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BOOK I
CHAPTER IV
HOW THE WILL OF GOD MAY BE RECOGNIZED IN ALL THINGS |
It requires a varying mode of treatment in the management of a nursery
full of children, a school full of pupils, a house full of servants, a
monastery full of Religious, and a plain full of soldiers, and yet the
way of ruling is the same in all ‑ viz, by obedience, which constrains
differing wills to unite in one.
A general will not command well unless he is able, either with his mouth
or hand, to carry about all his soldiers with him, that is to say,
either with his voice or signal to enforce obedience to every order.
Things are then managed well, and the discipline is uniform and regular
when in a house the master of the family, in a school the tutor, in a
monastery the abbot, in a camp the general, leads about with him all who
belong to him, either with his tongue or his hand; that is to .say, when
he governs with a word or a sign, and constrains them to go wherever he
wishes.
But as it is fitting that a soldier should wait for an order either from
the tongue or hand of his general, holding himself in readiness to
execute whatever command is given him, in the same way also it is right
that the Christian should so hang, as it were, on the Tongue or Hand of,
God, that Whatever He wills, says, commands, or in whatever direction He
gives a sign, he should immediately will the same, and that he should
instantly go in that direction, yea, run, or rather fly. We should all
of us exclaim,‑"In the head of the Book it is written of me that I
should do Thy Will, O my God! I have desired it, and Thy law in the
midst of my heart." (Ps. xxxix. 8, 9.) Yea, of my memory, my
understanding, my will. Thy Will, 0 my God, is to me the summing up of
all laws!
When Saul had been struck down to the earth by Christ, his first
question was,‑"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" (Acts ix. 6.) And
let this be the never‑ceasing question of all good men, "Lord, what wilt
Thou have me to do?" Show me, 0 my good Jesus, by a word or sign, what
is Thy Will, and I go, I obey, I do whatsoever Thou willest me to do.
This question, therefore, must now be answered before all others‑viz.
in what way the Will of God is to be recognized in all things? And here
I will furnish some rules by means of which the Divine Will may easily
be discovered.
FIRST RULE
Whatever leads away from God is contrary to the Will of God. Whatever
attracts towards God is in accordance with the Divine Will. "For this is
the Will of God, your sanctification." (I Thess. IV. 3.) Therefore, if
any one detect any such thing in himself as to be constrained to confess
that this business, this society, this trade, this way of living, does
not make me more holy, but I am being led away from God, though
gradually and by easy steps, it follows that neither that business, nor
that society, nor that trade, nor that way of living, is according to
the Divine Will.
SECOND RULE
The Will of God is most clearly revealed to us by the law of God and of
the Church. In all doubtful cases, therefore, we must not merely inquire
what the laws of God and the Church require, but what is more or less
conformable to them. Christ long ago pointed out this most excellent
interpreter of the Divine Will to that rich young man who asked what was
the shortest road to eternal life, when He said,‑"Thou knowest the
commandments." (Luke xviii.,20.) Of a truth nothing is better than to
have regard to the commandments of the Lord. Abraham points out this
messenger between God and men, charged with the Divine Will, when he
says to the rich man, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them." (Luke XVI. 29.) Blessed Paul also says, "Be not conformed to
this world, but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may
prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect Will of
God." (ROM. XII. 2.) The "good" Will of God is contained in the
Decalogue ‑ the "acceptable" in the evangelical counsels ‑ the "perfect"
defines that His Will should be done on earth as it is in heaven.
THIRD RULE
It is commanded by blessed Paul,‑"In all things give thanks; for this is
the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all." (I Thess. v. 18.)
And here, first of all, it is most noteworthy that "in all things we
must give thanks, even when things are most full of trouble and adverse.
S. Chrysostom, (in loc.) has well said:‑"Have you suffered some evil? If
you choose, it is not evil. Give thanks to God, and thou hast already
changed the evil into good. This is the part of a philosophic mind." The
ancient Germans used to train their children in such an excellent way,
that if ever they injured their finger in the fire, they immediately
said, "Thanks be to God,." It is a short but noble precept.~ Whatever
then, my Christian friend, either presses upon you or afflicts you, say
a hundred times, say a thousand times, "Thanks be to God." S. Paul
adds,‑‑2,Extinguish not the Spirit." Let there be a place for Its Divine
Inspirations. God not unfrequently unfolds His Will by means of secret
addresses, which are then safely believed to be really Divine, when the
Glory of God alone is proposed as the thing to be followed. But S. Paul
further adds, "Despise not prophecies." Hence it is by no means right
that commentaries on God's Book, holy sermons in church, or admonitions
of faithful men, should be despised by him‑ who desires to conform
himself to the Divine Will. He who is not willing to hear them, is not
willing to understand the Will of God. Last of all, S. Paul
commands,‑"From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves." As good
bankers know false coin either by the ring, or the stamp and
inscription, and refuse it, so let us avoid, as contrary to the Divine
Will, whatever carries on its face the appearance of even the faintest
shadow of sin.
FOURTH RULE
Besides the laws of God and the Church, there are other interpreters
also of the Divine Will, chiefly in doubtful matters. Among them are to
be reckoned the magistrate, as well civil as religious, and all such as
lawfully bear rule over others; to which are to be added parish priests,
spiritual pastors and masters. When Saul was now prepared to obey the
Divine Will, and had asked,‑"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"‑the
Lord did not burden him with precepts, nor did He suddenly infuse into
him all knowledge, but sending him as a disciple to Ananias,
said,‑"Arise, and go into the city, and there it shall be told thee what
thou must do." (Acts ix. 6, 7.) Ananias was to Paul what Peter was to
Cornelius, a most faithful interpreter of the Divine Will.
Thus it pleases God that His Will should be unfolded to man by man. And
hence those admonitions which are so frequent,‑" Seek counsel always of
a wise man." (Tobias IV. 18.) "Do thou nothing without counsel, and thou
shalt not repent when thou hast done.", (Ecclus. xxxii. 24,.) "Be
continually with a holy man, whomsoever thou shalt know to observe the
fear of God, whose soul is according to thy own soul: and who, when thou
shalt stumble in the dark, will be sorry for thee. And establish within
thyself a heart of good counsel; for there is no other thing of more
worth to thee than it. The soul of a holy man discovereth sometimes true
things, more than seven watchmen that sit in a high place to watch. But
above all these things pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way
in truth." (Ecclus. xxxvii. 15‑19.) In all matters, therefore, where
there is doubt concerning the Divine Will, from no one must counsel be
sought rather than from those to whom we have entrusted our conscience.
And here it may generally be affirmed that the entire will of spiritual
masters, or superiors, or those in any way set over us, is the Will of
God, sin alone being excepted. Whatever, then, the director of any one,
or superiors, or those placed in authority have ordered must be received
in no other way than as a certain indication of the Divine Will. And
here blessed Paul sets us an example. Writing to the Galatians (ii. I ),
he says:‑"Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with
Barnabas." And what was the cause of so long a journey? "I conferred
with them the Gospel." (11. 2.) Lo! He who for so many years had been
the evangelizer of the whole world, now submitted his teaching to
inquiry, just as if he were the least esteemed of the disciples, and
constituted the elder Apostles as his judges, so that whatever they
should decree concerning his doctrine, and approve by common consent, or
disapprove of, or add to, or take from, he would accept as that it
should be so believed and taught. It is more wonderful that he
adds,‑"And I went up according to revelation." (11. 2.) Could not He Who
revealed to Paul that this journey was to be undertaken, have just as
well revealed what He would effect by it? In good truth God wills that
man should be taught by man. S. Paul went to Jerusalem for the purpose
of interrogating the Apostles about his doctrine, not because he himself
stood in any doubt of it, but because others did; and for their
confirmation it seemed most prudent to interrogate the elder Apostles.
Therefore, - "See and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and
walk ye in it, and you shall find refreshment for your souls." (Jer. vi.
16.)
FIFTH RULE
But if neither time nor place allow of seeking advice, let a man reason
with himself, and by an easy process he will be able in this way to
unravel every doubt concerning knowledge of the Divine Will. Let him
carefully consider which of two things, about which he is doubtful, is
the more pleasing to his own will, which is the more gratifying to his
carnal appetite, and which is the more desirable in his own estimation.
When he has ascertained this, which is easily done, and has seriously
resolved with himself to conform his actions as closely as possible to
the Divine Will, then he will safely choose that which is the less
pleasing to his will, which is the less gratifying to his carnal
appetite, and which has about it less splendour and show. For the other
choice, which is in accordance with the inclination of our own will, or
fleshly feelings and thoughts, ought fairly to be held in strong
suspicion by every one, and be thought to be closely allied to error;
but this, which struggles against one's inclination, may be believed to
be, for the most part, the safer:‑"While thou dost not," says Isaias,
"thy own ways, and thy own will is not found, to speak a word." (LVIII‑
13.) A man who has a troublesome and sluggish digestion may easily be
convinced in this way;‑that which you most eagerly, desire is the least
wholesome for you. Melons, cucumbers, mushrooms, snails, iced drinks,
undressed fruits and vegetables, and food of this kind, things which
irritate the stomach, do the utmost harm, but at the same time they are
very often heaped into the stomach greedily. So in the matter before us;
very often that which is pleasing and sweet to the senses of the body is
harmful to the spirit; that which pleases the human will is displeasing
to God. "Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness,
which is the service of idols; for which things the wrath of God cometh
upon the children of unbelief." (Col. 111. 5, 6.) Therefore,‑"Go not
after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will," the son of Sirach
admonishes you (Ecclus. XVIII. 30), that you may conform yourself to the
Will of God.
But if the matter be one of entire indifference, as, for instance, if
two beggars meet you, both of them in the same state of destitution, but
yet your alms are not enough to divide between the two, give to which
you please, with the intention of fulfilling the Divine Will, and you
will not do amiss. But if the indifferent thing be one of greater
moment, you must have recourse to reflection and prayer. Then if, when
considering the propriety of undertaking some one or more things, it is
not quite clear what the Divine Will is, do not let any of them be
undertaken hastily, until it appear in some way or other that they will
not be contrary to the Divine Will. In every~ deliberation of this kind
Reason and Conscience can effect very much; and no bad counsellors are
they in a doubtful case, for when they are disposed to examine a thing
with care they will easily pronounce what is best to be done. But it may
happen that a man of tender conscience may fall into a labyrinth where
the spirit and flesh struggle together in such a way, as that he begins
to fear lest perhaps he is opposing himself to the Divine Will. And here
let the same thing be a solace to him which often is to a preacher. An
afternoon preacher (to explain what I mean) sees nearly all of his
hearers sleeping. He is greatly vexed at the sight of so many drooping
heads, but it seems better than if the same number of people were
shamelessly to engage in idle talk. And so long as two or three do not
sleep, he says to himself, that is enough for me, and is a sufficient
reason why I should go on. One must stand for thousands. And so let the
other man thus reason with himself, however he may be disturbed. Only
let those two eyes, the Reason and the Will, be watchful, only let them
carefully observe the Will of God, and I care nothing about other
things, for I shall stand firm and unshaken; and although I cannot
follow the indications of the Divine Will very closely, yet I will do my
best to follow them.
SIXTH RULE
In order to discover the Divine Will it is of the utmost avail to ask
with Paul,‑"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" It was the custom of
the saints, in all doubtful cares and perplexities, to take refuge in
the safeguard of prayer, as of old Moses and Aaron did in the Tabernacle
of the Testimony. And as when the clouds collect in such dense masses
that the sky begins to thunder, bells are rung in towers to scatter
them; so, as often as the sun of the Divine Will is with drawn from our
eyes, and we know not what is to be done, the best thing is to beat
heaven with our prayers. Thus Saul, when overtaken by that sudden
tempest in the midst of the open country, cried out,‑"Lord, what wilt
Thou have me to do?" And it‑is the most fitting time for repeating this
little prayer over and over again, when we approach the heavenly feast;
then should we redouble our fervour as we exclaim,‑"Lord, what wilt Thou
have me to do?" Yes, every day in the most solemn part of Holy Mass, at
the awful moment of the Consecration, let this be the most ardent of
all our prayers,‑"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" for it is highly
desirable that a form of heavenly aspiration should be used by devout
people every day during celebration. Jacob Lainez was accustomed to say
every day at the end of the Consecration, after the words of the
centurion,‑"Lord, I am not worthy"‑while he held Christ in his hands,
"May that which I have promised please Thee, 0 ,Lord?" And so, in cases
of every kind, we ought to pray, while the heavenly Bread is being
broken, "Lord, as Thou willest, so do I also will; that which I have
rightly promised I recall not." This daily oblation of self to the
Divine Will is the most excellent preparation for the last conflict in
death.
But if a person has for a long time asked something of God, and has not
yet obtained his desire, let him rest assured that the Father, who is
supreme in
Goodness, wills not that that should be obtained from Him which His son
has for so long a time sought, or that the most Benignant Father wills
that the patience of His child who asks should be exercised so as to
obtain a greater reward. There can be no doubt but that God in His
infinite mercy frequently. defers the help that has been sought, in
order that He may the more abundantly reward more persevering prayers,
and more enduring patience. These of a truth must not unfrequently be
wrested from many, just as money is from misers. God would demand from
us fewer prayers and less patience, if He did not in this way urge the
slothful forward. And so it is often very much to our profit to have
obtained nothing by our daily prayers; for oftentimes the benefit of
prayers which are so long delayed is greater than it would have been if
they had been granted. And it is this which may well bring great comfort
to: everyone that he has made many prayers, and not a few.
How did King David fast, and weep, and pray, prostrate on the earth
before he knew the Will of God concerning his little child who was at
the point of death; but when he heard that he was dead, he discovered
that the Will of God had ordained that he should die, and so he "arose
from the ground, and washed and anointed himself, and when he had
changed his apparel, lie went into the house of the Lord, and
worshipped." (2 Kings XII. 20.) Our Lord, after a threefold prayer at
the Mount of Olives, being now certain about His Father's Will,
said,‑"Sleep ye now, and take your rest: behold the hour is at hand."
(Matt. XXVI. 45.) And so, even when prayer is rejected, its refusal is
received with quietude and calmness of mind, if only for this reason'
that it is now evident what Almighty God wills to be done. Heli the
priest, when Samuel related what vengeance God would take both upon
himself and his sons, made only this reply,‑"It is the Lord, let Him do
what is good in His sight" (I Kings 111. 18) ; just as if he had said,
"You have told me, Samuel, what is painful for me to hear; but, because
I am now certain concerning the Divine Will, I cheerfully receive what
you have said, however distasteful it may be, and recognize a proof of
God's Ordinance. I and my sons deserve to be punished, and we shall
suffer punishment since it so seems good to the Divine Will, against
which it is impiety to struggle. Let the Good God do whatever is
pleasing to His most holy Will; we are servants, and ,He is the Lord; we
offend in many ways, and it is ' a master's prerogative to punish
faults." When the people of Caesarea were endeavouring with their tears
to stay Paul as he was setting out for Jerusalem, he said to them, with
the utmost earnestness,‑ 'What do you mean weeping and afflicting my
heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but to die also at
Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when we could not
persuade him, we ceased, saying, the Will of the Lord be done." (Acts
xxi. 13, 14.) This is true serenity of soul, when we find that our
prayers are fruitless, to desire this one thing alone, that the Will of
the Lord be done.
SEVENTH RULE
No one discovers the Divine Will with greater certainty than he who with
entire sincerity desires to conform himself to it in all things. This
desire is, in truth, the thread for unravelling the mazes of all
labyrinths. All uncertainty about the Divine Will is removed, if, when
one is ignorant as to what God wills, or which of two lawful things He
would rather have done, he is yet so disposed in mind as to say, with
perfect sincerity of intention,‑"If I knew, O Lord, what Thou willedst
to be done by me in this matter, I would immediately do it." After this
protestation has been made, let him unhesitatingly do what he
will, and cease to disturb himself, for he will not easily offend
against the Divine Will. Such a son as this the All loving Father will
not desert, nor will He suffer him to wander far from His Will. If there
is no man at hand by whom He may instruct him, He will send an angel, as
He did to Joseph, when he was deliberating as to what was best to be
done in a weighty matter. Thus also an angel was sent to the three kings
from the East, after they had worshipped the Divine Infant in his
manger‑cradle, to warn them to beware of the treachery of Herod, and to
return to their own country by another way.' And so to Agar, the
handmaid of Abraham. And to numberless others in the same way, either an
angel has been sent as a defence against error, or, instead of an angel
some faithful man. So true is it that He does not deny a knowledge of
His Will to such as truly seek it. "The spirit of Wisdom is benevolent"
(Wisdom 1. 6), and bestows itself without grudging upon all. God is
nigh unto all them who seek for Him in sincerity, and reveals His Will,
by a way of teaching as wonderful as it is sweet, to all those who with
true submission are followers of Him. We best learn to know the Will of
God by doing it. |
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