SAINT TERESA’S PATER NOSTER: 
 
 A TREATISE ON PR A YER. 
 
^iltil (Dbsiftt. 
 
 Robertus Butler, S.T.D. 
 
 Censor Deputatus. 
 
 Imprimatur. 
 
 HENRICUS EDUARDUS, 
 
 Cardinalis Archiepiscopus. 
 
 Westmonasterii, 
 
 Die IS Martii, 1887. 
 
SAINT TERESA’S 
 
 PATER NOSTER: 
 
 . * 1 
 
 A TREA RISE ON ERA YER . 
 
 Mi. >2T : ' 5 
 
 BY 
 
 JOSEPH FRASSINETTlJ) 
 
 FORMERLY PRIOR - 'iff S. SABINA, GENOA. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY 
 
 WILLIAM HUTCH, D.D., 
 
 CANON OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CLOYNE ; PRESIDENT OF 
 ST. COLMAN’S COLLEGE, FERMOY. 
 
 » . 
 
 London : BURNS & OATES, LIMITED. 
 
 New York : Catholic Publication Society Co. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL. MASS. 
 

 
 t 
 
 
 f93§f&N CO' 
 
 r7 r library 
 
 L. x j Li <i, MASS. 
 
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE. 
 
 My attention was first drawn to Fr. Frassinetti’s 
 Treatise on Prayer by a note in Ballerini’s 
 Edition of Gury’s Moral Theology , where it is 
 referred to as “an excellent little work”— 
 Eximium opusculum .* 
 
 The book which merited this commendation 
 from Father Ballerini is something more than 
 its title might seem to imply. It is, in reality, a 
 compendium of Ascetical and Mystical Theology, 
 and, as such, must prove of great advantage not 
 only to religious communities and to many pious 
 seculars, but, in a still higher degree, to priests 
 engaged in the direction of souls. Every priest 
 employed in the ministry of the Confessional 
 is bound, by the nature of his office, to have 
 some acquaintance with Ascetical and Mystical 
 Theology; and yet it is not easy to find these 
 subjects treated by a competent authority in a 
 style sufficiently attractive to encourage the 
 
 r . I : i 
 
 * See Ballerini’s Edition of Gury, Tract, de Eucharistia , 
 Pars. i. Appendix i. nota a ad num. 341. 
 
vi Translator s Preface. 
 
 study of these important branches of ecclesias¬ 
 tical knowledge. We possess, no doubt, many 
 excellent works dealing with such matters; but 
 some of them are so difficult to understand, that 
 they repel instead of attracting the reader, while 
 others are far too prolix to commend themselves 
 to those who have little time to spare from the 
 active duties of the ministry. 
 
 It is hoped, therefore, that Fr. Frassinetti’s 
 Treatise on Prayer will supply a long-felt want in 
 this department. It commends itself to public 
 favour on the grounds that it is brief, practical, 
 and so clear that it may be understood by any 
 person of ordinary intelligence. But, perhaps, 
 its chief recommendation will be found in the 
 fact that the doctrine which it teaches is 
 thoroughly reliable. The author advances no 
 theories of his own : he scrupulously follows 
 throughout the teaching of Saint Teresa, which 
 he invariably places before us in her own words. 
 I am aware that some persons shrink from the 
 thought of taking Saint Teresa for their guide in 
 matters appertaining to the spiritual life, because 
 they fancy that she must necessarily transport 
 them into the region of visions and raptures, and 
 that her teaching is altogether too sublime for 
 
Translators Preface. vii 
 
 mere ordinary mortals. This is simply a foolish 
 prejudice, as everybody knows who has read her 
 works. As a matter of fact, few saints possessed 
 a sounder judgment or more common sense 
 than Saint Teresa, while scarcely one of them 
 has treated of the spiritual life in a more 
 thoroughly practical manner. In confirmation 
 of this, I may refer the reader to her doctrine on 
 the necessity of mental prayer, which will be 
 found fully set forth in the third and fourth 
 chapters of the first part of this treatise. I 
 might quote, to the same purpose, the opinion 
 of the late Fr. Faber—a matter-of-fact English¬ 
 man—who, far from regarding Saint Teresa as a 
 visionary, says that “ she represents the common 
 sense, the discreet enthusiasm of devotion, 
 which distinguishes Catholic asceticism and the 
 mysticism of the saints from the fanatical 
 vagaries of the heretics ” (Preface to Catholic 
 Hymns). 
 
 In preparing Fr. Frassinetti’s work for pre¬ 
 sentation to the public in an English dress, I 
 have occasionally experienced considerable 
 difficulty, owing to the abstruse nature of some 
 of the subjects discussed, and the difficulty of 
 finding English equivalents for some of the 
 
Vlll 
 
 Translator's Preface. 
 
 technical terms employed. I have, however, 
 made it my rule to adhere religiously to the 
 text, and I trust that my translation will be 
 found a faithful reproduction of the original. 
 
 WILLIAM HUTCH. 
 
 St. Colman’s College, Fermoy, 
 
 4th March , 1887. 
 
AUTHOR’S PREFACE. 
 
 Saint Teresa has explained the Petitions of 
 the Lord’s Prayer in her Way of Perfection , and 
 has also written on each of them separate 
 Meditations * distributed over the several days 
 of the week. In reading both these works, we 
 can perceive that she was guided by that Divine 
 Spirit, who sometimes imparts knowledge 
 directly, and without the intervention of human 
 study, to those souls that He loves, making 
 them almost prodigies of heavenly wisdom. In 
 truth, the instructions and sentiments of the 
 Saint contained in these books carry with them 
 such an abundance of light and spiritual fervour, 
 that any one who loves prayer can never grow 
 weary of reading them and meditating upon 
 them, and will find therein a method of prayer 
 
 * Some critics have doubted whether these Meditations 
 are really the work of Saint Teresa, and would attribute 
 them, instead, to a very pious and learned religious—Fr. 
 John of St. Basil. This theory, however, is not supported 
 by any solid argument, and we therefore adopt the generally 
 received opinion, which accepts Saint Teresa as their author. 
 
X 
 
 Author's Preface. 
 
 so easy and so attractive, that he is forced, in a 
 certain sense, to adopt it. 
 
 Having observed, however, that Saint Teresa’s 
 commentary and meditations on the Lord’s 
 Prayer are not easily within reach of all; that 
 they might prove more useful to some less 
 experienced souls if they were further developed; 
 and that they would accomplish their object all 
 the better by being contained in a single volume, 
 I came to the conclusion that I should be per¬ 
 forming a work of some usefulness in collecting 
 and arranging, in a series of chapters, all that 
 the Saint has written on this most divine and 
 most excellent of prayers. And, since some of 
 Saint Teresa’s instructions and reflections have 
 reference to the subject of prayer generally, 
 while others have a special application to the 
 Petitions of the Lords Prayer in particular, this 
 little work, in like manner, will be divided into 
 two parts. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Translator’s Preface .v 
 
 Author’s Preface . ' .ix 
 
 Part I. 
 
 OF PRAYER IN GENERAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the firm resolution with which a Christian 
 
 OUGHT TO APPLY HIMSELF TO THE HOLY EXERCISE 
 
 OF PRAYER ..I 
 
 § i. The necessity of prayer.i 
 
 § 2. On the necessity of resolving to practise prayer 2 
 § 3. All the danger lies in fearing the danger . 4 
 
 § 4. Reasons why we should adopt this resolution . 6 
 
 § 5. Exhortations to irresolute souls ... 8 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the importance of commencing the holy 
 exercise of prayer in some manner or 
 
 other.10 
 
 § x. Wonderful discretion of Saint Teresa . . 10 
 
 § 2. Even though our resolution should be imperfect, 
 nevertheless we ought to begin the exercise of 
 
 prayer.. .12 
 
 § 3. An additional motive for making a beginning . 15 
 
 § 4. Reasonableness of this doctrine . . . 17 
 
Xll 
 
 Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 5. Concluding remarks of Saint Teresa . . 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE KIND OF PRAYER TO WHICH WE OUGHT TO 
 
 APPLY OURSELVES. 21 
 
 § i. Of the amount of prayer which we ought to 
 
 make.21 
 
 § 2. Of the kind of prayer to be practised . . 23 
 
 § 3. Of those who can, and of those who cannot, 
 
 meditate.24 
 
 § 4. Sufficiency of vocal prayer . . . .25 
 
 § 5. We must not force ourselves to make mental 
 
 prayer.27 
 
 § 6. This doctrine is confirmed by Saint John of the 
 
 Cross.29 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 What Saint Teresa means when she says that 
 
 MENTAL PRAYER IS NOT NECESSARY . . . 30 
 
 § 1. There are two kinds of mental prayer . . 30 
 
 § 2. Sufficiency of the last-mentioned kind of medi¬ 
 tation .33 
 
 § 3. Of the sense in which we must understand 
 
 many passages which speak of meditation . 35 
 
 § 4. Practical conclusion.36 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the mental prayer which ought to AC¬ 
 COMPANY VOCAL PRAYER.37 
 
 § 1. Of the interior attention required in prayer . 37 
 § 2. Saint Teresa combats the contrary opinion . 39 
 
 § 3. How vocal and mental prayer should be united 40 
 
Contents. 
 
 xm 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 4. Prayer made with interior attention is prayer 
 
 well made.43 
 
 § 5. This doctrine is confirmed by Saint John of the 
 
 Cross •••■•«»! 45 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Some additional instructions of Saint Teresa 
 
 REGARDING VOCAL PRAYER . . . .47 
 
 § i. On understanding the meaning of the words . 47 
 
 § 2. Of attention to the divine presence . . .48 
 
 § 3. Of the solitude suitable to prayer . . .49 
 
 § 4. Fruit to be derived from the foregoing teaching 51 
 § 5. Consoling thoughts for those who suffer from 
 
 involuntary distractions . . . .53 
 
 § 6. Caution against over-much self-love . . 56 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Method of keeping ourselves in the presence 
 of the Divine Master while we are engaged 
 
 in prayer.58 
 
 § 1. Of reviving our faith in God’s presence . . 58 
 
 § 2. How we may easily accustom ourselves to the 
 
 practise of realising the Divine Presence . 60 
 
 §3. Of the various ways in which we may represent 
 
 to ourselves the Divine Master . . .62 
 
 § 4. How we may assist ourselves in thus represent¬ 
 ing to our minds the Divine Master . . 67 
 
 § 5. We must not do violence to ourselves in en¬ 
 deavouring to realise the presence of the 
 Divine Master.. 71 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On the intimacy of our union with God . . 73 • 
 
XIV 
 
 Contents . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § i. Of the real presence of God in our soul . . 73 
 
 § 2. We must distinguish three kinds of the presence 
 
 of God ........ 73 
 
 § 3. This teaching is made still clearer by a passage 
 
 from Saint John of the Cross . . .77 
 
 § 4. Encouragement and consolation to be drawn 
 
 from this teaching.80 
 
 § 5. Exhortation to the soul to seek God within -* 
 itself ........ S2 
 
 § 6. Fruit to be gathered from the teaching con¬ 
 tained in this chapter.83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP OURSELVES IN REA¬ 
 LISING THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN OUR SOULS, 
 
 BY MEANS OF SOME PIOUS REFLECTIONS . . .84 
 
 § 1. The soul the house of God . . . .85 
 
 § 2. The soul the garden of God . . . . 89 
 
 § 3. The soul God’s firmament . . . . 91 
 
 § 4. The soul the temple of God . . . .93 
 
 § 5. God the heart of the soul . . . .94 
 
 § 6. How we may make practical use of these con¬ 
 siderations .95 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OF THE MEANS WHICH MAY BE EMPLOYED FOR THE 
 PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING A SENSE OF THE DIVINE 
 
 PRESENCE IN OUR SOULS.97 
 
 § 1. The memory must be exercised in recalling to 
 
 mind God’s presence.97 
 
 § 2. One ought not to be discouraged should he find 
 
 the foregoing doctrine obscure . . . 102 
 
 § 3. Purity of conscience.107 
 
Co?itents. 
 
 xv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 4. We should ordinarily pray with our eyes shut. 109 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Of the advantages resulting from this method 
 
 of prayer .no 
 
 § 1. It prevents distractions.no 
 
 § 2. Familiarity with God is more easily acquired . m 
 § 3. We make more progress in less time . . 113 
 
 § 4. How easy it is to acquire the gift of recollection 116 
 § 5. The fire of divine love is thus easily kindled in 
 
 the soul.119 
 
 § 6. Special advantage which ignorant people may 
 
 derive from this kind of prayer . . .120 
 
 § 7. Whether this method of prayer is suitable only 
 
 to those who cannot make formal meditation, 122 
 
 Part II. 
 
 ON THE SEVEN PETITIONS OF THE LORD’S 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 On the First Petition : Our Father, who art in 
 
 HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME . . . 126 
 
 § i. Astonishment of Saint Teresa at the first words 
 
 of the Lord’s Prayer.127 
 
 § 2. Excellence and reality of the grace of being 
 
 children of God.128 
 
 § 3. Three kinds of divine filiation .... 130 
 § 4. Qualities of divine filiation . . . .131 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The First Petition continued . . . . iqa 
 
XVI 
 
 Contents . 
 
 PAGK 
 
 § i. Of the perfection with which we must desire to 
 
 correspond with the grace of divine filiation . 134 
 §‘ 2. Of the confidence with which, in union with 
 Jesus Christ, we ought to pray to our Heavenly 
 
 Father.139 
 
 § 3. Who this Heavenly Father is . . . . 140 
 
 § 4. Consoling conclusion drawn by Saint Teresa . 143 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The First Petition continued .... 145 
 § 1. Substance of this Petition . . . 145 
 
 § 2. Sentiments of sorrow and of joy which ought 
 
 to accompany the recital of this Petition . 146 
 § 3. Exercise of faith, and desires for the sanctifica¬ 
 tion of souls.149 
 
 § 4. Prayer of the Book of Ecclesiasticus . . 151 
 
 § 5. Conclusion of Saint Teresa .... 152 
 § 6. Parable of the Prodigal Son .... 153 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On the Second Petition : Thy kingdom come . 157 
 § 1. Substance of the Second Petition . . . 159 
 
 § 2. What our chief anxiety ought to be . . 161 
 
 § 3. Our special obligations towards our Supreme 
 
 King ........ 164 
 
 § 4. Of the disinterestedness with which we ought 
 
 to serve God.166 
 
 § 5. Manner in which Saint Teresa concludes this 
 
 meditation.171 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Second Petition continued . 
 
 . 172 
 
Contents. 
 
 XVII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § i. Consummate perfection is God’s kingdom on 
 
 earth.172 
 
 § 2. The Prayer of Quiet.176 
 
 § 3. Some counsels regarding this prayer . .183 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the Third Petition : Thy will be done on 
 
 EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN ..... 184 
 § 1. God the spouse of the soul .... 185 
 § 2. Duties incumbent on the soul as the spouse of 
 
 God .. ...... 189 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Third Petition continued . . . .192 
 
 § 1. Reflections to be made by the soul as the spouse 
 
 of God. . 193 
 
 § 2. Self-knowledge.193 
 
 § 3. Knowledge of the gifts of God .... 198 
 § 4. The love that befits a soul espoused by God . 200 
 § 5. How far the soul that is espoused by God may 
 
 desire spiritual delights .... 203 
 § 6. Conclusion of the meditation .... 204 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Third Petition continued .... 205 
 § 1. The soul’s offering to her Divine Spouse . . 205 
 
 § 2. How the offering of one’s will is to be made . 207 
 § 3. Earth changed into heaven .... 209 
 § 4. The grace of suffering is God’s will. , . 211 
 
 § 5. How confidently we may ask for this favour . 213 
 § 6. Necessity of resignation.215 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Third Petition continued .... 218 
 § 1. The offering of our will must be irrevocable . 218 
 
 b 
 
XV111 
 
 Contents . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 2. Advantages of this irrevocable oblation . • . 220 
 
 § 3. Benefits resulting from union with God . . 226 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 On the Fourth Petition : Give us this day our 
 
 DAILY BREAD ........ 232 
 
 § 1. God the Shepherd of souls .... 232 
 
 §2. Nature of the bread which we ask from the 
 
 Good Shepherd.234 
 
 § 3. Qualities of the Good Shepherd . . . 236 
 
 § 4. The Good Shepherd become a lamb . . 239 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Fourth Petition continued .... 243 
 § 1. Excellence of the blessed sacrament . . 243 
 
 § 2. Reciprocity of love . . . . . . 247 
 
 § 3. Why God gave us this great gift . . . 249 
 
 § 4. Our ingratitude for so great a favour . . 253 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Fourth Petition continued .... 256 
 
 § 1. Trustfulness with which we should receive the 
 
 Good Shepherd ...... 256 
 
 § 2. Singular advantages of this trustfulness . . 257 
 
 § 3. The Good Shepherd disguises Himself for our 
 
 advantage.262 
 
 § 4. How He discovers Himself to some . . 263 
 
 § 5. Practice of interior recollection . . . 266 
 
 § 6. Ejaculatory Prayer to the Eternal Father . 271 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 \ * * * • 
 
 On the Fifth Petition : Forgive us our tres¬ 
 passes AS WE FORGIVE THEM THAT TRESPASS 
 
 AGAINST US .. . 273 
 
 § i. God our Redeemer ...... 273 
 
Contents. 
 
 xix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 2. In what sense we ask God to forgive us . , . 274 
 
 § 3. Substance of this. Petition .... • . 275 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Fifth Petition continued . . . .281 
 
 § 1. On punctiliousness in matters affecting our per¬ 
 sonal dignity ...... 281 
 
 § 2. On forgiveness of injuries .... 287 
 
 § 3. The love of their enemies is found in a perfect 
 
 degree in true contemplatives . . . 289 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 On the Sixth: Petition : And lead us not into 
 
 TEMPTATION.295 
 
 § 1. God our Physician.295 
 
 § 2. What it is that we ask of this Physician . . 296 
 
 § 3. Difference between earthly physicians and the 
 
 Heavenly Physician of souls .... 298 
 § 4. Reflection upon the five wounds of o-ur Lord . 301 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued .... 304 
 § 1. Of manifest temptations ..... 304 
 § 2. Of some hidden temptations that are less 
 
 dangerous.. . 306 
 
 § 3. When it is that we may doubt whether certain 
 
 favours may not be temptations of the devil . 309 
 
 § 4. Example of Saint Teresa.310 
 
 § 5. Very remarkable doctrine of Saint John of the 
 
 Cross.314 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued .... 315 
 • §. 1. Hidden temptations that are very dangerous . 315 
 
XX 
 
 Contents . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 2. The temptation to consider ourselves rich in 
 
 •virtue . * . ..316 
 
 § 3. Remedy against this temptation . . . 317 
 
 § 4. The temptation of false humility . . . 319 
 
 § 5. Of the temptations of indiscretion in penances, 
 
 and security against relapsing . . . 323 
 
 § 6. Security of the spiritual life .... 324 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII.- 
 The Sixth Petition continued 
 
 § 1. Holy 'love and fear render the path 
 spiritual life more secure 
 § 2. Signs of the love of God . 
 
 § 3. The love of God in contemplatives . 
 
 . . 328 
 
 of the 
 . . 328 
 
 . 329 
 • 332 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued .... 336 
 § 1. Of the holy fear of God ..... 336 
 § 2. Precautions to be adopted in order to acquire 
 
 this holy fear.338 
 
 § 3. The liberty consistent with the holy fear of God, 341 
 § 4. Evil consequences resulting from timidity . 343 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 On the Seventh Petition : Deliver us from evil. 
 
 iAmen ......... 346 
 
 § 1. Of the evils from which we pray to be delivered, 346 
 
 § 2. A reflection to be made in this Petition . . 347 
 
 § 3. Some counsels of Saint Teresa . . . 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Seventh Petition continued. . . . 352 
 
 § 1. The longing for death.353 
 
 § 2. The longing for death in Contemplatives . 359 
 § 3. This desire would be suitable to all . . .361 
 
 Conclusion.. 364 
 
TREATISE ON PRAYER. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Of Prayer in General. 
 
 _ 
 
 — 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the firm resolution with which a Christian 
 ought to apply himself to the holy exercise of 
 prayer. 
 
 “ Prayer is the royal road to heaven : by 
 travelling along this road, we ac- § x . The neces- 
 quire a great treasure; nor ought we Slty of prayer- 
 to be concerned because it seems to us that this 
 involves great trouble, for the time will come 
 when we shall understand what a mere nothing 
 is every effort of ours in this life to gain so great 
 a reward.” (Saint Teresa, Way of Perfection , 
 chap. 21.)* 
 
 “A soul without prayer is like a paralyzed and 
 crippled body, which, though having hands, is 
 
 * “ Camino de Perfecion ”—The Way of Perfection — 
 a treatise on prayer composed by Saint Teresa in 1563, 
 at the request of her nuns. 
 
 — Translator. 
 
 
2 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 nevertheless unable to use them.” ( Mansions , 
 I., chap, i.)* 
 
 These quotations from Saint Teresa are suffi¬ 
 cient to point out the importance and the ne¬ 
 cessity of prayer—a matter, indeed, which is 
 already so evident that it cannot be questioned 
 by any Christian. 
 
 Yet there are many Christians who, though 
 anxious to apply themselves to the 
 exercise of prayer, since they know 
 that it will prove to them an abun¬ 
 dant source of spiritual blessings, are, 
 nevertheless, unable to resolve on making a 
 beginning; so that, even to their old age, they 
 pray but seldom and badly, to the great loss and 
 peril of their souls. 
 
 Now should we happen to belong to this class 
 of persons, we must persuade ourselves that it is 
 our duty to enter upon the path of prayer, and 
 firmly to resolve to persevere therein. Let us 
 listen to Saint Teresa, who writes as follows on 
 this subject (Way of Perfection, chap. 21): “I 
 affirm that it is very important—nay that it is 
 everything—to commence with a strong and firm 
 determination never to rest until we shall have 
 secured this gift (i.e., the heavenly consolations 
 
 * “Las moradasf or “The Mansions”—a work on 
 prayer composed by Saint Teresa in 1577, and so called 
 because it is divided into seven mansions , in which the 
 Saint places various souls, according to the degree of per¬ 
 fection in prayer to which they have attained. 
 
 — Translator. 
 
 § 2. On the 
 necessity of 
 resolving to 
 practise 
 prayer. 
 
Part /., Chap. Sec. 2. 
 
 3 
 
 bestowed in prayer). To this resolution we 
 must firmly cling, let what will come, let what 
 may happen, no matter what the cost may be, no 
 matter who finds fault with us, no matter whether 
 we reach the goal, or die on the way, or fail in 
 courage to support the trials which we may have 
 to endure, or even though the world itself should 
 sink beneath us. For we are frequently told 
 that ‘ there are dangers 5 ; that such a one was 
 ruined by adopting this course; that another 
 became the victim of illusions; that such 
 another fell, though he prayed often; that it is 
 injurious to health; that it is not fit for women, 
 since they may fall into delusions, and might 
 occupy themselves more profitably by attending 
 to their spinning,” &c. 
 
 It is thus the Saint expresses herself in order 
 to give us to understand what manner of resolu¬ 
 tion we must have when entering on the exercise 
 of prayer, in which we shall have so much 
 opposition to encounter from our own corrupt 
 and evil inclinations, as well as from the world 
 and the devil. Wherefore she would have us 
 give ourselves up to prayer, so to speak, with 
 desperate resolve, allowing nothing to frighten 
 us, or to withdraw us from it. We must make 
 light of the labour which it involves because of 
 the aridity, the spiritual desolation, and the 
 disgusts which we may have to endure in the 
 time of prayer. We must not heed the evil 
 tongues of the irreligious, or of those silly babblers 
 who may censure our conduct. We must not 
 
4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 turn back, though the devil should represent to 
 us the road we have to travel as so long, that 
 our entire life-time would not suffice to accom¬ 
 plish the journey. We must not stop short 
 because we may feel that we have little courage 
 to face the opposition which we shall have to en¬ 
 counter from our enemies. We must not be 
 frightened even though the world itself should 
 seem on the brink of ruin, as sometimes appears 
 to be the case to those who devote themselves 
 to a life of contemplation and prayer; for fre¬ 
 quently in such cases every one wishes to give 
 his opinion on the subject, and we hear rela¬ 
 tives, friends, and acquaintances prophesying, 
 threatening, and predicting all kinds of misfor¬ 
 tunes, and especially the loss of bodily health, 
 which, to their thinking, must inevitably be 
 ruined by a life of retirement and prayer. 
 
 “ But,” Saint Teresa continues to say, “pay 
 
 no heed to the fears with which you 
 danger Hesfin may be inspired, or to the dangers 
 fearing the which may be held up before you. . 
 
 . . Should any one tell you that 
 
 there is danger in giving yourself up to a life of 
 prayer, look upon that person as a real danger 
 and avoid him. Do not forget that possibly you 
 may have need of this advice. No doubt it 
 would be extremely dangerous to be wanting in 
 humility and in the other virtues; but God 
 forbid that we should ever regard the path of 
 prayer as a path of danger.” 
 
 From these words we know that Saint Teresa 
 
Part /., Chap. /., Sec. j. 
 
 5 
 
 was painfully aware of the fact that, amongst 
 those whose duty it is to encourage souls in the 
 practice of prayer, we not unfrequently find some 
 who, under one pretext or another, withdraw 
 them from it. Wherefore she warns these souls 
 that they may occasionally have a need to re¬ 
 member her advice, which is to shun those 
 persons who speak of such dangers and would 
 create such fears in their minds. Then, ad¬ 
 dressing her Divine Spouse, she implores Him 
 to counteract the great evil which such bad 
 counsellors are capable of effecting. “ O my 
 dear Lord,” she says, “ do Thou defend Thy 
 own cause : Thou seest that these false coun¬ 
 sellors misinterpret Thy words : do not permit 
 such weaknesses as these to exist in Thy ser¬ 
 vants.” And the Saint spoke thus because some 
 persons would wish, by distorting the meaning 
 of the Holy Scriptures, to invoke its authority 
 in support of their own prejudices against the 
 spiritual life, and against the practice of prayer, 
 which enters into it so largely. 
 
 Again, in her Life (chap. 8 ), Saint Teresa thus 
 addresses the Lord : “ O Life of all lives, Thou 
 never destroyest any one of those who put their 
 trust in Thee ; but while giving health to the 
 soul, thou dost at the same time sustain the life 
 of the body with more abundant health. I do 
 not know what it is that those fear who have 
 not the courage to begin to make mental prayer, 
 nor can I understand what may be the object of 
 their dread. The devil never wearies of doing 
 
6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 us harm; and he succeeds when, by exciting 
 vain fears, he induces us not to meditate on the 
 offences which we have committed against God, 
 nor on the many favours which we have received 
 from Him, nor on the existence of a heaven 
 or a hell, nor on the immense labours and 
 sufferings which Christ our Lord has endured 
 for us.” 
 
 Wherefore should we fall in with a spiritual 
 director, who, instead of encouraging and guiding 
 us in the path of prayer, should turn us away 
 from it, we ought to withdraw ourselves from his 
 direction as being really dangerous to us, and 
 likely to end badly in our regard. 
 
 In the 23rd chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 
 Saint Teresa mentions three reasons 
 thy wTshouid why a soul should persevere in the 
 adopt this resolution to practise prayer, without 
 
 resolution *■ l j * 
 
 being deterred therefrom by any 
 difficulty whatever. The first reason is, that 
 when we resolve to consecrate to God our faculty 
 of meditating—that is to say, our loving and 
 trusting attention for the purpose of occupying 
 ourselves with Him in prayer—we ought not to 
 give it as a loan, and as a something to be taken 
 back again, but we ought rather to give it to 
 Him as a perpetual, irrevocable gift, remem¬ 
 bering how many priceless gifts we, on our part, 
 have received from Him ; “ just as a wife who 
 receives from her husband many precious jewels, 
 gives him in return at least a ring, not because 
 of its intrinsic value (for everything that she 
 
Part /., Chap. Sec. 4. 
 
 7 
 
 possesses is already his), but as a pledge that she 
 will be faithful to him until death ” And there¬ 
 fore the Saint remarks that we ought not any 
 longer to regard as our own the time that we have 
 determined to spend in conversing with God in 
 prayer, except, indeed, we should happen to be 
 prevented from attending to our devotions for 
 one or a few days , through press of business or 
 through illness. 
 
 The second reason is, that the devil is not so 
 powerful to tempt very determined souls; nay, 
 rather, “he is extremely afraid of resolute souls, 
 since he knows by experience that they do him 
 great mischief, and whatever he may invent to 
 injure them eventually turns out to their benefit 
 and that of others, so that he comes off the loser. 
 
 . . . But if the devil sees any one fickle, 
 
 inconstant in virtue, and not earnestly resolved 
 to persevere, he will give him no peace day or 
 night, but will inspire him with fears and suggest 
 inconveniences without end.” 
 
 The third reason is, that this determination is 
 of great assistance to encounter and overcome 
 all the obstacles that may present themselves ; 
 and Saint Teresa illustrates this by the example 
 of a soldier who, knowing that his only hope of 
 life rests in conquering his enemy, is resolved to 
 fight to the last drop of his blood. “Such a 
 one,” she says, “ does not fear the blows so 
 much, because he knows how important the 
 victory is, and that his life depends upon it.” 
 
 From the foregoing teaching and exhortations 
 
8 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 of the Saint, we learn that we must take up this 
 exercise of prayer with a most resolute determina¬ 
 tion never to abandon it to the end of our lives. 
 
 Do you, therefore, Christian souls, who by 
 § s Exhorta- God’s grace already know the vanity 
 tions to irreso- and the misery of this world’s goods, 
 who already understand in some 
 slight degree how sweet and good it is to 
 converse in your hearts with God by means of 
 prayer, and who hear His loving voice inviting 
 and urging you to do so, resolve, once for all, 
 to give yourselves up to a life of recollection and 
 prayer, which shall be for you no less consoling 
 than profitable. But let this resolution involve 
 the entire surrender of yourselves to an exercise 
 so sweet and salutary; so that you may never 
 again look back, but may persevere therein 
 constantly, until the Divine Spouse, who now 
 invites you to an intimate union with Himself 
 by faith, may summon you to a perfect union 
 with Him in glory. 
 
 But if you should still be irresolute or cowardly 
 through vain and false apprehensions, mark well 
 the following passage from Saint Teresa, in 
 which she speaks in general of the courage and 
 resolution which one ought to have in reducing 
 to practice holy inspirations : “ I have already 
 proved many times by experience/’ she says, 
 “ that if in the beginning I help myself by re¬ 
 solving to perform the good work solely in order 
 to give pleasure to God (for, that our merit may 
 be the more abundant, it is His will that the 
 
Part /., Chap. I., Sec. 5. 9 
 
 soul should feel dismayed only in the beginning 
 of a good work, and the greater the difficulty in 
 overcoming this feeling the greater is our merit, 
 and the more pleasant becomes the task we have 
 set ourselves to accomplish), His Divine Majesty 
 gives a recompense even in this life, by some 
 means which can be understood only by those 
 who have experienced them. This, as I have 
 said, I know by practical experience in many 
 affairs of considerable difficulty ; and therefore, 
 if I were in a position to give counsel in such a 
 matter, I should never advise that when a good 
 resolution comes, it should be allowed to pass 
 unheeded through fear of putting it into execu¬ 
 tion. For if we act solely for God alone, there 
 is no fear that the matter will turn out badly in 
 the end, since He is omnipotent ” (Life, chap. 
 4). In conformity with this principle, she gives 
 it as her opinion, in the 13th chapter of the 
 same work, “ that Saint Peter lost nothing when 
 throwing himself into the sea, although he was 
 afterwards afraid,” for his fear proceeded from 
 weakness of faith, which the Lord, nevertheless, 
 mercifully supplied. The resolution to embrace 
 an entirely holy and spiritual life likewise caused 
 fear at first to Blessed Henry Suso, and the 
 devil availed of this fear to withhold him from 
 carrying out his resolution; but the holy man 
 replied to the tempter : God invites me to give 
 myself up entirely to Him : if, then , I fling my¬ 
 self into His arms, is it possible that He will 
 withdraw Himself from me so that I fall ? 
 
IO 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Again, Saint Teresa, speaking expressly of 
 prayer in the 13th chapter just quoted, says : 
 “ Almighty God is the friend of courageous souls, 
 provided they proceed with humility and are 
 utterly distrustful of themselves. I have never 
 yet seen any of these left behind in the race, nor 
 have I seen a cowardly soul, even though humble, 
 make the same progress in many years that these 
 more courageous ones make in a few days. I 
 am astonished at the wonderful help it brings to 
 one in this race to dare great things. For though 
 the soul should not have strength all at once, 
 nevertheless it makes a noble effort to fly, and 
 actually makes considerable progress, though it 
 immediately grows weary and stops, like a little 
 bird whose wings are not yet full grown.” How¬ 
 ever, to adopt the Saint’s comparison, once the 
 first attempt to fly has been made, a second and 
 a third will follow, until at length, when the 
 wings shall have attained their full development, 
 it will know not weariness, and will stop no 
 more. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the importance of commencing the holy exercise 
 of prayer in some manner or other . 
 
 We find such wonderful discretion in the works 
 » of Saint Teresa, that while her 
 
 discretion of teaching is calculated to stimulate 
 Saint Teresa. th ose w h 0 are strong and resolute in 
 
Part I., Chap. If., Sec. i. n 
 
 God’s service to attempt the greatest things for 
 Him, yet it never frightens or discourages those 
 who are weak and faint-hearted : on the contrary, 
 it helps them very much to commence to do 
 what little they can, so that they may afterwards 
 gradually advance, in proportion as they make 
 progress in acquiring virtue. Notwithstanding 
 the arguments and exhortations contained in the 
 preceding pages, it is possible that persons of 
 this latter class, seeing that, on the one hand, 
 the Saint requires of them to take up the exercise 
 of prayer with a resolution so full, and firm, and 
 constant, that nothing shall deter them from 
 carrying it into execution, and, on the other hand, 
 not feeling themselves sufficiently strong, and 
 prompt, and courageous for this task, may be 
 tempted to despair of ever becoming men of 
 prayer, and so may fail even to commence this 
 salutary practice. 
 
 But such persons must not lose heart. Even 
 though at present they should feel themselves 
 irresolute and inconstant, they must not on this 
 account despair of one day quenching their 
 thirst at the living water of heavenly consolation 
 which flows from the fountain of prayer. Where¬ 
 fore Saint Teresa assures us, that God “ is so 
 good, that He gives to drink in various measures 
 to those who follow Him, so that no one may 
 remain unrefreshed, or may die of thirst. For 
 from this most abundant fountain (of prayer) 
 there flow rivers both great and little, and some¬ 
 times tiny pools for infants, that is for those who 
 
12 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 are but just beginning, and who not only find 
 such a supply sufficient, but would even be rather 
 frightened were we to point out to them more 
 copious streams’ 5 ( Way of Perfection, chap. 20). 
 Therefore even those who in the path of prayer 
 are weak and tottering like infants, ought to 
 hope for some draught of that living water which 
 is so refreshing to our souls. 
 
 In the chapter just quoted (chap. 20), Saint 
 § e en Teresa continues thus : “ I do not 
 though our re- mean that whoever lacks the des- 
 soiution should p era te resolve to devote himself to 
 
 nevertheless prayer, should on this account neglect 
 begS 1 the to to make a beginning, because our Lord 
 exercise of will go on perfecting him ; and even 
 ! ‘ though he should do no more than 
 
 take one step forward, yet that has such great 
 virtue in it, that he must not fear losing it, or 
 despair of being amply rewarded. He is, we 
 may say, like one who has a rosary to which 
 Indulgences are attached, so that if he uses it 
 once, he gains an Indulgence; if several times, 
 he gains still more Indulgences ; but if he never 
 use it, but keep it locked up in a box, it were 
 better that he should not have it at all. Hence 
 though one should not afterwards continue to 
 walk in this path on which he had entered, yet 
 the little progress he has made therein will give 
 him light to resume his journey successfully, and 
 the further he advances the more light will he 
 have. In a word, I regard it as certain that the 
 fact of his having once begun to walk in the path 
 
Part /., Chap. //., Sec. 2. 
 
 13 
 
 of prayer will injure him in no respect, even 
 though he should afterwards abandon it, because 
 what is good never does any harm. Wherefore, 
 my daughters, with regard to all those persons 
 with whom you may be on familiar and friendly 
 terms, endeavour when conversing with them 
 to banish from their minds all fear of com¬ 
 mencing so excellent a practice. ... It 
 would be a great favour bestowed upon you by 
 the Lord, should He through your agency excite 
 some soul to aspire to this blessing.” 
 
 You see, therefore, that even though one 
 should lack the determination and resolution to 
 persevere in the practice of prayer to the end of 
 his life and at all hazards, nevertheless he should 
 not on this account think himself unworthy or 
 incapable of commencing it. Begin, says Saint 
 Teresa, and take even one step forward, by 
 devoting yourself to prayer even for a single 
 day—even for one solitary occasion. God will 
 accept this first effort, and will give you greater 
 grace to make another step in advance, by 
 returning to prayer on some other day, or on 
 another occasion. That first prayer has in it so 
 much efficacy, that your first effort cannot prove 
 fruitless, nor will the time spent therein go unre¬ 
 warded. 
 
 It is true that there will be a great difference 
 between the person who begins with a firm reso¬ 
 lution, and advances in the exercise of prayer 
 without ever halting, and the other who begins 
 in a faint-hearted and faltering manner, and who, 
 
14 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 feeling his strength fail, stops after the first few 
 steps. The former will run after Christian per¬ 
 fection, as the stag runs towards the fountain ; 
 he will fly towards it, as the eagle does towards 
 the sun; whereas the latter will move slowly and 
 with difficulty, like a heavy ox—he will raise him¬ 
 self up like a fowl which has lost the feathers of 
 its wing. However any movement—to raise 
 oneself up even ever so little—is better than to do 
 nothing at all. 
 
 The simile of the indulgenced rosary, intro¬ 
 duced by Saint Teresa, comes in very appro¬ 
 priately. Whoever uses such a rosary frequently 
 gains many Indulgences, but he who uses it 
 only once gains one Indulgence only ; neverthe¬ 
 less even this one is better than nothing, because 
 even a trifling good is always to be preferred to 
 the absence of all good. Wherefore the Saint 
 very justly observes, that even though one 
 should halt after having taken the first step 
 forward, nevertheless, that first step helps to 
 further progress later on, and that first prayer 
 obtains for him who makes it greater light to 
 continue the holy exercise afterwards. Saint 
 Teresa concludes by saying that what is good 
 never does any harm; and that, consequently, 
 no matter how little the good may be, or how 
 brief its duration, there never can be any justi¬ 
 fication for abandoning it. Wherefore of such 
 importance did she deem it that this exercise 
 should be commenced anyhow, that she exhorted 
 her nuns to use every endeavour with their 
 
Part /., Chap. II, Sec. j>. 
 
 15 
 
 acquaintances and friends, to remove from them 
 all foolish fears which might prevent them from 
 making this salutary beginning. 
 
 Although the foregoing motives are amply 
 sufficient to persuade the most irre¬ 
 solute and timid, Saint Teresa sup- fionai motive 
 plements them by still stronger [or making a 
 expressions in the 23rd chapter, 
 where, after having stated that one must not, as 
 it were, lend to God his mental faculties in the 
 exercise of prayer, but must give them up to 
 Him completely and irrevocably , she continues to 
 say that, nevertheless, even “ a loan will be suffi¬ 
 cient, in the case of one who has not the heart 
 to make an absolute gift And then she con¬ 
 cludes as follows : “In a word, do something, 
 for our Lord takes everything as payment on 
 account: in everything we find Him ready to 
 accommodate Himself to our wishes. In taking 
 our accounts, He is not strict but generous ; and 
 no matter how great the debt may be, He 
 considers it nothing to remit and forgive it, in 
 order to gain ourselves. He is so considerate, 
 that you need not fear that He will leave unre¬ 
 warded even the lifting up of your eyes to think 
 of Him.” 
 
 This is, in truth, to have a proper appreciation 
 of the goodness of God—“ Think oj the Lord in 
 goodness ” (Wisdom, cap. i., v. 1),—and it is 
 only the saints who succeed in entertaining the 
 noble sentiment in all its fulness; because they 
 alone, as far as it is permitted to human weak- 
 
16 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 ness, have a full and exalted conception of the 
 immense goodness of God. We never find like 
 expressions of confidence and security except in 
 the writings of the saints, because it is only from 
 their inflamed hearts that such sentiments can 
 possibly proceed. 
 
 Does God, then, when He sees our hearts so 
 niggardly with Him as to refuse to give Him 
 generously the gift of our entire life, accept even 
 the miserable loan of an occasional day and 
 of an occasional hour ? As payment of the 
 immense debt which we owe Hhn, does He 
 place everything to our credit, no matter how 
 miserable be the offering which our meanness 
 prompts us to make ? Instead of being irritated, 
 and chastising the insult which we offer Him, 
 does He accept lovingly from our hand whatever 
 we are pleased to give Him ? Does He, then, 
 pay little heed to the amount of our indebtedness 
 provided He is enabled to gain our souls, and 
 does He regard it as nothing to condone the 
 immense sums which we owe Him ? And not 
 satisfied even with all this, does He keep an 
 account even of every pious movement of our 
 eyes, to reward us for it hereafter ? 
 
 Yes : provided He but sees in us the first 
 commencements of a good disposition, by which 
 we begin to desire to approach Him by prayer, 
 He accepts everything—even a glance, even a 
 sigh ; and instead of attending to the immensity 
 of our obligations to Him, it would seem that 
 He heeds only His own immense love towards 
 
Part Chap. //., Sec. 4. 
 
 17 
 
 us. And this is why Saint Teresa does not 
 hesitate to say in The Mansions , II.: “No 
 matter how great the tepidity which may accom¬ 
 pany prayer, it is still much esteemed by God. 
 And do you, my sisters, take care not to value 
 lightly this first grace (of praying even with 
 tepidity), and be not cast down or frightened 
 when you perceive that you do not all at once 
 yield yourselves up entirely to the Lord; for 
 His Divine Majesty well knows how to wait 
 many days and years, especially when He sees 
 perseverance and good desires on your part.” 
 
 Should we imagine that Saint Teresa has 
 exaggerated in this matter through § Reason _ 
 fervour of spirit, the examples which ableness of this 
 confront us in the entire history of doctnne - 
 the Church, and within our own daily experience, 
 would be sufficient to disabuse us of this erro¬ 
 neous opinion. In truth, the history of the 
 Church affords us very many examples of persons 
 who commenced to approach the Lord with cold¬ 
 ness and hesitation; who advanced now and again 
 barely a few steps, as if overawed by the sublimity 
 of the spiritual life, and then quickly stood still; 
 so that one should say that, so long as they con¬ 
 tinued to act in this manner, it would be impos¬ 
 sible for them ever to reach the happy, but 
 difficult, goal at which they aimed. But, never¬ 
 theless, because they preserved that seedling of 
 goodwill—though weak and small—assisted by 
 the exceeding goodness of the Lord, who did 
 not regard their merits but His own love, they 
 
 2 
 
18 Treatise on Prayer 
 
 finally advanced boldly and resolutely, and 
 happily reached that height which at first so 
 much frightened them. In addition to those 
 known to us, there are other such examples 
 beyond number, which are not recorded in his¬ 
 tory, but lie hidden in the infinite treasury of 
 God’s mercy, and are, as our experience tells us, 
 occasionally repeated under our own eyes. 
 
 However, we must not conclude from what 
 has just been said that this is the manner in 
 which we ought to act with the Lord; for we 
 have already seen what a determined resolution 
 Saint Teresa requires in the person who wishes 
 to give himself up to the exercise of prayer. But 
 the object of all that has been said is, to en¬ 
 courage souls who, otherwise, fearing to do little, 
 might end by doing nothing at all, and who 
 might abandon the race altogether, through fear 
 of not reaching the goal. The object of all that 
 has been said is, to nurture the tender seedlings 
 of an incipient piety, which though at their first 
 budding they give but small promise, yet by 
 careful cultivation may come to something, and 
 may even grow wonderfully, and produce abun¬ 
 dant fruit. 
 
 Those evils which Saint Teresa thus endea¬ 
 vours to avert, would be certain to result from 
 the teaching of other less discreet masters of the 
 spiritual life, who insist that unless one begins 
 with great fervour no good effect follows; that 
 without a full and perfect resolution from the 
 very start, even the smallest measure of success 
 
Part I., Chap . //., Sec. 5. 19 
 
 is impossible. Directors of this type might be 
 useful to stimulate souls that were already fervent 
 and resolute ; but they would at the same time 
 crush the feeble efforts of an incipient goodwill, 
 which begins to spring up in souls when they 
 first feel the gentle breathing of the Holy Ghost, 
 which warms them and renders them prolific, 
 that they, too, though later on, may produce their 
 fruits of eternal life. Such directors might, 
 perhaps, cultivate successfully in the vineyard of 
 the Lord those well-developed and hardy plants 
 which require little care; but they would 
 not tend successfully, nay they would trample 
 down without perceiving it, many tiny buds, 
 which, by gentle and patient culture, would 
 gradually develop into vigorous and fruitful trees. 
 
 But let us hear how Saint Teresa concludes 
 her remarks on this subject, in order R ^ 
 to determine irresolute souls to enter remarks of 
 on the path of prayer, at least for a Saint Teresa - 
 trial. “ Do not fear,” she says, “that our Lord 
 will suffer you to die of thirst, for He invites us 
 all to drink at this fountain. This I have 
 already said, and I would wish to repeat it often ; 
 because those persons are very cowardly who do 
 not yet fully know the goodness of God by ex¬ 
 perience, although they know it by faith. But 
 it is a great blessing to have experienced the 
 friendship and the tokens of love which He 
 bestows on those who walk in this path, and how 
 He defrays, as it were, all the expenses of their 
 journey. Wherefore I am not surprised, that 
 
20 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 those who have not yet experienced this should 
 wish to have security, that they will receive some 
 interest for what they give. Now you already 
 know that there is a hundred for one even in this 
 life, and that our Lord has said : ‘Ask and you 
 shall receive \ If you do not believe the words 
 of our Divine Lord reported in His gospel, then, 
 my sisters, there is no use in my worrying my¬ 
 self to convince you of it. Yet if any one doubt 
 it, I would say that little will be lost in making 
 the experiment; for this journey has this advan¬ 
 tage, that while engaged in it one receives more 
 than is asked, or than can be desired ” ( Way of 
 Perfection , chap. 23). 
 
 Be not affrighted, therefore, and do not 
 despair because of your weakness, you timid and 
 irresolute souls, who have not yet tasted how 
 sweet the Lord is to those who draw nigh to 
 Him, and who dwell with Him in the holy exer¬ 
 cise of prayer. Have confidence in the words 
 of Saint Teresa, and begin, you also, to give 
 yourselves up to prayer, even to the small extent 
 that you deem possible. To take even a few 
 steps forward in this path will- be better than to 
 take none at all. Though at present you may 
 be very cold and irresolute, yet, touched by some 
 loving grace of our Lord, you may become 
 inflamed in His service, and resolute to a degree 
 which you could not now deem possible; and 
 then you will be able to make bold and resolute 
 progress, which will be to you of incalculable 
 advantage and unspeakable consolation. And, 
 
Part /., Chap. Ill , Sec. 6. 
 
 29 
 
 tate. ... If perchance such a one should 
 come into this convent (seeing that, as I have 
 said, all do not proceed along the same road), I 
 wish to give you some advice . . . how you 
 
 are to pray vocally.” From these words we see 
 that the Saint intends her teaching on this suffi¬ 
 ciency of vocal prayer to apply also to religious 
 persons—even to nuns —and to nuns who, like 
 the Discalced Carmelites, lead a life of more or 
 less continual prayer. 
 
 Saint John of the Cross is in perfect accord 
 with Saint Teresa on this subject, § 6 . Thisdoc _ 
 and puts the following words into trine is con- 
 the mouth of the Divine Spouse : joh^ofUie 
 “ The first way is that of vocal Cross - 
 prayer. To whomsoever I give this gift, I give 
 a talent so excellent, that if he but know 
 how to traffic with it, he will obtain heaven. 
 
 . . . There are not a few who, when they begin 
 to recite the Rosary or other devout prayers, are 
 immediately inflamed with spiritual fervour, but 
 the moment they cease to pray vocally, all devo¬ 
 tion vanishes, and their spirit becomes frozen 
 within them. Now persons of this class must 
 pursue the path of vocal prayer, and their con¬ 
 fessors must help them on in it. . . If 
 
 you are unable to meditate, my daughters, do not 
 desire a gift which I do not wish you to possess; 
 because should you do so your desire will not be 
 gratified, and this will bring you trouble of 
 heart. Begin, then, to desire that which I wish, 
 and you will obtain it, and it will bring you 
 
3° 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 peace. If I do not bestow upon you these two 
 talents (by which is meant the gift of medita¬ 
 tion), do you wish to wrest them forcibly out of 
 my hands ? Certainly not: humble thyself and 
 take what I give thee, and that will doubtless 
 prove better for thee than what thou thyself 
 desirest.” 
 
 We see, therefore, that, according to the 
 teaching of the other great master of the spiritual 
 life, vocal prayer is sufficient to gain life eternal; 
 and since there are not a few who are unable to 
 meditate, these should rest content with the 
 disposition of heaven in their regard, and even 
 believe that it is better so. However, to remove 
 all possibility of error, and for the better under¬ 
 standing of what is to follow, we shall explain 
 this matter more fully in the next chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 What Saint Teresa means when she says that 
 mental prayer is not necessary. 
 
 When Saint Teresa teaches that meditation is 
 not necessary for many souls, nay , 
 that it is unsuited to them, and that two kinds of 
 consequently they should not be mentaI prayer - 
 troubled if they are unable to meditate, we must 
 not suppose that she is speaking absolutely of 
 every kind of meditation, of every description of 
 mental prayer; for, as we shall see, she wishes 
 
Part /., Chap. IV, Sec. i. 
 
 3i 
 
 that our vocal prayer should be united to mental 
 prayer, and consequently to meditation. We 
 must, therefore, distinguish two kinds of mental 
 prayer: one, which is to be practised solely by 
 those who have the knowledge and the gift to 
 do so ; another, which is necessary for all. 
 
 You will have observed that when Saint 
 Teresa speaks of meditation as unnecessary, she 
 is speaking of meditation made with the aid of 
 “books, in which the 7 'e are admirable mstructions 
 on the beginning and the end of prayer, and the 
 mysteries of the life and death of our Lord, toge¬ 
 ther with meditations on Death, on Judgment, on 
 Hell, on our own nothingness and our i?idebtedness 
 to God, arranged in excellent order for the 
 differe?it days of the week Wherefore it is clear 
 that Saint Teresa is speaking of methodical medi¬ 
 tation, made according to a regular rule and 
 system, with its preludes and conclusions, and 
 its divisions into parts and points, in which we 
 spend a certain determined period of time, 
 keeping the mind fixed upon a certain selected 
 subject, in order to derive therefrom such lights 
 as it may be calculated to afford, and to excite 
 in our hearts affections in harmony with these 
 lights. 
 
 Now of this kind are those courses of medi¬ 
 tation on the Four Last Things, on the Life, 
 Passion, and Death of our Lord, and on the 
 other mysteries and truths of holy faith, which 
 we find in so many excellent books of which the 
 Saint speaks, and which have been multiplied to 
 
3 2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 such a wonderful degree since her time, to the 
 great advantage of Christian piety. With the 
 help of such books, devout persons are accus¬ 
 tomed to make half an hour’s meditation once 
 or twice each day, according as each one’s con¬ 
 dition and circumstances may permit. This, 
 then, is the kind of meditation of which Saint 
 Teresa speaks, which she so much praises and 
 approves of for those who have capacity to 
 practise it, but which, at the same time, she be¬ 
 lieves to be beyond the reach of many , who have 
 no natural aptitude for it, or whom God wishes 
 to travel by another road, being, as He is, the 
 supreme guide to conduct souls by whatsoever 
 way He wills. 
 
 But there is another kind of meditation, which 
 is simple, devoid of all art and method, unen¬ 
 cumbered by divisions into certain parts and 
 points, and unrestricted by any limits of time. 
 This kind of meditation consists in nothing else 
 than in directing the attention of our minds to 
 the truths of faith, and to our own obligations, 
 and ought invariably to accompany us in reading 
 pious books, in hearing the word of God, and at 
 the time of prayer. Without this attention it is 
 absolutely impossible to live as good Christians 
 and to attain perfection ; because a Christian 
 who reads good books without reflecting on the 
 truths which he finds there, who hears the word 
 of God without heeding what is said to him, who 
 prays without attending either to the presence of 
 God with whom he is speaking, or to the nature 
 
Part /., Chap. IV, Sec. 2. 
 
 33 
 
 of the petitions which he addresses to Him, 
 must necessarily be a careless Christian, who 
 lives at haphazard, and who is little concerned 
 about the salvation of his soul and the service of 
 God. This attention of our mind to the truths 
 of holy faith and to our obligations is that ??iedi- 
 tation which is necessaiy for all; and from such 
 meditation neither Saint Teresa, nor any other 
 spiritual guide can dispense any one who wishes 
 to be saved, and still less any one who aspires to 
 perfection. 
 
 , When one practises diligently this second 
 kind of meditation, he does not need 
 meditation of the first kind, either to of AeiSSmen^ 
 secure his salvation, or to attain per- tior Vr d H ind of 
 fection. Saint Teresa further con- med " at, °"' 
 firms this teaching, by the example of a person 
 who was known to her. “I know,” she says, 
 “ a very old person, who has led a very good life 
 (God grant that mine may be like hers), devoted 
 to penitential exercises, and a great servant of 
 God, who for many years past has spent several 
 hours each day in vocal prayer, but yet cannot 
 succeed in making meditation ” ( Way of Per¬ 
 fection, chap. 17). 
 
 Moreover, experience daily brings this truth 
 under our observation, and, as it were, makes it 
 palpable to us. For we continually meet with 
 persons who have never made a meditation 
 methodically, and who in fact do not even know 
 how to set about it ; and yet by simple medita¬ 
 tion, that is, by reflecting on the word of God 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 Treatise on Praver. 
 
 when they hear it in a church, and by attending 
 to their vocal prayers when reciting them, they 
 keep faith so well alive in their hearts, that they 
 attain to a very enviable state of perfection, and 
 some of them are even favoured with extraor¬ 
 dinary graces and with the gift of contempla¬ 
 tion. 
 
 But setting contemplation aside altogether, to 
 which all pious souls are not raised by God, it is 
 certain that these persons reach the third degree 
 of the spiritual life, of which Saint Bernard speaks 
 in his Ladder of Recluses , or Method of Prayer. 
 The holy Doctor places four steps in this ladder, 
 by which he would have Religious mount to 
 perfection. The first is reading, to which 
 corresponds the hearing of God’s Word : the 
 second is meditation, either simple or methodical, 
 as the Saint draws no distinction between them : 
 the third is prayer: the fourth is contemplation. 
 Of the third step, which he calls by the general 
 name of prayer, he says : est devota cordis intentio 
 in Deum pro malis a??iovendis et bonis adipis- 
 cendis —that is to say, a devout attention of the 
 heart fixed upon God, whereby the soul, having 
 reached this step, gives vent to its desires to be 
 freed from real evils, and to be enriched with 
 true and solid goods. Happy they who reach 
 this degree, in which, ordinarily, the soul no 
 longer feels any weariness in meditating, but, on 
 the contrary, is refreshed by giving unchecked 
 freedom to the fulness of spiritual delights, while 
 the heart lifts itself up to God, becoming, as it 
 
Part /., Chap. IV., Sec. 3. 35 
 
 were, dissolved in ardent affections, like the 
 incense which burns in the fire. 
 
 By God’s grace, many souls have reached this 
 degree. The fervour of their prayer manifests 
 itself even exteriorly, so that they excite envy in 
 those who desire to pray well. And yet we know 
 that they reach this degree not by means of 
 fnethodical meditation, but solely through that 
 simple kind mentioned above. Such souls are 
 already well-disposed for contemplation, should 
 God call them to it; and this contemplation, of 
 which we have so often spoken, is a very high gift 
 of God, the nature of which is known only to those 
 who possess and enjoy it. Saint Bernard says 
 that it is “an elevation of the soul, which remains 
 suspended in God, and tastes the joys of eternal 
 sweetness ” (In Scala Claus). Blessed Colum¬ 
 bine calls it “ a flight of love, an immensity of 
 happiness, the compliment of love, the highest 
 of all possible enjoyments” (. Letter 19 to Dom. 
 de Monticelli); and Saint John of the Cross 
 says that “it is nothing else than a secret, 
 peaceful, loving infusion of God, who inflames 
 the soul with love ” ( The Obscure Night , book I., 
 chap. 10). 
 
 Wherefore we must remark that many passages 
 of Holy Writ, and of the Fathers of 
 
 J g (~\r . i 
 
 the Church, which are quoted to sense in which 
 prove the necessity of meditation, ^®™ l u ^J inder ' 
 must all be understood not of formal pSLgeswhich 
 and methodical , but of simple medi- of rnedi ' 
 tation; for though the former is very 
 
36 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 useful, it cannot by any means be called neces¬ 
 sary, as we have already sufficiently shown. And 
 should any one endeavour to apply such passages 
 to formal meditation, as though it were all but 
 indispensable at least for the attainment of 
 Christian perfection, we are compelled to say 
 that there are no grounds whatever for putting 
 forward this view. To support their contention, 
 these persons ought, at least, to advance in its 
 favour some pronouncements of saints, as clear 
 and evident as are those of Saint Teresa and of 
 Saint John of the Cross, which we have cited in 
 support of the opposite opinion. 
 
 Wherefore we must once again conclude, that 
 § 4. Practical those who feel within themselves a 
 conclusion. capacity for formal meditation ought 
 to practise it, as being a good and secure path 
 to perfection; and they ought, moreover, to 
 suppose that it is God’s will that they should 
 walk in this path, since He has given them the 
 disposition suitable to it. But let not those who 
 do not feel a capacity for mental prayer be dis¬ 
 quieted on this account, but apply themselves to 
 vocal prayer. It is, indeed, a different road, but 
 it leads to the same goal; and they must persuade 
 themselves that it is by this road God wishes 
 them to travel, since they find the other closed 
 against them. What matters it by which of 
 these two roads we travel, provided we succeed 
 in quenching our thirst at that fountain of living 
 water which so refreshes our spirit ? It is a great 
 consolation to know that God wishes all of us to 
 
Part /., Chap. V., Sec. i. 
 
 37 
 
 drink of it; and our great anxiety ought to be to 
 seek it in the manner in which He wishes it to he 
 sought for by us. Let us conclude with these 
 words of Saint Teresa : “ Observe that our Lord 
 invites all; and since He is truth itself, there is 
 no longer room for doubt on this point. If this 
 banquet were not open to all , the Lord would 
 not summon all to it; and even though He did, 
 He would not say : ‘ I will give you to drink 5 ; 
 He might have said : 1 Come to Me all of you, 
 for at least you will lose nothing thereby, and I 
 will give to drink to whomsoever it may please 
 Me \ But since He has issued His invitation 
 to all without adding this limitation, I regard it 
 as certain, that this living water will not be 
 wanting to any one who does not loiter by the 
 way. May our Lord who has promised it, give 
 us, in His mercy, grace to seek it as it ought to 
 be sought” ( Way of Pei feet ion, chap. 19). 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the mental prayer which ought to accompany 
 
 vocal prayer. 
 
 We have said in the last chapter that Saint 
 Teresa is not satisfied with prayer ^ 0 fth * 
 which proceeds merely from the lips, teHor attention 
 and that she neither will, nor can, required in 
 dispense any one from interior atten¬ 
 tion to prayer. In proof of this, let us see what 
 
38 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 she teaches in the 22nd chapter of her Way of 
 Peifection. “ Know, my daughters,” she says, 
 “ that as to our prayer being mental or not, the 
 difference does not consist in keeping the mouth 
 shut or open. For if, while uttering, a prayer 
 vocally, I remain interiorly recollected and alive 
 to the fact that I am speaking with God, being 
 more intent on this thought than on the words 
 which I utter, I am then, at one and the same 
 time, practising both metital a?id vocal prayer. 
 But should any one assert that it is sufficient to 
 speak to God merely with the lips when you 
 recite the ‘ Our Father,’ though your heart may 
 be all the while thinking of the world, I will not 
 stay to argue with such a one. For if you would 
 conduct yourself in a proper manner when 
 speaking to so great a Lord, it is right that you 
 reflect both with whom you are speaking, and who 
 you yourself are, at least if you wish to speak 
 with due respect. For how could you speak to 
 a king, and give him his title of £ Majesty,’ or 
 ‘ Sire,’ or know the ceremonies which are usual 
 in addressing a great prince, unless you under¬ 
 stand well both his rank and your own condition? 
 You must show him that respect which his rank 
 demands and which custom gives him, or other¬ 
 wise you will be turned out of doors as clowns, 
 and will be unable to transact the business which 
 brought you into the prince’s presence.” 
 
 Nevertheless, because some persons, as the 
 Saint hinted above, pretended that it is possible 
 to pray well by merely uttering certain forms of 
 
Part /., Chap . V., Sec. 2. 39 
 
 words, without being at all concerned about the 
 interior attention of the heart, Saint 
 
 / £ C ’ 
 
 Teresa continues as follows : “Now Teresaojm- 
 what is this my Lord ? What is bats the . c ? n - 
 this my Sovereign ? How can it 
 be endured ? Thou, my God, art an eternal 
 king, and Thy kingdom is not a borrowed one. 
 I experience a particular delight almost every 
 time I hear it said in the Creed that Thy king¬ 
 dom hath no end. I praise Thee, O Lord, and 
 bless Thee for ever. Thy kingdom shall endure 
 through all eternity. Never, O Lord, permit it 
 to be considered a good thing, that he who 
 speaks with Thee should do so only with his 
 lips. What is this, Christians, which you assert— 
 that mental prayer is not necessary ? I certainly 
 am of opinion that you do not know what you 
 are saying, and therefore you would have us all 
 fall into error along with you. You do not know 
 what mental prayer is, nor how vocal prayer 
 ought to be made, nor what contemplation is; 
 for if you did understand, you would not con¬ 
 demn on the one hand, what you praise on the 
 other.” 
 
 As is evident from this passage, Saint Teresa 
 cannot tolerate the idea, that while men are so 
 careful in recollecting themselves when they 
 converse with an earthly sovereign, any one 
 should assert that, in addressing the Eternal 
 King of the universe, it is allowable to recite 
 merely materially the words of a prayer, without 
 attending interiorly to what one does and says. 
 
40 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Therefore she begs of the Lord not to permit 
 such an error to prevail; and she declares her 
 belief that those who pretend that prayer uttered 
 merely with the lips is sufficient for a Christian, 
 do not, in fact, know what they say. 
 
 Saint Teresa then proceeds to show how vocal 
 prayer should be united with mental 
 and mentai° ca prayer, and, after a brief passage 
 prayer should w hich shall be quoted later on, she 
 continues thus: Who can assert 
 that it is wrong if any one, wishing to recite the 
 Hours or the Rosary, should begin by reflecting 
 with whom he is about to speak, and who he 
 himself is who speaks, in order that he may 
 know how he should conduct himself? Now I 
 tell you, that if, before commencing the vocal 
 prayer which you are about to recite, you 
 properly discharge the serious task of knowing 
 and attending to these two points, you will 
 thereby be spending a good portion of time in 
 mental prayer . Would we approach to speak 
 with a prince in the same unprepared manner 
 in which we might address a peasant, or a poor 
 person like ourselves, who will take our words 
 in good part no matter how we utter them ? 
 Certainly not. And though I am so rude as 
 not to know how to converse with the King of 
 heaven, nevertheless He is so condescending, 
 that He does not on this account refuse to hear 
 me, nor does He deny me access to Him, nor 
 do His guards repulse me. The angels who 
 attend upon Him know well the mind of their 
 
Part /., Chap . K, ,S&r. j\ 
 
 4 1 
 
 King, who is better pleased with the rudeness of 
 a humble shepherd anxious to express himself 
 better if he but knew how, than with the elo¬ 
 quence of the very wise and learned, however 
 eloquent may be their discourses, if they be 
 ' unaccompanied by humility. 
 
 “ But, at the same time, His goodness affords 
 no justification for us to be unmannerly and 
 discourteous. At least, in order to testify our 
 gratitude for His enduring so much unpleasant¬ 
 ness as He must experience in admitting to His 
 presence beings so defiled as we are, it is well 
 that we endeavour to understand His purity and 
 who He is. It is true that the moment we 
 appear before Him and draw near to Him we 
 discover who He is. . . . O my Sovereign, 
 
 Supreme Power, Supreme Goodness, Wisdom 
 itself, without beginning and without end, 
 knowing no bounds to Thy perfections which 
 are infinite and incomprehensible, unfathomable 
 Ocean of wonders, Beauty comprising in Thy¬ 
 self all beauties, Strength itself! O my Jesus ! 
 would that it were possible for one to concentrate 
 in himself all the eloquence and the wisdom of 
 the human race, in order to understand properly 
 (as far as it is possible to do so in this world— 
 and that, in reality, is nothing) how to make 
 known in this case some of the many things 
 which might be considered, in order to realise 
 in some slight degree who is this Lord, our 
 sovereign good ! 
 
 “ If, when you draw near Him, you reflect and 
 
42 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 consider who He is with whom you are going to 
 speak, or are speaking, be assured that, though 
 you were to live your life over a thousand times, 
 you should never succeed in fully realising how 
 this Sovereign deserves to be treated, in whose 
 presence the angels tremble, who rules over all 
 things, who is omnipotent, with whom to wish 
 is to execute. It is right, then, my daughters, 
 that we should endeavour to take delight in 
 these excellencies of our Spouse. . . . Let 
 
 us endeavour to understand who is His father, 
 what kind of country that is to which He is 
 about to conduct us, what those good things are 
 which He promises to give us, what are His dis¬ 
 positions, how we may best be able to gratify 
 Him, in what we may be able to give Him 
 pleasure, and how we may be able to regulate 
 our will, so as to render it in conformity with 
 His. . . . To understand these truths , my 
 
 daughters , is mental prayer. If you wish to con¬ 
 tinue dwelling on these thoughts , and at the same 
 time to pray vocally , by all means do so ; but do 
 not presume to speak with God while thinking of 
 other things .” 
 
 It is thus the Saint teaches us an easy method 
 of combining mental with vocal prayer, so that 
 the latter may not be a mere muttering of words. 
 Before we begin to pray, let us reflect with whom 
 we are going to speak, and what we ourselves are 
 in the presence of that Infinite Majesty and 
 Goodness to whom we are addressing our peti¬ 
 tions. In this manner we shall readily find our 
 
Part /., Chap. V., Sec. 4. 
 
 43 
 
 souls absorbed in holy thoughts, which will 
 accompany us during the progress of our vocal 
 prayer, so that it will thus become mental 
 prayer likewise. The entire of the foregoing 
 doctrine is reducible to this single point:—that 
 while we pray with our lips , we should endea¬ 
 vour to pray with interior attention—to pray with 
 the heart likewise; and provided we have this 
 interior attention, Saint Teresa is satisfied. 
 
 When prayer is thus made with interior atten¬ 
 tion, it is under every respect well § Prayer 
 made. The truth of this statement made with in- 
 is clearly seen from the passage of i s prayer well 
 Saint Teresa which we omitted in made - 
 the last section, but which we reproduce here: 
 “ Whenever/’ she says, “ I shall have occasion 
 to mention vocal prayer, I shall always consider 
 it as united to mental prayer, in order that no 
 one, my daughters, may excite vain fears in your 
 minds. I know well the consequences of such 
 foolish alarms, for I have suffered somewhat on 
 this account, and therefore I wish that no one 
 should disturb you, since it is injurious to travel 
 along this road in fear. It is of very great im¬ 
 portance to know that you are walking securely; 
 for if you tell a traveller that he is not going 
 right and has lost his way, in order to find it 
 again he turns in this direction and in that, and 
 gives himself up entirely to seeking the right 
 road, until he grows weary, wastes his time, and 
 arrives late at his destination.” 
 
 In this extract the Saint says that she wishes 
 
44 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 always to speak of vocal as united with mental 
 prayer, in order that her nuns may not be 
 frightened when they hear preachers insisting 
 on the necessity of mental prayer or meditation. 
 For this reason she wishes them to understand 
 that every prayer which is made with attention 
 co?nprises in itself mental prayer —that is to say, 
 meditation of the si)?iple kind, which, as we have 
 already seen, is quite sufficient, and just as effi¬ 
 cacious as formal , methodical meditation. The 
 Saint adds, that she herself was at one time 
 troubled on this score, no doubt by persons who 
 were over-zealous in advocating formal medita¬ 
 tion. She wishes, therefore, that each one 
 should travel by the road which suits him best, 
 that is, by that method of prayer for which he 
 has most aptitude, provided it be made with 
 attention and devotion; and she adds that, in 
 acting thus, he need have no fear of walking 
 insecurely, but should be tranquil and refrain 
 from trying other methods. 
 
 The entire meaning of the Saint in addressing 
 her nuns thus may be summed up as follows : 
 It may easily happen that you find some book 
 or some persons to excite scruples in your mind 
 regarding your manner of prayer, and to endea¬ 
 vour to draw you to some other method, by 
 telling you that otherwise you will fail to acquire 
 the gift of prayer and Christian perfection. (As 
 a matter of fact there are books and persons that 
 know only one path—their own—and believe all 
 others inferior to it.) If you, says the Saint, 
 
Part /., Chap. V., Sec. 5. 45 
 
 pray with attention to the exercise in which you 
 are engaged, if you endeavour to pray with your 
 hearts so that your petitions may not proceed 
 only from your lips, do not be uneasy when you 
 hear it said that there is another better method 
 of prayer, and do not abandon your 07 z>n method 
 to seek another which, though in itself good and 
 excellent, may, nevertheless, be unsuited to you. 
 Continue to pray after your own fashion, with 
 the assurance that you are praying well; other¬ 
 wise, by forcing yourselves to adopt a different 
 system, you will grow weary , will 7 vaste your 
 time, and will succeed too late in acquiring the 
 gift of prayer. 
 
 In confirmation of this teaching, we may here 
 introduce very appropriately the § 5 This doc _ 
 authority of Saint John of the Cross, trine is con- 
 
 , . ,, • o firmed by Saint 
 
 who represents the Divine Spouse as John of the 
 speaking in the following terms to Cross - 
 the soul He has espoused : “ If My servants did 
 but attentively consider My ways, they should 
 see that souls are conducted to Me not by one, 
 but by many paths. And if they did but reflect 
 that the heavenly Jerusalem has not one but 
 twelve gates, and that My Father’s house contains 
 not one but many mansions, and did but per¬ 
 suade themselves that the soil of their hearts, 
 according as circumstances vary, produces 
 various fruits, they would not weary themselves 
 in the vain endeavour to direct all souls along a 
 single path, and make them enter by a single 
 gate, and lodge them in a single apartment, nor 
 
46 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 would they require from all the same fruit. 
 Dost thou not remember that in distributing My 
 talents and My graces, to one I gave a single 
 talent, to another two, and to a third five ? It 
 avails not that some of My servants labour in the 
 hope that he who has received from Me but a 
 single talent of prayer should acquire two, and 
 that another should acquire five to whom I have 
 not given more than two. The call which I 
 have given will prevail over that which any 
 servant of Mine can give; and therefore, no 
 matter how My servants may summon souls to 
 travel by a certain road, such efforts will prove 
 fruitless when I invite these souls to walk in a 
 different path.” 
 
 Wherefore we repeat that souls ought to 
 pursue tranquilly their own path in prayer, being 
 persuaded that they pray well provided only that 
 they pray from their hearts . It is, of course, 
 unnecessary to say that prayer made from the 
 heart, that is, with interior attention, does not 
 exclude involuntary distractions, which are in¬ 
 evitable in consequence of the fickleness of 
 man’s imagination. We know well that such 
 distractions do not in the slightest degree destroy 
 the value of our prayers. 
 
 4 
 
Part /., Chap. VI., Sec. i. 
 
 47 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Some additional instructions of Saint Teresa 
 regarding vocal prayer. 
 
 In the 24th chapter of the Way of Perfection 
 Saint Teresa says : “ It is reasonable d 
 
 that you should understand what ftanSngTta 
 
 yOU Say. . . . When I Say, £ I meaning of the 
 
 I j j j 1 words. 
 
 believe,’ it is but right, I think, that 
 j I should understand and know what it is I believe; 
 and when I say ‘ Our Father,’ love demands that 
 I should understand who this Father is, and 
 who is the Master that taught us this prayer.” 
 Wherefore a devout person ought to endeavour 
 to understand the vocal prayers which he is 
 accustomed to recite, in order to be able to 
 accompany with his mind the meaning of the 
 words. This applies to the ordinary prayers, 
 such as the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” 
 the “ I believe in God,” the “Hail, holy Queen,” 
 &c., which we may fairly expect all persons, even 
 the illiterate, to understand. As regards other 
 prayers, such as, for instance, the Psalms, we 
 cannot require so much; nevertheless we shall 
 see in the nth chapter how even these prayers, 
 the meaning of which is not generally under¬ 
 stood, may be recited with devotion and much 
 fruit. 
 
 Speaking of the “ Our Father,” the Saint con¬ 
 tinues to say, in the chapter just quoted : “ Now 
 
48 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 when we recite this prayer, God forbid that we 
 § 2 Ofatten- should omit to ca U to mind fre- 
 tion to the Di- quently (even though we should occa- 
 vine Presence. s i ona Hy forget tO do SO through 
 
 ' human weakness), the dear Master who taught 
 it to us, and did so with such a love and desire 
 that we might profit thereby Wherefore, with 
 regard to this most excellent prayer, Saint Teresa 
 not only wishes that we should understand its 
 meaning, but that we should, moreover, often 
 call to mind our Lord Jesus Christ who has 
 taught it to us. She does not, however, insist 
 on our doing this on every occasion without excep¬ 
 tion ; because sometimes involuntary distractions 
 prevent us from remembering this duty, and 
 against such distractions it is impossible to guard 
 ourselves. 
 
 Saint Teresa wishes, furthermore, that we 
 should be mindful of this Divine Master, by 
 representing Him to ourselves as a person who is 
 near us, who hears what we say to Him, and who 
 answers our petitions. “ The master,” she says, 
 “ is never so far from his pupil as that he 
 should have any necessity to call aloud to him, 
 but he is very near. This I wish you to under¬ 
 stand, that to recite well the ‘ Our Father ’ you 
 must keep close beside the Master who taught 
 it to you.” And a little before this passage just 
 quoted, she had said : “ Let us be attentive to 
 the answers which the Lord gives to our peti¬ 
 tions. Think you that He is silent, though we 
 hear Him not ? Be assured that He speaks to 
 
Part /., Chap. VI., Sec. j. 49 
 
 the heart when we pray to Him from the 
 heart.” 
 
 Wherefore when we recite the “ Our Father,” 
 or any other prayer, we must not imagine that 
 we are alone, or that the Lord is at a distance 
 from us; but, on the contrary, we must reprcsetit 
 Him to ourselves as being very near us, just as 
 when a scholar speaks with the master who is 
 teaching him, or as a son speaks with his father, 
 or a friend with a friend. (We shall see, later on, 
 how great and consoling is this idea of our near¬ 
 ness to God.) Animated by this feeling of His 
 near presence, we ought to lay before Him our 
 petitions, waiting patiently until it may please 
 Him to speak by His inspirations to our hearts. 
 
 In order the better to guard and maintain this 
 attention, Saint Teresa wishes, more- . 
 over, that, as a rule, our prayer solitude suit- 
 should be made in solitude, where able to P ra y er - 
 we may speak alone with God: “You already 
 know,” she says, “that His Majesty teaches 
 that prayer should be made in solitude; for He 
 Himself always acted thus when He prayed, not 
 indeed through any necessity on His part, but for 
 our instruction”. 
 
 The same advice is given by Saint John of 
 the Cross, who, speaking of the external accom¬ 
 paniments of prayer, says : “ The ceremonies 
 which Jesus Christ taught us to observe in our 
 prayers are reduced to one or other of two; 
 either to retire into our chamber, where, undis¬ 
 turbed by the tumult and presence of men, we 
 
 4 
 
Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 5 ° 
 
 may pray most profitably and with pure heart— 
 When thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and 
 having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret 
 (Matth. vi. 6)—or to withdraw into lonely and 
 unfrequented places, as He did, in the better 
 and more tranquil hours of the night” (The 
 Ascent of Mount Carmel, book III., chap. 43). 
 
 And even though the practice were not sup¬ 
 ported by the authoritative teaching of our 
 Divine Lord, our own experience unquestion¬ 
 ably tells us, that we pray more attentively and 
 earnestly when we withdraw ourselves from asso¬ 
 ciation with men, and retire into solitude, where 
 even the exterior manifestation of our feelings is 
 more free, and where man can abandon himself 
 without reserve to the impulses of the spirit, 
 without being obliged to regulate his actions by 
 any considerations of human respect. There 
 he is free to prostrate himself, to sigh, or to weep 
 as his devotion may prompt: there, so far from 
 being forced to check the fervour of his prayer, 
 he even assists it. There the entire man stands 
 before his God in perfect freedom, as though 
 there were in existence but God and he alone. 
 
 And let no one fancy that this teaching dis¬ 
 credits the use of public prayer, which has been 
 consecrated by the tradition of the Universal 
 Church, which is so necessary for the common 
 edification of the Faithful, and so efficacious to 
 obtain grace. Public prayer is not only highly 
 commendable, but is even indispensable for a 
 Christian, who is bound to practise religious 
 
•* 
 
 1 ^Part 1 Chap. VI., Sec. 4. 51 
 
 observances in the Church; and very nearly the 
 same may be said of prayer made in common in 
 families. Nevertheless, those who wish to be 
 men of prayer must find time not only for both 
 public and common prayer, but also for private 
 prayer made in secret, as far as the circumstances 
 of their state will permit, under the guidance of 
 their Spiritual Director. And let them be per¬ 
 suaded that a little prayer made in solitude, and, 
 so to speak, face to face with God, in which they 
 can give free scope to their affections, will prove 
 of immense advantage to them. 
 
 If we reduce to practice what Saint Teresa has 
 been teaching in the preceding sec- §4. Fruit to be 
 tions, we shall certainly derive there- fheVoregdng 
 from the advantage of finding our teaching, 
 vocal prayer united to mental prayer as she 
 requires—nay, we shall even find it changed into 
 mental prayer, almost without an effort; for by 
 attending to the sense of the words, and to the 
 Divine Presence as has been explained above, 
 our prayer will proceed more from the heart than 
 from the lips, and therefore it will be more 
 mental than vocal. 
 
 Meanwhile, in order that we may not be of 
 the number of those who, when engaged in 
 prayer, are not in the least concerned to attend 
 to what they are doing, and therefore wish only 
 to pray like parrots, we must get rid of every 
 false notion and prejudice which we may have had 
 regarding those words —meditation or mental 
 prayer. As a matter of fact, there are many 
 
5 2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 persons who, knowing no other form of medita¬ 
 tion or mental prayer but that which is made 
 methodically, divided artificially into points, and 
 measured out to last for a fixed period of time, 
 and who, feeling that this form of meditation is 
 not suited to them, are downcast, and, as it were, 
 frightened, every time they hear these words 
 mentioned. But if they only consider that 
 substantially mental prayer and meditation mean 
 nothing more than attentive and devout prayer , 
 even though it be made vocally, the grounds for 
 all prejudice and alarm are removed. Let us 
 hear how Saint Teresa goes on to speak of such 
 persons:—“You may say that this is medita¬ 
 tion, and that you are neither able nor do you 
 wish to pray otherwise than vocally; for there 
 are to be found impatient and indolent people, 
 who, being unaccustomed to meditation, at first 
 experience a difficulty in recollecting themselves, 
 and therefore, in order to avoid a little trouble, 
 say that they are unable to do anything more 
 than pray vocally. You are quite right in say¬ 
 ing that to recollect yourself in presence of your 
 Divine Master is mental prayer; but I assure 
 you very distinctly that I fail to understand how 
 this can be separated from vocal prayer. For if 
 we wish to make vocal prayer well, we must 
 attend to w r hat we are saying, and understand 
 with whom we are speaking,—nay, we are strictly 
 bound to pray with due advertence to the act in 
 which we are engaged.” And a little before she 
 had said : “ It is impossible to speak with God 
 
Part /., Chap . VI., Sec. y. 
 
 53 
 
 and with the world at the same time, as some 
 persons occasionally attempt to do, when on the 
 one hand they are saying the Rosary or other 
 vocal prayer, and on the other are listening to 
 some one who is speaking, or are thinking over 
 any subject that may happen to present itself to 
 their minds Wherefore in the following chapter 
 (chap. 25), she says: “ Mental prayer is simply 
 what I have told you—that is to say, to consider 
 and attend to the words we are uttering, and 
 to bear in mind who He is with whom we are 
 speakmg, and who we ourselves are that presume 
 to address so great a Lord. To reflect upon this 
 and other like matters—such as how little we have 
 served Him , and how much we arc bound to serve 
 Hun—is mental prayer. Do not imagine that it 
 is some other unknown tongue, and be not 
 frightened at the mere name.” 
 
 We must,, however, observe that Saint Teresa 
 does not wish to excite scruples or Collsol ; n 
 to cause anxiety to those who, not- thoughtTfor” 0 
 withstanding all their efforts to fe°from h in- uf " 
 recollect themselves and to attend voluntary dis-. 
 properly to their prayers, yet, either tractlonb - 
 through natural disposition or by the permis¬ 
 sion of God, are much distracted and disturbed, 
 and experience no feeling of devotion. Where¬ 
 fore she says that one must have the above-men¬ 
 tioned attention to the words which he utters, 
 and must reflect upon the Person whom he is 
 addressing, “ except on some occasions, when, how¬ 
 ever much one may strive, he cannot do so, either 
 
54 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 because of some evil bodily humours (more 
 especially if a person be of a melancholy tem¬ 
 perament), or through weakness of mind, or, 
 finally, because God permits certain periods of 
 great trial to come upon His servants for their 
 greater good. For on such occasions, no matter 
 how they may be afflicted on account of their 
 condition, and endeavour to keep themselves 
 calm, they are unable to do so; nor do they, 
 despite all their endeavours, attend to what they 
 are saying, nor are they able to fix their under¬ 
 standing upon anything, but it seems to be quite 
 distracted, so confused and disordered does it 
 appear to be. However, from the pain which 
 such persons experience from this condition of 
 affairs, it is easily seen that they are not respon¬ 
 sible for it. But let not the person who is thus 
 afflicted fret because of it, since that is still 
 worse; nor let him tire himself in trying to 
 reduce his understanding to reason, since, for 
 the time being, it is incapaple of it; but let him 
 simply pray as best he can.” ( Way of Perfection , 
 chap. 24.) 
 
 Wherefore Saint Teresa does not wish that we 
 should be troubled because of involuntary dis¬ 
 tractions and mental trials during the time of 
 prayer. When we do our best to pray devoutly 
 and attentively , we do all that God requires of us ; 
 and if after this we do not succeed, God is satis¬ 
 fied with our good desire. Let us pray, then, as 
 best we can , and let us not be in the least 
 troubled if it should seem to us that we pray 
 
Part /., Chap. VI,, Sec. y. 
 
 55 
 
 badly. Indeed Saint Teresa is so discreet, that 
 when we cannot pray as we ought, because of 
 physical debility, melancholy, or the temptations 
 of the devil, she counsels us not to force ourselves 
 to pray at all at such times, but to give our soul 
 some repose by employing ourselves in other 
 virtuous acts. “ Let him,” she says, speaking of 
 the victim of distractions and mental trials, 
 “ leave off praying, and endeavour to give his 
 soul, as being infirm, some repose by attending 
 to other virtuous acts”. (Way of Perfection, 
 chap. 24). 
 
 Again, in the nth chapter of her Life , she says 
 that this difficulty and this inability to pray 
 “ very frequently proceed from corporal illness; 
 for we are so wretched, that this poor imprisoned 
 soul of ours shares the miseries of the body, and 
 is influenced by the changes of the seasons. 
 The humours of the body are also often the 
 cause why, without any fault of our own, the 
 soul is unable to do as she would wish, but 
 suffers in many ways; and in all such cases 
 the more we try to force the soul , the worse does she 
 become , and the longer does the evil last. There 
 is need of discretion, therefore, to know when 
 the inability to pray proceeds from such causes, 
 in order that we may not suffocate the poor soul 
 . . . which is placed in such a trying position, 
 and cannot do all that she would wish to do, 
 because she has the misfortune to be united to 
 such a bad companion as is the body. . . . 
 There are many other external occupations, such 
 
56 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 as works of charity, reading, and the like, with 
 which we may at such times occupy the soul; 
 and even though sometimes the soul should be 
 indisposed for these occupations, let her then 
 serve the body for the love of God, in order that 
 on many future occasions the body may serve 
 her. Let the person so afflicted seek recreation 
 in pious conversation, or in taking healthful 
 exercise in the open air, as his confessor may 
 counsel. . . . We may serve God in every¬ 
 thing : His yoke is sweet; and the important 
 consideration is, not to drag along the soul 
 violently, but to guide her sweetly, for her greater 
 good and profit.” 
 
 We must, however, be on our guard lest a 
 § 6 Caution reprehensible self-love should cause 
 against over- us to leave off prayer without real ne- 
 much self-love. cess fty % The cases in which, through 
 
 weakness, or lowness of spirits, or interior trials, 
 we must be content to pray as best we can will 
 probably be frequent , because human infirmity 
 is great. But the cases in which we may be 
 forced to abandon prayer altogether will always 
 be very rare; because, as a general rule, we shall 
 be able to pray in one way or other, and either 
 for a long or a brief period. Saint Teresa takes 
 this for granted when she says : Except on some 
 occasions , when either on account of some evil bodily 
 humours , by which words she means a real 
 
 natural inability, or a special disposition of God. 
 Indeed Saint Teresa, though exceedingly dis¬ 
 creet, is most decidedly opposed to overmuch 
 
Part I, Chap. VI., Sec. 6. 
 
 57 
 
 self-love. In the 4th chapter, she says : “ Love 
 of our bodies and prayer cannot go hand in 
 hand’’. And in the nth chapter, she again 
 says : “ It is strange how this body of ours loves 
 to be well treated, and how when it has any 
 plausible excuse, however trivial may be the 
 necessity, it deceives the poor soul and hinders 
 her improvement. ... If we did but com¬ 
 mence to subdue and to punish these wretched 
 bodies of ours, they would not trouble 11s so 
 much. . . . How often has our body made 
 fools of us?” And in the preceding chapter, 
 she had already said : “ The moment we fancy 
 that we have a headache, we refrain from going 
 to choir, which surely is not likely to kill us. 
 One day we refrain from going there because 
 our head aches; the next day, because it has 
 ached ; and then we remain away for three other 
 days, lest it may ache.” She then goes on to 
 complain at length of several like ridiculous 
 excuses, which proceed from overmuch self-love. 
 
 Let us conclude, then, that vocal prayer, 
 which with the divine assistance is easy for all 
 and capable of raising us up to the most sublime 
 degree of perfection, ought to be a recollected 
 prayer , in which we must imagine ourselves at 
 the side of our Divine Master, attending to what 
 we say to Him, and awaiting the answer which 
 He may send us by His holy inspirations. This 
 will be vocal and 7nental prayer combined. It 
 will not be an empty sound of words, but a sub¬ 
 stantial harmony of affections, whereby we will 
 
58 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 give much pleasure to God, while working out 
 the sanctification of your own souls. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Method of keeping ourselves in the presence of the 
 Divine Master while we are engaged in 
 prayer. 
 
 In the 25th chapter of her Way of Perfection, 
 Saint Teresa exhorts her nuns in 
 fng our faith' these terms i “Since you are alone 
 in God’s pre- when engaged in prayer, endeavour, 
 my daughters, to obtain some com¬ 
 pany. Now what better company can you have 
 than that very Master who has taught you the 
 prayer that you are going to say ? Represent to 
 yourselves this same Lord as present with you, 
 and observe with what love and humility He 
 teaches you, and (trust to my experience), as 
 long as it is in your power, do not remain apart 
 from so good a friend. If you accustom your¬ 
 selves to have Him near you, and He sees that 
 you do it with affection, and that you constantly 
 aim at giving Him pleasure, you cannot, as the 
 saying is, get rid of Him. He will never be 
 absent from you : He will help you, and you will 
 find Him with you in all places. Do you con¬ 
 sider it a small matter to have such a friend as 
 this ever at your side ? O my sisters ! let those 
 
Part I, Chap. VII, Sec. i. 
 
 59 
 
 amongst you who cannot pray much with the 
 understanding, nor keep your thoughts fixed 
 without distractions, accustom yourselves to this. 
 Remember, I know that you ca?i do it; for I 
 have myself passed many years under this cross 
 of not being able to fix my thoughts quietly upon 
 one thing. And truly it is a very great afflic¬ 
 tion ; but I know that the Lord does not aban¬ 
 don us so entirely, that if we approach Him 
 with humility and ask the favour of Him He will 
 refuse to accompany us. And even though we 
 should not succeed in obtaining this favour in a 
 year, we shall obtain it in several years, and let 
 us not grudge to spend time on a matter in 
 which our time will be so well employed. Who 
 is there to hurry us in this affair ? I say that 
 we may accustom ourselves to this, and labour 
 to get near this true Master.” 
 
 The Saint, therefore, teaches that in order to 
 secure to ourselves the company of the Divine 
 Master while we pray, we must imagine to our¬ 
 selves that we have Him near us—that we have 
 Him with us in the very spot where we are, and 
 we must imagine that He is actually instructing 
 and teaching us in a most affable and loving 
 manner, as our Lord really does by His lights, 
 inspirations, and interior touches of divine grace. 
 She assures us that if we humbly ask Him for 
 this grace of accompanying us in our prayer, He 
 will do so, and that consequently we shall always 
 feel His divine presence, in such a manner that 
 we will be unable to drive Him from us , and will 
 
6o 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 § 2. How we 
 may easily 
 accustom our¬ 
 selves to the 
 practice of 
 realising the 
 Divine Pre¬ 
 sence. 
 
 find Him beside us in all places. Nevertheless, 
 we must not expect to acquire this sense of the 
 divine presence in a few days. Even though it 
 should require more than a year’s practice to do 
 so, the time would be most profitably employed 
 in acquiring so great a treasure. 
 
 In the 26th chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 Saint Teresa continues thus : “I do 
 not now require of you to meditate 
 on Him, or to form many fine ideas, 
 or to make high and curious con¬ 
 siderations with your understanding: 
 I require of you merely to look 
 upon Him. Now what prevents you from 
 turning the eyes of your soul towards this Lord, 
 even for a very brief moment, if you should be 
 incapable of doing more than this ? If you can 
 look upon very ugly objects, how cannot you 
 look upon the most beautiful object that imagina¬ 
 tion can picture to itself? If He do not appear 
 beautiful to you, I give you leave not to look 
 upon Him. Your Spouse, my daughters, never 
 takes His eyes from off you. He has endured 
 a thousand abominations committed by you 
 against Him, and yet they have not been suffi¬ 
 cient to make Him cease looking upon you. 
 Will it then be any great sacrifice on your part 
 to take your eyes off these external objects, and 
 cast a look sometimes upon Him ? Remember 
 that, as the Spouse says, He stands waiting for 
 nothing else but that we look upon Him.” 
 
 Therefore this exercise of the presence of God 
 
Part /., Chap . ///., Sec. I. 
 
 2t 
 
 on the other hand, what can you possibly lose 
 by making a trial ? Read over again the last 
 passage quoted above from Saint Teresa, and 
 act as she counsels you to do. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of the kind of prayer to which we ought to apply 
 
 ourselves. 
 
 It is not only difficult, but impossible, to lay 
 down a uniform rule for all, re- § It 0 fthe ' 
 garding the amount of time that amount of 
 
 • r, ? r, 11 , • prayer which 
 
 might be profitably spent in prayer ; we ought to 
 and in her Way of Perfection Saint make - 
 Teresa does not define how much time should 
 be devoted each day to prayer, because she 
 wrote for the benefit of her Religious, whose 
 Rule obliged them, as she says (chap. 21), to pi'ay 
 without intermission —a Rule, indeed, which has 
 equally been given to all Christians, as we are 
 assured in these passages of Holy Writ: “ Pray 
 without ceasing ” (l Thess. v. 17); and again: 
 “ We ought alzvays to pray , and ?iot to faint ” 
 (Luke xviii. 1). 
 
 Since, then, this rule has been given to all 
 Christians, we are forced to conclude that it is 
 adapted to all in general; and it ought not, con¬ 
 sequently, to frighten any one, as though it in¬ 
 volved an impossibility. It is a rule given to us 
 by the Holy Ghost: it must, therefore, be 
 
22 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 reasonable and discreet; and consequently our 
 observations will be confined simply to ex¬ 
 amining how this rule is to be understood. 
 
 It is quite clear that this rule cannot be 
 understood in the strict material signification of 
 the words, which would imply that a Christian 
 must give himself up incessantly to prayer strictly 
 so called. What we are given to understand by 
 this rule is, that a Christian must devote to 
 prayer a suitable portion of his time, each one 
 according to his state and condition ; and, in 
 order that we may not err in this matter, it were 
 well that this should be determined for us by a 
 discreet spiritual director, who will mark out 
 such a portion of time to be allotted to prayer, 
 as he may judge proportioned to each one’s 
 capacity. By this rule of praying always, we 
 must understand, likewise, that a Christian should 
 direct all his acts to the glory of God, by culti¬ 
 vating the thought of the divine presence, and a 
 habit of interior recollection of which we shall 
 speak later on. In this manner we may observe 
 perfectly the rule of praying always and never 
 growing faint. 
 
 Let each one, then, consult his own director; 
 let him be exact in making that amount of 
 prayer that will be assigned to him ; let all his 
 actions be directed to give glory to God; let 
 him endeavour to live constantly in the divine 
 presence; and in this manner he will make all 
 the prayer that he is bound to make. 
 
 Prayer is commonly divided into vocal and 
 
Part /., Chap. II/., Sec. 2. 
 
 23 
 
 mental. Some say that the first kind is neces¬ 
 sary and sufficient ; others maintain §2 Qfthe 
 that the second kind also is neces- kind of prayer 
 sary, and therefore that both are indis- to be P ractlsed - 
 pensable to those who wish to lead a life of 
 prayer. Let us see what Saint Teresa teaches 
 on the subject: For solid understandings,” 
 she writes, “and souls that are well trained and 
 have the gift of interior recollection, there are 
 many excellent printed books. . . . Now 
 
 since you possess, as I have said, such books, in 
 which there are admirable instructions on the 
 beginning and end of prayer, and the mysteries 
 of the Life and Passion of our Lord are arranged 
 in excellent order according to the days of the 
 week; in which, moreover, you have medita¬ 
 tions on death, on judgment, on hell, on our own 
 nothingness and our great indebtedness to God; 
 whosoever is capable of, and is accustomed to, 
 this kind of prayer, has no need of further 
 instruction, since the Lord will conduct him by 
 so good a way into a harbour of light, and a 
 good end will correspond with such good be¬ 
 ginnings. . . . But what I would desire to 
 
 speak of here is, to lay down some remedy for 
 those who may not be able to travel by this path, 
 should it please God that I speak to the purpose 
 on the subject; and even though I should fail 
 to do so, it will serve at least to make you under¬ 
 stand that there are many souls who pass through 
 this trial, so that if any of you should be simi¬ 
 larly afflicted, you may not be troubled on this 
 
 ! 
 
24 
 
 Treatise o?i Prayer . 
 
 account. We meet with some souls and intel¬ 
 lects so disorderly and confused, that, like 
 unbridled horses, no one can check them ; they 
 rush hither and thither, ever restless; and this 
 unsteady disposition proceeds either from their 
 natural temperament, or exists through the per¬ 
 mission of God” ( Way of Perfection , chap. 19). 
 For the present let us pause here. 
 
 From the foregoing extract we see clearly that, 
 § 3 . of those when there is question of prayer, 
 who can, and Saint Teresa distinguishes two classes 
 cannot, medi- of persons. I he first consists of 
 tate * those who have a solid and trained 
 
 intellect, who have the gift of interior recollection , 
 and who are able to follow well-ordered medita¬ 
 tions on the Life and Passion of our Lord, on 
 the Four Last Things, on their own failings and 
 their own obligations—subjects on which many 
 books of meditation have been published by 
 masters of the spiritual life. Regarding persons 
 of this class, the Saint says that they ought to 
 follow this method of prayer, that is to say, 
 systematic, well-ordered meditation, since it is 
 for them the most natural and secure path. 
 But Saint Teresa, at the same time, recognises 
 the fact that there are many other persotis who 
 are unable to adopt this method, being of a 
 distracted and wandering turn of mind, so that 
 they cannot, like persons of the first class, 
 recollect themselves, and dwell in meditation on 
 any particular point. The Saint recognises, also, 
 the fact, that this impotence on their part is 
 
Part /., Chap. III., Sec. 4 . 
 
 2 5 
 
 either an imperfection of their nature, or may 
 even be the result of a special disposition of God, 
 suspending in their case that natural ability 
 which they would otherwise possess. 
 
 Wherefore it follows that we must not hisist on 
 mental prayer indiscriminately in the case of all 
 who wish to apply themselves to the exercise of 
 prayer, since it is a matter which for many 
 persons would be not only difficult but impos¬ 
 sible, as being foreig?i to their nature, or con¬ 
 trary to what God permits in their case. 
 
 Must, then, those who are unable to meditate 
 apply themselves to vocal prayer § Sufficiency 
 alone? Certainly they must apply of vocal 
 themselves to vocal prayer, by which, prayer ’ 
 however, as we shall see later on, we are not to 
 understand mere words uttered with the lips. 
 Indeed, Saint Teresa does not wish that those 
 souls who feel no inclination for mental prayer 
 should worry and trouble themselves, nor does 
 she even direct that they should labour to acquire 
 the dispositions necessary for mental prayer, 
 since it is impossible to acquire and reduce them 
 to practice if they are foreign to our nature, or 
 if God, for His own ends, denies them to us. 
 
 And, on the other hand, what possible reason 
 can there be why these souls should worry them¬ 
 selves, and labour to acquire the gift of medita¬ 
 tion ? Is it, perhaps, because mental prayer is 
 necessary to save one’s soul, or to arrive at 
 perfection ? Saint Teresa teaches the opposite 
 very distinctly. She says that even those who 
 
2 6 i; ” Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 have not the grace to make mental prayer, may 
 still reach the heights of perfect prayer, so as to 
 drink of “ the fountain of living water, concerning 
 which the Saviour said to the Samaritan woman, 
 that whosoever should drink of it should not 
 thirst for ever . . . clear water . . . 
 
 which, if we once drink of it, leaves the soul, as 
 I firmly believe, pure and cleansed from every 
 stain ”. She asserts, furthermore, that such 
 persons may attain “ the gift of true tears, which 
 are those which proceed from true prayer,” and 
 the fire of God’s love which would desire to 
 “ set all the world aflame ... a love and 
 desire of God which unassisted nature could not 
 sustain . . . without imperilling life,” and 
 
 which must consequently be moderated and 
 restrained by discretion, which, as she says, is 
 “necessary in all things”. Such is the teaching 
 of the Saint throughout the entire 19th chapter 
 of her Way of Perfection, and again, in the 25 th 
 chapter, she assures us that these souls by 
 attending to vocal prayer may reach the heights 
 of perfect contemplation. “ But in order that 
 you may not imagine,” she says, “that little 
 advantage is derived from vocal prayer performed 
 in a perfect manner, I tell you that it is very 
 possible that while you are repeating the ‘ Our 
 Father,’ or some other vocal prayer, the Lord 
 may raise you to perfect contemplation.” And 
 afterwards, in the 30th chapter, she brings 
 forward an example of this: “ I know a 
 person,” she says, “ who could never make any 
 
BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRAK'l 
 
 Part /., Chap. HIU - 
 
 other than vocal prayer, and yet by practising 
 this she possessed everything. If she did not 
 pray vocally, her mind became so distracted that 
 she could not endure it; but would to God that 
 all of us possessed the gift of mental prayer such 
 as she had it. In certain £ Our Fathers ’ which 
 she used to recite in honour of the several 
 effusions of Blood by our Divine Lord, she used 
 to continue in prayer for about two or three 
 hours. She once came to me in great distress, 
 because she did not know how to make mental 
 prayer, nor could she practise the prayer of con¬ 
 templation, but could merely pray vocally. I 
 asked her what prayer she used to say, and I 
 perceived that though she confined herself to the 
 ‘ Our Father,’ yet she enjoyed pure contempla¬ 
 tion, and was even raised by God to unite 
 herself with Him by the prayer of union. And 
 this I clearly recognised in her actions, because 
 she led a very exemplary life, so that I praised 
 the Lord for it, and envied her her vocal prayer.” 
 
 We see then that, according to Saint Teresa’s 
 teaching, those who are incapable of 
 
 J.. 5 , 1 . 1 §5. We must 
 
 meditating have no reason to be not force our- 
 
 uneasy on this account: and that, selves to make 
 
 consequently, there is no reason why 
 they should make violent efforts to obtain this 
 
 gift. Such efforts might prove not only use¬ 
 
 less but hurtful, causing, as the Saint likewise 
 teaches, scruples, anxieties, and perplexities, 
 which would destroy the peace of the soul and 
 impede its spiritual progress. “ There are other 
 
28 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 persons,” she writes, “ who, even when they 
 assist themselves by reading, cannot practise 
 meditation, but only vocal prayer, to which they 
 principally confine themselves. There are some 
 imaginations and minds so volatile, that they 
 cannot dwell on one thing, but are always 
 restless, and this to such an extreme degree, that 
 should any one strive to fix their thoughts on 
 God, they abandon themselves to a thousand 
 absurdities, scruples, and doubts” (Way of Per¬ 
 fection, chap. 17). 
 
 And should any one say that meditation is a 
 very efficacious means to arrive at perfection, 
 the Saint does not deny this : she merely teaches 
 that vocal prayer is an equally efficacious means. 
 Wherefore, since the really important question 
 in this matter consists in attaining the end in 
 view, and not in adopting one means rather than 
 another, it follows, as a necessary consequence, 
 that those who have no capacity for mental 
 prayer ought not to be cast down on this 
 account, nor ought they to force themselves to 
 practise it. And should any one wish to restrict 
 this teaching to those who live in the world in 
 the midst of distractions, and who lack the 
 opportunities and the instruction required for 
 mental prayer, Saint Teresa shows the unreason¬ 
 ableness of this restriction, likewise, in the 24th 
 chapter of the same work, where she speaks 
 thus : “ Let us now address ourselves to those 
 souls who, as I said, cannot recollect themselves, 
 nor fix their minds on mental prayer, nor medi- 
 
Part /., Chap, VII ., Sec. 2. 
 
 61 
 
 cannot appear to us very difficult. As a matter 
 of fact, by an effort of our imagination, we are 
 continually in the habit of representing to our¬ 
 selves as present even distant objects; as, for 
 example, when we picture to ourselves that we 
 have present before us some dear friend or rela¬ 
 tive, and fancy that we are speaking with him 
 and that he answers us. And sometimes we 
 become so absorbed in this thought, that we no 
 longer pay any attention to matters which are 
 passing before our very eyes, but think that we 
 are actually engaged with our friend or relative, 
 and we discourse with him as though we had 
 him really present. In the same manner a vain 
 woman pictures to her mind that beautiful dress, 
 those precious ornaments which she wishes to 
 have, and in thought she sees them, she dwells 
 upon them, and takes pleasure in them. So, 
 too, as the Saint observes, our imagination some¬ 
 times represents to us filthy objects which we 
 ought instantly to cast out of our mind, and now 
 and again it costs us a great effort to cast them 
 out, so vividly are they presented to our imagina¬ 
 tion. Now why cannot we in like manner 
 imagine that we have our Divine Saviour present 
 with us when we are e?igaged in prayer ? With 
 reason, then, does the Saint say that if we were 
 to assert our inability to do so, she would refuse 
 to believe us, because she knows, as a matter of 
 fact, that it is entirely within our power. 
 
 Saint Teresa continues (chap. 26): “ You will 
 find Him under whatever aspect you may wish 
 
62 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 for Him. He so desires that we should cast 
 , our eyes uponHim, that He will not 
 various ways in be wanting on His part. It is said 
 
 winch we may th at a woman w i S h fa live happily 
 represent to 1 r J 
 
 ourselves the m the married state and to be in agree- 
 Divme Master. ment w j t h her husband, she must do 
 
 as he does: if he be melancholy, she, too, must 
 wear an appearance of sadness ; if he be gay, 
 she also must seem gay, even though she may 
 not be so in reality. It is thus in truth, with¬ 
 out any exaggeration, that the Lord acts with 
 us; for He makes Himself the subject, and 
 would have you be the master, while in every¬ 
 thing He endeavours to favour your love. If 
 you be cheerful, contemplate Him as risen from 
 the dead; for merely to imagine how He came 
 forth from the sepulchre will fill your heart with- 
 joy. Oh, with what splendour, with what beauty, 
 with what grandeur, with what majesty, how vic¬ 
 toriously, how joyfully He arose !—like one who 
 had gloriously returned from the battle where 
 He had won so great a kingdom, which He 
 wishes should be entirely yours. Is it much, 
 then, that you should once turn your eyes upon 
 Him who gives so much to you ? 
 
 “If you be sad and troubled, contemplate 
 Him as He prayed in the garden, and consider 
 what immense sorrow then filled His soul, since, 
 though He was patience itself, He manifested 
 this sorrow and complained of it. Contemplate 
 Him bound to the pillar, full of pains, all His 
 flesh torn to pieces because of the great love He 
 
Part I.> Chap. VII., Sec. j. 63 
 
 bore you ; persecuted by some, spat upon by 
 others, denied by His friends, and abandoned by 
 them without any one to defend Him, stiff with 
 cold, and placed in such solitude that you may 
 easily exchange consoling words with Him. Or, 
 again, consider Him with the cross upon His 
 shoulders, entirely weighed down by it, so that 
 His enemies would not even allow Him to take 
 breath. He, in turn, will look upon you with 
 those eyes of His so beautiful and compassionate, 
 filled with tears, and He will forget His own 
 griefs to console you in yours, being solely 
 anxious that you should go to solace yourself 
 with Him, and turn your eyes to look upon Him. 
 If such a sight should soften your heart, and you 
 are not only anxious to look upon Him but are 
 also delighted to speak with Him—not in a set form 
 of prayer, but in words gushing from your heart 
 which He values exceedingly—you may say to 
 Him : ‘ O Lord of the universe ! my true Spouse, 
 dost Thou find Thyself in such straits, my Lord 
 and my God, as to be willing to admit such 
 wretched company as mine ? I perceive by Thy 
 looks that Thou art pleased with me : but how is 
 it possible, Lord, that the angels should leave 
 Thee alone, and that not even Thy Father should 
 comfort Thee ? If it is a fact, my Lord, that 
 Thou art willing to suffer all this for me, how 
 contemptible is the little that I suffer for Thee ! 
 Of what do I complain ? Ah ! I blush for shame 
 at seeing Thee in such a state, and I resolve, O 
 Lord, to suffer for Thy sake all the afflictions 
 
6 4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 which may come upon me : I wish to accept 
 them as a great blessing, in order to imitate Thee 
 in something. Let us go together, Lord. 
 Wherever You go, I will follow : wherever You 
 pass along, I wish to pass also.’ 
 
 “ My daughters, bear your portion of this 
 cross, in order that your Lord may not perform 
 His journey with so much pain. Be not troubled 
 because the Jews cross your path, and heed not 
 what may be said of you : turn a deaf ear to 
 their accusations, and, falling with your Spouse, 
 do not part from the cross or leave it. Consider 
 attentively the weariness with which He walks, 
 and how far His sufferings exceed yours, no 
 matter how great you may fancy your own to be, 
 or how much you may feel them, and you will 
 be consoled thereby, and will come to see that 
 they are a mere trifle when compared with the 
 sufferings of our Lord. 
 
 “ You may say, my sisters, ‘ How possibly can 
 this be done at present ?—that if you had seen 
 Him with your corporal eyes at the time when 
 his Divine Majesty lived upon this earth, then 
 you would willingly have done all this, and 
 would have never ceased looking upon Him \ 
 This is a delusion : because he who prays and 
 is unwilling to make an effort to recollect him¬ 
 self, so as to contemplate this Divine Lord 
 within his soul (and this he may do without risk, 
 and merely by a very moderate diligence), would 
 have been far more unwilling, indeed, to station 
 himself at the foot of the cross with Magdalen, 
 
65 
 
 
 Part /., Chap. VII., Sec. 3 . 
 
 who saw death staring her in the face. Oh ! 
 what must have been the sufferings of the 
 glorious Virgin-Mother and of this blessed Saint! 
 What threats were to be endured by them ! what 
 foul words ! what rude jostling ! what affronts ! 
 But what else could have been expected at the 
 hands of such a hellish crew—the ministers of 
 S Satan ? Without doubt their sufferings must 
 have been terrible; but crushed by the sorrow 
 which they felt for Another, they did not feel 
 their own. Wherefore, sisters, do not delude 
 yourselves by imagining that you would have 
 been disposed to endure such great sufferings, 
 if you are not now disposed to undertake mere 
 trifling troubles ; yet by exercising yourselves in 
 these, you may be able to endure other greater 
 trials.” 
 
 What the Saint says in this passage is well 
 worthy of attention, namely, that when we turn 
 the eyes of our soul upon the Lord, we shall find 
 Him such as we desire to find Him—joyful, if 
 we are in a joyous mood; sad, if we are sad ; 
 and so on of the rest. Wherefore, when we are 
 filled with sentiments of interior joy, should we 
 wish to find the Spouse of our souls in a corre¬ 
 sponding mood, in order that we may the better 
 refer our joyous feelings to Him and enjoy 
 them in Him, we can procure for ourselves this 
 pleasure by reflecting on His glorious Resurrec¬ 
 tion or on His Transfiguration on Thabor, when 
 we shall find Him overflowing with joy, and on 
 beholding Him in such glory we will rejoice with 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Him. Or, again, should we be seized with feel¬ 
 ings of sadness and find ourselves bowed down 
 by trouble and pain, and should we desire in ! 
 such circumstances to see our Spouse suffering 
 with us in order to sustain our patience and j 
 
 encourage us to suffer cheerfully for Him, we \ 
 
 may find Him plunged in the depths of the most il 
 
 profound sorrow by contemplating Him as He j 
 
 sweats blood in the garden, as He drags His j 
 
 ' steps painfully along the road to Calvary, as He j 
 
 writhes in agony under the lashes of those who 
 scourge Him, and the cruelties of those who 
 crown Him with thorns and nail Him to the 
 Cross. 
 
 Again, if, terrified by the greatness of our sins, 
 we wish to excite within ourselves sentiments of 
 confidence, we shall find our Lord in a most re¬ 
 assuring mood, if we contemplate Him in the act 
 of permitting Magdalen to embrace His most 
 holy feet, while at the same moment He pardons 
 her every crime. If we be tepid, and are anxious 
 to stir up in our souls sentiments of burning love, 
 let us contemplate our Lord in the act of institut¬ 
 ing the Blessed Sacrament in the Supper Hall, 
 and He will kindle in us a fire of charity capable 
 of inflaming the coldest hearts. Whereupon, as 
 the Saint remarks, feeling our heart touched and 
 softened, it will be easy to address Him in the 
 language of joy or of sorrow, of confidence or of 
 love, without employing any studied expressions, 
 but in the simple and spontaneous words that 
 will spring from the affections of our hearts. 
 
Part Chap . VII, Sec. 4 . 67 
 
 Saint Teresa continues: “ In order to help your¬ 
 selves in this, you may have with „ „ 
 
 . ’ J J . §4. How we 
 
 you some image or representation of may assist our- 
 this Divine Lord which pleases you, rep^sentinglo 
 not, indeed, merely to wear it on our minds the 
 
 1 , < • , Divine Master. 
 
 your bosom without ever looking at 
 it, but to speak often to Him whom it represents, 
 for He will suggest to you what you are to say to 
 Him. If you can find words to speak with 
 others, why should you want them now to speak 
 with God ? Do not believe that such a thing 
 can occur. I, at least, will not believe it pos¬ 
 sible, if you but accustom yourselves to it ; but if 
 you do not acquire the habit of it, words will, no 
 doubt, fail you. For to abstain from conversing 
 with a person produces a certain reserve, and a 
 hesitation as to how we should address him, to 
 such a degree that it might even appear as 
 though the person were a perfect stranger to us, 
 while in reality he might be a relative, since 
 kinship and friendship are soon forgotten where 
 mutual intercourse has been interrupted. 
 
 “ It is likewise an excellent plan to take up a 
 good book, written in your own language, in 
 order the better to concentrate your thoughts and 
 pray well vocally, and by degrees to accustom 
 the soul thereto by little pleasing artifices, that 
 she may not be alarmed. Take into account 
 that the poor soul is like a spouse for many years 
 separated from her lord, and that it requires 
 great skill to know how to treat her in order to 
 induce her to return to his house and dwell with 
 
68 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 him. So it is with us, sinners; we have so 
 accustomed our souls and thoughts to follow 
 their own pleasure (or, to speak more correctly, 
 their own pain), that the wretched soul does not 
 realise her condition, and, consequently, in order 
 to make her return and take delight in living in 
 the house of her spouse, there is need of great 
 skill; and unless such skill be employed, and 
 employed gradually, we shall never obtain the 
 desired result. Once more I assure you that if you 
 diligently accustom yourselves to what I have 
 said, you will derive therefrom greater profit than 
 I could express in words, even if I tried to do so. 
 
 “ Place yourselves, then, close beside this good 
 Master, firmly resolved to learn what He shall 
 teach you; and if you but do so, His Divine 
 Majesty will cause you to become excellent 
 scholars, nor will He forsake you unless you 
 forsake Him. Weigh well the words uttered by 
 that divine mouth; for by the very first of them 
 you will immediately understand the love He 
 bears you. And it is no small happiness and 
 consolation for a scholar to know that his master 
 loves him” ( Way of Perfection , chap. 26). 
 
 It will prove of great advantage then, as Saint 
 Teresa remarks, to provide ourselves with some 
 favourite image or likeness of the Saviour , in order 
 that we may speak often with Him. Because, more 
 especially in the beginning, when we may not 
 find it so easy to look upon Him with the eyes 
 of the soul, we will often look upon His image 
 with our corporal eyes; and this will serve to 
 
! 
 
 Part /., Chap . VII., Sec . 4, 69 
 
 impress His loving image deeply on our minds, 
 so that, afterwards, we may easily be able to 
 contemplate Him within us ; and meanwhile we 
 j thus learn to be recollected with Him and to 
 speak with Him, as Saint Teresa would wish. 
 
 Such an image should, however, be in accord¬ 
 ance with i our own peculiar taste , that is, such as 
 is calculated to excite us to sentiments of great 
 piety. For, in whatever relates to spiritual 
 matters, even material things ought to be such 
 as may content and satisfy the soul; and we 
 ought to make no account of the mere value 
 of the material or of the skill with which they 
 are wrought—accessories which often tend rather 
 to product distractions and prevent devotion, 
 while they cannot afford any satisfaction to a 
 really pious soul which finds no nourishment in 
 vanities. “As to images,” says Saint John of 
 the Cross, “ let us never dwell upon their artistic 
 merits, so as to have more confidence in some 
 than in others on this account, for to do so would 
 be great ignorance; let us esteem those the 
 most by which our devotion is best excited ” 
 (Ascent of Mount Carmel , book III., chap. 35). 
 
 Again, a good booh written in our own language 
 will be an excellent means to recollect our thoughts 
 and to enable us afterwards to pray well vocally ; 
 because every good sentiment that we draw from 
 it serves to put us on the track of prayer, and 
 enables us to continue therein with satisfaction. 
 
 In fine, we must help ourselves by every pos¬ 
 sible means to attain a close degree of familiarity 
 
70 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 with our Divine Spouse. And very justly does 
 Saint Teresa compare our soul, while it is still 
 the slave of worldly affections, to a bride that is 
 separated from her husband and for many years 
 has lived apart from him. If she desires to 
 return to her husband and to remain evermore 
 with him, as is her duty, she must labour to win 
 back his lost love and to acquire a liking for his 
 home, which is her home also. If she does not 
 take such precautions, either she will not at all 
 return to her husband’s house, or, should she do 
 so, she will not remain there long, but, growing 
 weary of it, will again abandon it. 
 
 It is, furthermore, worthy of remark, that Saint 
 Teresa does not believe that words will fail us to 
 speak with God in prayer, unless, indeed, this 
 should happen through our not cultivating a 
 habit of prayer ; because, to abstain from convers¬ 
 ing with a person causes a certain reserve , and a 
 hesitation as to how we should address him, to such 
 a degree that it might even appear as though the 
 person were a perfect stranger to us, while in reality 
 he might be a relative. Let us then acquire a 
 habit of speaking with our Lord, and let us by 
 degrees accustom our soul to it, employing even 
 for this purpose pleasing artifices, so that the soul 
 may not be alarmed. 
 
 Oh, how easily is the soul alarmed when she is 
 forgetful of her Divine Lord, who is her only 
 treasure ! It would seem impossible; and yet 
 so great is human blindness that we daily see 
 some soul standing aloof from an intimate union 
 

 Part /., Chap. VII, Sec. y. 
 
 7i 
 
 with God, through fearing to approach too near 
 Him by a life of recollection and prayer, though 
 she hears His loving voice which never ceases to 
 I call out to her : Approach. 
 
 But oftentimes great evil results likewise from 
 impatience, when one wishes to arrive at this 
 union, as it were, by a bound, instead of by a 
 continued and gradual effort, which is generally 
 necessary. In such cases, the soul that is im¬ 
 patient of toil and of delay fancies that she can 
 never reach the goal of her wishes, and, abandon¬ 
 ing prayer altogether, she turns aside from the 
 path on which she had entered. This, as we have 
 seen above, is the result which Saint Teresa fears 
 most of alh Let the soul be very resolute , but let 
 her not grudge to spend time on a matter in which 
 ti??ie will be so profitably employed. Who is there 
 to hurry us on in this affair ? We must proceed, 
 as the Saint tells us, gradually , and if we do not , 
 we shall never succeed. But if we do proceed 
 gradually , and diligently acquire the habit of doing 
 that which she has counselled us to do , we shall de¬ 
 rive therefrom advantages so great that she could 
 not enumerate them , even though she were to try to 
 do so. 
 
 While Saint Teresa impresses upon us that we 
 should be diligent in endeavouring 
 
 to obtain so great a blessing as is a not d^viSence 
 lively sense of the presence of our to ourselves in 
 
 Divine Master during the time of to realise the 
 prayer; while she exhorts us not to Dhhne C Master e 
 be deterred by any difficulty, and to 
 
72 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 advance resolutely in the path on which we have 
 entered; we must observe that she would not 
 have us make any violent efforts of the imagina¬ 
 tion, in order to acquire and preserve this sense 
 of the divine presence. She is very far from 
 wishing that we should make efforts which might 
 prove injurious to us, and which, instead of assist¬ 
 ing, would impede devotion. She merely 
 requires of us a little attention of a natural , quiet 
 kind , by means of which we would turn the eyes 
 of the soul towards her Divine Master , even for a 
 brief while. Therefore all that she requires is, 
 that when we go to pray we should imagine that 
 we have our loving Redeemer beside us, that we 
 should cast an occasional look upon Him—that 
 is to say, remember His divine presence—and 
 without any violent effort of imagination, fre¬ 
 quently beseech Him, with great humility, to 
 grant us the grace of knowing how to look well 
 upon Him with the eyes of faith. By fre¬ 
 quently practising these simple acts of recollec¬ 
 tion and attention to His divine presence, we 
 shall find, sooner or later— in a year , or even 
 more, as it shall please God—that we have 
 acquired the habit of the presence of our Divine 
 Master, and we shall rejoice therein in an abun¬ 
 dance of light and of peace.* 
 
 * Saint Peter of Alcantara composed a beautiful prayer 
 to obtain this grace (.Prayer to implore the love of God). It 
 is as follows :—“Since one of the things which please 
 Thee most and appeal most successfully to Thy heart, is 
 that we should have eyes which know how to look upon 
 
Part I, Chap . VII/., Sec . z. 
 
 73 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On the intiniacy of our union with God. 
 
 There is not the slightest doubt that any one 
 | who has already acquired some little 
 
 love of God, will not refuse the sweet |resence of rea 
 company of his Divine Master dur- God in our 
 ing the time of prayer, and will be 
 ready to labour to acquire the habit of imagin¬ 
 ing Him present, so as to enjoy the consoling 
 society of his Beloved: just as we see that 
 earthly lovers, when separated by space, contrive 
 to live together in imagination, and imagination 
 
 Thee, give me, O Lord, those eyes mild and dove-like, 
 chaste and modest, devout and tearful, eyes attentive and 
 quick to know and to execute Thy will; so that when I 
 look upon Thee with those eyes, Thou, in turn, mayest 
 look upon me with those eyes of Thine with which Thou 
 didst look upon Peter, when Thou didst make him weep 
 for his sins ; with those eyes which Thou didst cast upon 
 the Prodigal Son, when Thou didst go forth to meet him 
 and gavest him the kiss of peace ; with those eyes with 
 which Thou didst look upon the Publican, when he dared 
 not to raise his own eyes to heaven ; with those eyes 
 with which Thou didst look upon Magdalen, when she 
 washed Thy feet with her tears ; and finally with those 
 eyes with which Thou didst look upon the Spouse of the 
 Canticle when Thou didst say: ‘How beautiful art thou, my 
 love ! thy eyes are dove’s eyes ’; so that being pleased 
 with the beauty of my soul, Thou mayest adorn it with 
 those virtues and those graces w’hich will make it appear 
 still more beautiful in Thy sight.” 
 
74 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 thus in some degree supplies that happiness of 
 which distance deprives them. 
 
 But how happy would the soul be, if, in addi¬ 
 tion to acquiring the company of the Eternal 
 God by means of the imagination, it could also 
 enjoy to some small extent the reality, and find 
 itself truly united to Him. This would, indeed, 
 be supreme good fortune, and would be worth 
 more than all those pious representations of God 
 which we could possibly bring before our minds 
 by efforts of the imagination. Oh, that one 
 could converse in prayer with God really present, 
 and not merely approach Him in thought, but 
 press Him to the heart with affection! This 
 would be truly to enjoy the company of the 
 Divine Master, and such prayer would be indeed 
 recollected, fervent, and devout. 
 
 And yet Saint Teresa expressly teaches, that, 
 if we but wish it, we may converse in prayer with 
 God really present. She teaches us that in what¬ 
 ever place we pray, we not only have Him near 
 us, we not only have Him by our side as a pupil 
 has his master, but that, moreover, we have Him 
 within ns, in our heart, in our soul; that He is 
 there continually, and that, consequently, if we 
 seek Him there we shall find Him there really 
 present. Now this is a most consoling doctrine, 
 which is not merely the teaching of Saint Teresa, 
 or of any other master of the spiritual life, but is 
 the teaching of the Catholic Church, believed and 
 professed by every one, although, through want 
 of reflection, many do not pay heed to it. Let 
 
Part I., Chap. VII 1., Sec. 2 . 
 
 75 
 
 us first hear what Saint Teresa says on the sub¬ 
 ject, and then we shall make the Catholic doc¬ 
 trine plain to the understanding of every one. 
 “ It is often of the greatest importance,” writes 
 Saint Teresa, “ that you should understand this 
 truth, namely, that God dwells within you, and 
 that there we should dwell with Him. . . . Let 
 us not imagine that the interior of our heart is 
 empty ... for if we but remember that we 
 have within us such a guest, I regard it as impos¬ 
 sible that we should be so attached to the things 
 of this world” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 28). 
 And to understand how God is always present 
 in our soul, let us listen to Saint John of the Cross, 
 another distinguished master of the Science of 
 the Saints : In order to know how to find this 
 Bridegroom, we must bear in mind that the 
 Word, the Son of God, together with the Father 
 and the Holy Ghost, is hidden in essence and in 
 presence in the inmost being of the soul. . . . 
 And this is why Saint Augustine speaking to 
 God said : 1 did not find Thee without, O Lord, 
 because I had no right to seek Thee there, for Thou 
 art within. God is therefore hidden within the 
 soul” (A Spiritual Canticle, stanza 1). 
 
 Saint John of the Cross continues later on to 
 explain this more at length, remark- § 2< We must 
 ing that God may be present in the distinguish 
 
 o a a fnvpp Kirin's of 
 
 soul in three different ways: “To the presence 
 explain this” he says, “it must be ofGod * 
 observed that there are three ways in which God 
 is present in the soul. The first is His presence 
 
76 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 in essence, and in this respect He dwells not 
 only in souls that are good and holy, but likewise 
 in those that are bad and sinful, and indeed in 
 all creatures; for it is this presence that gives 
 them life and being, and if it were once withdrawn, 
 they would cease to exist and would return to 
 their original nothing. Now this kind of presence 
 never fails in the soul. The second manner of 
 God’s presence is by grace, when He dwells in 
 the soul pleased and satisfied with it. This 
 presence of God is not in all souls, because 
 those who commit a mortal sin lose it. . . . 
 
 The third kind of presence of God is by means 
 of spiritual affection; for God is wont to show 
 His presence in many devout souls in divers ways 
 of refreshment, joy, and gladness” (Ibid, stanza i). 
 
 Of the first of these three manners of divine 
 presence, 'Saint Paul says : “ In Him we live and 
 move and be” (Acts xvii. 28). Of the second, 
 our Lord says : “If any one love Me , they will 
 keep My word , a 7 ul My Father will love him , and 
 We will come to him and will make Our abode 
 with him ” (St. John xiv. 23). Of the third kind 
 David said : “ How great is the multitude of 1 'hy 
 sweetness , O Lord , which Thou hast hidden for 
 them that fear Thee! . . . Thou shalt hide 
 
 them in the secret of Thy face , from the disturbance 
 of men ” (Psalm xxx. 20, 21). The soul shares 
 the first kind of God’s presence in common with 
 all other creatures, and may possess it though 
 deprived of all real goodness. The second, 
 which, by reason of sanctifying grace, it has in 
 
Part /., Chap. VI/7., Sec. j. 
 
 77 
 
 common with the angels, enriches it with an 
 infinite treasure—namely, the friendship of God, 
 and to be His child. The third kind of presence 
 causes the soul to experience in some degree a 
 foretaste of the delights of heaven, and when it 
 enjoys this kind of divine presence, there is no 
 need to teach it how to pray, nor to exhort it to 
 do so. The Holy Spirit then teaches the soul 
 sweetly, and prayer spontaneously goes up from 
 it to heaven, warm and fragrant as the perfume 
 of the incense from the burning censer. 
 
 Of the first kind of divine presence we never 
 can be deprived. The second we must procure 
 for ourselves with all the powers of our soul, and 
 we must guard it at any cost. The third is not 
 within our power : God gives it to whom He 
 pleases, and when and how He pleases; so that 
 He sometimes denies it to the holiest soul, 
 while giving it abundantly to one that is less 
 holy, although every pious soul occasionally 
 experiences it in some degree. 
 
 Saint John of the Cross, in the last stanza of 
 the Living Flame of Love, speaks of § 3 . This teach- 
 
 this presence of God in the soul; stin clearer by 
 and since his words in this passage another 
 carry with them even greater light saint s john^f 
 and consolation, it is well to reproduce the Cross - 
 them here : “ It must be borne in mind that God 
 dwells secretly and by His essence in every soul, 
 because were it otherwise they could not exist. 
 This dwelling of God, however, is very different 
 in different souls: in some He dwells alone, in 
 
78 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 others not; in some He dwells contented, in 
 others displeased; in some as in His own house 
 giving His orders, and regulating everything, in 
 others as a stranger in a house not His own, 
 where He is not permitted to command or to do 
 anything at all. Where personal desires and 
 selfish feelings least abound, there is He most 
 alone, there He is most contented, there He 
 dwells as in His own house ruling and directing 
 it, and he dwells there no less secretly than 
 alone.” 
 
 And since, in this passage just quoted, the 
 Saint is speaking of a soul far advanced in per¬ 
 fection, he continues thus : “ Wherefore in a 
 soul of this kind, wherein no worldly desire 
 dwells, and out of which all images and forms of 
 created things have been cast, the Beloved dwells 
 most secretly Himself, and the purer the soul, 
 and the greater its estrangement from everything 
 but God, the more intimate is His converse and 
 the closer His embrace. He continues thus 
 secret; for the devil himself cannot penetrate 
 this secrecy, nor can any intellect discover the 
 manner of this most close union. But, at the 
 same time, in this secrecy He is not hidden from 
 the soul itself which has reached this degree of 
 perfection, for such a soul is always conscious of 
 
 His presence.Oh, how blessed is 
 
 that soul which feels God ever present, reposing 
 within it and taking pleasure in it! How suit¬ 
 able it is for such a soul to live in perfect re¬ 
 tirement, far from all distracting business, and 
 
Part I., Chap. VIII., Sec. 3 . 
 
 79 
 
 enjoying absolute tranquillity, so that nothing 
 whatever shall disturb the repose of the Beloved! 
 There He ordinarily remains as it were asleep in 
 the embraces of the soul, and the soul is con¬ 
 scious of His presence, and as a general rule 
 enjoys no small fruition of it.” He says after¬ 
 wards that “ God dwells secretly in other souls 
 which have not attained to such a perfect degree 
 of union, not indeed displeased, though they are 
 not as yet perfectly disposed for union. Such 
 souls, as a rule, are not conscious of His pre¬ 
 sence, except during occasional intervals of sweet 
 awakenings with which He favours them.” In 
 the case of these sweet awakenings of which the 
 Saint speaks, even those souls that are not yet 
 perfect enjoy the third manner of the divine 
 presence. 
 
 But those perfect souls which habitually enjoy 
 that divine repose spoken of above, and the 
 tranquil embrace of their Beloved, likewise enjoy 
 habitually the third kind of the presence of God. 
 It must however be observed that, in the case of 
 such souls, that perfect state of repose is oc¬ 
 casionally interrupted by other manifestations of 
 the divine presence immeasurably more wonder¬ 
 ful, which are so unspeakably delightful, being 
 as it were foretastes of Paradise, that human 
 nature could not of itself support them, and one 
 would expire under their influence wxre not life 
 miraculously preserved by God. To obtain 
 some idea of them, read the explanation of the 
 stanza from the Living Flame of Love quoted 
 
8o 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 above (p. 77), where St John of the Cross, who 
 knew by experience the nature of these awaken¬ 
 ings and manifestations, writes in a truly heavenly 
 strain about them. 
 
 Returning to the original scope of this chapter, 
 En we must, then, bear in mind that 
 couragment every Christian knows that he has his 
 tiontobe*" God near him—nay, more, within 
 drawn from him —and that he must not seek Him 
 
 this teaching, w hen he wishes to hold 
 
 converse with Him. Now this belief is most 
 encouraging to every sinner who is anxious to be 
 converted, while, at the same time, it affords a 
 very great sense of security and consolation to 
 the just soul. 
 
 If one is a sinner who is anxious to be con¬ 
 verted, let him picture himself as another Magda¬ 
 len at the feet of Christ, who, if he weep over and 
 detest his sins, will speedily obtain that mercy 
 which he desires. And surely it is not necessary 
 that the sinner should go elsewhere to seek his 
 Saviour and his Physician. Let him seek Him 
 within his own heart , for there He will be found, 
 most willing to free him from the bonds of sin 
 and to heal his wounds. Let him turn his eyes 
 inwards upon his Saviour, who dwells within him, 
 and pour forth his prayers and his entreaties to 
 Him as He lies reposing there. Let him shed 
 tears of compunction before Him, and promise 
 future amendment of life; and from out of his 
 own heart he will hear a voice saying in reply : 
 “ Thy sins are forgiven thee ” (Luke vii. 48)—a 
 

 8i 
 
 Part. /., Chap. VIII., Sec. 4 . 
 
 voice inexpressibly loving, which will encourage 
 him to trample on all human respect, to break 
 off all evil habits, and to present himself at the 
 tribunal of penance with excellent dispositions for 
 receiving sacramental absolution. 
 
 Again, the faith in the presence of our good 
 God in the interior of our own hearts, will be a 
 great consolation and a pledge of security to the 
 Christian who feels within himself the testimony 
 of a good conscience, and who can entertain a 
 well-grounded hope that he is free from mortal 
 sin, and therefore enriched with the treasure of 
 God’s grace—the friend, the child, the spouse of 
 God. Such a one is conscious that he is united 
 to his God by .another union which is infinitely 
 precious. Under the veil of faith, he possesses 
 the self-same presence of the Infinite Good 
 which is vouchsafed unveiled to the angels in 
 glory. As a child lives with the best of fathers, 
 as a bride with a dear spouse, so he lives with 
 God—his Father and his beloved one—the true 
 Strength, the true Wisdom, the true Glory, the 
 Infinite Goodness. How joyful must this pre¬ 
 sence of God be to the Christian soul in the 
 midst of the troubles of this earthly exile ! what 
 security must it afford amidst the world’s perils ! 
 Many a time will such a soul say to its Beloved 
 with the Prophet: “ It is good for me to adhere 
 to my God; Thy comforts have given joy to my 
 soul; if armies in camp should stand together 
 agamst me my heart shall not fear ” (Ps. lxxii. 29 ; 
 xciii. 19; xxvi. 3). 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 From this second manner of God’s presence 
 there will occasionally follow the presence of the 
 third kind—an experience of exceeding great 
 happiness, in which the soul “ will rejoice in God 
 its Saviour ” (Luke i. 47), and will sometimes 
 enjoy those loving communications which Saint 
 John of the Cross calls “ interior feasts of the 
 Holy Ghost ”. 
 
 Yet with all this, there are many persons who 
 § 5. Exhorta- never look for their God except at a 
 tiontothe distance from them, either in hea- 
 
 soul to seek . , , t-,, jo , 
 
 God within ven or in the Blessed Sacrament, 
 itself - without ever thinking to seek Him 
 
 within their own hearts , though He is really pre¬ 
 sent there, and there they may at any moment 
 find Him, throw themselves into His arms, press 
 Him to their bosom, and repose in Him. Let them, 
 by all means, seek Him in heaven, and thither 
 let them direct all their hopes and desires, for 
 it is in heaven that He will make them sharers 
 of His eternal glory. Let them, by all means, 
 seek Him in the Blessed Sacrament, for it is 
 there He distributes the inexhaustible riches of 
 His love; but let them seek Him also within 
 their own hearts, where it has pleased Him to 
 take up His abode, and where He ought not to 
 be left alone. 
 
 Let us once again hear Saint Teresa recount¬ 
 ing some of her own early experiences : “I 
 knew well,” she says, “ that I had a soul; but I 
 did not understand the dignity of this soul, nor 
 who it was that lodged within it, because my 
 
Part /., Chap. VI/I., Sec. 6. 
 
 83 
 
 eyes were blinded by the vanities of this life, so 
 that I did not see Him. I believe that had I 
 then known, as I know now, that in this little 
 palace of my soul there is lodged so great a King, 
 I would not have left Him alone so often. 
 Sometimes, at least, I should have kept Him 
 company; I should have tarried with Him ; and 
 I should have endeavoured to make my soul 
 more pure for His reception ” ( Way of Perfection, 
 chap. 28). 
 
 Let us also hear Saint John of the Cross, who 
 writes as follows : “ O thou soul, most beauti¬ 
 ful of all creatures, who longest so earnestly to 
 know the place where thy Beloved tarries, that 
 thou mayest seek Him and be united to Him! 
 behold He tells thee that thou art thyself the 
 secret chamber in which He dwells , the retreat in 
 which He is hidden. In truth it is for thee a 
 matter of great consolation and joy to see that 
 thy sole Good and Hope is so near thee, that 
 He dwells in thee .... Rejoice, then, with 
 Him, and be glad with interior recollection, 
 seeing thou hast Him so near. Here love Him, 
 here desire Him, and do not go out of thyself 
 to seek Him” (A Spi?'itual Canticle, stanza 1). 
 
 Let us, then, gather the following fruit from 
 our faith in God’s presence within § 6 Fruit to be 
 our hearts. First of all, let us en- gathered from 
 deavour, as far as our human weak- contained in 
 ness will permit, frequently to keep this cha P ter - 
 company with a guest so generous, who has 
 taken up His abode within us, not because He 
 
8 4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 has any need of us, but to supply the pressing 
 need which we have of Him, and to enrich us 
 with every blessing. And we do truly keep Him 
 company when we bear Him in mind, when we 
 attend to His presence, and take counsel with 
 Him concerning our affairs with that intimate 
 familiarity which ought to exist between a father 
 and his child, between two friends living in the 
 same house. 
 
 In the second place, let us endeavour to keep 
 the lodging itself as clean as possible, that is, to 
 keep our soul pure from all defilement and sin. 
 He who dwells within us is essential sanctity 
 and purity, and He very justly desires that His 
 dwelling-place should be pure and holy. This 
 anxiety on our part to attend to Him, not to 
 leave Him alone, to keep His dwelling-place 
 clean and becoming, as far as it lies in our power 
 to do so, will be extremely pleasing to Him, and 
 we shall see immense and priceless blessings 
 bestowed upon us in consequence thereof. Of 
 these blessings, however, we will say nothing 
 just now, since we shall have to speak of them 
 in another chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How we may be able to help ourselves in realising 
 the presence of God within our souls , by means 
 of so?ne pious reflections. 
 
 The better to enliven and nourish our faith in 
 
Part I., Chap. IX., Sec. i. 85 
 
 the presence of God within our souls, it will 
 be useful, at least in the begin- i The soul 
 ning, to assist ourselves by means of the house of 
 of some pious considerations which God ‘ 
 are capable of affording us both much light and 
 consolation. We shall set down in the first 
 place the consideration put forward for this pur¬ 
 pose by Saint Teresa in the 28th chapter of her 
 Way of Perfection. “ Let us speak a little,” she 
 says, “as to the manner by which we may 
 accustom ourselves to so good a method of pro¬ 
 ceeding. Let us remember, then, that there is 
 within us a palace of indescribable magnificence, 
 built entirely pf gold and precious stones, in a 
 manner suitable to so great a Lord. Remember, 
 also, that you are yourself partly the cause why 
 this edifice is so magnificent as it really is (for 
 there is no building so magnificent as a soul that 
 is pure and filled with virtues, and the greater 
 these virtues are, the more do the precious stones 
 sparkle), and that in this palace is lodged the 
 great King who has been pleased to become 
 your guest; and that He is seated there on a 
 throne of priceless value, which is your heart. 
 This may at first seem ridiculous (I mean to 
 make use of such a figure in order to render my 
 meaning intelligible to you), but, nevertheless, 
 it may prove of great assistance especially to you ; 
 for since we women are not learned, all this is 
 in truth necessary to make us understand that 
 there is within us something that is incompar¬ 
 ably more precious than what we see outwardly,” 
 
86 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Remark how the Saint says in this extract 
 that the consideration there set forth may prove 
 very helpful especially to women, for she well - 
 knew that it may prove of assistance to men also, 
 and even to learned men. But let us examine 
 how appropriate is this comparison of our soul 
 to a palace, as set forth by Saint Teresa. 
 
 First of all, we must recognise the soul to be 
 the house of God , since God Himself represents 
 it to us under this figure. Thus, in the Canticle, 
 God represents Himself as standing at the door 
 of this house, and knocking that we may open 
 to Him : “ I sleep and my heart watcheth the voice 
 of my beloved knocking: open to me , my sister , my 
 love , my undefiled v (Cant. cap. v. 2). And the 
 soul, having heard the knock of His divine hand, 
 and the loving invitation of His voice, says: 
 
 “ I arose up to open to my beloved ” {Ibid. v. 5). 
 And again, in the Apocalypse, we read : “Behold 
 I stand at the gate and knock. If any man shall 
 hear my voice and ope?i to me the door , I will co?ne 
 in to him , a?id will sup with him and he with me" 
 (Apoc. iii. 20). Wherefore we must regard the 
 soul as the house or palace of its beloved Lord. 
 
 We must also represent to ourselves this 
 palace as entirely built of gold and ornamented 
 with precious stones; because the soul ought to 
 be entirely covered with the gold of divine love, 
 and enriched with all the gems of the other holy 
 virtues. We must, moreover, take cognisance of 
 the fact that the soul itself is partly the cause of 
 so much beauty and richness; because though 
 
Part 1., Chap. IX., Sec. i. 
 
 87 
 
 the pure love of God and the holy virtues are 
 gratuitous gifts of the Lord, nevertheless they 
 would not continue in the soul, nor increase 
 there, without the soul’s own correspondence and 
 co-operation with grace. For the rest, we have 
 already seen that God dwells in this palace. He 
 is seated in our heart as upon a throne, reposing 
 in our affection and love, which are symbolised 
 by the heart. 
 
 This pious consideration is well calculated to 
 open up the way to many thoughts and affec¬ 
 tions, which are capable of fixing the attention 
 of even the most distracted minds. In truth, 
 how wonderful it is to see that Infinite Majesty, 
 whom, as the. Scripture says, the heavens cannot 
 contain, become so little (if we may be permitted 
 to use the expression), as to take up His poor 
 abode in our nothingness! And, in reality, is 
 not our soul a mere nothing in comparison with 
 God? “ The whole worldf says the Wise Man, 
 “before God is a drop of the morning dew that 
 falleth down upon the earth ' 1 ' 1 (Wisdom xi. 23); 
 and the Psalmist says : “ My substance is as 
 nothing before Thee” (Ps. xxxviii. 6). Wherefore 
 we shall find ourselves constrained to address 
 our God in those words of Solomon: “ If 
 heaven and the heave?i of heavens cannot contain 
 Thee , how much less this house of mine ” (3 
 Kings viii. 27). 
 
 What sentiments of humility and of holy con¬ 
 fusion will be excited in us, on seeing that the 
 house of our soul is by no means all covered 
 
88 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 with the pure gold of divine love, nor adorned 
 with the precious pearls of the other virtues, but, 
 on the contrary, is full of many defilements, 
 because of our numerous defects and sins ! 
 
 What burning desires will be kindled in us, to 
 leave nothing undone in order to purify, to adorn, 
 and to enrich this house of ours, so as to receive 
 therein with as little unworthiness as possible so 
 great a Sovereign ! 
 
 Moreover, what a surprise it must be, to see 
 within us that Infinite Beauty, the sight of whom 
 causes eternal joy in heaven, and to reflect on 
 His condescension in dwelling in this house of 
 ours, to illumine it by His light, and to adorn 
 it by His infinite splendour ! And once we 
 behold within us a beauty so noble and so perfect, 
 will we ever again permit our looks to wander 
 after the wretched things of this world, which are 
 falsely styled beautiful , and are admired as such 
 by so many to the great peril of their souls ? 
 Wherefore shall we say with David : “Turn 
 away my eyes that they may not behold vanity ” 
 (Ps. cxviii. 37). And how great, too, must 
 necessarily be our desire to behold one day 
 without a veil, and face to face, that ineffable 
 beauty, of which even a single ray would suffice 
 to render happy through all eternity the innu¬ 
 merable hosts of the angels and the saints ! 
 
 In like manner we might continue to medi¬ 
 tate on the other divine attributes, as we con¬ 
 template within us that Infinite Wisdom which 
 penetrates all things, that Infinite Power to which 
 
Part I., Chap. IX., Sec. 2. 89 
 
 nothing is impossible, and, finally, that Infinite 
 Goodness which merits nothing short of an 
 infinite love, and which though loved by all the 
 angels and saints, in the highest degree of which 
 their nature will admit, is nevertheless loved by 
 them infinitely less than it deserves. 
 
 The better to help ourselves in acquiring 
 this facility of realising the divine § 2 The soul 
 presence within us, we may take up the garden of 
 other figures also, which are no less God ' 
 appropriate and no less fertile in pious thoughts. 
 Thus, our soul is not only God’s house : it is 
 also the garden of God. ll Hortus conclusus soror 
 mea Sponsa; ” my sister my spouse is a garden 
 enclosed (Cant. iv. 1.2). It is thus God is pleased 
 to style the soul that is dear to Him, wherein He 
 dwells by His divine presence. We may, there¬ 
 fore, picture to ourselves our soul as a delight¬ 
 ful garden, enclosed by a strong fence or wall, 
 where no one may enter except the gardener 
 who has the charge of cultivating it—a garden 
 abounding in crystal water, rendered fruitful by 
 a warm atmosphere, fragrant with beautiful 
 flowers, and rich in luscious fruits. Such in truth 
 is our soul, wherein the Divine Spouse delights 
 to tarry. It is like a garden protected on all 
 sides by a strong enclosure, because of the 
 manifold means of defence given to it by Christ, 
 in order to ward off the spiritual enemies, who 
 are continually prowling around, and attack it 
 by night and day. It abounds in the crystal 
 waters of the divine graces, which flow into it 
 
90 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 from the fountains of the Saviour , as Isaias calls 
 His adorable wounds. It is rendered fruitful 
 by heavenly love, which imparts to it strength 
 and vigour, and merits for it eternal life. From 
 the virtues with which it is adorned, as from 
 beautiful and rare flowers, there is exhaled the 
 sweet and healthful fragrance of good example, 
 which is therefore called by Saint Paul “ the 
 good odour of Christ” (2 Cor. ii. 15); and its 
 many charitable and religious works are. the 
 sweet fruits which enrich it with immortal trea¬ 
 sures, called by the same Apostle “ the fruit of 
 the spirit” (Galatians v. 22). 
 
 We shall contemplate our Beloved coming 
 down into this garden of our soul, to refresh 
 Himself with the fragrance of its flowers, to taste 
 of its fruits, to pluck its lilies. Happy the soul 
 that can then repeat with truth the words of the 
 Spouse in the Canticle : u I to my beloved and 
 my beloved to me who feedeth among the lilies ” 
 (Cant. vi. 2), “In our gates are all the fruits : the 
 new and the old , my beloved , I have kept for thee ” 
 (Ibid. vii. 13). 
 
 But if, on the other hand, we shall find this 
 garden ravaged by our enemies, because of the 
 little guard which we have kept over our heart; 
 if we shall find it dry and barren, because of our 
 ingratitude and coldness in the divine service; 
 if, perhaps, we shall even find it full of weeds and 
 briars, because of our vanities and sins, how 
 great reason will we have to humble ourselves 
 and be confounded, and with most fervent 
 
I 
 
 Part /., Chap. IX., Sec. j. 91 
 
 entreaties to beseech the All-powerful Husband¬ 
 man, that in His infinite mercy He would deign 
 to repair all the injury that had been done to His 
 garden, and to change it into a garden of delights 
 wherein He might for ever dwell! 
 
 This idea of a garden as a type of the human 
 soul was a favourite one with Saint Teresa, and 
 she thus speaks of it in the 14th chapter of her 
 Life. “ Often in the beginning .... it was a 
 source of great pleasure to me to consider that 
 my soul was a garden, and that the Lord used to 
 delight to walk therein. I used to beg of Him 
 that He would deign to increase the perfume of 
 the little flowers of virtue that were beginning to 
 show signs of budding forth, and that He might 
 preserve them for His own glory. And as I 
 wished for nothing for myself, I besought 
 Him to pluck and gather those which pleased 
 Him, since I well knew that this would 
 only make them bloom all the better after¬ 
 wards.” 
 
 Another excellent figure is that of the firma¬ 
 ment to which, likewise, as Saint § The soul 
 Gregory the Great observes (Horn. God’s firma- 
 38 in Ev.), our soul is compared in men ’ 
 the Holy Scriptures. “ The Lord says : Heaven 
 is my seat; and Solomon says : The soul of the 
 just man is the seat of wisdom. Again, Paul 
 calls Christ the Virtue of God—the Wisdom of 
 God : whence we must infer that, if God is Wis¬ 
 dom itself, and the soul of the just man is the 
 seat of wisdom, as long as heaven is called the 
 
92 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 seat of God, the soul of the just man ought to be 
 regarded as a heaven.” 
 
 Now there is nothing nobler or more magni¬ 
 ficent than the firmament. The firmament in 
 a special manner manifests the glory of its 
 Creator : “ Cceli enarrant gloriam Dei ” (Ps. xviii. 
 i). The sun fills it with its glorious splendour, 
 the moon sheds her mild beams over it, and it 
 is studded with innumerable brilliant stars. In 
 like manner, the human soul is the noblest and 
 most admirable work of God’s Omnipotence 
 upon this earth. It is flooded with torrents of 
 light of heavenly wisdom, which like a sun illu¬ 
 mines it: for its moon we have devotion to 
 Mary, which, like a moon among the stars, 
 stands out sweetly among the many excellencies 
 and rich gifts of every pious soul ; and we may 
 consider as its stars the innumerable acts of 
 virtue which adorn and beautify it with undying 
 splendour. 
 
 In this little heaven of our soul, which in 
 God’s sight far excels the material firmament on 
 which we gaze, we may contemplate His Divine 
 Majesty who has chosen it for His abode, and 
 there we may worship Him with profound 
 sentiments of gratitude and of love, for having 
 communicated to this soul of ours so many 
 favours and such great glory. But should we 
 find our soul like a dark and stormy sky, because 
 of our own culpable ignorances and unbridled 
 passions, let us, with contrite and sorrowing 
 hearts, beg His Divine Majesty to brush away 
 
Part /., Chap. IX., Sec. 4 . 
 
 93 
 
 every cloud, to calm the storm, and to make this 
 heaven of our heart clear, and pure, and brilliant, 
 as becometh the seat of God. 
 
 Again, we might picture to ourselves our soul 
 under the figure of a temple—a „ _ 
 
 comparison which is likewise bor- the temple of 
 rowed from Holy Writ. “ You are GocL 
 the temple of the living God,” says the Apostle 
 Paul to the Corinthians— Vos enim estis tern- 
 plum Dei vivi (2 Cor. vi. 16). Now, a tem¬ 
 ple ought to be spacious, rich, well-adorned; 
 and prayers, hymns of thanksgiving and praise, 
 and especially sacrifice, ought to be unceasingly 
 offered up there. Wherefore, we must reflect 
 that our soul, likewise, ought to be large in holy 
 desires, and rich and well-adorned with every 
 virtue; that it ought continually to resound with 
 prayers, with thanksgiving, and with the praises 
 of God; and that, above all, on the altar of our 
 heart, ever aflame with the fire of holy love, we 
 ought to offer up to God the acceptable sacrifice 
 of our affections, immolating to Him our every 
 desire, in order that it may be in perfect con¬ 
 formity with His divine will. 
 
 Moreover, we shall reflect that, as in the time 
 of Solomon the Majesty of God, under the ap¬ 
 pearance of a cloud, filled the Temple of Jeru¬ 
 salem, so, too, it fills our soul. In the 20th 
 chapter of her Life , Saint Teresa considers God 
 under this figure of a majestic cloud, which not 
 only fills the soul, but also rains down upon it 
 the waters of heavenly consolation. 
 
94 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Finally, we must, as before, humble ourselves 
 and weep over our shortcomings, should we find 
 on reflection that our soul is but a poor, small, 
 unfurnished, and filthy temple, wherein little or 
 nothing is done for the honour of God. 
 
 We may likewise avail ourselves of other types 
 § s God the an d figures, even though they should 
 heart of the not be found in the Scriptures, to help 
 s u ourselves in realising the presence of 
 
 God in our souls. Thus, for example, the soul 
 may represent to itself its Divine Lord as being 
 its own heart. For as the life of the body pro¬ 
 ceeds from the heart, and instantly ceases should 
 the heart fail to perform its functions, so likewise, 
 were the presence of God to depart from man’s 
 soul, it would instantly become dead to divine 
 grace, by a death to be infinitely more dreaded 
 than any possible kind of temporal death. 
 
 In this manner the soul will come to under¬ 
 stand, that whatever it possesses of strength, of 
 beauty, of health, and of life, all comes to it from 
 the presence of God, as from a life-giving heart. 
 And as every one loves, guards, and shields from 
 injury his heart more than anything else, so, in 
 like manner, the soul will understand that it 
 ought to love its God above everything, that it 
 ought to value the possession of Him above 
 everything, and that there is nothing about 
 which it ought to be so anxious as that He 
 should not receive the slightest offence, just as 
 one would ward off even the least wound from 
 his heart. 
 
Part I., Chap. IX., Sec. 6. 
 
 95 
 
 We may make the preceding pious reflections 
 from time to time, whenever the soul § 6m How we 
 feels itself disposed for them, and we may make 
 
 . 1 . practical use 
 
 may continue them as long as we of these con¬ 
 i' find in them food for our devotion. Slderatl °ns. 
 
 We may, moreover, nourish them by some thought 
 | or affection which may happen to be suggested 
 | to us by a passing circumstance. Thus, for 
 example, should we happen to enter a church 
 that is very neat, well furnished, and devotional, 
 we might say : O my God, would that the temple 
 of my soul were similarly well kept for Thy honour ! 
 In like manner, on seeing the sky very serene 
 and beautiful, we might say: My God, would 
 that my soul were equally beautiful a?id pure i?i 
 Thy sight! Even objects of a character quite 
 opposite to these might be utilised to produce 
 suitable affections. Thus, on seeing an ill-kept 
 church, a dark and stormy sky, a filthy house, a 
 neglected garden, we might say : Ah! Lord, 
 never -hermit that my soul become such in Thy 
 sight t 
 
 It will be also a useful practice to revive this 
 faith in the presence of God within our soul, 
 when, in compliance with God’s will, we have to 
 i occupy ourselves in the service of our body 
 j (as, for instance, in eating, drinking, sleeping, 
 
 I taking recreation, &c.), by intending to perform 
 all such actions, not to please ourselves, but to 
 give pleasure to God who is within us. Thus we 
 ! read of Saint Gertrude that once, feeling very 
 weak, she wished to refresh herself with some 
 
 / 
 
9 6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 grapes, and thereby to give pleasure to her 
 Beloved who dwelt within her. Whereupon the 
 Lord said to her, that by this act He felt compen¬ 
 sated for the bitterness He experienced when the 
 sponge was presented to Him on the cross; 
 “ because,” He added, “ I thereby suck from 
 your heart an incredible sweetness. And the 
 more you refresh your body with a pure inten¬ 
 tion for My honour, the more am I refreshed as 
 I dwell within your soul.” This would be a 
 sweet and very profitable exercise of the love of 
 God, which would render very precious in His 
 sight many works that we now perform materi¬ 
 ally, almost like beasts, simply because we feel a 
 natural inclination towards them, and our senses 
 are gratified by them (Pacetti, School of Saint 
 Gertrude, p. i, chap. 3). 
 
 It must, however, be borne in mind, as has 
 been already remarked, that if these devout 
 reflections do not present themselves to the soul 
 quietly and spontaneously, we must not force our¬ 
 selves to dwell upon them. In this sea we must 
 advance not by using the oar, but by the help of 
 the wind; and if the breath of the Holy Spirit 
 does not fill our sails, it will be useless to weary 
 our arms with rowing. Saint Teresa expressly 
 says that “ we cannot well transact business with 
 God if we rely upon violent efforts ” (Life, chap. 
 15). Nevertheless since, as the Saint says, and 
 as we shall see later on, this is not that kind of 
 contemplation which is directly infused by God 
 into the soul, we ought to adopt some measures 
 
Part /., Chap. X., Sec. i. 
 
 97 
 
 whereby we may cultivate these holy thoughts in 
 our hearts, if God should be pleased to grant us 
 the grace to do so. Should any one, however, 
 not feel himself disposed towards them, let him, 
 nevertheless, continue to pray, and content him¬ 
 self with merely remembering, from time to time, 
 that he is in the presence of his God. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 | Of the means which ??iay he employed for the pur¬ 
 pose of acquiring a sense of the divine presence 
 in our souls. 
 
 We repeat that the soul must adopt some 
 measures, in order to succeed in * Thg 
 knowing how to concentrate its memory must 
 thoughts upon itself, and to remain JecauSgto* 1 m 
 united with God, who is really pre- mind God’s 
 | sent within it. Let us now try to presenLe * 
 
 ! learn from Saint Teresa what these measures 
 ought to be: “We can acquire this,’ 5 she says, 
 “in many ways, as we find laid down in certain 
 books, viz., by disengaging ourselves from every¬ 
 thing in order thereby to approach interiorly to 
 God, and even by retiring into ourselves in the 
 midst of our very occupations, were it only for a 
 moment. To remember that we have company 
 within our soul is very useful. The only thing 
 that I require is, that we remain with Him with 
 
 7 
 
98 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 whom we are speaking, without turning our backs 
 upon Him; for to my mind we do nothing short 
 of this, when we think of a thousand vanities 
 while engaged in conversing with God. All the 
 evil proceeds from our not understanding that 
 He is most truly near us, and not at all far off; 
 but would He not be very far off, indeed, if it 
 were necessary for us to go all the way to heaven 
 to seek Him? Does Thy face, then, O Lord, 
 not deserve to be looked upon, simply because 
 Thou art so near us ? We think that men do 
 not hear what we say to them, if we perceive 
 that, while we are speaking with them, they are 
 not looking at us : and will we deliberately shut 
 our eyes in order not to see Thee looking upon 
 us ? And should we do so, how then can we 
 know whether Thou hast heard what we say to 
 Thee ? 
 
 “ What I wish to convey to you is solely and 
 simply this : that in order to accustom ourselves 
 easily to quiet the understanding, so that it may 
 attend both to what it says and to whom it is 
 speaking, it is unnecessary to withdraw these ex¬ 
 terior senses of ours within ourselves, and there 
 find them something to do; for it is certain that 
 we possess heaven within us, since the Lord of 
 heaven resides there. In a word, it is necessary 
 to accustom ourselves to taste the sweetness of 
 His presence, and to be convinced that, in order 
 to speak with Him, we need not raise our voice 
 and cry aloud, for His Majesty will let us know 
 He is there. 
 
Part I. , Chap . X, z. 
 
 99 
 
 “ In conclusion, let whoever wishes to acquire 
 this excellent method of recollection (for, as I 
 have said, with God’s help, it is in our power to 
 do so), not grow weary in accustoming herself 
 to do what I have been saying; because it is to 
 gain the mastery over one’s self by little and little, 
 whereby we suffer no loss of liberty, but rather 
 completely emancipate ourselves from the world, 
 by employing our senses upon interior concerns. 
 If we speak, let us endeavour to remember that 
 we have within us One with whom to speak; if 
 we listen, we must bear in mind that we are about 
 to listen to One who is speaking very close to us. 
 In a word, let us understand that, if we but wish 
 it, we heed never separate ourselves from such 
 excellent company; and let us grieve from our 
 hearts when, for any length of time, we abandon 
 them, and leave in solitude our Father of whom 
 we stand so much in need If we can do this 
 many times in the course of the day, let us do 
 so; if not, let us do it at least sometimes; for 
 when we shall have accustomed ourselves to it, 
 we will derive great benefits therefrom, sooner 
 or later. Once the Lord shall have granted this 
 favour to us, we will not barter it for any earthly 
 treasure; but nothing is gained without a little 
 trouble. For the love of God, my sisters, con¬ 
 sider as well employed whatever care you bestow 
 on this matter; for I well know that if you practise 
 it for a year, or even, perhaps, for six months, 
 you will, with God’s help, obtain this favour. 
 Consider what a short time is required to accom- 
 
IOO 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 plish such a desirable result as is the laying of a 
 solid foundation, so that should God be pleased 
 to raise you to higher things, He may find in 
 you this excellent preparation for them—namely, 
 to find your near Himself. May it please His 
 Divine Majesty not to permit that we should 
 ever withdraw ourselves from His most loving 
 presence, Amen ” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 29). 
 In accordance with what she here teaches, the 
 Saint says in the 4th chapter of her Life: “I 
 endeavoured, as best I could, to have always pre¬ 
 sent within me Jesus Christ, our Supreme Good 
 and our Lord; and this was my manner of 
 prayer ”. 
 
 We see, then, that the first means to be 
 employed, in order to acquire an abiding sense 
 of the presence of God, is to exercise our memory , 
 by frequently recalling to mind that God is with 
 us ; nay more, that He is within us. To remem¬ 
 ber this truth ought not to cost us any effort, for 
 it is, after all, an extremely simple matter, just like 
 recalling to mind any other object. Now, what 
 difficulty could we experience, for example, in 
 recalling to mind, even frequently, that we have a 
 heart within our breast? None whatever : and 
 if the remembering of this fact were of conse¬ 
 quence to our bodily health, by merely thinking 
 frequently that we had a heart, we should soon 
 come to recall the fact to mind thousands of 
 times during the day with the greatest ease, and 
 without any effort whatsoever. As a matter of 
 fact we rarely think of it, because it serves no 
 
Pai't /., Chap. X., Sec. i. 
 
 IOT 
 
 purpose to do so, since the heart performs its 
 vital functions without any attention on our part, 
 and in this it acts independently of our control. 
 But God does not act thus in the economy of 
 His grace. He is not willing to give life to our 
 souls, as the heart gives life to the body, unless 
 we ourselves feel some little anxiety about the 
 matter; and therefore it is extremely necessary 
 for the salvation of our souls that we should 
 constantly remember God. 
 
 To remember in this manner that God is 
 within us will be also to see Him within us, not 
 indeed under any form or figure, for such do 
 not belong to God, but it will be to see Him 
 simply by faith. And by remembering that He 
 is there, by casting a glance upon Him with the 
 eye of faith, by praying to Him, we shall be with 
 Him, that is to say, we shall pay attention to 
 Him, and will not turn our backs upon Him, as 
 we should do were we to give way to voluntary 
 distractions by thinking on other matters. This 
 is as much as it is naturally possible for us to do 
 with the aid of divine grace; because to enjoy 
 a special sense of God’s presence within us, is a 
 matter which depends entirely on God’s own 
 will; and such a sense He will give us whenever 
 He may judge fit. 
 
 This special sense of God’s presence is a 
 matter which cannot be described in words : the 
 soul is made conscious in various ways of the 
 presence of God, but no one can tell how this 
 really occurs. The soul, as Saint John of the 
 
102 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Cross says, feels itself refreshed, delighted, glad¬ 
 dened, but in a secret, bidden manner, which it 
 is unable to manifest to others; at best, it could 
 but give some faint idea of it in a very gross and 
 imperfect fashion, which could not be understood 
 by any, save by those who themselves had ex¬ 
 perienced it. 
 
 Should a Christian who desires to acquire the 
 § 2 . One ought gift of interior recollection find the 
 not to be dis- foregoing doctrine obscure, he must 
 
 couraged D V • i t 
 
 should he find not on this account be discouraged. 
 docSne S ° ins It be quite enough for him in 
 obscure. that case to endeavour to do what 
 
 Saint Teresa wishes when she says : “ The only 
 thing that I require is, that we remain with Him 
 with whom we are speaking, without turning our 
 backs upon Him,” which is equivalent to saying 
 that we should remember that we are in God’s 
 presence, and should not give way to voluntary 
 distractions. The Lord, seeing a soul endeavour¬ 
 ing to attain this degree of attention (always, 
 however, quietly, and without any violentefforts), 
 will bestow upon it the desired spirit of recollec¬ 
 tion, even though the person should not under¬ 
 stand what it is, and may consider all that is said 
 about it to be involved in great obscurity. 
 
 We must not suppose, however, that want of 
 understanding in this matter proceeds from 
 stupidity or dulness of intellect. It proceeds 
 rather from want of experience—that is, from not 
 having yet tasted those special and delicious 
 favours which God is accustomed to grant to 
 
Part I., Chap. X., Sec. 2. 103 
 
 many souls. In just the same way, for example, 
 a person of even the greatest intellect could 
 never realise what it is that is conveyed by the 
 idea of sweetness, if he had never tasted anything 
 sweet, while a very stupid person, who had had 
 practical experience in the matter, would im¬ 
 mediately become conscious of the presence of 
 sweetness on tasting some sweet food. This is 
 the teaching of Saint Teresa in several parts of 
 her works, and among others in the nth chapter 
 of her Life , where she says : “ May the Lord 
 open the eyes of my readers by giving them the 
 gift of experience; for however slight that ex¬ 
 perience may be, they will then understand my 
 meaning ”. And, speaking of herself, she adds : 
 “For many years I had read much on these 
 subjects, but understood nothing of them ”. 
 
 Now this is worthy of being very carefully 
 noted, precisely because all persons will not 
 understand everything that the Saint has written 
 of prayer, and, not understanding it, they will 
 perhaps imagine that they have not sufficient 
 capacity to learn from her the method of prayer. 
 The result of such an impression might be, that 
 they would consider it useless to enter on the 
 path marked out for them by the Saint, fearing 
 lest they should not be able to continue in it. 
 Now this would be a capital and most hurtful 
 mistake. No matter how little one may under¬ 
 stand of these questions, let him not be 
 disheartened or frightened on this account. Let 
 him not give himself the least trouble about 
 
104 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 what he does not understand: let him merely 
 carry out in practice whatever little he may 
 understand, and, so long as he does this, the 
 Lord will gradually make him taste something 
 of that which was previously unintelligible to him. 
 Thenceforward he will by degrees come to 
 understand what at first surpassed his compre¬ 
 hension, and what before was most obscure will 
 then become very clear to him. But all this while 
 we must cultivate humility and patience, and wait 
 for the gifts of God, until such time as it shall 
 please Him to communicate them to us. 
 
 And here I wish to make another remark, 
 which, likewise, is of the greatest importance, 
 namely, that as it is not necessary to have talent 
 in order to understand certain matters relating to 
 prayer—that is to say, various favours which God 
 bestows on the soul—so the absence of talent is 
 no obstacle to receiving these favours. If one is 
 sufficiently instructed in the Christian doctrine 
 in proportion to his capacity, and if he have a 
 good disposition and a desire to approach God 
 and to hold converse with Him in prayer, he is 
 perfectly capable of receiving the highest spiritual 
 favours mentioned by Saint Teresa (including 
 even those which are least understood by the 
 very learned who have not experienced them), 
 no matter though in every other respect he 
 should be very ignorant, rude, uneducated, and 
 even densely stupid. Indeed since it frequently 
 happens that these ignorant and stupid persons 
 are more humble and simple than the learned, 
 
Part /, Chap. X., Sec. 2 . 
 
 io 5 
 
 so, oftentimes, they are also better disposed to 
 receive in prayer those special favours of 
 God. 
 
 Great talent is a gift of God, but it is a gift 
 which is by no means necessary in order to pray 
 well. This gift is required in order to converse 
 well with men; but it is not necessary in order 
 to speak well with God. To speak well with 
 God, one needs good desires, and nothing more. 
 YVe must mark well the great difference there is 
 between speaking with men and speaking with 
 God. Men do not suggest our thoughts to us, 
 nor do they put the words into our mouth : 
 consequently, we need to reflect well and to 
 speak well in order to carry on a conversation 
 properly with them. But, on the other hand, 
 when we are engaged in prayer, God does both 
 these things for us. In the interior of our heart, 
 where He is present as on His throne, He awakens 
 holy feelings, and He puts into our mouth holy 
 expressions which He wishes us to employ in 
 addressing Him; and these feelings and expres¬ 
 sions are such, that the most sublime genius and 
 all the unassisted wisdom of men could never 
 find anything to equal them. Wherefore, if you 
 are anxious to learn how to pray, be assured that 
 you lack no qualification whatever for discharging 
 this exercise properly, if the only things in which 
 you are deficient are talent and human learning. 
 The good desire which animates you is more 
 than sufficient to enable you to reach the goal 
 towards which you are striving, provided, of 
 
106 Treatise o?i Prayer. 
 
 course, that God assists you with His grace, as 
 He certainly will not fail to do. 
 
 But to return to the extract quoted above from 
 Saint Teresa—we ought to mark well how soli¬ 
 citous she would have us be to recall to mind 
 frequently that we have God present within us, 
 thereby casting a glance upon Him with the eye 
 of faith. This, of course, applies principally and 
 in a special manner to the time of prayer; but 
 that we may the better accustom ourselves to 
 attend to this interior presence of our God, the 
 Saint would wish that even in the course of 
 the day—even when engaged in speaking with, 
 or listening to the conversation of, worldly 
 persons—we should be mindful of Him who is 
 within our hearts, speaking with us and listening 
 to us, and that we should do this many times in 
 the day if possible , but if not , that we should do it 
 at least occasionally. (Observe here the discre¬ 
 tion of Saint Teresa, so entirely in accord with 
 the spirit of the Lord.) Furthermore, she would 
 have us grieve, should we unfortunately be 
 conscious to ourselves of having left alone for a 
 considerable ti??ie that Divine Guest who con¬ 
 descends to dwell in our soul. The meaning of 
 all of which is, that when, through over-anxiety 
 about worldly affairs, we allow a considerable 
 time to elapse without calling God to mind, we 
 ought to ask pardon of Him for our want of 
 courtesy and good manners, just as we should 
 do if, on being favoured with a visit from some 
 distinguished personage, we were to leave him 
 
“ Part /., Chap. X., Sec. j. 107 
 
 alone in our house, and go out to converse with 
 some persons of low condition. 
 
 If we adopt the method suggested by the 
 Saint, she assures us that, sooner or later, we shall 
 succeed in attaining the sense of the divine 
 presence, which is a gift of such value that, once 
 acquired, we would not exchange it for any treasure 
 whatsoever; and she holds out a hope to us that 
 in a year . or six 7 nonths we may succeed in 
 acquiring it, and in finding ourselves disposed 
 to receive the most stupendous favours from 
 God’s Majesty. 
 
 There is another point on which Saint Teresa 
 lays great stress in the 28th chapter § 3> p urItyof 
 of her Way of Perfectio?i , namely, conscience, 
 that since we must consider the soul as the 
 house or palace of God, we ought to keep it 
 clean, and free from everything that might be 
 displeasing to Him, so that it may be filled with 
 the divine presence. Here are her words : 
 “ The point lies in our surrendering to Him, 
 with a full and perfect resolution, this palace of 
 our soul to be entirely His own, and that we 
 remove everything out of it, so that He may 
 furnish it in whatever way He pleases, as one 
 might do in ins own house. This is the condi¬ 
 tion which He lays down; and since it is a 
 reasonable one, let us not refuse it to Him, 
 because, as He is unwilling to force our will in 
 any matter, He takes only what we freely give 
 Him. But He will not give Himself entirely 
 to us, until we give ourselves up without reserve 
 
108 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 to Him (this is certain, and because it is of great 
 importance I often remind you of it); nor does 
 He ever work in our souls with such efficacy as 
 when it is unreservedly His own ; nor, indeed, 
 can I understand how He could act there, since 
 He is altogether a lover of order. Now if we 
 crowd this palace with rabble and with trumpery 
 toys, how can it contain our Lord with His 
 entire court ? ” 
 
 Wherefore we ought to be extremely careful 
 to keep our soul very pure and free from all 
 sensual and worldly affections and attachments, 
 which would be like the presence of rabble and 
 useless toys in a palace, and would prove an 
 obstacle to our enjoying the fulness therein of 
 the divine presence. 
 
 Moreover, we know that “ Blessed are the 
 clean of heart, for they shall see God ” (Matth. v. 
 8 ); and not only shall they see Him hereafter in 
 unveiled glory in heaven, but, by the powerful 
 light of faith, they shall see Him even amidst 
 the darkness of this world. Nay, more, they 
 shall be prepared also, as far as is permissible 
 in this land of exile, to see Him by wonderful 
 manifestations within their own souls, where He 
 is so intimately present. Now, this cleanness 
 and purity of heart cannot be acquired except 
 through the medium of divine love ; and, touch¬ 
 ing this matter, Saint John of the Cross writes 
 as follows : “ As the dark and material fires in 
 the next life, so the loving, dark, and spiritual 
 fires here purify and cleanse the predestined. . . . 
 
Part I, Chap . X., Sec. 4. 109 
 
 David prayed for this love when he said, ‘ Create 
 a clean heart in me, O God,' &c. (Ps. 1 . 12), for 
 cleanness of heart is nothing else but the love 
 and grace of God. Therefore, our Divine 
 Saviour said, ‘ Blessed are the clean of heart] 
 which is as though He had said, blessed are 
 those who love, for blessedness can come of 
 nothing else than love” (The Obscure Night of 
 the Soul, book II., chap. 12). Wherefore, it is 
 necessary that we accustom ourselves to the 
 continual practice of acts of pure and lively love 
 of God, in order to acquire cleanness of heart, 
 and thereby, as far as is possible here below, that 
 loving knowledge of God of which the same 
 Saint John of the Cross writes so beautifully in 
 several portions of his works. Another means 
 suggested by Saint Teresa, in order § 4 . We should 
 to acquire a sense of the divine pre- StWr'eyes 7 
 sence, is thus set forth by her in the shut, 
 following passage : “ Whoever walks in this way 
 almost always keeps his eyes shut when pray¬ 
 ing; and it is for many reasons an admirable 
 custom, because it is a forcing ourselves not to 
 look at things here below. This shutting of 
 the eyes takes place only in the beginning of 
 prayer, for afterwards there is no need of it, 
 since, in the progress of the prayer, more force 
 is required to open them ” ( Way of Perfection , 
 chap. 28). 
 
 This advice of the Saint might at first 
 sight appear somewhat minute and trivial, since 
 one can pray very well with the eyes open, 
 
no 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 and, in fact, is compelled to do so when he has 
 to read prayers which he does not know by rote. 
 Nevertheless, if we reflect that the soul, wishing 
 to look upon God with the eye of faith, and to 
 hold converse with its Beloved really present 
 within it, has need of concentrating all its powers 
 upon itself, and of removing every distraction 
 which may come through the medium of the 
 senses, we will understand that, whenever it may 
 be possible—that is, whenever we have not to 
 read our prayers—it will be very useful to shut our 
 eyes, in order that the interior sight of the soul may 
 not be disturbed by the exercise of our corporal 
 sight, nor the senses of the soul obstructed by 
 the action of our bodily senses. 
 
 By following the counsels contained in this 
 chapter, we will dispose ourselves for the Prayer 
 of Recollection, which is suited to all classes of 
 persons, and is precisely the method of prayer 
 which Saint Teresa would wish to teach us. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Of the advantages resulting from this method 
 
 of prayer. 
 
 “ Do you think,” says Saint Teresa ( Way of 
 
 § I. it prevents Perfection, chap. 28), “that it is of 
 distractions. slight importance to a distracted soul 
 to understand this truth—that God is within us 
 
Part /., Chap, XL , Sec. 2. 
 
 hi 
 
 —and to know that in order to speak with her 
 Eternal Father, and to refresh herself in His 
 company, she need not go to heaven nor speak 
 aloud, since, however low she may speak, He is 
 so near that He will hear us. Nor does she re¬ 
 quire wings to fly and seek Him, but she can 
 compose herself in solitude, and contemplate 
 Him within herself, and not leave the side of so 
 good a guest, but speak to Him with great 
 humility as to a Father, pray to Him as to a 
 Father, tell Him of her troubles, and beg a 
 remedy for them, recognising herself as un¬ 
 worthy to be His daughter.” 
 
 This practice of the Prayer of Recollection, 
 then, is of no slight advantage to a distracted 
 soul. And, in fact, to contemplate with the eye 
 of faith our God present within us—that is to 
 say, to see within us a majesty exceeding all 
 greatness, a beauty surpassing all loveliness and 
 glory, a goodness that has no limits, the true 
 essence of heaven—will prove a very efficacious 
 means to prevent ourselves from being distracted 
 by the wretched exterior things of this world. 
 
 “ Treat with Him,” continues Saint Teresa, 
 “ as with a Father, as with a Brother, § 2. Familiarity 
 as with a Lord, as with a Spouse, more^afiiy 
 sometimes in one way, sometimes in acquired, 
 another, for He will teach you what you have to 
 do to please Him. . . . Remember that it 
 
 concerns you very much to understand this truth 
 —that God dwells within you, and that there we 
 should dwell with Him. This method of prayer, 
 
11 2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 though it be vocal, concentrates our thoughts 
 much more quickly, and is a prayer that brings 
 with it many benefits. It is called the Prayer of 
 Recollection , because, while engaged in it, the soul 
 recollects all its powers , and retries within itself 
 with its God , and there its Divine Master comes 
 to instruct it, by a method much more expeditious 
 than any other, and to bestow upon it the Prayer 
 of QuietT 
 
 Therefore by adopting this method of prayer 
 taught by Saint Teresa, we shall learn to treat 
 familiarly with God, and to confer with Him on 
 all our affairs, as one does with a near relative, or 
 with a member of his own family. The very 
 fact of knowing that we have not to seek for our 
 Father, our Brother, our Lord, and our Spouse, 
 at a distance from us ; that we need not, so to 
 speak, take wings to fly to Heaven, nor raise our 
 voice that He may hear us in that blessed abode; 
 but that, instead, we may at any moment we 
 please embrace Him and speak, as it were, into 
 His very ear, will cause us to enter into relations 
 of humble confidence with Him, in order to lay 
 before Him our every desire and want, in the 
 same manner as a daughter might lay them before 
 her father, a brother before a brother, or a wife 
 before her husband. After our faith in God’s 
 loving presence has been well revived by this 
 practice, then will follow that result promised by 
 Saint Teresa in the 21st chapter, namely, that 
 even though we should wish to do so, we shall 
 not be able (if we may use the expression) to get 
 
I 
 
 Part Z, Chap. XI., Sec. j. 113 
 
 rid of Him, and in all places we shall find Him 
 beside us. And with reason : for surely God 
 will neither wish to depart from a soul that em¬ 
 braces Him with a desire so loving, nor will the 
 soul, on the other hand, be able to tear itself 
 from Him, after having embraced Him so closely 
 and so sweetly. 
 
 Saint Teresa continues thus : “ Let those who 
 can thus shut themselves up in this . w , 
 little heaven of our soul, wherein more progress 
 He dwells who created it . . . in less time - 
 
 and who will accustom themselves not to look 
 or tarry where their external senses distract 
 them, be assured that they walk in an ex¬ 
 cellent path, and that they shall not fail to 
 succeed in drinking water from the Fountain, 
 thereby accomplishing a great distance in a little 
 time. It resembles the case of one who, by 
 making a voyage by sea, reaches his journey’s 
 end in a few days, if he have a favourable wind, 
 while those who go by land require more time. 
 Those who have in some degree acquired the 
 gift of interior recollection, are already, as the 
 saying is, well out to sea; and although they 
 have not entirely lost sight of land, nevertheless, 
 by recollecting their thoughts and senses, they 
 do all they can to get quite clear of it. 
 
 “Then, again, when the recollection is real, 
 we have a clear perception of it, because it pro¬ 
 duces a certain effect (which I am unable to 
 explain, but which the person who experiences it 
 will understand), so that the soul seems to rise 
 
 8 
 
114 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 up from her play a winner, for she now, indeed, 
 perceives that the things of the world are no 
 better than play. She seizes the opportunity, 
 and, like one who retires into a strong fortress 
 the better to protect himself against the assaults 
 of his enemies, she withdraws the senses from 
 those exterior objects and detests them, so that 
 the eyes unconsciously close in order that they 
 may not see them, and that the eyes of the soul 
 may open all the wider. ... It would seem 
 as though the soul knew how to fortify and 
 strengthen herself at the expense of the body, 
 and that she leaves it alone and enfeebled, while 
 she stores up a supply of provisions against it 
 here in her fortress.” 
 
 Wherefore, by means of this Prayer of Recol¬ 
 lection, we shall make greater progress in less 
 time, and we shall learn more easily to fill up 
 with God the powers of our soul—the intellect, 
 the memory, and the will. By means of this 
 kind of prayer we shall, as it were, emancipate 
 ourselves from our bodily senses which are 
 nourished by worldly vanities, and we shall culti¬ 
 vate the powers of the soul, which find their 
 sustenance in the true and real goods of God. 
 
 And here we must remark that these powers 
 are of such immense capacity that, as Saint John 
 of the Cross says (Living Flame, stanza 3, § 1), 
 nothing less than the Infinite can fill them .. Our 
 understanding cannot be satisfied, unless it be 
 filled with the light of God : our memory refuses 
 to be satisfied, except it be filled with God’s 
 
Part /., Chap. XL , Sec. 3 . 
 
 IT 5 
 
 presence : our will is not contented, unless when 
 it is satiated with His love. Now, in the Prayer 
 of Recollection the intellect is more easily flooded 
 w r ith the light of God, and rests satisfied with the 
 knowledge of so great a good. The memory, 
 likewise, is filled with the presence of God, and 
 is highly gratified with such blessed company: 
 the will is filled with God’s love, and feasts itself 
 upon Him, and is satiated in possessing Him. 
 
 It must, likewise, be known that, in addition 
 to our bodily senses, w r e are endowed also with 
 interior senses of the soul, of which Saint Bona- 
 venture speaks so clearly (in Itin aetem , 6, dist. 
 2), that it is well to reproduce his words : “ Man,” 
 he says, “ has two distinct kinds of senses, the 
 one exterior, the other interior. . . . The ex¬ 
 terior senses have for their objects material and 
 earthly things, with which they rest satisfied; 
 but the interior senses have for their object God, 
 by contemplating whom they are ennobled. And 
 as in the body there are five senses—sight, 
 hearing, smell, taste, and touch—by means of 
 which we perceive the presence of physical sub¬ 
 stances, so in like manner the soul is endowed 
 with sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, by 
 means of which it perceives spiritual things 
 through sensations of the Spirit.” He then goes 
 on, as follows, to prove this by the authority of Holy 
 Writ: “ In Deuteronomy (xxxii. 39) God says : 
 ‘ See ye that I alone am, and there is no other God 
 besides me' —here we have mention of spiritual 
 sight. In the Apocalypse we read (ii. 7): ‘ He 
 
116 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 that hath an ear , let him hear what the Spirit 
 saith’ —here we have spiritual hearing. Holy 
 David says (Ps. xxxiii. 9): ‘ Taste and see that 
 the Lord is sweet ’—here there is mention of 
 spiritual taste. The Apostle says (2 Cor. ii. 
 15) that ‘we are the good odour of Christ ’—here 
 is spiritual smell; and our Lord said that He 
 was touched more by the faith than by the hands 
 of the woman who came to be cured by Him 
 from the flow of blood—here we have spiritual 
 touch. . . . Wherefore (he concludes), it is 
 evident that as we acquire a practical knowledge 
 of physical substances by means of our bodily 
 senses, so by means of the senses of our soul we 
 acquire experience in spiritual matters.” 
 
 Now, in the Prayer of Recollection these 
 senses of the soul are occupied about its beloved 
 Lord in a wondrous manner, and to the soul’s 
 intense satisfaction, so that in Him it enjoys a 
 light, a voice, a fragrance, a food, and a contact 
 of unspeakable happiness. 
 
 If we practise prayer after the manner taught 
 § 4. How easy by Saint 'Teresa, we shall easily ac- 
 ;™r re quire the gift of being interiorly re- 
 recoiiection. collected with God, and we will 
 acquire it, as the Saint remarks, “ although at 
 first it should not be understood, as not being 
 then very great (for in this recollection there are 
 degrees, it being sometimes greater, sometimes 
 less); nevertheless, if it grow into a custom, 
 although in the beginning it may cause trouble, 
 
 . . . if, I repeat, it be practised for some days, 
 
Part /., Chap. XI., Sec. 4. 117 
 
 and if we do this violence to ourselves, the 
 benefit we shall derive therefrom will be evident. 
 We shall perceive, when we begin to pray, that 
 the bees are repairing to their hive and are 
 entering into it to make honey, and this without 
 any anxiety or trouble on our part; because the 
 Lord wishes that, in reward of the trouble which 
 the will took in the beginning, it should now 
 merit such a command and mastery over the 
 senses, that whenever the soul wishes to be 
 recollected, the senses require nothing more than 
 the merest intimation of this desire, in order to 
 obey and to retire within her. And although 
 they should afterwards go out again, it is never¬ 
 theless a great matter that they have already 
 learned to submit; because then they go forth 
 as slaves and subjects, and they no longer work 
 the mischief which they could have effected 
 formerly : and when the will again recalls them 
 they return with greater readiness, until, after 
 they have often re-entered in this manner, the 
 Lord is pleased that they shall remain entirely 
 absorbed in perfect contemplation ” ( Way of 
 Perfection , chap. 28). 
 
 We ought to reflect well upon the opening 
 words of the foregoing passage— Although at 
 first this recollection should not be understood , &c. 
 By these words the Saint would have 11s know, 
 that when the soul first begins to enjoy the 
 Prayer of Recollection, it is in such a slight 
 degree that she fails to perceive she has it 
 at all, and does not recognise it; but, later on, 
 
118 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 when the recollection increases, it becomes 
 sensible, and all the more sensible in proportion 
 as it becomes greater. Thus when the seedling 
 of a tree first begins to sprout forth in a field, it 
 is surrounded by the grass, and cannot be 
 distinguished from it; but after it has grown 
 somewhat and put forth its tender branches, 
 then indeed we perceive that it is a tree, which 
 is destined not to remain long hidden among the 
 grass, but to tower high above the field. In like 
 manner, it happens that souls which give them¬ 
 selves up to the holy exercise of prayer, are 
 favoured by God with the grace of interior 
 recollection even before they perceive the fact, 
 and they become conscious of it only when, 
 after it has sensibly grown, they feel within 
 themselves an extraordinary concentration of all 
 their faculties upon their Lord. 
 
 The reader should note those other very 
 consoling words of the Saint, where she says 
 that though one should in the beginning ex¬ 
 perience some difficulty in recollecting himself 
 and concentrating his senses upon God, yet in a 
 short time, and with a little practice, this power 
 of recollection and concentration becomes so 
 easy, in recompense of the trouble already taken , 
 that it is accomplished at the mere beck of the 
 soul; so that at its pleasure the soul can interiorly 
 recollect itself with its God, and sees its thoughts 
 and affections, in perfect submission, occupying 
 themselves with their Lord—nay, entering into 
 Him, as the bees enter into the hive where they 
 
Part /., Chap. XI., Sec. 5 . 
 
 119 
 
 store up their honey. Wherefore the Saint, who 
 well knew the truth of what she was saying, and 
 the solid foundation on which her promises 
 rested, does not hesitate to assert that by this 
 path the soul will easily pass on from the Prayer 
 of Quiet to supernatural contemplation, which is 
 the most expeditious means to arrive at perfection, 
 and to attain that union with God which is, in a 
 manner, a transformation of the soul into the 
 knowledge and love of God. 
 
 Saint Teresa continues (Ibid.): “Let what I 
 have just said be well considered; § 5 . The fire of 
 for even though it may appear obscure, dmne^ovc is 
 yet whoever will practise it shall kindiedlrfthe 
 understand it. These then (i.e., souL 
 those who practise the Prayer of Recollection) go 
 by sea, and so they advance more quickly: 
 they are more secure from the many temptations 
 and dangerous occasions which beset souls; and 
 the fire of divine love takes hold of them more 
 quickly, because since they are so near it, once it 
 is fanned by the least breath of the understanding, 
 all will be aflame, if only the smallest spark should 
 touch them. And as there is no obstacle from, 
 without, the soul remains alone with its God, 
 and so is entirely prepared to be set on fire.” 
 
 Let it be remembered, then, once more, that 
 Saint Teresa cautions us not to pretend to a 
 clear understanding of these matters, until, by 
 adopting the proper means, we shall have acquired 
 same practical experience of them. These means, 
 as we have already seen, are, with God’s grace, 
 
120 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 within our power; but the result rests solely with 
 God, who will give it how and when it shall 
 please Him, and in such measure as He may 
 judge best. 
 
 Observe how beautiful is the conclusion of the 
 passage cited above, in which the Saint, as it 
 were, paints for us a soul reposing beside its 
 God in the Prayer of Recollection 1 God is 
 charity, and therefore the fire of divine love : 
 the soul absorbed in the Prayer of Recollection 
 approaches Him as closely as possible, in order 
 to remain there beside Him. Whereupon, 
 understanding that it has close beside it a Good 
 so Infinite, the soul cannot avoid sending a 
 living sigh, like a breath, into that great fire that 
 is so near, and then, in the natural order, that 
 fire must emit at least a tiny spark, which will 
 touch the soul, will take hold of it, and will set 
 it all aflame with the fire of love. 
 
 Saint Teresa says that this method of prayer, 
 § 6. Special ad- although it be vocal , carries with it 
 ignorfnt whlch man d advantages. We have already 
 noticed such of these advantages as 
 are common to all; we must now touch 
 upon the special advantage to be 
 derived therefrom by ignorant people, and those 
 not instructed in the meaning of the Holy 
 Scriptures, when they recite Latin prayers, or 
 scriptural psalms and canticles. 
 
 In the sixth chapter, we have remarked how 
 Saint Teresa requires that every one should 
 understand the ordinary prayers, such as the 
 
 people may 
 derive from 
 this kind of 
 prayer. 
 
Part /., Chap. XI., Sec. 6 . 
 
 121 
 
 “ Our Father,” the “ Hail Mary,” and the “ I 
 believe in God,” in order that when they pray 
 they may know what they are saying, and that 
 thus the mind and heart may accompany the 
 tongue, and their prayer be not merely vocal. 
 But how, it may be asked, can the soul employ 
 itself usefully, when it recites prayers the meaning 
 of which it does not understand ? Well, it can 
 employ itself most usefully in the following 
 manner. It must endeavour to contemplate 
 with the eye of faith its Lord reposing within it, 
 and to hold converse with Him, as set forth in 
 chapters 8, 9, and 10 ; and thus it will easily be 
 able to occupy itself in holy thoughts, in pious 
 affections, and in virtuous acts, while engaged in 
 reciting these vocal prayers the meaning of 
 which it does not understand through want of 
 instruction. 
 
 Let us suppose, for example, that one is re¬ 
 citing the Psalms of David, the meaning of 
 which he does not understand. Now, while his 
 tongue is repeating the words, he can revive his 
 faith in the presence of God within his soul, he 
 can rejoice in such sweet and distinguished 
 company, and say: O my God, Thou art with me, 
 and I am with Thee. He can embrace his Lord 
 lovingly, and say : Let us remain for ever united. 
 He can make Him an offering of his entire being, 
 and say: Do with me, and in me, whatsoever You 
 may please. He can next reflect upon his sins, 
 and say : O my God, how filthy is this soul of 
 mine, which Thou hast chosen to be Thy abode! 
 
122 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Purify it, I beseech Thee, since Thou alone canst 
 do so, &c. In the same way a thousand other 
 pious thoughts and affections can be excited in 
 the soul during this Prayer of Recollection; and 
 in this manner, even though one should not 
 understand the words of the vocal prayer which 
 he is reciting, the mind, nevertheless, remains 
 united to God, and the vocal prayer perfectly 
 combines with itself mental prayer. 
 
 However, it must always be borne in mind 
 that patience and time will be required, before we 
 can succeed in attaining this desired result; and 
 therefore it is advisable to read over again the 
 fifth section of the yth chapter, and the sixth 
 section of the 9th, so that one may not be 
 tempted to make violent efforts which might 
 prove useless, or even injurious. 
 
 Having seen the many singular advantages 
 § 7 . whether which flow from this Prayer of Re- 
 this method of collection, and having likewise seen 
 suftaUe^niy that Saint Teresa wishes to dispose 
 to those who f or ft those persons who are unable 
 formal to meditate (by which we must, of 
 
 meditation. course, understand methodical medi¬ 
 tation, as we have seen in chapters 3 and 4), 
 some one may, perhaps, be induced to think 
 that this Prayer of Recollection is suited to such 
 souls exclusively, and that those who have an 
 aptitude for regular meditation ought to have 
 nothing to do with it. Such, however, is not 
 the teaching of Saint Teresa, as we may gather 
 from the 13th chapter of her Life, written by 
 
Pari 1 ., Chap. XI, Sec. J. 123 
 
 herself, where she says: “ Returning to those 
 who reason in prayer, that is, who can make 
 meditation, I say that they ought not to spend 
 all their time in this; because (though it is very 
 meritorious), being a prayer which brings with it 
 much enjoyment, they think that no festival or 
 other day should pass without finding them en¬ 
 gaged in it, and they are quick to conclude that 
 whatever time is not employed in meditation is, 
 in fact, time lost. Now I regard a loss of this 
 kind rather in the light of a gain. Instead of 
 persevering in continually exercising the under¬ 
 standing, let them place themselves in the 
 presence of God, and, without wearying the mind, 
 let them continue to speak and console them¬ 
 selves with Him, not fatiguing themselves in 
 reasoning and inventing fine discourses, but 
 simply representing to Him their wants, and the 
 reasons why He should pity and bear with us. 
 Our prayer should be varied thus from time to 
 time, in order that the soul may not be disgusted 
 through being forced always to partake of the 
 same food.” 
 
 Saint Teresa concludes the same chapter as 
 follows : “Returning, then, to what I was saying 
 about contemplating our Lord bound to the 
 Pillar, it is a good thing to apply the powers of 
 the intellect to this subject for a while, reflecting 
 on the tortures which He suffered in this stage 
 of His Passion, and for whom He suffered them, 
 and who He was that suffered, and the love with 
 which He endured it all. However, take care 
 
T 24 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 not to weary the soul by pursuing this method 
 too far, but remain there with Christ without 
 exerting the intellect. If you are able to do so, 
 occupy it in reflecting that He is there looking 
 at you: bear Him company, pray to Him, 
 humble yourself before Him, offer Him consola- 
 lation, and call to mind that He did not deserve 
 such treatment. When you can do this, even 
 though it be in the beginning of prayer, you will 
 find it a great help.” 
 
 We see, then, that the Saint, addressing those 
 persons who have the ability to occupy themselves 
 with formal, methodical meditations, and find 
 much enjoyment therein, nevertheless advises 
 them not to devote themselves continually to this 
 kind of prayer, even though it be very pleasing 
 and meritorious; but, instead, to allow the 
 intellect to repose sometimes, and to give them¬ 
 selves up to the Prayer of Recollection, placing 
 themselves in the presence of Christ, to look 
 upon Him with the eye of faith, to converse 
 with Him lovingly and familiarly, and to lay 
 before Him their necessities and the claim 
 they have upon Him to relieve them, since, 
 through His unspeakable love, He was pleased 
 to take upon Himself the entire burthen of 
 man’s salvation. 
 
 Wherefore, according to the counsel of Saint 
 Teresa, even those persons who enjoy in large 
 measure the gift of profound meditation, ought 
 from time to time to recollect themselves in¬ 
 teriorly with God, to repose in His presence, and 
 
Part L, Chap. XI., Sec. 7 . 
 
 I2 5 
 
 endeavour to enjoy there the manifold fruits of 
 this intimate and loving prayer,—“ / will 
 hear what the Lord God will speak in me ”— 
 Audiam quid loquatur in me Do minus Deus (Ps 
 lxxxiv. 9). 
 
PART II. 
 
 On the Seven Petitions of the Lord’s 
 
 Prayer. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 On the First Petition: Our Father , who art in 
 heaven , hallowed be Thy name . 
 
 Having explained in the first part of this Treatise 
 the admirable teaching of Saint Teresa regarding 
 prayer in general, as set forth in her Way of 
 Perfection , we must now place before our readers 
 what she has said concerning each of the peti¬ 
 tions of the Lord’s Prayer, as we find it in her 
 meditations on this subject for the different days 
 of the week, and also in the above-mentioned 
 work, the Way of Perfection . Here devout 
 souls will find matter for consideration no less 
 acceptable than what was contained in the first 
 part, and calculated to supply them even more 
 abundantly with spiritual nourishment. 
 
 Let us hear what the Saint says on the very 
 opening words of this divine prayer: “ Con¬ 
 sider,” she says, “ the very first words which 
 that divine mouth utters, for you will im- 
 
Part II, Chap. /., Sec. i. 127 
 
 mediately understand from them the love He 
 bears you ” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 
 
 26) . It is thus she begins her exposi- ment of Safnt 
 s tion of the Lord’s Prayer, and she J^words^f 
 
 immediately becomes lost in loving the Lord’s 
 amazement, as she reflects on the full Prayer ‘ 
 significance of all that is conveyed by our Lord 
 in that first invocation— Our Father, who art in 
 heaven . “ O my Lord !” she says, “ how justly 
 
 do You seem to be the Father of such a Son, and 
 how fully does your Son manifest that He is the 
 Son of such a Father! May You be for ever 
 blessed ! Could you not, my God, have reserved 
 this so great a favour to the end of the prayer ? 
 But no: immediately from the very beginning 
 Thou fillest our hands, and dost bestow so high 
 a favour upon us, that it would be exceedingly 
 well if our intellect also were filled with it, to 
 such a degree as entirely to occupy our will, so 
 that it should be unable to say one word to Thee. 
 Oh, how well, my daughters, would perfect con¬ 
 templation come in here! oh, with how much 
 reason ought the soul here to enter into herself, 
 the better to be able to rise above herself, so 
 that this holy Son might enable her to under¬ 
 stand what a glorious place that is where He 
 says His Father dwells—in heaven ” (chap. 
 
 27) . 
 
 Here we must reflect, first of all, that Saint 
 Teresa, as she afterwards expressly says, con¬ 
 siders that the Son of God, Jesus Christ , joins 
 with us in reciting the Lord’s Prayer, or rather 
 
128 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 takes us into partnership with Himself, in order 
 that, in union with Him, we may ask for those 
 graces of which we stand in need; so that He 
 thus becomes not only our master, but our com¬ 
 panion in prayer. Wherefore, she wishes that 
 we should pronounce the words, “Our Father,” 
 in union with Jesus Christ; and, on considering 
 these words uttered by us conjointly with our dear 
 Lord, the Saint is, as it were, bewildered when 
 she reflects on the greatness of that love by 
 which He condescends to associate with us, and 
 wishes that we should invoke the Eternal Father 
 by the self-same name by which He Himself 
 addresses Him. 
 
 And, in truth, who could ever imagine how 
 infinitely precious is the favour con- § 2 Excel i ence 
 ferred upon us, of being able in and reality of 
 union with Jesus Christ to invoke bein| r chiidren 
 His Eternal Father as our Father ofGod - 
 also? No one could dream of such a thing, 
 unless, perhaps, in the hypothesis that this favour 
 were a purely nominal compliment, devoid of all 
 reality, just as if the son of a king were to give 
 leave to his servants to assume the name of their 
 sovereign—his father. Even that, no doubt, 
 would be an act of extreme condescension, a 
 favour so great, indeed, that no prince on earth 
 would grant it; but still, if it were granted, it 
 would be after all a mere empty title, and the 
 servants would continue servants as before. 
 
 But it would be a great mistake to suppose 
 that this favour granted to us by Jesus Christ 
 
Part IF, Chap. /., Sec. 2. 129 
 
 when He taught us the “ Our Father consists in 
 nothing more than mere empty words. “ The 
 Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be 
 called, and should be the sons of Godf says Saint 
 John (1 John iii. 1). “ The Spirit Himself 
 
 giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons 
 of Godf says Saint Paul (Romans viii. 16). 
 Wherefore when Jesus Christ confers upon us 
 the favour of being able to invoke His Divine 
 Father in union with Himself, by the very same 
 name which He Himself employs, He likewise 
 confers upon us the favour of being truly children 
 of God, and consequently His own brothers, 
 and co-heirs with Him of the kingdom of 
 heaven. 
 
 This grace of being children of God is in 
 truth incomprehensible, and is a matter rather 
 to be wondered at in silent contemplation, than 
 spoken of by any human tongue. By this 
 filiation our souls are made partakers of the 
 divine nature, they reflect the divine beauty, 
 and possess upon this earth the same holiness 
 which the angels and saints have in heaven. 
 But who can understand all that is implied in 
 this ? It is only in heaven that we shall know 
 what it all means: no intelligence upon this 
 earth can fathom it. Nevertheless, since it is 
 most important that we should have some 
 knowledge, however imperfect, of a blessing so 
 precious that it is called in Holy Writ an 
 “Infinite treasure” (Wisdom vii. 14), we must 
 pause a little while to reflect upon it. 
 
 9 
 
13° 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 There are three kinds of divine filiation. 
 
 § Three The first is called natural^ and belongs 
 
 kinds of divine exclusively to the Eternal Word, be- 
 fihation. cause of the divine generation by 
 which He is born of the Father, and is consub- 
 stantial God with Him. The second kind of 
 filiation is by adoption , whereby our soul, through 
 sanctifying grace, is adopted to be the child of 
 God, to participate in His friendship, and to 
 share His nature The third kind of filiation is 
 common to all creatures, inasmuch as their 
 existence and preservation come from God, who 
 is therefore the universal Father of all things. 
 It does not at present enter into our plan, to 
 speak either of the first or of the third kind of 
 filiation. Our remarks shall, therefore, be con¬ 
 fined to filiation of the second kind. 
 
 Filiation of the second kind, or by adoption, 
 is the prerogative of every soul that is free from 
 mortal sin, that is to say, of every soul that 
 possesses the great treasure of the love of God. 
 All such souls are very dear children of God. 
 He dwells in them and takes pleasure in them ; 
 and so happy is their condition, that should they 
 pass in it out of this life, heaven is assured to them. 
 Just as it is impossible that the devils could drag 
 down into hell any one of the holy souls now 
 actually reigning with God, so it is impossible 
 that they should drag there any of those other 
 souls that are still in this world, so long as they 
 preserve the grace of divine filiation. The great 
 difference between both classes of souls is this— 
 
Part II, Chap. I., Sec. 4. 
 
 131 
 
 that the souls which are already in heaven cannot 
 possibly lose the grace of divine filiation, while 
 those upon earth are in danger of losing it as 
 long as they remain in this world. But supposing 
 that a soul on earth does preserve this grace by 
 avoiding mortal sin, in that case the soul is holy 
 with the very same holiness which the blessed 
 possess in heaven, and so long as it continues in 
 that state, it can never by any possibility be 
 lost. 
 
 The venerable Father Paul Segneri, in his 
 Christian Instructed (Part II., Dis- „ _ . 
 
 course vin.), says (I give almost his of divine mia- 
 own words) that a soul in this state tl0n * 
 has three qualities—three graces, as it were— 
 which, so to speak, constitute the grace of divine 
 filiation. The first is a surpassing beauty, which 
 comes to it from participation in the divine 
 nature, in such manner that, as Saint Thomas 
 of Aquin says, what is in God substantially by 
 reason of His essence, exists in the soul acci¬ 
 dentally, by being made a sharer in the divine 
 goodness—“ Id quod est substantialiter in Deo , 
 fit accidentaliter in anima participante divinam 
 bonitatem ” (Summa, 1, 2, q. no, a. 2, ad 2). For 
 this reason, in order to understand the beauty of 
 a soul in the state of grace, it would be necessary 
 to have a lively perception of the beauty of God’s 
 own face, of which it is a copy. Wherefore, we 
 need not wonder if God Himself appears ena¬ 
 moured of such beauty, as He does when He 
 exclaims in the Canticle: “ How beautiful art 
 
i 3 2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 thou , (by means of grace); how beautiful 
 
 art thou" (Cant. iv. i). 
 
 Now, this great beauty is not a mere barren 
 beauty, devoid of all usefulness, as the beautiful 
 things of this world too frequently are : on the 
 contrary, it carries with it immense riches, so that 
 this divine filiation is a priceless treasure. To 
 be convinced of this, we need no further assur¬ 
 ance than the authority of Saint Thomas, who 
 says that grace in our souls is nothing else than 
 a germ, a beginning of eternal glory: “ Gratia 
 ?iihil est aliud quam quoeda?n incohatio gtorice in 
 nobis” (2, 2, q. 24, a. 3, ad 2). Wherefore, be¬ 
 tween the grace that makes us, while still in this 
 world, children of God, and the glory which will 
 make us happy hereafter in heaven, there is the 
 same difference that exists between the blossom 
 and the fruit; so that He who possesses grace, 
 possesses, as it were, the blossom which will 
 afterwards fructify and produce heaven. Conse¬ 
 quently, the light of glory by which the soul sees 
 God clearly in heaven is nothing else than this 
 same grace united to its total complement, as 
 Saint Thomas likewise teaches (1, 2, q. 3, a. 3). 
 If this be not for a Christian supreme riches, 
 who shall say what is ? 
 
 The third quality conferred, through the 
 medium of grace, by divine filiation, is a 
 supreme dignity; and to be convinced of this, 
 we need only consider what the Apostle Saint 
 John says in his first Epistle (chap. iii. v. 9). 
 There he calls it a seed of God. “ Whosoever is 
 
Part II, Chap. /., Sec. 4. 
 
 133 
 
 horn of God , committeth not sin , for His seed 
 ahideth in him! Wherefore, this filiation im¬ 
 parts, as it were, a heavenly nature to the soul, 
 and, lifting it above the natural order, elevates it 
 to the divine order. For this reason our Lord, 
 after His Last Supper, speaking of His disciples, 
 said to His Divine Father: “ The glory which 
 Thou hast given me, I have given to them”— 
 claritatem quam dedisti mihi dedi eis —as though 
 He had said: I have given to My faithful 
 children that splendour of dignity which the 
 Father has given to Me. Just as the fire might 
 say to the iron which it has made red-hot: I 
 have given to you all my light, all my heat, all the 
 dignity that belongs to Me, by sharing with you, 
 if not my nature, which is impossible, since you 
 are iron, at least an extremely close resemblance 
 to myself, because you resemble nothing so 
 much as you resemble fire. 
 
 In like manner when God communicates grace 
 to our souls, He communicates to us His own 
 divine nature, to such a degree, that though the 
 soul still continues to be a creature, nevertheless 
 it is in a sense transformed into its Creator, 
 becoming even more like to Him than the red- 
 hot iron is like the fire. (Thus far Fr. Segneri.) 
 
 It is because of this exceeding great beauty, 
 riches, and dignity that the Holy Scripture does 
 nor hesitate to call the children of God by the 
 name of God : “Ego dixi: Dii estis, et filii ex cel si 
 omnes ” (Ps. viii. 6). Much more might be added 
 to show the excellence of this divine filiation 
 
134 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 which is granted to us through the means of 
 sanctifying grace; but the little that has been 
 already said, will assist us to understand all the 
 better the high esteem in which we ought to 
 hold so noble a prerogative, and to strive to 
 guard it at all hazards, until we secure for 
 ourselves the eternal possession of it in heaven. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The First Petition continued. 
 
 Amazed at the immensity of the grace of 
 § i of the divine filiation, Saint Teresa con- 
 perfection with tinues as follows : “ Let us quit this 
 desire to earth, my daughters, since it is not 
 correspond right to undervalue so great a favour 
 of divine to such a degree, as to remain here 
 filiation. on ggjth a fter having understood its 
 greatness And, in truth, if we but duly 
 appreciate a rank and dignity so divine as is 
 that of being called, and of being in reality, 
 children of God, we ought to lift our thoughts 
 so much above this world as, in the words of 
 the Apostle (Philip, iii. 20), to fix our conversation 
 in heaven where our Father reigns. What can 
 we find on this earth which can any longer be 
 worthy of us ? To those who enjoy the sublime 
 dignity of children of God, the things of this 
 world are wretched and contemptible. For just 
 
Part II, Chap. //,, Sec. i. 
 
 J 35 
 
 as “ that which is high to men is an abomination 
 before God” (Luke xvi. 15), so that which world¬ 
 lings hold in the highest esteem, merits only the 
 greatest contempt in the sight of the children ot 
 God. Wherefore it ought to be our constant 
 aim, to put aside from us every inordinate 
 attachment which we may entertain for the 
 things of the world and for ourselves, as though 
 we no longer belonged to the world, but were in 
 fact already citizens of heaven. 
 
 On the other hand, this very detachment from 
 the world and from ourselves is the perfection of 
 the spiritual life, and constitutes the best security 
 of the children of God. A heart that is really 
 free from every earthly attachment, a heart that 
 is holy, belongs so entirely to God, that no one 
 shall ever again pluck it out of His hand (John x. 
 28). And since the Holy Scriptures supply us 
 with a model of such detachment, let us reflect a 
 little on his conduct. This model is the 
 archangel Raphael, the guide and the guardian of 
 the young Tobias, who for a considerable period 
 remained among men, and conversed with them 
 as though he were one of themselves. He ate, 
 drank, and took repose; but he sought no 
 gratification in these things. He looked upon 
 the world’s beauty and riches; but he neither 
 took any pleasure in them, nor did he desire 
 them. He travelled through various countries, 
 , lodged in many houses, and transacted several 
 matters of business; but, all the while, nothing 
 ever distracted him from the divine contemplation 
 
136 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 in which he was uninterruptedly immersed 
 He gave counsel, administered consolation, and 
 performed works of mercy; but in doing so he 
 never sought his own interests, being intent 
 solely on executing the divine commands for 
 which he was sent upon earth. And w r hen at 
 length the proper time arrived for putting off 
 the visible form which he had assumed in order 
 to live among men as one of them, he laid it 
 aside without the least shadow of displeasure or 
 regret. In a word, he lived upon this earth, but 
 he‘felt not the least attachment to it: his real life 
 was all the while passed there where his love was 
 centred—in heaven. 
 
 Well, then, though we are not angels, and 
 never can be, yet we ought to endeavour, as far 
 as our human weakness will permit, not to seek 
 for any mere pleasure in satisfying the neces¬ 
 sities of our natural life, nor ought we to find 
 delight in harbouring desires of any earthly good. 
 In discharging the various duties of our state, 
 we ought to endeavour to keep our minds fixed 
 upon God, never leaving Him alone, but always 
 entertaining to the best of our power that divine 
 guest, who, as w r e have already seen (Part I., 
 chap. 9), has condescended to make our soul 
 a little heaven, a temple, a garden in which to 
 dwell and to enjoy Himself. Wherefore we 
 should strive that every act of ours, performed 
 in the discharge of our duties, should be done 
 solely to give pleasure to our Supreme Lord and 
 Father, without seeking therefrom any purely 
 
Part II, Chap. II, Sec. i 
 
 i3 7 
 
 personal recompense ; so that we shall neither 
 move, nor perform any other action, except 
 under the influence of divine love, until the time 
 arrives when our spirit, freed not merely in desire 
 but in reality from every earthly encumbrance, 
 and entirely united with God, shall go forth from 
 this prison of the body without regret, as it 
 would quit a place that was displeasing to it. 
 
 But this, perhaps, may appear a degree of 
 perfection exceeding the powers of man, who is 
 so miserable a being, and is placed in a position 
 so very different from that of God’s angels. To 
 expect that men can become like the angels, is 
 nothing less than to pretend to change earth into 
 heaven. However this cannot appear either 
 excessive or unreasonable, if we but reflect that 
 our Divine Master proposed for our imitation 
 a much more perfect model when He said : 11 Be 
 you perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect ” 
 (Matth. v. 48). . If we ought to aspire to imitate 
 the perfection of our Heavenly Father, which is 
 infinite, why should we wonder if it be said that 
 we can aspire to imitate the perfection of the 
 angels, which, though very great, is nevertheless 
 limited? Did not Saint Paul write to the 
 Christians of the church of Corinth: “ Be ye 
 followers of Me, as I also am of Christ ” ? (1 Cor. 
 iv. 16). And, in truth, are not all Christians 
 bound to be imitators of Christ, if they would 
 justly lay claim to the honourable title of 
 Christian? Well, Christ is very far above the 
 angels. 
 
138 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 It is, however, quite true that we cannot 
 speedily attain such a degree of perfection as 
 may possibly imitate that of the blessed spirits in 
 heaven. If we except some very great and 
 extraordinary case, high perfection in the order 
 of grace is attained only by degrees, and little 
 by little. Therefore we have need of much 
 patience arid perseverance. But, as Saint Teresa 
 says (Way of Perfection, ch. 26): “Let us not 
 grudge spending time upon a matter in which it is 
 so p 7 'ofitably employed''. We must, however, be 
 persuaded that, though we cannot in this world 
 attain a perfection so complete as is that of the 
 blessed who see and enjoy God in heaven, 
 nevertheless, we may attain a degree of perfection 
 so exalted as to appear incredible to those who 
 have not themselves reached it, as may be 
 gathered from the writings of Saint Teresa and 
 of the other contemplatives. And indeed we 
 may see this commonly proved in the lives of 
 the saints, who by nature were poor weak beings 
 inclined to evil like ourselves. Wherefore, 
 though we are but frail mortals, let us aspire to 
 become heavenly beings, by perfectly detaching 
 ourselves from all things here below; so that 
 thereby we may lessen our unworthiness to 
 invoke in union with Jesus Christ our Father 
 who is in heaven. 
 
 Addressing herself to Christ, Saint Teresa 
 thus continues her reflections on the first 
 words of the Lord’s Prayer (Way of Perfec¬ 
 tion, chap. 26): “O Son of God! and my 
 
Part If., Chap. II, Sec. 2. 
 
 139 
 
 Lord! how great is the favour which Thou 
 dost bestow upon us in the very first g Qf thg 
 words of this prayer, while at the confidence 
 same time Thou dost humble Thy- union wM?’ m 
 self to such an extreme degree, as Jesus Christ, 
 to unite Thyself with us in our p r ay 
 petitions, and make Thyself a p® t ^ v e e r nIy 
 brother of what is so vile and 
 miserable ! Oh, how fully dost Thou give us 
 in Thy Father’s name all that can be given, 
 since Thou dost wish Him to take us for 
 His sons! And since Thy word cannot fail, 
 Thou obligest Him to keep it, which is no 
 slight burden, since in being our Father He has 
 to bear with us, however grievous may be our 
 offences, if we but return to Him as did the 
 prodigal son. He has to pardon us, He has to 
 comfort us in our troubles, He has to support us 
 as such a Father should do, who must of course 
 be better than any earthly father, since there can 
 be nothing in Him but every perfection ; and as 
 if all this were not enough, He has to make us 
 partners and co-heirs with Thee of His king¬ 
 dom.” 
 
 We see, then, that there are two reasons why 
 we ought to have great confidence, when we 
 invoke our Heavenly Father in the Lord’s 
 Prayer. The first is, because we pray in union 
 with Christ, who by accompanying us in our 
 prayer renders it most efficacious: the second 
 reason is, because the Father to whom we 
 address ourselves is the best of fathers, who in 
 
140 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 goodness and tenderness towards His children 
 infinitely surpasses the most excellent earthly 
 fathers. 
 
 Let us hear how Saint Teresa describes to us 
 § 3 who this Father, in the meditation which 
 
 Heavenly she sets down for Monday : “ Con- 
 Father is. sider,” she says, “ that thy Father is 
 
 God in three persons and one in essence, the 
 beginning and author of all things—a Being 
 Himself without beginning, who is the cause of 
 the existence of all created things—by whom 
 we move, in whom we live and have our being, 
 since He sustains and preserves everything. 
 Next consider thyself, how thou art a son of a 
 Father so powerful, that He can create an 
 infinite number of worlds; so wise, that He 
 could govern them all, as He governs this 
 world of ours, without His Providence being 
 wanting to any creature, from the highest 
 seraphim down to the very lowest worm of the 
 earth; so good, that, without any benefit to 
 Himself, He is continually communicating 
 Himself to all his creatures according to their 
 capacity. Man, above all, should reflect and 
 say : “ Oh ! how good is such a Father to me, 
 since He was pleased that I should have 
 existence, and should enjoy this dignity of being 
 His son, omitting, while creating me, to create 
 other men who would have proved better than I! 
 Hereupon consider how much such a Father 
 deserves to be loved and served, who, merely of 
 His own goodness, created all things for me, and 
 
Part II., Chap. II, Sec. 3. 141 
 
 created myself that I might serve Him and 
 might enjoy Him.” 
 
 And certainly it is very important to help 
 ourselves as much as we can to form an exalted 
 idea of our Heavenly Father; because the more 
 we know of His greatness and goodness, the 
 more easily will our heart be filled with senti¬ 
 ments of respect and love towards Him. 
 
 But with reference to His goodness, the 
 inference drawn by Saint Teresa from the 
 dispositions of earthly parents towards their 
 offspring, merits special attention: “Here,” she 
 says, “ we must ponder on the nature of parents 
 •—how they love their children, though deformed; 
 how they maintain them, though ungrateful; how 
 they bear with them, though unruly; how readily 
 they forgive them, when they return home and 
 become obedient; how while the children are 
 entirely free from anxiety, their parents toil to 
 increase their estate and inheritance. Reflect, 
 likewise, how all these qualities are found in 
 God, in an infinitely higher degree; and this 
 consideration must melt the soul, and cause it to 
 entertain fresh hopes of pardon both for itself 
 and others, and moreover not to despise any one, 
 knowing that he has such a Father who is the 
 common Father both of men and angels.” 
 
 Whereupon we must reflect that just as a 
 child however deformed, though an object of 
 contempt and dislike to persons in general, is 
 nevertheless loved by his father, because paternal 
 affection overcomes, or rather does not feel, 
 
142 
 
 Treatise o?i Prayer . 
 
 those natural repugnances which such a being is 
 calculated to inspire; so, in like manner, though 
 we are very much defiled in the most pure sight 
 of our Heavenly Father, yet, because we are His 
 children, He does not spurn us from Him, He 
 does not hate us, but on the contrary loves us, 
 and manifests this love by removing from us 
 those deformities which ought not to be found 
 in creatures who enjoy the privilege of being His 
 children. 
 
 We must reflect, likewise, that though a father 
 should experience at the hands of his children 
 many proofs of ingratitude, which would be 
 sufficient to cause any one else except a father 
 to cast them off for ever, yet he does not cease 
 to maintain them and to serve them in many 
 ways. So, in like manner, our Heavenly Father, 
 though He has a thousand times experienced 
 our ingratitude, does not cease on this account to 
 sustain us, and to shower down countless favours 
 upon us. 
 
 Furthermore, we must reflect how fathers bear 
 with the vices of their children, and instead of 
 quickly punishing their misconduct, exhibit 
 much patience towards them, in the hope that 
 they may amend; and should the children at 
 length show themselves repentant, their fathers 
 are most willing to accord them the fullest 
 pardon, no matter how often they may have 
 transgressed and relapsed. In the same way 
 our Heavenly Father does not chastise even one 
 of our numberless transgressions, but waits 
 
Part II ., Chap. //., Sec. 4. 
 
 M 3 
 
 patiently for months and years, allowing us time 
 for conversion ; and if at length we fling ourselves 
 at His feet in a spirit of true contrition, He 
 bestows upon us the most ample 1 pardon, and 
 places no limit to the number of the sins which 
 He is ready to forgive us. 
 
 Finally, we must reflect that fathers have a 
 great anxiety to provide riches for their children 
 and to settle them well in life; so that while the 
 children themselves, either through want of 
 reflection or through carelessness, neglect their 
 own interests, their fathers think of everything, 
 and make provision for everything by the most 
 vigilant care. So, too, while we, either through 
 natural thoughtlessness or culpable negligence, 
 pay no heed to our spiritual interests, our 
 Heavenly Father in a thousand ways provides 
 for our necessities with the greatest anxiety and 
 an abundance of grace, in order that we may not 
 remain in that deplorable poverty which we so 
 much deserve, but may, on the contrary, find 
 ourselves enriched with many treasures. 
 
 Let us hear how Saint Teresa concludes the 
 27th chapter of her Way of Per- § 4 Consoling 
 fection :—“The good Jesus has given d°awnby U 
 you a most excellent Father. . . . Saint Teresa. 
 
 Endeavour, my daughters, to be such that you 
 may deserve to enjoy His favours, throwing 
 yourselves into His arms. You already know 
 that He will not drive you away from Him, if 
 you be good children. And who is there that 
 will not endeavour not to lose such a Father ? 
 
144 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 O good God, what an opportunity is here given 
 us for consolation! However, I will not dwell 
 longer on this point, but will leave it entirely 
 to your own reflection; for, no matter how 
 confused and distracted may be your mind, 
 between such a Father and such a Son the Holy 
 Ghost must of necessity be; and let Him 
 inflame your will and bind it with the closest 
 bonds of love, since that which you possess is 
 insufficient for so great a favour.” 
 
 And surely if we consider that we have in 
 heaven a Father so noble and so good, we shall 
 easily understand how exalted is our own destiny, 
 and, consequently, how holy and spotless ought 
 to be our life, in order that we may not be 
 altogether unworthy of being His children. 
 Meanwhile this dignity and this destiny of ours, 
 if we but attentively reflect upon it, will prove to 
 us an inexhaustible fountain of the sweetest 
 consolations and of the dearest hopes. 
 
 Words utterly fail to give a suitable commen¬ 
 tary on the concluding sentiment of the Saint: 
 it is too exalted and sublime. We may, how¬ 
 ever, acquire a practical knowledge of the truth 
 which it conveys, by meditating on the excessive 
 love of the Son of God, who at such a dear 
 price has been pleased to purchase for us the 
 name and the reality of being children of God, 
 and on the excessive love of our Heavenly Father, 
 who wished to give us His Own Son for this 
 purpose. If we give ourselves up to such 
 reflections, the Holy Spirit, who is the reciprocal 
 
Part II, Chap. III., Sec. i. 
 
 i4S 
 
 love of such a Father and such a Son, will 
 inflame our hearts in an indescribable manner 
 with His holy love. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The First Petition continued. 
 
 Let us now see what it is that we ought to ask 
 of our Heavenly Father. Hallowed § z Substance 
 be Thy name. In the following of this Petition. 
 
 passage Saint Teresa tells us how we ought to 
 meditate on these words: “ On this occasion,” 
 she says, “ you should ask for all men light and 
 love, so that they may know Him and thank 
 Him for so many benefits; and you should beg 
 that all may become so virtuous and holy, that the 
 image of God their Father may shine forth in them, 
 and that in all things His paternal name may be 
 glorified and sanctified, as the name of a Father 
 who has such children that they resemble Him 
 who created them-” (. Meditation for Monday). 
 
 In these words of Saint Teresa, we find the 
 true meaning of the First Petition of the Lord’s 
 Prayer, in which, as is most fitting, we ask before 
 everything else what has reference to the honour 
 and glory of our Heavenly Father. Now His 
 honour and glory require that all rational 
 creatures, capable of knowing and loving Him, 
 should know and love Him such as He really is. 
 
 io 
 
146 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Wherefore in this Petition we beg of God that 
 all idolators, Mahommedans, Jews and heretics 
 may have light to know the true faith of Christ, 
 and to practise the gospel precepts; and, more¬ 
 over, that all Catholics may live in conformity 
 with the teachings of the faith which they 
 profess, so that as their faith is holy, their lives 
 may be holy likewise. In this Petition we also 
 beg that pastors of souls and all God’s ministers 
 may have that knowledge, prudence, sanctity 
 and zeal which are necessary for the sanctification 
 of the flock of Christ; that all Religious may be 
 a source of edification to the faithful, by the 
 exact observance of their rule, and by drawing 
 down God’s blessing on the world by the efficacy 
 of their prayers. We beg, furthermore, that 
 sinners may be converted from their evil ways, 
 that the just may persevere in holiness, that all 
 Christian virtues may be honoured and practised, 
 and that the Lord may be continually blessed 
 for all the provisions, and thanked for all the 
 bounties, of His loving providence. Finally, we 
 ask that all may be holy and perfect, as becomes 
 the children of so great a Father. All this we 
 ask for in that Petition : Hallowed be Thy name 
 —Sanctificetur nomen tuum . 
 
 Saint Teresa continues as follows: “After 
 § 2 . Sentiments meditating thus, there follows (by 
 Cfjoy r whi?h d y° ur calling to mind the many sins 
 ought to of men) a profound sorrow at the 
 re C S P o a f n this he thought that so good a Father is 
 Petition. offended by His ungrateful children; 
 
Part II., Chap. Ill, Sec. 2. 
 
 147 
 
 and this again will be succeeded by joy, on 
 reflecting that there are in the world servants of 
 God in whom the sanctity of their Father shines 
 forth. You will grieve for every sin and bad 
 example you may see, and at the same time rejoice 
 at every virtue which you may either know or hear 
 of in others, thanking God for having created 
 the holy martyrs, confessors and virgins, who 
 have manifestly shown themselves to be the 
 children of such a Father. After this considera¬ 
 tion comes a feeling of confusion, for having 
 yourself in particular offended Him, for not 
 having appreciated His benefits, and for bearing 
 so unworthily the name of a son of God, which 
 of itself alone is calculated to nourish in our 
 hearts generous and royal sentiments.” 
 
 In truth, if we desire and beg in this Petition - 
 that our Heavenly Father be glorified as univer¬ 
 sally and perfectly as has been said above, and 
 then consider, on the other hand, the enormous 
 sins that are daily committed, and the shocking 
 ingratitude with which men repay the infinite 
 goodness of a Father so great and loving, it is 
 impossible that we should not find our heart 
 greatly saddened on this account, and filled with 
 a lively detestation of sin. But, again, on 
 reflecting that there always have been, and still 
 are, in the world many persons loving God and 
 distinguished by their great virtues, who have 
 corresponded and daily correspond faithfully to 
 the divine graces, who give praise to the Lord 
 and bless His holy name, we ought to be filled 
 
148 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 with great joy, and to bless the infinite liberality 
 of our Heavenly Father, for having chosen for 
 Himself these faithful souls, who thus exalt His 
 glory, and show themselves worthy of being called 
 His children. 
 
 And here we should call to mind the holy 
 martyrs, who above all others have shed glory 
 on the Church, by their invincible courage in 
 braving for Christ’s sake every kind of torture 
 and death. We ought to remember the holy 
 confessors, who, by practising all the virtues in 
 a heroic degree, conferred such lustre on the 
 Christian name. We ought to call to mind the 
 holy virgins, who lived lives of such spotless 
 purity, that they seemed to be something more 
 than human, and were venerated as angels upon 
 earth. 
 
 Oh ! what a vast host these constitute of true 
 children of God, who reflect such honour on 
 their Heavenly Father ! And here one might 
 exclaim with Saint Teresa: “ Rejoice my soul, 
 that there is some one who loves thy God as He 
 deserves. Rejoice that there is some one who 
 knows His goodness and His worth. Return 
 Him thanks for having given us upon earth some 
 one who thus knows Him” {Exclam. 7). 
 
 After these reflections the Christian soul ought 
 to cast a glance upon itself, reflecting on its own 
 sins and ingratitude, whereby it has rendered 
 itself unworthy of the name and of the reality of 
 being God’s child, and this thought ought to fill 
 it with sentiments of profound humility. 
 
149 
 
 Part II., Chap. III., Sec. j. 
 
 Saint Teresa remarks: “The day that you 
 devote to this Petition (making it the § 3 . Exercise 
 object of your prayer) you ought to 
 refer everything to this consideration, sanctification 6 
 For example, if you should happen to of souIs - 
 see any pictures of our Lord, you ought to say: 
 This is my Father; if you look up to the heavens, 
 say : There is my Father’s house; when you hear 
 a spiritual lecture, say: This is a letter sent me 
 by my Father; when you look upon the clothes 
 you wear, on the food you take, or when anything 
 happens to make you joyful, say: All these things 
 came from my Father’s hand. If anything makes 
 you sad, or causes you trouble or pain; if you 
 are tried by temptations or adversity, say: All 
 this comes to me from the hand of my Father, 
 to try me, and to give me an opportunity of 
 meriting a richer crown; and filled with such 
 sentiments, repeat with all the affection of your 
 heart —Hallowed be Thy name. 
 
 “ By means of this consideration and the 
 exercise of the presence of God, let the soul 
 force herself to appear (as she really is) God’s 
 child, and to be grateful for so many benefits 
 conferred upon her, rejoicing exceedingly in 
 seeing herself a daughter of God, a sister of 
 Jesus Christ, heir of His kingdom, and a partner 
 of Christ Himself in this inheritance. And 
 when the soul knows that the kingdom of God 
 is hers, she will desire that all may be holy, 
 in order that the boundaries of that kingdom 
 may be extended; for the more holy souls are 
 
150 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 multiplied, the greater will be her portion of the 
 inheritance.” 
 
 Wherefore it will be of great advantage, even 
 outside the time of prayer, to place ourselves in 
 the presence of our Heavenly Father, recognising 
 Him in all His works, and receiving everything 
 as coming from His hands; but the soul ought, 
 above all things else, to rejoice because of her 
 ineffable privilege of being a daughter of God, 
 a sister of Christ, heir to His kingdom, and co¬ 
 heir with Christ Himself—a privilege compared 
 with which all other possible privileges are not 
 worthy even to be named. 
 
 The soul will thereby come to desire ardently 
 that all men should be saints, in order that 
 God’s kingdom might be enlarged—that is to 
 say, on earth in His Church, and in heaven for 
 all eternity; because the more numerous the 
 fruits of sanctity will become, the greater shall be 
 the soul’s share in them both here and hereafter. 
 And in truth in proportion as holy souls are 
 multiplied here on earth, the more widely is 
 good example given, the more numerous are the 
 fervent prayers that are poured forth to God, and 
 the more copiously are heaven’s blessings rained 
 down upon men; and, again, in proportion as 
 the merits of the saints in heaven are more 
 resplendent, the greater the happiness which 
 will be derived from them by their companions 
 in bliss—for in heaven each one rejoices in the 
 happiness of another, as though it were his own. 
 
 And here we may observe, that the constant 
 
Part II., Chap. III., Sec. 4. 151 
 
 desire and prayer of holy souls ought to be, that 
 God would raise up many saints in His Church 
 —and great saints—to shed a lustre upon her, 
 to comfort her and to defend her, as has been 
 done in the past by so many whom we now 
 venerate upon her altars. Oh, what incalculable 
 good would be effected in this age of so much 
 coldness and religious indifference, if we only 
 had many great saints ! 
 
 Ah! pious souls, beg this favour unceasingly 
 of the Lord : beg of Him not to be influenced by 
 the multitude of our sins, but, turning aside His 
 face from them, to allow Himself to be overcome 
 by His own infinite mercy, and to send many 
 great saints of both sexes into His Church. 
 
 Here I am unwilling to omit the beautiful 
 prayer which is found in the 36th §4> p rayer0 f 
 chapter of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, the Book of 
 
 1 . 1 ,• j Ecclesiasticus. 
 
 and in which the above-mentioned 
 grace is asked with many others—a prayer which 
 is in reality the explanation of the Petition: 
 Sanctijicetur no men tuum. “ Have mercy upon 
 us, O God of all, and behold us, and show us 
 the light of Thy mercies: and send Thy fear 
 upon the nations that have not sought after 
 Thee, that they may know that there is no God 
 beside Thee, and that they may show forth Thy 
 wonders. Lift up Thy hand over the strange 
 nations, that they may see Thy power. For as 
 Thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, 
 so Thou shalt be magnified among them in our 
 presence, that they may know Thee, as we also 
 
I S 2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 have known Thee, that there is no good beside 
 Thee, O Lord. Renew Thy signs and work 
 new miracles. Glorify Thy hand and Thy 
 right arm. . . . Take away (from us) the 
 
 adversary, and crush the enemy. Hasten the 
 time (of Thy mercies), and remember the end 
 that they may declare Thy wonderful works. 
 . . . Gather together all the tribes of Jacob 
 
 (all the people that have separated from Thy 
 Church), that they may know that there is no 
 God besides Thee, and may declare Thy great 
 works, and Thou shalt inherit them as from the 
 beginning. Have mercy upon this people upon 
 whom Thy name is invoked. . . . Fill Sion 
 
 (Thy beloved Church) with Thy unspeakable 
 words, and Thy people with Thy glory. Give 
 testimony to them that are Thy creatures (in 
 Christ) from the beginning (through baptism), 
 and raise up the prophecies which the 
 former prophets spoke in Thy name. Reward 
 them that patiently wait for Thee, that Thy 
 prophets may be found faithful, and hear the 
 prayers of Thy servants, according to the 
 blessing of Aaron over Thy people, and direct 
 us into the way of justice, and let all know that 
 dwell upon the earth, that Thou art God, the 
 beholder of all ages.” 
 
 Saint Teresa concludes the Meditation set 
 § 5. Conclusion down for Monday with the following 
 of SaintTeresa. WO rds: “ Here we may very appro¬ 
 priately consider those first words spoken by our 
 Saviour from the Cross : Father forgive them , 
 
Part II, Chap. III., Sec. 6. 
 
 i 53 
 
 for they know not what they do ; because in these 
 words the tender bowels of God’s mercy are 
 made known to us. Moved by the thoughts 
 which these words will suggest, we may elicit 
 acts of charity towards those who have injured 
 us, and prepare ourselves for enduring patiently 
 the greatest wrongs. The story of the Prodigal 
 Son also comes in very appropriately here, in 
 which is so vividly represented a father’s pity for 
 a son that was first lost, and then found again 
 and restored to his former dignity.” 
 
 Inasmuch as we shall have to speak in the 
 Fifth Petition of the love of our neighbour, and 
 especially of those who have injured us, we will 
 say nothing on that subject at present. It will 
 be, however, very profitable to touch upon the 
 parable of the Prodigal Son to which the Saint 
 alludes—a parable which, perhaps, above all 
 others, conveys the most perfect idea of the 
 goodness of our Heavenly Father, and most 
 clearly makes known to us what ungrateful 
 children we are. 
 
 There was once a father, said our Divine 
 Lord, who had two sons. The _, „ ,, f 
 younger, grown weary of parental the Prodigal 
 restraint, and anxious to live as he Soru 
 pleased, giving free rein to his passions, 
 besought his father to give him his portion of 
 the property that should fall to him, that he 
 might spend it as he should think fit. The 
 father opposed this foolish project as resolutely 
 as he could; he pointed out how much he was 
 
 
J 54 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 pained and displeased by the determination 
 which his son had taken ; but in the end was 
 forced to yield to his demand, in order to satisfy 
 his rebellious child.' The property was accord¬ 
 ingly divided: the younger son obtained his 
 portion ; and being thenceforward freed from 
 every restraint, was left at liberty to dispose of 
 himself as he might please. 
 
 The foolish and disobedient youth immedi¬ 
 ately sold all that he possessed; and having thus 
 realised a large sum of money, for his portion of 
 the inheritance was considerable, he resolved on 
 abandoning his home altogether, so that he 
 might nevermore be compelled to listen to the 
 warnings, the advice, or the reproofs of his good 
 father. He set out accordingly for a distant 
 land, and thenceforward his family lost sight of 
 him. 
 
 The large sum of money which he had taken 
 with him enabled him to lead a gay and pleasant 
 life, and he fancied himself so rich that he could 
 never know poverty. However, he fell in with 
 a number of dissolute companions, who led him 
 into all kinds of extravagance and dissipation, 
 so that in a short time the unfortunate youth 
 had squandered all his substance, and found 
 himself penniless. The moment he was thus 
 reduced to poverty, his former associates dis¬ 
 owned him, and cast him off with jeers and 
 insults. 
 
 Just then a terrible famine happened to visit 
 the country in which he tarried, and the poor 
 
Part //., Chap. III., Sec. 6. 
 
 155 
 
 young man was forced to herd swine, at wages 
 so low that he almost died of hunger, and would 
 fain have eaten of the very food which the swine 
 consumed, but even this was denied him. 
 
 Reduced to this pitiable condition, he at length 
 began to realise the evil of his ways, the heinous¬ 
 ness of his crimes, and above all the wrong he 
 had done his good father, which almost drove 
 him to despair, since it seemed to him so great 
 as to exclude all hope of pardon. On reflecting, 
 however, that his only chance of saving his life 
 was to throw himself upon the loving compassion 
 of his father’s heart, which he already knew by 
 experience to be boundless, he resolved to return 
 to him, to make a full confession of his out¬ 
 rageous misconduct, and to beg for pity’s sake to 
 be admitted once more into his old home, no 
 longer as a son but as a servant. 
 
 Barefooted and clad in filthy rags, he travelled 
 back again the long and weary road that led to 
 the home of his childhood, and, exhausted by 
 fatigue and hunger, he at length came within 
 view of his father’s house. Oh ! who can ima¬ 
 gine the bitterness of his remorse, the agony 
 of his shame at that moment! But his father 
 has already seen him coming : he runs forward 
 to meet him, and just as the repentant son is 
 about to fling himself at his feet, he embraces 
 him and kisses him in a transport of joy, and 
 love, and tenderness, as though he had been 
 the best and most dutiful of children. He 
 quickly orders that he be clad in the richest 
 
i 56 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 garments which his wardrobe could supply, he 
 places on his finger a valuable ring, he directs 
 that a great banquet be prepared to celebrate 
 the joyful event, and he lavished such kindness 
 upon the dissolute, ungrateful child, who re¬ 
 turned to him only when constrained to do so 
 by the pangs of hunger, that he excited feelings 
 of jealousy in the breast of his good and dutiful 
 elder son, who had never yet received any 
 special mark of his favour, after many years of 
 obedience, reverence, and faithful service. “ Be¬ 
 hold,” said the elder son to his father, “ for 
 many years I have served you faithfully and 
 have never annoyed you by the least act of 
 disobedience, yet you have never given me 
 even a kid wherewith to make merry with my 
 friends; and now when thy younger son re¬ 
 turns, after having squandered all his substance 
 in the company of the lowest and most 
 abandoned wretches, you feast him with a 
 fatted calf.” But his good father mildly replied 
 to him : “ My son, you have been always with 
 me, and all that I possess is yours; but it is 
 only fitting that I should now make merry and 
 be glad, because your brother, whom I might 
 heretofore have regarded as dead to me, has 
 come to life again : he was lost and is found ”. 
 
 In this parable we see, in the first place, the 
 folly and obstinacy with which the sinner 
 abandons his Heavenly Father, and forfeits to 
 the devil whatever good he may have stored up 
 for life eternal. In the next place, we see the 
 
Part II, Chap. IV, Sec. i. 
 
 157 
 
 miserable and most unhappy condition to which 
 he is reduced, when he gives himself up to gratify¬ 
 ing his passions, which are more filthy than the 
 very swine; and we see, too, the consequent 
 awakening to a sense of his position, and the 
 accompanying feeling of repentance, whereby 
 he is brought back to the feet of his Heavenly 
 Father, in the hope of obtaining from him a 
 little mercy. But in the reception accorded to 
 the Prodigal Son by his father, we see the 
 infinite goodness of God, which exceeds the 
 most ardent desires and the highest expecta¬ 
 tions of the contrite sinner; so that He some¬ 
 times loads him with favours which are calculated 
 almost to excite envy in the hearts of the just, who 
 have always acted the part of most faithful and 
 dutiful children. It is to such favours that Saint 
 Teresa alludes when, speaking of sinners, she says 
 that “though they be in a bad state and destitute 
 of virtues, God nevertheless gives them consola¬ 
 tions, caresses, and tokens of endearment, by 
 which He begins to instil into them good 
 desires, and even sometimes brings them to 
 contemplation” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 16). 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On the Second Petition: Thy Kingdom come. 
 Before continuing our reflections on the Lord’s 
 
Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 158 
 
 Prayer, we must call attention to a remark made 
 by Saint Teresa at the beginning of the first 
 Meditation : “ Although the name of Father,” 
 she says, “is that which best agrees with all 
 these petitions and affords us the greatest con¬ 
 fidence, and is that by which our Lord was 
 pleased to bind Himself to grant whatever we 
 ask of Him, nevertheless we will not be acting 
 contrary to His wish and command, in adding 
 other titles also which so truly belong to Him— 
 the more so, since our devotion is excited there¬ 
 by, and by renewing the fuel the fire is kindled 
 on the altar of our heart, and our confidence is 
 strengthened by the thought that to our Father 
 belong also those other titles so glorious to Him 
 and so advantageous to us ”, 
 
 The titles to which the saint alludes are those 
 of King , Spouse , Pastor , Redeemer , Physician , 
 and Judge , each of which corresponds to the 
 substance of one of the petitions which yet 
 remain to be considered by us. Wherefore, 
 while the title of Father must be understood to 
 belong to every one of the petitions of this 
 prayer without exception, yet to each of the 
 remaining petitions another title will be super- 
 added, selected from those six mentioned above. 
 Thus, for example : “ Our Sovereign Lord, Thy 
 Kingdom come “ Spouse of our Souls, Thy will 
 be done,” &c.; and there is not the slightest 
 doubt that all these titles will furnish matter 
 for many excellent pious thoughts and affec¬ 
 tions. 
 
Part II.) Chap. IV, Sec. i. 159 
 
 Let us begin with the first of the above- 
 mentioned titles — Our Sovereign . c , . 
 
 t j /Tti 7 i 1 § Ib Substance 
 
 Lord / Thy Kingdom come —and let of the Second 
 us hear how Saint Teresa speaks on Petltlon< 
 the subject in the Meditation set down for 
 Tuesday: “This Petition,” she says, “follows 
 very naturally from the preceding one, since a 
 father’s kingdom belongs to his children. Say 
 then to your Heavenly Father: ‘ Since the 
 world, the devil, and the flesh reign upon earth, 
 do Thou reign over us as our King, and destroy 
 in our souls these kingdoms of avarice, pride, 
 and sensuality 
 
 “ This Petition may be understood in either 
 of two ways—either as requesting our Lord to 
 grant us possession of the kingdom of heaven, 
 which belongs to us as His children, or as 
 beseeching Him that He would reign in us, and 
 that we may become His kingdom. Both 
 these interpretations are Catholic, and in accord¬ 
 ance with Holy Writ, as theologians assure me. 
 For in the first of these senses Christ our Lord 
 has said : Come, ye blessed of my Father , possess 
 the kingdom that was prepared for you from the 
 beginning of the world; and in the second sense, 
 Saint John writes that the blessed will say in 
 heaven : Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy 
 blood . . . and hast made us to our God a 
 
 kingdom. In both senses there is a wonderful 
 hidden meaning, and it is this, that when God 
 speaks to us, He says that He is our kingdom ; 
 and when we speak to Him, we bless Him 
 
160 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 because we are His kingdom; and thus do we 
 mutually give pleasure, by exchanging these 
 heavenly compliments. Truly, I do not know 
 which of the two confers the greater dignity on 
 man; whether it is that God should be de¬ 
 lighted to have us for His kingdom and to 
 remain satisfied with such a possession, being 
 the infinite Lord that He is, or that He should 
 be pleased to constitute Himself our Kingdom, 
 and to give Himself to be our possession. Of 
 the two, however, I like best for the present the 
 idea of our being God’s kingdom, because it 
 follows from it that He is our King.” 
 
 We may remark that there is no need of 
 proving that the title of “ Our King ” belongs 
 to the Lord God. It is given to Him times 
 without number in Holy Writ, and every pious 
 soul invokes him, with David, as “ My King and 
 my God”—Rex meus et Pens meus. We must, 
 however, understand well that He is both our 
 King and our Kingdom. He is our King, be¬ 
 cause He ought to reign in our hearts as a king 
 does in his kingdom, claiming there a full 
 tribute of obedience and of love; but He is 
 also our Kingdom, when our soul, having acquired 
 the true liberty of the children of God by entire 
 submission to His divine will, enjoys full do¬ 
 minion over all things and over all worldly 
 attachments, so that it then feels the truth 
 of that saying: To serve God is to reign. 
 Then the soul, possessed by God, feels herself a 
 queen, inasmuch as she has God united to her: 
 
Part II., Chap. IV, Sec. 2. 
 
 161 
 
 however, in a far higher sense will God be both 
 our King and our Kingdom in heaven, in a 
 manner which at present surpasses both our 
 intelligence and our power of description. 
 
 Wherefore, Saint Teresa well remarks that in 
 this petition we beg of the Lord the kingdom of 
 His glory in the world to come, which belongs 
 to us as His children; and also the kingdom of His 
 grace in this temporal life, by means of which 
 He reigns in our heart, since, as we have seen 
 in the first chapter, it is nothing else than the 
 seed or germ of that same glory which is re¬ 
 served for us in heaven. Consequently, in this 
 Petition we beg of our Supreme King the highest 
 possible blessing that we can enjoy both here 
 and hereafter. 
 
 Let us once again hear St. Teresa, as she 
 goes on to administer the greatest „ 
 
 ° . . , ° § 2. What our 
 
 consolation to US on our happy lot chief anxiety 
 in being God’s kingdom, and in ought to be ' 
 having God for our kingdom : “ The Lord once 
 said to Saint Catharine of Siena, ‘ Think of Me, 
 and I will think of thee' ; and to a certain Reli¬ 
 gious (it was Saint Teresa herself) He said, 
 
 ‘ Take care of My affairs, and I will take care of 
 yours \ Let us then study to become such that 
 His Divine Majesty may feel a pleasure in reign¬ 
 ing in our souls, and thus He will be pleased 
 that we should reign in Him. This is that 
 kingdom of which the same Divine Lord said 
 in His gospel: ‘ Seek ye therefore first the kmg- 
 dom of God .... and be not solicitous 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 (about temporal affairs), for your Father knoweth 
 that you have need of all these things ’. And of 
 this kingdom Saint Paul has also said that £ it is 
 feace and joy in the Holy Ghost \ 
 
 “ Let us consider, then, what ought to be the 
 character and dispositions of those in whom God 
 glories that He is their king, and they that they 
 are His kingdom. How fitting it is that they 
 should be adorned with every virtue, discreet in 
 speech, high minded, humble, meek, and modest 
 in their deportment ! How pure of heart they 
 ought to be, and how innocent in their thoughts ! 
 How patient ought they to be in suffering, how 
 loving towards one another, how peaceful and 
 composed in all their actions ! How free from 
 envy they should be, and how desirous of pro¬ 
 moting the happiness of all men ! ” 
 
 We ought to pay particular attention to the 
 counsel here given us by Saint Teresa, when she 
 exhorts us to have no other care or anxiety 
 about ourselves, except that God should reign in 
 us ; and she assures us that if we but do so, it will 
 certainly come to pass that we shall reign in 
 Him. This involves the entire surrender into 
 the hands of God’s providence of all our own 
 particular interests, our sole anxiety being about 
 the glory of God. 
 
 And since Saint Teresa alludes to the words 
 addressed by our Lord to Saint Catharine of 
 Siena— Daughter , think of Me , and I will think 
 of thee —it is well to know how that Saint her¬ 
 self understood these words. She interprets 
 
 
Part II, Chap. IV, Sec. 2. 
 
 163 
 
 them thus: “ Daughter, be not at all solicitous 
 either about the salvation of your soul or the 
 health of your body, because I, who know 
 and can accomplish all that is needful for both, 
 am willing to concern Myself about them, and 
 anxious to make provision for them. Let it be 
 your sole study to think of Me and to meditate 
 upon Me, because in this consists your perfec¬ 
 tion and your supreme happiness.” 
 
 In accordance with this teaching, whenever 
 she saw persons anxious and troubled about 
 impending evils—even though they should be 
 serious and imminent—she would say to them : | 
 “ What business have you to be thinking about ! 
 yourself ?” And it is told that on one occasion, 
 when she was making a voyage in company with 
 Blessed Raymond, her confessor, and a fierce 
 storm threatened to wreck the vessel, Blessed 
 Raymond showed signs of fear ; but Saint 
 Catharine immediately restored his courage by 
 saying to him, “ What concern of yours is your 
 safety ?” {Life, p. 1, ch. 10). 
 
 Wherefore if we wish to dispose ourselves 
 properly to become God’s kingdom, we must 
 attend solely to pleasing God in everything that 
 concerns us, without entertaining any anxiety 
 or disquieting fear, even for the salvation of our 
 souls, which cannot possibly be better provided 
 for than when we abandon ourselves without re¬ 
 serve to God’s holy will, doing on our own part, 
 quietly and tranquilly, all that it is fitting we 
 should do. 
 
164 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 And, in truth, it is quite evident that we 
 cannot possibly seek to give God pleasure in all 
 things, without at the same time striving for the 
 eternal salvation of our souls—nay, more, that to 
 seek solely to give pleasure to God means to 
 seek solely our eternal salvation. Happy shall 
 we be, therefore, if we but succeed in abandon¬ 
 ing ourselves so entirely intos^he hands of God, 
 that, as Saint Catharine said, wb^hall no longer 
 have any concern about ourselves\r our affairs, 
 but shall consider it our only business to give 
 pleasure to our Supreme Lord, by faithfully at¬ 
 tending to the execution of His divine will. In 
 this manner, adorned with the choicest virtues as 
 befits God’s happy subjects, we shall certainly 
 be among the number of those over whom He 
 especially delights to reign, and we shall feel 
 within our hearts that kingdom of God which is 
 justice , and peace , and joy in the Holy Ghost 
 (Romans xiv. 17). 
 
 Of the special obligations which we have 
 towards God, our King, Saint Teresa 
 ciai obiigatfons speaks as follows : “ Let us consider 
 towards our how good subjects conduct them- 
 
 Supreme King. ^ ^ kin& ^ by 
 
 so doing we will raise our thoughts to the King 
 of heaven, and learn how we ought to conduct 
 ourselves towards Him. 
 
 “ In an earthly kingdom we all live under one 
 and the same law, which we are bound to 
 observe, helping one another, and supplying one 
 to another such necessaries as we may have and 
 
Part II, Chap. IV., Sec. j. 
 
 i6 5 
 
 our neighbour may want. It is our duty to lay 
 down our property and our lives for our king, 
 and to seek to please him in all things. In our 
 grievances we must have recourse to him for 
 justice, and in our necessities for relief. We 
 are all bound to serve him—each one according 
 to his own special talent and ability—without 
 harbouring any feeling of jealousy towards our 
 neighbour. The soldier must serve him in war, 
 the clerk in his office, the farmer in his farm. 
 The gentleman, the man of letters, the sailor, 
 and every other person, even though he should 
 never have seen his king, must endeavour to 
 serve him, and desire to see him; even the 
 reaper in the fields, as he sweats over his daily 
 toil, must rejoice that the king has some inti¬ 
 mate friends with whom he may enjoy himself 
 and take recreation. And if sometimes the king 
 should manifest a particular esteem for any one, 
 all vie one with another in honouring and re¬ 
 specting that person; and it is the desire and aim 
 of all to serve the king in peace and quietness.” 
 
 Such are the feelings and such is the conduct 
 of good subjects towards good kings. Let us 
 now see how Saint Teresa applies this standard 
 to all of us, in our quality of subjects of the King 
 of heaven. “ Let us now,” she says, “ run over 
 these characteristics of a well-regulated kingdom, 
 and, by applying them to the subjects under 
 consideration, we shall see that what we beg of 
 Almighty God is, that His laws may be observed, 
 and He Himself well served, and that His sub- 
 
i66 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 jects may live in peace and tranquillity. We beg 
 also that our souls, in which God has established 
 His kingdom, may be regulated in such manner 
 as to be worthy of this honour ; that the republic 
 of our mental powers may be very obedient to 
 Him ; that our intellect may be firm in faith ; 
 that our will may be resolute in the observance 
 of His holy laws, even though it should cost us 
 our lives; that all the faculties of our soul may 
 be so submissive, as to offer no resistance to His 
 divine will; that our passions and desires may 
 be under such control as not to murmur against 
 the precepts imposed by charity, but on the 
 contrary, free from every envious and jealous 
 feeling, to view with satisfaction whatever good 
 fortune may fall to our neighbour’s lot, even 
 though it should be denied to ourselves—nay, 
 more, to rejoice at seeing this Lord reigning on 
 earth and in heaven, being perfectly satisfied, 
 as far as we ourselves are concerned, to serve 
 Him as common menials, and regarding it as 
 an honour to be employed in any capacity 
 whatever in His kingdom. Finally, we beg 
 that He alone may be served and obeyed, and 
 may reign over us and dispose of us (of myself 
 in particular and of each one else) as Supreme 
 King and Lord of all men.” 
 
 All these things which we have just men- 
 § 4. of the dis- ti° ne d are very clear; and we can 
 interestedness quite easily understand how we owe 
 ought to serve them as a tribute of homage to our 
 God - Supreme King. Nevertheless, we 
 
Part II, Chap. IV, Sec. 4. 
 
 167 
 
 must call special attention to the holy dis¬ 
 interestedness with which we ought to serve 
 God in whatever state He may have placed us, 
 being content with such gifts as He has be¬ 
 stowed upon us. For we must bear in mind 
 that, besides the invisible and interior kingdom 
 of God already mentioned, whereby God reigns 
 in our hearts through sanctifying grace, there 
 is another exterior and visible kingdom—that is 
 to say, the Holy Catholic Church, in which all 
 the Faithful are His subjects and vassals. 
 Now, just as in a well-regulated earthly king¬ 
 dom there are many offices to be filled, and 
 consequently many ranks and grades of men— 
 some of them being more highly favoured than 
 others, according to their merits and capacity, 
 and those that are loyal being content with 
 their position and satisfied to co-operate, as far 
 as in them lies, in promoting the general good 
 of the kingdom, without envying those placed 
 over them, or aspiring to exceptional favours of 
 which they deem themselves unworthy—so, too, 
 in the Catholic Church, which is God’s spiritual 
 kingdom, there are various grades and classes 
 of persons. Of these, some are appointed to be 
 in immediate attendance on their Divine King, 
 while others are not brought by their duties 
 into such close relations with Him ; and the 
 divine favours are distributed among these 
 various classes, in proportion to the duties and 
 services which they are called upon to discharge. 
 
 . In the Church there is a hierarchy of sacred 
 
i68 
 
 Treatise on Prayer, 
 
 ministers, divided into several orders : there are 
 regulars and seculars ; there are married people 
 and celibates ; there are those who have re¬ 
 ceived the graces necessary and suitable for 
 working out their salvation, and again, others 
 who have received extraordinary and wonderful 
 graces, which are never distributed at random, 
 as we in our ignorance sometimes seem to 
 think, but according to the rules of an infinite 
 wisdom, which we ought always to adore, but 
 never curiously investigate. And just as in an 
 earthly kingdom, so, too, in this kingdom of 
 God each one of us must be satisfied with the 
 position in which Divine Providence has placed 
 him; nor ought we to aspire to anything above 
 this, our sole aim being to co-operate, as far as 
 it may lie in our power, in promoting the good 
 of the Church, which substantially is nothing 
 dse than the glory of God. 
 
 From this it follows, that every Christian ought 
 to be satisfied at having been placed by God in 
 that position which was most agreeable to His 
 infinite wisdom, nor ought he to envy others 
 who have been treated with special distinction; 
 but considering himself, as he really is, un¬ 
 worthy of the least favour, he ought to rest 
 content with what has been given to him, 
 whether that be much or little. His sole aim, 
 the one object of his life, ought to be to serve 
 God well in his own particular state, and to 
 correspond faithfully to all the graces which he 
 receives from His hands, desiring solely to 
 
Part II, Chap. IV., Sec. 4. 
 
 169 
 
 improve continually, and to become daily more 
 perfect in God’s holy love, and in conforming 
 himself to the divine will. In doing this he 
 will be discharging a duty which is imposed on 
 every one, and in fulfilling which we can never 
 do too much. 
 
 When a person who is animated by these 
 dispositions sees others placed by God in an 
 exalted position, and so to speak kept in closer 
 proximity to Him, as happens in the case of 
 ecclesiastics and religious persons ; when he 
 sees some singularly favoured by God with the 
 gift of rare virtues, extraordinary lights, and , 
 special privileges, he sincerely rejoices with God, 
 and in union with these chosen souls he blesses 
 the divine goodness for its most wise distribution 
 of its gifts. And so satisfied is he with the 
 dispositions of Providence, that if it were in his 
 power to enjoy the same privileges—I won’t say 
 in opposition to, but independently of, God’s 
 will—he would reject them all, merely reserving 
 to himself to admire them, to praise them, and 
 to wish them to exist there only where the will 
 of his Beloved King has established them. 
 
 We can imagine nothing which is calculated 
 to give greater pleasure to God than a disposition 
 of this kind. And, in truth, what more convinc¬ 
 ing proof of loyalty and love could a subject give 
 his sovereign, than not to wish even for riches 
 and honours except in such measure as may be 
 pleasing to the sovereign himself, and to reject 
 every favour the acceptance of which might not 
 
170 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 be perfectly agreeable to his sovereign’s will? 
 This will prove an exercise of very great merit 
 and of sweetest consolation to every one that 
 really loves God, namely, to rejoice and bless 
 the Lord whenever he sees any of his neighbours 
 more favoured than himself; to endeavour to 
 rejoice thereat even more than if these same 
 favours had been bestowed upon himself; and 
 even to praise the Lord, because He has been 
 pleased to communicate these gifts to others 
 rather than to himself, looking upon all others 
 as more deserving, more useful, and better dis¬ 
 posed to correspond with such graces and to 
 turn them to good account. In this manner we 
 combine profound humility with disinterested 
 love, the former being the foundation, the latter 
 the apex, of Christian perfection. 
 
 In connection with this matter, it may not be 
 out of place to mention the advice given to her 
 novices by another great Carmelite saint—Saint 
 Mary Magdalen de Pazzi—namely, that each of 
 them should ask for one degree of grace for hei-self 
 and two degrees for her companions; and she 
 assigned as a reason for doing so, that they 
 should look upon their companions as more 
 deserving than themselves, and more likely to 
 correspond faithfully to grace, and thus give 
 _ greater glory to God (Puccini, Life , chap. 104). 
 And worthy of record, also, is that beautiful 
 saying to which she once gave utterance in an 
 ecstasy, when she saw how, in the time of interior 
 trial, she would be deprived of all spiritual en- 
 
Part II, Chap. IV, Sec. 5 . 
 
 171 
 
 joyment : “ Having no spiritual delights myself, 
 
 I will remain alone in a corner looking at all the 
 other nuns, my companions. ... I will con¬ 
 sider that I have all the favours which they have; 
 and although I shall not enjoy them, charity, 
 which makes all things common, will enable me 
 to enjoy while not enjoying, merely by enjoying 
 the enjoyment of others” (chap. 113). 
 
 Saint Teresa concludes this meditation, by 
 contemplating Jesus crowned with § 5 . Manner in 
 thorns, and hailed in derision as which Saint 
 
 “King of the Jews”. “Here,” dude?this" 
 she says, “that incident very ap- meditation. 
 
 propriately comes in, when Pilate brought forth 
 our Redeemer after he had been falsely charged, 
 and exhibited Him before the people, crowned 
 with thorns, bearing a reed in his hand for a 
 sceptre, and clad in an old purple garment, while 
 he cried out, ‘ Behold the King of the Jews 
 Instead of the blasphemies and scoffs in which the 
 soldiers and the Jews indulged on that occasion, 
 let you, after having adored Him with the greatest 
 reverence, make acts of humility, accompanied 
 by ardent desires that the honours and praises 
 of this world may prove to us a crown of thorns.” 
 
 This will be a very devout contemplation; 
 because the sight of our King—the Sovereign 
 Lord of Heaven and earth—reduced to such an 
 extremity of suffering and derision for our sake, 
 and crowned with thorns that we may hereafter- 
 be crowned with glory, will inflame our hearts 
 with the liveliest desires that we, too, might do 
 
172 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 and suffer something in His service, and prove 
 our gratitude towards Him. The more we shall 
 see the infinite majesty of this our King tortured 
 and insulted for our sake, the more will we 
 humble ourselves before Him, and the better 
 shall we understand how dear to us ought to be 
 the sufferings and contempt which we have to 
 endure for Him. Nay, as Saint Teresa remarks, 
 we will even desire that the honours and praises 
 of the world should become so hateful to us, as 
 to prove to us a very crown of thorns. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Second Petition continued. 
 
 In the 30th chapter of the Way of Perfection , 
 § 1. Consum- Saint Teresa gives another explana- 
 mate perfec- tion of this Petition, understanding 
 kingdom 0 ^ by the kingdom of God a state of 
 earth * the soul so perfect, that it rivals and 
 
 imitates, as far as is possible in this life, the 
 condition of the blessed in heaven. She speaks 
 of it as follows: “ The chief happiness which 
 seems to me to be reserved for the elect in the 
 kingdom of heaven (among many other joys), 
 is an utter disregard of the things of this earth; 
 for which there is substituted among those 
 blessed souls a calm repose, an enjoyment of 
 their own beatitude, a rejoicing in the happiness 
 
Part //., Chap. V, Sec. i . 
 
 173 
 
 of others, a perpetual peace and a great satis¬ 
 faction in themselves, which come to them from 
 seeing that there all honour God and bless His 
 holy name, while none offend Him. All in 
 that happy abode love Him, and the soul 
 herself attends to nothing else but to love Him, 
 nor can she cease to love Him, because 
 she knows Him. And so we, too, did we but 
 know Him, should love Him in this world, 
 not indeed in so perfect a degree or with 
 such constancy as the blessed do, but yet in a 
 manner very different from that in which we 
 love Him at present. It might seem as though 
 I were about to say that we ought to be angels 
 in order to offer up such a petition as this. 
 And yet our Divine Master would wish that we 
 should aspire to this, since He commands us to f 
 offer up this sublime Petition, and surely He 
 does not suggest to us to ask for impossibilities. 
 And, in truth, there is no reason why a soul 
 placed in this land of exile should not be able, 
 with the divine assistance, to reach this degree 
 of union with God and quiet spiritual enjoy¬ 
 ment, though she can never attain it so perfectly 
 as those holy souls do who have already gone 
 forth from this prison of the body; for w r e are 
 yet upon the world’s tempest-tossed sea, and 
 have not yet reached our journey’s end.” 
 
 It is impossible, as Saint Teresa says in the 
 concluding sentence of this extract, to attain 
 while in this world that perfection which is 
 reserved for us in heaven. We are still upon 
 
174 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 the tempest-tossed sea, far from the harbour of 
 rest; we are still travellers far from our home ; 
 nevertheless, even in this life, we may attain a 
 degree of perfection so high that it is called 
 consummate, having regard to what is possible 
 in our present condition, in which we see God 
 only “ through a glass in a dark manner,” and 
 do not see Him as He really is in His unveiled 
 glory. In this state of consummate perfection, 
 the soul, as Saint Thomas says, is always ad¬ 
 vancing, because as long as she remains in this 
 world, she must go on continually perfecting 
 herself in love; and yet her chief anxiety no 
 longer is simply to make progress in love, but 
 rather to cling to God by love—“ Perfecti etiam 
 in charitate proficiunt, sed non est ad hoc princi¬ 
 palis eorum cura ; sed jam eorum studium circa 
 hoc maxime versatur, ut Deo inhaereant ” (St. 
 Thom., 2, 2, q. 24, 2, 9). Saint Philip Neri 
 , used to call this last degree of perfection an 
 angelic life, which those attained who, having for 
 a long time exercised themselves in subduing their 
 passions, receive from God the reward of a quiet, 
 tranquil, and almost angelic life even in this 
 world ” (Bacci, Life, book 2, chap. 21). 
 
 In this state of union and heavenly peace, the 
 soul experiences the best foretaste of paradise 
 which it is possible to enjoy in this world, and 
 its interior life is a picture of heaven. It no 
 longer feels the slightest concern for the things 
 of earth; it experiences a quiet interior joy, 
 which the devil cannot disturb or embitter. It 
 
Part II., Chap. V, Sec. i. 
 
 *75 
 
 rejoices and is glad, in seeing that from every¬ 
 thing God derives glory for Himself and ad¬ 
 vantage for His elect. It understands that, 
 despite all the malice of men and demons, God’s 
 holy will—which is the only will the soul recog¬ 
 nises—is executed unchallenged in heaven, on 
 earth, and in hell. It knows and feels that God 
 is entirely loveable, not only in His mercy, but 
 also in His justice; for in Him justice and mercy 
 and every other attribute are one only thing— 
 namely, His most simple infinite goodness. Then 
 the soul feels such a sweet and powerful attrac¬ 
 tion of love uniting it and binding it to God, that 
 it seems as though this bond never could be 
 broken or loosened. In these interior lights 
 and consolations it experiences a secret heaven, 
 so sweetly and so intensely that no tongue—not 
 even the soul itself—could describe in words 
 the transports of delight which it feels. In such 
 moments it enjoys, as far as it is possible to do 
 so, heaven upon earth. 
 
 However, as Saint Teresa remarks, it would 
 be a great mistake to suppose that the soul will 
 remain permanently in this state of bliss and 
 glory. From time to time, the soul enjoys this 
 kingdom of God, as if she were stationed amidst 
 the glories of Thabor; but then at other times 
 she is visited with the tortures of the Cross, as if 
 her place were on Calvary. For in this world 
 there can be no comfort so unalloyed as to be 
 enduring; because to the very end it is a place 
 of trial even for the holiest souls. 
 
176 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 By the kingdom of God Saint Teresa under- 
 §2. The Prayer stands, moreover, the Prayer of 
 of Quiet. Quiet , or the beginning of super¬ 
 
 natural coiitemplation; and since, as she says 
 in the 15th chapter of her Life, “very many 
 souls reach this state,” it is well to hear how she 
 describes it: “ It occasionally happens, that 
 when some persons are weary of travelling (/.<?., 
 by over-taxing their powers in mental or vocal 
 prayer), our Lord places them in a state in 
 which they enjoy tranquillity and repose of the 
 powers of the soul, whereby they clearly under¬ 
 stand, as if by a foretaste, how sweet is that 
 enjoyment which His Divine Majesty gives to 
 those whom He brings to His kingdom: and to 
 those on whom He bestows this favour in the 
 present life (as we beg of Him to do in this 
 Petition), He gives certain pledges and signs, 
 that by means of them they may entertain a 
 great hope of going to enjoy for eternity, that 
 which they are permitted only to sip here 
 below ” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 30). 
 
 “This (Prayer of Quiet) is indeed a something 
 supernatural, which we never can acquire by our 
 own endeavours, no matter how earnestly we 
 may strive to do so. For it is a settling-down 
 of the soul in peace, or, to speak more correctly, 
 our Lord places her in a state of peace by His 
 divine presence, as He once did holy Simeon, 
 because all her faculties are calmed. The soul 
 then understands, in a manner entirely different 
 from understanding by means of the bodily 
 
Part //., Chap. V, Sec. 2. 
 
 177 
 
 senses, that she is already close to God, and 
 that but a little more would make her quite one 
 with Him by means of the union of love. This 
 effect is not produced through her seeing Him 
 with the eyes of the body or with those of the 
 soul; just as holy Simeon saw no outward 
 appearance to indicate who the blessed little 
 Infant was, except the poor swaddling clothes in 
 which He was wrapped and the few attendants 
 who accompanied Him—circumstances which 
 might have led him to conclude that the Infant 
 was the child of poor parents, rather than the 
 Son of the eternal God—and yet the child 
 Himself made known to him who He was. So, 
 in like manner, the soul that enjoys the Prayer 
 of Quiet knows that God is near her, though she 
 does not know it with the same clearness that 
 holy Simeon did; because she herself does not 
 know how she understands it, except that she 
 sees herself in the kingdom (or at all events near 
 the King who is to give it to her), and seems 
 overpowered by such a feeling of reverence, that 
 she does not even dare to ask for anything. It 
 is, as it were, a swoon which comes over all the 
 powers of the body and the soul, so that the 
 exterior man (by which, that you may understand 
 me the better, I mean the body), does not wish 
 to move at all, but, like one who has almost 
 reached his journey’s end, takes rest, in order to 
 be the better able to push forward again, since 
 in this state one’s strength is redoubled for this 
 purpose. Meanwhile one feels great corporal 
 
178 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 delight, and great satisfaction in the soul. The 
 soul is so delighted merely at seeing herself near 
 the fountain, that even without drinking she is 
 already satisfied, nor does there seem to be any¬ 
 thing more for her to desire. Her faculties are so 
 quiet that they will not make the least movement, 
 because everything seems to disturb the progress 
 of her love. And yet all this while the faculties 
 of the soul are not lost, because they are able to 
 think who it is that is near them; for two of them, 
 the memory and the understanding, are free. 
 'The will, however, is in these circumstances a 
 captive, and if she can feel any pain in being in 
 this condition, it is to see that she must, later on, 
 return to her former liberty. The intellect is 
 unwilling to understand more than one thing (*>., 
 love), nor will the memory occupy itself with 
 anything else: in this state they see that this 
 alone is necessary, and that everything else is a 
 hindrance to it. They would not have the body 
 stir, because they think that thereby they might 
 lose the perfect peace they enjoy, and so they do 
 not dare to make the slightest movement. 
 Speaking becomes painful to them, and it may 
 take them an entire hour even to say one “ Our 
 Father ”. They are so close to God, that they 
 perceive they are understood by signs. They 
 are in the palace, close beside their King, and 
 they see that He already begins to give them 
 His kingdom even in this world. Hereupon, 
 sometimes, certain sweet and delicious tears 
 begin to flow. They feel as though they were 
 
 / im 
 
Part II , Chap. V., Sec. 2. 
 
 179 
 
 no longer in the world, and they do not wish 
 either to see or to hear of anything else except 
 their God. Nothing troubles them, nor does it 
 seem possible that anything could do so. In 
 fine, so long as they continue in this state, they 
 are so inebriated with the interior satisfaction 
 and delight which they experience, that they do 
 not remember that there is anything else to 
 desire, but would willingly exclaim with Saint 
 Peter, ‘ Lord , let us make here three taber?iacles \ 
 “ In this Prayer of Quiet, God sometimes 
 bestows another favour. . . . When this 
 
 state of quiet is great and protracted for a con¬ 
 siderable time, it seems to me that if the will 
 were not attached to something, it could not 
 continue so long in the enjoyment of that peace; 
 for it happens that we (I speak of those who 
 have it), go on in this way for a day or two, 
 during which we experience this satisfaction and 
 do not understand ourselves. And, in truth, 
 persons who are in this state see that they are 
 not entirely taken up with whatever they may be 
 doing, but that they want the chief thing, namely, 
 the will, which, in my opinion, is united with 
 God, and leaves the other faculties free to attend 
 to matters appertaining to His service, for which 
 they then possess far greater ability than at other 
 times, though in all that concerns worldly affairs 
 they are dull and, if I may say so, stupid. This 
 is a great grace to whomsoever the Lord grants 
 it, because they thus combine the active with the 
 contemplative life. Our Lord is then served by 
 
180 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 all our powers; because the will is absorbed in 
 loving contemplation, and goes on with her work 
 without knowing how she works, while the other 
 two powers are performing the part of Martha, 
 so that she and Mary walk hand in hand. I 
 know a person who was often favoured by our 
 Lord with this kind of prayer, and did not under¬ 
 stand it or how it could take place, until she 
 questioned a great contemplative on the subject, 
 who told her that her not understanding it was 
 very possible, and that the same had happened 
 to himself. Wherefore I am of opinion that 
 since the soul is so content and satisfied in this 
 Prayer of Quiet, it is because the will, especially 
 during all that time, must be united to Him who 
 alone can perfectly satisfy it.” 
 
 She afterwards tries to make us understand 
 the manner of this Prayer of Quiet by the follow¬ 
 ing comparisons. “ The soul (in the Prayer of 
 Quiet) is like an infant not yet weaned, lying at 
 its mother’s breast; and she, to please him, 
 presses the milk into his mouth, without the 
 least effort on his part. So it is in this kind of 
 prayer; for, without any labour on the part of 
 the understanding, the will goes on loving, and 
 the Lord wishes that, without thinking on it, the 
 soul should know that she is conversing with 
 Him, and she has but to swallow that milk 
 which His Majesty places in her mouth, and 
 enjoy its sweetness by knowing that it is the 
 Lord who gives it to her, and revel in this enjoy¬ 
 ment. But let her not desire to know how she 
 
Part II., Chap . V, Sec. 2. 181 
 
 enjoys it, nor what it is that she does enjoy, nor 
 let her have any concern about herself, because 
 He that is beside her will not neglect to pro¬ 
 vide what is suitable for her. . . . When 
 
 the soul has attained to this degree of prayer, 
 it seems as though the Eternal Father had 
 already granted her petition, namely, to give her 
 in this world His kingdom ” (Way of Perfection, 
 chap. 31). 
 
 But since Saint Teresa speaks elsewhere also 
 of this Prayer of Quiet, and especially in the 
 14th chapter of her Life , we will add here a few 
 extracts :—“The will is occupied in such a way 
 that, without knowing how, it is seized and made 
 captive ; it consents that God alone should thus 
 hold it captive, since it well knows that it is the 
 captive of Him whom it loves. O Jesus, my 
 Lord, of what advantage does this love prove to us 
 here, since it holds our love so fast bound as not 
 to leave us free at that moment to love anything 
 else than Thee ! . . . This water, the source of 
 those great blessings and graces which our Lord 
 gives us in the Prayer of Quiet, causes our 
 virtues to increase immeasurably more than in 
 the other kind of prayer mentioned above (i.e., 
 devout , but not supernatural prayer ), because the 
 soul now begins to rise up out of her misery, and 
 there is already given to her a slight foretaste of 
 the joys of heavenly glory. This, I believe, 
 makes her advance the more in virtue, and ap¬ 
 proach nearer to the true virtue—that is, to God, 
 whence all other virtues proceed. Then His 
 
182 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Divine Majesty begins to communicate Himself 
 to this soul, and He wishes that she should 
 know the manner in which He does so. When 
 the soul has arrived at this point, she imme¬ 
 diately begins to lose all desire of the things of 
 this world, and to hold them of no account; 
 because she clearly sees that not even for a 
 single moment could one succeed in deriving a 
 like happiness from the things of earth, and that 
 no riches, or power, or delights, or honours are 
 capable of affording us, even for an instant, the 
 least idea of this supreme pleasure, which we feel 
 satisfies us, simply because it is real pleasure. 
 But as to the pleasures of the world, it seems to 
 me wonderful how we can imagine that they 
 satisfy us at all; because they are never without \ 
 some accompanying bitterness, whereas during 
 the progress of the Prayer of Quiet everything 
 is delight, and the bitterness only comes after¬ 
 wards, when we find that it is finished.’’ 
 
 Again, in the 15th chapter, she says: “This 
 kind of prayer is a little spark of God’s true 
 love, which the Lord begins to kindle in the 
 soul, and by heaping favours upon her, He 
 wishes that she should understand the nature of 
 this love. . . . This little spark, introduced 
 into the soul by God, though it be extremely 
 small, makes a great noise, and if it be not ex¬ 
 tinguished by one’s own fault, it immediately 
 begins to kindle the great fire, which (as I shall 
 say in the proper place), sends forth from it 
 flames of the most intense love of God, such as 
 
Part //, Chap. V, Sec. 3. 
 
 183 
 
 His Divine Majesty causes perfect souls to enjoy. 
 This little spark is a token or pledge which God 
 gives to that soul, in proof that He has already 
 chosen her for great things if she will only pre¬ 
 pare herself to receive them, and it is a gift much 
 greater than any words of mine could express.” 
 
 Both in this portion of her Life and in her 
 Way of Perfection , Saint Teresa §3. Some 
 gives various counsels to those whom gaSg this 
 God is pleased to raise to this Prayer prayer, 
 of Quiet. Of these the principal are :— 
 
 First, that they should select a good director, 
 by whom they may be guided in all that concerns 
 their spiritual affairs. 
 
 Secondly, that they should not be troubled, if 
 the workings of the understanding or imagina¬ 
 tion should sometimes disturb their prayer. 
 
 Thirdly, that when one is in this state of 
 prayer, he should not interrupt the quiet of his 
 soul by reciting many prayers in a hurried man¬ 
 ner ; but, instead of doing so, should continue to 
 enjoy, with all possible tranquillity, the gift which 
 God sends him, repeating from time to time no 
 more than an occasional word. 
 
 Fourthly, that he should endeavour to make 
 solid progress in all the virtues; because by so 
 doing he will receive still greater favours from 
 God, until he shall attain to perfect union with 
 Him, and will perform great things for His glory. 
 
 And if any one should desire to understand 
 more perfectly this kingdom of God—that is to 
 say, this precious enjoyment of the sweet Prayer 
 
184 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 of Quiet—let him listen to St. Bernard, who 
 says : “ Oh, whoever you are that desire to know 
 what is meant by this enjoyment, do not strive 
 to learn it by hearing a description of it, but 
 apply your heart to the solution of the question. 
 
 ) No tongue can teach what it is : grace alone can 
 impart that knowledge. This is a science which 
 is hidden from the wise and prudent ones of this 
 world, and is revealed to those who are as simple 
 as little children. O my brothers, what a great 
 and sublime virtue is that humility which merits 
 a degree of knowledge incapable of being taught; 
 which deserves to know what is so sublime that 
 / it cannot be learned ! In the sight of the Eter¬ 
 nal Word, it deserves to'attract to itself from 
 that same Word what human words fail to ex¬ 
 press. How does this happen ? It is not 
 indeed the result of any merit of ours, for it is 
 not a thing that can be merited. It happens, 
 then, because such is the will of the Father of 
 the Eternal Word, the Spouse of our soul— 
 Jesus Christ.” 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the Third Petition: Thy will be done on earth 
 as it is in heaven . 
 
 In the Third Petition Saint Teresa considers 
 God as the Spouse of our souls, and speaks as 
 
Part II., Chap . VI, Sec. i. 185 
 
 follows in the Meditation which she sets down 
 for Wednesday: “The Third Petition s r , 
 is 7 /ry will be done, in which we Spouse of the 
 desire that God’s will may be accom- souL 
 plished in all things—nay more, we pray that 
 His will may be accomplished on earth, with the 
 same perfection of love with which it is accom¬ 
 plished in heaven. This Petition follows very 
 appropriately after the two preceding ones; 
 because it is very proper that in all things the 
 will of the Eternal Father should be most 
 perfectly accomplished by His children, and that 
 of our Sovereign King by His subjects. Where¬ 
 fore, that we may be the more ready to conform 
 ourselves to this divine will, let us represent to 
 our minds this Father and King of kings under 
 the title of the most loving Spouse of our souls. 
 Whoever attentively considers this title and 
 understands all the love that it implies, will, 
 without doubt, feel in his heart a burning desire 
 to fulfil the will of that Lord, who, though being 
 the King of kings, the brightness of Paradise, 
 the abyss of all riches, and the ocean of all 
 beauty—most strong, most powerful, most wise, 
 and most loveable—wishes, nevertheless, to be 
 loved by us, and to love us in return with all 
 that tenderness of* affection which this most 
 sweet name implies. 
 
 “His Divine Majesty sets great value on this 
 title, and therefore when inviting to repentance 
 sinful and adulterous Jerusalem, He begs of her 
 to return to Him and to call Him ‘ Father and 
 
i86 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Spouse,’ in order thereby to give her confidence 
 and a pledge that she will be received by Him. 
 
 “This title of Spouse calls up before our 
 minds everything that is implied in a faithful, 
 generous love—all that is included in a mutual 
 surrender of wills ; and therefore, in assuming 
 to Himself this title, God claims our undivided 
 love, our every thought, our entire heart. It 
 was thus that after He had made a contract and 
 covenant of espousals with Israel of old, as we 
 read in Deuteronomy, He required and com¬ 
 manded that they should love Him with their 
 whole heart, with their whole soul, and with all 
 their strength.” 
 
 In this Petition, then, we must reflect in a 
 special manner upon the condescension of 
 Almighty God, who, not content with wishing 
 to be the Father and the King of the soul that 
 He loves, wishes also to be her Spouse, and 
 seems to value this title above every other. 
 
 In truth, His Divine Spirit dictated to Solomon 
 one entire book of Holy Writ—the Canticle of 
 Canticles—which may be considered. as a long 
 nuptial ode to celebrate God’s espousals with 
 the soul He loves. In this book, under the veil of 
 deep mystic words, is described the most holy and 
 ineffable love which passes between the Eternal 
 Spouse and the soul that He has espoused. 
 This book, so extremely difficult to be under¬ 
 stood by worldly and carnal minds, is a paradise 
 of light and sweetness for pure souls; and it is all 
 the more so, in proportion as they have 
 
Part //., Chap. Vi, Sec. I. 
 
 187 
 
 approached the nearer to the goal of perfect 
 sanctity. Towards the close of his life, Saint 
 Bernard found delight in writing a commentary 
 on this book of God’s love, but was unable to 
 finish his labours on it, being called away to 
 enjoy in heaven those transports which he 
 essayed to describe on earth. In his last illness 
 Saint Thomas of Aquin explained this book to 
 the monks of Fossanuova. The last earthly 
 labour of the pious Gerson was likewise expended 
 upon it, and he died three days after finishing 
 his work. Saint John of the Cross would have 
 it read to comfort him in his dying agony, and 
 it is recorded in his Life that, on hearing the 
 loving sentences with which it is replete, he 
 wept and exclaimed : O what precious pearls 
 are these l Saint Teresa, also, wrote some noble 
 thoughts on the words of this book, but only a 
 few fragments of her work remain. 
 
 In this sublime canticle, the Divine Spouse 
 describes, one by one, the beauties of His beloved, 
 and bursts forth into exclamations of wonder 
 and of love, which are calculated to fill us with 
 astonishment: “Behold thou art fair, O my 
 love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are as those 
 of doves. (Cap. i. v. 14.) Arise, my love, my 
 beautiful one, and come. . . . Show me 
 
 thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears : for thy 
 voice is sweet and thy face comely, (ii. 13, 14.) 
 Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a 
 spot in thee. . . . Thou hast wounded my 
 
 heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast wounded 
 
188 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 my heart with one of thy eyes. . . . Thy 
 
 lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, 
 honey and milk are under thy tongue, and the 
 smell of thy garments as the smell of frankincense. 
 My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a 
 fountain sealed up. (iv. 7, 9, n, 12.) Open 
 to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, 
 (v. 2.) Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet 
 and comely as Jerusalem. (vi. 3.) How 
 beautiful art thou and how comely, my dearest 
 in delights ! ” (vii. 6.) 
 
 With these and other such wonderful ex¬ 
 pressions does the Spouse of our souls, the 
 King of heaven, proclaim His love for us ; and 
 after such declarations, it is needless to bring 
 forward additional proofs of this love from other 
 portions of Holy Writ. 
 
 From various other passages in the same 
 Canticle, which represent the soul speaking with 
 her Heavenly Spouse, we may gather how 
 familiarly and lovingly He permits her to treat 
 Him. Similar outpourings of tender affection and 
 intimacy are even more vividly expressed in the 
 writings of the Saints, who, having had practical 
 experience of these loving transports, endeavour 
 to give us some idea of them, in order to bring 
 before us in the strongest colours the love of our 
 Divine Spouse, and to inflame our souls with a 
 burning desire to be united to Him. It will be 
 particularly useful to read on this point what 
 Saint Teresa has written in her Life and in the 
 Mansions , as well as what Saint John of the 
 
Part II, Chap. VI, Sec. 2. 
 
 189 
 
 Cross has left us on the same subject in his 
 Spiritual Canticle and in the Living Flame of 
 Love. Happy he who can understand all that 
 these have written about God’s wondrous love 
 for those souls that love Him much ! 
 
 But since the souls that have attained to this 
 high degree of perfection and of lov- . . 
 
 ing familiarity with their Heavenly Lmbenumtlie 
 Spouse are few in number, while, on soul as the 
 the other hand, there are many souls 
 in the state of grace, and consequently espoused 
 by God, who are imperfect and tepid in His love, 
 let us once again listen to Saint Teresa, and learn 
 from her what rule of conduct these latter are to 
 pursue, in order that they may succeed in pleas¬ 
 ing their Heavenly Spouse, and may merit special 
 tokens of His love. Saint Teresa therefore says: 
 “Reflect then how circumspect, how modest, how 
 elegantly attired the spouse ought to be who is 
 loved by such a great king, and howgrave she ought 
 to be both in her thoughts and in her conduct. 
 
 “ Consider the jewels and other ornaments 
 with which this Bridegroom is accustomed to 
 adorn His spouses ; and endeavour to prepare 
 your soul to merit them, for assuredly He will 
 not leave it poor, nor naked, nor unadorned. 
 Ask of Him to give you these jewels that are 
 most pleasing to His Divine Majesty. Place 
 yourself at His feet; for sometimes this Lord 
 will deign in His heavenly goodness to raise you 
 up and to receive you into His arms, as King 
 Assuerus did Queen Esther.” 
 
190 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 The soul, therefore, may look upon herself as 
 being in the same condition as a poor girl of low 
 extraction, who has had the good fortune to be 
 chosen as the bride of a very rich and powerful 
 lord ; and she may consider how such a poor 
 girl would be likely to conduct herself, if she were 
 prudent, grateful for the favour conferred upon 
 her, and anxious to secure the affection of her 
 lord. Oh ! how anxious and diligent she would 
 be to study his disposition, so as to please him 
 in everything ! How careful she would be to 
 hold aloof from all society that might in any 
 way reflect discredit upon her ! How anxiously 
 she would endeavour to adorn herself as ele¬ 
 gantly as possible, so as to appear less unworthy 
 of him, and to find favour in his sight! How 
 modest she would be in her conduct, so that no 
 one might find anything to censure in her ! She 
 would even rid herself of all those low and 
 coarse habits of thought, to which she had been 
 accustomed previous to her espousals. 
 
 Well, what this poor maiden, so fortunate in 
 the eyes of the world, would do to please an 
 earthly lover, who, though of high degree, would 
 yet be far from perfect, and would, moreover, be 
 liable to all the infirmities of humanity, including 
 death itself, let the soul that is espoused by God 
 endeavour to do, in order to please that Sove¬ 
 reign Bridegroom, whose beauty and goodness 
 are infinite, whose every quality claims her love, 
 and who will be her Spouse, not for a time, but 
 for all eternity. In all her thoughts, in her every 
 
Part II, Chap. VI, Sec. 2. 
 
 191 
 
 act, let her study only His pleasure; and let her 
 be diligent in finding out in all things what is 
 His divine will, that she may execute it, no 
 matter how great the inconvenience or the sacri¬ 
 fice. Let her life be retired, and let her affec¬ 
 tions never rest, even for a moment, upon any 
 earthly person or object, so that she may never 
 bring disgrace upon herself by harbouring in her 
 heart any base or unworthy love. Let her adorn 
 herself with all the Christian virtues practised in 
 the most perfect degree; and let her suffer no¬ 
 thing to exist either in her soul, where her Spouse 
 dwells, or in her exterior deportment, which 
 could possible displease Him, so that thus she 
 may appear before Him all beautiful and without 
 stain. 
 
 Let her consider also the jewels and the oima- 
 ments, that is to say, the graces and special 
 favours ivith which this most loving Bridegroom 
 is accustomed to adorn the soul that He has es¬ 
 poused; and let her endeavour to prepare herself 
 to deserts them, by doing everything in her power 
 to render herself fit for the choicest favours He 
 may wish to bestow upon her, being fully per¬ 
 suaded that He will not leave her poor, or naked , 
 or unadorned , since this Divine Spouse is only 
 too anxious to see the soul that He has espoused 
 richly adorned. Let her, therefore, beg of Him 
 to bestow upon her those jewels that are most 
 pleasing to His Divine Majesty; for a bride 
 ought not to consult her own tastes in the 
 matter of personal adornment, but rather the 
 
192 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 wishes of her Spouse. She ought not to aim at 
 pleasing herself or others, but Him alone. 
 
 Wherefore it is fitting that she should ask for 
 those jewels which are indispensable to her in 
 order to retain His love—that is to say, humility, 
 simplicity, purity, and all the other Christian 
 virtues; but as regards special and exceptional 
 favours which are not necessary, let her leave the 
 matter entirely to Himself, wishing for nothing 
 that may not be pleasing to Him. If she will only 
 place herself at His feet with such dispositions 
 of humble detachment, she will become so pleas¬ 
 ing in His divine sight, that He will not fail from 
 time to time to raise her up from the earth and to 
 receive her into His arms , as King Assuerus did 
 Queen Esther —that is to say, He will console 
 her with His divine presence, and will raise her 
 up to perfect contemplation. However, we shall 
 speak in another chapter of the manner in which 
 a soul ought to abandon herself into the hands 
 of God, and of the familiarity with which the 
 Lord then treats her. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1 
 
 The Third Petition continued . 
 
 Saint Teresa goes on to say, that the soul 
 espoused by God ought to consider “ the 
 poverty of the dowry which she brings to 
 
Part II, Chap. VII, Sec. i. 
 
 i 93 
 
 this espousal, and the immense riches of the 
 bridegroom ; and, furthermore, how . 
 
 by the price of His Blood He to be made by 
 purchased from His Father our spouse^God! 
 souls, in order to make them His 
 spouses, from having been previously the 
 slaves of Satan, so that He might justly be 
 called a Spouse of blood. These espousals 
 were made in baptism, wherein He gave us 
 His faith, together with other virtues and gifts 
 which are the ornament of our souls. And 
 as all the gifts of God have become ours by 
 means of this espousal, so, too, this most dear 
 Spouse has made all our labours and trials His 
 own : for such was the exchange He made with 
 us, bestowing upon us all His blessings and 
 taking to Himself all our evils. Must not who¬ 
 ever reflects well upon this feel intense grief at 
 seeing Him offended, and boundless joy at 
 seeing Him faithfully served ? Who can behold 
 without pity a Spouse such as this tightly bound 
 to a pillar and scourged ? Who can look upon 
 Him nailed to a cross and laid in a sepulchre, 
 without feeling his heart torn with grief? And, 
 on the other hand, who can behold Him 
 triumphantly risen again, without experiencing 
 indescribable joy ? ” 
 
 But while indulging in these reflections, the 
 soul must at the same time attend § 2 sdf-know- 
 particularly to the necessity of self- ledge. 
 knowledge. In the 13th chapter of her Life, 
 Saint Teresa says that “ Knowledge of ourselves 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 and of our sins is the bread with which all our 
 meals, however savoury they be, ought to be 
 eaten on this road of prayer ; for without this 
 bread they could not nourish us ”; and in the 
 39th chapter of the Way of Perfection^ she says : 
 “ Be careful in the beginning and the end of 
 your prayer, however sublime your contemplation 
 may be, always to conclude with the knowledge 
 of yourselves : For if your contemplation really 
 comes from God, you will do this very often of 
 your own accord, even though it be distasteful, 
 because it brings humility along with it, and 
 leaves us more light to know what a nothing we 
 are Saint John of the Cross also says : “As 
 a rule, all the graces which God showers down 
 upon the soul, are found contained in this 
 knowledge (of ourselves and of our own wretch¬ 
 edness) ” ( The Obscure Night , book I., chap. 12). 
 
 Wherefore, even though the soul should be 
 highly favoured by God, and enriched and 
 adorned by Him even with the most precious 
 gifts, nevertheless it is always necessary that she 
 should reflect upon the poverty of the dowry 
 which she brings to her espousal. Her dowry is 
 simply her own nothingness, her own wretched¬ 
 ness and her sins. For, in truth, this is all she 
 has of her own; and there is nothing else 
 belonging to her of which she can say: This is 
 mine. All the gifts which she possesses, whether 
 natural'or supernatural, come to her from the 
 hand of God; and, as He is the Giver of them, 
 so, too, He alone is the Owner of them. Let 
 
Part II, Chap. VII, Sec. 2. 
 
 *95 
 
 her reflect well, therefore, upon her own nothing¬ 
 ness, her own wretchedness, both spiritual and 
 corporal, and, above all, upon the sins which she 
 has committed and still continues to commit; 
 and in this manner let her humble herself to the 
 lowest depths of sincere humility, in the presence 
 of her Divine Spouse. 
 
 This virtue of self-knowledge shines forth pre¬ 
 eminently in holy souls, and confirms them in 
 humility to such a degree, that the greater they 
 become in the eyes of God, the less do they 
 become in their own eyes, until at length they 
 are no longer assailed by any temptations of 
 vain glory. In the 12th chapter of the Way of 
 Perfection , Saint Teresa says : “I believe that 
 the devil will never dare to tempt one who is 
 truly humble, even with the very least inclina¬ 
 tions to desire superiority over others Indeed 
 such souls are greatly surprised and amazed, as 
 though something which they had deemed im¬ 
 possible had occurred, when they perceive that 
 any one esteems or honours them. They con¬ 
 sider themselves as unworthy even to exist 
 among God’s creatures, and they believe that 
 there cannot possibly be any living thing worse 
 than themselves. 
 
 We have an example of this in Saint Teresa, 
 who writes of herself as follows : “ I fancy that, 
 even though I were to desire it ever so much, I 
 could not yield to vain glory; nor do I see how 
 I could bring myself to imagine that any one of 
 these virtues (which she had just mentioned) is 
 
196 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 found in me. For it is not so long since I saw 
 myself devoid of all virtue, and that, too, for 
 many years ; and now, on my part, I do nothing 
 else but receive favours from God without mak¬ 
 ing good use of them, so that I must look upon 
 myself as the most useless thing in the world. 
 And so it comes to pass, that I sometimes 
 reflect how every one makes progress in virtue 
 except myself, who am good for nothing. I do 
 not say this from any feeling of humility, but 
 simply because it is the literal truth ” (Second 
 Relation to her Confessors, n. 17). 
 
 Saint John of the Cross has left us the follow¬ 
 ing admirable description of souls endowed with 
 this rare degree of humility: “Influenced by 
 love, they would fain do such great things for 
 God, that even all they are already doing seems 
 to them nothing; and this loving anxiety soon 
 gains such complete mastery over them, that 
 they never consider whether others are doing 
 good or not, or if they ever should happen to 
 bestow a thought upon it, the conclusion at 
 which they arrive is, that all others are better 
 than themselves. Wherefore, entertaining a 
 low opinion of themselves, they would wish 
 others also to hold them in slight esteem, to 
 make no account of them, and to despise what 
 belongs to them. Nay, furthermore, if others 
 should wish to praise and to respect them, they 
 cannot bring themselves to believe it, and it 
 seems to them strange how any one could speak 
 well of them. . . . 
 
Part II, Chap. VII, Sec. 2. 
 
 1 97 
 
 “ They rejoice on hearing others praised; and 
 their only regret on such occasions is, that they 
 do not serve God themselves with the same 
 perfection as their neighbours do. They never 
 like to speak of their own state; because they 
 think so lightly of it that they are ashamed to 
 speak of it even to their confessors, since they 
 think it altogether unworthy of mention. They 
 are much more ready to speak of their faults 
 and imperfections, or of what they consider not 
 to be their virtues. Wherefore, they prefer to 
 treat of their spiritual affairs with those persons 
 who have the least opinion of their state and 
 spirit; and this is a characteristic of a soul that is 
 simple, pure, true, and very pleasing to God. 
 For since the Spirit of the Divine Wisdom 
 dwells in these humble souls, He quickly moves 
 and inclines them to guard secretly their 
 treasures in their hearts, and to expel there¬ 
 from the evil. God grants this grace, together 
 with other virtues, to the humble, while, on 
 the contrary, He withholds it from the 
 proud. 
 
 “ Such souls as these would pour out their 
 hearts’ blood for one who serves God, and they 
 help him by every means in their power to per¬ 
 severe in this service. When they fall into 
 imperfections, they bear up under them with 
 humility, in tranquillity of soul, in loving 
 fear of God, and placing their trust in 
 Him ” {The Obscure Night, book L, chap. 
 2). 
 
198 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Nevertheless, the soul that is espoused by 
 § 3 . Know- God must not constantly occupy her 
 
 ledge of the 
 gifts of God. 
 
 self with the thought of her poor 
 dowry —that is to say, of her own 
 nothingness and sinfulness; but from time to 
 time she must think of the dowry with which her 
 Divi?ie Spouse enriches her , namely, His grace 
 and all those other virtues which He lavishes so 
 liberally on the souls of those He loves. This 
 is why Saint Teresa says in the 13th chapter of 
 her Life , already quoted : “ This (bread of self- 
 knowledge) must be taken by weight and 
 measure, by which I mean to say, that when 
 a soul sees herself already humble, and is fully 
 persuaded that she is good for nothing, and is 
 ashamed and confounded to stand in the pre¬ 
 sence of so great a King, and considers how little 
 she repays Him for all that she owes Him . . . 
 she ought to pass on to other considerations 
 which the Lord will bring before her”. 
 
 She repeats the same advice at greater length 
 in the Mansions , I., where, among othert hings, 
 she says: “ Humility always works in the same 
 manner in which the bees make honey in their 
 hive. . . . But let us bear in mind that the 
 bee is continually coming out, and flitting in all 
 directions to gather honey; and so, in like 
 manner, let the soul come out of the considera¬ 
 tion of its imperfections, and fly upwards occa¬ 
 sionally to contemplate the greatness of her 
 Gnd. . . . If we be always occupied in the 
 consideration of our own wretchedness here 
 
Part II, C/iap. VII., Sec. j. 
 
 199 
 
 below, we shall never be free from the mire of 
 fears, of faint-heartedness, and cowardice.” 
 
 Wherefore, after the soul shall have well con¬ 
 sidered the poverty of her dowry , and shall have 
 thereby conceived fitting sentiments of humility 
 and of entire distrust of herself, let her reflect, 
 in like manner, on the dowry which her Spouse has 
 given her, in order that this consideration may 
 inspire her with courage and unbounded con¬ 
 fidence. Let her consider the priceless value, 
 the greatness, the excellence of this dowry, as 
 estimated by the most Sacred Blood that was 
 shed for her by her Spouse; for her entire 
 dowry consists in the merits of this Blood. 
 “ A bloody Spouse art thou to me ”—Sponsus 
 sanguinum tit mihi es —said Sephora to Moses 
 (Exod. iv. 25); and a bloody Spouse is Jesus 
 to the soul He loves; for it was by the shedding 
 of His Blood that He purchased, redeemed, 
 and espoused her, and it is by His Blood, like¬ 
 wise, that He enriches her with all spiritual 
 treasures, fills her with consolation, admits her 
 to the most familiar intercourse with Him, and 
 finally unites her to Himself for ever in glory. 
 We should also note very particularly the 
 exchange which He makes with the soul He 
 loves, taking upon Himself all her burdens and 
 wretchedness (sin alone excepted), and bestow¬ 
 ing upon her, in turn, all His blessings. He 
 took for His own share poverty, insults, suffer¬ 
 ings, and death, which are the wretched inheri¬ 
 tance of our poor humanity, in order to 
 
200 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 communicate to the soul riches, dignity, and a 
 life of never-ending happiness, which are the 
 special blessings of God 
 
 Meanwhile the soul ought to consider the love 
 
 which she ought to bear towards this 
 thtt befits°a Ve Heavenly Spouse — a strong love, 
 soul espoused a love prepared for self - sacrifice 
 
 even to the shedding of blood. 
 Many souls would wish to contract espousals 
 with Jesus, on the condition of bearing Him 
 only a tender, a sweet, and pleasant love. They 
 are frightened and dismayed at the thought of 
 bearing Him that strong love—that self-sacrific¬ 
 ing love, which does not shrink even from 
 shedding blood, nay, which will not be satisfied 
 unless it be called upon to prove itself by 
 suffering. And yet this is the love which a soul 
 ought to strive to bear to her Spouse Jesus. 
 When the soul is plunged in an ocean of spiritual 
 delights, it is very easy to love Jesus; indeed 
 we might say it is impossible to do otherwise. 
 Saint Peter showed no repugnance to tarry with 
 Jesus amidst the glories of Thabor; but, on the 
 contrary, without even reflecting on what it was 
 that he said, he projected building there three 
 tabernacles for his Master, for Moses, and for 
 Elias, being quite satisfied to remain unsheltered 
 there himself. But far different were his feelings 
 at a later period in the Pretorium. There, when 
 he saw his Divine Master no longer arrayed in 
 dazzling glory, but covered with confusion ; no 
 longer surrounded by the holy prophets, but in 
 
Part II, Chap . VII., Sec. 4. 
 
 201 
 
 the midst of executioners—derided, ill-treated, 
 on the very point of being led to death—he 
 kept at a distance from Him, and even denied 
 that he knew Him. Now, we may ask, why did 
 Saint Peter act so very differently on these two 
 occasions ? It was simply because his love was 
 as yet very weak and imperfect ; and therefore 
 he was quite ready to rejoice with Jesus, but 
 most unwilling to face danger and suffering with 
 Him. But after he had received the fullness of 
 love on the Day of Pentecost, be no longer 
 shrank from suffering or from death; but, on 
 the contrary, thirsted for them, until at length 
 he received the martyr’s crown. 
 
 O ye souls whom Jesus has espoused! be not 
 deceived, by expecting from the love of this 
 Spouse the enjoyment even in this life of in¬ 
 effable delights. It is true that, from time to 
 time, He will embrace you and draw you 
 sweetly to His heart; it is true that He will 
 sometimes give you a foretaste of those eternal 
 delights which it is in His power to bestow; but, 
 nevertheless, that is not the time in which He 
 will give you the greatest proofs of His love, nor 
 in which you will prove your love for Him in 
 return. The time when He will give you special 
 proofs of love, is the very time when He will 
 appear to be holding aloof from you, abandon¬ 
 ing you to darkness and bitterness of heart; 
 when He will demand of you the sacrifice of 
 everything you hold most dear, were it even 
 your very life. And if you, in such circum- 
 
202 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 stances, remain faithful to him, and show your¬ 
 selves ready and anxious to endure every trial 
 of soul and body in conformity with His will, 
 you will thereby give Him that proof of love 
 which He prizes most. 
 
 Ye souls whom Jesus has espoused! do not 
 at present long so much for the joys and delights 
 of His love. Remember that you have all 
 eternity before you, in which to rejoice with 
 Him ; and surely an eternity of enjoyment ought 
 to suffice, even for those who covet enjoyment 
 most eagerly. But, on the other hand, you 
 have only the few brief moments of this present 
 life in which to suffer with Jesus, and thereby to 
 prove the love you bear Him. If you be wise, 
 then, your sole desire at present ought to be to 
 suffer with your Divine Spouse, reflecting that 
 the happiness of suffering with Him, and for 
 love of Him, must terminate at the hour of 
 death, and can be nevermore enjoyed. How 
 condescending to your weakness is this Divine 
 Spouse ! You have both to suffer and to rejoice 
 with Him ; but He limits the period of suffering 
 to a few brief moments, while the enjoyment is 
 destined to last throughout endless ages ! Your 
 earnest desire, then, ought to be, that of the 
 brief term of this life no moment should pass 
 without suffering, just as no moment of eternity 
 will be without its enjoyment. 
 
 But if you should still desire, even in this 
 world, some foretaste of that enjoyment which 
 awaits you in heaven, Saint Teresa will not for- 
 
Part II, Chap . VII, Sec. 5 . 
 
 203 
 
 bid you to entertain such a desire. She herself 
 once asked the Lord to grant her TT _ , 
 some spiritual delights, and she says, soul that is 
 “ I knew well that it was lawful to God may by 
 ask for them” (. Life, chap. 9). How- desire spiritual 
 ever, you ought to ask for such dehghts ’ 
 spiritual favours, only that they may encourage 
 and strengthen you to suffer all the more 
 courageously. In this respect they are suitable 
 and desirable, and for this purpose the Heavenly 
 Bridegroom gives them to His spouses, and all 
 the more abundantly in proportion as they 
 desire to suffer through love of Him. Some¬ 
 times He floods their souls with such ineffable 
 sweetness and delights, that the human heart 
 could not contain them, were it not enlarged by 
 God for the purpose. But, as Saint Teresa 
 points out in the 18th chapter of the Way of 
 Perfection, these unspeakable delights are be¬ 
 stowed upon the soul, in order to prepare her 
 for great and terrible sufferings that are in store 
 for her. “ I regard it as certain,” she says, 
 “ that God sends them much greater troubles. 
 And as He conducts them through such a rough 
 and uneven way, that sometimes they seem to 
 themselves on the point of being lost . . . 
 
 it is necessary that His Majesty should give 
 them some refreshment—not water, but wine— 
 so that, being inebriated with this heavenly wine, 
 they may not heed what they are suffering, and 
 may be able to endure it.” Wherefore one 
 should not desire even spiritual delights merely 
 
204 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 for the sake of enjoying them; for the present is 
 - not the time for such enjoyment. If you wish 
 to enjoy them, let it be in order that you may 
 the better know how to suffer, and be the better 
 able to endure suffering for your Divine Spouse. 
 
 At this point, Saint Teresa concludes the 
 „, „ . . Meditation as follows: “ Here it 
 
 § 6. Conclusion . , 
 
 oftheMedita- will be proper to consider Jesus in 
 tlon * the Garden, prostrate before His 
 
 Eternal Father, sweating blood, and offering 
 Himself to Him with the most perfect resigna¬ 
 tion, while He says, ‘ Not My will but Thine be 
 done’”. In this scene the soul beholds her 
 Divine Spouse accepting, taking upon Himself, 
 and, as it were, embracing in His heart the 
 blows, the scourgings, the thorns, the cross, the 
 nails, and the most terrible of all deaths, 
 through love of her; and she sees that He takes 
 all this upon Himself willingly, though His 
 Humanity recoils from the pain of it, even to 
 the degree of agony, and of causing His body 
 to sweat drops of blood. 
 
 This consideration will prove more useful 
 than any other while meditating on this Peti¬ 
 tion ; not only because it embraces all the 
 torments of the Passion which Jesus at that 
 moment felt so keenly in His soul, but more 
 especially because it was then that He reduced 
 , to practice that prayer which He taught us in 
 the Petition —Thy will be done ,—by conforming 
 Himself so perfectly to the will of His Divine 
 Father, while Plis soul was plunged in such a 
 
Part II., Chap. VIII., Sec. i. 
 
 205 
 
 sea of troubles. However, we shall return later 
 on to speak of this conformity to the divine 
 will. 
 
 We may remark, in passing, that Saint Teresa 
 had a special devotion to this stage of our 
 Lord’s Passion, as she tells us herself in the 9th 
 chapter of her Life , where she says: “During 
 many years, almost every night before I went to 
 sleep, I always meditated for a little while on 
 the Prayer in the Garden, even before I became 
 a nun . . . and I believe that my soul 
 derived much benefit from this practice”. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Third Petition continued. 
 
 In the 32nd chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 Saint Teresa speaks as follows of the § t The Soul . s 
 
 Conformity Of will which OUght tO offering to her 
 • , 1 , ,1 1 i 1 Divine Spouse. 
 
 exist between the soul and her 
 
 Divine Spouse: “Since our good Master has 
 asked for us, and has taught ourselves to ask for 
 a favour of such value (/.<?., God’s kingdom), 
 which comprises in itself everything that can be 
 desired; and since He has conferred upon us 
 the great favour of making us His brothers, let 
 us now consider what it is He wishes us to give 
 His Father,'and what it is that He offers to Him 
 for us, and what he asks of us in return. For it 
 
206 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 is right that we should make Him some return 
 for the very great favours He has conferred 
 upon us ” 
 
 Here the Saint tells us, that since the Divine 
 Master has asked for us the supreme blessing of 
 inheriting God’s kingdom, since He has taught 
 us to make the same request in our own behalf, 
 and since He has ennobled us by making us 
 children of His Heavenly Father, it is but right 
 that we should study to discover what it is that 
 He wishes to receive from us in return, in order 
 that we may promptly give it to Him, and thus 
 prove our gratitude for so many manifestations 
 of His love. Then, addressing her beloved 
 Lord, she continues thus: “O good Jesus! if 
 You give so little (little, I mean, on our part), 
 how can You ask so much for us? Although 
 what we offer is a mere nothing in comparison 
 with what we owe to so great a Lord, yet cer¬ 
 tainly, my Lord, You leave us absolutely nothing, 
 and we give You all that we possibly can, if we 
 give You what our words imply when we say, 
 Thy will be done on ea?ih , as it is in heaven. 
 
 “Thou hast done well, our good Master, in 
 asking what Thou didst in the preceding Petition 
 (namely, the advent of God’s kingdom), in 
 order that we may be able to accomplish that 
 which You offer up to God in our behalf in this 
 one. Were it not so, O Lord, I would certainly 
 regard the matter as impossible. But because 
 Your Father performs what You ask of Him— 
 that is, to give us here below His kingdom—I 
 
Part II, Chap. VIII, Sec. 2. 
 
 207 
 
 know that we shall also find You faithful in giving 
 Him what You offer for us (i.e., that we should 
 accomplish His will on earth, as the Blessed do 
 in heaven); for once earth has become heaven, 
 it will be possible to accomplish Your will in me, 
 but without this, in a soil so poor and barren as 
 is my soul, I know not, Lord, how it could 
 possibly be effected.” 
 
 Here the Saint remarks, that although it is a 
 mere nothing to surrender our will to God in 
 exchange for all that He gives to us, neverthe¬ 
 less, considered from our point of view, it is a 
 great deal, and, in fact, everything, since nothing 
 else afterwards remains to us. Because the man 
 who yields up his will to God without reserve, 
 no longer retains, nor can he retain, anything 
 for himself. He cannot reserve to himself 
 honours, or property, or pleasures, or health, or 
 life, since he has placed everything uncondition¬ 
 ally in the hands of God, in order that He may 
 dispose of all absolutely as it may please Him. 
 
 The oblation of her own will to God implies 
 that the soul should absolutely sur¬ 
 render herself and everything be- leering of 
 longing to her into the hands of her one’s will is 
 Divine Spouse; and this surrender 
 is the beginning and the goal of all that perfec¬ 
 tion to which she ought to aspire, in order to J- 
 give entire satisfaction to her Beloved. 
 
 It is the beginning of perfection; because, as 
 long as the soul does not resolve to abandon 
 herself entirely into the hands of God, as long 
 
208 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 as she willingly reserves to herself the disposal 
 of anything that concerns her, desiring, for 
 example, one state of life or one occupation 
 more than another, as long as she is not in¬ 
 different to all human affairs and to seeking 
 anxiously for one thing rather than another, 
 whether in the temporal or the spiritual order— 
 as long, I say, as the soul remains in this state, 
 it cannot be said of her that she is fully disposed 
 for the attainment of perfection. 
 
 Wherefore, the moment a soul hears the first 
 knockings of divine love, intimating to her that 
 her Heavenly Spouse wishes to take full pos¬ 
 session of her heart, let her immediately beseech 
 Him not to delay—“ He that heareth let him say: 
 Come . . . Lord Jesus ” (Apoc. xxii. 16-20) 
 —and let her make an entire offering to Him of 
 herself and of everything that belongs to her, 
 reserving absolutely nothing for herself. 
 
 This oblation of one’s own will is likewise the 
 goal of all perfection; because, as a rule, that 
 first offering of our will, and the very many other 
 such that are made subsequently, are not so 
 perfect in reality as they would seem to be in 
 words. The soul says : I give to Thee without 
 reserve myself, and all that belongs to me; and 
 yet, without perceiving it, she still preserves in 
 her heart various attachments, which manifest 
 themselves on several occasions. Wherefore, it 
 is necessary that she should be ever on the 
 watch to purify herself from such attachments, 
 until by degrees she becomes always more per- 
 
 
Part II., Chap. Fill., Sec. j. 
 
 209 
 
 feet in His sight, and finally abandons herself 
 in all truth and sincerity into God’s hands. 
 Then it is that the soul will reach the goal of 
 the highest perfection that is attainable in this 
 world. 
 
 Wherefore, let every soul that is really anxious 
 to please God, renew frequently, with great 
 humility and love, the oblation of herself to her 
 Divine Spouse, and let her not weary of doing 
 so to the very hour of her death. Happy she ! 
 if she shall succeed then—then, at least—in 
 making this oblation with all that perfection 
 which is to be desired. 
 
 Let this oblation be an offering of the soul 
 itself with all its powers, of the body with all its 
 feelings, of health and of life, of position and 
 occupation, of property and of honours, of 
 relatives and of friends—in a word, of every¬ 
 thing whatsoever that in any way appertains to 
 us, being ready to make any sacrifice which 
 God may require of us, no longer wishing that 
 we ourselves, or whatever may belong to us, 
 should ever serve any other purpose, either in 
 this life or in the next, except to give pleasure , 
 to God in whatsoever manner may best please [ 
 Him. 
 
 ' Saint Teresa is justly of opinion that in this 
 Petition Jesus asks with us and for § Earth 
 us a very high favour, and one that changed into 
 we could not easily hope for, if the heaven ' 
 request made in the preceding Petition for the 
 advent of God’s kingdom had not been already 
 
210 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 obtained. Wherefore, she considers it impos¬ 
 sible that God’s holy will could be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven, unless earth were first 
 in some manner changed into heaven. 
 
 In heaven God’s will is accomplished with the 
 greatest perfection, because in heaven God reigns 
 supreme, and it is impossible that a will at vari¬ 
 ance with His could exist there; but on this 
 earth sin holds sway, and, because of sin, there 
 are in this world innumerable wills opposed to 
 the will of God. Every pulsation of the hearts 
 of the blessed in heaven is regulated by the 
 essentially perfect will of God, which of necessity 
 inclines to what is good; while, on the other 
 hand, every movement of earthly hearts of itself 
 proceeds from a carnal will, which is naturally 
 imperfect and inclined to evil. 
 
 It is, therefore, necessary, that there be estab¬ 
 lished in our souls the kingdom of God—that is 
 to say, His grace and His love to direct and 
 sanctify our wills, to make our desires heavenly 
 from being earthly, and thus to change this poor 
 earth of our hearts into a heaven abounding in 
 riches. When this takes place, then will God’s 
 will be accomplished here below by men, as it is 
 now accomplished in heaven by the blessed. 
 
 But should it happen, in addition, that the 
 soul espoused by God should be enriched and 
 ennobled by the gift of contemplation, which is 
 God’s blessed kingdom, and the beginning of 
 heaven in this life, then the earth of her heart 
 will be still more easily changed into heaven, 
 
Part II, Chap. VIII., Sec. 4. 
 
 211 
 
 and the will of God will be still more perfectly 
 accomplished therein, as it is in heaven. 
 
 It now remains that we consider what, in the 
 opinion of Saint Teresa, is God’s . 
 
 r . Ti • • i §4- The grace 
 
 will concerning us. It is simply of suffering is 
 that we should suffer in a greater or God s Wl11 ' 
 in a less degree, in proportion to the love we 
 bear Him. Here are her own words :—The 
 Lord knows what each one is able to endure ; 
 and when He sees that one has strength, He 
 does not desist until He accomplishes His will 
 in him (that is to say, He does not cease to send 
 him sufferings). Now I wish to inform and re¬ 
 mind you what is His will. Do not think or 
 fear that it is to give you riches, or pleasures, or 
 honours, or any worldly advantages. He does 
 not love you so little as to treat you thus. . . . 
 Do you wish to know how He acts towards those 
 who offer up to Him in sincerity this Petition : 
 Thy will be done l Well, ask His blessed Son, 
 who uttered these very words when He prayed 
 in the garden. For since He spoke this Petition 
 with full deliberation, and from His whole heart, 
 see, too, how fully God accomplished it in Him, 
 by sending Him the most terrible troubles, 
 pains, insults, and persecutions, until at length 
 He ended His life by dying upon a cross. You 
 see, then, daughters, what it was He gave to 
 Him that He loved most; and from this fact you 
 may learn what His will is, and of what kind the 
 favours are which He bestows in this world. 
 In dispensing these favours, He regulates every- 
 
212 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 thing in proportion to the love He bears us. 
 To those He loves more, He gives them in 
 greater abundance, while He gives them less 
 abundantly to those whom he loves less. More¬ 
 over, in sending them, He takes into account 
 r the courage He sees in each one, and the love 
 which each one bears to His Divine Majesty. 
 Whoever loves Him much will find that he can 
 suffer much for Him ; but He will send few 
 sufferings to the one that loves Him but little. 
 For my part, it is my conviction that love is the 
 \ standard which regulates our ability to bear the 
 < cross in a greater or in a less degree.’’ 
 
 According to Saint Teresa, then, when we 
 pray that God’s will may be accomplished, we 
 ask for the grace to endure sufferings for the 
 love of Jesus ; since, as has been already said, it 
 is His will that we should suffer with Him, our 
 Beloved Spouse, during the period of this tem¬ 
 poral life, reserving to ourselves to rejoice with 
 Him hereafter for all eternity. 
 
 The Saint, however, foresees that some souls, 
 that are rather weak, will not have the courage 
 to pray to God expressly to send them sufferings ; 
 for though their spirit be ready for such trials, 
 yet the infirmity of the flesh rebels against them. 
 Wherefore, discreet as she ever is, she does not 
 censure " those who omit to ask for sufferings 
 through humility, because they consider them¬ 
 selves unable to bear them ”. And, without 
 doubt, he who is filled with a lively sense of his 
 own weakness, must not be blamed if he shrink 
 
Part II., Chap. VIII., Sec. 5 . 
 
 213 
 
 from asking God to send him trials and suffer¬ 
 ings, even though they are the most precious 
 gifts which He bestows upon His elect in this 
 life. It will be enough for such a one to be 
 ready to receive with resignation from the 
 hand of God, all such trials as He may be 
 pleased to send. It will suffice that such a soul 
 should say to her Divine Spouse : I see that I 
 ani so weak as not to have strength enough to 
 support even the very lightest cross , therefore Ifear 
 to ask Thee for trials. Nevertheless , since I am 
 aware that no greater misfortune could befall me, 
 and that no greater punishment could be inflicted 
 upon me by Thee, than to be altogether exempted 
 from suffering, behold me ready to accept a?id to 
 welcome such trials as Thou mayest be pleased to 
 send me, placing my trust in Thee alone to give 
 me the strength necessary to bear them. Such 
 sentiments of humility and resignation will be 
 pleasing to the Lord, and He will be satisfied 
 with them. 
 
 However, it might happen that the soul, after 
 having dwelt on the bitter sufferings ^ 
 which her Spouse endured for her, confidently 
 and after having enjoyed some fore- may ask 
 
 0 J J . for this favour. 
 
 taste of heavenly consolations, be¬ 
 coming inebriated with the strong sweet wine of 
 t God’s love, should find herself filled with a holy 
 \ strength, and panting with a desire to suffer 
 J much for her Beloved, in order thus to give 
 Him convincing evidence of her love. 
 
 In such moments of fervour the soul "does 
 
214 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 not fear to ask for sufferings and trials, because, 
 should God send them to her, she will have 
 sufficient strength to endure them. “ I con¬ 
 sider it certain,” says Saint Teresa, “ that to 
 whomsoever God gives the will to ask for such a 
 difficult means of proving his love, to him will 
 He also give the strength to endure whatever 
 trials He may send ” (Way of Perfection , chap. 
 32). But if, on the other hand, the soul be as 
 yet too weak, and not sufficiently prepared for 
 such a test, then no matter how earnestly she 
 may beg for sufferings, God will not send them, 
 but will defer this favour to a more suitable 
 time. Wherefore Saint Teresa says: “ I am 
 forced to smile at those persons who do not 
 dare to beg crosses of our Lord, because, indeed, 
 they think that He must therefore send them 
 immediately ” {Ibid) \ as if He should grant the 
 very letter of our petitions, without attending to 
 the result that might follow the bestowal of His 
 favours. 
 
 Our Lord Himself one day said to Saint 
 Gertrude, that when He places His elect in the 
 fire of tribulation in order that they may become 
 heated with His love, He imitates a mother who 
 brings her babe near the fire to warm it. The 
 mother on such occasions holds her hands be¬ 
 tween the infant and the fire, in order that the 
 heat may be regulated to a proper temperature, 
 and that the infant may be thus warmed without 
 being burned (Pacetti, School of S. Gei'trude, 
 chap. 3). Wherefore Saint Teresa, speaking 
 
Part II, Chap. VIII., Sec. 6. 
 
 215 
 
 of the terrible trials with which God visits con- 
 templatives, says: “ Finally, He does not send 
 more than they can endure, and before sending 
 any He gives them patience ” ( Mansions, VI., 
 chap. 1). Therefore, when a soul asks the 
 Lord to send her sufferings, she need not fear 
 being heard to her disadvantage. 
 
 However, whether we do or do not ask God 
 expressly for sufferings, we must still § e. Necessity 
 bear well in mind that it is God’s of resignation, 
 will that we should suffer much or little in this 
 life for love of Him ; that when we repeat the 
 words Thy will he done, we ask at least implicitly 
 the privilege of suffering for Him; and that 
 therefore we ought to be resigned to suffer. 
 Whereupon Saint Teresa makes the very appro¬ 
 priate reflection, that in this matter we ought at 
 least to make a virtue of necessity, by enduring 
 willingly and in a meritorious manner what we 
 must in any case endure without merit, and 
 whether we like it or not. “ Consider,” she 
 / says, “ my daughters, that, whether it pleases us 
 or not, this promise must be fulfilled, and God’s 
 will has to be accomplished both in heaven 
 and on earth. Take my advice, then, believe 
 me, and make a virtue of necessity ” (Way of 
 Perfection, chap. 32). 
 
 Then, since she knew thoroughly the beauty, 
 the justice, and the sanctity of God’s will, she 
 addresses herself to Him, and says: “ O my 
 Lord, what a great consolation is this to me, 
 that Thou hast not left it in the power of a will 
 
2 l 6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 so wicked as mine to accomplish or not to 
 accomplish Thy will! I should, indeed, be in 
 a nice predicament, O Lord, if the accomplish¬ 
 ment of Thy will in heaven and on earth de¬ 
 pended upon me ! I now freely surrender my 
 will into Thy hands, although I do so at a time 
 when the offering is not quite free from self- 
 interest; for I have proved by long experience 
 what a gain it is to place my will in Thine. O 
 my sisters, how much we gain by doing this ! O 
 what a grievous loss is ours, when we fail to per¬ 
 form what we promise God in the Our Father 
 respecting this offering (of our will) which we 
 make to Him ” ( Ibid .). 
 
 In this passage we cannot fail to remark the 
 great joy which the Saint feels, at the thought 
 that God’s will must be accomplished at all 
 hazards, and that this accomplishment does not 
 in the least depend upon the action of our will. 
 This is the supreme consolation of the saints— 
 that God’s will is ever being accomplished, and 
 • that no perverse will of men or of devils can 
 ever prevent its accomplishment. If it be not 
 accomplished in one way, it is sure to be accom¬ 
 plished in another; and even the most wicked 
 wills actually co-operate in this accomplishment 
 in spite of themselves. 
 
 Thus, for example, God wished to raise to the 
 highest dignity and power Joseph, the son of 
 Jacob, and for this purpose availed Himself of 
 the wicked hatred of his jealous brothers, per¬ 
 mitting that they should sell him as a slave to 
 
Part II, Chap. VIII., Sec. 6. 
 
 217 
 
 some merchants who carried him into Egypt, 
 where his extraordinary gifts soon merited for 
 him a most exalted position ; and so his brothers, 
 while wickedly opposing the divine will as far as 
 it lay with them to do so, actually co-operated 
 by their very act in securing its accomplishment. 
 Again, the wicked enemies of Jesus Christ 
 caused Him to die upon the cross, in the hope 
 of thereby destroying for ever His name and 
 His glory; but His Father in heaven made use 
 of their very wickedness to exalt Him, and to 
 glorify His name above all other names, as bad 
 been already fixed in the eternal decrees of His 
 infinite wisdom. So, in like manner, the devils 
 and all wicked men concur by their acts to 
 purify the elect and increase their glory here¬ 
 after, in accordance with the decrees of God’s 
 mercy; while they also co-operate to punish the 
 wicked, in accordance with the decrees of His 
 justice. Qui ordinem 7ion ienent , ordine teneniur , 
 said Saint Augustine; so that God’s will is ever 
 being accomplished! 
 
 What a consoling spectacle it will be on the Day 
 of Judgment, to see how exactly the loving, holy, 
 adorable will of God has always been fulfilled to 
 the very letter, even despite all the machinations 
 of His enemies ! O truly blessed sight to those 
 who shall themselves have willingly and lovingly 
 performed it; but terrible sight indeed to those 
 others, who shall have accomplished it, or, to 
 speak more correctly, shall have co-operated 
 in its accomplishment, against their will. 
 
2 l8 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Third Petition continued. 
 
 In the 23rd chapter of the Way of Perfection , 
 
 § 1 The off r alread y quoted, Saint Teresa, speak¬ 
 ing of our win ing of the thoroughness with which 
 muijthe we ought to surrender our will to 
 God, continues as follows :— fC If, 
 then, my sisters, you love God, endeavour that 
 the words which you address to so great a Lord 
 be not words of mere empty compliment, but 
 force yourselves to endure whatever trials His 
 Majesty shall be pleased to send you. For, if 
 you surrender your will in any other manner 
 than this, you will be acting pretty much as 
 though you were to show a jewel to some one, 
 begging of him to accept it, and then suddenly 
 to withdraw your hand and retain the jewel, just 
 as the other person was in the act of putting out 
 his hand to take it. These are jests which we 
 should not practise with One who has already 
 endured so many for us; for, if there were no 
 other reason to forbid it, we should at least 
 refrain from mocking Him so frequently, since 
 it is not seldom that we repeat these words to 
 Him in the Our Father. Let us now, then, 
 once for all, give Him the jewel with our whole 
 heart, since we have so often feigned to give it 
 to Him. It is true that He gave it to us in the 
 first instance, only that we might return it to 
 
Part II, Chap. IX., Sec. i. 
 
 219 
 
 Him. . . . And yet, sometimes we not only 
 feign to give Him the jewel, but we actually 
 place it in His hand and then take it back again. 
 We suddenly become very liberal, and then, 
 again, so miserly, that in one respect it would 
 have been better if we had been more cautious 
 in giving.” 
 
 Wherefore, when we make an offering of our 
 will to God, we ought to endeavour to make it 
 in all sincerity, and not merely in words, which 
 are easily uttered by any one. Consequently, 
 when we see that God’s will is about to be 
 accomplished in us, by means of some trial or 
 tribulation, we ought not to shrink from it, but 
 to adhere resolutely to the offering we had 
 made, always begging of the Lord that His will 
 may be accomplished, whatever the cost may be 
 to us. Should we do otherwise, we shall ber 
 acting the unseemly farce of offering the jewel 
 to God, and then withdrawing our hand when 
 we see that He really accepts it. 
 
 In this matter we have need likewise of 
 constancy, that we may never repent of the 
 offering we have made, and may never attempt 
 to regain possession of the jewel which we have 
 already placed in the hands of God; as would 
 happen if, after having suffered cheerfully for a 
 while, we were afterwards to grow weary of it, 
 to feel a dislike of further trials, and to desire to 
 be relieved and comforted, under the pretext 
 even of being unable to endure any more, as we 
 sometimes, perhaps, persuade ourselves. Once 
 
220 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 we have placed in the hands of our Divine 
 Spouse the beautiful pearl of our will, there 
 cannot be any motive or reason for taking it 
 back again. He will take care of the rest, and 
 by His grace will give us strength to bear up 
 against tribulation, at the very moment when it 
 may seem to us that our power of endurance is 
 exhausted. The soul must place herself upon 
 the cross of her Beloved Spouse, earnestly 
 beseeching Him to nail her to it by His holy 
 love and fear, and by sentiments of gratitude 
 towards Him ; and she must never stir from 
 that cross, nor look for any relief in her suffer¬ 
 ings, until the hour arrives when she shall be 
 taken from it to enjoy Him for ever in glory. 
 Oh ! with what unbounded confidence will she 
 not then rise up from the cross, at the invitation 
 of her Beloved Spouse ! 
 
 “ But since,” continues Saint Teresa, “ all 
 ^ 2 Ad an I have been saying to you in 
 
 fages ofThis this book, is directed to the object 
 
 obfation^ le °f inducing you to give yourselves 
 up entirely to your Creator, placing 
 our wills in His, and detaching ourselves from 
 creatures; and since you already understand 
 how very important it is to do this, I will say 
 nothing further on the subject. I will, however, 
 mention why our good Master places here those 
 words: Thy will be done , &c., since He is one 
 who well knows the great advantage we shall 
 derive from doing this service to His Eternal 
 Father. The reason, then, is, that by accom- 
 
Pct7‘t II., Chap. IX., Sec. 2. 
 
 221 
 
 plishing what these words signify, we dispose 
 ourselves to complete our journey towards 
 perfection in a short time, and to succeed in 
 drinking of the living water of that Fountain 
 already mentioned. For, unless we surrender 
 our own will entirely to the Lord, that He may 
 dispose absolutely at His pleasure of ourselves 
 and of all that belongs to us, He will never 
 allow us to drink of this water. 
 
 “This is perfect contemplation, about which 
 you asked me to write for you, and in which, 
 as I have already said, we do nothing on our 
 part—we neither labour, nor converse with God, 
 nor do anything else (for it is not necessary), 
 but say: Thy will be done. Anything beyond 
 this disturbs the soul and is a hindrance to it. 
 May Thy will, O Lord, be fulfilled in me in 
 whatever manner Thou mayest wish. Shouldst 
 Thou wish it to be fulfilled by sufferings, only 
 grant me strength to bear them, and let them 
 come. Shouldst Thou wish it to be accom¬ 
 plished by sending me persecutions, sickness, 
 disgrace, and poverty—well, here I am ! I will 
 not refuse them, my Father, nor ought I to turn 
 my back upon them. For since Thy Son, 
 speaking in the name of us all, offered up to 
 Thee this will of mine also, it is not right that I 
 should fail on my part. But I beg of Thee, 
 meanwhile, this favour—to give me Thy king¬ 
 dom (since He asked it of Thee for me), in order 
 that I may be able to accomplish Thy will, and 
 then dispose of me as a something entirely Thine, 
 
222 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 in whatever way it may please Thy holy 
 will. 
 
 “ 0 my sisters, how efficacious is this gift of 
 our wills to God ! If it be accompanied by that 
 resolution which ought to accompany it, it can 
 produce no less a result than to induce the 
 Almighty to unite Himself with us, base 
 creatures that we are, and to transform us in 
 Himself by effecting a sweet union between the 
 Creator and the creature. Consider, then, 
 whether or not you are well rewarded, and what 
 a good Master you have, who, knowing by what 
 means the goodwill and love of His Father must 
 be gained, teaches us how and in what manner 
 we have to serve Him. And the more resolute 
 the soul is in this service, and the more she 
 shows by her acts that these are not words of 
 mere empty compliment, the more closely will 
 our Lord draw us to Himself and lift us up 
 above all earthly things, and even above our¬ 
 selves, in order to prepare us for receiving great 
 favours. For, since He never tires of rewarding 
 this service during the present life, setting such 
 value on it, that when we no longer know what 
 to ask yet He still continues to give, He does 
 not rest satisfied with having made such a soul 
 one with Himself, but, furthermore, He com¬ 
 mences to enjoy Himself with her, to discover 
 secrets to her, and to rejoice that she under¬ 
 stands what it is she has gained, and knows 
 something of what He has yet in store for her 
 hereafter. By sending her raptures, He causes 
 
Part II, Chap. IX., Sec. 2. 
 
 223 
 
 her to lose the exterior senses, so that nothing 
 else may occupy her attention; and He begins 
 to treat with her so familiarly, that He not only 
 restores her will to her, but together with it 
 gives her also His own. Because the Lord is 
 pleased, since He treats her with such famili¬ 
 arity, that, as the saying is, they should ‘ com¬ 
 mand by turns’; and in this manner, just as 
 she executes whatever He commands, so He on 
 His part performs whatever she asks of Him, 
 and does so in a perfect manner, since He is 
 powerful, and can do whatsoever He wills, and 
 never ceases to will it.” 
 
 As we have already remarked in the 7th 
 chapter, it is not true that the Heavenly Spouse 
 abandons to perpetual, unmitigated suffering the 
 soul that He has espoused; although she, on her 
 part, ought to be ready to endure such through 
 love of Him. And, indeed, we have already 
 seen above that the soul not only ought to be 
 prepared for this, but ought, moreover, positively 
 to make a most perfect and irrevocable oblation, 
 of herself, whereby she would profess herself 
 satisfied to meet with nothing henceforward 
 upon earth except unalloyed and constant suffer¬ 
 ing. Now, when she has made this oblation 
 and it has been accepted by her Heavenly 
 Spouse, is it really possible that He will actually 
 abandon her to a life of pure, unalloyed suffer¬ 
 ing, without any passing comfort or consolation ? 
 This unmixed suffering was always desired by 
 the saints; and yet it would not be easy to find 
 
224 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 any saint whose desire in this respect was entirely 
 gratified. Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, who 
 had made a compact with her Divine Spouse 
 regarding this desire, had sometimes to com¬ 
 plain to Him, because He broke the agreement 
 by flooding her soul with spiritual delights. 
 “ Ah ! my God,” she used to say, “why do You 
 break the bargain which You made with me, 
 since I have refused all consolation through 
 love of You” {Life, chap. 130). 
 
 It is true, as we have already remarked, that 
 the time for rejoicing with Christ is not during 
 this fleeting life, but in eternity, which endures 
 for ever. Nevertheless, this Divine Spouse has 
 a heart so tender, that He cannot entirely deprive 
 the soul He has espoused of the manifestations 
 of His love, even during the brief period of this 
 mortal life. On the contrary, the more eagerly 
 she offers herself to endure unalloyed suffering 
 for love of Him, the more abundantly does He 
 pour into her bosom those chaste and unspeak¬ 
 able delights which have in them no admixture 
 of sadness, and are a beginning of eternal glory. 
 Wherefore we see that Saint Teresa bids a soul 
 that is so disposed to hope for the indescribable 
 joys of perfect contemplation, and warns her 
 that by no other means can she succeed in 
 quenching her thirst at the waters of this 
 heavenly fountain. Then it is that the soul is 
 united with, and transformed in her Divine 
 Spouse, and is prepared to receive great graces. 
 Thenceforward it may be said that no heavenly 
 
Part II, Chap. IX., Sec. 2. 
 
 225 
 
 secret is any longer kept concealed from the 
 soul, that there is no joy in which she does not 
 participate, and no height of heavenly happiness 
 to which she is not lifted up by force of the 
 Spirit of her Spouse. 
 
 Saint Teresa admirably describes the loving 
 familiarity with which God treats the soul in 
 that intimate union. While she, on her part, 
 no longer knows how to do anything except 
 what her Beloved wishes, and while she strives 
 to gratify Him in every particular, He in turn 
 does precisely whatever she desires, since, as 
 Saint John of the Cross says, when the soul has 
 reached a certain degree of love, she obtains from 
 God whatever she asks of Him with earnestness. 
 And our Lord once said to Saint Gertrude : “ I 
 am bound to gratify the desires of a soul that co¬ 
 operates with Me, and accommodates herself to 
 My will in all things ” (Pacetti, p. 2, c. 1). In 
 this way an interchange of wills takes place 
 between God and man, and each in turn 
 commands, to the mutual satisfaction of both. 
 It was in this sense that Blessed John Colom- 
 bini wrote: “ God will give to many persons, 
 especially to those souls who wish to reach the 
 heights of contemplation, the grace to pray to 
 our Lord with a most ardent love, when the 
 soul being in the arms of her Spouse and united 
 to Him, He neither can nor will refuse her any¬ 
 thing ; and in such circumstances what can she 
 do, inebriated as she is with love, but call upon 
 Him and, as it were, compel Him to promote 
 
 i5 
 
226 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 His own honour and the salvation of the entire 
 world? Wherefore the enemies of souls employ 
 every device to withdraw them by some means 
 or other from this union, so that they may not 
 force Christ to succour a cold and frozen world ” 
 (Letter X. to the Nuns of St. Ah.). We see, 
 then, that the blessings are inexpressably great, 
 which Saint Teresa would bid us hope for if we 
 succeed in making a perfect, irrevocable offering 
 of our wills to God. 
 
 , Let us now consider the benefits resulting 
 from union with Got}. When the soul 
 resulting from has attained this happy state of union 
 God 11 wkh w ^h God, what is it that she would 
 not do to prove her love for Him ? 
 “ But,” continues Saint Teresa, “ the poor soul, 
 meanwhile, cannot do all that she would desire, 
 no matter how earnestly she may wish it, nor, 
 indeed, can she do anything except she be per¬ 
 mitted ; and yet, this is her greatest riches—to 
 become the more indebted to Him the more she 
 serves Him, and frequently to be distressed at 
 seeing herself exposed to all the inconveniences, 
 obstacles, and bonds that are inseparable from 
 her state of imprisonment in the body, because 
 ^he would wish to discharge some little portion 
 of her debt. But she is very foolish in being 
 so much troubled: for though she may do all 
 in her power, yet, as I have already said, what 
 can we poor creatures pay, who have nothing to 
 give unless it first be given to us ? All that we 
 1 can do is to humble ourselves, to realise to our- 
 
Part II, Chap. IX., Sec. j. 227 
 
 selves that we are nothing, and by God’s aid to 
 surrender our will perfectly into His hands. All 
 beyond this is a hindrance to a soul which our 
 Lord has brought thus far on the road of per¬ 
 fection : it does her harm, and no good. 
 
 “ Observe that I am now speaking of a soul 
 which our Lord has been pleased to join to 
 Himself by union and perfect contemplation; 
 for in this state humility is the only thing which 
 can produce any good effect; and this is not 
 acquired by means of any process of reasoning, 
 but by intuitively realising an evident truth, 
 whereby the soul understands in a moment, 
 what the imagination, though it should labour 
 ever so much, could not reach in a long time— 
 namely, that we are a ve?y fiothing, and that 
 God is absolutely everything. 
 
 “ I would caution you not to fancy that you 
 will be able to reach this point by your own 
 strength and endeavours, for you would only be 
 labouring in vain ; nay, even if you were devout 
 before, you will remain cold. You must only 
 repeat, with humility—which is the means by 
 which we obtain everything —Thy ivill be done 
 
 The soul seeing herself thus inundated by the 
 immense favours showered upon her by her 
 Heavenly Spouse, would wish, indeed, to make 
 Him some slight return by tokens of gratitude 
 for so much love, and she really does as much 
 as she can in this direction. But the poor soul 
 becomes disheartened, on seeing that she can do 
 nothing except with the aid of fresh graces and 
 
228 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 favours, because we can give nothing to God 
 that we have not first received from Him ; and, 
 consequently, she is forced to recognise the 
 painful fact, that the more she tries to pay the 
 more she becomes indebted to Him. Therefore 
 she can do nothing but humble herself and 
 recognise herself as a very nothing; yet, at the 
 same time, she rejoices on seeing how this 
 poverty and impotence on her part, serve to 
 glorify all the more the omnipotence and the 
 riches of her Divine Spouse. 
 
 However, this humility with which she is 
 filled is not the result of any process of reason¬ 
 ing, but springs from an intuitive knowledge of 
 the truth that a creature is a very nothing, 
 whereby she realises in a moment what she 
 never could understand by any efforts of thought. 
 Then the soul sees her own absolute nothingness 
 so clearly, that even though she were to desire 
 it, she could not possibly deceive herself on the 
 subject; just as one who stands in the light of 
 an unclouded sun cannot be deceived regarding 
 the colour of his clothes, so that if he be dressed 
 in white, he cannot possibly, even though he 
 wished it, suppose that he is dressed in black. 
 While the soul is made thus conscious of her 
 own nothingness, she at the same time realises 
 that God is everything, and it is by the light of 
 contemplation that she learns both these truths. 
 
 Then it is that the soul is astonished to find 
 that people think highly of her, and she adopts 
 every means in her power to banish this per- 
 
Part //., Chap. IX., Sec. j. 229 
 
 suasion from their minds. On perceiving, how¬ 
 ever, that she does not succeed in this, but that, 
 on the contrary, people entertain a still higher 
 opinion of her because of that humility which 
 she unconsciously exhibits, she is perplexed as 
 by some mystery which she cannot understand; 
 just as one might be amazed who, while dressed 
 entirely in black, should hear himself compli¬ 
 mented on the beauty of his white clothes. 
 
 But we may ask on which side does the error 
 lie ? Is it the holy soul that is deceived, or 
 those, rather, who are filled with admiration of 
 her ? It is neither. It is not the holy soul; 
 because by the aid of God’s light illuminating 
 her, she clearly sees her real condition apart 
 from those favours which she has received from 
 God, and which are not really hers. Nor, on 
 the other hand, are those who admire her 
 deceived; for they admire her such as they see 
 her, enriched with those great favours which 
 God has heaped upon her and made her own. 
 Meanwhile, by means of that heavenly light 
 with which she is flooded, she can see nothing 
 great or worthy of esteem except God, and she 
 wonders how any one can possibly esteem any¬ 
 thing else but God. O, blessed light ! of which 
 that light of glory by which God is seen in 
 heaven, and all things else in God, is but a 
 degree. But, as Saint Teresa reluinds us, we 
 cannot reach this light by any efforts of our 
 own; because it is a gift which God bestows on 
 whomsoever He pleases, and the soul can do no 
 
Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 230 
 
 more than dispose herself to receive it, by re¬ 
 moving every obstacle on the part of her own 
 will. Wherefore let us content ourselves with 
 saying with simplicity and humility: Fiat 
 voluntas tua. 
 
 There is a statement of Saint John of the 
 Cross regarding the degree of union with God 
 to which a soul may attain, which well merits 
 our attention. According to his teaching 
 (Ascent 0/Mt. Carmel , bk. II.,chap. 5), the soul 
 that shall have its will in perfect conformity and 
 harmony with the will of God, becomes perfectly 
 \ united to God, and supernaturally transformed in 
 Him by love. He remarks, however, that as 
 the blessed in heaven all see God clearly, but 
 some more perfectly than others according to 
 each one’s capacity, though all are satisfied, 
 since each one is filled with the vision according 
 to his merits, greater or less—so, too, upon this 
 earth all souls have not the same capacity to 
 reach the different degrees of purity and love, 
 and therefore that degree which would be 
 sufficient to enable one soul to reach the state 
 of perfect union with God, would not be 
 sufficient for another soul endowed with a 
 greater capacity. Therefore every soul that 
 aspires to this perfect union with God must be 
 filled to the utmost extent of its capacity with 
 The love of God, and with nothing but the love 
 of God. 
 
 We will conclude this chapter, which is 
 already rather too long, with another statement, 
 
Part II, Chap. IX., Sec. 3. 231 
 
 put forward by Saint Catharine of Siena, regard¬ 
 ing the manner in which a soul that enjoys 
 contemplation, having reached the state of 
 union, sees all things in God, even during the 
 present life. “The soul,” she says, “that is 
 already conscious of her own nothingness, and 
 knows that all her happiness is in her Creator, 
 becomes entirely detached from herself and 
 from all creatures, and is so completely im¬ 
 mersed in her Creator, that she directs all her 
 operations principally and entirely towards Him. 
 On no account does she wish to separate from 
 Him, in whom she perceives that she has found 
 every good and the perfection of all happiness; 
 nor will she, on any account, dissolve the union 
 of love that subsists between them, which daily 
 grows stronger within her, and which, in a 
 certain manner, so transforms her in God, that 
 she cannot think of, or understand, or love 
 anything but God: she cannot recollect any¬ 
 thing but God : she cannot see herself or other 
 creatures except in God, and she cannot remem¬ 
 ber herself or them except in God. The soul in 
 this state exactly resembles one who, being 
 completely submerged in the sea, and swimming 
 under its waters, sees and touches nothing 
 except the waters and such things as they 
 contain, but sees nothing and touches nothing 
 outside of them. And if objects outside the 
 water should happen to be reflected in it, he can 
 see them, it is true, but only as they are reflected 
 in the water, and not otherwise. Such is the 
 
232 Treatise on Prayer\ 
 
 well-ordered and proper relation which we ought 
 to maintain towards ourselves, and towards all 
 creatures; and by observing it we shall never 
 err, because our conduct will thereby be 
 necessarily regulated by God’s rules, and, as 
 long as we observe it, we shall never desire 
 anything outside of God, since the soul thus 
 always lives in God, and performs all her 
 operations in Him ” (. Life , p. 1, chap. 10). 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 On the Fourth Petition: Give us this day our 
 
 daily bread. 
 
 Explaining this Petition in the Meditation set 
 § x. God the down for Thursday, Saint Teresa 
 Shepherd of considers God as the Shepherd of 
 our souls, and says : “ Since it agrees 
 very well with a Father, a King, and a Spouse to 
 be also a Shepherd, we, who are His children, 
 subjects and spouses, can ask Him by natural 
 right to support and feed us with such food as 
 may be pleasing to His Majesty, and suitable to 
 our rank as His children. And therefore we do 
 not ask Him to lend us, but to give us this 
 bread, which, moreover, w r e call not the bread 
 of others, but our ow?i; for if we are His chil¬ 
 dren, the goods of our Father are our goods 
 also.” 
 
Part II., Chap. X., Sec. I. 
 
 233 
 
 We may here reflect that, after the title of 
 Spouse, this other title of Shepherd of our souls, 
 which Almighty God is pleased to give Himself, 
 implies great tenderness and love. This title is 
 given to our most loving Saviour in many 
 passages of Holy Writ, but it will suffice to 
 quote one (John xi. 14), in which He Himself 
 says: Ego sum Pastor bonus—I am the good 
 Shepherd. In explaining this Fourth Petition, 
 we shall see how He is indeed the Good 
 Shepherd, when we consider the pastures to 
 which He leads those souls He loves, and the 
 anxiety with which He is filled regarding them. 
 
 And here we may remark what a holy pride 
 ought to fill the children of so great a Father, 
 the subjects of such a powerful King, and the 
 spouses of such a noble Bridegroom; and, 
 consequently, when we have to ask for food to 
 sustain us, we ought to ask for such as may be 
 worthy of our dignity and exalted rank. This 
 is a holy pride, which does not offend, but 
 honours Him who has to maintain us ; for it is 
 not based on any merits of our own—since we 
 are nothing—but upon His exceeding greatness. 
 As long as Esther was nothing more than the 
 poor niece of Mardochai, she had to be content 
 with the common food of the other captive 
 Hebrew maidens ; but when she was raised to 
 the throne, and had become the spouse of the 
 great King Assuerus, she would have considered 
 herself wanting in respect to her royal spouse if 
 she suffered the former common food to be 
 
234 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 served up before her, instead of the rich and 
 dainty dishes that were usually supplied at the 
 court. 
 
 Wherefore Saint Teresa cannot persuade her- 
 § 2. Nature of self that in this Petition we ask for 
 the bread any bread inferior to spiritual and 
 from the Good heavenly bread. Here are her 
 Shepherd. words : “ I cannot persuade myself 
 that in this Petition we ask for some earthly 
 food to sustain our corporal life, but rather for 
 the spiritual nourishment of our souls. Because 
 of the seven Petitions which we make in this 
 prayer, the three first—namely, the sanctifying 
 of His name, the coming of His kingdom, and 
 the fulfilment of His will—appertain to God. 
 Of the other four which we make in our own 
 behalf this is the first, and it is the only one in 
 which we ask Him to give us something; for in 
 the remaining ones we ask for the pardon of our 
 sins, deliverance from temptations and from all 
 evil. Therefore this one only thing which we 
 ask our Heavenly Father to give us cannot be 
 anything temporal for the body—the more so, 
 since it is not becoming that the children of 
 such a Father should ask for such vile and 
 common things as He is accustomed to give to 
 the inferior creatures and to men without their 
 asking for them. This becomes the more 
 evident, since His Majesty has exhorted us to 
 seek first in our prayers the things that appertain 
 to His kingdom—that is to say, what relates to 
 our souls—promising, at the same time, that He 
 
Part //., Chap. X., Sec. 2. 235 
 
 will Himself make provision for everything else. 
 This He has declared to us through Saint 
 Matthew, in whose Gospel He teaches us to ask 
 for this same bread : Give us this day our super- 
 substantial bread. In this Petition, therefore, 
 we beg for the bread of evangelical doctrine, for 
 virtues, and for the most Holy Sacrament, and, 
 in a word, for everything that supports and 
 strengthens our souls for the preservation of the 
 spiritual life.” 
 
 We must remark that in the foregoing passage 
 the Saint is writing for contemplative souls , and 
 for those that are already devoted to God , as she 
 says in the 37th chapter of the Way of 
 Perfection , and as we shall see at the end of 
 this treatise. Indeed, in the chapter just quoted 
 she expressly approves that those who have not 
 yet been raised to the heights of contemplation 
 should ask in this Petition for earthly food like¬ 
 wise, wherewith to sustain life. 
 
 Speaking, then, of contemplative souls, and 
 of those others who, though they have not yet 
 reached this degree, endeavour, nevertheless, to 
 detach all their affections from this world and 
 wish for God alone, it is very suitable that they 
 should not beg from their Heavenly Father the 
 food of this earth, but only heavenly food, 
 allowing God Himself to provide the food of our 
 bodies, and to give it to us, according to His 
 promise, in addition to that heavenly food which 
 we ask of Him. This fact of not lowering our¬ 
 selves any longer to beg for things of this earth, 
 
236 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 will be of great assistance to detach us from 
 them more perfectly, and to preserve us from all 
 ill-regulated anxiety which may take possession 
 of us, because of the need of such things which 
 we must experience as long as we live in this 
 miserable world. 
 
 Saint Teresa next proceeds to lay before us 
 
 § 3 Qualities ^ qualities of this Heavenly Shep- 
 of the Good herd, and writes as follows: “Let 
 Shepherd. us> then, consider this Heavenly 
 
 Father, King, and Spouse as a Shepherd, with 
 the qualities of other shepherds, but with that 
 special characteristic in addition which He 
 Himself mentions in His Gospel when he says : 
 ‘ I am the Good Shepherd , and I lay down My 
 life for My sheep] and thus we shall see how 
 pre-eminently are found in Christ the qualities 
 of those excellent shepherds mentioned in Holy 
 Writ—David and Jacob. Of David it is written 
 that when he was a young man he fought with 
 bears and lions, and tore them to pieces to 
 defend even a single lamb from them. Of 
 Jacob it is written that his sheep or the goats 
 which he tended were never barren ; that he 
 never ate a wedder or a kid of his flock, and 
 that he never failed to pay his master the value 
 of any animal which either the wolf devoured or 
 the thief stole, enduring heat and cold and toil 
 by day, and keeping watch during the night, in 
 order to guard securely the flock of his master, 
 Laban. 
 
 “ From this it will be easy to draw various 
 
Part II, Chap. X., Sec. 3. 237 
 
 reflections, and to apply these qualities to the 
 Divine Shepherd of our souls, who at such great 
 cost slew the infernal lion, in order to rescue the 
 prey from his jaws. When did barrenness ever 
 affect one of those sheep which He guards so 
 carefully ? When did He ever spare any labour 
 on His part who laid down His very life for 
 them ? Those of them that the infernal wolf 
 had devoured He paid for with his own blood. 
 He never seeks from them any advantage for 
 Himself; but, on the contrary, not only does 
 whatever they acquire belong to themselves, but, 
 furthermore, He bestows upon them not alone 
 what He receives from them, but all His own 
 goods in addition. So fond is He of His sheep 
 that for one of them that died He clothed Him¬ 
 self in its skin, that he might not frighten the 
 others by appearing in the splendour of His 
 Majesty. Who can sufficiently praise the pas¬ 
 tures of heavenly doctrine with which He feeds 
 them, the power of the virtues with which He 
 strengthens them, the efficacy of the sacraments 
 with which He nourishes them ? If any sheep 
 should stray away into forbidden pastures, He 
 endeavours to bring it back by the sweet 
 summons of His holy inspirations, and if gentle 
 measures should prove insufficient to effect this, 
 He strikes it with the staff of some affliction, in 
 such manner, however, as to frighten without 
 wounding or killing it. He maintains in 
 vigorous health those that are strong, and makes 
 them move forward. He patiently waits for the 
 
238 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 weak, He heals those that are sick, and He 
 carries on His shoulders those that are unable 
 to walk, supporting their weakness. When they 
 rest, chewing the food they have taken—that is, 
 meditating on the evangelical doctrine they have 
 learnt—He watches over them, and seating 
 Himself in their midst, He pours harmonious 
 music into their souls by the sweetness of His 
 heavenly consolations, just as a shepherd plays 
 upon his pipe for his flock. In winter He seeks 
 out sheltered and warm places for them, where 
 they may rest after their labours. He is ever 
 watchful to preserve them from poisonous herbs, 
 being careful not to allow them to run in 
 dangerous pastures, but leading them safely 
 through the woods and meadows of His 
 counsels. And though He sometimes conducts 
 them along dusty and stormy roads, and at other 
 times over rocks and precipices, yet when there 
 is question of slaking their thirst, He always leads 
 them to the purest and sweetest water, whereby 
 He gives us to understand that doctrine (which 
 is signified by the water) ought to be always 
 clear and true.’’ 
 
 In this somewhat minute description of the 
 Good Shepherd, Saint Teresa gives us to under¬ 
 stand how fondly He loves His sheep, and how 
 anxious He is for their welfare. Nor is this 
 anxiety and love the less because He sometimes 
 leads those dear ones along “ dusty a?id stormy 
 roads , and at other times over rocks and 
 precipices Those that He conducts by such 
 
/ 
 
 Part II, Chap . X., Sec. 4. 239 
 
 paths are the ones that He loves best, the ones 
 that feed in His sweetest pastures, the ones with 
 whom He loves most to tarry, and which are 
 cheered most by His exceedingly delicious music, 
 which is reserved for a few only. They are 
 contemplative souls, who, borne along by the 
 force of the Divine Spirit, travel over paths that 
 are unknown to the world, that are dangerous to 
 human weakness, but which, nevertheless, are 
 always perfectly secure for those who are con¬ 
 ducted there and guided by the Good Shepherd. 
 These paths, in addition to being very secure, 
 are the shortest by which we may reach the 
 heights of Christian perfection. Wherefore the 
 Saint elsewhere calls these extraordinary ways 
 by the name of short-cut, because they shorten 
 the road very much (Mansions, V., chap. 3); 
 and it is for this reason that the Divine Shepherd 
 leads these souls by such paths, prompted 
 by the special love and anxiety with which He 
 regards them. 
 
 Continuing her meditation on the Heavenly 
 Shepherd of our'souls, Saint'Teresa 
 remarks how He was pleased also Ihepherd 00 
 to become. a lamb for our sake, become a 
 “Saint John,” she says, “saw this am ’ 
 
 Divine Shepherd as a lamb in the midst of His 
 sheep, governing them, and guiding them 
 through green and pleasant pastures, as He led 
 them to the fountains of the water of life. Oh ! 
 how sweet it is to see the shepherd become a 
 lamb! He is a shepherd, because He feeds 
 
240 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 us; and a lamb, because He is our food. He 
 is a shepherd, because He supports His sheep; 
 and a lamb, because He is Himself the support 
 supplied to them. He is a shepherd, because 
 He nourishes His sheep; and a lamb, by being 
 born of them. When, therefore, we ask Him to 
 give us our daily or supersubstantial bread, it is 
 the same as to beg that our Shepherd would 
 Himself become our food and our nourishment. 
 
 “ It sometimes gives me pleasure to picture 
 Him to myself, as He once represented Himself 
 to a servant of His, in the dress of a shepherd, 
 with a very beautiful face, leaning upon a cross 
 as on His shepherd’s staff, calling some of His 
 sheep, and whistling to others. But it is much 
 more sweet to picture Him to one’s self, and to 
 look upon Him nailed to that same cross, as a 
 lamb that is prepared for our food, to give us 
 joy and delight. It is sweet to see Him re¬ 
 presented as a lamb, bearing the cross upon 
 His shoulders ; and, again, to behold Him as a 
 shepherd, carrying upon these same shoulders 
 the lost sheep. As a shepherd, He protects us 
 and shelters us within His heart, affording us an 
 entrance by the portgls of His wounds; and, 
 again, as a lamb, He hides and shuts Himself 
 up within us. Consider how well cared, and 
 how safe those sheep are which are near the 
 shepherd ; and let us therefore endeavour not to 
 stray away from our Shepherd, or to lose sight 
 of Him; for the sheep that keep close by their 
 shepherd are invariably more caressed and 
 
Part //., Chap. X., Sec. 4. 
 
 241 
 
 petted, and he always gives them some choice bit 
 of what he eats himself. Should the shepherd 
 happen to hide himself, or to fall asleep, let not 
 the sheep stir from the spot until she either 
 . catches sight of him again, or wakes him by 
 continued bleating, when he will caress her with 
 new favours. 
 
 “ Let the soul look upon herself as placed in 
 a desert, where, having lost her way, she finds 
 herself in the midst of the darkness and gloom, 
 surrounded by wolves, lions, and bears, without 
 any hope of assistance from earth or heaven, 
 and having no one, except this shepherd alone, 
 to guide and defend her. It is thus that we 
 often find ourselves in darkness here below, 
 surrounded by ambition, by self-love, and by 
 very many other enemies, visible and invisible, 
 against whom we have no other remedy or 
 means of escape, except to invoke the Divine 
 Shepherd, who alone can rescue us from such 
 perils.” 
 
 In this passage, also, Saint Teresa has ex¬ 
 pressed herself very fully, so that her views 
 require no further development. However, we 
 should particularly remark the touching picture 
 which she brings before us, of the shepherd 
 becoming a lamb in order to be our food, and 
 this picture we should have always present to 
 our mind when we approach the Holy Eucharist. 
 At that very moment the Church revives our 
 Faith with these sweet words : Behold the Lamb 
 of God—Ecce Agnus Dei! O Lamb, most fair, 
 
 16 
 
242 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 X V 
 
 most innocent, most gentle, most loving! 
 O Lamb, most noble, most just, most divine ! 
 Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur (Office of 
 the Blessed Sac., from Job xxxi. v. 31). 
 
 Let us also take extreme care not to stray 
 away from our Shepherd, or to lose sight of Him ; 
 and, therefore, let us keep near Him in the 
 most Holy Sacrament, remaining as much as 
 possible before the Tabernacle, where He stays 
 night and day, in order to be always in the 
 midst of His lambs. But if at any time our 
 duties should prevent us from doing this, let us 
 at least hold Him in remembrance, and keep 
 the eyes of our soul fixed upon Him by a lively 
 faith; and, if we do so, there is no doubt that 
 we shall always receive from Him some special 
 token of affection. ■ It usually happens that, 
 when the Lord begins to caress those souls that 
 abandon themselves entirely to His love, He 
 gives them the first taste of spiritual enjoyment 
 by means of the most Holy Sacrament, some¬ 
 times even manifesting His presence to them by 
 supernatural means. The most Holy Sacrament 
 is the loadstone of all hearts that love God, 
 since it draws them all, without exception, to 
 itself; and we may safely affirm that those 
 hearts which are not attracted by it do not really 
 love God, however they may appear to do so, 
 just as we should be safe in stating that, 
 appearances notwithstanding, a needle was not 
 really made of steel if the magnet failed to 
 attract it. 
 
Part II , Chap. XI, Sec. i. 
 
 243 
 
 We must bear in mind, likewise, that if, 
 through a special manifestation of love, which 
 usually proves very painful to inexperienced 
 souls, the Good Shepherd should seem to hide 
 Himself, or to fall asleep—that is to say, should 
 deprive the soul of the sweets of His sensible 
 presence, and should appear deaf to her prayers 
 —the soul must not on this account be disturbed 
 or lose courage. Let her still continue to keep 
 close by her Shepherd—that is to say, let her 
 persevere in devotion to the most Holy Sacra¬ 
 ment, as if nothing had occurred—and, sooner 
 or later, He will make known to her that she 
 has caused Him to awaken by her loving and 
 trustful words, and He will reward her per¬ 
 severance with new and most delightful favours. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Fourth Petition continued. 
 
 u 
 
 we 
 
 § 1. Excellence 
 of the Blessed 
 Sacrament. 
 
 Saint Teresa says that in this Petition 
 must meditate on the mystery of the 
 most Holy Sacrament, and on the 
 excellence of this food, which is the 
 very substance of the Father, and concerning 
 which the holy King David, extolling this favour 
 conferred by God on men, says that the Lord 
 fills us with the very marrow of God. 
 
 “ This is a greater miracle than God becoming 
 
244 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 man; for, in the Incarnation, He deified only 
 His own soul and His most holy body by 
 uniting them to His Divine Person ; but, in this 
 Sacrament, God is pleased to deify all men, who 
 are nourished best by the food which they took 
 as children. And since we were regenerated in 
 Baptism by God Himself, He was pleased to 
 become Himself our nourishment, this being 
 more in conformity with the dignity which He 
 conferred upon us of being His children. 
 
 “ We must reflect upon the love with which 
 this gift is bestowed upon us, since He commands 
 all, under pain of death, to eat of it; and though 
 His Majesty well knew that many would receive 
 it in mortal sin, nevertheless, the love He bears 
 us is so strong and efficacious that, for the sake 
 of enjoying the love with which His friends 
 receive Him, He patiently endures the many 
 affronts offered to Him by His enemies. 
 Wherefore, to make this love the more manifest 
 to us, He was pleased to consecrate and in¬ 
 stitute this divine food precisely at the very 
 time when He was about to die for us. And 
 though His flesh and blood are really present 
 under either species, He wished, nevertheless, 
 that each should be consecrated separately, in 
 order to show us by this separation and division 
 that, were it necessary, He would die for men as 
 |' often as the act of consecration is repeated— 
 that is, as often as Mass is daily offered up in 
 the holy Catholic Church. 
 
 “ The love with which He gives Himself to 
 
Part II., Chap. XI., Sec. I. 
 
 245 
 
 us, and the artifice which this divine love has 
 employed in this mystery are really ineffable ; 
 for since it is true that no two things can be 
 united without a medium of union, what is it 
 that God’s love has done to enable Him to 
 effect a union with man ? He assumed our 
 human flesh, uniting it to Himself in the Person of 
 God, and after it has been thus deified, He gives 
 it back to us again as our food, in order thus to 
 unite us to Himself by means of ourselves. 
 
 “This is the love which our Lord asks us to 
 reflect upon when we approach the Holy Com¬ 
 munion : to this love all our thoughts ought to 
 be directed: this love He wishes that we should 
 keep always before our eyes; and He requires, 
 in proof of our gratitude, that at the time of 
 communion we should remember that He died for 
 us. And that we may clearly see how willingly 
 and how eagerly He gives Himself to us, He 
 calls this food our daily bread, and wishes that 
 we should ask it of Him every day.” 
 
 In this passage, Saint Teresa gives us in a few 
 sentences a most exalted idea of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, which is the true bread of our souls, 
 —a bread so noble, so precious, so divine, that 
 imagination utterly fails to realise how it was 
 possible that God’s goodness should have con¬ 
 descended to nourish us with it. But, then, on 
 the other hand, God’s works are worthy of God; 
 and this reflection ought to remove that sense of 
 astonishment which His works produce in our 
 mind. What wonder, then, if we discover in 
 
246 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 IS 
 
 this gift of God to us something infinite, incom- 
 / prehensible, and we may even say, incredible, 
 as far as our limited understanding is con¬ 
 cerned? In truth, in the institution of the most 
 Holy Sacrament, God has acted as only God 
 could act. 
 
 We may truly assert that in this Sacrament 
 God has exhausted the treasury of His infinite 
 riches; because here we receive not only God’s 
 gifts, which are in themselves a boundless and 
 unfathomable ocean, but we receive His own 
 self—the Infinite Giver of all these Gifts. Now, 
 once He gives us what is infinite, He has no¬ 
 thing greater to bestow upon us. Oh ! what a 
 priceless treasure, then, is the most Holy Sacra¬ 
 ment ! The Divine Body of the Redeemer is 
 made our food !—that is to say, the living flesh 
 of God Himself produced from the most pure 
 blood of the Virgin Mary—the most stupendous 
 miracle of God’s Wisdom, Power, and Goodness 
 —the true jewel—the real treasure—the object 
 of the complacency of God the Father—the 
 living Temple inseparable from the Eternal 
 Word—the great masterpiece of the Holy Ghost 
 —the Sun of Paradise—the glory of the uni¬ 
 verse—the manna of'the Angels and the Saints 
 —the .Infinite delight of every pure heart—all 
 that is beautiful, all that is good, all that is 
 great in the Creator and the creature united 
 together in one Divine Person ! Oh ! what a 
 priceless treasure is the Holy Sacrament ! Oh ! 
 truly supersubstantial bread ! 
 
Part II, Chap. XI, Sec. 2 . 247 
 
 K 
 
 From what has been said, we may easily 
 understand with what a great, full § 2 . Redpro- 
 love, as far as our feeble nature will Clty of love - 
 permit, we ought to reciprocate such surpassing 
 and incomprehensible love on the part of God. 
 We ought to keep this divine love ever present 
 before our eyes when we receive the holy com¬ 
 munion, and it ought to form the object of all 
 our thoughts, so that our soul may not remain 
 cold to such ardent love on God’s part, but, on 
 the contrary, may become all aflame with a 
 burning love of Him who has loved us so much. 
 This fire of love will not only be the strongest 
 proof of gratitude which we can give to God, 
 but it will prove, moreover, the most efficacious 
 means to obtain that purity which is required 
 for the reception of this Sacrament, and which 
 Saint Teresa insists upon when she tells us that 
 “a great servant of God being desirous to 
 communicate daily, our Lord showed her a 
 most beautiful globe or ball of crystal, saying to 
 her: When you a?~e as pure as this crystal you 
 may do so; though, notwithstanding this, He 
 immediately granted her permission to com¬ 
 municate as she desired ”. 
 
 The purity which would be required for 
 approaching the Holy Communion has always, 
 in a certain sense, frightened the most holy 
 souls. Saint John the Baptist, the greatest of 
 all the saints, declared that he was not worthy 
 even to touch the Redeemer’s shoes, and he 
 said so with perfect truth. His words cannot be 
 
248 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 regarded merely as an expression of exaggerated 
 humility, as some may suppose : they convey, on 
 the contrary, a most clear and evident truth; 
 for there can be no proportion whatever between 
 the sanctity of the greatest of the saints—Saint 
 John the Baptist—and the sanctity of the Saint 
 of saints—Jesus Christ. Not even His own 
 most holy mother—the ever immaculate Virgin 
 Mary—was worthy to kiss the earth whereon 
 her Son, Jesus, had placed His foot. Now, the 
 purity of Mary was the most perfect image of 
 the purity of God which can be found in a mere 
 creature. Let us reflect, then, whether we can 
 ever be worthy to receive within us, and to place 
 near our heart, the most sacred Body of the 
 Redeemer ! This is why the purity which 
 would be required for the reception of the most 
 Holy Communion has always, in a certain sense, 
 terrified the saints. 
 
 Nevertheless, since we know that God does 
 not demand from us all that His own infinite 
 Sanctity would require, but rather what His 
 infinite Mercy is pleased to accept, we are 
 accustomed to approach the Holy Communion 
 with confidence, we beg every day for this 
 divine food, and many of us actually receive it 
 daily. But yet, who can doubt, at the same 
 time, that we ought to strive to acquire for this 
 purpose the greatest possible sanctity ? This 
 purity, however, can be acquired only by love, 
 and all the purity that is possible can be 
 acquired only by the greatest possible love. 
 
Part II, Chap. XI., Sec. 3. 249 
 
 Saint Teresa next proceeds to inquire into 
 the motive which influenced the § why God 
 Divine Shepherd to bestow upon gave us this 
 us so great a gift; and although the great glft ' 
 motive which she assigns seems but one of very 
 many which might be put forward, it is, never¬ 
 theless, the one which includes all the others. 
 She says, then, that God was pleased to supply 
 us with a food so substantial and heavenly, in 
 order that we might be thereby strengthened to 
 execute perfectly the divine will. Now this is 
 the motive of all God’s gifts to us; since He 
 does not, and cannot, bestow any favour upon 
 us, except to the end that His most holy will 
 may be fulfilled. Here are the Saint’s words : 
 “Since the good Jesus knew how difficult a 
 thing this was (viz., to say : Thy will be done), 
 and knew, at the same time, our weakness . . . 
 He saw that we had need of a remedy against 
 it. Therefore He asks of His Eternal Father to 
 give us this bread. . . . 
 
 “ For if you tell a rich man, who lives at his 
 ease, that it is God’s will that he should fare 
 less sumptuously, in order, at least, that others 
 who are dying of hunger may receive bread from 
 him, he will discover a thousand reasons for not 
 understanding this divine precept, when.it does 
 not suit his own convenience. Tell a detractor 
 that it is God’s will that he should love his 
 neighbour as he would love himself, and he will 
 not listen to you with patience, and no amount 
 ot argument will make him understand this. 
 
250 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Tell a religious, who is accustomed to certain 
 violations of rule, that he, ought to give good 
 example, and to remember that he is bound 
 not merely to repeat the words, £ Thy will be 
 done,’ when he says the ‘Our Father,’ but that 
 he has sworn and promised to accomplish in his 
 conduct this will of God; that it is God’s will 
 that he should observe his vows, and that in 
 giving scandal he acts very much against them, 
 though he does not break them altogether; that, 
 having vowed poverty, he ought to observe it 
 perfectly, since such is the will of God—tell him 
 all this, yet, nevertheless, all these considerations 
 will not be sufficient to induce some religious to 
 desire to carry out this will of God in their daily 
 lives. What, then, would become of us, if the 
 Lord had not Himself performed the principal 
 part of the work by the remedy which He has 
 given us ? There would be only very few, 
 indeed, to fulfil those words which He addressed 
 for us to the Father : Thy will be done. Seeing, 
 therefore, the necessity that existed for it, the 
 good Jesus found an admirable means by which 
 He showed us the excess of His love for us, 
 and, in His own name and in our name, He 
 offered up this Petition: Give us this day our 
 daily bread ” ( Way of Perfection, chap. 33). 
 
 We must, therefore, bear in mind that Saint 
 Teresa considers the most Holy Sacrament a 
 very efficacious means to help the soul in 
 observing God’s law exactly, notwithstanding 
 the repugnance of human nature and our own 
 
Part II, Chap. XI, Sec. j>. 
 
 25 1 
 
 bad habits; and she asserts that the devout 
 reception of the Blessed Sacrament will produce 
 an amendment of life where both argument and 
 exhortations would prove utterly fruitless. 
 
 This is a matter that has been well proved, 
 and which merits the attention of spiritual 
 directors, if they wish to bring their penitents to 
 a state of great purity of conscience. We often 
 meet with well-intentioned persons who, never¬ 
 theless, because they do not yet sufficiently 
 understand what a great evil even venial sin is, 
 do not adopt due precautions to avoid it. 
 Such persons, however, feel a pleasure in com¬ 
 municating pretty frequently, and they esteem it 
 a great favour if their director permits them to 
 do so a few times during the week. Although 
 such persons still easily fall into several faults, 
 yet they are already well disposed; and their 
 director will contribute more effectually towards 
 their entire amendment by permitting them to 
 approach the Holy Communion a few times 
 during the week, provided that, during the days 
 to which the permission extends, they abstain 
 from every fully deliberate sin. Because, in 
 that case, through fear of having to abstain 
 from communion, they are particularly vigilant 
 not to fall ; and, meanwhile, assisted by the 
 grace of the most Holy Sacrament, they easily 
 overcome those habitual defects to which they 
 were subject, or keep their souls in a state of 
 great purity. Once this good result is secured, 
 the director may with safety allow them to 
 
252 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 communicate more frequently, and even daily 
 for the entire week, provided they do not com¬ 
 mit any deliberate fault; and he will find that, 
 by means of their continued precautions against 
 relapsing, and of the divine food by which they 
 are daily strengthened, these souls will attain the 
 desired state of purity. 
 
 After recommending us to reflect seriously on 
 what she had already said on this subject, Saint 
 Teresa continues thus : “ It seems to me, at 
 present (on considering the matter more care¬ 
 fully), that our good Jesus was obliged to resolve 
 to remain with us, since He saw what He had 
 given for us, and how the giving of it so deeply 
 concerned us; and the great difficulty there 
 would be, as I have already observed, in reducing 
 to practice the oblation of our own will, because 
 of our natural propensity to evil, and of our 
 being so destitute of love and courage, that 
 nothing less than the sight of His ardent love 
 would suffice to awaken us ” (Ibid.). 
 
 And surely such a signal pledge of His love 
 as He has given us in the Blessed Eucharist 
 ought to render us most eager to gratify Him in 
 everything. Wherefore, we must conclude that 
 the most precious of all the gifts which God has 
 given us in this world, has been bestowed upon 
 us that we may be assisted thereby in making to 
 Him the greatest return which is in our power, 
 namely, the absolute and entire surrender of our 
 will. 
 
 Reflecting afterwards that, when we recite the 
 
Part II, Chap. XI, Sec. 4. 253 
 
 \ 
 
 “ Our Father,” Jesus Christ (as has been already 
 said, part ii. chap. 1) joins with us §4 0urin . 
 in our prayer, Saint Teresa remarks gratitude for so 
 that our Lord asked permission s reat a favour - 
 of His Eternal Father to remain with us in the 
 Blessed Eucharist, in order that He might secure 
 His consent to His enduring, through love of 
 us, the new and manifold outrages which He 
 foresaw would be offered to Him in this most 
 Holy Sacrament. The Saint is unable to con¬ 
 tain herself at the thought of this, and gives 
 impassioned utterance to her feelings in the 
 following words: “ But how, Eternal Father, 
 could You consent to this ? How can You 
 see your Son daily in such wicked hands, after 
 having once before consented that He should 
 submit to their ill-treatment? You know well 
 how they treated Him once upon a time! 
 How, then, can Your paternal heart bear to see 
 Him daily subjected to outrage ? Oh ! how 
 many insults are daily offered to this Sacrament! 
 In how many of His enemies’ hands must His 
 Father behold Him ! How many affronts will 
 He have to endure from heretics ! Oh ! Eternal 
 Lord, why should You consent to receive such 
 a petition ? why grant it ? Do not heed your 
 Son’s love for us; for, in order to accomplish 
 perfectly Your will, and to serve us, He will even 
 allow Himself to be daily cut to pieces. It 
 belongs to You, O my Sovereign Lord ! to look 
 to this, for there is nothing capable of restraining 
 Thy Son, such is the excess of His love for us. 
 
254 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Why must every benefit conferred upon us cost 
 Him so much ? Why does He never complain, 
 and never speak for Himself, but always only 
 for us ? Must there be no one, then, to plead 
 for this most loving Lord ?” (Ibid.). 
 
 Such, likewise, ought to be the sentiments of 
 all souls that love the Good Shepherd, who has 
 been pleased to become a lamb for our sakes, 
 and to make Himself our food. It ought to be 
 impossible that any of these souls should look 
 with indifference on the rudeness, the insults, 
 the outrages which He has to endure in the 
 most Holy Sacrament. Oftentimes He is forced 
 to dwell in churches so ill-furnished, so wretched 
 and dilapidated, that not one of us would wish 
 his own private residence to be in a like con¬ 
 dition—churches in which the altars are covered 
 with dust, the ornaments decayed and broken, 
 the tabernacles filthy and mouldy, and the altar- 
 linens—even those which are in immediate 
 contact with the Sacred Host—so dirty, that no 
 one would for a moment tolerate them on his 
 breakfast table. 
 
 Furthermore, how often does it happen that, 
 even in populous centres, He is left quite alone 
 during the entire day, forgotten to such a degree 
 that it might seem as though Christians did not 
 even know that He was dwelling in their midst. 
 Again, what irreverence has He not to endure 
 from those who frequent the churches with far 
 other intentions than to visit and adore Him. 
 These persons conduct themselves in church 
 
Part II., Chap. XI., Sec. 4 . 
 
 2 55 
 
 with a rudeness and a want of respect which 
 they would not venture to exhibit in the house 
 of any common person whose guest they might 
 chance to be. And, worse still, such persons 
 dare even to sin in His presence, not merely by 
 indulging in bad thoughts, which, however, 
 cannot remain concealed from Him, but also 
 by improper looks and gestures, and other most 
 culpable profanations. 
 
 Finally, in our own times we have even seen 
 the most Sacred Functions, Masses and Ex¬ 
 position of the Blessed Sacrament, made 
 subservient not only to base human purposes, 
 but even to the impious designs and passions of 
 men, who availed themselves of such means to 
 excite enthusiasm, with the ultimate object of 
 effecting the overthrow of our most holy religion. 
 Perhaps it is not too much to say that history 
 does not record, in any age, such gross pro¬ 
 fanation of churches as we witness in our day ! 
 
 . . . In the profanation which took place in 
 
 the past, the world was at least spared the sight 
 of a pretended faith, and a hypocritical adoration. 
 But woe to us! for God will not be mocked— 
 Dens non irridetur. 
 
 To the above-mentioned irreverences, insults, 
 and outrages, we might add all the sacrileges 
 which are committed in other ways by Christians, 
 the unworthy celebrations of the Holy Mass by 
 bad priests, and the countless sacrilegious 
 communions made by so many of the laity. 
 But, alas ! these enormities produce but a slight 
 
256 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 impression upon us, because we lack that love 
 which inflamed the heart of Saint Teresa! We 
 never reflect how excessive must have been the 
 love of Jesus Christ in wishing to dwell amongst 
 us at such terrible cost to Himself, or how great 
 must have been the love of the Eternal Father 
 in consenting that He should do so! We never 
 think of making any return for all this immense 
 love, nor are we at all concerned to make such 
 reparation as may be in our power for these 
 great evils ! 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Fourth Petition continued. 
 
 In the 24th chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 § 1 Trustful- Saint Teresa proceeds to speak of 
 ness with the reception which we ought to 
 should'receive g ive the Good Shepherd, when He 
 the ^5 comes to feed our souls in the 
 shep ei . Blessed Eucharist. And speaking 
 
 of our preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 she says that we ought to approach it with a 
 well-grounded trust, that “ in every way in 
 which the soul can desire to feed, she will find 
 in the most Holy Sacrament sweetness and 
 consolation,” which will prove sufficient to fill 
 her with strength and spiritual joy, to encounter 
 every labour and persecution which may await 
 us in this world. 
 
Part II, Chap. XII, Sec. 2. 
 
 257 
 
 Moreover, she warns us that, when approach¬ 
 ing the Lord’s Table, we ought to lay aside all 
 anxiety regarding our mere temporal welfare, 
 being fully persuaded that if we receive our 
 Lord with a heart emptied of every wish and 
 thought which is not directed to Him alone, He 
 will not suffer us to want for anything that may 
 be necessary for us in this world. “Beg of 
 Him,” she says, “ to prepare you, and to dispose 
 you to receive Him worthily. Be not solicitous 
 for any other bread, you who have truly resigned 
 yourselves to the will of God. Leave all care 
 and anxiety regarding this matter of your 
 temporal sustenance to your Spouse, as I have 
 already, at great length, exhorted you to do, and 
 He will always make provision for you. Be not 
 in the least afraid that He will forget you, if you 
 do not first fail in what you have promised, 
 namely, to resign yourselves to the will of God. 
 
 . . . Let us beg of the Eternal Father that 
 
 He would make us worthy to ask of Him 
 our heavenly bread; so that, as our corporal 
 eyes cannot take delight in beholding Him, 
 since His glory is veiled from our gaze, He may 
 at least discover Himself to the eyes of our soul, 
 and make her understand that He is another 
 kind of pleasant and delicious food, and that it 
 is He who really sustains our life.” 
 
 Meanwhile, Saint Teresa would have us 
 confidently believe that the Blessed § 2 singular 
 Eucharist is, moreover, the life and advantages 
 health of our bodies. “ Do you fii n h ess! rust ’ 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 think, perhaps,” she writes, “that this most 
 holy food is not likewise nourishment for 
 these bodies of ours, and an excellent remedy 
 even against corporal infirmities ? I know that 
 it is; and I am acquainted with a person 
 subject to grievous ailments, who being often in 
 pain, yet, after receiving this heavenly food, felt 
 as it were a hand lifting her up, and was entirely 
 relieved of her sufferings. The ailments from 
 which she suffered were very well known, and, 
 in my opinion, could not be feigned, yet she w r as 
 frequently relieved from them in the manner 
 stated.* And, since the wonders which this 
 most Holy Sacrament works in those who 
 receive it worthily are thoroughly well known, I 
 pass by many of them, although I could relate 
 several in connection with this person whom I 
 have just mentioned, and regarding whom I 
 have the most reliable information. But the 
 Lord had bestowed upon her such a lively faith, 
 that, when she used to hear certain persons say 
 that they wished they had lived at the time when 
 Christ, our Sovereign Good, conversed visibly in 
 this world, she could not repress a smile on 
 reflecting that, having Him so really present 
 with them in the Blessed Sacrament, they ought 
 to desire nothing more. 
 
 “ Moreover, I know regarding this person 
 that, though she was not very perfect, for many 
 years, whenever she communicated, she en- 
 
 * The Saint here alludes to herself. See her Life , 
 chapters 30 and 38. 
 
Part II., Chap. XII, Sec. 2. 
 
 2 59 
 
 deavoured to strengthen her faith as much as if 
 she had actually seen with her corporal eyes our 
 Lord present within her; and she spared no 
 effort to disengage herself from all exterior 
 things, so that she might be free to enter with 
 her God into the poor dwelling of her soul, 
 where she believed Him to enter really and 
 truly. She endeavoured to recollect her senses, 
 so that they might all be concentrated on so 
 great a good, and might not embarrass the soul 
 and prevent her from recognising the Guest who 
 had come to visit her. She imagined herself to 
 be at his feet, and, with Magdalen, she wept as 
 copiously as though she had seenHim, with her 
 corporal eyes, in the house of the Pharisee ; and 
 though she might not feel any sensible devotion, 
 nevertheless, faith told her that there it was well 
 with her, and there she remained, conversing with 
 her Lord. And, in truth, if we do not wish to 
 pass for dolts, and to blind our understanding, 
 we cannot possibly entertain a doubt on the 
 subject; for this presence of Jesus within us is 
 not a mere picture brought before us by the 
 imagination, as when we consider our Lord 
 nailed to the cross, or in some other stages of 
 His passion, in which we represent Him to our 
 minds under such appearances as He then bore 
 when ill-treated by His enemies ; but that He is 
 really present within us when we receive the 
 Blessed Eucharist is a truth infallibly certain, so 
 that we have no need to go and seek for Him at 
 a distance, since we know that, as long as the 
 
260 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 natural heat of our bodies has not consumed the 
 accidents of bread, the good Jesus remains with 
 us. Let us not, then, lose so favourable an 
 opportunity of approaching Him. 
 
 “Now, if during His sojourn upon this earth 
 He healed the sick by the mere touch of His 
 garments, what doubt is there but that He will 
 perform miracles when He is actually lodged 
 within us, if we only have a lively faith that He 
 is ready to grant us all that we may ask of Him 
 while He remains under our roof? His Majesty 
 is not accustomed to pay badly for His lodging, 
 if we but give Him a good reception.” 
 
 Who would not envy Saint Teresa this lively 
 faith? It is, however, extraordinary, and not 
 within the reach of every one. All pious souls 
 are not able to represent to themselves our Lord 
 in the Holy Communion as Saint Teresa used 
 to represent Him to herself; nor can they, as 
 she was accustomed to do, picture Him entering 
 the chamber of her heart; nor do they know how 
 to prostrate themselves there in spirit and weep 
 before Him, as she used to do. Nevertheless, 
 if we but revive well our faith in His divine 
 presence, which, with the divine assistance, we 
 may always do, and if we reflect that our Divine 
 Redeemer—His very Self, in Body, Soul and 
 Divinity—enters into our heart as really and 
 truly as He once entered the house of the 
 Pharisee where Mary Magdalen met Him, and 
 that He remains with us as long as the sacra¬ 
 mental species continue unchanged, just as He 
 
Part II, Chap. XII, Sec. 2. 
 
 261 
 
 remained in the Pharisee’s house during the 
 time of the banquet; if we reflect that, in that 
 banquet-hall, He did not spurn the Magdalen 
 from Him, but accepted her homage and her 
 tears, heard favourably her lamentations and her 
 sighs, and transformed her into an angel of love; 
 if we reflect, furthermore, that in the chamber 
 of our heart He admits to His real presence the 
 contrite and humble soul, listens to her prayers, 
 receives her homage, and is anxious to inflame 
 her with His love, we shall succeed in acquiring 
 a greater power of recollection than we have, in 
 order to shut ourselves up within ourselves with 
 that Divine Guest, who, in the secrecy of our 
 hearts, admits us to relations of such close 
 intimacy and familiarity; and there, too, we 
 shall be able, at least sometimes, to pray and to 
 weep in transports of admiration, of gratitude, 
 and of love. 
 
 But if our faith should be very strong, then, 
 indeed, we might promise ourselves, should the 
 occasion arise, even those miracles of which 
 Saint Teresa speaks. And what wonder would 
 it be if, from that same flesh from which, as the 
 Gospel assures us, there once went forth a virtue 
 that healed all (Luke vi. 19), there should now 
 also go forth a virtue and a healing power to 
 cure our infirm bodies, which have become His 
 living dwelling ? However, faith of this kind is 
 very rare! Nevertheless, we must still believe 
 that the most Holy Eucharist, when received in 
 a state of grace, is of benefit not only to our 
 
262 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Shepherd dis 
 guises Himself 
 for our 
 advantage. 
 
 souls, but to our bodies likewise, when this 
 might prove serviceable to our souls. And, 
 even though we should not sensibly perceive 
 that any such benefit had been conferred upon 
 us, we ought to bear in mind that all God’s 
 favours are not conferred miraculously, and that 
 those favours which are really miraculous are 
 not always visibly so. 
 
 Saint Teresa, continuing her reflections on the 
 § 3 The Good Good Shepherd become our food in 
 the Holy Eucharist, goes on to say: 
 “ If you are troubled at not seeing 
 Him with your corporal eyes, reflect 
 that this is not expedient for us; for it is one 
 thing to see Him in His glorified state, and 
 another to see Him as He lived a man upon 
 this earth. What weak mortal could be able 
 to look upon Him as He now is and live? 
 Could we but see Him, there would no longer 
 be any world, or any one willing to dwell 
 therein; because, in seeing this Eternal Truth, 
 we should see likewise that all things which we 
 prize here below are a delusion and a lie. And, 
 again, at the sight of such overpowering majesty, 
 how could such a wretched sinner as I am—who 
 have so much offended Him—presume to be so 
 near Him ? But under those accidents of bread 
 He has made Himself accessible; for if a king 
 disguises himself, we seem not to mind treating 
 with him and conversing with him without ob¬ 
 serving strict ceremony, and he seems bound to 
 tolerate this, since he has assumed a disguise,” 
 
Part II, Chap. XII, Sec. 4. 
 
 263 
 
 We should carefully note, in the foregoing 
 passage, the comparison introduced by Saint 
 Teresa of a king who has assumed a disguise, 
 and with whom we consequently converse with 
 less restraint, since he then appears to us as an 
 ordinary person. So in like manner, the King 
 of Glory, at whose sight this globe would melt 
 were He to appear in all the splendour of His 
 Infinite Majesty, disguises Himself under the 
 appearance of a little bread; and thus we, 
 though miserable sinners, can muster courage to 
 approach Him—what otherwise we could not 
 possibly venture to do. 
 
 Nevertheless, though He has thus veiled His 
 glory, yet He occasionally suffers § HowHe 
 some rays more or less brilliant to discovers Him- 
 shine forth, by means of which the selftosome - 
 soul can see Him either partially or entirely, as 
 far as our human condition will permit. Let 
 us again hear Saint Teresa : “ To those whom 
 He sees likely to profit thereby He discovers 
 Himself; for though they do not see Him with 
 their corporal eyes, yet He has many ways of 
 manifesting Himself to the soul, either by lively 
 interior feelings, or by various other means. 
 Remain, then, willingly with Him, and do not 
 lose so good an opportunity of trading as is the 
 time after communion. Bear in mind that to 
 do so is of great benefit to the soul, and a matter 
 by which the good Jesus is greatly pleased, since 
 He delights that you should keep Him company. - 
 Endeavour, my daughters, not to lose His com- 
 
264 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 pany, and if obedience does not enjoin some 
 other duty, let your soul remain with your Lord. 
 He is your Master, and He will not fail to teach 
 you, although you should not perceive it or 
 know it. But if immediately after Communion 
 you allow your thoughts to wander elsewhere, 
 disregarding and neglecting Him who is within 
 you, then you have only yourselves to blame. 
 
 “ This, then, is the proper time for our Master 
 to teach and instruct us, and for us to listen to 
 Him and to kiss His feet, because He has been 
 pleased to instruct us; while at the same time 
 we beg of Him not to depart from us. If you 
 have to make this request in presence of an 
 image of Christ, it would seem to be an act of 
 folly to leave at such a moment the Person 
 Himself in order to look upon His likeness. 
 Would it not be an act of folly if, possessing the 
 picture of one whom we dearly loved, we should 
 refrain from addressing this person on his coming 
 to visit us, and should direct all our conversation 
 to his picture ? Do you know when this is good 
 and holy, and affords me great pleasure ? It is 
 when the Person Himself is absent, and wishes 
 us to know that He is absent by the great aridity 
 which we feel in our soul. Then, indeed, it is 
 a great comfort to look upon the picture of Him 
 whom we so justly love; and on whatever side 
 I turn my eyes I should always wish to see it. 
 
 . . . But the moment you have received 
 
 your Lord in the Holy Communion, since you 
 have then His very living Person before you, 
 
Part II, Chap. XII ., Sec. 4. 
 
 265 
 
 endeavour to shut the eyes of your body and to 
 open those of your soul to contemplate Him 
 dwelling within you. And I tell you once again, 
 and I would wish to repeat it a thousand times, 
 that if you adopt this custom every time you 
 communicate, and strive to keep your conscience 
 so pure that you may be able to enjoy this 
 blessing frequently, He will not come to you 
 so disguised as not to make Himself known in 
 many ways, in proportion to the desire you have 
 of seeing Him; and this desire you may have 
 in such intense degree that He will reveal Him¬ 
 self wholly to you.” 
 
 Further down, towards the end of the same 
 chapter, Saint Teresa says that those only who 
 shall have adopted the means just mentioned 
 can hope that the Lord will reveal Himself to 
 them in the Holy Communion, “ If,” she says, 
 “ we make no account of Him, and the moment 
 we have received Him go away from Him to 
 seek after less worthy objects, what can He do ? 
 Must He use violence with us to make us see 
 that He wishes to be known by us ? He does 
 not wish to discover Himself openly, or to com¬ 
 municate His favours, or give His treasures to 
 any except to those whom He knows to desire 
 Him eagerly, for these are His real friends. 
 And therefore I tell you that if any one is not 
 such, and does not approach to receive Him as 
 such, after having done on his part all that he is 
 bound to do, he need not expect that our Lord 
 will manifest Himself to him, and there is no 
 
266 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 use in importuning Him to do so. Such a one 
 thinks that the time will never pass quickly 
 enough which is required for satisfying what the 
 Church commands in the reception of the Holy 
 Sacrament; and then he presently departs from 
 God’s house, and endeavours to drive God away 
 also. In this manner such a one, by means of 
 worldly affairs and occupations, makes all pos¬ 
 sible haste to prevent our Lord from taking 
 possession of the house of his soul and dwelling 
 therein.” 
 
 Wherefore those who would wish to enjoy the 
 sweet presence of the Saviour, and who desire 
 that He should discover Himself to them by 
 means of those interior feelings which would 
 inflame them with love of their dear Lord, but 
 who, meanwhile, far from striving to give Him 
 the best welcome in their power, content them¬ 
 selves with the cold and hurried recital of a few 
 prayers by way of thanksgiving, will not obtain 
 what they desire. The Lord comes to such 
 persons disguised, and disguised He remains 
 with them; so that it is merely by faith they 
 know that they have received Him, and not by 
 any experience of the sweet manifestations of 
 His presence. 
 
 Here we should recall to mind what has been 
 
 § 5 Practice sa ^> * n ^ eighth and following 
 of interior chapters of the First Part, regarding 
 
 recollection. {he p rayer of Recollection, in which 
 
 the soul fixes her attention upon God whom she 
 has present within her, and in the spirit of faith 
 
Part II, Chap. XII., Sec. 5. 
 
 267 
 
 looks upon Him as He reposes there, adores 
 Him, prays to Him, loves Him and embraces 
 Him who is her dearest friend and her beloved. 
 If it is within the power of the soul to do this 
 at any time she prays, because of the reality of 
 the divine presence within us, and of the im¬ 
 mensity of God, and of our possessing Him 
 through sanctifying grace, she will be able to do 
 it all the better when we have really and truly 
 treasured up within us the living body of our 
 Divine Saviour hypostaticaily united to the 
 Person of the Eternal Word ; when we enjoy a 
 happiness similar to that enjoyed by our Blessed 
 Lady during the nine months in which she bore 
 Him in her womb, until she brought Him forth 
 in Bethlehem ; when He is in our bosom just 
 as really as He is in the pyxis—just as truly as 
 He is in Heaven. 
 
 Wherefore, the moment we have received the 
 Holy Communion, let us shut the eyes of our 
 body, and ope 7 i those of our soul , that we may 
 look into our heart. Let us revive our faith, 
 and cast a respectful and loving glance upon 
 Jesus, who has just then token up His abode 
 within us. Looking upon Him as He reposes 
 in our bosom, let us thank Him for His visit, 
 and beg of Him to grant us His love. Let us 
 make Him an unreserved and entire offering of 
 our heart; and, on reflecting that our own 
 heart is at that moment really close beside the 
 heart of Jesus, we shall quickly feel the loving 
 throbbings of that Divine Heart, and these must 
 
268 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 necessarily excite responsive pulsations in our 
 miserable heart, while it will be impossible for 
 us not to draw forth from that furnace of love 
 some spark to warm our own coldness. While 
 our Divine Lord is there reposing within us, our 
 soul may prostrate herself at His sacred feet, 
 and kiss those glorious wounds, which shine 
 more brightly than the stars, and shoot forth 
 arrows of love. She may next beg of Him to 
 lift her up and embrace her with those sacred 
 hands, that for love of her were pierced with the 
 nails; and, finally, she may implore Him, as a 
 crowning grace, to permit her to enter and hide 
 herself in the gaping wound of His sacred side. 
 
 In connection with the foregoing reflections, 
 we may conceive countless other most consoling, 
 most pious, and most loving affections towards 
 Jesus, based, all of them, not on any fancies of 
 the imagination, but upon the solid truth 
 of His real presence. Should it, however, cost 
 us time and labour to acquire a facility of 
 exciting within us such pious affections, and of 
 practising this interior recollection, we ought not 
 to be disheartened on this account; for if we do 
 not succeed at once in achieving this result, we 
 shall succeed in doing so later on. Nay, rather, 
 we ought to bear in mind what has been already 
 remarked in the first part of this treatise (chap¬ 
 ters 7 and 9), namely, that in this matter w r e 
 must never make any violent efforts, since they 
 would prove both useless and injurious. We 
 must begin by casting an occasional glance upon 
 
Part II, Chap . XII., Sec. 5. 269 
 
 Jesus with the eye of faith, remembering His 
 real presence within us : we must whisper some 
 loving words to Him, and beg of Him to 
 admit us to the privilege of treating with Him 
 familiarly. In this manner, little by little, we 
 shall learn to bring ourselves under His notice ; 
 by little and little He will discover Himself to 
 us through various interior feelings of our hearts; 
 and by degrees we shall learn to remain alone 
 with Him in familiar intercourse, as a friend 
 with a friend, as a child with its father. Saint 
 Teresa assures us that this is the best method of 
 thanksgiving after Communion, and the one 
 which is most displeasing to the devil, since it is 
 of all others the most beneficial to our souls. 
 Wherefore she says (chap. 35), “Remember, my 
 sisters, that if in the beginning you should not 
 succeed to your satisfaction in feeling this devo¬ 
 tion of which I speak, you must not be in the 
 least disturbed on this account; for the devil 
 will perhaps cause you some trouble of mind 
 and anxiety, since that wicked spirit well knows 
 the injury which you do him by adopting this 
 practice. He will, consequently, try to persuade 
 you that there is more devotion to be found in 
 other methods than in this; but take my advice 
 and do not abandon this method, for hereby the 
 Lord will have proof of the extent of your love 
 for Him.” 
 
 And a little before the passage just quoted, 
 speaking of the utility of thanksgiving made in 
 this manner, she had said : “ It is like approach- 
 
270 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 ing a fire, which though very great, yet if you sit 
 at a distance from it and hide your hands, im¬ 
 parts to you but little warmth, though no doubt 
 you feel warmer than if there were no fire at all. 
 But it is another thing if we desire to come quite 
 close to this fire of divine love ; because if the 
 soul is well disposed, that is, if she is desirous 
 of expelling the cold from her, and if she stays 
 near Jesus for a little while, she remains warm 
 for many hours afterwards, and the least spark 
 flying out from the furnace of His love is suffi¬ 
 cient to set her all on fire. It is so important 
 for us, my daughters, to dispose ourselves for 
 this, that you must not be surprised that I repeat 
 it to you so often.” 
 
 Here we may remark that whenever we receive 
 the Blessed Eucharist with the necessary dispo¬ 
 sitions—that is to say, in a state of grace—the 
 soul is always warmed by the increase of grace 
 itself, which is, or implies, an increase of love; 
 but, nevertheless, this increase of spiritual 
 warmth is not very sensible, just as the heat of 
 a fire is not much felt by one who sits at a dis¬ 
 tance from it and hides his hands. But if, on the 
 other hand, to this necessary disposition just 
 mentioned, we superadd a singular desire to be 
 inflamed by the fire of divine love, and if we 
 bring all the faculties of our soul as close as 
 possible to this fire itself, then the soul will feel 
 intense heat which will continue for several 
 hours ; and should any spark happen to leap out 
 from that fire of divine love, it no sooner touches 
 
Part //., Chap. XU i, Sec. 6. 
 
 271 
 
 the soul than she immediately becomes all 
 aflame, being predisposed to this by the heat she 
 had already acquired. This is being set on fire 
 by love; and happy that soul which may merit 
 to enjoy this privilege occasionally ! 
 
 Saint Teresa recommends this same practice 
 for spiritual communion, and in the chapter 
 already quoted says : “ When you do not com¬ 
 municate sacramentally, my daughters, during 
 the time of hearing Mass, you may communicate 
 spiritually, which is a very useful practice; and 
 after such spiritual communion endeavour to 
 enter into yourselves in the manner described 
 above, for thereby the love of our Lord is deeply 
 imprinted on our hearts. When we dispose our¬ 
 selves to receive His favours, He never fails to 
 bestow them in many ways which are not under¬ 
 stood by us.” 
 
 Saint Teresa concludes this 35th chapter with 
 an Ejaculatory Prayer to the Eternal 
 Father, in which she deplores the tory Praje^to 
 horrible outrages which were com- t p a e tl ^ t r ernal 
 mitted against the Blessed Sacra¬ 
 ment by the heretics of her time; and since 
 there is not the slightest doubt but that the un¬ 
 believers of our day rival the impiety of those 
 heretics, and in an equal degree afflict the 
 Church and fill the world with wickedness, we, 
 too, may repeat this prayer, word for word:— 
 “ Now what does this mean, my Lord and my 
 God ? Either destroy the world altogether, or 
 apply a remedy to these crying evils; for no 
 
272 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 one, even though he be a sinner, as we confess 
 ourselves to be, can endure them any longer. I 
 beseech Thee, O Eternal Father, do not continue 
 to tolerate them. Extinguish this fire, O Lord ; 
 for, if You will, You can do so. Consider that 
 Your Son is still in this world. Through reve¬ 
 rence for Him, let such foul, abominable, and 
 filthy doings cease ; for beauty and purity such 
 as His do not deserve to be lodged where such 
 iniquities exist. Do it not for our sakes, O 
 Lord, for we do not deserve that You should ; 
 but do it for the love of Your Son, since we have 
 not the courage to beg of You that He should 
 not continue to dwell amongst us. I well know 
 that He has obtained Your sanction to remain 
 here with us ‘ to-day ’—that is to say, as long as the 
 world shall endure, for otherwise all things would 
 come to an end, and what would become of us ! 
 But if anything is capable of appeasing You, it is 
 that we possess here below such a pledge. 
 Some remedy must be found, my Lord, for these 
 terrible evils, and let Your Majesty apply it. O 
 my God ! would that there were some one who 
 might very much importune You by prayer, and 
 who had served You so faithfully that he might 
 presume to beg so great a favour of You in re¬ 
 compense for his services, since You suffer no 
 one to go unrewarded! But alas! I am not 
 such a one, O Lord. On the contrary, I am, 
 perhaps, the very one who has exasperated You 
 so, that in punishment of my sins all these evils 
 are sent upon the world! What, then, ought I 
 
Part II, Chap . XIII, Sec. i. 
 
 273 
 
 to do, O my Creator, unless to offer up to You 
 this most sacred bread; and though You have 
 Yourself given it to us, I must give it back to 
 You again, begging, at the same time, through 
 the merits of Your Son, that You would grant me 
 this favour for which I ask, since He has in so 
 many ways merited it. Do, O Lord, in pity, 
 calm the troubled sea of this world, and let not 
 the ship of the Church be always tossed about 
 in such a tempest. Save us, O Lord, for we are 
 on the point of perishing.” 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On the Fifth Petition : Forgive us our trespasses 
 as we forgive them that trespass against us. 
 
 In the Meditation set down for Friday Saint 
 Teresa explains this Petition, and 
 in doing so considers God under RedSmer. ur 
 “ the title of Redeemer ; because as 
 Saint Paul says the Son of God became our 
 Redeemer, and ransomed us by His Blood. He 
 it is who has delivered us from the dominion of 
 Satan to whom we were subject, and has pre¬ 
 pared for us the kingdom of the children of 
 God, and has made us His kingdom ; in whom 
 also we have redemption, that is, the pardon of 
 our sins and the price that He paid for their 
 ransom.” 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 It is not necessary to prove how sweet, how 
 consoling, how full of love is this title of Re¬ 
 deemer. Who can express the thoughts that 
 must crowd upon a soul animated by Faith, 
 when she contemplates her Father, her King, 
 her Spouse, her Shepherd, sacrificing His divine 
 life—and that, moreover, in such a painful and 
 bloody manner as took place on Calvary—in 
 order to rescue her from eternal death, and con¬ 
 fer upon her life eternal ? What feelings of con¬ 
 solation, what transports of love, must she not 
 experience, when she reflects that the Majesty 
 of God Himself was pleased to become the 
 expiatory victim for her ? 
 
 Saint Teresa continues: “All the blessings 
 which we can desire for ourselves are 
 fense^we'ask included in the above-mentioned 
 God to forgive Petition, and all the evils from which 
 we can wish to be delivered are con¬ 
 tained in these three following petitions. The 
 first is this : Pardon us, O Lord, what we owe 
 Thee for being what thou art—God, the Lord 
 of all things: pardon us, also, what we owe 
 Thee for all Thy benefits conferred upon us, 
 and for the offences which we have committed 
 against Thee. And may this pardon be granted 
 to us, O Lord, just as we pardon those who offend 
 us, and who are our debtors. 
 
 “ But lest any one may, perhaps, think that 
 this forgiveness would prove very limited if it 
 resembled the forgiveness which we mete out to 
 others, we must observe that this may be under- 
 
Part //., Chap. XIII. > Sec. j. 
 
 275 
 
 stood in two ways. First, we may imagine to 
 ourselves that whenever we repeat this prayer 
 we say it in union with Christ our Lord, who 
 is always beside us when we pray, and in His 
 name we offer our petitions and say ‘ Our 
 Father ’. This being so, the pardon granted to 
 us will be most complete, because the Son of 
 God Himself has entirely discharged our 
 debt. But these words may be understood, also, 
 in their literal sense of beseeching God to for¬ 
 give us as we forgive others ; because it is pre¬ 
 sumed that every one who prays has forgiven 
 from his heart those who have offended him, 
 and by this method of praying we bring to our 
 recollection the proper dispositions which we 
 should have when we offer up our petition and 
 approach God in prayer. Because if we have 
 not truly forgiven those who have injured us, we 
 pronounce sentence upon ourselves, that we are 
 undeserving of pardon. The Wise Man says in 
 Holy Writ: How is it possible that a man should 
 have no mercy on his brother, and yet implore 
 mercy for himself ? If any one desire vengeance, 
 God will take vengeance upon him, and will 
 regard his sins without hope of forgiveness.” 
 
 Saint Teresa next proceeds to speak of the 
 subject-matter of this Petition, and 
 says that it is “very general, and of?hisPetition! 
 embraces an infinite number of 
 things ; because our debts are beyond reckon¬ 
 ing, while the redemption is most abundant, 
 and the price of the ransom infinite, being no 
 
276 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 other than the Death and Passion of Christ. 
 Here we must call to mind and picture to our¬ 
 selves our own sins and those of the entire 
 world; the heinousness of even a single mortal 
 sin, which, being an offence against God, cannot 
 be atoned for by any other but God; and, 
 finally, the satisfaction due for so many offences 
 committed against a Majesty and Goodness so 
 great and infinite. We owe to God love, fear, 
 and the most profound reverence for being what 
 He is. We are debtors to Him, also, for the 
 offences which we commit in discharging these 
 duties towards Him; and whenever we ask Him 
 to forgive us our trespasses, we beg of Him to 
 deliver us from all these debts. In the perform¬ 
 ance of this work of forgiveness consists all His 
 wealth and all our happiness ; for He is the per¬ 
 son offended—at one and the same time the 
 Redeemer and the Ransom.” 
 
 Whenever, therefore, we repeat the “ Our 
 Father,” we must bear in mind the greatness 
 and the number of the debts which we owe to 
 God. Their gravity is simply enormous; be¬ 
 cause an offence committed against an Infinite 
 Majesty is an evil of incomprehensible malice. 
 Their number is exceeding great, because no 
 one can tell how many sins he has himself 
 committed, while the sins of the entire world 
 could by no possibility be reckoned. What a 
 frightful sight it would be to behold, at a single 
 glance, all the sins ever committed by Heathens, 
 by Turks, by Jews, by Heretics, and, above all, 
 
Part II., Chap. XIII, Sec. 3. 
 
 277 
 
 by Catholics; for the sins of Catholics surpass 
 those of others in malice, since they possess the 
 light of the true faith, and are consequently far 
 less excusable when they sin. The world, ac¬ 
 cording to the expression of Holy Writ, is 
 encompassed by iniquity; and it may be said, 
 with truth, that the number of sins committed 
 in the world surpasses the number of the drops 
 of water which flooded the earth at the time of 
 the universal Deluge. 
 
 Nevertheless, the ransom which Christ paid 
 for us at the infinite price of His Blood is 
 immeasurably greater than all this debt; and, 
 therefore, we may pray with confidence that 
 God would remit it. It must, however, be 
 understood that we must, at the same time, for¬ 
 give others the debts which they may have 
 contracted towards us by injuring us — debts 
 which, however great we may deem them to be, 
 yet are but a mere trifle, undeserving of the least 
 consideration, when compared with the immense 
 debt which we have contracted with God. And 
 in truth, though the injuries which our fellow- 
 men do us are a great evil, inasmuch as they 
 involve an offence against God, nevertheless, in 
 so far as they relate to ourselves alone, they are 
 a mere nothing in comparison with what we 
 deserve; for no affront or injury to which we 
 could possibly be subjected, could bear the least 
 proportion to the punishment which we deserve 
 to receive from all creatures for the sins which 
 we have ourselves committed against God. 
 
27S 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Saint Teresa wishes also that, in meditating 
 on this Petition, in which God is represented to 
 us under the title of Redeemer, we should con¬ 
 template His most bitter Passion, which will 
 prove most efficacious to inspire us with un¬ 
 bounded confidence in the divine mercy, and 
 that we should pray in a special manner for all 
 those who are in mortal sin, for our enemies, 
 and for those who have injured us. Oh ! if all 
 those who love God did but pray a little more 
 fervently for poor sinners, in how much greater 
 numbers would they be converted to God, by 
 means of the lights and graces which would be 
 obtained for them ! And, again, what a beauti¬ 
 ful act of charity it is to pray for every blessing 
 for those who hate us, and who strive to injure 
 us by every means in their power! 
 
 As regards the prayer which we ought to offer 
 up for sinners, let us hear how Saint Teresa 
 speaks upon the subject (Mansions, VII., chap. 
 1): “ Let us be particularly careful, my sisters, to 
 pray for those who are in mortal sin, since this 
 will be a great act of charity. For should we 
 happen to see a fellow-Christian securely hand¬ 
 cuffed and tightly bound to a pillar, while he 
 was starving to death—not, indeed, through the 
 absence of food, of which there was an abun¬ 
 dance beside him, but through inability to make 
 use of it—and were he reduced to such extreme 
 weakness as to be just on the point of dying, 
 not by a temporal but by eternal death, would 
 it not be an act of extreme cruelty on our part 
 
Part //., Chap. XIII., Sec. 3. 
 
 279 
 
 to look upon him with cold indifference in such 
 straits, without giving him some nourishment to 
 preserve his life? Now, what should you say if, 
 by means of your prayers, you could loose the 
 bonds of such a one ? I beg of you, therefore, 
 to be always mindful of such souls as these 
 when you are engaged in prayer.” 
 
 All holy souls, even those who, by reason of 
 the peculiar circumstances of their state, were 
 hindered most from labouring for the conversion 
 of sinners, had always, nevertheless, an extra¬ 
 ordinary zeal for their salvation. Saint Mary 
 Magdalen De Pazzi possessed this spirit of zeal 
 in a very singular degree. She used to say to 
 God: Desiderium animarum tuaruni comedit me — 
 the desire of the salvation of souls redeemed 
 by Thee hath consumed me. She was par¬ 
 ticularly devoted to prayer and penitential exer¬ 
 cises in behalf of souls who live in the habit of 
 sin; and yet, notwithstanding all this, she used 
 to regard herself as culpable because of the souls 
 that perished, saying that they would have been 
 converted if she and her nuns had only prayed 
 for them with greater fervour. Once, when in 
 an ecstasy, she said that if a person could, with¬ 
 out offending God, go to hell to save a soul, he 
 ought to glory in doing so. She was ready to 
 endure any sufferings for the sake of sinners; 
 and whenever the Lord heard her prayers in 
 their behalf, and sent her grievous pains and 
 infirmities, she would call these glorious suffer¬ 
 ings. Taking the crucifix into her hands, she 
 
28 o 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 once said—“ Thou , O Lord, wast pleased to die 
 upon a cross , and to shed all Thy blood for sinners; 
 I too , my God , would wish to shed my blood and 
 to sacrifice my life for their conversion. On 
 another occasion, when she was in an ecstasy, 
 and was begging of God the conversion of some 
 souls, she said— My Lord , if you refuse me the 
 favour of giving me these souls that L ask of Thee , 
 L tell thee , in turn , that L will refuse to enter into 
 possession of that glory which Thou hast prepared 
 for me. She used to say, also, that if God had 
 asked her, as He once asked Saint Thomas of 
 Aquin, what favour she wished from Him, she 
 would have replied— Nothing except souls. She 
 considered that souls were the inheritance given 
 by the Eternal Father to her Spouse, Jesus, and 
 she could not endure the thought that any 
 portion of this inheritance should perish. (See 
 her Life, by Paccini, chapters 98 and 99.) 
 
 Let all those, then, who are inflamed by a 
 great love of God, as well as those who have 
 begun to love Him even a little, pray with 
 fervour for those other souls that are as yet 
 wanting in this love, in order that the Lord 
 may touch their hearts, that they may be moved 
 to detest sin, and that they, too, may be warmed 
 by the fire of holy charity, which will give them 
 life in the sight of God, and may make them 
 deserving of life eternal hereafter. 
 
 We will conclude this chapter by recording a 
 beautiful vision which Saint Teresa says was 
 vouchsafed to a servant of God, who, doubtless, 
 
 
Part II, Chap. XIV., Sec. I. 
 
 281 
 
 was no other than herself. “There appeared 
 to her,” she says, “ Christ crucified, who told 
 her to take out the nails with which mankind 
 had crucified Him, and these are (said He) 
 want of love of My goodness and beauty, ingrati¬ 
 tude for and forgetfulness of My favours, and 
 hardness of heart against My inspirations. But 
 (He continued) after you shall have removed 
 these three nails, I still remain fastened by three 
 others, namely, by an infinite love, by gratitude 
 for the blessings which My Father gives you 
 through Me a?id for My sake, and by tender 
 mercy to receive you ” (Meditation for Friday). 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 tiliousness in 
 matters affect¬ 
 ing our per¬ 
 sonal dignity. 
 
 The Fifth Petition continued. 
 
 Saint Teresa, explaining this Petition in the 
 36th chapter of her Way of Perfec- § r 0n punc . 
 tion , speaks of the punctiliousness in 
 matters affecting their own honour 
 and dignity, to which even religious 
 and pious persons are liable ; and she tells us 
 how they must rise above such wretched trifles, 
 which would infallibly prove a hindrance to 
 their spiritual progress. Then, after having 
 said that one who has already surrendered his 
 will to God ought to have likewise made a per¬ 
 fect sacrifice of all sensitiveness regarding his 
 
282 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 personal honour and dignity, she turns to our 
 Lord and addresses Him thus: O my Lord, if 
 there be any to keep me company in this, and 
 who have not yet understood this point—if, I 
 say, there be any such, I beg of them in Your 
 name to remember this matter, and not to take 
 any notice whatever of certain trifles which they 
 call wrongs and grievances ; because so long as 
 we allow ourselves to be affected by these punc¬ 
 tilios of honour, we seem to be but building 
 houses of straw as children do. 
 
 “ Would to God, my sisters, that we really 
 understood what honour is, and in what the loss 
 of it consists ! I do not speak now of us, nuns, 
 for great indeed would be our misfortune if we 
 had not yet learned this; but I speak of myself 
 alone, as I reflect upon the time when, following 
 the example of the world, I valued honour so 
 much without understanding what it was. Oh ! 
 how I then resented certain matters, and thought 
 myself aggrieved by things of which I am now 
 ashamed ! And yet I was not one of those who 
 attach undue weight to these points of honour, 
 but still I did not take my stand upon the main 
 point, because I did not make due account of 
 the true honour which brings some advantage 
 with it, namely, the honour which benefits the 
 soul. Oh ! how truly was it said that honour 
 and profit cannot stand together. I do not know 
 whether these words were spoken in the sense in 
 which I have applied them; but it is perfectly 
 true to say that the soul’s profit and what the 
 
Part II., Chap. XIV., Sec. I. 
 
 283 
 
 world calls honour can never go hand in hand. 
 It is astonishing to see how the world takes the 
 wrong side. Blessed be God who has called us 
 out of it ! ” 
 
 She then proceeds to speak of certain matters 
 specially relating to monks and nuns, and says : 
 
 “ Remember, my sisters, that the devil does not 
 forget us, Religious : even in monasteries he 
 invents honours, and lays down his code of laws 
 for the guidance of religious persons with respect 
 to them. Those, for instance, who are engaged 
 in study must proceed in their studies according 
 to a certain ascending scale ; so that one who 
 has got so far as to read. Theology must on no 
 account condescend to read Philosophy, for it is 
 reckoned a point of honour to be ever ascend¬ 
 ing and never to descend ; and to such a degree 
 is this feeling carried, that even if it were en¬ 
 joined by obedience to turn back to a lower study, % 
 a person would consider it a wrong, and there 
 would be found some to take his part and say: 
 
 ‘ This is an affront ’. Whereupon the devil 
 immediately suggests reasons in support of this 
 view, and leads the Religious to suppose that 
 even God’s law justifies it. 
 
 “ So, too, among nuns, she that has filled the 
 office of Superior must be considered ever after¬ 
 wards ineligible to other lower offices. Seniority 
 must always be kept well in view (a matter that 
 we are not likely to forget), and it would some¬ 
 times seem as if, in acting thus, we even claimed 
 some merit for ourselves, because, indeed, we 
 
284 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 are carrying out what the Rule enjoins. In 
 truth, this is a matter to be laughed at, or, to 
 speak more correctly, it is rather to be deplored, 
 seeing that though the Rule enjoins that due 
 respect be paid to Superiors and to seniors, it does 
 not forbid us at the same time to be humble. 
 The provisions of the Rule regarding dignities 
 have been wisely established for the sake of pre¬ 
 serving harmony and order in the community; 
 but I must not be so strict with regard to the 
 observance of matters which affect my own per¬ 
 sonal dignity, as to consider this point of order 
 as of equal importance with other matters affect¬ 
 ing it which perhaps I observe imperfectly. Let 
 not our entire perfection consist in observing 
 the Rule in this single point: others will be 
 sure to mind it for me, even if I should be in¬ 
 clined to forget it. But the truth is, that since 
 we are inclined to mount higher (even though by 
 gratifying this inclination we shall not mount to 
 heaven), so it seems to us that under no cir¬ 
 cumstances are we to descend to a position of 
 inferiority. 
 
 “ O my Lord ! are You not our Exemplar and 
 our Master ? Most assuredly You are. Now in 
 what did Your honour consist, most honoured 
 Master ? You did not forfeit it in being humbled 
 even to death. No, my Lord, but thereby You 
 gained honour for us all. Oh ! for the love of 
 God, my sisters, consider by what a bad road 
 we shall travel if we follow this one; for from 
 the very start it is the wrong one, and may God 
 
Part II, Chap . XIV, Sec. i. 
 
 285 
 
 grant that no soul perish through insisting on 
 these miserable points of honour, without know¬ 
 ing in what honour really consists.” 
 
 The teaching of Saint Teresa in this passage 
 is very clear. She warns us never to take notice 
 of any slight which may be offered to our self¬ 
 esteem, since, after the example of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, we ought to love not honours but 
 humiliations. Above all, we ought to attend to the 
 advice which she gives us when, in accordance with 
 the wise rules which regulate every society and 
 community, dignities and marks of respect may 
 happen to fall to our lot. It is right that the person 
 who is placed in a position of authority or dig¬ 
 nity should receive all the respect that is due to 
 him ; the rule or law which prescribes this ought 
 to be observed by all: but, nevertheless, the 
 person in whose favour such rule or law has 
 been made ought not to be too jealous of his 
 dignity; he ought not to insist rigidly on his 
 rights; but, on the contrary, he ought to be 
 ready to renounce all such things willingly, in 
 order to practise holy humility. A Christian’s 
 true honour is to be found only where Jesus 
 Christ found it, namely, in the glorious dis¬ 
 honour of the Cross. 
 
 As this matter is of such importance, we shall 
 here insert, for the benefit more particularly of 
 Religious, some reflections of Saint Teresa, 
 taken from the 12th chapter of her Way of Per¬ 
 fection : “ May our Divine Lord,” she says, “by 
 His most holy Passion deliver us from saying, or 
 
286 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 even from deliberately dwelling on the thought 
 that ‘ I am the Senior in Religion/ or ‘ I am the 
 oldest in years ’ ; ‘ I have laboured more than 
 others; others are treated more considerately 
 than I am ’; and so forth. Should such 
 thoughts enter your mind, you must drive them 
 away immediately. If you dwell upon them, or 
 converse about such things one with another, 
 they will become a very plague, and from pursu¬ 
 ing this course great evils spring up in convents. 
 Should you have a Superioress who tolerates 
 such things in any degree however slight, you 
 may rest assured that God has permitted you to 
 be governed by such a Superioress in punish¬ 
 ment of your sins, and that from her negligence 
 in this matter your ruin will commence. Call, 
 therefore, upon God, and let all your prayers be 
 directed to the end that He may apply a remedy, 
 and rescue you from the danger in which you are 
 placed. . . . God forbid that those who wish to 
 serve Him should be solicitous about honour, or 
 fear dishonour. . . . There is no poison in the 
 world which destroys bodies so effectually as 
 these things destroy perfection.” 
 
 Saint Teresa will not even have us express 
 sympathy with those who have been subjected to 
 slights like those of which we have spoken, since 
 they are trifles undeserving of any notice what¬ 
 soever. Wherefore she would not have us 
 address persons to whom a slight has been 
 offered in such terms as the following : “ How 
 can you endure this wrong! May God give 
 
Part II , Chap. XIV., Sec. 2. 
 
 287 
 
 you patience ! A saint could not suffer more ! ” 
 Still less would she have us show any sympathy 
 with resentment under a sense of wrong, by say¬ 
 ing, for example, “Surely you cannot possibly 
 be expected not to resent this ? On the con¬ 
 trary, it is right to let people see that you feel 
 such matters.” Wherefore she concludes as fol¬ 
 lows : “ Oh, for the love of God, my sisters, let 
 no indiscreet charity ever move you to exhibit 
 sympathy with another in anything relating to 
 these slights; for in doing so you would only be 
 imitating the conduct pursued towards holy Job 
 by his wife and friends 
 
 With regard to the forgiveness of injuries, 
 Saint Teresa remarks, “how highly 
 God values our loving one another, nessofinjunesl 
 since the good Jesus might have 
 proposed other considerations to His Father, 
 and said : ‘ Pardon us, O Lord, because we 
 perform great penances; or, because we pray 
 and fast much, and have given up everything for 
 Thy sake ; or, because we love Thee exceed¬ 
 ingly, and would lay down our lives for Thee ’; 
 or because of many other like reasons which 
 might have been put forward. But yet the only 
 reason our Lord was pleased to advance was 
 this : ‘ As we forgive them that trespass against 
 us and perhaps He said this, and put forward 
 this motive in our behalf before His Eternal 
 Father, because He knew how attached we are 
 to this miserable feeling of honour, and with 
 what difficulty we are induced to forgive from 
 
288 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 our heart those who have injured us ” ( Way of 
 Perfection , chap. 36). 
 
 All the saints have been distinguished by 
 their readiness to forgive injuries, and many of 
 them were animated by feelings of singular 
 affection towards their most bitter enemies, so 
 that they even singled them out for special 
 manifestations of their good-will. Perhaps they 
 were induced to act thus by the example of 
 Jesus Christ upon the cross, who, in a certain 
 sense, seemed to prefer His enemies to His 
 friends, since He offered up a special prayer for 
 the former rather than for the latter. 
 
 Moreover, it is evident that the love of our 
 enemies is the most certain proof of sincere 
 charity. For to love our benefactors is not only 
 easy but almost necessary, considering the 
 natural tendencies of the human heart; to love 
 one who has neither served nor injured us, is a 
 matter in relation to which we neither feel any 
 special attraction or repugnance; but to love 
 our enemies is a matter of extreme difficulty, 
 from which our natural instincts shrink. 
 
 And here we may very appropriately introduce 
 a doctrine laid down with perfect truth by Saint 
 Teresa, namely, that the practice of charity 
 towards our neighbour is the very best proof 
 which we can have in this life that we possess 
 perfect love. “ In my opinion,” she says, “the 
 surest test to discover whether we observe these 
 two things (i.e., the twofold precept of the love of 
 God and of our neighbour) , is to fulfil well the 
 
Pa?'t II, Chap. XIV., Sec. 3. 
 
 289 
 
 precept of charity towards our fellow-men. 
 Because we can never know with certainty 
 whether we really love God, although there are 
 some signs by which we may infer it; but we 
 can more easily discover whether we love our 
 neighbour ( since we may confer favours on our 
 fellow-man. while we cannot confer them on God). 
 Be assured, therefore, that the more you prac¬ 
 tise the love of your neighbour, the more will 
 you advance in the love of God. For so great 
 is the love which His Divine Majesty entertains 
 towards us, that in reward of the love which we 
 bear towards our fellow-men, He will cause the 
 love of Himself to increase within us; and of 
 this fact I have not the slightest doubt ” {Man¬ 
 sions, V., chap. 3). If we be generous, therefore, 
 in loving our enemies, we shall be perfect in 
 charity towards our neighbour, and in this we 
 shall have the strongest proof that we fulfil per¬ 
 fectly the divine precept of love. 
 
 Saint Teresa goes on to say that should any 
 one seem to be endowed with the B . 
 
 , r r . . § 3. lhe love 
 
 gift of perfect contemplation, with- oftheirenemies 
 
 out being, at the same time, very 
 
 firm and resolute in forgiving even in true con- 
 
 , ... , templatives. 
 
 the most grievous injuries, such a 
 person “ need not put much trust in the genuine 
 character of her prayer; for a soul that God 
 really unites to Himself in such sublime prayer 
 as that of contemplation, is not in the least 
 affected by any slights or injuries to which she 
 may be subjected, nor is she at all concerned at 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 being esteemed rather than despised. But I 
 have made a mistake : I should rather have 
 said that she is concerned, seeing that honours 
 afflict her much more than disgrace, and that a 
 life of peace and tranquillity pleases her less than 
 one of suffering. For when the Lord has truly 
 bestowed upon her His Kingdom in this world 
 (i.e., the gift of perfect contemplation ;), she no 
 longer wishes for anything here below; and she 
 knows that this is the true course to pursue in 
 order to reign in a more exalted sphere, since 
 she has seen by experience the good that flows 
 therefrom, and how much a soul advances and 
 is benefited by suffering for God. For His 
 Divine Majesty very rarely confers such great 
 graces and favours upon any except those who 
 have cheerfully endured many trials for His sake; 
 and, as I have remarked elsewhere in this book, 
 the trials of contemplative souls are very great, 
 since our Lord loves to raise to the heights of 
 contemplation those whom He has tried by 
 sufferings. Know, then, my sisters, that inas¬ 
 much as these contemplative souls have already 
 come to know God, who is everything, they pay 
 little heed to mere transitory things. If upon 
 the first assault some grievous injury or affliction 
 troubles them, they no sooner perceive this than 
 reason comes to their assistance, and seems to 
 raise its standard in their defence; and there¬ 
 upon the trouble that had just begun to assail 
 the soul is in an instant almost annihilated, by 
 the joy she feels in perceiving how the Lord has 
 
Part II ., Chap. XIV., Sec. j. 
 
 291 
 
 afforded her an opportunity whereby she may^ 
 acquire, in His sight, more graces and favours in 
 the space of a single day, than she could gain in 
 ten years by labours and pious exercises under¬ 
 taken voluntarily by her. 
 
 “This, as far as I know, is a matter of very 
 ordinary occurrence; for I have spoken with 
 many contemplatives who prize afflictions as 
 other persons prize gold and jewels, since they 
 know that it is by afflictions they have to acquire 
 spiritual riches. Such souls are very far from 
 esteeming themselves on any account: they 
 take delight in having their failings known, and 
 in mentioning them when they see themselves 
 esteemed by others. The same thing occurs 
 whenever any allusion may happen to be made 
 to their noble birth, for they know that this will 
 avail them nothing in the kingdom that has no 
 end. . . . This must be the reason why he on 
 whom the Lord confers the grace of possessing 
 this humility, and this great love of God in all 
 that regards His service, becomes so utterly 
 forgetful of himself that he cannot even imagine 
 that others think well of him, and cannot pos¬ 
 sibly bring himself to regard it in the light of an 
 injury that they should hold him in little esteem. 
 
 “These last-mentioned effects are found in 
 persons who have reached the higher degrees of 
 perfection, and to whom our Lord very fre¬ 
 quently grants the grace of uniting them to 
 Himself by perfect contemplation; but as re¬ 
 gards the first result to which I alluded above, 
 
292 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 namely, being resolved to bear injuries patiently, 
 however painful they may be, I say that he to 
 whom the Lord grants the grace of arriving at 
 union with Himself will obtain this result in a 
 very short time. But if he should not obtain 
 these results, nor find himself much strengthened 
 in these sentiments after this kind of prayer, 
 then he must conclude that God has not really 
 favoured him with the Prayer of Contemplation, 
 but that what he supposed to be such was 
 merely some illusion of the devil, in order to 
 excite in him sentiments of vain-glory. It is 
 quite possible that in the beginning, when the 
 Lord confers these favours, the soul may not be 
 endowed immediately with this strength of which 
 I have been speaking; but I maintain that if 
 our Lord continue to bestow His favours upon 
 her, she will acquire this strength in a short 
 time; and even though she may not be strong 
 in other virtues, she will be so, however, in the 
 virtue of forgiving injuries. 
 
 “ I cannot believe that a soul which has 
 approached so near to Mercy Itself, when she 
 comes to understand what she really is, and the 
 many heinous offences that God has forgiven 
 her, could fail to pardon others instantly and 
 from her heart, and even, in perfect tranquillity 
 and peace, to cherish a friendly disposition 
 towards those who have injured her. Because 
 when a soul keeps before her the kindness and 
 the favour which God has shown to herself by 
 so many manifestations of His love, she is forced 
 
Part II, Chap . XIV , Sec. j. 
 
 293 
 
 to rejoice at being afforded an opportunity of 
 pardoning her enemies, that thereby she, in turn, 
 may give some proof of the love which she bears 
 to God. I repeat once more that I know many 
 persons on whom God has bestowed the favour 
 of raising them to a supernatural state, by the 
 gift of this Prayer of Contemplation of which I 
 have spoken; and though I have noticed in them 
 other failings and imperfections, yet I have never 
 seen in one of them, nor do I believe I ever 
 shall see in any such (provided that their gift of 
 contemplation, as has been said, really proceeds 
 from God), this failing of not forgiving their 
 enemies. Let the person, then, who receives 
 great spiritual favours carefully observe whether 
 these effects of which I have been speaking go 
 on increasing in him, and should he find none 
 of them in himself, then let him fear greatly, and 
 let him not believe that these favours which he 
 has received have really come from God, since 
 God always enriches the soul that He visits. 
 This much is certain, namely, that though the 
 spiritual favour itself and the consolation which 
 it brings with it may soon pass away, nevertheless 
 the fact that they have really come from God is 
 gradually discovered by the advantages which 
 the soul has derived from them ” (Way of Per¬ 
 fection , chap. 36). 
 
 The foregoing doctrine of Saint Teresa, in 
 addition to being most true, is so clear that it 
 needs no comment. We may, however, in 
 passing, call attention to the statement of the 
 
294 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Saint that she has always observed that true 
 contemplatives are very perfect in the love of 
 their enemies, even though in other respects they 
 may have failings and imperfections. Wherefore 
 those persons are very liable to err, who, on dis¬ 
 covering imperfections in souls favoured with 
 extraordinary graces, forthwith conclude that 
 these favours are nothing more than illusions of 
 the devil, and, to test the truth of this assump¬ 
 tion, subject such souls to the most trying 
 ordeals. For extraordinary favours, as Saint 
 Teresa says in several parts of her works, are, 
 indeed, an indication that God intends to conduct 
 the souls on whom He bestows them to a high 
 degree of perfection, provided they correspond 
 to the special predilection which He manifests 
 towards them; but these extraordinary favours 
 are no proof whatever that these privileged souls 
 have already actually succeeded in attaining this 
 great perfection. Wherefore it is quite possible 
 that though God, and not the devil, were really 
 the author of these favours, nevertheless, the 
 soul might not yet have acquired sufficient 
 strength to endure the test to which she might 
 be subjected. Consequently, in this matter 
 there is need of great discretion, which will be 
 obtained by prayer and by distrusting one’s own 
 lights. But if any one should urge, in opposition 
 to this view, the fact that some of the saints have 
 tested such souls by subjecting them to very 
 severe ordeals, I reply that the saints received 
 from God special lights and inspirations which 
 
Part II., Chap. XV , Sec. i. 
 
 295 
 
 are denied to very many directors of souls. 
 However, regarding this point we shall have 
 something to say later on. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 On the Sixth Petition: And lead us not into 
 
 temptation . 
 
 Commenting on this Petition in the Meditation 
 set down for Saturday, Saint Teresa § I# God our 
 considers God as our Physician, and Physician, 
 writes as follows : “ This title of Physician is 
 very pleasing to His Divine Majesty, and it was 
 to the duties of this office that He devoted 
 Himself most during His sojourn in this world, 
 healing the innumerable corporal ailments of the 
 sick, and bringing relief to souls grown old in 
 vice. Wherefore He gave Himself this title 
 when he said : They that are in health need not 
 a physician , but they that are ill. 
 
 “ His Divine Majesty discharged the duties 
 of this office in favour of man, comparing Him¬ 
 self to the Samaritan who cured with oil and 
 wine him whom the robbers had stripped, 
 wounded, and left half dead. The titles of 
 Physician and Redeemer signify one and the 
 same thing, and differ in this alone, that the 
 title of Redeemer, as Saint Paul says, has 
 respect only to past sins, while that of Physician 
 
296 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 has reference to our present wounds and in¬ 
 firmities and to all future ailments.’’ 
 
 The Saint wishes “ that we should persevere 
 
 § 2 . what it is in askin g g race of this Divine 
 that we ask of Physician, in order that He may 
 this Physician. not su ff er us to be overcome by 
 
 present and future temptations, or to relapse 
 into our former sins ”. 
 
 She cautions us, however, “not to beg of 
 Him that He will not suffer us to be tempted, 
 but only that we be not overcome by temptation; 
 for temptation, when vanquished by God’s grace 
 and the act of our own free will, redounds to 
 God’s glory and increases our own merit. It is 
 for this reason that His Divine Majesty com¬ 
 mands us to pray in these words : lead us not 
 into temptation , giving us thereby to understand 
 that whenever we are tempted it is by God’s 
 permission ; but our being overcome by tempta¬ 
 tion is attributable solely to our own weakness, 
 while, if we vanquish it, the victory is His, not 
 ours. 
 
 “ Let us reflect, then, how true it is that we 
 are all weak and infirm, and covered over with 
 the wounds of sin, both because we have in¬ 
 herited a corrupt nature from our fathers, and 
 also because we ourselves, by our sins and evil 
 habits in the past, have weakened ourselves still 
 more, and have wounded ourselves from head 
 to foot. Let us, therefore, present ourselves in 
 this condition before this Heavenly Physician, 
 and beseech Him not to allow us to fall into 
 
Part If., Chap. XV, Sec. 2. 
 
 297 
 
 temptation, but to sustain us with His powerful 
 hand, and not leave us without His care and 
 assistance.” 
 
 Wherefore Saint Teresa wishes that we 
 should consider “the blindness of our under¬ 
 standing ; the corruption of our will, which is so 
 prone to follow its own inclinations and to 
 indulge in self-esteem; the forgetfulness of our 
 memory with regard to God’s favours ; the 
 freedom of our tongue in idle speech ; the levity 
 of our heart and its inconstancy in yielding to 
 foolish thoughts and not persevering in good 
 resolutions, and, in general, its vain-glory in 
 every good work, and its want of interior recol¬ 
 lection 
 
 And surely, if we would approach our Heavenly 
 Physician with that profound humility and that 
 anxious desire to be cured which we ought to 
 have in such circumstances, it is very necessary 
 that we be filled with a deep conviction of the 
 seriousness and danger of these our infirmities. 
 Whosoever knows that he is ailing seriously does 
 not delay a moment in seeking the aid of a 
 physician, and his sole concern is to procure the 
 remedies and drugs that are suitable to his 
 disease; while, on the other hand, he who 
 supposes himself to be in good health will not 
 even bestow a thought upon such things. 
 
 Now it is a great consolation to a poor sick 
 man to know that he is in the hands of a good 
 physician, and the better the physician is, the 
 more is the sick man comforted and confident. 
 
298 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 between 
 earthly 
 
 physicians and 
 the Heavenly 
 Physician of 
 souls. 
 
 Let us hear Saint Teresa on this point, who 
 § 3 . Difference institutes a comparison between the 
 physicians of this wond and the 
 Heavenly Physician of our souls. 
 “Let us consider,” she says, “the 
 character of earthly physicians. They 
 never visit any patient unless they are summoned, 
 and they visit most willingly those by whom they 
 are best paid, and not those who stand most in 
 need of their services. They exaggerate the 
 nature of the illness, and they frequently delay 
 the cure in order that they may make more 
 profit out of their patient. They prescribe for 
 the poor without visiting them, being satisfied 
 with a mere report of their condition, while they 
 are careful to attend personally upon the rich. 
 They do not supply to rich or poor the medicines 
 which they prescribe, but these drugs, which are 
 very dear and very nauseous, have to be pur¬ 
 chased ; and yet, after all this has been done, 
 the cure is in the end extremely uncertain. 
 
 “ O Heavenly Physician, who in none of 
 these particulars, but in name only, resemblest 
 the physicians of this world ! You pay Your 
 visits without waiting to be summoned, and You 
 come to the poor more readily than to the rich. 
 You cure all by visiting them personally, and all 
 that You expect in return is that the sick man 
 should candidly acknowledge his infirmities, and 
 should have need of Your services. Not only 
 do You not exaggerate the difficulty of the cure 
 or the seriousness of the ailment, but You 
 
Part II, Chap. XV, Sec. j. 
 
 299 
 
 facilitate the recovery of the patient however 
 grave may be his malady, and You promise them 
 that if they but give one sigh of repentance they 
 shall be healed. You never manifest disgust at 
 the condition of any patient, no matter how 
 loathsome may be his disease. You go through 
 the hospital wards seeking out the incurable and 
 the poor: You yourself pay Your own fees, and 
 from Your own house You supply the medicine, 
 and what medicine !—medicine compounded of 
 the blood and the water that issued from Your 
 sacred side—the blood to cure us, and the water 
 to cleanse us, and to leave us without any mark 
 which might indicate that we had been ailing. 
 
 “ There was in the midst of Paradise a spring 
 so abundant that it spread out into four very 
 great rivers which watered the entire land. And 
 so, in like manner, from the fountain of that 
 love which burned in the Saviour’s heart, we see 
 flowing those five streams of blood which issued 
 from His sacred feet, hands, and side, to heal 
 our infirmities. How many sick persons die 
 through want of a physician, or through not 
 having money wherewith to purchase the medi¬ 
 cine necessary for their cure ! But in the case of 
 the Heavenly Physician no such danger exists; for 
 He offers His services readily, and comes to His 
 patients laden with medicines to heal their every 
 disease. And though these medicines cost Him 
 very dear, nevertheless He distributes them 
 gratis to every one who wishes to receive them, 
 and even begs of them to accept them from 
 
3 °° 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Him. By the dear price which He paid for 
 them He made provision for our recovery; for 
 they cost Him His very life, and we are healed 
 by looking upon Him as He lies dead, just as, 
 of old, those who had been bitten by living 
 serpents, were cured by looking upon the 
 inanimate serpent, made of brass, which was 
 fixed upon a pole. In a word, we may rest 
 perfectly satisfied that He is most willing to 
 effect our cure, and we are certain, likewise, that 
 His medicines may be easily procured. It only 
 remains, then, for us to make known to Him 
 our wounds and infirmities, and to lay open our 
 hearts before Him in all sincerity.” 
 
 She adds that “when the patient will not take 
 what is prescribed for him, or will not abstain 
 from what is prohibited, the physician usually 
 refuses to continue in attendance upon him, 
 unless, indeed, the patient should happen not 
 to be responsible for his actions. But this 
 Sovereign Physician of our souls abandons 
 neither those who cannot control themselves, 
 nor those who are disobedient, but treats all 
 as if they were irresponsible, seeking a thousand 
 devices to bring them to their right senses.” 
 
 From the foregoing reflections we may easily 
 understand what love we ought to bear to this 
 Heavenly Physician, and how confident we ought 
 to be that He will cure the infirmities of our 
 souls. 
 
 At the close of this Meditation, Saint Teresa 
 says that this would be a “very suitable time 
 
Part II., Chap. XV, Sec. 4. 
 
 3 °i 
 
 to recall to mind the burial of our Lord, and 
 to consider those five fountains of 
 His wounds,which are, and will be, upon^hefiJe 011 
 open until the day of the general wounds of our 
 Resurrection, for the cure of all our ° r ' 
 ailments. And since it is by these wounds that 
 we are healed, let us endeavour to anoint them 
 lovingly with the ointment of mortification, 
 humility, and meekness, by labouring for the 
 welfare of our neighbour. For though we can¬ 
 not have by us in a visible form our Lord Him¬ 
 self, yet He has assured us that whatever we 
 shall do to our neighbour He will take to 
 Himself, and consider as done to Himself.” 
 
 There is no doubt that it will prove a very 
 devout and salutary exercise for a soul that loves 
 Christ to enter in spirit into His sepulchre, and 
 there contemplate His sacred body all covered 
 with precious wounds, and especially with those 
 five in His hands, feet, and side, which have 
 always excited in a particular manner the devo¬ 
 tion of the faithful. There we may contemplate, 
 likewise, how from these five wounds, as from 
 so many fountains, there gushes forth the spark¬ 
 ling water of grace, which is capable of cleansing 
 and healing the foul and deadly wounds which 
 have been inflicted upon our soul by her many 
 grievous sins. Then let the soul, filled with 
 sentiments of the most profound humility, 
 approach her beloved Saviour and say to Him : 
 Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst ?nake me clean — 
 Domine, si vis, potes me mundare ; and she will 
 
3°2 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 have the consolation of feeling herself abundantly 
 washed with that divine water, and of hearing in 
 reply those comforting words : I will. Be thou 
 cleansed — Volo. Mundare (Luke v. 12-13). 
 
 She must next proceed to anoint these sacred 
 wounds with the ointments which we mentioned 
 above, by practising in the service of her neigh¬ 
 bour mortification, humility, meekness, and 
 charity; because Christ our Lord regards as 
 done to Himself whatsoever we do for the 
 benefit of our brethren. 
 
 This truth—that what we do for our neighbour 
 is done for Jesus Christ—takes such a firm hold 
 of some persons, that in performing deeds of 
 mercy towards the poor, they can see in them no 
 other than the divine person of the Saviour 
 Himself. Then it is that charity is truly perfect: 
 then it is that it becomes heroic, and men do 
 for their fellow-creatures what they would do for 
 Christ Himself. And since, if they were to see 
 our Lord hungry, they would willingly take the 
 bread from their own mouths to give it to Him, 
 and would place before Him their choicest viands, 
 so, too, they are ready to suffer hunger them¬ 
 selves in order to relieve the wants of their 
 neighbour, and they have not the heart to send 
 them away with nothing but the refuse of their 
 table. As far as their circumstances will allow, 
 they always act towards the poor with a certain 
 princely liberality, and always give them more 
 than they might be able to afford, and the very 
 best that their circumstances will allow. 
 
Part II., Chap. XV., Sec. 4. 
 
 303 
 
 Animated by such faith, they challenge our 
 admiration as they stand by the bedside of the 
 sick, and most so when these happen to be 
 suffering from loathsome diseases. Since they 
 behold Christ Himself in the person of these 
 afflicted beings, they are touched to the heart 
 with such a holy and overpowering feeling of 
 compassion for them, that they treat the diseased 
 bodies of their neighbour with a tenderness like 
 that which we may suppose Mary Magdalen to 
 have exhibited towards the dead body of the 
 Redeemer, after it had been taken down from 
 the cross and placed in the arms of His sorrowing 
 mother. Indeed we may even say that they act 
 with a feeling of greater satisfaction and love 
 than Magdalen did; for she knew that it was 
 out of her power to bring any relief to the body 
 of her beloved Master, since He was already 
 dead, whereas those charitable souls of whom 
 we are speaking see Him still living and capable 
 of being relieved, in the persons of his sick and 
 suffering brethren. 
 
 Because of this lively faith, there is no sore so 
 loathsome that such persons will shrink from 
 touching it, and sometimes it affords them 
 pleasure even to place their lips to the most 
 horrible ulcers.. And, indeed, who would refuse 
 to touch in this manner the wounds of the 
 Redeemer, if they could only see Him visibly 
 before them ? Those who are not themselves 
 animated by this lively faith, look upon such 
 acts as these as incredible miracles of charity; 
 
304 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 but the persons who actually perform them 
 under the influence of faith, do not consider 
 that they are doing anything great or wonderful, 
 but look upon themselves as simply gratifying a 
 most natural desire of their hearts. Such souls, 
 however, are few, and rarely to be met with; 
 because few are endowed with that lively faith 
 which causes them to see in the person of their 
 neighbour no other than the person of the 
 Redeemer Himself. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued. 
 
 From the 38th to the 41st chapter of her Way 
 §1 ofmani- of Perfectio?i, Saint Teresa treats of 
 fest tempta- temptations and of the remedies to 
 be employed against them, and lays 
 down very excellent doctrine on the subject, 
 which might furnish matter for long treatises. 
 We can, however, do no more than touch lightly 
 upon the question. 
 
 The Saint addresses herself more particularly 
 to those temptations which are most to be 
 dreaded by pious persons, and she says that 
 manifest temptations do not fall under this head; 
 for as brave soldiers love battle in order to 
 obtain booty and win promotion, so pious souls, 
 knowing by experience what great virtue and 
 
Part II., Chap. XVI, Sec. i. 
 
 3 °S 
 
 
 merit is to be acquired by battling against 
 temptation, no longer fear the open attacks of 
 their enemies, but on the contrary desire and 
 love them. “ Believe me, sisters,” she says, 
 “ the soldiers of Christ, by whom 1 mean con¬ 
 templative souls, long for the hour of battle. 
 They never have much fear of open enemies, for 
 they already know them, and they know also 
 that by virtue of the strength which God gives 
 to themselves, these others have no power, but 
 are invariably vanquished, while they themselves 
 never turn to fly, but reap very great advantage 
 from the conflict ” (chap. 38). 
 
 It is clear that this does not hold true of all 
 classes of persons, but only of those who have 
 reached the degree of perfect union with God, 
 as we learn from other portions of the Saint’s 
 works. However, from what Saint Teresa has 
 said in the passage just quoted, it is, at the same 
 time, evident that open, manifest temptations 
 are not those which ought to inspire the greatest 
 dread in souls well grounded in piety and the 
 fear of the Lord; because such souls, on seeing 
 the enemy approach so openly, immediately arm 
 themselves by prayer and other means of defence, 
 so that the close of the contest invariably finds 
 them victorious. But since we are writing 
 here for pious souls that fear the Lord, and that 
 are well instructed in the method of resisting 
 the evident and open attacks of their spiritual 
 enemies, we need say nothing further on this 
 subject. 
 
 20 
 
3°6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 
 Enlightened as she was by God, Saint Teresa 
 
 places among the hidden tempta- 
 hidd£ f te < Spta- tions that are to be less feared, 
 tions.thatare those illusions which the devil may 
 
 less dangerous. . . r . . J 
 
 sometimes cause by counterfeiting 
 certain special favours which God is pleased to 
 grant to His chosen servants, particularly during 
 the time of prayer. Regarding temptations of 
 this class, the Saint speaks as follows, in the 
 chapter already quoted : “ Consider, my daugh¬ 
 ters, that the devils do us harm in many ways, 
 and do not imagine that their malice consists 
 only in leading us to believe that favours and 
 spiritual delights which they can counterfeit in 
 us come from God. To my mind this seems 
 the least part of the evil which they can do us ; 
 nay, it may even come to pass that thereby they 
 may make us advance more rapidly towards 
 perfection; because some, after enjoying this 
 interior sensation of pleasure, spend more time 
 in prayer, and since they are ignorant that the 
 effects produced in them proceed from the devil, 
 and see that they are unworthy of such favours, 
 they will never cease thanking God for them, 
 they will consider themselves under a greater obli¬ 
 gation to serve Him, and will strive to dispose 
 themselves for further heavenly favours, thinking 
 that they come from the hand of the Lord. 
 
 “Continually aim at humility, my sisters, and 
 consider yourselves unworthy of these favours, 
 and do not seek them. If we do this, it is my 
 opinion that the devil will by this means lose 
 
Part II, Chap . XV/., Sec. 2. 307 
 
 many souls while he thinks to bring about their 
 ruin, and our Lord will turn to our advantage 
 the evil which Satan intends to do us. For 
 God sees our intention, which is to please and 
 serve Him by remaining with Him in prayer, 
 and God is faithful. It is well, however, that 
 we proceed with caution, in order that no injury 
 may be done to humility by any feeling of vain¬ 
 glory, from which we ought to beseech the Lord 
 to deliver us. Do not fear, my daughters, that 
 God will permit you to be much caressed by 
 any but by Himself.” 
 
 Those who are charged with the direction of 
 souls that are advanced in the spiritual life, may 
 derive very important instruction from this pas¬ 
 sage. In the opinion of some of these directors, 
 it would seem as though the greatest danger to 
 which a soul that is given to prayer can be 
 exposed is that of being deceived by the devil, 
 who can feign and counterfeit the spiritual 
 delights and other extraordinary favours which 
 the Holy Ghost produces in the hearts of His 
 chosen servants. Hence it happens that when 
 they meet with any soul that has been favoured 
 in prayer with great interior consolations and 
 unusual manifestations of God’s pleasure, they 
 are immediately troubled, and by their own 
 doubts and fears throw their penitent into a 
 state of consternation, causing her to be in 
 constant dread lest she may be in the hands 
 of the devil, who has received permission from 
 God to deceive her. 
 
3°8 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 Under such circumstances the soul, instead 
 of loving prayer as the source of spiritual light, 
 is obliged to fear it as the occasion of the 
 demon’s illusions, and this is a terrible afflic- 
 tion to a soul that loves God. Let directors, 
 then, bear in mind that, according to the 
 teaching of Saint Teresa, there is little danger 
 to be apprehended from this source, even 
 though these extraordinary favours which the 
 soul enjoys should really proceed not from 
 God, but from the devil. 
 
 Wherefore, instead of alarming such persons 
 by hinting the possibility of diabolical illusions 
 and deceits, directors must aim at grounding 
 them well in humility, which, so to speak, will 
 render them invulnerable, while they receive, as 
 from the hand of God, whatever good and 
 holy feelings they may experience. Further¬ 
 more, those who are too easily alarmed by the 
 dread of these diabolical illusions ought to re¬ 
 flect upon those most consoling words of Saint 
 Teresa, quoted above: Do not /car, my daughters, 
 that God will permit you to be much caressed by 
 any but by Himself. These words give us 
 clearly to understand that, in the opinion of 
 the Saint, these illusions and deceits of the 
 devil, of which we have been speaking, are by 
 no means so frequent as some persons would 
 have us believe. 
 
 Should we meet with these extraordinary 
 favours in a soul possessed of little or no virtue, 
 we ought, generally speaking, to suspect that 
 
 1 
 
 l 
 
 
Part II., Chap. XVI., Sec. 3. 309 
 
 they proceed from the devil, who makes use 
 of them in order to make the soul 
 proud, and to draw her away from fhat^?may ls 
 the right path. I have said scene- doubt whether 
 rally speaking: because Saint Teresa may not be 
 regards it as certain that God some- of 
 
 times grant these favours even to 
 sinners, in order to draw them to Himself by 
 means of the sweet force of love {Life, chap. 
 16). But when, on the other hand, we find 
 these extraordinary favours granted to persons 
 who, though still liable to imperfections, are, 
 nevertheless, solidly grounded in virtue, why, 
 I ask, should we conclude that they are dia¬ 
 bolical illusions, and not rather loving visita¬ 
 tions of God, who wishes thereby to bind these 
 souls more closely to Himself, and to inebriate 
 them with those spiritual delights, that they may 
 thereby be the better disposed to endure after¬ 
 wards great sufferings for love of Him ? 
 
 And even though the devil should sometimes 
 intervene and counterfeit these favours, yet what 
 harm can follow therefrom, provided the soul 
 remains humble? Far from receiving any in¬ 
 jury thereby, the soul, according to the teaching 
 of Saint Teresa, will even derive from such 
 visitations much solid advantage. Let us con¬ 
 clude, then, that the cause of sanctity is not 
 served by those who represent the spiritual life 
 as a mountain filled with pitfalls and precipices 
 calculated to frighten timid souls, while they 
 never impress upon such souls the idea of the 
 
3io 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 omnipotence and love of God, who guides and 
 supports them, in order that they may ascend 
 that rugged height in safety. It is certain that 
 souls will succeed in mounting up to the highest 
 perfection more easily and securely, if they fear 
 the devil less, and place greater confidence in 
 God. 
 
 It will afford us much light on this subject to 
 v , hear what happened to Saint Teresa 
 of Saint herself, which deserves to be re- 
 Teresa ' corded for the common instruction 
 of all. She tells us, in the 23rd chapter of her 
 Life , that although she already enjoyed many 
 extraordinary gifts and favours in prayer, never¬ 
 theless she still continued to fall into imper¬ 
 fections and defects. This fact caused much 
 uneasiness to her director; for he considered it 
 impossible that a soul so favoured by God (in 
 the hypothesis that her gifts and favours really 
 did come from God) could be at the same 
 time so imperfect. He did not hesitate, there¬ 
 fore, to conclude that Saint Teresa was the 
 victim of illusions, that her extraordinary spiri¬ 
 tual gifts and favours were nothing else than 
 the work of the devil, and that she was, conse¬ 
 quently, in great danger of spiritual ruin. Saint 
 Francis Borgia, later on, assured her that her 
 spiritual favours came from God ; but, neverthe¬ 
 less, directors who were unduly apprehensive of 
 diabolical intervention, continued to frighten her 
 until, as she relates in the 25th chapter, five or 
 six persons, whom she styles great servants of 
 
Part II, Chap. XVI., Sec. 4. 
 
 3ii 
 
 God, together with her confessor, once more 
 decided that she was deceived by the devil; 
 that she ought consequently to reject those 
 favours as frauds practised upon her by the 
 evil spirit ; and even abstain from frequent com¬ 
 munion, as being unworthy of it. Having 
 arrived at this conclusion, they laid down for 
 her guidance, as was natural, certain silly rules, 
 and brought her to such a state of desolation 
 and wretchedness, that she really had need of 
 the consolations and extraordinary favours of 
 heaven, in order to be able to support life. 
 
 But God, who tries souls up to the point 
 which He knows to be for their advantage, 
 and rescues them from suffering the moment 
 the fitting time for doing so arrives, at length 
 sent her Saint Peter of Alcantara, who, by his 
 persuasive words, made her proof against all 
 foolish fears, and even went so far as to tell 
 her that, next to the dogmas of faith, she ought 
 to believe with the fullest certainty that the 
 singular graces and favours which she enjoyed 
 came from God, and were the work of the Holy 
 Ghost. He therefore bade her thank God from 
 her heart for them (chap. 30). 
 
 From this example we learn how easily men 
 are deceived, who are too prone to believing in 
 illusions of the devil. In this world, whoever 
 aims at excessive security against going wrong in 
 one direction, is certain to go wrong in the 
 opposite one; and thus those directors of whom 
 we have been speaking, through fear of attribut- 
 
312 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 ing to God an operation that might possibly 
 proceed from the devil, attribute to the devil 
 what in reality is the work of God. We have 
 seen how this actually occurred in the case, 
 not of a soul of ordinary sanctity, but in the 
 case of Saint Teresa, who was a mistress of 
 the spiritual life—the eagle of contemplative 
 souls. 
 
 Wherefore, we may conclude, from what has 
 been said, that when we meet with souls that are 
 really good and anxious to love God (although 
 they may still be subject even to notable imper¬ 
 fections), and who are favoured in prayer with 
 extraordinary consolations, lights, and other 
 favours, we ought to direct them with great 
 simplicity, without seeking for overdue certainty 
 as to the origin of the favours which they receive. 
 What wonder or anxiety need it excite in us, if 
 God wishes to caress His chosen Spouses? 
 Ah ! let us not be continually afraid that, instead 
 of caressing them Himself, He is allowing them 
 to be caressed by His enemy. In conclusion, 
 we may direct attention to a very remarkable 
 observation made by Saint Teresa in the 8th 
 chapter of the Foundations * where she says that 
 “the greater the knowledge of God which we 
 possess, the easier will His works appear to us ” 
 —that is to say, the easier will it be for us to 
 understand and to believe them. Consequently, 
 
 * “The Foundations” (Libro de las Fundaciones) \ This 
 work was commenced by Saint Teresa in 1573. It is a con¬ 
 tinuation of her Life , and is most interesting.— Translator. 
 
Part II, Chap. XVI, Sec. 4. 
 
 3i3 
 
 the more one is enlightened by the Spirit of 
 God, the less easily will he give way to fears.* 
 
 * It would be impossible to recommend too strongly to 
 the notice of spiritual directors the following very wise obser¬ 
 vation of St. Bernard :—“ Sic conservandae humilitatis gratia, 
 divina solet pietas ordinare, ut quanto quis plus proficit, eo 
 minus se reputet profecisse. Nam et usque ad supremum 
 exercitii spiritualis gradum, si quis eo usque pervenerit, 
 aliquid ei de primi gradus imperfectione relinquitur, ut vix 
 sibi primum videatur adeptus.”— {Serin, de quatuor modis 
 orandi.) Wherefore, we must convince ourselves of this 
 truth—that all holy persons have their defects, and some¬ 
 times notable defects ; and that, consequently, it would be a 
 great mistake to question their sanctity simply because of 
 these defects. Were we to argue in this manner, we might 
 cast doubts even upon the sanctity of the canonised saints ; 
 because we learn from their lives that they were not invari¬ 
 ably free from every imperfection, and it is probable that 
 they were subject even to more imperfections than we read 
 of in their lives ; for their biographers, though scrupulously 
 truthful, are, at the same time, panegyrists, their sole object 
 in writing being to bring before the public the virtues of the 
 saints, for the edification of all Christians. Even the greatest 
 saints, so long as they live upon this earth, are children of 
 Adam, and grace does not absolutely destroy in them the 
 imperfections which proceed from our corrupt nature. 
 
 Father Michael Godinez, of the Society of Jesus, makes a 
 very remarkable statement in his excellent book, Practice of 
 Mystical Theology (book III., chap. 8), namely, that God 
 permits in the saints various defects, such as imprudence in 
 conduct, in teaching, instructing, and so forth, and also 
 occasional errors (which, however, are involuntary), in order 
 that, in consequence of these failings, they may be exposed 
 to criticism, censure, and even to punishment. Wherefore, 
 in order to decide whether persons are really holy, we must 
 see whether they possess solid virtue , but we must never 
 expect to find this virtue exempt from every imperfection. 
 Whosoever should expect this, will fail to find any holy 
 persons whatever in the world, and he will invariably form 
 wrong judgments, and will pursue a wrong line of conduct in 
 their regard. Should such a person ever be called upon to 
 test the spirit of a soul as holy as Saint Teresa, he will decide 
 
3 r 4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 We may add that, should the delights which 
 § 5 y ery re . the soul feels produce in the body 
 markable doc- any of those movements of sen- 
 John of the suality which are most disgusting to 
 Cross. chaste souls, not even in such cases 
 
 ought we, on this ground alone, to attribute 
 those spiritual delights to the devil. For, as 
 Saint John of the Cross proves (The Obscure 
 Night , book I., chap. 4), it may easily happen, 
 for many reasons, that those spiritual communi¬ 
 cations, even when they come from God, may 
 not be entirely free from these wretched move¬ 
 ments of sensuality, which are always to be 
 abhorred, but which are not sins when we suffer 
 them with disgust, and are not ourselves in any 
 way the culpable cause of them. 
 
 And should any one advance, in opposition 
 to this teaching, a revelation said to have been 
 made by Saint Teresa after her death, it must 
 be borne in mind that such a revelation does 
 not rest upon the authority of the Saint, but of 
 the person to whom the revelation is said to 
 have been made.* It would be more than 
 
 that she is under the influence of the devil, and will treat her 
 as such. 
 
 * Revelations, except when they are authenticated by the 
 Church, carry with them no authority whatever beyond that 
 of the person who asserts that he has received them, because 
 they depend entirely upon his good faith and soundness of 
 judgment. For instance, if I were to assert that Saint 
 Teresa had appeared to me, and had revealed something to 
 me, any one who should disbelieve me would not at all 
 insinuate thereby that Saint Teresa had been guilty of a 
 falsehood ; but his refusal to believe me would imply no more 
 
Part II., Chap. XVII, Sec. i. 
 
 3i5 
 
 difficult to establish the truth of such a revela¬ 
 tion ; and even though we were to grant that 
 the revelation had ever been really made, it 
 would still be necessary to be able to interpret 
 correctly the terms in which the Saint expressed 
 herself. On the other hand, the teaching of Saint 
 John of the Cross, in the portion of his work 
 referred to above, is so clear, as any one may 
 see for himself, that it does not admit the pos¬ 
 sibility of doubt. 
 
 J 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued . 
 
 In the 38th chapter already quoted, Saint Teresa 
 speaks of some hidden temptations 
 
 J- i p TT • 1 J 
 
 which are most to be feared, because temptations 1 
 they proceed, as she says, from that are very 
 
 . 7 ■ u -W dangerous. 
 
 treacherous enemies. “ there are 
 some demons,’’ she writes, “who transform 
 themselves into angels of light; they come to 
 us disguised, and they will never allow them¬ 
 selves to be known until they have worked 
 much harm in the soul. They suck our very 
 
 than that he either doubted my truthfulness, or was con¬ 
 vinced that I had been led astray by my imagination. 
 Wherefore, those revelations that are said to have been made 
 to unknown persons, or to persons worthy of little credit, do 
 not carry with them any authority which would merit our 
 serious attention. 
 
3!6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 blood and destroy our virtues, so that we 
 actually walk into temptation without under¬ 
 standing or perceiving it. Let us, my daughters, 
 often beg and beseech the Lord in the ‘ Our 
 Father ’ to deliver us from these enemies, and 
 not to permit us to be assailed by temptations 
 so disguised as to be able to deceive us. Let 
 us beg of Him to make known the poison to us, 
 and not to allow our spiritual enemies to hide 
 from us the light of truth.” 
 
 The Saint then goes on to speak of those 
 § 2. The temp- treacherous temptations, and fore¬ 
 ster 11 ourselves most among them she places the 
 rich in virtue, temptation to consider ourselves rich 
 in virtue. “ That by which the devil can do 
 us great mischief,” she writes, “ without our 
 perceiving it, is in making us believe that we 
 have virtues which, in reality, we do not possess. 
 When this deceit is practised upon us, it is a very 
 pestilence; for when God favours us with spiri¬ 
 tual delights and communications, we seem to 
 be merely the recipients of something, whereby 
 we are the more obliged to serve the Lord; but 
 in this case, it would seem as though we were 
 giving something to God, and rendering Him a 
 service for which our Lord is bound to pay us, 
 and thus, by degrees, great mischief is worked in 
 our souls. For, on the one hand, our humility 
 is weakened, and, on the other, we neglect to 
 acquire that virtue which we fancy we already 
 possess. In this manner, without perceiving it, 
 and while we think we are walking in safety, we 
 
Part II, Chap . XVII., Sec . j>. 
 
 3 T 7 
 
 tumble into a ditch from which we are unable to 
 escape, and, in acting thus, though there may be 
 no evident danger of mortal sin which would 
 lead us to hell, nevertheless, we become so dis¬ 
 abled, that we are no longer able to travel along 
 the road of perfection of which I have been 
 speaking. I tell you that this temptation is one 
 of very great danger.” 
 
 “ Whenever the thought occurs to us,” con¬ 
 tinues the Saint, “ that the Lord has „ ^ , 
 
 bestowed upon us any virtue, let us against this 
 bear in mind that it is a blessing tem P tatlon - 
 which we have received on trust, and that He 
 may again take it away from us, as, indeed, fre¬ 
 quently happens, and not without great provi¬ 
 dence on the part of God. Have you never 
 seen this occur in your own case, sisters? I 
 certainly have observed it with regard to myself; 
 because I have sometimes thought myself de¬ 
 tached from certain things, and when it came to 
 the trial I was so, indeed, with regard to these 
 particular matters; but, again, at other times, 
 I find that I am so attached to some other 
 things, at which I should have laughed the day 
 before, that I almost hardly know myself. An¬ 
 other time, I fancy that I have great courage, so 
 that I would not turn my back upon anything 
 that would tend to promote the service of God, 
 and on making a trial I have found this to be 
 true in some things; but then, again, on another 
 day, I find that I have not courage enough even 
 to kill an ant for God’s sake, if I should meet 
 
Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 318 
 
 with any opposition. Again, I sometimes think 
 that I would not take the least notice of anything 
 that might be said about me, or of any detrac¬ 
 tion that persons might be guilty of in my re¬ 
 gard, and sometimes I have found that it was 
 really so, and that injurious words of this kind 
 rather gave me pleasure; yet, nevertheless, there 
 are days when even a single word afflicts me, 
 and I would be willing to leave the world alto¬ 
 gether because everything seems to weary and 
 annoy me. I am by no means singular in this 
 respect; for I have observed the same disposi¬ 
 tion in many others better than myself, and 1 
 know that it happens so. 
 
 “ Now, if this be the case, who can say of 
 himself that he possesses virtues or that he is 
 spiritually rich, since at the very time when he 
 stands most in need of virtue he finds himself 
 poor? Certainly, my sisters, we, nuns, must 
 never say this, but, on the contrary, we must 
 always regard ourselves as poor. . . . And if 
 others should happen to think us good, and pay 
 us marks of respect . . .let us take heed lest 
 both they and we should find ourselves de¬ 
 ceived.” 
 
 The Saint then goes on to speak of two 
 virtues which we easily flatter ourselves that we 
 possess, namely, the virtue of patience, because 
 we resolve to suffer , and frequently make acts of 
 wishing to suffer much for God; and the virtue 
 of poverty, because we have either taken a vow of 
 poverty as every Religious does , or because in our 
 
Part II, Chap. XVII, Sec. 4. 
 
 3 T 9 
 
 hearts we wish to he such as those are who lead a 
 life of prayer. She says that frequently we 
 possess these two virtues rather in imagination 
 than in reality, and concludes that the truly 
 humble man is always doubtful of his own virtues. 
 
 In the 39th chapter of her Way of Perfection, 
 Saint Teresa proceeds to speak of . 
 
 . 1 . 1 • i 1 -i • § 4- The temp- 
 
 another temptation which, likewise, tation of false 
 is very subtle and difficult to be dis- humillty ‘ 
 covered, because it puts on the appearance of a 
 virtue which we can never cultivate sufficiently 
 —that is to say, holy humility, This is, indeed, 
 a virtue in which excess is impossible, but it is a 
 virtue at the same time which can be counter¬ 
 feited, and then it quickly becomes the occasion 
 of innumerable deceits and errors. We repeat 
 once more that it is impossible to go to excess 
 in cultivating the virtue of humility ; but some¬ 
 times there is such a thing as false humility, and 
 in that case the more we cultivate it, the more 
 deeply do we become involved in errors and 
 dangers. Let us hear what Saint Teresa has to 
 say on this subject. “ You must likewise,” she 
 writes, “ be on your guard, my daughters, against 
 certain false kinds of humility, which, to our 
 soul’s great trouble, the devil suggests to us re¬ 
 garding the heinousness of our sins; for by this 
 means he is accustomed to disturb us in many 
 ways, even to the degree of making us abstain 
 from going to communion and from devoting 
 ourselves to special prayer, by persuading us 
 that we are unworthy to do so. When persons 
 
320 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 who are assailed by this temptation approach to 
 receive the most Holy Sacrament, all that time 
 which they ought to employ in giving thanks to 
 God, is spent in thinking with themselves 
 whether they have made sufficient preparation 
 or not. The devil at length succeeds so far, as 
 to make the soul believe that, because of her 
 sinfulness, God has so entirely abandoned her, 
 that she almost doubts of His mercy. She 
 thinks she sees danger in her every thought, 
 word, and deed, and that whatever she does to 
 serve God, no matter how good it may be, is 
 fruitless. She becomes so timid that she is 
 rendered powerless to do any good; for it seems 
 to her that what is good in others becomes bad 
 in her case. 
 
 “ Pay most particular attention, my daughters, 
 to what I am about to tell you, because though 
 it may sometimes be humility and a virtue to 
 regard ourselves as very wicked, there are other 
 times when the same feeling may be a very great 
 temptation. And since I have myself experi¬ 
 enced this, I know that what I say is true. 
 Humility, however great it may be, never dis¬ 
 turbs or confuses the soul, but always brings 
 with it peace, and joy, and calm. If any one, 
 at the sight of her own wickedness, should 
 clearly understand that she deserves to be in 
 hell, and ought justly to be abhorred by all men; 
 if she is afflicted by this consideration, and can 
 scarcely dare to ask for mercy, this feeling of 
 grief, if her humility be genuine, will have united 
 
Part //, Chap. XVII., Sec. 4. 
 
 321 
 
 to it a certain sweetness and satisfaction, so that 
 we would not willingly be deprived of it. It 
 does not disturb or crush the soul; but rather 
 enlarges her, and makes her capable of serving 
 the Lord better than before.” Our readers 
 ought to mark, with all possible attention, the 
 characteristics of true humility as set forth in 
 this passage, for Saint Teresa had only too much 
 reason to ask us to note them well. 
 
 The Saint continues : “ The other kind of 
 grief, which proceeds from false humility, alto¬ 
 gether disturbs and confuses the soul, and proves 
 a torture to her. I believe the devil tries to 
 make us think that we have humility, while he 
 endeavours, at the same time, if he can, to drive 
 us to despair. Whenever you find yourselves in 
 this state, turn away your thoughts as much as 
 possible from the consideration of your own 
 wretchedness, and meditate on the mercy of 
 God, on the love He bears us, and on all that 
 He suffered for us. But if the feeling that has 
 taken possession of you be a temptation, you 
 will not be able to do even this much; because 
 it will not suffer your thoughts to rest or to fix 
 themselves upon anything, unless it be to disturb 
 and torment you all the more. However, a 
 great deal will have been gained, if you only 
 discover that it is a temptation.” 
 
 Wherefore, whenever the thought of our sins 
 and of our spiritual misery destroys the peace of 
 our soul and weakens our confidence in God, 
 we must regard it not as true, but as false, 
 
3 22 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 humility, from which we must beseech the Lord 
 to deliver us as from a very dangerous tempta¬ 
 tion. We must then cast out of our mind the 
 recollection of our wretchedness and sinfulness, 
 and fix our thoughts instead on that Infinite 
 Goodness and Mercy, in comparison with which 
 all the sins, not alone of this world but of hell 
 itself, are in substance a nothing; for in the 
 sight of God both the good and the evil deeds 
 of His creatures are a nothing. 
 
 Should the temptation prove so strong as not 
 to allow us to retain our peace of mind, we must 
 only have patience, and it will be sufficient to 
 have discovered it to be a temptation, and not 
 to have mistaken it for humility. This will 
 suffice to prevent the devil from causing us to 
 fall into those errors into which he would wish 
 to draw us. Once we know that it is the devil 
 who puts such thoughts into our mind, we shall 
 know also that we must pay no heed to his 
 suggestions. The real danger would be if we 
 should happen to think that it was God w T ho 
 inspired us with these feelings. It can never be 
 repeated too often that whatever comes from 
 God brings with it peace, a sense of confidence, 
 and love; while any feeling that is accompanied 
 by anxiety and a sense of discouragement, has 
 the devil for its author. Even though it should 
 wear the appearance of virtue, it is in reality 
 false virtue—it is vicious. 
 
 “ The same thing happens,” says Saint Teresa, 
 “ with regard to indiscreet penances, whereby the 
 
Part II., Chap. X VI!., Sec. 5. 
 
 323 
 
 devil gives us to understand that we are more 
 mortified than others, and that we 
 
 are doing something meritorious. If temptations of 
 you conceal yourselves from your indiscretion in 
 
 J r J J . r penances, and 
 
 confessor or your superior, or if security 
 you do not give up these penances f^ inst rcIaps ' 
 when commanded to do so, they 
 clearly are a temptation. Be obedient, no 
 matter what pain it may cost you; for in this 
 consists your greatest perfection. 
 
 “ The devil likewise makes use of another 
 very dangerous temptation, namely, a certain 
 sense of security, whereby it seems to us that 
 under no circumstances whatever shall we return 
 to our former faults or to the pleasures of the 
 world, since we already understand what the 
 world is, and know how all things must come to 
 an end, and feel that the things of God afford us 
 more solid pleasure. If this temptation should 
 assail us in the beginning of our conversion, it 
 is extremely dangerous; because, on account of 
 this feeling of security, we become careless in 
 guarding ourselves against the occasions of sin, 
 and thus we miserably relapse into our former 
 ways. And God grant that the relapse may not 
 even place us in a worse condition than that in 
 which we had been previously; for when the 
 devil sees that there is a soul that can injure 
 him and can help others, he does everything in 
 his power to prevent her from rising again. 
 Therefore, no matter how many spiritual de¬ 
 lights and pledges of love you may receive from 
 
3 2 4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 the Lord, never be so confident in yourselves as 
 not to fear that you may fall again, and be care¬ 
 ful, likewise, to be continually on your guard 
 against dangerous occasions.” 
 
 Nothing can be more clearly evident, than 
 that these temptations to practise penitential 
 exercises at the suggestions of one’s own caprice 
 even in violation of the Rule of Obedience, 
 and to regard oneself as perfectly confirmed in 
 virtue, are exceedingly dangerous. Wherefore, 
 after the passage last quoted, Saint Teresa goes 
 on to inculcate the necessity of self-knowledge, 
 in order to keep ourselves always humble. How¬ 
 ever, we have already spoken of this matter in 
 the 7th chapter. 
 
 After having touched upon the various temp- 
 _, 0 . , tations iust mentioned, Saint Teresa 
 
 the spiritual begins to fear lest souls may become 
 llfe ' alarmed on seeing the spiritual life 
 
 surrounded by so many dangers. Therefore 
 she addresses herself to the Lord, begging that 
 He would be pleased to encourage such souls 
 by His lights and inspirations, in order that, 
 when giving themselves up to a life of prayer, 
 they may not be unduly influenced by any feel¬ 
 ing of fear, and she concludes with some 
 remarks which merit our most serious attention. 
 We shall quote her own words :—“What, then, 
 can we do, Eternal Father, but have recourse to 
 You, and beseech You that these our enemies 
 lead us not into temptation ? By all means let 
 open and undisguised temptations assail us; for, 
 
Part II, Chap. XVII, Sec. 6 . 
 
 325 
 
 with Your assistance, we shall be able to defend 
 ourselves more successfully against them ; but 
 who can understand these treacherous tempta¬ 
 tions ? It is necessary, my God, that we con¬ 
 tinually beg of You help and a remedy against 
 them. Suggest to us, O Lord, some means 
 whereby we may understand them, and restore 
 our courage. You are already aware that many 
 do not travel by this path of prayer, and fewer 
 still will go by it if they must perform the 
 journey amidst so many fears. It is, in truth, a 
 strange matter (as if the devil never tempted 
 those who avoid this way of prayer), that all are 
 more astonished at seeing the devil deceive even 
 one soul that has almost reached perfection, 
 than they are at seeing him deceive a hundred 
 thousand others whom they know to be living 
 in public sin, and with regard to whom it is 
 unnecessary to examine whether they be good 
 or bad, since their condition can be known at a 
 glance. But, in truth, people are justified in 
 acting thus ; because among those who say the 
 ‘ Our Father ’ in the manner which we have 
 laid down, there are so very few led astray by 
 the devil that, like some novel and unusual 
 occurrence, it naturally excites surprise. For, 
 as a rule, men take but little notice of what is 
 constantly falling under their observation, while 
 they wonder at things which they very rarely or 
 never see; and the devils themselves contribute 
 to excite in them this feeling of surprise with 
 regard to the matter under consideration, inas- 
 
326 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 much as the occurrence turns to their advantage, 
 for they lose many souls by one that arrives at 
 perfection. I repeat that the deception by the 
 devil of souls that are leading a spiritual life is 
 so astonishing, that I am not in the least sur¬ 
 prised that men should wonder at it; because, 
 unless it be through their own grievous fault, 
 these souls are much more secure than others 
 who pursue a different path, just as those who 
 stand upon a gallery to witness a bull-fight, are 
 much safer than those who in the arena expose 
 themselves to the animal’s horns. This is a 
 comparison which I once heard used, and it 
 seems to me very appropriate. Be not afraid, 
 then, my sisters to travel along the paths of 
 prayer. There are many of them to choose 
 from (since we have already seen that there are 
 various methods of prayer, and all of them 
 good); for some souls derive greater profit from 
 travelling by one road, while others are bene¬ 
 fited by taking a different one. This path of 
 prayer is a secure one. You will certainly be 
 delivered from temptation more quickly by 
 remaining near the Lord, than by keeping at a 
 distance from Him.” 
 
 Wherefore it would be deplorable cowardice 
 to fear the temptations and dangers that are to 
 be encountered in the spiritual life to such a 
 degree as to be unwilling even to enter upon it, 
 or, having entered upon it, to proceed with such 
 extreme caution and fear as never to attain the 
 end in view. Oh! how much more numerous 
 
Part II, Chap. XVII ., Sec. 6 . 327 
 
 are the dangers to be encountered in leading a 
 worldly and tepid life ! Here, indeed, there are 
 real dangers to beset our path, and real falls to 
 be deplored.. 
 
 And if, in opposition to this view, any one 
 should urge the fact, that occasionally some 
 persons stumble in the spiritual life, and fall 
 while pursuing this path, we should bear well in 
 mind the remark of Saint Teresa, that this could 
 not have happened except through their own 
 grievous fault. She does not say simply through 
 their fault, but through their grievous fault , by 
 which she must mean some very notable failing, 
 which ought, consequently, to have been guarded 
 against. Those persons, therefore, are very 
 much mistaken, who fancy that, because of any 
 trivial imperfection of which they may be guilty 
 in His service, God will deliver them over to 
 the temptations of the enemy of souls. They 
 should bear in mind that while pursuing the 
 path of the spiritual life, they will never fall into 
 the snares which the devil may lay for them, 
 unless on account of grievous faults committed 
 by them with full advertence. 
 
 Let us be persuaded, then, once for all, that 
 if we shall give ourselves up to a life of prayer 
 and recollection in order to belong entirely to 
 God, no harm shall befall us, but, on the con¬ 
 trary, we shall secure for ourselves every bless¬ 
 ing, provided only that we advance with humility 
 and under the guidance of obedience. Let us 
 be persuaded, furthermore, that once we enter 
 
3 2 8 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 upon this path, even though we should occa¬ 
 sionally commit some faults through human 
 frailty, God will not suffer us to succumb to 
 temptation, except it be in punishment of some 
 grievous fault which it is always in our power to 
 advert to and to avoid. 
 
 Blessed Henry Suso made a good reply to 
 the Tempter, when he sought to frighten him in 
 the beginning of his conversion by representing 
 to him the dangers of failing in the course upon 
 which he had entered. “ God,” replied the holy 
 man, “calls me to Him, and if I fling myself 
 into His arms, is it possible that He will step 
 aside so that I fall ? ” The soul cannot possibly 
 fling herself into the arms of God with such 
 violence as not to find His arms strong enough 
 to support her. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued . 
 
 Since it is the wish of Saint Teresa that, in 
 § i. Holy love following the path of the spiritual 
 and fear render fife, souls should proceed, as far as 
 spfmuai i°if e the possible, tranquilly and with con- 
 more secure. fidence, she begins the 40th chapter 
 with this prayer : “ O good Master, give us then 
 some remedy, so that we may not be suddenly 
 surprised by the snares of our enemy in so 
 
Part II, Chap. XVIII., Sec. 2. 
 
 329 
 
 dangerous a war ” (as that which the devils wage 
 against us, and more especially when they tempt us 
 under the appearance of doing what is good). She 
 then goes on to say that the desired remedy is 
 to be found in love and fear: “ Love will make 
 us quicken our pace, while fear will make us be 
 cautious where we set our feet, so that we may 
 not fall upon this road in which there are so 
 many obstacles to cause us to stumble, and 
 which we must continually encounter as long as 
 we live upon this earth. With this remedy, 
 however, we may advance with the certainty 
 that we shall not be deceived.” 
 
 Speaking later on of love, after having said 
 that we can never be absolutely certain of pos¬ 
 sessing it as long as we are in this world, she 
 remarks that there are, nevertheless, certain signs 
 by which its presence may be known, and which 
 are so clear that even the blind may see them. 
 
 The Saint then proceeds to describe these 
 signs which indicate the existence of . g . f 
 the love of God in a soul. “Those,” the iovfof° 
 she says, “ who love God praise God ’ 
 everything that is good, desire everything that 
 is good, always associate with the good, and 
 always assist and defend them. They love 
 
 nothing but the truth, and those things that are 
 worthy of being loved. Do you think it possible 
 that those who really love God very much 
 should love vanities, or riches, or worldly 
 matters, or pleasures, or honours ? Those who 
 love God never engage in strife, they are never 
 
33° 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 envious, and this simply because their sole 
 study is to please their Beloved. They are 
 consumed with the desire that He should love 
 them, and so they make every effort, even 
 though it should cost them their lives, to dis¬ 
 cover how they may best please Him. For it is 
 impossible that the love of God, if it be real 
 love, should remain long concealed. Look at 
 Saint Paul, look at Mary Magdalen, under its 
 influence. In three days one of them—Saint 
 Paul—began to give visible indications that he 
 was sick with love : Magdalen showed this from 
 the very first day, and how plainly she did so ! 
 For it must be remembered that love admits 
 of degrees, and consequently it manifests its 
 presence in proportion to its strength. If one 
 have but little love, it is not much perceived; if 
 one have it in an intense degree, it becomes very 
 evident; but whether it exists in a great or in a 
 lesser degree, if it be true love of God, it invari¬ 
 ably manifests itself. ... I fail to under¬ 
 stand how it can remain hidden. For if, when 
 we love creatures we cannot possibly conceal the 
 fact, however much we may wish to do so 
 (though this love of creatures is so base as not 
 to deserve the name, and I am ashamed to use 
 such a comparison), how can we conceal a love 
 so strong as is the love of God ? It is a love so 
 reasonable that it is ever on the increase; be¬ 
 cause it has so great an object to love that it 
 sees nothing to induce it to leave off loving. It 
 has also very powerful motives to love; being 
 
Part //., Chap. XVIII, Sec. 2 . 
 
 33 * 
 
 based upon the certainty of being rewarded by 
 God with a return of love—a fact of which there 
 cannot be the slightest doubt, since it has been 
 so evidently proved by the great sorrows, and 
 labours, and sufferings which He endured, even 
 to the shedding of His blood and the sacrifice 
 of His life, in order that we might not entertain 
 the slightest doubt of this love.” 
 
 Having thus described the signs of the love of 
 God, Saint Teresa remarks how consoling it will 
 be at the hour of death to feel that during life we 
 have loved God. “ It will be,” she says, “ a 
 great comfort at the hour of death, to know that 
 we are going to be judged by Him whom we 
 have loved above all things. We can present 
 ourselves before Him with a sense of perfect 
 security regarding our indebtedness, since we 
 shall not be going into a strange country but 
 into our own, for it belongs to Him whom we 
 love so much, and who in turn loves us so 
 intensely.” 
 
 She afterwards describes the horrors of a death 
 unaccompanied by the love of God—“ for then 
 we fall into the hands of the Tempter—so cruel, 
 so hateful of all good, so bent upon all evil 
 What will become of the poor soul when she 
 shall suddenly fall into such hands, after having 
 been just freed from the pains and sufferings 
 attendant on death ? What repose can she 
 expect ? How dreadfully mangled she will 
 descend into hell! What a multitude of demons 
 will be there ! What a horrible place it will be ! 
 
332 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 What a miserable lodging ! Now, if in this 
 world no one, and least of all those accustomed 
 to luxuries (who are perhaps the very persons 
 who will go to hell in the greatest number), can 
 endure to be badly lodged even for a single 
 night, what think you will be the sufferings of 
 the unfortunate soul that will be lodged in hell 
 for all eternity ? ” 
 
 Speaking in this chapter of contemplatives, 
 o mi 1 , Saint Teresa remarks, first of all, 
 
 §3 Ihe love of . ’ 
 
 God incontem- that in them love is always great, 
 piatives. since otherwise they could not be 
 contemplatives, and in consequence of its inten¬ 
 sity it discovers itself in various ways. Being a 
 great fire, it cannot but cast a great fire around.” 
 She then goes on to say that if this great love be 
 wanting in them, they ought to be very cautious 
 in putting faith in their gift of contemplation, 
 since they may be only deceived by the devil. 
 However, she assures them, at the same time, 
 that if they but cultivate humility, and manifest 
 the condition of their soul to their spiritual 
 director with all due sincerity, they can never 
 suffer by such artifices of the demon, but on the 
 contrary will reap real advantage therefrom, as 
 has been already said (chap. 16, § 2), 
 
 But next, addressing those who feel within 
 their hearts that great love which manifests itself 
 by those indications mentioned above, and who 
 feel also within them that holy fear of which she 
 is about to speak later on, she exhorts them to 
 have no fear of illusions on the part of the devil, 
 
Part II, Chap. X VIII., Sec. j. 
 
 333 
 
 and to rest assured that the contemplation with 
 which they are favoured really proceeds from the 
 Spirit of the Lord. “ If you feel,” she says, 
 “ this love of God of which I have spoken, and 
 His fear, of which I shall speak presently, be 
 cheerful and tranquil; for the devil, in order to 
 disturb the peace of your soul, and to deprive 
 you of the great blessings of contemplation, will 
 suggest to you a thousand false fears, and will 
 cause others to excite them in you likewise. For 
 as he cannot gain possession of your soul, he 
 endeavours at least to make you lose in some 
 way, and to make those also losers who might, 
 perhaps, derive considerable advantage from be¬ 
 lieving that God is the author of those great 
 favours which He confers on a creature so 
 wretched, and that such favours are possible ; 
 for it seems that we are sometimes inclined to 
 doubt their possibility, through forgetting His 
 ancient mercies. Do you imagine that it is of 
 little importance to the devil to excite such fears ? 
 On the contrary, it is a matter of the greatest 
 importance to him, for thereby he is able to 
 accomplish two evils. One is, that he renders 
 those who listen to such temptations afraid to 
 give themselves up to a life of prayer, dreading 
 that they, too, may be deceived by him ; the 
 other evil is, that if the devil did not excite such 
 fears, many persons would draw much nearer to 
 God, on seeing (as I have said), that He is so 
 good, and that it is possible for His divine 
 Majesty to communicate Himself so much in 
 
334 
 
 Treatise on Prayer, 
 
 this life to sinners. This consideration excites 
 in them a great desire to share in these commu¬ 
 nications ; for I know some persons who, encou¬ 
 raged by this, began to give themselves up to a 
 life of prayer, and in a short time became true 
 contemplatives, God bestowing upon them great 
 graces.” 
 
 In the foregoing extract we ought to note very 
 particularly those words of Saint Teresa: “ It 
 seems that we are sometimes inclined to doubt of the 
 possibility of heavenly favours , through forgetting 
 God's ancie?it mercies When we see extraordi¬ 
 nary favours bestowed upon any one, we are 
 always inclined to suspect that they are illusions 
 of the devil or freaks of the imagination, even 
 though the persons whom we see thus favoured 
 possess solid virtue and great love of God. 
 Indeed we are inclined not merely to suspect 
 that such persons are the victims of illusions, 
 but we even conclude that such is actually the 
 case. Now why do we not recall to mind that 
 in every age God has granted similar favours to 
 a large number of holy souls ? Surely we cannot 
 set down all such favours in the past as mere 
 illusions of the devil: why then should we sup¬ 
 pose that like favours are not vouchsafed to 
 God s servants in our own times ? We believe 
 that the contemplatives of past ages were really 
 favoured by God with extraordinary graces, and 
 why must we always suspect, and almost feel 
 convinced, that the contemplatives of the present 
 time are mere visionaries deceived by the devil ? 
 
Part II., Chap. X VIII., See. 3. 335 
 
 Whenever, then, we see that a soul is truly in¬ 
 flamed with a great love of God, we should dis¬ 
 miss all fears and suspicions regarding her 
 condition. We should endeavour to cultivate 
 humility in her, while allowing her to enjoy 
 peacefully the divine favours: nay, when she 
 experiences these favours, we should absolutely 
 forbid her even to suspect for a moment that 
 they proceed from the devil. 
 
 Although we have already treated of this sub¬ 
 ject in the 16th chapter, yet, seeing how much 
 Saint Teresa is concerned about it, we will here 
 add some other very consoling reflections which 
 she has left us on the subject. In the 10th 
 chapter of her Life , after having said that it is 
 false humility not to recognise as coming from 
 God even singular favours, she speaks of the 
 importance of receiving them as coming from 
 His hands, and continues thus : “ It is evident 
 that our love of a person becomes all the 
 stronger, the more we call to mind the favours 
 he has conferred upon us. . . . It seems 
 
 to me impossible, considering our nature, that 
 one who does not know that he is favoured by 
 God should have a soul capable of attempting 
 great things; because our natural disposition is 
 so miserable, and so much inclined to the things 
 of earth, that whoever does not feel that he 
 possesses some pledge and foretaste of the 
 things of heaven, can with difficulty abhor and 
 effectually detach himself from the things of this 
 world. It is by means of these supernatural 
 
336 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 favours that God imparts to us that strength 
 which we lost by our sins. . . . These very 
 
 favours are the means which revive and streng¬ 
 then our faith.” 
 
 The Saint will not even have us entertain an 
 undue dread of temptations to pride, which may 
 possibly assail us on account of these extra¬ 
 ordinary favours. “ Let us believe,” she says, 
 “ that He who gives us such favours, will like¬ 
 wise give us grace to recognise the temptation 
 when the devil begins to attack us on this point, 
 and strength to resist and conquer it.” 
 
 Finally, in the 15 th chapter of her Life , Saint 
 Teresa says, that there are some souls for whom 
 it will be best to believe for certain that their 
 extraordinary favours come from God; “because 
 if they be of a loving and grateful disposition, the 
 remembrance of the favours which Gpd has 
 bestowed upon them will prove more effectual 
 in making them turn to Him, than would all the 
 torments of hell that could possibly be repre¬ 
 sented to them 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Sixth Petition continued. 
 
 “ To what a length have I spoken ! ” (thus Saint 
 Teresa commences the 41st chapter 
 of the Way of Perfection), “and yet I holy fear of 
 have not said as much as I could God - 
 
Part II, Chap. XIX., Sec. i. 
 
 337 
 
 wish, for it is sweet to speak on such a love. 
 What, then, must it be to possess it ? O, my 
 Lord, do thou grant it to me. Do not suffer 
 me to leave this world until I desire nothing in 
 it, and am capable of loving nothing in it but 
 Thyself. . . . Let us now proceed to speak 
 
 of the fear of God. 
 
 “ The fear of God is, likewise, a matter which 
 is very well understood by those who have it, 
 and by those who stand in intimate relations 
 with God; though I wish you to know that in 
 the beginning it is not very great, except in 
 some whom, as I have already said, our Lord 
 suddenly visits with such copious graces, and 
 raises to such a high degree in prayer, that from 
 that moment it is fully understood by them. 
 But where these heavenly favours do not come 
 in such abundance as to enrich the soul sud¬ 
 denly with all the virtues, this holy fear goes on 
 gradually increasing and acquiring fresh strength 
 day by day. Its presence, however, is perceived 
 from the very beginning ; for those who have it 
 immediately avoid sin and its occasions. Nor 
 are other indications also wanting to make us 
 aware of its existence. But once the soul has 
 arrived at contemplation (which is the subject 
 that now more particularly concerns us), the 
 fear of God, just like His love, is very easily 
 discovered, and even manifests itself exteriorly.” 
 
 Observe that Saint Teresa is here speaking of 
 that chaste and filial fear which is the seventh 
 among the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and which 
 
 22 
 
33» 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 implies a tenderness of heart whereby the soul 
 is, as it were, wounded by the mere suspicion 
 of displeasing God, and consequently always 
 dreads, as the greatest of all possible evils, not 
 only any spiritual loss she may suffer, but even 
 the very least displeasure which she may cause 
 to that Infinite Good. Wherefore if she were 
 given the option of offending God, even in the 
 very slightest degree, or of throwing herself 
 into a fire equal to that of hell, she would not 
 hesitate a single moment to fling herself into 
 that fire, for she would fear it much less than 
 the least offence of God. This fear of God, 
 therefore, is altogether a loving fear, or perhaps 
 it might be more appropriately called the very 
 perfection of tender love. Wherefore Saint 
 Teresa says, that those who have the fear of God 
 in a great degree, “ however narrowly we may 
 observe them, will never be found to walk care¬ 
 lessly ; for no matter how closely we may watch 
 them to detect failings in their conduct, our 
 Lord protects them so that they would not with 
 advertence commit a single venial sin, no matter 
 how great the temptation, or how much it might 
 be their interest to do so”. 
 
 Saint Teresa then goes on to speak of the 
 care which we ought to take to avoid 
 every offence of God, whether mortal 
 or venial; and with regard to venial 
 sins, she distinguishes those which 
 are fully deliberate, from those which 
 are committed with little advertence. From 
 
 § 2. Precau¬ 
 tions to be 
 adopted in 
 order to 
 acquire this 
 holy fear. 
 
Part II., Chap. XIX., Sec. 2. 
 
 339 
 
 these latter, as we know from the teaching of 
 the Church, we can never be entirely free in 
 this world without a special privilege from God, 
 which has never yet been granted, as far as is 
 known, to any one except to the Blessed Virgin. 
 But we can always preserve ourselves from 
 deliberate venial sins, and on this subject Saint 
 Teresa speaks as follows:—“May God deliver 
 us from perfectly wilful sin, however small it 
 may be. For I do not understand how we can 
 have such daring as to act in opposition to so 
 great a Lord, even though it be in a little 
 matter; and all the more so, since any such act 
 of ours never can be really so little a matter, 
 considering that it is an offence committed 
 against so powerful a Lord, whom we believe to 
 be actually looking at us while we are engaged 
 in offending Him. Indeed, this seems to me 
 to be a thoroughly premeditated sin, just as if 
 one were to say: * Lord, although this sin is 
 displeasing to You, nevertheless I will commit it. 
 I already know that You are a witness of my 
 act, and that You dislike it. I am thoroughly 
 aware of all this; but at the same time I prefer 
 to follow my own fancy and passion, rather than 
 Your will.’ Now, in a matter of this kind, how 
 can anything be considered little ? To me such 
 a sin appears by no means little, but great, and 
 very great.” 
 
 Wherefore, even though a sin be but venial, 
 yet when it is committed with full advertence to 
 the fact that it is an offence against God, it is an 
 
340 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 evil of very great magnitude, and very much to 
 be feared; because God must be greatly dis¬ 
 pleased with a soul that is prepared to offend 
 Him thus in cold blood, and with perfect 
 deliberation. 
 
 Saint Teresa next gives the following cautions, 
 which may enable us to acquire and to maintain 
 in our souls the holy fear of God. “ Reflect, 
 my sisters, for God’s sake, that if you wish to 
 acquire this fear ©f God, it is of the utmost 
 importance that you understand what a grievous 
 thing it is to offend God, and that you constantly 
 meditate upon this, seeing that the life of our 
 souls depends upon it.” Therefore, if we would 
 fear this evil as we ought, we must meditate 
 continually upon its heinousness. She says, 
 furthermore, that “ until we shall have acquired 
 this holy fear, we must always be extremely 
 cautious, and must avoid all occasions and all 
 company that will not assist us to approach 
 nearer to God”. Wherefore, if a soul is not 
 thoroughly penetrated with this holy fear of 
 God, she ought to be very careful to avoid all 
 occasions which may possibly prove dangerous 
 to her, having regard to her particular weak¬ 
 nesses. Among such occasions we may set 
 down, generally, all intercourse with persons 
 who are tepid in the service of God; because 
 their disedifying habits, their indiscreet conver¬ 
 sation, and their worldly sentiments may pro¬ 
 duce a bad impression upon those who are but 
 entering on the spiritual life, and may make 
 
Part II, Chap. XIX., Sec. 3. 
 
 34i 
 
 them turn back from the path in which they had 
 happily begun to walk. 
 
 With her usual admirable discretion, Saint 
 Teresa goes on to say, that when a 
 soul finds that she has a firm and LnsTstLt with 
 determined resolution never on any ^ e G ^ ly fear 
 account whatever to offend God, even 
 should she afterwards fall occasionally through 
 human frailty, she ought then to proceed with 
 greater courage, and not to fear as she used to 
 do previously the occasions mentioned above; 
 “ for the Lord will assist us, and the habit that 
 we have formed will help us not to offend 
 Him In such circumstances we must act 
 with a holy liberty, holding intercourse with 
 whomsoever it may be obligatory or fitting to 
 do so, even though they may have their imper¬ 
 fections. For those persons who would have 
 been injurious to you, and instrumental in 
 destroying your soul before you had acquired 
 this true fear of God, will henceforward give you 
 countless opportunities of loving God still more, 
 and blessing Him because He delivered you 
 from what you now see was a manifest danger. 
 And if formerly you were instrumental in in¬ 
 creasing their weaknesses, henceforward you will 
 be of assistance in restraining them from them 
 by your very presence ; for, without your seeking 
 it, they will pay you this tribute of respect. 
 
 “ I frequently bless the Lord when I reflect 
 how it happens that oftentimes, without speak¬ 
 ing a single word of reprimand, a servant of 
 
342 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 God, by his mere presence, cuts short and pre¬ 
 vents conversations which are injurious to His 
 Divine Majesty. I am inclined to think that 
 this happens pretty much for the same reason 
 which makes us cautious, when in society, not 
 to speak badly of a person in presence of his 
 friend; so that when persons find themselves in 
 the presence of one who enjoys the grace of 
 God, that same grace causes them not to give 
 him pain, however lowly and humble he may be, 
 by being guilty of any offence against God, than 
 which nothing could displease or annoy him 
 more. In truth, I cannot assign an adequate 
 reason for this, but I know, nevertheless, that it 
 frequently occurs.” 
 
 This doctrine of Saint Teresa is very important, 
 since there are some who would wish to see 
 all those who lead a spiritual life entirely cut off 
 from the world, because they fancy that other¬ 
 wise there can be no safety for them. Such 
 persons may rest assured that, with the assist¬ 
 ance of divine grace, it will be much more easy 
 for a soul well grounded in the fear of the Lord 
 to do good to poor worldlings, than that the 
 worldlings should injure her. Let them reflect 
 that if all spiritual persons were to be influenced 
 only by their own excessive fears, the world 
 would be ever going from bad to worse; be¬ 
 cause its deluded lovers, cut off from all com¬ 
 munication with persons illumined by the light 
 of divine grace, would remain more and more 
 hopelessly buried in darkness. Wherefore we 
 
Part II, Chap. XIX., Sec. 4. 
 
 343 
 
 must give no countenance to the doctrine that 
 a thoroughly resolute soul, even though she may 
 sometimes fall through human frailty, should fear 
 the society of poor worldlings to such an extent 
 as to break off all intercourse with them, and thus 
 deprive them of that help which association with 
 spiritual persons might afford, to enable them 
 to realise the emptiness, the nothingness, and 
 the danger of the vanities of this earthly life. 
 
 “If the soul,” says Saint Teresa, “once be¬ 
 gins to grow timid, it is a disposition 
 which augurs badly for good of every Ltufnces?"-' 
 description ; and sometimes she be- suiting from 
 
 A . timidity. 
 
 comes scrupulous, whereby she is 
 rendered useless both for herself and others. 
 But even if she do not fall a victim to scruples, 
 she will in that case be able to manage her own 
 affairs, but she will not be able to conduct many 
 souls to God. For when people see so much 
 anxiety and fear, such is our nature, it frightens 
 and alarms them, and through an apprehension 
 of suffering from like anxieties themselves, they 
 relinquish the desire of following the same path 
 which you are pursuing, even though they clearly 
 perceive that it leads to greater perfection. 
 Wherefore, my sisters, whenever it is possible to 
 do so without offending God, endeavour to be 
 affable, and to treat all persons with whom you 
 may be brought into contact in such manner 
 that they may love your conversation, and ad¬ 
 mire your manner of life, and may not be 
 frightened or repelled by virtue.” 
 
344 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Would to God that, in accordance with this 
 advice of Saint Teresa, all would understand 
 that virtue, piety, and the spiritual life are 
 already extremely odious in the eyes of the 
 world, without our rendering them still more 
 hateful, by making it appear in our conduct and 
 conversation that the spiritual life brings to 
 those who practise it fears, anxieties, and trouble 
 of heart. 
 
 Saint Teresa remarks, moreover, that from 
 cultivating a kind of piety which is timid, anxious, 
 and too austere, there arises another defect— 
 that, namely, of regarding as imperfect those 
 who act with greater freedom, even though that 
 greater freedom may be good and holy. “ This,” 
 she says, “ is to be continually tempted by the 
 thought, that unless all persons have your own 
 anxieties and scruples, they do not get on so 
 well.” 
 
 As a matter of fact, we sometimes find persons 
 who are good, and radically very virtuous, want¬ 
 ing in that mutual esteem which they ought to 
 have for one another, simply because one of 
 them, who is over-anxious and scrupulous, thinks 
 that the other, who acts with greater freedom, 
 must be in consequence very imperfect; while 
 that other, on becoming aware of such unchari¬ 
 table and unfounded judgments, forms, in turn, 
 an unfavourable estimate of the very austere and 
 intolerant virtue of the first. 
 
 Saint Teresa says, likewise, that we should 
 bear with the conversations of others, even 
 
Part II, Chap . XIX., Sec. 4. 
 
 345 
 
 though they might cause us pain through not 
 being as spiritual as we could wish; that we 
 ought not on this account to hold aloof from 
 such persons and look unfavourably upon them, 
 and that by thus treating them with kindness 
 and affability, we shall do them good and shall 
 be loved by them. She then concludes as fol¬ 
 lows : “ Endeavour, therefore, my daughters, to 
 understand this truth—that God does not really 
 mind such trifles as you imagine, and do not 
 suffer your soul and heart to be tied down by 
 feelings of scrupulosity, for thereby you might 
 lose many advantages. Let your intention be 
 right, and let your will, as I have already said, 
 be resolutely determined on no account to offend 
 God. But let your soul not hide herself away 
 in a narrow corner; for instead of acquiring 
 sanctity by this means, she will only contract 
 many imperfections which the devil will cause to 
 grow up in her by other means, and in the end, 
 as I have said above, she will not benefit herself 
 or others as much as she might have done. You 
 see, then, how with these two virtues—the love 
 and the fear of God—we may travel along this 
 road of spiritual perfection safely and quietly.” 
 
346 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 On the Seventh Petition : Deliver us from evil. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 In this concluding Meditation, which Saint 
 
 Teresa sets down for Sunday, she 
 
 Liisfrom 6 considers God as our Judge, who 
 
 t wh h Ch riT pra J must one day jndge us regarding the 
 o e e ivere . manner * n w j 1 j c j 1 we have employed 
 
 all His benefits, and have corresponded to all 
 His graces ; and she says that we ought to pray 
 to this our Sovereign Judge, to deliver us from all 
 the evils which we have merited by our sins. 
 
 “ We do not ask,” she says, “ to be delivered 
 from this or that evil in particular, but from 
 everything that is properly and truly evil—that 
 is to say, which is calculated to deprive us of 
 the goods of grace and of glory. 
 
 ‘ ‘ There are certain evils which are sent as 
 punishments—such as temptations, sicknesses, 
 trials, dishonour, and so forth ; but these cannot 
 properly be called evils, except in so far as they 
 may become the occasion of our falling into sin ; 
 just as riches, honours, and all other temporal 
 advantages may justly be called evils, whenever 
 they are to us an occasion of offending God. 
 Wherefore we pray to be delivered from all those 
 evils, and from all those good things, as well, 
 which may become the cause of our eternal 
 damnation.” 
 
Part II, Chap. XX., Sec. 2. 
 
 347 
 
 We ought, therefore, to bear in mind that pro¬ 
 sperity and adversity, and all things else in this 
 world, are in themselves indifferent, and ought 
 to be considered real evils only when they be¬ 
 come for us occasions of sin. Consequently, 
 what we call evil, may be in reality a blessing ; 
 and what we call good, may prove, after all, 
 an evil. From this it follows that the tempta¬ 
 tions, the bodily ailments, the insults which may 
 prove helpful in affording us opportunities to 
 practise virtue, may turn out real blessings for 
 us, though the world looks upon them as evils; 
 while, on the other hand, riches, honours, health, 
 and such like matters, which the world regards 
 as blessings, might prove in our case real evils, 
 should they be for us the occasion of offending 
 God. Wherefore, in this Petition, we beg of 
 the Supreme Judge to deliver us from every¬ 
 thing which He knows to be prejudicial to our 
 soul. 
 
 Saint Teresa next goes on to say that, in this 
 Petition, we may glance at the Four § 2 . Areflec- 
 Last Things— Death, Judgment, Sf in b t his 
 Hell, and Heaven—which include -Petition, 
 everything that is really important for us, and 
 everything that affects our real interests. For 
 this mortal life is a mere nothing, and the only 
 affair of real importance is to die well, in order 
 to meet with a merciful judgment, and thus 
 escape hell and win heaven. 
 
 She says, also, that in offering up this Petition, 
 we may recall to mind the six titles which, as we 
 
348 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 have already seen, belong to God—namely, those 
 of loving Father, of powerful King, of sweet 
 Spouse, of good Shepherd, of rich and merciful 
 Redeemer, and of skilful and compassionate 
 Physician; because, in the next life, we shall 
 have to render an account to Him of all the 
 benefits which He has conferred upon us in each 
 of these characters; and as we reflect how badly 
 we have corresponded with His graces, we shall 
 be forced to humble ourselves, and to be filled 
 with a holy confusion. 
 
 “Oh ! ” says Saint Teresa, “with what great 
 fear should we be inspired at the thought of such 
 a load of favours conferred on us by Him, and 
 of so much ingratitude and unkindness on our 
 part! ” She wishes, however, that far from 
 yielding to despair, we should be animated by 
 feelings of confidence, and should even cheer 
 our drooping spirits with canticles of thanks¬ 
 giving, as though we had already obtained full 
 pardon of all our transgressions. “ Neverthe¬ 
 less,” she says, “incomparably great are the 
 motives of confidence in presenting ourselves at 
 the Judgment Seat, which we may derive from 
 the consideration that we shall have to appear 
 before a Judge who is our Father, our King, our 
 Spouse, and our Physician. We may conclude 
 our prayer, then, with the thanksgiving to which 
 the Holy Prophet David gave utterance in the 
 five following verses of the 102nd Psalm : 
 
 “ ‘ Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all 
 that is within me bless His holy name. 
 
Part II, Chap. XX., Sec. 3. 
 
 349 
 
 “ ‘ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never 
 forget all He hath done for thee. 
 
 “ * Who forgiveth all thy iniquities : who 
 healeth all thy diseases. 
 
 “ ‘ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction : 
 who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion. 
 
 “ ‘ Who satisfieth thy desire with good things : 
 thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle’s.’ 
 
 “ It is after this manner that our most gracious 
 Lord, showing mercy towards us, grants us par¬ 
 don for our sins, health for our diseases, life 
 instead of death, continual protection for our 
 infirmities, and for our imperfections the fullness 
 of all good things, until He brings us to the 
 newness of eternal life.” 
 
 Finally, Saint Teresa concludes her Medita¬ 
 tions on the “ Our Father ” with § Some 
 some counsels which deserve to be counsels of 
 carefully noted, in order that no one SaintTeresa - 
 may be so influenced by the excellence of this 
 Prayer, as to think that he may abandon every 
 other kind of prayer in favour of it. 
 
 “ We ought to observe,” she says, “ that 
 though it is quite true that the Lord’s Prayer 
 holds the first place among all vocal prayers, we 
 are not on this account to dispense with all 
 other prayers; because, if we confine ourselves 
 to this one alone, we may grow weary of it. 
 Wherefore, it will be well to add to it some 
 other prayers, especially as the Scriptures con¬ 
 tain some very devout prayers, composed by 
 pious persons who were moved thereto by the 
 
35 ° 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 Holy Ghost. Of this kind are the prayers of 
 the Publican in the Gospel, of Anna the mother 
 of Samuel, of Esther, of Judith, of King Man- 
 asses,* of Daniel, and of Judas Macchabeus, 
 wherein they represented their necessities to 
 God in a wonderfully expressive manner, in 
 words dictated by the feelings and affections of 
 their hearts. This kind of prayer, composed by 
 the person himself who stands in need of divine 
 help, is more efficacious than any other, because 
 it elevates the thoughts, inflames the will, and 
 draws forth tears; and since the words which we 
 utter with such affection, and in which we give 
 expression to our troubles and wants, are our 
 own, they proceed more directly from the heart. 
 
 “This manner of praying is very pleasing to 
 our Lord; for as exalted personages take a plea¬ 
 sure in hearing poor rustics making a request in 
 a simple and homely way, so the Lord God feels 
 much pleasure when we pray to Him with such 
 earnestness that, without losing time in seeking 
 for elegant and appropriate expressions, we em¬ 
 ploy the first that come to our lips, in order to 
 make our wants known to Him in the readiest 
 manner possible. It was thus that Saint Peter 
 . and the Apostles, when they feared that they 
 were on the point of being drowned, exclaimed: 
 
 ‘Lord save us: we perish!’ It was thus the 
 Canaanean woman acted, when she begged for 
 
 * It may be observed that though the prayer of Manasses 
 is good, it is not canonical like the other prayers mentioned 
 in the text. 
 
Part IL, Chap . XX., Sec. j. 
 
 35 1 
 
 mercy. This was the course adopted by the 
 Prodigal Son, when he said : ‘ Father, I have 
 sinned against Heaven and against Thee \ The 
 mother of Samuel acted similarly when she said : 
 
 * O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt look down on the 
 affliction of Thy servant, and wilt be mindful of 
 me, and not forget Thy handmaid, and ivilt give 
 to Thy servant a man-child: I will give him to 
 the Lord all the days of his life ’ ” (i Kings i. n). 
 
 The Holy Scriptures are full of such like vocal 
 prayers, which were always most effectual in ob¬ 
 taining their requests; and so, in like manner, 
 may our prayers obtain for us a remedy in our 
 afflictions and miseries. And though the saints 
 are of opinion that we shall attain our end better 
 by mental prayer, nevertheless, the example of 
 many saints and our own experience teach us, 
 that when we pray vocally in this manner God 
 banishes our tepidity, inflames our heart, and 
 disposes it for making greater progress and for 
 praying mentally. 
 
 Regarding this matter, we may remark that 
 when we pray in our own words, uttered on the 
 impulse of the moment, our prayer cannot suffer 
 by distractions. For distractions cannot accom¬ 
 pany any prayers except those which we know 
 by rote, when the tongue recites materially the 
 words which it is accustomed to utter, while the 
 mind wanders away to matters quite foreign to 
 the subject of our prayers. But when the mind 
 is compelled to compose the sentences which the 
 tongue utters, distractions become impossible, 
 
352 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 at least during the time in which we are actually 
 engaged in praying; for we do not deny that, 
 even while praying extempore, distractions may 
 come, but then this will occur only in the inter¬ 
 vals during which we may occasionally interrupt 
 our prayer for a moment, resuming it again as 
 soon as we advert to the distraction. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that we pray more 
 attentively and with far less distractions when 
 we employ our own words to give expression to 
 the feelings; and the prayer that is least subject 
 to distractions is always more fervent than any 
 other, since we throw our soul into it more com¬ 
 pletely and more earnestly. 
 
 For this reason devout persons are to be 
 counselled not to confine themselves to prayers 
 which they know by rote, but when speaking 
 with the Lord to give expression to the feelings 
 of their heart occasionally in their own words— 
 not by any means in formal and studied language, 
 but in simple expressions, gushing at the moment 
 naturally and spontaneously from the heart. In 
 this manner they will learn to speak and treat 
 with God more familiarly, and with greater love 
 and confidence. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Seventh Petition continued. 
 
 Saint Teresa, explaining this last Petition in 
 
Part II, Chap . XXL, Sec. i. 353 
 
 the forty-second chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 discovers therein a deep meaning § Ie The long . 
 and a prayerful sentiment espe- fog for death, 
 daily adapted to souls that are already entirely 
 detached from this miserable world, and who 
 might, each of them, say in all truth and sin¬ 
 cerity with Saint Paul: I desire to be dissolved 
 and to be with Christ —Desiderium habens dis- 
 solvi et esse cum Christo (Philipp, i. 23). 
 
 Whereupon, reflecting that Christ, in teaching 
 us the “ Our Father,” prayed in union with us, 
 as has been already said, she writes as follows : 
 “ It seems to me that the good Jesus had reason 
 to ask His Father to deliver us from evil, that is 
 to say, from the dangers and troubles of this life, 
 both for our sakes, since, as long as we remain 
 in this world, we are in great danger, and also 
 on His own account, since we know how weary 
 He was of this life when, at His Last Supper, 
 He said to His apostles : With desire have I 
 desired to eat this Pasch with you, it being His 
 last repast in this world. From these words we 
 may infer how sweet death vas to Him. And 
 yet, at the present day, even those who are a 
 hundred years old are not weary of life, but 
 rather desire to live still longer ! However, we 
 do not lead so wretched a life, nor do we endure 
 so many sufferings, as did His Divine Majesty. 
 
 “ And what, in truth, was His entire life but 
 a continual death, since He had ever present 
 before His eyes that cruel death which His 
 enemies were about to inflict upon Him ? And 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 yet this, after all, was the least portion of His 
 sorrow; for He suffered far more by the thought 
 of all the offences which He foresaw would be 
 committed against His Father, and of all the 
 souls that would be lost. Now, if this thought 
 is most distressing even to one of ourselves in 
 this world, provided he entertains any love of 
 God, we may imagine what a torture it must have 
 proved to the immense love of our Lord, Had 
 he not good reason, then, to beg of His Father 
 to deliver him now from so many evils and afflic¬ 
 tions, and to grant Him eternal repose in His 
 Kingdom, since He was the lawful heir thereof? 
 Hence it was that He added : “ Amen ”; and in 
 employing this word He besought His Eternal 
 Father, in my opinion, to deliver us for ever 
 from all evil. In the same way I beseech His 
 Divine Majesty to deliver me from all evil for 
 ever; because by living longer I do not lessen 
 my indebtedness to God, but, on the contrary, 
 become, unfortunately, more and more deeply 
 in debt to Him every day. 
 
 “ But that which I cannot endure, O Lord, is 
 not to be able to know for certain whether I love 
 You, or whether my desires are pleasing to Your 
 Divine Majesty. O my Lord and my God, 
 deliver me now from all evil, and be pleased to 
 conduct me to that abode where all good things 
 are to be found. What can any longer be ex¬ 
 pected on this earth by those to whom you have 
 given some knowledge of the nothingness of this 
 world, and who have a lively faith in the exist- 
 
Part II., Chap. XX/., Sec. i. 355 
 
 ence of that glory which their Heavenly Father 
 has reserved for them ? ” 
 
 In reading the foregoing extract from Saint 
 Teresa, some persons may possibly be tempted 
 to give way to feelings of undue fear and anxiety 
 because of the words :—“ But that which I can¬ 
 not endure , O Lord, is not to be able to know for 
 certain whether I love You, or whether my desires 
 a?'e pleasing to your Divine Majesty We must, 
 therefore, bear in mind, that in this passage Saint 
 Teresa is speaking of that infallible certainty of 
 being in a state of grace, which God does not 
 wish us to possess in this world. It is certain 
 that, except through an extraordinary revelation, 
 no one can be infallibly assured that he possesses 
 the great treasure of God’s love ; and God has 
 ordained that this should be so, in order that 
 souls might the more easily guard against the 
 first and the last of the seven deadly sins—that 
 is to say, Pride and Sloth. As long as the soul 
 is in this kind of uncertainty, she is more humble 
 and more deeply impressed with a sense of her 
 own nothingness; she does not dare to set her¬ 
 self above another, nor does she presume to 
 pronounce judgment upon others. Meanwhile, 
 since she knows that the more diligent she is in 
 serving God the greater becomes her certainty 
 of enjoying His love and grace, she strives with 
 ever-increasing zeal and earnestness to accom¬ 
 plish His divine will, and to conform herself to 
 it in all things. 
 
 This kind of uncertainty is sometimes painful 
 
35 6 
 
 Treatise on Prayer . 
 
 to those souls that love God most, as happened 
 in the case of Saint Teresa herself; but, at the 
 same time, this very anxiety which disturbs them 
 is a strong proof that they really do love God, 
 because those who are not inflamed by the love 
 of God do not experience any of those anxieties, 
 which, substantially, are nothing else than earnest 
 manifestations of love. 
 
 But, then, we must ever bear in mind that 
 God does all things well. If He leaves those 
 souls that He loves in this kind of uncertainty, 
 He does so for their greater good, and because 
 it is w'ell that He should act so. Therefore, 
 even were it possible for us to acquire, contrary 
 to the disposition of God’s Providence, an in¬ 
 fallible certainty that we possessed His love and 
 grace, we ought to reject such knowledge. Any 
 doubts, fears, or anxieties which we may have to 
 endure in accordance with the fulfilment of 
 God’s holy will, are infinitely to be preferred 
 even to heaven itself, if it could be acquired 
 without God willing it. God has arranged that 
 we should live in a kind of uncertainty as re¬ 
 gards the possession of His love; let us, then, 
 simply bless and thank Him, and conform our 
 will to His. 
 
 However, observe carefully that I have spoken 
 only of a kind of uncertainty; for it is not true 
 that pious souls are really in a state of doubt 
 and absolute uncertainty as to their being in a 
 state of grace. On the contrary, they are 
 morally certain that they love the Lord, and that 
 
 / 
 
Part II., Chap. XXL, Sec. i. 
 
 357 
 
 they are loved by Him in return; just as a good 
 son is certain that he loves his father, and is 
 loved by him. And were you to say to such a 
 son, “You do not love your father and he does 
 not love you,” that son would not believe you: 
 your language, no doubt, would give him pain, 
 and might produce a certain feeling of nervous¬ 
 ness, but, all the while, he would not believe 
 you. Somewhat in the same manner, the pass¬ 
 ing suspicion that possibly they do not love their 
 God, causes pain occasionally to all souls that 
 really love Him, and produces a certain amount 
 of nervousness; but, with all this, they still re¬ 
 main sufficiently certain that they are not defi¬ 
 cient in divine love. 
 
 Indeed, as we have already seen, Saint Teresa, 
 in the 40th chapter of the Way of Perfection, 
 says that the existence of this love may be knoivn 
 by some signs , which are so evident that even the 
 blind ?nay see them (see chap. 18 supra). By 
 this she wishes us to understand, that those who 
 find in themselves these evident signs, may rest 
 perfectly satisfied that they do possess the love 
 of God; just as a wife or a son, on seeing the 
 manifestations of affection which are interchanged 
 between themselves and the object of their love, 
 are certain that they really love that person, and 
 are loved by him in return. 
 
 Furthermore, it is a matter of the greatest im¬ 
 portance to pious persons that, while doing all 
 in their power to please God, they should pre¬ 
 serve tranquillity of mind, and a calm confidence 
 
35 8 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 that they are rich in holy love. Without this 
 tranquil confidence, how could they ever be able 
 to repeat this concluding Petition of the Our 
 Father in the sense assigned to it by Saint 
 Teresa? It would be simply impossible for 
 them to do so : for it is neither possible nor suit¬ 
 able that a soul in a state of uncertainty regard¬ 
 ing the possession of God’s grace, should pray 
 to be delivered from all the evils of this world 
 by means of death, seeing the terrible risk that 
 would follow of being afterwards subjected to 
 the eternal and irreparable evils of the life to 
 come. 
 
 Wherefore, let those souls that have already 
 discovered the vanity and wretchedness of this 
 deceitful world, endeavour to become each day 
 more perfect, as far as they can, in the love of 
 the Eternal Good. Let them strive to love Him 
 with their whole heart, with their whole mind, 
 and with all their strength, and let them do all 
 in their power to please Him in everything, and 
 always to accomplish His most holy will. This 
 is their duty. But, while doing this, let them 
 maintain tranquillity in their souls, and even 
 though they should be conscious of committing 
 many faults, let them still be calm, and confident 
 that they love God, and are loved by Him in re¬ 
 turn—that is to say, that they enjoy His friend¬ 
 ship. This confidence you ought to preserve 
 undiminished until death, which appears so 
 frightful and so bitter to worldlings, may appear 
 to you a sweet and consoling relief. 
 
Part II, Chap. XXI., Sec. 2 . 
 
 359 
 
 Saint Teresa goes on to say: “To ask for 
 this (i.e., death) with an earnest § 2. The long- 
 desire and a firm resolution, in order Sn^contlmpfa- 
 to go to enjoy God, is, for contem- tives. 
 plative souls, a sure sign that the favours which 
 they receive in prayer come to them from 
 heaven; and, therefore, let those who possess 
 this sign value it very highly. ... It is no 
 wonder that those who receive favours from God 
 should yearn to be in that abode where His 
 favours may be enjoyed to the fullest extent; 
 that they are unwilling to tarry in a world 
 where so many obstacles prevent them from 
 enjoying so great a good; and that they long to 
 be in that land where the Sun of Justice never 
 sets. Everything that such persons see upon 
 earth appears to them gloomy and miserable, 
 so that I am amazed how they can endure to 
 live there at all. It is certain that those cannot 
 live contented in this world, who have already 
 begun to enjoy God and to receive foretastes 
 of His Heavenly Kingdom, where souls live 
 with no other will than that of its Supreme 
 King.” 
 
 Wherefore, as happened in the case of Saint 
 Teresa herself, souls that are favoured with the 
 gift of contemplation, in which God allows them 
 to enjoy foretastes of heaven, ordinarily feel 
 themselves influenced by a love of, and a longing 
 for, death. Let us hear Saint John of the Cross 
 in a passage in which he speaks of the affective 
 presence of God enjoyed by a soul in contem- 
 
360 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 plation* “ This affective presence of the Be¬ 
 loved,’’ he says, “ is of a nature so sublime, that 
 beneath it the soul feels concealed an infinite 
 something, whereby God communicates to her 
 certain obscure visions of His divine beauty, 
 which produce in her such an effect, that she 
 forthwith longs and faints away with the desire 
 of that which is hidden beneath that presence. 
 
 . . . Then the soul faints away with the desire 
 of being absorbed in that Supreme Good, which, 
 though hidden, it feels to be present.” At this 
 same moment, too, the soul says within herself, 
 “ The vision of Thee and Thy beauty is so full 
 of delights that I cannot endure it, but must die 
 in the very act of beholding it: ‘ let the vision of 
 Thy beauty kill me\ . . . Nor is it anything 
 strange for the soul to wish to die on beholding 
 the beauty of God, in order to enjoy Him for all 
 eternity, For if the soul were favoured with but 
 a single glimpse of the majesty and beauty of 
 God, she would not only desire to die once in 
 order to behold Him for eternity, but she would 
 cheerfully endure a thousand most painful deaths 
 to see Him even for a brief moment; and after 
 having seen Him thus, she would desire to suffer 
 as much again in order to see Him a second 
 time, even for a passing instant. . . . ‘Perfect 
 
 * By the “ affective ” presence of God in a soul, Saint 
 John of the Cross understands His presence by spiritual 
 affection, when He signifies to the soul that He is dwelling 
 within her “in divers ways of refreshment, joy, and glad¬ 
 ness” ( Spiritual Canticle , stanza xi.). 
 
Part II., Chap. XXI., Sec. j. 
 
 361 
 
 charity casteth out fear.’ Death cannot prove 
 bitter to a soul that loves God, because she finds 
 therein all her delights and the sweets of love. 
 The remembrance of it cannot bring her sadness, 
 because it is the harbinger of all joy. It cannot 
 prove painful and oppressive to her, since it is 
 the ending of all her troubles and sufferings, and 
 the beginning for her of all happiness. She 
 looks upon death as her friend and spouse, and 
 rejoices in remembering it as if the day of her 
 death were her bridal day. She yearns for the 
 day and the hour of death, more than the kings 
 of the earth long for kingdoms and principalities ” 
 (A Spiritual Canticle , stanza xi.). This is what 
 must ordinarily occur in the case of contempla¬ 
 tive souls ; because, in addition to what they 
 know by faith, they have a practical experience 
 of supernatural enjoyments, and, so to speak, 
 swim in the secret sweetness of their Lord. 
 
 But it may be asked: Is it, then, impossible 
 for those who have nothing but the § 3 . This 
 light of faith to guide them, and StSu'w 
 who have never been raised to the all. 
 heights of contemplation, to pray that God 
 would deliver them from all evil by quickly sum¬ 
 moning them out of this world, where life is en¬ 
 compassed by so many evils ? No : even these 
 persons may attain such a degree of perfection, 
 as to desire above all things that which is feared 
 most of all things in this world—death. If they 
 but obtain the grace to understand, by means of 
 a lively faith, the deceits, the dangers, the very 
 
362 
 
 Treatise on Prayer\ 
 
 great evils of this mortal life wherein God is so 
 much offended, and the reality, the security, the 
 immense happiness of life eternal, where it is im¬ 
 possible to do anything else but love God, they, 
 too, will become disgusted with the world through 
 a longing for heaven, and will learn to beg of 
 God the favour of death. Truly happy are they 
 who shall reach this point. Such as these are 
 completely detached from every false good; they 
 are entirely united to God by grace, and are 
 fully disposed for perfect union with Him in 
 glory. Let us hear how Saint Teresa speaks on 
 this matter. “ Oh, how very different from what 
 it actually is ought our life on this earth to be, in 
 order that it might justify us in not desiring 
 death ! How very differently is our will inclined 
 here below from what is the will of God ! It is 
 God’s will that we should love the truth, and we 
 love lies instead ; it is God’s will that we should 
 love what endures for ever, while we love the 
 things that pass away; it is God’s will that we 
 should love objects that are noble and sublime, 
 but we go in pursuit of things which are base and 
 worldly: God would wish us to love only what 
 is certain, and we love what is precarious and 
 deceitful. This world is all vanity, my daugh¬ 
 ters ; let us, then, beseech God to deliver us for 
 ever from all evil. And although we may not 
 entertain this desire in a very perfect degree, 
 nevertheless, let us force ourselves, all the while, 
 to offer up this prayer. For what does it cost 
 us, or how can it prejudice our petition, to ask 
 
Part //., Chap. XXI ., Sec. 3. 363 
 
 for much, since He to whom we pray is Omni¬ 
 potent ! It would be a shame to ask but a paltry 
 farthing from a great and most generous Lord. 
 And that we may do something even still better 
 than this, since we have already made Him an 
 offering of our will, let us be prepared to receive 
 everything from Him in a spirit of absolute 
 resignation to His will. May His name be for 
 ever blessed in heaven and on earth, and may 
 His holy will be always accomplished in me. 
 Amen.” 
 
 We should remark how, in this passage, Saint 
 Teresa, seeing that it must prove very difficult to 
 the weakness of our nature to offer up a petition 
 requiring such high perfection, exhorts us, never¬ 
 theless, to do so courageously, since it is nowise 
 difficult to God to grant our request. Her w r ords 
 are very beautiful: “ What does it cost us, or how 
 can it prejudice our petitio?i to ask for much , since 
 He to whom we pray is Omnipotent; it would be 
 a shame to ask but a paltry farthing from a great 
 and most generous Lord v . Therefore, we ought, 
 so to speak, to be more afraid and more ashamed 
 to beg trifling favours from God, than to ask Him 
 for great ones. 
 
 The instructions which Saint Teresa gives us 
 in this chapter contain lessons of very high per¬ 
 fection, and once more we repeat that they are 
 truly blessed, who, in the spiritual life, attain to 
 a degree so high as no longer to desire anything 
 in this world but death, in order that their per¬ 
 fect union with God may be the more speedily 
 
3 6 4 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 accomplished. But since the Saint adds that we 
 may still do something better even than this, let 
 us pay marked attention to her concluding 
 words: “ Since we have already made Him an 
 offering of our will , let us he prepared to receive 
 everything from Him in a spirit of absolute resig¬ 
 nation to His will and pleasure This must be 
 the ultimate goal of all our desires, however holy 
 and perfect they may be. Wherefore, even those 
 who long for death through a pure impulse of 
 love, in order that they may be released from this 
 life and taken to God, ought never to desire it 
 except at whatever time it may be God’s holy 
 will and pleasure to send it. For the highest 
 degree of all possible perfection is to desire the 
 accomplishment of the pure and simple will of 
 God; so that our desires should extend to no¬ 
 thing whether great or little, whether for soul or 
 for body, whether for time or for eternity, whether 
 appertaining to grace or to glory, except what 
 God wills. And this we, too, should desire with 
 all the earnestness of which our soul is capable. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Inasmuch as all devout persons who may read 
 this Treatise on Prayer, will not be able on all 
 occasions to follow the flights of such an Eagle 
 of Perfection as Saint Teresa, and will not be 
 capable, when reciting the Lord’s Prayer, of 
 
Conclusion. 
 
 365 
 
 entering into all her pious sentiments, we shall 
 conclude this little work with an observation made 
 by the Saint herself, which clearly shows her ad¬ 
 mirable discretion, and at the same time is cal¬ 
 culated to afford consolation to those novices in 
 the spiritual life, who as yet have not sufficient 
 light or fervour to follow her. 
 
 Saint Gregory the Great said of the Holy 
 Scripture, that it was a sea in which a lamb 
 might walk near the shore without being drowned, 
 while, at the same time, an elephant, by moving 
 out into its depths, might find ample room to 
 swim :—ut et agnus ambulet et elephas natet. In 
 the 37 th chapter of the Way of Perfection, Saint 
 Teresa says the same thing, in different words, re¬ 
 garding the Lord’s Prayer. She there remarks 
 that the Lord’s Prayer is “ so admirably com¬ 
 posed by such a good Master, that each one of 
 us may apply it to his own individual wants ”. 
 She then continues as follows: “I have some¬ 
 times thought with myself, why it was that the 
 Lord was not pleased to declare Himself more 
 explicitly in matters at once so sublime and 
 obscure, so that we might all understand them ; 
 and the reason of this seemed to me to be, that 
 since this prayer was intended for all classes of 
 persons, He purposely left it thus undefined, in 
 order that each one, thinking that he understood 
 it in its proper sense, might offer up the several 
 Petitions according to his own meaning and 
 needs, and thereby derive comfort from it. In 
 this way contemplatives, who no longer desire 
 
3 66 
 
 Treatise o?i Prayer. 
 
 earthly blessings as being persons already much 
 devoted to God, may ask for heavenly favours, 
 which, through God’s great goodness, are attain¬ 
 able here on earth. So, too, those who live in 
 the world (and it is well that persons should live 
 in the world according to their state) may ask, 
 moreover, for their daily bread, wherewith to 
 sustain themselves and their families, as is per¬ 
 fectly just and holy; and the same may be said 
 with regard to other things of which they may 
 stand in need.” 
 
 In this passage Saint Teresa would give us to 
 understand, that our Lord purposely formulated 
 the Petitions of the Paternoster in such manner, 
 that they might be capable of a very wide inter¬ 
 pretation according to the various capacities and 
 conditions of men ; so that when reciting the 
 prayer each one might say it in the sense sug¬ 
 gested to him by the greater or lesser amount of 
 spiritual light which he may possess, and with 
 that degree of affection which may exist in a 
 heart more or less inflamed by divine love. 
 Consequently, contemplatives, and others also, 
 who, though they may not yet have reached the 
 heights of contemplation, are, nevertheless, tho¬ 
 roughly detached from the world and in close 
 union with God, will easily be able, when reciting 
 the Lord’s Prayer, to follow the spiritual flights 
 of Saint Teresa; while others, again, must con¬ 
 tent themselves with keeping to the more obvious 
 and literal sense of this divine prayer. Thus, for 
 example, in reciting the Fourth Petition, souls of 
 
Conclusion. 
 
 367 
 
 the first class will be unable to lower themselves 
 to ask for corporal food, inasmuch as they feel a 
 loathing for it, and hunger only after spiritual 
 nourishment; but, on the other hand, persons 
 who are less perfect, while asking for spiritual 
 food, will ask also for the food of the body, and to 
 do so, far from being reprehensible, will be good 
 and holy, although it would have been more 
 perfect not to ask for it. This same remark 
 applies in like manner to the other Petitions. 
 
 This is why Saint Teresa goes on to say : 
 “ Observe that there are two points in this 
 prayer, namely, the resigning our own will and 
 the forgiveness of injuries, which are intended 
 for every one, and which must be fulfilled by 
 every one. It is, indeed, true that in this, as I 
 have said, there are degrees. Those who are 
 perfect will resign their will in a perfect manner, 
 and they will forgive with the perfection already 
 mentioned. We, my sisters, will do the best we 
 can, seeing that our Lord accepts everything.” 
 
 We see, therefore, that no one need despair of 
 being a sharer in God’s mercy, because he may 
 feel himself still weak and imperfect. Let him 
 simply do his best. If he can do but little, the 
 Lord will accept even that little : He refuses 
 nothing that is good. What a consoling doctrine 
 this is! What an admirable mistress is Saint 
 Teresa! How much more discreet and prudent 
 she is, than those other spiritual guides, who 
 would expect all souls to mount up, and quickly, 
 to the highest degrees of sanctity, and who, with- 
 
3 68 
 
 Treatise on Prayer. 
 
 out taking into account the infirmities of some 
 souls, would threaten woes against those who 
 proceed slowly and are not very generous with 
 God. It is quite true that these latter might do 
 better: nevertheless, God accepts the little that 
 they are actually doing. Let us not, then, 
 frighten them; for otherwise, owing to their 
 weakness, they may become disheartened, and 
 may cease to do any good at all. 
 
 Let us remember that the goodness of God 
 infinitely surpasses anything that we can by pos¬ 
 sibility imagine; and one single “ Our Father,” 
 well said, may make a soul rich in virtues. Saint 
 Teresa assures us that this is so. “Oh,” she 
 says, “ what a good Paymaster God is! How 
 He rewards His servants without measure ! We 
 may say this prayer once only in such a manner 
 that our Lord, seeing how we are free from all 
 duplicity and ready to do everything that we say, 
 will make us rich. He loves exceedingly that 
 we should treat with Him sincerely, truthfully, 
 and plainly, not speaking one thing with our 
 lips and meaning another thing in our hearts. 
 He always gives more than we ask ” (Way of 
 Perfection , chap. 37). 
 
 No more consoling words than the foregoing 
 could be found to conclude this Treatise, and 
 with them, accordingly, we conclude it, exclaim¬ 
 ing, with Saint Teresa: “May the Lord be for 
 ever blessed and praised, from whom proceedeth 
 every good word, and thought, and act of ours. 
 Amen” (Way of Perfection^ chap. 42). 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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