May the grace and
everlasting love of Christ our Lord be ever our protection and help. Amen.
Introduction
Master Simão's
letter and that of Santa Cruz bring me continued news about you, and God, from
whom all good things come, knows what comfort and joy it gives me to see that
He so helps you, not only in your studies but in your pursuit of virtue as
well. Indeed, the fragrance of these virtues has carried to very distant
lands, to the encouragement and edification of many. If every Christian should
rejoice because of the common obligation we all have of seeking God's honor
and the welfare of His image, which has been redeemed by the blood and death
of Jesus Christ, I have a special reason for rejoicing in our Lord, seeing
that I have a distinct obligation of keeping you in my heart with a special
affection. May our Creator and Redeemer be ever blessed and praised for all,
since it is from His liberality that every blessing and grace flows, and may
it please Him every day to open more and more the fountain of His mercy to
increase and advance what He has already begun in your souls. I have no doubt
concerning that Supreme Goodness, who is so eager to share His blessings, or
of that everlasting love which makes Him more eager to bestow perfection on us
than we are to receive it. If this were not so, our Lord Jesus Christ would
never encourage us to hope for what we can have only from His generous hand.
For He tells us: Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is
perfect [Matt. 5:48]. Thus it is certain that for His part He is ready to
bestow it, on condition that we have a vessel of humility and desire to
receive His graces, and that He sees that we use well the gifts we have
received and cooperate diligently and earnestly with His grace.
PART I
Incentives toward Advancement
The Excellence of a Vocation
On this point I will
not fail to put the spurs even to those of you who are running so willingly.
For I can tell you that you must be constant, both in your studies and in the
practice of virtue, if you are to fulfill the expectations which so many
entertain of you. Some persons, in both the kingdom of Portugal and in many
other countries, considering the helps and advantages of every kind, both
interior and exterior, that God gives you, rightly hope for more than ordinary
results from you.
No commonplace
achievement will satisfy the great obligations you have of excelling. If you
consider the nature of your vocation, you will see that what would be thought
outstanding in others would not be so in you. For not only has God called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light [1 Pet. 2:9], and translated
you into the kingdom of His beloved Son [Col. 1:13], as He has done with
the rest of the faithful, but because you have better preserved purity and are
more united in His service in the love of spiritual things, He thought it good
to withdraw you from the perilous sea of this world to preserve your
consciences from the dangers of the storms which the gusts of passion are wont
to raise—the desire now of possessions, now of honors, now of pleasures—and,
on the other hand, from the fear of losing all such things. Another reason,
over and above this, is that if these earthly concerns have no place in your
thoughts or affections, you will be preserved from distraction and
dissipation, so that you will be able to direct your thoughts and affections
and employ them in attaining the end for which God created you: that is, His
own honor and glory, your own salvation, and the help of your neighbor.
It is true that all
orders in the Church are directed to this end. Yet God has called you to this
one, in which His glory and the salvation of the neighbor are set before you,
not as a general end but one toward which your whole life and its various
activities must be directed as a continuous sacrifice. This requires a
cooperation from you that should not stop with example and earnest prayer, but
includes all the exterior means which His Divine Providence has provided for
the mutual help we should give one another. From this you can understand how
noble and royal is the manner of life you have chosen. For not merely among
men, but not even among the angels, is there a nobler work than glorifying the
Creator and leading His creatures to Him, as far as their capacities permit.
The Advantages of Fervor
Therefore, give
serious thought to your vocation so that you can give much thanks to God for
so great a favor and ask Him for the special help needed to correspond to it
with courage and diligence. Both of these you must have in large measure if
you are to attain the end you have in view. Sloth, tepidity, weariness in
study and in the other exercises which you have undertaken for the love of our
Lord you must recognize as the sworn enemies of your vocation.
For his
encouragement each one should keep before his eyes, not those who he thinks
will accomplish less, but rather those who are active and energetic. Never
permit the children of this world to show greater care and interest in the
things of time than you show for those of eternity. It should bring a blush to
your cheek to see them run to death more enthusiastically than you to life.
Hold yourselves as worth little if a courtier serves with greater dedication
to gain the favor of an earthly prince than you do for the favor of the King
of Heaven, or if a soldier battles with greater courage for the glory of
victory and hope of spoils, than you fight for victory and triumph over the
world, the devil, and yourselves, all for a heavenly kingdom and eternal
glory.
For the love of God,
therefore, be neither careless nor tepid. For if tautness snaps the bow,
slackness snaps the soul; while on the contrary, according to Solomon, the
soul of them that work shall be richly supplied [Prov. 13:4]. Try to
maintain a holy and discreet fervor in your work and in the pursuit of
learning as well as virtue. With both alike, one energetic act is worth a
thousand that are listless, and what a lazy man cannot accomplish in many
years an energetic man can usually achieve quickly.
In the matter of
learning, the difference between the earnest and the careless student stands
out clearly. The same holds true in the mastering of passion and the
weaknesses to which our nature is subject, as in the acquiring of virtue. It
is certain that, because the negligent do not struggle against self, they
never achieve peace of soul or do so tardily, and never possess any virtue in
its fullness, while the energetic and industrious make notable advances on
both fronts.
Experience proves
that in this life peace and satisfaction are had, not by the listless but by
those who are fervent in God's service. And rightly so. For in their effort to
overcome themselves and to rid themselves of self-love, they rid themselves of
the roots of all passion and unrest. And by acquiring habits of virtue, they
naturally succeed in acting with ease and cheerfulness in accordance with
these same virtues.
By this means they
dispose themselves to receive the holy consolation of God our faithful
consoler, for to him who conquers I will give the hidden manna [Rev.
2:17]. On the other hand, tepidity is the cause of a lifetime of uneasiness,
for we never uproot its cause, self-love, nor do we ever deserve God's help.
Therefore you should rouse yourselves to work earnestly at your praiseworthy
tasks, since even in this life you will perceive the advantages of holy
fervor, not only in the growth of perfection in your souls but even in the
peace of mind it grants you in this present life.
But if you look to
the eternal reward, as you often should, Saint Paul will easily convince you
that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory to come that shall be revealed in us [Rom. 8:18], because this
slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal measure of glory
beyond all comparison [2 Cor. 4:17].
If this is true of
every Christian who serves and honors God, you can understand what your crown
will be if you correspond with our Institute, which is not only to serve God
for your own sakes but to draw many others to His honor and service. Of them
Holy Scripture says that they that instruct many to justice shall shine as
stars for all eternity [Dan. 12:3]. And this is to be understood of those
who engage in the discharge of their duty, not only later in the exercise of
arms but even before that, while they are getting themselves ready. If this
were not so, we certainly could not apply to works that are in themselves good
the words of Jeremiah, Cursed is he that does the work of the Lord
carelessly [Jer. 48:10], and of Saint Paul, Do you not know that in a
race all indeed run, but only one receives the prize? [1 Cor. 9:24], and for
he is not crowned unless he strives according to the rules [2 Tim. 2:5],
and that means a good worker.
God's Manifold Gifts
But more than
anything else I should wish to awaken in you the pure love of Jesus Christ,
the desire for His honor and for the salvation of souls whom He has redeemed.
For you are His soldiers in this Society with a special title and a special
wage. I say special because there are many general reasons which likewise
oblige you to work for His honor and service. His wage is everything you are
and have in the natural order, for He bestows and preserves your being and
life, and all the perfections of body and soul, as well as eternal blessings.
His wage is also the spiritual gifts of His grace with which He has so
generously and lovingly bestowed on you and continues to offer even when you
oppose Him and rebel against Him. His wage is also those incomparable
blessings of His glory which, without any advantage to Himself, He has
promised to you and holds in readiness for you, actually sharing with you all
the treasures of His happiness so that you may, by a remarkable participation
in His divine perfection, be what He is by essence and nature. Finally, His
wage is the whole universe and everything material and spiritual contained in
it. For He has placed under our ministry not only all that is under heaven,
but even the whole of His sublime court, without exempting any of the heavenly
hierarchy: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them
who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? [Heb. 1:14].
As though this wage
were not enough, He has made Himself our wage, becoming a brother in our own
flesh, as the price of our salvation on the cross, and in the Eucharist to be
with us as support and company. Oh, what an unworthy soldier he would be whom
such a wage would not induce to labor for the honor of such a prince. We know
indeed that, to oblige us to desire and labor for this glory, His Majesty has
bestowed on us these inestimable and priceless favors, in a sense stripping
Himself of His own possessions to give us a share in them; taking on himself
our miseries to deliver us from them; wishing to be sold as our redemption; to
be dishonored to glorify us; to be poor to enrich us; accepting a disgraceful
and painful death to give us a blessed and immortal life. How extremely
ungrateful and hardhearted is he who after all this does not recognize his
obligation to serve our Lord Jesus Christ diligently and to seek His honor.
The Wretched State of Many Souls and of the World
If, therefore, you
recognize this obligation, and wish to employ yourselves in promoting God's
honor, the times you are living in indeed require that you make your desire
known by works. Can you find a place where the Divine Majesty is in honor
today, or where His infinite greatness is worshiped, where His wisdom and
infinite goodness are known, or His most holy will obeyed? Behold rather, with
deep grief, how His holy name is everywhere ignored, despised, blasphemed. The
teaching of Jesus Christ is cast off, His example forgotten, and the price of
His blood lost, in a sense, as far as we are concerned, because so few profit
by it. Behold also your neighbors, images of the most Holy Trinity and capable
of enjoying the glory of Him whom all the world serves, members of Christ,
redeemed by so much pain, opprobrium, and blood. Behold, I say, the miseries
that surround them, the darkness of ignorance that envelops them, and the
whirlwind of desires, empty fears, and other passions that torment them, set
upon by so many visible and invisible enemies, in danger of losing, I do not
say their wealth or temporal life, but an eternal kingdom and its happiness by
falling into the insufferable misfortune of everlasting fire.
To sum up briefly,
if you were carefully to examine the great obligation you have of seeking the
honor of Jesus Christ and the salvation of your neighbor, you would see how
fitting it is for you to get ready by diligently striving to make yourselves
fit instruments of God's grace, especially since in these days there are so
few real laborers who do not seek the things that are their own, but the
things that are Jesus Christ's. And the more others fall short, the more you
ought to endeavor to make up for them, since God bestows so special a grace on
you and one so proper to your vocation.
PART II
The Need to Beware of Excessive Fervor
Harm Coming from Excessive Fervor
What I have said so
far to awaken the drowsy and spur on the loiterers on the way, should not be
taken as a justification for going to the other extreme of fervor. Spiritual
infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by
fevers, that is, by excessive zeal. Saint Paul says, let your service be a
reasonable service [Rom. 12:1], because he knew the truth of the words of
the Psalmist, the king in his might loves justice [99:4], that is,
discretion; and what was prefigured in Leviticus, whatsoever sacrifice you
offer, you shall season it with salt [2:13]. In the same vein does Saint
Bernard speak: the enemy has no more successful ruse for depriving the heart
of real charity than to get her to act rashly and not in keeping with
spiritual reasonableness.3 "Nothing in excess"4 said the philosopher.
And this principle should be our guide even in a matter pertaining to justice
itself, as we read in Ecclesiastes, be not over just [7:16]. If one
fails to observe this moderation, he will find that good is turned into evil
and virtue into vice. He will also learn that many inconveniences follow which
are quite contrary to the purpose of the one who so acts.
The first is that
God is not really served in the long run, as the horse worn out in the first
days does not as a rule finish the journey, and thus it happens that someone
must be found to care for it.
Second, gains that
are made through such excessive eagerness do not usually endure, as Scripture
says, wealth gathered in haste will dwindle [Prov. 13:11]. Not only
dwindle, but it may be the cause of a fall: and he that is hasty with his
feet shall stumble [Prov. 19:2]; and if he stumbles, the further he falls,
the greater the danger for he will not stop until he has reached the bottom of
the ladder.
Third, there is the
danger of being careless in overloading the vessel. There is danger, of
course, in sailing it empty, as it can then be tossed about on the waves of
temptation; but there is also danger of so overloading it that it sinks.
Fourth, it can
happen that, in crucifying the old man, the new man is also crucified and thus
made unable through weakness to practice virtue. Saint Bernard tells us that
because of this excess we lose four things: "The body loses the effect of
the good work, the soul its devotion, our neighbor good example, and God His
honor."5 From this we infer that whosoever thus mistreats the living
temple of God is guilty of sacrilege. Saint Bernard says that the neighbor is
deprived of good example, because the fall of one and the ensuing scandal are
a source of scandal to others; and he calls them, in cause at least,
disturbers of unity and enemies of peace. The example of such a fall frightens
many and makes them tepid in their spiritual progress. In the fallen there is
danger of pride and vainglory, since they prefer their own judgment to the
judgment of everyone else, usurping what is not their own by setting
themselves up as judges in their own cause when the rightful judge is their
superior.
Besides these, there
are also other disadvantages, such as overloading themselves with weapons
which they cannot use, like David with the armor of Saul [1 Sam. 17:38-39].
They apply spurs to a spirited horse rather than the rein. Therefore there is
need of discretion on this point to keep the practice of virtue between both
extremes. Saint Bernard gives this advice: "Good will is not always to be
trusted, but it must be bridled, regulated, especially in beginners,"6 if
one wishes to benefit others without any disadvantage to himself, for he
that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? [Sir. 14:5].
Obedience is the Infallible Means for Gaining Discretion
If discretion seems
to you to be something very rare and hard to come by, make up for it with
obedience, whose counsel is certain. Hear what Saint Bernard says of those who
wish to follow their own opinion: "Whatever is done without the approval
or against the wishes of the spiritual father should be set down as vainglory,
and not as something worthy of reward."7 We should remember, as it is said
in Holy Scripture, that it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel, and like
the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey [1 Sam. 15:23]. Thus if you wish
to hold the middle way between the extremes of tepidity and excessive fervor,
discuss your affairs with the superior and keep within the limits set down by
obedience. If you have a great desire for mortification, use it rather in
breaking your wills and bringing your judgments under the yoke of obedience
rather than in weakening your bodies and afflicting them beyond due measure,
especially during the years of your studies.
PART III
Ways of Exercising Zeal During Years of Study
Offer Your Studies to God
I should not wish
you to think from what I have here written that I do not approve of what I
have learned of some of your mortifications. I know that these and other holy
follies have been profitably used by the saints and that they are useful to
obtain self-mastery and bring down richer graces upon us, especially in the
beginning. But for one who has acquired some mastery over his self-love, I
hold that what I have written about bringing oneself to the golden mean of
discretion is the better thing, provided one does not withdraw from obedience.
It is this obedience that I recommend very earnestly to you, joined with that
virtue which is a compendium of all the others and which Jesus Christ so
earnestly recommends when He calls it His special commandment: This is my
commandment, that you love one another [John 15:12]. And I wish that you
preserve this union and lasting love, not only among yourselves, but that you
extend it to everyone, and endeavor to enkindle in your souls the lively
desire for the salvation of your neighbor, gauging the value of each soul from
the price our Lord paid by His life's blood. This you do on the one hand by
acquiring learning and on the other by increasing fraternal charity, making
yourselves perfect instruments of God's grace and collaborators in the sublime
work of leading God's creatures back to Him as to their last end.
Do not think that in
this period of time given to your studies you are of no use to your neighbor,
for, besides the profit to yourself which well-ordered charity requires—Have
pity on your own soul, pleasing God [Vulgate Sir. 30:24]—you are serving
God's honor and glory in many ways.
First, by your
present labor and the intention with which you undertake and regulate
everything for your neighbor's edification, just as soldiers waiting to get
supplies of arms and munitions for the operation about to be launched cannot
say that their labor is not in the service of their king. Even if death should
overtake one before he begins to work exteriorly for his neighbor, he shall
not for that reason have failed in the service of his neighbor, having helped
him by the mere fact of his preparation. But besides the intention for the
future, he should each day offer himself to God for his neighbor. As God is
willing to accept the offering, he can serve as an instrument for the help of
his neighbor no less than he would have done by preaching or hearing
confessions.
Growth in Virtue, a Necessary Requirement for the Apostolate
The second way is to
attain a high degree of virtue, because you will thus be able to make your
neighbor such as you are yourselves. For it is God's will that the process of
generation observed in material things be observed in things spiritual, mutatis
mutandis. Philosophy and experience teach us that in the generation of man
or animals, besides the general causes such as the heavens, another cause or
agent of the same species is required which possesses the same form as that
which is to be transmitted, and for this reason it is said that "the sun
and man beget man."8 In like manner, to transmit the form of humility,
patience, charity, and so forth, to others, God wills that the immediate
cause, which He uses as instrument, such as the preacher or confessor, be
humble, charitable, and patient. With the result, as I have said, that, when
you benefit yourselves by growing in virtue, you are also of great service to
the neighbor.
You are preparing an
instrument that is not less, but better, fitted to confer grace by leading a
virtuous life than by leading a learned one, though both learning and virtue
are required if the instrument is to be perfect.
Good Example
The third way of
helping the neighbor is by the example of a good life. In this respect, as I
have told you, the good odor of your lives has spread abroad and exerts a good
influence even beyond the limits of Portugal. I trust that the author of all
good will continue His gifts and increase them in you, so that, as you daily
grow in perfection, the fragrance of your virtues and the resulting
edification will likewise grow, even without your seeking it.
Holy Desires and Prayers
The fourth way of
helping your neighbor is very far-reaching indeed, and consists in holy
desires and prayers. The demands of your life of study do not permit you to
devote much time to prayer, yet you can make up for this by desires, since the
time you devote to your various exercises is a continuous prayer, seeing that
you are engaged in them only for God's service. But in this and other matters,
you have close at hand those who can advise you as to details. Indeed, for
that reason part of what I have written could have been omitted, but so seldom
do I write to you that I thought I could give myself the consolation of
writing at some length.
Conclusion
This is all for the
present, except to beg God our Creator and Redeemer that, as it has pleased
Him to bestow so great a grace on you as to call you and give you the firm
desire of being employed entirely in his service, so he would be pleased to
continue and increase His gifts in all, so that you will persevere
unwaveringly and grow in His service to His greater honor and glory and the
help of His Church.
From Rome,
Yours in our Lord,
Ignatius
