,abandonment2 ,,or1 ,absolute ,surrender to ,divine ,providence4 ,posthumous ,work ,,of ,,rev4 ,j4 ,p4 ,,de ,,caussade1 ,s4,j4 ,,revised ,,and ,,corrected ,,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,rami,,re1 ,s4,j4 ,translated from the ,eighth ,french ,edition ,,by ,miss ,,ella ,mc,m,a,h,o,n4 ,,new ,,york1 ,,cincinnati1 ,,and ,,st4 ,,louis3 ,,benziger ,,brothers1 ,printers to the ,holy ,apostolic ,see4 ,r4 ,,washbourne1 ,m4 ,h4 ,,gill ,,son1 #ah ,paternoster ,row1 ,london4 #ej ,upper ,o',connell ,st41 ,dublin4 #ahhg4 ,illustration3 ,coat of ,arms of ,archbishop of ,new ,york ,imprimatur1 ,,michael ,,augustine1 ,,archbishop ,,of ,,new ,,york4 ,,new ,,york1 ,feb4 #ae1 #ahhg4 ,copyright1 #ahhg1 by ,,benziger ,,brothers4 ,a ,,preface ,,on ,,the ,,foundation ,,and ,,true ,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,virtue ,,of ,,abandonment1 ,,to ,,explain ,,and ,,defend ,,father ,,caussade',s ,,doctrine4 ,there is no truth however clear which does not become error the moment it is lessened or exaggerated2 and there is no food however salutary for the soul which may not1 when ill-applied1 become a fatal poison4 ,the virtue of abandonment does not escape this danger2 the more holy and profitable it is in itself the more serious are the dangers we risk by misunderstanding its just limits4 ,these dangers1 unfortunately1 are not mere possibilities4 ,the seventeenth century witnessed the birth of a heresy1--that of the ,quietists1--which1 while claiming to teach its followers perfect abandonment to ,god1 led them into the most terrible disorders4 ,for a time this sect wrought its ravages in the very capital of ,catholicism1 and put forth such specious sophistries that the pious ,fnelon himself1 while abhorring the practical consequences drawn from this teaching1 was for a time misled by its false appearance of perfection4 ,to preserve ,father ,caussade's readers from these dangers1 we think it well to add to these writings a succinct exposition of the rules which should guide us in a matter so delicate4 ,by the light of the principles jointly furnished us by reason and faith1 we shall have no difficulty in determining the just limits which should mark our abandonment to divine ,providence2 and it will be easy for us afterwards to elucidate the points in our author's doctrine which might be wrongly interpreted4 ,i4 ,father ,caussade explains very clearly in his 8,letters0 the two principles which form the unalterable basis of the virtue of abandonment4 ,first principle3 ,nothing is done1 nothing happens1 either in the material or in the moral world1 which ,god has not foreseen from all eternity1 and which ,he has not willed1 or at least permitted4 ,second principle3 ,god can will nothing1 ,he can permit nothing1 but in view of the end ,he proposed to ,himself in creating the world2 i4e41 in view of ,his glory and the glory of the ,man-,god1 ,jesus ,christ1 ,his only ,son4 ,to these two principles laid down by our author we shall add a third1 which will complete the elucidation of this whole subject3 ,as long as man lives upon earth1 ,god desires to be glorified through the happiness of this privileged creature2 and consequently in ,god's designs the interest of man's sanctification and happiness is inseparable from the interest of the divine glory4 ,if we do not lose sight of these principles1 which no ,christian can question1 we shall understand that our confidence in the ,providence of our ,father in heaven cannot be too great1 too absolute1 too childlike4 ,if nothing but what ,he permits happens1 and if ,he can permit nothing but what is for our happiness1 then we have nothing to fear1 except not being sufficiently submissive to ,god4 ,as long as we keep ourselves united with ,him and we walk after ,his designs1 were all creatures to turn against us they could not harm us4 ,he who relies upon ,god becomes by this very reliance as powerful and as invincible as ,god1 and created powers can no more prevail against him than against ,god ,himself4 ,this confidence in the fatherly providence of ,god cannot1 evidently1 dispense us from doing all that is in our power to accomplish ,his designs2 but after having done all that depends upon our efforts we will abandon ourselves completely to ,god for the rest4 ,this abandonment should extend1 in fact1 to everything--to the past1 to the present1 to the future2 to the body and all its conditions2 to the soul and all its miseries1 as well as all its qualities2 to blessings2 to afflictions2 to the good will of men1 and to their malice2 to the vicissitudes of the material1 and the revolutions of the moral1 world2 to life and to death2 to time and to eternity4 ,however1 as these different orders of things do not enter in the same manner in the designs of divine ,providence1 neither should our abandonment in regard to these be practised in the same manner2 and the rules which we should follow in the practice of this virtue should be founded on the nature itself of the objects which call it forth4 ,we shall indicate the principal ones4 ,i4 ,among all the dispositions to which our abandonment can be applied1 there are first1 those which depend solely upon ,god1 where human liberty has no part either in producing or averting them4 ,such are1 for example1 certain scourges1 and vicissitudes of the atmosphere2 certain accidents impossible to foresee1 certain natural defects of body or soul4 ,in regard to facts of this order1 whether of the past1 present1 or future1 it is evident that our abandonment cannot be too absolute4 ,there is nothing to do here but to passively and lovingly endure all that ,god sends us2 to blindly accept in advance all that it may please ,him to send us in the future4 ,resistance would be useless1 and only serve to make us unhappy2 a loving and frequently renewed acceptance1 on the contrary1 would make these inevitable sufferings very meritorious4 ,and oh1 the marvels of ,god's goodness6 ,our abandonment will not only sanctify and fructify real trials2 it will enable us to derive great merit from trials to which we shall never be subjected4 ,for1 if we lovingly accept these trials when they present themselves to our minds as probable1 or simply possible1 this willing acquiescence1 this fiat uttered in the depths of the heart1 cannot fail to please ,god1 and be very useful to our souls4 ,therefore1 in regard to this first order of events1 the practice of abandonment cannot but be very sanctifying1 as it changes into means of sanctification not only real but even purely imaginary trials4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,there are other sufferings which come to us through the malice of creatures3 persecutions1 calumnies1 ill-treatment1 neglect1 injustice1 and offences of every kind4 ,what are we to do when we find ourselves exposed to vexatious things of this sort8 #ast4 ,we evidently cannot like the offence against ,god with which they are accompanied2 we should1 on the contrary1 deplore and detest it1 not because it wounds our self-love1 but because it is an offence against the divine rights1 and compromises the salvation of the offending souls4 #b;d4 ,as for that which concerns us1 on the contrary1 we should regard as a blessing that which is in itself an evil2 and to do this we need only recall the principles previously laid down3 not to look only at the creature who is the immediate cause of our sufferings1 but to raise our eyes higher and behold ,god1 who has foreseen and permitted them from all eternity1 and who in permitting them had only our happiness in view4 ,this thought will be sufficient to dissipate the bitterness and trouble which would take possession of our hearts were we to look only at the injustice of which we are the victims4 #c;d4 ,in regard to the effects of this injustice already consummated and irreparable1 we have only to resign ourselves as lovingly as possible1 and carefully gather their precious fruits4 ,it is frequently not difficult to divine the spiritual fruits ,god destined for us in exposing us to temporal evils3 to detach us from creatures2 to deliver us from inordinate affections1 from our pride1 from our tepidity1--veritable maladies of the soul1 frequently all the more dangerous that they are less perceptible1 and of which the heavenly ,physician wishes to cure us1 using the malice of our neighbor as a sharp instrument4 ,we do not hesitate to endure much greater sufferings to be delivered from corporal infirmities2 then let us gratefully accept the spiritual health1 infinitely more precious1 which ,god offers us1 however disagreeable the instrument through which ,he gives it to us4 #dth4 ,if it is in our power to avert the consequences of malice and injustice1 and if in our true interest1 and in the interest of the divine glory1 we deem it necessary to take any measures to this end1 let us do so without departing from the practice of the holy virtue of abandonment4 ,let us commit the success of our efforts to ,god1 and be ready to accept failure if ,god judges it more suitable to ,his designs and more profitable to our souls4 ,we are so blind that we always have reason to fear being deceived2 but ,god cannot be deceived1 and we may be certain1 in advance1 that what ,he determines will be best4 ,therefore we cannot do better than abandon with fullest confidence the result of our efforts to ,him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,but should this abandonment extend equally to our acts of imprudence1 to our faults1 and all the annoyances of every kind in which they may result8 ,it is important to distinguish here two things which self-love tends to confound4 ,in the fault itself we must distinguish what is culpable and what is humiliating4 ,likewise in its consequences we must distinguish what is detrimental to the divine glory and the confusion inflicted on our self-love4 ,evidently we cannot hate too much the fault1 properly so called1 nor regret too keenly the injury done to the divine glory4 ,but as for our humiliation1 and the confusion inflicted on our self-love1 we should rejoice1 and acquiesce in it with complete abandonment4 ,this kind of sacrifice is undoubtedly the best fitted to destroy in us the most secret fibres of self-love1 and to cause us to make rapid progress in virtue4 ,to souls who have attained a certain degree of regularity and detachment1 exterior humiliations are very little4 ,when we have learned the vanity of human glory1 we easily endure the sting of contempt2 but we may still unite with this exterior detachment great attachment to our own esteem and approbation1 and a wholly egotistical desire of perfection4 ,in this case1 self-love1 by changing its object1 would only become more subtle and more dangerous4 ,to destroy it1 there is no remedy more efficacious than the humiliation resulting from our faults2 and we cannot1 consequently1 strive too earnestly to apply the practice of abandonment to this humiliation1 endeavoring at the same time to correct the faults themselves4 ,and what we say of faults of the past applies equally to faults of the future4 ,the practice of abandonment well understood should deliver us from that impatience which makes us wish to at once attain the summit of perfection1 and which only serves to keep us from it by turning us from the only path which leads to perfection4 ,this path is humility1 and the impatience which we are censuring is only another form of pride4 ,let us make every effort to correct our faults2 but let us be resigned to not seeing them all disappear in a day4 ,let us earnestly1 and with the most filial confidence1 ask ,god to grant us that decisive grace which will completely wrest us from ourselves1 to make us live only in ,him2 but let us leave to ,him1 with an equally filial abandonment1 the care of determining the day and hour in which this grace shall be given us4 ,with still greater reason should we abandon to ,god the determining of the degree of sanctity which we shall attain upon earth1 the extraordinary graces which will accompany this sanctity here below1 and the glory with which it will be crowned in heaven4 ,in as far as it depends upon us1 we should leave nothing undone to increase this sanctity and this glory1 in order not to fall short of the degree ,god has marked for us2 but if we must earnestly devote ourselves to realizing ,his designs1 we must not desire to have them other than they are4 ,if our love for ,god is what it should be1 we will thank ,him for having granted other souls favors that ,he has refused us1 and we will praise ,him no less for our poverty than for our riches4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,should our abandonment go still farther8 ,should we1 in view of the hypothesis--perfectly possible1 alas6--of our damnation1 resign ourselves thereto1 and thus make to ,god the complete and absolute sacrifice of all our own interests8 ,to this point would ,fnelon have carried the purity of love and the perfection of abandonment2 and he did not lack plausible motives with which to support this doctrine4 ,he drew from the example and the writings of the ,saints arguments still more specious to prove that ,god frequently requires this complete sacrifice of elect souls2 and that to obtain it ,he impresses them with an irresistible conviction of their eternal loss4 ,according to this great prelate1 divine love is only perfect in souls who have gone through this trial without faltering1 and who by a sacrifice have renounced1 at least hypothetically1 all their own interest1 even that of their eternal salvation4 ,but the ,church has condemned this doctrine which1 in proposing to man a perfection contrary to his nature1 reverses the order of ,god's designs4 ,how1 in fact1 can perfection consist in destroying the most essential law of our moral nature1 viz41 that irresistible inclination which leads us to seek our happiness8 ,how could love of ,god require that we rob ,god of one of ,his attributes--the one which makes ,him the supreme object of our beatitude8 ,how could one of the theological virtues be contrary to another1 and charity exclude hope8 ,what is eternal happiness if not the eternal reign of pure love8 and how could the pure love of time consist in excluding1 even hypothetically1 from our desires the pure love of eternity8 ,that which perfect abandonment asks is that we observe in our desires the order of ,god's designs4 ,god created all things for ,his glory first2 and secondly1 but inseparably1 for our happiness4 ,let us do as ,he does3 let us never separate the interest of ,his glory from that of our happiness1 but let us always make the second subordinate to the first4 ,let us love ,god as the object of our beatitude1 but let us love ,him above all for ,his infinite goodness4 ,let us desire and hope for our eternal happiness2 but since this happiness1 when we shall enjoy it1 must result from the love of ,god for ,himself1 let us begin now to seek it as it must be when we realize it1 and refer the desire of it1 as we will one day refer its enjoyment1 to the glory of this great ,god who desires to be all in all things4 ,thus1 at one and the same time1 we can practise charity and hope1 seek the glory of ,god and our own happiness1 fill the designs of our ,creator1 and satisfy the deepest and most imperative needs of our nature4 ,the saints did not do otherwise2 and ,father ,caussade1 in one of his letters1 proves very clearly that the formulas of apparent despair that they have sometimes used in the transports of their cruel sufferings contained in reality acts of the most meritorious confidence4 ,elsewhere he also shows most perfectly how ill-founded is this even hypothetic separation between ,god's interests and our true interests2 and he justly concludes therefrom that perfection cannot consist in supposing this separation and sacrificing the interest of our eternal happiness to that of the divine glory4 ,,ii4 ,we have no reason1 therefore1 to fear that in reading ,father ,caussade's treatise we are liable to confound1 at least in this respect1 the abandonment he recommends with the ,quietism condemned in ,fnelon4 ,is our author equally irreproachable in all the other points of his doctrine8 ,might he not be accused of turning his readers from duties which require labor and effort to keep them in an indolent repose8 ,there would be ground for this reproach if ,father ,caussade promised to give his readers a complete treatise on ,christian and religious perfection2 but this he does not do4 ,he addresses himself to souls already advanced in virtue and accustomed not only to faithfully fulfil the essential precepts of ,christianity1 but also to observe the prescriptions of religious discipline4 ,like the young man in the ,gospel who from his youth had kept the commandments1 and who begged our ,saviour to show him a higher perfection1 these souls ask ,father ,caussade what they must do to sanctify themselves after having accomplished all the duties imposed upon their free will4 ,the man of ,god answers them like our ,saviour3 ,if you would be perfect1 rid yourself of all that may still cling to you of attachment to your own interests1 your own ideas1 your own will1 and abandon yourself completely to ,god4 ,practise the virtue of abandonment2 practise it so habitually that it will become the constant state of your soul3 thus you will cease to live to yourself1 to live only in ,god4 ,this is a summary of the book we are re-editing to-day4 ,to understand it we must bear in mind1 as we read it1 the situation of the author1 and that of the souls to whom his counsels are addressed2 viz41 that it is not1 as we have already said1 a complete treatise of ,christian perfection which he has claimed to write2 his only object was to set forth the advantages of a special virtue and a particular state4 ,it is true that this virtue is one of the most essential bases of sanctity1 and that this state is sanctity itself as far as it is attainable on earth4 ,but it is no less true that ,father ,caussade had no idea whatever of telling all ,christians what they should do to save their souls4 ,therefore it would be a serious mistake to believe ourselves dispensed from all duties of which he makes no mention1 in order to devote ourselves only to this great duty of abandonment1 the importance of which he so justly and eloquently portrays4 ,to avoid this dangerous error1 and reap all the profit of this true and very consoling doctrine of ,father ,caussade1 it will be sufficient to cast a general glance over the divine economy in the salvation of souls1 and to see what place abandonment to divine ,providence occupies in this great work4 ,we all know that sanctification is a work both divine and human4 ,it is divine through its immediate principle1 the ,holy ,spirit2 through its meritorious cause1 the ,incarnation and the death of the ,son of ,god2 through its end1 the happiness of the ,holy ,trinity1 in which holy souls are to participate for all eternity2 finally1 through its chief means1 the teachings and the graces of ,jesus ,christ transmitted to men through the ,church4 ,but this work is human also1 since the graces of the ,holy ,spirit1 the merits of the ,son of ,god1 the designs of the ,holy ,trinity1 and all the efforts of ,providence can bear fruit in a soul only as far as she freely co-operates with them4 ,this co-operation in our sanctification which ,god requires of us is composed of three parts4 ,it consists first of all in the destruction of everything in our corrupt nature which is an obstacle to the divine action3 sins1 vices1 sensible inclinations1 defects1 imperfections4 ,this first labor is what the masters of the spiritual life call the purgative way4 ,it is accomplished by examinations of conscience1 works of penance and mortification1 and the various practices in use in the ,church4 ,the second part of the labor which ,god imposes on the soul desirous to attain sanctity is less painful1 and easier4 ,it is what is called the illuminative way4 ,the soul that ,god introduces therein exercises herself in producing the interior acts of virtue with which grace inspires her1 and in practicing the good works to which this same grace impels her4 ,finally1 when the obstacles are removed and the soul's preparation is completed1 ,god unites ,himself to her1 fills her with ,his grace1 inflames her with ,his love1 and uses her as a docile instrument for the accomplishment of ,his designs3 this is the unitive way4 ,but let us not misapprehend this condition4 ,even in this perfect state in which ,god is fully master of ,his reasonable creature1 ,he does not act in her without her co-operation2 ,he requires of her great fidelity in avoiding the smallest faults1 great vigilance over her affections1 great generosity in denying herself in all things1 great fervor in prayer4 ,so far from dispensing her from the works of the illuminative way by which she prepared herself for the divine union1 ,he causes her to accomplish them with greater perfection and merit4 ,among these works common to the two ways of which we have just spoken1 there are some which are strictly of obligation1 either because they are prescribed to all ,christians by the commandments of ,god and the ,church1 or because they are imposed on each one by the special circumstances of his state4 ,there are others which are simply of counsel1 or even purely of supererogation1 and which each one embraces according to his more or less ardent desire of sanctification4 ,in the same way1 among the works of penance which form the purgative way there are some from which no one can dispense himself2 but there are others which1 without being of absolute necessity1 are more or less useful1 or even relatively necessary to certain souls1 because of their particular position1 and the violence of the inclinations which impel them to evil4 ,such is man's threefold part in the beginning1 progress1 and consummation of the eminently divine work of sanctification--a part essentially active1 and so necessary that without it ,god's part would be hopelessly sterile4 ,father ,caussade1 however1 says very little of it in his book4 ,does he doubt its immense importance and absolute necessity8 ,far from it4 ,on the contrary1 in many passages he is careful to warn us that the passiveness which he recommends to the soul in no way dispenses her from the very active accomplishment of all that is duty1 whether general or special4 ,he adds that the souls who walk in the ordinary ways should not dispense themselves from the practices of supererogation in use in the ,church among pious persons1 and from following the rules traced by the masters of the spiritual life4 ,even upon persons who have reached the passive state he imposes the obligation of actively following the inspirations of grace when they lead to action1 and of doing all to which they are impelled by grace4 ,why1 then1 after making these reservations in some parts of his work does he seem to forget them1 to solely extol the advantages of abandonment to the divine action8 ,we have already said why3 because the souls to whom he addressed himself1 long exercised in the practice of active virtue1 had special need to perfect themselves in this passive abandonment4 ,how many such souls there are in religious communities1 or even in the midst of the world1 who have no need to be urged to activity in the pursuit of sanctity1 but who1 on the contrary1 need above all things to learn to let ,god act in them6 ,father ,caussade addresses himself specially to these souls4 ,had his book no other result than to enlighten them upon ,god's real designs concerning them1 to deliver them from their disquieting agitation in order to introduce them into a broad and peaceful path1 and enable them to find powerful means of salvation in unfortuitous events which they regard as obstacles1 we should still believe that in offering this work to them we are doing them an eminent service4 ,but the salutary teaching of this book is not limited to a special class of persons4 ,though written specially for souls who have already attained a high degree of perfection1 the doctrine it develops is suited to all ,christians4 ,it makes it clear to all that if ,god does not dispense them from laboring actively for their salvation1 ,he takes upon ,himself the greatest part of this work2 that ,he unceasingly labors thereon2 that ,he employs all creatures and all events to further it2 and that if they will only permit ,him to do ,his will1--without doing any more than they are doing1 without suffering any more than they are suffering1 but only by recognizing and loving ,god's action in things which ,he obliges them to do and suffer1 they will amass infinite merits and attain great perfection4 ,thus ,father ,caussade does not suppress our active co-operation in the work of our sanctification1 but he teaches us to profit much better than we do of ,god's part therein1 by abandoning ourselves more to ,him4 ,in events where too frequently we see only misfortunes1 because we regard them as more or less reprehensible effects of the malice or the imperfection of creatures1 he teaches us to see the divine love using these same creatures as instruments either to correct our vices or to cause us to practise virtue4 ,therefore he changes the principal obstacles to the success of this great work into means of sanctification1 and teaches us the art of changing creatures the most indifferent or the most hostile into powerful auxiliaries4 ,with good reason does he desire to be able to inculcate this doctrine in men of all conditions2 for there is no doubt that1 if they understood it well1 sanctity would seem to them much more attainable2 and that1 seeing ,god laboring unceasingly upon this work1 they would fulfil with much greater courage the duties imposed upon their free will4 ,h4 ,,rami,,re1 ,s4,j4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,preface ,,by ,,rev4 ,h4 ,,rami,,re1 ,s4,j4 #c ,,book ,,first4 ,,of ,,the ,,nature ,,and ,,excellence ,,of ,,the ,,virtue ,,of ,,holy ,,abandonment4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,the sanctity of the righteous of the ,old ,law1 and of ,joseph and of ,mary herself1 consisted in fidelity to the order of ,god #ca ,,ii4 ,the duties of each moment are the shadows which veil the divine action #cc ,,iii4 ,how much easier sanctity becomes when studied from this point of view #cf ,,iv4 ,perfection does not consist in knowing the order of ,god1 but in submitting to it #db ,v4 ,reading and other exercises only sanctify us in so far as they are the channels of the divine action #dd ,,vi4 ,the mind and other human means are useful only in so far as they are the instruments of the divine action #di ,,vii4 ,there is no enduring peace but in submission to the divine action #eb ,,viii4 ,the perfection of souls and the excellence of different states are in proportion to their conformity to the order of ,god #ed ,,ix4 ,all the riches of grace are the fruit of purity of heart and perfect self-abandonment #fb ,,book ,,second4 ,,the ,,divine ,,action ,,and ,,the ,,manner ,,in ,,which ,,it ,,unceasingly ,,works ,,the ,,sanctification ,,of ,,souls4 ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,the divine action is everywhere and always present1 though only visible to the eye of ,faith #fi ,,ii4 ,the divine action is all the more visible to the eye of ,faith when hidden under appearances most repugnant to the senses #gd ,,iii4 ,the divine action offers us at each moment infinite blessings which we receive in proportion to our faith and love #gi ,,iv4 ,god reveals ,himself to us as mysteriously1 as adorably1 and with as much reality in the most ordinary events as in the great events of history and the ,holy ,scriptures #hb ,v4 ,the divine action continues in our hearts the revelation begun in ,holy ,scripture2 but the characters in which it is written will be only visible at the last day #hf ,,vi4 ,divine love is communicated to us through the veil of creatures1 as ,jesus communicates ,himself to us through the veil of the ,eucharistic species #ib ,,vii4 ,the divine action1 the will of ,god1 is as unworthily treated and disregarded1 in its daily manifestation1 by many ,christians1 as was ,jesus in the flesh by the ,jews #id ,,viii4 ,the revelation of the present moment is the more profitable that it is addressed directly to us #ig ,,ix4 ,the revelation of the present moment is an inexhaustible source of sanctity #ii ,x4 ,the present moment is the manifestation of the name of ,god and the coming of ,his kingdom #aja ,,xi4 ,the divine will imparts the highest sanctity to souls2 they have but to abandon themselves to its divine action #ajf ,,xii4 ,the divine action alone can sanctify us1 for it forms us after the divine ,model of our perfection #aad ,,book ,,third4 ,,the ,,paternal ,,care ,,with ,,which ,,god ,,surrounds ,,souls ,,wholly ,,abandoned ,,to ,,him4 ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,god ,himself guides souls who wholly abandon themselves to ,him #aai ,,ii4 ,the more ,god seems to withdraw light from the soul abandoned to ,his direction1 the more safely ,he guides her #abe ,,iii4 ,the afflictions with which ,god visits the soul are but loving artifices at which she will one day rejoice #abi ,,iv4 ,the more ,god seems to take from a soul wholly abandoned to ,him1 the more generous ,he is to her #acc ,v4 ,the less capable the faithful soul is of defending herself1 the more powerfully does ,god defend her #acf ,,vi4 ,the soul abandoned to the will of ,god1 so far from resisting its enemies1 finds in them useful auxiliaries #adj ,,vii4 ,the soul that abandons itself to ,god has no need to justify herself by words or actions2 the divine action abundantly justifies her #adb ,,viii4 ,god gives life to the soul abandoned to ,him by means which apparently lead only to death #add ,,ix4 ,love holds the place of all things to souls who walk in the way of abandonment #adi ,x4 ,the faithful soul finds in submission to the will of ,god more force and strength than the proudest of those who resist ,him #aed ,,xi4 ,the soul abandoned to ,god learns to recognize ,his will1 even in the proud who resist ,him4 ,all creatures1 whether good or evil1 reveal ,him to her #aeh ,,xii4 ,god assures to faithful souls a glorious victory over the powers of earth and hell #afj ,,appendix4 ,,page ,i4 ,a very easy means of acquiring peace of heart1 by ,fr4 ,surin #afe ,,ii4 ,on perfect abandonment1 by ,bossuet #agb ,,iii4 ,a short and easy method of making the prayer of faith1 and of the simple presence of ,god1 by ,bossuet #agc ,,iv4 ,exercise of loving union of our will with that of ,god1 by ,st4 ,francis de ,sales #ahe ,v4 ,acts of abandonment #ahh ,book ,first4 ,the ,nature and ,excellence of the ,virtue of ,holy ,abandonment4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,the ,sanctity of the ,righteous of the ,old ,law1 and of ,joseph and of ,mary herself1 consisted in ,fidelity to the ,order of ,god4 ,god speaks to-day as ,he spoke to our fathers1 when directors were not so numerous1 nor methods of direction so well defined4 ,all their spirituality consisted in simple fidelity to the order of ,god2 but it was not reduced to a science which explained it so sublimely or minutely1 or contained so many precepts1 so many maxims1 so much instruction4 ,our present wants1 no doubt1 require this explanation4 ,it was not so in the first ages of the ,church1 when men were more simple and upright4 ,each moment brought a duty to be faithfully fulfilled3 this was sufficient for interior souls of that day4 ,their whole attention was concentrated simply upon the duty of each successive moment with the fidelity of the hour-hand of a clock which steadily traverses stroke by stroke the circle in which it is appointed to move4 ,the mind1 unceasingly moved by divine grace1 turned insensibly to the new duty which presented itself in the order of ,god every hour4 ,such were the hidden springs of ,mary's life1 the most perfect example of simple and absolute self-abandonment to the will of ,god4 ,the simple words1 ,fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum1 with which she was content to answer the angel1 expressed all the mystic theology of the ancients4 ,then1 as now1 it was all reduced to the simplest and most absolute abandonment of the soul to the will of ,god under whatever form it manifested itself4 ,this noble and exalted disposition1 the basis of all ,mary's spirituality1 is brilliantly manifested in the words ,fiat mihi4 ,observe how perfectly they accord with those which our ,lord would have ever on our lips and in our hearts3 ,fiat voluntas tua4 ,true1 the duty required of ,mary at that supreme moment was a glorious one for her4 ,but all the splendor of that glory would have made no impression upon her if the divine will1 alone capable of influencing her1 had not arrested her attention4 ,it was this divine will which guided her in everything4 ,her occupations1 whether ordinary or exalted1 were in her eyes but shadows more or less obscure in which she found equal means of glorifying ,god and recognizing the workings of the ,almighty4 ,she joyfully accepted the duty or suffering of each moment as a gift from ,him who fills with good things the hearts which are nourished by ,him alone1 and not by appearances or created things4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,the ,duties of each ,moment are the ,shadows which veil the ,divine ,action4 8,the power of the ,most ,high shall overshadow thee10 said the angel to ,mary4 ,this shadow1 behind which the power of ,god effects the entrance and growth of ,jesus ,christ in our souls1 is the form assumed by the duties1 attractions1 and crosses of each moment4 ,they are in truth but shadows like those to which we give the name in the order of nature1 and which envelop sensible objects and hide them from our view4 ,thus in the moral and supernatural order the duties of each moment under their obscure appearances conceal the truth of the divine will1 which alone merits our attention4 ,thus ,mary regarded them4 ,therefore these shadows passing before her senses1 so far from deceiving her1 filled her with faith in ,him who is always the same4 ,withdraw1 ,archangel2 thy moment passes2 thou vanishest4 ,mary passes beyond thee2 she is ever in advance2 but the ,holy ,ghost1 with whom she has been filled through the sensible appearances of thy mission1 will never abandon her4 ,there are few extraordinary events in the exterior life of ,mary4 ,at least it is not to these that ,holy ,scripture calls our attention4 ,her exterior life is represented as very simple1 very ordinary4 ,she did and suffered as did others of her condition4 ,she goes to visit her cousin ,elizabeth3 the other relatives go also4 ,she retires to a stable3 it is a consequence of her poverty4 ,she returns to ,nazareth3 the persecution of ,herod had driven her forth4 ,jesus and ,joseph lived there with her1 by the labor of their hands4 ,behold the daily bread of the holy family6 ,but with what bread was the faith of ,mary and ,joseph nourished8 ,what was the sacrament of all their sacred moments8 ,what did they discover under the ordinary appearance of the events which filled their lives8 ,exteriorly1 nothing more than was happening to the rest of mankind2 interiorly1 faith discovers and develops nothing less than ,god working great things4 ,o bread of angels6 ,heavenly manna6 ,pearl of the ,gospel6 ,sacrament of the present moment6 ,thou givest ,god under appearances as poor and mean as the manger1 the hay1 and the straw6 ,but to whom dost thou give ,him8 ,esurientes reples bonis4 ,god reveals ,himself to the humble in little things2 and the proud1 regarding only the exterior1 find ,him not even in great things4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,how much ,easier ,sanctity becomes when studied from this ,point of ,view4 ,if the work of our salvation offers obstacles apparently so insurmountable1 it is because we have not a just idea of it4 ,in truth1 sanctity consists in but one thing--fidelity to the order of ,god2 and this fidelity is equally within the reach of all1 whether in its active or in its passive part4 ,the active part of fidelity consists in fulfilling the duties imposed upon us either by the general commands of ,god and the ,church1 or by the particular state we have embraced4 ,its passive part consists in lovingly accepting all that ,god sends us each moment4 ,which of these two parts of sanctity is above our strength8 ,not the active part1 since the duties it enjoins cease to be duties for us the moment our strength is really unequal to them4 ,will not the state of your health permit you to hear ,mass8 ,you are no longer obliged to do so4 ,and so it is with all positive obligations which prescribe duties to be fulfilled4 ,only those precepts which forbid things evil in themselves admit of no exception1 for it is never permitted to do evil4 ,is there anything easier or more reasonable8 ,what excuse can be urged against it8 ,yet this is all the co-operation ,god requires of the soul in the work of its sanctification4 ,he requires it of great and small1 of strong and weak2 in a word1 of all1 at all times1 in all places4 ,therefore ,he only requires of us what is easy1 since to attain eminent sanctity requires but a simple good-will4 ,if over and above the commandments ,he shows us the counsels as the more perfect end of our efforts1 ,he is ever careful to accommodate their observance to our position and character4 ,as the chief mark of our vocation for the counsels ,he sends us the attractions and graces which facilitate the practice of them4 ,he urges no one but in proportion to his strength and according to his attainments4 ,again ,i ask1 what could be more just8 ,o you who aspire to perfection and are tempted to discouragement by what you read in the lives of the saints and find prescribed in certain pious books6 ,o you who are overwhelmed by the terrible ideas that you form of perfection6 ,it is for your consolation that ,god permits that ,i write this4 ,learn what you seem not to know4 ,in the order of nature1 necessary things1 as air1 water1 earth1 the ,god of all goodness has made common and easy of attainment4 ,nothing is more necessary than breath1 sleep1 food1 and nothing is more common4 ,love and fidelity are no less necessary in the spiritual order2 therefore the difficulty of acquiring them cannot be as great as you represent it to yourselves4 ,observe your life2 of what does it consist8 ,of a multitude of unimportant actions4 ,yet with these same unimportant actions ,god deigns to be content4 ,this is the co-operation required of the soul in the work of its perfection4 ,god ,himself expresses it too clearly to admit of doubt3 8,fear ,god1 and keep ,his commandments3 for this is all man0 7,eccles4 xii4 #ac74 ,that is to say1 this is all that is required on man's part2 in this consists his active fidelity4 ,let him fulfil his part2 ,god will do the rest4 ,grace1 working by itself1 effects marvels which surpass the intelligence of man4 ,for ear has not heard1 eye has not seen1 heart has not felt1 what ,god conceives in ,his mind1 resolves in ,his will1 executes by ,his power in souls wholly abandoned to ,him4 ,the passive part of sanctity is still easier1 since it consists in accepting what very often we cannot avoid1 and bearing with love1 that is1 with consolation and sweetness1 what we too frequently endure with weariness and irritation4 ,again let me repeat1 herein lies all sanctity4 ,it is the grain of mustard-seed the fruits of which we do not gather1 because we fail to recognize it in its littleness4 ,it is the drachma of the ,gospel1 the treasure which we do not find1 do not seek1 because we imagine it too far beyond us4 ,ask me not the secret of finding this treasure1 for secret there is none4 ,this treasure is everywhere2 it is offered to all1 at all times1 in all places4 ,through creatures1 friends1 and enemies it flows plentifully2 it flows over the faculties of our bodies1 of our souls1 and into the very centre of our hearts4 ,let us but open our mouths and they will be filled4 ,the divine action floods the universe2 it penetrates all creatures2 it floats above them1 about them2 it is ever present with them2 it precedes them2 it accompanies them2 it follows them1 and they have but to allow themselves to be borne onward on its tide4 ,would to ,god kings and their ministers1 princes of the ,church and of the world1 priests1 soldiers1 peasants1 laborers1 in a word1 all men1 knew how easily they can attain eminent sanctity6 ,they have but to fulfil the simple duties of religion and their state in life1 and bear with submission the crosses these duties bring1 and accept with faith and love the work and suffering which unsought and unceasingly come to them through the order of ,providence4 ,this is the spirituality which sanctified the patriarchs and prophets before there were so many methods and so many masters in the spiritual life4#a #a ,it would be a gross misapprehension of the author's words to suppose that he wishes to urge souls to enter the paths of the spiritual life without a director4 ,he himself expressly states elsewhere that to be able to do without a director1 one must have been long and skilfully directed4 ,still less does he wish to discourage the practices adopted by the ,church for the extirpation of vice and the acquisition of virtue4 ,what he desires to say1 and what we cannot impress too much upon ,christians1 is that the first of all directions is the guidance of ,providence1 and that the most necessary and the most perfect of all practices is the faithful accomplishment and loving acceptance of all that this fatherly ,providence sends us to do and suffer4 ,this is the spirituality of all ages and of all states1 which cannot be more surely sanctified1 or in a manner more noble1 more extraordinary1 more easy1 than by the simple use of that which ,god1 the ,sovereign ,director of souls1 gives them each moment to do or suffer4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,perfection does not consist in knowing the ,order of ,god1 but in submitting to it4 ,the order of ,god1 the good pleasure of ,god1 the will of ,god1 the action of ,god1 the grace of ,god1 all these are one and the same thing in this life4 ,it is ,god laboring to render the soul like unto ,him4 ,perfection is nothing but the soul's faithful co-operation in this labor of ,god4 ,this work is silently effected in our souls1 where it thrives1 increases1 and is consummated unconsciously to ourselves4 ,theology is full of conceptions and expressions which explain the wonders of this work effected in individual souls according to their capacity4 ,we may know all the theory of this work1 admirably write and speak thereon1 and instruct and direct souls2 but if our knowledge be only theoretical1 then ,i say that in comparison with souls which live and act by the order of ,god and are guided by ,his divine will1 though ignorant of the theory of its operations or its different effects1 and unable to speak thereof1 we are like a sick physician compared to ordinary persons in perfect health4 ,the order of ,god1 ,his divine will1 received with simplicity by a faithful soul1 effects this divine work in her unconsciously to herself1 just as a remedy submissively taken restores the health of a sick man1 although he have not1 and need not have1 any knowledge of medicine4 ,it is the fire which warms us1 and not the philosophical knowledge of the element and its effects2 so it is the order of ,god1 ,his divine will1 and not the curious speculation on its principles and its methods1 which produces the sanctification of our souls4 ,if we thirst1 we must drink2 theoretical explanations will not quench our thirst4 ,curiosity for knowledge only makes us thirst still more4 ,therefore1 if we thirst for sanctification1 curious speculations only keep us farther from it4 ,we must abandon all theories and drink in simplicity of all that the will of ,god sends us of work and suffering4 ,that which comes to us each moment by the order of ,god is best and holiest and most divine for us4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,reading and other ,exercises only sanctify us in so far as they are the ,channels of the ,divine ,action4 ,all our science consists in recognizing ,god's will in regard to the present moment4 ,all reading pursued in any other spirit than that of submission to the order of ,god is injurious4 ,the will of ,god1 the order of ,god1 is the grace which works in the depths of our hearts by means of our readings and by all our other works4 ,without it our readings are but shadows1 vain appearances1 which1 coming to us devoid of the vivifying virtue of the order of ,god1 serve only to empty the heart by the very plenitude they cause in the mind4 ,the virtue of this divine will flowing into the soul of a simple1 ignorant girl by means of suffering or ordinary actions1 effects in the depths of her heart this mysterious work of the supernatural ,being without filling her mind with any idea likely to awaken pride2 while the proud man who studies spiritual books only through curiosity1 and does not unite his reading to the will of ,god1 receives into his mind the letter without the spirit1 and becomes colder and more hardened than ever4 ,the order of ,god1 ,his divine will1 is the life of the soul under whatever appearances the soul receives it or applies it to herself4 ,whatever may be the relation of the divine will to the mind1 it nourishes the soul1 and unceasingly strengthens her growth by giving her each moment what is best for her4 ,nor is one thing more efficacious than another in producing these happy effects2 no1 it is simply the duty of the present moment which comes to us by the order of ,god4 ,that which was best for us in the past moment is no longer best for us1 for it is stripped of the will of ,god1 which has passed on to other things from which it creates for us the duty of the present moment2 and it is this duty1 under whatever appearance it is manifested1 which will now most perfectly sanctify our souls4 ,if the divine will make reading the duty of the present moment1 the reading will effect ,his mysterious work in the depths of the soul4 ,if1 in obedience to the divine will1 we leave the reading for the duty of contemplation1 this duty will create the new man in the depths of the heart1 and reading would then be injurious and useless4 ,if the divine will withdraw us from contemplation to hear confessions or to other duties1 and that during a considerable time1 these duties form ,jesus ,christ in the depths of the heart1 and all the sweetness of contemplation would only serve to banish ,him4 ,the order of ,god is the fulness of all our moments4 ,it flows under a thousand different appearances which1 successively becoming our present duty1 form1 increase1 and complete the new man in us1 in all the fulness which the divine wisdom has destined for us4 ,this mysterious growth of ,jesus ,christ in us is the work produced by the order of ,god2 it is the fruit of ,his grace and of ,his divine will4 ,this fruit1 as we have said1 is germinated1 increased1 and nourished by the succession of our present duties filled with the virtue of this same divine will4 ,in fulfilling these duties we are always sure of possessing the 8better part10 for this holy will is itself the better part4 ,we have but to yield to it1 blindly abandon ourselves to it with perfect confidence4 ,it is infinitely holy1 infinitely wise1 infinitely powerful1 for souls which unreservedly hope in it1 which love and seek but it alone1 and which believe with unfaltering faith that what it assigns to each moment is best without seeking elsewhere for more or less1 and without pausing to consider the relation of material things with the order of ,god1 which is the seeking of pure self-love4 ,the will of ,god is the essential1 the reality and virtue1 of all things2 it is that which adapts and renders them suitable to the soul4 ,without it all is emptiness1 nothingness1 falsehood1 the empty husk1 the letter without the spirit1 vanity1 death4 ,the will of ,god is the health1 the life1 the salvation of soul and body1 whatever its manifestation or ways of reaching us4 ,therefore we must not judge of the virtue of things by the relations they bear to mind or body1 for these relations are unimportant4 ,it is the will of ,god alone which gives to all things1 whatever they may be1 the power to form ,jesus ,christ in the depth of our hearts4 ,we must frame no laws for this will and place no limit to its action1 for it is all-powerful4 ,whatever the ideas which fill the mind1 whatever the feelings which the body experiences1 were it for the mind but distractions and trouble1 for the body but sickness and death1 the divine will nevertheless is ever for the present moment the life of body and soul2 for both one and the other1 whatever their condition1 are sustained by it alone4 ,bread without it is poison2 and through it poison becomes a salutary remedy4 ,without it1 books but confuse and trouble us2 with it1 darkness is turned into light4 ,it is the wisdom1 the truth1 of all things4 ,in all things it gives us ,god3 and ,god is the infinite ,being who holds the place of all things to the soul which possesses ,him4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,the ,mind and other ,human ,means are ,useful only in as far as they are the ,instruments of the ,divine ,action4 ,the mind with all its powers would hold the first place among the instruments of the divine will2 but it must1 like a dangerous slave1 be reduced to the last4 ,the simple of heart who know how to use it can derive great profit therefrom2 but it can also do much injury when not kept in subjection4 ,when the soul sighs after created means1 the divine action whispers to the heart that it sufficeth2 when she would injudiciously reject them1 the divine action whispers that they are instruments not to be taken or rejected at will1 but to be simply received from ,providence and adapted to the order of ,god--the soul thus using all things as though not using them1 being deprived of all things1 yet wanting nothing4 ,the divine action1 being limitless in its fulness1 can take possession of a soul only in as far as the soul is void of all confidence in her own action2 for this confidence and self-activity fill the heart to the exclusion of the divine action4 ,it is an obstacle which1 existing in the soul herself1 is more likely to arrest the divine action than exterior obstacles1 which ,providence can change at will into powerful aids2 for it can work with all things1 even those which are in themselves useless4 ,with the divine will nothing is everything1 and without it everything is nothing4 ,whatever the value in itself of meditation1 contemplation1 vocal prayer1 interior silence1 acts of the will whether sensible1 distinct1 or less perceptible1 retreat1 or active life1--better than all of them is what ,god wills for the soul at the present moment2 and the soul should regard everything else with perfect indifference1 as being of no value whatever4 ,thus seeing ,god alone in all things1 she should take or leave them at ,his pleasure in order to live in1 hope in1 and be nourished by ,him1 and not by the things which have force and virtue only through ,him4 ,under all circumstances the soul should constantly say with ,st4 ,paul1 8,lord1 what wouldst ,thou have me do80 ,not this more than that1 but simply ,thy adorable will6 ,the spirit loves one thing1 the flesh another2 but1 ,lord1 let ,thy will be mine4 ,contemplation1 action1 prayer vocal or mental1 affective or passive1 light or darkness1 special or general graces1--all these are nothing1 ,lord1 for in ,thy will lies their sole virtue4 ,thy will alone is the end of all my devotion1 and not these things1 however elevated or sublime in themselves2 for the end of divine grace is the perfection of the heart1 not of the mind4 ,the presence of ,god which sanctifies our souls is that indwelling of the ,trinity which penetrates to the depths of our hearts when they are submissive to the divine will2 for the presence of ,god which we enjoy through the exercise of contemplation effects this intimate union in us only as do all other things which come to us in the order of ,god4 ,it holds1 however1 the first rank among them1 for it is the most excellent means of uniting one's self with ,god when ,he wills that we should use it4 ,we may therefore justly esteem and love contemplation and other pious exercises1 provided the foundation of this esteem and love be wholly ,god1 who mercifully deigns through them to communicate ,himself to our souls4 ,we receive the prince himself when we receive his suite4 ,it would be showing him little respect to neglect his officers under pretext of possessing him alone4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,there is no ,enduring ,peace but in ,submission to the ,divine ,action4 ,the soul that is not united solely to the will of ,god will find neither rest nor sanctification in any self-chosen means--not even in the most excellent exercises of piety4 ,if that which ,god ,himself chooses for you does not suffice1 what other hand can minister to your desires8 ,if you turn from the food the divine will itself has prepared for you1 what viands will not prove insipid to a taste so depraved8 ,a soul cannot be truly nourished1 strengthened1 purified1 enriched1 sanctified1 except by the fulness of the present moment4 ,then what more would you have8 ,since you here find all good1 why seek it elsewhere8 ,are you wiser than ,god8 ,since ,he ordains it should be thus1 how could you desire it should be otherwise8 ,can ,his wisdom and goodness err8 ,should you not from the moment ,he ordains an event be utterly convinced that it is the best that could happen8 ,do you think you will find peace in struggling with the ,almighty8 ,on the contrary1 is it not this struggle too often renewed1 almost unconsciously1 which is the cause of all our disquiet4 ,it is but just that the soul which is not satisfied with the divine fulness of the present moment should be punished by an inability to find contentment in anything else4 ,if books1 the example of the saints1 spiritual discourses1 destroy the peace of the soul1 if they fill without satisfying1 it is a mark that we have not received them in simple abandonment to the divine action1 but have taken them ourselves in a spirit of proprietorship4 ,their fulness1 therefore1 bars the entrance of ,god to the soul1 and we must rid ourselves of it as an obstacle to grace4 ,but when the divine action ordains the use of these means1 the soul receives them as it does everything else--that is1 in the order of ,god4 ,she accepts them as she finds them1 in her fidelity simply using them1 never appropriating them2 and their moment passed she abandons them to find her contentment in what follows in the order of ,providence4 ,in truth there is nothing really beneficial for me but that which comes to me in the order of ,god4 ,nowhere can ,i find any means1 however good in itself1 more efficacious for my sanctification and more capable of giving peace to my soul4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,the ,perfection of ,souls and the ,excellence of ,different ,states are in ,proportion to their ,conformity to the ,order of ,god4 ,the order of ,god gives to all things which concern the faithful soul a supernatural and divine value2 all that it exacts1 all that it embraces1 and all the objects upon which it sheds its light become holiness and perfection1 for its virtue is limitless3 it makes all that it touches divine4 ,but in order to keep ourselves in the path of perfection1 swerving neither to the right nor the left1 the soul must follow no inspiration which she assumes comes from ,god without first assuring herself that it does not interfere with the duties of her state in life4 ,these duties are the most certain indications of the will of ,god1 and nothing should be preferred to them2 in fulfilling them there is nothing to be feared1 no exclusion or discrimination to be made2 the moments devoted to them are the most precious and salutary for the soul from the fact that she is sure of accomplishing the good pleasure of ,god4 ,all the perfection of the saints consists in their fidelity to the order of ,god2 therefore we must refuse nothing1 seek nothing1 but accept all from ,his hand1 and nothing without ,him4 ,books1 wise counsels1 vocal prayers1 interior affections1 if they come to us in the order of ,god1 instruct1 guide1 and unite the soul to ,him4 ,quietism errs when it disclaims these means and all sensible appearances1 for there are souls whom ,god wills shall be always led in this way1 and their state and their attractions clearly indicate it4 ,in vain we picture to ourselves methods of abandonment whence all action is excluded4 ,when the order of ,god causes us to act1 our sanctification lies in action4 ,besides the duties of each one's state1 ,god may further ask certain actions which are not included in these duties1 though not contrary to them4 ,attraction and inspiration1 then1 indicate the divine order2 and the most perfect for souls whom ,god leads in this way is to add to things of precept1 things inspired1 but always with the precautions which inspiration requires to prevent its interfering with the duties of one's state and the ordinary events of ,providence4 ,god makes saints as ,he chooses4 ,they are formed by ,his divine action1 to which they are ever submissive1 and this submission is the truest abandonment and the most perfect4 ,fidelity to the duties of one's state and submission to the dispositions of ,providence are common to all the saints4 ,they live hidden in obscurity1 for the world is so fatal to holiness that they would avoid its quicksands2 but not in this does their sanctity consist1 but wholly in their entire submission to the order of ,god4 ,the more absolute their submission the greater their sanctity4 ,we must not imagine that those whose virtues ,god is pleased to brilliantly manifest by singular and extraordinary works1 by undoubted attractions and inspirations1 are any less faithful in the path of abandonment4 ,once the order of ,god makes these brilliant works a duty they fail in abandonment to ,him and ,his will which ceases to rule their every moment1 and their every moment ceases to be the exponent of the will of ,god if they content themselves with the duties of their state and the ordinary events of ,providence4 ,they must study and measure their efforts according to the standard of ,god's designs for them in that path which their attractions indicate to them4 ,fidelity to inspiration is for them a duty2 and as there are souls whose whole duty is marked by an exterior law1 and who must be guided by it because ,god confines them to it1 so also there are others who1 besides their exterior duties1 must be further faithful to that interior law which the ,holy ,spirit engraves upon their hearts4 ,but who are the most perfect8 ,vain and idle research6 ,each one must follow the path which is traced for him4 ,perfection consists in absolute submission to the order of ,god and carefully availing ourselves of all that is most perfect therein4 ,it advances us little to weigh the advantages of the different states considered in themselves1 since it is neither in the quality nor quantity of things enjoined that sanctity is to be sought4 ,if self-love be the principle of our actions1 or if we do not correct it when we recognize its workings1 we will be always poor in the midst of an abundance not provided by the order of ,god4 ,however1 to decide in a measure the question1 ,i think that sanctity corresponds to the love one has for ,god's good pleasure1 and the greater one's love for this holy will and this order1 whatever the character of their manifestations1 the greater one's sanctity4 ,this is manifest in ,jesus1 ,mary1 and ,joseph1 for in their private life there is more of love than of grandeur1 and more of spirit than of matter2 and it is not written that these sacred persons sought the holiest of things1 but holiness in all things4 ,we must therefore conclude that there is no special way which can be called the most perfect1 but that the most perfect in general is fidelity to the order of ,god1 whether in the accomplishment of exterior duties or in the interior dispositions1 each one according to his state and calling4 ,i believe that if souls seriously aspiring to perfection understood this1 and knew how direct is their path1 they would be spared much difficulty4 ,i say the same equally of souls living in the world and of souls consecrated to ,god4 ,if the first knew the means of merit afforded them by their ever-recurring daily duties and the ordinary actions of their state in life2 if the second could persuade themselves that the foundation of sanctity lies in those very things which they consider unimportant and even foreign to them2 if both could understand that the crosses sent by ,providence which they constantly find in their state in life lead them to the highest perfection by a surer and shorter path than do extraordinary states or extraordinary works2 and that the true philosopher's stone is submission to the order of ,god1 which changes into pure gold all their occupations1 all their weariness1 all their sufferings--how happy they would be6 ,what consolation and what courage they would gather from this thought1 that to acquire the friendship of ,god and all the glory of heaven they have but to do what they are doing1 suffer what they are suffering2 and that what they lose and count as naught would suffice to obtain them eminent sanctity4 ,o my ,god1 that ,i might be the missionary of ,thy holy will1 and teach the whole world that there is nothing so easy1 so simple1 so within the reach of all1 as sanctity6 ,would that ,i could make them understand that just as the good and bad thief had the same to do and suffer to obtain their salvation1 so two souls1 one worldly and the other wholly interior and spiritual1 have nothing more to do1 one than the other2 that she who sanctifies herself acquires eternal happiness by doing in submission to the will of ,god what she who is lost does through caprice2 and that the latter is lost by suffering unwillingly and impatiently what she who is saved endures with resignation4 ,the difference1 therefore1 is only in the heart4 ,o dear souls who read this1 let me repeat to you3 ,sanctity will cost you no more2 do what you are doing2 suffer what you are suffering3 it is only your heart that need be changed4 ,by the heart we mean the will4 ,this change1 then1 consists in willing what comes to us by the order of ,god4 ,yes1 holiness of heart is a simple fiat1 a simple disposition of conformity to the will of ,god4 ,and what is easier8 ,for who could not love so adorable and merciful a will8 ,let us love it1 then1 and through this love alone all within us will become divine4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,all the ,riches of ,grace are the ,fruit of ,purity of ,heart and ,perfect ,self-abandonment4 ,he1 therefore1 who would abundantly enjoy all good has but to purify his heart1 detach himself from creatures1 and completely abandon himself to the will of ,god4 ,in this purity of heart and self-abandonment he will find all things4 ,let others1 ,lord1 ask ,thee all gifts1 let them multiply their petitions2 ,i have but one gift to ask1 but one prayer to make3 ,give me a pure heart4 ,o blessed pure of heart6 ,in thy lively faith thou beholdest ,god within thee4 ,thou seest ,him in all things1 and thou seest ,him at all times working within thee and about thee4 ,thou art in all things ,his subject and ,his instrument4 ,he guides thee in all things and leads thee to all things4 ,frequently thou art unmindful2 but ,he thinks for thee4 ,he only asks that thou desire all that comes to thee or may come to thee by ,his divine order4 ,he understands the preparation of thy heart4 ,in thy salutary blindness thou seekest in vain to discover this desire2 but oh6 it is clear to ,him4 ,how great is thy simplicity6 ,knowest thou not that a well-disposed heart is no other than a heart in which ,god dwells8 ,beholding ,his own desires in this heart ,he knows it will be ever submissive to ,his order4 ,he knows at the same time that thou art ignorant what is best for thee1 therefore it is ,his care to provide for thee4 ,he cares not that thy designs are thwarted4 ,thou wouldst go east3 ,he leads thee west4 ,thou art just upon the rocks3 ,he turns the helm and brings thee safely into port4 ,though knowing neither chart1 nor route1 nor winds1 nor tides1 thy voyages are ever prosperous4 ,if pirates cross thy way an unexpected breeze bears thee beyond their reach4 ,o good will6 ,o purity of heart6 ,well did ,jesus know your value when ,he placed ye among the beatitudes4 ,what greater happiness than to possess ,god and be possessed by ,him8 ,o state most blessed and full of charm6 ,in it we sleep peacefully in the bosom of ,providence1 sporting like a child with the divine wisdom1 unheedful of our course1 which is ever onward2 in spite of shoals1 and pirates1 and continual storms1 we are borne on to a prosperous end4 ,o purity of heart6 ,o good will6 ,ye are the sole foundation of all spiritual states4 ,to you are given1 and through you are made profitable1 the gifts of pure faith1 pure hope1 pure confidence1 and pure love4 ,upon your stem are grafted the desert flowers--,i mean those graces which we rarely find blooming but in utterly detached souls1 of which ,god takes possession as of an uninhabited dwelling1 and there abides to the exclusion of all other things4 ,you are that bountiful source whence flow all the streams which water the parterre of the bridegroom and the garden of the bride4 ,alas6 how truly mayest thou say to all souls3 ,consider me well2 ,i am the mother of fair love--that love which develops all that is best and takes it to itself4 ,it is ,i who give birth to that sweet and salutary fear which inspires a horror of evil1 and makes you peacefully avoid it2 ,i who ripen the sublime knowledge of ,god's greatness and reveal the value of the virtues which honor ,him4 ,it is ,i1 finally1 who inspire those ardent desires which1 unceasingly sustained by holy confidence1 stimulate you to practise virtue in the expectation of that divine object1 the enjoyment of which will one day become1 even as it is now 7though then in a much more perfect degree71 the happiness of faithful souls4 ,well mayest thou invite them all to enrich themselves from thy inexhaustible treasures1 for thou art the source of all spiritual conditions and ways4 ,from thee do they draw all their beauty1 attraction1 and charm4 ,those marvellous fruits of grace and virtue which dazzle us on all sides1 and with which our devotion is nourished1 are thy harvests4 ,thine is the land of abundance and honey2 thy breasts distil milk1 thy bosom gives out the sweet odor of myrrh2 through thy fingers flow in all its purity the divine wine which usually must be obtained by the labor of the wine-press4 ,let us fly then1 dear souls1 and plunge ourselves in that sea of love which invites us4 ,what await we8 ,why do we tarry8 ,let us hasten to lose ourselves in ,god1 in ,his very heart1 that we may inebriate ourselves with the wine of ,his charity2 in this heart we shall find the key to all heavenly treasures4 ,then let us proceed on our way to heaven1 for there is no secret of perfection which we may not penetrate3 every avenue is open to us1 even to the garden1 the cellar1 the vineyard of the ,bridegroom4 ,if we would breathe the air of the fields we have but to direct our steps thither2 in a word1 we may come and go at will armed with this key of ,david1 this key of knowledge1 this key of the abyss which contains the hidden treasures of the divine wisdom4 ,with it we may also open the gates of the mystic death and descend into its sacred shades2 we may go down into the depths of the sea and into the den of the lion4 ,it is this divine key which unlocks those dark dungeons into which it thrusts souls1 to withdraw them purified and sanctified2 it introduces us into those blissful abodes where light and knowledge dwell1 where the ,bridegroom takes ,his repose at midday1 and where ,he reveals to ,his faithful souls the secrets of ,his love4 ,o divine secrets1 which may not be revealed1 and which no mortal tongue can express6 ,this key1 dear souls1 is love4 ,all blessings wait only for love to enrich us4 ,it gives sanctity and all its accompaniments2 its right hand and its left are filled with it that it may pour it in abundance from all sources into hearts open to divine grace4 ,o divine seed of eternity6 who can sufficiently praise thee8 ,but why seek to praise thee8 ,it is better to possess thee in silence than to praise thee by feeble words4 ,what am ,i saying8 ,we must praise thee1 but only because thou possessest us4 ,for once thou possessest the heart1 whether we read or write1 or speak1 or act1 or are silent1 it is all one and the same4 ,we assume nothing1 we refuse nothing2 we are hermits1 we are apostles2 we are ill1 we are well1 we are simple1 we are eloquent2 in a word1 we are what ,god wills we should be4 ,the heart hears thy mandates1 and1 as thy faithful echo1 repeats them to the other faculties4 ,in this material and spiritual combination which thou deignest to regard as thy kingdom the heart governs under thy guidance2 as it contains no desires uninspired by thee1 all objects please it under whatever form thou presentest them4 ,those which nature or the ,evil ,one would substitute for thine only fill it with disgust and horror4 ,if sometimes thou permittest the heart to be surprised1 it is only that it may become wiser and more humble2 but as soon as it recognizes its illusion it returns to thee with more love1 and binds itself to ,thee with greater fidelity4 ,book ,second4 ,the ,divine ,action and the ,manner in which it unceasingly works the ,sanctification of ,souls4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,the ,divine ,action is everywhere and always ,present1 though only ,visible to the ,eye of ,faith4 ,all creatures are living in the hand of ,god2 the senses perceive only the action of the creature1 but faith sees the divine action in all things4 ,faith realizes that ,jesus ,christ lives in all things and works through all ages2 that the least moment and the smallest atom contain a portion of this hidden life1 this mysterious action4 ,the instrumentality of creatures is a veil which covers the profound mysteries of the divine action4 ,the apparition of ,jesus to ,his ,apostles after ,his resurrection surprised them3 ,he presented ,himself to them under forms which disguised ,him1 and as soon as ,he manifested ,himself ,he disappeared4 ,this same ,jesus1 who is ever living and laboring for us1 still surprises souls whose faith is not sufficiently lively to discern ,him4 ,there is no moment when ,god is not present with us under the appearance of some obligation or some duty4 ,all that is effected within us1 about us1 and through us involves and hides ,his divine action3 it is veritably present1 though in an invisible manner2 therefore we do not discern it1 and only recognize its workings when it has ceased to act4 ,could we pierce the veil which obscures it1 and were we vigilant and attentive1 ,god would unceasingly reveal ,himself to us1 and we would recognize ,his action in all that befell us4 ,at every event we would exclaim1 ,dominus est6--,it is the ,lord6 and we should feel each circumstance of our life an especial gift from ,him4 ,we should regard creatures as feeble instruments in the hands of an all-powerful workman2 we should easily recognize that we lacked nothing1 and that ,god's watchful care supplied the needs of every moment4 ,had we faith1 we should be grateful to all creatures2 we should cherish them1 and in our hearts thank them that in the hand of ,god they have been so serviceable to us and so favorable to the work of our perfection4 ,if we lived an uninterrupted life of faith we should be in continual communion with ,god1 we should speak with ,him face to face4 ,just as the air transmits our words and thoughts1 so would all that we are called to do and suffer transmit to us the words and thoughts of ,god2 all that came to us would be but the embodiment of ,his word2 it would be exteriorly manifested in all things2 we should find everything holy and profitable4 ,the glory of ,god makes this the state of the blessed in heaven1 and faith would make it ours on earth2 there would be only the difference of means4 ,faith is ,god's interpreter2 without its enlightenment we understand nothing of the language of created things4 ,it is a writing in cipher1 in which we see naught but confusion2 it is a burning bush1 from the midst of which we little expect to hear ,god's voice4 ,but faith reveals to us as to ,moses the fire of divine charity burning in the midst of the bush2 it gives the key to the ciphers1 and discovers to us in the midst of the confusion the wonders of the divine wisdom4 ,faith gives to the whole earth a heavenly aspect2 faith transports1 enraptures the heart1 and raises it above the things of this earth to converse with the blessed4 ,faith is the light of time3 it alone grasps the truth without seeing it2 it touches what it does not feel2 it sees this world as though it existed not1 beholding quite other things than those which are visible4 ,it is the key of the treasure-house1 the key of the abyss1 the key of the science of ,god4 ,it is faith which shows the falseness of all creatures3 through it ,god reveals and manifests ,himself in all things2 by it all things are made divine2 it lifts the veil from created things and reveals the eternal truth4 ,all that our eyes behold is vanity and falsehood2 in ,god alone lies the truth of all things4 ,how far above our illusions are the designs of ,god6 ,how is it that though continually reminded that all that passes in the world is but a shadow1 a figure1 a mystery of faith1 we are guided by human feelings1 by the natural sense of things1 which after all is but an enigma8 ,we foolishly fall into snares instead of lifting our eyes and rising to the principle1 the source1 the origin of all2 where all things bear other names and other qualities2 where all is supernatural1 divine1 sanctifying2 where all is part of the fulness of ,jesus ,christ2 where everything forms a stone of the heavenly ,jerusalem1 where everything leads to this marvellous edifice and enters therein4 ,we live by the things of sight and hearing1 neglecting that light of faith which would safely guide us through the labyrinth of shadows and images through which we foolishly wander4 ,he1 on the contrary1 who walks by faith seeks but ,god alone1 and all things from ,god2 he lives in ,god2 unheeding and rising above the figures of sense4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,the ,divine ,action is all the more ,visible to the ,eye of ,faith when hidden under ,appearances most ,repugnant to the ,senses4 ,the soul enlightened by faith is far from judging of created things1 like those who measure them by their senses1 and ignore the inestimable treasure they contain4 ,he who recognizes the king in disguise treats him very differently from him who1 judging by appearances alone1 fails to recognize his royalty4 ,so the soul that sees the will of ,god in the smallest things1 and in the most desolating and fatal events1 receives all with equal joy1 exultation1 and respect4 ,that which others fear and fly from with horror she opens all her doors to receive with honor4 ,the retinue is poor1 the senses despise it2 but the heart1 under these humble appearances1 discerns and does homage to the royal majesty2 and the more this majesty abases itself1 coming secretly with modest suite1 the deeper is the love it inspires in the heart4 ,i have no words with which to portray the feelings of the heart when it receives this divine will in the guise of humiliation1 poverty1 annihilation4 ,ah6 how moved was the beautiful heart of ,mary at sight of that poverty of a ,god1 that annihilation which brought ,him to lodge in a manger1 to repose on a handful of straw a trembling1 weeping infant6 ,ask the people of ,bethlehem what they think of this child3 were ,he in a palace with royal surroundings they would do ,him homage4 ,but ask ,mary1 ,joseph1 the ,magi1 the shepherds3 they will tell you that in this extreme poverty they find that which manifests ,god to them more sublime and adorable4 ,by just that which the senses lack is faith heightened1 increased1 and nourished2 the less there is to human eyes1 the more there is to the soul4 ,the faith which adores ,jesus on ,thabor1 which loves the will of ,god in extraordinary events1 is not that lively faith which loves the will of ,god in common events and adores ,jesus on the cross4 ,for the perfection of faith is seen only when visible and material things contradict it and seek to destroy it4 ,through this war of the senses faith comes out gloriously victorious4 ,it is not an ordinary but a grand and extraordinary faith which finds ,god equally adorable in the simplest and commonest things as in the greatest events of life4 ,to content ones' self with the present moment is to love and adore the divine will in all that comes to us to do or suffer through the things which successively form the duties of the present moment4 ,souls thus disposed adore ,god with redoubled ardor and respect in the greatest humiliations2 nothing hides ,him from the piercing eye of their faith4 ,the more vehemently the senses exclaim1 ,this is not from ,god6 the closer do they press this bundle of myrrh from the hand of the ,bridegroom2 nothing disturbs them1 nothing repels them4 ,mary sees the ,apostles fly1 but she remains constant at the foot of the cross2 she recognizes her ,son in that face spat upon and bruised4 ,these disfiguring wounds only render ,him more adorable and worthy of love in the eyes of this tender mother2 and the blasphemies poured forth against ,him only serve to increase her profound veneration4 ,in like manner1 a life of faith is but a continual pursuit of ,god through all which disguises and disfigures ,him2 through all which1 so to speak1 destroys and annihilates ,him4 ,it is truly a reproduction of the life of ,mary1 who from the manger to ,calvary remained constant to a ,god whom the world despised1 persecuted1 and abandoned4 ,so faithful souls1 despite a continual succession of deaths1 veils1 shadows1 semblances which disguise the will of ,god1 perseveringly pursue it1 and love it unto death on the cross4 ,they know that1 unheeding all disguises1 they must follow this holy will2 for1 beyond the heaviest shadows1 beyond the darkest clouds1 the divine ,sun is shining to enlighten1 enflame1 and vivify those constant hearts who bless1 praise1 and contemplate ,him from all points of this mysterious horizon4 ,hasten1 then1 happy1 faithful1 untiring souls2 hasten to follow this dear ,spouse who with giant strides traverses the heavens and from whom nothing can be hidden4 ,he passes over the smallest blade of grass as above the loftiest cedars4 ,the grains of sand are under ,his feet no less than the mountains4 ,wherever your foot may rest ,he has passed1 and you have only to follow ,him faithfully to find ,him wherever you go4 ,oh1 the ineffable peace that is ours when faith has taught us thus to see ,god through all creatures as through a transparent veil6 ,then darkness becomes light1 and bitter turns to sweet4 ,faith1 manifesting all things in their true light1 changes their deformity into beauty1 and their malice into virtue4 ,faith is the mother of meekness1 confidence1 and joy2 she can feel naught but tenderness and compassion for her enemies who so abundantly enrich her at their own expense4 ,the more malignant the action of the creature1 the more profitable does ,god render it to the soul4 ,while the human instrument seeks to injure us1 the divine ,artisan in whose hand it lies makes use of its very malice to remove what is prejudicial to the soul4 ,the will of ,god has only consolations1 graces1 treasures1 for submissive souls2 our confidence in it cannot be too great1 nor our abandonment thereto be too absolute4 ,it always wills and effects that which contributes most to our sanctification1 provided meanwhile we yield ourselves to its divine action4 ,faith never doubts it2 the more unbelieving1 rebellious1 despondent1 and wavering the senses1 the louder ,faith cries1 8,this is ,god6 ,all is well60 ,there is nothing ,faith does not penetrate and overcome2 it passes beyond all shadows and through the darkest clouds to reach ,truth2 clasps it in a firm embrace1 and is never parted from it4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,the ,divine ,action offers us at each ,moment ,infinite ,blessings1 which we receive in proportion to our ,faith and ,love4 ,if we knew how to greet each moment as the manifestation of the divine will1 we would find in it all the heart could desire4 ,for what indeed is more reasonable1 more perfect1 more divine than the will of ,god8 ,can its infinite value be increased by the paltry difference of time1 place1 or circumstance8 ,were you given the secret of finding it at all times and in all places1 you would possess a gift most precious1 most worthy of your desires4 ,what seek ye1 holy souls8 ,give free scope to your longings2 place no limit to your aspirations2 expand your heart to the measure of the infinite4 ,i have that wherewith to satisfy it3 there is no moment in which ,i may not cause you to find all you can desire4 ,the present moment is always filled with infinite treasures3 it contains more than you are capable of receiving4 ,faith is the measure of these blessings3 in proportion to your faith will you receive4 ,by love also are they measured3 the more your heart loves the more it desires1 and the more it desires the more it receives4 ,the will of ,god is constantly before you as an unfathomable sea1 which the heart cannot exhaust3 only in proportion as the heart is expanded by faith1 confidence1 and love can it receive of its fulness4 ,all created things could not fill your heart1 for its capacity is greater than anything which is not ,god4 ,the mountains which affright the eye are but atoms to the heart4 ,the divine will is an abyss1 of which the present moment is the entrance2 plunge fearlessly therein and you will find it more boundless than your desires4 ,offer no homage to creatures2 adore not phantoms3 they can give you nothing1 they can take nothing from you4 ,the will of ,god alone shall be your fulness1 and it shall leave no void in your soul4 ,adore it2 go direct to it1 penetrating all appearances1 casting aside all impediments4 ,the spoliation1 the destruction1 the death of the senses is the reign of faith4 ,the senses adore creatures2 faith adores the divine will4 ,wrest from the senses their idols1 they will weep like disconsolate children2 but faith will triumph1 for nothing can take from her the will of ,god4 ,when all the senses are famished1 affrighted1 despoiled1 then does the will of ,god nourish1 enrich1 and fortify faith1 which smiles at these apparent losses1 as the commander of an impregnable fortress smiles at the futile attacks of an enemy4 ,when the will of ,god reveals itself to a soul manifesting a desire to wholly possess her1 if the soul freely give herself in return she experiences most powerful assistance in all difficulties2 she then tastes by experience the happiness of that coming of the ,lord1 and her enjoyment is in proportion to the degree in which she learned to practise that self abandonment which must bring her at all moments face to face with this ever adorable will4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,god reveals ,himself to us as ,mysteriously1 as ,adorably1 and with as much ,reality in the most ,ordinary ,events as in the great ,events of ,history and the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,the written word of ,god is full of mystery2 ,his word expressed in the events of the world is no less so4 ,these two books are truly sealed2 the letter of both killeth4 ,god is the centre of faith which is an abyss from whose depths shadows rise which encompass all that comes forth from it4 ,god is incomprehensible2 so also are ,his works1 which require our faith4 ,all these words1 all these works1 are but obscure rays1 so to speak1 of a sun still more obscure4 ,in vain do we strive to gaze upon this sun and its rays with the eyes of our body2 the eyes of the soul itself1 through which we behold ,god and ,his works1 are no less closed4 ,obscurity here takes the place of light2 knowledge is ignorance1 and we see though not seeing4 ,holy ,scripture is the mysterious language of a still more mysterious ,god4 ,the events of the world are the mysterious utterances of this same hidden and inscrutable ,god4 ,they are drops of the ocean1 but an ocean of shadows4 ,every rivulet1 every drop of the stream1 bears the impress of its origin4 ,the fall of the angels1 the fall of man1 the wickedness and idolatry of men before and after the deluge1 in the time of the ,patriarchs who knew the history of creation1 with its recent preservation1 and related it to their children1--these are the truly mysterious words of ,holy ,scripture4 ,a handful of men preserved from idolatry amid the general corruption of the whole world until the coming of the ,messias2 evil always dominant1 always powerful2 the little band of the defenders of the faith always ill-treated1 always persecuted2 the persecution of ,christ2 the plagues of the ,apocalypse--in these behold the words of ,god4 ,it is what ,he has revealed4 ,it is what ,he has dictated4 ,and the effects of these terrible mysteries1 which endure till the end of time1 are still the living words of ,god by which we learn ,his wisdom1 goodness1 and power4 ,all the events in the history of the world show forth these attributes and glorify ,him therein4 ,we must believe it blindly1 for1 alas6 we cannot see4 ,what does ,god teach us by ,turks1 heretics1 and all the enemies of ,his ,church8 ,they preach forcibly4 ,they all show forth ,his infinite perfections4 ,so do ,pharao and all the impious hosts who followed him and will still follow him2 though truly1 to the evidence of our senses1 the end of all these is most contrary to the divine glory4 ,we must close our corporal eyes and cease to reason if we would read the divine mysteries in all this4 ,thou speakest1 ,lord1 to all mankind by general events4 ,all revolutions are but the tides of ,thy ,providence1 which excite storms and tempests in the minds of the curious4 ,thou speakest to each one in particular by the events of his every moment4 ,but instead of respecting the mystery and obscurity of ,thy words1 and hearing ,thy voice in all the occurrences of life1 they only see therein chance1 the acts1 the caprice of men2 they find fault in everything2 they would add to1 diminish1 reform--in fact1 they indulge in liberties with these living words of ,god1 while they would consider it a sacrilege to alter a comma of the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,the ,scriptures they revere3 they are the word of ,god1 they tell you2 they are true and holy4 ,though they may comprehend them little1 their veneration for them is no less great1 and they justly give honor and glory to ,god for the depth of ,his wisdom4 ,but1 dear souls1 have you no respect for the words ,god addresses you each moment1--words which are not conveyed to you by means of ink and paper1 but by what you have to do and suffer from moment to moment1--do these words merit nothing from you8 ,why do you not revere the truth and will of ,god in all things8 ,there is nothing which fully satisfies you2 you criticise and cavil at all that happens4 ,do you not see that you try to measure by the senses and reason that which can be measured by faith alone8 ,and that while reading the word of ,god in the ,holy ,scriptures with the eyes of faith1 you gravely err when you read this same word with other eyes in ,his works8 ,,chapter ,v4 ,the ,divine ,action continues in our ,hearts the ,revelation begun in ,holy ,scripture2 but the ,characters in which it is written will be ,visible only at the ,last ,day4 8,jesus ,christ10 says the ,apostle1 8is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and forever40 ,from the beginning of the world ,he was1 as ,god1 the principle of the life of just souls4 ,from the first moment of ,his incarnation ,his humanity shared this prerogative of ,his divinity4 ,throughout our whole lives ,he is working within us4 ,the time of this world is but a day1 and this day is full of ,him4 ,jesus ,christ lived1 and ,he still lives4 ,he began in ,himself1 and ,he continues in ,his saints1 a life which will never end4 ,o life of ,jesus1 which embraces and exceeds all ages6 ,life which unceasingly worketh new wonders6 ,if the world is incapable of embracing all that could have been written of the actual life of ,jesus1 of all that ,he said and did upon earth2 if the ,gospel gives us only a few traits of it2 if so little is known even of that first hidden yet fruitful hour of ,bethlehem1--how many gospels must needs be written to relate all the moments of that mystic life of ,jesus ,christ which multiplies wonders infinitely1 multiplies them eternally6--for all times1 properly speaking1 are but the history of the divine action4 ,the ,holy ,spirit has marked in infallible and incontestable characters certain moments of this vast duration1 and gathered in the ,scriptures some drops of this boundless ocean4 ,we see therein the secret and hidden ways by which ,he has manifested ,jesus ,christ to the world4 ,we can follow the channels and veins which1 amid the confusion of the children of men1 distinguish this ,firstborn4 ,the ,old ,testament is but a small portion of the innumerable and inscrutable ways of this divine work2 it only contains what is necessary to reach ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,holy ,spirit held the rest hidden in the treasures of ,his wisdom4 ,and from out this vast sea of the divine action but a thread of water appears which reaches ,jesus1 loses itself in the ,apostles1 and is swallowed up in the ,apocalypse4 ,so that by our faith alone can we learn the history of this divine action which consists in the life which ,jesus ,christ leads1 and will lead in just souls until the end of time4 ,to the manifestation of ,god's truth by word succeeded the manifestation of ,his charity by action4 ,the ,holy ,spirit continues the work of the ,saviour4 ,while ,he assists the ,church in preaching the gospel of ,christ1 ,he ,himself at the same time writes ,his own gospel in our hearts4 ,each moment1 each act1 of the ,saints is the gospel of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,holy souls are the paper2 their sufferings1 their actions1 are the ink4 ,the ,holy ,spirit by the pen of ,his action writes a living gospel2 but we can only read it on the last day1 when it will be drawn from the press of this life and published4 ,oh1 the glorious history1 the beautiful book1 which the ,holy ,spirit is now writing6 ,it is in press1 holy souls2 and not a day passes in which type is not set1 ink applied1 and sheets of it printed4 ,but we are in the night of faith3 the paper is blacker than the ink2 the characters are confused2 it is the language of another world2 we understand it not2 we shall only read its gospel in heaven4 ,oh1 if we could but see this life of ,god in all creatures1 in all things1 and learn to regard them1 not in themselves1 but as the instruments of ,his will6 ,if we could see how the divine action impels them hither and thither1 unites them1 disperses them1 opposes them1 and leads them by contrary ways to the same end1 we should recognize that all things have their purpose1 their reason1 their proportion1 their relations in this divine work4 ,but how shall we read this book with its hidden1 innumerable1 contradictory1 and obscure characters8 ,if the combinations of twenty-seven letters are incomprehensible to us and suffice to form an unlimited number of different volumes1 each admirable of its kind1 who can express what ,god does in ,his universe8 ,who can read and comprehend a book so vast1 in which there is not a letter which has not its own significance and does not contain in its littleness profound mysteries8 ,mysteries are neither seen nor felt2 they are the subjects of faith4 ,faith judges their worth and truth only by their source1 for they are so obscure in themselves that all their external appearances only serve to conceal them1 and mislead those who judge by reason alone4 ,teach me1 ,o divine ,spirit1 to read in this book of life6 ,i would become ,thy disciple1 and like a little child believe what ,i cannot see4 ,it sufficeth that my ,master speaks4 ,he tells me this1 ,he proclaims that2 ,his words are arranged in one form4 ,he interprets them in another3 that sufficeth me2 ,i receive all as ,he presents it2 ,i see not the reason thereof1 but ,i know ,he is the infallible ,truth4 ,his words1 ,his actions1 are truth4 ,he wills that these letters should form a word2 such a number1 another4 ,they are but three1 but six2 yet no more are required1 and less would mar the sense4 ,he alone who knows all thought can combine the characters to express it4 ,everything is significant2 everything has a perfect meaning4 ,this line purposely ends here2 there is not a comma lacking therein1 nor one useless point4 ,i believe it now2 but on that glorious day1 when so many mysteries will be revealed me1 ,i will see what ,i now only confusedly comprehend2 and that which appears so obscure1 so perplexing1 so contradictory to reason1 so vague1 so visionary1 will enrapture and delight me to all eternity with the beauty1 the order1 the meaning1 the wisdom1 and the inconceivable marvels ,i shall discover therein4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,divine ,love is communicated to us through the ,veil of ,creatures1 as ,jesus communicates ,himself to us through the ,veil of the ,eucharistic ,species4 ,what sublime truths are hidden even from ,christians who believe themselves most enlightened6 ,how many are there who realize that every cross1 every action1 every attraction in the order of ,god gives ,him to us in a manner which cannot be better explained than by comparison with the august mystery of the ,eucharist6 ,yet what is more certain8 ,does not reason1 as well as faith1 reveal to us the real presence of divine love in all creatures1 in all the events of life1 as infallibly as the word of ,christ and ,his ,church reveal to us the presence of the sacred ,body of the ,saviour under the ,eucharistic species8 ,do we not know that the divine love seeks to communicate itself to us through all creatures and through all events8--that it has effected1 ordered1 or permitted all our surroundings1 all that befalls us1 only in view of this union which is the sole end of all ,god's designs8--that for this end ,he makes use of the worst as well as the best creatures1 of the most grievous as well as the most pleasing events8--and that our union with ,him is even the more meritorious that the means which serve to make the union closer are of a nature repugnant to us8 ,but if all this be true1 why should not each moment be a form of communion in which we receive divine love2 and why should not this communion of every moment be as profitable to our souls as that in which we receive the ,body and ,blood of the ,son of ,god8 ,this latter1 it is true1 possesses sacramental grace1 which the other does not2 but1 on the other hand1 how much more frequently may not this first form of communion be repeated1 and how greatly may its merit be increased1 by the perfection of the dispositions with which it is accomplished6 ,therefore how true it is that the holiest life is mysterious in its simplicity and apparent lowliness6 ,o heavenly banquet6 ,o never-ending feast6 ,a ,god always given1 and always received2 not in sublime splendor or glorious light1 but in utter infirmity1 weakness1 and nothingness6 ,that which the natural man condemns1 and human reason rejects1 ,god chooses1 and makes thereof mysteries1 sacraments of love1 giving ,himself to souls through that which would seem to injure them most1 and in proportion to their faith which finds ,him in all things4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,the ,divine ,action1 the ,will of ,god1 is as unworthily treated and disregarded in its ,daily ,manifestation by many ,christians as was ,jesus in the ,flesh by the ,jews4 ,what infidelity we find in the world6 ,how unworthily men think of ,god6 ,they criticise ,his divine action as they would not dare to criticise the work of the humblest artisan4 ,they would force ,him to act within the narrow limits of their weak reason and follow its rules4 ,they pretend to reform all things4 ,they unceasingly complain and murmur4 ,they are shocked at the treatment ,jesus received at the hands of the ,jews4 ,ah6 ,divine ,love6 ,adorable ,will6 ,infallible ,action6 ,how do they look upon ,thee8 ,can the divine will err8 ,can anything it sends be amiss8 ,but ,i have this to do2 ,i need such a thing2 ,i have been deprived of the necessary means2 that man thwarts me in such good works2 is not this most unreasonable8--this sickness overtakes me when ,i absolutely need my health4 ,no1 dear souls1 the will of ,god is all that is absolutely necessary to you1 therefore you do not need what ,he withholds from you--you lack nothing4 ,if you could read aright these things which you call accidents1 disappointments1 misfortunes1 contradictions1 which you find unreasonable1 untimely1 you would blush with confusion2 you would regard your murmurs as blasphemies3 but you do not reflect that all these things are simply the will of ,god4 ,this adorable will is blasphemed by ,his dear children who fail to recognize it4 ,when ,thou wert upon earth1 ,o my ,jesus6 the ,jews treated ,thee as a sorcerer1 called ,thee a ,samaritan2 and now that ,thou livest in all ages1 how do we regard ,thy adorable will forever worthy of praise and blessing8 ,has there been a moment from the creation to this present one in which we live1 and will there be one to the last day1 in which the holy ,name of ,god is not worthy of praise8--that ,name which fills all time1 and all the events of time2 that ,name which renders all things salutary6 ,what6 ,can that which is called the will of ,god work me harm8 ,shall ,i fear1 shall ,i fly from the will of ,god8 ,ah6 where shall ,i go to find something more profitable if ,i fear the divine action and resist the effect of the divine will8 ,how faithfully we should listen to the words which are each moment uttered in the depths of our hearts6 ,if our senses1 our reason1 hear not1 penetrate not the truth and wisdom of these words1 is it not because of their incapacity to divine eternal truths8 ,should ,i be surprised that a mystery disconcerts reason8 ,god speaks2 it is a mystery2 therefore it is death to the senses and reason1 for it is the nature of mysteries to immolate to themselves sense and reason4 ,through faith mystery becomes the life of the heart1 to all else it is contradiction4 ,the divine action killeth while it quickeneth2 the more we feel death the firmer our faith that it will give life2 the more obscure the mystery1 the more light it contains4 ,hence it is that the simple soul finds nothing more divine than that which is least so externally4 ,the life of faith wholly consists in this constant struggle against the senses4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,the ,revelation of the ,present ,moment is the more ,profitable that it is addressed ,directly to us4 ,we are only truly instructed by the words which ,god pronounces expressly for us4 ,it is neither by books nor curious research that we become learned in the science of ,god3 these means of themselves give us but a vain knowledge1 which only serves to confuse us and inflate us with pride4 ,that which really instructs us is all that comes to us by the order of ,god from one moment to another3 this is the knowledge of experience1 which ,christ ,himself was pleased to acquire before teaching4 ,it was indeed the only knowledge in which1 according to the words of the ,gospel1 ,he could grow2 for as ,god there was no degree of speculative knowledge which ,he did not possess4 ,but if this knowledge was needful to the ,incarnate ,word ,himself1 it is absolutely necessary for us if we would speak to the hearts of those whom ,god sends to us4 ,we only know perfectly that which we have learned by experience through suffering and action4 ,this is the school of the ,holy ,spirit1 who utters the words of life to the heart2 and all that we say to others should come from this source4 ,whatsoever we read1 whatsoever we see1 becomes divine science only through the fecundity1 the virtue1 the light1 which the possession of this experience gives4 ,without this science all our learning is like unleavened dough1 lacking the salt and seasoning of experience2 the mind is filled with crude1 unfledged ideas2 and we are like the dreamer who1 knowing all the highways of the world1 misses the path to his own home4 ,therefore we have only to listen to ,god's voice from moment to moment if we would learn the science of the saints1 which is all practice and experience4 ,heed not what is said to others2 listen only to what is uttered for you and to you3 you will find therein sufficient to exercise your faith1 for this hidden language of ,god by its very obscurity exercises1 purifies1 and increases your faith4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,the ,revelation of the ,present ,moment is an ,inexhaustible ,source of ,sanctity4 ,o all ye who thirst6 know that you have not far to seek for the fountain of living waters2 it springs close to you in the present moment4 ,hasten then to approach it4 ,why with the source so near do you weary yourselves running after shallow streams1 which only excite your thirst and give you to drink in small measure8 ,the source alone can satisfy you2 it is inexhaustible4 ,if you would think1 write1 and live like the ,prophets1 ,apostles1 and ,saints1 abandon yourself1 like them1 to divine inspiration4 ,o ,love too little known6 ,men think ,thy marvels are o'er1 and that we have but to copy ,thy ancient works and quote ,thy former teachings6 ,and they see not that ,thy inexhaustible action is an infinite source of new thoughts1 new sufferings1 new works1 new ,patriarchs1 new ,prophets1 new ,apostles1 new ,saints1 who have no need to copy the life or writings one of the other1 but only to live in perpetual self-abandonment to ,thy secret operations4 ,we are wont to quote the 8first ages of the ,church6--the times of the saints60 ,but is not all time the effects of the divine action1 the workings of the divine will1 which absorbs all moments1 fills them1 sanctifies them1 supernaturalizes them8 ,has there ever been a method of self-abandonment to the divine will which is not now practicable8 ,from the earliest ages had the saints other secrets of holiness than that of becoming from moment to moment what the divine action would make them8 ,and will not this action even to the end of time continue to pour its grace upon those who abandon themselves to it without reserve8 ,yes1 adorable1 eternal ,love6 ,love eternally fruitful and always marvellous6 ,will of my ,god1 ,thou art my book1 my doctrine1 my science2 in ,thee are my thoughts1 my words1 my deeds1 my crosses4 ,not by consulting ,thy other works can ,i become what ,thou wouldst make me1 but only by receiving ,thee through all things in that one royal way of self-abandonment to ,thy will--that ancient way1 that way of my fathers4 ,i will think1 speak1 and be enlightened like them2 following in this way1 ,i will imitate them1 quote them1 copy them1 in all things4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,the ,present ,moment is the ,manifestation of the ,name of ,god and the ,coming of ,his ,kingdom4 ,the present moment is like an ambassador which declares the will of ,god4 ,the heart must ever answer fiat1 and the soul will go steadily on by means of all things to her centre and her term--never pausing in her course1 spreading her sails to all winds2 all ways1 all methods equally further her progress towards the great1 the infinite4 ,all things afford her equal means of sanctification4 ,the one only essential the soul finds in the present moment4 ,it is no longer either prayer or silence1 retirement or conversation1 reading or writing1 reflections or cessation of thought1 avoidance or seeking of spiritualities1 abundance or privation1 illness or health1 life or death1 but simply what comes to her each moment by the order of ,god4 ,in this consists that privation1 abnegation1 renouncement of created things1 whether real or in will1 in order that a soul may be nothing of herself or for herself1 but live wholly by the order of ,god1 and at ,his good pleasure content herself with the duty of the present moment1 as though it were the one thing in the world4 ,if whatsoever comes to a soul thus self-abandoned is her one essential1 we see clearly that she lacks nothing1 and therefore should never complain2 that if she murmur she lacks faith1 and lives by reason and the senses alone1 which1 failing to recognize this sufficiency of grace1 are ever discontented4 ,to bless the name of ,god according to the expression of the ,scriptures is to love ,him1 adore ,him1 and recognize ,his holiness in all things4 ,in fact1 all things like words proceed from the mouth of ,god4 ,the events of each moment are divine thoughts expressed by created objects2 thus all things which intimate ,his will to us are so many names1 so many words1 by which ,he manifests ,his desires4 ,this will is one in itself2 it bears but one incomprehensible1 ineffable name2 but it is multiplied infinitely in its effects1 and assumes their names4 ,to sanctify the name of ,god is to study1 adore1 and love the ineffable ,being whom this name represents4 ,it is also to study1 adore1 and love ,his blessed will at all times1 in all its effects2 regarding all things as so many veils1 shadows1 names of this eternally holy will4 ,it is holy in all its works1 holy in all its words1 holy in all its forms of manifestation1 holy in all the names it bears4 ,it was thus ,job blessed the name of ,god4 ,the holy man blessed his terrible desolation which expressed the will of ,god3 he called it not ruin1 but a name of the ,lord2 and blessing it he declared that this divine will expressed by the most terrible afflictions was ever holy1 whatever form1 whatever name it bore4 ,david also blessed it at all times and in all places4 ,therefore it is by this continual manifestation1 this revelation of the will of ,god in all things that ,his kingdom is within us that ,his will is done upon earth as it is in heaven1 that ,he gives us our daily bread4 ,abandonment to the divine will contains the substance of that incomparable prayer which ,christ ,himself has taught us4 ,we repeat it vocally many times a day according to the order of ,god and ,his holy ,church2 but we utter it in the depth of our hearts each moment that we lovingly receive or suffer whatever is ordained by this adorable will4 ,what the lips need words and time to express1 the heart effectively utters with each pulsation1 and thus simple souls unceasingly bless ,him in the depth of their hearts4 ,they sigh nevertheless over their inability to praise ,him as they desire3 so true it is that ,god gives ,his graces and favors to such souls by the very means which seem to deprive them of these blessings4 ,this is the secret of the divine wisdom--to impoverish the senses while it enriches the heart1 and to fill the heart in proportion to the aching void in the senses4 ,let us learn then to recognize in the event of each moment the imprint of the will of ,god1 of ,his adorable name4 ,this name is infinitely holy4 ,it is but just therefore to bless it and receive it as a form of sacrament which by its own virtue sanctifies the souls in which it finds no obstacle to its grace4 ,can we do other than infinitely esteem that which bears this august name8 ,it is a divine manna which falls from heaven to continually strengthen us in grace4 ,it is a kingdom of holiness which is established in the soul4 ,it is the bread of angels which is given upon earth as it is in heaven4 ,no moment can be unimportant since they all contain treasures of grace1 angelic food4 ,yes1 ,lord1 let ,thy kingdom come to my heart to sanctify it1 to nourish it1 to purify it1 to render it victorious over my enemies4 ,precious moment6 how insignificant thou art to the eyes of the world1 but how grand to the eyes enlightened by faith6 ,and can ,i call that little which is great in the eyes of my ,father who reigns in heaven8 ,all that comes thence is most excellent4 ,all that descends therefrom bears the impress of its origin4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,the ,divine ,will imparts the ,highest ,sanctity to ,souls2 they have but to abandon ,themselves to its ,divine ,action4 ,it is only because they know not how to profit by the divine action that so many ,christians spend their lives anxiously seeking hither and thither a multitude of means of sanctification2 these are profitable when the divine will ordains them1 but become injurious the moment they prevent one from simply uniting himself with the will of ,god4 ,these multiplied means cannot give what we will find in the will of ,god--that principle of all life1 which is ever present with us1 and which imparts to its every instrument an original and incomparable action4 ,jesus has sent us a master whom we do not heed4 ,he speaks to all hearts1 and to each one he utters the word of life1 the incomparable word2 but we hear it not4 ,we would know what he says to others1 and we hearken not to what is said to us4 ,we do not sufficiently regard things in the supernatural light which the divine action gives them4 ,we must always receive and worthily meet the divine action with an open heart1 full confidence and generosity2 for to those who thus receive it it can work no ill4 ,this illimitable action1 which from the beginning to the end of all ages is ever the same in itself1 flows on through all moments1 and gives itself in its immensity and its virtue to the simple soul which adores it1 loves it1 and solely rejoices in it4 ,you would be enraptured1 you say1 to find an occasion of sacrificing your life for ,god2 such heroism enchants you4 ,to lose all1 to die forsaken and alone1 to sacrifice one's self for others--such are the glorious deeds which enchant you4 ,but let me1 ,o ,lord1 render glory1 all glory1 to ,thy divine action6 ,in it ,i find the happiness of the martyrs1 austerities and sacrifice of self for others4 ,this action1 this will1 sufficeth me4 ,whatever life or death it ordains for me ,i am content4 ,it pleases me in itself far more than all its instruments and its effects1 since it permeates all things1 renders them divine1 and transforms them into itself4 ,it maketh heaven for me everywhere2 all my moments are purely filled with the divine action2 and living or dying1 it is my sole contentment4 ,yes1 my ,beloved1 ,i will cease to prescribe ,thee hours or methods2 ,thou shalt be ever welcome4 ,o divine action1 ,thou seemest to have revealed me ,thy immensity4 ,i will but walk henceforth in the bosom of ,thy infinity4 ,the tide of ,thy power flows to-day as it flowed yesterday4 ,thy foundation is the bed of the torrent whence graces unceasingly flow2 ,thou holdest the waters thereof in ,thy hand1 and movest them at will4 ,no longer will ,i seek ,thee within the narrow limits of a book1 the life of a saint1 a sublime thought4 ,no3 these are but drops of that great ocean which embraces all creatures4 ,the divine action inundates them all4 ,they are but atoms which sink into this abyss4 ,no longer will ,i seek this action in spiritual intercourse4 ,no more will ,i beg my bread from door to door4 ,i will depend upon no creature4 ,yes1 ,lord1 ,i would live to ,thy honor as the worthy child of a true ,father1 infinitely good1 wise1 and powerful4 ,i would live as ,i believe1 and since the divine action labors incessantly and by means of all things for my sanctification1 ,i would draw my life from this great and boundless reservoir1 ever present1 and ever practically available4 ,is there a creature whose action equals that of ,god8 ,and since this uncreated hand directs all that comes to me1 shall ,i go in search of aid from creatures who are impotent1 ignorant1 and indifferent to me8 ,i was dying of thirst2 ,i ran from fountain to fountain1 from stream to stream2 and behold at hand was a source which caused a deluge2 water surrounded me on all sides6 ,yes1 everything becomes bread to nourish me1 water to cleanse me1 fire to purify me1 a chisel to give me celestial form4 ,everything is an instrument of grace for my necessities2 that which ,i sought in other things seeks me incessantly and gives itself to me by means of all creatures4 ,o ,love6 will men never see that ,thou meetest them at every step1 while they seek ,thee hither and thither1 where ,thou art not8 ,when in the open country1 what folly not to breathe its pure air2 to pause and study my steps when the path is smooth before me2 to thirst when the flood encompasses me2 to hunger for ,god when ,i may find ,him1 relish ,him1 and receive ,his will through all things6 ,seek you1 dear souls1 the secret of union with ,god8 ,there is none other than to avail yourselves of all that ,he sends you4 ,all things may further this union2 all things perfect it1 save sin1 and that which is contrary to your duty4 ,you have but to accept all that ,he sends and let it do its work in you4 ,everything is a banner to guide you1 a stay to uphold you1 an easy and safe vehicle to bear you on4 ,everything is the hand of ,god4 ,everything is earth1 air1 and water to the soul4 ,god's action is more universally present than the elements4 ,his grace penetrates you through all your senses provided you but use them according to ,his order2 for you must guard and close them to all that is not ,his will4 ,there is not an atom which1 entering your frame1 may not cause this divine action to penetrate to the very marrow of your bones4 ,it is the source and origin of all things4 ,the vital fluid which flows in your veins moves only by order of the divine will2 all the variations of your system1 strength or weakness1 languor or vigor1 life or death1 are but the instruments with which the divine action effects your sanctification4 ,under its influence all physical conditions become operations of grace4 ,all your thoughts1 all your emotions1 whatever their apparent source1 proceed from this invisible hand4 ,no created mind or heart can teach you what this divine action will do in you2 you will learn it by successive experience4 ,your life unceasingly flows into this incomprehensible abyss1 where we have but to love and accept as best that which the present moment brings1 with perfect confidence in this divine action which of itself can only work you good4 ,yes1 my ,beloved1 all souls might attain supernatural1 admirable1 inconceivably sublime states if they would but submit themselves to ,thy divine action6 ,yes1 if they would but yield to this divine hand they would attain eminent sanctity4 ,all could reach it1 since it is offered to all4 ,you have but to open your heart and it will enter of itself3 for there is no soul which does not possess in ,thee1 my ,god1 its infinitely perfect model2 no soul in which ,thy divine action labors not unceasingly to render it like unto ,thy image4 ,if they were faithful they would all live1 act1 speak divinely2 they need only copy one another2 the divine action would signalize each one of them through the most ordinary things4 ,how1 ,o my ,god6 can ,i cause ,thy creatures to relish what ,i advance8 ,must ,i1 possessing a treasure capable of enriching all1 see souls perish in their poverty8 ,must ,i see them die like desert plants when ,i point out to them the source of living waters8 ,come1 simple souls1 who have no feeling of devotion whatever1 no talent1 not even the first elements of instruction1--you who understand nothing of spiritual terms1 who are filled with admiration and astonishment by the eloquence of the learned1--come and ,i will teach you the secret of excelling these brilliant intellects2 and ,i will make perfection so attainable that you will find it within you1 about you1 around you1 at every step4 ,i will unite you to ,god1 and ,he will hold you by the hand from the moment you begin to practise what ,i tell you4 ,come1 not to learn the chart of this spiritual country1 but to possess it1 and to walk at ease therein without fear of going astray4 ,come1 not to study the theory of divine grace1 nor to learn what it has effected in all ages and is still effecting1 but to be simply the subjects of its operations4 ,you have no need to learn and ingenuously repeat the words addressed to others3 divine grace shall utter to you alone all that you require4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,the ,divine ,action alone can sanctify us1 for it forms us after the ,divine ,model of our ,perfection4 ,the divine action executes in time the designs of the eternal ,wisdom in regard to all things4 ,god alone can make known to each soul the design which it is destined to realize4 ,though you read the will of ,god in regard to others1 this knowledge cannot direct you in anything4 ,in the ,word1 in ,god ,himself1 is the design after which you should be formed1 and after which you are modelled by the divine action4 ,in the ,word the divine action finds that to which every soul may be conformed4 ,holy ,scripture contains a portion of this design1 and the work of the ,holy ,spirit in souls completes it after the model which the ,word presents4 ,is it not evident that the only secret for receiving the impress of this eternal design is to be passively submissive in ,his hands1 and that no intellectual effort or speculation will help us to attain it8 ,is it not manifest that skill1 intelligence1 or subtlety of mind will not effect this work1 but passive self-abandonment to the divine will1 yielding ourselves like metal to the mould1 like canvas to the brush1 or like stone to the sculptor8 ,it is clear that a knowledge of the divine mysteries which the will of ,god effects in all ages is not what renders us conformable to the design which the ,word has conceived for us4 ,no3 it is the impress of the divine ,hand2 and this imprint is not graven in the mind through the medium of thought1 but upon the will through its submission to the will of ,god4 ,the wisdom of the simple soul consists in contentment with what is suitable to her1 in confining herself to the sphere of her duties1 and in never going beyond its boundary4 ,she is not curious to know the secrets of the divine economy3 she is content with ,god's will in her regard1 never striving to decipher its hidden meaning by conjecture or comparison1 desiring to know no more than each moment reveals1 listening to the voice of the ,word when it speaks in the depth of her heart1 never asking what the ,spouse of her soul utters to others1 contenting herself with what she receives in the depth of her soul2 so that from moment to moment all things1 however insignificant or whatever their nature1 sanctify her unconsciously to herself4 ,thus the ,beloved speaks to ,his spouse by the palpable effects of ,his action1 which the spouse does not curiously study1 but accepts with loving gratitude4 ,therefore the spirituality of this soul is simple1 most solid1 and interwoven with her whole being4 ,neither tumultuous thoughts nor words influence her conduct2 for these1 when not the instruments of divine grace1 only inflate the mind4 ,many there are who assign an important part to intellect in piety1 yet it is of little account therein1 and not unfrequently prejudicial4 ,we must make use of that only which ,god sends us to do and suffer4 ,yet many of us leave this divine essential to occupy our minds with the historic wonders of the divine work1 instead of increasing these wonders by our fidelity4 ,the marvels of this work which gratify the curiosity of our readings serve only to disgust us with the apparently unimportant events through which1 if we despise them not1 the divine love effects great things in us4 ,foolish creatures that we are6 ,we admire1 we bless1 this divine action in its written history2 but when it would continue to write its gospel in our hearts1 we hold the paper in continual unrest1 and we impede its action by our curiosity to know what it effects in us and what it effects elsewhere4 ,pardon1 divine ,love1 for ,i am writing my own defects1 and ,i have not yet learned what it is to abandon myself to ,thy hand4 ,i have not yet yielded myself to the mould4 ,i have walked through ,thy divine studios1 ,i have admired all ,thy works1 but ,i have not yet learned the needful self-abandonment to receive the marks of ,thy pencil4 ,at last ,i have found ,thee1 my dear ,master1 my ,teacher1 my ,father1 my dear ,love6 ,i will be ,thy disciple2 ,i will learn in no other school but ,thine4 ,i return like the prodigal hungering for ,thy bread4 ,i abandon the ideas which only serve to gratify my curiosity4 ,i will no longer seek after masters or books2 no1 ,i will use these means only as ,thy divine will ordains them1 and then not for my gratification1 but to obey ,thee by accepting all that ,thou sendest me4 ,i would confine myself solely to the duty of the present moment in order to prove my love1 fulfil my obligations1 and leave thee free to do with me what ,thou wilt4 ,book ,third4 ,the ,paternal ,care with which ,god surrounds ,souls wholly abandoned to ,him4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,god ,himself guides ,souls who wholly abandon themselves to ,him4 ,sacrificate sacrificium justiti et sperate in ,domino3 ,sacrifice1 saith the prophet1 a sacrifice of justice and hope in the ,lord4 ,that is to say that the grand and solid foundation of the spiritual life is to give one's self to ,god to be the subject of ,his good pleasure in all things1 interiorly as well as exteriorly1 and to so utterly forget self that we regard it as a thing sold and delivered1 to which we have no longer any right2 so that our joy consists wholly in the good pleasure of ,god1 and ,his honor and glory are our sole contentment4 ,this foundation laid1 the soul has but to pass her life rejoicing that ,god is ,god1 abandoning herself so completely to ,his good pleasure that she is equally content to do one thing as another1 according as this good pleasure directs1 never even pausing to reflect upon the disposition which is made of her by the will of ,god4 ,self-abandonment6 this1 then1 is the grand duty which remains to be fulfilled after one has faithfully acquitted himself of all the obligations of his state4 ,the perfection with which this grand duty is accomplished is the measure of one's sanctity4 ,a holy soul is a soul who1 with the aid of grace1 freely abandons herself to the divine will4 ,all that follows this pure self-abandonment is the work of ,god and not of man4 ,god asks nothing more of this soul than to blindly receive all that ,he sends1 in a spirit of submission and universal indifference to the instruments of ,his will2 the rest ,he determines and chooses according to ,his designs for the soul as an architect arranges and selects his materials according to the edifice he would construct4 ,in all things1 therefore1 we must love ,god and ,his order2 we must love it as it is presented to us without desiring more4 ,it is for ,god1 not for us1 to determine the objects of our submission1 and what ,he sends is best for the soul4 ,what a grand epitome of spirituality is this maxim of pure and absolute self-abandonment to the will of ,god6 ,self-abandonment1 that continual forgetfulness of self which leaves the soul free to eternally love and obey ,god1 untroubled by those fears1 reflections1 regrets1 and anxieties which the care of one's own perfection and salvation gives6 ,since ,god offers to take upon ,himself the care of our affairs1 let us once for all abandon them to ,his infinite wisdom1 that we may never more be occupied with aught but ,him and ,his interests4 ,arise1 then1 my soul2 let us walk with uplifted head above all that is passing about us and within us1 ever content with ,god--content with what ,he does with us1 and with what ,he gives us to do4 ,let us beware of imprudently falling a prey to those numerous disquieting reflections which1 like so many tangled labyrinths1 entrap the mind into useless1 endless wanderings4 ,let us avoid this snare of self-love by springing over it1 and not by following its interminable windings4 ,onward1 my soul1 through weariness1 sickness1 dryness1 infirmities of temper1 weakness of mind1 snares of the devil and of men1 their suspicions1 jealousies1 evil thoughts1 and prejudices6 ,let us soar like the eagle above all these clouds1 our eyes fixed upon the ,sun of ,justice1 and its rays which are our obligations4 ,doubtless we may feel these trials2 it does not depend upon us to be insensible to them4 ,but let us remember that our life is not a life of sentiment4 ,let us live in this superior part of the soul where ,god and ,his will work out for us an ever uniform1 equable1 immutable eternity4 ,in this wholly spiritual dwelling where the ,uncreated1 the ,ineffable1 the ,infinite holds the soul immeasurably separated from all shadows and created atoms1 reigns perpetual calm1 even though the senses be the prey of tempests4 ,we have learned to rise above the senses2 their restlessness1 their disquiet1 their comings and goings1 and their hundred transformations disturb us no more than the clouds which darken the sky for a moment and disappear4 ,we know that in the region of the senses all things are like the wind1 without sequence or order1 in continual vicissitude4 ,god's will forms the eternal charm of the heart in the state of faith1 just as in the state of glory it shall constitute its true happiness2 and this glorious state of the heart will influence the whole material being at present a prey to terrors and temptations4 ,under these appearances1 however terrible they may be1 the action of ,god1 giving to the material being a facility wholly divine1 will cause it to shine like the sun2 for the faculties of the sensitive soul and those of the body are prepared here below like gold1 iron1 flax1 and stone4 ,and like these different substances they will attain the purity and splendor of their form only after they have passed through many processes and suffered loss and destruction4 ,all that we endure here below at the hand of ,god is intended as a preparation for our future state4 ,the faithful soul who knows the secret of ,god's ways dwells in perfect peace2 and all that transpires within her1 so far from alarming1 only reassures her4 ,intimately convinced that it is ,god who guides her1 she accepts everything as a grace1 and lives wholly forgetful of self1 the object upon which ,god labors1 that she may think only of the work committed to her care4 ,her love unceasingly animates the courage which enables her to faithfully and carefully fulfil her obligations4 ,except the sins of a self-abandoned soul1 which are light1 and even converted to her good by the divine will1 there is nothing distinctly manifest in her but the action of grace4 ,and this action is distinctly manifest in all those painful or consoling impressions by means of which the divine will unceasingly works the soul's good4 ,i use the term 8distinctly manifest10 for of all that transpires within the soul1 these impressions are what it best distinguishes4 ,to find ,god under all these appearances is the great art of faith2 to make everything a means of uniting one's self with ,god is the exercise of faith4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,the more ,god seems to withdraw ,light from the ,soul abandoned to ,his ,direction1 the more ,safely ,he guides ,her4 ,it is particularly in souls wholly abandoned to ,god that the words of ,st4 ,john are accomplished3 ,you have no need that any man teach you2 but as ,his unction teacheth you of all things4 ,to know what ,god asks of them1 they have but to consult this unction1 to sound the heart1 to heed its voice2 it interprets the will of ,god according to their present needs4 ,for the divine action disguised reveals its designs1 not by thoughts1 but by intuition4 ,it manifests them to the soul either by necessity1 leaving it but the one present course to choose1 or by a first impulse1 a sort of supernatural transport which impels to action without reflection1 or1 finally1 by a certain attraction or repulsion which1 while leaving the soul perfect liberty1 no less attracts it to or withdraws it from objects4 ,were we to judge by appearances1 it would seem most unwise to thus pursue a course so uncertain2 a course of conduct in which1 according to ordinary rules1 we find nothing stable1 uniform1 or regular4 ,it is nevertheless at bottom the highest state of virtue1 and one which usually is only attained after long exercise therein4 ,the virtue of this state is virtue in all its purity2 in fact1 it is perfection4 ,the soul is like a musician who to long practice unites great knowledge of music2 he is so full of his art that1 without any effort1 all that he does therein is perfection2 and if his compositions be examined1 they will be found in perfect conformity with prescribed rules4 ,one is convinced that he will never succeed better than when he acts without restraint1 untrammelled by rules which fetter genius when too scrupulously followed2 and his impromptus1 like so many masterpieces1 are the admiration of connoisseurs4 ,thus the soul1 after long exercise in the science and practice of perfection under the empire of reason and the methods with which she aids grace1 insensibly forms a habit of acting in all things by divine instinct4 ,such a soul seems to intuitively accept as best the first duty that presents itself1 without resorting to the reasoning which she formerly found necessary4 ,she has only to act according to circumstances1 unable to do anything but abandon herself to that grace which can never mislead her4 ,the work of a soul in this state of simplicity is nothing less than marvellous to eyes and minds divinely enlightened4 ,without rule1 yet exactness itself2 without measure1 yet nothing better proportioned2 without reflection1 yet nothing more profound2 without ingenuity1 yet nothing better managed2 without effort1 yet nothing more efficacious2 without forethought1 yet nothing better fitted to unforeseen events4 ,the divine action frequently gives by means of spiritual reading knowledge which the authors never possessed4 ,god makes use of the words and actions of others to inspire hidden truths4 ,if ,he wills to enlighten us by such means1 it is the part of the self-abandoned soul to accept them2 and all means which become the instrument of the divine will possess an efficacy far surpassing their natural and apparent virtue4 ,a life of self-abandonment is characterized by mystery2 it is a life which receives from ,god extraordinary miraculous gifts through commonplace1 fortuitous events1 chance encounters1 where nothing is visible to human eyes but the ordinary workings of men's minds and the natural course of the elements4 ,thus the simplest sermons1 the most commonplace conversations1 the least elevating books1 become to these souls by virtue of the will of ,god sources of intelligence and wisdom4 ,therefore they carefully gather the crumbs of wisdom which the worldly-wise trample under foot4 ,everything is precious to them1 everything enriches them2 so that1 while supremely indifferent to all things1 they neglect or despise nothing1 drawing profit from all4 ,when we behold ,god in all things1 and use them by ,his order1 it is not using creatures1 but enjoying the divine action which transmits its gifts through these different channels4 ,they are not of themselves sanctifying1 but only as instruments of the divine action which can and frequently does communicate its graces to simple souls by means apparently contrary to the end proposed4 ,yes1 divine grace can enlighten with clay as with the most subtle material1 and its instrument is always efficacious4 ,all things are alike to it4 ,faith never feels any need2 she complains not of the lack of means apparently necessary to her advancement1 for the divine ,workman for whom she labors supplies all deficiencies by ,his will4 ,this holy will is the whole virtue of all creatures4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,the ,afflictions with which ,god visits the ,soul are but ,loving ,artifices at which she will ,one ,day rejoice4 ,souls who walk in light sing canticles of joy2 those who walk amid shadows sing anthems of woe4 ,let one and the other sing to the end the portion and anthem ,god assigns them4 ,we must add nothing to what ,he has completed4 ,there must flow every drop of this gall of divine bitterness with which ,he wills to inebriate them4 ,behold ,jeremias and ,ezechiel3 theirs was the language of sighs and lamentations1 and their only consolation was in the continuation of their lament4 ,he who would have dried their tears would have deprived us of the most beautiful portions of the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,the spirit that afflicts is the only one which can console4 ,the streams of sorrow and consolation flow from the same source4 ,when ,god astonishes a soul she must needs tremble2 when ,he menaces1 she cannot but fear4 ,we have but to leave the divine operation to its own development2 it bears within itself the remedy as well as the trial4 ,weep1 dear souls2 tremble1 suffer disquiet and anguish2 make no effort to escape these divine terrors1 these heavenly lamentations4 ,receive into the depth of your being the waters of that sea of bitterness which inundated the soul of ,christ4 ,continue to sow in tears at the will of divine grace1 and insensibly by the same will their source shall be dried4 ,the clouds will dissolve1 the sun will shed its light1 the springtime will strew your path with flowers1 and your self-abandonment will manifest to you the whole extent of the admirable variety of the divine action4 ,truly1 man disquiets himself in vain6 ,all that passes within him is like a dream4 ,one shadow follows and effaces another1 just as the fancies of sleep succeed one another1 some troubling1 others delighting1 the mind4 ,man is the sport of these imaginations which consume one another1 and the grand awakening will show the equal emptiness of them all4 ,it will dissipate all illusions1 and he will no longer heed the perils or fortunes of this dream called life4 ,lord1 can it not be said that ,thy children sleep in ,thy bosom during all the night of faith1 while at ,thy pleasure ,thou fillest their souls with an infinite number and infinite variety of experiences which are in reality but holy and mysterious reveries8 ,in this obscure night of the soul they are filled with veritable and awful terrors1 with anguish and weariness which on the glorious day ,thou wilt change into true and solid joys4 ,at their awakening1 holy souls1 restored to a clearer vision and fuller consciousness1 will never weary admiring the skill1 the art1 the invention1 the loving artifices of the ,bridegroom4 ,they will comprehend how impenetrable are ,his ways1 how surpassing comprehension are ,his devices1 how beyond discovery ,his disguises1 how impossible consolation when ,he willed that they should mourn4 ,on the day of this awakening the ,jeremias and the ,davids will see that that which wrought their bitterest pain was subject of rejoicing to ,god and the angels4 ,wake not the spouse1 worldly-wise1 industrious minds filled with self-activity2 leave her to sigh and tremblingly seek for the ,bridegroom4 ,true1 ,he eludes her1 and disguises ,himself2 she sleeps1 and her griefs are but as the phantoms which come with night and sleep4 ,but disturb her not2 let the ,bridegroom work upon this cherished soul and depict in her what ,he alone can paint or express4 ,leave ,him to develop the result of this state4 ,he will awake her when it is time4 ,joseph causes ,benjamin to weep2 servants of ,joseph1 reveal not his secret to this cherished brother6 ,the artifice of ,joseph is beyond the penetration of ,benjamin4 ,he and his poor brothers are plunged in grief2 they see naught in the loving artifice of ,joseph but irremediable suffering4 ,enlighten them not3 ,he will remedy all2 ,he will reveal himself to them1 and they will admire the wisdom of ,him who out of so much woe and desolation wrought the truest joy they have ever known4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the more ,god seems to take from a ,soul wholly abandoned to ,him1 the more ,generous ,he is to her4 ,but let us go on in the study of the divine action and its loving artifices4 ,what the divine action seems to take from a good will it gives in disguise1 so to speak4 ,it never leaves a good will in need4 ,for example1 if we relieved the necessities of a friend with generous gifts1 allowing him to know they came from us1 but later1 in his interest making a feint of withholding our gifts while continuing to secretly assist him1 the friend1 not suspecting the ruse or comprehending the kindly artifice1 is grieved and hurt4 ,bitter reflections and unkind thoughts of his benefactor torment him4 ,but when the loving ruse is revealed to him1 imagine the joy1 the confusion1 the love1 the shame1 the gratitude1 which overwhelm him6 ,and are not his zeal and love for his benefactor greater henceforth8 ,and has not the trial only strengthened his love and made it proof against any similar misunderstandings in the future8 ,the application is simple4 ,the more we seem to lose with ,god1 the more we really gain2 the more ,he deprives us of natural aid1 the more ,he gives us of supernatural4 ,we loved ,him a little for ,his gifts1 but these being no longer visible we come to love ,him for ,himself4 ,it is by the apparent withdrawal of these sensible gifts and favors that ,he prepares us for ,himself1 the greatest of all gifts4 ,the souls once wholly submissive to the divine action should always interpret all things favorably--yes1 were it the loss of the most excellent of directors1 were it the distrust which they feel in spite of themselves for those who too readily offer to fill his place2 for usually the guides who of themselves seek the direction of souls merit a little distrust4 ,those who are truly animated by the ,spirit of ,god are not ordinarily so impetuous or self-confident3 they are sought1 they do not offer themselves1 and never cease to distrust themselves4 ,let the soul that has wholly given herself to ,god walk fearlessly through all these trials1 letting none of them deprive her of her liberty4 ,provided she be faithful to the divine action1 this all-powerful action will work wonders in her despite all obstacles4 ,god and the soul are engaged in the same work1 the success of which1 though depending entirely on the action of the divine ,workman1 may nevertheless be compromised by the infidelity of the soul4 ,when it is well with the soul1 all goes well2 for that which is of ,god--that is1 ,his part and action--are1 so to speak1 the rebound of the soul's fidelity4 ,it is the right side of the work which1 like those famous tapestries1 are done stitch by stitch on the wrong side4 ,the workman engaged thereon sees but his needle and the canvas1 every little hole of which is successively filled1 forming a beautiful design which is only visible however1 when every detail is completed1 and the right side is held up to view1 but during the process of the work all its beauty and its marvels were unseen4 ,and thus it is with the self-abandoned soul3 it sees only ,god and its duty4 ,the fulfilment of the duty of each moment is but the addition of an imperceptible point1 and yet it is by means of these apparent trifles that ,god effects ,his wonders4 ,we are given a presentment of these wonders at times here below1 but we shall only understand them in the light of eternity4 ,how full of wisdom and goodness are the ways of ,god6 ,he has made all that is great1 elevating and ennobling so completely the work of ,his grace and action1 leaving to the soul what is easy and simple to be accomplished with the aid of grace1 that there is no one who cannot attain eminent sanctity by the loving fulfilment of obscure and humble duties4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,the less ,capable the ,faithful ,soul is of defending ,herself1 the more ,powerfully does ,god defend ,her4 ,the supreme and infallible work of the divine action is always opportunely applied to the simple soul1 and she in all things wisely corresponds to its intimate direction4 ,she accepts all that comes to her1 all that transpires1 all that she feels--all1 all save sin2 sometimes consciously1 sometimes unconsciously1 being impelled1 not by any reason1 but by an indistinct impulse1 to speak1 to act1 or not to act4 ,frequently the occasion and the reason which determine her course are merely of the natural order2 the simple soul sees no mystery therein1 but pure chance1 necessity1 conventionality2 it is nothing in her eyes or those of others3 and yet the divine action1 which is the wisdom1 the counsel1 the knowledge of its friends1 causes these simple things to work their good4 ,it appropriates them and turns them so energetically against the schemes of the faithful soul's enemies1 that it is impossible for them to injure her4 ,the divine action frees the soul from the petty anxious schemes so necessary to human prudence4 ,such precautions are suitable for ,herod and the ,pharisees3 but the ,magi have but to follow their star in peace2 the ,babe has but to rest in ,his ,mother's arms2 ,his enemies advance ,his cause more than they injure it2 the more they seek to thwart and overwhelm it1 the more peacefully and freely ,he advances4 ,he will not court or temporize with them to turn their attacks from ,him2 their jealousies1 their distrust1 their persecutions1 are necessary to ,him4 ,thus lived ,jesus in ,judea2 and ,he still lives after this manner in simple souls1 where ,he is generous1 gentle1 free1 peaceful2 fearing and needing no creature1 but beholding them all in the hands of ,his ,father2 eager to turn them to ,his service1 some through their criminal passions1 others through their good actions1 others through their obedience and submission4 ,the divine action marvellously adjusts all these things3 there is neither too little nor too much2 no more good and evil than needful4 ,the order of ,god sends each moment the appropriate instrument for its work2 and the simple soul enlightened by faith finds all things good1 desiring neither more nor less than she possesses4 ,at all times she blesses the divine ,hand which so carefully supplies her needs and frees her from obstacles2 she receives friends and foes with equal sweetness1 for it is the way of ,jesus to treat the whole world as a divine instrument4 ,we want for none1 and yet we have need of all2 the divine action renders all necessary1 and we must receive all from it1 accepting each thing according to its nature and quality1 and corresponding thereto with sweetness and humility1 treating the simple with simplicity1 the ungentle with gentleness1 after the teaching of ,st4 ,paul and the more beautiful practice of the divine ,master4 ,divine grace alone can imprint that supernatural character which adapts itself so marvellously to each individual nature4 ,it is not learned from books2 it is a true spirit of prophecy1 and the effect of intimate revelation2 it is the teaching of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,to conceive it one must have attained the highest degree of self-abandonment and the most perfect detachment from all plans and interests1 however holy they may be4 ,we must keep before our eyes the one important thing in this world1 viz41 the passive abandonment to the divine action which is required of us in order to devote ourselves to the duties of our state1 leaving the ,holy ,spirit to operate interiorly1 indifferent as to what ,he operates upon1 even happy not to know it4 ,then1 then we are safe2 for all the events of the world can only work the good of souls perfectly submissive to the divine will of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,the ,soul abandoned to the ,will of ,god1 so far from resisting her ,enemies1 finds in them ,useful ,auxiliaries4 ,i fear my own action and that of my friends more than ,i do my enemies4 ,there is no prudence equal to that of offering no resistance to one's enemies but that of simple abandonment to the will of ,god2 nothing which so fully insures our peace2 it is rowing with the tide1 sailing with a wind which swiftly brings us into port4 ,there is nothing better than simplicity with which to meet the prudence of this world2 it skilfully1 though unconsciously1 evades its snares without even thinking of them4 ,dealing with a simple soul is1 in a measure1 dealing with ,god4 ,who can cope with the ,almighty1 whose ways are inscrutable8 ,god espouses the cause of the simple soul2 she has no need to study the intrigues of her enemies1 to meet their activity with equal alertness1 watching all their movements3 her ,spouse relieves her of all this2 she confides all to ,him1 and then rests on ,his breast in peace and security4 ,the divine action inspires her with measures so just that they who sought to surprise her are themselves surprised4 ,she benefits by all their efforts1 and rises by the very means with which they sought to abase her4 ,all contradictions turn to her good2 and by leaving her enemies to work their will she draws so great and continual profit from them that all she need fear is that she may interfere in a work in which ,god wills to be the chief actor1 using her enemies as ,his instruments1 and in which the soul has no other part than to peacefully watch the working of the divine will and follow its guidance with simplicity4 ,the supernatural prudence of the divine ,spirit1 the principle of these attractions1 unerringly seizes the end and intimate relations of each event1 and1 all unknown to the soul1 so disposes them for her spiritual welfare that all which opposes itself thereto must inevitably be destroyed4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,the ,soul who abandons ,herself to ,god has no ,need to justify ,herself by ,words or ,actions3 the ,divine ,action justifies ,her4 ,the broad1 solid1 firm rock upon which the faithful soul stands sheltered from tides and storms is the order of the divine will1 which is ever present with us1 veiled under crosses or the most ordinary duties4 ,behind these shadows is hidden ,god's ,hand1 which sustains and upholds those who abandon themselves to ,him4 ,the moment the soul is firmly established in this perfect self-abandonment she is henceforth safe from the contradiction of tongues1 for she ceases to have anything to do or say in her own defence4 ,since the work is ,god's1 from no other source must its justification be sought4 ,its consequences and effects will sufficiently justify it4 ,we have but to leave it to its own development4 ,dies diei eructat verbum4 ,when we are no longer guided by our own ideas we need not defend ourselves by words4 ,our words can only represent our ideas1 and where an absence of ideas is admitted no words are needed4 ,of what avail are they8 ,to give a reason for what we do8 ,but we know not this reason2 it is hidden in the principle which animates our actions1 and which impresses us only in a most ineffable manner4 ,we must therefore leave to the results of our actions the task of justifying their principle4 ,all is metely sustained in this divine procession2 everything therein has a firm and solid basis1 and the reason for that which precedes is manifest in the result which follows4 ,it is no longer a life of thought1 imagination1 multiplied words3 these no longer occupy1 nourish1 or sustain the soul4 ,she no longer knows where she walks1 or where her path may lie in the future2 she ceases to incite herself with reflections to bear the toils and fatigues of the route2 her strength lies in an intimate conviction of her own weakness4 ,a way is opened to her feet2 she enters and walks unhesitatingly therein with pure1 straightforward1 simple faith2 she follows the straight path of the commandments1 leaning upon ,god ,himself1 whom she finds at every turn of the way2 and this ,god1 the sole object of her life1 will take her justification upon ,himself1 and so manifest ,his presence that she will be avenged of her detractors4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,god gives ,life to the ,soul abandoned to ,him by ,means which apparently lead only to ,death4 ,there is a time when ,god wills to be the life of the soul and work out her perfection ,himself in a hidden and secret manner3 then all her own ideas1 lights1 efforts1 researches1 reasonings1 become a source of illusion4 ,and when the soul1 after many sad experiences1 is finally taught the uselessness of her self-activity1 she finds that ,god has hidden and obstructed all other channels of life that she may live in ,him alone4 ,then1 convinced of her nothingness1 and that her self-activity is prejudicial to her1 she abandons herself completely to ,god and relies only upon ,him4 ,god then becomes a source of life to the soul1 not by means of thoughts1 revelations1 reflections 7these are now become a source of illusion71 but effectively by the reality of ,his grace hidden under the strangest appearances4 ,the divine operation being invisible to the soul1 she receives its virtue1 its substance1 under circumstances which she feels will prove her ruin4 ,there is no remedy for this obscurity2 we must remain buried therein2 for here1 in this night of faith1 ,god gives ,himself to us1 and with ,himself all things4 ,henceforth the soul is but a blind subject2 or rather she may be likened to a sick man who1 ignorant of the virtue of his remedies1 and feeling only their bitterness1 frequently imagines they must lead to death2 the exhaustion and crisis which follow them seem to justify his fears3 nevertheless1 under this semblance of death he receives health1 and he continues to accept the remedies at the word of the physician4 ,thus souls abandoned to ,god's will take no heed of their infirmities1 except those of a nature sufficiently evident and grave to require care and treatment4 ,the languor and impotence of faithful souls are but illusions and semblances which they must courageously face4 ,god sends and permits them to exercise their faith and self-abandonment1 and in these virtues lies the soul's true remedy4 ,she must go on generously1 utterly ignoring her infirmities1 accepting all that comes to her to do or suffer in the order of ,god1 never hesitating to treat her body as we do those beasts of burden only destined to spend their lives going hither and thither at our will4 ,this treatment is more efficacious than all that delicate care which only weakens the vigor of the mind4 ,this strength of purpose has an indescribable virtue and power to sustain a feeble body2 and a year of this noble and generous life is worth a century of selfish fears and care4 ,we must endeavor to habitually maintain an air of childlike gentleness and good-will4 ,ah6 what can we fear from this divine fortune8 ,guided1 sustained1 and protected by the ,providence of ,god1 the whole exterior conduct of ,his children should be nothing less than heroic4 ,the alarming objects which oppose their progress are naught in themselves3 they are only sent to embellish their lives by still more glorious actions4 ,they entangle them in embarrassments of every kind1 whence human prudence can see no issue1 and1 feeling its weakness1 stops short1 confounded4 ,then does the divine fortune gloriously manifest what it is for souls who wholly trust therein4 ,it extricates them more marvellously than the writers of fiction with unrestrained imagination in the leisure and privacy of their study unraveled the intrigues and perils of their imaginary heroes1 bringing them invariably to a happy end4 ,more admirably still does it guide them safely through the perils of death1 the snares of demons1 the terrors of temptation1 the fears of hell4 ,it elevates these souls to heaven1 and they are all the real subject of those mystic histories more beautiful and curious than any ever invented by the crude imagination of man4 ,then onward1 my soul1 through perils and fears1 guided1 directed1 and sustained by the invisible1 all-powerful1 unerring ,hand of divine ,providence4 ,let us go on fearlessly in joy and peace to the end1 turning obstacles into victories1 remembering that it was to struggle and conquer that we enrolled ourselves under ,his banner4 ,exivit vincens ut vinceret1 and every step under ,his guidance is a victory4 ,the book of souls lies open before the ,holy ,spirit1 and their history is still written1 for holy souls will furnish material for its pages to the end of the world4 ,this history is but the relation of ,god's operations and designs upon man1 and it depends upon ourselves whether we shall appear in its pages and continue its narration by uniting our sufferings and actions to ,his divine will4 ,no2 let nothing we have to do or suffer alarm us3 it can cause us no loss2 it is only sent us that we may furnish material for that holy history1 which is increasing day by day4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,love holds the ,place of ,all ,things to ,souls who walk in the ,way of ,abandonment4 ,god1 while ,he despoils a soul who wholly abandons herself to ,him1 gives her something which takes the place of all things--of light1 of strength1 of life1 of wisdom4 ,this gift is ,his love4 ,divine love is like a supernatural instinct in these souls4 ,everything in nature has that which is suited to its kind2 each flower has its peculiar charm1 each animal its instinct1 and each creature its perfection4 ,and so it is in the different states of grace2 each has its special grace1 and this is a recompense to every one whose good will brings him in harmony with the state in which ,providence has placed him4 ,a soul becomes subject to the divine action the moment a good will is formed in her heart2 and this action influences her according to the degree of her self-abandonment4 ,the art of self-abandonment is simply the art of loving2 divine love grants all things to the soul who refuses ,him nothing4 ,and as ,god's love inspires the desires of a soul who lives for him1 ,he can never refuse them2 therefore1 cannot love desire what it pleases8 ,the divine action only considers the good will of a soul2 the capacity or incapacity of the other faculties neither attract nor repel it4 ,if it find a soul good1 pure1 upright1 simple1 submissive1 it is all it requires2 it takes possession of this soul and of all her faculties1 and so disposes all things for her good that she finds means of sanctification in everything4 ,that which would give death to others1 should it enter this soul will be harmless1 for the antidote of her good will will arrest the effect of the poison4 ,if she stray to the brink of the abyss1 the divine action will withhold her from its depths1 or if she fall it will rescue her4 ,and indeed the faults of these souls are but faults of frailty and little perceptible2 ,god's love knows how to turn them to her advantage1 and by secret and ineffable ways teaches her what she should say and do according to the circumstances in which she is placed4 ,such souls receive as it were rays of divine intelligence3 ,intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus eum4 ,for this divine intelligence accompanies them in all their wanderings1 and rescues them from the snares into which their simplicity leads them4 ,have they committed themselves by some mistaken measure8 ,providence disposes a happy event which releases them4 ,vainly are intrigues multiplied against them2 ,providence overcomes all the efforts of their enemies1 and so confounds and bewilders them that they fall into their own snares4 ,do they seek to surprise the soul8 ,providence1 by means of some apparently unimportant action which she unconsciously performs1 rescues her from the embarrassments into which she has been led by her own uprightness and the malice of her enemies4 ,oh1 the exquisite wisdom of this good will6 ,what prudence in its simplicity1 what ingenuity in its innocence1 what frankness in its mysteries1 what mystery in its candor6 ,behold the young ,tobias3 he is a mere youth2 but ,raphael walks at his side1 and with such a guide he walks in safety1 he feels no want1 nothing affrights him4 ,even the monsters he encounters furnish him food and healing2 the very creature which springs to devour him becomes his nourishment4 ,he is only occupied with nuptials and festivities1 for such is his present duty in the order of ,providence2 not that he is without other cares1 but they are abandoned to that divine intelligence charged to assist him in all things2 and the result of his affairs is better than he could have made it1 for everything succeeds and is crowned with prosperity4 ,yet the mother bitterly grieves1 while the father is full of faith2 but the child so sorely lamented joyfully returns to become the happiness of his family4 ,then for those souls who wholly abandon themselves to it1 divine love is the source of all good2 and an earnest desire is all that is necessary to obtain this inestimable blessing4 ,yes1 dear souls1 ,god asks but your heart2 if you seek you will find this treasure1 this kingdom where ,god alone reigns4 ,if your heart be wholly devoted to ,god1 within it you will find the treasure1 the kingdom itself1 which is the object of your desires4 ,the moment we desire ,god and ,his will1 that moment we enjoy them1 and our enjoyment corresponds to the ardor of our desires4 ,the earnest desire to love ,god is loving ,him4 ,because we love ,him we desire to be the instruments of ,his action1 that ,his love may freely operate in us and through us4 ,the work of the divine action is not in proportion to the capacity of a simple holy soul1 but to her purity of intention2 nor does it correspond to the means she adopts1 the projects she forms1 the counsel she follows4 ,the soul may err in all these1 and this not rarely happens2 but with a good will and pure intention she can never be misled4 ,when ,god sees this good disposition ,he overlooks all the rest1 and accepts as done what the soul would assuredly do if circumstances seconded her good will4 ,therefore a good will has nothing to fear2 if it falter1 it can but fall under that all-powerful ,hand which guides and sustains it in all its wanderings4 ,it is this divine ,hand which draws it towards the goal when it has wandered therefrom1 which restores it to the path whence its feet have strayed2 it is the soul's refuge in the difficulties into which the efforts of her blind faculties lead her2 and the soul learns to despise these1 efforts to wholly abandon herself to the infallible guidance of this divine ,hand4 ,even the errors of these good souls lead them to self-abandonment2 and never will a good will find itself unaided1 for it is a dogma of faith that all things work the good of such souls4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,the ,faithful ,soul finds in ,submission to the ,will of ,god more ,force and ,strength than the ,proudest of those who resist ,him4 ,what avail the most sublime intelligence and divine revelations if we love not the will of ,god8 ,it was through these that ,lucifer perished4 ,the work of the divine action which ,god revealed to him in the mystery of the ,incarnation excited only his envy4 ,a simple soul1 on the contrary1 enlightened by faith alone1 never wearies admiring1 praising1 and loving the order of ,god1 recognizing it not only in holy things1 but even amid the greatest confusion and disorder of events4 ,a simple soul is more enlightened with a ray of pure faith than was ,lucifer by ,his sublime revelations4 ,the science of a soul faithful to her obligations1 peacefully submissive to the secret inspirations of grace1 humble and gentle with all1 is worth more than the profound wisdom which penetrates mysteries4 ,if we would learn to see but the will of ,god in the pride and cruelty of creatures1 we would always meet them with gentleness and respect4 ,whatever the consequences of their disorders1 they can never mar the divine order4 ,we must only see in creatures the will of ,god1 whose instruments they are1 and whose grace they communicate to us when we receive them with meekness and humility4 ,we have not to concern ourselves for their course1 but keep steadily on in our own2 and thus1 with gentle firmness1 we will triumph over all obstacles1 were they firmly rooted as cedars and irresistible as rocks4 ,what can resist the force of a meek1 humble1 faithful soul8 ,if we would vanquish all our adversaries1 we have but to use the weapons ,god has placed in our hands4 ,he has given them for our defence1 and there is nothing to be feared in using them4 ,we must not be cowardly but generous1 as becomes souls chosen to do ,god's work4 ,god's workings are sublime and marvellous2 and never can human action1 warring upon ,god1 resist one who is united to the divine will by the practice of meekness and humility4 ,what was ,lucifer8 ,a beautiful spirit1 more enlightened than all the others2 but a beautiful spirit rebellious against ,god and ,his will4 ,the mystery of evil is but the continuation of this rebellion in every variety of form4 ,lucifer1 as far as lies in his power1 would subvert all that ,god has done and ordained4 ,wherever he penetrates1 ,god's work is marred4 ,the greater one's learning1 science1 understanding1 the greater his danger if he possess not that foundation of piety which consists in submission to the will of ,god4 ,it is a disciplined1 submissive heart which unites us to the divine action2 without it all our goodness is but natural virtue1 and ordinarily in opposition to the order of ,god4 ,this all-powerful ,workman only recognizes the humble as ,his instruments1 and condemns the rebellious proud to serve in spite of themselves as the slaves of divine justice4 ,when ,i see a soul whose first object is ,god and submission to ,his will1 however much she may be lacking in other things1 ,i say1 ,here is a soul with great talents for serving ,god4 ,the ,blessed ,virgin and ,st4 ,joseph appear to have been after this model4 ,other gifts without this alarm me2 ,i fear to see the action of ,lucifer repeated4 ,i am on my guard1 and intrench myself in my simplicity to resist the dazzling splendor of those gifts1 of themselves so perishable and fragile4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,the ,soul abandoned to ,god learns to recognize ,his ,will even in the ,proud who resist ,him4 ,all ,creatures1 whether ,good or ,evil1 reveal ,him to her4 ,the will of ,god is the whole life of the simple soul4 ,she respects this will even in the evil actions by which the proud seek to abase her4 ,the proud despise a soul in whose eyes they are nothing2 for she sees only ,god in them and all their actions4 ,frequently they mistake her humble demeanor for awe of themselves1 when it is only a mark of her loving fear of ,god and ,his will which is present to her in the proud4 ,no1 poor foolish creatures1 the simple soul fears ye not4 ,rather1 she compassionates you4 ,it is to ,god she speaks when she seems to address you2 it is with ,him she treats2 she regards you only as ,his slaves1 or rather as shadows which veil ,him4 ,therefore1 the more overbearing you are1 the more humble she becomes2 and when you think to entrap her you find yourselves the dupes4 ,your diplomacy1 your violence1 are to her1 but favors of ,providence4 ,yes1 the proud are still an enigma which the simple soul enlightened by faith clearly reads4 ,this recognition of the divine will in all that transpires each moment within us and about us is the true science of the spiritual life2 it is a continual revelation of truth2 it is a communication with ,god incessantly renewed2 it is the enjoyment of the ,bridegroom1 not covertly1 secretly1 in the 8clefts of the rock10 in the 8vineyard10 but openly1 publicly1 without fear of creatures4 ,it is a depth of peace1 joy1 love1 and contentment with ,god1 whom we see1 or rather behold1 through faith1 living and working the perfection of each event4 ,it is the eternal paradise1 now tasted1 it is true1 only in things incomplete and veiled in obscurity2 but the ,spirit of ,god disposes all the events of this life by the fruitful omnipresence of ,his action1 and on the last day ,he will say1 ,let there be light 7,fiat lux72 and then shall be revealed the treasures of that abyss of peace and contentment with ,god which each action1 each cross1 conceals4 ,when ,god thus gives ,himself to a soul1 all that is ordinary becomes extraordinary2 therefore it is that nothing appears of the great work which is going on in the soul2 the way itself is so marvellous that it needs not the embellishment of marvels which belong not to it4 ,it is a miracle1 a revelation1 a continuous enjoyment of ,god1 interrupted only by little faults2 but in itself it is characterized by the absence of anything sensible or marvellous1 while it renders marvellous all ordinary and sensible things4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,god assures to ,faithful ,souls a ,glorious ,victory over the ,powers of ,earth and ,hell4 ,if the divine action is veiled here below by an exterior of weakness1 it is that the merit of faithful souls may be increased2 but its triumph is no less sure4 ,the history of the world is simply the history of the struggle maintained from the beginning by the powers of the world and hell with souls humbly submissive to the divine action4 ,in the conflict all the advantage seems to be on the side of the proud2 yet humility is always victorious4 ,this world is represented to us under the form of a statue of gold1 brass1 iron1 and clay4 ,this mystery of iniquity which was shown in a dream to ,nebuchadnezzar is but the confused assemblage of all the acts1 interior and exterior1 of the children of darkness4 ,these are again represented by the beast coming up out of the abyss from the beginning of all ages1 to make war upon the interior and spiritual man2 and this war still continues4 ,the monsters succeed one another2 the abyss swallows them and vomits them forth again1 while unceasingly emitting new and strange vapors4 ,the combat begun in heaven between ,lucifer and ,st4 ,michael still wages4 ,the heart of that proud and envious spirit has become an inexhaustible abyss of every kind of evil2 and his only aim since the creation of the world has been to ever raise up among men new workers of iniquity to replace those swallowed up in the abyss4 ,lucifer is the chieftain of those who refuse obedience to the ,almighty2 this mystery of iniquity is but the inversion of the order of ,god4 ,it is the order1 or rather the disorder1 of ,satan4 ,this disorder is a mystery1 for beneath a fair exterior it hides irremediable infinite evils4 ,all the wicked who have declared war against ,god1 from ,cain to those who now lay waste the earth1 have been seemingly great and powerful princes1 famous in the world and worshipped of men4 ,but their apparent splendor is a portion of the mystery2 they are but the beasts which1 one after another1 rise from the abyss to subvert the order of ,god4 ,but this order1 which is another mystery1 resists them with men truly powerful and great1 who give the death-blow to these monsters2 and even as hell vomits forth new monsters1 heaven raises up new heroes to battle with them4 ,ancient history1 sacred and profane1 is but the record of this war4 ,the will of ,god always triumphs4 ,his followers share ,his victories and reap a happy eternity4 ,but iniquity can never protect its followers1 and the deserters from ,god's cause reap death1 eternal death4 ,the wicked ever believe themselves invincible2 but oh1 my ,god1 who shall resist ,thee6 ,were the powers of earth and hell ranged against one single soul1 she would have naught to fear in abandoning herself to the will of ,god4 ,that apparent might and irresistible power of iniquity1 that head of gold1 that body of silver1 brass1 and iron1 is but a phantom of glittering dust4 ,a pebble overthrows it and makes it the sport of the winds4 ,how admirable is the work of the ,holy ,spirit throughout all ages6 ,the revolutions which irresistibly carry men along with them1 the brilliant heroes heralded with so much pomp1 who shine like stars above the rest of mankind1 the marvels of the age1 are all but as the dream of ,nebuchadnezzar1 which at his awakening fled with all its terrors4 ,all these things are only sent to exercise the courage of the children of ,god2 and when their virtue is proved and confirmed1 ,he permits them to overcome these monsters1 and continues to send new warriors into the field4 ,so that this life is a continual warfare which exercises the courage of the saints on earth1 and causes joy in heaven and confusion in hell4 ,thus all opposition to the will1 the order of ,god1 serves but to render it more adorable4 ,the servers of iniquity are the slaves of justice1 and from the ruins of ,babylon the divine action builds the heavenly ,jerusalem4 ,,appendix4 ,our readers will be grateful to us for adding to ,father ,caussade's treatise a few methods which facilitate the practice of abandonment4 ,to recommend these methods it suffices to say that their authors are ,st4 ,francis de ,sales1 ,saint ,jane ,frances de ,chantal1 ,bossuet1 and ,father ,surin4 ,i4 ,a very easy ,means of acquiring ,peace of ,heart4 ,,by ,,father ,,surin1 ,s4 ,j4 ,it seems to me that the multiplicity of methods we employ to acquire and practise virtue is one of the obstacles to our being solidly established therein4 ,not that ,i counsel being so irrevocably bound to one method that we are not ready to change when ,god's attraction changes4 ,but1 after all1 this attraction at bottom never changes1 and only presents itself under a more spiritual form4 ,they who will be faithful to the following rules will have no difficulty in practising the virtues appropriate to the circumstances1 the time1 and the place in which they find themselves1 and in relishing in the exercise of these virtues the peace and holy liberty of the children of ,god4 #ast4 ,let us be fully convinced that we have but one thing to do3 to possess each moment the fulness of our mind1 without permitting the reasonable will to uselessly recall the past or excite vain anxieties concerning the future4 ,true abandonment1 which makes ,god look upon us with love1 consists in leaving the past to ,his ever merciful justice1 and in confiding the future to ,his fatherly ,providence4 ,the remembrance of our past infidelities should humble but not trouble us1 though we were convinced that they are much more serious than they appear4 ,in regard to the future1 let us place no trust whatever in our strength and the sentiments of devotion we may experience2 let us place all our trust in ,jesus alone1 however contrary sensible impressions may be4 ,relying on this foundation1 it is no presumption to feel ourselves stronger than earth and hell2 and the greater this confidence1 the more it honors ,jesus ,christ1 and the more it disposes ,his goodness to succor us in all our needs4 #b;d4 ,we shall sanctify the present moment by renewing as frequently as we shall feel it needful the act of recollection which we must have made the first time with all the fervor of which we are capable2 but this recollection should be very peaceful and dwell in the depths of the soul more than in the sensible part4 #c;d4 ,we can remain faithful to this recollection only on condition that we frequently examine the interior and exterior condition of our soul4 ,as soon as we discover in her any irregularity1 however small1 or in any degree displeasing to ,god1 we should proceed to restore order with a heart as tranquil as if we had never failed1 without disquieting ourselves with reflections springing from self-love1 vexation at the fault committed1 or from a pretext of livelier contrition4 ,these sentiments can only retard our progress in virtue2 for1 while the soul amuses itself caressing its chagrin and probing its past faults1 this useless introspection paralyzes its action and disposes it to new falls4 ,a peaceful regret for time ill employed1 united with an earnest endeavor to make better use of the present moment1 is the true character of love of ,god4 #dth4 ,the quickest means of attaining peace of heart is love of our own abjection and miseries1 voluntary offence against ,god1 however1 excepted4 ,this love of one's personal abjection derives profit from everything1 even from falls1 which should never discourage us4 ,a soul that loves her own abjection laughs at discouragement and combats it with all her strength4 ,content to be of herself but impotence and misery1 she rejoices that ,jesus ,christ possesses the fulness of all perfection1 and that she cannot do without ,him an instant4 ,she would not1 were it in her power1 will to have any strength of herself1 for her radical impotence for all good and her unceasing need of ,jesus ,christ set forth ,his divine attributes to greater advantage4 ,this is the sole contentment of a soul that seeks only the glory of ,god4 ,in this peaceful1 humble way we advance in purity of divine love1 and in the extermination of our bad habits more rapidly in a week than we would in a year of unquiet vigilance4 ,very little experience of ,god's way will convince us of this4 ,for self-love is the motive and end of those who yield to disquiet1 while those who proceed with the calmness of which we have spoken rely on ,jesus ,christ4 ,now1 it is most evident that seeking only ,god's interest always gives strength1 and that egotism1 even spiritual egotism1 being a disorder1 is weakening4 #eth4 ,the perfection of order is to be found in the complete fusion of our interests with those of ,god4 ,therefore he who remains faithful to this sweet habit is not astonished to see himself assailed by every form of temptation2 he bears the weary burden of them as the natural fruit of his misery1 maintains in the depth of his heart a resigned acquiescence1 and courageously drags this weary chain of his past without permitting himself to be troubled or cast down by the memory of his iniquities4 ,when this thought assails him1 he loses no time examining whence it came1 nor how long it has lasted1 for such an examination would be in itself a new distraction1 more voluntary and injurious than the first2 he is satisfied with humbling himself at sight of this infidelity1 which1 wholly involuntary as it is1 proves1 nevertheless1 that his heart is not wholly fixed upon ,god4 ,disquietude in this case being a mark of self-love1 we must return to ,god and seek peace in love of our own abjection4 #fth4 ,we must follow the same rule in our relations with our neighbor1 and cause him to feel the truth of these words of our ,saviour3 8,my yoke is sweet1 and ,my burden light40 ,no one who takes this yoke upon himself can fail to realize these words1 for they are the utterance of eternal ,truth4 ,the practice of which we have just spoken will inevitably cause us to taste its sweetness4 #gth4 ,when this feeling of disquiet has passed1 and peace of mind is restored1 it is well then to recall our past faults in order to humble and reprove ourselves4 ,there is no one who should not feel the need of doing this1 so great is the depth of our pride and self-love which never die1 and never cease alas6 to produce new fruits4 ,if we neglect this very important point1 the foundation of our virtues will inevitably lose its solidity4 ,when1 on the contrary1 we persevere in this habit1 we always conceive a greater esteem for our neighbor2 unfavorable appearances no longer lead us to judge rashly1 and we only condemn ourselves1 for1 recognizing our nothingness and sinfulness1 we place ourselves under the feet of all4 #hth4 ,in considering our past faults1 we must first see how we could have avoided falling2 then with a tranquil heart lay before ,jesus our misery and the will to be faithful to ,him which ,he gives us2 finally1 we must not vainly amuse ourselves with estimating the difficulty or the facility we experience in doing good4 ,we must not go to ,god circuitously1 but unceasingly rouse ourselves to that pure and generous disinterestedness which will lead us directly to ,his most loving and adorable ,majesty4 ,,ii4 ,on ,perfect ,abandonment4 ,,by ,,bossuet4 ,when we are truly abandoned to ,god's will1 we are ready for all that may come to us3 we suppose the worst that can be supposed1 and we cast ourselves blindly on the bosom of ,god4 ,we forget ourselves1 we lose ourselves3 and this entire forgetfulness of self is the most perfect penance we can perform2 for all conversion consists only in truly renouncing and forgetting ourselves1 to be occupied with ,god and filled with ,him4 ,this forgetfulness of self is the martyrdom of self-love2 it is its death1 and an annihilation which leaves it without resources3 then the heart dilates and is enlarged4 ,we are relieved by casting from us the dangerous weight of self which formerly overwhelmed us4 ,we look upon ,god as a good ,father who leads us1 as it were1 by the hand in the present moment2 and all our rest is in humble and firm confidence in ,his fatherly goodness4 ,if anything is capable of making a heart free and unrestrained1 it is perfect abandonment to ,god and ,his holy will3 this abandonment fills the heart with a divine peace more abundant than the fullest and vastest floods4 ,if anything can render a mind serene1 dissipate the keenest anxieties1 soften the bitterest pains1 it is assuredly this perfect simplicity and liberty of a heart wholly abandoned to the hands of ,god4 ,the unction of abandonment gives a certain vigor to all the actions1 and spreads the joy of the ,holy ,spirit even over the countenance and words4 ,i will place all my strength1 therefore1 in this perfect abandonment to ,god's hands1 through ,jesus ,christ1 and ,he will be my conclusion in all things in virtue of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,amen4 ,,iii4 ,a ,short and ,easy ,method of making the ,prayer of ,faith1 and of the ,simple ,presence of ,god4 ,,by ,,bossuet4 #ast4 ,we must accustom ourselves to nourish our soul with a simple and loving thought of ,god1 and of ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord2 and to this end we must gently separate her from all discourse1 reasoning1 and a multitude of affections1 to keep her in simplicity1 respect1 and attention1 and thus bring her nearer and nearer to ,god1 her sole and sovereign good1 her first principle1 and her last end4 #b;d4 ,the perfection of this life consists in union with our ,sovereign ,good2 and the greater the simplicity1 the more perfect the union4 ,it is for this reason that those who would be perfect are interiorly solicited by grace to become simple1 that they may finally be capable of enjoying the one thing necessary--that is1 eternal unity4 ,then let us frequently say1 in the depth of our hearts3 ,o unum necessarium1 unum volo1 unum quro1 unum mihi est necessarium1 ,deus meus et omnia4 7,oh1 one thing necessary6 ,thee alone do ,i wish1 do ,i seek1 do ,i desire6 ,thou art all that ,i need1 ,o my ,god and my all67 #c;d4 ,meditation is very good in its time1 and very useful at the beginning of the spiritual life2 but we must not stop at it1 as the soul by her fidelity to mortification1 and recollection1 usually receives a purer and more intimate form of prayer which may be called the prayer of 8simplicity40 ,it consists in a simple and loving attention1 or contemplation of some divine object1 either of ,god in ,himself or some of ,his perfections1 or of ,jesus ,christ or some of ,his mysteries1 or some other of the ,christian truths4 ,then the soul1 abandoning all reasoning1 falls into a sweet contemplation which keeps her tranquil1 attentive1 and susceptible of the operations and the divine impressions which the ,holy ,spirit communicates to her3 she does little1 and receives much2 her labor is sweet1 and yet most fruitful2 and as she approaches nearer to the source of all light1 all grace1 all virtue1 she also receives more4 #dth4 ,the practice of this prayer should begin at our awakening by an act of faith in the presence of ,god1 who is everywhere1 and in ,jesus ,christ1 whose eyes never leave us though we were buried in the centre of the earth4 ,this act is made sensibly1 in the usual manner2 for example1 by saying interiorly1 8,i believe that my ,god is present20 or by a simple thought of faith in ,god present with us1 which is a purer and more spiritual act4 #eth4 ,then we must not endeavor to multiply1 or produce several other acts or various dispositions1 but remain simply attentive to this presence of ,god1 exposed to this divine radiance1 thus continuing this devout attention or exposition as long as ,god gives us the grace of it1 without being eager to make other acts than those with which we are inspired1 since this prayer is a prayer with ,god alone1 and a union which eminently contains all the other special dispositions2 and which disposes the soul to passiveness2 that is to say1 ,god becomes sole master of her interior1 and there effects more special work4 ,the less the creature labors in this state1 the more powerfully ,god acts in her2 and since the operation of ,god is a repose1 the soul1 in this prayer1 becomes in a manner like ,him1 and receives1 also1 marvellous effects2 and as the rays of the sun cause the plants to grow and blossom and bear fruit1 so the attentive soul1 exposed in tranquillity to the rays of the divine ,sun of justice1 more effectually imbibes the divine influences which enrich her with all virtues4 #fth4 ,the continuation of this attention in faith will serve her as thanksgiving for all the graces received during the night1 and throughout her life1 as an offering of herself and all her actions1 as a direction of her intention1 etc4 #gth4 ,the soul may fear to lose much by the omission of other acts1 but experience will teach her1 on the contrary1 that she gains a great deal2 for the greater her knowledge of ,god1 the greater also will be the purity of her love1 of her intentions1 the greater will be her detestation of sin1 and the greater and more continual her recollection1 mortification1 and humility4 #hth4 ,this will not prevent her from making other interior or exterior acts of virtue when she feels herself impelled thereto by grace2 but the fundamental and usual state of her interior should be that union with ,god which will keep her abandoned to ,his hands and delivered up to ,his love1 to quietly accomplish all ,his will4 #ith4 ,the time of meditation being come1 we must begin it with great respect by a simple recollection of ,god1 invoking ,his ,spirit1 and uniting ourselves intimately with ,jesus ,christ2 then continue it in this same way4 ,it will be the same with vocal prayers1 office1 and the ,holy ,sacrifice1 whether we celebrate it or assist at it4 ,even the examination of conscience should be made after no other method3 this same light which keeps our attention upon ,god will cause us to discover our slightest imperfections1 and deeply deplore and regret them4 ,we should go to table with the same spirit of simplicity which will keep us more occupied with ,god than with the repast1 and leave us free to give better attention to what is being read4 ,this practice binds us to nothing but to keep our soul detached from all imperfection1 and attached only to ,god and intimately united with ,him1 in which consists all our welfare4 #ajth4 ,we should take our recreation in the same disposition1 to give the body and mind relaxation without permitting ourselves the dissipation of curious news1 immoderate laughter1 nor any indiscreet word1 etc42 always keeping ourselves pure and free interiorly without disturbing others1 frequently uniting ourselves to ,god by a simple and loving thought of ,him2 remembering that we are in ,his presence1 and that ,he does not wish us to be separated at any moment from ,him and ,his holy will4 ,the most ordinary rule of this state of simplicity and the sovereign disposition of the soul is to do the will of ,god in all things4 ,regarding all as coming from ,god and going from all to ,god1 is what sustains and fortifies the soul in all its occupations and in all that comes to it1 and maintains us in the possession of simplicity4 ,then let us always follow the will of ,god1 after the example of ,jesus ,christ1 and united to ,him as our ,head4 ,this is an excellent means of making progress in this manner of prayer1 in order to attain through it to the most solid virtue and the most perfect sanctity4 #aath4 ,we should console ourselves in the same manner1 and preserve this simple and intimate union with ,god in all our actions--in the parlor1 in the cell1 at table1 at recreation4 ,let us add1 that in all our intercourse we should endeavor to edify our neighbor1 by taking advantage of every occasion to lead one another to piety1 the love of ,god1 the practice of good works1 in order that we may diffuse the good odor of ,jesus ,christ4 ,if any man speak1 says ,st4 ,peter1 let him speak as the words of ,god1 and as if ,god ,himself spoke through him4 ,to do this1 it suffices to follow the inspiration of the ,holy ,spirit3 ,he will inspire you as to that which is simply and unaffectedly suitable at all times4 ,finally1 we will finish the day by animating with the sentiment of this holy presence our examen1 evening prayer1 and preparations for rest2 and we will go to sleep with this loving attention1 interspersing our rest1 when we awake during the night1 with a few fervent words1 full of unction1 like so many transports1 or cries of the heart to ,god4 ,as for example3 ,my ,god1 be all things to me6 ,i desire only ,thee for time and eternity2 ,lord1 who is like unto ,thee8 ,my ,lord and my ,god2 my ,god1 and nothing more6 #abth4 ,it must be remarked that this true simplicity makes us live in a state of continual death to self and of perfect detachment1 by causing us to go with the utmost directness to ,god without stopping at any creature4 ,but this grace of simplicity is not obtained by speculation1 but by great purity of heart1 and true mortification and contempt of self4 ,he who avoids suffering1 humiliations1 and refuses to die to self1 will never have any part in it4 ,this is why there are so few who advance herein2 for few indeed are willing to leave themselves1 and they endure in consequence immense losses1 and deprive themselves of incomprehensible blessings4 ,o happy souls who spare nothing to belong wholly to ,god6 ,happy religious who faithfully follow all the observances of their institute6 ,through this fidelity they die continually to self1 to their own judgment1 to their own will1 to their inclinations and natural repugnances1 and are thus admirably though unconsciously disposed for this excellent method of prayer4 ,there is nothing more hidden than the life of a religious who follows in all things the observances and ordinary exercises of his or her community1 giving no exterior manifestation of anything extraordinary3 it is a life which is a complete and continual death2 through it the kingdom of ,god is established in us1 and all other things are liberally given us4 #acth4 ,we should not neglect the reading of spiritual books2 but we should read with simplicity1 and in a spirit of prayer1 and not through curious research4 ,we read in a spirit of prayer when we permit the lights and sentiments revealed to us through the reading to be imprinted on our souls1 and when this impression is made by the presence of ,god rather than by our industry4 #adth4 ,we must be armed1 moreover1 with two or three maxims3 first1 that a devout person without prayer is a body without a soul2 second1 that there can be no true and solid prayer without mortification1 without recollection1 without humility2 third1 that we need perseverance1 never to be disheartened by the difficulties to be encountered in this exercise4 #aeth4 ,it must be borne in mind that one of the greatest secrets of the spiritual life is that the ,holy ,spirit guides us therein1 not only by lights1 sweetness1 consolations1 and attractions1 but also by obscurities1 darkness1 insensibility1 contradictions1 anguish1 revolts of the passions1 and inclinations4 ,i say1 moreover1 that this crucified way is necessary2 that it is good2 that it is the surest1 and that it leads us much more rapidly to perfection4 ,an enlightened soul dearly appreciates the guidance of ,god1 which permits her to be tried by creatures and overwhelmed with temptations and neglect2 and she fully understands that these things are favors rather than misfortunes1 preferring to die on the cross on ,calvary than live in sweetness on ,thabor4 ,experience will teach her in time the truth of these beautiful words3 ,et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis2 et mea nox obscurum non habet2 sed omnia in luce clarescunt4#b ,the soul1 after her purification in the ,purgatory of suffering through which she must necessarily pass1 will enjoy light1 rest1 and joy through intimate union with ,god1 who will make this world1 exile as it is1 a paradise for her4 ,the best prayer is that in which we most freely abandon ourselves to the sentiments and dispositions which ,god gives the soul1 and in which we study with most simplicity1 humility1 and fidelity to conform ourselves to ,his will and to the example of ,jesus ,christ4 #b ,and night shall be my light in my pleasures1 and my night knoweth no darkness1 but all things shine in light4 ,great ,god1 who by a series of marvellous and special circumstances didst provide from all eternity for the composition of this little work1 permit not that certain minds1 some of which are to be found among scholars and others among spiritual persons1 ever be accused before ,thy dread tribunal of having contributed in any way to close ,thee the entrance to innumerable hearts1 because ,thou didst will to enter them in a manner the very simplicity of which shocked them1 and by a way which1 opened as it was by the saints since the first ages of the ,church1 was not yet1 perhaps1 sufficiently known to them3 grant rather that all of us becoming as little children1 as our ,lord commands1 we may enter upon this way1 in order to teach it more safely and efficaciously to others4 ,amen4 ,,iv4 ,exercise of ,loving ,union of our ,will with that of ,god4 ,,by ,,st4 ,,francis ,,de ,,sales4 #ast ,point4 ,kneeling in deepest humility before the ineffable majesty of ,god1 adore ,his sovereign goodness which from all eternity called you by your name1 and resolved to save you1 as ,he assures you in these words of the ,prophet3 8,i have loved thee with an everlasting love2 therefore have ,i drawn thee1 taking pity on thee20 and destined for you1 among other means1 this present day1 which you can employ in works of salvation and life4 #b;d ,point4 ,with this thought so full of truth1 unite your will to that of your heavenly ,father1 so good and so merciful1 in the following or similar words1 from the depth of your heart3 ,o sweet will of ,god1 be ever accomplished6 ,o eternal designs of the divine will1 ,i adore ,thee2 ,i consecrate and dedicate my will to ,thee2 to ever will what ,thou hast willed from all eternity4 ,may ,i accomplish to-day1 and always1 and in all things ,thy divine will1 ,o my loving ,creator6 ,yes1 heavenly ,father1 according to ,thy good pleasure from all eternity1 and forever6 ,amen6 ,o infinite ,goodness1 may it be as ,thou hast willed6 ,o eternal ,will1 live and reign in my will1 now and forever6 #c;d ,point4 ,invoke again the divine assistance thus3 ,o ,god1 come to my aid2 let ,thy strengthening hand confirm my poor1 weak courage6 ,behold1 ,o my ,saviour1 this poor1 miserable heart has conceived1 through ,thy goodness1 several holy affections2 but alas6 it is too weak and wretched to execute the good it desires4 ,i beg the intercession of the ,blessed ,virgin1 of my good angel1 and of all the heavenly court4 ,may their assistance be given me according to ,thy good pleasure4 #dth ,point4 ,make1 then1 in this way a strong and loving union of your will with that of ,god2 and in the midst of the temporal and spiritual actions of the day frequently renew this union which you have established in the morning1 by simply casting an interior glance upon the divine ,goodness1 saying by way of acquiescence3 8,yes1 ,lord1 ,i wish it2 yes1 my ,father1 yes2 always yes60 ,you can also1 if you wish1 make the sign of the cross1 or kiss the cross of your rosary1 your medal1 or some pious picture2 for all this will signify that you remit yourself to the ,providence of ,god1 that you adore it1 that you love it with all your heart1 that you unite your will irrevocably to that supreme will4 #eth4 ,but these whisperings of the heart1 these interior words1 should be uttered peacefully and firmly2 they should be distilled1 so to speak1 softly and lovingly in the depths of the mind2 and as we whisper in the ear of a friend a word which we desire should penetrate his heart alone1 thus these whisperings will penetrate deeper and more efficaciously than these transports1 these ejaculatory prayers1 and these outbursts4 ,experience will prove this to you1 provided you are humble and simple4 ,may ,god and ,his holy ,mother be praised6 ,v4 ,act of ,abandonment4 ,,by ,,st4 ,,jane ,,frances ,,de ,,chantal4 ,o sovereign goodness of the sovereign ,providence of my ,god6 ,i abandon myself forever to ,thy arms4 ,whether gentle or severe1 lead me henceforth whither ,thou wilt2 ,i will not regard the way through which ,thou wilt have me pass1 but keep my eyes fixed upon ,thee1 my ,god1 who guidest me4 ,my soul finds no rest without the arms and the bosom of this heavenly ,providence1 my true ,mother1 my strength and my rampart4 ,therefore ,i resolve with ,thy divine assistance1 ,o my ,saviour1 to follow ,thy desires and ,thy ordinances1 without regarding or examining why ,thou dost this rather than that2 but ,i will blindly follow ,thee according to ,thy divine will1 without seeking my own inclinations4 ,hence ,i am determined to leave all to ,thee1 taking no part therein save by keeping myself in peace in ,thy arms1 desiring nothing except as ,thou incitest me to desire1 to will1 to wish4 ,i offer ,thee this desire1 ,o my ,god1 beseeching ,thee to bless it2 ,i undertake all it includes1 relying on ,thy goodness1 liberality1 and mercy1 with entire confidence in ,thee1 distrust of myself1 and knowledge of my infinite misery and infirmity4 ,another ,act of ,abandonment4 ,,by ,,bossuet4 ,my ,god1 who art goodness itself1 ,i adore this infinite goodness2 ,i unite myself to it1 and ,i rely upon it1 even more than upon its effects4 ,i find no good in me1 no good work done with the fidelity and perfection ,thou desirest1 nor anything which can make me pleasing to ,thee2 hence ,i place no trust in myself or in my works1 but in ,thee alone1 ,o infinite goodness1 who in one moment canst effect in me all that is needful to make me pleasing to ,thee6 ,in this belief ,i live2 and while ,i live1 to my last sigh1 ,i remit my heart1 my body1 my mind1 my soul1 and my will into ,thy divine hands4 ,o ,jesus1 only ,son of the living ,god1 who camest into the world to redeem my sinful soul1 ,i abandon it to ,thee6 ,i place ,thy precious blood1 ,thy holy death and passion1 and ,thy adorable wounds1 and particularly that of ,thy ,sacred ,heart1 between ,thy divine justice and my sins2 and thus ,i live in the faith and hope ,i have in ,thee1 ,o ,son of ,god1 who hast loved me and given ,thyself for me4 ,amen4 ,another ,act of ,abandonment4 ,,by ,,venerable ,,father ,,pignatelli4 ,o my ,god1 ,i know not what must come to me to-day2 but ,i am certain that nothing can happen me which ,thou hast not foreseen1 decreed1 and ordained from all eternity3 that is sufficient for me4 ,i adore ,thy impenetrable and eternal designs1 to which ,i submit with all my heart2 ,i desire1 ,i accept them all1 and ,i unite my sacrifice to that of ,jesus ,christ1 my divine ,saviour2 ,i ask in ,his name1 and through ,his infinite merits1 patience in my trials1 and perfect and entire submission to all that comes to me by ,thy good pleasure4 ,amen4 ,an ,act of ,confidence in ,god4 ,,by ,,rev4 ,,claude ,,de ,,la ,,colombiere1 ,s4,j4 ,my ,god1 ,i believe so firmly that ,thou watchest over all who hope in ,thee1 and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon ,thee in all things1 that ,i am resolved for the future to have no anxieties1 and to cast all my cares upon ,thee4 8,in peace in the self-same ,i will sleep and ,i will rest2 for ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 singularly hast settled me in hope40 ,men may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors2 sickness may take from me my strength and the means of serving ,thee2 ,i may even lose ,thy grace by sin3 but my trust shall never leave me2 ,i will preserve it to the last moment of my life1 and the powers of hell shall seek in vain to wrest it from me4 8,in peace in the self-same ,i will sleep and ,i will rest40 ,let others seek happiness in their wealth1 in their talents2 let them trust to the purity of their lives1 the severity of their mortifications1 to the number of their good works1 the fervor of their prayers2 as for me1 ,o my ,god1 in my very confidence lies all my hope4 8,for ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 singularly hast settled me in hope40 ,this confidence can never be vain4 8,no one has hoped in the ,lord and has been confounded40 ,i am assured1 therefore1 of my eternal happiness1 for ,i firmly hope for it1 and all my hope is in ,thee4 8,in ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 have ,i hoped2 let me never be confounded40 ,i know1 alas6 ,i know but too well that ,i am weak and unstable2 ,i know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue4 ,i have seen stars fall from heaven1 and pillars of the firmament totter2 but these things alarm me not4 ,while ,i hope in ,thee ,i am sheltered from all misfortune1 and ,i am sure that my trust shall endure1 for ,i rely upon ,thee to sustain this unfailing hope4 ,finally1 ,i know that my confidence cannot exceed ,thy bounty1 and that ,i shall never receive less than ,i have hoped for from ,thee4 ,therefore ,i hope that ,thou wilt sustain me against my evil inclinations2 that ,thou wilt protect me against the most furious assaults of the evil one1 and that ,thou wilt cause my weakness to triumph over my most powerful enemies4 ,i hope that ,thou wilt never cease to love me1 and that ,i shall love ,thee unceasingly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes ,obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected4 ,variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged4 ,the reference to the ,quietests in the ,preface has been corrected to ,quietists4 ,italics are represented thus italic4