The Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret by St. Anthony Mary Claret

Author:St. Anthony Mary Claret [Claret, St. Anthony Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 2016-04-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

FOURTH VIRTUE: MODESTY

The missionary is a spectacle to God, to the angels, and to men. For this reason, he must be very circumspect and prudent in all his words, works and ways. To this effect, I resolved that my conduct both at home and away from it should be to talk very little, and to weigh every word I uttered, because people not infrequently take words to mean other than what the speaker intends them to mean.

When talking to others, I proposed never to make gestures with my hands. In some places this is strongly ridiculed and looked upon as displeasing. My constant intention was always to speak sparingly, and that only when necessary. I resolved to speak briefly and in a quiet and grave manner, without touching my face, chin, head, and much less my nose. I determined also never to make grimaces with my mouth, or to utter any funny or ridiculous statement, and never to ridicule anyone, because I saw that by doing these things the missionary loses much of the authority, respect and veneration which is his due. All this is the result of fickleness, scant mortification, and little modesty. These habits and similar coarseness of manners argue a virtue which is failing fast, and manifest little or no education on the part of their possessors.

The missioner must also be at peace with all, as St. Paul says. Now, with this in mind, I never scolded anyone, but tried to be kind to all. I endeavored also never to pass funny remarks about anyone, nor did I like to indulge in any form of buffoonery or mockery at another's expense. Laughing did not appeal to me, although I always manifested joy, gentleness and kindness in my person, for I remembered that Jesus was never seen to laugh, although He was seen weeping on some occasions. Those words also helped me determine my conduct: "Stultus in risu exaltat vocem suam; vir autem sapiens vix tacite ridebit. "[The fool raises his voice in laughter; but the wise man shall scarcely laugh even silently.]

Modesty, as we all know, is that virtue which teaches us how to do all things in the right way. It sets before our eyes how Jesus did things, and it tells us to do the same. So, before each action that I was about to do, I always asked myself, and still do, how Jesus Christ would do it. What care, purity and rectitude of intention should I have if I were to act like my Divine Model! How He preached; how He conversed; how He ate and rested; how He dealt with all manner of people; how He prayed; in fine, all His ways of doing things were the sum and substance of my constant meditation and efforts, for with God's grace I determined to imitate Our Lord in everything, so as to be able to say with the Apostle—if not by word of mouth, then by my works: "Be ye imitators of me as I am of Christ.

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