. CHAPTER 25 The Way of Perfection - Describes the great gain which comes to a soul when it practises vocal prayer perfectly. - Shows how God may raise it thence to things supernatural. . |
In case you should think
there is little gain to be derived
from practising vocal prayer perfectly,
I must tell you
that, while you are repeating
the Paternoster or
some other vocal prayer,
it is quite possible for the Lord
to grant you perfect contemplation.
In this way His Majesty shows
• that He is listening to the person
who is addressing Him, and
• that, in His greatness,
He is addressing her, [95]
by
◦ suspending the understanding,
◦ putting a stop to all thought,
and, as we say,
◦ taking the words out of her mouth,
so that even if she wishes to speak
she cannot do so,
or at any rate
not without great difficulty.
Such a person understands
that,
without any sound of words,
she is being taught by this Divine Master,
Who is suspending her faculties,
which, if they were to work,
would be causing her harm
rather than profit.
The faculties rejoice
without knowing
how they rejoice;
the soul is enkindled in love
without understanding
how it loves;
it knows
that it is rejoicing in the object of its love,
yet it does not know
how it is rejoicing in it.
It is well aware
that this is not a joy
which can be attained
by the understanding;
the will embraces it,
without understanding how;
but, in so far as
it can understand anything,
it perceives that this is a blessing
which could not be gained
by the merits
of all the trials suffered on earth,
put together.
It is a gift of the Lord
of earth and Heaven,
Who gives it like the God He is.
This, daughters, is perfect contemplation.
You will now understand
how different it is
from mental prayer,
which I have already described, and
which consists in
thinking of what we are saying,
understanding it, and
realizing
◦ Whom we are addressing,
and
◦ who we are
◦ who we are
that are daring to address
so great a Lord.
To think of this and other similar things,
such as
◦ how little we have served Him
and
◦ how great is our obligation
to serve Him,
is mental prayer.
Do not think of it
as one more thing
with an unfamiliar name [96]
and
do not let the name frighten you.
To recite
the Paternoster and the Ave Maria,
or any other petition you like,
is vocal prayer.
But think how harsh your music will be
without what must come first;
sometimes even the words
will get into the wrong order.
In these two kinds of prayer,
with God's help,
we may accomplish something ourselves.
(But) In the contemplation
which I have just described
we can do nothing.
It is His Majesty
Who does everything;
the work is His alone
and far transcends human nature.
I described this
as well as I was able
in the relation which I made of it,
as I have said,
so that my confessors should see it
when they read the account of my life
which they had ordered me to write.
As I have explained all this
about contemplation at such length,
therefore, I shall not repeat myself here and
I am doing no more than touch upon it.
If those of you
who have experienced the happiness
of being called by the Lord
to this state of contemplation
can get this book,
you will find in it
points and counsels
which the Lord was pleased
to enable me to set down.
These should bring you
great comfort and profit
--in my opinion, at least, and
in the opinion of several people
who have seen it and
who keep it at hand
in order to make frequent use of it.
I am ashamed to tell you
that anything of mine
is made such use of and
the Lord knows
with what confusion I write
a great deal that I do.
Blessed be He for thus bearing with me.
Those of you
who, as I say,
have experience of supernatural prayer
should procure the book after my death;
those who have not
have no need to do so
but they should try to carry out
what has been said in this one.
Let them leave everything to the Lord,
to Whom it belongs
to grant this gift, and
He will not deny it (to) you
if you do not tarry on the road
but press forward
so as to reach the end of your journey.
___________________
. Foot Notes: [95] Lit.: "and that His greatness is addressing her." [96] algarabia. Lit.: "Arabic" and hence, (a language unknown to her; foreign ) unknown meaning or usage; confusion as to meaning of the words . |
| . End of Chapter 25 The Way of Perfection . |
