Thecatholicbozo - Jesus Christ, Holy Wisdom, Illumine My Blindness

The Clothing of the Soul

"The clothing of the soul is holiness through the grace of God. This is bestowed on us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, through whom we possess also peace, charity, goodness, humility, patience, concord, meekness, and the like. These form our interior store of riches, to which we are always adding by good deeds & the practice of virtues.

But if we are in the habit of bickering, murmuring, or quarreling, we deprive ourselves of these good things, since virtues cannot exist with their contraries. "A little leaven corrupteth the whole lump." So each one must examine herself and carefully consider how much is wanting to her, if she indulge in these faults. Let her think what a loss she sustains if she forfeits these elements of true blessedness for the sake of matters of so little moment."

-Hugh of St. Victor in his commentaries on the Rule of St. Augustine

It’s so strange to consider that there might be people in our life who are only exposed to the Gospel through our words & deeds.

Therefore it’s important to keep up our private prayer, discipline, & study so that when the right time comes, we can be the prism through which God’s light shines & draws them to the faith we find so precious. And important to think about the ways that we could be giving a full witness to Him in our daily life (and the hardest of all, to implement those ways of witnessing!)

"Here are two exercises that avail much to stifle all contention & to promote concord: 1) To think ourselves inferior to all 2) To set more importance on the things of our neighbor than our own good.

Humility & charity, as thus recommended, not only go well together themselves, but have the virtue of uniting interests that threaten to cause dispute and discord."

-Hugh of St. Victor in his commentaries on the Rule of St. Augustine