Book II. Dialogue VI: Advice for beginners

Q. How many counsels would you give beginners ?

A. Three chief ones, which include several others.

Q. What is the first ?

A. To pay great attention to learning how to profit by all moments favourable to recollection: for it often happens to those of whom we speak, during some pious reading, at mass or communion, after some small sacrifice of self-love, or as a result of a good thought, of a brief elevation of the heart to God, and on many other occasions, that they feel themselves all at once drawn into their interior by a sudden desire of God: this is the coming of the Holy Ghost; this is the favourable moment, not for talking to God but for listening to him in silence, not for acting in the ordinary way but for abiding simply in all it pleases God to effect in us, and for remaining for as long as possible in this attentive suspension of all activity. God understands our intention and all the excellent acts which are contained in it.

Q. What are the good fruits of this holy practice ?

A. The first is that God, touched by the continuous attention, the confidence and the surrender of such a soul, works in her at his will according to whatever he alone knows to be fitting for her. The second is that we thus form ever more and more the joyous custom of resting in repose or attentive silence before God, which is difficult in quite another way than one would imagine.

Q. Whence comes this difficulty ? For nothing seems more easy than this silent repose, so much so that many call it idleness.

A. This difficulty comes first of all from secret presumption, from a vain confidence which is so deeply rooted in the soul that if we do not take care it is in fact just as if we were practically convinced that nothing was happening, that all would be lost if we left more to God to do than to ourselves. Our Lord made this clear to S. Catherine of Siena, who relates it thus: She had said to him one day: c But Lord, why is it that in the times of the prophets and the apostles you did so many great things, giving yourself so abundantly to men, while now nothing like this is seen ? 5 c My daughter, 5 replied Jesus, c formerly men had great simplicity, they were neglectful of themselves, they looked to me for all; but now they are so filled with themselves, with confidence in themselves, and so occupied with what they do, with everything they say to me and repeat continually, as if I should forget it, that they seldom leave me time to effect what I will, for they wish to do and say everything in their own way. 5

This difficulty is also due to the fact that it costs our self-love and the natural activity of our spirit a great deal to renounce thus our own thoughts, reflections, and ordinary operations in order to hold ourselves enclosed in the simplicity of simple direct acts which are so ill perceived and so insensible; for this is a veritable death to oneself, and possibly the most humiliating part of interior abnegation.

‘L Do the saints seem to have found at times the same difficulty ?

A. Often it has seemed to them so great that to surmount it the Venerable Mother de Chantal felt she needed an express command. ‘ My father, 5 she cried to her director, ‘order me to remain exactly in this repose and silence; I hope my spirit will obey your orders. 5

The pious Bishop replied to her thus:

c Your prayer of simple surrender into God’s hands

(simple recollection) is extremely holy and salutary; you must not doubt.... It is only necessary that you should continue in it calmly.’¹

S. Francis de Sales, after having vainly exhorted himself to keep this interior silence in order to follow his attraction, weary one day even of the holy activity of his spirit in discourse, exclaimed passionately:

‘ O God, stem this current, 5 so difficult did he find it during prayer to achieve this, which some are pleased to call idleness; let them at least, before declaring their views with such assurance, agree that he had made some trial of the matter, and knew better what he was about than they.

Q. But if the moments favourable to this recollection come during vocal prayers and spiritual reading, should either of these be abandoned ?

A. If these prayers are not prayers of obligation, they should be abandoned easily so that we may give ourselves up to recollection, and profit from it as long as it lasts; it is leaving the less perfect prayer for the more perfect, according to Bossuet. If this prayer were of obligation, such as the Divine Office, if we recite it alone and are sure of having time to finish it we would do well to suspend the recitation of it during these happy moments, provided this interruption does not last long, according to the teaching of the doctors; we take it up again where we left it, and continue in it with more attention and devotion. The most perfect way would be to recite it in the simple presence of God and in the spirit of recollection. As for reading, it is doubtless very useful to hear God spoken of; but is it not even better to hear God himself, when he deigns to speak to our inmost hearts ? Moreover, apart from necessary instruction, there is no need of further attention to the words we read than is necessary for the heart to delight in them; for it is a received maxim among the mystics, that one enters further into the truths of faith by a peaceful inclination than by all the reasoning of the mind. Thus one has seen and still sees that simple people, with neither study nor penetration, may have greater feelings about God and the mysteries of faith than the most sublime minds who stop at reasoning. Therefore the Prophet said: ‘ Taste and see, 5 instead of saying as we might think, 4 See and taste 5: Gustate et videte. On this account a great modern mystic said in reference to reading that 4 the words are only the sign, but the desire for God that we draw from them is the sap which nourishes and fattens the soul. 5

Q. I cannot understand how the simple desire of God can produce such great effects in souls.

A. It is a first principle that the soul attaches herself to objects more easily, more promptly, more fervently through desire and feeling than by knowledge. You know the enormous attachment which is produced in persons otherwise most enlightened by the love of the world, the mere love of the miserable pleasures and vain distractions of the world; judge from that how the soul should attach itself to God in proportion as she tastes his presence, as he appears more and more lovable; she desires him, and this desire increases her knowledge in proportion to her sentiments.

Q. What is the second counsel ?

A. It concerns the manner of receiving sensible tastes of pleasure; for as beginners, according to their needs, are usually nourished with the milk of spiritual consolations, as S. Paul says, it is easy to corrupt them as they receive them, and thus to lose them.

Q. What should we do to avoid this abuse and this loss ?

A. We should receive these consolations with a noble disinterestedness, and never attach ourselves to the enjoyment of them.

Q. Why should we receive them thus disinterestedly ?

A. So that we may never come to prayer from self-interested motives, but only in order to do the will of God, and learn to conform to it more and more; so that we may never be intoxicated by this sensible sweetness, giving ourselves up to it without reserve, as a hungry and thirsty man to good food and drink. For since sensible desires are merely the means of uniting us to God, we must not stop this process, but look always to him who gives us them only to draw us to him; we must therefore value them only in so far as they are helps to our weakness, and mighty aids to weary us of creatures. In a word, as God asks for moderation in all things, at the happy time of this heavenly sweetness, we should behave rather as we might at a joyous feast, at which we need only think of what is necessary, to the supporting of life, of health and strength, not gloating over it later or even thinking of it.

Q. Why must they possess these consolations without attachment ?

A. Because, apart from the fact that we must attach ourselves to God alone, and not to his gifts, this attachment would produce an urgent desire for them when God withdrew them, and greed to keep them when he grants them.

Q. What evil can there be in this holy urgency?

A. Anxiety, trouble, grief in prayer itself, when God withdraws sensible pleasure.

He sometimes withdraws it, then. Why is this ?

A. God acts towards beginners as a mother does in the education of her child, whose desires she often thwarts in order to teach him to want only what she wants, making him come and go at her will, do and abandon the same things very quickly, leave what he has taken up and take up what he has just left. In the same way, in order to make a soul supple and pliant and mould it to his will, God takes pleasure in contradicting the most holy wishes; thus he makes persons feel a hundred times a day the sweet approach of a recollection which at once disappears; it comes, and appears, and then disappears almost in the same moment; the whole time of prayer is often passed in this way. This treatment becomes, however, most fruitful if, by a holy detachment from all sensible things, we know how to practise in such delicate circumstances an heroic renunciation of our own will, by blind submission to the will of Gcd.²³

d- What evil can you find in a holy avidity to keep the gifts of God ?

A. The evil is in wishing to appropriate them, in making ourselves owners of them; this is acting like evilly disposed or badly brought up children, from whom things must be taken by force once they have been put in their hands: and from this avidity come firstly the excessive precautions which S. Teresa 2 regards as superstition, when referring to persons so jealous of the sweetness of their recollection, that they do not dare, she says, to cough, move, or hardly to breathe, as if these necessary movements would make God wish to remove the favour he has just granted them; as S. Francis de Sales adds.⁴ Thus it happens that these persons cannot prevail upon themselves by zeal, by charity or by obedience, to deprive themselves for a time of the sweetness of this recollection; less still in certain trials arranged by Providence in order to test their docility, and to strip them of their own will and desires in order to clothe them in God’s. And thus there arise in these persons a crowd of reflections on themselves and their recollection, which are so many voluntary distractions, for they involve the turning of the soul’s gaze away from God to direct them on to oneself, and in this way we often lose what we most jealously wish to keep; on this matter S. Francis de Sales⁵ was wont to say when speaking of this holy recollection that the soul’s repose ‘ to be preserved must not be too curiously observed; for he who loves it too much loses it...’ quoting in this matter the words of the Bridegroom to the Bride: 4 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have made me flee away 5: Averte oculos tuos a me, quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt. 2⁶

(T What is the true sense of these words ?

A. That we must suppress all our curiosity to know what happens within us during recollection, and content ourselves with knowing vaguely that many things have happened the secret of which God preserves; that we must give ourselves over and surrender to him; perhaps later he will let us know more.

Q. What is the last counsel ?⁷

A. It concerns distractions, and they are definitely distinguishable: for some do not harm prayer at all, others help it, and others only cause it suffering, sensibly dividing the powers of the soul.

Q. What are the first of these which do not cause suffering, since they cannot harm this prayer ?

A. They are certain ephemeral thoughts which merely pass through the mind, appearing and disappearing like lightning, while the heart remains calmly attached to its object; for the sweet repose of the heart feels strong enough to conquer these slight distractions, just as the pleasure of hearing a beautiful voice is often strong enough to drown some other small noise around me, which cannot silence what charms me.

Q. What are the distractions which help recollection ?

A. Those which God makes use of in order to grant recollection.

Q. How can that happen, and why ?

A. After one has entered by the aid of ordinary estranges it from God and loves prayer; if this distraction humbles us and inspires 11 s with contempt for ourselves, then it becomes a precious chance of multiplying our victories and our merits before God.

‘ What is there extraordinary in beginners being always subject to this kind of distraction ? Is it not most extraordinary that the unhappy creatures who are beginning with difficulty to pay their homage to the sovereign monarch of the universe, who have for so long kept apart from his company, who have often scorned his friendship and grievously offended him, think that as soon as they return to him they will obtain the same favours as his faithful servants, who have persevered for a long time in the holy exercise of prayer ? Let us persevere constantly in standing at the palace gate of this great monarch; let us bear ourselves humbly in his divine presence, assured that he sees and watches us. Let us count ourselves over-honoured in being admitted to stand before him, though we cannot say a word to him; let us think ourselves thrice happy if after many hours, days, months or years we can perform some small duty for him, and obtain a look, a word, a good thought or movement from him. Let us remember that God is not accustomed to grant all his graces in the highest degree at once. He wishes us first to strive for perfection and to make some progress. In the same way as the habit of moral virtue is formed in us by repeated acts, so the habit of grace into active recollection acquired with difficulty, and hard to keep, the spirit escapes through carelessness, and comes to rest on useless thoughts or reflections as soon as we begin to realize this involuntary straying, some interior movement takes place in the soul, some sudden bending back of the spirit in virtue of which we feel suddenly that we have returned to ourselves without knowing how or why. We find ourselves in a recollection which is quite different from the former, for the second is peculiarly peaceful, sweet and lasting without the slightest effort. It is by such frequent experiences that souls learned in the school of the heart realize clearly that this infused recollection does not depend on us, that it is not the fruit of human effort and striving, that God alone gives it to whomsoever he pleases, and in the way he pleases.

(). What are the distractions which cause pain by sensibly dividing the powers of the soul ?

A. The foolishness and extravagances of the imagination while the mind and heart are occupied with God; which seem cruelly to divide the soul in its own the infused and supernatural virtues is a reward God generally gives to the faith we bring to their performance.

1 Let us then not be astonished if we do badly at prayer, and are distracted at the beginning. If we willingly spend several years acquiring the mechanical arts or learning some humane science, how could we wish to be master in a few days of the exercise of prayer, which is the art of arts and the science of the saints ? How long have we been practising prayer ? with what perseverance have we done so ? what care have we taken to instruct ourselves in the means of success ? what have we done to obtain from God such a great gift as the spirit of prayer ? what sacrifice, what austerity, what penance, have we gone through to attain it ?... When we have persevered in these practices for many years and even for our whole life, we will not even then have cause for complaint; for God owes to no one this extraordinary gift of prayer. He gives it to whom he pleases; and we may keep till the next world the recompense for our fidelity. Let us persevere and ask unceasingly for this precious gift of prayer; this desire itself will be an excellent prayer that God himself will not fail to hear: Desiderium pauperum exaudivit Dominus; praeparationem cordis eorum audivit auris tua. (Ps. x, 17.) *—(Taken from Chenart’s Meditations, Vol. I, Introduction.)

powers, an unhappy condition which S. Teresa⁸⁹ experienced for a long time without ever finding, as she said, any remedy but patience; on which subject, in her pleasant manner, she quotes the Spanish proverb that ‘ the mill clacks on while we grind our wheat. 5 A disorderly imagination is, then, according to the Saint, merely the grinding of the mill which tries our patience; but the heart occupied with God, attached to God, is the mill which usefully produces the spiritual food and hence the life of the soul.

Does not the spirit sometimes get out of order in following the imagination ?

A. The Saint has known this also (it would seem, for our instruction): 2 c When the will enjoys this quiet, it should take no more notice of the understanding (or imagination) than it would of an idiot. If it tries to compel the imagination to keep it company, it will perforce be preoccupied and disturbed and in a state of painful struggle; thus, instead of profiting, the soul will lose what God was giving it without its having made any effort. 5

Q. What then should we do ?

A. We must merely remain firm in this sweet repose of the heart which, by the sweetness of its attraction, will bring back little by little the wandering faculties, rather as one brings back a swarm of bees into their hive by the sweetness of some pleasing sound, or by the charm of some beautiful odour; as S. Francis de Sales tells us. It is in this happy union of the faculties, during this total calm in God, that it seems that one has nothing more to desire, say those good souls who have experienced it, according to S. Teresa.¹⁰

Q. But how can the powers of the soul thus separate, and then re-unite in so beautiful a fashion ?

A. The fact seems to me unquestionable through the testimony of S. Francis de Sales alone as well as that of S. Teresa, whose works are well able to convince us that apart from their sanctity they have at least as much brains and penetration as we. As for those who always look for natural comparisons to understand or believe spiritual things, I beg them to consider what takes place in the soul when the heart is moved by a deep and strong passion: what sad ideas often revolve in our minds and imaginations despite ourselves; this is the painful division of mind and heart; but this heart, striving ceaselessly under the charm of its criminal attraction to draw back to itself its other powers, gains them; it possesses them. No more sad thoughts nor painful imaginings, no more division or contradiction in the heart, all is in harmony, one, at peace, and in the most seductive tranquillity.

We think the following counsels of S. Teresa to beginners will be welcome; they complete the preceding ones:

(i) ‘In the beginning we should strive to be cheerful and unconstrained... there are many occasions on which it is permitted us... to take some recreation, in order that we may with more vigour resume our prayer. Discretion is necessary throughout.

(ii) We must have great confidence... and put our trust in God.... Humility must always go before; so that we may know that this strength can come out of no strength of our own.

(iii) We must also imitate the Saints by striving after solitude and silence, and many other virtues that will not kill these wretched bodies of ours, which insist on being treated in so orderly a way, that they may disorder the soul.

(iv) There is another temptation, which is very common; when people begin to have pleasure in the rest and fruit of prayer, they will have everybody else be very spiritual also. Now to desire this is not wrong, but to try to bring it about may not be right, except with great discretion and with much reserve, without any appearance of teaching.

(v) There is another temptation—we ought to be aware of it, and be cautious in our conduct; persons are carried away by a zeal for virtue, through the pain which the sight of the sins and failings of others occasions them.,. they immediately seek to remedy the evil. This so disturbs them, that they cannot pray.

(vi) To those who can make use of their understanding, I say that they are not to spend the whole time in that way;... let them rather, as I have said, place themselves in the presence of Christ, and, without fatiguing the understanding, converse with him, and in him rejoice, without wearying themselves in searching out reasons.

(vii) He who begins is in need of instruction, whereby he may ascertain what profits him most. For this end it is very necessary he should have a director, who ought to be a person of experience;... it is of great consequence that the director should be prudent—I mean, of sound understanding—and a man of experience. If, in addition to this, he is a learned man, it is a very great matter... a spirituality, the foundations of which are not resting on the truth, I would rather were not accompanied with prayer. Learning is a great thing, for it teaches us who know so little, enlightens us. 5 —(Extracts from Life of S. Teresa, Ch. XIII.)

Footnotes

1. Instruction, Book VIII. ↩

2. God wishing his elect to realize their own misery, often temporarily withdraws his favours; no more is needed to prove to us in a very short time what we really are. Souls soon learn in this way; they perceive their faults very clearly, and some- times the discovery of how quickly they are overcome by but slight earthly trials is more painful than the subtraction of God’s sensible favours. I consider that God thus shows them great mercy, for though their behaviour may be faulty, yet they gain greatly in humility.’ (S. Teresa; Interior Castle, Third Mansion, Ch. II.) ↩

3. Way of Perfection, Ch. XXXI. ↩

4. Dialogue XVIII. ↩

5. Love of God, Book VI, Ch. X. 8 Canticles, VI. ↩

6. As for involuntary distractions, they must be regarded as a punishment for our past sins and intended to humble us. They are evil in themselves; they must be fled from and detested as dangerous things as much as temptations are, and they lead to sin. So long as the will does not give its consent, involuntary distraction is not a sin. And if the will feels hurt by it, it becomes an exercise in virtue. It is a sure sign that the soul detests what ↩

7. c Some distractions are voluntary, some involuntary. Volun- tary distractions are so in themselves, or in their causes. Dis- tractions voluntary in themselves are an insult to God, who is treated with less respect than an ordinary man, with no attention to his divine presence. They make prayer abominable in the sight of God, deprive us of his grace, and draw down on us his curse when we should receive his blessing. Distractions volun- tary in their causes come either from the lack of mortification of our passions: so long as the heart harbours an unregulated affection for created objects this affection is bound to cause mucli distraction during prayer; or from the lack of mortification of our senses—whoever cannot hold his tongue, shut his ears to vain discourses, to all novelties, etc., will be attacked by repeated onslaughts of distractions during prayer—or from negligence in preparing for prayer; God’s will is that with the help of ordinary grace we should do what we can to practise prayer well; Ante orationem praepara animam tuam et noli esse quasi homo qui tentat Deum (Ecclus. xviii). ↩

8. Interior Castle, Fourth Mansions, Ch. I. ↩

9. Way of Perfection, Ch. XXXI. ↩

10. Ibid. ↩