Of
Obedience, Silence and Humility
Of Obedience
The first degree of humility is obedience
without delay. This becometh those who, on account of the holy subjection which
they have promised, or of the fear of hell, or the glory of life everlasting,
hold nothing dearer than Christ. As soon as anything hath been commanded by the
Superior they permit no delay in the execution, as if the matter had been
commanded by God Himself. Of these the Lord saith: "At the hearing of the
ear he hath obeyed Me" (Ps 17,18:45). And again He saith to the teachers:
"He that heareth you heareth Me" (Lk 10:16).
Such as these, therefore, instantly quitting
their own work and giving up their own will, with hands disengaged, and leaving
unfinished what they were doing, follow up, with the ready step of obedience,
the work of command with deeds; and thus, as if in the same moment, both
matters -- the master's command and the disciple's finished work -- are, in the
swiftness of the fear of God, speedily finished together, whereunto the desire
of advancing to eternal life urgeth them. They, therefore, seize upon the
narrow way whereof the Lord saith: "Narrow is the way which leadeth to
life" (Mt 7:14), so that, not living according to their own desires and
pleasures but walking according to the judgment and will of another, they live
in monasteries, and desire an Abbot to be over them. Such as these truly live
up to the maxim of the Lord in which He saith: "I came not to do My own
will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (Jn 6:38).
This obedience, however, will be acceptable
to God and agreeable to men then only, if what is commanded is done without
hesitation, delay, lukewarmness, grumbling or complaint, because the obedience
which is rendered to Superiors is rendered to God. For He Himself hath said:
"He that heareth you heareth Me" (Lk 10:16). And it must be rendered
by the disciples with a good will, "for the Lord loveth a cheerful giver
(2 Cor 9:7). " For if the disciple obeyeth with an ill will, and
murmureth, not only with lips but also in his heart, even though he fulfil the
command, yet it will not be acceptable to God, who regardeth the heart of the
murmurer. And for such an action he acquireth no reward; rather he incurreth
the penalty of murmurers, unless he maketh satisfactory amendment.
Of Silence
Let us do what the Prophet saith: "I
said, I will take heed of my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I have set a
guard to my mouth, I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence even from good
things" (Ps 38, 39:2-3). Here the prophet showeth that, if at times
we ought to refrain from useful speech for the sake of silence, how much more
ought we to abstain from evil words on account of the punishment due to sin.
Therefore, because of the importance of
silence, let permission to speak be seldom given to perfect disciples even for
good and holy and edifying discourse, for it is written: "In much talk
thou shalt not escape sin" (Prov 10:19). And elsewhere: "Death and
life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov 18:21). For it belongeth to the
master to speak and to teach; it becometh the disciple to be silent and to
listen. If, therefore, anything must be asked of the Superior, let it be asked
with all humility and respectful submission. But coarse jests, and idle words
or speech provoking laughter, we condemn everywhere to eternal exclusion; and
for such speech we do not permit the disciple to open his lips.
Of Humility
Brethren, the Holy Scripture crieth to us
saying: "Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Lk 14:11; 18:14). Since, therefore, it
saith this, it showeth us that every exaltation is a kind of pride. The Prophet
declareth that he guardeth himself against this, saying: "Lord, my heart
is not puffed up; nor are my eyes haughty. Neither have I walked in great
matters nor in wonderful things above me" (Ps 130[131]:1). What then?
"If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul; as a child that is
weaned is towards his mother so shalt Thou reward my soul" (Ps 130, 131:2).
Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the
greatest height of humility, and speedily to arrive at that heavenly exaltation
to which ascent is made in the present life by humility, then, mounting by our
actions, we must erect the ladder which appeared to Jacob in his dream, by
means of which angels were shown to him ascending and descending (Gen
28:12). Without a doubt, we understand this ascending and descending to be
nothing else but that we descend by pride and ascend by humility. The erected
ladder, however, is our life in the present world, which, if the heart is
humble, is by the Lord lifted up to heaven. For we say that our body and our
soul are the two sides of this ladder; and into these sides the divine calling
hath inserted various degrees of humility or discipline which we must mount.
The first degree of humility, then, is that a
man always have the fear of God before his eyes (Ps 35, 36:2), shunning all
forgetfulness and that he be ever mindful of all that God hath commanded, that
he always considereth in his mind how those who despise God will burn in hell
for their sins, and that life everlasting is prepared for those who fear God.
And whilst he guardeth himself evermore against sin and vices of thought, word,
deed, and self-will, let him also hasten to cut off the desires of the flesh.
Let a man consider that God always seeth him
from Heaven, that the eye of God beholdeth his works everywhere, and that the
angels report them to Him every hour. The Prophet telleth us this when he
showeth God thus ever present in our thoughts, saying: "The searcher of
hearts and reins is God" (Ps 7:10). And again: "The Lord knoweth the
thoughts of men" (Ps 93, 94:11) And he saith: "Thou hast understood
my thoughts afar off" (Ps 138, 139:3). And: "The thoughts of man
shall give praise to Thee" (Ps 75, 76:11). Therefore, in order that he may
always be on his guard against evil thoughts, let the humble brother always say
in his heart: "Then I shall be spotless before Him, if I shall keep myself
from iniquity" (Ps 17, 18:24).
We are thus forbidden to do our own will,
since the Scripture saith to us: "And turn away from thy evil will"
(Sir 18:30). And thus, too, we ask God in prayer that His will may be done in
us (cf Mt 6:10). We are, therefore, rightly taught not to do our own will, when
we guard against what Scripture saith: "There are ways that to men seem
right, the end whereof plungeth into the depths of hell" (Prov 16:25). And
also when we are filled with dread at what is said of the negligent: "They
are corrupted and become abominable in their pleasure" (Ps 13, 14:1). But
as regards desires of the flesh, let us believe that God is thus ever present
to us, since the Prophet saith to the Lord: "Before Thee is all my
desire" (Ps 37, 38:10).
We must, therefore, guard thus against evil
desires, because death hath his station near the entrance of pleasure. Whence
the Scripture commandeth, saying: "Go no after thy lusts" (Sir
18:30). If, therefore, the eyes of the Lord observe the good and the bad (Prov 15:3) and the Lord always looketh down from heaven on the children of men,
to see whether there be anyone that understandeth or seeketh God (cf Ps
13, 14:2); and if our actions are reported to the Lord day and night by the
angels who are appointed to watch over us daily, we must ever be on our guard,
brethren, as the Prophet saith in the psalm, that God may at no time see us
"gone aside to evil and become unprofitable" (Ps 13, 14:3), and
having spared us in the present time, because He is kind and waiteth for us to
be changed for the better, say to us in the future: "These things thou
hast done and I was silent" (Ps 49, 50:21).
The second degree of humility is, when a man
loveth not his own will, nor is pleased to fulfill his own desires but by his
deeds carrieth our that word of the Lord which saith: "I came not to do My
own will but the will of Him that sent Me" (Jn 6:38). It is likewise said:
"Self-will hath its punishment, but necessity winneth the crown."
The third degree of humility is, that for the
love of God a man subject himself to a Superior in all obedience, imitating the
Lord, of whom the Apostle saith: "He became obedient unto death"
(Phil 2:8).
The fourth degree of humility is, that, if
hard and distasteful things are commanded, nay, even though injuries are
inflicted, he accept them with patience and even temper, and not grow weary or
give up, but hold out, as the Scripture saith: "He that shall persevere
unto the end shall be saved" (Mt 10:22). And again: "Let thy heart
take courage, and wait thou for the Lord" (Ps 26, 27:14). And showing that
a faithful man ought even to bear every disagreeable thing for the Lord, it
saith in the person of the suffering: "For Thy sake we suffer death all
the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter" (Rom 8:36; Ps 43,44:22).
And secure in the hope of the divine reward, they go on joyfully, saying:
"But in all these things we overcome because of Him that hath loved
us" (Rom 8:37). And likewise in another place the Scripture saith:
"Thou, O God, hast proved us; Thou hast tried us by fire as silver is
tried; Thou hast brought us into a net, Thou hast laid afflictions on our
back" (Ps 65, 66:10-11). And to show us that we ought to be under a
Superior, it continueth, saying: "Thou hast set men over our heads"
(Ps 65, 66:12). And fulfilling the command of the Lord by patience also in
adversities and injuries, when struck on the one cheek they turn also the
other; the despoiler of their coat they give their cloak also; and when forced
to go one mile they go two (Mt 5:39-41); with the Apostle Paul they bear
with false brethren and "bless those who curse them" (2 Cor 11:26; 1
Cor 4:12).
The fifth degree of humility is, when one
hideth from his Abbot none of the evil thoughts which rise in his heart or the
evils committed by him in secret, but humbly confesseth them. Concerning this
the Scripture exhorts us, saying: "Reveal thy way to the Lord and trust in
Him" (Ps 36, 37:5). And it saith further: "Confess to the Lord, for
He is good, for His mercy endureth forever" (Ps 105, 106:1; Ps 117, 118:1).
And the Prophet likewise saith: "I have acknowledged my sin to Thee and my
injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my
injustice to the Lord; and Thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sins"
(Ps 31, 32:5).
The sixth degree of humility is, when a monk
is content with the meanest and worst of everything, and in all that is
enjoined him holdeth himself as a bad and worthless workman, saying with the
Prophet: "I am brought to nothing and I knew it not; I am become as a beast
before Thee, and I am always with Thee" (Ps 72, 73:22-23).
The seventh degree of humility is, when, not
only with his tongue he declareth, but also in his inmost soul believeth, that
he is the lowest and vilest of men, humbling himself and saying with the
Prophet: "But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast
of the people" (Ps 21, 22:7). "I have been exalted and humbled and
confounded" (Ps 87, 88:16). And also: "It is good for me that Thou
hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy commandments" (Ps 118, 119:71,73).
The eighth degree of humility is, when a monk
doeth nothing but what is sanctioned by the common rule of the monastery and
the example of his elders.
The ninth degree of humility is, when a monk
withholdeth his tongue from speaking, and keeping silence doth not speak until
he is asked; for the Scripture showeth that "in a multitude of words there
shall not want sin" (Prov 10:19); and that "a man full of tongue is
not established in the earth" (Ps 139, 140:12).
The tenth degree of humility is, when a monk
is not easily moved and quick for laughter, for it is written: "The fool
exalteth his voice in laughter" (Sir 21:23).
The eleventh degree of humility is, that,
when a monk speaketh, he speak gently and without laughter, humbly and with
gravity, with few and sensible words, and that he be not loud of voice, as it
is written: "The wise man is known by the fewness of his words."
The twelfth degree of humility is, when a
monk is not only humble of heart, but always letteth it appear also in his
whole exterior to all that see him; namely, at the Work of God, in the garden,
on a journey, in the field, or wherever he may be, sitting, walking, or
standing, let him always have his head bowed down, his eyes fixed on the
ground, ever holding himself guilty of his sins, thinking that he is already
standing before the dread judgment seat of God, and always saying to himself in
his heart what the publican in the Gospel said, with his eyes fixed on the
ground: "Lord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up mine eyes to
heaven" (Lk 18:13); and again with the Prophet: "I am bowed down and
humbled exceedingly" (Ps 37, 38:7-9; Ps 118, 119:107).
Having, therefore, ascended all these degrees
of humility, the monk will presently arrive at that love of God, which being
perfect, casteth out fear (1 Jn 4:18). In virtue of this love all things which
at first he observed not without fear, he will now begin to keep without any
effort, and as it were, naturally by force of habit, no longer from the fear of
hell, but from the love of Christ, from the very habit of good and the pleasure
in virtue. May the Lord be pleased to manifest all this by His Holy Spirit in
His laborer now cleansed from vice and sin.
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