Meditation XLVI: Envy in Priests

First Point.—The vice of envy is detestable. There is in the vice of envy a low and foolish wickedness which is not to be found in other passions. These can adduce some pretexts; they propose to themselves some object at least apparently good; the ambitious man longs for honors, the avaricious for wealth, and the voluptuous man for luxury. Now, all these passions are sins only because of our disorderly will which seeks for them. Envy alone offers no advantage, not even an apparent one; everything about it brings shame, sorrow, perversity. The priest who has a noble heart, a solid judgment, but particularly a little charity, would wish all men to be happy; he sympathizes with the unfortunate; he is pleased when he hears that the work of God prospers in the hands of his companions in the ministry. When he hears that crowds assemble to listen to his instructions, or gather around his confessional, he says with St. Paul: "So that by all means, whether by occasion or by truth, Christ be preached: in this also I rejoice, yea and will rejoice." (Ph. i. 18.) What a step from the noble sentiments of St. Paul to the selfishness of the envious! The priest who is envious feels sad at the joy and successes of other evangelical laborers; he finds a cause of vexation and pain in the good which they perform, and in the praises which they receive.

The disciples of John the Baptist come to him and say: "Rabbi, He . . . to whom thou gavest testimony, behold He baptizeth, and all men come to Him." (Joan. iii. 26.) The Pharisees complain because the "whole world went after Jesus Christ." (Joan. xii. 9.) Is not this the language or at least the feeling of envious priests? "All the world goes to him; all the favors, all the praises are for him alone." They can not bear to be thrown in the shade. Behold an inconceivable excess of this vice. There appears in the world an extraordinary prophet, as holy in his life as he is admirable on account of his learning and talents. Immense success would follow his labors, if some other prophets, his fellow laborers, did not set themselves openly against him. What meanness! Let us say rather, what pride, what perversity!

"The whole world goes to him." What harm do you see in it? Do they say that he is a false prophet? that his doctrine is dangerous? that his direction is such as to lead souls astray? No, quite the contrary; they say that he is a saint; that he preaches admirably; brings about countless conversions; that God blesses everything that he undertakes. You are a priest and you feel sad on this account! You would be better pleased if this brother priest did less good, procured less glory to God, fewer consolations to the Church, and snatched from hell a smaller number of souls! Do you not know that there is in this, according to St. Thomas, a sin against the Holy Ghost? You do, as it were, begrudge the Holy Ghost the gifts which He loves to bestow, and the works which mostly contribute to glorify Him amongst men. St. John Chrysostom reckons the slaves of this passion to be worse than the devils themselves: for, whilst they are bent on pursuing men, they spare the other devils, their companions; but the envious man fights his fellow beings, and the very persons he is mostly bound to love. Invidus ipso diabolo magis diabolus est; invidet Satan, sed hominibus, non sociis; tu vero, homo cum sis, invides hominibus (In Joan Hom. 45.)

Being as silly as he is guilty, he effects quite the opposite of what he intends; he exalts those whom he would lower, and imparts greater luster to the reputation he intends to blacken. The envy which he shows is an avowal of his own inferiority. Malitia invidentium eos quibus invidet clariores facit. (St. Chrys.) Pilate would have been less favorable to Jesus Christ had he not discovered that His greatest crime was to have more merit than His accusers. "He knew that for envy they had delivered Him." (Matt. xxvii. 18.) Unconsciously the envious man becomes an object of contempt for those who know him. The world understands that none except a narrow-minded and bad-hearted man can become the slave of so shameful and perverse a passion.

Second Point.—This vice is injurious. Let us open the sacred record. Abelem occidit invidia, fratres Joseph armavit, Danielem in lacum leonum misit, Caput nostrum cruci affixit. (St. Aug.) Envy was the cause of the greater part of schisms and heresies. Simon envies the apostles the power of communicating the Holy Ghost. Tertullian could not bear that another should be preferred to him for the episcopal office. Novatian was not raised to the See of St. Peter as he had expected. Luther was not chosen to preach the indulgences. What followed from it? Long before these sad triumphs of envy it had changed angels into demons. Quale malum est quo Angelus cecidit! (1. Cypr.) It had introduced death into the world by introducing sin therein. "By the envy of the devil death came into the world." (Wisd. ii. 24.) How often has the Church wept over the sad effects of envy, which divided ministers who were bound to sustain one another, and who actually at times reviled one another to the great scandal of souls and the profit of hell!

Who will tell what crimes and misfortunes have resulted from the envy of jealous confessors domineering over consciences? Their penitents know that they will displease them if they address themselves to another confessor. "Oh," says St. Thomas, "how much harm can the spirit of darkness do if confession is not free!" Why has the Council of Trent prescribed that extraordinary confessors should be given religious communities several times in the year? "It is," says St. Francis de Sales, "to obviate the loss of thousands of souls which might result from subjection to one confessor." Consult these two authorities and you will be convinced that the confessor who will enjoy alone the confidence of his penitents takes upon himself an awful responsibility. He becomes the cause of many sacrileges, and the murderer of his spiritual children.

Third Point.—This vice is very common. You will be little surprised to discover the germ of it in so many hearts if you remember that pride is the most universal of all passions; that the elder daughter of pride is vain-glory, which is itself the mother of envy. We discover it among the apostles when they were still imperfect. "There was a strife amongst them, which of them should seem to be the greater." (Luc. xxii. 24.) Nay, after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon this earthly clergy, so pure and so fervent, Paul finds the envious amongst them. "Some out of envy and contention . . . preach Christ not sincerely, supposing that they raise affliction to my bonds." (Phil. i. 15-18.)

What cruelty and fury, says St. John Chrysostom, because the Apostle has acquired some reputation. Some vain, envious spirits there are who will take no comfort on that account. For them is was not enough that Paul was persecuted, afflicted, loaded with chains; their desire was to increase his sufferings. Need we wonder that this vile passion has found its way into our midst, when it appeared at a time in which martyrdom was the ordinary reward of the sacerdotal ministry? In place of rejoicing at the advantages of our fellow priests we perhaps feel secretly displeased when we hear them mentioned; we seek to lower the high esteem the people have for their talents; to question their successes, and to say they are due rather to imagination and prejudice than to real merit. Under the pretext of zeal we throw suspicion on the zeal of others, imputing to them imprudence, excess of severity, or laxity. Whilst blaming jealous confessors, we remain under the influence of the same vice of envy, and in the very moment of telling penitents that they are free, their liberty is on the contrary restrained by showing how sad they would be if they made use of their freedom.

Let us consider God in His gifts; we will then love them in others as well as in ourselves. This would be an excellent means of appropriating to ourselves gifts which are not our own, and of participating in the merits and virtues of our brethren. Congaude alicui, cui Deus aliquam gratiam donavit, tua est; habet ille virginitatem, ama illam in illo, tua est. (St. Aug.) The same holy Doctor gives us another counsel. Invidia est filia superbiae . . . suffoca matrem et non erit filia.

Since we are about to receive the God of all charity and humility, let us beseech Him to preserve our souls from a passion so unworthy of a priest, so that, being united in the same spirit of peace and with the sole desire of His glory, we may together in charity labor at the great work committed to us, which is the salvation of our brethren.

Résumé of the Meditation.

First Point.—The vice of envy is detestable. There is in the vice of envy a low and foolish malice which can not even disguise itself under a single solid pretext. We ought to rejoice at the success and happiness of others; the envious become sad on this very account. What? Would you prefer that your brother priest would do less good; would procure less glory to God; would snatch away fewer souls from hell? The slave of this passion, says St. John Chrysostom, is worse than the devil, for he does not wage war against his own. Being as silly as he is guilty he exalts those whom he would wish to lower; adds more luster to the reputation he would like to darken; in seeking for esteem he finds contempt.

Second Point.—This vice is pernicious. St. Augustine demonstrates it in these words: Abelem occidit invidia, fratres Joseph armavit, Danielem in lacum leonum misit, Caput nostrum cruci affixit. Envy gave rise to the greater number of schisms and of heresies. It changed angels into devils. It caused the Church to shed bitter tears. What crimes and misfortunes it occasions when it enters the soul of confessors!

Third Point.—The vice of envy is very common. We see it appear amongst the apostles themselves. Facta est contentio, inter eos, quis eorum videretur esse major. Nay, after the descent of the Holy Ghost amongst that early priesthood, so pure and so fervent, Paul found some envious persons. St. Augustine gives us an excellent remedy against envy: Invidia est filia superbiae; . . . suffoca matrem et non erit filia.