In order to make great strides toward perfection, it is wise to attach oneself to only one thing: one spiritual book, one virtue, one ejaculation and so forth. It is not that the other means should be rejected, but the one that has been chosen should be the principal object of attention, so that even if one needs to be attentive to other spiritual exercises these will be only secondary. However, there is one defect into which many fall, and it must be avoided. It is the defect of attaching oneself to one's practices of piety and devotions too strongly. He who has a good spirit is edified by all things and condemns nothing.

Although the saints availed themselves of everything, each one had a particular practice in which he exercised himself the most. Thus St. Francis de Sales' most favorite book was Scupoli's Spiritual Combat; St. Dominic's was Cassiano's Collection; the ejaculation preferred by St. Francis was: "My God is my all"; that of St. Vincent de Paul: "In the name of God". Some stressed the practice of living in God's presence; others purity of intention; others, submission to the Divine Will; still others, self-abnegation. The same may be said about virtues. Some exercised one, others another virtue. Thus almost every saint rendered himself outstanding in one virtue in particular.

If you want a brief and efficacious method, which at the same time embraces all the other methods, to overcome any temptations and trials, and to acquire perfection, it is living in the presence of God.

When Joseph was being tempted to commit sin he asked: "How can I do this in the presence of God?" And Susanna said to the wicked judges: "It is better I fall into your hands innocent than to commit sin in the sight of God."

Taide, upon learning that when she sinned she was seen by God, was converted. She remained firm in the face of many temptations, thus becoming a saint.

By contemplating Baby Jesus in the manger, let us learn how to esteem the things of the world.

When St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland, became a religious, she never spoke of the things of the world unless it was for the honor of God and the salvation of souls.

The greatest guarantee that we can have of being in the state of grace does not consist in feelings and sentiments of love of God, but in the pure and irrevocable abandonment of our entire being into God's hands and in the firm resolution never to consent to sin, whether grievous or slight.

St. Catherine of Genoa used to say: "I am no longer my own; whether I live or I die, I belong to my Savior. I have nothing which is my very own. My God is my all. My life is entirely His. O world, you are always the same and until now I have been the same, but from now on I will change."

A true sign that one loves the virtue he is striving to acquire is to appreciate the corrections and admonitions received for the defects committed against this virtue. This is a great indication of advancing toward perfection.

Once a monk went to visit the Abbot Serapione. The abbot requested that before doing anything else they pray together; but the monk refused, stating that he was a sinner and unworthy to wear the habit. Whereupon, the abbots said: "My brother, if you wish to become perfect remain in your cell to work and do not talk too much, for to go about here and there is not good for you." At these words the monk become greatly disturbed. Seeing this, the abbot added: "What is this, my brother? Until now you said you were a great sinner and not worthy to be alive. And now because I admonished you with charity, telling you what you needed, you become indignant? It seems to me that your humility is not real. If you really want to be humble, learn to receive admonition humbly." At these words, the monk repented and left, greatly edified.

When St. Peter was corrected by St. Paul, he did not become indignant nor angry because he was superior to St. Paul; neither did he despise Paul because he had been a persecutor of the Church. He took the correction well.

It is related that whenever St. Ambrose would receive a correction for some fault, he would thank the person correcting him as though he had received a great benefit. We are told that whenever a certain Cistercian monk received a correction, he would recite an Our Father for the admonisher.

St. John Berchmans always desired to be corrected in public for his defects, and whenever this happened, he was very happy.

When one is truly advancing towards perfection, he feels within himself a constant urge to progress and improve. Because the more grace of enlightenment he receives, the more he realizes how much he is still lacking in virtue and good works. On the other hand, if he does realize that he is doing a little good, he feels it is very imperfect and does not give it much credit. Hence he continuously works for perfection without slacking in pace.

St. Fulgentius loved perfection so much that no matter how much he worked for it, it always seemed so little and always he desired to be more perfect.

Daily St. Ignatius of Loyola would compare his victories with those of the previous day, and thus he advanced daily, always with a greater desire for progress so as to reach the height of perfection which Our Lord desired of him.

St. James the Apostle is highly praised because daily he advanced in the service of God.

The two feet with which one walks towards perfection are mortification and the love of God. The first is the left foot, the latter is the right.

St. Francis of Assisi rose to great heights of perfection with these two means. He led such an austere and rigorous life that when he was dying he had to apologize to his body for mistreating it so much. Because of his love of God, he acquired not only for himself but also for his Order the beautiful title of "seraphic".

When St. Francis de Sales wanted to prepare someone to live a truly Christian life and to abandon his worldly ways, he seldom spoke of exterior things, such as the hair, dress or some such thing. Rather, he spoke only to the heart and of the heart. He knew that once this fortress is overcome, all the rest will surrender and that when true love of God takes possession of the heart, all those things which are not of God will lose importance.

Humility and charity are the two main parts of the spiritual edifice. One is the lowest and the other the highest and all the others depend on them. Hence, we must keep ourselves well founded in these two, because the preservation of the entire edifice depends on the foundation and the roof.

There never was and there never will be a saint without these two very necessary virtues; in fact, there have been some who, to our eyes, seem to have excelled in these virtues in a special way. One of these was St. Francis of Paula who, for his great humility, not content to be looked upon as the least among all men, willed that his Religious Congregation be given that same title.

Set yourselves seriously to work for the acquisition of virtue; otherwise your spiritual growth will be stunted. Neither should you think that you have acquired a virtue if you have not been tried by its opposite and have not had the occasion to faithfully practice it. Therefore, you should never flee the occasions to practice it, but rather desire them, seek them and willingly embrace them.

St. Vincent de Paul was not satisfied, as many are, to know an love virtues; he tried his best to exercise them. His maxim was that fatigue and patience are the best means to acquire virtues and plant them in our heart, because the virtues acquired without fatigue and trials also can be lost easily, while those acquired by combatting storms of temptations and practiced in spite of difficulties and repugnance of nature will take deep roots in one's heart.

Never let pass a single occasion of merit from which you can gain some spiritual profit as, for example, some harsh little word someone might say, an obedience asked of you against your will, a chance to humiliate yourself, to practice charity, meekness and patience. All these occasions are profitable to you and you yourself should look for them. And you should go to sleep quite content on the day you have had more occasions of merit, jus as the businessman does when he has had the opportunity of realizing a profit, for on that day business went well for him.

As we read in the life of St. John Berchmans, this was one of his principal maxims. He did his utmost not to let slip any occasion of merit for himself, no matter how small. Hence he went about seeking such occasions, and when some came through someone's indiscretion, he embrace them all with courage and joy of heart, without considering the indiscretion and little virtue of the others, but solely attending to his own humility.

If you really want to become perfect, you must firmly hold to the counsel of the Apostle: Attend to yourself, which implies two things. The first is not to look at the affairs of others nor at their defects. For the one who wishes to do his duty well and correct his own faults certainly has enough to do. The second is to strive for your own perfection and work incessantly for it, without worrying whether or not the others are doing so.

St. John Berchmans was an outstanding example in this regard. From the first day of his religious life, St. John Berchmans resolved that he would tend only and always to his own affairs. To this he dedicated all his life with such solicitude, that he never had time to look at the affairs of the others or to notice their defects. Hence he never stopped to reflect why others did or said this or that, or whether they acted well or not. Nor did he ever take it upon himself to defend one at the risk of offending others. He just quietly let each one think of himself and take care of his own affairs. As for the defects of the others, he took no notice of them even when committed before his eyes. For this reason it can be said that he never was able to point out the defects in the others. All he worried about was to correct his defects and to do his duties well. Therefore, in order to keep his soul free from defects, he used extraordinary diligence. Alhtough he had a great love for studies, he never let his studies interfere with his spiritual exercises, acts of charity or obedience; he never sought to satisfy his desires but to gain as many merits as possible.

Lord, what wilt Thou have me do? Behold the true sign of a totally perfect soul: when one has reached the point of giving up his will so completely that he no longer seeks, expects or desires to do ought but that which God wills.

These were St. Paul's first words as soon as he came to know Jesus: "Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?" He said these words with such sincere affection and such submission of his will, that from then on he had no other desire than to fulfill the divine will. Neither did he ever vacillate in his constancy and fidelity, regardless of how many adversities, sufferings or trials he encountered.

It is not as necessary to strive for great favors as it is to gain virtue, for the one who makes mortifications and, with humility and purity of conscience, serves the Lord is the one who, without doubt, will be the greatest saint.

Rufino d'Aquileia narrates that one day, while praying, St. Macarius, who thought he had progressed quite well in virtue, heard an interior voice say: "Marcarius, know that you have not yet reached the virtue which is found in those two women who live in that city." Macarius went to visit those two women. After questioning and examining them, he found them to be quite advanced in virtue; for, although they had lived together for fifteen years, they had never disagreed either in words or in actions. Surprised, St. Macarius confessed that those two women were holier than he, even though head had received so many and such extraordinary graces.

I see two common mistakes among spiritual persons. The first is that they measure their devotions by the consolations and satisfactions that they experience in the service of God; so much so, that if these are lacking at times, they feel that they have lost all their piety. No, this is nothing but a sensible devotion. The true and substantial devotion does not consist in these things, but in having a will that is resolute, active, prompt and constant in not offending God and in fulfilling all that which appertains to His service. The second mistake is that if they should ever do something with repugnance or weariness, they feel that they have not gained any merit. On the contrary they have gained greater merit, for a single ounce of good performed with weariness and without satisfaction while the soul is undergoing a period of spiritual darkness, is worth more than one hundred pounds of good done with pleasure and satisfaction, because the first was performed with a stronger and purer love than the latter. Hence, no matter how much aridity and repugnance the sensitive part of us may feel, we must not lose courage but continue along our way.

In order to prevent his penitents from falling into the first mistake, St. Philip Neri used to tell them that in the spiritual life there are three degrees or stages. The first is called animal life and is of those who in their devotions seeks sensible consolations. These consolations are given by God to beginners so that, attracted by the delight derived from the sensible pleasure, they will give themselves to the spiritual life. The second is called the life of man, and is of those who, deprived of sensible sweetness, combat their passions for the acquisition of virtue. The third is called life of the angels. This life is reached by those who, having fought for a long time to overcome their passions, receive from God a tranquil, quiet and almost angelic life even in this world.

The trouble with us is that we want to serve God in our own way and not in His, and according to our own will, not His. When He permits that we be ill, we want to be well; when He wills that we serve Him in sufferings, we desire to serve Him with works; when He wants us to exercise charity, we want to exercise humility; when He wants resignation from us, we want devotion, piety or some other virtue. And this, not because the things we want are more pleasing to Him, but because they give us greater satisfaction. This, undoubtedly, is the greatest impediment to our perfection  because if we want to become saints according to our will we will never become saints. In order really to become a saint it is best to do so according to God's will.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi well understood the great importance of this truth. With it as a sure guide, she submitted her will to that of God in such a manner that she was always happy, no matter what happened. She never desired anything contrary to the will of God. To ask God any graces for herself or for others with insistence was deemed by her a great defect; she said it was better to ask for graces with simple prayers and that she gloried and took pleasure in doing God's will rather than her own. Furthermore, she even desired to acquire the degree of sanctity God wanted of her rather than the degree she might want. Hence she wrote this resolution: "I will to offer myself to God, to want all and only that perfection which He wishes me to acquire and in the way and time He wishes and in no other way." Once, while confiding to one of her Sisters she said: "The good that does not come to me by way of the will of God, does not seem good, and I would prefer not to have any gift but that of leaving all my will and desires in God, rather than to have a gift which I desire or will."

The worst thing that can befall persons who have good will is to want to be what they cannot be and not want to be what they necessarily must be. They conceive desires to do great things, which perhaps will never be expected of them; in the meantime, they neglect the little things which God puts into their hands. There are thousands of acts of virtue as, for example, to bear little troubles and the imperfections of our neighbors; to suffer a biting word or some little injustice; to repress a harsh word; to mortify a little attachment or curiosity; to refrain from giving a bit of news; to excuse an indiscretion; to be condescending toward others in little things – these are for everyone, so why not practice them? Very seldom do we have the opportunity to gain large "sums", but we can daily earn little ones. And with the intelligent handling of these little "earnings", there are many who become rich. Oh, how many merits we would earn and what great saints we would become if we were to take advantage of every occasion that our vocation offers us!

Inflamed with the great desire of martyrdom, St. Philip Neri resolved to go to preach the Faith in India. But upon learning, through a revelation, that God wished his India to be in Rome, there he remained and led such a virtuous life that he became a great saint.

In just five years of religious life, St. John Berchmans attained a high degree of perfection. What did he do? Nothing exceptional. He did his best to be faithful and exact in all his duties, never neglecting any means which, with the help of grace, could help him to acquire this perfection.

In the life of a young Jesuit seminarian we read that one morning when he was about to go out for a game with his companions, a priest asked him to give up the game and go to serve his Mass. The seminarian did so. Years later, when that seminarian was ordained, he went to preach the Faith to the infidels and had the grace of dying a martyr. Then it was revealed that it was because of that mortification of not going out to play with the others but of remaining in to serve Mass, that he received such a great reward.

I would like to persuade spiritual persons that the way to perfection does not consist of many methods nor much thinking, but in denying oneself in everything for the love of Jesus Christ. If this exercise is lacking, all the other modes of walking in the spiritual way lead astray, even though the person should have reached a high degree of contemplation and communication with God.

One day Blessed Angela of Foligno had an ecstasy during which she saw Our Lord caressing some of His servants, but some He caressed more than others. Desiring to know the reason for this diversity of treatment, she asked Our Lord and He answered: "I call all to Me, but not everyone wishes to come, because the way is covered with thorns. Those who do follow Me, I invite to My table and to drink of My cup. But because my foods are distasteful to the senses and My chalice is full of bitterness, not everyone cares to satiate himself with those things with which I nourished Myself while  on earth. Of course, those who are most faithful to Me are dearest to Me and are My favorites." Upon hearing this, Blessed Angela was filled with such an ardent desire for suffering and self-denial that upon encountering great difficulties she enjoyed as much consolation as a worldly person would enjoy in his favorite pastime.

All the science of the saints my be reduced to two things: to work and to suffer. He who best does these two things, becomes a greater saint.

We find in the lives of the holy Fathers of the Church, that St. Dorotheus thus led his disciple, St. Dosetheus, in the work of his sanctification. He kept his disciple constantly busy, especially in those things contrary to his will. Hence, if St. Dorotheus saw him with something in his hands, even though necessary for what he was doing, such as a knife, book or other similar objects, he would immediately take it from him. If he asked news bout something, even about something good, he was sent away without a reply. Thus, in all his desires, St. Dorotheus sought to deny him and St. Dosetheus promptly obeyed in all things and suffered all in silence. In this way he reached a high degree of perfection within the short period of five years.

Perfection is not acquired by holding one's arms extended in the form of a cross, but rather by one really working in order to dominate oneself and force oneself to live not according to one's inclinations and passions, but according to reason, the Rule and obedience. This is hard, it is true, but it is necessary. With practice, however, it becomes easy and pleasant.

Plutarch once related that a certain Lycurgus took two puppies of the same parents and raised one as a house dog and one as a hunting dog. Then, when the dogs were grown, he took them to the forum, where he was to give a talk. First he threw some bones on the ground and at the same time let loose a hare. Upon seeing the bones, the first dog began to chew on them hungrily while the second dog took off to chase the hare. Then Lycurgus called the people's attention, saying: "Did you see what happened? These two dogs are of the the same pedigree, yet they do not have the same inclinations, each is inclined to do that which he is accustomed to do." One is able to overcome even the strongest inclinations of nature if one becomes accustomed to self-abnegation.

Of St. Ignatius Loyola, it is written that with the continued self-denial he inflicted upon himself and in his bearing all adversities, he acquired such a degree of holy indifference that it seemed as though he no longer had any inclinations. The same was true of many other saints.

Although to one who has entered religion and guards himself against offending God, it might seem that he has done everything, oh! there yet remain certain worms that are not seen until they have eaten away the virtues! These worms are self-love, high esteem of self, rash judgment of others, and lack of charity toward our neighbor. So that, although we fulfill our duties, we do not perform them with that perfection which God wants of us.

It was to one of these worms, that the Venerable de Palafox attributed the cause of his falling into mediocrity after his conversion, so much so, that he almost we to the point of losing his soul. "Why," he asked, "should I have thought myself really humble, even though I might be? And even though I tried to be an ardently desired to be good, was I to presume that I really was good? That hidden pride obliged Divine Goodness to teach me to see myself as I really was, not good but bad, lazy, unfaithful, miserable, full of pride and sensuality, and a squanderer of graces."