Self-love is the root of all evils

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    Self-love is the root of all evils

There is no doubt that, if man could perceive the many difficulties
thrown by self-love in the way of his own good, he would no longer
allow himself to be deceived by it; and its malignity is the more to
be dreaded because it is so powerful that were but one grain of it in
the world would be sufficient to corrupt all mankind. Wherefore I
conclude that self-love is the root of all evils which exist in this
world and in the other. Behold Lucifer, whose present state is the
result of following the suggestions of his self-love; and in ourselves
it seems to me even worse. Our father Adam has so contaminated us that
to my eyes the evil appears almost incurable, for it so penetrates our
veins, our nerves, our bones, that we can neither say nor think nor do
anything which is not full of the poison of this love--not even those
thoughts and deeds which are directed toward the purification of the
spirit.'
--St. Catherine of Genoa

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October 14th – St Dominic Loricatus

d.1060

THE severity with which this young man condemned himself to penance
for a misdeed which was not his own is a reproach to those who, after
offending God with full knowledge and through malice, expect
forgiveness without considering the conditions which true repentance
requires. Dominic’s parents aspired to an ecclesiastical state for
their son, and his father obtained his promotion to the priesthood
from the bishop by means of a present of a goatskin. When the young
priest came to the knowledge of this, he was struck with remorse and
could not, it is said, be induced again to approach the altar to
celebrate Mass or exercise any other sacerdotal office. In Umbria at
this time, amidst the Apennine mountains, a holy man called John of
Montefeltro led a most austere life as a hermit, with whom in 18
different cells lived as many disciples. Dominic repaired to this
superior, and begged to be admitted into the company of these
anchorites. He obtained his request, and by the austerity of his
penance gave proof how deep the spirit of sorrow was with which his
heart was pierced. After some years he changed his abode, about 1042,
retiring to the hermitage of Fonte Avellana, which St. Peter Damian
then governed.

The abbot, who had been long accustomed to meet with examples of
heroic penance, was astonished at this new recruit. Dominic wore next
his skin a coat of mail (from which he was surnamed Loricatus, i.e.
the “Mailed”), and further burdened his limbs with chains his
self-inflicted flagellations, moreover, were so frequent and violent
that he seems to have exceeded all measure. He ate as little as was
allowed, and then only bread and herbs, with water to drink and he
slept kneeling on the ground. When he had loaded himself with his
cuirass and chains and iron rings he would make numerous prostrations
or stand with arms extended cross-wise, until the weight dragging on
his limbs proved too much for him. And these practices he continued up
to his death, which occurred some years after he had been appointed
prior of a hermitage founded by St Peter Damian near San Severino. The
last night of his life St. Dominic recited Matins and Lauds with his
brethren, and died whilst they sang Prime, on October 14, 1060.

Little or nothing is known of this saint beyond what we learn from St
Peter Damian. All that is of value has been gathered up in the article
devoted to St. Dominic in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. vi. See
also A. M. Zimmermann, Kalendarium benedictinum, vol. iii (1937), pp.
178-181, and Annales Camaldulenses, vol. ii.


Saint Quote:
The only consideration of Superiors ought to be the love of God, and
the sanctification of the souls committed to their care.  This cannot
be better attained than by humility, combined with a peaceable
disposition and good example.
--St. Vincent de Paul

Bible Quote:
And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth
beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke. 20 The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
manifest day of the Lord come. 21 And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.  (Acts
2:19-21


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A Year with the Saints--October: Confidence

17. So much earnestness and trouble in seeking means and helps to
fortify ourselves in advance against the accidents of this life, and
to remedy its ills, is a great failure in confidence towards God. For
by this going in advance of the order of His providence, we show that
we trust more in our own devices than in His holy guidance, and that
we rest more upon human prudence than upon His holy word.
--St. Vincent de Paul

When Father Alvarez was rector of a poor college, he had a steward who
often came to tell him of the daily wants and what was necessary to
support the house. Once he asked him whether he had recommended the
matter to God. The steward replied that he had no time to pray.
"This," rejoined the good Superior, "ought to be the first thing. Go
into some room, and make a little prayer to the Lord. Do you think
this flock has no master, or such a one as has no regard for their
lives? Go in peace, and remember that this depends not on your
efforts." The steward obeyed, and often afterwards found means of
support which he considered miraculous.