I

OF THE WONDERFUL EFFECT OF DIVINE LOVE

From the Imitation of Christ'

BLESS thee, heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because thou hast vouchsafed to be mindful of so poor a wretch as I.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, I give thanks to thee, who art sometimes pleased to refresh with thy consolation me who am unworthy of any consolation.

I bless thee and glorify thee evermore, together with thy only begotten Son and the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, to all eternity. Come then, Lord God, holy one that lovest me! for when thou shalt come into my heart, all that is within me will leap with joy.

Thou art my glory and the rejoicing of my heart.

Thou art my hope and my refuge in the day of my tribulation.

But because I am as yet weak in love and imperfect in virtue, therefore do I stand in need of being strengthened and comforted by thee. Wherefore visit me again and again; and instruct me

by all holy discipline.

Free me from evil passions and heal my heart of all inordinate affections; that being inwardly healed and thoroughly cleansed, I may become fit to love, strong to suffer, constant to persevere.

LOVE is a great thing, a great good indeed, which alone makes light all that is burdensome, and bears with even mind all that is uneven.

For it carries a burthen without being burthened; and it makes all that which is bitter sweet and savory.

The love of Jesus is noble, and spurs us on to do great things, and excites us to desire always things more perfect.

Love desires to have its abode above, and not to be kept back by things below.

Love desires to be at liberty and estranged from all worldly affection, lest its inner view be hindered, lest it suffer itself to be entangled through some temporal interest, or give way through mishap.

Nothing is sweeter than love; nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing broader, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better

in heaven and in earth; for love is born of God, and can rest only in God above all things created.

The lover flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and not held. He gives all for all and has all in all, because he rests in One supreme above all, from whom all good flows and proceeds.

He looks not at the gifts, but turns himself above all goods to the Giver.

Love often knows no measure, but warmly glows above all

measure.

Love feels no burthen, regards not labors, would willingly do more than it is able, pleads not impossibility, because it feels sure that it can and may do all things.

It is able therefore to do all things; and it makes good many deficiencies, and frees many things for being carried out, where he who loves not faints and lies down.

Love watches, and sleeping, slumbers not; weary, is not tired; straitened, is not constrained; frightened, is not disturbed; but like a living flame and a burning torch, it bursts forth upwards and safely overpasses all.

Whosoever loves knows the cry of this voice.

A loud cry in the ears of God is that ardent affection of the soul which says, My God, my love, thou art all mine and I am all thine.

Enlarge me in thy love, that I may learn to taste with the inner mouth of the heart how sweet it is to love, and to be dissolved and swim in a sea of love.

Let me be possessed by love, going above myself through excess of fervor and awe.

Let me sing the song of love; let me follow thee, my beloved, on high; let my soul lose herself in thy praises, exulting in love.

Let me love thee more than myself, and myself only for thee, and all in thee who truly love thee, as the law of love which shines forth from thee commands.

Love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, and delightful; strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking itself; for where a man seeks himself, there he falls from love.

Love is circumspect, humble, and upright; not soft, not light, not intent upon vain things; sober, chaste, steadfast, quiet, and guarded in all its senses.

Love is submissive and obedient to superiors; mean and contemptible in its own eyes; devout and ever giving thanks to God; always trusting and hoping in him, even when it tastes not the relish of God's sweetness,- for there is no living in love without pain.

Whosoever is not ready to suffer all things, and to stand resigned to the will of the beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover.

He who loves must willingly embrace all that is hard and bitter, for the sake of the beloved.

OF THE DESIRE OF ETERNAL LIFE, AND HOW GREAT ARE THE BENEFITS PROMISED TO THEM THAT FIGHT

SON

From the Imitation of Christ'

ON, when thou perceivest the desire of eternal bliss to be infused into thee from above, and thou wouldst fain go out of I. the tabernacle of this body, that thou mightest contemplate My brightness without any shadow of change,- enlarge thy heart, and receive this holy inspiration with thy whole desire.

Return the greatest thanks to the Supreme Goodness, which dealeth so condescendingly with thee, mercifully visiteth thee, ardently inciteth thee, and powerfully raiseth thee up, lest by thy own weight thou fall down to the things of earth.

For it is not by thy own thoughtfulness or endeavor that thou receivest this, but by the mere condescension of heavenly grace and Divine regard; that so thou mayest advance in virtues and greater humility, and prepare thyself for future conflicts, and labor with the whole affection of thy heart to keep close to Me, and serve Me with a fervent will.

2. Son, the fire often burneth, but the flame ascendeth not without smoke.

And so the desires of some are on fire after heavenly things, and yet they are not free from the temptation of carnal affection.

Therefore is it not altogether purely for God's honor that they act, when they so earnestly petition Him.

Such also is oftentimes thy desire, which thou hast professed to be so importunate.

For that is not pure and perfect which is alloyed with selfinterest.

3. Ask not that which is pleasant and convenient, but that which is acceptable to Me and for My honor; for if thou judgest rightly, thou oughtest to prefer and to follow My appointment rather than thine own desire or any other desirable thing.

I know thy desire, and I have often heard thy groanings. Thou wouldst wish to be already in the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

Now doth the eternal dwelling, and the heavenly country full of festivity, delight thee.

But that hour is not yet come; for there is yet another time, a time of war, a time of labor and of probation.

Thou desirest to be filled with the Sovereign Good, but thou canst not at present attain to it.

I am He: wait for Me, saith the Lord, until the kingdom of God come.

4. Thou hast yet to be tried upon earth and exercised in many things.

Consolation shall sometimes be given thee, but abundant satiety shall not be granted thee.

Take courage, therefore, and be valiant, as well in doing as in suffering things repugnant to nature.

Thou must put on the new man, and be changed into another person.

That which thou wouldst not, thou must oftentimes do; and that which thou wouldst, thou must leave undone.

What pleaseth others shall prosper, what is pleasing to thee shall not succeed.

What others say shall be hearkened to; what thou sayest shall be reckoned as naught.

Others shall ask, and shall receive; thou shalt ask, and not obtain.

5. Others shall be great in the esteem of men; about thee nothing shall be said.

To others this or that shall be committed; but thou shalt be accounted as of no use.

At this, nature will sometimes repine, and it will be a great matter if thou bear it with silence.

In these, and many such-like things, the faithful servant of the Lord is wont to be tried how far he can deny and break himself in all things.

There is scarce anything in which thou standest so much in need of dying to thyself as in seeing and suffering things that are contrary to thy will, and more especially when those things are commanded which seem to thee inconvenient and of little use.

And because, being under authority, thou darest not resist the higher power, therefore it seemeth to thee hard to walk at the beck of another, and wholly to give up thy own opinion.

6. But consider, son, the fruit of these labors, their speedy termination, and their reward exceeding great; and thou wilt not hence derive affliction, but the most strengthening consolation in thy suffering.

For in regard to that little of thy will which thou now willingly forsakest, thou shalt forever have thy will in heaven.

For there thou shalt find all that thou willest, all that thou canst desire.

There shall be to thee the possession of every good, without fear of losing it.

There thy will, always one with Me, shall not covet any extraneous or private thing. There no one shall resist thee, no one complain of thee, no one obstruct thee, nothing shall stand in thy way; but every desirable good shall be present at the same moment, shall replenish all thy affections and satiate them to the full.

There I will give thee glory for the contumely thou hast suffered; a garment of praise for thy sorrow; and for having been seated here in the lowest place, the throne of My kingdom for

ever.

There will the fruit of obedience appear, there will the labor of penance rejoice, and humble subjection shall be gloriously crowned.

Now, therefore, bow thyself down humbly under the hands of all, and heed not who it was that said or commanded this.

But let it be thy great care, that whether thy superior or inferior or equal require anything of thee, or hint at anything, thou take all in good part, and labor with a sincere will to perform it.

Let one seek this, another that; let this man glory in this thing, another in that, and be praised a thousand thousand times: but thou, for thy part, rejoice neither in this nor in that, but in the contempt of thyself, and in My good pleasure and honor alone.

This is what thou hast to wish for, that whether in life or in death, God may be always glorified in thee.