[B.] St. IGNATIUS of LOYOLA Presentation: The ... - St. Gaspar Bertoni

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He then commends another three values as to be desired, as complementary to the
above three: Let the Friars that above all, that they ought to desire to have the Spirit of the Lord
and His holy activity; that they pray always to God out of a pure heart; and to have humility, and
patience under persecution and in sickness, and to love those who persecute, reprehend or
argue with you.
1826: And surely, wherever these three are lived, there is first of all the direction of one’s
activity in God - there is added to this then the condescension toward one’s neighbor, and there
is placed in the center, the tolerance for adversaries. Therefore, in the first three the perfect man
is crucified to the world: in the following three, one is rendered conform to God, and as though on
the six seraphic wings one is elevated from worldly concerns and borne toward the heavenly
rewards.
As a result, on this poor man, St. Francis, who perfectly observed and taught the
perfection of the Gospel, in a seraphic apparition, Jesus impressed His own Stigmata as a sign
of His greatest approval. He did this that He might show to us that on this way of perfection by
which we would be led back to Christ, the exemplar and end of perfect virtue, against the very
dangerous darkness of the final times.
[c.
The Third Gospel Perfection:]
1827: The third evangelical perfection consists in the supererogatory acceptance of all that is
adverse 18 . This is attended not only in this sense, that one might patiently endure adversities
that might come upon one, which according to the Law of God cannot be declined, since each is
held to this. But, further, that each one should out of the fervor of the divine love yearn for
adversities with a great desire, and with a great desire sustain these. Jas 1:2, ff.: Count it all
joy, my brethren, when you shall fall into divers temptations…And patience has a perfect
work that you may be perfect and entire, falling in nothing … [v.4].
For this is indeed the consummation of perfection and charity Jn 1 [1 Jn 4:18]: Fear is
not in charity - but perfect charity casts out fear from the ark of spiritual perfection.
According to this, therefore, the ark of spiritual perfection since it is within triple arched
and double vaulted, is consumed on two elbows
1828: To sustain patiently - freely - joyfully.
All joy: i.e., all good.
- The honest, because the adversities make us to become conform to the image of Jesus
Christ, Rm 8:29. They raise us up from the ‘common’: for I bear the stigmata of the Lord
Jesus in my body … Ga 6:17; we are raised up over the Angels, who cannot suffer for God.
Strength and beauty are her clothing... Pr 31:25.
1829: From adversities there comes to us a real good, utility, because they take evil away, that
is, they remove imperfections: I will purge away your dross... [Is 1:25]; they do these because
they eradicate their very roots, which is self-love. Stupidity assembles in the heart of youth, and
the rod of discipline will put it to flight.
Adversities bring good to us: they expel us from this world and urge us onward toward
God. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily. Ex 12:33. -
Adversities perfect the spirit in us: the intellect. So it was always: by day, the cloud covered it,
and by night as it were, the appearance of fire. Nb 9:16. Adversities also perfect the will.
There is brought to us a delightful good, because adversities are the sign of
predestination of the love of God and of love for God; the reason is that God sweetens these.
18 Is this Holy Abandonment to the Divine Will of Good Pleasure