Remedies for Envy

There is nothing more difficult to cure than envy, nothing that causes the soul more suffering, vexation and torment of mind. It gnaws at the heart like a worm. The chief remedies against it are fervent prayer, the practice of humility and reflection on the grievousness of this sin, the difficulty of its cure and the evils that flow from it. The lives of Saints will offer many inspirations.

The virtue opposed to envy is charity or brotherly love. Brotherly love causes us to consider our neighbor's interests as our own. It makes us willing to act and suffer for others, inspires a hearty sympathy in another's trials and sorrows and a willingness to assist him. It fills us with sincere joy in his successes and represses any feelings of rancor or ill-will that arise.

Envy is a tool of the devil, who goes about the world seeking the ruin of souls because he envies their good and wants to revenge himself against God by destroying them. If we do not want to be his tool, we must strive to make peace and love the fundamental rule of our relationship with others. We are all brothers before God, and by Baptism we have become members of the one Mystical Body of Christ. Hence, when we injure another, we sin against Our Lord and against our own self. We must see Christ in all men, if we are always to speak well of others, defend them and help them by acts of charity. We are all one Body, all seeking the same end–eternal life together in Heaven. And as we are all one Body, so we must all be animated by one spirit, the Spirit of Christ–the Holy Spirit, who is Charity.

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