De fiducia in Deo habenda tempore angustiae
The Foundation of Trust
True peace is found by placing one's hope in God rather than worldly things, requiring constant vigilance and prayer.
Hope in the Lord and do good. Let no one take vain pride in worldly goods, and let no one put too much trust in friends or relatives, because everything is uncertain and full of danger. But anyone who trusts in the Lord and calls upon Him in their time of need won't be abandoned by Him, no matter what trouble they're in. There is great peace for the one who acts well, speaks what is good, harms no one, and guards themselves against every evil path and wicked thought. Close the door of your house, and you'll be at peace. The person who doesn't resolve to keep something good in their heart every day, as a shield against the blows of Satan, falls very easily. Many people stop praying and fighting when things don't go well for them. Yet virtue isn't acquired without labor and struggle, nor is it kept without caution.
Humility in the Face of Tribulation
Temptations and corrections should be met with patience and humility, recognizing our own need for God's grace.
Someone who is restless and fickle in their ways dreads discipline and the cell, just as a bird dreads the trap. Don't despair if you're severely tempted, harshly corrected, mocked, confused, or looked down upon; instead, remember that your wickedness deserves to be looked down upon and corrected justly. Endure patiently and speak with confidence. It is good for me, Lord, that you have humbled me, so that I might learn your statutes. In temptation and tribulation, a person learns that God is more necessary to them because of their own neediness and the gravity of their failings. A foolish and unfaithful servant is one who wants to take pride in their master's goods and look down on others. Whoever looks down on their fellow servants and considers themselves better off offends God and all the saints. This error arises mostly in us because we aren't humble and don't pay attention to our own failings, which we ought always to focus on and weep over.
The Burden of the Self
We should focus on our own failings rather than judging others, using our own weaknesses to cultivate empathy.
Everyone is a heavy enough burden to themselves. Why, then, do you push yourself into other people's business and take on more than you can handle? Sometimes a person falls, makes a mistake, or neglects something quite openly, so that, being embarrassed before others, they might humble themselves more, learn to sympathize, help someone else who is struggling, and, having learned from their own fall, say to themselves: This person is human, not an angel. Just as it happened to me, so it has happened to them. We are brothers. I am doing poorly, while they perhaps are doing well. Only God never errs and never falls.
The Danger of Judging Others
Instead of mocking the falls of others, we must remain vigilant against our own pride and potential for failure.
Why do you laugh when someone else falls? If you're standing, watch out that you don't fall. Instead, laugh at your own fall. Open humiliation is often the end of vain glory.
Read the original Latin
Spera in Domino: et fac bonitatem. Nemo vane exultet de bonis temporalibus; nemo de suis amicis et cognatis nimis confidat: quia omnia incerta sunt et plena periculis. Qui autem confidit in Domino et in necessitate ad eum clamaverit: non deseretur ab eo in quacumque tribulatione fuerit. Pax magna bene agenti, bona loquenti, nemini nocenti: ab omni via mala et iniqua cogitatione se custodienti. Claude ostium domus tuae: et eris in pace. Cadit facillime qui non proponit cotidie aliquid boni in corde: tamquam scutum contra ictum satanae. Multi cum eis non succedit prospere: desistunt orare et repugnare. Attamen sine labore et certamine virtus non acquiritur: nec sine cautione custoditur.
Vagus et levis moribus horret disciplinam et cellam: sicut avis capturam. Non desperes graviter temptatus; aut duriter correptus, aut derisus, aut confusus, aut despectus: sed memento quia iniquitas tua despici et castigari oiuste meretur. Sustine patienter: et loquere confidenter. Bonum mihi Domine quia humiliasti me: ut discam iustificationes tuas. In temptatione et tribulatione homo addiscit Deum sibi esse magis necessarium: propter suam indigentiam et defectuum gravitatem. Fatuus et infidelis est servus: qui de bonis domini sui vult superbire et alios despicere. Qui conservos suos despicit et se meliorem reputat: Deum et omnes sanctos offendit. Hic error maxime in nobis oritur quia’ humiles non sumus; nec proprios defectus attendimus: quos semper attendere et deflere debemus.
Vnusquisque sufficiens onus sibi ipsi est. Quid ergo prodest quod alienis factis te ingeris; et plus tollis quam portare vales? Ideo interdum homo aperte cadit aut errat aut aliquid neglegit; ut confusus coram aliis magis se humiliet, compati discat, erranti subveniat: et apud se casu proprio doctus dicat. Hic homo est: non angelus. Sicut mihi accidit: sic et sibi contigit. Fratres sumus. Ego male: ipse forte bene praetendit. Qui numquam errat nec cadit: solus Deus est.
Quare rides de lapsu alterius? Qui stas vide ne cadas. Deride lapsum tuum. Aperta confusio: saepe est extinctio vanae gloriae.
The Little Garden of Roses & The Valley of Lilies companion
Fourteen readings down. The other 39 chapters are waiting.
Chosen Portion serves the complete Little Garden and Valley of Lilies — plus the Imitation — as daily portions.
These treatises were composed as brief daily counsels for a community's rhythm of reading, and Chosen Portion delivers them the same way: one short chapter each morning.
- All 53 chapters of both treatises in modern readable English
- A new short reading delivered every morning, no deciding what's next
- Complete both treatises in under two months at one chapter a day