CHAPTER IX

ANSWERS TO THE FOREGOING ARGUMENTS

IN order to demonstrate the fallacy of the foregoing arguments, we will first consider the case of St. Peter and St. Andrew, who, as soon as Our Lord called them, "leaving their nets followed him" (Matt. iv.). St. Chrysostom pronounces the following eulogium of them: "They were in the midst of their business; but, at His bidding, they made no delay, they did not return home saying: 'let us consult our friends,' but, leaving all things, they followed Him, as Eliseus followed Elias. The like unhesitating and instant obedience does Christ require of us." Then, we have the example of St. James and St. John, who, being called by God, immediately leaving their nets and their father, followed Him. St. Hilary, in his Commentary on St. Matthew's Gospel, says: "we are taught by their example in abandoning their trade and their father's house, to follow Jesus, and to be withheld, neither by worldly anxieties, nor by the ties of domestic life."

             Again, we read of St. Matthew, (Matt. ix.), that, at the call of the Lord he "arose and followed Him." St. Chrysostom thus comments on this passage: "Behold the obedience of this man thus called ! He neither refuses to obey, nor begs that he may go home to acquaint his kinsfolk of his departure." And Remigius also observes of St. Matthew, that he made no account of the dangers which he might incur from the anger of the magistrates, when he left their business unfinished. Thus, it becomes plain, that nothing human ought to deter us from the service of God. We read in the Gospel of St. Matthew (ch. viii. 21), and again in that of St. Luke (ch. ix. 59), that "one of His disciples said to Him: 'Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him: 'follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.'" St. Chrysostom, writing on these words, says: "Christ spoke thus, not as contemning the love which we owe to our parents; but to show us that nothing ought to seem more necessary to us than the affairs of the Kingdom of Heaven. He would teach us, that, with our whole heart, we ought to attach ourselves to them, suffering nothing, howsoever important or attractive, to be an obstacle in our way. What would seem more necessary, than to bury one's father? What more easy? It would not have taken much time. But the devil is always on the alert to find some unguarded door, and, if he perceive a slight negligence, he will cause it to become great cowardice. Therefore, the wise man says: Defer not, from day to day. By these words he warns us not to waste a moment of time, and, although numberless affairs may be pressing upon us, to prefer spiritual interests to all other things, even to such as are necessary." St. Augustine says in his book De Verbis Domini, "Thy father is to be honoured; yea, but God must be obeyed. Christ says, 'I call thee to preach the Gospel. Thou art necessary to me for this task. My work is greater than is that which thou desirest to perform. There are others who can bury the dead. The first thing must not give place to the last. Love your parents, but prefer God to them.'" If, then, Our Lord refused to grant His disciple a short time, in which to perform so necessary a duty, how great is the presumption of such as teach, that lengthy deliberation is necessary before embracing the Counsels?

             St. Luke (ix. 61) tells us that, "another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house." St. Cyril, the great Greek doctor, comments thus on these words: "This man's promise is admirable and worthy of imitation. But by his desire of going to take leave of them that were in his house, he showed that he was somewhat wavering in his attachment to the Lord, although in his mind he had determined to follow him. The fact of his wishing to take counsel of his kinsfolk, who would not approve of his intention, shows that he was somewhat unstable; and, therefore, Christ rebuked him saying: 'No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.' He had put his hand to the plough by his eagerness to follow Our Lord, but he looked back, seeking an occasion of delay, by visiting his home, and conversing with his kinsmen. Not thus did the holy Apostles act, who, at once, left their boats, and their father, and followed Christ. Neither did St. Paul condescend to flesh and blood. Such ought to be the conduct of those who desire to follow Our Lord."

             St. Augustine, in his book De verbis Domini, has this passage: "The Orient calls thee; wilt thou wait for the West?" Now by the ORIENT is meant Christ, as we know from the words in Zach. vi. 12: "Behold a man, the Orient is his name." By THE WEST is signified man, declining to the grave, and liable to fall into the darkness of sin and ignorance. He, therefore, does an injury to Christ, "in whom are contained all the treasures of the wisdom of God" (Colos. ii. 3), who having heard His call, thinks it necessary to take counsel with mortal man. Our opponents try to evade this argument by an equivocation. They say that the passages, quoted by us, only refer to the audible call of the Lord, and, of course, in that case, no delay must be made, nor human counsel asked. But, if a man be interiorly called to enter religion, he needs long deliberation, and many advisers, in order to find out whether his vocation be from God. This is begging the question; for we are to take the words of Christ, written in Scripture, as coming from His own mouth. For He Himself says: "What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch" (Mark xiii. 37). And in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans xv. 4, we find, "for what things soever were written, were written for our learning." As St. Chrysostom says: "If these things had only been said for them, they would not have been written: but they were said for them, and written for us." And St. Paul brings forward the authority of the Old Testament in his Epistle to the Hebrews (xii. 5), "And you have forgotten the consolation, which speaketh to you as unto children: my son, neglect not the discipline of the Lord." From which it is clear, that the words of Holy Scripture were spoken, not only to them that heard them, but to future generations.

             We will especially examine whether the counsel given by Christ to the young man (Matt. xix. 21): "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor," was addressed to that youth only, or to all men. We can best consider this passage by referring to its context, wherein Peter says: "Behold we have left all things and have followed Thee," and Our Lord promises the reward to all men saying: "Every one that hath left house or brethren, etc., for my name's sake . . . shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting." Thus, we see that this counsel is no less to be followed by all men, than if it had been given to each individually. Hence, St. Jerome, writing to the presbyter Paulinus, says: "Thou hast heard our Saviour's words: 'If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and come, follow me.' Put these words then into practice. Strip thyself of all, and thus, following the Cross of poverty, wilt thou, the more speedily and more easily, ascend Jacob's ladder." And although our Lord addressed the counsel of poverty individually to the rich young man, He has, nevertheless, given the same advice to all mankind (Matt. xvi. 24), "If any man will come after Me," He says, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." St. Chrysostom, commenting on this text, says, "He addresses this teaching to the whole world, saying, 'If anyone will, be it man or woman, king, freedman, or serf.'" Now self-denial, according to St. Basil, means complete forgetfulness of past things, and the abnegation of our own will. In it, therefore, is included the disposal of the property which we possess of our own will. Therefore, the counsel given to the young man, is to be understood as given to all.

             But another point remains to be considered. We have already said, that the words of Our Lord, quoted in Holy Scripture, carry the same weight, as if spoken by His own lips. But, there is another way whereby God speaks interiorly to men, viz. the way alluded to in Ps. lxxxiv. 9, "I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me." Now this interior voice is to be preferred to any external speech. St. Gregory says (in Homil. Pentecostes), "The Creator does not speak to the understanding of a man, unless He speak to that same man by the unction of the Holy Ghost. Before Cain slew his brother he heard a voice saying, 'Thou hast sinned: cease.' But as, on account of his sin, he was admonished by a voice alone, and not by the unction of the Spirit, he was, indeed, able to hear the word of God, but refused to obey it." If, then, we are bound to obey immediately the audible voice of our Creator, how much more ought we not, unhesitatingly and unresistingly, to obey the interior whisper, whereby the Holy Spirit changes the heart of man. Hence, in Isa. l. 5, it is said by the mouth of the Prophet, or rather, of Christ Himself: "The Lord God hath opened my ear, (i.e. by interior inspiration), and I do not resist: I have not gone back." "Forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before," as we read in the Epistle to the Philippians (iii. 13). St. Paul, again, says (Rom. viii. 14), "Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God." The Gloss of St. Augustine has the following comment on this passage: "Such men do not perform nothing, but they act under the impulse of grace." But he who resists, or hesitates, does not act by the impulse of the Holy Spirit.

             It is, then, the distinguishing mark of the Sons of God, to be carried forward by grace to better things, without waiting for counsel. This impulse of grace is alluded to in the Prophet Isaias (lix. 59), "When he shall come as a violent stream, which the spirit of the Lord driveth on." St. Paul teaches us that this impulse of grace is to be obeyed. "Walk in the Spirit," he says, (Galat. v. 16), and again (ibid. 25), "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." St. Stephen thus reproached certain men, "You always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts vii. 51). St. Paul says (1 Thess. v. 19), "Extinguish not the Spirit." On which words, the Gloss thus comments: "If the Holy Ghost should at any time reveal something to a certain man, do not forbid him to make known that which he has heard." Now, the Holy Ghost gives His revelations, not only by teaching man what he ought to speak, but by suggesting to him what he ought to do" (John xiv.). When, therefore, a man is inspired by this Holy Spirit to enter religious life, it is his duty to follow the inspiration at once, without waiting to take counsel of human advisers. This is shown us by the words of the Prophet Ezechiel (i. 20), "Whithersoever the spirit went, thither, as the spirit went, the wheels also were lifted up withal, and followed it."

             We have further authority for our teaching, not merely in passages of Scripture, but in the examples of the Saints. St. Augustine, in the Eighth Book of his Confessions, tells us of two soldiers, one of whom, having read the life of St. Anthony, was so filled with Divine love, that he said to his comrade: "I have determined to serve God, I begin at this hour and in this spot. If it be irksome to thee to imitate me, at least withstand me not." But his comrade answered that he would stand by him in a combat which would bring so great reward. "Thus (O Lord) did both these thy servants build up a tower at a befitting cost, viz. by leaving all things and following thee." In the same book, St. Augustine thus reproaches himself with having delayed his conversion: "When I was convinced of the truth, I knew not how to make reply save in slow and drowsy words: 'I am coming now: let me be, awhile longer.' But my promised time had no limit, and my 'little while' was long protracted." And, again, in the same book, he says, "I was filled with shame, for that I listened to the babble of worldly and carnal concerns, and hung wavering." Thus, we see, that, far from being praiseworthy, it is most reprehensible, to hesitate or take counsel, as if we were in doubt, when we have heard an interior or exterior call, be it some word, or some passage in Scripture.

             Interior inspiration has efficacy to enable those to whom it is vouchsafed to accomplish great deeds. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that when the disciples were gathered together the Holy Ghost, coming upon them, made them to speak of the wonders of God. The Gloss, says, on this passage, "The grace of the Holy Spirit of God knows no obstacles." Again, the Book of Ecclesiasticus (xi. 23) has these words: "It is easy in the eyes of God on a sudden to make the poor man rich." St. Augustine speaks of the efficacy of internal inspiration in his book De praedestinatione Sanctorum. He quotes the words recorded in St. John (vi.), "Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to Me." On these words, he says: "This school wherein the Father is heard and teacheth, in order that men may come to the Son, is far removed from the senses; for in it we hear, not with ears of flesh, but with the hearing of the heart." Again, he says: "The grace which, by the Divine munificence, is secretly bestowed, is not rejected by any hard heart; for it is given in order that hardness may be entirely taken away." St. Gregory, in his homilia Pentecostes, thus treats of the efficacy of interior inspiration: "Oh, how cunning a workman is this Spirit. He makes no delay in teaching what He will. As soon as He touches the heart, He teaches it. His touch is teaching. He changes the human mind as soon as He enlightens it; and the man, taught by Him, at once forsakes what he was, in order to show what he was not." He who hesitates to obey the impulse of the Holy Spirit for the sake of taking counsel, either knows not this impulse, or else resists it.

             Philosophers, no less than sacred writers, condemn the error of acting thus. Aristotle, in the chapters of the Ethics called De bona fortuna, says, "If we seek to know what is that principle of movement in the soul, corresponding to God in the universe, we shall see that reason cannot be the principle of reason; that principle must be something better. But what, save God, can be better than knowledge and understanding?" He continues, in another place: "They that are moved by God, need not to be counselled; for they have a principle surpassing counsel and understanding." Shame then on him who, calling himself a Catholic, would send men inspired by God, to take advice of human counsellors, of whom even a heathen philosopher tells us they have no need.

             But, let us further examine for what cause, those called by God to religious life, can require counsel. First, it is sacrilegious to doubt whether the life, counselled by Christ, is the most perfect. Again, none but a soul enslaved by human love would hesitate, as to whether it be right to abandon the intention of entering religious life for fear of grieving friends, or incurring temporal loss. St. Jerome thus writes, in his epistle to Heliodorus: "Even should thine infant son hang round thy neck, or thy mother, with unkempt hair and dishevelled raiment, show thee the breasts that suckled thee, or thy father cast himself along thy threshold, pass on. Shed no tear; tread thy father under foot, and hasten to the standard of the Cross. In this case, cruelty is the only piety." Elsewhere he adds, "Mine enemy, with drawn sword, is about to slay me, and shall I think of my mother's tears? Shall I forsake the combat for love of my father, when I ought not to leave Christ even to bury my parents?" In several places he writes in the same strain.

             But, perhaps, some may think it necessary to take counsel, lest they should not be able to fulfil what is implied in entering religious life. The same doubt occurred to St. Augustine, as he tells us in the Eighth Book of his Confessions. He feared to undertake to observe the counsel of continence; and, speaking of himself, he uses these words: "On the side to which I turned my face, and whither I feared to go, I beheld the chaste dignity of continence. She was serene and cheerful, without wantonness. She beckoned me to approach her fearlessly, holding out, to embrace me and uphold me, her gentle hands full of numberless good examples. With her were many youths and maidens, staid widows, and venerable virgins." He adds later on: "And she smiled at me, mocking, as if to say: 'what these have done, canst thou not likewise do? Have these acted by their own might, and not by the power of their God? The Lord their God has given me to them. Wherefore, then, dost thou stand in thyself, and hast no foothold? Cast thyself on Him. Fear not. He will not draw away to let thee fall. Cast thyself on Him with confidence. He will receive thee, and will heal thee."

             There are, nevertheless, two points on which those may take counsel who have the intention of entering religious life. Of these, one is the mode of becoming a religious; and the other is, the existence of any obstacle to religious life, such as matrimony or the state of slavery. But advice should not be sought from kinsfolk. The book of Proverbs (xxv. 9) says, indeed, "Treat thy cause with thy friend, and discover not the secret to a stranger." But, in the matter of entering religion, relations are not friends, but rather enemies. "A man's enemies are they of his own household," says Micheas (vii. 6), and Our Lord quotes his words (Matt. x. 36). Therefore, with regard to this matter, the advice of our kinsmen, is to be particularly avoided.

             St. Jerome, in his epistle to Heliodorus, thus enumerates the obstacles which family ties may raise to entrance into religious life. "Thy widowed sister will encircle thee with her arms. The domestic slaves, amongst whom thou hast grown up, will cry to thee, 'To whose service dost thou leave us?' The aged nurse and the foster-father, who, in fondness, has been unto thee a second father, after thine own, will call out: 'Tarry a little: we shall soon be dead; wait and bury us.'" St. Gregory, likewise, says (Moral. III.): "Our crafty enemy, seeing himself banished from the hearts of good men, seeks out those by whom they are loved. He speaks by means of their caressing words, knowing that they are more loved than others. He hopes that, as the violence of love overcomes their heart, he may easily destroy the fortifications of their virtue, by means of the sword of persuasion." For this reason it was, that the Blessed Benedict, as St. Gregory tells us (Dialog. II.), secretly fled from his nurse, and sought retirement in a desert place, but opened his mind to the monk Romanus, who kept his secret, and gave him assistance. Carnal men, to whom the wisdom of God is folly, are, therefore, not to be consulted. The following advice is given us in the Book of Ecclesiasticus (xxxvii. 12), "Treat not with a man without religion concerning holiness, nor with an unjust man concerning justice." The same inspired writer adds: "Give no heed to these in any matter of counsel. But be continually with a holy man," from whom counsel may be sought if in aught it should be needed.