Little Virtues

THE LITTLE VIRTUES

Let us approach the topic of the little virtues from three different facets. First, we are going to celebrate community in this talk because the little virtues act like ball bearings in our living together with others. The lubricating action of the little virtues in practice makes all the difference between heaven and hell in community living, whether the community be religious or family, parish or civic, work or play. The following story is adapted from one told by Scott Peck, a man dedicated to community building:

A certain monastery had dwindled down to five members, all rather elderly. The abbot confided his distress over the situation to a rabbi and asked, "Is there any advice you can give me that would help save my community?" "I'm sorry," the rabbi responded. "All I can say is that the Messiah is one of you." That evening the abbot told his fellow monks, "The rabbi said that the Messiah is one of us. What do you think he meant?" In the days that followed the monks pondered these words. The Messiah is one of us? Who could it be? The abbot -- perhaps? Brother So and So? W-e-l-l? Me? I'm just an ordinary person. But what if? Soon the monks began to treat one another with extraordinary respect just in case that monk was the Messiah. For the same reason, each monk stood a little taller in self-respect. People coming to the monastery to picnic on its beautiful grounds or to pray in its dilapidated chapel soon sensed an aura of extraordinary respect radiating from the five monks that was strangely attractive, even compelling. Hardly knowing why, people began to come back to the monastery again and again to picnic, to play, to pray. They began to bring their friends to this special place. And their friends brought their friends. Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more and more with the elderly monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another. And another. Within a few years the monastery again had become a vibrant center of light and spirituality.

I first heard this story during a workshop on religious renewal. For me its message was, Live Jesus! May Jesus live in me. May I recognize the Jesus living in each and everyone! May my actions be in accord with my beliefs! Salesian spirituality offers a distinctive way of allowing Jesus to live. In Francis' words, to "Live Jesus" was to have the name of Jesus engraved on one's heart. It was to allow that name to become one's own true name, to allow one's entire self -- body, thoughts, affections, actions, decisions, work, devotion -- to be animated by the reality of the person known by that name. In a 1617 letter addressed to Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Brechard, Jane de Chantal wrote,

I beg you, do try to become truly humble, gentle and simple, so that your dear heart which I love so tenderly may become a real heart of Jesus. (Encourage others to do likewise for) experience teaches us every day that our sisters should be so perfectly simple that they may attract young persons by their example.

For Francis and Jane then, Jesus was a presence to be experienced, a reality to be lived. We may be puzzled about how to live Jesus within our various communities. The second part of this talk may help -- two letters about living in community, one written by Francis de Sales and the other by Jane de Chantal.

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Letters of Francis and Jane

Claude Simplicienne was a sister in Annecy at the time of Francis de Sales. On one occasion when Francis came to give the sisters a conference, she stopped him to say that she wanted to live as he would if he were in the monastery. Then she asked him what he would do. Here is an abbreviated paraphrase of his response to her. By this I mean that I have adapted some of his statements to make them more relevant to you, to people living in communities other than religious. At first glance his suggestions seem to be such trivialities, but believe you me, if we practice them or others like them, we quickly will become a lubricant in whatever community we find ourselves because we will be alert to the needs of others and will live grounded in the present moment. Francis said:

It seems to me that with the grace of God I would keep myself so attentive to being thoughtful of others that by this means I would try to gain the heart of God. I would pay particular attention to speaking very gently. I would open and shut doors very quietly so as not to disturb others. I would walk very tranquilly; for God and his angels ever regard us and love those who are living well. If I were busy at home or at work, I would love whatever I am doing and would try to perform each task faithfully. But if I were left alone, I would not give my attention to anything save to be very obedient and dearly to love Our Lord. Oh! I would love Him with all my heart, this good God, and would closely apply my spirit to fulfill my commitments. Indeed we must do this well. Let us do the best we can; nothing ought to keep us from attending properly to the needs of our community, our family, for we are able to do it by the grace of God. But we must not be troubled about our faults, for what can we do without the help of our good God? Nothing whatever.

I think also that I would be very cheerful, and that I would never excite myself. That, thank God, I do already; for I never let myself become excited. I would keep myself very little and humble; I would try my best to keep myself in the presence of God, and to do all my actions for His love for this is what we are taught to do. And what have we to do but that in this world? Nothing at all; we know all that is required if we know this. Let us begin in good earnest, God will help us. If we have good courage we shall do much, God helping. But besides this, I hope that I would gladly allow people to do with me whatever they liked.

This letter is priceless in my estimation. Francis speaks simply and directly to Claude Simplicienne. As I read it, I see a gracious gentle man whose thoughtfulness of others permeates all that he does. And why? Because Francis was conscious of being in the presence of God. He was seeing and serving God in others in all that he did. Notice too how human and humble Francis is! He knows that he will fail at times. But without self-pity, he simply admits his failing, and is ready to begin again, always recognizing that God is his Savior. See too his flexibility and availability when he says, "I hope that I would gladly allow people to do with me whatever they liked." The personality of Francis pervades this letter; I see in it the gentleness, humility and simplicity that our text has identified as the three primary little virtues. But there are many more. You know, as I wrote this section, I was reminded of something that happened when I was a very young religious. We had a large lavatory which we all used. I would be in a hurry at times and then would neglect to tidy up the basin. Once I was stopped by the novice mistress who told me to look at the basin. As I did, she said, "You know, dear, Jesus is going to use this basin in a few moments. Is this the way you are leaving it for Him?" That was for me an unforgettable lesson in the meaning of "Live Jesus." Need I say more?

Jane too had much to say about the little virtues. In the Letters of Spiritual Direction is a letter she wrote to an unspecified Visitation community. Because the little virtues are all about harmonious living in communities, I am picking, choosing, and adapting her words to make them applicable to everyone. Jane says,

May you all live in harmony with one heart and mind in God. Show a childlike trust and gentleness toward one another, supporting each one in mutual charity. Never be astonished at the faults of anyone, especially of those dear to you, for to be shocked at someone's faults, to pick them apart, examine them, and get all upset about them is the sign of narrow mindedness which has no insight into human frailty, and very little charity or forbearance. That is why those who are inclined to be so righteous should close their eyes to what is going on around them and remind themselves constantly that charity does not go looking for evil, and when she does come upon it , she looks the other way and excuses those who commit it. This should be our attitude toward our family members and co-workers, with whom we interact daily.

Be simple and perfectly open toward all. Do not take me lightly but profit by what I am saying. Be kind to one another, and respect one another's opinions. Do not criticize, rather interpret everything positively. If you have some difficulty in overcoming your inclinations, look at our Divine Savior in the struggles He endured throughout His life in order to obtain glory for you. If you imitate Him in these little trials of yours and make His divine will rule in you, He will fill you with every blessing, especially with His peace which surpasses all understanding and is the ultimate possession of every person of good will. Let us work to this end with courage. pp.262-263

Jane certainly lays the cards on the table in this letter. She is succinct, and yet she calls a spade a spade. What does she recommend? For her, living together in loving harmony has the highest priority. What does this entail? The essential ingredient is supportive mutual charity! Whether our time is spent with children and spouse in the home, with confreres in the business world, or with a combination of both, we are called to develop the virtues of trust, gentleness, tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, simplicity, openness, kindness, respect, and courage. Jane accepts the frailties of our human condition; over half of this letter concentrates on how to respond to shortcomings in others and in ourselves. She expects us to be blind to the faults of others and to keep our eyes on Jesus whenever we have to struggle with our own failings. Now Jane did not intend, nor do I mean, that we allow our children, spouse, co-workers, or friends a free rein to do as they please. This letter implies that all the members of our little community have similar values and are trying to live Jesus by practicing the little virtues. Maybe some of us are not in such a community. Then we are challenged to be the seed by our example. Actions speak louder than words, and our children will imitate us, maybe not now, but give them time. Patience is also a little virtue.

As I reviewed the contents of these letters, I was reminded of a text in our Mission and Spirit which says,

The spirit of the Visitation is one of gentleness, littleness, simplicity and poverty. We should not depart from this, but so completely subject our inclinations to its spirit that we always allow gentleness and humility to prevail in what we say or do. One of the best ways to practice gentleness is with regard to ourselves, never being annoyed with ourselves because of our imperfections. Being angry, vexed and bitter about what we have done leads to pride and comes from having too good an opinion of oneself. We are upset and anxious only because we are not perfect. So lift up your heart gently after a fall, humbling yourself deeply before God as you realize your own weakness, and then with great courage and trust in His mercy, go on cultivating the virtue in which you failed. Be sure you do not let your own cowardice be an obstacle to God's plans to make great saints of you.

Francis had the same message for his directees who were immersed in affairs of the world. In a letter dated May 1608 to Madame de la Flechere, he wrote,

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself; I mean, don't be disturbed about your imperfections, and always have the courage to pick yourself up after a fall. I'm very glad to hear that you make a fresh start each day. There's no better way of growing toward perfection in the spiritual life than to be always starting over again and never thinking that we have done enough. p. 160

The letters of Francis and Jane, the excerpt from our Mission and Spirit, and the letter to Madame de la Flechere all proclaim the same good news. But these last two quotations add a new dimension, that of being gentle with one's self. While some of us may tend to blame others for our failures, my experience has been that most people, who are sincere about following Christ, are more likely to be critical and unforgiving of themselves. We need to remember that we are only human, and that failure is part of the human condition. Why then do we get so agitated when we fall? God is our Savior. Do we have the humility, which after all is the truth, to accept our dependence on God for everything, even our sanctification? Don't get me wrong. Remember the old adage, "Pray as if everything depended on God, but work as if everything depended on you." That describes a basic truth. Our part is to cooperate with God even as we rely on His help. We may never become another Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, or Dag Hammerskjold. But God likes variety! He made the tiny violets as well as the beautiful roses. How monotonous heaven would be if we were carbon copies of one another! Let's glory in our weakness which gives us countless opportunities to praise the goodness of our God! How comforting to realize whenever we stumble, that we only need to look up at God and trustingly ask for His forgiveness. Then we get up and continue living Jesus in our world, proclaiming all the while that without God, we can do nothing! Now for the final section of this discussion on the little virtues.

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Little Virtues and the Beatitudes

In Matthew 11: verses 28-30 Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Mt 11:28-30 This is the only place in Scripture that Jesus says "Learn from Me" and then He tells us why, "for I am gentle and humble of heart." I had read that scripture passage zillions of time during my life as a Visitation nun. But this specific time the juxtaposition of those two clauses really struck home. I felt just like the little fish in the water, searching for the ocean while it swam in the Atlantic! I had not realized how steeped in the essence of the Gospels was Salesian spirituality! In the Conferences Francis says, "...what is the special spirit of the Visitation? I have always judged it to be a spirit of deep humility before God and of great gentleness towards our neighbor." Francis offered the same challenging advice to his directees at the court. He wrote to Madame de Limojon in June 1605,

Keep in mind the main lesson Jesus left us -- in three words so that we would never forget it and could repeat it a hundred times a day: 'Learn of me,' He said, 'that I am gentle and humble of heart.' That says it all: to have a heart gentle toward one's neighbor and humble toward God. p.156

Just imagine! The only thing Jesus asks us to learn from Him is gentleness and humility of heart. And Francis gives us the same two virtues as our special spirit! Wow! He really must want us to "Live Jesus!" to be Jesus, and to see Jesus in our midst. Salesian spirituality certainly is based on the Gospels.

Next I recalled Paul's words about putting on the mind of Christ in Philippians and "I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me." from Ephesians. Did Jesus teach any of the other Little Virtues? What could the Gospels tell me about Jesus' attitudes and actions? I always had heard that the Eight Beatitudes or rather the Be-attitudes are the blueprint of Christianity. So I used them as my source for Jesus' favorite virtues. To obtain a modern treatment of the subject, I also consulted Richard Rohr's, Jesus' Plan for a New World in which he says the eight beatitudes were addressed to people like us who already were committed to following Jesus. Matthew's version was addressed to a middle class community, to those who today would be professional men and women or have good jobs in the business world. Again, Jesus was talking to people like us. The following is a synthesis of my reflections; it attempts to highlight the virtues Jesus considered as the essence of His spirit.

How blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs. This opening statement is radical but crucial, the key to everything Jesus is teaching. What does it mean? "Poor in spirit" means to live simply and contentedly with whatever I have, spiritual possessions as well as material ones. I cling to nothing so I experience a great freedom. Today there are shelves of books on the simple lifestyle and the holiness of the ordinary. This beatitude stresses the Salesian virtues of simplicity, liberty of spirit, and detachment. From the very beginning Francis had perceived the importance of the little virtues and the motivating force behind them. In 1606 he wrote to Jane de Chantal, "In all things a holy liberty and freedom must reign and we must have no law or coercion than that of love....Whether love invites us to make something for the poor or for the rich, it does all things well and is equally pleasing to our Lord." I mentioned that this contentment refers to spiritual matters as well as material possessions. Jane wrote:

Be content with telling God, 'Lord with all my heart I desire to practice such and such a virtue just to please You.' Then, set to work, although without feeling, and lovingly resolve to serve God in this way, desiring nothing more. If you do this, you will soon find yourself in that state of tranquility and peace which is so necessary for souls who wish to live virtuously, according to the spirit, and not according to their own inclinations and judgments. p. 262

Blessed are the gentle; they shall have the earth as inheritance. What an ironic statement! Just think of the violence and wars, all fought for the possession of land! Yet we know that God is the one who possesses the earth, that we are only its stewards. Personal ownership is not necessary for the appreciation of anything. In fact, if we own nothing, we are free to enjoy and be open to everything. Our challenge as Visitation Sisters is to be a gentle presence in a violent world. Francis wrote to Jane in June 1604.

Love is strong as death and firm as hell' says Solomon. Dear Sister, love is our bond, these are our chains, which the more they are tightened and press against us, the more they bring us joy and freedom. Their strength is gentleness; their violence, mildness; nothing is more pliable than that; nothing, stronger. p. 127

Blessed are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. In this beatitude Jesus praises those who weep, those who can enter into solidarity with the pain of the world and not try to escape from it. Such people bear the pain of the world without looking for villains or victims. Instead they recognize the tragic reality that we are all scarred and suffering. In our most recent mission statement we Sisters added a new dimension to our motto, Live Jesus! when we made this commitment, "As a prayerful community bonded by love and forgiveness, we search for new life in our charism by living Jesus' compassion." We are Mary at the foot of the cross as we are present to one another, to you, and to everyone in the ever larger communities in the world who are suffering or rejoicing. I like to think of the sisters as the center of the Visitation family forming a network with people who live Jesus in our world. And you are an integral part in other networks, such as with your extended family, with your business associates. This beatitude asks us to be compassionate with those who are suffering first of all in our own families and then among our neighbors and friends. What we do may be very insignificant, but a ripple effect may be set in motion and others may join us in living Jesus. Eventually, in God's timing, the ripples may be large enough to encompass the globe. Then justice will reign in the kingdom of God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice; they shall have their fill. The concept of justice appears at the halfway point and then at the end of the beatitudes. To live a just life in this world is to have identified with the longings and hungers of the poor, the meek, and those who weep. This identification and solidarity is a profound form of social justice and is manifested in prayer and action. It forces us to seek the deepest desires of our hearts. When we spoke of the two wills of God, we found that union with God and His will is the supreme object of our desires. To prepare for this gift, we empty ourselves of all other desires. Detachment is the Salesian virtue here.

The one living these Beatitudes is a gentle, compassionate person who is aware of the injustice, pain and suffering in our world and tries to alleviate it by prayer and ministry to others. If all of us who are interested in Salesian spirituality really try to become such people, something will happen in our world. How can we accomplish this? By prayer and by the practice of the little virtues, which Francis once listed as: patience, forbearance toward our neighbor, service of others, humility, gentleness of heart, simplicity, affability, tolerance of our own imperfections, etc. Jane wrote in September 1619,

I say the words with intense delight: LIVE JESUS in our memory, in our will, and in all our actions! Have in your thoughts only Jesus, in your will have only the longing for His love, and in your actions have only obedience and submission to His good pleasure. p. 239

I am going to paraphrase the remainder of this quotation to address her words to all of us and not just to the sisters here. Cultivate a spirit of gentle cordiality toward one another, a spirit of recollection of your whole being before our Divine Master, and that true, sincere humility which makes us honest and gentle. Finally, strive for that loving union of hearts which brings about a holy peace and the kind of blessing we would like in our homes. This is what I want for you. Live joyously and serenely with whatever our Lord will do with you and for you. Here both Jane and Francis are reminding us that we cannot think our way into a new mode of action, rather, we are to act ourselves into a new way of living. Living requires more than discernment, more than just thinking things through. It also requires acting upon our intuitions and caring feelings. Back in the 1960's Louis Evely said,

Since people don't have the courage to mature unless someone has faith in them, we have to reach those we meet at the level where they stopped developing, where they were given up on as hopeless and so withdrew into themselves and began to secrete a protective shell because they thought no one cared. They have to feel they're loved very deeply and boldly before they dare appear humble, affectionate, sincere, and vulnerable.

I would broaden this description to include the countless people in the Third World and even in our own country who as the victims of real injustice are crippled and scarred. By our willingness to be gentle, compassionate and prayerful people who live Salesian spirituality in the spirit of the Beatitudes, we can make a difference. For us sisters, our ministry primarily is being a prayerful presence, you may be called to a more active involvement. Know that you have our prayerful support. Now, for the second half of the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the merciful; they shall have mercy shown them. Mercy is like forgiveness. Both are unearned, undeserved, and not owed. A lifetime of received forgiveness allows us to become mercy: that's the beatitude. Francis says "Our misery is the throne of God's mercy. The greater our misery the greater should be our confidence in His mercy." It's as if God joyfully reaches out to us, but we hold back, clutching at our sins and gazing at Him in desire mixed with disbelief. Mercy is who-God-is! Our refusal to surrender our sinful selves to the divine mercy and to be forgiven is a form of pride. In the Our Father we pray, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Refusal to forgive another gives us the power to control that person. Only if we are humble may we both receive and give away either mercy or forgiveness without payment or punishment. Here are the Salesian virtues of littleness --humility, forgiveness, powerlessness, and mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God. Little children readily accept one another; they are still pure in heart. If we as adults esteem and respect each person we meet, including ourselves, then we too are pure in heart. We believe that everyone is made in the image of God. So if we are pure in heart, we see God in one another and treat each person, even our own selves, with respect and thoughtfulness, both are little virtues. If this describes us, we are basically happy people. Someone once asked, "Why is everyone here so happy except me?' "Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere" said the Master. "Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?" "Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside." I remind you again God loves you just as you are. Francis wrote in July 1603,

While we must have patience with others, we must also have it with ourselves. Those who aspire to the pure love of God need to be more patient with themselves than with others. We have to endure our own imperfections in order to attain perfection; I say 'endure patiently' not 'love' or 'embrace': humility is nurtured through such endurance. p.96

Francis is so human here. So often we demand much more from ourselves than from others. And in doing so, we tend to become harsh, bitter, and even judgmental which gets us nowhere.

Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be recognized as children of God. This is the only time peacemakers is ever used in the whole Bible. Peace is more than the absence of war and violence. Paul VI said there is no true peace without justice. This is the peace towards which, we as adult Christians, should work. But if we do, we will be persecuted because this is the peace that requires the sacrifice of power, prestige, and possessions for the common good of all people. Our world needs a powerful conversion before such peace is possible. But each of us can begin by becoming peacemakers in our own homes, neighborhoods, and communities. That is what Francis did. I quote from the Letters of Spiritual Direction,

Francis's early mission to the Chablais, his youthful plans to retake the city of Geneva by prayer and fasting, his intervention in public embroilments, his own personal struggle to transform his anger into the peace of Christ: all these attest to the rightfulness of his reputation as peacemaker. p.65

Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice; the kingdom of heaven is theirs. If we are going to be peacemakers and work for the cause of justice in our society, persecution is inevitable. Yet Jesus is expecting us to rejoice and be glad in these circumstances. Francis once wrote to Mother de Brechard, "The one who can preserve gentleness (douceur) in the midst of sorrows and sufferings, and peace in the midst of the multiplicity and busyness of affairs -- that person is almost perfect." Peacemaking then is akin to gentleness and joined to a thirst for justice that invites persecution upon those who practice it.

Well then, persecution may be our lot if we live Jesus by practicing the little virtues. Francis once said that Jesus invites us to place our hearts within His wounds gently and not with violence. We may have the greatest confidence in his mercy and goodness, for Jesus will not abandon us if we hold fast lovingly to his holy cross. St. Peter had sufficient courage to say: Live Jesus! on Mount Thabor; but it is the privilege of the loving fidelity of the Blessed Virgin and her amiable children to repeat the same on Mount Calvary. So let us remember that in every paschal mystery, the crucifixion is followed by the resurrection. Let us celebrate this paschal mystery by our lives! Like Paul in the early church, Francis and Jane became Jesus in their world. Salesian spirituality invites us to become Jesus in our world, one entering a new millenium.

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