 knowledge, you either have conferred, or actually do 
 confer, any benefit upon the Monastery, and consequently 
 that you stand high above others. If you entertain any 
 such ideas as these, St. Benedict will not acknowledge 
 you as his son ; you will not have any part with him ; 
 but he will pluck you out and remove you from your 
 dwelling-place, in order that, through very shame, you 
 may be led to do penance. But, unless you abandon 
 your pride and truly humble yourself, you will not escape 
 that confusion of face which will last for ever: “ If you 
 do well, shall you not receive; but, if ill, shall not sin 
 forthwith be present at the door?” “The lust thereof 
 shall be under you ; and you shall have dominion over 
 it.”* 
 
 Eating and Dkinking. — As soon as the signal for 
 meals is heard, all shall hasten to obey it, in order that 
 all may say the “ Grace,” and sit down to table together. 
 He who, through negligence and his own fault, does not 
 obey this call, must be corrected, and make atonement 
 for his want of obedience. No one must presume to eat 
 or to drink either before or after the appointed times 
 (Cap. 43). Let the greatest silence be kept at table, so 
 that no muttering nor voice be heard there, save that of 
 the Reader (Cap. 38). Care must be taken to avoid 
 excess in eating or in drinking, in order that all surfeiting 
 may he prevented ; because there is no sin which is more 
 opposed to the profession of a Christian than gluttony. 
 Hence Our Lord says: “Take heed to yourselves lest 
 perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and 
 drunkenness” (Cap. 39). Our holy .Father’s enactment 
 with respect to the quantity of food, to wit, that two 
 * Gen . iv. 7. 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 463 
 
 dishes should suffice, so that he who cannot eat of the 
 one, may make his meal of the other, must be understood 
 to mean that, if there should be more than two, the 
 Monks are not to take more of them than they need or 
 than nature requires ; and thus the pleasing sacrifice of 
 abstinence may be offered to God. With respect to ab- 
 stinence from flesh meat, since a legitimate dispensation 
 has been granted to eat it on certain days, our duty is to 
 ’ repress any inordinate desire of this kind of fare ; and 
 whenever we' may do so without singularity, to be more 
 abstemious with respect to it, and particularly when it 
 consists of any sort of delicacy. As for the fasts which 
 are prescribed by Rule, each may lawfully accommodate 
 himself to the place or to the Monastery in which he 
 lives. He, however, who desires to be an exact observer 
 of the holy Rule, may, without singularity, be more ab- 
 stemious at table on those days on which our holy Father 
 prescribes fasts by Rule, and may take less of the dishes 
 which are set before him than he would take if the fast 
 had not been prescribed. In speaking of drink, our 
 holy Father permits the use of wine, with these reserva- 
 tions : (1) That we do not drink unto satiety, but spar- 
 ingly : “for wine maketh even the wise to fall away”. 
 (2) That, if the poverty of the place in which we live will 
 not allow the appointed measure to be given, but much 
 less, or perhaps even none at all, we should give God 
 thanks and should not murmur ; for he warns us above 
 all things, to avoid murmuring. (3) That if God has 
 bestowed upon us the gift of abstinence, we should give 
 Him thanks, and should look forward to receive the 
 special reward of this self-denial (Cap. 40). The 
 Brother who goes forth upon any errand, and intends to 
 return on that same day to the Monastery, must not, 
 while abroad, presume to eat, even though invited by 
 
464 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 any one to do so, unless, indeed, he has an order to that 
 effect from the Abbot (Cap. 51). 
 
 Servers and Readers. — On Sunday, the outgoing and 
 the incoming officers for the week shall cast themselves 
 upon their knees before all, and shall ask to be prayed 
 for (Cap. 35). This should be done with sincere affection 
 of heart, and according to the customary rite. (2) The 
 Brethren are to serve one another, and no one must be 
 exempted, unless he is hindered either by sickness, or by 
 some other work of greater profit ; because great reward 
 is gotten thence. Hence, exemptions are to be avoided 
 with all care, but especially such exemptions as are 
 willingly sought for through some pretext. (3) The 
 Brethren are to serve one another with all charity (Cap. 
 35). (4) Let them, in such a way, serve one another, 
 
 that no one need ask for anything (Cap. 39). (5) Let the 
 
 Reader perform his task in such a way as to edify his 
 hearers. With respect to the taking of some little 
 refreshment before either reading or serving, this is an 
 indulgence which our holy Father permits, but does not 
 command. 
 
 After Meals. — Let all the Brethren together say the 
 Verse, that is, the Grace after meals ; and let them 
 devoutly do this, and not through mere custom. 
 
 Mutual Intercourse and Conversation. — Because 
 the danger of committing sin and of falling into dissipa- 
 tion is especially great in the performance of these 
 duties, our holy Father, with watchful solicitude, takes 
 measures which, with the aid of God’s grace, will keep 
 his children safe from harm. We will suggest to you the 
 chief of these, and if you make a proper use of them, your 
 conversation will be pleasing to God and acceptable unto 
 men. Strive to keep 'with special care the following 
 precepts which are drawn from the chapter which treats 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 465 
 
 of the “instruments’’ of good works: — (1) Love your 
 neighbour as yourself. Honour all men. Do not to 
 another that which you would not that another should 
 do unto you. Forsake not charity. Do not any injury, 
 but patiently bear any injury that is done to you. 
 Keep your mouth from evil and from filthy words. Love 
 not much talking. Reverence the Elders. Love in- 
 feriors for Christ’s sake. Make peace with adversaries 
 before the setting of the sun. (2) As for buffoonery, 
 idle words, and such as move to laughter, we condemn 
 and forbid them in all places, nor do we allow a disciple 
 to open his mouth to give them utterance (Cap. t 6). (3) 
 
 When a Monk speaketh, let him speak gently, and with- 
 out laughter, humbly, gravely, briefly, and discreetly. 
 Let him not be clamorous in voice (Cap. 7, 11, Grad.). 
 (4) Above all things take heed that there be not any 
 murmuring by word or by sign on any occasion whatso- 
 ever (Cap. 34). (5) Let no one call another by his 
 
 simple name ; when a Senior passes by let the Junior 
 rise and give him place to sit ; nor shall the Junior 
 presume to sit with him unless his Senior bid him do so, 
 in order to accomplish that which is written : “In 
 honour preventing one another ” (Cap. 63). With 
 respect to asking a blessing from those who are passing 
 by, of which mention is made in this chapter, that is 
 done by uncovering the head, and by an inclination 
 which is made not out of mere politeness, but with 
 internal humility. (6) Let no one presume to relate 
 unto others that which he has either seen or heard out- 
 side the Monastery, especially if he has been living in 
 the world, because therefrom arise many evil con- 
 sequences (Cap. 67). (7) Special care must be taken 
 
 that on no occasion one Monk presume to uphold or 
 defend another in the Monastery, even though they be 
 
 30 
 
466 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 near of kin. In no way whatsoever let any Monk pre- 
 sume to do this, because thence may arise exceeding 
 great occasion of scandal (Cap. 69). (8) Lastly, that 
 
 which is said in the seventy-second chapter concerning 
 the good zeal which Monks ought to have, must be 
 specially noticed and kept in constant remembrance. 
 “ Let Monks,” says our holy Father, “ exercise this zeal 
 with most fervent love — that is to say, let them ‘ in 
 honour prevent one another \ Let them patiently bear 
 with one another’s infirmities, whether these are of body 
 or of mind. Let them vie with one another in the 
 virtue of obedience. Let no one follow that which 
 he thinketh profitable to himself, but rather that 
 which is profitable to another. Let them show unto 
 one another all brotherly charity with a chaste love. 
 Let them fear God, love their Abbot with sincere 
 and humble affection, and prefer nothing whatever to 
 Christ.” 
 
 Beading, Compline!, Examination op Conscience, 
 Sleep. — (1) Monks ought to keep silence at all times, 
 but especially during the hours of the night (Cap. 42). 
 (2) Let them all come together presently after supper, 
 and let either the Conferences of the Fathers be read, or 
 anything else which will edify the hearers (Cap. 42). (3) 
 
 When all are assembled, let them say Compline, after 
 which no one shall be permitted to speak, unless there 
 be some necessary cause, such as the arrival of Guests, 
 the command of the Abbot, &c.' Yet, qven in these cases, 
 let their words be uttered with the greatest gravity and 
 moderation {Ibid.). (4) With tears and sighs, let them, 
 in prayer to God, daily confess their past sins, and strive 
 to amend them for the time to come (Cap. 4, Instr. 58). 
 (5) Let them sleep, each in a separate bed, and receive, 
 according to the appointment of the Abbot, bed-clothes 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 467 
 
 befitting their condition. Let them sleep clothed, and 
 girt with girdles or cords (Cap. 22). 
 
 On Chapter 22, from Turrecremata. — (1) Never go 
 to sleep in the state of mortal sin. (2) Always pray before 
 going to sleep, that the mercy of God may watch over 
 yon, may drive far from the place in which you rest all 
 the snares of the enemy, with loving kindness fiiay pro- 
 tect you, and safely guard you. (3) Arm yourself with 
 the sign of the Cross, against the temptations of the 
 devil. (4) Go to sleep wfith your mind full of good 
 thoughts. (5) Be content with a hard couch. (6) 
 Sleep clothed in your habit. (7) Lie with the members 
 of your body modestly composed. (8) Sleep quietly. 
 Sobriety in food and custody of the senses contribute 
 much to produce a light sleep. (9) Be not too much 
 given up to sleep. (10) Be not sluggish in bed, but be 
 ready speedily to rise for the night watches ; to celebrate 
 the divine praises ; to study, to pray, and to meditate. 
 (11) As often as a Monk awakes, he ought straightway, 
 in Psalms, to give thanks to God, because it is He that 
 watches over us when we sleep, and guards us from the 
 roaring lions which are ready to devour us. 
 
 Vows, Obedience. — With respect to the vow of obedi- 
 ence, oftentimes read and reflect upon the following 
 passages and chapters : — In the Prologue : “ Beturn by the 
 labour of obedience to Him from Whom thou didst depart 
 by the sloth of disobedience. To thee, therefore, are my 
 words now directed,” &c. *“Let us, therefore, now prepare 
 our hearts and our bodies to fight under the holy obedi- 
 ence of His commands. ’’ In the second chapter : “Then, 
 finally, death shall be inflicted as a just punishment 
 upon the sheep, who, by their disobedience, refuse to 
 correspond to the.ir shepherd’s care”. In the third 
 chapter: “ Let no one in the Monastery follow his own 
 
468 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 will. Let no one either within or without the Monastery 
 presume insolently to contend with his Abbot.’’ In the 
 fourth chapter: “Be not a murmurer. Hate self-will. 
 Obey in all things the commands of the Abbot, though 
 he himself (which God forbid) should do just the 
 opposite to that which he teaches.” Bead the fifth 
 chapter throughout. In the seventh chapter : First de- 
 gree: “The Scripture forbiddeth us to do our own will, 
 saying : ‘ Leave thy own will and desire ’ Bead the 
 second and fourth degrees of humility. Third degree : 
 “ For the love of God, submit yourself with all obedience 
 to your Superior, thereby imitating Our Lord, of Whom 
 the Apostle saith : ‘ He was made obedient even unto 
 death’ ”. In the forty-ninth chapter : “Whatever is done 
 without the permission of the Spiritual Father, shall be 
 imputed to vain glory. All things, therefore, must be 
 done with the approbation of the Abbot.” In the sixty - 
 seventh chapter : “ He who shall do anything, how trifling 
 soever, without leave of the Abbot, is liable to the 
 penalty prescribed by the Buie ”. Bead the sixty-eighth 
 chapter, and in it mark well the final words, for they 
 contain a great deal: “Let the Brother know that it is 
 for his good, and trusting in the assistance of God, let 
 him obey through love for Him ”. It is because we do 
 not sufficiently trust in His assistance that we remain 
 in a low degree of perfection ; for we measure all things 
 by our own little reason; we think that everything is 
 too grievous for us ; that it will stand in our way ; that 
 it is impossible; and we do not, with our whole heart,, 
 trust in God. 
 
 Chastity. — In the Prologue : “Who casting out of his 
 mind the malignant devil with all his suggestions, brings 
 them to naught, and taking his thoughts while they are 
 still young, dashes them against the rock Christ”. In 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 469 
 
 the fourth chapter : “ Not to covet. To chastise the body. 
 Not to seek after delights. Presently, by the remembrance 
 of Christ, to put away any evil thoughts which may 
 enter our hearts, and to reveal them to our Spiritual 
 Father. To love chastity.” In the seventh chapter : “Be 
 mindful of all that God hath commanded,” &c. Bead, and 
 attentively consider, this first degree of humility. Who 
 is there that will not be filled with fear when he reflects 
 upon these words : “ Death sitteth close to the entrance 
 of delight ”. Frequently let them be the subject of your 
 thoughts; and from the reflections which you make, 
 conceive a great fear, and you will not love the vices 
 of the flesh. The various other virtues which are re- 
 commended in the pages of the Buie, lend their aid to 
 help you to keep intact the angelic virtue of chastity. 
 Among these, obedience and humility hold the first rank. 
 No one who neglects these, ever attains to true purity of 
 heart. Towards the end of the fifth chapter, we gave a 
 very remarkable passage from the Fathers, concerning 
 obedience. The same Fathers say of chastity: “ Chastity 
 is impossible, unless the foundations of humility are first 
 laid in the heart Two reasons are assigned for this : 
 First, because true humility makes us have recourse to 
 God to obtain continence and the gift of chastity, accord- 
 ing to that: “I knew that I could not be continent 
 unless God gave it ; I went to the Lord and besought 
 Him”.t Secondly, because humility teaches us not to 
 glory in our chastity, nor in our virginity, lest we become 
 like those foolish Virgins, of whom St. Gregory says : 
 “While seeking from men glory on account of their 
 virginity, they neglected to have oil in their vessels, and 
 consequently deserved to be excluded from the marriage 
 of the heavenly Spouse ”. 
 
 * Cassian, Instit., lib. vi., cap. xviii. + Wisd. viii. 21. 
 
470 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 Poverty. — In the seventh chapter . Sixth degree : “Let 
 the Monk be content with all that is meanest and 
 poorest Read the thirty- third chapter, for in it is con- 
 tained almost the whole substance of that which may be 
 said concerning this one. In the thirty-fourth chapter : 
 “ Let him who needeth less, give God thanks, and be not 
 grieved ; and let him who needeth more, be humbled on 
 account of his infirmity, and not be puffed up with con- 
 ceit, by reason of the mercy which is shown to him ”. By 
 these words you are warned that whatever is given' to 
 you is not given as a something which is due to you, and 
 which you deserve ; but, out of mere pity, just as an alms 
 is given to the poor. Therefore, whatever is bestowed 
 upon you, must be by you received with sentiments of 
 the greatest gratitude, and with thanks to God, your 
 good Father, and to His vicars, who, with so great kind- 
 ness, provide for your necessities. This act, as is but 
 just, should be performed with all sincerity. If it is 
 continued throughout life, it is productive of innumerable 
 graces and favours. Therefore, it ought to be practised 
 with the greatest assiduity. The fifty-fourth and fifty- 
 fifth chapters should be read throughout. The fifty- 
 seventh, from the words: “But if any of their work,” 
 &c. In the fifty-eighth chapter: “If the Novice has any 
 property, let him, before his profession, either bestow it 
 upon the poor, or, by a formal gift, hand it over to the 
 Monastery, without any reserve for himself ; because, for 
 the future, he must know that he has not so much as 
 power over his own body ”. 
 
 Amendment of Manners, and Stability. — Because 
 in the form of profession express mention is made of 
 these two important duties, you must dispose yourself to 
 comply with them in the spirit in which you know that 
 our holy Father would wish you to comply with them. 
 
A DIGEST OF THE RULE. 
 
 471 
 
 St. Benedict introduced them into that solemn contract, 
 in order thoroughly to eliminate from the minds of his 
 disciples the vices which are opposed to them. These 
 vices were strongly-marked features in the lives of the 
 Sarabites and of the Gyrovagi, of whom mention is made 
 in the first chapter of the Rule. Hence, if you refrain 
 from these vices, or from vices which are similar to 
 them, and exercise yourself in practising the contrary 
 virtues, we have no doubt whatever but that you will 
 satisfy your obligation in this respect. The vice of the 
 Sarabites consisted in cleaving to the world by their 
 wicked lives. The pleasure of their desires was to them 
 a law ; they lived without rule ; and whatever they 
 either liked or made choice of, that they would have to 
 be holy ; but what they liked not, that they considered 
 to be unlawful. Therefore, if you desire to amend your 
 manners, you must be completely averse from the ways 
 of the world, and must entirely submit yourself to the 
 sweet yoke of obedience, doing nothing through self-will, 
 but acting in all things according to the spirit of the 
 Rule. The Gyrovagi were always wandering about from 
 place to place without having any fixed abode, being 
 altogether given up to their own pleasures and to the 
 enticements of gluttony. 
 
 You will avoid their vices by loving the solitude of 
 your cell, by shunning curiosity and unnecessary conver- 
 sation, by applying yourself to mortification of the 
 senses, to self-denial, and to abstinence. If you show 
 yourself desirous of practising these virtues, you will 
 undoubtedly, through the grace of God, be filled with 
 the spirit of our holy Father St. Benedict ; and in con- 
 sequence of this, you will obtain a far clearer and 
 deeper insight into the Rule than you would be able to 
 secure by close study and by laborious research, 
 
472 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 for it is written : “A good understanding to all that 
 doit”* 
 
 But for a full and complete knowlege of those things 
 which you will be obliged to observe after your profes- 
 sion, such, for instance, as the vows of Religion, have 
 recourse to the instruction of your Master. Do not 
 imagine that you are allowed to do everything which 
 you either may see done by others, or may hear is done 
 by them ; yet do not pass judgment upon any one in 
 particular, nor think that you have done your duty when 
 you have rightly learnt and clearly understood every- 
 thing that pertains to it, for in addition to this you must 
 act during the time of the Novitiate ; you must exercise 
 yourself in doing good ; and by frequently doing good, 
 you must acquire good habits. 
 
 Ps. cx. 10 . 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Words Addressed to the Novice. 
 
 “ Behold the Law under which tljou desirest to fight ; if thou 
 canst observe it, enter ; if thou canst not, freely depart.” 
 
 By these words St. Benedict gives you to understand that 
 you must have a firm purpose of observing regular dis- 
 cipline throughout your whole life. If you have not this, 
 it would be better for you to remain in the world ; for to 
 live in Religious Life without it, will, at one and the same 
 time, be detrimental to the Order, and very perilous to 
 your own soul. Attend unto the words «of that most en- 
 lightened Mistress of the Spiritual Life, St. Theresa, who, 
 when speaking upon this subject, says : “Oh, how great 
 love would that man show unto God, and what an ex- 
 cellent service would he render Him, if, seeing that he is 
 unable to go through the discipline which is usually ob- 
 served in a Religious House, he would humbly acknow- 
 ledge this, and return to the world before taking upon 
 himself the obligation of the Vows ! By his departure 
 he would afford others an opportunity of enjoying the 
 quiet of Religious Life.”* We do not require you to be 
 already perfect ; but only that you should have a firm 
 purpose, never, throughout the whole course of your life, 
 to give over the pursuit of perfection; and that you 
 should at once begin to show in your conduct some signs 
 
 De Via Perfect., cap. xiii. 
 
474 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 of this pursuit, especially with respect to those virtues of 
 which we have already spoken, when treating about 
 truly seeking God, about eagerness for the “ Work of 
 God,” for obedience, for humiliation, and for the obser- 
 vance of the Holy Rule. But if you perceive that you 
 have neither the courage nor the strength to do that 
 which is required of you, again, we say, freely depart, lest 
 others be vitiated by your example, and thus one diseased 
 sheep should infect the whole flock. Moreover, take 
 notice that our holy Father does not say : “ Behold the 
 law under which thou mayest rest, or mayest live an idle 
 life ; but under which thou desirest to fight This is to 
 intimate to you that the life of man upon earth is a war- 
 fare ; and that his days are as the days of a hireling. 
 Therefore, he who wishes to take part in this spiritual 
 campaign, in such a way as to obtain the eternal reward, 
 must be ready to endure all hardships for the sake of his 
 Lord. He must be ready to be proved as gold is, by the 
 file, the hammer, and the fire of the furnace, in order 
 that he may deserve to win the diadem and the kingdom 
 which His Leader has prepared for him. # According 
 to this Law you will be judged, to see whether your con- 
 duct has merited glory or condemnation. The book of 
 the Holy Rule will be opened. If your deeds be con- 
 formable with its enactments, you will receive a reward ; 
 if not, you will have your portion with the hypocrites. 
 Weigh well all these truths, and then make that resolu- 
 tion which right reason shall dictate. 
 
 Smaragdus. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Trial of Patience. 
 
 “ Let him be again tried in all patience.” 
 
 In order that this trial may be fruitful, and productive of 
 that solid good, and of that progress in perfection which 
 it was intended by our holy Father to procure, we must, 
 in the first place, clearly state what is meant by the 
 word trial ; and, in the second place, point out in what 
 way you are to conduct yourself during the course of it ; 
 what you must do ; and what you must not do. By the 
 word trial” we are to understand a proving or proba- 
 tion in every kind of virtue.' For, since virtue consists 
 in the doing of that which is arduous or difficult, it must 
 follow that patience is altogether necessary ; for through 
 it we acquire the habit of virtue, and then all difficulty 
 is taken away. But, in a very special manner, it is of 
 the virtues of humility and of obedience that we must 
 understand the word “ trial,” for, as we have already re- 
 marked in a preceding chapter, it is in these virtues that 
 the spirit of the Holy Rule consists. Therefore, in order 
 that you may come forth from this trial, like gold from 
 the furnace — purer and more resplendent, and not like 
 lead, which is softened and melted by the fire — be careful 
 to put in practice the following counsels : — 
 
 In the first place, weigh well the purpose for which 
 God, through His representatives, employs these various 
 
476 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 methods of probation, and for which they are ordered by 
 the holy Fathers, to be employed. These are : (1) To 
 purge you from the evil habits which you may, perchance, 
 have contracted while living in the world, and from the 
 other disorderly affections to which corrupt nature is so 
 prone. (2) By means of these trials, to exercise you in 
 true and solid virtue ; for, without some such probation, 
 you would be lukewarm, cowardly, and imperfect through- 
 out your whole life. (3) In this way, to break the force 
 of the devil’s temptations. St. John Climacus relates 
 that a certain Monk, who was very much tried and 
 exercised by the Fathers, said on his death-bed, to those 
 who were standing around : “ I give thanks to the Lord, 
 and to you, my Fathers, because you have so severely 
 tried me, that it has wrought my salvation. For, owing 
 to your endeavours, I have, up to this moment, been free 
 from the molestations of the devil.” When fervent 
 Novices reflect upon this, instead of shunning trials, 
 they will seek them, in order not to lose the advantages 
 which flow from them. 
 
 2. Accept these trials with great internal affection, 
 springing both from your love of God, and from the motive 
 with which you are inspired by the virtue in which you 
 are tried, whether that virtue is humility or obedience, &c. 
 Therefore, do not content yourself with outwardly per- 
 forming various acts of virtue, or with enduring the 
 particular trials which are imposed upon you. To this, 
 add that internal affection of heart, by which you offer, 
 as a holocaust to God, your own will, honour, con- 
 venience, and whole self, without making any reserve 
 whatever. 
 
 3. Do not rest satisfied with being proved and tried 
 by others, but also try yourself, according to that of the 
 Apostle : “Try your ownselves whether you are in faith 
 
TRIAL OF PATIENCE. 
 
 477 
 
 (in humility, in obedience, in poverty, &c.), Prove ye 
 yourselves.”* Again: “Exercise thyself unto godli- 
 ness,” f in the various ways which we have pointed out 
 to you during the course of this little work, by never 
 neglecting any occasion of self-conquest and self-denial ; 
 by even seeking out these occasions ; and by taking ad- 
 vantage of them, to practise virtue. 
 
 4. Consider that it is utterly unworthy of a religious 
 man to accept the trials, and to perform the actions 
 which those trials impose upon him, because it is the 
 custom; because it is usual that Novices should be 
 exercised in this way ; because if he refused to submit to 
 them, he would be dismissed. Motives such as these 
 are indications of a spirit which is most abject and vile. 
 From such a one, we look in vain for any noble action 
 done for the glory of God. May He, in His mercy, pre- 
 vent men of this character from ever being a burthen to 
 any Religious Order. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 
 
 1 1 Tim. iv. 7. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Final Instructions. 
 
 “If he shall then promise, after due deliberation, to keep and 
 to observe all things commanded him, let him be received into the 
 Community, knowing that he is from that time forward under the 
 law of the Rule, so that he can neither leave the Monastery, nor 
 shake off the yoke of the Rule, which, after so long a deliberation, 
 he might either have accepted or refused.” — Reg., cap. lviii. 
 
 With the above-cited words, our holy Father completes 
 his instructions about the Novices ; for the clauses which 
 immediately follow treat of the actual profession. With 
 respect to this, you have three things to do, in order 
 duly to bring your year of probation to a close. First, 
 previously to your profession, you must deliberate. 
 Secondly, you must promise to keep and to observe all 
 things which are commanded you. Thirdly, you must 
 clearly understand that after your reception and pro- 
 fession, you are not allowed to leave the Monastery, nor 
 to shake off the yoke of the Rule. Therefore, deliberate 
 as it were anew, concerning this State of life, of which 
 you have had experience during the course of the year 
 of probation, and of which you are consequently able to 
 form a better judgment than you could previously form, 
 while you were living in the world. The matter of this 
 deliberation may be thus brought before your mind. 
 
 1. Do I altogether freely embrace this State, without 
 fear, without compulsion, without regard for parents and 
 
FINAL INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 479 
 
 for relatives ; without the dread of that confusion which 
 would fall upon me if I were to return to the world ? 2. 
 Have I come to Eeligious Life, and do I wish to per- 
 severe in it, through a sincere desire of truly seeking 
 God ? Do I, in this State, and in accordance with those 
 principles which have already been given concerning 
 truly seeking God, correct any faults which I may have 
 committed ? 3. Am I either afflicted with any secret 
 
 disease, or is there in me any other impediment in con- 
 sequence of which I am unable validly and licitly to make 
 my profession ? If, after profession, any substantial 
 defect be discovered, my profession, being null and void, 
 will in no way be of any avail to keep me in the Eeligious 
 State ; and, if I have maliciously and deceitfully con- 
 cealed that defect, I have incurred the guilt of a grievous 
 sin. 4. Have I the strength and the resolution to bear 
 the burthen of Monastic Life, of the vows, and of the 
 Holy Eule ; and have I a sufficient knowledge with respect 
 to these various points ? If I doubt about anything, or 
 if I am ignorant of anything, I am bound to seek adequate 
 instruction thereon, and then to deliberate as to what I 
 am to do, and lastly, resolve to do it. In the presence 
 of God, Who is the searcher of hearts, I must weigh 
 well each of these matters. I must call to my aid that 
 most truthful counsellor, death ; for it is written : “ O 
 death, thy judgment is good ! ” * Take counsel with 
 your Spiritual Father, and, having with the utmost 
 candour explained everything to him, determine upon 
 the course which you will pursue. 
 
 With respect to the second point, namely, “ that he will 
 keep and observe everything commanded him,” you must 
 bear in mind that this promise has not the force of a vow, 
 
 * Ecclus. xli. 3. 
 
480 
 
 THE NOVICE 
 
 inasmuch as it is made before your reception and profes- 
 sion ; but, as Turrecremata remarks : “ It is a sure and 
 manifest indication of your willingness to keep those 
 counsels and precepts which are in the Buie, and to 
 observe those which are given to you by your Superiors”. 
 Take notice that you ought to be ready to observe not 
 only those things which are explicitly contained in the 
 Buie, but also those which are imposed by Superiors, 
 provided only that they are not against, nor beyond, nor 
 below the Buie ; for this may be gathered from the words 
 which are employed by our holy Father. Hence the 
 Abbot must be obeyed whenever he wishes to take away 
 an abuse, or, as it is called by others, a custom opposed 
 to regular discipline, although that custom is not, in 
 express terms, prohibited by our holy Father in his Buie. 
 
 In order that the promise, of which we have already 
 made mention, may be the more firm and voluntary, it 
 ought to follow after due deliberation. This promise is 
 all the more necessary, from the fact that he who is either 
 unable or unwilling, with all sincerity, to make it, is not 
 fit to lead the Beligious Life. Moreover, a promise of this 
 kind, which is not made with sincerity, is exceedingly 
 hateful to God, Who reads the secrets of the heart. It 
 is detestable in His eyes, even though it has not as yet 
 the binding power of a vow ; “for an unfaithful and 
 foolish promise displeaseth Him”.* 
 
 Finally, our holy Father thus concludes : u Knowing 
 that he is from that time forward under the Law of the 
 Buie,” — that is to say, from the day of his profession, — 
 “ so that he can neither leave the Monastery,” — to return 
 to the world, or to go to a less severe Order, — “nor shake 
 off the yoke of the Buie,” — by various transgressions, — 
 “ which Buie, after so long a deliberation, he might either 
 . * Feel us. v. 3. 
 
FINAL INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 481 
 
 have accepted or refused Although these words have 
 reference to the time which follows profession, yet they 
 are placed before you by St. Benedict, in order that while 
 you are still free to accept the yoke, or to refuse it, you 
 may weigh well what you are about. If you choose to 
 make your profession, and voluntarily to take upon your 
 shoulders the yoke of the Rule, strongly arm yourself 
 against the devil’s frauds and temptations, by which he 
 endeavours, in manifold and most crafty ways, to lead 
 Religious openly to apostatise, or, under various pretexts, 
 to seek to be dispensed from their vows, to the great 
 detriment of the Monastery, of the Order, and of even the 
 Religious State. Or again, if it does not come to such 
 an evil pass as this, he strives under the pretext of 
 seeking greater perfection and sanctity, to induce them 
 to procure their translation to another Order ; but, if he 
 cannot bring about -this, he causes them, little by little, 
 to lose their first fervour, and in many ways to offend 
 against the Holy Rule. We think that this is the idea 
 which was in the mind of our holy Father, when he wrote 
 the words which we have quoted ; for he was solely 
 intent upon the salvation of his children. 
 
 But how will the Religious escape being entangled in 
 these snares? By performing during the time of the 
 Novitiate, and after profession, by not ceasing to perform 
 those various pious practices which have not been 
 invented, but which we have taken from the words of our 
 holy Lawgiver. Instead of failing to accomplish them, 
 daily endeavour, with greater perfection, to perform them, 
 and you will be able to say with the Royal Psalmist : “The 
 snare is broken, and we are delivered Let fear fill the 
 heart of the slothful Novice, and of the slothful Religious, 
 
 Ps. cxxiii. 7. 
 
 31 
 
482 
 
 THE NOVICE. 
 
 who take no pains to obey onr holy Father’s counsels and 
 to carry out his intentions. 
 
 Very good reason to be afraid has that Novice who 
 goes through his year of probation in a lukewarm manner, 
 and in a kind of forced observance of external duties. 
 He deludes others, but chiefly himself ; for, after his 
 profession, he does not strive to become better, nor to 
 make progress in perfection. Also, let that Religious be 
 full of fear, who, although he has not gone through his 
 Novitiate in a slip-shod, careless fashion, yet, after his 
 profession, has sensibly fallen away from his first fervour, 
 just as if St. Benedict had legislated only for the time of 
 the Novitiate, and had not had the design of spurring on 
 his children, who have made a good beginning in the 
 year of trial, to advance in perfection till the last step 
 of this their mortal pilgrimage ! Finally, let him be filled 
 with dread and fear, who, puffed up with the spirit of 
 pride, presumes to despise these and similar instructions, 
 as being too simple and elementary. “ Behold I come 
 against thee, O proud one ! saith the Lord* the God of 
 hosts ; for thy day is come, the time of thy visitation. 
 And the proud one shall fall, he shall fall down, and there 
 shall be none to lift him up.”* It is written : “ God hath 
 abolished the memory of the proud, and hath preserved 
 the memory of them that are humble in mind”.+ 
 
 * Jerem. 1. 31, 32. * Ecclus . x. 21. 
 
 THE END. 
 
WORKS BY CANON F. C. DOYLE, O.S.B. 
 
 S. D. 
 
 Life of Gregory Lopez, 3 6 
 
 Lectures for Boys, 2 vols., 10 6 
 
 The Same Work , 4 vols., 12 0 
 
 (1) The Sundays oi' the Year, 3 6 
 
 (2) Our Lady’s Festivals, 2 6 
 
 (3) The Passion of Our Lord, 3 0 
 
 (4) The Sacred Heart, 3 0 
 
 Principles of Religious Life, . . . 10 6 
 
 The Teaching of St. Benedict, . . . .56 
 
 The Rule of. St. Benedict, 4 6 
 
 Edited in Latin and English. 
 
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