Chapter 44: Of the manner in which we should ask our Lord for rest or sleep

IT happened some time after, that Gertrude passed an entire night without sleeping, which so weakened her that her strength entirely failed ; and she offered her prostration, as usual, for the glory of God and the salvation of men. Then our Lord, charitably compassionating her weakness, taught her to invoke Him by these words : " I beseech Thee, O most merciful God, by the most tranquil sweetness with which Thou hast reposed from all eternity in the bosom of the Father, by Thy peaceful abode of nine months in the womb of a virgin, and by all the holy delights which Thou hast ever enjoyed in souls filled with Thy love, to grant me some rest, — not for my own satisfaction, but for Thy eternal glory, — in order that the strength of my wearied body may be restored, and that I may be able to fulfil my duties."

And as she said these words, she saw herself coming nearer to God, as if she ascended by steps. Then our Lord showed her a place at His right hand, and said to her : " Come, My beloved, repose on My Heart, and see if My anxious love will permit you to rest without anxiety." * As she reclined thus on the loving Heart of Jesus, and felt its sweet pulsations more sensibly, she said to Hirn : " O my Beloved ! what wouldest Thou say to me by those pulsa tions?" He replied: "I would say, that when any one finds herself exhausted and deprived of strength by long wakefulness, and addresses to Me the prayer with which I have just inspired you, that I may grant them the strength they need for My service. — if I do not hear them, and they bear their weakness with, patience and humility, I will console them with the same tenderness and charity as a friend would his friend, who rose from his bed with alacrity, although overpowered with sleep, merely for the sake of enjoying the pleasure which he found in his conversation. And as this compliance would be even more agreeable to him than if it were offered by a person who usually passed the night without sleeping much, so also is he infinitely more pleasing to Me who, having exhausted all his strength by vigils, offers Me his weakness, and bears it with humility and patience, than he who, being more robust, is able to remain entire nights in prayer, without suffering much inconvenience."