in

THE    SPIRIT   OF    SERVICE

YOU  know  that  God's  gifts  differ
greatly,  and  that  He  bestows  them
according  to  His  good  pleasure :  to
one  may  be  given  wisdom  but  he  may
lack  capacity  to  command  ;  another
may  go  far  on  the  path  of  sanctity
yet  not  be  able  to  guide  others.  And
further,  it  is  His  Divine  Providence  that
must  call  us  to  the  tasks  for  which  He
seems  to  have  given  us  capacity  ;  it  is
not  we  who  are  to  choose  for  ourselves.
Our  Lord  Who  meant  His  Apostles  to
be  the  leaders  of  the  whole  Church
throughout  the  world  told  them  that
it  was  He  who  had  chosen  them  ;  and
another  time,  seeing  that  there  was
rivalry  among  them  for  leadership,  He
gave  them  this  maxim — that  he  who

22


S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL        23

would  be  chief  must  be  the  servant  of
all, — to  show  us  that  of  ourselves  we
should  be  seeking  only  to  learn  sub
mission.  This  is  what  He  teaches  by
His  own  example  having  come  to  serve
others  and  taken  upon  Him  the  form
of  a  servant.  He,  then,  who  desires
to  exalt  himself  is  breaking  this  rule
and  rejecting  the  teaching  of  the  Son
of  God ;  he  is  joining  the  enemy,  and
surrendering  to  pride,  which  is  the
root  of  all  evil.
