Oh! by what false lights have I been dazzled! They showed me prayer as
wearisome; religious duties too absorbing; frequent Communion as useless;
social duties as a heavy bondage; devotion the lot of weak minds and those
without affection.... Oh, I knew well how false it was, and yet I let
myself be half-convinced!
When have I ever been more _zealous in labor_ than those days when I had
fulfilled all my religious duties?
When more _loving and devoted_ than on the days of my Communions?
When have I felt _more free, more happy_, than when having fulfilled all
the duties of my social position?
LORD, receive my mind, and nourish it with Thy Truth!
Show me that apart from Thee, _pleasures of the senses_ leave behind only
remorse, disgust, weariness, and satiety.
_Pleasures of the heart_ cause anxiety, bitterness, rendings, and fears.
_Pleasures of the mind_ produce a void, vanity, jealousy, coldness, and
humiliations! Teach me that all must pass away ... that nothing is true,
nothing is good, nothing is eternal, but Thou, Thou only, O my GOD!