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Spiritual Rules. 443
love, she also inflames all those that love her, and makes
them like herself." 1
9. To BE HUMBLE OF HEART.
Let the priest endeavor to be humble of heart.
Many
are humble in their speech, but not in their hearts; they
say that they are the greatest sinners in the world, that
they merit a thousand hells: nevertheless they wish to
be preferred, esteemed, and praised; they strive after
honorable employments; they cannot suffer a contemp
tuous word. The humble of heart do not act in this
manner: they never speak of their talents, of their
nobility, of their riches, or of anything that may be
turned to their advantage.
He should, therefore, love those employments and
those works that are most humble and are less con
spicuous. He should receive affronts without being
troubled; he should even feel interior pleasure in seeing
that he has become similar to Jesus Christ, who was
filled with reproaches. Therefore, when he meets with
some contradiction that wounds and irritates his pride
he should do violence to himself not to speak nor act
at that moment, even if he held the office of Superior,
and as such is
obliged to reprimand the insolence of
him that offers the outrage. As long as he feels him
self agitated he should keep silence and wait till he
becomes calm, otherwise the smoke produced by his
trouble will obscure his vision; he will believe that
what he says or what he does is right, while all is
faulty and disorderly.
Moreover, when the correction
is made amid agitation, the inferior will not receive it
as a deserved reprimand, but as a passionate outbreak
of temper on the part of the Superior; and this will
make the correction useless, or nearly so. For the same
Quia tola ardens fuit, omnes se amantes, eamque tangentes, iacendit."
De B. V^ M. s_ i.