Naughtiness and wrongdoings come up in the ordinary life of any child. Sometimes a window is broken, a cake is ruined, milk is spilled… Nevertheless, those whose are responsible for correcting faults must do so for the sake of the love for order and discipline, without giving way to disproportionate and temperamental reactions. There only exist two kinds of correction: that based on love of God, and that based on love of self; there is no third. Someone who mistreats others is not loving God above all things as the First Commandment prescribes, but is being guided by self-love. The most efficacious formula for correcting a child is by means of affection and good treatment, in such a way that the child perceives the universe of goodness underlying the reprimand. This penetrates the soul more deeply than merely speaking words which are later belied by one’s actions…

Wisdom in upbringing and in motherly reprimands

Such was the school of Dona Lucilia: love for others and for God had taken the place of egoism in her, and, for that reason, she never mistreated anyone. In raising her children, she showed herself to be patient and kind, disposed to help and to pardon everything. To have a true measure of her wisdom, it suffices to say that she was the educator of Dr. Plinio. Let us, then, observe her fundamental role and how, by her influence, she modelled her son’s soul, preserved his innocence and was the fountain of all the virtue he later demonstrated. In Dr. Plinio’s words: “When I was in Mama’s presence, I sensed a sort of mildness and internal order which communicated to me a sensation of rational tranquillity. At times I was troubled or in some state of mind that was not good. [...] But, encountering her and hearing her voice, all of my inner turmoil seemed to quiet itself and be set to rights; I became less attached to the things which I desired, more accepting of the renunciations which I had to make and, consequently, more reasonable. “I had the impression that without my perceiving it, Mama entered into my soul and set it in order, showing me a spiritual state so appealing, so serene and so different from the one I had been in, that she dismantled the ‘evil castle’ that was in my soul, and I felt like a new person. [...] It was a kind of ‘velvety’ rebuke, in which the ‘velvet’ was worth more than the rebuke, and left me enchanted… It was done with such delicacy that, after our conversation, I left transformed, cheered and satisfied, perceiving that there had been a true outpouring of her spirit, by which she had obtained from me the changes that no one else could, and had overcome all those preconceptions or inclinations which I ought not to have”.1

Balance and affection in correcting

Sometimes, however, when one of her children committed an offense, Dona Lucilia felt herself obliged to impose upon them a more severe correction. Typically, according to Dr. Plinio’s account, her way of taking him to task was as follows: since she was frequently ill, she normally remained reclining on a sofa, and would call him to her by means of the Fräulein. When he arrived, she would put her arm around his waist and say: “My son, is it true that you did such-and-such a thing?” “Yes, Mama, it’s true.” “But, my son, that is not right for a boy of your age, who ought to become a great man in the future. It offends God, and it is impolite. Do you clearly understand that you should not have done that?” “Yes, Mama, now I understand better.” “Do you realize that by acting like this you sadden your mother?” “Yes I do.” “Now you deserve to be punished for this. Go over there and bring me the silver brush which is on the dressing table, so that I may discipline you. But know that your mother will suffer more than you will.” Plinio brought the brush, and she said: “Give me your hand.” He extended his hand and Dona Lucilia struck it: smack, smack, smack! After this, she would send him to put the brush back in its place; when he returned, she would give him a kiss and say: “My son, do not think about this any more, it is behind us! You are such a good little boy; it was a weakness. Do you promise me that you won’t do that again?” “I promise, Mama.” “Very well then, off you go and play.” She used the brush with pain in her heart because she would have preferred not to strike him, but she did so without any show of sentimentality, understanding that the Law of God demands this because human nature is unruly and, if at certain moments it is not kept well within “the narrow path”, it will deviate wildly. It was, essentially, to ensure that, in the future, the Sacred Heart of Jesus would not be “expelled” from her son’s soul due to sin.
The silver brush with which she corrected her children

The most precious legacy

Dona Lucilia’s corrections would leave an indelible and luminous impression in the soul of Dr. Plinio:
“The two most precious things which I received from my mother in the moral sphere, were goodness together with wise severity”
Dr. Plinio in 1912
“The two most precious things which I received from my mother, not in the religious but in the moral sphere, were: goodness on the one hand and wise severity on the other. [...] How I remember her corrections! What seriousness in her gaze, and what a clear notion of the need to enforce a principle! How much conviction she showed that, if I did not conform my life to those principles, I would be diminished in her appreciation. She saw more in me the son who loved principles than the son who should love her! And then, what wisdom in her words; what gravity in her voice! At the same time, kindness was never absent!”2 And, on another occasion, he recalled: “Mama had a unique way of giving reprimands. [...] It was logical and affectionate at the same time. I paid attention to her reproaches, admiring and being enchanted by her voice, her eyes, her tenderness, her wisdom and her firmness.” 3 ◊

Taken, with small adaptations, from: CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. O dom de sabedoria na mente, vida e obra de [The Gift of Wisdom in the Mind, Life and Work of] Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Città del Vaticano-São Paulo: LEV; Lumen Sapientiæ, 2016, v.I, p.136-139

 

Notes

1 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Notas Autobiográficas [Autobiographical Notes]. São Paulo: Retornarei, 2010, v.I, p.361-362.

2 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Conference. São Paulo, 18/6/1968.

3 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Meeting. São Paulo, 6/4/1972.