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Stay quietly at home: regulate your day, and waste no time
Love of retirement and solitude disposes the soul in a special
manner for the practice of the interior life. I will lead her into
the wilderness, and speak to her heart. [108] When a man is alone
with his own soul, undisturbed by the excitement of external
things, his thoughts, unless he is beset by some violent passion,
will naturally turn first to himself and then lead him back to
God.
I do not mean that persons living in the world should lead a life
of retirement such as is practised in convents and hermitages.
Living at home, going out merely as duty requires, is living in
retirement. Having no dealings with the world but such as are
required by necessity or charity, is living in solitude. He who
loves to be alone with God and, amid the turmoil of business,
longs for the time when he may hold free converse with Him, has
already, or soon will have, entered upon the interior way.
Take advantage, then, of all the leisure your affairs allow you,
and reserve some part of every day for the consideration of
eternal things. These are most precious moments which, if rightly
used, will enable you to sanctify the remainder of your day.
Another excellent practice, which draws down many graces is to put
aside a week every year as a time of retreat, preferably in a
religious house, spent in undisturbed meditation on the truths
pertaining to salvation, in a serious examination of the state of
your soul, and in a thorough and earnest preparation for the
future.
Silence is one of the first-fruits of such a retreat. It is the
friend of recollection and prayer, and cannot be too highly
recommended. The interior spirit reigns, or soon will do, in
religious houses where silence is studiously observed. Fidelity to
that rule is the safeguard of all the rest; laxity and even
disorder inevitably follow its neglect.
In the world, it is not so easy to have fixed times for silence,
because occasions for speaking present themselves when least
expected. But we observe the spirit of silence when we speak only
when necessity demands, and to the point. When, in the presence of
others, without affecting an ill-timed taciturnity, we prefer to
listen rather than to speak; and when we have to talk keep our
conversation within bounds, and observe such reticence as the Holy
Spirit suggests. This reticence was one of the marks by which,
according to the prophet Isaias, Our Lord was to be known. He
shall not cry, nor have respect to person: neither shall his voice
be heard abroad. [109] Even among devout persons, those who lead
an interior life are easily recognized by this same sign. Their
conversation is not less natural for that; actually it is more
agreeable and interesting, and, though tempered by a certain
reserve, is neither dull, cold nor constrained.
When the soul is in its first religious fervour it needs no
exhortation to solitude and silence: it is naturally inclined to
seek them. The loss of spiritual delights is then too much
dreaded, the secret pleasure taken in them is too sweet to allow
any desire for distractions from without. Intercourse with worldly
persons is burdensome; it seems all a terrible void and is
shunned, perhaps too much so to meet the demands of one's
position, and those of Christian charity.
But there is a fault to which one is liable at this stage, and
that is the tendency to share indiscreetly our innermost thoughts
with those with whom we are intimate; to pour out our feelings too
freely when with them, telling them of our own happiness in the
hope of winning them to God. We feel unable to contain the grace
that fills us, and find comfort in sharing our secret with others.
But we would do better to keep it to ourselves, and mention these
things only to our confessor. The inner workings of grace are not
such as should be divulged. We should keep them hidden, and not
aim at being apostles when we are as yet but weak beginners.
When, however, the spring-time is past, and dryness has succeeded
to delight, there is reason to fear that we will give up our life
of retirement and seek consolation in created things. This natural
inclination must be resisted as a most dangerous temptation, which
exposes the rising structure of our perfection to imminent ruin.
Though we then no longer feel God's sensible presence, He is
present with us in a deeper and more ineffable way, which we can
easily lose if we are not extremely careful to preserve it. All
voluntary distractions aim a real blow at this genuine, if
unperceived, recollection. They leave impressions on the mind
which are revived when we are at prayer, all the more so since the
soul in times of dryness is empty of ideas and feelings. Prayer
thus becomes a continual distraction, which is culpable at least
in principle. And as already we have found contemplative prayer
difficult, since it seemed as though God had abandoned us, we soon
give it up, and with it, the interior life as well.
It is not enough, however, to stay quietly at home, keeping
silence: we must also arrange our time and distribute the duties
of the day, so that each duty has its appointed hour, and every
hour its duty. We shall thus avoid boredom, with the inevitable
temptations which follow in its train. The chief thing is to have
definite hours for rising and retiring, for on that all the rest
depends. Then we must distribute our devotional exercises during
the day--mental prayer, Holy Mass, reading, vocal prayer, visits
to the Blessed Sacrament-in such wise that some are spread over
the morning, others in the evening, and there is no time of the
day which is not given to God. Whatever time remains at our free
disposition will be devoted to work and the duties of our state.
It is as well to have our confessor's approval for all we do, but
once our time-table is approved, it should be adhered to strictly.
However, as God does not want us to be slaves except to His love
and holy will, which are above all external rules, and as any
number of unforeseen things may cause our routine to be upset, we
must adapt ourselves always to the dispositions of Divine
Providence, and not reproach ourselves with exceptions for which
we are not responsible. We are always faithful, if we are as
faithful as we are able to be. Exactness with regard to God lies
less in the fulfilling of the letter than in the disposition of
the will. To break the rules of charity, propriety and courtesy in
order to observe our rule of time, would be a want of fidelity to
God. True piety is in no wise opposed to the fulfilment of our
social duties. On the contrary, it sanctifies our relations with
our neighbour, even when these seem most trifling, and are only
dependent upon custom and politeness. We are not required to
renounce them; indeed, we are not even allowed to neglect them
Therefore, in the first place, we must so arrange our rule that we
may be able to observe it habitually, not overburdening it with
practices nor multiplying them excessively, so as to fetter the
spirit and enslave the soul. We must consider our health, our
position, occupations, and the persons on whom we depend, and to
whom we owe the greatest deference. Next, when interrupted, such
as by unforeseen business, letters or visits to be paid or
received, we must not scruple to forgo the devotional exercise
assigned to the time thus taken up, but resume it later on, if
possible. Nor must we make ourselves odious or ridiculous by
mistimed exactitude, nor show by our manner and bearing that we
are disturbed and have other things to do, but gracefully lend
ourselves not only to friends, but to troublesome and importunate
persons. God permits these little crosses in order to break our
will, give us a free and pliable spirit, like that of St. Francis
of Sales, and lead us to the practice of many virtues which we
would have no opportunity of practising, except under such
conditions.
Finally, in order to prevent all scruples, we should carefully
distinguish as to what does and does not depend upon ourselves;
what we are free to do, and what would annoy those whom we are
bound to consider. We must distinguish such practices as preserve
our liberty of spirit without in anyway straining our fidelity,
from such as encourage constraint, pettiness and an exaggerated
rigidity. If we are honest with ourselves and with God, we can
always readily decide whether we are to blame or not for having
omitted some particular devotion.
Such arrangement of one's day as I have suggested, I realize of
course can only be observed by those who are more or less masters
of their own time. Those who are not free to dispose of their day,
if they are truly desirous of advancing in virtue, will make use
of all their free moments, and carefully husband the time they may
call their own, in order to employ it in prayer and holy reading.
They must not complain, however, of the hardship of their
position, since it is in the order of Divine Providence, and will
in no way hinder their progress, if they are genuinely drawn to
the interior life. God Himself will more than make up to them for
their want of ordinary means, and it may be that their condition,
busy and hampered as it is, will tend more to their sanctification
than a state of greater leisure and independence. There are no
obstacles for those who are determined to love God. Everything
will become a means to loving Him, provided they have God's glory
always in view, and bless His loving bounty in all He sends.
There are many reasons why a Christian should thus regulate his
day, if he is able to do so. The first is that it is the bounden
duty of everyone to sanctify his actions. It is already a
beginning if we are able to arrange our day so that we may
reasonably presume it to be in accordance with God's will, and,
with that end in view, to do everything at the proper time, as
though God Himself were calling us to it.
Secondly, when our devotions are thus regulated, they are less
easily forgotten, and the sooner become habitual. The hour itself
reminds us of the duty attached to it, and very often calls for
some act of selfdenial, since we may have to lay aside what we are
doing in order to do what God is asking of us.
Again, we thus avoid idleness, a temptation to which those whose
time is at their disposal are always exposed. We are all naturally
inclined to indolence and laziness, and unless we have a clear and
definite object in view, are bound to be a prey to disquietude and
inconstancy in our thoughts. We commence any number of things and
finish none: in short, we do not know what to do with our time,
and often for want of occupation indulge in vain and even
dangerous amusements. But idleness has no fears for those whose
days are fully occupied. They are not left wondering what they
shall do next: every hour has its appointed task, and the various
duties which succeed one another do not allow the spirits to flag.
Finally, one is thereby relieved from boredom, which is
undoubtedly the scourge most to be feared, and the inevitable
portion of all who have no definite aim in life. It is to escape
the pursuit of so inexorable an enemy that worldly folk multiply
and vary indefinitely their pleasures. One would think that they
sought these pleasures for the satisfaction they find in them, but
it is not so. They simply use them as a remedy for their boredom,
but without the least success. They are constrained to flee from
it ceaselessly, but find it everywhere, and it is in vain that
they make the attempt. They will always find it, for boredom
pursues them relentlessly, following them wherever they take
refuge. The only way to put oneself out of the reach of this
torment of the so-called fortunate ones of this world is to lead a
serious and planned life, in which the mind has always something
definite to occupy it, and where the very variety of one's
occupations serves as a relaxation.
When thus protected from idleness and boredom, how many
temptations are prevented from entering the soul; how many
occasions of sin avoided . From there two sources (that is,
idleness and boredom) arise almost all the evils that beset
society. They make men evilly inclined and unhappy. Be always
occupied in conformity with the will of God and the duties of your
state, and neither the passions nor the devil will have any hold
over you, and you will be as virtuous and happy as it is possible
to be in this life.
What I have said refers to all Christians in general, according as
their circumstances permit. As to those who lead an interior life,
they are more inclined to regulate their time than others, and
they keep to their rules more faithfully. The spirit of God, in
Whom they live and by Whom they are led, allows them no indefinite
way of life, and demands a strict account of all their time. But
it is not to be expected that they will always follow the one
rule: they may have to vary it according to the stages through
which they are passing. Practices which were useful in the
beginning are not necessarily suitable later on. The spirit of God
sometimes forbids what at other times it demands. Exercises proper
to a retired life should occupy the early years; afterwards, God
may leave them more liberty to mix in external affairs for the
sake of others. There will be times when it will be necessary for
them to retire within themselves; at others, they will have to
yield to whatever draws them out of themselves, and helps them to
forget themselves. Thus, for example during times of great
distress, the director may wisely allow them such innocent
pleasures or amusements as will assist them, which at another he
would undoubtedly forbid. I say no more on this point, because I
am not writing for advanced souls, but for beginners.
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