THE virtue of Christian simplicity leads man directly to God, with the pure and straight-forward intention of glorifying him, while seeking to avoid all duplicity in dealing with the neighbor. This was the virtue inculcated by our Saviour when he said, “Be ye simple as cloves.” This being the first virtue that St. Vincent recommends to his children, Father De Andreis made it the chief object of his most earnest efforts. “I have found out by experience,” he writes November 3d, 1811, “that there is nothing better in the ways of God, than to simplify all our intentions by directing them towards God alone. Once, the joy I experienced in suffering, made me imagine that it.was well to desire, and even to ask, to remain in a state wherein continually floret illy dulcedo, without which I thought that human weakness could not stand in the midst of the toils and thorns of the ministry. But I now see that still more is requisite ; namely, to suffer without enjoying any sensible consolation, and to learn to say: ‘The cross, the cross, always the cross, and God alone!’ I should, at least, like to know what is the inspiration that leads me on without revealing itself fully to my mind ; but it is the will of God that I renounce even this satisfaction, and that my will, memory, and understanding, all be resigned into his hands1 while I repeat these words of the Psalmist: Dominus resit me, etc., adding, ut jumentum factus SUM apud to et ego semper team. The cross in all its nudity, pain and ignominy, this shall be my only portion.
“Now I understand what the goodness of God operated within me, sixteen years ago, at the time of my novitiate. Then I could not describe, neither could I comprehend, how solitude, silence, privation, reserve, interior death, and annihilation, were so pleasing to me. 0 Infinite Goodness! God alone in everything! He only shall be my aim. In speaking and treating with men, I will constantly strive to repress any secondary motive that might arise. I will likewise rejoice if, by thus acting simply in the view of pleasing God, I chance to be scorned, derided or mocked; though I will never act purposely for that end. 0 beauteous, lovely simplicity! Thou goest directly to the very heart of God ! I will never abandon thee, however much the infernal serpent may seek to entice me into his winding pathways r I will say continually, Quid mihi est in coelo, etc. Donee deficiam non recedam a simplicitate mea. My heart, following its secret inspirations, sought to make God known*) to a blind crowd, and Assur sine causa calunzniatus est eum! So beautiful a resemblence to the Man-God do I perceive in this, that it transports me beyond myself; et unde hoc mihi!”
Animated by such sentiments as these, he was always truly simple in his affections, intentions, words and actions, in such a manner that he knew not how to disguise his thoughts, nor artfully to conceal his designs. His conversation was frank and sincere ; he was incapable of assuming a semblance of mystery, or of saying one thing for the purpose of finding out another. His sole aim was to please God and help his neighbor, if he could ; this kept him constantly employed, both in public and in private. He set forth the truths of the gospel in the clearest light ; and, no matter how well or ill others listened to his words, he never gilded his discourses or dissembled his doctrine. He cared not whether his auditors were the wise or the ignorant, subtle critics or profound reasoners; and thus he pleased all; for it was evident that he knew not the wiles of policy, nor that insidious manner of modifying the gospel to please the rich, and gain popular applause. According to the evangelical precept, he united prudence with simplicity ; and this prudence was admirably displayed in his care to avoid that false zeal, which is so often concealed under the specious pretext of charity, causing us to seek ourselves, our own esteem or gratification, while apparently we labor solely for the salvation of souls. This is a fatal illusion, against which Kempis warns us when he says: Interduni passione move-mar et zelunt putamus. Ardently desiring to avoid the snares of this false zeal, the servant of God resolved, “Never to court the society of any one, but to receive all with the utmost cordiality,” thus making himself all unto all, though he cautiously refrained from undertaking any employment, unless at the command of his superiors, or when some evident necessity required it.
“By laboring assiduously at the work of my own perfection,” he adds elsewhere, “I shall do more good to others than by a thousand sermons and missions Habe ergo zelum primula supra to ipsum, et tune juste zelare poteris super alios, as Kempis teaches.”
He was entirely averse to carnal prudence of which he speaks thus : “The demon makes use of the tongue of many prudent persons, to withdraw others- from the way of the cross and the practice of mortification, under pretence of preserving health; whereas it prospers far better beneath the shadow of the cross than elsewhere. I therefore resolve to resume my former custom with regard to the evening refection and the siesta during the day.” Elsewhere, he speaks in the following terms :
“Oh ! how easy it is to be led away by the current, and relax the evangelical doctrine, in order to adapt it to the views and customs of the world ! If we be not more than commonly vigilant, we become enemies of the cross of Christ, and reduce the gospel to a mere natural system, wherein we grant a sort of precedency to some shadow of religion ; or rather, we seek to serve two masters by trying to associate religion with the world. Under the pretext that God is good and that Jesus Christ came into the world for the salvation of sinners, vice is pampered, and certain maxims of carnal prudence, which were unknown to Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and the holy fathers, are coined and circulated. The world calls for unprejudiced teachers, declaims against rigorism and fanaticism, (for thus it denominates detachment, humility, and sanctity 1) and brands with the epithet of Jansenist any one who desires firmly to uphold the truths of the gospel. 0 unfortunate times! what fortitude is requisite that we may not be compelled to exclaim, verba iniquorum prevaluerunt super nos!
It will gratify the reader to hear these other words of his, on the same subject : “On the 24th of June, 1814, the feast of St. John the Baptist, while reflecting on the fortitude and constancy displayed by this great saint, it struck me that the uneasiness which I experience in hearing confessions, proceeds, in a great measure, from a certain want of firmness in adhering to the cause of truth and justice. I want every one to yield at once to the attractions of this beauteous sun, and, not meeting with the desired success, I become sad and discouraged as if everything depended on me, or as if I exercised immoderate rigor, in comparison with others who are more indulgent.
“But, good God ! in the confessional our business is, not to accommodate truth and justice to the liking of the penitents who come to us, but rather to subject them to the maxims of truth and justice. These are the unchangeable rules to which men must submit in order to be just ; and how can they be so if they be not conformed to justice, which alone can render them just ! God can never be allied to a heart that loves sin. Of what use is it then to absolve one who is still plunged in the abyss of sin, or in whom we can discover no mark that he is detached from his faults, and sincerely converted to the side of justice ! Would it not be to betray souls, to delude them with a false and pernicious semblance of peace? And, would this not be an insult offered to justice? Let all then be blind ; let the world clamor loudly against me ; call me rigorist, Jansenist, as much as it pleases, (though I heartily detest anything that savors of rigorism and Jansenism;) let it outrage and calumniate me, let millions of easy confessors break loose against me; they only prove that they have not a correct idea of Christian justice; that, contenting themselves with certain inconclusive appearances, they absolve without knowing why. But all they can do or say shall never induce me to betray truth and justice, and the interests of those poor souls who call upon us to give them aid. Constancy, then, and firmness, because mundus transit et concupiscentia ejus et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.”
Instructed in the school of St. Vincent, who was the declared enemy of anything like precipitation, his prudence prompted him to avoid haste in his plans and deliberations. On this account, whenever necessity did not compel him to act immediately, the servant of God took time in order to mature his opinion, by considering the matter on which he had to pronounce, under all its different aspects. Though very learned himself, he consulted men of wisdom and experience, and had recourse to God by means of fervent prayer and penance. After all these precautions, sure of the will of God, he set to work without hesitation, and labored with intrepid fortitude.
Father De Andreis especially manifested this virtue of fortitude during the bitter mental sufferings to which it pleased God to subject him for so many years. Such pains are but with difficulty understood by those who have never felt them ; and, one who is not liable to them, knows not how to describe such sufferings. Nearly all the saints have undergone similar trials, but especially St. Theresa, St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, St. Veronica Capucina, and St. St. John of the Cross. St. John has left us a frightful picture of his suffering in his Dark Nights, wherein he represents the dense gloom in which his mind was immersed, the agonizing dryness and interior desolation which made him feel as if his soul were delivered up to all the powers of hell. Father De Andreis had to suffer the same excruciating pains, and their intensity was such that his constitution was affected, and his health was never afterwards the same. Yet he struggled against this torture, so that no one ever knew from what source his infirmities proceeded. He often repeated with Job : etiamsi occident me, in eum sperabo ; post tenebras spero lucem.
In fine, the character of this great servant of God was fully revealed in his mission to America. The terrible fatigue of so long a voyage, danger of shipwreck, severity of the climate, hunger, thirst, almost extreme want of the very necessities of life, his habitual infirmities, all these trials never weakened his constancy, which seemed to become only the more vigorous when assailed by the most violent misfortunes. The reader must have noticed this iu many circumstances which we have detailed; therefore it will be quite enough to recall them to his mind. We must not be silent with regard to his humility, that virtue which, according to the holy fathers, is the foundation of all others and the basis on which we must erect the spiritual edifice of our sanctification. Once more we will repeat his own words, which are far more expressive than anything we could say. They are as follows : “Meditating ou humility, and considering how many efforts I had made to acquire this virtue, and always without fruit, I became inwardly cast down and was almost yielding to despair, when our most merciful God enlightened my mind with an opportune inspiration, which showed me at a glance the origin of all my spiritual infirmities. I at once perceived that by grieving so much, and giving way to such excessive disquietude, I manifestly fail in my resolution of relying completely on Divine Providence. T saw this sadness to be a clear sign that I put too much confidence in my own strength, and very little in the power of grace. This morning too, when I was meditating on meekness, it was shown me that I shall never become mild and affable with others, unless I learn from the very first to be so with myself. My God! how much evil is caused by that excessive care and anxiety to which I am so prone In the first place, this cannot proceed from God, whose spirit is one of peace and mildness. It comes then either from the human spirit, always too hasty and impetuous, or more probably from the demon, who by this means attains more surely his own ends, namely: —First, to destroy the peace of the heart by innumerable troubles, scruples and fears. Secondly, to prevent free communication between the soul and God, by hindering it from following the attraction of grace, and making it act according to his own liking. Thirdly, to keep alive the spirit of pride, making one believe that he is effecting much good, and that the soul can rely on its own powers, thus enticing it to fly without wings. Fourthly in fine, besides other numerous dangers, it exposes us to that of never attaining our own perfection; and also makes us run the risk of committing, through pride and discouragement, some great fault. False humility has often served as a pretext for neglecting the advice which we receive on this subject. Ah ! poor blind creature, if thou hadst reflected ever so little, thou wouldst have seen that this was not humility, but the most refined pride. Come then, my soul, let us take courage; even St. Vincent, in some of his retreats, found it necessary to take resolutions on a point somewhat similar to this. Be not troubled at thy failures, but follow the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales, who says, ‘Take courage, my soul, God requires this of thee. Only place no obstacle to the impulses of grace, and endeavor, on the contrary, to co-operate with them.’
“Inspirations which I received at the feast of Pentecost, and on which I should reflect every morning in meditation.
“1 God absolutely wills me to become a saint.
“2 I shall never be this, unless I am humble.
“3 I shall never be humble, if I do not seek humiliations, if I fear and shun them, or, what would be much worse, if I seek my own elevation.
“4 I shall never succeed in flying honors and loving humiliations, unless I make daily practice of these acts.
“5 I shall never practise them well, if I do not foresee them in my morning meditation,
“Three Classes of Particular Acts, on which I should insist.
FIRST CLASS.
1. Acknowledge before God my own nothingness, both in order of nature and of grace, saying for example, Substantia mea tanquant nihilunt ante te.
“2 Avow myself unworthy of associating and conversing with my companions, on account of my faults and numerous infidelities, and strive, on this consideration, to produce acts of wonder and surprise, that they should support me with so much meekness and charity.
“3 Acknowledge my own unworthiness, at the very time that I do not feel these sentiments within my heart! saying with St. Augustine, quid miserius misero, non miserante seipsum, adding the invocation, noverim te, noverim me, etc.
SECOND CLASS.
“1. Watch attentively over all the thoughts of pride and vanity which arise in my mind, suppress them immediately, renouncing for the time all the most plausible pretexts that self-love may suggest, because the heart gladly feeds on this kind of poison,
“2 Never speak of myself, either well or ill, without real necessity.
“3 Always choose the lowest place, office or employment, striving to love to be unknown, forgotten, despised and disregarded.
THIRD CLASS.
“1 Willingly speak in praise of others, particularly the absent, and more particularly in favor of those towards whom I may feel any inward aversion.
“2 Never excuse myself without real necessity, but when I am accused, I ought, on the contrary, to acknowledge that I am guilty of much more, and give myself a’ still lower place than the one assigned me by my accusers ; humble myself interiorly, and avow that I am deserving of these humiliations.
“3 Shun, as much as possible, everything tending to raise me in the esteem of others, while I embrace with joy every opportunity of humbling myself ; I should even be ingenious in seeking occasions of humiliation.
“If I find any difficulty in the practice of these acts, I must not, on that account, lose courage ; but on the contrary, make more strenuous efforts to overcome it in prayer, deploring my ignorance and weakness, while I am confounded at the example of the saints and of Jesus Christ, the true son of God, who humbled himself so much for my sake.
“I should not flatter myself on account of the favors that I have received from God. Who was ever more favored than Saul, Solomon, or Judas? and yet what was their end? I know not if the very person that I despise be not very great in the sight of God, while I cannot tell if I am even in his grace. And, could I know for certain that I stand well with God, and that this person has forfeited his favor, cannot things be reversed? I know not, quid cogitaverit de illo Deus. Therefore, for my greater security there remains to me nothing better than to humble myself, ever taking the lowest place, in order to make no mistake. For, were I to prefer myself before only one, such a mistake would be fatal; whereas it could only be to my advantage were I to put myself below one who is really less than I am. Thus shall I learn to imitate the great model of our souls, Jesus Christ, qui vent n–linistrare et non ininistrari, and who appeared on earth as the last of men and the refuse of the people.
“Substantia tnea tanquani nihilunt ante te. How necessary is this annihilation!
In order to keep it ever present to my mind, I should be well convinced that I am but a vessel of abomination ; that it is not others who are troublesome to me, but I, who am on the contrary, a subject for the constant practice of patience, mortification and every other virtue, on the part of my companions. I must then be careful to reject every idea contrary to this belief. It is clearly evident, that of myself I can do nothing. God has closed against me every path but this — I must annihilate myself completely, so that the work of God may be more visible, acting as it does on a barren tree, a vessel of weakness and impurity. Thus all the glory of the work will redound to Himself without the subtraction of even the smallest particle. I must then rejoice, whenever I meet with an opportunity of appearing stupid, foolish, ill-disposed, good for nothing; and I should tremble with fear, when I am ever so little esteemed.
“Salva me ex ore leonis. To-day, God has shown me clearly, to my very great horror, the monster of my self-love still living in the depth of my heart. It is like a voracious animal, which, with jaws extended, is ready to devour whatever I do. From the difficulty I experience in struggling against it, I perceive how firmly this monster has established its dominion over me, and how great is the mercy of the Almighty in permitting that this vexation which has been troubling me for nearly a year, should finally be manifested. This gives me a chance to know myself and escape this frightful peril. No wonder, such being the case. that I experience confusion when I am scoffed or derided. I am but a vessel of abomination, and however much I may try never to yield the victory to self-love, the greedy monster has acquired such empire over my heart, that, from time to time, it will steal some secret morsels; and, if I am not prompt in snatching them out of its mouth, they are soon swallowed. 0 my God ! Salva nos, perimus !
” Spiritu oris sui interficiet impium.t This same Jesus Christ, who by his omnipotent command will at the end of the world destroy Antichrist, can, I doubt not, destroy the Antichrist that lives within me, namely my self-love; though it is so rooted and implanted in my soul, that the effort to kill it seems to threaten my very life. To the all-powerful physician’. null um vulnus incurabile. Many times have I renounced its despotic rule, and I now once more renew my protestations. I am determined never to give up as conquered ; for the rest I trust to the physician who, so long ago, undertook this cure and successfully works at it, sparing neither knife nor fire. He who persecutes me, in reality does me a favor, so I cannot complain ; I deserve to suffer.”
To the practice of humility Father De Andreis joined its inseparable companion, meekness. This virtue cost him long and generous efforts. Possessing as he did, a most sensitive disposition, and accustomed, as he himself relates, to have everything his own way, esteemed, applauded, caressed by every one; and, at the beginning of his spiritual life, favored by God himself with so much sweetness, contradiction impressed him very strongly; so much so that his health would feel the effects of it. Yet so well did he overcome himself, that he succeeded in finding his greatest delight in the very things that had been to him subjects of the most painful agitation. His chosen soul was not spared by God, who makes use of trials to spur on certain minds and lead them to become detached from all, and seek their nourishment in the hard bread of tribulation. Meekness enabled Father De Andreis, first to support with resignation and then with calm and even pleasure, these touches of the finger of God. His first trials where pains, anguish of mind, fears, doubts, dejection, darkness and abandonment; after which, the virtue of meekness led him to a state of perfect calm, the tranquil peace of the saints, which made him desire still greater trials and crosses.
“God,” he says in one of his Soliloquies, “leads me through a gloomy and frightful path, beset with thorns; such are the pains and trials of every description to which I am subjected, without being able to find any mode of escape from them. From time to time he sends me flashes of light which dispel the surrounding gloom, remove the trouble of my soul, and refresh me with consolation, too delicious to be described. Then do I clearly perceive the happiness of my state, and the inestimable value of the effects produced in my soul by all these trials, and I exclaim : 0 this is truly to live!… To trample everything else nuder foot, and seek but God alone! The more I mortify my senses, the more I humble myself and become divested of all attachment to creatures, the nearer I approach my God. At the very time that I strive most earnestly to deny myself, in fact totally to forget my own satisfaction, at that very time it is, that I enjoy the most heavenly delight; and, Oh! si perficer6tur in me! . . . But immediately after I find myself as miserable as before. It is then an ineffable effect of the love God bears us, thus to fill our present life with sorrow and trouble, so that we may find rest but with him alone.”
A man thus accustomed to consider all things in God and from God, and to resign himself completely to his guidance, could not but rise superior to any ill-treatment however malicious, on the part of others, and he did this, not through any feeling of haughtiness or contempt, but from motives of resignation to the will of God, and the most tender charity towards all men. Let us hear him reveal the secrets of his heart with regard to this lovely virtue. In his 53d Soliloquy he speaks thus:
“Thou shouldst, 0 my soul, keep the eye of thy mind far removed from the sayings and doings of men, and immovably fixed on the loving designs of God. . . . Accustom thyself to consider every one as better than thou art, and thyself as capable of no good, but on the contrary, inclined to every evil. Thou shouldst promptly reject any malicious thought with regard to the conduct of others towards thee, and ascribe charitable motives to all their actions, believing that thou art under many obligations to others for the patience with which they bear thy defects… Sometimes, (Soliloquy 34th, ) by the permission of God, the demon arranges things in such a way that the most pious and charitable persons cannot refrain from judging, — falsely, or at least dubiously, it is true, but not rashly, and therefore fore without sin. And they j in with others to oppress the afflicted soul who can say, hominum non habeo opprobri nt vicinis meis valde. They take a wrong view of everything, and the unhappy soul, however ‘unwilling, cannot but perceive it, and suffer from it. (“In eo dm, convenirent simul adversunt me, accipere =imam meant consiliati sunt.:1 Sometimes, during recreation, it seeths that one is the mark of every look, of every word and conversation, etc. r Ego autent in to speravi Domine, dixi: Deus melts es tu, in manibus Luis sortes meae.) This is the only consolation of the soul. One flash of this light suffices to restore her peace.
“Noli ergo vinci a malo, sed vince in, bono malum. 1 (No. 71. ) May God be praised ! how great dost thou show thyself, in all that thou hast permitted to befall me! It was for the purpose of trying me, and grounding me thoroughly in that charity with was the distinctive virtue of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Francis de Sales —a virtue which I needed so much, though, unfortunately, I was not aware of my deficiency. . . . Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Vincent. I will also be Vincent; I am determined to conquer as he did, but truly with no other arms than these three — Hwnility, Charity and Meekness.
“Vincenti dabo manna absconditum et nomen novum. Most delicious manna! Most desirable refreshment! But it is given only to conquerors. And let us not be deceived with regard to the meaning of this word. It is a well-known fact that the world understands things in a very different manner from the gospel; and in this matter, we must take the gospel meaning and not that of the world. To conquer, according to the world, is to triumph, to heap confusion on a rival, to glory in his defeat. But, according to Jesus Christ, it is a very different thing ; he tells us that we conquer only, when, being contemned by others we abase ourselves still more; when we are calumniated and titter no word of justification; when we return good for evil, and conciliate our rivals by means of humility, charity, and mildness. ‘Be careful then of thy business,’ as St. Chrysostom says in his 24th Homily on St. Mathew.
“Quamdiu oyes fiterimus vincinzus, etianzsi mille circumstent lupi; quod si lupi fecerimus, vincinzur. Tune mint a nobis pastoris auxilium recedit, qui non lupos, sed oyes pascit.’ Meditate then frequently on this”.
Although Father De Andreis was endowed with so much gentleness, forbearance and condescension towards his neighbor, he never yielded so far as to approve evil, or to abet it through weakness. On the contrary, he was like an invincible bulwark in opposing the slightest infractions of the rule or the spirit of his state, as may be seen more clearly in his Resolutions. (No. 76.)
“Qui in verbo non offendit, perfectos est vir. After much reflection, I find that the best plan for me, during recreation, is to speak very little; first, because it is not my place, young as I am, to introduce a subject of conversation ; secondly, because among the subjects that are generally discussed at that time, there are some about which I know so little that I could scarcely say one word on the matter; thirdly, because I have had to repent very often of saying that one word. I will, therefore, appear as cheerful and pleasant as I can ; if I am questioned, I will answer with modesty, and endeavor to draw the recreation within the limits which the rule prescribes. However, I will joyfully consent to remain forgotten in a corner of the room, as if I were dead, being resolved to take pleasure in no other conversation than that of Jesus Christ, the sweetest spouse of my soul. I must resign my whole self into his hands, reserving for his service alone my tongue, mind, heart, time, body, life, and everything else.”
In fine, Father De Andreis made use of this virtue of mildness in order to bear patiently his own defects; for the more he advanced in the love of God the more they became insupportable to him, and therefore he never flattered them. St. Francis says that a soul who aims at perfection, stands more in need of meekness towards herself than towards others; because the further a soul. advances in a spiritual life, the more numerous are the faults which she perceives in herself.
“Here I am, at length,” writes Father De Andreis, in the retreat of 1813, “weary with trying to find my God. I behold nothing but myself and my own poverty, and am in great need of grace, though unworthy to obtain it. I know that sanctity does not consist in having this or that grace, but in being whatever God requires of us; in attaining that degree of virtue that God has appointed us, neither more nor less. I should desire nothing but that for which God, from all eternity, has intended me. I know not what it is; but I must follow him, step by step, as he makes known to me the designs of his providence, pray that his holy will may be done in me, and accomplish it without desiring either this or that giftilipse dividit singulis prout vult”.