Introduction to the Devout Life: Third Part--Chapter 7

Catholic Pilgrims, welcome back. Thank you as always for tuning in today, it really does mean a lot.  Do you have a good reputation that you work to preserve? Has anyone tried to tarnish your good reputation and, if so, how did you deal with it? Does humility demand that we just take it when someone tries to ruin our reputation?  Whenever I think of a good reputation, I always think of the story of Susanna in the Old Testament. Susanna was a devoted wife, a good woman, and a well-respected member of her community. One day, she goes into bath in her garden and two elders who are lusting after her, sneak into the garden and try to force her to be intimate with them. She refuses them and they attempt to set a trap.  They tell the husband that they caught Susanna laying with a younger man in the garden. The community is shocked. Susanna's servants are dismayed that their lady would do such a thing. Susanna tries to defend herself, but because the two elders' testimony is seen as more truthful, she is sentenced to death.  Daniel, thankfully, steps in and saves Susanna by catching the two elders in their lie. He saves Susanna's good reputation and her life. I feel so much for her when reading that story because sometimes, when people are trying to ruin your good name, you feel helpless.  Preserving a good reputation in humility is our topic for today, so lets open our books to Chapter Seven of the Third Part and begin.