PART V.
SAYINGS OF THE HOLY FATHER ST. FRANCIS.
- He Announces himself as the Herald of a great King.
A LITTLE after his conversion, as the man of God was walking through a wood, thieves fell upon him and demanded who he was. He answered boldly and prophetically, ‘I am the herald of the great King’
- God will Reward our Labours more generously and more faithfully than Man.
The holy Father’s brother was constantly mocking at his poverty and misery, and once, in a time of great cold, he sent a companion to ask if he would sell some of his sweat. ‘No,’ answered the servant of God, ‘ I shall sell my sweat at a much higher price to God’
- How the Passion of Christ should be Wept over.
Not long after his conversion, the Saint was weeping and groaning loudly near Our Lady of Angels, and being asked by a certain spiritual man why he wept so bitterly and so loudly, he answered, ‘I weep over the Passion of Christ, and far from being ashamed thereof, I would that my cries could be heard all over the world.’
- How the Love of God in the Interior dispels all Exterior Cold.
Being asked how he could bear the extreme cold of winter when so thinly clad, the holy Father answered : ‘If our hearts were inflamed with the love of our heavenly country, we should easily bear this external cold.’
- The Soldier of Christ should not Reserve for himself any Earthly Riches.
On account of the complaints of his father, the holy man was advised by the Bishop of Assisi to give back the money he had taken secretly in order to repair the ruinous Church of St. Damian, and which, utterly despising, he had thrown out of a window of the said church. He answered boldly, and as one entirely detached from earthly things : ‘I will restore to my father not only the money which is his by right, but also even the very clothes I wear.’
- That Parents and all Earthly Things are to be Despised for the Love of God.
The Saint not only renounced, before the same Bishop in the presence of his father, all his rights of inheritance, but even stripped himself of his clothes exclaiming : ‘Hitherto I have called thee my father on earth, but henceforth I can with all confidence say : ” Our Father Who art in heaven ;” for all my riches and all my hopes are placed in Him’
- That the Poor of God are not to become Accustomed to well-prepared Meals.
While the man of God was endeavouring with all his might and with great labour to repair the Church of St. Damian, the priest carefully prepared his repasts for him ; but the blessed man and new soldier of Jesus Christ began, after some days, to think within himself, and thus to take himself to task : ‘Thou who art a pilgrim in the world, wilt thou find wherever thou goest this priest who shows thee so much kindness ? This is not the life of poverty which thou hast chosen. Therefore go now, as a poor man ought, with a dish in thy hand, and collect in it from door to door the food which the faithful will bestow on thee for the love of God. Thus must thou willingly live, for the sake of Him Who was born poor. Who lived most poorly in this world. Who hung naked and poor upon the Cross, and who was buried in another man’s sepulchre.’
- That in the Service of God, the Maledictions of the World are to be lightly Esteemed.
After the conversion of this holy man, his father was accustom^6. to curse him whenever he met him. St Francis therefore adopted a poor and wretched old man for his father, and kept him with him as a companion ; so that whenever his own father cursed him, he on the contrary might bless him, and fortify him by the sign of the Cross. As, therefore, when he was cursed by his father, he was blessed by this poor man, he said once to the former ; ‘I believe, father, that God can give, and has given me another father, who bestows on me blessings for your curses,’
- All Goods are to be Restored to their Owners.
Brother Bernard of Quintavalle, who was not the last among the citizens of Assisi, and who was the first among the companions of the blessed man, being moved by his admirable sanctity to relinquish the world and follow him, once asked him, ‘Father, if anyone had received for many years from his Lord money, or even only a few gifts, and no longer wished to make use of them, what do you think would be the best thing to do with them ?’ St. Francis answered : ‘They should be restored to him who had given them.’ By these words the Saint intimated that Bernard ought to leave the world, and distribute to the poor all the goods he had received from God.
- How much the Simplicity of the Saints is to be Esteemed.
The holy Father admired greatly the sanctity and holy simplicity of Brother Juniper, and alluding to his name he said once to those who were near him: ‘I would, my Brethren, that we had a large forest of such Junipers, and I tell you that he who attains to the simplicity of Brother Juniper, is a true Friar Minor.
11. Sensuality is to be Repressed by the Rigour of Abstinence.
St. Francis being asked why he subdued his sensual appetite with such severity of discipline that he scarcely took enough food to support nature, answered : ‘It is difficult to satisfy the necessity of the body without indulging the inclination of the senses.’
- Temptations of the Flesh must be promptly Resisted by the Spiritual Man.
Soon after his conversion, the Saint threw himself repeatedly during the winter-time into a ditch full of ice, in order that he might perfectly subdue his domestic enemy, and preserve the white robe of purity from the fire of sensuality. Giving an account of this to his Brothers, he said : ‘ It is incomparably more tolerable to the spiritual man to endure cold in his body, than to feel the least movement of sensuality in his soul.’
- The Rebellion of the Flesh is to be Overcome by Treating it with great Severity.
The holy man, once feeling, through the arts of the devil and his perfidious suggestions, a strong temptation of the flesh, instantly took off his habit and scourged himself severely with his cord, saying to his body: ‘Ah, Brother Ass, thus must thou remain, thus shalt thou be scourged. The habit belongs to Religion ; it is the sign of sanctity, and may not be stolen by a sensual man. If thou wishest to go anywhere as thou art, go.’
- Holy Poverty is to be Considered the Honour and Inheritance of his Religious.
When invited by others to dinner, the Saint would say : ‘ I do not wish to give up my royal dignity, the inheritance and possessions of myself and my Brethren, which is that we should beg from door to door.’
- Idle Religious are like Flies.
If the holy Father found any Brother idle, wandering about and living on the labours of others, he expelled him from the company of the Brethren, saying: ‘Go thy way. Brother Fly, since thou desirest to eat of thy Brothers’ labours, and to be lazy in the service of God, like a drone, an idle and useless insect which neither works nor toils, but lives on the spoils and earnings of the good bees.’
- The Religious must Cultivate Silence.
Finding a certain Religious had a habit of speaking idle words, the holy Father sharply rebuked him, saying : ‘ Modest silence is the sure guardian of a pure heart, and is not the least among the great virtues ; for life and death are in the power of the tongue, not so much on account of the taste as of speech.’
- The Vice of Detraction is Pernicious to Religious, and Abominable to All.
Hearing a certain Religious speaking ill of his Brother, St. Francis said to his Vicar : ‘ Arise, arise, inquire diligently, and if thou findest the accused Brother innocent, thou shalt inflict on the accuser a punishment striking to all. Great evils will befall the Order unless it is delivered from detractors; the sweet odour of many will be corrupted unless stinking mouths are closed. I desire thee to take the greatest care that this pestilent evil spread no farther. The Brother who despoils another of the glory of his reputation shall be despoiled of the habit ; nor can he raise his eyes to God until he first restore what he has taken away.
- The Servant of God, even if he is Grieved interiorly for his sins, must show Spiritual Joy exteriorly.
If St. Francis saw any of his companions with a sad or downcast countenance, he reproved him, saying : ‘ If thou art grieving over thy sins, my Brother, why dost thou show thy sorrow exteriorly ? Let this sadness be between thee and God, and pray to Him that through His mercy He may spare thee, and restore to thy soul the joy of His salvation, which thou hast lost through thy sins. But before me and others, show thyself always joyful, for it does not become the servant of God to manifest sadness exteriorly, nor to have a troubled countenance.’
- Man owes to the Grace of God his Preservation from any Sin
The holy man obliged his chosen companion, Brother Leo, much against his will, to overwhelm him with many reproaches, calling him a thief, a blasphemer, an adulterer, a murderer, and such like.The blessed Father heard him most patiently, and wept over all these sins as if they were his own. Brother Leo having asked him why he compelled him to say so many and such great untruths against an innocent man, the Saint replied : ‘They are no lies, for I am in truth the greatest of sinners, and all these sins, and even worse, I should have committed, if God in His mercy and by His grace had not preserved me from them. For if a great robber had received the grace that I have, he would have made a much better use of it, and would be much holier than I am.’
- Religious should Rejoice in Holy Poverty, and not in Worldly Riches,
Once when the holy Father was travelling in France with Brother Masseo, they found in a solitary place a sparkling fountain, and by it a large flat stone like a table. Upon this the Saint placed a crust of bread, which they had received as an alms, and being filled with joy, and exulting in his poverty, he said to his companion: ‘We are not worthy of such great treasures,’ As he repeated these words several times, his companion said : ‘How can you talk of riches when we are in such extreme poverty?’ Where are our servants and our maids ? our cups and goblets? where our costly wine and dainty viands? where the tablecloth to cover this stone?’ ‘This,’ said the Saint, ‘do I consider the greatest treasure, this do I look upon as the most delicious food, where there is nothing worked out by human industry, nothing prepared by worldly ingenuity, but whatever we have is given to us by the direct Providence of God.
- Worldly Possessions cause Disturbance and Trouble,
When the Bishop of Assisi told St. Francis that it appeared to him too hard and difficult not to allow his Order to have or receive any possessions, the holy man replied : ‘Nay, rather it appears to me too hard and troublesome to have them ; for to preserve and defend them requires much solicitude, and in order to quell the quarrels and disturbances which arise from them we should need to have arms always in readiness.’
- The Soldier of Christ ought to Divest himself of all Worldly Things.
St. Francis once told a person who asked admission into the Order to go and distribute all his goods to the poor ; but instead of this he gave all away among his friends and relations. When he returned and told the Saint what he had done the holy Father rejected him, saying : ‘Go, Brother Fly ! thou hast not left thy kindred and thy father’s house. He is not worthy to join the poor of Christ who has defrauded the poor. Thou hast begun in the flesh, thou hast laid an insecure foundation for a spiritual life. Go thy way.’
- Superiors ought to be an Example to Inferiors by their Labours and Virtues,
When St. Francis was on his way to preach in France he was asked by the Cardinal of Ostia, Ugolino (who was afterwards Sovereign Pontiff), why he would not remain with him at the Roman Court, as he so much desired. ‘My lord,’ replied the holy man, ‘ I should feel great shame and confusion if I were to remain with you here, while my Brethren and Children are living in poverty and misery in different parts of the world ; for surely I ought to share with them the tribulations which they must endure for the love of God.’
- Carnal Men cannot understand Spiritual Things.
The holy Father taught his Brethren to use this short but holy salutation : ‘May the Lord give thee His peace.’ Some persons, however, were displeased at this, and the Brethren feared to use it. The Saint, however, said : ‘Let them say what they choose about these holy words, for they do not understand the things of God ; but do not you be ashamed of them, for before long many heroes and princes will show you great reverence on account of this salutation.’
- God will never refuse Food and Clothing to the Poor of Christ.
Pope Honorius III. tried to persuade St. Francis to accept some revenues, predicting that his Friars would suffer many miseries if they lived entirely on alms. The Saint replied: ‘I confide in the Lord Jesus, that as He has promised, and will give us, life and eternal glory in heaven, He will not refuse us the small amount of food and clothing which are necessary for the body on earth’
- God alone is to be Feared, and all things are to be referred to His will
The man of God endured many horrible conflicts with the demons in time of prayer, but the more vehemently he was beset by the enemy, the stronger in virtue and the more fervent in prayer did he become. Then he would say to Christ : ‘Protect me under the shadow of Thy wings from the face of those who afflict me.’ But to the devils he would say : ‘Do with me what you will, wicked and deceitful spirits ; for you have no power except what is given you from on High, and I am ready joyfully to bear all that God will permit you to do.’
- Man’s Body is his greatest Enemy.
The holy man being in the Church of St. Peter de Bonario, near Treves, wished, after having finished his prayer, to repose a little, but he could not do so, his mind being disturbed by carnal suggestions. Being somewhat troubled by this dangerous combat He went out of the church, and began to cry aloud : In the Name of Almighty God, I call on you, O devils, to exercise on my body all that may be given and permitted you by Our Lord Jesus Christ, for thus you will. avenge me of my cruel enemy and worst adversary ; than which I know no greater.
- The Secrets of God art not to be Divulged.
St. Francis thought it not right to show forth exteriorly the secrets of the Divine Wisdom which were revealed to him, unless he were urged thereto by the charity of Christ, or the good of his neighbour. He used to say : ‘For the small reward of vainglory and human honour, we should lose our priceless treasure, and provoke God not to give us any more of His gifts.’
- The Canonical Hours are to be Recited with great Devotion.
The holy Father, that he might not lose any moments of time, had made a little vessel of wood ; but as this work came into his mind once, when he was reciting the Canonical Hours, and caused him a slight distraction, in fervour of spirit he threw the vessel into the fire, saying : ‘I will sacrifice to the Lord that which has hindered my sacrifice.’
- The Religious ought not to have Cells of their own.
Seeing a Brother once coming from the cell he himself occupied, the Saint asked him whence he came. He answered : ‘From your cell, Father.’ To which the holy man immediately replied : Thou callest mine that which I do not consider mine. Henceforth I must dwell elsewhere, for I have promised to have nothing of my own.’
- The Light of the Soul is to be Preferred to that of the Body.
The doctor tried to persuade the holy Father to restrain his tears, if he wished to preserve his bodily sight. To which he replied : ‘Brother Doctor, it is not right to lose even the least spiritual light, for the sake of that light which we have in common with the flies ; for the soul does not receive light for the sake of the body, but the body for the sake of the soul.’
- Contemplation is to be Preferred to Study.
Being asked by a certain Brother what book he considered the most useful and profitable for him to read, the Saint replied : ‘Read the book of the Cross, and do not indulge in vain and curious studies. Blessed is he who abstains from these for the love of God.’
- The Sight of Women is to be Avoided.
The companion of the Saint once asked him why he did not look at a certain noble virgin who charitably and humbly visited the sick and ministered to them, to which St. Francis replied : ‘Who ought not to fear the Spouse of Christ ? if we preach to her by the modesty of our eyes, she will be the more confirmed in her chastity. Let her look at me, but I will not look at her.’
- Religious ought not to Desire Privileges which are Contrary to the Perfection of their State.
Being urged and entreated by certain Religious to ask privileges of the Sovereign Pontiff for the greater liberty and credit of the Order, the holy Father said : ‘ The greatest privilege of myself and my brethren, is to have no privileges in this world, but to obey all, and to consider ourselves inferior to all.’
- Religious ought not to Relax their Abstinence without Necessity ; and that the Vice of Hypocrisy is to be Avoided.
On account of a serious illness the holy Father once relaxed a little the rigour of his abstinence and ate some meat, for which afterwards he reproached himself, saying : ‘It is not right that people should believe I abstain, while I eat meat in secret.’ Therefore, animated with a courage and fervour more admirable than imitable, he went almost naked with a cord round his neck to the public square, where, a crowd being assembled, he cried out : ‘ I have eaten meat in secret ; do not, therefore, my Brethren, henceforth call me a spiritual man, but despise me as a glutton and wine-bibber.’
- No one is to be Praised in this Life.
When people praised the holy Father as a Saint, and called him Blessed, he would say : ‘I may yet have sons and daughters ; do not praise one who is not yet safe. No one ought to be praised whose end is uncertain. If at any moment God should withdraw from me the treasures of His grace, which He now grants to me, what else would remain to me but a soul and body which sinners possess in common with the faithful ?’
- Superiors ought to give an Example of Virtue to their Inferiors.
Although the Saint’s innocent flesh, which by long and severe penance he had brought into subjection to the spirit, needed no punishment on account of any offences, nevertheless he daily renewed its pains and labours. When some blamed him for this, he said : ‘ On account of others I keep these hard ways, for I am given as an example to many. If I should speak with the tongues of men and Angels, and have not charity in myself, and do not give good example to my neighbour, I shall profit others little, and myself nothing.’
- The Servants of God ought not to Desire Money.
When the man of God was travelling in Apulia, and was near Ban, his companion was displeased because the blessed Father advised him to despise and leave where it was, a bag or purse apparently full of gold, which was lying on the ground. Contrary to his advice, however, the Brother lifted up the purse, when a large serpent sprang out, and vanished together with it. The diabolical deception had been revealed to St. Francis, and that his companion might truly realise this, he said to him : ‘Brother, money is to the servants of God nothing else but a poisonous serpent, or devil.’
- Religious should be Ashamed of Superfluous Dress or Furniture,
St. Francis once met a poor man in the road, and being pierced to the heart at his destitute condition, he exclaimed in a sorrowful voice to his companion : ‘Oh, how the indigence of this poor man puts us to shame, for we have chosen Poverty for our richest inheritance, and yet he is poorer than we are !’
- The Poor of Christ should Relieve those who are Poorer than themselves.
Returning once from Siena, St. Francis met a poor man half-naked, and turning to his companion he said : ‘ Brother, we must give back to this poor man the cloak I wear over my habit, for it is his. I only agreed to keep it until I should meet some one poorer than myself.’ His companion not consenting to this on account of the holy Father’s infirmities, the Saint insisted, saying: ‘I should expect to be looked upon as a thief by the Supreme Almsgiver, if I did not bestow what I have on those whose need is greater than my own.
- Mendicant Religious ought only to Beg for Necessaries.
St. Francis often exhorted his Brethren to avoid all useless discourses, and too great solicitude in collecting alms; as also to shun begging for superfluities, saying : ‘My Brethren, ask only for necessary food and clothing. I thank God and I rejoice that I have never been a thief by stealing alms, for I have always taken less than was offered me, for fear of defrauding other poor, and whoever acts otherwise I consider a thief.’
- Almsgiving is sometimes more Meritorious than Prayer
The holy Father besought Brother Peter of Catania, one of his first disciples, to give something to the mother of two Friars Minor, who asked an alms. Brother Peter answered that there was nothing in the house to give, except the New Testament in the church, out of which the Brothers recited the lessons at Matins. ‘Give it,’ he said, ‘to our mother ‘ (for thus he called the mother of his Brethren), * and let her sell it to relieve her poverty ; for I believe firmly it will be more pleasing to God and the Blessed Virgin to give this book to the poor, than to keep it ourselves to read.
- We must do Good to please God, and not Man.
In the beginning of his conversion, and before he had put off the secular habit, the holy man used often to lament and accuse himself that, for the love of worldly glory, he had been most liberal towards men ; and, firmly purposing to employ all that remained to him in the service of the poor, he would say : ‘Since I spared neither expense nor trouble to please my friends for the sake of the vain and transitory glory of the world, it is but just that henceforth I should be equally bountiful towards the poor, for the sake of God, Who is so liberal a rewarder.’
- The Festivals of the Saints ought to be Kept, not by Feasting, but by Imitating their Example.
A certain Provincial having come to the Convent of Reatino, the Brethren laid the tables on Christmas Day with more care, and provided a better meal than usual. St. Francis, however, severely reproved them, saying : ‘On the day of Christ’s Poverty, do you offend against poverty? Remember that on this day the Blessed Virgin had hardly bread to eat, and that the Sovereign of the world had for His cradle the manger of the beasts. Imitate the poverty of the Mother, and be mindful of the cries of her little Infant’
- How great is the Power of the Saints — and that Religious should carefully Avoid all popular Demonstrations.
After the death of Blessed Peter of Catania, great crowds used to visit his tomb in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, on account of his eminent sanctity and many miracles. This caused much inconvenience to the Friars, and detriment to religious silence and recollection. The blessed Father therefore went to the tomb, and thus spoke : ‘ Brother Peter, thou wast always most promptly obedient to me during life, and thou wilt not refuse me thy humble submission after death.. On thy account, the religious quiet of thy Brethren is disturbed, because so many people come to show due honour to thy body. I command thee, in virtue of holy Obedience, to work no more miracles, lest what is intended to honour God and the Saints, should turn to the manifest injury of this religious house.’ Wonderful to relate, the deceased Friar worked no more miracles, and the people no longer came to his sepulchre !
- Of the Insupportable Hideousness of the Demons
Blessed Brother Egidius, the third companion of the holy Father St. Francis, once asked him if there were any sight in the world so terrible that he could not bear to look upon it during the space of a Pater-noster. The Saint replied : ‘The sight of the devil is so intolerable that nothing in the world can be imagined more horrible and fearful, and no one could endure it even for a moment unless he were supported by the Divine power.
- We should Trust in God’s Goodness rather than in Money
When St. Francis was ill with his last sickness at Nocera, the citizens of Assisi sent a solemn embassy to bring him thence to their city, lest he should die in any other place ; and they, stopping to dine on their way back at the town of Sarthiano, complained to the holy man that they could not procure any provisions for money. Whereupon he reproved them, saying : ‘You can find nothing to eat because you trust more in your flies’ (thus he was accustomed to call money) ‘than in God. But go back to the houses where you have been, and humbly beg an alms, offering in payment the love of God.’ They obeyed the command of the Saint, and found that the want which could not be supplied by their money was abundantly relieved by the poverty of St. Francis.
- The Saints do not Fear to Die, but Rejoice equally in Life or Death
A few days before his death, the holy Father asked the doctor what he thought of his illness. He answered cautiously : ‘By the mercy of God all will be well with thee.’ But the Saint exclaimed, with a joyful and intrepid soul : ‘ Tell me, I say, truthfully, what thou thinkest. Fear not ; by the grace of God I am not a coward to fear death, for I am so closely united to my Lord by the grace of the Holy Spirit that I am not sad at the thought of death ; nor do I rejoice more at the prospect of a long life, for I am equally happy to live or to die.’
- How Conformed to the Will of God the Saints are in Suffering,
As towards the end of his life St. Francis was overwhelmed with many infirmities, a simple and devout Brother, compassionating his sufferings, said to him : ‘Pray to God, my Father, that He may deal more mercifully with thee, for He seems to be laying His hand on thee more heavily than is just.’ When the Saint heard him speak thus, he exclaimed with tears ‘If I did not know thy great simplicity, and the purity of thy soul, I should, for the future, hold thee in abhorrence, because thou hast dared to question the justice of the Divine judgments in my regard, I deserve far greater torments, and most willingly will I bear heavier chastisements if God wills to inflict them on me.’
- How great is the Consolation of the Perfect, in Meditating on the Passion of Christ
At a time when the Saint was oppressed with constant suffering, he was asked why he did not have something read to him to recreate his mind, wearied by such constant suffering. ‘Nothing’ he replied, ‘is so delightful to me as the remembrance of the life and Passion of my Lord, on which I meditate daily and constantly; and were I to live till the end of the world, I should never want any other book.’
- There is more Profit in bearing Insults than in receiving Honour.
When, in a certain town, many people showed the Saint great honour, he said to his companion : ‘Let us leave this place, for we shall gain no profit here where we are honoured ; our merit is to be gained when we are despised and insulted.’
- Temptations make the Servants of God stronger.
One of the Brothers once told the Saint that a possessed girl had revealed to him, although against her will, that great troops of devils had conspired against him to overthrow his virtue and his Order, because he was their greatest enemy. He answered fearlessly : ‘Now I shall be stronger.’
- It is not easy to Dispute about the Faith with Infidels.
When the holy man was preaching in Egypt, the Sultan invited him to hold a disputation with his priests. The Saint answered that he could not argue about the faith by the force of natural reason, because it was above reason ; nor through the authority of the Holy Scriptures, because the priests did not acknowledge them. ‘ Make therefore,’ he said, ‘a great fire, and I, in testimony of our faith, will enter the flames ; and if I escape unhurt, the truth of my religion will be apparent.*
- Hypocrisy is to be Avoided,
Once, when the holy Father was suffering from a weakness of the stomach, the Guardian persuaded him to allow a fox-skin to be sewn under his worn-out habit. He replied that he would consent, on condition that another piece of fur of the same size should be sewn outside his garments, that all might see the luxury he allowed himself, and that they might know he wore soft furs under a penitential habit.
55. That Just Requests are sometimes to be Refused, in order to Repress Unjust Desires.
A young and inexperienced novice having asked permission to keep a Psalter, the holy Father refused him several times, and at length said to him : ‘My son, when thou hast got a Psalter, thou wilt desire to have a Breviary, and other books to study ; and when thou hast learned something thou wilt desire to have a Chair as a great theologian or prelate, and thou wilt command thy Brother to bring thee thy Breviary.’ Having said this, he uncovered his head in great fervour of spirit and sprinkled ashes on it saying, ‘Shall I have a Breviary — shall I have a Breviary ?’
- That we must bear patiently the Punishment of our sins in this world.
The holy Father being sometimes scourged, and otherwise tormented by the devil, would exclaim with great fervour of spirit, and without being in the least cast down : ‘0 God, I give Thee thanks for Thy immense love and charity towards me, which Thou now clearly showest ; for Thou dost punish my sins in this life, that Thou mayest pardon them in the next. I, as far as is in my power, joyfully consent to bear every suffering and tribulation which it may please Thy Divine Majesty to inflict upon me for my sins’
- The hope of future glory, renders the endurance of Sufferings sweet. Being asked how he could bear such great sufferings in his eyes and his whole body so joyously and courageously, the Saint replied : ‘So great is the glory which I expect, that all pains, all sickness, all humiliations, all persecutions, all mortifications are pleasant to me.’