Chapter 62: Instructions for different persons in different states of life

§ 1. For one, who has an ardent desire to advance in perfection.

As Gertrude prayed for a person who had an ardent desire to advance in perfection, she received this instruc tion : " Tell her from Me, that if she desires to unite herwelf to Me by the tie of special love, she must, like a noble bird, make a nest at My feet of the branches of her own nothingness and the palms of My greatness, where she may repose by a continual remembrance of her un worthiness, because man is aways inclined to evil of himself, and not to good, unless he is prevented by My grace. Let her often reflect on My mercy, and on the paternal goodness with which I am ready to receive men when they have fallen, if they return to Me by penance. When she desires to leave this nest in order to seek for food, she must fly into My bosom, wherein, with affectionate gratitude, she must reflect on the different blessings with which I have enriched her by My superabundant kindness. If she de sires to fly further, and to ascend higher on the wings of her desires, she must rise with the swiftness of an eagle to the contemplation of heavenly things, which are above her; she must fly around My face, supported like a seraph on the wings of charity, and gaze with the piercing eyes of her spirit upon the glory of the King of kings.

" But since it is impossible for her during this life to avis j" probably the eagle is intended.

continue long in this high contemplation, even for an hour, she must depress her wings, by thinking frequently of her own nothingness, and return to her nest, remaining there in repose until she is able again to renew her flight by acts of thanksgiving and gratitude ; then let her seek once more her pasture, and elevate herself again in ecstasy to the highest contemplation of the Divine Majesty. Thus, by repeating frequently these difficult movements, entering into her nest by considerations of her unworthiness, and coming forth from it by meditating on My benefits, she will elevate herself to heavenly contemplation, and she will always taste celestial joys."

§ 2. Instruction for one who had entered religion at an advanced period.

Gertrude now prayed for another person who had been particularly recommended to her, and who, having renounced the world after passing the flower of her youth in it, had consecrated herself to God in religion. She besought Him, by the same love with which He had promised her that He would use her heart as a canal through which to pour forth His grace on others, that He would now accomplish this promise for His own glory, and for the satisfaction and advantage of this person ; and as she prayed thus, she saw her heart united, under the form of a little canal, to the loving Heart of Jesus, the Son of God, who appeared seated on His royal throne.

Then Gertrude also saw the person for whom she prayed prostrating humbly before God ; she beheld our Lord offering her His left hand, and saying to her : " I will place you under the protection of My incomprehensible omnipotence, My inscrutable wisdom, and My ineffable goodness," — at the same time presenting to her three fingers of His left hand, with which He touched hers ; thus in dicating three different manners in which she should endeavour to regulate her life. First, that when she com menced any duty, she should always submit herself humbly to the Divine omnipotence, acknowledging herself a useless servant, since she had passed her best years unfruitfully, without thinking of God her Creator ; praying fervently that the Almighty would give her grace to act as she ought therein. Secondly, that she should protest, before the im penetrable wisdom of God, that she was unworthy to receive any effusion of Divine knowledge, because she had not accustomed her senses from her infancy to occupy them selves with Divine things, but rather had used them for human pride and vainglory. Thus abasing herself in pro found humility, she should detach herself from everything earthly, and apply herself solely to the contemplation of God ; and that she should, according to the circumstances of time and place, endeavour to impart to others the effusions of Divine grace which were poured forth on her. Thirdly, that she should receive with great thanksgiving the good will which the Lord had freely bestowed on her, and by means of which she would be enabled to observe the two preceding counsels.

It appeared to the Saint, also, that our Lord wore a ring on the ring-finger of His left hand, the material of which was of little value, though it contained a very rare and precious stone of the colour of fire ; and it was revealed to her that this ring symbolised the imperfect life of this person, which she had offered to God by forsaking t}ie world, and enrolling herself under the Divine standard ; and that the precious stone signified the mercy and ineff able liberality whereby our Saviour had inspired her with a good will, so that all her works might become perfect be- fore God. Therefore the voice * — that is to say, the inten tion — of this person ought to be a continual thanksgiving and praise to God for this immense grace. She knew, also, whenever this person performed any good work by Divine assistance, that our Lord placed it on His right hand as a ring of great value, displaying it before all the heavenly court, and appearing to take satisfaction in having received the gift from His spouse, — that is, from the soul of this person. This gave all the blessed souls a love for her, as princes have for the spouse of their king ; arid they ren dered their services to this person, whenever God desired it, with all the fervour and devotedness which the Church triumphant in heaven renders to the Church militant on earth.

§ 3. Instruction for a person who was desired to make her nest in the hole of the rock — that is, in the wounded Side of Jesus.

As the Saint prayed with much devotion for another person, she received this instruction for her : that she was to make her nest in the hole of the rock, — that is, in the adorable Side of Jesus Christ, — so that, reposing there, she should suck honey from the rock, — that is, the sweetness of the intention of the Deified Heart of Jesus, — and thus she might learn to imitate His example, according to the instruction of Holy Scripture; but especially in three things. First : as our Lord frequently passed whole nights in prayer, she should imitate Him by having recourse to prayer in every trial and adversity. Secondly : that as Jesus Christ preached in the towns and villages, she should endeavour to edify her neighbour, not only by word, but by works ; by her conduct, and even by the least moveinent of her body. Thirdly : that as our Saviour was always ready to assist the needy, she should also render service to her neighbour by word and act ; that whenever she was about to perform any action, she should always recommend it to God, uniting it to His most perfect works, that it might be accomplished according to His adorable will, for the salvation of the world ; and at its conclusion she should again offer it to the Son of God, that He might amend its defects, and present it to God His Father for His eternal glory.

Whenever this person came forth from her nest, she was to use three supports ; one to assist her in walking, and the other two to support her on either side. The first support was to be a fervent charity, by which she was to endeavour with all her might to draw all kinds of persona to God, and to be useful to them for the glory of God, in consideration of that Divine love by which He had laboured for the common salvation of the whole human race. The second support, which she was to use on the right side, was a humble subjection, by which she was to submit herself to all for the love of God, and to take the utmost care that neither her superiors nor her inferiors should be scandalised by her words or actions. The third support, which she was to use on the left side, was an exact vigilance over herself, by means of which she should endeavour to preserve herself from all sin, and to avoid the stains which she might con tract by thought, word, or action.

§ 4. Instruction for another person who was to erect ct mystical throne.

As Gertrude prayed for another person, her spiritual life was thus represented to her : She appeared before the throne of God as if engaged in building a magnificent throne of precious stones, the cement of which was pure gold. Sometimes she rested on this throne, and then rose up again to resume her labour with greater fervour. The Saint understood that these precious stones represented the different afflictions by which the grace of God was preserved and strengthened in the soul of this person ; for the Lord leads His elect through this life by rough and difficult paths, lest pleasures here should make them forget the pleasures of their fatherland. The gold which cemented these precious stones together represented the habitual grace which this soul possessed, and by means of which, with a lively faith, she made such profit of all the trials she suffered, whether exterior or interior. The repose which she took when sitting on this throne signified the sweetness of Divine consolation which she enjoyed ; and the rising again, the good works in which she persevered continually, and by which she profited so much that she daily rose to a higher degree of perfection.

§ 5. The life of another person represented under the figure of a tree.

As the Saint prayed for another person, her life was thus represented to her : She beheld before the throne of the Divine Majesty a very beautiful tree, the trunk and branches of which were green and flourishing, the leaves shining like gold. The person for whom she prayed ap peared to ascend into this tree, and to cut off some Sittle branches which had commenced to wither ; and she had no sooner effected this, than Gertrude beheld the same number of branches coming forth from different parts of the throne of God, which were presented to this person to take the place of those which she had cut off; and when these weie grafted on the tree, they appeared to bring forth fruit of a red colour, which she gathered and presented to God, who received the offering with much pleasure.

The tree represented the religious life into which this person had entered to serve God ; the gold-coloured leaves the good works which she practised in her monastery — and these were rendered of still more value by the prayers of one of her relatives, who had induced her to become a reli gious, and had recommended her to God with much fervent prayer. The instrument with which she cut off the withered branches represented the consideration of her own defects, in order to extirpate them by penance. The branches which came forth from the throne of God to replace those which she had cut off, signified the perfect and holy life of Jesus Christ, who, through the merits and prayers of her relation, was always ready to supply her defects. Lastly, the fruit which she gathered and presented to God signified the good-will she had to correct her faults, which was most acceptable to the Lord, who thinks more of the good-will of a sincere heart than of great actions without a pure intention.

§ 6. Instruction for a learned and for an ignorant person, figured by the three Apostles on Mount Thabor. As the Saint prayed fervently for two persons who had been recommended to her prayers, but of whom she knew nothing, she besought our Lord to reveal their spiritual state to her. Our Lord then desired her to inform them of two revelations which had been made to her for two other persons for whom she had been praying previously, one of whom was learned and the other illiterate ; and He added, that all persons, whatever might be their state or condition, would find instruction in the preceding reve lations, as well as in those which follow. Of the learned person, our Lord said : " I have taken her up, with My Apostles, on the mountain of new light; therefore, in regulating her conduct, let her be instructed by the mean ing of the names of the Apostles who were led to that mountain. Now, Peter, according to the interpreters, sig nifies ' knowledge ; ' t let her then endeavour, in all her reading, to attain to self-knowledge. For example : when she reads of vices or virtues, let her examine if she has any vices, and see what progress she has made in virtue. Then, when she has obtained a more perfect knowledge of herself, let her follow the signification of the name James, which is interpreted * supplanter, and endeavour to fight cou rageously against her vices, and to advance in virtues. And since the name John signifies ' grace/ let her endea vour, at least for one hour each day, in the morning or evening, or whenever she finds it most suitable, to separate f This passage is a difficult one. We are happy, however, in being able to append a note with which we have been favoured by one of the Benedictine Fathers of Solesmes, to whom we are deeply indebted for valuable assistance. In reply to our query, he writes thus : " As regards the names, ' Petrus,' &c. : Simon, in the Hebrew, is the same as hearing, obeying ; for scama means, ' to hear, to obey ;' but this hardly agrees with the interpretation given,— ie., ' Petrus itaque interpretatur agnoscens.' James, from the Latin ' Jacobus,' which means 'supplanter' (Gen. xxvii. 26), because he took hold of his brother's foot (plantam) ; Jacob, in Hebrew, meaning 'a supplanter.' John, in Latin 'Johannes,' — i.e., ' Deus donavit, vel, Deus misertus est, aut, Dei donum gratia et misericordia,'— from ia (Hebrew), a contraction for Jehovah (Deus) and chanan,— i.e., ' Misertus est,' or ' donavit.'"

herself from all exterior things, and to recollect herself in teriorly, to think of Me and know My will ; and let her thus exercise herself devoutly, as far as she can during the time which she has chosen, in all that I inspire her with ; whether it be praise, thanksgiving for the special favours I have bestowed on her, or for those which I have granted to others, or prayer for sinners, or for the souls in purga tory."

The following instruction was given for the unlearned person because she was much troubled that she could not apply to prayer as she desired, being hindered by the duties of her office : " I have not merely chosen her to serve Me for an hour in the day, but that she may be continually with Me, — that is, that she may perform all her actions for My glory, and with the same intention with which she would desire to pray. Let her also practise this devotion in all the trouble which she finds in her employment, — namely, to have a constant desire that all those who benefit by her labour may not only find bodily refreshment, but that they may be incited to love Me interiorly, and be strength ened in all good ; and each time that she acts thus, her labours and works will be to Me as if she presented Me with so many different and delicious viands."