Salesian Literature

Vol. 1, CONFERENCE 9 : Simplicity

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The virtue we are going to deal with is so necessary that, even though I have spoken about it several times, our Mother wants me to devote a whole conference to it.  It has to do with simplicity, which perhaps, we do not need to hear about here as much as elsewhere.  But it is here that I have to give his talk.  I am quite aware that I will repeat things I have said to you already before, but it will not do much harm I say them all over again.  Before I begin the talk and give the Sisters a chance to ask me questions, I should tell you what exactly is the virtue of simplicity.

 

You know that ordinarily we call a thing simple when it has no embroidery, or frills or different colours.  We say, for example, here’s a person who is dressed so simply, because there is no trimming of showy decorations on her dress.  Her dress is all of one piece of cloth, and so a simple dress.  Simplicity is nothing else but a pure and simple act of charity which has only one end in view, and that is to obtain the love of God.  Our heart is simple when we have no other aim in all that we do or desire.  The well-known story of Our Lord’s hostesses, Martha and Mary, is an excellent illustration of what we are speaking about.  You see Martha who wanted to treat Our Lord well.  Her intention was extremely praiseworthy.  Still she was rebuked by the divine Master.  In fact, she had a very good purpose for her eagerness.  But she also looked upon Our Lord only as a man.  Hence she thought that he was like others and so one dish alone or a single preparation was not enough for him.  It was because of this hat she was greatly disturbed looking for oranges, lemons, vinegar and suchlike things in order to whet his appetite.  It is thus that she mixed up many other motives with the one and only aim of loving God.  Our Lord reproved her for this:  “Martha, Martha, you are worried about so many things; but one thing alone is necessary which Mary has chosen and which shall not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:38-42).

 

This act of simple charity, ensures that we do not consider and do not have any other aim in all that we do but the single desire to please God.  That is “Mary’s part” which “alone is necessary.”  And that is simplicity, a virtue that is inseparable from charity, especially as it looks straight at God, without ever tolerating any mixture of self-interest.  Otherwise it would not be simplicity anymore.  Simplicity cannot bear any kind of mixing with created things or taking them into account.  God alone finds in it His place of rest.

 

This is a purely Christian virtue.  The Pagans, even those who spoke very well of other virtues, like Plat and Aristotle, had no idea of this virtue, just as they did not of humility.  They have written very well about magnificence, liberality, prudence, constancy; but nothing about simplicity and humility.  Our Lord came down from Heaven personally to instruct men about both these virtues.  Otherwise they would have had no idea of this very necessary teaching.  “Be prudent as the serpent”, he tells his apostles, but be much more than that: “be as simple as the dove” (Mt. 10:16).  As if he wanted to say: “Learn from the dove to love God in simplicity”; I mean, to obtain in yourselves an increase of the heavenly love through the simplicity of your heart.  You are to have only one aim, and only a single purpose in everything you do.  But you are to imitate not just he simplicity of the love of the doves, who have only a single partner for whom they do everything, whom alone they want to please, and whom alone they are afraid to displease.  Imitate them also in the simplicity with which they practise and show their love.  They do not do many things, they are not sentimental.  All they do is to coo gently around their partners, quite certain of their love and happy to be in their company whenever they are there.

 

Simplicity removes from our hearts all the worry and anxiety which many have uselessly as they look for a variety of exercises and means to be able to love God, as they say.  It seems to them that, if they do not do all that the Saints did, they would never be happy.  Poor people, they are to be pitied.  They are tormented by their search to know the art of loving God.  They are not aware that there is no other way of loving God, except that of loving Him.  They think that there is a special art to obtain this love.  Nevertheless, it is to be found only in simplicity.  When I say that there is no art to love God, I do not mean to despise certain books which bear the title: THE ART OF LOVING God.  These books also teach that there is no other art of loving God than to start loving Him, that is, to do the things that are pleasing to Him.  That is the only way we can find and acquire the love of God.  but we are to go about it in simplicity, without worry and anxiety.  Simplicity truly includes all the means prescribed to each person, according to one’s particular vocation, to acquire God’s love.  And all that is achieved without losing sight of the primary end, which is always the love of God.  This means that simplicity does not desire any other motive to be urged to search for and obtain this love than its own goal.  Otherwise simplicity would no longer be absolutely simple.  In fact it cannot tolerate any other target, however perfect it may be, except the pure love of God, which is its only aim.

 

Let us take an example.  If you are going to pray the Office and somebody asks you: “Where are you going?”  “I am going to pray the Office”, you will reply.  “But why are you going to pray the Office?”  “In order to praise God,” you answer.  “But why are you going now, at this particular hour, and not some other time?”  - “Because the bell has rung and if I am not there, others will notice my absence.”  The purpose of going for the Office to praise God is very good, but the additional motive of being noticed is not simple.  Simplicity demands that we go for the Office because we are drawn to it by our desire to please God, without any other consideration; and so concerning other things.

 

Before going further, I must disclose to you a wrong understanding of this virtue of simplicity which is often found in the minds of many people.  They think that simplicity is opposed to prudence, and that the one excludes the other.  This is not true. Virtues are never opposed to one another, but are closely joined together.  The virtue of simplicity is opposed and contrary to the vice of GUILE.  From this vice flow all kinds of subtlety, cunning and duplicity.  Guile is an accumulation of deceit, cheating and treachery.  It is by means of guile that we find ways to deceive our neighbour and all those with whom we have dealings.  In this way we lead them to the goal of our designs.  We try to make them understand that we only know what we are telling them.  All this is entirely opposed to simplicity, which requires that our interior matches our exterior.

 

I do not, however, wish to imply that we should necessarily reveal exteriorly all our interior feelings. It is not failing in simplicity to put on a smiling face at times we feel upset.  You should always make a clear distinction between the effects of the superior part and those of the inferior part of your self.  It is true that you feel agitated within yourself when you are corrected or when you meet with some other difficulty.  This feeling does not come from your will but rather takes place in the inferior part of yourself.  The superior part does not give its consent to it.  It, however, considers this disturbance as good and wholesome and accepts it.  I have said that simplicity has its eyes continually focussed on the obtaining of God’s love.  Now, God’s love requires from us that we control our feelings, and that we mortify them and get rid of them.  That is the reason why it does not expect that we make them known exteriorly.  Hence, we are not failing in simplicity if we put on a smiling face when we are troubled by something.

 

You say you deceive those who see you.  You are quite lacking in mortification and they will think that you are very virtuous.  It is this reflection that you make on what other people will say or think of your which goes against simplicity.  I have said that simplicity aims only at pleasing God alone and in no way creatures, except when God’s love requires it.  Once a person who is simple or who is enriched with the virtue of simplicity has performed an action which she judges that she had to do, she does not think any more about it.  And, if it happens that there is this commotion in herself about what other think of her or talk about her, she puts an immediate stop to it.  She cannot bear anything that turns her aside from her set purpose of keeping herself alert to God in order to grow in His love.  The though of creatures does not move her in any way, for her point of reference is always the Creator.

 

It is the same regarding another question you ask: whether we are allowed to make use of prudence so as not to tell Superiors everything, especially when we think that what we say may disturb them or disturb us while speaking to them.  Simplicity is only concerned with whether it is suitable to say or to do a certain thin.  It then starts doing it without wasting much time in wondering whether the Superior would be troubled or not, or whether I would be troubled, if I were to tell her some thought I had of her. If it is right that I say something, then I should go ahead and say it in all simplicity.  God will take care of the rest.  Once I have done my duty, I should not worry about anything else because God does not want this.

 

One should not have such great fear of trouble for oneself or for others.  Trouble by itself is not a sin.  In fact the “Spiritual Combat” advises that we go on in search of it sometimes, when we do not come across it in order to keep ourselves ready for battle.  For instance, I know that by going about with certain companions, I run the risk of being hurt or troubled by some remark or the other.  Far from shunning the company, I should arm myself with confidence in God’s protection.  God will give me strength to wage war against my natural inclinations and to overcome them.  Trouble is experienced only the lower part of the soul.  We should not be in the least surprised when it is not willed or followed.  What I mean is, that we do not give our consent to its suggestions.  This we should never do.  But where does this trouble come from very often if not from a lack of simplicity?  Especially when we waste our time wondering about what others will think of me or say about me.  Instead we are to think of God and of what we can do to please Him.

 

“But, if I speak of this particular thing I shall be more miserable than I was before saying it.”  Well, if you do not want to say it and it is not necessary that you say it, as you do not require any advice in the matter, make up your mind quickly.  Do not waste time deciding whether you should speak about it or not.  There is no sense in spending an hour in reflecting on every little action of our life on the pretext of being prudent.

 

“If I tell the Superior all the thoughts which will cause me the most humiliation, I am bound to be upset afterwards.”  Ask yourself whether it is good or necessary for you to speak about things which will humiliate you the most.  As far as I am concerned, I think it is better to talk about these things instead of many other things which serve no other purpose than to prolong the meeting with the Superior.  And if speaking about such things leaves you troubled, it is a sure sign that you are not mortified enough.  What good will it do me speak of things that are not necessary for my benefit and leave aside what would mortify me the most?  Simplicity, as we have repeated so often, seeks only the love of God.  now, God’s love is not found anywhere as surely as in the mortification of ourselves.  In the measure that this mortification grows we come nearer to the place where we find God’s love.

 

You say that you are afraid of humiliating or troubling you Superior.  Do not be worried about hat.  Superiors are expected to be perfect, or at least to do things like perfect people.  They have ears open to listen to all that they are told without being too greatly troubled.  Simplicity is not concerned with what others are doing or will be doing.  It thinks only of itself.  But even for itself, it has thoughts that are really necessary.  It casts aside all others promptly.  Simplicity has a great affinity to humility.  Humility does not allow us to have a bad opinion about anyone except ourselves.

 

You wish to know what you should do to maintain an attitude of simplicity, frankness and straightforwardness in conversation and recreations.  Given the fact that people have different temperaments it would be impossible that what you say should be accepted or found good by all.  Of course, it would be a good thing if we could adjust our words to the feelings and moods of everybody, without arousing any negative reactions.  But that would be something impossible to achieve.  We are not expected to go out of our way to do it, as it is not necessary.

 

But should we weigh each word carefully so as not to anger anyone?  Not at all, so long as you observe the Rule by speaking only what is required and, for instance, in recreation what helps to spread joy.  If you are tempted to say something which is not according to the spirit of the Rule, you should refrain from saying it.  Simplicity always follows the rule of the love of God in everything.  And so, even if it is a good thing to be simple in our conversations, we should not be so inconsiderate as to say at random, anything at all that comes to mind.

 

You say: “I find myself next to a Sister who appears to be a little sad and she would not be happy to listen to my talk, given my own cheerful mood.”  You should not be too concerned about what you should do.  Just now she happens to be in this serious or sad mood, but some other time you will be like her.  Now you should help her and yourself to enjoy the recreation, and on another occasion she will do the same for you.

 

Would it not be a good thing to look around and see the reactions of the Sisters, one after the other, to what we say in recreation?  Should we notice if they are amused and if they approve?  And if there is someone who does not show pleasure should we be troubled that she did not like it or misunderstood it?  Of course, we should avoid all this.  It would be self-love leading us to make this enquiry.  It would not be waling in simplicity.  Simplicity does not run after its own words and actions. It places every event in God’s hands to whom it is united above everything.  True simplicity turns neither to the right nor to the left but follows its path quite simply.  If, along the way, it comes across opportunities to practise some virtue, it makes use of them carefully as an appropriate help to arrive at its destination which is God’s love.  But it refuses to hurry, and it does not despise any occasion that comes its way.  At the same time it is not worried and over-eager to go in search of them.  It remains calm and serene in the confidence it has that God knows its desire to please him, and that is all it needs.

 

You ask: “How can one reconcile two things which are opposed to each other?  On the one hand, we are told to take great care of our perfection and progress, and on the other hand, we are forbidden even to think of it.”  This is an occasion to take not of the misery of the human spirit.  It never follows the middle course, but usually runs to extremes.  A girl who is forbidden to go out at night will be sure to say: “Oh, God! What a terrible mother I have!  She does not allow me to get out of the house at all!”  Notice, she is only forbidden to go out at night, but she says that is forbidden to go out always.  Another one sings too loud and somebody brings this to her notice.  She will say, “If you think I sing too loud, I will sing so softly that nobody will hear me!”  Or yet another is told that she walks too fast.  She will begin to walk so slowly, that one could count her steps.  And what are to do with regard to such persons?  We have to show patience.  What is important is that the person concerned do not foster such faults and that they are not due to obstinacy. One cannot, of course, always follow the straight path in such a way that one does not lean and tilt over to one extremity or the other.  Provided we get back our balance as quickly as we can, we should be satisfied.  We have inherited this defect from our mother, Eve, who acted in similar way when the evil one asked her to eat the forbidden fruit.  Instead of saying that God had forbidden her to eat the fruit, she said that God had forbidden her only to touch it (Gen. 3:3).

 

You would like to know whether you should answer frankly when a Sister asks you if you have been hurt by anything that she did or said to you.  She should not really ask such a question. But if you know this Sister well enough and if you are sure that she would not lose confidence because of your answer, and if it is true that you have been offended by her, you can tell her simply that she hurt you.  But you should also add that she should not for that matter stop being frank with you because you like it.  If, however, you feel that she is touchy, you answer in such a way that she will always the confidence in you and continue to correct you.

 

Many people are mistaken in thinking that if they show marks of special affection and give signs of friendship to persons for whom they have an aversion, their actions are only deceit and pretence.  This is not true at all.  Aversions are involuntary and have their sat in the inferior part of our self.  The will rejects them even though they never leave us.  The signs of love we give to those towards whom we have an aversion come from reason which tells us that we ought to overcome ourselves.  Hence even if our words and actions are seemingly opposed to our interior feelings, we do not in such cases fail in simplicity.  Indeed, at the conscious level we disown these sentiments as alien to us; and in fact they are.  Great is the folly of the people of the world, who never look kindly upon those they dislike, proclaiming that they act with simplicity and that they are sincere and not hypocrites.

 

It would also not be wrong to pretend that you dislike doing a thing you particularly like to do.  At least in the case you speak about, that is, to give a sense of confidence to a Sister by leaving her to do something she is pleased to do.  On your part, you mortify yourself by depriving yourself on the occasion to do it.  This desire to do things you like to do comes only from your inferior part, since in the superior part you prefer the satisfaction of your Sister to your own.  Finally, always and in everything you have to keep in mind that all those things which originate from the inferior and sensitive part should not be taken into consideration, as if we had not noticed them.

 

Is there anything else to be said concerning simplicity?  I would like to say a word on prudence, but this will be later.  In fact, we need to know much more about simplicity than about prudence.

 

It would be lacking in simplicity to make lengthy considerations in order to decide whether you should report to the Superior the faults committed against one another.  Do you believe that the Superior is not capable of dealing with these matters, and that she is not able to make the necessary corrections if she judges it fit?  It is not as though you were to speak about them to somebody who can do nothing to remedy the situation.  But you say: “How can I know why this Sister has acted in this way?  Perhaps she had a good intention.”  May be her intention was good.  I ask you to tell me whether her action is in itself good or bad.  You answer: in all external appearances, it was bad.  Then why do you not want to tell your Superior about it?  You are not expected to speak about her intention, but only about her action.  So why are you worried about it?  You tell me that this action is such little importance, that it is not worth putting this poor sister into trouble, and probably she will not do it again.  All these reasonings are not simple.  The Rule commands you to do all you can to make your Sister mend her ways, by means of warnings.  But this Rule does not authorize you to be so considerate, as if the honour of the Sisters depended on this report of yours.  I would go even further and say:  If I knew that this person whom I have to correct would commit a venial sin, because of the hurt which my correction will cause her, I should not for that matter fail to do so.  Still less ought I to give it up merely out of this consideration of causing trouble.  Trouble is not sinful in itself but only in the evil effects it produces.  All I have to do is to wait for a favourable occasion.  It is important to note this.  It is always dangerous to correct someone immediately, on the spot.  If I can foresee that waiting for some time would make the person better disposed, then I will have to wait.  But apart from that we have to go ahead and make the correction in all simplicity, as we are obliged to do according to God’s will, and this without any scruple.  If this person is troubled and upset by your correction, you are not the cause of it.  Rather, it is her want of self-denial.  And if this experience makes her commit a venial sin, it will in the end make her avoid many others which she would have committed by persevering in her fault.

 

The Superior should not fail to correct the Sisters because they dislike being corrected. We shall always experience this aversion as long as we live, since being corrected is diametrically opposed to man’s nature.  Man hates correction and humiliation.  This aversion should not be encouraged by our will which should always love to be humiliated.

 

The Rules say expressly that you may correct privately anyone guilty of a fault which is not known to others.  You say that, if you are seen holding private talks, you will be blamed for it.  Yes, that can certainly happen, since the other Sisters who notice you, do not know what you are talking about.  But why give undue importance to all this.  You will be rebuked for it.   Why do you worry about that?  Thank God for it.  This will be yet another opportunity to humiliate yourself.  You should be glad that you are blamed even when you do something good.  And in this you are with Our Lord who, having done no evil willed to be treated as a criminal and put to death like one.  The virtue of simplicity accepts lovingly this mortification as the right means to help it attain sooner its ultimate goal.  This is to serve Our Lord in a total conformity of life and actions.

 

You want to know whether, in case the Superior is not pleased when you tell her of the faults that the other Sisters have noticed in her, you should in all simplicity stop telling her about these things.  The Superior is in no way bound to show that she is glad when her faults are pointed out.  And where is the need to take care as to whether she is pleased or not?  The Superior listens to you, she lends you her ears to hear what you have to say to her.  Is that not enough?  “But she says nothing to let me know that she is pleased with what I said to her.”  Does that really matter?  You have done your duty.  Why do you trouble about the rest?  “She will perhaps think that it was not out of charity that I brought these things to her notice, but that I had some other motive.”  My dear Daughters, all these preoccupations run totally counter to the spirit of simplicity.  A truly simple person does not spend her time except with the Lord.  But let us continue.

 

I am not quite sure of the intention our Mother has but I have a feeling that she wants me to say something about the simplicity which we should have to let ourselves be guided interiorly as much by God himself as by our Superiors.  As you have remarked, there are always some persons who are so bold that they do not want to be guided except by the Holy Spirit.  It seems to them that whatever they imagine are inspirations and movements of the Holy Spirit who takes them by the hand, like little children, and guides them in all that they want to do.  They are greatly mistaken to think like this.  Was there any vocation more excellent than that of St. Paul?  Our Lord spoke to him in person in order to bring about his conversion.  But He did not wish to give him any personal instruction.  Rather, He sent him to Ananias (Acts 9:4-7), telling him: “Go on your way.  You will find a man who will tell you what you are to do.”  St. Paul could well have said: “Lord, why do you not tell me yourself what you wish me to do?”  St. Paul said nothing of the sort.  Quite simply, he went on his way to do what he was commanded.  And as for us, should we think that God favours us more than St. Paul?  Are we to believe that God wants to guide us Himself without any human intermediary?

 

I know of a girl who had such an idea fixed in her mind.  Her confessor himself told me about it.  She imagined that she should do nothing unless her divine Bridegroom asked her or inspired her to do it.  Her mother had problems dealing with her.  If she asked her to come for Mass or for dinner, the girl would invariably reply: “I will do it when my Bridegroom wants it.”  She was continually waiting to hear the voice of the Bridegroom.  But for us, the voice of the Bridegroom cannot but be the call of obedience, for anything else is nothing but deceit.

 

You say, “I am so much attracted by a greater interior simplicity of heart.  But I am always forced to follow the exercises which are common to all.  For example, the observance of the Directory insists on paying special attention to each exercise.”  It is certain that all are not guided by the same path.  But at the same time, it is not left to each one of us to find out the path which God wants us to follow.  This is the responsibility of the Superiors who are enlightened by God to show you the path.  You should not say: “The Superiors do not know me well.”  You have to believe that the Superiors do know you.  Obedience and submission are always the genuine signs of good inspiration.

 

“But I find no consolation in the exercises which I am compelled to do.  And there are so many others.”  That can well be true.  But then we are not to judge the goodness of our actions by our consolations.  We should not cling to our own self-satisfaction, for that would mean that you want to hold on to the flowers and not the fruits.  You will draw much more benefit from following the direction of your Superior than by following your natural instincts.  These only produce self-love which, under the guise of doing good, only looks for occasions to find satisfaction in the vain esteem of our own selves.

 

It is quite true that our well-being results in letting ourselves be led and directed absolutely by God’s spirit.  It is this that true simplicity seeks.  The simplicity was so much recommended to us by Our Lord: “Be simple as the dove” (Mt. 10:16), He said to his Apostles.  But he does not stop there.  He also says: “If you are not simple like little children you will not enter into the Kingdom of my Father” (Mt. 18:3).  When a child is very small, he is reduced to extreme simplicity.  He has no other knowledge than that of his mother.  He has but one love, and that is for his mother.  And in this love he ahs but one desire, and that is his mother’s breast.  Apart form that, he looks for nothing else.

 

The person who has a perfect simplicity has but one love, one desire, and that is to lie gently on the bosom of the heavenly Father, and there, like a dearly loved child, make his abode.  He leaves all the care of himself to his heavenly Father.  He never more worries about anything, except remaining in this holy confidence.  He never allows the desire to possess virtues and grace, which he considers to be important to fill his heart with disquiet.   Nor is there anxiety in the search for perfection.

 

He neglects nothing he meets on his way and also does not waste time in searching means for self-perfection other than the ones prescribed.  What is the use of desiring virtues which are not at all necessary for us to practise?  Gentleness, love of our abjection, humility, loving charity and cordiality towards others are the virtues the practice of which, along with obedience, should be common to all of us.  These are all the more necessary as we have frequent opportunities to practise them.  As for others, like constancy, magnanimity and so on.  We should not trouble about them since we shall practically have no occasion to practise them.

 

Finally I conclude by making a distinction between the people of the world (I mean people who live as good Christians in the world) and the Sisters of the Visitation.  The people of the world have to be prudent in order to improve the situation.  They have to take great care of the needs of their families.  By acting otherwise they would be failing in their duties.  They have also to trust in divine Providence more than in their proficiency.  This does not mean that they neglect attending to their responsibilities.

 

The Sisters of the Visitation, however, are expected to leave all the care of their personal welfare in the hands of God.  in saying this, I do not refer to the external or material things, for instance, having to do with food for the body.  I refer particularly to things concerning their progress in the spiritual life.  They have to trust completely in God’s goodness to give them all the spiritual blessings, virtues and graces, as it will please him to do.  Their prudence is to consist in their absolute surrender into the hands of divine Providence.

 

I notice that among the animals, those who make the most use of prudence (for there is a natural prudence as well as a Christian prudence) are those animals who are the smallest and the most timid and cowardly.  The fox who is so shrewd, and is capable of using so much cunning, is cowardly; the hare, which is a timid animal, uses so much prudence to escape from the hounds which pursue it that sometimes they are confused; the ant is known for its wonderful sense of prudence and foresight; the deer, though they are not small, do not for that matter cease to be timid; but the lion, who is such a courageous animal and who is quite conscious of its fearlessness, walks with great simplicity.  He even goes to sleep right in the middle of the road as if in his own den.  The camels are also extremely simple creatures, even though they are so tall and so powerful.  They would let anyone place even a house on the tope of them and they would carry it, so well are they built to carry weight.  Among the small animals we have the dove and the little lamb who really are such simple creatures!

 

I must say a word on the prudence of the serpent.  I am afraid that if I go on speaking only about the simplicity of the dove, someone will remind me of the prudence of the serpent.  Many people want to know which was this serpent from whom Our Lord wants us to learn prudence.  When the Israelites were led by Moses into the desert, they were bitten, at every turn, by little serpents and most of them died from their bites for want of medicines.  God had pity on them (Num. 21:8-9) and commanded that a serpent of bronze be raised up, so that anyone who had bitten by serpents could look at it and recover.  Now this bronze serpent which was raised at the end of a pole in the desert, was but an image of Our Lord and Master.  He was to be raised up on the tree of the cross on Mount Calvary, and being raised up manifested so wonderfully well the prudence of the serpent.  The serpent shows its prudence in many different ways.  The first of these is when it sheds its old skin on growing old.  Our Lord did a similar thing, that is, he despoiled himself of his glory, and made himself as St. Paul says (1 Cor. 1:23) a scandal for the Jews and folly to the gentiles.  But to us Christians he was made our model and most loving Saviour.  He was made a soothing remedy for all our afflictions and looking upon Him, fixed and raised up on the Cross, we cannot die.  In him we find the cure for all our wounds.

 

We could also understand the words of Our Lord as meaning: “Be prudent like a real serpent.”  When the serpent is attacked, it exposes its whole body so as to save only its head.  That is what we also have to do.  We have to expose everything else to danger when the need arises, in order to protect in us Our Lord, that is, His love which is like our head; for he is the Head and we are the members (Eph. 4:15; Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 6:15).

 

In the end, I have also to make an act of prudence and finish my talk, out of fear of keeping our Sisters too long.  All I want is that you remember the two types of prudence: one is natural and the other supernatural.  As for natural prudence, you have to reject it and do away with it, because it is not good.  It fills our mind with thousands of unnecessary reflections and precautions which keep our minds far from simplicity.

 

We have to really practise the true virtue of prudence.  This true prudence is like spiritual salt which gives taste and relish to all other virtues.  But it has to be practised by us of the Visitation, in such a way that always the virtue of simple confidence towers above everything else.  We should have a confidence that is extremely simple, which keeps us in peace in the arms of our Father and of our loving Mother.  We are to remain assured that Our Saviour and Our Lady, who is our dear Mother, will protect us always.  She will show us her maternal care since we have come together here in her honour, and for the glory of her beloved Son, who is our loving Father and most gentle Saviour.

 

May everything redound to the glory and praise of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the glorious St. Joseph.

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