. CHAPTER 28 The Way of Perfection - Describes the nature of the Prayer of Recollection and - sets down some of the means by which we can make it a habit. . |
Consider now
what your Master says next:
"Who art in the Heavens."
Do you suppose it matters little
- what Heaven is and
- where you must seek
your most holy Father?
I assure you
that for minds which wander
it is of great importance
not only to have a right belief about this
but to try to learn it by experience,
for it is one of the best ways of
- concentrating the mind and
- effecting recollection in the soul.
You know
that God is everywhere;
and this is a great truth,
for, of course,
wherever the king is,
or so they say,
the court is too:
that is to say,
wherever God is,
there is Heaven.
No doubt you can believe
that, in any place
where His Majesty is,
there is fulness of glory.
Remember how
Saint Augustine tells us about his
seeking God in many places and
finding Him eventually within himself.
Do you suppose it is of little importance
that a soul
which is often distracted
should come
to understand this truth and
to find that, in order to speak
to its Eternal Father and
to take its delight in Him,
it has no need
to go to Heaven or
to speak in a loud voice?
However quietly we speak,
He is so near that He will hear us:
we need no wings
to go in search of Him
but have only to find a place
where we can
be alone and
look upon Him present within us.
Nor need we feel strange
in the presence of so kind a Guest;
we must
- talk to Him very humbly,
as we should to our father,
- ask Him for things
as we should ask a father,
- tell Him our troubles,
- beg Him to put them right, and
- yet realize
that we are not worthy
to be called His children.
- Avoid being bashful with God,
as some people are,
in the belief
that they are being humble.
It would not be humility on your part
if the King were to do you a favour and
you refused to accept it;
but you would be showing humility by
- taking it, and
- being pleased with it,
- yet realizing how far you are
from deserving it.
A fine humility it would be
if I had the Emperor of Heaven and earth
in my house, coming to it
to do me a favour and
to delight in my company,
and I were so humble
that I would
not answer His questions,
nor remain with Him,
nor accept what He gave me,
but left Him alone.
Or if He were to
speak to me and
beg me to ask for what I wanted,
and I were so humble
that I
preferred to remain poor and
even let Him go away,
so that He would see
I had not sufficient resolution.
Have nothing to do
with that kind of humility, daughters,
but speak with Him as with
a Father, a Brother,
a Lord and a Spouse
--and, sometimes in one way
and sometimes in another,
He will teach you
what you must do to please Him.
Do not be foolish;
Ask Him
to let you speak to Him,
and, as He is your Spouse,
to treat you as His brides.
Remember
how important it is for you
to have understood this truth--
- that the Lord is within us and
- that we should be there with Him.
If one prays in this way,
the prayer may be only vocal,
but the mind
will be recollected much sooner;
and
this is a prayer
which brings with it many blessings.
It is called recollection
because the soul
collects together all the faculties and
enters within itself to be with its God.
Its Divine Master comes more speedily
to teach it, and
to grant it the Prayer of Quiet,
than in any other way.
For, hidden there within itself,
it can
think about the Passion, and
picture the Son, and
offer Him to the Father,
without wearying the mind
by going to seek Him
on Mount Calvary, or
in the Garden, or
at the Column.
Those
- who are able
to shut themselves up in this way
within this little Heaven of the soul,
wherein dwells the Maker
of Heaven and earth,
and
- who have formed the habit of
-- looking at nothing and
-- staying in no place
which will distract
these outward senses,
may be sure
that they
- are walking on an excellent road, and
- will come without fail
to drink of the water of the fountain,
for they will journey
a long way
in a short time.
They are like one
who travels in a ship, and,
if he has a little good wind,
reaches the end of his voyage
in a few days,
while those who go by land
take much longer.
These souls have already,
as we may say, put out to sea;
though they have not sailed
quite out of sight of land,
they do what they can
to get away from it (the world)
in the time at their disposal,
by recollecting their senses.
If their recollection is genuine,
the fact becomes very evident,
for it produces certain effects
which I do not know how to explain
but which anyone will recognize
who has experience of them.
It is as if the soul were rising from play,
for it sees
that worldly things
are nothing but toys;
so in due course
it rises above them,
like a person entering a strong castle,
in order that it may have nothing more
to fear from its enemies.
It withdraws the senses
from all outward things and
spurns them so completely
that,
without its understanding
how,
its eyes close and
it cannot see them and
the soul's spiritual sight becomes clear.
Those who walk along this path
almost invariably close their eyes
when they say their prayers;
this, for many reasons,
is an admirable custom,
since it means
that they are making an effort
not to look at things of the world.
The effort has to be made
only at the beginning;
later it becomes unnecessary:
eventually, in fact,
it would cost a greater effort
to open the eyes during prayer
than to close them.
The soul seems
to gather up its strength and
to master itself
at the expense of the body,
which it leaves weakened and alone:
in this way it becomes stronger
for the fight against it.
This may not be evident at first,
if the recollection is not very profound--
for at this stage
it is
sometimes more so and
sometimes less.
At first
it may cause a good deal of trouble,
for the body insists on its rights,
not understanding
that if it refuses to admit defeat
it is, as it were,
cutting off its own head.
But if we
cultivate the habit,
make the necessary effort and
practise the exercises for several days,
the benefits will reveal themselves,
and
when we begin to pray
we shall realize
that the bees are
coming to the hive and
entering it to make the honey,
and
all without any effort of ours.
For it is the Lord's will
that, in return for the time
which their efforts have cost them,
the soul and the will should be given
this power over the senses.
They will only have to
make a sign to show
that they wish to enter into recollection
and
the senses will
obey and allow themselves
to be recollected.
Later they may come out again,
but it is a great thing
that they should ever have surrendered,
for if they come out
it is as captives and slaves
and
they do none of the harm
that they might have done before.
When the will calls them afresh
they respond more quickly,
until, after they have entered the soul
many times,
the Lord is pleased
that they should remain there altogether
in perfect contemplation.
What has been said
should be noted with great care,
for, though it seems obscure,
it will be understood
by anyone
desirous of putting it into practice.
The sea-voyage, then,
can be made;
and, as it is very important
that we should not travel too slowly,
let us just consider
how we can get accustomed
to these good habits.
Souls who do so
are more secure
from many occasions of sin,
and
the fire of Divine love is
is the more readily enkindled in them;
for they are so near that fire
that, however little
the blaze has been fanned
with the understanding,
any small spark
that flies out at them
will cause them to burst into flame.
When no hindrance comes to it
from outside,
from outside,
the soul
remains alone with its God
and
is thoroughly prepared
to become enkindled.
And now let us imagine
that we have within us
a palace of priceless worth,
built entirely of gold and precious stones--
a palace, in short,
fit for so great a Lord.
Imagine that it is partly your doing
that this palace should be what it is--
and
this is really true,
for there is no building so beautiful
as a soul that is pure and full of virtues,
and,
the greater these virtues are,
the more brilliantly do the stones shine.
Imagine
that within the palace
dwells this great King,
Who has vouchsafed
to become your Father
and
Who is seated
upon a throne of supreme price-
namely, your heart.
At first you will think this irrelevant
-- I mean the use of this figure
to explain my point --
but it may prove very useful,
especially to persons like yourselves.
For, as we women are not
learned or fine-witted,
we need all these things
to help us realize
that we actually have something within us
incomparably more precious
than anything we see outside.
Do not let us suppose
that the interior of the soul is empty;
God grant
that only women may be so thoughtless
as to suppose that.
If we took care always to remember
what a Guest we have within us,
I think it would be impossible for us
to abandon ourselves to
vanities and things of the world,
for we should see
how worthless they are
by comparison with those
which we have within us.
What does an animal do
beyond satisfying his hunger
by seizing whatever attracts him
when he sees it?
There should surely be a great difference
between the brute beasts and ourselves,
as we have such a Father.
Perhaps
you will
laugh at me and
say that this is obvious enough;
and
you will be right,
though it was some time
before I came to see it.
I knew perfectly well
that I had a soul,
but I did not understand
what that soul merited,
or
Who dwelt within it,
until I closed my eyes
to the vanities of this world
in order to see it.
I think, if I had understood then,
as I do now,
how this great King really dwells
within this little palace of my soul,
I should not have left Him alone so often,
but should have
stayed with Him
and
never have allowed His dwelling-place
to get so dirty.
How wonderful it is
that He
Whose greatness could fill
a thousand worlds,
and very many more,
should confine Himself
within so small a space,
just as He was pleased to dwell
within the womb
of His most holy Mother!
Being the Lord,
He has, of course, perfect freedom,
and, as He loves us,
He fashions Himself to our measure.
When a soul sets out upon this path,
He does not reveal Himself to it,
lest it should feel dismayed
at seeing
that its littleness can contain such greatness;
but gradually He enlarges it
to the extent requisite
for what He has to set within it.
It is for this reason
that I say He has perfect freedom,
since He has power
to make the whole of this palace
great.
The important point is
that we
- should be absolutely resolved
to give it to Him
for His own and
- should empty it
so that He
may take out and
put in just what He likes,
as He would
with something of His own.
His Majesty is right in demanding this;
let us not deny it to Him.
And, as He refuses to force our will,
He takes what we give Him
but does not give Himself wholly
until He sees
that we are giving ourselves
wholly to Him.
This is certain, and, as it is of such
importance, I often remind you of it.
Nor does He work within the soul
as He does when it
is wholly His and
keeps nothing back.
I do not see
how He can do so,
since He likes everything to be done in order.
If we fill the palace with
vulgar people and
all kinds of junk,
how can the Lord and His Court occupy it?
When such a crowd is there
it would be a great thing
if He were to remain for even a short time.
Do you suppose, daughters,
that He is alone when He comes to us?
Do you not see
that His most holy Son says:
"Who art in the Heavens"?
Surely such a King
would not be abandoned by His courtiers.
They stay with Him and pray to Him
on our behalf and for our welfare,
for they are full of charity.
Do not imagine
that Heaven is like this earth,
where, if a lord or prelate
shows anyone favours,
whether for some particular reason
or simply because he likes him,
people at once become envious,
and,
though the poor man
has done nothing to them,
he is maliciously treated,
so that his favours cost him dear.
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| . End of Chapter 28 The Way of Perfection . |
