{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_24989/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_24989","id":"gutenberg_24989","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24989","summary":null,"tags":["Category: How To ...","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity","Prayer -- Christianity"],"text":"+--------------------------------------------------------------+\n  |                                                              |\n  | Transcriber's note:                                          |\n  |                                                              |\n  | This eBook contains the front matter from a combined edition |\n  | of _A Short Method of Prayer_ and _Spiritual Torrents_, but  |\n  | only contains the text of _A Short Method of Prayer_.        |\n  |                                                              |\n  +--------------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\n\nA SHORT METHOD OF PRAYER\n\nand\n\nSPIRITUAL TORRENTS.\n\nBY\nJ. M. B. DE LA MOTHE GUYON.\n\n\nTranslated from the Paris Edition of 1790\nBY\nA. W. MARSTON.\n\n\nLONDON:\nSAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW, & SEARLE,\nCROWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET.\n1875.\n\n[_All rights reserved._]\n\n\n\n\nPRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY\nEDINBURGH AND LONDON\n\n\n\n\n_PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH PROTESTANT EDITION._\n\n\nSome apology is perhaps needed when a Protestant thus brings before\nProtestant readers the works of a consistent Roman Catholic author. The\nplea must be, that the doctrine and experience described are essentially\nProtestant; and so far from their receiving the assent of the Roman\nCatholic Church, their author was persecuted for holding and\ndisseminating them.\n\nOf the experience of Madame Guyon, it should be borne in mind, that\nthough the glorious heights of communion with God to which she attained\nmay be scaled by the feeblest of God's chosen ones, yet it is by no\nmeans necessary that they should be reached by the same apparently\narduous and protracted path along which she was led.\n\nThe \"Torrents\" especially needs to be regarded rather as an account of\nthe personal experience of the author, than as the plan which God\ninvariably, or even usually, adopts in bringing the soul into a state of\nunion with Himself. It is true that, in order that we may \"live unto\nrighteousness,\" we must be \"dead indeed unto sin;\" and that there must\nbe a crucifixion of self before the life of Christ can be made manifest\nin us. It is only when we can say, \"I am crucified with Christ,\" that we\nare able to add, \"Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in\nme.\" But it does not follow that this inward death must always be as\nlingering as in the case of Madame Guyon. She tells us herself that the\nreason was, that she was not wholly resigned to the Divine will, and\nwilling to be deprived of the gifts of God, that she might enjoy the\npossession of the Giver. This resistance to the will of God implies\nsuffering on the part of the creature, and chastisement on the part of\nGod, in order that He may subdue to Himself what is not voluntarily\nyielded to Him.\n\nOf the joy of a complete surrender to God, it is not necessary to speak\nhere: thousands of God's children are realising its blessedness for\nthemselves, and proving that it is no hardship, but a joy unspeakable,\nto present themselves a living sacrifice to God, to live no longer to\nthemselves, but to Him that died for them, and rose again.\n\nA simple trust in a living, personal Saviour; a putting away by His\ngrace of all that is known to be in opposition to His will; and an\nentire self-abandonment to Him, that His designs may be worked out in\nand through us; such is the simple key to the hidden sanctuary of\ncommunion.\n\n\n\n\n_A SHORT METHOD OF PRAYER._\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n   CHAP.                                                             PAGE\n      I. PRAYER POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES, BY THE MOST SIMPLE               1\n\n     II. FIRST DEGREE OF PRAYER                                         6\n\n    III. SECOND DEGREE OF PRAYER, CALLED HERE THE PRAYER OF SIMPLICITY 13\n\n     IV. SPIRITUAL DRYNESS                                             16\n\n      V. ABANDONMENT TO GOD                                            18\n\n     VI. SUFFERING                                                     21\n\n    VII. MYSTERIES                                                     23\n\n   VIII. VIRTUE                                                        25\n\n     IX. PERFECT CONVERSION                                            27\n\n      X. HIGHER DEGREE OF PRAYER, THAT OF THE SIMPLE PRESENCE OF GOD   30\n\n     XI. REST IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD--INWARD AND OUTWARD SILENCE       35\n\n    XII. SELF-EXAMINATION AND CONFESSION                               39\n\n   XIII. READING AND VOCAL PRAYER                                      42\n\n    XIV. THE FAULTS AND TEMPTATIONS OF THIS DEGREE                     44\n\n     XV. PRAYER AND SACRIFICE EXPLAINED BY THE SIMILITUDE OF A PERFUME 47\n\n    XVI. THIS STATE NOT ONE OF IDLENESS, BUT OF ACTION                 51\n\n   XVII. DISTINCTION BETWEEN EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR ACTIONS             63\n\n  XVIII. EXHORTATIONS TO PREACHERS                                     71\n\n    XIX. PREPARATION FOR DIVINE UNION                                  77\n\n\n\n\n_SPIRITUAL TORRENTS._\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n_PART I._\n\n   CHAP.                                                             PAGE\n      I. THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH SOULS ARE LED TO SEEK AFTER GOD   91\n\n     II. OF THE FIRST WAY, WHICH IS ACTIVE AND MEDITATIVE              94\n\n    III. OF THE SECOND WAY, WHICH IS THE PASSIVE WAY OF LIGHT         103\n\n     IV. OF THE THIRD WAY, WHICH IS THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH,\n             AND OF ITS FIRST DEGREE                                  111\n\n      V. IMPERFECTIONS OF THIS FIRST DEGREE                           125\n\n     VI. SECOND DEGREE OF THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH                    139\n\n    VII. SECT. I.--COMMENCEMENT OF THE THIRD DEGREE OF THE PASSIVE\n             WAY OF FAITH--FIRST DEGREE OF THE SPOLIATION OF THE SOUL 151\n\n         SECT. II.--SECOND DEGREE OF THE SPOLIATION OF THE SOUL       164\n\n         SECT. III.--THIRD DEGREE OF SPOLIATION                       169\n\n         SECT. IV.--ENTRANCE INTO MYSTICAL DEATH                      179\n\n   VIII. THIRD DEGREE OF THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH, IN ITS\n             CONSUMMATION                                             185\n\n     IX. FOURTH DEGREE OF THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH, WHICH IS THE\n             COMMENCEMENT OF THE DIVINE LIFE                          193\n\n\n_PART II._\n\n      I. MORE PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF\n             THE RESURRECTION LIFE                                    211\n\n     II. STABILITY, EXPERIENCE, ELEVATION, AND EXTREME PURITY OF THE\n             ABANDONED SOUL                                           221\n\n    III. PERFECT UNION OR DEIFORMITY                                  231\n\n     IV. ACTIONS AND SUFFERINGS OF THOSE IN A STATE OF UNION WITH GOD 240\n\n\n\n\n_A SHORT METHOD OF PRAYER._\n\n\n\"Walk before me, and be thou perfect.\"--Gen. xvii. 1.\n\n\n\n\n_AUTHOR'S PREFACE._\n\n\nI did not write this little work with the thought of its being given to\nthe public. It was prepared for the help of a few Christians who were\ndesirous of loving God with the whole heart. But so many have requested\ncopies of it, because of the benefit they have derived from its perusal,\nthat I have been asked to publish it.\n\nI have left it in its natural simplicity. I do not condemn the opinions\nof any: on the contrary, I esteem those which are held by others, and\nsubmit all that I have written to the censure of persons of experience\nand learning. I only ask of all that they will not be content with\nexamining the outside, but that they will penetrate the design of the\nwriter, which is only to lead others to LOVE GOD, and to serve Him with\ngreater happiness and success, by enabling them to do it in a simple and\neasy way, fit for the little ones who are not capable of extraordinary\nthings, but who truly desire to _give themselves to God_.\n\nI ask all who may read it, to read without prejudice; and they will\ndiscover, under common expressions, a hidden unction, which will lead\nthem to seek for a happiness which all ought to expect to possess.\n\nI use the word _facility_, saying that perfection is easy, because it is\neasy to find God, _when we seek Him within ourselves_. The passage may\nbe quoted which says, \"Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me\" (John\nvii. 34). Yet this need not occasion any difficulty; because the same\nGod, who cannot contradict Himself, has said, \"He that seeketh findeth\"\n(Matt. vii. 8). _He who seeks God, and who yet is unwilling to forsake\nsin, will not find Him, because he is seeking Him where He cannot be\nfound_; therefore it is added, \"Ye shall die in your sins.\" _But he who\nsincerely desires to forsake sin, that he may draw near to God, will\nfind Him infallibly_.\n\nMany people imagine religion so frightful, and prayer so extraordinary,\nthat they are not willing to strive after them, never expecting to\nattain to them. But as the difficulty which we see in a thing causes us\nto despair of succeeding in it, and at the same time removes the desire\nto undertake it; and as, when a thing appears both desirable and easy to\nbe attained, we give ourselves to it with pleasure, and pursue it\nboldly; I have been constrained to set forth the advantage and the\n_facility_ of this way.\n\nOh! if we were persuaded of the goodness of God toward His poor\ncreatures, and of the desire which He has to communicate Himself to\nthem, we should not imagine so many obstacles, and despair so easily of\nobtaining a good which He is so infinitely desirous of imparting to us.\n\nAnd if He has not spared His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,\nis there anything He can refuse us? Assuredly not. We only need a little\ncourage and perseverance. We have so much of both for trifling temporal\ninterests, and we have none for the \"_one thing needful_.\"\n\nAs for those who find a difficulty in believing that it is easy to find\nGod in this way, let them not believe all that they are told, but rather\nlet them make trial of it, that they may judge for themselves; and they\nwill find that I say very little in comparison with that which is.\n\nDear reader, study this little work with a simple and sincere heart,\nwith lowliness of mind, without wishing to criticise it, and you will\nfind it of good to you. Receive it with the same spirit as that in which\nit is given, which is no other than the longing that you may be led to\n_give yourself unreservedly to God_. My desire is that it may be the\nmeans of leading the simple ones and the children to their Father, who\nloves their humble confidence, and to whom distrust is so displeasing.\nSeek nothing but _the love of God_; have a sincere desire for your\nsalvation, and you will assuredly find it, following this little\nunmethodical method.\n\nI do not pretend to elevate my sentiments above those of others, but I\nrelate simply what has been my own experience as well as that of\nothers, and the advantage which I have found in this simple and natural\nmanner of going to God.\n\nIf this book treats of nothing else but the _short and easy method of\nprayer_, it is because, being written only for that, it cannot speak of\nother things. It is certain that, if it be read in the spirit in which\nit has been written, there will be found nothing in it to shock the\nmind. Those who will make the experience of it will be the most certain\nof the truth which it contains.\n\nIt is to Thee, O Holy Child Jesus, who lovest simplicity and innocence,\nand who findest Thy delight in the children of men, that is to say, with\nthose amongst men who are willing to become children;--it is to Thee, I\nsay, to give worth and value to this little work, impressing it on the\nheart, and leading those who read it to seek Thee within themselves,\nwhere Thou wilt take Thy rest, receiving the tokens of their love, and\ngiving them proofs of Thine.\n\nIt is Thy work, O Divine Child! O uncreated Love! O silent Word! to make\nThyself beloved, tasted, and heard. Thou art able to do it; and I even\ndare to say that Thou wilt do it, by means of this little work, which is\nall to Thee, all of Thee, and all for Thee.\n\n\n\n\nA SHORT METHOD OF PRAYER.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nALL ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY--PRAYER THE GREAT MEANS OF SALVATION, AND\nPOSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES BY THE MOST SIMPLE.\n\n\nPrayer is nothing else but the _application of the heart to God_, and\nthe interior exercise of love. St Paul commands us to \"pray without\nceasing\" (1 Thess. v. 17). Our Lord says: \"Take ye heed, watch and\npray.\" \"And what I say unto you, I say unto all\" (Mark xiii. 33, 37).\nAll, then, are capable of prayer, and it is the duty of all to engage in\nit.\n\nBut I do not think that all are fit for meditation; and, therefore, it\nis not that sort of prayer which God demands or desires of them.\n\nMy dear friends, whoever you may be, who desire to be saved, come unto\nGod in prayer. \"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that\nthou mayest be rich\" (Rev. iii. 18). It is easily to be obtained, far\nmore easily than you could ever imagine.\n\nCome, all ye that are athirst, and take this water of life freely (see\nRev. xxii. 17). Do not amuse yourselves by hewing out to yourselves\n\"broken cisterns that can hold no water\" (Jer. ii. 13). Come, hungry\nsouls, who find nothing that can satisfy you, and you shall be _filled_.\nCome, poor afflicted ones, weighed down with griefs and sorrows, and you\nshall be comforted. Come, sick ones, to the great Physician, and do not\nfear to approach Him because you are so weak and diseased: expose all\nyour diseases to Him, and they shall be healed.\n\nCome, children, to your Father; He will receive you with open arms of\nlove. Come, wandering and scattered sheep, to your Shepherd. Come,\nsinners, to your Saviour. Come, ignorant and foolish ones, who believe\nyourselves incapable of prayer; it is you who are the most fitted for\nit. Come all without exception; Jesus Christ calls you all.\n\nLet those only refuse to come who have no heart. The invitation is not\nfor them; for we must have a heart in order to love. But who is indeed\nwithout heart? Oh, come and give that heart to God, and learn in the\nplace of prayer how to do it! All those who long for prayer are capable\nof it, who have ordinary grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is\nfreely promised to all who ask it.\n\nPrayer is the key of perfection and of sovereign happiness; it is the\nefficacious means of getting rid of all vices and of acquiring all\nvirtues; for the way to become perfect is to live in the presence of\nGod. He tells us this Himself: \"Walk before me, and be thou perfect\"\n(Gen. xvii. 1). Prayer alone can bring you into His presence, and keep\nyou there continually.\n\nWhat we need, then, is an attitude of prayer, in which we can\n_constantly_ abide, and out of which exterior occupations cannot draw\nus; a prayer which can be offered alike by princes, kings, prelates,\nmagistrates, soldiers, children, artisans, labourers, women, and the\nsick. This prayer is not mental, but _of the heart_.\n\nIt is not a prayer of thought alone, because the mind of man is so\nlimited, that while it is occupied with one thing it cannot be thinking\nof another. But it is the PRAYER OF THE HEART, which cannot be\ninterrupted by the occupations of the mind. Nothing can interrupt the\nprayer of the heart but unruly affections; and when once we have tasted\nof the love of God, it is impossible to find our delight in anything but\nHimself.\n\nNothing is easier than to have God and to live upon Him. He is more\ntruly in us than we are in ourselves. He is more anxious to give Himself\nto us than we are to possess Him. All that we want is to know the way to\nseek Him, which is so easy and so natural, that breathing itself is not\nmore so.\n\nOh, you who imagine yourselves incapable of religious feeling, you may\nlive in prayer and in God as easily and as continuously as you live by\nthe air you breathe. Will you not, then, be inexcusable if you neglect\nto do it, after you have learned the way?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nFIRST DEGREE OF PRAYER--MEDITATION AND MEDITATIVE READING--THE LORD'S\nPRAYER--PASSAGE FROM THE FIRST DEGREE TO THE SECOND.\n\n\nThere are two means by which we may be led into the higher forms of\nprayer. One is _Meditation_, the other is _Meditative Reading_. By\nmeditative reading I mean the taking of some truths, either doctrinal or\npractical--the latter rather than the former--and reading them in this\nway:--Take the truth which has presented itself to you, and read two or\nthree lines, seeking to enter into the full meaning of the words, and go\non no further so long as you find satisfaction in them; leave the place\nonly when it becomes insipid. After that, take another passage, and do\nthe same, not reading more than half a page at once.\n\nIt is not so much from the amount read that we derive profit, as from\nthe manner of reading. Those people who get through so much do not\nprofit from it; the bees can only draw the juice from the flowers by\nresting on them, not by flying round them. Much reading is more for\nscholastic than for spiritual science; but in order to derive profit\nfrom spiritual books, we should read them in this way; and I am sure\nthat this manner of reading accustoms us gradually to prayer, and gives\nus a deeper desire for it. The other way is _Meditation_, in which we\nshould engage at a chosen time, and not in the hour given to reading. I\nthink the way to enter into it is this:--After having brought ourselves\ninto the presence of God by a definite act of faith, we should read\nsomething substantial, not so much to reason upon it, as to fix the\nattention, observing that the principal exercise should be the presence\nof God, and that the subject should rather fix the attention than\nexercise reason.\n\nThis _faith in the presence of God within our hearts_ must lead us to\nenter within ourselves, collecting our thoughts, and preventing their\nwandering; this is an effectual way of getting rid of distracting\nthoughts, and of losing sight of outward things, in order to draw near\nto God, who can only be found in the secret place of our hearts, which\nis the _sancta-sanctorum_ in which He dwells.\n\nHe has promised that if any one keeps His commandments, He will come to\nhim, and _make His abode_ with him (John xiv. 23). St Augustine\nreproaches himself for the time he lost through not having sought God at\nfirst in this way.\n\nWhen, then, we are thus buried in ourselves, and deeply penetrated with\nthe presence of God within us--when the senses are all drawn from the\ncircumference to the centre, which, though it is not easily accomplished\nat first, becomes quite natural afterwards--when the soul is thus\ngathered up within itself, and is sweetly occupied with the truth read,\nnot in reasoning upon it, but in feeding upon it, and exciting the will\nby the affection rather than the understanding by consideration: the\n_affection_ being thus touched, must be suffered to _repose_ sweetly and\nat peace, _swallowing_ what it has tasted.\n\nAs a person who only masticated an excellent meat would not be nourished\nby it, although he would be sensible of its taste, unless he ceased this\nmovement in order to swallow it; so when the affection is stirred, if we\nseek continually to stir it, we extinguish its fire, and thus deprive\nthe soul of its nourishment. We must swallow by a _loving repose_ (full\nof respect and confidence) what we have masticated and tasted. This\nmethod is very necessary, and would advance the soul in a short time\nmore than any other would do in several years.\n\nBut as I said that the direct and principal exercise should be the\n_sense of the presence of God_, we must most faithfully _recall the\nsenses_ when they wander.\n\nThis is a short and efficacious way of fighting with distractions;\nbecause those who endeavour directly to oppose them, irritate and\nincrease them; but by losing ourselves in the thought of a present God,\nand suffering our thoughts to be drawn to Him, we combat them\nindirectly, and without thinking of them, but in an effectual manner.\nAnd here let me warn beginners not to run from one truth to another,\nfrom one subject to another; but to keep themselves to one so long as\nthey feel a taste for it: this is the way to enter deeply into truths,\nto taste them, and to have them impressed upon us. I say it is difficult\nat first thus to retire within ourselves, because of the habits, which\nare natural to us, of being taken up with the outside; but when we are a\nlittle accustomed to it, it becomes exceedingly easy; both because we\nhave formed the habit of it, and because God, who only desires to\ncommunicate Himself to us, sends us abundant grace, and an experimental\nsense of His presence, which renders it easy.\n\nLet us apply this method to the Lord's Prayer. We say \"Our Father,\"\nthinking that God is within us, and will indeed be our Father. After\nhaving pronounced this word _Father_, we remain a few moments in\nsilence, waiting for this heavenly Father to make known His will to us.\nThen we ask this King of Glory _to reign_ within us, abandoning\nourselves to Him, that He may do it, and yielding to Him the right that\nHe has over us. If we feel here an inclination to peace and silence, we\nshould not continue, but remain thus so long as the condition may last;\nafter which we proceed to the second petition, \"Thy will be done on\nearth, as it is in heaven.\" We then desire that God may accomplish, in\nus and by us, all His will; we give up to God our heart and our liberty,\nthat He may dispose of them at His pleasure. Then, seeing that the\noccupation of the will should be love, we desire to love, and we ask God\nto give us _His love_. But all this is done quietly, peacefully; and so\non with the rest of the prayer.\n\nAt other times we hold ourselves in the position of sheep near to the\nShepherd, asking of Him our true food. O Divine Shepherd! Thou feedest\nThy sheep with Thine own hand, and Thou art their food from day to day.\nWe may also bring before Him our family desires; but it must all be done\nwith the remembrance by faith of the presence of God within us.\n\nWe can form no imagination of what God is: a lively faith in His\npresence is sufficient; for we can conceive no image of God, though we\nmay of Christ, regarding Him as crucified, or as a child, or in some\nother condition, provided that we always seek Him within ourselves.\n\nAt other times we come to Him as to a Physician, bringing our maladies\nto Him that He may heal them; but always without effort, with a short\nsilence from time to time, that the silence may be mingled with the\naction, gradually lengthening the silence and shortening the spoken\nprayer, until at length, as we yield to the operation of God, He gains\nthe supremacy. When the presence of God is given, and the soul begins to\ntaste of silence and repose, this experimental sense of the presence of\nGod introduces it to the second degree of prayer.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nSECOND DEGREE OF PRAYER, CALLED HERE \"THE PRAYER OF SIMPLICITY.\"\n\n\nThe second degree has been variously termed _Contemplation_, _The Prayer\nof Silence_, and _of repose_; while others again have called it the\n_Prayer of Simplicity_; and it is of this last term that I shall make\nuse here, being more appropriate than that of _Contemplation_, which\nsignifies a degree of prayer more advanced than that of which I speak.\n\nAfter a time, as I have said, the soul becomes sensible of a facility in\nrecognising the presence of God; it collects itself more easily; prayer\nbecomes natural and pleasant; it knows that it leads to God; and it\nperceives the smell of His perfumes.\n\nThen it must change its method, and observe carefully what I am about to\nsay, without being astonished at its apparent implausibility.\n\nFirst of all, when you bring yourself into the presence of God by faith,\nremain a short time in an attitude of respectful silence. If from the\nbeginning, in making this act of faith, you are sensible of a little\ntaste of the presence of God, remain as you are without troubling\nyourself on any subject, and keep that which has been given you, so long\nas it may remain.\n\nIf it leaves you, excite your will by means of some tender affection,\nand if you then find that your former state of peace has returned,\nremain in it. The fire must be blown softly, and as soon as it is\nlighted, cease to blow it, or you will put it out. It is also necessary\nthat you should go to God, not so much to obtain something from Him, as\nto please Him, and to do His will; for a servant who only serves his\nmaster in proportion to the recompense he receives, is unworthy of any\nremuneration.\n\nGo, then, to prayer, not only to enjoy God, but to be as He wills: this\nwill keep you equal in times of barrenness and in times of abundance;\nand you will not be dismayed by the repulses of God, nor by His apparent\nindifference.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nON SPIRITUAL DRYNESS.\n\n\nAs God's only desire is to give Himself to the loving soul who desires\nto seek Him, He often hides Himself in order to arouse it, and compel it\nto seek Him with love and fidelity. But how does He reward the\nfaithfulness of His beloved! And how are His apparent flights followed\nby loving caresses!\n\nThe soul imagines that it is a proof of its fidelity and of its\nincreased love that it seeks God with an effort, or that at least such\nseeking will soon lead to His return.\n\nBut no! This is not the way in this degree. With a loving impatience,\nwith deep humility and abasement, with an affection deep and yet\nrestful, with a respectful silence, you must await the return of your\nBeloved.\n\nYou will thus show Him that it is _Himself_ alone that you love, and His\ngood pleasure, and not the pleasure that you find in loving Him.\nTherefore it is said, \"Make not haste in time of trouble. Cleave unto\nHim, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end\"\n(Ecclus. ii. 2, 3). Suffer the suspensions and the delays of the visible\nconsolations of God.\n\nBe patient in prayer, even though you should do nothing all your life\nbut wait in patience, with a heart humbled, abandoned, resigned, and\ncontent for the return of your Beloved. Oh, excellent prayer! How it\nmoves the heart of God, and obliges Him to return more than anything\nelse!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nABANDONMENT TO GOD--ITS FRUIT AND ITS IRREVOCABILITY--IN WHAT IT\nCONSISTS--GOD EXHORTS US TO IT.\n\n\nIt is here that true _abandonment_ and consecration to God should\ncommence, by our being deeply convinced that all which happens to us\nmoment by moment is the will of God, and therefore all that is necessary\nto us.\n\nThis conviction will render us contented with everything, and will make\nus see the commonest events in God, and not in the creature.\n\nI beg of you, whoever you may be, who are desirous of giving yourselves\nto God, not to take yourselves back when once you are given to Him, and\nto remember that a thing once given away is no longer at your disposal.\n_Abandonment_ is the key to the inner life: he who is thoroughly\nabandoned will soon be perfect.\n\nYou must, then, hold firmly to your abandonment, without listening to\nreason or to reflection. A great faith makes a great abandonment; you\nmust trust wholly in God, against hope believing in hope (Rom. iv. 18).\n_Abandonment_ is the casting off of all care of ourselves, to leave\nourselves to be guided entirely by God.\n\nAll Christians are exhorted to abandonment, for it is said to all, \"Take\nno thought for the morrow; for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have\nneed of all these things\" (Matt. vi. 32, 34). \"In all thy ways\nacknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths\" (Prov. iii. 6). \"Commit\nthy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established\" (Prov.\nxvi. 3). \"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall\nbring it to pass\" (Ps. xxxvii. 5).\n\nAbandonment, then, ought to be an utter leaving of ourselves, both\noutwardly and inwardly, in the hands of God, forgetting ourselves, and\nthinking only of God. By this means the heart is kept always free and\ncontented.\n\nPractically it should be a continual loss of our own will in the will\nof God, a renunciation of all natural inclinations, however good they\nmay appear, in order that we may be left free to choose only as God\nchooses: we should be indifferent to all things, whether temporal or\nspiritual, for the body or the soul; leaving the past in forgetfulness,\nthe future to providence, and giving the present to God; contented with\nthe present moment, which brings with it God's eternal will for us;\nattributing nothing which happens to us to the creature, but seeing all\nthings in God, and regarding them as coming infallibly from His hand,\nwith the exception only of our own sin.\n\nLeave yourselves, then, to be guided by God as He will, whether as\nregards the inner or the outward life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nOF SUFFERING WHICH MUST BE ACCEPTED AS FROM GOD--ITS FRUITS.\n\n\nBe content with all the suffering that God may lay upon you. If you will\nlove Him purely, you will be as willing to follow Him to Calvary as to\nTabor.\n\nHe must be loved as much on Calvary as on Tabor, since it is there that\nHe makes the greatest manifestation of His love.\n\nDo not act, then, like those people who give themselves at one time, and\ntake themselves back at another. They give themselves to be caressed,\nand take themselves back when they are crucified; or else they seek for\nconsolation in the creature.\n\nYou can only find consolation in the love of the cross and in complete\nabandonment. He who has no love for the cross has no love for God (see\nMatt. xvi. 24). It is impossible to love God without loving the cross;\nand a heart which has learned to love the cross finds sweetness, joy,\nand pleasure even in the bitterest things. \"To the hungry soul every\nbitter thing is sweet\" (Prov. xxvii. 7), because it is as hungry for the\ncross as it is hungry for God.\n\nThe cross gives God, and God gives the cross. Abandonment and the cross\ngo together. As soon as you are sensible that something is repugnant to\nyou which presents itself to you in the light of suffering, abandon\nyourself at once to God for that very thing, and present yourself as a\nsacrifice to Him: you will see that, when the cross comes, it will have\nlost much of its weight, because you will desire it. This will not\nprevent your being sensible of its weight. Some people imagine that it\nis not suffering to feel the cross. The feeling of suffering is one of\nthe principal parts of suffering itself. Jesus Himself was willing to\nsuffer it in its intensity.\n\nOften the cross is borne with weakness, at other times with strength:\nall should be equal in the will of God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nON MYSTERIES--GOD GIVES THEM HERE IN REALITY.\n\n\nIt will be objected that, by this way, mysteries will not be made known.\nIt is just the contrary; they are given to the soul in reality. Jesus\nChrist, to whom it is abandoned, and whom it follows as the _Way_, whom\nit hears as the _Truth_, and who animates it as the _Life_, impressing\nHimself upon it, imparts to it His own condition.\n\nTo bear the conditions of Christ is something far greater than merely to\nconsider those conditions. Paul bore the conditions of Christ on his\nbody. \"I bear in my body,\" he says, \"the marks of the Lord Jesus\" (Gal.\nvi. 17). But he does not say that he reasoned about them.\n\nOften Christ gives in this state of abandonment views of His conditions\nin a striking manner. We must receive equally all the dispositions in\nwhich He may be pleased to place us, choosing for ourselves to abide\nnear to Him, and to be annihilated before Him, but receiving equally all\nthat He gives us, light or darkness, facility or barrenness, strength or\nweakness, sweetness or bitterness, temptations or distractions, sorrow,\ncare, uncertainty; none of these things ought to move us.\n\nThere are some persons to whom God is continually revealing His\nmysteries: let them be faithful to them. But when God sees fit to remove\nthem, let them suffer them to be taken.\n\nOthers are troubled because no mysteries are made known to them: this is\nneedless, since a loving attention to God includes all particular\ndevotion, and that which is united to God alone, by its rest in Him, is\ninstructed in a most excellent manner in all mysteries. He who loves God\nloves all that is of Him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nON VIRTUE--ALL VIRTUES GIVEN WITH GOD IN THIS DEGREE OF THE PRAYER OF\nTHE HEART.\n\n\nThis is the short and the sure way of acquiring virtue; because, God\nbeing the principle of all virtue, we possess all virtue in possessing\nGod.\n\nMore than this, I say that all virtue which is not given inwardly is a\nmask of virtue, and like a garment that can be taken off, and will wear\nout. But virtue communicated fundamentally is essential, true, and\npermanent. \"The King's daughter is all glorious within\" (Ps. xlv. 13).\nAnd there are none who practise virtue more constantly than those who\nacquire it in this way, though virtue is not a distinct subject of their\nthought.\n\nHow hungry these loving ones are after suffering! They think only of\nwhat can please their Beloved, and they begin to neglect themselves, and\nto think less of themselves. The more they love God, the more they hate\nthemselves.\n\nOh, if all could learn this method, so easy that it is suited for all,\nfor the most ignorant as for the most learned, how easily the whole\nChurch would be reformed! You only need to love. St Augustine says,\n\"Love, and do as you please;\" for when we love perfectly, we shall not\ndesire to do anything that could be displeasing to our Beloved.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nOF PERFECT CONVERSION, WHICH IS AN EFFECT OF THIS METHOD OF PRAYER--TWO\nOF ITS AIDS, THE ATTRACTION OF GOD, AND THE CENTRAL INCLINATION OF THE\nSOUL.\n\n\n\"Turn ye unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted\"\n(Isa. xxxi. 6). Conversion is nothing else but a turning from the\ncreature to God. Conversion is not perfect, though it is necessary for\nsalvation, when it is merely a turning from sin to grace. To be\ncomplete, it must be a turning from without to within.\n\nThe soul, being turned in the direction of God, has a great facility for\nremaining converted to Him. The longer it is converted, the nearer it\napproaches to God, and attaches itself to Him; and the nearer it\napproaches to God, the more it becomes necessarily drawn from the\ncreature, which is opposed to God.\n\nBut this cannot be done by a violent effort of the creature; all that it\ncan do is to remain turned in the direction of God in a perpetual\nadherence.\n\nGod has an _attracting virtue_, which draws the soul more strongly\ntowards Himself; and in attracting it, He purifies it: as we see the sun\nattracting a dense vapour, and gradually, without any other effort on\nthe part of the vapour than that of letting itself be drawn, the sun, by\nbringing it near to himself, refines and purifies it.\n\nThere is, however, this difference, that the vapour is not drawn freely,\nand does not follow willingly, as is the case with the soul.\n\nThis manner of turning within is very simple, and makes the soul advance\nnaturally and without effort; because God is its centre. The centre has\nalways a strong attractive power; and the larger the centre, the\nstronger is its attractive force.\n\nBesides this attraction of the centre, there is given to all natural\nobjects a strong tendency to become united with their centre. As soon as\nanything is turned in the direction of its centre, unless it be stopped\nby some invincible obstacle, it rushes towards it with extreme\nvelocity. A stone in the air is no sooner let loose, and turned towards\nthe earth, than it tends to it by its own weight as its centre. It is\nthe same with fire and water, which, being no longer arrested, run\nincessantly towards their centre.\n\nNow I say that the soul, by the effort it has made in inward\nrecollection, being turned towards its centre, without any other effort,\nbut simply by the weight of love, falls towards its centre; and the more\nit remains quiet and at rest, making no movement of its own, the more\nrapidly it will advance, because it thus allows that attractive virtue\nto draw it.\n\nAll the care, then, that we need have is to promote this inward\nrecollection as much as possible, not being astonished at the difficulty\nwe may find in this exercise, which will soon be recompensed with a\nwonderful co-operation on the part of God, which will render it very\neasy. When the passions rise, a look towards God, who is present within\nus, easily deadens them. Any other resistance would irritate rather than\nappease them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nHIGHER DEGREE OF PRAYER, WHICH IS THAT OF THE SIMPLE PRESENCE OF GOD, OR\nACTIVE CONTEMPLATION.\n\n\nThe soul, faithfully exercising itself in the affection and love of its\nGod, is astonished to find Him taking complete possession of it.\n\nHis presence becomes so natural, that it would be impossible not to have\nit: it becomes habitual to the soul, which is also conscious of a great\ncalm spreading over it. Its prayer is all silence, and God imparts to it\nan intrinsic love, which is the commencement of ineffable happiness.\n\nOh, if I could describe the infinite degrees which follow! But I must\nstop here, since I am writing for beginners, and wait till God shall\nbring to light what may be useful to those more advanced.[1] I can only\nsay, that, at this point, it is most important that all natural\noperation should cease, that God may act alone: \"Be still, and know that\nI am God,\" is His own word by David (Ps. xlvi. 10).\n\n  1. This subject is pursued in the treatise entitled \"Spiritual\n     Torrents.\"\n\nBut man is so attached to his own works, that he cannot believe God is\nworking, unless he can feel, know, and distinguish His operation. He\ndoes not see that it is the speed of his course which prevents his\nseeing the extent of his advancement; and that the operation of God\nbecoming more abundant, absorbs that of the creature, as we see that the\nsun, in proportion as he rises, absorbs the light of the stars, which\nwere easily distinguishable before he appeared. It is not the want of\nlight, but an excess of light, which prevents our distinguishing the\nstars.\n\nIt is the same here; man can no longer distinguish his own operation,\nbecause the strong light absorbs all his little distinct lights, and\nmakes them fade away entirely, because God's excess surpasses them all.\nSo that those who accuse this degree of prayer of being a state of\n_idleness_, are greatly deceived; and only speak thus from want of\nexperience. Oh, if they would only prove it! in how short a time they\nwould become experimentally acquainted with this matter!\n\nI say, then, that this failure of work does not spring from scarcity,\nbut from abundance.\n\nTwo classes of persons are silent: the one because they have nothing to\nsay, the other because they have too much. It is thus in this degree. We\nare silent from excess, not from want.\n\nWater causes death to two persons in very different ways. One dies of\nthirst, another is drowned: the one dies from want, the other from\nabundance. So here it is abundance which causes the cessation of natural\noperation. It is therefore important in this degree to remain as much as\npossible in stillness.\n\nAt the commencement of this prayer, a movement of affection is\nnecessary; but when grace begins to flow into us, we have nothing to do\nbut to remain at rest, and take all that God gives. Any other movement\nwould prevent our profiting by this grace, which is given in order to\ndraw us into the _rest of love_.\n\nThe soul in this peaceful attitude of prayer falls into a mystic sleep,\nin which all its natural powers are silenced, until that which had been\ntemporary becomes its permanent condition. You see that the soul is\nthus led, without effort, without study, without artifice.\n\nThe heart is not a fortified place, which must be taken by cannonading\nand violence: it is a kingdom of peace, which is possessed by love.\nGently following in His train, you will soon reach the degree of\n_intuitive_ prayer. God asks nothing extraordinary and difficult: on the\ncontrary, He is most pleased with childlike simplicity.\n\nThe grandest part of religion is the most simple. It is the same with\nnatural things. Do you wish to get to the sea? Embark upon a river, and\ninsensibly and without effort you will be taken to it. Do you wish to\nget to God? Take His way, so quiet, so easy, and in a little while you\nwill be taken to Him in a manner that will surprise you. Oh, if only you\nwould try it! How soon you would see that I am telling you only too\nlittle, and that the experience would far surpass any description that\ncould be given! What do you fear? Why do you not throw yourself at once\ninto the arms of Love, who only stretched them out upon the cross in\norder to take you in? What risk can there be in trusting God, and\nabandoning yourself to Him? Oh, He will not deceive you, unless it be by\ngiving you far more than you ever expected: while those who expect\neverything from themselves may well take to themselves the reproach\nwhich God utters by the mouth of Isaiah: \"Thou art wearied in the\ngreatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope\" (Isa. lvii.\n10).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nOF REST IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD--ITS FRUITS--INWARD SILENCE--GOD COMMANDS\nIT--OUTWARD SILENCE.\n\n\nThe soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than\nthat of repose: for _the presence of God_ during the day, which is the\ngreat result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be\n_intuitive_ and _almost continual_. The soul is conscious of a deep\ninward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in\nitself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to\nretire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in\nprayer.\n\nIt is astonished at this infinite happiness; there is carried on within\nit a conversation which outward things cannot interrupt. It might be\nsaid of this method of prayer, as was said of Wisdom, \"All good things\ntogether come to me with her\" (Wisdom of Solomon vii. 11), for virtue\nflows naturally into the soul, and is practised so easily, that it seems\nto be quite natural to it. It has within it a germ of life and\nfruitfulness, which gives it a facility for all good, and an\ninsensibility to all evil. Let it then remain faithful, and seek no\nother frame of mind than that of simple rest. It has only to suffer\nitself to be filled with this divine effusion.\n\n\"The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before\nHim\" (Hab. ii. 20). The reason why inward silence is so necessary is,\nthat Christ, being the eternal and essential Word, in order that He may\nbe received into the soul, there must be a disposition corresponding\nwith what He is. Now it is certain that in order to receive words we\nmust listen. Hearing is the sense given to enable us to receive the\nwords which are communicated to us. Hearing is rather a passive than an\nactive sense, receiving, and not communicating. Christ being the Word\nwhich is to be communicated, the soul must be attentive to this Word\nwhich speaks within it.\n\nThis is why we are so often exhorted to listen to God, and to be\nattentive to His voice. Many passages might be quoted. I will be\ncontent to mention a few: \"Hearken unto me, O my people; and give ear\nunto me, O my nation\" (Isa. li. 4). \"Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,\nand all the remnant of the house of Israel\" (Isa. xlvi. 31). \"Hearken, O\ndaughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own\npeople, and thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy\nbeauty\" (Ps. xlv. 10, 11).\n\nWe must _listen_ to God, and be attentive to Him, _forgetting ourselves_\nand all self-interest. These two actions, or rather passions--for this\ncondition is essentially a passive one--arouse in God a \"desire\" towards\nthe \"beauty\" He has Himself communicated.\n\nOutward silence is extremely necessary for the cultivation of inward\nsilence, and it is impossible to acquire inward silence without having a\nlove for silence and solitude.\n\nGod tells us by the mouth of His prophet, \"I will allure her, and bring\nher into the wilderness, and speak to her heart\" (marginal reading of\nHosea ii. 14).\n\nTo be inwardly occupied with God, and outwardly occupied with countless\ntrifles, this is impossible.\n\nIt will be a small matter to pray, and to retire within ourselves for\nhalf an hour or an hour, if we do not retain the unction and the spirit\nof prayer during the day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nSELF-EXAMINATION AND CONFESSION.\n\n\nSelf-examination should always precede confession. Those who arrive at\nthis degree should expose themselves to God, who will not fail to\nenlighten them, and to make known to them the nature of their faults.\nThis examination must be conducted in peace and tranquillity, expecting\nmore from God than from our own research the knowledge of our sins.\n\nWhen we examine ourselves with an effort, we easily make mistakes. We\n\"call evil good, and good evil;\" and self-esteem easily deceives us. But\nwhen we remain exposed to the searching gaze of God, that Divine Sun\nbrings to light even the smallest atoms. We must then, for\nself-examination, abandon ourselves utterly to God.\n\nWhen we are in this degree of prayer, God is not slow to reveal to us\nall the faults we commit. We have no sooner sinned than we feel a\nburning reproach.\n\nIt is God Himself who conducts an examination which nothing escapes, and\nwe have only to turn towards God, and suffer the pain and the correction\nwhich He gives. As this examination by God is continual, we can no\nlonger examine ourselves; and if we are faithful to our abandonment to\nGod, we shall soon be better examined by the divine light than we could\nbe by all our own efforts. Experience will make this known. One thing\nwhich often causes astonishment to the soul is, that when it is\nconscious of a sin, and comes to confess it to God, instead of feeling\nregret and contrition, such as it formerly felt, a sweet and gentle love\ntakes possession of it.\n\nNot having experienced this before, it supposes that it ought to draw\nitself out of this condition to make a definite act of contrition. But\nit does not see that, by doing this, it would lose true contrition,\nwhich is this _intuitive love_, infinitely greater than anything it\ncould create for itself. It is a higher action, which includes the\nothers, with greater perfection, though these are not possessed\ndistinctly.\n\nWe should not seek to do anything for ourselves when God acts more\nexcellently in us and for us. It is hating sin as God hates it to hate\nit in this way. This love, which is the operation of God in the soul, is\nthe purest of all love. All we have to do then is to remain as we are.\n\nAnother remarkable thing is, that we often forget our faults, and find\nit difficult to remember them; but this must not trouble us, for two\nreasons: The first, that this very forgetfulness is a proof that the sin\nhas been atoned for, and it is better to forget all that concerns\nourselves, that we may remember God alone. The second reason is, that\nGod does not fail, whenever confession is needful, to show to the soul\nits greatest faults, for then it is He Himself who examines it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nON READING--VOCAL PRAYER--REQUESTS.\n\n\nThe proper manner of reading in this degree is, as soon as we feel\nattracted to meditation, to cease reading, and remain at rest.\n\nThe soul is no sooner called to inward silence, than it should cease to\nutter vocal prayers; saying but little at any time, and when it does say\nthem, if it finds any difficulty, or feels itself drawn to silence, it\nshould remain silent, and make no effort to pray, leaving itself to the\nguidance of the Spirit of God.\n\nThe soul will find that it cannot, as formerly, present definite\nrequests to God. This need not surprise it, for it is now that \"the\nSpirit maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God.\nThe Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should\npray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us,\nwith groanings which cannot be uttered\" (Rom. viii. 26, 27).\n\nWe must second the designs of God, which are to strip the soul of its\nown works, to substitute His in their place.\n\nLet Him work then, and bind yourself to nothing of your own. However\ngood it may appear to you, it cannot be so if it comes in the way of\nGod's will for you. The will of God is preferable to all other good.\nSeek not your own interests, but live by abandonment and by faith.\n\nIt is here that _faith_ begins to operate wonderfully in the soul.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTHE FAULTS COMMITTED IN THIS DEGREE--DISTRACTIONS, TEMPTATIONS--THE\nCOURSE TO BE PURSUED RESPECTING THEM.\n\n\nAs soon as we fall into a fault, or have wandered, we must turn again\nwithin ourselves; because this fault having turned us from God, we\nshould as soon as possible turn towards Him, and suffer the penitence\nwhich He Himself will give.\n\nIt is of great importance that we should not be anxious about these\nfaults, because the anxiety only springs from a secret pride and a love\nof our own excellence. We are troubled at feeling what we are.\n\nIf we become discouraged, we shall grow weaker yet; and reflection upon\nour faults produces a vexation which is worse than the sin itself.\n\nA truly humble soul does not marvel at its weakness, and the more it\nperceives its wretchedness, the more it abandons itself to God, and\nseeks to remain near to Him, knowing how deeply it needs His help.\nGod's own word to us is, \"I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the\nway which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye\" (Ps. xxxii.\n8).\n\nIn distractions or temptations, instead of combating them directly,\nwhich would only serve to augment them, and to wean us from God, with\nwhom alone we ought to be occupied, we should simply turn away from\nthem, and draw nearer to God; as a little child, seeing a fierce animal\napproaching it, would not stay to fight it, nor even to look at it, but\nwould run for shelter to its mother's arms, where it would be safe. \"God\nis in the midst of her, she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and\nthat right early\" (Ps. xlvi. 5).\n\nIf we adopt any other course of action, if we attempt to attack our\nenemies in our weakness, we shall be wounded, even if we are not\nentirely defeated; but remaining in the simple presence of God, we find\nourselves immediately fortified.\n\nThis was what David did: he says, \"I have set the Lord always before me;\nbecause He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my\nheart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in\nhope.\" It is also said by Moses, \"The Lord shall fight for you, and ye\nshall hold your peace\" (Exod. xiv. 14).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nPRAYER AND SACRIFICE EXPLAINED BY THE SIMILITUDE OF A PERFUME--OUR\nANNIHILATION IN THIS SACRIFICE--SOLIDITY AND FRUITFULNESS OF THIS PRAYER\nAS SET FORTH IN THE GOSPEL.\n\n\nPrayer ought to be both petition and sacrifice.\n\nPrayer, according to the testimony of St John, is an incense, whose\nperfume rises to God. Therefore it is said in the Revelation (chap.\nviii. 3), that an angel held a censer, which contained the incense of\nthe prayers of saints.\n\nPrayer is an outpouring of the heart in the presence of God. \"I have\npoured out my soul before the Lord,\" said the mother of Samuel (1 Sam.\ni. 15). Thus the prayers of the Magi at the feet of the infant Jesus in\nthe stable of Bethlehem were signified by the incense which they\noffered.\n\nPrayer is the heat of love, which melts and dissolves the soul, and\ncarries it to God. In proportion as it melts, it gives out its odour,\nand this odour comes from the love which burns it.\n\nThis is what the Bride meant when she said, \"While the King sitteth at\nHis table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof\" (Cant. i. 12).\nThe table is the heart. When God is there, and we are kept near to Him,\nin His presence, this presence of God melts and dissolves the hardness\nof our hearts, and as they melt, they give forth their perfume.\nTherefore the Bridegroom, seeing His Bride thus melted by the speech of\nher Beloved, says, \"Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness,\nperfumed with myrrh and frankincense?\" (Cant. iii. 6).\n\nThus the soul rises up towards its God. But in order to this, it must\nsuffer itself to be destroyed and annihilated by the force of love. This\nis a state of _sacrifice_ essential to the Christian religion, by which\nthe soul suffers itself to be destroyed and annihilated to render homage\nto the sovereignty of God; as it is written, \"The power of the Lord is\ngreat, and He is honoured of the lowly\" (Ecclus. iii. 20). And the\ndestruction of our own being confesses the sovereign being of God.\n\nWe must cease to be, so that the Spirit of the Word may be in us. In\norder that He may come to us, we must yield our life to Him, and die to\nself that He may live in us, and that we being dead, our life may be\nhidden with Christ in God (Col. iii. 3).\n\n\"Come unto me,\" says God, \"all ye that be desirous of me, and fill\nyourselves with my fruits\" (Ecclus. xxiv. 19). But how can we be filled\nwith God? Only by being emptied of self, and going out of ourselves in\norder to be lost in Him.\n\nNow, this can never be brought about except by our becoming nothing.\nNothingness is true prayer, which renders to God \"honour, and glory, and\npower, for ever and ever\" (Rev. v. 13).\n\nThis prayer is the prayer of truth. It is worshipping the Father in\nspirit and in truth. In _spirit_, because we are by it drawn out of our\nhuman and carnal action, to enter into the purity of the Spirit, who\nprays in us; and in _truth_, because the soul is led into the truth of\nthe ALL of God, and the NOTHING of the creature.\n\nThere are but these two truths, the ALL and the NOTHING. All the rest is\nuntruth.\n\nWe can only honour the ALL of God by our NOTHINGNESS; and we have no\nsooner become nothing, than God, who will not suffer us to be empty,\nfills us with Himself. Oh, if all knew the blessings which come to the\nsoul by this prayer, they would be satisfied with no others: it is the\npearl of great price; it is the hidden treasure. He who finds it gladly\nsells all that he has to buy it (Matt. xiii. 44, 46). It is the well of\nliving water, which springs up into everlasting life (John iv. 14). It\nis the practice of the pure maxims of the gospel.\n\nDoes not Christ Himself tell us that the kingdom of God is within us?\n(Luke xvii. 21). This kingdom is set up in two ways. The first is, when\nGod is so thoroughly master of us that nothing resists Him: then our\nheart is truly His kingdom. The other way is, that by possessing God,\nwho is the sovereign Lord, we possess the kingdom of God, which is the\nheight of felicity, and the end for which we were created. As it has\nbeen said, _to serve God is to reign_.\n\nThe end for which we were created is to enjoy God in this life, and men\ndo not believe it!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHIS STATE OF PRAYER NOT ONE OF IDLENESS, BUT OF NOBLE ACTION, WROUGHT\nBY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AND IN DEPENDENCE UPON HIM--THE COMMUNICATION OF\nHIS LIFE AND UNION.\n\n\nSome people, hearing of the prayer of silence, have wrongly imagined\nthat the soul remains _inactive_, _lifeless_, and _without movement_.\n\nBut the truth is, that its action is more noble and more extensive than\nit ever was before it entered this degree, since it is moved by God\nHimself, and acted upon by His Spirit. St Paul desires that we should be\n_led by the Spirit of God_ (Rom. viii. 14). I do not say that there must\nbe no action, but that we must act in dependence upon the divine\nmovement. This is admirably set forth by Ezekiel. The prophet saw wheels\nwhich had the spirit of life, and wherever this spirit was to go, they\nwent; they went on, or stood, or were lifted up, as they were moved,\nfor the spirit of life was in them: but they never went back (see Ezek.\ni. 19-21). It should be the same with the soul: it should suffer itself\nto be moved and guided by the living Spirit who is in it, following His\ndirection, and no other. Now this Spirit will never lead it to go\nbackwards, that is, to reflect upon the creature, or to lean upon\nitself, but always to go forward, pressing continually towards the mark.\n\nThis action of the soul is a restful action. When it acts of itself, it\nacts with effort; and is therefore more conscious of its action. But\nwhen it acts in dependence upon the Spirit of grace, its action is so\nfree, so easy, so natural, that it does not seem to act at all. \"He\nbrought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He\ndelighted in me\" (Ps. xviii. 19).\n\nAs soon as the soul has commenced its course towards its centre,[2] from\nthat moment its action becomes vigorous--that is, its course towards the\ncentre which attracts it, which infinitely surpasses the velocity of any\nother movement.\n\n  2. See chap. ix.\n\nIt is action then, but an action so _noble_, so _peaceful_, so\n_tranquil_, that it seems to the soul as though it were not acting at\nall; because it rests, as it were, naturally. When a wheel is only\nturning with a moderate speed, it can easily be distinguished; but when\nit goes quickly, no part of it can be distinctly seen. So the soul which\nremains at rest in God has an action infinitely noble and exalted, yet\nvery peaceful. The greater its peace, the greater is its velocity,\nbecause it is abandoned to the Spirit, who moves it and makes it act.\nThis Spirit is God Himself, who draws us, and in drawing makes us run to\nHim, as the Bride well knew when she said, \"Draw me, we will run\" (Cant.\ni. 4). Draw me, O my Divine Centre, by my inmost heart: my powers and my\nsensibilities will run at Thy attraction! This attraction alone is a\nbalm which heals me, and a perfume which draws. \"We will run,\" she says,\n\"because of the savour of Thy good ointments.\" This attracting virtue is\n_very strong_ but the soul follows it _very gladly_; and as it is\nequally strong and sweet, it attracts by its strength and delights by\nits sweetness.\n\nThe Bride says, \"Draw me, we will run.\" She speaks of herself, and to\nherself: \"Draw _me_;\" there is the unity of the object which is\nattracted: \"_We_ will run;\" there is the correspondence of all the\npowers and sensibilities which follow in the train of the centre of the\nheart.\n\nIt is not then a question of remaining in idleness, but of acting _in\ndependence upon the Spirit of God_, who animates us, since it is in Him\nthat \"we live, and move, and have our being\" (Acts xvii. 23). This calm\ndependence upon the Spirit of God is absolutely necessary, and causes\nthe soul in a short time to attain the simplicity and unity in which it\nwas created. It was created one and simple, like God. In order, then, to\nanswer the end of our creation, we must quit the multiplicity of our own\nactions, to enter into the simplicity and unity of God, in whose image\nwe were created (Gen. i. 27). The Spirit of God is \"one only,\" \"yet\nmanifold\" (Wisdom of Solomon vii. 22), and its unity does not prevent\nits multiplicity. We enter into God's unity when we are united to His\nSpirit, because then we have the same Spirit that He has; and we are\nmultiplied outwardly, as regards His dispositions, without leaving the\nunity.\n\nSo that, as God acts infinitely, and we are of one spirit with Him, we\nact much more than we could do by our own action. We must suffer\nourselves to be guided by Wisdom. This \"Wisdom\" is more moving than any\nmotion (Wisdom of Solomon vii. 24). Let us, then, remain in dependence\nupon His action, and our action will be vigorous indeed.\n\n\"All things were made by (the Word); and without Him was not anything\nmade that was made\" (John i. 3). God, in creating us, created us in His\nimage, after His likeness (Gen. i. 26). He gave to us the Spirit of the\nWord by the breath of life (Gen. ii. 7), which He breathed into us when\nwe were created in the image of God, by the participation of the life of\nthe Word, who is the image of His Father. Now this life is one, simple,\npure, intimate, and fruitful.\n\nThe devil having disfigured this beautiful image, it became necessary\nthat this same Word, whose breath had been breathed into us at our\ncreation, should come to restore it. It was necessary that it should be\nHe, because He is the image of the Father; and a defaced image cannot be\nrepaired by its own action, but by the action of him who seeks to\nrestore it. Our _action_ then should be, to _put ourselves_ into a\nposition to suffer the action of God, and to allow the Word to retrace\nHis image in us. An image, if it could move, would by its movement\nprevent the sculptor's perfecting it. Every movement of our own hinders\nthe work of the Heavenly Sculptor, and produces false features.\n\nWe must then remain silent, and only move as He moves us. Jesus Christ\nhas _life in Himself_ (John v. 26), and He must communicate life to all\nwho live.\n\nThat this action is the most noble cannot be denied. Things are only of\nvalue as the principle in which they originate is noble, grand, and\nelevated. Actions committed by a divine principle are _divine actions_;\nwhereas the actions of the creature, however good they may appear, are\n_human actions_ or at best they are virtuous actions, if they are done\nwith the help of grace.\n\nJesus says that He has life in Himself; all other beings have but a\nborrowed life, but the Word has life in Himself; and as He is\ncommunicative, He desires to communicate this life to men. We must then\ngive place to this life, that it may flow in us, which can only be done\nby evacuation, and the loss of the life of Adam and of our own action,\nas St Paul assures us: \"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:\nold things are passed away; behold all things are become new\" (2 Cor. v.\n17). This can only be brought about by the death of ourselves and of our\nown action, that the action of God may be substituted for it. We do not\nprofess, then, to be without action, but only to act in dependence upon\nthe Spirit of God, suffering His action to take the place of our own.\nJesus shows us this in the gospel. Martha did good things, but because\nshe did them of her own spirit, Christ reproved her for them. The spirit\nof man is turbulent and boisterous; therefore it does little, though it\nappears to do much. \"Martha, Martha,\" said Jesus, \"thou art careful and\ntroubled about many things; but one thing is needful; and Mary hath\nchosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her\" (Luke x.\n41, 42).\n\nWhat had she chosen, this Magdalene? Peace, tranquillity, and repose.\nShe apparently ceased to act, that she might be moved by the Spirit of\nGod; she ceased to live, that Christ might live in her.\n\nThis is why it is so necessary to renounce ourselves and all our own\nworks to follow Jesus; for we cannot follow Him unless we are animated\nwith His Spirit. In order that the Spirit of Christ may dwell in us, our\nown spirit must give place to Him. \"He that is joined to the Lord,\" says\nSt Paul, \"is one spirit\" (1 Cor. vi. 17). \"It is good for me to draw\nnear to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God\" (Ps. lxxiii. 28). What\nis this \"drawing near\"? It is the beginning of union.\n\nUnion has its beginning, its continuation, its completion, and its\nconsummation. The commencement of union is an inclination towards God.\nWhen the soul is converted in the manner I have described, it has an\ninclination to its centre, and a strong tendency to union: this tendency\nis the commencement. Then it adheres, which happens when it approaches\nnearer to God; then it is united to Him, and finally becomes one with\nHim--that is, it becomes one spirit with Him; and it is then that this\nspirit, which proceeded from God, returns to Him as its end.\n\nIt is, then, necessary that we should enter this way, which is the\ndivine motion, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. St Paul says, \"If any man\nhave not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His\" (Rom. viii. 9). To be\nChrist's, then, we must suffer ourselves to be filled with His Spirit,\nand emptied of our own: our hearts must be evacuated. St Paul, in the\nsame place, proves to us the necessity of this divine motion: he says,\n\"As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God\"\n(Rom. viii. 14).\n\nThe divinely-imparted Spirit is the Spirit of divine sonship; therefore,\nthe same apostle continues, \"Ye have not received the spirit of bondage\nagain to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we\ncry, Abba, Father\" (Rom. viii. 15). This spirit is no other than the\nSpirit of Christ, by whom we participate in His Sonship; and this\n\"Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the sons of\nGod.\"\n\nAs soon as the soul leaves itself to be moved by the Spirit of God, it\nexperiences the witness of this divine sonship; and this witness serves\nthe more to increase its joy, as it makes it know _that it is called to\nthe liberty of the sons of God_, and that the spirit it has received is\nnot a spirit of bondage, but of liberty.\n\nThe Spirit of the divine motion is so necessary for all things, that\nPaul founds this necessity upon our ignorance of the things that we ask\nfor. \"The Spirit,\" he says, \"helpeth our infirmities; for we know not\nwhat we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh\nintercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.\" This is\nconclusive: if we do not know what to pray for, nor how to ask as we\nought for what is necessary for us, and if it is needful that the Spirit\nwho is in us, to whose motion we abandon ourselves, should ask it for\nus, ought we not to leave Him to do it? He does it \"with groanings which\ncannot be uttered.\"\n\nThis Spirit is the Spirit of the Word, who is always heard, as He says\nHimself: \"I know that Thou hearest me always\" (John xi. 42). If we leave\nit to the Spirit within us to ask and to pray, we shall always be\nanswered. Why so? O great apostle, mystic teacher, so deeply taught in\nthe inner life! teach us why. \"It is,\" he adds, \"because He that\nsearcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He\nmaketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God;\" that\nis to say, this Spirit only asks that which it is God's will to give. It\nis God's will that we should be saved and that we should be perfect. He\nasks, then, for all that is necessary to our perfection. Why, after\nthis, should we be burdened with superfluous cares, and be wearied in\nthe greatness of our way, without ever saying, There is no hope in\nourselves, and therefore resting in God? God Himself invites us to cast\nall our care upon Him, and He complains, in inconceivable goodness, that\nwe employ our strength, our riches, and our treasure, in countless\nexterior things, although there is so little joy to be found in them\nall. \"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your\nlabour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and\neat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness\"\n(Isa. lv. 2).\n\nOh, if it were known what happiness there is in thus hearkening unto\nGod, and how the soul is strengthened by it! All flesh must be silent\nbefore the Lord (see Zech. ii. 13). All self-effort must cease when He\nappears. In order still further to induce us to abandon ourselves to Him\nwithout reserve, God assures us that we need fear nothing from such\nabandonment, because He has a special individual care over each of us.\nHe says, \"Can a woman forget her sucking-child, that she should not have\ncompassion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may forget, yet will I not\nforget thee\" (Isa. xlix. 15). Ah, words full of consolation! Who on\nhearing them can fear to abandon himself utterly to the guidance of\nGod?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nDISTINCTION BETWEEN EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR ACTIONS--THOSE OF THE SOUL IN\nTHIS CONDITION ARE INTERIOR, BUT HABITUAL, CONTINUED, DIRECT, PROFOUND,\nSIMPLE, AND IMPERCEPTIBLE--BEING A CONTINUAL SINKING IN THE OCEAN OF\nDIVINITY--SIMILITUDE OF A VESSEL--HOW TO ACT IN THE ABSENCE OF SENSIBLE\nSUPPORTS.\n\n\nThe actions of men are either exterior or interior. The _exterior_ are\nthose which appear outwardly, and have a sensible object, possessing\nneither good nor evil qualities, excepting as they receive them from the\ninterior principle in which they originate. It is not of these that I\nintend to speak, but only of interior actions, which are those actions\nof the soul by which it _applies itself_ inwardly to some object, or\n_turns away_ from some other.\n\nWhen, being applied to God, I desire to commit an action of a different\nnature from those which He would prompt, I turn away from God, and I\nturn towards created things more or less according to the strength or\nweakness of my action. If, being turned towards the creature, I wish to\nreturn to God, I must commit the action of turning away from the\ncreature, and turning towards God; and thus the more perfect is this\naction, the more complete will be the conversion.\n\nUntil I am perfectly converted, I need several actions to turn me\ntowards God. Some are done all at once, others gradually; but my action\nought to lead me to turn to God, employing all the strength of my soul\nfor Him, as it is written, \"Therefore even now, saith the Lord, turn ye\neven to me with all your heart\" (Joel ii. 12). \"Thou shalt return unto\nthe Lord thy God ... with all thine heart and with all thy soul\" (Deut.\nxxx. 2). God only asks for our heart: \"My son, give me thy heart, and\nlet thine eyes observe my ways\" (Prov. xxiii. 26). To give the heart to\nGod is to have its gaze, its strength, and its vigour all centred in\nHim, to follow His will. We must, then, after we have applied to God,\nremain always turned towards Him.\n\nBut as the mind of man is weak, and the soul, being accustomed to turn\ntowards earthly things, is easily turned away from God, it must, as soon\nas it perceives that it is turned towards outward things, resume its\nformer position in God by a simple act of return to Him.\n\nAnd as several repeated acts form a habit, the soul contracts a habit of\nconversion, and from action it passes to a habitual condition.\n\nThe soul, then, must not seek by means of any efforts or works of its\nown to come near to God; this is seeking to perform one action by means\nof others, instead of by a simple action remaining attached to God\nalone.\n\nIf we believe that we must commit no actions, we are mistaken, for _we\nare always acting_; but each one must act according to his degree.\n\nI will endeavour to make this point clear, as, for want of understanding\nit, it presents a difficulty to many Christians.\n\nThere are _passing_ and _distinct_ actions, and _continued_ actions;\n_direct_ acts and _reflected_ acts. All cannot perform the first, and\nall are not in a condition to perform the others. The first actions\nshould be committed by those who are turned away from God. They ought to\nturn to Him by a distinct action, more or less strong according to their\ndistance from Him.\n\nBy a _continued_ action I understand that by which the soul is\ncompletely turned towards its God by a _direct_ action, which it does\nnot renew, unless it has been interrupted, but which exists. The soul\nbeing altogether turned in this way, is in love, and remains there: \"And\nhe that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God\" (1 John iv. 16). Then the\nsoul may be said to be in a habitual act, resting even in this action.\nBut its rest is not idle, for it has an action _always in force_, viz.,\n_a gentle sinking in God_, in which God attracts it more and more\nstrongly; and, following this attraction, and resting in love, it sinks\nmore and more in this love, and has an action infinitely stronger, more\nvigorous, and more prompt, than that action which forms only the return.\nNow the soul which is in this _profound and strong action_, being turned\ntowards its God, does not perceive this action, because it is direct,\nand not reflex; so that persons in this condition, not knowing how\nrightly to describe it, say that _they have no action_. But they are\nmistaken; they were never more active. It would be better to say they do\nnot distinguish any action, than that they do not commit any.\n\nThe soul does not act of itself, I admit; but it is drawn, and it\nfollows the attracting power. Love is the weight which sinks it, as a\nperson who falls in the sea sinks, and would sink to infinity if the sea\nwere infinite; and without perceiving its sinking, it would sink to the\nmost profound depths with an incredible speed. It is, then, incorrect to\nsay that no actions are committed. All commit actions, but all do not\ncommit them in the same manner; and the abuse arises from the fact, that\nthose who know that action is inevitable wish it to be _distinct_ and\n_sensible_. But sensible action is for beginners, and the other for\nthose more advanced. To stop with the first would be to deprive\nourselves of the last; and to wish to commit the last before having\npassed the first would be an equal abuse.\n\nEverything must be done in its season; each state has its commencement,\nits progress, and its end. There is no act which has not its beginning.\nAt first we must work with _effort_, but afterwards we enjoy the fruit\nof our labour.\n\nWhen a vessel is in the harbour, the sailors have a difficulty in\nbringing it into the open sea; but once there, they easily turn it in\nthe direction in which they wish to navigate. So, when the soul is in\nsin, it needs an effort to drag it out; the cords which bind it must be\nloosened; then, by means of strong and vigorous action, it must be drawn\nwithin itself, little by little leaving the harbour, and being turned\nwithin, which is the place to which its voyage should be directed.\n\nWhen the vessel is thus turned, in proportion as it advances in the sea,\nit leaves the land behind it, and the further it goes from the land, the\nless effort is needed to carry it along. At last it begins to sail\ngently, and the vessel goes on so rapidly that the oars become useless.\nWhat does the pilot do then? He is contented with spreading the sails\nand sitting at the helm.\n\n_Spreading the sails_ is simply laying ourselves before God, to be\nmoved by His Spirit. _Sitting at the helm_ is preventing our heart from\nleaving the right way, rowing it gently, and leading it according to the\nmovement of the Spirit of God, who gradually takes possession of it, as\nthe wind gradually fills the sails, and impels the vessel forward. So\nlong as the vessel sails before the wind, the mariners rest from their\nlabour. They voyage farther in an hour, while they rest in this manner\nand leave the ship to be carried along by the wind, than they would in a\nmuch longer time by their own efforts; and if they wished to row,\nbesides the fatigue which would result from it, their labour would be\nuseless, and would only serve to retard the vessel.\n\nThis is the conduct we should pursue in our inner life, and in acting\nthus we shall advance more in a short time by the Divine guidance, than\nwe ever could do by our own efforts. If only you will try this way, you\nwill find it the easiest possible.\n\nWhen the wind is contrary, if the wind and the tempest are violent, the\nanchor must be thrown in the sea to stop the vessel. This _anchor_ is\ntrust in God and hope in His goodness, waiting in patience for the\ntempest to cease, and for a favourable wind to return, as David did:\n\"I waited patiently for the Lord,\" he says, \"and He inclined unto me\"\n(Ps. xl. 1).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nTHE DRYNESS OF PREACHERS, AND THE VARIOUS EVILS WHICH ARISE FROM THEIR\nFAILING TO TEACH HEART-PRAYER--EXHORTATION TO PASTORS TO LEAD PEOPLE\nTOWARDS THIS FORM OF PRAYER, WITHOUT AMUSING THEM WITH STUDIED AND\nMETHODICAL DEVOTION.\n\n\nIf all those who are working for the conquest of souls sought to win\nthem _by the heart_, leading them first of all to prayer and to the\ninner life, they would see many and lasting conversions. But so long as\nthey only address themselves to the outside, and instead of drawing\npeople to Christ by occupying their hearts with Him, they only give them\na thousand precepts for outward observances, they will see but little\nfruit, and that will not be lasting.\n\nWhen once the heart is won, other defects are easily corrected. This is\nwhy God particularly asks for the _heart_. By this means alone would be\nprevented the drunkenness, blasphemy, lewdness, enmity, and robbery\nwhich are prevalent in the world. Jesus Christ would reign universally,\nand the Church everywhere would be revived.\n\nError only takes possession of the soul in the absence of faith and\nprayer. If men could be taught to _believe simply_ and to _pray_,\ninstead of disputing amongst themselves, they would be gently led to\nChrist.\n\nOh, how inestimable is the loss of those who neglect the inner life! Oh,\nwhat an account will they have to render to God who have the charge of\nsouls, for not having discovered this hidden treasure to all those whom\nthey serve in the ministry of the Word!\n\nThe excuse given is that there is _danger_ in this way, or that ignorant\npeople are incapable of spiritual things. The oracle of truth assures us\nthat God has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has\nrevealed them to babes. And what danger can there be in walking in the\nonly true way, which is Jesus Christ, in giving ourselves to Him,\nlooking to Him continually, putting all our trust in His grace, and\ntending, with all the forces of our souls, to His pure love?\n\nFar from the simple ones being _incapable_ of this perfection, they are\nthe most suitable for it, because they are more docile, more humble, and\nmore innocent; and as they do not reason, they are not so attached to\ntheir own light. Having no science, they more readily suffer themselves\nto be guided by the Spirit of God: while others who are blind in their\nown sufficiency resist the divine inspiration.\n\nGod tells us, too, that it is to the _simple_ He gives understanding by\nthe entrance of His Word (Ps. cxix. 130). \"The testimony of the Lord is\nsure, making wise the _simple_\" (Ps. xix. 7). \"The Lord preserveth the\n_simple_: I was brought low, and He helped me\" (Ps. cxvi. 6).\n\nO ye who have the oversight of souls! see that you do not prevent the\nlittle ones from going to Christ. His words to His disciples were,\n\"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of\nsuch is the kingdom of God\" (Luke xviii. 16). Jesus only said this to\nHis disciples, because they wished to keep the children away from Him.\nOften the remedy is applied to the body, when the disease is at the\n_heart_. The reason why we have so little success in seeking to reform\nmen, is that we direct our efforts to the outside, and all that we can\ndo there soon passes off. But if we were to give them first _the key of\nthe interior_, the outside would be reformed at once with a natural\nfacility.\n\nAnd this is very easy. To teach them to seek God in their heart, to\nthink of Him, to return to Him when they find they have turned away, to\ndo all and suffer all for the sake of pleasing Him--this is to direct\nthem to the source of all grace, and to make them find there all that is\nnecessary for their sanctification. O you who serve souls! I conjure you\nto put them first of all into this way, which is Jesus Christ; and it is\nHe who conjures you to do this by the blood He has shed for the souls He\nconfides to your care. \"Speak to the heart of Jerusalem\" (Isa. xl. 2,\nmarg.) O dispensers of His grace, preachers of His Word, ministers of\nsacraments! establish His kingdom; and, in order to establish it truly,\nmake it reign over HEARTS. For as it is the heart alone which can oppose\nHis empire, it is by the subjection of the heart that His sovereignty is\nmost honoured. Alas! we seek to make _studied_ prayers; and by wishing\nto arrange them too much, we render them impossible. We have alienated\nchildren from the best of Fathers, in seeking to teach them a polished\nlanguage. Go, poor children, and speak to your Heavenly Father in your\nnatural language: however uncultivated it may be, it is not so to Him. A\nfather loves best the speech which is put in disorder by love and\nrespect, because he sees that it comes from the heart: it is more to him\nthan a dry harangue, vain and unfruitful though well studied. Oh, how\ncertain glances of love charm and ravish Him! They express infinitely\nmore than all language and reason. By wishing to teach how to love Love\nHimself with method, much of this love has been lost. Oh! it is not\nnecessary to teach the art of loving. The language of love is barbarous\nto him who does not love; and we cannot learn to love God better than\nby loving Him. The Spirit of God does not need our arrangements; He\ntakes shepherds at His pleasure to make them prophets; and, far from\nclosing the palace of prayer to any, as it is imagined, He leaves the\ndoors open to all, and Wisdom is ordered to cry in the public places,\n\"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth\nunderstanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the\nwine which I have mingled\" (Prov. ix. 4, 5). Did not Christ thank His\nFather that He had hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and\nhad revealed them to babes? (Matt. xi. 25.)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nAFTER THE PRECEDING WAYS, THERE REMAINS AN AFTER WAY, PREPARATORY TO\nDIVINE UNION, IN WHICH WISDOM AND JUSTICE MAKE THE PASSIVE PURIFICATION\nOF THE SOUL, ALL WHICH IS TREATED IN DETAIL IN THE FOLLOWING TREATISE,\nENTITLED \"SPIRITUAL TORRENTS.\"\n\n\nIt is impossible to attain divine union by the way of meditation alone,\nor even by the affections, or by any luminous or understood prayer.\nThere are several reasons. These are the principal.\n\nFirst, according to Scripture, \"No man shall see God and live\" (Exod.\nxxxiii. 20). Now all discursive exercises of prayer, or even of _active\ncontemplation_, regarded as an end, and not as a preparation for the\n_passive_, are exercises of life by which we cannot see God, that is,\nbecome united to Him. All that is of man, and of his own industry,\nhowever noble and elevated it may be, must die.\n\nSt John tells us that \"there was silence in heaven.\" Heaven represents\nthe depths and centre of the soul, where all must be in silence when the\nmajesty of God appears. All that belongs to our own efforts, or to\nourselves in any way, must be destroyed, because nothing is opposed to\nGod but appropriation, and all the malignity of man is in this\nappropriation, which is the source of his evil; so that the more a soul\nloses its appropriation, the more it becomes pure.\n\nSecondly, in order to unite two things so opposed as the purity of God\nand the impurity of the creature, the simplicity of God and the\nmultiplicity of the creature, God must operate alone; for this can never\nbe done by the effort of the creature, since two things cannot be united\nunless there is some relation or resemblance between them, as an impure\nmetal would never unite with one that was pure and refined.\n\nWhat does God do then? He sends before Him His own Wisdom, as fire will\nbe sent upon the earth to consume by its activity all the impurity that\nis there. Fire consumes all things, and nothing resists its activity. It\nis the same with Wisdom; it consumes all impurity in the creature, to\nprepare him for divine union.\n\nThis impurity, so opposed to union, is appropriation and activity.\n_Appropriation_, because it is the source of the real impurity which can\nnever be united to essential purity; as the sun's rays may touch the mud\nbut cannot unite with it. _Activity_, because God being in an infinite\nrepose, in order that the soul may be united to Him, it must participate\nin His repose, without which there can be no union, because of the\ndissemblance; and to unite two things, they must be in a proportionate\nrest.\n\nIt is for this reason that the soul can only attain divine union by the\nrest of its will; and it can only be united to God when it is in a\n_central rest_ and in the purity of its creation.\n\nTo purify the soul God makes use of wisdom as fire is used for the\npurification of gold. It is certain that gold can only be purified by\nfire, which gradually consumes all that is earthly and foreign, and\nseparates it from the gold. It is not sufficient that the earth should\nbe changed into gold; it is necessary that the fire should melt and\ndissolve it, to remove from it all that is earthly; and this gold is put\nin the fire so many times that it loses its impurity, and all necessity\nof purification. Then it is fit to be employed in the most excellent\nworkmanship.\n\nAnd if this gold is impure in the end, it is because it has contracted\nfresh defilement by coming in contact with other bodies. But this\nimpurity is only superficial, and does not prevent its being used;\nwhereas its former impurity was hidden within it, and, as it were,\nidentified with its nature.\n\nIn addition to this, you will remark that gold of an inferior degree of\npurity cannot mix with that of a superior purity. The one must contract\nthe impurity of the other, or else impart its own purity to it. Put a\nrefined gold with an unrefined one, what can the goldsmith ever do with\nit? He will have all the impurity taken from the second piece, that it\nmay be able to mix with the first. This is what St Paul tells us, that\n\"the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is;\" he adds, that\nif any man's work should be found to deserve burning, he should be saved\n\"so as by fire\" (1 Cor. iii. 13, 15). That means, that though there are\nsome works which are good, and which God receives, yet, so that he who\nhas done them may be pure, they too must pass through the fire, in order\nthat all appropriation, that is, all that was his own, may be taken\nfrom them. God will judge our righteousness, because \"by the deeds of\nthe law there shall no flesh be justified,\" but by \"the righteousness of\nGod, which is by faith\" (Rom. iii. 20, 22).\n\nThis being understood, I say that, in order that man may be united to\nhis God, wisdom and divine justice, like a pitiless and devouring fire,\nmust take from him all appropriation, all that is terrestrial, carnal,\nand of his own activity; and having taken all this from him, they must\nunite him to God.\n\nThis is never brought about by the labours of the creature; on the\ncontrary, it even causes him regret, because, as I have said, man so\nloves what is his own, and is so fearful of its destruction, that if God\ndid not accomplish it Himself, and by His own authority, man would never\nconsent to it.\n\nIt will be objected to this, that God never deprives man of his liberty,\nand that therefore he can always resist God; for which reason I ought\nnot to say that _God acts absolutely, without the consent of man_. In\nexplanation I say, that it is sufficient that man should give a\n_passive consent_, that he may have entire and full liberty; because\nhaving at the beginning given himself to God, that He may do as He will\nboth with him and in him, he gave from that time an _active_ and general\nassent to all that God might do. But when God destroys, burns, and\npurifies, the soul does not see that all this is for its advantage; it\nrather believes the contrary: and as at first the fire seems to tarnish\nthe gold, so this operation seems to despoil the soul of its purity. So\nthat if an _active_ and _explicit_ consent were required, the soul would\nfind a difficulty in giving it, and often would not give it. All that it\ndoes is to remain in a passive contentment, enduring this operation as\nwell as it can, being neither able nor willing to prevent it.\n\nGod then so purifies this soul of all natural, distinct, and perceived\noperations, that at last He makes it more and more _conformed_ to\nHimself, and then _uniform_, raising the passive capacity of the\ncreature, enlarging it and ennobling it, though in a hidden and\nunperceived manner, which is termed mystical. But in all these\noperations the soul must concur passively, and in proportion as the\nworking of God becomes stronger, the soul must continually yield to Him,\nuntil He absorbs it altogether. We do not say, then, as some assert,\nthat there must be no _action_; since, on the contrary, this is _the\ndoor_; but only that _we must not remain in it_, seeing that man should\ntend towards the perfection of his end, and that he can never reach it\nwithout quitting the first means, which, though they were necessary to\nintroduce him into the way, would greatly hinder him afterwards, if he\nattached himself obstinately to them. This is what Paul said, \"I forget\nthose things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which\nare before; I press toward the mark\" (Phil. iii. 13, 14).\n\nShould we not consider a person destitute of reason who, after\nundertaking a journey, stopped at the first inn, because he was assured\nthat several had passed it, that a few had lodged there, and that the\nlandlord lived there? What the soul is required to do, then, is _to\nadvance towards its end_, to take the shortest road, not to stop at the\nfirst point, and, following the advice of St Paul, to suffer itself to\nbe \"led by the Spirit of God\" (Rom. viii. 14), who will lead it to the\nend for which it was created, which is the enjoyment of God.\n\nIt is well known that the sovereign good is God; that essential\nblessedness consists in union with God, and that this union cannot be\nthe result of our own efforts, since God only communicates Himself to\nthe soul according to its capacity. We cannot be united to God without\npassivity and simplicity; and this union being bliss, the way which\nleads to it must be the best, and there can be no risk in walking in it.\n\nThis way is not _dangerous_. If it were, Christ would not have\nrepresented it as the most perfect and necessary of all ways. All can\nwalk in it; and as all are called to blessedness, all are called to the\nenjoyment of God, both in this life and in that which is to come, since\nthe enjoyment of God is blessedness. I say the enjoyment of God Himself,\nnot of His gifts, which can never impart essential blessedness, not\nbeing able fully to satisfy the soul, which is so constituted that even\nthe richest gifts of God cannot thoroughly content it. The desire of God\nis to give Himself to us, according to the capacity with which He has\nendowed us; and yet we fear to leave ourselves to God! We fear to\npossess Him, and to be prepared for divine union!\n\nYou say, _we must not bring ourselves to this condition_. I agree to\nthat; but I say too, that no one ever could bring himself to it, since\nno man could ever unite himself to God by his own efforts, and God\nHimself must do the work.\n\nYou say that some pretend to have attained it. I say that this state\ncannot be feigned, any more than a man dying of hunger can for any\nlength of time pretend to be satisfied. It will soon be known whether or\nno men have attained this end.\n\nSince, then, none can arrive at the end unless he be brought there, it\nis not a question of introducing people to it, but of showing them the\nway which leads to it, and begging them not to rest in those practices\nwhich must be relinquished at God's command.\n\nWould it not be cruelty to show a fountain to a thirsty man, and then\nhold him bound, and prevent his going to it, leaving him to die of\nthirst? That is what is being done now. Let us all be agreed both as to\nthe way and the end. The way has its commencement, its progress, and\nits terminus. The more we advance towards the terminus, the farther we\ngo from the commencement; and it is impossible to reach the terminus but\nby constantly going farther from the starting-point, being unable to go\nfrom one place to another without passing through all that comes between\nthem: this is incontestable.\n\nOh, how blind are the majority of men, who pride themselves upon their\nlearning and talent!\n\nO Lord! how true it is that Thou hast hidden Thy secrets from the wise\nand prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes!","title":"A Short Method of Prayer","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":16506}