[_June 1._]
When we wish by our own efforts that something shall succeed, we become
irritated with obstacles, because we feel in these hindrances that the
motive that makes us act has not placed them there, and we find things in
them which the self-will that makes us act has not found there.
But when God inspires our actions, we never feel anything outside that
does not come from the same principle that causes us to act; there is
no opposition in the motive that impels us; the same motive power which
leads us to act, leads others to resist us, or permits them at least;
so that as we find no difference in this, and it is not our own will
that combats external events, but the same will that produces the good
and permits the evil, this uniformity does not trouble the peace of the
soul, and is one of the best tokens that we are acting by the will of
God, since it is much more certain that God permits the evil, however
great it may be, than that God causes the good in us (and not some secret
motive), however great it may appear to us; so that in order really to
perceive whether it is God that makes us act, it is much better to test
ourselves by our deportment without than by our motives within, since if
we only examine ourselves within, although we may find nothing but good
there, we can not assure ourselves that this good comes truly from God.
But when we examine ourselves without, that is when we consider whether
we suffer external hindrances with patience, this signifies that there is
a uniformity of will between the motive power that inspires our passions
and the one that permits the resistance to them; and as there is no doubt
that it is God who permits the one, we have a right humbly to hope that
it is God who produces the other.
But what! we act as if it were our mission to make truth triumph,
whilst it is only our mission to combat for it. The desire to conquer
is so natural that when it is covered by the desire of making the truth
triumph, we often take the one for the other, and think that we are
seeking the glory of God, when in truth we are seeking our own. It seems
to me that the way in which we support these hindrances is the surest
token of it, for in fine if we wish only the order established by God,
it is certain that we wish the triumph of his justice as much as that
of his mercy, and when it does not come of our negligence, we shall be
in an equal mood, whether the truth be known or whether it be combated,
since in the one the mercy of God triumphs, and in the other his
justice.—_Pascal._
[_June 8._]
O most blessed mansion of the heavenly Jerusalem! O most effulgent day of
eternity, which night obscureth not, but the supreme truth continually
enlighteneth! a day of perennial peace and joy, incapable of change or
intermission! It shineth now in the full splendor of perpetual light
to the blessed; but to the poor pilgrims on earth it appeareth only
at a great distance, and “through a glass darkly.” The redeemed sons
of heaven triumph in the perfection of the joys of his eternal day,
while the distressed sons of Eve lament the irksomeness of days teeming
with distress and anguish. How is man defiled with sins, agitated with
passions, disquieted with fears, tortured with cares, embarrassed
with refinements, deluded with vanities, encompassed with errors, worn
out with labors, vexed with temptations, enervated with pleasures, and
tormented with want!
O when will these various evils be no more? When shall I be delivered
from the slavery of sin? When, O Lord, shall my thoughts and desires
center and be fixed in thee alone? When shall I regain my native liberty?
O, when will peace return, and be established, peace from the troubles
of the world, and the disorders of sinful passions; universal peace,
incapable of interruption; that “peace which passeth all understanding?”
When, O most merciful Jesus! when shall I stand in pure abstraction
from all inferior good to gaze upon thee and contemplate the wonders of
redeeming love? When wilt thou be to me all in all? O, when shall I dwell
with thee in that kingdom which thou hast prepared for thy beloved before
the foundation of the world?
Soften, I beseech thee, the rigor of my banishment, assuage the violence
of my sorrow! for my soul thirsteth after thee; and all that the world
offers for my comfort would but add one more weight to the burden that
oppresses me. I long, O Lord, to enjoy thee truly, and would fain rise
to a constant adherence to heavenly objects, but the power of earthly
objects operating upon my unmortified passions, keeps me down. My mind
labors to be superior to the good and evil of this animal life, but
my body constrains it to be subject to them. And thus, “wretched man
that I am,” while the spirit is always tending to heaven, and the flesh
to earth, my heart is the seat of incessant war, and I am a burden
to myself! … LXXVII.—“Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that
dwellest in the heavens.” In thee, the Father of mercies, I place all my
confidence! O illuminate and sanctify my soul with the influence of thy
Holy Spirit; that being delivered from all the darkness and impurity of
its alienated life, it may become the holy temple of thy living presence,
the seat of thy eternal glory! In the immensity of thy goodness, O Lord,
and “in the multitude of thy tender mercies, turn unto me,” and hear
the prayer of thy poor servant, who hast wandered far from thee into
the region of the shadow of death. O protect and keep my soul amid the
innumerable evils which this corruptible life is always bringing forth;
and by the perpetual guidance of thy grace, lead me in the narrow path
of holiness to the realms of everlasting peace.—_Kempis’ “Imitation of
Christ.”_
[_June 15._]
_The Christian life is better than any other that can be discovered or
devised._
First, this is manifest from its object. For no life can have or desire
a better object than that which is set forth in the Christian religion,
which finds its object in the vision of the divine essence.… But since
man can not attain to the contemplation of divine things except by
purification of the heart, how much, even in this regard, does the
Christian life excel all others. For no greater purification of the heart
can be discovered than Christian purification. For that is called pure
which is not mixed with another substance, especially one inferior to
itself. Thus gold is said to be pure when it is not mixed with silver
or lead, or any other inferior substance. Now, because the end of man
is God, when man through the intellect and the affections, is united or
mixed with other creatures as an ultimate end, especially with those
inferior to himself, he is called impure. And the more one frees himself
from the love of creatures, the more pure he becomes; purity of the human
heart consists in withdrawing the desires and the will from creature
loves. But no greater or more perfect withdrawal from earthly loves can
be discovered or devised than that which is proclaimed in the Christian
religion.… And since man can not live without any love, it teaches that
man should love God above all things, even above himself. And, if he
loves himself or other creatures, it commands that he love them for the
sake of God, so that all his love may tend toward God, and that in
the creatures themselves he may love God, and may think nothing, speak
nothing, do nothing which does not tend to the glory and honor of God,
so that the whole man may tend toward God, and be united with God, and
become one with God. And certainly no life can be discovered or devised
better than this.
As to the will, he loves God and our Lord Jesus Christ above all things,
and his neighbor as himself, keeping all the commands of the law which
depend upon this double love.
As to the sensibilities, he strives with all his might to bring desire
and anger and all the emotions under the control of reason, and by no
means to make provision for the lusts of the flesh (_curam carnis facere
in concupiscentia_).—_Savonarola—“De Simplicitate Christianæ Vitæ.”_
[_June 22._]
The sense of the vastness of the universe, and of the imperfection of
our own knowledge, may help us in some degree to understand—not, indeed,
the origin of evil and of suffering, but, at any rate, something of its
possible uses and purposes. We look around the world, and we see cruel
perplexities; the useless spared, the useful taken; the young and happy
removed, and the old and miserable lingering on; happy households broken
up under our feet, despondent hopes, and the failure of those to whom we
looked up with reverence and respect. We go through these trials with
wonder and fear; and we ask whereunto this will grow. But has nothing
been gained? Yes, that has been gained which nothing else, humanly
speaking, could gain. We may have gained a deeper knowledge of the mind
of God, and a deeper insight into ourselves. Truths which once seemed
mere words, received our heed and heart. Our understanding may have
become part of ourselves.
Humility for ourselves, charity for others, self-abasement before the
judge of all mankind, these are the gifts that even the best man, and
even the worst man may gain by distrust, by doubt, by difficulty.
* * * * *
The perplexity, the danger, the grief often brings with it its own remedy.
On each bursting wave of disappointment and vexation there is a crown of
heavenly light which reveals the peril and shows the way, and guides us
through the roaring storm.
Out of doubt comes faith; out of grief comes hope; and “to the upright
there ariseth light in darkness.”
With each new temptation comes a way to escape; with each new difficulty
comes some new explanation. As life advances it does indeed seem to be
as a vessel going to pieces, as though we were on the broken fragments
of a ship, or in a solitary skiff on the waste of waters; but as long as
existence lasts, we must not give up the duty of cheerfulness and hope.
He who has guided us through the day may guide us through the night also.
The pillar of darkness often turns into a pillar of fire. Let us hold on
though the land be miles away; let us hold till the morning breaks. That
speck on the distant horizon may be the vessel for which we must shape
our course. Forward, not backward, must we steer—forward, and forward,
till the speck becomes the friendly ship. Have patience and perseverance;
believe that there is still a future before us; and we shall at last
reach the heaven where we would be.—_Dean Stanley._
[_June 29._]
Man is but a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed.
It is not necessary that the entire universe arm itself to crush him.
A breath of air, a drop of water, suffices to kill him. But were the
universe to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which
kills him, because he knows that he dies; and the universe knows nothing
of the advantage it has over him.
Our whole dignity consists then in thought. Our elevation must be
derived from this, not from space and duration, which we can not fill.
Let us endeavor, then, to think well.
Our imagination so magnifies the present time by continually reflecting
upon it, and so diminishes eternity by not reflecting upon it, that we
make a nothingness of eternity, and an eternity of nothingness, and all
this has its roots so vital in us, that our reason can not defend us from
it.
* * * * *
It is necessary to know where to doubt, where to be assured, and where
to submit. Who does not thus, understands not the force of reason. There
are those who offend against these three principles, either affirming
everything as demonstrative, for want of a knowledge of demonstration; or
doubting everything, for want of knowing where it is necessary to submit;
or submitting to everything, for want of knowing where it is necessary to
judge.
But those who seek God with all their heart, who have no sorrow, but in
being deprived of his presence, who have no desire but to possess him,
and no enemies but those who turn them from him; who are afflicted in
seeing themselves surrounded and oppressed by such enemies; let them be
comforted, I bring them good news; there is a liberator for them, I shall
cause them to see him; I shall show them that there is a God for them; I
shall show him to no others.
The stoics say: Enter into yourselves; there you will find repose; and
this is not true. Others say: Go out of yourselves; seek happiness in
diverting yourselves; and this is not true. Diseases come; happiness is
neither out of us, nor in us; it is in God, both out of, and in us.
If man is not made for God, why is he happy only in God? If man is made
for God, why is he opposed to God?—_Pascal._