Summary of the Virtues
Necessary for Growth in the Love of Jesus Christ

Summary of the Virtues
Necessary for Growth in the Love of Jesus Christ

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

We must patiently endure the trials of this life: poor health, sorrow, poverty, loss of loved ones, insults, persecutions, and everything disagreeable. We must learn to recognize the sufferings of this life as signs of God's love for us and His desire to save us in the world to come. Mortifications sent by God (and accepted by us) are far more pleasing to Him than those that are the result of our own choosing.

In sickness we should try to resign ourselves completely to the will of God; no spiritual exercise is as pleasing to Him as this. If, at times, we find ourselves incapable of meditation, it helps to rivet our eyes on Jesus crucified and offer Him our sufferings in union with everything He endured for us on the Cross. And if we find that we are close to death, we should accept the news with peace and in the spirit of sacrifice. This is what gave merit to the death of the martyrs. The greatest penance that we can perform is to accept death with perfect resignation.

We must also practice conformity to the will of God in the face of poverty and the various inconveniences that accompany it: cold, hunger, contempt, and scorn. We must learn to be resigned to the loss of loved ones on whom we thought our happiness depended. We should form the habit of saying in the midst of every trial: "God has willed it, and so I will it".

Learn to endure scorn and insult with patience and with peace. Answer an insult with a gentle response. When annoyed, it is better to keep silent until we have regained our calm. Meanwhile, we should not mention the incident to others; it is better to offer it in silence to Jesus Christ, Who endured so much for us.

Be kind to everyone: to equals and to those who hold authority, to people of all classes, to relatives and strangers, but especially to the poor and to the sick, and to those who dislike us. Kindness, too, is more effective in the correction of faults, than any other method that has been tried. Be careful, therefore, not to make corrections when angry. Remember, too, that corrections made while the other person is agitated, bring not improvement but exasperation.

Envy not those who have wealth and receive praise from the world. Rather, look with holy envy on those who most love Jesus Christ because they are, without doubt, happier than the princes of this world. Thank God for showing you how hollow are the things for which others trade their immortal souls.

In all your thoughts and actions, you should seek only God's pleasure. It is necessary, therefore, to put aside all disappointment when your efforts seem to fail. And even if you seem to succeed, you should never seek the thanks or approval of others. If people choose to gossip about you, you should remain unconcerned; you will be consoled by the fact that you have worked only to please God.

To become holy we must:

Avoid even the smallest deliberate sin. If we should, however, happen to commit a fault, we must never become angry and impatient with ourselves. When this happens, we should calmly repent and make an Act of Love of Jesus Christ. We then ask His help and promise to avoid the fault in the future.

Sincerely desire holiness. If we do not have this desire, we must beg Jesus Christ to give it to us. If we do not sincerely desire to become saints, we will never take a single step toward God.

Have a resolute will to become holy. If we do not have this resolution, we will work only half-heartedly and will be unable to overcome our natural defects. A resolute will, on the other hand, with the unfailing help of God, overcomes every obstacle.

Practice mental prayer. And, except in case of urgent necessity, we should never abandon it no matter how weary or desolate we become.

Receive Holy Communion frequently. According to Saint Francis de Sales, two sorts of people ought to receive frequently: The perfect, to remain so; and the imperfect, in order to become perfect.

Pray always. We pray to Jesus Christ in all our needs because, as we know, our progress depends entirely on prayer. We must never let a day go by without begging God for the gift of perseverance in His holy love and perfect conformity to His holy will. We pray for every grace through the merits of Jesus Christ. And we should especially beg God for help in time of temptation against purity. Those who pray conquer; those do not pray are conquered.

Practice humility. To pride ourselves on wealth, honor, or talent, and even our spiritual gifts, is foolish. Since all of these are gifts of God, we should realize that we are the least, and should be ready to become considered so. Some say that they are the worst of God's creatures, and yet they want to be treated as the best. We should be willing to accept correction humbly and not try to excuse ourselves, even if we are not at fault.

We must learn to overcome our natural desire for praise, never forgetting the motto of Saint Francis: "What we are before God, that we are". To covet positions of honor is, of course, an act of pride. Those who are humble, embrace humiliation with joy.

Practice detachment from all created things. If we are chained by the smallest attachment to temporal goods, we can never reach perfect union with God. We should pay no attention to human respect; and, above all, we must be detached from self-will.

Never display anger, no matter what happens; but if passion suddenly flares-up, we should call on God and remain silent until anger passes. It would be wise to prepare ourselves by prayer to meet future irritations.

Do God's will. All holiness consists in the love of God, and all love of God includes doing His will. We should, therefore, abandon ourselves completely to the will of God, and cheerfully accept the trials, as well as the triumphs God sends our way. We must accept the state of life in which God places us, the health God gives us, and whatever happens to us. This should be the goal of all our prayers: that God will help us to do His holy will in all things. And in order to know the will of God, all must learn to practice obedience to proper authority. Nothing is more certain than the saying of Saint Philip Neri: "We will not have to worry about rendering an account to God if we do all things in obedience".

Resist temptation. There are two ways of overcoming temptation: resignation and prayer. Be resigned to the will of God Who allows them - for our greater good. We must be careful, then, not to yield, no matter how trying the temptation might become. Evil thoughts, no matter how filthy, are not sins; only consent to them can make them so. We must, of course, pray in time of temptation. We will never be overcome if we call on the holy names of Jesus and Mary. We should renew our resolve to die, rather than willingly offend God. Prayer is the most effective means of conquering temptation.

Surrender all to God when crushed by desolations. Here we must humble ourselves with the sincere admission that we deserve no better treatment; and we must resign ourselves to the will of God, abandoning ourselves entirely to Him. God's consolation prepares us for coming trials. If it pleases God to leave us in desolation, we must humbly resign ourselves to His divine will.

Think seriously of certain general maxims of eternal life, such as the following:

We must leave all, to gain all.

We cannot find peace without God.

We realize our salvation by loving God above all, and by loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Those who pray are saved; those who do not pray are lost.

Meditation on Jesus crucified, helps us to endure all things.

Whatever is not done for God is useless.

Happy are those who can say: "My Jesus, I desire You alone and nothing more".

The End of -
The Practice of the
Love of Jesus Christ