Fourth Day. Examination on Sloth and Sadness

Besides the inordinate love and desire of honor, there are two other evil tendencies which sorely trouble not a few and hinder the whole work of perfection unless they be entirely banished from the soul, viz., sloth and sadness. Truly, the more harmless these two appear the more they injure.

SLOTH.

Sloth is a certain languor and dejection of spirits which are the cause of one either omitting the works necessary to perfection or performing them negligently. From this vice rise many grievous evils. The greatest of them is that the soul in consequence loses all relish for spiritual things, regards the best and holiest resolutions and even sanctity itself as something unattainable by human weakness, and therefore passes all its days in continued tepidity.

SIGNS OF SLOTH.

First sign.—To feel a loathing and disgust for religious exercises. Sloth is for the soul what sickness is for the body. A sick man is not fit for any labor, undertakes it with great difficulty, and cannot continue it through lack of strength. A slothful soul feels thus indisposed. It looks on the hour of prayer as an hour of torment; it begins it reluctantly and cannot keep up its fervor but for a few brief moments, through dryness of heart and distractions of mind, and consequently it anxiously awaits the end. The examen of conscience is neglected altogether or at most is superficial, confession is either insincere or without contrition, and Communion without devotion.

Second sign.—To perform the spiritual exercises without profit. Though slothful religious have gone through them over and over, not a habit of venial sin is corrected, not a single evil inclination weakened. They are as impatient and uncharitable towards others, as obstinate and disobedient to Superiors, as slanderous and as irritable as ever.

Third sign.—Always to make new resolutions and to keep none. This occurs quite frequently. The slothful are constantly forming resolutions to practise humility, but they soon give up the work, and they remain as proud and as little able to bear contumely tranquilly and joyfully as before. Completely tired of the practice of humility, they try the practice of meekness. This they relish no better, when they perceive that they can bear no wrong done by others without evident uneasiness. The perpetual restraint required for the rooting out of bad habits is something too trying for sloth. The consequence of the continued changing is that, after twenty or thirty years' trouble, they have no more virtue than in the beginning.

Fourth sign.—To lead an idle life. Souls subject to this shameful vice have in themselves little spirituality. They live without recollection and without the thought of the presence of God, they hate silence, talk whenever and wherever they can, utterly forgetful of interior progress. In all their employments they are so negligent that they cannot be trusted with anything of importance. St. Francis of Assisi even calls them gnats and flies, because they do nothing else than to hurt and annoy others. "The kingdom of Heaven," says Christ, "suffereth violence, and the violent"—not the slothful —"bear it away" (St. Matt. xi. 12).

MORTIFICATION OF SLOTH AND ITS DEGREES.

First degree.—To be pleased with the spiritual exercises, and to perform them with great fervor. Prayer is to a religious what water is to the fish. A fish can not live without water, nor a religious without prayer. Truly religious persons never go to prayer without preparation, are never guilty of voluntary negligence, never shorten the time of meditation; they are indifferent to dryness or consolation, to aridity or devotion. Their fervor is the same at all times and under all circumstances.

Second degree.—To perform these exercises not only with fervor and devotion, but also with advantage to themselves. They who earnestly seek God, seek in prayer neither particular lights nor consolations, but only the amendment of their lives and progress in virtue. When they meditate, they take the resolution to practise on the day such and such a virtue; they also carry out this resolution. When they confess, they direct their intention to some venial sin or other, in order to free themselves entirely from their disorderly affections. They receive for the same purpose. This is to be devout in a practical way.

Third degree.—To persevere in this resolution until the sin ceases. Where there is an earnest will there must be constancy. An example of this is given by St. Francis de Sales, who gradually arrived at such a degree of meekness that every one was astonished. But he spent twenty years in mastering his natural quickness of temper.

Fourth degree.—To lead an interior, recollected and supernatural life. In truly religious persons there can be found no idleness, either interiorly or exteriorly. They perform every work with an actual good intention. They look upon all adversities as appointments of God, and humbly submit to them; they turn all their thoughts on God, and keep themselves in continual recollection.

SADNESS.

Love of God and sadness cannot exist together. Where there is true love of God there is no sadness, there dwells tranquillity, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. But where there is sadness, there is discontent, loathing and nothing but misery. How could it then be possible that two things so much opposed to one another can be in the soul together? Sadness must either leave it or love cannot arrive at its perfection. We find in the lives of the Saints that they shunned sadness as a ruthless enemy of true love, and by all means endeavored to preserve joy and gladness of heart. Now examine yourself, and see how much you are wanting in this holy joy.

EFFECTS OF SADNESS.

First effect.—It robs the heart of all comfort and pleasure and fills it with confusion. Those who are subject to melancholy and sadness truly deserve compassion. On a sudden, without any cause, they become gloomy; their memories are filled with a crowd of sad thoughts; their hearts are depressed, even tears gush from their eyes. They listen to no advice; according to their imagination nobody is their real friend, nobody is sincere and candid with them. If any one admonish them to banish these thoughts from their mind as fallacies and illusion, they become angry and more troubled and confused than before, and show thus love for their misfortune.

Second effect.—It deprives the soul of all devotion and communion with God. The thoughts which disturb and confuse the mind draw it ever away from God. The bitterness which depresses the heart, makes an elevation of the spirit to God impossible.

Third effect.—It is the cause of complaints, murmurs and expressions of contempt. Sad people are subject to many inconveniences; they are always full of suspicions and of wild notions. They are extremely sensitive; an unfriendly mien is sufficient to render them morose and sullen for a whole week. Always full of disquietude and uneasiness, there are an annoyance to themselves and to others.

Fourth effect.—It drives the soul into miserable cowardice, and urges it even to want of confidence in God and to despair. This is the last unhappy effect of sadness, that after having deprived man of all earthly happiness and joy, it robs him also of heavenly consolation and confidence in God. St. Frances of Rome once fell into great sadness, and remained therein a long time. Then St. Onuphrius appeared to her and said: "Put away sadness, my daughter; for a soul that is sad is not fit for the spiritual life; if you do not obey me, you shall lose by degrees all fervor and devotion, fall into pusillanimity, and finally into despair."

MORTIFICATION OF SADNESS AND ITS DEGREES.

First degree.—Always to accept all exterior and interior adversities as from the hand of God, and to bear them for His love. Sadness proceeds from our not having true indifference. If, then, we be ready to submit in everything our will to the Divine will, no adversity will ever bring on sadness. The foundation, therefore, on which interior peace and tranquillity rests is indifference about all which God may be pleased to send us. For this there are only two requisites. The first is to believe infallibly that all adversities come from God, that He sends them out of pure love for our greater good, and that He will never desert us if we humbly bow to His holy will. The second is to give one's self entirely to God's guidance, accepting with readiness everything which He metes out to us for soul and body. We must say with St. Francis de Sales, God knows much better than I how to appoint and ordain all things. Let us, therefore, allow Him to act with us and to treat us as He Himself deems fit, saying to Him, O God, Thy holy will be done, not mine. Thy law and Thy most holy will be forever pleasing to my heart. "Health and sickness, honor and contempt, life and death are in Thy hands. Give me whatever thou willest, with Thy grace to be indifferent, and I am and ever will be content.

Second degree.—In times of adversity, whether interior or exterior, quickly and vigorously to stifle all sadness. If, however, we unfortunately give way to it, no means are better to rid us of this unwelcome guest than these two: The first is to banish thoughts which trouble and disquiet our hearts, and to be assured that our imagination makes more of trifles than they are worth. The second is to fix our thoughts on God, to adore His most holy will, earnestly resolve to bear the trials He sends us with all submission to His Divine will, and to persevere in this exercise until the mind becomes serene and the heart is entirely at ease.

Third degree.—To submit to these trials with tranquillity and contentment. A truly patient soul is never so far influenced by them as to lose interior peace, and thus to be unable to treat with God freely. It never breaks forth into complaints. It feels the Cross, it is true, but it keeps itself interiorly tranquil, perfectly resigned to the Divine will.

Once an ecclesiastic complained to St. Francis de Sales. The Saint answered: "I have no oil to pour on your wound. I would increase the evil if I treated you leniently. I can do nothing else than to wash it with vinegar and rub it with salt. You say well-tried and wonderful virtue would be required to bear what you suffered without complaint. Your patience cannot be very great, since affliction goes so much to your heart." The clergyman replied, "I have complained only to my bishop, who is my father. Where should a son go when he is sad but to his father?" "O my son," answered the Saint, "how long will you love childishness? Should a pastor of so many spiritual children behave like a child? Do you wish me to feed you with milk like a nurse? instead of the substantial food which grown-up persons require? Are not your teeth sound enough to break and eat the hard bread of affliction?" Such was St. Francis de Sales's answer, and it suffices for the third degree, which is necessary for union with God.

The fourth degree.—To bear all afflictions joyfully. This degree is very high, and can only be climbed by humility, long self-denial and continued exercises of patience, and by the special assistance of Divine grace.