Chapter 20: Of some considerable privileges which God granted to this virgin, and of the grace which He promised to her clients

May my heart and my soul, with all the substance of my flesh, all my senses, and all the powers of my body and my mind, witli all creatures, praise Thee and give Thee thanks, O sweetest Lord, faithful Lover of mankind, for Thy signal mercy ; which has not only dissimulated the utterly un worthy preparation with which I have not feared to approach the supercelestial banquet of Thy most sacred Body and Blood, but has added this gift to me, the most utterly vile and perfectly useless of Thy creatures. First, of having been assured by Thy grace that all who desire to approach this Sacrament, and who are restrained by fear from a timid conscience, who come to me, who am the least of Thy servants, led by humility, to seek consolation, — that Thy exceeding mercy will judge them worthy, in re- compense for this humility, to receive this Sacrament with fruit to eternal life. Thou hast also added, that Thou wilt not permit any one, whom thy justice deems unworthy, to abase themselves to ask counsel of me, 0 Supreme Euler, " who, though Thou dwellest on high, regardest the humble" (Ps. cxii.).

What prompted Thy mercy, when Thou sawest me ap proach so often unworthily, to suspend Thy judgment, and not to inflict on me the punishment 1 deserve ? Thou wiliest to make others worthy by the virtue of humility ; and though Thou couldst do so more effectually without my assistance, Thy love, looking upon my misery, made Thee effect this through me ; so that thus I may be a sharer in the merits of those who, through iny admonitions, enjoy the fruits of salvation.

But, alas ! this is not the only remedy which my misery requires ; nor will one remedy satisfy Thy mercy, O most kind Lord ! For Thou didst assure my unworthiness that Thou wouldst consider whoever should expose their defects to me, with a contrite and humble heart, guilty or innocent, as I had declared them more or less guilty ; and from henceforward Thy grace would so sustain them that They should never again be in such danger from their faults as they had been previously. And thus Thou hast relieved my indigence, which is so great that I have never even for a single day corrected myself as I ought, and yet Thou dost permit me to participate in the victories of others, when Thou, my good God, dost condescend to make use of me, as a most unworthy instrument, to give the grace of victory to Thine other more deserving friends through my words.

Thirdly. The abundant liberality of Thy grace has en riched my poverty of merit by this assurance, — that when-

PROMISES MADE TO HER BY OUR LORD. Ill ever I promise a favour to any one, or the pardon of any fault, through confidence in Thy mercy, Thy benign love will ratify my words, and execute my promise as faithfully as if it had been confirmed by an oath of the Eternal Truth. Thou didst add further, that if any one found that the salutary effects of my promises were deferred, they should continually remind Thee that I had promised this grace from. Thee. Thus dost Thou provide for my salvation according to the words of the Gospel : " With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again " (Matt. vii. 2). And as I, alas ! continually fall into the greatest faults, Thou desirest by this means to remit the punishment I deserve.

Fourthly. To solace my miseries, Thou hast assured me, amongst other things, that whosoever recommend them selves humbly and devoutly to my prayers will certainly obtain all the fruit which they hoped to obtain by the intercession of any other person : in which Thou hast pro vided for my negligence, which prevents me from satisfying, not only for the prayers which are made gratuitously for the Church, but also for those of obligation ; and thou hast found the means of applying the fruit of them to me, ac cording to the words of David : " My prayers shall be turned into my bosom " (Ps. xxxiv.) ; making me participate in the merits of Thine elect, who shall ask these graces of Thee through my intermission, although I am utterly un worthy of it, and granting me a share in them to supply for my indigence.

Fifthly. Thou hast further promoted my salvation by conferring these special favours on me, that whosoever, with a good will, a right intention, and a humble con fidence, shall come to speak to me upon their spiritual ad vancement, should never leave me without being edified or receiving spiritual consolation. In this also thou hast most suitably supplied for my indigence ; for, alas ! I have wasted the talent Thou didst so liberally bestow on me by my useless words ; but now I may gain some merit by what I confide to others.

Sixthly. Thy liberality, 0 Lord, has bestowed on me this gift, more necessary than all, — certifying to me, that whoever, in their charity, will either pray for me — the vilest of God's creatures — or perform any good works, either for the amendment of my life, — or the forgiveness of the sins of my youth, or the correction of my iniquity and malice, shall receive this reward from Thy abundant liberality— namely, that they shall not die until, by Thy grace, their lives have become pleasing to Thee ; and that Thou wilt dwell in their souls by a special friendship and intimacy.

And this Thou hast granted of Thy paternal tenderness, to assist my extreme indigence ; as thou knowest how many and how great corrections are needed for my innu merable sins and negligences. Thus, as Thy loving mercy will not permit me to perish, and, on the contrary, by reason of Thy justice, will not permit me to be saved with all my imperfections, Thou hast provided for me by means of the gains and merits of others.

Thou hast added to all these favours, my kind God, by an abundant liberality, — that if any one, after my death, considering with how much familiarity Thou didst commu nicate with my unworthiriess while in this life, should re commend themselves humbly to my prayers, Thou wouldst hear them as willingly as if they invoked the intercession of any other person, provided that they had the intention of repairing their faults and negligences, and that they humbly and devoutly thanked Thee for five special benefits which Thou didst grant ine.

First. For the love by which Thou didst freely choose me from all eternity, and which I declare to be the greatest of ail the benefits which Thou hast bestowed on me ; for as Thou wert not ignorant of, or rather didst foresee, the cor rupt life which I should lead, the excess of my ingratitude, and how I should abuse Thy gifts, so that I deserve to have been born a pagan, and not an enlightened human being, — Thy mercy, which infinitely exceeds our crimes, has chosen me, in preference to many other Christians, to bear the holy character of a religious.

Secondly. Because Thou hast drawn me blessedly to Thee ; and I acknowledge it to be an effect of the clemency and charity which is natural to Thee, who hast won, by the attractions of Thy caresses, this rebellious and stubborn heart, which deserves to be loaded with fetters and chains ; and it has seemed as if Thou hadst found in me the faith ful companion of Thy love, and that Thy greatest pleasure was to be united to me.

Thirdly. Because Thou hast united me so intimately to Thee ; and I declare, as I am bound, that I am indebted for this only to Thy signal liberality, as if the number of the just was not great enough to receive the immense abund ance of Thy mercies ; not that I had better dispositions than others, but, on the contrary, that Thy charity might be the more signalised in me thereby.

Fourthly. That Thou hast taken pleasure and delight in dwelling in my soul ; and this, if I may so speak, pro ceeds from the ardour of Thy love, which has deigned to testify, even by words, that it is the joy of Thy all-powerful wisdom to stoop to one so dissimilar to Thee, and so utterly ungrateful.

Fifthly. That it has pleased Thee to accomplish Thy work happily in me -3 and it is a favour which I have hoped with humble confidence from the tenderness of Thy most benign charity, and for which I adore Thee with gratitude ; declaring, O sovereign, true, and only treasure of my soul, that I have in no way contributed to it by my merits, but that it is a pure gift of Thy liberality.

All these benefits coming from Thine immense charity, and being so far above my nothingness, I am unable to give thanks for them worthily; but Thou hast further assisted my misery, in exciting others, by the most con descending promises, to render thanksgivings to Thee, the merit of which may supply my deficiencies. For which may all creatures in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, glorify Thee and thank Thee continually !