out her perfection Himself in a hidden and secret manner: then all
her own ideas, lights, efforts, researches, reasonings, become a
source of illusion. And when the soul, after many sad experiences, is
finally taught the uselessness of her self-activity, she finds that
God has hidden and obstructed all other channels of life that she may
live in Him alone. Then, convinced of her nothingness, and that her
self-activity is prejudicial to her, she abandons herself completely
to God and relies only upon Him. God then becomes a source of life to
the soul, not by means of thoughts, revelations, reflections (these are
now become a source of illusion), but effectively by the reality of
His grace hidden under the strangest appearances. The divine operation
being invisible to the soul, she receives its virtue, its substance,
under circumstances which she feels will prove her ruin. There is no
remedy for this obscurity; we must remain buried therein; for here,
in this night of faith, God gives Himself to us, and with Himself all
things. Henceforth the soul is but a blind subject; or rather she may
be likened to a sick man who, ignorant of the virtue of his remedies,
and feeling only their bitterness, frequently imagines they must lead
to death; the exhaustion and crisis which follow them seem to justify
his fears: nevertheless, under this semblance of death he receives
health, and he continues to accept the remedies at the word of the
physician.
Thus souls abandoned to God’s will take no heed of their infirmities,
except those of a nature sufficiently evident and grave to require care
and treatment. The languor and impotence of faithful souls are but
illusions and semblances which they must courageously face. God sends
and permits them to exercise their faith and self-abandonment, and in
these virtues lies the soul’s true remedy. She must go on generously,
utterly ignoring her infirmities, accepting all that comes to her to do
or suffer in the order of God, never hesitating to treat her body as
we do those beasts of burden only destined to spend their lives going
hither and thither at our will. This treatment is more efficacious than
all that delicate care which only weakens the vigor of the mind. This
strength of purpose has an indescribable virtue and power to sustain
a feeble body; and a year of this noble and generous life is worth a
century of selfish fears and care.
We must endeavor to habitually maintain an air of childlike gentleness
and good-will. Ah! what can we fear from this divine fortune? Guided,
sustained, and protected by the Providence of God, the whole exterior
conduct of His children should be nothing less than heroic. The
alarming objects which oppose their progress are naught in themselves:
they are only sent to embellish their lives by still more glorious
actions. They entangle them in embarrassments of every kind, whence
human prudence can see no issue, and, feeling its weakness, stops
short, confounded. Then does the divine fortune gloriously manifest
what it is for souls who wholly trust therein. It extricates them more
marvellously than the writers of fiction with unrestrained imagination
in the leisure and privacy of their study unraveled the intrigues and
perils of their imaginary heroes, bringing them invariably to a happy
end. More admirably still does it guide them safely through the perils
of death, the snares of demons, the terrors of temptation, the fears
of hell. It elevates these souls to heaven, and they are all the real
subject of those mystic histories more beautiful and curious than any
ever invented by the crude imagination of man.
Then onward, my soul, through perils and fears, guided, directed, and
sustained by the invisible, all-powerful, unerring Hand of divine
Providence. Let us go on fearlessly in joy and peace to the end,
turning obstacles into victories, remembering that it was to struggle
and conquer that we enrolled ourselves under His banner. _Exivit
vincens ut vinceret_, and every step under His guidance is a victory.
The book of souls lies open before the Holy Spirit, and their history
is still written, for holy souls will furnish material for its pages
to the end of the world. This history is but the relation of God’s
operations and designs upon man, and it depends upon ourselves whether
we shall appear in its pages and continue its narration by uniting our
sufferings and actions to His divine will.
No; let nothing we have to do or suffer alarm us: it can cause us no
loss; it is only sent us that we may furnish material for that holy
history, which is increasing day by day.
_CHAPTER IX._
Love holds the Place of All Things to Souls who walk in the Way of
Abandonment.
God, while He despoils a soul who wholly abandons herself to Him,
gives her something which takes the place of all things--of light, of
strength, of life, of wisdom. This gift is His love. Divine love is
like a supernatural instinct in these souls.
Everything in nature has that which is suited to its kind; each flower
has its peculiar charm, each animal its instinct, and each creature its
perfection. And so it is in the different states of grace; each has its
special grace, and this is a recompense to every one whose good will
brings him in harmony with the state in which Providence has placed him.
A soul becomes subject to the divine action the moment a good will is
formed in her heart; and this action influences her according to the
degree of her self-abandonment. The art of self-abandonment is simply
the art of loving; divine love grants all things to the soul who
refuses Him nothing. And as God’s love inspires the desires of a soul
who lives for him, He can never refuse them; therefore, cannot love
desire what it pleases?
The divine action only considers the good will of a soul; the capacity
or incapacity of the other faculties neither attract nor repel it.
If it find a soul good, pure, upright, simple, submissive, it is
all it requires; it takes possession of this soul and of all her
faculties, and so disposes all things for her good that she finds
means of sanctification in everything. That which would give death to
others, should it enter this soul will be harmless, for the antidote
of her good will will arrest the effect of the poison. If she stray
to the brink of the abyss, the divine action will withhold her from
its depths, or if she fall it will rescue her. And indeed the faults
of these souls are but faults of frailty and little perceptible;
God’s love knows how to turn them to her advantage, and by secret and
ineffable ways teaches her what she should say and do according to the
circumstances in which she is placed.
Such souls receive as it were rays of divine intelligence: _Intellectus
bonus omnibus facientibus eum_. For this divine intelligence
accompanies them in all their wanderings, and rescues them from the
snares into which their simplicity leads them. Have they committed
themselves by some mistaken measure? Providence disposes a happy
event which releases them. Vainly are intrigues multiplied against
them; Providence overcomes all the efforts of their enemies, and so
confounds and bewilders them that they fall into their own snares. Do
they seek to surprise the soul? Providence, by means of some apparently
unimportant action which she unconsciously performs, rescues her from
the embarrassments into which she has been led by her own uprightness
and the malice of her enemies.
Oh, the exquisite wisdom of this good will! What prudence in its
simplicity, what ingenuity in its innocence, what frankness in its
mysteries, what mystery in its candor!
Behold the young Tobias: he is a mere youth; but Raphael walks at his
side, and with such a guide he walks in safety, he feels no want,
nothing affrights him. Even the monsters he encounters furnish him food
and healing; the very creature which springs to devour him becomes his
nourishment. He is only occupied with nuptials and festivities, for
such is his present duty in the order of Providence; not that he is
without other cares, but they are abandoned to that divine intelligence
charged to assist him in all things; and the result of his affairs
is better than he could have made it, for everything succeeds and is
crowned with prosperity. Yet the mother bitterly grieves, while the
father is full of faith; but the child so sorely lamented joyfully
returns to become the happiness of his family.
Then for those souls who wholly abandon themselves to it, divine
love is the source of all good; and an earnest desire is all that is
necessary to obtain this inestimable blessing.
Yes, dear souls, God asks but your heart; if you seek you will find
this treasure, this kingdom where God alone reigns.
If your heart be wholly devoted to God, within it you will find the
treasure, the kingdom itself, which is the object of your desires. The
moment we desire God and His will, that moment we enjoy them, and our
enjoyment corresponds to the ardor of our desires. The earnest desire
to love God is loving Him. Because we love Him we desire to be the
instruments of His action, that His love may freely operate in us and
through us.
The work of the divine action is not in proportion to the capacity
of a simple holy soul, but to her purity of intention; nor does it
correspond to the means she adopts, the projects she forms, the counsel
she follows. The soul may err in all these, and this not rarely
happens; but with a good will and pure intention she can never be
misled. When God sees this good disposition He overlooks all the rest,
and accepts as done what the soul would assuredly do if circumstances
seconded her good will.
Therefore a good will has nothing to fear; if it falter, it can but
fall under that all-powerful Hand which guides and sustains it in all
its wanderings. It is this divine Hand which draws it towards the goal
when it has wandered therefrom, which restores it to the path whence
its feet have strayed; it is the soul’s refuge in the difficulties into
which the efforts of her blind faculties lead her; and the soul learns
to despise these, efforts to wholly abandon herself to the infallible
guidance of this divine Hand. Even the errors of these good souls
lead them to self-abandonment; and never will a good will find itself
unaided, for it is a dogma of faith that _all things work the good_ of
such souls.
_CHAPTER X._
The Faithful Soul finds in Submission to the Will of God more Force
and Strength than the Proudest of those who resist Him.
What avail the most sublime intelligence and divine revelations if we
love not the will of God? It was through these that Lucifer perished.
The work of the divine action which God revealed to him in the mystery
of the Incarnation excited only his envy. A simple soul, on the
contrary, enlightened by faith alone, never wearies admiring, praising,
and loving the order of God, recognizing it not only in holy things,
but even amid the greatest confusion and disorder of events. A simple
soul is more enlightened with a ray of pure faith than was Lucifer by
His sublime revelations.
The science of a soul faithful to her obligations, peacefully
submissive to the secret inspirations of grace, humble and gentle with
all, is worth more than the profound wisdom which penetrates mysteries.
If we would learn to see but the will of God in the pride and cruelty
of creatures, we would always meet them with gentleness and respect.
Whatever the consequences of their disorders, they can never mar the
divine order. We must only see in creatures the will of God, whose
instruments they are, and whose grace they communicate to us when
we receive them with meekness and humility. We have not to concern
ourselves for their course, but keep steadily on in our own; and thus,
with gentle firmness, we will triumph over all obstacles, were they
firmly rooted as cedars and irresistible as rocks.
What can resist the force of a meek, humble, faithful soul? If we
would vanquish all our adversaries, we have but to use the weapons God
has placed in our hands. He has given them for our defence, and there
is nothing to be feared in using them. We must not be cowardly but
generous, as becomes souls chosen to do God’s work. God’s workings are
sublime and marvellous; and never can human action, warring upon God,
resist one who is united to the divine will by the practice of meekness
and humility.
What was Lucifer? A beautiful spirit, more enlightened than all the
others; but a beautiful spirit rebellious against God and His will.
The mystery of evil is but the continuation of this rebellion in every
variety of form. Lucifer, as far as lies in his power, would subvert
all that God has done and ordained. Wherever he penetrates, God’s
work is marred. The greater one’s learning, science, understanding,
the greater his danger if he possess not that foundation of piety
which consists in submission to the will of God. It is a disciplined,
submissive heart which unites us to the divine action; without it all
our goodness is but natural virtue, and ordinarily in opposition to the
order of God. This all-powerful Workman only recognizes the humble as
His instruments, and condemns the rebellious proud to serve in spite of
themselves as the slaves of divine justice.
When I see a soul whose first object is God and submission to His will,
however much she may be lacking in other things, I say, Here is a soul
with great talents for serving God. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph
appear to have been after this model. Other gifts without this alarm
me; I fear to see the action of Lucifer repeated. I am on my guard, and
intrench myself in my simplicity to resist the dazzling splendor of
those gifts, of themselves so perishable and fragile.
_CHAPTER XI._
The Soul abandoned to God learns to recognize His Will even in the
Proud who resist Him. All Creatures, whether Good or Evil, reveal Him
to her.
The will of God is the whole life of the simple soul. She respects this
will even in the evil actions by which the proud seek to abase her. The
proud despise a soul in whose eyes they are nothing; for she sees only
God in them and all their actions. Frequently they mistake her humble
demeanor for awe of themselves, when it is only a mark of her loving
fear of God and His will which is present to her in the proud.
No, poor foolish creatures, the simple soul fears ye not. Rather, she
compassionates you. It is to God she speaks when she seems to address
you; it is with Him she treats; she regards you only as His slaves, or
rather as shadows which veil Him. Therefore, the more overbearing you
are, the more humble she becomes; and when you think to entrap her you
find yourselves the dupes. Your diplomacy, your violence, are to her,
but favors of Providence. Yes, the proud are still an enigma which the
simple soul enlightened by faith clearly reads.
This recognition of the divine will in all that transpires each moment
within us and about us is the true science of the spiritual life;
it is a continual revelation of truth; it is a communication with
God incessantly renewed; it is the enjoyment of the Bridegroom, not
covertly, secretly, in the “clefts of the rock,” in the “vineyard,” but
openly, publicly, without fear of creatures. It is a depth of peace,
joy, love, and contentment with God, whom we see, or rather behold,
through faith, living and working the perfection of each event. It is
the eternal paradise, now tasted, it is true, only in things incomplete
and veiled in obscurity; but the Spirit of God disposes all the events
of this life by the fruitful omnipresence of His action, and on the
last day He will say, _Let there be light_ (_Fiat lux_); and then shall
be revealed the treasures of that abyss of peace and contentment with
God which each action, each cross, conceals.
When God thus gives Himself to a soul, all that is ordinary becomes
extraordinary; therefore it is that nothing appears of the great work
which is going on in the soul; the way itself is so marvellous that it
needs not the embellishment of marvels which belong not to it. It is
a miracle, a revelation, a continuous enjoyment of God, interrupted
only by little faults; but in itself it is characterized by the absence
of anything sensible or marvellous, while it renders marvellous all
ordinary and sensible things.
_CHAPTER XII._
God assures to Faithful Souls a Glorious Victory over the Powers of
Earth and Hell.
If the divine action is veiled here below by an exterior of weakness,
it is that the merit of faithful souls may be increased; but its
triumph is no less sure. The history of the world is simply the history
of the struggle maintained from the beginning by the powers of the
world and hell with souls humbly submissive to the divine action. In
the conflict all the advantage seems to be on the side of the proud;
yet humility is always victorious.
This world is represented to us under the form of a statue of gold,
brass, iron, and clay. This mystery of iniquity which was shown in a
dream to Nebuchadnezzar is but the confused assemblage of all the acts,
interior and exterior, of the children of darkness. These are again
represented by the beast coming up out of the abyss from the beginning
of all ages, to make war upon the interior and spiritual man; and
this war still continues. The monsters succeed one another; the abyss
swallows them and vomits them forth again, while unceasingly emitting
new and strange vapors. The combat begun in heaven between Lucifer and
St. Michael still wages. The heart of that proud and envious spirit has
become an inexhaustible abyss of every kind of evil; and his only aim
since the creation of the world has been to ever raise up among men new
workers of iniquity to replace those swallowed up in the abyss. Lucifer
is the chieftain of those who refuse obedience to the Almighty; this
mystery of iniquity is but the inversion of the order of God. It is the
order, or rather the disorder, of Satan. This disorder is a mystery,
for beneath a fair exterior it hides irremediable infinite evils.
All the wicked who have declared war against God, from Cain to those
who now lay waste the earth, have been seemingly great and powerful
princes, famous in the world and worshipped of men. But their apparent
splendor is a portion of the mystery; they are but the beasts which,
one after another, rise from the abyss to subvert the order of God.
But this order, which is another mystery, resists them with men truly
powerful and great, who give the death-blow to these monsters; and
even as hell vomits forth new monsters, heaven raises up new heroes
to battle with them. Ancient history, sacred and profane, is but the
record of this war. The will of God always triumphs. His followers
share His victories and reap a happy eternity. But iniquity can never
protect its followers, and the deserters from God’s cause reap death,
eternal death.
The wicked ever believe themselves invincible; but oh, my God, who
shall resist Thee! Were the powers of earth and hell ranged against one
single soul, she would have naught to fear in abandoning herself to the
will of God. That apparent might and irresistible power of iniquity,
that head of gold, that body of silver, brass, and iron, is but a
phantom of glittering dust. A pebble overthrows it and makes it the
sport of the winds.
How admirable is the work of the Holy Spirit throughout all ages! The
revolutions which irresistibly carry men along with them, the brilliant
heroes heralded with so much pomp, who shine like stars above the
rest of mankind, the marvels of the age, are all but as the dream of
Nebuchadnezzar, which at his awakening fled with all its terrors.
All these things are only sent to exercise the courage of the children
of God; and when their virtue is proved and confirmed, He permits them
to overcome these monsters, and continues to send new warriors into the
field. So that this life is a continual warfare which exercises the
courage of the saints on earth, and causes joy in heaven and confusion
in hell.
Thus all opposition to the will, the order of God, serves but to render
it more adorable. The servers of iniquity are the slaves of justice,
and from the ruins of Babylon the divine action builds the heavenly
Jerusalem.
APPENDIX.
Our readers will be grateful to us for adding to Father Caussade’s
treatise a few methods which facilitate the practice of abandonment. To
recommend these methods it suffices to say that their authors are St.
Francis de Sales, Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Bossuet, and Father
Surin.
I.
A very easy Means of acquiring Peace of Heart.
BY FATHER SURIN, S. J.
It seems to me that the multiplicity of methods we employ to acquire
and practise virtue is one of the obstacles to our being solidly
established therein. Not that I counsel being so irrevocably bound
to one method that we are not ready to change when God’s attraction
changes. But, after all, this attraction at bottom never changes, and
only presents itself under a more spiritual form. They who will be
faithful to the following rules will have no difficulty in practising
the virtues appropriate to the circumstances, the time, and the place
in which they find themselves, and in relishing in the exercise of
these virtues the peace and holy liberty of the children of God.
1st. Let us be fully convinced that we have but one thing to do: to
possess each moment the fulness of our mind, without permitting the
reasonable will to uselessly recall the past or excite vain anxieties
concerning the future.
True abandonment, which makes God look upon us with love, consists
in leaving the past to His ever merciful justice, and in confiding
the future to His fatherly Providence. The remembrance of our past
infidelities should humble but not trouble us, though we were convinced
that they are much more serious than they appear.
In regard to the future, let us place no trust whatever in our strength
and the sentiments of devotion we may experience; let us place all our
trust in Jesus alone, however contrary sensible impressions may be.
Relying on this foundation, it is no presumption to feel ourselves
stronger than earth and hell; and the greater this confidence, the more
it honors Jesus Christ, and the more it disposes His goodness to succor
us in all our needs.
2d. We shall sanctify the present moment by renewing as frequently as
we shall feel it needful the act of recollection which we must have
made the first time with all the fervor of which we are capable; but
this recollection should be very peaceful and dwell in the depths of
the soul more than in the sensible part.
3d. We can remain faithful to this recollection only on condition that
we frequently examine the interior and exterior condition of our soul.
As soon as we discover in her any irregularity, however small, or in
any degree displeasing to God, we should proceed to restore order with
a heart as tranquil as if we had never failed, without disquieting
ourselves with reflections springing from self-love, vexation at the
fault committed, or from a pretext of livelier contrition. These
sentiments can only retard our progress in virtue; for, while the soul
amuses itself caressing its chagrin and probing its past faults,
this useless introspection paralyzes its action and disposes it to
new falls. A peaceful regret for time ill employed, united with an
earnest endeavor to make better use of the present moment, is the true
character of love of God.
4th. The quickest means of attaining peace of heart is love of our
own abjection and miseries, voluntary offence against God, however,
excepted. This love of one’s personal abjection derives profit from
everything, even from falls, which should never discourage us.
A soul that loves her own abjection laughs at discouragement and
combats it with all her strength. Content to be of herself but
impotence and misery, she rejoices that Jesus Christ possesses the
fulness of all perfection, and that she cannot do without Him an
instant. She would not, were it in her power, will to have any strength
of herself, for her radical impotence for all good and her unceasing
need of Jesus Christ set forth His divine attributes to greater
advantage. This is the sole contentment of a soul that seeks only the
glory of God.