Letter 82. To a dying Jesuit, one of his disciples

OF BLESSED JOHN OF AVILA’s DISCIPLES.

The grace of the Holy Ghost be ever with you.

They tell me you are passing so swiftly on your way to the land of the living, that, even while I write this, you may already be enjoying the embraces of our sweetest Jesus. However, I am sending you my congratulations on your promotion to be prebendary 1 in the heavenly Jerusalem, where God is praised to all eternity and seen face to face. Go on your way, then, dearest Father, in that joyful, and thrice joyful hour, to the supreme Good, and enjoy Him for ever. Depart in that blessed hour, to dwell in the Bosom of the celestial Father, where He¹

receives those lambs which He fed with His grace and led with His staff. Then, at last, will you know what a favour our Lord did you in calling you to the religious life, and in giving you the grace to despise the world, and to follow Him by the way of the cross, for heaven will be the reward of your consecration to God’s service and glory, and your payment for the cross you bore for Christ’s love.

Blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ for His worms of the earth ; “ raising up the needy from the dust, that he may sit with princes.” (1 Kings 11. 8 .) Welcome be the hour in which the body dies, and the soul ascends to take its seat among the princes, who dwell for ever in the presence of God. O day which ends all our sorrows and all our sins! O day on which we rise to heaven, and begin to serve God perfectly, without the pain and discouragement we experience here because we can only render Him scant service! Here we halt, and faint, whilst longing to please God and to give Him all our hearts; but in heaven this wish is so fully granted, that the whole man is employed in the worship of his Creator without let or impediment.

Glory be to God Who hath gathered you so early into His granary, lest wickedness should alter your understanding, and Who will show you His bountiful loving kindness by granting yoy m eternity of bliss, in return fop the few 7© Blessed John ef Avila years you have in this world dedicated to Him. Behold, Reverend Father, what a God He is! The reward earned by His grace is the fruit of His Passion. It is our blessed fate to have fallen into the hands of such a Lord, and to know Him, and to love Him, although, alas! With many imperfections. He cleanses us from our faults with His Blood; He gives us His Sacraments. His Fatherly love grants an easy pardon to our sins, and a generous reward for our services. He leads us through the Red Sea to the Promised Land, setting our sins as far apart from us as the East is from the West. He drowns them in His Precious Blood, so that, although we still see them, they are dead, and only incite us to praise our Lord, “ Who hath thrown the horse and the rider into the sea.” (Exod. XV.) Go, then, with God’s blessing, to enjoy and rejoice in the riches of your tender Father, which He gained for you m bitter warfare by the shedding of His Blood, for He never fails to succour those who place theif hope and love in Him.

We shall all miss you, dear Father, and feel lonely without you, but as God calls you to this blessed lot, our love for you will make Us happy in your gain. For, though We shall grieve at our loss, yet we shall rejoice for you, as the brothers of Rebecca did, when she left them to be espoused to Isaac, whose name signifies “joy.” Therefore we say to you: w Thou art our brother; mayst thou increase to 7 * thousands of thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.” (Gen. XXIV. 60.)

It is not for me to counsel you how to prepare for this great festival, for there are those around you who can direct and help you to pass from the hands of men into those of God. May the Saviour, Who came into the world and was raised upon the cross for you, be your succour, so that though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you may fear no evil. Cry to your Redeemer, for though you should be in the belly of the whale, He can hear you even there. Call upon His Blessed Mother, who is our Mother too; supplicate the saints, who are our fathers and our brethren, for with such aids as these you need not fear to lose the heavenly kingdom. If our Lord will you to pass through purgatory, may His Name be blessed, for with the hope of seeing Him, you will welcome its pains.

May Christ who died for you, be with you at your death and receive your soul into His arms as it leaves this world. Say to Him, as He said to His Father: “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,” and I trust that in His mercy He will receive you as His son, and as the heir of God, and joint heir with Himself in His kingdom of heaven.

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Footnotes

1. Blessed John playfully compares the position of a prebendary, who resides within the precincts of a Cathedral and constantly attends its services, to that of the Saints who “ stand before the throne” of God and ** rest not day nor night, saying 4 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God jUmight y f ” and whose company the dying Jesuit hoped soon to join* ↩