Rule of Life for a Pious Christian

NECESSITY OF A RULE.

It is not enough to do good; we must do it well, that is, according to order. ² This is the only way of discharging our obligations with facility, constancy, and merit. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that a Christian consult his spiritual director with regard to the regulation of his actions, the hour of performing them, the time and method to be employed in them, and the spirit with which they should be animated.

OF RISING AND MORNING PRAYER.

Have a regular hour for rising in the morning, and let nothing, if possible, prevent you from observing it. Immediately raise your mind and heart to God, and while dressing recite some prayers, or occupy your thoughts with the subject on which you are to meditate. Then say your morning prayers, before attending to any thing else, and endeavor to foresee the occasions you may have during the day of offending God, that you may take the necessary precautions against them.

OF HEARING MASS.

Assist at Mass every day, and in such manner as the sanctity of the action and your own spiritual interests require; that is, with those dispositions of fervor and recollection which are necessary, to honor the holy mysteries and to derive from them the benefits which they are capable of conferring.

OF MEDITATION.

Fail not every day to devote half an hour, or at least fifteen minutes, to meditation on some truth of religion. If you once bring yourself to understand the importance of this holy exercise, you will always find sufficient time for it, and practice will soon make it easy and familiar to you.

OF MEALS.

Take your meals with a pure intention, that is, because it is the will of God. Remember that it is not for your pleasure or to gratify your appetite that you should eat or drink, but to support nature, and maintain your strength for the divine service. Always say grace both before and after meals; be careful to avoid all intemperance and sensuality, and practise some act of mortification. Endeavor to shun eating between meals, when there is no necessity for it.

OF WORK OR ORDINARY EMPLOYMENT.

Often call to mind that sentence passed upon all mankind, In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread, till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. Gen. iii 19. In consequence of this sentence, submit yourself to the labors of your calling, as a penance laid upon you by the Almighty, and go through them with a penitential spirit, offering them up daily to God for your sins.

Acquaint yourself well with the obligations of your state of life, knowing that they form an essential part of the duty imposed on you by the law of God. Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, masters, mistresses, children, servants, all have their particular and indispensable obligations.

Fly idleness as the mother of all mischief; and, if your condition in life does not oblige you to any work or employment, by way of seeking your bread, yet always occupy yourself in something useful, for your soul's sake, that the devil may never find you idle.

In the beginning of your work direct your intention to God: consider what you are taking in hand as a business allotted you by him, and let your design in doing it be to please him. Almighty God most certainly appoints to every one in his family his respective employment: embrace then yours in consequence of the will of God; and offer up both yourself and your work, from time to time, to him, in union with the works in which your Saviour was employed in this mortal life.

In the midst of your work, let your interior, as much as possible, be taken up with God by recollection: make a closet in your heart for Jesus Christ, invite him thither, and entertain him as well as you can: seat yourself with Magdalen at his feet, and make frequent aspirations of love to him.

If in your work you would amuse yourself with singing, instead of profane or lewd songs, sing hymns and praises to God; and if you work in the company of worldlings, set a particular guard over your heart, that it draw not in the infection of their vain and wicked discourse.

Perform all your works with due care to do them well, not as pleasing the eyes of men, but the eyes of God; in whose presence, and for whom you ought to do all that you do. And when, by his will, you are called away from your work, as you are to be willing to do it for him, so you must be willing to leave it for him.

Take care to mortify that over-great eagerness with which you sometimes find yourself set upon your work, and do all with calmness and peace, if you would have God be with you.

OF CONVERSATION.

If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. St. James iii 2. There is no time in which a Christian is more obliged to be on his guard than in his conversation, on account of the many ways in which we are liable to offend God. Four principal faults are to be avoided in conversation: vanity, which breathes a love of the world, and is opposed to the maxims of the gospel; slander and detraction, which implicate in sin those who speak, and those who take pleasure in listening, or who do not prevent the discourse when it is in their power; looseness of speech, that is contrary to modesty, and gives rise to a multitude of evil thoughts, desires and actions: raillery, which so often degenerates into a want of civility and charity. Let your words be few and edifying, and always governed by a due regard for those by whom you are surrounded.

OF VISITS.

There are visits of necessity which you should endeavor to sanctify by a pure intention, that is, by a desire to discharge your duty and follow the order of Providence. There are also visits of charity, which should be made in a spirit of religion. As to those which civility requires, consider them as the bonds of social life, and regulate them according to the maxims of the gospel. But visits of a dangerous nature are to be absolutely avoided: and those which are vain and useless you will not indulge in, if you reflect seriously upon the value of time, and how little leisure they have who know their duties and desire to perform them.

OF RECREATIONS.

Recreation should be resorted to as a remedy; and as remedies ought not to be hurtful, or dangerous, or too frequently employed, we must take care to avoid in recreation what may be excessive or injurious. If criminal pleasures are to be always avoided, those which are innocent should be used with moderation, and never at the expense of any duty that demands attention. When engaged in any amusement, endeavor not to apply to it with too much earnestness, that would expose you to a violation of charity or to waste of time. Public balls, the drama, and the opera, and all exhibitions or gatherings that may be the occasions of sin, are to be absolutely avoided, as the worst enemies of Christian piety. The same is to be said of reading books which are irreligious, immoral, or devoting a considerable time to those which are vain and frivolous, and tend only to amuse the fancy, without forming the judgment or improving the heart.

OF READING GOOD BOOKS OR HEARING THE WORD OF GOD.

Let not a day pass without employing at least one quarter of an hour in reading some spiritual book; and a more considerable time on Sundays and Holydays; advise with your director what books may be most proper, and endeavor to procure them for yourself and family.

Begin your reading by an humble invocation of the Holy Ghost, that you may profit by it; read leisurely and attentively, so as to let the lessons which you read have time to make proper impressions upon you, and to sink deep into your heart. Pause awhile upon such places as touch you most: and from time to time excite affections and resolutions in your soul, suitable to the subject which you are reading.

Look upon it, that as when you are praying, you are speaking to God, so when you are reading or hearing his word, he is speaking to you. As then you desire he should hear you when you speak to him, so take you care to hearken faithfully to him when he speaks to you: and lay up carefully in your heart the seed of his divine word, that it may not be picked up by the fowls of the air, your infernal foes, or carelessly trodden under your feet.

Hear the word of God as often as you have an opportunity: and on such occasions, endeavor to purify your souls as much as you can, from all vain curiosity; mind not the eloquence or action of the preacher, but attend to the truths which he delivers; do not say within yourself, how well does this or that suit with this or that person; but consider what suits with yourself, and lay it up in your mind for the rule of your comportment for the time to come.

After reading or hearing the word of God, give thanks to his divine Majesty for the instructions he has given you therein; single out some one or more particular points for your practice that very day, and beg of God that he would imprint them in your soul, that you may remember them, and put them in execution. Remember that the word of God heard and read, and not put in practice, will one day rise in judgment against you.

If you are master or mistress of a family, see that those under your charge want not the advantage of frequent reading or hearing what is good. It is a care which your great Master expects from you.

OF VISITING THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

Among the most effectual means of nourishing in our heart the love of God, and of strengthening ourselves against the occasions of sin, is to visit Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the altar. If the duties of your state of life permit, fail not to spend a few moments daily in presence of your Saviour, to invoke upon yourself and yours his blessing, and the graces you have need of. There is no one who cannot find time to visit his friends, and to spend with them many unprofitable hours; how strange a disorder would it be that the children of God should allege a want of time for visiting him who is their only true and constant friend!

OF EVENING PRAYER.

If you are at the head of a family, perform this exercise in common. Thus will you render it more efficacious with God, and you will fulfil the obligation you are under, of making your children and servants attend to it. Never fail to make a general examination of your conscience, and also a particular examen, if you wish to root out effectually your evil habits, and place your salvation in a state of security. Go to bed with your mind intent upon some pious thought.

OF CONFESSION.

Whoever wishes to advance in Christian perfection, should go to confession every week. Whoever wishes to labor seriously at his salvation, should confess at least once a month; and if he would not expose himself to be lost, he should approach the tribunal of penance as soon as he feels his conscience burdened with a mortal sin. Endeavor to acquit yourself well of this duty, and to expiate your sins by a salutary penance. Do not confine yourself to that which is enjoined by your confessor, but practise other good works—such as visiting the sick, or those who are in prison; relieving the poor; praying before the Blessed Sacrament; co-operating in religious and charitable undertakings; abstaining even from innocent pleasures; observing simplicity in your dress and furniture; bearing with patience the defects of your neighbor; and submitting with resignation to the crosses and afflictions of life.

OF COMMUNION.

Communicate often. If you are not in the habit of mortal sin, and endeavor to avoid it, you may approach the holy communion with profit once a month. If you keep yourself free from mortal sin, and are not in the habit of deliberate venial sins, you may receive with benefit to yourself once a week. But the frequency of communion is a thing which ought to be regulated for each one by his spiritual director.

OF THE SPIRIT OF MORTIFICATION.

The life of a Christian should be a continual exercise of penance. Mortify yourself in ordinary things, as nothing is more necessary in order to establish the empire of grace and destroy that of nature in our soul. The following practices you will find very useful: to renounce the desire of doing that which is useless; to keep a guard over your eyes; to avoid inquiring for news; to abstain from a witticism, or any remark that would be gratifying to self-love; to deny yourself, at times, even the most innocent amusements; to moderate the indulgence you are apt to show to yourself; to speak little, and to do it without emotion; to be courteous and obliging to those for whom you feel an aversion; to be patient and silent under the trials you may have to suffer. Endeavor to bear your crosses, as Jesus Christ bore his, with patience, and in a spirit of penance, as they come from God; with love and thankfulness, inasmuch as they are dispensed to you for your own good, and may become the source of an eternal weight of glory.

OF THE USE OF RICHES.

If you are rich, remember what you owe to the poor. The threats and promises of Jesus Christ cannot fail, if you reflect upon them, to make you attentive to the practice of alms-deeds. God required from the Israelites the tenth of their goods; and this may serve as a very good rule for the Christian. In the exercise of charity, you should consider the extent of your means and the extent of your neighbor's sufferings. You will always have enough wherewith to fulfil this obligation, if you moderate your attachment to earthly things, regulate your expenses, and take that care of your means which is according to reason.

OF THE PREDOMINANT PASSION.

Try to discover, with the help of grace, the principal failing or passion to which you are subject. Examine what is the favorite object of your thoughts and desires; what you find it most difficult to resist; and what is the most frequent cause of your offending God. To overcome this failing, whatever it may be, you should have recourse to prayer, meditation, frequentation of the sacraments, and particularly to acts of virtue opposed to it, to great vigilance in foreseeing the occasions of sin, and to the particular examen.

OF PREPARING FOR DEATH.

Set apart one day in every month to prepare yourself for death; and strive to perform all your actions as if that day would be the last of your life. Approach the sacraments of penance and the holy eucharist. Examine if there is any thing that could trouble you in your last moments; whether there is any restitution or reconciliation to be made, any doubts to be cleared, &c. Perform the devotions that are suited to persons on the bed of death—making acts of resignation, conformity to the will of God, acts of faith, hope, love, contrition, &c. Call upon Jesus crucified, upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, your guardian Angel, your holy Patrons; and when you retire to your bed, consider it as the grave, which is to separate you from all things living.

OF DEVOTION TO THE MOTHER OF GOD.

Remember what the Saints have said of the important part that Mary takes in the salvation of souls; that she is the channel through which the Almighty is pleased to communicate his graces; and that her name is a star of hope which is never invoked in vain. Cherish, then, a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pray to her frequently; join the associations established in her honor; and, above all, endeavor to imitate her virtues.

OF A SPIRITUAL RETREAT.

Of all the practices of piety, a spiritual retreat is the most efficacious for converting souls to God, and inspiring a greater fervor in his service. It is difficult to preserve our innocence amidst the many dangers to which we are exposed in this world; and to do so requires a strong courage, powerful helps, and continual precautions. The firmest resolution will be shaken, the most fervent piety will grow cool, and the most solid virtue will be overcome, if we do not from time to time fortify ourselves by the exercises of a retreat against the evil influences that assail us. If religious, who are the most secure against these dangers, annually have recourse to a retreat in order to revive among them the spirit of their vocation, how can they who live in the world lead a truly Christian life without the use of similar means? Whatever may be your occupations, then, set apart a few days every year for the special consideration of your spiritual welfare. You will always find this excellent means of salvation practicable, if you sincerely desire to make use of it. All persons admit the importance or necessity of an occasional retreat; but a supposed want of time prevents many from attending to it. This excuse, however, will not justify them in the sight of God; because, if there is any affair that calls for the serious attention of man, it is the salvation of his soul; and no occupations, however numerous or important they may be, can ever exempt him from the obligation of devoting to it that portion of time which may be necessary to secure it. When we are sick, we lay aside all business, and think only of the recovery of health. Our temporal affairs are also frequently suspended even for purposes of relaxation and amusement. Have we not infinitely more reason to interrupt them occasionally with a view to consult our eternal interests? Remember those words of Jesus Christ: “What will it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” and you will not fail to avail yourself of the blessings which are afforded by a spiritual retreat.

THOUGHTS ON A SPIRITUAL RETREAT.

“I do not know,” says St. Ignatius, “nor can I conceive, a more effectual means of sanctifying oneself, than the exercises of a spiritual retreat.”

A retreat is a grace which the Almighty offers to us, because he loves us.

It will recall to our mind that we have a God to serve, a soul to save, a hell to avoid, and a heaven to gain.

The effect of a retreat, if duly made, will be to restore peace to our agitated souls, and to obtain the pardon of those sins which are the cause of our interior troubles. Is not this peace, this pardon, deserving of our most serious efforts?

It is the will of God that we should perform the exercises of a retreat with a sincere and upright heart. He, by his grace, will do the rest, and perfect the work he has begun.

Readings suited to the time of a Spiritual Retreat.

1st day.—Acts of the Apostles, ch. ix;
Following of Christ, b. 1, ch. xxv.

2d day.—St. Matthew, ch. v;
Following of Christ, b. 1, ch. xxii.

3d day.—St. Matthew, ch. xx;
Following of Christ, b. 1, ch. xxiii.

4th day.—St. John, ch. xiv, xv;
Following of Christ, b. 1, ch. xxiv.

5th day.—1 Corinthians, ch. xi;
Following of Christ, b. 2, ch. x.

6th day.—St. James, ch. i, iii;
Following of Christ, b. 3, ch. xxxix.

7th day.—2 Corinthians, ch. vi;
Following of Christ, b. 2, ch. xii.

PRACTICES FOR THE TIME OF A RETREAT.

Assist faithfully at all the exercises of the retreat. Perform them with attention, and with a sincere desire to profit by them.

Observe as strict a silence in going to and returning from the church as circumstances will permit, endeavoring to keep your thoughts fixed on some pious subject.

Perform daily some act of charity or mortification.

Withdraw as much as possible, from secular business.

Implore frequently the light and grace of the Holy Ghost.

Make a review of your conscience since the last retreat, and, if necessary, a general confession.

Consult your director in regard to all matters that disturb your mind, or require his advice.

Often say to yourself: This retreat is a signal favor of heaven. How will I wish, at the hour of death, to have performed it!

RESOLUTIONS AT THE CLOSE OF A RETREAT.

I will always remember that the paramount concern which should engross my attention in this world, is to serve God, to save my soul, to fear an evil death, to prepare for the divine judgment, to avoid hell-fire, to secure the happiness of heaven. These considerations must always predominate in my mind.

I will often reflect upon the vanity of earthly things, the emptiness of worldly pleasures, and the brevity of human life.

I will mingle in social amusements and entertainments only so far as utility or the laws of charity may require.

Remembering that the wisdom of this world is folly before God, I will never suffer its distracting cares or occupations to interfere with my obligations to God.

I will guard against the influence of human respect, and discharge every duty, despite the observations of men.

In the practice of piety, I will endeavor to prevent it from assuming that repulsive character which might result from the indulgence of humor or singularity.

I will be careful not to contract debts beyond my means, and will observe the most scrupulous justice in all dealings with my neighbor.

In regard to the poor and suffering members of society, I will consider it a duty and a happiness to relieve their wants, according to my means.

I will approach the sacraments frequently, and shun the occasions of sin.

These resolutions, and others of a more particular nature, which I have formed during the retreat, I will read once a month, and animate myself to a faithful observance of them.

1. Taken chiefly from the writings of Father Nepveu. ↩
2. Let all things be done . . according to order. 1 Cor. xiv 40.