Lest You Remain

Poor you, if you do not see your sins, when during the examination of conscience, your sight is dimmed, and despite your hidden shortcomings, you joyfully accept the title, “saint” and believe yourself to be one. But what this nice-looking holiness of yours truly is, will be revealed, only when God, your Judge appears, coming on blue clouds to “explore Jerusalem with lamps” (cf. Zephaniah 1:12). Now, rather, consider yourself a sinner, when He comes to your heart as the most Merciful Father. ( Inspectio Cordis ) 7 If you want to discern if someone, or yourself, possesses the Spirit of the Lord, think whether he is a lover of truth and whether you are guided by truth, since hid- ing the truth is a characteristic of the evil spirit; preventing it from speaking up is an act of the evil spirit. The one who neither speaks the truth to others, nor allows it being told to them, who neither listens to the words of God which are the truth, nor proclaims them to others, is not of God. Thus, if you accept reproofs as valuable, you possess the Spirit of God. If you accept the sins of your past life and the shortcomings of the present, repent for them and correct them, you have the Spirit of God. If you lead others to recognize their sins, to grieve for them, to render them repugnant and to embrace correction and redress, you have the Spirit of God. Any desire for virtues and disgust for vices is from the Spirit of God, as these are the best things and “every worthwhile gift, every genuine benefit comes from above, descending from the Father of the Heavenly luminaries” (cf. James 1:17). ( Inspectio Cordis ) 8 A Religious without humility is like a house without foundations. But when he possesses it, he is like a perfectly fortified edifice, rested on a strong rock. If this is so, you should regret that that you have not done everything you could to acquire this most precious virtue, that you have never practiced it, or have done it very rarely, with an insolent and a reluctant disposition. And now, having contemplated its great power, efficiency, dignity and usefulness, will you remain idle? Won’t you rather reach for it quickly and practice it diligently? ( Inspectio Cordis ) Fr. Founder’s Selected Thoughts on the Religious Life 127