Letter VI. To Teresa Rejadella

1 Venice, September //, 1536.

JHUS.

May the grace and love of Christ Our Lord ever favour and help us.

I have received two letters from you on different occasions: to the first I gave, as it seemed to me, a lengthy answer, which I trust has by this time reached you; in the second you say much the same thing as in the first, except some words to which alone I will answer briefly.

You say you find in yourself very much ignorance and littleness, etc., — which itself let me remark, is no little knowledge; — and that it seems to you that this is fostered by your having so many ideas and so few determinations. I quite agree with you, that he who determines little understands little and profits still less, but the Lord who sees is Himself the one who favours.

All meditation in which the understanding works fatigues the body; other meditations there are, regulated and quiet, which are not trying to the understanding or wearisome to the interior spirit, and which are made without exterior or interior effort. These do not fatigue the body but rather give it rest, except in two cases; first, when it deprives you of the sustenance and recreation that must be given to the body. By loss of sustenance I mean when, through being absorbed in such meditations, one does not remember to give to the body its natural refection, going beyond the appointed hours. By recreation I mean that we should at the proper times allow the intellect to dwell as it pleases on good and indifferent things, only avoiding always what is bad.

The second happens to many given to prayer and contemplation. It is that before they go to rest, through excessive use of the understanding they are afterwards unable to sleep, their thoughts going continually back upon the things contemplated, or imagined. Hence the enemy endeavours to draw profit, making the body indisposed by depriving it of sleep, a thing which must be altogether avoided. With a healthy body you will be able to do much, with a body unhealthy I do not know how much may be possible. A sound state of body helps greatly to do both much evil and much good; much evil in the case of those whose will is de- praved arid whose habits are bad; much good in those whose will is wholly applied to God Our Lord and is confirmed in good habits. Consequently since I do not know what are your meditations or exercises, nor how long they last, nor what Caceres has said to you, I am not able to offer any further suggestion, more than what I have already written. All that I confirm now more than ever; that is, that you should bear in mind that your Lord loves you, a truth of which I have no doubt, and thlat you should correspond with that same love, paying no attention whatsoever to bad, impure, or sensual thoughts, weaknesses, or even tepidity, so long as all these are contrary to your will. Neither Saint Peter nor Saint Paul ever secured immunity from this trial; but though not all is gained, yet much is gained by paying no attention to any part of it. For just as my, salvation will, please God, be secured by the help of the good works of the good angels, so on the same account I cannot be harmed by the evil thoughts and weaknesses of which the bad angels, the world, and the flesh are the cause. God Our Lord only wishes to see my soul in conformity with His Divine Majesty; when the soul is thus conformed, it makes the body act, whether it will or no, in conformity with His divine will; and in this consists both our greatest struggle and the pleasure of the eternal and supreme goodness. Of Whom we beg that through His infinite pity and grace He may ever lead us by the hand.

From Venice, September 1 1, 1536.

Poor in goodness, j; Inigo.