Book I, Chapter V

Rejoice to be thought guilty, that you may be innocent in the sight of God

(On these words) — “ Rejoice to be thought guilty, that you may be innocent in the sight of God.”

Question. — Who is he that is willing to be thought guilty, that he may be innocent in the sight of God?

Answer. — This may be said of three sorts of persons.

1. First, of those who, when blamed, do not excuse themselves. Innocence is very often calumniated, but one who looks simply to God, and considers that the only important thing in this world is to please Him, that He Alone sees the ground of his heart, and that we are holy only in proportion as we are united with Him; one, I say, who has these views, cares little for the contempt of man; whatever is done to decry him, he remains always contented, provided that God’s honour is not concerned; and that he may judge well of this, he never consults or hearkens to self-love.

When, therefore, care for the honor of God does not oblige him to justify himself, he has no difficulty in allowing himself to be thought guilty; he can even make most profitable use of this opportunity, to grow in the knowledge of himself, and enter more deeply into familiar intercourse with our Lord. For, being repulsed by the world, he takes refuge with

THAT HE MAT BE INNOCENT BEFORE OOD. 27

Him Who knows the sincerity of his intentions, and the merit of his works; he reposes sweetly in Him, and becomes more strongly attached to Him, when he figures to himself the only Son of God, the Holy of Holies, accused and counted by the Jews as an impostor, and an enemy of the law. In these cir- cumstances his silence causes him to be thought guilty, but serves at the same time to make his inno- I cence brighter in the sight of the Sovereign Judge,

because an injury joyfully received, when we could defend ourselves, is an inestimable merit in the sight of God.

Corrupt nature is always ready to exculpate itself, to dissemble and colour its faults. Adam and Eve excused themselves, when they heard the voice of the I Lord reproving their disobedience. Most of their children imitate them, for they have always a thou- I sand specious reasons to avoid a reproof; and though they cannot be unaware that they have erred, they lay all the blame on others who are innocent, and even on God Himself, like the first man, when he I said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me% i she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Gen. iii. 12.

They thus sometimes reproach the Creator, saying that they should not have said or done the thing for which they are reproved, if they had not been natui rally passionate and of a fastidious temper. Thus I they condemn Providence, instead of imputing the evil to their own irresolution and want of mortifij cation, and their neglect of grace given.

The more we try to justify the dealings of God by attributing our own faults to ourselves, the more pleasing are we to Him, which verifies this saying i “ Love to appear guilty before man, and in the sight of God you shall be innocent.” We are so full of pride,

J that we have great difficulty in owning what we are in truth. The humble and sincere soul will acknow- I d 2

28 WHO IS WILLING TO BE THOUGHT GUILTY, ledge honestly that it is he who has failed, will own it, and share with none his deserved confusion.

It is said, and commonly, I own that I am far from being as perfect as I wish, and ought to be, but i I cannot be so without special grace, such as God has { been pleased to give to the Saints. People say this;!

but they do not see, that if the Saints received great assistance from Heaven, as they assuredly did, it was always their principal care to co-operate with it; that they laboured much, did themselves much violence, that they spent ten or twenty years in conquering themselves and mortifying their passions; in a word, that the perfection that they acquired cost 1 them much, and that it is with extreme labour that they arrived at it.

What have these people to say to this, who seem to require God to do all, and who are, on every occasion, asking for extraordinary graces? Grace helps us, but we most often are wanting to grace. We are so weak, that at the least effort to be made, the least shame to be endured, we draw back and lose courage. If we have only not to eat something pleasing to the taste, or not to let our eyes rest on an object which awakens curiosity, we cannot do it.

It is incredible how much the Saints mortified themselves, how faithfully they responded to the inspirations of Heaven. One of a true spirit hides not his defects; attributes his small progress in virtue to his own weakness only, and remissness; accuses himself before God, humbly entreats pardon of Him, and prostrate on the earth, with tearful eyes, and confusion of face, implores His mercy.

Those, on the other hand, who think that they have done a great deal for God, and that He owes them much, review all the good that they think they have done, recount the years they have spent in His service, and close their eyes to the multitude of their

THAT H£ MAY BE INNOCENT BEFORE GOD. 29 offences. True wisdom acknowledges its faults, and owns itself guilty; for, by humbling ourselves we become just in the sight of God, Who knows the inveterate evil of the human heart, and Who always hath wherewith to confound the proud. In Thy sight,

I said the Prophet, shall no man living he justified. i Psalm cxliii. 2. What is there more shameful i than to see a man, who is but dust, swelling with pride, as if he could of himself do great things?

Vain spirits, full of yourselves, hear the great Apostle telling you, that if a man think himself to he something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. Gal. vi. 3. None has nearer access to God, than he who, pierced with the consciousness and sorrow for his faults, confesses that without the Divine help I he must remain for ever in corruption and filth. So feel the Saints, who, lost in their own nothingness, always think themselves the last of men. So felt St.

I Paul, who thought himself the chief of sinners.

1 Tim.i. 15. “ Set thyself always then in the lowest place, and the highest shall be given thee.” B. ii. c. 10. Be persuaded that you are the most guilty, and your place shall be with the holiest.

Yet there are false critics, who dare to condemn those whose wisdom and holiness are universally revered. Their narrow minds are accustomed to argue by formal rules, and dispute on all subjects. They treat the most essential maxims of the Gospel as errors, and visionary. “ A Saint beloved of God, and of consummate virtue,” say they, “ cannot be the chief of sinners. For what is more opposed to vice and sin than eminent virtue? They are mistaken then, in calling themselves most guilty of all.” Such is their reasoning, founded on knowledge which does not go beyond the light of nature.

The Saints, through faith, perceive things in a way to which human reason cannot attain. What they d 3

30 WHO IS WILLING TO BE THOUGHT GUILTY, say is true in a sense which the Holy Spirit teaches them, and which they alone comprehend. It is enough to know that St. Paul and St. Francis were I enlightened from above, and that they said nothing of which they were not fully convinced, nothing which they were not able to assert without exaggeration or deception. If others do not understand it, how can they dare condemn it?

2. The second sort of persons whom God loves because they consider themselves great sinners, are those who, in public calamities, suffer not for their own sins, but for those of others; for, by the Provi- dence of God, the innocent are generally afflicted with the guilty. These general chastisements, in > which both the good and evil are involved, must be i most just, for they are the effects of Divine Justice, 1 which though many may be unable to understand, all ought to receive with submission. God often punishes whole nations by terrible scourges, from which the good are not exempt. Then the truly humble, far from complaining, accept the punishment, however severe it be, thinking themselves always sufficiently guilty to deserve it.

In this spirit, the ancient Prophets and the Priests of God said, We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly. Dan. ix. 5. Ps.

cv. 5. Saint Dominic, before entering any town or village, knelt and prayed that his sins might not bring the curse of God on those whom he was about to instruct. Saint Catherine a always feared that the evils i which in her days afflicted the whole Church, were the punishment of her unfaithfulnesses. The lives of the Saints are far above ours, and our feeble reasonings cannot approach them.

This way of regarding ourselves as guilty, however innocent and unblameable we be, is very pleasing to I

. THAT HE MAY BE INNOCENT BEFORE OOD. 31

God, and gives no truce to the pride which blinds us; i. so that the time when we have most reason to mourn is when we are most satisfied with ourselves. Gene- J rally speaking, confidence in the Divine Mercy is very good, but that which is founded on a vain pre- sumption of our innocence is very dangerous. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Is. lxiv. 6.

Thus, the way to appear righteous before God, is to consider ourselves sinners. Oh, how incapable of discerning this great truth are they who reject, as imaginary, the most laudable and spiritual sentiments ’ of the Saints When we judge of them by the false light of reason, they appear so untenable, that instead of humbly revering, we combat and condemn them.

Lastly, the third sort of persons who do not dream of excuses and apologies, are those who, being unjustly accused and blackened to the world, say nothing in their own defence. Of this number were Saint Theodora, Saint Peter Martyr, and some others, who chose rather to live long in disgrace, and to endure rigorous penances, than to clear themselves of the enormous crimes with which they were charged. They rejoiced to be treated as great criminals, and; suffered this humiliation in silence for the love of our Lord, Who at last took their cause in hand, and made their innocence known. The truth being then ac- knowledged, their past shame served greatly to; increase the renown of their sanctity.

Our author, by the words which I have quoted, encourages those who find themselves in any similar circumstances, to profit by them, gladly to receive this portion of Christ’s Cup as the most precious treasure in the world. The way to do this is to consider contempt and dishonour as a very great advantage. And hereby the maxims of those worldly philosophers, of whom I have spoken, are manifestly condemned. For they maintain that we are not per-

32 WHEREIN WE MAY CHOOSE mitted to neglect our reputation, and that we must defend our honor at the expence of worldly goods and life, if only it can be done without offending God. What offence would Saint Peter Martyr have committed, if, when he was accused of having introduced females into his cell, he had confessed that they were sainted women, who came from Heaven to visit him? Does it not appear that God would have been thereby more honored, since he would have prevented the scandal caused among his brethren by his silence? Yet he did not defend himself; he resolutely concealed the truth, being desirous to imitate our Lord, Who, during His whole Passion, spoke no word to justify Himself from the great crimes of which He was accused. We find that God approved of his conduct, and bounteously recompensed his rare and heroic humility. But these great examples are far beyond the reach of our human wisdom, which teaches us only to love honor, to avoid contempt, and to seek our own interest in all things, instead of following Christ, Who saved us by the foolishness of the Cross. j