. CHAPTER 40 The Way of Perfection Describes - how, by striving always to walk in the Love and Fear of God, we shall travel safely amid all these temptations. . |
Show us, then, our good Master,
some way in which we may live
through this most dangerous warfare
without frequent surprise.
The best way
that we can do this, daughters,
is to use the love and fear
given us by His Majesty.
For love will make us
quicken our steps,
While fear will make us
look where we are setting our feet
so that we shall not fall on a road
where there are so many obstacles.
Along that road
all living creatures must pass,
and if we have these two things
we shall certainly not be deceived.
You will ask me
How you can tell
if you really have these
two very, very great virtues. [137]
You are right to ask,
for we can never be
quite definite and certain about it;
if we were sure that we possessed love,
we should be sure
that we were in a state of grace.
But you know, sisters,
there are some indications
which are
which are
in no way secret
but so evident
that even a blind man, as people say,
could see them.
You may not wish to heed them,
but they cry so loud for notice
that they make quite an uproar,
for there are not many
who possess them
to the point of perfection
and thus they are the more readily noticed.
Love and Fear of God!
These are two strong castles
whence we can wage war
on the world
and
on the devils.
Those who really love God
- love all good,
- seek all good,
- help forward all good,
- praise all good,
and
- invariably join forces with good men
and
- help and defend them.
They love
only truth and
things worthy of love.
Do you think it possible
that anyone
who really and truly loves God
can love vanities, riches,
worldly pleasures or honours?
Can he engage in strife or feel envy?
No;
for his only desire
is to please the Beloved.
Such persons die with longing
for Him to love them
and so they will give their lives
to learn how they may please Him better
Will they hide their love?
No:
if their love for God
is genuine love
they cannot.
Why, think of Saint Paul or the Magdalen.
One of these--Saint Paul
--found in three days
that he was sick with love.
The Magdalen discovered this
on the very first day.
And how certain of it they were!
For there are degrees of Love for God,
which shows itself
in proportion to its strength.
If there is little of it,
it shows itself but little;
if there is much,
it shows itself a great deal.
But it always shows itself,
whether little or much,
provided it is real love for God.
But to come to what
we are chiefly treating of now
--the deceptions and illusions
practiced against contemplatives
by the devil--
such souls have no little love;
for had they not a great deal
they would not be contemplatives,
and so their love shows itself
plainly and in many ways.
Being a great fire,
it cannot fail to give out a very bright light.
If they have not much love,
they should
• proceed with many misgivings
and
• realize that they have great cause for fear;
and
they should
• try to find out what is wrong with them,
• say their prayers,
• walk in humility
and
• beseech the Lord not to lead them
into temptation,
into which, I fear,
they will certainly fall
they bear this sign.
But if they
• walk humbly and
• strive to discover the truth and
• do as their confessor bids them and
• tell him the plain truth,
then the Lord is faithful,
and, as has been said,
by using the very means with which
he had thought to give them death,
the devil will give them life,
with however many fantasies and illusions
he tries to deceive them.
If they submit
to the teaching of the Church,
they need not fear;
whatever fantasies and illusions
the devil may invent,
he will at once betray his presence.
he will at once betray his presence.
But if you feel
this Love for God
which I have spoken of,
and the Fear
which I shall now describe,
you may go on your way
with happiness and tranquillity.
In order to
- disturb the soul and
- keep it from enjoying these great blessings,
the devil
-- will suggest to it
a thousand false fears
and
and
-- will persuade other people
to do the same;
for if he cannot win souls
he will at least try
to make them lose something,
and among the losers will be those
who might have gained greatly
had they believed
- that such great favours, bestowed
upon so miserable a creature,
come from God, and
- that it is possible for them
to be thus bestowed,
for sometimes we seem to forget
His past mercies.
Do you suppose
that it is of little use to the devil
to suggest these fears?
No,
it is most useful to him,
for there are two well-known ways
in which he can make use of this means
to harm us,
to say nothing of others.
First, he can make those who listen to him
fearful of engaging in prayer,
because they think that they will be deceived.
Secondly, he can dissuade many
from approaching God
who, as I have said,
see that He is so good that
He will hold intimate converse with sinners.
Many such souls think
that He will treat them in the same way,
and
they are right:
I myself know certain persons
inspired in this way
who began the habit of prayer
and in a short time
- became truly devout and
- received great favours from the Lord.
Therefore, sisters,
when you see someone
to whom the Lord is granting these favours,
- praise Him fervently,
- yet do not imagine that she is safe,
but aid her with more prayer,
for no one can be safe in this life
amid the engulfing dangers
of this stormy sea.
Wherever this love is,
then, you will not fail to recognize it;
I do not know
how it could be concealed.
For they say
- that it is impossible for us
to hide our love even for creatures,
and
- that,
the more we try to conceal it,
the more clearly is it revealed.
And yet this is so worthless
that it hardly deserves the name of love,
for it is founded upon nothing at all:
it is loathsome, indeed,
to make this comparison.
How, then, could a love like God's
be concealed --
so strong, so righteous,
continually increasing,
never seeing cause for ceasing
to manifest itself, and
resting upon the firm foundation
of the love which is its reward?
As to the reality of this reward
there can be no doubt,
for it is manifest in Our Lord's
- great sorrows,
- His trials,
- the shedding of His blood and
- even the loss of His life.
Certainly, then,
there is no doubt as to this love.
It is indeed love,
and deserves that name,
of which worldly vanities have robbed it.
God help me!
How different must
the one Love be from the other
to those who have experience of both!
May His Majesty be pleased
to grant us to experience this
before He takes us from this life,
for it will be a great thing
at the hour of death,
when we are going
we know not whither,
to realize that we shall be judged
by One Whom we have loved
above all things, and
with a passion
that makes us entirely forget ourselves
Once our debts have been paid
we shall be able to walk in safety.
We shall not be going
into a foreign land,
but into our own country,
for it belongs to Him
Whom we have loved so truly
and
Who Himself loves us.
For this love of His,
besides its other properties,
is better than all earthly affection
in that,
if we love Him,
we are quite sure
that He loves us too.
Remember, my daughters,
the greatness
of the gain
which comes from this love,
and
of our loss
if we do not possess it,
for in that case we shall be delivered
into the hands of the tempter,
hands
hands
so cruel and
so hostile to all that is good, and
so friendly to all that is evil.
What will become of the poor soul
when it falls into these hands
after emerging from all the pains
and trials of death?
How little rest it will have!
How it will be torn as it goes down to hell!
What swarms and varieties of serpents
What swarms and varieties of serpents
it will meet!
How dreadful is that place!
How miserable that lodging!
Why, a pampered person
(and most of those who go to hell are that)
can hardly bear to spend a single night
can hardly bear to spend a single night
in a bad inn:
what, then, will be the feelings
of that wretched soul
when it is condemned to such an inn as this
and has to spend eternity there? [138]
and has to spend eternity there? [138]
Let us not try to pamper ourselves, daughters
We are quite well off here:
there is only a single night for us
to spend in this bad inn.
Let us
• praise God and
• strive to do penance in this life.
How sweet will be the death of those
who
have done penance for all their sins
and
have not to go to purgatory!
It may be
that they
will begin to enjoy glory
even in this world, and
will know
no fear,
but only peace.
no fear,
but only peace.
Even if we do not attain to this, sisters,
let us beseech God
that, if in due course
we must suffer these pains,
it may be with a hope
of emerging from them.
Then we shall
- suffer them willingly
and
and
- lose
neither the friendship
neither the friendship
nor the grace of God.
May He grant us these in this life
so that we may not unwittingly
fall into temptation.
_________________
. Foot Notes: [137] Lit.: "these two virtues, so great, so great." [138] Lit.: "to an inn for ever, ever, for eternity." The repetition of "ever" (siempre) reminds one of the famous reminiscence of St. Teresa's childhood, to be found in her Life, Chap. I. . |
| . End of Chapter 40 The Way of Perfection . |
