That It Is a Necessary Means for Acquiring the Virtue of Obedience to Obey the Superior as Christ

HIS practice of not regarding the person of the superior as man, but looking to Him Whom we obey in this man, Which is Christ our Lord, is not only a means for obeying better and more perfectly, but is absolutely and definitely necessary for gaining the virtue of obedience. He who does not reckon that it is God Whom he obeys, will not only not be perfect in obedience, but will not be a good subject at all; there will always be something wanting in his practice of this virtue. This we will put in a practical light for all eyes to see, as they say, since it is a ground of great importance. If you regard your superior as man, man for man, you are a man as well as he is. And though he be ever so learned, prudent, or holy, you will say that after all he is but a man, that he cannot know all things, nor all the reasons in each case, and that he may well make a mistake and be wrong on some one point or other. This consideration will carry you on to think that, like other men, he has his bias and particular inclinations, that move him to this side rather than to that, and make him not regard your side of the case with such favorable eyes as your opponent’s. Above all, when the thing commanded clashes with your love of your own ease, then self-love (a great solicitor) will find acute and dainty reasons in your favor, and a thousand replies and solutions to the contrary. Thus you will never get so far as to take the thing in silence, and entirely leave off your own will and understanding, because, given human reasons, there will never fail you other human reasons to the contrary. But if you do not look upon your superior as a man, subject to errors and miseries, but consider Who it is that you obey in that man, Which is Christ our Lord, Who is sovereign wisdom, goodness, and charity, and Who can neither deceive nor be deceived, then all your arguments and reasons are silenced, and your submission is complete; for this reason, God wishes it, God commands at, it is the will of God, admits of no reply nor solution. So Says the Prophet David: I was silent and opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it (Psalm xxxviii. 10). I have not complained, O Lord, in my troubles, but like a dumb man I have been silent and opened not my mouth, because I know that Thou hast sent me them. Oh, that we went about things in this way! With what spirit should we go about them! With what promptitude and perfection should we obey! At the voice of the superior we should at once leave the letter of the alphabet that we had begun to form; we should remember that it is the voice of Christ. We should hold it for discourtesy and bad manners to hang back and say: “Just wait; I am coming now, I am coming presently.” How we should conform our will! How we should surrender our judgment! All difficulties would be smoothed down thereby.

Hence the solution of a doubt very much to our purpose. How is it that a religious man, who has lived years under obedience and daily practised it, has not got the habit of obedience nor gained the virtue, although all philosophers and divines agree that a virtuous habit is got by frequent acts and practice? The reason and solution is this, that habits are gained by corresponding acts, done for the formal motive of the virtue. Now the obedience of which we speak is a religious virtue, a species of the virtue of religion, which regards God and the worship and honor of His Divine Majesty. Therefore, when in obeying you do not purely regard God in the superior, nor obey because such is the will of God, but rather to please the superior, or because he is a man of position, or for fear of penance and reprimand, or because what they tell you to do is what just suits you, or because the order is given in courteous language, or for other like motives, these are not acts of the virtue of religious obedience, because the formal and religious motive of obedience is wanting there; and you have not gained the virtue of obedience thereby, nor ever will gain it as long as you live, if you go on in that way; but you may very well get to a politic obedience, such as there is among soldiers and seamen, and in any other body and society, but it will not be the virtue of religion.

Therefore our Father instructed us that we must not obey the superior because he is a very prudent man, or because he is a very good man, or a man highly qualified in any other gifts, but because he holds the place and authority of God our Lord. Set that aside, and fix your eyes on other mere human reasons, then, he said, the force of obedience is lost. It will no longer be the virtue of obedience nor an act of religion, because in that way out in the world you would follow the opinion of prudent men and men of great learning and experience; that is living with men and not with God. The more you regard these human reasons and the more you are guided by them, the further will you stray from the divine way and the true virtue of obedience and let yourself down to obey men alone. Following this train of thought, he goes on to say that we ought nowise to look to see whether it is the cook or the superior of the house that commands us, nor whether it be this man or that, since it is not for their sake that we obey, but for God’s sake alone. We should obey subordinate officials with the same humility, readiness, and submission as the superior in chief.

The blessed St. Francis was come to this perfection of obedience. He said: “Among other favors that the Divine Bounty has bestowed on me is this grace, that I could as readily obey a novice who had worn the habit for one hour, if he were given me as guardian, as a very ancient and prudent friar.” He went on to say that, according as the superior whom we obey has fewer qualities and less authority, so is our obedience more perfect and agreeable to God. And it is a common saying amongst us, that he who obeys the cook, refectorian, or sacristan shows more obedience than if he obeyed Father Minister: and more in obeying Father Minister than Father Rector, and Father Rector than the Provincial or General. For obedience rendered to the General may be motived by a consideration of the respect due to his person and place, or by a desire to gain his favor; Whereas the obedience paid to a subordinate official can have no other motive but God.

Our Father adds, in confirmation of what has been said, that he who is not entirely obedient to subordinate officials will not be entirely obedient to other superiors either, since true obedience does not consider the person obeyed, but God for Whom and Whom it obeys in all persons. In that other man there is wanting the formal motive of true obedience; since, if he obeyed for God, he would obey also the subordinate officials, who hold in his regard the place of God; and since he does not obey them, it is a sign that, when he obeys other superiors, he does not obey for God, but out of regard to men, and that will not be perfect religious obedience.