Christian counsels

Front matter

WORKS by the SAME AUTHOR.

THE SERVICE OF LOVE;

OR,

Preface

The EDITION from which these translations have been made is that published by Firmin Didot Freres, Fils et Cie., Imprimeurs de l’lnstitut de France. The numbering of the different letters or articles is made consecutive, according to the order in which they have been chosen ; but the numbers of the original could not, of course, be retained.

Nothing has been added to the words of Fenelon, with the exception of an occasional quotation from the Bible, in order to make some passages more complete for the purposes of the selection. Most of the scriptural quotations, however, are Fenelon’s own. Some passages, taken from other parts of his works, have been introduced amongst the rest.

VI

Preface.

The translator must be permitted to remark, for reasons that will no doubt become sufficiently obvious to the readers of these pages, that they are scarcely adapted for affording help to those who (to use Fenelon’s own expression) ‘ are but learning to walk, and have not yet found the true road ; 9 but are rather intended for those who are striving to ‘ run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! To such as are thus looking unto Him, having found in Him the ‘ full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world/ many of the suggestions contained in the works of the greatest and holiest of Roman Catholic writers may, it is hoped, prove valuable. And to them this little work is dedicated.

A. M. J.

Contents

PAGE

I. Concerning the Right Employment of Time, and on the Means of Sanctifying our Commonest Actions ...... i

II. Concerning Amusements : how we may take part without scruple in such as are attached to our position, and how they may be Sanctified by Purity of Intention .... 7

I

CONCERNING THE RIGHT EMPLOYMENT OF TIME , AND ON THE MEANS OF SANCTIFYING OUR COMMONEST ACTIONS.

I UNDERSTAND that what you wish to receive from me does not merely involve the laying down of certain general principles, in order to prove the importance of rightly using your time ; of that truth you have, by the grace of God, long been persuaded. And it is a happiness to meet with those souls who have thus, as it were, already advanced half-way on their journey. But I do not wish to flatter you by these words, for much yet remains to be done. There is a wide difference between the fullest mental convictions, or even the most heartfelt desires, and true practical obedience.

Nothing has at all times been commoner, and

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Christian Counsels .

nothing is commoner at the present day, than to find Christians who are perfect and holy in theory. 1 Ye shall know them by their fruits / 1 saith our Saviour. And this is the only rule which can never deceive us, if it be truly carried out ; by this alone may we judge.

There are sundry divisions of time which, in your life, may clearly be distinguished from one another ; but one maxim must be extended over ^ all, namely, that none be left useless. All must be made to work together in the plan of your spiritual life. They each contain the different duties attached to them by God Himself, and of which He will demand account ; for, from the first moment of our existence to the last of our lives, God has left none vacant, none that we are at liberty to waste. The important matter therefore is to discover what it is that He means us to do. And this discovery may be made, not by an eager, restless zeal, which is far more likely to entangle us in all we attempt than to enlighten us respecting our duties ; but by a pure simplicity of

1 St. Matt. vii. 16.

On the Right Employment of T ime. 3

heart in seeking God, and by the earnest effort to overcome all the duplicities and false representations of self-love as soon as they are discovered. We are wonderfully ingenious in the art of self-seeking ; and the same things which worldly minds will do without disguise, those who desire to serve God will often do in a more secret manner, and under some pretext which casts a veil over the deformity of their conduct.

The general rule for the right employment of our time is to accustom ourselves to live in immediate dependence on the Spirit of God ; receiving each moment that help which it may please Him to bestow ; consulting Him in those difficulties in which we have to make any prompt decision ; referring to Him in all our weaknesses ; calling upon Him and lifting up our thoughts to Him whenever our hearts, drawn aside by outward objects, are inclined to stray from our true road, and tend, in any degree, towards forgetfulness of God

Happy is that Christian who, yielding himself up sincerely, rests ever in the hands of God, ready to do whatever He may please ; and who never

Christian Counsels .

wearies of saying, over and over again each day, 1 Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God! 1 Show me that Thou art my God by teaching me ; and that I am Thine own, by enabling me to obey Thee. How can I be safe, O mighty God, but in Thy keeping ? Apart from Thee, my soul is exposed to all the attacks of her enemies ; I am ever in danger. I am all ignorance and weakness, I shall be lost if Thou leave me to myself. I should waste the precious time Thou hast allotted to me for my sanctification ; I should wander, blindly, in my own ways. What could I do but choose amiss ? what could I work in myself but the results of self-love, of sin, and of condemnation ? 4 (9//, sejid out Thy light and truth , that they may lead me / 2 Lord, give me Thy grace; give to me according to my necessity : even as children receive food in proportion to their age and requirements.

Hours of business, or of any outward occupation, only require, for their right use, a very simple

1 Ps. cxliii. io.

2 Ps. xliii. 3.

On the Right Employment of Time .

attention to the orders of God’s Providence. As He presents them before us, we have only to follow obediently, entirely submitting our own wills to Him — submitting to Him our delicacy, our restlessness, our self-love, our natural inclinations, our eagerness, our pleasures, or any other feeling that may arise, according to whether the matters in which we are concerned are agreeable or distressing. Only, whatever those occupations may be, we must not suffer ourselves to become immersed in them.

We should commence each undertaking with a simple view to God’s glory, continue it without distraction, and finish it without impatience. ‘ Whatsoever we do , in word or deed , let us do all in the name of the Lord Jesus , giving thanks to God and the Father by Him . . . . For we serve the Lord Christ .’ 1

The time given to conversation and amusement is often the most dangerous to ourselves ; though perhaps it is also the most useful for others. We must at such times be especially on our guard, 1 Col. iii. 17-24.

Christian Counsels.

that so we may be the more faithful, as in God’s presence. The watchfulness enjoined by our Lord ; the aspirations of our hearts to Him ; the looking to Him as frequently as possible, in simple faith ; the quiet dependence on His grace as our only means of strength and safety ; all these must be used to preserve us from the poison that is so often concealed in the pleasures of conversation, and to enable us to introduce wisely such words as may help and edify others. Especially essential are such means for those who have much influence, and whose sayings may often be powerful for good or for evil.

Hours of leisure are usually the sweetest as also the most profitable to our own selves. And we certainly cannot turn them to better account than by devoting them to the renewal of our strength (even of our bodily strength), by the most secret and the closest communion with our Lord. Prayer is so valuable, it is the source of so much blessing, that he who has once truly found this treasure to be his own, cannot but turn to it at every opportunity.

II

CONCERNING AMUSEMENTS : NO W WE MAY TAKE PART WITHOUT SCRUPLE IA SUCH AS ARE ATTACHED TO OUR POSITION \ AND HOW THEY MAY BE SANCTIFIED BY PURITY OF INTENTION.

You need not, it appears to me, be at all perplexed on account of those entertainments in which you cannot avoid taking part. Some people consider it a portion of their religious duty to be miserable about everything, and believe that they should create in themselves a feeling of disgust at the very amusements which they are constrained to share. As for myself, I acknowledge that such harshness does not at all suit my views ; I prefer a more simple line of conduct, and I believe also that it is more acceptable to God.

When amusements are in themselves innocent,

Christian Counsels .

and when we are called upon to take our part in them in consequence of the station of life which Providence has assigned to us, it is only necessary that we should do so in moderation, and as in God’s sight.

I have therefore come to the conclusion that when God has placed any one in a position such as He has allotted to you, the safest way is to accept it peaceably, without inward contention as to the secret motives which may almost imperceptibly creep into the heart. Those questionings become unending ; and instead of coming out of self to seek God, such frequent examinations of conscience actually cause one to be the more occupied with self.

Let us go forwards in all simplicity of heart, with peace and joy, which are the fruits of the Spirit.’ He who recognises at all times the presence of God, even when engaged in the most trifling matters, will never cease to serve God, though He may seem to do nothing of serious importance. I take it for granted, of course, that what is done is done according to God’s appoint-

Concerning Amusements ment, and that in all these matters every action is regulated by His commands.

The generality of people, when they desire to be converted, and wish to reform their lives, think far more of accomplishing certain difficult and unnecessary deeds than of purifying their intentions and denying their own wills in the ordinary duties of their life. In this they err greatly. It would be much better to make less change in their outward actions, and more change in the spirit in which those actions are performed. Provided one is already leading an honest and regular life, it is infinitely more important, in order to become truly a Christian, to alter that which is within than that which is without. ‘ For by grace are we saved \ through faith ; and that not of ourselves ; it is the gift of God! 1 And God does not demand the sound of our words, or the posture of our bodies, or external ceremonies ; what He does demand is an undivided heart, a supple will ; that is to say, a will that desires nothing and rejects nothing ; wishing unreservedly : 1 Eph. ii. 8.

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Christian Cotinsels.

for all that He pleases, and desiring nothing at all, under any pretext, of that which does not please Him.

Bear within you this simplicity of heart, ever in union with the will of God, into every place whither His Providence may lead you. Seek God in those hours which have appeared to you so empty, and they will become full to you, for He will Himself sustain you in them. Even amusements, however useless in themselves, will become profitable, if you only enter upon them as that which is suitable, and in order to obey God therein. How free are our hearts when God leads us in this simple manner! We then go forwards like little children whom the mother is leading by the hand, and who are glad to be so led without knowing whither they go. We are willing to be at leisure, willing to speak, willing to be silent. When wre may not speak of that which is edifying, we turn to lighter subjects, and thereby afford recreation both to others and to ourselves.

You will tell me, perhaps, that you would like better to be occupied with something more serious

Concerning Amusements . 1 1

or more important. But God does not like it better for you, since it is this that He has chosen, although it would not have been your own choice. His choice must needs be better than yours. No doubt you would derive more pleasure from the solid pursuits for which He has given you a taste. Nevertheless, it is just that pleasure which He sees fit to deny you ; although the taste is, in itself, good and wholesome. Even virtues must, in their exercise, be purified by the opposition from which God’s providence causes them to suffer, that so they may be rendered free from self-will. How simple, how sweet, how loveable is that piety which rests solely on the foundation of God’s will — ‘By the which will we are sanctified , through the offering of Jesus Christ l 1 Guided by Him, it may be that we live much as others live, without affectation, without austerity, leading a life of liberty ; yet it will also be with a constant subjection to every duty, with unremitting surrender of all that does not agree with God’s order for ourselves, looking ever towards Him in all purity of heart, sacri-

* Heb. x. io.

Christian Counsels .

firing to Him every perversity of our nature. Here is the adoration which Jesus Christ and the Father accept. All else is mere ceremony, the shadow of Christianity rather than its reality.

You will, doubtless, ask by what means it can be possible in a life such as yours to preserve this purity of will. It is no easy matter, you will say, to protect one’s heart from the bad influences of worldly society. If against oneself, even, watch must constantly be maintained, how can we expects to maintain that watchfulness if one is also thus constantly exposed to the dangers of the world, and to the amusements which must increase those difficulties which at all times surround the Christian soul ?

I acknowledge the danger. I even think it greater than I can express. I fully agree to the necessity of taking every precaution ; and I would advise you to adopt the following means : —

In the first place, I would have you lay a foundation of prayer, and of reading. Read, not in order that you may learn to know more, but in order that you may learn to distrust yourself ; then

Concerning A nut semen is. 1 3

all will turn to your profit. But read prayerfully ; and often meditate in stillness of heart on some great truth of religion. This you will best do by taking some action, or some word, of our Saviour’s, and fixing your thoughts upon it. When you feel convinced of the truth on which you have thus pondered, apply it closely and seriously to the correction of your own failings ; asking God to enable you to perform that which He gives you grace to resolve. When you find your mind wander during this meditation, bring it back quietly, without discouragement, and without being disturbed in spirit, even by the most obstinate distractions. So long as they are involuntary they can have no power to injure you ; on the contrary, they will often help you more than those exercises which bring you perceptible consolation ; for they will humble you, they will mortify your nature, they will teach you to seek God for His own sake, and not for the sake of the consolations He bestows.

If you reserve, faithfully, morning and evening, time for carrying out these devotions, you will find that they will act as an antidote to the poison

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which surrounds you. I say evening as well as morning, because it is as necessary to have frequent recourse to the means of supplying nourishment to the soul, as it is to sustain the body ; else it will be weakened and exhausted by constant intercourse with the world.

‘ Give usy day by day , our daily bread ! And what is our daily bread ? Is it not the support which God’s providence bestows upon us for the necessities of life ? Most especially, therefore, is it that bread which nourishes the soul unto life eternal. It is hunger which makes us desire our food, and which causes it to be profitable to us. Why do we not hunger and thirst after righteousness ? Why do not our souls hunger and thirst even as our bodies ? Let us come before God as the poor who beg, and who entreat for a morsel of bread ; let us feel our weakness, and our faintness for food. Let us read, let us pray, with this earnest longing to satisfy the thirst of our souls with the living water, which springeth up into everlasting life. Be then firm with yourself, as well as with others, in always reserving the necessary hours for devotion. Never

Concerning Amusements .

suffer yourself to be so led away by external interests, however good they may be in themselves, as to lack time for nourishing your inward life. . . . It is at the feet of Jesus that we can secretly heal the wounds of our hearts, and that the stains we have received from our intercourse with the world are washed away.

Lastly, I would certainly have you limit yourself to those entertainments which are not unsuitable to the religious profession which you make, and to the example which you should set to others. For even the world, worldly as it is, demands from people who despise it, that they should be consistent in their contempt ; and will always respect those who despise it honestly. True Christians may rejoice that the world is so severe a critic; they may rejoice that they are thus the more urgently compelled to do only that which tends to edification.

I consider also that you should only join in those amusements at which your presence is really required, or in order to please others ; and that you should never attempt, indirectly, to bring about i6

Christian Counsels .

such invitation. Thus you will gain the more time for your domestic duties, and for your religious occupations.

I feel convinced that, if you follow out these simple rules, you will reap an abundant blessing. God will lead you as it were by the hand, and will support you. The delight of His presence will be sweeter than any pleasures which can be offered. You will be moderate in all, your watchfulness and your devotion will be without constraint, without affectation, and without harshness to others. You will be in the midst of these things as though they were not, and, in cheerfulness and gladness of heart, will be ‘ all things to all men l

When you find that your heart becomes weary, that your joy passes away, return quietly and without distress to the bosom of your Heavenly Father, whose arms are unceasingly stretched out towards you. There will you find happiness and freedom, even in the midst of trouble, and youshall see that He will suffer you to lack nothing.

One confiding look, the simplest yearning of your heart towards Him, will refresh you ; and, r Concerning A musements . 1 7

though you may at times feel weak and discouraged, yet, so soon as God sets anything before you to do, He will give power and courage to perform it, even according to your need. For our Father, so far from forsaking us, does but seek so to open our hearts that He may pour into them the abundance of His grace.

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III

HOW WE SHOULD REGARD OUR OWN SINFUL- NESS WITHOUT GIVING WAY TO DISCOURAGE- MENT—HOW TO MAINTAIN WATCHFULNESS , AND HOW TO MEET TEMPTATION

You can easily understand that many sins may be wilful to a certain extent, although we may not have committed them with the deliberate intention of failing in our duty towards God. One friend will often reproach another for some offence, by which that friend nevertheless has not intended to annoy him ; but which he has permitted himself to do, knowing that it was likely to vex him. So also does God reproach us for similar faults. They may not have been intentional, for they were committed thoughtlessly; nevertheless, we have fallen into them by our own free will, and in spite of certain inward warnings which ought to have sufficed at any rate to make us pause and con-

How to Maintain Watchfulness . 19

sider. Into such faults as these many religious people suffer themselves to be led.

As to such sins as are deliberately wilful, it seems strange indeed that any should fall into them who have once truly devoted themselves to God’s service. Even little faults become serious and hateful in our eyes, in proportion as the light of God shines within us ; just as the sun, when it rises, gradually reveals to us the true shape of those objects which we could discern but indistinctly during the night. It is therefore no wonder that, as your inward light grows clearer, the imperfections in yourself, which you had hitherto perceived dimly, should be revealed to you in their full strength and malignity ; or that evils should appear whose very existence in your heart you had never even suspected. You will find there such weakness as will teach you to lean no longer on your own strength ; but that experience, instead of discouraging you, will only act as a most useful humiliation. There is no truer sign of our progress than the being able to bear the sight of our infirmities without trouble or discourage-

Christian Counsels .

ment. And ‘ we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin! 1

As regards the way in which we can best maintain the necessary watchfulness without becoming self-conscious, the following appears to me the most practical. A wise traveller, pressing forwards on his journey, is careful of his footsteps, and keeps his eyes open on the road that lies before him ; but he is not constantly turning back to look at the steps he has already taken, or to examine their traces. Thus also should the soul whom God is really leading by the hand (for I am not speaking of those who are but learning to walk, and have not yet found the true road), keep watch over her way, but with a simple and tranquil watchfulness, looking only at the path which lies immediately before her, and without being disturbed by thoughts of self. It is a constant attention to God’s will that enables us to perform i% from hour to hour ; not self-contemplation, or the 1 Heb. iv. 15.

Hoiv to Maintain Watchfulness . 2 1

frequent examination of our own state, which often, indeed, it pleases God to conceal from us. Thus says the Psalmist, i Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net l 1

Observe that, in order to walk along the road which is full of snares, he does not look downwards to examine his own steps, but lifts up his eyes unto the Lord. We never keep so true a watch over our ways as when we walk as in God’s presence, as He commanded Abraham to do. For what is the object of our vigilance but to follow the will of our Lord, step by step ? Whoso is conformed to that will, watches truly, and is sanctified in all that he does. If we never lost the sense of God’s presence, we should never relax our watch over ourselves, but it would be a simple, loving, unselfish, quiet watchfulness ; whereas that watchfulness which seeks reassurance concerning our own ways is sharp, restless, and full of self-interest. It is not by our own light that we are Ridden to walk, but by the light of God. And it

Christian Counsels .

is impossible for us to look upon His holiness without dreading the slightest sin. We cannot but examine our consciences from time to time, as in the presence of God ; we feel our need of doing so in order to make sure that we are not relaxing in our efforts. But such examinations become more and more simple, easy, and free from self-contemplation ; since we thus examine ourselves, not for our own interests, but in order that we may be more and more truly conformed to the will of God. As to all else, we leave ourselves in His hands ; and feel as thankful to be there as we should feel grieved to be in our own. We wish to know nothing that • He has hidden from us. Loving Him far more than we love ourselves, we yield ourselves unconditionally to His good pleasure ; we care only to love Him, and to forget self. He who thus loses his life shall find it for all eternity.

With regard to temptation, I know but of two rules. One is to be faithful to the inward light bestowed upon us in giving up, without reserve and without delay, all that we are at liberty to

How to Maintain Watchfulness . 23

give up, which may increase or reawaken the temptation. I say all that we are at liberty to give up, for it does not always depend on ourselves to do so. The occasions of temptation which are necessarily connected with the state in which Providence has placed us, are not in our own power.

The second rule is, to turn at once to God in the temptation, without vexation, without stopping to inquire whether we had, in any degree, begun to yield, suffering no questions whatever to interrupt our immediate return to God. We run the risk of falling back into the temptation if we stay to examine too closely as to whether or no we have failed. The shortest way, and the safest, is to act as a little child at the breast. If he is shown some horrible monster, he does but turn away, and hide himself in his mothers bosom.

The realising of God’s presence is the one sovereign remedy ; it is that which sustains us, consoles, and calms us. In this world we must needs be proved by temptation. Our crosses tempt us by irritating our pride, prosperity by

Christian Counsels .

flattering it. Our life is one continual conflict ; but it is a conflict in which Jesus Christ fights with us. ‘ For in that He Himself hath suffered , being tempted , He is able to succour them that are tempted i 1 Then let temptation rage around us, only let us not cease to travel onwards ; even as the traveller, surprised by a violent wind whilst traversing an open plain, will wrap himself the more tightly in his cloak, and will press onwards, in spite of tempestuous weather.

Be satisfied that, in order to accomplish all that (rod would have done, there is, in one sense, but very little to do. True, there is a great deal to be done in another sense, since nothing must be withheld from Him. We may not, for one moment, resist the jealousy of His love, which pursues, to the very innermost recesses of our hearts, the least self-love, and every affection which is untrue to its Giver. But, on the other hand, it is not by the multiplicity of our theories, or by our own austerities, neither is it by constraint or by painful effort that we make real progress. On the

How to Maintain Watchfulness . 25

contrary, it is simply a question of yielding up our will ; of going cheerfully from day to day whithersoever God may lead us ; seeking nothing, discouraged by nothing ; satisfied with the present moment ; thankful to let Him do all who has made all, and to leave our own will immoveable within His will. How happy is it to abide in this condition ! How satisfied is the heart, even though it may lack all else !

I pray that our Lord may make known to you all the infinite depths of His love, that you may lose yourself therein ; and that your heart may be made for ever one with Him.

Christian Counsels.

IV. On The Presence Of God

The great mainspring of our perfection is contained in the words which God spake of old to Abraham, ‘ Walk before me , and be thou perfect l 1 The presence of God calms the mind, and gives quiet and repose even during the day, in the midst of our business ; but then we must be unreservedly His own. When we have truly found God, we have nothing more to seek for amongst men ; the best friend is within our hearts ; He is the Heavenly Bridegroom ; and, in jealousy, He puts all other love at a distance.