Spiritual Infancy: Living an Attitude of Absolute Obedience
I intend to regard every creature as my superior. And therefore I intend to execute all orders for the love of God. (OOCC, X, p. 158; STA, 267)
St. Vincent Pallotti considered the virtue of spiritual childhood as a way of living an attitude of absolute obedience. In his personal life, he cultivated the “attitude of being governed” by and “being obedient” to those in leadership positions. Living the spirit of spiritual childhood demands, for St. Vincent, that the attitude of obedience is directed towards even the lowliest person one encounters in his daily life. St. Vincent practiced this virtue not only towards his spiritual director and his superiors, but also towards every creature. Hence, he said that he desired to regard every creature as his superior. He also pledged that he intended to obey every order given to him, no matter from whom the order came. He made a resolution to obey readily, exactly, happily, and simply any order given by any person, whether he was a superior or an inferior. With the help of the practice of this extreme form of obedience, St. Vincent learned the meaning of humility experientially, his love for God increased, and he became more devoted to God. Thus, the practice of the virtue of spiritual childhood, for St. Vincent, was an open acceptance of his littleness before God. It is a humble submission to God’s will without dejection.
Do I recognize that the living of spiritual childhood calls me to practice the virtue of obedience unconditionally? Am I ready to obey those in authority? Am I willing to obey those who are inferior to me? Does the practice of spiritual childhood increase my love of God and teach me humility?
Your obedience is known to all … I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil. (Rom. 16: 19)