The Meaning of Holiness by Louis Lavelle PDF

'I'IIE MEANING OF
HOLINESS
by
LOUIS LAVELLE
PANTHEON BOOKS INC.

NEW YORK
1954
'I'IIE MEANING OF
HOLINESS
by
LOUIS LAVELLE
PANTHEON BOOKS INC.

NEW YORK
1954
This translation of Q:f.atrc S:�iut� ( 11. flllrhrl, l'r�tf,, IIJ11 )
wns mndc fly
·
oononrnt\ o �UIIIVAN
CONTENTS
Page
L ON HoLINEss I
1. The saints in our midst I
2. The saint always goes to the limit of his

NIHIL OBSTt\T: IHCt\RI)VS liOCilll, S.'l',l),
CENSOR Dfll'V'l'ATVS
powers 3
�
� 3. The saint is indifferent to his human situa
IMl>RTMATVII: llVMI'HlHIY lltliC:III'
EPISCOPVS TITVl.A!IIS SOIIINNI\

4
VJCARIVS CAI'ITVI.AlU� lllllMIN(:AMiiiNSIN
I
I
tion
4. A potential saint in each of us

BIRMJNGAMJAJl: Dill VI MAll M C'MIIV
6
5· The frontier ofthe material and the spiritual 8
6. An unwavering vision . ro
7. Ignoring himself the saint becomes en-

grossed in everything else I2
8. Our Christian name and the infinite variety

of the saints I4
g. The spiritualization of life through the

memory . r6
IO. The muon of the living and the dead on the

common plane of memory I8
I I. From memory to the living idea which is

the soul 20
I2. The saint, the hero and the sage 23
13. The saint makes of the world a perpetual

miracle 25
PRINTED IN GREAT llliiTATN
v
This translation of Q:f.atrc S:�iut� ( 11. flllrhrl, l'r�tf,, IIJ11 )
wns mndc fly
·
oononrnt\ o �UIIIVAN
CONTENTS
Page
L ON HoLINEss I
1. The saints in our midst I
2. The saint always goes to the limit of his

NIHIL OBSTt\T: IHCt\RI)VS liOCilll, S.'l',l),
CENSOR Dfll'V'l'ATVS
powers 3
�
� 3. The saint is indifferent to his human situa
IMl>RTMATVII: llVMI'HlHIY lltliC:III'
EPISCOPVS TITVl.A!IIS SOIIINNI\

4
VJCARIVS CAI'ITVI.AlU� lllllMIN(:AMiiiNSIN
I
I
tion
4. A potential saint in each of us

BIRMJNGAMJAJl: Dill VI MAll M C'MIIV
6
5· The frontier ofthe material and the spiritual 8
6. An unwavering vision . ro
7. Ignoring himself the saint becomes en-

grossed in everything else I2
8. Our Christian name and the infinite variety

of the saints I4
g. The spiritualization of life through the

memory . r6
IO. The muon of the living and the dead on the

common plane of memory I8
I I. From memory to the living idea which is

the soul 20
I2. The saint, the hero and the sage 23
13. The saint makes of the world a perpetual

miracle 25
PRINTED IN GREAT llliiTATN
v
Vl Collll'lll\
II. FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY

I
III. ST. JoHN oF THE Cnoss AND CoN I'IIMI'' Nat oN
ON HOLINESS
•
IV. ST. TERESA: THE UNION OF CONT.llMPI fi'I'ION fiNil
HERE
I. THE S AINTS IN OUR MIDST
ACTION 7J
are saints among us. But we often fail to recognize
V. ST. FRANCIS DE SALES: THE UNJTY OF Wu r. ANil
LoVE 93 T them. It is hard to believe they can inhabit this world of
ours. They all seem to have left it behind. We invoke
them as though they were all in heaven and able to bestow

on us only invisible and supernatural favours. It would seem
to be presumption on our part to seek to imitate them. Our
Christian name serves rarely to remind us of the protection
the saints are able to afo f rd, now that they have become
ministers of God and dispensers of His gifts. Yet it is their
death that has made them saints; for it was death that brought
about the spiritual transformation without which they would
be mere men like ourselves. They are now so purified as to
seem mere symbols of the virtue which marked their life and
which is active in us by force of an example we can never
hope to equal. It seems ridiculous that someone whom we have
seen and touched, whose weaknesses, foibles and faults we have
observed, whose life has been involved in our life and whose
brow was adorned by no halo, should have trod the path of holi
ness before our eyes without our having any inkling of it. But
holiness is invisible alike on earth and in heaven; and it is far
more difficult to identify under the appearances of flesh and
blood than in its conceptual form as an image or an idea.
Yet a saint is not pure spirit. He may not be mistaken for
an angel: even death cannot make him one. For holiness
belongs primarily to this world. It bears witness that the life
we live on earth, a bodily life with all its weakness and petti
ness, is yet capable of receiving the rays of supernatural light
Vl Collll'lll\
II. FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY

I
III. ST. JoHN oF THE Cnoss AND CoN I'IIMI'' Nat oN
ON HOLINESS
•
IV. ST. TERESA: THE UNION OF CONT.llMPI fi'I'ION fiNil
HERE
I. THE S AINTS IN OUR MIDST
ACTION 7J
are saints among us. But we often fail to recognize
V. ST. FRANCIS DE SALES: THE UNJTY OF Wu r. ANil
LoVE 93 T them. It is hard to believe they can inhabit this world of
ours. They all seem to have left it behind. We invoke
them as though they were all in heaven and able to bestow

on us only invisible and supernatural favours. It would seem
to be presumption on our part to seek to imitate them. Our
Christian name serves rarely to remind us of the protection
the saints are able to afo f rd, now that they have become
ministers of God and dispensers of His gifts. Yet it is their
death that has made them saints; for it was death that brought
about the spiritual transformation without which they would
be mere men like ourselves. They are now so purified as to
seem mere symbols of the virtue which marked their life and
which is active in us by force of an example we can never
hope to equal. It seems ridiculous that someone whom we have
seen and touched, whose weaknesses, foibles and faults we have
observed, whose life has been involved in our life and whose
brow was adorned by no halo, should have trod the path of holi
ness before our eyes without our having any inkling of it. But
holiness is invisible alike on earth and in heaven; and it is far
more difficult to identify under the appearances of flesh and
blood than in its conceptual form as an image or an idea.
Yet a saint is not pure spirit. He may not be mistaken for
an angel: even death cannot make him one. For holiness
belongs primarily to this world. It bears witness that the life
we live on earth, a bodily life with all its weakness and petti
ness, is yet capable of receiving the rays of supernatural light
2 'l'ltl' lllcollil�l! of 1/olillt'SS Ott Holiness 3
;md of tnking on a new and transCt'tldenl meaning. This

2. THE SAINT ALWAYS GOES TO THE LIMIT
tc:1chcs us not merely to cudure life, but to desire and even
OF HIS POWERS
to Jove it. We are apt to think of a sainL as an exceptional
tial saint.
being, who has decided to live apart from evctyday life, and In every one of our neighbours there is a poten
also in him
no longer shares its wretchedness-in fact as one who lives He may not necessarily become one, for there is
And the ago�y
in communion with God and out of commw1ion with us. a potential criminal or even a potential devil. .
(the maJonty
But this is not true. Precisely because he lives in communion of mind which is a characteristic of our time
ess itself)
with God, the saint is the one man who is in commwuon of the moderns seek to identify it with consciousn
potentiali
with us, while ali other men live to some extent apart. is a token of our uncertainty as to which of these
knew such
No outward sign marks off the saint from any passer-by ties will in the long run prevail. The Janscnists
nt with a
who fails to attract our notice. To ali appearance he lives agony of mind. But on the whole men are conte
comm onplace
the life of Everyman. We sec him intent on his allotted task mediocre existence, with a round of merely
is that he
and never seeming to be diverted from it. He never refuses tasks and temporal interests.' The mark of the saint
is no one whose
any work that he is invited to undertake: each successive always lives at the limit of his powers. There
nature. He
event is an opportunity to be used. He is interested in each life is so close to the spontaneous movements of
in them the
and ali of us so spontaneously and naturally, that he seems seems in a way to surrender to them, to find
d think that
simply to enlarge the society to which we belong. We do source and spring of ali his action. We may indee
it woul d be more
not find, as we should have expected, that he has renounced he fights against these natural impulses; but
to the
his human nature or overcome and eradicated his fa'u1ts of true to say that he directs them all to their final end,
character. He can still be angry and violent, and a prey to point at which they bring him perfect satisfa ction an� �t.l
the lirmts of
passion. He does not seek, as so many do, to disguise those ment. In the process he is obliged to transcend
in him the end to
passions. But to sec him give way to passion is for us some nature, in order that nature may achieve
the mathe
thing of a scandal which prevents our thinking of him as a wards which it aspires.' In like manner one sees
to infini ty a series
saint and often inclines us to set ourselves above him. One matician, using the concept of limit, press
. So too the
may say indeed that he mortifies his passions, but they re of terms and so transcend the concept he is using
sts the use of any
main a condition and even an element of his holiness. For saint never brings into play and never sugge
accessible
holiness is itself a passion; or if the phrase ofe
f nds us, let us save the most familiar sentiments. No one is more
make s a most extra
call it a sublimated passion. There is in passion a power which than he. But of these same sentiments he
holiness needs in order to break away from prejudice and ordinary use; for he manages to give them their
full power
aspiration) to
habit. Passion always has its roots in the body; it is passion only by forcing them (in order to fulfil their
consecrated
which stimu1ates and raises the body to higher levels of living. transcend the uses to which we had previously
to appro ach ful
There is nothing finer than to see the fire which feeds on the them. At the moment when they seem
rmed
most base materials produce at its highest point a flame filment, th.ey appear to give way or to be transf�
. And so m the
radiating so great a light. into something of a wholly different order
z
2 'l'ltl' lllcollil�l! of 1/olillt'SS Ott Holiness 3
;md of tnking on a new and transCt'tldenl meaning. This

2. THE SAINT ALWAYS GOES TO THE LIMIT
tc:1chcs us not merely to cudure life, but to desire and even
OF HIS POWERS
to Jove it. We are apt to think of a sainL as an exceptional
tial saint.
being, who has decided to live apart from evctyday life, and In every one of our neighbours there is a poten
also in him
no longer shares its wretchedness-in fact as one who lives He may not necessarily become one, for there is
And the ago�y
in communion with God and out of commw1ion with us. a potential criminal or even a potential devil. .
(the maJonty
But this is not true. Precisely because he lives in communion of mind which is a characteristic of our time
ess itself)
with God, the saint is the one man who is in commwuon of the moderns seek to identify it with consciousn
potentiali
with us, while ali other men live to some extent apart. is a token of our uncertainty as to which of these
knew such
No outward sign marks off the saint from any passer-by ties will in the long run prevail. The Janscnists
nt with a
who fails to attract our notice. To ali appearance he lives agony of mind. But on the whole men are conte
comm onplace
the life of Everyman. We sec him intent on his allotted task mediocre existence, with a round of merely
is that he
and never seeming to be diverted from it. He never refuses tasks and temporal interests.' The mark of the saint
is no one whose
any work that he is invited to undertake: each successive always lives at the limit of his powers. There
nature. He
event is an opportunity to be used. He is interested in each life is so close to the spontaneous movements of
in them the
and ali of us so spontaneously and naturally, that he seems seems in a way to surrender to them, to find
d think that
simply to enlarge the society to which we belong. We do source and spring of ali his action. We may indee
it woul d be more
not find, as we should have expected, that he has renounced he fights against these natural impulses; but
to the
his human nature or overcome and eradicated his fa'u1ts of true to say that he directs them all to their final end,
character. He can still be angry and violent, and a prey to point at which they bring him perfect satisfa ction an� �t.l
the lirmts of
passion. He does not seek, as so many do, to disguise those ment. In the process he is obliged to transcend
in him the end to
passions. But to sec him give way to passion is for us some nature, in order that nature may achieve
the mathe
thing of a scandal which prevents our thinking of him as a wards which it aspires.' In like manner one sees
to infini ty a series
saint and often inclines us to set ourselves above him. One matician, using the concept of limit, press
. So too the
may say indeed that he mortifies his passions, but they re of terms and so transcend the concept he is using
sts the use of any
main a condition and even an element of his holiness. For saint never brings into play and never sugge
accessible
holiness is itself a passion; or if the phrase ofe
f nds us, let us save the most familiar sentiments. No one is more
make s a most extra
call it a sublimated passion. There is in passion a power which than he. But of these same sentiments he
holiness needs in order to break away from prejudice and ordinary use; for he manages to give them their
full power
aspiration) to
habit. Passion always has its roots in the body; it is passion only by forcing them (in order to fulfil their
consecrated
which stimu1ates and raises the body to higher levels of living. transcend the uses to which we had previously
to appro ach ful
There is nothing finer than to see the fire which feeds on the them. At the moment when they seem
rmed
most base materials produce at its highest point a flame filment, th.ey appear to give way or to be transf�
. And so m the
radiating so great a light. into something of a wholly different order
z
'I'!Je 1.1ca11i11,� of Holiness On Holiness 5
saint we rccogrtize all the impulses of nature, and yet in a that the saints should live among us, that they should be
sense we do not. It would be a mistake to think of him as subject, like us, to all the wretchedness of our human condi
always engaged in a relentless war against his natural impulses, tion, and that they should even seem to be overwhelmed by
for nature also comes from God. He transforms nature into it; for in this way they teach us to be indife f rent to all the
the supernatural. He rediscovers its origin, its destiny and its glory of the world, proving to us in a striking manner that
full significance. It is easy to understand how one who re our true good lies elsewhere. l The essence of holiness often
mains caught up in the toils of nature is bonnd to debase and manifests itself most clearly in the frustration the saint en
degrade the powers which nature has put at his disposal. For dures, in the pain which is inflicted on him, or which he
both the divine and the diabolical contain the same clements. inflicts on himself, in torture or in martyrdom. In martyrdom
A slight inflection of our freedom suffices to turn the one certainly, the purity of the witness is most clearly seen. But
into the other. It is in the life of the spirit that the life of other types of witness are of a more secret kind. Not all the
nature finds its true fulfilment. It is to misread nature not to saints have been called to be martyrs. Yet our imagination
see that nature is itself a figure. Immanence is shorn of all needs these great examples as a measure of the distance there
its value if we are content to rest in it, and if we fail to see is between holn i ess and success_H_g liness is the supreme suc
that in transcendence it has its origin and its end; and that cess in the spiritual order; it is indifferent to worldly success
in this same transcendence it finds a fleeting and precarious and indeed despises it. "
approach to that of which death alone can give possession But no one can choose the state of life in which he is
and fulfilment. placed nor the demands that such a state makes on him.
Holiness may be found on the throne, where most men agree
it encounters the greatest difficulties. Holiness again may be
3. THE SAINT IS INDIFPERENT TO H!S HUM AN
hidden beneath the rags of a beggar, where indeed one is
SITUATION
more often inclined to look for it. But no one knows which
The mark of holiness is to lay bare to us the relation requires the greater efo f rt, to resist the demon of pride or
between two worlds, the material and the spiritual; or again, the demon of envy. In truth we like to find a sharp contrast
to show that there is in truth only one world with two faces, between holiness and the state of life in which it exists.
one luminous and one obscure. By the outward appearance Holiness appears most striking when we find it either at the
of this world (in which our transient being has a share), we summit of human greatness (when this greatness is forgotten
may allow ourselves to be deceived; or, by withdrawing the or despised) or when it is seen in the lowest state of human
veil of appearance, we may nncover its essential reality, and wretchedness (when this wretchedness is accepted and even
reveal its truth and beauty. The saint stands at the frontier W"
loved). ut it is the mark of holiness to be to the natural eye
of the two worlds. In the midst of the visible world he is a as invisible as is the world of spirit into which it invites us
witness to the invisible-to something which is present in the to enter.)The holiness of the beggar or the king is not easy
deep life of all of us, but which the visible world hides or to discover in the features of the beggar or the king; holiness
reveals according to the way we look at things. It is nccrss.lry for us is always linked with the wholly interior attitude of
'I'!Je 1.1ca11i11,� of Holiness On Holiness 5
saint we rccogrtize all the impulses of nature, and yet in a that the saints should live among us, that they should be
sense we do not. It would be a mistake to think of him as subject, like us, to all the wretchedness of our human condi
always engaged in a relentless war against his natural impulses, tion, and that they should even seem to be overwhelmed by
for nature also comes from God. He transforms nature into it; for in this way they teach us to be indife f rent to all the
the supernatural. He rediscovers its origin, its destiny and its glory of the world, proving to us in a striking manner that
full significance. It is easy to understand how one who re our true good lies elsewhere. l The essence of holiness often
mains caught up in the toils of nature is bonnd to debase and manifests itself most clearly in the frustration the saint en
degrade the powers which nature has put at his disposal. For dures, in the pain which is inflicted on him, or which he
both the divine and the diabolical contain the same clements. inflicts on himself, in torture or in martyrdom. In martyrdom
A slight inflection of our freedom suffices to turn the one certainly, the purity of the witness is most clearly seen. But
into the other. It is in the life of the spirit that the life of other types of witness are of a more secret kind. Not all the
nature finds its true fulfilment. It is to misread nature not to saints have been called to be martyrs. Yet our imagination
see that nature is itself a figure. Immanence is shorn of all needs these great examples as a measure of the distance there
its value if we are content to rest in it, and if we fail to see is between holn i ess and success_H_g liness is the supreme suc
that in transcendence it has its origin and its end; and that cess in the spiritual order; it is indifferent to worldly success
in this same transcendence it finds a fleeting and precarious and indeed despises it. "
approach to that of which death alone can give possession But no one can choose the state of life in which he is
and fulfilment. placed nor the demands that such a state makes on him.
Holiness may be found on the throne, where most men agree
it encounters the greatest difficulties. Holiness again may be
3. THE SAINT IS INDIFPERENT TO H!S HUM AN
hidden beneath the rags of a beggar, where indeed one is
SITUATION
more often inclined to look for it. But no one knows which
The mark of holiness is to lay bare to us the relation requires the greater efo f rt, to resist the demon of pride or
between two worlds, the material and the spiritual; or again, the demon of envy. In truth we like to find a sharp contrast
to show that there is in truth only one world with two faces, between holiness and the state of life in which it exists.
one luminous and one obscure. By the outward appearance Holiness appears most striking when we find it either at the
of this world (in which our transient being has a share), we summit of human greatness (when this greatness is forgotten
may allow ourselves to be deceived; or, by withdrawing the or despised) or when it is seen in the lowest state of human
veil of appearance, we may nncover its essential reality, and wretchedness (when this wretchedness is accepted and even
reveal its truth and beauty. The saint stands at the frontier W"
loved). ut it is the mark of holiness to be to the natural eye
of the two worlds. In the midst of the visible world he is a as invisible as is the world of spirit into which it invites us
witness to the invisible-to something which is present in the to enter.)The holiness of the beggar or the king is not easy
deep life of all of us, but which the visible world hides or to discover in the features of the beggar or the king; holiness
reveals according to the way we look at things. It is nccrss.lry for us is always linked with the wholly interior attitude of
6 The Meaning of I-Ioli11ess On Holiness 7
mind we assign to it and which finds a mysterious echo in our able to pick himself up again, and whether he will be saved
own souls. And thus our beggar and king resemble the un
( known saint with whom we rub shoulders every day without
or lost. !But this is none of our business. J9ur duty is simply
to do our best to keep the saint in us alive. There arc in this J
any sign to mark him out for recognition. world only potential saints who come into actual existence
The saint may be a scholar, a theologi<�n, or the founder by their own efo
f rt, through a series of frustrations, trials
of a Religious Order. But it is not through any of these and failures. It is fQ!!r�ge that makes the saint; and courage l
things that he is a saint. Holiness, it is true, shines forth in all is no more than con£dencc in grace that comes from on
the work he does; even as in the case of king or beggar it high and is always available, though we do not always open
shows itself in the way of government of the one or in the our hearts to receive it.
outstretched palm of the other. For the saint can be one o£- / The saint seems most often to be a man of strong will who
the ordinary run of men, who seems absorbed in the most never ceases to strive and to conquer. Yet we may also say
common tasks, at once a solitary and yet accessible to all. that the saint is less strong-willed than most; for the will is
His outward life may seem to consist in a mechanical series always linked with love of self and is always out for victory
of habitual acts; yet now and then a familiar yet nnexpected and for triumph. Now in the saint the will g1ves way,
gesture on his part is enough to solve, in the most natural yielding place to a far more powerful principle of action
way in the world, a hitherto insoluble problem; or a smile, which, in return for its docility, will raise it to a higher
full of radiance and understanding, without in any way plane: it yields place to love. It suffices that of its own
altering circumstances, will transform the way in which we motion the will puts no obstacles in the way of love. And
look at them. The saint transforms life for us into a perpetual so it happens that our steps towards holiness are always easy
miracle which, without disturbing in any way the natural and natural, which proves that grace-in the twofold sense
order of things, shines through that order and reveals itself we give to the word-is simply the perfection of nature.
to us. We are apt to base our judgements on the laws that rule
the world of appearances; this is evident in our immediate
circle where others are known to us as they really arc and not
4· A POTENTIAL SAINT IN EACH OF US
simply as they outwardly appear. How often we hear people
We must learn to recognize the saints who live beside us say-or even say ourselves-in the presence of certain souls
and even the saint who is within us, whom we decline to in whom there is an absence of all self-seeking, and whose
�
'assist in his struggle to be born. The least movement of love bodies seem to share the quality of light and whose deeds
is enough to reveal the saint in us and in others, ready to arc the expression of an ever-active spiritual life: here is a
:tppr:.r. But we do not seem able to give continuity to this saint. Not that we can ever fathom the secret life of any soul,
l11st lllljwlsc, to give it stability, and to repel the forces that nor foresee how it may develop. Yet certain contacts we
•••q�e cl,· 11� .H 11nn, the things that form the centre of our make with others bring us a kind of revelation. In such souls we
11111 11'\l ,111cl 11111 < lud' point o( honow. No saint is imn1une scethelifeof holinessin operation and arc able to study its for
l111111 tttll I '!'''"'• .11111 Jlllllt' <.Ill ht· sure whether he will be mation and its way of expression. We are not obliged to leave
6 The Meaning of I-Ioli11ess On Holiness 7
mind we assign to it and which finds a mysterious echo in our able to pick himself up again, and whether he will be saved
own souls. And thus our beggar and king resemble the un
( known saint with whom we rub shoulders every day without
or lost. !But this is none of our business. J9ur duty is simply
to do our best to keep the saint in us alive. There arc in this J
any sign to mark him out for recognition. world only potential saints who come into actual existence
The saint may be a scholar, a theologi<�n, or the founder by their own efo
f rt, through a series of frustrations, trials
of a Religious Order. But it is not through any of these and failures. It is fQ!!r�ge that makes the saint; and courage l
things that he is a saint. Holiness, it is true, shines forth in all is no more than con£dencc in grace that comes from on
the work he does; even as in the case of king or beggar it high and is always available, though we do not always open
shows itself in the way of government of the one or in the our hearts to receive it.
outstretched palm of the other. For the saint can be one o£- / The saint seems most often to be a man of strong will who
the ordinary run of men, who seems absorbed in the most never ceases to strive and to conquer. Yet we may also say
common tasks, at once a solitary and yet accessible to all. that the saint is less strong-willed than most; for the will is
His outward life may seem to consist in a mechanical series always linked with love of self and is always out for victory
of habitual acts; yet now and then a familiar yet nnexpected and for triumph. Now in the saint the will g1ves way,
gesture on his part is enough to solve, in the most natural yielding place to a far more powerful principle of action
way in the world, a hitherto insoluble problem; or a smile, which, in return for its docility, will raise it to a higher
full of radiance and understanding, without in any way plane: it yields place to love. It suffices that of its own
altering circumstances, will transform the way in which we motion the will puts no obstacles in the way of love. And
look at them. The saint transforms life for us into a perpetual so it happens that our steps towards holiness are always easy
miracle which, without disturbing in any way the natural and natural, which proves that grace-in the twofold sense
order of things, shines through that order and reveals itself we give to the word-is simply the perfection of nature.
to us. We are apt to base our judgements on the laws that rule
the world of appearances; this is evident in our immediate
circle where others are known to us as they really arc and not
4· A POTENTIAL SAINT IN EACH OF US
simply as they outwardly appear. How often we hear people
We must learn to recognize the saints who live beside us say-or even say ourselves-in the presence of certain souls
and even the saint who is within us, whom we decline to in whom there is an absence of all self-seeking, and whose
�
'assist in his struggle to be born. The least movement of love bodies seem to share the quality of light and whose deeds
is enough to reveal the saint in us and in others, ready to arc the expression of an ever-active spiritual life: here is a
:tppr:.r. But we do not seem able to give continuity to this saint. Not that we can ever fathom the secret life of any soul,
l11st lllljwlsc, to give it stability, and to repel the forces that nor foresee how it may develop. Yet certain contacts we
•••q�e cl,· 11� .H 11nn, the things that form the centre of our make with others bring us a kind of revelation. In such souls we
11111 11'\l ,111cl 11111 < lud' point o( honow. No saint is imn1une scethelifeof holinessin operation and arc able to study its for
l111111 tttll I '!'''"'• .11111 Jlllllt' <.Ill ht· sure whether he will be mation and its way of expression. We are not obliged to leave
8 The Meaning of Holi11ess On Holiness 9
this world in which we live; for holiness illmninatcs itwithits search out conncxions b-::tween the various aspects of things;
own radiance and adds an interior resonance without which it but the saint is grounded in unity. For him there are not
would be no more than a phantom floating in the void. various forms of existence which have afterwards to be
brought into harmony, but rather one single centre of energy
which produces, almost without knowing it or willing it,
5. THE FRONTIER OF THE MATERIAL AND THE
these forms that manifest and radiate the activity at the
SPIRITUAL
centre. Everything the saint does seems to spring from a
And yet the saint appears to live in a world apart from our source which is outside the processes of intelligence and yet
world. It is as though he sees things we do not sec, and as appears to be the most subtle operation of a most lucid and
though his actions were guided by motives other than the wis e intelligence. Every act of his is so akin to ours and so
motives that dictate our acts. Sometimes we have the impres familiar that it seems within the compass of a child. Things
sion that he is beside us, though not with us. And we feel it seem to respond to his will even before he invites their
is so because we sec only the surface of reality while the saint response. They seem to have no existence beyond the sense
penetrates its depth and its true meaning. He makes his home impression by which we become aware of them, and which
quite naturally on a plane of existence which we can only scarcely differs from the sentiment they stir in our souls. In
reach at the price of great concentration and effort. Moreover this way the difference between internal and external, be
we cannot dwell for any length of time upon this plane: we tween ourselves and things, is abolished. To the saint the
have only occasional glimpses of it. For this is a spiritual world is not something foreign, nor is it a mystery from
plane beyond the reach of nature-and one which we rightly which the secret has to be wrung. His dwelling-place is at
can supernatural. yet the saint belongs naturally there and the heart of the world, in the life of which he always shares;
surprises us with his perfect ease of movement. And by a while other men arc aware only of its outward appearances
kind of paradox all the objects we see in the world around without understanding their significance.
us, instead of fading away like mere illusions, now take on This is why the sairtt is at once the most sensitive and the
the weight and substance they lacked. They become symbols most spiritual of men: the most sensitive, because nothing in
bearing witness to, and integrated with, the hidden values the world finds him indifferent; the most vulnerable also,
that are revealed to us by the saint, and that find a kind of since it is most easy to reach his feelings and move him to
outward expression in the features of the world we see. action. He is always in immediate and just relation with
The saint alone has the ability to transcend the dual order persons and things. He is also the most spiritual of men; for
of matter and spirit and to combine the two in a perfect unity. every movement of his soul has its origin in an inner initia
And what surprises us most is that in order to achieve this tive which has deep down a rational explanation, though
unity he has no need to use the processes of reasoning. No there is no need to formulate it. And so for him freedom and
one uses reason less than the saint. The process of abstraction necessity are one: freedom, because he is not determined by
he ignores. He lives on one level with all the aspects of reality. any external cause; and necessity, because in no circumstances
The characteristic effort of our thought is laboriously to could he imagine himself acting otherwise.
,j
this world in which we live; for holiness illmninatcs itwithits search out conncxions b-::tween the various aspects of things;
own radiance and adds an interior resonance without which it but the saint is grounded in unity. For him there are not
would be no more than a phantom floating in the void. various forms of existence which have afterwards to be
brought into harmony, but rather one single centre of energy
which produces, almost without knowing it or willing it,
5. THE FRONTIER OF THE MATERIAL AND THE
these forms that manifest and radiate the activity at the
SPIRITUAL
centre. Everything the saint does seems to spring from a
And yet the saint appears to live in a world apart from our source which is outside the processes of intelligence and yet
world. It is as though he sees things we do not sec, and as appears to be the most subtle operation of a most lucid and
though his actions were guided by motives other than the wis e intelligence. Every act of his is so akin to ours and so
motives that dictate our acts. Sometimes we have the impres familiar that it seems within the compass of a child. Things
sion that he is beside us, though not with us. And we feel it seem to respond to his will even before he invites their
is so because we sec only the surface of reality while the saint response. They seem to have no existence beyond the sense
penetrates its depth and its true meaning. He makes his home impression by which we become aware of them, and which
quite naturally on a plane of existence which we can only scarcely differs from the sentiment they stir in our souls. In
reach at the price of great concentration and effort. Moreover this way the difference between internal and external, be
we cannot dwell for any length of time upon this plane: we tween ourselves and things, is abolished. To the saint the
have only occasional glimpses of it. For this is a spiritual world is not something foreign, nor is it a mystery from
plane beyond the reach of nature-and one which we rightly which the secret has to be wrung. His dwelling-place is at
can supernatural. yet the saint belongs naturally there and the heart of the world, in the life of which he always shares;
surprises us with his perfect ease of movement. And by a while other men arc aware only of its outward appearances
kind of paradox all the objects we see in the world around without understanding their significance.
us, instead of fading away like mere illusions, now take on This is why the sairtt is at once the most sensitive and the
the weight and substance they lacked. They become symbols most spiritual of men: the most sensitive, because nothing in
bearing witness to, and integrated with, the hidden values the world finds him indifferent; the most vulnerable also,
that are revealed to us by the saint, and that find a kind of since it is most easy to reach his feelings and move him to
outward expression in the features of the world we see. action. He is always in immediate and just relation with
The saint alone has the ability to transcend the dual order persons and things. He is also the most spiritual of men; for
of matter and spirit and to combine the two in a perfect unity. every movement of his soul has its origin in an inner initia
And what surprises us most is that in order to achieve this tive which has deep down a rational explanation, though
unity he has no need to use the processes of reasoning. No there is no need to formulate it. And so for him freedom and
one uses reason less than the saint. The process of abstraction necessity are one: freedom, because he is not determined by
he ignores. He lives on one level with all the aspects of reality. any external cause; and necessity, because in no circumstances
The characteristic effort of our thought is laboriously to could he imagine himself acting otherwise.
,j
IO The Meaning of Holiness On Holiness II
the opinion of others. The world in which we live and act

6. AN UNWAVERING VlSION
is a world of make-believe. No one can say that there is any
That which disconcerts us and arouses astonishment mixed exact correspondence between what it appears to be and
with suspicion in some, and admiration touched with awe what it is. To us it seems that it cannot be otherwise, that
in others, is that while our lives are beset by the problems of outward appearances exist to conceal rather than to reveal
existence, the saint lives among the solutions to these prob our true selves. For us it is a mark not merely of courtesy
lems. We might rather say that his way of life supplies but even of charity to tone down our feelings, to restrain
the solution of all the problems that existence brings. There our natural impulses, and to dress reality in a cloak of artifice,
is always an element of the relative and uncertain in the things which we think serves to protect everyone and yet deceives
that are given or offered to us. But the momc11t the most no one. The sight of reality in its naked form, so it seems to
transient and apparently insignificant things fall w1der the us, would be too dazzling and too piercing to be borne. Yet
hand of a saint they are thrown into striking relief: they are the mark of the saint is precisely to fix his eyes on reality
at once what they are and yet something other than they are. with a steady gaze and to compel us likewise to look 011 it.
Far from the thought of the eternal and the absolute making To us that seems to be beyond the power of men. For the
their wretchedness manifest, they cause eternal and absolute saint the world has no dark side: even what seems darkest
values to appear before our eyes. Far from leading us away he brings into the full light of day. For him appearance and
from this life towards a dream-world which is always in truth are indistinguishable; for truth becomes identified with
accessible, the saint introduces here and now a presence that appearance. To us nothing seems more surprising. The
our nature s
i always striving to reach; and, instead of Jisap tenuous veil that separated the world of thought from the
1
pointing our hope, he fulfils our aspiration. The ambition world of action has vanished. The secret thoughts of the
which lies at the root of metaphysical thinking, to pass saint take form and life before our eyes. Even his faults are
beyond visible reality and attain the unseen truth which is not hidden from us: they arc in him a testimony to his 1
its fow1dation and fmt principle, has no more than a specula human nature. It is only the very ordinary man who con
tive interest. It can only be fulfilled when it is brought in to ceals his faults, for neither good nor evil has any strength /
act as part of the real order. And this catmot happen in him. He lacks the courage to pursue either; and by con
save in the life of the saint who animates even his humblest cealing the one he prevents the development of the other.
acts with the life of the spirit. But in the case of the saint the ever-present evil is converted
If it is true that the saint always goes to the limits of his into good; and this revives his spirit and continually spurs
powers, that is something we never achieve. But what is the him on. It surprises us to find good and evil so dose together;
limit of our power, if it be not an absolute sincerity on our but this is because we fail to see how the one feeds on the
part, making all our actions correspond exactly with our other and transforms it.
thought and feeling, that is, with the deepest and most in With us ordinary folk there is always a division between
timate part of our soul? But for our part we nearly always what is exterior and what is interior, between truth and
live on compromise; we are always ready to give way before opinion, between what we would wish and what we are-
IO The Meaning of Holiness On Holiness II
the opinion of others. The world in which we live and act

6. AN UNWAVERING VlSION
is a world of make-believe. No one can say that there is any
That which disconcerts us and arouses astonishment mixed exact correspondence between what it appears to be and
with suspicion in some, and admiration touched with awe what it is. To us it seems that it cannot be otherwise, that
in others, is that while our lives are beset by the problems of outward appearances exist to conceal rather than to reveal
existence, the saint lives among the solutions to these prob our true selves. For us it is a mark not merely of courtesy
lems. We might rather say that his way of life supplies but even of charity to tone down our feelings, to restrain
the solution of all the problems that existence brings. There our natural impulses, and to dress reality in a cloak of artifice,
is always an element of the relative and uncertain in the things which we think serves to protect everyone and yet deceives
that are given or offered to us. But the momc11t the most no one. The sight of reality in its naked form, so it seems to
transient and apparently insignificant things fall w1der the us, would be too dazzling and too piercing to be borne. Yet
hand of a saint they are thrown into striking relief: they are the mark of the saint is precisely to fix his eyes on reality
at once what they are and yet something other than they are. with a steady gaze and to compel us likewise to look 011 it.
Far from the thought of the eternal and the absolute making To us that seems to be beyond the power of men. For the
their wretchedness manifest, they cause eternal and absolute saint the world has no dark side: even what seems darkest
values to appear before our eyes. Far from leading us away he brings into the full light of day. For him appearance and
from this life towards a dream-world which is always in truth are indistinguishable; for truth becomes identified with
accessible, the saint introduces here and now a presence that appearance. To us nothing seems more surprising. The
our nature s
i always striving to reach; and, instead of Jisap tenuous veil that separated the world of thought from the
1
pointing our hope, he fulfils our aspiration. The ambition world of action has vanished. The secret thoughts of the
which lies at the root of metaphysical thinking, to pass saint take form and life before our eyes. Even his faults are
beyond visible reality and attain the unseen truth which is not hidden from us: they arc in him a testimony to his 1
its fow1dation and fmt principle, has no more than a specula human nature. It is only the very ordinary man who con
tive interest. It can only be fulfilled when it is brought in to ceals his faults, for neither good nor evil has any strength /
act as part of the real order. And this catmot happen in him. He lacks the courage to pursue either; and by con
save in the life of the saint who animates even his humblest cealing the one he prevents the development of the other.
acts with the life of the spirit. But in the case of the saint the ever-present evil is converted
If it is true that the saint always goes to the limits of his into good; and this revives his spirit and continually spurs
powers, that is something we never achieve. But what is the him on. It surprises us to find good and evil so dose together;
limit of our power, if it be not an absolute sincerity on our but this is because we fail to see how the one feeds on the
part, making all our actions correspond exactly with our other and transforms it.
thought and feeling, that is, with the deepest and most in With us ordinary folk there is always a division between
timate part of our soul? But for our part we nearly always what is exterior and what is interior, between truth and
live on compromise; we are always ready to give way before opinion, between what we would wish and what we are-
J2 The Mem1i1�� of Holi11ess On Holiness 13
able to do. The mark of the saint is that he has achieved escape from this egoism we are told to fix our eyes on the
mlity within himself. His life, we think, musl be a perpetual world, on the things we can influence, on the persons who
sacrifice; because the exterior order of things holds our constantly seek our help and co-operation.
attention, and we suppose that the interior order must It would be a great injustice to suppose that the saint is
separate us from it; and also because we st:llld in fear of indifferent u1 these matters. Through his presence alone he
opinion, since it seems to bring truth into derision; and again succeeds in giving to the things or persons he meets on the
because we take refuge in our weakness which, as we judge way the interior quality they lacked. He does not confine
things, constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfil their existence to his own consciousness, nor docs he use
ment of our most cherished desires. The sau1t knows no such them as instruments to further his own destiny. He helps
fear or embarrassment. He always commits his whole self them to rediscover their true spiritual home. He reveals
and is therefore never concerned about loss or gain; so he is to them the source from which he draws and from which
not conscious of makmg any sacrifice. How indeed could he all men may draw and which never runs dry. The saint does
sacrifice external things seemg that they arc for him no more not offer himself as an example to others, for each of us can
than interior things in an outward manifestation? How could fmd withm ourselves the model to which we must conform:
he sacrifice opinion which is for him no other than truth in the saint merely helps us to find that model.
an incomplete and still obscure form? How could he sacrifice No one is less preoccupied with the ego than is the saint.
his own imperfection seeing that he is conscious of an in It is we who ceaselessly think of our ego either in order to
ward power that is constantly making good this same imper serve it or to subdue it-which is only another way of think
fection? He would tell us that by refusu1g to tread the path mg about it. \!_he mark of the saint is to banish the very)
of holmess we are sacrificing real goods without which these thought of it. As a result it is the saint alone who is alive to
apparent goods have neither substance nor savour. all that is happening in the world. He is truly alive to himself
only so far as he is alive to others and to God. In this way
too he transforms our own awareness of ourselves. The ego
7. IGNORING HIMSELF THE SAINT BECOMES
which turns its attention on itself is bound to meet contradic
ENGROSSED IN EVERYTHING ELSE
tion in the other ego which is now the object of its attention;
' But perhaps we ought to say that in holll1css the great and it is driven to deny its existence since this other ego
'problem is to discover the precise value we place on scl£ postulates an interior essence which is not its own. But the
For self is the principal object of our preoccupations and �aint introduces the ego to an interior mode of existence that
since it contains them all it is the origin of an egoism in is indivisibly one in itself and in all the things that are.
which evil finds a kind of incarnation. It is the hydra with It is a matter of wonder to observe that when we empty
a hundred heads all of which no man has managed to destroy. ourselves of our ego, when we are as it were reduced to
But there are many who regard the purstlit of holiness, with nothing, when we are completely denuded of all we have
its concentration on the interior life and on personal salva and of all we are, at that moment the whole world enters in
tion, as the most radical and subtle form of egoism. To to fill the vacant space. And so by a kmd of miracle he who
J2 The Mem1i1�� of Holi11ess On Holiness 13
able to do. The mark of the saint is that he has achieved escape from this egoism we are told to fix our eyes on the
mlity within himself. His life, we think, musl be a perpetual world, on the things we can influence, on the persons who
sacrifice; because the exterior order of things holds our constantly seek our help and co-operation.
attention, and we suppose that the interior order must It would be a great injustice to suppose that the saint is
separate us from it; and also because we st:llld in fear of indifferent u1 these matters. Through his presence alone he
opinion, since it seems to bring truth into derision; and again succeeds in giving to the things or persons he meets on the
because we take refuge in our weakness which, as we judge way the interior quality they lacked. He does not confine
things, constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfil their existence to his own consciousness, nor docs he use
ment of our most cherished desires. The sau1t knows no such them as instruments to further his own destiny. He helps
fear or embarrassment. He always commits his whole self them to rediscover their true spiritual home. He reveals
and is therefore never concerned about loss or gain; so he is to them the source from which he draws and from which
not conscious of makmg any sacrifice. How indeed could he all men may draw and which never runs dry. The saint does
sacrifice external things seemg that they arc for him no more not offer himself as an example to others, for each of us can
than interior things in an outward manifestation? How could fmd withm ourselves the model to which we must conform:
he sacrifice opinion which is for him no other than truth in the saint merely helps us to find that model.
an incomplete and still obscure form? How could he sacrifice No one is less preoccupied with the ego than is the saint.
his own imperfection seeing that he is conscious of an in It is we who ceaselessly think of our ego either in order to
ward power that is constantly making good this same imper serve it or to subdue it-which is only another way of think
fection? He would tell us that by refusu1g to tread the path mg about it. \!_he mark of the saint is to banish the very)
of holmess we are sacrificing real goods without which these thought of it. As a result it is the saint alone who is alive to
apparent goods have neither substance nor savour. all that is happening in the world. He is truly alive to himself
only so far as he is alive to others and to God. In this way
too he transforms our own awareness of ourselves. The ego
7. IGNORING HIMSELF THE SAINT BECOMES
which turns its attention on itself is bound to meet contradic
ENGROSSED IN EVERYTHING ELSE
tion in the other ego which is now the object of its attention;
' But perhaps we ought to say that in holll1css the great and it is driven to deny its existence since this other ego
'problem is to discover the precise value we place on scl£ postulates an interior essence which is not its own. But the
For self is the principal object of our preoccupations and �aint introduces the ego to an interior mode of existence that
since it contains them all it is the origin of an egoism in is indivisibly one in itself and in all the things that are.
which evil finds a kind of incarnation. It is the hydra with It is a matter of wonder to observe that when we empty
a hundred heads all of which no man has managed to destroy. ourselves of our ego, when we are as it were reduced to
But there are many who regard the purstlit of holiness, with nothing, when we are completely denuded of all we have
its concentration on the interior life and on personal salva and of all we are, at that moment the whole world enters in
tion, as the most radical and subtle form of egoism. To to fill the vacant space. And so by a kmd of miracle he who
r4 T!tc Mermill.f! of llolilll'�S On Holiness IS
enters into himself is conscious or being outside himself; though each one of these is able to answer 'I' in the unique
while be who succeeds in going outside himself fl'<.:ls that he and inaccessible centre of his soul and heart.
is in touch with his innermost being. The saint h:ts no par In the lives of the saints we meet characters whose original
ticular desires. He seeks only to be allowed to disappear. He ity is so strongly marked that each one differ s radically from
reveals the world to us as God has willed it. He is a saint all the rest, and seems to constitute a separate species even
because he is a permanent witness to the Will which obliges as every angel is said to do. It is therefore easy to see why
things to reveal their significance to us, and persons to be a particular saint may be a mediator or model for so many
come aware of their vocation. The saint is like a beacon men. Each saint represents an ideal type of human being, a
which God has put into the world and which shines all the privileged type in whom the essence of man comes to share
more brightly the less we see of its centre. in the perfect essence of God. There is in mankind an in
finite possibility; for all the powers of which our humanity
is capable must bear witness to their relations with God and
8. OUR CHRISTIAN NAME AND THE INFINITE
be used in a way which will sanctify them. In this way saints
VARIETY OF THE SAINTS
come to be; and each one seems to embody one of the poten
It is not easy to recognize the differences that exist between tialities of which we are conscious within ourselves. The saint
saints. There is among them a common character which sets teaches us how to set these potentialities to work; and in their
them apart from humanity as we know it; it is a sacred exercise he is a mediator between God and us. For if all human
character which makes them the agents of God and enables nature is in some sense embodied in each man, yet the unity of
them to teach us how to discern in each thing the traces of each man has for its centre one of the basic dispositions proper
the continuous creation of the world by God. The saints are to him. It is a qualitative unity which binds and disciplines all
all equally remote from the world; and yet they show us its the functions of the soul in one centre or focus of interest and
true features as though we were looking at it for the first preference. The operations of the soul grow in strength and
time. efficacy when they are employed in the service of an individual
Now it is the saints from whom we derive our Christian vocation that makes demands on them at once exacting and
name; and this not only reflects their individuality but also exclusive. It is a grave error to suppose that the unity to which
brings them close to us in a kind of intimate relationship, so our soul aspires can only be realized under the form of iden
that each of us invokes the protection of one particular saint tity. Unity is all the more perfect as it is more diversified.
as though he were the model we should imitate. In our To be one is to be unique and peerless. It is to recognize
reflection upon names we may well meditate on the echo and to be content to assume-one's specific individuality.
which is elicited by the name our most familiar friends give In the saint one is always conscious at one and the same 1
us. It is this name which distinguishes us among those of our time of a call which seems to come forth from his very
kinsfolk who bear our family name; and it evokes in each nature, and of an act through which he never fails to respond
of us the only person who is capable of answering 'I'. The to that call. All that he does seems to be dictated by what he
same Christian name, it is true, belongs to many others also, is, and he appears to be receptive in all things; yet there is
r4 T!tc Mermill.f! of llolilll'�S On Holiness IS
enters into himself is conscious or being outside himself; though each one of these is able to answer 'I' in the unique
while be who succeeds in going outside himself fl'<.:ls that he and inaccessible centre of his soul and heart.
is in touch with his innermost being. The saint h:ts no par In the lives of the saints we meet characters whose original
ticular desires. He seeks only to be allowed to disappear. He ity is so strongly marked that each one differ s radically from
reveals the world to us as God has willed it. He is a saint all the rest, and seems to constitute a separate species even
because he is a permanent witness to the Will which obliges as every angel is said to do. It is therefore easy to see why
things to reveal their significance to us, and persons to be a particular saint may be a mediator or model for so many
come aware of their vocation. The saint is like a beacon men. Each saint represents an ideal type of human being, a
which God has put into the world and which shines all the privileged type in whom the essence of man comes to share
more brightly the less we see of its centre. in the perfect essence of God. There is in mankind an in
finite possibility; for all the powers of which our humanity
is capable must bear witness to their relations with God and
8. OUR CHRISTIAN NAME AND THE INFINITE
be used in a way which will sanctify them. In this way saints
VARIETY OF THE SAINTS
come to be; and each one seems to embody one of the poten
It is not easy to recognize the differences that exist between tialities of which we are conscious within ourselves. The saint
saints. There is among them a common character which sets teaches us how to set these potentialities to work; and in their
them apart from humanity as we know it; it is a sacred exercise he is a mediator between God and us. For if all human
character which makes them the agents of God and enables nature is in some sense embodied in each man, yet the unity of
them to teach us how to discern in each thing the traces of each man has for its centre one of the basic dispositions proper
the continuous creation of the world by God. The saints are to him. It is a qualitative unity which binds and disciplines all
all equally remote from the world; and yet they show us its the functions of the soul in one centre or focus of interest and
true features as though we were looking at it for the first preference. The operations of the soul grow in strength and
time. efficacy when they are employed in the service of an individual
Now it is the saints from whom we derive our Christian vocation that makes demands on them at once exacting and
name; and this not only reflects their individuality but also exclusive. It is a grave error to suppose that the unity to which
brings them close to us in a kind of intimate relationship, so our soul aspires can only be realized under the form of iden
that each of us invokes the protection of one particular saint tity. Unity is all the more perfect as it is more diversified.
as though he were the model we should imitate. In our To be one is to be unique and peerless. It is to recognize
reflection upon names we may well meditate on the echo and to be content to assume-one's specific individuality.
which is elicited by the name our most familiar friends give In the saint one is always conscious at one and the same 1
us. It is this name which distinguishes us among those of our time of a call which seems to come forth from his very
kinsfolk who bear our family name; and it evokes in each nature, and of an act through which he never fails to respond
of us the only person who is capable of answering 'I'. The to that call. All that he does seems to be dictated by what he
same Christian name, it is true, belongs to many others also, is, and he appears to be receptive in all things; yet there is
r6 The Menning of Holi11ess On Holi11ess 17
nothing that he does not seem by deliberate election to have way to temptation; but it is chiefly because, if the saint is a
chosen to do, so that he appears to be creative of what he is. spiritual being, the past alone can achieve that mysterious
' transformation of body into spirit which gives significance
This is the point where in him freedom and necessity, in
stead of being in opposition, coincide. It is also the point we t � our existence in time. This explains how our life is entirely
all aspire to reach. To find out who we are is to find out d1rected towards the future; yet we cannot regard it as ful
who we ought to be. The saints show us the way. Each of filled until it has vanished into the past. The distinguishing
them acts as a guide, though they teach us to follow our own feature of the past, as it always seems to us, is simply to
path rather than theirs. It is the only way in which we can destroy that which has already been; so that as we move
be faithful to their teaching. No life can ever be begun anew, forward in time we should constantly meet and assume new
forms of existence, and never do more than realize, for a
and no existence can ever consist in the mere imitation of
another. The role of the saints is to show what each of us fugitive moment before it vanishes, one aspect of life which
can make of his own life; and those saints for whom we have is gone almost as soon as it appears. We never seem to be
a special devotion are like friends ':"ith whom we feel a kind roo�ed in existence, for each instant as it looms up before
of afm:f ity, even though we may not always resemble them; us IS. doomed to be recaptured and for ever engulfed in
they move our heart and reveal our true selves to us. nothingness. The passage between what is to come and what
The reason why the saints differ so profoundly one from has ceased to be is like birth and death in a simultaneous and
another is that in human nature there is an infmite capacity uninterrupted series. What we call death brings this strange
which no one man can ever exhaust. There is in every man transformation to a close; and by a single stroke completes
a potential saint who may never come to light. For the same the continuous annihilation of ourselves which is the law of
reason new saints will always continue to appear, though all tem �oral existence. It is as though existence were always
none will reproduce the features of those we know. There attemptlng to elude the grasp of nothingness and always
can be no progress in the order of sanctity, for each
saint being defeated.
according to the gifts he has received and the circumstances But this is an illusion. For we only know that the past is
of his life must always represent what is absolute, unique and the past because we keep the memory of it. Even supposing
\ ��
nimita ble.f It is his absolute relatio� ":'it od that s�mps we were never able to recall the past, it remains a potential
� ach individual, whatever may be his lurutatl ons and his de memory for us. But what is the significance of memory? It
fects, with the seal of the Absolute which makes him a saint. �
�annot e id �ntified with pure nothingness. Shall we say that
1ts function IS to bear witness to an existence we have lost?
But memory is in itself another form of existence. The
9· THE SPIRITUALIZATION OF LIFE THROUGH THE
existence we lost was a material and sensible existence, but
MEMORY
memory substitutes for it an invisible and spiritual existence
We must not fail to recognize that no man seems to merit which obviously possesses none of the attributes of the
the name of saint until his life is at an end. This is so in some for �er. This may lead us to think we have lost everything,
measure because until the day of his death he is liable to give but m fact the new mode of existence has attributes which
r6 The Menning of Holi11ess On Holi11ess 17
nothing that he does not seem by deliberate election to have way to temptation; but it is chiefly because, if the saint is a
chosen to do, so that he appears to be creative of what he is. spiritual being, the past alone can achieve that mysterious
' transformation of body into spirit which gives significance
This is the point where in him freedom and necessity, in
stead of being in opposition, coincide. It is also the point we t � our existence in time. This explains how our life is entirely
all aspire to reach. To find out who we are is to find out d1rected towards the future; yet we cannot regard it as ful
who we ought to be. The saints show us the way. Each of filled until it has vanished into the past. The distinguishing
them acts as a guide, though they teach us to follow our own feature of the past, as it always seems to us, is simply to
path rather than theirs. It is the only way in which we can destroy that which has already been; so that as we move
be faithful to their teaching. No life can ever be begun anew, forward in time we should constantly meet and assume new
forms of existence, and never do more than realize, for a
and no existence can ever consist in the mere imitation of
another. The role of the saints is to show what each of us fugitive moment before it vanishes, one aspect of life which
can make of his own life; and those saints for whom we have is gone almost as soon as it appears. We never seem to be
a special devotion are like friends ':"ith whom we feel a kind roo�ed in existence, for each instant as it looms up before
of afm:f ity, even though we may not always resemble them; us IS. doomed to be recaptured and for ever engulfed in
they move our heart and reveal our true selves to us. nothingness. The passage between what is to come and what
The reason why the saints differ so profoundly one from has ceased to be is like birth and death in a simultaneous and
another is that in human nature there is an infmite capacity uninterrupted series. What we call death brings this strange
which no one man can ever exhaust. There is in every man transformation to a close; and by a single stroke completes
a potential saint who may never come to light. For the same the continuous annihilation of ourselves which is the law of
reason new saints will always continue to appear, though all tem �oral existence. It is as though existence were always
none will reproduce the features of those we know. There attemptlng to elude the grasp of nothingness and always
can be no progress in the order of sanctity, for each
saint being defeated.
according to the gifts he has received and the circumstances But this is an illusion. For we only know that the past is
of his life must always represent what is absolute, unique and the past because we keep the memory of it. Even supposing
\ ��
nimita ble.f It is his absolute relatio� ":'it od that s�mps we were never able to recall the past, it remains a potential
� ach individual, whatever may be his lurutatl ons and his de memory for us. But what is the significance of memory? It
fects, with the seal of the Absolute which makes him a saint. �
�annot e id �ntified with pure nothingness. Shall we say that
1ts function IS to bear witness to an existence we have lost?
But memory is in itself another form of existence. The
9· THE SPIRITUALIZATION OF LIFE THROUGH THE
existence we lost was a material and sensible existence, but
MEMORY
memory substitutes for it an invisible and spiritual existence
We must not fail to recognize that no man seems to merit which obviously possesses none of the attributes of the
the name of saint until his life is at an end. This is so in some for �er. This may lead us to think we have lost everything,
measure because until the day of his death he is liable to give but m fact the new mode of existence has attributes which
18 The Meaning of Holi11ess On Holi11ess 19
the form.er mode never possessed, and which arc by com memory of our past; even the possibility of immortal life
parison with it an unparalleled privilege. For this spiritual can only be justified by the way in which we conceive the
existence is now an existence within us, and even identical relation between our memory and our body, which memory
with us. No one can doubt that in memory there is often to presupposes while detaching itself from it. We can only
be found a light and a depth which did not belong to the discover the essence of immortality through the idea of a
object at the moment we saw it, nor to the act at the time transformation which memory imposes on events when their
we performed it. Memory has detached the event from time substance is annihilated.
and endowed it with a kind of eternal quality; not that it is But of the spiritual life of another we can never know?
in fact always present to our consciousness, but that we have anything even before his death; and at his death he is no
the right and power of our own choice to make it re-enter longer anything more than a memory. And one may perhaps
the stream of consciousness. The memory of an event is suppose that there is a sort of mysterious affinity between the
always there at our command, and can be endlessly revived. memory we have of him, and the recollection of himself
It is a new form of existence, intimate, stable and purified, which is all that he now has. Although our senses or our
which can only be thought inferior or oflcss degree by those emotions rebel against the idea, we may even be more
who believe that reality can be grasped only by our hands and closely united to the dead than to the living. It is true that
eyes. It was necessary that existence should pass through a we can forget them, and the movement of our lower nature
corporal form in order to change into a spiritual type, which may divert our attention elsewhere. But though we be un
is the goal towards which it tends and which it must finally aware of it, the dead arc close to us and are always ready to
reach. We must therefore first die to the body in this world respond to our call and to exert on us a far purer and more
n
i order to be reborn in the spirit. disinterested influence than that which they exerted in their
lifetime.
IO. THE UNION OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
In this way we are better able to understand our union
ON THE COMMON PLANE OF MEMORY

with the saints. It is an entirely spiritual union through which
they enter into our lives and share our deliberations and our
But can we agree that holiness has its existence solely in designs. Their voices sound in the depth ofour souls, awaken
the subjective kind of immortality which is that of memory ? ing there ideas to which i t is our duty to attend, and opening
Here an important distinction must be made. It is in the out possibilities which it is for us to realize. We live with
memory he has of himself that every human being is able them in an invisible world-the true world of which all the
to spiritualize his own existence and thus obtain a title to spirits that exist are members, and which is constituted by
eternal life. Otherwise what could suryjve of him at the their mutual and constant inter-relations. Of this other
moment of death? His immortality would no longer be tbat world our visible world is at once the sign and the instru
of the man who had lived but that of another being entirely ment ; it is therefore only natural that when its work is done
unrelated to him. And however closely we examine the it should fade away.
problem of immortality it cannot be dissociated from the And so we may say that the saints arc in our midst even
3
18 The Meaning of Holi11ess On Holi11ess 19
the form.er mode never possessed, and which arc by com memory of our past; even the possibility of immortal life
parison with it an unparalleled privilege. For this spiritual can only be justified by the way in which we conceive the
existence is now an existence within us, and even identical relation between our memory and our body, which memory
with us. No one can doubt that in memory there is often to presupposes while detaching itself from it. We can only
be found a light and a depth which did not belong to the discover the essence of immortality through the idea of a
object at the moment we saw it, nor to the act at the time transformation which memory imposes on events when their
we performed it. Memory has detached the event from time substance is annihilated.
and endowed it with a kind of eternal quality; not that it is But of the spiritual life of another we can never know?
in fact always present to our consciousness, but that we have anything even before his death; and at his death he is no
the right and power of our own choice to make it re-enter longer anything more than a memory. And one may perhaps
the stream of consciousness. The memory of an event is suppose that there is a sort of mysterious affinity between the
always there at our command, and can be endlessly revived. memory we have of him, and the recollection of himself
It is a new form of existence, intimate, stable and purified, which is all that he now has. Although our senses or our
which can only be thought inferior or oflcss degree by those emotions rebel against the idea, we may even be more
who believe that reality can be grasped only by our hands and closely united to the dead than to the living. It is true that
eyes. It was necessary that existence should pass through a we can forget them, and the movement of our lower nature
corporal form in order to change into a spiritual type, which may divert our attention elsewhere. But though we be un
is the goal towards which it tends and which it must finally aware of it, the dead arc close to us and are always ready to
reach. We must therefore first die to the body in this world respond to our call and to exert on us a far purer and more
n
i order to be reborn in the spirit. disinterested influence than that which they exerted in their
lifetime.
IO. THE UNION OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
In this way we are better able to understand our union
ON THE COMMON PLANE OF MEMORY

with the saints. It is an entirely spiritual union through which
they enter into our lives and share our deliberations and our
But can we agree that holiness has its existence solely in designs. Their voices sound in the depth ofour souls, awaken
the subjective kind of immortality which is that of memory ? ing there ideas to which i t is our duty to attend, and opening
Here an important distinction must be made. It is in the out possibilities which it is for us to realize. We live with
memory he has of himself that every human being is able them in an invisible world-the true world of which all the
to spiritualize his own existence and thus obtain a title to spirits that exist are members, and which is constituted by
eternal life. Otherwise what could suryjve of him at the their mutual and constant inter-relations. Of this other
moment of death? His immortality would no longer be tbat world our visible world is at once the sign and the instru
of the man who had lived but that of another being entirely ment ; it is therefore only natural that when its work is done
unrelated to him. And however closely we examine the it should fade away.
problem of immortality it cannot be dissociated from the And so we may say that the saints arc in our midst even
3
though we fail to recognize them; and yet they only become are reduced to their essential being. In the process they lose
saints when their life has rnn its course, and they are trans nothing of what they were before; they do not change into
formed into spirits. It would therefore seem necessary to abstractions devoid of life. On the contrary, what is now laid
make a radical change in the role we ordinarily assign to bare is the principle of life within them wluch was like a
memory ; we arc apt to think of it as a sort of substitute for flame that had been covered over by cinders till its light was
a reality which has ceased to be there: something which in obscured and its vitality paralysed. We are at the point at
troduces a kind of shadow out of line with what has been, which memory itself changes into a living idea. All it held
something to which we have recourse only as a secondary that was perishable and that has now perished was only there
means of filling the gaps of actual existence. But memory to enable us to grasp the element of active and significant
has a far nobler ftmction; for memory mutes in us the tem power. In us this power becomes active when we act, in
poral and the eternal, and gives an eternal quality to the spiring and sustaining us. It is a medium between God and
things of time, purifying and illuminating them. It is in us. And this living idea is the soul itself which has survived
memory, as soon as we close our eyes, that we sec the signi death and rid itself of all the elements of becoming with
ficance of every event in our lives and of every action we which it was mixed, and whose sole purpose was to enable
have performed. It is memory which enshrines the past in it to prove itself and shape its character. How could anything
our soul so that it becomes present to us in a spiritual sense. remain of all the wretchedness that time has brought to an
Finally it is through memory that our soul enters into itself end? The living idea present and active within us is a soul
and becomes aware of our irmer essence; through memory with which we are in constant communion. Through this
also, without any effort of will on our part, the saints mani experience alone are we conscious of the relationship which
fest their holiness and receive the honour which is their due. unites souls when they no longer need to use the instrument
of the body, which acted as a kind of screen between them.
Only those with an undue attachment to earth can imagine
II. FROM MEMORY TO THE LIVING I D E A WHICH
that we shall rediscover, even in the life of the spirit, the
I S THE SOUL
memories and recollections that are proper to our life on earth,
Here again certain difficulties arise. The saints are individual instead of distilling from them the pure essence which, in the
beings; yet they seem to infringe the laws that govern in happiest moments of our life here below, seems to transport
dividual existence. We would like to know their way of life us to another world of sublime and eternal realities.
and they have passed beyond life. They become saints only It is into this other world that the saints invite us to enter.
through the memory we have of their temporal existence, They seem to take us by the hand and lead us towards it.
though tin1e has no longer any meaning in their case. We The memories we have of their lives show them still attached
must recognize too that in the memory we have of them to earth, full of weaknesses and subject to every kind of
there is a kind of transfiguration of all the events of their life. tribulation. Their example gives us a sort of security: our
These events now disclose their real sigtllficance and take on life now seems less precarious and unworthy. The saints help
the character of types and symbols. The saints themselves us not merely by their example, but by the strength they give
though we fail to recognize them; and yet they only become are reduced to their essential being. In the process they lose
saints when their life has rnn its course, and they are trans nothing of what they were before; they do not change into
formed into spirits. It would therefore seem necessary to abstractions devoid of life. On the contrary, what is now laid
make a radical change in the role we ordinarily assign to bare is the principle of life within them wluch was like a
memory ; we arc apt to think of it as a sort of substitute for flame that had been covered over by cinders till its light was
a reality which has ceased to be there: something which in obscured and its vitality paralysed. We are at the point at
troduces a kind of shadow out of line with what has been, which memory itself changes into a living idea. All it held
something to which we have recourse only as a secondary that was perishable and that has now perished was only there
means of filling the gaps of actual existence. But memory to enable us to grasp the element of active and significant
has a far nobler ftmction; for memory mutes in us the tem power. In us this power becomes active when we act, in
poral and the eternal, and gives an eternal quality to the spiring and sustaining us. It is a medium between God and
things of time, purifying and illuminating them. It is in us. And this living idea is the soul itself which has survived
memory, as soon as we close our eyes, that we sec the signi death and rid itself of all the elements of becoming with
ficance of every event in our lives and of every action we which it was mixed, and whose sole purpose was to enable
have performed. It is memory which enshrines the past in it to prove itself and shape its character. How could anything
our soul so that it becomes present to us in a spiritual sense. remain of all the wretchedness that time has brought to an
Finally it is through memory that our soul enters into itself end? The living idea present and active within us is a soul
and becomes aware of our irmer essence; through memory with which we are in constant communion. Through this
also, without any effort of will on our part, the saints mani experience alone are we conscious of the relationship which
fest their holiness and receive the honour which is their due. unites souls when they no longer need to use the instrument
of the body, which acted as a kind of screen between them.
Only those with an undue attachment to earth can imagine
II. FROM MEMORY TO THE LIVING I D E A WHICH
that we shall rediscover, even in the life of the spirit, the
I S THE SOUL
memories and recollections that are proper to our life on earth,
Here again certain difficulties arise. The saints are individual instead of distilling from them the pure essence which, in the
beings; yet they seem to infringe the laws that govern in happiest moments of our life here below, seems to transport
dividual existence. We would like to know their way of life us to another world of sublime and eternal realities.
and they have passed beyond life. They become saints only It is into this other world that the saints invite us to enter.
through the memory we have of their temporal existence, They seem to take us by the hand and lead us towards it.
though tin1e has no longer any meaning in their case. We The memories we have of their lives show them still attached
must recognize too that in the memory we have of them to earth, full of weaknesses and subject to every kind of
there is a kind of transfiguration of all the events of their life. tribulation. Their example gives us a sort of security: our
These events now disclose their real sigtllficance and take on life now seems less precarious and unworthy. The saints help
the character of types and symbols. The saints themselves us not merely by their example, but by the strength they give
22 The Meaning of Holiness On Holiness 23
us in times of trial, prevaH

ing on us to turn everything that
I2 . THE SAINT, THE HERO AND THE SAGE
happens to spiritual uses.
It is easy now to understand why we do not invoke the The saint is often contrasted with the hero and the sage.
same saint under all circumstances, and why there should be The saint can be either of these though it does not always
special saints to whom we naturally turn; since these seem so happen. If he is a hero, he is the kind of hero who masks
to be more closely akin to us and better able to understand his heroism beneath the outward appearance of submission ;
and assist us. We feel from the outset that we arc more closely and if a sage he often disguises his wisdom under the appear
bound to them. Although all men may be endowed with the ance of folly. Both hero and sage appear to be concerned only
same powers, they do not all make use of them in the same with nature, which will and reason seem able to subdue and
measure. And as in the case of two friends one supplements rule. Our purely human resources suffice to produce heroism
and completes what is lacking in the other, so that through and wisdom, but both are far removed from holiness. They
their mutual relationship a new being, more perfect than do not spring from the same source, nor do they pursue the
either of them, comes into existence; so in like manner every same end. The hero docs not give way to nature : he imposes
saint inspires a series of successors who develop and bring his will on it, and as soon as a conflict arises he makes his will
into operation all the potentialities he had in him. Through prevail even if in the effort he succumbs. The sage on the
these successors the seed of his example yields a harvest for other hand seeks an alliance with nature and makes it serve
ever. his ends. He establishes between nature and will a kind of
The saints show us all we can do and all we can be. They equilibrium, which assures his itmcr peace and gives free play
trace back to God the origin of all the possibilities n
i us. to his thought and judgement. The hero resists the course of
They show us which of these possibilities we are called on events, even though he be broken in the process. The sage
to develop and teach us how to put them in practice. Their accepts this order and accommodates himself to it, giving it
spirit communicates itself to us. Each of us is able with their a spiritual significance. Both are concerned only with the
help to discover his vocation and fulfil it. This does not imply values of thit1gs. The hero is always prepared to do violence
mere imitation on our part, which might well discourage to the course of events so as to force the issue ; while the sage
our initiative; but the saints show us the field where we falls into line with the course of things in the hope of getting
ought to labour, where our work will prolong their own, them to bear witness to the values he has at heart. The one
though it may not always look very like it. It is through the is only concerned with conflict, and sometimes even provokes
saints that the material world is joined with the spiritual it: the other acts as a peacemaker, and seeks a harmony which
world and time is merged into eternity. Through the memory he attains at times only by evading conflict. The hero ought
we have of them we are able to find a place for them in our only to engage in conflict when the ways of wisdom offer
hearts ; but this same memory has changed them into spiritual no further help and wisdom itself urges him to take this
beings with whom we are united in the world of the Spirit, course. The sage must never decline to take the path of
where each individual fulfils his unique vocation and is in heroism if wisdom can be purchased only at this price. But
inseparable communion with all other souls. the hero and the sage are, as we are well aware, men who
22 The Meaning of Holiness On Holiness 23
us in times of trial, prevaH

ing on us to turn everything that
I2 . THE SAINT, THE HERO AND THE SAGE
happens to spiritual uses.
It is easy now to understand why we do not invoke the The saint is often contrasted with the hero and the sage.
same saint under all circumstances, and why there should be The saint can be either of these though it does not always
special saints to whom we naturally turn; since these seem so happen. If he is a hero, he is the kind of hero who masks
to be more closely akin to us and better able to understand his heroism beneath the outward appearance of submission ;
and assist us. We feel from the outset that we arc more closely and if a sage he often disguises his wisdom under the appear
bound to them. Although all men may be endowed with the ance of folly. Both hero and sage appear to be concerned only
same powers, they do not all make use of them in the same with nature, which will and reason seem able to subdue and
measure. And as in the case of two friends one supplements rule. Our purely human resources suffice to produce heroism
and completes what is lacking in the other, so that through and wisdom, but both are far removed from holiness. They
their mutual relationship a new being, more perfect than do not spring from the same source, nor do they pursue the
either of them, comes into existence; so in like manner every same end. The hero docs not give way to nature : he imposes
saint inspires a series of successors who develop and bring his will on it, and as soon as a conflict arises he makes his will
into operation all the potentialities he had in him. Through prevail even if in the effort he succumbs. The sage on the
these successors the seed of his example yields a harvest for other hand seeks an alliance with nature and makes it serve
ever. his ends. He establishes between nature and will a kind of
The saints show us all we can do and all we can be. They equilibrium, which assures his itmcr peace and gives free play
trace back to God the origin of all the possibilities n
i us. to his thought and judgement. The hero resists the course of
They show us which of these possibilities we are called on events, even though he be broken in the process. The sage
to develop and teach us how to put them in practice. Their accepts this order and accommodates himself to it, giving it
spirit communicates itself to us. Each of us is able with their a spiritual significance. Both are concerned only with the
help to discover his vocation and fulfil it. This does not imply values of thit1gs. The hero is always prepared to do violence
mere imitation on our part, which might well discourage to the course of events so as to force the issue ; while the sage
our initiative; but the saints show us the field where we falls into line with the course of things in the hope of getting
ought to labour, where our work will prolong their own, them to bear witness to the values he has at heart. The one
though it may not always look very like it. It is through the is only concerned with conflict, and sometimes even provokes
saints that the material world is joined with the spiritual it: the other acts as a peacemaker, and seeks a harmony which
world and time is merged into eternity. Through the memory he attains at times only by evading conflict. The hero ought
we have of them we are able to find a place for them in our only to engage in conflict when the ways of wisdom offer
hearts ; but this same memory has changed them into spiritual no further help and wisdom itself urges him to take this
beings with whom we are united in the world of the Spirit, course. The sage must never decline to take the path of
where each individual fulfils his unique vocation and is in heroism if wisdom can be purchased only at this price. But
inseparable communion with all other souls. the hero and the sage are, as we are well aware, men who
24 The �Meaning of Holiuess On Holiness 25
rely on themselves in their action; they are therefore always reduced to one particular instant or even to the totality ofall the
in danger of a fall. We are puzzled when we fmd that one instants oftime. In an instant it opens a way into eternity-into
may be a hero in an unworthy cause; and that the sage some an eternity that lasts and gives its continuum to all duration.
times sacrifices the better course to a risk that he thinks he We need not therefore be surprised that the saint often
ought to take. Heroism has a certain glamour, and that is why performs actions which appear heroic. But these must not
there is such a thing as false heroism. Yet heroism may on occa be attributed to heroism if by heroism we mean something
sion be unseen and unconscious even on the part of hin1 who that merely implies a fight, and victory in the fight. Instead
plays the hero. The way ofwisdom is sometimes no more than of going against nature it is in effect through a kind of
an appearance of peace: it is no more than a counterfeit wis natural necessity that the saint performs such striking and
dom unless it is the outward sign of inward peace of soul. difficult actions. This is because there is in him a new nature
Heroism, it seems, is an act and wisdom a state. Acts ot which, instead of being in opposition to the earlier order of
heroism always seem to be performed on the impulse of the nature, spiritualizes it and is at one with it. For all its apparent
moment, as if they were implicit in the course of events. foolishness his action transcends the wisdom of the most
Such acts are nearly always followed by a slackening of ten wise. Not that the action of a saint is determined by nice
sion. Few heroes remain on the level of the act which they calculations of pmdence; but because it is beyond prudence,
were once able to accomplish. It is not expected of them. In it fmds its inspiration in a higher source, and integrates and
a life which needs to be continuously renewed and main transcends all the counsels of wisdom.
tained on the level of heroism, an unbroken series of heroic
acts is not possible. Wisdom on the other hand seems to
13. THE SAINT MAKES OF THE WORLD A
belong to time in duration and not merely to the passing PERPETUAL MIRACLE
moment. The important thing is that it should not falter.
We can perform individual acts wisely, but the virtue ot The mark ofholiness is to make us live in an atmosphere of
wisdom only becomes inscribed in our nature by slow de perpetual miracle. We are in that atmosphere when we are con
grees. It is an acquired virtue, and only bears full fruit during scious of the presence and action of God in all we see and do.
the last years of our life. In this respect there is a certain opposition between the
Holiness is at once an act and a state. It is a state which not action of the scientist and that of the saint. The whole effort
merely manifests itself in acts but is in itself an ever-present of the scientist is to strip the world and life of their miraculous
act, which may occasionally fail of its purpose but is always character; yet we know that science fails in its endeavour.
renewed. And so while heroism belongs to the instant and For the features of the world as revealed to us by the most
wisdom to the duration of time, holiness belongs to etemity advanced science remain as mysterious as-perhaps even
-but to eternity which is incamate in time. For this reason more mysterious than-the features that are displayed to our
holiness always acts in instants of time. It is always accessible, ordinary senses. Yet science seeks to strip the world of every
always ready to give and to spend itself in action; yet in its element of miracle because it assumes that the world is self
undivided unity it fills the whole of existence and cannot be sufficient, that it consists of a mere concurrence of things or
24 The �Meaning of Holiuess On Holiness 25
rely on themselves in their action; they are therefore always reduced to one particular instant or even to the totality ofall the
in danger of a fall. We are puzzled when we fmd that one instants oftime. In an instant it opens a way into eternity-into
may be a hero in an unworthy cause; and that the sage some an eternity that lasts and gives its continuum to all duration.
times sacrifices the better course to a risk that he thinks he We need not therefore be surprised that the saint often
ought to take. Heroism has a certain glamour, and that is why performs actions which appear heroic. But these must not
there is such a thing as false heroism. Yet heroism may on occa be attributed to heroism if by heroism we mean something
sion be unseen and unconscious even on the part of hin1 who that merely implies a fight, and victory in the fight. Instead
plays the hero. The way ofwisdom is sometimes no more than of going against nature it is in effect through a kind of
an appearance of peace: it is no more than a counterfeit wis natural necessity that the saint performs such striking and
dom unless it is the outward sign of inward peace of soul. difficult actions. This is because there is in him a new nature
Heroism, it seems, is an act and wisdom a state. Acts ot which, instead of being in opposition to the earlier order of
heroism always seem to be performed on the impulse of the nature, spiritualizes it and is at one with it. For all its apparent
moment, as if they were implicit in the course of events. foolishness his action transcends the wisdom of the most
Such acts are nearly always followed by a slackening of ten wise. Not that the action of a saint is determined by nice
sion. Few heroes remain on the level of the act which they calculations of pmdence; but because it is beyond prudence,
were once able to accomplish. It is not expected of them. In it fmds its inspiration in a higher source, and integrates and
a life which needs to be continuously renewed and main transcends all the counsels of wisdom.
tained on the level of heroism, an unbroken series of heroic
acts is not possible. Wisdom on the other hand seems to
13. THE SAINT MAKES OF THE WORLD A
belong to time in duration and not merely to the passing PERPETUAL MIRACLE
moment. The important thing is that it should not falter.
We can perform individual acts wisely, but the virtue ot The mark ofholiness is to make us live in an atmosphere of
wisdom only becomes inscribed in our nature by slow de perpetual miracle. We are in that atmosphere when we are con
grees. It is an acquired virtue, and only bears full fruit during scious of the presence and action of God in all we see and do.
the last years of our life. In this respect there is a certain opposition between the
Holiness is at once an act and a state. It is a state which not action of the scientist and that of the saint. The whole effort
merely manifests itself in acts but is in itself an ever-present of the scientist is to strip the world and life of their miraculous
act, which may occasionally fail of its purpose but is always character; yet we know that science fails in its endeavour.
renewed. And so while heroism belongs to the instant and For the features of the world as revealed to us by the most
wisdom to the duration of time, holiness belongs to etemity advanced science remain as mysterious as-perhaps even
-but to eternity which is incamate in time. For this reason more mysterious than-the features that are displayed to our
holiness always acts in instants of time. It is always accessible, ordinary senses. Yet science seeks to strip the world of every
always ready to give and to spend itself in action; yet in its element of miracle because it assumes that the world is self
undivided unity it fills the whole of existence and cannot be sufficient, that it consists of a mere concurrence of things or
26 The Mem1ing of Holi11ess On Holiness 27
phenomena located in space or time, and linked together by It has no meaning except to enable us to measure at each
a more or less complex system of laws which arc in gradual moment the success or failure of our spiritual activity. It need
course of discovery. The spirit of the scientist is thus im not astonish us that for some minds the world appears to be
manent in the things of the world. full of light, while for others it seems to be plqnged in dark
It is none the less a great miracle d1at there should be a ness. The difference is due not so much to power of n
i tellect
mind capable of apprehending the world as a whole and of as to purity and integrity of will.
learning the science of it. It is for this reason that mi11d tran It is this miracle at work which the saint continually
scends the world. Moreover it is not in this world that it finds its reveals to us : a miracle in which every thing, while still
destiny and end. The world serves at once as a meam of com retaining its own identity, suddenly displays an essence and
munication and a place of probation. It must become for the significance which otherwise would have eluded us. The in
mind or soul not merely an outward show but also a means by telligence is thus restored to its proper sphere of activity.
which the soul will find its proper ful£lment. It is because the It is not true to say that the saint has turned his back on the
worldisan obstacle that it can also bean instrument ; and because world. On the contrary, he is the only one who has access
it rebels against mind it can also be a witness for it. The saint to the deep life of the world, instead of remaining merely
constantly obliges the world to bear witness on the side of the on the surface. Far from vanishing like a dream, the world
spirit; for he is continually revealing to us the living presence of reveals to him the deep foundations on which it rests. For
God in the world. It shines forth even in the least ofhis words or him it reflects the face of God, while for those who look on
gestures. The world abounds in miracles, from the tiniest blade it through bodily eyes alone i t means nothing. To see the
of grass to the stars in their courses ; from the movement ofour world thus transfigured is the privilege of those who, in
little finger to the mighty clash of nations. Yet there is nothing stead of thinking that our natural powers suffice to interpret
which does not become clear and luminous for one who can the world to us, suffer a change of heart which makes them
find in each thing a sign he is content to recognize and a call attentive to the presence of God; and from Him proceeds
to which he is ready to respond. the power to greet all things with the glance of love.
If we think that the world is nothing more than it out
wardly appears to be, it becomes merely a blind and mon We have endeavoured to analyse the different aspects of
strous mass in which we are caught up as in a vice, and which this interior conversion by studying in turn the spiritual life
in the end will crush us out of existence. If this were true we of four different saints : St. Francis of Assisi, who showed us
might well say that our very existence s

i absurd. Our in so admirably how nature itself is the language in which God
telligence is the judge of all these things, and is therefore speaks to us; St. John of the Cross, who made the painful
outside their jurisdiction. It pertains to intelligence, if exist ascent to the supreme heights of contemplation ; St. Teresa,
ence is within its scope and not beyond its jurisdiction, to who achieved in practice the perfect muon between action
take care that the world does not blind its vision nor resist �nd contemplation ; and fmally St. Francis de Sales, whose
its claims but that it shall become the field of their operation. aim was to show us that, in the secret depths of each soul,
In this way the world takes on a kind of transparent quality. will is inseparable from love.
26 The Mem1ing of Holi11ess On Holiness 27
phenomena located in space or time, and linked together by It has no meaning except to enable us to measure at each
a more or less complex system of laws which arc in gradual moment the success or failure of our spiritual activity. It need
course of discovery. The spirit of the scientist is thus im not astonish us that for some minds the world appears to be
manent in the things of the world. full of light, while for others it seems to be plqnged in dark
It is none the less a great miracle d1at there should be a ness. The difference is due not so much to power of n
i tellect
mind capable of apprehending the world as a whole and of as to purity and integrity of will.
learning the science of it. It is for this reason that mi11d tran It is this miracle at work which the saint continually
scends the world. Moreover it is not in this world that it finds its reveals to us : a miracle in which every thing, while still
destiny and end. The world serves at once as a meam of com retaining its own identity, suddenly displays an essence and
munication and a place of probation. It must become for the significance which otherwise would have eluded us. The in
mind or soul not merely an outward show but also a means by telligence is thus restored to its proper sphere of activity.
which the soul will find its proper ful£lment. It is because the It is not true to say that the saint has turned his back on the
worldisan obstacle that it can also bean instrument ; and because world. On the contrary, he is the only one who has access
it rebels against mind it can also be a witness for it. The saint to the deep life of the world, instead of remaining merely
constantly obliges the world to bear witness on the side of the on the surface. Far from vanishing like a dream, the world
spirit; for he is continually revealing to us the living presence of reveals to him the deep foundations on which it rests. For
God in the world. It shines forth even in the least ofhis words or him it reflects the face of God, while for those who look on
gestures. The world abounds in miracles, from the tiniest blade it through bodily eyes alone i t means nothing. To see the
of grass to the stars in their courses ; from the movement ofour world thus transfigured is the privilege of those who, in
little finger to the mighty clash of nations. Yet there is nothing stead of thinking that our natural powers suffice to interpret
which does not become clear and luminous for one who can the world to us, suffer a change of heart which makes them
find in each thing a sign he is content to recognize and a call attentive to the presence of God; and from Him proceeds
to which he is ready to respond. the power to greet all things with the glance of love.
If we think that the world is nothing more than it out
wardly appears to be, it becomes merely a blind and mon We have endeavoured to analyse the different aspects of
strous mass in which we are caught up as in a vice, and which this interior conversion by studying in turn the spiritual life
in the end will crush us out of existence. If this were true we of four different saints : St. Francis of Assisi, who showed us
might well say that our very existence s

i absurd. Our in so admirably how nature itself is the language in which God
telligence is the judge of all these things, and is therefore speaks to us; St. John of the Cross, who made the painful
outside their jurisdiction. It pertains to intelligence, if exist ascent to the supreme heights of contemplation ; St. Teresa,
ence is within its scope and not beyond its jurisdiction, to who achieved in practice the perfect muon between action
take care that the world does not blind its vision nor resist �nd contemplation ; and fmally St. Francis de Sales, whose
its claims but that it shall become the field of their operation. aim was to show us that, in the secret depths of each soul,
In this way the world takes on a kind of transparent quality. will is inseparable from love.
Franciscan Spirituality 29
brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in

comprehensible and even unendurable if it were not at the
same time a communion with all mankind, whose fate is
II
always linked with our own. For this communion every
human being is responsible according to the measure of his
o
FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY
power; and for it, as much as for himself, he must never
meditation can be more instructive for one who cease to work, to study, and to pray.
N wishes to understand human nature than the effort

to comprehend in a single scheme the unity and
diversity of monastic institutions. In such a study the essential
But the very diversity of the Religious Orders is witness
to the diversity of powers in all these individuaJ human
beings, each of whom has none the less been called to
characteristics of human nature stand out in strong relief, the same spiritual vocation. For humanity in its essence is
much more clearly than in the anaJyses of psychologists or present in each one of us; otherwise we couJd neither com-/
the researches of moralists ; for here we find all the powers mwucate with nor w1derstand one another. Yet there is l
of the soul ordering themselves in a hierarchy, and being as much difference in the character, tastes and gifts as
unified by a single act of choice through which each individ there is in the features of each individual. We are not all 1
ual soul pledges its whole destiny and defines its true relation appointed to the same tasks ; what is required of one human
with the Absolute. being cannot possibly be fulfilled by another. If each respon- I
In the Religious Orders there is one inspiration common to ded humbly and sincerely to the interior summons, and
all, though it is manifested in most diverse ways. It is the accepted the circumstances in which he is placed, instead
ardent desire for purity which, we may believe, haunts the of trying to select or aJter them, be would immediately
depths of the human soul, and urges the most earnest spirits cease to compare himself with others; nor wouJd he inutate
to withdraw from the world; and, by entering into them an activity for which he is not fitted or envy a success he is
selves, to live continually in the presence of God. If social life incapable of achieving.
separates us from the divine presence, and if solitude on the Even in the order of nature we can distinguish different
other hand helps us to regain it, we can see that the life of types of disposition. In the intellectual order we find families
the cloister is an organization for spirituaJ solitude. But this or schools of thought. For in this world nothing is abstract ;
solitude is not a state of isolation which leaves us at the mercy each being has its own irreplaceable originality which aJways
of self-love and all its miseries, for it is only through the needs to be spiritualized and transfigured, but may never be
divine presence it seeks in solitude that the soul is delivered annihilated. This unique character is apparent in the psycho
from its isolation. By submitting to the Rule of a Religious logy of the saints, and even among the choirs of angels.
Order, individuaJ souls feel that they are upheld, wuted, The Religious Orders give full scope for its expression; for
strengthened in the life they have chosen, in which the bonds the spiritual life, always one and undivided, assumes in each
between man and man, far from being broken, tend always particular Order a unique and spcciaJ character which varies
towards what is the model of a true society, namely, a again in each of its members.
Franciscan Spirituality 29
brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in

comprehensible and even unendurable if it were not at the
same time a communion with all mankind, whose fate is
II
always linked with our own. For this communion every
human being is responsible according to the measure of his
o
FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY
power; and for it, as much as for himself, he must never
meditation can be more instructive for one who cease to work, to study, and to pray.
N wishes to understand human nature than the effort

to comprehend in a single scheme the unity and
diversity of monastic institutions. In such a study the essential
But the very diversity of the Religious Orders is witness
to the diversity of powers in all these individuaJ human
beings, each of whom has none the less been called to
characteristics of human nature stand out in strong relief, the same spiritual vocation. For humanity in its essence is
much more clearly than in the anaJyses of psychologists or present in each one of us; otherwise we couJd neither com-/
the researches of moralists ; for here we find all the powers mwucate with nor w1derstand one another. Yet there is l
of the soul ordering themselves in a hierarchy, and being as much difference in the character, tastes and gifts as
unified by a single act of choice through which each individ there is in the features of each individual. We are not all 1
ual soul pledges its whole destiny and defines its true relation appointed to the same tasks ; what is required of one human
with the Absolute. being cannot possibly be fulfilled by another. If each respon- I
In the Religious Orders there is one inspiration common to ded humbly and sincerely to the interior summons, and
all, though it is manifested in most diverse ways. It is the accepted the circumstances in which he is placed, instead
ardent desire for purity which, we may believe, haunts the of trying to select or aJter them, be would immediately
depths of the human soul, and urges the most earnest spirits cease to compare himself with others; nor wouJd he inutate
to withdraw from the world; and, by entering into them an activity for which he is not fitted or envy a success he is
selves, to live continually in the presence of God. If social life incapable of achieving.
separates us from the divine presence, and if solitude on the Even in the order of nature we can distinguish different
other hand helps us to regain it, we can see that the life of types of disposition. In the intellectual order we find families
the cloister is an organization for spirituaJ solitude. But this or schools of thought. For in this world nothing is abstract ;
solitude is not a state of isolation which leaves us at the mercy each being has its own irreplaceable originality which aJways
of self-love and all its miseries, for it is only through the needs to be spiritualized and transfigured, but may never be
divine presence it seeks in solitude that the soul is delivered annihilated. This unique character is apparent in the psycho
from its isolation. By submitting to the Rule of a Religious logy of the saints, and even among the choirs of angels.
Order, individuaJ souls feel that they are upheld, wuted, The Religious Orders give full scope for its expression; for
strengthened in the life they have chosen, in which the bonds the spiritual life, always one and undivided, assumes in each
between man and man, far from being broken, tend always particular Order a unique and spcciaJ character which varies
towards what is the model of a true society, namely, a again in each of its members.
30 The Meaning of Holi11ess Franciscan Spirituality 3I
If we have chosen Franciscan spirituality for our first study state of childlike innocence. In this state it is humble in the
it is because spirituality is here seen in almost its purest form. presence of nature and even of animals, and offers no resist
This is apparent even from the objections so often made ance to any obstacles in its way. It accordingly accepts what
against it-that it will have nothing to do with intellectual ever happens as a manifestation of the will of God; and for
pursuits; that it holds such pursuits useless, even though the the struggle against evil it substitutes a habit of non-resistance
Order has had its scholars and its philosophers. The Fran- which is supposed to effect our deliverance-a doctrine which
' ciscan spirit marks a return to a state of simplicity and trust, in the last century was preached by Tolstoy, and in our own
in which even the struggle against evil is no other than a time by Gandhi. But it is surely a grave error to transform
• more direct consciousness of the presence of God, who comes the Franciscan idea into a simple reaffirmation of the primi
more and more close to us and is more and more active in tive goodness ofour natural appetites, and a faith in a common
our lives. In every aspect of the spiritual life we can perhaps fellowship among creatures, which cannot fail to irritate us
find something of the Franciscan spirit, and discern in it, because it seems insipid or artificial ; and even into a nega
more clearly marked, some of the deepest requirements of tive attitude of resignation and non-resistance, which would
the religious life itself. always leave God to act, without any obligation on our part
The message of St. Francis has often been welcomed by to co-operate with Him. This would indeed be to disfigure
the world in general, but for two reasons against which we the Franciscan concept of the human soul, which puts the
must be on our guard. The first is for its supposed creation will at the very centre of our being, where it is always ready
of a Franciscan ::esthetic; one might even call it a Franciscan to receive and make use of the light and strength that God
'manner'. This is shown by the keen attraction so many continually bestows on it. It is this concept that Fr. Gemelli,1
readers feel for the picturesque element in the Fioretti, though himself a Franciscan, and many others with him, hold to be
one may doubt whether any deep impression is left on their the most apt to solve the difficulties and overcome all the
minds other than the sense of certain fresh and delicate anguish of the modem world.
in1ages ; and again by the transformation of Assisi into a place In the holiness of St. Francis everything docs indeed seem
of pilgrimage where the pilgrim comes to admire the beauty easy and simple. But we shall wholly fail to understand it if
of the scene and to seek in the very light and air a kind of we do not realize that (apart from gestures which are mere
sensuous joy in a spiritual atmosphere that is inaccessible else external and misleading appearances) the things which are
where. The Franciscan spirit has indeed produced a series of outwardly most simple are those which reveal to us the stark
wonderful works of art, but it has always raised art to its reality behind the veil which hides it from our view. These
own level. All spiritual life perishes if it is reduced to the revelations are most rare and most difficult to attain.
level of resthetics. Ozanam calls St. Francis the Orpheus of the Middle Ages.
The second interpretation which tends to distort the teach Like Orpheus he tames nature, brings the stones to life,
ing of St. Francis is to regard it as nothing more than a gos obliges the elements to line up in accordance with the laws
pel of sweetness and gentleness to which the soul surrenders of harmony, and brings light to souls that are plunged in
through a mere relaxation of activity, returning thus to a 1 Agostino Gemelli, Le Message de saint FrallfOis atl Mo11de Modeme (Lethielleux).
30 The Meaning of Holi11ess Franciscan Spirituality 3I
If we have chosen Franciscan spirituality for our first study state of childlike innocence. In this state it is humble in the
it is because spirituality is here seen in almost its purest form. presence of nature and even of animals, and offers no resist
This is apparent even from the objections so often made ance to any obstacles in its way. It accordingly accepts what
against it-that it will have nothing to do with intellectual ever happens as a manifestation of the will of God; and for
pursuits; that it holds such pursuits useless, even though the the struggle against evil it substitutes a habit of non-resistance
Order has had its scholars and its philosophers. The Fran- which is supposed to effect our deliverance-a doctrine which
' ciscan spirit marks a return to a state of simplicity and trust, in the last century was preached by Tolstoy, and in our own
in which even the struggle against evil is no other than a time by Gandhi. But it is surely a grave error to transform
• more direct consciousness of the presence of God, who comes the Franciscan idea into a simple reaffirmation of the primi
more and more close to us and is more and more active in tive goodness ofour natural appetites, and a faith in a common
our lives. In every aspect of the spiritual life we can perhaps fellowship among creatures, which cannot fail to irritate us
find something of the Franciscan spirit, and discern in it, because it seems insipid or artificial ; and even into a nega
more clearly marked, some of the deepest requirements of tive attitude of resignation and non-resistance, which would
the religious life itself. always leave God to act, without any obligation on our part
The message of St. Francis has often been welcomed by to co-operate with Him. This would indeed be to disfigure
the world in general, but for two reasons against which we the Franciscan concept of the human soul, which puts the
must be on our guard. The first is for its supposed creation will at the very centre of our being, where it is always ready
of a Franciscan ::esthetic; one might even call it a Franciscan to receive and make use of the light and strength that God
'manner'. This is shown by the keen attraction so many continually bestows on it. It is this concept that Fr. Gemelli,1
readers feel for the picturesque element in the Fioretti, though himself a Franciscan, and many others with him, hold to be
one may doubt whether any deep impression is left on their the most apt to solve the difficulties and overcome all the
minds other than the sense of certain fresh and delicate anguish of the modem world.
in1ages ; and again by the transformation of Assisi into a place In the holiness of St. Francis everything docs indeed seem
of pilgrimage where the pilgrim comes to admire the beauty easy and simple. But we shall wholly fail to understand it if
of the scene and to seek in the very light and air a kind of we do not realize that (apart from gestures which are mere
sensuous joy in a spiritual atmosphere that is inaccessible else external and misleading appearances) the things which are
where. The Franciscan spirit has indeed produced a series of outwardly most simple are those which reveal to us the stark
wonderful works of art, but it has always raised art to its reality behind the veil which hides it from our view. These
own level. All spiritual life perishes if it is reduced to the revelations are most rare and most difficult to attain.
level of resthetics. Ozanam calls St. Francis the Orpheus of the Middle Ages.
The second interpretation which tends to distort the teach Like Orpheus he tames nature, brings the stones to life,
ing of St. Francis is to regard it as nothing more than a gos obliges the elements to line up in accordance with the laws
pel of sweetness and gentleness to which the soul surrenders of harmony, and brings light to souls that are plunged in
through a mere relaxation of activity, returning thus to a 1 Agostino Gemelli, Le Message de saint FrallfOis atl Mo11de Modeme (Lethielleux).
The Meaning of Holi11ess Franciscatl Spirituality 33
darkness, transforming indifference into hope and even anger a hindrance i t becomes a minister o f grace. Time ceases to
into love. His great achievement was to convert each life, divide and is no longer a barrier that makes us yearn for
even the most wretched and rebellious, into a hymn of eternity ; it brings eternity to us even now. Action is no
divine praise. It was he who inspired the extraordinary longer opposed to but even assists contemplation, since it is
awakening of spirituality which lasted throughout the thir :1 way of union with the divine mind and a means of co
teenth century. St. Louis, the King of France, was a Fran operation with the creative will of God. And the renuncia
ciscan ; and according to the Fioretti he goes to sec Brother tion of pleasure, far from depriving us of some good, brings
Giles i n the Convent at Perugia. The two brothers fall on an inestimable reward in the very joy of action and of love.
their knees in silence in front of each other, but in the divine Let us examine in turn these different aspects of Franciscan
light their souls become transparent each to the other. spirituality. And first poverty, which n
i the life of St. Francis
St. Francis inspired the paintings of Giotto, who shows us and in the Rule of his Order is the cardinal virtue on which
in Umbrian landscapes scenes from the life of St. Francis, all the others depend. The virtue of poverty goes deeper than
where the colours seem to become immaterial, so that only one might suppose ; for it is all one with the interior sim
the souls of persons and even things arc made to appear. plicity through which, in entire confidence, we surrender to
And Giotto, it seems, took counsel with Dante, who men God our whole soul, naked and free, devoid of all attachment
tions him n
i the Divine Comedy, the theology of which is to anything apart from Him, with a pure and holy simplicity
inspired by St. Thomas, though its Paradise is the Paradise that confounds all the wisdom of the world. Poverty hollows
of St. Francis. out in our soul a little vacant place which we must continue
to enlarge until at length nothing remains but free and empty
What precisely are the reasons for the extraordinary as space for God Himself to fill. The more a soul realizes its
cendancy which the Poor Man of Assisi exercised on his own wretchedness and insufficiency, the more vividly it becomes
age, and which even today reaches out beyond the limits not conscious of the infmitc abw1dance it needs and seeks, and
only of the Church but also of Christendom? They are surely which even now it begins to receive. The Friars Minor make
to be found in the state of perfect simplicity, in the complete themselves the least of men. They know that those who
renunciation ofself-love, through which the obstacles separat humble themselves have the greatest measure of grace, for
ing the soul from God are eliminated, while His presence they create in themselves the conditions which allow God
becomes visible and His action is manifest in all the events to dwell within them. They desire to be invisible as He is
of our lives. It shows us in the world a divine order enlighten invisible. The sense of His greatness is vouchsafed to them
ing our intelligence and directing our will if only we be together with the consciousness of their own littleness. The
attentive and docile. The conflicts that previously rent our lesson of humility, as the word reminds us, is to keep our
conscience are now miraculously stilled. The very wretched feet upon the ground ; it saves us from falling yet at the same
ness of our state, if we embrace that state with love, brings tinle it directs our gaze towards heaven. Poverty is the
us riches beyond all our desire. Nature which hitherto seemed greatest of treasures because it teaches us to renounce all in
dark and obscure is now suffused with light; instead ofbeing order to gain aU. For true riches consist in not coveting things
The Meaning of Holi11ess Franciscatl Spirituality 33
darkness, transforming indifference into hope and even anger a hindrance i t becomes a minister o f grace. Time ceases to
into love. His great achievement was to convert each life, divide and is no longer a barrier that makes us yearn for
even the most wretched and rebellious, into a hymn of eternity ; it brings eternity to us even now. Action is no
divine praise. It was he who inspired the extraordinary longer opposed to but even assists contemplation, since it is
awakening of spirituality which lasted throughout the thir :1 way of union with the divine mind and a means of co
teenth century. St. Louis, the King of France, was a Fran operation with the creative will of God. And the renuncia
ciscan ; and according to the Fioretti he goes to sec Brother tion of pleasure, far from depriving us of some good, brings
Giles i n the Convent at Perugia. The two brothers fall on an inestimable reward in the very joy of action and of love.
their knees in silence in front of each other, but in the divine Let us examine in turn these different aspects of Franciscan
light their souls become transparent each to the other. spirituality. And first poverty, which n
i the life of St. Francis
St. Francis inspired the paintings of Giotto, who shows us and in the Rule of his Order is the cardinal virtue on which
in Umbrian landscapes scenes from the life of St. Francis, all the others depend. The virtue of poverty goes deeper than
where the colours seem to become immaterial, so that only one might suppose ; for it is all one with the interior sim
the souls of persons and even things arc made to appear. plicity through which, in entire confidence, we surrender to
And Giotto, it seems, took counsel with Dante, who men God our whole soul, naked and free, devoid of all attachment
tions him n
i the Divine Comedy, the theology of which is to anything apart from Him, with a pure and holy simplicity
inspired by St. Thomas, though its Paradise is the Paradise that confounds all the wisdom of the world. Poverty hollows
of St. Francis. out in our soul a little vacant place which we must continue
to enlarge until at length nothing remains but free and empty
What precisely are the reasons for the extraordinary as space for God Himself to fill. The more a soul realizes its
cendancy which the Poor Man of Assisi exercised on his own wretchedness and insufficiency, the more vividly it becomes
age, and which even today reaches out beyond the limits not conscious of the infmitc abw1dance it needs and seeks, and
only of the Church but also of Christendom? They are surely which even now it begins to receive. The Friars Minor make
to be found in the state of perfect simplicity, in the complete themselves the least of men. They know that those who
renunciation ofself-love, through which the obstacles separat humble themselves have the greatest measure of grace, for
ing the soul from God are eliminated, while His presence they create in themselves the conditions which allow God
becomes visible and His action is manifest in all the events to dwell within them. They desire to be invisible as He is
of our lives. It shows us in the world a divine order enlighten invisible. The sense of His greatness is vouchsafed to them
ing our intelligence and directing our will if only we be together with the consciousness of their own littleness. The
attentive and docile. The conflicts that previously rent our lesson of humility, as the word reminds us, is to keep our
conscience are now miraculously stilled. The very wretched feet upon the ground ; it saves us from falling yet at the same
ness of our state, if we embrace that state with love, brings tinle it directs our gaze towards heaven. Poverty is the
us riches beyond all our desire. Nature which hitherto seemed greatest of treasures because it teaches us to renounce all in
dark and obscure is now suffused with light; instead ofbeing order to gain aU. For true riches consist in not coveting things
34 The Meaning of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 35
we lack and in not clinging to the things we have. And he sin. Even so, the things nature offers us arc forces of which
alone who in the sight of God is stripped bare of all else finds it behoves us to make good use, ideas about God which call
himself face to face with God. for a response, duties which are proposed to us, deep currents
Poverty goes still further. It commands us to rid ourselves in our life the true destination of which we must recognize
of all the cares and anxieties which betoken too much regard and which must be rectified and transformed if they deviate
for ourselves, our feelings and responsibilities and by virtue from their proper course.
of which we fail to make to God a full and complete sur There is no antagonism between God, nature and life
render of the care of our destiny. Now it happens that for because both nature and life proceed from Him and exist in
certain highly sensitive and conscientious souls this sacrifice order to manifest and serve Him. The human spirit has no
is the most difficult to make. But God wishes to give us a need to struggle against them or to destroy them; it must
spiritual case and purity which will deliver us even from these rather promote them and prove their worth. The universe
interior attachments and allow our souls to ascend to Him. then becomes a choir offering unceasing prayer to God. For
For this reason nothing must remain in our souls to weigh those with true vision the world is always proclaiming the
them down. Poverty is neither a state imposed on us, nor a glory of God. St. Francis himself sings the Canticle of the
gift that is granted to us: it is a deep science we must master. Sun and of creatures. Creatures must be loved, but only as
It purifies and frees us from all our former possessions, by the creatures of God and in the spirit of poverty which for
. revealing their worthlessness ; but at the same time it shows bids love ever to become a desire for possession. Nature now
(1us an infinite good which will belong to us if we will consent becomes an open road leading to the attainment of our
to belong to it. spiritual ends. We can recognize in it the hall-mark of its
Author; for faith of its very essence forbids us to discern
As soon as man diverts his gaze from himself he has the traces of the Fall without at the same time discovering the
whole of nature before his eyes. But is there not in nature signs of the Redemption. In the horror of nature which
an evil principle ever seeking to seduce us, opposing the certain ascetics express there is often much self-seeking and
movement of grace, and detaching us from God, a principle impurity as well as a distrust of life in its simplicity as God
we must resist without ceasing if we are to achieve our has given it to us. Nature must always be for the soul at once
spiritual independence? St. Francis judged otherwise. He a witness and a means of life.
would admit no opposition between the Creator and His It is therefore unfair to reproach St. Francis for a supposed
creation. Nature itself is not corrupt ; it is our will that inclination to naturalism and pantheism. He does not natural
corrupts nature. There is in nature an ambivalence which ize the spirit: he spiritualizes nature. The same desire which
allows room precisely for the exercise of freedom ; some directs us to individual things ought also to detach us from
tinles we find in it the visible evidence of divine action and them, by carrying us through and even beyond them to
are able everywhere to admire its innocence, harmony and wards the Absolute by whom they are maintained in exist
beauty; at other times, seeing it in detachment from its ence, to the centre of light which irradiates them. Then their
Source we can find only the marks ofbrutality, disorder and materiality itself will be seen to dissolve, and only their
4
we lack and in not clinging to the things we have. And he sin. Even so, the things nature offers us arc forces of which
alone who in the sight of God is stripped bare of all else finds it behoves us to make good use, ideas about God which call
himself face to face with God. for a response, duties which are proposed to us, deep currents
Poverty goes still further. It commands us to rid ourselves in our life the true destination of which we must recognize
of all the cares and anxieties which betoken too much regard and which must be rectified and transformed if they deviate
for ourselves, our feelings and responsibilities and by virtue from their proper course.
of which we fail to make to God a full and complete sur There is no antagonism between God, nature and life
render of the care of our destiny. Now it happens that for because both nature and life proceed from Him and exist in
certain highly sensitive and conscientious souls this sacrifice order to manifest and serve Him. The human spirit has no
is the most difficult to make. But God wishes to give us a need to struggle against them or to destroy them; it must
spiritual case and purity which will deliver us even from these rather promote them and prove their worth. The universe
interior attachments and allow our souls to ascend to Him. then becomes a choir offering unceasing prayer to God. For
For this reason nothing must remain in our souls to weigh those with true vision the world is always proclaiming the
them down. Poverty is neither a state imposed on us, nor a glory of God. St. Francis himself sings the Canticle of the
gift that is granted to us: it is a deep science we must master. Sun and of creatures. Creatures must be loved, but only as
It purifies and frees us from all our former possessions, by the creatures of God and in the spirit of poverty which for
. revealing their worthlessness ; but at the same time it shows bids love ever to become a desire for possession. Nature now
(1us an infinite good which will belong to us if we will consent becomes an open road leading to the attainment of our
to belong to it. spiritual ends. We can recognize in it the hall-mark of its
Author; for faith of its very essence forbids us to discern
As soon as man diverts his gaze from himself he has the traces of the Fall without at the same time discovering the
whole of nature before his eyes. But is there not in nature signs of the Redemption. In the horror of nature which
an evil principle ever seeking to seduce us, opposing the certain ascetics express there is often much self-seeking and
movement of grace, and detaching us from God, a principle impurity as well as a distrust of life in its simplicity as God
we must resist without ceasing if we are to achieve our has given it to us. Nature must always be for the soul at once
spiritual independence? St. Francis judged otherwise. He a witness and a means of life.
would admit no opposition between the Creator and His It is therefore unfair to reproach St. Francis for a supposed
creation. Nature itself is not corrupt ; it is our will that inclination to naturalism and pantheism. He does not natural
corrupts nature. There is in nature an ambivalence which ize the spirit: he spiritualizes nature. The same desire which
allows room precisely for the exercise of freedom ; some directs us to individual things ought also to detach us from
tinles we find in it the visible evidence of divine action and them, by carrying us through and even beyond them to
are able everywhere to admire its innocence, harmony and wards the Absolute by whom they are maintained in exist
beauty; at other times, seeing it in detachment from its ence, to the centre of light which irradiates them. Then their
Source we can find only the marks ofbrutality, disorder and materiality itself will be seen to dissolve, and only their
4
The Meanitlg of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 37
spiritual significance will remain. They will no longer afford re-create our spirit. For he alone can really be said to act
us the pleasure we previously expected, but they will reveal who strips himself of everything and yet despises nothing:
their beauty-an eternal beauty fit only to be an object of who renow1ces possession in order through the energy of
contemplation. love to pass beyond it. But idleness must be banished, for this
One cannot say that this is a doctrine of easy surrender. leaves us alone with ourselves and invites the devil to enter
For which is the more difficult ? To anathematize a blind and in. Poverty commands both work and service. We are too
rebellious nature, or to make it so clear and translucent that apt to forget that in Franciscan spirituality knowledge is
it reveals the very features of God? To allow a ceaseless war subordinated to action ; or rather that it strives through action
to be wao-ed
b between will and desire, or to limit desire to rather than books to acquire true wisdom. Tatlft�m
scit homo
things so simple and pure that the will withdraws opposition quantum operatur. Moreover action and contemplation are
and grace perfects the work ? not opposed to one another; at the highest point of the soul
they converge; for contemplation is no more than action
The virtue of poverty and the transfiguration of nature purified and at rest. We must so w1derstand the saying of
are perhaps the most salient features of the Franciscan spirit. St. Bonaventure that action raises us on lligh: sursum actio.
But it would be an error to suppose that such qualities suffice Action can never be purely and simply a means to an end.
in themselves or that they are founded on a faith in God It is not directed to an end to which it will be wholly sub
which dispenses us from the duty of action. Franciscan ordinate. To measure our action we must not be too pre
spirituality is poles apart fi·om �ietism. The Franciscan occupied with its success or its failure; for this would be to
doctor, Duns Scotus, exalts the will ; for how without an imitate those who refrain from sowing lest birds devour the
effort of will can we practise poverty of spirit and raise up grain. The supreme worth of action lies in its being an
to God all our natural inclinations? The soul which finds its imitation of God who is Himself Pure Act, and a participa
satisfaction in the good things of nature or of fortune looks tion of His will and of His essence; for the very powers that
exclusively to external things and to the sensible satisfaction dispose us to act are given to us by God. By our action we
that they bring. Such a soul is merely a thing among other respond to His call, continuing with our own hands and
things : everything that happens to it is due to the influence without respite the work of creation itsel£ The holiness
exerted by objects or events before which it is passive. But taught by St. Francis is not only, as some suppose, meek, re
the life of the spirit is free ; it turns away from external signed and attentiv e; it is also resolute, prompt, eager, enter
phenomena, for its fate does not depend on them. Its attention prising, indefatigable.
is focused on an interior act which it is called on to accom
plish, and which constitutes its existence and its very life. Nor can it be said that action so binds us to our daily
For only through such an act are we able to attain in tasks as to make us forgetful of eternity. The truth is just
intention and truth to union with God. It is only in tllis way the opposite. Our act aims at no distant end but seeks only
that we pledge our whole being. It is a gift of ourselves by its proper perfection at the very moment of its doing. Events
which we seem to go beyond ourselves and yet somehow to as they occur fall one after one into the lap of time, and if
The Meanitlg of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 37
spiritual significance will remain. They will no longer afford re-create our spirit. For he alone can really be said to act
us the pleasure we previously expected, but they will reveal who strips himself of everything and yet despises nothing:
their beauty-an eternal beauty fit only to be an object of who renow1ces possession in order through the energy of
contemplation. love to pass beyond it. But idleness must be banished, for this
One cannot say that this is a doctrine of easy surrender. leaves us alone with ourselves and invites the devil to enter
For which is the more difficult ? To anathematize a blind and in. Poverty commands both work and service. We are too
rebellious nature, or to make it so clear and translucent that apt to forget that in Franciscan spirituality knowledge is
it reveals the very features of God? To allow a ceaseless war subordinated to action ; or rather that it strives through action
to be wao-ed
b between will and desire, or to limit desire to rather than books to acquire true wisdom. Tatlft�m
scit homo
things so simple and pure that the will withdraws opposition quantum operatur. Moreover action and contemplation are
and grace perfects the work ? not opposed to one another; at the highest point of the soul
they converge; for contemplation is no more than action
The virtue of poverty and the transfiguration of nature purified and at rest. We must so w1derstand the saying of
are perhaps the most salient features of the Franciscan spirit. St. Bonaventure that action raises us on lligh: sursum actio.
But it would be an error to suppose that such qualities suffice Action can never be purely and simply a means to an end.
in themselves or that they are founded on a faith in God It is not directed to an end to which it will be wholly sub
which dispenses us from the duty of action. Franciscan ordinate. To measure our action we must not be too pre
spirituality is poles apart fi·om �ietism. The Franciscan occupied with its success or its failure; for this would be to
doctor, Duns Scotus, exalts the will ; for how without an imitate those who refrain from sowing lest birds devour the
effort of will can we practise poverty of spirit and raise up grain. The supreme worth of action lies in its being an
to God all our natural inclinations? The soul which finds its imitation of God who is Himself Pure Act, and a participa
satisfaction in the good things of nature or of fortune looks tion of His will and of His essence; for the very powers that
exclusively to external things and to the sensible satisfaction dispose us to act are given to us by God. By our action we
that they bring. Such a soul is merely a thing among other respond to His call, continuing with our own hands and
things : everything that happens to it is due to the influence without respite the work of creation itsel£ The holiness
exerted by objects or events before which it is passive. But taught by St. Francis is not only, as some suppose, meek, re
the life of the spirit is free ; it turns away from external signed and attentiv e; it is also resolute, prompt, eager, enter
phenomena, for its fate does not depend on them. Its attention prising, indefatigable.
is focused on an interior act which it is called on to accom
plish, and which constitutes its existence and its very life. Nor can it be said that action so binds us to our daily
For only through such an act are we able to attain in tasks as to make us forgetful of eternity. The truth is just
intention and truth to union with God. It is only in tllis way the opposite. Our act aims at no distant end but seeks only
that we pledge our whole being. It is a gift of ourselves by its proper perfection at the very moment of its doing. Events
which we seem to go beyond ourselves and yet somehow to as they occur fall one after one into the lap of time, and if
The Meanitzg of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 39
love alone can be said to be tmly active, it is through action But what i s the joy St. Francis promises ? Perfect freedom
that we gain an entrance to eternity. The material clement in the face of everything which may hold or enslave us,
of the act is in itself indifferent; and in Chapter VII of the whether it be of the body or of fortune or self-love or even
Rule we read : 'Let each one stay in the profession or trade success. Freedom is the exact contrary of revolt, since it
he was following when he was called '. An act can take place signifies whole-hearted consent allied to obedience and love.
only in the present time and is in itself an acknowledgement Freedom also reflects the unity of our interior life, making
of our response to what God asks of us. no distinction between action and contemplation. It is to
In this way time and eternity are reconciled. And we admire begin with an acceptance of all that is given to us: acceptance
the lively sense oftrue psychology shown by St. Francis when of ourselves and of others. It is distinguished by a spontaneous
he counsels us not only to suit our thought and will to our candour which always goes straight to the point. For a man
actual circumstances, but also to cultivate in body and spirit is what he is in the eyes of God, and no more. This is clear
a certain swiftness of movement-a sancta velocitas-which from the example of Brother Giles : 'In his acts and in his
will dispose us never to be too soon or too late in our response words he desires to be seen and known just as he is and in the
to His command; never to allow any opportunity for self utter simplicity in which God has created him'. And here is
love to enter in, and always to be ready to meet any demand the counsel of perfection : ' Seek nothing but what the Lord I
that may be made on us. If we follow the course of time and shall give you. Love others just as they arc'. And so we learn
circumstance, not striving to arrest and turn them in the never to ask our neighbour to do more than we can do our
direction of our desires or our dreams, we shall share in the selves ; to bear with him even as we would have him bear
eternal mind of God the vision He has of our temporal life, with us if we were in his place ; not to boast more of the
which He always enlightens and sustains. good that God has done through us than of what He has
done through others; always to be gracious, amiable, good
Th� spiritual life causes a plenitude of joy to spring up humoured to all, so that our presence may not fail to sustain
within the soul; for the soul which desires nothing now and help them.
possesses all things ; and nature, no longer a screen between Joy is akin to fortitude in readiness and resource. Con
God and ourselves, reveals the beauty of His creative act; formity with the will of God implies patience and resigna
while the act we are called upon to do unites us with the tion in face of every insult and every misfortune; for these
divine act, finding its source in eternity. St. Francis will not things do not excuse us from working and praising God. On
allow us to talk too much of the wretchedness of mankind the contrary (according to Paragraph ro of the Rule), the
since it makes us unjust towards God; he makes no such spirit of joy fills each one with the desire to be such as the'
sharp separation between God and man as is made by a Lord would have him be, whether in sickness or in health ;
certain school of Protestant theology (and in an aggravated lovingly enduring suffering with pure and perfect resigna-1
form by Karl Barth) as if to allow the anguish of our time tion ; and never forgetting that even in heaven every soul
to find a certain justification. On the contrary, in order to is in some kind of relation with all other souls in purga
exalt man, St. Francis humanizes God. tory or in hell. In this way perfect joy compensates for all
The Meanitzg of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 39
love alone can be said to be tmly active, it is through action But what i s the joy St. Francis promises ? Perfect freedom
that we gain an entrance to eternity. The material clement in the face of everything which may hold or enslave us,
of the act is in itself indifferent; and in Chapter VII of the whether it be of the body or of fortune or self-love or even
Rule we read : 'Let each one stay in the profession or trade success. Freedom is the exact contrary of revolt, since it
he was following when he was called '. An act can take place signifies whole-hearted consent allied to obedience and love.
only in the present time and is in itself an acknowledgement Freedom also reflects the unity of our interior life, making
of our response to what God asks of us. no distinction between action and contemplation. It is to
In this way time and eternity are reconciled. And we admire begin with an acceptance of all that is given to us: acceptance
the lively sense oftrue psychology shown by St. Francis when of ourselves and of others. It is distinguished by a spontaneous
he counsels us not only to suit our thought and will to our candour which always goes straight to the point. For a man
actual circumstances, but also to cultivate in body and spirit is what he is in the eyes of God, and no more. This is clear
a certain swiftness of movement-a sancta velocitas-which from the example of Brother Giles : 'In his acts and in his
will dispose us never to be too soon or too late in our response words he desires to be seen and known just as he is and in the
to His command; never to allow any opportunity for self utter simplicity in which God has created him'. And here is
love to enter in, and always to be ready to meet any demand the counsel of perfection : ' Seek nothing but what the Lord I
that may be made on us. If we follow the course of time and shall give you. Love others just as they arc'. And so we learn
circumstance, not striving to arrest and turn them in the never to ask our neighbour to do more than we can do our
direction of our desires or our dreams, we shall share in the selves ; to bear with him even as we would have him bear
eternal mind of God the vision He has of our temporal life, with us if we were in his place ; not to boast more of the
which He always enlightens and sustains. good that God has done through us than of what He has
done through others; always to be gracious, amiable, good
Th� spiritual life causes a plenitude of joy to spring up humoured to all, so that our presence may not fail to sustain
within the soul; for the soul which desires nothing now and help them.
possesses all things ; and nature, no longer a screen between Joy is akin to fortitude in readiness and resource. Con
God and ourselves, reveals the beauty of His creative act; formity with the will of God implies patience and resigna
while the act we are called upon to do unites us with the tion in face of every insult and every misfortune; for these
divine act, finding its source in eternity. St. Francis will not things do not excuse us from working and praising God. On
allow us to talk too much of the wretchedness of mankind the contrary (according to Paragraph ro of the Rule), the
since it makes us unjust towards God; he makes no such spirit of joy fills each one with the desire to be such as the'
sharp separation between God and man as is made by a Lord would have him be, whether in sickness or in health ;
certain school of Protestant theology (and in an aggravated lovingly enduring suffering with pure and perfect resigna-1
form by Karl Barth) as if to allow the anguish of our time tion ; and never forgetting that even in heaven every soul
to find a certain justification. On the contrary, in order to is in some kind of relation with all other souls in purga
exalt man, St. Francis humanizes God. tory or in hell. In this way perfect joy compensates for all
40 The Memting of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 41
the sufferings of mankind, enduring and accepting them, cannot be lived without effort, without affliction, without
since it transcends and transfigures them all. even a taste of bitterness. The real difficulty lies in learning r
to accept and use these trials as a firmer and surer means of
There are certain laws in the spiritual world: 'If you love, coming close to God. The true Franciscan ideal is austere and
you will be loved. If you fear, you will be feared. If you strenuous. One may see it in the description a Friar Minor
serve, you will be served.' But the spirit of true joy tran gives of the ties which still bind him to earth : 'To love and
scends these rules. 'For he alone is truly happy who loves not wish to love, to desire and not wish to desire, to be
and docs not desire to be loved, who serves and docs not thrilled by the beauty of this passing life without desiring to
desire to be served, who docs good to others and yet does enjoy it, to let oneself be carried away by the current and
not wish others to do good to him.' Joy in this way becomes yet go against it, to be stirred by the fever of high achieve
identical with peace, as is clear from the well-known saying ment and yet remain steadfast at the sentry-post'. At the
in the Testament : ' God revealed to me the words of our very centre of the spiritual life there is sometimes a secret
salutation: "The Lord give thee His peace ".' It was joy that affiiction which must be borne with unfaltering will. Fr.
reconciled n
i the soul of St. Francis the most opposite powers ; Gemelli thus describes a Franciscan friar: 'He lavished on
for joy made him at once the most n
i dependent and yet the others consolations which Providence denied to him. He
most submissive of souls, one in whom a disciplined calm learnt the secret of understanding them through his own
co-existed with demonstrations of deep feeling, and who hidden cross, his inability to feel that God loved him, his
was able to combine an active will with complete abandon habit of loving God without any consolation, and the con
ment to the will of God, and to unite a naive simplicity with stant lack of either a friend or confessor who understood
downright daring in the supernatural order. him.' How great must have been the desolation of such a
Henri Bremond liked to bring together prayer and poetry, soul who was yet destined by God to bestow on others the
which was indeed in the Franciscan spirit. For it is proper to very peace which was denied to him.
poetry and to prayer to make nature translucent with super Where then is that naive and appealing optimism some
natural light. St. Francis was the 'troubadour of God'. He times attributed to St. Francis ? The distinguishing feature of
lived continually in His presence. In his prayer there was his message is its unique affirmation of the value of the life
never a lament, scarcely even a petition. As soon as his soul and existence we receive from the hands of God. Here God
was raised to God it sang a canticle of thanksgiving. But none is no longer hidden behind the world, and the Creator is not
of the gifts he received ever obscured for him the evil from exalted by denouncing His creatures. For one whose heart
which he sought to be rid. Penance was the only reward he is aflame with love the world appears to be the very counten
looked for in prayer. ance of God. Every good thing given to us comes from Him.
St. Francis never thought, as some have supposed, that all Poverty, suffering and death come to life as Lady Poverty,
purely human sentiments could be so morti£ed that the soul Our Sister Suffering and Our Sister Death. If we look on
would finally experience nothing save the delight of un them as the ambassadors of God we can acknowledge the
interrupted union with God. The life of the spirit here below good gifts they bring us. St. Francis had the power of
40 The Memting of Holiness Franciscan Spirituality 41
the sufferings of mankind, enduring and accepting them, cannot be lived without effort, without affliction, without
since it transcends and transfigures them all. even a taste of bitterness. The real difficulty lies in learning r
to accept and use these trials as a firmer and surer means of
There are certain laws in the spiritual world: 'If you love, coming close to God. The true Franciscan ideal is austere and
you will be loved. If you fear, you will be feared. If you strenuous. One may see it in the description a Friar Minor
serve, you will be served.' But the spirit of true joy tran gives of the ties which still bind him to earth : 'To love and
scends these rules. 'For he alone is truly happy who loves not wish to love, to desire and not wish to desire, to be
and docs not desire to be loved, who serves and docs not thrilled by the beauty of this passing life without desiring to
desire to be served, who docs good to others and yet does enjoy it, to let oneself be carried away by the current and
not wish others to do good to him.' Joy in this way becomes yet go against it, to be stirred by the fever of high achieve
identical with peace, as is clear from the well-known saying ment and yet remain steadfast at the sentry-post'. At the
in the Testament : ' God revealed to me the words of our very centre of the spiritual life there is sometimes a secret
salutation: "The Lord give thee His peace ".' It was joy that affiiction which must be borne with unfaltering will. Fr.
reconciled n
i the soul of St. Francis the most opposite powers ; Gemelli thus describes a Franciscan friar: 'He lavished on
for joy made him at once the most n
i dependent and yet the others consolations which Providence denied to him. He
most submissive of souls, one in whom a disciplined calm learnt the secret of understanding them through his own
co-existed with demonstrations of deep feeling, and who hidden cross, his inability to feel that God loved him, his
was able to combine an active will with complete abandon habit of loving God without any consolation, and the con
ment to the will of God, and to unite a naive simplicity with stant lack of either a friend or confessor who understood
downright daring in the supernatural order. him.' How great must have been the desolation of such a
Henri Bremond liked to bring together prayer and poetry, soul who was yet destined by God to bestow on others the
which was indeed in the Franciscan spirit. For it is proper to very peace which was denied to him.
poetry and to prayer to make nature translucent with super Where then is that naive and appealing optimism some
natural light. St. Francis was the 'troubadour of God'. He times attributed to St. Francis ? The distinguishing feature of
lived continually in His presence. In his prayer there was his message is its unique affirmation of the value of the life
never a lament, scarcely even a petition. As soon as his soul and existence we receive from the hands of God. Here God
was raised to God it sang a canticle of thanksgiving. But none is no longer hidden behind the world, and the Creator is not
of the gifts he received ever obscured for him the evil from exalted by denouncing His creatures. For one whose heart
which he sought to be rid. Penance was the only reward he is aflame with love the world appears to be the very counten
looked for in prayer. ance of God. Every good thing given to us comes from Him.
St. Francis never thought, as some have supposed, that all Poverty, suffering and death come to life as Lady Poverty,
purely human sentiments could be so morti£ed that the soul Our Sister Suffering and Our Sister Death. If we look on
would finally experience nothing save the delight of un them as the ambassadors of God we can acknowledge the
interrupted union with God. The life of the spirit here below good gifts they bring us. St. Francis had the power of
revealing the hidden goodness in every thing and every the spontaneous movements of our human sensibility, all the (
event. It was said ofhim that 'he brought every creature, the aversioru of our heart and of our flesh, which are little by 1
gentlest and the most cruel, and even inanimate things, into little transmuted into tenderness and to an active sympathy
one brotherhood. He looked upon them all with so pure and with our most secret infirmities. He gives us a solution of the
tender a glance that they seemed to share in the redemption problem of evil, not by denying its existence (as a certain
of the world.' naive optimism that is sometimes attributed to him might
have done), and not by contending against it like St. George
It is difficult to bring to unity all the distinctive features of with the dragon. He confronted evil with the love which
the Franciscan spirit.Yet what strikes us above all is its perfect enabled him to lay hold of the evil that was in his inmost
simplicity that neither self-love nor the discourse of reason heart; and in this way he turned and led it back to the source
nor any kind of effort can ever divide. It is a combination of where all life is nourished even as he did with the savage wolf
purity and ardour-a natural spontaneity developed and of Gubbio.
illumined by grace. The soul of St. Francis was so unified in
God that all the conflicts which rend the consciences of others It would therefore be a grave mistake to interpret the
were stilled n
i him. Everything which for ordinary men is simplicity of St. Francis as a kind of return to primitive
an obstacle to be overcome only through a struggle which nature to which we need only surrender ourselves for Para
exhausts their strength was somehow transmuted by him at dise to reign upon earth. The simplicity that makes our
a glance; he changed it into a force which seemed to be lent actions so easy can only be reached after a severe process of
him to bring him still closer to God and which stirred him purification. The goal of this Franciscan simplicity is not
to fresh acts of thanksgiving. 'The Good to which I aspire nature : nature at least is not its end. But it sees in nature the
is so great', he says, 'that all my suffering is turned into joy.' intention of the Creator, the call He makes to us and the
But he had not been able all at once to reach this state of offer of His outstretched hand. The simplicity of St. Francis
spiritual renunciation which did away with all power of meets life with such confidence, ardour and joy that it is
preference and obliged him to welcome, cherish and love ready to accept all hazards because it is certain that with the
whatever came his way in a world in which everything help of God i t will overcome all difficulties and turn all things
reveals the will of God and bears the mark of His presence. to good. Such simplicity does not reject nor exclude any of
Let us recall what he says in his Testament: 'While I was God's gifts ; what it does reject is that kind of attachment
yet a prey to sin the sight of lepers filled me with loathing. which turl1S them into objects of possession. It requires us to
Then our Lord Himself led me among them and I had com accept them only as gifts so that through them our love shall
passion on them. And when I left them what had formerly go exclusively to the Giver of all gifts.
seemed loathsome was filled with spiritual and even physical Here then is the solution of the traditional conflict in the
sweetness.' What always surprises us in St. Francis is that he history of the spiritual life between nature, where evil seems
\ is so completely human ; he so fully understands our frailties; to rule and turn us away from God, and the inner impulse
he utters no curse and no condemnation. He reflects at once which carries us towards Him while compelling us to struggle
revealing the hidden goodness in every thing and every the spontaneous movements of our human sensibility, all the (
event. It was said ofhim that 'he brought every creature, the aversioru of our heart and of our flesh, which are little by 1
gentlest and the most cruel, and even inanimate things, into little transmuted into tenderness and to an active sympathy
one brotherhood. He looked upon them all with so pure and with our most secret infirmities. He gives us a solution of the
tender a glance that they seemed to share in the redemption problem of evil, not by denying its existence (as a certain
of the world.' naive optimism that is sometimes attributed to him might
have done), and not by contending against it like St. George
It is difficult to bring to unity all the distinctive features of with the dragon. He confronted evil with the love which
the Franciscan spirit.Yet what strikes us above all is its perfect enabled him to lay hold of the evil that was in his inmost
simplicity that neither self-love nor the discourse of reason heart; and in this way he turned and led it back to the source
nor any kind of effort can ever divide. It is a combination of where all life is nourished even as he did with the savage wolf
purity and ardour-a natural spontaneity developed and of Gubbio.
illumined by grace. The soul of St. Francis was so unified in
God that all the conflicts which rend the consciences of others It would therefore be a grave mistake to interpret the
were stilled n
i him. Everything which for ordinary men is simplicity of St. Francis as a kind of return to primitive
an obstacle to be overcome only through a struggle which nature to which we need only surrender ourselves for Para
exhausts their strength was somehow transmuted by him at dise to reign upon earth. The simplicity that makes our
a glance; he changed it into a force which seemed to be lent actions so easy can only be reached after a severe process of
him to bring him still closer to God and which stirred him purification. The goal of this Franciscan simplicity is not
to fresh acts of thanksgiving. 'The Good to which I aspire nature : nature at least is not its end. But it sees in nature the
is so great', he says, 'that all my suffering is turned into joy.' intention of the Creator, the call He makes to us and the
But he had not been able all at once to reach this state of offer of His outstretched hand. The simplicity of St. Francis
spiritual renunciation which did away with all power of meets life with such confidence, ardour and joy that it is
preference and obliged him to welcome, cherish and love ready to accept all hazards because it is certain that with the
whatever came his way in a world in which everything help of God i t will overcome all difficulties and turn all things
reveals the will of God and bears the mark of His presence. to good. Such simplicity does not reject nor exclude any of
Let us recall what he says in his Testament: 'While I was God's gifts ; what it does reject is that kind of attachment
yet a prey to sin the sight of lepers filled me with loathing. which turl1S them into objects of possession. It requires us to
Then our Lord Himself led me among them and I had com accept them only as gifts so that through them our love shall
passion on them. And when I left them what had formerly go exclusively to the Giver of all gifts.
seemed loathsome was filled with spiritual and even physical Here then is the solution of the traditional conflict in the
sweetness.' What always surprises us in St. Francis is that he history of the spiritual life between nature, where evil seems
\ is so completely human ; he so fully understands our frailties; to rule and turn us away from God, and the inner impulse
he utters no curse and no condemnation. He reflects at once which carries us towards Him while compelling us to struggle
against all the forces which are at work in the world. This as he really was. This will prevent us from identifying
view of the world has caused many thinkers to propotmd spiritual with natural simplicity. We know that he not only
the theory of a dual order in which good and evil arc per spoke the French language but that he preferred to use it in
petually at war. Even in our own time we find in various moments of emotion or enthusiasm. He read romances of
works of Christian apologetic the idea that nature is evil, that chivalry. And all the sentiments he aroused n
i the depths of
it is the work not of God but (as Plato held) of an in1perfect the human soul were not mere impulses of nature but were
demiurge or of a powerful demon whose evil-doing is per refined and pure sentiments that are too often darkened and
petually being put right by God. The work of God the dominated by the flesh, though they always retain their
Redeemer, we are told, precludes belief in God the Creator. original force and appeal, and the body ought in tum to
Such theories point to a state of mind and comcience, which, accept their rule and loyally serve their ideal. This was the
having failed to fashion wlity within itself, projects its own ' courtly love' which Dante felt for Beatrice in her lifetime
interior conflict into the ontological order. St. Francis found and which led him to find her in Paradise ; where she is
an entirely different solution; but this solution is not a truth identified with Theology and unfolds truths hidden from
to be viewed objectively ; it is rather a truth which only mortal eyes which the perfection of love is alone able to
comes into existence for such generous souls as are able to reveal.
turn it into a living principle in their experience and practice.
Nature is only evil if it is separated from God: in that case St. Francis never, as is sometimes thought, adopted the
it may even tum against Him. But if we look on nature with unconventional standpoint of reconunending us to break
understanding and love it becomes a mediwn between God with all the obligations of everyday life. No one more than
and us, the ladder by which God's action descends on us and he infused the fullness of the spiritual life into all the humble
by which our souls ascend to Him. and insignificant acts in the round of everyday existence to
The part played by asceticism in the development of which men pay scant attention or from which as from an
Franciscan spirituality is too often overlooked; to some it has irksome bondage they seek to be delivered. But the intention
even seemed to be a sort of betrayal of the true Franciscan behind all these hwnble actions can give them an equal value
spirit. The truth is that Franciscan asceticism here assumes a with the noblest deeds. For God is in their doing and His
very subtle form and is no longer limited to the voluntary light shines in them. He never asks us to change our outward I
discipline to which it is too often reduced. We may well ask way of living. Even when a man starts to reform his life he
ourselves which is the harder task: to offer a blind resistance must still fulfil his daily tasks without desiring to be relieved
to all the impulses of our nature, or to suffuse them with i visible world; '
of them. But reality for him now lies in the n
light, spiritualize them, strip them of the self-love which it even shines through all the movements of corporal life
disfigures them, and discover n
i them forces that come and colours all he sees and does. Once he has discovered this
from a higher source and can always be transformed and reality-wli:hin, it fills the whole world and radiates from
sanctified ? everything around him Visible and invisible now become
.
It may be helpful to bear in mind the in1age of St. Francis one. And everywhere the opposition between them which
against all the forces which are at work in the world. This as he really was. This will prevent us from identifying
view of the world has caused many thinkers to propotmd spiritual with natural simplicity. We know that he not only
the theory of a dual order in which good and evil arc per spoke the French language but that he preferred to use it in
petually at war. Even in our own time we find in various moments of emotion or enthusiasm. He read romances of
works of Christian apologetic the idea that nature is evil, that chivalry. And all the sentiments he aroused n
i the depths of
it is the work not of God but (as Plato held) of an in1perfect the human soul were not mere impulses of nature but were
demiurge or of a powerful demon whose evil-doing is per refined and pure sentiments that are too often darkened and
petually being put right by God. The work of God the dominated by the flesh, though they always retain their
Redeemer, we are told, precludes belief in God the Creator. original force and appeal, and the body ought in tum to
Such theories point to a state of mind and comcience, which, accept their rule and loyally serve their ideal. This was the
having failed to fashion wlity within itself, projects its own ' courtly love' which Dante felt for Beatrice in her lifetime
interior conflict into the ontological order. St. Francis found and which led him to find her in Paradise ; where she is
an entirely different solution; but this solution is not a truth identified with Theology and unfolds truths hidden from
to be viewed objectively ; it is rather a truth which only mortal eyes which the perfection of love is alone able to
comes into existence for such generous souls as are able to reveal.
turn it into a living principle in their experience and practice.
Nature is only evil if it is separated from God: in that case St. Francis never, as is sometimes thought, adopted the
it may even tum against Him. But if we look on nature with unconventional standpoint of reconunending us to break
understanding and love it becomes a mediwn between God with all the obligations of everyday life. No one more than
and us, the ladder by which God's action descends on us and he infused the fullness of the spiritual life into all the humble
by which our souls ascend to Him. and insignificant acts in the round of everyday existence to
The part played by asceticism in the development of which men pay scant attention or from which as from an
Franciscan spirituality is too often overlooked; to some it has irksome bondage they seek to be delivered. But the intention
even seemed to be a sort of betrayal of the true Franciscan behind all these hwnble actions can give them an equal value
spirit. The truth is that Franciscan asceticism here assumes a with the noblest deeds. For God is in their doing and His
very subtle form and is no longer limited to the voluntary light shines in them. He never asks us to change our outward I
discipline to which it is too often reduced. We may well ask way of living. Even when a man starts to reform his life he
ourselves which is the harder task: to offer a blind resistance must still fulfil his daily tasks without desiring to be relieved
to all the impulses of our nature, or to suffuse them with i visible world; '
of them. But reality for him now lies in the n
light, spiritualize them, strip them of the self-love which it even shines through all the movements of corporal life
disfigures them, and discover n
i them forces that come and colours all he sees and does. Once he has discovered this
from a higher source and can always be transformed and reality-wli:hin, it fills the whole world and radiates from
sanctified ? everything around him Visible and invisible now become
.
It may be helpful to bear in mind the in1age of St. Francis one. And everywhere the opposition between them which
The Meaning of Holiness Franciscan Spirit11ality 47
formerly caused uneasiness and tension in the soul comes to never followed learning for its own sake ; but only to make
an end, leaving the spirit in steady equilibrium and with a their way through the realm of knowledge as they made
more active and vital unity. their way through the realm of nature-using it, as it were,
Take for example solitude, the only sure refuge where the and yet not using it, and finding in it what tl1ey found in the
soul can find God. St. Francis never ceased to seek out wonders of nature, yet another way of praising Goci 'Woe
solitude and to commend it. It was in search of solitude on to learning', said Bossuet, 'which does not turn to love.'
Mount Alvcrnia that he received the stigmata; and his state
of interior recollection was so profound that no external call There has perhaps never been a more receptive soul than
could ever disturb his peace. But his state of solitude was St. Francis. Of all men he had the most spontaneous and
removed from all egoism and complacency; and far from delicate sensitiveness and was deeply moved by all his con
saying that he abandoned solitude it would be truer to say tacts with nature, with his fellow-men or with God. His soul
that when he turned his glance inward he opened the window was always open to fresh inspirations. One may say it had
of his solitude on the world. Everything he met upon the 110 secrets or again that it was tl1e secret of Everyman made
way, whether bird or plant or other creature, seemed to find known to all men. His mere existence in the world was
a place in his solitude without interrupting it. No man ever enough to reveal to each man the presence of a hidden
bestowed more freely on others his entire attention and the treasure, an active faith that was also a creative force. The ,
gift of his whole self; for these were an analogy of the spirituality of St. Francis is imperious in its demand ; it asks
presence and of the gift God makes of Himself at all times nothing less than that we should attain to perfect joy-the
and to all creatures. The brethren of St. Francis were united true sign of our union with God. And it insists that we attain
in a twofold brotherhood, among themselves and with their this joy in spite of all the trials we have to endure and that
fellow-men; each one was so united with all the rest that he are a constant aflliction to our self-love. Such joy means
became to them as transparent as he was before God. freedom regained; it is a hospitality of heart and mind, which
It has often been said that St. Francis had a contempt for never refuses any offer or request. It implies unshakeable
letters and that he viewed with indifference and even with trust united to the infinite power of love.
distrust all the science and learning that man can acquire. It But it rnay be asked : can the will alone suffice to awaken
is a fact that he did not seek truth in books, because like love in a soul which is cold or barren ? Certainly this could
Descartes he had before his eyes the great book of creati011. not happen unless there were identity between the love that
He did not indeed learn in created things the same lesson as God has for us and the act by which He calls us into existence.
Descartes; for he needed neither elaborate reasoning nor Our love for God is worth nothing unless we see in it the
subtle analysis. He saw the light of truth with amazing swift very love by which God loves Himself in us. The thought is
ness, and for him to see the truth was at once to act upon it. awe-inspiring, for we caJ.mot fail to ask ourselves if we are
Moreover can one say that his Order rejected science seeing worthy of such a love. The spiritual life according to St.
that it produced St. Bonaventure, Scotus, Ockham, Raymond Francis is a kind of perpetual miracle; those who ignore it
Lull and Roger Bacon? We might say that these scholars live in a world in which cause and effect are linked in a rigid
The Meaning of Holiness Franciscan Spirit11ality 47
formerly caused uneasiness and tension in the soul comes to never followed learning for its own sake ; but only to make
an end, leaving the spirit in steady equilibrium and with a their way through the realm of knowledge as they made
more active and vital unity. their way through the realm of nature-using it, as it were,
Take for example solitude, the only sure refuge where the and yet not using it, and finding in it what tl1ey found in the
soul can find God. St. Francis never ceased to seek out wonders of nature, yet another way of praising Goci 'Woe
solitude and to commend it. It was in search of solitude on to learning', said Bossuet, 'which does not turn to love.'
Mount Alvcrnia that he received the stigmata; and his state
of interior recollection was so profound that no external call There has perhaps never been a more receptive soul than
could ever disturb his peace. But his state of solitude was St. Francis. Of all men he had the most spontaneous and
removed from all egoism and complacency; and far from delicate sensitiveness and was deeply moved by all his con
saying that he abandoned solitude it would be truer to say tacts with nature, with his fellow-men or with God. His soul
that when he turned his glance inward he opened the window was always open to fresh inspirations. One may say it had
of his solitude on the world. Everything he met upon the 110 secrets or again that it was tl1e secret of Everyman made
way, whether bird or plant or other creature, seemed to find known to all men. His mere existence in the world was
a place in his solitude without interrupting it. No man ever enough to reveal to each man the presence of a hidden
bestowed more freely on others his entire attention and the treasure, an active faith that was also a creative force. The ,
gift of his whole self; for these were an analogy of the spirituality of St. Francis is imperious in its demand ; it asks
presence and of the gift God makes of Himself at all times nothing less than that we should attain to perfect joy-the
and to all creatures. The brethren of St. Francis were united true sign of our union with God. And it insists that we attain
in a twofold brotherhood, among themselves and with their this joy in spite of all the trials we have to endure and that
fellow-men; each one was so united with all the rest that he are a constant aflliction to our self-love. Such joy means
became to them as transparent as he was before God. freedom regained; it is a hospitality of heart and mind, which
It has often been said that St. Francis had a contempt for never refuses any offer or request. It implies unshakeable
letters and that he viewed with indifference and even with trust united to the infinite power of love.
distrust all the science and learning that man can acquire. It But it rnay be asked : can the will alone suffice to awaken
is a fact that he did not seek truth in books, because like love in a soul which is cold or barren ? Certainly this could
Descartes he had before his eyes the great book of creati011. not happen unless there were identity between the love that
He did not indeed learn in created things the same lesson as God has for us and the act by which He calls us into existence.
Descartes; for he needed neither elaborate reasoning nor Our love for God is worth nothing unless we see in it the
subtle analysis. He saw the light of truth with amazing swift very love by which God loves Himself in us. The thought is
ness, and for him to see the truth was at once to act upon it. awe-inspiring, for we caJ.mot fail to ask ourselves if we are
Moreover can one say that his Order rejected science seeing worthy of such a love. The spiritual life according to St.
that it produced St. Bonaventure, Scotus, Ockham, Raymond Francis is a kind of perpetual miracle; those who ignore it
Lull and Roger Bacon? We might say that these scholars live in a world in which cause and effect are linked in a rigid
The Meaning of Holi11ess
and mechanical ma1mer, and where the interplay of desires
compels us ceaselessly to pursue particular ends in the lack
of which we are unhappy and in the attainment of which we
Ill
find disillusion. The truth is that this world is a symbol or
witness to a world beyond. Its meaning is revealed only to S T . J O H N OF THE C R O S S A N D
the pure of heart. At all times and under all circumstances it
HE
C O NTEMPLATION
points the way to God, and teaches us how to conform to
His will and be re-nnited to it. At the moment of death the diversity of the Religious Orders admirably por
soul of the saint is scarcely conscious of release : for already
in this life he has known deliverance. T trays the diversity of those interior movements through
which the soul strives for union with God. It is the
mystery of our human destiny that we are at once so alike
and yet so unlike each other; that we should all be called to
the same end and yet attain it in such manifold ways. But
there is infinity n
i the depths of the human soul; and each
one of us, by discovering his own powers, and developing
his own gifts, draws on this infinity and expresses it in his
own fashion. When we follow most faithfully our personal
vocation, and are most true to ourselves, when we respond
to the plan God has for us, we lose the sense of solitude and
isolation, and realize through our fellowship with others that
we have been given a special task ; and however humble this
task may be, we alone are able to fulfil it. Philosophers are
apt to use the terms individual and universal as though they
were mutually exclusive, but the terms are inseparable; for I
if we were to relinquish what is individual in us, our lives
would become artificial, abstract, anonymous ; while if we
directed everything to our individual service, we should con
fmc the universe within the narrow limits of our ego, where
it would go on narrowing until in the end it vanished.
Now the first thing we notice in the Monastic Orders is
that their members separate themselves from the world,
which need be no more than a severance of all the tics that
bind us to it, and a rejection of all the allurements that beguile
us. But such a separation has value only because it prepares
The Meaning of Holi11ess
and mechanical ma1mer, and where the interplay of desires
compels us ceaselessly to pursue particular ends in the lack
of which we are unhappy and in the attainment of which we
Ill
find disillusion. The truth is that this world is a symbol or
witness to a world beyond. Its meaning is revealed only to S T . J O H N OF THE C R O S S A N D
the pure of heart. At all times and under all circumstances it
HE
C O NTEMPLATION
points the way to God, and teaches us how to conform to
His will and be re-nnited to it. At the moment of death the diversity of the Religious Orders admirably por
soul of the saint is scarcely conscious of release : for already
in this life he has known deliverance. T trays the diversity of those interior movements through
which the soul strives for union with God. It is the
mystery of our human destiny that we are at once so alike
and yet so unlike each other; that we should all be called to
the same end and yet attain it in such manifold ways. But
there is infinity n
i the depths of the human soul; and each
one of us, by discovering his own powers, and developing
his own gifts, draws on this infinity and expresses it in his
own fashion. When we follow most faithfully our personal
vocation, and are most true to ourselves, when we respond
to the plan God has for us, we lose the sense of solitude and
isolation, and realize through our fellowship with others that
we have been given a special task ; and however humble this
task may be, we alone are able to fulfil it. Philosophers are
apt to use the terms individual and universal as though they
were mutually exclusive, but the terms are inseparable; for I
if we were to relinquish what is individual in us, our lives
would become artificial, abstract, anonymous ; while if we
directed everything to our individual service, we should con
fmc the universe within the narrow limits of our ego, where
it would go on narrowing until in the end it vanished.
Now the first thing we notice in the Monastic Orders is
that their members separate themselves from the world,
which need be no more than a severance of all the tics that
bind us to it, and a rejection of all the allurements that beguile
us. But such a separation has value only because it prepares
so The Meaning of Holiness St. John ofthe Cross 51
us {or, and indeed already produces, a more perfect spiritual the cares and burdens of the flesh, to release him from his
communion with all the rest of mankind, towards whom chains and to oblige him to rediscover in the depths of his
in future we undertake a certain responsibility in all our soul the original impulse-too soon forgotten-by which
thoughts, acts and desires. Again, by choosing solitude with God gave him movement and life. Nature ceased to be in
all its exacting demands, the individual recognizes the par different or hostile: every living thing-even the inanimate
ticular destiny to which he has been called by God, who world-bore witness to the Creator and His creative act' and
wills him to consecrate to it his whole being and his life and became a means given by God of entering into communion
all the resources at his command. In this way the diversity with Him, revealing through its natural beauty the spiritual
of the Religious Orders reflects the diversity of the powers light which our human eyes arc incapable of beholding.
o f the human soul. Each several Order offers to the soul a There is a particularly close affm.ity between the spirit of
privileged mode of action which subordinates but docs not St. Francis and the spirit of Carmel; yet neither in their
suppress the other powers of the soul. The soul, while re thought nor in their aspirations do they follow the same path.
maining true to its particular end, must always go beyond it In both we find a great gift of poetry, as if the spiritual life
and transform even the humblest task in an active and con found in poetry its most moving and delicate manifestation.
stant awareness of God. In both again we fmd the same renunciation of all posses
sions; a renunciation which destroys the limits of our finite
It was this awareness of God that filled the life of St. existence and brings Infinite Being within our grasp.
Francis of Assisi. He achieved such a miracle of renunciation But there is a wide difference between the poetry of the
that he was able to find even in extreme poverty an abundance Poor Man of Assisi and that of St. John of the Cross. The
of riches. He had freed himself from all attachment to the poetry of St. Francis praises God continually for having re
good things of the world and the flesh ; and in renouncing vealed His presence through His creatures. It extends to the
all these things, he destroyed at the same time all the barriers whole panorama of nature. And even in the inner life of the
separating him from the creative act, the source of infinite saint it reveals a spirit so spontaneous and innocent that it
bounty that is always available to us. As each thing was purifies everything it touches, transfiguring the ugliness of
taken from him, his horizon became enlarged. Every material the world, freeing everything from the fetters of the senses ;
loss was changed into a spiritual gain. Humility, which began and, by showing us the relation ofeach thing to God, making
by being no more than complete renunciation of possessions, it translucent with supematural light.
became pure love; and in the giving of itself was constantly The poetry of St. John of the Cross is quite different. It is
enriched with new gifts. The work of creation continued to not inspired by the trivial events of daily life nor by the
unfold itself before his eyes. Spiritual force penetrated and
transfigured his daily life. His slightest gesture became de
pageantry of nature. It gives utterance to a mystical theology
which sounds like the commentary on a canticle issuing
/
materialized and revealed only the pure intent that animated from the uttermost depths of the soul, announcing its most
it. Any contact with another human being seemed to restore intimate and secret aspirations, and utilizing sense-images only
to that being his original simplicity, to take away from him i
as symbols designed to nterpret and convey their meaning.
5
so The Meaning of Holiness St. John ofthe Cross 51
us {or, and indeed already produces, a more perfect spiritual the cares and burdens of the flesh, to release him from his
communion with all the rest of mankind, towards whom chains and to oblige him to rediscover in the depths of his
in future we undertake a certain responsibility in all our soul the original impulse-too soon forgotten-by which
thoughts, acts and desires. Again, by choosing solitude with God gave him movement and life. Nature ceased to be in
all its exacting demands, the individual recognizes the par different or hostile: every living thing-even the inanimate
ticular destiny to which he has been called by God, who world-bore witness to the Creator and His creative act' and
wills him to consecrate to it his whole being and his life and became a means given by God of entering into communion
all the resources at his command. In this way the diversity with Him, revealing through its natural beauty the spiritual
of the Religious Orders reflects the diversity of the powers light which our human eyes arc incapable of beholding.
o f the human soul. Each several Order offers to the soul a There is a particularly close affm.ity between the spirit of
privileged mode of action which subordinates but docs not St. Francis and the spirit of Carmel; yet neither in their
suppress the other powers of the soul. The soul, while re thought nor in their aspirations do they follow the same path.
maining true to its particular end, must always go beyond it In both we find a great gift of poetry, as if the spiritual life
and transform even the humblest task in an active and con found in poetry its most moving and delicate manifestation.
stant awareness of God. In both again we fmd the same renunciation of all posses
sions; a renunciation which destroys the limits of our finite
It was this awareness of God that filled the life of St. existence and brings Infinite Being within our grasp.
Francis of Assisi. He achieved such a miracle of renunciation But there is a wide difference between the poetry of the
that he was able to find even in extreme poverty an abundance Poor Man of Assisi and that of St. John of the Cross. The
of riches. He had freed himself from all attachment to the poetry of St. Francis praises God continually for having re
good things of the world and the flesh ; and in renouncing vealed His presence through His creatures. It extends to the
all these things, he destroyed at the same time all the barriers whole panorama of nature. And even in the inner life of the
separating him from the creative act, the source of infinite saint it reveals a spirit so spontaneous and innocent that it
bounty that is always available to us. As each thing was purifies everything it touches, transfiguring the ugliness of
taken from him, his horizon became enlarged. Every material the world, freeing everything from the fetters of the senses ;
loss was changed into a spiritual gain. Humility, which began and, by showing us the relation ofeach thing to God, making
by being no more than complete renunciation of possessions, it translucent with supematural light.
became pure love; and in the giving of itself was constantly The poetry of St. John of the Cross is quite different. It is
enriched with new gifts. The work of creation continued to not inspired by the trivial events of daily life nor by the
unfold itself before his eyes. Spiritual force penetrated and
transfigured his daily life. His slightest gesture became de
pageantry of nature. It gives utterance to a mystical theology
which sounds like the commentary on a canticle issuing
/
materialized and revealed only the pure intent that animated from the uttermost depths of the soul, announcing its most
it. Any contact with another human being seemed to restore intimate and secret aspirations, and utilizing sense-images only
to that being his original simplicity, to take away from him i
as symbols designed to nterpret and convey their meaning.
5
52 The Meaning of Holiness St. John ofthe Cross 53
It is no longer nature which, in spiritualizing itself, re p
in a pearance but only in origin. The relation between the
veals to us the goodness of the Creator. It is now the soul soul and God is no longer effected through the works of
which, descending into the depths of its own essential being, creation. The visible world no longer counts. The soul is
enters there into direct relation with God, having no need aware only of itself, of its constituent powers and of the con
to seek and contemplate Him through the works of His ditions of their exercise. It purifies these powers, and directs
creation. Nature is 110 longer linked with the divine life, them away from the world, instead of teaching them to see
though it may inspire thoughts which interpret that life to the face of God in created things. It detaches them from all
us. the particular objects that used to minister to their satisfac
Sinlllar differences appear in regard to renunciation. The tion. For these it has no use save as a pure means of motmting
poverty of St. Francis stripped him of the good things of the to their Source, without the soul being corrupted or lost n
i
flesh and of all the desires that link us to these things. The the sensible satisfaction of an intermediate end. Remmciation
world revealed itself to him in a flash as God intended it to is for St. John of the Cross a total rejection of all the material
be: the clouds of darkness rolled away, suffering was relieved or spiritual goods that one can describe or possess. It leaves
and cruelty subdued. In such a world human passions find only the Pure Act which created these things. We no longer
no place, for they are transfigured with light and tak� on have to transform the world in which we live in order to
new meaning. The veil which obscured the truth of things perceive the spiritual reality it reveals to the pure of heart.
and showed a world ofblind and unhappy creatures separated Our concern now is to turn our thoughts so as to find in
from each other and from God, and always at war with one God Himself-and not as He appears in His handiwork
another, is set swiftly aside. The true order of things is now the supreme object of contemplation, and so give all the
revealed and exhibits a harmony between our will and our powers of the soul their proper and most powerful and
deepest desire ; wlllle this desire n
i tum corresponds with efficacious mode of action.
grace freely offered and accepted. �t is enough that we cease
to covet natural O'Oods for them to be restored to us, but so Such is the secret of the Dark Night into which the soul
h
transmuted that t ey retain only the spiritual essence o fwhich begins to enter once it has renounced all the knowledge it
they were at once the shadow and the promise. seemed to possess, all the desires that allured it, and all the
With St. John of the Cross renunciation assumes an alto things to which it gave preference or in which it fotmd
gether different aspect. Here nature appears to be forgotten. �
content. T e D�rk Night i� a going-out from oneself, a pro- {
The created world 110 longer occupies our attention. The cess of purifi.catJ.on. One IS often tempted to reproach the
problem is not to repel its attractions nor to withstand the mystics not only for the language they use-which describes
temptation to possess it; nor to see it as it is, that is, as an the movements of the soul rather than the reality of things
admirable witness to divine action moving us to a constant
but also for a lack of spiritual resolution they seem to show,
prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Our action is no longer where intellect and will apparently cease to function. But we
of the simple and spontaneous kind that adds nothing to must not in this matter allow ourselves to be misled. The
nature, though it ass�mes its form, and differs from it not Dark Night is not without its relation to the universal doubt
52 The Meaning of Holiness St. John ofthe Cross 53
It is no longer nature which, in spiritualizing itself, re p
in a pearance but only in origin. The relation between the
veals to us the goodness of the Creator. It is now the soul soul and God is no longer effected through the works of
which, descending into the depths of its own essential being, creation. The visible world no longer counts. The soul is
enters there into direct relation with God, having no need aware only of itself, of its constituent powers and of the con
to seek and contemplate Him through the works of His ditions of their exercise. It purifies these powers, and directs
creation. Nature is 110 longer linked with the divine life, them away from the world, instead of teaching them to see
though it may inspire thoughts which interpret that life to the face of God in created things. It detaches them from all
us. the particular objects that used to minister to their satisfac
Sinlllar differences appear in regard to renunciation. The tion. For these it has no use save as a pure means of motmting
poverty of St. Francis stripped him of the good things of the to their Source, without the soul being corrupted or lost n
i
flesh and of all the desires that link us to these things. The the sensible satisfaction of an intermediate end. Remmciation
world revealed itself to him in a flash as God intended it to is for St. John of the Cross a total rejection of all the material
be: the clouds of darkness rolled away, suffering was relieved or spiritual goods that one can describe or possess. It leaves
and cruelty subdued. In such a world human passions find only the Pure Act which created these things. We no longer
no place, for they are transfigured with light and tak� on have to transform the world in which we live in order to
new meaning. The veil which obscured the truth of things perceive the spiritual reality it reveals to the pure of heart.
and showed a world ofblind and unhappy creatures separated Our concern now is to turn our thoughts so as to find in
from each other and from God, and always at war with one God Himself-and not as He appears in His handiwork
another, is set swiftly aside. The true order of things is now the supreme object of contemplation, and so give all the
revealed and exhibits a harmony between our will and our powers of the soul their proper and most powerful and
deepest desire ; wlllle this desire n
i tum corresponds with efficacious mode of action.
grace freely offered and accepted. �t is enough that we cease
to covet natural O'Oods for them to be restored to us, but so Such is the secret of the Dark Night into which the soul
h
transmuted that t ey retain only the spiritual essence o fwhich begins to enter once it has renounced all the knowledge it
they were at once the shadow and the promise. seemed to possess, all the desires that allured it, and all the
With St. John of the Cross renunciation assumes an alto things to which it gave preference or in which it fotmd
gether different aspect. Here nature appears to be forgotten. �
content. T e D�rk Night i� a going-out from oneself, a pro- {
The created world 110 longer occupies our attention. The cess of purifi.catJ.on. One IS often tempted to reproach the
problem is not to repel its attractions nor to withstand the mystics not only for the language they use-which describes
temptation to possess it; nor to see it as it is, that is, as an the movements of the soul rather than the reality of things
admirable witness to divine action moving us to a constant
but also for a lack of spiritual resolution they seem to show,
prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Our action is no longer where intellect and will apparently cease to function. But we
of the simple and spontaneous kind that adds nothing to must not in this matter allow ourselves to be misled. The
nature, though it ass�mes its form, and differs from it not Dark Night is not without its relation to the universal doubt
54 The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Cross 55
which induced Descartes, the most lucid and independent of confidence in oneself, and indeed comes into existence only
thinkers, to reject everything that was already the object of when confidence in oneself has come to an end. Humility,
his belief or. attachment, but which had only an individual of its inherent power, now suffices to bring us the presence
and subjective significance. In this way he elicits the pure of God, without any need on our part for further effort to
thought that affirms nothing unless it be of certain knowledge, attain it. Indeed it would seem as though all the reflection
and which to begin with credits itself with nothing though in which our mind engages acts merely as a screen to hide
it is capable of assimilating all truth. And here we recognize God from us. The act of humility by which we turn away
an intellectual ambition which would be without precedent from all our possessions in order that the presence of the
if it were the achievement of an individual mind acting supreme reality may be afforded to us is not an act of the
alone; that is, ifDescartes did not discover in his own thought intelligence which would select the successive steps to be
a participation in the divine thought which enlightened and followed; it is an act oflovc, the only act which, by detaching
upheld him, and gave him at all times confirmation and the soul from itself, is able to unite it with the Supreme
assurance, even in the presence of truths that seemed self Being who is the goal of its desire. Here intelligence is the
evident. Here one can sec at least that the human soul always fruit of love. By a kind of paradox, as long as we continue
moves to the same measure : it cannot share in Truth and to be preoccupied with ourselves we are drawn with in
Goodness until it is purged from error and evil ; it must break satiable curiosity towards exterior things. When such curiosity
all the bonds that unite it to the finite before it can discover ceases, interior recollection reveals a power of pure love
the infinite; it must detach itself from appearances to appre which detaches us from ourselves and from external things.
hend reality, and forget self if it is to find God. The effect of perfect renunciation is to eliminate every in
We are not seeking to identify the initial movement of the clination and every movement towards an intermediate end.
thought of Descartes with that of St. JolUl of d1e Cross. In 'To love is henceforth our whole activity.' It animates all
the Cartesian doubt, renw1ciation is no more than a pre we do.
liminary operation which is soon transformed n
i to a habit The same paradox is to be fotmd in our relation with God;
of acquisition, while in the Dark Night it is because the soul for it is when we adore Him as a Hidden God that we are
goes forth from itself that it suddenly becomes conscious of most closely united to Him. Thus, positive theology does not
fulfilment. To be fair we must recognize that for Descartes eliminate negative theology; it is at once its fulfilment and
truth, although depending upon an activity of the spirit, is reward. The Dark Night merely puts into practice the words
none the less received as a kind of revelation; whereas for of St. Paul: 'Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath
St. John of the Cross nothing can be given unless the soul it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath pre
first desires and consents to it. But whatever may be the pared for them that love Hin1' (r Cor. ii. 9). It is easy now
extent of this reservation, one cannot deny that in Descartes to understand the solemn and lovely formulcc of St. John
there is in the first place a certain self-assurance, based it is of the Cross which have often been misunderstood and
true on confidence in God who is its source; while in. St. regarded with suspicion because they are so radical and
John of the Cross confidence in God no longer implies intransigent: 'To relish everything, to know everything, to
which induced Descartes, the most lucid and independent of confidence in oneself, and indeed comes into existence only
thinkers, to reject everything that was already the object of when confidence in oneself has come to an end. Humility,
his belief or. attachment, but which had only an individual of its inherent power, now suffices to bring us the presence
and subjective significance. In this way he elicits the pure of God, without any need on our part for further effort to
thought that affirms nothing unless it be of certain knowledge, attain it. Indeed it would seem as though all the reflection
and which to begin with credits itself with nothing though in which our mind engages acts merely as a screen to hide
it is capable of assimilating all truth. And here we recognize God from us. The act of humility by which we turn away
an intellectual ambition which would be without precedent from all our possessions in order that the presence of the
if it were the achievement of an individual mind acting supreme reality may be afforded to us is not an act of the
alone; that is, ifDescartes did not discover in his own thought intelligence which would select the successive steps to be
a participation in the divine thought which enlightened and followed; it is an act oflovc, the only act which, by detaching
upheld him, and gave him at all times confirmation and the soul from itself, is able to unite it with the Supreme
assurance, even in the presence of truths that seemed self Being who is the goal of its desire. Here intelligence is the
evident. Here one can sec at least that the human soul always fruit of love. By a kind of paradox, as long as we continue
moves to the same measure : it cannot share in Truth and to be preoccupied with ourselves we are drawn with in
Goodness until it is purged from error and evil ; it must break satiable curiosity towards exterior things. When such curiosity
all the bonds that unite it to the finite before it can discover ceases, interior recollection reveals a power of pure love
the infinite; it must detach itself from appearances to appre which detaches us from ourselves and from external things.
hend reality, and forget self if it is to find God. The effect of perfect renunciation is to eliminate every in
We are not seeking to identify the initial movement of the clination and every movement towards an intermediate end.
thought of Descartes with that of St. JolUl of d1e Cross. In 'To love is henceforth our whole activity.' It animates all
the Cartesian doubt, renw1ciation is no more than a pre we do.
liminary operation which is soon transformed n
i to a habit The same paradox is to be fotmd in our relation with God;
of acquisition, while in the Dark Night it is because the soul for it is when we adore Him as a Hidden God that we are
goes forth from itself that it suddenly becomes conscious of most closely united to Him. Thus, positive theology does not
fulfilment. To be fair we must recognize that for Descartes eliminate negative theology; it is at once its fulfilment and
truth, although depending upon an activity of the spirit, is reward. The Dark Night merely puts into practice the words
none the less received as a kind of revelation; whereas for of St. Paul: 'Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath
St. John of the Cross nothing can be given unless the soul it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath pre
first desires and consents to it. But whatever may be the pared for them that love Hin1' (r Cor. ii. 9). It is easy now
extent of this reservation, one cannot deny that in Descartes to understand the solemn and lovely formulcc of St. John
there is in the first place a certain self-assurance, based it is of the Cross which have often been misunderstood and
true on confidence in God who is its source; while in. St. regarded with suspicion because they are so radical and
John of the Cross confidence in God no longer implies intransigent: 'To relish everything, to know everything, to
56 The Mea11ing of Holiness St. John of the Cross 57
possess everything, to be everything, one must desire nothing, by 110 prepossession that might distract its unity, by 110
relish nothing, know nothing, possess nothing, be nothing'. desire that might come to dominate it. He who desires to
The spiritual life allows no room for compromise : in practice 1nake the ascent of Mow1t Carmel, St. Jolm of the Cross
we stumble and fall, but the choice we make is W1conditional. tells us, must carry no burden which will weigh him do·wn.
It cannot develop nor even exist save in a soul which aims at And with admirable simplicity he gives us a maxim which
absolute perfection. Hence those simple and moving similes might well serve as a universal rule of conduct : 'The more
through which St. John of the Cross shows us that where the the soul advances in interior perfection the more the opera
whole man is committed there can be no question of' more' tions of its powers cease in regard to particular objects. It is
or ' less ' ; for the most trifling things that detain his attention now able to comprehend all these objects in one pure and
are enough to distract and destroy him. 'It is the same thing all-embracing act.'
if a bird be held by a slender cord or a stout one; for both
equally prevent it from flying away. It is true that the slender We must not suppose, however, that in the unity of the
one is the easier to break; still, easy though it be, the bird act of contemplation there is an abrupt cessation in the
cannot fly away unless it severs the cord completely.' And exercise of the powers of the soul. The nothingness into
again : 'When a vessel is ful l of liquid, the slightest crack which the Dark Night leads us removes only the bom1daries
unless it be repaired-is enough to empty it to the Jast drop'. which limit the individual powers of the soul, when they
By a remarkable coincidence, the Dark Night elicits the exalt the object they seek or the end they pursue above the
successive stages of the Cartesian doubt, which first rejects spiritual energy from which they proceed, aud of which
all knowledge received by way of the senses; and next all their several acts are no more than the evidence or the expres
knowledge acquired by way of intellect, as a prelude to the sion. Contemplation only seems to eliminate .the operations
discovery of its true nature by the thinking sel£ And so in of our spirit because it transcends them. In fact, it implies
magnificent yet mysterious poetry, the Dark Night elaborates and includes them. By removing the bom1daries which limit
its three successive phases; first, the twilight in which we these operations contemplation restores to them the infinite
reject all the objects of sense ; then the deep darkness in which energy that each of our actions subdivides. Contemplation
we get rid of all the furniture of the mind; and finally the unites all the powers which had hitherto been in opposition ;
dawn in which the divine light begins to appear. But this it first plays a minor role in merely removing boW1daries but
dark night does not signify a state of torpor or sleep of the later is cast for a major role whereby we regain the whole
powers of the interior life. It is an active night, due to an momentum of spiritual energy that these obstacles checked
effort of the will, and having a twofold effect, namely, a and interrupted.
severing of all particular attachments and a return to the Nowhere do we find passages of greater depth or beauty
creative source by which our spiritual life is ever being re than in the Third Part of the Ascent of Mount Carmel where
newed. The secret of St. John of the Cross is to create n
i the St. John of the Cross explains how the faculties of the soul
soul an activity so entirely free and pure, that it is troubled may be purged and spiritualized. We are here at thejw1cture
by no reservation that might otherwise hinder its movement, of soul and spirit, or if you will, of the psychological and the
56 The Mea11ing of Holiness St. John of the Cross 57
possess everything, to be everything, one must desire nothing, by 110 prepossession that might distract its unity, by 110
relish nothing, know nothing, possess nothing, be nothing'. desire that might come to dominate it. He who desires to
The spiritual life allows no room for compromise : in practice 1nake the ascent of Mow1t Carmel, St. Jolm of the Cross
we stumble and fall, but the choice we make is W1conditional. tells us, must carry no burden which will weigh him do·wn.
It cannot develop nor even exist save in a soul which aims at And with admirable simplicity he gives us a maxim which
absolute perfection. Hence those simple and moving similes might well serve as a universal rule of conduct : 'The more
through which St. John of the Cross shows us that where the the soul advances in interior perfection the more the opera
whole man is committed there can be no question of' more' tions of its powers cease in regard to particular objects. It is
or ' less ' ; for the most trifling things that detain his attention now able to comprehend all these objects in one pure and
are enough to distract and destroy him. 'It is the same thing all-embracing act.'
if a bird be held by a slender cord or a stout one; for both
equally prevent it from flying away. It is true that the slender We must not suppose, however, that in the unity of the
one is the easier to break; still, easy though it be, the bird act of contemplation there is an abrupt cessation in the
cannot fly away unless it severs the cord completely.' And exercise of the powers of the soul. The nothingness into
again : 'When a vessel is ful l of liquid, the slightest crack which the Dark Night leads us removes only the bom1daries
unless it be repaired-is enough to empty it to the Jast drop'. which limit the individual powers of the soul, when they
By a remarkable coincidence, the Dark Night elicits the exalt the object they seek or the end they pursue above the
successive stages of the Cartesian doubt, which first rejects spiritual energy from which they proceed, aud of which
all knowledge received by way of the senses; and next all their several acts are no more than the evidence or the expres
knowledge acquired by way of intellect, as a prelude to the sion. Contemplation only seems to eliminate .the operations
discovery of its true nature by the thinking sel£ And so in of our spirit because it transcends them. In fact, it implies
magnificent yet mysterious poetry, the Dark Night elaborates and includes them. By removing the bom1daries which limit
its three successive phases; first, the twilight in which we these operations contemplation restores to them the infinite
reject all the objects of sense ; then the deep darkness in which energy that each of our actions subdivides. Contemplation
we get rid of all the furniture of the mind; and finally the unites all the powers which had hitherto been in opposition ;
dawn in which the divine light begins to appear. But this it first plays a minor role in merely removing boW1daries but
dark night does not signify a state of torpor or sleep of the later is cast for a major role whereby we regain the whole
powers of the interior life. It is an active night, due to an momentum of spiritual energy that these obstacles checked
effort of the will, and having a twofold effect, namely, a and interrupted.
severing of all particular attachments and a return to the Nowhere do we find passages of greater depth or beauty
creative source by which our spiritual life is ever being re than in the Third Part of the Ascent of Mount Carmel where
newed. The secret of St. John of the Cross is to create n
i the St. John of the Cross explains how the faculties of the soul
soul an activity so entirely free and pure, that it is troubled may be purged and spiritualized. We are here at thejw1cture
by no reservation that might otherwise hinder its movement, of soul and spirit, or if you will, of the psychological and the
supernatural orders. We see most clearly how our two lives springs from self-love. The act of memory is thus changed
of nature and of grace do not oppose and contradict but into an act of hope. And the more memory denudes itself,
mutually condition and supplement each other. We are able the greater will be its hope.
also to understand the different functions and operations of Next let the will in its turn follow the same path, no longer
the soul; these we can employ, to be sure, in a purely human seeking dominion or conquest, without preference for this
way, but they only reach their full signification when they end rather than that other. Let it tum back to its own origin
elicit and make possible a purely spiritual form of action that is to say, to the generosity of that creative act which
which they prefigure, though it transcends them. The refuses to serve individual egoism, or to be captivated by any
primary fW1ction of our body is to manifest our individual privileged and exclusive object, keeping before it the vision
existence and then to allow the exercise of our freedom, of the One Reality who is its animating impulse and the only
which takes existence for its matter and gives it a new form. end worthy of its devotion. The act of will is thus trans
Consider the faculties which operate within us: under formed into an act of charity.
standing, which gives us knowledge of things ; memory, We see now that the faculties of the soul must cease to be
which restores their image to us; and will, which always busied with the things of the world if they are to be used
proposes some end to be attained. But let the understanding aright, and that they must be emptied of all created things
purify itself, let it cease to entertain any particular and in order to be filled with God. It is when they are exercised
determinate images, let it empty out all the ideas which without the use of shapes and images that they bring us to
formerly held its interest ; or again let it turn to the principle God who is Himself without shape. Instead oflosing contact
which enables us to seize each thing in its representative idea in this way with the habitual objects of their thought, the
-nothing then remains in the understanding but a centre of value and meaning of these objects seems to be enhanced.
light which illumines everything we can know in this world The operations of the understanding reach the fullness of their '
without being itself an object of knowledge. The act of illumination only in the light of faith. The images that fill our
understanding is thus transformed into an act of faith. memorybecome a source of revelation only if we see in them
Now let memory in tum purify itself of all the images the promise of hope. The resolutions of our will have strength
which filled it, allowing its recollections to run freely, with and firmness only if they are inspired by an ardent charity.
out adhering to any of them in day-dream or reflection; let Like Descartes again, St. John of the Cross will not allow
it reach a state of spiritual detachment which banishes all us to despise the passions ofjoy and sorrow, hope and fear,
preoccupation, and all attachment to things which were in since they are powers of the soul that we must always control
the past the objects of its predilection; in the emptiness that and re-direct to God. He tells us that the night of sense should\
memory thus creates within the soul, it is rid of the burden be considered less as a release than as a reformation and
of the past, and the future opens out before it. But memory restraint of the passions ; and the reason, he adds, is that the
makes no effort to determine, that is to say, to delimit the disorders of our animal nature have their roots not in the
future. It goes out to meet the future, waiting upon it in a body, but on the contrary, in the spirit. The passions, more
spirit of hope and confidence, untarnished by any desire that over, do not come into play separately. They are always
supernatural orders. We see most clearly how our two lives springs from self-love. The act of memory is thus changed
of nature and of grace do not oppose and contradict but into an act of hope. And the more memory denudes itself,
mutually condition and supplement each other. We are able the greater will be its hope.
also to understand the different functions and operations of Next let the will in its turn follow the same path, no longer
the soul; these we can employ, to be sure, in a purely human seeking dominion or conquest, without preference for this
way, but they only reach their full signification when they end rather than that other. Let it tum back to its own origin
elicit and make possible a purely spiritual form of action that is to say, to the generosity of that creative act which
which they prefigure, though it transcends them. The refuses to serve individual egoism, or to be captivated by any
primary fW1ction of our body is to manifest our individual privileged and exclusive object, keeping before it the vision
existence and then to allow the exercise of our freedom, of the One Reality who is its animating impulse and the only
which takes existence for its matter and gives it a new form. end worthy of its devotion. The act of will is thus trans
Consider the faculties which operate within us: under formed into an act of charity.
standing, which gives us knowledge of things ; memory, We see now that the faculties of the soul must cease to be
which restores their image to us; and will, which always busied with the things of the world if they are to be used
proposes some end to be attained. But let the understanding aright, and that they must be emptied of all created things
purify itself, let it cease to entertain any particular and in order to be filled with God. It is when they are exercised
determinate images, let it empty out all the ideas which without the use of shapes and images that they bring us to
formerly held its interest ; or again let it turn to the principle God who is Himself without shape. Instead oflosing contact
which enables us to seize each thing in its representative idea in this way with the habitual objects of their thought, the
-nothing then remains in the understanding but a centre of value and meaning of these objects seems to be enhanced.
light which illumines everything we can know in this world The operations of the understanding reach the fullness of their '
without being itself an object of knowledge. The act of illumination only in the light of faith. The images that fill our
understanding is thus transformed into an act of faith. memorybecome a source of revelation only if we see in them
Now let memory in tum purify itself of all the images the promise of hope. The resolutions of our will have strength
which filled it, allowing its recollections to run freely, with and firmness only if they are inspired by an ardent charity.
out adhering to any of them in day-dream or reflection; let Like Descartes again, St. John of the Cross will not allow
it reach a state of spiritual detachment which banishes all us to despise the passions ofjoy and sorrow, hope and fear,
preoccupation, and all attachment to things which were in since they are powers of the soul that we must always control
the past the objects of its predilection; in the emptiness that and re-direct to God. He tells us that the night of sense should\
memory thus creates within the soul, it is rid of the burden be considered less as a release than as a reformation and
of the past, and the future opens out before it. But memory restraint of the passions ; and the reason, he adds, is that the
makes no effort to determine, that is to say, to delimit the disorders of our animal nature have their roots not in the
future. It goes out to meet the future, waiting upon it in a body, but on the contrary, in the spirit. The passions, more
spirit of hope and confidence, untarnished by any desire that over, do not come into play separately. They are always
6o The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Cross 61
linked and interdependent. 'The wings of each one of these and proportion. One finds also a regular conformity with
passions are joined to those of each of the others so that in the requirements of reason, which they arc supposed to
whichever direction the soul turns-that is, in its operation despise; a positiveness of a concrete and continuous kind, a
the others go with it at least virtually also. When one of close and constant contact with the truest and deepest experi
them descends, they must all descend, and when one is lifted ences of daily life. We observe the same characteristics in the
up to heaven, they will all be lifted up.'1 Joy exceeds all the life and works of St. Teresa, not indeed without some sur
\ othe: passions and brings into exercise all t�c fa�ties of the prise, as though we expected that the perfect union of the
soul mstead of, as bas been thought, destroymg thcrr cohesion soul with God would tend to destroy rather than to produce
and their utility; in this way it represents the perfection of such characteristics. But should not this constant return to the
both thought and will. And we may well weigh each word 1 creative source of all our activities endow them with poise,
of the definition of joy as 'an affection of the will for those strength and illumination ? Why should it deflect our activity
things it considers desirable; where the soul apprehends the 1 away from reality n
i stead of enabling it to penetrate and
cause of its satisfaction and is free to enjoy it or not'. How invest reality with order, harmony and direction-the very
far we are from the emotional romanticism, to which false marks of the spirit once it begins to operate? The contempla
mysticism inclines, that seeks states of pure sensibility in tive life of St. Teresa was in no sense opposed to her active
which the soul finds pleasure in its own internal activity and life ; for it was in the active life that she expressed and proved
so dispenses itself from the duty of external action. The and realized herself She mastered even the most powerful
criterion of spiritual joy we are given is precise as well as wills without herself having to make any effort of will; such
exacting. We are told to rejoice in all the goods bestowed decision, despatch, moderation, balance, energy and achieve
on us, yet without any sentiment of possessiveness or of ment bore witness to a supernatural presence which never
ownership. He who finds in these things a personal and in failed to give her light and strength. Only a state of unin
dividual good misses the true sense ofjoy and contentment. terrupted contemplation could have endowed her with these
Every movement of joy that is not directed to the glory of qualities.
the Creator is lacking in purity; we must subdue it rather Now turn to St. John of the Cross. Not only does this
than surrender to it; for true joy requires that the heart be great mystic proceed according to the Cartesian method,
free to go to God. Only he who refuses to allow created which looks only to reason for its justification; but he will
things to ftll his heart is master of them. If created things not allow contemplation to dispense us from any ofour duties.
capture his will, he does not possess them: they possess him. Contemplation should rather teach us to recognize these
duties and fulftl them more perfectly. And he wams us that
In St. Jolm of the Cross, as in all the contcmplatives, we 'on the day of judgement God will punish the sins of many
are surprised to fmd (in spite of their supposed inclination souls whom He has illuminated and enriched with virtues
to the contrary) that they have a developed sense of measure and other gifts; because such souls, relying on the converse
1 Cf. Ezechiel i. 5-12 (Douay): Ezechiel's vision of four beasts with one body they had with Him, f.'liled in many respects to fulfil their
which had four faces, the wings ofthe one joined to those of the other. St. John
of the Cross says: 'This figure denotes the will with its four passions'. (Tr.)
duties'.
6o The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Cross 61
linked and interdependent. 'The wings of each one of these and proportion. One finds also a regular conformity with
passions are joined to those of each of the others so that in the requirements of reason, which they arc supposed to
whichever direction the soul turns-that is, in its operation despise; a positiveness of a concrete and continuous kind, a
the others go with it at least virtually also. When one of close and constant contact with the truest and deepest experi
them descends, they must all descend, and when one is lifted ences of daily life. We observe the same characteristics in the
up to heaven, they will all be lifted up.'1 Joy exceeds all the life and works of St. Teresa, not indeed without some sur
\ othe: passions and brings into exercise all t�c fa�ties of the prise, as though we expected that the perfect union of the
soul mstead of, as bas been thought, destroymg thcrr cohesion soul with God would tend to destroy rather than to produce
and their utility; in this way it represents the perfection of such characteristics. But should not this constant return to the
both thought and will. And we may well weigh each word 1 creative source of all our activities endow them with poise,
of the definition of joy as 'an affection of the will for those strength and illumination ? Why should it deflect our activity
things it considers desirable; where the soul apprehends the 1 away from reality n
i stead of enabling it to penetrate and
cause of its satisfaction and is free to enjoy it or not'. How invest reality with order, harmony and direction-the very
far we are from the emotional romanticism, to which false marks of the spirit once it begins to operate? The contempla
mysticism inclines, that seeks states of pure sensibility in tive life of St. Teresa was in no sense opposed to her active
which the soul finds pleasure in its own internal activity and life ; for it was in the active life that she expressed and proved
so dispenses itself from the duty of external action. The and realized herself She mastered even the most powerful
criterion of spiritual joy we are given is precise as well as wills without herself having to make any effort of will; such
exacting. We are told to rejoice in all the goods bestowed decision, despatch, moderation, balance, energy and achieve
on us, yet without any sentiment of possessiveness or of ment bore witness to a supernatural presence which never
ownership. He who finds in these things a personal and in failed to give her light and strength. Only a state of unin
dividual good misses the true sense ofjoy and contentment. terrupted contemplation could have endowed her with these
Every movement of joy that is not directed to the glory of qualities.
the Creator is lacking in purity; we must subdue it rather Now turn to St. John of the Cross. Not only does this
than surrender to it; for true joy requires that the heart be great mystic proceed according to the Cartesian method,
free to go to God. Only he who refuses to allow created which looks only to reason for its justification; but he will
things to ftll his heart is master of them. If created things not allow contemplation to dispense us from any ofour duties.
capture his will, he does not possess them: they possess him. Contemplation should rather teach us to recognize these
duties and fulftl them more perfectly. And he wams us that
In St. Jolm of the Cross, as in all the contcmplatives, we 'on the day of judgement God will punish the sins of many
are surprised to fmd (in spite of their supposed inclination souls whom He has illuminated and enriched with virtues
to the contrary) that they have a developed sense of measure and other gifts; because such souls, relying on the converse
1 Cf. Ezechiel i. 5-12 (Douay): Ezechiel's vision of four beasts with one body they had with Him, f.'liled in many respects to fulfil their
which had four faces, the wings ofthe one joined to those of the other. St. John
of the Cross says: 'This figure denotes the will with its four passions'. (Tr.)
duties'.
62 The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Cross
The most striking feature in the writings of the Saint is, On the other hand we need not fear that contemplation
on the one hand, his refusal to hold back anything, the almost will lead us into an interior solitude where a sense of self
reckless daring of his renunciation of self, which commits satisfaction may easily be mistaken for a word spoken to us
him at every turn to an absolute obligation ; and on the other by God. In The Ascent of Mount Carmel we read that 'the
hand, the extreme prudence which makes him fear the pur characteristic of the truly humble soul is that it dares not
suit of all the extraordinary ways in which souls seek to be treat with God alone'. Contemplation, far from excluding
more perfectly united to God, and which are mere projec communion with others, calls for it. In Holy Scripture we
tions of the ego and a constant source of pride. We must not read: 'Where there are two or three gathered together n
i
try to penetrate the deep things of God nor seek after esoteric my name, there am I in the midst of them' 1 ; and in this
learning through which-save by a miracle-we can scarcely spirit St. John of the Cross warns us that 'he who follows
avoid the danger of losing our souls. Nor should we forget his own individual line of action will be lukewarm in carrying
the salutary counsel of St. Paul 'not to be more wise than it out even things he has learned from God, m1til he has first
behoveth to be wise' .1 Above all we must be on our guard communicated them to his fellow men'. Contemplation
against all exceptional revelations not consistent with the only shows its true wortl1 in the action which is its outward
Gospel or with reason, the two rules by which we must evidence, and such action is in turn a means by which it
always be guided. Even when they appeared to be of divine exhorts other souls to share in it.
origin, St. John of the Cross expressed his abhorrence for Here is a maxim which goes beyond both Descartes and
imaginary visions and 'voices ' which afford many souls Pascal and which, by exalting thought above all created
such satisfaction. For since the coming of Christ, he tells us, things, obliges it to tum exclusively to God and no longer to
all these things are at an end. God no longer reveals Himself creatures. 'The thought of man is worth more than all the
directly as He did under the Old Law. But he went still world : and therefore God alone is worthy of it.' But the
further : he dreaded self-seeking, even in those spiritual states thought of man is only able to tum to God by a movement
which seem most perfect. And in the Spiritual Canticle he of love, and the soul lives in the object of its love. The
wrote that ' however lofty and sublime may be the com impulse of love thus leads it to shru:e by participation what
munications of the soul with God, and the knowledge of His God possesses by nature. Now God increases His love for the
presence, they are not God in His Essence, nor have they soul in the measure in which the soul increases its love
necessarily anything to do with Him. For neither sensible for Hinl. To do this the soul must be content to accept
sweetness or divine revelation are clearer testimonies of His nothing from creatures and to receive everything from God
presence ; nor are dryness or the privation of interior con alone.
solation a less clear testimony thereof.' And again: 'It is a The secret of love is that it tends to establish equality
clear sign that we love God and are acting for Him when we 1 between those who love. For one who loves can never be
perform good works equally in times of spiritual aridity or , content unless he feels that his love is as great as the love he
consolation'. receives. The ��ct of love therefore is to transform our will
1 Rom. xii. 3 (Douay). I Matt. xvili. 20 (Douay).
62 The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Cross
The most striking feature in the writings of the Saint is, On the other hand we need not fear that contemplation
on the one hand, his refusal to hold back anything, the almost will lead us into an interior solitude where a sense of self
reckless daring of his renunciation of self, which commits satisfaction may easily be mistaken for a word spoken to us
him at every turn to an absolute obligation ; and on the other by God. In The Ascent of Mount Carmel we read that 'the
hand, the extreme prudence which makes him fear the pur characteristic of the truly humble soul is that it dares not
suit of all the extraordinary ways in which souls seek to be treat with God alone'. Contemplation, far from excluding
more perfectly united to God, and which are mere projec communion with others, calls for it. In Holy Scripture we
tions of the ego and a constant source of pride. We must not read: 'Where there are two or three gathered together n
i
try to penetrate the deep things of God nor seek after esoteric my name, there am I in the midst of them' 1 ; and in this
learning through which-save by a miracle-we can scarcely spirit St. John of the Cross warns us that 'he who follows
avoid the danger of losing our souls. Nor should we forget his own individual line of action will be lukewarm in carrying
the salutary counsel of St. Paul 'not to be more wise than it out even things he has learned from God, m1til he has first
behoveth to be wise' .1 Above all we must be on our guard communicated them to his fellow men'. Contemplation
against all exceptional revelations not consistent with the only shows its true wortl1 in the action which is its outward
Gospel or with reason, the two rules by which we must evidence, and such action is in turn a means by which it
always be guided. Even when they appeared to be of divine exhorts other souls to share in it.
origin, St. John of the Cross expressed his abhorrence for Here is a maxim which goes beyond both Descartes and
imaginary visions and 'voices ' which afford many souls Pascal and which, by exalting thought above all created
such satisfaction. For since the coming of Christ, he tells us, things, obliges it to tum exclusively to God and no longer to
all these things are at an end. God no longer reveals Himself creatures. 'The thought of man is worth more than all the
directly as He did under the Old Law. But he went still world : and therefore God alone is worthy of it.' But the
further : he dreaded self-seeking, even in those spiritual states thought of man is only able to tum to God by a movement
which seem most perfect. And in the Spiritual Canticle he of love, and the soul lives in the object of its love. The
wrote that ' however lofty and sublime may be the com impulse of love thus leads it to shru:e by participation what
munications of the soul with God, and the knowledge of His God possesses by nature. Now God increases His love for the
presence, they are not God in His Essence, nor have they soul in the measure in which the soul increases its love
necessarily anything to do with Him. For neither sensible for Hinl. To do this the soul must be content to accept
sweetness or divine revelation are clearer testimonies of His nothing from creatures and to receive everything from God
presence ; nor are dryness or the privation of interior con alone.
solation a less clear testimony thereof.' And again: 'It is a The secret of love is that it tends to establish equality
clear sign that we love God and are acting for Him when we 1 between those who love. For one who loves can never be
perform good works equally in times of spiritual aridity or , content unless he feels that his love is as great as the love he
consolation'. receives. The ��ct of love therefore is to transform our will
1 Rom. xii. 3 (Douay). I Matt. xvili. 20 (Douay).
The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Crpss
into the very will of God and to teach us instead ofremaining and new impulses each more pure and perfect than the last
aloof from creatures to rediscover them in God. He has the sou\ would be in the state of glory and no longer in the
\ created all things in an instant and with ease and has left on state of merit. In this world we have no more than the ftrst
each some trace of His existence. He brought all creatures glimpses of that noontide of eternity in which the soul will
r out of nothingness into being. His bounty enriched them
give to God all that it receives from Him; while in a mutual
with all their qualities and all their gifts. Every creature bears union of will and love all their possessions are now in com
a trace of the footprint of God. The union of our will with mon. This reciprocal exchange between God and man is
the will of God leads us to look at all created things even already apparent in the domain of knowledge. St. John of
as God looks at them. They are ' the graces of God'. This the Cross adopts the prayer of St. Augustine: 'Let me know
attitude of mind should deter us from instituting comparisons myself, Lord, and I shall know Thee' .1 And he adds that
between ourselves and others, or from ever thinking that according to the teaching of philosophers, one extreme is
others have wronged us and that we are right, or that we clearly known through another. In the spiritual life the soul
have done more work and are more competent than others. lives as though it had gone forth from itself and was raised
For there is no poison which brings death so irremediably to above the level of its daily life ; yet there is an admirable
�oherence between both lives. The soul 'goes about marvel
the soul, destroying all the perfection it may previously have
ling at the things it sees and hears, which seem to it very
won. We can know that we are making progress only when
· we rejoice in the progress of others, choosing rather to be strange and rare, though they are the same which it was
\
�
taught than to teach and content to be shaped and polished acc�stomed to experience aforetime'. And in a lovely image
which affords a vivid impression of his profound and lucid
by all.
poetry, he compares the soul to a very clear and pure crystal:
The soul which has passed through the Dark Night, climbed The more degrees of light it receives, the greater concen
the slopes of Mount Carmel, and is united to God through th:e tration of light there is in it and the greater is its enlighten
Living Flame of Love, fmds rest at last in contemplation, its ment And the abundance of light may reach such a point
:
purest act. It has reached a state of spiritual peace which is that It comes to appear to be wholly light and cannot be
its highest good, its strength and its light; and, instead of �
dis guished fr�m the light; being enlightened to the greatest
withdrawing itself from the world, it is able to contemplate possible extent, It appears to be light itself.' Again he tells us
the world in the same light as that in which God regards it; that God 'is always at the threshold of the soul waiting to
looking out on it with Him, attentive always to His call to enter even as the rising sun is ready to direct its rays into a
be with Him in His creative work, and to promote that work. house whose doors are open to receive them' .
Not that we can ever be free from anxiety; and no one has
described better than St. John of the Cross the state of the It is above all essential for the spiritual man to learn to1
human soul in which light is in constant struggle with dark keep his soul in peace. Today more than at any other time·
ness. But if God were to keep the soul always alert and active, men persuade themselves that outward actions alone are o(
I
and never ceased to bestow on it new modes of knowledo-e 1 Noverim me, noverim te, SoliloqJJies, U.
0
The Meaning of Holiness St. John of the Crpss
into the very will of God and to teach us instead ofremaining and new impulses each more pure and perfect than the last
aloof from creatures to rediscover them in God. He has the sou\ would be in the state of glory and no longer in the
\ created all things in an instant and with ease and has left on state of merit. In this world we have no more than the ftrst
each some trace of His existence. He brought all creatures glimpses of that noontide of eternity in which the soul will
r out of nothingness into being. His bounty enriched them
give to God all that it receives from Him; while in a mutual
with all their qualities and all their gifts. Every creature bears union of will and love all their possessions are now in com
a trace of the footprint of God. The union of our will with mon. This reciprocal exchange between God and man is
the will of God leads us to look at all created things even already apparent in the domain of knowledge. St. John of
as God looks at them. They are ' the graces of God'. This the Cross adopts the prayer of St. Augustine: 'Let me know
attitude of mind should deter us from instituting comparisons myself, Lord, and I shall know Thee' .1 And he adds that
between ourselves and others, or from ever thinking that according to the teaching of philosophers, one extreme is
others have wronged us and that we are right, or that we clearly known through another. In the spiritual life the soul
have done more work and are more competent than others. lives as though it had gone forth from itself and was raised
For there is no poison which brings death so irremediably to above the level of its daily life ; yet there is an admirable
�oherence between both lives. The soul 'goes about marvel
the soul, destroying all the perfection it may previously have
ling at the things it sees and hears, which seem to it very
won. We can know that we are making progress only when
· we rejoice in the progress of others, choosing rather to be strange and rare, though they are the same which it was
\
�
taught than to teach and content to be shaped and polished acc�stomed to experience aforetime'. And in a lovely image
which affords a vivid impression of his profound and lucid
by all.
poetry, he compares the soul to a very clear and pure crystal:
The soul which has passed through the Dark Night, climbed The more degrees of light it receives, the greater concen
the slopes of Mount Carmel, and is united to God through th:e tration of light there is in it and the greater is its enlighten
Living Flame of Love, fmds rest at last in contemplation, its ment And the abundance of light may reach such a point
:
purest act. It has reached a state of spiritual peace which is that It comes to appear to be wholly light and cannot be
its highest good, its strength and its light; and, instead of �
dis guished fr�m the light; being enlightened to the greatest
withdrawing itself from the world, it is able to contemplate possible extent, It appears to be light itself.' Again he tells us
the world in the same light as that in which God regards it; that God 'is always at the threshold of the soul waiting to
looking out on it with Him, attentive always to His call to enter even as the rising sun is ready to direct its rays into a
be with Him in His creative work, and to promote that work. house whose doors are open to receive them' .
Not that we can ever be free from anxiety; and no one has
described better than St. John of the Cross the state of the It is above all essential for the spiritual man to learn to1
human soul in which light is in constant struggle with dark keep his soul in peace. Today more than at any other time·
ness. But if God were to keep the soul always alert and active, men persuade themselves that outward actions alone are o(
I
and never ceased to bestow on it new modes of knowledo-e 1 Noverim me, noverim te, SoliloqJJies, U.
0
66 The Meaning of Holit1ess St. John of tlze Cross
real value. Everyone desires to leave his mark upon the world for the emotion which goes with an :\Ct of compassion ceases
and to measure the strength and quality of his zeal by the when the virtue is exercised with a greater degree of perfec
outward results he achieves. But we must beware lest we tion. In this state the soul no longer retains the weak clement
follow the easy way or surrender to vanity: the easy way, of its virtues : there now remains to it only that which is
because it is always less difficult (whatever people say) to strong, constant and perfect, as is the case with the angels,
execute a bodily movement than an act of the intelligence who apprehend perfectly things that are grievous without
(and we are apt to have recourse to the former when we are feeling grief, and perform works of mercy and compassion
incapable of the latter) ; and vanity, because corporal move without feeling compassion.
ments are open to all the world ; while an act of the intelligence The presence of God is not to be found in those states of
belongs to our secret soul, to our hidden relation with disturbance in which the soul experiences a kind of obscure
God. exaltation and m
i agines that it is transported outside itself;
One must be sadly lacking in interior life to confuse peace these are the signs of the presence of the body to which we
of soul with idleness. He who possesses this peace of scul still remain attached with all our strength even when we
must avoid excessive self-reproach, which would deprive him think we have left it behind. Those who are united to God
of strength and security. 'He imagines he is doing nothing through a love that is perfect arc completely free from such
and wasting his time. But it is no small thing to have sus experiences. The presence of God manifests itself in peace of / 1'
"'
pended activity and desire and the natural operations of his mind and interior joy. The finest passages in St. John of the
being in order to strip his inward life of all traces of created Cross are those in which he describes the perfect peace of the
things and to realize with joy that there is a God who endows soul where God abides. 'God', he tells us, 'only bestows His
his soul with spiritual goods.' The highest state to which it is 1 } extraordinary graces on souls that are at peace. We must
possible to attain is ' a loving attentiveness to God combined learn to discipline the faculties of the soul and keep them in
with a great interior peace'. silence and in stillness so that God may speak.' And again :
It would be a serious error to suppose that in the pure love 'God has only spoken One Word which is His Son and He
of God the soul experiences nothing more than a movement has spoken It in eternal silence. We must also hearken to His
of sensibility in which it fmds rest and satisfaction. True love Word in steadfast silence ; for God is absolutdy hidden in the
has its source in the will. In giving preference to movements central point of the soul. The soul must be a walled garden
of sensibility there is always a tendency towards self-seeking and a sealed-up fountain ready to receive everything from
against which we must be on our guard. Above all, we must God and nothing from His creatures.' This explains admir
retain control and dominion over our acts so that they may ably how renunciation of all individual things suffices at one
always be accomplished in the light of reason. He who has and the same time to purify the soul and to assure the pre
overcome all the things of this world is said no longer to fmd sence of God. 'He that entered in bodily form upon His
joy in their sweetness or sorrow in their bitterness. And by disciples when the doors were shut ·will teach us to keep the
an extraordinary paradox it is also said that the highest state doors of our faculties-memory, understanding and will
of the soul is that in which it feels neither grief nor emotion; closed against all images of created things.'
6
66 The Meaning of Holit1ess St. John of tlze Cross
real value. Everyone desires to leave his mark upon the world for the emotion which goes with an :\Ct of compassion ceases
and to measure the strength and quality of his zeal by the when the virtue is exercised with a greater degree of perfec
outward results he achieves. But we must beware lest we tion. In this state the soul no longer retains the weak clement
follow the easy way or surrender to vanity: the easy way, of its virtues : there now remains to it only that which is
because it is always less difficult (whatever people say) to strong, constant and perfect, as is the case with the angels,
execute a bodily movement than an act of the intelligence who apprehend perfectly things that are grievous without
(and we are apt to have recourse to the former when we are feeling grief, and perform works of mercy and compassion
incapable of the latter) ; and vanity, because corporal move without feeling compassion.
ments are open to all the world ; while an act of the intelligence The presence of God is not to be found in those states of
belongs to our secret soul, to our hidden relation with disturbance in which the soul experiences a kind of obscure
God. exaltation and m
i agines that it is transported outside itself;
One must be sadly lacking in interior life to confuse peace these are the signs of the presence of the body to which we
of soul with idleness. He who possesses this peace of scul still remain attached with all our strength even when we
must avoid excessive self-reproach, which would deprive him think we have left it behind. Those who are united to God
of strength and security. 'He imagines he is doing nothing through a love that is perfect arc completely free from such
and wasting his time. But it is no small thing to have sus experiences. The presence of God manifests itself in peace of / 1'
"'
pended activity and desire and the natural operations of his mind and interior joy. The finest passages in St. John of the
being in order to strip his inward life of all traces of created Cross are those in which he describes the perfect peace of the
things and to realize with joy that there is a God who endows soul where God abides. 'God', he tells us, 'only bestows His
his soul with spiritual goods.' The highest state to which it is 1 } extraordinary graces on souls that are at peace. We must
possible to attain is ' a loving attentiveness to God combined learn to discipline the faculties of the soul and keep them in
with a great interior peace'. silence and in stillness so that God may speak.' And again :
It would be a serious error to suppose that in the pure love 'God has only spoken One Word which is His Son and He
of God the soul experiences nothing more than a movement has spoken It in eternal silence. We must also hearken to His
of sensibility in which it fmds rest and satisfaction. True love Word in steadfast silence ; for God is absolutdy hidden in the
has its source in the will. In giving preference to movements central point of the soul. The soul must be a walled garden
of sensibility there is always a tendency towards self-seeking and a sealed-up fountain ready to receive everything from
against which we must be on our guard. Above all, we must God and nothing from His creatures.' This explains admir
retain control and dominion over our acts so that they may ably how renunciation of all individual things suffices at one
always be accomplished in the light of reason. He who has and the same time to purify the soul and to assure the pre
overcome all the things of this world is said no longer to fmd sence of God. 'He that entered in bodily form upon His
joy in their sweetness or sorrow in their bitterness. And by disciples when the doors were shut ·will teach us to keep the
an extraordinary paradox it is also said that the highest state doors of our faculties-memory, understanding and will
of the soul is that in which it feels neither grief nor emotion; closed against all images of created things.'
6
68 The Meaning of Holiness
St. ]olm of the Cross
( The essential features of contemplation as they appear in
. in evidence before our eyes, in the endless solicitations that
the interior life of St. John of the Cross are the followmg :
our soul constantly hears and to which it always makes
If God is always present in the soul (though it is not always
answer, that St. Francis discovers the w1ity of an abiding
in His presence) the first step in the spiritual life must be an
Presence. But it is n
i this same unity stripped of all content
effort of purification. This purification rids us of all the pre
and all images that St. Jolm of the Cross seeks at once to fix
occupations and particular concepts which form a barrier be
and establish the life of the spirit.
tween God and ourselves, and it throws our souls open to
It is in the totality of the world as it appears before us that
divine illumination and action. Our souls must first be made
St. Francis sees the unity of the Principle which sustains and
empty for God to fill them to capacity. But spiritual con
gives it meaning. It is this unity that St. John of �he Cross
templation is in no way like the contemplation of a material
seeks to attain from the beginning; for it alone will enable
object; for contemplation introduces us to a world without
us to recapture the totality of things that he fears may distract
objects, a world of inner activities which it is for us to elicit.
and enslave us unless, before we turn our attention to created
The contemplative turns to God by an act which n
i vites the
things, we have f1rst established a w1ion of our soul with the
action of God in him. By loving awareness he seeks, not an .
Creator, who is above and beyond all the works of creation.
image of God, but union with Him. And so contemplation
St. John of the Cross always sought to r.etain this uni�� in
is active in essence and constantly elicits fresh acts without
any apparent deliberation or choice. In the same way it
.
�
purity and perfection. It is on the face of 1t a hig . amb1t1on
and can only be achieved by profound hum ility. . Such
appears to forsake creatures only to fmd them again in the
humility does not even dare to ask God to make Him self
will and providence of God. .
known. For it is in mystery that He reveals His true presence,
The spirituality of St. Francis illuminates our daily life by
and the sense of this presence must never be lost. All our acts
making it translucent, and by showing us in the simplest
must be informed by the consciousness of His presence, and
things and the most insignificant events the marks of God's
we must not be troubled by our inability ever to do enough
creative power and the touches of divine grace. St. Jolm of
of ourselves ; for such anxiety often savours of self-love. We
the Cross takes us at once to the apex of the soul-to the in
must never force our thought, our will or our love; remem
effable point at which is fulfilled the perfect union of the soul
bering that no particular object must engross our desire if we
with God, all its old concern for particular things and for
wish to attain the Good which comprehends and transcends
other beings which formerly distracted and beguiled it being
all other goods. Neither must we fear that we are wasting
now discarded and transcended.
our time so long as we are interiorly united to the Pure Act
St. Francis sees in nature the countenance of God. St. John
who is never idle and who is tl1e source of all the acts that
of the Cross fmds it necessary to detach himself from created
can ever take place in time. 'The soul must be convince� �f
things in order to rise above them to the invisible and
this important truth that, even while it is n�t aw�r� that 1.t 1s
supremely efficacious act of the spirit which gives life and
advancing in the way and by the power o� VIrtue, 1t 1s making
movement to all created things.
more progress than if it were consciously m movement under
It is in the infinite riches of created things that are always
the impulse of its own energy.'
St. ]olm of the Cross
( The essential features of contemplation as they appear in
. in evidence before our eyes, in the endless solicitations that
the interior life of St. John of the Cross are the followmg :
our soul constantly hears and to which it always makes
If God is always present in the soul (though it is not always
answer, that St. Francis discovers the w1ity of an abiding
in His presence) the first step in the spiritual life must be an
Presence. But it is n
i this same unity stripped of all content
effort of purification. This purification rids us of all the pre
and all images that St. Jolm of the Cross seeks at once to fix
occupations and particular concepts which form a barrier be
and establish the life of the spirit.
tween God and ourselves, and it throws our souls open to
It is in the totality of the world as it appears before us that
divine illumination and action. Our souls must first be made
St. Francis sees the unity of the Principle which sustains and
empty for God to fill them to capacity. But spiritual con
gives it meaning. It is this unity that St. John of �he Cross
templation is in no way like the contemplation of a material
seeks to attain from the beginning; for it alone will enable
object; for contemplation introduces us to a world without
us to recapture the totality of things that he fears may distract
objects, a world of inner activities which it is for us to elicit.
and enslave us unless, before we turn our attention to created
The contemplative turns to God by an act which n
i vites the
things, we have f1rst established a w1ion of our soul with the
action of God in him. By loving awareness he seeks, not an .
Creator, who is above and beyond all the works of creation.
image of God, but union with Him. And so contemplation
St. John of the Cross always sought to r.etain this uni�� in
is active in essence and constantly elicits fresh acts without
any apparent deliberation or choice. In the same way it
.
�
purity and perfection. It is on the face of 1t a hig . amb1t1on
and can only be achieved by profound hum ility. . Such
appears to forsake creatures only to fmd them again in the
humility does not even dare to ask God to make Him self
will and providence of God. .
known. For it is in mystery that He reveals His true presence,
The spirituality of St. Francis illuminates our daily life by
and the sense of this presence must never be lost. All our acts
making it translucent, and by showing us in the simplest
must be informed by the consciousness of His presence, and
things and the most insignificant events the marks of God's
we must not be troubled by our inability ever to do enough
creative power and the touches of divine grace. St. Jolm of
of ourselves ; for such anxiety often savours of self-love. We
the Cross takes us at once to the apex of the soul-to the in
must never force our thought, our will or our love; remem
effable point at which is fulfilled the perfect union of the soul
bering that no particular object must engross our desire if we
with God, all its old concern for particular things and for
wish to attain the Good which comprehends and transcends
other beings which formerly distracted and beguiled it being
all other goods. Neither must we fear that we are wasting
now discarded and transcended.
our time so long as we are interiorly united to the Pure Act
St. Francis sees in nature the countenance of God. St. John
who is never idle and who is tl1e source of all the acts that
of the Cross fmds it necessary to detach himself from created
can ever take place in time. 'The soul must be convince� �f
things in order to rise above them to the invisible and
this important truth that, even while it is n�t aw�r� that 1.t 1s
supremely efficacious act of the spirit which gives life and
advancing in the way and by the power o� VIrtue, 1t 1s making
movement to all created things.
more progress than if it were consciously m movement under
It is in the infinite riches of created things that are always
the impulse of its own energy.'
70 The Meauing of Holiness
The essential task of the soul is to apprehend the actual
presence of God by discarding all images and all individual
acts of will directed to particular thingsAn this way it will
IV
find in every existing thing not merely what it is but what
God wills it to be. God values the lowest degree of purity
S T . TERESA: THE U N I O N O F
t of intention above all actions we can do in His service; for
HE
C O NTEMPLATION A N D ACTION
of themselves actions do not imply purity of intention; while
a pure intention will elicit and outreach our action. To great saints were types of men and women whom
achieve this, we must sever all our attachments, even those
whose object is spiritual; for it happens all too often that our
desires and the use we make of them find their source and
T grace transfigured; yet even though they surpass us in
the way they responded to grace, they remain none
the less within our human compass. They knew our weak
strength in natural appetites. The surest sign that the soul is ness and our affliction; they knew what it was to fail and even
on a high level of contemplation is that it finds pleasure in to desert the cause, but they never lost faith in the gifts that
being alone with God in simple awareness of Him without were given them, and never ceased to believe in the regenera
any need to exercise the three powers of the soul; for, as tive power of those gifts if better use were made of them.
we have seen, it suffices if they be directed towards their
common principle, detached from particular objects, for them
to produce in us acts of faith, hope and charity. In contem
They never gave way to despair. The failings of which they
were conscious became the very source of their strength and
their humility. The saints are all alike in their total renuncia
\
plative union all our moral activities find the source of their tion of self Through the constant wuon of their will with
energy, their unity and their transfiguration. the divine will, they were preserved from ever acting entirely
And if the poetry of St. Francis has taught us through of their own motion ; and they came to sec, even in the most
sensible things to attain the spiritual, the poetry of St. John insignificant events, a divine opportunity, a divine call, a
of the Cross has a more secret essence. It is the poetry of a design of God's providence, with wluch they sought to har
soul which has ceased to take any interest in the things of monize their actions as closely as possible.
sense, and which, even in the relation it has with truth, But the saints also differ from one another, as if they were
observes a high degree of fastidiousness, as though it were intended, through the infinite varieties of soul and spirit, to
always afraid even at the moment of accepting truth that it show us the infinite variety of the ways that lead to God, in a
might become too attached to it. For all that is necessary is world where there is no opportunity to start life afresh,
that truth should be alive in us. Yet its action is always though all movements converge towards the one end. And
obscure ; and as Divine Wisdom, in the Canticle of Canticles, as in our earthly life we choose friends who understand us
says to the soul: 'Turn away thine eyes from me, for they as we understand them, who reveal us to ourselves, and whose
cause me to flee away' .1 presence never fails to enlighten and enrich us, so there are
1 Canticle of Canticles vi. 4 (Douay). saints in whom we seem to see ourselves as we would wish
to be, who show us the powers and energies of our nature
70 The Meauing of Holiness
The essential task of the soul is to apprehend the actual
presence of God by discarding all images and all individual
acts of will directed to particular thingsAn this way it will
IV
find in every existing thing not merely what it is but what
God wills it to be. God values the lowest degree of purity
S T . TERESA: THE U N I O N O F
t of intention above all actions we can do in His service; for
HE
C O NTEMPLATION A N D ACTION
of themselves actions do not imply purity of intention; while
a pure intention will elicit and outreach our action. To great saints were types of men and women whom
achieve this, we must sever all our attachments, even those
whose object is spiritual; for it happens all too often that our
desires and the use we make of them find their source and
T grace transfigured; yet even though they surpass us in
the way they responded to grace, they remain none
the less within our human compass. They knew our weak
strength in natural appetites. The surest sign that the soul is ness and our affliction; they knew what it was to fail and even
on a high level of contemplation is that it finds pleasure in to desert the cause, but they never lost faith in the gifts that
being alone with God in simple awareness of Him without were given them, and never ceased to believe in the regenera
any need to exercise the three powers of the soul; for, as tive power of those gifts if better use were made of them.
we have seen, it suffices if they be directed towards their
common principle, detached from particular objects, for them
to produce in us acts of faith, hope and charity. In contem
They never gave way to despair. The failings of which they
were conscious became the very source of their strength and
their humility. The saints are all alike in their total renuncia
\
plative union all our moral activities find the source of their tion of self Through the constant wuon of their will with
energy, their unity and their transfiguration. the divine will, they were preserved from ever acting entirely
And if the poetry of St. Francis has taught us through of their own motion ; and they came to sec, even in the most
sensible things to attain the spiritual, the poetry of St. John insignificant events, a divine opportunity, a divine call, a
of the Cross has a more secret essence. It is the poetry of a design of God's providence, with wluch they sought to har
soul which has ceased to take any interest in the things of monize their actions as closely as possible.
sense, and which, even in the relation it has with truth, But the saints also differ from one another, as if they were
observes a high degree of fastidiousness, as though it were intended, through the infinite varieties of soul and spirit, to
always afraid even at the moment of accepting truth that it show us the infinite variety of the ways that lead to God, in a
might become too attached to it. For all that is necessary is world where there is no opportunity to start life afresh,
that truth should be alive in us. Yet its action is always though all movements converge towards the one end. And
obscure ; and as Divine Wisdom, in the Canticle of Canticles, as in our earthly life we choose friends who understand us
says to the soul: 'Turn away thine eyes from me, for they as we understand them, who reveal us to ourselves, and whose
cause me to flee away' .1 presence never fails to enlighten and enrich us, so there are
1 Canticle of Canticles vi. 4 (Douay). saints in whom we seem to see ourselves as we would wish
to be, who show us the powers and energies of our nature
72 The Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa 73
purified and strengthened by spiritual discipline and dedicated had to face misunderstanding, suspicion, threats and persecu
to the pursuit of high and holy causes. They show us what tion. Her strength, and the indomitable courage with which
God expects of us, the perfection of soul we are always she used that strength, as well as her utter docility and open
striving to attain, even though we constantly fail and fall heartedness in accepting whatever God asked of her, taught
again to a lower level. her to endure everything and never to abandon the fight or
to acknowledge defeat. Yet she also had to end me the trials
I
inevitably arising within the community for whom she had
St. Francis of Assisi enables us to understand the miracle undertaken to restore the Rule to its original pmity. Tllis
of a life in which poverty is transformed into riches and in responsibility weighed on her, soul and body, and con
which nature and grace instead ofbeing in opposition are in stantly gave rise to fresh preoccupations in the material and
harmony, and created things continually show forth the the spiritual order. She was continually harassed by petty
countenance of God. With St. John of the Cross, the poet and ever-recurring cares which overwhelmed and exhausted
of contemplation, the spiritual life takes a different form; her. But the interior light of the divine presence which never
once more the Nothingness of renunciation gives all things left her-even when it gave no outward sign-sustained her
into our possession ; but here the vision of the world recedes in all, even the least of her activities.
and fades, leaving only the perfect union of the powers of Yet she did not escape the anguish which always accom
the soul with God. These powers gradually cease to co panies the influence we exert on others who, even when they
operate with the senses and fmd in God their purest exercise. have accepted a rule of religious life, excite our apprehension
Co-operation with the senses keeps us tied to earth ; it is a lest either through lack or excess of zeal, they may not live
symbol of the powers we exert in the spiritual order and an up to their rule, or come to follow it in the letter rather than
approach to their exercise. But we cannot fully understand the spirit. We fear lest they may fail to discover within them
Carmelite spirituality unless we associate St. Teresa of Avila selves the interior impulse, at once personal and spiritual,
with St. John of the Cross. For in the fulfilment of a destiny which gives meaning and fruitfulness to a religious rule of
at once several and joint, these souls entertained in God the life ; or that they may be too ready to yield submission to it
closest and deepest relations ; each seemed to become as it on the very occasions when we would wish it to be a prin
were transparent to the other in mutual trust with mutual ciple of liberation. And what are we to say of all those
admiration and a kind of rivalry in holiness. movements of self-love which in the relation between one
St. John of the Cross carried meditation on the plane of soul and another, or between the soul and God, so often
philosophy to the highest peak where it dissolves in the per insinuate themselves into the movements of charity and faith
fection of mystical union. But St. Teresa had set out to so that it is often difficult to identify them, and to realize the
reform her Order ; not only, like St. John, did she have to menace they always are to our spiritual integrity?
answer for the integrity of her faith to authorities who were No one knew better than St. Teresa all the petty and tire
uneasy at the very ardour of her spirit ; but, also like him, in some obstacles that Iunder our efforts to transform the visible
order to fulfil the vocation which God had given her, she world-all the opposition that arises from habit, opiilion and
72 The Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa 73
purified and strengthened by spiritual discipline and dedicated had to face misunderstanding, suspicion, threats and persecu
to the pursuit of high and holy causes. They show us what tion. Her strength, and the indomitable courage with which
God expects of us, the perfection of soul we are always she used that strength, as well as her utter docility and open
striving to attain, even though we constantly fail and fall heartedness in accepting whatever God asked of her, taught
again to a lower level. her to endure everything and never to abandon the fight or
to acknowledge defeat. Yet she also had to end me the trials
I
inevitably arising within the community for whom she had
St. Francis of Assisi enables us to understand the miracle undertaken to restore the Rule to its original pmity. Tllis
of a life in which poverty is transformed into riches and in responsibility weighed on her, soul and body, and con
which nature and grace instead ofbeing in opposition are in stantly gave rise to fresh preoccupations in the material and
harmony, and created things continually show forth the the spiritual order. She was continually harassed by petty
countenance of God. With St. John of the Cross, the poet and ever-recurring cares which overwhelmed and exhausted
of contemplation, the spiritual life takes a different form; her. But the interior light of the divine presence which never
once more the Nothingness of renunciation gives all things left her-even when it gave no outward sign-sustained her
into our possession ; but here the vision of the world recedes in all, even the least of her activities.
and fades, leaving only the perfect union of the powers of Yet she did not escape the anguish which always accom
the soul with God. These powers gradually cease to co panies the influence we exert on others who, even when they
operate with the senses and fmd in God their purest exercise. have accepted a rule of religious life, excite our apprehension
Co-operation with the senses keeps us tied to earth ; it is a lest either through lack or excess of zeal, they may not live
symbol of the powers we exert in the spiritual order and an up to their rule, or come to follow it in the letter rather than
approach to their exercise. But we cannot fully understand the spirit. We fear lest they may fail to discover within them
Carmelite spirituality unless we associate St. Teresa of Avila selves the interior impulse, at once personal and spiritual,
with St. John of the Cross. For in the fulfilment of a destiny which gives meaning and fruitfulness to a religious rule of
at once several and joint, these souls entertained in God the life ; or that they may be too ready to yield submission to it
closest and deepest relations ; each seemed to become as it on the very occasions when we would wish it to be a prin
were transparent to the other in mutual trust with mutual ciple of liberation. And what are we to say of all those
admiration and a kind of rivalry in holiness. movements of self-love which in the relation between one
St. John of the Cross carried meditation on the plane of soul and another, or between the soul and God, so often
philosophy to the highest peak where it dissolves in the per insinuate themselves into the movements of charity and faith
fection of mystical union. But St. Teresa had set out to so that it is often difficult to identify them, and to realize the
reform her Order ; not only, like St. John, did she have to menace they always are to our spiritual integrity?
answer for the integrity of her faith to authorities who were No one knew better than St. Teresa all the petty and tire
uneasy at the very ardour of her spirit ; but, also like him, in some obstacles that Iunder our efforts to transform the visible
order to fulfil the vocation which God had given her, she world-all the opposition that arises from habit, opiilion and
74 The Mennittg of Holiness St. Teresa 75
vanity, whenever we try to restore to its fmt principle any calls for a greater and deeper energy of love to sustain its
movement of the spiritual life which, from contact with the spontaneous dedication to the humble and familiar tasks of
world, finds its original purity gradually deteriorating. She daily life. Martha and Mary arc both of them women ; but
knewalsoall thecontradictions which have to be mastered when we are surprised that they should not be identical, that they
we seck to harmonize the aspirations of our deepest personal should have divided between them tasks which cannot really
life with the claims oflife in community; or when we seek to be separated, and which it is the vocation of women to com
reconcile our urgent call to a life devoted to God with those bine. Mary has the better part, for Martha cannot live by
indispensable material conditions that are always apt to check bread alone; but Mary is not obliged in all circumstances to
and hinder it. St. Teresa had to confront all these difficulties at reject the complaint that Martha makes.
the same time ; butfarfrom lookingon them as obstacles inter The example of St. Teresa invites us to reflect on the part
rupting her activity and distracting her from the high plane of that women play in the Christian conunmlity. St. Jane
contemplation where her spirit habitually dwelt, they became Frances de Chantal tells us that ' women need little learning
for her an experience and proof of contemplation, and a testi but great hum.il.ity, simplicity and love'. St. Teresa shows
mony to its efficacy and worth-perhaps even the only way us the role that must be played by gentleness, tcndemess and
in which she was permitted to put contemplation into practice. enthusiasm in the spiritual life. The virtues of Mary the
Thclesson that St. Teresa teaches us is that contemplation and Mother of God are a model for all. An English writer who
action arc indissolubly united. No one motmted to greater was struck by the part played by women in the Gospel makes
heights on the ladder ofcontemplation than she ; yet at the same this comment on certain texts of St. Luke: 'When the
time no one condescended more closely to all the immediate Saviour was born women rejoiced in Him before either men
and concrete obligations that life imposes. Perhaps we ought to or angels' ; and he adds that he never read of a man who had
say that in her case the two movements were really one. Other given as much as two pennies to Our Lord, whereas women
wise contemplation would be in danger ofbecoming academic followed Him and helped Him with their substance. 'It was
and barren, while action would be material and blind. At the a woman who bathed His feet with tears, and a woman who
point wheretheyconverge, Martha and Mary becomeidentified. anointed His body for burial ; women wept for Him as He
But the example of St. Teresa does more than teach us to made His way to Calvary ; women followed Him after He
reflect on the union of contemplation and action ; it also was taken down from the Cross, and sat by the sepulchre
invites us, as we study the life of this remarkable woman, to where He was buried. . . . Women were with Him on the
consider the essential part that women have been called morning of His resurrection, and frrst brought to His
upon to play in the shaping of the spiritual life. It is in men disciples the news that He had risen from the dead.'
that we best observe the divorce between contemplation and
ll
action, as though the activity of man tended always to
specialization, and the division of labour was a law of St. Teresa was born in 1 5 1 5 of a noble family at Avila in
man's nature. But women even in our own day follow a Castile, the country of Don �xotc. Her brothers went to
routine of work which is nearer to the sources of life, and America with the Conquistadors and two met their death
74 The Mennittg of Holiness St. Teresa 75
vanity, whenever we try to restore to its fmt principle any calls for a greater and deeper energy of love to sustain its
movement of the spiritual life which, from contact with the spontaneous dedication to the humble and familiar tasks of
world, finds its original purity gradually deteriorating. She daily life. Martha and Mary arc both of them women ; but
knewalsoall thecontradictions which have to be mastered when we are surprised that they should not be identical, that they
we seck to harmonize the aspirations of our deepest personal should have divided between them tasks which cannot really
life with the claims oflife in community; or when we seek to be separated, and which it is the vocation of women to com
reconcile our urgent call to a life devoted to God with those bine. Mary has the better part, for Martha cannot live by
indispensable material conditions that are always apt to check bread alone; but Mary is not obliged in all circumstances to
and hinder it. St. Teresa had to confront all these difficulties at reject the complaint that Martha makes.
the same time ; butfarfrom lookingon them as obstacles inter The example of St. Teresa invites us to reflect on the part
rupting her activity and distracting her from the high plane of that women play in the Christian conunmlity. St. Jane
contemplation where her spirit habitually dwelt, they became Frances de Chantal tells us that ' women need little learning
for her an experience and proof of contemplation, and a testi but great hum.il.ity, simplicity and love'. St. Teresa shows
mony to its efficacy and worth-perhaps even the only way us the role that must be played by gentleness, tcndemess and
in which she was permitted to put contemplation into practice. enthusiasm in the spiritual life. The virtues of Mary the
Thclesson that St. Teresa teaches us is that contemplation and Mother of God are a model for all. An English writer who
action arc indissolubly united. No one motmted to greater was struck by the part played by women in the Gospel makes
heights on the ladder ofcontemplation than she ; yet at the same this comment on certain texts of St. Luke: 'When the
time no one condescended more closely to all the immediate Saviour was born women rejoiced in Him before either men
and concrete obligations that life imposes. Perhaps we ought to or angels' ; and he adds that he never read of a man who had
say that in her case the two movements were really one. Other given as much as two pennies to Our Lord, whereas women
wise contemplation would be in danger ofbecoming academic followed Him and helped Him with their substance. 'It was
and barren, while action would be material and blind. At the a woman who bathed His feet with tears, and a woman who
point wheretheyconverge, Martha and Mary becomeidentified. anointed His body for burial ; women wept for Him as He
But the example of St. Teresa does more than teach us to made His way to Calvary ; women followed Him after He
reflect on the union of contemplation and action ; it also was taken down from the Cross, and sat by the sepulchre
invites us, as we study the life of this remarkable woman, to where He was buried. . . . Women were with Him on the
consider the essential part that women have been called morning of His resurrection, and frrst brought to His
upon to play in the shaping of the spiritual life. It is in men disciples the news that He had risen from the dead.'
that we best observe the divorce between contemplation and
ll
action, as though the activity of man tended always to
specialization, and the division of labour was a law of St. Teresa was born in 1 5 1 5 of a noble family at Avila in
man's nature. But women even in our own day follow a Castile, the country of Don �xotc. Her brothers went to
routine of work which is nearer to the sources of life, and America with the Conquistadors and two met their death
The Meaning ofHoliness St. Teresa 77
fighting with them in Peru. To her origin perhaps was due duties proper to her sex, and was an excellent needlewoman.
the exceptional ardour of her nature, the courage and in-. But she was continually overburdened with business matters
domitable strength with which she faced every obstacle and and could devote but little time to other pursuits.
the devotion to the Absolute which stamped all her enter At the age of twenty she entered the Carmelite Convent
prises with serene assurance and unyielding resolution. But of the Incarnation at Avila, and there for about twenty-seven
the hero of Cervantes showed a courage entirely of the years she lived in the observance of the Mitigated Rule. The
human order ; the real continually eluded him, because his rigour of the Rule had been tempered because it was thought
generous soul enveloped everything in the mists of his to be too hard to keep, but in mitigating it a measure of
imagination and he failed to make any distinction between laxity had crept in. St. Teresa was to show that rules and
the things he saw and the things he fancied. To distinguish prescriptions, which seem harsh and oppressive when faith
with certitude what men have done from what they ought is weak, become tolerable and even necessary when faith is
to have done, we must be able to rise to the Supreme Prin i stead of oppressing us they then become a
ardent, and n
ciple on whom all created things depend. It does not there source of strength and support. There is no doubt that the
fore surprise us to find in St. Teresa a powerful realism which task of St. Teresa, who acted in obedience to a divine in
enabled her to perceive the wretchedness of our human con spiration which she found irresistible, was to revive faith
dition in such a direct, startling and sometimes ruthless way. which had grown listless. The sole object of all the founda
Her remarkable idealism on the other hand (one may almost tions she instituted was to provide the material means for
call it a realism of the spiritual order the object of which was reviving faith by restoring the necessary instruments which
infinitely high) inspired her belief that nothing was im had gradually become worn and slack. All the burdens she
possible if one had perfect faith and entire confidence in the bore, all the censures she incurred, all the risks she ran were
will of God and in the gifts He bestows on us; for such gifts measured and accepted in advance. She knew that there is a
are always in proportion to what He asks of us. danger of the spiritual life remaining no more than a dream
In her youth St. Teresa read many romances which were or aspiration of the individual soul unless i t can find, in an
calculated to be a source of early satisfaction to a spirit organ z
i ation which gives it substance and direction, a means
destined soon to tum in quite a different direction. She was of proving and expressing itself in real life ; of attaining, in a
full of simplicity and gaiety, spontaneous and independent, life lived in community, something more than the form of
with a quick wit and ready repartee. To Fray Juan de la self-seeking we are apt to mistake for the search for God.
Miseria who had just painted her portrait she said: ' God St. Teresa undertook the reform of her Order at the age of
forgive me, Brother John, but you have made me look ugly forty-seven when our powers are at their height, when our
and blear-eyed'. Although she appeared to be strong, she experience is mature and when we set forth on the road that
suffered almost continually from ill-health ; but she soon still lies before us, and are conscious that our destiny is now
learnt to make the best of things, and of her health she said : being decided. The reform of her Order was to be the cause
'Although it is always bad, I am much better since I have of all her agony of mind. On our part, we are apt to cling
ceased to take so much care of it'. She neglected none of the to old habits because of the peace they bring. We reject the
The Meaning ofHoliness St. Teresa 77
fighting with them in Peru. To her origin perhaps was due duties proper to her sex, and was an excellent needlewoman.
the exceptional ardour of her nature, the courage and in-. But she was continually overburdened with business matters
domitable strength with which she faced every obstacle and and could devote but little time to other pursuits.
the devotion to the Absolute which stamped all her enter At the age of twenty she entered the Carmelite Convent
prises with serene assurance and unyielding resolution. But of the Incarnation at Avila, and there for about twenty-seven
the hero of Cervantes showed a courage entirely of the years she lived in the observance of the Mitigated Rule. The
human order ; the real continually eluded him, because his rigour of the Rule had been tempered because it was thought
generous soul enveloped everything in the mists of his to be too hard to keep, but in mitigating it a measure of
imagination and he failed to make any distinction between laxity had crept in. St. Teresa was to show that rules and
the things he saw and the things he fancied. To distinguish prescriptions, which seem harsh and oppressive when faith
with certitude what men have done from what they ought is weak, become tolerable and even necessary when faith is
to have done, we must be able to rise to the Supreme Prin i stead of oppressing us they then become a
ardent, and n
ciple on whom all created things depend. It does not there source of strength and support. There is no doubt that the
fore surprise us to find in St. Teresa a powerful realism which task of St. Teresa, who acted in obedience to a divine in
enabled her to perceive the wretchedness of our human con spiration which she found irresistible, was to revive faith
dition in such a direct, startling and sometimes ruthless way. which had grown listless. The sole object of all the founda
Her remarkable idealism on the other hand (one may almost tions she instituted was to provide the material means for
call it a realism of the spiritual order the object of which was reviving faith by restoring the necessary instruments which
infinitely high) inspired her belief that nothing was im had gradually become worn and slack. All the burdens she
possible if one had perfect faith and entire confidence in the bore, all the censures she incurred, all the risks she ran were
will of God and in the gifts He bestows on us; for such gifts measured and accepted in advance. She knew that there is a
are always in proportion to what He asks of us. danger of the spiritual life remaining no more than a dream
In her youth St. Teresa read many romances which were or aspiration of the individual soul unless i t can find, in an
calculated to be a source of early satisfaction to a spirit organ z
i ation which gives it substance and direction, a means
destined soon to tum in quite a different direction. She was of proving and expressing itself in real life ; of attaining, in a
full of simplicity and gaiety, spontaneous and independent, life lived in community, something more than the form of
with a quick wit and ready repartee. To Fray Juan de la self-seeking we are apt to mistake for the search for God.
Miseria who had just painted her portrait she said: ' God St. Teresa undertook the reform of her Order at the age of
forgive me, Brother John, but you have made me look ugly forty-seven when our powers are at their height, when our
and blear-eyed'. Although she appeared to be strong, she experience is mature and when we set forth on the road that
suffered almost continually from ill-health ; but she soon still lies before us, and are conscious that our destiny is now
learnt to make the best of things, and of her health she said : being decided. The reform of her Order was to be the cause
'Although it is always bad, I am much better since I have of all her agony of mind. On our part, we are apt to cling
ceased to take so much care of it'. She neglected none of the to old habits because of the peace they bring. We reject the
The Mea11i11� of Holiness St. Teresa 79
demands that great souls make upon us to examine our whole only twenty-five and she was fifty-two. She used to call
life, as firmly as if they called on us to rise from the dead. him her Seneca, small in stature but great in the eyes of
Such great souls always begin to make us uneasy. And we are God. He raised the science of mystical contemplation to
often at a loss to distinguish between a revolution which a higher point than any other saint. But St. Teresa did
obliges us to build, and one whose only purpose is to destroy. not hesitate, with a kind of rough but tender familiarity,
It is therefore not surprising to fmd St. Teresa's first Superiors to bring him back to the things of earth, as if it were
treating her as a ' restless gadabout'. She spent her whole life there that contemplation must justify its claims. 'May
defending herself against accusations. She was continually the Lord deliver me', she said, 'from people who are so
under suspicion; she was thrown into prison. But persecu spiritual that they wish to turn everything to perfect con
tion, far from discow-aging her, served only to strengthen templation, come what may.' Then there was St. Peter of
her fortitude and gave her a more vivid and lively sense of Alcantara, one of the most rigorous of all ascetics, who found
the presence of God; it united her more closely with Christ that the hardest penance of all was to resist sleep ; and who
in His Passion and continued to bring her fresh grace. It made only allowed himself one-and-a-half hours' sleep, while
the reform of her Order-to which she had consecrated and sitting up. This was certainly not an example to be proposed
sacrificed her whole self in advance-appear to be more than for imitation by anyone; but in the infinite variety of
ever necessary. spiritual vocations it serves to remind us to our shame of all J
The example of St. Teresa admirably illustrates how often the comforts with which we too often surround our bodies
the greatest things that arc accomplished in the world have and, on the other hand, of all the resources at the disposal of
,
the humblest beginnings; it is God who brings them to our will, which enable us to resist and to reject such habits I
maturity and makes them bear fruit. In whatever state we of case. But St. Teresa did not frame rules on such a model
have been placed by God the important thing is to respond either for herself or for those in her charge. We are moved
faithfully to His call, never to bargain with Him, and always with admiration for the broadmindcdness she displayed both
be ready to give ourselves entirely to Him without reserva in her judgement and her conduct; for though all her actions
tion. And this simple nun from Avila, by the sole ardour of were governed by reason, wisdom and a sense of proportion,
her spirit, radiated in her convent the spiritual flame that she never ceased to derive strength and ardour from those
burned within her-a flame she was destined at the price of extreme types of the spiritual life from whom we learn that
much labour and mortification gradually to spread through there is nothing in our human state which cannot be tran
out Spain, and from which all Christian souls would receive scended and supematuralized, and that all our enterprises
an increase of light and love. have their source and end in the Absolute.
St. Teresa found to hand a mighty source of strength The last part of St. Teresa's life is full of instruction for us,
in certain souls she met upon her way. Their vocation for it shows in an astonishing way what was certainly the
differed from hers, but like her they knew the perfection deep significance and even the essence of her destiny on
of a constant union of the soul with God. There was earth-that is, the most close and perfect union of contem
first St. John of the Cross whom she met when he was plation and action that has ever been achieved. It is as though
The Mea11i11� of Holiness St. Teresa 79
demands that great souls make upon us to examine our whole only twenty-five and she was fifty-two. She used to call
life, as firmly as if they called on us to rise from the dead. him her Seneca, small in stature but great in the eyes of
Such great souls always begin to make us uneasy. And we are God. He raised the science of mystical contemplation to
often at a loss to distinguish between a revolution which a higher point than any other saint. But St. Teresa did
obliges us to build, and one whose only purpose is to destroy. not hesitate, with a kind of rough but tender familiarity,
It is therefore not surprising to fmd St. Teresa's first Superiors to bring him back to the things of earth, as if it were
treating her as a ' restless gadabout'. She spent her whole life there that contemplation must justify its claims. 'May
defending herself against accusations. She was continually the Lord deliver me', she said, 'from people who are so
under suspicion; she was thrown into prison. But persecu spiritual that they wish to turn everything to perfect con
tion, far from discow-aging her, served only to strengthen templation, come what may.' Then there was St. Peter of
her fortitude and gave her a more vivid and lively sense of Alcantara, one of the most rigorous of all ascetics, who found
the presence of God; it united her more closely with Christ that the hardest penance of all was to resist sleep ; and who
in His Passion and continued to bring her fresh grace. It made only allowed himself one-and-a-half hours' sleep, while
the reform of her Order-to which she had consecrated and sitting up. This was certainly not an example to be proposed
sacrificed her whole self in advance-appear to be more than for imitation by anyone; but in the infinite variety of
ever necessary. spiritual vocations it serves to remind us to our shame of all J
The example of St. Teresa admirably illustrates how often the comforts with which we too often surround our bodies
the greatest things that arc accomplished in the world have and, on the other hand, of all the resources at the disposal of
,
the humblest beginnings; it is God who brings them to our will, which enable us to resist and to reject such habits I
maturity and makes them bear fruit. In whatever state we of case. But St. Teresa did not frame rules on such a model
have been placed by God the important thing is to respond either for herself or for those in her charge. We are moved
faithfully to His call, never to bargain with Him, and always with admiration for the broadmindcdness she displayed both
be ready to give ourselves entirely to Him without reserva in her judgement and her conduct; for though all her actions
tion. And this simple nun from Avila, by the sole ardour of were governed by reason, wisdom and a sense of proportion,
her spirit, radiated in her convent the spiritual flame that she never ceased to derive strength and ardour from those
burned within her-a flame she was destined at the price of extreme types of the spiritual life from whom we learn that
much labour and mortification gradually to spread through there is nothing in our human state which cannot be tran
out Spain, and from which all Christian souls would receive scended and supematuralized, and that all our enterprises
an increase of light and love. have their source and end in the Absolute.
St. Teresa found to hand a mighty source of strength The last part of St. Teresa's life is full of instruction for us,
in certain souls she met upon her way. Their vocation for it shows in an astonishing way what was certainly the
differed from hers, but like her they knew the perfection deep significance and even the essence of her destiny on
of a constant union of the soul with God. There was earth-that is, the most close and perfect union of contem
first St. John of the Cross whom she met when he was plation and action that has ever been achieved. It is as though
St. Teresa 8r
8o Tlze Meattiug of Holiness
straightforwardness and simplicity, such faith and enthusi
wrong to regard
she were sent to show us that it is equally asm, that it seems to have been written not so much to
patible, either by
these two aspects of life as mutually incom exonerate her as to stir and convert us. The admiration that
or by turning
exalting the contemplative life as self-sufficient, Fr. Diego de Yanguas had for it led him to say-in the
tion there may
to the active life, for fear that in contempla imaginative and homely langua()'e so common among
lurk a cult ofself, leading to spiritual inactivity
and impotence.
s to have experi
� ;
Sp ards-that 'when he �as ab ut to celebrate the Holy
Towards the end ofher life St. Teresa seem Sac rifice he first warmed himself at this brazier'. St. Teresa
. Yet her life
enced a profotmd, constant and celestial peace
affairs, journeys, �alls this Life her great book. For twelve years it remained
was more prolific than ever in business m the hands of the Inquisition, and for this reason she was
sides of our nature
labour and suffering. It was as if the two led to write The Interior Castle, where she describes the outer
had found in her their proper exercise; as
if our temporal
c�urt and mansions which reflect the different levels of con
light from our
existence received all its power and all its
sciOusness, or the different stages of the soul's ascent to God.
spiritual being, at the price of dischargin
find
g a painful and
peace, security
!� e book is in fact the record of her whole life. She wrote
wearisome task, so that the spirit might 1t m three months at the age of sixty-two at the bidding of
rates the union
and joy. The life of St. Teresa admirably illust her confessor. And what a model it is for those who write
one of which must
between these two sides of our nattue, only from self-love, or to paint a flattering portrait of them
in order that the
be ready to accept and endure fresh trials, .
es of peace and �clves or to acqurre a reputation which will add to their
other may transmute them into new sourc tmportance. T? write under obedience is to write only be
love. This idea finds expression in the charm
in
ing story of the
October at the
�
cau�e t e ?c�1 �n demands it, in response to an interior urge
almond-tree which is said to have flowered which 1s ureslSnble. But observe with what unconcern and
ever her tomb
time of her death. We are also told that when a�pare�t lack of care she sets about her task, as though it were
le and fragrant.
was opened her body was found to be supp distraCtlng her from her rightful occupations. She tells
us that she wrote by stealth and under difficulties and never
m
�
had time to revise what she had written. She 1cnt n attentive
The writings of St. Teresa cannot be separated from her � �
�r �o t e inte or voices of her own sincerity and of divine
life. Her most important work, her Life ( Vida), is at mspuatlon, wtthout making any distinction between them,
the same time part of her Acta. Unlike most professional so steadfastly was her gaze directed towards God in peaceful
writers, she wrote her book under obedience ; and to us it is and qwet _ confidence. Before starting to write she neither
all the more moving since she was ordered to write it not so knew what she was going to say nor how she would say it.
much for the edification of others as to justify herself: by this Yet how much better she writes than others who are so con
book in fact she was to be judged and perhaps condemned. ?
cerned a ou� saying the right thing. It is just the absence of
We can readily understand with what anxiety she composed
preparanon m her writing that brings her so vividly before
it. But it has no trace of calculation or of fear; it is marked
�s and shows forth to all the world the faith which shines
by such firmness and assurance, such confidence in her own
m her and the love which ravishes her soul.
good cause and in the mission she had been given, such
St. Teresa 8r
8o Tlze Meattiug of Holiness
straightforwardness and simplicity, such faith and enthusi
wrong to regard
she were sent to show us that it is equally asm, that it seems to have been written not so much to
patible, either by
these two aspects of life as mutually incom exonerate her as to stir and convert us. The admiration that
or by turning
exalting the contemplative life as self-sufficient, Fr. Diego de Yanguas had for it led him to say-in the
tion there may
to the active life, for fear that in contempla imaginative and homely langua()'e so common among
lurk a cult ofself, leading to spiritual inactivity
and impotence.
s to have experi
� ;
Sp ards-that 'when he �as ab ut to celebrate the Holy
Towards the end ofher life St. Teresa seem Sac rifice he first warmed himself at this brazier'. St. Teresa
. Yet her life
enced a profotmd, constant and celestial peace
affairs, journeys, �alls this Life her great book. For twelve years it remained
was more prolific than ever in business m the hands of the Inquisition, and for this reason she was
sides of our nature
labour and suffering. It was as if the two led to write The Interior Castle, where she describes the outer
had found in her their proper exercise; as
if our temporal
c�urt and mansions which reflect the different levels of con
light from our
existence received all its power and all its
sciOusness, or the different stages of the soul's ascent to God.
spiritual being, at the price of dischargin
find
g a painful and
peace, security
!� e book is in fact the record of her whole life. She wrote
wearisome task, so that the spirit might 1t m three months at the age of sixty-two at the bidding of
rates the union
and joy. The life of St. Teresa admirably illust her confessor. And what a model it is for those who write
one of which must
between these two sides of our nattue, only from self-love, or to paint a flattering portrait of them
in order that the
be ready to accept and endure fresh trials, .
es of peace and �clves or to acqurre a reputation which will add to their
other may transmute them into new sourc tmportance. T? write under obedience is to write only be
love. This idea finds expression in the charm
in
ing story of the
October at the
�
cau�e t e ?c�1 �n demands it, in response to an interior urge
almond-tree which is said to have flowered which 1s ureslSnble. But observe with what unconcern and
ever her tomb
time of her death. We are also told that when a�pare�t lack of care she sets about her task, as though it were
le and fragrant.
was opened her body was found to be supp distraCtlng her from her rightful occupations. She tells
us that she wrote by stealth and under difficulties and never
m
�
had time to revise what she had written. She 1cnt n attentive
The writings of St. Teresa cannot be separated from her � �
�r �o t e inte or voices of her own sincerity and of divine
life. Her most important work, her Life ( Vida), is at mspuatlon, wtthout making any distinction between them,
the same time part of her Acta. Unlike most professional so steadfastly was her gaze directed towards God in peaceful
writers, she wrote her book under obedience ; and to us it is and qwet _ confidence. Before starting to write she neither
all the more moving since she was ordered to write it not so knew what she was going to say nor how she would say it.
much for the edification of others as to justify herself: by this Yet how much better she writes than others who are so con
book in fact she was to be judged and perhaps condemned. ?
cerned a ou� saying the right thing. It is just the absence of
We can readily understand with what anxiety she composed
preparanon m her writing that brings her so vividly before
it. But it has no trace of calculation or of fear; it is marked
�s and shows forth to all the world the faith which shines
by such firmness and assurance, such confidence in her own
m her and the love which ravishes her soul.
good cause and in the mission she had been given, such
82 TI1e Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa
We must not forget, however, that St. Teresa was a
II
tree. . . . I seem to sec notlling, to say nothing, to have no
woman who passed her life among women ; and she was power of willing ; but within me is a spirit which animates,
always haunted by the problem : by what double discipline, guides and sustains me. . . . One sees notlling either inwardly
exterior and interior, was it possible to promote the highest or outwardly, since the soul docs not dwell in the imagina
spiritual development in women living in a cornmnnity? tion. But though it sees nothing, and though no particular
She knew that men excelled in knowledge, and women thing is present to the senses, the soul is conscious of its object
excelled in love. But she also knew how difficult it is to get and its whereabouts more clearly than if it saw. Without the
to know women-much more so than their confessors aid of any interior or any exterior word one is conscious of
imagine. Mark this text in which she takes these confessors a Presence nearby.' Though the operation of the senses is
to task in the light of her experience, with robust good sense suspended, St. Teresa recognizes the working of a secret
and humour : 'You surprise me by saying that you have only grace which is outside the comprehension of ordinary folk.
to see tlus yow1g woman to know what she is like.Women And she invokes the saying of St. Paul: 'The sensual man
folk are not so easy to get to know. Even when you have pcrceiveth not these things that arc of the Spirit of God'.1
heard their confessions for several years, you will be surprised But far from encouraging the pursuit of sensible favours and
to find how little you have understood them; for they do extraordinary ways, she was always on her guard against
not w1dcrstand tl1emselves well enough to declare ilieir faults, them, treating them rather as signs of weakness common
and yet you judge them just by what they say.' Listen to her among women, forwluch a remedy has to be found. ' Women
as she draws up the rules for entry into tl1e commwlity : 'Do arc weak' , she says, ' and always liable to mistake the fig
not think tl1at enthusiasm. or external signs arc enough, or the ments of their imagination for true visions.' And she adds
unshakable belief that each postulant has in the reality of with a robustness of thought that seems singularly bold:
her vocation. The qualities that are needed are more ordinary ' Visions of themselves are neither good nor evil: their good
but more solid.' ' Our Constitution', she says, 'forbids us to or evil depends on the use we make of them. Even if they are
receive young women who lack judgement.' There is a warn from God they can still be evil ifwe let them minister to our
ing too, as one might expect, not to trust solemn, austere or vanity or persuade us that we arc holy. When they arc from
melancholy airs which arc often nustaken for marks of the devil they can still be good if they humble us with the
genuine piety. She prefers girls with gaiety and spirit, and thought that they are from God and that we are unworthy
observes wittily : 'In our Rule we have no use for austere of them.' We can judge by the clearness and certitude of such
people: the Rule itself is quite austere enough'. teaching how strongly she reacted against all forms of ilJ umin
One would expect her to give priority to those exceptional ism at a time when, even more than today, subjective exalta
states of which she herself had so direct and vivid an experi tion so often appeared in the guise of mysticism. Although
ence, when the whole capacity of our soul is filled (as it St. Teresa was so ardent and had risen to such heights of con
seems) no longer by us, but by God. She gives an admirable templation and had received such rare graces, she judged these
description of visions and of 'ecstasies to whlch I am sure things by a purely Cartesian mode of reasoning. But she knew
that I contribute about as much as if I were the stump of a
1 1 Cor. ii. 14 (Douay).
7
82 TI1e Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa
We must not forget, however, that St. Teresa was a
II
tree. . . . I seem to sec notlling, to say nothing, to have no
woman who passed her life among women ; and she was power of willing ; but within me is a spirit which animates,
always haunted by the problem : by what double discipline, guides and sustains me. . . . One sees notlling either inwardly
exterior and interior, was it possible to promote the highest or outwardly, since the soul docs not dwell in the imagina
spiritual development in women living in a cornmnnity? tion. But though it sees nothing, and though no particular
She knew that men excelled in knowledge, and women thing is present to the senses, the soul is conscious of its object
excelled in love. But she also knew how difficult it is to get and its whereabouts more clearly than if it saw. Without the
to know women-much more so than their confessors aid of any interior or any exterior word one is conscious of
imagine. Mark this text in which she takes these confessors a Presence nearby.' Though the operation of the senses is
to task in the light of her experience, with robust good sense suspended, St. Teresa recognizes the working of a secret
and humour : 'You surprise me by saying that you have only grace which is outside the comprehension of ordinary folk.
to see tlus yow1g woman to know what she is like.Women And she invokes the saying of St. Paul: 'The sensual man
folk are not so easy to get to know. Even when you have pcrceiveth not these things that arc of the Spirit of God'.1
heard their confessions for several years, you will be surprised But far from encouraging the pursuit of sensible favours and
to find how little you have understood them; for they do extraordinary ways, she was always on her guard against
not w1dcrstand tl1emselves well enough to declare ilieir faults, them, treating them rather as signs of weakness common
and yet you judge them just by what they say.' Listen to her among women, forwluch a remedy has to be found. ' Women
as she draws up the rules for entry into tl1e commwlity : 'Do arc weak' , she says, ' and always liable to mistake the fig
not think tl1at enthusiasm. or external signs arc enough, or the ments of their imagination for true visions.' And she adds
unshakable belief that each postulant has in the reality of with a robustness of thought that seems singularly bold:
her vocation. The qualities that are needed are more ordinary ' Visions of themselves are neither good nor evil: their good
but more solid.' ' Our Constitution', she says, 'forbids us to or evil depends on the use we make of them. Even if they are
receive young women who lack judgement.' There is a warn from God they can still be evil ifwe let them minister to our
ing too, as one might expect, not to trust solemn, austere or vanity or persuade us that we arc holy. When they arc from
melancholy airs which arc often nustaken for marks of the devil they can still be good if they humble us with the
genuine piety. She prefers girls with gaiety and spirit, and thought that they are from God and that we are unworthy
observes wittily : 'In our Rule we have no use for austere of them.' We can judge by the clearness and certitude of such
people: the Rule itself is quite austere enough'. teaching how strongly she reacted against all forms of ilJ umin
One would expect her to give priority to those exceptional ism at a time when, even more than today, subjective exalta
states of which she herself had so direct and vivid an experi tion so often appeared in the guise of mysticism. Although
ence, when the whole capacity of our soul is filled (as it St. Teresa was so ardent and had risen to such heights of con
seems) no longer by us, but by God. She gives an admirable templation and had received such rare graces, she judged these
description of visions and of 'ecstasies to whlch I am sure things by a purely Cartesian mode of reasoning. But she knew
that I contribute about as much as if I were the stump of a
1 1 Cor. ii. 14 (Douay).
7
84 The Meanill,(] of Holiness St. Teresa Bs
that divine gifts and graces always presuppose, and never do and zest, all her inflexible resolution in time of trial and
more than transform, our natural faculties. danger, from her constant sense of the presence of God. No
On the other hand, woman though she was, and although one knew better than she how to combine boldness in idea,
she recognized that women excel in intuition and in love, hazard in enterprise, prudence and patience in execution.
she declined to claim any advantage from this. She had no Listen to her cry: 'One may die, to be sure, but be defeated
desire that they should invoke the weakness of their sensitive never'. She was prepared to meet every challenge. ' I think
nature as a sign of their spiritual perfection. She always re I should be ready to take on the whole host of Lutherans
acted with a fine scorn against a temptation of this kind: single-handed. For we can do all in Christ.' She was never -
'I never remember having wept even in my greatest afflictions, disturbed by fear, for God was always by her side, bearing
for God gave me a strength ofsoul which is rare in women.' And her up. He would say to her: ' Fear not, it is I ' . 'It seems to
Fr. Salinas said of her: ' She is a man of the bearded sort'. No me', she declared, 'that it is no longer I who am living,
oneeverheard herutter a wordofcomplaint. 'I amnot a woman speaking, willing ; but within me there is One who guides
of that sort: I have a stout heart.' She admits that the thought and strengthens me.' She never refused any task on the
ofbeing a woman took all the heart out of her. Again she is a ground of her own weakness, for if God required her to do
true woman in knowing that she is a woman without wishing it, she knew He would give her the strength to carry it
to be one. She desired all her daughters to love a valiant spirit through. ' 0 Lord, my God, how clear it is that you are
as she did. And she said to them : ' I do not want you to trade on all-powerful! We must not hesitate to do the things you ask
1 ;your womanhood. You must be as strong as the strongest of for-however impossible they seem, if we judge them ac
n� : and ifyou do what lies in you to do, I promise you that cording to nature-because you make it possible to do them.
Our Lord will give you such strength that men will marvel at All that is necessary is to love you with our whole heart and
you.' Words of such incomparable spirit show us that at the to renounce all else for your love.' It is not surprising to hear
highest point of the soul and in face of the loftiest demands of her quoting with admiration the words of St. Augustine:
the spiritual life the differences that count are not those that ' Give me, 0 Lord, the strength to do what you command,
spring from nature but those only which spring from inner and then command me to do what you will'.
resolve and a passion for the Absolute. The Saint's words an From whatever angle we study the life of St. Teresa we •
ticipate those spoken by the indomitable Jacqueline Pascal in shall fmd that the root and principle of all her actions was an
circumstances ofmuch peril: 'There may be occasions when, intense and constant awareness of the presence of God. This
if bishops show no more courage than young girls, it is the awareness made her say she had no fear that the devil would
duty of young girls to show the courage of bishops'. deceive her or that anyone in the world would undeceive
her. It also explains why her vigorous personality always
IV
adopted an attitude of detachment in affirming her point of
If we seek to identify the essential features which distin view. She n
i sists that humility must always come first, for
guished this great saint, we shall find that she excelled in the strength we need can never come through our own
resolution and daring ; she derived all her strength, confidence resources. But she had no use for the false humility that
84 The Meanill,(] of Holiness St. Teresa Bs
that divine gifts and graces always presuppose, and never do and zest, all her inflexible resolution in time of trial and
more than transform, our natural faculties. danger, from her constant sense of the presence of God. No
On the other hand, woman though she was, and although one knew better than she how to combine boldness in idea,
she recognized that women excel in intuition and in love, hazard in enterprise, prudence and patience in execution.
she declined to claim any advantage from this. She had no Listen to her cry: 'One may die, to be sure, but be defeated
desire that they should invoke the weakness of their sensitive never'. She was prepared to meet every challenge. ' I think
nature as a sign of their spiritual perfection. She always re I should be ready to take on the whole host of Lutherans
acted with a fine scorn against a temptation of this kind: single-handed. For we can do all in Christ.' She was never -
'I never remember having wept even in my greatest afflictions, disturbed by fear, for God was always by her side, bearing
for God gave me a strength ofsoul which is rare in women.' And her up. He would say to her: ' Fear not, it is I ' . 'It seems to
Fr. Salinas said of her: ' She is a man of the bearded sort'. No me', she declared, 'that it is no longer I who am living,
oneeverheard herutter a wordofcomplaint. 'I amnot a woman speaking, willing ; but within me there is One who guides
of that sort: I have a stout heart.' She admits that the thought and strengthens me.' She never refused any task on the
ofbeing a woman took all the heart out of her. Again she is a ground of her own weakness, for if God required her to do
true woman in knowing that she is a woman without wishing it, she knew He would give her the strength to carry it
to be one. She desired all her daughters to love a valiant spirit through. ' 0 Lord, my God, how clear it is that you are
as she did. And she said to them : ' I do not want you to trade on all-powerful! We must not hesitate to do the things you ask
1 ;your womanhood. You must be as strong as the strongest of for-however impossible they seem, if we judge them ac
n� : and ifyou do what lies in you to do, I promise you that cording to nature-because you make it possible to do them.
Our Lord will give you such strength that men will marvel at All that is necessary is to love you with our whole heart and
you.' Words of such incomparable spirit show us that at the to renounce all else for your love.' It is not surprising to hear
highest point of the soul and in face of the loftiest demands of her quoting with admiration the words of St. Augustine:
the spiritual life the differences that count are not those that ' Give me, 0 Lord, the strength to do what you command,
spring from nature but those only which spring from inner and then command me to do what you will'.
resolve and a passion for the Absolute. The Saint's words an From whatever angle we study the life of St. Teresa we •
ticipate those spoken by the indomitable Jacqueline Pascal in shall fmd that the root and principle of all her actions was an
circumstances ofmuch peril: 'There may be occasions when, intense and constant awareness of the presence of God. This
if bishops show no more courage than young girls, it is the awareness made her say she had no fear that the devil would
duty of young girls to show the courage of bishops'. deceive her or that anyone in the world would undeceive
her. It also explains why her vigorous personality always
IV
adopted an attitude of detachment in affirming her point of
If we seek to identify the essential features which distin view. She n
i sists that humility must always come first, for
guished this great saint, we shall find that she excelled in the strength we need can never come through our own
resolution and daring ; she derived all her strength, confidence resources. But she had no use for the false humility that
86 The Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa
makes us hide our gifts and by so doing slight the Giver of required to do and from the duties we have to perform, there
all good things. We must leam to recognize all the graces is another kind, having its source in admiration, which
God has given us, and acknowledge that we in no way enables us in our proper sphere and with our own particular
deserve them. We must do more, and transform the self gifts, to achieve the same victory over ourselves and the
love which binds us to ourselves into a feeling of gratitude same degree of spiritualization of all our powers as the
towards God who has created us. What can be more simple, greatest souls attain on a plane above our own.
more artless and more touching than her prayer : 'However St. Teresa invites us also to reflect upon the principles of
useless I may be and however unprofitable to others, I will religious life which enable us, in a more perfect matmer, and
never cease to praise you, 0 my God, for having made me in conditions of particular privilege, to accomplish the task
just as I am'. In this way our very weakness becomes a common to all in the wider setting of social life, which is
means of leading us back to God, and of finding even n
i our to become mediators one for another. As there are societies
littleness the sign of His power and His love. for tl1e pursuit of pleasure, so there are societies for the pur
The experience St. Teresa had of God put her above and suit of holiness. In these, St. Teresa tells us, friendships must
beyond philosophers and theologians. 'If God Himself had be knit between persons of established virtue. She is fully '\
not been my teacher', she said, ' all my reading would have aware that increase of charity springs from communion with I
brought me little knowledge.' Reading was actually a others. She loved her Order with a true passion, and she
difficulty for her, for, whenever she tried to read, her reading specially loved the individual life spent face to face with God,
at once gave way to prayer. Her knowledge was of divine and the common quest for Him in community which are
origin, an experimental knowledge which is of no worth the very essence of the religious life. Like St. Clare, she
unless it becomes a rule of life and action. And so we can taught that poverty and humility are like a high wall which
understand why even her directors put themselves under her shuts us away from the world and encloses us within our
direction. She showed how contemplation could pass into selves. And lest the diversity in the forms of religious life
action, infusing into it force and light, so that it became an should elude us, we must not forget that St. Teresa did not
example of spiritual activity, inviting wonder and imitation wish her nuns to beg. 'It is a rule of our Constitution never
on all sides. But St. Teresa never overlooked the rule of to beg, save in great necessity.' She says that if through over
prudence which, in community life, obliges us to take into anxiety alms were accepted on one or two occasions, it might
consideration even the humblest vocations, and which pro soon become a habit. 'And we might then beg for something
tects simple souls from being discouraged by outstanding not strictly necessary from people who need it more than
examples of spiritual perfection on a level they are never we do.' She wished her nuns to preserve the spirit of poverty
likely to approach. St. Teresa applied to herself the rule-so while avoiding the peril of seeking alms. And yet, like the
well suited to her daughters in their relations with her-d1at disciples of St. Francis, she held that poverty contains within
we must always make a clear distinction between what we itself all the good things of this world, and that to despise
can imitate, and what we can only admire. But if there is the world is to be master of it. This mastery, she thought,
one kind of imitation which will deflect us from what we are could best be achieved by withdrawal from the world, for
86 The Meaning of Holiness St. Teresa
makes us hide our gifts and by so doing slight the Giver of required to do and from the duties we have to perform, there
all good things. We must leam to recognize all the graces is another kind, having its source in admiration, which
God has given us, and acknowledge that we in no way enables us in our proper sphere and with our own particular
deserve them. We must do more, and transform the self gifts, to achieve the same victory over ourselves and the
love which binds us to ourselves into a feeling of gratitude same degree of spiritualization of all our powers as the
towards God who has created us. What can be more simple, greatest souls attain on a plane above our own.
more artless and more touching than her prayer : 'However St. Teresa invites us also to reflect upon the principles of
useless I may be and however unprofitable to others, I will religious life which enable us, in a more perfect matmer, and
never cease to praise you, 0 my God, for having made me in conditions of particular privilege, to accomplish the task
just as I am'. In this way our very weakness becomes a common to all in the wider setting of social life, which is
means of leading us back to God, and of finding even n
i our to become mediators one for another. As there are societies
littleness the sign of His power and His love. for tl1e pursuit of pleasure, so there are societies for the pur
The experience St. Teresa had of God put her above and suit of holiness. In these, St. Teresa tells us, friendships must
beyond philosophers and theologians. 'If God Himself had be knit between persons of established virtue. She is fully '\
not been my teacher', she said, ' all my reading would have aware that increase of charity springs from communion with I
brought me little knowledge.' Reading was actually a others. She loved her Order with a true passion, and she
difficulty for her, for, whenever she tried to read, her reading specially loved the individual life spent face to face with God,
at once gave way to prayer. Her knowledge was of divine and the common quest for Him in community which are
origin, an experimental knowledge which is of no worth the very essence of the religious life. Like St. Clare, she
unless it becomes a rule of life and action. And so we can taught that poverty and humility are like a high wall which
understand why even her directors put themselves under her shuts us away from the world and encloses us within our
direction. She showed how contemplation could pass into selves. And lest the diversity in the forms of religious life
action, infusing into it force and light, so that it became an should elude us, we must not forget that St. Teresa did not
example of spiritual activity, inviting wonder and imitation wish her nuns to beg. 'It is a rule of our Constitution never
on all sides. But St. Teresa never overlooked the rule of to beg, save in great necessity.' She says that if through over
prudence which, in community life, obliges us to take into anxiety alms were accepted on one or two occasions, it might
consideration even the humblest vocations, and which pro soon become a habit. 'And we might then beg for something
tects simple souls from being discouraged by outstanding not strictly necessary from people who need it more than
examples of spiritual perfection on a level they are never we do.' She wished her nuns to preserve the spirit of poverty
likely to approach. St. Teresa applied to herself the rule-so while avoiding the peril of seeking alms. And yet, like the
well suited to her daughters in their relations with her-d1at disciples of St. Francis, she held that poverty contains within
we must always make a clear distinction between what we itself all the good things of this world, and that to despise
can imitate, and what we can only admire. But if there is the world is to be master of it. This mastery, she thought,
one kind of imitation which will deflect us from what we are could best be achieved by withdrawal from the world, for
88 The Meat1i11g of Holiness St. Teresa
such withdrawal would break down all the barriers between years, making our life a period of expectation, and thus
the soul and God. She treasured the cloistered life above all giving light and significance to each of the events that make
things. 'One must have experienced it', she tells us, 'to up our history. The sense of eternity was of long standing
nnderstand whatjoy our fonndations gave us especially when with St. Teresa. She recalls the emotion she felt, when, as
we were i n an enclosure which denied access to lay persons ; children, she and her brother used to think about everlasting
for, though we loved them dearly, no consolation equalled reward and punishment: they used to repeat the words ' for
that of being in community alone.' Even Leibniz admired ever . . . for ever'. Most of us think of time with unutterable
the inner state of soul which disposed St. Teresa to look at anguish : for its flight is something we caru1ot arrest, some
things as though God and she were alone in the world. What thing in which our life seems to vanish away while there is
happiness such a separation brings; for, instead of fixing us in nothing we can do to hold it back. The shortness of our span
isolation from our fellow-creatures, it is a unique means of oflife, the certainty that it will end one day, the fear that we
�
bring g their presence near to us, and overcoming our may have failed to make good use of it, the sense that we are
separation by enabling us to attain the Supreme Principle in leaving behind us nothing but emptiness and waste of days,
whom they enjoy communion among themselves and with us. all this causes us grief and affliction. How different is the
It was because her gaze was always directed towards God outlook of St. Teresa. Eternity, not time, is the object ofher
that St. Teresa was delivered from all the false scruples which thought, affection and desire. She is unlike those who live
cause the ego to concentrate on itself and brood continually only for the passing hour, who see in each event nothing
on its own imperfections. 'Do not in1agine', she warns us, beyond the actual moment in which it happens, for whom
' that a mere thought is sinful, however evil it may be.' A the past is always the object ofremembrance and regret, who
thought becomes sinful only when we begin to entertain it
and give way to it. It was the vision of God which made her
indifferent to the opinions of others. We must not care
always rnn to meet the coming hour and count the slow
paced minutes as they pass. For St. Teresa there was a kind of
equality between the successive moments of time. Each of
\
whether people speak well or ill of us and must take no more these makes its own demand on us, to which we can respond
notice of criticism levelled at us than if it were aimed at only if we are able to raise ourselves to the Eternal Presence.
someone else. Let others defend us : this is not our concern. For this reason she attached little importance to dates and
It was hervision of God again which, instead of detaching her the computation of time. She was not interested in the rela
from nature, helped her to find the Creator in His creation tion between days and months and years. All her attention
to admire the beauty in meadow and stream, in the simplicity was focused on the relation of each phase of time with
of a child and even in the humblest gifts bestowed on her. eternity. But when she did stop to consider the actual passage
of time, she did not find eternity in it here and now, but saw
v
time rather as a barrier separating her from eternity, an
There was in the life of St. Teresa an unparalleled vigour, obstacle which obliged her to wait. Hence the consoling
keenness and actuality because for her, life had meaning only reflection which moved her to say: 'What comes to an end
in its relation to eternity. For it is eternity which fills our is always brief'. Hence too her frequent sense of time passing
88 The Meat1i11g of Holiness St. Teresa
such withdrawal would break down all the barriers between years, making our life a period of expectation, and thus
the soul and God. She treasured the cloistered life above all giving light and significance to each of the events that make
things. 'One must have experienced it', she tells us, 'to up our history. The sense of eternity was of long standing
nnderstand whatjoy our fonndations gave us especially when with St. Teresa. She recalls the emotion she felt, when, as
we were i n an enclosure which denied access to lay persons ; children, she and her brother used to think about everlasting
for, though we loved them dearly, no consolation equalled reward and punishment: they used to repeat the words ' for
that of being in community alone.' Even Leibniz admired ever . . . for ever'. Most of us think of time with unutterable
the inner state of soul which disposed St. Teresa to look at anguish : for its flight is something we caru1ot arrest, some
things as though God and she were alone in the world. What thing in which our life seems to vanish away while there is
happiness such a separation brings; for, instead of fixing us in nothing we can do to hold it back. The shortness of our span
isolation from our fellow-creatures, it is a unique means of oflife, the certainty that it will end one day, the fear that we
�
bring g their presence near to us, and overcoming our may have failed to make good use of it, the sense that we are
separation by enabling us to attain the Supreme Principle in leaving behind us nothing but emptiness and waste of days,
whom they enjoy communion among themselves and with us. all this causes us grief and affliction. How different is the
It was because her gaze was always directed towards God outlook of St. Teresa. Eternity, not time, is the object ofher
that St. Teresa was delivered from all the false scruples which thought, affection and desire. She is unlike those who live
cause the ego to concentrate on itself and brood continually only for the passing hour, who see in each event nothing
on its own imperfections. 'Do not in1agine', she warns us, beyond the actual moment in which it happens, for whom
' that a mere thought is sinful, however evil it may be.' A the past is always the object ofremembrance and regret, who
thought becomes sinful only when we begin to entertain it
and give way to it. It was the vision of God which made her
indifferent to the opinions of others. We must not care
always rnn to meet the coming hour and count the slow
paced minutes as they pass. For St. Teresa there was a kind of
equality between the successive moments of time. Each of
\
whether people speak well or ill of us and must take no more these makes its own demand on us, to which we can respond
notice of criticism levelled at us than if it were aimed at only if we are able to raise ourselves to the Eternal Presence.
someone else. Let others defend us : this is not our concern. For this reason she attached little importance to dates and
It was hervision of God again which, instead of detaching her the computation of time. She was not interested in the rela
from nature, helped her to find the Creator in His creation tion between days and months and years. All her attention
to admire the beauty in meadow and stream, in the simplicity was focused on the relation of each phase of time with
of a child and even in the humblest gifts bestowed on her. eternity. But when she did stop to consider the actual passage
of time, she did not find eternity in it here and now, but saw
v
time rather as a barrier separating her from eternity, an
There was in the life of St. Teresa an unparalleled vigour, obstacle which obliged her to wait. Hence the consoling
keenness and actuality because for her, life had meaning only reflection which moved her to say: 'What comes to an end
in its relation to eternity. For it is eternity which fills our is always brief'. Hence too her frequent sense of time passing
90 The l'vfeaning of Holiness St. Teresa 91
away so quickly that there was no time to do anything. But, our actions-though these depend for their success on God
when she thinks of death as the gateway to eternity, she alone-must be performed in accordance with the laws of
laments for the opposite reason: ' How slow this life is, and our reason. The best biographer of St. Teresa expresses
how painful our exile' . Hence the sublime strength which admiration for herwisdom,her ripeand balanced judgement,
drives her to link death with life, making life itself a kind of her habit of considering carefully whatever she had to do;
death; for life keeps death at bay-the death that will bring of weighing with careful deliberation all the pros and cons
her eternal life. Finally there are her famous and lovely words: of the matter in hand. Once she had taken a decision, she
'W airing crucifies me and makes me suffer so greatly that I pursued her course of action with the utmost fidelity. In
die because I do not die'. These words throw into sharp relief her prayers she had recourse to God as the source of all
the tragic oscillation in our own souls between being and prudence : ' Grant that I may know how to usc my reason
not-being, our sensitive soul being obliged to deny itself so to judge and weigh everything in a true balance, so as to
that through its death our spiritual being may come to life. render to each one what is his due. And may I ever be on my
i estimable value in
The example of St. Teresa is of n guard in distinguishing the better from the worse and make
teaching us how contemplation and action arc really indis the right choice with true purity of intention.'
tinguishable. To us they seem to be separate and mutually Union with God always starts with a state of simple re
contradictory, and we wonder how they can possibly be collection; but it will transform all the powers of our soul
reconciled. Contemplation is truly action at the high point of by laying bare their spiritual operation, and at the same time
the soul where it takes place and towards which it urges us induce a state of perfect tranquillity into which those same
always to ascend. For St. Teresa there is no alternating elevation powers enter and fmd repose. Union with God provides
and descent of the soul from the hwnblest tasks in the material unending consolation, for it makes us realize that nothing
order to the most sublime graces of prayer. In contemplation can happen apart from the will of God, and that no one is
the humble and the sublime are one. He who has risen to the tempted beyond what he can bear. This gives the soul a sense
greatest heights in the spiritual life performs the most com- of confidence and security, and raises it far above the strife
' monplace actions with the greatest perfection. Always to between love of self and the love of God which showed it
keep our thoughts on a high level, she says, is a great en had so far failed to find Him. Mark the quiet courage with
couragement in bringing our actions to the same level. which St. Teresa speaks of the path that leads to Him. ' I do
'God alone suffices' ; because it is He who gives unity to our not know, Lord, how the road that leads to You can be
,
life. His will is that the life of mysticism and the life of action called narrow. To me it seems not a path, but a King's high
should each nourish the other ; that solitude should help us to way; and the greater our courage in setting out upon our
\ conununicatewithall creatures and that, even in the extremity journey, the more confidently we shall travel the road. You
of suffering, we should be able to experience the fullness of arc always there to raise up those who stumble ; and not one
JOy. fall, nor even many falls, will make us lose our soul, so long
But God never allows us to despise the human means He as we are free from worldly desires and have given You our
has placed in our hands and which He wishes us to use. All hearts and follow You in the way of humility.' God, she
90 The l'vfeaning of Holiness St. Teresa 91
away so quickly that there was no time to do anything. But, our actions-though these depend for their success on God
when she thinks of death as the gateway to eternity, she alone-must be performed in accordance with the laws of
laments for the opposite reason: ' How slow this life is, and our reason. The best biographer of St. Teresa expresses
how painful our exile' . Hence the sublime strength which admiration for herwisdom,her ripeand balanced judgement,
drives her to link death with life, making life itself a kind of her habit of considering carefully whatever she had to do;
death; for life keeps death at bay-the death that will bring of weighing with careful deliberation all the pros and cons
her eternal life. Finally there are her famous and lovely words: of the matter in hand. Once she had taken a decision, she
'W airing crucifies me and makes me suffer so greatly that I pursued her course of action with the utmost fidelity. In
die because I do not die'. These words throw into sharp relief her prayers she had recourse to God as the source of all
the tragic oscillation in our own souls between being and prudence : ' Grant that I may know how to usc my reason
not-being, our sensitive soul being obliged to deny itself so to judge and weigh everything in a true balance, so as to
that through its death our spiritual being may come to life. render to each one what is his due. And may I ever be on my
i estimable value in
The example of St. Teresa is of n guard in distinguishing the better from the worse and make
teaching us how contemplation and action arc really indis the right choice with true purity of intention.'
tinguishable. To us they seem to be separate and mutually Union with God always starts with a state of simple re
contradictory, and we wonder how they can possibly be collection; but it will transform all the powers of our soul
reconciled. Contemplation is truly action at the high point of by laying bare their spiritual operation, and at the same time
the soul where it takes place and towards which it urges us induce a state of perfect tranquillity into which those same
always to ascend. For St. Teresa there is no alternating elevation powers enter and fmd repose. Union with God provides
and descent of the soul from the hwnblest tasks in the material unending consolation, for it makes us realize that nothing
order to the most sublime graces of prayer. In contemplation can happen apart from the will of God, and that no one is
the humble and the sublime are one. He who has risen to the tempted beyond what he can bear. This gives the soul a sense
greatest heights in the spiritual life performs the most com- of confidence and security, and raises it far above the strife
' monplace actions with the greatest perfection. Always to between love of self and the love of God which showed it
keep our thoughts on a high level, she says, is a great en had so far failed to find Him. Mark the quiet courage with
couragement in bringing our actions to the same level. which St. Teresa speaks of the path that leads to Him. ' I do
'God alone suffices' ; because it is He who gives unity to our not know, Lord, how the road that leads to You can be
,
life. His will is that the life of mysticism and the life of action called narrow. To me it seems not a path, but a King's high
should each nourish the other ; that solitude should help us to way; and the greater our courage in setting out upon our
\ conununicatewithall creatures and that, even in the extremity journey, the more confidently we shall travel the road. You
of suffering, we should be able to experience the fullness of arc always there to raise up those who stumble ; and not one
JOy. fall, nor even many falls, will make us lose our soul, so long
But God never allows us to despise the human means He as we are free from worldly desires and have given You our
has placed in our hands and which He wishes us to use. All hearts and follow You in the way of humility.' God, she
reminds us, often allows us to fall in order to teach us
humility, and when we pick ourselves up with a right in
tention, realizing our own weakness, we can derive from that
v
same fall new strength to advance in the way of the Lord.
We must not suppose that for St. Teresa contemplation ST. FRANCIS D E SALE S : THE UNITY O F
was necessary for salvation. To many pure souls with no ex W I L L AND LOVE
perience of contemplation, such a belief might cause despair.
Contemplation is a gift of God but something He docs not
ll
I
require of all of us. It is even possible that in a fruitless attempt all the saints none seems closer to the world and
1
to attain it, we may wander from our true path. We must
not forget that he who thinks he is only on the lowest rw1g
of tl1e ladder may in the sight of God have reached the top.
O therefore nearer to us than St. Francis de Sales. Yet
no saint penetrates more deeply into the secret places
of our hearts. By seeking out what we desire as distinct from
The w1ion required of us by God is not the union of con what we appear to desire, he reveals to us what we really are.
templation, but the union of our will ; that is to .say, a state He reconciles us to ourselves through the continuity there is
in which the soul is detached from all worldly things and between the state of our soul and the end it seeks to attain.
I wishes for nothing that is out of harmony with the will of Far from setting up an intolerable separation between that
God; in which our will, being entirely conformed to His which is within us and the object to which we aspire, he
will, and wholly absorbed in Him, no longer retains any shows us that this object is already present within us, and that
trace of self-love or love of any created thing. The soul is what we have to do is to lay hold of it. He teaches us to bear
now so completely oblivious of all self-interest that it seems with our individual nature instead of disowning it; to find
no longer to have any existence ofits own, for it has become in it not an obstacle to be overcome, and a source of dis
one with God. It now enjoys ineffable peace and has no need couragement, but a power we must make respond to a
to reflect in order to apprehend the presence of God. It spiritual inspiration of which it bears the sign and feels the /
desires neitl1cr death nor life. And so love, by liberating us attraction. While others direct our attention merely to our
from the things of earth and by allowing us to soar above own impotence, St. Francis de Sales urges us to discover
them, makes us masters of all the elements and of the world within ourselves a source of infinite power ; so that our will,
itself; and it is humility which restores the true relation by a simple act of interior assent, is able to open a way for its
between our nothingness and the Perfect Being of God. exercise instead of impeding its activity or paralysing its
effect. He is the very model ofthe spiritual director whom we
seek or would wish to be in our own regard. At no time
does he impose any constraint that appears to come from
outside: all he asks is that we should enter more deeply into
our secret selves. No one has ever analysed more fully the
movements of desire ; he never seems to oppose these
reminds us, often allows us to fall in order to teach us
humility, and when we pick ourselves up with a right in
tention, realizing our own weakness, we can derive from that
v
same fall new strength to advance in the way of the Lord.
We must not suppose that for St. Teresa contemplation ST. FRANCIS D E SALE S : THE UNITY O F
was necessary for salvation. To many pure souls with no ex W I L L AND LOVE
perience of contemplation, such a belief might cause despair.
Contemplation is a gift of God but something He docs not
ll
I
require of all of us. It is even possible that in a fruitless attempt all the saints none seems closer to the world and
1
to attain it, we may wander from our true path. We must
not forget that he who thinks he is only on the lowest rw1g
of tl1e ladder may in the sight of God have reached the top.
O therefore nearer to us than St. Francis de Sales. Yet
no saint penetrates more deeply into the secret places
of our hearts. By seeking out what we desire as distinct from
The w1ion required of us by God is not the union of con what we appear to desire, he reveals to us what we really are.
templation, but the union of our will ; that is to .say, a state He reconciles us to ourselves through the continuity there is
in which the soul is detached from all worldly things and between the state of our soul and the end it seeks to attain.
I wishes for nothing that is out of harmony with the will of Far from setting up an intolerable separation between that
God; in which our will, being entirely conformed to His which is within us and the object to which we aspire, he
will, and wholly absorbed in Him, no longer retains any shows us that this object is already present within us, and that
trace of self-love or love of any created thing. The soul is what we have to do is to lay hold of it. He teaches us to bear
now so completely oblivious of all self-interest that it seems with our individual nature instead of disowning it; to find
no longer to have any existence ofits own, for it has become in it not an obstacle to be overcome, and a source of dis
one with God. It now enjoys ineffable peace and has no need couragement, but a power we must make respond to a
to reflect in order to apprehend the presence of God. It spiritual inspiration of which it bears the sign and feels the /
desires neitl1cr death nor life. And so love, by liberating us attraction. While others direct our attention merely to our
from the things of earth and by allowing us to soar above own impotence, St. Francis de Sales urges us to discover
them, makes us masters of all the elements and of the world within ourselves a source of infinite power ; so that our will,
itself; and it is humility which restores the true relation by a simple act of interior assent, is able to open a way for its
between our nothingness and the Perfect Being of God. exercise instead of impeding its activity or paralysing its
effect. He is the very model ofthe spiritual director whom we
seek or would wish to be in our own regard. At no time
does he impose any constraint that appears to come from
outside: all he asks is that we should enter more deeply into
our secret selves. No one has ever analysed more fully the
movements of desire ; he never seems to oppose these
94 The Meaning of Holiness St. Fra11cis de Sales 95
movements; he appears on the contrary to accept and enter oflove there is a threefold character of gentleness, ardour and
into them. But he gets down to their very source which we surrender, of which women are the vehicle and the model.
often fail to perceive : and seeks to guide them to their proper Mary the Mother of God is inseparable from the idea of Chris
end, which we constantly tend to forget because we allow tian love; while the individual soul in its relation to God, loves
our desires to rest on particular objects none of which is able and is loved, even as Mary loved and was loved by her Son.
to satisfy us. His remarkable achievement in describing the But it would be a great mistake to think that love, accord
working of our conscience is twofold: he makes this tend ing to St. Francis, amounts to nothing more than a movement
wholly in the direction of our desires and brings us at the of the sensitive nature to which all our interior powers need
same time into the closest contact with our com1sellor, till only surrender in silence. No one perhaps ever combined
it is impossible to tell which of us it is that is involved, since firmness and gentleness as he did. Indeed it is hard to imagine
each makes the other what he is by the same act, the act a more lucid and vigorous mind, or one who had such con
which distinguishes us yet makes us one. And we are all fidence in the will, or so steady a resolve to dominate and
so bound up together that none of us is free from responsibility direct all the spontaneous movements of nature instead of
for other souls as well as for his own. How indeed can we dis allowing them to dominate him. No one ever had a more
tinguish the responsibility we assume in our own regard from virile conscience; it was thoroughly able to rule itself and
the responsibility we assume in regard to others ? Whenever steadfastly refused to yield to the play of emotion or the un
two souls meet we must recognize, as this great saint did, that to certainties of chance. Yet for all his constant preoccupations
teach and to learn is for each of them one single experience. with the actual relations between individual souls, and the
Now whether we consider the Introduction to the Devout circumstances, capacity and vocation of each, he was con
Life or the Treatise on the Love of God, whether St. Francis is cerned, among all the forms of love, with one alone, namely,
addressing Philothea or Theotimus, it is clear that the com the love which leads us to God. All human love seemed
position of a purely theoretical work was beyond him. He valueless and devoid of meaning for him save in so far as it
needed the stimulus of another soul to whom he might com was at once a symbol and an expression of the love God has
municate the fruit ofhis experience. It is as if he required an for His creatures ; for creation itself is nothing more than an
imaginary presence (always perhaps concealing a real per act of love, and the love that creatures have for God is only
sonality} to bring to life within him the spring oflove which a reflection of the love that God has for them.
comes from God and returns to Him, but only after having Nothing can give us greater strength and consolation
flowed between creatures. There is in St. Francis a feminine especially at the present day than the works of St. Francis de
tenderness which has often been noted and which is shown Sales. For his teaching is completely opposed to those doc
in his choice of words and in his use of such images as those trines of contemporary thought which only stress tl1e un
taken from flowers or honey. This tenderness may have found happiness of mankind in face of all its continual misfortunes.
its expression also in the close ties which united him to St. Jane In fact all these doctrines involve a dualism, and even an
de Chantal and in his constant preoccupation with the spiritual inescapable contradiction between existence as we know it,
affairs ofthe Visitation nuns. It would seem. that in all the forms and the spiritual aspirations within us which our actual
94 The Meaning of Holiness St. Fra11cis de Sales 95
movements; he appears on the contrary to accept and enter oflove there is a threefold character of gentleness, ardour and
into them. But he gets down to their very source which we surrender, of which women are the vehicle and the model.
often fail to perceive : and seeks to guide them to their proper Mary the Mother of God is inseparable from the idea of Chris
end, which we constantly tend to forget because we allow tian love; while the individual soul in its relation to God, loves
our desires to rest on particular objects none of which is able and is loved, even as Mary loved and was loved by her Son.
to satisfy us. His remarkable achievement in describing the But it would be a great mistake to think that love, accord
working of our conscience is twofold: he makes this tend ing to St. Francis, amounts to nothing more than a movement
wholly in the direction of our desires and brings us at the of the sensitive nature to which all our interior powers need
same time into the closest contact with our com1sellor, till only surrender in silence. No one perhaps ever combined
it is impossible to tell which of us it is that is involved, since firmness and gentleness as he did. Indeed it is hard to imagine
each makes the other what he is by the same act, the act a more lucid and vigorous mind, or one who had such con
which distinguishes us yet makes us one. And we are all fidence in the will, or so steady a resolve to dominate and
so bound up together that none of us is free from responsibility direct all the spontaneous movements of nature instead of
for other souls as well as for his own. How indeed can we dis allowing them to dominate him. No one ever had a more
tinguish the responsibility we assume in our own regard from virile conscience; it was thoroughly able to rule itself and
the responsibility we assume in regard to others ? Whenever steadfastly refused to yield to the play of emotion or the un
two souls meet we must recognize, as this great saint did, that to certainties of chance. Yet for all his constant preoccupations
teach and to learn is for each of them one single experience. with the actual relations between individual souls, and the
Now whether we consider the Introduction to the Devout circumstances, capacity and vocation of each, he was con
Life or the Treatise on the Love of God, whether St. Francis is cerned, among all the forms of love, with one alone, namely,
addressing Philothea or Theotimus, it is clear that the com the love which leads us to God. All human love seemed
position of a purely theoretical work was beyond him. He valueless and devoid of meaning for him save in so far as it
needed the stimulus of another soul to whom he might com was at once a symbol and an expression of the love God has
municate the fruit ofhis experience. It is as if he required an for His creatures ; for creation itself is nothing more than an
imaginary presence (always perhaps concealing a real per act of love, and the love that creatures have for God is only
sonality} to bring to life within him the spring oflove which a reflection of the love that God has for them.
comes from God and returns to Him, but only after having Nothing can give us greater strength and consolation
flowed between creatures. There is in St. Francis a feminine especially at the present day than the works of St. Francis de
tenderness which has often been noted and which is shown Sales. For his teaching is completely opposed to those doc
in his choice of words and in his use of such images as those trines of contemporary thought which only stress tl1e un
taken from flowers or honey. This tenderness may have found happiness of mankind in face of all its continual misfortunes.
its expression also in the close ties which united him to St. Jane In fact all these doctrines involve a dualism, and even an
de Chantal and in his constant preoccupation with the spiritual inescapable contradiction between existence as we know it,
affairs ofthe Visitation nuns. It would seem. that in all the forms and the spiritual aspirations within us which our actual
The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales 97
existence constantly belies. These modem thinkers would tive, but this is true of life itself, which is nothing more than
have us believe that this existence, with its limitations, its love in action. In this book St. Francis studies all the aspects
sufferings and its attendant misery is the only reality ; and that of our individual life, all the situations in which we find our
the spirit is nothing but an ineffectual and illusory activity selves, all our relations with our fellow-men, all our sorrows,
which never becomes incarnate, that is, never comes to life ; all our joys. These he scrutinizes in the pure light of love,
it can never transform existence: it can only degrade it. St. according as love shines through or is obscured in each,
Francis sees things quite differently; for him it is in the life making its sheer presence the single standard of judgement.
of the spirit alone that each of us achieves the self-awareness But what exactly do we mean by love ? It is our very being,
which is our authentic mode of existence. The soul must inasmuch as our being resides in an interior movement in
therefore be taught not to mistrust itself, and by means of an clining it towards the Good, a good which we make our
inward act, all too often omitted, it must maintain its interior own good. No one can deny that love is the core of our
purity which is always in peril. It must not allow itself to be being, and that happiness or unhappiness depends on whether
deterred or discouraged by the external obstacles by which this love is frustrated or fulfilled.
it is confronted ; it must learn to find in nature not only a But is not love at the same time a gift that has been be
source of inexhaustible beauty but also an instrument and stowed on us? This is perhaps the token of its transcendence,
guide for its own operation. It must learn to see in the in origin and end. It seems that love docs not depend on us,
limitations that arc imposed on it the conditions of its pro either in its birth or its fulfilment; and that it breaks down
gress, and to interpret the sufferings it has to endure as so all the barriers that might have seemed to limit our action.
many trials which lead to a deeper understanding of events So long as we are lacking in love we are immured within
and distil for us their spiritual meaning. Must we say that the solitude of individual existence, and love alone can set us
such an undertaking is foredoomed to failure? That might free. Love plunges us into a world without limits where we
be so if the spirit abandoned the struggle in advance ; if it are at the same time within and yet outside ourselves. And
acknowledged the world to be too strong; if it were resigned by a strange paradox we only seem to reach the heart of our
to be but a pale reflection of that world; and finally if it were being through a movement which takes us beyond ourselves.
false to its deepest essence, which resides not in knowledge In other words all love comes from God and returns to Him.
but in love ; and if it failed to see that all its powers are There is indeed no love but the love of God: d1at is the in
measured by its power to love; for in the measure in which dissoluble union of His w1failing love for us, and the love
love is exercised, it justifies the world, and in the measure in we have for Him in which we almost always fall short. Such
which it is withdrawn, the world is lost. love alone is able to justify ow- existence and the entire work
of creation, and for one who has experience of it problems
II cease to exist. But no one experiences it at all times, or with
The theory of love is at the heart of all the teaching of equal ardour. It is inevitable that the self should fail some
I St. Francis de Sales. The Treatise on the Love of God is a kind times ; and there is nothing that may not become an object
of testament oflove. We may find it long-winded and repeti- of scandal, even the whole universe, if we fail to look on it
The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales 97
existence constantly belies. These modem thinkers would tive, but this is true of life itself, which is nothing more than
have us believe that this existence, with its limitations, its love in action. In this book St. Francis studies all the aspects
sufferings and its attendant misery is the only reality ; and that of our individual life, all the situations in which we find our
the spirit is nothing but an ineffectual and illusory activity selves, all our relations with our fellow-men, all our sorrows,
which never becomes incarnate, that is, never comes to life ; all our joys. These he scrutinizes in the pure light of love,
it can never transform existence: it can only degrade it. St. according as love shines through or is obscured in each,
Francis sees things quite differently; for him it is in the life making its sheer presence the single standard of judgement.
of the spirit alone that each of us achieves the self-awareness But what exactly do we mean by love ? It is our very being,
which is our authentic mode of existence. The soul must inasmuch as our being resides in an interior movement in
therefore be taught not to mistrust itself, and by means of an clining it towards the Good, a good which we make our
inward act, all too often omitted, it must maintain its interior own good. No one can deny that love is the core of our
purity which is always in peril. It must not allow itself to be being, and that happiness or unhappiness depends on whether
deterred or discouraged by the external obstacles by which this love is frustrated or fulfilled.
it is confronted ; it must learn to find in nature not only a But is not love at the same time a gift that has been be
source of inexhaustible beauty but also an instrument and stowed on us? This is perhaps the token of its transcendence,
guide for its own operation. It must learn to see in the in origin and end. It seems that love docs not depend on us,
limitations that arc imposed on it the conditions of its pro either in its birth or its fulfilment; and that it breaks down
gress, and to interpret the sufferings it has to endure as so all the barriers that might have seemed to limit our action.
many trials which lead to a deeper understanding of events So long as we are lacking in love we are immured within
and distil for us their spiritual meaning. Must we say that the solitude of individual existence, and love alone can set us
such an undertaking is foredoomed to failure? That might free. Love plunges us into a world without limits where we
be so if the spirit abandoned the struggle in advance ; if it are at the same time within and yet outside ourselves. And
acknowledged the world to be too strong; if it were resigned by a strange paradox we only seem to reach the heart of our
to be but a pale reflection of that world; and finally if it were being through a movement which takes us beyond ourselves.
false to its deepest essence, which resides not in knowledge In other words all love comes from God and returns to Him.
but in love ; and if it failed to see that all its powers are There is indeed no love but the love of God: d1at is the in
measured by its power to love; for in the measure in which dissoluble union of His w1failing love for us, and the love
love is exercised, it justifies the world, and in the measure in we have for Him in which we almost always fall short. Such
which it is withdrawn, the world is lost. love alone is able to justify ow- existence and the entire work
of creation, and for one who has experience of it problems
II cease to exist. But no one experiences it at all times, or with
The theory of love is at the heart of all the teaching of equal ardour. It is inevitable that the self should fail some
I St. Francis de Sales. The Treatise on the Love of God is a kind times ; and there is nothing that may not become an object
of testament oflove. We may find it long-winded and repeti- of scandal, even the whole universe, if we fail to look on it
The Meaning of Holi�tess St. Francis de Sales 99
with love. The mystery of love is that it changes nothing in These are precisely the antin1mlies that St. Francis de Sales
the world, which continues to exhibit the same abominations seeks to overcome. He teaches us not to look upon nature
and sufferings; yet it has the power to suffuse these things and grace as contraries. For like St. Francis of Assisi he held
with an invisible and supernatural light. When love reigns, that nature comes from God. We can do nothing without
'
suffering is invested with new meaning, and is relieved and nature; and its dynamism is a power given to us that we
1 slowly transformed into a joy of another order. may make good use of it. But we misuse our nature
The core of the whole doctrine of love, and perhaps the whenever we treat it as self-sufficient and as an end ful.filling
deepest secret of our souls, lies in the relation that is estab itself in the satisfaction of selfish impulses which have mean
lished between will and love. It would seem at first that these ing only if they are sublimated and spiritualized. Egoist
two faculties are mutually opposed and even contradict one impulses become obstacles in our way when they seek wholly
another. For will depends upon ourselves; it resides in an to captivate and satisfy desire ; for desire is truly infinite,
initiative within our control, and n
i a sense it isolates us both having nothing less than God Himself for its origin and its
from nature and from God, leaving our destiny in our own end. One sees then-in a kind of paradox-that when the
hands. Love, on the other hand, surges up within us in spite will seems to struggle against desire, it is not because desire
of ourselves; without waiting for our consent it takes posses is an evil inclination to be destroyed, but because it arrests
sion of us and subdues us to its service. And this happens not a deeper movement which reaches out to infinity and can
only in human love which is ruled by our instinct and the never be satisfied by any finite object. Every desire except
law of our members, but also in divine love, where grace the desire for God must lead to disillusio1m1ent. Only the
seems to take and carry us away, leaving us no option but desire for God is certain of fulfilment, for desire then is in
to follow. In each case the will must remain mute. For as distinguishable from love. The will no longer resists desire
soon as it becomes active, the ego asserts itself and offers but becomes wedded to it, fmding rest and repose in a fulfrl
resistance to love. Love comes to us from outside ; it has no ment so intimate as to leave no room for will.
need of the will, and indeed renders it impotent and useless. But does not this same antagonism between will and
And so in human love, the will always puts up a struggle desire which appears to be for us a psychological law exist
and is often defeated ; or, if it succeeds in holding its own, it also between will and love? Should we not say in fact that
is because it rises to the level of true heroism. In divine love the will is that part of ourselves which accepts responsibility
it resists the impulsion of grace, and often successfully, as for our fate; while love on the other hand is a power of
though grace itself depended for its efficacy on the interior attraction exercised by the object of our love, depending
consent which the will in such cases refuses to give. These merely on our sensitive nature, that is on our aptitude to feel
two opposite effects of the will seem to demonstrate its in and respond to the attraction? Now this very sensibility is a
dependence in regard to love. When it strives against instinct gift which varies in different individuals. How is it possible
andagainst grace, the will is exerting its independent power ; for to quicken love where it is mute : and how transmute into
in the one case it declines to accept anything from nature, while love the hostility or the hatred our senses sometimes feel?
in the other it refuses the help that is offered from on high. It is true that love catmot be created ; and our very effort to
8
The Meaning of Holi�tess St. Francis de Sales 99
with love. The mystery of love is that it changes nothing in These are precisely the antin1mlies that St. Francis de Sales
the world, which continues to exhibit the same abominations seeks to overcome. He teaches us not to look upon nature
and sufferings; yet it has the power to suffuse these things and grace as contraries. For like St. Francis of Assisi he held
with an invisible and supernatural light. When love reigns, that nature comes from God. We can do nothing without
'
suffering is invested with new meaning, and is relieved and nature; and its dynamism is a power given to us that we
1 slowly transformed into a joy of another order. may make good use of it. But we misuse our nature
The core of the whole doctrine of love, and perhaps the whenever we treat it as self-sufficient and as an end ful.filling
deepest secret of our souls, lies in the relation that is estab itself in the satisfaction of selfish impulses which have mean
lished between will and love. It would seem at first that these ing only if they are sublimated and spiritualized. Egoist
two faculties are mutually opposed and even contradict one impulses become obstacles in our way when they seek wholly
another. For will depends upon ourselves; it resides in an to captivate and satisfy desire ; for desire is truly infinite,
initiative within our control, and n
i a sense it isolates us both having nothing less than God Himself for its origin and its
from nature and from God, leaving our destiny in our own end. One sees then-in a kind of paradox-that when the
hands. Love, on the other hand, surges up within us in spite will seems to struggle against desire, it is not because desire
of ourselves; without waiting for our consent it takes posses is an evil inclination to be destroyed, but because it arrests
sion of us and subdues us to its service. And this happens not a deeper movement which reaches out to infinity and can
only in human love which is ruled by our instinct and the never be satisfied by any finite object. Every desire except
law of our members, but also in divine love, where grace the desire for God must lead to disillusio1m1ent. Only the
seems to take and carry us away, leaving us no option but desire for God is certain of fulfilment, for desire then is in
to follow. In each case the will must remain mute. For as distinguishable from love. The will no longer resists desire
soon as it becomes active, the ego asserts itself and offers but becomes wedded to it, fmding rest and repose in a fulfrl
resistance to love. Love comes to us from outside ; it has no ment so intimate as to leave no room for will.
need of the will, and indeed renders it impotent and useless. But does not this same antagonism between will and
And so in human love, the will always puts up a struggle desire which appears to be for us a psychological law exist
and is often defeated ; or, if it succeeds in holding its own, it also between will and love? Should we not say in fact that
is because it rises to the level of true heroism. In divine love the will is that part of ourselves which accepts responsibility
it resists the impulsion of grace, and often successfully, as for our fate; while love on the other hand is a power of
though grace itself depended for its efficacy on the interior attraction exercised by the object of our love, depending
consent which the will in such cases refuses to give. These merely on our sensitive nature, that is on our aptitude to feel
two opposite effects of the will seem to demonstrate its in and respond to the attraction? Now this very sensibility is a
dependence in regard to love. When it strives against instinct gift which varies in different individuals. How is it possible
andagainst grace, the will is exerting its independent power ; for to quicken love where it is mute : and how transmute into
in the one case it declines to accept anything from nature, while love the hostility or the hatred our senses sometimes feel?
in the other it refuses the help that is offered from on high. It is true that love catmot be created ; and our very effort to
8
100 The· Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales IOI
make good its absence makes this absence seem even more when, in times of crisis, the will fights against love and
complete and irremediable. Take the fundamental precept of resists it, what happens (when only the love of the senses is
the Christian religion: ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as involved) is that the will invokes and seeks to be united to
thyself'. This simple command to love urges us through an infinite love; and, when divine grace is involved, the will
act of our will to direct towards others the love of ourselves seeks to identify itself with the first impulses of love, and to
which is a law of all human nature. Is not this a species of fix them on the particular objects of its desire.
challenge which, if met and answered, will transfuse our It is then from love that the will receives its strength, and
whole life with supematural light ? from the will that love derives its weakness ; and now we
We do well to approach the consideration of vvill and love can see what is the bond uniting them. Will is nothing with
at one and the same time; of will, which resides uniquely in out love, for by love it is set in motion and stirred to action:
an activity proper to us, and which is the very centre of our without love it would be powerless. For what end could it
being, making us what we are-an activity that no other set before itself, if it were of its nature indifferent to that end?
person can exercise in our place ; and of love on the other How then could it rouse itself from inactivity? Whence
hand, which is like a gift that is bestowed on us. By such could it derive even the possibility of constant renewal it
a gift, instead of being enclosed within ourselves, we become possesses ? The will in fact borrows from love all the strength
united with another person and in principle even with it has at its command ; though it has the power to use and
Absolute Being with whom our existence is bound up and discipline that strength. And so we see how the will, in an
in whose Being we do no more than participate. Love trans eager pursuit of enjoyment, sometimes devotes its whole
ports us beyond ourselves ; it is like an inspiration that is attention to created things, forgetting that in these things
constandy being renewed, a power that is always present, there is nothing worthy oflove except the act oflove which
sustaining us. But does not will also oblige us to go out of created them; . while at other times it gives rein to all the
ourselves as though we found nothing within us that was powers of love, and mounts beyond created things to the
capable of satisfying us? And, inversely, is it not we who Infinite Source of Love, the abiding principle of their life
love? And must we not therefore say that love reveals our and unity. It is not enough to say that we can create nothing
secret essence and even the very heart of our being? For is save through love; we must go further and say that to love
it possible to will anything if we do not first love it? And is to co-operate in the very act of creation. And this is the
where love is present, do we not i n the very act of willing reason why it is the same thing to love God who is love and
pass beyond will as if it were transcended and no longer to love our neighbour as ourself, that is to say with the
needed ? But must there not be within us a point at which identical love by which God calls us both, our neighbour and
our most profound act of will passes into love in its most ourselves, into existence.
hidden depth ? In periods of aridity, when we can only make We are now able to solve all the difficulties that are raised
acts of will without any feeling of love for the object of our about the impossibility ofloving at all, and the contradiction
willing, our will tries of its own strength to supply the love that is said to be inherent in the expression 'the will to love' .
that is lacking. It is a kind of imitation or quest of love. But For love is the very heart o f our existence, the stuff o f our
100 The· Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales IOI
make good its absence makes this absence seem even more when, in times of crisis, the will fights against love and
complete and irremediable. Take the fundamental precept of resists it, what happens (when only the love of the senses is
the Christian religion: ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as involved) is that the will invokes and seeks to be united to
thyself'. This simple command to love urges us through an infinite love; and, when divine grace is involved, the will
act of our will to direct towards others the love of ourselves seeks to identify itself with the first impulses of love, and to
which is a law of all human nature. Is not this a species of fix them on the particular objects of its desire.
challenge which, if met and answered, will transfuse our It is then from love that the will receives its strength, and
whole life with supematural light ? from the will that love derives its weakness ; and now we
We do well to approach the consideration of vvill and love can see what is the bond uniting them. Will is nothing with
at one and the same time; of will, which resides uniquely in out love, for by love it is set in motion and stirred to action:
an activity proper to us, and which is the very centre of our without love it would be powerless. For what end could it
being, making us what we are-an activity that no other set before itself, if it were of its nature indifferent to that end?
person can exercise in our place ; and of love on the other How then could it rouse itself from inactivity? Whence
hand, which is like a gift that is bestowed on us. By such could it derive even the possibility of constant renewal it
a gift, instead of being enclosed within ourselves, we become possesses ? The will in fact borrows from love all the strength
united with another person and in principle even with it has at its command ; though it has the power to use and
Absolute Being with whom our existence is bound up and discipline that strength. And so we see how the will, in an
in whose Being we do no more than participate. Love trans eager pursuit of enjoyment, sometimes devotes its whole
ports us beyond ourselves ; it is like an inspiration that is attention to created things, forgetting that in these things
constandy being renewed, a power that is always present, there is nothing worthy oflove except the act oflove which
sustaining us. But does not will also oblige us to go out of created them; . while at other times it gives rein to all the
ourselves as though we found nothing within us that was powers of love, and mounts beyond created things to the
capable of satisfying us? And, inversely, is it not we who Infinite Source of Love, the abiding principle of their life
love? And must we not therefore say that love reveals our and unity. It is not enough to say that we can create nothing
secret essence and even the very heart of our being? For is save through love; we must go further and say that to love
it possible to will anything if we do not first love it? And is to co-operate in the very act of creation. And this is the
where love is present, do we not i n the very act of willing reason why it is the same thing to love God who is love and
pass beyond will as if it were transcended and no longer to love our neighbour as ourself, that is to say with the
needed ? But must there not be within us a point at which identical love by which God calls us both, our neighbour and
our most profound act of will passes into love in its most ourselves, into existence.
hidden depth ? In periods of aridity, when we can only make We are now able to solve all the difficulties that are raised
acts of will without any feeling of love for the object of our about the impossibility ofloving at all, and the contradiction
willing, our will tries of its own strength to supply the love that is said to be inherent in the expression 'the will to love' .
that is lacking. It is a kind of imitation or quest of love. But For love is the very heart o f our existence, the stuff o f our
102 The Meaning ofHoliness St. Fra11cis de Sales 103
being. It is through an act oflove that we come into existence
being immured in the cavern of their own conceit, are con
and are endowed with the power to love. How can we
tent to know nothing of the infinite reality of love save
explain our attachment to life i n general and to our own
through impulses at once extinguished by a1110U� propr:.
individual life except through our love for the Supreme
There is in the will an aspiration towards sclf-suffiaency ; 1t
Being by whom we caught up and with who� we arc
arc
may be Wlaware of love or even despise it; although it is
always co-operating? It should therefore not s�rpnse us that
love which sustains the will in all, even the least of those
love which is our very essence, appears sometunes to come
activities which lead it to suppose it can take the place oflove.
fro �
outside as a gift bestowed on us; while at other times
. It may happen too, when love has won the contest, tha� the
it seems to be born within us, though it seeks an abiding city
will may fail to recognize its proper presence, for the will so
elsewhere. It is not merely that love is the living principle
espouses its activity as to identify itselfwith it. But the things
of the universe of creatures; it is also because self can only
we desire most ardently are those we love most deeply.
fmd itself by putting off and by transcending its own limits.
When love is absent, the will is incapable of action and de
:U
It is incapable of a separate existence, and it can o y truly : �
prived of efficacy : it is a power without activity. et w tho�t
be said to be in itself when it has gone forth from Itself; for
will, love would be like an instinct or a grace rmposmg 1ts
its centre can be nothing less than the centre of the universe.
law on us without our being able to tum it into an act proper
Love consists precisely in that interior movement by which
to us-an act issuing from the depths of our personal being
we seek ourselves by escaping from ourselves, and find our
and character and engaging our attention and responsibility.
selves by losing muselves. We realize the intimacy of our
Yet we recognize ourselves less in the acts of will we exe't
self-awareness only in our awareness of all that transcends us. �
than in the love we experience. All our mental effort lS
Wc identify the source of our own existence with the com
directed towards the establishment of a harmony between
mon source of all other existing things ; and attain the per
cur acts of will and of love. The proper work of the will is
fection of our freedom in our affirmation of the whole work
in the ordering of our love; for the will dictates the consent
of creation, that is of the first creative act.
or the refusal we o-ive to love. It regulates the course of love
But love is not love unless we make it ours by an act of
which the accomplishment depends on us. The will, which
gll
and must be vi ant to keep its flame alive and prevent it
from being diverted to objects which may allure but can
can never be a substitute for love, must discover and adhere
never satisfy it. Such objects are worthy of being loved only
to its object; otherwise love would never be wholly ours.
in the lio-ht of the Infinite Love which sustains the will itself
I;)
Every soul must enter into the depths of love and mak.e lo�c and in which, once found, it reaches fulfilment.
its own. Love must ever be sought and willed, and It will
continue to be an obscure and inoperative power within us ill
w1til we tum our inward glance upon it. Those who com Such is, for St. Francis de Sales, the meaning of that love
plain that they cannot love are those who are content to of God which may be said to include within itself all other
remain on the surface of life, allowing themselves to be forms of love; and which instead of discrediting these other
diverted by the outward appearances of things; or those who, forms, justifies their existence and supplies their rule of
102 The Meaning ofHoliness St. Fra11cis de Sales 103
being. It is through an act oflove that we come into existence
being immured in the cavern of their own conceit, are con
and are endowed with the power to love. How can we
tent to know nothing of the infinite reality of love save
explain our attachment to life i n general and to our own
through impulses at once extinguished by a1110U� propr:.
individual life except through our love for the Supreme
There is in the will an aspiration towards sclf-suffiaency ; 1t
Being by whom we caught up and with who� we arc
arc
may be Wlaware of love or even despise it; although it is
always co-operating? It should therefore not s�rpnse us that
love which sustains the will in all, even the least of those
love which is our very essence, appears sometunes to come
activities which lead it to suppose it can take the place oflove.
fro �
outside as a gift bestowed on us; while at other times
. It may happen too, when love has won the contest, tha� the
it seems to be born within us, though it seeks an abiding city
will may fail to recognize its proper presence, for the will so
elsewhere. It is not merely that love is the living principle
espouses its activity as to identify itselfwith it. But the things
of the universe of creatures; it is also because self can only
we desire most ardently are those we love most deeply.
fmd itself by putting off and by transcending its own limits.
When love is absent, the will is incapable of action and de
:U
It is incapable of a separate existence, and it can o y truly : �
prived of efficacy : it is a power without activity. et w tho�t
be said to be in itself when it has gone forth from Itself; for
will, love would be like an instinct or a grace rmposmg 1ts
its centre can be nothing less than the centre of the universe.
law on us without our being able to tum it into an act proper
Love consists precisely in that interior movement by which
to us-an act issuing from the depths of our personal being
we seek ourselves by escaping from ourselves, and find our
and character and engaging our attention and responsibility.
selves by losing muselves. We realize the intimacy of our
Yet we recognize ourselves less in the acts of will we exe't
self-awareness only in our awareness of all that transcends us. �
than in the love we experience. All our mental effort lS
Wc identify the source of our own existence with the com
directed towards the establishment of a harmony between
mon source of all other existing things ; and attain the per
cur acts of will and of love. The proper work of the will is
fection of our freedom in our affirmation of the whole work
in the ordering of our love; for the will dictates the consent
of creation, that is of the first creative act.
or the refusal we o-ive to love. It regulates the course of love
But love is not love unless we make it ours by an act of
which the accomplishment depends on us. The will, which
gll
and must be vi ant to keep its flame alive and prevent it
from being diverted to objects which may allure but can
can never be a substitute for love, must discover and adhere
never satisfy it. Such objects are worthy of being loved only
to its object; otherwise love would never be wholly ours.
in the lio-ht of the Infinite Love which sustains the will itself
I;)
Every soul must enter into the depths of love and mak.e lo�c and in which, once found, it reaches fulfilment.
its own. Love must ever be sought and willed, and It will
continue to be an obscure and inoperative power within us ill
w1til we tum our inward glance upon it. Those who com Such is, for St. Francis de Sales, the meaning of that love
plain that they cannot love are those who are content to of God which may be said to include within itself all other
remain on the surface of life, allowing themselves to be forms of love; and which instead of discrediting these other
diverted by the outward appearances of things; or those who, forms, justifies their existence and supplies their rule of
!04 The Meaning of Holiness St. Frmzcis de Sales 105
action. There is, it is true, a love ofcupidity that looks only for passions may enter. If love cannot be separated from desire,
gain; but it is a love which we have caught and diverted it must at least remove its sting. Love alone can bring peace
from its proper end. True love, on the contrary, is a love of of heart, which does not mean the absence of all desire, but
bertevolence; our love for others must be either for the good the ability always to find the presence within us of the object
they already possess, or for the good we bring to them. Love of our desire. This can only be true of the love of God and of
is always disinterested: 'it draws out the self' and trans all things in God.
forms it into the object loved. We love God for Himself and Love is the very life of our heart. 'And even as the weights I
not for our own sake, that 'His kingdom may come'. To give movement to all the mobile parts of a clock, so does
live and to love are all one, for to love is to create; and he love give its impulse to all the movements of the soul.' And
�
:V o loves can only will and create that w¥ch is good. Now
again : 'All our affections follow our love'. We know that
It IS
because love comes from God and returns to Him that for St. Francis de Sales affection alone has value. Or rather
it bears within itself the character of infinity: to grow is of for him as for some modern thinkers, it is affection, precisely
its essence. This is the obvious explanation of the paradox in as it proceeds from love, which weighs and measures the
St. Matthew 1 : 'If a man is rich, gifts will be made to him, worth of all created things. For all things in the world arc no
and his riches will abound ; if he is poor, even the little he has more than occasions, vehicles, instruments or symbols oflove.
will be taken from him'. Love itself is the secret of souls, a dialogue without words
� �
t is o the nature oflove to bridge the gap which separates which never ceases, and which only they who love have ears
fimte bemgs one from another. And how can it do so save to hear. Those who love one another do not differ in outward
by bridging the other gap which separates each one from the showing from those who are indifferent; their actions are like
Infinite Being who gives existence and life to all? For love those of everyone else; their speech is commonplace or in
is always one with its object, while desire continually pursues significant. But their words have an interior echo to which
an ever-receding end. Love is the atmosphere in which the all other ears are deaf and which has reality for them alone. 1
soul breathes, the space wherein it moves, the garden of They seem to shroud their very conversation in silence so
paradise where man was not able to dwell. It is like a desire that they alone can hear it. Far from seeking to leave their
forever renewed and never sated by fulfilment : ' a desire that mark on the things that surround them, they seem to pass
is always content and a contentment that is always desired'. through them without leaving even a trace. Outward ap
Yct love is born in us with desire. The soul may be said pearances fade away, leaving only their meaning behind. The
to have at once ' the desire for love and the love of desire' . interest of lovers is in the things that lie beyond: their life is
Like desire love is a wound, a painful incision through which in a universe of the spirit-a world invisible. For them the
it flows away, like the precious resin called myrrh. Jesus, world of things has virtually ceased to be; its existence is
through love, became sorrowful unto death ; and He has known only through certain intimations not sensed by others,
taught us that love fulfils itself in sacrifice. But the wound by which they are stirred and transported into a paradise
love makes in our flesh opens a way through which all the where their souls delight in their proper essence as though
1 ... they were no longer bound and imprisoned by the body.
Xlll. 12,
!04 The Meaning of Holiness St. Frmzcis de Sales 105
action. There is, it is true, a love ofcupidity that looks only for passions may enter. If love cannot be separated from desire,
gain; but it is a love which we have caught and diverted it must at least remove its sting. Love alone can bring peace
from its proper end. True love, on the contrary, is a love of of heart, which does not mean the absence of all desire, but
bertevolence; our love for others must be either for the good the ability always to find the presence within us of the object
they already possess, or for the good we bring to them. Love of our desire. This can only be true of the love of God and of
is always disinterested: 'it draws out the self' and trans all things in God.
forms it into the object loved. We love God for Himself and Love is the very life of our heart. 'And even as the weights I
not for our own sake, that 'His kingdom may come'. To give movement to all the mobile parts of a clock, so does
live and to love are all one, for to love is to create; and he love give its impulse to all the movements of the soul.' And
�
:V o loves can only will and create that w¥ch is good. Now
again : 'All our affections follow our love'. We know that
It IS
because love comes from God and returns to Him that for St. Francis de Sales affection alone has value. Or rather
it bears within itself the character of infinity: to grow is of for him as for some modern thinkers, it is affection, precisely
its essence. This is the obvious explanation of the paradox in as it proceeds from love, which weighs and measures the
St. Matthew 1 : 'If a man is rich, gifts will be made to him, worth of all created things. For all things in the world arc no
and his riches will abound ; if he is poor, even the little he has more than occasions, vehicles, instruments or symbols oflove.
will be taken from him'. Love itself is the secret of souls, a dialogue without words
� �
t is o the nature oflove to bridge the gap which separates which never ceases, and which only they who love have ears
fimte bemgs one from another. And how can it do so save to hear. Those who love one another do not differ in outward
by bridging the other gap which separates each one from the showing from those who are indifferent; their actions are like
Infinite Being who gives existence and life to all? For love those of everyone else; their speech is commonplace or in
is always one with its object, while desire continually pursues significant. But their words have an interior echo to which
an ever-receding end. Love is the atmosphere in which the all other ears are deaf and which has reality for them alone. 1
soul breathes, the space wherein it moves, the garden of They seem to shroud their very conversation in silence so
paradise where man was not able to dwell. It is like a desire that they alone can hear it. Far from seeking to leave their
forever renewed and never sated by fulfilment : ' a desire that mark on the things that surround them, they seem to pass
is always content and a contentment that is always desired'. through them without leaving even a trace. Outward ap
Yct love is born in us with desire. The soul may be said pearances fade away, leaving only their meaning behind. The
to have at once ' the desire for love and the love of desire' . interest of lovers is in the things that lie beyond: their life is
Like desire love is a wound, a painful incision through which in a universe of the spirit-a world invisible. For them the
it flows away, like the precious resin called myrrh. Jesus, world of things has virtually ceased to be; its existence is
through love, became sorrowful unto death ; and He has known only through certain intimations not sensed by others,
taught us that love fulfils itself in sacrifice. But the wound by which they are stirred and transported into a paradise
love makes in our flesh opens a way through which all the where their souls delight in their proper essence as though
1 ... they were no longer bound and imprisoned by the body.
Xlll. 12,
106 The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales !07
The world itself is no more than the birthplace and the cradle perfect love is not conscious of itself and takes no delight in
of love. But love always has God for its object. It follows itsel£ Samson, whose name was ' Strength', was never con
that in love all the powers of the soul come into action and scious of the supernatural strength with which God endowed
commingle. When love acts in the understanding it begets him at times. God never does anything in vain : He gives us ]
,
contemplation, but when it acts in the will it begets com strength and courage only when we are in need of them. '
munion. Our sole task therefore must be to found the prac The important thing is not that we should be conscious
tice of all our virtues and our actions on the principle oflove of such gifts but that we should make the right use of
alone. Love unites all our interior powers and does away with them. We must even learn to distinguish between God
the need for their separate action, which is no longer of any Himself and our awareness of Him. One who is about to
avail, for love crowns and fulfils that effort on another plane. suffer martyrdom is not necessarily thinking of God even at
Love dwells in. the 'fine point of the soul'. We know the use such a moment.
that has been made since the days of St. Francis de Sales of
IV
this concept of the fine point of the soul, where self, now
exercising its most rarefied activity, ceases to be a power It is especially this interior peace that St. Francis would
divided against itself, and is rid of all the preoccupations and have us strive to achieve ; for it is the sign of our union with
cares that had hitherto occupied its attention. It is now able God-a sign not of inertia but of strength of soul. The ideals
at a single bound to go beyond the world. But at the fine he exalts are precisely those most needed in our day: those
point of the soul, which lacks material dimension, and where we have perhaps ceased any longer to pursue. He seeks to
love must rule, what can constitute the perfect act we ask of root out from our souls the anxiety that some are inclined to
it save only simple consent to the gift that has been offered ? treat as the essence of our self-hood, of an isolated being
Here is perhaps the essence of the act oflove. 'What hast thou whose 'vill is to rely only on itself though it finds in itself
that thou hast not received ?'1 From ·God we have received nothing but reasons for despair. The sole concern of St.
even the power to consent to His gifts. Our co-operation has Francis is to relieve our suffering and to help us to endure it;
its source in the working of His grace and our free will acting while modern thinkers seek rather to accentuate the bitter
together, and our freedom consists rather in the ability to ness of life and to prove that our suffering is in fact till
withhold our consent than to give it. Hence the experience endurable. By stressing our suffering such thinkers imagine
that each of us has had throughout our life, namely that we they exalt us: to accept the least consolation, they tell us,
seem to be doing least when in reality we are doing most. would be to compromise our dignity. Even the union of the
Hence also that paradox so often to be found in the teaching soul with God is said to be made in fear and anguish as though
of St. Francis de Sales when he invites us to sleep the sleep we were ready to repeat the primitive avowal : 'Of what use
of love in perfect tranquillity of soul. When one who is at is any God to us unless we fear Him?' But this is to overlook
prayer becomes conscious that he is praying, it is clear that the £1.ct that the evolution of all religious thought, in the
he is no longer recollected in his prayer ; in the same way history both of the human race and of the individual con
1I Cor. iv. 7 (Douay). sists precisely in the transformation of a God we fear into a
106 The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales !07
The world itself is no more than the birthplace and the cradle perfect love is not conscious of itself and takes no delight in
of love. But love always has God for its object. It follows itsel£ Samson, whose name was ' Strength', was never con
that in love all the powers of the soul come into action and scious of the supernatural strength with which God endowed
commingle. When love acts in the understanding it begets him at times. God never does anything in vain : He gives us ]
,
contemplation, but when it acts in the will it begets com strength and courage only when we are in need of them. '
munion. Our sole task therefore must be to found the prac The important thing is not that we should be conscious
tice of all our virtues and our actions on the principle oflove of such gifts but that we should make the right use of
alone. Love unites all our interior powers and does away with them. We must even learn to distinguish between God
the need for their separate action, which is no longer of any Himself and our awareness of Him. One who is about to
avail, for love crowns and fulfils that effort on another plane. suffer martyrdom is not necessarily thinking of God even at
Love dwells in. the 'fine point of the soul'. We know the use such a moment.
that has been made since the days of St. Francis de Sales of
IV
this concept of the fine point of the soul, where self, now
exercising its most rarefied activity, ceases to be a power It is especially this interior peace that St. Francis would
divided against itself, and is rid of all the preoccupations and have us strive to achieve ; for it is the sign of our union with
cares that had hitherto occupied its attention. It is now able God-a sign not of inertia but of strength of soul. The ideals
at a single bound to go beyond the world. But at the fine he exalts are precisely those most needed in our day: those
point of the soul, which lacks material dimension, and where we have perhaps ceased any longer to pursue. He seeks to
love must rule, what can constitute the perfect act we ask of root out from our souls the anxiety that some are inclined to
it save only simple consent to the gift that has been offered ? treat as the essence of our self-hood, of an isolated being
Here is perhaps the essence of the act oflove. 'What hast thou whose 'vill is to rely only on itself though it finds in itself
that thou hast not received ?'1 From ·God we have received nothing but reasons for despair. The sole concern of St.
even the power to consent to His gifts. Our co-operation has Francis is to relieve our suffering and to help us to endure it;
its source in the working of His grace and our free will acting while modern thinkers seek rather to accentuate the bitter
together, and our freedom consists rather in the ability to ness of life and to prove that our suffering is in fact till
withhold our consent than to give it. Hence the experience endurable. By stressing our suffering such thinkers imagine
that each of us has had throughout our life, namely that we they exalt us: to accept the least consolation, they tell us,
seem to be doing least when in reality we are doing most. would be to compromise our dignity. Even the union of the
Hence also that paradox so often to be found in the teaching soul with God is said to be made in fear and anguish as though
of St. Francis de Sales when he invites us to sleep the sleep we were ready to repeat the primitive avowal : 'Of what use
of love in perfect tranquillity of soul. When one who is at is any God to us unless we fear Him?' But this is to overlook
prayer becomes conscious that he is praying, it is clear that the £1.ct that the evolution of all religious thought, in the
he is no longer recollected in his prayer ; in the same way history both of the human race and of the individual con
1I Cor. iv. 7 (Douay). sists precisely in the transformation of a God we fear into a
108 The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales 109
God we love: a God in whom all fear is cast out, except the love of God as from love of ourselves.' Tlus is why 'some
fear which is born of love. souls are so busy thinking about what they have to do that
But how are we to arrive at this perfect peace of soul they never have time to do anything '. There is in us a life
which is the very mark of the presence of God? No one according to nature and a life according to the spirit-that is
possesses it naturally and it is far from easy to attain. It can the life of grace. The opposition between these two lives
only be achieved by an interior discipline which we must be needs to be eliminated, so that the life of nature, instead of
careful to practise. Must we then despise those whose souls being an obstacle, may become a means to the life of grace.
arc untroubled? We must first ascertain whether their calm We must learn to be patient in regard to those events which
is due to a lack of sensibility; or whether their sensibility is do not depend upon us and arc mcrc1y transient. There is in
sustained by a Jove so active and buoyant that nothing can us a state of attention, which is an act of the will-a readiness
disturb it. It is surprising that St. Francis should urge us so to accept whatever may happen. In our interior 1ifc we must
strongly to cultivate detachment, and that he should relate learn to accept periods of aridity and of consolation, of
detachment so closely to love as to make them seem indistin tedium and dejection, as well as periods of spiritual insight
guishable. Yet there is a species of detachment which is at the and progress, for all help us equally to forget ourselves and
same time the instrument and the effect oflove; for we must to put all our hope in God. Wc must ask nothing and refuse I
love nothin0'
0 save the will of God; and in relation to His will nothing, and put tlus precept into practice even in our suffer
all particular things arc matters of indifference. All we a�e ing. And n
i regard to our passions we must not be cast down
bidden to do is 'not to violate the law of detachment 111 when we feel their assault within us; for all depends on our
things which arc themselves indifferent'. We must seek to attitude towards them. It is vain to try and get rid of them :
dissolve our will in the will of God, for it is through the our duty is to control and make usc of them (and here we
dissolution of our own will that we achieve detachment. have a foreshadowing of Cartesian thought). We are not
The heart of one whose will is wholly united to the will of masters of the movements of nature ; we cannot prevent our
God has no longer any occasion to make a choice. He is of emotions from rising within us, or restrain the blood from
all men the most detached ; and as St. John of the Cross has mounting to our cheeks ; that measure of control we shall
taught us, he who is most detached is at the same time most never achieve. But in the fmc point of our soul we must
rich: possessing nothing, he possesses all things. always preserve a pure intention; and when passion or pre
But we cannot so order things that our bodies shall not judice makes itself felt in the interior part of our soul
be a burden, and that our passions shall not stir in us, and that ' we must pay no more attention than passers-by would do
our individual will shall not habitually set itself against the to dogs barking in the distance'. Flashes of pride must simply
will of God. That has been the condition of our nature since be ignored : we cannot repel them by 'force of arms'. And
the Fall ; and we must accordingly learn to accept and endure speaking broadly 'when we reach a point where discord is
it. When we are distressed by our lack of perfection it is to inevitable, we must not break the strings but relax the tension
be feared that pride may often be the cause of our distress. when we become conscious of dissonance; and give car to
' Our grief that we are- imperfect springs not so much from detect the source of disharmony, tightening or slackening the
108 The Meaning of Holiness St. Francis de Sales 109
God we love: a God in whom all fear is cast out, except the love of God as from love of ourselves.' Tlus is why 'some
fear which is born of love. souls are so busy thinking about what they have to do that
But how are we to arrive at this perfect peace of soul they never have time to do anything '. There is in us a life
which is the very mark of the presence of God? No one according to nature and a life according to the spirit-that is
possesses it naturally and it is far from easy to attain. It can the life of grace. The opposition between these two lives
only be achieved by an interior discipline which we must be needs to be eliminated, so that the life of nature, instead of
careful to practise. Must we then despise those whose souls being an obstacle, may become a means to the life of grace.
arc untroubled? We must first ascertain whether their calm We must learn to be patient in regard to those events which
is due to a lack of sensibility; or whether their sensibility is do not depend upon us and arc mcrc1y transient. There is in
sustained by a Jove so active and buoyant that nothing can us a state of attention, which is an act of the will-a readiness
disturb it. It is surprising that St. Francis should urge us so to accept whatever may happen. In our interior 1ifc we must
strongly to cultivate detachment, and that he should relate learn to accept periods of aridity and of consolation, of
detachment so closely to love as to make them seem indistin tedium and dejection, as well as periods of spiritual insight
guishable. Yet there is a species of detachment which is at the and progress, for all help us equally to forget ourselves and
same time the instrument and the effect oflove; for we must to put all our hope in God. Wc must ask nothing and refuse I
love nothin0'
0 save the will of God; and in relation to His will nothing, and put tlus precept into practice even in our suffer
all particular things arc matters of indifference. All we a�e ing. And n
i regard to our passions we must not be cast down
bidden to do is 'not to violate the law of detachment 111 when we feel their assault within us; for all depends on our
things which arc themselves indifferent'. We must seek to attitude towards them. It is vain to try and get rid of them :
dissolve our will in the will of God, for it is through the our duty is to control and make usc of them (and here we
dissolution of our own will that we achieve detachment. have a foreshadowing of Cartesian thought). We are not
The heart of one whose will is wholly united to the will of masters of the movements of nature ; we cannot prevent our
God has no longer any occasion to make a choice. He is of emotions from rising within us, or restrain the blood from
all men the most detached ; and as St. John of the Cross has mounting to our cheeks ; that measure of control we shall
taught us, he who is most detached is at the same time most never achieve. But in the fmc point of our soul we must
rich: possessing nothing, he possesses all things. always preserve a pure intention; and when passion or pre
But we cannot so order things that our bodies shall not judice makes itself felt in the interior part of our soul
be a burden, and that our passions shall not stir in us, and that ' we must pay no more attention than passers-by would do
our individual will shall not habitually set itself against the to dogs barking in the distance'. Flashes of pride must simply
will of God. That has been the condition of our nature since be ignored : we cannot repel them by 'force of arms'. And
the Fall ; and we must accordingly learn to accept and endure speaking broadly 'when we reach a point where discord is
it. When we are distressed by our lack of perfection it is to inevitable, we must not break the strings but relax the tension
be feared that pride may often be the cause of our distress. when we become conscious of dissonance; and give car to
' Our grief that we are- imperfect springs not so much from detect the source of disharmony, tightening or slackening the
St. Frands de Sales III
generosity which assures us we can d o everything i n Him
1
strings as our art enjoins'. To accept the situation in which
we find ourselves is the very condition of our spiritual life.
�
w o strengthens us'. Why spend time worrying over some
rmsfortune that may never happen ? And even if it does
1 We m�t be �ontent to remain willingly and at peace in the
happen, God will always give us the help and inspiration we
barque m wh1ch God ha� placed us to make the journey from
. need. 'Man is like a little child in leading-strings who can
this world to the next. We must certainly hate our faults,
never make a false step or suffer hurt if he throws himself
not in a spirit of resentment and agitation, but in tranquillity
into the arms of God; for God will always bear him up and
and peace of mind.' All devotion is false which is not suited
embrace him in His love.' It is unreasonable to think that
to our state of life. 'Be prepared to find weeds growing in
your soul and be ready to root them out, for as long as life
�
sin can ave as �uch power against charity as charity has
_
agamst sm. And m our worst sorrows and failures we must

lasts pride will never be entirely cast out. . . . Is it not better
still hold fast to ' the supreme consolation that the will of
to have thorns as well as roses in our garden than to have no
God is always done'.
roses in order to have no thorns ? '
W e must always strive to attain tranquillity and be pre v
pared to sacrifice everything rather than our peace of mind.
Such is the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales in which will
'This is the remedy I prescribe, and I always forbid excessive
�
an love are distinguished one from the other only to be
zeal' ; fo� such �xcessive zeal is an effect of pride. Pride may
.
even msmuate Itself into humility, which should be simple
�
urute . Love is will directed to what is right, though its
capacrty to err must always remain if it is to deserve
and peaceful, and never fretful or agitated. We should avoid
the name of will. And without this presence of will in the
excess of vigilance, for this interrupts the spontaneity of our
v�ry heart of love, ?ur responsibility and even our person
natural movements and is a sign of self-seeking rather than
ahty wo�d be abolished. There is in us a true 'monarchy '
piety. Nor should we worry unduly over the outcome of our
of the will. God would seem to have spoken to the will as
actions but always leave the issue in the hands of God. We
Pharaoh spoke to Joseph: 'Thou shalt have charge of my
must �ot stri:e to do more than we are able and must always
household and all my people shall obey thy word of com
be pat1ent w1th ourselves, bearing with our imperfections as
mand. No one shall move without thy permission.'1 But the
a means to perfection, 'keeping our heart detached and free,
will changes its quality according to the love with which it
not driving it too hard towards some good which is perhaps
is united; for there is a unity in love which stretches from
beyond our strength. . . . Why build castles in Spain if we
man to God and from the material to the spiritual. It is right
have to live in France ? . . . How foolish are those who dream
for us to love even our bodies since they arc part of our
of being martyred n i the Indies and yet neglect their duty in
person and the condition of our spiritual life. Our natural
the state oflife to which they have been called.' It is also good
inclinations must not be thwarted but sublimated. Now if
to avoid subtleties and to tackle boldly each thing as it comes ;
the love of God is the latest in the order of time among all
for most of our troubles arc more imaginary than real. Faith
the affections of the human heart (for St. Paul tells us that
and trust are all one; and the humility which makes us
1 Gen. xli. 40, 44·
conscious of our ineffectiveness has its counterpart in ' the
St. Frands de Sales III
generosity which assures us we can d o everything i n Him
1
strings as our art enjoins'. To accept the situation in which
we find ourselves is the very condition of our spiritual life.
�
w o strengthens us'. Why spend time worrying over some
rmsfortune that may never happen ? And even if it does
1 We m�t be �ontent to remain willingly and at peace in the
happen, God will always give us the help and inspiration we
barque m wh1ch God ha� placed us to make the journey from
. need. 'Man is like a little child in leading-strings who can
this world to the next. We must certainly hate our faults,
never make a false step or suffer hurt if he throws himself
not in a spirit of resentment and agitation, but in tranquillity
into the arms of God; for God will always bear him up and
and peace of mind.' All devotion is false which is not suited
embrace him in His love.' It is unreasonable to think that
to our state of life. 'Be prepared to find weeds growing in
your soul and be ready to root them out, for as long as life
�
sin can ave as �uch power against charity as charity has
_
agamst sm. And m our worst sorrows and failures we must

lasts pride will never be entirely cast out. . . . Is it not better
still hold fast to ' the supreme consolation that the will of
to have thorns as well as roses in our garden than to have no
God is always done'.
roses in order to have no thorns ? '
W e must always strive to attain tranquillity and be pre v
pared to sacrifice everything rather than our peace of mind.
Such is the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales in which will
'This is the remedy I prescribe, and I always forbid excessive
�
an love are distinguished one from the other only to be
zeal' ; fo� such �xcessive zeal is an effect of pride. Pride may
.
even msmuate Itself into humility, which should be simple
�
urute . Love is will directed to what is right, though its
capacrty to err must always remain if it is to deserve
and peaceful, and never fretful or agitated. We should avoid
the name of will. And without this presence of will in the
excess of vigilance, for this interrupts the spontaneity of our
v�ry heart of love, ?ur responsibility and even our person
natural movements and is a sign of self-seeking rather than
ahty wo�d be abolished. There is in us a true 'monarchy '
piety. Nor should we worry unduly over the outcome of our
of the will. God would seem to have spoken to the will as
actions but always leave the issue in the hands of God. We
Pharaoh spoke to Joseph: 'Thou shalt have charge of my
must �ot stri:e to do more than we are able and must always
household and all my people shall obey thy word of com
be pat1ent w1th ourselves, bearing with our imperfections as
mand. No one shall move without thy permission.'1 But the
a means to perfection, 'keeping our heart detached and free,
will changes its quality according to the love with which it
not driving it too hard towards some good which is perhaps
is united; for there is a unity in love which stretches from
beyond our strength. . . . Why build castles in Spain if we
man to God and from the material to the spiritual. It is right
have to live in France ? . . . How foolish are those who dream
for us to love even our bodies since they arc part of our
of being martyred n i the Indies and yet neglect their duty in
person and the condition of our spiritual life. Our natural
the state oflife to which they have been called.' It is also good
inclinations must not be thwarted but sublimated. Now if
to avoid subtleties and to tackle boldly each thing as it comes ;
the love of God is the latest in the order of time among all
for most of our troubles arc more imaginary than real. Faith
the affections of the human heart (for St. Paul tells us that
and trust are all one; and the humility which makes us
1 Gen. xli. 40, 44·
conscious of our ineffectiveness has its counterpart in ' the
II2 The Mean.ing of Holiness St. Francis de Sales IIJ
' natural life came first, then spiritual life'1 ) , this late-comer which the will needs only to consent. Will is the only road
inherits all authority, and is cherished and obeyed not only leading us from nature to grace. And it is easy to understand
by all the other inclinations of the soul but also by the under why love is defined as ' the weight of everything', and why
standing and the will. It is therefore a good sign when virtue it is always gentle, effortless, spiritual, serene and hidden, and
perfects our nature and does not constrain it. Virtue always why the law is 'not made for the just man' as St. Paul says,
takes natural inclinations as its instruments and transfigures for love is already in him. With love it must be all or nothing.
them. We fmd St. Francis de Sales using similes borrowed Love knows neither prisoners nor slaves. It is an infinity
from nature to symbolize the movements of grace; for these whose possession is always beyond us aud which ought to
movements have their beginning in nature, where the soul fill us not with uneasiness but with admiration. As each new
starts on its rerum to God. On this point St. Francis de Sales day dawns we ought to feel a thrill ofjoy at the thought of
differs widely from St. Francis of Assisi for whom the yet another day in which to love God. ' Night is as day when
created world is the immediate revelation of the countenance God is in our heart; but when He is absent day is as night.'
of God, the infinite and ever-present goodness of the creative
act.
But though there is continuity between human and divine
love, we realize the distance there is between loving God
through fthe love of a human being, and loving a human
being through our love of God; and between loving God
for His own sake, and loving ourselves because of God and
because we are made in the image of God. Love is like a
return to the very source of our existence. It is the perfection
of our will, the point where our will reaches its fulfilment
and is dissolved in the will of God. ' Our free will is never so
free as when it is a slave of the will of God, and is never so
arrogant as when it serves our own will; never has it such
fullness of life as when it dies to itself, and never is it so near
to death as when it lives only for self. ' We need not be
surprised to fmd that in its own development the will must
endeavour to elicit love ; that its sole task must be to increase
the measure of its love; it must do nothing save for love, and
all its labour and even death must proceed from love. But
how can the will elicit love unless it first receives it in the
form of grace ? Love is only another name for grace itself to
1r Cor. xv. 46.
II2 The Mean.ing of Holiness St. Francis de Sales IIJ
' natural life came first, then spiritual life'1 ) , this late-comer which the will needs only to consent. Will is the only road
inherits all authority, and is cherished and obeyed not only leading us from nature to grace. And it is easy to understand
by all the other inclinations of the soul but also by the under why love is defined as ' the weight of everything', and why
standing and the will. It is therefore a good sign when virtue it is always gentle, effortless, spiritual, serene and hidden, and
perfects our nature and does not constrain it. Virtue always why the law is 'not made for the just man' as St. Paul says,
takes natural inclinations as its instruments and transfigures for love is already in him. With love it must be all or nothing.
them. We fmd St. Francis de Sales using similes borrowed Love knows neither prisoners nor slaves. It is an infinity
from nature to symbolize the movements of grace; for these whose possession is always beyond us aud which ought to
movements have their beginning in nature, where the soul fill us not with uneasiness but with admiration. As each new
starts on its rerum to God. On this point St. Francis de Sales day dawns we ought to feel a thrill ofjoy at the thought of
differs widely from St. Francis of Assisi for whom the yet another day in which to love God. ' Night is as day when
created world is the immediate revelation of the countenance God is in our heart; but when He is absent day is as night.'
of God, the infinite and ever-present goodness of the creative
act.
But though there is continuity between human and divine
love, we realize the distance there is between loving God
through fthe love of a human being, and loving a human
being through our love of God; and between loving God
for His own sake, and loving ourselves because of God and
because we are made in the image of God. Love is like a
return to the very source of our existence. It is the perfection
of our will, the point where our will reaches its fulfilment
and is dissolved in the will of God. ' Our free will is never so
free as when it is a slave of the will of God, and is never so
arrogant as when it serves our own will; never has it such
fullness of life as when it dies to itself, and never is it so near
to death as when it lives only for self. ' We need not be
surprised to fmd that in its own development the will must
endeavour to elicit love ; that its sole task must be to increase
the measure of its love; it must do nothing save for love, and
all its labour and even death must proceed from love. But
how can the will elicit love unless it first receives it in the
form of grace ? Love is only another name for grace itself to
1r Cor. xv. 46.

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What are the main topics discussed in the text?

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How does the author describe the relationship between human and divine love?

How does the author describe the relationship between human and divine love?

'I'IIE MEANING OF

PANTHEON BOOKS INC.

PANTHEON BOOKS INC.

1. The saints in our midst I

2. The saint always goes to the limit of his

EPISCOPVS TITVl.A!IIS SOIIINNI\

4. A potential saint in each of us

5· The frontier ofthe material and the spiritual 8

7. Ignoring himself the saint becomes en-

8. Our Christian name and the infinite variety

g. The spiritualization of life through the

IO. The muon of the living and the dead on the

I I. From memory to the living idea which is

I2. The saint, the hero and the sage 23

13. The saint makes of the world a perpetual

1. The saints in our midst I

2. The saint always goes to the limit of his

EPISCOPVS TITVl.A!IIS SOIIINNI\

4. A potential saint in each of us

5· The frontier ofthe material and the spiritual 8

7. Ignoring himself the saint becomes en-

8. Our Christian name and the infinite variety

g. The spiritualization of life through the

IO. The muon of the living and the dead on the

I I. From memory to the living idea which is

I2. The saint, the hero and the sage 23

13. The saint makes of the world a perpetual

II. FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY

IV. ST. TERESA: THE UNION OF CONT.llMPI fi'I'ION fiNil

them as though they were all in heaven and able to bestow

II. FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY

IV. ST. TERESA: THE UNION OF CONT.llMPI fi'I'ION fiNil

them as though they were all in heaven and able to bestow

;md of tnking on a new and transCt'tldenl meaning. This

;md of tnking on a new and transCt'tldenl meaning. This

the opinion of others. The world in which we live and act

the opinion of others. The world in which we live and act

ON THE COMMON PLANE OF MEMORY

ON THE COMMON PLANE OF MEMORY

us in times of trial, prevaH

us in times of trial, prevaH

might well say that our very existence s

might well say that our very existence s

brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in­

N wishes to understand human nature than the effort

brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in­

N wishes to understand human nature than the effort

agamst sm. And m our worst sorrows and failures we must

agamst sm. And m our worst sorrows and failures we must

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brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in

brotherhood. Moreover the life of the cloister would be in