Sermon during the octave of the Feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin, September 10, 1620, regarding renunciation of the world, the flesh and self-will; Mary as "captainess" of the female sex in the warfare of renunciation, Mary as model of complete renunciation in the religious life, the perfect renunciation practiced by Our Lady from her infancy, and the renunciation practiced by St. Nicholas of Tolentino.[1]
Christian perfection is nothing other than a renunciation of the world, the flesh and self-will. This is a truth which has been stated so many, many times in Holy Scripture and by the ancient Fathers that it seems there is no need to repeat it. That great Father of the spiritual life, Cassian, speaking of this perfection, says that its base and foundation is simply a perfect renunciation of all human will. And St. Augustine, speaking of those who consecrate themselves to God in order to tend to this perfection, writes: "What are these people? Nothing but an assemblage of persons enrolled in the militia to war and fight against the world, the flesh and themselves."
Our gentle Lord and Saviour is the Head, Defender and Captain, not only of this army but also of each combatant. Now, although the Eternal Father has constituted and declared Him the Commanding Officer of this army [Ps. 2:6], and the one sovereign Captain of it, nevertheless there '' is so much gentleness and mercy in the Heart of our dear Master that He desired that others should share in the glory of being leaders in this militia. Especially was the sacred Virgin chosen to be the principal captainess[2] of the female sex, although Our Lord does not cease to be their absolute Master and Commanding Officer, and this in a sovereign degree. When God created Adam He made him father of all humankind, of men and of women equally. Nevertheless He created the woman, whom we call our mother Eve, as the captainess of the female sex. This does not mean that Adam failed to be the absolute head of both sexes. Oh no! But Eve shared in some manner the glory that Adam received.
Indeed, when God delivered the Israelites from Egypt to lead them into the Promised Land He placed them under the hand and guidance of Moses, who was named the captain and leader of this people. And when, by divine inspiration, he commanded his whole army to pass through the Red Sea to escape the fury and tyranny of Pharaoh who pursued it, the sea, separating, left the way dry and free for the Israelites and swallowed up and submerged the Egyptians [Ex. 14:26-31]. Seeing this, Moses entoned his beautiful canticle with an inconceivable interior feeling, accompanied by fifes, oboes, drums and flageolets.
But Sacred Scripture remarks that at the very same time Miriam, his sister, sang the same canticle with those of her sex, as their captainess and leader. They also had fifes and flageolets [Ex. l5;1-21]. It was not that Moses was not the ruler and head of the whole army, of the women equally as well as of the men, but that Miriam, his sister, shared in this glory since she was the leader of those of her own sex. This was not done only for the sake of decorum and propriety, but, as Scripture remarks, according to the order of God, who often showed by means of figures and examples the favors and graces He would bestow on the sacred Virgin, Our Lady.[3]
Now Divine Providence has permitted that while we are yet in the octave of the Nativity of this Holy Virgin, these young girls have requested to be received, one to the habit and the other to profession. Oh, how great is their enterprise! For it is a struggle and a continual warfare against the world, the flesh and themselves that they have undertaken under the standard and protection of our dearest Mistress. That is why we must consider how this holy Virgin triumphed valiantly over these three adversaries from her first entrance into this life, her holy nativity. Certainly this glorious Lady has been a mirror and an abridgment of Christian perfection; but though God allowed her to pass through all the states of life and degrees of perfection to serve as an example for all people, still is she the special model of the religious life.
In the beginning of her life she was subject to her mother. She remained with her family to show girls and children the honor and subjection they owe their parents and in what spirit they should live in their own homes. She was presented in the Temple in her youth, when only three years old,[4] to teach fathers and mothers the care they should take in rearing their children and with what affection they ought to instruct them in the fear of God and lead them to His service. In this she was also an example for young girls who consecrate themselves to the Divine Majesty. Then she was married, to be a mirror for the married, and finally a widow. Thus Divine Providence let her pass through all the states of life in order that all creatures might find in her, as in a sea of grace, what they need in order to form and adapt themselves to their state in life.
It is true nevertheless, as I have said, that she was the mirror of the religious life particularly; for from her birth she practiced most excellently that perfect renunciation of the world, the flesh and herself, in which Christian perfection consists. As to the world, at her birth the sacred Virgin made the most perfect and entire renunciation that could be made.
What is the world but an inordinate affection for material things, for life, for honors, dignities, high positions, self-esteem and such like baubles after which worldlings run and of which they become idolaters. I do not know how this has happened, but the world has entered so deeply into the heart of man that man has become the world and the world man. The ancient philosophers seemed to mean this when they called man a microcosm or little world. And St. Augustine, speaking of the world, said: "What is the world? It is nothing other than man; and man, he is nothing else but the world — as if he meant: Man has so placed and attached his affections to honors, wealth, dignities, high positions and self-esteem, that he has, for that reason, lost the name of man and has received that of the world. And the world has so powerfully attracted the affections and appetites of man to itself that it is no longer called the world, but man.
It is of this world or of these men that the great Apostle speaks when he writes: The world "did not know" God, and for that reason it "did not accept Him" [Jn. 1:10-11, 17:25; I Cor. 1:21, 2:6-8] nor wish to hear His laws — still less to receive and keep them, since they are entirely contrary to its own. On this subject Our Lord Himself said: "I do not pray," My Father, "for the world" with an efficacious prayer, for the world does not know Me and I do not know the world [Jn. 17:9]. O God! How difficult it is to be well detached from this world! Our affections are so entangled in it and our heart is so sullied from it that great care is needed to wash and cleanse it well if we do not want it to remain always sullied and disfigured. Some think they have already done much and have worked hard at the exercise of renunciation of and separation from the world — but alas! They discover that they were really deluded in this; for however little we examine ourselves, we find that we are very much apprentices, and we see that what we have done is nothing in comparison to what we should have done and what we ought to do.
This is why all the heads and founders of religious orders, in whom reigned the spirit of God, which governed and guided them in their enterprises, all began with this principle. The great St. Francis [of Assisi], entering a church, heard these words of the Gospel: Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and follow Me [Matt. 19:21]. He obeyed and began his Rule with this renunciation. St. Anthony, hearing the same words, left all things and did what these words required of him.
And that glorious St. Nicholas of Tolentino, whose feast we celebrate today, was converted when he heard a religious of St. Augustine preaching in church on these words of St. John the Evangelist: The world is passing away[5] [1 Jn. 2:17]. The preacher ardently exhorted the people not to fix their affections on its pomps and vanities, saying; I beg you, my very dear brothers, do not be attached to the world either in your heart or affections, for the heavens and the earth will pass away [Matt. 24:35; Rev. 21:1,4], with all that is found therein; what it presents to you makes but a brief appearance, but certainly they are only flowers which fade away and are already withered [Sir. 14:18; Is. 40:6; James 1:10-11]. If you choose to remain in the world, use the things found there, enjoy them and take what you require; but, for the love of God, do not fix your affections on them nor attach yourself to them so that you forget the heavenly and eternal goods for which you were created, for all these things will pass away [Cf. 1 Cor. 7:31]. The great St. Nicholas, hearing these words, left all, became a religious of St. Augustine, and lived and died holy.
It is true that it is a good deal to give up the world and withdraw from its bustle to enter religious life as these girls are doing; but certainly we must withdraw from it not only our bodies, but also our hearts. Some who enter monasteries retain an affection for honors, dignities, high places, distinctions and the pleasures of the world, and what they cannot possess in effect they possess in their hearts and desires. This is a great misfortune. On this point I must tell you something I remember having read.[6]
The good man Syncleticus was a great senator who gave up his position to become a monk; but what he no longer possessed in effect he possessed in his heart, and his thoughts wandered among delights, pleasures, honors and suchlike worldly tinsel. Knowing this, the great St. Basil wrote him a letter in which he addressed him in these terms: "Father Syncleticus, what have you done? ('Quid fecisti?') What are you doing, or what have you done? You left the world and your position as a senator to become a monk; but what have you done? At this moment you are neither senator nor monk. You are not a senator, since you left that position to become a monk; therefore it is no longer yours. You are not a monk, because your affections are running after the things of the world. Now you must not act like this, for to be a monk it is not enough to wear a monk's habit; you must unite your affections intimately to God[7] and live in perfect self-denial of the world and all that belongs to it." Do you see where Christian perfection begins? With this renunciation and self-denial.
O God, it is admirable how absolutely and perfectly the sacred Virgin, Our Lady and Mistress, made this renunciation at her nativity! Come close to her cradle, think of the virtues of this holy infant and you will find that she practiced them all to an eminent degree. Question the angels, the cherubim and seraphim, ask them if they are equal in perfection to this little girl, and they will tell you that she infinitely surpasses them. See them surround her cradle, and hear how, lost in wonder at the beauty of this Lady, they say these words of the Song of Songs: Who is this coming up from the desert, like a column of smoke laden with myrrh, with frankincense, and with the fragrant perfume of every exotic dust? [Song 3:6].
Then as they regard her a little more closely, ravished and beside themselves, they proceed in their admiration: Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops? [Song 6:10]. This girl is not yet glorified, but glory is promised to her; she awaits it, not in hope as others do, but with assurance. And thus they continue their praises.
There she was, that sacred and blessed Virgin, practicing all the virtues, but in an admirable manner that of renunciation of the world. For amid these praises and this exaltation see how she abases herself, not wishing to appear other than as a simple and ordinary infant, even though she had the use of reason from the very moment of her Conception.
I find three children who had the use of reason before their birth, but differently. The first is St. John the Baptist who was sanctified in his mother's womb, where he recognized Our Lord, "leapt for joy" at His coming, and adored Him [Lk. 1:41, 44]. Now this use of reason was not taken away from him, for God bestows His gifts absolutely, without any revocation or recall [Rom. 11:29]. When He gives His grace to a soul He gives it forever and never takes it away unless he to whom He granted it himself desires to lose it. It is the same with His other gifts, which are not taken away from us except through our own demerits.
The second child was our Saviour and Sovereign Master, who had the use of reason from the moment of His Incarnation. O God, may it never happen that the slightest doubt contrary to this be entertained by our understanding for so much as a moment! Now, His life was a life all holy and glorious, for His most blessed soul continually enjoyed the clear vision of the Divinity with which it was united from the moment of its creation.
The third child was the sacred Virgin, who is in the middle between those two. For she did not have the use of reason in the same manner as our Saviour; that belonged to Him alone. But she did have it in a more excellent manner than St. John the Baptist, since she was chosen for a dignity greater than that of this saint. It is true that St. John was to be the Precursor of the Son of God, but the sacred Virgin was chosen to be the Mother of God.
The great Apostle St. Paul, who is certainly admirable in all that he said, offered an argument by which we can understand how great is the dignity of the Mother of God: Is there an angel, even a seraphim, to whom the Eternal Father has said: "This one is My Son"[8] [Heb. 1:5]. Oh no! That applied only to our dear Saviour and Master who was His true and natural Son. And we can add; Is there any creature to whom the Son of God has said, "My Mother"? No, certainly, that was due to this Virgin alone, who had carried Him for nine months in her sacred womb. Let us conclude then, following this great saint, that the greatest title that can be given to the Holy Virgin is to name her Mother of God.
Now there can be no doubt that, being chosen for a higher dignity than that of St. John, she had the use of reason in a more excellent manner. We other poor people are born in the greatest misery imaginable, for in our infancy we are like animals that can neither talk nor reason. It is because of this that when philosophers are asked: "What is man?" they answer, "He is an animal who can reason." Aristotle said that bees are born as little larvae and then develop wings and finally become bees; but their king is not born in this manner: he is born as king. We are certainly similar, for we are born like little larvae, weak and powerless; but the sacred Virgin was born as our Queen, with the use of reason, and in this birth she already made the same renunciation she would later make with so much perfection.
And who will not marvel to see this heavenly infant in this cradle, capable of knowledge and of love, communicating with and cleaving to God, and in this adherence willing and accepting to be treated by everyone as a simple infant and in every way like unto others. O God! What a sacrifice of glory, pomp and worldly display is this! And concealed so perfectly that this marvel was in no way perceived! Infants are charming in their infancy and innocence, for they love nothing, are attached to nothing, know nothing about points of honour or reputation, or blame and contempt. They make as much of glass as of crystal, of copper as of gold, of imitation rubies as of precious ones. They will give up something very valuable for an apple. That is all lovable in infants; however it is not admirable, since they do not have the use of reason. But in the Holy Virgin, who, appearing as a little infant and acting in all ways as they do, had nevertheless the same power of communicating and of reasoning as when she died — O God, this is not only lovable and pleasing, but most admirable! This, then, was the first renunciation she made.
The second renunciation was that of the flesh. There is no doubt that this is still more difficult than the other, since it is of a higher degree. Many leave the world and even withdraw their affection from it, but have great difficulty in subduing the flesh. For this reason the great Apostle said; Beware of that mortal enemy that always accompanies you, and be on guard lest it seduce you [Rom. 7:23; Gal. 5:16-17]. What is this enemy of whom St. Paul speaks? It is the flesh which we carry about with us always, and whether we drink, eat or sleep, this flesh always accompanies us and tries to deceive us. For you see it is the most disloyal, most treacherous and perfidious enemy that can be named, and so the continual renunciation we must make of it is certainly most difficult. Great courage is necessary to undertake this struggle; but to encourage ourselves for it let us cast our eyes on our Head and Sovereign Captain, and on our captainess, the sacred Virgin.
As to Our Lord, He accomplished this abnegation of the flesh in a most excellent manner; His entire holy life was nothing but a continual mortification and renunciation of it. And although His sacred flesh was quite subject to the spirit and never rebelled, nevertheless He did not fail to mortify it, to give us an example and to teach us how we ought to treat our flesh which "lusts against the spirit." [Rom. 7:23; Gal. 5:16-17], The lesson which our dear Master gives us in this is that we should not transform the spirit into flesh and afterwards lead a bestial and subhuman life, but that we should transform our flesh into spirit to lead a life entirely spiritual and divine. This is achieved by means of mortification and continual renunciation. O God! If Our Lord treated His most holy flesh so harshly, He who had not a single bad inclination, shall we who have been so disloyal, treacherous and wicked, refuse and be slow to mortify it in order to subject it to the spirit? [Cf. 1 Pet. 3:18]. Considering what our Head and Captain has done, are we going to be cowardly soldiers, weak in courage?
The sacred Virgin made this renunciation of the flesh most perfectly in her cradle. It is true that little infants make a thousand acts of renunciation, for they are compelled to it in hundreds of ways; because of the very great care we take of them they are never free to follow their feelings and inclinations. See this poor little baby, he will hold an apple, and for fear lest he eat it and then become sick it is taken from him, and often forcefully. He wishes to stretch out his little arms — they are folded back. He wishes to play with his little feet — and we cover them up. He wishes to see the sunlight—but he is covered up for fear that he will look at it. He wants to stay awake and he is rocked to sleep. In short, he is contradicted in everything. Nevertheless, infants are certainly not to be praised for all this, for they have not the use of reason. But the sacred Virgin, who did have the use of reason in a very perfect manner, voluntarily endured all these mortifications and contradictions in her infancy. And this is how she made the second renunciation.
The glorious Father, St. Augustine, has always been happy in his children, both men and women religious. For they have all tried to follow and imitate him as closely as possible. At present we will speak only of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, his true and legitimate [spiritual] son. From the time this great saint became a religious until the end of his life, he renounced the flesh in a wholly admirable manner, treating his body so rigorously and with so much severity that in this particular point he should be admired rather than imitated.
That is what is practiced in religion. Thus, we come to religious life that we might crucify our flesh and our senses, and that is what these young girls are taught when they enter. We tell them they must crucify their eyes to see nothing, their ears to hear nothing, their tongues to say nothing. You will see a veil placed on their heads not only to teach them that they are dead to the world and its vanities, but also to remind them that henceforth they are to keep their eyes lowered and to look on the earth from which they are molded, to make it clear to them that they have come here to walk in a spirit of humility.
Now although these young girls aspire to Heaven as the place where the only Object of their heart is, nevertheless they are not told to raise their eyes to regard it but rather to look upon the earth where they do not wish to linger. In this they imitate pilots and oarsmen who, to guide their vessel well, do not look to the place where they wish to land but rather turn their back on it. Guiding their barque in this manner, they finally arrive safely. These souls do the same: Looking at the earth in order to humble and confound themselves they attain to Heaven, which is a most secure port. Their ears cannot be seen, so as to teach them that they ought to have them only to hear these words of the Sacred Spouse: Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear.
And what does He say? Forget your people and your father's house [Ps. 45:11]. What is signified by the silence they keep except that they have a tongue only to sing with Moses that beautiful canticle of the divine mercy[9] [Ex. 15:1-21], which has not only withdrawn them like the Israelites from the tyranny of Pharaoh, that is to say from the devil who held them in slavery and servitude, but has also saved them from being swallowed up in the waves of the Red Sea of their iniquities.
As to the third renunciation, which is the most important if all, namely self-renunciation, it is much more difficult than the other two. We can sometimes reach the perfection of the other two but where there is question of leaving oneself, that is to say, our own spirit, our own soul, our own judgment — even in good things which seem to us better than what has been ordered us — in order to subject ourselves in everything to the guidance of another, here is where there is question of giving up something that is good. Nevertheless this is the aim in religion, for in this consists Christian perfection; to die to self so perfectly that we can say with the Apostle; The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me [Gal. 2:20].
Now the practice of this renunciation ought to be continual, for as long as you live you will always find something of yourself to renounce. And this renunciation will be So much the more excellent as you make it with greater fervor. We must not grow weary in this work, for we ought to begin and end the spiritual life with the renunciation of our self-will. Do not deceive yourselves, then, on this point, for if you come into religion with your own spirit you will often be in trouble and interior agitation, since you will find here a spirit completely opposed to your own. It will resist your spirit at every turn until you are completely rid of self-will. Therefore you must be courageous and enter here with this determination. And, although you may suffer something, you will not take alarm, because it cannot be otherwise.
St. Paul speaks marvelously well of this renunciation when he says: The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. As if he had said: Although I am a man of flesh I do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit [Cf. Rom. 8:12-13]; and not according to my own spirit but according to that of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns in me. Now this great Apostle did not reach this perfect renunciation of self without having suffered many pains and much agitation. Scripture bears witness to this [2 Cor. 12:7,9-10]. Notice that this self-renunciation consists in giving up our own will, our own spirit, and submitting it to that of another. The angels became devils and stumbled into Hell because they did not wish to submit to God. For, although they did not have a human soul, nevertheless they did have their own spirit, and being unwilling to renounce it and make it subject and submissive to their Creator, they were miserably lost. It is true that all our happiness consists in this subjection of our own spirit, as on the contrary all our unhappiness comes from a lack of it.
Devout persons in the world to a certain extent make the first two renunciations of which we have spoken. But as to this one, certainly it is done only in religion. For although the laity renounce the world and the flesh and subject themselves to a certain degree, they always keep something back. They all reserve for themselves at least the liberty of choosing spiritual exercises. But in religion we renounce everything and submit ourselves in everything, since in giving up our liberty we renounce absolutely the choice of our exercises of devotion, to follow the course of the community.
The most holy Virgin made this last renunciation in her nativity in such a way that she never used her liberty. Consider well the whole course of her life and you will see nothing but continual subjection. She went to the Temple, but it was her parents who brought her there, for they had promised her to God. Shortly after, they gave her in marriage. See her leaving Nazareth to go to Bethlehem, her flight into Egypt, her return to Nazareth. In short, you will see in all her comings and goings only an admirable subjection and docility. She went so far as to see her Son and her God die on the wood of the Cross, remaining firm and standing at the foot of it, submitting herself to the Divine decree by adhering to the will of the Eternal Father. Not by compulsion, but of her own free will, she approved and consented to the death of Our Lord. She kissed a hundred thousand times the Cross to which He was attached, she embraced it and adored it. O God! What abnegation is this! It is true that the tenderly loving heart of this Sorrowful " Virgin was transpierced by vehement sorrows [Lk. 2:35]. Who could describe the pains and disturbances which then passed through that sacred heart! Nevertheless we see that was sufficient for this holy Lady to know that it was the will of the Eternal Father that His Son should die and also that she should see Him die, to keep her standing firm at the foot of the Cross [Jn. 19:25], as approving and accepting His death.
St. Augustine, speaking of the rod of Jesse at the end of a long and beautiful discourse which I will not repeat because of its length (it would take an infinite amount of time), said that this rod resembled the almond, which he compared to Our Lord. I will end this exhortation here by demonstrating how excellently our dear Master and Saviour practiced this abnegation. St. Augustine explained that there are three remarkable things about the almond. The first is the covering, which is very rough. The second is the shell or the wood which surrounds the nut. The third is the nut.
The outer covering represents the humanity of Our Lord, which was so blackened and bruised from the blows He received that He said He was "a worm, not a man" [Ps. 22:7]. The nut, which is not only sweet and good to eat, but when crushed is even better for making oil to brighten and illuminate, represents the Divinity. The shell symbolizes the wood of the Cross to which Our Lord was attached and by which He was so crushed that He gave forth the oil of mercy. This has also enlightened the world in such a way that it has delivered it from its darkness and ignorance.
It was on this wood that our dear Saviour and Sovereign Captain made this perfect renunciation of Himself. It is to this Cross that all the saints were attached. The sorrows of the Cross were the special subjects of their prayers. Certainly the true religious ought always to have the Cross and the crucifix before his eyes to learn from it how to give up |and renounce himself. Although the goodness of Our Lord is so great that He sometimes lets us taste the sweetness of His Divinity, granting some grace and favor to our souls, nevertheless for that very reason we ought never to forget the bitterness that He suffered for us in His humanity, I have said and I will say and I will not grow weary of repeating that religion is "a Mount Calvary" where we must crucify ourselves with Our Lord and Master in order to reign with Him.
Let us conclude with the glorious St. Nicholas of Tolentino who made these three renunciations of which we have spoken. Having indeed crucified himself on the Cross of our Saviour, he desired at the hour of his death that this sacred wood be brought to him. Seeing it and embracing it he cried out as another St. Andrew: "O good Cross, O Cross so long desired; Hail, O Cross, O unique Cross, O precious Cross — resting and leaning on this as upon a secure staff, I shall pass with dry feet through the stormy sea of this world." Being completely transformed by the sorrows of Our Lord, he merited to have this Divine Saviour appear to him at the hour of his death, with one arm resting on the sacred Virgin and the other on St. Augustine. Jesus Christ then said to him: Come, My faithful servant; you who have served Me so well under the Rule which I gave your founder. Come! Possess the crown which has been prepared for you [Cf. Lk. 19:17; James 1:12].
Oh, how happy you will be, my dear daughters, if you make this absolute renunciation of the world, of the flesh and of yourself. How happy you will be if from now on you live in the exact observance of the Rules and Constitutions which have been given you on the part of God. In doing this, without doubt you will have the same favor that St. Nicholas received from Our Lord, Our Lady and St. Augustine, since you are daughters of the same Father and the same Mother as he.ṅ[10] If you have faithfully kept your Rules, the Saviour will assuredly come with the sacred Virgin to receive you at the hour of your death, if not visibly — for that must not be desired — at least invisibly, to introduce you into eternal life. May the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit lead you there! Amen.
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[1] St, Francis de Sales preached this sermon during a ceremony in which one Visitation nun took the religious habit, becoming a novice, and another was professed. In the liturgical calendar of that lime, the feast of Mary's Nativity (September 8) was celebrated with an octave, and September 10 was the feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino. St. Francis weaves all these themes together in this sermon.
[2] “Captainess": St. Francis de Sales used the French suffix "esse" to create the feminine word "captainess" in order to demonstrate the intimate cooperation of the Virgin Mary with her Son in the plan of salvation.
[3] In the French of the Annecy edition of this sermon, "Miriam" is rendered "Marie," making the allusion to Our Lady even more pronounced.
[4] Cf. Sermon for Nov.21, 1617.
[5] Cf. Conferences, XVII, "On Voting,"
[6] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617.
[7] Conferences, XX
[8] Cf. Sermon for Aug. 15, 1618.
[9] Cf. Sermon for Aug. 15, 1618
[10] The Rule of St. Augustine forms the basis for the Rules of many religious congregations and orders. In 1618, when the Congregation of the Visitation was erected into a religious order, it was placed by its founder under the Rule of St. Augustine. "Father" here no doubt refers to him, as "Mother" refers to Mary.
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