How to apply oneself to one’s affairs with care, without eagerness or distress.
The care and diligence that we ought to bring to our affairs are very different things from anxiety, distress, and eagerness. The angels care for our salvation, and apply themselves to it diligently, yet for all that they have neither anxiety, nor distress, nor eagerness; for care and diligence belong to their charity, whereas anxiety, distress, and eagerness would be wholly contrary to their felicity, since care and diligence may be accompanied by the tranquillity and peace of the soul, but anxiety, solicitude, and still less eagerness, may not.
Be careful, then, and diligent in all the affairs with which you shall be charged, my Philothea; for since God has entrusted them to you, He wills that you take great care of them; but, if possible, have neither anxiety nor solicitude about them—that is, do not undertake them with distress, apprehension, and fervour; do not rush at your work, for all manner of eagerness disturbs reason and judgment, and even hinders us from doing well the thing at which we are in haste.
The care and diligence that we ought to bring to our affairs are very different things from anxiety, distress, and eagerness. The angels care for our salvation, and apply themselves to it diligently, yet for all that they have neither anxiety, nor distress, nor eagerness; for care and diligence belong to their charity, whereas anxiety, distress, and eagerness would be wholly contrary to their felicity, since care and diligence may be accompanied by the tranquillity and peace of the soul, but anxiety, solicitude, and still less eagerness, may not.
Be careful, then, and diligent in all the affairs with which you shall be charged, my Philothea; for since God has entrusted them to you, He wills that you take great care of them; but, if possible, have neither anxiety nor solicitude about them—that is, do not undertake them with distress, apprehension, and fervour; do not rush at your work, for all manner of eagerness disturbs reason and judgment, and even hinders us from doing well the thing at which we are in haste.
When Our Lord reproved Saint Martha, He said to her: _Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things._ Had she been merely diligent, she would not have been troubled; but because she was anxious and full of care, she hurried and grew troubled; and this is what Our Lord reproved her for. The rivers that flow gently across the plain bear great boats and rich cargoes, and the rains that fall gently upon the countryside make the grasses and fruits grow there. But the torrents and rivers that rush over the earth in mighty floods undermine all that lies in their path, and are useless for commerce, just as violent and stormy rains lay waste the fields and meadows. No task done with impetuosity and haste was ever well done. One must hasten slowly, as the old proverb says. He who goes in haste, says Solomon, runs the risk of falling at every step. We always do things soon enough when we do them well; bumblebees make far more noise and are far more hurried than honeybees, but they make only wax, and no honey; even so, those who hurry in so noisy and bustling a manner never do much, nor do it well.
Flies trouble us not by their strength, but by their multitude. So great affairs trouble us less by their importance than small ones by their number. Therefore receive in peace the affairs that come your way, and try to attend to them in order, one after another; for if you would do them all at once, or in disorder, you will make efforts that consume your mind, and for the most part you will remain overwhelmed by the burden, and accomplish nothing.
Flies trouble us not by their strength, but by their multitude. So great affairs trouble us less by their importance than small ones by their number. Therefore receive in peace the affairs that come your way, and try to attend to them in order, one after another; for if you would do them all at once, or in disorder, you will make efforts that consume your mind, and for the most part you will remain overwhelmed by the burden, and accomplish nothing.
In all your affairs, rely entirely upon the providence of God, by which alone your designs must prosper; nevertheless, work gently on your part, to cooperate with His works; and then believe that, if you have truly trusted in God, the result you obtain will always be most profitable for you, whether it seem good or seem evil according to your own judgment.
In the management and acquisition of temporal goods, do as a little child who, holding his father with one hand, gathers strawberries and blackberries along the hedges with the other; use one of your hands, too, to gather the goods of the earth; but always hold the hand of your Heavenly Father with the other, turning to Him from time to time, to see whether He is pleased with your work and occupations, and take care above all not to leave His hand and His guidance in the hope of gathering and collecting more; for if He abandons you, you will not take a step without falling flat on your face. I mean, my Philothea, that when you are among ordinary affairs and occupations, which do not require such close and sustained attention, you should look more to God than to your affairs; and when affairs are of such great importance that they demand all your attention in order to be done well, from time to time look to God, as do those who are at sea, who, to reach the land they desire, look more at the sky than at the sea. Thus God will work with you, in you, and for you, and your work will be blessed with a thousand consolations.
In the management and acquisition of temporal goods, do as a little child who, holding his father with one hand, gathers strawberries and blackberries along the hedges with the other; use one of your hands, too, to gather the goods of the earth; but always hold the hand of your Heavenly Father with the other, turning to Him from time to time, to see whether He is pleased with your work and occupations, and take care above all not to leave His hand and His guidance in the hope of gathering and collecting more; for if He abandons you, you will not take a step without falling flat on your face. I mean, my Philothea, that when you are among ordinary affairs and occupations, which do not require such close and sustained attention, you should look more to God than to your affairs; and when affairs are of such great importance that they demand all your attention in order to be done well, from time to time look to God, as do those who are at sea, who, to reach the land they desire, look more at the sky than at the sea. Thus God will work with you, in you, and for you, and your work will be blessed with a thousand consolations.