De gaudio bonae conscientiae in Spiritu sancto
The Foundation of a Good Conscience
A good conscience is built upon active charity, prayer, and a firm commitment to the path of righteousness.
Always rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice with the good, endure the wicked, have compassion on the weak, forgive those who do wrong, and pray for everyone. Cast off any harmful sadness that leads to spiritual apathy and bitterness. Take up a sweet and holy meditation on the life and passion of Christ, and you'll find true comfort against every sadness and temptation. A good life earns praise, but a lukewarm way of living is a burden to oneself and others. A good conscience produces joy; a bad conscience creates its own torment. Strive always to do well, and you'll be at peace. The wickedness of the perverse won't harm you if you remain firm on the straight path of the righteous.
Guarding the Heart and Senses
True spiritual growth requires guarding the senses, humble confession, and avoiding the traps of vain praise.
A person's good conduct brings with it joy of heart and the reputation of well-deserved praise. Vain exultation quickly dies on the lips of the one who offers praise. The smooth praise of a fool does more harm than the harsh correction of a just person. A humble prayer ascends to heaven, appeases God, obtains grace, and repels the devil's deception. A humble confession earns forgiveness, while a frivolous excuse makes the fault worse. True contrition wipes away the stain, and fervent amendment lessens the penalty. Vain chatter takes away the grace of devotion, but good conversation increases joy. Carefully guarding your senses is necessary everywhere; for the wanderer, enclosure is useful.
The Sweetness of the Yoke of Christ
Perseverance in the life of Christ transforms the soul, even when God permits struggle to foster humility.
Frequent prayer is a strong defense; keeping silent is a home for peace. Many start with fervor, but it's perseverance that receives the crown of glory. The yoke of Christ is sweet to those who love, heavy to the lukewarm, bitter to the proud, light to the gentle, and dear to the humble. Sweet Jesus makes all things sweet and light. The carnal person always looks for what is soft, while the spiritual person avoids and hates such things. The just person grieves most of all because they cannot extinguish every impulse of vice. But why does God permit this? It is so that a person may always humble themselves and constantly implore divine help.
True Riches in Humility
The humble soul finds its only true wealth in God, rejecting worldly vanity and attributing all goodness to the Creator.
Just as the proud find joy in honors and the rich in wealth, the truly humble find delight in being held in low regard and in having little. The glory and wealth of God's servants is Christ, the King of heaven. Outside of God, every pleasure is corrupt, every joy is vanity, and every abundance of things is poverty. In fact, nothing satisfies the hunger of the soul except God alone, who created it. It is a great freedom of spirit to desire nothing of the things of this world. The life of the just is to do good, to endure evil, to praise God in all things, and never to be proud of one's own goodness. That person truly praises God who thinks humbly of themselves and faithfully attributes to God everything they think, say, or do that is good. When, therefore, you're tempted by vainglory, don't give in; instead, say immediately and humbly with the prophet:
The Triumph of the Humble Soul
The ultimate victory of the believer is found in giving glory to God and patiently enduring all things.
Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory. A person's greatest triumph is to overcome what delights them, to take on what they fear, and to endure with patience what causes them deep pain.
Read the original Latin
Gaudete in Domino semper. Congaude bonis, sustine malos; compatere infirmis, ignosce delinquentibus: ora pro omnibus. Proice a te malam tristitiam: quae importat acediam et rancorem. Assume dulcem et sanctam meditationem de vita et passione Christi: et invenies veram consolationem contra omnem tristitiam et temptationem. Bona vita meretur laudem: tepida conversatio sibi et aliis est onerosa. Bona conscientia parit gaudium: mala conscientia generat sibi tormentum. Studeas semper bene agere: et eris in bona pace. Non te nocebunt mala pravorum: si permanseris firmus in recta via iustorum.
Bona conversatio hominis fert secum laetitiam cordis: et famam iustae laudis. Vana exultatio cito perit ab ore laudantis. Plus nocet blanda laus stulti: quam dura correptio iusti. Humilis oratio ascenditin caelum, placat Deum: impetrat gratiam, repellit diaboli fraudem. Humilis confessio meretur veniam: frivola excusatio aggravat culpam. Vera contritio delet maculam: fervens emendatio minuit poenam. Vana fabulatio subtrahit devotionis gratiam: bona locutio auget laetitiam. Cauta custodia sensuum ubique necessaria: utilis est vago clausura.
Frequens oratio firma protectio: oris silentium pacis domicilium. Multi ferventer incipiunt: sed perseverantia accipit gloriae coronam. Iugum Christi amantibus est suave, tepidis grave; superbis amarum: mitibus leve, humilibus carum. Dulcis Iesus omnia dulcia et levia facit. Carnalis semper mollia quaerit: spiritualis talia fugit et odit. Maxime iustus dolet: quia omnes vitiorum motus extinguere nequit. Sed quare Deus istud permittit? Ideo ut homo semper se humiliet: et adiutorium divinum incessanter imploret.
Sicut superbus in honoribus et dives in divitiis laetatur: sic verus humilis in contemptu sui ipsius, et paucitate rerum delectatur. Gloria et divitiae servorum Dei: Christus rex caelorum. Extra Deum omnis delectatio prava; omnis laetitia vana: omnis copia rerum inopia est. Nil quippe animae famem satiat: snisi solus Deus qui eam creavit. Magna libertas animi: nil concupiscere quae sunt mundi. Vita iusti bona agere mala pati; in omnibus Deum laudare: de bonis numquam superbire. Ille Deum veraciter laudat: qui viliter de se sentit; et quidquid boni cogitat loquitur et facit: hoc totum Deo fideliter ascribit. Cum ergo de vana gloria temptaris non consentias: Sed cum propheta protinus humiliter dicas.
Non nobis Domine non nobis: sed nomini tuo da gloriam. Fortissimus triumphus hominis vincere quod delectat; aggredi quod terret: sufferre leniter quod graviter dolet.
The Little Garden of Roses & The Valley of Lilies companion
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