Thursday, October 2, 2014

The importance of Mortification


Three Gospel teachings : simplicity, humility, gentleness... The first concerns God; the second, ourselves; and the third, our neighbor. But, the means of having these virtues is mortification, which
gets rid of anything that can prevent us from acquiring them. And, in fact, if the spirit of mortification doesn’t animate us, how are we going to live together?... Having this virtue is so necessary that we can’t live with one another if our interior and exterior senses aren’t mortified; and, not only is this necessary among ourselves, but also with regard to the people, where there’s so much to endure. (22 August 1659; SV XII, 249-250)

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