the heart that it sufficeth; when she would injudiciously reject them,
the divine action whispers that they are instruments not to be taken or
rejected at will, but to be simply received from Providence and adapted
to the order of God--the soul thus using all things as though not using
them, being deprived of all things, yet wanting nothing.
The divine action, being limitless in its fulness, can take possession
of a soul only in as far as the soul is void of all confidence in her
own action; for this confidence and self-activity fill the heart to
the exclusion of the divine action. It is an obstacle which, existing
in the soul herself, is more likely to arrest the divine action than
exterior obstacles, which Providence can change at will into powerful
aids; for it can work with all things, even those which are in
themselves useless. With the divine will nothing is everything, and
without it everything is nothing.
Whatever the value in itself of meditation, contemplation, vocal
prayer, interior silence, acts of the will whether sensible, distinct,
or less perceptible, retreat, or active life,--better than all of them
is what God wills for the soul at the present moment; and the soul
should regard everything else with perfect indifference, as being of no
value whatever.
Thus seeing God alone in all things, she should take or leave them at
His pleasure in order to live in, hope in, and be nourished by Him, and
not by the things which have force and virtue only through Him. Under
all circumstances the soul should constantly say with St. Paul, “Lord,
what wouldst Thou have me do?” Not this more than that, but simply Thy
adorable will! The spirit loves one thing, the flesh another; but,
Lord, let Thy will be mine. Contemplation, action, prayer vocal or
mental, affective or passive, light or darkness, special or general
graces,--all these are nothing, Lord, for in Thy will lies their sole
virtue. Thy will alone is the end of all my devotion, and not these
things, however elevated or sublime in themselves; for the end of
divine grace is the perfection of the heart, not of the mind.
The presence of God which sanctifies our souls is that indwelling of
the Trinity which penetrates to the depths of our hearts when they are
submissive to the divine will; for the presence of God which we enjoy
through the exercise of contemplation effects this intimate union in us
only as do all other things which come to us in the order of God. It
holds, however, the first rank among them, for it is the most excellent
means of uniting one’s self with God when He wills that we should use
it.
We may therefore justly esteem and love contemplation and other pious
exercises, provided the foundation of this esteem and love be wholly
God, who mercifully deigns through them to communicate Himself to our
souls.
We receive the prince himself when we receive his suite. It would be
showing him little respect to neglect his officers under pretext of
possessing him alone.
_CHAPTER VII._
There is no Enduring Peace but in Submission to the Divine Action.
The soul that is not united solely to the will of God will find neither
rest nor sanctification in any self-chosen means--not even in the most
excellent exercises of piety. If that which God Himself chooses for you
does not suffice, what other hand can minister to your desires? If you
turn from the food the divine will itself has prepared for you, what
viands will not prove insipid to a taste so depraved? A soul cannot be
truly nourished, strengthened, purified, enriched, sanctified, except
by the fulness of the present moment. Then what more would you have?
Since you here find all good, why seek it elsewhere? Are you wiser
than God? Since He ordains it should be thus, how could you desire it
should be otherwise? Can His wisdom and goodness err? Should you not
from the moment He ordains an event be utterly convinced that it is the
best that could happen? Do you think you will find peace in struggling
with the Almighty? On the contrary, is it not this struggle too often
renewed, almost unconsciously, which is the cause of all our disquiet.
It is but just that the soul which is not satisfied with the divine
fulness of the present moment should be punished by an inability to
find contentment in anything else.
If books, the example of the saints, spiritual discourses, destroy
the peace of the soul, if they fill without satisfying, it is a mark
that we have not received them in simple abandonment to the divine
action, but have taken them ourselves in a spirit of proprietorship.
Their fulness, therefore, bars the entrance of God to the soul, and we
must rid ourselves of it as an obstacle to grace. But when the divine
action ordains the use of these means, the soul receives them as it
does everything else--that is, in the order of God. She accepts them as
she finds them, in her fidelity simply using them, never appropriating
them; and their moment passed she abandons them to find her contentment
in what follows in the order of Providence. In truth there is nothing
really beneficial for me but that which comes to me in the order
of God. Nowhere can I find any means, however good in itself, more
efficacious for my sanctification and more capable of giving peace to
my soul.
_CHAPTER VIII._
The Perfection of Souls and the Excellence of Different States are in
Proportion to their Conformity to the Order of God.
The order of God gives to all things which concern the faithful soul
a supernatural and divine value; all that it exacts, all that it
embraces, and all the objects upon which it sheds its light become
holiness and perfection, for its virtue is limitless: it makes all
that it touches divine. But in order to keep ourselves in the path of
perfection, swerving neither to the right nor the left, the soul must
follow no inspiration which she assumes comes from God without first
assuring herself that it does not interfere with the duties of her
state in life. These duties are the most certain indications of the
will of God, and nothing should be preferred to them; in fulfilling
them there is nothing to be feared, no exclusion or discrimination
to be made; the moments devoted to them are the most precious and
salutary for the soul from the fact that she is sure of accomplishing
the good pleasure of God. All the perfection of the saints consists in
their fidelity to the order of God; therefore we must refuse nothing,
seek nothing, but accept all from His hand, and nothing without Him.
Books, wise counsels, vocal prayers, interior affections, if they
come to us in the order of God, instruct, guide, and unite the soul
to Him. Quietism errs when it disclaims these means and all sensible
appearances, for there are souls whom God wills shall be always led in
this way, and their state and their attractions clearly indicate it. In
vain we picture to ourselves methods of abandonment whence all action
is excluded. When the order of God causes us to act, our sanctification
lies in action.
Besides the duties of each one’s state, God may further ask certain
actions which are not included in these duties, though not contrary
to them. Attraction and inspiration, then, indicate the divine order;
and the most perfect for souls whom God leads in this way is to add to
things of precept, things inspired, but always with the precautions
which inspiration requires to prevent its interfering with the duties
of one’s state and the ordinary events of Providence.
God makes saints as He chooses. They are formed by His divine action,
to which they are ever submissive, and this submission is the truest
abandonment and the most perfect.
Fidelity to the duties of one’s state and submission to the
dispositions of Providence are common to all the saints. They live
hidden in obscurity, for the world is so fatal to holiness that they
would avoid its quicksands; but not in this does their sanctity
consist, but wholly in their entire submission to the order of God.
The more absolute their submission the greater their sanctity. We must
not imagine that those whose virtues God is pleased to brilliantly
manifest by singular and extraordinary works, by undoubted attractions
and inspirations, are any less faithful in the path of abandonment.
Once the order of God makes these brilliant works a duty they fail
in abandonment to Him and His will which ceases to rule their every
moment, and their every moment ceases to be the exponent of the will
of God if they content themselves with the duties of their state and
the ordinary events of Providence. They must study and measure their
efforts according to the standard of God’s designs for them in that
path which their attractions indicate to them. Fidelity to inspiration
is for them a duty; and as there are souls whose whole duty is marked
by an exterior law, and who must be guided by it because God confines
them to it, so also there are others who, besides their exterior
duties, must be further faithful to that interior law which the Holy
Spirit engraves upon their hearts.
But who are the most perfect? Vain and idle research! Each one
must follow the path which is traced for him. Perfection consists
in absolute submission to the order of God and carefully availing
ourselves of all that is most perfect therein. It advances us little to
weigh the advantages of the different states considered in themselves,
since it is neither in the quality nor quantity of things enjoined that
sanctity is to be sought. If self-love be the principle of our actions,
or if we do not correct it when we recognize its workings, we will be
always poor in the midst of an abundance not provided by the order
of God. However, to decide in a measure the question, I think that
sanctity corresponds to the love one has for God’s good pleasure, and
the greater one’s love for this holy will and this order, whatever the
character of their manifestations, the greater one’s sanctity. This is
manifest in Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, for in their private life there
is more of love than of grandeur, and more of spirit than of matter;
and it is not written that these sacred persons sought the holiest of
things, but holiness in all things.
We must therefore conclude that there is no special way which can
be called the most perfect, but that the most perfect in general is
fidelity to the order of God, whether in the accomplishment of exterior
duties or in the interior dispositions, each one according to his state
and calling.
I believe that if souls seriously aspiring to perfection understood
this, and knew how direct is their path, they would be spared much
difficulty. I say the same equally of souls living in the world and of
souls consecrated to God. If the first knew the means of merit afforded
them by their ever-recurring daily duties and the ordinary actions of
their state in life; if the second could persuade themselves that the
foundation of sanctity lies in those very things which they consider
unimportant and even foreign to them; if both could understand that the
crosses sent by Providence which they constantly find in their state
in life lead them to the highest perfection by a surer and shorter
path than do extraordinary states or extraordinary works; and that
the true philosopher’s stone is submission to the order of God, which
changes into pure gold all their occupations, all their weariness,
all their sufferings--how happy they would be! What consolation and
what courage they would gather from this thought, that to acquire the
friendship of God and all the glory of heaven they have but to do
what they are doing, suffer what they are suffering; and that what
they lose and count as naught would suffice to obtain them eminent
sanctity. O my God, that I might be the missionary of Thy holy will,
and teach the whole world that there is nothing so easy, so simple,
so within the reach of all, as sanctity! Would that I could make them
understand that just as the good and bad thief had the same to do and
suffer to obtain their salvation, so two souls, one worldly and the
other wholly interior and spiritual, have nothing more to do, one than
the other; that she who sanctifies herself acquires eternal happiness
by doing in submission to the will of God what she who is lost does
through caprice; and that the latter is lost by suffering unwillingly
and impatiently what she who is saved endures with resignation. The
difference, therefore, is only in the heart.
O dear souls who read this, let me repeat to you: Sanctity will cost
you no more; do what you are doing; suffer what you are suffering: it
is only your heart that need be changed. By the heart we mean the will.
This change, then, consists in willing what comes to us by the order of
God. Yes, holiness of heart is a simple _fiat_, a simple disposition of
conformity to the will of God. And what is easier? For who could not
love so adorable and merciful a will? Let us love it, then, and through
this love alone all within us will become divine.
CHAPTER IX.
All the Riches of Grace are the Fruit of Purity of Heart and Perfect
Self-abandonment.
He, therefore, who would abundantly enjoy all good has but to
purify his heart, detach himself from creatures, and completely
abandon himself to the will of God. In this purity of heart and
self-abandonment he will find all things.
Let others, Lord, ask Thee all gifts, let them multiply their
petitions; I have but one gift to ask, but one prayer to make: Give
me a pure heart. O blessed pure of heart! In thy lively faith thou
beholdest God within thee. Thou seest Him in all things, and thou seest
Him at all times working within thee and about thee. Thou art in all
things His subject and His instrument. He guides thee in all things and
leads thee to all things. Frequently thou art unmindful; but He thinks
for thee. He only asks that thou _desire_ all that comes to thee or may
come to thee by His divine order. He _understands the preparation of
thy heart_. In thy salutary blindness thou seekest in vain to discover
this desire; but oh! it is clear to Him. How great is thy simplicity!
Knowest thou not that a well-disposed heart is no other than a heart
in which God dwells? Beholding His own desires in this heart He knows
it will be ever submissive to His order. He knows at the same time
that thou art ignorant what is best for thee, therefore it is His care
to provide for thee. He cares not that thy designs are thwarted. Thou
wouldst go east: He leads thee west. Thou art just upon the rocks:
He turns the helm and brings thee safely into port. Though knowing
neither chart, nor route, nor winds, nor tides, thy voyages are ever
prosperous. If pirates cross thy way an unexpected breeze bears thee
beyond their reach.
O good will! O purity of heart! Well did Jesus know your value when He
placed ye among the beatitudes. What greater happiness than to possess
God and be possessed by Him? O state most blessed and full of charm!
In it we sleep peacefully in the bosom of Providence, sporting like a
child with the divine wisdom, unheedful of our course, which is ever
onward; in spite of shoals, and pirates, and continual storms, we are
borne on to a prosperous end.
O purity of heart! O good will! Ye are the sole foundation of
all spiritual states. To you are given, and through you are made
profitable, the gifts of pure faith, pure hope, pure confidence, and
pure love. Upon your stem are grafted the desert flowers--I mean those
graces which we rarely find blooming but in utterly detached souls, of
which God takes possession as of an uninhabited dwelling, and there
abides to the exclusion of all other things. You are that bountiful
source whence flow all the streams which water the parterre of the
bridegroom and the garden of the bride. Alas! how truly mayest thou
say to all souls: Consider me well; I am the mother of fair love--that
love which develops all that is best and takes it to itself. It is I
who give birth to that sweet and salutary fear which inspires a horror
of evil, and makes you peacefully avoid it; I who ripen the sublime
knowledge of God’s greatness and reveal the value of the virtues which
honor Him. It is I, finally, who inspire those ardent desires which,
unceasingly sustained by holy confidence, stimulate you to practise
virtue in the expectation of that divine object, the enjoyment of which
will one day become, even as it is now (though then in a much more
perfect degree), the happiness of faithful souls. Well mayest thou
invite them all to enrich themselves from thy inexhaustible treasures,
for thou art the source of all spiritual conditions and ways. From thee
do they draw all their beauty, attraction, and charm. Those marvellous
fruits of grace and virtue which dazzle us on all sides, and with
which our devotion is nourished, are thy harvests. Thine is the land
of abundance and honey; thy breasts distil milk, thy bosom gives out
the sweet odor of myrrh; through thy fingers flow in all its purity
the divine wine which usually must be obtained by the labor of the
wine-press.
Let us fly then, dear souls, and plunge ourselves in that sea of love
which invites us. What await we? Why do we tarry? Let us hasten to lose
ourselves in God, in His very heart, that we may inebriate ourselves
with the wine of His charity; in this heart we shall find the key to
all heavenly treasures. Then let us proceed on our way to heaven, for
there is no secret of perfection which we may not penetrate: every
avenue is open to us, even to the garden, the cellar, the vineyard of
the Bridegroom. If we would breathe the air of the fields we have but
to direct our steps thither; in a word, we may come and go at will
armed with this key of David, this key of knowledge, this key of the
abyss which contains the hidden treasures of the divine wisdom. With
it we may also open the gates of the mystic death and descend into
its sacred shades; we may go down into the depths of the sea and into
the den of the lion. It is this divine key which unlocks those dark
dungeons into which it thrusts souls, to withdraw them purified and
sanctified; it introduces us into those blissful abodes where light
and knowledge dwell, where the Bridegroom takes His repose at midday,
and where He reveals to His faithful souls the secrets of His love. O
divine secrets, which may not be revealed, and which no mortal tongue
can express! This key, dear souls, is love. All blessings wait only
for love to enrich us. It gives sanctity and all its accompaniments;
its right hand and its left are filled with it that it may pour it in
abundance from all sources into hearts open to divine grace. O divine
seed of eternity! who can sufficiently praise thee? But why seek to
praise thee? It is better to possess thee in silence than to praise
thee by feeble words. What am I saying? We must praise thee, but only
because thou possessest us. For once thou possessest the heart, whether
we read or write, or speak, or act, or are silent, it is all one and
the same. We assume nothing, we refuse nothing; we are hermits, we are
apostles; we are ill, we are well, we are simple, we are eloquent; in a
word, we are what God wills we should be. The heart hears thy mandates,
and, as thy faithful echo, repeats them to the other faculties. In
this material and spiritual combination which thou deignest to regard
as thy kingdom the heart governs under thy guidance; as it contains
no desires uninspired by thee, all objects please it under whatever
form thou presentest them. Those which nature or the Evil One would
substitute for thine only fill it with disgust and horror. If sometimes
thou permittest the heart to be surprised, it is only that it may
become wiser and more humble; but as soon as it recognizes its illusion
it returns to thee with more love, and binds itself to Thee with
greater fidelity.
Book Second.
The Divine Action and the Manner in which it unceasingly works the
Sanctification of Souls.
_CHAPTER I._
The Divine Action is everywhere and always Present, though only
Visible to the Eye of Faith.
All creatures are living in the hand of God; the senses perceive
only the action of the creature, but faith sees the divine action
in all things. Faith realizes that Jesus Christ lives in all things
and works through all ages; that the least moment and the smallest
atom contain a portion of this hidden life, this mysterious action.
The instrumentality of creatures is a veil which covers the profound
mysteries of the divine action. The apparition of Jesus to His Apostles
after His resurrection surprised them: He presented Himself to them
under forms which disguised Him, and as soon as He manifested Himself
He disappeared. This same Jesus, who is ever living and laboring for
us, still surprises souls whose faith is not sufficiently lively to
discern Him.
There is no moment when God is not present with us under the appearance
of some obligation or some duty. All that is effected within us,
about us, and through us involves and hides His divine action: it is
veritably present, though in an invisible manner; therefore we do not
discern it, and only recognize its workings when it has ceased to
act. Could we pierce the veil which obscures it, and were we vigilant
and attentive, God would unceasingly reveal Himself to us, and we
would recognize His action in all that befell us. At every event we
would exclaim, _Dominus est!_--It is the Lord! and we should feel
each circumstance of our life an especial gift from Him. We should
regard creatures as feeble instruments in the hands of an all-powerful
workman; we should easily recognize that we lacked nothing, and that
God’s watchful care supplied the needs of every moment. Had we faith,
we should be grateful to all creatures; we should cherish them, and
in our hearts thank them that in the hand of God they have been so
serviceable to us and so favorable to the work of our perfection.
If we lived an uninterrupted life of faith we should be in continual
communion with God, we should speak with Him face to face. Just as the
air transmits our words and thoughts, so would all that we are called
to do and suffer transmit to us the words and thoughts of God; all
that came to us would be but the embodiment of His word; it would be
exteriorly manifested in all things; we should find everything holy and
profitable. The glory of God makes this the state of the blessed in
heaven, and faith would make it ours on earth; there would be only the
difference of means.
Faith is God’s interpreter; without its enlightenment we understand
nothing of the language of created things. It is a writing in cipher,
in which we see naught but confusion; it is a burning bush, from the
midst of which we little expect to hear God’s voice. But faith reveals
to us as to Moses the fire of divine charity burning in the midst of
the bush; it gives the key to the ciphers, and discovers to us in the
midst of the confusion the wonders of the divine wisdom. Faith gives
to the whole earth a heavenly aspect; faith transports, enraptures the
heart, and raises it above the things of this earth to converse with
the blessed.
Faith is the light of time: it alone grasps the truth without seeing
it; it touches what it does not feel; it sees this world as though it
existed not, beholding quite other things than those which are visible.
It is the key of the treasure-house, the key of the abyss, the key
of the science of God. It is faith which shows the falseness of all
creatures: through it God reveals and manifests Himself in all things;
by it all things are made divine; it lifts the veil from created things
and reveals the eternal truth.