The Importance of Spiritual Reading
By
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Always keep the holy
book in your hands, that it may nourish your soul by devout reading."-
ST. JEROME, (Letter to St. Paulinus; Letters: PL, Vol.22, Col. 579).
To a spiritual life the reading of holy books is perhaps not
less useful than mental prayer. St. Bernard says reading instructs us at once in
prayer, and in the practice of virtue. Hence he concluded that spiritual reading
and prayer are the arms by which hell is conquered and paradise won. We cannot
always have access to a spiritual Father for counsel in our actions, and
particularly in our doubts; but reading will abundantly supply his place by
giving us lights and directions to escape the illusions of the devil and of our
own self-love, and at the same time to submit to the divine will. Hence St.
Athanasius used to say that we find no one devoted to the service of the Lord
that did not practice spiritual reading. Hence all the founders of religious
Orders have strongly recommended this holy exercise to their religious. St.
Benedict, among the rest, commanded that each monk should every day make a
spiritual reading, and that two others should be appointed to go about visiting
the cells to see if all fulfilled the command; and should any monk be found
negligent in the observance of this rule, the saint ordered a penance to be
imposed upon him. But before all, the Apostle prescribed spiritual reading to
Timothy. Attend unto reading. Mark the word Attend, which
signifies that, although Timothy, as being bishop, was greatly occupied with the
care of his flock, still the Apostle wished him to apply to the reading of holy
books, not in a passing way and for a short time, but regularly and for a
considerable time.
The reading of spiritual works is as profitable as the
reading of bad books is noxious. As the former has led to the conversion of many
sinners, so the latter is every day the ruin of many young persons. The first
author of pious books is the Spirit of God; but the author of pernicious
writings is the devil, who often artfully conceals from certain persons the
poison that such works contain, and makes these persons believe that the reading
of such books is necessary in order to speak well, and to acquire a knowledge of
the world for their own direction, or at least in order to pass the time
agreeably. But I say that, especially for nuns, nothing is more pernicious than
the reading of bad books. And by bad books I mean not only those that are
condemned by the Holy See, either because they contain heresy, or treat of
subjects opposed to chastity, but also all books that treat of worldly love.
What fervor can a religious have if she reads romances, comedies, or profane
poetry? What recollection can she have in meditation or at Communion? Can she be
called the spouse of Jesus Christ? Should she not rather be called the spouse of
a sinful world? Even young women in the world that are in the habit of reading
such books are generally not virtuous seculars.
But some one may say, What harm is there in reading romances
and profane poetry when they contain nothing immodest? Do you ask what harm?
Behold the harm: the reading of such works kindles the concupiscence of the
senses, and awakens the passions; these easily gain the consent of the will, or
at least render it so weak that when the occasion of any dangerous affection
occurs the devil finds the soul already prepared to allow itself to be
conquered. A wise author has said that by the reading of such pernicious books
heresy has made, and makes every day, great progress; because such reading has
given and gives increased strength to libertinism. The poison of these books
enters gradually into the soul; it first makes itself master of the
understanding, then infects the will, and in the end kills the soul. The devil
finds no means more efficacious and secure of sending a young person to
perdition than the reading of such poisoned works.
Remember also that for you certain useless books, though not
bad, will be pernicious; because they will make you lose the time that you can
employ in occupations profitable to the soul. In a letter to his disciple
Eustochium, St. Jerome stated for her instruction that in his solitude at
Bethlehem he was attached to the works of Cicero, and frequently read them, and
that he felt a certain disgust for pious books because their style was not
polished. He was seized with a serious malady, in which he saw himself at the
tribunal of Jesus Christ. The Lord said to him: "Tell me; what are
you?" "I am," replied the saint, "a Christian."
"No," rejoined the Judge, "you are a Ciceronian, not a
Christian." He then commanded him to be instantly scourged. The saint
promised to correct his fault, and having returned from the vision he found his
shoulders livid and covered with wounds in consequence of the chastisement that
he had received. Thenceforward he gave up the works of Cicero, and devoted
himself to the reading of books of piety. It is true that in the works like
those of Cicero we sometimes find useful sentiments; but the same St. Jerome
wisely said in a letter to another disciple: "What need have you of seeking
for a little gold in the midst of so much mire," when you can read pious
books in which you may find all gold without any mire?
As the reading of bad books fills the mind with worldly and
poisonous sentiments; so, on the other hand, the reading of pious works fills
the soul with holy thoughts and good desires.
In the second place, the soul that is imbued with holy
thoughts in reading is always prepared to banish internal temptations. The
advice that St. Jerome gave to his disciple Salvina was: "Endeavor to have
always in your hand a pious book, that with this shield you may defend yourself
against bad thoughts."
In the third place, spiritual reading serves to make us see
the stains that infect the soul, and helps us to remove them. The same St.
Jerome recommended Demetriade to avail herself of spiritual reading as of a
mirror. He meant to say that as a mirror exhibits the stains of the countenance,
so holy books show us the defects of the soul. St. Gregory, speaking of
spiritual reading, says: "There we perceive the losses we have sustained
and the advantages we have acquired; there we observe our falling back or our
progress in the way of God."
How many saints have, by reading a spiritual book, been
induced to forsake the world and to give themselves to God! It is known to all
that St. Augustine, when miserably chained by his passions and vices, was, by
reading one of the epistles of St. Paul, enlightened with divine light, went
forth from his darkness, and began to lead a life of holiness. Thus also St.
Ignatius, while a soldier, by reading a volume of the lives of the saints which
he accidentally took up, in order to get rid of the tediousness of the bed to
which he was confined by sickness, was led to begin a life of sanctity, and
became the Father and Founder of the Society of Jesus—an Order which has done
so much for the Church. Thus also by reading a pious book accidentally and
almost against his will, St. John Colombino left the world, became a saint, and
the founder of another religious Order. St. Augustine relates that two courtiers
of the Emperor Theodosius entered one day into a monastery of solitaries; one of
them began to read the life of St. Anthony, which he found in one of the cells;
so strong was the impression made upon him, that he resolved to take leave of
the world. He then addressed his companion with so much fervor that both of them
remained in the monastery to serve God. We read in the Chronicles of the
Discalced Carmelites that a lady in Vienna was prepared to go to a festivity,
but because it was given up she fell into a violent passion. To divert her
attention she began to read a spiritual book that was at hand, and conceived
such a contempt for the world, that she abandoned it and became a Teresian nun.
The same happened to the Duchess of Montalto, in Sicily. She began also by
accident to read the works of St. Teresa, and afterwards continued to read them
with so much fervor, that she sought and obtained her husband’s consent to
become a religious, and entered among the Discalced Carmelites.
Oh! How profitable is the reading of the lives of the saints!
In books of instruction we read what we are bound to do, but in the lives of the
saints we read what so many holy men and women, who were flesh as we are, have
done. Hence, their example, if it produce no other fruit, will at least humble
us and make us sink under the earth. In reading the great things that the saints
have done, we shall certainly be ashamed of the little that we have done and
still do for God. St. Augustine said of himself: "My God, the examples of
Thy servants, when I meditated on them, consumed my tepidity and inflamed me
with Thy holy love." Of St. Francis, St. Bonaventure writes: "By the
remembrance of the saints and of their virtues, as if they were so many stones
of fire, he has inflamed with new love for God."
St. Gregory also relates that in Rome there was a beggar
called Servolus; he was afflicted with infirmities, and lived on the alms that
he collected: he gave a part to the poor, and employed the remainder in
purchasing books of devotion. Servolus could not read, but he engaged those whom
he lodged in his little house to read for him. St. Gregory says that by
listening to these spiritual readings Servolus acquired great patience and a
wonderful knowledge of the things of God. Finally, the saint states that at
death the poor man besought his friends to read for him; but before breathing
his last he interrupted the reading, and said: "Be silent, be silent, do
you not hear how all paradise resounds with canticles and harmonious
music?" After these words he sweetly expired. Immediately after his death a
most agreeable odor was diffused over the room, in testimony of the sanctity of
the beggar, who left the world poor in earthly goods, but rich in virtue and
merits.
But to draw great fruit from spiritual reading:
It is, in the first place, necessary to recommend yourself
beforehand to God, that he may enlighten the mind while you read. It has been
already said, that in spiritual reading the Lord condescends to speak to us;
and, therefore, in taking up the book, we must pray to God in the words of
Samuel: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. Speak, O my Lord, for I
wish to obey Thee in all that Thou wilt make known to me to be Thy will.
To derive advantage from pious books it is necessary to read
them slowly and with attention. "Nourish your soul," says St.
Augustine, "with divine lectures." Now to receive nutriment from food,
it must not be devoured, but well masticated. Remember, then, in the third
place, that to reap abundant fruit from pious reading, you must masticate and
ponder well what you ready; applying to yourself what is there inculcated. And
when what you have read has made a lively impression on you, St. Ephrem counsels
you to read it a second time.
Moreover, at the end of the reading you must select some
sentiment of devotion, excited by what you have read, and carry it with you as
you would carry a flower from a garden of pleasure.
Prayer
My Lord, I thank Thee for so many helps and lights that Thou
gives me, in order to make me a saint, and to unite me always more closely to
Thee. When will the day arrive on which I shall see myself freed from all
earthly affections, and entirely united to Thy heart, which is so enamored of
my soul! I hope for all things from Thy infinite mercy. My Jesus, I cannot bear
to see myself any longer ungrateful to Thy love, as I have hitherto been.
Create a clean heart in me, O God. Lord give me a new heart that will think
only of pleasing Thee. This desire that Thou gives me makes me hope for Thy
grace. My God, I believe in Thee, and for Thy faith I would give my life a
thousand times. I hope in Thee through the merits of Jesus Christ; without them
I should be lost. O Sovereign Good, I love Thee; and for the love of Thee, I
renounce all things, and embrace every pain and every cross that Thou wishes to
send me. I have offended Thee, but I feel more sorrow for having offended Thee,
than if I had suffered every other misfortune. I now sigh only for Thy grace and
love. My God assist me, have mercy on me.
Holy Virgin, assist me by thy prayers, which obtain from God
whatever thou asks. My Mother, recommend me to thy Son; do not forget me.
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