. CHAPTER 27 The Way of Perfection Describes: - the great love shown us by the Lord in the first words of the Paternoster and - the great importance of our making no account of good birth if we truly desire to be the daughters of God. . |
'Our Father,
which art in the Heavens.'
O my Lord,
how Thou dost reveal Thyself
as the Father of such a Son,
while Thy Son reveals Himself
as the Son of such a Father!
Blessed be Thou for ever and ever.
Ought not so great a favour as this, Lord,
to have come at the end of the prayer?
Here, at the very beginning,
Thou dost
fill our hands and
grant us so great a favour
that it would be
a very great blessing
if our understanding
could be filled with it
so that the will
would be occupied
and
we should be unable
to say another word.
Oh, how appropriate, daughters,
would perfect contemplation be here!
Oh, how right would the soul be
to enter within itself,
so as to be the better able
to rise above itself,
that this holy Son might show it
the nature of the place
where He says His Father dwells
--namely, the Heavens!
Let us leave earth, my daughters,
for it is not right
that a favour like this
should be prized so little,
and
that, after we have realized
how great this favour is,
we should remain on earth any more.
O Son of God and my Lord!
How is it
that Thou canst give us so much
with Thy first word?
It is so wonderful
that Thou shouldst
- descend to such a degree of humility
as to join with us when we pray
and
- make Thyself the Brother
of creatures so miserable and lowly!
How can it be
that, in the name of Thy Father,
Thou shouldst give us all
that there is to be given,
by willing Him to have us
as His children
--and Thy word cannot fail?
[It seems that]
Thou dost oblige Him
to fulfil Thy word,
a charge by no means light,
since, being our Father,
He must bear with us,
however great our offences.
If we return to Him,
He
- must pardon us,
as He pardoned the prodigal son,
- must comfort us in our trials, and
- must sustain us,
as such a Father is bound to do,
for He must needs be better
than any earthly father,
since nothing good can fail
to have its perfection in Him.
He must cherish us;
He must sustain us;
and at the last
He must make us
participants and fellow-heirs
with Thee.
Behold, my Lord,
with the love
that Thou hast for us and
with Thy humility,
nothing can be an obstacle to Thee.
And then, Lord,
Thou hast been upon earth and
by taking our nature upon Thee
hast clothed Thyself with humanity:
Thou hast therefore some reason
to care for our advantage.
But behold,
Thy Father is in Heaven,
as Thou hast told us, and
it is right
that Thou shouldst consider His honour.
Since Thou hast offered Thyself
to be dishonoured by us,
leave Thy Father free.
Oblige Him not to do so much
for people as wicked as I,
who will make Him
such poor acknowledgment.
O good Jesus!
How clearly hast Thou shown
that Thou art One with Him
and
that Thy will is His and His is Thine!
How open a confession is this, my Lord!
What is this love
that Thou hast for us?
Thou didst
deceive the devil, and
conceal from him
that Thou art the Son of God,
but Thy great desire for our welfare
overcomes all obstacles
to Thy granting us
this greatest of favours.
Who but Thou could do this, Lord?
I cannot think
how the devil failed to understand
from that word of Thine
Who Thou wert, beyond any doubt.
I, at least, my Jesus, see clearly that
- Thou didst speak
as a dearly beloved Son
both for Thyself and for us, and
- Thou hast such power
that what Thou sayest in Heaven
shall be done on earth.
Blessed be Thou for ever, my Lord,
Who lovest so much to give
that no obstacle can stay Thee.
Do you not think, daughters,
that this is a good Master,
since He begins
by granting us this great favour
so as to make us love to learn
what He teaches us?
Do you think it would be right for us,
while we are repeating this prayer
with our lips,
to stop trying to think
of what we are saying,
lest picturing such love
should tear our hearts to pieces?
No one who realized His greatness
could possibly say it would be.
What son is there in the world
who would not try to learn
who his father was
if he had one
as good, and of
as great majesty and dominion,
as ours?
Were God not all this,
it would not surprise me
if we had no desire
to be known as His children;
for the world is such that,
if the father is of lower rank than his son,
the son feels no honour
in recognizing him as his father.
This does not apply here:
God forbid that such a thing
should ever happen in this house
--it would turn the place into hell.
Let the sister who is of the highest birth
speak of her father least;
we must all be equals.
O College of Christ,
in which the Lord was pleased
that Saint Peter,
who was a fisherman,
should have more authority
than Saint Bartholomew,
who was the son of a king!
His Majesty knew
what a fuss would be made in the world
about who was fashioned from the finer clay
--which is like discussing
whether clay is better
for bricks or for walls.
Dear Lord,
what a trouble we make about it!
God deliver you, sisters,
from such contentions,
even if they be carried on only in jest;
I hope
that His Majesty will indeed deliver you.
If anything like this
should be going on among you,
- apply the remedy immediately, and
- let the sister concerned fear
lest she be a Judas among the Apostles.
- Do what you can
to get rid of such a bad companion.
If you cannot,
give her penances heavier
than for anything else
until she realizes
that she has not deserved to be
even the basest clay.
You have a good Father,
given you by the good Jesus:
let no other father
be known or referred to here.
Strive, my daughters, to be such
that you deserve
to find comfort in Him and
to throw yourselves into His arms.
You know that,
if you are good children,
He will never send you away.
And who would not do anything
rather than lose such a Father?
Oh, thank God,
what cause for comfort there is here!
Rather than write more about it
I will leave it for you to think about;
for, however much
your thoughts may wander,
between such a Son and such a Father
there must needs be the Holy Spirit.
May He
enkindle your will and
bind you to Himself
with the most fervent love,
since even the great advantage you gain
will not suffice to do so.
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| . End of Chapter 27 The Way of Perfection . |
