n> v—iw >ij» » ■T^TSaS L>w; 1 MmH'^73 f ■ii ■ is a tree waicli bears a very nutritious fruit. The consideration of the greatness of the most holy Sacraments gives also a nutritious fruit; but it must not be allowed to blossom, be¬ cause if the flowers fall the fruits will not ripen; hence one must not consider the origin of the Sacraments. It might do great harm, and in curious souls occasion some error and deception as to the faith; because it is a terrible thing especially to consider that the whole God is hiding under the appearance of such a small portion of bread. It is enough to know that He has said it, and that He can do it. likewise, it is a great and deep mystery that a little water opens paradise to us; therefore we must not tarry with our intellect to investigate how this can be; but, considering the greatness of these Sacra¬ ments, we should receive them with deep reverence and humility, and with that love, simplicity and purity wntli w’hich they were instituted. The consideration of the designs of God in everything, is a fruit we should allow to remain on the tree as long as possible, because the longer we continue in its consider¬ ation, the more do we penetrate and comprehend the great harmony of God, and the more do we see that He does nothing without the greatest order and wisdom. The con¬ sideration of the capacity God grants to the soul, and of His communicating to the same His greatness and goodness, is a fruit not less beneficial than those already mentioned, because it greatly warms and inflames the affection of those who gather it.... The Eternal Wisdom ceases not from creating in this little world all those things which may be useful to the soul — some for instruction, others for delight, and others for use. He creates therein other creatures, W’hich have being, growth, and feeling; and these are the animals of the earth, some useful and others harmful, viz., the many and various movements of the soul, all of which need tempering. Thoughts, deeds and all acts must be directed towards God, doing everything for His honorandfor His service, just as animals are for the service of man. The passion of concupiscence^ is the one which can render man great service, for it dwells and feeds itself on desires, and brings to the soul a very great wealth of merits, as the Word says that He is satisfied with good-will when the deed is impossible. The passion of anger or irascibility is also to be found in this little world, and it causes everything to be moderated, restricting the desires and rendering them amenable to God’s own se;-vice....

There are also the mountains and the hills. Prudence is a high mountain; hence he who dwells on mountains has a more healthy body, as there the air is purer. He can see and foresee what he has to do and provides accordingly, and the fruits he gathers are more rare. Thus prudence keeps the soul and the body in better vigor for the practice of virtues, for the many mists and the thick darkness caused by the passions, when they affect the intellect and deprave it, do not reach there. Moreover, one provides there, for he honors God with all his works; he sees and foresees, because he arms himself very strongly against all temptations. The fruits are more rare, for what are the fruits of prudence but the works it produces? — which being accomplished through this virtue, though they are few, yet they possess greater vigor and utility; hence a work done with prudence is worth more than many done with imprudence and levity. Prudence con¬ siders and ponders well before doing anything that is to be done, and thus the works it does are the most acceptable to God and men....

There is also the delightful valley of temperance, withdrawing by degrees from what the intellect too proudly wishes to understand or the appetite inordinately craves. It is neither a mountain, nor even altogether a valley, but a plain on the mount. First it withdraws the sophistical prudence of those who want to investigate the works of God. The works we do by ourselves we must well consider and perform with the greatest pru¬ dence; but those which God makes us perform, we must neither consider nor ponder, but allow them to be directed and judged by Him, without reflecting on them or investi¬ gating His will.... Temperance moderates also the levity of those who, in their works, act without prudence. It joins together all the virtues, and fixes and establishes them in the soul, so that it may not be shaken by every light wind, nor thrown to the ground.... Moreover, temperance moderates and withdraws the soul from all inordi¬ nate affections and appetites, preventing their deceiving us underthe pretext of necessity, for mere necessity needs so little, that it can hardly be said what it is, as it is next to nothing. The divine grace which helps us, enables us to do and to suffer more than people would think. “ Non ego, sed gratia Dei mecum “ Not I, but the grace of God with me.” But he who is not enlightened from heaven, and dwells not in this valley, is easily deceived, as those are who, with their human prudence, measure the forces of a soul assisted and raised up by the divine grace; hence whatever seems to them an excess, they deem faulty and indiscreet. In this work they must acknowledge the author, and thank the Divine Goodness, which communicates Itself to others more than to them, and confess at the same time their tepidity and negligence.... But the great Builder, our God, is not satisfied with this, for He wishes to complete the work. He being the perfecter of every work; hence He creates in the little world the Word Incarnate, but raised by Him, rests in the Word, begotten of the Father from Eternity; and thus it enters the Divinity, and from it, as the cedar from its sap, draws its nourishment....

But there is flying in this little world another bird, which takes rest occasionally in some tree, and there building its nest, begets its delightful and pretty ones, like to itself, feeding them afterwards with the blood from its breast; and this is the pelican, taken into the soul by justice, which rests in the other virtues, as, for instance, in charity, humility, patience, love, and many others, and begets rectitude. Justice though it be, it does not refuse mercy. It feeds its little ones with the blood of its breast, and this is the Humanity of the Word, Who feeds them by His words, works and example, but much more by the infinite value of His precious Blood.... Justice renders also to every¬ one what belongs to him — to God, the soul, the body and the neighbors. It renders to God what belongs to Him, viz., love, worship, and reverence; and, what He wishes above all, the soul created for Him. It renders to the soul what belongs to her, and, as she possesses nothing but herself — nay, not even herself, as she is God’s— she is reduced to this, that she possesses nothing which is her own; but, finding in herself the most precious and rare thing that can be, viz., her God, Who for love has given Himself to her, by giving Him to herself, she comes to give to herself the only thing she can call her own, because, outside of Him the soul has no other thing she can appropriate to herself. The body has nothing but the earth that supports it high and low, hence it lowers and raises itself; and^ the soul likewise, regaining the knowledge of herself, arises and falls down by having little or much humility. Justice renders also to the neighbor what be¬ longs to him; and what has the neighbor in truth that is really his own? The Divine Word, Who is really born on earth for him, is given to him: “ nobis datus, nobis natus.'' Hence, the soul possessed of this justice, renders to the neighbor the Incarnate Word, trying to graft It in the hearts of others, by the edification of words and works.... Another bird flies continually through this little world, and its name is turtledove, that is, fortitude. This bird laments the loss of its companion; the soul likewise pos¬ sessing this fortitude, laments her frailty and that of her neighbors; and, having lost her companion, which is the taste of God, by the subtraction of the feeling of grace, does not want to associate with others, no matter what tribulation or temptation may come, but remains still in her strength and position, which is God, though she may not taste Him....

The hawk is also created therein, not because this bird is good in itself, but it is beautiful and gives delight to anyone who holds him in his hand; and this signifies dis¬ cretion, which, properly speaking, is not a virtue, but a rule of all the virtues, which, with¬ out it, would not be such, as it contains in itself the rule and perfection of every virtue. The hawk attracts to itself all the birds, seizes them and feeds upon them, but does not like to be seen. The same is done by discretion in the soul; because, as the mother of temperance, it wonderfully fits her to draw from God the wisdom by which she understands what she has to do in order to please God, and removes from around herself whatever she sees that may be an impediment to wisdom. Thus knowing what she ought to imi¬ tate and reproduce in herself, she draws the virtues from her neighbors, as all creatures are copies of God. Hence, if the soul wishes to do the will of God, she must study her neighbors, in whom she sees a variety of virtues, from which, by imitating them in order to please God, she draws and takes as much as may be useful and profitable to her. From her neighbor the soul may also learn what displeases God. From things transitory the soul also derives the knowledge of their frailty, in order not to become attached to them; and she learns gratitude, seeing how thankful they are to their Creator. She learns also from the devil; and what? That which he never knew, viz., humility; for God, on account of his pride, cast him down. Hence the soul, knowing that God so hates pride, learns humility and practices it. Discretion must also be kept tight in the hand, having continually before the eyes all the virtues, weighing and pondering them so as to practice them....

There are also other birds, the flesh of which is nutritious, and they are easily caught. These are the gray partridges, which signify wise prudence. When one wants to catch these birds, he must watch the place wherein they dwell in the daylight, and then go with a particular light to catch them in the darkness of the night. This wisdom is of God and in God, and is by few understood and apprehended, as some search for it with their own cunning, pretending to investigate by themselves the things of God, and what they must do; and truly they lose their time, and these will never acquire pru¬ dence. But he who really wants to acquire it must go to the Divine Word, wherein this prudence dwells, and by His light he will find it. As we, mortal creatures, can never take it from the Divine Word, we must go to the Word Incarnate, and we will get it by the particular light of charity, which, though it is a light to all, nevertheless is a greater light for those who carry it about, as the lamp throws more light around him who carries it iiT his hand than around those who are afar. The meat of the.se birds (partridges) is very delicate, and though all kinds of persons eat it, nevertheless the nobles are those who make the most use of it. This means that, whilst all virtuous persons feed on this pru¬ dence, the nobles, viz., the christs (priests) and the sacred virgins to whom God' more abundantly communicates this celestial gift, do so in a special manner. The christs on earth stand in great need of this virtue, in giving counsel, absolving, and instructing; but it is no less necessary to the sacred virgins, because they must accept the advice and counsels which are given to them, and ponder them with very great prudence and alert¬ ness of mind. Moreover, they must consider whether they are really from God or from the devil — following them with the greatest diligence, if from the former; shunning and avoiding them with an equal abhorrence, if from the latter.

II. She Treats in Particular of the Creation of Man and of the other Works of the Old Testament, applying them to the Manner by which God leads Souls to Perfection.

God also commanded Noah to enclose in the Ark all kinds of animals, clean and unclean, septena etseptena^ duo et duo. In the soul must be found all the virtues, such as charity, humility, obedience, and others; and, as the clean animals were to be seven and seven of all kinds, so in the soul must the virtues be founded on the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, and as many virtues to every gift as it shall please the Holy Ghost to communicate. A less number of unclean animals were to be in the Ark, because in the soul there is less need of those virtues she must practice in the exterior actions, than of those she must practice in the interior ones.... God afterwards sent the Deluge. So did the Word send the deluge in this little world. And what deluge is this? It is a superabund¬ ant grace and infusion of His Blood, in which He causes all the desires, affections, and intentions of the soul, outside of His own will, to be drowned.... Noah sends the dove out of the Ark to see whether the waters have subsided. The soul sends the dove (which means that she is not wanting anything for herself, but everything that God wants) to see whether the influence of the superabundant grace is spent. Finding that it is, she rests on the mercy of God, which she sees God has shown His creatures, though they have offended Him. The dove returns with a little olive-branch in its bill, viz., with the continuous confession of the purity of God, which purity He strongly wishes to deeply imprint in the soul by His graces. Afterwards, God dismisses Noah out of the Ark; and the Word does likewise with the soul, permitting her to come out of the ark of those kinds of knowledge and to go around expatiating throughout all the world, in which she then walks with every security.. '.. Then God conies to try Abraham; and so does the Word try the soul. God says to Abraham that he must sacrifice his only son, the nearest and dearest thing he possesses; and what is the dearest thing a soul possesses, but the Word and the sweet feeling of the Word? He therefore wants her to sacrifice Him to Himself, and leads her to the mountain of the contemplation of the Divinity united with the Humanity, where the same soul, in the depth of that contemplation, consents to cease tasting the Word, to offer Him sacrificed, so to say, in herself, and on the altar of her heart, to the Eternal Father. Hence the Father, seeing this abandonment of the soul, cannot endure that she should remain without tasting His most sweet Word, and, conse¬ quently, Himself. Therefore He sends an angel — that is, a supernal inspiration — by which He gives her to understand that she should not sacrifice His Son, viz.. His Word, but should take a victim, viz., herself, mortified by the knife of mortification, refined in the fire of tribulation, but not abandoned by the sensible presence of the Word, and that victim she should sacrifice to God.

Leaving out all that happened in the meantime, we shall go and look at the Hebrew people whilst under the cruel slavery of Pharaoh in Egypt. Likewise all the sentiments are affected by a servile fear. And, as on coming out of Egypt the Hebrews carried with them vessels and precious stones, so these sentiments of the soul, coming out of that servile fear, take away the vessels and precious stones, viz., the fruits and treasures of the fear. The Hebrew people cross the Red Sea, and the sentiments of the soul wade through the sea of love. The enemies of the soul, which are the passions, wish to wade through also, but they remain drowned in this sea of love. The Hebrews go through the desert, where they murmur for want of food; hence God sends them themost sweet food, the manna. The Word gives Himself as food to the soul, when hungry — that is, the hidden manna of the Most Holy Sacrament, wherein the soul finds all the tastes she may wish. If she wants Him Powerful^ He is most powerful, as '‘’'Omnia qucBCumque voluit fecit in ccelo et in terra.^'* If she wants Him Immortal and Etemial here He is, without begin¬ ning and without end. If she wants Him Temporal, here is the flesh He took in time for us. If she wants Him Hidden, here He is so hidden that by nature He was not even known to the highest seraphim of heaven. If she wants Him Open a.r\A Manifest, behold Him so that what is veiled to the eyes by the veil and band of the sacramental species, is unveiled and without band to the heart by the interior sentiments; as what one be¬ lieves by faith, he knows and feels by the warmth of love. In a word, the soul can abundantly find in Him every sentiment, both of sorrow and delight. This bread baked in the fire of sufferings, grieves by its remembrance and refreshes by its taste.... The people again murmur because of thirst; Moses strikes the rock with the rod, and therefrom most copious waters gush forth, by which not only the thirst of the people, but also that of the cattle, is assuaged. The soul goes on walking by her sen¬ timents through the desert of the subtraction of the feeling of grace. O my poor little soul, this will befall thee! Here these interior sentiments justly complain of the thirst which afflicts them, which is chiefly the subtraction of the sensible grace, and the fact that others do not walk in the road of perfection in that strict manner in which this soul leads them. But Moses, viz., the enlightened understanding, strikes the rock with the rod of the promises God made to him; he strikes the rock, I say, "petra autem erat Christusp' and by this rod of the promises that Christ the Word has made him, he strikes the Heart of Christ Himself. He opens His side, out of which most abundant waters of grace come, which not only satiate the sentiments of the soul, but even the senses of the body. Are you satiated now, O Sentiments?,., The Hebrew people advancing more and more through the desert, God gives Moses the law written on two tablets of stone, in which were contained all the interior and ex¬ terior operations which that people were commanded to do. The Word continues His work in the soul; and, whilst this soul walks through the desert of the subtraction of the sentiment of the grace. He gives to her the law written on the tablets and chooses Moses, viz., the enlightened understanding, to manifest it to the people. The tablets are the heart of the soul, on which the Word writes, that is, imprints all the operations He wants her to perform — both the interior and the exterior ones; and He binds her so that, in her own opinion, she deems it impossible to remain in such a narrowness, to walk in so great sincerity and purity with God. Poor little one! If I but could, I would give thee help; what wilt thou do by thyself? Thus do, thus do, O blessed thou 1 God in giving the law speaks with Moses face to face; and this means that the soul must not stop in the Humanity of the Word, feeding herself in the consideration of His Passion or of His Life, but she must pass to the consideration of the Divinity with becoming reverence and sobriety, so that the sentence may not be verified on her: Dejecisti eos dum allevarentur ” — “When they were lifted up. Thou hast cast them down” (Ps. Ixxii, i8) —and: ''Noli altum sapere,sed time" — “ Be not high-minded, but fear” (Rom. xi, 20). The people who could not stand the splendor of God are the sentiments which, being accustomed to things low and abject, cannot understand the things of God. Hence when the splendor of God appears, not being accustomed to taste of God, they faint from fear.

The Hebrews then travel on to reach that blessed Land of Promise, and, before reaching zV, see the fruits thereof. Moses dies and does not enter it; Joshua and Caleb only enter it. Come now, O soul, go on to enter into the Land of Promise. The Word will not lead thee now to Paradise, not now, to enjoy the eternal vision. It will suffice for thee if He leads thee to that interior dwelling which is in the mouth of the Word, and before He leads thee therein thou shalt see the fruits thereof, which are the words of the Word, and particularly those uttered by him: " Clarifica me, Pater, apud temet ipsum claritate quam habui priusquam mundus fieret apud te" — “And now glorify Thou me, O Father, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with Thee ” (John xvii, 5). To the dwelling of the mouth of the Word He leads only the will and the love, not the understanding, because it dies before this, as Moses did; for the soul must not understand, so much as to desire and enjoy. Hence she is pleased in working, but without knowing the operation of her intellect in this operation of the Word, receiving in herself the divine illustrations, and practicing them without knowing how they come or how she receives them.

III. She Applies the Operations of the Word, from the Incarnation to the Passion, to what Qod does in the Souls.

Then arise the holy prophets who announce to the soul that God will not fail to com¬ plete the work He has begun. They announce, and what do they announce? The coming of the Word into the soul. These prophets are the Wounds of the Word im¬ printed in all the souls — in some really, in others by desire; in some by love, and in others by intention. They come with various figures, and this is done by these Wounds of the Word, which imprint various figures and produce various effects. These five Wounds are five prophets to the souls, and the largest of them — in the Side— is David, who not only predicted the Incarnation, but the Passion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of the Word. This is done also by the soul, who, from this Wound of the Side, perceives the coming of the Word to her by loving sentiment, as if He wanted to dwell in her heart. She perceives the Passion, seeing the pains He has to endure, and, by the pains of the Word, she measures and moderates all these pains of hers. She perceives the Resurrection — I mean to say, she understands that all her operations must arise again in the sight of all creatures. Afterwards she understands by the Ascension that her works will be made manifest not only before all creatures, but also before the Eternal Father, Who, by one of His angels, will have them related in paradise.... Then other prophets come, prophesying the Word in Mary, some under one sym¬ bol and some under another. Mary is pointed out and foretold before she comes. The soul, like Mary, must be made known to men. Like the sun, by the light of example; like the fixed stars, by firmness and stability of intention, turned to God and united with Him; like the planets, by the operations of charity towards her God; and, like the moon, towards her neighbors: “ Omnibus omnia factus sum ” (i Cor. ix, 22); now increasing with the proficient and perfect ones; now decreasing with the incipient and imperfect ones. Now full of consolation — “ superabundo gaudio ” (2 Cor. vii, 4)— on account of their conso¬ lation; now full of sadness for the compassion of their sadness. " Quis infirmatur et ego non injirmor?" — “Who is weak and I am not weak? ” (2 Cor. xi, 29). Always, however, fixed on heaven, on account of the right intention, and superior, as a celestial body, to earthly defects, as is the case with those who are still on earth, and influence all with desires, and, when possible, with words and example, as Mary did, who was Pulchra ut luna^ electa ut soP' — “Fair as the moon, bright as the sun” (Cant, vi, 9). But, oh! with how great a distance of perfection!... Thou, O Word, espousest this soul as Thou didst Mary, and givest her in keeping. And to whom dost Thou give her, O Word? To the counsel, the bridegroom of the soul. By means of this counsel, which is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, Thou keepest in her purity and charity, till by the affection of love she brings forth the Word.... He sends the angel to announce to Mary. And He sends to the soul the gift of his right hand, which announces to her that God wants to come to her by grace, and the soul deeming herself unworthy, answers: ‘ ^Ecce ancilla Do^nini^ fiat mihi secundum V erbum tuum ’’ — “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Thy Word ’’ (Luke i, 38). Hence the Word, seeing so much humility, descends to her, as to Mary, drawn by humility. He not only keeps this virtue in her, but He increases it with all the other gifts and virtues, for, after saying that she is the handmaid, she begins to act as a servant in the house of Elizabeth. She goes to be a servant, who is Mater Domini suiD The Eternal Father with the Divine Word prepares in the soul that has espoused the Word a lasting and consummate humility, which the soul afterwards shows in her works, advancing more and more in humility the longer the Word remains in her.... The Word takes His flesh and blood, and continues producing that holy little. body in that most pure virginal bosom, taking great delight in her purity and the practice of charity. Mary brings forth the Word. So does the soul bring Him forth by the affec¬ tion of love. I say that she brings forth His operation, and, like Mary, lays Him down in the manger, and goes on making Him known by His holy poverty. She chooses this as her dear lady, according to the example of Blessed Francis, and seeing that the Word, her Spouse, likes it: '•'Beati pauperes spiritu.'^... Two animals keep the Word warm. The operation of the soul is not warmed by animals — no; but, through a special grace, by the choir of the seraphim and the archangels, sent to her by the Divine Word. These take up her operation and bring it before the Eternal Father, and offer it to Him; hence by this offering, such an operation is so warmed that it will not fail because of cold, negligence, or tepidity.... The angels come down from heaven singing that beautiful canticle: “ Gloria in excelsis DeoB On account of the offering made to the Eternal Father, of the operation of the soul, the Father sends down with a most sweet distillation of His grace a voice to the heart, which, like a musical concert, goes on sing¬ ing in the soul: “ Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax homiftibus bonce volu7itatis." I say that the operation must redound wholly to the honor and glory of God, and the benefit of those creatures who shall be ready to receive it.... The shepherds come to visit the Word. Likewise do the little shepherds come to visit the soul; and they are the ignorant and simple creatures, who, by the consciousness the soul possesses of her own ignorance, are by her instructed and consoled.... The Wise Men come and adore the Word. So also come the Three Wise Men, to the soul— I mean the Holy Trinity — Who abundantly bring with Them to the soul rich gifts and celestial graces. What gifts? The Holy Trinity gives to the soul strength to keep with ail perfection what she promised; and at the same time, if a Religious, gives her merit for the three vows; and if a secular, for all she has done through the three powers of the soul. To all these operations the Holy Trinity communicates the merit of the power of the Father, par¬ ticipated in by working in behalf of the neighbors; of the union with the Word, par¬ ticipated in, by uniting us, as it does, in fraternal charity with our neighbors; of the benignity of the Holy Ghost, participated in and communicated also with bowels of piety and mercy. This is a great gift, viz., that the Most Holy Trinity should make the soul partaker of her union, and work in conformity with this gift. But, before all, the Word is taken to be circumcised, and a name is given to Him. So the soul carries her operation to be circumcised, and gives a name to it. This happens when the soul is rapt in such sublimity of union, that it must be diminished and lowered; hence she sends out fire of charity, and a name is given to this operation — that is, it is written in the Book of Life, whence it can never be erased.... *Mary carries the Word to the Temple. The soul brings her offering, too — that is, she offers her operation in the Con¬ sistory of the Most Holy Trinity, in the mind of the Father, where the Holy Ghost takes it up, the Word magnifies it, and the Father takes delight in it. Mary flies with the Word into Egypt. The soul flies by hiding her operation from the sight of the creatures, and by her continuous offering of the Word, throws down to the ground so many dis¬ loyalties of the incarnate demons.

Then the Word is sought after by Mary; and so the soul goes on seeking by her operation the greatness of God in herself, and finds it not, being deprived of the internal taste; but, like Mary, she afterwards by her operation finds the greatness of God. When she does not like to work, she does not intend to work, knows that by herself she cannot work, and yet she works; and these are the three days during which Mary sought her lost Son. Mary finds Him in the midst of the Doctors, and the soul finds Him whilst confounding their human wisdom by His Divine Wisdom.... The Word is led to baptism. O Loving Word, O intense Love, whence are this soul and this operation led? O l.oving Word, to baptism? But if she has been baptized once, how can she be baptized again? No, the soul is not baptized a second time — no; but the Word with His operation, whom she has conceived hvithin herself, goes on purifying her with His grace, pouring over the head of her intention a distillation of the complacency which the Word feels in His equality with the Father — a complacency similar to the union of the soul with the Word by grace. The more abundantly the Word gives grace to her, the more grateful she is towards Him....

Afterwards the Word changes water into wine. This operation, so much experienced and practiced, of changing water into wine. Thou dost, O Word, and thus dost Thou show T!iy omnipotent wisdom. What corresponding operation wilt Thou, O Word, perform in tile soul? Thou wilt change into fervor the tepidity of the soul. But, alas! I see that t’lis change is wrought by Thee in but a few, through man’s fault, so great is the amount of this evil tepidity and coldness in the world!

The Word goes on preaching and performing miracles, and the operation of the soul continues — announcing, magnifying, and preaching the ineffable wisdom of the Word, casting the demons out of the creatures, healing the infirmity of vainglory in herself and in others.

The Jews wish to stone the Word, and the operation is also led to be stoned. This comes when the soul is led to such a perfection that it seems that the demons, with all the creatures, arise against her; and, what is worse, those who seem enlightened begin, as if conspiring together, to contradict that soul. But few are those who attain to such a perfection.

The Word, before His preaching and performing miracles, was led into the desert, where He fasted forty days and forty nights. Thus the operation of the soul is led into the desert of the union by the enlightening of merits and the warming up of the love of the Deity by the Most Holy Trinity. There she abstains from every other food to taste only the fruit of the union, and then the devil conies, by means of some instruments of his, seeking to make her believe that there is within her more disunion than there is among the devils themselves, and that she is the cause of it. But the soul, being founded and established in the union of the Word, hides in this same union and sweetly tastes Him....

After the preaching and the great miracles wrought by the Word, He at the end shows His great love by leaving Himself as food to His creatures, by the institution of the Blessed Sacrament. The Word, at the Last Supper, uttered those loving words: Desiderio desideravi d* and the soul can say the same words, as the Word is led to love this soul so much that He gives Himself as food and nourishment to her. He makes her a present of His Humanity, and gives her by participation His own pure desires and 'lov¬ ing affections, those truthful words and most holy works He performed while on earth, and finally He wholly transforms her into Himself. By these gifts the soul reaches such a perfection, that every aspiration of the mind which she makes towards God seems to draw the Word from the bosom of the Father into herself. Thus, having the Word within herself, she becomes by union and love like another Word; and as the Word with desire wished to give Himself wholly to His creatures, so the soul with an ardent desire goes on wishing to communicate herself to the creatures — I should say, to communicate to them the Word. She holds Him within herself, with all His graces and gifts, so that she can also say truly with the same words; “ With desire I have desired to eat my Pasch with you.”

Then the Word comes to the washing of the feet, wherein He so much lowers and humbles Himself that He does not leave unwashed even the feet of the traitor. Like¬ wise the Word inclines and draws down the operation of the soul, washing and purifying with the aspersion of His Blood all her affections and desires, infusing into her a most heartfelt disposition to humble herself. Now what is this Word going to do? Where does He go? To the sermon, to which he leads the soul, in order to be glorified even here on earth. He leads her, I say, to the secret of His heart where, face to face, He holds a most sweet colloquy with her; telling her how He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and makes it known to her how He is the true Life, and His Father the Husband¬ man’, and how she will be persecuted, and the world will rejoice thereat.... The Word now starts for the Garden of Olives, and the soul follows Him. The garden to which he goes, being still in heaven, is the Church; and by the offering of himself, O Word, the priest points out to us how Thou didst conform Thy will, in that prayer, to the will of Thy Eternal Father. Thou takest along three disciples, infusing in the Chufch the faith, manifesting the truth, and continuing the mercy. The soul too goes on following the Word in the Garden of the Church, to give Him the body as a prey, that the^soul may breathe and the spirit may be confirmed by the ardent desire for the salvation of the neighbors.

The Word goes towards Judas to be captured; and I wish to go~(oh! what a favor this is!)— not towards a traitor, but towards my Dove, to receive Him in the Most Holy Sacrament, and to receive from Him the kiss of peace.

IV. Of the Operations of the Word, from the Passion to the Ascension, toaching how We may imitate Them.

The Eternal Word is captured by the Jews; and this operation also takes place in the soul, as she, too, is seized, and in this little world of the soul what took place at the capture of the Word is renewed. Behold Judas, the traitor, and the crowd of soldiers. The perverse temptations which the devil suggests to the soul are the soldiers who would take away the good work of the soul; but the Word does not allow her to be seized; nay, He takes her up with His hands, with that love, so to say, whereby He begets Him¬ self in the soul, and with the kiss of peace makes her a captive. The Word is bound by the soldiers; so also the soul is bound. Yes, she is bound with a certain triple rope, viz., with faith, hope, and charity. The Word does not allow Peter to prevent Him from suffering. Likewise the soul does not wish that operation to be prevented whereby she unites herself intimately with her God. Oh! how many Peters there would be, who, lacking wisdom and consideration, would seek to blind the soul with things transitory; but the soul, enlightened, says, that he who inordinately loves transitory things must perish with them, as the Word told Peter that he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword. But this soul permits herself to be led, like the Word, where she sees it is the will of the Word Himself, without ever adding of her own either “ I will ” or “I will not,” following constantly the will of the Word. The Word is led to Annas and Caiphas, and the tribunals of the other judges. The soul, too, is conducted by the persuasion of diverse temptations, now to hell and now to paradise; now they make it appear to her as if she had done no good, thus confounding her; and now as if she were like the great Saints. This and other numberless things they suggest to her, that she may grow proud. But the Word does not permit her to get lukewarm. He protects her, and does with the soul as the Eternal Father did with Him at the time of His Passion, taking away from her the feeling of His grace, to try her and render her more perfect....

The Word is taken to be scourged at the pillar. The soul, too, is led to receive the scourges, which are the many oJBfenses committed against His Divine Majesty, that are shown her, as to a soul who loves God. These offenses, when she sees and understands them as it behooves her, are like so many hard blows. As the scourges of the Word were great in number, so much so that many took their turn to scourge Him at the pillar, so the same offenses, shown to the soul, take their turn in scourging her, so to say; at one time being the offenses offered to God by Religious that are shown to her, at another time those offered to Him by bad Christians, and at still others, those offered to Him by heretics and infidels....

The Word is crowned with thorns; and the soul, proceeding with this operation, is also crowned with thorns, when the devils in scorn go on representing before her the enormous blasphemies which pierce her like sharp thorns; for, instead of hearing her Spouse, the Word, praised, she is compelled to hear so many and such odious blasphemies.

The Word is derided; and the derisions offered to the soul are these, that being afflicted and tempted by the devil, in speaking about it with some creature, she is told, instead of being comforted, that those afflictions and temptations befall her on account of her defects and sins, as his friends told the most patient Job.... The face of the Word is veiled, and the same thing happens to the soul when human help is taken from her and the divine is denied her; and she is scourged when the light she possesses is somewhat obscured.

The Word is shown to the people with the words: Ecce Homo^' — “Behold the Man.” And so it happens to the poor soul, when by the abundance of the great light she possesses she confers with others about certain things, which afterward she is reproached with; as it used to happen to the seraphic Francis, when he was told in contempt— “See heaven! See heaven!” To the soul they say: “ See thy Love! See thy Love!” And they do not perceive that by despising her they make her appear more glorious; as the Word by those words, ^^Ecce Homo''' appeared not less glorious than if it had been said '•‘‘Ecce Dens'" — “Behold God.”... He is compared to Barabbas— as the soul is many a time, to persons less perfect than herself, because of her not being known. Hence those persons are honored and acceptable; and she is despised and thrown aside, as one loaded with imperfections.

The crpss is laid on the shoulder of the Word. To the chosen soul it is a heavy cross when another chosen one does not believe her, and her words, sentiments, and works are rather despised. And yet it is by Thy permission, O Word, that such a trial, as gold in fire, comes to the virtue to purify it. The soul goes on carrying the cross with the Word as often as she patiently endures these things, not throwing herself down into liell by discouragement, nor up into heaven by elation, but remaining all quiet under God’s protection, permitting herself to be led and judged by Him — entertaining an up¬ right intention towards Him and a deep knowledge of her own nonentity.... The, Word is led to be unrobed; and the same thing happens to the soul when she is prevented from walking in the w’ay of God according to the interior inspiration and ealightenment which the Lord imjiarts to her, and she is urged on in a manner contrary t ) what she feels in herself. She, like the Word, helps herself to unrobe when she keeps h unble and contradicts herself. She stretches on the cross when she ceases investigat¬ ing what will become of her, but leaves it to God to dispose of her according to His good pleasure.

The Word is nailed to the cross by three nails; and the soul, too, is nailed on the hard cross by three nails. One nail is when she considers those things which appear to be an offense to God, as being permitted by Him. She does not trouble herself because they are a punishment inflicted on her, but simply because they appear to be offenses against God; and she submits to the Divine Will. The other nail is, that in her opera¬ tions God leaves the interior delights of the soul for her neighbors, and for the spiritual help of her brothers and sisters. The third nail which keeps the soul fastened to the cross is, that she glories in being despised, seeing that thereby she becomes like her Spouse, the Word, and fulfills His will....

The Word dies on the cross; and so the soul dies by means of that perfect relaxa¬ tion she makes of herself in God; understanding, knowing, and willing nothing except so far as the Word wishes it should be done in her, for her, and by her. And now the side of the Word is open; so is the heart of the soul open when, pierced by the wound of love, she desires with an anxious desire that all creatures be converted to God.

Afterwards the Word is taken down from the cross; and this happens to the soul when God makes her return somewhat to her former happy state and taste the Divine consolations, and shows her in particular the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, making her taste the union with the Same.

The Word is laid with the ointments; and the soul, too, is placed among the sweet odors of the ointments; and is wrapped, like the Word, in a pure white sheet, every time she begins to feel any indication of possessing in herself (but by His favor).some virtue — particularly purity, which, though she possessed it before, yet she w'as deprived of the sight and feeling of it.

The Word is laid in the sepulchre; and the soul also is laid in the sepulchre when God keeps her with Himself, making her taste the sweetness of His grace. She also goes with her Bridegroom from the bosom of the Father, whence she never departs, into the sepulchre — into limbo, into hell— confounding the demons and taking from them some soul they might have snatched and tormented.... ^ The Word arises with glory and triumph; the soul arises every time God removes from her every adversity, temptation, and pain, and gives herpeace with a tranquillity of mind wholly conformable to His Divine Will....

The Word appears to His Mother; and the soul appears to the Mother when she is forced with an ardent wish to reveal her operation to the Holy Church. She does not permit herself, like the Word, to be touched by Magdalen; because as soon as the soul has attained a certain perfection she is averse to mixing up her spiritual and meritorious works with frail, earthly, and perishable ones. What is more, she does not esteem, nor does she care to perform interior or exterior acts of any virtue, in order to possess it and exercise herself in it, except the virtue of love, though she always performs virtuous works and exercises herself in every act of perfection. Possessing God, she possesses all the virtues, and in Him she delights and rejoices.... The soul makes the other appari¬ tions with iicr Bridegroom, the Word, when she manifests her operations to those creat¬ ures that have in themselves the knowledge and light of God, and this she does only for the honor and glory of God, and to comfort and console them. The soul, like the Word, is invisible after her resurrection, because she performs her operations invisibly, that is, unknown to every creature; so that some deem her faulty and she is not under¬ stood except by God and by those creatures who are like herself.... The Word then gives the peace to His apostles; and so does the soul give the peace to her neighbors when she seeks and endeavors to unite the creatures in holy peace. The Word ascends into heaven; and the soul, though yet living on the earth, ascends with Him, raising herself above herself with every affection, wish, intention, and work. Hence, if she needs any counsel she takes it from God, more than from creatures: if she must work, she does it with God, and in God. In this assumption of the soul into heaven, the Word embraced and presses her to Himself, making her partaker, in an act of love, of the power of the Father, the wisdom of the Son, and the goodness of the Holy Ghost. She is overshadowed by a cloud resulting from the distillation of heavenly sweetnesses, graces, and divine gifts, which God pours into her, and wherein all sentiments are absorbed, not knowing how a soul can attain such an altitude. The Word, ascending into heaven, leaves to His Bride, the Church, the twelve apostles; and the soul being thus taken up with the Word, though still conversing on earth, permits the shining in her actions and conversation of the twelve fruits of the Holy Ghost, which are to said soul like twelve columns which support and strengthen her in all her operations.

The soul afterward gives praise with the Word to the Eternal Father; which praise is a constant thanksgiving to the Father for having given His Word as a Redeemer to creatures and a Bridegroom to the Virgins.

The Word sends the Holy Ghost; and the soul together with the Word does like¬ wise, when drawing the Spirit to herself by aspiration, she goes on infusing Him by spiritual communication and admonition into the creatures who are fit to receive Him. The Word sits at the right hand of the Father; and with His five wounds draws the blessed souls, as if to a beatific object, not a primary but a secondary one; and on earth, by means of those wounds, and by the virtue of His merits, and as an object of contem¬ plation He draws all the creatures to Himself. Likewise the soul, remembering these five wounds the Word kept for Himself, draws to herself, as if by five darts of love, all the creatures, wishing by charity to inflame them all with the love divine, and desiring to spread everywhere that fire which the Word came to enkindle on the earth: ''■Ignem veni mittere in terram^ et quid volo^ nisi ut accendatur “ I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?” (Luke xii, 49). The Word is the Head of the Church, and the creatures are her members: “ Vos autem corpus Christie et membra de membro^' — ‘‘Now you are the body of Christ and members of member” (i tor. xii, 27). '■'•Unum corpus sumus in Christo'" — ‘‘We are one body in Christ ” (Rom. xii, 5). Thus are in the soul all the states of creatures that are found in the Church; some by election, others by participation, and others by desire and will. The state of the Virgins and Religious is found in the soul by election, I say, for having chosen to serve God and walk to perfection in said state. The wishes and superior loving desires of the soul are conformable to those which are required in the priests, viz., just, wise, per¬ fect, and holy. The memory of the soul represents the state of the hermits, of constant abstinence; because memory itself must abstain from every recollection of anything secular and vain. The patience of the soul represents the state of the contented ones. The affections of the inferior ones may be referred to the state of seculars, because as these generally practice exterior works, so such affections excite the soul to exterior works of charity and mercy....

The little boat of the Church is assailed by the waves of heresy and infidelity; and the soul is warred against by constant temptations and contradictions; but she always remains immovable and strong, because God keeps her in constant motion, without any motion; but this is given by special grace 2mA gratis data. Faith can never fail in the Church, as the Word said; thus its foundation can never fail in the soul, by a special divine grace, she having built it in the knowledge of her nonentity. The faith of the Church must go on spreading to all parts of the world; andintkis little world of the soul the knowledge of God goes on increasing, together with the knowledge of what God requires of her in the states of her age. At the end of the world the Antichrist comes, seeking to destroy the faith of the Holy Church. But Enoch and Elias will come afterwards to convert those that shall have been perverted by him; and the Word, by the spirit of His breath, will over¬ throw him.

After this all flesh shall arise and the Word will sit in judgment, giving glory or punishment to each one according to his works. When the soul comes to the end of her (mortal) life, the devil himself comes forth as the Antichrist, with his perverse sug¬ gestion seeking to rob her of the Holy Faith; but Enoch and Elias, viz., the virtue of the Blood of the Word, and the recollection of the continued operations done in state of grace, arise, and, consoling her, deliver her from the diabolical vexations; and the Word, by the spirit of His breath, and His divine promise, so efficacious, grants her a complete triumph.

The soul then arises for the particular judgment wherein the Divine Word, together with the Word of the same soul— by which her operation is meant — sits in judgment. The Divine Word, in the final judgment, will continue recounting the works of mercy performed by the just and neglected by the reprobates. The Word of the soul relates all her privations, trials, and works of mercy; and thus the reward is given to her by the Divine Word, by admitting her to the beatific vision. Behold! the Incarnate Word has assumed this soul, and made in her a little -world. Everything which God made in the whole machinery of the whole world, both in creating all things, and in creating man, Main Altar and Painting above it in St. Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi’s (Italian) Church, Philadelphia.

THR GLORY OF ST. MARY MACiDAI.KN DR-PAZZI IN HEAVKN.

[ riie New Carmelite Moiiasterj^ in Florence.] [St. M. M. De-P.’s Clinrch and Parochial Buildings, via.NKTTKS:, Montrose (late.Marriott) Street, Philadelphia.] I. She makes her First Holy Communion.

II. Blindfolded and ecstatic, she paints the “ F.cce Homo.” III. St..Augu.stine engraves on her heart the initials E. V. C. F. E. (Ft Verbnm Caro Factum Hst). IV. Whilst adoring the Blessed Sacrament,.she receives the Divine Infant from the hands of the Bles.sed Virgin.

I u IS there. He gave to her, instead of innocence, virginal purity, which is a communica¬ tion of His Being by divine participation. Such a purity represents the primitive inno¬ cence Who creates everything to His image and likeness, and governs and supports everything —'‘^Portansomma verbo virtutis sues ” — “ Upholding all things by the word of His power ” (Heb. i, 3). He makes her multiply the good operations, and shutting her in the Ark of the compendium of the knowledge of God — her works and herself, tries her like Abraham, delivers her from the Egyptian servitude, leads her through the desert of the subtraction of the sentiment of grace — but always guided by the Divine Escort, so that she may work without knowing that she does right — where He gives her the law of the operation that he wants her to do; introducing her, finally, into the land of promise, in the interior dwelling of the mouth or the heart of the Word. Afterwards came the prophets announcing to her the coming of the Word; and the Word, descending into her, works spiritually in her by similarity what He did in His own Humanity from the Incarnation to the shedding of His own blood. Thus the soul after¬ wards dies with Him, arises and ascends into heaven (though living on earth), sends in a manner the Holy Ghost, comes to judgment, and is judged at the end of her life; and, if found worthy, is by the Word glorified and led to a place where she has no longer any fear of her past enemies, and enjoys and possesses God for ever and ever.

V. Of the Unity, Essence, and Trinity of the Divine Persons, Applied Mystically to the Souls.

There is in the Most Holy Trinity a union of power, wisdom, and goodness; and such a union the Holy Trinity wishes to accomplish in Its brides, so that they may sing: '''' Ecce quam bo?mm et quam jiicundum habitare sorores in unufn/^' — “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for sisters to dwell together in unity! “ (Ps. cxxxii). Power will unite in God those who possess it; the same will be done by wisdom and goodness with those who possess them. And so the Congregation of Mary (she meant her monaster}^ will be made on earth, in spirit, an image of the High and Sovereign Trinity. So great is the depth contained in the words: ‘ O altitudo divitiarum sapientics et sciential Dei! ’’ — “ O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! “ (Rom. xi, 33) that it cannot be fathomed by any creature, no matter how sublime, as in it is contained the being of God, Who is eternal, without beginning and without end. I would like to be able to say as much, in proportion, of Thy brides: O altitudo! O depth! It would be a great height if all the hearts of the Congregation of Mary were united. But, alas! there can be no union where there is no compassion for one another: '•'Alter alterius 07iera portate'^ — “Bear ye one another’s burden” (Galat. vi, 2). "Divitiarum'' — “ Of the riches ’’ — and what does it mean but riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God? The Father possesses riches because of the delight He takes in His Word. The Word, because of the delight the Father takes in Him. The Holy Ghost possesses riches because of the delight He takes in the Father and the Word. Riches will also be found here below in this soul representing the Trinity; riches not of wisdom and knowledge, but of charity and peace, which will cause the good of one to be shared by all, and the good of all by each. The power will delight (as in a good of its own) in the wisdom, the wisdom in the power, and the goodness in both of them. The uncreated Trinity is the riches of this new and, so to speak, created trinity by the communication It makes to the latter. The created trinity is riches (Oh! Infinite Goodness, Who takest so much delight in the good of others, which, after all, is from Thee and through Thee!) — it is riches, I say, of the uncreated Trinity, because the latter sees in the former the gifts and perfections It communicates to it, and in this created trinity It loves Itself and Its own gifts; hence by the communication that must take place, giving and receiv¬ ing again what It has given. It takes delight in Its creatures, because It receives from them what It previously gave to them. Thus It communicates Itself to creatures, and especially to the souls favored by grace. Hence the communication of the uncreated Trinity consists in infusing Its gifts and graces into creatures; and the communication of the created trinity is made not by the infusion, but by the return, with thanksgiving and gratitude, of the gifts and graces to the Giver. The riches of the uncreated Trinity consist in assuming the soul to Itself; and the riches of Its creatures consist in drawing the Word by grace into themselves. The riches of the eternal and inscrutable Trinity consist in showing mercy, and the riches of the creatures in corresponding to this grace. Oh! what great riches are these in which the eternity of the Trinity takes delight! The eternity of the Trinity is and consists in the continuous and unfathomable Being of God. But our trinity made by participation, by feeling of love and consent of will, must be under whom ^ Tender the protection and the mantle of Mary. But we should see to it that as the Father is not discordant with the Son, nor the Son with the Father, nor both tbte like and works ok with the Holy Ghost, nor the Holy Ghost with both, so the daughters of Mary should be united (and not discordant in opinion or will with one another), not only in words, but even, if possible, in intention; "^Unum sint^sicut et nos ununi sumus'^ — “That they may be one, as we also are one ” (John xvii, 22). altitudo diviiiarunt sapientics^! ” — “ O the depth of the riches of the wisdom! ” (Rom. xi, 33). Wisdom flowing, wisdom reflowing, and wisdom flowing abundantly to Its creatures. Flowing from the Father, reflowing from the Word, and flowing to creatures in abundance from the Holy Ghost. This wisdom flows from the Father, and the infusion of it begets in the soul a desire to adhere to God’s greatness. The wisdom reflowing from the Word begets a loving hunger to understand God. And the Holy Ghost with His constant and most steady motion influences creatures, draws them to Himself, and communicates to them a wisdom which begets a most ardent desire to understand how one can be always united with God. scientice Dei.'' The knowledge of God is different from that which He imparts to the creatures. The knowledge of God is to understand with a most perfect and simple act all the things that have been, are, and shall be. A most subtle penetrating of every intention, desire, and work; of every word, of every winking of the eye, movement of the lips and the hands. Oh! scientific knowledge of our God! ^'Quam incomprehensibilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles vice ejus I ” — “ How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways” (Rom. xi, 33). About this incomprehen¬ sibility of the knowledge of our God, I do not know how to draw or understand any¬ thing except a loving admiration for the same God Who considers and, with a moment’s look, judges all the universe. Oh! if this were penetrated into! How can creatures perform so many works without considering them? Yet one must render an account of all the intentions (even the least) which he had in performing them, even those which seem good and holy, and must be judged for them in that terrible day of the great judgment. O God, so great! and shall so strict be the account of the good works and the intentions one had in performing them? How strict shall be the account of the express * Commandments broken? '•^Et investigabiles vice ejus." I said, O great God, that Thy ways are investigate; they do not seem so to me; nay, they seem known to me, because Thou hast been willing to show them to us. They are capable of investigation, yes, to those who possess not Thy light, but who turn not their eyes from it: "Judicia Domini vera justijicata in semetipsa " — “The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in them¬ selves” (Ps. xviii, 10). Didst Thou not make them say that Thy ways are beautiful? Yes, if they are beautiful, I do not think Thou hast showm them to the creatures without cause. The Word is the way, and He manifests these ways by the blood He shed over them for those who wish to w’alk through them. It is true that it is a thing that cannot be investigated, how one should want to come to Thee without the way; as Thou art the way itself. Those things cannot be investigated which are opposed to this way; for one cannot understand how so much ignorance and malice could be found in Thy creature, that she should refuse to walk through them after Thee, following Thy footprints marked with Thy blood. This cannot be understood; but the way in itself is not hid-.den — nay, it is all lovely, and lined with most sweet vines and various fruits. By the strength of these, like Elias by hearth-cake, we not only reach the summit of the Mount Horeb of Thy knowledge by creatures, but by loving intelligence and penetrating affection— more by love than by knowledge — Ave reach the very throne of the Most Holy Trinity.

Behold how the loving Word comes to rest in this created trinity of His creature, •which is like the uncreated Trinity, by the three powers of the soul. He comes to rest in the trinity of His brides, "who resemble Him by the union, and causes in this what takes place in His Trinity. He makes the will do what the Father does, the understanding what the Word does, and the memory what the Holy Ghost does; and all this is done in the soul by affection of love and participation. The ofiice of the Father is to beget and I0 pive the glory and communication of His being to the other two Divine Persons; and the will, which does the work of the Father, when it has forgotten and wholly denied itself, by a new strength of affection regenerates itself. It is the will that gives glory to all the.sentiments; and if itis pure, the understanding is more capable of seeing God. one in essence and triune in person. Oh! what tongue could ever explain, or cease crying, that one possesses a God so great, and is created to His. image and likeness!... The Word gives delight to His Father and to Himself by the being He receives, and which is eternally communicated to Him by the Father; and from one and the other, by a tie of love, the Holy Ghost proceeds. Thus the understanding gives delight to the will as the Word to the Father, completing the works that the wdll begins, by consenting to these works. Moreover, the understanding takes delight in it.self, as the Word does; that is to say, it takes delight in the work that the will has performed, by concurring also in this work, for the understanding and the will are the same soul, as the Father and the Word are the same God. The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Word, and as He is one and the same thing with the Father and the W^ord, and concurs in the oper¬ ations of the Divine Persons, so also the memory must concur in the works of the will ST. MARY MAGDALEN DE-PA2ZI.

and the understanding. All the effects and affections which are born in the Three Divine Persons are also born in this trinity of the soul by participation and in an act of love. In the Trinity of the Three Divine Persons a communication and an equality of a Being — eternal and most perfect in Himself, Who cannot have any disparity or division — is born. Thus It is undivided in Its operations, ad extra, because all the operations are alike common to all the Most Holy Trinity. I say not this of the Incarnation, as to the Person; because, though all the Three Divine Persons cooperated in this Divine Oper¬ ation, it was, nevertheless, fully accomplished in the Second Person, that is, the Incar¬ nate Word; because this operation fully ended in the person, and afterwards in the nature, by a necessary consequence; for the person cannot be divided from the nature, it being the same thing. Therefore all the Blessed Trinity ordains every thing in the whole world. It ordains in heaven all the movements which take place among the blessed in glory; and on earth all the motions and natural operations which take place in the creature. In It they receive the maintenance and permanency of being, just as they receive the being and the life. But it can principally be said that It ordains from heaven those things which are supernatural, viz., the grace and the interior inspir¬ ations to our profit; because God alone can work and enter the depth of the human heart, change it and turn it to His will. He that was the Author of it has given to us the liberty which cannot be forced by anyone but Him, even necessarily, unless He shall so choose, though He moves it always most sweetly and freely. All the holy operations and motions in the secret heart of the responsible creatures, by which they feel themselves drawn to God and turned to Him, proceed immediately from the Most Holy Trinity. The fact is, that all is done by God with sovereign wisdom, and we, at most times, do not understand those operations and motions; or, if we do understand them, do not want to understand so as to follow them. Ah! do Thou, O Most Holy Trinity, change our hearts! Thou Who hast made them to Thy image, recast them — so to say — that they may be wholly conformed to Thee: ^^Etspiritum rectum innova in visceribus nostris'' — “And renew a right spirit within our bowels” (Ps. 1, 12). So it happens to this trinity of the soul. In her, too, is born the communication which com¬ municates to her neighbors the gifts and graces received from God, so that the}'^, being partakers of it, may bring forth fruit with Him. If a soul wishes to see how much delight God takes in her, let her see how communicative she is both of spiritual and of temporal goods, not only of those she possesses, but also of those she desires; not only of those she understands and sees, but of those she does not see but believes by faith. From the purity, that is, from being a most pure act without any imperfection of defi¬ ciency or dependence which may denote a defect in the divine nature, the equality of the Divine Persons proceeds. Hence the soul, preserving or regaining the primitive innocence, becomes like and equal to God, not by nature, but by participation andgrace. She also becomes like the angels by union of love — nay, superior to them — hyth^ happy sin, whereby we are sprinkled with the Most Precious Blood of the Incarnate Word. O Eternal Word! what more can man want than what Thou hast given him to bring him¬ self to love and enjoy Thee? And though he should have to endure a thousand hells.to enjoy Thee, it should not seem hard to him. In reality, little does he suffer in this world, and that little is mingled with many sweetnesses of Thy consolations, and sea¬ soned wnth the most delicious love of the consideration of Thy Passion. Moreover, the Eternal Trinity goes on glorifying and dispensing grace; likewise this trinity of the soul glorifies and dispenses grace; and how? The uncreated Trinity glorifies man, and the created trinity glorifies God, by desiring— and rejoicing at it — that he should have all the glory He possesses in Himself, and in seeking in all her works the divine honor and glory, being always ready to give up life for this glory of His Divine Majesty. Moreover, the Individual Trinity goes on distilling and dispensing Its grace to all the creatures who are capable of receiving it. The trinity of the soul distills an anxious desire for the neighbors, and infuses a strong will that creatures should return to their Creator. This distillation is so intrinsic that it succeeds in penetrating the very Heart of the Word, Who is well pleased at this effect.... After the Eternal Trinity had taken delight in the created trinity, It sent the Word to become flesh and redeem man. So much, I dare say, the soul does, too; and not being able to re-create man, what does she do? O my Lord Jesus, I will say it, she re-creates God. And how can she re-create God, Who is Author of everything? She re-creates Him in those souls who have lost Him; for it is said that God is re-created whenever a soul is regained. The Individual Trinity is not an accepter of persons, but rather of anxious desires and loving affections; and likewise this trinity of the soul is not an accepter of persons, but of the truth. This was made manifest by him who was sanctified in the womb, I say, St. John the Baptist, and by St. Angelo the Carmelite, who is so little known, and who died for the truth. Men should glory in the dignity of being created to the image of God, and in the fact that God Him¬ self became a man to restore in man this divine image. O greatness and dignity of man! After all, for a trifle it is lost— alas!... Triune in person, and one in essence, is my God. To the unity of the Individual Trinity belongs the judgment of Its creatures, because It created them; though on account of what the Son of God Incarnate has suflfered for His creatures, it is said that the Father has delegated the authority of judg¬ ing to Him: Constitutus judex vivorum et mortuorum “Appointedby God tobejudge of the living and of the dead ” (Actsx, 42). And man living virtuously passes judgment; he judges himself, and by his virtuous way of living he judges those who lead a virtuous life.... The angels wish to look into the Eternal Trinity, Whose vision glorifies the souls. Into this created trinity not only the angels, but God also looks. He works in it, and continues to extend the work the more He takes delight in Himself and in His work: Lcetabitur Dominus in omftibus operibus sms'" — “The Lord shall rejoice in all His works “ (Ps. ciii, 31 ). "Delicice mecs esse cum Jiliis hominum ’’ — “ My delights were to be with the children of men” (Prov. viii, 31). O Great God, One in Essence and Triune in Person! The same Individual Trinity, being Sovereign Purity, despises alto¬ gether every vice, wherever it may be found; and particularly pride, which is more op¬ posed to It. This was seen from the beginning, when It cast out of heaven the apos¬ tate angel with all his followers. The same does the soul who truly loves this great God; that is, she despises all the vices, and especially that of pride, both in herself and in her neighbors....

Man is so much like unto God that one cannot look at God without seeing man, nor look at man withoutseeing God. Let no one say he loves God if he does not love the Truth, because how can we say we love the Lord if we do not love that thing which is nearest and dearest to Him? O Truth, which art abandoned on account of every light temptation, every breath of reproach, the creature does not want to acknowledge thee from God and in God Himself: " Ego sum Veritas" — “ I am the Truth (John xvi, 6). Yet the Bridegroom brings to His brides a garment of Truth, and, moreover, the ring, which is tantamount to saying to them.: “ I am the Truth, I give you the Truth, love the Truth.” And as the ring has neither beginning nor end, or, as He says, it is God Himself, hence in this ring is enchased that precious gem which is the Word. If thou art not satisfied, O soul, with this gem, because thou canst not understand it, take up the strong stone of the purity of the same Word, because Truth and the Incarnate Word are one and the same thing, and there is no Truth without purity, nor purity without Truth.... To the Word all power is given in heaven and on earth: "Dataest mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra" — “All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth ” (Matth. xxviii, 18). Like¬ wise in the trinity of the soul all power in heaven and on earth is given to the second powerf*which is the intellect. To the Word is given the power in heaven to glorify the angels and the blessed spirits, and the intellect has the power to raise itself to the throne of the Most Holy Trinity. Here it receives those rays and influxes of loving light pro¬ ceeding from the same Undivided Trinity; neither can the intellect be restrained by any earthly power. To the Word is given the power to make the creatures choose that voca¬ tion which pleases Him, and to the intellect is given the power to compel the submission of all the intrinsic and natural appetites of the soul to the illuminations it receives from God. As all power is given to Thee, O Word, in heaven and on earth, can we doubt that Thou hast dominion over us also? Can it be that power is given to Thee over the uni¬ verse and not over our hearts? Yes; because, though Thou hast this power, we take it from Thee by the free will Thou hast given to us. But if I could, O Word, sometimes I would grieve that I have this liberty in me, and that others have it, too; but Thou art a good God and dost everything with sovereign providence. Thou sa)'est that power is given to Thee, and in this Thou showest Thyself less than the Father, and that Thou hasta.‘isumed humanity, for man by himself has no power whatever, except in so far as God pnve it to him. Hence, by saying that powder was given to Thee, Thou showest Thyself true man. But, alas! that men seem to have greater power than Thou, because they ‘!uro it, taking the fame, the property, and even the life of their neighbors! O Word, "hou sayest that power is given to Thee in heaven and on earth, and after it that Thou rt merciful. Oh! if one could fathom the great mysteries that are hidden in these words!

VI. She Begins to Contemplate the Mysteries of the Life of Christ from the Incarnation to the Flight into Egypt.

“ Nolite multiplicari loqui sublimia gloriantes " — “ Do not multiply to speak loftv things, boasting” (i Kings ii, 3). And I with a different meaning, but with a like spirit, if granted me by Thee, O my Spouse, shall say with a loud voice (and so could I be heard by the whole world) I Do not, O prophets, speak and raise your voices anv more; do not multiply your discourses, do not glory in past favors nor in promises made to you. Let all hope cease, now that we possess what we hoped for. Do not count as great any of those things that have been done in the past Everything is pleasant, since God lowered Himself to us. Please speak no more of the punishments of Egypt, of Armies defeated, of seas opened, of waters springing from dry rocks, of manna raining down from heaven. Other things we have to speak of: “ Recedant vetera de ore vestro; quia Deus scientiarum Domuius est, Ipsi prceparaniur cogitationes^' — “Let old mat¬ ters depart from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to Him are thoughts prepared ” (i Kings ii, 3), Yes, yes, let all your tremendous speeches cease; because it is no more Deus ultionum^ but Deus misericordiarum. It is for Him to pre¬ pare the thoughts; words pass through the ear, but the thoughts stop in the heart. This He wants, and as in this He wants us to remain, so He wishes also the thoughts to remain which prepare for Him the place. He wants the Old Testament to go no further, except in so far as it serves for the fulfillment of the New, that the veracity of the divine promises already accomplished may be made known. O Word, always the new things have pleased Thee: Ecce nova facio omnia ” — “ Behold I make all things new “ (Apoc. xxi, 5). And what thing is newer than this, that Thou, Eternal Word, hast become man, taking human flesh from the pure bosom of Mary? And this for no other reason than that Deus scientiarum Domitius est. The sovereign plan of the IVIost Holy Trinity for the Divine Incarnation, reconciling justice and mercy, Thou, O Word, hast renewed in us, when Thou comest down to earth, and every hour retuniest to Thy dear souls to prepare thoughts of the great love Thou hast shown us in the Inearnation. Thou dost not infuse these thoughts; no. Thou dost prepare them; for Thou hast given us the free will, and desirest that we should learn them; but all come from Thee. Ego sum via; ” Thou hast said. O Word, how necessary it was that Thou shouldst come to pre¬ pare Thy thoughts full of mercy, for the prophets did not announce to us anything but justice, as our sins deserved. How many times does David mention Thy justice? Oh! how true it is: Justus es^ Domine, et rectum judicium tuum! — “ Thou art just, O Lord, and Thy judgment is right” (Ps. cxviii, 107). Now misericordiarum Dominus ” — “ Now God is the Lord of mercy.” And to this mercy Thou dost invite and call us. In the bosom of the Father, I dare say. Thou preparest for us thoughts of wis¬ dom, of purity, of truth; for to these three virtues in particular Thou iuvitest us when thou sayest: “ Estote perfectiy sicut Pater vester perfectus est^* (Matth. v, 48). In the bosom of the Father... for if this is the bosom in which Thou, Son, hast been begotten and from the Father and from Thee proceeds and is breathed the Holy Ghost, therefore will it be the primary object of our beatitude. Hence it is meet thkt thou shouldst now by imitation prepare in us that which we must enjoy for eternity by vision in Thee, Sov¬ ereign Good. “ Tunc similes ei erimuSy cum videbinius eum sicuti “(Then) we shall be like to Him, (when) we shall see Him as He is ” (i John iii, 2). But we must be like unto Him in this life first, and prepare for that by thoughts pf wisdofUy in order not to follow after and be caught by the deceits of the world; of purity, in order not to be soiled by the filthiness of the senses; and of truth, in order not to be taken in the nets of the father of lies. But Thou, O Incarnate Word, goest further, preparing thoughts also in the bosom of Mary; and these are thoughts of love, goodness, and meekness. In being born, what thought dost Thou prepare for me? Oh! it is the thought of what I profess, and which by so few is loved and Vnown, poverty f O Word, Thou takest it as a nurse, later as a sister, and finally, on the cross, as a bride, espousing it with Thy blood. To me Thou first gavest the Rule which fled from so many others of the world, and Thou gavest it to me first by deed and then by words, first by examples and then by precepts; and as to Thyself, working and teaching the rest of Thy life. Thou hast given the Rule to the whole world. Oh! what great power and love Thou showest to me. O little Infant, wanting to be silent and in need of everything. Even'the first voice Thou madest me hear of the Scripture joys was that of weeping, to show me my misery: Primam vocem similem omnibus emisi plorans” — “And the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do ” (Wisd. vii, 3). Thou dost refuse to feed except on milk which comes as a gift from the Eternal Father; yes, ubere de ccelo pleno.'^ Likewise the soul that wishes to be similar to Thee, must not feed except on the milk that comes from Thee. But before the milk nourishes Thee, Thou wishest to give me nourishment by Thy example. What nourishment dost Thou give me? Re¬ clining Thy tender limbs on the straw in the manger, and resting Thy head upon a stone. Thou givest me the nourishment — so useful and necessary — of Thy humility and poverty. Mary dissembled Thy greatness; she acknowledged it in her heart, and in her heart she adored Thee; but outwardly she treated Thee also as her son; because by only adoring Thee, she could not have rendered those services, of which, humatily speaking, Thou stoodest in need. Taking the milk. Thou showest me Thy great love, in making Thyself needful of nourishment — Thou who nourishest the universe.... O Word, Thou art but eight days old, and Thou givest me Thy blood; and what thought dost Thou prepare for me, by the Blood? of that other virtue, which is also my profession, obedience! Three things Thou showest me in Thy circumcision — obedience to God, meekness with Mary, justice with us. Then Thou didst go to the Temple, where she of¬ fered Thee — she who had not one like herself before her, neither shall she have one after her; she, who by the mouth of Wisdom was called by Thy Father so beautiful and handsome; the one who in all Thy works was always with Thee, or in Thy mind before Thou didst create the world, and for Whom, as the noblest of 'all creatures, Thou bast made the world. After she was born, she was always with Thee, being holy and very far from every stain of sin; and after she conceived Thee in her virginal womb she was always with Thee, adoring Thee as God, and loving and serving Thee as the Son of God; neither did her mind and heart ever withdraw from Thee and Thy divine will, she even going so far as to offer Thee in sacrifice, in order to conform to Thy Eternal Father’s will. And here, O my Lord, Thou didst describe also to me the reverence I owe to the Law, first to the Ten Commandments and then to the Rule of my Religion; so that I must see that it may not have -to complain about me and repeat what Jeremias, the prophet, says of the synagogue: Ego te plantari, vinea electa; qiwmodo conversa es mihi in amaritudinem? '' — “I planted Thee, a chosen vineyard, all true seed; how, then, art Thou turned unto me into bitterness?” (Jerem. ii, 21). Alas! the rule turns into bitterness, when one does not live up to it; and we cause bitterness to tV, when we do not fulfill the obligations it imposes upon us, and so easily break the ordinances which, after all, are God’s. Oh! how well might the Rule repeat what Thou hast said, O Word; ” Non vos Me elegistis, sed ego elegi vos ” — ” You have not chosen Me; but I have chosen 5^ou ”'(Johu xv, 16). It is true, yes in a sense, that I have chosen the Rule; for voluntarily to it, and not to another, I did submit myself; but it is also true that the Rule has chosen me, because ou my part I did nothing but arise and consent to the call which the Word gave me to this place, and not to another, to this Rule and not a different one. The Rule, already existing before me, chose me, accepted me, revered me, and told me: ” Hoc facet vives" — “This do, and thou shalt live ” (Luke x, 28). In this manner Thy Spouse, Jesus, wishes to be served by Thee. Beware (moreover says the Rule) that Thou shalt not offend me, breaking me, without offending at the same time Him Who called’ Thee to this Rule and commanded Thee to obey it. The super¬ ioress, who is the Rule animated, is not by any of us chosen, except in the hope of good results. What tree does not in the beginning give sign of becoming fruitful? O holy desires, O blessed fervors of novitiate, how useful you are, and how much more so you would be if you would continue to be always alive and fervent! The soul w^ould in¬ crease from virtue to virtue, until ” Videretur Deus Deorum in Sion ” — ” Till the God of gods would be seen in Sion ” (Ps. Ixxxiii, 8). In this life, in the Sion of peace and interior tranquillity of conscience, which would be in charity and meekness with all, in modesty, and in every action of ours being peaceful and composed. Thence from peace to peace, from present to future, from the transitory to the eternal, one would pass into the celestial Sion, a copy of which, O Lord, the dwelling of Thy beloved brides should be. Oh! how many loving thoughts this Eternal Word prepares for us ” Usque ad consummationem sceculi / — “To the consummation of the world” (Matth. xxviii, 20) — So they will pass from generation to generation in this our monastery, as I hope and trust in the mercy of Him who chose them for Himself.

VII. From the Flight into Egypt to the Baptism of Christ.

Thou didst flee into Egypt by Thy own will, O my Jesus; and I can say that Thou didst flee another time, when Thou didst leave the bosom of the Father, to come down into this world, which is a dark Egypt; Thou dost flee also into another Egypt, viz., into the souls that receive Thee in the Sacrament of the Altar, of whom many are an Egypt of idolatry, because they are grievously given to the concupiscence of the eyes, of the flesh, of, avarice, or the pride of life; which all cause idolatry. What stupen¬ dous effects are wrought by Thee! Thou ascendest into the clouds white and light, viz., into those white sacramental species, and entering into the Egypt of the souls, behold, *Movebuntur omnia simulacra jElgypti''' — “All the idols of Egypt shall be moved” (Isa. xix, i). All bad habits and all perverse desires of yore fall to the ground in Thy presence, by Thy grace, from those who worthily receive Thee. Instead of the many idols adored by her sins, that poor soul builds up so many altars in each of her faculties, whereby she adores Thee. In her will, only wishing to serve Thee and follow Thy will; in the intellect, only aspiring to those thoughts which are pleasing to Thee; in the memory, remembering her faults to detest and punish them, and Thy benefits to be grateful for them. But different are the effects and the operations that are wrought by Thee, according to the dispositions of those who receive Thee. A great desire is followed by great gifts, and a great love by great delight. Sometimes Thy mercy over¬ comes our negligence, granting us consolations, even when we are not apt to receive the fullness of the graces of Thy Sacrament. O my God, all good and all sweet! O Word, quam magna multitudo suavitatis luce, quam abscondisti timentibus te I'' — “ O how great is the multitude of Thy sweetness, O Lord, which Thou hast hidden for them that fear Thee!” (Ps. xxx, 20). Oh! he who is not burning with such a fire, either is not alive, or has no sense. I wretch, what am I?.., Thou hast fled from Herod to save Thy Humanity. In the day of judgment, when Thou shalt say “ //tf, maledictiy in ignem ceter^ium^' — “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire” (Matt, xxv, 45), Herod will want to fly, with the rest of the wicked like himself, the rigor of Thy Humanity and Divinity, but in vain.... In Thy flight into Egypt, O my Spouse, Thou dost dictate to me thoughts of prudence and love. Of love, because of the affection Thy foster-father Joseph bore Thee, enduring the trial of that journey. Of prudence, because that — not being yet the time for Thy Humanity to be cut off by the sword — Thou didst withdraw, preserving Thyself for greater pains and our greater advantage. Thou didst remain in Egypt seven years; but I do not know what Thy operations were there, except that Thou didst overthrow many idols, and didst prepare for me thoughts of Thy power. But I dare to say: Why didst Thou not prepare for us, also, the words which are so efficacious? Ah! I understand Thee; Thy answer is in my heart — because we ourselves were too quick in preparing the words to our disadvantage; for ordinarily we utter them without premeditation. Thou hast furnished us the thoughts, that when we utter the words we may be more consid¬ erate, and that the expressions may be more efficacious: “ Vir linguosus non dirigetur tn terra'’’' — “A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth ” (Ps. cxxxix, 12). Oh! how true it is! I conceive many thoughts; but because there is not previous efficacy of reflection and affection, they amount to nothing and perish, not having well taken root in the heart. If the thought was well considered, it would have stability and firmness, and would not be thrown to the ground by any light wind, as it befell unhappy Eve, our first mother, who conceived the thought, and spoke, but did not reflect. This many do, especially among those of our sex, who utter words without considering them. Eve conceived in her mind to invite her consort to eat the fruit; but she did not reflect. The contrary was done by Mary, who first considered when the Fruit of life was offered to her: “ Benedictus fructus ventris tui; ” — “ Blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Luke i, 42) — “ Cogitabat quails esset ista salutatio ” — “ She thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be ” (Luke i, 29). And afterwards she uttered the word.... Then, O Word, Thou departest from Egypt, suggesting to us thoughts of honor towards Thy Father by returning to the place destined for His glorification, by the complete sacrifice of Thyself. Nothing should keep us from following the will of God, especially in things appertaining to His honor; threats and dangers are nothing, provided His divine will is accomplished; then let the world do as it will. But on our part we must avoid the occasions of scandal, for this is the meaning of going to Naza¬ reth. Very praiseworthy is prudence, which accompanies the spirit to do the will of God, not the will of the flesh, which separates from God: Prudentia carnis inimica est Deo'” — “The wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God ” (Rom. viii, 7).... Then Thou goest in the company of thy dear Mother to the Temple, and dost ar¬ range so as to remain therein to dispute with the doctors. O my young Jesus, O my grateful Spouse: ” Speciosus forma prce filiis hominum ” — “ Beautiful above the sons of men ” (Ps. xliv, 3). It seems to me that I see that beautiful face of thine, so meek at that age, and grave, and venerable. Afterwards Thou didst prepare for us new thoughts of providence, of wisdom and of counsel, when Thou didst answer Thy Mother: “And why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” Then, O Divine Word, Thou didst begin to divide Thy attention between Thy heavenly kingdom and the questions put to Thee by the doctors, and addressed Thyself to them at once in a gentle and heroic spirit. But how is this, O my Jesus? Thou Who hast made Thyself so humble and abject as to liken Thyself to a worm, for our sake, wouldst manifest Thyself, now, to the doctors, people esteemed by the world; in the Temple, the most celebrated place; and on the occasion of the Pasch, as I believe, viz., when there was the greatest concourse of people.... But I know and under¬ stand that Thou didst do it for my example, so that I might learn to know what Thou wouldst of me and of everyone that loveth Thee. Thou dost not wish, O my Lord, that we shall bury the talents which Thou hast given to us; but rather that we shall use them with noble pride, to humble the proud for Thy greater glorification. Then Thou returnest home and lendest Thyself to Joseph in the trade of a carpen¬ ter; Thou, Who out of nothing hast built the universe! Who can say how Thou didst stay recollected in Thyself, hidden from the eyes of men, and humble in Thy obedi¬ ence?... At the time fixed by the Eternal Father, Thou makest Thyself manifest to the world; whereby Thou gavest me the example of what I should do, viz., to seek, as far as I am concerned, silence, retirement, and to remain hidden; because, oh! how well retirement and humility join together! And when it is pleasing to Thy will that I shall come forth and show myself to others, or better still that I shall manifest Thee in myself to others, I shall do it courageously in Thee, without fear of making known, when Thou shalt order it, Thy gifts — ^Thou Who gavest them to me and orderest me to manifest them, wilt know how and wilt be willing to defend me from vainglory, pride, and all Other evils to which on account of such a manifestation I might be tempted.

VIII. Of the baptism of Christ, and of His Sending His Apostles to Preach.

The Blessed Christ goes to His servant John on the shores of the Jordan, and there begins between them that heroic contrast which should move each one of us to sadness, joy, and amazement at the same tipie. To sadness, for our confusion; to joy, for the acts of Christ and John; and to amazement, for the example which we can take from them. John withdraws and trembles, and Christ goes forward and comforts him. John acknowledges Christ God and man, and Christ holds John as His dear and beloved friend. John follows Christ and goes before Him. He would like to withdraw and cannot. How wilt thou be able, O John, to raise thy hand over Him Who has built the universe? How wilt thou take the water and pour it over Him Who is an immense and never-failing ocean of all the graces? How wilt thou stretch thy hands over that Head, wherein are placed all the treasures of the Divinity? But Thy power and Thy will, O blessed Jesus, overcome the humble resistance of John. He baptizes Thee, and, in this act. Thou preparest for us thoughts of love, of purity, and of humility. Of love, as by the words of the Eternal Father: “ Hie est Filius mens dilectus, in quo niihi bene complacuiy Ipsmn audite'' — “This is My most beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him ” (Mark ix, 6), we are made to see for how strong a reason Thou must be the object of the love and complacency of our own hearts, too. Thou, O Word Incarnate, hast prepared for us thoughts of humility by submitting Thyself to John, wishing to humble Thyself as if Thou wert a sinner and needed to be purified and cleansed by such a baptism; Thou, Who receivest the sinners and infusest into their hearts the grace of repentance and grantest them forgiveness. Finally, by receiving baptism. Thou preparest for us thoughts of purity, as Thou seemest to cry out loud by Thy example: ^Havamifii, mundi estate y auferte malum cogitationum vestrarum ” — “ Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes “ (Isa. i, 16). Oh! how necessary it is to plunge often into the waters of repentance, to acquire the purity which Thou demandest of us. Purity of body is not sufficient, there must be purity of mind and heart; and he who does not often wash himself in this baptism wdll not be able to preserve it long, as the purity of the heart, though a gift of Thine, cannot be preserved intact, unless by many efforts of our own. So Thou hast ordained.... Thou, O Word Incarnate, hadst to dwell in the desert, praying and glorifying, and for me praying to Thy Eternal Father — praying that Thy creatures already born in the world might be converted, and that we, who were in Thy mind already born for Thee before Whom all is present, might perfectly praise and love Thee. Whilst dwelling in the desert I cannot think that Thou dost perform any other work but this, viz., praying for us to Thy Father in the sublimity of Thy love and the depth of Thy mercy and compassion. But, when Thou dost permit Thyself to be tempted by the devil. Thou who hadst come to crush, overaw^e, and con¬ quer him, O Infinite Goodness!... Satan tempted Thee, and Thou wast God! And he was not satisfied to tempt Thee once only, but three times he attempted it, as if to destroy the adoration of the Most Holy Trinity. I do not believe that he took Thee for the Son of the living God. I do not believe he penetrated so high a mystery; because, if he had, he would not have dared to attempt what he did. Neither do I believe — nay, I know that, in that conflict. Thou wast not pained as we are during the time of temptation; because, being God and man at the same time, the darkness of hell cannot reach the splendor of that light which est candor lucis csternce" — “ is the brightness of eternal light ” (Wisd. vii, 26). I imagine, though, that as a man Thou must have suffered great pain, on account of the love Thou bearest Thy Father, when Thou didst hear Satan saying to Thee: Hese onmia tibi dabo, si cadens adoraveris me''' — “All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me “ (Matth. iv, 9). O impudent Satan! Horrible blasphemy! I believe thine ears could hear it without horror. But, '•'Nonest sapientiay non est prudentia... contra Dominum'" — “ There is no wisdom, there is no prudence... against the Lord” (Prov. xxi,3o). Thou didst believe, O spiteful one, that thou hadst to deal with a mere man, and thou wast deceived. Thou didst try to find out whether He was a true God, and thou didst fail. O greatness of my God I All that Thou dost allow of temptation in us to Thy glory, all redounds to our profit; and Thou dost so act that if we only remembered Thy goodness when tempted, this would amply suffice ufeto overcome every temptation. O Word, by Thy divine language Thou dost confound the demon, who departs in confusion, knowing not whom or what Thou art. I speak not of Thy lofty, mellifluous, and salutary sermons, for w^hat Thou didst say, and the thoughts Thou didst prepare, the Gospel narrates to me; but what thoughts didst Thou prepare for me whilst in the desert, except those of constancy, of faith in Thee, true and living God, and in how little estimation we must hold the devil? All Thy sacred miracles cause me nothing but thoughts of Thy power, of Thy great¬ ness, and of Thy love. Who would not become enamored of Thee, seeing by how many inscrutable and deep ways Thou art trying to draw this soul to Thee! "Sicut aquila provocahs ad "Volandum pullos suos ” — “As the eagle enticing her young to fly ” (Deut. xxxii, ii). Now, like a deer, it is necessary to jump over hills and mountains, and I must stop to consider the greatness of Thy love. Thousands upon thousands of years I would need, were I to go over, point by point, all the thoughts Thou didst prepare for us by casting the people from the Temple, by speaking with the woman of Samaria, by granting the prayer of the woman of Canaan, by forgiving Magdalen, and absolving the adulteress. But I must pass over these things, remembering them in my mind and musing over them with the swiftness of an eagle.

Now the Eternal Word, Who always does new things, wants to do something worthy of Himself. He calls His twelve Apostles and sends them to preach, giving them the model of all they have to do. Likewise does He with His Brides; but not all understand Him aright. He tells them (the Apostles) they should not take anything for the journey-s-no scrip, no bread, nor two coats, nor a purse; and that from those who should not receive them they should depart, Shaking off the dust from their feet. He gives them the same power and the same orders to cast out the devils, to heal the sick, and do many other things. He chooses them by interior drawing and by external voice. The same thing He does with His Brides, calling them, so that they may know the offenses they have com¬ mitted; as to know them is to remedy them. He gives them the power to heal all the sick, to cast out devils, and to resuscitate the dead. How must they cure the sick? By means of the power of Thy Word, which heals, O Word, all the ailments of the soul. It heals the fever of pride, when it says that he who does not humble himself shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. It heals vainglory, by saying that without Him one can do nothing. It heals the reprobate feeling of insubordination with that salutary medicine He gave out when He said: “ I did not come to do My own will, but the will of My Father that sent Me.” And, again: *'Non mea voluntas, sed tua fiat'' ^'Factus obediens usque ad mortem " — “ Not My will, but Thine, be done.” ” Made obedient even unto death ” (Luke xxii, 42; Phil, ii, 8). It heals the continuous fever which soon leads to death, viz., avarice, by the words and by the example: '•'‘Filius hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet" — “The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head ” (Luke ix, 58). It also heals accidental diseases by those words: ^'■Quidquid petieritis Patreyn in nomine meo dabit vobis " — “ If you ask the Father anything in Mv name. He will give it you ” (John xvi, 23). And what are these accidental ailments? The several passions of the soul, which are conquered and overcome by means of prayer made with faith and confi¬ dence. The devils are cast out by the cross, by fasting, by prayer, and, above all, by humility; for Thou, O Word, hast said to Thy good servant Anthony, that no one can escape the many snares of the infernal enemy, except the humble one. Life is re.stored to the dead by the Blood of the Only Begotten Word, for, by offering It, and infusing It in a certain manner through Him into His creatures, by such an influx He raises the dead soul to His grace and reunites her to her Creator, giving her new life. He says and commands that His disciples shall go without carrying a staff, viz., self-defense; so that if they are struck on the right cheek they shall offer the left one. They must not carry provisions, nor two sets of vestments, viz., we should not load ourselves with temporal provisions; but, free from all care and affection for these perishable things, we should put all our trust in Thee, O Lord, Who clothest the birds with feathers, the wild beasts with hair, and even the lilies of the field with those bright colors, so that even Solomon in the greatest pomp of his wealth could not equal them in beauty and ornamentation. Neither dost Thou want them to have vestments, as Thou takest Thy delight in their having the vestment of innocence which Thou hast given them. If they wish to put on another one besides. Thou dost grant it to them, provided it is charity. Oh! what orna¬ ments; oh, what riches! Circuyndata varietate. At any rate, there must be but one intention — one end only. Every work must begin in Thee, and be completed by Thee, Who art the Truth. But oh! how few understand this Truth! It seems as if everyone shuts his ears to it, and on the contrary opens them to falsehood. Well did that servant of Thine understand the Truth, who was sanctified in His mother’s womb, because for the Truth He laid down His life. Finally, Thou wishest us to have but one vestment, which is the knowledge of Thee and Thy goodness, stopping not in anything created, nor in riches, nor in beauty, nor in strength, nor in pleasures, nor in creatures, nor in anything which is outside of Thee, but wishing only the salvation of all creatures in Thee, and by Thee, which is the most perfect charity. Thou dost not want them to carry either purse or money, or other transitory things, because they are too much opposed to Thee, and he greatly deceives himself who wants to mix them up with the things divine. Instead of earthly things. Thou wishest to give us the gifts of the Spirit, and the kingdom of heaven, which Thou sayest suffers violence, and, therefore, a constant violence to oursblves is necessary in order to acquire it. Thou dost not wish that purse or money should be carried; because Thy Apostle says that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this world, which by you are thought so much of, and the future glory., So much less should we think of the treasures of this world, which Thou so much despisest, and which obstruct the road to heaven. These are not for those souls who wish to run to Thee; nay, *rHE UEE AND WORKS OE they are an impediment; as Thou dost not want anyone to come to Thee in their com¬ pany. Our soul should be so filled up with Thy wealth, as not to leave in it any space whatever for transitory things, either in the heart or in the understanding, or in the memory, or in the will. Everything must be filled with Thee, and intent in holding Thee, Who art He that makes rich anyone who approaches Thee. And the more lightly dressed one is, the better is he apt to run. But woe to them who possess these transitory things; woe to the rich in affection, who will be cursed by God, the angels, the saints, and scorned by the world and by hell!... The Divine Word says also to His disciples, that they must stay in all those places which receive them; and, in another place. He says that if they are persecuted in a city, they should fly to another one. So much Thou, O Word, dost for the soul, that Thou wishest to render her equal by participation, to Thee, Who art unchangeable: '^Ega DominuSy et non mutor'"'' — “I am the Lord, and I change not” (Mai. hi, 6). Thou wantest her to fly, because she must not remain nor rest where she does not find Thee, lest she lose Thee. Thou wishest Thy disciples to remain in all the houses they enter; likewise must the soul do; remaining firm and stable in all the virtues, being founded on Thee, the Living Stone. Woe to him who does not consolidate himself in virtue, and builds instead like the house badly reared on the sand, because the winds will come, and he will shake and fall, causing to others, with his own ruin, great havoc and damage. Oh! what great harm the fall of a person, once regarded as a servant of God and spiritual, causes. And one must really strengthen himself, otherwise he will fall from precipice to precipice, from bad to worse, from worse to worst.... Thou dost com¬ mand, also, that when they are not received in certain dwellings they should shake the dust off their feet. O divine words, wherein so many mysteries are hidden! They must shake the dust off their feet! Ah I let all those tremble who fear Thee not, O great God, because Thou dost not want anything of them, not even the dust which fastens itself to the feet. But on the contrary Thou dost number, weigh, and measure the least act and thought of Thine elect; as this is what is meant by numberingthe ha'irs of their heads: ^'Nam et capilli capitis vestri omnes nmnerati ” For the very hairs of your head are numbered ” (Matt, x, 30). So that it may be asserted that with the elect everything cooperates for good, and with the former everything turns into evil, on account of their depraved will. Thou dost despise even the dust, viz., what is left of them, and what can be seen with the e3'es; because they often give away what is super¬ fluous to themselves, and which, generally speaking, is good for nothing, as the dust is; and afterwards they boast, it seeming to them as if they had wrought great things for Thy love. Such ones Thou dost despise, as Thou wishest that what is done for Thy love shoviXdihQ some value 3i\d secret. Hence, those who fear Thee give much, and of what they have acquired with labor. To them it seems as if they gave nothing, and they would not like the creatures to see it, but Thou alone. Who art the Rewarder of all good works... Thou dost wish us to shake the dust off the feet, because, as we have to learn the path of virtue, and the manner of serving Thee, Thou dost wish us to go and learn from people that are experienced iu these virtues, and not from those who boast of having them, but in reality have them not. These do not know them, and yet wish to teach others, that they may appear to have a desire to honor Thee, whilst it is they themselves who aspire to be honored. Thou dost not wish us to approach these to be instructed, but rather wishest that we should leave even the dust of their words.

IX. Of the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament.

Behold, now we have come to the excess of Thy love, the most sure token of Thy love, the most extensive and certain token of Thy affection towards us; to that institu¬ tion which forms the object of Thy delights, and the motive of all our consolations and hopes. One should have John’s purity to be able to contemplate the greatness of the treasures and the innumerable meditations Thou hast prepared for us by institutino-the Sacrament of Thy Most Holy Body and Blood. Thou alone hast been the worker;*and nothing else had anything to do with it but love, which made Thee leave Thyself and remain with us usque ad consummationem sccculiy telling us also to always commemorate Thy Passion. For which gifts, I would say, we are more indebted to Thee than for that of creation itself. How is it possible to find anything more sublime and profitable than the Eucharistic union? Oh! what a colloquy of love is entered into with Thee by the soul almost deified by union with Thee! Who can explain the feelings of a soul who having received Thee, corresponds to Thy voices and inspirations? Oh! happy the soul' though oppressed by all the passions and torments of the world, who receives her com¬ passionate and true Consoler! O infinite charity of our good Jesus! What graces and treasures can the Eternal Father refuse us, seeing within us His Only Begotten Son, His Beloved, Who is the only object of His complacency? The Eternal Father would not now permit the just to exclaim, as those of the Old Testament: ^^Rorate cceli desuper et nubes pluantjusturn'''' — “Dropdown dew, ye heavens, from above, aud let the clouds raiu on the just” (Isaiah xliv, 8); and the like; since at present we have the Word, Who said that we can get all we w'ant by asking rightly and with confidence in His name, for He Himself became for us the Way and the easiest Ladder by which we might ascend to the possession of all treasures and graces. Happy will I be, if I shall know how to make use of this Ladder, and walk in this Way. His Humanity is that little cloud which raises us to Him like dew, to lay us down in the Father’s bosom, which is an infinite ocean of graces and riches. As the waters falling into the sea lose their former nature and name, so what happens to us entering this sea, which is God? ^'‘Ego dixi: DU estis'' — “ I have said: you are gods” (Ps. Ixxxi, 6) ■» adhceret DominOy unus spiritus fit cutn illo^' — “But he who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit ” (i Cor. vi, 17).... Moreover, in the union with this Most Holy Sacrament the Bridegroom comes to us, sups with us, sets in order charity in us (Cant, ii, 4), and many pure aud chaste embraces take place, which can be offered up in union with the most intimate ones of the Three Divine Persons in the unity of the essence of the Most Holy Trinity, of which they are like an image and a symbol. Oh! what sweet embraces ours are, which we make in the complacency of the Three Divine Persons? And oh! what divine embraces and bonds are those which are all unity and identity of substance, being, perfection, nature, and attributes. Oh! what'a grand thing! ''Collocavit me in osculo oris sui'' — “He placed mein the kiss of His mouth” (Cant, i, i). But I say again, it is better to rest our thoughts on this excess of divine love in the Eucharistic Banquet, than speak words about it, which will always remain inadequate to express it.

X. Of the Leave-Taking of Christ, the Saviour, from His Holy Mother.

Behold, Abraham’s faithful servant going to look for a bride for Isaac. As he finds her at the fount, she gives him to drink. This is my Spouse, Who can be called the Servant of the Father, as it was the form of a servant which He acquired in the Human¬ ity. And what does He seek? He seeks to give all mankind to His Eternal Father, like children whom He will adopt by grace, they being sons and servants by nature. The bride He is looking for is Mary, who by her consent to the Passion of her Son will cooperate with this spiritual generation. Mary gave Him to drink by her conformity to the Divine Will that the Word should suffer. Oh! what a sweet fount this was, which assuaged at that point the anguish of the Passion of the Son. Behold the union of the Sun and the Moon, in order to make the Moon more resplendent in that night — so dark — of the Passion. The Word treats to-day of three excesses in Mary: ist, of love; 2d, of suffering; 3d, of the capacity for celestial things. Three loves made Thee speak, O good Jesus, of this excess of the Passion to Mary. The first was the love Thou didst bear for her, and her Immaculate Conception and sanctity. The second was Thy love for Thy Eternal Father, in submitting to His decrees. The third was the love Thou didst bear for the angels, whose empty seats Thou didst want to fill, opening by Thy Blood the gates of heaven, that the souls of the just might enter there and fill them. Mary had three sorrows. She conformed herself to Thy will, O Word, but she suffered first that grief which was to overflow in Thy Humanity, when Thou didst say: '■'Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma^' — “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark xiv, 38). Her second grief was on account of the knowl¬ edge she had of the greatness of Thy Divinity, which would have withdrawn a little of her support to Thy Humanity, on account of love — to suffer more for the creature. Her third grief was a feeling of compassion for the Apostles, Mary Magdalen, and all man¬ kind, and that Humanity, too, Thou hast taken from her; and in order to take from her or diminish somewhat this grief, Thou didst grant her distinctly to feel the effects of Thy death and the glory of Thy resurrection, with all those great events which can never be related. But wdth all this, alas! Thou hast granted to Mary a very great grief. What wast Thou doing, O Mary, when Thou didst wish to proceed in Thy requests? Among the first things Thou didst treat with Mary, I imagine, O Word, was the most tender charity which Thou didst bear to all mankind. How many were to be without this charity of Thine, not availing themselves of the price of Thy Blood, which Thou wast to shed for them a few hours later; and which was of so much value that with it Paradise could be purchased for numberless persons! The complacency of the Divinity and Humanity made a bond, and bound all mankind to the Most Holy Trinity; and all this Thou hast made known to Mary. When Thou didst manifest Thy Being, which is nothing but love and charity, oh! may it be permitted me to say it, Thou couldst not find a more fitting receptacle than Mary in whom to transfuse the liquor which was in Thy soul, viz., the affection of Thy most ardent charity. It was not convenient that Thou shouldst manifest it to the angels before manifesting it to Mary; because, though THE EIFE and works OF they bum with love aud are fiauies of fire, nevertheless, their charity cannot be com¬ pared to that of Mary; and also because it was principally to be made known to men, lor whom Thou wast to die.... Thou didst not condole with Thy Heavenly Father, but with Thy Mother, who is inferior to Thee, as, not wishing for any consolation, the cross and sorrow Thou didst read in her soul were rather a new torment to Thee, and another cross. Neither was this a condolence, but a narration of Thy sufferings and of the benefits that would accrue from them to us, who would be almost deified by the garment of Thy Blood, hiding our sins, that Thy Bternal Father might see in us nothing but Thy merit....

Proceeding in Thy colloquy, O Spouse of mine, I imagine Thou wast making known to her how Thy scourges and thorns and nails were to obtain for the souls that beatific vision, fruition, and communication of the glory which is given to the blessed ones by the Most Holy Trinity. What this imports cannot be understood, and is not given to know. If by an impossible supposition every other delight had failed to make the blessed ones in heaven happy, to make the angels rejoice, and to satisfy Thy Father, humanly speaking. Thou gavest Mary the knowledge of the happiness which Thy Humanity was to cause to the Eternal Father, the angels, and the blessed souls, and of the contentment that Humanity would give them, which, after the Divinity, was to form the object of the everlasting beatitude. But, reflecting always on what Thou wast suffering at the present time, the heart of Mary was pining away and distilling tears of love. I could never be satiated with contemplating that colloquy of the capacity of the height of heaven Thou wast to lay open to Mary, the Beloved, whom the Virgins, her followers, and also followers of Thy Humanity, would receive when, in heaven, they would have followed Thee, Lamb Incarnate, and on earth they would have been inebriated and kindled with Thy Blood, and this delight would have been of some alleviation to Thy Passion.... What shall I say of Thy Sacred Wounds? They must have been similar to that rainbow which God gave Noah to see, as a guarantee that He w’ould never again send the waters of the Deluge upon the earth; and such will be Thy Wounds, O Word, between the Eternal Father and mankind, that not only the^ will obtain mercy for our sins, but they will also cause God to be no longer called a God of vengeance, but a God of mercy and love. Oh! what a joy must have been that of Mary, at seeing that the Blood which the Word had taken from her was to be the stole of all the elect!

But let us come down to what is more proportionate to our understanding, viz., the narration Thou hadst to make to her of every act and smallest suffering Thy Holy Humanity was to endure. The sight of Thy Humanity, so delicate and so beautiful, having to suffer so much and to die amid so many torments, aroused in Mary great compassion. Every word of suffering Thou didst speak to her was like a s<vord passing through her heart; let, then, love cease. Thy faculties, O Mary, were like three chan¬ nels which sent to the heart of the Son those loving words. Th}’’ heart was filled with sorrow because of thy compassion for thy Son; hence from thy mouth proceeded words all full of compassion.... The Heart of the Son, and that of the Mother, are moved to rain down tears. And these ought to suffice to calm every heat and distress of our pas¬ sions. Ah! who amongst us will not be moved to tears, thinking that one is God and man, and the other is the most just and holy creature that ever existed, or may exist at present or in the future? Aud yet they have to feel passion! He, Who by a drop of His grace washes away every passion; and she, who is called the Mother of Grace.... Whither shall I see the dignity aud beauty of Thy face going, O my God? and thine also, so beautiful, O holy Mary? Tears will fill thy eyes, O Virgin of sorrows, and thy face will grow pale! How wilt thou remain, O Mary? and how wilt Thou take leave. O Word, from her who has begotten Thee? But love led Thee to accomplish the sublime testimony for which Thou hadst come to earth.... Let the Son ask the blessing of the Mother, and the Mother of the Sou. Thou, O Word! wilt give her that blessing which Thy Eternal Father gave to Thy Soul when He infused It into that little Body so well organized in the bosom of Mary. And thou, O Mary! as He so wants and thou dost not wish to differ in anything from His Will, wilt give Him thy blessing, and in it thou wilt renew, in the name of the Eternal Father, the promise which God made to Abraham, that his seed would multiply as the stars of the firmament. Oh! what an ample blessing the Son afterwards gives to His Mother, in whom Thou, O Word, infusest all the graces and gifts, and to whom Thou shalt give also all the blessings which the Eternal Father gave to the just of the Old Testament, together with that which Isaac gave to his son Jacob. And thou, O Mary, what dost thou include in thy benediction? Thou includest us also, who shall be thy children, regenerated by thy Son and by thee, on account of thy conformity to His Passion. Thus thou shalt be doubly our Mother, and shalt give us, too, thy efficacious blessing.

Blindfolded, she draws the “ Ecce Homo.”

I i.*■ * •T I- • I r‘ r * i f t w t «' ' I,. ^ f.

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XI. Of the Prayer in the Garden.

My Christ goes to Mount Olivet, and what does He say? “ Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem" — “ My soul is sorrowful, even unto death” (Matth. xxvi, 38). He Who is the gladness and the joy of the blessed, is sad: ” Consolationes luce liztificaverufit animam meam" — “Thy comforts have given joy to my soul” (Ps. xciii, 19), Oh! if Thy consolations, or even the least drop of them, which Thou dost enjoy in infi¬ nite abundance in Th3'seif, give joy to the souls of others, how can there be any sadness ia Thee? But Thy Divinity goes on, little by little, withdrawing the comfort of the sul^erior from the inferior part, that Thou mayest suffer for us. And how can I keep what St. Paul says; ” Gaudete in Domino semper; iterum dico gaudete: ” — ” Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say, rejoice ” (Phil, iv, 4), if my Spouse, Who is my crown and my glorv, is sad, usque ad mortem f But if my gladness and jo}", like the glory, is not to be found in tribulations and in sadness, gloriamur in tribulationibus " — “We glory in tribulations” (Rom. v, 3); how can I see the verification of what the Angel said to Mary? Et Filius Altissimi vocabitur, “Sou of the Most High, Who, by the strength of His Word, bears and supports everything, if I now see Him fallen to the ground? " Et procidens in terrain" And how can I see the verification of the other word, that the throne and the kingdom of David shall be given to Him, if He now says: “ Tristis est anima mea ” — “ My soul is sorrowful ” (Matth. xxvi, 38)? Where is Thy kingdom, if Thou awaitest death? Oh! how well do I now understand that the throne and kingdom of David, Thy father, w'ere to be given Thee; because He had two king¬ doms, one after being crowned in Jerusalem, peaceful and quiet, and this he left to Sol¬ omon. The other, whilst Saul was living, which was full of troubles, during which he fled and hid in caves, and all the troubled and afflicted ones, of whom he was made chief, had recourse to him; this is the kingdom he leaves to Thee, O my Jesus, of which in Thy affliction Thou takest possession, and wilt shortly be crowned with a crown of the most piercing thorns. This kingdom was due Thee from the Son of David, be¬ cause no one but Thyself would have taken it. Hence I wonder not that Thy soul is sad; ])ut I rather wonder at what the angel says, that Thy kingdom shall not come to an end; and yet Thou showest just now that Thou art nearing death, which is the end of all reigning..:. Yes, Thy kingdom begins with death, and by death increases; hence Thou didst likeu Thyself to the grain of wheat, wdiich grows and brings forth co¬ pious fruit, only after having died and been decayed in the ground with water. Thus, by shedding Thy blood on the earth and dying. Thou didst grow and draw everything to Thyself. " Et si exaltatus fuero {on the Holy Cross) omnia traham ad meipsum" (John xii, 32). Tliis happens also in Thy members, the martyrs, who were such per¬ fect imitators of Thy patience, and whose blood has been the seed of so many others. How can we bring forth fruit unless our passions shall have been previously well morti¬ fied, together with our desires and appetites? Alas! the cause of bringing forth so little fruit springs from the lack of mortification in him who wants to draw souls to God....

Thou art also the Light of the World, aud now Thou 'sayest Thou art sad. How can it be that Thou art light with sadness? But I know that by the darkness of Thy sadness Thou wantest to cast away and destroy the darkness of our sadness, and render us that gladness which the prophet asked of Thee: Redde mihi IcEtitiam salutaris ini" (Ps. 1, 14). Or else Thou wantest to render us that salu¬ tary sadness of true contrition and sorrow for the offenses we offer to Thee, and from which springs the light of true gladness. Thy being troubfed causes in us the same effect which Thy voice had on the sea, when, commanding the winds and the storm, there came a very great calm; likewise Thy trouble gives us perfect and tran¬ quil peace, and we are even consoled, when we feel some trouble within us, to think that Thou didst submit for love of us to that sadness, and to even greater ones; Thou didst wish to take upon Thyself aud carry all our iniquities, viz., all the pains which, on account of our sins, we deserved. What shall now be the love by which I may make Thee a return? O Eternal and Divine Word, nothing can compensate for Thy love. So great are Thy sufferings that at the mere thought of them Thou dost sweat blood, and for me alone dost Thou suffer; because so great is Thy charity that what Thou dost for all, Thou wouldst do for each soul. For so great a charity why shall I not be pre¬ pared to endure for Thee one thousand and a thousand more deaths? The Eternal Father sent the scourge which was due me; and Thou, my loving Spouse, didst place Thy shoulders under it; the strokes of the Divine Anger were raining down most justly upon us; and Thou didst lay Thyself as an anvil, between It and us. The strong one armed with sin and iniquity, was everywhere in the world, had seized everything, and was almost in peaceful possession; but when a stronger one than he came, armed with love, he was overcome and conquered, not without struggle, but with pain and blood. Ah! if I could but embrace and kiss some of Thy sacred limbs so tortured, O loving Word; ah! if I could but gather up some drops of Thy Blood, which are like so many rubies falling to the earth; ah! if my heart were the earth receiving them, how rich and how happy would it be! Ah! pray come to me, O my Jesus; I wish for nothing but to sleep and rest in Thee; in Thee shall I rest, but not as the Apostles, whom Thou didst re¬ proach for being unable to watch one hour with Thee. Thou art the ship taking us to the port, and this thought refreshes me and gives me peace. O happy ship, that though I sleep, takes me peaceably to the port of the greatest safety. But I must first become ine¬ briated with this Blood, and by conformity or transformation throw myself afterwards into this ship, where, going to sleep, I shall not fear, like Jonas, to be awakened, or to be assailed by the waves. There is no storm for one resting in this ship. I shall sleep placidly; and one who sleeps feels no pain, and answers not the voice of anyone shouting; unless he should shout so loud as to awaken one from sleep. But I, if inebriated altogether wdth this Blood of the Word, shall not a waken at any voice, except the divine.... Full of love didst Thou pray, compassionating Thy just ones aud all their tribulations and pains, which they would have to endure until the end of the world. By the communication of Thy afflicted Humanity Thou hast obtained that Thy elect, when persecuted and op¬ pressed, consider it an honor, and glory in nothing but Thy cross aud suffering! Oh! w'hat anguish was Thine, whilst Thou didst obtain for us so many consolations. Oh! w'hat a compassionate shuddering this must have been; and not only compassionate, but painful! He saw that many would not profit by His most precious Blood, and yet He wholly offered Himself in sacrifice, though still praying that the chalice might pass away from His lips. Oh I what pain I and yet, if it had been granted to His soul and Humanity, He would have suffered all His Passion for each one in particular; and well did He suffer it, for, seeing the great multitude of sins that many thousands of persons would commit. He wanted to atone, individually, by His own sorrow, for their defec¬ tion, and feel the pain that each one should feel who offends God mortally. O Divine Word, who can explain Thy sorrow, and fathom the abyss of Thy love and of our in¬ gratitude; the abyss of the charity towards us of a God Who created us, and, whilst we offend Him, sustains and benefits us; the abyss of the pains which are prepared for¬ ever in hell for our sins, and the abyss of sorrow which we should feel, to satisfy so good a God, so unjustly offended I He who can fathom such abysses, can also under¬ stand the painful abyss of our good Jesus, Who sets Himself to satisfy and feel sorrow, in order to obtain contrition for so many. Tiirough this, by means of Thy sacraments, we pass from attrition to contrition^ and are by them justified, because Thou hast taken upon Thyself our condition. Thou hast satisfied for that internal sorrow, wanting in us, by the anguish, sorrow, and contrition Thou then feltest in Thy most afflicted and sorrowful heart. Oh I if we would consider the pain we caused Thee, Eternal Word, we would rather choose hell than sin mortally. The Paternal communications and the loving looks ceased. Thy Divinity was hidden in the Paternal bosom, leaving Thee as if Thou wert a mere man, that Thou mightest suffer for us the most horrible torments. I would like to possess numberless tongues, that I might curse sin, which is the cause of so much pain to my God.... I see that Countenance growing pale, which is more beautiful than that of all the children of men. I see those lights growing dark, which light up Paradise. I see Him hardly able to stand. Who alone by the strength and virtue of His Word bears all this structure of the universe. Thou hast suffered more pain in the garden, O my Spouse, than Daniel did in the lions’ den. Thou dost lie on fresh grass, and art more burnt up by love than the three young men in the furnace. O Blessed Christ! Thou, whilst in the garden, didst pray to the Father, Who has begotten and is always begetting Thee, being loved by Him, and yet not heard by Him. But Thou hast not been heard, *0 my Spouse, in order that we might be heard.

XII. Of the Seizing of Our Saviour and His Being Taken to Divers Tribunals.

Behold Him Who rules the universe and holds the world in the palm of His hand, turning it at pleasure I He is seized by a traitor. My Spouse is seized! Ah! that I, too, might be seized with Him I Who will follow Thee, O my Spouse? Ah 1 that I should see Thee alone 1 But Thy love permits not that anyone should suffer for Thee, or with Thee, for me. Alone, alone. Thou wishest to drink the bitter chalice which Thy Father offers to Thee, as alone Thou didst accept it; “ Calicem quern dedit mihi Pater, non vis ut biham ilium? — “ The chalice my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John xviii, ii.) We, too, are for Thee, but not with Thee; neither is our Judas wanting, the greatest traitor of our souls, that is, the pestiferous self-love, that does exactly like Judas, kissing and betraying. It is a real Judas, a hidden traitor, this self-love; and he who conquers it, conquers all. O my Christ, make me know it well, for it covers itself with a lamb’s skin, and one needs to have eyes well enlightened by Thy grace, in order to see and discern it. Who can dispel it? The thought of Thee, O my God, and of me, miserable creature. And here my Christ left us' thoughts of meek¬ ness, affability, and love, by which He is always accompanied. Oh! how beautiful He is! See how merry and smiling He is, and how He rejoices in manifesting Himself to us. He holds in one hand a banner, on which is written: “ Fortis est, ui mors, dilectio" — “ For love is strong as death ” (Canticle viii, 6). In the other hand He holds all the in¬ struments of His Passion, and He goes around through the universe calling with a very pleasant voice; but, while one hears Him, the other turns a deaf ear to Him. He would like to hand to all some instrument of His Passion, but with so much meekness, that it causes joy and not sorrow. O loving Jesus, never depart with Thy love, from me! Then the Blessed Christ goes from one to the other Pontiff, from Annas to Caiphas, from Caiphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod again to Pilate; but I wish to reduce them all to one: “ Ornnes adversarii congregati sunt in unumF They are collected in one, and against One, and know not that this One is God; and yet they deemed themselves religious and servants of the people; but they did not understand the operation of the Word, Who was not known by them, because they were blinded by their ambition and malice: “ Excoecavit eos maliiia eoruni ” (Wisd. ii, 21). But He is well known by those who love Him: Electus ex millibus^' (Canticle v, 10).... And ah! how many thoughts and examples Thou hast left us here, O my Christ — of love, of patience, of meekness, of humility, of silence, of truth, and of manifestation of truth, by saying what Thy kingdom is, and, consequently, w'ho are Thy faithful sub¬ jects: '' Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo^' (John xviii, 36). Thy kingdom, O loved Word, is not of this world, but whence? Thy kingdom is eternal, and Thy throne is immortal, and beneath itthe Angels adore Thee, the Dominations tremble, the Thrones become Thy footstool, the Virtues praise Thee, the Principalities invite Thee, the Cheru¬ bim and the Seraphim vie with one another to render Thee glory and honor. Thy be¬ ginning cannot be described, and Thy end cannot be understood, because it is eternal: “ Et regni ejus non erit finis ” — “ And of His kingdom there shall be no end ” (Luke i, 33). It is eternal, and not like those here below, which are full of miseries, calami¬ ties, and dishonors; it is full of tranquillity, contentment, and infinite joy. The beauty of Thy kingdom, O Bridegroom mine, cannot be narrated. There was wanting a fount to irrigate it; and behold. Thou givest existence to it by Thy Blood. Oh! what a beau¬ tiful Fount, irrigating first the earth, and then heaven! The same is for us a torrent of salvation, of comfort, of pleasure! O Fount inexhaustible, for all our good! XIII. ^ Of the Scourging of Christ.

Afterwards Thou didst go of Thy own will to the pillar, and, to loose me. Thou didst permit Thyself to be bound: “ Funes peccatorum circumplexi sunt me ” — “ The cords of the wicked have encompassed me^' (Ps. xviii, 61). J?t columna nubis loquebatur ad eos'" — “ //<? spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud^' (Ps. xcviii, 7). Much more dost Thou speak to us, O Word, in this than in that pillar of the cloud; because Thy suflFering caused a great raising of Thy voice; and oh! how easily and distinctly is Thy voice heard by those whose hearts’ ears are purified! Thou didst emit three voices, keeping silence. Thy patience was one voice, which appealed to the Eternal Father, praying that all our sins might be washed away; and Thy voice was so effica¬ cious that Exauditus est pro sua reverentia ” — “ He was heard for His 7'everence ” (Heb. v, 7). And far from the just lamenting the sin, I hear also one voice saying: “f? fetix culpa ” — “ O happy sin! ” Thy other voice was Thy silence, and this put the seal to every fault of tongue, and especially to that of poor Eve. It was Thou, too, O my Christ, Who didst want to be born from the same sex, and didst save by Mary what the first woman had unhappily ruined.... The greatness of the sin came to be ni 'ritorious. Great prodigy of Thy goodness.... The sin became meritorious, in so far as God, to show the excess of His love, makes use of the same sin to increase our glory and communicate to us greater graces. Unable to find in the creature any¬ thing but demerit, of this, which is truly hers. He makes use to manifest His eternal pity, by forgiving and remitting sin at the cost of the life and Blood He made His Son shed for us. The sin also merited punishment in a certain manner, in so far as the creature was bound to satisfy the Divine Justice, and God alone could give //adequate satisfaction; hence the Word became man and paid the debt of our sins.... The third voice, which thou didst send forth at the pillar was that of the interior joy with which Thou didst endure so many cruel scourges for me, so as to obtain for me what is read of Thy disci¬ ples: “ Ibant gaudentes ” — “ And they indeed went forth rejoicing from the presence of the council, that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus ” (Acts V, 41). And this was a voice which weut on interceding, I say not before the Father only, but before the Holy Spirit, too, and obtained from Him grace that we might be enlightened and assisted in every tribulation, temptation, and discouragement. So that, asceuding Thou up to heaven, O my Incarnate Word, and sitting at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit looking on the many scourges and pains endured by Thy Humanity^ and the communication It has with Thy Divine Being, cannot refrain from sending His grace into our souls.

Seeing that we all are His members, as the Apostle also says. He sends to vivify us by grace, a breath of life much more perfect, because it is the life of grace, some of which, we read, has been infused into the human body formed by the Divine Hands at the creation of the world. And if then '' FaUus est homo in animam viventem^^ — “And man became a living soul” (Gen. ii. 7), now with this breathUig he becomes more perfect, and it is said Factus est in spirituni vivijicantem ” — “ Was made into a quick¬ ening spirit” (i Cor. xv, 45). In the same place He left the lesson of exclaiming, viz., of prayer, of patience, of meekness, and also of love, which must always be found there.

XIV. Of the Crown of Thorns of the Saviour.

Thy crown of thorns will be the helmet to our heads, as we shall be able to say of Thee: “/« capite ejus coronam de lapide pretio so'' — “Thou hast set on His head a crown of precious stones” (Ps. xx, 4). How precious are those thorns which have touched and pierced Thy Most Divine Head, in which are tl^e treasures of Thy Divine Wisdom, infinitely greater than all precious stones that can be imagined to exist in the world. Or, de lapide^ on account of those flaming rubies of that most pure Blood, which falls from Thy Head, and flows from the wounds of the thorns, dropping from a hundred pores. O rubies, more resplendent than all the stars of the firmament! O jewels, w'herewithone can purchase heaven!... This, Thy crown of thorns, placed on our head the crown of glory wdnch Thou hast prepared for those who love Thee. Thou dost invite all the souls enamored of Thee to look at It: Egredimhii^ filice Sion, et videte Sponsum in diademate, quo coronavit eum mater sua" — “Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see the Bridegroom in the diadem wherewith His mother crowned Him ” (Cant, hi, ii); but we must rejoice principally on our account, because thereby we acquire an eternal crown, which Thou Thyself wilt place on our heads with Thine own hands. But, why do I stop? I see that Thy Head is to me as a most large river, or fount, irrigating heaven and earth — heaven with glory, earth with grace; so that the seed of Thy Divine Word being afterwards scattered on the earth, this irrigation causes It to bring forth fruit, makes the plants bud, blossom, and bring forth the desired fruits. Though the Fternal Father saw Thy Head so ill treated by us, O my Word, He did not cease to love us; because, as in the brier bush and the thorns of old the flames appeared, so here He saw the burning flame of Thy charity surrounding them. This great distilling of Blood gathered all the good which Thou, Blessed Jesus, poured upon us. The Father poured all His treasures and sweetness into Thy Humanity, so that in Thy discourse with us here on earth there was never found any bitterness. The Holy Ghost, too, gathered all His goodness into Thy Humanity, O my Spouse! and all this sweetness, and all this honey, by virtue of Thy Blood, like streams from a most abundant fount, came into us. There was never found any bitterness, O my most sweet Spouse, not only in the conversation Thou hadst with the Jews, but not even in the conversation Thy Soul held, is holding, and will hold, with Thy Divinit)’^; because, though Thy Soul had to suffer much, wanting to follow Thee, yet, no matter what tribulation It may have to meet, It does not call it a pain but a comfort: "Omnia possum in eo qui me conforiat" — “I can do all things iij Plim Who strengtheneth Me” (Phil, iv, 3). And how dost Thou comfort It, but by the power of Thy most precious and sweet Blood?...

Thou dost continue to leave us a thought of love, of peace, and of self-contempt; but this by few souls, O good Lord, is understood.... This crown then gave pain to the Bridegroom, and yet It gives comfort to the Bride; and the sharper the thorns were to pierce Thy Sacred Head, O good Jesus, the more consolation they procured for me. Thy Bride. Not all the thorns of the crown pierced the Sacred Head of the Bridegroom * as some remained on the outside. These, O God, Thou hast kept for Thy elect, that they might partake of Thy suffering, and their suffering joined to Thine might acquire merit and value. Of those thorns which did not pierce Thy Head, but remained outside, Thou didst wish that some would be on the right and some on the left, that they might fall to Thy elect, according to the place they should occupy. Neither were they all fixed ill Thy Head, because, if wanted all for Thee, Thy elect could not have partaken of, and would have been in a certain way deprived of those treasures which are enclosed in Thy Sacred Head. But the thorns which pierced Thy Sacred Head made the openings through which the souls might see the treasures and the secrets of Thy Wisdom there gathered. Neither is the place wanting where the souls might rest and remain in peace and quiet; and this was the space between one thorn and the other. Thon also didst want that some of the thorns should point towards heaven, for the ornament and glory of the blessed souls that were to be placed there. Though only those thorns that pierce Thy Head are fixed on Thy Bride, who must be like to Thee, nevertheless she goes on partaking of all. Hence, this crown is her glory, consolation, and fruition.... Now my own eyes, O my Jesus, are given to see Thy most beautiful and Divine Head, that in It, together with Thy other beloved souls, I may understand and know Thy great Goodness. O beautiful and precious crown, which hast touched the hair of the Incarnate VVord, which hast been wet by His blood, which hast penetrated the brains of my Jesus with so much pain and anguish! O my Spouse, how beautiful Thou art with this crown! O Love, O Sweetness of my soul! This crown of thorns has made in Thy Divine Head, among the other openings, six most worthy ones; and though the punctures of the thorns which pierced Thy innocent Head were without number, yet six very large ones, like caverns, could be seen there, three of which were in front, viz., one in Thy beautiful forehead, the other on the right, and the other on the left, and the other three on the back part of the Head, viz., one in the centre, and the other two on either side, surrounding Thy Divine Head like a garland.

XV. Of the Rest of the Passion.

Not so fervently did they cry out: ^^Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini^'* — “ Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ” (Matth. xxi, 9), as they do now, saying; “ ToLle^ tolle^ crucifige eum" — “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him “ (John xix, 15). For which words my God will be compelled to exclaim in the day of judgment: ^'Ite maledicti in ignem ceternum ” — “ Go ye cursed into everlasting fire “ (Matth. xxv, 41). They are right (oh I that they had understood it!) not to want Barabbas crucified, because his blood would have availed nothing, whilst the blood of the Lord, if they had known how to use it, would have been of infinite benefit to them. Even in heaven, O my Jesus, before Thou earnest to suffer for us. Thou hadst been post¬ poned to Barabbas, because Thou, O Word, Who wast to become Incarnate for us and our sin, wast proposed before Thy justice. Thou wast proposed, O Word, to the Eternal Father by the mercy which asked that man should be forgiven, and the Father granted it. Hence Thou earnest to assume human nature and wast crucified for us, and thereby sin died in Thee, and thus Thou didst satisfy both justice and mercy. Justice undertook the ofidee of comparing Thee to Barabbas; love and mercy were the crowds who cried out, not crucify^ as the Jews did, but mercy. O most happy voices of mercy 1 in this you differ, that the Jews were moved by hatred to cry out: “7b//^, tolle'’' 8lc. {'*Away with Him,^'' &c ), and mercy was moved only by love. The Pontiff said it was expedient that Christ should die for the people, and the Eternal Father said likewise to His justice that it was expedient Thou shouldst die, O Word most innocent, to wash away the sin of man.

The Eternal Word is on the road; He arrives at Mount Calvary. How couldst Thou bear the weight of so big a cross had not love lent Thee assistance? But I see a man who carries the cross with Thee — yea. Thy own cross. And what is this? It is the love Thou bearest us, whereby Thou wishest to honor us by Thy very cross, giving us a share in Thy glory; and, by accepting this service from us. Thou wishest to show that it is Thy desire to be obliged to love us....

No sooner did He reach the summit of Calvary than He wanted to show in act what the Apostle relates as His own saying: ^^Beatius est magis dare quam accipere''' — ‘ ‘ It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive ” (Acts xx, 35). He does not here sit at the well, as He did when He was tired and waited for the woman of Samaria, because He does not wish to receive any comfort, neither does He seek any drink — nay, He refuses it, as His only comfort is to suffer as much as He can for us. Or it may be said that even here He sat by the fount of His wisdom. And immediately He began to give. And what? Himself— offering Himself as a live holocaust to the Eternal Father, not for Himself, but for all His creatures. Yes, He sits by the fount of His wisdom. If Thou hadst not been sitting, my most beloved Spouse, I tell Thee Thou couldst not have endured so many and such violent torments, and especially the ignominious death of the cross; but, sitting by Thy wisdom and seeing the benefit that would accrue unto us, this cross seemed to Thee so small a thing that Thou didst count it as nothing, wishing it to be much greater. Thou didst sit by the fount of wisdom, making Thyself as a fool:

XVI. Of the Resurrection of the Saviour.

The Mother of the Word, with a pale countenance, awaits the rising of her Son from the sepulchre. Oh! how great was thy faith, O Mary! Turning to the right and to the left, thou wast looking to see whether thy sweet Jesus would appear all glorious. Thou didst know He was most powerful, and that whilst someone was returning from the sepulchre in tears, to this very one He might appear alive and glorious. He being every¬ where. Let therefore this strongest Lord arise soon, and confound all those armed ones who guard the sepulchre. John and Magdalen went there to find their Master; but He already triumphant had risen. They teach us that when our Lord departs from us with His grace, as dead, with great desire we should seek Him, and with most ardent sighs penetrate to the right hand of the Father, never stopping until we shall have found Him. We must likewise call Him with interior voices, shooting off by them so many darts continually with the bow of love; and He, as a lamb falling wounded to the ground, will allow us to take Him. It is then dutiful for the soul to be satisfied with its nothingness. I Interior ofjSt. Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi’s (Italian) Church,' Philadelphia. 'l’

I t, >T >— ' •--.Tr W %/ h ' X •:

J i i ■ "^. « • • *,. ■/ n #•' • »., • \k «.k ► -f » * ' • K since the Eternal Word permits Himself to be moved by a sigh, or by an interior voice, wnen this is sent with that straight aim to the bosom ot the Father or into His right side. Oh! how much more should the soul permit itself to be moved by the interior voice of the Eternal Father! O Mary, every instant must have seemed to thee like a century, when thou wast waiting for thy Beloved Son! Pray, then, O Word! come to Mary, and come to me, O my Bridegroom! Oh! how beautiful Thou art!... Thou didst wish to appear to Mary first, because she had conceived Thee, because she was Virgin, because she had kept the faith, because she had awaited Thee with the greatest desire, because she had been the humblest of all creatures, and also to give her first the partici¬ pation of Thy glory. Likewise, he who wishes to be visited first by Thee, O Lord, must have, like Mary, conceived Thee with anxious pain, and must afterwards have brought Thee forth by a continuous operation of his own. He who wishes to ascend to the sublimity of Thy union, must have so much faith that, being almost a certainty, it ceases to be faith. But when the soul proceeds to forget itself and unite itself with its Creator, it is the first to partake of His union and to be confirmed in the faith. As God is excellent, infinite, immense, and inscrutably good, the more the soul believes this, the more it becomes partaker of His goodness. In order to be the first one to receive the visit it is necessary to be virgin not only in body, but in mind also, so that nothing may impede the purity of the heart; and thus such a soul will be first consoled and obtain the promises of the Word.... The Blessed Virgin was the first to be consoled also on account of her humility, by which she drew the Word from heaven to earth; hence, humility, O Word, hastens Thy visit, as Thou canst not refrain from visiting a soul adorned with this virtue.

Thy Mother was deservedly the first to be consoled, because she was also con¬ formable to Thy will; likewise the soul wishing to be consoled must possess this con¬ formity of will.... O Soul of the Word, do return to glorify the body which is in the sepulchre! O Most Holy Flesh, which hast received so much glory, that Thou mightest afterwards glorify us! We had to go underground, and therefore Thou, too, didst wish to remain in the earth, to be placed under the earth, in order to raise us up from the earth. Most Sacred Soul, reuniting, though Thou wast in the same union, Thou didst resume the Body, and didst glorify It with a glory which would have been in part invisible to those blessed souls in limbo, if Thou hadst not strengthened them with Thy beatific light; because if they had seen it immediately they would have been reduced to nothing at so much light. Thus dost Thou do with Thine elect, not giving them all Thy glory to taste, as they could not endure it.... The Soul of the Word, united to the Divinity, is reunited to the Body, assumes It, and gives It a new name, which cannot be pro¬ nounced but by those who follow the Lamb and receive It from the Lamb. The Soul of the Word takes up again its flesh and gives it a glory, glorifying and communicating, and gives it, moreover, every power in heaven and on earth. The Holy Ghost is reunited to this Body (though He was always united), and gives It a light above every light, so that of said Humanity this can be said: “/« lumine videbirnus lumen; oculi nostri sini semper in lumine Hunianitatis verbis ” — “In Thy light we shall see light; let our eyes be always fixed in the light of the Humanity of the Word ” (Ps. xxxv, 10). Yes, cer¬ tainly, in Thy Humanity we see light: vultu tuo video procedentem splendor em gloricB tuce"' — “From Thy countenance I.see the splendor of Thy glory beaming forth. ” The Humanity of Thy Word becomes the crown of the Divinity, the ring of the virginity, the garland of the martyrs, the splendor of the apostles, the mirror of the con¬ fessors, the book of the doctors, sun and light of all creatures. O Humanity, Thou art all we wish or can desire. For so great a gift as Thy Humanity, who can adequately thank Thee? The thanksgiving we can offer to the Same will be: "^Calicem salutaris accipia7n et no7ne7i Domini invocabo^' I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord” (Ps. cxv, 13).

XVII. Of the Ascension of Christ the Saviour.

Ohappy gathering of yours, holy Apostles, in which thou particularly, O John, with alternate speech dost ask and understand a great deal. Where Jesus is, there is para¬ dise; it is then very meet that the angels should be in such a place where Jesus is. O great multitude of happy spirits, so bright and resplendent! Who could enumerate them? Oh! what a great preparation they make for the Word! Oh! what a sweet shade!... O Word! what colloquy is that which Thou hast with Mary? Thou leavest Mary separated from Thee as to the body; but Thou didst comfort her afterwards, not that she was in need of comfort, because though she was clothed in mortal flesh, yet she was in everything so conformable to Thy will, that she would have been satisfied to remain forever on earth, if it had so pleased Thee. Thou didst comfort her that she might strengthen the will of the Apostles and attract the Virgins. Thou didst so comfort her that now anyone looking at her is consoled in all his anxieties, tribulations, and pains, and comes out the conqueror of every temptation. Hence, let him who looks for mercy have recourse to Mary; let him who is fainting away from weakness trust to Mary, who is all pitiful, strong, and powerful. Let him who is in constant conflict turn to Mary, who is a peaceful sea; let him who is choked by the pastimes of this world, wish for Mary, who is the bitter sea; let him who is tormented by the devil invoke Mary, who is Mother of humility — as nothing chases away the devil more quickly than humility. Let, then, everyone have recourse to Mary. Great and marvelous are the secrets confided to her by my sweet Spouse. O Mary! the colloquy thou hadst with thy Son when He went to suffer, was of conformity, and that after the Resurrection was of joy; but this of the Ascension, being the last, is the most glorious. But in what didst thou take delight, O Mary, in this colloquy? Was it in this, viz,, that the Word was the Spouse of the Virgins, and that He had chosen the Virgins for His crown? Yes, yes; because thou wast Virgin, and the same Word had become so enamored of virginity, that it was just that this last delight should be of the Virgins. These are they who manifest all His power, in abandoning everything; His liberality, in abandoning their very selves; His wisdom, in abandoning their parents and others. They manifest the wealth of the Word, in leaving all created things; and they do not wish to love, neither do they wish to hear any other named, but this, their own Spouse. Oh! how the Word did love the virginity and honor it in Himself!...

When Thou didst go to the Passion, O Word, Mar}^ was left all sorrowful; when Thou didst arise, she remained all confident; when Thou didst ascend to heaven, all admiring. Likewise the soul. Thy Bride, when Thou dost visit her with Thy tribulations,remains all sorrowful, but not impatient; she grieves not for the pain, but that she should deserve it. In the Resurrection, Mary remained confident; and so, too, the soul remains confident on account of the grace received, being able to say; Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat '‘'■Nunc cujusvis mantis pugnet contra me"'' — “ I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth Me;” ” And let any man’s hand fight against Me” (Phil, iv, 13; Job xvii, 3). Moreover, in this colloquy Thou dost confirm and strengthen the Apostles, O my Jesus, because they were destined to be the columns of Thy Church; and Thou dost exhort them with Thy presence. In Thy Passion Thou gavest them the example; in Thy Resurrection, peace; in Thy Ascension, joy; promising them the gifts of Ihe Holy Ghost. In Thy Passion Thou gavest them the example, to show that Thy servants and faithful lovers must give example in suffering; as many know how to talk, but not how to act. O blessed, happy, and glorious, he w^ho suffers for Thy love, O Word 1 because it is a greater thing, I shall dare say it, to suffer for Thy love, than to possess Thee; for when we possess Thee we may lose Thee, whilst if we suffer for Thy love. Thou dost write us down in the Book of Life, which suffers no loss. In Thy Resurrection Thou gavest them peace, because no sooner wast Thou arisen, than peace was made between God and the creature. In the heart where peace is, there is paradise, because Thou art there; and this peace does not wish to offend anyone— does not speak of the neighbor, except in so far as Thy honor requires it. The peaceful and humble heart looks up always to the union.... In this colloquy of Thy Ascension Thou givest them joy, promising the Holy Ghost; Thou dost teach and show them the way to receive it, so that they will work wonders, and afterwards Thou dost promise them Thy Own Self, saying that Thou wilt be with them till the consummation of the world.... Mary sees the Humanity, taken from herself, formed by her most precious blood, and nourished with her milk, arrive in heaven. She sees the multitude of the angels, and the beautiful and numerous company of the holy Fathers, among whom stands particularly John the Baptist, through whom she was praised, and whom she caused to p for joy in his mother’s womb. Mary had prophesied of the Word, but nobody f net rated the glory He possessed, so incomprehensible it was. O Eternal Word I what (1 the creature do for Thee, for whom Thou hast wrought so many things, and for whose greater glory now Thou dost ascend to heaven? O Infinite Goodness! O Love! little f-nown, less loved, and by few possessed! O Love Incarnate! O Word Humanified! O Eternal Wisdom! Oh, our ingratitude, the cause of all evil! O my Spouse! now that Thou art with Thy Humanity in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father: ‘ ‘ Cor muudum crea in me Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis ’ ’ — “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within my bowels ” (Ps. 1, 12).

XVIII. Of the Descent of the Holy Ghost, of His Marvelous Effects, and of What in us Opposes Impediment to Him.

O pure God, the Word reminded Thee, O Father, of the promise made to His Apostles, by means of His Passion, by showing to Thee His five Wounds. That of the Side was the nearest to Thee, because near the Heart, the nest of Tliy love, it moved S'T. MARY MAGDAI.EN DE-PAZZI.

Thee most to send the Holy Ghost; and this also because it is opposite Thy bosom, and because, there being His divine Heart in the Side, Thou seest therein that excessive desire for the salvation of the world. If the Infallible Truth said that where the treasure is there is the heart, the treasure of the Word being the creature, there was also His Heart, and consequently Thy treasure, O Father, as the Word Himself is.... I have seen a Guest dwelling on a high throne, and the throne was formed by a number of con¬ verging clouds, artistically arranged and fixed, surrounded by splendors, and lightly shaken by a gentle wind. On this throne rests this most noble Guest — the Holy Ghost — and, with the weight and lightness of His goodness and charity towards us. He moves swiftly to all those places which are suitable and prepared to receive Him. Who can tell what He does where He is worthily received? He speaks, and yet He is silent, and, in His sovereign silence. He is heard by all. He is at one and the same time immovable and most agile, and, in His immovable mobility. He infuses Himself into all — is always quiet and always working, and,, in His restfulness. He does the greatest and most won¬ derful things. With the steps of His firm stability. He is always firm and goes always around, and, wherever He puts His foot. He fixes, preserves, and yet melts ‘everything. By His immense, penetrating power and hearing, He hears and penetrates everything, and yet He hears nothing; and, though not hearing, yet He penetrates and hears the least thing that hearts may utter interiorly. He bends and lowers His head with a com¬ passionate movement, and, in lowering Himself, He raises those who are low, and who, in their humility, become still lower. This Guest, so noble and so gentle in every soul, never resting, rests and is always moving, though always most stable; neither does He ever so rest in the Father or the Word, nor in the blessed spirits, nor in the creatures, that He does not also communicate Himself to others by grace. He does not communicate Him¬ self so much to*a creature that He would not at any time be ready to communicate Himself even more, if He would find in that creature the disposition required to communicate Himself. This throne goes on surrounding the universe, filling heaven, encircling the earth as the sun does, so that this Divine Spirit is in heaven, on earth, and everywhere. If Thou dost regard the beginning of Him, Who sits on said throne. Thou shalt first see the end without end of the eternity, which is the same beginning. If Thou dost wish to regard the eternity of His beginning. Thou shalt see the end. This Divine Spirit rests in people of a certain number, and united; but they must remain, like the Apostles, in union and prayer, and in interior fear, imperfect yet good. The number of the Apostles is a perfect number, and the others also that are numbered, but these were not the only ones that received the Holy Ghost. All just souls and dear to God received on that blessed day a very great increase of graces and gifts communicated by this Spirit. It was a shower that poured over the whole Church — that is, over all the souls just and holy that were in the world, and each one partook of it according to its own disposition. These were numbered; and, after the Apostles received the Holy Ghost, they were cer¬ tainly numberless, though also counted by thousands upon thousands. This Thou dost seek in the soul, in the Congregation — in a word, in the whole Church, viz., that there should be a certain number, as it was with those who received Him on that day. In the soul, a number of virtues; in the Congregation, a sweet wisdom; in the Church, a number of people. Thou seekest in Thy Church the number twelve. These are the Religious, their heads. Thy true christs^ the charitable preachers, the mystic religious, the mortified hermits, the contemplative anchorites, the merciful workers, the valiant fighters for the faith, the prudent princes, the obedient subjects, the just judges, and the patient pupils. Thou dost require in the soul this perfect number of twelve, because Thou wishest to find in it twelve dispositions or virtues, in order that Thou mayst be able to do Thy work in it: An intrinsic humility, a resigned will, a dull memory, a dead understanding, an indif¬ ferent affection, a charitable will, an intrinsic meekness, a persevering patience, a sin¬ cere mind, a strengthened justice. Thy love and the neighbor’s, which is the fulfilling of the law.

Then Thou seekest this fixed number in every Congregation (Religious Order): First, the three vows by many emitted and by few kept, a sound doctrine, a simple and hidden life, a deep-rooted discretion, a right justice, a union untold for its closeness, a constant praise, a strong vigilance, a conspicuous wisdom, a safe solitude, a holy silence, a stable, firm, sincere, truthful, just, and holy rule. From all these, viz., the soul, the Church, and the Congregation.... This Divine Spirit goes on infusing His gifts and graces in every creature; but in how few He succeeds in being fully efficacious! The perverse self-love, fountain and origin of every sin, is the cause of this. The world is all submerged and drowned in this self-love. But woe, a thousand times woe, to that soul living in peace with this world, especially when it is covered and hidden by the cloak of piety and Religion! Oh! how I see, O Word, the creatures stained by this abominable self-love! If I go to Thy christs, as to the leaders, I see rooted in them exteriorly and, worse still, interiorly this self-love, and, to feed it well, many go seeking— with human, nay devilish, means— not Thy benefits, but those of the earth. I also see Thy Brides so busy with self-love that they love more themselves and their own will than Thee, most sweet Spouse. Self-love acts in the soul as the little worm, which, with its light and constant gnawing, goes on consuming the roots of the tree, depriving it not only of its fruits, but also of its life, making it wither. I see self-love caressed by every creature more than the babe by its nurse when it is sucking her breast. But who will be so strong as to remove such a stench from the creatures, and such abominable dirt from Thy souls? The Holy Ghost will do this at His coming down. He will commence first by purifying the hearts of the creatures, so that, being purified, they will afterwards exalt in themselves the Word, Whom they had lowered by their self-love; thus by the same word, love, one despises and exalts.... The Holy Ghost will flow like a river of living waters, but our self-love and this, our will, will not cease to check the course and the impetuosity of His grace. I see this accursed self-will and self-love fighting and equaling the strength of Thy Omnipotence, O Word; it is omnipotent to its own harm, this, our self-will and self-love, because by its dykes it can check this river (more swift and violent than the sea, or any other river) of Thy diyine grace, preventing it from overflowing and reaching the soul. Is it not a wonder of Thy Omnipotence that the little grain bf sand on the shores checks the fury and the haughtiness of the waves, when the sea is most swollen? Who checks those waves and makes them retreat broken into themselves? The dyke of sand, or the force of Thy omnipotent hand that so wills? Small grains of dust and sand can resist the great force of the sea, because Thou dost so order, O Rord! Shall a thing so weak and light and small as our own will and self-love is, have force to resist the torrent of Thy grace, and check its course, which is so rapid as to be able, without any difficulty, if no resistance is offered it within us, to draw along with it all mankind to heaven? But, alas! resistance there is, and we experience it every day! So let us not deem the disorder of our self-love and our self-will a small thing. If it appears to us as small as a grain of sand, alas, it is big beyond measure to our ruin! Neither mountains nor cliffs are needed against the sea; the sand is sufficient to check and repel the waves. Mountains of enormous sins are not required; the sand of those faults which appear to be small, and are not, when opposed to God, is sufficient to arrest the course of this rapid torrent and ocean of grace. Oh! how many and many Brides of the Word, who fled from the spiritual life at the beginning of their turning their hearts to God, on account of their fatal self-love, turned back and found themselves still in a most miserable state! What checked and is still checking them? That self-love, small in appearance, yet very great in strength; therefore.* vigilate’'"' — “I say it again: watch.” Great care is necessary first to know it, then to eradicate and extirpate it, so that it may never sprout in the soul and take root therein. "'•Onmia in sapientia fecisti^ sapientia cedificavit thronum AltissimV'' — “Thou hast done everything wisely, wisdom has built the throne of the Most High; on which throne the Word rests.” Et Verbum erat apud Deutn^' — “And the Word was with God.” With an eternal wisdom He sits on this throne, sweetly forcing, without depriving them of their liberty, the reasonable creatures who wish to receive this gift of the Holy Ghost. He knocks at everybody ’s door, but does it gently, and tries to make everybody disposed to receive such a gift. He goes on singing softly, in a sweet, plaintive way. He continues rejoicing, weeping, seeking.... Let the understanding admire, the will take notice, and the memory realize this gift of the Holy Ghost, Who infuses Himself and His gifts into the soul. This Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Word, infuses Himself in a most sweet manner into the soul, and brings therein, besides His goodness, the power of the Father and the wisdom of the Son. And the soul, being made so powerful and so wise, becomes capable of entertaining this worthy Guest, delighting Him, and making Him loth to depart. Thus the Holy Spirit, by His descent, makes the earth like heaven, and men like angels, and by the bond of most perfect charity unites all to God. He Himself gathers the scattered ones to Himself, and scatters from Himself all the gathered ones. Yes, all the scattered ones, and the despised of mankind. Thou dost gather and draw to Thyself! “ Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis ’ ’ — “Cometo Me all you that labor and are burdened ” (Matth. xi, 28) — with the load and weight of privations and contempt, because they are despised as most vile beasts, and deemed as nothing, and oppressed by the world. All those who are engaged and rest wholly in transitory things, placing therein their happi¬ ness and final end, are foolishly esteemed, by the world, as happy. Or else they are gathered together by malice and perverse operations, united in evil doing, but divided among themselves by their wishes and appetites, and very often united by a very great discord, and divided by a most wicked union. These, O Lord, Thou dost scatter and cast away from Thyself, but they persist in this miserable and most dangerous state!.. The same Spirit, like a high-flying eagle, taking and assuring the souls that have received Him, brings them before the Word, and some of them He places in His sacred head, others in His sacred mouth, and others, because they are so pure and beautiful. He is pleased to place in His resplendent eyes, nay, they become the very eyes, even the pupils of those eyes, where they go on perceiving what the Word perceives, with due proportion convenient to a creature. Of these souls in particular He said; ''Qui vos tangity tangit pupillam oculi Mei ” — “ He that touch eth you, toucheth the apple of My eye ” (Zach. ii, 8). And when they are therein^ who can touch them? The Word looks into Himself, they look into Him; the Word looks into the Father, and they too; the Word looks also into all the creatures, who afterwards become inebriated in the wine-cellar of love. The soul looks at God every time she sees Him in any object; she also looks at the creatures, but in God, and cannot see them but in God, not even in them¬ selves, except as they proceed (rom God, in the same manner that our eye, which, having looked fixedly at the sun, sees everywhere, and in everything, the same luminous orb. But, does a soul look at the creatures? She looks at them every time that, by reason of charity, she aspires to their salvation, ardently wishing to see in every one of them, through grace, the living image of God. She has such a burning desire that she would, for their salvation, and that of every most low and abject person in the world, give her life a thousand times, if it were necessary, bringing them forth in her heart before God, with longing desire and most fervent sighs, like that soul, all burning with charity for her neighbor, that was wont to say and wish: '■'‘Anathema esse profratribussuis;'" " Filioli quos iterum parturio doiiec formetur Christus in vobis ” — “To be an anathema from Christ, for his brethren “ My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you” (Rom. ix, 3; Galat. iv, 19). And what were the pains of labor, pains so intense and so deadly? *'Quis infirmatur et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur et ego non uror?" — “Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is scandal¬ ized and I am not on fire?’’ (2 Cor. xi, 29). Neither do these pains of labor last but a little while; nor does one come to the end of giving birth; for, no sooner is a soul brought forth, than one, by desire, conceives not thousands, but millions of them. Be¬ cause this aspiration is so great that one is not satisfied with one, or two, or three cities, but looks to the whole world, and not only to the present ones, but to the creatures to come, so great becomes, by charity, the capacity of this heart, whereby the soul brings them forth.

What more? The soul sees in an instant all the things that God sees, as God Him¬ self is present to her. O Eternal Word! O pure and great God 1 there is no desire adding strength, understanding, or will, that may comprehend how great is the coming of so high and noble a Being! Hence it is necessary that it should hide us in Thyself, and thus it will to a certain extent prepare a dwelling for so worthy a Guest. At the coming of this Holy Spirit the countenances of the angels were bowed down; those of the holy Fathers were raised up, and by love and grace they united together in an untold manner. Thy Humanity, O Word, exalted above the hierarchies, moved also at the coming of this Spirit, to confirm the work done in the strengthening of the Apostles, and to dispose creatures to receive the faith. I see Thee, O God, Word, and Spirit, and I understand that Thou dost continue seeking out Thy creature with sovereign wisdom, with eternal goodness. In fact, it seems that Thou hast no glory nor complacency whatever, except in this. Thy creature, who yet is so lowly; and this. Thy Spirit, is the fish-hook whereby Thou dost try to catch it.

That heart that receives the Spirit is like the bush seen by Moses, which burned with¬ out being consumed. With a sovereign purity it burns with desire that God maybe hon¬ ored, though one cannot see it consuming.... In the effusion of the Holy Spirit, remember, my soul. His effusion; and thou shalt never rest in thy spirit and will, but shalt relax thyself wholly in God. Sometimes this Spirit comes with such sparks and rays of splendor that He makes purity shine in the soul, and even produces a light in the body, indicative of that which is within. In some creatures this light shines only interiorly; but in others interiorly and exteriorly; though not always necessarily. Certain it is that this light cannot exist in the exterior, if it is not in the interior, which alone causes the Word to be pleased and take more delight in the soul in which this Holy Spirit dwells. Who can know which and how many are His influxes? They are so many that infinite is the number of channels whereby they come to us here below. Oh! if one would but wait for them I Mary still awaited the coming of the Holy Ghost so often promised, and yet she had received Him so many times, and was filled with Him. In Him she had nourished the Word, to give example to the soul, that though it has received the Holy Spirit, and by love nourishes the Word within, again it must desire Him with a loving desire. Mary dwelt with the Apostles to strengthen them and encourage them to ask for Him; but I shall not believe that Mary, during those ten days she was waiting for the Holy Ghost, was deprived of His particular gifts and influxes. Nay, I believe that every moment the Divine Spirit diffused Himself in her with new gifts and graces, though He did not appear exteriorly; and that in Thy new coming she received a new superabundance of divine union. Mary might as well have said: "Recogitabo omnes annos meos'" — “I will recount all my years “ (Isai. xxxviii, 15); not in bitterness, no, but in the joy and exaltation of all the elect, and in the relief of all that labor in journeying. Even John, who had tasted whence and where he had received his Being, and whence this Spirit proceeded, waited for Him with greater desire, and received Him with more intrinsic fruit than others, though all received Him in a wonderful manner. Likewise the soul, after tasting God interiorly, more easily under¬ stands His works.

Hearken, dearest Bride (she speaks here in the person of the Word), various and great are the impediments which prevent the advantages that My Spirit, breathing and bringing forth fruit everywhere, would produce in the soul of everyone. Know that an impediment, for those who are far from Me, is the malice of which men have their hearts so full, that My Spirit cannot rest in them. Some others oppose the impediment of their will; others, too, that of their seeing and knowing, so that they wish to serve Me in their own way. They wish for My Spirit, certainly; but in the manner which pleases them, and when it seems best to them, thus becoming incapable of receiving Him. Others, who are nearer to Me, oppose an impediment, which does not displease Me less than the others; and this is accursed tepidity; for it seems to them that they serve Me, and they see not that they serve themselves. And when they believe they have com¬ menced to serve Me, then it is that they are in a most dangerous state; for, though they serve Me, they measure with the measure of their low self-knowledge w^hat I deserve; and yet they think they serve Me properly. But, they deceive themselves; for I wish to be served without any selfishness, with sincerity and humility; and this humility must be such as to sink the soul to the very centre of the earth. My Spirit acts as the light¬ ning, which, coming down from on high, does not stop except at the contact of the earth. Likewise, the Spirit does not rest except in those souls which He finds in the centre of their own annihilation, passing by the haughty and proud ones. But, O loving Word, I would like to know what I must do against all these obstacles, because, what would it avail me to have known them, if I know not the remedy? Most beloved Bride, know that against the first impediment, which is malice, thou must oppose a simple intention, which cannot exist in malign hearts. Thou shalt consider it all in thyself, feeling thereat an intolerable pain, and then offering said pain to Me in union with Mine. Thou shalt be as the wind, which rarefies the clouds. By means of this desire and pain thou shalt weaken the malice of the heart of My creatures. Against self-will, thou shalt take up a dead will, so as not to wish even Myself, except in so far as it is My will. And this dead will of thine, thou shalt offer up in union with the act of resignation to My Eternal Father which I made while praying in the garden; and by this means, as the watchful gardener, thou shalt somewhat uproot the bad herbs which sprout in the garden of the Church. To proud knowledge, which destroys virtue, and to the disposition to serve Me according to one’s caprice, thou shalt oppose a disposition to will, understand, and know nothing according to thy preference. And thou shalt offer Me this disposition in union with that desire I had that the Father should be hon¬ ored; and thus thou shalt succeed, on thy part, in softening the hearts of My creatures, which being thus softened and moved, will become anxious to receive My Spirit. As to tepidity, which, by so false a judgment, makes it appear to the soul that whilst serving herself she serves Me, I tell you, daughter, that when one knows he is serving Me, at that very moment he ceases serving me. Hence, against this tepidity thou shalt take up the ardor of charity, which likewise thou shalt offer in union with that loving charity whereby^ I left to you Myself. And this charity re-offered will act as fire, which, descending into their hearts, will warm up their tepidity.

XIX. She Shows how the Blessed Virgin offered the Word Loving Obsequies to counteract the Affronts and the Pains He endured during His Passion.

When the time came, O Word, for us so happy and by Thee so much desired, in which the Eternal Father wished to send Thee to fulfill the great work of our Redemp¬ tion, He made use of one of the most noble and excellent among the angelic spirits, sending him to Mary; and when the time came for Thee to do Thy Father’s will that Thou shouldst give us Thy own Blood, He made use of one who, by imitation, was al¬ most a diabolical spirit; and by the same word which gave commencement to our life a commencement was given to Thy death; both were words of salutation: _ “ Hail.” Mary asks of the angel how that can be; and the Word asks of the traitor what he came for. As soon as Mary gave her consent, Thou didst immediately become Incar¬ nate in her bosom; and as soon as Thou didst manifest Thyself to Judas, saying: ''Ego sum “I am,” the soldiers seized Thee as their prey. Mary kept Thee for nine'months in her womb; and in nine hours Thou didst suffer the greatest pains of Thv Passion. It was necessary that Thou shouldst become incarnate in Mary by the Holy Ghost; and it was expedient that Thy Passion should be the work of the same Spirit. Mary in spirit of charity, and the impious Jews filled with hatred, lead Thee from one Pontiff to the other. Mary manifested Thee not to everyone, but only to those whom she knew to be capable of knowing Thee; and the Jews proclaimed and despised Thee as a malefactor and a seducer Mary clothed Thee with the clothing of Humanity, and they with scorn, dressing Thee with a white habit, showing, in spite of themselves. Thy innocence. Mary, whilst she carried Thee in her womb, was careful not to fatigue Herself, in order not to hurt Thee; but they, scourging Thee at the column, did not mind being tired, provided they gave no rest to Thee. Mary crowned Thee with the desires and affections Thy Brides were to have in the Church, and the Jews crowned Thee with piercing thorns. They put in Thy hand an empty reed, and Mary continually reminded Thee of the frailty of mankind that the Eternal Father might continue to have compassion on men. Mary veiled Thy Divinity, clothing Thee with mortal dress, and they veiled Thy resplendent face. Mar)^ melted with pious love, looking at Thy beautiful countenance, and those wicked ones contami¬ nated It with their filthy expectorations. Mary constantly offered supplications to Thee, thus manifesting Thy power; and they reviled Thee, calling Thee a king! The earthly judge showed Thee to the creatures as a man, all abject and wounded, and Mary pre¬ sented Thee to the Eternal Father all beautiful and resplendent. The ministers of malig¬ nity placed the cross on Thy shoulders to cause Thee greater pain, and Mary laid on Thee all her virtues, thoughts, desires, and affections, which gave Thee so much delight. The Jews raised Thee high on the cross, whereon Thy side was opened to make way to Thy Heart, and Mary with the same dart whereby she wounded the Heart of the Eternal Father, wounded Thee hanging on the cross; and Thou didst wound her. By her hu¬ mility she drew Thee from the bosom of the Father, and looking at Thee hanging on the cross, and seeing Thee so afflicted and reviled and humiliated, Mary was wounded by thy profound humility. Likewise, looking from the cross on Mary, standing at its foot, so sad and sorrowful and humiliated, Thou wast wounded by her inmost sorrow and humility; so that she was wounded by Thy humility, and Thou by hers. While on the cross Thou dost not forget to appoint a custodian for her who had kept custody over Thee. From the cross Thou didst send forth seven great voices; and whilst in Mary’s bosom Thou didst not omit to make with Thy own interior voice seven petitions, which were as follows: The first was, that having brought Thee forth she should lay Thee, so little and so tender, on the hard straw in the crib; for Mary never would have dared to lay Thee down in so hard a place, unless Thou first hadst requested her with Thy own inmost voice to doit. The second was, that as soon as she would see Thee born she should adore Thee, and then nurse Thee at her breast; for Mary would not have dared to give Thee her milk unless Thou first hadst asked her to do it, for she well knew that Thou art He Who feeds all the creatures. The third was, that she should show Thee to the shepherds and the Magi, that they might adore Thee, as Mary would not have shown Thee to them unless Thou hadst so directed her; for she would have been afraid that, not believing in Thee, they would have despised Thee, seeing Thee in so humble and abject a place. The fourth was, that at the tender age of eiglit days she should have Thee fulfill the law by shedding Thy Blood. The fifth, that she should save Thy life when the wicked Herod sought to kill Thee, so that Thou mightest live to do Thy Father’s will. The sixth was, that when Thou wast to perform Thy first miracle by chang¬ ing water into wine at the nuptials in Cana of Galilee, she should ask Thee to do it. Fi¬ nally, the seventh was, that when Thou wouldstgo to die, her will should be perfectly like Thine and Thy Father’s, and she should willingly make an offering of Thee, for, unless Thou hadst made her understand it whilst in Her womb, she would not have had such a conformity and courage. In fulfilling Thy first petition by laying Thee down in the crib, Mary showed a deep humility. By putting Thee to her breast she showed Thee a pure love. By making Thee known to the shepherds and the Magi she manifested a great liberality. By being willing that thou shouldst, though but a babe, shed Thy Blood, she gave a token of prompt and exact obedience. Carrying Thee into Egypt to save Thy life, she practiced great patience. Begging of Thee to manifest Thyself to the world, she showed great mercy. And being satisfied that Thou shouldst suffer, she manifested a perfect conformity to Thy will.

XX. She Speaks of the Power of the Divine Word, of the Congruent Reasons of the Incarnation, and of the Divers States of God’s Servants.

Thy speech, O Word, is our instruction, our rule, and the compendium of every perfection. It is a nook where the soul should rest; a fixed and most solid stone on which that high and very deep edifice should be constructed; high on account of the knowledge of Thee, very deep on account of our own self-knowledge. It is the food of the soul; for Thy Word, coming from Thee, is no less required that Thou mayst be with us in Thy pilgrimage than Thy own self. As a most loving Father when he wishes to go into very far countries. Thou hast provided for us Thy children, our delight, our nourishment, and our protection also. Thou hast begun, even from Thy infancy, to provide for us, Thy children, with Thy wise and inscrutable words, from which we derive all the good that can ever be desired. He who is contaminated by unbelief should remember that sentence: “ He who believes not is already judged ” (John iii, i8), and the other one: “He that hath faith let him command the mountains, and they will obey him; and whatever he shall ask in the name of the Word it shall be given to him “ (Matth. xvii, 19; John xiv, 13). He who is full of hatred toward his brother should remember that.* “ In hoc cognoscent omues quia discipuli mei estis, si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem “ — “ By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another” (John xiii, 35). And those wdio are tired of their labors and troubles should remember this: “If you shall have suffered persecution during this short time, you shall be rewarded hereafter with an everlasting reward, ” (i Peter iv, 13). Let him who considers his will to be under restraint, remember the words said with so much liberality: “ Qui fecerit voluntatejn Patris mei, ipse mens f rater, soror et mater esP^ — “ For whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven, he is my brother, sister, and mother” (Matth. xii, 50). And let him who grieves because he gets not his due, and because evil comes to the good, and good to the bad ones, remember that sentence: Reddet {Deus) unicuique secundum opera ejus ” — “And then (God) will render to everyone according to his works ” (Matth. xvi, 27). Let him who cannot keep his patience in adversity remember that: “/« patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras^' — “In your patience you shall possess your souls” (Luke xxi, 19). And he who thinks it hard to be put down and humiliated should remember these words: “Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven ” (Matth. xviii, 3); and the others: “ Qui se exaltat humiliabitur, qui se humiliat exaltabitur''' — “Everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that hiimbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke xiv, ii). And let him who feels that it is hard' to serve and be subject, remember the following, and keep it well in his mind: “ Ego in medio vestrum sum, sicut qui ministrat" — “I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth ” (Luke xxii, 27). Oh! what solid shields, what safe arms. Thy divine words are for our defense, O Word! Speaking to herself in the person of the Eternal Father, she continued thus: O my beloved One, dost Thou not see, conceive, and understand that the utterances of My Word are that ladder seen by Jacob, by which the angels as¬ cended and descended, and the summit of which touched heaven, and the other extrem¬ ity the earth? But this ladder of the words of My Word is even longer, because it rests in the soul that by humility and self-knowledge is lower down and deeper than the abyss; there is this difference between these two ladders, that the former just touched the surface of the earth, but the latter reaches above the stars, the more the soul humbles herself. It reaches high up, even to Me; so that its sinking down gives it elevation, and the more it sinks down at the foot, the more it rises at the top. There is more — because the soul will not ascend thisladder alone, but will have triple company, being in the midst of those personages who descend and ascend for her. The first of them is My Word, who descended to fulfill the promise made to My faithful servant Abraham, and to the other one whom, from the pasture and herdship of the sheep, I raised to the royal dignity. The second is the Archangel Gabriel, who carried the tidings of the Word going to be Incarnate by love. The third is not one only, but thousands and thousands — that is, an infinite number of angels and blessed spirits of all the heavenly hierarchies, who, descend¬ ing by the ladder, come down to encourage the souls of the faithful to ascend by it. The Word ascends and returns to My bosom, according to those words which He Him¬ self uttered: **Ascendo ad Patrem meum et Patrem vestrum^' — “ I ascend to My Father and to your Father ” (Johnxx, 17).... Now listen. My daughter, as for thy consolation I wish to reveal to thee some profound truths. Know that the first sin committed by Eve, when she consented to the lying words of the infernal serpent, was not principally of gluttony or disobedience, but of a vain and proud desire to be like unto Me, otherwise than in conformity to My will; Eritis sicut DU, scientes bonu^n et malum '' — “You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil ” (Gen. iii, 5). She wished for this likeness in the knowledge of good and evil, an operation of the intellect, understanding and dis¬ cerning the good and the evil. Know that this, My gift of understanding, is communi¬ cated to the responsible creature, and this is what gives it being; and, likewise, the intellectual substances are such, because they are by Me made partakers of this gift, viz., this power of understanding. And though the will is also from Me, and is an essential power, because by it one has the liberty to will one or the other thing, yet if by the intellect one conceives a creature deprived of this will, he still preserves the idea of her being, though not so perfect. And thus man is man by the understanding and the will, but in such a way that if he conceives the power to will without the under¬ standing, he is not a man; because this does awav with responsibility; and, vice versa, if he conceives the power to understand without will, this preserves the essence of a reason¬ able being, though not so perfect as when endowed with both. This must be understood of the angels, who are more perfect than men. With this same idea, run thou to Me, understand as thou canst, something of My most perfect nature, which, though most simple, as the purest act, without any mixture of potentiality and distinction, except of persons, yet in My most simple Being first thou must know the intellect, and then the will, according to thy mode of understanding. In the intellect, or power of understand¬ ing with a most pure act^ principally consists the idea thou must form of My most per¬ fect substance. Not that the understanding and the will are in any way distinct from one another, or from Me, or that one is superior to the other, for in the purest act of My Being there is no distinction; but apprehending, as thou mayest, this simplicity of Mine, thou must consider that first is the understanding in Me, and then the will, as if this were born from that. Thus, the idea thou shalt form of Me, as God, must be that of knowing and understanding all, then of willing and being able to do all, and of com¬ municating Myself to all. And this power of the intellect in the reasonable and intellectual creatures is what gives them the distinctive character. Hence, My Word and Son is called My Image, because He represents Me perfectly (as the Holy Ghost does); because He proceeds by the operation of the intellect, in which principally con¬ sists the idea of the being of intellectual substances. Hence, He is called My Image, because a thing intellectual cannot be conceived or deprived of the power of understand¬ ing, without destroying its very idea; which does not happen in regard to the will. Eve, then, and the first man, wished to be like unto Me in the understanding to acquire that perfection which is My own; but on this account she and Adam lost very much and became like unto the animals. It was necessary, therefore, that My Image by the under¬ standing, as proceeding from Me through the intellect, should come to reform that image which by this inordinate desire had become deformed; and, as in the print of wax the first figure cannot be better imprinted than by the first seal, likewise it was neces¬ sary that by My Word and Wisdom man should be reformed, who by his vain appetite for knowledge, and the desire by this knowledge to be like unto Myself, had become so dis¬ similar from Me. The Word, then, according to those words by Him uttered in His Humanity: ^'Exivi a Patre et veni in mundum; iterum relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrern ” — “ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world and I go to the Father” (John xvi, 28) — descended and ascended by said ladder.

The second, viz., the Archangel Gabriel, as I told thee, came down to announce to the Virgin, and ascended as soon as he received her consent. The third personages, viz., the hierarchies, ascend said ladder by virtue of those words uttered by My Truth: '■^Regnum meum non est dehocmundo ‘‘ My kingdom is not of this world ” (John xviii, 36). And so, pointing to what and where His kingdom was, who were His subjects, and where they resided. He showed plainly that His dwelling-place, and that of His chosen sub¬ jects, was not in this world below; and, therefore, the angels returning by the same ladder gave evidence of their determination to stay in the kingdom of their Lord, which is in heaven. Dost thou not think that My Word has built a sweet, and beautiful, and easy ladder, to lead souls to His kingdom? Does it not seem to you that each word is like a step, easy and agreeable, to lead them up to the top? And there is even some¬ thing better — to make the ascent easier— inasmuch as My words are like darts penetrat¬ ing the souls, and moving, waking, and encouraging them not only to ascend themselves, but to lead with them other creatures also. My words are, moreover, like so many feathers, forming wings to fly up with the greatest ease, without feeling the least fatigue in the ascent: ^'Assument pennas ut aquilcs; volabunt et non deficient; curre7it et no7i labor abunt ” — “ They shall take wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint ” (Isai. xl, 31). And mark. My daughter, that this voice of My Spirit says that they shall walk and not faint from the fatigue of the journey; they shall run and not be weary, as it is easier and less fatiguing to go up quickly, as if flying, and to run very swiftly up this ladder of My words, than to go up slowly; because there is nothing more annoying on the road of the Spirit and of My counsels than slowness, or laziness, or cowardice. Thou well knowest. My daughter, what My Servant said: '■^Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sa7icti gratia ” — “ The grace of the Holy Ghost knows not slow means and that the man according to My Heart is he who, when he abandons himself wholly into My hands, and I enlarge his heart by charity, runs, as if it were nothing, over all the long and tedious road of the holy precepts: ” Via7n mandator U7n tuoruin cucurri^ qu7i7n dilatasti cor 7neum'*' — ” I have run the way of Thy Command¬ ments, when Thou didst enlarge my heart ” (Ps. cxviii, 32). Who, therefore, can excuse themselves from ascending? And who can plead that they do not understand the sayings of My Word, but those whose hearts are full of pride, and, therefore: '•'■Obsc7iratum est insipiens cor eormn'' their foolish heart was darkened ”? (Rom. i, 21). O un¬ happy souls, living in the midst of sins, will you think you can excuse yourselves from ascending by this ladder? You say that you live in the world; but anybody who wills, finds this ladder easier than he imagines or his senses paint it for him. Sin, O souls, keeps you; but who bound you by sin, except yourselves? If your sins deserve one hell, by excusing yourselves you deserve many more: ^^Ad excusandas excusationes hi peccatis ” To make excuses in sins ” (Ps. cxl, 4). Be ashamed of your excuse, since even children have ascended by this ladder so swiftly.... The sweetness and beauty of this ladder is so great that it draws anyone who wants to ascend by it, as the load¬ stone draws iron. And if My Word had not uttered other words than these: ^'‘Ego sum via^ veritas et vita'' — “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life ” (John xiv, 6) — they would have been sufficient to prove it. Dost thou know. Daughter Mine, how I regard those who ascend by this ladder? I regard some of them as so many little children, who hardly move one step; others, as those who move but slowly; others, as people who walk; and others still, as people who run; but I look upon them all, by My goodness, as the pupil of My eye....

The pusillanimous are those little children who hardly seem to move a step; as they are so timorous they hardly appear to recognize in Me the God of Goodness that I am, and their Creator and Maker. Hence, such people cannot say with their hearts truly, because, in fact, they show they do not feel it: '‘'Ma7ius tucs^ Domine^fecerunt me et plasmaverunt me '■^Et octili 7nei semper ad Do^ninum " — “Thy hands, O Lord, have made me and formed me “ My eyes are ever towards the Lord ” (Ps. cxviii, 73; Ps. xxiv, 15). They do not regard Me as a Father, but as a Judge. As to those who move on, but go very easily and slowly, they are the thoughtless ones, who in one moment wish to jump, and in the next find themselves behind. These, if I would not obstruct their way, nay, cut their legs, could never be led; they never acknowledge My wisdom, but fall now to the right, now to the left. The others who walk, but do not run, are those who walk in charity, but are not dead; because they wish for something else outside of My will, pure and simple, seeking themselves in something. These do not deny My goodness, nor My wisdom; but in seeking something out of Me, or with Me, which is not Myself, pure and simple, they deny, in a measure. My Being of purity, which is a Being without beginning and without end, and without any mixture of a created thing. They love Me above everything, they acknowledge Me as the First Truth, trusting to My promises; but they are not wholly pure and divested of them¬ selves. There are some, but they are very few, who walk dead; because they seek not what God is, nor the angels, nor the Saints, nor creatures, nor purgatory, with a feeling of self-interest, or to acquire any good, or for any spiritual complacency whatever, but with the understanding and desire to wish what I wish absolutely. Thus they find Me, and yet seem not to seek Me; for their affection, though they may not be conscious of it, is all centred in Me, as if they had neither life nor senses. Their senses, their lives, and operations are all absorbed and fixed in Me: ^'Et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo" — “Your life is hid with Christ in God “ (Col. iii, 3). These acknowledge My goodness, wisdom, and purity, and in a manner so painful, though to themselves un¬ known, that it gives them a true and lasting death. Such, O daughter, I wish thee to be; and that thou mayest acquire this life of death. My Word wishes to deprive thee of the feeling of My grace, so that thou mayest be able to say: *'Eivo ego, jam non ego" — “And I live,, yet not I” (Gal. ii, 20). The testimony of those who are thus dead in Me, is such, that if you would ask them: What is God? they would be unable to tell you. But you might hear them speaking of My greatness and immensity, without being able to say: God is such a thing, and produces this and that effect. With a fervent confession they continually confess Me, even though it may seem to them that they are silent about Me. Does not this seem to thee a grand, easy, and beautiful ladder? (Here she answered in her own person: Certainly, yes; O Eternal Father....)

XXI. She is instructed by the Eternal Father about the Essence and the Effects of the Divine Peace.

“ Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis; non quomodo mundus dat ego do vobis" — “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, do I give unto you ” (John xiv, 27). But how many things are contained in this peace? How, and to whom dost Thou, O Word, give this gift so grand and safe, breathed by the Three Divine Persons, conferred by the Incarnate Word, received by the creature regen¬ erated? This peace was given in paradise (she continued speaking in the Person of the Eternal Father), on the throne of the Most Holy Trinity. Afterwards it passed from the Divinity to the Humanity, from My Word to Mary, and from Mary to the Word, and finally from the Word to the creature, and from the creature to the Word. The peace of the throne of the Most Holy Trinity is, so to speak, an affectionate breath¬ ing that was given from eternity, is, and shall be given forever. In this peace was conceived from eternity, and decreed, the design of creating in time those noble spirits, the pure angels; and this peace, we may say, was given from eternity but once, and yet many and many times; because it was always given, is, and shall be given among Us, the Three Divine Persons. But, to make all clearer to you, know. My daughter, that this peace was given when, in looking at one another. We resolved to create J man, whose type We had already conceived in Our Divine Mind; and that was not a peace of breathing, but of contemplating. In so doing, We were so enraptured with Our greatness and goodness, that, without desiring. We desired immensely to communicate this, Our goodness, to some creature in a more perfect manner than to another; and not finding any capable of receiving it better than man, in whom, as in a compendium, all creation is united, on account of the most high destiny for which We created him, and the design We conceived to unite the Person of the Word to him — Who is infinitely com¬ municable for Himself— We decreed to create man to Our Image and Likeness, and to unite him to Our Nature in the Person of the Word.

And this as a remedy for sin, yes; but principally for the glory and exaltation of the human nature and of Our goodness that wished, by this means, to communicate Itself to the creature in the most perfect manner, showing thereby the greatest possible love. We finst gave Our likeness, which We did not do in any other creatures here below; and afterwards raised it to so great a dignity, that it is said: ^'‘Et adorent eam o tunes angeli ejus" — “Adore Him, all you His angels” (Ps. xcvi, 7). Hence, it was determined to create a new trinity, in order that this peace might be conferred upon it. As the first peace was given on the throne of the Blessed Trinity, so this second peace was given in My bosom, and in My Word, not yet Incarnate, but decreed to become such, and in the Heart of the Word, Who was, by election and the promptitude with which He accepted the command, as if He were Incarnate, before any creature was made by the Blessed Trinity.

The Word is the first-born, as it were, of all the creatures, foreseen before any other in the essence and the idea of the Holy Trinity, as the Head of the elect, the Saviour and Glorifier of all men, the hope and crown of all created things. And it was meet that such an ample way should be laid out for this new, created trinity, that it might reach the enjoyment of the uncreated Trinity. This ample way the Incarnate Word was to teach, more by deeds than by words; so that everyone might walk in it freely. It was not enough for the Word to teach this way; but He made Himself the Way, saying: Ego sum via ” — “ I am the Way ” (John xiv, 6). The peace was then given between the Word and Mary, not by breathing, or by looking, but by complacency; as the Holy Trinity, looking at Mary, was so well pleased with her, that My Word commenced to become Incarnate in her; and thus assumed the Humanity by the operation of the Holy Ghost and the power of Myself, the Father, overshadowing Mary. This was the fruit of the Heart of the Word before He became Incarnate, as He conceived a boundless desire to find His complacency in the creature, proceeding from the complacency in Himself. And such was His love of complacency in the creature, that it superabounded and over¬ flowed, with a distilling superfluency descending into Mary. Well did Mary give this peace to the Word, re-creating, so to speak, the Uncreated One, completing and restor¬ ing the angelic ranks by the people sent to heaven, and re-creating, by grace and glory (cooperating with the Incarnation of the Word), the creature already created. The angelic nature was restored by the restoration of the human nature, made by My Word, through the substance He received from Mary, viz., the Humanity. And the wish of the angels was satisfied through Mary; because on seeing the creature, through the Incarnation and suffering of the Word, made so apt to praise and honor Me, they made a great feast thereat, their desire for the extension of My glory being fulfilled, and they gave one another more peace, because of the union of the angelic and the human nature. Flence it was that men were called angels, and angels bore a special love and reverence for men. Moreover, the former deem it a great privilege to be given to men as guardians; for this reason they were heard to sing at the Nativity of My Word: '•'•Gloria in excelsis DeOy et in terra pax honiinibus^’' — “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men ” (Luke ii, 14). Then a perfect union between the angelic and the human nature took place, and angels and men, meeting, gave one another the peace with great joy; and all this through Mary. But they gave one another this peace even more when My Word returned to heaven with His Humanity in great triumph and glory, bringing along with Him the blessed souls of the holy Fathers, the first fruit of the Incarnation. The angels then joining those souls already made blessed and glorious, felt a peace of sovereign full¬ ness and perfect joy, and wished to communicate it to the earth, appearing in white gar¬ ments, not only to manifest their joy, but also to denote the purity which the creature had regained by the restitution made to it by the Word, of the primitive state of inno¬ cence. Moreover, every time a soul enters heaven, or a sinner is converted, this joy of the angels is renewed, as they see the fruit of the Word Incarnate; and in this joy they again communicate the peace to one another.... Mary also gave that peace that was given among the Three Divine Persons, which was of reflection. In this peace, man, already conceived by nature, was conceived also by grace, and a new trinity of the three powers was restored in him. Another one was made and joined together, of soul, body, and divinity, in so far as she furnished the body to the Word in the restoration of the creatiire, by the grace and likeness of virtue, in which the likeness of man to God con¬ sists, as the image consists in the nature and power. Hence, it may be said: to the image and likeness^ to denote these two similitudes; of nature, which is the image ^ and of grace and virtue infused, which is the likeness.... Afterwards this Eternal and Incarnate Word gave the peace to the creature — a peace of union — through Mary. This union makes you, creatures, capable of receiving the communication of the Divinity, and as many gifts and graces as this Divinity confers. This Divinity was so bountiful in this communication, that, not only was It not satisfied to assume the Humanity, and in It walk on earth for thirty-three years, and shed its Most Precious Blood for your redemp¬ tion, but also wished to do more, leaving Itself in the Blessed Sacrament, to be with you till the consummation of the world.

Yes, the Word gives you peace; but not as the world gives it, viz., with delights, riches, pleasures; for this is not true peace, but rather very real war, because the enjoy¬ ing of it leads to an atrocious and lasting war. And this a soul well knows, who, being enlightened by Divine grace, in some way loses it. Out of the state of grace this war is well known; as whilst one is in the world he seems to enjoy peace, but really does not. If it seems to you that you possess it, it is because you have become slaves of your passions and the world, and, I will also add, of the devil, who holds you as slaves chained, and will not even permit you to think of your liberty — that real liberty in which you would find true peace with God and with yourselves. The peace, on the contrary, which the Word gives is full of pain, tribulations, and persecutions; but in the end it leads to a quiet and tranquil peace. I will say more: In the midst of this pain the Word ^ves His peace, because, finally, the Spirit Himself gives you testimony that you are children of God. And this is what is meant by the: *^Beati qui lugent^ quoniam ipsi consolabuntur''‘ — “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matth. V, 5). Not only will they be comforted in the future, but their very weeping is, for them, consolation, and the very war which they endure for God’s sake is, to them, peace. O peace! O peace! What is this peace? It is a tranquillity of heart, a serenity of conscience, a light, and a participation in the celestial light and splendor, that makes you understand, as far as is possible on earth, that you are children of God. And, who¬ ever possesses this peace, lives secure and leaves everything to God.... The creature then returns this peace to her Creator, viz., peace of praise and thanksgiving for the peace the Word gave to the creature, and in which the soul and the body participated. Thus, the peace which man renders to his Creator must be intrinsic and exterior. The lat¬ ter is the praise of the lips, provided it is accompanied by the heart; the former is the interior thanksgiving which proceeds from the love of God, with the knowledge of the gifts and graces received from Him; and it renders us capable of receiving them in greater abundance from the sovereign liberality of the Incarnate Word. /

XXII. She speaks of the Divers Properties of the Word, and the Various Effects He Produces in the Souls.

Woe to thee, my soul, if thou dost not leave thyself and remove from thee all self-love! Not only the Word, but Satan himself will hold thee in abomination. Thou art most powerful, O God I and yet, I dare say, that with all Thy omnipotence Thou couldst not prepare, neither could be found so many torments in hell, nor so many hells as could suffice to punish me, miserable creature! Woe to me I Woe to me I a vessel of imper¬ fections and all iniquities! How shall I endure my abomination any longer? Yet, I shall notecase trusting in Thee, O Word, My Spouse! Thou shaft be all in me, and for me; as I cannot find in myself, out of Thee, anything but infirmity, abomination, and filth. O my Spouse! Thou wishest, and I wish, that all offenses offered to Thee by others should be punished in me; but what shall I do, if in hell itself I do not find as many torments as may adequately punish my faults? I dare not call the creatures to my assistance, knowing they should justly be, on account of my sins, my deadly enemies: ''Recogitabo tibi omnes atinos meos, in amaritudine animee mece ” — “ I will recount to Thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul” (Isai. xxxviii. 15). Oh! what bitter sea this is in which I plunge, when I consider the years of my life so badly spent! Yet, I will enter it, and Thou shaft throw me in it, that being immersed therein, I may know what I am. in profundum maris demersit me'' — “As into the depth of the sea (He) over¬ whelmed me” (Ps. Ixviii, 3). Stop! Stop! O Lord! I would suffer less, were I in hell, provided this could be without offense to Thee. Alas! Narrabo proprietates (O Father) Verbi tui ”— “I shall recount the properties of Thy Word.” Those Thou dost manifest to me, and communicate to Him, the Only Begotten of Thy Intellect, and Thy Very Heart, are: Pulchritudo, mirabilia, sapientia, scientia, potentia., ceternitaSy impassibilitas, unio et communicatio ’’—“Beauty, wonderment, wisdom, science, powder’ eternity, impassibility, union, and communication.” O riches! O infinite treasures contained in Thee, O Word! Thou art the Fountain of all beauty. Beautiful in Thy Humanity, in a manner incomprehensible, inconceivable. Thy beauty of Soul and Body cannot be described, and the beauty springing from Thy words and works is delightful. But the beauty of Thy Divinity despises the malignity of many creatures, and that wicked intention to harm others, to judge rashly, and to look always at the worst side of other people’s deeds. Better will it be for me to be mistaken through judg¬ ing well of my neighbor, leaving to Thee, O Spouse, the judgment of his intentions, than that resting on my evil judgment of others, I. come to offend Thee, Who dost not wish I should judge the servant of another, who is Thy servant. Lies and backbitings show contempt for the beauty of Thy Humanity. The lazy and the hypocrites, against whom Thou didst make use of such burning language, despise the beauty of Thy soul. On the contrary, the goodness of Thy chosen ones exalts the beauty of Thy Divinity, and delights therein. Those who thirst after Thy Truth exalt the beauty of Thy Humanity. The pure and simple of heart exalt Thy beauty. Oh! beautiful band of virtues, which draws beauty and splendor from Thy beauty.... Mirabilis Deus in sanctis tuis^' — “God is wonderful in Thy Saints “ (Ps. Ixvii, 36). And, how much more wonderful must Thou be, O Word, in Thyself and 'in Thy Divinity, whence proceeds all that is wonderful in the Saints? Wonderful in the Father, wonderful in all Thy operations, which the more they are employed in some work appearing to us abject and low, the more wonderful they are. Wonderful Thou art in Thy Father, to incline Him' towards us, sometimes by an act of humiliation of the creature herself. Wonderful in the Holy Ghost, causing Him to infuse Himself in the soul, so that being thereby united to God, it conceives God, tastes Him, and delights in nothing but God. And the soul that would be without this infusion would become a demon. Oh! how many such incarnate devils are found to-day, from whom so many dangers arise to Thy poor servants! Dangers on the sea, dangers on land, it is true; but, I believe, greater dangers from ^'Falsis fratribus ’’ — “False brethren ’’ (2 Cor. xi, 26), who do not spare those whom the sea and the earth have spared. Let Paul, Thy most faithful servant, say which he found more cruel —the waves of the sea, the vipers of the earth, or his false brethren, who grieved him so much 1 Ah! grant, O Word, that this gift may be diffused in all, that the Holy Spirit may be diffused in all; and, though, to try the elect there must always be evil people in the world, grant that these may not be always wicked, but that they may be made good by means of those whom they grieve. Chastise them in this life, and forgive them in the next.... Wonderful art Thou, also, O Word, in Thyself — I mean, in Thy coming down to us, and communicating Thyself to us with so much charity, that we comprehend and possess Thee. Oh I Wonderful Being of My Word I By many so little known, and by so few acknowledged! O my God! Thy Wonderful Being is like unto the sea, which, receiving the waters of all the rivers, deprives them of their names, so that they are no longer called rivers, but the sea, which afterwards produces precious stones and gems. We go on continually sailing in this infinite sea of Thy Wonderful Being, in great danger of drowning, unless the favorable wind of Thy faith comes to our aid, and we are will¬ ing to be governed by the chart of the Holy Writ, which indicates Thy successor on earth, and all other of Thine (priests). We must remain always in the boat of Thy Church, which Thou hast entrusted to Thy Peter and his successors. This is the safe ship, that cannot be lost, nor be shipwrecked, because Fortes inferi non prcsvalebunt adversiis earn ’’ — “ And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ’’ (Matth. xvi, 18). But, still, in this world of Thy knowledge there is sometimes danger, on account of the restless waves, for we do not well know the wonderful tread of Thy Loving Being, that wishes to save us, whilst we become unworthy of the salvation Thou wishest to grant us.... "'Et sapiefities ejus non est numerus"' — “And of His wisdom there is no number” (Ps. cxlvi, 5). Thou dost possess, O Word, that wisdom which cannot be understood except by him who becomes altogether foolish ^ as that vessel of election who understood nothing but '•'•Jesum et hunc crucifixum" — “Jesus, and Him crucified” (i Cor. ii, 2). Hence, he was wont to say: '•'Nos stulti propter Christum'" — “ We are all fools for Christ’s sake ” (i Cor. iv, 10); and in this foolishness, which is the true wisdom. He was chosen as the Teacher of the world. Those who seek and follow after human wisdom, which is foolishness before God, abhor this wisdom. And, how numer¬ ous are these now I Thou, O Word, knowest it; and they can well say in the end, on settling their accounts: " Nihil invent in manu mea" — “I have found nothing in my hand” (Ps. Ixxv, 6), except shadow, wind, smoke, and vanity, such as everything is outside of Thee.

This wisdom is also abhorred by anyone who deprives himself of Thy union; as those who offend Thee deprive themselves of Thee and of themselves. O wisdom! who causest the soul to be dilated, the will to be kindled and warmed, the intellect to be enlightened, the love to be purified; who excitest the hatred of sin, the fear of the Divine Judgment, the hope of paradise, the desire of heavenly glory! And, how is this wisdom acquired? Not by words, nor by time, nor by riches, nor by anyone’s intelli¬ gence; but by a deep knowledge of one’s nothingness, and by an enlightened understanding of the Being of God, with a constant hatred of self, and of self-love, in so far as it is contrary to God. This wisdom is experienced by him who tastes it, and is under¬ stood by him who knows nothing.... ‘ ^Scieniia Dei abyssus multa ’ ’ — ‘ ‘Thy j udgments are a great deep ” (Ps. xxxv, 7). O wisdom! thou art like that most beautiful palm tree that brings forth most sweet fruits, and does not grow everywhere, but only where the ground is prepared and suitable for it! And the palm tree gives also a most pleasing shade. So this knowledge of Thee, O Eternal Word, produces fruit in those who are well disposed; but, as for those who are not so disposed, let them acquire other sciences, as much as they wish, they shall never possess nor be able to secure even the least part of Thy knowledge, without which every science is most foolish and stupid ignorance. O science of my Word! who can ever tell of Thee? Who can ever reach the height of this palm tree? Oh! how it surpasses in height all the heavens! And who shall ever comprehend it? All the cherubim rest under thy shade, neither can they reach the altitude of thy branches, for they cannot (unless Thou, O Word, wouldst reveal them to them) penetrate Thy most profound secrets. This knowledge of Thine Thou dost infuse into us with a complete communication by the grace of Thy soul in us; and this causes our soul to become as an ox continually ruminating the food he takes. Likewise, whoever possesses this science continues meditating, till he at last understands, by the light Thou givest to him, what is convenient for him to know of Thee, Sovereign Good, in this life and in the next. In this life, the splendor, a little dimmed, of the faith; in the next, the open vision, whereby, as a glass illumined by Thee, he will be trans¬ formed into the object seen. O science, mother of justice, companion of mercy, nurse of love, light of the intellect, guide of the will, life of the memory! And could we live in this world without Thy help? Thou givest everyone his dues, thus endowing him with a just being; as justice means nothing else but to render to everyone what is due to him; to God, honor, and to the neighbor, love. This science is a companion of mercy; for without it charity is extinct. It is the nurse of love; for he who knows, loves; and one cannot love the unknown.

Thou art the Light of the Intellect, O wonderful science of the Word; and I am always in darkness, alas! and fear that my darkness, like black and thick clouds, may spread through the world, on account of my sins, darken the atmosphere, and cause so much blindness in the world. Alas! how lame is this will of mine, and how often it trips! And, yet. Thy science is its guide. So many faults, so many sins — always returning to commit the same. I feel like an ass tied, by the miller, to the mill, going always around, pacing, growing tired, and never moving out of that place. But, I am not tied; *^Vinctus/tonferrOySedmeaferreavoluntate" — “Bound up not by iron, but by my iron will as that great servant of Thine was wont to say at the time he did not know Thee.

This chain, and this bondage, will be broken; and I will certainly go by another road. If I possess Thy science, I will remember nothing but Thee; because Thy science is the life of the memory. Do grant, O my God, that I may remember Thee only to love and thank Thee, and to rest fully in Thy will. Sweet sleep, beginning of the true life, not to remember, nor to think, of anything but one’s God; to wholly give up self, not to care for anything, and to sleep and rest all in God. ^'Ego dorrnio et cor meum vigilat^^ — “I sleep and my heart watcheth” (Cant, v, 2); with my heart and mind remembering always who I am, and to whom I am so much indebted.... O power! Powerful is the Word in all His works. Great power I see in the Word, in assuming our souls to Himself; great power in supporting and glorifying them, and in all the works He does. I see creatures, in nearly every motive and action of theirs, denying in deeds, not in words. Thy power, O my God! In their evil intentions they deny Thy power, and also in their deceitful words and lukewarm works; because, did they believe Thou art so powerful, they would live in fear and trembling always, so as not to offend Thee, and would keep watch in the expectation of Thy coming, think¬ ing Thou hast said: ^^Vigilate quia nescitis qtia hora Dominus vester veniurus siD^ — “Watch ye, therefore, because you know not at what hour your Lord will come ’’ (Matth. xxiv, 42). The foolish virgins did not understand this, Thy power; otherwise they would have prepared themselves better. Oh! what sweetness is felt by the soul that possesses and tastes the fruit of Thy power, knowing that by possessing it neither devil, nor any creature whatsoever, can separate her from Thee.*... Eternity! Eternal in Thyself, O Word I Eternal in Thy designs to glorify the angels, and in Thy will to conceive and create other creatures. Eternal in Thy opera¬ tions. And, what more? Eternal, O Father, in begetting Thy Word, I will not say like, but consubstantial with Thee, from Thee, and in Thee, without beginning, and without end. Eternal, O Word, in breathing with the Father, the Holy Ghost, who is a most perfect bond of love. Eternal with the Holy Spirit, in uniting thereby the Divine Persons. O my Word, Alpha and Omega 1 Thou hast no beginning, and art the end of all things. O perfection of my Word— Who had no beginning but from the Father, and it was a beginning without a beginning; because He is eternal; eternal before’. eternal after. But, in eternity there is no before nor after; all is a uniform, invariable, and everlasting Being. O my God, eternal, immense, impassible, infinite! and who shall comprehend Thee? Impassible, yes; and from whom can that Being suffer, who is inde¬ pendent of everybody but Himself? He is a most simple act, most pure, without any mixture of act and potentiality ^ without any variation or change. But, as to the impas¬ sibility, one must consider Thy Humanity, making Thee appear passible, though Thou art impassible. As soon as Thy Humanity, O Word, was united to Thee, It necessarily acquired impassibility; but this Thou didst not wish, because of Thy desire to suffer for us. Now Thou art impassible both in Thy Divinity and in Thy Humanity.... O wonderful union, in heaven, on earth, and also in that intimacy, and in the most secret and perfect bond of the Divine nature, whereby the Holy Ghost unites iu an unspeakable manner the Three Divine Persons! Oh! how united is the Most Holy Trinity, in the unity of essence, substance, and love! Moreover, there is another iinion, caused b)’^ the preference Thou, O Word, hast shown for us here below. Thou hast so well united Thy Divinity to our humanity, for Thy glory and our benefit, that we receive therefrom all our good, viz.. Thyself. But this union does not suffice me; the Eucha¬ ristic communication of Thy Body and Blood, O my Spouse, this is my sweetest bond. O Union! who shall be able to understand it? Only to say that the Infinite unites to Himself the finite, to make it equal to Himself, is enough to amaze all the angelic hierarchies. So much did the Eternal Father love and does love these His creatures, that it was not enough for Him to give His Only Begotten for our redemption, but He gives Him to us continually for our help, relief, and consolation, that He may always enkindle and inflame our hearts with the divine love, and grant us His light to discern ourselves and His goodness. The Word ceases not to look upon us, and, by His look, causes and begets in us piety, mercy, and love. O God of love and union. Thou art the One Who grants every peace, and without Thee there can be no true peace nor union! The peace and union among sinners are false ones, which cannot last long, because, being ruled by the tyranny of sin and the passions, the frail bond uniting them soon breaks, as a thread of tow. From Thee alone comes the perfect union; and, where there is no union, there is confusion, on account of sin and the devil. Where there is union, there is all good; there is.abundance of everything, of all heavenly and earthly riches. Where this union is wanting, every good — the grace of God, the benevolence of the creatures — is wanting, and there is dearth of everything.... O my loving Word, Thou art also the Good Shepherd who unites His Sheep with Himself, and keeps them also united among themselves. And how many are the things required in the good shepherd? First, that he love his flock more than himself; then, that he go before his flock, rod in hand, and, with a dog, to protect them. He must find fresh and green pastures, springs of fresh waters, a v^arm or a cool sheepfold, in which to enclose his sheep according to the seasons. Behold Thou, O Word, dost possess all these qualifications of the good shepherd. Thou didst begin in the bosom of mercy to love Thy flock more than Thyself, by desire, laying down Thy life before the time arrived to give it up; and then on the cross Thou didst make known fully the same desire, and didst fulfill it, by actually laying down Thy life for Thy sheep, showing thereby how much Thou didst love them. Thou dost go before the flock, as, being from eternity without beginning, Thou didst go into all those souls that pleased Thee from the commencement of the world, and, dost go into them now, and shalt go till the end into those who shall please Thee, and whom Thou wilt wish to make Thine. Where is the one Thou wouldst not like to make Thine own by Thy preceding will, since Thou art He: '■'Qui vuli omnes homines salvos fieri — will have all men to be saved?” (i Tim. ii, 4). Thou givest him Thy grace first, and thus Thou goest before him with the rod, enlightening him with the light of Thy internal in¬ spirations Thou dost always place in every soul within Thy flock the stimulus of con¬ science the dog. Thou Thyself dost lead the flock into the verdant and safe pastures of Thy holy doctrine, viz., of Thy Gospel. Thou also dost lead Thy flock to drink Thy overflow¬ ing grace, and, having assumed our flesh, givest them to drink at the most limpid spring of^Thy most loving side and sacred wounds. Thou dost watch in the night-time (for Thee. O Word, it is always daylight, but for us it is night). Then Thou art resting and communicating to the souls an interior and an exterior light, watching unceasingly over Thy flock.

According to different needs. Thou dost infuse now a security and pledge of incon¬ ceivable love, now an interior, tremendous fear. Thy pastures, O Word, are in Thyself; but it is necessary, according to time and place, to go and find them out: ^Per vicos et “In the streets and broad ways ” (Cant, iii, 2). So delightful are these pas¬ tures, that whoever shall find them shall be unable to restrain himself from entering them. Oh I how many fruits do I gather from the sweet head of the Word’s Humanity, and His sacred wounds! But, I would not have them for myself alone; I aspire to com¬ municate them to the whole world. Well do I know that were I to offer them to many, it would seem to them foolishness and insanity: ^'Nos insensati vitam illorum cestimabamus insaniam^—^ 'We: fools esteemed their life madness” (Wisd. v, 4). But woe, woe to them! I shall offer them again to Thee, O Word! for they are Thine, and Thou canst make anybody partake of them as Thou wilt. O Heart! O Side of the Eternal Word Incarnate! It is not possible to correspond even once to such generosity. Thy darts are too many; one cannot endure them; great help is needed to correspond and keep so many arrows: Ego sum Pastor bonus y ego sum ostium; per me si quis introierit salvabitury et ingredietuvy et egredietury et pascua invenieV" — “I am the Good Shep¬ herd; I am the Door; by Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and he shall go in and go out, and shall find pastures ” (John x, 14; John x, 9). Where do they enter, and where do they come out, O Word, but into the pasture of Thy wisdom, and out of it? In this pasture not only do we feed, but Thou, the archangels, and all the blessed spirits also. Hence, in saying that they entered and came out. Thou didst manifest the secret of secrets, viz., the Divine idea of the Father, of Thyself, and of the Holy Ghost; the secret of Thy most loving Heart, the secret of the angels, and of the blessed spirits. The secret, which was in the Father’s mind, manifested itself, coming out of the Father and begetting the Word; for, by the Father understanding Himself the Word is begotten. And the Word being thus begotten by way of the intellect, which is in its nature similar, is called the figure and image of the Father, and, by the purest bond of love, the Father and the Word breathe the Holy Spirit, Who is Love itself. The more this manifestation is multiplied, the more it is communicated to the multitude of creatures.... The angels and the glorious spirits enter into said pasture of wisdom, and by the force of the union they are almost compelled to raise themselves above themselves. They enter it by the sentiment of love, and come out by the greatness of the Trinity, incom¬ prehensible to them and every other creature. They come out, never coming out; as they see more and more, and there remains infinitely more of the divine perfections to be seen than they can ever actually see. But great study is necessary, O Word, to learn this wisdorh of entering in and coming out of Thee, whilst remaining always in Thee. It is necessary that the creature should always enter into Thy Divinity, and come out through Thy Humanity, in every movement she has to undertake. She should enter into Thy Divinity to please Thee, and come out through Thy Humanity, to imitate Thee. This is the doctrine that must be practiced by any creature who is desirous of learning how to enter into Thee and come out of Thee.

There are also other pastures, as the virtues, which shine in Thy Humanity, wherein some enter without tasting Thee at all; and others endeavor to enter, and it is granted to them, because they go by the right road. Happy is he who knows well how to enter into Thee and come out of Thee! Wonderful wisdom, which is an aspiration to Thee, a sweet and quiet restlessness in Thee, wanting nothing, understanding nothing in any¬ thing, grieving to see Thou art so little known, and repining because Thou art so little loved. O God! Wonderful in the selection of the souls, wonderful in the communica¬ tion of Thy Divinity to the lowliness of our humanity.... God is so good to His sheep, because of three things: First, by nature. He being a God of Sovereign Goodness, Who cannotbut be just and holy. Good by operation; because all His works have been to us so many causes of merit. Good, because of the inheritance He leaves us — that everlasting inheritance of His beatific vision, and His endowing with gifts the soul and the body, when they shall be glorified. Bonitatem fecisti cum servo tuOy Domine" — “Thou hast done well, with Thy servant, O Lord” (Ps. cxviii, 65). These are the good things He has done unto us; and then, what follows? '•^Secundum Verbum tuum" — “According to Thy Word” The term Word may be understood in two ways: Word, accordingto the Word He hadgiven to the prophets, and Whom, after¬ wards, He sent; and also according to the word that the same Word, while in this world, spoke to us by His sacred lips, viz., His heavenly, divine Doctrine. Since this Word came down upon the earth, God has dealt with usmore in mercy than in justice.... The shepherd holds in his hands a something to call his sheep, and, to some of them, he gives a name and feeds them sometimes with his own food. At night, he keeps them in his own sheepfold, or within certain enclosures, and he keeps the dog to waken him up, and loves him for the sheep’s sake. Before sending them to the pasture, he keeps them in his own house. This means that God keeps us first in His own mind, and afterwards sends us into this valley of tears and miseries, that, feeding herewith, w^e may give Him milk. The dog means the preachers. The Holy Ghost is the sound that goes on ringing songs of love, calling the sheep. The symbol and the articles of faith are the enclosure. The little shepherds, by staying around the sheep, seem unable to speak or treat of anvthing but them. Thus our Word, when He became a man, seemed to be unable to think of anything else but us and our salvation. We are of those sheep called by their own name and fed by His own food, as He communicates Himself to anyone who renders himself capable of His complacency and the knowledge of His bounty. And the place wherein the shepherd rests is not different from that of his flock. The place of rest for the soul is her own heart, where all her powers and deeds rest, and there God con¬ descends to come and dwell! Man’s life is nothing but a cross, because it is a constant warfare. Christ also ascended the cross, but His was far different from ours, and there ST. MARY MAGDALEN DE-PA2ZI.

will never be one so heavy as His own. Shepherds never choose soft garments, but rough and lowly ones. And what did the Word say concerning John? “ They that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings” (Matth. xi, 8). What garment could be more lowly for the Word than to take up our humanity? A shepherd, as a rule, does not defend himself by means of arms, but with small slings. Well did Christ say to Peter: “ Put up again thy sword into its place” (Matth. xxvi, 52). Since the roaring lion had entered this big flock of sheep to devour them, the Word came, as a most loving Shep¬ herd, to fight for the sheep, not by arms, but by sufferings and the passion. The Gospel and all its words are the slings whereby the Word protected us, His beloved little sheep, from the voracious, infernal lion. And those seven words He uttered from the cross, whereon He manifested such an ardor of charity, were nothing but seven slings that crushed the head of that roaring lion. Those sweet words He uttered during His mortal life viz., that we should learn from Him to be meek and humble of heart (Matth. xi, 29), and that we should follow Him and love one another, and so many others; what were they but slings He was flinging against that ferocious beast of hell? A truthful word is more powerful than an unjust stroke. Christ always carried the rod in His hands to denote His strength, and sometimes to strike His sheep. The rod indicates His Divinity, whence strength came to His humanity, which fact became evident in that mystery when He cast out of the Temple those who were selling therein, and when He wrought miracle.s. The rod is also His cross, which He took up from the moment of His conception and carried till He said: Consummatum est ” — ‘‘ It is consummated ” (John xix, 30). He leads His sheep to the pasture of His humanity, where is to be found that fine and fresh grass of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost and of Himself. Nay, He feeds them with Himself, giving them His own Body and Blood; and those, to whom it is granted to attain a greater nobility of grace, taste the sweet grass of the interior communication which God infuses into the soul, and also that of His innumerable benefits. Others par¬ take of the taller grass, viz., the celestial happiness— here below, by participation; up above, by everlasting possession. And what is, O my Word, the limpid springThou dost lead them to, that they may drink? Thou Thyself art the Spring: '•^Fons sapientics ” — ” Fountain of wisdom ” (Ecclus. i, 5). And Thou dost cry always: '■'Si quis sitit, venial ad me et bibat ” — ‘‘ If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” Thou didst say also to the Samaritan woman that, from the soul that would drink of the water, a foun¬ tain of water should spring up into life everlasting (John iv, 14). After having led the sheep to drink, Thou washest them: ^'‘Lavit nos in sanguine suo'' — ‘‘ He washed us from our sins in His own blood ” (Apoc. i, 5); and then He takes the shears and shears them, which happens when the soul is in a state between fear and suffering, or between temptations and discouragements. God takes away from the soul its appetites and de¬ sires — from one, the passions; from another, self-love — according to His own divine will and pleasure. Then He ties them by the feet and makes them lie down. God binds all our sentiments and affections, so that the soul remains desolate, being deprived of taste and all exterior feelings; and interiorly, the feeling being bound, the soul seems unable to say anything else but: ^^Eripe mede ore leonis'^ — “ Deliver me from the lion’s mouth ” (Ps. xxi„ 22). The soul lies down in the consciousness of its desolation and misery, at times only raising its eyes to plead for help and relief. No matter what soul it is, it cannot reach perfection unless it be previously sheared by the Lor4. One suffers inte¬ riorly, another exteriorly; but only the one who shall have suffered for the love of God shall be able to say: ^^Ego dormivi et somnum coepi, et exsurrexi^ quoniam Dominus suscepii me'' — ‘T have slept and taken My rest; and I have risen up; because the Lord hath protected Me ” (Ps. iii, 6). It is necessary, before all, to sleep, if the Lord has to raise one up; and it is also necessary to do what a sleeping person does. One who sleeps does not hear one who speaks ill of him; does not see another working; and is not annoyed by one who is asleep or awake. When a soul has reached a state of perfect humiliation and annihilation, then it is permitted to her to rejoice, and to know the graces and gifts His Divine Majesty has granted to her; because she acknowledges them from God, she derives consolation always from what is written, that good works should be performed in the sight of men: ” Ut glorificent Patrem qui in ccelis est" — ‘‘That they may glorify the Father, Who is in heaven ” (Matth. v, 16). First it is necessary to contemplate God, and know His interior illuminations, and then rise — that, is work. He does not say: I raised myself; that is, I worked by Myself, without the will of my Father, but: "Quia Dominus suscepit mep because the Lord has protected me; be¬ cause such was the will of My Father and God; not a man, but God; for if all men would join together, they could not make one work. If the Holy Scriptures would be studied for a thousand years, without God’s grace and His working: "In vanum laboraeverunt" — ” Thev labored in vain” (Ps. cxxvi, i). Then the shepherd continues milk¬ ing his sheep; so the Word takes the milk from us when we are in the act of love and divine charity. Moreover, He takes our milk — that is, our good works — to feed other chosen ones, to mitigate the heat of the wrath against the poor sinners, and sweeten the bitterness of the wicked. Happy are those sheep that hear the voice of this Good Shepherd. But, ob! many are the voices whereby He goes on calling these little sheep! The first is by means of the prophets; the second, by His own voice; the third, b)’’ the Holy Ghost. Then He Himself, goes on calling by another interior voice; and happy is the soul that hears this voice. He calls her by her own name, as He does with all believing souls, according to their various vocatiops. By the same voice, and by her own name, He calls every sheep, according to her own vocation. The sheep follows the shepherd, and He leads her with the rod, not allowing her to feed on that which is the food of creatures more noble than herself, that is, man. When the soul follows the Word, He leads her by the works He performed in His humanity. The rod means His commandments, and if the sheep happens to run off, with the rod He makes her return, not permitting her to take the food of anyone greater than herself; because, when we wish to usurp the glory of the Divinity, and feed on it, which is the divine glory and honor. He drives us away by the rod, so that we are compelled to say: Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed notnim tuo da gloriam ” — “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory” (Ps. cxiii, i). It is necessary, O my God, that we should acknowledge Thee, and this, our acknowledg¬ ment on earth, must be endowed in particular with fine qualities (or conditions). The first is that we should acknowledge Thee with so much faith that, by its certainty, it may appear to be true evidence, so to speak, as in heaven faith ceases to be such. The soul must believe in Thee, as if she saw with her own eyes. If this were the case, it no longer would be faith, Thou being present, because faith ceases where there is evidence of the senses. With this condition I must confess Thee, O my God. In the second place, faith must be founded on Thee, and always supported by Thee, who art the living stone. The third condition is the intention of benefiting our neighbors. The fourth is, that this confession should be made with so much fortitude, and such a manly heart, that if all torments and pains a creature could endure, and even a thousand hells were prepared, the soul woiTld fear nothing, and regard them as nothing, in order to maintain this truth. The fifth and last condition is, that this confession be made with such con¬ stancy that, though we had persisted in it without ceasing, still we should persevere in con¬ fessing this truth for all eternity. In heaven this confession is made without condi¬ tions; because there is no danger of deceptions: “ Confessio et pulchritudo in conspectu ejus^^ — “Praise and beauty are before Him” (Ps. xcv, 6). In heaven we, too, will be beautiful, partaking of Thy immense beauty, by which we will please Thee, and will our¬ selves be pleased. Here below very few are they who are so beautiful in Thy sight that Thou carest to look upon them with delight. There are four things that, during this life, make us appear beautiful in Thy sight: The first is meekness; and this is such a beau¬ tiful thing that it draws the soul to Thee, and Thou dost feel immensely pleased in her, because of the likeness she bears to Thee. The second is the beauty we receive from Thy Blood, being purified and adorned by It. The third thing which, in this life, makes us appear beautiful in Thy sight, is the frequenting of the Holy Sacrament; I mean con¬ fession.,The fourth is Baptism, which cleanses the soul and washes it of every stain of sin. All other Sacraments, also conferred on us by the Holy Church, make us appear beautiful before Thee. The holy virtues practiced by us — faith, hope, and charity, hu¬ mility, patience, and others — are, as it were, our garments and adornments, so that of the soul can be said: “ /« vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate ” — “In gilded clothing, sur¬ rounded with variety ” (Ps. xliv, 10). How beautiful in Thy sight appears the soul in the state of grace, clothed with Thy charity and that of her neighbor, and the precious gems of holy virtues. These conditions infuse into the soul a prudence, which, to the ignorant and blind, seems imprudence. Whoever shall persevere, here below, in this beautv, will afterwards go and rest himself in that place which Thou, O Lord, hast gone to pre¬ pare for him; but Thou art sufficient unto me. “ Vado parare vobis locum ” — “ I go to prepare a place for you ” (John xiv, 2), Thou hast said; but the place was already pre¬ pared from eternity Thou rather goest to prepare us the means to secure it, by infusing Thy Holy Spirit in us, that, enlightened and strengthened thereby, wx may reach where Thou dost call us. Thine is a place of peace, and we must secure it by con¬ stant warfare. It is a place of rest, and we must acquire it by labor. It is a place of contentment, joy, and cheerfulness; and we must merit it by anxiety, pain, weeping, and, above all, humility, as the proud will never reach it. Woe to that soul that has not its understanding, and all other powers, resting upon humility! Woe to that congrega¬ tion (Religious Order) wherein pride dwells! Woe to that city where are proud subjects and princes! Woe to the Church, where so many proud ones dwell, but greater woe un¬ less the pride in the Church be surpassed by the humility of Thy servant 1 It would be as a boat sinking in the sea. The Church is assailed; yes, by some stormy waves • but the gates of hell will never prevail against her; and she, like a firm rock in the midst of the waters, directs her faithful believers to the port of eternal life.

XXIII. She Speaks in the Person of the Eternal Father about the Equality of the Divine Persons, and then about the Value of Charity.

Mercy, Truth, and Justice.

Thou knowest, daughter, that my catholic faith teaches, We are Three in person and One in essence; the Father communicating from eternity to the Word, and with the Word, to the Holy Ghost, the Divinity, and all the divine perfections. And as We are One in essence, so We are also as to the external operations; for all the Divine Persons work together. But as to the Incarnation of the Word, though all the Three Divine Per¬ sons concurred in it. Thou must believe and confess what I have often taught you, that it was a work ending only in the Person of the Word, without change or alteration what¬ ever of the Divine Person, but simply of the human. This mutual, interior communica¬ tion of the Divine Persons is the cause of the equality in the Divinity. And this other communication of the Person of My Word to the reasonable creature; in other words, the link binding and joining together all other creatures among themselves, and conse¬ quently with all creatures, is the cause of a certain equality between creatures and the Creator — after this benefit of the Incarnation. As you, when j^ou take two things and join them so that they work together, say that is equality; so likewise the works per¬ formed by My humanity and My Spirit, are equal; because we are One and the same thing. This, O daughter, is truly the equality. My Only Begotten left you the first and noblest fruit of this equality of mine that you could hope for, when He left you Himself in the Most Holy Sacrament, The fruit, so to speak, of my equality, is Himself, both as to the origin in my Divinity of the Person of the Word and of the Holy Ghost, This Divin¬ ity is first, as to origin, but not as to time; because there is one nature and one divine substance equally shared by all the Three Divine Persons, But as to origin, the Word is before the Holy Ghost; because I and the Word breathe the Holy Ghost; whilst the Holy Ghost does not beget, with Me, the Word, for He that begets One cannot proceed from Him Whom He begets. Hence I call Him the first fruit, of Whom you partake in a wonder¬ ful manner, understood by Me alone. By showing to you the boundless love with which He burnt, and still burns, for you. He has granted to you that you may, every time you so desire, feed on Him, and, consequently, on Me, and on all the Most Holy Trinity, that, by concomitance, is in this Sacrament; and He being the fruit of my equality, receiving Him, you receive every time Myself too,... As to charity, my daughter, it is a golden bond, so to speak, proceeding from Me, and causing the souls to be with Me, and among themselves in Me, for in Essence and Divinity are all the Three Divine Persons united, according to the request My Word made with ardent prayers, in that. His last ser¬ mon of charity: “ Unum sint, ut noSy unum sumus" — “That they may be one, as We also are One ” (John xvii, 22). True it is that it is not, in you, intrinsic and essential, as it is in Us; because, though it is My gift, and I never take My gifts back, neither do I leave you, unless I am first offended and left by you; still you are liable to lose it, and through your fault and weakness nothing do you lose so easily, and with so little regret, as this; because you know not the value of this gift. But, oh! what grand effects does this char¬ ity produce! See, daughter; if a fire, no matter how great and ardent, falls on a little bit of straw or stubble, it cannot make a great flame, on account of the light material receiving it. On the contrary, if a small piece of burning coal falls on a great quantity of gunpowder, what wonderful effects are produced! My charity is so ardent a fire that We alone can understand it. If it falls upon human hearts, and is diffused therein by My Spirit, it cannot, of course, produce the effects it produces in Me; because you are like straw and grass: **Ofnnis caro fcenum ” — “All flesh is grass” (Isa. xl, 6). Hence it is that it cannot manifest itself in all its strength, and yet Thou dost see, daughter, the force of this fire working in you. Contiuue to recount, in thy memory, the deeds of the Saints, and see all they wrought by means of this charity. They rejoiced in the midst of torments, and were glad when confronted with crosses. Strength rather failed to the tormentors, than courage to the tormented. The limbs de¬ stroyed by the torments suffered rather because of the victims’ desire to suffer, and their unconquered and cheerful patience. Human malice could not invent more ways to tor¬ ment, neither could more instruments of torture come put of hell— as that beloved of Mine, Ignatius, was wont to say— but that they did not wish for more; on account of this charity. See how it acted in so many little virgin girls! With what constancy it armed them! How they conquered and triumphed over all the strength of human malice and diabolical suggestion. All this was the consequence of this fire kindled in straw. Stop and think of the many little children who, hardly able to untie their tongues, had, nevertheless, the courage to suffer for My Love the most atrocious torments tyrants could inflict! They suffered even death itself in such a painful manner, that even the most courageous would find it frightful and horrible. Acknowledge that all this was iu virtue of the power of this flame of ardent charity which fell, as I was just telling thee, in a little stubble. Go even further with thy memory and thy thoughts; go into the wilderness and the solitudes of Thebes, Nitria, and Scythia, in many places of Egypt and Syria, penetrate into those cells looking like sepulchres of the dead, not dwellings of the living; —those places, either burning like furnaces from excessive heat, or freezing from excessive cold; those mountains, and those horrid and squalid sands, bare of any of the comforts which your frail nature requires. Consider how they lived there, apart from the world, all by themselves; in the flesh, yes, but as if they were all spirit, with¬ out garments, exposed to the rays of the sun and to the icy winds; entering frozen lakes, girded with the coarsest haircloth, iron belts, and chains. They were wont to pass their nights without sleep, and to eat, I will not say how much, but not enough to support their bodies, which looked like dry mummies, rather than living bodies — so little that it would not be possible to live on it, except by the strength of My charity. See, some of them constantly standing on pillars, exposed to all the inclemency of the seasons; others, with insupportable weights on their shoulders, to mortify them¬ selves; others, singing night and day, and as if they were angels, who ^'‘Semper videntfaciemPatrts^' — “Who always see the face of My Father” (Matth. xviii, ic), remaining always fixed with their soul and thought in perpetual contemplations. And know. My daughter, that as the things which My Beloved Son did for your love in secret are far more numerous than those which were recorded in writing, so also the works of the Saints, known to Me alone, are, without comparison, more numerous than those written of them.

Go also with thy thought into the monasteries and cloisters of My servants of both sexes, in the olden times. Look into the works performed by the Religious in the beginning and fervor of the Religious Orders. How great! how stupendous were they not! What ardor of charity! What fervor in My servants! And whence came all this, but from the power of My charity? Now raise thyself in thought to Me, and consider within thyself, if this charity, which is less than a little spark dropping on straw or stubble — comparing creatures to Me — produces such effects, what will be the effect of an infinite and eternal fire in My bosom, which is like the strongest powder, breaking and destroying every obstacle it may meet, such as the ingratitude of My creatures? And know, O daughter, that the reason which moves Me to do good to My creatures, and to man, so unmindful of My benefits, is not the correspondence I meet with in him, as he is most ungrateful; but that the strength of My charity is stimulated by his in¬ gratitude and offenses; and, the more he offends Me, and the greater his demerits, the more the strength of this fire increases in Me, and moves Me to help him. The more man fled and moved far away from Me, the more did I resolve to run after him, and unite him to Me, so that (causing My Word to become Man) he could never separate himself from me.

Charity moved Me to create you, and to send you My Only Begotten Word to re-create you, so to speak. Charity is the cause of My giving all good to you; by charity you become partakers of Me, and in so wonderful a manner the Word again unites Himself to you in the Holy Eucharist, and I shall grant you in heaven the fruition of Myself. This charity is a bond binding the soul so closely to Me as to make it one thing with Myself, because, whoever is in charity abides in Me and I in him. This, properly speaking, is the participation you have with My equality, of which one fruit is mercy; so that, as My own essence is charity, it is also mercy. And this is made mani¬ fest by My Truth; that in order to show you mercy He took on Himself all justice, satisfying it in all rigor for you. Could He manifest better and more clearly His mercy to you by deeds and example, than He did when He was nailed to the cross, whereon He prayed to Me that I should not lay the offense to the charge of those who crucified Him, and that I should not regard your iniquities? See how He excused them, that I might be moved to show mercy to them, and not punish them as they, deserved; and then He uttered that other word: ” — “I thirst ” (John xix, 28), showing His burning love, which produced in Him the thirst for the salvation of souls. Know, O My daughter,.that to know My Truth is a fruit of My merey; as, whoever does not know the latter, neither does he care for My promises, nor does he like them, nor is he afraid of My punishments, nor does he give himself a thought to avoid them. From this Truth of Mine comes also the equality; because it begets the esteem and appreciation one must entertain of My grace, whereby this equality is acquired. If thou dost wish to know who are those who despise My equality, I will tell you: they are those (and there is such an abundance of them to-day on the earth) thou dost call My Christs; and justly so. These in My Church look for places and honors through deception, hypocrisy, and mendacity; and as these, excepting the good ones, are dissemblers and liars, so they even do worse’ by allowing their subjects to serve Me with lies, hypocrisy, and dissimulation. Daughter, does it not look so to you? They seek to adorn with gold and gems the tabernacles and sacred vessels; which I like and am pleased with, as it shows the reverence and honor due Me. But I wish they would try to adorn their interior, wherein I would like con-She receives the sacred stigmata ” (page 437).

stantly to dwell; yet, instead of doing so, they keep it full of all kinds of dirt — so dirty and filthy is it, because of the multitude of their sins, that, I was almost going to say it is even more foul than hell itself. And, after all, they dare, with so much effrontery, to come to My house (the Church), and touch Me with their hands, and receive Me in their breasts. How much this offends Me thou caiist, in a measure, imagine, but fully com¬ prehend it thou canst not, as it is known to Me alone.... Another fruit of My equality is justice. Did not My Truth manifest it when He said: ^^Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justiHayn^quoniam ipsisaturabuntur" — “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill “ (Matth. v, 6)? Whence could the beatitude of justice, and the desire and craving for it come, if not from My equality? '^Justitia et pax osculatce sunf*' — “Justice and peace have kissed ” (Ps. Ixxxiv, ii). Peace and justice go together. I have praised this justice of My Word in all His life; all His words and works being nothing but a perfect justice. I praised it in Him, that in Him I might praise also your justice, which, if by imitation, shall be by you,’ and in you, expressed; the soul shall be praised with My Word, and crowned afterwards with everlasting joy and contentment in paradise. I have praised this justice in My Word, giving Him a power and a name which is above all names, and to which heaven and earth must bow, and hell, too; and this on account of the insults which He had endured for you, and the obedience which He rendered to My commandment: ^^Factus obediens usque ad mortem... dedit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen, ut in nomine Jesu omne genuflectatur, coelestium, terrestriuyn et infernorum'*'' — “Becoming obedient unto death... and God hath given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth ” (Philip, ii, 8-10)— bowing to Him, and acknowledging Him as Judge, Lord, and God. I gave Him, moreover, all power in heaven and on earth; because His Humanity was afterwards to judge the world. As He received this power. He, in turn, gives it, in a measure, to all His true and loyal brides, so that His dearly beloved will also judge the world. I also raised this justice, in the person of My Incarnate Word, when He was raised up on the cross, that I might raise thee and all creatures on the same cross; and there all justice was consummated. Hence He said: ^'Consummatum est" — “It is consum¬ mated” (John xix, 30). Then did He consummate love, justice, sin, scriptures, proph¬ ecies, and figures, and could well say: " Consummatum est h.3.vmg fulfilled every thing in divers ways. He consummated the love wherewith I created you, and the love wherewith I re-created you, when I sent the Word Himself to you. He consummated that infusion of justice I made for Him; He consummated the love wherewith I wished to save you, and that wherewith I wished to glorify you. My Word consummated on the cross the love wherewith I sent Him to you, satisfying My justice for your sins so fully that I received more satisfaction, without comparison, than I had received offense. Hence it is that I am so easily appeased with the sinners who return to Me and are con¬ verted; and I receive them in the arms of My Love, because I have been so well satisfied by the obedience of My Word. In this world, or in an infinite number of worlds, so many sins could not be committed, for which My Word had atoned, that I would not be satisfied with the reparation He made for the sins and the offense. Hence, the Royal Prophet, foreseeing this satisfaction, has said: ^^Copiosa apud euyn redemptio ’’—“With Him plentiful redemption” (Ps. cxxix, 7). He consummated the love, shedding also what little Blood was left in His Divine Heart, which was a sublimity of love for our souls; as He shed it to decorate, embellish, and adorn them. This Blood was shed to adorn the countenance of the Church, and make her appear more beautiful; I say, of the Church, which He had taken for His Bride, and I for My Daughter; and, as He removed every wrinkle and stain by stretching Himself on the cross, so the Blood of His Heart was shed to give her, so to say, gracefulness and color. Blood and water came out of His side, that the Church might be, like her Bridegroom, clear and ruddy— clear as the waters of His side, and ruddy as the blood.... My Word consummated the love wherewith I wished to give you glory, by that transformation men wrought in Him through the shedding of His Blood; for, seeing you with and in Him, and seeing that He had acquired the glory for Himself and you, I con¬ summated that glory which from all eternity I had prepared for you. I consummated in My Word, and My Word consummated on the cross, that love wherewith I wished to give you the glory, and He consummated this glory in a manner most sublime. Oh! how great, how great, O daughter, is the glory that by this means I give you! Oh! how much, how much was increased the river and torrent of the pleasure of paradise with the Blood of My Only Begotten I

XXIV. Of Some Effects of the Divine Union and the Sweet Kisses the Heavenly Bride¬ groom gives to the Soul.

The first fruit, My daughter (she speaks in the Person of the Eternal Father), of My Union is the inheritance I cause the soul to enjoy by means of the Incarnate Word, the Spirit breathing in human hearts; and this inheritance I am Myself. Though the Word has shown it to you in a shadowy way, when, dwelling here below amongst you, He was asked by the mother of the sons of Zebedee, that one might sit at His right and the other at His left, and He answered her that they knew not what they asked, and that it was not His to give the right or the left, showing thereby the greatness of this inheritance, because they did not and could not understand it: Nescitis quid petatis ” — “You know not what you ask ” (Matth. xx, 22); and because it was so great that His own Humanity could not give it. And dost thou know how this immense in¬ heritance can be acquired? It can be acquired by you, in virtue of the Incarnate Word, by the sprinkling and infusion of His Blood. This outpouring He made copiously on the cross, and makes it now at My right, whilst by the channels of the Sacraments, the grace He merited, is infused into you and communicated by this Blood. And take notice, daughter, that this infusion produces in you many and various effects. First, it causes to bud, then it nourishes, inebriates, transforms, and glorifies. It causes the lilies of jocundity to blossom around a beautiful fountain, and among these lilies the Word hides and feeds: ^*Qui pascitur inter lilia^' — “Who feedeth among the lilies ” (Cant, ii, 16); breathing into the souls. His brides, an ardent feeling of love, whereby He con¬ stantly infuses into them the virtues and graces, so that some are always drowning and dying, for love, therein, whilst some survive in the same Blood. A soul dies to her¬ self for love, living only for Me and in Me, and seeking nothing in all her operations but My honor and the salvation of the creatures; all of which proceeds from charity. Others die also all along the way; for, by the infusion of this Blood they remain so ab¬ sorbed in God that they are as if dead, and, ceasing from all w'orks, they attend but to commune with and enjoy Me, and, though still here below, they are absorbed in the sublime and diyine contemplation. The fountain is of blood and water; of water, to cleanse; of blood, to embellish; and from the water and the blood they receive that most sweet odor which is afterwards felt everywhere: ^^Christi bo7ius odor sumus'' — “We are the good odor of Christ *’ (2 Cor. ii, 15).

The soul, too, produces there a most delightful fountain of tears, which mixes with that Blood; tears which are shed because of the love and desire of the Bridegroom, and because of contrition caused by self-knowledge. Hence the Word gives the Blood, and the water is given by the Soul-Bride. This is a fountain wherein the soul washes herself altogether, and sees herself; and to which all the pure souls go, like doves, to bathe and purify themselves fully, pure and spotless though they may be; for, by constantly bathing in this fountain, they acquire a candor of purity which makes them more and more acceptable to the Bridegroom. Plunging and bathing therein constantly in this manner, they absorb so much of the efficacious strength of this Blood that they send out flashes of it to the other creatures, so that they, too, beget and acquire other souls, bringing them forth to Me.... After this infusion of Blood has caused it to bud so well, it also nour¬ ishes the soul. And with what does this Word nourish it, O daughter? It nourishes it with the inmost marrow of its divinity, viz., ^ith the loving knowledge and the grace derived from the same divinity, whence it receives an untold taste. The same infusion inebriates the soul in such a manner that the Bridegroom and Bride, being both inebriated, remain in a state of most pure and sweet union and delight in the pain of love which causes such inebriety. This is followed by the transformation of the lover into the loved one caused by this infusion. I am He, dearest. Who transforms. And what do I trans¬ form? You in Me and Myself in you. I transformed My Being into yours in the Incarnate Word, when My Word — Who was, is, and always shall be God— took, for love of you, the form of servant; and this transformation, so to say, made by the union with you, causes the other transformation of you in Me, which you can accomplish: '■^Et qui adhcsret Deo, unus spiritus fit cum illo ” — “ But he who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit with Him ” (i Cor. vi, 17). When the blacksmith places the iron in the forge and the iron becomes red-hot, it shines and burns and sends out sparks, so that it can hardly be distinguished from a live coal. Likewise the soul is plunged into the forge of His love, into the fire of charity, and is united to My Word, Who is fire. He came upon earth to set it on fire, and wishes nothing but that it should burn. The Holy Spirit also breathes into it with the breath of His inspiration. This soul burns so that she no longer seems what she was before, but a very different thing — a thing transformed in Me and made, by the bond of charity, one thing with Me, so that anyone looking at her recognizes her as Mine and recognizes her in Me— the Author and Cause of such transformation. By this I make it possible for yon to reach that perfection with which you were created, according to My idea, and made to My likeness, and that of the Most Holy Trinity, as We are the same thing. You already know that the image of the same Holy Trinity is to be found in all the souls. In the memory, the Word is represented; in the intellect, the Holy Ghost; and in the will, the Eternal Father Himself. Memory repre¬ sents the remembering Word, reminding Me of that love which moved Me to make you My creatures; and thus, by this transformation, you can and do move the will and the intellect to love Me, remembering the love I bore you in creating you to my image and likeness. The intellect represents the Holy Ghost; because, as the Holy Ghost is a light proceeding from Me and My Word, so your intellect, enlightened by said Spirit, en¬ lightens your memory and will, that they may know this love of Mine, and, by a bond, unite these two powers to Me. The will represents Me; because, as I am the origin of the whole Trinity and communicate all the perfections to the Divine Persons, so this will imparts all the perfection to the intellect and the memory; because, without this will, there could not be any goodness or perfection pleasing to Me in these two powers. The reason is, that the memory is moved by the will to always remember me, and the intellect to discourse about Me; but what I like most in a soul is the will, without which nothing, as I have told thee, can please Me.... From this union another fruit proceeds. This is My vision, which you partake of in this world. I infuse into you a vision of constant reno¬ vation, which I make you taste on earth, and later on enjoy fully in heaven. Here below I grant you the vision of My Incarnate Word by means of most pure and en¬ lightened faith and perfect living charity, the greatness of which vision was manifested to you by My Word when He said: ^'■Beati oculi qui vident quce vos videtis'^ — “ Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see ” (Luke x, 23). But those creatures make themselves unfit and incapable of enjoying this vision, who are full of malice, for this malice blinds the eye of the intellect.... To the soul purified and adorned (she added in her own person), the Heavenly Bridegroom gives the kiss of peace and love. And what kiss dost Thou, O Word, imprint on the soul. Thy Bride? ^^Osculum paciSy osculum unioniSy osculum sapienticBy osculum ordinationiSy osculuni amoriSy osculunt salutisy osculum scientice Dei; quam incomprehensibilia sunt onini carni! ’’—“Kiss of grace, union, wisdom, ordination, love, salvation, knowledge of God; how incompre¬ hensible to all flesh! ’’ In these delightful and sweet kisses, all those who have suffered and now suffer pain and anguish, because of the offenses offered to the Word, congratulate and console themselves. It is a practice of the Word to give and receive the neverheard-of kiss. Hence Thou hast permitted Thyself to be kissed by Judas, that Thou mayest continually be kissed by Thy chosen ones with the kiss of peace. Peace proceeds from Thee, the head and beginning of everything. The kiss proceeds from the head, whence life comes to all the members, and we cannot possess true peace but from Thee, Who, in truth, art peace itself: '•'•Ipseest pax nostra.... Osculum unionis'^ — “ He is our peace’’ (Ephes. ii, 14).... Kiss of union. Oh! what a wonderful union this kiss has produced! It united peace and justice, the Eternal Father with the human-kind, Mary with the Word, the Word with the creature, mankind with the angels, and con¬ stantly unites the Bride with the Bridegroom, the Bridegroom with the Soul-Bride, with the Church-Bride, and also with the Bride of Thy Doctrine. Oh! what a worthy Bride this Thy Doctrine is, O Word! So strong, firm, and unchangeable is this Bride that no one can conquer and overthrow her. Hence heaven and earth will pass away before one jot of this Bride will pass away. She gives nourishment to the Church-Bride and delight to the Soul-Bride; confounds 'malice; brings down all the pride of perverse heretics; con¬ demns and punishes every hypocrisy, dissimulation, vain and false opinion; reduces to nothing all ungrateful and mendacious Religious; and contemns the hatred of all the kings and princes, together with that of all their subjects. Oh! Thou art truly a Bride of great value to our great mother — the Church — and hast a right to boast of it.... “ Osculum sapientics et ordinationis tuce ” — Kiss of wisdom and of Thy ordination, wherewith Thou dost dispose all things according to Thy wisdom and sovereign charity, passing after¬ wards to the kiss of love — “ osculum ’’—which draws the soul to love, and leads it to that love which has neither beginning nor end, and which is found in all the divine operations, and, I will say, in Thy very justice.... "^Osculum salutis^' — Kiss of sal¬ vation. Thou dost grant salvation, O Word, preserving the soul from all dangers and pains; and the Eternal, Individual, and Incomprehensible Trinity also constantly works iilvation. Thou dost save the body, free the soul, and fulfill the desires. I invite all the angelic choirs, all the blessed spirits, all the elements, heaven and earth, with all the creatures, to come and hail this salvation. Osculum scientice s. kiss which imparts knowledge and maintains it. Ecce veniOy cito venies. Incomprehensibilia sunt <7 Behold I come, Thou shalt come quickly. All things are incompre¬ hensible.”

XXV. Under the Symbols of Twelve Canals, the Saint Discourses of the Various Operations of the Word, now in the Person of the Eternal Father, and now in Her Own Person.

The redundance of the glory I communicate to My elect above belongs to that operation of glorification which I largely cover them with as a river of delight: ‘ ' FLuminis impetus Icstificat civitatem Dei'" — “The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful ” (Ps. xlv, 5). This same river of delight floods also the souls on earth which are dearer to Me, by means of twelve canals proceeding and flowing from My living Word, Who died for you. Now the understanding of this operation by the soul imports the participation of His glorification, and the desire to correspond to this operation imports her salvation. Very large canals — very ample and copious springs: “ Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris ’ ’ — ‘ ‘ You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains’’ (Isa. xii, 3).

The first canal proceeding from the Word, dead in My bosom, because here from eternity He accepted death, means the words of the Word Himself, uttered by Him or by the mouth of His prophets. Some of them manifest the operations which take place in heaven, and others those which take place on earth: "Dixit Dominus Domino meo ’’ — “The Lord said to my Lord’’ (Ps. cix, i), inspired words of David, indicating part of the operations which take place in heaven. "Cum autern venerit ille arguet mundum de peccato, de justitia et de judicio'^^ — “When He (the Paraclete) is come. He will convince the world of sin, of justice, and of judgment” (John xvi, 8). These words point out some of the operations taking place here below, as the words of the Holy Ghost are also those of the Word. The same Spirit will convince " de peccato." Oh! how this horrible monster encumbered and still encumbers the world! Blindness not in the Jews alone — " qui non crediderunt in Me" — “who did not believe in Me; ’’ but in others who so act as if they did not believe in Me. O Word I and how is it that so much ingratitude is nowadays found in the world? Do Thou cause them to ask Thee; " Domine, adauge nobis fidem ” — “Lord, increase our faith ” (Luke xvii, 5); but the faith, "Quce per dilectionem operatur" — “That worketh by charity ’’ (Galat. V, 6); not the faith w’hich is dead, or extinguished; even " Dcsmones credunt et contremiscunt" — “The devils also believe and tremble ” (James ii, 19). Grant that the faith of Thy followers may conform to their works, and their works to the faith. How many shipwrecks in the faith I How many sins! What will follow? Faith follows the route of the sun; here it arises, there it sets; here it goes high, there it goes down; and what do the shadows of sin, everywhere visible, indicate but the setting of this sun of faith? He will convince the world of justice so despised, and finally oi judg¬ ment^ because. He having freed us from the slavery of the devil, men return, through their own fault, to place themselves under the yoke of so cruel a tyrant. They, fleeing the yoke of Christ, which is sweet and light and brings eternal rest, submit to the yoke of the world, which, by its weight, in this life is unbearable and allows us no rest at all, and in the next will bring us eternal torments.... The second canal means the operations of the Incarnate Word during His childhood, which manifest also the operations of heaven and earth. Sitting in the midst of the doctors the Word shows the operations of heaven, whilst He is asked questions by the wisdom of the world, and He overcomes this same wisdom. And, what is more. He overcomes even the heavenly wisdom; as all wisdom is centred in the Word, and all the wisdom that creatures may possess is but a spark of the superabundance of the Word’s wisdom. He excels the wisdom, because the wisdom is in the Word, and not the Word in the wisdom. And, standing in the centre. He shows that He should be adored, and can command. He sits at the right hand of the Father, in the midst of the Father, in His bosom; and whilst there He shows Himself to be the Judge of the uni¬ verse. He shows the operations that must be constantly performed upon earth, in His circumcision, which is shedding of blood, pain, sorrow, and the diminution of His limbs; by which He teaches us that pain and sorrow, and in many the shedding of blood, is indispensable during this, our mortal pilgrimage. I do not add diminution of limbs, but of our own will, which, by far, surpasses the pain of exterior limbs.... The third canal signifies the operations performed by the Word in His youth, for conversing on earth and being at the same time in the bosom of the Father, He shows by His miracles the operations which are performed in heaven, as by one word: "Adolescens, tibi dico: surge" — “Young man, I say to thee, arise” (Luke vii, 14), he was raised; just as it happens when it is in God’s mind to do a certain thing, that the thing is done immediately, and to will and to do are one and the same thing: "Dixit et facta sunt" — “He spoke and they were made ” (Ps. xxxii, 9). In raising Lazarus, He manifested the operations which are performed in this miserable time, and to accomplish them many things have to be done. One must move his feet, repeat words, shed tears, groan within himself. Perseverance is also necessary, and a discreet self-reproach; a frequent confession, not only with tears, but also with the shedding of blood. And it is a laborious task to accomplish this, on account of the incessant warring between the soul and the body, the reason and the sense, the world, the flesh, and the devil....

The fourth canal, flowing from the Word, is the love He manifested for us from the wood of the cross; that love by w’hich He gave paradise to the good thief. He points out that eternal day, in which there is no variation, by saying: ^'Hodie" — “To-day.” By this word He likewise shows that He has the power to give paradise and the happi¬ ness to be found therein; ''Hodie mecum eris in paradiso ” — “This day thou shalt be with Me in paradise” (Luke xxiii, 43). He shows that the operation is performed hiddenly; as He was then hidden. He shows, moreover, that we cannot, by our of¬ fenses, prevent His operations and His giving beatitude and glory to whomsoever He pleases. In the other words: Pater ^ ignosce illis'' — “Father, forgive them ” (Luke xxiii, 34), He shows the operations of the earth. Saying “Father,” He makes Himself a subject; saying, “forgive them,” He shows the charity and compassion we should feel for our neighbor; saying. “ for they know not what they are doing,” He shows our ignorance in doing our works and discerning His.... The fifth canal is the power Thou hast manifested to us in Thy Resurrection, O Word! In the Resurrection of Thy Humanity Thou dost show the power Thou dost possess and wilt give, afterwards, to Thy elect, raising their bodies from their graves, endowed with movement and all other properties, and the glory which is Thy supreme reward and our final end. Saying to Magdalen: Noli Me tangere''' — “Do not touch Me ” (John xx, 17), and questioning the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, Thou dost indicate the operations which are performed upon the earth, and that we should be re¬ tired, and not relaxed. Saying, “Do not touch me,” Thou showest that we must not permit ourselves to be touched by anyone, so as to be led by their evil example, and that we must not share Thy gifts with everybody. By questioning Thy two disciples Thou dost teach us, that whilst we journey here below, we can always learn to work with the greatest prudence, always seeking to teach by means of our actions. The sixth canal shows Thy heavenly and exalted operations; and it is Thy wonder¬ ful and glorious Ascension wherein Thou dost manifest the operation constantly going on in heaven; where Thy power in a moment assumes Thy body, and can, if Thou wiliest it, assume and lead into heaven (as was the case with Thy Mother) the body of any one it may please Thee to draw unto Thyself; and in a moment, nay, a thousand times in a moment. Thou dost assume to Thyself, if not the bodies, the souls of Thy elect. Reprehending Thy disciples, and ascending the mountain. Thou dost show the opera¬ tions which are performed on earth; for, whilst we are here below, we must ascend the mountain of Thy knowledge, reproaching ourselves with our faults and our little faith. Moreover, in preserving Thy wounds. Thou didst wish to show to Thine elect that what was cause of confusion and shame here below, will be, hereafter, in heaven, cause of merit and glory....

The seventh canal, which manifests these operations, is the offering made to the Eternal Father by the Word, of His Divinity and Humanity; offering which He made on His entering and leaving, and all the time He remained in this world. On entering into the bosom of the Mother, on leaving from the arms of the cross, and constantly during His mortal life, when Eratpernocians in oratione Dei'' — “He passed the whole night in the prayer of God ” (Luke vi, 12). And how fervent was He then, when the blood, being fired by the heat of love, could not contain itself in the veins, but oozed out. The offering of the Divinity, then, is the operation performed in heaven; because it shows the greatness of the Father, which is not possible nor convenient for man to understand. The offering of the Humanity shows the operation performed on earth; as we here below must offer all our works, either actually or habitually, in union with said Humanity, that they may be acceptable to the Eternal Father.... The eighth canal, manifesting this operation of heaven and earth, is nothing else (so I understand it, and I believe I am not mistaken) but that praise of glorification given by the Word to His Eternal Father, when He actually overcame all who wanted to prevent the work of the redemption.- This is the most worthy work ad extra, and gives the most glory in heaven— I mean the praise given by the Word to the Father, by which, praising Him for the glory given to His Humanity.and all His elect. He increases the glory, but not the essential glory for Himself or others; for there can be no essential increase in heaven, where one cannot merit anymore, and the reward is given according to merit, in the beatific vision. Neither does He increase the essential glory for Himself; because all the essential glory was communicated to His soul when He was created, and to the soul and the body nearly all the accidental glory was given when He was placed at the right hand of His Father. But He increases the glory of all the angelic choirs and blessed spirits; so that we must not believe that there is in heaven a higher or more worthy operation than the praise of this Word....

The ninth canal manifesting to us the operation of heaven and earth, isthe petition of the Incarnate Word to His Eternal Father to grant and communicate His equality to the blessed spirits, viz., that they may be, according to their capacity, blessed, as He is, in soul and body; and to communicate His mercy to mortal creatures, that in time they may all partake of this equality: ipse sit omnia in omnibus^'' — “That He may be all in all” (i Cor. xv, 28)....

The tenth canal is of conferring; hence, it shows an occult and manifest glory in heaven, and a despised work on earth. The Eternal Father confers; the Word confers His Individual Being, and the Holy Ghost confers His.Unitive Being. The blessed spirits confer their being — subordinate and purifying, and in heaven the Divine Being of our God is constantly conferred. Oh! what a gift! What a conferring! The Father confers all His Being, Divinity, and perfections to the Word; and the Word with the Father confers these to the Holy Ghost. Ah! all I might understand of it would be but a* shadow; and all I might tell about it, nothing! On earth charity, love, benevo¬ lence, are conferred; and these virtues are despised by the inhabitants of the earth. I am unable sufficiently to praise charity; but this St. Paul can well and does do: ^"Perfecta charitaSy nulla cupiaitas'' — “Perfect charity leaves no desire.”... The eleventh canal is of counsel; which manifests the works constantly done in heaven, and which ought so to be done on earth. Counsel from all eternity to create the t angels and, after their fall, to create man, and then, on account of his disobedience, to send the Word upon earth to satisfy the divine justice. And now a loving counsel is decided upon, which is to confer and give sublime gifts and graces to the creatures; glory, beauty, agility, vision, communication, immortality, eternity (as to duration), and others. This counsel manifests the work which is done upon earth; the counsel to give the power to the Word, Who will come at the end of time to judge, and give to everyone the glory or punishment which his works deserve. This should enlighten us as to what we should do, viz., to judge ourselves, lest we succumb in the tremendous judgment which the Word will make at the end of the world....

The twelfth canal, which is the last, is the definitive one, and gives completion to all the operations which are performed in heaven and on earth. The Word in the bosom of the Father performs with the same Father all the operations, manifesting them to us by His Blood; not only those which are done in heaven, but even those which are per¬ formed in the bowels of the earth.

SECOND SECTION.