Читать книгу Introduction to the Devout Life - Francis de Sales - Страница 11
ОглавлениеPart I
Counsels and Practices to Guide the Soul from the First Desire for a Devout Life to a Firm Resolution to Embrace It
Chapter 1
What True Devotion Is
You aim at a devout life, dear child, because as a Christian you know that such devotion is most acceptable to God’s Divine Majesty. But seeing that the small errors people are prone to commit in the beginning of any undertaking are apt to wax greater as they advance, and to become irreparable at last, it is most important that you should thoroughly understand wherein lies the grace of true devotion — and that, because while there undoubtedly is such a true devotion, there are also many spurious and idle semblances thereof; and unless you know which is real, you may mistake, and waste your energy in pursuing an empty, profitless shadow.
Arelius painted all his pictures with the features and expression of the women he loved, and in the same way we all color devotion according to our own likings and dispositions. One man sets great value on fasting and believes himself to be leading a very devout life so long as he fasts rigorously, although his heart is full of bitterness; and while in his great abstinence he will not moisten his lips with wine, perhaps not even with water, he does not scruple to steep them in his neighbor’s blood through slander and detraction. Another man considers himself devout because he repeats many prayers daily, although at the same time he does not refrain from all manner of angry, irritating, conceited, or insulting speeches among his family and neighbors. This man freely opens his purse in almsgiving but closes his heart to all gentle and forgiving feelings toward those who are opposed to him, while that one is ready enough to forgive his enemies, but will never pay his rightful debts except under pressure. Meanwhile, all these people are conventionally called religious, but they are in no true sense really devout. When Saul’s servants sought to take David, Michal convinced them that the lifeless figure lying in his bed, and covered with his garments, was the man they sought; and in like manner many people dress up their exterior with visible acts expressive of earnest devotion, and the world supposes them to be really devout and spiritual-minded, while all the time they are mere figures, mere phantasms of devotion.
But, in fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God, and indeed, it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. For while that love is shining on the soul, we call it grace, which makes us acceptable to God’s divine majesty; when it strengthens us to do well, it is called charity; but when it attains its fullest perfection, in which it not only leads us to do well, but to act carefully, diligently, and promptly, then it is called devotion.
The ostrich never flies, the hen rises with difficulty and achieves but a brief and rare flight, but the eagle, the dove, and the swallow are continually on the wing and soar high. Even so, sinners do not rise toward God, for all their movements are earthly and earthbound. Well-meaning people, who have not as yet attained a true devotion, attempt a manner of flight by means of their good actions, but rarely, slowly, and heavily. While really devout men rise up to God frequently, and with a swift and soaring wing. In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which divine love works in us and causes us to work quickly and with love. And just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call anyone who neglects to observe all God’s commandments either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love. And insofar as devotion consists in a high degree of real love, it not only makes us ready, active, and diligent in following all God’s commands, but it also excites us to be ready and loving in performing as many good works as possible, even those that are not enjoined upon us, but are only matters of counsel or inspiration.
Even as a man just recovering from illness walks only as far as he is obliged to go, with a slow and weary step, so the converted sinner journeys along as far as God commands him, but slowly and wearily, until he attains a true spirit of devotion; then, like a sound man, he not only gets along, but he runs and leaps in the way of God’s commands and hastens gladly along the paths of heavenly counsels and inspirations. The difference between love and devotion is just like that which exists between fire and flame: love is a spiritual fire which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame. And what devotion adds to the fire of love is that flame which makes it eager, energetic, and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s commandments, but in fulfilling his divine counsels and inspirations.
Chapter 2
The Nature and Excellence of Devotion
Those who sought to discourage the Israelites from going up to the Promised Land told them that it was “a land which eateth up the inhabitants thereof” (Num 13:32); that is, that the climate was so unhealthy that the inhabitants could not live long, and that the people there were “men of a great stature,” who looked upon the newcomers as mere locusts to be devoured. It is just so, my daughter, that the world runs down true devotion, painting devout people with gloomy, melancholy faces, and affirming that religion makes them dismal and unpleasant. But even as Joshua and Caleb protested that not only was the Promised Land a fair and pleasant country, but that the Israelites would take an easy and peaceful possession of it, so the Holy Spirit tells us through his saints, and Our Lord has told us with his own lips, that a devout life is very sweet, very happy, and very loveable.
The world, looking on, sees that devout people fast, watch and pray, endure injury patiently, minister to the sick and poor, restrain their temper, check and subdue their passions, deny themselves in all sensual indulgence, and do many other things which in themselves are hard and difficult. But the world sees nothing of that inward, heartfelt devotion which makes all these actions pleasant and easy. Watch a bee hovering over the mountain thyme; the juices it gathers are bitter, but the bee turns them all to honey, and so tells the worldly that though the devout soul finds bitter herbs along its path of devotion, they are all turned to sweetness and pleasantness as it treads. And the martyrs have counted fire, sword, and rack as nothing but perfumed flowers because of their devotion. And if devotion can sweeten such cruel torments, and even death itself, how much more will it give a charm to ordinary good deeds? We sweeten unripe fruit with sugar, and it is useful in correcting the crudity even of that which is good. So devotion is the real spiritual sweetness that takes away all bitterness from mortifications, and prevents consolations from disagreeing with the soul. It cures the poor of sadness and the rich of presumption; it keeps the oppressed from feeling desolate and the prosperous from insolence; it averts sadness from the lonely and dissipation from social life; it is as warmth in winter and refreshing dew in summer; it knows how to abound and how to suffer want; how to profit alike by honor and contempt; it accepts gladness and sadness with an even mind, and fills men’s hearts with a wondrous sweetness.
Ponder Jacob’s ladder: it is a true picture of the devout life. The two poles which support the steps are types of prayer, which seeks the love of God, and the sacraments, which confer that love. The steps themselves are simply the degrees of love by which we go on from virtue to virtue, either descending by good deeds on behalf of our neighbor, or ascending by contemplation to a loving union with God. Consider, too, the beings who tread this ladder: men with angels’ hearts, or angels with human forms. They are not youthful, but they seem to be so by reason of their vigor and spiritual activity. They have wings with which to fly and attain to God in holy prayer, but they also have feet with which to tread in human paths by a holy, gracious intercourse with men. Their faces are bright and beautiful, inasmuch as they accept all things gently and sweetly. Their heads and limbs are uncovered, because their thoughts, affections, and actions have no motive or object save that of pleasing God. The rest of their bodies is covered with a light, shining garment, because while they use the world and the things of this life, they use all purely and honestly, and no further than is needful for their condition — such are the truly devout.
Believe me, dear child, devotion is the sweetest of sweets, the queen of virtues, the perfection of love. If love is the milk of life, devotion is the cream thereof; if love is a fruitful plant, devotion is the blossom; if love is a precious stone, devotion is its brightness; if love is a precious balm, devotion is its perfume, that sweet odor which delights men and causes the angels to rejoice.
Chapter 3
Devotion Is Suitable to Every Vocation and Profession
When God created the world, he commanded each tree to bear fruit after its kind (Gen 1:12); and even so he bids Christians — the living trees of his Church — to bring forth fruits of devotion, each one according to his kind and vocation. A different exercise of devotion is required of each — the noble, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the maiden, and the wife. And furthermore, such practice must be modified according to the strength, the calling, and the duties of each individual.
I ask you, my child, would it be fitting for a bishop to seek to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian? And if the father of a family were as careless in making provision for the future as a Capuchin, if the artisan spent the day in church like a religious, if the religious involved himself in all manner of business on his neighbor’s behalf as a bishop is called upon to do — would not such a devotion be ridiculous, ill-regulated, and intolerable? Nevertheless, this mistake is often made, and the world, which cannot or will not discriminate between real devotion and the indiscretion of those who fancy themselves devout, grumbles and finds fault with devotion, which really has nothing to do with these errors.
No indeed, my child, the devotion which is true hinders nothing, but on the contrary, it perfects everything. That devotion which runs counter to a person’s rightful vocation is, you may be sure, a false devotion. Aristotle says that the bee sucks honey from flowers without damaging them, leaving them as whole and fresh as it found them. But true devotion does better still, for it not only does not hinder any vocation or duty, but it adorns and beautifies it. Throw precious stones into honey, and each will grow more brilliant according to its color. In like manner, everyone fulfills his special calling better when subject to the influence of devotion: family duties are lighter, married love truer, service to our king more faithful, every kind of occupation more acceptable and better performed where that is the guide.
It is an error — nay more, a heresy — to seek to banish the devout life from the soldier’s guardroom, the mechanic’s workshop, the prince’s court, or the domestic hearth. Of course, a purely contemplative devotion, such as is proper to the religious and monastic life, cannot be practiced in these outer vocations, but there are many other kinds of devotion well-suited to lead those whose calling is secular along the paths of perfection. The Old Testament provides examples in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job, Tobias, Sarah, Rebecca, and Judith. And in the New Testament we read of Saint Joseph, Lydia, and Crispus, who led perfectly devout lives in their trades. We have Saint Anne, Saint Martha, Saint Monica, Aquila, and Priscilla as examples of household devotion; Cornelius, Sebastian, and Maurice among soldiers; Constantine, Helena, Louis, the Blessed Amadaeus,6 and Edward on the throne. And we even find instances of some who fell away in solitude — usually so helpful to perfection — who had led a higher life in the world, which seems so antagonistic to perfection. Saint Gregory dwells on how Lot, who had kept himself pure in the city, fell in his mountain solitude. Be sure that wherever our lot is cast, we may and must aim at the perfect life.
Chapter 4
The Need of a Guide for Those Who Would Enter Upon and Advance in the Devout Life
When Tobias was bidden to go to Rages, he was willing to obey his father, but he objected that he did not know the way. To which Tobit answered, “Seek thee a man which may go with thee” (Tob 5:3). Even so, daughter, I say to you, if you would really tread the paths of the devout life, seek some holy man to guide and conduct you. This is the precept of precepts, says Saint Teresa of Avila — seek as you will, you can never so surely discover God’s will as through the channel of humble obedience so universally taught and practiced by all the saints of old. When the blessed Teresa read of the great penances performed by Catherine of Cordova, she desired exceedingly to imitate them, but her Confessor forbade her, and she was tempted to disobey him. Then God spoke to Teresa, saying, “My child, you are on a good and safe road — true, you see all this penance, but I esteem your obedience as a yet greater virtue.” From then on, Saint Teresa loved the virtue of obedience so much that, in addition to the obedience due to her superiors, she took a vow of special obedience to a pious ecclesiastic, pledging herself to follow his direction and guidance, which proved an inexpressible help to her.
In the same way, before and after Teresa, many pious souls have subjected their will to God’s ministers in order to submit themselves better to him, a practice much commended by Saint Catherine of Siena in her Dialogues. The devout Princess Saint Elizabeth gave an unlimited obedience to the venerable Conrad; and one of the parting counsels given by Saint Louis to his son before he died was, “Confess thyself often — choose a single-minded, worthy confessor, who is able wisely to teach thee how to do that which is needful for thee.”7 “A faithful friend,” we are told in Holy Scripture, “is a strong defense, and he that has found such a one has found a treasure” (cf. Sir 6:14); and again: “A faithful friend is the medicine of life; and they that fear the Lord shall find him” (cf. Sir 6:16). These sacred words refer chiefly, as you see, to the immortal life, as we especially need a faithful friend, who will guide us by his counsel and advice, to guard us against the deceits and snares of the Evil One. This friend will be a storehouse of wisdom to us in our sorrows, trials, and falls; he will be a healing balm to stay and soothe our heart in the time of spiritual sickness; he will shield us from evil and confirm what is good in us; and when we fall through infirmity, he will help turn aside the deadly nature of the evil, and raise us up again.
But who can find such a friend? The wise man answers: “He that fears the Lord” (cf. Sir 6:17) — that is to say, the truly humble soul who earnestly desires to advance in the spiritual life. So, daughter, because it concerns you so closely to set forth on this devout journey under good guidance, pray most earnestly to God to supply you with a guide after his own heart, and never doubt that he will grant you one who is wise and faithful, even should he send you an angel from heaven, as he sent to Tobias.
In truth, your spiritual guide should always be as a heaven-sent angel to you. By this I mean that, when you have found him, you are not to look upon him as an ordinary man, or trust in him or his wisdom as such; but you must look to God, who will help you and speak to you through this man, putting into his heart and mouth whatever is needful to you. So you ought to hearken as though he were an angel come down from heaven to lead you there. Deal with him in all sincerity and faithfulness, and with open heart, manifesting alike your good and your evil, without pretense or dissimulation. Thus, your good will be examined and confirmed, and your evil corrected and remedied. You will be soothed and strengthened in trouble, and moderated and regulated in prosperity. Give your guide a hearty confidence mingled with sacred reverence, so your reverence in no way hinders your confidence, and your confidence in no way lessens your reverence. Trust him with the respect of a daughter for her father; respect him with the confidence of a son in his mother. In a word, such a friendship should be strong and sweet, altogether holy, sacred, divine, and spiritual.
With such an aim, choose one among a thousand, Saint Teresa of Avila says. And I say among ten thousand, for there are fewer than one would think who are capable of this office. He must be full of love, of wisdom, and of discretion; for if any of these three be wanting, there is danger. But once more I say, ask such help of God, and when you have found it, bless his holy name. Be steadfast, seek no more, but go on simply, humbly, and trustfully, for you are safe to make a prosperous journey.
Chapter 5
The First Step Must Be Purifying the Soul
“The flowers appear on the earth” (Song 2:12), says the heavenly bridegroom, and the time for pruning and cutting has come. And what, my child, are our hearts’ flowers but our good desires? Now, as soon as these begin to appear, we need the pruning hook to cut off all dead and superfluous works from our conscience.
When the daughter of a strange land was about to espouse an Israelite, the law commanded her to put off the garment of her captivity, to pare her nails, and to shave her head (Dt 21:12); even so, the soul which aims at the dignity of becoming the spouse of Christ must put off the old man, and put on the new man, forsaking sin. Moreover, it must pare and shave away every impediment which can hinder the love of God. The very first step toward spiritual health is to be purged from our sinful inclinations. Saint Paul received perfect purification instantaneously, and a similar grace was granted to Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Catherine of Genoa, Saint Pelagia, and some others, but this kind of purgation is miraculous and extraordinary, just as the resurrection of the dead is in nature, and we should not dare to venture to aspire to it. The ordinary purification, whether of body or soul, is only accomplished by slow degrees, step by step, gradually and painfully.
The angels on Jacob’s ladder had wings, yet they did not fly, but went in due order up and down the steps of the ladder. The soul which rises out of sin to a devout life has been compared to the dawn, which does not banish darkness suddenly, but by degrees. That cure which is brought about gradually is always the surest, and spiritual maladies, like those of the body, usually come on horseback and express, while they depart slowly and on foot. So we must be brave and patient, my daughter, in this undertaking. It is sad to see souls beginning to chafe and grow disheartened because they find themselves still subject to imperfection after having made some attempt at leading a devout life, and are close to yielding to the temptation to give up in despair and fall back. But, on the other hand, there is an extreme danger surrounding those souls who, through the opposite temptation, are disposed to imagine themselves purified from all imperfection at the very outset of their purgation, who count themselves as full-grown almost before they are born and seek to fly before they have wings. Be sure, daughter, that these are in great danger of a relapse through having left their physician too soon. “It is but lost labor to rise up early and late take rest,” unless the Lord prospers all we do.
The work of the soul’s purification cannot and should not end until life itself does. So do not let us be disheartened by our imperfections — our very perfection lies in diligently contending against them, and it is impossible to do so without seeing them, or to overcome without meeting them face-to-face. Our victory does not consist in being unaware of our imperfections, but in not consenting to them. Now to be afflicted by our imperfections is certainly not to consent to them, and for growth in humility it is necessary that we sometimes find ourselves defeated in this spiritual battle. We shall never be conquered, however, until we lose either life or courage. Moreover, imperfections and venial sins cannot destroy our spiritual life, which can only be lost through mortal sin; consequently, we have only to watch well that they do not imperil our courage. David continually asks the Lord to strengthen his heart against cowardice and discouragement, and it is our privilege in this war that we are certain to vanquish as long as we are willing to fight.
Chapter 6
The First Purification, Namely, from Mortal Sin
The first purification to be made is from sin, and the means by which to make it is the Sacrament of Penance. Seek the best confessor within your reach and use one of the many little books written in order to help with your examination of conscience. Read some such book carefully, examining point by point where you have sinned, from the first use of your reason to the present time. And if you do not trust your memory, write down the result of your examination. Having thus sought out the evil spots in your conscience, strive to detest them and to reject them with the greatest abhorrence and contrition of which your heart is capable, bearing in mind these four things: by sin you have lost God’s grace, rejected your share in Paradise, accepted the pains of hell, and renounced God’s eternal love.
You see, my child, that I am now speaking of a general confession of your whole life, which, while I grant that it is not always necessary, yet I believe will be found most helpful in the beginning of your pursuit of holiness, and therefore I earnestly advise you to make it. Too often, the ordinary confessions of people leading an everyday life are full of great faults because they make little or no preparation and do not have the necessary contrition. Owing to this deficiency, such people go to confession with a tacit intention of returning to their old sins, for they will not avoid the occasions of sin or take the necessary measures to amend their lives, and in all such cases a general confession is required to steady and fix the soul. Furthermore, a general confession forces us to a clearer self-knowledge, kindles a wholesome shame for our past life, and rouses gratitude for God’s mercy, which has so long waited patiently for us. It comforts the heart, refreshes the spirit, excites good resolutions, gives our spiritual father the opportunity to give the most suitable advice, and opens our hearts so as to make future confessions more effective. Therefore, I cannot enter into the subject of a general change of life and entire turning to God by means of a devout life, without urging you to begin with a general confession.
Chapter 7
The Second Purification, from All Sinful Affections
All the children of Israel went forth from the land of Egypt, but not all went forth heartily. So, when wandering in the desert, some of them sighed after the leeks and onions and the fleshpots of Egypt. In the same way, there are penitents who forsake sin, yet without forsaking their sinful affections; that is to say, they intend to sin no more, but it goes sorely against them to abstain from the pleasures of sin. They formally renounce and forsake sinful acts, but they turn back many a fond, lingering look to what they have left, like Lot’s wife as she fled from Sodom. They are like a sick man who abstains from eating melon when the doctor says it would kill him, but who all the while longs for it, talks about it, bargains when he may have it, would like just to sniff the perfume, and thinks those who are free to eat of it very fortunate. These weak, cowardly penitents abstain awhile from sin, but reluctantly; they would like to be able to sin without incurring damnation. They talk with a lingering taste of their sinful deeds, and envy those who are still indulging in the same sins. Thus, a man who has meditated some revenge gives it up in confession, but soon after he is to be found talking about the quarrel, stating that but for the fear of God he would do this or that, and complaining that it is hard to keep the divine rule of forgiveness; would to God it were lawful to avenge oneself! Who can fail to see that even if this poor man is not actually committing sin, he is altogether bound by affection for it, and although he may have come out of Egypt, he still hungers after it, and longs for the leeks and onions he used to feed upon there! It is the same with the woman who, though she has given up her life of sin, still takes delight in being sought after and admired. Alas! of a truth, all such are in great peril.
Be sure, my daughter, that if you seek to lead a devout life, you must not merely forsake sin; you must further cleanse your heart from all affections pertaining to sin. For, to say nothing of the danger of a relapse, these wretched affections will perpetually enfeeble your mind, and clog it, so that you will be unable to be diligent, ready, and frequent in good works, wherein nevertheless lies the very essence of all true devotion. Souls which, in spite of having forsaken sin, yet retain such likings and longings, remind us of those persons who, without being actually ill, are pale and sickly, languid in all they do, eating without appetite, sleeping without refreshment, laughing without mirth, dragging themselves about rather than walking briskly. Such souls as I have described lose all the grace of their good deeds, which are probably few and feeble, through their spiritual languor.
Chapter 8
How to Bring About This Second Purification
The first inducement to attain this second purification is a keen and lively apprehension of the great evils resulting from sin, by means of which we acquire a deep, hearty contrition. For just as contrition (so far as it is real), however slight, when joined to the virtue of the sacraments, purges away sin; so, when it becomes strong and urgent, it purges away all the affections that cling to habits of sin. When men hate something moderately or slightly, they dislike it and avoid its society; but when they hate something with a violent, mortal hatred, they not only abhor and shun the person who excites it, but they loathe him, they cannot endure the approach of his relations or connections, nor even his likeness or anything that concerns him. Just so, when a penitent only hates sin through a weak — but real — contrition, he will resolve to avoid overt acts of sin; but when his contrition is strong and hearty, he will not merely abhor sin, but every affection, every link and tendency to sin.
Therefore, my daughter, we must kindle our contrition and repentance as much as we possibly can, so that it may reach even to the very smallest appearance of sin. Thus it was that Saint Mary Magdalene, when converted, so entirely lost all taste for her past sin and its pleasures that she never again cast back one thought upon them. And David declared that he hated not only sin itself, but every path and way that led to sin. This is that “renewing of the soul” which David also compares to the eagle’s strength (Ps 103:5).
Now, in order to attain this fear and contrition, you must use the following meditations carefully; for if you practice them steadfastly, they (by God’s grace) will root out both sin and its affections from your heart. It is to that end that I have prepared them: use them one after another, in the order in which they come, only taking one each day, as early as possible — for the morning is the best time for all spiritual exercises — and then ponder and meditate on it through the day. If you have not as yet been taught how to meditate, you will find instructions in Part II.
Chapter 9
First Meditation — Of Creation
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Ask him to inspire your heart.
Considerations
1. Consider that only a few years ago, you were not born into the world, and your soul was as yet nonexistent. Where were you then, O my soul? The world was already old, and yet of you there was no sign.
2. God brought you out of this nothingness in order to make you what you are, not because he had any need of you, but solely out of his goodness.
3. Consider the being which God has given you, for it is the highest being of this visible world, adapted to live eternally and to be perfectly united to God’s divine majesty.
Affections and Resolutions
1. Humble yourself utterly before God, saying with the Psalmist: Lord, I am nothing in respect of you — what am I, that you should remember me? My soul, you would still be lost in that abyss of nothingness, if God had not called you forth, and what of you in such a case?
2. Give God thanks. Great and good Creator, what do I not owe you, who took me from out of nothingness, by your mercy, to make me what I am? How can I ever do enough to praise your holy name worthily, and to render due thanks to your goodness?
3. Confess your own shame. But alas, my Creator, so far from uniting myself to you by a loving service, I have rebelled against you through my unruly affections, departing from you and giving myself up to sin, and ignoring your goodness, as though you had not created me.
4. Prostrate yourself before God. My soul, know that the Lord is your God; it is he who made you, and not you yourself. O God, I am the work of your hands; from now on, I will not seek to rest in myself, who am nothing. In what do you have to glory, who are but dust and ashes? How can you, who are nothing, exalt yourself? To grow in humility, I will do such and such a thing; I will endure such contempt; I will alter my ways and from now on follow my creator, and realize that I am honored by the existence he has given me; I will use it only to obey his will, by means of the teaching he has given me, of which I will inquire more through my spiritual director.
Conclusion
1. Thank God. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and praise his holy name with all your being, because his goodness called me forth from nothingness, and his mercy created me.
2. Offer. O my God, I offer you with all my heart the being you have given me. I dedicate and consecrate it to you.
3. Pray. O God, strengthen me in these affections and resolutions. Dear Lord, I commend me, and all those I love, to your never-failing mercy.
Our Father, who art in heaven … etc.
At the end of your meditation, linger awhile and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelt upon, that its sweet perfume may refresh you through the day.
Chapter 10
Second Meditation — Of the End for Which We Were Created
Preparation
1. Place yourself before God.
2. Ask him to inspire your heart.
Considerations
1. God did not bring you into the world because he had any need of you, useless as you are, but only that he might show forth his goodness in you, giving you his grace and glory. And to this end he gave you understanding that you might know him, memory that you might think of him, a will that you might love him, imagination that you might realize his mercies, sight that you might behold the marvels of his works, speech that you might praise him, and so on with all your other faculties.
2. Being created and placed in the world for this intent, shun and reject all contrary actions, and avoid as idle and superfluous whatever does not promote it.
3. Consider how unhappy they are who do not think of all this — who live as though they were created only to build and plant, to heap up riches and amuse themselves with trifles.
Affections and Resolutions
1. Humble yourself, for up until now you have so little thought upon all this. Alas, my God, what was I thinking about when I did not think of you? What did I remember when I forgot you? What did I love when I did not love you? Alas, when I ought to have been feeding on the truth, I was filling myself with vanity, and serving the world, which was made to serve me.
2. Abhor your past life. I renounce you, vain thoughts and useless imaginings, frivolous and hateful memories. I renounce all worthless friendships, all unprofitable efforts, and miserably ungrateful self-indulgence, all pitiful compliances.
3. Turn to God. You, my God and Savior, shall from now on be the sole object of my thoughts; no more will I give my mind to ideas that are displeasing to you. All the days of my life I will dwell on the greatness of your goodness, so lovingly poured out upon me. You shall be the delight of my heart, the resting place of all my affections. From this time forth I will forsake and abhor the vain pleasures and amusements, the empty pursuits which have absorbed my time. The unprofitable ties which have bound my heart I will loosen, and to that end I will use such and such remedies.
Conclusion
1. Thank God, who has made you for so gracious an end. You have made me, O Lord, for yourself, that I may eternally enjoy the immensity of your glory; when shall I be worthy of this, when shall I know how to bless you as I should?
2. Offer. Dearest Lord, I offer you all my affections and resolutions, with my whole heart and soul.
3. Pray. I entreat you, O God, to accept my desires and longings, and give your blessing to my soul, to enable me to fulfill them, through the merits of your dear Son’s precious blood, shed upon the cross for me.
Our Father, who art in heaven … etc.
Gather your little spiritual bouquet.
Chapter 11
Third Meditation — Of the Gifts of God
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Ask him to inspire your heart.
Considerations
1. Consider the material gifts God has given you — your body and the means for its preservation; your health and all that maintains it; your friends and many helps. Consider, too, how many people more deserving than you do not have these gifts. Some suffer in health or limb, others are exposed to injury, contempt, and trouble, or sunk in poverty, while God has willed that you be better off.
2. Consider the mental gifts he has given you. Why are you not foolish, mentally incapacitated, or insane like many people you know of? Again, God has favored you with a decent and suitable education, while many have grown up in utter ignorance.
3. Further, consider his spiritual gifts. You are a child of his Church, God has taught you to know him from your youth. How often has he given you his sacraments? What inspirations and interior light, what corrections, has he given you to lead you on the right path? How often has he forgiven you, how often delivered you from occasions of sin? What opportunities has he granted for your soul’s progress? Ponder these details; see how loving and gracious God has been to you.
Affections and Resolutions
1. Marvel at God’s goodness. How good he has been to me, how abundant in mercy and generous in loving-kindness! O my soul, speak often of the great things the Lord has done for you!
2. Marvel at your own ingratitude. What am I, Lord, that you remember me? How unworthy I am! I have trampled your mercies under my feet, I have abused your grace, turning it even against you. I have set the depth of my ingratitude against the depth of your grace and favor.
3. Kindle your gratitude. O my soul, do not be faithless and disloyal anymore to your mighty benefactor! Should not my whole soul serve the Lord, who has done such great things in me and for me? 4. Go on, my daughter, to refrain from this or that material indulgence; let your body be wholly the servant of God, who has done so much for it: set your soul to seek him by this or that suitable devout practice. Make diligent use of the means provided by the Church to help you to love God and save your soul. Resolve to be constant in prayer and seeking the sacraments, in hearing God’s Word, and in obeying his inspirations and counsels.
Conclusion
1. Thank God for the clearer knowledge he has given you of his benefits and your own duty.
2. Offer your heart and all its resolutions to him.
3. Ask him to strengthen you to fulfill your resolutions faithfully by the merits of the death of his Son.
Our Father, who art in heaven … etc.
Gather the little spiritual bouquet.
Chapter 12
Fourth Meditation — On Sin
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Ask him to inspire your heart.
Considerations
1. Consider how long it is since you first began to commit sin, and how since that first beginning sin has multiplied in your heart. Every day has added to the number of your sins against God, against yourself, and against your neighbor, by deed, word, thought, and desire.
2. Consider your evil tendencies, and how far you have followed them. These two points will show you that your sins are more in number than the hairs of your head, or the sand on the seashore.
3. Apart from sin, consider your ingratitude toward God, which is in itself a sin enfolding all the others, and adding to their enormity: consider the gifts which God has given you, and which you have turned against the Giver — especially the inspirations you have neglected and the promptings to good which you have frustrated. Review the many sacraments you have received, and look for their fruits. Where are the precious jewels with which our heavenly bridegroom decked you? With what preparation have you received them? Reflect upon the ingratitude with which, while God sought to save you, you have fled from him and rushed to your own destruction.
Affections and Resolutions
1. Humble yourself in your wretchedness. O my God, how do I dare to come before your eyes? I am but a corrupt being, a very sinkhole of ingratitude and wickedness. Can it be that I have been so disloyal, that my every sense, my every faculty, has been sullied and stained? Has even one day passed in which I have not sinned before you? Was this a fitting return for all my Creator’s gifts, for my Redeemer’s blood?
2. Ask pardon. Throw yourself at the Lord’s feet as the prodigal son, as Mary Magdalene, as the woman convicted of adultery. Have mercy, Lord, on me, a sinner! O living fountain of mercy, have pity on me, unworthy as I am.
3. Resolve to do better. Lord, with the help of your grace, I will never again give myself up to sin. I have loved it too much; from now on I want to hate it and cling to you. Father of mercy, I want to live and die for you.
4. In order to put away past sin, accuse yourself bravely of it. Do not let there be one sinful act which you do not bring to light.
5. Resolve to make every effort to tear up the roots of sin from your heart, especially whatever individual sins trouble you most.
6. In order to do this, resolve steadfastly to follow the advice given you, and never think that you have done enough to atone for your past sin.
Conclusion
1. Thank God for having waited till now for you, and for stirring these good intentions in your heart.
2. Offer him all your heart to carry them to good effect.
3. Pray that he will strengthen you.
Chapter 13
Fifth Meditation — On Death
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Ask for his grace.
3. Imagine yourself on your deathbed, in the last extremity, without the smallest hope of recovery.
Considerations
1. Consider the uncertainty about the day of your death. One day your soul will quit this body — will it be in summer or winter? In town or country? By day or by night? Will it be suddenly or with warning? Will it be the result of sickness or an accident? Will you have time to make your last confession or not? Will your confessor or spiritual father be at hand or not? Alas, we know absolutely nothing about any of these things: all we know is that we will die, and for the most part sooner than we expect.
2. Consider that when you die, the world is at an end as far as you are concerned. There will be no more of it for you, it will be altogether overthrown for you, since all pleasures, vanities, worldly joys, and empty delights will be as a mere fantastic vision to you. Woe is me, for I have ventured to offend God for the sake of mere trifles and unrealities! Then we will see that what we preferred to him was nothing at all. But, on the other hand, all devotion and good works will seem so precious and so sweet. Why did I not tread that pleasant path? Then what you thought to be little sins will look like huge mountains, and your devotion will seem but a very little thing.
3. Consider the universal farewell which your soul will take of this world. It will say farewell to riches, pleasures, and idle companions; to amusements and pastimes, to friends and neighbors, to husband, wife, and child, in short, to all creation. And lastly it will say farewell to its own body, which it will leave pale and cold, to become repulsive in decay.
4. Consider how the survivors will hasten to put that body away and hide it beneath the earth — and then the world will scarce give you another thought, or remember you, any more than you have done to those already gone. “God rest his soul!” men will say, and that is all. O death, how pitiless, how hard you are!
5. Consider that when it quits the body, the soul must go at once to the right hand or the left. To which will your soul go? What side will it take? It will take the same side to which it had been drawn voluntarily while still in this world.
Affections and Resolutions
1. Pray to God, and throw yourself into his arms. O Lord, be my strength in that day of anguish! May that hour be blessed and favorable to me, if all the rest of my life be full of sadness and trial.
2. Despise the world. Since as I do not know the hour in which I must quit the world, I will not grow fond of it. O dear friends, beloved ones of my heart, be content that I cleave to you only with a holy friendship which may last forever. Why should I cling to you with a tie that must be broken?
I will prepare for the hour of death and take every precaution for its peaceful arrival; I will thoroughly examine the state of my conscience and put in order whatever is wanting.
Conclusion
Thank God for inspiring you with these resolutions: offer them to his majesty: entreat him anew to grant you a happy death by the merits of his dear Son’s death. Ask the prayers of the Blessed Virgin and the saints.
Our Father, who art in heaven … etc.
Gather a bouquet of myrrh.
Chapter 14
Sixth Meditation — On Judgment
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Entreat him to inspire you.
Considerations
1. When the time that God has appointed for the end of this world comes, and after many terrible signs and warnings which will overwhelm men with fear, the whole earth will be destroyed, and nothing will be left.
2. Afterward, all men, except for those already risen, will rise from the dead, and at the voice of the archangel will appear in the valley of Jehoshaphat. But alas, with what diverse appearances! For some will be glorious and shining, others horrible and ghastly.
3. Consider the majesty with which the sovereign judge will appear, surrounded by all his saints and angels, his cross, the sign of grace to the good and of terror to the evil, shining brighter than the sun.
4. This sovereign judge will, with his awful word, instantly fulfilled, separate the evil and the good, setting the one on his right hand, the other on his left — an eternal separation, for they will never meet again.
5. This separation made, the books of conscience will be opened, and all men will behold both the malice of the wicked and how they have despised God, and the penitence of the good and the results of the grace they received. Nothing will be hidden. O my God, what confusion to the one, what rejoicing to the other! Consider the final sentence of the wicked: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Dwell upon these awful words. “Go,” he says — forever discarding these wretched sinners, banishing them forever from his presence. He calls them “cursed”: O my soul, what a curse, a curse involving all other curses, all possible evil, an irrevocable curse, including all time and eternity, condemning them to everlasting fire. Think what that eternity of suffering implies.
6. Then consider the sentence of the good. “Come,” the judge says — O blessed, loving word with which God draws us to himself and receives us in his bosom. “Blessed of my Father” — O blessing above all blessings! “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” O my God, and that kingdom will know no end!
Affections and Resolutions
1. Tremble, my soul, at the thought. O God, who will be my stay in that hour when the pillars of the earth are shaken?
2. Abhor your sins, which alone can cause you to be lost when that fearful day comes. Surely, I will judge myself now, that I be not judged; I will examine my conscience, accuse, condemn, punish myself, that the judge may not condemn me then. I will confess my faults and follow the counsels given me.
Conclusion
Thank God for having given you means of safety in that terrible day, and time for repentance. Offer him your heart and ask for grace to use it well.
Our Father, who art in heaven … etc.
Gather your bouquet.
Chapter 15
Seventh Meditation — On Hell
Preparation
1. Place yourself in God’s presence.
2. Humble yourself and ask for his help.
3. Picture to yourself a dark city, reeking with the flames of sulfur and brimstone, inhabited by citizens who cannot get out.
Considerations
1. Even so the lost are plunged in their infernal abyss, suffering indescribable torture in every sense and every member. Because they used their members and senses for sin, it is just that through them they should suffer now. Those eyes which delighted in impure, evil sights, now behold devils; the ears which took pleasure in unholy words, now are deafened with yells of despair; and so on with the other senses.
2. Beyond all these sufferings, there is one greater still, the privation and pain of loss of God’s glory, which is forever denied to their sight. Consider how Absalom did not want to be released from exile, if he was not allowed to see his father’s face (2 Sam 14:32); how much more painful will it be to be deprived forever of the blessed vision of God?
3. Consider how terrible the pains of hell will be because they are eternal. If the irritating bite of an insect, or the restlessness of fever, makes an ordinary night seem so long and tedious, how terrible will the endless night of eternity be, where nothing will be found except despair, blasphemy, and fury!
Affections and Resolutions
1. Read [Isaiah] the prophet’s descriptions of the terrors of the Lord,8 and ask your soul whether it can face them — whether you can bear to lose your God forever.
2. Confess that you have repeatedly deserved to do so. Resolve from now on to act differently, and to rescue yourself from this abyss. Resolve on distinct, definite acts by which you may avoid sin, and thus escape eternal death.
Give thanks, offer yourself, pray.
Chapter 16
Eighth Meditation — On Paradise
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Invoke his aid.
Considerations
1. Imagine a lovely, calm night, when the heavens are bright with countless stars. Add to the beauty of such a night the incredible beauty of a glorious summer day, but the sun’s brightness does not hinder the clear shining of moon or stars. And then be sure that it all falls immeasurably short of the glory of Paradise. O bright and blessed country, O sweet and precious place!
2. Consider the beauty and perfection of the countless inhabitants of that blessed country — the millions and millions of angels, Cherubim and Seraphim; the glorious company of apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and saints. O blessed company, any one single member of which surpasses all the glory of this world, what will it be to behold them all, to sing with them the sweet song of the Lamb? They rejoice with a perpetual joy, they share a bliss unspeakable, and unchangeable delights.
3. Consider how they enjoy the presence of God, who fills them with the richness of his vision, which is a perfect ocean of delight — the joy of being forever united to their head. They are like happy birds, hovering and singing forever within the atmosphere of divinity, which fills them with inconceivable pleasures. There each one vies without jealousy in singing the praises of the creator. “Blessed are you forever, O dear and precious Lord and Redeemer, who so freely gives us a share of your own glory!” they cry. And he in his turn pours out his ceaseless blessing on his saints. “Blessed are you — my own forever, who have served me faithfully and with good courage.”
Affections and Resolutions
1. Admire and rejoice in the heavenly country, the glorious and blessed New Jerusalem.
2. Reprove the coldness of your own heart for having sought so little after that glorious abode. Why have I remained indifferent so long to the eternal happiness set before me? Woe is me that, for the sake of poor, flavorless, earthly things, I have so often forgotten those heavenly delights. How could I neglect such real treasures for mere vain and contemptible earthly matters?
3. Aspire earnestly after that blessed abode. Dear Lord, as you have been pleased to turn my feet into your ways, never again will I look back. Go forth, my soul, toward your promised rest; journey without tiring to that hoped-for land. Why should you tarry in Egypt?
4. Resolve to give up such and such things, which hinder you on the way, and to do such others as will help you reach your destination.
Give thanks, offer, pray.
Chapter 17
Ninth Meditation — On the Choice Between Heaven and Hell
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Humble yourself before him and ask his inspiration.
Considerations
1. Imagine yourself alone with your good angel in an open plain, as was Tobit on his way to Rages. Suppose the angel to set before you heaven, full of delights and joys, and hell, with all its torments. Contemplate both, kneeling in imagination before your guardian angel. Consider that you are most truly standing between hell and heaven, and that both the one and the other are open to receive you, according to your own choice.
2. Consider that the choice you make in this life will last forever in the next.
3. Consider, too, that while both are open to receive you according to your choice, yet God (who is prepared to give the one by reason of his justice, the other by reason of his mercy) all the while desires unspeakably for you to choose heaven. And your good angel is urging you with all his might to do so, offering you countless graces on God’s part, countless helps to attain to it.
4. Consider that Jesus Christ, enthroned in heaven, looks down upon you in loving invitation: “O beloved one, come unto me, and joy forever in the eternal blessedness of my love!” Behold his mother yearning over you with maternal tenderness: “Courage, my child, do not despise the goodness of my Son, or my earnest prayers for your salvation.” Behold the saints, who have left you their example, the millions of holy souls who long for you, desiring earnestly that you may one day be joined to them forever in their song of praise. They urge upon you that the road to heaven is not so hard to find as the world would have you think. “Press on boldly, dear friend,” they cry. “Those who will ponder well the path by which we came here will discover that we attained to these present delights by sweeter joys than any this world can give.”
The Choice
1. O hell, I abhor you now and forever; I abhor your griefs and torments, your endless misery, the unceasing blasphemies and curses which you pour out upon my God. And turning to you, O blessed Paradise, eternal glory, unfading happiness, I choose you forever as my home, your glorious mansions, your precious and abiding tabernacles. O my God, I bless your mercy that gives me the power to choose. O Jesus, Savior, I accept your eternal love, and praise you for the promise you have given me of a place prepared for me in that blessed New Jerusalem, where I will love and bless you forever.
2. Dwell lovingly upon the example set before you by the Blessed Virgin and the saints, and strive to follow where they point you. Give yourself up to your guardian angel, that he may be your guide, and gird up your courage anew to make this choice.
Chapter 18
Tenth Meditation — How the Soul Chooses the Devout Life
Preparation
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Humble yourself before him and ask his aid.
Considerations
1. Once more imagine yourself in an open plain, alone with your guardian angel. Picture on your left hand the devil, sitting on a high and mighty throne, surrounded by a vast troop of worldly men, who bow bareheaded before him, doing homage to him by the various sins they commit. Study the faces of the miserable courtiers of that most abominable king — some raging with fury, envy, and passion, some murderous in their hatred, others pale and haggard in their craving after wealth, or madly pursuing every vain and profitless pleasure, others sunk and lost in vile, impure affections. See how all alike are hateful, restless, wild; see how they despise one another and have only an unreal, self-seeking love. Such is the miserable reign of the hateful tyrant.
2. On the other hand, behold Jesus Christ crucified, calling these unhappy wretches to come to him, and interceding for them with all the love of his precious heart. Behold the company of devout souls and their guardian angels; contemplate the beauty of this holy kingdom. What could be lovelier than the troop of virgin souls, men and women, pure as lilies; widows in their holy desolation and humility; husbands and wives living in all tender love and mutual cherishing. See how such pious souls know how to combine their exterior and interior duties — to love the earthly spouse without diminishing their devotion to the heavenly bridegroom. Look around: one and all, you will see them with loving, holy, gentle faces listening to the voice of their Lord, all seeking to enthrone him more and more within their hearts.
They rejoice, but it is with a peaceful, loving, sober joy; they love, but their love is altogether holy and pure. Those among these devout souls who have sorrows to bear are not disheartened by them, and they do not grieve too much, for their Savior’s eye is upon them to comfort them, and they all seek only him.
3. Surely you have already fully renounced Satan with his weary, miserable troop, by the good resolutions you have made. Nevertheless, you have not yet wholly attained to the king Jesus, or fully joined his blessed company of devout souls; you have hovered between the two.
4. The Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph, Saint Louis, Saint Monica, and hundreds of thousands more who were once like you, living in the world, call upon you and encourage you.
5. The crucified king himself calls you by your own name: “Come, O my beloved, come, and let me crown you!”
The Choice
1. O world, O vile company, never will I serve beneath your banner; I have forsaken your flatteries and deceptions forever. O proud king, monarch of evil, infernal spirit, I renounce you and all your hollow pomp. I detest you and all your works.
2. And turning to you, O sweet Jesus, king of blessedness and of eternal glory, I cling to you with all the powers of my soul, I adore you with all my heart, I choose you now and forever for my king, and with unshakeable fidelity I would offer my irrevocable service, submitting myself to your holy laws and ordinances.
3. O Blessed Virgin Mother of God, you will be my example. I will follow you with all reverence and respect.
O my good angel, bring me to this heavenly company, do not leave me until I have reached them, with whom I will sing forever, in testimony of my choice, “Glory be to Jesus, my Lord!”
Chapter 19
How to Make a General Confession
Such meditations as these, my daughter, will help you. Having made them, go on bravely, in the spirit of humility, to make your general confession. But I entreat you, do not be troubled by any sort of fearfulness. The scorpion who stings us is venomous, but when his oil has been distilled, it is the best remedy for his bite. Even so, sin is shameful when we commit it, but when reduced to repentance and confession, it becomes beneficial and honorable. Contrition and confession are in themselves so lovely and sweet that they efface the ugliness and disperse the ill flavor of sin. Simon the leper called Mary Magdalene a sinner (Mk 14; Lk 7:39), but the Lord turned the conversation to the perfume of her ointment and the greatness of her love. If we are really humble, my daughter, our sins will be infinitely displeasing to us, because they offend God; but it will be welcome and sweet to accuse ourselves of them, because in so doing we honor God, and there is always somewhat soothing in fully telling the doctor all the details of our pain.
When you come to your spiritual father, imagine yourself on Mount Calvary, at the feet of the crucified Savior, whose precious blood falls freely to cleanse you from all your sin. Though it is not his physical blood, still it is the merit of that outpoured blood that is sprinkled over his penitents as they kneel in confession. So be sure that you open your heart fully and put away your sins by confessing them, for in proportion as they are cast out, so will the precious merits of the passion of Christ come in and fill you with blessings.
Tell everything simply and with straightforwardness, and thoroughly satisfy your conscience in doing so. Then listen to the admonitions and counsels of God’s minister, saying in your heart, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” It is truly God to whom you listen, for he said to his representatives, “Whoever hears you, hears me” (Lk 10:16).
Then, as a summary of your contrition, take the following promise, and after studying and meditating on it carefully, read it through with as earnest an intention as you can make.
Chapter 20
A Firm Promise Made to Confirm the Soul’s Resolution to Serve God, as a Conclusion to Its Acts of Penance
I, ,
In the presence of God and of all the company of heaven, having considered the infinite mercy of his heavenly goodness to me, a miserable, unworthy creature, whom he has created, preserved, sustained, delivered from so many dangers, and filled with so many blessings; having above all considered the incomprehensible mercy and love with which this most good God has borne with me in my sinfulness, leading me so tenderly to repentance, and waiting so patiently for me until this (present) year of my life, despite all my ingratitude, disloyalty, and faithlessness, by which I have delayed turning to him and, despising his grace, have offended him anew; and further, remembering that in my baptism I was solemnly and happily dedicated to God as his child, and that in defiance of the profession then made in my name, I have so often miserably profaned my gifts, turning them against God’s divine majesty; now, coming to myself prostrate in heart and soul before the throne of his justice, I acknowledge and confess that I am justly accused and convicted of treason against his majesty, and guilty of the death and passion of Jesus Christ by reason of the sins I have committed, for which he died, bearing the reproach of the cross; so that I deserve nothing but eternal damnation.
But turning to God’s throne of infinite mercy, detesting the sins of my past life with all my heart and all my strength, I humbly desire and ask grace, pardon, and mercy, with entire absolution from my sin, in virtue of the death and passion of that same Lord and redeemer, on whom I lean as the only ground of my hope. I renew the sacred promise of faithfulness to God made in my name at my baptism, renouncing the devil, the world, and the flesh, abhorring their accursed suggestions, vanities, and lusts, now and for all eternity. And turning to a loving and merciful God, I desire, intend, and deliberately resolve to serve and love him now and eternally, devoting my mind and all its faculties, my soul and all its powers, my heart and all its affections, my body and all its senses, to his will.
I resolve never to misuse any part of my being by opposing his divine will and sovereign majesty, to which I wholly offer myself in intention, vowing always to be his loyal, obedient, and faithful servant without any change or recall. But if through the promptings of the Enemy, or human infirmity, I should fail in any way to keep my resolution and dedication, I earnestly resolve, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to rise up again as soon as I perceive my fall, and turn anew, without any delay, to seek his divine mercy. This is my firm will and intention, my inviolable, irrevocable resolution, which I make and confirm without any reserve, in the holy presence of God, in the sight of the Church triumphant, and before the Church militant, my mother, who accepts my declaration in the person of him who, as her representative, hears me make it. Be pleased, O eternal, all-powerful, and all-loving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to confirm me in this resolution, and accept my hearty and willing offering. And as you have been pleased to inspire me with the will to make it, give me also the needed strength and grace to keep it. O God, you are my God, the God of my heart, my soul, and spirit, and I acknowledge and adore you, now and for all eternity. Glory be to Jesus. Amen.
Chapter 21
Conclusion of This First Purification
Having made this resolution, wait attentively, and open the ears of your heart, that you may hear in spirit the absolution which the Lord of your soul, sitting on the throne of his mercy, will speak in heaven before the saints and angels when his priest absolves you here below in his name. Be sure that all that company of blessed ones rejoices in your joy and sings a song of untold gladness, embracing you and accepting you as cleansed and sanctified. Truly, my daughter, this is a marvelous deed, and a most blessed bargain for you; for in giving yourself to his divine majesty, you gain him and save yourself for eternal life. No more remains to do, save to take the pen and heartily sign your promise, and then hasten to the altar, where God on his side will sign and seal your absolution, and his promise of heaven, giving himself to you in his sacrament as a sacred seal placed upon your renewed heart. And thus, dear child, your soul will be cleansed from sin and from all its affections. But because these affections are easily rekindled, thanks to our infirmity and concupiscence (which may be mortified, but which can never be completely extinguished while we live), I will give you certain counsels to practice so that you may avoid mortal sin, and any affection for it, in the future. And as these counsels will also help you to attain a yet more perfect purification, before giving them, I will say a little bit about the absolute perfection to which I seek to lead you.
Chapter 22
The Need to Purge Away All Tendency to Venial Sin
As the day grows brighter, we can see more plainly the soils and stains upon our face when we look in the mirror. In the same way, as the interior light of the Holy Spirit enlightens our conscience, we see more distinctly the sins, inclinations, and imperfections that hinder our progress toward real devotion. And the same light that shows us these blots and stains kindles in us the desire to be cleansed and purged from them.
You will find then, my child, that besides the mortal sins and their affections from which your soul has already been purged, you are beset by many inclinations and tendencies to venial sin. Note, I do not say you will find venial sins, but the inclination and tendency to them. One is quite different from the other. We can never be altogether free from venial sin — at least not until after a very long persistence in this purity. But we can be without any affection for venial sin. It is one thing to say something unimportant that is not strictly true, out of carelessness or liveliness, and quite a different thing to take pleasure in lying, and in the habitual practice of it. But I tell you that you must purify your soul from all inclination to venial sin. That is to say, you must not voluntarily keep any deliberate intention of permitting yourself to commit any venial sin at all. The will to offend God in any way is most displeasing to him, and it would be very unworthy of us to admit this consciously. Venial sin, however small, is displeasing to God, though it is not as displeasing as the greater sins which involve eternal condemnation. And if venial sin is displeasing to him, then any clinging to mortal sin that we might tolerate is in fact a resolution to offend his divine majesty. Is it really possible for a rightly disposed soul to offend God and take pleasure in it?
These inclinations, my daughter, are in direct opposition to devotion, just as inclinations to mortal sin are to love. They weaken one’s mental power, hinder divine consolations, and open the door to temptations. And although they may not destroy the soul, they still bring on very serious disease. “Dead flies cause the ointment to send forth a stinking odor,” says the wise man (Eccles 10:1). He means that the flies which settle on and eat the ointment only damage it temporarily, leaving the mass intact, but if they fall into it and die there, they spoil and corrupt it. Even so, venial sins that pass over a devout soul without being harbored do not permanently injure it, but if such sins are fostered and cherished, they destroy the sweet savor of that soul — namely, its devotion. The spider cannot kill bees, but it can spoil their honey and so encumber their combs with its webs over time that it hinders the bees materially. Just so, though venial sins may not cause the soul to be lost, if they are harbored in the conscience because the soul delights in them, they will spoil its devotion and weigh down its faculties with bad habits and evil inclinations, depriving it of that cheerful readiness which is the very essence of true devotion. A trifling inaccuracy, a little hastiness in word or action, some small excess in mirth, in dress, in gaiety, may not be very important, if these are noticed right away and swept out like spiritual cobwebs. But if they are permitted to linger in the heart — or, worse still, if we take pleasure in them and indulge them — our honey will soon be spoiled, and the hive of our conscience will be cumbered and damaged. But I ask again, how can a generous heart take delight in anything it knows to be displeasing to its God, or wish to do what offends him?
Chapter 23
The Need to Remove All Inclination to Useless and Dangerous Things
Sports, balls, plays, festivities, pomps are not in themselves evil, but rather indifferent matters, capable of being used for good or ill. Nevertheless, they are dangerous, and it is still more dangerous to take great delight in them. Therefore, my daughter, I say that although it is lawful to amuse yourself, to dance, dress, feast, and see seemly plays — at the same time, if you are much addicted to these things, they will hinder your devotion and become extremely hurtful and dangerous to you. The harm lies, not in doing them, but in the degree to which you care for them. It is a pity to sow the seed of vain and foolish tastes in the soil of your heart, taking up the place of better things, and hindering the soul from cultivating good dispositions. It was thus that the Nazarites of old abstained not merely from all intoxicating drink, but from grapes fresh or dried, and from vinegar, not because these were intoxicating, but because they might excite the desire for fermented drinks.
Just so, while I do not forbid the use of these dangerous pleasures, I say that you cannot take an excessive delight in them without their telling upon your devotion. When the stag has waxed fat he hides himself in the thicket, conscious that his fleetness is impaired should he need to fly. In the same way, the human heart that is cumbered with useless, superfluous, dangerous clingings becomes incapacitated for that earnest following after God which is the true life of devotion. No one blames children for running after butterflies, because they are children, but it is ridiculous and pitiful to see full-grown men eager for such worthless trifles as the worldly amusements before named, which are likely to throw them off their balance and disturb their spiritual life. Therefore, dear child, I would have you cleanse your heart from all such tastes, remembering that while the acts themselves are not necessarily incompatible with a devout life, all delight in them must be harmful.
Chapter 24
All Evil Inclinations Must Be Purged Away
Furthermore, my daughter, we have certain natural inclinations that are not, strictly speaking, either mortal or venial sins, but imperfections, and the acts in which they take shape are failings and deficiencies. Thus Saint Jerome says that Saint Paula had so strong a tendency to excessive sorrow, that when she lost her husband and children she nearly died of grief. That was not a sin, but an imperfection since it did not depend upon her wish and will. Some people are naturally easy, some argumentative; some are not disposed to accept another’s opinions; some naturally disposed to be cross, some to be affectionate — in short, there is hardly anyone in whom some such imperfections do not exist. Now, although they are natural and instinctive in each person, they may be remedied and corrected, or even eradicated, by cultivating the reverse disposition. And this, my child, must be done. Gardeners have found how to make the bitter almond tree bear sweet fruit, by grafting the juice of the latter upon it; why should we not purge our perverse dispositions and infuse good ones? There is no disposition so good that it cannot be made bad through bad habits, and neither is there any natural disposition so perverse that it cannot be conquered and overcome by God’s grace primarily, and then by our earnest, diligent work.
So I will now proceed to give you counsels and suggest practices by which you may purify your soul from all dangerous affections and imperfections, and from all tendencies to venial sin, thereby strengthening yourself more and more against mortal sin. May God give you grace to use them.
