INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE

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PART III, Chapter 35: We Must Be Faithful Both In Great

The Sacred Spouse in the Song of songs says that his Bride has delighted his heart with one of her eyes and with one of her hairs (4:9). Among all the external parts of the human body there is nothing more noble either for its versatility or for activity as the eye and nothing more lowly than the hair. Hence the divine Spouse wants to make us understand that not only the great deeds of devout persons but also the least and most lowly are pleasing to him. To serve him according to his liking, we must take great care to serve him well in great and lofty matters as well as in the little and the lowly. In fact, we can equally delight his heart both by the one and the other.

Be ready, then, Philothea, to bear great sufferings even martyrdom for the sake of our Lord. Decide to give him all that is most precious to you. If it pleases him to take it away: father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, children, even your eyes and your life because for all these you must keep you heart ready. As long as divine Providence does not send you such acute and such great sufferings and does not demand from you your own eyes, give him at least your hair. I mean bear very gently the petty insults, these little inconveniences, these losses of little consequences which occur to you daily. By making use of these little opportunities with pure and tender love, you will win his heart entirely and will make it your own. These little daily acts of charity, this headache, this toothache, this swelling, this whim of the husband or wife, this breaking of a glass, this contempt or this sulking; this loss of gloves, of a ring, of a handkerchief; this little inconvenience in going to bed early and in getting up early in the morning to pray, to receive communion; this little shame in performing acts of devotion publicly, in short all these little sufferings accepted and embraced with love are extremely pleasing to the divine Goodness. God has promised his faithful a sea of every happiness for a single glass of water (Mt. 10:42). Since these occasions occur at every moment, it is a great means of gathering vast spiritual riches by making use of them well.

When I read in the life of St. Catherine of Siena so many raptures and elevations of the spirit, so many words of wisdom and even sermons preached by her, I had no doubt that with the eye of contemplation she had enraptures the heart of her heavenly Spouse. But I was equally consoled when I saw her in her father’s kitchen humbling turning the spit, kindling the fire, dressing the meat, kneading the bread and doing all the meanest household tasks with a courage full of tender, pure love towards God. I appreciate no less the little humble meditation which she was making in the midst of these mean and lowly occupations than the ecstasies and raptures she so often had. These were, perhaps, given to her only as a reward for her humility and self-abasement. Her meditation was like this: she imagined that in cooking food for her father she was preparing it for our Lord like another Martha. Her mother held the place of our Lady and her brothers that of the Apostles. Thus she encouraged herself to serve the whole court of heaven in spirit while doing these trifling services with great relish because she knew that such was the will of God for her. I gave this example, dear Philothea, that you may realize how important it is to direct all our actions, however lowly they may be, to the service of God’s divine Majesty.

Hence, I earnestly advise you, to the best of my ability, to imitate the strong women whom the great Solomon praised so much. As he said, she put her hand to strong, generous and lofty things and yet did not abandon spinning and turning the spindle: She has put her hand to strong things and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle (Prov. 31:19). Put your hand to strong things by practising prayer and meditation, frequenting the Sacraments, spreading good inspirations to others and lastly by doing great and important works according to your way of life. But do not forget your spindle and distaff. I mean, practise these little humble virtues which are like flowers growing at the foot of the Cross: the service of the poor, visiting the sick, care of the family with the works which go with it, and useful diligence which will not permit you to be idle. Intermingle similar considerations, such as those I mentioned about St. Catherine, in the midst of all these occupations.

Great occasions of serving God are rare but little ones are common. He who will be faithful in little things, says the Saviour himself, he shall be established over many things (Mt. 25:21). Do, then, all things in the name of God (col. 3:17) and all things will be done well. Whether you eat or whether you drink (1 Cor. 10:31) whether you sleep or whether you recreate or you turn the spirit, provided you know well to manage your affairs, you will gain much in the sight of God doing all these things because God wills that you do them.

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