Honey and onions

Introduction to the Devout Life
Part First, Chapters 1-8
17 November 2011 - English-speaking Group:
Sanjone Amaladoss, John Baptist Barnabas, Lijo Vadakkan

Sweet-smelling blossoms that attract many honey bees

At the very outset, what impressed all of us was the use of many metaphors or images that the saint makes use of in his writings to convey a doctrine. Practically in all the chapters there were these images which made the message to be understood in a better manner. (Ex. Honey and the honeybee, Jacob’s ladder, The rising sun that removes the darkness, the onions of Egypt, etc.)

In the first chapter the saint gives us a criterion to know the right devotion from the false one. It is not so much about doing good, or appearing to be good but it is about being good.  At the base of a real devotion there is the love of God which translates in charity.

In the second chapter the saint presents a joyful spirituality. The devout life is a happy affair; it is not about being melancholy but being happy and cheerful. Often spiritual life is seen as a sad and gloomy life style. But the saint proposes something totally different to this concept of spirituality. We can see the influence of this doctrine in the life of Don Bosco and the spirituality that he proposed to his boys.

In the third chapter the saint says that the devotion has to be practiced according to one’s state of life. A bishop has to practice a devotion as a bishop and not as someone else or a lay man has to practice a devotion that is suiting to a layman and not aspire towards something else. There shouldn’t be a dichotomy between roles of life.  In the same chapter he also says that the real devotion not only does not damage the individual but also beautifies and perfects the individual, just as the honeybee takes honey from the flower without ever damaging or destroying the flower.

In the fourth chapter the saint speaks about the importance and role of a good spiritual director.  It is not just about choosing any spiritual director but a choosing a good one. He speaks of three qualities for a good spiritual director as charity, wisdom and prudence. At the same time simplicity, humility and trust for the person who takes the spiritual direction.

In the fifth chapter the saint speaks about a purification of the soul that has to take place in every conversion.  But he says that this is a very slow process.  Just as the rising sun removes the darkness slowly and steadily and not all on a sudden, this purification also takes places at a very slow pace.  Only certain people like (St. Paul or other few saints) had the fortune of an immediate conversion. But this is very rare.

In the sixth and seventh chapter the saint speaks about removal of sin and mainly insists on the removal of mortal sin.  It is not enough to just give up sin but one has to also give up all his affections towards sin.  Otherwise he can never purify himself completely from sinful habits. Here he gives the example of the Israelites who had left Egypt but were still desiring for the onions of Egypt.

Report by Lijo Vadakkan
Photography by Joe Boenzi