Correction of our neighbour
"You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him"
St. Augustine
•We ought to respect the image of God in everyone.
"Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like fire in a musket. If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if the person takes the same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the word of God. If it is spoken by someone who is filled with the fire of charity- the fire of love of God and neighbor- it will work wonders."
St. Anthony Mary Claret
"On the question of relating to our fellowman – our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love."
St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)
•We ought to correct our neighbour out of charity
"Fight all error but do it with good humor, patience, kindness and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause."
St. John of Kanty
"Be gentle in your actions; speak with a peaceful mind and in a calm tone, and you will succeed better."
St. Paul of the Cross
"Meekness then, implies that when it is necessary to correct a brother we should do it with firmness, but at the same time with sweetness."
St. Alphonsus de Liguori
"Charity urges and impels me; it makes me run from town to town shouting, "Sinner, my son, look where you're heading; you are about to fall into hell. Stop! Don't take another step!" I often ask God, as St. Catherine of Siena did: " Lord, let me stand at the gates of hell and stop anyone from entering, by telling each of them, "Where are you going, poor fool?Turn back! Make a good confession and save your soul. Don't come here, to be lost for all eternity.""
St. Anthony Mary Claret
"Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
Luke 17:3
•Notes
When an opportunity presents itself for you to speak truth to a soul who is in need of it, always pray beforehand. Approach them with love and kindness. Never with spiritual elitism, condemnation or with the attitude that you are better than them. We are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God. Tell them that the reason you are going to say what you are about to say is because you love and care for them and their eternal souls, which is of the utmost importance.
#charity #correction
"You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him"
St. Augustine
•We ought to respect the image of God in everyone.
"Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like fire in a musket. If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if the person takes the same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the word of God. If it is spoken by someone who is filled with the fire of charity- the fire of love of God and neighbor- it will work wonders."
St. Anthony Mary Claret
"On the question of relating to our fellowman – our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love."
St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)
•We ought to correct our neighbour out of charity
"Fight all error but do it with good humor, patience, kindness and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause."
St. John of Kanty
"Be gentle in your actions; speak with a peaceful mind and in a calm tone, and you will succeed better."
St. Paul of the Cross
"Meekness then, implies that when it is necessary to correct a brother we should do it with firmness, but at the same time with sweetness."
St. Alphonsus de Liguori
"Charity urges and impels me; it makes me run from town to town shouting, "Sinner, my son, look where you're heading; you are about to fall into hell. Stop! Don't take another step!" I often ask God, as St. Catherine of Siena did: " Lord, let me stand at the gates of hell and stop anyone from entering, by telling each of them, "Where are you going, poor fool?Turn back! Make a good confession and save your soul. Don't come here, to be lost for all eternity.""
St. Anthony Mary Claret
"Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
Luke 17:3
•Notes
When an opportunity presents itself for you to speak truth to a soul who is in need of it, always pray beforehand. Approach them with love and kindness. Never with spiritual elitism, condemnation or with the attitude that you are better than them. We are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God. Tell them that the reason you are going to say what you are about to say is because you love and care for them and their eternal souls, which is of the utmost importance.
#charity #correction
St. Vincent de Paul and correctio fraterna
St. Vincent de Paul, when he was obliged to give correction, did it with such a moderation and in a manner at once so sweet and so effective that even the hardest hearts were softened and could not resist the power of his gentleness.
He said that in the whole course of his life he had given correction with harsh words only three times, in which he thought it necessary to do so; but every time he had been afterwards sorry, for the result proved to be bad; and in the contrary, by mildness he had always obtained what he desired.
The precautions which he used to render correction fruitful were the following:
• Unless it was absolutely necessary, he never gave correction at the moment the fault was commited, but took some time to consider before God the best way of treating it.
•He would show him marks of affection, and praise him if he could find anything to praise in him. He thus opened the way to reveal to him his fault with tact and, to make him see it's gravity and bad effects. He excused it too, and made the least he could of it, and then suggested the remedy, and as an encouragement to make use of it, added humbly that he too needed it.
• He ended the correction with encouragement. Often he would apparently pass over faults, making it appear that he had scarcely noticed them.
It was his opinion that those who had fallen into some faults should be admonished;
•The first time, at some fitting opportunity, with great kindness and and gentleness;
•The second, with a little severity and gravity accompanied, however, with graciousness and the suggestion of easy and charitable remedies.
•The third time, with zeal and firmness, and with a warning of the final remedy which would have to be applied
#charity #correction
St. Vincent de Paul, when he was obliged to give correction, did it with such a moderation and in a manner at once so sweet and so effective that even the hardest hearts were softened and could not resist the power of his gentleness.
He said that in the whole course of his life he had given correction with harsh words only three times, in which he thought it necessary to do so; but every time he had been afterwards sorry, for the result proved to be bad; and in the contrary, by mildness he had always obtained what he desired.
The precautions which he used to render correction fruitful were the following:
• Unless it was absolutely necessary, he never gave correction at the moment the fault was commited, but took some time to consider before God the best way of treating it.
•He would show him marks of affection, and praise him if he could find anything to praise in him. He thus opened the way to reveal to him his fault with tact and, to make him see it's gravity and bad effects. He excused it too, and made the least he could of it, and then suggested the remedy, and as an encouragement to make use of it, added humbly that he too needed it.
• He ended the correction with encouragement. Often he would apparently pass over faults, making it appear that he had scarcely noticed them.
It was his opinion that those who had fallen into some faults should be admonished;
•The first time, at some fitting opportunity, with great kindness and and gentleness;
•The second, with a little severity and gravity accompanied, however, with graciousness and the suggestion of easy and charitable remedies.
•The third time, with zeal and firmness, and with a warning of the final remedy which would have to be applied
#charity #correction
Ecce Verbum
Correction of our neighbour "You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him" St. Augustine •We ought to respect the image of God in everyone. "Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like…
On fraternal correction
"When we have to find fault with anyone, we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should bethink ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity.
But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us."
Saint Augustine
#correction
"When we have to find fault with anyone, we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should bethink ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity.
But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us."
Saint Augustine
#correction
Ecce Verbum
St. Vincent de Paul and correctio fraterna St. Vincent de Paul, when he was obliged to give correction, did it with such a moderation and in a manner at once so sweet and so effective that even the hardest hearts were softened and could not resist the power…
St. Basil and correctio fraterna
"Be strict without anger or flaccidity. When reprimanding someone for negligence, we have to be careful to do it in the appropriate measure, keeping in mind God’s ways. A criminal uses a knife to cut members out of the body, so does also the surgeon. While the criminal’s use of the knife is violent and merciless and for evil actions, the surgeon is merciful and cautious when he holds the knife with a noble, fruitful purpose in mind. Let those who reprimand in good spirit, be moderate in God’s views so that the person they deal with benefits and gets rid of his negligence. As for those who are inflicted with anger, they do not serve God. Also, in order to achieve humility, reprimand should be moderate, in the appropriate time, and only when there is need for that. It is said that Moses was the most patient man on earth; even so, when there became a need to reprimand, he was so troubled that he ordered the murdering of his fellow Israelites without compassion (Ex 32: 19-29). The reason was that they made a calf statue and worshipped it. A person who does nothing all day long is, by no means, a modest person but rather a passive one."
"A person who is in search of praise and avoids hurting people to get their love, is
not being a constructive instructor. Whereas, he who has got over such weaknesses, he is capable of overtly proclaiming the word of God with no affectation; actually, this is the one who truly loves his fellowmen."
source
Read more:
St. Vincent de Paul and correctio fraterna
Fr. Gabriel and correctio fraterna (Divine Intimacy)
Correction of our neighbours (selection of quotes)
We ought to edify others by our conduct (selection of quotes)
#charity #correction
"Be strict without anger or flaccidity. When reprimanding someone for negligence, we have to be careful to do it in the appropriate measure, keeping in mind God’s ways. A criminal uses a knife to cut members out of the body, so does also the surgeon. While the criminal’s use of the knife is violent and merciless and for evil actions, the surgeon is merciful and cautious when he holds the knife with a noble, fruitful purpose in mind. Let those who reprimand in good spirit, be moderate in God’s views so that the person they deal with benefits and gets rid of his negligence. As for those who are inflicted with anger, they do not serve God. Also, in order to achieve humility, reprimand should be moderate, in the appropriate time, and only when there is need for that. It is said that Moses was the most patient man on earth; even so, when there became a need to reprimand, he was so troubled that he ordered the murdering of his fellow Israelites without compassion (Ex 32: 19-29). The reason was that they made a calf statue and worshipped it. A person who does nothing all day long is, by no means, a modest person but rather a passive one."
"A person who is in search of praise and avoids hurting people to get their love, is
not being a constructive instructor. Whereas, he who has got over such weaknesses, he is capable of overtly proclaiming the word of God with no affectation; actually, this is the one who truly loves his fellowmen."
source
Read more:
St. Vincent de Paul and correctio fraterna
Fr. Gabriel and correctio fraterna (Divine Intimacy)
Correction of our neighbours (selection of quotes)
We ought to edify others by our conduct (selection of quotes)
#charity #correction
www.newadvent.org
SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: Fraternal correction (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 33)
Is fraternal correction an act of charity? Is it a matter of precept? Does this precept bind all, or only superiors? Does this precept bind the subject to correct his superior? May a sinner correct anyone? Should one correct a person who becomes worse through…