English translation of “Exercises for a Soul”
by Cristoforo Facciardi da Verucchio
Translated
By Father Patrick Colbourne O.F.M.Cap.
Translator’s note.
This translation is based on the introduction, text and footnotes which were published by P. Costanzo Cargnoni O.F.M. Cap. In I Frati Cappuccini: Documenti e testimonianze dell primo secolo, Edizioni Frate Indovino, Perugia, vol III/1, pp.1085-1190. The only additions to the notes made by the translator are references to Francis of Assisi: The Early Documents, edited by Regis Armstrong, O.F.M. Cap., J. A. Wayne Hellmann, O.F.M. and William J. Short O.F.M. Conv., New York City Press, New York, London, Manila, for an English version of quotations from the Writings or Biographies of St Francis.
Introduction by Castanzo Cargnoni O.F.M. Cap.
“Exercises for a Soul” by Cristoforo Facciardi da Verucchio
Cristoforo da Verucchio, who was known as a man from Verucchino (+ 1630) was a Conventual Friar Minor who became a Capuchin in the Province of Bologna while he was still a young priest. He was one of the most popular preachers at the end of the Sixteenth century and the beginning of the Seventeenth century. His preaching, which lasted for many years, was characterised by simplicity and the power of persuasion. It was also rich in advocacy for poor orphan children who were begging and it inspired many works of compassionate charity and devotion.
His mild method of preaching was very acceptable to simple people and they took notice of it. However, those who were well educated often begged and almost forced him “to provide several hand- written copies” of his sermons. At times these manuscript copies were printed without him knowing it as happened in Reggio Emilia in 1582 with a sermon on the ceremonies of the Mass, and in 1591 in Milan with another sermon on a method of crying over sin. An eyewitness tells of how dozens of scribes often sat under the pulpit in which thefriar from Verucchio was preaching and that “from below they were writing what he was proclaiming above.” In Milan the Archbishop and the Canons wanted him to publish his Lenten sermons and they begged him to write an “omnibus” concerning the Gospels for the Ambrosian rite.
It was only because of a mishapthat occurred while he was preaching (at the beginning of 1592 he suffered from losing his voice)that he turned to becoming a spiritual writer to the point of rising to being in great demand in the field of devotional literature. One of his publishers, Father Battista Rossa, Parish Prest of St Agnesand canon of the Patriarchal Church in Venice, who editedThe Exercises for a Soul, Taken from the saintly Fathers, as Preached by Reverend Father Cristoforo Verrucchino in Various Churches in Italy,tells us about this. He asserts that in Lent of 1592 Cristoforo was supposed to preach in the Church of the Incurables in Venice. However he had to stop this right at the beginning because of the loss of his voice. Then, out of apostolic zeal, in order not to remain unoccupied,he put together thetwenty five sermons which he would have preached to the people during the afternoons of the festivity, following Vespers. He completed the first edition in the space of two months and it was as if “byhim not preaching in one city, God wished him to preach to the whole of Italy on paper”. He did not have the courage to print them, as he considered them to be only “a first draft, a simple proposition, a rough sketch”. Such concern and modesty was overcome by the intervention and funds of the learned Canon who found a way to have them published in Venice in 1596, dedicating them to the Patriarch Lorenzo Priuli.
Speculative or scholastic subtlety is not to be found in these “exercises’. Rather they contain “the practice of holy meditation based on love”. It is here that Cristoforo shows himself to be a very capable teacher of spirituality having instructed the people for many years simply and without oratory on the way to pray and to profitably carry out the practices of piety in the Christian life, insisting particularly on the aspect of interior prayer that comes from the heart.
The various exercises of prayer are developed and set out in a precise progression or journey towards the practice of perfection involving daily progress. They begin with the vocal prayers in common use: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, the Penitential Psalms, the Rosary and Liturgy of the Hours. Cristofero explains and paraphrases these prayers, explaining them by means of illustrations, together with numerous references to the Fathers, Doctors and spiritual writers, He does this in simple language, dwelling on the meaning of the words and phrases and their inner connotation. Following this he journeys with the subject towards an understanding of the Holy Mass and the Sacraments in their liturgical and spiritual aspects by means of a “worthy preparation” and “very ardent thanksgiving”. The reasons that induce the soul to make a perfect act of contrition, to weep for his personal sins and those of others are significant. Then he adds “a very good way” of celebrating feasts, a “very worthy rule” for invoking saints and a “helpful rule” for the faithful practice of prayer in the morning and in the evening, indeed “of remaining recollected and united to holy God by day and by night” by using ejaculatory prayers and by making an examination of conscience before retiring at night.
After he has instructed the people in the illuminating and devout practice of prayer and devotion, Cristoforo goes on to initiating them into meditation teaching the various moments and stages on the way to the heights of “Christian contemplation” where the Holy Spirit becomes the sole guide and where the mysteries of the life and passion of Jesus Christ take on the fundamental role. In the end all is aimed at steeping a person in adoration in spirit and truth and in glorifying the Holy Trinity.
It is impossible just now to express the magnificence of this comprehensive teaching that embraces the whole gambit of the spiritual journey of the Christian life. Even though it might appear to be somewhat eclectic and lacking in originality because of the abundance of Patristic and Scholastic quotations it comes together in the spiritual theology of St Bonaventure and in the ease with which this is communicated in a lively manner and in the suggestively moving way in which this is conveyed by various suggestions, and in the practical and deep reasoning that is evident in the individual spiritual exercises.
To provide the reader with a taste for his method we have reproduced the introductory instruction that explains how to make use of these exercises (n. 1). We have also provided the explanation and paraphrases of some vocal prayers such as the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed (nn. 2-4), and a chapter that deals with ejaculatory prayer in “the practice of holy charity” (n. 5). Finally, we have selected the final three exercises that deal with mental prayer and contemplation (nn. 6-8), that contain a further masterly example of the affective method and practice of Franciscan and Capuchin prayer.
1.Necessary Instructions for Performing the Following Exercises Properly.
{…}- 3-5.Threeconditions which are useful for performing these exercises. – 6. A Method of setting out affective points when praying. – 7-9. Devotional manner of representing God in the imagination when praying with ardour. – 10. Exhortation to embrace and carry out these exercises. – 11. One should not easily omit the exercises nor change them. – 13-14. Therefore implore divine assistance so that the work will come to a successful conclusion.
4855{…} 3. O valiant champions of the Holy Cross, who in order to preserve the Lord’s friends from all the snares and obstacles that usually occur in exercises of the soul, give your disciples the three beneficial directions which St Ambrose laid down for them to observe in his book On the Offices of Ministers[1], that is that they be diligent in observing, time, place and method: proper method, suitable place and appropriate time. If those who are wise according to the world usually consider these three conditions very carefully, how much more useful and important are they for spiritual practices?
48564. With regard to method, St John Damascene [2] wrote that, seeing that man is composed of soul and flesh, having a spiritual and corporal substance, it is marvellously valuable that, to raise himself up to God, who is a spirit, without trouble, he is able to make use of various appropriatematerialimages in his imagination, similar to the images that are also used in Scripture.
With regard to time, St Bonaventure says[3] that he ought to select the time when he is free of worldly concerns. However this should happen every day and never be omitted. If this is interrupted because of an emergency it should be diligently restored when this becomes possible. How could anyone not find a suitable time in the morning or at night if they followed what the Prophet Isaiah says? Anima mea desideravi te in nocte, sed et spiritu meo in praecordiis meis de mane vigilabo ad te. [4] My soul desired you in the night, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch for you.
48575. What place could serve better for this important activity than a room that is slightly darkened, but not frightening,which is conducive to silence, far removed from all pandemonium, where a person cannot see or be seen by anyone but the living God and his angels? This is because, according to St John Chrysostom,[5] it is inappropriate to do anything extraordinary in someone’s presence, or to breathe too heavily or to say a word both in order not to draw attention to yourself and not to interrupt those who are passing-by.
48586. Therefore let us become fervent, and in order to carry out these spiritual exercises properly, let us commit to memory the specific points which we subsequently intend to put into practice and become familiar with them, not word for word, but simply in substance and by coming to know what they involve and by gaining an appreciation of them, be able to proceed with some kind of orderwhile not floundering in the exercise because we have forgotten what the words implied. Indeed once he has become quite familiar with the points, the friend of God should try to carry out the whole of the exercise, from time to time, breathing intimate sighs, uttering fervent words, voicing sentiments of pious lamentand affection, sometimes bowing the head to the ground, at other times raising the eyes to heaven, at times placing the hands in from of the chest, sometimes in the sign of a cross and sometimes striking the cheek or the breast, sometimes kissing the floor and the benches and holding the hands in front of the face for a while. By using similar gestures which are carried out with affection and with pauses at the proper place and at the proper time one can cultivate marvellous strength to banish fatigue and our laziness and arouse and move the whole of the inner person.[6]
This occurs particularly when these actions are accompanied by silence and words. By keeping silent at some time one gives his devout mind the opportunity to ponder. At other times words stir and inflame. This is like when a breeze makes a fire blaze.[7] It is true that one should not wander off into words forgetting what he is doing. The words ought to serve only as a support to a fervent heart. How well does St Bonaventure state this fact! It is from him that we have taken these profitable reminders and advise which suggest that each touch of a file removes any grain or mark of rust from iron, so all of such words, deeds or actions remove the unseen remains of our sins, if not the sin at least the punishment. Sicut lima operatir in ferro, ut qoudlibet ductu aliquid de ipsius ferri rubigine expellat, sic quodlibet suspirium vel gemitus non nihil de nostroum peccatorum reliquis eliminate. (As a file works on iron so that with each stroke some rust is removed, so too every sigh or groan removes a little piece of what remains of our sins).[8]
48597. This is even truer when we place the Eternal God before our mind’s eye by means of an image which is very stimulating and touching. For example, it will make an impression if we see an image of a very powerful king, seated on a high throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre and having a globe in his hand, bathed in rays and light and surrounded by angels and saints of all kinds, and depicting a person at prayer who looks like a poor, unfaithful, disgraceful and untidy creature who is frightened and overcome at undertaking what he has to do, not even knowing how to open his mouth in the presence of such regal majesty and who feels ashamed in the presence of all the barons and nobles at court, who looks like he is a fool because he is dejected, unfortunate and very wretched. Nevertheless he sighs and weeps in their presence saying with confusion and shame: “O my Lords, I beg pardon, indulgence and support.”
8. This is enough by way of an introduction to the following exercises that have been collected and put into order over a short period of time in this little book. In comparison to other spiritual books I think (if I have not been infected by pride) that I might say the same as St Gregory the Great said with great humility about his writings when he compared them with what St Augustine had written. He generally referred to his own works as rotten Gregorian bran when compared to beautiful Augustinian flower.[9] After that he studiously tried to hide his works at all cost for the rest of his life.
4860 9. Much more I, who am a wretch, ought to conduct myself like this, because as I bring this work to its fulfilment I intend to present it as having a particular appearance which I do not wish to become too embellished at timessimply to entice pleasure by making it subtle and flow effortlessly and thus gain an advantage by doing so. However because I have been persuaded by the desires of many people I have decided to produce it thinking that I am acting like the poor widow in the Gospel[10] by casting my two mites into the great treasury of the holy Church, and in doing so to imitate the poor Jews of old who could only bring purple cloth, goat’s hair, rather than silk, silver, gold for the construction of the Temple. They did not offer jewels but the despicable goat skins, which still served for the purpose.[11]
10. Therefore from the bottom of me heart I strongly exhort each person, who does not possess a better introduction to the journey to God, to embrace and follow these exercises which by the grace of God’s grace will open the road to an active, contemplative and mystical life. Let them not be frightened if at the beginning it may appear to be arduous and difficult to carry them out. Let them make up their mind about such a good desire so that the will may then produce and carry out the actions, the acts become habits, the habits make it easy, the simplicity make it become a custom, the custom develop into a taste for them, and crown them with perseverance until they are rewarded in the company of the angels in heaven.
4861 11. Whoever wishes to gain this crown should not think too lightly of grace or easily change the way he acts because, just as a plant which is transplanted too frequently will never abound in fruit, or a person who changes medicines will not be cured, but will become more disturbed and pail, so too whoever makes daily changes in the conduct and order of the spiritual life will also never make much progress. The Apostle Paul says: Omnia probate, quod bonum est tenete. Et hoc, ut caritas vretra magis ac nagis abubdet in scientia et in omni sensu, ut probetis potiora. (Test all things, hold to what is good. And I pray that your charity may more and more abound in knowledge and in all understanding that you may approve the better things.)[12] The Apostle is suggesting that the usual practices and exercises in the spiritual life ought not to be changed without great consideration and only with the hope of improvement and growth.
12. Finally, now I wish to beg every Christian reader from the depths of the mercy of God and the loving wounds of the Holy Crucified, that while charitably excusing all my defects, and giving praise to the divine generosity for anything good that I have done, to ask assistance for me in their prayers, so that if my intentions are upright now and if I always toil only for the love of Christ, that he would come and remove any inadvertent subtle vainglory (I do not know how I do this except because of bad habits), that secretly attempts to rob and take my reward from me. This is like a person who goes to a meal out of necessity, and gluttony soon turns it into immoderation. In this way something that began as doing good and as acting in a proper manner suddenly because of arrogance changed completely into something bad. Often I do something that is good in a bad manner that leads to something worse with either a bad outcome or in the use of bad practices. Pope Gregory also complained about this. Therefore let us always pray for each other so that through the infinite merits of his Divine Son, of his heavenly Mother and all his dear chosen ones, the Lord may continually bless us all on earth and in heaven.