These words written by the late St. John Vianney struck me as invaluable especially for one or others who might have become years ago, prone to ugliness from the surreptitious viper of pride that can slither about, unsupervised and unknown to those who are to be supervising such a one. The viper bites the one who seemingly does not flinch due to a numbing desire for self-importance and misplaced hopes of being an authority in something, anything, that to the bitten and smitten appears grandiose. Such a one might embellish their backgrounds and time lines, exaggerates (cousin to deceive) and then proceeds to demean and detract any other who such a person fears threatens their supremacy even in such a vocation as hermit--the vocation intended for the least of these, the lowly nothings to God's ALL.
For any of my blog readers who been deceived and demeaned by such a one, you likely realize the poisoned one may be incapable of ceasing. Rather, such a one has become more devious and clever (distinctive trademarks of the devil who is often referenced as a snake), and most all of us do all to avoid such a one by keeping the armor of God on us at all times, including the added layer of humility to strengthen the armor. These wise words of advice from St. John Vianney are for any of us who have been victim to such a snake-poisoned person, for we know it is by the grace of God that we have not fallen likewise to the viper's poison. We pray never to become like those who fall to temptation to prestige, position, and power--as ridiculous as that would seem for a hermit to succumb to deception in that desire.
For our protection and reminder to not follow in the scandalous, scurrilous words and actions of those who persist in mean-spirited treachery, no matter how cleverly masked or plead false denials of wrong-doing, let us keep these words of St. John Vianney close at hand-and-heart. Let us re-read often, for as is true of those sad souls, bitten by pride and poisoned by narcissism (and other vices)--we are vulnerable ourselves to the devil-viper of evil, and must do all to protect ourselves from a likewise demise of character. We know from such examples of those bitten and poisoned, from all the damage they have done to those they chose to denegrate--that before long such ones became or become habitual, poisoned, disordered personalities, transparent to humankind and God alike.
Likewise we know as hermits of God, we would instead of risking all to the fate of those poisoned by the demon viper, we pray do all to ask God to receive the implanted Tree of Humility, whose roots God implants in our minds and hearts. We vow and strive by God's grace to nurture God's Tree of Humility so it can sprout up and outward from our very souls regardless the cost of this Tree of Humility--priceless to any Christian but especially desired by true and devoutly seeking hermits of God. We pray and never lose hope for those bitten and poisoned by the demon-viper, for conversion and reversal from such ugliness. But we know to practice in earnest the avoidance of what St. John Vianney reminds us that will tear down others--as he states below--and instead to seek words and actions of loving kindness that build up each and every soul and thus uplift the Body of Christ. These uplifted souls of the Body of Christ are given to God Is Love in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Head. Thereby His Church is elevated.
Let no one be detracted, attacked, libeled or slandered, meanly criticized, by us. May we learn from the woes of the evil doers, bitten and. poisioned by the demon-viper; may we pray for them and attempt Chrsitian, fraternal correction. If that fails, keep praying but stay clear of the evil-doers. They may be so poisoned they know no what they are doing. Forgive, take back our peace, shake he dust as testament against them, and move on to the next place which for us is to live the most holy and devout of hermit or other vocational lives we will be graced to live with the Tree of Humility and by the love of the Trinity.
"His ears opened and his mouth opened and he spoke correctly" Mk 7:35
How desirable it would be, my brothers, that we could say of each of us what the Gospel says of this mute that Jesus healed, that he spoke very well. Alas! My brothers, could we not, on the contrary, reproach that we almost always speak badly, especially when we talk about our neighbor. What is the conduct of most Christians these days? Here it is. Criticize, censor, blacken and condemn what the neighbor does and says: these are all the most common, the most universally widespread vices, and, perhaps, the worst of all. Vice that you can never hate enough, vice which has the most fatal consequences, which carries disturbance and desolation everywhere. Ah! May God give me one of these coals of which the angel used to purify the lips of the prophet Isaiah (cf. is 6, 6-7), in order to purify the language of all men! Oh ! How many ailments would be banished from the earth, if we could chase away this backbiting! May I, my brothers, give you so much horror, that you have the happiness of correcting you forever! I finish saying that, not only, it is bad to depreciate and slander others, but also to listen to backbiting and slander with pleasure; Because if no one listened, there would be no sown. (…) Let us often say: "My God, give me the grace to know myself. "Happy ! A thousand times happy, the one who will only use his tongue to ask God for forgiveness for his sins and sing his praises!"
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