Chapter I: OF DIVINE LOVE
IT is true I am continually imploring that many graces may descend upon your soul; but above all, and for the sake of all, do I ask for Divine love; for therein is our all. It is our honey, in which, and by which, all the affections of our hearts should be preserved and sweetened. My God, how happy is the interior kingdom, when this holy love reigneth there! How happy are the faculties of our soul, which obey a king so holy and so wise! No, under His obedience, and in this state, He suffereth not great sins to dwell, nor even any affection for them. True, He allows them to approach nigh to the frontiers, in order to exercise the interior virtues in war, and to make them valiant; and He suffers venial sins and imperfections, like spies, to run up and down in His kingdom: but that is only to make us know that without Him we should be a prey to all our enemies.
Let us humble ourselves greatly; let us confess that if God be not our shield and buckler, we shall forthwith be pierced and transfixed with every kind of sins. For this reason, let us hold close unto God by persevering in our exercises: let this be our main care, and the rest only accessories to it.
For what remains, it is necessary always to have courage, and if any languor or feebleness of soul hangs about us, let us run to the foot of the cross, and place ourselves among those holy odours, among those celestial perfumes, and without doubt we shall thereby be fortified and refreshed.
Let us hold ourselves firm, and cling closely to that foot of our Lord s cross; the rain which falls there from every part quickly abates the storm, however great it be. Sometimes, when I am there, God, how is my soul in peace, and what sweetness that celestial dew gives to it! But I have not stirred a step away from it, before the blast rises anew.
But notwithstanding the storm, let us be entirely in God’s hands, without any reserve, or division, or exception, and without pretending to anything but the glory of being His. If we had a single thread of affection in our heart, which was not at His service, and came not from Him, we would straightway pluck it out. Yes, if we knew of one single particle of our heart which was not marked with the print of the crucifix, we would not wish to keep it for one single moment.
Let us also conceal ourselves in the hole of the turtle-dove, and in the pierced side of our dear Saviour. How good is that Saviour! how loving is His heart! Let us remain there in that holy abode. Let that heart always live in our hearts; let that blood always circulate in the veins of our souls. Let our love be all in God, and let God be in all our love. Oh, what need we have to desire that love, and what need we have to love that desire, since reason wills that we should desire to love for ever that which can never be loved enough, and that we should love to desire that which can never be desired enough.
Chapter II. OF THE MEANS OF ACQUIRING THE LOVE OF GOD, IN WHICH PERFECTION CONSISTS
You ask me how one can acquire the love of God?
I reply, by willing to love Him; and, instead of setting yourself to think and ask how you can love Him, setting yourself to practice by a continual application of your soul to God; and you will arrive thither very much sooner by that road than by any other.
There are souls who employ themselves so much in thinking how they shall do something, that they have not the time to do anything; and yet, in whatever regards our perfection, which consists in the union of our soul with the Divine goodness, it is not so much a question of knowing as of doing much.
In my opinion, those of whom people ask the way to heaven have great reason to reply, as persons do jestingly, that to reach such and such a place, you must keep straightforward, and set one foot before the other. Keep straightforward, we should say to these souls anxious for their perfection; go in the path of your vocation with simplicity, applying yourselves rather to action than to aspiration: it is the shortest road.
But here is a subtilty that I must unfold to you; and it is, that you would that I should tell you of some way of perfection ready-made, in such sort that you would only have to put it over your head, as one would a garment; and by that means might find yourself perfect without any trouble; that is to say, that I should give you perfection ready-made.
Oh, certainly, if that were in my power, I should be the most perfect man in the world; for if I could give perfection to others without their needing to do anything, I assure you that I would take it in the first instance for myself. You seem to think that perfection is an art, and that if one could find out the secret of it, one would have it without any trouble. Certainly, we deceive ourselves; for there is no other, nor greater secret than to do and to labour faithfully in the exercise of Divine love, if we wish to unite ourselves unto the Beloved.
But I wish it to be observed, that when I say that we must do, I must always be understood to speak of the superior part of our soul; for as to all the repugnance of the inferior, we must trouble ourselves as little about that as passers-by do of the dogs which bark at a distance.
Those who, at a banquet, keep picking at every dish, and eating a little of everything, derange their stomachs, and cause indigestion, which prevents their sleeping; so those souls who would taste of all the methods and all the means which conduct, or may conduct, to perfection, do likewise; for the stomach of their will, not having strength enough to digest and put in practice so many various means, a certain crudity and indigestion arises, which takes away from them their peace and tranquility of spirit in our Lord, which is that one thing needful that Mary chose, and that shall not be taken from her.
Chapter III. OF SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD
Keep, I pray you, your heart exalted very high; attach it indissolubly to the will of that most merciful and fatherly heart of our God. Let it forever be obeyed, and supremely obeyed, by our souls. So long as God wills that we are to be in the world for the love of Himself, remain there willingly and cheerfully.
Many go out of the world, who, for all that, do not go out of themselves; seeking by that going out their taste, their ease, their contentment; and these persons are marvelously eager after this going out; for the self-love which urges them on is a turbulent, impetuous, and unruly love.
Let us not be of this class; let us go out of the world to serve God, to follow God, to love God; and in this frame of mind, so long as God wills that we serve, follow, and love Him in the world, we will remain there with a good heart; for since it is only that holy service which we desire, in whatever place we perform it, we shall be contented.
Abide in peace; do that well on account of which you remain in the world; do it with a good heart, and be assured that God will esteem it of more worth at your hands, than if you went out of the world a hundred times to please your own will and inclination.
As to your other desire, it is a good one; but, my God, it is not worth your setting your heart upon. Let us recommend it to God; let us do sweetly whatever can be done to attain success in it, as I shall do for my part. And if the eye of God, which penetrates the future, seeing perchance that this would not turn out either to His glory, or as we intend it, we must not lose one hour s sleep for the sake of it.
The world will talk: what will people say? All this is nothing to those who do not see the world but to despise it, and who look not upon time except in the light of eternity.
I will endeavour to keep the affair in progress, so that we may be able to see it completed; for you do not desire it more than I do. But if it is not pleasing to God, it is not pleasing either to me or to you. Abide in peace, with a singular love of the Divine will and providence. Abide with our Saviour crucified planted in the midst of your heart.
I saw, awhile ago, a girl who was carrying a pail of water on her head, in the midst of which she had placed a piece of wood. I wished to know why she did this; and she told me that it was to stop the motion of the water, for fear it might be spilt. So henceforth, said I, must we place the cross in the midst of our hearts, to stop the movements of our affections in that wood and by that wood, so that they may not be spilt out in disquietings, and in troubles of spirit.
Chapter IV. OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD
You ask me whether a soul, having the consciousness of her misery, can go to God with a great confidence?
Now, I reply, that not only the soul which has the consciousness of her misery can have a great confidence in God, but that she cannot have a true confidence unless she has the knowledge of her misery; for this knowledge, and this admission of our misery, introduces us to God.
Therefore all the great saints, such as Job, David, and the others, began all their prayers with the confession of their misery; so that a right good thing it is to be conscious that one is poor, vile, abject, unworthy to appear before God.
That proverb so famous among the ancients, Know thyself, at the same time that it applies to the greatness and excellence of the soul, that we should not abuse and profane it by things unworthy of its nobility, also applies to the knowledge of our own unworthiness, imperfection, and misery, that the more we feel ourselves to be miserable, the more we should trust in the goodness and mercy of God; for between His mercy and our misery there is a bond so close, that the one cannot exercise itself without the other. If God had not created man, He still would have been truly all good, but He would not have been actually merciful, because mercy is only exercised towards the miserable.
You see, then, that the more we feel ourselves miserable, the more we have occasion to put our trust in God, since we have nothing to rest upon, to enable us to put our trust in ourselves.
Mistrust in ourselves arises from the knowledge of our imperfections. It is good to mistrust ourselves; but how would it advantage us to do that were it not to throw all our confidence in God, and to wait on His mercy? The faults and unfaithfulness which we daily commit ought to bring much confusion upon us when we would approach our Lord. Thus, we read that great souls, like St. Catherine or Sienna and St. Teresa, had these great confusions when they had fallen into some fault; and it is very reasonable that, having offended God, we should retire awhile in humility, and remain confused. The same thing often happens to us when we have of fended a friend; we are ashamed to approach him. But we must not stop there; for it would be no great thing, this annihilation and divesting one of self, which is done by acts of confusion, if it was not in order to throw ourselves wholly on God by confidence.
Chapter V. OF THE EXERCISE OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD
St. Paul teaches us the object of this divesting, where he says, Put off the old man, and put on the new; for we must not remain unclothed, but clothe ourselves anew in God. This little retirement is only made in order the better to throw ourselves upon God by an act of love and confidence, for our confusion ought not to be accompanied with sadness and disquiet: it is self-love which affords confusions of that kind; for we are troubled at not being perfect, not so much for the love of God, as for the love of ourselves.
And if you feel no such confidence, cease not, on that account, from making these acts, and from saying to our Lord, Yet, Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in Thee, I nevertheless know that Thou art my God, that I am all Thine, and that I have no hope but in Thy goodness; so I abandon myself wholly into Thy hands. It is always in our power to make these acts, and although we have difficulty in them, still there is no impossibility; and it is on these occasions, and in the midst of these difficulties, that we ought to testify faithfulness to our Lord. For even though we do these acts without sensible pleasure and without any satisfaction, we must not on that account vex ourselves, for our Lord loves them better so. And do not tell me that you say them, indeed, but that it is only with your lips; for if the heart willed it not, the lips would not say a word. Having done so, remain in peace; and, without attending to your disquietude, speak to our Lord of somewhat else.
It is, then, very good to have confusion, when we have the knowledge and the feeling of our own misery; but we must not stop there, nor fall, for that reason, into discouragement, but must lift up our heart to God with a holy confidence, the foundation of which must be in Him and in ourselves, inasmuch as
we change, and He never changes, but remains always as good and as merciful when we are feeble and imperfect, as when we are strong and perfect.
I am accustomed to say that the throne of God’s mercy is our misery. In proportion, therefore, to the greatness of our misery ought to be the greatness of our confidence.
Chapter VI. OF CONFIDENCE IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE
You see how sweet the Providence of heaven is towards us, and that it delays not its succour, except to invite our confidence. That child will never perish who remains in the arms of a Father who is almighty. If our God grants us not always that which we ask of Him, it is to keep us near Him, and to give us occasion to urge Him, and to constrain Him with a loving violence, even as He made it apparent at Emmaus to the two disciples who were travelling, with whom He stayed not, except at the end of the journey, and very late, and when they constrained Him.
For the rest, He is gracious and kind: the moment that we humble ourselves under His will, He accommodates Himself to ours. Try, then, to fortify more and more your confidence in this holy Providence, and frequently adore it in your spiritual retreats, and by interior regards.
Give into the hands of God’s most secret Providence whatever you may find painful to you, and firmly believe that He will sweetly conduct you, your life, and all your affairs. Do you know what the shepherds in Arabia do when they behold it thunder and lighten, and the air is charged with sulphurous vapour? They retire under the laurel-trees, they and their flocks. When we see that persecutions or contradictions threaten us with some great trouble, we must retire, we and our affections, under the holy cross, with a true confidence that all will end to the advantage of those who love God.
Keep, then, your heart compact and settled; be much on your guard against eagerness; often cast your confidence on the Providence of our Lord, and be altogether sure that heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than the Lord be wanting to your protection, so long as you are His obedient child, or at least desirous to obey Him. Twice or thrice a-day look to see whether your heart is not disquieted about something; and if you find that it is, take care forth with to restore it to calm.
Chapter VII. OF THE ABANDONMENT OF ONESELF INTO THE HANDS OF PROVIDENCE
It is necessary you should know, that to abandon one’s soul, and to allow one’s self, as it were, to drop out of one’s own hands into God’s, means nothing else but the parting with our own will to give it unto God; for it would be to little purpose our renouncing and surrendering ourselves, if this were not done in order to unite ourselves perfectly to the Divine goodness. To do otherwise would be to resemble those philosophers who did in an extraordinary manner abandon themselves and all things for the sake of vain pretensions, and to devote themselves to philosophy. Epictetus was an instance of this, whose state of life being that of slavery, and his master wishing to emancipate him because of his great wisdom, he did not choose to have his liberty at the cost of renouncing his lofty contemplations; and he therefore remained a slave, and in such poverty, that, after his death, the only property found about him was a lamp, which was sold at a very high price, because it had belonged to so great a man.
As for us, we should not desire to abandon our selves, if it were not to leave ourselves at the mercy of God’s will. There are many who say to our Lord, I give myself unto Thee without any reserve; but there are very few who embrace the practice of this abandonment, which is nothing else but a perfect resignation to receive all sorts of events according as they occur by order of the Providence of God; affliction as well as consolation, sickness as well as health, poverty as well as riches, contempt as well as honour, disgrace as well as glory.
I mean this in reference to the superior part of our soul; for there is no doubt that inferior parts thereof, and our natural inclinations, always tend rather in the direction of honour than of contempt, of riches than of poverty; although everyone knows that contempt and poverty are more agreeable to God than honour and abundance. Now, in order to this abandonment, one must obey the expressed will of God, and that of His good pleasure. The expressed will of God includes His commandments, His counsels, His inspirations, and the rules and ordinances of our superiors.
The will of His good pleasure regards the issues of things which we cannot foresee; for example, I know not if I am to die to-morrow. I perceive that it is the good pleasure of God that I die, and consequently I abandon myself to His good pleasure, and I die with a good heart. In like manner, I know not whether in the coming year all the fruits of the earth will not be spoilt by storms and tempests; if it happens that they are so, or that a pestilence befalls us, or any similar events, it is evident that such is the good pleasure of God, and consequently I conform myself to it.
It may occur that you have no consolation in your religious exercises; it is certain that such is the good pleasure of God, to which therefore we must conform ourselves; and the same for all things that happen, excepting, however, sin and the loss of one’s soul, to which we are never permitted to consent under the notion of conforming ourselves to God’s will, which would be one of the grossest of delusions.
We must, moreover, observe, that there are things in which it is necessary to join the expressed will of God to that of His good pleasure; for example, if I fall sick of a violent fever, I perceive in that event that the good pleasure of God is, that I remain in a state of indifference to health or sickness. But the expressed will of God is, that I who am not under obedience should call in the physician, and apply all the remedies I can; I do not say those of the most costly kind, but such as are common and ordinary; and that those who are under obedience should receive the remedies and treatment afforded them with simplicity and obedience; for this God has declared to us by imparting to remedies their efficacy: the sacred Scriptures teach us this, and the Church orders it.
But this done, a soul perfectly abandoned to God remains so indifferent whether the sickness prevails over the remedy, or the remedy prevails over the sickness, that if sickness and health were placed before her, and if our Lord said to her, “If thou choosest health, I will not for that reason take from thee one grain of My grace; if thou choosest sickness, in like manner, I will not enrich thee with one grain additional; but in the choice of sickness there is somewhat more of My good pleasure.” Then the soul which is entirely abandoned into the hands of our Lord will without doubt choose sickness, merely because there is in it somewhat more of the good pleasure of God. Yes, even were it to follow that she should remain on a sick-bed all her life, without doing aught else but suffer, she would not for all the world could give desire any other state than that. Thus the saints who are in heaven have such a union with the will of God, that if there were somewhat more of His good pleasure in hell, they would quit Paradise to go thither.
This state includes also abandonment to the good pleasure of God in all those temptations, drynesses, aversions, and dislikes which occur in the spiritual life; for in all these things one sees the good pleasure of God, when they do not happen by our own fault, and do not imply any sin.
Chapter VIII. OF THE EXCELLENCE OF THIS ABANDONMENT
This abandonment is the virtue of virtues; it is the cream of charity, the odour of humility, the reward, as I think, of patience, and the fruit of perseverance. Great is this virtue, and only worthy to be practiced by the dearest children of God.
Father, said our sweet Saviour on the cross, into Thy hands I commend my spirit (St. Luke xxiii. 46). It is true, He meant to say that it is consummated, and that I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do (St. John xix. 30; xvii. 4); but nevertheless, if it is Thy will that I remain still upon this cross to suffer yet more, I am content therewith; I resign my spirit into Thy hands; Thou canst do with it as it shall please Thee.
We ought to do the same on all occasions, whether it be that we suffer, or that we enjoy some contentment; thus allowing the Divine will to lead us according to its good pleasure, without ever allowing ourselves to be engaged with our own particular will.
Our Lord loves with an extremely tender love those who thus abandon themselves totally to His fatherly care, allowing themselves to be governed by His good Providence, without considering whether the effects of that Providence will be sweet or bitter to them; being entirely assured that nothing can possibly be sent to them from that fatherly heart which is not for their good and profit, provided they have put their whole confidence in Him, and say with a good heart, My Father, I resign my spirit, my soul, my body, and all that I have into Thy hands, to do with them, in Thy love, whatever shall please Thee.
Sometimes our Lord wills that souls chosen for the service of His Divine Majesty should nourish themselves with a firm and inviolable resolution of persevering to follow Him in the midst of disgusts, drynesses, dislikes, and bitternesses of the spiritual life, without consolations, favours, tendernesses or sweetnesses, and that they should believe themselves worthy of nothing else; thus following the Divine Saviour with the fine point of the Spirit, without anything to rest upon but his Divine will, which so wills it. And in this way I desire that we should walk.
For never shall we be reduced to such an extremity as not to be able always to diffuse before the Divine Majesty the perfumes of a holy submission to His most holy will, and of a continual promise never to consent to offend Him.
Chapter IX. OF THE EXERCISE OF THIS ABANDONMENT
You ask me now with what a soul must interiorly occupy herself who is thus entirely abandoned into the hands of God? She has only to abide in peace near our Lord, without disquieting herself as to what will become of her; for our Lord, to whom she has abandoned herself, will take enough thought for that.
I do not, however, mean to say, that we must not think about the things to which we are obliged to attend, each according to his office. No; for it would not do that a superior, under the pretext of abandoning himself to God, and reposing himself on Him, should neglect to study and to learn the instructions proper to him in the exercise of his office.
It is very true that we must have a great confidence thus to abandon ourselves without reserve to Divine providence; but also, when we do entirely abandon ourselves, our Lord takes care of everything, and conducts everything. But if we reserve to ourselves anything about which we have not confidence in Him, He leaves us; as though He said, You think yourself wise enough to manage this affair without Me; I allow you to guide it: you shall see what will come of it in the end.
St. Magdalene, who was entirely abandoned to our Lord, remained at His feet, and listened to Him as long as He spoke; and when He ceased to speak, she also ceased to hear, but she stirred not from His side: so does this soul, abandoned to our Lord, abide within His arms, like an infant in its mother s bosom, who, when she puts him down to walk, walks till his mother again takes him up, and, when she would carry him, suffers her to do so. He knows not, and thinks not whither he is going, but he suffers himself to be carried or taken whither his mother pleases. Just in the same manner does this soul, loving the will of the good pleasure of God in all that happens to it, suffer itself to be carried, and nevertheless walks, doing with great care whatever be longs to the expressed will of God. You said just now, that if it is really possible for our will to be so dead in our Lord, we should no longer know what we will or what we do not will.
But I answer, that it never happens, however abandoned to God we may be, that our liberty does not remain entire; whence there always reaches us some desire and some will: but these are not absolute wills and forward desires; and immediately the soul abandoned to the good pleasure of God perceives them, that moment she makes them die in the will of God.
You wish, further, to know what foundation this perfect abandonment ought to have.
It ought to be founded on the infinite goodness of God, and on the merits of the death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, with this condition, that we have, and know we have, within us an entire and firm resolution of being altogether in God’s hands, and of abandoning ourselves wholly, and without any reserve, to His Divine Providence.
I desire you, however, to observe, that I do not say that we must feel this resolution, but only that we must have it, and know we have it, within us; because we ought not to amuse ourselves with thinking what we feel or what we do not feel; and the more because most of our sentiments and satisfactions are merely the amusements of our self-love.
Nor must you take me to mean, that. in all these things we never have desires contrary to the will of God, or that our nature is not repugnant to the events of His good pleasure; for that may often happen. The virtues I speak of have their abode in the superior part of the soul; the inferior part ordinarily understands nothing of them; we must make no account of it; but, without regarding what it wills, we must embrace that Divine will, and unite ourselves to it, in spite of such inclinations. Few arrive at that degree of perfect riddance of themselves; but we ought nevertheless all to aim at it, each according to our vocation and capacity.
Chapter X. OF DETERMINATION TO FOLLOW THE WILL OF GOD IN ALL THINGS
Theologians distinguish in God two wills: the expressed will, and the will of His good pleasure.
The expressed will comprehends the commandments of God and of the Church, counsels, inspirations, and constitutions. We cannot be saved without obeying the commandments of God and of the Church, because God wills that we should observe them in order to get to heaven. As to counsels, He wills, indeed, that we should observe them, yet not as commandments, but only by way of desire. The will of God is also manifested to us by inspirations; still He does not wish that we should judge of them by ourselves, but that, in things of importance, we should have recourse to those whom He has set over us, to guide us, and that we should be completely subject to their counsel and opinion. The rules also manifest to us His will, as being so many fit means for leading us to perfection.
There is, moreover, the will of the good pleasure of God, to which we ought to look in every event,—I mean, in whatever happens to us, agreeable or disagreeable, in sickness as in health, in affliction as in consolation, in death as in life; in short, in all things which are unforeseen, provided they are not manifestly contrary to the expressed will of God, for that always comes first. Well, we should always be ready to submit ourselves to the will of His good pleasure, no less than to His expressed will.
The counsel of self -abnegation, so much recommended by our Lord, what else is it but the renouncing of our own will, of our own particular judgment, to follow the will and judgment of another; excepting always cases wherein one would be offending God?
But you may say, I see clearly that what I am bid to do proceeds from a human will and a mere natural inclination; and consequently God has not inspired those who ask me. I reply, that it may well be that God has not inspired them to ask it of you, but that He does inspire you to do it.
But you may again ask, Why should I rather do other people s will than mine? Is not mine as conformable to God as theirs? For what reason am I bound to think that what they tell me to do is more an inspiration of God than the will which I feel suggesting to me to do the contrary? O God! it is here where the Divine majesty desires to make us gain the prize of submission. For if we always saw very distinctly that people had good reasons for ordering or begging of us to do this or that, we should neither have great merit nor great repugnance; but when the reasons are hidden from us, then it is that our will is repugnant and our judgment resists, and we feel the contradiction. Now, it is on these occasions that we ought to overcome ourselves, and with a simplicity altogether infantine, set ourselves to the work without discussing or reasoning about it, and say: I know that the will of God is, that I should rather do another s will than my own, and so I submit myself.
If we ought thus to comply with the will of everybody, much more ought we to do so with respect to that of superiors, whom we should regard and esteem as the person of God Himself, for they are His vicars. It is for this reason, that although we knew them to have natural inclinations, or even passions, by the movement of which they commanded or reproved us, we ought not to be astonished on that account; for they are men, and are consequently subject to all that: but we are not permitted to judge that their commands proceed from their passions or inclinations; we must take heed of that. Nevertheless, if we were to feel palpably certain that it was so, we ought riot to be weary of sweetly obeying and lovingly submitting ourselves with humility to correction.
It is, in truth, a thing very hard to self-love, to be subject to all these encounters; but that is not the love which we ought to please or to listen to, but the most holy love of our souls, Jesus, who requires of His dear spouses a holy imitation of the perfect obedience which He rendered, not only to the most just and holy will of His Father, but also to that of His parents, and even to that of His enemies, who without doubt followed their passions in the sufferings which they imposed upon Him; and nevertheless the good Jesus did not grow weary of submitting Himself thereto sweetly, humbly, lovingly.
Chapter XI. EXAMPLES ON THE PRECEDING SUBJECT
The first is St. Anselm, who was extremely beloved by everybody, during the whole time that he was prior and abbot of his monastery, because he was extremely condescending to the will, not only of the religious, but even of the seculars. One man would come and say to him, “My father, your reverence ought to take a little of this dish,” and he would take some. Another would say to him, “My father, that will do you harm,” and he would at once give up eating it. He thus submitted himself, in whatever was not offensive to God, to the will of his brethren, and even of seculars, who might sometimes, and even often, be following their own inclinations. Now this great condescension of the saint was not universally approved of, though he was beloved by all, and some persons indeed took upon them to represent to him that he ought not thus to comply with the will of every body, but that, on the contrary, he ought to make the will of others subject to his own.
“Oh, my children,” said that great saint, “you perchance do not know with what intention I do this. Know that, remembering that our Lord commanded us to do to others what we would wish should be done to us, I could not do otherwise; for I would wish that God should do my will, and therefore I willingly do that of others, in order that it may please my God sometimes to do mine.
“have yet another consideration, which is, that after the expressed will of God, I can know the will of His good pleasure in no better way than by the voice of another; for God does not speak to me, still less does He send me angels to declare that which is His good pleasure. Stones, plants, and animals do not speak. There is, then, only man who can manifest to me the will of my God, and so I attach myself thereto as much as I can; and in obeying men, I think that I obey God, who manifests to me His will by them.
“Moreover, God commands us to observe charity with our neighbour, and to maintain union with everybody as much as we can. Now I know of no better means for that than to be sweet and condescending. Sweet and humble condescension ought always to float over all our actions.
“Besides this, has not our Lord said, that if we do not become as little children, we shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven? Do not, then, be astonished if I am sweet and ready to comply like a child, since herein I only do what has been ordered me by my Saviour. It is of no great consequence my doing this or that, going here or staying there; but there would be great imperfection in my not submitting myself in that respect to the will of my neighbour.”
See you the great St. Anselm submitting himself in whatever is not against the commandments of God or of His holy Church, or against the rules? for that obedience must always come first. I do not think that if people had wanted him to do anything against that, he would have done it. Oh, no, in no wise. But that excepted, his general rule was, in things indifferent, to yield in everything to everybody.
The second is that of St. Pachomius, who, when employed one day in making mats, condescendingly yielded to the wishes of a child who said to him: “My father, you do not make them well; it is not so that you should make them.” The great saint, although he made them in reality well, nevertheless rose up with alacrity, sat down beside the child, who shewed him how to make them; and he made them in that way.
One of his religious said to him: “My father, there are two evils in your attending to what the child says: you expose him to the danger of vanity, and you spoil your mats; for they were better made as you made them before.”
The saint replied: “My brother, if God suffers the child to be vain, perhaps in recompense He will give me humility; and when He shall have granted me that, perhaps I shall be able to impart it to the child. There is no great danger in making mats this way or that, but there would be a great deal of danger if we had not at heart that famous word of our Lord: Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Oh, how great the good of thus gently yielding, as the saints have done, to another s will!
The third example is St. Gertrude, who, being a religious, and of a feeble and delicate complexion, was treated by the superioress, who knew it, more delicately than the other religious, and she was allowed a mitigation of the austerities customary in her rule. What did this good religious, think you, in order to become holy? Nothing, except submit herself with all simplicity to the will of the superioress; and although her fervour would have made her desire to do what the others did, she in nowise shewed it; and when she was told to go and lie down, she went and did so, without making any reply, being assured that by so doing, in obedience, she would enjoy as much of the presence of Jesus Christ, her Divine Spouse, as if she had been in the choir with her sisters.
And these submissions were so agreeable to our Lord, that he revealed to St. Matilda, that if they wished to find Him in this life, they should seek first in the most holy Sacrament of the altar, and next in the heart of St. Gertrude.
Chapter XII. WHAT IS MEANT BY HOPING AGAINST ALL HOPE
Among the praises given by the saints to Abraham, St. Paul ranks this above all the rest, that against hope he believed in hope (Rom. iv. 18). God had promised him to multiply his posterity like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea; and notwithstanding his receiving the commandment to sacrifice to Him his only son, Abraham did not on that account lose hope; and he believed that whilst he obeyed the commandment which had been given him to sacrifice his son, God would not fail to keep His word.
Great, assuredly, was his hope; for he saw nothing on which to rest, except the word of God. Oh, how true and solid a foundation is that word! for it is infallible.
Abraham therefore went his way, to accomplish the commandment of God with a simplicity beyond compare; for he took no more thought, nor made any more reply, than he did when God told him he must depart out of his country and from amongst his kindred. Journeying, then, three days and three nights with his son, without precisely knowing whither he went, his son, who was carrying the wood of the sacrifice, asked him where was the victim for the holocaust. Abraham said, God will provide Himself a victim for a holocaust, my son (Gen. xxii. 8).
O my God, how happy should we be, if we could accustom ourselves to make this answer to our hearts when we are in anxiety about anything: Our Lord will provide for it; and thenceforward to have no more carefulness and trouble, any more than Isaac; for he held his peace after that, believing that the Lord would provide for it, as his father had told him.
Great, assuredly, is the confidence which God requires us to have in His fatherly care and in His Divine providence; but wherefore should we not have it, seeing that no one can ever be deceived in it, and that no one puts his trust in God who does not reap the fruits of his confidence. Consider
that our Lord says to His Apostles, in order to settle in them this holy and loving confidence: When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, did you want anything? (St. Luke xxii. 35.) But they said: Nothing. Be not solicitous, He said to them, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? (St. Matt. vi. 31.) And when they shall bring you to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say. For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you must say (St. Luke xii. 11, 12).
But I have such slender talents, some one will say, I do not know how to deal with great people; I have no learning: ’tis all one; go and put your confidence in God, for He hath said: Can a woman for get her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands: thy walls are always before my eyes (Isa. xlix. 15, 16).
Think you that He who takes care to provide for the nourishment of the birds of the air, which neither sow nor reap, will fail to provide all that is necessary for him who confides fully in His providence, him who is capable of being united to God, who is the sovereign good? (St. Matt. vi. 26.)
Chapter XIII. OF THE DIVESTMENT OF SELF, AND OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD
I assuredly perceive with my own eyes, as it appears to me, that you have put in practice a very great self-divestment. Oh, blessed are the hearts thus divested! for our Lord will clothe them anew with graces, benedictions, and with His special protection.
Poor and frail creatures that we are in this life, we are, as it were, powerless to do any good except by suffering some evil for the sake of it; and we are even, as it were, powerless to serve God on one side, except by quitting Him on the other; and often it happens to us that we must quit God for God, renouncing His sweetnesses to share in His toil and suffering.
Daughters, on their marriage, often forsake the society of their parents and leave their native land, in order to be subject to husbands very often unknown to them, or at least of a disposition with which they are not acquainted, in order to give them children for this world. It is very necessary that the daughters of the Lord should have a yet greater courage, in order to form, in holiness and purity of life, children to His Divine majesty.
Keep, then, your eyes lifted up unto God. Augment your courage in holy humility; fortify it in sweet ness, confirm it in evenness. Make your spirit perpetually the master of your inclinations and humours. Never allow apprehensions to enter into your heart. Each day will give you the knowledge of what you shall best do the next. You have ere now got over many a difficulty, and that was by the grace of God: the same grace will be present to you on all succeeding occasions, and will deliver you from obstacles and bad roads one after the other, yea, though it were necessary for Him to send an angel to help you over the most dangerous steps.
Turn not your eyes towards your infirmities and insufficiency, except it be to humiliate, but never to discourage you.
Often see God at your right hand, and the two angels whom He has destined for you, one as your own guardian, and the other for the conduct of your little family. Say often to those holy angels: Lords, what shall we do? Beseech of them to furnish you ordinarily with the knowledge of that Divine Will which they contemplate, and the inspirations which our Lady wishes you to receive.
Do not look upon that variety of imperfections which live in you, and in all the daughters whom our Lord and our Lady have confided to your care, except it be to keep you in holy fear of offending God, but never to amaze you; for one ought not to be surprised if every herb and every flower in a garden requires each a special care.
In this world there is no good without its price; it is necessary, then, so to adjust our will, that either it may make no pretensions at all to comforts, or, if it does, it may sweetly accommodate itself to those discomforts which are assuredly attached to all com forts. There is no wine in this world without lees. Consider, then. Which is better, that there should be thorns in our garden, that we may have roses on them, or that we should have no roses in order to have no thorns?
Chapter XIV. CONCERNING FEAR OF THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD, AND CONFIDENCE IN HIS KINDNESS
What gives me most apprehension is, that I am told that, besides your bodily afflictions, you are overwhelmed with a deep melancholy. I can well imagine how this must retard your complete restoration to health. Tell me, I implore you, what cause have you for feeding this sadness, which is so hurtful to you? I suspect your mind is still distressed by your fear of sudden death, and of the judgments of God. Alas, how strange a torment is that! My soul, which endured it for six weeks, can well sympathise with those who are afflicted by it. [St. Francis de Sales here alludes to the violent temptation of despair which he experienced whilst a student at Paris, at the age of sixteen years, and from which he was delivered by the help of the B. Virgin, which he implored in the church of St. Etienne-des-Grès.].
But it is necessary for me to speak to you a little, heart to heart, and to tell you that whoever has a true desire of serving our Lord, and of flying from sin, ought in nowise to torture himself with the fear of death, or of the divine judgments. For although both the one and the other are indeed to be feared, still the fear ought not to be mere physical alarm, crushing the vigour of our minds; on the contrary, it ought to be so mingled with confidence in the goodness of God, as to become sweet in consequence of it.
And we ought not to begin to doubt whether we are in a position to confide in God, when we feel difficulty in keeping ourselves from sin, or have mistrust and fear, lest in particular occasions and temptations we shall be unable to resist it. Oh, no! for mistrust of our own strength is not a deficiency of resolution, but a true acknowledgment of our misery. It is a better feeling to mistrust our own power of resisting temptations, than to
assume a confident attitude, provided always that what we do not expect from our own strength, we do expect from the grace of God. For it has frequently happened that persons who, in the midst of consolation, promised themselves that they would do marvels for God, have failed when put to the trial; and others again, who greatly mistrusted their own strength, and feared much that they would fail when put to the proof, have, on a sudden, effected marvels, because that deep feeling of their own weakness drove them to seek aid and succour from God, to watch, to pray, to humiliate themselves, that they might not enter into temptation.I further say, that we ought in nowise to be distressed at not feeling within us force or courage to resist temptation, in the supposition of its occurrence at this moment, if only we desire to resist it, hoping that, if it did come, God would help us, and praying of Him to grant us His help. For there is no need for us always to have the sensation of strength and courage; it is enough for us to hope and desire that we shall have it at the right time and place; nor is there any need for us to feel within ourselves any sign or mark that we shall have that courage; it is sufficient for us to hope that God will aid us.
Samson, who was called the strong man, never felt the supernatural strength with which God assisted him, except on occasions for it; and on that account is it said, when encountering lions or his enemies, that the Spirit of God came upon him (Judges xiv. 6).
God, who does nothing in vain, does not give you either strength or courage when there is no occasion for it, but only when there is occasion; and so we must always hope that on all occasions He will aid us, provided only that we cry unto Him. We should constantly use those words of David. Why art thou sad, my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God (Ps. xlii. 5). And again, When my strength shall fail, do not thou forsake me (Ps.lxx. 9).
Well, then, since you desire to depend entirely on God, why do you fear your weakness, on which it is very true that you ought to place no kind of reliance. Do you not hope in God? and shall he that hopeth in Him ever be confounded? No, he never shall be.
I entreat you to pacify all the objections which may possibly arise in your mind. There is no occasion to make any other answer to them, except that you desire to be faithful on all occasions; and that you hope God will enable
you to be so, without attempting to find out whether that will be the case or not; for such attempts are very liable to deceive you. Many are valiant when they do not see the enemy, who are not so when he appears; whilst, on the contrary, many are fearful beforehand, to whom the very presence of the danger gives courage. You must not fear being afraid. For the rest, God knows how much I would do and suffer to see you released from these temptations.
Chapter XV. OF TEMPTATIONS AGAINST THE FAITH
You ask me for remedies against the temptations against the faith which are troubling you. You must deal with such temptations exactly as you would with those against purity. Dispute with them neither much nor little, but do as the children of Israel did with the bones of the paschal lamb, which they never attempted to break, but cast them into the fire. You must never answer nor seem to understand what the enemy says. Let him make as much noise as he pleases at the gate, never once say, Who goes there?
Very true, you will say to me; but he importunes me, and his noise is so loud, that those within cannot hear each other speak. Never mind; patience; they must speak by signs; you must prostrate yourself before God, and remain there at His feet; He will understand by this humble guise that you are on His side, and that you wish for His help, though you cannot speak. But above all, keep yourself fast within, and on no account open the door, either to see who knocks, or to drive away the troublesome applicant. He will at length weary of his noise, and leave you at peace.
Courage, then; provided he does not enter in, it matters nothing. It is, however, a very good sign that the enemy keeps knocking and storming at the gate; for it shews that he has not what he wants. If he had, he would not make any more noise, but enter in, and quietly remain there.
Chapter XVI. OTHER REMEDIES IN TEMPTATIONS AGAINST THE FAITH
I proceed to give you another remedy. Temptations against the faith assail the intellect directly, in order to attract it to dispute and think about them. Do you know what you ought to do, whilst the enemy is amusing himself with laying siege to the intellect? Make a sally by the gate of the will, and charge him vigorously. I mean, that when the temptation against the faith presents itself to converse with you, and to ask you how such a mystery can be true, or what have you to say to this, or what have you to say to that, instead of disputing with the enemy by reason, your will should act on the offensive against him; and even answering the interior suggestion by uttering an exclamation, cry out: “Ah, traitor! ah, wretch! thou hast left the Church of the angels, and thou wouldst that I should leave that of the saints! Disloyal, faithless, and treacherous one! thou offeredst to Eve the fruit of perdition, and thou wouldst have me eat of it! Begone, Satan! It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (St. Matt, iv. 7). No, I will not dispute to please you. Eve, being ready to dispute, lost herself. Eve saw the fruit, and was overcome. Live, Jesus, in whom I believe. I adhere to holy Church, and will never for sake her.” Use such-like ardent words. I know not if I make you understand me; what I mean is, that you should get the better of these temptations by the affections, and not by the reason.
True it is that at such seasons the poor will is oppressed with dryness; but so much the better: her blows are so much the more terrible to the enemy, who, seeing that, instead of retarding your progress, he gives you the means of exercising a thousand virtuous feelings, and particularly that of making acts of faith, will at last leave you alone.
It will be good now and then to have recourse to some exterior penance. For there is no doubt that outward suffering diverts the evil, and the inward affection attracts the mercy of God. Add that the enemy, seeing that you trouble his ally and confederate, the flesh, is afraid, and takes to flight. But this third remedy must be used with moderation, and according to the profit you may find, in the course of a few days, that you derive from it.
To conclude, these temptations are only afflictions like any others, and you must comfort yourself with these words of Scripture: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life (St. James i. 12). I have seen very few persons who have made any progress without trial. You must, therefore, have patience: our God, after the tempest, will send a calm.
Chapter XVII. WHAT MUST BE DONE WHEN TEMPTATIONS AGAINST THE FAITH, HAVING CEASED, RETURN AGAIN
Your temptations against the faith have returned again; and although you did not answer them a word, they press upon you.
You do not reply to them; that is well: but you think too much about them, you fear them too much, you are too apprehensive of them; without that they would do you no harm. You are too sensitive to temptations. You love the faith, and you would not willingly have a single thought against it enter your imagination; and the moment such a thought touches you, you become melancholy and anxious about it. You are too jealous of this purity of faith; you fancy that everything stains it.
No, no, let the wind blow, and do not imagine that the rustling of the leaves is the clashing of arms. I was lately standing near some beehives, and a few of the bees lighted on my face. I was about to remove them with my hand. “No,” said a peasant to me, “do not be afraid, and do not touch them; they will not sting you; but if you touch them, they will.” I believed what he said, and not one of them stung me.
Trust what I say; do not fear these temptations; do not touch them, and they will not harm you. Pass on your way, and do not think about them. Be very resolute, and believe firmly that all the temptations of hell cannot sully a spirit that does not love them. Let them, therefore, go their way. St. Paul suffered terrible temptations (2 Cor. xii. 7); and God willed not to take them away from him; and so willed because He loved him. Courage, then; let that heart always be with its Jesus, and let the enemy make as much racket at the gate as he pleases. Live with the sweet Jesus and His holy Mother in the midst of the darkness, the nails, the thorns, and the spears. Live for a long time in tears without obtaining aught; God will at last raise you up, and will make you rejoice, and cause you to see your heart s desire. I hope it will be so; but if it were not so, still let us not weary of serving Him; He will be none the less our God; for the love we owe to Him is of an immortal and imperishable nature.
Chapter XVIII. OF TEMPTATIONS OF BLASPHEMY AND INFIDELITY
You cannot, and you ought not to believe that the temptations of blasphemy and infidelity come from God: and who has ever told you that God is the author of them? He may, I grant you, send spiritual darkness; He may send the feeling of dereliction and loss of vigour; He may send that bitterness of the spiritual palate which makes the sweetest wine of the world turn bitter: but temptations of blasphemy, of infidelity, oh, never! They cannot come from our good God; His bosom is too pure to entertain objects such as those.
Know you how God acts with regard to such things? He permits the malignant craftsman who makes them to come and offer us those wares of his for sale, that, by scorning them, we may be able to prove our affection for divine things; and ought we to disquiet ourselves for that? ought we to turn aside for an instant? O God! in nowise ought we to do so. It is the devil who is ever busying himself about our soul, to see if any where he can find a gate open (1 Pet. v. 8). Thus he did with Jacob, with St. Anthony, with St. Catherine of Sienna, and with an infinite number of holy souls whom I know, and with my own, which is worth nothing, and which I know not.
But, what! ought we to vex ourselves for this? Keep all the avenues closely barred, and let him be frozen: he will be tired out at last; or if not, God will make him raise the siege. Remember what, I believe, I said to you once before. It is a good sign that he raises such a tumult and tempest, round your will; it is a sign that he is not within it. Courage, then; whilst we can say with resolution, though without feeling, “Live, Jesus!” we need not fear.
And do not tell me that you say it with cowardice, without force or courage, but as if by a kind of violence you do yourself. O God! behold therein that holy violence which bears away the kingdom of heaven (Matt. xi. 12).
It is a sign that the enemy has indeed gained all else in our fortress, except the impregnable, invincible citadel, which cannot be lost except by itself.
It is, in fine, that free will, which, all open to the eyes of God, resides in the supreme and most spiritual part of the soul, and which depends upon none other save its God and itself; and when all the other faculties of the soul are troubled by the enemy, this alone remains, having control over itself, so as not to give consent unless it pleases.
Yet we see souls foolishly afflicted, because the enemy, occupying all the other faculties, makes therein a loud hurly-burly and confusion. They can scarcely hear what is said and done in that superior will, which indeed has a voice much clearer and more distinct than that of the inferior will; but the voice of the latter is so rough and dissonant, that it drowns the clear sounds of the former.
Lastly, observe this: whilst the temptation is displeasing to you, there is nothing to fear; for why does it displease you, but because you do not will it?
For the rest, those vexatious temptations come from the malice of the devil; but the pain and suffering which we feel from them comes from, the mercy of God, who, contrary to the will of His enemy, draws from his malice that holy tribulation whereby He refines the gold which He destines for His treasure-house. I say, therefore, your temptations come from the devil and from hell, but your pains and afflictions come from God and from Paradise.
The mothers are of Babylon, but the children are of Jerusalem. Despise the temptations, embrace the tribulations.
Chapter XIX. THAT WE OUGHT NOT TO DESIRE TO DO MORE THAN WE CAN
Look with suspicion on all these desires, which, according to the common feeling of good people, cannot be carried into effect. Such are desires after a certain Christian perfection which may be imagined, but not practiced, and in which many learn lessons, but no one carries them out.
Know that it is the virtue of patience that ensures us the most perfection; and if we must have it with others, we must also have it with ourselves. Those who aspire to the pure love of God, have not so much need of patience with others as with themselves.
It is necessary to suffer our own imperfection in order to have perfection. I say, to suffer it with patience, not to love or to caress it: humility feeds itself with this suffering.
The truth must be admitted: we are poor creatures, who can do very little good; but God is infinitely good, is contented with our little works, and is pleased with the preparation of our heart (Ps. ix. 17) . And what means the preparation of our heart? According to holy Scripture, God is greater than our heart (1 St. John iii.20), and our heart is greater than all the world. When our heart, being alone in its meditation, prepares the service which it ought to render to God, that is to say, when it forms its purpose of serving God, of honouring Him, of serving our neighbour, and of mortifying our exterior and interior senses, and such-like good designs; at that time it works marvels, it makes preparations, and disposes its actions to an eminent degree of admirable perfection. Nevertheless, all this preparation is in nowise proportionate to the greatness of God, who is in finitely greater than our heart; yet this preparation is ordinarily greater than the world, than our exterior force and actions.
A soul which, on the one hand, considers the greatness of God, His immense goodness and holiness, can never satiate itself with making Him great and marvellous preparations. It prepares Him a body mortified without rebellion, attention to prayer without distraction, sweetness of conversation without bitterness, humility without any feeling of vanity. All this is very good; these are good preparations. We must even get more of them, in order to serve God according to our duty; but when they are completed, we must consider who it is that does them; for when we come to put them in practice, we stop far short of them, and perceive that these preparations cannot be so great or so absolute in us as we imagined.
We can mortify the flesh, yet not so perfectly as that there shall be no rebellion at all. Our attention will often be interrupted by distractions, and so for the rest. But are we, for that reason, to lose our peace of mind, to be troubled or flurried or afflicted? Assuredly not. Are we to form an infinity of eager and discontented desires after a particular point of perfection? By no means.
Chapter XX. THAT WE OUGHT NOT TO DESIRE TO DO MORE THAN WE CAN
We may very rightly make simple wishes, which witness to our gratitude. I may say, Alas, why am I not as fervent as the Seraphim, the better to serve and love my God? But I must not amuse myself with forming desires, as if in this world I was to attain to that exquisite perfection; or say, I desire this, I will set myself to attain it, and if I fail of reaching it, I shall be unhappy. I do not say that we ought not to put ourselves in the path of such perfections, only we must not desire to reach it in one day, that is to say, in one day of this mortal life; for this desire would be a torment to us, and a most useless one.
It is necessary, in order to travel well, for us to at tend to the accomplishment of that part of the journey which is immediately before us, to get over the first day s ground, and not to amuse ourselves with desiring to accomplish the last day’s journey, when our business is to make an end of the first. I will express it in one word, which I beg you to bear in mind: We sometimes amuse ourselves with the idea of being good angels when we are not labouring to make ourselves even good men.
Our imperfections must accompany us to the grave; we cannot walk without touching the earth. We ought not to lie and welter there; but we also ought not to think of flying; we are, as yet, unfledged. We die little by little; we must therefore make our imperfections die with us day by day. Dear imperfections! which make us recognise our misery, exercise us in humility, in contempt of ourselves, in patience and diligence, and in spite of which God considers that preparation of our heart which is perfect.
Earth as we are, let us walk on earth, since the deep sea turns our head and makes us reel. Let us remain at our Lord s feet with Mary; let us practice those little virtues which are adapted to our littleness; and there are virtues that are exercised rather in descending than in ascending, the better for our weakness. Such are patience, the bearing with our neighbour and doing him service, humility, sweet ness, courage, affability, the endurance of our own imperfections, and other little virtues like them.
I do not say that we are not to ascend by means of prayer; but it must be step by step. I recommend to you holy simplicity. Look close before you, and do not look at those dangers which you see afar off. You fancy they are armies; they are only trees in the distance, and whilst you are gazing at them you may make some false steps.
Let us have a firm and general purpose, of intending to serve God with all our heart and all our life; and this done, let us not think of the morrow. Let us only think of achieving the present day well; and when to-morrow shall have arrived, it too will be called to-day, and then we shall think of it. Besides this, it is necessary that we have a great confidence in the Providence of God, and a resignation to it. We must make provision of manna for each day, and no more; and let us have no doubts; God will rain manna to-morrow, and the day after to-morrow, and all the days of our pilgrimage.
Chapter XXI. HOW GOOD DESIRES ARE TO BE FULFILLED
We ought not to desire impossible things, or build upon difficult and uncertain ones. It is not sufficient to believe that God can succour us by all sorts of means; but we must believe that He wills not to employ for that purpose those means which He removes far from us, and that He does will to employ such as are near to us.
It seems to me that you have discovered the true root of your evils, when you say to me, that you, think it is a multitude of desires which can never be satisfied. A variety of viands, if they are in too great quantity, always overcharges the stomach; but, if it is weak, it is ruined by them. When the soul has been purged of bad and worldly affections, meeting spiritual and holy objects, and feeling, as it were, utterly famished, it fills itself with many desires, and with such avidity, that it is overwhelmed with them.
Ask for remedies of our Lord, and of the spiritual Fathers whom you have near you: nevertheless, I will tell you simply what I think on the subject: it is, that if you do not begin to put into execution some of these desires, they will be ever multiplying, and will embarrass your mind, so that you will not know how to get rid of them.
You must, then, come to results. But in what order? You must begin by such palpable and exterior results as are most in your power; for example, you are not without the desire of serving the sick for the love of our Lord, of doing any mean and lowly services in the house, for the sake of humility; for these are fundamental desires, and without them all others are, and ought to be, suspected and despised. Exercise yourself, then, strongly in the production of the results of such desires; for you will have no lack either of occasions or subjects for them.
This is entirely in your own power, and consequently you ought to put them into execution; for in vain will you frame purposes of doing actions, the subject of which is not in your own power, or is very remote from you, if you do not fulfil those which are within your reach. Carry out, therefore, with fidelity, the desires of the humble and mean offices of charity, humility, and other virtues; and you will see that you are well provided with occasions for them. Magdalene must first wash our Lord s feet, must kiss them, and wipe them with the hairs of her head, before she can entertain Him heart to heart, in the secrecy of meditation; and she must anoint His body with earthly balm, before she can pour the balm of her meditations on His divinity.
It is good to desire much; but we must subject our desires to a certain order, and arrive at results, each in its own season, and according to your power. We prune the leaves of the vine, that its humidity and sap may be sufficient for the production of fruit, and that its natural force may not be weakened by an excessive growth of leaves. It is good to prune this multiplication of desires, lest our soul amuse itself with them, and relax its care to produce results, of which ordinarily the smallest fulfilment is of more value than mighty desires of things remote from our power: God rather desires in us fidelity to those little things which He does place under our control, than an ardour for great things which do not depend on us.
Chapter XXII. NOT TO BE OVER-FOND OF ANYTHING, AND TO WISH TO BE WHAT GOD WILLS US TO BE
I shall bless God all my life for the graces which He has prepared for you. Do you also prepare for Him, on your side, great acts of resignation, by way of exchange; and courageously settle your heart for the fulfilment of such things as you know He wills you to do, notwithstanding all sorts of contradictions which may oppose themselves to it.
Do not look for a moment at what you have to do, considered in itself, but only at the honour done to it, trifling as it is, to be willed by His divine will, ordained by His providence, arranged by His wisdom; in a word, since it is pleasing to God, and recognized as such, to whom should it be displeasing?
Take care to make yourself daily more pure in heart; this purity consists in weighing everything in the balance of the sanctuary, which is nothing else than the will of God.
Be not, I implore you, over-fond of anything, not even of the virtues, which one sometimes loses by the spirit of excess. I know not if you understand me, but I think you do. I fancy it is not the property of roses to be white, for the red ones are more beautiful and fragrant; but it is the property of lilies. Let us be what we are: and let us be so, to do honour to the Master-workman, whose creation we are.
Let us be what God wills, provided we are at His service, and let us not be what we will, contrary to His intention; for, were we the noblest creatures under heaven, what would that profit us, if we were not according to the will of God?
Chapter XXIII. OF HOW LITTLE ONE QUITS BY GIVING ONESELF TO GOD
It is beyond measure sweet to me to behold with what a heavenly operation the Holy Spirit works in your heart, by inspiring you with a strong and generous resolution of abandoning the world. Oh, how wisely do you act in obeying this supernatural wisdom! for thus it is said (St. Luke i. 39), that our Blessed Lady went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. This promptitude in doing the will of God is a great means of attracting mighty graces for the process and accomplishment of every good work; and you see that, after the rude shock your heart sustained, when by main force it rid itself of those feelings, humours, and inclinations, to follow the superior attrait, you are at last full of consolation, and enjoying repose in the midst of the burning bush which you have chosen, to sing therein forever the glory of your Creator and Saviour. Raise, raise your thoughts to that eternal consolation which you will have in heaven, for having done all that you have done.
It is indeed nothing, and I see that you feel it,—it is altogether nothing in comparison with your duty, and with the immortal recompense which God has prepared for you. For what are all these things which we despise and abandon for God? Nothing but little worthless moments of liberty, a thousand times more slavish than slavery itself; perpetual disquietudes, and vain, inconstant, and insatiable pretensions, which agitate our souls with a thousand useless solicitudes and entreaties, and all for these miserable days of life, so uncertain, so short, and so evil.
Nevertheless, so it has pleased God, that he who quits these empty nothings, these vain amusements, giving in exchange for them an eternal and glorious felicity, which this single consideration of having resolved to love God with all our heart, and of having gained a single little additional degree of eternal love, will plunge us into an abyss of happiness.
In truth, I would not have neglected to tell you to trample under foot all your feelings, your interests, your fears, your aversions, if I had not had that confidence in the goodness of the heavenly Spouse, that He would give you strength and courage to take the side of inspiration and reason against that of nature and aversion. Behold you, then, all dead to the world, and the world all dead to you.
That is one part of the holocaust, and there remain two more yet. The first of these is to flay the victim, stripping your heart of itself, cutting and tearing away all those minute impressions given us by the world and nature; and the second is to burn up and reduce to ashes your self-love, and convert your soul, all in flames with celestial love.
Now this cannot be done in a day; and He who has given you the grace of striking the first blow, will Himself give you the two others; and because His hand is all fatherly, either He will do this without your feeling it, or if He makes you feel it, He will give you that joyful constancy which He gave St. Lawrence on the burning coals.
Therefore you ought to be under no apprehension, for He who has given you the will, will also give you the accomplishment (Phil. i. 6; ii. 13). Only be faithful over a few things, and He will place you over many things (St. Matt. xxv. 21).
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