Rule, will quickly arrive at complete freedom from every trammel which holds him back from God. At the same time, he advances in virtue which, becoming stronger, renders him more pliant under the Holy Spirit's action. Now was it not this we came to seek in the monastery? In this way all the other virtues hence increase, and progress towards Divine union is assured1.

Obedience is then for the monk the surest way to holiness. St. Teresa calls it "the road that leads most rapidly to the summit of perfection; the most prompt and also the most effectual means of arriving at perfection2. When a

man achieves the work of giving himself entirely by obedience, he receives the Infinite Good in an incomparable measure. This is what Christ Jesus said to that perfect nun who was so dear to Him St. Gertrude. On the evening of Palm Sunday she was meditating on the reception given to Jesus by His friends at Bethany, whither He had withdrawn in the evening, and the desire burnt within her to offer hospitality to Him in her heart. Immediately Christ appeared to her: "I am here," He said to the saint, and what wilt thou give Me? Welcome, Salvation of my soul, my one and only treasure," replied Gertrude; "alas! I have prepared nothing that can be fit Thy magnificence, but I offer Thee all my being, desiring that Thou wilt Thyself prepare in me what shall best please Thy Heart. thou givest Me the liberty," Christ said, "I will take it; but I need the key that My hand may find and may dispose of all that I wish. "What is this key of which Thou hast need and that must be given to Thee? the saint asked. "It is thy self-will," replied our Lord 3. " Hence the Saint

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understood that Christ finds His delight in a soul wholly yielded up to Him, and keeping nothing back: it is by perfect obedience that one gives to Christ the key that He demands. He then knows Himself to be the Master of this soul because He holds the citadel which is its liberty. He can do all

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1. St Mechtilde one day saw a train of virtues personified by virgins standing before God. One among them, more beautiful than her sisters, held a golden cup into which the other virgins poured a fragrant wine which the first virgin offered, kneeling, to the Lord. Astonished at this sight, St Mechtilde was desirous of knowing its meaning when our Lord said to her: This virgin is obedience; she alone gives Me to drink, for obedience contains within herself the riches of the other virtues: one who is truly obedient must necessarily possess the whole of these virtues '". Our Lord then enumerated the different virtues, showing how they are necessarily to be found in the perfectly obedient soul. The Book of Special Grace, 1st Part., ch. 35. -2. Foundations, ch. 5. 3. The Herald of Divine Love, Book IV, ch. XXIII. 4. God spoke in similar terms to St Catherine of Siena: made obedience the key of the whole edifice in very deed. Raymund of Capua.

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that He wills; and as He desires nothing so much as our holiness, a soul thus given and who never takes back anything from this gift, is upon the most sure path of perfection.

You see how right our Holy Father is to insist so much upon this virtue let us try to understand thoroughly the character he wishes to give to it. Obedience is a homage of perfect submission of all our being to God; it is a good which we must unceasingly strive to obtain, for in it we shall find what we came to seek in the monastery, namely, God. If we never lose sight of this capital point, our obedience will become easy, whatever be the command given; and, through it, we shall obtain, with God, peace of soul and joy and freedom of heart.

VI.

However, in order that obedience may thus become for the monk the channel of Divine grace, it must be invested with certain qualities. Our Holy Father evinces a real complacency in detailing them, so much predilection has he for this virtue. What then are these qualities? There are three principal ones from whence all the others flow the obedience of the monk must be supernatural, trustful, and it must spring from love. It will then be a putting into practice of the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. As you see, we are especially speaking of inward qualities; for obedience, like humility from which it is derived, resides essentially in the soul. When we have analysed the conditions of the inward exercise of this virtue, we shall pass on naturally to its outward practice and note the qualities that accompany the material execution of the work commanded.

The first quality of our obedience is to be supernatural, that is to say accomplished in a spirit of faith: a man obeys the Superior as if obeying God Himself.

Our holy Legislator dwells much on this point, and with reason, for it is of capital importance. He tells us that the Abbot represents Christ: [Abbas] Christi enim agere vices in monasterio creditur1. Note this last word: creditur, which specifies that faith is the root of submission. The promptitude of obedience should, in the eyes of St. Benedict, be derived from this spirit of faith. We must obey, he says, "without delay" sine mora2; and as if the order came from God

1. Rule, ch. II. 2. Ibid. ch. v.

Himself" Ac si divinitus imperetur, moram pati nesciunt in faciendo1. The order does, indeed, come from God, as the words of Eternal Truth, which the great Patriarch immediately recalls, bear witness: "He that heareth you, heareth Me. He would have us never forget that the obedience which is given to Superiors is given to God": Obedientia quae majoribus praebetur, DEO exhibetur: ipse ENIM dixit: qui vos audit me audit 2.

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Hereby homage is paid to God, in the order of supernatural things that God has Himself chosen to establish here below to bring us to Him. God's ways are not our ways. We have more than once remarked that, especially since the Incarnation, God, in His relations with us, often acts through men. This is to be seen in the Sacraments; we can only draw from them the graces they contain by having recourse to men appointed by Christ to confer them upon us. Again this is to be seen in the love of our neighbour which is the sign of the reality of our love for God. It is the same with obedience. This Divine economy constitutes as it were a prolongation of the Incarnation. Since God has united Himself to humanity in the Person of His Son, it is through the members of His Son that He ordinarily enters into communication with our souls. Such being the Divine Plan, we shall walk in all security in the way of salvation and perfection if we adapt ourselves to it ; to go aside from it is to withdraw ourselves from grace.

Why does God thus cause men to take His place with us? In order that our obedience inspired by faith may be a homage rendered to His Divine Son and may beget our merit. If God were to appear to us in all the glory of His power, where would be our merit in obeying Him? God wills then that we should adore Him not only in Himself, not only in the Humanity of His Son Jesus, but also in the men whom He has chosen to direct us. Doubtless it would be in finitely more agreeable for us if God were Himself to reveal what He desires of us in everything, or if He were to appoint an angel to do so. But what would be the result of this? often, an extraordinary increase of self-love, or, in case of our refusal, a more evident culpability. God has not chosen to act thus. The means He has taken to imprint His initiative on our life is that which St. Benedict recalls to us in citing these words of the Psalmist, Imposuisti homines super capita nostra 3, "Thou hast set men over our heads, men like to us, men who are mortal frail, infirm" and 1. Rule, ch. v. 3. Ibid. ch. VII; Ps. LXV, 12.

2. Ibid.

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feeling their powerlessness: Homines mortales, fragiles, infirmi, lutea vasa portantes1. This is vexatious and painful to nature, but such is the way of Divine wisdom. Why, once again, has God chosen these means, so humiliating for us ? for it is a humiliation to our pride and our spirit of independence to be subjected to another man, who is not without imperfections, every man belying his own ideal: Omnis homo mendax 2. Why? God has thus decided thereby to exercise our faith, our hope, our love.

Our faith first of all. You know it is befitting that the free creature should not enter into participation of infinite good without first undergoing the trial on which his merit is to rest. As for us, faith forms our trial: to live in the obscurity of a practical and active faith, such is the homage that God requires of us. Obedience gives us the opportunity of showing God our faith in Him: obedience is the practical manifestation of this faith. Indeed great faith,perfect faith, is needed, to maintain constant obedience to a man whɔ, it is true, represents God but does so while still keeping his own imperfections. And this is the source of deep virtue and great merit.

One day when our own St. Gertrude besought Our Lord that He would Himself correct certain faults, alas! too apparent, in one of her superiors, Christ replied to her:

Do you not know that not only this person, but all who are in charge of this beloved congregation, have some defects? No one in this life is altogether free from imperfection. This is an effect of My goodness, and I allow it in order that the merit of all may be increased. There is far more virtue in submitting to a person whose faults are evident than to one who appears perfect 3.

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When we look upon the Sacred Host, our senses cry out to us: That is not Christ: only bread is there. We see, we touch, we taste bread. But Christ has told us : Hoc est corpus meum, "This is My Body. " Then, we put aside all the testimonies of the senses and we say to Christ: Thou hast said it, and I believe, Credo;" and to manifest our faith we fall down upon our knees before Christ, really and substantially present under these appearances; we adore Him, we give ourselves up to Him to do His will.

In the same way 5, Christ veils Himself in our superiors.

1. S. Augustin. Sermo LXIX, c. I. P. L. 38, 440. 2. Ps. cxv, II. D. G. Dolan. St Gertrude the Great, ch. v. 4. Matth. xxvi, 26. This "in the same way evidently implies only a simple analogy.

The Abbot, despite his imperfections, represents Christ for us. St. Benedict is formal upon this point. Christ is hidden under the imperfections and weaknesses of the man, as He is hidden under the sacramental appearances. But the Superior is placed super candelabrum1. By reason of our habitual contact with him, we naturally see his deficiencies and limitations, and then we are tempted to cry: "This man is not Christ; his judgment, limited as it is, is not infallible, he can be mistaken, he is mistaken; he cannot understand my point of view; he allows himself to be biassed. " But faith says again: Abbas Christi agere vices creditur; whether Christ gives us, as His representative, a man with the wisdom of a Solomon, or a man without talent, it is, for faith, always Christ Who is represented. Faith discovers and touches Christ beneath the imperfections of the man. And then, if I have this faith, I say: Credo: "I believe ; and I obey this man whomsoever he be, because in submitting myself to him, I submit myself to Christ and remain united to Him: Qui vos audit me audit 2.

Always thus to see Christ in the Superior, then, even if this Superior shows himself to us with all his failings, ever to obey him unfalteringly whatever be the circumstances, this requires of us very strong faith: because to be led always by this supernatural obedience without ever wavering is very hard and mortifying for nature.

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But it is certain, with a certainty that I do not fear to to call divine, that the Lord cannot fail one who obeys in this spirit of faith and is happy to offer Him the sacrifice of his abnegation. On the day of our monastic profession we make a contract with God. We say to Him: My God, I have come here to seek Thee; for love of Thee, I have left all things; I come to lay at Thy feet my independence, my liberty; I promise Thee to submit myself to a superior, to obey him in everything, however contrary to my tastes and ideas his command may appear to me. And God says to us on His side: I promise you, despite the weaknesses or even the errors of the one who represents Me towards you, to direct you at each step of your life, and to bring you, through him, to the one thing necessary that you seek: - perfect love and the most intimate union with Me. If we observe our part of the contract, it is absolutely beyond doubt that God will observe His part: He has engaged Himself to it, and His word is the word of a God: Fidelis Deus 3. To think the contrary would be to deny 3. I Cor. 1, 9.

1. Matth. v, 15.

2. Luc. x, 16.