447 part ii: meditations for more solemn feasts FOR THE FEAST OF ST. NICHOLAS (OF BARI), BISHOP Before Holy Communion 1. “and be like men” (Lk 12:36). Consider when it is fitting for us to be like men, and when it is detrimental. First of all, we certainly become like men when impelled by our nature and passions we fall on various rocks of imperfections and even sins, such as: disobedience, grumbling, display of impatience, refusal to do mortifications, neglect for heavenly matters and pursuit of the earthly things, such as wealth, honors, fame and the like; such as: sensual delights, vain pleasures, excessive relaxation, and assisting lay people in transgressions. In the second instance, we become similar to men when, exercising the rules of discretion [f.143v] we excuse somebody else’s defects, admitting that we would commit worse things if we were not helped by God; when we easily endure wrongs done to us, realizing that we wronged God more often; when we empathize with other people’s faults, remembering that to fall is human; when we pray for sinners, in keeping with this apostolic maxim: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). As for you, find out in which way you are like other men. If it is in the first manner, get rid of it as soon as possible and put on the man shaped in the second way: a true Christian, a true pious Religious. 2. “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes” (Lk 12:37). Consider that the happiness of God’s servant consists in fasting, vigils, and prayers, if they all aim at the fulfillment of the will of God. Indeed, there is no happier soul than the one that watches every day at the door of the heart, waiting for the manifestation of the Lord’s will, whether through heavenly inspirations or other signs, in order to fulfill it immediately. For example, you accept an affliction with joy if God wants you to suffer a little; you take on the work with delight if God
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