Souls Who Love God Desire to Go to See Him in Heaven

While we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord.¹ Souls that, in this life, love nothing but God are like noble pilgrims, destined, according to their present state, to be the eternal bride of the King of heaven, but who now live far away without seeing him; wherefore they do nothing but sigh to depart to the country of the blessed, where they know that their Spouse awaits them.

They know, indeed, that their Beloved is ever present with them, but that he is, as it were, hidden by a veil, and does not show himself. Or, to speak more correctly, he is like the sun behind clouds, which, from time to time, sends forth some ray of its splendor, but displays not itself openly. These beloved brides have a bandage before their eyes, which prevents them from seeing him whom they love. They live, nevertheless, contented, uniting themselves to the will of the Lord, who chooses to keep them in exile, and far away from himself; but with all this, they cannot but continually sigh to know him face to face, in order to be more inflamed with love towards him.

Therefore, every one of them often sweetly laments with their beloved Spouse, because he shows himself not; and they say, “O Thou only love of my heart, since Thou hast so loved me, and hast stricken me with Thy holy love, why hidest Thou Thyself, and makest me not to see Thee? I know that Thou art an infinite beauty, I love Thee more than myself, though I have never yet beheld Thee; open to me Thy fair countenance; I would know Thee all revealed, in order that I may no more look to myself nor to any creature, and may think only of loving Thee, my highest good.”

When to these souls thus filled with love for God there appears any ray of the divine goodness, and of the love which God bears them, they would be dissolved and fade away for desire of him; and though for them the sun is still hidden behind the clouds, and his fair face is covered by a veil, and their own eyes are bandaged, so that they cannot gaze on him face to face; yet what shall be their joy when the clouds disperse, and the gate opens, and the bandage is taken from their eyes, and the fair countenance of their Beloved appears without a veil, so that in the clear light of day they look upon his beauty, his goodness, his greatness, and the love which he bears to them !

O death, why dost thou so delay to come? If thou comest not, I cannot depart to behold my God. It is thou that must open to me the gate, that I may enter into the palace of my Lord. O blessed country, when will the day be here when I shall find myself beneath thy eternal tabernacles? O beloved of my soul, my Jesus, my treasure, my love, my all! when will that happy moment come, when, leaving this earth, I shall see myself all united with Thee? I deserve not this happiness; but the love which Thou hast shown me, and, still more, Thy infinite goodness, make me hope that I shall be one day joined to those happy souls, who, being wholly united with Thee, love Thee, and will love Thee with a perfect love through all eternity. O my Jesus! Thou seest the alternative in which I am placed, of being either ever united with Thee, or ever far from Thee; have mercy upon me; Thy blood is my hope; and thy intercession, O my Mother Mary! is my comfort and my joy.

1“Dum sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino.” -- 2 Cor. v. 6.

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The House of Eternity

A man shall go to the house of his eternity.¹ We err in calling this our habitation in which we now dwell; the habitation of our body in a little while will be a grave, in which it must rest until the day of judgment; and the habitation of the soul will be either paradise or hell, according as it has deserved, and there will it continue through all eternity.

At our burial our corpses do not go to the grave of themselves, they are carried thither by others; but the soul goes itself to the place which awaits it, either of eternal joy or eternal woe. A man shall go to the house of his eternity. According as a man lives well or ill, so he departs himself to his habitation, in paradise or in hell, which he shall never change.

Those who live on this earth often change their home, either to please themselves, or because they are compelled. In eternity the habitation is never changed; where we enter the first time, there we abide forever. If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in whatever place it shall fall, there shall it be. He that enters into the south, which is heaven, will be ever happy; he that enters the north, which is hell, will be ever miserable.

He, then, who enters heaven, will be always united with God, always in company with the saints, always in the profoundest peace, always abundantly contented; because every blessed soul is filled and satisfied with joy, nor will he ever know the fear of losing it. If fear of losing their happiness could enter among the blessed, they would be no longer blessed; for the mere thought of losing the joy they possess would disturb the peace they enjoy.

On the other hand, whoever enters into hell will be forever far from God: he will ever suffer in the fire of the damned. Let us not think that the pains of hell will be like those of earth, where, through the force of habit, a trouble continually grows less; for, as in paradise, the delights never cause weariness, but seem ever new, as though they were for the first time enjoyed (which is implied by the expression of “the new canticle,” which the blessed are ever singing); so, in hell, the pains never grow less through all eternity; long custom will never diminish their torment. The miserable beings who are damned will feel the same anguish through eternity that they feel the first moment they experience its pangs.

St. Augustine said that he who believes in eternity and is not converted to God, has either lost his sense or his faith. Woe, cries St. Cesarius, woe to sinners who enter eternity without knowing it, through having neglected to think upon it! And then he adds, “But, O double woe! they enter it, and they never come forth.” It is a double woe, the first of which will be to fall into that abyss of fire; the second, that he who falls into it will never come out: the door of hell opens only to those who enter, not to those who would depart.

No; the saints did not do too much when they went to hide themselves in caves and deserts, to eat herbs, and to sleep on the ground, in order to save their souls. “They did not do too much,” says St. Bernard, “because, where eternity is in question, no certainty can be too great.” When, then, God visits us with any cross of infirmity, poverty, or any evil, let us think of the hell we have deserved, and thus every sorrow will appear light. Let us say, with Job, I have sinned, and truly gone astray, and I have not received in accordance with my deserts.² O Lord, I have offended Thee, and many times betrayed Thee, and I have not been punished as I deserved; how, then, can I lament if Thou sendest me any tribulation? I, who have deserved hell!

O my Jesus! send me not to hell, to the hell in which I could no longer love Thee, but must hate Thee forever. Deprive me of everything,--of property, health, life; but deprive me not of Thyself. Grant that I may love Thee and praise Thee forever; and then chastise me, and do with me what Thou wilt. O Mother of God! pray to Jesus for me.

1“Ibit homo in domum æternitatis suæ.” -- Eccles. xii. 5.

2“Peccavi, et vere deliqui, et, ut eram dignus, non recepi.” -- Job, xxxiii. 27.

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Acts of Devotion for the Time of Death

It was revealed to St. Lidwina by an angel that the crown of merits and glory that awaited her in heaven could only be completed through the sufferings which she was to endure in the days which would immediately precede her death. The same thing happens to all devout souls when they depart from this world. It is certain that all good acts, and especially those of resignation in accepting death, performed with the view of pleasing God, are of great merit to every one who dies in the grace of God. Let us here set down certain acts of devotion, which may be very acceptable to the Lord at the time of death.

O my God! I offer Thee my life, and I am prepared to die at any hour that may be pleasing to Thy holy will. “Thy will be done;” ever, ever, may Thy will be done.

O Lord! if Thou willest to leave me in life for some time longer, blessed be Thy name; but I desire not life, except to spend it all in loving Thee and giving Thee pleasure. If Thou wilt that I should die of this sickness, still blessed art Thou. I embrace death to do Thy will, and I repeat, “Thy will, Thy will be done;” I only beg Thee to help all through this hour. “Have mercy on me, O God! according to Thy great mercy.” If, then, Thou wilt that I should leave this earth, I declare that I desire to die, because thus Thou wilt have it.

I desire also to die, in order that, by the pain and bitterness of my death, I may satisfy Thy divine justice for all my sins, through which I have offended Thee and deserved hell.

I desire also to die, that I may nevermore offend Thee, or cause Thee displeasure in this life.

I also desire to die in acknowledgment of the gratitude which I owe Thee for all the benefits and gifts that Thou hast given me, contrary to all my own deserts.

I desire to die, that I may show that I love Thy will more than my life.

I desire, if it pleases Thee, to die now, at a time when I trust I am in Thy grace, in order to be assured that I shall praise and bless Thee forever.

I desire, above all, to die, in order that I may come to love Thee eternally, and with all my powers, in heaven; where, through Thy blood, O my Redeemer! I hope to come, and to be sure of never ceasing to love Thee through all eternity. O my Jesus! Thou didst accept the death of the cross through love of me; I accept death, and all the pains that await me, through love of Thee. Therefore I say with St. Francis, “May I die, O Lord! through love of Thee, who, through love of me, didst not disdain to die.”¹

I pray Thee, O my Saviour, my love, and my only good! by Thy holy wounds and Thy bitter death, make me to die in Thy grace, and through Thy blood suffer me not to perish. O sweetest Jesus! suffer me not to be separated from Thee.

O Lord! drive me not away from Thy face. I confess that, through my sins, I have deserved hell, and I mourn for them more than for any evil; and I hope to come to heaven to praise forever the great mercies Thou hast shown to me. “The mercies of the Lord I shall sing forever.”

I adore Thee, O my God! who hast created me. I believe in Thee, O Eternal Truth! I hope in Thee, O Infinite Mercy! I love Thee, O Supreme Goodness! I love Thee above everything; I love Thee more than myself, for Thou art worthy of being loved. And because I love Thee, I repent with all my heart for having despised Thy grace. I promise Thee to suffer every kind of death, and a thousand deaths, rather than displease Thee.

O Jesus! Son of God, who didst die for me, have pity upon me! My Saviour, save me; and let it be my salvation to praise Thee through eternity.

O Mary, Mother of God! pray to Jesus for me; now it is the time for thee to aid me. Mary, Mother of grace, Mother of mercy, do thou defend us from the enemy, and receive us in the hour of death. To thy protection we fly, O holy Mother of God! O Mary, holy Mother of God! pray for us sinners.

St. Joseph, my patron and father, help me in this hour. St. Michael the Archangel, deliver me from the devils who lie in wait for my soul. O my holy advocates, and ye saints of paradise, pray to God for me.

And Thou, my Jesus crucified, at the moment when I must breathe my last breath, receive my soul in Thy arms; to Thee I recommend it; remember that Thou hast redeemed me with Thy blood. “We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.”² O my crucified Jesus! my love and my hope, whether I live or die, I declare that I desire Thee alone, and nothing more. Thou art my God and my all, and what else can I desire but Thee! “What have I in heaven or upon earth! Thou art the God of my heart and my portion forever.”³ Thou art the love of my heart; Thou art all my riches!

To Thee, then, I recommend my soul; to Thee, who hast redeemed it with Thy death. Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit:⁴ Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth! Trusting in Thy mercy, I therefore say, In Thee, O Lord! have I hoped; I shall not be confounded forever. O Mary, thou art my hope; to thee, therefore, I say again, In thee, O Lady! have I hoped; I shall not be confounded forever.⁵

1Moriar, Domine, amore amoris tui, qui amore amoris mei dignatus es mori!

2Te ergo quæsumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.

3“Quid mihi est in cœlo? et a te quid volui super terram? . . . Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in æternum.” -- Ps. lxxii. 25.

4“In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum; redemisti me, Domine Deus veritatis.” -- Ps. xxx. 6.

5“In te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in æternum.” -- Ibid. 2.

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The Words of a Dying Man to Jesus Crucified

O Jesus, my Redeemer! who within a few moments wilt be my judge, have mercy upon me before the moment comes when Thou wilt judge me. No, my sins do not terrify me, nor the rigours of Thy judgment, while I see Thee dead upon this cross to save me.

Yet, cease not to comfort me in the agony to which I am come: my enemies would terrify me by saying that there is no salvation for me: Many say unto my soul, there is no salvation for him in his God.¹ But I will never cease to trust in Thy goodness, and say, Thou, O Lord! art my lifter up.² Do Thou comfort me; do Thou make me feel that Thou art my salvation; Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.³ Oh, let not all those pangs, those insults endured, that blood poured forth by Thee, be lost unto me. “Thou hast redeemed me, dying upon the cross; let not so great labour be in vain.” Especially, I pray Thee, through that bitterness Thou didst feel when Thy blessed soul was separated from Thy most holy body, have mercy upon my soul when it departs from my body.

It is true that through my sins I have continually despised Thee; but now I love Thee above everything, I love Thee more than myself; and I grieve with all my heart for all the offences that I have committed against Thee; I detest them, I hate them above every evil. I see that through the offences I have been guilty of, I have deserved a thousand hells; but the bitter death which Thou hast been willing to endure for me, and the great mercies Thou hast already shown me, make me confidently hope that when I appear before Thee, Thou wilt welcome me with the kiss of peace.

Trusting all in Thy goodness, O my God! I abandon myself into Thy loving arms. In Thee, O Lord! I have hoped: I shall not be confounded forever.⁴ Through the sins I have committed, I have again and again deserved hell; but I hope in Thy blood, that Thou hast not pardoned me; and I hope that I shall come to heaven to praise Thy mercies forever: The mercies of God I will sing for ever.⁵

I willingly accept all the pains Thou dost destine for me in purgatory: it is just that the fire should purge away the wrongs I have done Thee. O holy prison, when shall I find myself shut up in thee, secure from being able ever to lose my God! O holy fire, when wilt thou purge away my vileness, and make me worthy to enter the kingdom of the blessed!

O eternal Father! through the merits of the death of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, make me to die in Thy grace, and in Thy love, that I may come to love Thee throughout eternity. I thank Thee for all the graces Thou hast given me through my life, and especially for the great grace of Thy holy faith, and for having caused me to receive, in these my last days, all the holy sacraments. Thou willest that I should die, and I desire to die to please Thee. It is little, O Jesus, my Saviour! that I should die for Thee, who hast died for me. I am satisfied to say to Thee, with St. Francis, “Let me die for love of Thee, who hast vouchsafed to die for love of me.”

I receive death with peace, and also the pains that I must endure so long as I breathe; give me strength to suffer with a perfect conformity to Thy will. I offer them all to Thy glory, uniting them to the pains that Thou didst suffer in Thy Passion. O eternal Father! I sacrifice to Thee my life, and all my being; and I pray Thee to accept this my sacrifice, through the merits of the great sacrifice that Jesus Thy Son offered up of him self upon the cross.

O Mother of God, and my Mother Mary! thou hast obtained many graces from God for me during my life; I thank thee with all my heart. Oh, abandon me not in this hour of my death, in which I have greater need of thy prayers. Pray to Jesus for me, and increase thy prayers; obtain for me sorrow for my sins, and more love for God, that I may come to love him forever, in company with Thee, and with all my powers, in heaven. “In thee, O Lady! I have hoped: I shall not be confounded forever.” Mary, my hope, in thee I trust.

1“Multi dicunt animæ meæ: Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.” -- Ps. iii. 3.

2“Tu autem, Domine, susceptor meus es.” -- Ps. iii. 4.

3“Die animæ meæ: Salus tua ego sum.” -- Ps. xxxiv. 3.

4“In te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum.” -- Ps. xxx. 2.

5“Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.” -- Ps. lxxxviii. 2.

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He that Loves Jesus Christ ought to Hate the World

Whosoever loves Jesus Christ with true love, let him greatly rejoice when he sees himself treated by the world as Jesus Christ was treated, who was hated, scorned, and persecuted by the world, even to an agonizing death upon a shameful cross. The world is all against Jesus Christ; and therefore, hating Jesus Christ, it hates all his servants. Therefore the Lord encouraged his disciples to suffer in peace all the persecutions of the world, saying to them that, having given up the world, they could not but be hated by the world. Ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.¹

And as the lovers of God are hateful to the world, thus the world ought to be hateful to him who loves God. St. Paul said, God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me.² The Apostle was an odious thing to the world, as a man condemned and dead upon a cross is odious; and thus, in return, the world was odious to St. Paul: The world is crucified unto me.

Jesus Christ chose to die upon the cross for our sins, for this end, that he might deliver us from this evil world.³ Our Lord, having called us to the love of him, desires that we should become superior to the promises and threats of the world. He desires that we should no longer take account of its censures or its praises. We must pray God to make us utterly forget the world, and to make us rejoice when we see the world reject us. It is not enough, in order to belong wholly to God, that we should abandon the world; we must desire that the world should abandon us, and utterly condemn us. Some people leave the world, but they do not cease to wish to be praised by it, at least for having abandoned it; in such persons the desire of worldly estimation causes the world still to live in them.

Thus, then, the world hates the servants of God, and therefore it hates their good examples and holy maxims; and therefore it is necessary that we should hate all the maxims of the world. The wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be.⁴ The Apostle says it cannot be, for this reason, that the world has no other object but its own interest or pleasure; and thus it cannot agree with those who seek only to please God.

Yea, O Jesus! who wast crucified, and died for me, Thee alone I desire to please. What is the world, what are riches, what are honours? I desire that Thou, my Redeemer, shouldst be all my treasure; to love Thee is my riches. If Thou wilt have me poor, I desire to be poor; if Thou wilt have me humbled and despised by all, I embrace all, and receive it from Thy hands; Thy will shall ever be my comforter. This is the grace that I seek of Thee, that in every event I may not depart a moment from Thy holy will.

1“De mundo non estis . . . propterea odit vos mundus.” -- John, xv. 19.

2“Mihi absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi, per quem mihi mundus crucifixus est, et ego mundo.” -- Gal. vi. 14.

3“Dedit semetipsum pro peccatis nostris, ut eriperet nos de præsenti sæculo nequam.” -- Gal. i. 4.

4“Sapientia carnis inimica est Deo; legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest.” -- Rom. viii. 7.

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Happy is He who is Faithful to God in Adversity

The faithfulness of soldiers is tried, not in repose, but in battle. This earth is our battle-field, where everyone is placed to fight, and to conquer, in order to be saved: if he conquers not, he is lost forever. Therefore said holy Job, Every day I now fight; I wait until my change cometh.¹ Job suffered in struggling with many a foe, but he comforted himself with the hope that, in conquering and rising from the dead, he should change all his state. Of this change St. Paul spoke, and rejoiced in speaking of it: The dead shall be raised incorrupt, and we shall be changed.² Our estate is changed in heaven, which is no place of toil, but of rest; not of fear, but of security; not of sorrow or weariness, but of gladness and joy eternal. With the hope, then, of so great joy, let us inspire ourselves, and fight until death, and never give ourselves up conquered to our enemies until our change comes;³ until the end of our struggle is attained, and we possess a blessed eternity.

“The patient man will endure for the time, and then shall gladness be restored to him.” Blessed is he who suffers for God in this life; he suffers “for the time,” but his joy will be eternal in the country of the blessed. This will end the persecutions, the temptations, the infirmities, the annoyances, and all the miseries of this life; and God will give us a life full of satisfaction, which will never end. Now is the time for pruning the vine, and for cutting off everything that hinders its growth towards the promised land of heaven. But the cutting off produces pain, so that we have need of patience; and then is the restoration of gladness, when the more we have suffered, the more shall we be filled with consolations. God is faithful; and to him who suffers on earth for his love’s sake, with resignation, he promises that he himself will be his reward; a reward infinitely greater than all our sufferings: Behold, I am thy exceeding great reward.⁴

Nevertheless, before we receive the crown of eternal life, the Lord wills that we should be tried with sufferings. Blessed is the man that suffereth temptation; for, when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him.⁵ Blessed, then, is he who is faithful to God in adversity. Some people think they are beloved of God when all their affairs go prosperously, and they have no troubles; but they complain because God does not try the patience and faithfulness of his servants by prosperity, but by adversity, in order to give them that crown which fadeth not away, as all the crowns of this life do fade away. This will be a crown of eternal glory, as St. Peter writes: Ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.⁶ To whom, then, is this crown promised ? St. James says, God has promised it to those who love Him.⁷ God has promised it again and again to those who love him, because divine love makes us fight with courage and win the victory.

To the love of God we must also join humility. The Preacher says, Gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.⁸ It is in humiliation that saints are discovered, in which it is made known whether they are gold or lead. Such a one has been counted a saint; but when he receives an injury from another, he is all in an agitation; he complains of it to every one; he say he will make him repent of it. This is a sign of what he is; it is a sign that he is lead. The Lord said, In thy humility have patience.⁹ The proud man, whatever humiliation he receives, considers it a great injustice, and, therefore, cannot endure it; but the humble man, accounting himself deserving of every evil treatment, suffers all with patience. Let him who has committed a mortal sin cast a glance upon the hell that he has deserved, and thus he will suffer with patience every contempt and every pain.

Let us, then, love God, and be humble; and whatever we do, let us do it, not to please ourselves, but only to please God. O cursed self-love! which intrudes itself in all our works. Even in our spiritual exercises, in meditation, in works of penance, and in all our pious works, it goes about seeking its own interests. Few are the devout souls who do not fall into this defect: Who shall find a valiant woman? Far, and from the uttermost coasts, is the price of her.¹⁰ Where shall we find a soul so brave that, despoiled of every passion, and of every love for its own interests, goes on to love Jesus Christ in the midst of slights, pains, desolations of spirit, and wearinesses of life? Solomon said that these are gems of great price; they come from the last ends of the world, and therefore are most rare.

O my crucified Jesus! I am one who, even in my devotions, have gone about seeking my own pleasure, and my own satisfaction; all unlike to Thee, who, through love of me, hast passed a life of trouble, deprived of every alleviation. Give me Thy help, that henceforth I may seek only Thy pleasure and Thy glory. I would love Thee without any other reward; but I am weak, Thou must give me the strength to accomplish it. Behold me; I am Thine; dispose of me as it pleases Thee; make me love Thee, and I ask for nothing more, O Mary, my Mother! obtain for me faithfulness to God, through thy intercession.

1“Cunctis diebus quibus nunc milito, expecto donec veniat immutatio mea.” -- Job, xiv. 14.

2“Et mortui resurgent incorrupti, et nos immutabimur.” -- 1 Cor. xv. 52.

3Donec veniat immutatio nostra.

4“Ego . . . merces tua magna nimis.” -- Gen. xv. 1.

5“Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem, quoniam, cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitae, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.” -- James, i. 12.

6“Percipietis immarcessibilem gloriæ coronam.” -- 1 Peter, v. 4.

7Quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.

8“In igne probatur aurum et argentum; homines vero receptibiles in camino humiliationis.” -- Ecclus. ii. 5.

9“In humilitate tua patientiam habe.” -- Ibid. 4.

10“Mulierem fortem quis inveniet? Procul et de ultimis finibus pretium ejus.” -- Prov. xxxi. 10.

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Perfect Resignation to the Divine Will

My meat is to do his will.¹ So said Jesus Christ, speaking of himself. In this mortal life, meat is that which preserves our life; and, therefore, our Lord said that it was his meat to do the will of the Father. This also ought to be the meat of our souls: Life is in his will.² Our life consists in doing the divine will; he that does not fulfil it is dead.

The wise man writes: They that are faithful in love shall rest in him.³ They who are little faithful in loving God will desire that he should agree with them, that he should comform himself to their pleasure, and do whatever they desire; but they who love God agree with him. and unite their wills to his will, and are satisfied with everything that God does with them, and with all their circumstances; and in every adversity that afflicts them, whether sickness, dishonor, weariness, loss of property or of kindred, they ever have on their lips and in their heart these words, “Thy will be done,” which are the constant expression of saints.

God only desires that which is best for us, which is our sanctification.⁴ Let us take care, therefore, to quiet our own will, uniting it ever to the will of God; and thus we shall be able, also, to quiet our intellect, recollecting that everything that God does is the best thing that can befall us. Whoever does not this will never find true peace. All the perfection that can be attained in this world, which is a place of purification, and consequently a place of pains and troubles, consists in suffering patiently those things that are opposed to our self-love; and, in order to suffer with patience, there is no more efficacious means than a willingness to suffer, in order to do the will of God. Submit thyself, then, to Him, and be at peace.⁵ He that agrees with the divine will in everything is always at peace, and nothing that happens to him can make him miserable. It will not make the just man sad, whatever shall befall him.⁶ But why is the just man never miserable under any circumstances? Because he knows well that whatever happens in the world, happens through the will of God.

The divine will (so to say) draws out all the thorns and bitterness of the tribulations that come upon us in this world. The hymn which speaks of the divine will thus sings: “Thou changest crosses into joys; Thou makest even death to be sweet; he that can unite himself to Thee knows neither cross nor fear. Oh, how worthy art Thou of love, O Thou will of God!”

Behold the excellent counsel of St. Peter, in order to find a perfect peace in the midst of the toils of this present life, Casting all your care upon Him; for He has care for you.⁷ And if it is God who thus gives thought for our good, why should we weary ourselves with so many anxieties, as if our happiness depended on our own cares, and not rather abandon ourselves into the hands of God, upon whom all depends? Cast thy care upon the Lord, says David, and He shall nourish thee.⁸ Let us strive to obey God in everything he commands us and advises us, and then let us leave to him the care of our salvation, and he will take care to give us all the means that are necessary, in order that we may be saved: Thy soul shall be saved, because thou hast had confidence in Me.⁹ Whosoever places his whole confidence in God is sure of eternal salvation.

In a word, whoever does the will of God enters into paradise; and he that does it not, enters not. Some people trust their eternal salvation to certain devotions, or to certain outward works of piety, and yet do not the will of God. But Jesus Christ says: Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.¹⁰

Thus, if we desire to be saved, and to acquire a perfect union with God, let us take care to be ever offering up the prayer of David: Teach me, O Lord, to do Thy will.¹¹ And for this purpose, let us strip ourselves of our own will, and give it wholly to God, without reserve. When we give to God our property in alms, our food in fastings, our blood in scourgings, we give him what we possess; but when we give him our will, we give him altogether ourselves; wherefore he that gives to God all his will is able to say, Lord, having given Thee all my will, I have nothing more to give Thee. The sacrifice of our own will is the most acceptable sacrifice we can make to God; and God pours fourth his graces abundantly upon him who makes it.

This sacrifice, however, in order to be perfect, must have two conditions: it must be without reserve, and it must be constant. Some persons give to God their will, but with a certain reserve; and little does this, gift please God. Others give him their will, but speedily they take it back again; and such persons place themselves in great peril of being abandoned by God; so that it is necessary that all our strength, and desires, and prayers, should be directed to obtain from God perseverance in doing nothing but what he wills. Let us, then, day by day, renew to God our total renunciation of our own will, and constantly take care to seek and ask for nothing which is not according to the will of God. And thus will cease within us passions, desires, fears, and all in ordinate affections. Sister Margaret of the Cross, a daughter of the Emperor Maximilian, and a Bare-footed Nun of St. Clare, when she became quite blind, was wont to say, “How can I desire to see, when God wills it not?”

Receive, O God of my soul I receive the sacrifice of my whole will and my whole liberty. I see that I have deserved that Thou shouldst turn Thy back upon me, and refuse this gift of mine, so often have I been unfaithful to Thee; but I learn that Thou dost again command me to love Thee with all my heart, and, therefore, I am sure Thou wilt receive it. I resign myself, then, wholly to Thy will; make me to know what Thou wilt, that I may be able to accomplish it all. Make me love Thee, and then dispose of me and all my affairs as it pleases Thee. I am in Thy hands; do what Thou knowest to be most expedient for my eternal salvation; while I declare that I desire Thee alone, and nothing more.

O mother of God! do thou obtain for me the gift of holy perseverance.

1“Meus cibus est, ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me.” -- John, iv. 34.

2“Et vita in voluntate ejus.” -- Ps. xxix. 6.

3“Fideles in dilectione acquiescent illi.” -- Wis. iii. 9.

4“Hæc est enim voluntas Dei, sanctificatio vestra.” -- 1 Thess. iv. 3.

5“Acquiesce ergo ei, et habeto pacem.” -- Job, xxii. 21.

6“Non contristabit justum, quidquid ei accident.” -- Prov. xii. 21.

7“Omnem soilicitudinem vestram projicientes in eum, quoniam ipsi cura est de vobis.” -- 1 Peter, v. 7.

8“Jacta super Dominum curam tuam, et ipse te enutriet.” -- Ps. liv. 23.

9“Erit tibi anima tua in salutem, quia in me habuisti fiduciam.” -- Jer. xxxix. 18.

10“Non omnis qui dicit mihi: Domine! Domine!--intrabit in regnum cœlorum; sed qui facit voluntatem Patris mei.” -- Matt. vii. 21.

11“Doce me facere voluntatem tuam.” -- Ps. cxlii. 10.

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