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On the Nativity of John
the Baptist the First Sermon
Of the spiritual
Birth of Divine Grace in man from the ground of humility and the acknowledgment
of his own frailty. How man may ever attain more and more to a Birth so full of
Grace.
Johannes est nomen
ejus.
“John is his name.”
To-day we read of and
celebrate the birthday of Saint John the Baptist. The birthday of no other
saint is kept in this way, only that of this holy Baptiser of God. The name of
John means one in the state of grace. This must always precede the birth of
grace.
I spoke yesterday of two
kinds of affliction. The first is in our nature, and results from the first
Fall of man; the second in an affliction of blindness. Man is prone to sin from
the beginning; it is rooted in his nature. This affliction ought always to be repugnant
to man; and he should turn away from it with all his might, because it is
hateful to God. The second kind of affliction is the result of the first; it is
pain and misery. When this kind of affliction falls upon man, it ought to be
acceptable and pleasing unto him, so that he may be able to follow therein the
Example of our Lord, Who throughout His whole life always endured great and
grievous sufferings.
Now God often allows the
affliction of frailty to come upon men, that in their downfall they may learn
to know themselves better, and to love and remain willingly in the way of
blindness, in them. Children, it were good for them to resolve to remain in
this way. Man must always learn to abase himself in this most blessed way of
blindness, in disease, in doing nothing and in being nothing. Oh! he who would
thus exercise himself in this way and understand it, disciplining himself only
by despising unceasingly his own want of power; in this man, verily, would the
grace of God be born. Man possesses nothing of himself; all comes from God
only, without any intervention; all things both great and small come from Him;
not from man himself; for he corrupts all that is good, both outwardly and
inwardly; and, if there be anything good, it is none of his. Man must never
forget this; he must look into his own nothingness and see how inclined he is
to all that is evil, whenever nature is allowed her own way. He must be very
diligent in learning to know himself; on what foundation he rests, his
opinions, his love, his diligence; whether, perchance, ill weeds have grown up
in his heart. The heart must be pure, only revealing itself to God; and it must
have no thoughts but of Him. Also, thou must examine thine outer walk, thy
words and works, thy customs and position, thy clothes and thy companions, from
all sides. Wherever thou findest that something or other has gone wrong in thy
life, thou must in sorrow bewail it unto God, and acknowledge thy guilt, and
send up a sigh to God; and thus it is immediately condemned. This inner
groaning from the depths of the heart is very useful and good. The Apostles did
not experience it on account of their sins, but on account of all the evil that
remained in man; and they exercised it unceasingly, because of the many ways by
which they came to God. Thus, when a glimpse and taste of unity )with God) is
made known unto man, an inner groaning is born in him, which passes out through
his outer senses. This is truly the altar which stands outside, before the Holy
of Holies, where the goats and oxen are offered to God. Thus man also offers
his flesh and blood to Jesus Christ. By this contemplation of his own frailty,
man must humble himself, casting himself down at the Feet of God, that He may
have mercy on him. He must hope that God will pass over his guilt; and thus
John, that is grace, is born out of the ground of humility; for the lower we
get the higher we shall be. St Bernard says: “All acts of discipline that are
done outwardly are in no wise to be compared to those which man does in the
valley of humiliation.” In this valley row meekness, goodness calmness and
patience; and this is truly the right way. Those who do not walk in this way
must assuredly go astray. And, however much they may do in outward discipline,
it will not really help them at all; they will anger God much more than they
will appease Him.
Now we will proceed with the
Gospel. Here is a portion of it. Zacharias was the high priest. He and his wife
were barren; and this was a great disgrace to him. Zacharias went into the Holy
of Holies, and the people remained without, standing, while he executed the
priestly function. Then the angel Gabriel stood by the altar and announced to
him that a child should be born unto him who should be called John, which means
that he was given grace. Zacharias did not fully believe this; therefore he
became dumb till all had been fulfilled.
The word Zacharias means
“thinking of God,” or “the remembrance of God.” This godly man, that is a
spiritual man, must be a priest, and must go into the Holy of Holies while the
people remain without. Now, mark, what his nature is, what his office is, and
whose priest he is. The office of the priest is to offer God’s only-begotten
Son to His heavenly Father for the people. Now I fear, and it is most probable,
that all priests are not perfect; and, if some priests were to represent
Christianity in their own persons, they would be more likely to hinder and lead
others astray than to help them; and they would anger rather than appease God.
But they execute their holy office in the person and in the place of the Holy
Catholic Church; therefore they execute their office sacramentally; and in this
way it can be done by men only. They, and no others, as clergy, may consecrate
and bless the sacred Body of our Lord; inasmuch as they are priests in all that
belongs to their office, that is to the sacrifice. In a spiritual sense it may
be done as well by a woman as by a man. If a woman does it in this way, she
enters into the Holy of Holies, and the common people remain without. She must
enter in alone; she must collect her thoughts, and commune with her own heart;
and she must leave all things pertaining to the senses without, and offer to
the Heavenly Father, the Sacrifice of Love; namely, His dear Son, with all His
Words, His Works, His Suffering and Holy Life, that she may obtain all that she
desires and all that is her intention. This she must do in deep devotion,
including all men, all poor sinners, the good, and those who are imprisoned in
the fires of purgatory; for by this means she will have great power.
Albertus Magnus writes that
the custom of the high priest was as follows: “He went into the Holy of Holies,
and took with Him the blood of a red heifer, and fire that was burning. When he
entered in, he put the blood on all the golden vessels, and made a heap of the
finest herbs, and lighted it; and a sweet smelling savour arose therefrom, like
unto a mist; then God came and spake with him.”
This high priest is the
inner man, who thus enters into his inmost soul, bearing with him the Sacred
Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fire of devotion and love, and all the
golden vessels which are marked with this Blood, even all those who have
received the grace of God, and all those who shall yet receive it, and the poor
souls who still wait in purgatory. All shall be comforted and uplifted by this
priestly office. Children, ye know not how sweet this is. This man shall also
raise himself up thereby, even unto the
Heart of the Father, and His Fatherly Will; and in Him he shall do whatever
pleases Him in time and eternity.
Some say: “If we commune
with our hearts after this inward fashion, we shall allow the image of our
Lord’s Sufferings to escape us.” No, children, ye must look into your own
hearts, where grace only can be born in truth; and there the Life and
Sufferings of our Lord will gleam and shine in upon you, in sweet love and
simplicity, in a single vision. It will seem as though all stood before you;
not in its own many-sidedness, as I might see you all in one glance, but as
though each one stood alone before me. This vision will be more useful to thee,
than standing for five months in thought, striving to understand. During this
sacred priestly office, when the man has entered alone, and is standing in
silence, with all his powers on the alert, Gabriel, the Angel of God, is
standing by the altar, where the divine and holy office is to be performed.
Gabriel means the divine power that will be given to this priest, that he may
be able to do all things in our Lord. This priest makes a heap of herbs, and
sets it alight; and a smoke arises therefrom in which God speaks to him. This
heap represents a collection of holy virtues, such as humility, meekness, and
many other virtues of that description; for the life of a man who has no
virtues, and does not strive to get them, either in the lowest, the middle, or
the highest grade, is all false and worthless. A fire is kindled in this
collection by the flame of love; and a mist and darkness arise, in which thy
spirit will be caught away, perhaps for the space of half an “Ave Maria,” and
thou wilt be robbed of thy senses and of thy reason. In this darkness God will
speak to thee in truth, as it is written: Dum medium silentium, etc.
For, when silence reigned over all things, and the night of darkness had run
its course, these words were sent from above from the kingly Throne. Here a
secret word was spoken, and the ears caught the sound thereof. Here was
foretold the birth of him, who was to be
great and at whose birth many should rejoice. He was to be born of Elizabeth;
which means that there would be a divine fulfilment; for thus it had been
prophesied, that this joyful birth should take place. But all this took place
in the lowest powers. Now come those who are wise in their own eyes, and whose
empty, bare, uncultured hearts are lighted only by the light of nature; for
they have nothing but the light of nature, and that which pertains thereto; it
is to them as God, and yet it is nothing but their nature. There is however,
more delight therein than in all sensual delights; and when they act thus
themselves, and are endowed with these qualities, they become the worst and the
most harmful of men. They may be known by the following signs. They do not walk
in the paths of virtue and the discipline which belongs to a holy life. They
give no heed to the destruction of vice; for they love their own false poverty,
which has never been tested by real love, either from within or from without;
and they have long ago parted with its likeness. Then the Devil comes, and
lures them with false sweetness and false light; and thus he leads them astray,
that they may be lost eternally. He leads them into whatsoever he finds them
most inclined to by nature: unchastity, or covetousness, or pride; and they
speak of their inner experiences and the lights which the Devil holds before
them, as though they were of God; and they will not allow themselves to be
separated from that which they have made their own. Thus, seeking those things
to which they are inclined by nature, they fall into unholy license. These men
must be shunned even more than the Enemy; for, as far as man can see, in their
outward appearance they are so like righteous men, that it is hard to
distinguish them. But the righteous differ from them by walking in the paths of
virtue—humility, fear, resignation and meekness. They are full of fear, and
dare not allow themselves any liberty. They never trust in themselves; they are
in much perplexity and difficulty, and long for the help of God. But those who
think themselves to be free are bold, wilful, contentious and impatient; and
any one who approaches them soon finds that they are in difficulties, full of
bitterness, angry words, and pride, and will neither be despised nor
disparaged. Oh! what marvellings and lamentations there will be over that which
now looks so beautiful, in another world, where they will not be able to turn
either one way or the other, where they must burn for ever. I counsel you in
all faithfulness to guard yourselves from this.
Oh! dear children, turn your
eyes inwardly, where this birth must really be born, which will cause great joy
throughout Christendom. Now, ye need no longer be anxious whether ye are right
or wrong. Ye have had the difference clearly placed before you, if ye will
consider whether ye have chosen the right or the crooked path; whether ye have
taken it in the lowest, the middle, or the highest grade. When this birth takes
place, there is such great joy of heart, that none can express it. May God
preserve all, so that none may be led astray; and be drawn away and diverted.
Our Lord says in the Book of Love: “I adjure you, by the roes and the harts of
the fields, that ye make not My beloved to awake till she please.” Again, they must not question unwise
teachers, who might prove so misleading, that some might be tempted away, and
never return for forty or fifty years. These men must give heed to themselves;
for this joy is so great that it wells up like wine fermenting in the barrel.
It is better that it should burst forth, than that nature should be too weak,
and blood should pour from nose and mouth. But this is still far removed from
the highest grade, still remaining below in the senses.
But the Angel said that he
who should be born, must “drink no wine nor strong drink;” which means that the
man in whom this birth was to be born would be led by the upper way, in the
highest grade; for he should be good, better and the very best. These men must
not drink anything that can intoxicate, like those, of whom we have already
spoken, who were intoxicated by pleasure, which was poured out for them, either
in a real or imaginary way, either by sight or by use; but they are placed in
and led along a narrow way, which is also dark and dreary. There they find
themselves unbearable oppressed, so that they cannot get out; and, whichever
way they turn, they find fathomless misery, and all is desert, dark and dreary.
They must face it, and in all their ways trust in the Lord, as long as it
pleases Him; and, lastly, the Lord makes as though He knew nothing of their
pain and torment; all seems unbearable need and great longing; but still they
are resigned. This is a thorough cleansing, which corresponds to the highest
reward; for other men there are corresponding rewards.
St Thomas says of this:
“Great external works, however great they may be, inasmuch as they are works,
have their own reward. But when the Spirit looks within, to the Spirit of God,
from the ground of the heart, where man, empty and bare of all works, seeks God
only, far above all thoughts, works and reason, it is truly a thorough
conversion, which will ever met with a corresponding reward, and God will be
with him.” Another conversion may take place in an ordinary external way,
whenever man turns to God, thinking wholly and entirely of Him, and of nothing
else but of God for Himself and in Himself. But the first turning is in an
inner, undefined, unknown presence, in an immaterial entrance of the created
spirit into the uncreated Spirit of God. If a man could only once in his life
thus turn to God, it would be well for him. Those men whose God is so powerful,
and Who has been so faithful to them in all their distress, will be answered by
God with Himself. He draws them so mysteriously unto Himself and His own
blessedness; their spirits are so lovingly attracted, while they are at the
same time so filled and transfused with the Godhead, that they lose all their
diversity in the Unity of the Godhead. These are they to whom God makes their
work here on earth a delight; so that they have a real foretaste of that which
they will enjoy for ever. These are they on whom the Holy Christian Church
rests; and, if they did not form part of Christianity, Christianity could no
longer exist; for their mere existence, what they are, is infinitely worthier
and more useful than all the doings of the world. These are they of whom our
Lord has said: “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of Mine eye.”
Therefore, take heed that ye do them no wrong. May God help us. Amen.
On the Feast of the Nativity of
St John the Baptist
The Second Sermon
How man must
prepare himself and hold himself in readiness to bear witness to the true
Divine Light which shines into his heart, in the lowest and highest powers, and
on which depend his Salvation and Blessedness.
Hic venit in
testimonium, ut testimonium perbiberet de lumine
“This man came for a witness to give testimony of the light.”
To-day the Church celebrates
the Feast of St John the Baptist. To bless and to praise him in words only
would be but a little thing for us to do, because our Lord Himself has praised
him worthily, and has said of him: “There hath not risen among them that are
born of woman a greater than John the Baptist.” He also said of him: “But what went ye out to
see? a man clothed in soft garments? or did ye go out into the desert to see a
reed shaken with the wind?” No, he was none of these things. Jesus said of him:
“He is a voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths!” We sing of him that he was a burning lamp. St
John the Evangelist, who is likened unto a soaring eagle, wrote of him that “he
bore witness to the light.”
Dear children, how could we
praise this exalted prince of Heaven better, or more worthily, than with these
words, “that he was a witness to the true Light?” This true Divine Light shines
into the very depths of man’s heart; and when this Divine Light and witness
comes to man and commends itself inwardly unto him, he turns quite away from
the pure ground. He ought verily to await it; but he does just the reverse,
running first one way and then another, so that he cannot receive the true
witness because of his shallowness. “He came unto His own, and His own received
him not.” Such men are opposed to the true Divine Light. Their hearts are
worldly; and, as the Baptist said to the hypocrites: “They are a generation of
vipers.” These men are opposed to all those who love the true Divine Light, and
they give good cause for alarm, for they seem, as it were, scarcely to hang by
a thread to light and faith.
Now, we must show here, how
shortsighted and diseased nature is, and how of itself it can do nothing that
is good. God has therefore given it supernatural help and strength, even the
light of grace, which lifts nature far up above itself, and supplies it with
all it needs in this way. The uncreated Light of Glory shines above, even the
Divine Light; and this Light is God Himself. Therefore, if we would truly know
God, it must be by God and with God, in God and by God. As the prophet says:
“Lord, in thy light we shall see light,” that is a supernatural light. The same
Divine Light, “lightens every man who comes into the world,” and shines on all
men, both on the evil and on the good, as the bright sun shines on all
creatures. It is their own fault if they are blind. For in the same way that a
man in a dark room could get light, if he found a window open, by putting his
head outside, so may men also come to this light, and bear witness to it.
Now, we must mark diligently
how a man shall first bear himself towards this witness, so that he may truly
receive it. He must flee and separate himself from all that is temporal and
transitory; for the true witness is given both to the lowest and highest powers
of the soul. The lowest power is that of passion and desire. Desire is the love
of pleasure, which this witness must take away. This power must first separate
itself from the lusts of the flesh, whatever they may be, in which the man
finds satisfaction; either in human beings or clothing; in short, in whatever
his senses find delight. God does not grudge man the necessaries of life; but
this is verily a wilderness in which the voice of God cries; and it is called a
life of seclusion. It is a separation from all the spiritual and natural
pleasures, both outwardly and inwardly.
Second, this witness is
given in the power of passion in the soul, that man may learn true steadfastness
and strength; that he may become, if he has received this witness aright,
immovable as a mountain of iron. As Christ testified of St John, man must not
allow himself to be shaken to and fro like a reed; neither must he be like unto
one who wears soft clothing; by which we may understand one who loves, desires
and seeks his bodily ease. Now, many a man may be found who despises all this
for the sake of God, but who is so like a bending reed that it is quite
pitiful. Such a man is as much moved and disturbed by some absurd mockery, or
by a hard word, as the reed is in the water. Now, dear friend, how can a word
harm thee, which can in nowise hurt thy soul? But then comes the Evil One and
suggests first one thing and then another to thee, till thou art sore troubled;
but all this ought not so to be, if otherwise thou wert firm in the faith.
Later, this witness is given in the highest power of all, in the reason, the
will and the love of man; for it is a prophet to the reason of man’s soul; a
prophet means one who sees far off. Reason, in fact, sees so far that it is a
perfect marvel. If an enlightened man existed, who yet was not standing on this
ground, who heard secret, divine things, his heart would bear him witness
thereof, and it would speak to him within.
Now, Jesus Christ said that
John was more than a prophet, even in that ground where reason cannot come. For
there truly man sees light in light, in the inner light of the soul; for there
the Divine Light may be seen and understood by the light of grace. First, in a
hidden way. The powers of the soul cannot attain to this divine ground; and the
great wastes to be found in this divine ground have neither image, nor form,
nor condition; for they are neither here nor there. They are like unto a fathomless
abyss, bottomless and floating in itself. Even as water ebbs and flows, up and
down, now sinking into a hollow, so that it looks as if there was no water
there, and then again, in a little while, rushing forth as though it would
engulf everything, so does it come to pass in this Abyss. This, truly, is much
more God’s Dwelling-place than heaven or man. A man, who verily desires to
enter in, will surely find God here, and himself simply in God, for God never
separates Himself from this ground. God will be present with him, and he will
find and enjoy eternity here. There is no past or present here; and no created
light can reach unto or shine into this divine ground; for here only is the
Dwelling-place of God and His sanctuary. Now this Divine Abyss can be fathomed
by no creatures; it can be filled by none, and it satisfies none; God only can
fill it in His Infinity. For this abyss belongs only to the Divine Abyss, of
which it is written: Abyssus abyssum incocat.
He who is truly conscious of
this ground, which shone into the powers of his soul, and lighted and inclined
its lowest and highest powers to turn to their pure Source and true Origin,
must diligently examine himself, and remain alone, listening to the voice which
cries in the wilderness of this ground.
This ground is so desert and
bare, that no thought has ever entered there. None of all the thoughts of men,
which, with the help of reason, have been devoted to meditation on the Holy
Trinity, (and some men have occupied themselves much with these thoughts), have
ever entered this ground. For it is so close, and yet so far off, and so far
beyond all things, that it has neither time nor place. It is a simple and
unchanging condition. A man, who really and truly enters, feels as though he
had been here throughout eternity, and as though he were one therewith; whereas
it is only for an instant, and the same glance is found and reveals itself in
eternity. It shines forth; and God thus bears witness that man existed in God
from all eternity, before his creation; that is, he was in God, and thus man
was God in God. For St John says: “All things were made by Him,” that means one
life in Him. That which man was in himself when created, that he was eternally
in God. As long as a man does not attain to the purity with which he came
forth, when first created out of nothing, he will never truly come to God. For
all inclinations, propensities, and self-esteem, all that can defile the ground
in our own possession, must assuredly be cast out; and also, all that we have
ever possessed with delight and our own consent in soul and body; all that we
have ever received by knowledge or inclination, all, all must first be rooted
out, so that we may be as we were when we first came forth from God. Because we
do not act thus, we never return to the Source from which we sprang; neither is
purity enough, unless our spirits are transformed by the Light of Grace. Now,
if we willingly sought after this transformation, and communed with ourselves
in our inmost hearts, ordering our conversation aright, at such a time our
souls and spirits might well experience a bright glimpse of the highest
transformation; although no one can come to God, nor know God, except in
Uncreated Light, which is God Himself. The holy prophet says: Lord, “in Thy
light we shall see light.” Therefore, if a holy man communes often in his
inmost heart in secret, many a glimpse will be vouchsafed to him in his inmost
heart; and what God is will be made much clearer and plainer to him, than the
natural sun is to his bodily eyes.
This pure ground was hidden
from the heathen; therefore they despised all temporal and transitory things,
and went in search of it. But afterwards the great masters, such as Proclus and
Plato, arose, and they gave a clear description of it, to those men who could
not find it of themselves. Therefore St Augustine said that Plato had fully
taught the holy Gospel, “in principio erat verbum,” even unto the words:
“Fuit homo missus a Deo;” but this was in veiled words. These same
heathen masters discerned also the Holy Trinity; and all this came from the
inmost ground, for which they lived and waited. It is a great disgrace and
shame, a miserable and pitiful thing, that we, poor blinded people, who are
left, should go on through long years, even unto death, like blind creatures,
not knowing ourselves, nor what is concealed in us, knowing nothing about
ourselves. Yet we are Christians, and are so called, and have great and
exceeding help from the Grace of God, besides possessing the holy faith and the
Blessed Sacrament, and many other great and divine helps. Now this is caused
entirely by the great fickleness and superficiality, which pervert and trouble
us. We are always anxious to occupy ourselves with outward things; our own
efforts, our many prayers, readings, studies and so on, which are all of our
own self-seeking, with which we occupy ourselves, and which keep us back, so
that we cannot commune with ourselves, bare and empty in the inmost depths of
our hearts. And yet, he who does not fill the noble vessel of his soul with
fine balsam, will fill it with bad wine. Truly, if man would do this, it would
be much pleasing unto God, Who desires to receive from him his best and noblest
works.
There is yet another witness
in the highest powers, the power of love, which is in the will. Have we not
this week sung of St John the Baptist: Lucerna lucens et arden, etc. “He
was a burning and shining light.” A lamp gives heat and light; thou canst feel
the heat with thy hand; and yet thou canst not see the fire, unless thou
lookest at it from above; and thou seest not the light, unless thou seest it
through the shade. He who marked this meaning well, and was then conscious of
the light and heat, would know that this is wounded love, which shall truly
guide thee into this ground. Therefore, when thou comest into this ground, thou
must wrestle and struggle with love, and set thy bow upon the Most Highest.
But if thou comest into
imprisoned love, into that secret, deep abyss, thou must yield thyself in the
depths of love entirely; thou hast lost all power over thyself; for there thou
wilt find neither thought, nor exercise of power, nor the works of virtue. But,
if thou findest there so much space, and thou art so bare that a thought comes
to thee, and thou fallest again into imprisoned love, then thou must brace
thyself at once, and raise thyself up, and wrestle vehemently with love; and
desire, beseech and importune love. If thou canst not speak, think and long;
and then speak as St Augustine spoke: “Lord, Thou commandest me to love Thee
with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with all my mind;
therefore, grant, O Lord, that I may love Thee above all things.” If thou
feelest so dull that thou canst not think thus, open thy mouth and say so.
Those men, who make no effort, but sit down, as though all were accomplished,
never attain to this exalted love. After this comes the love which wells forth.
Fourthly comes stormy,
raging love. Love has perished quite, and reason has taken its place. Man is
never so reasonable as he now generally becomes; for stormy, raging love may be
compared to a lamp; man becomes conscious of the heat of that love, for it
causes a disturbance in all his powers. Man always longs for this love; and
when he has it he does not know it himself; for it consumes the blood and
marrow in his bones. Therefore, heed thyself diligently, that thou mayest not
destroy thy natural powers with all thy efforts. If love is to do her work, so
that thou canst not withdraw thyself from her, thou must follow her through all
her storms, and in all her external works. Some men say they will guard
themselves from all these storms, that they may not be disgraced; for such
doings are not in keeping with their position. Therefore, when irrational love
comes, all human work is swallowed up, and God comes and speaks to those men.
This word is more useful than hundreds of thousands of words that could be
spoken by any man. St Dionysius says: “When the external word has been uttered
in the depths of the soul, and the ground has been so prepared and made ready,
that it can receive the word in all its dignity and entirety, and can bring it
forth, not only partially but completely, that ground becomes one with the
word; and yet it retains its own essential being, even in that union.” Our Lord
Jesus Christ bore witness to this when He said: “That they all may be one, as
Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee.” As He also said to St Augustine: “Thou
shalt be changed into Me, and not I into thee.” Dear children, I tell you of a
truth, that none can attain to this but by the path of love.
Now St John the Baptist
said, that he was “a voice in the wilderness, to prepare the way of the Lord;”
that is, the path of virtue; that path is very plain. He said also: “Make
straight His paths.” Paths are often more even than ways. Therefore, whoever
can really find the right path, which leads to the true ground of God, while at
the same time he is conscious of his own ground, he must, before all things,
remain alone, and diligently seek the footpath, which is very wild, dark,
rough, unknown, distant and strange to him. For the man who diligently gives
heed to all these things, no calamity or perplexity, either external or
internal, is too great or too small; neither any infirmity which may befall
him; for they will guide, allure and urge him on to the right ground.
The paths must also be made
straight from within; we must seek them diligently; our spirits in God and God
in us; for the paths are dark and unknown. Many men go astray, running after
external works and discipline. They act like one who, in going to Rome, ought
to ascend; whereas, if the road diverged, the further he went, the further he
would go astray. It is thus that these men act; for often, when they come back
from external exercises, they have become old and ill, and their heads ache;
and there is not enough of this love in their works, because of their passions.
Therefore, when a man finds
himself in this storm of love, he must not think of his senses, or of humility,
or of anything else, but only, whether in his works he has enough love. Man
struggles also in love against coldness, indifference and harshness. Man should
devote himself entirely to love, and render full allegiance, being poor and
miserable in all that is not love. Herein must thou have a steady ardent desire
and full trust in God; and thou must keep thy heart pure for the Love of God;
then thou wilt find such great and noble things in the Love of God, that thou
wilt not be able to give utterance to them. Therefore, all men, whose faith and
trust in God are not quite pure, will sink lower; love will be extinguished in
their hearts, and their lives will be fruitless. I say unto thee, if thou hadst
all the marks thou couldest possess here below, and this witness to the Love of
God was wanting, all would be lost. Therefore the Evil One readily leaves all
other virtues to man, as long as he does not posses the witness of true love.
He will allow thee to have deceitful love, so that thou mayest imagine thou
hast true love; but, if thou couldest see into the depths of thy heart, thou
wouldest soon find out how it stood with thy love. Therefore, know, that all
that is lacking in you, is nothing else but that you have not entered into the
right ground; for, if ye truly entered there, ye would find the Grace of God,
and it would exhort you unceasingly to lift up your minds above yourselves.
This divine exhortation is constantly resisted by many men, and that so often,
that they become unworthy of Divine Grace thereby; so that perhaps they will
never become partakers of it; for they spoil it altogether with their lives
which seem to them so good. Were they obedient to the glance of the Grace of
God, they would be led thereby, and be brought into such Divine Union, that
even in this life they would experience that which they will enjoy
everlastingly in the life to come. This has been the experience of many holy
men, who have been led by God along this lofty way; and He still leads others
by it, who open their hearts to Him. God grant that this also may be our
experience. Amen.
SERMON XII
On the Feast of St Timothy, or
the Memorial of St Peter
Of brotherly rebuke
and admonition, how far it is advisable and seemly or not; and especially how
Prelates and Governors ought to demean themselves towards their subjects.
Argue, obsecra,
increpa, in omni patientia et doctrina.
“Reprove, entreat, rebuke, in all patience and doctrine.”
This is the lesson which St
Paul gives to his beloved disciple Timothy, whom he set to rule over men; and
it equally behoves Father-confessors and all Magistrates to possess these two
things, patience and doctrine. First, it is their office to rebuke all open
sinners whom they may possibly bring to a better way, and especially those over
whom they are set in authority, that they may reveal the truth unto them; for
this is needful, and in many places Scripture doth tell us how we ought to
teach, entreat and rebuke those who are committed to our charge, each according
to the office which he holds; as St Gregory has sufficiently shown and set
forth in his book on “Pastoral Care;” wherefore we will refrain for the present
from saying more on that point.
But we will rather turn to
the second point, which is more spiritual; teaching a man to look within and
judge himself; seeing that he who desires to become a spiritual man must not be
ever taking note of others, and above all of their sins, lest he fall into
wrath and bitterness, and a judging spirit towards his neighbours. My children,
this works such great mischief in a man’s soul as it is miserable to think of;
wherefore, as you love God, shun this evil temper, and turn your eyes full upon
yourselves, and see if you cannot discover the same fault in yourselves, either
in times past or now-a-days. And, if you find it, remember how that it is God’s
appointing that you shall now behold this sin in another, in order that you may
be brought to acknowledge and repent of it; and amend your ways and pray for
your brother, that God may grant him repentance and amendment according to His
Divine Will. Thus a good heart draws amendment from the sins of others, and is
guarded from all harsh judgment and wrath, and preserves an even temper; while
an evil heart puts the worst interpretation on all that it sees, and turns it
to its own hurt. Thus is a good man able to maintain inviolate a due love and
loyalty towards his fellow-men.
Further, this generous love
makes him hold others innocent in his heart; even when he sees infirmity or
fault in his neighbour, he reflects that very likely all is not as it seems on
the outside, but the act may have been done with a good intention; or else he
things that God may have permitted it to take place for an admonition and
lesson to himself; or again, as an opportunity for him to exercise
self-control, and to learn to die unto himself by the patient endurance of and
forbearance towards the faults of his neighbours, even as God has often borne
many wrongs from him and had patience with his sins. And this would often tend
more to his neighbour’s improvement than all the efforts he could make for it
in the way of reproofs or chastisements, even if they were done in love,
(though indeed we often imagine that our reproofs are given in love, when it is
in truth far otherwise). For I tell thee, dear child, if thou couldst conquer
thyself by long-suffering and gentleness and the pureness of thy heart, thou
wouldst have vanquished all thine enemies. It would be better for thee than if
thou hadst won the hearts of all the world by thy writings and wisdom, and
hadst miserably destroyed thine own soul by passing judgment on thy neighbours;
for the Lord says, “And why beholdest thou the most that is in thy brother’s
eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
In thus speaking, I except
those who are bound by their office in the Holy Christian Church to rebuke
others. Let them wisely beware how they reprove, and for what causes, so that
they rebuke none with an irritable demeanour, or with harsh and angry words,
from which much trouble and toil do spring; for that they have no right to do;
but it is permitted to them to reprove those who are under them for their own
amendment. But, alas! it happens for the most part now-a-days that those who
occupy the highest places do often and greatly forget themselves in these
respects; and hence their rebukes do not produce any amendment, but only anger
and alienation of heart. For, if they were to instruct those who are under
their care in the fear of God, in such wise that the people could mark and be
sure that it was done solely for the saving of their souls, they would be much
the more ready to set themselves to amend, and would be content. But now, alas!
they see that their superiors are only seeking their own glory and profit, and
are taking upon themselves wrongfully to keep them down and defraud them of
their just rights; and therefore reproof only makes them the more refractory
and indignant. And there are many in authority who do really believe that they
rebuke those under them from a reverence for righteousness; and yet are doing
it from a wrathful, domineering and arrogant spirit; and what they think they
are doing from hatred to sin, they are doing from hatred to men.
But I beseech you examine
yourselves, whether you do in truth love those whom you are punishing so
bitterly, out of reverence and zeal for righteousness, as you suppose. For when
we see men punishing and oppressing with such vehemence those who are under
them, or treating them so harshly, with sharp words and sour looks, it is to be
feared that there is more reproof given out of crabbed impatience than for the
sake of righteousness from the true ground of charity and kindness, especially
by those who have not yet experienced the inward joy of hearty sweetness and
godly love; for the soul that has not yet experienced inward love and divine
sweetness, does not know how to hold a discreet mien and just language in
rebuking; but genuine love teaches us how we ought to treat those who are
worthy of punishment.
Now, let him who has to
punish, in virtue of his office, first take account of God’s dishonour and the
injury done to the soul of his flock; and then rebuke with sweet, loving words,
and patient demeanour and gestures; so that the weak shall be able to mark that
he is seeking and purposing their welfare alone and nothing else. And, if in
the dispensations of God’s Providence it should happen that those who are
subject should at times rise up and offend by license and presumptuous
irreverence against their superiors, the latter ought not in any wise to regard
or revenge it, so far as that may be without scandal to the rest of their
subjects; for, if they revenge themselves, they fall under suspicion of selfish
motives; and it is likely that God will not be able to work any fruit through
them; but they must rather treat such offenders with more patience, kinder
words and acts, than they do others. For this is commonly the greatest temptation
which befalls those in authority, by which they for the most either win or lose
the greatest reward of their labours; wherefore they should ever be on their
guard; for gentleness and a readiness to forgive injuries is the best virtue
that a ruler can possess.
They shall show no
partiality in their affections; neither for their own glory, nor yet towards
particular persons; but they shall embrace all their flock in the arms of a
common love, as a mother does her children. To the weak they should ever show
the greatest love and care, and without ceasing lift up their hearts unto God
in prayer, earnestly beseeching Him to guard and defend the people committed to
their charge, and not indulge in any self-glorification. Likewise, so far as it
rests with them, let them be the first to do such works as they would wish to
see their people do; for so it stands, that, with the help of God, all may be
accomplished to a good end, when those in authority are inclined to virtue; for
then their subjects must needs follow as they lead, even though they have been
beforehand inclined to all evil and vice, and hostile to their superiors.
But for those who have
received no commission to govern other men, but stand in a private character
without office; it is needful that they secretly judge themselves inwardly, and
beware of judging all things without, for in such judgments we do commonly err;
and the true position of things is generally very far otherwise from that which
appears to us, as we often come to discover afterwards. On this point remember
the proverb: “He is a wise man who can turn all things to the best.”
May God help us so to do!
Amen.
SERMON XIII
On the Feast of St Paul the
Apostle
Of an absolute
dying unto self and to all things. Of the use of suffering; of the Love, the
Suffering and the Blood of Christ.
Vivo autem, jam non
ego, vivit vero in me Christus.
“And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me.”
St Paul had so completely
died unto himself and to all things, and was so transformed into true love for
God and for all men, that he would willingly have died a thousand deaths for
the salvation of men; and had even so forgotten self, that he knew nothing save
Christ crucified; and desired nothing, but to win all men to Christ, as though
he had begotten all men, and were their earthly father. There are four things
besides other virtues which will be especially useful to us, if we desire to
imitate this exalted Apostle in true love and resignation, and to please God.
First, we must absolutely banish and separate ourselves from all created things
outside God. Secondly, we must forget and ignore all creatures. Thirdly, we
must be constantly looking back to our origin, which means that, in God, we
must long after and desire God with strong crying. Fourthly, we must labour
that we may be more deeply impressed with, and fashioned in the Likeness of
Christ.
Absolute poverty is thine
when thou canst not remember whether anybody has ever owed thee or been
indebted to thee for anything; just as all things will be forgotten by thee in
the last journey of death. If thou desirest in time to live above time, and to
be separated from all creatures, thou must learn to forget thy own powers, and
all that nature can accomplish. A constant return to thy origin means, that the
presence of all things, in which thou canst not find God, will seem like a
wound to thee. The labour, by which Christ is more deeply imprinted and formed
in thee, takes place within, where Christ ever receives the Person, Nature and
Being of His Father. The more Christ sees man thus choosing Him, the more
clearly will Christ be found in him. All, who are like unto Christ in pain,
bitterness and patience, will also be elected and chosen to be with Him, where
He at all times partakes of the Being and Nature of His Heavenly Father. He who
can kill and destroy his infirmities will also receive new strength from God;
therefore in him, who devotes all the powers of his human nature unto Christ,
Christ will pour the power of His Divine Nature. The loving Heart of God will
be satisfied if thou diest to thy very self.
A holy soul, which has
become barren and empty of all created things, and which cannot form nor mould
in itself anything that is of the creature, moves God to draw it to Himself, to
the very centre of His Divine Being. The exit of all created things out of thy
heart, brings about the entering in, and pouring in of all the riches of His
Almighty Power. No one can enjoy the Presence of God, and His Likeness, like
the man who is dead to all things, and who is as dead in heart and will as a
thing that never possessed any being.
The next way is to die to
all things and to live to God alone. He who always dies to self, is always
beginning to live unto God, and that without ceasing. In the truest death of
all created things, the sweetest and most natural life lies hidden. There is no
more natural or more real way of procuring Eternal Life, than by killing and
dying in heart to all created things, and by the subjection, the submission and
destruction of self, as beneath all creatures.
A man once thought that God
drew some men even by pleasant paths, while others were drawn by the path of
pain. Our Lord answered him thus: “What think ye can be pleasanter or nobler than
to be made most like unto Me? that is by suffering. Mark, to whom was ever
offered such a painful and troubled life as to Me? And in whom can I better
work, in accordance with My true nobility, than in those who are most like Me?
They are the men who suffer. No man ever suffered so bitterly as I; and yet no
man was ever so pure as I. When was I more mocked than when I was most
glorifying My Heavenly Father? Learn that My Divine Nature never worked so
nobly in human nature as by suffering; and because suffering is so efficacious
it is sent out of great love. I understand the weakness of human nature at all
times, and, out of love and righteousness, I lay no heavier burden on man than
he can bear. The crown must be firmly pressed down that is to bud and blossom
in the Eternal Presence of My Heavenly Father. He who desires to be wholly
immersed in the fathomless sea of My Godhead, must also be deeply immersed in
the deep sea of bitter sorrow. I am exalted far above all things, and work
supernatural and wonderful works in Myself; the deeper and the more
supernaturally a man crushes himself beneath all things, the more
supernaturally will he be drawn far above all things.
A man desired to know when
man’s nature became absolutely dead. Our Lord replied: “When all sins are as
impossible and as hateful to thee, as they are to the high estate of My Divine
Nature.” Then the man said: “Ah! dear Lord, but what can cause this death?”
Answer: “The presence of My death and of My Dying Life, during which I was
always working out the salvation of the human race. My Death was always present
to Me, and a consuming thirst that I might suffer for the sake of man the very
bitterest sufferings that had been ordained for Me. It was not sufficient for
Me to be rejected by all men; those, also, who acknowledged and confessed Me,
must be hated and tormented as well. The burning thirst I felt for all men,
caused the welling up of My precious streaming Blood; for it would have been
far more bitter to Me than the death I suffered, had one drop of blood or water
remained in my Heart, that I should not have poured forth for the salvation of
man. As the seal impresses its form on the wax, so the love, with which I have
loved man, has power to impress his form on My Hands, My Feet and My Divine
Heart, so that I can never forget him. Even so My wounds were pierced with the
sharp nails and pointed spear, so have I filled them up again with the sweet
balsam of My Divine Nature, so that it may always freely flow forth into the
weakness of human nature. My Blood is always a bath, boiling over in the flame
of My Divine Nature, in which man may wash away his sins.
“What can be sweeter and
more satisfying than to work the like in him for whom I have suffered, and to
bring forth fruit and increase in My dear members? Nothing is more pleasing to
Me than that it should be made manifest how supernaturally in the power of My
Love, I have worked and suffered for man.”
A holy man once bethought
himself how painful it must have been to God to have been seen by his enemies
when he was taken prisoner. Our Lord answered him: “My enemies appeared unto Me
in my presence as friends, who wished to help me in carrying out the sweetest
and most desirable work that I ever worked in my life.” God appeared most
miserable unto man, when, exhausted and overwhelmed, He was taken away from the
column or pillar, and said: “Behold, how love for man has exhausted Me, ought
it not to be sweet to Me to drink at his hand the recompense of My Martyrdom?
See how many precious signs man may see in Me, if he looks upon the numberless
wounds of love in Me and meditates upon my Sacred Passion.”
The soul is so nobly united
to God, and, at first, in such a supernatural way, that man might justly shun,
like death, every thought that could interfere with this union. The thought,
which is to receive God into itself, can endure nothing strange. Therefore
desire only invisible and inexpressible things. All will be forgotten by thee
that can be spoken in words. “Keep silence on all that I work in thee; for I am
precious to all creatures, because I am absolutely hidden from all creatures.
It is natural to Me to dwell in the Heart of my Father; so also is it natural
and dear to Me to dwell in the soul, in which I find rest and the likeness of
my bleeding Wounds, and which I have won by the eternal tokens of my Fatherly
Heart; and these Wounds shall flourish eternally in that soul before my Divine
Eyes. For him for whom I have ordained a painful life in this world, I have
also ordained the enjoyment in eternity of the sweetest honey of My Divine
Nature. I cannot really enter into a man’s soul until he resigns himself, and
yields himself up in all humility, and until the old man be driven out.” May
God grant that we may follow St Paul perfectly in this, and in all other good
exercises. Amen.
SERMON XIV
On the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin, or on the Octave of Her Nativity
Of two ways in
which men come to the Blessed Virgin. Of the temptations that attack men living
in seclusion. Of that which they must learn by experience, and make their own,
before they can attain to the highest degree of real perfection.
Transite ad me, omnes
qui concupiscitis me.
“Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.”
To-day we celebrate the
eighth day after the Birth of our Lady. St Bernard and other Saints confess
that they cannot praise her enough, and that they must perforce be silent on
all the riches of her praise. St Bernard says: “Dear Lady, although thou hast been
exalted to the kinship of the Godhead, forget not thy kinship with our poor
human nature. Be not so entirely lost in the Abyss of the Godhead, that thou
canst not also remember that human weakness by which thou also hast been
tempted, and the many holy prayers which have been offered unto thee by me and
by many holy Saints.”
There are two ways in which
she has been treated by men. Some will not, and say that they cannot pray,
because they desire and also must needs trust themselves to God’s keeping, that
He may do as He sees fit with them and all theirs. Others pray fervently to our
Lady and to other Saints about all their affairs. There may be defects in both
of these ways. The first err by not realising that the Holy Church has ordained
that all men should pray. Our dear Lord taught us this Himself, and gave us an
example and a model of prayer; for He Himself prayed to His Heavenly Father.
These men justify their foolish notion, by saying that they need not worship,
and that they will yet be heard, if their intentions are not evil. But there
are some things which the Lord will only do in answer to prayer. Now, mark, God
often allows man to fall into trouble, that he may be provoked unto prayer.
Then God helps him, and hears his prayer, in order that his love may be stirred
up yet more, and that by means of the answer he may receive comfort.
The others also err who pray
because they are impatient, and expect that all the things for which they pray
must come to pass. They ought indeed to pray, but with true resignation, that
in all ways and in all things they may gladly accept the Will of God. Now, we
have lately said much of the way in which men, who are beginning to do better,
must cut off all gross, course sins and all growing evil inclinations, while those
men who have in some measure attained to perfection must root out their inner
besetting sins.
Now, those men, who have
gone into retirement, fixing their hearts on God alone, desiring only to love
God, and to think only of Him, are brought into such great temptations by the
Evil One, that a man in the world would be terrified thereby. Temptation is
common to all these men; and yet in each case the origin is very different.
Temptation comes to a worldly man from an unmortified heart, from his nature,
from flesh and blood. The temptation overpowers him, his work is destroyed;
therefore there is nothing left for the Enemy to do, and he blazes it abroad.
But a good man holds fast in his integrity, temptation comes to him from
without and but little from his own heart. Thus the Enemy finds out some
tendency in a man, even though he be pure. For instance, a man may naturally be
inclined to anger; the Enemy discovers this, and attacks him with all his
cunning, full of wicked deceit. He need not give himself so much trouble with a
worldly man, for such an one follows immediately. He can entangle him in his
toils at once, winding them round and round him till he is quite helpless. This
is the way in which the Enemy treats a man whom he finds inclined to anger. He first
of all suggests one image to him, and then another, which will rouse him, so
that at last the man becomes angry, and he cries and clamours, as though he
desired to beat and stab every one. But if he then comes to himself, and casts
himself down before God in the very depths of humility, desiring no confessor,
but making peace with man and giving due satisfaction, he can then cast himself
down in his unworthiness and great sin, and then his sin will vanish from the
sight of God like snow before the sun; all will be atoned, and the Enemy will
depart thence in sorrow. If a man desire to act wisely in this, he must be very
sincere and ready to get free.
Now we must notice one sense
in which this does not affect all men; and we poor, weak, feeble creatures, who
have not experienced them, may well fear to speak and hear of such exalted
things. For it is just those, who know about them, who find it is so utterly
impossible to speak of them. Job said: “A Spirit passed before my face, when I
was trembling; it stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof.” St Gregory understood this to mean the Sacred
Humanity of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The Form, which he saw, and did not
recognise, was the unknown Godhead which is concealed from all creatures and is
unknown to them. To this he added that which is written in the third of Kings.
The Angel told Elias to go forth and stand upon the mount till the Lord came.
When he went up, an awful tempest came, which was so strong that it overturned the
mountain, the hard rocks were broken and the mountains were rent asunder; but
in that the Lord did not come. Then there was a great and terrible earthquake;
but in that the Lord did not come. Then there was a fierce fire; but neither in
that did the Lord come. After all these
things there was a still small Voice, a soft rustling like a gentle breeze; and
in that came the Lord. Elias stood at the door of the cave, and wrapped his
face in his mantle. In none of these ways—neither in the wind, nor the earthquake,
nor the fire, did the Lord come; but, as St Gregory says, they were all a
preparation and the road therein. These high mountains are like lofty, great
minds; and the hard rocks and the earthquake are like minds wanting in
self-control; and men who thing well of themselves, who hold fast to their own
devices, and are self-willed and uncontrolled, they make great plans and do
great deeds, but all in their own way. When the Lord comes to such men, He must
first send a great earthquake, which will upset all that is in them.
But, alas, there are not
many such men. The reason is that men content themselves with the things of
this life, and cleave to their evil nature; and thus they remain, given up to
the pleasures of sense. But those who are rightly stirred up, either more or
less (and I have seen many such men), have feared over and over again, that in
that hour they must lay down their lives. A man asked our Lord what he ought to
do, because it seemed to him, day and night, as if he must lose his life in
this way, and whether he ought thus to endanger it. Our Lord answered him:
“Canst thou not risk and suffer that internally, which I suffered without
measure in My body, in My Hands and Feet and in all My Body?”
Children, some men cannot
bear this; so they seek here, there and everywhere for rest; and find it not,
till they cast themselves down into the depths of suffering. How, think ye,
should death be met? Children, if a man were as pure as when first baptized,
and had never fallen into sin, still, if he desired to attain to the next
truth, he must pass through this earthquake, and by this way into true
resignation, or he will get no further.
After this earthquake came
the fire; and in that the Lord came not. This means fiery love, which consumes
the bones and the marrow, and by means of which a man is brought outside
himself. A man was once so greatly inflamed by this fire that he never trusted
himself to go near straw, thinking that his very heat must set it alight.
Another man, because of this heat, could only sleep in winter when it had been
snowing; he then lay down in the snow and slept, and the snow immediately
melted around him, far and near. See, children, fiery love penetrates by the
spirit into the body, and yet in this the Lord comes not.
After this came a sweet,
gentle breeze, a soft wind like a murmur; and in that came the Lord. How was
it, think ye, that must be, when the Lord comes to man in all these ways which
are sudden and violent, and which cause such great disturbances that all that there
is in his poor nature and in his spirit is consumed, so that then the Lord
Himself comes? Know this, that if God did not preserve man’s nature in a
supernatural manner, he would be unable, even if he had the strength of a
hundred men, to bear the joy and the wonder; and yet it is only a glimpse. This
glimpse was so excessively sudden that Elias stood in the door of the cave, and
wrapped his face in his mantle. This cave is human weakness; but the entrance
is nothing less than the vision of the Godhead by man. Elias wrapped his face
in his mantle; which means that, however short and swift the vision was, still
it was a glimpse that transcended nature, and was insupportable and
incomprehensible to the natural man. Children, it was verily God the Lord Who was
here. His sweetness is far above that of honey and the honey-comb, which are
the sweetest things known to the world. But this reaches far beyond all powers,
even unto a fathomless abyss. As weak eyes cannot bear the brightness of the
sun, so a thousand times less can nature endure this condition in her weakness.
All that we can say of this is that however well and fully we may be able to
comprehend it with our minds, express it in words, or grasp it with the
understanding, still it is all as utterly unlike the reality as it would be
were I to say of a piece of black coal: “Look, here is the bright sun which
lightens all the world.” Here true peace is brought forth; that peace which
passeth all understanding; and thus a man may here be established in that true
peace, which no man taketh from him.
Now the Form which Job saw
and did not recognise, was the second Person of the Godhead, the Son of God;
the soft, gentle Breeze in which the Lord
came was the Holy Ghost. St Gregory says that this means that He came in
this gentle breeze, and at Whitsuntide in a rushing wind. The reason was that
He came to the outward man in a visible way, that he might carry on the work
for the benefit of Christendom. Job needed it not after this fashion, therefore
the Spirit came to him. Blessed are the sons of men who can attain to this
great good for an instant even before death. But know that, however great and
good this may be, it is as unlike all the sweetness that will be ours in
Eternal Life, as the least drop of water is to the fathomless sea.
Now, what becomes of all
those men before whom this joy is held forth and made known? They sink down in
their absolute nothingness, in an inscrutable manner, as though they desired to
be annihilated for a hundred hours out of love and praise to Him. It would be
joy to them in the Presence and in awe of that great Being, out of very love,
to attain to a state of non-existence; and they would gladly cast themselves
down into the deepest abyss; for the more they acknowledge His Majesty, the
more they acknowledge their own littleness and worthlessness. By this
annihilation they have so absolutely separated themselves from themselves, that
even if God wished to give none of this consolation and this experience they
would not desire it, but would flee from it. And, if of their own free will
they desired none, it would not be good for them, and it might easily lead them
into sin, for which they would afterwards have to suffer in purgatory; and it
would also be a sign that all was not well with them. Therefore the power of
love must ever be thirsting; while moderation and discretion flee away.
These men have a most
consuming thirst for suffering. They look upon it as their consolation and joy,
given to them by God, that they may follow the blessed example of Christ. They
desire to may come to them in the most ignominious and painful manner in which
it can be borne. They thirst for the Cross; and, with love and fervent
longings, they bend beneath the Cross of their beloved Lord. Here the Holy Cross
is exalted indeed on the sacred Day of the Cross. The sufferings and the
example of our Lord are followed here with true dignity. St Paul, who was
exalted even unto the third heaven, said: “God forbid that I should glory save
in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Job said: “My soul rather chooseth hanging,
and my bones death.” This he chose as the best that God had given
him. This hanging on the Cross is pain to most men, because their God hung on
the Cross for their sakes, therefore God ordains that man should experience
horrible darkness, and be forsaken in his great misery. How can the power of
love, which was kindled by the flame of love, sustain itself when thus cut off
from all consolation in such a perceptible way? Integrity and moderation come
and speak to the power of love: “See, beloved one, this is the inheritance that
He has left to those who love Him; a soul full of God and a body or nature full
of suffering.” As love burns more or less brightly, so this inheritance is ever
more valued, and is sweeter than any other consolation could be. This is the
longed-for inheritance that our Lord promised to His Friends by the Prophets.
The more nobly they posses this inheritance and love it, the more they will
also posses that blessed and heavenly inheritance that our Lord extolled to His
friends. They will posses it ever in fuller measure throughout eternity. The
holy Martyrs have attained to this inheritance by their great love. They think
they are only just beginning life; they feel like men who are beginning to
grow. May God have mercy on those who neglect this ever increasing, true and
holy blessing for vile, corrupt things, and may we ever confess this to Him.
Amen.
On the Feast of St Mary
Magdalene
A most precious
Sermon and thoughtful Exhortation, which covers the whole ground of the
Teaching and Preaching of the celebrated Doctor Tauler. Of the true resignation
and seclusion by which we may come to real peace and to the highest state of
perfection. It is founded on the words of Christ which he spake, in praise of
Mary Magdalene, to her sister Martha.
“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things.
But one thing is necessary; Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be
taken away from her.”
In our dear Lord Jesus
Christ, and in His holy and fruitful Coming, I greet you, faithful children of
God, who are assembled here to learn of the Divine Word, and of the best way to
eternal salvation. Amen.
Dearly beloved and elect,
listen to the Voice of God in your hearts, earnestly and diligently, that ye
may not be led astray and blinded by transitory things and your own natural
tendencies. If ye heartily desire to become the dearest Friends and Disciples
of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, ye must rid yourselves of all that pertains
to the creature, and especially free yourselves, as much as possible, of all
that can be rightly and honestly called necessary. Ye must look to Him alone as
the Source of all things, for He needs the help of none. Ye must keep
yourselves cut off and freed from all superfluous and unnecessary conversation
and outward delight in human beings, and from all images, both external and
internal, that are pleasing in any way to the natural man, or of which ye are
conscious. This ye must do, like the beloved Mary Magdalene; so that God may
work His wonderful works in you, according to His dear Will, and may pour out
upon you His fervent, ardent Love and Divine Grace, that ye may acknowledge, as
ye fall at His Sacred Feet, that all that may befall you is needful and His
Divine Decree.
Now mark, if we were
inwardly conscious of it, we should well understand, how very often we may be
blinded, to our own hurt, by unnecessary and external works of love, which
prevent our perceiving the divine inspiration and our own infirmities. Although
such works may have been done in love, both great and godlike, and may not be
really evil in themselves, still they are not that which is best and most
perfect. Our Lord Jesus Christ praised Mary Magdalene for her absolute
separation from all things, when He said: “She hath chosen the best part,” and He rebuked Martha, because she was too
careful in her anxiety and great and loving service, for she loved Him and His
chosen disciples, with ardent, fervent love; and that in itself was right and
proper. Therefore, if we especially desire to receive from God consolation and
teaching that will be useful to us and bear fruit in us, and a true and perfect
separation from all needful things, both bodily and spiritual, it is very
necessary that we should decide at once to cut ourselves off from all
unnecessary works and ways, in our words, works and all things that are more
than absolutely necessary, either in bodily or spiritual matters, following
therein the teachings of God and of our own consciences. It is especially necessary
that we should shun and flee from all those persons who desire to lead us
astray, and suggest thoughts to us of outward things, however holy those
persons may be, or may seem to be; for they are not our true friends in
sincerity and truth, whether they be Father Confessors or whosoever they may
be, either spiritually or worldly-minded people. We shall never find God
anywhere so perfectly, so fruitfully and so truly as in retirement and in the
wilderness; like the Blessed Mother of God, St John the Baptist, and Mary
Magdalene, and other saints and patriarchs. They all fled from the world, from
society, and all the cares and anxieties of the creature, and went into the
forests and into the desert, or wherever they could find the greatest solitude.
Oh! verily, much intercourse with society, and much outward conversation and
necessary business lead up to an evil old age, and drive out God, however good
the intentions may have been. For, when we fill our hearts with the creature,
and with strange, useless images, God must of necessity remain outside, neither
desires He to enter there. A barrel that has been filled with refuse or with
decaying matter, cannot hereafter be used for good, generous wine or any other
pure drink. Oh! verily, we may turn where and to whomsoever we will in this
life, and, in all outward things, we shall find nothing but falsity,
unfaithfulness and dissension. Where we imagine we shall be able to seek and to
find great consolations and delight, we lose entirely all inward consolation,
and are robbed entirely of that peace of mind which is had taken us a long time
to attain in solitude. We cannot regain it, and we become greatly discontented,
offending by unnecessary, superfluous and untrue words; we waste our time, and
do many other things which cause our hearts to grow cold and extinguish our
love. Conscious pricks us, and we are easily stirred up and urged on to
impatience and anger. Woe be to us! could we only realise this, we should find
that in God only can we have peace or consolation, or truly perfect joy and
delight.
Let us turn to God with all
our hearts, and wait upon Him in meekness and patience, as did the holy
Prophets and Patriarchs, aforetime, in the old Covenant (Testament); for they
indeed waited patiently for His coming in Hades, for many thousand years before
they were redeemed. Oh! surely, we ought to be more ready to wait for Him,
when, for a time, He withdraws His consolation and sweetness, of which we are
quite unworthy, and hides Himself from us. He thinks only of what is best and
most useful for us, that He may kindle and stir up our love and our longing for
Him, ever more and more. For in His love and great mercy He neither wills nor
desires to refuse, or to take from us, anything that is useful and necessary either
in body or spirit; He knows surely what is best for us.
O God, how greatly we need
Thy mercy! for we are so foolish and senseless, that we often allow little
things to keep us back, imagining that we are pleasing God, when we sing His
praise with many high-sounding words; though the words used by the Saviour and
His dear disciples were short and simple. Or again, we think we are pleasing
God and helping our neighbour by an unjustifiable waste of time and much
outward sorrow. Or again, we think it is good and useful for us to carry on
much unnecessary business and to delight in our fellow creatures (however holy
they may be or appear to be). Thus even the blessed Form of our dear Lord Jesus
Christ, and His faithful, fatherly and fruit-bringing Presence became harmful
to His dear disciples and hindered them and led them astray, as He Himself
said: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you.” Or again, we think we may have and hold many
things with delight, and as our own, without spiritual harm; either temporal
goods, company, familiar intercourse with relations or spiritual friends, while
at the same time we are pleasing our dear Lord and continuing in His love;
though He was despised, He was sorrowful and poor, and said Himself: “There is
no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or
wife, or children, or lands for My sake, but he shall receive an hundredfold
now in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.”
He says also in another
place: “He who hateth not his father and mother and wife and children, and
brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”
O God! could we but see into
the depths of the loving teaching of our dear Lord, we should surely
acknowledge at once that all our life is unholy, and that it is not at all that
which we imaging it to be.
If we ever are to attain to
true Divine Peace, and be completely united to God, all that is not absolutely
necessary, either bodily or spiritually, must be cast off; everything that
could interpose itself to an unlawful extent between us and Him, and lead us
astray; for He alone will be Lord in our hearts, and none other; for Divine
Love can admit of no rival.
Oh! let us praise the Death
of our dear Lord Jesus Christ and his inestimable merit, and ponder on the
short transitory nature of this miserable life, and the delusions of this
faithless, treacherous and deceitful world. Remember how dangerous it is to
hold intercourse with any, whether clergy or laity, and how short our time is
here, and that we must be preparing for the day of our death which is ever
drawing nearer. If ye keep watch over your hearts, and listen for the Voice of
God and learn of Him, in one short hour ye can learn more from Him than ye
could learn from man in a thousand years. Dear children, use this short but
more precious time wisely and profitably; and let none cause you to err,
neither deceive you, that ye may not, to your own hurt, neglect your own
salvation. We may lose much of our worldly goods, but we may also recover them
again, though they will be of no further use to us when this short fleeting
life is over. But if we lose but one little hour of this precious time, or
vainly waste it, we can never recover it again; and we shall be in need of it
throughout eternity, and be deprived of the exceeding great and eternal joy and
reward, which we might otherwise have earned.
I fear, indeed, that there
is great cause for anxiety, both on my account and on that of all those who
cling too much to their fellow-creatures, and who are led astray and needlessly
troubled by asking, hearing and talking too much about strange and useless
tales. It comes to pass, too, that when, through His great and endless mercy,
God preserves us from great and coarse sins, He nevertheless allows us to
persist in fruitless outward imaginings, in a cold, thoughtless, foolish state
of blindness, so that we neither can make, nor desire to make any progress
towards a state of perfection, and shall have in consequence, to endure the
fires of purgatory. We are like unto foolish asses, which never learn any form
of speech than their own braying, or seek any other comfort or sweetness, but
only rough, tasteless thistles, while they have to endure scorn and many a hard
and cruel blow, which they really do not deserve. Surely, if we are not willing
to give up outward attachments and distractions, simply for the sake of God and
our own eternal salvation, yet we ought to be able to do so readily for the sake
of that great peace of heart, which, even in this world, would be ours; and
because we should be freed from much painful and unmerited oppression and
perplexity. Verily, the man who wishes to prove himself always in the right, in
everything that he does, sees, hears and discusses, and who will not give way
and be silenced, will never be at peace in himself, and will have a barren,
sullen and wandering mind; he will prey upon himself, even though he be left in
peace by all, and is tried by no outward pressure. We must commend all that we
posses both in body and spirit in full confidence to God, and allow Him to work
in us according to His Will; and then we shall attain to perfect peace. He can
guide and prepare us far better in all things, both bodily and spiritual, and
for our own good both in body and spirit, if He finds that we have desired and
sought honestly His praise and glory alone in all things. This indeed should
suffice us; we need no longer be careful or troubled about anything, either
without or within, but must seek only to give ourselves into His keeping
entirely, in all humility. If it seem good to Him, He can show us in many ways
what we ought to do and what we ought to leave undone; for He only knows what
is really needful for us, and He only desires that which is best for us, would
we but trust ourselves entirely to Him.
But we want to order our own
ways, and to do that which we think best, just as we fancy and it pleases us,
perhaps solely in the light of nature. We want to be wiser than God, Who is the
Source of all Wisdom, and we imagine that, could we but rid ourselves of this
sorrow or of that person, or could we be at such and such a court or society,
it would be to our profit and advantage. Truly, if we could but see it, we
should find that the Evil Spirit willingly deceives us and leads our hearts
astray, making us restless and discontented. Steadfastness is not only one of
the sources, but also shares in all other virtues; therefore the Evil One
always endeavours, whenever he gets a chance, to prevent men from holding fast
to this virtue. But if we strove more diligently to find him out, we should
realise that we are seeking secretly and ignorantly by the light of nature. We
imagine things, and lie to ourselves and are ready to flee from the Cross, and
to cast it away, before God sees fit to remove it. Verily, this should not and
ought not so to be; for our dear Lord, in His great love and mercy towards His
chosen ones, afflicts and crucifies them unceasingly in this world, in many secret,
strange ways, often unknown to them. He would not have them love anything too
well in this life, that evil spirits may never gain any power over them. Our
dear Lord afflicts and crucifies one man in one way, and another man in another
way; one more, another less, according to the needs of each, and of the power
of each to receive the Grace of God, and to draw nearer to His own Will in all
things. Therefore we must be ready to suffer and submit, as much in one kind of
suffering and need as in another, just as God sees fit to afflict us. We must
not think at once that if we could have some really divine witness or testimony
from God, or from His Friends, that we then should be more at peace; for often,
when we strive to avoid some slight suffering or discipline, we only fall into
it all the more deeply.
Woe be unto us! Were we only
not so foolish, but recognised instead how very much the smallest suffering or
affliction purifies us and unites us to God, and in God; how great our eternal
reward will be; and how quickly it drives and chases away the Evil Spirit from
us, so that he can have no power over us, surely, we should be ready to run
miles to the Cross, and should earnestly thank all those who in any way
afflicted or tried us. We should turn towards the road that they take from real
joy and thankfulness, and we should be glad, beyond all measure, that we had
been able to find and to carry so heavy a Cross. So did the holy Apostle, St
Andrew; he rejoiced exceedingly in the Cross, and longed for it with fervent
love and desire; because he craved in some measure to be like unto his God and
Lord Who was crucified for our sakes. Oh! even in this life how great and
enduring is the reward that we might gain, if we only yielded ourselves wholly
and joyfully to the Will of God. Suffering and all kinds of affliction are
indeed most precious and fruitful and make men so like Him, that our Lord will
not leave any of His Friends without suffering. For, rather than that His
chosen ones should be undisciplined and unprepared, He is ready to create
suffering out of nothing, and allows them to be tried by all sorts of
irrational and dishonest things that by means of them they may be prepared.
But, alas! in these times,
we are altogether unworthy of these fruitful gifts of God; we are careless and
unreceptive. We protect ourselves from them, and struggle against them as much
as lies in our power; for we will not suffer anyone to try us or to afflict us
either by word or deed. When anyone attacks us, we fly at him at once, like
angry dogs; we assert ourselves, and excuse ourselves in words, or in our own
minds, by thinking that we were right or wrong, and that we ought not to allow
ourselves to be oppressed in any way. Alas! why is our nature so untamed, so
wild and unmortified; and why are we so foolish? We ought to think of suffering
and affliction as necessary for us, though we are unworthy of them, and we
should at all times thankfully and humbly receive the good gifts of God in
silence, humility, meekness and patience, like that upright and steadfast Job.
We should always feel that we are guilty and suffer justly, however unjustly we
may have been treated according to our own view; neither ought we to justify
ourselves. Thus we may attain to true Divine Peace and stir up our fellowmen to
all virtues. This would be more praiseworthy and well-pleasing unto God, than
any outward discipline that we could devise or carry out for ourselves.
Know this, dear children,
that if all our teachers were buried, and all our books were burned, we should
still find enough teaching and contrast to ourselves in the Life and Example of
our Lord Jesus Christ, wherever we might need it, if we only diligently and
earnestly learn how He went before, in silent patience, in gentleness, in
adversity, in temptations of the Evil One, in resignation, in scorn, in
poverty, and in all manner of bitter suffering and pain. Surely, if we oftener
examined ourselves in this most useful and salutary Mirror, we should more
readily and joyfully suffer affliction and adversity, and be better able to
overcome and resist temptations and evil suggestions, in whatever way they
attacked us or encountered us. All suffering and all work would be much lighter
and easier to suffer and to bear, and then all the things that we see and hear
would tend only to our good.
For, if we wish to attain to
great and fruitful peace in God, in nature, but not of this world, we must
first diligently and earnestly learn to make the best of all things, and to
endure, kindly and meekly, the behaviour of all kinds of men, their ways and
customs; for they will often try and afflict us. The behaviour of other men and
their ways will often vex and displease us; it will seem to us as though one
person talked too much, another too little; one was too indolent, another too
energetic; one erring in one way, another in another. Customs and fashions are
so many and so various, that they assail us in many secret and unsuspected
ways. We must learn to withstand them all vigorously, that they may take no root
in us. By reason of weakness we cannot always keep our hearts free; yet we can
at least vigorously check any outbreak in words, so that we shall neither
condemn nor judge others, nor talk much of the lives and doings of others,
either openly or in secret, however much we may be tempted. By acting thus we
shall be great gainers; we shall be much less likely to break out; for we shall
be more inclined to peace and kindliness, and be better able to endure. Our
dear Lord Jesus Christ set us an example by so gently and meekly suffering the
traitor Judas, and all those who hated Him, to remain near Him, although He
knew all the hatred and unfaithfulness that they bore towards Him, and for
which He, Who was Himself without guilt and sin, might justly have punished
them. No one in this world is so perfect that if he were to examine his own
heart, he would not find sin enough of which to rid himself, so that he would
not be able justly to reprove others.
Therefore, dear children,
learn from my weaknesses to know your own, and rid yourselves of them. Take all
my words, not my works, as from God; for I have studied them all in the book of
my transgressions; take them earnestly to heart as a gentle warning and
exhortation, not as an instruction; for I know that I need really to be taught
by you and all men. He who does not occupy himself at home with a collected
mind and pure heart in true humility cannot withstand temptation vigorously,
nor acknowledge truth in all sincerity. Voluntary poverty is better than all
the goods of this world, and union with God than heaven and earth full of
blessings given by the command of God. May the everlasting peace of God be with
you throughout all time and eternity. Amen.
SERMON XVI
On the Feast of the Holy
Martyr, St Laurence
Who, the true
Servants of God are, who serve Him in truth, and follow Him, however, and
wherever, He may lead them. Of the causes of wandering thoughts and a
discontented mind on account of outward things. How a man in the service of God
ought to be assured of his entrance into Eternal Life, and not only to presume
it. How he should train himself in this life, that he may gain more knowledge
and draw ever nearer.
Qui mihi ministrat, me
sequatur.
“If any man minister to me, let him follow me.”
These words are full of
truth and instruction. They make known to us simply who the true servants of
God are, who serve God and follow Him in truth, and how and whither He leads
them. God does not lead all His servants by one road, nor in one way, nor at
one time; for God is in all things; and that man is not serving God aright, who
can only serve Him in his own self-chosen way. If such men do not follow their
usual course, they can do nothing properly; and when God would lead them by
another way, they turn back, and waste their affections on the things which
surround them. They are not the servants of God, for they turn away from God,
Whom alone they ought to serve, at all times, in all places, and by all their
actions. Because God is in all things, and they do not in all things serve Him
solely and entirely, and do not set Him truly and sincerely before them, they
fritter away their opportunities, and are discontented with all their works and
ways, with all men and with all places.
What is the cause of this
distraction and discontent? The first cause is that God has not entered into
thy heart, and is not rooted there; and thou hast, instead, thought out for
thyself and made thee a God, whom thou desirest to have in thy being, but who
does not exist. Therefore, when thy imagination departs, the presence of God
fails thee. The second cause is that man devotes himself and clings to things
which are apparent to the senses. He who desires to keep himself unspotted,
must let all outward visible things pass by, and must force his way on, as
through things that he heeds not, while he makes use of nothing that is not
absolutely needful for the present time. But, if even then he finds there is
anything that he does not need, he must keep away from it, and give neither
time nor place to any being that is not in God. He does rightly, who acts as
though he said: “I think of, I seek for, and I follow after, God only.” He
should greet all those whom he meets, and bless God, going on his own way; for
what could be more like hell or the Devil to him, than want of love for Him
Whom all creatures long for? Man should press onwards, with all his might,
through all obstacles, overcoming them in God. He must not trouble himself too
much about anything that detains him, either love or sorrow; and he must not
repeat what does not concern him; that God may manifest Himself to him in all
things, and that he may remain undisturbed in his own mind. Man can only do
this by setting his affections on God alone, and on nothing else.
But if, against thy will,
anything which is not solely of God as thou art aware of it, bestir thyself,
and turn thy ship round with the rudder of discretion. When the servant of God
acts in this way, however much that is distracting may enter into his works and
ways, most certainly he will neither be confused nor led astray. Even if he be
not conscious of the Presence of God within him, yet God is undoubtedly there;
so that, if neither sin nor the creature banish Him, the man will not be
disturbed by any works or unexpected events. But if his works and ways rob him
of his peace, he will, of a truth, find out for himself, or from others, that
the true foundation is wanting, or has been destroyed; his works have not been
done aright, and all his actions have not been truly centred in God. But if the
man finds that God is not within him, he must feel after Him with all his
might, that he may find Him; and he must put away all that might cause him to
err, whatever it may be, or however it may be called. He will be, otherwise,
like a man who has a dart in his body which he cannot pull out without giving
himself pain; and who, if he does not pull it out, will have to suffer still
greater pain and distress.
Verily, if anything else is
clearer to thee than God alone, or of which He is not the true Source, it must
find no place in thee. If thou canst not bear the first suffering, whatever it
may be, then greater suffering will follow; and then woe after woe will come,
even more than man can conceive. Thy mind must be empty of all else, pure and
seeking God only, filled only with Him, and with nothing else, as though thou
wert ready to say: “Dear Lord, could I but only show Thee some measure of love
in all places, and in the sight of all men, I would set myself to do it in all
humility.” But, if man is inclined to choose that which is next to God, let him
strive to gain love, choose flight from all distractions, and, diligently and
with all his might, turn his thoughts within. Man must serve God in all things,
both outwardly and inwardly, and in all his actions, not according to his own
will, but according to God’s dear Will. For if a man has not God in his heart,
he walks uncertainly and insecurely; as the Holy Scriptures say: “Woe to him
that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up.” That man is indeed alone who has not God
always within him, in his heart and in all his ways. But if he were first of
all to take refuge with our Lord, then his castle, that is, his heart and soul,
would be well garrisoned and protected, and his enemies would be unable to
prevail against him. The man who lays hold on God, and desires Him only, will
find that He is all-sufficient. All things will be but the road to God for him;
and, content with whatever may come, he will attain to peace with himself and all
mankind.
Thus those men, to whom in
truth God is present everywhere, will make greater progress, and attain all
virtues more quickly than when there is greater equality. For when men stand on
the same level, they must keep diligent watch over their own minds, and must
examine closely how they respond in all their actions, their love and sorrow.
But, when men are unequal, it is not so; them it comes to pass of itself,
through man’s depravity and subjection; and, in this response of inequality,
man will surely become conscious whether he be really the faithful servant of
God. If it should come to pass that the man himself should fail, he would not
remain long in that condition; but, laying the blame on his own littleness and
worthlessness, he would quickly turn gain in all humility to God, his true
Foundation. Should he linger long in his failing, and want to find out how he
came to give way, and whether he ought to have done this or that, he would only
be held back the longer by unrighteousness. If thou desirest to be safe, turn
at once in thy emptiness to God. If thou hast been inconsistent again than in
God only? How canst thou better escape death than by the true, real Life, which
is God Himself? Where can a man warm himself better than by the fire? So it is
in God. Man must bring all that concerns him to God, and leave all with Him.
God will provide for him in the best of ways. He must trust all things to God;
and, in that trust, he must be ready to accept all things, as for the best, and
rest in peace.
But if man will not fully
cast himself on God, and trust in Him, but wants to busy himself about
everything and is full of care, God often lets him fall into misery and
distress, that he may see how far he can get in his own strength. But if he
trusts himself to God in all things in full confidence, then most certainly God
will provide for him, both outwardly and inwardly, far better than any creature
could. For God is full of grace and truth; and whatever we ask of Him, in full
confidence, we shall assuredly receive; for just as it is impossible for us to
love God too well, so also it is impossible for us to trust Him too much, if
otherwise our intentions are right and good. This true peace is found by man in
the depths of his own heart, which is the true Dwelling-place of God. When he
first turns to God, he must needs be empty, he must have leisure, time and
place for Him. There, in the innermost heart of man, this tree will grow up,
with all its branches and fruits. For within, emptied of all else, ways and
means of coming to God will be revealed to man; and he will also learn to
understand God’s dealings with him; the more he yields himself to this
knowledge, the more clearly will God’s ways be made known unto him.
When a man finds that in
himself, or in other men, this is wanting, he must understand that the way
thereto has been destroyed, so that neither time, place nor leisure has been
given to God, and that assuredly he has not sought this knowledge from within.
Know, that such men depend
all their lives long on the appearance of spirituality in their own actions;
while all the time they know not themselves, and never find themselves in God;
they let that alone. They make themselves believe that they are resigned,
whereas they are showing criminal heedlessness; then other things come to pass
which rob God of His rightful place; they fill it with themselves, or else with
something belonging to them. It is just as impossible for man to posses God
without love, as it is impossible that a man can exist without a soul, whether
he be conscious of it or not. Thus a man goes on blindly and fearlessly,
trusting to his appearance of spirituality, or to the good works that he does,
avoiding self-examination, and imagining that he has taken the right road. When
such a man comes to his end, he finds that it is eternal death; for he did not
go by that Way which is Christ Himself, who has said: “I am the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life.” He who goeth not by that Way, goeth astray. It is indeed
a disgrace, and a great crime, that a man learns and knows about so many other
things while he neither knows, nor wishes to know himself.
Dear children, no one ought
to allow himself to be in doubt of his own eternal life; he ought to be sure of
it, and not only imagine it. That to be sure of it, and not only imagine it.
That is, he ought to know whether he has God within him, in his heart; and, on
the other hand, whether he really longs for God. If he does not posses this
true knowledge, then let him seek it of wise and holy men, that he may know,
for certain, and not only imagine how things are with him. All the Saints, as
well as the Virgin Mary, and all creatures, could not win for such a man, even
with tears of blood, one moment more from God than he had deserved in this
present life. Those who were ready went in joyfully to the marriage with the
Bridegroom; while to those who were not ready, but who wanted to prepare
themselves, He said with an oath: “Amen, I say to you, I know you not.” Where
was it that He knew as His own in the Kingdom of Heaven, and who stand in His
Presence before His Face; He knew them not amongst those heavenly hosts; for
they came too late. However loudly they knocked, yet the Lord opened not the
door unto them.
St Augustine says: “Nothing
is so certain as death, and nothing is so uncertain as the hour of death.” For,
wherever and however it may come, of the time and the hour knoweth no man.
Therefore nothing can be more necessary than that we should be ready at all
times, and that we should know that we are, and not only hope so. We have been
placed in this life, not only to do the works, but also that we may know, so
that our works may grow out of knowledge, as fruit grows out of the tree.
Therefore our work in this life is to gain more knowledge, and so to come
nearer to God. He who has forced his way through, and who, according to the
Will of God, can lift up his mind above this world, and who has ordered his
life and his secret thoughts aright, will not be confused, distracted or
hindered by the things that pertain to this life; but they will only serve to
drive him to God. Therefore, if a man’s mind and inward inclinations are
steadfastly fixed on God with pure intentions, and his ways are ordered in
peace, while he remains undisturbed in all good works, it is a sure sign that
he is a righteous man, and that all his works are pure and true. This he seems
to desire earnestly at all times; for he is like a corpse buried in the ground,
that his soul may be buried in the depths of the Godhead. We have been placed
in this world for this reason, and for none other. Whatever we neglect here
will be lost to us for all eternity. To him whose superscription is on the
penny, will the penny most certainly be given. Therefore every man should often
search out his own heart, and seek diligently till he find whose superscription
is there; what it is that he most loves and thinks of, whether it is God, or
himself, or created beings, either living or dead. That which most fills his
mind, his heart and his soul; that to which he most joyfully responds, whether
from without or from within, will claim the penny with the superscription, and
will receive it without any questioning. The man who searches out these things
with real care, will assuredly learn to whom he belongs; it will not only be
guess-work. For, if in thy heart thou thinkest of and lovest something which is
not truly and only of God, and of which He is not the Source, but thou thyself;
whatever it is, and however small, if thou knowingly and intentionally allowest
it to remain in thee, God will never truly dwell in thee. Even thou wert to
weep as many tears as there are drops in the ocean, it would be of no avail;
thou wilt lack His Presence as long as eternity lasts.
O, children! what are poor
men about, when, having eyes that see, they allow themselves to be blinded by
the creature, and will not guard against their own deceitful nature, which is
so secretly absorbed with itself and with other things. Therefore examine your
own minds, both outwardly and inwardly; desire God only; give Him free, empty
and untroubled hearts, in which ye truly have no place yourselves, that He may
work His noble work in you, and that He and none other may find a place there.
May God help us to keep ourselves thus empty and free. Amen.
SERMON XVII
Of the Assumption of our Lady
That we ought not
to rest with delight in any earthly or spiritual things, but only in our
unknown God. How we ought to dwell in the Divine Inheritance, so that we may
attain to that which is Eternal; or how we ought to share, with love and
thankfulness, in the sufferings and life of our Lord in this life, that we may
attain to the Glorified Inheritance of His precious Godhead.
In omnibus requiem
quaesivi, et in haereditate Domini morabor.
“In all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of
the Lord.”
The wise man spake these
words, and we interpret them of our dear Lady, who well might say: “In all
these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.”
These words may not be most
suitably used of our dear Lady, for in mind she soared above the heavens, into
the very depths of hell, into the deep sea and over the whole surface of the
globe, and yet found no rest. No one in this life should strive to soar so
high, but every one should fix an hour every day, at which he should offer unto
our Lady special service and praise, and beseech her earnestly to guide us,
draw us and help us in coming to her dearly-beloved Child; for her worth transcends
all estimation and measure.
What a marvel it is that she
should have laid her Creator and her God in her bosom; loving Him intensely
above all imagining; and yet that she should never have doubted, but was always
certain, that He was her God. She could behave to Him as His Mother, and He
walked with her as her Child; and yet, never for one moment in all her life was
she content with this; but in mind she soared ever above, and was lost in the
Divine Abyss, in which alone she found her rest, her inheritance and her
dwelling-place.
Children, the poison of the
first Fall has sunk into the very depths of our nature. We have been made and
placed between the two ends; time and Eternity. Time for us ought to be nothing
more than a passage to the end; and Eternity should be our aim and our dwelling
place. Now poor man, unhappily, because of his fallen nature and his blindness,
is attacked by everything on his weakest side; he rests himself by the way and
forgets his true destiny. His nature clings to everything with which it comes
into contact; it clutches at whatever it may be, and seeks rest therein, either
bodily or spiritual, internal or external. It is quite apparent how worldly men
seek their rest and pleasure; and they will surely find out hereafter how things
stand with them. But those who hide worldly hearts under a spiritual
appearance, and find rest in temporal things, whoever they may be, and whatever
may be the cares which oppress them, would find, if they only knew it, what
would make their hearts shrivel up in terror. God made all things that are
needful, not for our satisfaction or pleasure, but for Himself alone.
Children, I should be quite
misunderstood were I to be supposed to have said: “I will not hear anyone’s
confession unless he promises to do what I want.” It would be very wrong to
say, “what I want.” I require nothing from any one beyond that which is
written; and I beg that no one will make me this promise. I can absolve no one
that is not sorry for his sins, neither can the Pope himself, unless the man
desires to amend his life and to guard against sin, and also against the causes
of sin, as much as lies in his power. Some men cling willingly and consciously
to the causes of sin, and then go to confession and receive the Lord’s Body,
while they will not acknowledge their sin. Because they do not steal and are
not unchaste they go on as they are. They must judge for themselves how they an
be absolved; they must find out, indeed, what repentance and sorrow there can
be, when they thus look for rest and peace, while seeking for satisfaction,
apart from God, either in their fellow-creatures, in clothes, in food or in
creature comforts. Such men also seek for peace in spiritual matters and in
things which look good; when such men have done anything wrong, they hurry off
to make an outward confession, before they have confessed to God in their
hearts, and have humbly pleaded guilty. They seek for natural repose in this
outward confession, that they may get peace, and that the blame and reproofs of their own
consciences may be stilled and silenced; for, when men have confessed, their
minds are at ease and they are content. Confession and rebuke are like a fresh
wound; they rub and scrub away the blight of sin.
Now, nature also seeks for
rest in spiritual exercises. Some men hold so fast to their inner works and
ways, to their exercises and secret discipline, that these good things lead
them to wander from the Lord to lesser truths. In short, all in which man seeks
for rest, and which is not wholly in God, is corrupt, however good it may be or
seem to be, whether without form, or void, or senseless, or endowed with sense
and usefulness. All that man rests in with delight, and possesses, is corrupt.
Seek only for simple immersion in that bare, single, unknown, unnamed secret
Good, which is God, denying self and all that may be found in self. As St
Dionysius says: “God is not only that which thou canst receive of Him. He is
above all wisdom, above all beings, |
