Catholic during the Great Apostasy

In joy, modesty should shine through, i.e. you should never let your feelings of joy go so far that you cannot freely turn from joy to sadness at any given time.

The Lord Jesus, the most perfect teacher, called blessed not those who laugh, but those who weep. For it is not fitting for a Christian, in the midst of so many dangers to which soul and body are exposed, in the midst of innumerable motives for righteous sorrow, to laugh with the laughter of madmen and rejoice in the futility of this world. The pleasures of the world pass away, and what we call happiness is very often the beginning of sorrow.

Only a clear conscience can give us true joy.

Only a just, valiant and temperate man can rejoice sincerely. So that you will never lack consolation, see to it that it is born in your home. And it will be born if you have it within you. All other consolations are idle; they do not satisfy the heart, and the one who laughs is not always happy.

True joy is serious; it comes from a clear conscience, from noble intentions and good deeds; from a disdain for sensual pleasures and from a peaceful and pure way of life. The only way to true virtue is this principle, that you must weep for a long time to come to true joy.

Sadness is what we call that feeling which, with a certain confusion and inner restlessness of the soul, flinches from a real or merely imaginary misfortune.

Usually, however, we are tormented not so much by the very essence of what we call evil, but rather by our own and false views. So do not ask yourself: what is a thing in itself, what is slavery, what is possessions, what is money and worldly affairs; but rather examine how you view all this. That you are scorned, that you are robbed, that you are beaten, that is not up to you; but to look at all these things in a fair way and to acknowledge that they are not always wrong, that they can be beneficial, that is in your power.

You will never grieve if you detach your soul from temporal troubles and turn to where there are true consolations. Nothing bad happens to a good man; not as if he does not feel it, but because he knows how to overcome. For he looks upon every misfortune as an opportunity to exercise patience, as a means of divine grace, as a path to eternal glory. A good man may be called unhappy, but he cannot be so.

. Be prepared for anything possible.

In this way you will considerably weaken the power of the first blows of failure, which contain nothing new for those who are prepared, but are a real nuisance only for those who are too trusting in themselves and only want prosperity. What would it be like if by some chance half of your possessions were destroyed, if you were completely stripped of them? If your house collapsed, if your garages burned down, if your friends deserted you? If your good name was shaken, if you lost your position even through slander?

A wise man will not be surprised unexpectedly by sickness or captivity, nor by fire or any other bad adventure. He has long considered all these things, and has therefore become so hardened in soul through previous consideration, that he can bear all oppositions with greater ease, as imprudent people have to endure more in similar cases. What happens to one today may happen to others tomorrow. Are there treasures and riches so great that they cannot be lost and come to a beggar’s staff? What dignity can be certain that it will not end in rags and universal contempt? Is there a kingdom so powerful that it is not in danger of falling? Or did we not have in our century that terrible unheard-of spectacle of crowned heads falling under the orders of subordinates? Even these extremes are not far from each other; scarcely an hour can separate affluence from poverty, a palace from a shack, a throne from a scaffold and a gallows. Remember, then, that every situation is changeable, that what happens to others may happen to you as well.

As long as life is prosperous, virtue does not appear. It only becomes apparent what it is when it is measured by patience.

We have become, says the Apostle, a wonder to the world and to angels and men. Indeed, we have become a marvel, worthy to be looked upon by God himself, watching the deeds of his creation. Truly worthy of God’s gaze is the sight of a valiant man, calmly enduring every adversity and mastering himself and his misfortunes. On a calm sea and in a fair wind there is no art of sailing. He who is not tempted, what does he know?

Someone complains: how unhappy I am that this has happened to me. I reply: yes, you are happy because you had the opportunity to get to know yourself. Such a thing could happen to anyone, but not everyone would be able to endure such a blow without a murmur. Do not shrink from adversity; instead, face it boldly and bear the burden falling upon you bravely. If you withstand the first attack, you will see that there was nothing so terrible as an exaggerated notion in all this.

What by its nature has a certain strength, it must have towards everyone; at the same time, poverty, disgrace, insults, etc., many endure with patience, and many do not even feel it; therefore, this is not the natural result of these incidents, but the fruit of a perverse view of them. Why do you deceive yourself? You can make any calamity light by patiently enduring it. All work is light if it is not hindered by a false view of it. Do not magnify your misfortunes with impatience. Everyone is as unhappy as he considers himself to be.

All sorrow diminishes with each passing moment; even the most stubborn sorrow manages to soothe time.

So do you want to wait for that day when sorrow will leave you voluntarily; or do you prefer to overcome it yourself? Why do you not want to voluntarily do that which the tooth of time will eventually bite? Like as you caress yourself with your sorrow, it will abandon you after all. And nothing is so carefully avoided by neighbours as sadness, which at first finds sympathy, but when it has grown old gives itself up to ridicule. If it were grief that repaired the damage caused by misfortune, then one could grieve to the point of despair, weep day and night, beat one’s breast and show one’s grief in every way. But since tears are in vain, since weeping will not alleviate the misfortune; therefore, be master of yourself and resist all adventures with invincible perseverance. It is a poor helmsman who will let the storm break the rudder and abandon his ship to the mercy of the angry idols. But one cannot deny the rightful glory to him who, holding the helm in his hand, together with the whole ship goes to the bottom of the sea.

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Cardinal Jan Bona – Guide to Heaven. Tarnów 1900, pp. 91-97.