XI. To an unknown correspondent

Pax Abbaye de St Benoit, Maredsous. Sept. 11, 1897. My dear Child,

Your letter was a joy for me; for I see that despite your unworthiness, God is guiding you, and is full of mercy and love in your regard. Your great object ought to be, to become very humble. This is the sure road to God’s love; for He is so powerful that He can change even our corruption into the pure gold of His love, if He finds no obstacle in pride. Believe me, my dear child, if you are sincerely humble, God will do the rest. To become humble, a practice I have may aid you: it is to make three stations every day.

Ist. station: Consider what you were. If you have once sinned mortally in your life, you have merited to be cursed for all Eternity by Him Who is Infinite truth and Infinite goodness. And that curse would have brought with it, separation forever from God; eternal hatred for God, and for all that is good, just and beautiful; and to be trampled for all Eternity beneath the feet of the demons. And this punishment would have been just, and have been pronounced by Him Who is Goodness itself. Oh, my dear child, we have perhaps merited all this; and if we be not there now, it is an effect of God’s infinite mercy, and of the sufferings of J.C. Can anything be bad enough for us? can anyone do us injury in despising us?

2nd. station: what we are. It is of faith that we are incapable of a good thought without God, “without me you can do nothing” *; that is, we cannot make one step towards God without Him. Then our daily infidelities, our sins, our ingratitude, our best actions are very miserable indeed.

3rd. station: what we may become. If God takes away His hand from us, we are perfectly capable of becoming what we were before, and worse. God sees this. He knows what depths of treachery we are capable of. How can we be proud?

But after these stations, we must never forget another, and it is this: we are infinitely rich in J.C., and God’s mercies are to our miseries what the ocean is to a drop of water. We never glorify God more than when we, despite the sight of our sins and unworthiness, are so filled with confidence in His mercy and in the infinite merits of J.C., that we throw ourselves in His bosom, full of confidence and love, sure that He cannot repell us: “a humble and contrite heart, oh God, Thou wilt not despise’? |... .|#