INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE

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PART III, Chapter 37: Desires

Everyone knows that we ought to watch against the desires of sinful things. In fact, the desire for evil makes us evil. I say even more, dear Philothea: Do not desire things which are dangerous to us such as balls, games and other pastimes. Do not desire either honours or positions, visions or ecstasies since there is much danger, vanity and deceit in such things. Do not desire things in the distant future, that is, which cannot take place for a long time. By such desires many become negligent and disturb their hearts uselessly and put themselves in great danger of anxiety. If a young man desires earnestly to be provided with some job before time, to what purpose will this desire serve him? To what purpose does a married woman desire to be a religious? If I desire to buy the property of my neighbour before he is willing to sell it, am I not wasting my time in this desire? Being sick, I if desire to preach or say Mass, visit the sick and do the work of those who are in good health, are not these desires impractical since during this time, it is not possible for me to realize them? Moreover, these worthless desires occupy the place of others which I ought to have: to be very patient, very resigned, very mortified, very obedient and very gentle in my sufferings. This is what God wants me to practise at such a time. Generally we desire like expectant mothers for fresh cherries in autumn and for fresh grapes in winter.

I do not approve in any way that a person bound to some duty or occupation distracts himself by desiring a different kind of life than that which is befitting to his duty, or even practises inconsistent with his present state. Indeed, this dissipates the heart and weakens it in carrying out necessary exercises. If I desire the solitude of the Carthusians, I waste my time. This desire takes the place of the one that I must have to accomplish well my present charge. Likewise, I would not even wish that we desire better talent and better judgement because these desires are silly. They take the place of that desire which we should have to improve our own talent such as it is. We are not to desire the means of serving God which we do not have. Instead we are to use faithfully those which we have. This is applicable to the longings which distract the heart. As to simple wishes, they do not harm provided they are not frequent.

Do not desire crosses except in so far as you have borne those which were offered to you. It is an error to desire the martyrdom without having enough courage to bear an insult. The enemy often arouses in us ardent desires for things that are absent and may never come on our way. It is to turn away our minds from present objects from which, however small they may be, we could draw great profit. In imagination we fight monsters in Africa. But in fact, due to lack of attention we allow ourselves to be killed by little serpents on our way. Do not desire temptations for it will be rashness. Rather engage your heart in awaiting them courageously and in defending yourself from them when they come.

The variety of foods, especially when the quantity is large, always burden the stomach and if it is weak spoils it. Do not fill your spirit with many desire: neither with worldly desire for they will corrupt you entirely, not with the spiritual ones, for they will overwhelm you. When your spirit is purified, feeling itself freed from evil dispositions, it has enormous hunger for spiritual things. In a state of starvation, it desires a thousand kinds of spiritual exercises and practices of mortification, of penance, of humility, of charity, of prayer. It is a good sign, dear Philothea, thus to have a keep appetite but see whether you can digest well all that you wish to eat. Choose then, from among so many desires, with the advice of your spiritual father, what can be practised and accomplished now. Turn these into good account. Once you do this, God will send you other desires which you will realize in their own time. Thus you will not waste your time in useless desires. I do not say that we should lose any kind of good desires but I insist that we must render them fruitful in due order. Those which cannot be practised now, store them in some corner of your heart till their time comes. In the meantime, put into effect those which are ripe and in season. I suggest this not only to the spiritual but also to the worldly. Without it we will live only in anxiety and eagerness.

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