Chapter 31. On the Ordinary Temptations to Which Those Are Subject Who Devote Themselves to A Life of Prayer, and on the Manner of Resisting Them

1.—It will be well now to treat of the ordinary temptations which assail those who dedicate themselves to prayer, also the remedies against them. The following are the principal ones:—The want of spiritual consolations, the war of idle-thoughts, thoughts of a blasphemous or infidel tendency, a want of confidence or distrust in our progress, and presumption that we are more advanced than we really are. These are the most ordinary temptations, and the following are the remedies.

2.—In the first place for such as lack spiritual consolations, the prescription is, on no account to omit the accustomed exercise of prayer however distasteful or fruitless it may seem, but to place yourself in the presence of God like a guilty culprit and examine your conscience; examine whether you may not have forfeited his grace by sin, beg his forgiveness with entire confidence, proclaim the boundless extent of his patience and mercy in bearing so long with you and pardoning one, who has known nothing except to offend him.

3.—Thus by seizing the opportunity of exercising humi- — lity, and looking at the greatness of your sins as a stimulant to increase your love for God for having forgiven you so much, will you reap a harvest from a barren soil. And should you find no pleasure in these exercises, do not abandon them, because it is not always necessary that what is for our good should also be agreeable. At all events it is found by experience that they who persevere steadily and sedulously in prayer, doing the little they are able in the best manner they can, finish with finding themselves consoled and satisfied with having performed their part as far as in them lay. It is not much to persevere in prayer whilst it is accompanied by many consolations, but it is a great point when devotion is cold to find prayer plentiful, with more humility and patience and perseverance in working well.

4.—It is also more necessary on these, than on other occasions, to act with caution and circumspection, setting a watch over ourselves and carefully scrutinizing our thoughts words and actions; because when spiritual joy, which is the stroke-oar of our boat, is wanting, it is necessary to supply her place with extra care and diligence. When thou findest thyself in this strait, thou hast to reckon, as St. Bernard says, That the sails which guided thy vessel have forgot to fill, and the walls of thy fortress have fallen to decay. Thy hope of safety is in thy own arm, thy walls of defence have disappeared, on thy sword and skill depends the battle. Oh how great is the glory of a soul thus struggling and defending herself! she fights without arms and her strength does not depend upon outer bulwarks, but finding herself in the thick of the battle she depends on her own prowess and courage alone.

5.—This is the true test by which to guage the worth of friends and prove whether they are true or false.

6.—Against the temptations of distracting thoughts which so frequently interfere with us during the time of prayer, the remedy is a brave and constant struggle against them. ‘This however should not be carried on with too much anxiety and solicitude, because this is a matter rather for grace and humility than violence. Therefore when we find ourselves tempted in this way, we should turn our hearts meekly towards God, since this state is not sinful or at most but venially so, and pray to him with devout humility, saying, Oh Lord, thou seest me and what sort of a creature lam; canst thou expect aught but foul exhalations from such a dunghill? Canst thou expect! from this soil accursed by thee aught but thorns and briars? Behold, Oh Lord, this is the only fruit it can yield unless it be cleaned by thee. And having prayed thus, resume thy business and patiently expect the visitation of the Lord which never fails the humble. Nevertheless, should the distractions still continue, and thou shouldst persevere in resisting them to thy utmost, thou mayst rest assured that thou art gaining really more by this resistance than thou wouldst be by enjoying God, in all the savour of his sweetness.

7.—With regard to the temptation of blasphemy we may remark that though no sort of temptation is more painful yet there is none less dangerous; we should therefore as a remedy take no note of it, because there is no sin in the thoughts, but only in entertaining them with pleasure, and as we not only do not consent but quite the reverse, therefore it may be called rather a painfúl feeling than a fault, because the more a man '

shuns taking delight in these temptations, the less chance is there of him falling into sin. Therefore the best remedy, as I have stated, is to despise and not to fear them, because when too much feared the fear itself tends to awaken and arouse them.

8.—The remedy against the temptations to infidelity is to consider on the one hand human littleness and on the other

God’s infinite greatness, to reflect that it is our duty to obey.

the commandments of the Almighty, not to scrutinize his works, because we see many of them far surpass the limits of human understanding. Therefore he who would enter into the sanctuary of divine things, should enter with much humility and profound respect, should have the simplicity of the dove, not the malicious glance of the serpent, the submissive heart of a disciple not the daring scrutiny of a master. Let him comport himself as a little child, for to such does God reveal his secrets. Let him not care to know the why or the wherefore of God’s works; but rather let him close the eye of reason and open only the eye of faith, because by them we ought to estimate the works of the Almighty. We ought to examine the works of man with the eye of reason, but it is not equal to the investigation of things divine. But inasmuch as this temptation is generally most painful, it requires the same mode of treatment as the last, not to take much notice of it because it is rather a painful feeling than a fault; and there is no fault without consent of the will as we before explained.

9.—Against want of confidence in God and presumption upon his mercy which are two opposite vices, quite opposite treatments are to be adopted. To relieve the former we must reflect that confidence in God is not to be obtained by our own strength alone, but through divine grace, which is the sooner attained the sooner we distrust our own powers, and place all our confidence in the goodness of God, to whom all things are possible.

10.—To cure presumption we should reflect that there is no surer sign that we are still far from God than the belief that we are close to him. Look at thyself, as if thou wert looking in a mirror, in the lives of the saints and other distinguished individuals still in the flesh, and thou wilt see that before them thou art like a dwarf before a giant, and thus wilt thou cease to be presumptuous.

11.—Another temptation is an inordinate desire for spiritual sweetnesses and consolations, accompanied by disparagement of those who are not favoured with them. Asa remedy for this temptation, I will explain what should be our ultimate aim in these spiritual exercises. We must therefore always bear in mind that inasmuch as this communion with

God is so sweet and delicious, as the wise man says, it often happens that many attracted by this marvellous sweetness, the pleasure of which is indescribable, seek after God and devote themselves to every spiritual exercise, both in reading, in prayer, and in frequenting the sacraments, solely on account of the intense pleasure they find there, hence their main object is the desire for this admirable sweetness. This is a great and common mistake into which many fall. Because as the principal end of all our actions is to love God and seek after -God, such loye themselves and seek after themselves, that is to say, after their own proper pleasure and contentment, rather than after God.

12.—And what is worse, another mistake quite as great follows upon it, namely, the disposition to judge one's-self and

\ a E ee + ) re! : 5 2 T others by these delights and feelings, and the belief that every one is more or less perfect, according to the measure with which he participates in the sweetnesses of God. This is a very serious mistake.

138. —As a general rule for the correction of such deceits, let each one bear in mind that the object of all these exercises and of a spiritual life is, obedience to the commandments of God and the fulfilling his will. Therefore it is necessary that our own will should die, in grder that the will of God may live and reign, because the one is directly opposed to the other. And inasmuch as so great a victory cannot be achieved ‘without the divine favour and assistance we ought on that account principally to practice prayer, that through it we may obtain this favour and feel these delights to enable us to carry on the struggle with success to its close. For this object and to this end we may ask for and obtain the delights of prayer, as we have already stated, and like David asked for, when he said, “Restore unto me, Oh Lord, the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.”

14.—Then in conformity with this, every one will comprehend what should be his aim in performing these exercises ; and so understand from what point to estimate and measure his own advancement and that of others; not by the delicious favours he may receive from God, but by what he has himself suffered for the sake of God, both by doing the divine will and by denying himself. Hence have the saints truly said, that the real test of a spiritual man is not ‘the delight felt in prayer, but patience in tribulations, self-denial, and obedience to the will of God; yet for all these prayer is most advantageous and the delights and consolations which accompany it most profitable.

15.—Therefore he who wishes:to see the progress he has made on the way to God, should look at his daily advancement in internal and external humility, should observe how he bears injuries from the hands of others, how he has learnt to disregard outward follies, how he has hastened to succour his neighbour in his necessities, how he has shewn compassion and not contempt for the failings of others, how he has learnt to put his trust in God under tribulations, how he governs his tongue and watches over his heart. He should examine whether he has subdued his flesh with all its appetites and desires, how he demeans himself in prosperity and adversity, how he is able to foresee and provide against contingencies. He should also examine whether he is proof against the love of honour of pleasure and of the world, and according to his advancement or falling off in all these things he should judge himself, and not according to how he has felt or not felt the immediate presence of God. Therefore let him always keep one eye fixed on mortification and the other on prayer, for mortification itself cannot be obtained in perfection without the assistance of prayer.