FRANCIS LOUIS OF BLOIS, more commonly known by his Latin name, Ludovicus Blosius, was born in 1506, near Beaumont in Hainaut, of the noble house de Blois et de Chatillon.
He was sent by his parents to the court of Charles V., and passed his early youth there as page to the Emperor. At the age of fourteen he left it by his own choice, and entered the Benedictine Monastery of Liesse, near Avesnes in Hainaut, where he was remarkable for his wisdom and piety. In his twenty-fourth year he was chosen Abbot, and restored the ancient discipline of the Monastery, which soon acquired a great reputation for learning and virtue.
He frequently refused both the Archbishopric of Cambrai and the Abbey of Tournai, offered him by Charles V., whose almoner he had been, and led a holy and hidden life in his own community.
He composed many spiritual works, from which the treatises contained in the following pages have been translated.
He died on the 7th of January, 1566, in the 60th year of his age.
FEAR and love God (
He never has despised nor will He ever despise a
contrite heart (
For thy malice or thy infirmity cannot be so great
as to surpass the mercy of God, which knows neither
measure nor limit. God is omnipotent; He remits in
one moment innumerable myriads of sins with the
same facility as one single sin. He is most gracious;
He is most willing to spare thee, to be propitious to
thee; if thou wilt humble thyself, if thou wilt abstain
from sin, and amend thy life. Therefore let not the
memory of past sins disturb thee; but let these words
of the Apostle console thee: “And such some of you
were; but you are washed, but you are sanctified,
but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ and in the spirit of our God.” (
Thou canst not put too much confidence in His goodness, if only thou dost not abuse it by sinning more easily.
Oh! if thou knewest how ready is Christ our Lord to
Therefore, let not thy crimes make thee faint hearted, but humble: since them dost indeed lute that which is evil, and desirest to please God.
ACCORDING to the admonition of Scripture, think of
the Lord in goodness (
It is beyond comprehension with what charity,
with what bowels of paternal love, He everywhere
desires and procures our salvation. No mother ever
delighted in the son of her womb so tenderly as He
delights in us. A huge fire does not so quickly consume
a bundle of tow cast into it as God, through His ineffable pity and mercy, pardons our sins, if we truly repent of our ill-spent life and, humbly turning to Him,
seek forgiveness, resolving with our whole will to lead
henceforth a better life. Nor doth He desire the
death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
And who can worthily praise His unspeakable goodness, who can worthily give Him thanks for it? For since no one can attain to salvation who has not even so little charity as to repent for the love of God, at least in the last moments of his life, and to turn from his sins; be hold, God, the most merciful lover of mankind, often shows himself in the hour of death benignant and amiable even to desperate sinners, (whom he knows to be distinguished by the merits of some virtue), in order that they may grieve from their inmost hearts for having offended so gracious a Creator and Redeemer.
By this repentance they are rendered capable of being saved, and having passed through such purgation from their sins as the divine justice may require, they are admitted to the eternal joy of the heavenly kingdom. For in the deepest and most secret abyss lies hidden that inexhaustible fountain from which so much pity flows out to us, from which so much mercy is poured forth upon us; and whosoever despairs of this mercy denies that God is good and true, and blasphemes the Holy Spirit.
The devil in his malignity is accustomed to make
use of this deceit; to one who intends to sin he promises that God is most clement and merciful; but
See, however, that thou dost not deceive thyself, and promising thyself certain forgiveness, dost not persevere in thy evil courses and put off thy conversion: for many perish through this delusion. Remission of sins is promised thee indeed, if even in the last extremity of life thou truly repentest, that is for love of God rather than for fear of punishment; but thou art not promised that thou wilt then truly repent. This sort of repentance which is deferred to the end of life is very doubtful, very perilous, and it is not always true. Therefore, in order that at the hour of death thou mayest safely pass hence, do penance, and amend thy life while thou art in health and hast still the power to sin. For if thou ceasest to sin when thou canst sin no longer, thou dost not abandon sin, but sin abandons thee.
IF thy soul is grievously sick, if thou labourest under
the malady of pride, vainglory, anger, envy, gluttony,
avarice, or any other still more dangerous vice, cast
not away on that account the hope of salvation; but
Be not, however, downcast on account of the daily
sins which thou unwillingly committest. For as we
offend in many things at least slightly every day: so
we have at hand daily expiations, by which sins of
this sort are effaced. There is holy confession, there
are groans, there are tears, there is spiritual reading
of the word of God, there is almsgiving, there is
hospitality, there is the Prayer in which we say to
our Lord, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
them that trespass against us” (St.
It is one thing to fall into venial sins through unlooked-for occasions or human frailty; and another to fall through wilful negligence. For he falls from weakness alone who when he is free in his own mind hates sin and avoids the. occasions of it; end yet when occasions offer themselves, readily offends by an unbridled tongue, or too great liberty of the senses, or any similar transgression; but who, as soon as he has returned to himself, grieves and turns away from the least stain of sin, quickly seeking for pardon. On the other hand, he who sins from wilful negligence, when in the absence of occasions he might be free, strange to say, desires these occasions and gives way to them, not indeed for the sake of the sin but for the sake of the pleasure. He too, may perhaps fall from frailty, but not from frailty only; however, if immediately after having yielded, he truly repents with renewed resolution, he also may speedily obtain remission of his sin.
Many are also permitted by God to fall grievously, that taught by their own misfortune, they may be come better. Yet no one rises again after a fall better than he would have been if he had not sinned, and if without falling had done all the good that he has done since his fall.
Thou must know, however, that thou wilt be more
effectually cleansed from these lighter faults, if,
acknowledging thy sin, thou turnest humbly and
lovingly to God, than if thou shouldst dwell upon
them within thyself, and occupy thyself long and
timidly with the consideration of them. Be they
BE not thou disturbed because, perchance, thou canst
not offer to God sensible contrition of heart for thy
crimes. For if there be sorrow in thy intellect and
will, if it truly displease thee that thou hast offended
thy most merciful God, if thou grievest that thou art
not more grieved, if thou resolvest to lead a better
bio for the future; this sort of contrition is most
pleasing to God, though the heart may remain with
out sensible sorrow. For it is possible for the mind
in a moment so to detest sin, that having obtained
perfect forgiveness it is rendered worthy of heaven.
If exterior tears be absent, let not interior ones be
wanting: without the first thou canst lament thy sins
and be pleasing to God, which without the latter is impossible. Thou art not wanting in interior tears
when the offence against God truly displeases thee;
when in thy mind thou turnest utterly away from
Whatever good works thy hand is able to do, do
earnestly (
We certainly do not deny nor reject the merit of
good works, as heretics now do; but we say that all
our hope must rest chiefly on the merits of Jesus
Christ. When we are weak and dejected, these words
of the blessed Apostle St. Paul ought to reanimate us: “A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners” (
According to His mercy He hath saved us, “that
being justified by his grace, we may be heirs, according
to hope of life everlasting” (
Our humility, by which we acknowledge our own
unworthiness, and by which we judge our good actions to be vile and imperfect,
and our confidence in God, by which we hope in Him, extolling the merits of His
Life and Passion, outweigh all the satisfactions we can make. It is necessary,
however, that we should always do whatever we can easily accomplish; and that we
should ascribe, the good that we do, not to ourselves, but to Him without whom
we can do nothing (St.
IF the devil persecutes thee, if he afflicts thy spirit
with his defilements, if thou art now forced against
thy will to suffer what thou didst once willingly admit, let it not disturb thee. Whatsoever thou bearest
against thy will, will not ruin thee, nor make thee
Those things which belong to faith, do thou believe to be more certain than those which are discerned by the eyes. But, if thou shouldst begin against thy will to waver or to doubt, fly to God, and humbly exclaim, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.”
Contemn Satan, the suggester of impious or unclean
thoughts. Oppose to him the salutary sign of the cross
of our Lord; and, turning away thy thoughts from
his pestilent suggestions, occupy thyself with some
pious meditation. Esteem him who thus barks at
thee unworthy to be answered. But, if thou desirest
to speak, say this or something similar; “Be silent,
impudent tongue; begone, wicked one, with thy impiety and uncleanness. I hear thee not; thou art
nothing to me, wretched one.” And say to God. “O Lord, help me; 1 would rather a thousand times
undergo
If the cunning serpent entices thee to vainglory, recall to mind the multitude and the enormity of thy sins. If he persuades thee to fail in confidence, bring to mind the abyss of the mercies of God, and his singular love and pity for thee. If he whispers some foolish thoughts on predestination or the other counsels and judgments of the Holy Trinity into which we ought not to enquire: do thou, despising the barking of that unclean dog, turn to God, and commit all things to His merciful dispensation; being fully persuaded that He is most desirous of thy salvation. They fall into a dangerous snare who dare rashly to scrutinise the judgments of God. Certain it is that every thing is just which the Lord does, which He ordains, which He permits: do thou believe this and rest upon it, seeking nothing farther.
If thou shouldst suffer in thy sleep any defilement, be not cast down; for it will not be imputed to thee, provided that on awaking and recovering consciousness, thou dost detest whatever is impure. It will not, I say, be imputed to thee, although thou mayest seem to have given occasion for what thou now sufferest by the impurity of thy former life. For thou hast already laid down the burden of thy past sins, by salutary confession; thou hast already repented of thy former conversation, and thou strivest to amend it. Therefore let nothing of this kind cast thee down from the stability of holy confidence.
THAT crafty deceiver will not rest, but will try all
means by which he may overcome and ruin thee. He
will usually be most active in the beginning, or after
the beginning of a better life; namely, while vicious
passions and affections are still raging within thee, he
will stir up the war, sometimes from within, some
times from without; he will entrap then, now by prosperity, now by adversity; sometimes he will lay snares
for thee by foolish joy, sometimes by untimely sadness; at one time he will aim at destroying thee
through too great security, at another through too
great dejection. He will sometimes retire for awhile,
and cease from assailing thee, that he may soon after
more grievously wound thee unawares. Sometimes
he will lay his snares secretly, and, as it were, creep
in by degrees under the pretext of piety; sometimes
he will try to inflict a wound by breaking in openly
and unexpectedly. Sometimes, when repulsed, he
will come again and again to the attack, and assiduously persevere in it; that so he may conquer by very
boldness one whom he could not overthrow either by
force or by stratagem. Thou wilt be sometimes so
perplexed, and such darkness will overshadow thy
mind, that thou wilt not know what to do, nor what
to think; therefore thou wilt be carried to and fro,
Lastly, sometimes not one only, but many of these temptations, or even all at once may assail thee, if God permits it; for, unless He permits, thou wilt not be tempted; and, if He should permit, it will be for thy great advantage.
Hut do thou guard against these temptations; and,
like one placed on a watch-tower, look round diligently, to see where the enemy may either rush or
creep in. It is often a very frivolous thing, or even
a very holy thing, which excites within us, if we are
not on the watch, a great tumult, and a dangerous
temptation. Therefore we must be suspicious even of
those things which are not evil in themselves. Prudent circumspection is always necessary, but chiefly
in the beginning of temptations. For the enemy
usually keeps this order in his attacks; he first instils
into our minds the simple thought of the thing
coveted; then, if he sees that what he has suggested
pleases us, he renders the thought vehement and complicated, binding as it were the mind with chains, and
If, however, we have been negligent in the beginning, we must not, therefore, yield to the adversary,
but by all means resist and struggle, and courageously
shake off our fetters. Wherefore, as far as is in thy
power, resist the beginnings of temptation; trusting
not in thy own endeavours, nor in thy own efforts,
but in the mercy of God: “Unless the Lord keep the
city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it” (
Unless He ever upholds thee, thou wilt not stand; if He withdraw His Hand, thou wilt straightway fall. But, while He is with thee by His grace, see that thou art not wanting to thyself through negligence. Join thy free will to His grace, and labour in union with it.
If it should happen to thee to fall, overcome by temptation, throw not the blame on God, nor on the devil, nor on fate; for pious Christians utterly deny and execrate those ideas of fate and fatal necessity which have been invented by the heathen or by impious Christians. As I have said, if, overcome by temptation, thou hast fallen and sinned, accuse not God, who is not the author of iniquity; but accuse thyself, who didst consent to the devil: (for no one can force thee to consent to him against thy will;) accuse thyself, I say, and quickly rise again.
For as recent wounds are easily healed by fomentations and plasters applied at once, but are cured with
difficulty if the remedies are long delayed; so thou
THOU shalt allow thyself to make neither peace nor
truce with the devil and with sin; but fight against
the devil with untiring and indomitable courage, and
ever pursue thy vices with unceasing hatred. For
although, during the exile of this pilgrimage, thou
canst not so entirely avoid faults and the allurements
of vices as not often to slip and be entangled by
them; yet thou must always detest and carefully
avoid offences, be they grave or trifling. Therefore,
Do thou abominate the pest of pride and vainglory. Repress with care the turbulent motions of
anger and impatience, and the sharp darts of indignation. that thou mayest not only repress, but, by
the grace of God, utterly extinguish them! It is,
perhaps, in human nature to be sometimes angry;
but it is diabolical to continue in anger and hatred.
There is no mode by which thou wilt be able more
easily to restrain and overcome the impulse of auger
than by recalling to mind the patience and meekness
of Christ the Lord thy God. In the same way thou
canst apply no more efficacious remedy to the ulcers of
pride, than to place before the eyes of thy mind the
humility of thy Saviour. For not without cause He
said, “Learn of me, because I am meek and humble
of heart” (St.
This is the sum of all Christian philosophy: that
we strive to follow Jesus our leader in true humility.
For “unless you be converted, and become as little
children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven ” (St.
The more humble a man is, the nearer he is to
God, and the more he excels in evangelical perfection.
Listen willingly to every one: suffer any one to teach and admonish thee, though he may he thy junior and inferior. Despise none: but put all men above thee, and submit thyself in thy heart to all. For though sonic may now be wicked, they may yet by the mercy of God become in a moment good and even holy. And it sometimes happens that those who seem imperfect possess some hidden virtues which render them most pleasing to God. Be fully persuaded that there is no sinner, however impious and however wicked, who would not lead a much more holy life than thou dost, if he had received as much grace from God as thou hast. In this way thou wilt think humbly of thyself and wilt easily prefer others to thyself. that thou mightest attain to such lowliness of mind that thou wouldst submit thyself not only to any man, but to any creature; judging thyself unworthy to see the light and to walk the earth, but meriting that all should revenge upon thee the injuries done to their Creator!
DESPISE the favours and the praise of men. Desire not greatly
to please nor fear to displease any one:
When thou art about to do any work of importance, if the desire of human favour assails thy heart, continue not thus the work; but, changing thy intention, desire to serve and to please God by what thou art doing; and so if the beginning or even the middle of the work has been corrupt, the end will be whole and undefiled. However praiseworthy may have been thy performance of the work, however much thy soul may be tempted by the solicitations of vain-glory; do thou oppose by thy reason the enticements of this evil passion, and, as far as lies in thee, keep thy mind free and tranquil. Imagine thyself to have put on the person of another, and that it was done not by thee but by some one else. Ascribe to God all that is good and worthy of praise.
Learn to listen with a patient and willing mind to
those who point out to thee thy faults: esteeming
their judgment to be more correct when they reprove
thee, than thy own when thou excusest thyself. O
that thou wert no more moved by just praises or unjust
No doubt he who is truly humble wishes rather to be thought vile and abject, than humble and holy. For since he acknowledges himself before God to be a useless, unworthy, and ungrateful sinner; he desires not to seem other before men. When thou art justly reproached, humble thyself; be ready to correct whatever faults are in thee: and commending the rest to the divine care, remain at peace.
If thou hast rested thy peace of mind on the words
of men, and not on the testimony of thy conscience
and on thy God, thou wilt easily lose it, and be
troubled. Let men have what opinion they will of
thee; let it be enough for thee that thou art pleasing
to Him who is “the searcher of hearts and reins” (
AS soon as ever thou feelest that any tribulation or
adversity is coming upon thee, turn thy mind to the
Lord, and commit thyself utterly to Him, without
murmuring or seeking a reason for the injury. If
thou wilt lament, instead of laying thy complaints before men, lay them humbly before the Lord, treating
with Him of whatever grieves thee, as with a most
pitiful Father and most present Helper. For His sake
bear all things with equanimity. Though the devils
lie in wait, and spread the snares of temptations;
though thou fmdest the path of virtue and justice
difficult; though one slanders and another oppresses
thee; though the cold pinches and the heat burns thee; though thy stomach is weak and thy head
aches; though rottenness enter into thy bones, and
swarm under thee (
Receive all adverse; things lovingly, as most precious
gifts sent to thee from God; whether they arise from
the heavens, or the elements, or from the devil, or
from adversaries, or from a minister of satanic art, or
from wild beasts. Think not that anything happens
to thee except by the dispensation of divine Providence;
When our common enemy inflicted on the blessed
Job the loss of his goods and of his children, the holy
man said not, the Lord gave, and the devil hath taken
away; but what saith he? “The Lord gave, and the
Lord hath taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord,
so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord” (
In the misfortunes which befall thee, look for relief not from fortune-tellers or soothsayers, but from thy Creator and Redeemer. For those who apply to fortune-tellers, and professors of magic, and seek wicked counsel from them, abandon God, and turn to the devil. If God knows that health of body will be for thy good, He will doubtless grant it to thy prayers; but if He grant it not, thou must believe that the want of it is expedient to thy soul. It is want of faith, yea rather the greatest madness, that drives Christians to seek such pestiferous remedies.
And, lest those who have recourse to him should
perceive that they are grievously sinning, the crafty
serpent cunningly takes care that in his very spells
the names of Christ and of saints are often mingled,
and that other divine things are made use of. For, if
he did not dilute the poison of superstition with this
honey of piety, no Christian would so readily drink
of it. And what says the Scripture? “Go not aside
after wizards, neither ask anything of soothsayers” (
Be not angry with men who injure thee; but, recognising in them the instruments of the Divine dispensations, love them, and give thanks to God. Regard with the eyes of thy heart Him who allows thee to be tried by troubles, rather than those who trouble thee. And if, while thou aimest at this, thy infirmity begins to strive against thee, and to suggest hatred of thy persecutors, cease not, but persevere, and pray to the Most High that thou mayest prevail.
Even if the Lord should, as it were, cast thee from
Him, and give thee over to Satan, so that, abandoned
within and without, thou art on all sides encompassed
with extreme calamities, driven to horrid thoughts,
and oppressed with unspeakable sorrows: yet thou
must never suspect any failure in the love of thy most
pitiful Maker for thee; thou must not on that account
withdraw from Him, nor evade the present tribulation,
nor seek for useless or forbidden remedies, nor turn
to any impure consolation: but in simple faith and
simple love keeping to Him, allow thyself to be chastised and scourged as He wills and as long as He wills.
Await in silence the end that He has ordained. Say
in thy heart, “The will of God be done, for it cannot
be evil.” Waver not, I say, at all in thy holy resolution, though He may not speedily put an end to thy
Although God may purge, purify, and prove thee,
He deserts thee not. For “the Lord is nigh unto
them that are of a contrite heart, and He will save the
humble of spirit” (
THOU shalt never say, such and such tribulations are
not fit for me, I could bear others better and with
greater fruit. Thou shalt not, I say, speak any such
words in the impatience of thy heart; but, whatever God has laid on thy
shoulders for thee to bear, that bear without any murmuring, and believe it to
be
The only thing which disturbs thy soul, defiles it, and keeps it from the embrace of the heavenly Spouse, is the preposterous love with which thou seekest thyself, reflectest on thyself, and delightest not in God, but in thyself. From this perverse self-love arise all vicious passions and affections, all confusion and irregularity, and indeed all evil within thee. Inasmuch as this pernicious love is diminished or extinguished in thee, insomuch will thy vices be vanquished.; and thou wilt increase in true liberty and true love of God.
Therefore thou shalt not choose for thyself what
evils thou wilt bear, nor again, prescribe what thou
wilt not bear; but receive with readiness whatever
God has willed to send thee. Neither shalt thou be
disturbed, if perchance thou hast brought these
misfortunes on thyself by thy sins; but, whether thou
hast caused them or not, be tranquil. Impute them
all, indeed, to thine own iniquity, and humble thyself,
but yet, as I said, be not unduly affrighted, but preserve thy evenness of mind. Let the Passion of thy
God satisfy for thy sins; but do thou suffer for the
IF by the permission of God thou shouldst fall into
such sir; sits as to be forced either to deny the Christian
faith, or to undergo torments, and even death itself;
do thou rather die a thousand times, so to speak, than
say a word, or give a sign of impious denial. Flatter
not thyself, say not to thyself, 1 am weak, I have a
horror of tortures: what harm will it do if, compelled
by fear, 1 deny Christ by a word or a sign, provided I
confess and adore Him meanwhile in my heart? Does
He not regard the mind rather than words or works?
1 will outwardly deny Him, but I will not deny Him
inwardly. Thou art utterly mistaken if thou thus persuadest thyself. For it is written, “With the
heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation” (
If thou hast denied Him, thou hast fallen away from
God, and art cut off and separated from the communion of the faithful; nor canst thou be again
received into their number, unless thou dost boldly
confess the faith which thou hast, impiously denied;
and, having imitated the Apostle St. Peter in his
denial, dost imitate him also in his penance (St.
If thou fearest thy own weakness, avoid persecution,
if thou canst. But if, when thou fliest from it, thou
art caught and questioned, know that then thou canst
no longer evade it. Blessed is that martyr, who
humbly and patiently lays down his life, even though
with fear and sadness, either for the Christian faith,
or for the good of his neighbour, or for the sake of
justice and truth. For our Lord, wishing to console
His elect, who, from human frailty, are overcome with
fear, and tremble at the prospect of death, transferred
their weakness to Himself, when, at the approach of His
Passion, full of fear and sadness, He said, “My soul is
sorrowful, even unto death,” (
Whatever troubles may befall thee, whether they
be great or small, accustom thyself to commend and
offer them to the eternal praise of the Most High in
these or similar words; “O Lord, 1 commend and offer
Thee, to the everlasting praise of Thy name, this necessity, this misery, this difficulty, this temptation; I offer Thee this calamity, in union with the Passion and
WAIT everywhere on the Providence of God: in every
event that occurs, lean steadfastly on Him, believing
that nothing can happen without a cause, nor without a
cause proceeding from the reasonable order of things.
Attribute what happens neither to fortune nor to the
stars. Detest the superstitious and impious fables of
astrologers, who put the life, the manners, the actions
and designs of man under subjection to the stars, and
attempt by them to pry into and predict future
events, beyond the natural properties of the elements,
and of corruptible things. This temerity partakes of
the remains of idolatry, and is most baneful to the
Christian religion; and, for that reason, it is assiduously condemned and forbidden by the oracles of the
Prophets, and the opinions of the orthodox Fathers.
And, if anyone objects that some of their predictions prove true, we answer, that many do not, and those which do, so happen by the secret dispensation of God, not by their foolish skill; though they commonly happen to those who believe in the predictions. For. as true Christians for their faith in God always receive what is for their good, so evil often happens by the just judgment of God to those who are not true Christians, in punishment for the faith they put in demons or in the professors of superstition.
The devil, however, has not the knowledge of future
events; but sometimes foretells the end of things from
Neither the predictions of astrologers, nor the wonders of magic, nor the arts or charms of Satan can effect anything against those who trust in God, and commit themselves wholly to Him. For, if they ever afflict the just, the Lord permits it for the good of the just themselves. Do thou, therefore, despising the inventions of those who foretell I know not what, either from the positions of the stars, or the examination of the countenance and the hands, turn to the Creator and Governor of the whole world; cling to Him, cast thyself upon Him.
Let nothing that happens disturb thee, whether the
season be favourable or inclement; whether the fruits of
the earth abound or are scarce; whether God sends
peace or the sword, thou shalt not murmur; but,
humbling thyself under His mighty hand, cast down
thine eyes and remain tranquil, yet not without feeling. Consider not anxiously whether thou art to
have much repose in this exile, whether thou art to
receive the more perfect gifts of grace, whether thou
art to pass from hence to purgatory, and to remain
there long, or to enter straightway into heaven: but
DO thou repel inordinate sadness, hurtful dejection of mind, superfluous scruples of conscience, untimely and confused repetitions of confessions once made, and other similar disquietudes of mind. It is not pleasing to God that we should be uneasy when we commit trifling offences, as ii it were over with our salvation; and as if He were ready to ensnare and ruin us, because, through inattention, we had forgotten and omitted such and such a circumstance in our confession.
He wishes us to give reasonable attention, that we may recollect what we have done amiss; and to declare before the Priest all that we remember, openly, simply, and without dissimulation. It is most useful frequently to confess our sins in this manner: lest, if the sacramental relation of them be long delayed, our sins should be forgotten; and, moreover, great benefits of grace result from frequent and humble confession.
For those who wish to lead a spiritual life, and especially
When thou art wavering, when thou art anxious and doubtful, when arduous and difficult matters arise, do thou instantly fly to God, consult God, and with, all thy heart, with steadfast confidence, commit the whole affair to Him. Trust not to thine own industry, nor to thine own powers, but to the mercy of God; acknowledging thyself to be unable to conduct things rightly. And thus all things will end prosperously. For God will never neglect what thou hast humbly committed to Him; but will arrange, direct, and complete every affair, as He sees best for the good of thyself and others.
O THAT God alone occupied thy thoughts! For, so long as thy heart is nut detached from all other things, so long as thou adherest to anything transitory, so long as thou lovest thy own will rather than the will of God, thou canst not he perfectly united to Him. Blessed is he. who is inwardly detached from all things, who is neither unworthily disturbed by losses, nor foolishly elated by success, who meets all inequalities of fortune with an equable mind, who has learnt to relinquish, and, as it were, to go out of himself, who at length, by self-denial, has attained to perfect charity. What peace, thinkest thou, does such a one possess 1 So great is it that no words suffice to express it.
Such persons are sometimes interiorly inundated
by so profuse a torrent of divine consolation that, being scarcely able to bear it, they are as if forced to
withdraw from it, and to cry out, saying: Lord,
withhold the streams of Thy grace! Hence it often
happens that their very bodies are wonderfully
changed by the benignity of the divine visitation.
They may, indeed, rightly sing with the Psalmist: “In peace in the self-same I will sleep, and I will
rest ” (
O desirable peace, which surpasses all sense, and
transcends all understanding! joyful peace, by
which the mind is absorbed in the interior life, and,
But, alas! while we bear about us a corruptible body, we cannot long enjoy this holy and secret union with God. For the Spouse approaches and with draws; now He shows Himself, and again He hides Himself. O what distaste for present things, what groans, what sighs, invade the holy soul when it returns to itself from those raptures, when it falls back from such riches to such poverty, from such delights to such misery, from so grateful a tranquillity of spirit to such unwelcome distractions and temptations! But yet these groans and sighs bring her meanwhile no little consolation; and they induce the Spouse to hasten His return.
There are few to be found who attain to this perfection, who
shine with such purity and simplicity, who dwell in the citadel of highest
charity and contemplation; nor does God allow all to reach it. Other pious
THE more free thou art interiorly from the burden of
passing things, and the more simple are thy affections,
the more easily and happily wilt thou be able to devote thyself to God. Whatever is sought for, except
God, occupies the mind, but satisfies it not. God
alone will fulfil thy desires; in God alone thou wilt
find true rest. He is that one thing necessary, and
that Supreme Good, in which consist the plenitude
and perfection of all things that are beautiful and
give delight. Wherefore, it is meet to seek and to
desire seriously Him alone; other things are not to
be sought after, except so far as they may assist us in
loving and honouring Him. He is to be loved above
all things; He is to be loved with all our mind, with
all our heart, and with all our soul. As much as
thou understandest, as much as thou knowest, as
much as thou canst, so much do thou love Him.
Love Him according to the measure of thy strength
and the degree of grace that is given thee. If thou
canst love but imperfectly, keep alive within thee the
desire, at least, of loving more perfectly: humble
Woe to that man who loves not God! For he is never truly serene, never truly tranquil; he is a slave to his vices, he follows vanity; he lives not, indeed, but remains in death; he is dead, he is nothing. Let not the soul fear that seeks after God; but let her tremble that seeks Him not. Endeavour, as much as lieth in thee, to contemn and reject whatever calls thee away or distracts thee from the love of thy Creator. Learn to expel vain desires, and to reject useless cares and solicitude.
Strive to break the bonds of unseasonable familiarity with men, and to sever the ties of inordinate love of relations, or of any temporal things. In short, thou must accustom thyself skilfully to repel and avoid whatever may entangle and dissipate thy heart. Thou must never seek to be especially loved by any one, but seek that God may be perfectly loved by all men. Thou shalt not greatly desire the bodily presence of any one, except for the sake of spiritual advancement; and even in that case, it must not be desired with disturbance and impatience of mind. If thou lovest spiritually those who live piously, thou wilt easily endure their absence; for those whom thou lovest sincerely in the Lord, will always be present to thee in the Lord.
BE thou given to reading, to sermons, and to other spiritual exercises. Let reading prevent weariness in prayer let prayer or meditation season the study of books; and let both reading and prayer be relieved and strengthened by the interposition of some suitable manual labour. For variety in our exercises is of great assistance, especially to those who have not yet received the more perfect gifts of the Holy Spirit. If, therefore, when thou art reading, thou dost leave it before thou art weary of it, to occupy thyself with prayer or meditation; and again, before thou art weighed down by the effort of prayer, thou dost seek afresh the exercise of reading, and dost opportunely intermingle writing or some other external employment; thou wilt retain the strength and alacrity of thy mind. But if, forgetting thy own weakness, thou wilt persist in prolonging thy reading or thy prayer beyond the proper time, and even till it becomes distasteful, thou wilt be utterly inert and worthless, and thou wilt be reluctant to return to the exercise with which thou hast been satiated.
Do thou read willingly that which is of spiritual
profit; labouring earnestly to learn the manner of a
holy life, and how to know and love God. That
reading is vain which does not subserve either piety
or a just and reasonable necessity. When thou preparest
Remember also that the good of the soul consists
not in eloquence nor in beauty of words. Wherefore,
thou shalt never mock nor despise what is spoken
holily indeed, but not politely nor eloquently; for
such levity is an evident sign of a vain and arrogant
mind. In reading require not, I say, refined language,
if it is absent; nor rashly despise it when thou dost
find it; but receive with thankfulness all that is good
Do thou confine thyself prudently to a certain course of reading, and observe some rule; for unsteady reading, if there is no good reason for it, dissipates rather than improves the mind.
When any obscure passages occur in Holy Scripture which thou canst not understand, hold them in
veneration, and pass on simply, unless there be any
cause for doing otherwise; for thus thou wilt happily
avoid both curiosity and labour. Such is the virtue
of divine words, that they bring forth great fruit in
the faithful soul, not only when they are perfectly
understood, but also when they are piously received
without being clearly understood; nor did our Lord
Again, be not grieved because thon canst not remember all that thou readest or hearest. For, as a vessel through which water is often poured remains clean, though all the water has run off; so the pious mind through which spiritual doctrine often passes is kept pure, even if the holy words themselves remain not.
When thou derives t from thy reading spiritual consolation, tranquillity of mind, pious affections, and a will prompt to fulfil the commands of God, thou dost reap truly great and important fruit from it. Do thou not always refer to others, but rather apply to thyself what is written or spoken about vices: lest thou embarrass and taint thy mind with various suspicious and rash judgments.
DILIGENCE in prayer is of the first necessity to thee,
for prayer is an impenetrable armour, a certain refuge,
a secure haven, and a most safe asylum. This one
thing repels from the mind all evils, and brings into
it all that is good. It purities the soul, remits the
punishment due to sins, repairs former negligence, impetrates divine grace, extinguishes evil desires, quells
the unruly passions of the soul, conquers the enemy,
But if thou dost not at once obtain what thou askest, see that thou be not disturbed: for God in His mercy sometimes defers to grant those things which are rightly asked: not that He desires to refuse, but that He may afterwards grant more abundantly and more profitably, and that He may exceedingly reward the faith, the patience, and perseverance of him who asks.
Thou shalt never say to thyself that which was said
by the blind man in the Gospel, whose bodily eyes
were indeed enlightened, but the eyes of whose mind
were not yet perfectly opened: “Now we know that
God doth not hear sinners” (St.
And if anyone asserts with the blind man restored to sight, that sinners are not heard by God; that opinion holds good of those only who will not amend their lives. Therefore, although thou mayest be a sinner, thou must not on that account despairingly contemn thy prayer, which God contemns not, but holds in esteem, and keeps recorded.
Nor let it move thee if, when thou prayest, God
Himself, or an Angel, or one of the Blessed from heaven,
appear not to announce to thee that thy prayers are
He will certainly give what thou askest, if it is expedient for thee to receive it; if not, He will give something else that is for thy good. He knows when and how far to satisfy our desires. When from human weakness thou dost ask what is not for thy good, may He never grant thee thy request. When thou knowest not whether what thou desirest is pleasing to Him, learn to pray in this or some similar manner: Lord, grant this if it is pleasing to Thee, if it is expedient; but if it is not pleasing to Thee, and is not expedient, let it not come to pass. Thy holy will be done in all things.
Strive to be recollected when thou prayest and
praisest God. Do it diligently, and with due reverence; never deliberately consenting to the foolish
wanderings of the mind. If, however, thy mind is so
unstable and volatile that thou canst not attend to
the words of thy prayers, be not on that account
angry with thyself, nor cast down; but with a grateful, placid, and tranquil mind do all that is in thy
power, offering thy good will to God, and exercising
Let the sense of the sacred words, which the Holy Spirit may suggest to thy understanding, sweetly affect and simply occupy thy mind; and let it not be fatigued or confused by images derived with labour from other sources. If the Holy Spirit should call away and attract thy spirit to more sublime thoughts, thou must not rashly oppose it, but ever follow His leadings; for He knows intimately where, in what manner, and how far thou oughtest to penetrate.
As I have said before, when thou prayest, thy will
must be determined always to attend to what thou
art saying; and thou must calmly free thy heart
from unseasonable thoughts, especially at the beginning of thy prayer. In order that thou mayest the
more easily do this, study to keep thy mind free at
other times. Having done this, commit the rest to
God, and remain tranquil and joyful. For God will
not impute to thee the distractions by which through
frailty thou art carried away against thy will. Thou
DO thou frequently turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God; invoke her, love her, praise her; she is, indeed, most worthy of all honour; and however much we, may exalt her, she surpasses all our praise. Her Son is the Son of the Heavenly Father; she conceived God in her virginal womb, she brought forth God, she nourished God at her own breast, she carried God in her arms, and nursed Him in her lap. What can be more sublime, what more honourable, than to be called and to be the Mother of God? What dignity is higher or more admirable than this? It is certain that, beneath God, nothing can be imagined more divine than the Mother of God.
Woe to the wretched and unhappy heretics, who
Do thou abominate the blasphemies and the impudence of those Anti-Marians (praying for them, nevertheless), and hold the honour of Mary dear:
for she
is the perfect example of all purity and holiness, the
singular refuge of sinners, the most safe asylum of all
who are pressed by temptation, misfortune, or any
Thou must also pay devout homage to the other Saints of God, fully believing that they receive thy prayers and the pious affection of thy heart. If thou wishest to choose some to venerate more especially, and to whose patronage thou wouldst more frequently commend thyself, it is praiseworthy to do so.
Happy wilt thou be if thou occupiest thyself sedulously in psalmody; and dost deserve to taste the
I ADVISE thee, above all things, faithfully to exercise
thy mind in reflecting on those things which our
Lord Jesus Christ did for us, which He said, and
which He suffered for us: for thou wilt nowhere find
so prompt a remedy against the allurements of vanities and trifles, against the corruption of vicious passions and affections, against the storms of temptations
and calamities, against the depression of sadness and
pusillanimity; nowhere wilt thou find so certain a
means of attaining to all virtue and to the perfection
of all virtue, as in the Life of our Saviour. By the
frequent consideration of it the mind is most efficaciously purified from the stains of sins and vices, and,
being brought to a certain holy confidence and intimate familiarity with our Lord Himself, it is illuminated with celestial light. For this same Jesus to
Therefore, according to the grace that is given thee, do thou study the Life of the Lord Jesus; meditate upon it, delight in it. Let this be thy repose in labour, thy solace amid difficulties, thy defence against temptations, thy joy under contumely. Keep it hid den day and night, like a precious pearl, in the secret of thy heart; bear it about with thee everywhere; look upon it lovingly with the eyes of thy mind, whether thou art at home or abroad, according to the gift of God, by which He insinuates Himself into thy heart.
Thou shalt not run through the sacred history at intervals nor in haste; but keep thyself present in spirit, as if thou couldst see before thine eyes the things that were done, and couldst hear the things that were, said. Receive and embrace them all with a grateful mind, for they all have the power, if thou art attentive, to relieve and diminish greatly the sorrows of thy exile. No greater benefit has been be stowed on us by God than that which He conferred when He willed to be made man and to suffer for us; wherefore it is but just that we should very frequently dwell in thought upon the dispensation of our redemption, and sedulously give thanks for it; for this is most pleasing to God, and most advantageous to ourselves.
WHEN thou wishest to recall to mind the beginnings
of our salvation, if thou delightest in that which is
humble, thou canst consider with what peace the
Angel Gabriel enters into the chamber of the most
holy Virgin Mary, and with what reverence he salutes
her. Do thou also enter with him, and attend diligently to every word that is spoken, as well by him
as by her. Contemplate the modesty, the purity, the
prudence, the humility, the bashfulness, and holiness
of this most blessed Maiden; reflect that when she
spoke these words, “Behold the handmaid of the
Lord, be it done to me according to thy word ” (St.
Then, arising together with the most pure Virgin,
follow her when she ascends to the hills. Draw near, so that when she enters the house of her cousin Elizabeth, thou
mayest hear the mutual salutation of the
Virgin and the aged woman, and their mutual colloquy. happy women, of whom one bears in her
womb the King of Glory, and the other the herald of
In like manner thou mayest occupy thyself with the remainder of the Life and conversation of the same Christ our Lord; space does not permit us here to treat of all that the Gospel history relates. And the little meditations which thou wilt make for thyself may perhaps be more sweet than those winch we have proposed. Those which we have prescribed are certainly very simple, and yet they are very sublime. Do thou, however, so consider the Life and actions of the Saviour, that thou mayest desire to love Him, and to imitate His humility, patience, charity, and compassion.
Even the bare reading of the Life of Christ will bring forth much fruit in thee, if thou receivest piously and reverently the words of the Holy Ghost, which have an unspeakable power concealed within them. For that woman who was suffering from an issue of blood, was healed by touching with faith the hem of our Lord’s garment, The letter of the Gospel is the hem of His garment.
CHIEFLY thou must meditate on the blessed Passion
of the Redeemer. Thou mayest, if it so please thee,
place on each day before the eyes of thy mind some
On the following day thou wilt in like manner
represent to thyself what our Lord suffered, when He
was betrayed by Judas, taken captive, bound and led
away with insults (
If thou shouldst prefer each day to go through several
portions of the Passion, or to keep for many days to the meditation of one small
portion, or every day to consider that part which represents Christ hanging on
the Cross (St.
Do thou in this manner occupy thyself according
to thy measure with the Humanity of Christ. Let
this so possess thy mind, that, whatever evil phantasy
may enter it from other sources, shall quickly be dispelled. Choose this thought in which to repose in
safety, so long as thou art not carried on to higher
But take care that thou seek not anxiously for a visible image of the Saviour, if it does not readily occur to thy heart; do thou rather, putting aside a closer representation of his lineaments and bodily appearance, conceive in thy mind God as a Spirit present to thee within and without; conceive His sweet and most amiable goodness, benignity, and love; dwell upon the same Lord of unspeakable majesty every where present, knowing all things, penetrating all things, giving life to all things, sustaining all things without effort, encompassing all things without limit, disposing all things without disquietude, governing all things without weariness. Conceive these things; hut make not great efforts in doing so; for some of these thoughts will readily and even necessarily offer themselves to the faithful soul reflecting on the Redeemer of the world.
Nor does the faithful soul venerate in Christ the
Humanity only, but also the Divinity. It acknowledges the Word to have been so made
flesh, that He
When the thought of the Holy Trinity enters into
thy mind, thou shalt not fabricate for thyself any absurd idols; thou shalt not
imagine the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be as it were three men or three
gods; but confess the unity of the Godhead in the Trinity of Persons. The Father
is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost are not three gods, but one God. There are three Persons, but
the substance of the Persons is one. This mystery is believed by faith, but is
not within the ken of human reason. In the Most Holy Trinity there is one and
the same nature, one and the same essence, one and the same eternity, one and
the same glory, one and the same majesty, one and the same will, one and the
same omnipotence. And, as we believe this same Blessed Trinity to be inseparable
in substance, so do we confess it to be inseparable in works. Whatever is said
to be done by the Father, the same is done by the Son, and by the Holy Ghost;
whatever is said to be done by the Son, the same is done by the Father, and by
the Holy Ghost; whatever is said to be done by the Holy Ghost, the same is done
by the Father, and by the Son: for the Trinity is inseparable in its works. So,
when we worship the Father, we worship also the Son, and the Holy Spirit; when
we worship the Son, we worship also the Father, and the Holy Spirit; when we worship the Holy Spirit, we worship also
It is not expedient for those who are not well versed in Divine things to enquire too curiously into the nature of the Holy Trinity. Let them simply and faithfully believe the Trinity to be such as the Catholic Church confesses it to be; for we shall not be condemned in the day of judgment, because we have not exactly known the nature of our God; but, if we shall have spoken anything rashly, we shall pay the penalty of our rashness.
THOU shouldst always have in readiness some efficacious words, and prayers in the form of ejaculations, by which thou mayest recall and elevate thy mind to God. We will here subjoin a little collection of such short prayers:
O my soul, behold thy God, behold thy Creator and Redeemer; behold Him who washes away thy sins, and sanctifies thee: behold thy life and thy salvation: behold thy only good!
See how far the King of Kings has humbled Himself for thy sake; consider what bitter things thy Saviour endured for thee; weigh with how much charity He loves thee, since for thee He took upon Himself so great poverty and so many calamities.
Remain with thy Lord, depart not from thy Master;
Relinquish the many things, and embrace the one,
for one thing is necessary (St.
O good Jesus, compassionate Shepherd, O sweet
Master, O King of eternal glory, I adore Thee, I bless
and thank Thee, who hast so loved me, who hast done
such great things, and hast borne such indignities for
me. “Be merciful to me a sinner” (St.
O that I had not hitherto been ungrateful to Thee! O that I might even now be pleasing to Thee! O that all evil passions and affections were dead in me! O that I could stand before Thee truly humble and gentle, truly free and tranquil!
O that Thou alone didst possess my heart! O that I utterly despised all transitory things! O that I might seek after Thee alone, attach myself to Thee alone, and inseparably cling to Thee!
O that 1 might most ardently love Thee! O that I might ever pant after Thee with most burning desires! Alas, O my Lord, when shall I worship Thee with a pure, simple, and joyful mind? when shall I serve Thee with a quiet, steadfast, and serene conscience? when will my spirit be absorbed in the immensity of thy love?
What do I desire besides Thee? or what can all
O my God, O my love, O my desire, O my refuge! O my consolation, my hope, and my trust! O my peace, my rest, and my light! O my glory, my happiness, and all my joy! O my sweetness, my treasure, and my only good!
When shall I see Thee? when shall I be with Thee?
when will this world be silent to me? when will all
the hindrances, all the vicissitudes of this life cease
for me? when shall I be delivered from the miserable
captivity of this present exile? When will the
shadows of mortality retire, and the day of eternity break? (
Innumerable other aspirations (for so we name these short ejaculatory prayers) may be made, or may be sought for out of the Holy Scriptures. Those which we have here given may perchance be of use to some; but those which are suggested to each one by his own devotion, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, are sweeter than what are suggested by the feeling and devotion of others.
The exercise which consists in aspirations and short
prayers of this sort, is most effectual in extirpating
vices, and moving to charity. However, the faithful
soul that is given to this practice must not be disquieted if it perhaps rarely feels itself intimately
That soul which has not yet entirely come out of Egypt, and which is still much disfigured by the deformity of sin, must not presume; that is, it must not rashly offer itself to the most sacred embraces of the Heavenly Spouse; but, sitting at the feet of the Lord, it must first strive to wash away its stains, to cultivate its beauty, to arrange its garments, to correct its manners; and, when all these have been changed and amended, it may then more freely (still observing due reverence) lift itself up, and humbly rise to the sublime kisses of the eternal King.
WHEN thou art prevented from thinking of divine
things by travelling, or conversation, or any other
occupation and reasonable cause, see that, at least,
thou think not of evil or unworthy things. God docs
not command that, rapt in sublime contemplation,
thou shouldst be ever intent on heavenly things, nor
does He give such grace to all His elect: but He
does command thee to withdraw thy mind, as far as
in thee lies, from all wicked and foolish thoughts:
and if any unworthy idea should suggest itself, He
God everywhere beholds thee, and perfectly knows thy most secret intentions and affections. He is so present to thee, He is so within thee, that without Him thou canst not even move a finger. Be thou firmly persuaded of this, believe this, and love and reverence His presence; be ashamed to admit anything that might be displeasing to the eyes of so exalted and so intimate a Beholder.
Observe in all things a holy discretion; for it is not expedient that, without regard to thy infirmity, thou shouldst at once attempt to do whatever good thou readest of, or hearest that others have done. Learn to follow humbly the grace given thee, and not impatiently to forestall it. Thou shalt not, I say, with unruly vehemence, force thy mind into regions to which it cannot yet ascend; nor violently urge thyself to do things that are quite beyond the strength either of thy body or thy mind.
If it is for thy good that thou shouldst penetrate into
Why art thou disturbed that thou canst not pursue the practices which are followed by others? It matters not by what road thou goest, so that thou dost arrive at charity. Divers ways lead to it, and the way which is suitable to one is by no means suitable to another; for the same kind of exercise is not adapted for all. Do thou, therefore, take up such exercises as are within thy capacity; not regarding what or how much others have done and are doing, but what and how much thou art able to do.
BE careful not to lay upon thy weak shoulders too heavy a weight, lest, oppressed and overpowered by the burden, thou shouldst be forced to faint and give way. Even in tears of devotion a measure should be observed, lest the head be weakened, especially if those tears are accompanied by strong emotion.
If thou perceivest thy spirit to be wearied with even a single stroke of sensible compunction, thou must warily avoid it. When thou hast the grace of devotion, urge not thy spirit unseasonably to greater fervour; but persevere in tranquil love.
Bind not thyself irrevocably to any great and in tolerable number of prayers to be said daily, but rather diminish or increase thy exercises according to thy disposition; unless otherwise obliged by vow or by obedience. If, for some reason, thou hast even entirely omitted these same private and voluntary exercises, be not much grieved on that account, but study to be ever free and tranquil in the Lord.
Why art thou distressed that thou canst not be al
ways occupied in prayer? If thy life is good, if thou
carefully abstainest from sin, if thou employest thy time
usefully, if thou dost truly humble thyself in the sight
of the Lord, and sigh after God and thy heavenly
home, thou dost always pray; for a holy life and holy
When thou desires t to pray at greater length for any of the living or the dead, or when thou wouldst dwell longer on the worship of any Saint, if thou hast not leisure, or if, for any other reason, thou fearest disturbance of mind, it will not be necessary to change the usual order of thy pious exercises; but it will be sufficient if thou dost determine before God to otter them for the welfare of those persons, living or dead, or for the honour of that Saint. For thy works will be valued and received by the Lord according to thy intention. We truly venerate the Saints, when we worship God, who made and sanctified them; so, again, we truly worship God, when we venerate the Saints, in whom He dwells, and whom He has already united to Himself in heaven.
Thou shouldst not deny to thy body the necessary
indulgence of food and sleep; thou shouldst not be
very severe in that respect, unless thou hast learnt
for certain by a revelation of the Holy Spirit that
thou wouldst please God by a singular abstinence.
For an excessive diminution of those refreshments
(like too great exertion of a moderate intellect, or too
vehement use of the imagination,) injures for the most
part both the spirit and the weak body, and often
causes madness. Fasts, vigils, and exterior works,
are, indeed, pleasing to God, when they are undertaken
SEE that thou perform not thy exercises with obstinate adherence to thy own choice; but in them also deny thyself. Thou shouldst carefully observe, and promptly follow the interior calls, and the hidden force and impulse of the Holy Spirit, and be ready, in obedience to His will, but not out of levity and in constancy, to change those exercises, to give them up, and to resume them.
In thy private prayers and holy aspirations to God,
it will sometimes, perhaps, be best for thee to utter
thy prayer peacefully in words; sometimes, it will
suit thee better to pray mentally, At one time thou
wilt take pleasure in passing through some parts
without much delay, at another in dwelling long on
parts of thy meditation. Sometimes thou wilt choose
Seek not after sweetness in thy exercises from impure motives; rest not in it, but pass on through it to
God. There is great danger in spiritual greediness.
by which we abuse the sweetness of grace, and turn
it to our own pleasure. The .soul which is deeply infected with this vice cannot
be called a modest and faithful servant of Christ: for she will not serve God
generously, but desires God’s gifts rather than God
Himself. She is a mercenary slave, not a freeborn
daughter. If that sensible sweetness passes away,
she becomes at once all full of bitterness, indignation,
turbulence, and impatience, and abandons the pursuit,
of piety; and, shaking off the trammels of fear and
shame, she gives herself up entirely to external consolations. That is to say, if God wills to give her
IF, when thou art praying, or offering the holy Sacrifice, or meditating on divine things, or occupied in
spiritual reading, or doing any other holy work, thou
art destitute of the sensible affection of devotion, do
thou yet persevere in what thou hast begun; and,
with a pious desire of pleasing God, offer to Him the
barrenness of thy heart, and thy labour, to His eternal
praise. For thus will that dryness which thou sufferest be no less pleasing to Him than the affluence of
interior sweetness; yea, verily, more pleasing; because
reasonable devotion is, by far, safer and more acceptable to God than sensible devotion. Devotion is
reasonable when we hate and execrate ever sin, and
O with what wisdom God cleanses us from pride, if we are infected with it; or defends us from it, if we are yet free! O how mercifully He shuts out the love of this exile from our souls, and compels us to sigh after that, our blessed country. O how graciously He works out our salvation, even when we understand it not! We ought, therefore, to praise Him, even when He seems to leave us exposed to divers miseries and calamities. For, in truth, He never can desert those whom He sees to be humble and of good will.
Be not curious in seeking for heavenly revelations: for those who rashly desire, and lightly give credence to them, lay themselves open to many dangers, and to many snares of the devil. For our common enemy often transforms himself into an angel of light, that he may deceive the careless. If thou dost not at once believe a vision shown to thee, but remainest humbly in doubt, till thou hast more evident and certain knowledge of it; thou offendest not God, even if it should have been sent by God Himself. Those revelations which are made from heaven to the pious, console and soothe the mind, and make it humble; those visions, on the contrary, which are concocted by the craft of the demons, do nothing but disturb and harden the heart, and render it perverse.
When thou art benignantly visited by God, when
all is tranquil and serene, do thou refer what thou
hast received to His pure grace and mercy, not to
thy own diligence, nor to thy own merits or efforts.
On no account do thy own pleasure, nor give thyself
up to foolish joy or dangerous security; but keep
thyself ever in holy vigilance and fear; prepared to
accept spiritual tribulation and dryness, if it should
be God’s will to send them to thee again, and be not
of the number of those thus described by Solomon,
saying, “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (
Thou shalt not unseasonably magnify to thyself the gift thou hast received, nor love to speak of it every where to others, (though thou mayest reverently and humbly divulge it, if any spiritual good or necessity require it), but rather turn away thy thoughts from the gift itself, as if thou hadst received nothing, and dwell upon God. If thou wishest to dwell upon it more particularly in thy own mind, do it for this end only, that thou mayest be more aware of the goodness of God towards thee, and of thy own ingratitude towards God. Attribute to God all that is of God, and be grateful; but to thyself ascribe nothing but sin. Acknowledge thyself to be an unprofitable servant, unworthy of any favour or solace; in order that the more progress thou dost make, the more, thou mayest humble thyself. For humility alone will preserve the good that is in thee uncorrupted.
Those feelings of sensible love and sweetness, though
they may usually be signs of salvation, must not be
When thou art about to receive the most Holy
Eucharist, see that thou assist not unworthily at that
tremendous and heavenly feast. Cast down thy spirit,
and hide thyself in the deepest valley of humiliation;
confess, most heartily confess thyself to be a sinner.
Beseech the Lord that He will deign to purify thy
soul, and to adorn it with His merits and virtues.
Approach with firm faith, with certain hope, and sincere love, in memory of His most dear Incarnation,
Passion, and Death: so that thou mayest be able to
say with truth, “With desire I have desired to eat
this Passover” (St.
THOU shalt always prefer to thy private exercises,
the duties to be performed in community, and those
which relate to obedience or to the necessities of our
neighbour, so that thou mayest cease to belong to
thyself. Obedience is the greatest virtue, it is, certainly, the chief of virtues;
on the other hand, to refuse acquiescence is the most grievous wickedness. Thou
wilt, sometimes, make more progress in perfection of life by an insignificant work done under
obedience, than by sublime exercises performed by
thy own choice. What thou doest through disobedience, is utterly rejected by God, and, instead of
being useful to thee, turns wholly to thy injury. Do
thou, therefore, obey God, obey the Catholic Church,
obey those who hold the place of C4od; obey thy Prelates, and reverence them, even if they seem not to
lead very good lives. For, if thou obeyest not these,
thou obeyest not God: since He saith, “He that
heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you,
despiseth me” (St.
Heresies have no other origin than pride and disobedience. For what is it that heretics do? They
deride the simplicity which is in Christ; they contemn the holy traditions and customs of the Church,
Submit to the decrees of the Church, which is ever governed by the Holy Spirit; follow her teaching, as thou dost the Gospel itself, even if thou shouldst see that many of her members, not only among the common people, but also among the rulers and those of high rank, give way to vices; for she is a threshing-floor, containing both wheat and chaff.
Beware of obstinacy in thy own opinion. Consult
Avoid all blameable singularity, and as much as in thee lies, guard against giving scandal to any. If, how ever, any one is offended at thy doing or saving what it is right for thee to do or to say, desist not on that account from what thou hast begun, but humbly persevering, and praying for those who are scandalized, commit the affair to God.
Do thou carefully rule all thy members, and retrain all thy senses. Be composed and staid in thy
manners, joyful and serene, in countenance, modest in
aspect, calm and gentle in voice, innocent and pure in
thought, faithful and vigorous in works, kind and
affable in conversation; but thy affability must never
lead to foolish mirth. Abstain prudently from blame
worthy trifling, from violent laughter, from games
that are wanting in due propriety and moderation;
for by these unbecoming liberties the purity of the
heart is injured, and the sanctuary of holy modesty
violated, Thou mayest, however, at fitting times relax and recreate thy mind to the honour of God, even
in outward amusements, that thou mayest return
with the morn vigour to thy spiritual exercises; but
it must be done with moderation and from pure motives. God does not command us to refuse all solace
from creatures, which He made to praise Him; He
Every inordinate affection must, therefore, be utterly rooted out; after this is done, these same creatures will not separate us from God, but will lead us to Him, as it were, by the hand.
Whatever sweetness, whatever joy, whatever objects worthy of love or admiration, offer themselves to thy senses, receive them with a chaste mind, and learn to refer them to God, or to the state of eternal blessedness. So wilt thou be joyful in the Lord,
IF we carefully and wisely reflect upon creatures,
they will wonderfully fill our minds with admiration,
and greatly inflame us with love of the Supreme
Creator. For the whole universe is, as it were, a
book written by the finger of God, in which each
creature forms a letter. But as one who has not
learnt to read, when he looks into an open book, sees
indeed the characters of the letters, but understands
not their significance and force; in like manner, he
who perceives not the things of God, beholds the
external aspect of creatures, but comprehends not
their interior meaning. “The senseless man shall not
But the spiritual man, whose mental eyes are open,
when he contemplates the external works of God, inwardly perceives how wonderful is the Maker of
them; and from the fairness of those things which he
is contemplating, he parses on to that Divine Beauty,
which is fairer than all other beauty, and from
whence all beauty springs. To him who is occupied
with this joyful contemplation, all things are miraculous; so that in amazement he is forced to exclaim
with the Prophet, “How great are Thy works,
O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom ” (
It certainly ought not to appear to us less astonishing that the juice of the vine should be every year
changed into wine (by the disposition of God), than
that formerly in Cana of Galilee, water should, also
at His command, have been changed into wine (St.
How worthy is it of admiration that God should
have created out of nothing the heavens, and the
earth, and all that they contain; and that He is able
to create more, since He is an infinite ocean of substance! He made all things (sin alone He did not
make; and, indeed, sin ought not to be called a created substance), He also
preserves all things. For, if He did not by His power preserve what He has
created, all things would instantly return to nothingness; because, in themselves, they are nothing, and
depend entirely on God, by whom they were made.
His care extends over all things: He “reacheth from
end to end mightily,” and from the Angel to the
minutest worm “ordereth all things secretly” (
THE multitude and greatness of created things manifest the power of the Creator; their beauty and qualities show forth His wisdom; their usefulness declares
His goodness. How many things hath God created ]
Do thou number the stars of heaven, the sands of the
sea, the dust of the earth, the drops of rain, the feathers of birds, the scales of fishes, the hairs of quadrupeds, the leaves and fruits of trees. Number the
men, the birds, the cattle, the plants, the stones;
count all other things, if thou canst; if thou canst
Then how fitting, how fair, are all the creations of
God! Look into the structure of the human body,
behold the fabric of the heavens, consider the disposition of the elements, and the vicissitudes of the
seasons, with all other created things; everywhere
thou wilt find wonderful harmony, marvellous adaptation and ornament. For, if thou wilt contemplate even the leaf of a tree, thou wilt discover in it
a work of stupendous skill. Thou wilt see how fitly
it is strongest where it is nearest to the branch of the
tree; thou wilt see how beautifully it spreads out, and
forms itself, how skilfully it is guarded all round by
serrated teeth, and interwoven here and there with
ribs; compare any one with another of the same
kind; thou wilt find as many teeth in one as in the
other; as many ribs in one as in the other; and the
same shape in both. What, again, is fairer than light?
What pleasanter than the serene sky? What more
glorious than the brilliant sunshine? What more
But, behold all things, both great and small, beautiful and unsightly, sweet and bitter, soft and rough, were formed by the Supreme Creator for His own praise, and for the benefit, the use, the teaching, and the solace of man. We have mentioned a few things, because our space will not allow us to speak of many; but neither can the mind comprehend all things, nor can they be expressed in words.
Do thou learn from what hath been said to philosophise on those things of which we have not spoken. Contemplate all things with a grateful mind. Speak occasionally to thyself these or similar words: O how powerful and how great is He who created so many and such immense creatures! O how beauteous and how sweet is He who made things so lovely and so attractive! O how good and how liberal is He who has given us all those things! In this manner do thou pass through creatures to the Creator, in creatures admire their Maker; with creatures praise their Benefactor. If the eyes of the mind are purified, so that thou canst also contemplate the invisible creatures of God, the rational soul adorned with purity and holiness, the Angels, the Virtues, Powers, Dominations, and the other citizens of the heavenly abodes, these miracles will overwhelm thee, and well nigh transport thee altogether beyond thyself.
LET this thought precede all thy actions, (even when
thou hast to eat, to drink, to sleep, or to afford any
other solace to thy flesh) that thou desirest to perform
them purely for the honour of God. For, as any
work, however great and important it may seem in
itself, is utterly displeasing to God, if it is done with
According to the teaching of St. Paul, make not
provision for the flesh in its concupiscences (
Avoid with prudence the occasions of evil. If thou
art of necessity present where there are evident occasions of sin, fortify thy weakness with prayers, and
call upon God, saying, Let my heart, Lord, and
my body be undefiled before thee (
Love quiet and silence, dwell in the secret of thy
heart, and converse interiorly with thy God. Be not
eager to seek out, to hear, to know, or to look into
anything that does not concern thee, or that is of no
use to thee. Have no curiosity about what is without,
nor about the deeds of others; but let thy occupation
be within, and about thy own vices. Thou shalt not,
I say, attempt to discuss the manners and the lives of
others: thou shalt not engage thyself in observing
them, unless the duties of thy position require it.
And even if duty demands it. this sort of watchfulness
must be guarded, so that thy care of others may go
only as far as necessity or the good of souls may require, not as far as curiosity or levity of mind might
urge thee. In thy affairs, avoid precipitation and a
Abhor idleness, the parent of all evils, and the certain ruin of the soul; sedulously expel indolence from thy mind. Though thy body may some times languish, yet thy reason must never yield to sloth; but thou must be prompt in spirit and in will. Thou shouldst not always give way to unseasonable sleepiness; but when it is very urgent, thou mayest yield to it a little, according to the opportunity of the time and place; so that, refreshed by a light and short sleep, thou mayest return with more alacrity to thy necessary labours.
REFRAIN thy tongue from uncharitable and unbecoming words. Speak wisely what is useful, true, and fitting, when the time and place or some good reason require thee to speak, putting entirely aside all deceit and all culpable dissimulation. The tongue is a little member, but exceedingly dangerous and prone to evil. Do thou diligently restrain it, and govern it prudently.
Let all hateful bitterness and all immoderate and
unseasonable sharpness be absent from thy words.
Fly from disputes; do not readily either assert or
deny anything with pertinacity, unless the cause of
Thou shalt neither speak with eagerness of those things which concern thy own praise or the discredit of others, nor listen to them with pleasure. And if it should be necessary to speak or to hear such things, let thy intention be pure and innocent. He labours under a dangerous disease who willingly speaks of the vices of others, and divulges them rashly. Such a one often covers with a false pretext of zeal for piety and justice the things which he says out of mere levity or from a bad disposition.
When thou hast to reprove any one, do thou exhort and admonish him rather than reproach or
revile him, so long as the matter admits of gentleness.
If severity is necessary, see that thou art severe with
out bitterness. Let not anger or any selfish motive
urge thee to more vehement correction, but only the
love of God and the good of souls. Let thy reason
remain ever tranquil. Let holy discretion rule and
temper even the severity of thy words. Persecute
the sin, not the man. For man is a good thing,
created by God; sin is a bad thing, made by man.
When thou seemest outwardly to inveigh sharply
Do thou cut short as far as in thee lies, without rudeness, all discourse that is immodest or otherwise pernicious, and divert it to other subjects. Thou must abhor not only to consent, but even to lend an ear to detractors. Thou shalt never favour the sins of others.
Thou shalt hate no man, nor shalt thou show to any one that thy affection is diminished, however much he may have injured thee.
If an aversion to another arises in thy mind, thou must immediately suppress it: and if thou canst not succeed in extinguishing it, let thy reason resist it. When God is offended, then indeed thou mayest suspend thy accustomed familiarity with the delinquent, in order that he, seeing thee changed, may more readily look into his own heart, and, acknowledging his sin, may more quickly correct himself: thou must not, however, lay aside thy benevolence, nor allow thyself to feel harshly towards him.
If a difference should arise between thee and
another, do thou on thy part at once endeavour to
restore peace and to treat of reconciliation; so that
no vestige of the quarrel may remain in thy heart.
Hatred of our neighbour is a huge evil, a huge evil
Though thou mayest fast much, though thou mayest
give abundant alms, though thou mayest assiduously
frequent the church, and pray continually, though
thou mayest daily offer the heavenly sacrifice upon
the altar: yet if thou hatest thy brother, thou art
not of the number of the sons of God. By charity
are the children of God distinguished from the children of the devil. This is a tremendous saying, but it
is a true one. He who is Himself the Truth saith, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (St.
REJECT unworthy suspicions and rash judgments:
learn to think well of all. We are but men; we may
With regard to those things which are not manifestly offences
against God, and of which thou art not sure, accustom thyself to interpret them
in the best sense. If any one has sinned, commiserate him, and with pity excuse
him to thyself. Recall to mind how frail is the nature of man, and how prone to
fall. Consider that it has come to pass through some slight negligence, or by
the vehement impulse of temptation; and say within thyself, If I had been pressed
by such circumstances, I should perhaps have fallen
into more grievous and enormous sins. Turn the
eyes of thy mind on thyself. Consider the sins of
thy brother to be, as it were, a little mote, but thy
own to be like a huge beam (
We do not say, however, that the sins of thy
Thou shalt never despair of the salvation of any one; for those who are now the worst, may soon be changed by the grace of God and become most holy. Learn to bear the defects of others patiently, whether they be defects of mind or of body. We all have the same Father, we are all redeemed by the same Blood, we are all truly said to be one body. Esteem, therefore, both the evil and the good of thy neighbours to be thine own; grieve for the one and rejoice in the other; even if thy neighbours should be thy adversaries.
Never let the pest of envy invade thy mind, with
thy consent; for if thou enviest, thou lovest not;
and if thou lovest not, thou art not of God (
Examine thy conscience frequently (keeping to a certain method), and reprove thyself. Do this chiefly at the end of thy daily actions, before thou givest thyself up to sleep. Think over seriously within thyself in what thou hast offended during that day; and, having asked pardon of God, resolve thenceforward more diligently to avoid sin. Commend thyself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to His Holy Mother, and to thy Guardian Angel: and having made the sign of the cross, compose thyself modestly in bed; and thus calmly wait for sleep, with some pious thought in thy mind.
In the same way when thou risest, make the sign of the cross with attention, and humbly seek pardon of God for thy sins; and casting aside the confusion of useless dreams, meditate on something serious. Praise thy Creator, give thanks, and offer to Him thy soul and thy body; and pray that He will deign to preserve thee during that clay. Thus, yea, thus do thou order thy life; thus hasten to the joys of eternal bliss.
THOU wilt say, perhaps: And what hope is there for
me, who am liable to various passions, who cannot
attain to perfection, who can hardly endure even the
least austerity, or the lightest labour? If, indeed,
thou canst not lead a sublime life, nor bear hardships,
canst thou not be of good will, and love God and thy
neighbour? What is easier or more sweet than to love?
What, on the other hand, more hard and bitter than
to hate? What is pleasanter, what easier, than to lead
a good life? What, again, more joyless and laborious
than to abandon God, and be a slave to vice? It is
certainly true that we may purchase heaven at less
cost than hell. If thou lovest God, and hast good
will, thou art of the number of the sons of God. And,
if thou art a son, however little thou mayest be, thou
wilt also be an heir. What then? Will God admit
to His kingdom only those children who are great in
His sight, and exclude those who are little? By no
means: but all who are His, that is, all who pass
hence bearing the mark of charity, although they may
not be perfect in charity, will be saved, and at length
obtain the joys of heaven (
Good will is so great a treasure, that the whole
world cannot be compared to it in value. For, when
thou dost wish and desire to do any good work, but
art not able, that holy desire is received by God as if
it were the work itself. But, if thou canst work, and
workest not, then thou hast not the will to work. “Peace to men of good will” (St.
Be not, therefore, cast down because thou art as yet weak and imperfect; but humble thyself before God, and rejoice in the complete sanctity of those who are perfect. God may grant thee to make further progress. He sometimes bestows greater gifts than man even dares to ask.
Be not afraid; if He sees that it will contribute to thy salvation and to His honour, He will enable thee in time to disperse with the lightest breath that rust of vice, which, in the beginning of a better life, thou couldst hardly scrape off, so to speak, with an iron file. But, if it is His will that thou shouldst undergo a fierce combat before thou canst perfectly subdue thy vices and unruly passions; if, I say, He should permit these domestic enemies to molest thee even to the very end of thy life, be not dismayed: but, full of faith, bear patiently the weight of His hand, and joyfully embrace His will.
Although he who is naturally prone to sadness, indignation, anger, and similar passions, will find the strife harder than one whose mind is naturally joyful and tranquil; yet, if he strenuously resist these tumults, and endure them with equanimity for God’s sake, he will be effectually cleansed from sin, and prepare for himself a more glorious crown in heaven. For the allurements of the flesh and the assaults of vices, when we sedulously resist their attacks, diminish not our virtue, but adorn it, and increase our merit. It is easy for him to keep his mind placid, who rarely endures internal tumults. It is easy for him to be cheerful who is seldom molested by interior darkness. It is easy for him to be sober who is rarely tempted by gluttony. It is easy for him to be pure whose mind is seldom afflicted by the stings of concupiscence and the obscene images of the night.
Do thou endeavour to bind and repress those vicious
passions and inclinations. Do all that is in thy power
peacefully. Seek, ask, knock; (St.
O THAT love of God and contempt of the present life
were so strong within thee that thou mightest truly
say with the Apostle St. Paul, “I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ!” (
This life is, indeed, a gloomy winter, pinched by the frost of our own corruptions, clouded over by the darkness of ignorance, laid waste by the rushing storms of so many calamities, labours, and sorrows. Those who sigh under the afflictions of the winter, will be consoled and rejoice when the summer shall have come.
Happy is the hour, and most desirable the moment,
But some sensual man reading this, who has been
used to delight in visible things, or even in carnal
pleasures, may perchance say to himself: And what
joy can there be where feasts and banquets and all
the pleasures of the flesh are absent? Alas, wretched
man! the appetite for those carnal delights denotes,
not health, but sickness. Thou art sick, thou art
consumed by an evil thirst; and if thou couldst
satisfy it, thou wouldst esteem thyself happy. But
when with thy body thou shalt lay aside thy disease,
then will be extinguished that fatal thirst, under
which thou unhappily labourest. In the life to come,
those who shall attain to God, shall enjoy true and
solid delights. They who shall possess God will not
need corruptible food and drink, for they will be full
of God. God will be to them, food and drink, and
O LIFE eternal! most desirable abode! heavenly
Jerusalem, who can describe thee? who can speak of
thee, or rightly understand thee? In thee is that
good, that joy, that solace, which “eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the
heart of man” (
Oh, what an ocean of unalloyed bliss, what a torrent of unmixed joy, what an abyss of purest delight
is it to see the God of gods in Sion (
CEASE to love worldly things, and thy departure out of the world will not be grievous to thee. But perhaps thou art not greatly attached to anything in this world, thou possessest nothing that thou art not ready to relinquish: yet art thou still a prey to fear, because thou knowest not how God will receive thee when thou passest hence, whether into the eternal rest of paradise, or into the temporary pains of purgatory. This knowledge is not necessary for thee; it is sufficient for thee to be certain that thou hast a most pitiful Lord, who mercifully washes away sins, who has inspired thee with good will, who is both able and willing to save thee, if thou confidest humbly in Him, and trustest not in thyself. Let the consideration of His immeasurable goodness inspire thee with confidence, and with the expectation of being saved.
Be ever vigilant; as far as thou art able, let thy
loins be girt, and thy lamp burning; that when the
Lord cometh and knocketh, thou mayest open to
him immediately (St.
In order that thou mayest pass without danger over the nets of the devil, and happily avoid the snares, with which he is accustomed sometimes to afflict the dying; thou mayest, either mentally or in words, while thou art in possession of thy senses, declare thy forgiveness of all who have ever injured thee, and thy desire to end thy life in that faith in which an obedient son of thy holy Mother the Church ought to die; that thou believest all things which must be believed by the true and orthodox faithful of Christ; and that if, through the suggestions of the devil, or the violence of thy malady, thou shouldst perchance think, speak, or do anything contrary to this intention, thou dost by no means consent to such follies.
Having made this profession, thou wilt henceforth
despise and ridicule all the promptings of impiety,
which the devil in his malice may whisper; nay,
thou wilt, if possible, cease to notice them. Trust in
the Lord; rely upon Him; cast utterly on Him
every thought, every fear, yea, thy whole self. For
this is most pleasing to Him, this He requires of thee
above all things, and therefore He says in the Psalm, “Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him” (
THOU must place thy chief hope of salvation not so much in the merits of the good works which thou mayest have done, as in the merits and mercies of Jesus Christ. If, however, the enemy should importunately urge thee either to distrust or to despair, thou mayest bring forward against him those things which the grace of God accomplished in thee; but above all, the Passion of our Lord, and the Death of our common Redeemer. Confess thyself to be sinful and miserable, whatever progress thou mayest seem to have made in perfection. For where thou perceivest in thyself no stain, or at most one only, God perhaps may see six hundred, or many more. Thou canst not of thyself obtain salvation; but with God all things are possible.
If thou art of good will, if thou dost earnestly desire to love God; thou art rich in this, although poor
and naked in thyself. For thou mayest assume to
thyself those things which He did and suffered for
thee. For thee made man, He came forth from the
womb of the Virgin undefiled; for thee He laboured,
for thee He fasted, for thee He watched and prayed;
for thee He endured persecutions, injuries, insults,
mockery, scourging, pains, and grief; for thee He
shed His Blood, and laid down His life; for thee He
rose again, and ascended into heaven. Now, if thou
comparest thy sins, yea those of all the world, to
This is said, not that thou mayest be proud in thy confidence, but lest in thy humility thou shouldst be mistrustful.
Not they alone will come to God, who have long
led a holy life, or practised great austerities; but all
who manifest “a contrite and humble heart” (
But this being granted; it may not happen to all who repent at the last hour to obtain that which he obtained (for all have not the same compunction that he had); yet it is a great thing, to have even begun hero an amendment of life. For he will by no means perish who had begun during this pilgrimage to amend his life, but being cut off by death was not able to complete the amendment; for in him there remained the foundation of the love of God. And although he must undergo purgation before he can enter into the joys of eternal blessedness; yet will he not be destitute meanwhile of the consolation of a sure and certain hope.
WHAT can be more liberal than this promise of God? “The wickedness of the wicked,” He saith,
“shall
not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from
his wickedness” (
If, therefore, thou murmurest and complainest in thy foolish
thoughts, crying out that thy life has not 1 been such as to allow thee the hope of attaining to
eternal glory: do thou answer with holy humility and pious confidence, “I know whom I have believed” (
Moreover, whether thou shalt depart hence at home
or abroad, whether in thy bed or in the fields, whether
by a peaceful or a violent death, let not this greatly
disturb or distress thee. It cannot be that he who
leads a good life should die a bad death. By whatever
kind of death he is overtaken, he will be in rest
(
Do thou, therefore, trust thyself wholly to the
Providence of God; and, leading a good life, wait
joyfully for death. And, when it is at hand, go forth
Read over this rule frequently, and carefully examine thy life by it; in order that thou mayest easily discover what is amiss in thee, and, having discovered it, mayest immediately set it right.
I HAVE written this little book, overcome by the pious importunity of a certain friend. He ceased not to entreat me to compose a sort of spiritual mirror, in which I might briefly note down those things which most conduce to leading a holy life, and carefully insert whatever can give consolation, true hope, and confidence in God to the sinner, or to him who is imperfect, but of good will; so that this mirror might be of use to any Christian. I, therefore, wishing to satisfy in some measure the just desire of my friend, have here put together a few things, as they occurred to my memory. And what I have done, I have done for the honour of God; humbly submitting all that I have collected and written to the judgment of Holy Mother Church.
But those who, casting away the fear of God,
remain of their own accord in their sins and iniquities, must on no account imagine that to them
belong the consolations spoken of in this little
§ 1. The knowledge of God and of self is the foundation of the spiritual life.
§ 2. The knowledge of God must be according to the true and undefiled faith.
§ 3 Thou must exact from thyself first and before all things innocence of life.
§ 4. Thou must have also a humble and courageous hope.
§ 1. On the Knowledge of God and of Self.
I EXHORT and entreat thee, most dear friend, to
fear, honour, and love the Lord thy God, the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, One in substance, Three in Per
sons. For He is omnipotent, immense, eternal, most
high, unchangeable, incomprehensible, supremely just,
supremely holy, supremely wise, supremely good, supremely desirable. He created out of nothing the
heavens and the earth, and all that is contained in
heaven and earth. He sees and perfectly knows not
only the actions of all men, but also their thoughts
Take the utmost care, lest by sinning thou offend
Him. Even if thou couldst save thyself and many
others from death by consenting to some sin, thou
must in no wise consent to it; nor is it permitted to
do evil that good may come (
Reflect seriously, that for this end thou wast created by God, and hast received an immortal soul endowed with reason, that thou shouldst here obey God, and love Him; and that, by obeying Him, and leading a good life, thou shouldst at length clearly behold Him in heaven, and enjoy Him for all eternity. For, if thou dost diligently avoid evil, and do good; if. faithfully serving God, thou dost end this life piously; then shalt thou happily attain to heavenly bliss, through the Passion and merits of Jesus Christ.
§ 2. On the true Faith.
Do thou firmly hold the Orthodox Faith, believing
without any hesitation all which is contained in the
canonical and holy Scriptures received by the Church,
Out of this Church, which is One, out of this Ark
of Noe, none can be saved. Although there be in it
not only good men, but also many wicked ones, who
shamelessly commit grave abuses and grievous sins,
(for it is a threshing-floor containing not only solid
grains of corn, but also, with the grain, barren and
light chaff) yet doth the truth remain in it. For
there doth the Holy Spirit teach, enlighten, and rule
the faithful; and He giveth to the same Church the
true understanding of the Holy Scriptures (St.
If thou shouldst find thyself in such straits as that
thou art forced either to deny this orthodox faith, or
to undergo tortures, and meet death; do thou die a
thousand times (if it were possible) rather than speak
a word, or give a sign, of impious denial. For if thou
deniest the faith of Christ, Christ will also deny thee
before His Father; (
Detest superstitious observances, and all use of the
arts of magic and divination. Never seek remedies
or counsel from sorcerers or dealers in enchantments;
but flee ever to the Lord thy God, place thy hope in
Him, and rest on Him. Listen to Him saying to His
people in the book of Deuteronomy: “Let there not
be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer,
nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune
tellers. For the Lord abhorreth nil these things.
These nations hearken to soothsayers and diviners,
but thou art otherwise instructed by the Lord thy
God” (
§ 3. On Innocence of Life.
Do thou diligently avoid all iniquity, and listen
attentively to the Apostle St. Paul, who, with great
weight of words and seriousness, saith: “Know you
not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of
God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of
God (
In order that thou mayest obtain purity of conscience, and be interiorly enlightened, recall to mind
how thou hast offended God and neglected thy own
soul,—in words, deeds, desires, or thoughts,—by want
Afterwards do thou humbly, completely, sincerely,
simply, openly, and in few words, confess these thy
sins before a fitting priest who, holding the place, of
God, has authority to absolve thee. If thou wishest
to confess all the grave faults and offences which
thou rememberest to have committed from thy child
hood; when thou hast done this once it is enough and sufficeth to the eternal truth of God; although
But thou must reject superfluous and foolish scruples; for they shut out interior light, and disfigure by fear, anxiety, and self-love, the conscience which ought to be adorned with faith, hope, and charity. If any remorse remains after a confession well made, it must be borne with patience and humble resignation, and such a confession must not be lightly repeated on account of it.
Therefore, be thou not anxious nor disturbed, if by chance thou hast not mentioned all thy venial sins in confession; for it is enough that these should be declared in general, since it is only mortal sins, and those of which we are doubtful whether they are mortal, that we are bound by precept and necessity to confess expressly and distinctly before the priest. But before God we ought seriously to confess these venial sins, which may be effaced in many ways; for instance—by contrition, by saying the Lord’s prayer, by any burden borne for God’s sake, by the use of holy water, by genuflexions, by beating the breast, &c., if these things are done piously and religiously. Yet it is of benefit to the so;1, and pleasing to God, that a man should confess and declare to the priest even his lighter offences; but let him, as we have said, reject ground less scruples.
When thou dost repent of having sinned, and dost
grieve that thou hast ever offended God, and intend
§ 4. On Courageous Hope.
Hope in the benignity and mercy of God. For
since thou hast purified thyself by fitting contrition,
confession, and satisfaction, thou art already reconciled
to God, even if thou alone shouldst have perpetrated
all the iniquities and transgressions of all mankind.
He has already received thee into His favour, and He
will neither impute to thee nor reproach thee with
the past sins which He has pardoned. He has so
covered them, He has so blotted them out, (if thy
repentance has been true, holy, and supernatural), as
if they had never been committed. But it behoveth
thee to persevere henceforth in a good and pious life,
and when thou fallest through frailty, quickly to rise
again. Thy God is a most liberal King; He most
willingly remits all thy debts, how great soever they
may be; He is an all-powerful Physician, He speedily
heals by His word every disease of thy soul, however
grievous and incredible. King David (2 Kings, xii.),
St. Mary Magdalen (St. Luke, vii.), the thief on the
cross (
Some men of little faith abandon the hope of their
salvation on account of the evil they have done, or
because of the dire temptations with which Satan as
sails them; thinking that their consciences are so
bound and entangled, that God either will not or cannot come to their assistance. They are miserably
agitated by unconquerable fear: they imagine that all
they do is displeasing to God, and that they are already condemned and lost. This is a great and most
hurtful error, and he who consents to it, greatly dishonours God. God wills and is able to forgive every
man who is truly contrite, and to deliver him from all
that may hinder his salvation, whatsoever it may be
He did not will to forgive the converted sinner, He
would not so patiently wait for his conversion, nor
give him contrition and good will, but would punish him with eternal damnation when he sinned, according
to the measure of his iniquities. Sometimes, however
He permits His faithful servants and chosen friends to
be assaulted by despair, or other horrible and evidently infernal temptations, and to be vexed by them throughout a long time; but He does this out of His immense
There are yet many who, not rightly understanding the greatness of the mercy of God, lose their souls, because they amend not their wicked life, but say, if not in words, at least by their deeds, “Why should we not do what we will? for, whenever we shall be converted to God, God will pardon us, and will remit all our sins.” But, alas, such men, promising themselves a long life, and true repentance, often by the just judgment of God obtain neither, and die in their sins.
But how is it possible that he who is willing to
amend his life should despair of the most gracious
mercy of God? For God saith by His Prophet, “If
the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath
committed, and keep all my commandments, and do
judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall
not die. I will not remember all his iniquities that he
hath done: in his justice which he hath wrought, he
shall live. Is it my will that a sinner should die, and
not that he should be converted from his ways, and
live?” (
§ 1. Patience.
§ 2. Resignation.
§ 3. Obedience.
§ 4. Avoiding of vain glory.
§ 1. Patience.
AND in order to do penance in a way most pleasing to God during all the rest of thy life, thou must bear with a meek and gentle heart all the adversities and annoyances which, by His permission, come upon thee and are inflicted by creatures. The Lord is accustomed to gladden at first with many consolations one who is converted to Him, offering him, as it were, assiduously the spiritual milk and white bread of grace; but afterwards, taking away that sweet nourishment, He gives him solid food, and black bread, leads him by a very difficult and dark road, and tries him with daily tribulations and unspeakable anxieties; insomuch that he seems to himself to be utterly abandoned and rejected by God, and in a manner given up to Satan. Meanwhile, he is also grievously afflicted by evil passions rising up within him, and by the persecution of men.
If this should happen to thee. see that thou bear
thyself manfully and wisely; trusting firmly in thy
God, who out of true love thus chastises thee or permits thee to be chastised. Shake not off from thy
Never murmur against God, nor blame His works and His judgments, since although these are hidden and unknown, and even incomprehensible to thee, they are yet ever just and most righteous. Think not that anything happens in the world by chance and without the providence of God; but in all things attend wisely to the divine dispensation, without which not even one leaf falls from the tree. God, who created all things, governs also and rules all things, from the highest angelic spirit to the vilest worm of the earth. If thou dost undoubtingly believe this, thou wilt be able more easily to keep thy mind even and undisturbed amid the various circumstances of the present life.
§ 2. Resignation.
Be, I pray thee, resigned and of good- will, and
truly humble. Never esteem thyself to be of any
account; but remain ever little and of no value in
thy own eyes and in thy own esteem. Magnify not
the good works thou doest, knowing them to be full
of defects; but make great account of the good works
of others, and prefer them to thine own. Take not vain
complacency in any gift of God; for he who consents
In doubtful cases, seek with a submissive mind to know the will of God from one who fears God, and God will direct thee and protect thee. Learn to abandon readily thy judgment, thy will, and thy desires, for God’s sake. Since it is difficult always to know for certain what desires are from God, a man ought to be ready to renounce even those things which he thinks he rightly desires, and to say to God: “O Lord, let not my will be done, but what Thou wiliest, and what is most to Thy honour.”
§ 3. Obedience.
Be ever ready to obey: because the least work
done by true obedience is more pleasing to God than
a great work done by thy own will. For it is better
to pick up straws out of simple obedience, than of thy
own will to give thy mind to the sublime contemplation of heavenly things: and he obtains more of the
divine favour who, out of pure obedience, eats soberly
and moderately to the praise of God, than he who,
of his own will, undertakes the most rigid abstinence.
If any one will not obey in those things in which he is bound to obey, and is bold, rude, and contumacious towards his superiors, that man is most hateful to God. A certain virgin of exceeding holiness, seeing in spirit the soul of a certain monk who was sup posed to have led a good life, grievously tormented in purgatory, she enquired of God for what reason that soul was not in heaven. And the Lord answered her in this manner: “That monk would not humbly obey and consent to the will of his Abbot and Superior in all good things; whatever was done by the Abbot displeased him, for he esteemed himself to be wiser than he, and to be able to act better on all occasions.”
When thou art reproved, receive the reproof with a tranquil and gentle mind, and readily acknowledge thy fault. If it be necessary to excuse thyself, do it briefly, modestly, and humbly.
§ 4. Avoiding of Vain-Glory.
Desire not admiration, nor to be held in honour
among men. And though thou mayest do some good
works before men, yet thou shouldst do them not
that thou mayest be seen and glorified, but that men
may glorify God, and be edified to the praise of God.
The moment thou perceivest a desire of vain-glory
arising in thee, correct it, and rejecting and setting
aside all impure motives, seek and have regard to
Be not unwilling to perform the lowest and most abject services for the love of thy Heavenly King Jesus Christ, who for thee humbled Himself beyond all measure. Place thyself below all men, and dwell in the quiet valley of humility as in a most safe abode. Hold thyself to be like a vile and cast-off rag, which every one may freely tread under foot.
If thou feelest thyself inclined in thy words, gestures, and actions, to please any mortal man, so that thou seekest not purely God, or the honour of God, thou must immediately condemn and detest in thyself this inclination as a most impure source of pride, and lay aside the bad intention. Thou must instantly mortify whatever vanity, boasting, or elation thou discoverest in thyself.
Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, and the blessed angelic spirits, and all the citizens of heaven are humble and detest pride; that, on the contrary, the wicked demons are proud and pursue humility with hatred. Do thou join thyself to the former, and separate thyself from the latter. Be fully persuaded that thou canst not possibly live for God, unless thou art humble and resigned, and dost strive to die to the vices and inordinate propensities of thy nature. Inasmuch as thou lessenest the pernicious self-love, by which thou seekest thyself impurely and reflectest on thyself, insomuch will the true love of God increase in thee.
§ 1. Interior affection.
§ 2. Exterior manner and conduct.
§ 3. Beneficence.
§ 4. Benevolence.
§ 5. Compassion.
§ 6. Judgment of others.
§ 1. Interior Affection.
CHRIST our Lord saith in the Gospel, “This is my
commandment, that you love one another, as I have
loved you” (St.
Consider within thyself what excellent creatures they are, as being stamped with the most noble image of God in their souls, and capable of eternal blessedness; and let this consideration lead thee to treat them with love and honour. For God made in Elis own image and likeness only the angelic spirits and men, giving them reason and intelligence; and on account of this admirable dignity, they far excel all other creatures.
When thou seest a man who is deformed or diseased, thou shouldst not love him the less because of his deformity, nor dwell upon the thought of his corruptible and mortal flesh, but pass on to the consideration of the fairness of his immortal soul. For so great is the loveliness and beauty of a rational soul which is undefiled by the stains of sin, that if thou couldst clearly discern it, thou wouldst almost lose thyself for joy and admiration.
True beauty is spiritual, and is beheld by the eye of the mind. A man of ordinary appearance who is righteous, is greatly to be preferred to one who is outwardly beautiful, but in his life and conversation wicked; for the former is in reality the most beautiful. And the body of the just man which is now without beauty, or even repulsive in our eyes, will one day rise again most fair and glorious. Do thou, therefore, love every man with true charity, according to the precept of God.
§ 2. Exterior Manner and Conduct.
Thou shouldst not wear before others a severe countenance, nor be of a perverse or bitter spirit; but, overcoming thy nature, -show thyself to all, sweet, benevolent, affable, and ready to serve them. And if thou art easily moved to anger and indignation, or hast any little feeling of bitterness against any one, consent not to that vice, but repress, mitigate, and extinguish it as much as thou canst, grieving that thy heart should still be so full of harshness.
Humble thyself, and implore the assistance of God. When He shall have abundantly infused into thee the sweetness of charity, thou wilt no longer be so inclined to bitterness. God often permits his chosen friends to be prone to anger, in order that they may the more fully know themselves, and the better keep themselves humble.
§ 3. Beneficence.
Assist with a ready will those who are in need of
thy help. And chiefly towards those who have hated
thee, or who vex thee, do thou show friendliness in
heart, countenance, and words; do good to them, as
occasion may require, and faithfully pour forth prayers
to God for them, as Christ Himself teaches, saying, “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you;
and pray for them that persecute and calumniate
you ” (
Send also spiritual alms to the faithful souls detained in the pains of Purgatory, praying devoutly
for them. Whatsoever thou shalt do for their release
and refreshment, Christ, who ardently loves them,
will so receive as if thou hadst come to visit Him in
prison, and hadst laboured to release Him. For they
belong to the mystical Body of Christ, and Christ
asserts in the Gospel that what is done to His members
§ 4. Benevolence.
Be greatly desirous of the salvation of all men, and let it seem no light loss to thee, if one single rational soul should perish; for since it is stamped with the image of God, it is more excellent and ought to be held of more account than this whole visible world. “We are all members of one body, of which the Head is Christ. Therefore, wish not ill to another, neither envy any one; but rejoice in the good of others. In jure no one wittingly. Disturb not, nor distress any one without reason. Reproach not any one readily. Be at peace, as far as lies in thy power, with all.
If by chance there has arisen a difference, or a serious quarrel, between thyself and another, be thou quickly anxious for reconciliation, and do whatever may be required on thy part, as a humble and true servant of Christ. Endeavour, moreover, to bring back to peace and concord others who are at variance, by pious prayer to God, or by any other suitable means.
Thou shalt treat no one with contempt or disdain: for that is very contrary to holy humility and charity. Despair not of the salvation of any one still living: since he who is now perverse may, by the grace of God, quickly become good. The bridge of the divine mercy is not yet broken, but still affords a safe pas sage to those who repent
§ 5. Compassion.
As them dost to the afflicted, so also to sinners, do thou show pious compassion and commiseration. Lament over the ignorance and blindness of men. Recall to mind how great is the weakness and corruption of man who is tempted, and how great the malignity and pertinacity of the devil who tempts him. Extenuate the faults of others, and excuse them as far as thou canst; but accuse thyself severely of whatever thou doest amiss.
Think not on any account that the salvation of thy neighbour concerns thee not; for thou (even if thou art not in any way set over him) art bound willingly and sedulously to promote it. Offer, therefore, prayers to God for sinners, and strive to be of use to all; thus wilt thou merit signal favour in the sight of God.
Out of zeal for justice, and the honour of God, thou
must also reprove thy brother, as may be fitting.
Never consent to the sins of others, nor flatter any
one. If thou art angry in correcting or punishing a
sinner, be angry without bitterness, without hatred.
Make war upon sin in man, so that thou hate not the
man whom God made, on account of the sin which
the man committed. Hold sin, but not nature, in abhorrence. For, if thou hatest man, thou art lost, because thou livest out of charity; and thou canst not
obtain salvation, unless, laying aside hatred, thou dost
return to holy love. For, as the Apostle St. John
saith: “He that loveth not, abideth in death” (
If thou wilt diligently consider how thou didst lately or how thou dost still abound in faults and defects both of mind and body, and how far thou art from the purity, holiness, and fidelity which thou owest to God; thou wilt surely bear with equanimity the burdens and imperfection of others, as discretion and justice may dictate. Confess that it is thy fault, on account of thy wicked and negligent life, that others make little spiritual progress, and often offend God.
§ 6. Judgment of Others.
Interpret favourably, as far as possible, the actions and words of others. Think not ill of others lightly. When evil and absurd suspicions of any one arise in thy heart, let them immediately pass out of it again; suffer them to fly past thee. And although thou sometimes fear lest the devil seduce a man, or lest some evil lurk in him; believe not yet for certain that evil does lie hid, if it is not thoroughly ascertained by thee. In this manner refrain from rash judgments; and be not foolishly curious in observing the defects of others, but watch for thy own defects, and judge thyself.
Meddle not improperly with those things which are
not committed to thy charge; but leave them in their
own state and condition. Let good things be good;
Accustom thyself to live without many complainings. If thou must often complain, complain to God, or to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the other Saints; setting before them humbly and calmly those things that oppress and grieve thee.
§ 1. The inordinate love of creatures.
§ 2. Mortification of carnal delights.
§ 3. Moderation in dress and furniture.
§ 4. The manner of bodily refreshment.
§ 5. The government of the tongue.
§ 6. The custody of the senses.
§ 7. Manners and gestures.
§ 8. The control of our thoughts.
§ 1. The inordinate Love of Creatures.
RECALL frequently to mind
that thou art a Christian, not for the sake of the present but of the future
life;
Make use of creatures here for the honour of God;
but beware of clinging to them with faulty affection.
Keep thyself free and pure within, as far as thou art
able. Do thou refer entirely to the Creator, and to
thy heavenly home, whatever beauty, elegance, sweetness, fragrance, melody or perfection, thou perceivest
in created things; for all the fairness, sweetness, and
perfection of creatures flows from God. Thou mayest
indeed receive some solace in God from these created
Therefore thou shalt not attach thyself with in ordinate love to any man, although he be very pious and holy; nor shalt thou desire that any one should so attach himself to thee, but be content with thy God, and delight in Him. Words cannot express how dangerous and hurtful is an inordinate love and affection towards any one. more especially when a person binds himself to another of different sex by this sort of affection and incautious familiarity. Love thyself and all men in God, and for the sake of God; but love God for His own sake.
I beseech thee, delight in Jesus Christ, thy sweet
Creator and Redeemer, thy true riches, thy true
and most joyful good. If thou art not able to love
Him ardently, love Him as thou canst, and as much
as He deigns to give thee grace. Desire that thou
mayest be enabled to love Him perfectly by His own
merciful will. And if thou feelest not this desire, do
thou at least desire to have the desire. Say to thy
gracious Lord: “O good Jesus, I ought and I wish
to love Thee with my whole heart; deign to supply
for me what is wanting to my ardent desire and
love.” Thou mayest also say, “O Lord, I ought to
be, and I wish to be, humble, resigned, patient,
kind, gentle, modest, chaste, sober, active, and devout; do Thou in Thy goodness deign to supply all
my deficiencies in these virtues.” For as often as
thou shalt thus piously and from thy heart pray to
§ 2. Mortification.
As a pilgrim and stranger in this world, despise impure delights, that is to say, those of which God is not the cause, and which do not tend to union with God, and are not necessary to the support of nature. If thou still boldest the pleasures of the flesh in esteem and art much given to them, thou dost not yet sufficiently understand that thou art a stranger and pilgrim here.
Remember that thou art not an animal, but a man endowed with reason. Happy is the truly spiritual man, to whom it is sometimes given to experience how far heavenly and divine delights surpass and exceed those which are earthly and carnal. Happy is he who, beholding with the eyes of faith the pride of the flesh and the pomp and glory of the world, recognises that they are nothing: and in truth they are like a flower that quickly falls and withers away.
§ 3. Moderation in Dress and Furniture.
Seek not vanity, luxury, and unlawful superfluity in dress and furniture: but observe moderation and measure according to thy condition.
§ 4. Bodily Refreshment.
Be moderate in taking food and drink, and avoid
When thou art especially tempted by greediness
and an inordinate appetite, reflect how quickly this
enticing pleasure passes away, and how pernicious it
is. Doubtless, if thou shalt have followed it, and
satisfied it without restraint, thou wilt afterwards
grieve for having done so; but if thou shalt have
curbed thy evil appetite for the sake of God, and
kept thyself clean, thou wilt indeed rejoice in thy
conscience. In order to feed the devotion of thy
mind while thou art eating, thou mayest (if thou art
not prevented) mentally dip the morsels which thou
takest in the Precious Blood of Christ, and take thy
drink from His crimson Wounds. Thou mayest also,
while thou eatest, ruminate on these words, “May
the virtue of Thy divine love, my beloved Jesus,
incorporate me and unite me intimately with Thee;”
and when thou drinkest reflect on these, “May the
sweetness of Thy divine charity, most loving Jesus,
If thou shouldst, perchance, have slightly transgressed the bounds of temperance (which may easily happen, even to a pious man), pray God humbly to pardon thy want of moderation; and being thus cleansed, be of good courage. He who, setting aside sobriety, gorges himself with much meat and drink, after the manner of swine, leaves no room within himself for the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.
Thou mayest, no doubt, blamelessly grant solace to thy body by eating, drinking, resting, sleeping, and taking care of thy health.
A certain very holy virgin, when she had given
such refreshment to her body, rejoiced as if she had
given it to Christ, who said, “As long as you did it
to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me ” (
§ 5. The Government of the Tongue.
In thy speech be circumspect, honest, chaste, and
blameless. Delight in reasonable silence. Utter not
vain and trifling words, nor such as excite immoderate
laughter. For Christ saith in the Gospel: “Every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an
account for it in the day of judgment ” (
Avoid also asperity and pungency of words, and abhor the vice of detraction and evil-speaking. If it be necessary, or evidently useful, to speak of the defects of others, see that thou introduce nothing be yond this, nor with any other intention. And then beware lest thou be impelled to speak by bitterness of spirit or ill-will.
Moreover, thou shalt not affirm for certain those things of which thou art uncertain. Flee most carefully from all falsehood, all hypocrisy, duplicity, and wicked dissimulation, and deceit. For God admits no one into His kingdom who is not simple and far removed from all false appearances.
If thou shouldst happen to hear any one uttering
slanderous and evil, or improper words, thou must
contrive to cut short that discourse, or even modestly
and discreetly reprove him who so speaks. And, if
thou art not well able to do this, show nevertheless
by the sadness of thy countenance, or by sighs, or by
departure, or by any other fitting sign, that those
§ 6. The Custody of the Senses.
Thou must guard with the utmost diligence thy tongue, and the five senses of thy body, that is to say, sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling. See, therefore, that thou use them not otherwise than is permitted. For if thou lovest much talking, and art given to indulging thy senses without restraint, thou wilt be unable to make any progress in virtue, and wilt lose the grace of God; for it flows away through the senses, as it were through crevices.
§ 7. Manners and Gestures.
Be calm and composed in thy manners and gestures. Thou wilt do well to show thyself moderately cheerful, to the honour of God, at fitting times and places, among those with whom thou hast intercourse. Be extremely careful not to incur the guilt of scandalizing any one by thy words or deeds.
§ 8. The Control of our Thoughts.
Keep thy thoughts and affections pure and innocent. When any bad thought, or evil image, or foolish mirth has come into thy mind, and thou feelest some impure affection arise in thy heart; be ashamed, and quickly and simply turn thyself away from it, bringing back the eyes of thy mind to God, or to some harmless subject, or making the holy and salutary sign of the cross.
Against the shameful inclinations and lusts of the flesh, it is of no little avail to reflect on the shortness and vileness of carnal pleasures, and on the corrupt nature of the flesh itself. For what is flesh, how soever fair and attractive it may appear, what is it but filth, and rottenness, and a noisome stench? If that delicate skin were taken off which displays such great beauty, the whole flesh would be hideous. We assuredly have to die, and after death the body will be come a most repulsive corpse.
The Angelical Salutation piously recited is of wonderful avail, and also the invocation of the Saints, and the fear and horror of losing the grace of God, and the diligent consideration of what it would be to be for ever separated from God and all His friends, and to be plunged into eternal torments with the devil in hell. But we most easily and happily overcome the evil suggestions of the malignant spirit, by despising them as though they were troublesome flies, rather than by answering them with much reasoning.
§ 1. Singularity is to be avoided.
§ 2. And also the excess of austerity.
§ 3. God is to be the end of our actions.
§ 4. The assistance of grace.
§ 5. The merits of Christ.
§ 1. The avoiding of Singularity.
IN all thy works and exercises be discreet, prudent, thoughtful, and earnest, and be careful to preserve thy tranquillity and liberty of spirit. Worship God and serve Him, not in a negligent and perfunctory manner, but devoutly and zealously. Diligently avoid all faulty singularity. This vice of singularity is especially to be shunned by those who dwell in monasteries, and are bound to live according to a common and approved rule. There are some who take a strange delight in doing anything that is not done by others. They are better pleased if they have once fasted while their companions were eating, than if they had fasted ten times with others. But they miserably deceive themselves.
§ 2. And of Austerity.
Although thou mayest read or hear of many holy
men who have led very severe lives, and although
thou mayest perchance be impelled by the first fervour
of thy conversion to embrace unusual austerities;
thou shouldst not inconsiderately follow the dictates of
§ 3. Let God be the End of our Actions.
Whatsoever thou doest or omittest, let it be done or omitted for the honour and glory of God: so that in all things thou mayest look simply to God by a pure intention, and be bound to Him by the glorious bond of good will, never knowingly or willingly seeking thyself. The moment thou discoverest in thyself any inordinate self-seeking, repudiate it, and deny thyself; for self-seeking and self-will corrupt and spoil our good works. True self-denial assuredly sounds sweetly in the ear of God, and marvellously delights His Majesty. If thou sayest only one Hail Mary to the perpetual praise of God, with self-denial, it will be more pleasing to God, and of more advantage to thyself, than if thou wert often to recite the whole Psalter of thy own accord or out of self-will.
There is no action so insignificant that it may not
be of great advantage to the soul if it be purely referred to God. Wherefore, he
who for the sake of God places even one little flower on the altar, or adorns
the image of any Saint with a sincere and devout intention, will doubtless receive a great reward.
§ 4. The Assistance of Grace.
When thou art going to undertake anything, raise thy heart to God, ask counsel of Him, and call upon Him; knowing that unless He help thee with His grace, thou canst neither do nor say anything accept able in His sight.
Observe diligently what God may speak to thy heart, and whether it be reasonable and agreeable to Him that thou shouldst do this or that. If thou art uncertain whether thy inclination be from God, observe whether thou wouldst be ready to follow the will of God, if it were made clear to thee. And if thou findest thyself wholly disposed to follow the will of God, and humbly beseechest Him to enlighten and to teach thee; then thou mayest trust that what thou art most drawn to is from God, provided it be in accordance with Holy Scripture and the teaching of the Church.
It is, nevertheless, advisable that thou shouldst
seek to ascertain the will of God from some one who
is enlightened and fears God; and that chiefly in
difficult affairs, on account of the wiles of Satan, who
§ 5. The Merits of Christ.
If thou dost combine and unite thy good works and exercises with the actions and exercises of Christ, and offer them to God to His eternal praise; this offering will he highly acceptable to the Lord, and thy works will receive an ineffable glory and dignity from the actions of Christ with which they are united. Thy lead (so to speak) will be changed into fine gold, and thy water into most excellent wine. Let Jesus and Mary be thy beloved refuge and hope; and do thou commend to them by devout prayer all thy necessities and all thy affairs.
§ 1. Diligence in custody of the heart.
§ 2. Sorrow in desire; that is to say, sorrow is true when reason vehemently desires to grieve for sin, and to have an intellectual hatred of it.
§ 3. Falls from human frailty.
§ 4. The assaults of vices and temptations.
§ 5. Perseverance in holy resolutions.
§ 6. Confidence in the assistance of the grace of God, not in our own strength.
§ 7. Of prayer.
§ 1. Custody of the Heart.
Avoid with all prudence the occasions of sin, and any
companionship which may turn thee away from God;
§ 2. Sorrow in Desire.
Neither be thou tormented if perchance thou feelest no sorrow nor contrition. For if thou dost heartily wish and desire that thou hadst not offended God, or even if thou art sorry that thou dost not grieve for it; this sorrow is seen and accepted by God, who considers not so much what thou feelest as what thou desirest. Say often these or similar words, “O Lord Jesus! would that I had never offended thee! O that I might henceforth live according to thy most gracious will, and be pleasing to thee!”
That contrition is most excellent which is combined
with love, hope, and humble confidence in God.
Lighter offences are doubtless more effectually and
quickly effaced, if a man humbly acknowledging his
§ 3. Sins from Human Frailty.
It is one thing to fall into venial sins only through frailty in occasions of sin; and another to commit them through pure and culpable negligence. That man sins through frailty and unawares, who not being taken captive by the love of any creature, is ever ready to abandon all things which he knows for certain that God wills he should abandon; but who yet is prone to fall when occasion offers, through elation of mind, or impatience, or sloth, idleness, levity, and overabundance of words, or sensual and carnal affections, and who is intemperate in food and drink, or more mirthful than is meet, or immoderately anxious and busy; yet as soon as he recovers himself he grieves that he has not been more guarded, and, utterly abhorring the least stain of sin, immediately seeks pardon for it. His heart is not corrupt, and sins and passions have not much hold upon him, nor do they greatly impede in him the grace of God.
On the other hand, he certainly offends through
pure and culpable negligence, who is wilfully and
with his own knowledge held captive by love and
affection for creatures, and unrestrainedly seeks from
them pleasure and delight. For even though he may
possess himself in freedom when occasions of sin are
removed, he yet, for the most part, desires those occasions, and he neglects and makes light of the faults
§ 4. The Assaults of Temptations.
Again, it is one thing to be attacked by evil passions,
and another to be overcome by them. So long as
thou consentest not, so long as the vices displease thee,
and thou resistest them with thy reason and thy will,
thou withdrawest not from God, however they may
attack and molest thee. Some servants of God are,
by nature, placid both within and without, and are
but slightly molested by vices. Others are more
severely tempted when occasions offer, being by their
very nature prone to pride, or vain-glory, anger or
greediness, luxury or other faults; but they will not
in any way yield their consent to these vices. For
when they feel any inclination towards them, they
instantly abandon and contemn whatever is adverse
to God and to their spiritual good, and, repudiating
all sensuality, they flee interiorly to God by faith and
humble prayer. These are often more acceptable to
God than the others, and excel them in virtue; for
the perfection of virtue is attained by efforts.
It is possible, however, that some one of those who
strive earnestly against sin, may be detained some
what long in Purgatory after his death; but when he
.shall be fully cleansed, he will obtain a much higher
Even if thou shouldst feel very urgent evil impulses
in those inferior and sensitive parts of the mind which
we have in common with the brute creation, but with
out consenting to them, even if unclean images and
unheard-of blasphemies against God and the Saints
repeatedly enter into thy mind against thy will,
they would not contaminate thy soul, but would
cleanse it, and prepare for it wonderful crowns in
heaven. Many very pious men are so tormented by
temptations of this sort, that they cannot say a single “Our Father,” or “Hail, Mary,” without diabolical
suggestions. They are oppressed by intolerable difficulties, and think themselves guilty of many crimes; but
in the eyes of God they are glorious martyrs. On
account of these suggestions, anxieties, and afflictions,
we must never omit our prayers, even though they
may be disturbed by innumerable distractions, nor must
we neglect any good work. He who once consents to
vain-glory is more displeasing in the sight of God than
if he had for many years felt the worst suggestions
enter into his mind without consenting to them. Let
the malignant spirits rage as they may, let the flesh
entice and excite to evil, the soul, which by
deliberate will refuses to turn to evil, loses not the
grace of God. The intellect is often so occupied by
importunate suggestions, and by evil thoughts and
If in thy sleep (when the reason is not free) thou shouldst have some unclean dream, thou must not be too much afflicted and fearful because of it, provided that on awaking, and being fully master of thy reason, thou rejectest what is sinful. Sin depends entirely on the will,—so that if it be not voluntary, it is not sin.
Therefore, I repeat again for thy consolation, if on account of an injury done to thee, or of evil speaking against thee and thine, or for any other cause, thou shouldst feel thyself violently moved to anger, or to feel ill-will or envy towards any one, and meanwhile thou art displeased with thyself, and dost repress to the utmost of thy power the vice which is active within thee, and strivest to expel and mortify it by humble confession and prayer, thy salvation will suffer no detriment. There may, indeed, be a tempest in the lowest regions of thy soul; but in the upper regions, thy reason will remain tranquil and thy will incorrupt and unconquered.
Nothing will altogether separate thee from the
friendship of God, if thou consentest not to sin. But
neither the devil nor any other creature can force thee
to consent, since thou hast free will, which God is
ever ready to strengthen by His grace, lest thou
shouldst fall by consenting. If, however, thou hast
§ 5. Perseverance.
PERSEVERE, therefore, in thy holy resolutions, even if thou fallest a thousand times a day. Hope steadfastly in the Lord, who ever most graciously grants forgiveness to a man of good will humbly acknowledging his fault. It is assuredly impossible for the humble to be repelled by Him and perish. Oh! if being interiorly illuminated by the light of grace, thou couldst in anywise know and feel how merciful, how gracious, how sweet and good is Jesus; thou wouldst, doubt less, conceive a great and loving confidence in Him, and wouldst feel the utmost exultation. And this joyful confidence would render thee, not idle and negligent, but exceedingly prompt and diligent in well doing. The merciful Jesus often sweetly visits and consoles with His grace one whom He yet knows to be about soon to fall and to commit some sin. Oh! how readily He receives thee, when arising from thy fall, thou returnest to Him with humility and love! Then do the angelic spirits and the other citizens of heaven rejoice with great joy, and embrace thee in most sincere charity; for they also are most benignant and merciful.
When any one labours under an inordinate fear of
damnation, and yet strives with all his strength to lead
a good life, it is expedient and prudent for him to
refrain from dwelling much on the just judgments of
Let him fear and be terrified at the severity of
the judgments of God, who, neglecting God, and
spurning his commandments, persists in his iniquity,
and will not amend his life. It is no doubt to
such a one that the Blessed Paul speaks, when he
utters these terrible words: “Despisest thou the
riches of His goodness, and patience, and long-suffering? knowest thou not that the benignity of God
leadeth thee to penance? But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to
thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of
the just judgment of God” (
God is often said in Holy Scripture to be terrible,
Hence in the Book of Wisdom it is written: “Thou
being master of power, judgest with tranquillity” (
§ 6. Confidence in God.
Resist with constancy the temptation to despair and discouragement. Do all that is in thy power to make more and more progress; yet trusting not in thy own labours and efforts, but in the help of the Lord thy God; for they who trust in themselves fail, since man of himself can do no good thing.
7. Prayer.
Beseech God assiduously that He will mortify in
thee, and take away from thee whatsoever is displeasing to Him; beseech Him to make thee a man
after His own heart. For if thou hast faith, and perseverest in humble petition and prayer, thou wilt with
out doubt receive whatever is conducive to thy salvation, according to the promise of Christ, who saith;
“Ask, and you shall receive” (St.
If perchance thou seekest piously for what would not be for thy good, God will give thee something that will be profitable to thee. He is a most loving Father; if He denies thee when thou askest for spiritual riches, it is because thou art childish, and knowest not how to make a good use of them. He lays up for thee, however, in heaven each time a hundred-fold what thou dost ask. It is, indeed, impossible that the least prayer rightly offered, the least sigh, or the least pious aspiration to God, should fail to bring forth great fruit.
Recite frequently that most excellent and most
sweet prayer, which our Lord Jesus Christ pronounced
with His own sacred lips, and taught to us. And in
praying to God, thou must not imagine Him to be corporeal and visible; but believing him to be a Spirit,
adore and pray to Him in spirit and in truth. St.
§ 1. There is some imperfection in all men.
§ 2. Good will.
§ 3. Mortification.
§ 4. Union of our works with the merits of Christ.
§ 1. The Perfection consisting in Good Will.
IF them canst not be as perfect as thou wishest to be, humble thyself and be resigned. Congratulate in thy heart those who are perfect, glorifying God, and giving thanks to Him for their perfection. God often permits some fault or imperfection to adhere to His elect, who are most dear to Him, by means of which they may become vile in their own eyes, and remain humble. There are some who have acquired health and vigour of soul, and have risen to such a degree of virtue, that they would be ready to undergo death rather than offend God of their own will and knowledge; and yet, not being aware that they are strong, they are ever in fear and anxiety, and are fully persuaded that they are weak and ailing.
Our most wise and gracious Creator, out of His great
faithfulness and the love He bears them, leaves them
in this ignorance and fear as long as they live. For
He clearly perceives them to be so frail that if they
had ascertained that they were sound, they would
immediately look upon themselves with vain complacency. It is good for them to endure this misery,
§ 2. The Value of a Good Will.
Thou must on no account lose confidence, because
thou art imperfect; for God cannot reject a man of
good will. He intimately knows thy weakness, and
mercifully consoles thee in the Gospel, where the
holy Angels are related to have sung at the Birth of
Christ those words most ardently longed for: “Peace
to men of good will” (
If thou dost reasonably what is in thy power, and
truly desirest to please God, He will, doubtless, at
length exceedingly reward thy endeavours, thy labours
and desires, and thy good will, even though there be much
inequality in thy pious works, exercises and prayers,
and many defects be mingled with them. For so long
as thou withdrawest not thy will from God, and often
grievest for thy imperfections and thy multiplied
offences, God. in His unspeakable goodness, accounts
thy works worthy of an eternal reward. So long, I
say, as thou retainest a good will, and, carefully abstaining
Assuredly, all good things depend upon the will; and when thou earnestly desirest with thy whole heart, and doest all that lies in thy power to possess humility, charity, or any other virtues, without doubt thou possessest them in the sight of God. In like manner, when thou desirest from thy heart to do any good work, but art not able, God receives thy good will for the deed. And God accounts thy desire to be as great as thou with thy whole heart wishest it to be. It is, therefore, exceedingly profitable to pray thus: “Would that I might, O my Lord, for the honour of Thy name, have as much love and affection for Thee as any creature ever had! O most gracious Jesus, I earnestly beseech Thee, that I may at all times rise to Thee with my whole will and eager desire, according to Thy good pleasure. I seek and desire with my whole heart to please Thee perfectly in all virtue and holiness, by Thy merciful will.”
3. Mortification.
Thou must not be pusillanimous, nor imagine thyself to be remote from God, because, perchance, thou
canst not practise great austerity of life, or because
thou dost not feel thyself inwardly impelled and
attracted towards it. For it is not in this that true
perfection and true holiness consist; they consist in
the mortification of self-will and of evil inclinations,
Rejoice and praise God, that many, being assisted by His grace, lead and have led austere lives; for thus, by pious congratulation and sincere love, thou wilt make their merits in a manner thine own, and thou wilt receive from God reward and glory for the virtues which thou purely lovest in others.
Moreover, thou mayest offer to God the Father, in stead of the austerity in which thou art wanting, the fasts, the vigils, the tribulations, and the most bitter Passion of Christ. And if, with the help of God, thou shalt embrace a somewhat more austere manner of life, do it simply for the glory of God, and make not much account of this austerity, nor put trust in thy merits, but rather rest all thy hopes on the Passion of Christ, and on His satisfaction, expiation, and merits.
Although the imperfect must never lay aside the
holy fear of God, they have not much reason to fear,
providing they are always striving to be better; they
have not, I say, reason to be inordinately fearful.
§ 4. Union of our Works with Christ.
Believe me, he who is truly humble and of good will, possesses in Christ—because of the devout and sincere desire of his heart—whatever may be wanting in himself; he possesses in Him all holiness and perfection. For, without doubt, it was for this that Christ came into the world, for this he became incarnate and suffered, that He might save sinners who humble themselves, raising them to eternal bliss; that He might satisfy for them, making good and supplying for their deficiencies, and enriching them with His merits. Like a faithful parent, He laid up treasure for His children, whom he loved from all eternity.
Beseech Him, therefore, that He will fully answer,
satisfy, and supply for thee; pray Him to adorn thy
Thou mayest also say to God the Father: “O most merciful
Father, I beseech thee by Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ, to have pity on me, and
to grant me such or such a thing to the eternal praise of thy Name.” For
whensoever we ask for anything piously and holily in the Name of the Son, or
through the Son, that petition is well pleasing to God the Father, since nothing
is more dear to Him than His Son.
Commend thy good works and exercises to the
§ 1. The praise of humility.
§ 2. The chief acts of it.
§ 3. The virtue of patience.
§ 1. The Praise of Humility.
OH, how worthy of praise is the virtue of holy humility! I admonish thee, again and again, most especially
to cultivate this virtue; for it was this in particular
that Christ wished us to learn from Him. He saith: “Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of
heart ” (
§ 2. The Acts which are Special to Humility.
Let thy heart be humble and submissive. Acknowledge thy nothingness, thy infirmity and powerlessness,
confess thy ingratitude towards God, thy malice and
thy vileness. Of thyself, thou art indeed nothing,
and without the help of God’s grace thou canst have
no good desire, do no good action, nor even conceive
one pious thought. Of thyself, thou art ever prone
Since thou hast nothing of thy own but sin, do
thou attribute every good thing that thou hast or
doest to the mercy and loving-kindness of God, seeking the praise and glory of God, not thine own.
Take not to thyself so much as an atom of the gifts
of God; even if thou alone hadst done all the good
works of all men, thou shouldst remain as naked and
destitute (as regards thy opinion of thyself, and the
undue esteem of thy works,) as if thou hadst done no
good thing. If thou usurpest and ascribest to thyself
any of the gifts of God, and if thou desirest to be
held in honour of men on account of any interior or
exterior grace, there lurketh in thee great pride. Hold
that most pernicious pest in abhorrence; and if, perchance, it conies into thy mind, consent not to it. Say
to God: “O Lord, I would rather die than consent;
I renounce all impurity.” Not only ascribe no good
to thyself, but cast back upon thyself the blame of
all the evil that is done in the world. Confess thyself
to be utterly unworthy of the benefits and gifts which
Doubtless, since thou hast by thy sins grievously offended the Lord of supreme majesty and holiness, it would be but just that God Himself and all creatures should torment thee horribly. Wherefore thou shouldst not be astonished, nor disturbed in mind, when thou feelest thyself interiorly dry, barren, unsettled, in darkness, and as if abandoned by God; or when thou art oppressed by daily and heavy crosses, difficulties or temptations, and when others despise and persecute, or even strike thee, and insult and speak evil of thee. Thou thinkest then, perhaps, that God is angry with thee; but that anger is fatherly, and proceeds from love. Be not discontented with so loving a Father, when He tries thee, or allows thee to be tried by adversity. Be meek, patient, and resigned, and give thanks.
Thou must, however, have a reasonable fear,
knowing that God sees many faults in thee, while
thou, perhaps, perceivest only one, or none at all;
fear, I say, and impute to thy sins what thou hast to
suffer, acknowledging that thou hast deserved worse
things; but by no means imagine thyself, on account
of these punishments, not to be dear to God. On the
contrary, they should make thee very confident that
thou art dear to Him: “For the Lord scourgeth every son whom He receiveth ”
(
Pardon speedily from thy heart all the offences of those who
hurt and annoy thee, and show thyself benignant towards them, returning good for
evil, and bearing quietly and with equanimity their sharp words and threatening
gestures, and cruel deeds, and what ever wrong they may have inflicted on thee
or on thy friends. And lest this should seem to thee too difficult in practice,
place before the eyes of thy mind what thy Lord Jesus Christ endured for thee,
and the example that He gave thee, who, when He suffered, murmured not, was not
angry nor sought for revenge, but most mercifully prayed for His enemies.
It sometimes happens by the permission of God,
that a good man, who seeks God alone, falls into some
grievous trouble and affliction, either from natural
temperament and indisposition, or from the influence
and changes of the weather, or by the operation of
the evil spirit, or from other causes; this man, thinking he is displeasing to God, then usually loses his
peace of mind, and is subject to sadness and disturbance. If such distress come upon thee, do not
thou wish to shake it off violently, nor seek out divers
§ 3. The Virtue of Patience.
Tribulations in this life are most precious gifts of God, and
there is no more certain sign of divine election than to bear adversity with
humility and resignation for the sake of God. By means of cold, heat, sickness,
and every other exterior and interior trial, God purifies, sanctifies, and
wonderfully adorns the souls of His elect. And when He sees that they are unable
to bear collars of gold, He adorns them at least with garlands of flowers, that
is to say, with lighter tribulations. He would never permit even the least
breath of wind to disturb His elect, unless He knew that it was expedient for
their salvation. It is of more profit to a man to endure even a moderate trial
patiently, for the honour and love of God, than to accomplish great works.
Humble patience and resignation in adversity, sound sweetly in the ears of God,
and bring Him quickly to the aid of the afflicted. Hence the Prophet saith: “The
Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart ” (
Whatever thou now sufferest, God foresaw from eternity that
thou wouldst suffer it in this manner;
Learn, I pray thee, to receive solely from the Hand
of God, all things that happen to thee, whether in
soul or body, or in what belongs to thee; for whatsoever happens, happens by His wise disposal, nor can
any misfortune touch thee except by the permission
of God. Even did all the demons at once desire to
rush upon thee, they could not come nigh thee, unless
God permitted it; wherefore thou shouldest not fear
them, but God. As I have said, learn to receive from the Hand of the Lord of goodness all things as being
best for thee, though perchance such, a calamity and
affliction may fall upon thee as may seem to be adverse to thy salvation. For it is impossible that what
thou receivest simply from the Hand of the Lord
should not be the best and most profitable to thee,
since God gives to those of good-will nothing but what
is best and most conducive to their salvation; and this
is as certain as that God exists. If He were to give
Thou must also receive from the Hand of the most merciful God those afflictions and crosses of which thou art thyself the cause, or which happen from thy own fault. Yet thou must ever lament the evil thou hast done, and by no means lay the blame of it on God, who can never be the author of sin; nor on the devil, who had not the power of forcing thee to sin; but impute it solely to thyself, who didst consent to sin. Whenever any vexation or hardship is inflicted on thee by creatures, turn straightway the eyes of thy heart to thy Heavenly Creator and Father, who, out of love, permits this for thy good. Let thy mind dwell rather on Him, than on the creatures which bring the tribulation, for these are as it were the instruments, the tools which the Supreme Artificer uses as He wills, and as He knows to be profitable to His elect. If thou art disturbed and losest patience as often as men speak evil of thee or thine, or inflict any injury upon thee, thy tranquillity of mind rests not on God, but is placed in men, and depends on men. And if this were so, then verily wouldst thou be most unhappy and miserable.
RESIGN thyself wholly to God, submitting and conforming thy will in all things to His blessed will and disposal, for thus and no otherwise wilt thou at length obtain true and abiding peace of mind; thus will it be evident that thou truly lovest God. Therefore, whether God gives thee prosperity or adversity, whether He wills thee to be in light or in darkness, remain content, bearing all changes according to thy strength with a calm and steadfast mind, praising God and giving Him thanks. When thou seemest to thyself to be pining in great darkness and aridity, and art oppressed by grievous perplexities, if thou dost then conform thyself to the Divine Will, and for God’s sake endure that misery and affliction with sweet tranquillity, thou art much more pleasing to God than if thou wert illuminated with divine light, and all were joyful within.
In trouble and affliction man cannot so easily seek
himself as in sensible sweetness and consolation, for
in the latter there is mostly some mingling of nature,
and if the soul is incautious, it readily contracts a
stain through immoderate delight. Assuredly it
cannot be that any one can endure anything with
resignation for the glory of God, without perceiving in
some degree the divine sweetness. If, however, it
should happen that he does not perceive it, that is,
If the Will of God is sweet to thee, when He wills that thou shouldest be, in health and live, but is bitter to thee when He wills that thou shouldest be ill and die, thou art not yet fully resigned, thy heart is not yet right. If thou desirest to have it right, submit it in all things to the Divine Will, which is ever right. Suffer God to do with thee what He may will, and as He may will, in life and in death, in time and in eternity. Let God with thy consent do whatsoever pleaseth Him with thy soul and body, with thy friends and thy possessions, and with all thy concerns. Desire only that His Will be always done, and let that Divine Will be thy greatest consolation. Say to God: “O Lord, as Thou hast willed from eternity, so be it, and not as I will: let Thy most gracious Will be done in me and concerning me, and in all men and in all things, now and for ever.”
Thou canst ask for nothing better, nor canst thou pour forth in the presence of God any more excellent prayer than that thou desirest His Will to be done.
Even if thon hast not long since begun to lead a
better life, and thou art about to die, nevertheless be
thou resigned, and seek not to know or to enquire
whether God will .send thee after thy death to purgatory, or receive thee at once into heaven. Take thou
pleasure in the beauty of His justice, as well as in the
sweetness of His mercy. These are the words of one
If thou art a man of good-will, God desires to benefit thee; He wills that thou shouldst enjoy
eternal bliss with Him. He wills this, because He is
supremely good and merciful. The Creator abounds
in all things, and is in no want of thy good things;
but He seeks a heart turned towards Him, humble,
resigned, and full of firm confidence in Him, such for
example as He found in that thief, to whom He said,
hanging on the cross, “This day thou shalt be with
Me in paradise” (St.
Therefore, both living and dying, commit thyself
and ail things securely to the providence of God, casting
Nor must thou be doubtful of His surpassing love
for thee, because perchance all, or nearly all, thy life
has been ill-spent or wicked. Although the crimes
by which thou hast offended Him be innumerable and
most heinous, nevertheless since thou hast sincerely
confessed them, and turning away from them, and
sincerely humbling thyself, hast been converted to
God, and dost desire and strive from thy heart to
please Him, thou art verily dear to thy Lord, and to
all the court of heaven. God, who has given thee
true contrition, will doubtless also give thee pardon;
nor doth He regard what thou wast formerly, but
what thou now art or desirest to be. It is assuredly
to the great honour of God that He deigns so mercifully and benignantly to receive a most unworthy
If thou art not able to resign thyself as freely and
entirely as thou wouldst wish, if thou art fearful and
faint-hearted at the approach of adversity or of death,
be not troubled; for God regards and approves of
thy will and desire. And in order to console thy
weakness, Christ Himself willed to be seized with
fear and sorrow when His Passion and Death drew
nigh (
Repel indignantly from thy mind all inordinate sadness, and,
as has been said above, lean firmly on the benignity of God, saying with the
blessed Job: “Although He should kill me, I will trust in Him”
§ 1. The Presence of God.
§ 2. The Diesel Trimly.
§ 3. The Attributes or Perfections of God.
§ 4. Continual prayer.
§ 5. Spiritual reading.
§ 6. Variety of exercises.
§ 7. The Sacred Humanity of Christ.
§ 1. The Presence of God.
RECALL and turn thy mind frequently to the Lord
thy God, and walk reverently before Him, who is
everywhere by the presence of His majesty and the
greatness of His power. For He Himself saith by His
Prophet, “I fill heaven and earth” (
If thou enquirest, where was God before He created the world?
1 answer, that He was with Himself, He was in Himself, and now, after the
creation of the world, He is in Himself. God, therefore, who is everywhere,
penetrates all creatures, and by His simple and occult Essence is nearer to them
than they are to themselves. From Him it comes that all things are, since all
created things depend upon Him, and with out Him all things are nothing, and
speedily relapse into nothingness unless they are preserved by Him. All things
are in God, who sustains and rules them by His power. Wherefore St. Paul saith in the Acts
of the Apostles, that “in God we live, and move, and
be” ( Many of the early Fathers followed the reading given above,
and they explained the words of the Evangelist, as follows. All
created things, before they came into being, existed, not in
themselves, but in God; just as a house, before it is built, exists
in the mind of the architect who has designed it. And since, by
reason of God’s simplicity, whatever is in God is God and is
life, therefore all created things, as they exist ideally in God,
are life.
As we have said, God is in all things. He is in a most noble manner in rational creatures, stamped with His image, although He be far removed from the perception of the impious. For every wicked man is removed from God by dissimilitude, as every pious man approaches Him by likeness. Therefore God is present to the good by the saving bestowal of His grace; to the citizens of heaven He is present by the bright manifestation of His glory; to the lost by the congruous execution of His justice. Happy is that soul which, sincerely loving God, in this exile knows how to contemplate His presence (with the help of His grace) by the free, bright, serene, and simple perception of the mind!
2. The Blessed Trinity.
When the thought of the adorable Trinity enters
thy mind, make not to thyself three gods, after the
manner of the heathen; but believe, that the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are One God, who
is the illimitable fulness of being, life, power, holiness,
wisdom, goodness, sweetness, beauty, wealth, nobility,
The Father is from Himself. He is His own eternal
Essence, and He receives nothing from any other;
the Son is not from Himself, but from the Father
alone, and whatever He hath, He hath from the
Father; moreover, the Holy Ghost is not from Himself, but from the Father and the Son, and whatsoever
He hath, He hath from the Father and the Son. The
Father communicates Himself wholly to the Son; for
He gives Him His whole Divine Essence or the fulness of His whole Divinity, and, with the Son, as one
principle, He gives to the Holy Ghost the same fulness of the i Divinity. Yet there is no before or after
in the glorious Trinity, no greater or loss; but the
three Divine Persons, whose substance is one and the
same, are co-eternal and supremely equal, and supremely alike, and abide mutually each one in each
other. In the Father is the whole Son and the whole
Holy Ghost; in the Son is the whole Father and the
whole Holy Ghost; in the Holy Ghost is the whole
Father and the whole Son. Although to the Father
be attributed power, and to the Son wisdom, and to the
Holy Ghost goodness; yet the power, and the wisdom,
and the goodness of the three Persons is one and the
same. The Person of the Son assumed a human
nature, but not the Person of the Father, nor the
Person of the Holy Ghost; yet the Incarnation of
The image of the Holy Trinity shines forth beautifully in the soul of man. For, like the angelic spirits,
the rational soul has three very excellent natural
powers, namely, memory, intellect, and will; which
God bestowed upon it, that it might with the memory
remember Him, with the intellect know Him, and with
the will choose and love Him, and enjoy Him. Now, as
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are One God,
or One Divine Substance; so those three superior and
spiritual powers of the soul are one mind, or one essence
of the soul. The three eternal and inseparable Persons
of the Divinity operate inseparably; and the aforesaid
three powers of the soul being also inseparable operate
inseparably. The memory does not recall or reflect
upon anything without the intellect and the will; nor
does the intellect know anything without the memory
and the will; nor can the will choose or love anything
without the memory and the intellect. These three
powers of the soul are the spiritual senses; for sight
is attributed to the faculty of intellect, hearing to
that of memory; smelling, taste, and touch to that of
the affections or of love, that is to say, the will. But
as the spirit is more excellent than the body, so those
senses are more perfect and more worthy than the
bodily senses. Moreover when a soul, being raised
above its natural powers, has deserved to find
God in its simple essence and most secret depths,
and to be united to Him without any medium, it
Thou must not discourse otherwise than cautiously of the mystery of the Most High Trinity; for it is as impossible to explain it as it is for a man standing on the earth to reach heaven with his hand. For who can say or even understand, that the Father most clearly contemplating His eternal Essence, and perfectly knowing Himself, utters His Word, or begets His Son consubstantial, co-eternal, and co-equal with Himself? For that knowledge of Himself is in eternity the generation of His Son. Or who can comprehend, that the Holy Spirit proceeds and emanates from the Father and the Son, with whom also He is consubstantial, co-eternal and co-equal? These things sur pass all human understanding.
In order, however, that a sensible similitude may strengthen in thee the faith by which thou must believe the Son to be eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal, as the Father, from whom they proceed and derive their origin, is eternal consider that light and heat also proceed from fire or name, and yet are not posterior in time to the fire. For from the very moment that fire exists, it gives both light and heat; nor could fire ever exist without light and heat, so that if fire were eternal its light would also be eternal and its heat eternal. In like manner the light and heat proceeding from the sun are coeval with the sun.
As that incomprehensible Generation and Procession
in the Most Holy Trinity never had a beginning,
neither will they ever have an end, for if they had
§ 3. The Attributes of God.
Contemplate with all the devotion of thy mind the
goodness, the sweetness, the beauty, the loving-kindness, the mercy, the charity, the faithfulness of the
Lord thy God, and His other perfections, which are
utterly immense and incomprehensible. If thou
wishest to aspire to Jesus by loving ejaculations, thou
mayest with thy lips or in thy heart say these or the
like words: “O good Jesus, would that I were pure
and innocent before Thee! O that I might please Thee
by true humility and perfect resignation of myself!
O my most beloved, and most dear! O sweetness of
my heart, the life of my soul! O my pure joy, and
my chaste delight! O Lord, my God, what do I
desire beside Thee? Thou sufficest me; Thou art my
Be not, however, more vehement in these things than is fitting, but keep carefully within the bounds of discretion, lest thou shouldst injure thy head, and over-burden and destroy thy body. But when it happens to thee to feel some pain from thy spiritual exercises, offer it to God to His eternal praise, and be patient. If any one, without taking into account his strength, strives with violent and unseasonable efforts incessantly to concentrate his thoughts on interior objects, and to raise his mind to God, he does not suffer God to repose within him. Evil thoughts should indeed be repelled by salutary ones, and the eyes of the heart ought to be lovingly, calmly, and simply turned to God everywhere present. As one who is parched with thirst cannot easily forget his thirst, so one who exceedingly loves God, must of necessity be often mindful of Him, if he is not impeded by other thoughts. For where that is which we love and care for, thither turn of themselves the eyes and the thoughts. Each one should prudently consider the measure of grace he has received from God, since the Holy Spirit variously distributes His gifts.
4. Prayer.
By these words of the Gospel “We ought always
to pray, and not to faint” (St.
5. Spiritual reading.
When thou attendest as is meet to spiritual reading,
or doest anything else rightly to the praise of God,
thou dost often reap not less, yea even more, fruit
from it than if thou hadst prayed. For not only
prayer, but also any salutary words read or listened
to for the glory of God, and any other pious actions
and thoughts, wonderfully adorn the soul. The mind
of a good man receives indeed many and great bone-fits
from spiritual teaching; for it is thereby kept pure,
and lays aside its ignorance, and is made tranquil, and
is illuminated, nourished, excited, and strengthened,
and receives exceeding adornment. Be thou therefore
ready and willing to read, or to hear the Word of God
and all wholesome doctrine, by whomsoever it may
be uttered, and however simply it may be spoken or
written; but execrate the corrupt and pestilent doctrine
§ 6. Variety of exercises.
We should not persist too long in any one exercise, lest it should cause weariness, and engender sloth; but we should meetly vary our exercises. If exterior tears are wanting to thee in thy prayers or meditations and holy exercises, let it not disturb thee; for one who desires to plea.-e God is not destitute of interior tears; and though, his eyes may not weep, yet his heart weeps. For the tears which thou Last not, offer to God the Father the tears of Christ. There are some who would do well generally to avoid great sensible compunction, lest it should derange the health of the body and disturb the serenity of the mind.
Give thyself to God and to divine and spiritual
things, with a cheerful, free and simple heart, and
without inordinate anxiety and too great stretch and
application of the intellect. Seek the honour of God
in thy pious exercises, rather than thy own good or
thy own pleasure. Abandon utterly all faulty self-will; and be ever ready to interrupt or to leave thy
private exercises, when thou art aware that God so
§ 7. The Sacred Humanity of Christ.
Remember, I pray thee, what thy sweet Jesus (who
is thy God, thy Lord, thy Father, and thy Brother)
has done for thee, and devoutly give Him thanks.
He was made man for thee. He was always and
everywhere mindful of thee, and had thee before the
eyes of His mind, doing and suffering all things
willingly for thy salvation. Behold, and in thy
measure imitate, His humility, resignation, patience,
charity, gentleness, modesty, continence, sobriety, and
the other holy virtues which shine forth most perfectly in Him. The Life of Christ is a most excellent
book, common to the learned and unlearned, to the
Keep His worshipful Passion hidden like a precious
pearl in the casket of thy heart, and reflect upon it
with a grateful mind. Behold, thy Lord out of His
excessive charity willed to undergo unworthy and
cruel things, that He might satisfy for thy sins and redeem thee. Fill thy mind
with sweet images of His Passion, and plant in the midst of thy heart the
flowering tree of our Lord’s Cross. Choose for the
most dear Spouse of thy soul the same Lord Jesus
crucified and pierced with wounds, and lovingly contemplate and embrace Him. For out of His roseate and
life-giving Wounds now mellifluous streams of graces.
He who is able to apply the lips of his soul to His
Be not cast down if God does not in this life raise thee to
high degrees of contemplation; but beseech Him earnestly to give thee a good,
humble, and resigned will, and to keep it in thee to the end; ask of
Him that thou mayest ever live according to His
gracious good pleasure. And since thou hast not
strength wherewith to take a lofty flight, do thou
remain under the wings of the most loving eternal
Wisdom incarnate for thee, as a little, chicken remains
under the wings of the hen. Hide thyself and
repose in the sacred Humanity of Christ. This will
be indeed to thee, as it were, a secure vessel in the
stormy ocean of the present life, in which thou mayest
reach the haven of salvation, even though thou
mayest not attain to the fuller knowledge of the
Divinity here, where doubtless “the body is a load
upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth
Thou shouldst however, (as we have elsewhere admonished thee), look upon Christ with the eyes of thy mind not as Man only, but as true God and true Man; look upon Him as the noble gem of divine excellence, and the surpassing flower of human dignity. Albeit thou art unable more perfectly to behold the brilliant rays of the Divinity; thou canst nevertheless believe that the same glorious Divinity dwells in the Humanity and Body of Christ as in a worshipful temple. If thou believest this, and thus considerest the Humanity of Christ, thou wilt not wander far from His Divinity, but wilt sufficiently and profitably remember it.
When for the salvation of the world the only-begotten Son of
God was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, He
assumed what He was not and remained what He was. For He assumed a body and a
reasonable soul; He assumed, I say, complete manhood and remained God. The
Divine nature and the human nature (which are very different) were marvellously
united. The God head was not changed into flesh (for the Divine nature is
unchangeable), but the manhood was assumed into God. Each nature remained whole
and unimpaired, with its own properties. Then, therefore, the Eternal
Word, the rational soul, and human flesh were united
Wherefore during the Passion and while Christ
hung upon the Cross, He. in the higher portion of His
Soul, enjoyed the Beatific vision of the Godhead, as He
now enjoys it in heaven; yet at the same time in His
Body, and in the lower and sensitive powers of His
Soul, He was afflicted with the direst torments. And that His Passion might be more cruel, He permitted
not any consolation to overflow from the superior portion of His Soul into the inferior and sensitive portion.
Hence seeing Himself on the Cross so afflicted and
destitute of consolation, He as man exclaimed:—“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (
Perchance thou wishest to hear more expressly,
when God the Trinity created the Body and Soul of
Christ; listen therefore. The instant that the Blessed
Virgin Mary, by her humble resignation, gave her consent,
As we have said, the Humanity of Christ is the way and the gate, by which we reach the Godhead; nor can any one safely aspire to the repose of sublime contemplation and divine union, unless he strives diligently to imitate the most holy virtues of Christ, and by devout meditation to impress upon his mind the beloved image of His Humanity.
§ 1. Mystical union with God.
§ 2. There is a false union, which some embrace as if it were the true union with God.
§ 3. Revelations and visions.
§ 1. Mystical union with God.
IT is a great thing, an exceeding great thing, in the
time of this exile, to be joined to God in the divine
light by a mystical and denuded union. This takes
place when a pure, humble, and resigned soul, burning
with ardent charity, is carried above itself by the grace
of God, and through the brilliancy of the divine light
.shining on the mind, it loses all consideration and distinction of things and lays aside all, even the most
excellent images; and all liquefied by love, and, as it
were, reduced to nothing, it melts away into God. It
is then united to God without any medium, and be
comes one spirit with Him, and is transformed and
changed into Him, as iron placed in the fire is changed
into fire, without ceasing to be iron. It becomes one
with God, yet not so as to be of the same substance
and nature as God. Here the soul reposes, and ceases
from its own action; and sweetly experiencing the
operation of God, it abounds with ineffable peace and
joy. Here it tastes such delight, that heaven and
earth and all that is in them seem by the greatness of
the consolation to melt away, and to be reduced to
The soul, therefore, having entered the vast solitude
of the Godhead, happily loses itself; and enlightened
by the brightness of most lucid darkness, becomes
through knowledge as if without knowledge, and
dwells in a sort of wise ignorance. And although it
knows not what God is, to whom it is united by pure
charity, although it sees not God as He is in His
glory; it yet learns by experience that He infinitely
transcends all sensible things, and all that can be
written, spoken, or apprehended by the human intellect concerning Him. It feels that to pass out into
God without images, is far different from beholding
God in noble or divine images and similitudes. It
knows God by this intimate embrace and contact
better than the eyes of the body know the visible sun.
This soul well knows what true contemplation is: for
But all servants of God are not in this world rapt
above themselves, all do not thus reach the hidden,
simple, naked, God-like depths of the soul; all are
not admitted to that mystical and surpassing union
with God, to which no one can attain by his own
labour and endeavours, unless he be assisted by the
special grace of God. But those who are admitted to
it, ought to resume their own action, and holy images,
and good works and exercises, as soon as that glorious
operation of God in them ceases; they must remain
humble, and persevere in their desire of progress, and
so conduct themselves as if they were now first beginning to lead a good life. For during this life no
one penetrates so far and deep into God, as that he
may not at any moment penetrate farther and deeper;
and something will always remain in him which is not
yet sufficiently mortified. Supposing that he is no
longer moved by the sight of mortal creatures; still
it is necessary to be vigilant and to watch over himself diligently until death. King David was assuredly a man after God’s heart, who in his youth
feeding the flocks of sheep had received the grace of
sublime contemplation, yet after wonderful and prophetic illuminations (for God had made manifest- to
him the uncertain and hidden things of His wisdom)
(
§ 2. The Danger of false union.
There are some, who foolishly imagine perfection to
consist in this, that they being quiet and free, can
dismiss images from their intellect, and with mere
idle sensuality can retire into themselves; neglecting
meanwhile the love of God, and all pious works and
exercises. They indeed are miserable slaves of the
devil, following after false quiet, while they from impure motives seek themselves, and delight in
themselves rather than in God. But legitimate cultivators
of contemplation and supernatural quiet, so seek after
a denuded mind, and holy inactivity, that yet they do
not abandon good works and exercises. For they
give themselves to virtue according to their strength,
and praise God, and reflect upon the Passion of our
Lord, and give thanks, and pray frequently, if they
have time, and cleave to God by sincere charity; they
also regard and seek the honour of God rather than
their own pleasure. God works in them His most
noble work; for they, being filled with divine love,
present themselves before Him in the nudity and simplicity of interior silence, forming in their minds no
thought and no consideration. In this manner being
by the grace of God freed from all images, they are
rapt and fly up to the rays of the divine darkness,
and are without medium united to God. Most
pious men, although they do not attain to this height
Furthermore, as it would be absurd if one to whom a King had assigned the office of standing at his table and waiting upon him, were impudently to sit down unbidden to the banquet of the King, so he would he equally blameworthy who should wish to give himself up to the quiet of contemplation when he is evidently not called to it by God. Do thou therefore more and more desire and strive to please God, and nevertheless be always content with that grace which God deigns to bestow upon thee. If He should will to work in thee something singular, impede Him not; but dutifully follow His will, keeping thyself ever in holy humility and self-abasement.
§ 3. Revelations.
Desire not inordinately visions and revelations,
(which are sometimes granted even to the wicked).
Those who foolishly seek after them, and thoughtlessly
lend faith to them, are easily deceived by Satan, who
transformeth himself into an angel of light (
When the good Spirit visits the soul, it is usually
Those are assuredly least liable to be seduced by
the malignant spirit who are inundated in revelations
with the exceeding sweetness of divine love, and
the pure influence of intellectual and supernatural
light. And the Lord graciously preserves and protects
from being caught in the snares of the devil all who
§ 1. The Holy Eucharist.
§ 2. The worship of the Virgin Mother of God ought to be most acceptable to a. spiritual soul.
§ 3. The veneration and invocation of the Saints.
§ 4. It is lawful, pious, and profitable, to pay religious honour to their images.
§ 1. The Holy Eucharist.
WHEN thou art about to be admitted to that heavenly
banquet in which Christ is received, reflect with piety
Receive the holy Eucharist with humble reverence, believing with firm faith that under the appearance of a little bread thou receivest the true and immortal Body of Christ. For by the divine power, operating through the words of consecration which the priest pronounces, the substance of bread and wine is supernaturally converted and transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. If this same Eucharist be given even to many thousands of men, each one of them receives the Body of the Lord, and Christ undivided; also if one consecrated Host be divided into many parts, Christ is entire in each fragment. And nevertheless the Body of the Lord remains whole, Christ remains entire at the Right Hand of the Father in heaven. This great mystery, this incomprehensible transubstantiation (as it is called), is accomplished by the operation of God, to whom nothing is impossible. Verily Christ in the Eucharist gives thee His whole Self; that is, He gives His supreme Divinity, His perfect Body with His Blood, and His Holy Soul.
If thou worthily and fittingly receivest this venerable and adorable Sacrament, thou art greatly confirmed and strengthened in well-doing, and receivest an especial remedy against sin; thou art also more closely joined to God, and more intimately united with Him; lastly, thou art made more excellently a par taker of all the merits of Christ, and of all the virtues which He exercised in His Life and Passion, and art enriched with unspeakable grace. No tongue can indeed express, no heart can understand, what immense gifts accrue to men from the pious reception of this Sacrament. Glorify thy God, who out of His most abundant goodness has left and given to His Church in this miserable exile, so great a treasure.
When thou dost not receive Christ sacramentally, neglect not to receive Him spiritually, preparing thyself, and desiring that He should come into thy soul. No one surely can prevent thee from making a spiritual communion every day, if thou wilt. As often as thou art present at the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, devoutly offer the Host consecrated in it by the priest to God the Father, in full expiation and satisfaction for thy sins; offer it to Him in the odour of sweetness and to His eternal praise, for thy own salvation, and that of others.
§ 2. The worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Love purely, and sedulously venerate and invoke
the most sweet Mother of Christ, the Virgin Mary,
who is the most benign consoler and advocate not only
of the perfect but also of the imperfect; for she repels
§ 3. The invocation of the Saints.
Venerate also the other citizens of heaven, as illustrious princes, and glorious kings and queens. Listen
not to the unhappy heretics of these times, who with
stupid temerity assert that the Saints in heaven can
not hear our prayers, nor help us, and therefore should
not be invoked. For the Catholic and Apostolic
Church, which “is the pillar and ground of the
truth” (
§ 4. The images of the Saints.
Venerate them, therefore (as we have said), and
piously honour their images. Utterly senseless are
the heretics of our age, who reject the images of the
Saints, because God saith in His Scripture; “Thou
shalt not have strange gods in My sight” (
SPEND all thy time to the praise and glory of God. While thou art in health, be ever occupied in some good work; but when thou art sick, be always gentle and patient. And think not that thy pious works are less pleasing to God or less profitable to thyself, when thou performest them with little pleasure or alacrity, or even when thou feelest thyself chilled by interior coldness and encompassed by darkness.
True devotion consists in real submission, resignation, mortification, and contempt of self, rather than
in sensible sweetness. To many persons it is certainly
more profitable to feel aridity and bitterness of heart,
than sweetness and loving desires. He is very pleasing to God, who, filled with faith and divine love, is
able, in the midst of his interior dryness and poverty,
to say humbly; “O Lord, although I am unclean, and unworthy of all consolation
(which most good men experience), yet I will not abandon Thee, but will
willingly remain in desolation according to Thy good pleasure and permission.”
He is most unfaithful to God, who is willing to serve God while God consoles him, but when he is deprived of spiritual
solace, immediately withdraws from God, and seeks
after impure and unlawful consolations. If God
refuses thee divine consolation when thou longest for
it, and thou bearest the refusal with resignation for
His glory, thou hast it no doubt more truly, and
Those who have been newly converted to God, are frequently so stirred by the abundance of grace in the lower powers of their souls, that being as it were inebriated by it, they are forced to manifest the greatness of their interior delights by unaccustomed words and gestures, or even fall into a certain stupor, and sleep, or ecstasy of the mind. Thus the recent servants and friends of God, through the divine embrace, are joined to Him by a sensible union, and receive from Him most sweet caresses. That sensible union is indeed good which, using a medium, is still within the nature of man; provided that those to whom this kind of grace is given, strive to advance more and more in true humility, patience, and self-abnegation; but that mystical and truest union is incomparably more excellent, which some perfect men, carried above their natural powers, and absorbed in the abyss of divine love, experience without any medium in the highest and most noble portion of themselves, (that is, in the mind, or inner spirit and naked depths of the soul).
Be thou prepared to endure dryness and perplexity
Nature is always prone to self-seeking, and for the most part secretly and under the pretext of a good reason and of a greater good; but we must carefully watch and diligently correct and mortify this its evil propensity. For this impure self-seeking, combined with divine consolations, is like filthy dung mixed with precious balsam. The gifts of God should be wholly given back to God; so that a man should endeavour to keep himself as untouched by them as if he had never received them. Therefore the more benignantly God visits and consoles thee, the more shouldst thou be humble and steadfast in thy self-contempt; and faint not when the consolation is with drawn, but persevere in pious works and exercises under interior dearth and sadness, as well as in abundance and joy. For the barrenness and dryness of thy heart, offer to thy Heavenly Father the fervent desires and burning love of the Heart of Jesus Christ; offer the holy devotion and charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of all the elect of God.
§ 1. On death.
§ 2. On heaven.
§ 3. On the miseries of hell.
§ 1. The thought of death.
REMAIN united to God in perfect peace whatever may
befall thee. For by this means thon wilt lead a life
pleasing to God here, and at length pass hence by a
holy death. Thou wilt die in the grace and friendship
of God; and thy death will be the entrance into true
life, according to the promise of the Lord Jesus, who
saith, “He that believeth in Me, although he be dead,
shall live: and every one that liveth and believeth in
Me, shall not die for ever” (St.
Wherefore let not the remembrance of death immoderately sadden thee, but let it rather bring thee
joy, as it rejoiced a certain holy virgin, St. Gertrude.
And if death be not perhaps desirable to thee, let it be at least endurable. Say to the Lord, “Thy will be done.” Jesus thy King by dying prepared the way for thee and made it easy; follow humbly where He has gone before. Even if thou art fearful and terrified, persevere still in holy hope and trust in thy good Lord, who willeth to act towards thee not as a severe Judge, but as a merciful Father; and who Himself (as we have said above,) chose to be fearful and sorrowful before His Death, that He might console thee in thy fear and sadness. Offer to Him, to His eternal praise, thy sadness united to His; and commend thy death to Him in union with His Death. If thou lovest and fearest God, death will bring thee in numerable benefits. When thou shalt have passed through this life, thou wilt assuredly be no more stained by sin, no more wilt thou offend God, nor will this corruptible body be any longer an impediment in thy way.
§ 2. The thought of paradise.
After thy purgatory (if thou wert yet in need of being
purified,) thou wilt arrive in thy heavenly home, a home
of eternal glory, a home ever most sweet and joyful;
where there is no infirmity, no corruption, no fear, no
§ 3. The miseries of hell.
But all things contrary to the happiness and glory
of the righteous will befall the wicked and impious
who shall die in their sins. For their souls will he
cast before the Judgment into eternal fire and horrible
darkness, and will be vexed with intolerable torments.
They will, indeed, resume their bodies at the last day;
but these will be black, deformed, fetid, and heavier
than lead. After the Judgment, hell will receive
within itself all these, and whatever foulness and filth
there is in the world; and from thence neither man
nor demon will ever again issue forth. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth, and everlasting lamentation. There will misery, pain, envy, anger, hatred,
and despair never have an end. There will the lost,
Do thou, O beloved friend, weighing within thyself both the happiness of the good, and the misery of the wicked who end their days in their sins; abhor the one, and aspire to the other with all the love and desire of which thou art capable. It is only with the eye of faith that thou canst now discern God and thy heavenly country; but do thou believe in what thou seest not plainly, so that when what thou believest in shall have been made manifest, thou mayest perfectly rejoice, the clear vision of it being shown thee.
Look frequently into the spiritual mirror, which I, being already fifty years old, have written for myself and for thee. Contemplate thyself diligently in it, that thou mayest easily discover thy defects, and having discovered them, correct them with all thy strength. It is clearly expedient that he who desires to make spiritual progress, should have some certain written precepts and advice by which he may carefully regulate his whole life. Although for many it is abundantly sufficient to contemplate attentively the Life of Jesus Christ, who is the most glorious Mirror of all Christians. To Him be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
THE reader must be warned not to follow the perverse
judgment of some men, who contemn divine revelations and visions, as though they were vain dreams,
and thereby show themselves to be unspiritual, and
wanting in humility. For we should not esteem of
little account the revelations that have been divinely
manifested, by which the Church of God is wonderfully enlightened. It is certain that the holy Prophets (into whom the Spirit of God descended like a
most sweet torrent), learnt the truth without error by
revelation. And the Blessed Paul commending to the
Galatians the Gospel which he preached, asserts that
he received it, “not of man, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ” (
THE divine Dionysius the Areopagite, in the Epistle
which he wrote to Demophilus, pointing out how
great is the goodness and clemency of God towards
sinners, and how much our good Lord desires their
salvation, relates a beautiful vision shown to St. Car
pus, a Bishop to whom many things were divinely
revealed, which was narrated to him by Carpus himself. A certain infidel having led away a Christian
from the faith of the Church, Carpus, who ought to
have had compassion on them both, and to have most
pitifully prayed for them, conceived an inordinate
anger and bitterness against both of them. Wherefore he prayed to God to end their lives at once; not
being able to endure that impious men who perverted
the right ways of the Lord, should be allowed to live.
And, behold, looking up, he saw the heavens opened,
and Jesus sitting on a throne, with innumerable Angels
standing round Him. But, when he turned his eyes
downwards, he beheld a deep abyss, in which were a
multitude of serpents. At the mouth of this abyss, as
it were on the slippery edge, stood the two men, on
whom he had wished to bring evil, trembling and exceedingly miserable. And, when he was angry that
they were not instantly swallowed up, looking up
The blessed Dionysius adds these words; “These are the things which I heard, and I believe them to be true.”
Gertrude, or Trutha, a holy virgin most dear to God, was once divinely taught that one who is considering in his heart the image of the Crucified, ought to think he hears Jesus Christ Himself saying to him, with a gentle; voice, “Behold, thou seest how for love of thee I hung upon the cross, naked, despised, My whole Body wounded, and every limb stretched. And My Heart is still full of such sweetness of love towards thee, that, if it were expedient for thy salvation, and thou couldst not otherwise attain to eternal bliss, I would suffer for thee alone all that I suffered for the whole world.”
St. Bridget in spirit heard Christ speak thus: “I
am perfect love, for all things which I have done from
eternity, I did out of love; and, whatsoever I do or
shall do in future, likewise proceeds and will proceed
from my love. My love for man is now as great and
Thus spoke Christ. Behold how tenderly and ardently God loves the rational soul, and how vehemently He desires that every man should attain to heavenly bliss. But the Lord created man noble, to His own image and likeness, giving him reason and liberty of choice, and freedom of will, so that, if he chose to obey and serve God, he might receive an eternal reward in heaven; but, if he would not, he should undergo never-ending punishment in hell. And this is justice. If, however, any one who has contemned and disobeyed God by sin, should, out of love, return to God by true repentance, he shall be accepted by God, and shall not perish, however many and grievous may have been his sins, provided he perseveres in well-doing. And this is mercy.
Once, when the holy virgin Gertrude was considering within herself, which of those things that she
had learnt from the Lord, it would be most useful to
make known to men, the Lord thus answered her
thoughts; “It would be most useful that men should know and ever bear in mind,
that I, the Son of the Virgin, stand before God the Father, for their salvation; and, whenever they sin in their hearts through
human frailty, I offer My immaculate Heart to God
The holy virgin Mechtildis was praying for a certain man, and, being indignant because he remained incorrigible, the Lord said to her, “Condole with Me, O My chosen one, and pray for the miserable sinners, whom I bought at so great a price, and for whom I wait so patiently, desiring earnestly that they should be converted to Me. Behold, as I once offered Myself a sacrifice on the altar of the cross, so do I now, with the same love, stand before God the Father, on behalf of sinners; because it is My greatest desire that the sinner should turn to Me by true repentance, and live.”
Again, the Lord said to the same holy virgin Mechtildis, concerning another pious person: “When he has committed any fault from human infirmity, if he presently returns to Me by penance, trusting in My mercy, I am ready, for one sigh, to remit his every fault.”
St. Gertrude once understood from the Lord, that
if any one, quickly repenting of all his sins of omission
and commission, gives himself with his whole heart to
obey the precepts of God, he is as truly sanctified and
cleansed before God, as was that leper who said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,” and
to whom the Lord answered, “I will. Be thou
cleansed” (
Jesus Christ said to St. Bridget, “Be them steadfast and humble. Be not elated in thy own mind, when I make known to thee the dangers of others, and divulge not their names, unless thou be commanded to do so. For I do this not to their confusion, but that they may be converted, and acknowledge the justice and mercy of God. Nor shouldst thou fly from them, as if they were already judged and condemned; because, if he who is now most wicked, should call upon Me with contrition, and with the will to amend, I am ready at once to pardon him. And, on account of his true contrition, I call him to-day most dear, whom yesterday I called most wicked; and, if his contrition be perfect and steadfast, I remit not only the sin, but also the punishment due to it.”
Our Lord said to St. Mechtildis, “There is no sinner so wicked, but that, if he truly repents, I will instantly grant him full remission of all his sins, and rest My Heart upon him with as much clemency and sweetness as if he had never sinned.” O unspeakable goodness of God! Wherefore (as one of the Saints writes), if any one should deny that God is ready to remit the sins of the truly penitent, even as often as there are moments in time, he would set about despoiling God of great glory.
Again, our Lord said to the same virgin Mechtildis; “Although the stars, that is, the souls of My elect,
may sometimes be greatly darkened by the clouds of
sin, and the night of ignorance, yet they cannot be
obscured in their firmament, that is, in My divine
light. Though My elect, I say, may often be involved
When the holy virgin Gertrude had heard in a sermon that no one could be saved who had not at least so much true charity as to repent and abstain from sin for the love of God; she reflected within herself that many pass out of this life who seem to repent rather from fear of hell than from love of God. “While she was turning over these things in her mind, our Lord answered her thus: “When I see those in their agony, who have ever remembered Me with affection, or have done any meritorious work, 1 manifest Myself to them with so sweet and gentle an aspect, that they grieve from their inmost hearts for having ever offended Me; and being by this repentance rendered capable of obtaining salvation, they cannot perish.”
The blessed Mechtildis was once considering how
immense was the loving-kindness of God, when our
Lord said to her: “Come, and contemplate the least
of all the blessed who are in heaven; for in him thou
God spoke thus to the holy virgin, St. Catherine of
Siena: “Those sinners who, in the extremity of
death, despair of My mercy, offend Me more deeply,
and displease Me more by that one sin, than by all
the iniquities that they have ever committed. For
he who despairs, openly despises My mercy, and perversely imagines his wickedness to be greater than
My mercy and goodness. Whence, being held captive by this sin, he grieves not for his offence against
It is not, however, sufficient to grieve for sins; it is also necessary to confess them sacramentally before a priest, unless this confession be really impossible. Hence, the Lord Jesus said to St. Bridget: “No one is so great a sinner that I would refuse him mercy, if he. sought it with a humble and perfect heart. Therefore, let sinners who wish to be reconciled to Me, and to obtain My grace and friendship, first, grieve with their whole hearts that they have offended Me, their Creator and Redeemer; then, let them purify themselves before the priest by a sincere and humble confession, and amend their lives, and perform satisfaction according to the advice and discretion of the priest, If they have done this, I will draw near to them, and the devil will be kept at a distance from them. Afterwards, it will be fitting that they should receive My Body with devotion and true love, resolving never more to fall into their former sins, and purposing to persevere to the end in well-doing. These I will run to meet as a mother runs to meet her erring children, and will most gladly receive them. I will be in them, and they shall be in Me, and shall live and rejoice with Me to all eternity.”
When St. Bridget out of compassion was praying
for a certain powerful nobleman of renown in the
God the Father said to the virgin St. Catherine: “My goodness has granted to the glorious Mother of My only begotten Son, out of reverence for the Incarnate Word, that whoever has recourse to her with devout veneration, even though he be a sinner, shall in no wise become the prey of the infernal enemy. For she has been chosen and prepared by Me, and placed as a most sweet allurement to captivate men, and especially the souls of sinners.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, herself said to St. Bridget, “However much a man may have sinned, if from the bottom of his heart he seeks me with true amendment and love, I am instantly ready to receive him. Nor do I consider how much he has sinned, but with what will and intention he returns to me. For I disdain not to touch, to anoint, and to heal the wounds of any sinner, let him be ever so vile and filthy; because I am called, and I truly am, the Mother of mercy.”
Saint Gertrude once saw as it were little animals of various kinds running under the mantle of
Mary, the most sweet Mother of God, by which were
signified those sinners who have a special devotion to
her. The Mother of mercy received them all benignantly, and, as it were, protecting them under her
And she thus plainly insinuated how mercifully she receives all who call upon her, and with what maternal kindness she defends all who hope in her, even those who are still entangled in sin, until she reconciles them, as true penitents, with her Son.
The devil once wishing to deceive the holy virgin St. Catherine, and to lead her into faintheartedness or despair, endeavoured to persuade her that her life was false, useless, and perverse. She, therefore, taught by the goodness of God, who never denies Himself to those who truly seek Him, humbly raised her mind to the divine mercy, saying: “I openly confess to my Creator, that I have daily been in darkness, and done evil; but yet I will confidently hide myself in the Wounds of my Lord Jesus Christ, and I will wash away the stains of all my iniquities in His Precious Blood, and will evermore rejoice with holy desire in Him my Creator and Redeemer.” After these words, the devil immediately took to flight.
Christ said to St. Gertrude, “Any one may attain to the hope of pardon, how much soever he may feel himself oppressed by the heavy weight of his sins, by offering to God the Father My most innocent Passion and Death. Let the sinner, therefore, believe that by this he obtains the saving fruit of indulgence; because there is on earth no remedy against sin so efficacious as the devout remembrance of My Passion, with right faith and true repentance.”
Cut we should, in prudence, consider not only the mercy, but also the justice of God; concerning which Christ frequently spoke very terrible words to St. Bridget. She once (by the will of God) heard the devils bearing witness to the truth, and saying to the Lord, “If that creature whom Thou most lovest, namely, the Virgin who bore Thee, and who never offended Thee, had committed mortal sin, and had died without divine contrition, she would never have reached heaven, but would be tormented with us in hell; so greatly dost Thou love justice.”
Let no sinner, therefore, say to himself, I will
now follow freely my own will and my pleasures, I
will enjoy the delights and joys of this world, and
afterwards I will amend at the end of my life; for
the mercy of God is great and boundless; whenever
I shall repent of my sins, the merciful Lord will receive me, and I shall be saved; meanwhile, I will
do whatever pleases me. Let not the sinner speak
thus, let him not act thus, let him not cast himself
into danger; but let him without delay strive to
amend his evil life, and if it be possible, confess
his sins to a priest, and that sincerely and completely. For although God promises mercy to the
penitent sinner, yet He promises not true repentance,
nor a long life, to one who perseveres in sin. And it
is certain that if a sinner who has offended God by
his wickedness and crimes, should not repent and
have true contrition before his soul is separated from
the body, he will eternally perish, for the satisfaction
of divine justice. O how many, seduced by the
THE illustrious virgin and martyr Agnes, appearing to St. Bridget, said to her, “My daughter, be stead fast; and neither draw back, nor advance beyond what is fitting. Thou shouldst not afflict thyself be yond thy strength, nor imitate others in good works above thy nature; for God has decreed from all eternity to open heaven to sinners by works of humility and love, and He wills that measure and discretion be observed in all things. But the devil in his envy often persuades an imperfect man to fast beyond his strength, or to take up exercises that he cannot bear, or to aim at what is too high for him. The crafty enemy does this in order that the man, continuing only through shame what he foolishly under took, may the more quickly fail through weakness. Thou shouldst measure thyself in this matter according to thy strength or thy weakness; because some are by nature stronger, and others weaker, some are more fervent by the grace of God, others more diligent by habit.
“Rule thyself, and order thy life, according to the
advice of those who fear God, and desire not to seem
Christ said several times to St. Bridget, that satisfaction should be made by all our members, as they have all assented to sin. Let a man, therefore, with all diligence and humility correct himself, and neglect not to make all possible satisfaction to God (who, for a moderate penance rightly performed with good-will here, remits grievous punishments in the next world), restraining, for the love of God, his eyes from beholding evil and vanity, his ears from hearing hurtful and foolish things, his tongue from evil and idle words, his heart from pernicious and foolish thoughts and wicked desires, and his whole body from all that contaminates the mind. Let him abstain not only from unlawful things, but also with prudence from some things that are lawful. Let him studiously mortify in himself his own will and his vices; let him patiently bear all adversity, and devote himself to good works, to virtue and holy exercises. Let him, how ever, always trust rather in the satisfaction and merits of Jesus Christ than in his own works and merits; for one little drop of the Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus is of more value than all human merits.
Christ spoke thus to the blessed Bridget: “Abstinence and continence, however slight, discreetly undertaken, and observed for My love and honour, will deserve from Me a great reward.” And, assuredly, he who for the love of God prudently restrains himself, so that he sees, hears, smells, tastes, speaks, and touches nothing that is not necessary or useful, and who discreetly strives to overcome his own will and sensuality even in the least things, does what is more pleasing to God, than if he recalled many dead persons to life. Hence the Fathers say as follows: “If two men, passing the same way, find a beautiful flower, and one of them wishes, indeed, to gather it, but, thinking better of it, leaves it for God’s sake; and the other, without reflection, gathers the flower; the latter by gathering it in simplicity sins not, but the former by leaving the same flower for God’s sake gains as much merit over him who gathers it as there is distance between heaven and earth. If, however, he who gathers the flower gathers it purely to the, praise of God, he also acquires great merit.” In the same way. he who fittingly abstains from food for God’s sake is greatly pleasing to God, and he who fittingly eats to the honour of God, is also pleasing to God.
The blessed Gertrude heard from our Lord that she
showed her exceeding love of Him when she offered
in His praise all her thoughts, words, looks, and actions. She understood, also, that, as often as anyone looks with devout intention on the image of Christ
crucified, so often is he lovingly regarded by the most
gracious mercy of God; and hence his soul, like a clear
When the same virgin, St. Gertrude, once complained that she could not feel as much desire of God as she ought, she was divinely taught that it was amply sufficient in the sight of God, if a man wished to have a great desire, though he might feel little or no desire within himself; because he has before God as great a desire as he wishes to have, and God dwells in the heart containing such a desire (that is to say, the will to Lave the desire) more gladly than a man could dwell amid fresh and pleasant flowers.
Our Lord very often revealed to His most dear spouses, Gertrude, Bridget, Mechtildis, and Catherine, how acceptable it is to Him, and how profitable to man, to contemplate the Passion of Christ with pious, humble, and sincere attention and devotion, which they themselves were always most diligent in doing. For they engraved so deeply on their inmost hearts the Passion of the Lord Jesus, (which, though it was most bitter and cruel, is yet all full of the sweetness of love), and were accustomed to meditate upon it with such ardent and sweet affection, that it was to them honey to the taste, harmony to the ear, and joy to the heart.
The holy virgin Elizabeth of Spalbeeck also was
Our Lord once instructed the blessed Gertrude by this simile: “Even as a powerful Emperor not only is pleased to have in his palace gentle and accomplished maidens, but also appoints and ordains princes, generals, and soldiers, and other ministers fitted for various labours, who may be always ready to attend to his affairs; so I also not only delight in the interior joys of those who, following My guidance, seek the quiet of divine contemplation, but I am, moreover, attracted to remain with the sons of men, when they undertake any useful work for My love and honour.”
Therefore, pure and frequent prayer does, indeed, greatly adorn the soul of him who has leisure to pray continually, and who has the grace of prayer: (for what is more honourable than to converse assiduously with the Heavenly King?) but, nevertheless, exterior works, rightly performed for God’s sake, also confer great grace on the faithful soul.
OUR Lord said to the virgin Catherine . “The holy desire of the soul, that is to say, good-will, is a continual prayer, because it has the power of prayer. And, whatsoever man does for the love of God and of his neighbour, may be called prayer, since love is accounted as prayer. Good-will and pious affections should, however, at certain seasons and hours, be raised to Me by actual devotion. Know, O daughter, that the soul that perseveres in humble and faithful prayer, attains to all virtue. Wherefore, on no account, is the duty of prayer to be neglected or omitted because of any difficulties, whether they proceed from the illusions of Satan, or from human frailty, or from unclean thoughts, or from inordinate carnal motions of the flesh. For the devil often strives more during the time of prayer than at other times to infest the soul with various images and phantoms. And he then cunningly suggests to him who prays, that such a prayer avails him nothing, since he ought to have no thoughts but of his prayer. The malignant enemy strives to persuade him of this, in order that he may incur weariness and confusion of mind, and so be led to omit the exercise of prayer, which is the strongest defence against all enemies. Oh! how useful to the soul, and how pleasing to Me is that prayer which man makes with love, in the thought of his own vileness and of My goodness.”
Again, our Lord said to St. Catherine: “A man sometimes resolves to recite a certain number of Psalms, or other prayers, to which he is not obliged by duty or obedience; if, in the mean time, I should benignantly visit his soul, he abandons the grace of My visitation, that he may fulfil the number of prayers which he had intended in his own mind to say. But he ought not to do thus, nor to believe the devil who wishes to deceive him. Let him, therefore, when he feels himself specially visited by Me, immediately follow My grace, and not impede it by the prayers which he had proposed to recite. He may, however, read them afterwards, if he has leisure; but if he cannot conveniently do this, let him not be in any way distressed, nor allow his mind to be disturbed. He obtains little fruit from prayer who looks only to the utterance of many words.”
It was once shown in spirit to St. Gertrude, that the words of prayer recited with attention of mind and holy devotion, are, as it were, brilliant jewels or most lovely flowers; but that the words of prayers said negligently, and, from habit, without earnest devotion, are like dull gems and faded flowers. And when the same virgin Gertrude had read a certain verse two hundred and twenty-five times, saluting Jesus, she understood that each salutation was presented to the Lord in the likeness of the melodious sound of a musical instrument; but those salutations which she had read with devout attention gave out most sweet harmony, while those which she had read less accurately yielded lower and less joyful sounds.
Let him who prays take care lest his mind be distracted, voluntarily and by his own fault, through negligence; let him also beware of giving up prayer, because he may perhaps feel no- consolation in it. As distractions which occur against the will of him who prays take not away the fruit and utility of the prayer, so neither does aridity of heart, while a good intention remains. Hence our Lord once said to St. Gertrude: “I wish my elect to be convinced that their good works and exercises are very pleasing to Me, when they serve Me at their own cost. And those do Me service at their own cost, who, although they taste not the sweetness of devotion, yet faithfully go through their prayers and other pious exercises, trusting in My compassion, that I shall willingly and gladly receive them. There are many whose merit would be greatly diminished if sweetness and interior consolation were granted them, nor would it avail for their salvation.”
Man sometimes labours under such inconstancy of
mind, that when he wishes to elevate his heart to God
in prayer or meditation, or to fix it on any pious
thought, he is presently driven away from it. This
is treated of by St. Augustine, saying: “Prayer is
often impeded by vain thoughts, so that hardly has
the heart fixed itself on God, desiring to remain so
fixed, than it flies off as it were from itself, and can
not find a secure place in which to enclose itself, nor
bars to restrain its Might and its wanderings. There
is scarcely one persevering prayer among many. And
God bears with the hearts of those who pray and
When St. Bridget was harassed by temptations in
prayer, Mary the Mother of God said to her: “The
devil with malicious watchfulness seeks to hinder the
good from praying. But do thou, daughter, what
ever temptation may assail thee in prayer, persist in
It was revealed by our Lord to St. Gertrude, that when any one commends himself to the prayers of another, trusting that by his merits he will obtain divine grace, the merciful Lord, without doubt, blesses him according to his faith and desire, even if he to whom he had commended himself should neglect to pray devoutly for him,
A certain very simple man, who scarcely knew how
to read the Lord’s prayer, asked holy counsel of St.
Bridget, and as St. Bridget was praying for him
Christ said to her: The simplicity of this man is
more pleasing to me than the wisdom of the proud.
Therefore, thou shalt instruct him to continue his
work and his praiseworthy habits; and I will reward
him. His good-will is very acceptable to Me. He has
learnt from My Spirit the true wisdom, that is to say,
the love of God, through which he keeps the law, and
all the divine commandments. I say to thee,
daughter, whosoever with faith and a perfect will
says these words,—Jesus have mercy on me,—is
more acceptable to Me than one who reads a thousand
verses without attention.” The Lord likewise said to
Once also, when St. Gertrude was confined to her
bed by illness, and was unable to say her Office, or
even, according to her desire, to say the whole angelical salutation in honour of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, she yet endeavoured often to repeat at least
these words, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is
with thee,” (St.
It was revealed to St. Mechtildis that he who has
When the same virgin, Mechtildis, was praying for
a certain person who had complained to her that he
often recited the canonical Hours thinking, through
human infirmity, of other things; she received from
our Lord this answer; “Let him for whom thou
prayest, always say these words humbly after the
Hours: God be merciful to me a sinner (St.
St. Gertrude was once saying the Divine Office with
the other virgins of her monastery, and was striving
to pronounce every word attentively, but since she
was often distracted through human infirmity, she
said mournfully to herself, “And what fruit can be
derived from this endeavour, which is combined with
so much inconstancy?” The Lord, therefore, wishing
to console her, showed to her His Heart, that treasury
of all good and of all blessedness, and said, “Behold,
I display to the eyes of thy mind My most sweet
Heart, to which thou shalt confidently commend all
things which, of thyself, thou art unable to accomplish, that they may be fulfilled for thee; for thus
will they all appear very perfect in My sight. Assuredly, My divine Heart, knowing the frailty and
inconstancy of man, with desire always expects that
thou shouldst, if not in words, at least in thought,
commit to it whatever thou canst not of thyself perform, to be supplied, amended, and perfected for
thee.” Therefore, after finishing the Hours, which
must be not only read with the mind, but also pronounced with the lips, any one may pray in this or in
like manner; “O good Jesus, be merciful to me a
sinner. I commend my tepid and distracted service to
Thy most sweet Heart, to be amended and perfected,
and I offer it to Thee for the salvation of all men, in
union with that most perfect attention wherewith
Thou didst on earth praise and pray to Thy Father.
Another time, St. Gertrude, feeling great difficulty in performing a certain work, said to God the Father, “O Lord, I offer Thee this work, to Thine eternal praise, through Thine only Son, in the virtue of the Holy Ghost;” and she understood that as a thing looks green or yellow, seen through a green or yellow glass, so everything which is offered to the Father through the Son, and everything which is humbly asked through 4 the Son, is made magnificent beyond all. human estimation, and becomes most acceptable to God the Father.”
ST. GERTRUDE, severely rebuking and reproving herself for some slight defect, besought God earnestly
that He would enable her thoroughly to amend it,
and would remove it from her. To whom the Lord
lovingly replied, “And wherefore wishest thou that I
should be deprived of much honour, and that thou
shouldst miss a great reward? For thou gainest a
great reward every time that thou, acknowledging
that or a similar defect, resolvest to avoid it for the
future; and, whenever anyone for love of me labours
to overcome his faults, he offers to me as much honour
and fidelity as a soldier would offer to his king who
When the same holy virgin was praying for the defects of a person who was at the head of the community, our Lord appeared to her, and said, “Out of the abundance of My divine pity, sweetness, and love, by which I have chosen this community, I permit some defects to adhere to those who preside over it, in order that the merit of the community may be in creased. For there is much more merit in submitting to one whose faults are known, than to one whose works seem perfect in every respect. I allow Superiors to have some defects, and to be sometimes blemished by the diversity of their cares, that so they may be the more humbled. The merit of subjects is increased as much by the defects as by the perfection of those who govern them; and, in like manner, the merit of those who govern well is as much increased by the progress as by the defects of their subjects.” By these words of our Lord, St. Gertrude understood the super-abounding clemency of the divine wisdom, which so carefully provides for the salvation of the elect, permitting defects in them, in order that He may lead them to greater perfection. It seemed, therefore, to her, that even if the goodness of God shone forth in no other matter more than in this, yet God could not be sufficiently praised by every creature.
St. Gertrude being confined to bed at the approach
of the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus, she
gave way to impatience, through human frailty. And
she sorrowfully revolved in her mind this her defect,
Again, St. Gertrude, through inordinate sadness
and impatience, once experienced such darkness that
she seemed to have lost in great part the joy of the,
divine Presence; which darkness was, however, afterwards mitigated by the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. “When, therefore, being graciously
visited by our Lord, she reflected on this her impatience and her other faults, she was much displeased
with herself, and said to our Lord in great dejection
of mind: “O Lord, I beseech Thee, put an end to
my miseries, for I myself put no end to them. Deliver me, and set me beside Thee, and let any man’s hand fight against me” (
And our Lord, having compassion on her desolation, enquired of her whether she would choose any
delight in the world rather than Him, and would
prefer anything to Him. To which she answered: “Far. far be it from me that I should ever prefer
anything to Thee, the true, supreme, unchanging, and
eternal Good.” And the Lord said: “Since thou
dost prefer nothing to Me, and desirest ever to submit
When St. Gertrude again gave way to impatience, and was, nevertheless, most graciously visited by God, she said at length to our Lord: “O most sweet God, how couldst Thou bestow such consoling gifts of Thy grace on me, who am now so unworthy and so unprepared?” The Lord answered, “Love constrained me.” And she said, “Where are the stains, contracted by me through the impatience which I felt and showed somewhat in my words?” To which the Lord replied, “The fire of My Divinity hath consumed them.” Then she said: “O most merciful God, since Thy grace so often remedies my vileness, I should wish to know whether my soul will require to be purified after death from this impatience and from similar defects.” As our Lord in His mercy delayed answering, she added, “Verily, Lord, if the glory of Thy justice required it, I would willingly of my own accord even go down into hell, that so I might make Thee more worthy amends for my faults; but if it is more becoming to the bounty and mercy of Thy nature that, by Thy love, my stains be utterly effaced and reduced to nought, I fearlessly beseech Thee that Thy love may fully cleanse my soul from these stains.” The Lord then, with His accustomed mercy, quickly granted her petition and desire.
Christ, gently reproving St. Bridget for the anger
St. Gertrude was given to understand that the
Divine Heart feels ineffable sweetness each time that
any one reflects with sorrow on his having by distraction of mind, or by the dissipation of useless words
and works, fallen away from the Lord his God, who
so graciously surrounds him with blessings at every
hour and moment. She understood that when a man
says within himself these or similar words, with compunction of heart, “Alas! miserable that I am, how
have I wasted this time! how little have I fixed my
thoughts on God, who loveth me!” and earnestly resolves
The Lord Jesus said to St. Bridget: “Wherefore, daughter, art thou anxious and disquieted?” She answered, “Because I am afflicted with many unprofitable and evil thoughts, which 1 cannot drive away, and the fear of Thy judgments oppresses me.” Then the Lord said, “This is true justice; that as thou hast formerly taken delight in the vanities of the world against My will, so thou shouldst now be molested by various perverse thoughts against thy own will. Do thou, however, fear my judgments with moderation and discretion, ever firmly trusting in Me thy God. For thou must know, for certain, that evil thoughts, which the mind resists and detests, are the purification and crown of the soul. If thou art unable to avoid them, bear it patiently, and let thy will strive against them. And, although thou consent not to them, fear lest thou take pride in that and fall; for whosoever stands, it is by the power of God alone that he stands.”
Again, the Lord said to St. Bridget, “In order
that man may understand his own weakness, and the
strength he receives from Me, it is necessary that he
The holy virgin St. Catherine was, by the permission of God, bitterly tormented for several days by
carnal temptations. For the malignant spirits thrust
themselves upon her eyes and ears, not only by the
suggestion of obscene thoughts and the illusions of
dreams, but also by manifest apparitions. They
pictured to her images of men and women embracing
each other immodestly in her sight, and by gestures,
words, and actions, provoking her to wantonness.
Thus was this most chaste virgin forced to see and
hear what she most abhorred; and though she shut
her eyes, those most filthy and abominable images
The virgin St. Gertrude was once most clearly
CHRIST said to St. Bridget: “It is useful to him who desires to acquire and to retain My Spirit and My grace, that he should frequently confess his sins and negligences to a priest, that so he may be cleansed.” And when she saw the soul of her husband Ulpho in purgatory, she said: “O happy soul! what was it that most contributed to thy salvation?” He answered, “My confessions, which I was accustomed (when I could have access to a priest) to make every Friday, with a firm purpose of amendment.”
A certain virgin in a religious order, who had lived very piously, coming to the hour of her death, had to be cleansed before her departure from this fault, that she had sometimes neglected the grace of sacramental confession. For occasionally, when the other virgins her companions prepared themselves for confession to the priest, as her conscience did not reproach her with any grave fault, she did not care to be absolved by the words of the priest from, the mere dust, as it were, of venial sins, from which no human life can be free; but feigned to be asleep when the priest came to hear their confessions.
When St. Bridget was living in Rome, a certain
man came there who wished to make sacramental
confession of his sins, but could not obtain a confessor,
because none of the priests understood his language.
And when St. Bridget consulted our Lord on his be
half, our Lord answered: “He laments because he
cannot find any one to hear his confession; but thou
shalt tell him to be of good courage. The will is
sufficient, when a man is not able to do the good
work that he desires to do. For what brought salvation to the thief on the cross? Was it not his good
will? And what constitutes hell, but an evil will
and inordinate affections? Therefore, let this poor
man remain firm and not draw back. When he has
returned to his own country, let him seek from wise
and just men those things which are salutary for his
soul, and let him listen to them, submitting his will
to them, and following their counsel rather than his
own inclination or his own judgment. And if he
St. Gertrude once complained to St. John the Evangelist that she feared lest she should incur some loss because, through forgetfulness, she sometimes omitted to confess to the priest some things (though of lesser importance), since she had not, in the meanwhile, access to a priest, and they escaped her through the weakness of her memory. St. John sweetly consoled her with these words: “Fear not, daughter; for whenever thou preparest thyself with a perfect will to confess all thy sins, and wishing for a priest thou canst not obtain one, those things which thou omittest through forgetfulness to confess, will shine before the merciful Lord like precious jewels in thy soul, and make thee appear wonderfully gracious in the sight of all the citizens of heaven.”
When St. Gertrude was once praying for some
other virgins of her convent, who by her desire had
humbly received the Holy Eucharist, although because of the absence of the confessor, they had not
made a sacramental confession; our Lord seemed to
AGAIN, when St. Gertrude prayed for a certain virgin,
who, moved by zeal for justice, made other pious sisters
timid by her words, and deterred them from frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist, our Lord answered her:
Since my delights are to be with the children of
men, (
St. Gertrude also understood from our Lord, that
they receive not the Holy Eucharist irreverently or
unworthily, who receive it piously from a desire for
the honour, praise, and glory of God; for in this
doth that divine glory most conspicuously shine forth,
that His Supreme Majesty disdains not to communicate Himself to men so unworthy. Therefore, all
pious priests, and also monks and nuns of good will,
who sincerely seek after God and their own salvation,
striving to keep their rule and the holy statutes of
their congregation, passing their time usefully, and
who, when they are negligent, or transgress in any
point, confess sincerely to their priest whatever their
The soul of a certain deceased person appeared in
flames of intense fire to a servant of God, and said
that he was suffering such dire torments solely because he had been negligent about the reception of
the Lord’s Body, adding that he would soon be liberated if that person would but once devoutly receive
the Adorable Sacrament for him. When the servant
Christ Jesus said to St. Gertrude: “When I communicate Myself to thee in the Sacrament of the Altar, I caress thee with embraces and kisses; and this delight is incomparably greater than any one can ever experience from human embraces and kisses. For the delight of human embraces and kisses is vile, and passes away with time; but the sweetness of that union by which thou art united to Me in the Sacrament of the Altar is most noble and pure, nor can it ever fail or diminish, but the oftener it is renewed, the more vigorously doth it flourish to all eternity.”
The Lord said to St. Catherine: “The heart of
man ought truly to be pierced and melted by considering, among the benefits
bestowed by Me, the exceeding benefit of the holy and venerable Eucharist.
But this is to be looked upon with the eye of the intellect and of faith, not only with the eye of the
body: for the eye of faith discerns, under the insignificant species of bread, the true God and true Man.
how great is the excellence and dignity of receiving in a state of grace this admirable and ineffable
Sacrament! For It is the Bread of Life and the
Food of Angels. He who fitly receives It, abideth in
Me, and I in him (St.
Christ said to St. Mechtildis: “When thou art about to receive Holy Communion, do thou desire and wish to the praise of My name, to have all the desire and all the love for Me with which any heart has ever been inflamed, and thus draw near to Me. For I shall regard and accept that love from thee, not as it is in thee, but as thou wishest it to be in thee.”
When St. Gertrude was about to receive the Body of Christ, being grieved that she was ill prepared, she besought the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, that they would offer for her to our Lord all the worthiness with which any one of them had ever been prepared to receive the grace of God. Wherefore, our Lord said to her: “Thou dost truly now appear to all the citizens of heaven adorned as thou didst desire to be.” It is good, therefore, that who soever is about to receive Holy Communion, should also desire and seek to have his soul adorned with the merits and virtues of Jesus Christ and His Saints.
Once, when St. Gertrude was very weak, she
wished to receive the divine Eucharist (for which she
had diligently prepared herself), yet, by the advice of
her spiritual Mother, for the sake of discretion, she
did not receive It. And on her offering this to our
Lord, to His eternal praise, the Lord, bending towards
It is, therefore, laudable to abstain sometimes from
the sacramental reception of the Eucharist through
humility and holy fear or reverence; but it is much
better to receive it frequently through charity, and
desire for the glory of God and the common good, or
out of special devotion. Assuredly, since this most
excellent Sacrament is the fountain of all grace, and
the medicine of the soul, no one ought lightly to
absent himself from its reception, because, perchance,
he does not feel spiritual sweetness and consolation,
or because he is afflicted with grievous and importunate temptations. For he who communicates piously and humbly reaps great
benefit, not only for himself, but also for others, living and dead. But he who,
being impeded by hatred of his neighbour, or by any other grievous crime, fears
not to receive the Holy Eucharist, incurs eternal damnation (
The handmaiden of Christ, Mechtildis, was once
confined to her bed, while the other virgins of her
convent received the Holy Eucharist. When she,
therefore, lamented, sighing deeply to the Lord in
ST. MECHTILDIS praying for a certain person who
was grieved that she had shed many tears almost
fruitlessly, our Lord answered: “Let her beseech Me
through My goodness to accept all the tears she has
shed, as if she had shed them out of love for Me, or
from devotion or contrition. For if she does this
marvellous and stupendous condescension of the divine mercy, which relieves the wretched with such consolations! For what has been said of tears, may also be applied to past sadness, and to any tribulation, misery, or pain, which a person thinks he has endured in vain.
When St. Mechtildis, at the request of another,
besought our Lord that Tie would deign to give that
person a pure, humble, and spiritual heart, full of
desires, she received this answer: “All that he wishes
and stands in need of, he will find in Me. Therefore,
whatsoever is wanting to him in purity, humility,
desire, or love, lot him supply, or seek to have it
supplied from the good that is in Me, and let him
take to himself all My divine conversation.” She
answered: “sweetest God, if it is so pleasing to
Thee that man should take Thy virtues to himself,
tell me, I beseech Thee, how he is to do this.” And
our Lord replied: “Let him offer to my Heavenly
Father or to Me, My purity and innocence for his
impurity, My humility for his pride, My pity and
charity for his hard-heartedness and tepidity, and
lastly, My most holy and perfect conversation for his
negligent and imperfect life. Let him offer also his
desires, thoughts, words, prayers, tears, griefs, troubles,
and works, in union with My desires, thoughts, words,
prayers, tears, griefs, troubles, and works; for thus will
they all be most pleasing to God. Every holy prayer
will indeed penetrate the heavens, but that which is
united to My prayers is by far more excellent and
Christ has often deigned to reveal that every Christian ought
to imitate the humble obedience by which He obeyed His Heavenly Father, and men,
not only the good, but also the impious. And this most
important virtue may be well cultivated and practised,
not only by monks and nuns, but by all men. Obedience brings man into subjection to the Church, and
to her Sacraments, pastors, superiors, and to all her
dogmas, precepts, institutions, and customs. It renders
him prompt and accommodating in giving advice, in
affording help and service, both temporal and spiritual,
with discretion, and according to each one’s necessities.
The truly obedient man readily abandons his own
judgment and opinion, and utterly renounces his own
wishes and dislikes; wherefore he need not fear hell.
For an evil self-will (which is the foundation of all
sins) alone constitutes hell; take that away, and hell
will be no more. The truly obedient man gives
up his own will, and delays not to execute what
ever is required of him; as soon as anything is en
joined he is ready,—yea, he often waits not for a
command. He submits himself not only to God and
his superiors, but even to all men; and the more men
are his inferiors, the more he delights in subjection,
the more willingly he obeys them; for here he finds
more mortification of himself than when he submits
to those above him. No one is so barren and destitute
of divine grace but that if he wills to obey promptly,
If any one has attained, by the gift of God, to so
high a degree of sanctity that he has God ever visibly
present and abiding with him, he should humbly say
to God, when he is called by obedience to any work: “O most sweet God, permit me, I beseech Thee, to
perform this work for love of Thee.” For this abandonment of his own will is much more pleasing to God
than if that man had then with all the blessed spirits
penetrated heaven, as is shown by the following example. For when the sweet Jesus had appeared in
the form of a little child to a certain virgin living in
a convent, and praying in her cell, and she was required by obedience to do some work of the
community, she immediately left the child Jesus, and with
Christ said to St. Bridget: “All true virtues spring
from love, as branches from a tree; and among these,
virtues obedience holds the first place. Wherefore he
is most pleasing to Me who, out of humility, submits
himself, and places his will in the hands of others,
thus choosing not to follow it. For I also, who am
the most perfect of all, and perfection itself, was
obedient to My Father, even unto death, that I might
show by My example how pleasing it is to God to
deny one’s own will. But many who attend not to
this virtue of obedience, and whose zeal is not discreet,
follow the ideas of their own minds, and by their
own judgment, but not by the impulse of the Holy
Spirit, afflict their flesh so immoderately for a time,
that for long after they are useless to themselves, little
St. Bridget also heard the Lord Jesus speaking
thus: “He who would rather fast than eat, and who
yet takes food by obedience, will have the same reward
as he who rightly fasts. And he will receive a similar
reward, who eats because he is ill, though he would
rather fast in honour of Me.” The Blessed Virgin,
moreover, said to St. Bridget, “Let there be two men,
one living under obedience, and the other at liberty;
if he who is free fasts piously, he will have a single
reward; if he who lives under obedience fasts not,
but even eats meat temperately, according to his Rule,
though he would wish to fast if obedience did not
stand in the way, he will obtain a double reward, that
is to say, one for his obedience, and another for the
mortification of his own will and desire. Do thou,
daughter, refresh thy body moderately with what is
necessary. Make not provision for the flesh in its
concupiscences (
ST. BRIDGET was sometimes vehemently tempted to gluttony. While she was praying, there appeared to her in spirit the devil and a good Angel, the one in the form of a hideous negro, the other in that of a beautiful youth. And, when the demon, taunting Bridget whom he was tempting, said to the Angel that she made use of dainty food, and led a life of little severity while she boasted of her abstinence, the Angel answered: “Christ the Lord considers not much what things any one eats, provided they be not forbidden, and be taken with a pure intention, that is, out of true love, with moderation and without in ordinate desire, Purple, and line linen, and delicacy of body exclude not from heaven, if humility and charity are also present. The habits of a refined education should sometimes be retained, with giving of thanks, lest the body be grievously weakened.”
The Blessed Augustine, speaking to God, saith: “I
being exposed to temptations, strive daily against the
concupiscence of eating and drinking. And who is
there, Lord, who is not, at times, carried beyond
the bounds of necessity? Whoever he is, he is great,
and let him magnify Thy name: I am not he; for I
am a sinful man. But I, also, heavenly Father,
magnify Thy name; and may Thy only begotten
Son, who overcame the world, intercede with Thee
The virgin St. Gertrude understood by divine inspiration that it is most pleasing to God, and most beneficial to man, if a man says in his heart or with his voice such words as these, before his food, sleep, and other refreshment of the body; “Grant, O Lord, that I may take this food, or any other relief of the body, purely for the glory of Thy name, in union with that love with which Thou, made man, didst take similar refreshment on earth, to the praise of God the Father, and for the salvation of the whole human race.” Again, when the same spouse of Christ, Gertrude, in eating, piously reflected on these words, “May the virtue of Thy divine love, most sweet Jesus, incorporate me wholly into Thee;” and on these in drinking, “O most loving Jesus, pour into me, and preserve within me the energy of the divine love, which reigned supreme in Thy inmost Heart, so that it may penetrate all my substance, and evermore flow through every sense and faculty of my body and soul, to Thine eternal praise;” when, I say, she practised this devotion during her meals, she heard our Lord saying to her, “As often as any one shall think on these things in eating and drinking, so often will I confess that I have eaten and drunk with him, and that I have received from him a most grateful refreshment.”
When St. Bridget had made use of baths, by the
advice and desire of her spiritual guide, Christ said to
her, “The washing of the body is not hurtful to a
St. Bridget heard in spirit the Blessed Virgin Mary say thus; “The friends of God may now and then, or at fixed times of the day. receive exterior consolation, uttering edifying words, and taking lawful and moderate recreation to the honour and praise of God. it the fist be kept always clenched, the nerves contract, and the hand is weakened: and the bow which is too far bent, is more easily broken. Therefore, on account of the weakness of the flesh, moderate rejoicing is pleasing to God.”
Christ also, prescribing to St. Bridget and her family. a mode of life somewhat like that of a religious order, allowed that, after the hours appointed for silence, prayer, and other spiritual exercises, they should freely converse among themselves of lawful and harmless things.
THAT necessary sleep should be allowed to the body, has been frequently revealed by Christ to St. Bridget and others, But every one, before he gives himself up to his nightly repose and goes to sleep, ought diligently to examine his conscience, and to reflect in what he may have neglected his duties or offended God during the day; he ought to seek pardon of God for his faults, and resolve to amend his life with the help of God; he ought to commend his soul and body to God, and also to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to his holy guardian Angel, and making the sign of the cross, thus place himself modestly in bed.
Likewise on rising from sleep, he ought to fortify himself with the sign of the cross, and commend himself to God; he ought to desire and pray that what ever he shall that day do, say, or think, may tend to the eternal praise and glory of God.
Our Lord said to St. Mechtildis: “When any one
is going to sleep, let him meditate on something concerning Me, or converse with Me. Thus will his mind
watch with Me, though his body sleeps; and if when
he suffers from any evil dreams, he feels displeasure and annoyance thereat on awaking, it is a sign
that he was in no wise separated from Me. Let him
who is about to sleep also desire that I may receive
When St. Gertrude had passed nearly a whole night without sleep, and was greatly weakened and exhausted by it, she offered this loss of her strength to God to His eternal praise, for the salvation of all men. To whom our Lord said: “When any one wearied and worn out with watching beseeches Me to grant him some repose in sleep to My praise and for the renewal of his strength, if I do not then grant his request, and he, taking patience, endures his want with humility; this is most pleasing to My mercy. And it is infinitely more acceptable to Me when one who is sleepless in illness offers to Me humbly and patiently the loss of his strength, than when one watches in prayer during a whole night who, being in good health, is well able to watch.”
The same virgin Gertrude was one night visited by
our Lord in her sleep so sweetly that by the company
and presence of God she seemed to herself to be refreshed with delicate food. And awaking she gave
thanks to God, and said: “O Lord my God, what
have I, a most vile sinner, deserved above others, who
are often so oppressed by dreams that they even
terrify others by their cries?” The Lord answered: “When those whom My divine Providence designs to
sanctify by afflictions, bestow more care than they
ought on the solace of their bodies while they are awake, and thus deprive
themselves of occasions of
AGAIN, the holy Gertrude knew by divine inspiration that our Lord (whose delights are to be with
the children of men) (
A certain person, occupied in manual labour, was
suddenly grievously hurt, and suffered great pain.
St. Gertrude, taking compassion on her, besought
our Lord that He would not permit a member of the
community to be in danger who was hurt in the
course of her righteous labour. Our Lord benignantly
answered her: “That member will be nowise in danger;
Our Lord said again to St. Gertrude: “When My
elect rightly desire any good, My loving-kindness
St. Gertrude also divinely learnt that, as a ring is the sign of espousals, so adversity, whether bodily or spiritual, humbly borne for God’s sake, is a true sign of the divine election, and, as it were, the espousal of the soul with God, in so far that the afflicted may confidently say these words, “My Lord Jesus Christ hath betrothed me with His ring.” For if, in the midst of adversity, he can by the gift of God praise God, and from his heart give thanks to Him, he already obtains, like a beloved spouse, a crown from the Lord; since gratitude in adversity is the most beautiful and precious crown of the soul.
St. Gertrude once heard the Lord Jesus gently saying
to her; “Behold, I exhibit to thee the abundance of
the sweetness of My divine Heart, that thou mayest
draw from it, and give liberally as much and to
whomsoever thou wilt.” She, therefore, praying with
special affection for a certain person, infused into that
person’s heart a good measure of sweetness, drawn
from the Heart of our Lord, which was immediately
changed into bitterness. And, as Gertrude wondered
greatly at this, the Lord said to her, “When I give
grace to any one, it produces the effect in him which
The Lord said also to St. Gertrude: “When a man fears to lose, or has lost any beloved friend, if he offers to Me, with his whole will, the grief which he feels, so that even if he could retain that friend he would yet be willing to part with him to My praise, that so My Will rather than his might he done, he is indeed most acceptable to Me. And after the moment when he so bent the wishes of his heart to My Will, My loving-kindness will preserve his offering in the same nobleness and perfection as when he first made it in his heart; and all the thoughts that afterwards from human frailty oppress his heart (as, for example, if he thinks thus: Thou mightest now have this or that consolation or help from thy friend, if he were here), will co-operate for his eternal salvation, and prepare a place in his soul for divine consolation.”
When a certain devout and amiable virgin had
The Lord said to the blessed Mechtildis, “When any one bears any affliction, or even slight pain, with this intention, that he would willingly endure a greater pain for the love and praise of My Name, if it so pleased Me, he in that same moment revives, and becomes capable of receiving My grace, though his heart be ever so dry and covered with the rust of sin. If one who is afflicted offers his grief to Me at once in the beginning, I, partaking of it, render it sweet to him, and wonderfully ennoble it. But if he first drink of it, he pollutes it; and the more he drinks the more bitter it grows to him, so that afterwards it is not fitting for me to drink of, unless it be purified by penance and confession. Therefore, when a man suffers any injury, let him not impatiently complain to men, with many words, but let him instantly lay his grief before Me, that I may pour into him the sweetness of My consolation, and encourage, him to patience. If, however, he has neglected to do this in the beginning, let him not on that account lose confidence, but let him strive to offer it to Me purified by penance, with a humble spirit and a contrite heart.”
One of the Fathers says: “If thou be unjustly rebuked, humble thyself, and keep thyself patient; if, indeed, thou be justly reproved, then be thou much more humble and patient, and, being ready and willing to correct thyself, remain tranquil.” “Why, I ask, art thou disturbed when this or that person accuses thee of many things of which thou hast not even thought, and .speaks evil of thee? Remember thy Lord Jesus Christ, who most patiently and gently endured evil words heaped upon Him without cause. See that the peace of thy heart depend not on the tongues or the judgment of men.
God, when He wills to purify and adorn one of His elect, often permits that he should be greatly contradicted in what he rightly does, even by those who are esteemed good, and in whose fidelity he most trusted. Whatever may happen, whatever evil may come upon thee, do thou ever flee to the Lord thy God, and hide, thyself in Him, and receive all things from His fatherly Hand. what a joyful life thou wouldst lead, if thy heart were firmly fixed on God!
St. Gertrude, moved by compassion, was praying
for a person whom she had heard impatiently complaining that God had sent her trials that were not
conducive to her salvation, and, our Lord answered
her: “Thou shalt tell her for whom thou prayest,
that since no one can obtain the kingdom of heaven
without at least some tribulation or suffering, she may
choose and point out what trials she thinks would be
of use to her, and when these have come upon her,
let her have patience.” By which words of the Lord
A certain virgin of most holy life said to one who enquired how she had attained to perfection: “(1) I received all adversity with a tranquil mind from the Hand of the Lord; (2) and if any one inflicted an injury upon me, I took care to return him some special benefits, which I should not have done if I had not been injured by him; (3) I complained of my trials to no one except God, wherefore I immediately received from Him consolation and strength.”
Another virgin of exceeding holiness being asked by what practices she had arrived at perfection, humbly answered: “I was never so overwhelmed with pains and trials but that I sought to endure greater for the love of God, counting myself unworthy of those glorious gifts of God.”
Another virgin, visited by the permission of God
with an intolerable pain, seemed to herself to suffer
the torments of hell; and when she had long been
thus afflicted, turning at length with her whole heart
to God, she said: “O most sweet God, remember, I
beseech Thee, and mercifully consider that I am Thy
poor creature, and Thou indeed my Lord and Creator.
A servant of God had wonderful things revealed to him by an interior light from God; but he besought the Lord that if it pleased Him, He, would withdraw this manner of grace from him. Therefore the Lord, having deprived him of that grace, left him for five years without consolation amid great temptations, difficulties, and calamities; and once when he was weeping bitterly, and two Angels wished to console him, he said that he sought for no consolation, but that it abundantly sufficed him if the most sweet Will of God was accomplished in him, and if he could be interiorly pure before God, and pleasing to Him.
Our Lord said to St. Catherine.: “I will that thou
shouldst know that all the pains which afflict men in
this world consist in their will; for if the will were
regulated and conformed to My Will, the pain would
in a sense disappear. Although he whose will is
thus sanctified and regulated, may feel labours and
sorrows, yet what he suffers cheerfully for love of Me,
is borne by him almost without pain, for he endures
it most willingly, considering and knowing it to
be My Will that he should suffer. His mind is free in
every bodily pain, since his will is in all things conformed
THE virgin St. Catherine, being once in ecstasy, saw and clearly understood that the Lord God, who is supreme Goodness, created man out of His ineffable charity, and that in the same charity and burning love He gives to man, or allows to happen, all things, whether consolations or tribulations, bestowing them both with no other aim than to provide for his salvation. Wherefore those are very blind and foolish who reprehend the works or the judgments of God, and murmur against Him, being scandalized and disturbed by the things which come to pass. But blessed are those who, understanding and believing in the holy Providence of God, humbly receive all things as best from the Hand of God, and give thanks for them, ever firmly hoping and trusting in the Lord.
St. Gertrude heard from our Lord that every pious
and faithful soul ought to give up its own will utterly
to God, committing itself fully to His good pleasure,
and implicitly trusting that of His most gracious
Our Lord said also to St. Gertrude: “Whosoever wishes Me to come freely to him, must resign to Me the key of his own will. And if it happens to him through human frailty to take back the key he had given up to Me, by doing his own will in anything, let him wipe out the fault by penance, and again give up his will to Me; and the right hand of My mercy will receive him, and bring him forth with inconceivable honour to the kingdom of eternal glory.”
The blessed Augustine says: “A man may wish
something, while God wills otherwise. This is granted
to human frailty and to human weakness. It is difficult for thee to avoid having a wish of thy own. But
consider that God is above thee, and thou art under
Him; He is the Creator, thou the creature: He the
Lord, thou the servant; and correcting thyself, and
submitting thy will to His Will, say with Christ, ‘Not
We read of the same virgin Gertrude, that neither dangers, nor tribulations, nor losses, nor any other difficulties, nor even her own sins or defects, could ever overcloud the constant and secure confidence she felt in the most gracious mercy of God. For she most certainly trusted that all things, adverse as well as prosperous, were turned to her good by the divine Providence. And to this virgin the Lord .spoke thus, “The certain confidence which any one has in Me, believing that I have truly the power, the knowledge, and the will to be faithfully with him in all things, pierces My Heart, and dues such violence to My loving-kindness, that I can in no wise abandon or fail such a man.”
Our Lord said to St. Mechtildis; “It is very pleasing to Me that men should trust in My goodness and
rely upon Me. When any one has humbly trusted in
Me, and rightly believed in Me, I will be with him in
this life, and will reward him beyond all his merits
after death. How much soever any one may trust in
Me, and piously expect from My goodness, so much
and infinitely more shall he obtain; since it is impossible that a man should not receive what he has
piously expected and hoped for. Therefore it is good
ST. MECHTILDIS was once praying for a certain pious person, saying; “O most loving God, I beseech Thee that in her last moments Thou wilt purify her, and grant unto her certainty and confidence of attaining to Thee.” To which our Lord answered, “What prudent man would of his own accord throw into the sea the merchandize and goods which he has brought to the port? Therefore, when I shall have brought into port and to the end of life, her soul which I have guarded amid the various storms of the world, and shall have disposed of it according to My good pleasure, I will also assume it into glory.”
Again St. Mechtildis received this answer from our
Lord when she prayed God that He would deign to
be with another pious person in the last moments of
her life, and to give her the assurance of remaining
St. Mechtildis in colloquy with our Lord said; “How comes it, most sweet God, that when I think myself about to die, I feel little or no joy in it, while many anticipate that hour with great delight and desire?” The Lord answered; “This comes to pass by My dispensation; because if thou didst desire to die, thou wouldst by thy desire so move and attract My divine Heart, that I could not deny thee what i lion didst seek.” Then she said, “How is it that I, though so miserable, am not terrified when I remember that I am to die, while those who are very perfect sometimes fear death?” To which the Lord replied; Wherefore shouldst thou fear, who hast received My Heart as the pledge of an eternal compact, and for a house of refuge and an everlasting habitation?”
The blessed Gertrude, from the firm confidence she
had in the goodness of God, often wished to die; and
again she was so united to the Will of God, that she
was equally ready to live or to die, according to the
good pleasure of God. She was once on a journey,
when having ascended a certain mountain, she fell
down a slippery place, and rejoicing in spirit, she said
to our Lord; “O good Jesus, how well it would have
been for me if this accident had been the occasion of
my attaining to Thee more speedily!” And as those
who were present asked her whether she feared not
Christ said to St. Bridget of some sick person: “Fear
not, O daughter, she will not die, for her works are
pleasing to Me.” And when she was dead, the Son
of God again said, “Behold, O most dear one, that
is true which I said; for she is not dead but liveth,
because her glory is great. In the just, the separation
of the soul from the body is no more than sleep, since
they awaken to eternal life. But you may truly call
it death, when the soul being separated from the body,
lives in everlasting death and punishment.” He who
loves worldly prosperity and gives not thanks to God,
and having lived dissolutely dies in sinful dispositions,
Doubtless death is to the just the harbour of repose,
as saith St. Ambrose, To this harbour the holy
Simeon looked forward, when holding in his arms the
Child Jesus, and desiring to be delivered and brought
out of the prison of the body, he said: “Now thou dost
dismiss thy servant, Lord, in peace” (
Let the dying man firmly hold the Catholic faith, and holily receive the Sacraments of the Church, if
he can obtain them; and let him rely rather on the merits of Jesus Christ, than on his own. Let him confide much in the prayers
and the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the other Saints. Let him keep before his eyes the image of Jesus crucified,
and reflect upon that ineffable charity with which our Lord willed to suffer and to die, and thus let him hide himself and repose wholly in
His open and bleeding Wounds, beseeching Him that He will deign to wash away all his sins in those sacred Wounds. Let him offer himself to the
Lord to bear out of true love, according to His most sweet will, all the bitterness of suffering and death itself, and whatsoever the Lord may
be pleased to send him in time and in eternity. If he acts thus, if he resigns himself utterly to the divine Will, humbly, lovingly, and fully
trusting in the immense mercy and goodness of God, it cannot be that he should die a bad death. His death will be precious in the sight of the
Lord (
A certain friend of God being asked what he would do at the approach of death, if he had lived long in grievous sin, answered: “If I had lived for forty years always in sin, and when the hour of my dissolution was at hand, I had sincerely confessed my sins, and it for the space only of one angelical salutation I had been able with perfect love from the bottom of my heart so to betake myself to God as to be found wholly converted to Him and turned away from all sin, then indeed I should depart out of this life us it pure and innocent. But if I had yielded to only one sin. and I were to depart hence contrite and grieving after a confession rightly made, I should then die as a penitent.”
Our Lord has deigned to reveal to some of His
friends, that the words which we are about to give,
being spoken in the ears of the dying and recited before them, or being uttered and reflected on by themselves, are of such wonderful virtue that no one holding the Catholic faith can perish, if in his last moments
he is able with a true and sincere heart humbly to
pronounce these words or to meditate upon them
within himself. They are as follows: “O Lord God,
I am that miserable one, whom Thou of Thy fatherly
goodness hast created, and redeemed from the power
of the enemy through the most ignominious Death
of Thy only begotten Son; Thou alone hast power and dominion over me, and art
able to save me
The Virgin Mary Mother of God said to St. Mechtildis: “I will, as a most loving mother, without fail be present at the death of all those who piously and holily serve me, and will console and protect them.” In like manner the other Saints are undoubtedly ready to succour at the hour of death those who venerate and invoke them with devotion.
ST. BRIDGET heard the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God say as follows: “I am the Mother of God and the Mother of all who are in purgatory; because all the pains which they have to suffer for their sins are at some time, in some way, mitigated through my prayers. I am the Mother of all the just, and also of all sinners who wish to amend, whom I cease not to defend and to save from every danger that threatens their salvation.”
The holy Angels also, (as saith the Blessed Mechtildis), afford to the souls detained in purgatory, the
light of knowledge, solace, and assistance. St. Bridget
saw the soul of a certain king, who had led an evil
life, hut being urged by the grace of God in the last
Some souls in purgatory appeared to St. Gertrude in the form of most hideous toads, burning in horrible flames. There also appeared to her the soul of a certain soldier who had died before the age of fourteen, in the form of a huge beast suspended from a stake over the mouth of hell, and direfully tortured by receiving into itself the pains of hell. St. Gertrude understood that the stake by which the soul was prevented from falling into hell, signified the good will which that soldier had sometimes (though rarely) had during his life.
A certain very pious monk, who had seen in a
vision the torments of purgatory, said on returning
to himself: “No tongue of man can express, nor
imagination conceive, the variety, multiplicity, and
severity of the tortures which I have seen the souls in
purgatory endure,, God is my witness that if any
man had inflicted on me, and on all those dear to me,
all the injuries and pains that can be inflicted in this
St. Gertrude saw the soul of a certain man of a
religious order well known to her, as it were sitting at a table, sad, and with a dejected countenance, as not
being yet purified nor worthy to enjoy the blissful
contemplation of God. On this table were presented
all the Masses, the Office of the Church, the prayers,
and other pious works that were offered for that soul,
and by these the soul was wonderfully strengthened.
The Lord also, moved by his own loving-kindness,
and the supplication of intercessors, always added
something, in virtue of which that soul rejoiced, being
greatly strengthened and relieved. In like manner
the Blessed Virgin Mary seemed to place something upon it, that the soul might
receive more consolation, which had, while it was in the body, worshipped her
with especial devotion. Those also of the Saints whom the soul had more
particularly venerated on earth, added to the table in proportion as the soul
being in the body had deserved by its greater or less labour and devotion. By
all which means the soul, becoming more and more soothed from hour to hour,
began more and more to lift its eyes to the most sweet light of the Divinity, which to behold in open
When St. Bridget was praying for a certain hermit of especial and tried virtue, whose body had been brought into the church to be buried, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her, and said: “daughter, the soul of this hermit, my friend, would have gone immediately to heaven, if in death he had had a perfect desire of attaining to the presence and vision of God; because he had it not, it is now detained in the purgatory of desire, where there is no pain except the desire of attaining to God. Know, however, that it will be introduced into the glory of heaven before his body is laid in the earth.”
On Easter Day St. Gertrude prayed for the souls detained in purgatory, and immediately many were delivered by her prayers and translated to a place of very grateful refreshment; when she saw that they were not yet brought forth into full beatitude, she prayed again, and they were at once put in possession of everlasting bliss.
The soul of a certain .young Count appeared after his
death to St. Mechtildis, by whom being questioned
whether he suffered any pain, he answered that he felt
no pain except that he did not see his most loving God,
whom he longed to see with a huge and unspeakable
desire. For he said that the soul while yet weighed
down by the burden of the corruptible flesh, is greatly
impeded by bodily necessities, by eating, sleeping, and
conversing with men; but the pious soul that is released
The same virgin Mechtildis was once carried in spirit into a most delightful garden near to heaven, where there was a great multitude of souls, who endured no other pain than that the worm of conscience was ever reproaching each one that he had not been faithful to his most sweet and gracious God, wherefore he had not deserved to attain to Him without impediment after death. And this worm departs not from the soul till it enters into the joy of its Lord. While St. Mechtildis was praying, these souls took their flight with great exultation to the glory of eternal bliss. And when the Lord afterwards showed to Mechtildis the torments of purgatory, she again prayed, and many souls were translated with joy from those pains into that beautiful garden.
A certain virgin of St. Gertrude’s monastery having
died after passing all her youth in practising the virtues of holy religion, Gertrude saw her standing by
When the sister of this virgin died in the monastery of St. Gertrude (having also passed her life
piously and religiously), Gertrude beheld in like manner her soul in a place, of resplendent light, and wonderfully adorned; moreover, the Lord Jesus stood
To these words of the Lord she assented with a
sweet countenance. Afterwards, when St. Gertrude
offered for her during Mass the life-giving Host, which
the priest was elevating, the soul said: “In truth I
experience how certain it is that no good action of
AFTER the death of a certain virgin St. Gertrude saw
her soul exulting in celestial glory; and having heard
her relate many most wonderful things, she said to her,
Christ said to St. Bridget, “If when visions are
shown to thee, thou wert to see the beauty of the
blessed souls or of the holy Angels as it is, thy heart
would be broken with excess of joy. If again thou
wert to see the devil as he is, thou couldst not endure
so horrible a sight and live. But thou discernest spiritual things as if they were corporal, and the souls and
Angels appear to thee in the likeness of men; because
thy spirit, being as yet impeded by the flesh, cannot
otherwise take them in.” Wherefore our Lord said to
St. Catherine, “Thou well rememberest, that when
once I had shown thee in extasy the devil in his own
shape as it were at a glance and for a moment, thou
being restored to thy bodily senses, didst choose rather
to walk with naked feet upon a burning path till the
day of judgment than to behold him again. And yet
thou knowest not how horrible he really is, whom
thou didst see so imperfectly. But so great is the loveliness
In the eleventh Chapter of the fourth Book of the Revelations of St. Bridget, the Virgin Mary Mother of God tells St. Bridget that the number of the blessed angelic spirits is so great, that if all men were counted from Adam to the last who will be born at the end of the world, ten glorious Angels at least might be assigned to each man. The divine Dionysius the Areopagite also writes, that the number of the holy Angels exceeds all numbers of inferior creations. Several of the Fathers, however, think that there are not more Angels in heaven than there will be souls of men saved at the end of the world; so that the numbers of Angels and Saints will be equal.
O how joyful will it be to behold all that heavenly host, and that ravishing multitude, resplendent in gracious humility, most sweet charity, ineffable beauty and perpetual glory, and most perfectly to know each one of the citizens of heaven!
God said to St. Catherine: “I have provided and
arranged much concerning the love of the heavenly
citizens, and the angelic spirits in eternal life. For I
would not that each should enjoy alone his own good,
which he receives from Me, but have ordained that
the good of each one be shared by all. I have willed
that in most orderly and perfect charity the greater
should enjoy the good of the lesser, and the lesser
likewise should partake of the joy of the greater.
A certain virgin who was often admitted to the utmost familiarity with God, used, while her soul was elevated in God, to utter only these words: “O my God and my all!” For in God are all things, and God is all. All things were from eternity in the mind of God; since in Him the ideas and forms of all things immutably existed, and the Divine Essence Itself is the pattern and idea of all things which have been and are to be created. For whatsoever God creates, whatsoever He has done or will do, has been from all eternity known by Him, and remains for ever in His unchangeable knowledge, and shines forth in Him. Oh, how greatly is God to be loved and desired! He is Himself light, beauty, peace, sweetness, graciousness, and goodness, immense, invariable and eternal.
We admire, and with good reason, the splendour
of the sun, the brightness of the moon and stars,
the adornment of the heavens, the order of the
With good reason therefore did this virgin, Gertrude,
who, in her union with God, had tasted the delights
of the heavenly country, thus exclaim, and commit to
writing these words: “O blessed region, making
Messed with the affluence of bliss; harvest of delights,
whose minutest grain is able amply to satisfy the
avidity of all the elect, containing all things desirable,
attractive, and sweet that the human heart can conceive! O eternal solstice, fair noontide, secure abode,
dwelling filled with every pleasure, joyful paradise,
flowing on all sides with rivers of inestimable
delights, fascinating by the varied beauty of its flowery gardens, and soothing with most sweet
sounds, yea, with the entrancing melody of intellectual music, and inebriating with the overwhelming sweetness of interior joys, and transforming by
the marvellous charm of secret embraces! But wherefore should my stammering tongue attempt to speak
of it? when even if all the powers of Angels and
men were combined in one science, it would never
fully suffice to form one single word which could
in any measure express, or reach to the height of
its excellence.” These are the words of St. Gertrude.
But if such inexplicable things were shown to that
virgin during her exile, what, I ask, is given to the
blessed citizens of heaven, who see God not in a dark
manner, but face to face (
1. Of St. Bridget.
THE blessed Bridget was born of noble parents, who descended from the kings of Sweden. Our Lord began to visit her even in her earliest childhood; and at the age of thirteen, although she especially loved virginity, yet by the command of her parents, and by the will of God, she married a most noble youth, by name Ulpho, and had by him four sons and as many daughters.
Her husband being at length dead, she chose with
Mary Magdalen the best part (St.
After the death of her husband Christ said to this
most holy woman: “I am thy God, who willeth to
converse with thee. But I speak to thee not for thyself alone, but for the good of all Christians. Thou
shalt be My spouse, and I will make use of thee as a
canal; because by thy means I will communicate My
grace to others, and will do good to them. Thou
Again the Lord said to her: “Many wonder wherefore I converse with thee rather than with others who are better and more perfect than thee, and have served Me longer than thou hast. But I answer them that I am like the master of a house, having various kinds of wine in his house, who sometimes drinks that which is inferior, because he then prefers it, rejecting the stronger; yet he does not therefore despise or throw away the better wine, but reserves it for his future use. I have indeed many friends, whose lives are sweeter to Me than honey and brighter than the sun; and yet I have chosen thee to be My spouse, that I might reveal to thee My secrets, not because thou art better than them or even couldst be compared to them, but because I have so willed, who make the foolish to be wise, and sinners to be just. In conferring on thee such grace, I reject not them, but shall make use of them afterwards to My honour. Therefore do thou ever humble thyself.”
A certain exceedingly holy monk, by name Gerekinus, once saw St. Bridget raised from the ground
into the air, and a river flowing out of her mouth, and
heard a voice uttering these words: “This woman,
This widow, so dear to God, speaking of the grace
given her, said to the Lord; “When it pleaseth Thee,
O Lord, thou dost still my body not indeed with
bodily sleep, but with a certain spiritual quiet; but
thou dost then rouse my soul as it were out of sleep,
and makest it spiritually to see, hear and feel.” For
when the same St. Bridget was rapt in extasy, all the
powers of her body seemed to fail, but her heart
exulted and was inflamed with love. She passed
happily out of this life in the seventieth year of her
age. A.D. 1373.
2. Of St. Catherine of Siena.
The virgin of Christ Catherine, an Italian by nation and born in the city of Siena, loved God fervently, and served Him zealously from her earliest years. When she was yet a little child, and had been taught the Hail Mary, she was accustomed to salute the Mother of the Lord at each of the steps by which she entered her father’s house. She was devoted to prayer and most familiar with God.
Our Lord also interiorly invited and attracted her to adopt a
supernatural austerity of life. For she chastised with the utmost severity her
tender virginal
The Lord however taught her that true holiness consists not in these arduous works of penance and bodily exercises, but in the mortification of self-will and of evil dispositions; and that he would greatly err, who should measure perfection rather by great severity of life than by true humility and love.
Although her manner of life was singular, it is not to be reproved, since she adopted and pursued it by the impulse and by the will and special assistance of the Holy Ghost. Thus we see by what different paths the elect of God are outwardly led. For St. Bridget refreshed her body discreetly and moderately with food and sleep, as nature required. So we think did the most holy virgins Mechtildis and Gertrude; and we do not read of them that they embraced any unusual austerity of life, for they were often prevented by weakness from keeping their rule in its severity. But St. Catherine led a life of unheard-of abstinence and austerity, and she is in this respect rather to be admired, than lightly imitated.
She ever approached with the utmost alacrity the
Sacrament of the Altar (which she received almost
She abounded with such plenitude of grace and was so firmly united to God, that her mind seemed to be almost incessantly occupied in divine contemplation. She was very often taken out of her bodily senses and fell into extasy by the operation of God, and then her whole body became stiff. In these extasies she often perceived things so sublime, that, returning to her senses, she could in no way find words fitly to explain what she understood by divine enlightenment. Wherefore she repeated again and again, these words only: “I have seen the hidden things of God.”
Thirsting for the salvation of souls, she gave precepts of salvation to men in the various places to
which she travelled, and by the grace of God worked
many miracles. She died in the thirty-third year of
her life, and was received into heaven. A.D. 1380.
3. Of St. Mechtildis.
The holy virgin Mechtildis, the daughter of a certain Count, was born in Germany. Being taken in the seventh year of her age by her mother to a neighbouring monastery of virgins of the Order of St. Benedict, she remained there, and at length made her religious Profession.
She grew rapidly in the love of God, and in true
She was often tormented by a painful disease, and other sufferings; but she bore most patiently all the afflictions, that came upon her, receiving them with a joyful heart from the Hand of the Lord. Many days she suffered from so severe a pain in the head, that she was quite unable to sleep, and she was then also deprived of her usual divine sweetness and consolation. But when she complained with tears to our Lord, and humbly called upon Him; the merciful Lord, who is ever present with those in tribulation, at length poured upon her such abundance of grace, that she remained a long time with her eyes closed, as if dead, in the enjoyment of God, perceiving meanwhile many heavenly secrets. She often fell into extasies of this sort, and was wholly rapt in God.
She experienced such sweetness, when she read or heard the words of the Gospel, (for she had learnt, and understood the Latin tongue) that she often became nearly insensible from the overwhelming delight.
On one Wednesday after Easter, when this Introit
of the Mass was begun, “Come ye blessed of My
Father,” she being filled with immense and unusual
joy, said to our Lord, “O that I were one of those
blessed ones, who shall hear these most sweet words
of Thine!” And the Lord replied, “Know for certain,
In her last illness, when her companion, the blessed Gertrude, enquired of the Lord what He was working in her, the Lord answered, “I repose with her in a sweet embrace, because although she be tortured by various and continual pains, yet trusting in My goodness, she believes that through My Divine Mercy all things are for her eternal salvation, and ever giving thanks to Me, she faithfully commits herself to My fatherly Providence.”
One day the same spouse of Christ Mechtildis, being already in the agony of death, said nothing but
these words, “O good Jesus, O good Jesus,” which
she constantly repeated; thus plainly showing, that
He was in truth intimately impressed on her heart,
whose Name she so sweetly ruminated upon, and so
frequently pronounced, amid the bitter pains of death.
But the hour being come when she was to pass out of
this world, Jesus, the Lord of Supreme Majesty, glorifying her with the light of His Divinity, in a sweet
and gentle voice invited her in these words: Come,
Then indeed did the Lord Himself remind her of that most excellent gift, by which some years before, (when the same words were sung in the Mass,) He had given her His Heart as a pledge of love. Therefore that blessed soul, being admitted into the sweetest Heart of Jesus, entered happily into eternal glory and heavenly joys.
4. Of St. Gertrude.
The virgin Gertrude, or Trutha, full of the amiable sweetness of the grace of God, shone with the splendour of all virtues, having been, in the fifth year of her age, planted like a fair lily in the garden of holy religion. She served God in the same monastery as Mechtildis.
Gertrude, being gifted with extraordinary talents, in a short time made great progress in the Latin language; but her chief study was to acquire humility and purity of heart, and to be united to God by ardent love.
She saw herself in the light of truth, to be unworthy of any of the gifts of God; she looked upon herself, I say, only as a sort of canal by which God willed to convey His gifts to His elect. She esteemed above herself all whom she saw; and those to whom she communicated the gifts of God, she believed to merit more by their thoughts, their innocence or blameless conversation, than she could by all her exercises and labours.
Sometimes when she was journeying, she said to our Lord in her deep abjection, “Ah! my Lord! among the great miracles, which Thou workest, I consider this to be one of the chiefest, that Thou permittest the earth to bear so vile a sinner as I am.” To which the Lord graciously answered, “Rightly does the earth allow itself to be trodden by thee, since all the dignity of heaven awaits with ineffable desire that most joyful hour, when it may receive and welcome thee.”
When garments or any other things were offered to her that she might choose which she liked, she would not choose, but stretching forth her hand with her eyes shut, she received with the utmost gratitude whatever she took hold of (though it might be the most vile), as if the Lord had given it to her with His own Hands.
Her confidence in God was ever firm, her mind active and courageous, leaning steadily on His fatherly Providence, to which she looked in all things.
The Lord sensibly imprinted on her heart the glorious stigmata of His five Wounds, and He prepared for Himself in her so pleasing a dwelling, and so sweetly manifested to her His Heart, that if men did not know the power and goodness of the Lord to be boundless, they could hardly believe that He had shown as much familiar friendship to His most holy Mother on the earth as He showed to her.
Hence the same Lord Jesus, speaking to a certain
holy person of her while she was yet alive, said thus: “Since there is no one now living who is nearer and
more united to me by pure intention, good will, and
She had also received from the divine and infallible Truth the promise, that as in the Death of Christ the most exalted power of love separated the Soul of the Lord Jesus Himself from the Body, so in the death of this virgin divine love was to consume all her strength.
She was, moreover, assured by a divine promise
5. On the authority of the foregoing Revelations.
The revelations made to the holy women mentioned above were known to the whole world, and
have long ago been approved by pious and learned
men; for the holy Fathers everywhere quote them
in their books and writings. During the lifetime of
St. Bridget, distinguished bishops and theologians
examined her revelations; and after her death the
Council of Basle deputed some who were eminent for
From all which it appears how far from the Spirit of God are those who reject and ridicule these revelations as the dreams of foolish women. May God forgive them; and may He deign, through the merits and intercession of His most dear spouses (on whom He abundantly poured forth His Spirit, and whom He surpassingly illuminated with the light of truth), to bring us all, after this miserable life, to eternal blessedness in the life to come.
Genesis
Leviticus
Deuteronomy
4:24 5:7 18 18:10 18:11 18:14 32:49 32:50 34:1 34:5
1 Kings
Job
Psalms
4:9 7:10 11:6 33:19 33:19 33:19 35:4 35:9 50:8 50:14 50:19 50:19 56:1 68:22 81:6 83:8 90:14 90:14 90:15 91:5 91:7 103:12 103:13 103:24 115:15 118:80 126:1 138:16 144:8
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
1:16-18 7:14 44:22 47:10 47:11 47:13 47:14 49:15-16 50:10 66:13-14
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Micah
Habakkuk
Matthew
3:8 5:44 6:12 7:3 7:7 7:7 10:28 10:33 10:33 10:39 11:29 11:29 12:36 13:43 18:3 18:3 18:18 20:9 21:22 23:3 25:21 25:34 25:36 25:40 25:41 26:30 26:38 26:39 26:42 27:46
Mark
Luke
1:28 1:38 1:38 1:48 2:14 2:14 2:29 5:12-13 6:41 10:16 10:16 10:42 10:42 11:9 11:9 11:11 11:12 11:13 12:35 12:36 12:38 14:10 15:18 18:1 18:13 18:13 18:13 19:26 21:18 21:19 22:15 22:39-44 22:42 22:62 22:62 23:34 23:40 23:43 23:43 23:43 23:43 24:45
John
1:3 1:4 1:9 1:14 2:7 2:8 4:24 6:57 6:64 9:31 11:25 11:25-26 11:26 13:35 13:35 14:13 15:5 15:12 16:24 17:3 18 19:29 19:29 21:15 21:16 21:17
Acts
Romans
1:20 2:4 2:5 3:8 5:9 6:12 7:15 7:16 8:1 8:1 8:14 8:15 10:10 12:17 13:13 13:14 13:14 14:8
1 Corinthians
1:8 2:9 2:9 2:9 6:9 6:10 6:11 10:13 11:24 11:29 13:12
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
1 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Hebrews
1 Peter
1 John
Revelation
Wisdom of Solomon
i ii iii iv v 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 140 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 215 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306