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Livre : Madame Cécile Bruyère, la vie spirituelle et l'oraison
Saint Paul insiste et apprend aux chrétiens par quelle voie ...
Saint Paul insiste et apprend aux chrétiens par quelle voie il est facile de couper court à toute inquiétude :
Nihil sollíciti sitis : sed in omni oratióne, et obsecratióne, cum gratiárum actióne petitiónes vestræ innotéscant apud Deum.
Be anxious for naught; but in everything let thy requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication, accompanied by thanksgiving; (Phil, 4,6).
And in another place:
Volo autem vos sine sollicitúdine esse
I want thou to have no worries (1Cor 7:32).
This is also the recommendation of Saint Peter:
Omnem sollicitúdinem vestram projiciéntes in eum, quóniam ipsi cura est de vobis
Relieving thou of all thy worries (solicitude), for it is he who takes care of thee. (1 Petr 5,7).
It would be superfluous to review the countless passages in which the Holy Spirit teaches us that exaggerated worry and foresight are enemies of the spiritual life; Our Lord himself pointed out this harmful disposition as one of the causes that choke off good seed:
Quod autem in spinas cécidit : hi sunt qui audiérunt, et a sollicitudínibus, et divítiis, et voluptátibus vitæ eúntes, suffocántur, et non réferunt fructum.
What falls amongst the thorns are those who have heard the word, and go away and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of life, and bear no fruit (Lk 8:14).
Ceux-là progressent rapidement qui ont une confiance aveugle en la bonté de Dieu ; ils compromettent ainsi le Père céleste et lui ravissent ses faveurs les plus excellentes :
Si ergo vos, cum sitis mali, nostis bona data dare fíliis vestris : quanto magis Pater vester de cælo dabit spíritum bonum peténtibus se !
If thou then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to thy children, how much more will thy Father in heaven give the good Spirit to those who ask him! (Lk 11:13)
What is this <em>spiritus bonus</em>, if not the full flowering of charity and the consummation of divine union?
Nolite itaque amittere confidentiam vestram, quae magnam habet remunerationem.
So forsake not thy trust, which will have great reward. (Hebr 10,35).
Seulement il ne s'agit pas dans ces paroles d'une confiance qui hésite et qui tremble, mais de celle là même qui faisait dire au saint homme Job : -
Étiam si occíderit me, in ipso sperábo
Even if God were to kill me, I would hope in him (Job 13:5);
or the one indicated in the psalm: - :
In te, Dómine, sperávi non confúndar in ætérnum
I have hoped in thee, O Lord; may I never be put to shame (Ps 30:1)
David even goes so far as to say that the abundance of heavenly sweetness is reserved for this trust:
Perfecísti eis qui sperant in te in conspéctu filiórum hóminum !
Thou exercise it towards those who hope in thee, in the sight of the children of men (Ps 30:20).
This is confirmed by Jeremiah, when he saith:
Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum.
The Lord is good to those who hope in him (Jerem., 3 25).
This is still the way to full security, for David assures us that God makes himself the shield of those who hope in him:
Deus... sctutum est omnium sperantium in se.
God is a shield for those who put their hope in him (II Reg., 22, 31).
Isaiah attributes to trusting souls supernatural privileges of the highest price:
Qui autem sperant in Dómino mutábunt fortitúdinem, assúment pennas sicut áquilæ : current et non laborábunt, ambulábunt et non defícient.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will take wings like the eagle, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not faint. (Is 40,31)
Doesn't this ensure trust in God, along with definitive victory, the most powerful flight in contemplation?
Il est certain que rien n'est plus odieux et plus injuste que la méfiance servile qui nous fait douter de l'infinie bonté de Dieu. Nous devons tout attendre de la générosité divine, selon ces paroles de l'Apôtre :
Qui étiam próprio Fílio suo non pepércit, sed pro nobis ómnibus trádidit illum : quómodo non étiam cum illo ómnia nobis donávit ?
He who did not (even) spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also give us all things with him?
These thoughts are as old as the world itself. God was already saying through the mouth of Ezekiel:
Quod períerat requíram, et quod abjéctum erat redúcam, et quod confráctum fúerat alligábo, et quod infírmum fúerat consolidábo, et quod pingue et forte custódiam :et pascam illas in judício.
I will (re)seek that which was lost, I will bring back that which was lost, I will bind up that which was wounded, I will strengthen that which was weak, and I will preserve that which was fat and strong, and I will feed them with justice (discernment) (Ez, 34,16).
Is it not a bloody insult to God to ignore his merciful intentions and persist in fearing in spite of this law of trust? Is it not to wound the Lord unto the quick? And is it any wonder that St. Benedict concluded his spiritual art with these two admirable sentences:
Spem suam Deo committere... Et de Dei misericordia numquam desperare (Règle 4,41.72)
« Mettre en Dieu son espérance... Et ne jamais désespérer de la miséricorde de Dieu »
Ceux qui ambitionnent les faveurs divines doivent aussi se montrer larges et généreux envers le prochain. Nous fournissons à Dieu, plus que nous ne pensons, la mesure de ses grâces ; et souvent sa conduite à notre égard est calquée sur ce que nous sommes pour nos frères :
Eádem quippe mensúra, qua mensi fuéritis, remetiétur vobis.
For the same measure with which thou measured will serve as a measure for thee. (Lk, 6, 38).
Severity, dryness and personality deserve a just return of rigor from God. We have proof of this in the words of the Lord Jesus, which seem to determine the matter of divine judgment:
Amen dico vobis: Quámdiu non fecístis uni de minóribus his, nec mihi fecístis. Et ibunt hi in supplícium ætérnum.
Verily, I say unto thee, as oftentimes as thou hast not done it to one of the least of these, thou hast not done it to Me. And these will go to eternal torment.
Whereas charity is the distinguishing mark of true disciples of Christ, who taught it to his Apostles, telling them:
Mandátum novum do vobis: ut diligátis ínvicem: sicut diléxi vos, ut et vos diligátis ínvicem. In hoc cognóscent omnes quia discípuli mei estis, si dilectiónem habuéritis ad ínvicem.
A new commandment I give thee: that thou lovest one another; (but) that thou lovest one another as I have loved thou. By this all will know that thou art my disciples, if thou hast love for one another (Jn 13:34-35).
The prophet even attributes the remission of sins to works of mercy:
Díscite benefácere ; quǽrite judícium, subveníte opprésso, judicáte pupíllo, deféndite víduam. Et veníte, et argúite me, dicit Dóminus. Si fúerint peccáta vestra ut cóccinum quasi nix dealbabúntur;et si fúerint rubra quasi vermículus, velut lana alba erunt.
Learn to do good, (re)seek justice, assist the oppressed, vindicate (judge) the orphan, defend the widow. And come and (accuse) attack me, says the Lord; and if thy sins are like scarlet, they will become white as snow; and if they are red like vermilion, they will be white as wool. (Is 1, 17-18).