DECALOGUE OF HUMILITY

 

By Sister Benigna Consolata Ferrero (1885-1916).

1. Thou art nothing; thou art less than nothing, because thou art a miserable culprit, and a sinful nothing.

2. Thou canst do nothing of thyself; one thing only canst thou do, offend Me by abusing My graces and preparing for thy soul eternal damnation.

3. Thou meritest nothing; and therefore nothing judges nothing, says nothing, asks for nothing, and complains of nothing.

4. Nothing is content with everything, because nothing merits nothing, asks for nothing, and complains of nothing.

5. Nothing demands not that others should be concerned about her; and when Superiors are interested in her through charity, she plunges herself in the depths of her unworthiness.

6. My spouse, thou shouldst consider thyself as a rag, but not as a clean rag, that oftentimes is valued because it serves for drying objects; but a rag all soiled, which causes one to shudder on looking at it, which one will not even touch with the hands, and tries to get rid of; or if one must take it in the hand, it is only with the tips of the fingers so as not to get soiled. This is how thou shouldst regard thyself in the Community if thou wouldst keep thy place.

7. Thou shouldst be constantly abyssed in the consideration of thy nothingness, and deem thyself unworthy of all that is given thee.

8. Do not oppose in anything what Love wishes to do with thee. Even if I grant thee great graces, receive them with humility. I have created the world out of nothing: in the world, for example, is the sun, and what a great work the sun effects! And there, too, is the little fly; I have created both and both serve to My greater glory. Do not undervalue any grace, not even the smallest; profit of all, but always through love. Nor is this to be done with sentiment. When does a tree bear fruits and bear them most abundantly? When its roots are buried deep in the earth; and the deeper they are the less they are seen outside. So shouldst thou act: hide thyself more and more in the interior life. In the exterior a common life, exact certainly, but nothing extraordinary; and yet in the interior all extraordinary, beginning with charity, then humility, and then mortification.

9. Willingly let Love call thee away from the earth of thy miseries, whenever it pleases, in order to place thee in the crown of glory of My most sweet Heart for all eternity. The diamond is not seen when it is within the mountain; and yet it does not cease to be there; so is it with the soul which I keep hidden. Imitate also the Angels, who aiding so many human beings are nevertheless unseen.

10. Finally, as long as thou remainest ingulfed in thy nothingness,—and it is this which attracts to thee so many graces—I shall be to thee always a God of goodness, a God of mercy, a God of love; but the day in which thou art elated by pride, I shall become to thee a God of justice. I tell thee this not to frighten thee, but to warn thee, because I love thee so tenderly. If thou dost practice humility, thou wilt find peace; if thou wilt practice it more perfectly, thou wilt find more peace; and if thou wilt live and breathe only humility, thou shalt be pursued by My Love, My predilection and My favors, more than a robber is sought for by the police. O Religious Soul, I would wish to be able to call thee My Humility, and I shall succeed if thou art faithful to Love.

 

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I had never heard of Sister Benigna, until reading about how the Lord recommended her works a number of times to Maria Valtorta, as mentioned in Valtorta's Notebooks.

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