IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF DIVINE GOODNESS IF WE DO NOT ATTAIN GREAT EXCELLENCE IN LOVE
O God! Theotimus, if we receive heavenly inspirations in all the intensity of their power, we will make great progress in holiness in a short time. A spring may be overflowing with water. However, its water cannot enter the garden in full flow but according to the narrowness or largeness of the canal through which it flows into it. The Holy Spirit as a spring of living water flows into all the sides of our heart to spread his grace in it. Yet he does not wish to enter in us except through the free consent of our will. He will pour out his grace only in the measure of his good pleasure and our attitude and cooperation. The Sacred Council [Trent] says so. The Council, I think, calls the acceptance of grace a voluntary acceptance because of the relationship between our consent and grace.
It is in this sense that St. Paul exhorts us not to receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor 6:1). It is like a sick man who receives medicine in his hand and does not swallow it. He has received it in a useless and ineffectual way. Similarly, we receive the grace of God in vain when we receive it at the door of our heart but without the consent of our heart. Thus we receive it without receiving it, that is, we receive it without effect since it goes for nothing to feel the inspiration without consenting to it. Suppose that the patient to whom medicine was given in the hand took only part of it and not the whole. If so, the medicine would act only partially and not fully. Similarly, when God sends us a great and powerful inspiration for embracing holy love, if we do not consent to it in its full extent, it will profit us only in that measure. It may happen that we are inspired to do much. We do not consent to the whole inspiration but only to a part of it, as did some good persons in the gospel. Our Lord gave them the inspiration to follow him. But they had some reservations, one to go and bury his father and the other to say farewell to his dear ones (Lk 9:59, 61).
The prophet Elisha had miraculously multiplied oil by his prayer. As long as the widow had empty vessels, the oil did not cease to flow. When there were no more vessels to receive it, it ceased to flow (2 Kings 4:6). Our heart expands or, to put it better, allows itself to be enlarged and expanded. It does not refuse the emptiness of its consent to divine mercy. In proportion to these, divine mercy always pours out and spreads sacred inspiration in it. These inspirations go on increasing. They make us grow more and more in sacred love. When there is no more emptiness and we do not give consent any longer, divine mercy stops.
Why is it that we have not made as much progress in the love of God as St. Augustine, St. Francis [of Assisi], St. Catherine of Genoa, or St. Frances [of Rome]? Theotimus, it is because God has not given us the grace. Why is it that God did not give us the grace? Because we did not cooperate with his inspirations as we should. Why is it that we did not respond? Because being free, we have abused our freedom. But why did we abuse our freedom? Theotimus, we should not go further. As St. Augustine says, the defect of our will does not come from any cause. It is the weakness of the cause [person] that commits sin. We are not to think that we are able to give reason for our weakness in committing sin. For the fault would not be sinful if it were not unreasonable.
The devout Brother Ruffino had some vision of the glory which St. Francis [of Assisi] would attain due to his humility. He asked St. Francis: “My dear Father, I entreat you to tell me frankly what opinion you have of yourself". The Saint replied: “I think of myself as the greatest sinner in the world and the one who serves Our Lord the least." Bro. Ruffino retorted: “How can you say that conscientiously and with sincerity? We see clearly that many others commit great sins. Thanks be to God! You are free from them." To this St. Francis replied: “If God had favoured those about whom you speak with as much mercy as he has favoured me, I am sure of this: though they are wicked now, they would have been much more grateful for the gifts of God than me. They would serve him much better than I do. If my God abandons me, I would commit more wickedness than any other."
Do you see, Theotimus, the opinion of this man? He was scarcely a man but a seraph on earth. I know that he spoke like this about himself out of humility. All the same, he was convinced that it was genuine truth: equal grace given with equal mercy could be made better use of by one sinner than by another. I esteem as an oracle the feeling of this great teacher of the science of the saints. He was nourished in the school of the cross. He always breathed the air of divine inspirations. Also, this maxim had been raised and repeated by all the most devout persons who came after him. Many among them thought that the great apostle St. Paul had said in this sense that he was the foremost of all the sinners (1Tim 1:15).
The blessed [St.] Mother Teresa of Jesus [of Avila] certainly an angelic virgin, speaks about the prayer of quiet in these words:
There are many persons who reach this stage. Those who pass beyond it are quite few in number: I do not know what is the reason. Certainly, it is not God’s fault. His divine Majesty helps us and gives us the grace to reach this point. So, I believe that he would not fail to lead us further, were it not our fault and the obstacles we place from our part.
Let us be attentive, Theotimus, to our progress in love. We owe it to God because the love he brings us will never fail us.