On the Dignity of Man

The dignity of man is comprehended in this saying, "Everything that is not God is unworthy of man." It is only necessary for this saying to be well understood, and it would draw sinners from their vices, and raise the good to the highest summit of perfection. I believe that to convert souls and carry them on to the most sublime virtue there is no need of a multitude of considerations: one alone is sufficient, provided it be well meditated upon, that the soul is penetrated by it, that it is allowed to influence the conduct, and that it is followed out in practice to its utmost extent. Such is the consideration which I am about to propose. Let us first convince ourselves of the truth of it, and then let us make up our minds to practise it with the greatest fidelity.

Everything that is not God is unworthy of man unworthy of occupying his mind, unworthy of occupying his heart, unworthy of being the motive or the principal objects of his actions. Can we have any doubts on the subject if we reflect a little upon what we are, upon the intention God had in creating and redeeming us, and upon what other creatures, whether they are our superiors, our equals, or our inferiors, are really with regard to us? Can we have any doubts about it if we consider that our mind was created to know God, and our heart to love Him: that our destiny is to possess Him eternally, and that the present life is only given to us that we may merit this great happiness? Can we have any doubts about it if we cast our eyes on the goods of this world, and compare them with the nature of our souls, with the grandeur of the ideas of the soul, and the immensity of its desires? The goods of this world are either corporal, and so can have no proportion with a substance which is purely spiritual, or they are based solely on the opinion of men, and so are false and visionary. Besides, they are in their very nature inadequate, fragile, fleeting, and perishable. Can we doubt this if we consult our own hearts, and observe that as long as our hearts are fixed upon created objects they are happy only in hope and in idea, never in reality: that they are always craving, always uneasy, always tormented by fear and desire? On the contrary, from the moment that we give our hearts entirely to God they begin to be in peace and repose, and we feel that no man and no event can take away this peace from us unless through our own fault?

If all these reasons agree in proving to us the truth of that saying, there is nothing more to do but to make it the rule of our lives, and follow it out to its extreme limits. For to believe it true, and yet make no use of it as regards our conduct, is to behave as fools and madmen, and to pronounce our own condemnation.

Everything that is not God is unworthy of me. I ought then to say to myself, I must not then esteem anything unduly or fix my affections on anything which passes away with time; that is to say, on no created thing whatsoever, and without exception. This is the first consideration which will regulate my mind and my heart in the use of all the things of this life. All these things pass away, they fly away like shadows; nothing is worthy of my love but that which is eternal.

God wishes me to make use of the things of time for a time; but He does not wish me to make any account of them; He does not wish me to place my happiness in them: He simply employs them as a means of proving my love and my fidelity, and He will punish or reward me according to the use I make of them.

What must I then think of all those things upon which men pride themselves, and which they desire so passionately? What must be my judgment as to the advantages of birth or rank which I have in this world, as to the consideration which I enjoy, or the honours which are rendered to me? Are these things worthy of me? Do these things deserve the least attention, the least regard on my part? Have I any reason, for such things as these, to prefer myself to any other person, whoever he may be?

What should be my judgment as to any advantages of mind or body which I may possess? What are in reality all these miseries of which some people are vain? What does it really matter to me if I have a little more or less of intellect, or talent, or friends, or knowledge, or beauty? Am I any better for these things in the eyes of God? Should they make me think more highly of myself? Or, if I do not possess these advantages, should it be a subject of complaint or affliction to me? Oh, how infinitely beneath m are all these purely natural advantages, and how I lower myself if I make of them a subject of self-congratulation!

And as to the gifts of fortune, which procure for me the pleasures and comforts of life, are they worthy of me? Everything of this kind which exceeds what is necessary, is it worthy of my desires or my eagerness?

Riches, after all, have only for their object the body, and the well-being of the body: is it not to lower myself to the condition of the animals when I make of my body a god, an idol; and give all my care to. a mass of flesh which only serves as a prison for my soul?

And even health, and life itself, when looked at in the light of eternity, are they possessions worthy of me? And should I distress myself so much to preserve them, and fear so much to lose them? If this life is not given entirely to God, if it is not devoted entirely to His service, is it an advantage? Is it not rather an evil, and a great evil, since long years will only heap up sorrows and sins?

But we may think, is not honour at least, is not the care of our reputation, is not the esteem of men, an advantage which we may safely desire? May we not fear what will make us lose this esteem, and seek what will gain it for us? I agree that we must live in such a manner as to give no cause for scandal; but that must be because God sees us, not because men see us. If our conscience reproaches us with nothing, why should we be alarmed, or grieved, or tormented by the false judgment and the vain conversation of men?

Are their judgments and opinions the rule of what is true? Is it in this way that God will judge us? And if I have God and my own conscience on my side, what more can I desire?

But, you may say, I pass for what I am not; I cannot show myself anywhere; every one is speaking against me, and spreading reports which cover me with shame, and contempt, and ridicule. Yes, humanly speaking, this is an evil undoubtedly, and even one of the greatest evils of this life. But is it an evil when we look at it from a religious point of view? Is it an evil from God's point of view when we make to Him the sacrifice of our reputation? Is it not rather a good, and a very great good, if our virtue and our piety draw down upon us the censure, the contempt, and the ridicule of the world? And even if these things should go farther, if we should incur persecution, or even death, and the most terrible punishments, has not Jesus Christ Himself, the eternal Truth, pronounced that those who suffer such things are "blessed;" and we know that He chose for Himself this kind of blessedness.

Then, since God alone is worthy of me, that which God loves and esteems is also that which alone deserves my esteem and my love. Now, what is it that God esteems? It is precisely that which the world despises; and, in like manner, everything that is great, and high, and honourable in the eyes of the world is an "abomination" in the eyes of God: these are the very words of the Gospel.

The reason of this difference is that God looks upon things as they regard Himself, and His own glory, and His eternal designs for us, whereas men look upon things as they regard themselves and this present life.

Which of these two rules must I follow in my judgments? What is it that God loves? It is precisely that which the world hates. God loves poverty, crosses, humiliations, sufferings, everything that detaches us from the things of this life, and fixes our thoughts and affections upon future and eternal things.

The world, on the contrary, loves everything that attaches it more strongly to the things of time, and makes it lose sight of the things of eternity and the desire of heaven. Which of these two is the best judge of the greatness and dignity of man? Which is the best judge of his happiness, and the means of obtaining it?

What then must we do if we wish to be saints? One thing, and one only: we must continually apply to our conduct and our actions this consideration: Everything that is not God, everything that is not infinite, eternal, immense, as He is, is not worthy of me. I am made for God alone. I ought only to love, and esteem, and seek after that which will bring me nearer to God, which will give me, even in this life, the enjoyment of Him by faith, and which will assure me of the eternal possession of Him one day in Heaven. I ought to despise, and hate, and avoid all which may separate me from Him, everything which drives Him from my soul, or exposes me to the danger of losing Him for ever. And where shall I find the just and unfailing discernment of these things? I shall find it in the Gospel; in the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. God was made man; He lived and conversed with man, to teach us what is our true dignity, our true greatness. It is only in the light of the Gospel that man is truly great, because there alone he is seen in intimate relationship with God. Everywhere else, even in the writings of the most sublime philosophers, he is small, because there it is not seen that God alone is his object, his centre, his first beginning and his last end.

O my God! penetrate my soul with this sublime truth, which makes of me a being so noble, so elevated, in Your eyes: penetrate my soul with this idea of my own dignity. Suffer me not to stoop, or to seek my satisfaction in anything less than You! Be henceforth the sole object of my thoughts and affections; may I refer everything to You alone; may the lessons and the example of Jesus Christ be the only rules of my conduct; and may I trample under foot all creatures, my own pride, and my own self-love; thus by dying to everything and to myself also, to raise myself even to You, my beginning and my last end, the sole and only source of my eternal happiness! Amen.

- taken from Manual for Interior Souls, by Father Jean Nicolas Grou