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that she could cheerfully live till the day of judgment; provided



she might always have matter for suffering for God; but that to



live a single day without suffering would be intolerable。 She



said again that she was devoured with two unassuageable fevers;



one for the holy communion; the other for suffering; humiliation;



and annihilation。  'Nothing but pain;' she continually said in



her letters; 'makes my life supportable。'〃'185'







'185' Bougaud:  Hist de la bienheureuse Marguerite Marie; Paris;



1894; pp。 265; 171。  Compare; also; pp。 386; 387。















So much for the phenomena to which the ascetic impulse will in



certain persons give rise。  In the ecclesiastically consecrated



character three minor branches of self…mortification have been



recognized as indispensable pathways to perfection。 I refer to



the chastity; obedience; and poverty which the monk vows to



observe; and upon the heads of obedience and poverty I will make



a few remarks。







First; of Obedience。  The secular life of our twentieth century



opens with this virtue held in no high esteem。  The duty of the



individual to determine his own conduct and profit or suffer by



the consequences seems; on the contrary; to be one of our best



rooted contemporary Protestant social ideals。 So much so that it



is difficult even imaginatively to comprehend how men possessed



of an inner life of their own could ever have come to think the



subjection of its will to that of other finite creatures



recommendable。  I confess that to myself it seems something of a



mystery。  Yet it evidently corresponds to a profound interior



need of many persons; and we must do our best to understand it。







On the lowest possible plane; one sees how the expediency of



obedience in a firm ecclesiastical organization must have led to



its being viewed as meritorious。  Next; experience shows that



there are times in every one's life when one can be better



counseled by others than by one's self。  Inability to decide is



one of the commonest symptoms of fatigued nerves; friends who see



our troubles more broadly; often see them more wisely than we do;



so it is frequently an act of excellent virtue to consult and



obey a doctor; a partner; or a wife。  But; leaving these lower



prudential regions; we find; in the nature of some of the



spiritual excitements which we have been studying; good reasons



for idealizing obedience。 Obedience may spring from the general



religious phenomenon of inner softening and self…surrender and



throwing one's self on higher powers。  So saving are these



attitudes felt to be that in themselves; apart from utility; they



become ideally consecrated; and in obeying a man whose



fallibility we see through thoroughly; we; nevertheless; may feel



much as we do when we resign our will to that of infinite wisdom。



Add self…despair and the passion of self…crucifixion to this; and



obedience becomes an ascetic sacrifice; agreeable quite



irrespective of whatever prudential uses it might have。







It is as a sacrifice; a mode of 〃mortification;〃 that obedience



is primarily conceived by Catholic writers; a 〃sacrifice which



man offers to God; and of which he is himself both the priest and



the victim。  By poverty he immolates his exterior possessions; by



chastity he immolates his body; by obedience he completes the



sacrifice; and gives to God all that he yet holds as his own; his



two most precious goods; his intellect and his will。  The



sacrifice is then complete and unreserved; a genuine holocaust;



for the entire victim is now consumed for the honor of God。〃'186'



Accordingly; in Catholic discipline; we obey our superior not as



mere man; but as the representative of Christ。  Obeying God in



him by our intention; obedience is easy。  But when the text…book



theologians marshal collectively all their reasons for



recommending it; the mixture sounds to our ears rather odd。







'186' Lejuene:  Introduction a la Vie Mystique; 1899; p。 277。 



The holocaust simile goes back at least as far as Ignatius



Loyola。















〃One of the great consolations of the monastic life;〃 says a



Jesuit authority; 〃is the assurance we have that in obeying we



can commit no fault。  The Superior may commit a fault in



commanding you to do this thing or that; but you are certain that



you commit no fault so long as you obey; because God will only



ask you if you have duly performed what orders you received; and



if you can furnish a clear account in that respect; you are



absolved entirely。  Whether the things you did were opportune; or



whether there were not something better that might have been



done; these are questions not asked of you; but rather of your



Superior。  The moment what you did was done obediently; God wipes



it out of your account; and charges it to the Superior。 So that



Saint Jerome well exclaimed; in celebrating the advantages of



obedience; 'Oh; sovereign liberty! Oh; holy and blessed security



by which one become almost impeccable!'







〃Saint John Climachus is of the same sentiment when he calls



obedience an excuse before God。  In fact; when God asks why you



have done this or that; and you reply; it is because I was so



ordered by my Superiors; God will ask for no other excuse。  As a



passenger in a good vessel with a good pilot need give himself 



no farther concern; but may go to sleep in peace; because the



pilot has charge over all; and 'watches for him'; so a religious



person who lives under the yoke of obedience goes to heaven as if



while sleeping; that is; while leaning entirely on the conduct of



his Superiors; who are the pilots of his vessel; and keep watch



for him continually。  It is no small thing; of a truth; to be



able to cross the stormy sea of life on the shoulders and in the



arms of another; yet that is just the grace which God accords to



those who live under the yoke of obedience。  Their Superior bears



all their burdens。 。 。 。 A certain grave doctor said that he



would rather spend his life in picking up straws by obedience;



than by his own responsible choice busy himself with the loftiest



works of charity; because one is certain of following the will of



God in whatever one may do from obedience; but never certain in



the same degree of anything which we may do of our own proper



movement。〃'187'







'187' Alfonso Rodriguez; S。 J。:  Pratique de la Perfection



Chretienne; Part iii。; Treatise v。; ch。 x。















One should read the letters in which Ignatius Loyola recommends



obedience as the backbone of his order; if one would gain insight



into the full spirit of its cult。'188' They are too long to



quote; but Ignatius's belief is so vividly expressed in a couple



of sayings reported by companions that; though they have been so



often cited; I will ask your permission to copy them once more:







'188' Letters li。 and cxx。  of the collection translated into



French by Bouix; Paris; 1870。















〃I ought;〃 an early biographer reports him as saying; 〃on



entering religion; and thereafter; to place myself entirely in



the hands of God; and of him who takes His place by His



authority。 I ought to desire that my Superior should oblige me to



give up my own judgment; and conquer my own mind。  I ought to set



up no difference between one Superior and another; 。 。 。 but



recognize them all as equal before God; whose place they fill。



For if I distinguish persons; I weaken the spirit of obedience。



In the hands of my Superior; I must be a soft wax; a thing; from



which he is to require whatever pleases him; be it to write or



receive letters; to speak or not to speak to such a person; or



the like; and I must put all my fervor in executing zealously and



exactly what I am ordered。  I must consider myself as a corpse



which has neither intelligence nor will; be like a mass of matter



which without resistance lets itself be placed wherever it may



please any one; like a stick in the hand of an old man; who uses



it according to his needs and places it where it suits him。  So



must I be under the hands of the Order; to serve it in the way it



judges most useful。







〃I must never ask of the Superior to be sent to a particular



place; to be employed in a particular duty。 。 。 。 I must



consider nothing as belonging to me personally; and as regards



the things I use; be like a statue which lets itself be stripped



and never opposes resistance。〃'189'





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