The Foolish Virgins
They dislike praising
anyone else, but they love to receive praise, and sometimes they even seek it.
In this they resemble the foolish virgins who had to seek oil from others when
their own lamps were extinguished...
Many want to be the favourites of their confessors, and
thus they are consumed by a thousand envies and disquietudes. Embarrassment forbids them from relating their sins clearly, lest their
reputation diminish in their confessor's eyes. They confess their sins in the
most favourable light so as to appear better than they actually are, and thus
they approach the confessional to excuse themselves rather than accuse
themselves. Sometimes they confess the evil things they do to a different
confessor so that their own confessor might think they commit no sins at all.
Therefore, in their desire to appear holy, they enjoy relating their good
behaviour to their confessor, and in such careful terms that these good deeds
appear greater than they actually are. It would be more humble of them, as we
shall point out later on, to make light of the good they do and to wish that no
one, neither their confessor nor anybody else, should consider it of any
importance at all.
Sometimes they minimise their faults, and at other times
they become discouraged by them, since they felt they were already saints, and
they become impatient and angry with themselves, which is yet another fault.
They are often extremely anxious that God remove their
faults and imperfections, but their motive is personal peace rather than God.
They fail to realise that were God to remove their faults they might very well
become more proud and presumptuous.
They dislike praising anyone else, but they love to
receive praise, and sometimes they even seek it. In this they resemble the
foolish virgins who had to seek oil from others when their own lamps were
extinguished....
Souls, however, who are advancing in perfection act in an
entirely different manner and with a different quality of spirit during this
period. They receive great benefit from their humility by which they not only
place little importance on their deeds, but also take very little
self-satisfaction from them.
Saint John of the Cross (d.1591)
is called the Mystical Doctor.
is called the Mystical Doctor.