Course XLIV - Teaching 2: Spirit of Superiors

As soon as he is in charge, the Superior must surrender, from the beginning, to the Divine Mother and faithfully become a channel; the Divine Will shall flow through it, and he will transmit it to the Sons. The Divine Mother orders and commands; it is the Superior that makes meekly execute these orders and injunctions. When things go well, it occurs always because the Superior lets the Divine Mother act in him, and when things go bad, it is because his will prevails over the Divine Will.
The Superior must lead the Sons to fulfill faithfully their Vows and observances, and must rule over all things and matters regarding the Community and the Work of Cafh entrusted to him. Always he must do this with entirely spiritual efforts, never with human desires, and must foster the progress of the Work and Community, but remaining in inner peace.
A Superior that wants to make all outright and subject the Community to his personal desires apparently works as those men who did not renounce.
Sometimes, the Divine Mother arranges things in an entirely different way from that projected by the Superior. It is because the Divine Mother sees those things much farther, and her Works are not of time but of eternity. Many times she changes the cards of the play in the very hands of the Superiors, and from an order or a project she draws totally different conclusions from those already projected, and this always for good and progress of the Sons of Cafh.
A Son that is not in charge enjoys a paradise on the earth, but when he assumes this charge, should not lose his peace or permit his will to act. He is just a transparent crystal through which the sunlight passes to transmit this sunray intact to the Sons: this sunray is the expression of the Divine Will. Sometimes, in cases of need, Sons of few years of antiquity are chosen as Superiors; they must be especially prudent and cautious because still they are tender plants, more in need of obedience than of command.
When a Son enters the Community, he must totally change, physically and spiritually, to be able to express in a vivid way his Renunciation, and this cannot be achieved in one day because is the result of the first seven years of Community. Everything changes in the Son, not only his understanding and feelings, but also his flesh and blood. Just then and only if it is extremely necessary, the Son could begin leading and commanding other Sons.
So, the Sons complement their inexperience with total humility and with such surrender to the Divine Mother that any mistake is impossible.
Order, serenity and simplicity must characteristic in every decision of the Superiors.
First, order. The Community is an automatic clock, and in this sense, this should be the only task of the Superior: to watch and see that this clock never may stop.
If Superior remains watchful, everything goes well and develops in a normal way, and obedience is a silk thread in the hands of the Sons.
Second, serenity. Superiors solve everything without commotion and fears when a contingency occurs or when they must face a moment of excitation before an unexpected event in their Community.
It is easy to lead when everything goes well, but a Superior is valuable when he solves positively unexpected events and avoids any disturbance and fuss in the Community; and even he is more valuable when that part of the Community that did not take part directly in the event does not notice the occurrence.
Third, simplicity. Internally, Superiors have to imitate so perfectly and simply the Divine Mother that that action is unnoticed. This spirit fuses the Superiors with the Mystical Body of the Community. Otherwise, they would show to the Sons that they did not overcome their worldly personality, and still desire to become singular and conspicuous.
A Superior does not neglect his handwork by virtue of his charge, and tries to make it alone without any help of other Sons. It is a bad example a Superior that, while working, mobilizes all Sons round him to be helped.
It is divinely determined that the Superior must lead and think for the Sons; so, not surprisingly the Sons acquire the same virtues and defects of their Superior. The Superior can see himself clearly by looking at the Sons.
The Superior has to lead every Son to begin his day as if it ever were the first day of Seminary, because the achievement of a perfect Renunciation is a hard work that has to last all life and never occurs suddenly.
Superiors: infuse always spirit of silence, routine and patience into the Sons.
Superiors: be neither loose nor too much demanding; avoiding any discouragement, teach them that after their joy because they overcame an imperfection, there is sadness when they realize that other imperfections emerged.
Indicate them that life in community is continuous penitence and martyrdom in miniature, which invigorate and harden them to face anything, and gives perfection, not suddenly, but unfailingly. Finally, Superiors will teach the Sons that love –charity of Renunciation– is the means by which any virtue and perfection are achieved. Not only charity –expressed in works and action, which is visible and relatively easy– but that love, which is inner charity of renunciation –which is more valuable because is hidden and imperceptible, and ends in holocaust; namely, that exquisite charity that none knows, except the Divine Mother, and that only can be entirely practiced in communities.
Through that charity of renunciation, the Son subjects his own opinion to the opinion of his companions, sees the magnitude of his defects, and is so tolerant that neither perceives the defects of others; that charity neither seeks explanations or excuses even though he is unjustly accused or interpreted, even if he is totally right, nor procrastinates any trial that the soul must experience in life of Community.
Through that charity of Renunciation, everything becomes tolerable and joyful, and the soul becomes resistant like steel, and invariably gets an invincible power at any moment of the day.
Through that charity, apparently our own desires are the little desires of others, and neither we perceive any irregularity in a companion nor observe his distress or affliction before a mistake or repression.
That charity of Renunciation is only sensible to pains of other souls.