Of Useful Science and Useless Science — Of the Preachers of the Word of God
Source: Google Books
“He who wishes to know much must bow his head low, labor greatly, drag his body upon the ground, and the Lord will teach him many things. Supreme wisdom consists in doing good works, in guarding oneself well, and in considering the judgments of God.”
He once said to someone who wished to go to school to learn:
“Why do you want to go to school? The sum of all knowledge is to fear and to love God; these two things are enough for you. A man has as much skill as he does good, and no more.
Do not be overly anxious to be useful to others, but rather be eager to be useful to yourself. We sometimes wish to know many things for others, and very little for ourselves. The word of God does not belong to the one who hears it or preaches it, but to the one who puts it into practice.
Many have thrown themselves into the water without knowing how to swim, in order to save those who were in danger of perishing, and they found death along with them; at first there was only one misfortune to fear, and then there were truly two. If you rightly ensure the salvation of your own soul, you likewise ensure the salvation of all your friends. If you do well what concerns yourself, you will do well what concerns those who wish you well.
The preacher of the holy word has been placed by God to be the light, the torch, the standard-bearer of the Christian people. Blessed is he who guides others along the right path and does not cease to walk it himself. If he does not stop in his course, he thereby invites others to follow in his footsteps, and without impoverishing himself, he helps them to become rich.
A good preacher, in my opinion, speaks more for himself than for others. It seems to me that the one who wishes to draw souls out of sin should fear above all being drawn into sin himself.”
Someone said to him:
“Which is better — to preach well or to act well?”
He replied:
“Who deserves more, the one who makes the pilgrimage to Saint James, or the one who shows others the way there? I see many things that are foreign to me; I hear many that I do not understand; I proclaim many that I do not practice. It therefore seems to me that a man is not saved merely by seeing, speaking, and hearing, but by practicing what he hears that is good; there is more distance between words and deeds than there is between heaven and earth.
If someone allowed you to go into his vineyard to gather grapes, would you be content to take only the leaves? It is a thousand times better for a man to teach himself than to teach the whole world. If you wish to know much, work much, and humble yourself as much as you can. In preaching, a man should use language that is neither too refined nor too crude, but plain and common.”
Then, sighing deeply, the holy religious added:
“There is a great difference between the sheep that bleats well and the one that is fruitful; likewise, there is a great difference between the one who preaches well and the one who does well.”
Many times he was heard to exclaim:
“O Paris! O Paris! You are destroying the Order of Saint Francis!”