translated by Father Pascal Robinson [1905].
ADMONITIONS.
1. Of the Lord's Body
The
Lord Jesus said to His disciples: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the
Life. No man cometh to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me you would,
without doubt, have known My Father also: and from henceforth you shall know
Him, and you have seen Him. Philip saith to Him: Lord, show us the Father, and
it is enough for us. Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you
and have you not known Me? Philip, he that seeth Me seeth [My] Father also. How
sayest thou, Shew us the Father?" The
Father "inhabiteth light inaccessible," and "God is a spirit," and "no
man hath seen God at any time." Because
God is a spirit, therefore it is only by the spirit He can be seen, for
"it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." For neither is the Son, inasmuch as He is equal to
the Father, seen by any one other than by the Father, other than by the Holy
Ghost. Wherefore, all those who saw the Lord Jesus Christ according to humanity
and did not see and believe according to the Spirit and the Divinity, that He
was the Son of God, were condemned. In like manner, all those who behold the Sacrament
of the Body of Christ which is sanctified by the word of the Lord upon the
altar by the hands of the priest in the form of bread and wine, and who do not
see and believe according to the Spirit and Divinity that It is really the most
holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned, He the Most High
having declared it when He said, "This is My Body, and the Blood of the
New Testament," and "he that eateth
MyFlesh and drinketh My Blood hath everlasting life."
Wherefore
[he who has] the Spirit of the Lord which
dwells in His faithful, he it is who receives the most holy Body and Blood of
the Lord: all others who do not have this same Spirit and who presume to
receive Him, eat and drink judgment to themselves. Wherefore, "O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart?" Why will you not know the truth and "believe in
the Son of God?" Behold daily He humbles
Himself as when from His "royal throne" He came into the womb of the Virgin; daily He Himself comes to us with like
humility; daily He descends from the bosom of His Father upon the altar in the
hands of the priest. And as He appeared in true flesh to the Holy Apostles, so
now He shows Himself to us in the sacred Bread; and as they by means of their
fleshly eyes saw only His flesh, yet contemplating Him with their spiritual
eyes, believed Him to be God, so we, seeing bread and wine with bodily eyes,
see and firmly believe it to be His most holy Body and true and living Blood.
And in this way our Lord is ever with His faithful, as He Himself says:
"Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world."
2. The Evil of Self-will.
The
Lord God said to Adam: "Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat. But of
the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat." Adam therefore might eat of every tree of paradise
and so long as he did not offend against obedience he did not sin. For one eats
of the tree of knowledge of good who appropriates to himself his own will and prides himself upon the goods which the Lord
publishes and works in him and thus, through the suggestion of the devil and
transgression of the commandment, he finds the apple of the knowledge of evil;
wherefore, it behooves that he suffer punishment.
3. Of Perfect and Imperfect
Obedience.
The
Lord says in the Gospel: he "that doth not renounce all that he possesseth
cannot be" a "disciple " and
"he that will save his life, shall lose it." That man leaves all he possesses and loses his body and his soul who abandons
himself wholly to obedience in the hands of his superior, and whatever he does
and says—provided he himself knows that what he does is good and not contrary
to his [the superior's] will—is true obedience. And if at times a subject sees
things which would be better or more useful to his soul than those which the superior
commands him, let him sacrifice his will to God, let him strive to fulfil the
work enjoined by the superior. This is true and charitable obedience which is
pleasing to God and to one's neighbor.
If,
however, a superior command anything to a subject that is against his soul it
is permissible for him to disobey, but he must not leave him [the superior],
and if in consequence he suffer persecution from some, he should love them the
more for God's sake. For he who would rather suffer persecution than wish to be
separated from his brethren, truly abides in perfect obedience because he lays
down his life for his brothers. For there are
many religious who, under pretext of seeing better things than those which
their superiors command, look back and return
to the vomit of their own will. These are
homicides and by their bad example cause the loss of many souls.
4. That no one should take
Superiorship upon himself.
I
did "not come to be ministered unto, but to minister," says the Lord. Let those who are set above others glory in
this superiority only as much as if they had been deputed to wash the feet of
the brothers; and if they are more perturbed by the loss of their superiorship
than they would be by losing the office of washing feet, so much the more do
they lay up treasures to the peril of their own soul.
5. That no one should glory save
in the Cross of the Lord.
Consider,
O man, how great the excellence in which the Lord has placed you because He has
created and formed you to the image of His beloved Son according to the body
and to His own likeness according to the spirit. And all the creatures that are under heaven serve and know and obey their
Creator in their own way better than you. And even the demons did not crucify
Him, but you together with them crucified Him and still crucify Him by taking
delight in vices and sins. Wherefore then can you glory For if you were so
clever and wise that you possessed all science, and if you knew how to
interpret every form of language and to investigate heavenly things minutely,
you could not glory in all this, because one demon has known more of heavenly
things and still knows more of earthly things than all men, although there may
be some man who has received from the Lord a special knowledge of sovereign
wisdom. In like manner, if you were handsomer and richer than all others, and
even if you could work wonders and put the demons to flight, all these things
are hurtful to you and in nowise belong to you, and in them you cannot glory;
that, however, in which we may glory is in our infirmities, 2 and in bearing
daily the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
6. Of the Imitation of the Lord.
Let
us all, brothers, consider the Good Shepherd who to save His sheep bore the
suffering of the Cross. The sheep of the Lord followed Him in tribulation and
persecution and shame, in hunger and thirst, in infirmity and temptations and
in all other ways; and for these things they have received everlasting life
from the Lord. Wherefore it is a great shame for us, the servants of God, that,
whereas the Saints have practised works, we should expect to receive honor and
glory for reading and preaching the same.
7. That Good Works should
accompany Knowledge.
The
Apostle says, "the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth." They are killed by the letter who seek only to know
the words that they may be esteemed more learned among others and that they may
acquire great riches to leave to their relations and friends. And those
religious are killed by the letter who will not follow the spirit of the Holy
Scriptures, but who seek rather to know the words only and to interpret them to
others. And they are quickened by the spirit of the Holy Scriptures who do not
interpret materially every text they know or wish to know, but who by word and
example give them back to God from whom is all good.
8. Of avoiding the Sin of Envy.
The
Apostle affirms that "no man can say the Lord Jesus but by the Holy
Ghost," and "there is none that doth
good, no not one." 2 Whosoever, therefore,
envies his brother on account of the good which the Lord says or does in him,
commits a sin akin to blasphemy, because he envies the Most High Himself who
says and does all that is good.
9. Of Love.
The
Lord says in the Gospel, "Love your enemies," etc. He truly loves his enemy who does not grieve because
of the wrong done to himself, but who is afflicted for love of God because of
the sin on his [brother's] soul and who shows his love by his works.
10. Of Bodily Mortification.
There
are many who if they commit sin or suffer wrong often blame their enemy or
their neighbor. But this is not right, for each one has his enemy in his
power,—to wit, the body by which he sins. Wherefore blessed is that servant who
always holds captive the enemy thus given into his power and wisely guards
himself from it, for so long as he acts thus no other enemy visible or
invisible can do him harm.
11. That one must not be seduced
by Bad Example.
To
the servant of God nothing should be displeasing save sin. And no matter in
what way any one may sin, if the servant of God is troubled or angered—except
this be through charity—he treasures up guilt to himself. The servant of God who does not trouble himself or
get angry about anything lives uprightly and without sin. And blessed is he who
keeps nothing for himself, rendering "to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's
and to God the things that are God's."
12. Of Knowing the Spirit of God.
Thus
may the servant of God know if he has the Spirit of God: if when the Lord works
some good through him, his body—since it is ever at variance with all that is
good—is not therefore puffed up; but if he rather becomes viler in his own
sight and if he esteems himself less than other men.
13. Of Patience.
How
much interior patience and humility a servant of God may have cannot be known
so long as he is contented. But when the time
comes that those who ought to please him go against him, as much patience and
humility as he then shows, so much has he and no more.
14. Of Poverty of Spirit.
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Many apply themselves to prayers and offices, and
practise much abstinence and bodily mortification, but because of a single word
which seems to be hurtful to their bodies or because of something being taken
from them, they are forthwith scandalized and troubled. These are not poor in
spirit: for he who is truly poor in spirit, hates himself and loves those who
strike him on the cheek.
15. Of Peacemakers.
"Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." They are truly peacemakers who amidst all they
suffer in this world maintain peace in soul and body for the love of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
16. Of Cleanness of Heart.
"Blessed
are the clean of heart: for they shall see God." They are clean of heart who despise earthly things and always seek those of
heaven, and who never cease to adore and contemplate the Lord God Living and
True, with a pure heart and mind.
17. Of the Humble Servant of God.
Blessed
is that servant who is not more puffed up because of the good the Lord says and
works through him than because of that which He says and works through others.
A man sins who wishes to receive more from his neighbor than he is himself
willing to give to the Lord God.
18. Of Compassion toward one's
Neighbor.
Blessed
is the man who bears with his neighbor according to the frailty of his nature
as much as he would wish to be borne with by him if he should be in a like
case.
19. Of the Happy and Unhappy
Servant.
Blessed
is the servant who gives up all his goods to the Lord God, for he who retains
anything for himself hides "his Lord's money," and that "which he thinketh he hath shall be
taken away from him."
20. Of the Good and Humble
Religious.
Blessed
is the servant who does not regard himself as better when he is esteemed and
extolled by men than when he is reputed as mean, simple, and despicable: for
what a man is in the sight of God, so much he is, and no more. Woe to that religious who is elevated in dignity by
others, and who of his own will is not ready to descend. And blessed is that
servant who is raised in dignity not by his own will and who always desires to
be beneath the feet of others.
21. Of the Happy and Vain
Religious.
Blessed
is that religious who feels no pleasure or joy save in most holy conversation
and the works of the Lord, and who by these means leads men to the love of God in joy and gladness. And woe to
that religious who takes delight in idle and vain words and by this means
provokes men to laughter.
22. Of the Frivolous and
Talkative Religious.
Blessed
is that servant who does not speak through hope of reward and who does not
manifest everything and is not "hasty to speak," but who wisely foresees what he ought to say and
answer. Woe to that religious who not concealing in his heart the good things
which the Lord has disclosed to him and who not manifesting them to others by
his work, seeks rather through hope of reward to make them known to men by words:
for now he receives his recompense and his hearers bear away little fruit.
23. Of True Correction.
Blessed
is the servant who bears discipline, accusation, and blame from others as
patiently as if they came from himself. Blessed is the servant who, when reproved,
mildly submits, modestly obeys, humbly confesses, and willingly satisfies.
Blessed is the servant who is not prompt to excuse himself and who humbly bears
shame and reproof for sin when he is without fault.
24. Of True Humility.
Blessed
is he who shall be found as humble among his
subjects as if he were among his masters. Blessed is the servant who always
continues under the rod of correction. He is "a faithful and wise
servant" who does not delay to punish himself for all his offences, interiorly
by contrition and exteriorly by confession and by works of satisfaction.
25. Of True Love.
Blessed
is that brother who would love his brother as much when he is ill and not able
to assist him as he loves him when he is well and able to assist him. Blessed
is the brother who would love and fear his brother as much when he is far from
him as he would when with him, and who would not say anything about him Behind
his back that he could not with charity say in his presence.
26. That the Servants of God
should honor Clerics.
Blessed
is the servant of God who exhibits confidence in clerics who live uprightly
according to the form of the holy Roman Church. And woe to those who despise
them: for even though they [the clerics] may be sinners, nevertheless no one
ought to judge them, because the Lord Himself reserves to Himself alone the
right of judging them. For as the administration with which they are charged,
to wit, of the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which they
receive and which they alone administer to others—is greater than all others,
even so the sin of those who offend against them is greater than any against
all the other men in this world.
27. Of the Virtues putting Vices
to flight.
Where
there is charity and wisdom there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is
patience and humility there is neither anger nor worry. Where there is poverty and joy there is neither cupidity nor
avarice. Where there is quiet and meditation there is neither solicitude nor
dissipation. Where there is the fear of the Lord to guard the house the enemy
cannot find a way to enter. Where there is mercy and discretion there is
neither superfluity nor hard-heartedness.
28. Of hiding Good lest it be
lost.
Blessed
is the servant who treasures up in heaven 2 the
good things which the Lord shows him and who does not wish to manifest them to
men through the hope of reward, for the Most High will Himself manifest his
works to whomsoever He may please. Blessed is the servant who keeps the secrets
of the Lord in his heart. 3
