Discourse III: The Third Hindrance and Its Remedy

Third Impediment: Human Praises

THE soul, advancing from step to step in holy prayer, becomes so resplendent that it is impossible she should not be admired, and that even the world, seeing her in the midst of the desert, solicited by so many sins, walking faithfully, and resembling a column of odoriferous per fume rising towards the sky, should not ex claim:

Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke, of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?

But this applause is a hidden and sweetened poison, which very often causes the most saintly and devout to lose their justice and their devotion.

Remedy for the Third Impediment: to Refer All Praises to God

Let him whosoever hears his own praises turn towards those of God: let him persuade the praiser not to wish to praise a thing of so little worth; but to draw up the praises of God out of our lowness and littleness. And if he cannot so soon fix his gaze on the Divinity, let him at least praise Jesus Christ, man, our true Solomon, and that principally in three things, His flesh, His cross, His glory, saying: Behold how worthy is His flesh, the bed of His Divinity and of His soul, surrounded by more than sixty valiant soldier^ who defend it against every one who at n/gl>t^" could cause it fear: — that flesh which isMibt ^ i inclined to sin like ours, but by the hypoitaw^ y

1 6 JHgstical Explanation of tjje Canticles union, and by the empire it holds over the angels, is altogether perfect and impeccable:

Behold threescore valiant ones of the most valiant of Israel, surrounded the bed of Solomon; all holding swords and most expert in war: every man's sword upon his thigh, because of fears in the night. As for the Cross, 0 how holy is it! It is of wood, but of wood of Libanus, that is, in corruptible:

King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus:

Justice and mercy are the two columns which uphold this cross:

The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold,

Forasmuch as all is done to conduct souls to glory:

The going up of purple:

For He conducts us to glory only by His Blood, and all this for the souls of the Church, of whom it is said:

The midst he covered with charity for the daughters of Jerusalem.

Whence there follows for this Lord the crown of the glory of His resurrection and ascension, which should carry away the whole world in His praise:

Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see

King Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart.

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Third Degeee: the Soul Considers God in Herself

The soul therefore, refusing the praises of her self in those of God, takes care to adorn herself in all her parts to please Him whom she considers to be alone worthy of all praises. Now her mystical parts are the eyes, that is, the intentions which move them; the hair, that is, her affections — love, hatred, desire, and others — which, like the hair, are neither good nor bad except in so far as they are employed in good or in evil; the teeth, that is, the senses, which chew all the meats that are to enter into the stomach of the understanding; the lips and the speech, that is, the thoughts, which like interior words produce inaudible discourses; the cheeks are the two reasonable powers, which are the understanding and the will; the neck the irascible powers, which drive off and repel impedi ments; the breasts are the two actions of the concupiscible powers, following good, avoiding evil.

All this has to be adorned and embellished, in order that God may love the soul, and may be able to say:

How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!

The intentions must be simple, pure and interior, so that it may not be possible to say the one looks outward, the other inward, and that they are crooked and look different ways:

Thy eyes are doves' eyes, besides what is hidvsvithin.

1 8 JKgsttcal CBxplanatton of tJje Canticles

The affections should not be scattered, but gathered together and united like a flock under the crook of the sovereign shepherd:

Thy hair is as flocks of goats, which come from Mount Galaad.

The senses should be kept as it were im prisoned, like the teeth behind the lips, like sheep newly washed, and their twins, that is, the perceptive and the appetitive faculties, must be under control and regulated:

Thy teeth as flocks of sheep that are shorn, which come up from the washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.

The thoughts ought to be so well regulated that all the conceptions may be dyed in the blood of the Saviour, and the words and discourses full of sweetness and profit for our neighbour:

Thy lips are as a scarlet lace: and thy speech sweet.

The understanding and the will must show that they know what is right, and intend to do it: and, as in a cut pomegranate, all that is there will be displayed, nothing will therein appear ugly and disagreeable; and these two powers will ever be humble and submissive:

Thy cheeks are as a piece of a'pomegranate, besides that which lieth hid within. The irascible part shall be so valiant against temptations that one will be able to say:

Thy neck is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men.

And as to the concupiscible part, it shall have its desire of good and its avoidance of evil so simple that it may be said:

Thy two breasts like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Lastly, the Beloved, Who, since His ascension has gone to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of incense in heaven, on the right hand of the Father, as He had foretold:

Till the day break and the shadows retire, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Will praise the soul, saying:

Thou art all fair, 0 my love, and there is not a spot in thee.

And He will invite her to pass to the militant and triumphant Jerusalem, saying:

Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come:

And will promise the crowns and thrones of which the demons were deprived:

Thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the moun tains of the leopards.

All the ornaments are agreeable to God, but especially simplicity and purity of intention, which ought to be so great that all our ends may be reduced to one end, all our intentions to one intention, all our desires to a desire of serving

20 JHgstical Explanation of tfjc Canticles and loving God, so that there may be no longer but one eye:

Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes, and with one hair of thy neck.

And that there may be no longer but one hair, whence it follows:

And with one hair of thy neck. The intention and the desire being well directed, the breasts of concupiscence will be well regulated: How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! Thy breasts are more beautiful than wine, Her example will be of good odour:

And the sweet smell of thy ointments above all aromatical spices.

Her thoughts and words will be very devout and sweet:

Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk are under thy tongue;

Her actions will be of most excellent fragrance: And the smell of thy garments as the smell of frankincense.

Let us say thus: the actions which proceed from a soul are interior or exterior. The exterior are done by the command of the interior; and as for the interior, they must be locked up in God, and the world cannot see them; that is why He says:

My sister, my spouse is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up.

And as for the exterior, they are to be as a lovely paradise:

Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard. Cyprus with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes.

In a word, the soul is a fountain of good works, which spring up towards heaven with impetuosity, like to that of the waters which come from Libanus:

The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus.

But in all this two things are required on the part of God; that He should drive away the north wind of temptations, and send the south wind of His preventing grace, saying:

Flee,* 0 north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow. On the part of the soul it is required that she should accept this grace and co-operate, saying: Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat of the fruit of his apple-trees. Thus, after the myrrh of repentance, God will draw the soul by means of holy exercises to the aromatic perfumes of prayer, with the honey, the milk, the wine, of meditation, of love, and of contemplation: but such contemplation that it

• Surge; our version has arise.

shall produce delights, joys and ecstacies, which shall not only quench thirst, but shall inebriate; and Our Lord will be able to say:

I am come into my garden, 0 my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my aromatical spices: I have eaten the honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, 0 friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved.