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Continuation of Commentaries
on the Maxims on Love of St. John of the Cross
by Fr. Bruno Cocuzzi, ocd
Maxim 22 - We must adjust our trials to
ourselves, and not ourselves to our trials.
The
first thing that comes to mind when considering this admonition to adjust our
trials rather than to adjust ourselves is the image of someone adjusting straps
so that some article of outer wear or some kind of sports equipment he is
wearing would fit comfortably, or even adjusting seat belts and things of that
nature. A similar notion, but not
the same as adjusting, would be that of having clothes tailor-made to fit
perfectly. Thus the notion of
conformity is evoked. The act
adjusting causes what is adjusted to conform to the person or thing that it is
adjusted to. It is done so that the
two fit together like pieces in a puzzle.
Not to adjust would then be equivalent to putting round pegs in square
holes, and vice versa. Not to
adjust would, in the case of outer wear and sports equipment, interfere with the
activity of sports to be engaged in, making it difficult to accomplish the task
with a maximum of ease and efficiency.
As I write that last statement, I am reminded to seeing young girls
trying to walk in their mother's high-heel shoes. And all of us know what it is to try to
walk with shoes that are too big (or too small for that
matter.)
So
with some graphic ides of what we mean by adjusting, and why things are
adjusted, we can consider other questions raised by this particular maxim. First of all, we wonder about the notion
that trials are things that can be adjusted. Trials are usually things that are
beyond our control. Trials are
usually situations that arise all by themselves, that is, the result of the
confluence or convergence of natural events and/or the free activities of other
human beings. If we think of trials
in terms of crosses, we think naturally of trying to carry that cross as best we
can, we never think of trying to reduce the size of the cross, nor of changing
its shape, as if there could be such a thing as an ergonomic cross as there are
ergonomic musical instruments or ergonomic computer keyboards. Besides, we think of crosses as being
given to us by God, that is, permitted by Him for our greater spiritual
good. We would not dream of trying
to substitute our own small weak ways of doing things for God's ways, which are
prepared out of infinite mercy, wisdom and power. So, therefore, what do we make of this
novel idea of St. John+ that we adjust our trials and crosses to ourselves, and
not ourselves to our trials.
Perhaps, for starters, we should reflect upon how we try
to cope with our crosses and trials, as if that were the same as adjusting
ourselves to our crosses and trials, and which goes contrary to this
maxim.
What do we do when we are confronted with trials, that
is, when in His merciful Providence God allows us to be afflicted with some evil
or sorrow? As a first example, let
us think about a physical ailment that causes us not only pain, but disables us
to some extent, so that we cannot fulfill all the responsibilities of our
vocation in the church.
The
advice I always give to those who ask my opinion in those situations is to say
that we should use ordinary, reasonable means to obtain relief and a cure. Then, if the remedy is successful, we
can say that it was not God's will that we suffer, but rather that it was God's
will that we overcome it so as to be able to fulfill our obligations to Him
according to our state in life.
On
the other hand, if the ordinary, reasonable remedy does not work, then we
can confidently believe that the suffering is a cross willed by God so that
we could unite it to the suffering of Jesus, accepting it for l
If
it turns out that the remedy is of such a nature that there is nothing we can do
to get rid of the suffering as in the case of loss of a loved one to death, loss
of faith by loved ones, or the loss of something valuable, such as a home, due
to a natural disaster, i.e., due to floods or tornadoes, etc., then the way that
we cope is by turning to God in abandonment and trust, remembering that, as a
tender and loving Father, God would only allow those losses to occur because of
some greater good He can draw out of them for our souls and the souls of our
loved ones.
In
the case of a loved one taken by death, we try to rejoice in the fact that they
have gone to God and delivered from this valley of tears. We also try to help them by our prayers
and sacrifices, and by having masses offered for the repose of their souls. We also accept the grief and unite it
with the sorrows endured by the hearts of Jesus and Mary.
In
the case of the loss of Faith by a member of the family, or marrying outside the
church, etc. we cope by resorting to prayer and sacrifice for the return to
Christ of the loved one, and again bear our sorrow in union with that of the
hearts of Jesus and Mary.
In
the case of losses caused by natural disasters, the way we try to cope is
similar to the above, except that in addition, we try to rebuild or to replace
to the best of our ability and resources.
In all of this, it does appear that we are making adjustments in our
thinking and understanding and in our changes in daily routine to allow for the
prayer and sacrifices and other efforts we would not have had to undertake had
the losses and natural disasters not occurred.
Therefore, it does not seem that it is possible for us
to adjust our trials to ourselves, that is to say, to lessen the degree of loss,
the intensity of grief so that it does not prove too great for our Faith and
Trust in God's merciful, Providential Love. Neither does it seem possible for us to
cause the loss or grief to become greater just because our strong Faith and
Trust is much more than sufficient for the occasion. So just exactly what does St. John of
the Cross have in mind when he admonishes us to adjust our trials to
ourselves? Perhaps we have to
revise our notion of what he means by trials. Perhaps the word "trials" in this
maxim does not mean sufferings or crosses, perhaps it means "tests" in
the sense of taking a measurement, or a "test" in the sense of detecting the
presence or absence of something. I
do believe we touched upon this aspect of the meaning of trials when we
considered Maxim 15: "Have a great
love for trials, and think of them as but a small way of pleasing your Spouse,
Who did not hesitate to die for you."
In
that maxim, we spoke of trials as tests of our love for Jesus, both in the sense
of detecting whether we love Him or not, and then if we do love Him, measuring
how much we love Him. There we
again spoke of trials as sufferings, and we said that having a great
love for them meant having a great esteem for
suffering, so that we see them as something valuable and desirable as means of
giving evidence of love for Jesus and for souls.
Perhaps then, we should think of trials in this Maxim to
mean tests of other virtues in our lives besides charity and love for
Jesus. Perhaps we must think of
trials as ways of detecting whether we have the various virtues that enable us
to attain perfection as human beings and as children of God. These would be not only Faith and Hope
(in addition to charity) but also the four Cardinal virtues of Prudence,
Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and affiliated virtues, such as Piety or Love of
neighbor, Humility, Patience, Perseverance, Purity of Heart, Meekness and
others. (affability, magnanimity, etc.)
The
"tests" of these virtues in us take place most often and ordinarily in our daily
human relationships. That being the
case, they most often do not involve suffering such as pain or grief. Every encounter with other human beings
requires of us some kind of virtuous response. If there is pain or grief involved, that
would be secondary. The important
consideration would always be the appropriate virtue or
virtues.
Let
us consider the virtue of patience.
When is it most often necessary for us to practice patience? We must practice it in those human
relationships, or rather, in those situations where another person that we are
obliged to be with and interact with causes us annoyance of some degree or
another. We practice patience by
enduring it and suppressing any manifestation of the annoyance we are
experiencing. Often, meekness
accompanies patience because meekness suppresses anger and the tendency to
punish the person who causes the
annoyance. Humility is also
usually involved, which prevents prideful thoughts by which we tell ourselves we
do not deserve to have to endure the annoyance.
Now
if we were in a position to know ahead of time to what extent our patience
is going to be tried when we are in the company of certain people, or go to
certain places, we would be able to decide if the test is one we can or cannot
pass. Thus, if I know that in
a certain situation I do not have enough patience, humility and meekness to
keep me from falling into the sins of impatience, pride and anger, then I
will avoid that situation. I
thus adjust the trial to my own state of virtue, I do not dare risk exposure
to a trial I cannot successfully endure.
At
this point we have to remember that St. John+ was speaking to Friars and Nuns at
a time when they had very little interaction with lay people, and only were
required to interact with one another at the time set aside for recreation. Thus, in their interaction at specified
times, and also during the times they spoke during meals, they would be able to
plan and adjust the extent of their being with and conversing with others of the
Friars and Nuns. So in that sense,
they could adjust the tests of their social and moral virtues to themselves, and
not try to adjust themselves to the trials. In other words, if a Friar or Nun knew
she had only a degree of 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, of a certain virtue, she
should not expect all of a sudden to come up with a degree of 8 that is needed
in a conversation or in the company of certain other Friars or Nuns. I think St. John+ is saying that it is
imprudent, if not rash, to think we can exceed the upper limits of our abilities
and strengths at will. I guess
another way of saying this, then, in a negative way would be: Avoid the near occasions of sin, or do
not try to lift a burden that exceeds your strength.
At
this point, someone may
object. But if I always avoid
situations that demand more than my virtues are equal to, how can I ever grow in
virtue? Also, if now I am at level
6 in a certain virtue, how did I get there from level 0?
I
guess the answer to that is that we do not have complete control over our lives
to the extent that we can avoid situations that either exceed our virtue or
strain them to the breaking point.
This would be especially true of lay Christians. So we would have to rely on the
Providence of God who never allows us to be tested beyond our endurance. As Scripture says: The Lord gives us a way out in every
trial, that we may be able to endure it.
So the important thing to remember is that God is always at work
providing those exercises in virtue that gradually build us up and giving us the
graces we need at the moment to keep from being overcome. Then it is up to us to be discreet and
prudent when we do have control of our time and activities to avoid anything we
cannot experience without danger of falling into sin.
Perhaps there are still other ways of interpreting the
phrase, "adjust our trial to ourselves."
One is suggested by the admonition of Our Lord: "Take my yoke upon you." If we take Jesus as our partner in
confronting our trials, we adjust the trial by asking Jesus to take that portion
of it that exceeds our ability to endure.
The trial does remain the same, actually, but insofar as we can apportion
it between Jesus and ourselves, it truly is an adjustment. In the same passage of Scripture Jesus
does say also: "For my yoke is
easy, and My burden light," He is
suggesting not only that having Him share in pulling the load is easy and sweet
to us, His yoke partners, He also suggests that He, Himself, finds sharing the
trial with us easy and sweet for Himself.
Imagine, we can actually please Him by letting Him endure and share our
trials with us!! How can we
possibly deny Him that joy?
And
finally, another way of interpreting
the phrase: "adjust our trials
to ourselves," is suggested by St. Therese in her Story of a Soul.
I do believe that it is in manuscript C that she says: the greatest
grace God gave her was to allow her to understand that of herself she was
totally incapable of any great works. She said that all she could do was scatter
flowers. By that, she says she
means never to let any opportunity go by to make a little sacrifice for love
of God, that is, sacrifices accommodated to her littleness and helplessness.
Of course, in this sense the work "trial" would mean more "proof" of
evidence, nevertheless the proofs, would certainly be adjusted to her capability. She would avoid trying to adjust herself,
which she knew would be impossible, to great or significant works, proofs
that would be beyond her.
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