Untitled - Saints' Books

INSTR. viii.] Interior Mortification. 345
in.
The Practice of Interior Mortification.
They, says St. John Climacus, who 1
wish to belong
entirely to God must divest themselves of attachment
to four things in particular: to property, to honors, to
relatives, and above all,
to self-will.
i. PROPERTY.
First, it is necessary to remove attachment to property
or to riches. St. Bernard says that riches are a burden
to him who possesses them, that they contaminate the
man who loves them, and torture him who loses them. 3
The priest ought to remember, that when he entered the
sanctuary he declared, in the following words, that he
wished for no other possessions than God: The Lord is the
portion of my inheritance; . . . it is Thou that wilt restore my
inheritance to me. 3 The ecclesiastic, then, says St. Peter
Damian, who after having chosen God for his portion
attends to the acquisition of riches, offers a great insult
to his Creator. 4 Yes, for by his conduct he shows that
he considers the Lord not sufficient to content his heart.
St. Bernard says, and says truly, that among the covet
ous there is none more avaricious than the ecclesiastic
who is attached to money. How 5
many priests are there
who, but for the miserable honorarium that they receive,
would seldom say Mass !
Would to God that they never
1
Seal. par. gr. 2.
2 "
3
"
Dominus
Possessa onerant, amata inquinant, atnissa cruciant."
Ep. 103.
pars hereditatis meae et calicis mei; tu es qui restitues
hereditatem. meam mihi." Ps. xv. 5.
4 "
Si igitur Deus portio ejus est, non levem Creatori suo contumeliam
videtur inferre, qui, super hoc singulare talentum, terrenam
sestuat pecuniam cumulate." Opusc. 27. procem.
5
"Quis, obsecro, avidius clericis quaerit temporalia?" S. ad Past.
in syn.