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1 The Inward Conversation of Christ with the Faithful SoulZ
2 Truth Speaks Inwardly without the Sound of Words
3 Listen Humbly to the Words of God. Many Do Not Heed Them
4 We Must Walk Before God in Humility and Truth
5 The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love
6 The Proving of a True Lover
7 Grace Must Be Hidden Under the Mantle of Humility
8 Self-Abasement in the Sight of God
9 All Things Should be Referred to God as their Last End
10 To Despise the World and Serve God is Sweet
11 The Longings of Our Hearts Must Be Examined and Moderated
12 Acquiring Patience in the Fight against Concupiscence
13 The Obedience of One Humbly Subject to the Example of Jesus Christ
14 Consider the Hidden Judgments of God Lest You Become Proud of Your Own Good Deeds
15 How One Should Feel and Speak on Every Desirable Thing
16 True Comfort is to be Sought in God Alone
17 All Our Care is to be Placed in God
18 Temporal Sufferings Should be Borne Patiently, After the Example of Christ
19 True Patience in Suffering
20 Confessing Our Weakness in the Miseries of Life
21 Above All Goods and All Gifts We Must Rest in God
22 Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God
23 Four Things Which Bring Great Peace
24 Avoiding Curious Inquiry About the Lives of Others
25 The Basis of Firm Peace of Heart and True Progress
26 The Excellence of a Free Mind, Gained Through Prayer Rather Than by Study
27 Self-Love is the Greatest Hindrance to the Highest Good
28 Strength Against Slander
29 How We Must Call Upon and Bless the Lord When Trouble Presses
30 The Quest of Divine Help and Confidence in Regaining Grace
31 To Find the Creator, Forsake All Creatures
32 Self-Denial and the Renunciation of Evil Appetites
33 Restlessness of Soul -- Directing Our Final Intention Toward God
34 God is Sweet Above All Things and in All Things to Those Who Love Him
35 There is No Security from Temptation in This Life
36 The Vain Judgments of Men
37 Pure and Entire Resignation of Self to Obtain Freedom of Heart
38 The Right Ordering of External Affairs; Recourse to God in Dangers
39 A Man Should Not be Unduly Solicitous about his Affairs
40 Man Has No Good in Himself and Can Glory in Nothing
41 Contempt for All Earthly Honor
42 Peace is not to be Placed in Men
43 Beware Vain and Worldly Knowledge
44 Do Not be Concerned About Outward Things
45 All Men Are Not To Be Believed, For It is Easy To Err in Speech
46 Trust in God Against Slander
47 Every Trial Must Be Borne for the Sake of Eternal Life
48 The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of this Life
49 The Desire of Eternal Life; The Great Rewards Promised to Those Who Struggle
50 How a Desolate Person Ought to Commit Himself into the Hands of God
51 When We Cannot Attain to the Highest, We Must Practice the Humble Works
52 A Man Ought Not to Consider Himself Worthy of Consolation, But Rather Deserving of Chastisement
53 God's Grace Is Not Given to the Earthly Minded
54 The Different Motions of Nature and Grace
55 The Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of Divine Grace
56 We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ Through Bearing the Cross
57 A Man Should Not Be Too Downcast When He Falls Into Defects
58 High Matters and the Hidden Judgments of God Are Not To Be Scrutinized
59 All Hope and Trust Are To Be Fixed in God Alone
The First Chapter
The Inward Conversation of Christ with the Faithful
Soul
I WILL hear what the Lord God will speak in me."[1]
Blessed is the soul who hears the Lord speaking within her, who receives
the word of consolation from His lips. Blessed are the ears that catch
the accents of divine whispering, and pay no heed to the murmurings of
this world. Blessed indeed are the ears that listen, not to the voice
which sounds without, but to the truth which teaches within. Blessed are
the eyes which are closed to exterior things and are fixed upon those
which are interior. Blessed are they who penetrate inwardly, who try daily
to prepare themselves more and more to understand mysteries. Blessed are
they who long to give their time to God, and who cut themselves off from
the hindrances of the world.
Consider these things, my soul, and close the door of your senses, so
that you can hear what the Lord your God speaks within you. "I am
your salvation," says your Beloved. "I am your peace and your
life. Remain with Me and you will find peace. Dismiss all passing things
and seek the eternal. What are all temporal things but snares? And what
help will all creatures be able to give you if you are deserted by the
Creator?" Leave all these things, therefore, and make yourself pleasing
and faithful to your Creator so that you may attain to true happiness.
The Second Chapter
Truth Speaks Inwardly Without the Sound of Words
The Disciple
SPEAK, Lord, for Thy servant heareth."[2]
"I am Thy servant. Give me understanding that I may know Thine ordinances[3]
. . . Incline my heart to Thine ordinances[4] . . . Let Thy speech distil
as the dew."[5]
The children of Israel once said to Moses: "Speak thou to us and
we will hear thee: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die."[6]
Not so, Lord, not so do I pray. Rather with Samuel the prophet I entreat
humbly and earnestly: "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth."
Do not let Moses or any of the prophets speak to me; but You speak, O
Lord God, Who inspired and enlightened all the prophets; for You alone,
without them, can instruct me perfectly, whereas they, without You, can
do nothing. They, indeed, utter fine words, but they cannot impart the
spirit. They do indeed speak beautifully, but if You remain silent they
cannot inflame the heart. They deliver the message; You lay bare the sense.
They place before us mysteries, but You unlock their meaning. They proclaim
commandments; You help us to keep them. They point out the way; You give
strength for the journey. They work only outwardly; You instruct and enlighten
our hearts. They water on the outside; You give the increase.
They cry out words; You give understanding to the hearer.
Let not Moses speak to me, therefore, but You, the Lord my God, everlasting
truth, speak lest I die and prove barren if I am merely given outward
advice and am not inflamed within; lest the word heard and not kept, known
and not loved, believed and not obeyed, rise up in judgment against me.
Speak, therefore, Lord, for Your servant listens. "Thou hast the
words of eternal life."[7] Speak to me for the comfort of my soul
and for the amendment of my life, for Your praise, Your glory, and Your
everlasting honor.
The Third Chapter
Listen Humbly to the Words of God. Many Do Not
Heed Them
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, hear My words, words of greatest sweetness surpassing all
the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of earth. My words are
spirit and life, and they are not to be weighed by man's understanding.
They are not to be invoked in vanity but are to be heard in silence, and
accepted with all humility and with great affection.
The Disciple
"Happy is the man whom Thou admonishest, O Lord, and teachest out
of Thy law, to give him peace from the days of evil,"[8] and that
he be not desolate on earth.
The Voice of Christ
I taught the prophets from the beginning, and even to this day I continue
to speak to all men. But many are hardened. Many are deaf to My voice.
Most men listen more willingly to the world than to God. They are more
ready to follow the appetite of their flesh than the good pleasure of
God. The world, which promises small and passing things, is served with
great eagerness: I promise great and eternal things and the hearts of
men grow dull. Who is there that serves and obeys Me in all things with
as great care as that with which the world and its masters are served?
"Be thou ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea speaketh."[9] And if you
ask why, listen to the cause: for a small gain they travel far; for eternal
life many will scarcely lift a foot from the ground. They seek a petty
reward, and sometimes fight shamefully in law courts for a single piece
of money. They are not afraid to work day and night for a trifle or an
empty promise. But, for an unchanging good, for a reward beyond estimate,
for the greatest honor and for glory everlasting, it must be said to their
shame that men begrudge even the least fatigue. Be ashamed, then, lazy
and complaining servant, that they should be found more eager for perdition
than you are for life, that they rejoice more in vanity than you in truth.
Sometimes indeed their expectations fail them, but My promise never deceives,
nor does it send away empty-handed him who trusts in Me. What I have promised
I will give. What I have said I will fulfill, if only a man remain faithful
in My love to the end. I am the rewarder of all the good, the strong approver
of all who are devoted to Me.
Write My words in your heart and meditate on them earnestly, for in time
of temptation they will be very necessary. What you do not understand
when you read, you will learn in the day of visitation. I am wont to visit
My elect in two ways -- by temptation and by consolation. To them I read
two lessons daily -- one reproving their vices, the other exhorting them
to progress in virtue. He who has My words and despises them has that
which shall condemn him on the last day.
A Prayer for the Grace of Devotion
O Lord my God, You are all my good. And who am I that I should dare
to speak to You? I am Your poorest and meanest servant, a vile worm, much
more poor and contemptible than I know or dare to say. Yet remember me,
Lord, because I am nothing, I have nothing, and I can do nothing. You
alone are good, just, and holy. You can do all things, You give all things,
You fill all things: only the sinner do You leave empty-handed. Remember
Your tender mercies and fill my heart with Your grace, You Who will not
allow Your works to be in vain. How can I bear this life of misery unless
You comfort me with Your mercy and grace? Do not turn Your face from me.
Do not delay Your visitation. Do not withdraw Your consolation, lest in
Your sight my soul become as desert land. Teach me, Lord, to do Your will.
Teach me to live worthily and humbly in Your sight, for You are my wisdom
Who know me truly, and Who knew me even before the world was made and
before I was born into it.
The Fourth Chapter
We Must Walk Before God in Humility and Truth
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, walk before Me in truth, and seek Me always in the simplicity
of your heart. He who walks before Me in truth shall be defended from
the attacks of evil, and the truth shall free him from seducers and from
the slanders of wicked men. For if the truth has made you free, then you
shall be free indeed, and you shall not care for the vain words of men.
The Disciple
0 Lord, it is true. I ask that it be with me as You say. Let your truth
teach me. Let it guard me, and keep me safe to the end. Let it free me
from all evil affection and badly ordered love, and I shall walk with
you in great freedom of heart.
The Voice of Christ
1 shall teach you those things which are right and pleasing to Me. Consider
your sins with great displeasure and sorrow, and never think yourself
to be someone because of your good works. You are truly a sinner. You
are subject to many passions and entangled in them. Of yourself you always
tend to nothing. You fall quickly, are quickly overcome, quickly troubled,
and quickly undone. You have nothing in which you can glory, but you have
many things for which you should think yourself vile, for you are much
weaker than you can comprehend. Hence, let none of the things you do seem
great to you. Let nothing seem important or precious or desirable except
that which is everlasting. Let the eternal truth please you above all
things, and let your extreme unworthiness always displease you. Fear nothing,
abhor nothing, and fly nothing as you do your own vices and sins; these
should be more unpleasant for you than any material losses.
Some men walk before Me without sincerity. Led on by a certain curiosity
and arrogance, they wish to know My secrets and to understand the high
things of God, to the neglect of themselves and their own salvation. Through
their own pride and curiosity, and because I am against them, such men
often fall into great temptations and sins.
Fear the judgments of God! Dread the wrath of the Almighty! Do not discuss
the works of the Most High, but examine your sins -- in what serious things
you have offended and how many good things you have neglected.
Some carry their devotion only in books, some in pictures, some in outward
signs and figures. Some have Me on their lips when there is little of
Me in their hearts. Others, indeed, with enlightened understanding and
purified affections, constantly long for everlasting things; they are
unwilling to hear of earthly affairs and only with reluctance do they
serve the necessities of nature. These sense what the Spirit of truth
speaks within them: for He teaches them to despise earthly things and
to love those of heaven, to neglect the world, and each day and night
to desire heaven.
The Fifth Chapter
The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love
The Disciple
I BLESS You, O heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, for
having condescended to remember me, a poor creature. Thanks to You, O
Father of mercies, God of all consolation, Who with Your comfort sometimes
refresh me, who am not worthy of it. I bless You always and glorify You
with Your only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, forever
and ever.
Ah, Lord God, my holy Lover, when You come into my heart, all that is
within me will rejoice. You are my glory and the exultation of my heart.
You are my hope and refuge in the day of my tribulation. But because my
love is as yet weak and my virtue imperfect, I must be strengthened and
comforted by You. Visit me often, therefore, and teach me Your holy discipline.
Free me from evil passions and cleanse my heart of all disorderly affection
so that, healed and purified within, I may be fit to love, strong to suffer,
and firm to persevere.
Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every
difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a
burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter. The
noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that
which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by
anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections,
lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal
interest and overcome by adversity.
Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing
is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth,
for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, who is above all
created things.
One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He
gives all for all and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one
sovereign Good, Who is above all things, and from Whom every good flows
and proceeds. He does not look to the gift but turns himself above all
gifts to the Giver.
Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden,
thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not
plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things.
For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where
he who does not love fails and falls.
Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired.
Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a
living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed
through every obstacle.
If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice. For this warm affection
of soul is a loud voice crying in the ears of God, and it says: "My
God, my love, You are all mine and I am all Yours. Give me an increase
of love, that I may learn to taste with the inward lips of my heart how
sweet it is to love, how sweet to be dissolved in love and bathe in it.
Let me be rapt in love. Let me rise above self in great fervor and wonder.
Let me sing the hymn of love, and let me follow You, my Love, to the heights.
Let my soul exhaust itself in praising You, rejoicing out of love. Let
me love You more than myself, and let me not love myself except for Your
sake. In You let me love all those who truly love You, as the law of love,
which shines forth from You, commands."
Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is strong,
patient and faithful, prudent, long-suffering, and manly. Love is never
self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself there he falls from
love. Love is circumspect, humble, and upright. It is neither soft nor
light, nor intent upon vain things. It is sober and chaste, firm and quiet,
guarded in all the senses. Love is subject and obedient to superiors.
It is mean and contemptible in its own eyes, devoted and thankful to God;
always trusting and hoping in Him even when He is distasteful to it, for
there is no living in love without sorrow. He who is not ready to suffer
all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved is not worthy
to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult
and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from
Him because of adversities.
The Sixth Chapter
The Proving of a True Lover
The Voice of Christ MY CHILD, you are not yet a brave and wise lover.
The Disciple Why, Lord?
The Voice of Christ
Because, on account of a slight difficulty you give up what you have
undertaken and are too eager to seek consolation.
The brave lover stands firm in temptations and pays no heed to the crafty
persuasions of the enemy. As I please him in prosperity, so in adversity
I am not displeasing to him. The wise lover regards not so much the gift
of Him Who loves as the love of Him Who gives. He regards the affection
of the Giver rather than the value of the gift, and sets his Beloved above
all gifts. The noble lover does not rest in the gift but in Me Who am
above every gift.
All is not lost, then, if you sometimes feel less devout than you wish
toward Me or My saints. That good and sweet feeling which you sometimes
have is the effect of present grace and a certain foretaste of your heavenly
home. You must not lean upon it too much, because it comes and goes. But
to fight against evil thoughts which attack you is a sign of virtue and
great merit. Do not, therefore, let strange fantasies disturb you, no
matter what they concern. Hold strongly to your resolution and keep a
right intention toward God.
It is not an illusion that you are sometimes rapt in ecstasy and then
quickly returned to the usual follies of your heart. For these are evils
which you suffer rather than commit; and so long as they displease you
and you struggle against them, it is a matter of merit and not a loss.
You must know that the old enemy tries by all means in his power to hinder
your desire for good and to turn you from every devotional practice, especially
from the veneration of the saints, from devout meditation on My passion,
and from your firm purpose of advancing in virtue. He suggests many evil
thoughts that he may cause you weariness and horror, and thus draw you
away from prayer and holy reading. A humble confession displeases him
and, if he could, he would make you omit Holy Communion.
Do not believe him or heed him, even though he often sets traps to deceive
you. When he suggests evil, unclean things, accuse him. Say to him: "Away,
unclean spirit! Shame, miserable creature! You are but filth to bring
such things to my ears. Begone, most wretched seducer! You shall have
no part in me, for Jesus will be my strength, and you shall be confounded.
I would rather die and suffer all torments than consent to you. Be still!
Be silent! Though you bring many troubles upon me I will have none of
you. The Lord is my light, my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Though armies
unite against me, my heart will not fear, for the Lord is my Helper, my
Redeemer."
Fight like a good soldier and if you sometimes fall through weakness,
rise again with greater strength than before, trusting in My most abundant
grace. But beware of vain complacency and pride. For many are led into
error through these faults and sometimes fall into almost perpetual blindness.
Let the fall of these, who proudly presume on self, be a warning to you
and a constant incentive to humility.
The Seventh Chapter
Grace Must Be Hidden Under the Mantle of Humility
The Voice of Christ
IT IS better and safer for you to conceal the grace of devotion, not
to be elated by it, not to speak or think much of it, and instead to humble
yourself and fear lest it is being given to one unworthy of it. Do not
cling too closely to this affection, for it may quickly be changed to
its opposite. When you are in grace, think how miserable and needy you
are without it. Your progress in spiritual life does not consist in having
the grace of consolation, but in enduring its withdrawal with humility,
resignation, and patience, so that you neither become listless in prayer
nor neglect your other duties in the least; but on the contrary do what
you can do as well as you know how, and do not neglect yourself completely
because of your dryness or anxiety of mind.
There are many, indeed, who immediately become impatient and lazy when
things do not go well with them. The way of man, however, does not always
lie in his own power. It is God's prerogative to give grace and to console
when He wishes, as much as He wishes, and whom He wishes, as it shall
please Him and no more.
Some careless persons, misusing the grace of devotion, have destroyed
themselves because they wished to do more than they were able. They failed
to take account of their own weakness, and followed the desire of their
heart rather than the judgment of their reason. Then, because they presumed
to greater things than pleased God they quickly lost His grace. They who
had built their homes in heaven became helpless, vile outcasts, humbled
and impoverished, that they might learn not to fly with their own wings
but to trust in Mine.
They who are still new and inexperienced in the way of the Lord may easily
be deceived and overthrown unless they guide themselves by the advice
of discreet persons. But if they wish to follow their own notions rather
than to trust in others who are more experienced, they will be in danger
of a sorry end, at least if they are unwilling to be drawn from their
vanity. Seldom do they who are wise in their own conceits bear humbly
the guidance of others. Yet a little knowledge humbly and meekly pursued
is better than great treasures of learning sought in vain complacency.
It is better for you to have little than to have much which may become
the source of pride.
He who gives himself up entirely to enjoyment acts very unwisely, for
he forgets his former helplessness and that chastened fear of the Lord
which dreads to lose a proffered grace. Nor is he very brave or wise who
becomes too despondent in times of adversity and difficulty and thinks
less confidently of Me than he should. He who wishes to be too secure
in time of peace will often become too dejected and fearful in time of
trial.
If you were wise enough to remain always humble and small in your own
eyes, and to restrain and rule your spirit well, you would not fall so
quickly into danger and offense.
When a spirit of fervor is enkindled within you, you may well meditate
on how you will feel when the fervor leaves. Then, when this happens,
remember that the light which I have withdrawn for a time as a warning
to you and for My own glory may again return. Such trials are often more
beneficial than if you had things always as you wish. For a man's merits
are not measured by many visions or consolations, or by knowledge of the
Scriptures, or by his being in a higher position than others, but by the
truth of his humility, by his capacity for divine charity, by his constancy
in seeking purely and entirely the honor of God, by his disregard and
positive contempt of self, and more, by preferring to be despised and
humiliated rather than honored by others.
The Eighth Chapter
Self-Abasement in the Sight of God
The Disciple
I WILL speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. If I consider
myself anything more than this, behold You stand against me, and my sins
bear witness to the truth which I cannot contradict. If I abase myself,
however, if I humble myself to nothingness, if I shrink from all self-esteem
and account myself as the dust which I am, Your grace will favor me, Your
light will enshroud my heart, and all self-esteem, no matter how little,
will sink in the depths of my nothingness to perish forever.
It is there You show me to myself -- what I am, what I have been, and
what I am coming to; for I am nothing and I did not know it. Left to myself,
I am nothing but total weakness. But if You look upon me for an instant,
I am at once made strong and filled with new joy. Great wonder it is that
I, who of my own weight always sink to the depths, am so suddenly lifted
up, and so graciously embraced by You.
It is Your love that does this, graciously upholding me, supporting me
in so many necessities, guarding me from so many grave dangers, and snatching
me, as I may truly say, from evils without number. Indeed, by loving myself
badly I lost myself; by seeking only You and by truly loving You I have
found both myself and You, and by that love I have reduced myself more
profoundly to nothing. For You, O sweetest Lord, deal with me above all
my merits and above all that I dare to hope or ask.
May You be blessed, my God, for although I am unworthy of any benefits,
yet Your nobility and infinite goodness never cease to do good even for
those who are ungrateful and far from You. Convert us to You, that we
may be thankful, humble, and devout, for You are our salvation, our courage,
and our strength.
The Ninth Chapter
All Things should be Referred to God as their
Last End
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, I must be your supreme and last end, if you truly desire to
be blessed. With this intention your affections, which are too often perversely
inclined to self and to creatures, will be purified. For if you seek yourself
in anything, you immediately fail interiorly and become dry of heart.
Refer all things principally to Me, therefore, for it is I Who have given
them all. Consider each thing as flowing from the highest good, and therefore
to Me, as to their highest source, must all things be brought back.
From Me the small and the great, the poor and the rich draw the water
of life as from a living fountain, and they who serve Me willingly and
freely shall receive grace upon grace. He who wishes to glory in things
apart from Me, however, or to delight in some good as his own, shall not
be grounded in true joy or gladdened in his heart, but shall be burdened
and distressed in many ways. Hence you ought not to attribute any good
to yourself or ascribe virtue to any man, but give all to God without
Whom man has nothing.
I have given all things. I will that all be returned to Me again, and
I exact most strictly a return of thanks. This is the truth by which vainglory
is put to flight.
Where heavenly grace and true charity enter in, there neither envy nor
narrowness of heart nor self-love will have place. Divine love conquers
all and enlarges the powers of the soul.
If you are truly wise, you will rejoice only in Me, because no one is
good except God alone, Who is to be praised above all things and above
all to be blessed.
The Tenth Chapter
To Despise the World and Serve God is Sweet
The Disciple
NOW again I will speak, Lord, and will not be silent. I will speak to
the hearing of my God, my Lord, and my King Who is in heaven. How great,
O Lord, is the multitude of Your mercies which You have stored up for
those who love You. But what are You to those who love You? What are You
to those who serve You with their whole heart?
Truly beyond the power of words is the sweetness of contemplation You
give to those who love You. To me You have shown the sweetness of Your
charity, especially in having made me when I did not exist, in having
brought me back to serve You when I had gone far astray from You, in having
commanded me to love You.
O Fountain of unceasing love, what shall I say of You? How can I forget
You, Who have been pleased to remember me even after I had wasted away
and perished? You have shown mercy to Your servant beyond all hope, and
have exhibited grace and friendship beyond his deserving.
What return shall I make to You for this grace? For it is not given every
man to forsake all things, to renounce the world, and undertake the religious
life. Is it anything great that I should serve You Whom every creature
is bound to serve? It should not seem much to me; instead it should appear
great and wonderful that You condescend to receive into Your service one
who is so poor and unworthy. Behold, all things are Yours, even those
which I have and by which I serve You. Behold, heaven and earth which
You created for the service of man, stand ready, and each day they do
whatever You command. But even this is little, for You have appointed
angels also to minister to man -- yea more than all this -- You Yourself
have condescended to serve man and have promised to give him Yourself.
What return shall I make for all these thousands of benefits? Would that
I could serve You all the days of my life! Would that for but one day
I could serve You worthily! Truly You are worthy of all service, all honor,
and everlasting praise. Truly You are my Lord, and I am Your poor servant,
bound to serve You with all my powers, praising You without ever becoming
weary. I wish to do this -- this is my desire. Do You supply whatever
is wanting in me.
It is a great honor, a great glory to serve You and to despise all things
for Your sake. They who give themselves gladly to Your most holy service
will possess great grace. They who cast aside all carnal delights for
Your love will find the most sweet consolation of the Holy Ghost. They
who enter upon the narrow way for Your name and cast aside all worldly
care will attain great freedom of mind.
O sweet and joyful service of God, which makes man truly free and holy!
O sacred state of religious bondage which makes man equal to the angels,
pleasing to God, terrible to the demons, and worthy of the commendation
of all the faithful! O service to be embraced and always desired, in which
the highest good is offered and joy is won which shall remain forever!
The Eleventh Chapter
The Longings of our Hearts Must Be Examined
And Moderated
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, it is necessary for you to learn many things which you have
not yet learned well.
The Disciple
What are they, Lord?
The Voice of Christ
That you conform your desires entirely according to My good pleasure,
and be not a lover of self but an earnest doer of My will. Desires very
often inflame you and drive you madly on, but consider whether you act
for My honor, or for your own advantage. If I am the cause, you will be
well content with whatever I ordain. If, on the other hand, any self-seeking
lurk in you, it troubles you and weighs you down. Take care, then, that
you do not rely too much on preconceived desire that has no reference
to Me, lest you repent later on and be displeased with what at first pleased
you and which you desired as being for the best. Not every desire which
seems good should be followed immediately, nor, on the other hand, should
every contrary affection be at once rejected.
It is sometimes well to use a little restraint even in good desires and
inclinations, lest through too much eagerness you bring upon yourself
distraction of mind; lest through your lack of discipline you create scandal
for others; or lest you be suddenly upset and fall because of resistance
from others. Sometimes, however, you must use violence and resist your
sensual appetite bravely. You must pay no attention to what the flesh
does or does not desire, taking pains that it be subjected, even by force,
to the spirit. And it should be chastised and forced to remain in subjection
until it is prepared for anything and is taught to be satisfied with little,
to take pleasure in simple things, and not to murmur against inconveniences.
The Twelfth Chapter
Acquiring Patience in the Fight Against Concupiscence
The Disciple
PATIENCE, O Lord God, is very necessary for me, I see, because there
are many adversities in this life. No matter what plans I make for my
own peace, my life cannot be free from struggle and sorrow.
The Voice of Christ
My child, you are right, yet My wish is not that you seek that peace
which is free from temptations or meets with no opposition, but rather
that you consider yourself as having found peace when you have been tormented
with many tribulations and tried with many adversities.
If you say that you cannot suffer much, how will you endure the fire of
purgatory? Of two evils, the lesser is always to be chosen. Therefore,
in order that you may escape the everlasting punishments to come, try
to bear present evils patiently for the sake of God.
Do you think that men of the world have no suffering, or perhaps but little?
Ask even those who enjoy the most delights and you will learn otherwise.
"But," you will say, "they enjoy many pleasures and follow
their own wishes; therefore they do not feel their troubles very much."
Granted that they do have whatever they wish, how long do you think it
will last? Behold, they who prosper in the world shall perish as smoke,
and there shall be no memory of their past joys. Even in this life they
do not find rest in these pleasures without bitterness, weariness, and
fear. For they often receive the penalty of sorrow from the very thing
whence they believe their happiness comes. And it is just. Since they
seek and follow after pleasures without reason, they should not enjoy
them without shame and bitterness.
How brief, how false, how unreasonable and shameful all these pleasures
are! Yet in their drunken blindness men do not understand this, but like
brute beasts incur death of soul for the miserly enjoyment of a corruptible
life.
Therefore, My child, do not pursue your lusts, but turn away from your
own will. "Seek thy pleasure in the Lord and He will give thee thy
heart's desires."[10] If you wish to be truly delighted and more abundantly
comforted by Me, behold, in contempt of all worldly things and in the
cutting off of all base pleasures shall your blessing be, and great consolation
shall be given you. Further, the more you withdraw yourself from any solace
of creatures, the sweeter and stronger comfort will you find in Me.
At first you will not gain these blessings without sadness and toil and
conflict. Habit already formed will resist you, but it shall be overcome
by a better habit. The flesh will murmur against you, but it will be bridled
by fervor of spirit. The old serpent will sting and trouble you, but prayer
will put him to flight and by steadfast, useful toil the way will be closed
to him.
The Thirteenth Chapter
The Obedience of One Humbly Subject to the
Example of Jesus
Christ
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, he who attempts to escape obeying withdraws himself from grace.
Likewise he who seeks private benefits for himself loses those which are
common to all. He who does not submit himself freely and willingly to
his superior, shows that his flesh is not yet perfectly obedient but that
it often rebels and murmurs against him.
Learn quickly, then, to submit yourself to your superior if you wish to
conquer your own flesh. For the exterior enemy is more quickly overcome
if the inner man is not laid waste. There is no more troublesome, no worse
enemy of the soul than you yourself, if you are not in harmony with the
spirit. It is absolutely necessary that you conceive a true contempt for
yourself if you wish to be victorious over flesh and blood.
Because you still love yourself too inordinately, you are afraid to resign
yourself wholly to the will of others. Is it such a great matter if you,
who are but dust and nothingness, subject yourself to man for the sake
of God, when I, the All-Powerful, the Most High, Who created all things
out of nothing, humbly subjected Myself to man for your sake? I became
the most humble and the lowest of all men that you might overcome your
pride with My humility.
Learn to obey, you who are but dust! Learn to humble yourself, you who
are but earth and clay, and bow down under the foot of every man! Learn
to break your own will, to submit to all subjection! Be zealous against
yourself! Allow no pride to dwell in you, but prove yourself so humble
and lowly that all may walk over you and trample upon you as dust in the
streets!
What have you, vain man, to complain of? What answer can you make, vile
sinner, to those who accuse you, you who have so often offended God and
so many times deserved hell? But My eye has spared you because your soul
was precious in My sight, so that you might know My love and always be
thankful for My benefits, so that you might give yourself continually
to true subjection and humility, and might patiently endure contempt.
The Fourteenth Chapter
Consider the Hidden Judgments of God Lest You
Become Proud of Your Own Good Deeds
The Disciple
YOU thunder forth Your judgments over me, Lord. You shake all my bones
with fear and trembling, and my soul is very much afraid. I stand in awe
as I consider that the heavens are not pure in Your sight. If You found
wickedness in the angels and did not spare them, what will become of me?
Stars have fallen from heaven, and I -- I who am but dust -- how can I
be presumptuous? They whose deeds seemed worthy of praise have fallen
into the depths, and I have seen those who ate the bread of angels delighting
themselves with the husks of swine.
There is no holiness, then, if You withdraw Your hand, Lord. There is
no wisdom if You cease to guide, no courage if You cease to defend. No
chastity is secure if You do not guard it. Our vigilance avails nothing
if Your holy watchfulness does not protect us. Left to ourselves we sink
and perish, but visited by You we are lifted up and live. We are truly
unstable, but You make us strong. We grow lukewarm, but You inflame us.
Oh, how humbly and lowly should I consider myself! How very little should
I esteem anything that seems good in me! How profoundly should I submit
to Your unfathomable judgments, Lord, where I find myself to be but nothing!
O immeasurable weight! O impassable sea, where I find myself to be nothing
but bare nothingness! Where, then, is glory's hiding place? Where can
there be any trust in my own virtue? All vainglory is swallowed up in
the depths of Your judgments upon me.
What is all flesh in Your sight? Shall the clay glory against Him that
formed it? How can he whose heart is truly subject to God be lifted up
by vainglory? The whole world will not make him proud whom truth has subjected
to itself. Nor shall he who has placed all his hope in God be moved by
the tongues of flatterers. For behold, even they who speak are nothing;
they will pass away with the sound of their words, but the truth of the
Lord remains forever.
The Fifteenth Chapter
How One Should Feel and Speak on Every Desirable
Thing
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, this is the way you must speak on every occasion: "Lord,
if it be pleasing to You, so be it. If it be to Your honor, Lord, be it
done in Your name. Lord, if You see that it is expedient and profitable
for me, then grant that I may use it to Your honor. But if You know that
it will be harmful to me, and of no good benefit to the welfare of my
soul, then take this desire away from me."
Not every desire is from the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem right
and good. It is difficult to be certain whether it is a good spirit or
a bad one that prompts one to this or that, and even to know whether you
are being moved by your own spirit. Many who seemed at first to be led
by a good spirit have been deceived in the end.
Whatever the mind sees as good, ask and desire in fear of God and humility
of heart. Above all, commit the whole matter to Me with true resignation,
and say: "Lord, You know what is better for me; let this be done
or that be done as You please. Grant what You will, as much as You will,
when You will. Do with me as You know best, as will most please You, and
will be for Your greater honor. Place me where You will and deal with
me freely in all things. I am in Your hand; turn me about whichever way
You will. Behold, I am Your servant, ready to obey in all things. Not
for myself do I desire to live, but for You - would that I could do this
worthily and perfectly!"
A Prayer that the Will of God Be Done
Grant me Your grace, O most merciful Jesus, that it may be with me,
and work with me, and remain with me to the very end. Grant that I may
always desire and will that which is most acceptable and pleasing to You.
Let Your will be mine. Let my will always follow Yours and agree perfectly
with it. Let my will be one with Yours in willing and in not willing,
and let me be unable to will or not will anything but what You will or
do not will. Grant that I may die to all things in this world, and for
Your sake love to be despised and unknown in this life. Give me above
all desires the desire to rest in You, and in You let my heart have peace.
You are true peace of heart. You alone are its rest. Without You all things
are difficult and troubled. In this peace, the selfsame that is in You,
the Most High, the everlasting Good, I will sleep and take my rest. Amen.
The Sixteenth Chapter
True Comfort Is to Be Sought in God Alone
The Disciple
WHATEVER I can desire or imagine for my own comfort I look for not here
but hereafter. For if I alone should have all the world's comforts and
could enjoy all its delights, it is certain that they could not long endure.
Therefore, my soul, you cannot enjoy full consolation or perfect delight
except in God, the Consoler of the poor and the Helper of the humble.
Wait a little, my soul, wait for the divine promise and you will have
an abundance of all good things in heaven. If you desire these present
things too much, you will lose those which are everlasting and heavenly.
Use temporal things but desire eternal things. You cannot be satisfied
with any temporal goods because you were not created to enjoy them.
Even if you possessed all created things you could not be happy and blessed;
for in God, Who created all these things, your whole blessedness and happiness
consists - not indeed such happiness as is seen and praised by lovers
of the world, but such as that for which the good and faithful servants
of Christ wait, and of which the spiritual and pure of heart, whose conversation
is in heaven, sometime have a foretaste.
Vain and brief is all human consolation. But that which is received inwardly
from the Truth is blessed and true. The devout man carries his Consoler,
Jesus, everywhere with him, and he says to Him: "Be with me, Lord
Jesus, in every place and at all times. Let this be my consolation, to
be willing to forego all human comforting. And if Your consolation be
wanting to me, let Your will and just trial of me be my greatest comfort.
For You will not always be angry, nor will You threaten forever."
The Seventeenth Chapter
All Our Care is to Be Placed in God
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, allow me to do what I will with you. I know what is best for
you. You think as a man; you feel in many things as human affection persuades.
The Disciple
Lord, what You say is true. Your care for me is greater than all the
care I can take of myself. For he who does not cast all his care upon
You stands very unsafely. If only my will remain right and firm toward
You, Lord, do with me whatever pleases You. For whatever You shall do
with me can only be good.
If You wish me to be in darkness, I shall bless You. And if You wish me
to be in light, again I shall bless You. If You stoop down to comfort
me, I shall bless You, and if You wish me to be afflicted, I shall bless
You forever.
The Voice of Christ
My child, this is the disposition which you should have if you wish
to walk with Me. You should be as ready to suffer as to enjoy. You should
as willingly be destitute and poor as rich and satisfied.
The Disciple
O Lord, I shall suffer willingly for Your sake whatever You wish to
send me. I am ready to accept from Your hand both good and evil alike,
the sweet and the bitter together, sorrow with joy; and for all that happens
to me I am grateful. Keep me from all sin and I will fear neither death
nor hell. Do not cast me out forever nor blot me out of the Book of Life,
and whatever tribulation befalls will not harm me.
The Eighteenth Chapter
Temporal Sufferings Should Be Borne Patiently,
After the Example of Christ
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, I came down from heaven for your salvation and took upon Myself
your miseries, not out of necessity but out of love, that you might learn
to be patient and bear the sufferings of this life without repining. From
the moment of My birth to My death on the cross, suffering did not leave
Me. I suffered great want of temporal goods. Often I heard many complaints
against Me. Disgrace and reviling I bore with patience. For My blessings
I received ingratitude, for My miracles blasphemies, and for My teaching
scorn.
The Disciple
O Lord, because You were patient in life, especially in fulfilling the
design of the Father, it is fitting that I, a most miserable sinner, should
live patiently according to Your will, and, as long as You shall wish,
bear the burden of this corruptible body for the welfare of my soul. For
though this present life seems burdensome, yet by Your grace it becomes
meritorious, and it is made brighter and more endurable for the weak by
Your example and the pathways of the saints. But it has also more consolation
than formerly under the old law when the gates of heaven were closed,
when the way thereto seemed darker than now, and when so few cared to
seek the eternal kingdom. The just, the elect, could not enter heaven
before Your sufferings and sacred death had paid the debt.
Oh, what great thanks I owe You, Who have shown me and all the faithful
the good and right way to Your everlasting kingdom! Your life is our way
and in Your holy patience we come nearer to You Who are our crown. Had
You not gone before and taught us, who would have cared to follow? Alas,
how many would have remained far behind, had they not before their eyes
Your holy example! Behold, even we who have heard of Your many miracles
and teachings are still lukewarm; what would happen if we did not have
such light by which to follow You?
The Nineteenth Chapter
True Patience in Suffering
The Voice of Christ
WHAT are you saying, My child? Think of My suffering and that of the
saints, and cease complaining. You have not yet resisted to the shedding
of blood. What you suffer is very little compared with the great things
they suffered who were so strongly tempted, so severely troubled, so tried
and tormented in many ways. Well may you remember, therefore, the very
painful woes of others, that you may bear your own little ones the more
easily. And if they do not seem so small to you, examine if perhaps your
impatience is not the cause of their apparent greatness; and whether they
are great or small, try to bear them all patiently. The better you dispose
yourself to suffer, the more wisely you act and the greater is the reward
promised you. Thus you will suffer more easily if your mind and habits
are diligently trained to it.
Do not say: "I cannot bear this from such a man, nor should I suffer
things of this kind, for he has done me a great wrong. He has accused
me of many things of which I never thought. However, from someone else
I will gladly suffer as much as I think I should."
Such a thought is foolish, for it does not consider the virtue of patience
or the One Who will reward it, but rather weighs the person and the offense
committed. The man who will suffer only as much as seems good to him,
who will accept suffering only from those from whom he is pleased to accept
it, is not truly patient. For the truly patient man does not consider
from whom the suffering comes, whether from a superior, an equal, or an
inferior, whether from a good and holy person or from a perverse and unworthy
one; but no matter how great an adversity befalls him, no matter how often
it comes or from whom it comes, he accepts it gratefully from the hand
of God, and counts it a great gain. For with God nothing that is suffered
for His sake, no matter how small, can pass without reward. Be prepared
for the fight, then, if you wish to gain the victory. Without struggle
you cannot obtain the crown of patience, and if you refuse to suffer you
are refusing the crown. But if you desire to be crowned, fight bravely
and bear up patiently. Without labor there is no rest, and without fighting,
no victory.
The Disciple
0 Lord, let that which seems naturally impossible to me become possible
through Your grace. You know that I can suffer very little, and that I
am quickly discouraged when any small adversity arises. Let the torment
of tribulation suffered for Your name be pleasant and desirable to me,
since to suffer and be troubled for Your sake is very beneficial for my
soul.
The Twentieth Chapter
Confessing Our Weakness in the Miseries of
Life
The Disciple
I WILL bring witness against myself to my injustice, and to You, O Lord,
I will confess my weakness.
Often it is a small thing that makes me downcast and sad. I propose to
act bravely, but when even a small temptation comes I find myself in great
straits. Sometimes it is the merest trifle which gives rise to grievous
temptations. When I think myself somewhat safe and when I am not expecting
it, I frequently find myself almost overcome by a slight wind. Look, therefore,
Lord, at my lowliness and frailty which You know so well. Have mercy on
me and snatch me out of the mire that I may not be caught in it and may
not remain forever utterly despondent. That I am so prone to fall and
so weak in resisting my passions oppresses me frequently and confounds
me in Your sight. While I do not fully consent to them, still their assault
is very troublesome and grievous to me, and it wearies me exceedingly
thus to live in daily strife. Yet from the fact that abominable fancies
rush in upon me much more easily than they leave, my weakness becomes
clear to me.
Oh that You, most mighty God of Israel, zealous Lover of faithful souls,
would consider the labor and sorrow of Your servant, and assist him in
all his undertakings! Strengthen me with heavenly courage lest the outer
man, the miserable flesh, against which I shall be obliged to fight so
long as I draw a breath in this wretched life and which is not yet subjected
to the spirit, prevail and dominate me.
Alas! What sort of life is this, from which troubles and miseries are
never absent, where all things are full of snares and enemies? For when
one trouble or temptation leaves, another comes. Indeed, even while the
first conflict is still raging, many others begin unexpectedly. How is
it possible to love a life that has such great bitterness, that is subject
to so many calamities and miseries? Indeed, how can it even be called
life when it begets so many deaths and plagues? And yet, it is loved,
and many seek their delight in it.
Many persons often blame the world for being false and vain, yet do not
readily give it up because the desires of the flesh have such great power.
Some things draw them to love the world, others make them despise it.
The lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life lead
to love, while the pains and miseries, which are the just consequences
of those things, beget hatred and weariness of the world.
Vicious pleasure overcomes the soul that is given to the world. She thinks
that there are delights beneath these thorns, because she has never seen
or tasted the sweetness of God or the internal delight of virtue. They,
on the other hand, who entirely despise the world and seek to live for
God under the rule of holy discipline, are not ignorant of the divine
sweetness promised to those who truly renounce the world. They see clearly
how gravely the world errs, and in how many ways it deceives.
The Twenty-first Chapter
Above All Goods and All Gifts We Must Rest
in God
The Disciple
ABOVE all things and in all things, O my soul, rest always in God, for
He is the everlasting rest of the saints.
Grant, most sweet and loving Jesus, that I may seek my repose in You above
every creature; above all health and beauty; above every honor and glory;
every power and dignity; above all knowledge and cleverness, all riches
and arts, all joy and gladness; above all fame and praise, all sweetness
and consolation; above every hope and promise, every merit and desire;
above all the gifts and favors that You can give or pour down upon me;
above all the joy and exultation that the mind can receive and feel; and
finally, above the angels and archangels and all the heavenly host; above
all things visible and invisible; and may I seek my repose in You above
everything that is not You, my God. For You, O Lord my God, are above
all things the best. You alone are most high, You alone most powerful.
You alone are most sufficient and most satisfying, You alone most sweet
and consoling. You alone are most beautiful and loving, You alone most
noble and glorious above all things. In You is every perfection that has
been or ever will be. Therefore, whatever You give me besides Yourself,
whatever You reveal to me concerning Yourself, and whatever You promise,
is too small and insufficient when I do not see and fully enjoy You alone.
For my heart cannot rest or be fully content until, rising above all gifts
and every created thing, it rests in You.
Who, O most beloved Spouse, Jesus Christ, most pure Lover, Lord of all
creation, who shall give me the wings of true liberty that I may fly to
rest in You? When shall freedom be fully given me to see how sweet You
are, O Lord, my God? When shall I recollect myself entirely in You, so
that because of Your love I may feel, not myself, but You alone above
all sense and measure, in a manner known to none? But now I often lament
and grieve over my unhappiness, for many evils befall me in this vale
of miseries, often disturbing me, making me sad and overshadowing me,
often hindering and distracting me, alluring and entangling me so that
I neither have free access to You nor enjoy the sweet embraces which are
ever ready for blessed souls. Let my sighs and the manifold desolation
here on earth move You.
O Jesus, Splendor of eternal glory, Consolation of the pilgrim soul, with
You my lips utter no sound and to You my silence speaks. How long will
my Lord delay His coming? Let Him come to His poor servant and make him
happy. Let Him put forth His hand and take this miserable creature from
his anguish. Come, O come, for without You there will be no happy day
or hour, because You are my happiness and without You my table is empty.
I am wretched, as it were imprisoned and weighted down with fetters, until
You fill me with the light of Your presence, restore me to liberty, and
show me a friendly countenance. Let others seek instead of You whatever
they will, but nothing pleases me or will please me but You, my God, my
Hope, my everlasting Salvation. I will not be silent, I will not cease
praying until Your grace returns to me and You speak inwardly to me, saying:
"Behold, I am here. Lo, I have come to you because you have called
Me. Your tears and the desire of your soul, your humility and contrition
of heart have inclined Me and brought Me to you."
Lord, I have called You, and have desired You, and have been ready to
spurn all things for Your sake. For You first spurred me on to seek You.
May You be blessed, therefore, O Lord, for having shown this goodness
to Your servant according to the multitude of Your mercies.
What more is there for Your servant to say to You unless, with his iniquity
and vileness always in mind, he humbles himself before You? Nothing among
all the wonders of heaven and earth is like to You. Your works are exceedingly
good, Your judgments true, and Your providence rules the whole universe.
May You be praised and glorified, therefore, O Wisdom of the Father. Let
my lips and my soul and all created things unite to praise and bless You.
The Twenty-Second Chapter
Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God
The Disciple
OPEN my heart, O Lord, to Your law and teach me to walk in the way of
Your commandments. Let me understand Your will. Let me remember Your blessings
-- all of them and each single one of them -- with great reverence and
care so that henceforth I may return worthy thanks for them. I know that
I am unable to give due thanks for even the least of Your gifts. I am
unworthy of the benefits You have given me, and when I consider Your generosity
my spirit faints away before its greatness. All that we have of soul and
body, whatever we possess interiorly or exteriorly, by nature or by grace,
are Your gifts and they proclaim Your goodness and mercy from which we
have received all good things.
If one receives more and another less, yet all are Yours and without You
nothing can be received. He who receives greater things cannot glory in
his own merit or consider himself above others or behave insolently toward
those who receive less. He who attributes less to himself and is the more
humble and devout in returning thanks is indeed the greater and the better,
while he who considers himself lower than all men and judges himself to
be the least worthy, is the more fit to receive the greater blessing.
He, on the other hand, who has received fewer gifts should not be sad
or impatient or envious of the richer man. Instead he should turn his
mind to You and offer You the greatest praise because You give so bountifully,
so freely and willingly, without regard to persons. All things come from
You; therefore, You are to be praised in all things. You know what is
good for each of us; and why one should receive less and another more
is not for us to judge, but for You Who have marked every man's merits.
Therefore, O Lord God, I consider it a great blessing not to have many
things which human judgment holds praiseworthy and glorious, for one who
realizes his own poverty and vileness should not be sad or downcast at
it, but rather consoled and happy because You, O God, have chosen the
poor, the humble, and the despised in this world to be Your friends and
servants. The truth of this is witnessed by Your Apostles, whom You made
princes over all the world. Yet they lived in this world without complaining,
so humble and simple, so free from malice and deceit, that they were happy
even to suffer reproach for Your name and to embrace with great affection
that which the world abhors.
A man who loves You and recognizes Your benefits, therefore, should be
gladdened by nothing so much as by Your will, by the good pleasure of
Your eternal decree. With this he should be so contented and consoled
that he would wish to be the least as others wish to be the greatest;
that he would be as peaceful and satisfied in the last place as in the
first, and as willing to be despised, unknown and forgotten, as to be
honored by others and to have more fame than they. He should prefer Your
will and the love of Your honor to all else, and it should comfort him
more than all the benefits which have been, or will be, given him.
The Twenty-Third Chapter
Four Things Which Bring Great Peace
The Voice of Christ MY CHILD, I will teach you now the way of peace
and true liberty.
Seek, child, to do the will of others rather than your own.
Always choose to have less rather than more.
Look always for the last place and seek to be beneath all others.
Always wish and pray that the will of God be fully carried out in you.
Behold, such will enter into the realm of peace and rest.
The Disciple
O Lord, this brief discourse of Yours contains much perfection. It is
short in words but full of meaning and abounding in fruit. Certainly if
I could only keep it faithfully, I should not be so easily disturbed.
For as often as I find myself troubled and dejected, I find that I have
departed from this teaching. But You Who can do all things, and Who always
love what is for my soul's welfare, give me increase of grace that I may
keep Your words and accomplish my salvation.
A Prayer Against Bad Thoughts
O Lord my God, be not far from me. O my God, hasten to help me, for
varied thoughts and great fears have risen up within me, afflicting my
soul. How shall I escape them unharmed? How shall I dispel them?
"I will go before you," says the Lord, "and will humble
the great ones of earth. I will open the doors of the prison, and will
reveal to you hidden secrets."
Do as You say, Lord, and let all evil thoughts fly from Your face. This
is my hope and my only comfort -- to fly to You in all tribulation, to
confide in You, and to call on You from the depths of my heart and to
await patiently for Your consolation.
A Prayer for Enlightening the Mind
Enlighten me, good Jesus, with the brightness of internal light, and
take away all darkness from the habitation of my heart. Restrain my wandering
thoughts and suppress the temptations which attack me so violently. Fight
strongly for me, and vanquish these evil beasts -- the alluring desires
of the flesh -- so that peace may come through Your power and the fullness
of Your praise resound in the holy courts, which is a pure conscience.
Command the winds and the tempests; say to the sea: "Be still,"
and to the north wind, "Do not blow," and there will be a great
calm.
Send forth Your light and Your truth to shine on the earth, for I am as
earth, empty and formless until You illumine me. Pour out Your grace from
above. Shower my heart with heavenly dew. Open the springs of devotion
to water the earth, that it may produce the best of good fruits. Lift
up my heart pressed down by the weight of sins, and direct all my desires
to heavenly things, that having tasted the sweetness of supernal happiness,
I may find no pleasure in thinking of earthly things.
Snatch me up and deliver me from all the passing comfort of creatures,
for no created thing can fully quiet and satisfy my desires. Join me to
Yourself in an inseparable bond of love; because You alone can satisfy
him who loves You, and without You all things are worthless.
The Twenty-Fourth Chapter
Avoiding Curious Inquiry About the Lives of
Others
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not be curious. Do not trouble yourself with idle cares.
What matters this or that to you? Follow Me. What is it to you if a man
is such and such, if another does or says this or that? You will not have
to answer for others, but you will have to give an account of yourself.
Why, then, do you meddle in their affairs?
Behold, I know all men. I see everything that is done under the sun, and
I know how matters stand with each - what is in his mind and what in his
heart and the end to which his intention is directed. Commit all things
to Me, therefore, and keep yourself in good peace. Let him who is disturbed
be as restless as he will. Whatever he has said or done will fall upon
himself, for he cannot deceive Me.
Do not be anxious for the shadow of a great name, for the close friendship
of many, or for the particular affection of men. These things cause distraction
and cast great darkness about the heart. I would willingly speak My word
and reveal My secrets to you, if you would watch diligently for My coming
and open your heart to Me. Be prudent, then. Watch in prayer, and in all
things humble yourself.
The Twenty-Fifth Chapter
The Basis of Firm Peace of Heart and True Progress
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, I have said: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you."[11]
All men desire peace but all do not care for the things that go to make
true peace. My peace is with the humble and meek of heart: your peace
will be in much patience. If you hear Me and follow My voice, you will
be able to enjoy much peace.
The Disciple
What, then, shall I do, Lord?
The Voice of Christ
Watch yourself in all things, in what you do and what you say. Direct
your every intention toward pleasing Me alone, and desire nothing outside
of Me. Do not be rash in judging the deeds and words of others, and do
not entangle yourself in affairs that are not your own. Thus, it will
come about that you will be disturbed little and seldom.
Yet, never to experience any disturbance or to suffer any hurt in heart
or body does not belong to this present life, but rather to the state
of eternal rest. Do not think, therefore, that you have found true peace
if you feel no depression, or that all is well because you suffer no opposition.
Do not think that all is perfect if everything happens just as you wish.
And do not imagine yourself great or consider yourself especially beloved
if you are filled with great devotion and sweetness. For the true lover
of virtue is not known by these things, nor do the progress and perfection
of a man consist in them.
The Disciple
In what do they consist, Lord?
The Voice of Christ
They consist in offering yourself with all your heart to the divine
will, not seeking what is yours either in small matters or great ones,
either in temporal or eternal things, so that you will preserve equanimity
and give thanks in both prosperity and adversity, seeing all things in
their proper light.
If you become so brave and long-suffering in hope that you can prepare
your heart to suffer still more even when all inward consolation is withdrawn,
and if you do not justify yourself as though you ought not be made to
suffer such great things, but acknowledge Me to be just in all My works
and praise My holy name -- then you will walk in the true and right path
of peace, then you may have sure hope of seeing My face again in joy.
If you attain to complete contempt of self, then know that you will enjoy
an abundance of peace, as much as is possible in this earthly life.
The Twenty-Sixth Chapter
The Excellence of a Free Mind, Gained Through
Prayer Rather
Than By Study
The Disciple
IT IS the mark of a perfect man, Lord, never to let his mind relax in
attention to heavenly things, and to pass through many cares as though
he had none; not as an indolent man does, but having by the certain prerogative
of a free mind no disorderly affection for any created being.
Keep me, I beg You, most merciful God, from the cares of this life, lest
I be too much entangled in them. Keep me from many necessities of the
body, lest I be ensnared by pleasure. Keep me from all darkness of mind,
lest I be broken by troubles and overcome. I do not ask deliverance from
those things which worldly vanity desires so eagerly, but from those miseries
which, by the common curse of humankind, oppress the soul of Your servant
in punishment and keep him from entering into the liberty of spirit as
often as he would.
My God, Sweetness beyond words, make bitter all the carnal comfort that
draws me from love of the eternal and lures me to its evil self by the
sight of some delightful good in the present. Let it not overcome me,
my God. Let not flesh and blood conquer me. Let not the world and its
brief glory deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness. Give
me courage to resist, patience to endure, and constancy to persevere.
Give me the soothing unction of Your spirit rather than all the consolations
of the world, and in place of carnal love, infuse into me the love of
Your name.
Behold, eating, drinking, clothing, and other necessities that sustain
the body are burdensome to the fervent soul. Grant me the grace to use
such comforts temperately and not to become entangled in too great a desire
for them. It is not lawful to cast them aside completely, for nature must
be sustained, but Your holy law forbids us to demand superfluous things
and things that are simply for pleasure, else the flesh would rebel against
the spirit. In these matters, I beg, let Your hand guide and direct me,
so that I may not overstep the law in any way.
The Twenty-Seventh Chapter
Self-Love is the Greatest Hindrance to the
Highest Good
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, you should give all for all, and in no way belong to yourself.
You must know that self-love is more harmful to you than anything else
in the world. In proportion to the love and affection you have for a thing,
it will cling to you more or less. If your love is pure, simple, and well
ordered, you will not be a slave to anything. Do not covet what you may
not have. Do not possess anything that can hinder you or rob you of freedom.
It is strange that you do not commit yourself to Me with your whole heart,
together with all that you can desire or possess. Why are you consumed
with foolish sorrow? Why are you wearied with unnecessary care? Be resigned
to My will and you will suffer no loss.
If you seek this or that, if you wish to be in this place or that place,
to have more ease and pleasure, you will never rest or be free from care,
for some defect is found in everything and everywhere someone will vex
you. To obtain and multiply earthly goods, then, will not help you, but
to despise them and root them out of your heart will aid. This, understand,
is true not only of money and wealth, but also of ambition for honor and
desire for empty praise, all of which will pass away with this world.
The place matters little if the spirit of fervor is not there; nor will
peace be lasting if it is sought from the outside; if your heart has no
true foundation, that is, if you are not founded in Me, you may change,
but you will not better yourself. For when occasion arises and is accepted,
you will find that from which you fled and worse.
A Prayer for Cleansing the Heart and Obtaining Heavenly Wisdom
Strengthen me by the grace of Your holy spirit, O God. Give me the power
to be strengthened inwardly and to empty my heart of all vain care and
anxiety, so that I may not be drawn away by many desires, whether for
precious things or mean ones. Let me look upon everything as passing,
and upon myself as soon to pass away with them, because there is nothing
lasting under the sun, where all is vanity and affliction of spirit. How
wise is he who thinks thus!
Give me, Lord, heavenly wisdom to learn above all else to seek and find
You, to enjoy and love You more than anything, and to consider other things
as they are, as your wisdom has ordered them. Grant me prudence to avoid
the flatterer and to bear patiently with him who disagrees with me. For
it is great wisdom not to be moved by the sound of words, nor to give
ear to the wicked, flattering siren. Then, I shall walk safely in the
way I have begun.
The Twenty-Eighth Chapter
Strength Against Slander
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not take it to heart if some people think badly of you
and say unpleasant things about you. You ought to think worse things of
yourself and to believe that no one is weaker than yourself. Moreover,
if you walk in the spirit you will pay little heed to fleeting words.
It is no small prudence to remain silent in evil times, to turn inwardly
to Me, and not to be disturbed by human opinions. Do not let your peace
depend on the words of men. Their thinking well or badly of you does not
make you different from what you are. Where are true peace and glory?
Are they not in Me? He who neither cares to please men nor fears to displease
them will enjoy great peace, for all unrest and distraction of the senses
arise out of disorderly love and vain fear.
The Twenty-Ninth Chapter
How We Must Call Upon and Bless the Lord When
Trouble Presses
The Disciple
BLESSED be Your name forever, O Lord, Who have willed that this temptation
and trouble come upon me. I cannot escape it, yet I must fly to You that
You may help me and turn it to my good. Now I am troubled, Lord, and my
heart is not at rest, for I am greatly afflicted by this present suffering.
Beloved Father, what shall I say? I am straitened in harsh ways. Save
me from this hour to which, however, I am come that You may be glorified
when I am deeply humbled and freed by You. May it please You, then, to
deliver me, Lord, for what can I, poor wretch that I am, do or where can
I go without You? Give me patience, Lord, even now. Help me, my God, and
I will not be afraid however much I may be distressed.
But here, in the midst of these troubles, what shall I say? Your will
be done, Lord. I have richly deserved to be troubled and distressed. But
I must bear it. Would that I could do so patiently, until the storm passes
and calm returns! Yet Your almighty hand can take this temptation from
me, or lighten its attack so that I do not altogether sink beneath it,
as You, my God, my Mercy, have very often done for me before. And the
more difficult my plight, the easier for You is this change of the right
hand of the Most High.
The Thirtieth Chapter
The Quest of Divine Help and Confidence in
Regaining Grace
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, I am the Lord Who gives strength in the day of trouble. Come
to Me when all is not well with you. Your tardiness in turning to prayer
is the greatest obstacle to heavenly consolation, for before you pray
earnestly to Me you first seek many comforts and take pleasure in outward
things. Thus, all things are of little profit to you until you realize
that I am the one Who saves those who trust in Me, and that outside of
Me there is no worth-while help, or any useful counsel or lasting remedy.
But now, after the tempest, take courage, grow strong once more in the
light of My mercies; for I am near, says the Lord, to restore all things
not only to the full but with abundance and above measure. Is anything
difficult for Me? Or shall I be as one who promises and does not act?
Where is your faith? Stand firm and persevere. Be a man of endurance and
courage, and consolation will come to you in due time. Wait for Me; wait
-- and I will come to heal you.
It is only a temptation that troubles you, a vain fear that terrifies
you.
Of what use is anxiety about the future? Does it bring you anything but
trouble upon trouble? Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. It is
foolish and useless to be either grieved or happy about future things
which perhaps may never happen. But it is human to be deluded by such
imaginations, and the sign of a weak soul to be led on by suggestions
of the enemy. For he does not care whether he overcomes you by love of
the present or fear of the future.
Let not your heart be troubled, therefore, nor let it be afraid. Believe
in Me and trust in My mercy. When you think you are far from Me, then
often I am very near you. When you judge that almost all is lost, then
very often you are in the way of gaining great merit.
All is not lost when things go contrary to your wishes. You ought not
judge according to present feelings, nor give in to any trouble whenever
it comes, or take it as though all hope of escape were lost. And do not
consider yourself forsaken if I send some temporary hardship, or withdraw
the consolation you desire. For this is the way to the kingdom of heaven,
and without doubt it is better for you and the rest of My servants to
be tried in adversities than to have all things as you wish. I know your
secret thoughts, and I know that it is profitable for your salvation to
be left sometimes in despondency lest perhaps you be puffed up by success
and fancy yourself to be what you are not.
What I have given, I can take away and restore when it pleases Me. What
I give remains Mine, and thus when I take it away I take nothing that
is yours, for every good gift and every perfect gift is Mine.
If I send you trouble and adversity, do not fret or let your heart be
downcast. I can raise you quickly up again and turn all your sorrow into
joy. I am no less just and worthy of great praise when I deal with you
in this way.
If you think aright and view things in their true light, you should never
be so dejected and saddened by adversity, but rather rejoice and give
thanks, considering it a matter of special joy that I afflict you with
sorrow and do not spare you. "As the Father hath loved Me, so also
I love you," I said to My disciples, and I certainly did not send
them out to temporal joys but rather to great struggles, not to honors
but to contempt, not to idleness, but to labors, not to rest but to bring
forth much fruit in patience. Do you, My child, remember these words.
The Thirty-First Chapter
To Find the Creator, Forsake All Creatures
The Disciple
O LORD, I am in sore need still of greater grace if I am to arrive at
the point where no man and no created thing can be an obstacle to me.
For as long as anything holds me back, I cannot freely fly to You. He
that said "Oh that I had wings like a dove, that I might fly away
and be at rest!"[12] desired to fly freely to You. Who is more at rest
than he who aims at nothing but God? And who more free than the man who
desires nothing on earth?
It is well, then, to pass over all creation, perfectly to abandon self,
and to see in ecstasy of mind that You, the Creator of all, have no likeness
among all Your creatures, and that unless a man be freed from all creatures,
he cannot attend freely to the Divine. The reason why so few contemplative
persons are found, is that so few know how to separate themselves entirely
from what is transitory and created.
For this, indeed, great grace is needed, grace that will raise the soul
and lift it up above itself. Unless a man be elevated in spirit, free
from all creatures, and completely united to God, all his knowledge and
possessions are of little moment. He who considers anything great except
the one, immense, eternal good will long be little and lie groveling on
the earth. Whatever is not God is nothing and must be accounted as nothing.
There is great difference between the wisdom of an enlightened and devout
man and the learning of a well-read and brilliant scholar, for the knowledge
which flows down from divine sources is much nobler than that laboriously
acquired by human industry.
Many there are who desire contemplation, but who do not care to do the
things which contemplation requires. It is also a great obstacle to be
satisfied with externals and sensible things, and to have so little of
perfect mortification. I know not what it is, or by what spirit we are
led, or to what we pretend -- we who wish to be called spiritual -- that
we spend so much labor and even more anxiety on things that are transitory
and mean, while we seldom or never advert with full consciousness to our
interior concerns.
Alas, after very little recollection we falter, not weighing our deeds
by strict examination. We pay no attention to where our affections lie,
nor do we deplore the fact that our actions are impure.
Remember that because all flesh had corrupted its course, the great deluge
followed. Since, then, our interior affection is corrupt, it must be that
the action which follows from it, the index as it were of our lack of
inward strength, is also corrupt. Out of a pure heart come the fruits
of a good life. People are wont to ask how much a man has done, but they
think little of the virtue with which he acts. They ask: Is he strong?
rich? handsome? a good writer? a good singer? or a good worker? They say
little, however, about how poor he is in spirit, how patient and meek,
how devout and spiritual. Nature looks to his outward appearance; grace
turns to his inward being. The one often errs, the other trusts in God
and is not deceived.
The Thirty-Second Chapter
Self-Denial and the Renunciation of Evil Appetites
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, you can never be perfectly free unless you completely renounce
self, for all who seek their own interest and who love themselves are
bound in fetters. They are unsettled by covetousness and curiosity, always
searching for ease and not for the things of Christ, often devising and
framing that which will not last, for anything that is not of God will
fail completely.
Hold to this short and perfect advice, therefore: give up your desires
and you will find rest. Think upon it in your heart, and when you have
put it into practice you will understand all things.
The Disciple
But this, Lord, is not the work of one day, nor is it mere child's play;
indeed, in this brief sentence is included all the perfection of holy
persons.
The Voice of Christ
My child, you should not turn away or be downcast when you hear the
way of the perfect. Rather you ought to be spurred on the more toward
their sublime heights, or at least be moved to seek perfection.
I would this were the case with you -- that you had progressed to the
point where you no longer loved self but simply awaited My bidding and
his whom I have placed as father over you. Then you would please Me very
much, and your whole life would pass in peace and joy. But you have yet
many things which you must give up, and unless you resign them entirely
to Me you will not obtain that which you ask.
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold, fire-tried, that thou mayest be
made rich"[13] --rich in heavenly wisdom which treads underfoot all
that is low. Put aside earthly wisdom, all human self-complacency.
I have said: exchange what is precious and valued among men for that which
is considered contemptible. For true heavenly wisdom -- not to think highly
of self and not to seek glory on earth -- does indeed seem mean and small
and is well-nigh forgotten, as many men praise it with their mouths but
shy far away from it in their lives. Yet this heavenly wisdom is a pearl
of great price, which is hidden from many.
The Thirty-Third Chapter
Restlessness of Soul -- Directing Our Final
Intention Toward God
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not trust in your present feeling, for it will soon give
way to another. As long as you live you will be subject to changeableness
in spite of yourself. You will become merry at one time and sad at another,
now peaceful but again disturbed, at one moment devout and the next indevout,
sometimes diligent while at other times lazy, now grave and again flippant.
But the man who is wise and whose spirit is well instructed stands superior
to these changes. He pays no attention to what he feels in himself or
from what quarter the wind of fickleness blows, so long as the whole intention
of his mind is conducive to his proper and desired end. For thus he can
stand undivided, unchanged, and unshaken, with the singleness of his intention
directed unwaveringly toward Me, even in the midst of so many changing
events. And the purer this singleness of intention is, with so much the
more constancy does he pass through many storms.
But in many ways the eye of pure intention grows dim, because it is attracted
to any delightful thing that it meets. Indeed, it is rare to find one
who is entirely free from all taint of self-seeking. The Jews of old,
for example, came to Bethany to Martha and Mary, not for Jesus' sake alone,
but in order to see Lazarus.
The eye of your intention, therefore, must be cleansed so that it is single
and right. It must be directed toward Me, despite all the objects which
may interfere.
The Thirty-Fourth Chapter
God is Sweet Above All Things and in All Things
to Those Who Love Him
The Disciple
BEHOLD, my God and my all! What more do I wish for; what greater happiness
can I desire? O sweet and delicious word! But sweet only to him who loves
it, and not to the world or the things that are in the world.
My God and my all! These words are enough for him who understands, and
for him who loves it is a joy to repeat them often. For when You are present,
all things are delightful; when You are absent, all things become loathsome.
It is You Who give a heart tranquillity, great peace and festive joy.
It is You Who make us think well of all things, and praise You in all
things. Without You nothing can give pleasure for very long, for if it
is to be pleasing and tasteful, Your grace and the seasoning of Your wisdom
must be in it. What is there that can displease him whose happiness is
in You? And, on the contrary, what can satisfy him whose delight is not
in You? The wise men of the world, the men who lust for the flesh, are
wanting in Your wisdom, because in the world is found the utmost vanity,
and in the flesh is death. But they who follow You by disdaining worldly
things and mortifying the flesh are known to be truly wise, for they are
transported from vanity to truth, from flesh to spirit. By such as these
God is relished, and whatever good is found in creatures they turn to
praise of the Creator. But great -- yes, very great, indeed -- is the
difference between delight in the Creator and in the creature, in eternity
and in time, in Light uncreated and in the light that is reflected.
O Light eternal, surpassing all created brightness, flash forth the lightning
from above and enlighten the inmost recesses of my heart. Cleanse, cheer,
enlighten, and vivify my spirit with all its powers, that it may cleave
to You in ecstasies of joy. Oh, when will that happy and wished-for hour
come, that You may fill me with Your presence and become all in all to
me? So long as this is not given me, my joy will not be complete.
The old man, alas, yet lives within me. He has not yet been entirely crucified;
he is not yet entirely dead. He still lusts strongly against the spirit,
and he will not leave the kingdom of my soul in peace. But You, Who can
command the power of the sea and calm the tumult of its waves, arise and
help me. Scatter the nations that delight in war; crush them in Your sight.
Show forth I beg, Your wonderful works and let Your right hand be glorified,
because for me there is no other hope or refuge except in You, O Lord,
my God.
The Thirty-Fifth Chapter
There is No Security from Temptation in This Life
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, in this life you are never safe, and as long as you live the
weapons of the spirit will ever be necessary to you. You dwell among enemies.
You are subject to attack from the right and the left. If, therefore,
you do not guard yourself from every quarter with the shield of patience,
you will not remain long unscathed.
Moreover, if you do not steadily set your heart on Me, with a firm will
to suffer everything for My sake, you will not be able to bear the heat
of this battle or to win the crown of the blessed. You ought, therefore,
to pass through all these things bravely and to oppose a strong hand to
whatever stands in your way. For to him who triumphs heavenly bread is
given, while for him who is too lazy to fight there remains much misery.
If you look for rest in this life, how will you attain to everlasting
rest? Dispose yourself, then, not for much rest but for great patience.
Seek true peace, not on earth but in heaven; not in men or in other creatures
but in God alone. For love of God you should undergo all things cheerfully,
all labors and sorrows, temptations and trials, anxieties, weaknesses,
necessities, injuries, slanders, rebukes, humiliations, confusions, corrections,
and contempt. For these are helps to virtue. These are the trials of Christ's
recruit. These form the heavenly crown. For a little brief labor I will
give an everlasting crown, and for passing confusion, glory that is eternal.
Do you think that you will always have spiritual consolations as you desire?
My saints did not always have them. Instead, they had many afflictions,
temptations of various kinds, and great desolation. Yet they bore them
all patiently. They placed their confidence in God rather than in themselves,
knowing that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared
with the glory that is to come. And you -- do you wish to have at once
that which others have scarcely obtained after many tears and great labors?
Wait for the Lord, act bravely, and have courage. Do not lose trust. Do
not turn back but devote your body and soul constantly to God's glory.
I will reward you most plentifully. I will be with you in every tribulation.
The Thirty-Sixth Chapter
The Vain Judgments of Men
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, trust firmly in the Lord, and do not fear the judgment of
men when conscience tells you that you are upright and innocent. For it
is good and blessed to suffer such things, and they will not weigh heavily
on the humble heart that trusts in God rather than in itself. Many men
say many things, and therefore little faith is to be put in them.
Likewise, it is impossible to satisfy all men. Although Paul tried to
please all in the Lord, and became all things to all men, yet he made
little of their opinions. He labored abundantly for the edification and
salvation of others, as much as lay in him and as much as he could, but
he could not escape being sometimes judged and despised by others. Therefore,
he committed all to God Who knows all things, and defended himself by
his patience and humility against the tongues of those who spoke unjustly
or thought foolish things and lies, or made accusations against him. Sometimes,
indeed, he did answer them, but only lest his silence scandalize the weak.
Who are you, then, that you should be afraid of mortal man? Today he is
here, tomorrow he is not seen. Fear God and you will not be afraid of
the terrors of men. What can anyone do to you by word or injury? He hurts
himself rather than you, and no matter who he may be he cannot escape
the judgment of God. Keep God before your eyes, therefore, and do not
quarrel with peevish words.
If it seems, then, that you are worsted and that you suffer undeserved
shame, do not repine over it and do not lessen your crown by impatience.
Look instead to heaven, to Me, Who have power to deliver you from all
disgrace and injury, and to render to everyone according to his works.
The Thirty-Seventh Chapter
Pure and Entire Resignation of Self to Obtain
Freedom of Heart
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, renounce self and you shall find Me. Give up your own self-will,
your possessions, and you shall always gain. For once you resign yourself
irrevocably, greater grace will be given you.
The Disciple
How often, Lord, shall I resign myself? And in what shall I forsake
myself?
The Voice of Christ
Always, at every hour, in small matters as well as great -- I except
nothing. In all things I wish you to be stripped of self. How otherwise
can you be mine or I yours unless you be despoiled of your own will both
inwardly and outwardly? The sooner you do this the better it will be for
you, and the more fully and sincerely you do it the more you will please
Me and the greater gain you will merit.
Some there are who resign themselves, but with certain reservation; they
do not trust fully in God and therefore they try to provide for themselves.
Others, again, at first offer all, but afterward are assailed by temptation
and return to what they have renounced, thereby making no progress in
virtue. These will not reach the true liberty of a pure heart nor the
grace of happy friendship with Me unless they first make a full resignation
and a daily sacrifice of themselves. Without this no fruitful union lasts
nor will last.
I have said to you very often, and now I say again: forsake yourself,
renounce yourself and you shall enjoy great inward peace. Give all for
all. Ask nothing, demand nothing in return. Trust purely and without hesitation
in Me, and you shall possess Me. You will be free of heart and darkness
will not overwhelm you.
Strive for this, pray for this, desire this -- to be stripped of all selfishness
and naked to follow the naked Jesus, to die to self and live forever for
Me. Then all vain imaginations, all wicked disturbances and superfluous
cares will vanish. Then also immoderate fear will leave you and inordinate
love will die.
The Thirty-Eighth Chapter
The Right Ordering of External Affairs; Recourse
to God in Dangers
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, you must strive diligently to be inwardly free, to have mastery
over yourself everywhere, in every external act and occupation, that all
things be subject to you and not you to them, that you be the master and
director of your actions, not a slave or a mere hired servant. You should
be rather a free man and a true Hebrew, arising to the status and freedom
of the children of God who stand above present things to contemplate those
which are eternal; who look upon passing affairs with the left eye and
upon those of heaven with the right; whom temporal things do not so attract
that they cling to them, but who rather put these things to such proper
service as is ordained and instituted by God, the great Workmaster, Who
leaves nothing unordered in His creation.
If, likewise, in every happening you are not content simply with outward
appearances, if you do not regard with carnal eyes things which you see
and hear, but whatever be the affair, enter with Moses into the tabernacle
to ask advice of the Lord, you will sometimes hear the divine answer and
return instructed in many things present and to come. For Moses always
had recourse to the tabernacle for the solution of doubts and questions,
and fled to prayer for support in dangers and the evil deeds of men. So
you also should take refuge in the secret chamber of your heart, begging
earnestly for divine aid.
For this reason, as we read, Joshua and the children of Israel were deceived
by the Gibeonites because they did not first seek counsel of the Lord,
but trusted too much in fair words and hence were deceived by false piety.
The Thirty-Ninth Chapter
A Man Should Not Be Unduly Solicitous About
His Affairs
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, always commit your cause to Me. I will dispose of it rightly
in good time. Await My ordering of it and it will be to your advantage.
The Disciple
Lord, I willingly commit all things to You, for my anxiety can profit
me little. But I would that I were not so concerned about the future,
and instead offered myself without hesitation to Your good pleasure.
The Voice of Christ
My child, it often happens that a man seeks ardently after something
he desires and then when he has attained it he begins to think that it
is not at all desirable; for affections do not remain fixed on the same
thing, but rather flit from one to another. It is no very small matter,
therefore, for a man to forsake himself even in things that are very small.
A man's true progress consists in denying himself, and the man who has
denied himself is truly free and secure. The old enemy, however, setting
himself against all good, never ceases to tempt them, but day and night
plots dangerous snares to cast the unwary into the net of deceit. "Watch
ye and pray," says the Lord, "that ye enter not into
temptation."[14]
The Fortieth Chapter
Man Has No Good in Himself and Can Glory in
Nothing
The Disciple
LORD, what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that
You visit him? What has man deserved that You should give him Your grace?
What cause have I, Lord, to complain if You desert me, or what objection
can I have if You do not do what I ask? This I may think and say in all
truth: "Lord, I am nothing, of myself I have nothing that is good;
I am lacking in all things, and I am ever tending toward nothing. And
unless I have Your help and am inwardly strengthened by You, I become
quite lukewarm and lax."
But You, Lord, are always the same. You remain forever, always good, just,
and holy; doing all things rightly, justly, and holily, disposing them
wisely. I, however, who am more ready to go backward than forward, do
not remain always in one state, for I change with the seasons. Yet my
condition quickly improves when it pleases You and when You reach forth
Your helping hand. For You alone, without human aid, can help me and strengthen
me so greatly that my heart shall no more change but be converted and
rest solely in You. Hence, if I knew well how to cast aside all earthly
consolation, either to attain devotion or because of the necessity which,
in the absence of human solace, compels me to seek You alone, then I could
deservedly hope for Your grace and rejoice in the gift of new consolation.
Thanks be to You from Whom all things come, whenever it is well with me.
In Your sight I am vanity and nothingness, a weak, unstable man. In what,
therefore, can I glory, and how can I wish to be highly regarded? Is it
because I am nothing? This, too, is utterly vain. Indeed, the greatest
vanity is the evil plague of empty self-glory, because it draws one away
from true glory and robs one of heavenly grace. For when a man is pleased
with himself he displeases You, when he pants after human praise he is
deprived of true virtue. But it is true glory and holy exultation to glory
in You and not in self, to rejoice in Your name rather than in one's own
virtue, and not to delight in any creature except for Your sake.
Let Your name, not mine, be praised. Let Your work, not mine, be magnified.
Let Your holy name be blessed, but let no human praise be given to me.
You are my glory. You are the joy of my heart. In You I will glory and
rejoice all the day, and for myself I will glory in nothing but my infirmities.
Let the Jews seek the glory that comes from another. I will seek that
which comes from God alone. All human glory, all temporal honor, all worldly
position is truly vanity and foolishness compared to Your everlasting
glory. O my Truth, my Mercy, my God, O Blessed Trinity, to You alone be
praise and honor, power and glory, throughout all the endless ages of
ages.
The Forty-First Chapter
Contempt for All Earthly Honor
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not take it to heart if you see others honored and advanced,
while you yourself are despised and humbled. Lift up your heart to Me
in heaven and the contempt of men on earth will not grieve you.
The Disciple
Lord, we are blinded and quickly misled by vanity. If I examine myself
rightly, no injury has ever been done me by any creature; hence I have
nothing for which to make just complaint to You. But I have sinned often
and gravely against You; therefore is every creature in arms against me.
Confusion and contempt should in justice come upon me, but to You due
praise, honor, and glory. And unless I prepare myself to be willingly
despised and forsaken by every creature, to be considered absolutely nothing,
I cannot have interior peace and strength, nor can I be enlightened spiritually
or completely united with you.
The Forty-Second Chapter
Peace is Not to Be Placed in Men
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, if you place your peace in any creature because of your own
feeling or for the sake of his company, you will be unsettled and entangled.
But if you have recourse to the ever-living and abiding Truth, you will
not grieve if a friend should die or forsake you. Your love for your friend
should be grounded in Me, and for My sake you should love whoever seems
to be good and is very dear to you in this life. Without Me friendship
has no strength and cannot endure. Love which I do not bind is neither
true nor pure.
You ought, therefore, to be so dead to such human affections as to wish
as far as lies within you to be without the fellowship of men. Man draws
nearer to God in proportion as he withdraws farther from all earthly comfort.
And he ascends higher to God as he descends lower into himself and grows
more vile in his own eyes. He who attributes any good to himself hinders
God's grace from coming into his heart, for the grace of the Holy Spirit
seeks always the humble heart.
If you knew how to annihilate yourself completely and empty yourself of
all created love, then I should overflow in you with great grace. When
you look to creatures, the sight of the Creator is taken from you. Learn,
therefore, to conquer yourself in all things for the sake of your Maker.
Then will you be able to attain to divine knowledge. But anything, no
matter how small, that is loved and regarded inordinately keeps you back
from the highest good and corrupts the soul.
The Forty-Third Chapter
Beware Vain and Worldly Knowledge
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not let the fine-sounding and subtle words of men deceive
you. For the kingdom of heaven consists not in talk but in virtue. Attend,
rather, to My words which enkindle the heart and enlighten the mind, which
excite contrition and abound in manifold consolations. Never read them
for the purpose of appearing more learned or more wise. Apply yourself
to mortifying your vices, for this will benefit you more than your understanding
of many difficult questions.
Though you shall have read and learned many things, it will always be
necessary for you to return to this one principle: I am He who teaches
man knowledge, and to the little ones I give a clearer understanding than
can be taught by man. He to whom I speak will soon be wise and his soul
will profit. But woe to those who inquire of men about many curious things,
and care very little about the way they serve Me.
The time will come when Christ, the Teacher of teachers, the Lord of angels,
will appear to hear the lessons of all -- that is, to examine the conscience
of everyone. Then He will search Jerusalem with lamps and the hidden things
of darkness will be brought to light and the arguings of men's tongues
be silenced.
I am He Who in one moment so enlightens the humble mind that it comprehends
more of eternal truth than could be learned by ten years in the schools.
I teach without noise of words or clash of opinions, without ambition
for honor or confusion of argument.
I am He Who teaches man to despise earthly possessions and to loathe present
things, to ask after the eternal, to hunger for heaven, to fly honors
and to bear with scandals, to place all hope in Me, to desire nothing
apart from Me, and to love Me ardently above all things. For a certain
man by loving Me intimately learned divine truths and spoke wonders. He
profited more by leaving all things than by studying subtle questions.
To some I speak of common things, to others of special matters. To some
I appear with sweetness in signs and figures, and to others I appear in
great light and reveal mysteries. The voice of books is but a single voice,
yet it does not teach all men alike, because I within them am the Teacher
and the Truth, the Examiner of hearts, the Understander of thoughts, the
Promoter of acts, distributing to each as I see fit.
The Forty-Fourth Chapter
Do Not Be Concerned About Outward Things
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, there are many matters of which it is well for you to be ignorant,
and to consider yourself as one who is dead upon the earth and to whom
the whole world is crucified. There are many things, too, which it is
well to pass by with a deaf ear, thinking, instead, of what is more to
your peace. It is more profitable to turn away from things which displease
you and to leave to every man his own opinion than to take part in quarrelsome
talk. If you stand well with God and look to His judgment, you will more
easily bear being worsted.
The Disciple
To what have we come, Lord? Behold, we bewail a temporal loss. We labor
and fret for a small gain, while loss of the soul is forgotten and scarcely
ever returns to mind. That which is of little or no value claims our attention,
whereas that which is of highest necessity is neglected -- all because
man gives himself wholly to outward things. And unless he withdraws himself
quickly, he willingly lies immersed in externals.
The Forty-Fifth Chapter
All Men Are Not to Be Believed, for It Is Easy
to Err in Speech
The Disciple
GRANT me help in my needs, O Lord, for the aid of man is useless. How
often have I failed to find faithfulness in places where I thought I possessed
it! And how many times I have found it where I least expected it! Vain,
therefore, is hope in men, but the salvation of the just is in You, O
God. Blessed be Your name, O Lord my God, in everything that befalls us.
We are weak and unstable, quickly deceived and changed. Who is the man
that is able to guard himself with such caution and care as not sometimes
to fall into deception or perplexity? He who confides in You, O Lord,
and seeks You with a simple heart does not fall so easily. And if some
trouble should come upon him, no matter how entangled in it he may be,
he will be more quickly delivered and comforted by You. For You will not
forsake him who trusts in You to the very end.
Rare is the friend who remains faithful through all his friend's distress.
But You, Lord, and You alone, are entirely faithful in all things; other
than You, there is none so faithful.
Oh, how wise is that holy soul[15] who said: "My mind is firmly settled
and founded in Christ." If that were true of me, human fear would
not so easily cause me anxiety, nor would the darts of words disturb.
But who can foresee all things and provide against all evils? And if things
foreseen have often hurt, can those which are unlooked for do otherwise
than wound us gravely? Why, indeed, have I not provided better for my
wretched self? Why, too, have I so easily kept faith in others? We are
but men, however, nothing more than weak men, although we are thought
by many to be, and are called, angels.
In whom shall I put my faith, Lord? In whom but You? You are the truth
which does not deceive and cannot be deceived. Every man, on the other
hand, is a liar, weak, unstable, and likely to err, especially in words,
so that one ought not to be too quick to believe even that which seems,
on the face of it, to sound true. How wise was Your warning to beware
of men; that a man's enemies are those of his own household; that we should
not believe if anyone says: "Behold he is here, or behold he is there."
I have been taught to my own cost, and I hope it has given me greater
caution, not greater folly. "Beware," they say, "beware
and keep to yourself what I tell you!" Then while I keep silent,
believing that the matter is secret, he who asks me to be silent cannot
remain silent himself, but immediately betrays both me and himself, and
goes his way. From tales of this kind and from such careless men protect
me, O Lord, lest I fall into their hands and into their ways. Put in my
mouth words that are true and steadfast and keep far from me the crafty
tongue, because what I am not willing to suffer I ought by all means to
shun.
Oh, how good and how peaceful it is to be silent about others, not to
believe without discrimination all that is said, not easily to report
it further, to reveal oneself to few, always to seek You as the discerner
of hearts, and not to be blown away by every wind of words, but to wish
that all things, within and beyond us, be done according to the pleasure
of Thy will.
How conducive it is for the keeping of heavenly grace to fly the gaze
of men, not to seek abroad things which seem to cause admiration, but
to follow with utmost diligence those which give fervor and amendment
of life! How many have been harmed by having their virtue known and praised
too hastily! And how truly profitable it has been when grace remained
hidden during this frail life, which is all temptation and warfare!
The Forty-Sixth Chapter
Trust in God Against Slander
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, stand firm and trust in Me. For what are words but words?
They fly through the air but hurt not a stone. If you are guilty, consider
how you would gladly amend. If you are not conscious of any fault, think
that you wish to bear this for the sake of God. It is little enough for
you occasionally to endure words, since you are not yet strong enough
to bear hard blows.
And why do such small matters pierce you to the heart, unless because
you are still carnal and pay more heed to men than you ought? You do not
wish to be reproved for your faults and you seek shelter in excuses because
you are afraid of being despised. But look into yourself more thoroughly
and you will learn that the world is still alive in you, in a vain desire
to please men. For when you shrink from being abased and confounded for
your failings, it is plain indeed that you are not truly humble or truly
dead to the world, and that the world is not crucified in you.
Listen to My word, and you will not value ten thousand words of men. Behold,
if every malicious thing that could possibly be invented were uttered
against you, what harm could it do if you ignored it all and gave it no
more thought than you would a blade of grass? Could it so much as pluck
one hair from your head?
He who does not keep his heart within him, and who does not have God before
his eyes is easily moved by a word of disparagement. He who trusts in
Me, on the other hand, and who has no desire to stand by his own judgment,
will be free from the fear of men. For I am the judge and discerner of
all secrets. I know how all things happen. I know who causes injury and
who suffers it. From Me that word proceeded, and with My permission it
happened, that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed. I shall judge
the guilty and the innocent; but I have wished beforehand to try them
both by secret judgment. The testimony of man is often deceiving, but
My judgment is true -- it will stand and not be overthrown. It is hidden
from many and made known to but a few. Yet it is never mistaken and cannot
be mistaken even though it does not seem right in the eyes of the unwise.
To Me, therefore, you ought to come in every decision, not depending on
your own judgment. For the just man will not be disturbed, no matter what
may befall him from God. Even if an unjust charge be made against him
he will not be much troubled. Neither will he exult vainly if through
others he is justly acquitted. He considers that it is I Who search the
hearts and inmost thoughts of men, that I do not judge according to the
face of things or human appearances. For what the judgment of men considers
praiseworthy is often worthy of blame in My sight.
The Disciple
O Lord God, just Judge, strong and patient, You Who know the weakness
and depravity of men, be my strength and all my confidence, for my own
conscience is not sufficient for me. You know what I do not know, and,
therefore, I ought to humble myself whenever I am accused and bear it
meekly. Forgive me, then, in Your mercy for my every failure in this regard,
and give me once more the grace of greater endurance. Better to me is
Your abundant mercy in obtaining pardon than the justice which I imagine
in defending the secrets of my conscience. And though I am not conscious
to myself of any fault, yet I cannot thereby justify myself, because without
Your mercy no man living will be justified in Your sight.
The Forty-Seventh Chapter
Every Trial Must Be Borne for the Sake of Eternal
Life
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, do not let the labors which you have taken up for My sake
break you, and do not let troubles, from whatever source, cast you down;
but in everything let My promise strengthen and console you. I am able
to reward you beyond all means and measure.
You will not labor here long, nor will you always be oppressed by sorrows.
Wait a little while and you will see a speedy end of evils. The hour will
come when all labor and trouble shall be no more. All that passes away
with time is trivial.
What you do, do well. Work faithfully in My vineyard. I will be your reward.
Write, read, sing, mourn, keep silence, pray, and bear hardships like
a man. Eternal life is worth all these and greater battles. Peace will
come on a day which is known to the Lord, and then there shall be no day
or night as at present but perpetual light, infinite brightness, lasting
peace, and safe repose. Then you will not say: "Who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?" nor will you cry: "Woe is me,
because my sojourn is prolonged." For then death will be banished,
and there will be health unfailing. There will be no anxiety then, but
blessed joy and sweet, noble companionship.
If you could see the everlasting crowns of the saints in heaven, and the
great glory wherein they now rejoice -- they who were once considered
contemptible in this world and, as it were, unworthy of life itself --
you would certainly humble yourself at once to the very earth, and seek
to be subject to all rather than to command even one. Nor would you desire
the pleasant days of this life, but rather be glad to suffer for God,
considering it your greatest gain to be counted as nothing among men.
Oh, if these things appealed to you and penetrated deeply into your heart,
how could you dare to complain even once? Ought not all trials be borne
for the sake of everlasting life? In truth, the loss or gain of God's
kingdom is no small matter.
Lift up your countenance to heaven, then. Behold Me, and with Me all My
saints. They had great trials in this life, but now they rejoice. They
are consoled. Now they are safe and at rest. And they shall abide with
Me for all eternity in the kingdom of My Father.
The Forty-Eighth Chapter
The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of This
Life
The Disciple
0 MOST happy mansion of the city above! O most bright day of eternity,
which night does not darken, but which the highest truth ever enlightens!
O day, ever joyful and ever secure, which never changes its state to the
opposite! Oh, that this day shine forth, that all these temporal things
come to an end! It envelops the saints all resplendent with heavenly brightness,
but it appears far off as through a glass to us wanderers on the earth.
The citizens of heaven know how joyful that day is, but the exiled sons
of Eve mourn that this one is bitter and tedious.
The days of this life are short and evil, full of grief and distress.
Here man is defiled by many sins, ensnared in many passions, enslaved
by many fears, and burdened with many cares. He is distracted by many
curiosities and entangled in many vanities, surrounded by many errors
and worn by many labors, oppressed by temptations, weakened by pleasures,
and tortured by want.
Oh, when will these evils end? When shall I be freed from the miserable
slavery of vice? When, Lord, shall I think of You alone? When shall I
fully rejoice in You? When shall I be without hindrance, in true liberty,
free from every grievance of mind and body? When will there be solid peace,
undisturbed and secure, inward peace and outward peace, peace secured
on every side? O good Jesus, when shall I stand to gaze upon You? When
shall I contemplate the glory of Your kingdom? When will You be all in
all to me? Oh, when shall I be with You in that kingdom of Yours, which
You have prepared for Your beloved from all eternity?
1 am left poor and exiled in a hostile land, where every day sees wars
and very great misfortunes. Console my banishment, assuage my sorrow.
My whole desire is for You. Whatever solace this world offers is a burden
to me. I desire to enjoy You intimately, but I cannot attain to it. I
wish to cling fast to heavenly things, but temporal affairs and unmortified
passions bear me down. I wish in mind to be above all things, but I am
forced by the flesh to be unwillingly subject to them. Thus, I fight with
myself, unhappy that I am, and am become a burden to myself, while my
spirit seeks to rise upward and my flesh to sink downward. Oh, what inward
suffering I undergo when I consider heavenly things; when I pray, a multitude
of carnal thoughts rush upon me! O my God, do not remove Yourself far
from me, and depart not in anger from Your servant. Dart forth Your lightning
and disperse them; send forth Your arrows and let the phantoms of the
enemy be put to flight. Draw my senses toward You and make me forget all
worldly things. Grant me the grace to cast away quickly all vicious imaginings
and to scorn them. Aid me, O heavenly Truth, that no vanity may move me.
Come, heavenly Sweetness, and let all impurity fly from before Your face.
Pardon me also, and deal mercifully with me, as often as I think of anything
besides You in prayer. For I confess truly that I am accustomed to be
very much distracted. Very often I am not where bodily I stand or sit;
rather, I am where my thoughts carry me. Where my thoughts are, there
am I; and frequently my thoughts are where my love is. That which naturally
delights, or is by habit pleasing, comes to me quickly. Hence You Who
are Truth itself, have plainly said: "For where your treasure is,
there is your heart also." If I love heaven, I think willingly of
heavenly things. If I love the world, I rejoice at the happiness of the
world and grieve at its troubles. If I love the flesh, I often imagine
things that are carnal. If I love the spirit, I delight in thinking of
spiritual matters. For whatever I love, I am willing to speak and hear
about.
Blessed is the man who for Your sake, O Lord, dismisses all creatures,
does violence to nature, crucifies the desires of the flesh in fervor
of spirit, so that with serene conscience he can offer You a pure prayer
and, having excluded all earthly things inwardly and outwardly, becomes
worthy to enter into the heavenly choirs.
The Forty-Ninth Chapter
The Desire of Eternal Life; the Great Rewards
Promised to Those Who Struggle
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, when you feel the desire for everlasting happiness poured
out upon you from above, and when you long to depart out of the tabernacle
of the body that you may contemplate My glory without threat of change,
open wide your heart and receive this holy inspiration with all eagerness.
Give deepest thanks to the heavenly Goodness which deals with you so understandingly,
visits you so mercifully, stirs you so fervently, and sustains you so
powerfully lest under your own weight you sink down to earthly things.
For you obtain this not by your own thought or effort, but simply by the
condescension of heavenly grace and divine regard. And the purpose of
it is that you may advance in virtue and in greater humility, that you
may prepare yourself for future trials, that you may strive to cling to
Me with all the affection of your heart, and may serve Me with a fervent
will.
My child, often, when the fire is burning the flame does not ascend without
smoke. Likewise, the desires of some burn toward heavenly things, and
yet they are not free from temptations of carnal affection. Therefore,
it is not altogether for the pure honor of God that they act when they
petition Him so earnestly. Such, too, is often your desire which you profess
to be so strong. For that which is alloyed with self-interest is not pure
and perfect. Ask, therefore, not for what is pleasing and convenient to
yourself, but for what is acceptable to Me and is for My honor, because
if you judge rightly, you ought to prefer and follow My will, not your
own desire or whatever things you wish.
I know your longings and I have heard your frequent sighs. Already you
wish to be in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. Already you
desire the delights of the eternal home, the heavenly land that is full
of joy. But that hour is not yet come. There remains yet another hour,
a time of war, of labor, and of trial. You long to be filled with the
highest good, but you cannot attain it now. I am that sovereign Good.
Await Me, until the kingdom of God shall come.
You must still be tried on earth, and exercised in many things. Consolation
will sometimes be given you, but the complete fullness of it is not granted.
Take courage, therefore, and be strong both to do and to suffer what is
contrary to nature.
You must put on the new man. You must be changed into another man. You
must often do the things you do not wish to do and forego those you do
wish. What pleases others will succeed; what pleases you will not. The
words of others will be heard; what you say will be accounted as nothing.
Others will ask and receive; you will ask and not receive. Others will
gain great fame among men; about you nothing will be said. To others the
doing of this or that will be entrusted; you will be judged useless. At
all this nature will sometimes be sad, and it will be a great thing if
you bear this sadness in silence. For in these and many similar ways the
faithful servant of the Lord is wont to be tried, to see how far he can
deny himself and break himself in all things.
There is scarcely anything in which you so need to die to self as in seeing
and suffering things that are against your will, especially when things
that are commanded seem inconvenient or useless. Then, because you are
under authority, and dare not resist the higher power, it seems hard to
submit to the will of another and give up your own opinion entirely.
But consider, my child, the fruit of these labors, how soon they will
end and how greatly they will be rewarded, and you will not be saddened
by them, but your patience will receive the strongest consolation. For
instead of the little will that you now readily give up, you shall always
have your will in heaven. There, indeed, you shall find all that you could
desire. There you shall have possession of every good without fear of
losing it. There shall your will be forever one with Mine. It shall desire
nothing outside of Me and nothing for itself. There no one shall oppose
you, no one shall complain of you, no one hinder you, and nothing stand
in your way. All that you desire will be present there, replenishing your
affection and satisfying it to the full. There I shall render you glory
for the reproach you have suffered here; for your sorrow I shall give
you a garment of praise, and for the lowest place a seat of power forever.
There the fruit of glory will appear, the labor of penance rejoice, and
humble subjection be gloriously crowned.
Bow humbly, therefore, under the will of all, and do not heed who said
this or commanded that. But let it be your special care when something
is commanded, or even hinted at, whether by a superior or an inferior
or an equal, that you take it in good part and try honestly to perform
it. Let one person seek one thing and another something else. Let one
glory in this, another in that, and both be praised a thousand times over.
But as for you, rejoice neither in one or the other, but only in contempt
of yourself and in My pleasure and honor. Let this be your wish: That
whether in life or in death God may be glorified in you.
The Fiftieth Chapter
How a Desolate Person Ought to Commit Himself
Into the Hands of God
The Disciple
LORD God, Holy Father, may You be blessed now and in eternity. For as
You will, so is it done; and what You do is good. Let Your servant rejoice
in You -- not in himself or in any other, for You alone are true joy.
You are my hope and my crown. You, O Lord, are my joy and my honor.
What does Your servant possess that he has not received from You, and
that without any merit of his own? Yours are all the things which You
have given, all the things which You have made.
I am poor and in labors since my youth, and my soul is sorrowful sometimes
even to the point of tears. At times, also, my spirit is troubled because
of impending sufferings. I long for the joy of peace. Earnestly I beg
for the peace of Your children who are fed by You in the light of consolation.
If You give peace, if You infuse holy joy, the soul of Your servant shall
be filled with holy song and be devout in praising You. But if You withdraw
Yourself, as You so very often do, he will not be able to follow the way
of Your commandments, but will rather be obliged to strike his breast
and bend the knee, because his today is different from yesterday and the
day before when Your light shone upon his head and he was protected in
the shadow of Your wings from the temptations rushing upon him.
Just Father, ever to be praised, the hour is come for Your servant to
be tried. Beloved Father, it is right that in this hour Your servant should
suffer something for You. O Father, forever to be honored, the hour which
You knew from all eternity is at hand, when for a short time Your servant
should be outwardly oppressed, but inwardly should ever live with You.
Let him be a little slighted, let him be humbled, let him fail in the
sight of men, let him be afflicted with sufferings and pains, so that
he may rise again with You in the dawn of the new light and be glorified
in heaven.
Holy Father, You have so appointed and wished it. What has happened is
what You commanded. For this is a favor to Your friend, to suffer and
be troubled in the world for Your love, no matter how often and by whom
You permit it to happen to him.
Nothing happens in the world without Your design and providence, and without
cause. It is well for me, O Lord, that You have humbled me, that I may
learn the justice of Your judgments and cast away all presumption and
haughtiness of heart. It is profitable for me that shame has covered my
face that I may look to You rather than to men for consolation. Hereby
I have learned also to fear Your inscrutable judgment falling alike upon
the just and unjust yet not without equity and justice.
Thanks to You that You have not spared me evils but have bruised me with
bitter blows, inflicting sorrows, sending distress without and within.
Under heaven there is none to console me except You, my Lord God, the
heavenly Physician of souls, Who wound and heal, Who cast down to hell
and raise up again. Your discipline is upon me and Your very rod shall
instruct me. Behold, beloved Father, I am in Your hands. I bow myself
under Your correcting chastisement. Strike my back and my neck, that I
may bend my crookedness to Your will. Make of me a pious and humble follower,
as in Your goodness You are wont to do, that I may walk according to Your
every nod. Myself and all that is mine I commit to You to be corrected,
for it is better to be punished here than hereafter.
You know all things without exception, and nothing in man's conscience
is hidden from You. Coming events You know before they happen, and there
is no need for anyone to teach or admonish You of what is being done on
earth. You know what will promote my progress, and how much tribulation
will serve to cleanse away the rust of vice. Deal with me according to
Your good pleasure and do not despise my sinful life, which is known to
none so well or so clearly as to You alone.
Grant me, O Lord, the grace to know what should be known, to praise what
is most pleasing to You, to esteem that which appears most precious to
You, and to abhor what is unclean in Your sight.
Do not allow me to judge according to the light of my bodily eyes, nor
to give sentence according to the hearing of ignorant men's ears. But
let me distinguish with true judgment between things visible and spiritual,
and always seek above all things Your good pleasure. The senses of men
often err in their judgments, and the lovers of this world also err in
loving only visible things. How is a man the better for being thought
greater by men? The deceiver deceives the deceitful, the vain man deceives
the vain, the blind deceives the blind, the weak deceives the weak as
often as he extols them, and in truth his foolish praise shames them the
more. For, as the humble St. Francis says, whatever anyone is in Your
sight, that he is and nothing more.
The Fifty-First Chapter
When We Cannot Attain to the Highest, We Must
Practice the Humble Works
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, you cannot always continue in the more fervent desire of virtue,
or remain in the higher stage of contemplation, but because of humanity's
sin you must sometimes descend to lower things and bear the burden of
this corruptible life, albeit unwillingly and wearily. As long as you
wear a mortal body you will suffer weariness and heaviness of heart. You
ought, therefore, to bewail in the flesh the burden of the flesh which
keeps you from giving yourself unceasingly to spiritual exercises and
divine contemplation.
In such condition, it is well for you to apply yourself to humble, outward
works and to refresh yourself in good deeds, to await with unshaken confidence
My heavenly visitation, patiently to bear your exile and dryness of mind
until you are again visited by Me and freed of all anxieties. For I will
cause you to forget your labors and to enjoy inward quiet. I will spread
before you the open fields of the Scriptures, so that with an open heart
you may begin to advance in the way of My commandments. And you will say:
the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the future
glory which shall be revealed to us.
The Fifty-Second Chapter
A Man Ought Not to Consider Himself Worthy
of Consolation, But Rather Deserving of Chastisement
The Disciple
LORD, I am not worthy of Your consolation or of any spiritual visitation.
Therefore, You treat me justly when You leave me poor and desolate. For
though I could shed a sea of tears, yet I should not be worthy of Your
consolation. Hence, I deserve only to be scourged and punished because
I have offended You often and grievously, and have sinned greatly in many
things. In all justice, therefore, I am not worthy of any consolation.
But You, O gracious and merciful God, Who do not will that Your works
should perish, deign to console Your servant beyond all his merit and
above human measure, to show the riches of Your goodness toward the vessels
of mercy. For Your consolations are not like the words of men.
What have I done, Lord, that You should confer on me any heavenly comfort?
I remember that I have done nothing good, but that I have always been
prone to sin and slow to amend. That is true. I cannot deny it. If I said
otherwise You would stand against me, and there would be no one to defend
me. What have I deserved for my sins except hell and everlasting fire?
In truth, I confess that I am deserving of all scorn and contempt. Neither
is it fitting that I should be remembered among Your devoted servants.
And although it is hard for me to hear this, yet for truth's sake I will
allege my sins against myself, so that I may more easily deserve to beg
Your mercy. What shall I say, guilty as I am and full of all confusion?
My tongue can say nothing but this alone: "I have sinned, O Lord,
I have sinned; have mercy on me and pardon me. Suffer me a little that
I may pour out my grief, before I go to that dark land that is covered
with the shadow of death."
What do you especially demand of a guilty and wretched sinner, except
that he be contrite and humble himself for his sins? In true sorrow and
humility of heart hope of forgiveness is born, the troubled conscience
is reconciled, grace is found, man is preserved from the wrath to come,
and God and the penitent meet with a holy kiss.
To You, O Lord, humble sorrow for sins is an acceptable sacrifice, a sacrifice
far sweeter than the perfume of incense. This is also the pleasing ointment
which You would have poured upon Your sacred feet, for a contrite and
humble heart You have never despised. Here is a place of refuge from the
force of the enemy's anger. Here is amended and washed away whatever defilement
has been contracted elsewhere.
The Fifty-Third Chapter
God's Grace Is Not Given to the Earthly Minded
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, my grace is precious. It does not allow itself to be mixed
with external things or with earthly consolations. Cast away all obstacles
to grace, therefore, if you wish to receive its infusion.
Seek to retire within yourself. Love to dwell alone with yourself. Seek
no man's conversation, but rather pour forth devout prayer to God that
you may keep your mind contrite and your heart pure.
Consider the whole world as nothing. Prefer attendance upon God to all
outward occupation, for you cannot attend upon Me and at the same time
take delight in external things. You must remove yourself from acquaintances
and from dear friends, and keep your mind free of all temporal consolation.
Thus the blessed Apostle St. Peter begs the faithful of Christ to keep
themselves as strangers and pilgrims in the world.[16]
What great confidence at the hour of death shall be his who is not attached
to this world by any affection. But the sickly soul does not know what
it is to have a heart thus separated from all things, nor does the natural
man know the liberty of the spiritual man. Yet, if he truly wishes to
be spiritual, he must renounce both strangers and friends, and must beware
of no one more than himself.
If you completely conquer yourself, you will more easily subdue all other
things. The perfect victory is to triumph over self. For he who holds
himself in such subjection that sensuality obeys reason and reason obeys
Me in all matters, is truly his own conqueror and master of the world.
Now, if you wish to climb to this high position you must begin like a
man, and lay the ax to the root, in order to tear out and destroy any
hidden unruly love of self or of earthly goods. From this vice of too
much self-love comes almost every other vice that must be uprooted. And
when this evil is vanquished, and brought under control, great peace and
quiet will follow at once.
But because few labor to die entirely to self, or tend completely away
from self, therefore they remain entangled in self, and cannot be lifted
in spirit above themselves. But he who desires to walk freely with Me
must mortify all his low and inordinate affections, and must not cling
with selfish love or desire to any creature.
The Fifty-Fourth Chapter
The Different Motions of Nature and Grace
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, pay careful attention to the movements of nature and of grace,
for they move in very contrary and subtle ways, and can scarcely be distinguished
by anyone except a man who is spiritual and inwardly enlightened. All
men, indeed, desire what is good, and strive for what is good in their
words and deeds. For this reason the appearance of good deceives many.
Nature is crafty and attracts many, ensnaring and deceiving them while
ever seeking itself. But grace walks in simplicity, turns away from all
appearance of evil, offers no deceits, and does all purely for God in
whom she rests as her last end. Nature is not willing to die, or to be
kept down, or to be overcome. Nor will it subdue itself or be made subject.
Grace, on the contrary, strives for mortification of self. She resists
sensuality, seeks to be in subjection, longs to be conquered, has no wish
to use her own liberty, loves to be held under discipline, and does not
desire to rule over anyone, but wishes rather to live, to stand, and to
be always under God for Whose sake she is willing to bow humbly to every
human creature.
Nature works for its own interest and looks to the profit it can reap
from another. Grace does not consider what is useful and advantageous
to herself, but rather what is profitable to many. Nature likes to receive
honor and reverence, but grace faithfully attributes all honor and glory
to God. Nature fears shame and contempt, but grace is happy to suffer
reproach for the name of Jesus. Nature loves ease and physical rest. Grace,
however, cannot bear to be idle and embraces labor willingly. Nature seeks
to possess what is rare and beautiful, abhorring things that are cheap
and coarse. Grace, on the contrary, delights in simple, humble things,
not despising those that are rough, nor refusing to be clothed in old
garments.
Nature has regard for temporal wealth and rejoices in earthly gains. It
is sad over a loss and irritated by a slight, injurious word. But grace
looks to eternal things and does not cling to those which are temporal,
being neither disturbed at loss nor angered by hard words, because she
has placed her treasure and joy in heaven where nothing is lost.
Nature is covetous, and receives more willingly than it gives. It loves
to have its own private possessions. Grace, however, is kind and openhearted.
Grace shuns private interest, is contented with little, and judges it
more blessed to give than to receive.
Nature is inclined toward creatures, toward its own flesh, toward vanities,
and toward running about. But grace draws near to God and to virtue, renounces
creatures, hates the desires of the flesh, restrains her wanderings and
blushes at being seen in public.
Nature likes to have some external comfort in which it can take sensual
delight, but grace seeks consolation only in God, to find her delight
in the highest Good, above all visible things.
Nature does everything for its own gain and interest. It can do nothing
without pay and hopes for its good deeds to receive their equal or better,
or else praise and favor. It is very desirous of having its deeds and
gifts highly regarded. Grace, however, seeks nothing temporal, nor does
she ask any recompense but God alone. Of temporal necessities she asks
no more than will serve to obtain eternity.
Nature rejoices in many friends and kinsfolk, glories in noble position
and birth, fawns on the powerful, flatters the rich, and applauds those
who are like itself. But grace loves even her enemies and is not puffed
up at having many friends. She does not think highly of either position
or birth unless there is also virtue there. She favors the poor in preference
to the rich. She sympathizes with the innocent rather than with the powerful.
She rejoices with the true man rather than with the deceitful, and is
always exhorting the good to strive for better gifts, to become like the
Son of God by practicing the virtues.
Nature is quick to complain of need and trouble; grace is stanch in suffering
want. Nature turns all things back to self. It fights and argues for self.
Grace brings all things back to God in Whom they have their source. To
herself she ascribes no good, nor is she arrogant or presumptuous. She
is not contentious. She does not prefer her own opinion to the opinion
of others, but in every matter of sense and thought submits herself to
eternal wisdom and the divine judgment.
Nature has a relish for knowing secrets and hearing news. It wishes to
appear abroad and to have many sense experiences. It wishes to be known
and to do things for which it will be praised and admired. But grace does
not care to hear news or curious matters, because all this arises from
the old corruption of man, since there is nothing new, nothing lasting
on earth. Grace teaches, therefore, restraint of the senses, avoidance
of vain self-satisfaction and show, the humble hiding of deeds worthy
of praise and admiration, and the seeking in every thing and in every
knowledge the fruit of usefulness, the praise and honor of God. She will
not have herself or hers exalted, but desires that God Who bestows all
simply out of love should be blessed in His gifts.
This grace is a supernatural light, a certain special gift of God, the
proper mark of the elect and the pledge of everlasting salvation. It raises
man up from earthly things to love the things of heaven. It makes a spiritual
man of a carnal one. The more, then, nature is held in check and conquered,
the more grace is given. Every day the interior man is reformed by new
visitations according to the image of God.
The Fifty-Fifth Chapter
The Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of
Divine Grace
The Disciple
O LORD, my God, Who created me to Your own image and likeness, grant
me this grace which You have shown to be so great and necessary for salvation,
that I may overcome my very evil nature that is drawing me to sin and
perdition. For I feel in my flesh the law of sin contradicting the law
of my mind and leading me captive to serve sensuality in many things.
I cannot resist the passions thereof unless Your most holy grace warmly
infused into my heart assist me.
There is need of Your grace, and of great grace, in order to overcome
a nature prone to evil from youth. For through the first man, Adam, nature
is fallen and weakened by sin, and the punishment of that stain has fallen
upon all mankind. Thus nature itself, which You created good and right,
is considered a symbol of vice and the weakness of corrupted nature, because
when left to itself it tends toward evil and to baser things. The little
strength remaining in it is like a spark hidden in ashes. That strength
is natural reason which, surrounded by thick darkness, still has the power
of judging good and evil, of seeing the difference between true and false,
though it is not able to fulfill all that it approves and does not enjoy
the full light of truth or soundness of affection.
Hence it is, my God, that according to the inward man I delight in Your
law, knowing that Your command is good, just, and holy, and that it proves
the necessity of shunning all evil and sin. But in the flesh I keep the
law of sin, obeying sensuality rather than reason. Hence, also, it is
that the will to good is present in me, but how to accomplish it I know
not. Hence, too, I often propose many good things, but because the grace
to help my weakness is lacking, I recoil and give up at the slightest
resistance. Thus it is that I know the way of perfection and see clearly
enough how I ought to act, but because I am pressed down by the weight
of my own corruption I do not rise to more perfect things.
How extremely necessary to me, O Lord, Your grace is to begin any good
deed, to carry it on and bring it to completion! For without grace I can
do nothing, but with its strength I can do all things in You. O Grace
truly heavenly, without which our merits are nothing and no gifts of nature
are to be esteemed!
Before You, O Lord, no arts or riches, no beauty or strength, no wit or
intelligence avail without grace. For the gifts of nature are common to
good and bad alike, but the peculiar gift of Your elect is grace or love,
and those who are signed with it are held worthy of everlasting life.
So excellent is this grace that without it no gift of prophecy or of miracles,
no meditation be it ever so exalted, can be considered anything. Not even
faith or hope or other virtues are acceptable to You without charity and
grace.
O most blessed grace, which makes the poor in spirit rich in virtues,
which renders him who is rich in many good things humble of heart, come,
descend upon me, fill me quickly with your consolation lest my soul faint
with weariness and dryness of mind.
Let me find grace in Your sight, I beg, Lord, for Your grace is enough
for me, even though I obtain none of the things which nature desires.
If I am tempted and afflicted with many tribulations, I will fear no evils
while Your grace is with me. This is my strength. This will give me counsel
and help. This is more powerful than all my enemies and wiser than all
the wise. This is the mistress of truth, the teacher of discipline, the
light of the heart, the consoler in anguish, the banisher of sorrow, the
expeller of fear, the nourisher of devotion, the producer of tears. What
am I without grace, but dead wood, a useless branch, fit only to be cast
away?
Let Your grace, therefore, go before me and follow me, O Lord, and make
me always intent upon good works, through Jesus Christ, Your Son.
The Fifty-Sixth Chapter
We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ
Through Bearing the Cross
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, the more you depart from yourself, the more you will be able
to enter into Me. As the giving up of exterior things brings interior
peace, so the forsaking of self unites you to God. I will have you learn
perfect surrender to My will, without contradiction or complaint.
Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Without the Way, there
is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life,
there is no living. I am the Way which you must follow, the Truth which
you must believe, the Life for which you must hope. I am the inviolable
Way, the infallible Truth, the unending Life. I am the Way that is straight,
the supreme Truth, the Life that is true, the blessed, the uncreated Life.
If you abide in My Way you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make
you free, and you shall attain life everlasting. If you wish to enter
into life, keep My commandments. If you will know the truth, believe in
Me. If you will be perfect, sell all. If you will be My disciple, deny
yourself. If you will possess the blessed life, despise this present life.
If you will be exalted in heaven, humble yourself on earth. If you wish
to reign with Me, carry the Cross with Me. For only the servants of the
Cross find the life of blessedness and of true light.
The Disciple
Lord Jesus, because Your way is narrow and despised by the world, grant
that I may despise the world and imitate You. For the servant is not greater
than his Lord, nor the disciple above the Master. Let Your servant be
trained in Your life, for there is my salvation and true holiness. Whatever
else I read or hear does not fully refresh or delight me.
The Voice of Christ
My child, now that you know these things and have read them all, happy
will you be if you do them. He who has My commandments and keeps them,
he it is that loves Me. And I will love him and will show Myself to him,
and will bring it about that he will sit down with Me in My Father's Kingdom.
The Disciple
Lord Jesus, as You have said, so be it, and what You have promised, let
it be my lot to win. I have received the cross, from Your hand I have
received it. I will carry it, carry it even unto death as You have laid
it upon me. Truly, the life of a good religious man is a cross, but it
leads to paradise. We have begun -- we may not go back, nor may we leave
off.
Take courage, brethren, let us go forward together and Jesus will be with
us. For Jesus' sake we have taken this cross. For Jesus' sake let us persevere
with it. He will be our help as He is also our leader and guide. Behold,
our King goes before us and will fight for us. Let us follow like men.
Let no man fear any terrors. Let us be prepared to meet death valiantly
in battle. Let us not suffer our glory to be blemished by fleeing from
the Cross.
The Fifty-Seventh Chapter
A Man Should Not Be Too Downcast When He Falls
Into Defects
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, patience and humility in adversity are more pleasing to Me
than much consolation and devotion when things are going well.
Why are you saddened by some little thing said against you? Even if it
had been more you ought not to have been affected. But now let it pass.
It is not the first, nor is it anything new, and if you live long it will
not be the last.
You are manly enough so long as you meet no opposition. You give good
advice to others, and you know how to strengthen them with words, but
when unexpected tribulation comes to your door, you fail both in counsel
and in strength. Consider your great weakness, then, which you experience
so often in small matters. Yet when these and like trials happen, they
happen for your good.
Put it out of your heart as best you know how, and if it has touched you,
still do not let it cast you down or confuse you for long. Bear it patiently
at least, if you cannot bear it cheerfully. Even though you bear it unwillingly,
and are indignant at it, restrain yourself and let no ill-ordered words
pass your lips at which the weak might be scandalized. The storm that
is now aroused will soon be quieted and your inward grief will be sweetened
by returning grace. "I yet live," says the Lord, "ready
to help you and to console you more and more, if you trust in Me and call
devoutly upon Me."
Remain tranquil and prepare to bear still greater trials. All is not lost
even though you be troubled oftener or tempted more grievously. You are
a man, not God. You are flesh, not an angel. How can you possibly expect
to remain always in the same state of virtue when the angels in heaven
and the first man in paradise failed to do so? I am He Who rescues the
afflicted and brings to My divinity those who know their own weakness.
The Disciple
Blessed be Your words, O Lord, sweeter to my mouth than honey and the
honeycomb. What would I do in such great trials and anxieties, if You
did not strengthen me with Your holy words? If I may but attain to the
haven of salvation, what does it matter what or how much I suffer? Grant
me a good end. Grant me a happy passage out of this world. Remember me,
my God, and lead me by the right way into Your kingdom.
The Fifty-Eighth Chapter
High Matters and the Hidden Judgments of God
Are Not to Be Scrutinized
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, beware of discussing high matters and God's hidden judgments
--why this person is so forsaken and why that one is favored with so great
a grace, or why one man is so afflicted and another so highly exalted.
Such things are beyond all human understanding and no reason or disputation
can fathom the judgments of God.
When the enemy puts such suggestions in your mind, therefore, or when
some curious persons raise questions about them, answer with the prophet:
"Thou art just, O Lord, and righteous are Thy judgments";[17]
and this: "The judgments of the Lord are true and wholly righteous."[18]
My judgments are to be feared, not discussed, because they are incomprehensible
to the understanding of men.
In like manner, do not inquire or dispute about the merits of the saints,
as to which is more holy, or which shall be greater in the kingdom of
heaven. Such things often breed strife and useless contentions. They nourish
pride and vainglory, whence arise envy and quarrels, when one proudly
tries to exalt one saint and the other another. A desire to know and pry
into such matters brings forth no fruit. On the contrary, it displeases
the saints, because I am the God, not of dissension, but of peace -- of
that peace which consists in true humility rather than in self-exaltation.
Some are drawn by the ardor of their love with greater affection to these
saints or to those, but this affection is human and not divine. I am He
who made all the saints. I gave them grace: I brought them to glory. I
know the merits of each of them. I came before them in the blessings of
My sweetness. I knew My beloved ones before the ages. I chose them out
of the world -- they did not choose Me. I called them by grace, I drew
them on by mercy. I led them safely through various temptations. I poured
into them glorious consolations. I gave them perseverance and I crowned
their patience. I know the first and the last. I embrace them all with
love inestimable. I am to be praised in all My saints. I am to be blessed
above all things, and honored in each of those whom I have exalted and
predestined so gloriously without any previous merits of their own.
He who despises one of the least of mine, therefore, does no honor to
the greatest, for both the small and the great I made. And he who disparages
one of the saints disparages Me also and all others in the kingdom of
heaven. They are all one through the bond of charity. They have the same
thought and the same will, and they mutually love one another; but, what
is a much greater thing, they love Me more than themselves or their own
merits. Rapt above themselves, and drawn beyond love of self, they are
entirely absorbed in love of Me, in Whom they rest. There is nothing that
can draw them away or depress them, for they who are filled with eternal
truth burn with the fire of unquenchable love.
Therefore, let carnal and sensual men, who know only how to love their
own selfish joys, forbear to dispute about the state of God's saints.
Such men take away and add according to their own inclinations and not
as it pleases the Eternal Truth. In many this is sheer ignorance, especially
in those who are but little enlightened and can rarely love anyone with
a purely spiritual love. They are still strongly drawn by natural affection
and human friendship to one person or another, and on their behavior in
such things here below are based their imaginings of heavenly things.
But there is an incomparable distance between the things which the imperfect
imagine and those which enlightened men contemplate through revelation
from above.
Be careful, then, My child, of treating matters beyond your knowledge
out of curiosity. Let it rather be your business and aim to be found,
even though the least, in the kingdom of God. For though one were to know
who is more holy than another, or who is greater in the kingdom of heaven,
of what value would this knowledge be to him unless out of it he should
humble himself before Me and should rise up in greater praise of My name?
The man who thinks of the greatness of his own sins and the littleness
of his virtues, and of the distance between himself and the perfection
of the saints, acts much more acceptably to God than the one who argues
about who is greater or who is less. It is better to invoke the saints
with devout prayers and tears, and with a humble mind to beg their glorious
aid, than to search with vain inquisitiveness into their secrets.
The saints are well and perfectly contented if men know how to content
themselves and cease their useless discussions. They do not glory in their
own merits, for they attribute no good to themselves but all to Me, because
out of My infinite charity I gave all to them. They are filled with such
love of God and with such overflowing joy, that no glory is wanting to
them and they can lack no happiness. All the saints are so much higher
in glory as they are more humble in themselves; nearer to Me, and more
beloved by Me. Therefore, you find it written that they cast their crowns
before God, and fell down upon their faces before the Lamb, and adored
Him Who lives forever.
Many ask who is the greater in the kingdom of heaven when they do not
know whether they themselves shall be worthy of being numbered among its
least. It is a great thing to be even the least in heaven where all are
great because all shall be called, and shall be, the children of God.
The least shall be as a thousand, and the sinner of a hundred years shall
die. For when the disciples asked who should be greater in the kingdom
of heaven they heard this response: "Unless you be converted and
become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, he is
the greater in the kingdom of heaven."[19]
Woe to those, therefore, who disdain to humble themselves willingly with
the little children, for the low gate of the heavenly kingdom will not
permit them to enter. Woe also to the rich who have their consolations
here, for when the poor enter into God's kingdom, they will stand outside
lamenting. Rejoice, you humble, and exult, you poor, for the kingdom of
God is yours, if only you walk in the truth.
The Fifty-Ninth Chapter
All Hope and Trust Are to Be Fixed In God Alone
The Disciple
WHAT, Lord, is the trust which I have in this life, or what is my greatest
comfort among all the things that appear under heaven? Is it not You,
O Lord, my God, Whose mercies are without number? Where have I ever fared
well but for You? Or how could things go badly when You were present?
I had rather be poor for Your sake than rich without You. I prefer rather
to wander on the earth with You than to possess heaven without You. Where
You are there is heaven, and where You are not are death and hell. You
are my desire and therefore I must cry after You and sigh and pray. In
none can I fully trust to help me in my necessities, but in You alone,
my God. You are my hope. You are my confidence. You are my consoler, most
faithful in every need.
All seek their own interests. You, however, place my salvation and my
profit first, and turn all things to my good. Even though exposing me
to various temptations and hardships, You Who are accustomed to prove
Your loved ones in a thousand ways, order all this for my good. You ought
not to be loved or praised less in this trial than if You had filled me
with heavenly consolations. In You, therefore, O Lord God, I place all
my hope and my refuge. On You I cast all my troubles and anguish, because
whatever I have outside of You I find to be weak and unstable. It will
not serve me to have many friends, nor will powerful helpers be able to
assist me, nor prudent advisers to give useful answers, nor the books
of learned men to console, nor any precious substance to win my freedom,
nor any place, secret and beautiful though it be, to shelter me, if You
Yourself do not assist, comfort, console, instruct, and guard me. For
all things which seem to be for our peace and happiness are nothing when
You are absent, and truly confer no happiness.
You, indeed, are the fountain of all good, the height of life, the depth
of all that can be spoken. To trust in You above all things is the strongest
comfort of Your servants.
My God, the Father of mercies, to You I look, in You I trust. Bless and
sanctify my soul with heavenly benediction, so that it may become Your
holy dwelling and the seat of Your eternal glory. And in this temple of
Your dignity let nothing be found that might offend Your majesty. In Your
great goodness, and in the multitude of Your mercies, look upon me and
listen to the prayer of Your poor servant exiled from You in the region
of the shadow of death. Protect and preserve the soul of Your poor servant
among the many dangers of this corruptible life, and direct him by Your
accompanying grace, through the ways of peace, to the land of everlasting
light.
1 Ps. 84:9.
2 1 Kings 3:9.
3 Ps. 118:125.
4 Ps. 118:36.
5 Deut. 32:2.
6 Exod. 20:19.
7 John 6:69.
8 Ps. 93:12.
9 Isa. 23:4.
10 Ps. 36:4.
11 John 14:27.
12 Ps. 54:7.
13 Apoc. 3:18.
14 Matt. 16:41.
15 St. Agatha.
16 Peter 2:11.
17 Ps. 118:137.
18 Ps. 18:10.
19 Matt. 18:3, 4.
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