The Praises of Wisdom, Simplicity, Poverty, Humility, Charity and Obedience.
O QUEENLY Wisdom, the Lord save thee with thy Sister, pure and holy Simplicity. O Lady holy Poverty, the Lord save thee with thy Sister holy Humility. O Lady holy Charity, the Lord save thee with thy Sister holy Obedience. O all ye holy virtues, may the Lord, from Whom you proceed, save you ! There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one of you unless he first die to himself. He who possesses one virtue, and does not offend against the others, possesses all ; and he who offends against one, possesses none, and offends against all, and confounds altogether vices and sins. Holy Wisdom confounds Satan and all his malice. Pure and holy Simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the prudence of the flesh. Holy Poverty confounds cupidity and avarice and all worldly cares. Holy Humility confounds pride, and all men and all things that are in the world. Holy Charity confounds ll carnal and diabolical temptations and all earthly fears. Holy Obedience confounds the carnal and natural will, and keeps the body under subjection to the spirit and to Superiors ; it is submissive and docile to all men, and not to men only, but even to wild beasts, who may do with it whatever they will, according to the power God gives them from above. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Of Perfect Joy — that the most Precious Gift which we can receive from the Holy Ghost, is Strength to conquer Self and to bear Reproaches patiently for the Love of God.
Although the Friar Minor should give good example of great sanctity and edification throughout the whole world, still that is not perfect joy. And even if the Friar Minor should give sight to the blind, cure the paralysed, cast out devils, cause the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, and what is still greater, restore to life one who has been dead four days, still this is not perfect joy. And if the Friar Minor should know all kinds of languages, and all sciences, and the Scriptures, so that he could prophesy and reveal not only things future, but even the secrets of consciences, this would not be perfect joy. If the Friar Minor were to speak with the tongues of angels, if he knew the courses of the stars and the virtues of herbs, if all the hidden treasures of the earth were revealed to him, and if he understood the virtues and properties of all birds, fishes, animals, men, roots, stones, trees and water, this would not be perfect joy. And if the Friar Minor were to preach so eloquently as to convert all infidels to the faith, even this would not be perfect joy.
But if when we come to Our Lady of Angels, all drenched with rain and frozen with cold, covered with mud and exhausted with hunger, we should knock at the door, and the porter coming should say angrily: ‘Who are you V and when we answer : ‘ We are two of your Brethren,’ he should reply : ‘Nay, rather you are two impostors, who go about the world stealing the alms of the poor ;’ and if he should not let us in, but make us stand in the snow and rain, cold and almost starved to death ; then, if we should bear patiently all these insults and injuries without disturbance of mind or murmuring, and if we should think humbly and charitably that the porter knew us truly, and that God inspired him to act in this way, write that this is perfect joy. And if we persevere in knocking, and the same porter should come out and treat us as importunate beggars, striking us violently and saying: ‘ Depart hence, you vile poltroons ! Go to the hospital. Who are you ? you shall not eat here ;’ and if we bear this patiently, and forgive these injuries with our whole heart, write that this is perfect joy. And if we, being overpowered with hunger, frozen with cold, and finding night approaching, knock at the door, and crying and weeping implore to be admitted, and the porter enraged exclaim, ‘These are most impudent and obstinate men ; I will pacify them ;’ and coming out with a thick and knotted stick, he take us by the cowl, and throwing us on the ground, beat us so severely as to cover us with wounds : if we bear all these injuries, all these evils and blows with joy, considering that we ought to share in the sufferings of Christ the Blessed, write and note most diligently, that this is perfect joy.
And now listen to the conclusion. Of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ has ever granted or will grant to His servants, the principal is the grace to conquer self, and willingly to suffer injuries for the love of God. For in all the above-mentioned wonderful works we could not glory, because they are not ours, but God’s. ‘What hast thou that thou hast not received ? And if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it ?’ But in the Cross of afflictions and tribulations we may glory, for this in our own. And therefore the Apostle says : ‘ Far be it from me to glory, save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ’