List of points

You remember the parable of the Good Samaritan? A poor man lies by the roadside, covered with the injuries he has received from thieves who have robbed him of his last penny. A priest of the Old Law passes by, and a little later a Levite. They both continue on their way without bothering to help. 'But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came upon him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And he went up to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And setting him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn and took care of him.' Note that this is not an example provided by Our Lord for the benefit of just a few select people, since he immediately adds in answer to his questioner, that is to each one of us: 'Go and do the same yourself.'

Therefore, when in our own life or in that of others we notice something that isn't going well, something that requires the spiritual and human help which, as children of God, we can and ought to provide, then a clear sign of prudence is to apply the appropriate remedy by going to the root of the trouble, resolutely, lovingly and sincerely. There is no room here for inhibitions, for it is a great mistake to think that problems can be solved by omissions or procrastination.

Prudence demands that the right medicine be used whenever the situation calls for it. Once the wound has been laid bare, the cure should be applied in full and without palliatives. When you see the slightest symptom that something is wrong, be straightforward and truthful about it, irrespective of whether it involves helping someone else or whether it is your own problem. When such help is needed, we must allow the person who, in the name of God, has the qualifications to carry out the cure, to press in on the infected wound, first from a distance, and then closer and closer until all the pus is squeezed out and the infection eradicated at its source. We must apply these procedures first to ourselves, and then to those whom, for reasons of justice or charity, we are obliged to help: I pray specially that parents, and everyone whose job it is to train and educate, may do this well.

Don't let any hypocritical excuse hold you back: apply the dose in full. But go about it with a motherly hand, with the almost infinite tenderness shown by our own mothers, when they were treating the hurts and injuries, big or little, resulting from our childhood games and falls. When it is better to wait a few hours, by all means do so. But never wait longer than is strictly necessary. Any other approach would imply cowardice or a desire not to inconvenience ourselves, which is very different from prudence. Everyone, especially those of you who have the job of training others, must put aside the fear of getting at the wound to disinfect it.

It could happen that someone might whisper cunningly in the ears of those who have to heal, but are hesitant or unwilling to face up to their obligations: 'Master, we know that you are truthful…' Don't tolerate such ironical praise. Those who don't make the effort to carry out their task diligently are not masters, because they don't teach the true way. Nor are they truthful, since their false prudence leads them to despise or regard as exaggerated the clear guidelines which have been tested a thousand times over by upright conduct, by age, by the science of government, by the knowledge of human weakness, and by the love for each and every sheep of the flock. They are guidelines which impel one to speak up, to intervene, to show concern.

False teachers are afraid of getting to the bottom of things. They get uneasy at the very idea, never mind the obligation, of having to use a painful antidote when circumstances require it. You can be quite sure that in such an attitude there is no prudence: and no piety or good sense either. It reflects instead a timid disposition, a lack of responsibility, foolishness and stupidity. These are the people who will afterwards panic, at the sight of disaster, and try to stop the evil when it is already too late. They forget that the virtue of prudence demands that we find out and pass on in good time the calm advice that comes from maturity, long experience, unhindered vision and unhampered speech.

I won't hide from you the fact that, when I have to correct someone or take a decision that will cause pain, I suffer before, during and after it; and I am not a sentimental person. It consoles me to think that it is only animals that don't cry. We men, children of God, do cry. As I see it, there will be times when you too will have to suffer if you are really serious about doing your duty faithfully. Don't forget that it is more comfortable (though it is a mistake) to avoid suffering at any cost, with the excuse of not wanting to hurt others. This inhibition often hides a shameful escape on our part from suffering, since it isn't usually pleasant to correct someone in a serious matter. My children, remember that hell is full of closed mouths.

A number of you here are doctors. Forgive my presumption in taking another example from medicine. What I say may not be very scientific, but the ascetical comparison will still be valid. To heal a wound, the first thing to do is to clean it well, including a wide area around it. The surgeon knows that the cleaning hurts, but he also knows that there will be worse pain later if it is not done. A disinfectant is also applied immediately. Naturally it stings (or, as they say where I come from, it prickles) and hurts the patient. But it's the only way if the wound is not to become infected.

If it is obvious that such measures must be taken to protect bodily health, although it may only be a relatively minor wound, then when the health of the soul is at stake — the very nerve centre of a man's life — how much more necessary it is to wash, to cut away, to scrape, to disinfect, to suffer! Prudence demands that we intervene in this way and that we don't flee from duty, because to side-step our obligations here would indicate a great lack of concern for and even a grave offence against the virtues of justice and fortitude.

You can be sure that a Christian who really wants to do everything honestly in the eyes of God and of his neighbour, needs to possess all the virtues, at least potentially. But Father, you will ask me, what about my weaknesses? And I will answer: can't a doctor who is sick cure others, even if his illness is chronic? Will his illness prevent him from prescribing proper treatment for other patients? Obviously not. In order to cure others, all he needs is to have the necessary knowledge and to apply it with the same concern as he would in his own case.

I once heard someone say very rashly that the experience of one's lapses serves to make one fall a further hundred times into the same error. I tell you, instead, that a prudent person makes use of these setbacks to be more careful in the future, to learn to do good and to renew his decision to seek greater holiness. From your failures and successes in God's service, seek always to draw, together with an increase in love, a stronger determination to carry on fulfilling your rights and duties as Christian citizens, no matter what the cost. And do this manfully, without fleeing from honours or responsibilities, without being afraid of the reactions we produce in those around us, perhaps originating from false brethren, when we nobly and loyally try to seek God's glory and the good of our neighbour.

So, then, we have to be prudent. Why is this? In order to be just, in order to live charity, and to give good service to God and to all our fellow men. Not without good reason has prudence been called genitrix virtutum, the mother of virtues, and also auriga virtutum, the guide of every good habit.