Chapter IV. How the Soul must refuse all Consolations, for this is true Humility and Poverty of Spirit, by which Interior Peace is acquired

IF you would enter by this gate of humility (for there is no other entrance), you must toil and make every effort, especially in the beginning, to embrace tribulation and adversity as your dear sisters—desiring to be despised by all, and to have no one who entertains a favourable opinion of you, or brings you comfort, but your God. Fix deeply in your heart the impression, that God alone is your God, your only Refuge, and that all things else are thorns to you, which will wound you, if you press them to your heart. And if some affront is offered you, be very glad of it, and bear it with joy, being assured, that, because of it, God is with you; and desire no other honour, and seek nothing else but to suffer for love of Him, and whatever may redound to His greater Glory. Strive to rejoice, when others use towards you injurious, reproachful, or contemptuous words; for a great treasure lies hid under the dust, and if you willingly accept it, you will soon find yourself rich, though the one who has enriched you is unconscious of the benefit he has been the means of conferring upon you. Do not seek for the love or good opinion of any one in this life, that you may be left to suffer with Jesus Crucified, and have no one to hinder you. Be on your guard against yourself, as the greatest enemy you have. Do not follow your own will, your own disposition, your own judgment, if you would not destroy yourself. For this purpose you have need of arms to defend yourself from yourself; and when your will craves for anything—however right the thing may be—always place it first, detached and naked and with deep humility, before your Lord, beseeching Him that not your will but His may be done in it. And do this with desires wholly mortified, and without any admixture of self-love, knowing that you are nothing, and can do nothing of yourself. Beware of your own opinions, which bear with them an appearance of sanctity and indiscreet zeal, against which the Lord cautions us: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves; by their fruits ye shall know them." Their fruits are the loss of inward peace and quietness. Everything which separates you from humility, peace, and inward tranquillity, in whatsoever dress or disguise it presents itself, is to you a false prophet, one of those who in sheep's clothing, that is, under the pretext of zeal, and of lending some indiscreet aid to your neighbour, are ravening wolves, which prey upon your humility and on the peace and quietness which are so necessary for all who seek real progress. And the greater the show of holiness in anything, the more narrowly should it be examined; and this (as it has been before said) should be done in a spirit of repose and calmness. And if at times you should fail in something of this kind, be not disturbed, but humble yourself before your Lord, acknowledge your weakness, and learn a lesson for the future. Perhaps God has permitted you to fail, in order that He may bring down your pride, which is still lurking within you, and you are not aware of it. If sometimes you feel your spirit pricked by some sharp and poisonous thorn, do not be disturbed because of it, but watch more diligently, lest it go further, and penetrate still more deeply. Withdraw your heart, and gently bring away your will into its abode of peace and quietness; keep your soul purely for God, Whom you will ever find in your inmost parts and in the depth of your heart because of the uprightness of your intention. Be assured that everything happens in order to prove you; and that in this way He may fit you for the good which is yours, and that you may be worthy of that crown of righteousness which by His Infinite Mercy is prepared for you.