Salesian Literature

Chapter 1:  We must ignore the negative remarks of worldly people

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As soon as the worldly-minded observe that you are determined to follow the devout life, they will fling at you a thousand darts of mockery and slander.  The more malicious will falsely ascribe your change to hypocrisy, bigotry and pretence.  They will say that the world has frowned upon you and due to this rejection you are turning to God.  Your friends will be eager to pour out upon you countless objections which in their opinion are prudent and charitable.  They will say: You will fall into a gloomy mood, it will discredit you in the eyes of the world, you will make yourself unbearable, you will grow old before time, your household affairs will suffer; in the world you must live the life of the people in the world; you can attain salvation without so many mysteries; and thousands of such trifles.

 

Dear Philothea, all this is but silly and senseless babbling.  Such persons have no concern either for your health or for your affairs.  If you were of the world, says the Saviour, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you (Jn. 15:19).  We have seen men and women spending, not only the whole night but even several nights one after another, playing chess or cards.  Can there by anything more depressing, more gloomy and more dull than this?  And yet the worldly people utter not a word of complaint, and their friends are least disturbed.  But for an hour in meditation, or if we are seen getting up a little earlier than usual to prepare for Communion the run to the doctor to get us cured of being depressed and of jaundice!  They spend thirty nights dancing, and no one complains.  But if they are awake during one Christmas night everyone coughs and grumbles about being ill the next day.  Who cannot see that the world is an unfair judge?  It is gracious and lenient to its own children, but harsh and rigorous with the children of God.

 

We cannot please the world without losing ourselves with it.  We can never satisfy it for it is so peculiar.  When John came, says the Lord, neither eating nor drinking, and you say that he was possessed; the Son of Man came eating and drinking and you say, that he is a Samaritan (Mt. 11:18-19).

 

It is true, Philothea, if we condescend to laugh, play or dance with the world, it will be scandalized.  If we do not do so, it will accuse us of hypocrisy or being depressed.  If we dress well, it will attribute it to some ulterior motive; if we dress in simple clothes, it will be considered as stinginess.  Our joy will be called dissipation by the world, and our mortification sadness.  Since it looks upon us with prejudice, we can never satisfy it.  It exaggerates our imperfections and proclaims them to be sins.  It counts our venial sins as mortal, and our sins of frailty as sins of malice.

 

Charity is kind, says St. Paul (1 Cor. 13:4-5), the world on the contrary is spiteful; whereas charity never thinks evil the world always does so.  If it cannot find fault with our actions, it finds fault with our intentions.  Whether the sheep have horns or not, whether they be black or white, the wolf will devour them if it can. 

 

Whatever we may do, the world will always be at war with us.  If we are for a long time with the confessor they will wonder that we have so much to say; if we are with him for a short time they will say that we have not confessed everything.  They will closely watch our behaviour, and, for one small word of anger, they will declare that we are unbearable.  Our care in managing our affairs will be regarded as avarice, and our being gentle as foolishness.  But as for the worldly people their anger is superiority, their avarice is thrift, their undue familiarity is honourable conversation.  Spiders always spoil the work of the bees.

 

Let us ignore this blind world, Philothea.  Let it cry out as much as it wants, like an owl trying to disturb the birds of the day.  Let us be firm in our intentions, unwavering in our decisions.  Our very perseverance will prove that in good earnest we have sacrificed ourselves to God and committed ourselves to the devout life.  Comets and planets shine almost with the same brightness; but comets disappear in a very short time since they are only passing lights, while planets are constantly shining.  Similarly hypocrisy and true virtue are very much alike externally.  But they may be easily distinguished from one another.  Hypocrisy does not last long and vanishes like rising smoke.  True virtue is ever firm and constant.

 

      To face reproaches and criticisms is a great help to keep us firm in devotion at the beginning.  In this way we escape the danger of vanity and pride which are like the midwives of Egypt, to whom the wicked Pharaoh gave orders to kill all the male children of Israel on the very day of their birth (Ex. 1:15-16).  We are crucified to the world and the world should be crucified to us (Gal. 6:14).  The world looks upon us as fools, let us hold it to be unreasonable.

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