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Chapter 11:
Maxims of Zeal
Maxim 11:1
Your zeal will always be in proportion to the love of God
you have in your heart.
If it springs from a great love
then it will be great.
Maxim 11:2
In imitation of persons who are apostolic,
embrace, at least in desire,
the conversion and sanctification of the whole world.
Do this with a generous courage
which, by your compliance with God's good pleasure
and the orders of obedience, and by the practice of humility,
will lead and impel you to wish to do everything,
to undertake and suffer everything in order that
God may be glorified
and the souls which cost his Son so dearly
may be brought to salvation and sanctification.
Maxim 11:3
If your situation or your vocation
does not permit you to work directly
for the promotion of God's glory and the salvation of others,
offer for both these intentions your holy desires,
your prayers, your tears and your penances.
In a word,
apply to them all the works of your whole life
and the suffering and agony of your death.
Unite all these to the holy intentions of the Saviour Jesus
who lived and died for his Father and for us,
and who accomplished, especially on the cross,
the mystery of redemption.
Maxim 11:4
Ponder this truth well:
a holy and exemplary life
is incomparably more beneficial to the neighbour
than fine discourses.
The world is more deeply touched by a saintly example
than by eloquent words.
Moreover,
God blesses the work of his faithful servants
far more than those of sinners and the imperfect.
Maxim 11:5
Just as you ought to be courageous in undertaking
all that God desires of you for his glory
and the good of others,
so also
you must be constant in your undertakings
and never give up,
no matter what opposition you meet, unless there is nothing more you can do.
Maxim 11:6
According to the same Maxim,
continue to the end, gently and thoroughly,
what you have once decided on and have prudently judged
to be for God's greater glory.
Maxim 11:7
To put all this briefly, take as your model in the practice of zeal,
after the Saviour Jesus, the apostle Paul.
From him you will learn
the prudence, sincerity, ardour,
selflessness, constancy and tireless efforts
characteristic of true zeal.
This is the zeal you will try to imitate.
Maxims of Zeal
Maxim 11:1
Your zeal will always be in proportion to the love of God
you have in your heart.
If it springs from a great love
then it will be great.
Maxim 11:2
In imitation of persons who are apostolic,
embrace, at least in desire,
the conversion and sanctification of the whole world.
Do this with a generous courage
which, by your compliance with God's good pleasure
and the orders of obedience, and by the practice of humility,
will lead and impel you to wish to do everything,
to undertake and suffer everything in order that
God may be glorified
and the souls which cost his Son so dearly
may be brought to salvation and sanctification.
Maxim 11:3
If your situation or your vocation
does not permit you to work directly
for the promotion of God's glory and the salvation of others,
offer for both these intentions your holy desires,
your prayers, your tears and your penances.
In a word,
apply to them all the works of your whole life
and the suffering and agony of your death.
Unite all these to the holy intentions of the Saviour Jesus
who lived and died for his Father and for us,
and who accomplished, especially on the cross,
the mystery of redemption.
Maxim 11:4
Ponder this truth well:
a holy and exemplary life
is incomparably more beneficial to the neighbour
than fine discourses.
The world is more deeply touched by a saintly example
than by eloquent words.
Moreover,
God blesses the work of his faithful servants
far more than those of sinners and the imperfect.
Maxim 11:5
Just as you ought to be courageous in undertaking
all that God desires of you for his glory
and the good of others,
so also
you must be constant in your undertakings
and never give up,
no matter what opposition you meet, unless there is nothing more you can do.
Maxim 11:6
According to the same Maxim,
continue to the end, gently and thoroughly,
what you have once decided on and have prudently judged
to be for God's greater glory.
Maxim 11:7
To put all this briefly, take as your model in the practice of zeal,
after the Saviour Jesus, the apostle Paul.
From him you will learn
the prudence, sincerity, ardour,
selflessness, constancy and tireless efforts
characteristic of true zeal.
This is the zeal you will try to imitate.