A Man who only sought mortification and mortified his flesh by every penitential austerity, such a man, it is easily understood, possessed great mastery over himself. In spite of this Saint Vincent was watchful and timid, as though he saw beside him the angel of Satan, who buffeted Saint Paul. In order to paralyse the attempts of this cruel enemy of souls he imposed early on himself the five following rules, from which he never swerved:
(1) The first was never to visit any lady, not even a Lady of Charity, at least unless the Glory of God required it.
(2) In such company his conversations were very short, and his whole exterior marked with perfect modesty. His eyes never rested on any of these persons, and his expression was serious. He kept his eyes modestly cast down, without effort and without affectation, so that he resembled an angel rather than a man.
(3) Even when eighty years old he never remained alone with a woman, either at home or outside. Everywhere he took a companion, who had orders not to leave him for a moment.
(4) If they were speaking of matters of conscience this companion withdrew a little aside so that he could not hear what was said, although never out of sight. A noble lady (wife of the Field-Marshal of Schomberg) having come to pay a visit to Saint Vincent at Saint Lazare, the Brother who should have accompanied him to the parlour withdrew out of respect for the lady and closed the door. The Saint immediately recalled him, pointed out his fault and forbade him to go away. This happened on several occasions.
(5) Doubtless he must often have had to do with persons who were in need of consolation, but to dispel the bitterness of their heart he never made use of anything but the words of Holy Scripture, always keeping clear of those affectionate expressions which would not cure one evil without creating another. "I wish to believe," he said in speaking of a letter which was expressed in too tender terms, and about which he was consulted, "I wish to believe that the person who wrote it saw no harm in it, but one must own that this letter is capable of creating an undesirable impression on a susceptible mind, and one less strong than your own. May the Lord preserve us from having frequent intercourse with any person who can exercise such a bad influence on our mind."
Knowing that purity is like those mirrors of which a light breath tarnishes the splendour, his prudence in speech reached the limits of circumspection. The word Chastity seemed to him to be too expressive; he replaced it by Purity, of which the meaning is wider and less explicit. When speaking of the disorders of those victims of debauchery who not only wreck their own souls, but also ruin so many others, he alluded to them by the name of poor creatures, and their misconduct he called their misfortune. Any speech that was rather free made him suddenly blush, and if he were able he would immediately reproach those who had spoken thus in his presence. He was, like his Divine Master, calumniated on various points, but thanks to these wise precautions his reputation, like that of his Master, remained always intact as regards purity. On the contrary, he was considered (and he well deserved it) as one of the most zealous protectors of Chastity. We know that on his Missions he managed to snatch from imminent danger a number of young girls and women who were being sorely tempted to yield. In the provinces desolated by war he fed and clothed an enormous number of them, who would probably have been drawn into the gravest disorders through misery and hunger. Lorraine, where his memory will never perish, is indebted to him for the honour of her young girls, whom he brought to Paris in numerous groups, and who through the intervention of the Ladies of Charity were given a shelter with pious persons. It was under his auspices that two holy well-to-do widows opened their homes to thousands of pure young maidens, who were rescued from most serious and imminent danger of losing their innocence. Saint Vincent insisted that, although living in retreat, these maidens still needed to be watched carefully, and he would not have them lost sight of for a single moment.
Saint Vincent was just as attentive in preserving the purity of outsiders as he was with regard to his own children. I must confess that if one did not know how great is the corruption of the human heart one would think he carried his precautions even to excess.
A Parish Priest (or, to be more correct, one of his own priests, who had charge of souls) asked him if he should take a companion when visiting the sick. He answered: "Oh, my God, we must be on our guard not to fail in this. When the Son of God ordered His Apostles to go two and two He doubtless saw great harm in sending them alone. Now who would wish to depart from a custom which He introduced amongst His own, and which the Company has always followed? Experience has taught many religious Communities that to avoid malicious tongues it is necessary to leave the infirmary door open, and the bed curtains drawn away in convents, whilst the confessors are administering the Sacraments to the sick."
He was consulted one day by a priest of upright and simple mind if, in order to judge of the serious state of invalids, with a view to administering the Last Sacraments, he could feel their pulse. "One should be careful not to make use of this practice," replied the Saint, "for the evil spirit can avail himself of this pretext to tempt both the living and the dying. The devil leaves no stone unturned to tempt the soul at the supreme moment. The vigour of the mind may still remain although the body may be weakened." (Here the Saint quoted the testimony of a dying man who in his last moments declared that he believed himself still in danger of these kinds of temptations.) "Besides," he concluded, "if you wish to know the condition of the patient, ask some doctor or other person present to render you this service."
The Saint required that one should sometimes abstain from actions which were lawful, and even good and holy, if according to the judgment of those who are our guides these things might give rise to suspicion. And this, because, of all suspicions, just or unjust, there are none which strike such a terrible blow at a priest, at his virtue, or at his functions, as that which casts a cloud upon the purity of his principles. What he prescribed to his ecclesiastics he advised also to seculars, because, although there may be no harm in these private conversations, they give occasion for thinking so; and, further, the means to preserve purity is to avoid all occasions which might tarnish it.
Notwithstanding his strictness, Saint Vincent was too enlightened a man to desire anyone to become frightened by foolish imaginations merely crossing through the mind, and from which the purest saints are not exempt. He wrote to one of his own: "You must not allow yourself to be depressed by the temptations you experience; this is a trial which God sends you to humble you and make you afraid of your own weakness, but you must trust completely in Him. His Grace is sufficient to enable you to avoid sin and to make you recognize how much you need His help. Accustom yourself to hide your heart in the sacred Wounds of Jesus Christ every time that you are assailed by such impurities; Here is a refuge which is not accessible to the devil."
Practice - Let him who desires to preserve the precious virtue of purity strictly avoid familiarities with the opposite sex. Let us also avoid, on this point, every word which might be wrongly interpreted.
- text taken from Virtue and Christian Refinement According to the Spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, by Saint John Bosco