And therefore, good cousin, to finish our talking for this time,
lest I should be too long a hindrance to your other business:
If we lay first, for a sure ground, a very fast faith, whereby we
believe to be true all that the scripture saith (understood truly,
as the old holy doctors declare it and as the spirit of God
instructeth his Catholic church), then shall we consider
tribulation as a gracious gift of God, a gift that he specially
gave his special friends; a thing that in scripture is highly
commended and praised; a thing of which the contrary, long
continued, is perilous; a thing which, if God send it not, men have
need to put upon themselves and seek by penance; a thing that
helpeth to purge our past sins; a thing that preserveth us from
sins that otherwise would come; a thing that causeth us to set less
by the world; a thing that much diminisheth our pains in purgatory;
a thing that much increaseth our final reward in heaven; the thing
with which all his apostles followed him thither; the thing to
which our Saviour exhorteth all men; the thing without which he
saith we be not his disciples; the thing without which no man can
get to heaven.
Whosoever thinketh on these things, and remembereth them well,
shall in his tribulation neither murmur nor grudge. But first shall
he by patience take his pain in worth, and then shall he grow in
goodness and think himself well worthy of tribulation. And then
shall he consider that God sendeth it for his welfare, and thereby
shall be moved to give God thanks for it. Therewith shall his grace
increase, and God shall give him such comfort by considering that
God is in his trouble evermore near to him--for "God is near,"
saith the prophet, "to them that have their heart in trouble"--that
his joy thereof shall diminish much of his pain. And he shall not
seek for vain comfort elsewhere, but shall specially trust in God
and seek help of him, submitting his own will wholly to God's
pleasure. And he shall pray to God in his heart, and pray his
friends pray for him, and especially the priests, as St. James
biddeth. And he shall begin first with confession and make him
clean to God and ready to depart, and be glad to go to God, putting
purgatory to his pleasure. If we thus do, this dare I boldly say,
we shall never live here the less by half an hour, but we shall
with this comfort find our hearts lightened, and thereby the grief
of our tribulation lessened, and the more likelihood to recover and
to live the longer.
Now if God will that we shall go hence, then doth he much more for
us. For he who taketh this way cannot go but well. For of him who
is loth to leave this wretched world, mine heart is much in fear
lest he did not well. Hard it is for him to be welcome who cometh
against his will, who saith unto God when he cometh to fetch him,
"Welcome, my Maker--spite of my teeth!" But he that so loveth him
that he longeth to go to him, my heart cannot give me but he shall
be welcome, albeit that he come ere he be well purged. For "Charity
covereth a multitude of sins," and "He that trusteth in God cannot
be confounded." And Christ saith, "He that cometh to me, I will not
cast him out." And therefore let us never make our reckoning of
long life. Let us keep it while we can, because God hath so
commanded, but if God give the occasion that with his good will we
may go, let us be glad of it and long to go to him. And then shall
hope of heaven comfort our heaviness, and out of our transitory
tribulation shall we go to everlasting glory--to which, good
cousin, I pray God bring us both!
VINCENT: Mine own good uncle, I pray God reward you, and at this
time I will no longer trouble you. I fear I have this day done you
much tribulation with my importunate objections, of very little
substance. And you have even showed me an example of patience, in
bearing my folly so long. And yet I shall be so bold as to seek
some time to talk further of the rest of this most profitable
matter of tribulation, which you said you reserved to treat of last
of all.
ANTHONY: Let that be surely very shortly, cousin, while this is
fresh in mind.
VINCENT: I trust, good uncle, so to put this in remembrance that
it shall never be forgotten with me. Our Lord send you such comfort
as he knoweth to be best!
ANTHONY: This is well said, good cousin, and I pray the same for
you and for all our other friends who have need of comfort--for
whom, I think, more than for yourself, you needed some counsel.
VINCENT: I shall, with this good counsel that I have heard from
you, do them some comfort, I trust in God--to whose keeping I
commit you!
ANTHONY: And I you, also. Farewell, mine own good cousin.
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