Salesian Literature

Chapter 23:  We must purify ourselves from attachment to useless and dangerous things

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Games, dances, feasts, pompous celebration, plays are in no way evil in themselves.  Rather, they are indifferent since they can be used for good of evil.  Nevertheless, such things are dangerous, and to be fond of them makes them a greater danger.  Hence, I point out, Philothea, that even though you are free to play games, dance, adorn yourself, attend decent plays, enjoy dinners, yet to have   strong liking for such things is an obstacle to devotion and full of harm and danger.  It is not wrong to do such things, but it is wrong to have an attachment to them.  It is a pity to sow in our hearts such useless and foolish attachments.  They take the place of good desires and prevent the energy of our spirit from being directed to good inclinations.

 

The Nazirites of ancient times used to abstain, not only from everything that may cause drunkenness  but also from grapes and any juice of grapes (Num. 6:2-4).  It was not that grapes or grape-juice are intoxicating, but because of the danger that taking grape-juice would arouse the appetite for grapes and eating grapes would awaken the desire to drink fermenting grape-juice and wine.  So, I do not say that we cannot make use of these dangerous things.  But I insist that we can never have an attachment to them without doing harm to devotion.

 

When stags have put on too much flesh, they move away and hide in the bushes.  They are aware that they are burdened with fat and would not be able to run fast if they happen to be attacked.  So, when our heart is burdened with these useless, irrelevant and dangerous attachments, we surely cannot run towards God promptly, joyfully and easily, which is the true sign of devotion.

 

Little children are fond of chasing butterflies with great eagerness.  No one finds it wrong, since they are only children.  But is it not laughable, or rather pitiful, to see grown-up persons who are so eager and have such fondness for worthless trifles, as are the things I have mentioned?  These things, besides being useless, put us in danger of becoming undisciplined and unbalanced as we run after them.

 

It is for these reasons, my dear Philothea, that I tell you that we must purify ourselves from such attachments.  Even though these actions are not always contrary to devotion, nevertheless, the attachments always cause damage to it.

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