A Spiritual Letter to a Lady of Rank

Madam,— May the Cross of Christ he your portion, I and His Love your treasure. j

It seems to me that I must no longer write to you i as a worldly person. Our Lord inspires me with other sentiments regarding you; and you must have forgotten the false maxims of the world, since you have begun to enjoy the truths of the Gospel. I will then answer the questions which you have asked me, and I will answer them in the Spirit of Christ, that is, quite simply, and according to His Principles.

You desire to know, 1st, how true poverty of spirit is to be exercised even amidst riches, and by what means this virtue is acquired?

2. If we ought to be so detached from all things, as in no manner to feel the most painful occurrences of life?

j 3. If we should suffer ourselves to be despoiled of our possessions without defending ourselves, without complaining, and even joyfully?

4. What is meant by inward detachment from all things11, wherein it consists, and how it is to be practised?

5. In what manner, lastly, you may know whether in the things that you desire you seek God, or yourself, because self-love often disguises itself so artfully

• Dlnuement int&ieur.

j 228 SELF-ABNEGATION THE DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS as to have all the colour and appearance of Divine love?

To these truly holy and spiritual questions I cannot reply better than by my commencement. In that you will find a short explanation of all your doubts, and a resolution of all your difficulties. May the Cross of Christ be your portion, and His Love your treasure. If you knew the depth of this mystery,— if you well understood the dealings of our Lord with the souls that He calls to perfection, — you would see that nothing can be more opposed to a worldly spirit; you would know that His Kingdom is not of this world a, and that all who worship Him in spirit and in truth b think it a happiness to share in His Poverty, His Shame, His Sufferings. It is bearing His Cross to enter into this fellowship with Him; and to be poor thus, is to be poor even in the midst of riches and plenty.

But that you may esteem more highly the Poverty of the Saviour, and may regard it as the foundation of Christian morality, the basis of the Gospel, the first of the beatitudes, the principle of perfect holiness, I pray God that He will enlarge your heart, enlighten your mind, and make you to see plainly what is the religion that you profess, and what a soul regenerated in Christ, and become by Grace a new creature. 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. vi. 15. For on this are the evangelic counsels founded, and this is the beginning of all the paths that lead to perfection.

The morality which you have embraced is that of Christ. You intend to follow it, — you solemnly bound yourself to do so at your Baptism by a protest which you have often since ratified, and which you renew daily in the Sacrament* of the Eucharist.

® u Des Sacremens de la Penitence et de l,Eucharistie.,, Orig. The words M de la Penitence ” were omitted, because.

AND BASIS OF THE MORALS OF THE GOSPEL. 229

This protest must be sincere and efficacious; it must come from the heart, and not the lips; for not words but works are required of you. The Christian virtues are not virtues of speculation, but of practice. To* love, to do, and to suffer, these are the discipline of a soul which aspires to the highest degree of holiness.

Consider, then, that the Eternal Wisdom, the Incarnate Word, willed to destroy the false wisdom of this world by the Mystery of the Cross, which was to some a stumbling-block, and to others foolishness. 1 Cor. i. 22. By this means He established His new Law; and if you consider Christianity in its whole extent, you will find that it is a Religion whose seat is in the heart, and which forms there, by means of Grace, that new man whom the Scripture calls a new creature a in Christ Jesus.

This being understood, you must firmly believe that the life of a Godly man, who professes to follow no other laws than those of a Crucified God, is wholly a life of faith, of self-denial, of suffering, a state of crucifixion and death. The Kingdom of the Saviour is a spiritual Kingdom, which we cannot know but by faith, enter but by mortification, abide in but by charity. Those, then, who have Christ for their King, who have had the blessing of regeneration through His Blood in Baptism, who are called to perfection; these must be in the world as if not in it; they must enjoy without attachment the things although private confession and absolution are, under certain circumstances, recommended by our Church, and have been, and are increasingly, found a means of grace to individuals, they are not yet so common as such a statement presupposes; and to rank Absolution (although a Divine Ordinance and means of grace, and so, in the larger sense of the word, a Sacrament) at once with the Holy Eucharist, would have seemed contrary to our Church’s teaching, and the exceeding greatness of the Holy Eucharist. — [Ed.]

• 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. vi 15.

230 SELF-ABNEGATION THE DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS they must one day leave, and look only to the good things of Eternity. Thus their conduct must not only be different from that of the world, but must condemn and correct it; they must take pleasure in a simple, obscure, hidden life, because they think only of satisfying their Divine Master, Who invites them to a participation in His Cross.

In consequence of this, as in all their ways, they walk according to the Spirit (for the truly religious see all things with the eyes of faith); they must be entirely spirit; that is, their thoughts, their views, their affections, their works, must be spiritual, and the flesh must have no part in them. It is necessary that they should be crucified unto the world, and the world unto thema, that they may live the life of Christ, Who is the Head of the Church, and the Pattern of the perfect.

But because it is to be feared that they may presume on their virtue, it is most important that they should be thoroughly convinced that of themselves they are weak and helpless altogether; that there is in them a fund of evil and corruption, from which they can never free themselves without strength from above; i that their understanding is full of ignorance, their will depraved, their senses enfeebled, and their pas- sions in disorder; in a word, that they are incapable of doing any thing that is good without that help; which the Saviour obtained for them by His Death. Yielding themselves, then, to the direction of the Spirit of God, Who animates them in all their works, they labour for the destruction of their own corrupt nature, that they may become worthy of that Grace with which they cannot be filled till they are emptied of themselves.

Thus they live by faith; that is, they are led by

AND ESSENCE OF FAITH.

the light of faith, and of that faith which worketh by love \ They are easily convinced, as well by this Divine light as by their own experience, that the maxims of the world are directly opposed to those which they design to follow, since they all tend to the satisfaction of the flesh and the senses, whose desires are always contrary to those of the spirit. Therefore they detest and avoid them as obstacles to Grace, which teaches them to strip themselves of all, to acknowledge their weakness, their misery, and their nothingness; and to put at last their whole trust in the mercy of God and in the merits of Christ.

Being then of a religion which is wholly spiritual, and which looks only to eternity, they regard themselves while here as in a place of banishment, in a weary prison, where Divine Justice has condemned them to expiate their offences. Their hatred of the world leads them to break with it entirely and for ever, knowing that they cannot attach themselves to it without multiplying their crimes and increasing their punishment. The remembrance of their sins fills them with confusion; all creatures appear ready to avenge the Creator on them, and they punish themselves severely for their offences against Him; they humbly entreat His pardon; and in profound silence, with tears in their eyes, wait for forgiveness. They despise all that is delightful and charming in the world, and cling to the Cross as their only refuge.

The light of Grace enables them clearly to discern the precious from the vile, the true from the false, the absolutely necessary from the merely convenient. They prize things at their real value; they know that in the world there is nothing but disguise; that greatness passes away; riches have no solidity; ho- nours are vain and imaginary; that with regard to j

• Gal. v. 6. x 2

HOW AMIDST RICHES TO PRACTISE the supernatural state, there is no inequality of station; that in this respect all men are brothers and all heirs, all children of one Father; all regenerated in the same manner by Baptism; all ransomed by the same price, the Blood of a Man-God; all called to the same inheritance, everlasting glory. From this they conclude, that no man is great by birth except he who is bom of the Holy Spirit; that true nobility is that conferred by Christian virtue; that the most honourable of all ranks is that of the children of God; and that nothing is more consoling and more sweet than the hope of a happiness which will never end.

All that men esteem appears as nothing in their eyes, and they are ashamed when they see themselves devoid of virtue, exposed to numerous accidents, subject to all sorts of calamities. Then they lift up their eyes to Heaven, they admire the greatness of God, they contemplate Him in His glory; and, dazzled with the splendour of Its rays, they hide themselves in their own nothingness, and would descend, if it were possible, to the very centre of the world, to humble themselves more profoundly before His Supreme Majesty. On the other hand, considering the holy Humanity of Christ, Who offered Himself on the Cross, they consider their past ingratitude with bitter regret and extreme confusion; they accuse themselves of their unfaithfulness, condemn themselves to death, and give sentence against themselves, conjuring the Divine Mercy to arrest its execution by the merits of Christ, Who deigned to shed His Blood for the expiation of the sins of the whole world.

I. After well considering this, I think, Madam, that it is easy to reply to your questions, and to give you the desired means of advancing in the way of Christian perfection. You desire then to know how voluni tary poverty is to be practised in the midst of riches. I

VOLUNTARY POVERTY.

Observe, first of all, that the riches of which you speak are only natural goods, and consequently imaginary goods, since they are perishable; that if they appear to have any reality or solidity, it is to those who judge of them by the senses, not by reason. You cannot properly call a thing your own, when you will be compelled to leave it, when death will deprive you of it, and it is impossible for you to keep it long.

Always distinguish the base from the precious, the true from the apparent; set a right value on every thing. Nothing is to be counted truly good which does not bear relation to eternity; and things which lead not thither are only deserving of contempt. The truly good things are supernatural gifts; they are sufferings, persecutions, the merit of good works; in a word, all those pious practices which the Saviour recommends in the Gospel. Of these He tells us to lay up treasures, Matt. vi. 20 they are figured by the talent of the good and faithful servant, Matt, xxv. 21; by the lamps of the wise virgins, Matt, xxv. 1, 2; by the wedding garment of those who are invited to the marriage of the Heavenly Bridegroom, Matt. xxii. 12.

If it is then true, as none can doubt, that in the order of Grace there is no inequality of ranks; that the care of Divine Providence is extended to all, whether rich or poor; that the earth is given to them for an inheritance; and that their portion is equal as regards the right of procuring and asking necessary things; it suffices us, according to the rule of the Gospel, to have wherewith to provide for our most pressing wants all the rest is not properly our own; with regard to us it is a superfluity, and we are obliged to make a lawful use of it for the relief of our neighbours, since the Everlasting Wisdom, by an admirable disposition, has ordained that some men shall be rich, and others poor, in order that brotherly love x 3

234 HOW AMIDST RICHES TO PRACTISE may be exercised among them, and that they may know themselves to he all equal in the order of Grace. The rich have the inheritance of elder, the poor of younger sons but all being brothers, all children of God and of Christ, the elder, by natural and Divine right, owe to the younger their lawful portion, that is, enough for their subsistence; reserving to themselves nothing more than is necessary. And here, Madam, you will observe some truths which God inspires me to propound for your instruction.

1. The first is, that in speaking of necessity, we do not exclude a certain propriety belonging to every station, for God Himself has distinguished different ranks among men. Now this sort of propriety must be measured according to age, sex, disposition, birth, dignity, without, however, being extended too far, but being always restrained within the bounds of temperance and Christian modesty. God ordained the powers of this world*, and He is no less the Author of nature than of Grace. As in the order of Grace, then, there are diverse ministries subordinate the one to the other, so also, in the order of nature, there are many great differences: but the great of this world, whom the Lord has raised above others, are only His vice-gerents, and have only the administration of the things entrusted to them.

This being the case, we are permitted, and even in some sort required, to preserve our rank, and to support the honour of our ministry, whether in spiritual functions, like St. Paul, or in sovereign power, like St. Louis and many others, more venerable for sanctity than for royalty. But this propriety of which we speak must be regulated, not according to the feelings of nature, alway attached to its own ease, but according to the movements of Grace, which are

VOLUNTARY POVERTY.

easily distinguished when we are determined to follow the guidance of a disinterested Director for light is never wanting to the humble and teachable spirit. I will add, that those who have some experience in the inward motions of the Holy Spirit, have no difficulty in distinguishing how far this propriety should ex- tend, and determining it according to the rules of the Gospel. This is the first degree of the perfection of I all stations in the world.

2. The second truth is, that we may employ all reasonable means to procure the things which we want, and which are suitable to our station, but without eagerness and without disquiet, forgetting nothing that depends on ourselves, and leaving the rest to Providence, firmly believing that unassisted all our cares will be useless.

3. The third is, that as far as regards secular people, they are not only permitted, but even obliged to provide for their maintenance, according to their station and quality a; that they must be moderately careful of their interests, take pains to regulate their families well, maintain their rights by the way of justice, defend themselves against oppression, even attack the usurper, if constrained to do so; watch over the education of their children, and try to provide for them b; protect their dependants, lay up enough to pay their debts, and do many other things of indispensable obligation, — I say of indispensable obligation, because they are acts of justice, and justice has a prior claim to charity. Not that all justice is not a sort of charity for charity has its degrees, and that which is well regulated must begin at home but, in short, we may say, it is commonly said, that works of charity yield to those of justice, because one of these two virtues is absolutely necessary, the other is not so, at least not in the same degree.

HOW AMIDST RICHES TO PRACTISE

Many of those who give themselves to prayer and works of charity are manifestly self- deceived; for they are very neglectful of their domestic concerns; as if the care which these require were an obstacle to good work 8 and to prayer. Therefore, instead of thinking of satisfying their obligations, they apply themselves to easier exercises, more favourable to their selflove. Yet, since, properly speaking, they are only the dispensers of the things they have received from the Hand of God, they ought to be as careful of them as a servant of those which his master has confided to his administration. It is not for their own interests I that they labour, but for those of God, Who has en^ trusted them with the administration of His property, of which another perhaps might give a better account. This appears clearly in the parable of the faithful servant and the Lord of the household a.

I have long remarked, that there is a particular blessing from Heaven on secular people who apply themselves in this spirit to temporal affairs, and strive to acquit themselves well of the duties of their station. By this means they advance very far in the way of perfection, because they do the Will of God, and faithfully abide at the post where He has placed them; for Divine Providence having sanctified all stations, however different, gives Grace with equal liberality to all who are called to them; and sometimes in situations of great difficulty there is found greater contemplation, inward peace, and union with God, than in seclusion and the exercise of charity, in which vain-glory and self-love are mingled.

4. The fourth truth is, that every man must consider himself accountable, not only for his property, but also for all the talents that he has received both of nature and Grace, for health, strength, learning, repu-

VOLUNTARY POVERTY, 237 tation, time, and, above all, for the supernatural gifts of Grace. He must, therefore, be so careful of what he says, that no uncharitable, or even idle word, may ever escape him. His eyes must ever be turned towards Heaven, and he must have God Alone in view; all his actions must be performed with judgment and prudence, and he must be so careful of his time, as to fulfil all his duties, and satisfy all the obligations of his station.

I content myself with telling you these things simply, without going further, and explaining in detail what the Gospel teaches with regard to them. Know only that it is a great error, on the subject of devotion, to think ourselves very spiritual because we have given alms, or performed some other charitable work? for since we are called upon to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength a, we must in consequence reserve nothing to ourselves, but offer Him all, and set no bounds to the love we bear Him.

5. The fifth and last fundamental truth is, that this distribution of our property and talents for the benefit of our neighbour, must be made without attachment and self-love, purely for God’s sake, and in the Spirit of our Lord, of Whom the poor are members b. Observe that, under this word “ neighbour” are generally comprehended all whom Providence directs to us for assistance. They are our brothers, and if Providence treats us as elder sons, it is on condition that we share with them the things bestowed upon us. We must assist them in all their wants, without ever suffering them to need anything, either advice, comfort, instruction, or anything else in our power; and it is good to do this ourselves, as far as possible, and not to leave the care of it to others; for it is a mis- a Mark xii. 30. b Prov. xix. 17. Matt. xxv. 40.

238 HOW AMIDST RICHES TO PRACTISE take of worldly people to do their charities by the hands of others, in order to spare themselves the trouble. This sort of delicacy much diminishes the merit of the action, of which they have often but a very general and slight knowledge.

This proceeds from want of faith; for we are ordinarily more led by the senses than by reason, and our actions proceed less from charity than from natural compassion. Certainly, if with the eyes of faith we saw our Lord concealed and disguised under the appearance of a poor man; if we regarded this poor man as our brother by the Divine Adoption common to us; if we reflected that he even approaches more nearly than we do to Christ, Whom he much resembles in his poverty and his sufferings, we should respect in him the character of the Man-God Who died on the Cross for the salvation of all men; and there is nothing which we should refuse to do for a soul created in the Image of God, and called, like ourselves, to the possession of glory we should enter into the feelings of the Samaritan, who knew how to discern his neighbour in the person of the Jew, robbed and wounded by thieves a.

These truths being established, you will find it very easy, without quitting your property, to practise voluntary poverty. Consider that these are unreal goods, and that there are no true goods but those of Grace. Think that they have been given to you on the condition of giving account of them, and that you will be most severely punished if you misuse them; that you have no right to take more than is necessary for a person in your situation; that all the rest is not your own, but is the portion of your brethren, and that Christ reserves it to Himself for the nourishment of the poor. After that, shall you

I VOLUNTARY POVERTY* 239 think yourself rich, and the possessor of anything?

Shall you think yourself the owner of a thing of which you must give account? Is it not ignorance and weakness, or rather, strange blindness, to attach ourselves to things which pass away, to love that which we do not possess as our own, and cannot i long possess at all?

j Where is the light of nature which teaches us that we are all bom equal? Where is that of the Gospel, which shows us that we should use the things of the world as though we used them not; that we must love them without attachment, enjoy them without appropriation, and preserve them without passion? Where is the fervour and disinterestedness of the first Christians, who, being closely united in love, had all things common, and were of one heart and of one soul*? This is the pattern that I propose to you, and I cannot give you a nobler idea of the perfection of Christianity, of which I have elsewhere » sketched the outline; for as the life of a Christian is I one of charity, so also is it of practice, because charity, which looks at once to God and to its neigh- hour, is never idle; it is always in action, whether i occupied in producing frequent acts of love to God, or employed in the relief of its neighbour.

6. Lastly, to show you plainly how to practise evangelic poverty, 1 have only to represent to you a thing which passes under your own eyes, and which you know by your own experience. Consider, I pray you, Madam, those whom you have entrusted with the care of the fine estates which your ancestors acquired, and which Divine Providence ordained that they should leave to you, that their great revenues should be in your hands a resource for the poor. Reflect on their way of proceeding. They

HOW AJKIDST RICHES TO PRACTISE obey your orders respectfully; faithfully acquit themselves of their duties; attend to your affairs without eagerness and without anxiety, being only stewards of the property which you have entrusted to their care. Unfortunate occurrences occasion them but little grief; it is enough that they render you an account of all, and punctually execute your desires. Their office is but for a time, and you may dispose of it as you please, for you gave it to them, and are free to take it away. Would not they be deserving of blame if they attributed to their own merit and address thfit which depends not on themselves? and would they be excusable if they acted as proprietors and masters, whereas nothing is at their disposal and in their power?

Apply this figure to yourself. You acknowledge that God is the Master and Proprietor of all that you possess you have only the administration, not only of the riches, but of all the gifts, whether of nature or of Grace, that you possess and have received from Him. You are accountable for them to Him, and have no right to take or keep more than is precisely necessary for your station; and this you must receive as alms from the Hand of the Supreme Master of all, believing that by so often misusing His benefits, you have rendered yourself unworthy of them; and that others would have made a better use of them than you have done.

Possess them, then, without attachment; preserve them without uneasiness; dispense them with prudence and simplicity; be reasonably careful of them, as far as possible; and if you must lose them, do not afflict yourself; your loss will not be great; you will be relieved from a burthen; and if you choose, you will but be the more at rest. Perhaps, too, the Lord will be pleased to try your virtue, to see if you are thoroughly detached from creatures; for self-love creeps

VOLUNTARY POVERTY.

in everywhere, and is found not only in the enjoyment, but even in the distribution of temporal things.

Let the Will of God be done both now and for ever. One who desires to be perfect must so conform himself to the Divine Will, as not only to will only what God wills, but to make it as it were a necessity to himself to desire no other thing. By this you will easily comprehend how being rich, we can exercise voluntary poverty; and persuaded of the excellence of that first beatitude, to which the Kingdom of Heaven is promised as a recompense, you will inwardly renounce all your possessions, you will strip yourself of them, and restore them into the hands of Him from Whom you received them; and will offer them to Him within your soul as a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling savour. You have begun too well, not to complete the offering. After your separation from the world, and your resolution of avoiding even the most lawful pleasures and the most innocent am usemen ts, can you have any remaining attachment for earthly things? Can a holy spouse of Christ desire any other treasure than Christ Himself? If your love for this chaste Spouse has caused you to embrace the Cross, and nobly to despise all worldly grandeur, what remains but that in your heart you offer to Jesus all your possessions? The Bride must be in the same estate with her Bridegroom; and what are the riches of Him Whom Alone you love, but perfect poverty, and general privation of all things?

II. We now come to your second question, which regards the way in which we may love the Saviour’s poverty. Once more I wish that His Cross may be your portion, and His love the only passion of your heart. If you love Christ Suffering and Dying for you, and if you love Him Alone, as it is your duty to do, you will also love those things which were nearest to His heart, and which accompanied Him as long

242 TRUE LOVE OF CHRIST LOVES HIS PORTION, as He lived, poverty, shame, and pain. This is truly bearing His Cross, entering into His Feelings, being crucified with Him to the world. If you have well considered Him deprived of all, if you have rightly reflected on His conduct and His precepts, you must undoubtedly have remarked, that He voluntarily renounced temporal things, and reserved to Himself nothing but the simple use of the things necessary to life, often even living on alms. You will have found that He did even more, so desirous was He of leading men, by His example, to the highest perfection.

In fact, He so loved obscurity, that though He was of the blood of kings, and of the greatest kings in the world, He concealed His nobility, and appeared a poor carpenter. He never desired either countenance, or credit, or a reputation for wisdom and knowledge in the world. He sought to pass for an ordinary man, and was distinguished from others by nothing but the sanctity of His actions, and the purity of His doctrine. Add to this the continued persecutions, the indignities and shame that He suffered to the very end of His life, of which I omit many circumstances, to avoid wandering from my subject, which principally regards voluntary poverty.

Only consider in general how He made Himself the lowest of men, and the outcast of the people*: see His Head crowned with thorns, His Body covered with bruises, torn and pierced with wounds. He dies naked on a Cross, in ignominy, like a malefactor, between two thieves, with none to help Him, overwhelmed with suffering, unable even to obtain a drop of water to give any relief to His thirst, having no soundness from the sole of the foot even unto the Headb, so maimed that He could not have been recognized, and to say all in one word, a Man of sorrows. Is. liii. 3.

a Ps. xxii. 6. t> Is. i. 6.

POVERTY AND THE CROSS. 243

What say you on beholding so sad an object? Are you not amazed? Is not your heart touched? Does not this inspire you with love and esteem for poverty, contempt, and sufferings, even if you have not sufficient courage to seek them?

But unawares my zeal is carrying me too far, and I am insensibly going beyond the precise answer your question requires.

We wander pleasantly and happily, if indeed we may be said to wander, when we find Christ in the noblest and most perfect act of His love to man. But since you love a God supremely deserving of all love, Who gives His Life for you, love Him in such a manner that your love may be said to be crucified. Unite yourself with Him, not only by a feeling of tenderness, but by a generous desire of bearing His Cross. Love must bind you to God, and mortification to Jesus. The love of the Cross is inseparable from self-abnegation, and both are necessary to a perfect and constant union with the Saviour. Is it not right to live and die like Him, to love what He loves, to do what He teaches? The disciple is not above his master. Matt. x. 24. He has set us the example of entire detachment from all things; we must follow His steps, and teach others to do soa. Entreat Him humbly to grant you that grace, be faithful to Him; having deigned to enlighten your understanding, He will excite your will; for illuminations are followed by affections; but they must be distinguished from one another.

Learn then now the secret of the inward life. Illuminations serve to enlighten the mind; they are rays of the Sun of Righteousness, which, suddenly falling on the soul, enable her to perceive in a wonderful i manner and with extreme pleasure, the mysteries of a l Pet. ii. 21.

Y 2

244 HOW TO BE RICH AND POOR AT ONCE.

the Faith, the beauty of Heavenly things, and the greatness of the Divine perfections. Affections are movements produced by the Holy Spirit in the soul, which, of themselves, without any reasoning, arouse the will, excite her to good, and gently engage her to put in practice those holy maxims which the understanding sets before her. This is purely spiritual, and is done by the operation of the Holy Spirit in the superior part of the soul. A passing remark is enough to show you the beautiful order and the admirable oeconomy of Grace. You will know then by the following tokens whether you sincerely despise the riches of the earth, and love poverty.

See and consider, as in the presence of God, if these unreal and apparent goods are a burthen to you; if you feel their weight; if you groan under this heavy load; if you have more unwillingness than inclination to retain them; if you look with fear on the obligation to dispense them faithfully, and according to God’s intention; if you are thoroughly persuaded that the things of this world are deserving only of contempt; if your heart has no attachment to worldly greatness; if you know the value of the good things of eternity, not by force of reason, which the pretended wise men of this world may have as well as you, but by an inward consciousness and feeling, which proceeds simply from grace; if you are entirely indifferent to all that may happen to you which is pleasing or otherwise; if you enjoy great inward peace amidst the most painful occurrences of this life; if you seek for humiliation, and sigh after sufferings.

Examine yourself on all these points; and if you I find that you have gained one, know that it will [ suffice to produce in your heart a love of poverty, and I a holy desire of forsaking all. With this you may possess great riches without renouncing the Cross of Christ you may be rich and poor at once; may know,

IS IT LAWFUL TO FEEL TEMPORAL LOSSES? 245 like the Apostle, how to he abased., and how to abound. Phil. iv. 12. Many honour alike God in the possession of His gifts, and Christ in the participation of His Pains. It is unnecessary to say more to induce you fervently to embrace these holy practices, for the Grace of the Holy Spirit has already disposed you to do what the Saviour teaches, and to follow His example. As for me, I only follow His direction, and am hardly master of my pen; for without intending it, I am writing a book rather than a letter. But we must yield to the Spirit Who moves us, and Who will inspire us with nothing but what is good. This, however, is enough, both to throw light on your doubts, and to serve for your guidance. These truths firmly established will contribute not a little to satisfy you respecting your other difficulties, which are, as it were, contained in the former. I have yet, however, some instructions that I think it right to communicate to you.

Ill. Impatience to arrive quickly at perfection, makes you desire to know if we ought to be detached from; temporal goods to such a degree as in no manner to feel their loss, far from grieving and lamenting over it. This view, Madam, is very elevated, and shows a noble disposition to practise frilly the evangelic counsels; but it is not always necessary to take things literally; it is enough that we accomplish them as far as we can, according to necessity, or the propriety of our station.

These counsels have different degrees, according as they are regarded in themselves, or with relation to the different dispositions of persons. Perfect abnegation begins by great detachment from the things of the world; it is augmented when we can bear losses and misfortunes with calmness; it grows still more when we are able to bear them with joy; but it is in its greatest perfection when we leave all, and leave it y 3

246 DEGREES OF ABNEGATION, ALL ACCEPTABLE.

j willingly to follow Christ*1. This is the great sacrifice I of a soul regenerated by Grace. But it supposes a; contempt for perishable things, a spirit of contem- plation and retirement, the love of the Cross, union and resemblance with Jesus Crucified. Yet the retired life is but little conformed to the common and civil life which our Lord sanctified by His example, and in which we require some means for the subsistence of our family and our own maintenance.

All are called to perfection, both in the intercourse of the world and in seclusion. Therefore the Saviour said to His Apostles What I say unto you, I say unto all. Mark xiii. 37. Thus spake He Who is the Truth and the Life. John xiv. 6. Is it not in our power to navigate the sea of this world without making shipwreck? Cannot we, by Divine Assistance, preserve angelic purity in a mortal body? Is it impossible in the secular life to serve God, and to live according to the Spirit of Grace; to observe exactly the precepts of the Church, and the salutary counsels of its Pastors; to use the creatures only for the service of the Creator? Is this out of the power of a man Whom Jesus forcibly draws to Himselfb; Whom the Holy Spirit governs inwardly, and to whom It beareth witness that he is of the number of the children of God c? But if there is no impossibility in this, does it not follow, that a person living in the world, and called by God to perfection, may attain to it while living in a manner suitable to his state? When defence is necessary, it must be lawful. Reason requires then that every man should preserve his property by just means, in the sight of God, because, as we have said, he is but the steward of it; of which the Gospel sets before us an excellent figure in the parable of the faithful servant and the lord of the household.

a Matt. ix. 28. b John xii. 32. c Rom. viii. 16.

HOW TO ATTAIN ABSOLUTE EMPIRE OVER SELF. 247

But if, after all our care and all our faithfulness in rightly fulfilling this trust, Divine Providence withdraws it from our hands, and deprives us of this administration so pleasing and so satisfactory to nature, then is patience necessary to us, and we must try to remain calm amid the tempest. If nature revolts, we must at first yield a little to its weakness, and not harden ourselves too much against it. Virtue is gradually perfected by combat; and the harder the strife, the more glorious the victory.

If these first movements are violent, they are not voluntary we may resist them with the assistance of Grace, but we must not hope to be altogether free from them. They are a continued cause for humiliation, because they are so ordinary and so natural to us, that even those who live in solitude, far from all occasions, are not exempt from them. It is sufficient then to yield no consent to them, and to subject our will to the Decrees of Providence. Whether the loss is felt or not, is of little importance, provided that it is received with submission, respect, and love.

IV. But the greatest difficulty is not this; it is to die ] entirely to self, to acquire absolute empire over self, t and to have no more will or judgment of our own. This is the subject of your fourth question, of which you feel that it is difficult to comprehend the extent and the greatness. It is the most heroic and sublime of all things, the height of perfection; and when I spoke to you of it, it was not so much to require you to practise it, as to give you some slight notion of it. How could I venture to try to explain that which l do not understand myself, and of which I hardly know the first rudiments? Always to live, yet ever die; always to combat, and ever conquer’; to have a body and senses, and act only according to the Spirit; to be subject to the corruption of nature, and only follow the movement of Grace; to be endowed

248 HOW TO ATTAIN ABSOLUTE EMPIRE OVER SELF. [ with reason, and guided only by faith this demands entire and absolute detachment from self.

Thus, to speak plainly, if you desire to arrive at i this high degree of perfection, you must resolve to offer to the Lord as a sacrifice your body and your soul, your illuminations, your affections, your desires; so that all your senses, both interior and exterior, may be attached to nothing but what leads you to God. This would take long to explain. To do it i shortly, I say that your eyes must never rest on beautiful objects, except in order to know and admire 1 their Author; that your ears must hear only such things as are useful to you, and suitable to your I state; that your palate must never taste good food to find pleasure in it, but solely to support and strengthen nature; and so with other things; that your imagination must be full of the Mysteries of the Faith, of the Labours and Sufferings of the Saviour, of the good things of eternity; that your memory must have these same objects always present, and forget all worldly things which are neither suitable to your profession, nor necessary for your salvation; that your understanding must not trust in its own knowledge, and that the most learned must humble themselves to believe that all their learning is but ignorance, and all their wisdom hut folly; that, lastly, your will must break all its attachments, and change so much in inclination and taste, that sweet things may become bitter to it, and bitter sweet. Let then your whole happiness be in the Cross, your whole joy in suffering, and be thoroughly convinced that of your own you have only impotence, helplessness, evil, disorder, and corruption. This is, in truth, a state of death to all sensible things. It is, as St. Paul says, the dividing asunder of soul and spirit (Heb. iv. 12), of nature and grace it is the extinction of the old man; it is the production and

HOW TO ATTAIN ABSOLUTE EMPIRE OVER SELF. 249

life of that new creature in Christ Jesus, of which the same Apostle so often speaks.

For the rest, however difficult, however imprac- J ticable what I say may appear to you, think not that i it is impossible, nor that this is a pattern of perfection given you to admire, and not to imitate. The Gospel proposes it to us as imitable though it is very difficult to attain to it, all is possible to Grace4.

I acknowledge that they are only some chosen spirits whom God leads in this path, and that the number is much smaller in these latter days than it was in the first centuries. Yet I venture to say for your comfort, that I know many who have arrived at this, and even proceeded further, who, transformed by love into Christ, live rather an angelic than a human life, acting only according to the impulse of Grace, beginning already to taste the joys of Paradise, and being able to say with St. Paul, that they live in Christ, or rather that Christ liveth in themb.

You ask me how it is possible to live in this excellent manner. This I cannot explain to you; for, as this life is wholly Divine, God Alone is able to teach it to you. I have shown you the way to die; it is for the Holy Spirit to teach you to live. It is for Him to shed His Heavenly Unction on your soul, and to lead you in His Ways; to discover to you the profound mysteries which are hidden in Christ, and to give you grace, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Entreat Him humbly and confidently to grant you this favour. You have built on His Promises; He never refuses anything to those who have faith, and who trust in His Divine Mercy.

Y. But it is time to conclude. Your questions lead me too far; and l should never have finished if a Matt. xix. 26. Mark x, 27. Luke i. 37. b Gal. ii. 20.

250 TESTS, WHETHER WE BE ACTING

I undertook to answer them. You ask how you can know certainly whether the object of your desires is the Glory of God, or your own satisfaction if your works are pleasing to God, and such as He would have them; if nature has no share in them; in a word, if you are truly faithful to Grace. I think that I see in this a little curiosity, and somewhat unsuited to Christian simplicity, which is always supported by living faith, and averse to so much thought, subtlety, and reflection on self. But as your conduct appears to me sincere, and I am convinced that you seek after the greatest perfection,

I will communicate to you in few words the thoughts which God gives me on this subject, and 1 will add some directions which will be a great assistance to you in self-knowledge.

Examine, then, the movements of your heart; see if you are resolved to die rather than to sin against God; if you have a real desire of pleasing Him, and Him only. If you have nothing to reproach yourself with in this respect, doubt not that your actions and thoughts are pleasing in His sight; for this is the surest mark of a right and Christian conduct. But to augment considerably the merit of your good I works, do them on the principle of the love of God, with a single eye to His Glory, and in the spirit of our Lord. An action is truly holy and perfect when these three things meet in it.

But I must stop. These sentiments are very elevated, and belong only to souls above the common order, and many volumes would hardly suffice to explain them. It belongs only to the Holy Spirit to impress them on the heart. It is enough that you know what they are.

With regard to that vain complacency which insi- nuates itself among good works, I advise you to i maintain yourself against it, but without being dis- I

ON NATURE OR GRACE < quieted. It is not at all to be feared when actions are performed in the manner that I have said; and whatever discomfort it may cause, the will is always free to resist it. We must suffer from it this evil I root is not easily extirpated. Man is composed of flesh and spirit. If the spirit is strong, the flesh is weak, and unfortunately tie weaker part often carries away the stronger. It is a combat that will continue throughout our life, and at the same time a cause for humiliation, to serve as a counterpoise to extraordinary favours received from Above a.

Walk always with great simplicity and uprightness; avoid those reflections which tend to scrupulousness, and which serve only to trouble your conscience. Think only that of yourself you are incapable of every thing good, unfit for all, and that in every thing you depend on the Divine Mercy. Entreat the Lord to teach you what to do, to give you courage to undertake it, and to help you in its accomplishment, because the whole work is His; He is its Author, and He its Finisher, and in you He finds only obstacles to His Grace.

After this, can you feel any self-complacency, or any attachment to your own will? Shall you still find it difficult to distinguish between the movements of Grace and those of nature, which are so contrary, and produce such different effects? But do you wish thoroughly to know your inward state? Do you desire to know if your conduct is pleasing to the I Divine Majesty, if your feelings and desires proceed from Grace, if you are acting in the Spirit of our Lord? Examine if you preserve peace of heart in the tumult of the world; if you avoid applause and praise; if you despise the honours and good things of the earth; if you have a true hatred for yourself, a 2 Cor. xii. 7*

252 ’ TESTS OK OUR STATE BEFORE GOD.

and sincere charity for your enemies; if you love sufferings; if you are indifferent to all that may befall you; if you seek nothing but God; if you feel His Presence, His Gifts, His Loveliness, which cannot be rightly known but by experience; if your own conscience makes you no reproaches; and if the Holy Spirit bears witness to you that you are in a state of Grace, and of the number of the children of God a.

Examine all these things thoroughly; and if you have them all, or at least have some of them, I dare not say with certainty that you are in a good state, for, according to Scripture, we can never be certain on this pointb; but I say that it is very probable that you are so, and that to you may be applied the words of the Prophet Say ye to the righteous, that it shall he well with him. Is. iii. 10. As long as you are in this disposition, doubt not that The Cross of Christ shall be your portion, and His Love your treasure*

I end where I began; and in this you will observe that it is always the same Spirit Who guides me. The sentiments which He has given me, and with which I seek to inspire you, are very pure and spiritual profit by them. Read this Letter often you will find directions for your conduct in the state to which God calls you. It is written for you in a spirit of simplicity. Represent my necessities to our Lord that He may be pleased to remedy them ask of Him pardon and mercy for a sinner, who is in the union of His Spirit,

Madam,

Your most humble, &c.