第40章 THE SECOND PART(11)

Eternal Wisdom.--He who in all things is mindful of Me,who keeps himself from sin,and is diligent in virtue,praises Me at all times;but still,if thou wouldst seek after the highest sort of praise,listen to something more:The soul is like to a light peacock's feather;if nothing is attached to it,it is very easily borne aloft by its own mobility towards the sky,but if it is laden with anything it falls to the ground.In like manner,a mind that is purified from all heaviness of sin is also raised by virtue of its native nobility,with the help of gentle contemplation,to heavenly things;and therefore,when it happens that a mind is disengaged from all bodily desires,and is set interiorly at rest,so that its every thought cleaves at all times inseparably to the immutable Good,such a mind fulfills My praise at all times;for in the state of purity,so far as words can express it,man's carnal sense is so wholly drowned and so wholly transformed from earthiness into a spiritual and an angelic semblance,that,whatever he receives exteriorly,whatever he does or operates,whether he eats,drinks,sleeps,or wakes is nothing else but the very purest praise.

The Servant.--Ah,Lord,what a truly sweet doctrine is this!Lovely Wisdom,three things there are still that I should be glad to have explained.One is:Where shall I find the most reasons to praise Thee?

Eternal Wisdom.--In the first origin of all good,and then in its outflowing springs.

The Servant.--Lord,as to the origin,it is too high for me,too unknown to me;there let the tall cedars praise Thee,the heavenly spirits,the angelic minds.And yet will I too press forward like a rude thistle with my praise,that they may be admonished by the spectacle of my impotent longings of their own high worthiness,that they may be incited in their pure brightness to praise Thee,just as though the cuckoo were to give the nightingale occasion to sing a ravishing song.But the outflowings of Thy goodness;these will be proper for my praise.Lord,when I ponder well what I was formerly,how often Thou hast protected me,from what evil chains and bonds Thou hast delivered me,O Thou Everlasting Good,it is a wonder that my heart does not wholly melt in Thy praise!Lord,how long didst Thou not wait for me,how kindly didst Thou not receive me,how sweetly in secret didst Thou not anticipate me and interiorly warn me!How ungrateful soever I might sometimes be,still Thou didst not desist until Thou hadst drawn me to Thee.Ought I then not to praise Thee,my gentle Lord?Yes,truly do I desire that a rich praise should ascend before Thy eyes,even such a great and joyous praise as that rendered by the angels when they first beheld the sight of their own constancy and the reprobation of their fallen companions;

as that uttered in the joy felt by the miserable souls in Purgatory when they come forth from their grim prison house before Thee,and behold for the first time Thy countenance beaming with delight and love;a praise even as that unfathomable praise which will resound in the streets of the heavenly city after the last judgment,when the elect shall be separated in everlasting security from the wicked.Lord,one thing I should also like to know respecting Thy praise is this:How all that is naturally good in me may be referred to Thy everlasting praise?

Eternal Wisdom.--Inasmuch as nobody in this temporal state can be sure,from actual knowledge,of the true difference between nature and grace,so when anything gracious,joyous,or agreeable,arises in thy mind,whether it be from nature of from grace,enter quickly and speedily into thy interior,and make an oblation of it to God,so that it may be consumed in My praise,because I am the Lord of nature and grace,and in this way will nature now to thee become supernatural.

The Servant.--Lord,but how then shall I turn even the imaginations of evil spirits to Thy eternal praise?

Eternal Wisdom.--To the suggestions or inspirations of an evil spirit speak thou as follows:Lord,as often as this wicked spirit or any other sends me against my will such disagreeable thoughts,let me of my own premeditated will send Thee the most fervent praise in his stead,even the very praise which the same evil spirit ought to have given Thee throughout all eternity had he remained loyal,so that in his reprobate state I may represent his place in praising Thee;and as often as he inspires me with such odious thoughts,let my good praise ascend to Thee.

The Servant.--O Lord,now do I indeed see that to good men all things may be turned into good,when even the very worst things of the evil spirit can in such a way be made good things.But now tell me one thing more.Ah,Thou gracious Lord,how am i to turn all that I hear,all that I see,to Thy praise and glory?