If Saint Francis saw any of his companions with a sad or downcast countenance, he reproved him, saying: "If thou art grieving over thy sins, my brother, why dost thou show thy sorrow exteriorly? Let this sadness be between thee and God, and pray to him that through his mercy he may spare thee and restore to thy soul the joy of salvation, which thou hast lost through thy sins. But before me and others, show thyself always joyful, for it does not become the servant of God to manifest sadness exteriorly, nor to have a troubled countenance."
St. Francis
Miscellaneous Writings
Reading this quote, I think of Mother Teresa whose "dark night of the soul" has now been made public knowledge. But she never let on--just kept quietly doing the good work she did, serving the Lord through the poorest of all.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barb. Yes, Mother Teresa spent several years in her dark night of the soul (probably much more than most religious.) Yet, as St. John of the Cross so aptly described the consequences of this night, is there any wonder she was so magnificent an example to all of us!
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