Introduction to the Devout Life

Briefly, the true widow abides in the Church as a little March violet, ¹⁷⁷¹⁷⁷ “Quarn gloriosa enirn Ecclesia, et quanta virtutum multitudine, quasi florum varietate! Habet hortus ille Dominicus non solum rosas martyrum, sed et lilia virginum, et conjugatorum hederas, violasque viduarum Prorsus, Dilectissimi, nullum genus hominum de sua vocatione desperet: pro omnibus passus est Christus.”—S. Aug. Serm. ccciv., In Laurent. Mart. iii. cap. 1-3. “How glorious is the Church, how countless her graces, varied as the flowers of earth in beauty! This garden of the Lord bears not only the martyr’s rose, but the virgin’s lily, the ivy wreath of wedded love, and the violet of widowhood. Therefore, beloved, let none despair of his calling, since Christ suffered for all.” shedding forth an exquisite sweetness through the perfume of her 288 devotion, ever concealing herself beneath the ample leaves of her heart’s lowliness, while her subdued colouring indicates her mortification. She dwells in waste, uncultivated places, because she shrinks from the world’s intercourse, and seeks to shelter her heart from the glare with which earthly longings, whether of honours, wealth, or love itself, might dazzle her. “Blessed is she if she so abide,” says the holy Apostle. ¹⁷⁸¹⁷⁸ 1 Cor. vii. 40. “Beatior autem erit si sic permanserit.”—Vulgate.

Much more could I say on this subject, but suffice it to bid her who seeks to be a widow indeed, read S. Jerome’s striking Letters to Salvia, and the other noble ladies who rejoiced in being the spiritual children of such a Father. Nothing can be said more, unless it be to warn the widow indeed not to condemn or even censure those who do resume the married life, for there are cases in which God orders it thus to His Own greater Glory. We must ever bear in mind the ancient teaching, that in Heaven virgins, wives, and widows will know no difference, save that which their true hearts’ humility assigns them.