The virtue of modesty has disappeared from our vocabulary, not only from ordinary language, but also from Christian language. Who still speaks about modesty? From a purely linguistic point of view, it is such an outdated, unfashionable term, so distant from our present sensitivity, that reusing it for the cultivation of a mature Christian spirituality may even seem harmful. In short, it is considered an old word that should be discarded. It no longer conveys the positive meanings it once had.
But is this really the case? Can nothing of its meaning be recovered?
St. Vincent contemplates modesty with wonder, just as he does every other virtue, in Christ. “In Christ the Lord such modesty shone forth in His face, gestures, and words that entire crowds were drawn into the heart of the desert to enjoy His presence and listen to the words of eternal life flowing from His lips, even forgetting to eat and drink.” The reference is to the episode of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and to the crowds following Jesus. St. Vincent says that they were “attracted by His modesty.” This is the argument St. Vincent uses to encourage the practice of this virtue in the lives of missionaries. Modesty must be practiced for two reasons: 1) because Christ practiced it, and this is the principal reason; 2) because it possesses a powerful attraction for people. Therefore, a missionary who seeks to follow Christ and who lives among many people cannot fail to live modesty, which St. Vincent calls a “lovable virtue.” The first section of Chapter VII ends with the quotation from St. Paul: “Let your modesty be known to all people” (Phil 4:5).
Six further sections then describe how a missionary can and must be modest.
Modesty is the way one presents oneself to others. It is shown in the way one looks, speaks, dresses, walks, touches others, lives, and uses the goods at one’s disposal. St. Vincent first describes it negatively, excluding behaviors and attitudes contrary to it. Nothing frivolous, childish, or eccentric in one’s way of being (n. 2); no coarse or inappropriate physical contact in relationships (n. 3); nothing ostentatious in clothing (n. 4); no neglect in one’s dwelling (n. 5); no displays of vanity (n. 7). Positively, this translates into a sober, essential, reserved style of life, seeking dignity in every situation and requiring detachment from self in all things.
What St. Vincent proposes to his missionaries through the virtue of modesty is a program of evangelical life entirely centered on “forgetfulness of self.” At the center is not one’s own life, but the demands of the mission. The missionary must not draw attention to himself, but to the Kingdom of God. For this reason, he must disappear from the scene. He cannot place himself in the foreground. The missionary cannot rely on the power that comes from wealth or on the seductive force of appearances. On the contrary, the missionary believes in the silent and hidden witness of sobriety in the use of goods, simplicity in attitudes, reserve in behavior, graciousness in relationships, and dignity in both person and surroundings.
The virtue of modesty is a constant call to essentiality in life. Immersed in a world entirely devoted to outward appearances, to the pursuit of the superfluous, to the multiplication of words, and to sensational gestures that attract attention, the return to what is essential is the necessary corrective for a life worthy of the children of God.
Nicola Albanesi
