Summary of the Virtues Explained in This Work That He Who Loves Jesus Christ Must Practice

We must suffer with patience all the tribulations of this life: sickness, pain, poverty, loss of possessions, the death of relatives, affronts, persecutions, and all things contrary to our will. And let us understand that the trials of this life are signs that God loves us and wills our salvation in the next. And further let us understand that the involuntary mortifications God sends us are more pleasing to him than the voluntary ones we take upon ourselves.

In sickness let us strive to resign ourselves entirely to the will of God, which pleases God more than any other devotion. If we cannot then apply our mind to meditation, let us look upon the crucifix, offering him our sufferings and uniting them to those he endured for us on the cross. And when the news of our death is given to us, let us accept it with peace and in a spirit of sacrifice — that is, with the will to die in order to please Jesus Christ: this will is what gave all its merit to the death of the martyrs. We must then say: "Lord, here I am; I will all that you will; I will to suffer as much as you will; I will to die when you will." Nor should we then seek to prolong life in order to do penance for our sins; to accept death with full resignation is worth more than any penance.

Moreover, we must conform ourselves to the divine will in suffering poverty and all the hardships that poverty brings with it: cold, hunger, toil, dishonor, and ridicule.

Likewise we must resign ourselves in the loss of possessions and in the loss of relatives and friends who could have done us good had they lived. Let us accustom ourselves in all things contrary to our will to repeat: God has willed it so; so do I will it. And at the death of our loved ones, instead of wasting time in weeping without profit, let us spend it praying for their souls, offering to Jesus Christ the pain we feel at having lost them.

Furthermore, let us make an effort to bear with patience and peace the contempt and affronts we receive. To one who speaks to us with insults let us respond with gentle words; but when we feel ourselves disturbed, it is better to endure and keep silence until the mind is calm again; and meanwhile let us take care not to complain to others about the affront received, offering it in silence to Jesus Christ, who suffered so many for us.

Use gentleness with everyone — superiors and inferiors, nobles and commoners, relatives and strangers — but more especially with the poor and the sick; and most especially with those who look upon us with ill will.

In correcting the faults of others, gentleness avails more than all other means and reasons; therefore let us be careful not to make the correction when we are angry, because then the reproof will always turn out bitter, either in word or in manner. Let us also be careful not to correct the offender when he is angry, because then the correction will sooner exasperate him than bring him to his senses.

Do not envy the great ones of this world for their riches, honors, dignities, and the applause they receive from men; but envy those who love Jesus Christ the most, who certainly live more contentedly than the greatest kings of the earth; and thank the Lord for the light by which he makes us know the vanity of all these worldly goods, for which so many wretches are lost.

In all our actions and thoughts, seek not our own satisfaction but only the good pleasure of God; and therefore do not be disturbed when the aim of some design of ours does not succeed; and when it does succeed, do not seek applause and thanks from men; and if we are criticized, take no account of it, consoling ourselves that we acted to please God and not men.

The principal means to perfection are these: First, to flee every deliberate sin, however slight; but if by misfortune we commit some fault, let us beware of growing angry with ourselves impatiently. We must then repent with peace, and, making an act of love for Jesus Christ, promise him not to commit it again, asking his help.

Second, to desire to attain the perfection of the saints and to suffer everything in order to please Jesus Christ; and if we do not have this desire, to pray to Jesus Christ that in his goodness he may grant it to us, because otherwise, if we do not truly desire to become saints, we shall never take a single step forward in perfection.

Third, to have a true resolution to attain perfection. He who does not have this firm resolution acts with weakness, and in the occasions of sin does not overcome his repugnances; on the other hand, a resolute soul, with the help of God who never fails, conquers all.

Fourth, to make two hours, or at least one hour, of mental prayer every day; and without strict necessity never to omit it, no matter what weariness, aridity, or agitation we may experience.

Fifth, to receive communion several times a week, according to the obedience of the director; for frequent communion should not be made against the judgment of the same. And the same applies to exterior mortifications of fasting, hairshirts, disciplines, and the like: such mortifications performed without the obedience of the spiritual father will either ruin health or breed vainglory. And therefore it is necessary to have a particular director to regulate everything by obedience to him.

Sixth, to use prayer continually, commending ourselves to Jesus Christ for all the needs that arise; having recourse also to the intercession of the guardian angel, of the patron saints, and especially of the divine Mother, through whose hands God grants us all graces. It has already been shown toward the end of chapter eight that on prayer depends all our good. We must especially ask God every day for perseverance in his grace — which perseverance he who asks for it obtains, and he who does not ask for it does not obtain it and is lost; ask Jesus Christ for his holy love and for perfect conformity to his will. And we must always ask for graces through the merits of Jesus Christ. These prayers must be made from the moment we rise in the morning, and then repeated in mental prayer, in communion, in the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, and in the evening during the examination of conscience. Especially in time of temptation we must ask God for help to resist, and particularly if they are temptations against chastity, invoking repeatedly the most holy names of Jesus and Mary. He who prays conquers; he who does not pray is conquered.

As for humility: do not grow vain over riches, honors, nobility, talent, or any other natural gift; still less over spiritual gifts, remembering that all are gifts from God. Consider ourselves the worst of all, and therefore be content to see ourselves despised by others; and not do as some who say they are the worst of all and then want to be treated better than everyone. Hence accept reproofs humbly without excusing ourselves, not even when we are blamed unjustly — unless a defense is necessary to avoid scandalizing others.

All the more must we guard against wanting to make a show in the world and seeking honors from men. Therefore keep before our eyes the great maxim of St. Francis, that we are worth only what we are before God. It would be worse still for a religious to seek offices of honor and superiority in the religious life: the honor of a religious is to be the most humble of all; and he is the most humble who embraces humiliations with the greatest joy.

Detach the heart from all creatures. He who is attached to anything of this earth, however small, can never fly and unite himself wholly to God.

Detach ourselves especially from affection for relatives. St. Philip Neri used to say: "As much affection as we place on creatures, so much we take away from God." And when it comes to the choice of a state of life, we must especially guard against relatives who seek their own interests more than our good. Detach ourselves from human respect and from the vain esteem of men; and above all, detach ourselves from our own will. We must leave all to gain all. Totum pro toto, writes the author of the Imitation of Christ.

Never grow angry over any occurrence; and if at any time we find ourselves surprised by anger, let us immediately commend ourselves to God, and let us then refrain from acting and speaking until we are sure that the anger has subsided. For this reason it is expedient that in prayer we prepare ourselves for all the encounters that may befall us, so that we may not then react with fault; remembering what St. Francis de Sales confessed of himself: "I have never given way to anger without afterward regretting it."

All holiness consists in loving God, and all love for God consists in doing his will. We must therefore resign ourselves without reserve to all that God disposes of us; and therefore embrace with peace all events, prosperous and adverse, that God wills — that state of life that God wills, that health that God wills. And to this end direct all our prayers, that God may make us fulfill his holy will. And to discern the divine will, depend on the obedience of the superior for those who are religious, and of the confessor for those who are laypeople; holding for certain what St. Philip Neri used to say: "For what is done out of obedience, one need not render an account to God." This is understood, provided the thing is not evidently a sin.

Against temptations there are two remedies: resignation and prayer. Resignation, because although temptations to sin do not come from God, nevertheless God permits them for our good; and therefore let us beware of growing angry, however troublesome the temptations may be; let us resign ourselves to the will of God who permits them, and arm ourselves to overcome them with prayer, which among all weapons is the strongest and most certain for conquering our enemies. Evil thoughts are not sins, no matter how foul and impious they may be: only evil consents are sins. By invoking the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, we shall never be conquered. When temptation attacks, it helps to renew the resolution to die rather than offend God; it helps also to sign ourselves repeatedly with the sign of the cross and with holy water; and it helps greatly to reveal the temptation to the confessor; but the most necessary remedy is prayer, asking for help to resist from Jesus and Mary.

In desolation of spirit, then, there are two acts in which we must principally exercise ourselves: first, humble ourselves by confessing that we deserve to be treated thus; second, resign ourselves to the will of God, abandoning ourselves into the arms of the divine goodness. When God consoles us, let us prepare ourselves for the tribulations that usually follow consolations. When he then makes us endure desolation, let us humble ourselves and resign ourselves to the divine will, and we shall draw far greater profit from desolation than from consolation.

To live always well, we must impress upon our minds certain general maxims of eternal life:

Everything in this life comes to an end, both pleasure and suffering; but eternity never ends.

Of what use, at the moment of death, are all the grandeurs of this world?

Whatever comes from God, whether prosperous or adverse, is all good and is for our benefit.

We must leave all to gain all.

Without God there can never be true peace.

Only loving God and saving our soul is necessary.

Only sin is to be feared.

If God is lost, all is lost.

He who desires nothing of this world is master of the whole world.

He who prays is saved; he who does not pray is lost.

Let us die, and let us give pleasure to God.

However much God may cost, he was never too dear.

For one who has deserved hell, every pain is light.

He who gazes on Jesus on the cross can bear all things.

Whatever is not done for God becomes nothing but pain.

He who wills God alone is rich in every good.

Blessed is he who can say from the heart: My Jesus, you alone I want, and nothing more.

He who loves God will find pleasure in everything; he who does not love God will find true pleasure in nothing.