Of Patience.
_Patience_, saith the Apostle, _is needful for you, that, having done the will of God, you may obtain the reward which He hath promised us._ _Yea_, said Jesus Christ unto us, _by patience ye shall possess your souls._ It is man’s great happiness, Philothea, to possess his soul; and the more perfect our patience is, the more perfectly do we possess our souls. Remember often that, since Our Lord saved us by suffering and patience, we also must work out our salvation through sufferings and afflictions, enduring insults, contradictions, and troubles with as much gentleness as is possible for us.
Do not limit your patience to this or that kind of insult or affliction, but extend it universally to all that God shall send you, or permit to befall you. There are some who will suffer only honourable tribulations, as, for example, to be wounded in war, to be taken prisoner in war, to be ill-treated for religion, to be ruined by some lawsuit in which they have prevailed; such men love not tribulation, but the honour it brings. The truly patient and good servant of God bears alike tribulations joined with ignominy and those which are honourable. To be despised, rebuked, and accused by the wicked is but sweetness to a courageous man; but to be rebuked, accused, and ill-treated by good people, by friends, by kinsfolk, this is the work of heroic patience. I esteem more highly the gentleness with which the great Saint Charles Borromeo endured for a long time the public censures which a great preacher, of an exceedingly reformed order, pronounced against him from the pulpit, than all the attacks he received from others; for, as the stings of bees are more painful than those of other flies, so the harm we receive from good people, and the contradictions they raise against us, are far more unbearable than others. And yet it happens very often that two good men, both having good intentions, each according to his own judgment, cause great distress to one another.
_Patience_, saith the Apostle, _is needful for you, that, having done the will of God, you may obtain the reward which He hath promised us._ _Yea_, said Jesus Christ unto us, _by patience ye shall possess your souls._ It is man’s great happiness, Philothea, to possess his soul; and the more perfect our patience is, the more perfectly do we possess our souls. Remember often that, since Our Lord saved us by suffering and patience, we also must work out our salvation through sufferings and afflictions, enduring insults, contradictions, and troubles with as much gentleness as is possible for us.
Do not limit your patience to this or that kind of insult or affliction, but extend it universally to all that God shall send you, or permit to befall you. There are some who will suffer only honourable tribulations, as, for example, to be wounded in war, to be taken prisoner in war, to be ill-treated for religion, to be ruined by some lawsuit in which they have prevailed; such men love not tribulation, but the honour it brings. The truly patient and good servant of God bears alike tribulations joined with ignominy and those which are honourable. To be despised, rebuked, and accused by the wicked is but sweetness to a courageous man; but to be rebuked, accused, and ill-treated by good people, by friends, by kinsfolk, this is the work of heroic patience. I esteem more highly the gentleness with which the great Saint Charles Borromeo endured for a long time the public censures which a great preacher, of an exceedingly reformed order, pronounced against him from the pulpit, than all the attacks he received from others; for, as the stings of bees are more painful than those of other flies, so the harm we receive from good people, and the contradictions they raise against us, are far more unbearable than others. And yet it happens very often that two good men, both having good intentions, each according to his own judgment, cause great distress to one another.
Be patient, not only with the affliction itself that you suffer, but also with all its circumstances and consequences. Many would gladly suffer affliction, provided that they were not inconvenienced by it. “I would not be vexed,” says one, “at being poor, if only it did not prevent me from serving my friends, bringing up my children, and living honorably as I would wish”; and another will say: “I would not mind it, were it not that the world will think it happened to me through my own fault.” Another would be quite content to have people speak ill of him, and would bear it very patiently, provided that no one believed the slanderer. There are others who are willing, as it seems to them, to suffer some inconvenience from their affliction, but not all of it; they say they are not impatient at being ill, but at having no money to pay for treatment, or because those around them are troubled by it. Now I say, Philothea, that you must have patience, not only to be ill, but to suffer the illness God wills, in the place He wills, among the people He wills, and with the inconveniences He wills; and so with other tribulations. When affliction comes upon you, use whatever remedies are possible and in accordance with God; for to do otherwise would be to tempt Divine Providence. But when this is done, await with entire resignation the outcome of God’s will; and if the remedies drive away the affliction, thank Him humbly; if the affliction proves stronger than the remedies, bless Him patiently.
I am of the opinion of Saint Gregory: when you are justly accused of some fault that you have committed, humble yourself greatly, and confess that you deserve something more than this humiliation. But if the accusation be false, excuse yourself gently, denying that you are guilty; for you owe this to the truth and to the edification of your neighbor. But if, after your sincere and rightful excuse, they continue to accuse you, be not troubled at all, and do not try to make them accept your excuse; for after having done your duty to the truth, you must also do it to humility. And in this way you will fail neither in the care you ought to take of your reputation, nor in the affection you ought to have for peace, gentleness of heart, and humility.
Complain as little as you can of the wrongs done to you; for it is certain that, ordinarily, whoever complains sins, self-love always making us find injuries greater than they are. But above all, do not make your complaints to persons who are easily angered and prone to think ill. And if it be necessary to complain to someone in order to remedy the offense, or to calm your spirit, let it be to souls who are tranquil and who love God well; for otherwise, instead of easing your heart, they would provoke it to greater unrest, and instead of removing the thorn that pricks you, they would drive it in deeper.
Complain as little as you can of the wrongs done to you; for it is certain that, ordinarily, whoever complains sins, self-love always making us find injuries greater than they are. But above all, do not make your complaints to persons who are easily angered and prone to think ill. And if it be necessary to complain to someone in order to remedy the offense, or to calm your spirit, let it be to souls who are tranquil and who love God well; for otherwise, instead of easing your heart, they would provoke it to greater unrest, and instead of removing the thorn that pricks you, they would drive it in deeper.
There are many people who, being sick or afflicted in any way, take good care not to complain or to be delicate, because they rightly think that this would be weakness and cowardice; yet at the same time they very earnestly desire, and contrive, that everyone should pity them, have great compassion for their lot, and regard them not only as afflicted, but also as patient and courageous. Now, I confess, this is patience, but false patience, which is in truth nothing other than a very subtle and delicate ambition and a very refined vanity: _They have glory_, says the Apostle, _but not in the sight of God_. The truly patient person does not complain of his affliction, nor does he desire that others pity him: he speaks of it candidly, truthfully, and simply, without lamenting, without becoming angry, without making himself out to be sicker than he is. And if others pity him, he patiently allows them to do so, unless they pity him for some ailment he does not have; for then he modestly declares that he does not have that ailment, and thus remains peaceful between truth and patience, speaking of his affliction and not complaining of it.
Among the contradictions that will befall you in the exercise of devotion (for they will not fail to come), remember this saying of Our Lord: _When a woman is in travail, she is in anguish; but after her child is born, she no longer remembers her pains, such is her joy that a man has been born into the world._ In your soul you have conceived the most worthy child in the world, who is Jesus Christ: before He is fully brought forth and born, it is impossible that you should not feel the travail; but take courage: these pains will pass, and there will remain for you the eternal joy of having brought such a man into the world. Now, He will be fully born for you when you have fully formed Him in your heart and in your works through the imitation of His life.
Among the contradictions that will befall you in the exercise of devotion (for they will not fail to come), remember this saying of Our Lord: _When a woman is in travail, she is in anguish; but after her child is born, she no longer remembers her pains, such is her joy that a man has been born into the world._ In your soul you have conceived the most worthy child in the world, who is Jesus Christ: before He is fully brought forth and born, it is impossible that you should not feel the travail; but take courage: these pains will pass, and there will remain for you the eternal joy of having brought such a man into the world. Now, He will be fully born for you when you have fully formed Him in your heart and in your works through the imitation of His life.
When you are sick, offer all your pains, your languors, and your sufferings to the Lord, and beseech Him to join them to the torments He endured for you. Obey the physician; take medicines, food, and other remedies for the love of God, remembering the gall He took for love of us: desire to recover in order to serve Him; refuse not to languish in order to obey Him, and prepare yourself to die, if He so wills, in order to praise Him and enjoy Him. Remember that bees, while they are making honey, live and feed upon very bitter nourishment, and that thus we can never perform greater acts of gentleness and patience, nor better compound the honey of excellent virtues, than when we eat the bitter bread of tribulations and live amid anguish. And as the honey made from the flowers of thyme, a small and bitter herb, is the best of all, so the virtue formed in the bitterness of humiliations and sufferings is the most excellent of all.
Look often with the inward eyes of your soul upon Jesus Christ crucified, naked, blasphemed, calumniated, forsaken, and at last overwhelmed with every kind of trouble, sadness, and toil; and consider that all your sufferings are in no way comparable to His, either in kind or in amount, and that you will never suffer anything for Him that can compare with what He suffered for you.
Look often with the inward eyes of your soul upon Jesus Christ crucified, naked, blasphemed, calumniated, forsaken, and at last overwhelmed with every kind of trouble, sadness, and toil; and consider that all your sufferings are in no way comparable to His, either in kind or in amount, and that you will never suffer anything for Him that can compare with what He suffered for you.
Consider the sufferings which the martyrs endured of old, and those which so many persons still endure today, far greater beyond all comparison than those which afflict you, and say: Alas! my labours are comforts, and my sorrows roses, when I compare myself with those who, without help, without assistance, without any alleviation whatsoever, live in continual death, weighed down by afflictions a thousand times greater than mine.