OF PURITY OF HEART, WHICH IS TO BE SOUGHT ABOVE ALL ELSE
Wouldst thou journey by the shortest road, the straight and safe way
unto eternal bliss, unto thy true country, to grace and glory? Strive
with all thy might to obtain habitual cleanness of heart, purity of
mind, quiet of the senses. Gather up thy affections, and with thy whole
heart cleave unto God.
Withdraw as much as thou canst from thy acquaintance and from all men,
and abstain from such affairs as would hinder thy purpose.
Seek out with jealous care the place, time, and means most suited to
quiet and contemplation, and lovingly embrace silence and solitude.
Beware the dangers of which the times are full; fly the agitation of a
world never at rest, never still.[26]
Let thy chief study be to gain purity, freedom, and peace of heart.
Close the doors of thy senses and dwell within, shutting thy heart as
diligently as thou canst against the shapes and images of earthly
things.
Of all the practices of the spiritual life purity of heart stands
highest, and rightly, for it is the end and reward of all our labours,
and is found only with those who live truly according to the spirit and
as good religious.
Wherefore thou shouldst employ all thy diligence and skill in order to
free thy heart, senses, and affections from whatever could trammel their
liberty, or could fetter or ensnare thy soul. Strive earnestly to gather
in the wandering affections of thy heart and fix them on the love of the
sole and pure Truth, the Sovereign Good; then keep them, as it were,
enchained within thee.
Fix thy gaze unwaveringly upon God and Divine things; spurn the follies
of earth and seek to be wholly transformed in Jesus Christ, yea, even to
the heart's core.
When thou hast begun to cleanse and purify thy soul of earthly images,
and to unify and tranquillize thy heart and mind in God with loving
confidence, to the end that thou mayest taste and enjoy in all thy
powers the torrents of His good pleasure, and mayest fix thy will and
intelligence in Him, then thou wilt no longer need to study and read the
Holy Scriptures to learn the love of God and of thy neighbour, for the
Holy Spirit Himself will teach thee.[27]
Spare no pains, no labour, to purify thy heart and to establish it in
unbroken peace.
Abide in God in the secret place of thy soul as tranquilly as though
there had already risen upon thee the dawn of Eternity, the unending Day
of God.
Strong in the love of Jesus, go forth from thyself, with a heart pure, a
conscience at peace, a faith unfeigned; and in every trial, every event,
commit thyself unreservedly to God, having nothing so much at heart as
perfect obedience to His will and good pleasure.
If thou wouldst arrive thus far, it is needful for thee often to enter
within thy soul and to abide therein, disengaging thyself as much as
thou canst from all things.
Keep the eye of thy soul ever in purity and peace; suffer not the form
and images of this world to defile thy mind; preserve thy will from
every earthly care, and let every fibre of thy heart be rooted in the
love of the Sovereign Good. Thus will thy whole soul, with all its
powers, be recollected in God and form but one spirit with Him.
It is in this that the highest perfection possible to man here below
consists.
This union of the spirit and of love, by which a man conforms himself
in everything to the supreme and eternal will, enables us to become by
grace what God is by His nature.[28]
Let us not forget this truth: the moment a man, by the help of God,
succeeds in overcoming his own will, that is, in freeing himself from
every inordinate affection and care, to cast himself and all his
miseries unreservedly into the bosom of God, that moment he becomes so
pleasing to God that he receives the gift of grace. Grace brings
charity, and charity drives out all fear and hesitation, and fills the
soul with confidence and hope. What is more blessed than to cast all our
care on Him Who cannot fail? As long as thou leanest upon thyself thou
wilt totter. Cast thyself fearlessly into the arms of God. He will
embrace thee, He will heal and save thee.[29]
If thou wouldst ponder often upon these truths they would bring to thee
more happiness than all the riches, delights, honours, of this false
world, and would make thee more blessed than all the wisdom and
knowledge of this corruptible life, even though thou shouldst surpass
all the wise men who have gone before thee.