Part 1, lesson 13. That the miserable desire of being honored is a common and universal desire; of the manner of combating and renouncing it

Q. Is the desire of being thought of, loved, and esteemed,

• Blanditiis demulcete feras, ut rnihi sepulchrum fiant, et nihil rle corpore raeo relinquarit; ne cum obdormiens, molestus cuiquam sim. Tune ero verti christi discipulus, cum mundus ncc corpus meum videbit. St. Ign. Epist. ad Rom.

universal, and common to all men?

A. It is a desire so common, that there is scarcely any one, if he does not watch over him self very carefully, that does not act and speak by its secret im pulse. We have in us this miserable and idolatrous desire, to fill every one's mind with ourselves, to wish to instil the esteem of ourselves in all hearts, and to be idolized by all.

Q. Alas! what a misfortune, what a wretched state !

A. We are all filled in our flesh with the inclinations of the devil, which he infused into us by the sin of Adam; so that our flesh makes us wish, like him, to hold the place of God in the, world, and whilst formerly man was to be honored as the image of God, and receive from crea tures their homage and venera tion to ofter them to God; since his prevarication, he wishes to receive them for himself, and to be idolized and adored in the place of God.

Q. How do you think that people speak in the world, and act even in the most holy things?

A. It is with the desire of being esteemed, and of impress ing the love of themselves in the hearts of all around them.

Q. The means not to fall into this disorder?

A. It is to renounce ourselves in the beginning of our conversa tions and actions, which is done in the following manner: My God ! I renounce all intention of appearing in this; I renounce all intention of attracting to me the esteem of men; I renounce all the detestable desires of my flesh which always seeks itself in all things; I renounce all the self-love and abominable pride with which I am filled.

Q. Is it enough for us to re nounce ourselves and all the desires of self-seeking?

A. We must, besides, en deavor to become stronger, in abandoning ourselves to the Spirit of our Lord, who, since baptism, is in us to perform pur actions with us, in order that we may do the works of Christ, arid not those of the old man, the works of the spirit and not those of the flesh, and that in all things God may be glori fied in us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Q. This is a beautiful doc trine; but is it found in the Scriptures?

A. Yes; I could give you many passages to establish it; but I will quote only what St. Peter, our master in Christ, says of it: "If any man speaks, let him speak as the words of God. Let him speak in the Spirit of God. If any man ad ministers, let him do it as of the power, which God administereth, that in all things the holiness and majesty of God may be honored through Jesus Christ.*

Q. It is then in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord, acting in us, that we ought to do all things ?

A. Yes; we must go out of ourselves and enter into the vir tue of Christ, to honor God, his Father; for otherwise we are all filled with impurity and bad intentions which infect all our works.

• Si quis loquitur, quasi sermones Dei; si quis ministrat, tanquam ex virtute quam administrat Deus ; ut in om nibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum. 1, Pet. iv, xi.

Q. We are then very misera ble and wretched, since, as long as we remain in ourselves, we can do nothing that can please God?

A. This proceeds from the corruption of the flesh; wherever it appears, it corrupts every thing.

Q. I am not astonished that we so much deserve to be de spised ?

A. We not only deserve to be forgotten and despised on account of our nothingness, but we also merit to be persecuted and trampled under foot, in a word, of ourselves we merit no thing but hell.

Q. What do you say? you destroy entirely the confidence I had in myself.

A. I say nothing to you that I do not show you in the Scrip tures.