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"Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the Will of
God, ye might receive the promise," says Saint Paul; (1) and the
Saviour said, "In your patience possess ye your souls." (2) The
greatest happiness of any one is "to possess his soul;" and the
more perfect our patience, the more fully we do so possess our
souls.
Call often to mind that our Saviour redeemed us by bearing and
suffering, and in like manner we must seek our own salvation amid
sufferings and afflictions; bearing insults, contradictions and
troubles with all the gentleness we can possibly command. Do not
limit your patience to this or that kind of trial, but extend it
universally to whatever God may send, or allow to befall you. Some
people will only bear patiently with trials which carry their own
salve of dignity,--such as being wounded in battle, becoming a
prisoner of war, being ill-used for the sake of their religion,
being impoverished by some strife out of which they came
triumphant.
Now these persons do not love tribulation, but only the honour
which attends it. A really patient servant of God is as ready to
bear inglorious troubles as those which are honourable. A brave
man can easily bear with contempt, slander and false accusation
from an evil world; but to bear such injustice at the hands of
good men, of friends and relations, is a great test of patience.
I have a greater respect for the gentleness with which the
great S. Charles Borromeo long endured the public reproaches which
a celebrated preacher of a reformed Order used to pour out upon
him, than for all the other attacks he bore with. For, just as the
sting of a bee hurts far more than that of a fly, so the injuries
or contradictions we endure from good people are much harder to
bear than any others. But it is a thing which very often happens,
and sometimes two worthy men, who are both highly well-intentioned
after their own fashion, annoy and even persecute one another
grievously.
Be patient, not only with respect to the main trials which
beset you, but also under the accidental and accessory annoyances
which arise out of them. We often find people who imagine
themselves ready to accept a trial in itself who are impatient of
its consequences. We hear one man say, "I should not mind poverty,
were it not that I am unable to bring up my children and receive
my friends as handsomely as I desire." And another says, "I should
not mind, were it not that the world will suppose it is my own
fault;" while another would patiently bear to be the subject of
slander provided nobody believed it.
Others, again, accept one side of a trouble but fret against
the rest--as, for instance, believing themselves to be patient
under sickness, only fretting against their inability to obtain
the best advice, or at the inconvenience they are to their
friends. But, dear child, be sure that we must patiently accept,
not sickness only, but such sickness as God chooses to send, in
the place, among the people, and subject to the circumstances
which He ordains;--and so with all other troubles.
If any trouble comes upon you, use the remedies with which God
supplies you. Not to do this is to tempt Him; but having done so,
wait whatever result He wills with perfect resignation. If He
pleases to let the evil be remedied, thank Him humbly; but if it
be His will that the evil grow greater than the remedies,
patiently bless His Holy Name.
Follow Saint Gregory's advice: When you are justly blamed for some
fault you have committed, humble yourself deeply, and confess that
you deserve the blame.
If the accusation be false, defend yourself quietly, denying
the fact; this is but due respect for truth and your neighbour's
edification. But if after you have made your true and legitimate
defence you are still accused, do not be troubled, and do not try
to press your defence--you have had due respect for truth, have
the same now for humility. By acting thus you will not infringe
either a due care for your good name, or the affection you are
bound to entertain for peace, humility and gentleness of heart.
Complain as little as possible of your wrongs, for as a general
rule you may be sure that complaining is sin; (3) the rather that
self-love always magnifies our injuries: above all, do not
complain to people who are easily angered and excited. If it is
needful to complain to some one, either as seeking a remedy for
your injury, or in order to soothe your mind, let it be to some
calm, gentle spirit, greatly filled with the Love of God; for
otherwise, instead of relieving your heart, your confidants will
only provoke it to still greater disturbance; instead of taking
out the thorn which pricks you, they will drive it further into
your foot.
Some people when they are ill, or in trouble, or injured by any
one, restrain their complaints, because they think (and that
rightly) that to murmur betokens great weakness or a narrow mind;
but nevertheless, they exceedingly desire and maneuvre to make
others pity them, desiring to be considered as suffering with
patience and courage.
Now this is a kind of patience certainly, but it is a spurious
patience, which in reality is neither more nor less than a very
refined, very subtle form of ambition and vanity. To them we may
apply the Apostle's words, "He hath whereof to glory, but not
before God." (4) A really patient man neither complains nor seeks
to be pitied; he will speak simply and truly of his trouble,
without exaggerating its weight or bemoaning himself; if others
pity him, he will accept their compassion patiently, unless they
pity him for some ill he is not enduring, in which case he will
say so with meekness, and abide in patience and truthfulness,
combating his grief and not complaining of it.
As to the trials which you will encounter in devotion (and they
are certain to arise), bear in mind our dear Lord's words: "A
woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow, because her hour is
come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she
remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a child is born into
the world." (5) You, too, have conceived in your soul the most
gracious of children, even Jesus Christ, and before He can be
brought forth you must inevitably travail with pain; but be of
good cheer, for when these pangs are over, you will possess an
abiding joy, having brought such a man into the world. And He will
be really born for you, when He is perfected in your heart by
love, and in your actions by imitating His life.
When you are sick, offer all your pains and weakness to our
Dear Lord, and ask Him to unite them to the sufferings which He
bore for you. Obey your physician, and take all medicines,
remedies and nourishment, for the Love of God, remembering the
vinegar and gall He tasted for love of us; desire your recovery
that you may serve Him; do not shrink from languor and weakness
out of obedience to Him, and be ready to die if He wills it, to
His Glory, and that you may enter into His Presence.
Bear in mind that the bee while making its honey lives upon a
bitter food: and in like manner we can never make acts of
gentleness and patience, or gather the honey of the truest
virtues, better than while eating the bread of bitterness, and
enduring hardness. And just as the best honey is that made from
thyme, a small and bitter herb, so that virtue which is practised
amid bitterness and lowly sorrow is the best of all virtues.
Gaze often inwardly upon Jesus Christ crucified, naked,
blasphemed, falsely accused, forsaken, overwhelmed with every
possible grief and sorrow, and remember that none of your
sufferings can ever be compared to His, either in kind or degree,
and that you can never suffer anything for Him worthy to be
weighed against what He has borne for you.
Consider the pains which martyrs have endured, and think how
even now many people are bearing afflictions beyond all measure
greater than yours, and say, "Of a truth my trouble is comfort, my
torments are but roses as compared to those whose life is a
continual death, without solace, or aid or consolation, borne down
with a weight of grief tenfold greater than mine."
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