Chapter VII

Caritas non aemulatur.

The soul that loves Jesus Christ does not envy the great of this world, but only those who love Jesus Christ more.

St. Gregory explains this other mark of charity and says that charity does not envy, because it does not know how to envy worldly people those earthly honors which it does not desire but despises: Non aemulatur, quia per hoc quod in praesenti mundo nihil appetit, invidere terrenis successibus nescit. Hence we must distinguish two kinds of emulation: one evil and the other holy. The evil kind is that which envies and grieves over the worldly goods that others possess on this earth. Holy emulation, on the other hand, does not envy but rather pities the great of this world who live amid earthly honors and pleasures. It seeks and desires nothing but God, and aims at nothing in this life but to love him as much as it can; and therefore it has a holy envy of whoever loves him more, since in loving him it would wish to surpass even the seraphim.

This is the one end that holy souls have on earth — an end that so enamors and wounds the heart of God with love that it makes him say: Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa, vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum (Cant. IV, 9). That "one of your eyes" signifies the single aim the soul-spouse has in all her exercises and thoughts: to please God. The people of the world in their actions look at things with many eyes, that is, with various disordered aims — to please men, to gain honor, to acquire riches, and, if nothing else, to satisfy themselves. But the saints have only one eye, to look in all they do solely at the pleasure of God; and they say with David: Quid... mihi est in caelo? et a te quid volui super terram?... Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in aeternum (Ps. LXXII, 25, 26): What else do I want, my God, in this world and in the next, but you alone? You alone are my riches, you the only Lord of my heart. Let the rich enjoy their earthly treasures, said St. Paulinus, let kings enjoy their kingdoms; you, my Jesus, are my treasure and my kingdom: Habeant sibi divitias suas divites, regna sua reges, Christus mihi gloria et regnum est.

Let us therefore note that it is not enough to do good works; we must do them well. For our works to be good and perfect, it is necessary to do them with the pure intention of pleasing God. This was the worthy praise given to Jesus Christ: Bene omnia fecit (Marc. VII, 37). Many actions may be praiseworthy in themselves, but because they are done for an end other than the divine glory, they will be worth little or nothing before God. St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi used to say: "God rewards our works by the measure of their purity." This means that according to how pure our intention is, so the Lord accepts and rewards our actions. But, O God, how difficult it is to find an action done solely for God! I recall a holy elderly religious who had labored much for God and died with a reputation for holiness; one day, looking back over his life, he said to me, all sad and frightened: "Alas, looking at all the works of my life, I do not find a single one done solely for God." Cursed self-love, which makes us lose all or most of the fruit of our good actions! How many people in their most holy occupations as preachers, confessors, and missionaries labor and toil but gain little or nothing, because they do not look to God alone, but to worldly glory, or self-interest, or the vanity of appearing important, or at least their own inclination!

The Lord says: Take care not to do good in order to be seen by men, otherwise you will have no reward from the heavenly Father: Attendite ne iustitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis: alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est (Math. VI, 1). He who labors to please his own fancy has already received his reward: Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam (Ibid. 5). A reward, however, that amounts to a little smoke or a fleeting satisfaction that quickly passes, leaving no profit to the soul. The prophet Haggai says that he who labors for anything other than to please God puts his wages into a bag with holes, and when he goes to open it finds nothing: Et qui mercedes congregavit misit eas in sacculum pertusum (Agg. I, 6). And from this it follows that such people, if after their labors they do not obtain the result of whatever they undertake, become very upset. This is the sign that they did not have solely the glory of God as their end: whoever does a work solely for the glory of God, even if it does not succeed, is not disturbed at all, because he has already achieved his aim of pleasing God by having acted with a right intention.

Here are the signs for seeing whether one who is engaged in some spiritual work is acting solely for God: 1. If he is not disturbed when he does not obtain the desired result, because God not willing it, neither does he will it. 2. If he rejoices equally in the good done by others as if he had done it himself. 3. If he does not prefer one assignment to another, but welcomes the one that obedience to superiors dictates. 4. If after his works he seeks from others neither thanks nor approval; and therefore if he is criticized or disapproved by others, he is not troubled, being content solely to have pleased God. And if he does receive some praise from the world, he does not become vain, but answers the vainglory that presents itself to be accepted with what the Venerable John of Avila used to say: "Go away, you have arrived too late, for I have already given the whole work to God."

This is entering into the joy of the Lord — that is, to rejoice in the joy of God — as is promised to faithful servants: Euge, serve bone et fidelis quia super pauca fuisti fidelis... intra in gaudium domini tui (Math. XXV, 23). But if we should be so fortunate as to do something pleasing to God, says Chrysostom, what else are we looking for? Si dignus fueris agere aliquid quod Deo placet, aliam praeter id mercedem requiris? This is the greatest reward, the greatest good fortune a creature can attain: to give pleasure to its Creator.

And this is what Jesus Christ expects from a soul that loves him: Pone me, he says to her, ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum super brachium tuum (Cant. VIII, 6). He wants her to place him as a seal upon her heart and upon her arm: upon her heart, so that whatever she thinks of doing, she intends to do it solely for love of God; upon her arm, so that whatever she does, she does it all to please God; so that God is always the sole aim of all her thoughts and all her actions. St. Teresa said that whoever wishes to become a saint must live with no other desire than to please God. And her first spiritual daughter, the Venerable Beatrice of the Incarnation, said: "There is no price that can pay for any work, however small, done for God." And rightly so, because all things done to please God are acts of charity that unite us to God and win us eternal goods.

It is said that purity of intention is the heavenly alchemy by which iron becomes gold — that is, the most ordinary actions, such as working, eating, recreating, and resting, done for God, become gold of holy love. Hence St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi firmly believed that those who do with a pure intention all that they do go straight to paradise without entering purgatory. It is told in the Spiritual Treasury that a holy hermit, before performing any action, would pause for a moment and raise his eyes to heaven. When asked why he did this, he replied: "I am making sure of my aim." He meant that just as the archer, before releasing the arrow, takes aim to hit the target, so he, before putting his hand to any action, took aim at God, so that the work might be to his pleasure. So must we also do; and indeed, while continuing the work we have begun, it is good to renew from time to time our intention of pleasing God.

Those who in all their affairs look to nothing but the divine will enjoy that holy freedom of spirit which the children of God possess, which enables them to embrace everything that pleases Jesus Christ, regardless of any resistance from self-love or human respect. Love for Jesus Christ places its lovers in a total indifference, in which everything is the same to them, the sweet and the bitter: they want nothing that pleases themselves, and they want everything that pleases God. With the same peace they engage in great things and in small, in pleasant things and in unpleasant: it suffices that they please God.

Many, on the other hand, wish to serve God, but in a particular assignment, in a particular place, with certain companions, under certain circumstances; otherwise they either abandon the work or do it grudgingly. These do not have freedom of spirit but are slaves of self-love, and therefore merit little even in what they do; and they live restlessly, for the yoke of Jesus Christ is heavy to them. The true lovers of Jesus Christ love to do only what pleases Jesus Christ, and because it pleases Jesus Christ; when he wills, where he wills, and in the way Jesus Christ wills; whether Jesus Christ wishes to employ them in a life honored by the world, or in a life obscure and neglected. This is what it means to love Jesus Christ with pure love; and in this we must labor, fighting against the appetites of self-love, which would have us occupied in great works of honor and of our own inclination.

And we must be detached even from our spiritual exercises, when the Lord wishes us employed in other works to his liking. One day Father Alvarez, finding himself very busy, wished to be free so as to go to make his prayer, since it seemed to him that during that time he was not with God; but the Lord then said to him: "Although I do not keep you with me, let it suffice you that I make use of you." This applies to those persons who sometimes grow uneasy because they are obliged by obedience or charity to leave their customary devotions: let them know that such uneasiness certainly does not come from God, but either from the devil or from their own self-love. Let us give pleasure to God, and let us die to self. This is the first maxim of the saints.

Affections and Prayers

My eternal God, I offer you my whole heart; but, O God, what a heart I offer you! A heart indeed created to love you, but one that, instead of loving you, has so many times rebelled against you. But see, my Jesus, that if once this heart of mine was rebellious toward you, now it is altogether sorrowful and repentant for the displeasures it has caused you. Yes, my dear Redeemer, I repent of having scorned you, and I am resolved to obey and love you at all costs. Draw me entirely to your love; do it for the love you bore me in dying on the cross for me.

I love you, my Jesus; I love you with all my soul; I love you more than myself, O true, O sole Lover of my soul, since I find no one else but you who has sacrificed your life for love of me.

It makes me weep to see the ingratitude I have shown you. Poor me, I was already lost, but I hope that you, by your grace, have restored my life. This shall be my life: to love you always, my supreme good.

Grant that I may love you, O infinite Love, and I ask nothing more of you.

O Mary, my mother, accept me as your servant, and obtain my acceptance by Jesus your Son.