Sermon for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, November 21, 1620, concerning the significance of the Old Testament laver (water basin) between the two tabernacles: Baptism, penance, evangelical doctrine; the body and the soul, Mary's infancy and childhood, the blessedness of Mary's Divine Motherhood and of having heard the word of God and kept it, religious vocation, partial and total giving of self to God, the two conditions of true obedience, and continual renewal of vows.
"See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." — Ex. 25:40
In the Old Law the Divine Majesty commanded Moses to build the Ark and to erect the tabernacle according to the details which He described very minutely when He spoke to him "on the mountain" [Ex. 25ff]. This was done, but in a manner so admirable that there was nothing, even in the smallest design, that was not full of great mysteries, The ancient Fathers, after considering it all, pause with admiration at the most abject and meanest part of all; for among other things God had ordained that a laver be put between the exterior tabernacle in which the people who came to offer sacrifices remained, and the interior tabernacle where the priests of the Law stayed; or rather between two altars, that is, between the altar of holocausts and the altar of incense. The Divine Majesty then commanded Moses to make a "bronze laver" which should be filled with water in order that the priests of the Law might wash their hands and feet before they went to offer sacrifices; and for its embellishment they should surround it entirely with mirrors like those of the Jewish ladies [Ex. 30:18-20; 38:8].
Now, our ancient Fathers have given so great a number of interpretations on this laver and on these mirrors that if I were to speak a word on each one it would take me an entire hour. I shall discuss only three of their conceptions: first, what this laver signifies and what we must understand by it; second, why it was between the two tabernacles; and third, what the mirrors which surround it represent.
As to the first point, a large number of the ancient Fathers say this laver represents Baptism and for that reason it was placed between the exterior and interior tabernacle. Certainly they have reasons for this opinion, for no one can enter the interior tabernacle, which is none other than Heaven, without passing through the exterior one, which is the Church, to which belongs this laver full of the baptismal waters in which we must be plunged and cleansed. These waters purify, justify and remove all the stains of sin with which people are defiled; and in order to offer and sacrifice any victim and holocaust to Our Lord it is so necessary to be washed clean by this water, actually or at least by a very ardent desire for it, that without this all offerings and oblations are not offerings but execrations.
Some other Fathers hold that this laver represents penance, and it seems to me that these come even closer to the truth; for what else is penance if not the water in which it is very expedient that we should wash our feet and our hands, that is to say our affections and works, soiled and stained by so many sins and imperfections? O my dear friends, it is true that the only door by which we may enter Heaven is the Redemption, without which we should never have had access there. But in order that this Redemption may be applied to us we must do penance. We must not deceive ourselves, for our forefathers have all passed by that way; young and old, small and great; in short, all have washed their feet and their hands in the waters of penance.
This is so universal a rule that no one can be exempted from it except the most sacred Virgin who, not having sinned, had no need of expiation; and nevertheless she has not entered Heaven by any other door than that of the Redemption. But as for the rest of us it is necessary, as I have said, to do penance either in this world or in the next. I know indeed that there is one penance to which mortal sins oblige us and another we must do for venial sins. All the same, penance is absolutely necessary for both of them, and the one who does not do it in this life will undoubtedly do it in the next. That is why, say the Fathers, this laver was between the two tabernacles, the exterior and the interior, in order to signify that the waters of penance are between the exterior tabernacle of the Church Militant and the interior tabernacle of the Church Triumphant, and that to pass from the Militant to the Triumphant we must be cleansed in these waters.
Others have said that this laver represents evangelical doctrine. Certainly they are right, for this doctrine is nothing else than the water of which anyone who drinks will never be thirsty again, and, as Our Lord said: It will leap up to provide eternal life [Jn. 4:143. It is in this sacred water that we must immerse all our members, that is to say, cleanse our works and affections in order to purify them, and form and adjust them according to the Law of the Gospel. Without this we can make neither oblation nor sacrifice, and still less can we be saved except by believing [Mk. 16:16] this Christian doctrine and forming ourselves according to it. It is there that we see what we must believe, ask for, and hope for.
Let no one be deceived on this point by thinking to reach this interior tabernacle, there to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving [Ps. 116:17], without washing himself in these I waters or molding himself on this doctrine. For no one can E be saved by making laws according to one's own caprice or fancy or by contenting oneself with the natural law. No indeed, that cannot be. You see, then, that this laver placed between the tabernacles represents Baptism, penance, and evangelical doctrine, which are the bonds by which the Church Militant is united to the Church Triumphant.
We ourselves also have two tabernacles: the one exterior, which is this body that we carry with us, and the other interior, which is the soul by which we live. This is what the great Apostle St. Paul [2 Car. 5:1, 4] wished to say: Our bodies are tabernacles or tents made and formed of potter's clay, and God has enclosed in them great treasures [2 Cor. 4:7], What are these treasures if not our souls which, as interior tabernacles, are hidden in our bodies? But as the soul animates and gives life to the body, so does evangelical doctrine nourish and vivify the soul, furnishing it with light and strength to guide it and bring it to that other more interior tabernacle where the Most High dwells.
Certainly a day will come when we shall rise from the dead, and these mortal bodies which we have, now subject to corruption, will be immortal, entirely spiritual [I Cor. 15:51-54] and remade like that of Our Lord [Phil 3:21]. Then with unspeakable joy we shall see them made all glorious by their reunion with the soul, against which there will be no more rebellion or variance; rather, they will be absolutely submissive and subject to it. The soul will so possess them that it will govern them sovereignly. And as to our bodies, they will participate in the glory of the soul; by this means that which is mortal will be made immortal like the soul.
This laver was completely surrounded by mirrors. These mirrors represent the examples of the saints who, having received the Christian doctrine, practiced it so perfectly and completely that we may say that the stories of their lives are as so many mirrors which decorate and enrich this laver of the evangelical Law. And just as this Law has decorated and enriched them, and they, by plunging themselves into it, have been purified and rendered capable of offering to the Divine Goodness sacrifices of an inestimable price and value, so have they on their side done for it what the mirrors of the Hebrew and Jewish women did for that ancient laver. For they have embellished it by the practice of the precepts and counsels which they have drawn from it, permitting us to imitate their admirable examples which are like mirrors in which we may continually look into ourselves. For, although we do not need mirrors like the Hebrew women to admire our bodies, which will decay with the dogs and other animals, nevertheless we must always have before our eyes the mirrors of the virtues and examples of the saints in order to pattern and form all our actions on them. Now I am at the subject of the feast of our most dear Mother and Mistress which we celebrate today. For, I ask you, what more beautiful and precious mirror could be presented to you than this one? Is it not the most excellent one there is in the evangelical doctrine? Has she not ornamented and enriched it the most, as much by what she herself has practiced as by the admirable examples that she has left us? Certainly there is not a saint that can be ranked with her, for this glorious Virgin surpasses in dignity and excellence not only the saints but also the highest seraphim and cherubim. She has a great advantage over all the blessed in that she has entirely given and dedicated herself to the service of God from the instant of her Conception, since there is no doubt that she was all pure and had the use of reason as soon as her soul was infused into that little body formed in the womb of St. Anne.
As this glorious Virgin was born of a father and mother like other children, so it seems that like them she must be defiled with Original Sin. But for her. Divine Providence ordained quite the contrary, and extending His most holy hand, held her back for fear that she might fall into this precipice. He gave her the use of reason and faith by which Our Lady knew God and believed all revealed truth in such a way that, filled with this light, she dedicated and consecrated herself completely to the Divine Majesty, and in a most perfect manner. Theologians assure us that Our Lord, casting a ray of His light and grace into the soul of St. John the Baptist when he was still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, sanctified him and gave him the use of reason with the gift of faith by which, having recognized his God in the womb of the most holy Virgin, he adored Him and consecrated himself to His service. If the Saviour gave such a grace to the one who was to be His Precursor, who can doubt that He not only bestowed the same favor but that He also granted a much greater and more particular privilege to her whom He had chosen to be His Mother? Why would He not have sanctified her from her mother's womb [Ps. 71:6, 139:13], as indeed He did St. John?[1]
It is then an assured fact that from the instant of her Conception God rendered her all-pure, all-holy, with the perfect use of faith and reason in a wonderful manner that cannot be sufficiently admired. For He had this intention from all eternity because His thoughts are as high as the heavens are above the earth [Is. 55:8-9], and that which could never enter human understanding God has meditated upon before the beginning of time. Oh, how many were the favours, graces and blessings that the Divine Goodness poured into the heart of the glorious Virgin! But they were so secret and interior that no one could have known of them but she who experienced them – and her mother, St. Anne; for we may believe that, at the instant that the Lord poured so many graces into the soul of this blessed child, the mother felt them in herself and experienced great sweetness and spiritual consolation on account of her daughter on whom they were lavished.
I shall not speak at this time either of what our most dear Mistress and Mother did at her Conception and nativity, or of the blessings she then received. I wish to treat only of this feast on which she came to offer and consecrate herself to the service of the Temple. O God, how blessed she was, for she was only three years old when she left her country and her father's house[2] [Gen. 12:1; Ps. 45:11]. She was like a beautiful flower that sheds its perfume early in the morning. There are two kinds of flowers that give forth their perfume differently: roses and pinks. Roses are more fragrant in the morning and their perfume is sweeter at that time; on the contrary, pinks have more perfume in the evening and their scent is stronger and more pleasing. Certainly this glorious Virgin has been like a beautiful rose among thorns; and although she always gave forth an odor of perfect sweetness during her entire life, yet in the morning of her sweet childhood she shed a scent that was marvellously sweet.
This loving darling was no sooner born than she began to use her little tongue to sing the praises of the Lord and all her other little members to serve Him. His Divine Goodness inspired her to leave her father and mother's house and go to the Temple, there to serve Him more perfectly. In her parents' house this glorious Virgin comported herself at this early age with so much wisdom and discretion that she astounded her parents so that they concluded, as much by her speech as by her actions, that this child was not like others, but that she had the use of reason, and therefore they should anticipate the time and lead her to the Temple to serve the Lord with the other girls who were there for that purpose. So they took this little Virgin at the age of only three years, leading her, and for part of the way carrying her, to the Temple of Jerusalem.
O God, how great were the sighs and aspirations of love and dilection that this little maid uttered—her father and mother too—but she above all, for it was she who was going to sacrifice herself anew to her Divine Spouse who had inspired her and called her to this retreat, not only in order to receive her as His spouse but also to prepare her to be His Mother! Oh, how sweetly she went, singing that sacred song of the Psalmist: Beati immaculati in via. [Ps. 119]. ("Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.”) This psalm is certainly admirable and as sweet as honey on account of the words of praise and benediction that it renders to the Divine Majesty. As the Royal Prophet said: I use this canticle as a sweet recreation, intoning and singing it the three different times that I go to the Temple, according to the ordinance of the Law [Ps. 118:54, Douay]. The Hebrew and Jewish women also sang it with great devotion when they went there. But who could explain with what emotions of love and dilection this holy Virgin recited it, especially as this sacred canticle does not treat of anything but the Law and Will of God,[3] to obey which she made her way to the Temple?
Many Hebrew and Jewish women had dedicated themselves to the divine service in this way, but not one of them had approached the perfection of this glorious Virgin. She offered and consecrated herself with so much fervor, love and humility that the angels and the highest seraphim who promenaded on the balustrade and gallery of Heaven were enraptured, astonished that a creature so pure could be found on earth, and that a soul clothed with a human body could make so perfect an offering and oblation. It is true that we may say of her what the Holy Spirit recounts [1 Kgs. 10:1-2,10] of the Queen of Sheba when she went to see Solomon: She came laden with so much nard and perfumes that never was so much of it seen in Jerusalem as that which this queen brought. In the same manner, our glorious Virgin came with "such perfumes" of sanctity that never was as much seen in all the women who had dedicated themselves in the Temple as was found in her alone. There she is, then, at this early age, vowed and sacrificed entirely to God.
Oh, how happy are the souls who in imitation of this sacred Virgin dedicate themselves like beginners to the service of Our Lord from their youth! Oh, how happy they are for having retired from the world before the world has known them, because, not having been married, and consequently not blighted by the ardor of concupiscence, they give forth an odor of great sweetness by their virtues and good works. But yet while all souls may aspire to and desire this happiness, nevertheless all do not receive the grace. That is why I am accustomed to say that there are two kinds of childhood. The first is that of which we are now speaking. The other is that by which we correspond promptly to the secret inspirations of God when, rendering ourselves docile to the first movement and attraction of grace at whatever time and age Our Lord calls us, we leave all to follow Him.[4]
This is indeed a great feast that we celebrate today on which this little maid went to offer herself in the Temple in her tender youth and at the first invitation of inspiration, This feast is not at all new, for the Greeks make mention of it. We even read that it has always been celebrated by Oriental Catholics, although in the Orient its celebration had little solemnity. But since Pope Sixtus V reestablished it, the Church has solemnized it and given it an office. It is for you, my dear Sisters, a very solemn day, inasmuch as on it you come to offer yourselves to the Divine Majesty in imitation of this glorious Virgin, or rather to renew the offering that you have already made.[5]
But you will say to me: "Speak to us a little on how and with what perfection our divine Mistress made her offering, so that we may imitate her; for being her daughters we shall indeed be glad to follow her." You notice that on this feast we do not have any other Gospel than the one that is read every time the office of Our Lady is said [Lk. 11;27-28]. Now you will find in it all you must do to imitate her.
It is said that Our Lord preaching to the people who followed Him and wishing to illuminate and enlighten them, performed for this purpose many miracles. The Pharisees, full of envy, began to murmur and calumniate Him, saying that it was not in His Name that He did these things but by the power of the prince of darkness [Lk. 11:15]. At the height of these blasphemies and insults "a woman called out” (who the holy Fathers say was St. Marcella[6] but as the Gospel does not name her, it is better only to say that it was a woman) and, full of admiration for the Divine Master, exclaimed: Blest is the womb that bore You and the breasts that nursed You! Then the people, full of astonishment, were silent; and the Saviour, turning toward this woman, replied: Rather, blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it!
Now, although I remember that I have already spoken to you three or four times on this subject and on this Gospel,[7] nevertheless it is a well from which there is so much to be taken that I cannot keep from speaking of it and drawing from its depths what is proper for our instruction. Blest, she said, are the breasts that gave You milk and the womb that bore You. And Our Lord answered her: It is true that the womb that bore Me is blest and the breasts that nursed Me are happy; for what greater happiness could come to a woman than to bear Him who is equal to the Father – Him whom the heavens cannot contain?
Oh, how truly blessed is that womb in which the Son of God has taken human flesh, and what an honour this Virgin has received by giving her most pure blood to form the sacred humanity of the saviour of our souls! Therefore, O woman, what you say is indeed true, that not only this womb but even the breasts that nursed Me are blest, inasmuch as they have nourished the one who sustains all creatures. The great almoner Abraham was considered very highly favoured because, in lodging pilgrims, he one day had the grace of having the King and Lord of pilgrims in his house, of eating with Him, and of washing His feet [Gen. 18:1-8]. How much more blessed should we think this womb of the Virgin, which has lodged Him not for only one day but for nine entire months, and those breasts which have nourished Him not with bread but with milk, with the very substance of this glorious Virgin?
Oh, woman, what you say is the truth! That chaste womb resembles the Ark in which were "the manna, the rod of Aaron which had blossomed, and the tablets of the covenant" of the Law of Moses [Heb. 9:4]. What is that manna if not the Son of God who has come down from Heaven? [Jn. 6:31-33]. Is He not also that rod and those tablets of the Law? Yes, He is the "living stone" [1 Pet. I 2:4]: On His own body have been written and engraved the ten commandments of the law of grace with the points of the nails, the lance, and the lashes. "Oh, how blest then is this womb," Our Lord seems to say, "since it is more precious than the Ark of the Covenant; and therefore how blest is this woman because she is My Mother. And certainly this happiness belongs only to her inasmuch as no other creature, whoever she might be, can or will ever be honored with the title of Mother of God. It belongs only to the sacred Virgin; for in the same manner as, being God, I have only a Father without a mother, so as man I must have a Mother without a father; and as I have only one Father in Heaven, so I must have only one Mother on earth. That has been ordained from all eternity by My Heavenly Father. Nevertheless, I tell you now that although My Mother is so blest because she has borne Me in her womb and I have been nourished from her breasts, yet is she much more blest because she has heard the word of God and kept it. And all can participate in this beatitude."
But consider how this holy Virgin has heard the divine word and how she has kept it. And to pass over every other word and to speak only of that of her vocation, O God, how faithful she has been in this! See how the Lord whispers in her ear, or rather in the interior of her heart: Audi, filia —"Listen, O daughter," and see; turn your ear: Forget your country and leave your father's house. So shall the King desire your beauty [Ps. 45:11-12].
Note these words: "Listen, O daughter." It is as if He said: "In order to hear well, one must listen." But besides that, one must bow down and pay attention, that is to say, abase and humble oneself in order to understand what is the will of God. "Forget your country and leave your Father’s house. Come to the land I will show you [Gen. 12:1]. Then the King will desire your beauty." It is as if He said: "Do not content yourself with listening to the divine inspiration and abasing yourself the better to hear it, but withdraw your heart and your affection from your country and from your family, come to the place that I will show you, and I will desire your beauty."
Oh holy, divine, and admirable invitation which God extends to the heart of so many creatures, and which has been listened to and understood by a great number! However, I do not know how it has happened that many have heard the sacred word of a vocation and have not left nor gone where God called them. They must make so many reflections, they must consider so much, they must speak with first one and then another to find out if the inspiration is true, if it comes from God – everything must be minutely examined! Certainly it is good to weigh and consider well what the inspiration is, but after this glance at it, "Leave and go into the land which" God shows you.[8] Do not listen to so many discourses, do not give ear to so many reasonings that may be brought before you, do not make so many delays, for you put yourself in great peril. Do not sleep; be prompt.
O God, how diligent was the glorious Virgin, and how well may we apply to her this verse of the Psalmist; He "neither slumbers nor sleeps" [Ps. 121:4]. She did not sleep, for at this divine word of her vocation she rose up promptly and departed. She had no need of long reflections because she had the grace of discernment. She went where God led her, and the King of Heaven, desiring her beauty, chose her not only for His spouse but also for His Mother.
Thus, "blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it." All are called [Matt. 20:16; 22:14; 1 Tim. 2:4], and many hear the inspiration, differently however — some more, others less. It is like to what happens in the court of some great prince who might be in his palace, surrounded by many lords. They are indeed all in his court and in presence of the prince, who looks at some, casts more particular glances upon others, smiles at this one, speaks to that one, gives dignities to some, favors others, as I know such or similar things happen every day at the courts of kings. All esteem these favors and make great account of them. But there are those whom the prince favors even more and to whom he witnesses a more particular affection. They are those whom he has enter his cabinet — to converse with them, to disclose to them his secrets and to communicate to them his ideas.
All Christians are these princes and knights who dwell in the court of this Sovereign King Our Lord, which is nothing else but the Church. Our dear Saviour looks at them all. He favors some. He elevates others. In short, He dispenses His graces to whom He pleases and as He pleases. But besides the favors which He bestows on all the children of His Church, there are particular ones for those whom He withdraws into His cabinet, that is to say, into religion. There He speaks more familiarly to their heart, reveals to them His secrets and lets them know His intentions. Of this number was the sacred Virgin. It is she who has been led into the cabinet of God and to whom have been revealed, more than to any other creature, the highest Mysteries. Thus, "blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it."
This is what Isaiah meant when he said that he believed in the word of the Lord[9] [Is. 62:2,4], and that he would engrave His Name on his heart; that is, he would hear the inspiration and will of God and keep it in his heart. I know that there are various interpretations of this, for some hold that by this Name we must understand the holy and sacred Name of Jesus which means Saviour, by which He came to save the world [Matt. 1:21; Lk. 1:31; Acts 4:10,12]. It is the Name which has remained engraved in His Church and in the heart of everyone of its true children.
Others have said that these words of Isaiah must be interpreted as applying to the Church itself. Finally, it may be understood that they concern inspiration and the divine will. For it is the characteristic of the true faithful to bear the sacred Name of Jesus engraved in their heart not with any other pen than the nails, lance and thorns which pierced His holy body. And in addition, every good Christian must listen to and keep the word of God, hear His inspiration, and do His will.
But alas, it is a great misfortune that so few really understand these holy inspirations! Many live in the world and use riches, honors and dignities, which the divine law permits them to use but never to abuse. They adjust their affection for the enjoyment of property and dignities to the commandments of God. It would be useless to speak of the counsels to them since they are satisfied only to avoid what could condemn them. These people are happy, however, for they will share in the Kingdom of God.
Others, indeed, really hear the inspiration of God, but they wish to give themselves over to a good time. They propose to dedicate themselves entirely to God, but they wish to reserve something for themselves. Ah, they say, I shall give myself to God, but not so absolutely that the world may not have some pan of me. I shall render to God what is His due [Matt. 22:21], but I shall reserve for myself what is due to the world, namely my eyes, my hair, and other such trifles, without doing anything contrary to the divine law. These, too, are happy.
Others, indeed, wish to follow the inspiration and will of God. They wish to be all His, but not completely; for there is indeed a difference between belonging all to God, and belonging totally to God. At least they intend to reserve for themselves the choice of their spiritual exercises. For that is good, they say; that is for God. It is in order to serve Him better, and I see that such an exercise is better for me than another. Alas, they put themselves in danger of being seduced and deceived by wishing to govern themselves according to their fancy and not to be submissive, and by reserving for themselves the choice of their exercises or plan of life, which they form according to their caprice, And do you not see that by making this reservation you are not giving yourself totally to God? But it is for God; granted. However, the glorious Virgin certainly did not act thus, for she gave herself totally to Him on the day of her Presentation, without any reserve, however small it might be. For she never used her own will nor her own choice, not having retained a single bit of it for anything whatever, and she persevered most perfectly in this throughout her life, always belonging totally to her God.
Oh, when we consider the course of this Lady's most holy life, I assure you that our hearts are entirely filled with delight and sweetness! And when we look at the rare examples that she has left us we are overcome with admiration. If we wish to possess this sweetness and even impart it to the heart of our neighbor, we must meditate well upon the life of our divine Mistress.
She must always be before your eyes, my very dear daughters, that you may form your life on hers and make all your actions and affections correspond to hers. You are her daughters. Thus you must follow and imitate her, and make use of her example as of a mirror in which you look at yourself without ceasing. Even though the fragrance which you will receive by looking at and considering the life of Our Lady will fall into a vessel of clay, it will not lack an admirable sweetness, for balm put in earthen vessels is as sweet as that in a crystal vial.
How many marvelous examples of her obedience to God's will has this divine Mother left us! Consider her marriage to St. Joseph, her flight into Egypt. 0 glorious Virgin, where are you going with this little darling? 1 am going to Egypt. What makes you go there? God's will. Will it be for a long time? As long as it shall please Him. And when will you return? When God commands it. But will you not be more joyful in returning than in going? Oh, certainly not. And why not? Because I shall be doing God's ill equally in going and remaining as well as in returning. But in coming back you will return to your own country, O God, I have no other country but that of accomplishing the divine will.[10] Oh, what an admirable example of obedience!
Since I am on the subject of obedience I shall tell you the two fundamental conditions of this virtue, which I shall discuss briefly. The first is that to obey perfectly we must love God who commands; the second is that we must love the thing commanded. All the failings that we commit against obedience ordinarily proceed from a lack of these two conditions. Some love God who commands, but they do not love the thing commanded. Others like the thing commanded and do not love God who commands.
There is a preacher who preaches the word of God. Everyone hurries there. Why? Because he does marvels. There is another who preaches the same word. No one goes there. Ah, they say, this preacher does not please me; he does not have poise; his discourse is not pleasing. Alas, poor people, why is that? He does not have flowery language and the like. Oh! What blindness! Is it not the word and will of God that he preaches to you? Now if you love this divine word, and God who gives it and who commands that you do His will, why will you not receive it with as good a heart from this one as from the other one? If a prince or a king sent you some letters by one of his pages, would you look to see if the page were dressed in gray, green or yellow before being pleased with these letters? No, certainly; you would take these letters and put them on your head as a sign of rejoicing and reverence, without regard for the livery of the one who brought them. Why then do you not listen to and receive the sacred word equally from some as from others?
Many like the thing commanded and do not love God who commands. A girl (for we speak only of your sex at this time) will be ordered to go to prayer or some other exercise that she likes. Certainly she will go willingly. And why? Because she likes it on account of some sweetness and consolation that she finds there. No one says a word to her; she does not speak; she does nothing; no one bothers her; she receives some sweetness there. And it is self-love that does it! It is true. For take her from it and assign her some other things that she does not like and you will see if she does them and if she goes there without sulking. Who does not see that she does not love God who commands, but only the thing commanded? For if she loved God who commands she would love equally the Giver of contradictions and the Giver of consolations.
Another will love God who commands and not the thing commanded. I know indeed, she will say, that the thing which is ordered for me to do is good since it is God's will, but I have so much repugnance and difficulty that I cannot accept it. Furthermore, when I try to like it, the one who orders me in God's Name has such a bad grace and such a sorry expression that he makes it entirely displeasing and repugnant to me. He has so cold and so dry a countenance that no relish can be found in what he commands.
O God, here is the cause of all our troubles.[11] When our superiors and those who govern are to our taste, fancy, and inclination, and according to our dispositions, we find nothing difficult. But if they are not to our liking, the least things ordered by them are displeasing. Whence does this come if not from the fact that we do not look at God who sends us the command, but rather that before agreeing to do it, we consider if the one who brings it is dressed in green or gray, and what is his expression and countenance? Now this is not necessary at all. What is necessary is to see the obedience as God's will, no matter by whom it is given to us, to love God who commands it and to take this order and put it on our head — that is to say, in the depth of our will, in order to accept and carry it out with fidelity. If our heart feels a repugnance to the thing commanded, we must caress it and make it submit very sweetly. Doing this, we shall imitate the glorious Virgin and make ourselves totally God's.
By your renewal of vows, my dear daughters, you are I going to gain new strength and bind yourselves again to the service and good pleasure of Our Lord. For certainly as long as we live we shall have need of renewing ourselves and of beginning over. All the saints have acted thus, and this renovation was practiced even in the Old Law,[12] inasmuch as our nature is so infirm that it easily grows cold and begins to fail. Even the earth relaxes and, at times, does not produce. It rests in winter; but when spring comes it renews itself and we rejoice to see that, having recovered its vigor, it makes us share amply in its flowers and fruits.[13]
Thus, my dear daughters, you come to make your renovation as Our Lady teaches us in her Presentation. She had no need of renewing herself inasmuch as she had not sinned and thus had not become lax. Nevertheless, for our instruction Divine Providence permitted that she should reconfirm on this day the sacrifice she had made to Him at her Conception. Make your renewal, then, with a great fervour of spirit, a profound humility, and an ardent charity. Send forth sighs and darts of love to our dear Saviour. Accompany this glorious Virgin; place your hearts and your vows between her hands and she will present them to her Son, who will receive them and offer them to His Eternal Father, who with Him and the Holy Spirit will bless you. Amen.
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[1] St. Francis de Sales is following here a usual practice in assigning honours to Mary: What can be said of any saint can certainly be affirmed of Mary, the greatest of saints, and to a degree higher than any other saint.
[2] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617.
[3] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8, chapter 5.
[4] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617.
[5] The Visitation nuns, to whom St. Francis is preaching this sermon, renew their vows every November 21, the Feast of the Presentation.
[6] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617.
[7] Cf. Sermon for Aug. 5, 1617; Sermon for Aug. 15, 1618; Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617.
[8] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8, chapter 11.
[9] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8, chapter 7.
[10] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 9, chapter 14.
[11] Cf. Conferences, XI, "The Virtue of Obedience”.
[12] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1619.
[13] Cf. Sermon for Nov. 21, 1617. St. Francis de Sales is demonstrating sound psychological insight here. Human beings must continually renew their determination to do God's will, for in our relationship with God, as well as with others, we are never on "automatic pilot." Our "yes" to those relationships must be renewed again and again, consciously and freely.
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