An unknown Italian

“ The Blessed Virgin, appearing to a nun, told her that by means of obedience the ends of Divine Wisdom are accomplished; which, often by ways sublime and not penetrated by human prudence, moves on to the aims it seeks without any hindrance.
27. Whoever wishes to be a good Religious must make himself like the ass of the monastery. This animal does not choose what burden he is to bear, nor go by the road he prefers, nor rest when he likes, nor do what he wishes; but accommodates himself to all that is chosen for him. ”

“ She told her companions of this when they were assembled at the general recreation. But when some dwelt on the repugnance they had felt, she said: "For me, the Lord gave me this morning a great reward for my blind obedience; and though the action in itself may not have been good, certainly the obedience was good."
26. It is not enough for obedience to do what is commanded. It must be done without debate, and must be looked upon as the best and most perfect thing possible, though it may seem and may even be the contrary. ”

“ We all have a natural inclination to command, and a great aversion to obey; and yet, it is certain that it is more to our advantage to obey than to command. It is for this reason that perfect souls have so great an affection for obedience, and find in it all their delight.
These are the words of St. Francis de Sales, and in fact this Saint exercised himself much in this virtue, although he was a Bishop and Superior of so many houses. ”

“ All the good of creatures consists in the fulfillment of the Divine Will. And this is never better attained than by the practice of obedience, in which is found the annihilation of self-love and the true liberty of sons of God. This is the reason why souls truly good, experience such great joy and sweetness in obedience. ”

“ The chief merit of obedience consists not in following the will of a mild, amiable Superior who asks rather than commands, but in remaining patiently under the yoke of one who is imperious, rigorous, harsh, ill-humored, and never satisfied. ”

“ And she did, in fact, live thus wholly submissive to their will, obeying them promptly in everything, and allowing herself to be employed by them in whatever they wished, without ever contradicting or giving any sign of disapproval, whatever they might say. In this manner she succeeded so far in despoiling herself of her own will and judgment that she seemed no longer to have any, and they might be called dead in her.
29. The perfection of a Religious consists in exact obedience to his Rules; and whoever is most faithful in their observance will be, by this fact alone, the most perfect. ”

“ Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi had such great affection and regard for obedience as a safeguard from the danger of doing one's own will, that the thought of acting under it was sufficient to restore her peace and serenity when she was burdened by an unusual trial or labor.
7. Whoever has not the virtue of obedience cannot be called a Religious. Whoever, then, is under obedience by vow, and fails therein, not using every exertion to observe her vow with the utmost perfection, I cannot understand why she remains in the convent. ”

“ She said that her own experience had proved that obedience in ordinary matters is indeed very useful, but that obedience in things difficult or harshly commanded in a short time fills the soul with virtues, and unites it to God.
19. If you will not do violence to yourself and will not be indifferent as far as your own interests are concerned, as to who is your Superior, do not flatter yourself that you will ever become a spiritual man and a faithful observer of your vows. ”

“ Obedience is a penance of the soul, and for that reason a sacrifice more acceptable than all corporal penances. Thence it happens that God loves more the least degree of obedience in thee, than all the other services thou mayest think to render Him. ”

“ The more we see of failure in obedience, the stronger should be our suspicion of temptation and illusion. For when God sends His inspirations to a heart, the first grace He sheds upon it is that of obedience. ----St. Teresa
When a nun wrote to St. Francis de Sales that she was very unwilling to do some things prescribed by the rule of obedience, he answered in this manner: "To wish to live according to one's own will, in order better to perform the will of God----what a wild idea is this! ”

“ Every Sister, on entering religion, should leave her own will outside the gate, in order to have no will but that of God. ----St. Francis de Sales
St. Dositheus said of himself that from his first entrance into religion he completely gave up his own will, subjecting it in everything to that of his Superior, to whom he also revealed all his temptations and all his desires. And he added that in this way he had attained such peace of heart and tranquillity of mind that nothing could ever disturb him.
10. Many Religious and others have been Saints without meditation, but without obedience no one. ”

“ Obedience is the summary of perfection and of the whole spiritual life, and the securest, shortest, least laborious and least dangerous way of becoming enriched with all virtues, and arriving at the goal of our desires----eternal life. ----Alvarez
St. Teresa was fully persuaded of this truth, which led her to say that if all the Angels together told her to do one thing, while her Superior commanded the contrary, she would always give the preference to the order of the Superior. ”

“ Margaret of Hungary, a Dominican nun, was in the habit of taking all directions that were given to the community as addressed to herself, and as if their observance depended upon her.
St. Jane Frances de Chantal once gave permission to a Sister, in a case of urgent need, to use some money which St. Francis de Sales had put into her hands to be employed for the sick alone. ”

“ The Abbot Silvanus loved one of his monks, named Marcus, with a special affection. When a person came one day to tell him that the others were much offended at this, he brought him to the cells of the monks, and called them, one after another, by name. All were slow in appearing, except Marcus, who instantly came out. The Abbot and his companion then entering his cell, found that he had been writing, and had left a letter half finished that he might not delay in answering the voice of his Superior. This proved to all how reasonable was the Abbot's preference for him. ”

“ Sometimes he was passing through a crowded street with baskets full of bread or wine, when he would shout: "Make way for the ass!" And if anyone should say that he did not see any ass, he would answer: "Do you not know that I am the Capuchins' ass?" ”

“ Suppose, my daughter, that two of my children desire to fast on a certain day. One, being mistress of her own actions, fasts; the other, who is under obedience, does not fast. The second gains two rewards----one for her desire, the other for her obedience. ”

“ Though the Sister was sure to replace it from a gift that had been promised her, Mother de Chantal began to fear that she had failed in obedience, and sent for St. Francis, who came the next morning to the convent. She immediately threw herself at his feet, and, weeping, confessed her fault; and she herself said afterwards that she could never think of it without tears.
8. Would you know who are true monks? Those who by mortification have brought their will under such control that they no longer have any wish except to obey the precepts and counsels of their Superior. ”

“ Paul, surnamed the Simple, received grace to perform miracles, after serving God only a short time in perfect obedience.
12. The devil, seeing that there is no shorter road to the summit of perfection than that of obedience, artfully insinuates many repugnances and difficulties under color of good, to prevent us from following it. ----St. Teresa
On account of St. Bridget's extreme attachment to penances, her spiritual father once forbade her to perform so many. She obeyed, but with reluctance, for she feared the loss of a spirit of mortification. ”

“ The Venerable Maria Seraphina had permission from her director, who was living in Naples, to Communicate every day. But to avoid singularity, he advised her to ask permission each time from the ordinary director of Capri. ”

“ Finally the Lord deigned to show how much this labor pleased Him, for the rod grew green and blossomed. This anecdote is related by Severus Sulpicius, who says that he had himself seen the tree, which was preserved up to his time as a memorial in the court of the monastery. ”

“ A truly obedient man does not discriminate between one thing and another, or desire one employment more than another, since his only aim is to execute faithfully whatever may be assigned to him. ----St. ”