Hou stirynges of pride and veynglorie in good men are but venial synne.
The Mercy of God Toward Frailty
Unintentional stirrings of vainglory are venial sins that God readily forgives when the soul resists them.
Nevertheless, a man or woman committed to the contemplative life—if they renounce their own will and offer themselves entirely to God with the sincere intention of not knowingly sinning through pride, nor willfully taking vain joy in themselves, but only in God, if they could—and if, after this offering, they feel stirrings of vainglory and delight in them for a time because they don't notice them, this liking is only a venial sin. Especially if, when they come to themselves, they notice this vain liking, reprove themselves, resist the stirring with a will that rejects it, and ask God for mercy and help, then our Lord, in His mercy, quickly forgives the liking that was previously a sin. And yet, they will still be rewarded for the good work of resisting it.
The Special Servants of God
Those who dedicate their lives to God, whether in religious orders or as laypeople, receive special grace and reward for their steadfast will.
That is the courtesy of our Lord to all who are His special servants and more at home in His court—as are all those who, for His love, sincerely forsake all worldly and fleshly sins and give themselves wholly, body and soul, to His service according to their ability and knowledge, such as enclosed anchorites and true religious who entered an order approved by Holy Church primarily for the love of God and the salvation of their souls.12 Or, if they first entered religious life for a worldly reason—such as for their physical sustenance or some other such motive—if they repent and turn it into a spiritual purpose, namely the service of God, they are true religious as long as they maintain this will and pursue it as best they can, despite their frailty. Furthermore, any man or woman, in whatever state in Holy Church—priest, cleric, layperson, widow, wife, or virgin—who for the love of God and the salvation of their soul will truly and fully forsake in their heart, between God and themselves, all the honors and pleasures of the world, and all willful busyness with earthly things beyond bare necessity, and offer their will entirely to be His servant according to their power, through devout prayers and holy thoughts along with other good deeds they may do physically or spiritually, and who keeps this will steadfastly for God—all these are special servants of God in Holy Church.3 Because of this good will and purpose, which they have by the gift of God, they shall increase in grace and charity while they live, and for this special will they shall receive a special grace and a reward in the bliss of heaven above other chosen souls who did not offer their will and body wholly to God's service, either openly or privately, as they did.4
The Protection of a Righteous Will
A general, steadfast will to please God protects the soul from mortal sin when faced with the stirrings of human frailty.
All these whom I call God's servants, and more specially those of His court: even if, through frailty or ignorance, they feel such a stirring of vainglory and delight in it for a time without realizing it—because their reason is hindered by the liking they feel, so that it cannot see the stirring—they do not sin mortally in this liking of vainglory.5 Because they have already set their hearts on pleasing God and forsaking sin whenever they recognize it, that intention keeps them through these stirrings—and all others arising from human frailty—so that they don't commit mortal sin, and it will continue to keep them as long as the foundation of that will remains intact.
Read the original Latin
Neverthelees, a man or a woman whiche disposeth hym to lif contemplatif, yif it be so that he forsake hymsilf as in his wille and offre hym hooli to God with a ful general wil that he wolde not synne in pride wityngeli, ne have no veyn joye in hymsilf wilfulli, but oonli in God, yif he coude and myght; and aftir this ful wille offred hym to God he felith manye stirynges of veynglorie and deliteth in hem for the tyme, for he perceyveth hit not; this likyng is but venyal synne. And nameli yif it be so that whanne he cometh to himsilf he perceyveth this veyn likynge, he reproveth hymsilf and agenstondeth this stirynge with displesynge of wille, and asketh merci and helpe of God, thanne the likynge that was bifore synne, oure Lord of His merci soone forgeveth it. And yit he schal have meede for his good travaile in the agenstondynge. And that is the curtesie of oure Lord to alle thoo that aren speciali Hise servauntis and more hoomli of His court, as alle thoo aren whiche for His love forsaketh in gode trewe wille alle worldli and fleischli synnes, and gif hem hooli, bodi and soule, unto His service up her myght and her knowynge, as ankeris enclosed and also trewe religious men, whiche principali for the love of God and savacioun of here soules entreden ony religion approvid bi Hooli Chirche. Or ellis yif it be so that they entre religion first for a wordli cause, as for here bodili sustenaunce or ony othir siche, yif thei repente hem and turne it into a goosteli cause, as for the service of God, thise, as longe as thei kepe this wille and pursue it as thei mai up here myght for freelté, thei are trewe religious. Also what man or woman that it be, in what degree he bee in Holi Chirche, preest, clerk, or lewed man, widue or wif or mayden, that wole for the love of God and salvacion of his soule forsake alle the worschippis and likynges of the world in his herte trewli and fulli bitwixe God and hym, and al wilfulle bisynesse of ertheli thynges unto bare nede, and offre his wille entierli for to be his servaunt up his myght, bi devoute praieres and hooli thoughtes with othere gode deedis that he mai doon bodili or goosteli, and kepeth this wille hool to God stidefastli alle these aren special Goddis servauntis in Holi Chirche. And for this good wille and this good purpoos that thei have of the gift of God, thei schal encreese in grace and charité here lyvynge, and thei schal have for this special wille a special grace and a mede in the blisse of hevene bifore othere chosen soulis the whiche offrid not hooli here wille and here bodi to Goddis service, neithir opynli ne privelé, as thei diden. Alle thise, whiche y speke of and calle Goddis servauntes, and of His court more speciali, though thei bi frelté or bi unconnynge whanne thei feele sich stirynge of veynglorie, for the tyme delite therinne, and perceyve not it, for here resoun of here witte is letted bi the likynge that thei feele, that it mai not see the stirynge - thei synnen not deedli in this likynge of veineglorie.
For that wille that they have sette general in here herte bifore unto plese God and for to forsake synne, yif thei knewe hit, kepith hem there in siche stirynges, and in alle othere that comen of freelté, that thei synnen not deedli, and schal kepe hem as longe as the ground of that wille is keped hool.
Notes
- 1 ↩curtesie: the gracious lordly kindness of Christ toward those specially dedicated to Him; not mere social politeness.
- 2 ↩religion / religious: here the vowed religious life / members of an approved religious order, not generic 'religion'.
- 3 ↩lewed man: layperson (not 'lewd' in the modern sense).
- 4 ↩charité rendered as charity (theological virtue) rather than generic love, because it is paired with grace and marks growth in the ordered love of God.
- 5 ↩deedli synne: mortal/deadly sin; rendered 'mortally' to keep the technical contrast with venial sin in s1.
Scala Perfectionis (The Scale of Perfection) companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent