Jesus fasted, too, in the desert; for forty days and forty nights He neither ate nor drank. And when, after that exacting ordeal, He was hungry and the devil came to tempt Him to eat, He repulsed the tempter and, it would seem, prolonged His fast the more.
Selfsacrifice is the third foundation stone of the apostolic life which is laid by Jesus Christ at the threshold of His period of activity. The solitude of the desert was by no means filled with empty silence. This is the atmosphere in which the soul tastes and sees that the Lord is sweet, and, according as it is schooled, it seeks to express itself in the deeds of love. That is why the saints trained themselves in the ways of penance. They learn it here; they see that He Who Himself is sinless will advance to make war on the citadel of sin only when He has armed Himself with the helmet and shield of selfdenial.
A priest called to see a noted Communist. "I do not come to argue," he began, "but only to tell you that I know your soul is steeped in terrible sin, and I am going to Lough Derg tomorrow to offer it for you." He left, but the man's curiosity was aroused. He did not know much about Lough Derg. On inquiring, he found that it meant a most severe pilgrimage, rigorous fasting, an allnight vigil before the Blessed Sacrament. The priest who was prepared to do that for him, he decided, must be sincere. He surrendered.
History only repeats itself. Saint Ignatius stood up to his neck in a frozen river to convert a sinner who he knew would, pass over the bridge on his way to meet his companion in wickedness. Let the man go on with his sin, but Ignatius would stay where he was and make reparation!
Similar examples crowd the pages of every saint's life. One can scarcely fail to observe how the Holy Father, on every possible occasion, appeals to all who would be apostles of Christ to return to the practice of penance. The rapid growth of Communism he attributes, in large measure, to the slothful, toocomfortable lives of so many Catholics. This is the echo of the warning of Christ, reinforced here by His example in the desert, that certain kinds of evil spirits will never be cast out except by prayer, and by prayer accompanied by fasting.
Many young people come to offer themselves to undertake the apostolic life. They are full of dispositions of great generosity; they are ready for any sacrifice. What all too often happens is that their enthusiasm is chilled by making contact with those, who, after years perhaps in the service of God, frown on their efforts to do penance, or hedge their youthful disciples in by such a multitude of restrictions, and din into their cars so many urgent warnings against excess, that after a while all the spirit of penance dies a natural death.
This is not to utter a word against that discretion insisted upon by men like St. Ignatius Loyola. It is only to give one explanation of the decline of the spirit of selfsacrifice so continuously lamented by the present Holy Father. It is not to call in question the undoubted truth that moderation is good and that excess might lead to spiritual shipwreck. It is only to point out that worldly wisdom can often masquerade as supernatural prudence. If its false maxims be followed, evils will result for the generous neophyte that will be at least as detrimental as those feared for him by those who direct him.
Jesus, in me You find little love of selfsacrifice. The world in which I live scouts the notion. Arm Your apostle against neglect of penance, save me from excess and from defect alike Flood my mind with divine wisdom to see how to direct those who come to me to learn how to become apostles indeed.