Mary's Little Office

Friday, August 31, 2018

Mary's Little Matins


O Lord, open Thou my mouth that I may bless Thy Holy Name. Cleanse my heart from all vain, evil and wandering thoughts; enlighten my understanding; kindle my affections, that I may pray to, and praise Thee with attention and devotion; and may worthily be heard before the presence of Thy Divine Majesty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, in union with that Divine Intention wherewith Thou didst Thyself praise God, while as Thou wast on earth, I offer these Hours unto Thee. 



Come, my lips, and wide proclaim 
The blessed Virgin's spotless fame.  

V. O Lady, make speed to befriend me. 
R. From the hands of the enemy mightily defend me. 
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.—Amen.

Alleluia. 

Hymn  

Hail, Queen of the heaven, 
Hail, mistress of earth! 
Hail, Virgin most pure, 
Of immaculate birth!  

Clear star of the morning, 
In beauty enshrin'd, 
O Lady, make speed 
To the help of mankind.

Thee God in the depth 
Of eternity chose; 
And form'd thee all fair 
As His glorious spouse; 

And call'd thee His Word's 
Own Mother to be, 
By whom He created 
The earth, sky, and sea.Amen. 

V. God elected her, and pre-elected her. 
R. He made her to dwell in His tabernacle. 
V. O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 

Let Us Pray.

Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despisest none; look upon me, O Lady, with an eye of pity, and obtain for me, of thy beloved Son, the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate with devout affection thy holy and Immaculate Conception, so, hereafter, I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ our Lord; Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end.—Amen.  

V.  O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
V.  Let us bless the Lord. 
R. Thanks be to God. 
V.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
R. Amen.

To the Most Holy and undivided Trinity, to the Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified, to the fruitful Virginity of the most blessed and most glorious Mary, always a Virgin, and to the holiness of all the Saints be ascribed everlasting praise, honor, and glory, by all creatures, and to us be granted the forgiveness of all our sins, world without end. Amen.

V. Blessed be the womb of the Virgin Mary which bore the Son of the Eternal Father.
R. And blessed be the paps which gave suck to Christ our Lord.
Then are said the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation.

(The Roman Breviary, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London, 1880).








The Interior Castle






1.  You may imagine that there is no more left to be described of the contents of this mansion, but a great deal remains to be told, for as I said, it contains favours of various degrees.  I think there is nothing to add about the prayer of union, but when the soul on which God bestows this grace disposes itself for their reception, I could tell you much about the marvels our Lord works in it.  I will describe some of them in my own way, also the state in which they leave the soul, and will use a suitable comparison to elucidate the matter, explaining that though we can take no active part in this work of God within us, yet we may do much to prepare ourselves to receive this grace. You have heard how wonderfully silk is made—in a way such as God alone could plan—how it all comes from an egg resembling a tiny pepper-corn.  Not having seen it myself, I only know of it by hearsay, so if the facts are inaccurate the fault will not be mine.  When, in the warm weather, the mulberry trees come into leaf, the little egg which was lifeless before its food was ready, begins to live.  The caterpillar nourishes itself upon the mulberry leaves until, when it has grown large, people place near it small twigs upon which, of its own accord, it spins silk from its tiny mouth until it has made a narrow little cocoon in which it buries itself.  Then this large and ugly worm leaves the cocoon as a lovely little white butterfly.

2.  If we had not seen this but had only heard of it as an old legend, who could believe it?  Could we persuade ourselves that insects so utterly without the use of reason as a silkworm or a bee would work with such industry and skill in our service that the poor little silkworm loses its life over the task?  This would suffice for a short meditation, sisters, without my adding more, for you may learn from it the wonders and the wisdom of God.  How if we knew the properties of all things?  It is most profitable to ponder over the grandeurs of creation and to exult in being the brides of such a wise and mighty King.

3.  Let us return to our subject.  The silkworm symbolizes the soul which begins to live when, kindled by the Holy Spirit, it commences using the ordinary aids given by God to all, and applies the remedies left by Him in His Church, such as regular confession, religious books, and sermons; these are the cure for a soul dead in its negligence and sins and liable to fall into temptation. Then it comes to life and continues nourishing itself on this food and on devout meditation until it has attained full vigour, which is the essential point, for I attach no importance to the rest.  When the silkworm is full-grown as I told you in the first part of this chapter, it begins to spin silk and to build the house wherein it must die.  By this house, when speaking of the soul, I mean Christ.  I think I read or heard somewhere, either that our life is hid in Christ, or in God (which means the same thing) or that Christ is our life.  It makes little difference to my meaning which of these quotations is correct.

4.  This shows, my daughters, how much, by God’s grace, we can do, by preparing this home for ourselves, towards making Him our dwelling-place as He is in the prayer of union.  You will suppose that I mean we can take away from or add something to God when I say that He is our home, and that we can make this home and dwell in it by our own power.  Indeed we can:  though we can neither deprive God of anything nor add aught to Him, yet we can take away from and add to ourselves, like the silkworms.  The little we can do will hardly have been accomplished when this insignificant work of ours, which amounts to nothing at all, will be united by God to His greatness and thus enhanced with such immense value that our Lord Himself will be the reward of our toil.  Although He has had the greatest share in it, He will join our trifling pains to the bitter sufferings He endured for us and make them one.

5.  Forward then, my daughters!  hasten over your work and build the little cocoon.  Let us renounce self-love and self-will, care for nothing earthly, do penance, pray, mortify ourselves, be obedient, and perform all the other good works of which you know.  Act up to your light; you have been taught your duties.  Die! die as the silkworm does when it has fulfilled the office of its creation, and you will see God and be immersed in His greatness, as the little silkworm is enveloped in its cocoon.  Understand that when I say ‘you will see God,’ I mean in the manner described, in which He manifests Himself in this kind of union.

6.  Now let us see what becomes of the ‘silkworm,’ for all I have been saying leads to this.  As soon as, by means of this prayer, the soul has become entirely dead to the world, it comes forth like a lovely little white butterfly!  Oh, how great God is!  How beautiful is the soul after having been immersed in God’s grandeur and united closely to Him for but a short time!  Indeed, I do not think it is ever as long as half an hour.  Truly, the spirit does not recognize itself, being as different from what it was as is the white butterfly from the repulsive caterpillar.  It does not know how it can have merited so great a good, or rather, whence this grace came which it well knows it merits not.  The soul desires to praise our Lord God and longs to sacrifice itself and die a thousand deaths for Him.  It feels an unconquerable desire for great crosses and would like to perform the most severe penances;  it sighs for solitude and would have all men know God, while it is bitterly grieved at seeing them offend Him.  These matters will be described more fully in the next mansion;  there they are of the same nature, yet in a more advanced state the effects are far stronger, because, as I told you, if;  after the soul has received these favours, it strives to make still farther progress, it will experience great things.  Oh, to see the restlessness of this charming little butterfly, although never in its life has it been more tranquil and at peace!  May God be praised!  It knows not where to stay nor take its rest;  everything on earth disgusts it after what it has experienced, particularly when God has often given it this wine which leaves fresh graces behind it at every draught.

7.  It despises the work it did while yet a caterpillar—the slow weaving of its cocoon thread by thread—its wings have grown and it can fly;  could it be content to crawl?  All that it can do for God seems nothing to the soul compared with its desire. It no longer wonders at what the saints bore for Him, knowing by experience how our Lord aids and transforms the soul until it no longer seems the same in character and appearance.  Formerly it feared penance, now it is strong:  it wanted courage to forsake relations, friends, or possessions:  neither its actions, its resolutions, nor separation from those it loved could detach the soul, but rather seemed to increase its fondness.  Now it finds even their rightful claims a burden,179 fearing contact with them lest it should offend God.  It wearies of everything, realizing that no true rest can be found in creatures.

8.  I seem to have enlarged on this subject, yet far more might be said about it;  those who have received this favour will think I have treated it too briefly.  No wonder this pretty butterfly, estranged from earthly things, seeks repose elsewhere.  Where can the poor little creature go?  It cannot return to whence it came, for as I told you, that is not in the soul’s power, do what it will, but depends upon God’s pleasure.  Alas, what fresh trials begin to afflict the mind!  Who would expect this after such a sublime grace?   In fact in one way or another we must carry the cross all our lives.  If people told me that ever since attaining to the prayer of union they had enjoyed constant peace and consolation, I should reply that they could never have reached that state, but that, at the most, if they had arrived as far as the last mansion, their emotion must have been some spiritual satisfaction joined to physical debility. It might even have been a false sweetness caused by the devil, who gives peace for a time only to wage far fiercer war later on.  I do not mean that those who reach this stage possess no peace;  they do so in a very high degree, for their sorrows, though extremely severe, are so beneficial and proceed from so good a source as to procure both peace and happiness.

9.  Discontent with this world gives such a painful longing to quit it that, if the heart finds comfort, it is solely from the thought that God wishes it to remain here in banishment.  Even this is not enough to reconcile it to fate, for after all the gifts received, it is not yet so entirely surrendered to the will of God as it afterwards becomes.  Here, although conformed to His will, the soul feels an unconquerable reluctance to submit, for our Lord has not given it higher grace.  During prayer this grief breaks forth in floods of tears, probably from the great pain felt at seeing God offended and at thinking how many souls, both heretics and heathens, are lost eternally, and keenest grief of all, Christians also!  The soul realizes the greatness of God’s mercy and knows that however wicked men are, they may still repent and be saved;  yet it fears that many precipitate themselves into hell.

10.  Oh, infinite greatness of God!  A few years ago—indeed, perhaps but a few days—this soul thought of nothing but itself.  Who has made it feel such tormenting cares?  If we tried for many years to obtain such sorrow by means of meditation, we could not succeed.

11.  God help me!  If for long days and years I considered how great a wrong it is that God should be offended, and that lost souls are His children and my brethren;  if I pondered over the dangers of this world and how blessed it would be to leave this wretched life, would not that suffice?  No, daughters, the pain would not be the same.  For this, by the help of God, we can obtain by such meditation;  but it does not seem to penetrate the very depths of our being like the other which appears to cut the soul to pieces and grind it to powder through no action—even sometimes with no wish—of its own.  What is this sorrow, then?   Whence does it come?  I will tell you.  Have you not heard (I quoted the words to you just now, but did not apply to them this meaning) how the Bride says that God ‘brought her into the cellar of wine and set in order charity in her’?  This is what happens here.  The soul has so entirely yielded itself into His hands and is so subdued by love for Him that it knows or cares for nothing but that God should dispose of it according to His will.  I believe that He only bestows this grace on those He takes entirely for His own.  He desires that, without knowing how, the spirit should come forth stamped with His seal for indeed it does no more than does the wax when impressed with the signet.  It does not mould itself but need only be in a fit condition—soft and pliable; even then it does not soften itself but must merely remain still and submit to the impression.

12.  How good Thou art, O God!  All is done for us by Thee, Who dost but ask us to give our wills to Thee that we may be plastic as wax in Thy hands.  You see, sisters, what God does to this soul so that it may know that it is His.  He gives it something of His own—that which His Son possessed when living on earth—He could bestow on greater gift on us.  Who could ever have longed more eagerly to leave this life than did Christ?  As He said at the Last Supper:  ‘With desire have I desired’    this.  O Lord!  does not that bitter death Thou art to undergo present itself before Thine eyes in all its pain and horror?  ’No, for My ardent love and My desire to save souls are immeasurably stronger than the torments. This deeper sorrow I have suffered and still suffer while living here on earth, makes other pain seem as nothing in comparison.’

13.  I have often meditated on this and I know that the torture a friend of mine has felt, and still feels, at seeing our Lord sinned against is so unbearable that she would far rather die than continue in such anguish.  Then I thought that if a soul whose charity is so weak compared to that of Christ—indeed, in comparison with His this charity might be said not to exist—experiences this insufferable grief, what must have been the feelings of our Lord Jesus Christ and what must His life have been?  for all things were present before His eyes and He was the constant witness of the great offences committed against His Father.  I believe without doubt that this pained Him far more than His most sacred Passion.  There, at least, He found the end of all His trials, while His agony was allayed by the consolation of gaining our salvation through His death and of proving how He loved His Father by suffering for Him.  Thus, people who, urged by fervent love, perform great penances hardly feel them but want to do still more and count even that as little.  What, then, must His Majesty have felt at thus publicly manifesting His perfect obedience to His Father and His love for His brethren?  What joy to suffer in doing God’s will!  Yet I think the constant sight of the many sins committed against God and of the numberless souls on their way to hell must have caused Him such anguish that, had He not been more than man, one day of such torment would have destroyed not only His life but many more lives, had they been His.

Read by Kris McGregor

Mary's Little Vespers


V. O Lady, make speed to befriend me. 
R. From the hands of the enemy mightily defend me. 
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.—Amen. 


Alleluia. 
  

Hymn 

Hail, dial of Achaz, 
On thee the true Sun 
Told backward the course 
Which from old he had run. 

And that man might be rais'd. 
Submitting to shame, 
A little more low 
Than the Angels became. 

Thou, wrapt in the blaze
Of His infinite light, 
Dost shine as the morn 
On the confines of night. 

As the moon on the lost 
Through obscurity dawns; 
The serpent's destroyer; 
A lily 'mid thorns.Amen. 

V. I made an unfailing light to arise in heaven. 
R. And, as a mist, I overspread the whole earth. 
V. O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 

Let Us Pray. 

Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despisest no one; look upon me, O Lady, with an eye of pity, and entreat for me, of thy beloved Son, the forgiveness of all my sins; that as I now celebrate with devout affection thy holy and Immaculate Conception, so, hereafter, I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness, by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ our Lord; Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end.—Amen. 

V. O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
V. Let us bless the Lord. 
R. Thanks be to God. 
V. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
R. Amen.

Continue to  Compline or Night Prayer.



In Love With the Divine Outcast - Preface

TRANSLATE

Index

This small volume contains words of comfort and encouragement to help true lovers of the Divine Lover to live the Life of Love which is the life of God projected through Christ into souls sanctified by Grace.

This book gives the history of a soul living in Christ, a soul who tabernacles the Triune God, Whose Indwelling consecrates and hallows. It brings home to the reader the realization of the great tender Love of "The Tremendous Lover" enshrined within the human soul, longing for an intimate union by love. 

This love lives upon two impulses:―


Sacrificing oneself
and
Embracing one's Beloved.

The soul runs to meet that which sets her free, that which unites her to her only Love in making her body suffer by the generous accomplishment of sacrifice, and by the austerity of interior discipline found in the fulfillment of God's Will

How is this to be brought about?

The answer will be found in the pages of In Love with The Divine Outcast!  



Pellegrini & Company

Sydney, Australia, 1934




Daily Daily Sing to Mary


Flight into egypt
Julius schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1828

Whilst Joseph leads the patient beast and slow,
That bears the weight of Mary and her Son,
O'er rugged steeps, o'er barren plains they go
Through wilderness, till the day is done,
Till 'neath the western wave hath set the sun.
Then, rest till morning her bright face doth show:
Then, on again― their weary race is run. 


Rosary Magazine - 1874


Thursday, August 30, 2018

Mary's Little Matins


O Lord, open Thou my mouth that I may bless Thy Holy Name. Cleanse my heart from all vain, evil and wandering thoughts; enlighten my understanding; kindle my affections, that I may pray to, and praise Thee with attention and devotion; and may worthily be heard before the presence of Thy Divine Majesty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, in union with that Divine Intention wherewith Thou didst Thyself praise God, while as Thou wast on earth, I offer these Hours unto Thee. 



Come, my lips, and wide proclaim 
The blessed Virgin's spotless fame.  

V. O Lady, make speed to befriend me. 
R. From the hands of the enemy mightily defend me. 
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.—Amen.

Alleluia. 

Hymn  

Hail, Queen of the heaven, 
Hail, mistress of earth! 
Hail, Virgin most pure, 
Of immaculate birth!  

Clear star of the morning, 
In beauty enshrin'd, 
O Lady, make speed 
To the help of mankind.

Thee God in the depth 
Of eternity chose; 
And form'd thee all fair 
As His glorious spouse; 

And call'd thee His Word's 
Own Mother to be, 
By whom He created 
The earth, sky, and sea.Amen. 

V. God elected her, and pre-elected her. 
R. He made her to dwell in His tabernacle. 
V. O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 

Let Us Pray.

Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despisest none; look upon me, O Lady, with an eye of pity, and obtain for me, of thy beloved Son, the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate with devout affection thy holy and Immaculate Conception, so, hereafter, I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ our Lord; Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end.—Amen.  

V.  O Lady, hear my prayer. 
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
V.  Let us bless the Lord. 
R. Thanks be to God. 
V.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
R. Amen.

To the Most Holy and undivided Trinity, to the Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified, to the fruitful Virginity of the most blessed and most glorious Mary, always a Virgin, and to the holiness of all the Saints be ascribed everlasting praise, honor, and glory, by all creatures, and to us be granted the forgiveness of all our sins, world without end. Amen.

V. Blessed be the womb of the Virgin Mary which bore the Son of the Eternal Father.
R. And blessed be the paps which gave suck to Christ our Lord.
Then are said the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation.

(The Roman Breviary, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London, 1880).








The Interior Castle






1.  OH, my sisters, how shall I describe the riches, treasures, and joys contained in the fifth mansions!  Would it not be better to say nothing about them?  They are impossible to depict, nor can the mind conceive, nor any comparisons portray them, all earthly things being too vile to serve the purpose.  Send me, O my Lord, light from heaven that I may give some to these Thy servants, some of whom by Thy good will often enjoy these delights, lest the devil in the guise of an angel of light should deceive those whose only desire is to please Thee.

2.  I said ‘some,’ but in reality there are very few who never enter this mansion:  some more and some less, but most of them may be said at least to gain admittance into these rooms.  I think that certain graces I am about to describe are bestowed on only a few of the nuns, but if the rest only arrive at the portal they receive a great boon from God, for ‘many are called, but few are chosen.’  All we who wear the holy habit of the Carmelites are called to prayer and contemplation.  This was the object of our Order, to this lineage we belong.  Our holy Fathers of Mount Carmel sought in perfect solitude and utter contempt of the world for this treasure, this precious pearl, of which we speak, and we are their descendants.  How little do most of us care to prepare our souls, that our Lord may reveal this jewel to us!  Outwardly we may appear to practise the requisite virtues, but we have far more to do than this before it is possible to attain to contemplation, to gain which we should neglect no means, either small or great.  Rouse yourselves, my sisters, and since some foretaste of heaven may be had on earth, beg our Lord to give us grace not to miss it through our own fault.  Ask Him to show us where to find it—ask Him to give us strength of soul to dig until we find this hidden treasure, which lies buried within our hearts, as I wish to show you if it please God to enable me.  I said ‘strength of soul,’ that you might understand that strength of body is not indispensable when our Lord God chooses to withhold it.  He makes it impossible for no one to gain these riches, but is content that each should do his best. Blessed be so just a God!

3.  But, daughters, if you would purchase this treasure of which we are speaking, God would have you keep back nothing from Him, little or great.  He will have it all;  in proportion to what you know you have given will your reward be great or small.   There is no more certain sign whether or not we have reached the prayer of union.  Do not imagine that this state of prayer is, like the one preceding it, a sort of drowsiness (I call it ‘drowsiness’ because the soul seems to slumber, being neither quite asleep nor wholly awake).  In the prayer of union the soul is asleep, fast asleep, as regards the world and itself:  in fact, during the short time this state lasts it is deprived of all feeling whatever, being unable to think on any subject, even if it wished.  No effort is needed here to suspend the thoughts:  if the soul can love it knows not how, nor whom it loves, nor what it desires.  In fact, it has died entirely to this world, to live more truly than ever in God.  This is a delicious death, for the soul is deprived of the faculties it exercised while in the body:  delicious because, (although not really the case), it seems to have left its mortal covering to abide more entirely in God.  So completely does this take place, that I know not whether the body retains sufficient life to continue breathing;  on consideration, I believe it does not;  at any rate, if it still breathes, it does so unconsciously.

4.  The mind entirely concentrates itself on trying to understand what is happening, which is beyond its power;  it is so astounded that, if consciousness is not completely lost, at least no movement is possible:  the person may be compared to one who falls into a dead faint with dismay.

5.  Oh, mighty secrets of God!  Never should I weary of trying to explain them if I thought it possible to succeed!  I would write a thousand foolish things that one might be to the point, if only it might make us praise God more.  I said this prayer produced no drowsiness in the mind;  on the other hand, in the prayer (of quiet) described in the last mansion, until the soul has gained much experience it doubts what really happened to it.  ‘Was it nothing but fancy, or was it a sleep?  Did it come from God or from the devil, disguised as an angel of light?’  The mind feels a thousand misgivings, and well for it that it should, because, as I said, nature may sometimes deceive us in this case.  Although there is little chance of the poisonous reptiles entering here, yet agile little lizards will try to slip in, though they can do no harm, especially if they remain unnoticed.  These, as I said, are trivial fancies of the imagination, which are often very troublesome.  However active these small lizards may be, they cannot enter the fifth mansion, for neither the imagination, the understanding, nor the memory has power to hinder the graces bestowed on it.


6.  I dare venture to assert that, if this is genuine union with God, the devil cannot interfere nor do any harm, for His Majesty is so joined and united with the essence of the soul, that the evil one dare not approach, nor can he even understand this mystery.  This is certain, for it is said that the devil does not know our thoughts, much less can he penetrate a secret so profound that God does not reveal it even to us.  Oh, blessed state, in which this cursed one cannot injure us!  What riches we receive while God so works in us that neither we ourselves nor any one else can impede Him!  What will He not bestow, Who is so eager to give, and Who can give us all He desires!  You may perhaps have been puzzled at my saying ‘if this is genuine union with God,’ as if there might be other unions.  There are indeed—not with God, but with vanities—when the devil transports the soul passionately addicted to them, but the union differs from that which is divine and the mind misses the delight and satisfaction, peace and happiness of divine union.  These heavenly consolations are above all earthly joys, pleasure, and satisfaction.  As great a difference exists between their origin and that of worldly pleasures as between their opposite effects, as you know by experience.  

7.  I said somewhere that the one seems only to touch the surface of the body, while the other penetrates to the very marrow:  I believe this is correct, and I cannot express myself better.  I fancy that you are not yet satisfied on this question, but are afraid of deception, for spiritual matters are very hard to explain.  Enough, however, has been said for those who have received this grace, as the difference between divine union and any other is very striking.  However, I will give you a clear proof which cannot mislead you, nor leave any doubt whether the favour comes from God or no.  His Majesty brought it back to my memory this very day;  it appears to me to be an unmistakable sign.  In difficult questions, although I think I understand them and am speaking the truth, I always say ‘it appears to me’;  for, in case my opinion is wrong, I am most willing to submit to the judgment of theologians.    Although they may not have had personal experience in such matters, yet in some way I do not understand, God Who sets them to give light to His Church enables them to recognize the truth when it is put before them.  If they are not thoughtless and indevout, but servants of God, they are never dismayed at His mighty works, knowing perfectly well that it is in His power to perform far greater wonders.  If some of the marvels told are new to them, yet they have read of others of the same kind, showing the former to be possible.  I have had great experience as to this and have also met with timid, half-instructed people whose ignorance has cost me very dear.  I am convinced that those who refuse to believe that God can do far more than this, and that He is pleased now, as in the past, to communicate Himself to His creatures, shut fast their hearts against receiving such favours themselves.  Do not imitate them, sisters:  be convinced that it is possible for God to perform still greater wonders.  Do not concern yourselves as to whether those who receive these graces are good or wicked;  as I said, He knows best and it is no business of yours:  you should serve Him with a single heart and with humility, and should praise Him for His works and wonders

8.  Let us now speak of the sign which proves the prayer of union to have been genuine.  As you have seen, God then deprives the soul of all its senses that He may the better imprint in it true wisdom:  it neither sees, hears, nor understands anything while this state lasts, which is never more than a very brief time;  it appears to the soul to be much shorter than it really is.  God visits the soul in a manner which prevents its doubting, on returning to itself, that it dwelt in Him and that He was within it, and so firmly is it convinced of this truth that, although years may pass before this favour recurs, the soul can never forget it nor doubt the fact, setting aside the effects left by this prayer, to which I will refer later on.  The conviction felt by the soul is the main point.

9.  But, you may ask, how can a person who is incapable of sight and hearing see or know these things?  I do not say that she saw it at the time, but that she perceives it clearly afterwards, not by any vision but by a certitude which remains in the heart which God alone could give.  I know of some one who was unaware of God’s being in all things by presence, power and essence, yet was firmly convinced of it by a divine favour of this sort.  She asked an ill-instructed priest of the kind I mentioned to tell her in what way God dwelt within us:  he was as ignorant on the subject as she had been before our Lord revealed to her the truth, and answered that the Almighty was only present in us by grace.  Yet so strong was her conviction of the truth learnt during her prayer that she did not believe him and questioned other spiritual persons on the subject, who confirmed her in the true doctrine, much to her joy.  Do not mistake and imagine that this certainty of God’s having visited the soul concerns any corporal presence such as that of our Lord Jesus Christ Who dwells in the Blessed Sacrament, although we do not see Him:  it relates solely to the Divinity.  If we did not see it, how can we feel so sure of it?  That I do not know:  it is the work of the Almighty and I am certain that what I say is the fact.  I maintain that a soul which does not feel this assurance has not been united to God entirely, but only by one of its powers, or has received one of the many other favours God is accustomed to bestow on men.  In all such matters we must not seek to know how things happened:  our understanding could not grasp them, therefore why trouble ourselves on the subject?  It is enough to know that it is He, the all-powerful God, Who has performed the work.  We can do nothing on our own part to gain this favour;  it comes from God alone; therefore let us not strive to understand it.

10.  Concerning my words:  ‘We can do nothing on our own part,’ I was struck by the words of the Bride in the Canticles, which you will remember to have heard:  ’The King brought me into the cellar of wine,’ (or ‘placed me’ I think she says):  she does not say she went of her own accord, although telling us how she wandered up and down seeking her Beloved.  I think the prayer of union is the ‘cellar’ in which our Lord places us when and how He chooses, but we cannot enter it through any effort of our own.  His Majesty alone can bring us there and come into the centre of our souls.  In order to declare His wondrous works more clearly, He will leave us no share in them except complete conformity of our wills to His and abandonment of all things:  He does not require the faculties or senses to open the door to Him;  they are all asleep.  He enters the innermost depths of our souls without a door, as He entered the room where the disciples sat, saying ‘Pax vobis,’  and as He emerged from the sepulchre without removing the stone that closed the entrance.  You will see farther on, in the seventh mansion, far better than here, how God makes the soul enjoy His presence in its very centre.  O daughters, what wonders shall we see, if we keep ever before our eyes our own baseness and frailty and recognize how unworthy we are to be the handmaids of so great a Lord, Whose marvels are beyond our comprehension!  May He be for ever praised!  Amen.



Read by Kris McGregor