The Sermons of Johannes Tauler · 121 of 124
Sermon for a Feast of Many Holy Confessors
The light of thy body is thy eye. — Luke xi, 34.
Dear children, today we celebrate the memory of holy confessors of the faith of Christ. By their heroic Christian virtues they have spread abroad the glory of Jesus Christ. And this they did not only by splendid examples of all virtues, but by interior self-abandonment in mind and spirit and heart, being dead to the life of the senses. They were ever eager and diligent in serving God, and their eye was single to do His will.
Now, you have noticed in these times that there are many who keep up a show of spirituality, and who busy themselves with inordinate zeal in spiritual exercises of many kinds, and yet they do not work that change in their lives that they had hoped for. They fast and they watch over night, they say many prayers, they often go to confession and holy communion, they practice meditation on the blessed passion of Jesus Christ, they do many charitable works, they go in search of indulgences — these and many other such holy things they do, and yet their lives are not changed. They do not keep God’s commandments; they do not practice Christian virtue. They have wasted their strength out of God; they have not received His approval; little profit has come from it all to their souls; and they still stand in danger of eternal loss. And what is the reason? Their intention has been fatally defective, and in this: they have turned outward in their religious life, and not inward.
They do not know themselves. How, therefore, can they tell how to manage themselves and increase in virtue? Hence, instead of increasing in virtue, they are just as apt to decrease. They are under the delusion that they amount to something, and, as a matter of fact, they amount to nothing at all in God’s sight; and, therefore, they are trying to serve God without knowing what they are about. They imagine that they are seeking God, but such is not at all the case. And now as they go on in this wise, following their own fancies and given over to self-contented indulgence of the senses, it is no wonder that they grow no better for the good practices of religion they have followed. The older they grow the more irritable and impatient they are; the more oblivious to their evil words and their defective works. And yet these all dream that they are high up in the spiritual world.
It all comes from serving God because of the natural joy that there is in it, and out of an excessive desire to be something holy. They give themselves to good works for the feeling of devotion they find, and often exceed their ability. Then they change from one pious practice to another, thinking that one helps and another hinders, all done without foresight or prudence, with a vague notion of some inward gain of virtue. While it tastes sweet it is good; when the taste is gone they declare it does not help them. Therefore are they unstable and hold to nothing long. While thus they run about, be sure they cannot lay a solid foundation of spirituality. Ask them if they mean only to please God. They answer, Yes, and they mean to tell the truth, but they are deceived.
Of course, nobody wants to serve the devil; who is so base as deliberately to choose the evil one for his master? And yet not a few of these persons do his will without knowing it. As long as a man undertakes to serve God by external works alone he has not yet begun to serve Him in truth, and in the right devotional spirit. The foundation of a perfect Christian life is not in external devotions and good works alone, however much these may help; but ft is far rather in interior good works, by means of which sins are avoided and virtues are brought to life.
And I say this in addition: We find people in monasteries who lay the whole stress of their life in the order on external and bodily exercises. And there are men living in the world who afflict their body with fasting and other mortifications, and who are doubtless good men, giving alms with the hand, but this is all done without reference to the foundation of almsgiving in their heart. They do not advert to the strict duty of cleansing their life from sin. With all those noble, good and religions works of theirs they are still hottempered, envious, arrogant, given to backbiting and ever seeking praise for their virtues. And persons with these blemishes are in some places all too common in the various conditions of life. I affirm that these souls are entangled in the meshes of the evil one, and are subject to gross self-deception.
They think that they can be made righteous by external works alone, and be by them alone eternally saved. But that can never be; God must have the heart besides. They may be compared to gilded statues; outside they look like solid gold, and in reality they are stone or wood. In the gospel Christ compares men to sepulchres, beautiful on the outside, and within filled with dead men’s bones. Therefore do I insist that there is no merit in fasting, saying prayers and doing other such outward works of religion, unless the spirit of a man is chastened and cleansed of wickedness.
It is seldom enough, alas, that men live as they ought, and yet there is nothing impossible in it, if one will only exert himself a little. Whatever rule is required will not be accepted and followed; what is not required, that is embraced, and great spiritual bliss is expected from it. So it happens that men take up heavy burdens, and labor long and hard to find God, and seldom come to Him in the degree of union they ought to have gained. Herein lies the failure; herein do men try to do the impossible. What they could do easily enough, what, in fact, no one could hinder their doing, that they will not do — they find no manner of joy in the right and simple way to God. But they rejoice in attempting the impossible. In whatever direction overdeveloped spiritual emotion points — especially when it affects the bodily senses — by that way they press onward, little knowing what they are about, though they may talk wisely concerning spiritual things. If they would stay close in the true road to Christian perfection, they would soon know how to speak and to act intelligently. Nor is their going astray due to lack of knowledge. No, for their conscience reproaches them for their remissness. If they did all that they understood was right, whether it were litle or great, God would acquit them of blame; for He would then ask no more from them, otherwise He would give them more light.
Finally, dear children, be well assured, if any man will be made different by grace from what he is by nature, he must bestir himself to seek God in his inmost heart, to mean God in everything, and to
Christian; that is genuine devotion. For what do I mean by genuine devotion? Some think it is sweet emotionalism. So it sometimes is, but not always; for often enough one has such sweetness from natural causes. This leads many astray. True devotion is a willing submission to God’s service; and it belongs to true spirituality that every man should at least once during each day or night enter into himself and diligently take account of his thoughts, words and actions, going over the whole day’s life; and thus will he fully become informed of his sins and weaknesses.
It can hardly happen but that he has done something amiss. If he has not, then let him call to mind and sincerely repent of his previous transgressions. Furthermore, a man should earnestly set to work to cleanse out the folly and sinfulness of the past still lurking within him. He must then hold fast to God’s commandments and keep them faithfully. And men in religious life should know that they are more strictly held to observe the commandments than ordinary laymen.
Yet, again, every man should associate himself, and that gladly, with the active religious life of the holy Christian Church, and if he be a religious, he should do so according to the rule of his order or congregation. These solid Christian ways are of more worth than all self-chosen practices of fasting, vigils, labors and the like — all very good in themselves, all of much help to beginners in the spiritual career, but taken alone they are not true and fundamental spirituality. For we meet with many well practiced in such things, and who none the less stick fast in plain faults — they are self-willed, disobedient, proud and bad tempered. May God grant us grace to acquire true devotion. Amen.
demeanor, love of retirement, industry, openness of character — Selfabnegation as opposed to pride of vocation — That many lay people lead saintly lives — A humble soul is ever amazed at God’s goodness to it — Patience waits on God with confidence in spite of many signs of His disfavor — Earnestness is best shown by uniform regularity in the ordinary practices of devotion.