Untitled - Saints' Books

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INSTR. vi.]
Humility. 3 1 1
The devil has no fear of the proud. Cesarius relates 1
that a demoniac being once brought
to a Cistercian
monastery, the prior took with him a young religious
who had the reputation of being a man of great virtue,
and said to the evil spirit:
If this monk shall command
you to depart, will you dare to remain ? I have no fear
of him, replied the enemy, because he is proud. St.
Joseph Calasanctius used to say that the devil treats a
proud priest as a play-toy; that is, he throws him up and
pulls him down as he pleases.
Hence the saints have had a greater dread of pride
and vainglory than of any temporal calamity that could
befall them. Surius 2 relates of a holy man who was
greatly esteemed and honored on account of the miracles
that he wrought, that finding himself often assailed by
vainglory, he besought the Lord that he might be pos
sessed by an evil spirit; his prayer was heard, and he
was possessed for five months. He was then delivered
from the infernal spirit, and from the spirit of vanity
that molested him. For this purpose the Lord also per
mits even saints to be tormented by temptations against
purity, and after they pray to be freed from them, he
leaves them as he left St. Paul, to combat with the temp
tations. And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt
me, there was given me a sting of tJie flesh, an angel of Satan
to buffet me. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, that
it
might depart from me. And He said to me: My grace is
sufficient for thee ; for power is made perfect in infirmity?
Thus, according to St, Jerome, a sting of the flesh was
to St. Paul to warn him to be humble: To remind
given
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1
Dial. 1. 4, c. 5.
2 8 Jan. V. S. Sever.
Et ne magnitude revelationum extollat me, datus est mihi sti
mulus carnis mese, angelus Satanse, qui me colaphizet. Propter quod
ter Dominum rogavi, ut discederet a me; et dixit mihi: Sufficit tibi
gratia mea; nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur.
2 Cor. xii. 7.