A METHOD OF Conversing WITH GOD.  
Translated out of French by J. W. of the Society of Jesus.  
●on habet amaritudinem conversatio illius, nec taedium convictus illius. Sapien. c. 8. v. 16.  
London, Printed by Mary Thompson Anno Dom. MDCLXXXVIII.   

To Her Majesty THE Queen Dowager OF ENGLAND.  
Madam,  
THough I have put the ensuing Treatise into English, yet it speaks still a Language few understand, and therefore wants so powerful a Patroness as your Majesty; who both Understands it, and can Vindicate it from those Censures that may be cast upon it, by such as do not. Wherefore vouchsafe to give me leave to publish it under Your Majesty's Gracious Patronage; and to take this opportunity of giving our Nation an Idea of the Devotions Your Majesty exercises in Your frequent Retirements, which many Admire, but few Imitate: Falsely judging that Prayer and Conversation with God is a tedious and irksome Employment, whilst a Pious Soul finds the contrary, and Experiences it to be the only true Comfort upon Earth, and a Foretaste and Pledge of that everlasting Happiness it hopes for in Heaven. Other seeming Comforts may allure our Hearts to a search after them, but when with much labour they are obtained, they manifest then emptiness and their inability to give the content they Promised, leaving the Soul in a more languishing and sad condition than they found it, and only satisfying it of this Truth, that God created our Heart for the enjoyment of himself, and that nothing less than Him can satisfy it. Vouchsafe; Madam, to pardon my Confidence, in presenting a bare Translation of so small a Treatise to so great a Person. The Widows Mite was not unacceptable to the King of Heaven, because it was all she had, and because she gave it with a very good will, which is the most valuable thing in all Presents; and I can assure Your Majesty, that both these Reasons do plead for this little Offering. Your Majesty's acceptance will, I hope, persuade the World to turn over these few Leaves; and if your Example likewise can prevail with them, to practise what they Read, I question not but they will soon cease to wonder that Your Majesty so often leaves the Entertainments of the Court, for the Solitude of Your Closet; when they perceive that the greatest Honours, Riches, and Pleasures of the Earth, are (what the wisest of Men styled them) mere Vanities; nay, even Vexations, in respect of those Substantial and Satisfactory Delights, which are enjoyed by Conversing with God. Which indeed are such, that none but those who with Your Majesty have Experienced them, are able to conceive them. That Your Majesty may proceed in Your pious Exercises, till at length you come to receive the Reward of them in an everlasting Joy, is the constant Prayer of  
Madam, Your Majesty's most Obliged and most Devoted Servant J. W.   

A METHOD OF Conversing with GOD.  
Non habet amaritudinem conversatio illius, nec taedium convictus illius.  
His Conversation has no Bitterness, nor his Company any Tediousness.  Sapien. c. 8. v. 16 

Introduction.  
OUR Conversations with one another, tho' necessary for the Entertainment of our Mind, yet have often Inconveniences, Disgraces, and Discontents that accompany them; or, at least are subject to two troublesome Accidents, the one, that ordinarily they displease us, and become painful and insupportable, there being nothing that wearies us sooner, or becomes more tedious, then to be obliged to hearken to, and to entertain others: The other is still worse, that when these Conversations please us, they are generally Criminal, and most commonly we return with wounded Consciences, and such Imperfections as we carried not with us.  
Conversation with God is free from these two dangers, neither sin nor wearisomeness accompany it; Innocence and Joy are the constant Companions of this Spiritual Happiness.  
If you desire to know it by your own Experience, do what the Holy Ghost and the Divine Wisdom Inspire in their own words, which I am about to propose to you, and regulate yourself according to the Examples they invite you to imitate.   

CHAP. I.  
In what this Conversation consists.  
GOD loves you, love Him; His delight is to converse with you, let yours be to converse with, and to spend your Time, as you will spend your Eternity, in his amiable Company.  
Accustom yourself to speak familiarly and confidently to him as to a Friend, and reflect that 'tis an error and weakness of our blinded Nature, not to be free in his Presence, and not to appear before him, but as Slaves trembling with Shame and Fear before a Prince, thinking of nothing else, but searching Comfort, and Liberty elsewhere.  
You are not desired by an Extatick Prayer, or a violent Application of your Imagination, that you form to yourself a Figure of his Adorable Person, and that Prostrate in Spirit before this imaginary Figure, you forget yourself and your Domestic Affairs, and that you spend the day in Contemplating and Praising his Greatness.  
No, we speak here only of a familiar Entertainment, and desire nothing else, but that without quitting your ordinary Employments, you carry yourself after the same manner towards God, as in the like occasions you are wont to do, to those that love you, and that you love. He is present by you as they are; speak to him as you would to them, entertain him about your Concerns, about your Designs, propose your Hopes and Fears to him, and do this with Confidence and an open Heart; for Reservedness and Silence is very displeasing to him in his Saints: The Soul that has nothing thing to say to him, is like the little Sister of the Sunamite, which is not yet of Age to be one of the number of his Spouses, and to be tenderly loved by him.  
One of the first Lessons of a Spiritual Life is, that God who is the most Powerful and Formidable of all Masters, when he commands, desires to be Treated as the most Familiar Friend when he loves; and that during these solitary Conversations with the Persons he chooses, the least of all Creatures, is not too little, or too contemptible in his sight, unless that she has not yet learned the manner of Conversing with him, heart to heart, and amorously discovering to him her most hidden thoughts.  
True it is, that he ought always to be Sovereignly respected; but when he does you the favour to Visit you, and by an Interior motion of your Soul, makes you sensible of his Presence; the greatest Honour he requires from you, is to Entertain and Discourse with him, as with one you love, with all Liberty, Confidence, and Tenderness.   

CHAP. II.  
That GOD is every where.  
'TIs to receive this Honour, says the Prophet, that without expecting your coming to him, as soon as he perceives that you desire to call him, he prevents you and presents himself to you, with his Hands full of Grace, and Remedies proper for all the ailments you are wont to complain of; He attends only till you speak to him to make you sensible that he is always near you, and ready to hear and comfort you.  
Whereupon take notice that though God is every where, and in all Persons throughout the World by the Extent of his Immensity, and by the Operations of his Power as Creator; yet there are two places in which he inhabits as in his own House, which he designs and makes choice of for his chief Abode. The One is the Imperial Heaven, where he is present by the Emanations of his Glory, Communicated to the Angels and Saints; Th'other upon Earth, in the Souls of the Humble and Predestinate, where he is present by his Grace and the most Divine Operations of the Holy Ghost, who restores to them the Ancient Paradise in their Deserts. Dwelling in Eternity, says one Prophet, and Inhabiting in a Hmmble and Contrite Heart, says another. 'Tis God that dwells on high in the Sublimity of Eternity, and at the same time so low, as in the Solitude of Saints, in their Grots, Tabernacles, and Cells; where he passes the whole day, Entertaining himself with them. Alas, what Joys! What Heavenly Consolations! says Job, reflecting upon these Ancient and Happy years of his Conversation with God, When God was secretly in my Tabernacle, when the Omnipotent was with me: In a word, he is with thee, O Devout Soul, an inseparable, and the only Faithful Companion amongst Friends.   

CHAP. III.  
God is at all times Present.  
OThers have Hours of Separation, there is no separation from God, all times are proper to make Holy Love to him, When the Sun retires, says Solomon, he retires not; in the Night he remains by your Pillow, to entertain you in the silence of the Night by his secret Inspirations, and to help you to make a Holy and Sweet Repose amidst the Sweetnesses and Celestial Pleasures of this Interior Conversation.  
He is present also when you wake in the Morning, to hear from your Mouth a word of Confidence, and to become the Depository of your first Cares each day; but since he fails not to be present when you wake, fail not on your part, to behold him, and to stretch out your Arms to Embrace him, tell him with his beloved Spouse in the CANTICLES, how your thoughts have been taken up with him in the Night; in what pain you have been for his absence, what Tears you have shed when you thought of your ingratitudes, that constrained him to give ear to his Justice, and to leave you, say with her, I desired you, I ran after you in the Deserts, where I saw nothing but Darkness, but in my Spirit, and from the bottom of my Heart, I will rejoice in the Morning to find you. Doubt not O Divine Saviour, but that I am yours since that you see the first motion of my heart after my being myself, is to rejoice at the happy News that you still love me, and that you are not so far from me as my faults have merited, and my fears have imagined.   

CHAP. IU.  
That God is most particularly present to us when we are so to him.  
NO certainly Devout Soul, he is not far off, he is where you are, and there is nothing in this World so near you as this inseparable lover of yours. But take care you forget not he is so, as the greatest part of the World do, and let no day or hour pass without beholding, thinking of him, or speaking to him. Entertain him with some discourse, if you have any Devotion, neither matter nor words will be wanting; tell him what you know of yourself and your Family, and what you would tell a Friend that came to visit you. As Great a God as he is, he looks upon what you tell him as a thing of importance, because he loves you, and because there is nothing concerns you which Love makes not his Interest.  
Look not upon him as a King that contemns a Soul that has not Kingly thoughts, and is not able to entertain him with great Matters, or as one that is afraid to abase himself by harkening to your little Household Affairs, or to what passes in the Conscience of a poor petty Creature.  
'Tis true as St. Chrysostom says, That the care of God in Heaven, and upon the Throne of his Empire, is to think on the Angels and Saints, and upon the great Design of his Heavenly Wisdom. But when he is with you, when he is in your Closet, his only care is to think on you, all the Application of his Providence and Love, regards your particular Interest: When he is with you, and in such places where you are alone with him. He is God as I may say, for you alone, he is there Omnipotent only to help you, he is all Goodness and Beauty only to be loved by you, and to draw you to a Confidence in him, and love of him, and to present you an occasion of telling him what afflicts you, and in what State or Condition your Family is, and to inform him how things go in your Charge or employment, as also to manifest the Interiour of your Soul to him; Tell him then, with Love and Sincerity, all that you know: Reveal your ways unto our Lord, and beg his direction in them, and make known all your Counsels to him.   

CHAP. V.  
That God makes himself Ignorant of what we do not impart to Him.  
TEll me not that he already knows all you can say, because he is God, and knows all things; But take notice, that by the Law of his Divine Wisdom, he will have all things he knows pass as unknown to him, without approving them, pleasing himself in them, cooperating with them, or taking care of bringing them to an Happy issue, unless you yourself make them known to him.  
There are Tears poured forth in abundance in his Presence, yet he sees them not; such are the Tears of Hypocritical Penitents: There are Persons also that he Swears he knows not; Verily, I say unto you, I know you not: There are Affairs also he knows nothing of, and these are even your own, when you say nothing to him of them, your Silence which hides them from him, makes them as unknown to him, and that he has no design by the blessing of his Providence, to give a good success to them. Whilst you relate your dissatisfactions and troubles to Men, and say nothing to God, they know what you say, but God knows nothing of it.  
God as Great and Omniscient as he was, he knew not, that is, he would not know, that Lazarus was sick, till St. Mary Magdalen gave him notice of it: You are Indisposed, you are Afflicted, and Pursued by your Creditors, you follow a business of Importance, you want good Council and the assistance of a powerful Friend; our Saviour knows nothing of all this; if you would have it come to his knowledge, he must know it from yourself; 'tis a secret Law his Love prescribes him which he will not fail to observe.  
For as much also as concerns other Afflictions, God knows them not so long as you say nothing of them; wherefore Devout Soul, keep no longer silence in his presence; as soon as any Disgrace, or cross Accident arrives, with humility and respect make your Complaint to him; if your Confidence be great, 'tis not necessary to beg his Assistance in express terms, it sufficeth with St. Mary Magdalen to present your Affliction before his Eyes so that he has notice of it, Behold O Lord, how I am Afflicted. He takes pleasure to behold an afflicted heart, and to comfort it. Discover yours to him, and let him see all the disquiet and bitterness within it; discover all the motions of your disturbed Thoughts from fear or sadness. I am full of Bitterness, my heart is even drowned with sadness; behold me lost and overwhelmed in an Abyss of Misery; Dangers and Darkness have surrounded me, I have nothing else to say to you, since your Mercy sees my Grief and my Tears; and that all my Hope is in you alone: Ask your Mercy O God, what it ought to do, ask your Love the same question, and then do what you please.   

CHAP. VI  
That God condescends to our weakness, in permitting us to seek Comfort from Creatures, that finding none in them, we may more earnestly return to Him.  
HE is not angry, as I have said elsewhere; That during these troubles, you Address yourself to Creatures to be comforted by them, but when they have neither Power nor Will to assist you, it is his Pleasure that you come and make your complaint to him of it, and in his Arms blame their weakness or ingratitude: My Friends have nothing but words, 'tis to you therefore, O Divine Saviour, that I come to manifest my pain, and to address my Tears. And do not only make complaint of the things that trouble you, but as soon as you have received any News that pleases you, comforts you, and causes Hope and Joy to spring up in your Heart, do what Fidelity and Friendship requires; run presently to him you love, who expects you, tell him the News, and add that it is your greatest comfort, that this Charitable Care and Fatherly Bounty of his, is a Mark that he is pleased with you. For this reason my Heart rejoiceth, and my Tongue exults; I will rejoice in God my Saviour, and sing to him because he has bestowed Good things upon me.   

CHAP. VII.  
'Tis not displeasing to God, to relate our Imperfections to Him.  
'TIS another Mark of Confidence that pleases Extremely this Dear and Devout Spouse, to trust him with the knowledge of your Faults, even before you make your appearance before your Confessors Tribunal, and acquit yourself of your Duty of Penance. Come and declare to this Aimable Confident, what has happened to you, and say with David, I have sinned very much in this Action, and have done very foolishly; My God I have just now spoke an undiscreet word, I have done a most unworthy Action, and such a one, as may be the occasion of great Disorder; I know not what blindness shut my Eyes and caused me to fall into this sin; in truth I am very much ashamed of it, and afflicted for it, but that which troubles me most, and renders me comfortless, is, that you are offended. Nevertheless, if I have been less Prudent, you are not the less Merciful, or less sensible of my Tears; I behold a tender compassion, in your Eyes, where I see your wont Bounty; Methinks I feel that Love in your Heart, which is the Joy and Comfort of my Life; Look and make Experiment of it yourself, and you will find, that notwithstanding my ingratitude, the flames of your Charity are not yet extinguished, and that you are the same to day, you were from all Eternity; Sweet, Meek, and abounding in Mercy.   

CHAP. VIII.  
How we are to lay open our Daily Infirmities before Almighty GOD.  
UPon occasion of these light and ordinary faults that often happen, and almost every hour, beg of him, that he would not forget what he knows better than you, to wit, that you are an infamous sinner, and like an infant, subject to continual falls, tho' his Fatherly goodness seem not to permit him to be angry at you.  
Represent before him, that a Son and Heir of two years old, the Hopes and Darling of the Family, is not less pleasing to his Mother when he falls, than when he stands on his feet, but the contrary; for than it is that she takes him up, and more tenderly cherishes him. Tell him that it is the Nature of Stepmother's to be angry, or correct their little Children, because they fall, a true compassionate Mother, of which he will bear the Name, as soon as she sees her Child fallen, runs to help him up with a Motherly affection, and instead of Rigour and Threats, hides him in her Bosom, Flatters, and Embraces him; and endeavours by her Kisses and Caresses, to assuage his Pain, and to hinder him from crying and afflicting himself.  
Great God, you give me the Name of your little One, which you hold on your Knees, or lead by the Hand to teach me to go. Behold what I am, and when I Fall; see what you ought to be, and what your Goodness requires of you.  
'Tis true my most dear Father, and even this very day in your Presence, notwithstanding my many Resolutions and Promises, I am fallen into my daily and wont Imperfections. Yet be not angry with me, I have reason indeed to cry and be afflicted; this belongs to me, but it belongs to you my Beloved to give me your Hand to help me up, to take me into your Arms, to dry up my Tears to dissipate my Disquiets and Fears, and to assure me that you still Love me, and cease not to be my God.  
I do not deny, but you have a great deal of reason to complain, that after so many Confessions made, so many Pardons and Favours received, you see me fall into such frequent Relapses: Yet methinks, you have a great deal of reason to excuse in me these unavoidable Weaknesses; or at least, if you are angry, or displeased with them, to let your anger fall upon my Parents, who conceived me in Ignorance, and gave me their Sin in part of my Being,  
Alas, Divine Saviour, vouchsafe but a little to regard what is in me, and what I am, what an Heart has been bestowed on me; and what Blood has been made use of to form a Creature, that aught to be as pure and impeccable, as the Angels: As soon as I sprung out of nothing, you refused me, what is most Holy, your Grace, without which I was born. My Parents gave me only of their own, what was most impure.  
I received of you a Soul, which immediately was infected with Sin, before it was at my Disposal, and of them a Body, already tainted with Corruption and bad Inclinations: And since I became so miserable without my actual Concurrence, there seemeth to be some little reason, why you should grant Pardon for those Imperfections which naturally flow from so bad a Source.  
I should be to blame notwithstanding, should I demand, that your infinite Sanctity should not regard my Failings with displeasure: I am displeased with them myself, and suffer most sorrowful Regrets and Remorses for them. I tell you however, what I do to comfort myself, and what in my opinion you should do, to appease your anger, and to have towards me no other Sentiments but of Compassion, and no other designs but of Mercy.  
For my part, O my God, at the very moment I have Sinned, I look upon you in the same State and Condition, you were in on Mount Calvary, where you thought of nothing but of Pardoning, and blotting out of Sins, and searching out Sinners throughout the whole World, to wash them in your most precious Blood. This is that, which I behold, and this makes me run to you: O adorable Mercy, behold here the Sinner, you seek after.  
For your part, O my God, in the same moment you see me fallen, behold me in the same state, in which by your Mercy I hope to be one day in Heaven, where I shall think of nothing else, but loving you: When you behold me here below, you see a Person, who, during thirty or forty years of his Life, passes not one day, nay perhaps not one hour, without Offending you by some Fault or other. But when you behold me in Paradise, you behold a Saint, that passes millions of Years and Ages; nay an entire Eternity, without offending you so much as once, and that ceases not each moment of this long Eternity, to Glorify, and Love you: Look upon me then in this state, and be not angry, to see me upon Earth for fifty or sixty years, that is, two or three Minutes in respect of Eternity, to be the subject of frailty and frequent failings.   

CHAP. IX.  
How to make your Applications to God in ordinary Doubts and Difficulties.  
REmember to acquit yourself of this Duty of Confidence, of which I speak, in the occasions, where you ought to deliberate upon some unforeseen event, or of some difficulty, that troubles you; where you cannot well perceive, what you are to do, nor what Resolutions you are to take. Give, O Lord, a word in my Mouth and counsel in my Heart. Send forth, O my God, your light, to direct me. By some mark of your Wisdom teach my Soul, what to Answer, what 'tis to do in this conjuncture, and which is the best means of those, that occur to me; or, that my Friends propose, direct my Path, and permit me not to go astray. I see a great many Advises, but I desire to know, which is yours, give me a knowledge of it, and with your Hand direct, and guide my Inclinations to bend that way, you direct, and to pitch upon the choice, you inspire, I cannot but act prudently, and prosperously, whilst the splendour of your Wisdom shines upon me, to direct me in the Darkness I am in, when your Light shines upon my Head, by it I shall walk securely, in the midst of Darkness.  
In a word, Live in a continual exercise and communication with God: Look upon him no otherwise, than a powerful and faithful Friend, who is night and day by your fide. Have with him, as I have said, the most free and amorous Familiarity you can, confiding even your Diffidences and Fears to him; as also your most hidden Weaknesses, all your Thoughts, and Desires; and the different Motions of your irresolute Prudence, or your secret Disquiets. Before thee, O God, is all my Desire, and my Groans are not hid from thee.   

CHAP. X.  
He is not displeased with every Complaint to him of himself; and in what manner we may do it.  
GOd is so well pleased that you should speak to him in a Familiar and Friendly manner, that though you should have a mind now and then, even to complain of his own Providence, and of that Severity wherewith he seems to treat you, he will not be angry at it; provided it be done in an Amorous and Respectful way. When you are overwhelmed with Grief, and can receive no Answer to your Prayers; you may imitate our Blessed Saviour on the Cross, and lovingly Cry out unto him, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? You may say with David, Why, O Lord, have you gone from me, and do despise me in the occasion? What is this, O my God, that you know me not, when I weep, and withdraw yourself from me, whilst I am bathed in Tears, and have most need of your Comfort, and your helping hand, etc.  
I cry unto you, and you hear me not; I stand before you, and you behold me not; you are changed and become cruel towards me. Where are you, O my Divine Saviour? Where is your Mercy? Where is your Love? I call you, and you answer me not; I cry out as loud, as I am able, and you do not hear me: I make known the grief that oppresses me, and the deplorable condition I am in, and you turn your face from me, and will not behold me.  
But after these pious Complaints, fail not to return to your Sentiments of Confidence, and Humility: Yet, O Lord, you do not stretch out your Hand to consume me. Tho', great God, you are angry, yet I perceive, your design is not to destroy me; all these blows from your Hands are favourable strokes, and presage my Happiness. 'Tis your Goodness, is the cause of my Suffering; the more I suffer, the more I am assured of your Love, and that your Providence hath secret Thoughts, and designs of Love towards me; which, when I least hope for them, will comfort me and surpass my desires. Behold thou art our God, we expected thee, and thou shalt save us, we waited, and we shall exult, and rejoice in thy Salvation.   

CHAP. XI.  
We are to represent the Afflictions of others unto God, as well as our own.  
YOu do well to think of your Troubles and Pains, when you are in his presence; but think also of those, that others suffer. Tell him the News of those, you know, and endeavour to draw some Grace and Mercy from his Heart for the Comfort of such, as according to the Prophet, are nourished upon Earth with the Bread of Tears, their Misery is the ordinary subject of discourse; they Talk and make Complaint of it in all Companies; but the Complaints, they make, profit them very little. They will do them service, Devout Soul, when in your familiar Entertainments you make them, and recount them to God; telling him the Poverty and Miseries, you know are in several Families. In Truth, my dear Master, I can go no where, but I find some Tears, and I may say with Truth, that from the time, I knew, and began to converse with Men, I have scarce known one without a Complaint, and whom I have not beheld to shed just Tears of grief. It seems to me, I am born only to behold Afflictions, and afflicted People, and to behold them with a seeming Cruelty, not being able to help them.  
This want of Power, O my God, is in effect one of the saddest Afflictions, I suffer in this miserable Life, as often as I see such Creatures, as belong to you, and are dear to you, to come, and with Tears to bewail their miseries before my eyes; and that I am forced to abandon them as others do, and to tell them, expect nothing from me, 'tis impossible for me to help you.  
I speak sincerely, that for these thirty or forty years, that every day I have beheld sad objects of compassion I remember not to have been able to make one of them happy, nor to send him away with that comfort, he desired.  
It would be, my dear Spouse, an enormous crime, and a detestable hardness of heart to be insensible of their pains; but 'tis a great misery to feel them, and not be able at all to help them, or comfort them.  
Many Holy Persons go to the Rich and Happy in the World, to beg Charities, and to gather Alms, to carry to the Sick and Shamefaced Poor, whom they know. I do the same, and at present I, who speak to you, seek help and comfort for them; but 'tis to you, my beloved, I address myself, you have your hands full of Comforts, and Benedictions, necessary for them. I offer up my hands to receive them in Adoration of you, casting myself at your feet. Suffer me not, O God, to rise without obtaining some Grace in their favour. Send your Elect to them, to carry your Charities, or to tell them some welcome News, that may draw them out of the Abyss of Sadness, in which they are, and may unexpectedly make them revive.  
I have, O my God, everlasting infinite Obligations to you. You know, every hour my heart is in pain, how it may make thankful Returns for your Favours, using the words of the Royal Prophet, What shall I return unto the Lord, for all his Benefits bestowed upon me? And your ordinary answer to me, is, That whatsoever I do to any, that is in sufferance, you take it as done to yourself; and retain as grateful a resentment of it, as if the Afflictions were your own, as if you alone received the Comfort. Bestow upon me therefore, what you would have me give them, and permit me not to be any longer so unhappy, as to behold my God in Afflictions and suffering all the Miseries, the Necessitous undergo, as well as the Sick, and Prisoners, and not to be able to help him.  
My dear Creator, you say unto me, behold your Brother, your Sister, that languish upon Straw, and want assistance. Behold other Souls, suffering Sadness, and Despair, who call you to help them; and I answer you, O my God, in tears, give what you command me to do, and command what you please.   

CHAP. XII.  
We are to have recourse to God, no less in Prosperity, than in Adversity.  
'TIs ordinary enough for Devout Souls, nay almost all Christians, to have Recourse, and speak to God in their Afflictions, and to pass whole hours with him in time of trouble; but 'tis as ordinary, that they forget their Duty in time of Prosperity. Forget not yours, O Faithful Sunamite, says St. Bernard, and do not imitate the Examples of ingratitude, which appear in the lives of most Men; nay, even in some of your Companions, how spiritual and scrupulous soever they may seem to be in other occasions.  
'Tis a strange thing, that, when our Designs prosper, and that we are happy, one of our most sensible Joys is to acquaint our Friend with it; and yet notwithstanding, as Devout as we are, we neglect to tell God, and thereby to receive the most sweet and holy Comfort, that can be drawn out of the happiness of this miserable life. That is, to entertain ourselves with our amiable Benefactor, and to testify to him our sense, and grateful acknowledgement for his Favours.  
You, who love your Duty, testify yours after the most faithful and sincere manner you are able, give him an account of the happy state of your Affairs, of the success of your Labour, and of your Conduct, being enlightened by his Charity.  
Speak to him each thing, as the Sunamite did, lead him amongst your Treasures, show him all, you possess through the greatness of his Liberality and Favour towards you. My Beloved says she, Behold here the Fruits at our Gates and within our Enclosures; wheresoever I cast my eyes, I see nothing but Abundance and Fruitfulness, and the Branches charged with your Benedictions and Presents. What a Sweetness my dear Spouse, what a Plenty have you poured down upon our Fruit-trees! What Riches are heaped together by your Providence and Love! 'Tis you, that made the Corn and Fruit to grow, and are cause of that plentiful Harvest of our Neighbouring Fields. You are the Inventor and Origine of this multitude of Conveniencies, that sustain our Life, and comfort us here below.  
I receive them only, to return them to you. For by receiving Temporal Benefits, we ought to perform two things, to wit, Praise you, and Love you.  
The use, because you will have it so, shall be for us, but the Honour and Love for you alone. I will therefore say, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but unto thy Name be all Honour and Glory. The Glory of so great prosperity is only due to God: Neither my hands, nor the hands of any Creature have produced it, and therefore none shall share in his Praise or Love: I own nothing to any, but himself; nay, I will not so much as love his Gifts or Liberalities, as precious as they are: I ought to receive and possess the Gifts, but I ought to Love nothing but the Giver.  
You, my God, who know all things; know, that they are not your Presents, which make me Happy. I have a thousand times told you, what I now repeat, that amidst all the Riches, and all the Felicities; and amidst all the Worlds, you can Create; there is nothing, that I can or will Love, but you. My Love is only yours, and you alone shall be eternally the God of my Heart, and my everlasting Inheritance.   

CHAP. XIII.  
Our Imperfections in our Devotions ought not to hinder a confident recourse to him.  
APply yourself with particular care to speak to him most familiarly, and freely, when that happens to you, which is but too ordinary in the exercises of a devout Life, to wit, when you find in your Soul certain negligences, and discouragements, as Spiritual tediousness, wearisomeness, and disgust, of which you know not any cause, such as David complained of, saying, My Soul is dried up within me. I cannot tell you, O my God, how I am, nor in what condition I find myself; My Soul is much out of order: Nothing relishes with it, nothing can please it: Nay, 'tis as displeasing to itself, as other things are: Nay, it seems, as if you were no longer pleasing to it, or at least I cannot bring it at present, to make so much as one act of Love or Adoration. I say my Prayers without any Devotion, and with a shameful Negligence. It is not possible for me in your Presence to keep myself with that Duty, and Respect, I ought; nor to free myself from that Drowsiness and Laziness, that even makes me sleep at your feet, instead of harkening to you; as David said, My Soul out of Tediousness, even slept within me.  
I know not, whence this humour proceeds; yet I know, 'tis displeasing to you, and that it offends you: And you know, 'tis displeasing to me also, and that 'tis a great pain and confusion to me, to find myself in this condition. But that, which comforts me, is, that in your words you carry my Cure. If you have compassion of my infirmity, speak, and Cure me: Confirm me in your Words. Remember, O admirable Omnipotence, that of myself I am nothing but Weakness and Misery; all my force depends on your Lips, and proceeds from your Eyes. Look upon me, O Divine Saviour, and speak but a word: Life, Courage, and Grace will enter with your Words, and will give a new Birth to my Soul; which is truly entombed, whilst 'tis thus a sleep, and in a manner buried in its Body by Sloth. My Soul slept out of Sloth, confirm me in your Words, said the Royal Prophet.   

CHAP. XIV.  
How multiplicity of Business is no hindrance to this Conversation.  
OTher times happen, very different from these, but no less troublesome, and as contrary to the design, you ought to have of keeping your Soul always in Peace, and present to God, and not permitting it to be carry●d away from him, either by disquiet or distraction. 'Tis, when the multitude of Affairs oblige us, as they did St. Martha, to deprive ourselves of St. Mary magdalen's Happiness, and to run to and fro, and to cast our Eyes and Thoughts in every corner of the House, to take care of an infinite number of Things. For how is it possible at such a time, whilst our minds are taken up with so many Affairs; and about the conduct of so many Persons, to remain at the Feet of our Saviour, and to possess with repose the comfort of his Entertainments?  
Yes, devout Soul, 'tis possible. Without doubt you may do it as easily, as the Sunamite, who gives an example very sweet, and easy to follow, during the heat of your Affairs, and the multitude of your Domestic Employments.  
See what she doth, and you'll confess, 'tis an inexcusable error to believe, that the business you are employed in by Duty, and by God's command, should constrain you to forget yourself, or God. For if, whilst you are acting, your actions do not hinder you from speaking about your business, to the Persons you deal withal; why should they hinder you from speaking to him you love, or from doing, as the Laborious Spouse did, even upon the day of her greatest Employment, when she was obliged to give orders to the great number of her Domestics, and by her vigilancy to keep them assiduous to their works. Behold her, I say, and Judge, whether the repose of a contemplative, be more agreeable than this her holy and active Life? Let us rise this Morning, says she, getting up, let us rise, and go to the Vineyards, let us see, whether the Vines have Flowered, and if the Flowers bring forth Fruit, whether the Peaches have budded. My dear Master, 'tis time to go to work, and to think of our business, but do not leave me alone, amidst the labours. I fear them not, how great soever they are, so they separate me not from you, and that, so long as I work, you keep my eyes and my thoughts inseparably fixed upon your presence, and fast tied to your heart. Let us go together, and take a walk about our Close; let us behold the Vineyards, in what condition they are, and whether they are advanced, as they ought to be, in so favourable a season. Let us visit our Nursery, and see, whether the Trees prosper, and whether our Plants thrive; let us visit our Farm, and see whether the Labourers mind their Work; whether the Shepherds are vigilant, and whether the Servants and other Officers do their Duty: Let us go and give Order, that each one take care of his work, and be employed, as he ought.  
But one thing more yet my Beloved, do not leave me, for nothing can be troublesome, or incommode me, whilst you are present to my mind, and whilst I harken to your Voice. Speak to my Soul, whilst my Body is employed in your Service, and in regulating the Family, which you are pleased to confide to my Care, and Conduct.  
When being at work, we speak to God of what we are about, the work is no more a distraction, but a Devotion of great merit. Devout Martha, who thinks of Temporal Affairs, and has all the cares of the House upon her, is not disturbed, but rather comforted, by complaining to her Saviour, and making every thing that happens, an occasion of speaking to him: telling him ever, that it is for him, she labours, and that she is happy to labour, and tyre out herself, whilst he beholds her.  
Do not doubt, when in the midst of a multitude of Employments, you're remember to say to our Lord, what you say to others, to wit, that you are even overwhelmed with them, and that you Communicate to him, with Confidence such thoughts, as this Turmoil occasions, but that all your Distractions will immediately change into so many Acts of Divine Love. The contemplative magdalen's may perhaps have more sweetness, but they cannot have more Merit. A Soul, that withdraws not herself from God, whilst she walks or runs about the streets, is far better, than she, that lets, her Thoughts wander whilst she is at her Prayers.   

CHAP. XV.  
The greater familiarity you use with God, the more pleasing 'tis to him.  
IN fine, speak to him of all things, which you speak of to yourself; and do it after all such manners, as Love shall suggest.  
At least imprint this maxim deeply in your Heart, that as you have not a Master, whom you ought to Fear and Respect as God: So you have not a Friend, be it Brother or Sister, to whom you may speak with that Liberty and Confidence, as to him.  
They, that imagine freedom of Speech with him to be against the Law of Worship and Submission, due to his Presence, and his Divine Majesty are much deceived.  
Many are apt to believe, that, what Ghostly Fathers say in this particular, are only thoughts of their Simplicity, contrary to serious and solid Devotion, and to that Holy Doctrine, which condemns as Illusion and Irreverence, all these pretended Confidences, and seeming bold and Presumptuous Conversations with God, affirming, that we are in his sight but Dust and Ashes, and that in his Presence only Thoughts of profound Humility, and Annihilation, and Devotions, tending thereunto, are to take place,  
But alas! How feeble and weak do these pretended Devotees show themselves, whilst they think, they speak very solidly. They understand very little, in what the greatness of God consists, and are far from conceiving, that mortal and earthly Greatness is very small and inconsiderable, and infinitely less than that of GOD, because it cannot suit, or equal itself to little things, when Wisdom and Love obliges it so to do.  
Take notice, if you please, that the Immensity of God, infinitely surpasses other Immensities, and that it alone is Divine and Sovereign, because at the same time it is of greater extent than the World; it is also as little, as the least Creature, and that 'tis as entirely in a little Flower, as in the whole Universe, and in the Imperial Heaven, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, says a Holy Father of him, God is greater than all, and equal to all.  
Meditate but a little, Devout Soul, on this Truth, and by it you will clearly discern that God is the most amiable and lovely of all those whom you Love, and which also Love you; and that he is the true and only object of Love, because in him alone you will find the two most necessary things to be Loved; to wit, Superiority and Equality, that is, a great Infinity, which Infinity elevates him above you, and an infinite Goodness, that (as I may say) lessens him so far, as to be equal with you; thereby to bring to pass, that all his Perfections and Power; may, as it were, be able to enter into your heart, and thereby render you infinitely and eternally Happy. He alone is your Master and equal: And therefore 'tis of him, you may say with Truth, My beloved to me, and I to him. Notwithstand he is God, and I am nothing, by an ineffable Mystery, he is fit for me, and I for him. His Wisdom has taken my measure upon him, and rendered my littleness capable after some manner of containing his Immensity.   

CHAP. XVI.  
When particular Reverence is to be shown.  
WHerefore O holy Sunamite, in the Church, and at times of Adoration and Divine Mysteries, appear not in his Presence, but as an annihilated Shadow, by a profound Humility: But in the places, and at the times, I have before spoken of, and during your Solitary and Domestic Conversations, you are both to blame, and ungrateful, if you have not all the liberty, familiarity, and tenderness that one ought to have for a Spouse, he tenderly Loves; and at such times speak no other Language, but that of Tenderness and Love.  
'Tis there he styles you his Beloved, his unspoted Dove, and even forbids you to call him Lord and Master. Call me, says he, the God of your Heart, the God of your Comfort, the Father of the Mercies you expect, the Beloved of your Hopes and Desires, the most Lovely, the most Perfect, your All and your only One, whose Heart is but one with yours, and whose Grace enters into your Soul, to be its Life, never to be separated from it: commanding you not to call him hereafter Baalim, that is, Lord, but to call him the Spouse.   

CHAP. XVII.  
How to Discourse with God concerning Himself.  
MOreover, during these Colloquies, do not always speak of thyself, nor of thy own Affair, nor of thy own Comfort, or Afflictions, but Change thy Discourse, and after thou hast made thy complaints or entertained him with what happens in thy Household Affairs, Elevate thy Mind, and Entertain him, with what belongs to himself.  
Speak to him of his Happiness and Greatness, of his Divine Attributes and Operations, of the power of his Word, when by it he gave a Being to all Creatures, and drew them out of their eternal nothing; speak to him in the Language of the Saints, who by Sighs and devout Exclamations showed their Eloquence, whilst they praised his Works: How admirable is thy Name! How magnificent are thy Works! And how profound thy Thoughts! O Wisdom, that hast formed this great World. How Sublime art thou, and how incomprehensible in thy Thoughts, how profound art thou in thy Designs! How magnificent and admirable in thy Works! What a vast Immensity do the Heavens contain, what a Lustre and Brightness do those uncorruptible Lights, ranged in so Beautiful an Order, send forth; what a variety of Goods doth the Earth produce, and the Sea, and other Elements bring forth? How great a magnificence and Beauty have all these Creatures, and how pleasing a thing it is to Contemplate them in Silence, and to let our Soul be filled with Admiration, and Heavenly Thoughts, whilst it considers them! Thy Power and Justice reacheth to the highest, how great things hast thou made! O God, who is like unto thee?   

CHAP. XVIII.  
How to Treat with Him of his Birth and Passion.  
BE not forgetful also of the greatest of all his Miracles, the Incarnation of the Word, and the Redemption of Mankind. Tell him, this is the ordinary subject of your Meditation every day, as it is the subject of the Meditation of the Angels in Paradise for Eternity. O Redeemer of my Life, how often do I think of them, and how sweet a repose doth the Contemplation of your Crib, and Cross, your Glorious Annihilations bring along with them.  
Hereupon call to mind such Thoughts, as occurred, during your Meditations, or those, you have read in Books, or heard in Sermons. Recount them, as things, you cannot forbear Speaking or Meditating of, and mingle with them Acts of Love, Thanksgiving, Admiration, and Faith: I believe those inestimmable Mysteries, what your Church and Gospel Teaches; I have believed them ever since my Birth; and I say every day, and will say to the hour of my Death, that Jesus Christ Crucified is my Lord and my God. This is the first Word, they taught me in my Cradle, and I hope it will be the last, I shall pronounce, going out of the World; and that I shall bear Engraven upon my Heart, going to appear in Judgement: My Lord and my God.   

CHAP. XIX.  
How to Converse with God concerning the Sins of our past Life.  
TEll him with Devotion, that upon the Cross you do no less clearly behold your own Humiliations and the Disgraces of your Life, than the Exaltations of the Justice and Goodness of God.  
What I would say, is, that during these sorts of Conversations with our Saviour, you ought not to fail Entertaining him with the sins and miseries of your Youth. Speak of them to this dear Spouse; and though in your former days of Penance you forgot not to tell him all you knew; yet be not afraid to importune him, by humbling yourself in repeating the same things.  
Tell him the whole Story of those miserable years, and all those sad occasions of offending him, into which your Companions brought you. Remember each fault, Sigh and Lament it with Tears, and exercise Acts of Contrition, worthy of those Graces which the Death of your Spouse hath merited, and which have drawn you out of Hell.  
That which displeaseth me, my Beloved, and above all afflicts me in these my enormous Sins, is, that my Heart is too weak to have hatred for them. Alas it is very little that mine alone, and the heart of my Confessor, who hath known and deplored them, should be touched with them, I wish I had the heart of all Men and Angels, and with this multitude of Hearts, that I were able to form such a violent hatred, and detestation, as might equal my Sadness and Misery. O Lord employ your Power and Mercy: Create in me a new heart, and give it me to no other end, but to Love you.  
This desire pleaseth our Saviour, as did the desire of David, St. Peter, and many other Penitent Sinners; who, after they had employed many years in sighing and bewailing their Sins, having exhausted their Tears, asked for those who might raise in their Soul such a source of bitter Waters, that might not be exhausted, but might endure their whole Life. Who will give water to my Head, and a Fountain of Tears to my Eyes, that I may Weep day and night? says the Royal Prophet.  
Contemplating the open Veins of your Crucified Spouse; O Devout Soul, repeat the same Words, but say them sincerely and from your Heart, and rather Sighs of Love, than Words; Who will give Water to my Head, etc. O my dear Master, how happy should I be, to see Torrents of Tears flow from my Eyes, which might join themselves to the torrent of your Blood, and run together with it in each Corner, where my Sins have been committed, to the end that those, who have known me a Sinner, may know me also a Penitent, and see eternal marks of my Sorrow! O all of you, who have heard of the scandal of my Life, come and hearken to my Cries and Lamentations, and behold my Sorrow! Behold it, O my God, and consider, what passeth in my Soul. I hope in you, in the state I am in; have the goodness not to refuse to Love me in it: At least, refuse not to behold me, and to let that virtue pass from your Eyes to my Soul, which gives Grace and Life. Behold me, O God, and consider me.  
God beholds thee, O Sunamite; and during these holy Hours, in which thou findest thy grief and the convulsions of thy afflicted Conscience to return, he fails not to comfort thee, repeating by himself Interiorly, what he hath caused the Prophets and Evangelists to tell thee, that thy Sins are pardoned and blotted out, and that the least stain of them remains not in thy Heart. This I know, O Divine Saviour, but there remains still a memory of them in thy mind.  
Alas, great God, it seems little comfort to tell me I pardon you. It seems to me, that to make this comfort perfect; you should find some invention to be ignorant of what I have done, and to forget, whatever happened to me during the years of my criminal and scandalous Life.  
For how is it possible to live in the presence of God, who has beheld all my Infidelities, and still remembers them? And how is it possible to be comforted by the news, they daily tell me from you, that my Sins are washed in the Blood you spilt for me, so long as I also know that they appear yet in your sight, and will do so for an Eternity; and that amidst the Splendours of Paradise, the Age of my Ingratitudes will be an Eternal object. Thou hast put our Sins in thy sight, our Age in the light of thy Countenance.  
God, who beholds with pleasure this kind of holy Fears and Anxieties in your Mind, is ready to give you an entire Consolation. And when, during these familiar Entainmen, he Comforts you about them; he speaks as One, who by an ineffable Miracle has extended his Power so far, as to put all in Oblivion, and buried the memory of your Sins in such an Abyss, as they shall never be able to get out of: He will dispose our Iniquities, and cast our Sins into the depth of the Sea, because he will have Mercy.   

CHAP. XX.  
In what manner we are to Treat with God in Scruples, and Fears of our Salvation, or any thing else.  
BUt if peradventure that should happen to you, which often does even to most innocent Souls; to be troubled out of Fear, that some hidden Sin lurks still in your Conscience, or that God has a design of anger and Reprobation against you; as soon as you perceive this thought, fail not to enter into yourself, and to be angry, and blame yourself for this disquiet, as a fault perhaps more hateful to his Wisdom and Mercy, than all the Sins you have Committed: Be ashamed of it, and resist it, as a blast from Hell, and speak of it to your Spouse with abomination and horror, detesting such a blind and criminal diffidence.  
In regard also of those weaknesses, which make fear the Power of Men or Devils, forming in your imagination scruples and Chimerical ideas, which prosecute you very importunely, and excite in your Soul inclinations to Despair, take care, you permit yourself not to be dejected by this importunity of the enemy. Open your Eyes, and behold, how unworthy you are, that God should Love you, whilst you let yourself to be frighted in this manner, and permit these fumes and shadows to have so much force, as to trouble you, who art beloved by God and sustained by his Grace, and therefore tell him.  
O my beloved, what blindness and what unworthiness is this? From whence proceeds this Fear; and how can it enter into my heart to distrust you amidst those many Miracles of your Mercy and Love towards me.  
'Tis true, I have been a sinner, I came from nothing, and am Dust and Ashes; a Worm generated of Filth; But you are a God, an eternal Comforter, an invincible Protector of the miserable; and it is you, that say to me: My dear Creature, as nothing as thou art, and as small a worm worthy to be trampled underfoot, take comfort, fear nothing, because I am thy Saviour, thy Beloved, thy Faithful Friend; and because it is I, that have Sworn, That the World shall sooner perish, then that I should permit thee to do so; or, that the Devils should take thee out of my hand, or the least evil arrive to thee, so long as thou continuest in my Love.  
You tell me this, O most powerfully Merciful, and yet I cease not to tremble: Mad and Senseless that I am, your Prophet assures me, that you keep me on your Knee, as a tender Mother doth her only Infant, and tenderly embrace me with the like transports of Love, hiding me in your Breast, as she doth her Beloved, carrying me also so in your Arms, as a Father doth his Son, not able yet to go alone; and that you will, if I hinder it not, in this manner support me to the end of my Life, though I should arrive to never so great an Age. You tell me this, my God; I hear it, I know, it is you, that speak, and yet I ask you, if you Love me, if you think of me, if you take notice of my Tears, and if you hear my Voice: And after the many Promises, which you have made me, as if they were made by a feeble and faithless Man, I continue to fear; and so to offend the adorable Truth of your Word, and of your Love by my inconsiderate disquiets. Ah, my God, I detest them from hence forward, and will use my utmost endeavours to force them out of my Heart, and not to let any thing remain within me, that carries with it such an unworthy and criminal diffidence. Ah my God, let me sooner perish, than offend you by fearing, and trembling under the shadow of your protection. Sustained by you, and elevated above all, that is mortal or created; I fear nothing, I hope in none, nor love any thing, but you.  
To assist you the better to confirm this comfort and confidence in your Heart, recount often the most remarkable Benefits, you have received from God, and the occasions you are conscious of wherein he hath expressed his particular goodness towards you. Repeat all these to him, and remember, there are three Histories, which your Spouse hears very willingly, and that you need not fear to repeat them too often; wherefore make them the ordinary subject of your Domestic Entertainments; the History of your sinful Life, the History of your Redemption, and his Death upon Mount Calvary; and in fine, the History of all his Conduct towards you, and the miraculous Succours you have received from his Providence in all those occasions, wherein you were in danger to perish, and at this very hour, in which you speak to him, if he had not had pity of you, and heard your Voice in those miserable occasions you know of, you had been lost to all Eternity. 'Tis you, my God, who reached out your Hand and drew me out of the Death of Sin and Misery. 'Tis you, have dried up my Tears, and broken my Chains. Pardon my Ingratitude, and heal my Infirmity, and Diseases, who hast given me Health, Hope, and Grace, hast Crowned me with Benedictions and heaped thy Benefits upon me, and hast revealed to me the secrets of thy Wisdom, and most sublime Truths of thy Gospel, and from that miserable state, I was in, which had brought me to the Gates of Hell, and even into the Hands of Devils, hast elevated me to the rank and condition of Angels. bless the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not his Benefits.  
In fine, speak to him of all things, and endeavour the most intimate familiarity, and secret Communications, which one Friend can have with another, Exercise them boldly, O Devout Soul, and fear nothing more, than to be afraid, or tremble in his presence, whom nothing so displeaseth in his Saints, as the fears of diffierence, and the disquiets of a fearful and Pusillanimous Soul.   

CHAP. XXI.  
How, God whilst we speak to him, doth silently speak to our Heart.  
THat, which is most advantageous in these sorts of Conversations with God; is that, though it seems, that so long as you entertain him, he lets you speak without speaking himself, or answering you, yet nevertheless it is not so.  
There is a certain voice, which is proper only to himself, and without the knowledge of your interior Faculties, even whilst your imagination understands nothing, Prints in your Soul such Verities, as his Love would have you know. You feel imperceptibly to rise in your mind such Thoughts, as comfort you, and extinguish your Fears, Lights, that dissipate your Doubts and Apprehensions, Reflections, which discover to you, what you are to do, and which teach you the certain means, how you may happily conduct all your Designs.  
It is much, that he hears you: But when you speak to him with this respectful confidence, he cannot forbear answering, and comforting you: He does it not by forming words in the Air, but by applying his Lights, his Thoughts and his Sweetnesses to your Heart: It is his Heart which speaks to his Spouses, and it is a Language, they understand.   
FINIS.