Fr. Alphonsus Rodriguez on Preparing for the Apostolate

It is certain that to be in a state to labor profitably for the advancement of our neighbor, we ought first of all to have labored for our own; and it is this the apostle recommends to us in the first place as the foundation for all the rest, when he says, attend to thyself (1 Tim. 4:16). Each one ought first of all to attend to himself, and seriously apply himself to his particular advancement. For God, who is the author of grace as well as of nature, who reacheth from end to end mightily, and disposeth all things sweetly (Wisdom 8:1), keeps the same order in the works of grace as he does in those of nature, wherein (to speak philosophically) every like produces its like. Since then in natural things, we see that besides the general causes of their production, there ought to be also a near and immediate cause, and of the same species, to give to each being that particular form which it ought to have that there ought to be fire, for example, to produce another fire; and light, to produce another light; so in spiritual things, it is God's pleasure that to produce patience, charity, and humility, in a heart, the preacher or confessor, who is the immediate cause he makes use of, should be humble, patient, and charitable. Moreover, as in natural things, we see, for example, that a plant produces no seed for the multiplication of its own species, till it be grown great; so in things of grace, God will have us be great in virtue and spirituality, to bring forth spiritual children, and to be able to say with the apostle, by means of the gospel I have begotten you in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 4:15). [...]

St. Ephraim deplores this abuse [of rushing into the apostolate before developing personal holiness], and says it is a sentiment that springs not from the spirit of God, but from the spirit of presumption and pride. They would begin, says he, to teach before they know anything themselves. They would intrude themselves to give laws and rules to others, before they have learned the law or rules themselves; they would take upon them to give their opinion in everything, before they have, begun to spell; and before they are capable of receiving correction, they take upon them to correct others. St. Gregory, speaking of those who are guilty of this fault, treats this subject perfectly well; and to render things more sensible, he makes use of some familiar comparisons. Such persons as these, says he, ought to be admonished to consider, that little birds, who would fly before their wings are fully feathered, fall upon the ground, instead of flying in the air. Likewise when a wall is fresh and new made, if the roof is put upon it, it rather destroys than makes a building [...] (3p. Pastor. adm. 26).

The employments that regard the help of our neighbor require a great fund of virtue and mortification. If without this you engage herein, you will have more reason to fear than to hope; and you will rather imbibe the spirit and sentiments of the world, than the world will imbibe yours. The same St. Gregory therefore observes, that though Jesus Christ, the eternal wisdom of the Father, was infinitely wise from the first moment of his conception, yet he began not to teach others till he was thirty years of age, and till he had prepared himself for it, by his retreat in the desert, by forty days fast, and many other austerities. It is not that he stood in need, says this great saint, of any preparation; but he would teach us by his own example, how great preparation and perfection is required for so great a ministry. Also when he was twelve years of age, when he stayed in Jerusalem, and his parents went there to seek him, they found him in the temple in the midst of the doctors, disputing with them. And hence, continues this father, those that are still weak and infants in virtue, ought to learn not to meddle with teaching of others, nor intrude themselves before their time into so sublime a ministry; since Jesus Christ himself would, at the age of twelve years, be instructed by those whose master he himself was; and was contented to hear and to ask them questions, though it was he who inspired them with all the light and knowledge they had to answer him. It was also for this reason, says the same saint, that Jesus Christ having commanded his apostles to go and preach the gospel throughout the whole world; and having then the power to give them grace necessary for this end, yet he would not do it, nor permit them, in the weak and imperfect state they were, to go and preach his word, but commanded them, saying, go into the town, and remain there till ye shall be replenished with the virtue of the Holy Ghost. And this he did to let us see, that we ought to be very well grounded in humility, mortification, and all other virtues, in order that the employments which engage us to treat with our neighbor may be profitable for their salvation, without being prejudicial to our own.

St. Bernard upon this subject makes use of these words of the Canticles, our sister is little, and as yet has not any breasts (Cant. 8:8), and applying them to the state of the church before the descent of the Holy Ghost, he says: The church was then very little, and at that time had neither breasts nor milk to nourish its spiritual children; but when the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles, he replenished them with milk and with his gifts and graces. All were filled with the Holy Ghost, says the scripture, and they began to announce in different languages, the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:4), and to work conversions without number. If you would therefore produce fruit in souls, and raise spiritual children to God, you ought to have your breasts full of milk: one of them ought to be filled with the milk of all the virtues, and the other will the milk of pure and wholesome doctrine.

St. Jerome explaining these words, when the clouds shall be filled, they shall pour down rain upon the earth in abundance (Eccl. 11:3), says, that the preachers of the word of God are clouds; and that as the clouds water the earth when they are full of rain, so when preachers are full of the wholesome water of evangelical doctrine, they water the hearts of men. [...] When therefore these clouds shall be full of the celestial rain of grace, they may let the earth hear the words of my mouth, let my doctrine be poured down like rain, let my discourse fall like dew; let it be like rain upon the grass, and as drops of water upon the meadows (Deut. 32:1). It is then they will be able to render the earth fruitful. Then they will be able to soften and temper the dryness of men's hearts, and render them capable of producing the fruits of justice and salvation.

But if these clouds have no water, what will happen? Would you know? Behold what St. Jude in his canonical epistle says: They are clouds without water, which the winds drive every way (Jude 12). So that as the clouds which are not full of water, are easily carried by the wind from one side to the other, because of their great lightness; even so, if a preacher be not full of the spirit of humility and mortification, if he be not filled with all sorts of virtue, he will infallibly be carried from one side to the other with the wind of vainglory and self-love; and this quality of an evangelical preacher, this quality of the cloud, which is raised above the earth, will serve him for nothing else than to make him be the more easily turned, and tossed up and down by all sorts of winds. [...]

St. Bernard, writing upon these words of the Canticles, your name is like oil spread abroad (Cant. 1:2), treats this matter perfectly well. He says that the Holy Ghost works two things in us: the one, by which he first establishes us in virtue for our own advancement, he calls infusion; the other, by which he communicates to us his gifts and graces, for the profit and advantage of our neighbor, he calls effusion, or pouring forth; because it is a grace that is given us to bestow upon others. Now this infusion, he says, ought to precede the effusion. We ought first be well filled with virtue, before we can fill others therewith. And hereupon he makes a comparison, which explains his thoughts very well. He says, there is this difference between a channel, or pipe that serves to conduct the water from a fountain, and the basin that receives it; that the channel receives and renders the water at the same time without retaining anything of it; whereas, the basin first fills itself, and afterwards the superfluous water runs over; which it cannot do, without still keeping itself full. You will do very wisely then, says he, to become like the basin, and not like the channel (Serm. 78 supr. Cant.); and that you may not contemn this counsel, continues the saint, as coming from myself, know that it is not I, but the Holy Ghost that gives it: A fool uttereth all his mind; a wise man deferreth, and keeps it till afterwards (Prov. 29:11). [...]

[So many souls] wish to lead and help others, and know not at all how to help themselves. There is a great deal of folly and no charity at all in this, because there is no degree of charity above that which the wise man advises us to have for ourselves, when he says, take pity on your own soul, by rendering it pleasing to God (Eccl. 30:24). [...]

Let my soul, says the prophet, be filled with exquisite and delicious meat; and then, O Lord, my mouth shall sing hymns of joy and thanksgiving (Ps. 62:6). Our hearts therefore ought first be filled, that it may be from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks [....]

St. Augustine, explaining these words of our Savior in the gospel, you are the light of the world (Mt. 5:14), says, that light contracts no uncleanness by passing through foul places (Tract. 4, supr. Joan.), but on the contrary, that it purifies them, and chases away their bad smell, without receiving any impression thereof in itself. It is in this manner that our light ought to make manifest the sins of the world, and penetrate their filth, without contracting any corruption from them.

It is thus that it ought to purify the hearts of sinners, and drive away the bad exhalations of vice. But to do this, we ought to have a great application to our spiritual exercises, to prayer, examens, spiritual reading, penance, and mortification. Above all, we must never neglect our prayer, which each of us is obliged daily to make for our spiritual progress. This is a thing of which we cannot take too much care; because the devil, who perceives that he cannot hinder us from laboring form the advancement of our neighbor, as we are particularly obliged thereunto [...], endeavors to make us apply ourselves so to it that we come at length to forget the care of our own, and to neglect the means necessary for it. [...] So that the greater affairs we have in that way, the more we ought to give ourselves to prayer, to obtain of God a blessing upon our ministry, and to make it succeed. It was thus the saints arranged matters. [...]

Jesus Christ himself has also given us an example of this practice, by withdrawing himself to mountains and retired places, and there passing whole nights in prayer. He employed the day in preaching [...], in healing [...], in casting out devils; and as the gospel says, he passed the whole night in prayer to God. He did this, as St. Ambrose very well takes notice, not because he stood in need of the help of prayer, but that he might hereby give us an example of what we ought to do. [...]

Albert the Great was wont to say that in divine sciences, a greater advancement was made by piety and prayer than by study. [...] It is also by this means that St. Thomas, who studied under him, became so learned and enlightened; and it was this that made him say, that for all he knew he was more indebted to prayer than to his own labor or studies. We read also of St. Bonaventure, that when he taught divinity at Paris, with a great deal of reputation, and when by his works he attracted to himself the esteem and admiration of all the world, St. Thomas [Aquinas], going one day to see him, begged of him to show him those books he made use of for his studies. Whereupon [St. Bonaventure showed St. Thomas] his oratory, upon which he had a crucifix. Behold, father, says he, all my books; and behold the chief books from which I derive all I teach and all I write; and it is by casting myself at the feet of this crucifix—it is by supplicating light in my doubts, it is by assisting at mass, that I have made greater progress in sciences, and that I have gained more true knowledge, than by the reading of any books whatsoever.

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Source: Fr. Alphonsus Rodriguez, The Practice of Christian Perfection, vol. 3, tr. 1, ch. 4-5, pp. 9-15.