That Mortification Is Not a Hatred, but a True Love, Not of Our Soul Alone, but Even of Our Very Body

SINCE we have said, and it is the doctrine of the saints, taken from the holy Gospel, that we ought to abhor ourselves, and this seems a very hard thing and contrary to our nature, therefore, that none may take fright at hearing this said nor thence find occasion for being discouraged and abandoning mortification, we will here explain how this is not a hatred and abhorrence whereby we wish evil, but a true love, not of our soul alone, but of our very body; nay, rather, the failing to mortify ourselves is a true hatred and abhorrence, not of the soul alone, but also of the body.

The glorious St. Augustine on those words of St. Paul: The spirit lusteth against the flesh (Gal. v.17), says: “Far be it, brethren, far be it, that the spirit in lusting against the flesh should abhor and hate the flesh. What, then, does it abhor? The vices of the flesh, its craft and evil inclinations, the resistance of the flesh to reason. As for the flesh, it rather loves it in mortifying and contradicting it, just as the physician does not abhor the sick man, but his sickness; he wars against that; but as for the sick man, he rather loves him.” And this is well proved; for to love anyone, as the philosopher says, is to will and desire his good; while to abhor one is to wish evil to come upon him. But he who goes about mortifying his body and combating its appetites and disorderly desires, is seeking and procuring for his body the greatest and highest good, which is eternal repose and glory; and thus he it is that truly loves his body. And he who has no mind to mortify himself, but gives himself to the gratification of his evil inclinations and appetites, is seeking and procuring for his body the greatest evil that he possibly can seek and procure, which is hell for ever and ever; and thus he it is that truly abhors his body. So the prophet says: He that loveth iniquity, hateth his own soul (Psalm x. 6), because he is procuring and contriving for it hell for ever and ever. And for the same reason, says St. Augustine, we may say that he abhors also his body, because he is procuring and -contriving for it the same evil. And so theologians say that righteous and good men love themselves more than sinners and evil men, not only as regards the soul, but also as regards the body, since they are desiring and procuring for it that true good which is the blessedness of heaven, of which the soul is to partake, and after its fashion the body also. And St. Thomas adds for this same reason that the righteous man loves his body, not with any common sort of love, but with the love of charity, which is the highest and most profitable love.

This is clearly seen by the example of two sick men, one of whom eats and drinks according to his liking and will not submit to bleeding or take a purge or any medicine; and the other governs himself well, keeping his mouth shut, although he is very thirsty and hungry, and taking the purge, bitter though it be, and submitting to being bled, although it hurts him. It is clear that this second patient loves his life and his body and his health—to gain and keep which he is ready to bear a little suffering and be put on diet and take medicines—better than the other, of whom we rather say that he is cutting his own throat by not submitting to suffer a little thirst and inconvenience. In the same manner it may be argued to our purpose. And so St. Bernard said to some seculars who were horrified at his monks’ treating their bodies so badly, saying that they bore a deadly hatred to them: to whom the saint answered that it was they in the world who really detested their bodies, since to give them a little enjoyment of sensual delights they bound them over to everlasting torments; while the monks truly loved their bodies, since they afflicted them for a little time to merit a lasting repose.

This truth was taught us by Christ our Redeemer in the holy Gospel. For after saying: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me, He goes on to give the reason, saying: For whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for my sake shall find it (Matt. xvi. 24- 25). St. Augustine writes: “Great and wonderful pronouncement, how a man’s love for his own life means the loss of it, and his hatred of it the saving it from loss. If you have loved it badly, then you have hated it; and if you have hated it well, then you have loved it. Happy they who have hated it to save it, lest they should lose it by loving it. Love it not for this life, lest you lose it for life everlasting,” as the same Lord says: He that hateth his life in this world, preserveth it unto life everlasting (John li. 25). And he gives another good reason in confirmation of this. We do not cease to love a thing, he says, because we love something else better. The sick man clearly does not cease to love his foot or his arm for allowing it to be amputated when amputation is necessary to save his life; he loves it well enough, but he loves his life better and allows himself to lose the less to save the greater. And, again, the miser loves his money and desires much to keep it; but nevertheless he divests himself of it and flings it away to buy bread and other necessaries of life because, much as he loves his money, he loves his life better and is ready to lose the less to preserve the greater. In like manner a man does not cease to love his flesh by mortifying it, but he loves his soul and life everlasting better; and for his soul and for the attaining of perfection and life everlasting it is needful to mortify and maltreat his flesh; therefore he mortifies and maltreats it accordingly, and this is not abhorrence or lack of love, but it is loving God more and loving more one’s own soul and perfection.