Preserving a Hidden Life: A Lesson from St. Peter Damian
The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work with all our strength. — St. Peter Damian
St. Peter Damian (1007-1072) grew up on the eastern coast of Italy. Orphaned at a young age, he became a ward in a family where he was brutally abused. Fortunately, he was taken in by another family which treated him with care and gave him a good education. He became a Benedictine Monk in Font Avellena. There he was elected abbot. St. Peter Damian was strict and extremely against laxity in the laity, yet he was kind and encouraging when needed. Despite being a wonderful abbot, he was glad to leave it behind, returning to the quiet seclusion of monastic living. He enjoyed woodworking, composing hymns and poems, and spending his life in prayer.
But Life with God is Best of All
Learning about a saint is like meeting a new friend. You swiftly fall in love with their anecdotes and find your eyes wide with admiration. St. Peter Damian is no exception. From his compelling origins to his love for a quiet life, it’s clear that Peter was a remarkable man. He was widely revered throughout Italy, and yet he was relieved when he could step down from being abbot and simply live in seclusion. I picture him silently and joyfully lost in woodworking when a monk runs to him because his aid is still needed.
Ecclesiastical conflicts still enlisted his help and he attended to his duties big and small. But he loved the quiet life best of all. He wanted to please God and thus serve in humility. There was no bravado about him. He was stern for God’s sake and loving for God’s sake. He sought no accolades, and yet, through his quiet devotion, became known. He was so well respected that Dante even made sure to include him in Heaven in his Divine Comedy!
He knew all that he had was from God and that his purpose here on earth was to please God. He wasn’t doing good to please those around him but because of obedience to God. He was gifted but did not see those gifts as his own. They came from God, poured through him, and ignited a love for the Faith and brought about reform.
A Hidden Life is a Good Life
In an age when everything is so public, St. Peter reminds us of the merits of a hidden life where the glories of man are not sought, but rather the will of God. It’s not for our glory but His that we are put on this earth. All of our responsibilities and duties should be done, not for a love of self, but as a means to glorify God. Whether leading a company or folding laundry, let our mantra be: Jesus, I do this for the love of You!
St. Peter Damian highlights the radiating joy and profound peace that comes from orienting our hearts to God. All our accomplishments mean nothing if Heaven is not the goal. If we are not humbly willing to forgo it all for the One who died for us, if we can’t step away from the noise, and spend time with our Beloved, productivity doesn’t mean anything.
St. Peter Damian sternly called on the bishops and clergy to detach from worldly honor and cling to God. In our own lives, this charge can remind us of the value of our own interior lives. That hidden life in Christ is more valuable than any accomplishment. For it is life in Christ that makes life so good, so beautiful, and so abundant. When we are empty and fall short, Christ fills us up, sustains us in our littleness and gives us the grace and peace to live our days well.
St. Peter Damian, pray for us!
Ann Burns is the founder of The Feminine Project, an organization dedicated to restoring the joy of womanhood. She is a writer and speaker and strives to uphold what is truly good and beautiful. Most of all, she is a wife and mother and loves to share the joy in living each day well.