Letter 41. To a lady at Christmas

THE Infant Jesus who was borne for our good, make you partaker of the blessings, which he brings, since he took those miseries upon him to which we were subject; I beseech him to give you that lively fire of his love, wherein you may burn up with a quick flame; since to kindle this love in us, he came into the world; so poor, and so frozen with cold. How much more cold this Infant suffers, so much more warm doth he our hearts towards the love of him. And by how much the more, we love him, so much the more do we desire to suffer for him. For love flies from taking ease; as from a thing which is very contrary to the intention and end thereof. For whilst others are seeking for liberty, and delight, he who loves abhors this, and desires to be eternally a slave, and to be ever labouring for whom he love's.

I pray you tell me, who constrained Almighty God to become man? noe other thing but only Love: Who constrained him (since there was no remedy, but that he would become man) that he must needs be borne in so hard and so bitter a time of the year, and in a country where he was a stranger, and instead of a house, that it must needs be in a stable; and all this in so great poverty, and baseness, that he well deserves compassion at our hand. Certainly no other thing but Love could have brought him as it were, all bound from heaven, to the most pure womb of our Blessed Lady, and from that womb, it brought him to that hard manger, and from thence, to many other afflictions, and so at last to the Cross, where loving us with much truth of love, he procured that we might truly love him, as himself had said before. If I be exalted from the earth, I will draw all things up to myself.

John. 3 ●um. 21. Exalting from the earth, signifies to dye upon the Cross as he did. And then drew he all things to himself, by means of that mighty love, which he kindled in the hart of man. For, looking towards this true lover, some have been content to forget their countries, and to live in continual pilgrimage; others to forsake their estates, and to live in poverty; others have offered themselves to several afflictions, yea and to death itself, desiring rather to suffer for Christ our Lord then to be delighted any way but in him. And let his mercy be praised for ever, for that amongst them, who through the noble love of the Crucifix have forgotten all their fortunes and themselves withal, yourself is grown to be one, not of yourself, but by him who works his own glory in you. And therefore he will not leave you in the weak hands of yourself alone, since he, & not you, begin the work.

You therefore my good lady, may well rejoice, you may rejoice in God, since you are well protected under a mantle which is both so soft, and so strong. Strong to defend you from your enemies, and from yourself, who are the greatest enemy you have; and soft or sweet to comfort you in your aflictions; and to feel them, as if they were his own, and to give you part of his hart, which is so greatly wounded with love for you. How could our Lord have expected & drawn, or guarded, or sustained you, if he had not loved you with great truth of love? How is it possible that your sins would not have provoked him to wrath, if there had not been as much love in him, as served to make him shut his eyes towards them, and to open them towards the doing you favour?

But you will say, How come I to be so happy, as that the eternal king should love me, and for that reason should endure me, and do me so much good instead of ill. I will answer you, when you shall first have told me, why the fire burns; and why the sun shines; and why the water refreshes; and why every thing is endued with his own nature. And if you say the fire burns because it is fire, so do I also tell you, that because God is God, therefore doth he love us freely, and shows mercy to such as deserve it not.

Our pride hath nothing, Noah it hath nothing, whereof to glory; but the shame, and dishonour, must be ours, and the honour his. The good we may enjoy; but the glory must be his.

For so the angels sunge when the blessed Infant was borne; Glory be to God in the heavens, and peace to men of good will. Let us give the glory to the Lord of us all, for the mercies which we have received at his hand. Glory be to him, because he hath delivered us with so much power, from the hands of them, to whom we had delivered ourselves, with so miserable a resolution. Glory be to him, who drew us to grace we being out of his grace; and who sustains us, and crownes us with mercy, and with many mercies, and who gives us to understand, that he will finish that in us, which he hath begun. For he is wont to have the charge and care of any business, to whom the honour must result; and he who reaps the honour, must be content to take the care. And now since this Blessed Lord of ours, will be glorified in us, and will take the honour of our victory to himself, he will also take the care of our combat, and he will enable us to pass through it to him; and will tie us to himself, with so strong a knot of love, that neither life, nor death, shall divide us.¹

He will enable us to look upon himself with open eyes; and to shut them towards all other things, and he will imprint himself so fast upon our hearts, that, for the love and memory of him, we shall forget not only all other things, but our very selves also. This will he do, who is so piteous, & so powerful, and his name is holy, and he it is, who love's us more than we can either say, or think. For his works exceed all created understanding. To him be glory for the eternity of all eternities. Amen.

As for that which you ask me, concerning my health, it goes ill with me, since I am unworthy of sickness. For if I were not very unworthy, our Lord would not have taken my pain from me, so soon, as he hath taken it. And as for the rest of your letter, I answer that a great fire, by how much the more it is shut up and concealed, so much the hotter it burns. Christ our Lord make you his true and faithful disciple, that so you may, in some sort correspond to that unspeakable and divine love of his, as I cordially desire of him for you.

Footnotes

1. Luke 2 ↩