On the Repair of the Interior, by the R.-P. Jean-Joseph Surin
Extract from the SPIRITUAL CATECHISM OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, VOLUME I, Composed by RPJJ SURIN, of the Society of Jesus:
On Repairing the Interior
What are the causes of interior decay?
The first is dissipation; when the mind gives too much attention to external objects, and turning away from the presence of God, it imperceptibly loses its strength, and falls into relaxation. This dissipation comes from the eagerness we have for useless occupations, or from the large number of those which seem necessary. It also introduces itself thanks to natural satisfactions and vain amusements that we indulge in. The second cause of interior decadence is the interruption of holy exercises and practices of virtue: we are exact in fulfilling them for a time, then we forget them, or we neglect them; it is the means of soon falling away: the spirit can only maintain its vigor by assiduity and constancy in doing what one has undertaken. The great damage from within also comes from the fact that we often act without purity of intention and without fervor, in a natural way and by pure custom, our heart needing to be supported and strengthened by great motives. of the love of God and the desire to please him; otherwise it falls of itself, and degrades itself by lowering itself to human and natural motives.
How can the interior be repaired?
By using three means directly opposed to the causes of its decadence. The first is to resume the habit of contemplation, to reunite one's dissipated strength, in the manner that we described in the previous Chapter. It is now a matter of providing a particular means of restoring the interior through the practice of meditation. We must begin by condemning ourselves to a rigorous silence, at least for two or three months, during which we must only speak of things necessary or useful for spiritual advancement. During this time, one must renounce all useless occupation, everything that only results in self-satisfaction, so that there is nothing outside that distracts attention from the inner self. soul, and let all its strength be employed within. If with this we apply ourselves assiduously to prayer, we will soon regain what we had lost through dissipation. What would be very necessary on these occasions would be to go into retreat: the divorce that we would make for a time with external objects, combined with frequent prayers, would make the remedy that we propose easier and more effective.
What is the second way that contributes to recovery from within?
It is a constant and continual application to combat the inclinations and movements of nature. The relaxation of the interior is always accompanied by nonchalance in the practice of good, and ease in committing evil. We no longer take pains to lie as before; we give in to impatience; we hurt charity by our words; we take small revenge; we praise ourselves; we seek each other out in every encounter. He who wants to recover his first fervor must be on guard against his faults, and stifle even the slightest movements, as soon as he feels them arising in his soul. And, to cut off evil more surely, we must aim to cut out everything that is useless, and that we only undertake for our own pleasure. The dissipation into which we do not fail to fall, when we relax, has the habit of engaging in readings, in visits and conversations which, not having God as our motive, only weaken us and hasten the ruin of our interior.
What means with you to effectively resist the inclinations of nature, which lead to evil, and to remove the uselessness to which dissipation involves?
There is nothing other than frequent reflection and examination of conscience. As it is through prayer that one accustoms oneself to meditation, it is through examination of conscience that he who works to repair from within must use to get rid of his faults. By examining ourselves and returning to ourselves, we know our faults, we correct them by arming ourselves with holy resolutions, and by strengthening ourselves through penance.
What is the third way to repair the interior?
It is the righteousness of intention by which we consider and seek only the good, that is to say, the will of God in all things. This practice contains three points. The first looks at the nature of our actions; we must only do good ones, move away from those that are bad, and do without those that are useless, often asking ourselves if we are in the order of God's will, if we applies to what is duty, to what contributes to spiritual advancement. The second point is to bring one's intention to God, and to take particular care to make it straight and pure, speaking with the heart rather than with the mouth; I want to do this for God, for his greater glory, for the salvation of souls, etc. This is how we fill ourselves with the love of God, and how we manage to renew our interior. The third point is not to be satisfied with the general intention by which we offer all our actions to God, in the morning when we wake up, at Mass or in prayer; but to make this intention actual and particular in all its actions; which must be practiced constantly by elevations of the heart, until the habit is formed, and the soul carries itself as of itself to the will of God, loves it, desires it and 'kisses; which is the noblest intention that one can propose.
