greatest pleasures of the flesh for the sake of the good and even abstain from licit pleasures. CM 170 Humility 30As followers of Christ, who is meek and humble of heart, the confreres should make the greatest effort to acquire the spirit of humility and be its true lovers, for there is hardly any other vice that so depletes all the virtues and deprives and strips man of all justice and holiness as the evil of pride. Mt 11:29; CM 171 Theological Virtues 31Let faith inform, animate, and guide their whole life so that they may think, judge, speak, and act by the light of faith; and let it be firm, alive, and unshakable. Let them place all their hope and trust in God, for He is good and powerful and faithful in His promises, our exceedingly great reward in Heaven for our labors, and the one in whom we have our help and in whom we can do all things. But, above all, let them have charity, which is the very essence of perfection. Let them love the infinitely good God for Himself above all things and their neighbor for and in God; and let them neither seek nor use created things unless it be according to God’s will, namely, insofar as they are necessary and useful for daily life, for their own perfection, for the progress of the Congregation, for the good of their neighbor, and for the glory of God. Col 3:14; CM 172 Love of Enemies 32Let them forgive injuries willingly; let them not return evil for evil to anyone, but rather strive to overcome evil with good; and let them pray for their enemies, persecutors, and calumniators. Mt 5:44; Rom 12:21; CM 173 Constitutions—Part II 94
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==