A LETTER TO ONE TROUBLED IN MIND:

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.

 

 I HAVE a desire to write to you, but I know not what to say. However, I have put pen to paper, in hopes that GOD will furnish me with such matter as he shall think fit. I understand, my dear Friend, that you have been somewhat troubled in mind, upon account of the discovery you have made of your wretchedness. I praise GOD for it: it shows that he will no longer delay the accomplish­ment of his divine work in you. To this all his dispensa­tions concerning you tend, and especially the great trials which you have hitherto sustained by his divine assistance.

 

 As for me, all unworthy as I am, I have formerly often besought the LORD with many tears, that he would grant me the grace to make me know myself. His great good­ness has condescended to my earnest request; but to say what I thereupon discovered within myself, as I alone felt it, so I alone can rightly comprehend it: but I must say, that before this I was very ignorant of my true condition.

 

 Before this, I thought I had a great zeal for the glory of GOD, and that I was sufficiently instructed in the faith and knowledge of JESUS CHRIST. But by the direction of GOD, a certain person well known to you, who had an affectionate concern for my soul, told me one day, " That I had not a true faith in JESUS CHRIST, as a Redeemer, who should deliver me from my sins." It was at this time that I began to be uneasy about my state; and as I did not yet know myself, it was to me a strange and unintelli­gible language to hear, that I had not yet the true faith. He would not then further explain _himself; but only advised me, that I should offer myself up entirely to him, who alone could make me free; and that with the holy Patriarch JACOB, I should not cease striving with prayers and tears, till the LORD had heard me favorably. I thought this very good advice; for I saw plainly, that to call upon GOD must be a secure way, and free from delu­sion. So without any further delay, I, by the grace of GOD, resigned myself totally into his blessed hands, that he might do with me what he pleased.

 

 The good GOD accepting that moment the oblation I had made of myself, vouchsafed so to touch my heart with his divine love, that I became, as it were, all inflamed with its ardours. I made a resolution, never, for the future, to value any thing but him; and that to please him should be my only business. I would no more use any of my faculties, but to honor and serve him. I seemed to myself perfectly ready to follow him, through whatever ways he should please to lead me. I thought no crosses too heavy for me; and my love made me embrace them all within my heart. I said to- him, "Take me in hand, O LORD, and spare me not: Here I am before thee, O take me in hand." As for the world, I let it pass for what it is, and took no farther thought about it; my heart seemed to me too noble to cleave to any thing in it. I valued my Divine Lover to such a degree, that nothing in the earth could any more affect me. One only thing sufficed me, and that was, to be able to follow him. No way was too difficult for me; no cross too bitter; no troubles too many; and, in a word, I was ready to endure every thing with him. I was content with all that might happen, provided only that I might find him. If all the kingdoms of the earth had been offered me, I would have disdained so much as to thinly of them. I would gladly have-been stripped of all things; my Divine Lover sufficed me. I embraced him sweetly in my heart with the arms of love; and he, on his part, condescended towards me, and made me know, that he-is the true Lover of souls. It was a wonderful state which I was in at that time; if it could have been manifested to the world, it would have appeared very extraordinary; but there was still within me matter of reprehension, though I was not sensible of it. However, I continued so happy in my Beloved, that although I should have been forced, to live without other company, vagabond in a desert, I should have found no difficulty in it. This state had not lasted long, when, in effect, I found myself led into a desert; but it was the desert of myself, and there I lost him whom my soul loved. This loss was so intolerable, that being extra­vagant with the vehemence of my love, I ran about like one distracted in search of him, but without finding him; "for the Spouse had withdrawn himself."

 

 Then it was that I found myself in a forlorn condition, that I knew thyself altogether poor, wretched, and mise­rable; and that I saw my vessel to be filled with unclean­ness and iniquity. The proper source of this grief is, the knowledge of ourselves, by which we find that there is an extreme un­likeness between GOD and us. We see ourselves most opposite to him, and that our inmost soul is entirely cor­rupted, depraved, and full of all kind of evil and malignity, such as self-will, self-love, vain glory, and, in a word, all the injustice which selfishness includes: and thus I found within me sin, death, SATAN, hell, the world, the flesh, and all sorts of abominations.

 

 You may imagine what consternation I was in; it was so great, that if the GOD of mercy had not, by his infinite love, drawn me unto him, I should never have presumed to have gone to him, so extreme were the shame and confusion that covered me. Even yet, when I reflect upon it, I say to him sometimes, "How, O my GOD, could I be so pre­sumptuous, as to offer thee such a heart, so impure, so depraved, and corrupted! Alas! I knew not that I was in such a depraved condition, till thy goodness manifested it unto me! Yet, blessed be thy holy name for this un­speakable benefit, I mean, that thou hast discovered to me my corruption, that thou mightest deliver me from it. It is indeed thy principal business to exercise man, and bring him home to his own heart, that he may be capable at length to enjoy thee, ' for thy delights are to dwell with men; ' but first the dwelling-place must be cleansed and purified, for thou art the Holy One, before whom no im­purity may subsist, and whom only the pure in heart can see. The love of pleasure, the love of creatures, concu­piscence, and selfishness; all these must be done away They must be not only mortified, but dead, to render us capable of thy full communications. " It is for this thou hast so often invited, and even be­sought us, that we would come to thee, that thou mightest be our deliverer, our physician, and our SAVIOR: it is for this thou didst forsake thy glory, and endure so much pain and misery upon earth, even that thou mightest reduce wandering sinners, and exterminate sin. O how horrid a mischief must sin be in thy sight, seeing it cost thee so dear to expiate it! O what bitterness of grief, what agonies of pain, possessed thee, when the bloody sweat trickled down thy sacred body to the ground! O the powerful and piercing love which thou didst bear towards souls! That great love still constraineth thee to ac­complish thy holy work in us. Those who persevere in the spiritual life, know it well; but to express what they experience is impossible. May the LORD be eternally praised, honored, and magnified by his whole creation Amen."

 

 I am not ignorant, my dear Friend, that you have many crosses and afflictions; but they will all turn to your good. The divine Spouse of your soul will direct them all to your advantage; only continue faithful 'to him unto the death, and (so far is he from forsaking you) he will certainly protect you from all danger. Your soul is dear and precious to him, and he keeps it as the apple of his eye he holds it secure in his hand, that none may ravish it from him. Neither men, nor SATAN, can hurt it. Your SAVIOR is your defender. He will be your buckler, and exceeding great reward; for he is love, and love must be

 

Communicative, and impart itself to others. I have found so by experience; but my pen is not capable of expressing the exceeding great love, which he has showed to so un­worthy a creature as I am. But if the LORD has vouch­safed so great favors to such a wretch, (and GOD knows what reason I have to call myself so,) what shall not those, who are faithful to him, find at his hands

 

 Do you then cast all your cares upon him, that he may conduct you, and give you such success as he thinks fit. He will be your guide through all the ways he makes you to walk in. And though you sink deep in the waters of affliction, so that they come in even to your soul, and seem ready to overflow it; yet the Lover of your soul will help you out again: fbr, as I said, he is love itself; and that love being GOD, is so powerful, so jealous, so intense, so inflamed, so penetrating, that I know not what name to call it by; its force and efficacy are unutterable: the floods and tempests of affliction, instead of quenching it, serve rather to make it more inflamed in our soul, even to such a degree, that sometimes she dissolves, as it were, in the sacred ardors of love, especially in those moments, when the LORD makes her know, in a sensible manner, that he would rather choose to suffer over again all the griefs and pains of his passion, than forsake her.

 

 O my dear Friend, what a great and incomparable love is this! Be then of good courage. That love can well conduct you, and bring matters to a good conclusion, although you seem to find yourself daily more and more indisposed. Know it is this love himself who discovers to you your indispositions, and the disorders of your soul, only to deliver you from them, and thereby to prepare you for himself, and render you acceptable in his sight; for he desires to dwell in you, according to his gracious promise: " We will come unto you, and make our, abode with you." (John 14: 23.) for the entertain­ment of such guests, so worthy of all honor and praise, the place ought to be prepared according to the quality of those who are to dwell there.

 

 O strange humiliation of the Divine Majesty, to stoop so low, as to concern himself with' the abominations of sin, that he might cleanse our hearts from it, and prepare in them a place for himself! Offer him-then your heart con­tinually, for that end. I know well in what condition you will be, as you come nearer to him: for, as I told you, he makes us know ourselves, and our wretchedness, on purpose to deliver us from ourselves; that, is, from evil.

 

 The most deplorable wretchedness is to continue in sin; for that is to continue separated from GOD sin being the only thing that hinders our union with him. I believe, and know, O LO RD, that thou cant deliver me from my sin; that thou art 'the Truth, which cant set me free from myself: and yet I bless thy holy name, that thou hast vouchsafed to make me know this self, and what it is capable of. The knowledge of myself ought to humble me, not only before GOD, but also before the creatures; and particularly, it ought to- cure me of all inclination to judge my neighbor, and make me for the future never complain of any body but myself

 

 That is a grievous fault, and yet a very common one; I mean, Censoriousness, and finding fault with others; whence it often happens, that even the servants of GOD are suspected, and men warn one another to be aware of them, while they are actually employed by GOD as his instruments to reclaim men to his service. All this comes from our ignorance of ourselves; for if we knew our­selves, we should rather warn men to be aware of us, for fear of being infected with our corruption. May the LORD vouchsafe to open our eyes, that we may see our own darkness, and our own faults O Father of Mercies, may I find acceptance in thy sight, and with my prayers and tears, obtain of thee a heart sunk in the profoundest humility! I ask not joy nor consolation; I ask only a pliant heart, a heart always submissive and resigned to thee in all accidents, or whatever ill usage may happen to me. Dispose of me as thou' pleasest, and may thy will be done, O GOD, in time and in eternity! Amen. 

 

 O dearest Friend, methinks I cannot leave off writing, my heart is so enlarged towards you, you employ it night and day. Well, then, let love have its way: I speak not of any natural- affection, but of a supernatural love, which the LORD himself produces in the soul; "that love which is shed abroad in our hearts by the HOLY GHOST." This divine love has no selfish motive or aim: and though it should meet crosses and sufferings from the beloved object, yet they would not discourage it: nay, more, though it were to die by the hands of the beloved, yet would it applaud the execution; and at the same time do all it could to serve him.: so powerful is the ardour of this love. (John 13: 5.)­

 

 But who is the Beloved, to whom it thus adheres It is He from whom it drew its existence it is its own source and original, who makes it what it is, who so powerfully inflames it, that it is no more solicitous about sufferings or enjoyments, provided only that it may love: to love, suffices love.

 

 This is what all self-love is absolutely incapable of; for nature is ever seeking her own satisfaction: she seeks com­fort and delight; and when she misses them, grows uneasy and dissatisfied. She fancies that every thing belongs to her; she would have her share in every thing: she is igno­rant that she has no claim to any thing, that she must die, and be destroyed; and if she knew it beforehand, she would pine away with grief and despair.

 

 For nature will not consent to sufferings, and she dreads, them, so that she shudders for fear; and yet she must go through them: but the LORD at first conceals them, and after makes her enter into them when he thinks fit and then she must go on whether she will or no, for all resist­ance is vain. Blessed be the TLORD, that then he has no. regard to her complaint: nature only detains the soul in prison, and the LORD will deliver it thence, having redeemed it with his own blood." The precious soul has cast him too dear to forsake or neglect it, till he has brought it back to its source, that is, himself, that it may enjoy him.

 

 Such love does the LORD bear to the soul of man; and whatever opposition its enemies, the flesh and SATAN, may make to detain the soul- captive in their chains, all their efforts will be confounded under his almighty power. He is the stronger, who will come upon them, and over. come them, and divide' their spoils., He is-the king and conqueror of the soul's enemies: he is a buckler and defense, upon which' the soul may securely rely; and he will re-establish its peace, for the love he beareth it.

 

 Indeed his love of souls is so exceeding great, that it is impossible to describe or express what one feels of it. He is their surety, their corner-stone, and their support. If the soul be weak; let it cone to him, and he will be its strength; if it be sick, he will be its physician;' if it be hungry, he will feed it with love if it be- thirsty, he will give himself to it for refreshment; if it he in darkness, he Will enlighten it; if it be encompassed with enemies, be will defend it; the soul need only keep quiet and retired within itself, and love will do all the rest: for "his is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

 

 Let use my dear Friend, from this time forward, pass our life in a spiritual recollection. Let us always turn our attention inward; and although we find there pain and uneasiness, yet let us- remember, that such is the will of Him, who loves us, and will make all things work together for our good. Let us receive all, then, as from his hand, without distinction or exception. How happy should we­ be, if the view and sense of our wretchedness would but lead us to humility! My desires are exceedingly inflamed for a heart perfectly obedient. I seek not sweetnesses nor consolations, I wish only for a heart perfectly submissive to God: O LORD of LORD’s, O Fountain of love and goodness, grant me such a heart, subjected to thee, and humbled beneath all men! O LORD, thou knowest what I am, and I too partly know it, for thy goodness has discovered, it to me; and may thy name be ever blessed for that benefit! O that this would sink me continually in the abyss of my vileness! Grant, O LORD, that I may never make any account of myself, or imagine myself something; for that would be to fall from thee, and give place to SATAN. O let me rather live a life of continual affliction with my crucified JESUS! JESUS, whom I heartily beseech to be my dear friend's defender. When you bear his holy cross, you will then be adorned with those jewels, which your sacred Lover bestows upon you, even the same he wore himself; with which I recommend you to his love, be­seeching him to preserve you from all evil.

 

 Take in good part the plain open-heartedness of this: letter, and believe me, yours, &c.,Amsterdam, 

 

 MARY HENRICS.

 

PIOUS REFLECTIONS:

 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.

 

I. How scarce true Faith is.

 

 1. "WHEN the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth" (Luke 18: 8.) If he should now come, would he find it in us What fruits of faith have we to show Do we look upon this life only as a short passage to a better Do we believe that we must suffer with JESUS CHRIST, before we can reign with him Do we consider this world as a deceitful appearance, and death as the entrance to true goods Do we live by faith Does it animate us Do we relish the eternal truths it presents us with Are we as careful to nourish our souls with those truths, as to maintain our bodies with proper diet Do we accustom ourselves to see all things in the light of faith Do we correct all our judgments by it Alas! the greater part of Christians think and act like mere Heathens. If we judge (as we justly may) of their faith by their practice, we must conclude they have no faith at all.

 

 2. Let us fear lest the kingdom of GOD should be taken from us, and given to others who may bear better fruits. That kingdom of GOD is faith reigning in us, and govern­ing all our thoughts. Happy he who has eyes to see this kingdom. Flesh and blood cannot discern it; the wisdom of the animal man is wilfully blind to it; the inward operations of GOD appear as a dream to him. To know the wonders of GOD's kingdom we must be born again; and to be born again we must die this is what the world cannot consent to. Let the world, then, despise, and cen­sure, and condemn the truth as it pleases. As for us, O LORD, thou hast commanded us to believe, and to taste thy heavenly gift. We desire to be of the number of thine elect, and we know that no person can be of that number.who does not conform his life to what thou teachest.

 

II. Of the only Way to Heaven.

 

 1. "STRIVE to enter in at the strait gate." (Matt. 7: 13.) The kingdom of heaven is not to be entered but by violence; it must be taken as it were by assault, like a besieged place. The gate is strait and narrow; we must bow,-we must bend, we must make ourselves little to gain admittance. The great gate, which opens wide, and is passed by multitudes, leads to perdition. All broad and smooth ways are dangerous. Woe to us when the world favors us, and our life seems void of trouble. Crosses and difficulties are the surest marks of the way to heaven. Let us be aware, therefore, of going on with the multitude, and let us seek the traces of the, few; let us follow the footsteps of the saints along the craggy paths of -repentance; climbing over rocks, seeking secure places in the sweat of our face, and expecting that the last step of our lives should be still a violent struggle to enter the marrow gate of eternity.

 

 2. We are not predestinated by God, but to be made _conformable to the image of his SON; to be fastened, as he was, to a cross; renouncing, as he did, all sensual pleasures, and to be content, like him, in the midst of sufferings. But, blind as we are, we would get down from this cross which unites us to our Master. We cannot leave the cross, but we must also forsake CHRIST cruci­fied; for the cross and he are inseparable. Let us then live and die with him, who came to show us the true way to heaven; and let our only fear be, lest we should not finish our sacrifice on the same altar whereon his was con­automated. Alas! all our endeavors here tend only to die more at ease, and thereby to withdraw ourselves from the -true way to heaven. We know not what we do. We do not comprehend the mystery of grace, which joins a beatitude with tears, pronouncing -the mourners happy. The way which leads to a throne is delightful, although it should be overgrown with thorns: the way which leads to a precipice is dreadful, although it should be covered with roses. We suffer indeed in the strait way, but we hope; we suffer, but we see heaven open; we suffer, but we choose to suffer; we love Gob, and are-beloved of him.

 

III. Of Patience in Suffering.

 

 1. "IN your patience possess ye your souls." (Luke 21: 19.) The soul loses itself by impatience;, whereas, when it submits without repining, it possesses itself in peace, and it also possesses God. To be impatient, is to will what one has not; or not to will what one has. An impatient soul is a slave to passion, having cast off the restraints of reason and faith. What weakness! what error is this! As long as we will the evil we endure, it is not evil; why then should we make it a real evil by refusing to bear it willingly The inward peace resides not in the senses or inferior appetites, but in the will; it may be preserved amidst the bitterest sorrows, as long as the will continues in a firm resignation. Peace here be­low consists not in an exemption from suffering, but in a voluntary acceptance of it.

 

 2. To -hear your murmuring and repining, it would seem that you are the most innocent soul living; and that it is a great injustice that you are not admitted into the terrestrial paradise. Remember how you have offended GOD, and you must acknowledge his righteous dealing with you. Confess to him, with the humility of the pro­digal son, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; " thy merciful hand executes what I should never have had the courage to do; it corrects me in love. Grant also that I may endure with patience its salutary corrections. If a sinner has a just indignation against himseh the least he can do is to receive the medicine which he has not the fortitude to choose.

 

IV. Of Submission and Con formally to: the Will of God.

 

 1. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in `heaven." Nothing is done here, any more than in heaven, but by the will or permission of Go I); but men do not always love that will, because it is often opposite to their desires. If we sincerely loved this will of GOD, and only this, we should, change our earth into a heaven; we should thank God for every thing, for evil as well as good, because evil would become good from his hand; we should not then murmur at the guidance of Providence, but approve and adore it. O my GOD! what do I see in the course of the stars, in the revolutions of seasons, in the events of life, but the accomplishment of thy will ' May it also be ac­complished in me. May I love it. May it sweeten and endear all events to me. May I annihilate my own, to make thy will reign in me; for it is thine, O LORD, to will, and mine., to obey.

 

 2. Thou hast said, O LORD JESUS, of thyself, with re­lation to thy heavenly Father, " That thou always didst what pleased him." (John viii. 29.) Teach us how far, that example should lead us. Thou art our pattern; thou didst nothing upon earth but according to the will of thy Father, who vouchsafes also to be called ours. Do thou Fulfilll his will in us, as thou didst in thyself. Grant, that we, being inseparably united to thee, may never seek to do our own will, but his; so that not only our religious actions, but even our eating, sleeping, conversing, may all be done with no other view but that of pleasing him. Then shall our whole conduct be sanctified. Then shall all our deeds become a continual sacrifice, incessant prayer, and uninterrupted love. When, O LORD, shall we arrive at this disposition Do thou vouchsafe to conduct us thither. Do thou vouchsafe to subdue our rebellious will by thy grace, for it knows not what it would have, and =nothing is truly good but a conformity to thy will.

 

V. Of the right Use of Afflictions.

 

 1. "THEY who are CHRIST's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Gal. 5: 24.) The more we fear crosses, the more reason have we to think that we -want them. Let us not be discouraged, when the hand of GOD lieth heavy ones upon us. We ought to judge of the violence of our disease, by the violence of the remedies which our spiritual Physician prescribes us. It is a great argument of our own wretchedness, and of GOD's mercy, that, notwithstanding the difficulty of our recovery, he vouchsafes to undertake our cure. Let us then draw from our very afflictions a source of love, of comfort, and trust in GOD; saying with his Apostle, "Our light affliction, which - is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4: 17.) Blessed are they which mourn, and sow in tears, because they shall reap with ineffable joy the harvest of eternal felicity.

 

 2. "1 am crucified with CHRIST," said ST. PAUL; we are fastened to the cross with him, and by him; for his grace keeps us there, and for his sake we choose to con­tinue there, lest by forsaking it, we should depart from - him. O suffering and adorable JESUS! to whose sacrifice I unite myself, do thou communicate to me, together with thy cross, also thy spirit of love and resignation. Make me think less of my sufferings, than of the happiness of suffering with thee. Make me love thee, and I shall not fear the cross; and though my sufferings may be very great, yet will they not be greater than I choose to endure.

 

VI. Of Meekness and Humility.

 

 1. "LEARN of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart." (Matt. 11: 29.) If any other than JESUS had taught this lesson, the imperfection of the teacher would have furnished us with objections to the doctrine. He therefore taught it himself, and that too by his own example, which is such as should silence all objections; such as should make us adore, be confounded, and imitate. What! The SON of GOD descends from heaven to earth, takes a cor­ruptible body, and dies upon the cross, to shame us out of our pride! He who is All, annihilates himself; and I, who am nothing, would be, at least would have others think me, quite other than what I am! What an im­pudent vanity, and diabolical presumption is this! Our LORD says not, Be ye meek and lowly; but he says, “am meek and lowly of heart." It is enough to know that he is humble, to conclude that we ought to be so. His example is such an authority as none may find a dispensa­tion from; much less the sinner, who may well choose humility, when he has deserved damnation.

 

 2. Our LORD joins meekness with humility, because humility is the source of true meekness. Pride is ever haughty, impatient, and captious; but he who despises himself, is content to be despised; he who thinks nothing due to him will not think himself neglected. The true virtue of meekness is never the effect of constitution; all appearances of it, that are the product of mere nature, arise from weakness, indolence, or cunning. To be meek towards others, we must renounce ourselves.

 

VII. Of the One Thing needful.

 

 1. “THou art troubled and careful about many things, but one thing is needful." (Luke 10: 41.). We think we have many businesses to do, and we have but one. If that be performed, the others are included in it; if that mis­carry, whatever success the others may seem to have, they will all come to nothing. Why should we then divide our heart, and our care O my only business, thou shalt henceforth be my only care! In the ray of divine light, I will each moment peaceably perform, according to my abilities, what Providence puts in my way. I will be careful - for nothing else, because nothing else is- my business.

 

 2. "I have finished the work which thou, O FATHER, gayest me to do." (John 17: 4.) Each of us should be able to say as much at the day of judgment. I ought to consider the business which occurs in the daily order of Providence, as the work which GOD appoints me: and I should apply myself to it in a manner worthy of GOD, viz., with exactness and tranquility. I ought not to neglect anything, or be passionately vehement about any thing, for it is dangerous to do the work of the LORD negligently, on the.one hand; or, on the other, to appropriate it to our­selves by self-love and false zeal: in this last case we do our actions from a principle of self-will; we are eager and anxious for the success, and that under the pretence of seeking the glory of God. Thus self-love disguises itself wider the appearance of zeal, and grieves, and is afflicted, when it miscarries in its designs. O God, grant to me the grace to be faithful in the action, and resigned as to the success! My only business is to do thy will, and to do-it as thy will, not forgetting thee in the performance of it: it is thine to give my feeble endeavors the success thou pleasest, even none if thou seest fit.

 

VIII. Of inward Peace.

 

 1. "PEACE I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; -not as the world giveth, give I unto you." (John 14: 27.) All men seek peace, but they seek it where it is not to be found; they seek it in the world; which is ever promising, but can never give us a solid peace: that is the gift of CHRIST alone, who reconciles the man to himself, subdues.the passions, sets bounds to the desires, inspires the hopes of eternal bliss, and gives the joy of the HOLY GHOST; such a joy as persists in the midst of sufferings, and, flow­ing from an inexhaustible source, becomes a perpetual spring of delight, which the world cannot interrupt or, diminish.

 

 2. True peace is not to be found but in the possession of GOD; and the possession of GOD cannot be attained but by faith and obedience: remove all forbidden objects; renounce all unlawful desire; cast off all earnest care and anxiety; desire only GOD; seek only GOD; and then you shall have peace, such a peace as the world shall not be able to disturb. For what can trouble you Is it poverty, disgrace, disappointments, outward or inward crosses You should see all these in the hand of GOD as real favors, which he distributes to his friends, and which he vouchsafes to give you a share in. Then the world will have a new appearance to you, and your, peace prove in­violable.

 

IX. Of Deceitful Joys.

 

 1. "I SAID of laughter, it is mad; and of mirth, what does it " (Eccles. ii: 2.) The joys of worldly-minded men are like those of delirious persons, who have lost their reason by distemper. Delusion is the only cause of their pleasure; they think themselves in abundance, when in reality they are quite destitute. Death will end this dream of folly, and when they awake, they shall be confounded at their poverty. Miserable therefore are those whom the false pleasures of the world render incapable of true con­solation. Let us say continually of such vain "mirth, What does it " Nothing is a solid subject of joy but our hopes of GOD's favor; all other delight is but a dream.

 

 2. JESUS said to the woman of Samaria, a Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again." (John 4: 13.) This may be applied to all worldly satisfactions; the more we enjoy them, the more we want them. The possession of riches does but increase our thirst after them. Avarice and ambition are more uneasy about what they have not, than pleased with what they have. The enjoyment of pleasure softens the soul, depraves it, and makes it in­satiable. The more we divert ourselves, the more we want diversion; and it is easier to persevere in a state of fervor and penitence, than to recover it again when we have given way to pleasure and relaxation. Let us there­fore watch over ourselves, and abstain from those waters, which will but increase our thirst. Let us keep our heart with care, that it be not seduced by the vain joys of the world, which will end only in despair.

 

X. Of Holy Tears.

 

 1. "BLESSED are they that mourn, for they shall be com­forted." (Matt. 5: 4.) What new kind of tears are these (says ST. AUSTIN,) they make happy those who shed them. This happiness consists in being afflicted for the wickedness of the world; many dangers which surround us, and the inexhaustible corruption of our own hearts. It is a great gift of 'GOD to fear losing his love; to fear lest we should wander from the -strait way. The saints shed tears for this. It is difficult to rejoice while one is in danger of losing what one values most, and of losing one's self with it. It is impossible not to be afflicted, while one sees nothing but vanity, error, offences, forgetfulness, and contempt of the GOD we love. Grief is due to so many sad occasions of sorrow: our grief shall be pleasing in the sight of GOD. He himself inspires it; his love causes our tears to flow, and he himself shall wipe them from our eyes.

 

 2. We hear JESUS CHRIST Say, "Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and, weep. Woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation." (Luke 6: 24, 25.) And yet men seek mirth and riches. He also says, " Blessed are they that weep; " yet they fear nothing more than sorrow. We should grieve here, not only for the dangers of our own state, but for every thing that is vain and criminal. We- should weep for ourselves and for others: all deserve our tears. Happy the tears which spring from grace, which makes us disrelish these transitory things, and produce in us the desire of the good things of eternity.

 

XI. Of Worldly. Wisdom.

 

 1. The wisdom of worldly-minded men must needs be great, since our Lo RD assures us, that it is greater than that of the children of GOD; yet with all its pretensions and fair appearances, it is fatal to those who follow it. This crooked and subtle wisdom is most opposite to that of GOD, which is ever plain and simple; and -what does it avail its professors, seeing they are always taken in their own devices The Apostle ST. JAMES says of this kind' of wisdom, that it is "earthly, animal, (or sensual,) and devilish." (Jam. 3: 15.) " Earthly," because it confines its care to the getting or possessing the things of the earth; " animal, or sensual," because it seeks only to make pro­vision for gratifying the passions or sensual appetites; and' {' devilish," because to the subtlety and penetration of a demon, it joins also the malice. Men so qualified, think to impose upon others, but in the event, they deceive only themselves,

 

 2. Blind therefore are all those who think themselves wise without the grace of JESUS CHRIST, which only can can make us truly wise. They are like those who in a dream think themselves awake, and believe all the objects they imagine to be true and real: and while they are pur­suing their vain projects of-pleasure or ambition, (so great is the infatuation that possesses them,) they see not what lies in the way before them, sometimes disgrace, always death, judgment, and eternity. These great objects daily advance, and approach nearer to profane men; yet they see them not. Their political skill foresees every thing, but the inevitable fall and annihilation of all they set their hearts upon. O mad and infatuated, when will ye open your eyes to the light of Jesus CHRIST, which discovers the emptiness of all grandeur here below

 

 1."My yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Malt.xi.3O.) Let not the name of yoke deter us, for it is the yoke of CHRIST, and he helps us to bear it; he makes us love it; he endears it to us by the inward charms of righteousness and truth: He gives a disgust for false pleasure, and renders the practice of virtue delightful: He supports the man against himself, frees him from original corruption, and makes him strong notwithstanding his weakness. What fearest thou, O man of little faith Let GOD exert himself in thee: abandon thyself to him: you shall suffer, but you shall suffer with love and inward tranquillity: you shall fight, but you shall gain the victory; the LORD him­self shall fight for you, and reward your success: you shall weep, but your tears shall be pleasing, and GOD' shall himself wipe them from your eyes: you will be restrained from following your passions, but after a free sacrifice of your liberty, you will find another kind of liberty, unknown to the world, and more valuable than universal empire.

 

 2. What blindness is it to fearengaging too far with God The more we love him, the more we shall love his com­mandments. That love will comfort us in losses, sweeten our crosses, set us free from all other dangerous affections, make us see even through a cloud of afflictions, the mercy that dispenses them to us, and make us discover in death itself eternal glory and bliss. What then are we afraid of Can we have too much of GOD Is it a misfortune to be freed from the heavy yoke of the world, and to bear the light burden of JESUS CHRIST Do we fear to be too happy, too much delivered from ourselves, from the caprices of our pride, the violence of our passions, and the tyranny of this deceitful world

 

XIII. Of Spending our Time well.

 

 1. "LET us do good while we have time." (Gal. 6: 1O.) " The night cometh, in which no man can work." (John 9: 4. Time is precious, but men know not its true value; nor will they learn it, till it is too late. Our friends ask it of us, and we bestow it as if it were nothing worth; nay, sometimes it is a burthen we want to get rid of; yet the day will come when we shall think one quarter of an hour more valuable than all the treasures of the earth. God, most liberal and bounteous of all other things, teaches us, by the frugal dispensation of his providence, how careful we ought to be to make a good use of time, because he never gives two moments together, nor grants us a second, till he has withdrawn the first, still keeping the third in his own hand, so that we are in a perfect uncertainty whether we shall have it or not. Time is given us to prepare for eternity, and eternity will not be too long to regret our lost time, if we have made an ill use of it.

 

 2. All our life, as well as all our heart, is due to God; they are neither of them too much for him: he gave them only that we might love and serve him: let us therefore rob him of nothing. We cannot every moment do great matters for him, but we may always do what is proper for our condition. To be silent, to suffer, to pray, when there is no room for outward action, is an acceptable offering to GOD. A disappointment, a contradiction, an injury re­ceived and endured for GOD's sake, is of as much value as a long prayer; and the time is not lost which is spent in the practice of meekness and patience. But we must be cautious that those interruptions do not happen by our own fault. Thus we should regulate our life, and "re­deem the time," as ST. PAUL speaks, flying from the world, its vain amusements, useless correspondencies, and unprofitable conversations, which serve only to dissipate our minds, and indulge our self-love. By these means we shall find time for the service of Gov; all that is spent otherwise, is lost.

 

XIV. Of the Love we ought to have for God.

 

 1."WHOM have I in heaven but thee And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." (Ps. lxxiii. 25.) When we say to GOD, that we love him with all' our heart, it is often a mere form of words, without truth or meaning. Men learn it when they are young, and they continue to use it when they are grown up, without thinking of what they say. To love God, is to have no other- will but his; to keep faithfully his law, and. have in abhorrence all vio­lation of it. To love GOD is to love what CHRIST loved, poverty, humiliations, and sufferings; it is also to hate what he hated, the world and its vanities. Can we be said to love an object which we do not desire to resemble To love GOD, is to desire to converse with him, to wish to go to him, to sigh and languish after him. That is but feigned love which does not desire to see the Beloved.

 

 2. Our LORD "came to bring fire upon the earth," (Luke 12: 49,) and desired that fire might overspread it: yet men live in a deadly coldness and indifference: they love money, buildings, titles, and a chimera they call repu­tation; they love even the meanest and most contemptible things; but divine love rarely finds a place in their hearts. Do thou, O LORD, vindicate thy right in us, and reign over us, notwithstanding our infidelities. Let the fire of thy love extinguish all other fire. What can we see lovely out of thee, which is not to be found in its full perfection in thee, O thou Fountain of all good! Grant us but the grace to love thee, and we shall then love thee only, thee eternally.

 

XV. On the Words,

 

"LORD, teach us to pray." (Luke 11: 1.)

 

 O LORD, I know not what I should ask of thee: thou only knowest what I want; and thou lowest me better than I can love myself. O LORD, give to me, thy child, what is proper, whatever it may be: I dare not ask either crosses or comforts: I only present myself before thee: I open my heart to thee: behold my wants, which I am ignorant of; but do thou behold, and do according to thy mercy. Smite or heal; depress me, or raise me up: I adore all thy purposes, without knowing them. I am silent, I offer myself in sacrifice. I abandon myself to thee. No more any desire, but to accomplish thy will. Teach me to pray: pray thou thyself in me.

 

X 6: Of the good Use of Crosses.

 

 WE find it difficult to convince ourselves of the goodness of GOD in afflicting those he loves. Why (it may be said) should he have pleasure in our sufferings Cannot he render us good without afflicting us Yes, certainly, GOD could do it, for nothing is impossible to him. He has an absolute power over the heart of man, and moves all the springs of it at pleasure. But though he can save us without sufferings, yet he will not; in' the same manner as he will not produce us in the state of perfect manhood, but causes us to pass gradually through the troubles and weaknesses of childhood and youth. In these cases he is absolute master, and we have nothing to do but to submit, and silently adore his profound wisdom, without compre­hending the reasons by which he acts. What we may discern plainly is, that we cannot become good, but in the measure we become humble, disinterested, and free from self-love, so as to ascribe all to GOD, without arrogating any thing to ourselves.

 

 Now the operation of grace, which destroys self-love, is generally painful. He weans us from the love of the world, by the inconstancy of men, and the frequent disappointments that attend the most prosperous conditions he weans us from the love of ourselves, by a sad experience of our depravity and corruption: by such a series of events he makes us die to sin. `We would gladly be con­sumed all at once, to escape the lingering sufferings of a tedious mortification: self'-love makes us murmur at the length of our sufferings; and that is the very thing which GOD would destroy; for while it lasts, his work cannot be perfected.

 

 Why, then, should we complain Our disease is the love of the world, and ourselves. GOD prepares a train of events, which by little and little mortifies our love of the world, and weans us' from self-love. The operation indeed is painful, but our depravity makes it necessary. " The whole need no physician," but the diseased part must suffer the surgeon's incision: he cuts only that he may come at the bottom of the sore: if he puts us to great pain, it is only because our malady is great: we suffer not from his cruelty, but from his care and skill; for he would treat his own son in the same manner.

 

It is thus GOD treats us: be never puts us to pain but unwillingly: he loves us with the tenderness of a father, and can take no pleasure in our misery; but he cuts to the quick to cure the ulcer of our heart: his goodness obliges him to deprive us of what we love too much, what we love inordinately, and in such, a manner as to hinder our loving him: and when God thus treats us, we grieve like chil­dren who are deprived of something which they were pleasing themselves with, and with which they would have hurt themselves; they cry and take on with passion against those who have saved them from harm. So we are apt in our folly to murmur against GOD; but he saves us in our despite, and by correcting he amends us. When his hand lies heaviest upon us, it is only to hinder the evil we would do ourselves. The things whose loss we lament would have made us lament eternally if we had not lost them: and God takes away what we doat upon, that he may have our whole heart to himself, and in due time fill it with greater felicity than our fondest wishes could invent.

 

 Nothing happens in the world but by the will of GOD he made, and he governs all things: he numbers the hairs of our head, the leaves of each tree, the sands of the sea-shore, and all the drops which fill the ocean: his wisdom has, measured and weighed every atom of the universe: he each moment produces and renews the breath of life which: animates us: he has numbered all our days, and holds in his hands the keys of the grave, to shut or open it.

 

 What seems of great moment to us, is as nothing in the sight of GOD. The difference of a little longer, or a little shorter life, disappears in the presence of his eternity. What matters it whether this frail vessel, this body of clay, be broken and reduced to dust a little sooner, or a little later

 

 How short and fallacious are our views of things! We are in a consternation to see a friend die in the flower of his age. What a lamentable loss, we cry! But to whom is this loss What does the dying man lose Some years of vanity, delusion, and, danger of eternal death. GOD delivers him from the midst of iniquity, from the corrup­tion of the world, and from his own frailty. And what do his friends lose They lose the poison of a worldly felicity, they lose a perpetual intoxication, the forgetfulness of GOD and themselves, in which they were plunged; or, to speak properly, they gain by this affliction the benefit of being set free from these evils.

 

 How apparent, therefore, is the goodness of GOD! Haw tender and merciful- is he with regard to our real evils, at the very time-when we are most afflicted, and most tempted to complain of his severity!

 

 What difference find we now, between two persons who lived a hundred years ago The one (suppose) died twenty years before the other, but in fine they both died their separation, which at that time seemed so long and grievous, does not appear so now to us, and was in reality but a short separation: what was parted, soon became united again, and, no trace was left of the division that was made. Life passes on like a swift current: the past time appears as a dream: the present escapes us every moment: the future will prove like the present; it will soon become "past in the continual flux of time: days, months, and years, press one another forward, like the waves of a torrent. Yet a few moments, yet (I say) a little while, and all will be finished. Alas! that which now appears long and tedious to us, because it is mournful, will seem short when it is over.

 

 It is the weakness of self-love that makes us think our misfortunes so tedious, The sick man, who rests ill, thinks the night of an immeasurable length, yet that night is as short as others. Our cowardice exaggerates our afflictions; they seem much greater than they are, through our want of fortitude. The only way to make them lighter, is a cou­rageous resignation. We shall indeed still suffer, but GOD will thereby purify us, and make us fit for himself. Shall we choose to pass our whole life, even till the dreadful moment of death, in voluptuous ease, in splendor, in vain joy, in the triumphs of pride, in the savory enjoy­ment of the world, (that declared enemy of JESUS CHRIST,) and in an aversion to sufferings, which alone can sanctify us The world will cast us off, will ungratefully forget us, will despise us, will persecute us. It is very well: nor should we wonder that the world acts like itself, always unjustly, deceitfully, and perfidiously: yet this is that world which we have been fond of, which we, perhaps, still desire to love.

 

 GOD forces us away from this hateful world, to free us from its detested slavery, and make us enter into the liberty of his children: and for this we are in distress! We must needs be very much our own enemies, to be so uneasy at the world's neglecting us. What! cannot we bear a thing so beneficial to us. And do we regret the want of what is so mischievous Such is the source of our tears and our grief.

 

 O GOD, who seest the depth of our misery, thou alone canst heal us. Give us quickly, O LORD, that faith, hope, love, and Christian fortitude, which we stand in so much need of. Make us turn our eyes incessantly unto thee, O Almighty FATHER, (who givest nothing to thy dear children, but to promote their salvation,) and to Jesus thy SON, who is our pattern in suffering. Thou didst fasten him to the cross for us: Thou madest. him " a Man of Sorrows," to teach us how useful sorrows are. Let coward nature then be silent, in the contemplation of JESUS filled with reproaches, and crushed with sufferings.

 

 Give me, O LORD, a heart according to thine own; a heart that may be hardened against itself, that, may fear nothing but to displease thee; or may at least fear eternal pains, and not those which prepare us for thy kingdom. Thou seest, O LORD, the weakness and distress of thy poor creature; he is helpless, and can find no support in himself. So much the better, provided that thou wilt not fail him, and that he continues to seek from thee, with an humble confidence, what he despairs to find in his own heart.