HEART AND LIFE BOOKLETS. No 14.
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Printed in Great Britain by Ebenezer Baylis
& Son Ltd.,
The Trinity Press, Worcestor, and London
This little book has
exercised a very great influence in both secular and religious
circles. It was published at the suggestion of a friend. Madame
Guyon thus speaks of it
It immediately won a great notoriety, five or six editions being required in a very short time. It became the storm-centre in France for a number of years, and was directly the cause of Madame Guyon being attacked and defended by some of the most brilliant writers of her day. Bossuet opposed, and Fénelon as vigorously, and ultimately with complete success, supported the gentle authoress. In the meantime the result upon Madame Guyon was imprisonment in the Bastille!
It has, too, had weighty effect upon English History, particularly in its influence upon the school of modern Christian Mysticism.
The reader is advised that the versions of the Bible to which Madame Guyon in 1685 had opportunity of access were not the same as theirs of to-day, and therefore oftentimes discrepancies apparently occur in her quotations from the Bible. Very often, too, she is quoting direct from the Vulgate.
This little treatise, conceived in great simplicity, was not originally intended for publication: it was written for a few individuals, who were desirous to love God with their whole heart; some of whom, because of the profit they received in reading the manuscript, wished to obtain copies of it; and on this account alone, it was committed to the press.
It still remains in its original simplicity, without any censure on the various Divine Leadings of others: and we submit the whole to the judgment of those who are skilled and experienced in Divine matters; requesting them, however, not to decide without first entering into the main design of the Author, which is to induce the world to love God and to serve Him with comfort and success, in a simple and easy manner, adapted to those who are unqualified for learned and deep researches, and are, indeed, incapable of anything but a hearty desire to be truly devoted to God.
An unprejudiced reader may find hidden under the most common expressions, a secret unction, which will excite him to seek after that Sovereign Good, whom all should wish to enjoy.
In speaking of the attainment of perfection, the word
Facility is used, because
God is indeed found with facility when we
seek Him within ourselves. But, in contradiction to this, some
perhaps may urge that passage in S. John, “Ye shall seek
me, and shall not find me” (
A life of devotion appears so formidable, and the Spirit of Prayer of such difficult attainment, that most persons are discouraged from taking a single step towards it. The difficulties inseparable from all great undertakings are, indeed, either nobly surmounted, or left to subsist in all their terrors, just as success is the object of despair or hope. I have therefore endeavoured to show the facility of the method proposed in this treatise, the great advantages to be derived from it, and the certainty of their attainment by those that faithfully persevere.
O were we once truly sensible of the goodness of God toward His poor creatures, and of His infinite desire to communicate Himself unto them, we should not allow imaginary difficulties to affright us, nor despair of obtaining that good which He is so earnest to bestow: “He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not, with him, also freely give us all things?” (
If any think that God is not easily to be found in this way of Simple Love and Pure Adherence, let them not, on my testimony, alter their opinion, but rather make trial of it, and their own experience will convince them that the reality far exceeds all my representations of it.
Beloved reader, peruse this little treatise with a humble, sincere
and candid spirit, and not with an inclination to cavil and
criticize, and you will not fail
Without setting up our opinions above those of others, we mean only, with truth and candour, to declare, from our own experience and the experience of others, the happy effects produced by thus Simply Following our Lord.
As this treatise was intended only to instruct in Prayer, there are many things which we respect and esteem, totally omitted, as not immediately relative to our main subject: it is, however, certain, that nothing will be found herein to offend, provided it be read in the spirit with which it was written; and it is still more certain, that those who in right earnest make trial of the way, will find we have written the Truth.
It is Thou alone, O Holy Jesus, who lovest simplicity and innocence,
“and whose delight is to dwell with the children of men”
(
To Thee be all the Glory!
What a dreadful delusion hath prevailed over the greater part of mankind, in supposing that they are not called to a state of prayer! whereas all are capable of prayer, and are called thereto, as all are called to and are capable of salvation.
Prayer is the application of the heart to God, and the internal exercise of love. S. Paul
hath enjoined us to “pray without ceasing” (
Let all pray: we should live by prayer, as we should live by love.
“I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that ye may be
rich” (
Come, ye poor afflicted ones, who groan beneath your load of
wretchedness and pain, and ye shall find ease and comfort!
Come, ye sick, to your Physician, and be not fearful of
approaching Him because ye are
Children, draw near to your Father, and He will embrace you in the arms of love! Come, ye poor, stray, wandering sheep, return to your Shepherd! Come, sinners, to your Saviour! Come, ye dull, ignorant, and illiterate, ye who think yourselves the most incapable of prayer! ye are more peculiarly called and adapted thereto. Let all without exception come, for Jesus Christ hath called all.
Yet let not those come who are without a heart; they are not asked; for there must be a heart, that there may be love. But who is without a heart? O come, then, give this heart to God; and here learn how to make the donation.
All who are desirous of prayer may easily pray, enabled by those ordinary graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which are common to all men.
Prayer is the guide to perfection and the sovereign good; it delivers us from every vice, and obtains us every virtue; for the one great means to become perfect, is to walk in the presence of God: He Himself hath said, “walk in my presence and be ye perfect” (
You must then learn a species of prayer, which may be exercised at all times; which doth not obstruct outward employments; and which may be equally practiced by princes, kings, prelates, priests and magistrates, soldiers and children, tradesmen, labourers, women and sick persons: it cannot, therefore, be the prayer of the head, but of the heart; not a prayer of the understanding alone, which is so limited in its operations that it can have but one object at one time; but the prayer of the heart is not interrupted by the exercises of reason: indeed nothing can interrupt this prayer, but irregular and disordered affections: and when once we have tasted of God, and the sweetness of His love, we shall find it impossible to relish aught but Himself?
Nothing is so easily obtained as the possession and enjoyment of God, for “in him we live, move, and have our being;” and He is more desirous to give Himself into us, than we can be to receive Him.
All consists in the manner of seeking Him; and to seek aright, is easier and more natural to us than breathing. Though you think yourselves ever so stupid, dull, and incapable of sublime attainments, yet, by prayer, you may live in God Himself with less difficulty or interruption than you live in the vital air. Will it not then be highly sinful to neglect prayer? But this I trust you will not, when you have learnt the method, which is exceedingly easy.
There are two ways of introducing a soul into prayer, which should for some time be pursued; the one is Meditation, the other is Reading accompanied with Meditation.
Meditative Reading is the choosing some important practical or speculative truth, always preferring the practical, and proceeding thus: whatever truth you have chosen, read only a small portion of it, endeavouring to taste and digest it, to extract the essence and substance thereof, and proceed no farther while any savour or relish remains in the passage: when this subsides, take up your book again and proceed as before, seldom reading more than half a page at a time, for it is not the quantity that is read, but the manner of reading, that yields us profit.
Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by
only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to
penetrate into it, and extract its sweets. Much reading is rather for
scholastic subjects than divine truths: indeed, to receive real
profit from spiritual books, we must read
Meditation, which is the other method, is to be practiced at an appropriated season, and not in the time of reading. I believe the best manner of meditating is as follows:—When, by an act of lively faith, you are placed in the Presence of God, recollect some truth wherein there is substance and food; pause gently and sweetly thereon, not to employ the reason, but merely to calm and fix the mind: for you must observe, that your principal exercise should ever be the Presence of God; your subject, therefore, should rather serve to stay the mind, than exercise the understanding.
From this procedure, it will necessarily follow, that the lively faith in a God immediately present in our inmost soul, will produce an eager and vehement pressing inwardly into ourselves, and a restraining all our senses from wandering abroad: this serves to extricate us speedily from numberless distractions, to remove us far from external objects, and to bring us nigh unto our God, Who is only to be found in our inmost centre, which is the Holy of Holies wherein He dwelleth.
He hath even promised “to come and make his abode with him
that doth his will” (
When we are thus fully introverted, and warmly penetrated
throughout with a living sense of the Divine Presence; when the
senses are all recollected, and withdrawn from the circumference to
the centre, and the soul is sweetly and silently employed on the
truths we have read, not in reasoning, but in feeding thereon, and in
animating the will by affection, rather than fatiguing the
understanding by study; when, I say, the affections are in this
state, which, however difficult it may appear at first, is, as I
shall hereafter show, easily attainable; we must allow them sweetly
I have mentioned that our direct and principal exercise should consist in the contemplation of the Divine Presence: we should be also exceedingly watchful and diligent in recalling our dissipated senses, as the most easy method of overcoming distractions; for a direct contest and opposition only serves to irritate and augment them; whereas, by sinking down under a sense and perception of a present God, and by simply turning inwards, we wage insensibly a very advantageous, though indirect war with them.
It is proper here to caution beginners against wandering from truth to truth, and from subject to subject: the right way to penetrate every divine truth, to enjoy its full relish, and to imprint it on the heart, is dwelling on it whilst its savour continues.
Though recollection is difficult in the beginning, from the habit the soul has acquired of being always from home; yet, when by the violence it hath done itself, it becometh a little accustomed to it, it will soon be rendered perfectly easy, and become delightful. Such is the experimental taste and sense of His Presence, and such the efficacy of those graces, which that God bestows, Whose One Will towards His creatures is to communicate Himself unto them!
Those who have not learnt to read, are not, on that account, excluded from prayer; for the Great Book which teacheth all things, and which is legible as well internally as externally, is Jesus Christ Himself.
The method they should practice is this: They should first learn this fundamental truth, that “the kingdom of God is within them” (
It is as incumbent on the Clergy, to instruct their parishioners in prayer, as in their catechism. It is true, they tell them the end of their creation; but should they not also give them sufficient instructions how they may attain it? They should be taught to begin by an act of profound adoration and abasement before God; and closing the corporeal eyes, endeavour to open those of the soul: they should then collect themselves inwardly, and, by a lively faith in God, as dwelling within them, pierce into the Divine Presence; not suffering the senses to wander abroad, but withholding them as much as may be in due subjection.
They should then repeat the Lord's Prayer in their native tongue, pondering a little upon the meaning of the words, and the infinite willingness of that God Who dwells within them, to become, indeed, their Father. In this state let them pour out their wants before Him; and when they have pronounced the endearing word, Father, remain a few moments in a respectful silence, waiting to have the will of this their heavenly Father made manifest unto them.
Again, beholding themselves in the state of a feeble child, sorely
bruised by repeated falls, and defiled in the mire, destitute of
strength to keep up, or of power to cleanse himself, they should
lay their deplorable situation open to their Father's view in
humble confusion; now sighing out a few words of love and
If they feel an inclination to peace and silence, let them
discontinue the words of the prayer so long as this sensation holds;
and when it subsides, go on with the second petition,
“Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven!” upon which these humble supplicants must beseech God to accomplish, in them, and
by them, all His will; and must surrender their hearts
and freedom into His hands, to be disposed of as He
pleaseth. And finding that the best employment of
the will is to love, they should desire to love God
with all their strength, and implore Him for His pure love;
but all this sweetly and peacefully: and so of
the rest of the prayer, in which the Clergy may
instruct them. But they should not overburden
themselves with frequent repetitions of set forms
or studied prayers (
At other times they should place themselves as sheep before their Shepherd, looking up to Him for their true substantial food: “O Divine Shepherd, Thou feedest Thy flock with Thyself, and art, indeed, their daily nourishment!” They may also represent unto Him the necessities of their families: but all upon this principle, and in this one great view of faith, that God is within them.
The ideas we form of the Divine Being fall infinitely short of what He is: a lively faith in His presence is sufficient: for we must not form any image of the Deity; though we may of the Second Person in the ever-blessed Trinity, beholding Him in the various states of His Incarnation, from His Birth to His Crucifixion, or in some other state or mystery, provided the soul always seeks for those views in its inmost ground or centre.
Again, we may look to Him as our Physician, and present to His healing influence all our maladies; but always without violence or perturbation, and from time to time with pauses of silence, that being intermingled with the action, the silence may be gradually extended, and our own exertion lessened; till at length, by continually yielding to God's operations, they gain the complete ascendancy; as shall be hereafter explained.
When the Divine Presence is granted us, and we gradually relish silence and repose, this experimental feeling and taste of the Presence of God introduces the soul into the second degree of prayer, which, by proceeding in the manner I have described, is attainable as well by the illiterate as the learned: some favoured souls, indeed, are indulged with it, even from the beginning.
Some call the second degree of prayer, “The Prayer of Contemplation,” “The Prayer of Faith and Stillness,” and others call it, “The Prayer of Simplicity.” I shall here use this latter appellation, as being more just than any of the former, which imply a much more exalted state of prayer than that I am now treating of.
When the soul has been for some time exercised in
the way I have mentioned, it finds that it is gradually
enabled to approach God with facility; that recollection
is attended with much less difficulty; and that
prayer becomes easy, sweet and delightful; it knows
that this is the true way of finding God; and feels
“his name is as ointment poured forth”
(
First, as soon as the soul by faith places itself in the Presence of God, and becomes recollected before Him, let it remain thus for a little time in a profound and respectful silence.
But if, at the beginning, in forming the act of faith, it feels some little pleasing sense of the Divine Presence; let it remain there without being troubled for a subject, and proceed no farther, but carefully cherish this sensation while it continues: as soon as it abates, the will may be excited by some tender affection; and if by the first moving thereof, it finds itself reinstated in sweet peace, let it there remain: the smothered fire must be gently fanned; but as soon as it is kindled, we must cease that effort, lest we extinguish it by our own activity.
I would warmly recommend it to all, never to finish prayer, without remaining some little time after in a respectful silence. It is also of the greatest importance for the soul to go to prayer with courage, and such a pure and disinterested love, as seeks nothing from God, but the ability to please Him, and to do His will: for a servant who only proportions his diligence to his hope of reward, renders himself unworthy of all reward.
Go then to prayer, not that ye may enjoy spiritual delights, but that ye may be either full or empty, just as it pleaseth God: this will preserve you in an evenness of spirit, in desertion as well as in consolation, and prevent your being surprised at aridity or the apparent repulses of God.
Though
God hath no other desire than to impart
Himself to the loving soul that seeks Him, yet He
frequently conceals Himself that the soul may be
roused from sloth, and impelled to seek Him with
fidelity and love. But with what abundant goodness
At these seasons we are apt to believe, either that
it proves our fidelity, and evinces a greater ardour of
affection, to seek Him by an exertion of our own
strength and activity; or, that this exertion will
induce Him the more speedily to revisit us. No, no,
my dear souls, believe me, this is not the right procedure
in this degree of prayer; with patient love,
with self-abasement and humiliation, with the
reiterated breathings of an ardent but peaceful
affection, and with silence full of the most profound
respect, you must wait the return of the Beloved.
Thus only you will demonstrate that it is Himself
alone, and His good pleasure, that you seek; and not
the selfish delights of your own sensations. Hence it
is said, “Be not impatient in the time of dryness and
obscurity; suffer the suspension and delays of the consolations
of God; cleave unto him, and wait upon him,
patiently, that thy life may increase and be renewed”
(
Be ye, therefore, patient in prayer, though, during life, you can do naught else than wait the return of the Beloved, in deep humiliation, calm contentment, and patient resignation to His will. And yet how this most excellent prayer may be intermingled with the sighings of plaintive love! This conduct, indeed, is most pleasing to the heart of Jesus; and, above all others, will, as it were, compel Him to return.
We should now begin to abandon and give up our
whole existence unto God, from the strong and
positive conviction, that the occurrence of every
moment is agreeable to His immediate will and
permission, and just such as our state requires.
But I conjure you, my dearly beloved, who sincerely wish to give up yourselves to God, that after you have made the donation, you will not snatch yourselves back again: remember, a gift once presented, is no longer at the disposal of the donor.
Abandonment is a matter of the greatest importance
in our process; it is the key to the inner court;
so that whosoever knoweth truly how to abandon
himself, soon becomes perfect: we must, therefore,
continue steadfast and immovable therein, nor listen
to the voice of natural reason. Great faith produces
great abandonment: we must confide in God
“hoping against hope” (
Abandonment is the casting off of all selfish care,
that we may be altogether at the Divine Disposal.
All Christians are exhorted to this resignation: for
it is said to all, “Be not anxious for tomorrow, for
your Heavenly Father knoweth all that is necessary for
you” (
Our abandonment then should be as fully applied
to external as internal things, giving up all our concerns
into the hands of God, forgetting ourselves, and
thinking only of Him; by which the heart will
remain always disengaged, free, and at peace. It
is practiced by continually losing our own will in the will of God; by renouncing every particular
inclination as soon as it arises, however good it may
appear, that we may stand in indifference with
respect to ourselves, and only will that which God
from eternity hath willed; by being resigned in all
things, whether for soul or body, whether for time or
eternity; by leaving what is past in oblivion, what
is to come to Providence, and devoting the present
Be patient under all the sufferings which God is pleased to send you: if your love to Him be pure, you will not seek Him less on Calvary, than on Tabor; and, surely, He should be as much loved on that as on this, since it was on Calvary He made the greater display of His Love for you.
Be not like those, who give themselves to Him at one season, and withdraw from Him at another: they give themselves only to be caressed; and wrest themselves back again, when they come to be crucified, or at least turn for consolation to the creature.
No, beloved souls, ye will not find consolation in
aught, but in the love of the Cross, and in total
abandonment: “Whosoever favoureth not the Cross,
favoureth not the things that be of God”
(
We may be assured, that there is an internal
advancement, where there is an advancement in the
As soon as suffering presents itself, and you feel a repugnance against it, resign yourself immediately unto God with respect to it, and give yourself up to Him in sacrifice; you shall find, that, when the Cross arrives, it will not be so very burdensome, because you had disposed yourself to a willing reception of it. This, however, does not prevent your feeling its weight as some have imagined; for when we do not feel the Cross, we do not suffer it. A sensibility of sufferings constitutes a principal part of the sufferings themselves. Jesus Christ Himself was willing to suffer its utmost rigours. We often bear the Cross in weakness, at other times in strength; all should be equal to us in the will of God.
It may be objected, that, by this method, we shall
have no mysteries imprinted on our minds: but it
is quite the reverse; for it is the peculiar means of
imparting them to the soul. Jesus Christ, to whom
we are abandoned, and whom “we follow as the way,
whom we hear as the truth, and who animates us as the
life” (
In our acts of resignation, Jesus Christ frequently communicates some peculiar views or revelations of
His states: these we should thankfully receive, and
dispose ourselves for what appeareth to be His will.
Indeed, having no other choice, but that of ardently
God engages some, for whole years, in the contemplation and enjoyment of a particular mystery; the simple view or contemplation of which gathers the soul inward, provided it be faithful: but as soon as God is pleased to withdraw this view from the soul, it should freely yield to the deprivation. Some are very uneasy at feeling their inability to meditate on certain mysteries; but this disquietude hath no just foundation, since an affectionate attachment to God includes every species of devotion: for whosoever, in repose and quiet, is united to God alone, is, indeed, most excellently and effectually applied to every divine mystery: the Love of God comprehends, in itself, the love of all that appertains to Him.
It is thus we acquire virtue, with facility and certainty;
for, as God is the fountain and principle of
all virtue, we possess all in the possession of Himself;
and in proportion as we approach towards this possession,
in like proportion do we rise into the most
eminent virtues. For all virtue is but as a mask, an
outside appearance changeable as our garments, if it
doth not spring up, and issue from within; and then,
indeed, it is genuine, essential, and permanent: “The
beauty of the King's daughter proceeds from within” saith David (
What a hungering for sufferings have those souls, who thus glow with Divine Love! how prone to precipitate into excessive austerities, were they permitted to pursue their own inclinations! They think of nought save how they may please their Beloved: as their self-love abates, they neglect and forget themselves; and as their love to God increases, so do self-detestation and disregard to the creature.
O was this easy method acquired, a method so suited to all, to the dull and ignorant as well as to the acute and learned, how easily would the whole Church of God be reformed! Love only is required: “Love;” saith S. Augustine, “and then do what you please.” For when we truly love, we cannot have so much as a will to anything that might offend the Object of our affections.
I will even affirm, that, in any other way, it is next to an impossibility ever to acquire a perfect mortification of the senses and passions.
The reason is obvious; the soul gives vigour and energy to the senses, and the senses raise and stimulate the passions: a dead body has neither sensations nor passions, because its connection with the soul is dissolved.
All endeavours merely to rectify the exterior, impel
the soul yet farther outward into that about which it
is so warmly and zealously engaged. It is in these
matters that its powers are diffused and scattered
abroad: for its application being immediately
directed to austerities, and other externals, it thus
invigorates those very senses it is aiming to subdue.
The only method to effect this is inward recollection; by which the soul is turned wholly and altogether inward, to possess a Present God. If the soul directs all its vigour and energy towards this centre of its being, the simple act separates and withdraws it from the senses; the exercising all its powers internally leaves them faint and impotent; and the nearer it draws to God the farther is it separated from the senses, and the less are the passions influenced by them.
Hence it is, that those, in whom the attractions of grace are very powerful, find the outward man altogether weak and feeble, and even liable to faintings. I do not mean by this to discourage mortification; for it should ever accompany prayer, according to the strength and state of the person, or as obedience will allow. But I say that mortification should not be our principal exercise; nor should we prescribe ourselves such and such austerities, but follow simply and merely the internal attractions of grace; and being possessed and occupied with the Divine Presence (without thinking particularly on mortification) God will enable us to perform every species of it; and most assuredly He will give no relaxation to those who abide faithful in their abandonment to Him, until He has mortified in them everything that remains to be mortified.
We have only then to continue steadfast in the
utmost attention to God, and all things will be
rightly performed. All are not capable of outward
austerities, but all are capable of this. In the mortification
The soul has a double advantage by proceeding thus, for, in withdrawing from outward objects, it draws the nearer to God; and in approaching Him, besides the secret sustaining and preserving power and virtue received, it is the farther removed from sin, the nearer the approach is made; so that conversion becomes habitual.
“Be ye truly converted unto that God from whom ye
have so deeply revolted” (
For the attainment of salvation it is absolutely necessary that we should forsake outward sin and turn unto righteousness: but this alone is not perfect conversion, which consists in a total change of the whole man from an outward to an inward life.
When the soul is once turned to God a wonderful facility is found in continuing steadfast in conversion; and the longer it remains thus converted, the nearer it approaches, and the more firmly it adheres to God; and the nearer it draws to Him, of necessity it is the farther removed from the creature, which is so contrary to Him: so that it is so effectually established and rooted in its conversion that it becomes habitual, and, as it were, natural.
Now we must not suppose that this is effected by
a violent exertion of its own powers; for it is not
capable of, nor should it attempt any other co-operation
with Divine Grace, than that of endeavouring to
withdraw itself from external objects and to turn
God has an attractive virtue which draws the soul more and more powerfully to Himself, the nearer it approaches towards Him, and, in attracting, He purifies and refines it; just as with a gross vapour exhaled by the sun, which, as it gradually ascends, is rarified and rendered pure, the vapour, indeed, contributes to its exhalation only by its passiveness; but the soul co-operates with the attractions of God, by a free and affectionate correspondence. This kind of introversion is both easy and efficacious, advancing the soul naturally and without constraint, because God Himself is its centre.
Every centre has a powerfully attractive virtue; and the more pure and exalted it is, the stronger and more irresistible are its attractions. But besides the potent magnetism of the centre itself, there is, in every creature, a correspondent tendency to re-union with its peculiar centre which is vigorous and active in proportion to the spirituality and perfection of the subject.
As soon as anything is turned towards its centre its own gravitation instigates and accelerates it thereto, unless it be withheld by some invincible obstacle: a stone held in the hand is no sooner disengaged than by its own weight it falls to the earth as to its centre; so also water and fire, when unobstructed, tend and flow incessantly to their principle or centre. Now, when the soul, by its efforts to abandon outward objects, and gather itself inwards, is brought into the influence of this central tendency, without any other exertion, it falls gradually by the weight of Divine Love into its proper centre; and the more passive and tranquil it remains, and the freer from self-motion and self-exertion, the more rapidly it advances, because the energy of the central attractive virtue is unobstructed and has full liberty for action.
All our care and attention should, therefore, be to
acquire inward recollection: nor let us be discouraged
The soul that is faithful in the exercise of love and adherence to God above described, is astonished to
feel Him gradually taking possession of their whole
being: it now enjoys a continual sense of that
Presence, which is become as it were natural to it;
and this, as well as prayer, is the result of habit.
The soul feels an unusual serenity gradually being
diffused throughout all its faculties; and silence now
wholly constitutes its prayer; whilst God communicates
an intuitive love, which is the beginning of
ineffable blessedness. O that I were permitted to
pursue this subject and describe some degrees of the
endless progression of subsequent states!
We must, however, urge it as a matter of the highest
import, to cease from self-action and self-exertion,
that God Himself may act alone: He saith, by the
The case is similar here; for there is a strong and universal light which absorbs all the little distinct lights of the soul; they grow faint and disappear under its powerful influence, and self-activity is now no longer distinguishable: yet those greatly err who accuse this prayer of idleness, a charge that can arise only from inexperience. If they would but make some efforts towards the attainment of this prayer, they would soon experience the contrary of what they suppose and find their accusation groundless.
This appearance of inaction is, indeed, not the consequence of sterility and want, but of fruitfulness and abundance which will be clearly perceived by the experienced soul, who will know and feel that the silence is full and unctuous, and the result of causes totally the reverse of apathy and barrenness. There are two kinds of people that keep silence; the one because they have nothing to say, the other because they have too much: it is so with the soul in this state; the silence is occasioned by the superabundance of matter, too great for utterance.
To be drowned, and to die of thirst, are deaths
widely different; yet water may, in some sense, be
said to cause both; abundance destroys in one case,
and want in the other. So in this state the abundance
and overflowings of grace still the activity of self;
The infant hanging at the mother's breast is a lively illustration of our subject: it begins to draw the milk by moving its little lips; but when the milk flows abundantly, it is content to swallow, and suspends its suction: by doing otherwise it would only hurt itself, spill the milk, and be obliged to quit the breast.
We must act in like manner in the beginning of Prayer, by exerting the lips of the affections; but as soon as the milk of Divine Grace flows freely, we have nothing to do but, in repose and stillness, sweetly to imbibe it; and when it ceases to flow, we must again stir up the affections as the infant moves its lips. Whoever acts otherwise cannot turn this grace to advantage, which is bestowed to allure and draw the soul into the repose of Love, and not into the multiplicity of Self.
But what becometh of this child, who gently and without motion drinketh in the milk? Who would believe that it can thus receive nourishment? Yet the more peacefully it feeds, the better it thrives. What, I say, becomes of this infant? It drops gently asleep on its mother's bosom. So the soul that is tranquil and peaceful in prayer, sinketh frequently into a mystic slumber, wherein all its powers are at rest; till at length it is wholly fitted for that state, of which it enjoys these transient anticipations. In this process the soul is led naturally, without effort, art, or study.
The Interior is not a stronghold to be taken by storm and violence, but a kingdom of peace, which is to be gained only by love.
If any will thus pursue the little path I have pointed out, it will lead them to intuitive prayer. God demands nothing extraordinary nor difficult; on the contrary, He is best pleased by a simple and child-like conduct.
That which is most sublime and elevated in religion
is the easiest attained: the most necessary Sacraments
are the least difficult. It is thus also in natural
O that you would but once make the trial! how
soon would you find that all I have advanced falls
short of the reality, and that your own experience
will carry you infinitely beyond it! Is it fear that
prevents you from instantly casting yourself into
those arms of Love, which were widely extended on
the Cross only to receive you? Whence can your
fears arise? What risk do you run, in depending
solely on your God, and abandoning yourself wholly
unto Him? Ah! He will not deceive you, unless by
bestowing an abundance beyond your highest hopes:
but those who expect all from themselves will inevitably
be deceived, and must suffer this rebuke of God
by His prophet Isaiah, “Ye have wearied yourselves in the multiplicity of your ways, and have not said let us rest in peace”
(
The soul advanced thus far hath no need of any other preparation than its quietude: for now the Presence of God, which is the great effect, or rather continuation of Prayer, begins to be infused, and almost without intermission. The soul enjoys transcendent blessedness, and feels that “it no longer lives, but that Christ liveth in it”; and that the only way to find Him is introversion. No sooner do the bodily eyes close than the soul is wrapt up in Prayer: it is amazed at so great a blessing, and enjoys an internal converse, which external matters cannot interrupt.
The same may be said of this species of prayer that
is said of wisdom, “all good things come together with
“The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before him” (
Hence it is so frequently enjoined us in Sacred Writ,
to hear and be attentive to the Voice of God: of the numerous exhortations to this effect I shall quote a
few: “Hearken unto me, my people, and give ear unto
me, O my nation!” (
We should forget ourselves, and all self-interest, and listen and be attentive to the voice of our God: and these two simple actions, or rather passive dispositions, attract His love to that beauty which He Himself communicates.
Outward silence is very requisite for the cultivation
and improvement of inward; and indeed it is impossible
we should become truly internal without the
love and practice of outward silence and retirement.
God saith, by the mouth of His prophet,
“I will lead
her into solitude, and there will I speak to her heart”
(
When through imbecility or unfaithfulness we become dissipated, or as it were uncentred, it is of immediate importance to turn again gently and sweetly inward; and thus we may learn to preserve the spirit and unction of prayer throughout the day; for if prayer and recollection were wholly confined to any appointed half-hour or hour, we should reap but little fruit.
Self-examination should always precede Confession, and in the nature and manner of it should be conformable
to the state of the soul: the business of
those that are advanced to the degree of which we
now treat, is to lay their whole souls open before
God, who will not fail to enlighten them, and enable
them to see the peculiar nature of their faults. This
examination, however, should be peaceful and tranquil,
When we examine with constraint, and in the
strength of our own endeavours, we are easily deceived
and betrayed by self-love into error; “we believe the
evil good, and the good evil” (
When souls have attained to this species of prayer no fault escapes reprehension; on every commission they are instantly rebuked by an inward burning and tender confusion. Such is the scrutiny of Him who suffers no evil to be concealed; and under His purifying influence the one way is to turn affectionately to our Judge, and bear with meekness the pain and correction He inflicts. He becomes the incessant Examiner of the soul; it can now, indeed, no longer examine itself, and if it be faithful in its resignation, experience will convince the soul that it is a thousand times more effectually examined by His Divine Light than by the most active and vigorous self-inspection.
Those who tread these paths should be informed of
a matter respecting their Confession in which they
are apt to err. When they begin to give an account
of their sins, instead of the regret and contrition they
had been accustomed to feel, they find that love and
tranquillity sweetly pervade and take possession of
their souls: now those who are not properly instructed
are desirous of withdrawing from this sensation,
to form an act of contrition, because they have
heard, and with truth, that it is requisite: but they
are not aware that they lose thereby the genuine
contrition, which is this Intuitive Love, infinitely
surpassing any effect produced by self-exertion, and
comprehending the other acts in itself as in one
principal act, in much higher perfection than if they
were distinctly perceived, and varied in their sensation.
To hate sin in this manner is to hate it as God does. The purest love is that which is of His immediate operation in the soul: why should it then be so eager for action? Let it remain in the state He assigns it, agreeable to the instructions of Solomon: “Put your confidence in God; remain in quiet, where he hath placed you.”
The soul will also be amazed at finding a difficulty in calling faults to remembrance: this, however, should cause no uneasiness; first, because this forgetfulness of our faults is some proof of our purification from them; and in this degree of advancement it is best. Secondly, because when Confession is our duty God will not fail to make known to us our greatest faults, for then He Himself examines, and the soul will feel the end of examination more perfectly accomplished than it could possibly have been by the utmost exertion of its own endeavours.
These instructions, however, would be altogether unsuitable to the preceding degrees while the soul continues in its active state, wherein it is right and necessary it should in all things use the utmost industry in proportion to the degree of its advancement. It is those that have arrived at this more advanced state whom I would exhort to follow these instructions, and not to vary their one simple occupation even on approaching the Communion; they should remain in silence, and suffer God to act freely and without limitation. Who can better receive the Body and Blood of Christ than he in whom the Holy Spirit is indwelling?
If, while reading, you feel yourself recollected, lay
aside the book and remain in stillness; at all times
The soul that is called to a state of inward silence should not encumber itself with long vocal prayers; whenever it does pray vocally, and finds a difficulty therein, and an attraction to silence, it should not use constraint by persevering, but yield to the internal drawings, unless the repeating such prayers be a matter of obedience. In any other case, it is much better not to be burdened with and tied down to the repetition of set forms, but wholly given up to the leadings of the Holy Spirit; and herein, indeed, is every species of devotion inclusively fulfilled in a most eminent degree.
The soul should not be surprised at feeling itself
unable to offer up to God such petitions as it had
formerly made with freedom and facility; for now
the Spirit maketh intercession for it according to the
will of God, that “Spirit which helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought;
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with
groanings which cannot be uttered”
(
Should we either wander among externals, or sink into dissipation, or commit a fault, we must instantly turn inwards; for having departed thereby from our God, we should as soon as possible return again unto Him, and suffer in His presence whatever sensations He is pleased to impress. On the commission of a fault it is of great importance to guard against vexation and disquietude, which springs from a secret root of pride and a love of our own excellence; we are hurt by feeling what we are; and if we discourage ourselves or despond, we are the more enfeebled; and from our reflections on the fault a chagrin arises, which is often worse than the fault itself.
The truly humble soul is not surprised at defects or
failings; and the more miserable and wretched it
beholds itself, the more doth it abandon itself unto
God, and press for a nearer and more intimate alliance with Him, that it may avail itself of His eternal
strength. We should the rather be induced to act
thus, as God Himself hath said, “I will make thee understand what thou oughtest to do; I will teach thee
the way by which thou shouldst go; and I will have
mine eye continually upon thee for a guide”
(
A direct contest and struggle with distractions and temptations rather serves to augment them, and
withdraws the soul from that adherence to God,
which should ever be its principal occupation. The
surest and safest method for conquest is simply to
If we do otherwise, and in our weakness attempt to
attack our enemies, we shall frequently feel ourselves
wounded, if not totally defeated; but, by casting ourselves
into the simple Presence of God, we shall find
instant supplies of strength for our support. This
was the succour sought for by David: “I have set,”
saith he, “the Lord always before me: because he is at
my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my
heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also
shall rest in hope” (
Supplication and sacrifice
are comprehended in prayer, which, according to S. John, is
“an incense,
the smoke whereof ascendeth unto God;”
therefore it is said in the Apocalypse that “unto the Angel was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of
all Saints'' (
Prayer is the effusion of the heart in the Presence of God:
“I have poured out my soul before God”
saith the mother of Samuel. (
This is illustrated in the Canticles (i. 11) where the
spouse saith, “While the King sitteth on his couch, my
spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.” The couch
is the ground or centre of the soul; and when God
is there, and we know how to dwell with Him, and
abide in His Presence, the sacred power and influence
thereof gradually dissolves the obduration of the
soul, and, as it melteth, odours issue forth: hence it
is, that the Beloved saith of His spouse, in seeing her
soul melt when He spake, “Who is this that cometh out
of the wilderness, like pillars of smoke perfumed with
myrrh and frankincense?” (
Thus doth the soul ascend unto God, by giving up
self to the destroying and annihilating power of
Divine Love: this, indeed, is a most essential and
necessary sacrifice in the Christian religion, and that
alone by which we pay true homage to the sovereignty
of God; as it is written, “The power of the Lord is
great, and he is honoured only by the humble”
(
We should, indeed, surrender our whole being unto Christ Jesus:
and cease to live any longer in ourselves,
that He may become our life; “that being
dead, our life may be hid with Christ in God”
(
This is the prayer of truth; “It is worshipping God in spirit and in truth”
(
There are but these two truths, the All, and the Nothing; everything else is falsehood. We can pay due honour to the All of God, only in our own annihilation, which is no sooner accomplished, than He, who never suffers a void in nature, instantly fills us with Himself.
Did we but know the virtue and the blessings which the soul derives
from this prayer, we should willingly be employed therein without
ceasing. “It is the pearl of great price: it is the
hidden treasure” (
Jesus Christ assureth us, that the “Kingdom of God is
within us” (
Some persons, when they hear of the prayer of silence, falsely imagine, that the soul remains stupid, dead, and inactive. But, unquestionably, it acteth therein, more nobly and more extensively than it had ever done before; for God Himself is the mover, and the soul now acteth by the agency of His Spirit.
When S. Paul speaks of our being led by the Spirit of God, it is not meant that we should cease from
action; but that we should act through the internal agency of His
Grace. This is finely represented by the Prophet Ezekiel's vision
of the “wheels, which had a Living Spirit; and whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went; they ascended, and descended, as they were moved; for the Spirit of Life was in them, and they returned not when they went” (
This action of the soul is attended with the utmost tranquillity.
When it acts of itself, the act is forced and constrained; and,
therefore, it can the more easily perceive and distinguish it: but
when it acteth under the influence of the Spirit of Grace, its action
is so free, so easy, and so natural, that it almost seems as if it
did not act at all: “He hath set me at large, he hath delivered me, because he delighted in me” (
When the soul is in its central tendency, or, in other words, is
returned through recollection into itself; from that moment the
central attraction becomes
When a wheel rolls slowly we can easily distinguish its parts; but when its motion is rapid we can distinguish nothing. So the soul, which rests in God, hath an activity exceedingly noble and elevated, yet altogether peaceful: and the more peaceful it is, the swifter is its course; because it is proportionately given up to that Spirit, by which it is moved and directed.
This attracting spirit is no other than God
Himself, Who, in drawing us, causes us to run unto Him. How well did
the spouse understand this when she said, “Draw me, and we will
run after thee” (
Instead then of promoting idleness, we promote the highest activity
by inculcating a total dependence on the Spirit of God as our moving principle; for it is “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (
We must, therefore, forsake our multifarious activity, to re-enter the
simplicity and unity of God, in Whose image we
were originally formed. “The Spirit is one and manifold” (
We must yield ourselves to the guidance of “Wisdom, which is
more moving than any motion” (
Our activity should, therefore, consist in endeavoring to acquire and maintain such a state as may
be most susceptible of Divine impressions, most flexile to all the operations of the
Eternal Word.
Whilst a tablet is unsteady, the painter is unable to delineate a true copy: so every act of our own selfish and proper spirit is productive of false and erroneous lineaments; it interrupts the work, and defeats the design of this adorable Painter; we must then remain
As all action is estimable only in proportion to the dignity of the
efficient principle, this action is incontestably more noble than
any other. Actions produced by a Divine principle, are Divine; but
creaturely actions, however good they appear, are only human, or at
best virtuous, even when accompanied by Grace. Jesus Christ saith, He
hath the Life in Himself. All other beings have only a borrowed life;
but the Word hath the Life in Himself, and being communicative of His
nature He desireth to communicate it to man. We should, therefore,
make room for the influx of this Life, which can only be done by the
ejection of the Adamical life, the suppression of the activity of
self. This is agreeable to the assertion of S. Paul: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new!” (
Instead, therefore, of prohibiting activity, we enjoin it; but in absolute dependence on the Spirit of God, that His activity may take place of our own. This can only be effected by the concurrence of the creature; and this concurrence can only be yielded by moderating and restraining our own activity, that the activity of God may gradually gain the ascendancy, and finally absorb all that is ours as distinguishable from it.
Jesus Christ hath exemplified this in the Gospel: Martha did what was
right; but because she did it in her own spirit Christ rebuked her.
The spirit of man is restless and turbulent; for which reason it does
little, though it would appear to do much. “Martha,”
saith Christ, “thou art careful
and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful; and Mary
hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from
her” (
This shows us how necessary it is to renounce ourselves and all our own activity, to follow Jesus Christ; and we cannot follow Him without being animated with His Spirit. Now that His Spirit may gain admission in us it is necessary that our own proper spirit should be first expelled: “He that is joined unto the Lord,” saith S. Paul, “is one spirit with him” (
Divine Union has its commencement, its progression, and its consummation. It is first an inclination and tendency towards God: when the soul is introverted in the manner before described, it gets within the influence of the central attraction, and acquires an eager desire after Union: on a nearer approach unto God, it adheres to Him; and growing stronger and stronger in its adhesion, it finally becomes one; that is, “One Spirit with Him:” and it is thus that the spirit which had wandered and strayed from God, returns again to its proper source.
Into this process, which is the Divine motion, and the Spirit of Jesus
Christ, we must necessarily enter. S. Paul saith, “If any man hath not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”
(
This Spirit is no other than the Spirit of Christ, through which we participate in His Filiation; “And
The Spirit of Divine action is so necessary in all things, that S. Paul, in the same passage, foundeth that necessity on our ignorance with respect to what we pray for: “The Spirit,” saith he, “also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This is positive; if we know not what we stand in need of, nor pray, as we ought to do, for those things which are necessary; and if the Spirit which is in us, and to which we resign ourselves, asks and intercedes for us; should we not give unlimited freedom to its action, to its ineffable groanings in our behalf?
This Spirit is the Spirit of the Word which is
always heard, as He saith Himself: “I know that
thou hearest me always” (
Why should we then burden ourselves with superfluous
cares, and fatigue and weary ourselves in the
multiplicity of our ways, without ever saying, “Let
Did we but know the blessedness of thus hearkening
unto God, and how greatly the soul is strengthened
and invigorated thereby, “All flesh would surely
be silent before the Lord” (
Acts are distinguished into External and Internal. External acts are those which bear relation to some sensible object, and are either morally good or evil, merely according to the nature of the principle from which they proceed. I intend here to speak only of Internal acts, those energies of the soul, by which it turns internally to some objects, and averts from others.
If during my application to God I should form a will to change the nature of my act, I thereby withdraw myself from God, and turn to created objects, and that in a greater or less degree according to the strength of the act: and if, when I am turned towards the creature, I would return to God, I must necessarily form an act for that purpose; and the more perfect this act is, the more complete is the conversion.
Till conversion is perfected many reiterated acts
are necessary; for it is generally progressive, though
with some it is almost instantaneous. My act, however,
should consist in a continual turning unto God,
an exertion of every faculty and power of the soul
purely for Him, agreeably to the instructions of the
Son of Sirach: “Re-unite all the motions of thy heart
in the holiness of God” and to the example of David, “I will keep my whole strength for thee”
(
But the soul being weak and unstable, and accustomed to turn to external objects, is consequently prone to dissipation. This evil, however, will be counteracted if the soul, on perceiving the aberration, by a pure act of return to God, instantly replaces itself again in Him; and this act subsists as long as the conversion by the powerful influence of a simple and unfeigned return to God lasts: and as many reiterated acts form a habit, the soul contracts the habit of conversion, and that act which was before interrupted and distinct becomes continual.
The soul should not then be perplexed about forming
an act which already subsists, and which, indeed,
it cannot attempt to form without difficulty and constraint;
We may remark that at times we form with facility many distinct yet simple acts, which shows that we have wandered, and that we re-enter our heart after having strayed from it; yet when we have re-entered we should remain there in peace. We err, therefore, in supposing that we do not form acts; we form them continually, but they should be in their nature conformable to the degree of our spiritual advancement.
The greatest difficulty with most spiritual people arises from their not clearly comprehending this matter. Now some acts are transient and distinct, others are continual; and again, some are direct, and others reflex. All cannot form the first, neither are all in a state suited to form the last. The first are adapted to those who have strayed, and who require a distinguishable exertion, proportioned to the degree of their deviation, which, if inconsiderable, an act of the most simple kind is sufficient.
By the continued act I mean that whereby the soul
is altogether turned toward God in a direct tendency,
which always subsists, and which it doth not renew
unless it has been interrupted. The soul being thus
turned is in charity, and abides therein, “and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God”
(
Now the soul that is thus profoundly and vigorously active, being wholly given up to God, doth not perceive its activity, because it is direct and not reflex; and this is the cause why some, who do not express themselves properly, say that they do not act at all; but it is a mistake, for they were never more truly or nobly active: they should rather say that they did not distinguish their acts than that they did not act. I allow they do not act of themselves, but they are drawn, and they follow the attraction. Love is the weight which sinks them into God, as into an infinite sea, wherein they descend with inconceivable rapidity from one profound depth to another.
It is then an impropriety to say that we do not form acts: all form acts, but the manner of their formation is not alike in all. The cause of the mistake is this, all who know they should act are desirous of acting distinguishably and perceptibly. But this cannot be; distinct and sensible acts are for beginners, and acts of a higher nature for those in a more advanced state. To stop in the former, which are weak and of little profit, is to debar one's self of the latter; and again, to attempt the latter without having passed through the former is a no less considerable error.
All things should then be done in their season.
Every state has its commencement, its progress, and
its consummation; and it is an unhappy error to stop
in the beginning. There is even no art but what
hath its progress; and at first we must labour with
diligence and toil, but at last we shall reap the
harvest of our industry. When the vessel is in port
the mariners are obliged to exert all their strength
that they may clear her thence and put to sea; but
at length they turn her with facility as they please.
In like manner, while the soul remains in sin and
creaturely entanglements, very frequent and strenuous
endeavours are requisite to effect its freedom; the
cords which withhold it must be loosed; and then by
strong and vigorous efforts it gathers itself inwards,
pushing off gradually from the old port; and in leaving
When the vessel is thus turned, in proportion as she advances on the sea, she leaves the land behind; and the farther she departs from the old harbour, the less difficulty and labour is requisite in moving her forward: at length she begins to get sweetly under sail and now proceeds so swiftly in her course that the oars which have become useless are laid aside. How is the pilot now employed? He is content with spreading the sails and holding the rudder. To spread the sails is to lay one's self before God in the prayer of simple exposition, that we may be acted upon by His Spirit: to hold the rudder is to restrain our hearts from wandering from the true course, recalling it gently, and guiding it steadily to the dictates of the Blessed Spirit, which gradually gain possession and dominion of the heart, just as the wind by degrees fills the sails and impels the vessel. While the winds are fair the pilot and mariners rest from their labours, and the vessel glides rapidly along without their toil; and when they thus repose and leave the vessel to the wind, they make more way in one hour than they had done in a length of time by all their former efforts: were they even now to attempt using the oar they would not only fatigue themselves, but retard the vessel by their ill-timed labours.
This is the manner of acting we should pursue interiorly; it will, indeed, advance us in a short time, by the Divine impulsion, infinitely farther than a whole life spent in reiterated acts of self-exertion; and whosoever will take this path will find it easier than any other.
If the wind is contrary and blows a storm, we must
cast anchor to withhold the vessel: our anchor is a
firm confidence and hope in our God, waiting patiently
the calming of the tempest and the return of a favourable
gale as David waited patiently for the Lord, and
He inclined unto him and heard his cry
(
If all who laboured for the conversion of others were to introduce them immediately into Prayer and the Interior Life, and make it their main design to gain and win over the heart, numberless as well as permanent conversions would certainly ensue. On the contrary, few and transient fruits must attend that labour which is confined to outward matters; such as burdening the disciple with a thousand precepts for external exercises, instead of leaving the soul to Christ by the occupation of the heart in Him.
If ministers were solicitous thus to instruct their parishioners; shepherds, while they watched their flocks, might have the Spirit of the primitive Christians, and the husbandman at the plough maintain a blessed intercourse with his God; the manufacturer, while he exhausts his outward man with labour, would be renewed in internal strength; and every species of vice would shortly disappear and every parishioner become a true follower of the Good Shepherd.
O when once the heart is gained, how easily is all moral evil corrected! it is, therefore, that God, above all things, requires the heart. It is the conquest of the heart alone that can extirpate those dreadful vices which are so predominant, such as drunkenness, blasphemy, lewdness, envy, and theft. Jesus Christ would become the universal and peaceful Sovereign, and the face of the Church would be wholly renewed.
The decay of internal piety is unquestionably the
source of the various errors that have arisen in the
Church; all which would speedily be sapped and
overthrown should inward religion be re-established.
Errors are only so far prejudicial to the soul as they
tend to weaken faith and deter from prayer; and if,
instead of engaging our wandering brethren in vain
disputes, we could but teach them simply to believe
O how inexpressibly great is the loss sustained by mankind from the neglect of the Interior Life! And how tremendous must the great day of retribution be to those who are entrusted with the care of souls, for not having discovered and dispensed to their flock this hidden treasure.
Some excuse themselves by saying that this is a
dangerous way; pleading the incapacity of simple
persons to comprehend spiritual matters. But the
Oracles of Truth affirm the contrary: “The Lord
loveth those who walk simply”
(
The simple ones, so far from being incapable of this perfection, are, by their docility, innocence, and humility, peculiarly adapted and qualified for its attainment; and as they are not accustomed to reasoning, they are less employed in speculations, less tenacious of their own opinions. Even from their want of learning, they submit more freely to the teachings of the Divine Spirit: whereas others, who are blinded by self-sufficiency and enslaved by prejudice, give great resistance to the operations of Grace.
We are told in Scripture “that unto the simple God giveth the understanding of his law”
(
The cause of our being so unsuccessful in reforming mankind, especially those of the lower class, is our beginning with external matters; all our labours in this field do but produce such fruit as endures not: but if the key of the interior be first given, the exterior would be naturally and easily reformed. To teach man to seek God in his heart, to think of Him, to return to Him whenever he finds that he has wandered from Him, and to do and to suffer all things with a single eye to please Him, is the natural and ready process; it is leading the soul to the very source of Grace, wherein is to be found all that is necessary for sanctification.
I, therefore, conjure you all, O ye who have the
care of souls, to put them at once into this way,
which is Jesus Christ;
nay, it is He Himself who
conjures you, by the Precious Blood He hath shed
for those entrusted to you, “to speak to the heart of
Jerusalem” (
Alas! by wanting them to pray in elaborate forms,
and to be curiously critical therein, you create their
chief obstacles. The children have been led astray
from the best of Fathers, by your endeavouring to
teach them too refined, too polished a language. Go
then, ye poor children, to your Heavenly Father;
speak to Him in your natural language; and though
By forming instructions how to love by rule and
method the Essential Love,
men have in a great
measure estranged themselves from Him. O how
unnecessary is it to teach an art of loving! The
language of Love, though natural to the lover, is
nonsense and barbarism to him who loveth not. The
best way to learn the love of God is to love Him.
The ignorant and simple, because they proceed with
more cordiality and simplicity, often become most
perfect therein. The Spirit of God needs none of our arrangements and methods; when it pleaseth Him,
He turns shepherds into prophets: and, so far from
excluding any from the Temple of Prayer, He throws
wide the gates, that all may enter; while Wisdom
cries aloud in the highways, “Whoso is simple let him
turn in hither” (
It is impossible to attain Divine Union solely by
the activity of meditation, or by the meltings of the
affections, or even by the highest degree of luminous
First, According to Scripture “no man shall see God and live” (
S. John relates “That there was a great silence in
heaven” (
Secondly, To unite two things so opposite, as the
impurity of the creature and the purity of God, the simplicity of God and the multiplicity of man, much
more is requisite than the impotent efforts of the
creature: no less than a singular and efficacious
operation of the Almighty can ever accomplish this,
for things must be reduced to some familiarity before
they can blend and become one. Can the impurity
of dross be united with the purity of gold? What
then does God do? He sends His own Wisdom before Him, as the last fire shall be sent upon earth to
destroy by its activity all that is impure therein; and
as nothing can resist the power of that fire, in like
manner this Wisdom dissolves and destroys all the
This impurity, so opposite to Union, consists in self-sufficiency and activity.
This is the source and fountain of all that defilement and corruption which can never be allied to Essential Purity; the rays of the sun may glance, indeed, upon filth and mire, but can never be united with them. Activity obstructs Union; for God being an Infinite Stillness, the soul, in order to be united to Him, must participate in this stillness, else the contrariety between stillness and activity would prevent assimilation.
Therefore, the soul can never arrive at Divine Union but by the repose or stillness of the will, nor can it ever become One with God but by being re-established in the purity of its first creation, that is, in this central repose.
God purifies the soul by His Wisdom, as refiners do metals in the furnace. Gold cannot be purified but by fire, which gradually separates from and consumes all that is earthy and heterogeneous: it must be melted and dissolved, and all impure mixtures taken away by casting it again and again into the furnace; thus it is refined from all internal corruption, and even exalted to a state incapable of farther purification.
The goldsmith now no longer discovers any
adulterate mixture; its purity is perfect, its simplicity
complete. The fire no longer touches it; and were it
to remain an age in the furnace its purity would not
be increased nor its substance diminished. Then is
it fit for the most exquisite workmanship: and if
thereafter this gold seems obscured or defiled, it is
no more than an accidental defilement contracted by
its contiguity to some impure body; but this is only
superficial, and widely different from its former impurity,
which was hidden in the very centre and
ground of its nature and, as it were, identified with
it. Those, however, who are ignorant of this process
and its blessed effects would be apt to despise and
reject the vessel of pure gold sullied by some external
Farther, the goldsmith never mingles together the pure and the impure gold, lest the dross of the one should corrupt the other; before they can be united they must first be equally refined; he therefore plunges the impure metal into the furnace till all its dross is purged away and it becomes fully prepared for incorporation and union with the pure gold.
This is what S. Paul means when he declares that
“the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it
is”
(
Thus we see that the Divine Justice and Wisdom, as an unremitting fire, must devour and destroy all that is earthly, sensual, and carnal, and all self-activity, before the soul can be fitted for and capable of Union with God. Now this purification can never be accomplished by the industry of fallen man; on the contrary, he submits to it always with reluctance: he is so enamoured of self, and so averse to its destruction, that did not God act upon him powerfully and with authority, he would for ever resist.
It may, perhaps, be objected here that as God never robs man of his free will he can always resist the Divine Operations, and that I therefore err in saying God acts thus absolutely and without the consent of man.
Let me, however, explain myself. By man's giving
a passive consent, God, without usurpation,
may assume full power and entire guidance; for having,
In this manner, therefore, the soul is purified from all proper, distinct, perceptible, and multiplied operations which constitute the great dissimilitude between it and God: it is rendered, by degrees, conformed, and then uniform; and the passive capacity of the creature is elevated, ennobled, and enlarged, though in a secret and hidden manner, and therefore called mystical: but in all these operations the soul must concur passively. It is true, indeed, that at the beginning of its purification activity is requisite; which as the Divine Operations become stronger and stronger it must gradually cease, yielding itself up to the impulses of the Divine Spirit, till wholly absorbed in Him. But this is often a difficult and tedious process.
We do not then say, as some have falsely supposed,
that there is no need of action in the process of Divine
Purification; on the contrary, we affirm it is the
gate; at which, however, we would not have those
stop who are to obtain ultimate perfection, which
is impractible, except the first helps are laid aside:
for, however necessary they may have been at the
entrance of the road, they become afterwards mere
clogs, and greatly detrimental to those who adhere
to them, preventing them from ever arriving at the
Would you not say that he had lost his senses, who, having undertaken an important journey, should fix his abode at the first inn because he had been told that many travellers who had come that way had lodged in the house and made it their place of residence? All that we would wish then is, that souls should press toward the mark, should pursue their journey, and take the shortest and easiest road; not stopping at the first stage, but following the counsel and example of S. Paul, suffer themselves to be guided and governed by the Spirit of Grace which would infallibly conduct them to the end of their creation, the enjoyment of God. But while we confess that the enjoyment of God is the end for which alone we were created; that without holiness none can attain it: and that to attain it, we must necessarily pass through a severe and purifying process; how strange is it that we should dread and avoid this process, as if that could be the cause of evil or imperfection in the present life, which is to be productive of glory and blessedness in the life to come!
None can be ignorant that God is the Supreme Good; that essential blessedness consists in Union with Him; that the Saints are more or less glorified, according as this Union is more or less advanced; and that the soul cannot attain this Union by the mere activity of its own powers: for God communicates Himself to the soul in proportion as its passive capacity is great, noble, and extensive; it cannot be united to God but in simplicity and passivity; and as this Union is beatitude itself, the way to it in simplicity and passivity, instead of being evil, must be good, must be most free from delusion and danger, the safest, the surest, and the best.
Would Jesus Christ have made this the most perfect and necessary way had there been evil or
Some say that we should not attempt, by our own ability, to place ourselves in this state. I grant it: but what a poor subterfuge is this? since I have all along asserted and proved that the utmost exertion of the highest created being could never accomplish this of itself: it is God alone must do it. The creature may, indeed, open the window; but it is the sun himself that must give the light.
The same persons say again that some may feign to have attained this blessed state: but, alas! none can any more feign this than the wretch, who is on the point of perishing with hunger can for a length of time feign to be full and satisfied; some wish or word, some sigh or sign, will inevitably escape him, and betray his famished state.
Since then none can attain this blessed state save
those whom God Himself leads and places therein, we
do not pretend to introduce any into it, but only to
point out the shortest and safest road that leads to
it: beseeching you not to be retarded in your progress
by any external exercises, not to sit down a
resident at the first inn, nor to be satisfied with the
sweets which are tasted in the milk for babes. If the
Water of Eternal Life is shown to some thirsty souls,
how inexpressibly cruel would it be, by confining
them to a round of external forms, to prevent their
Let us all agree in the way, as we all agree in the end, which is evident and incontrovertible. The way has its beginning, progress, and end; and the nearer we approach the end, the farther is the beginning behind us: it is only by proceeding from one that we can ever arrive at the other. Would you get from the entrance to the distant end of the road without passing over the intermediate space? And surely, if the end is good, holy, and necessary, and the entrance also good, can that be condemnable, as evil, which is the necessary passage, the direct road leading from the one to the other?
O ye blind and foolish men, who pride yourselves on science, wisdom, wit, and power, how well do you verify what God hath said, that “His Secrets are hidden from the great and wise, and revealed unto The Little Ones—The Babes!”
Genesis
Exodus
Job
Psalms
14:3 14:6 16:8 16:9 18:19 119:130 32:8 36:5 40:1 45:10 45:11 45:14 46:5 46:10 58:10 73:28
Proverbs
3:6 8:3 9:4 9:5 12:22 16:3 23:26
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
5:20 8:13 31:6 40:2 46:3 46:8 49:15 51:4 55:2 57:10
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Hosea
Habakkuk
Zechariah
Matthew
6:7 7:7 11:25 13:44 13:45 16:23 19:14 20:25
Mark
Luke
10:41 10:42 10:42 17:21 17:21 38:42
John
1:3 4:14-23 4:23 5:26 7:34 7:37 11:42 14:6 14:23
Acts
Romans
3:20 4:18 8:9 8:14 8:16 8:26 8:27 8:32
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
1 John
Revelation
Wisdom of Solomon