The Third Book: On Inward Consolation. Chapter 1. Here begins the book on inward consolation. I will hear what the Lord my God speaks within me. Blessed is the soul that hears the Lord speaking within her, and receives from His mouth the word of consolation. Blessed are the ears that catch the veins of the divine whisper, and heed nothing of the whisperings of this world. Blessed indeed are the ears that listen not to the voice sounding without, but to the truth teaching within. Blessed are the eyes that are closed to outward things, but intent upon the inward. Blessed are they who penetrate inward things, and study to prepare themselves more and more by daily exercises for the receiving of heavenly secrets. Blessed are they who yearn to be free for God, and shake off from themselves every hindrance of the world.
Mark this, O my soul, and shut the doors of your sensuality, that you may be able to hear what the Lord God speaks within you. Thus says your Beloved: I am your salvation, your peace, and your life. Keep yourself close to Me, and you shall find peace. Let go of all transitory things, and seek the eternal. What are all temporal things but seductions? And what do all creatures profit you, if you are forsaken by the Creator? Therefore, renouncing all things, render yourself pleasing and faithful to your Creator, that you may be able to lay hold of true blessedness. Chapter 2. That truth speaks within without noise. Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears. I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies. Incline my heart to the words of Your mouth.
Let Your speech flow down like dew, the children of Israel once said to Moses. Speak you to us, and we will hear; let not the Lord speak to us, lest perhaps we die. Not so, Lord, not so do I pray, but rather with the prophet Samuel I humbly and longingly beseech: Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears. Let not Moses speak to me, nor any of the prophets, but rather speak You, Lord God, inspirer and enlightener of all the prophets; for You alone, without them, can perfectly instruct me, whereas they without You will profit nothing. They can indeed sound forth words, but they confer not the spirit. They speak most beautifully, but if You are silent they do not kindle the heart. They hand down the letters, but You open the meaning.
They relate mysteries, but You unfold the understanding of the things signified. They publish commandments, but You help to fulfill them. They show the way, but You strengthen for the walking. They act only outwardly, but You instruct and enlighten the hearts. They water the outside, but You give the fruitfulness. They cry out with words, but You impart understanding to the hearing. Let not Moses therefore speak to me, but You, O Lord my God, eternal Truth, lest perhaps I die and be made fruitless, if I am only admonished outwardly and not kindled within; lest the word heard and not done, the meaning known and not loved, the thing believed and not kept, be unto me for judgment. Speak therefore, Lord, for Your servant hears: for You have the words of eternal life.
Speak to me for the consolation of my soul, however imperfect, and for the amendment of my whole life, but to You for glory and perpetual honor. Chapter 3. That the words of God are to be heard with humility. Hear, My son, My words. My words are most sweet, surpassing the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life, and are not to be weighed by human sense; they are not to be drawn to vain self-complacency, but to be heard in silence, and received with all humility and great affection. And I said: Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach him out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of evil, and that he be not desolate upon the earth. I, says the Lord, have taught the prophets from the beginning, and even until now I cease not to speak to all.
But many are deaf to My voice, and dumb and hard. More people listen to the world more willingly than to God; they follow the appetite of their flesh more easily than the good pleasure of God. The world promises temporal and small things, and is served with great eagerness. I promise the highest and eternal things, and the hearts of mortals grow numb. Who serves and obeys Me in all things with such care as the world and its lords are served? Be ashamed, O Sidon, says the sea. And if you ask the cause, hear why. For a small stipend a long way is run; for eternal life scarcely by many is the foot once moved and lifted from the ground. A cheap reward is sought; for a single coin men sometimes shamefully quarrel; for a vain thing and a small promise men fear not to be wearied day and night.
But—alas for the grief!—for the unchangeable good, for the inestimable reward, for the highest honor and endless glory, men are too lazy to be wearied even a little. Be ashamed therefore, O lazy and complaining servant, that they are found readier for perdition than you for life; they rejoice more over vanity than you over truth. Indeed they are sometimes frustrated of their hope, but My promise deceives no one, nor sends away empty him who confides in Me. What I have promised I will give; what I have said I will fulfill—if only anyone remain faithful in My love unto the end. I am the rewarder of all the good, and the strong prover of all the devout. Write My words in your heart, and ponder them diligently:
for they will be very necessary in the time of temptation. What you do not understand when you read, you shall know in the day of visitation. In two ways I am wont to visit My elect, namely by temptation and by consolation; and two lessons I read to them daily, the one rebuking their vices, the other exhorting to the increase of virtues. He who has My words and despises them has one who shall judge him in the last day. A prayer for imploring the grace of devotion. O Lord my God, You are all my good. And who am I, that I should dare to speak to You? I am Your poorest little servant, and Your abject little worm, far poorer and more contemptible than I know or dare to say. Yet remember, Lord, that I am nothing, can do nothing, and have nothing.
You alone are good, just, and holy; You can do all things, supply all things, fill all things, leaving only the sinner empty. Remember Your tender mercies, O Lord, and fill my heart with Your grace, You who will not that Your works be void. How can I bear myself in this wretched life, unless You comfort me with Your mercy and Your grace? Turn not Your face away from me; delay not Your visitation; withdraw not Your consolation, lest my soul become as land without water before You. Teach me, O Lord, to do Your will.
Teach me to walk before You worthily and humbly, for You are my wisdom, who knows me in truth, and knew me before the world was made, and before I was born into the world. Chapter 4. That we must walk before God in humility and truth. Son, walk before Me in truth, and seek Me always in simplicity of heart. He who walks before Me in truth shall be guarded from vain assaults, and the truth shall free him from the seducers and detractions of the wicked. If the truth has freed you, you shall be truly free, and you shall not care about the vain words of men. Lord, it is true as You say; so let it, I pray, be done with me. Let Your truth itself teach me, itself guard me, and preserve me unto a saving end;
let it free me from every evil and inordinate affection, and I will walk with You in great liberty of heart. I will teach you, says the Truth, what things are right and pleasing before Me. Think upon your sins with great displeasure and grief, and never reckon yourself to be anything because of good works. In truth you are a sinner, subject and entangled in many passions. Of yourself you always tend toward nothing; quickly you slip, quickly you are troubled, quickly you are undone. You have nothing whereof you may glory, but many things whereby you ought to despise yourself, for you are far weaker than you are able to comprehend. Let nothing therefore seem great to you of all that you do.
Let nothing appear great, nothing precious and admirable, nothing worthy of reputation, nothing lofty, nothing truly praiseworthy and desirable, except what is eternal. Let the eternal truth please you above all things; let your own exceeding vileness displease you above all things. Fear and flee nothing so much as your vices and sins, which ought to displease you more than any losses of things whatsoever. Some walk not sincerely before Me, but led by a certain curiosity and arrogance they wish to know My secrets and to understand the high things of God, neglecting themselves and their own salvation. These often fall into great temptations and sins, on account of their boasting, pride, and curiosity, with Me opposing them. Fear the judgments of God, dread the wrath of the Almighty.
But do not discuss the works of the Most High; rather search out your own iniquities—in how many things you have failed, and how many good things you have neglected. Some carry their devotion only in books, some in images, and some in outward signs and figures. Some have Me in the mouth, but little in the heart. There are others who, enlightened in understanding and purified in affection, ever pant after eternal things, hear of earthly things with heaviness, and serve the necessities of nature with grief; and these perceive what the spirit of truth speaks within them. For it teaches them to despise earthly things and to love heavenly, to neglect the world, and to desire heaven all day and night. Chapter 5. On the wonderful effect of divine love.
I bless You, heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who have deigned to remember me, a poor man. O Father of mercies, and God of all consolation, I give You thanks, who sometimes refresh me, unworthy of all consolation, with Your consolation. I bless and glorify You always, together with Your only-begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, unto the ages of ages, amen. Ah, Lord God, my holy Lover, when You come into my heart, all my inward parts shall exult. You are my glory and the exultation of my heart; You are my hope and refuge in the day of my tribulation. But because I am still weak in love and imperfect in virtue, therefore I have need to be strengthened and consoled by You.
Therefore visit me the more often, and instruct me in Your disciplines. Free me from depraved and evil passions, and heal my heart from all inordinate affections, that, inwardly healed and well purged, I may be made fit to love, strong to suffer, steadfast to persevere. Love is a great thing, a good altogether great, which alone makes the heavy light, and bears equally every unequal thing; for it carries a burden without burden, and makes every bitter thing sweet and savory. The noble love of Jesus impels to do great things, and ever stirs up to desire things more perfect. Love wills to be on high, and to be held back by no base things. Love wills to be free, and estranged from every worldly affection, lest its inward vision be hindered;
lest he sustain entanglements through any temporal advantage, or sink down through any disadvantage. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing broader, nothing more delightful, nothing fuller, nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God, and cannot rest except in God above all created things. 4. The one who loves flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and is not held back. He gives all for all, and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one Highest above all things, from whom all good flows and proceeds. He looks not to the gifts, but turns himself to the Giver above all goods. Love often knows no measure, but glows fervently beyond all measure.
Love feels no burden, reckons no labours, desires more than it is able, does not plead impossibility, for it judges that all things are lawful and possible to itself. It is therefore able for all things, and accomplishes many things, and brings them to effect, where one who does not love faints and lies prostrate. Love keeps watch, and sleeping does not slumber; wearied, it is not slackened; constrained, it is not straitened; terrified, it is not confounded, but like a living flame and a burning spark it breaks upward and passes through safely. 5. If anyone loves, he knows what this voice cries out. A great cry in the ears of God is the burning affection of the soul, which says: My God, my Love, You are wholly mine, and I am Yours. 6.
Enlarge me in love, that I may learn to taste with the inward mouth of the heart how sweet it is to love, and to be melted and to swim in love. Let me be held by love, going beyond myself through excessive fervour and wonder. Let me sing the song of love; let me follow You, my Beloved, on high. Let my soul faint in praise of You, exulting from love. Let me love You more than myself, and myself only for Your sake, and all in You who truly love You, as the law of love commands, which shines forth from You. 7. Love is swift, sincere, dutiful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking itself. For where anyone seeks himself, there he falls away from love.
Love is circumspect, humble and upright, not soft, not fickle, nor intent upon vain things; it is sober, stable, chaste, quiet, and guarded in all the senses. Love is submissive and obedient to superiors, lowly and despised in its own eyes, devoted and grateful to God, trusting and ever hoping in Him, even when God is not sweet to it, because one does not live in love without sorrow. 8. Whoever is not prepared to suffer all things, and to stand at the will of the Beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover. The lover must gladly embrace all that is hard and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and not be turned away from Him by adverse happenings. Chapter 6. On the proof of the true lover. 1. My son, you are not yet a strong and prudent lover. Why, Lord?
Because for a slight contrariety you give up, and you snatch at consolation and seek it too greedily. The strong lover stands in temptations, and does not believe the cunning persuasions of the enemy. As I please him in prosperity, so neither in adversity do I displease him. 2. The prudent lover considers not so much the gift of the one who loves, as the love of the giver. He heeds the affection rather than the value, and sets all gifts beneath the Beloved. The noble lover does not rest in the gift, but in Me above every gift. Not all is therefore lost, if at times you feel less well of Me or of My saints than you would wish.
That good and sweet affection which you sometimes perceive is the effect of present grace, and a certain foretaste of the heavenly fatherland; upon which one must not lean too much, because it goes and comes. 3. But to strive against the evil motions of the soul that arise, and to spurn the suggestion of the devil, is a mark of virtue and of great merit. Let not, then, strange fancies disturb you, of whatever matter they are brought in. Keep your purpose bravely, and your intention upright toward God. It is not a delusion that you are sometimes suddenly caught up into ecstasy and at once return to the accustomed trifles of the heart. For these you suffer rather unwillingly than do, and as long as they displease you and you resist, it is merit and not loss. 4.
Know that the ancient enemy strives in every way to hinder your desire for what is good, and to make you void of every devout exercise: from the veneration of the Saints, from the pious memory of the Passion, from the profitable recollection of sins, from the guarding of your own heart, and from the firm purpose of advancing in virtue. He brings in many evil thoughts, to make you weary and horrified, and to call you back from prayer and from holy reading. A humble confession displeases him, and, if he could, he would make you cease from holy communion. Do not believe him, nor heed him, though he has often set the snares of deception for you. Charge it to him when he brings in evil and unclean things. Say to him: Away, unclean spirit; blush, wretch; away, you are unclean, who bring such things to my ears.
Depart from me, most wicked seducer; you shall have no part in me, but Jesus shall be with me as a strong warrior, and you shall stand confounded. I had rather die and undergo every punishment than consent to you. Be silent and dumb; I will hear you no more, though you contrive against me many troubles. The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? If armies should stand against me, my heart shall not fear. The Lord is my helper and my redeemer. 5. Fight like a good soldier; and if at times you fall through frailty, take up strength stronger than before, trusting in My more abundant grace, and beware greatly of vain complacency and pride.
Because of this, many are led into error, and sometimes fall into a blindness almost incurable. Let this ruin of the proud and of those foolishly presuming on themselves be a warning to you and a perpetual humility. Chapter 7. On hiding grace under the guard of humility. 1. My son, it is more useful and safer for you to hide the grace of devotion, and not to lift yourself up on high, nor to speak much of it, nor to weigh it too much, but rather to despise yourself, and to fear it as given to one unworthy. One must not cling too tenaciously to this affection, which can be very quickly changed into its contrary. Consider how wretched you are wont to be in grace, and how destitute without grace.
Nor does the progress of the spiritual life consist only in this, that you have the grace of consolation, but in this, that you bear its withdrawal humbly, with self-denial and patience: so that you do not then grow sluggish in the pursuit of prayer, nor allow your other works that should be done by custom to fall away entirely, but as best you can and understand, do gladly what is in you, and do not wholly neglect yourself because of the dryness or anxiety of mind which you feel. 2. For there are many who, when things do not go well with them, at once become impatient or slothful. For the way of man is not always in his own power, but it is God's to give and to console, when He wills and as much as He wills, and to whom He wills, as it shall please Him, and no more.
Some incautious persons have destroyed themselves on account of the grace of devotion, because they wished to do more than they were able, not weighing the measure of their own littleness, but rather following the affection of the heart than the judgment of reason. And because they presumed greater things than was pleasing to God, therefore they quickly lost grace, and were made destitute and left mean, who had set their nest in heaven: so that, humbled and impoverished, they might learn not to fly on their own wings, but to hope under My feathers. Those who are still new and inexperienced in the way of the Lord can easily be deceived and mocked, unless they govern themselves by the counsel of the discerning. 3.
But if they prefer to follow their own feeling rather than to trust others who are practised, the outcome will be perilous for them, if nevertheless they will not be drawn back from their own conception. Rarely do those who are wise in their own eyes suffer humbly to be governed by others. It is better to know little with humility and small understanding, than great treasures of knowledge with vain complacency. It is better to have less than much, of which you might be proud. He acts not discreetly enough who gives himself wholly to joy, forgetting his former destitution, and the chaste fear of the Lord, who does not fear to lose the grace that has been offered.
Neither does he taste virtuously enough who, in time of adversity and of any difficulty whatever, conducts himself too despairingly, and thinks and feels less confidently of Me than he ought. 4. He who in time of peace wishes to be too secure will often, in time of war, be found too dejected and fearful. If you knew how always to remain humble and small in yourself, and also to moderate and govern your spirit well, you would not so quickly fall into peril and offence. 5. It is good counsel that, when a spirit of fervour has been conceived, you should meditate on what will come when the light departs. And when this happens, remember that the light can return again, which for your warning, but for My glory, I have withdrawn for a time.
For such a trial is often more useful than if you always had prosperity according to your own will. For merits are not to be estimated from this, whether anyone has more visions or consolations, or is skilled in the Scriptures, or is set in a higher rank: but rather whether he is founded in true humility, and filled with divine charity; whether he always seeks the honour of God purely and entirely; whether he reckons himself as nothing, and truly despises himself, and even rejoices to be despised and humbled by others rather than honoured. Chapter 8. On the lowly esteem of oneself in the eyes of God. 1. Shall I speak to my Lord, since I am dust and ashes? If I esteem myself more, behold, You stand against me;
and my iniquities bear true witness against You, and I cannot contradict it. But if I make myself vile, and reduce myself to nothing, and fall away from all self-esteem, and reduce myself to dust as I am, Your grace will be favourable to me, and Your light near to my heart, and all self-esteem, however slight, will be submerged in the valley of nothingness and will perish for ever. There You will show me to myself: what I am, what I have been, and whence I came, for I am nothing and knew it not. If I am left to myself, behold, I am nothing, and all weakness; but if You suddenly look upon me, at once I am made strong, and filled with new joy. And it is a great wonder that I am thus suddenly lifted up, and so kindly embraced by You, I who by my own weight am ever borne down to the depths. 2.
This Your love does, going freely before me, and coming to my aid in so many necessities, guarding me also from grave perils, and, to speak truly, snatching me from innumerable evils. For by loving myself wrongly I lost myself; and by seeking You alone and loving purely, I found both myself and You together, and out of love reduced myself more deeply to nothing. For You, O most sweet One, deal with me beyond all merit, and beyond what I dare to hope or to ask. 3. Blessed be You, my God, for although I am unworthy of all good things, yet Your nobility and infinite goodness never ceases to do good even to the ungrateful, and to those far turned away from You. Turn us to You, that we may be grateful, humble, and devout, for You are our salvation, our strength, and our fortitude.
Chapter 9. That all things are to be referred to God as to their last end. 1. My son, I ought to be your supreme end. From this intention your affection will be purified, which is too often wrongly bent back upon itself and upon creatures. For if you seek yourself in anything, at once you fail within yourself and grow dry. Refer all things therefore principally to Me, who am all things, who have given all. Consider each single thing as flowing from the highest good. And therefore all things are to be referred to Me as to their origin. 2. From Me the small and the great, the poor and the rich, draw living water as from a living fountain. And those who serve Me of their own accord and freely shall receive grace for grace.
But whoever wishes to glory apart from Me, or to delight in any private good, shall not be established in true joy, nor enlarged in his heart, but shall be hindered and straitened in manifold ways. You ought therefore to ascribe nothing of good to yourself, nor attribute virtue to any man, but give all to God, without whom man has nothing. I gave all, I will have all back again, and with great strictness I require thanksgiving. 3. This is the truth by which the vanity of glory is put to flight. And if heavenly grace and true charity have entered in, there will be no envy, nor contraction of the heart, nor will private love take possession. For divine charity conquers all things, and enlarges all the powers of the soul.
If you taste rightly, you will rejoice in Me alone, in Me alone will you hope, for none is good except God alone, who is to be praised above all things, and blessed in all things. Chapter 10. That it is sweet to serve God, the world being despised. 1. Now again I will speak, Lord, and will not be silent. I will say in the ears of my God, and of my King who is on high: O how great is the multitude of Your sweetness, Lord, which You have hidden for those who fear You! But what are You to those who love You? What to those who serve You with the whole heart? Truly ineffable is the sweetness of the contemplation of You, which You bestow upon those who love You. In this above all You have shown the sweetness of Your charity, that when I was not, You made me, and when I was wandering far from You, You led me back, that I might serve You, and You commanded that I should love You. 2.
O fountain of perpetual love, what shall I say of You? How can I forget You, who have deigned to remember me? After I had wasted away and perished, You showed mercy upon Your servant beyond all hope, and beyond all merit You bestowed grace and friendship. What shall I render to You for this grace? For it is not given to all to renounce all things, abandon the world, and take up the monastic life. Is it not a great thing that I should serve You, whom every creature is bound to serve? It ought not to seem great to me. But rather this seems to me great and wonderful, that You deign to receive one so poor and unworthy as a servant, and to join him to Your beloved servants. 3. Behold, all that I have, and whereby I serve You, are Yours.
Yet, on the contrary, You serve me more than I serve You. Behold, heaven and earth, which You created for the service of man, stand ready and daily do whatever You have commanded. And this is little: nay, You have even created and ordained the Angels for the service of man. But this surpasses all these things, that You have deigned to serve man Yourself, and have promised to give Yourself to him. 4. What shall I give You for these thousands of good things? Would that I could serve You all the days of my life! Would that even for one day I were able to render worthy service! Truly You are worthy of all service, of all honour and eternal praise. Truly You are my Lord, and I am Your poor servant, who am bound to serve You with all my strength, and ought never to grow weary in Your praises.
So I will, so I desire; and whatever is lacking in me, may You deign to supply. 5. It is a great honour, a great glory, to serve You, and to despise all things for You, for Your sake. For they shall have great grace who of their own accord submit themselves to Your most holy service, and they shall find the most sweet consolation of the Holy Spirit. They shall obtain great freedom of heart, who for Your name's sake enter the narrow way, and have neglected all worldly care. 6. O pleasing and delightful service of God, by which man is truly made free and holy! O sacred state of religious servitude, which renders man like the Angels, pleasing to God, terrible to demons, and commendable to all the faithful!