According to Father Patrick Gearon, “Envy is a sort of madness which cannot bear to witness the prosperity of another. The envious rejoice in the misfortunes of others, and they rejoice even when no advantage accrues to themselves.”
The Fathers of the Church pointed out that the envious do most damage to themselves. St. Basil said, “Envy is the most dangerous of our passions and the worst of evils, and the fact of its being a domestic evil only adds weight to the gravity. Rust consumes iron, envy consumes the heart. The viper when born enters the entrails of its mother, and envy in like manner destroys the soul that gives it birth.”
St. John Chrysostom said, “Moths and worms do not enter into wool and wood with so much persistency as envy gnaws the entrails of those who suffer from the attacks of that passion.”
Philosopher Pythagoras said, “A shadow always accompanies the man walking in the sunshine, so he who distinguishes himself above his fellow men must expect to have envy as his companion on his journey.”
Father Patrick Gearon wrote, “Did you ever stop to reflect how Our Lord was the victim of envy? Disappointments met Him at every turn of the road. Suspicion and jealousy dogged His footsteps even from the first. Later on, His rivals, failing to be able to accomplish the works He had done, accused Him of deception. He went about doing good, casting blessings at every turn. So His enemies contrived to stop Him.”
Reading the lives of the saints help us to realize that many saints were the victims of envy, such as St. Faustina. She wrote, “I am greatly surprised at how one can be so jealous. When I see someone else’s good, I rejoice at it as if it were mine. The joy of others is my joy, and the suffering of others is my suffering, for otherwise I would not dare to commune with the Lord Jesus. The spirit of Jesus is always simple, meek, sincere; all malice, envy, and unkindness disguised under a smile of good will are clever little devils. A severe word flowing from sincere love does not wound the heart.”
St. Faustina encountered envious souls even in religious life. One day the Lord explained to her: “There are souls with whom I can do nothing. They are souls that are continuously observing others, but know nothing of what is going on within their own selves. They talk about others continually, even during times of grand silence, which is reserved for speaking only with Me. Poor souls, they do not hear My words; their interior remains empty. They do not look for Me within their own hearts, but in idle talk, where I am never to be found. They sense their emptiness, but they do not recognize their own guilt, while souls in whom I reign completely are a constant source of remorse to them. Instead of correcting themselves, their hearts swell with envy, and if they do not come to their senses, they plunge in even deeper. A heart, which thus far is envious, now begins to be filled with hate. And they are already at the edge of the precipice. They are jealous of my gifts in other souls, but they themselves are unable and unwilling to accept them.”
The saints gave practical advice in overcoming envy. St. John Vianney said: “If we are tempted to thoughts of envy against our neighbour, far from letting him see it by our cold manner, we must go out of our way to be friendly and do him any service that lies in our power.”
St. John Chrysostom suggested us to turn temptation of envy into opportunity to praise God. He said, “Would you like to see God glorified by you? Then rejoice in your brother’s progress, and you will immediately give glory to God. Because His servant could conquer envy by rejoicing in the merits of others, God will be praised.”
妒忌吞噬人心
據Patrick Gearon神父說：『妒忌是一種錯亂，不忍看見他人的成功。妒忌的人樂於看見他人的不幸，甚至他人的不幸不會給他們帶來好處。』
教父們指出妒忌的人傷害自己最多。聖巴西略說：『妒忌對我們的感情最為危險，是最壞的邪惡，其實，它作為內在的邪惡，只會為邪惡的嚴重性加點重量。銹蝕摧毀金屬，妒忌吞噬人心。蝰蛇出世的時候會進入母親的內臟，妒忌也相似地破壞它生母的靈魂。』聖金口若望說：『飛娥，蠕蟲躦入羊毛和木塊，堅硬的物料中，也不及妒忌咬嚙那些受感情攻擊人的內臟般。』
哲學家畢達哥拉斯說：『一們影子時常跟隨一個在太陽下行走的人，所以一個優越於伙伴的人，應該在他旅途中預計被妒忌伴著。』Patrick Gearon神父寫道：『你可曾一停去回想我們的主人是怎樣成為妒忌的犧牲品？祂在每個迴轉的路口都遇到失望。懷疑和妒忌跟隨著祂每一步伐，甚至從祂的第一步。及後，祂的敵人，由於不能做到祂所做的，誣告祂欺詐。祂四出做好事，各處施放祝福。所以祂的敵人策劃去制止祂。』閱讀聖人們的生平，幫助我們明白很多聖人都是妒忌的受害者。
聖傅天娜是妒忌的受害者。她寫道：『我很為驚奇，為什麼會是那般的妒忌。當我看見某人的善行，我喜悅於它，一如它是我的。他人的喜悅是我的喜悅，他人的苦難是我的苦難，因為若不如此，我不敢與我主耶穌交往。耶穌的精神是時常簡單，謙和，真誠的；所有的惡意，妒忌和隱藏在好意微笑下的虛偽都是聰明的小惡魔。一句嚴緊的話，出自真誠的愛並不會傷一夥心。』
聖傅天娜甚至在宗教的生命中也遇到妒忌的靈魂。一天，主人向她解釋：『有些靈魂我不能為他們做到什麼。他們是不停地觀察著他人的靈魂們，但卻完全不知道他們自己的靈魂正在做什麼。他們不停地談及他人，甚至在保留給我談話的最寧靜的時候。可憐的靈魂，他們聽不到我的話語；他們內在仍是空虛的。他們不在自己心內尋找我，卻在空泛的談話中，在那樣我是永遠找不到的。他們知悉他們的空泛，但不明白他們的過錯，在那些在我全程主宰下的靈魂中，他們有恆久懺悔的根源。異於改正自己，他們的心妒忌地膨漲，現在開始注入憎恨。他們己經臨於懸崖之邊。他們妒忌我給其他靈魂的恩賜，但他們自己不能，也不願意去接納這些恩賜。』
聖人們給了我們實用的勸告去戰勝妒忌。聖若翰、維雅納說：『如果你被誘惑的思想去妒忌你的鄰人，不要藉著對他冷漠而讓他知悉，我們必須走出自己與他友好，並按自己能力所及，為他作可能的服務。』聖金口若望建議把妒忌的誘惑轉化成讚美天主的機會。他說：『你想在你內見到天主的光榮嗎？為你弟兄的進步歡樂吧，你會立即光榮了天主。因為祂的僕人以歡樂於他人的成就戰勝了妒忌，天主被受讚美。』
