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Paris Talks
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Pages 49-51
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THE BENEFITS OF GOD TO MAN
4 Avenue de Camöens,
October 27th
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1 |
God alone ordereth all things and is all-powerful.
Why then does He send trials to His servants?
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The trials of man are of two kinds. (a) The consequences
of his own actions. If a man eats too much,
he ruins his digestion; if he takes poison he becomes
ill or dies. If a person gambles he will lose his money;
if he drinks too much he will lose his equilibrium. All
these sufferings are caused by the man himself, it is
quite clear therefore that certain sorrows are the result
of our own deeds.
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3 |
(b) Other sufferings there are, which come upon the
Faithful of God. Consider the great sorrows endured
by Christ and by His apostles!
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Those who suffer most, attain to the greatest perfection.
Those who declare a wish to suffer much for Christ's sake must prove their sincerity; those who proclaim
their longing to make great sacrifices can only prove
their truth by their deeds. Job proved the fidelity of
his love for God by being faithful through his great
adversity, as well as during the prosperity of his life.
The apostles of Christ who steadfastly bore all their
trials and sufferings--did they not prove their faithfulness?
Was not their endurance the best proof?
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These griefs are now ended.
Caiaphas lived a comfortable and happy life while Peter's life was full of sorrow and trial; which of these
two is the more enviable? Assuredly we should choose
the present state of Peter, for he possesses immortal
life whilst Caiaphas has won eternal shame. The trials
of Peter tested his fidelity. Tests are benefits from God,
for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do
not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the
Divine Mercy for our own perfecting.
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While a man is happy he may forget his God; but
when grief comes and sorrows overwhelm him, then
will he remember his Father who is in Heaven, and
who is able to deliver him from his humiliations.
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Men who suffer not, attain no perfection. The plant
most pruned by the gardeners is that one which,
when the summer comes, will have the most beautiful
blossoms and the most abundant fruit.
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The labourer cuts up the earth with his plough, and
from that earth comes the rich and plentiful harvest.
The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest
of spiritual virtues shown forth by him. A soldier is
no good General until he has been in the front of the
fiercest battle and has received the deepest wounds.
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9 |
The prayer of the prophets of God has always been,
and still is: Oh God, I long to lay down my life in the
path to Thee! I desire to shed my blood for Thee, and
to make the supreme sacrifice.
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