THAT OUR LABOUR MUST BE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING AND NOT WITH THE SENSES
Blessed is he who by continually cleansing his soul from the images and
phantoms of earth draws its powers inward, and thence lifts them up to
God.
At length he in a manner forgets all images, and by a simple and direct
act of pure intellect and will contemplates God, Who is absolutely
simple.
Cast from thee, therefore, all phantoms, images, and forms, and
whatsoever is not God,[22] that all thy intercourse with Him may
proceed from an understanding, affection, and will, alike purified. This
is, in truth, the end of all thy labours, that thou mayest draw nigh
unto God and repose in Him within thy soul, solely by thy understanding
and by a fervent love, free from entanglement or earthly image.
Not by his bodily organs or outward senses does a man attain to this,
but by the intelligence and will, which constitute him man.[23] So long
as he lingers, trifling with the objects of the imagination and senses,
he has not yet passed beyond the limits and instincts of his animal
nature, which he possesses in common with the brute beasts. They know
and feel through images and by their senses, nor can it be otherwise,
for they have no higher powers. Not so is it with man, who, by his
intelligence, affections, and will, is created in the image and likeness
of God. Hence it is by these powers that he ought, without intermediary,
purely and directly to commune with God, be united to Him, and cleave to
Him.[24]
The Devil does his very utmost to hinder us from this exercise, for he
beholds in it a beginning and a foretaste of eternal life, and he is
envious of man. Therefore he strives, now by one temptation or passion,
now by another, to turn away our thoughts from God.
At one time he assails us by arousing in us unnecessary anxiety,
foolish cares or troubles, or by drawing us to irregular conversations
and vain curiosity. At another he ensnares us by subtle books, by the
words of others, by rumours and novelties. Then, again, he has recourse
to trials, contradictions, etc.
Although these things may sometimes seem but very trifling faults, if
faults at all, yet do they greatly hinder our progress in this holy
exercise. Therefore, whether great or small, they must be resisted and
driven from us as evil and harmful, though they may seem useful and even
necessary. It is of great importance that what we have heard, or seen,
or done, or said, should not leave their traces or fill our imagination.
Neither before nor after, nor at the time, should we foster these
memories or allow their images to be formed. For when the mind is free
from these thoughts, we are not hindered in our prayer, in meditation,
or the psalmody, or in any other of our spiritual exercises, nor do
these distractions return to trouble us.
Then shouldst thou readily and trustfully commit thyself and all that
concerns thee to the unfailing and most sure Providence of God, in
silence and peace. He Himself will fight for thee, and will grant thee a
liberty and consolation better, nobler, and sweeter than would be
possible if thou gavest thyself up day and night to thy fancies, to vain
and wandering thoughts, which hold captive the mind, as they toss it
hither and thither, wearying soul and body, and wasting uselessly alike
thy time and strength.[25]
Accept all things, whatsoever their cause, silently and with a tranquil
mind, as coming to thee from the fatherly hand of Divine Providence.
Free thyself, therefore, from all the impressions of earthly things, in
so far as thy state and profession require, so that with a purified mind
and sincere affection thou mayest cleave to Him to Whom thou hast so
often and so entirely vowed thyself.
Let nothing remain which could come between thy soul and God, that so
thou mayest be able to pass surely and directly from the wounds of the
Sacred Humanity to the brightness of the Divinity.