Part 2, lesson 12. How we may know that we are united to our Lord in meditation

Q. Will you now explain to me how we may know whether we are united to Jesus Christ?

A. This difficulty is an occa sion of many errors for certain devout persons, who, to be more sure of the operations of the Holy Spirit in them, are gene rally anxious to feel them. This is an error, but too common in devotion, and very injurious to the progress of souls. To re move it, I will give you a sure principle, taken from the words of our Saviour, the teacher of true devotion. He says in the gospel, that he will have adorers who will adore his Father in spirit and truth, that is, by faith and cha rity.* St. Paul says the same thing in other words, in speaking of the manner of adoringof christians, who seek God through faith and charity.! It follows from this, that if you wish to

• Fides quse per charitatem operatur. Gal. v, 6.

•j- Veri adoratores adorabunt Patrern in spiritu et veritate. Spiritas est Dens, et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare. JOAQ. xxiii; 24.

unite yourself with our Lord, you need no sensible represen tation or light in your mind, but you ought to be satisfied with simple faith and charity, without wishing to feel any sensible ope ration in your heart. Faith and" charity maybe compared to those two mystical animals, which draw the magnificent chariot of the church, as explained in a preceding lesson.

A further proof that we need no sensible disposition, to be interiorly united with our Lord, is that no such dispositions are required, when we receive the body and blood of our Lord, to participate in the spirit and life which hegivesus in.this adorable sacrament.

Q. It seems to me, if I under stand you well, that it is princi pally to receive the spirit, life, and virtues of our Lord, that we receive his adorable body and blood in communion?

A. It is true; the precious body and blood of our Saviour arc the channels through which his spirit is conveyed to us, to impart to us his life and di vine operations, to be our food, to make us improve in the prac tice of all virtues,* in a word, to communicate to us the pleni tude of his interior life.t

Q. But do Christians expe-

• Crescamus in illo per omnia. Eph. iv, 15.

• Ut impleamini in oinnem plenitu- (liriein Dei. Eph. iii, 19.

Hence this in themselves, when they receive our Lord ? Do they feel the operations of his Holy Spirit? Do they hear the praise which he gives to God in their hearts ? Do they experience in a sensible manner all the virtues which flow from him into their souls ?

A. N"o; for our Lord being all Spirit since his resurrection, his operations are also purely spiritual, and therefore they are not sensible; and in the same manner as corporal food pre serves life in all the parts of the human body, although the vivi fying influence flowing secretly into each of them is not felt, so our spiritual food vivifies our soul, in an insensible manner. As he is in us a pure spirit,* it is perfectly sufficient to unite ourselves to him by faith and charity, to participate in his di vine operations.