On Union with God Part 5

In truth, he who for G.o.d's sake is filled with sorrow and compunction dreads to be honoured and loved by another. He does not refuse to be an object of hatred, or shrink from being trodden under foot and despised as long as he lives, in order that he may practise real humility and cleave in purity of heart to G.o.d alone.

It does not require exterior labour or bodily health to love G.o.d only, to hate oneself more than all, to desire to seem little in the eyes of others: what is needed is rather repose of the senses, the effort of the heart, silence of the mind.

It is by labouring with the heart, by the inward aspiration of the soul, that thou wilt learn to forsake the base things of earth and to rise to what is heavenly and Divine.

Thus wilt thou become transformed in G.o.d, and this the more speedily if, in all sincerity, without condemning or despising thy neighbour, thou desirest to be regarded by all as a reproach and scandal--nay, even to be abhorred as filthy mire, rather than possess the delights of earth, or be honoured and exalted by men, or enjoy any advantage or happiness in this fleeting world.

Have no other desire in this perishable life of the body, no other consolation than unceasingly to weep over, regret and detest thy offences and faults.

Learn utterly to despise thyself, to annihilate thyself and to appear daily more contemptible in the eyes of others.

Strive to become even more unworthy in thine own eyes, in order to please G.o.d alone, to love Him only and cling to Him.

Concern not thyself with anything except thy Lord Jesus Christ, Who ought to reign alone in thy affections. Have no solicitude or care save for Him Whose power and Providence give movement and being to all things.[76]

It is not now the time to rejoice but rather to lament with all the sincerity of thy heart.

If thou canst not weep, sorrow at least that thou hast no tears to shed; if thou canst, grieve the more because by the gravity of thy offences and number of thy sins thou art thyself the cause of thy grief. A man under sentence of death does not trouble himself as to the dispositions of his executioners; so he who truly mourns and sheds the tears of repentance, refrains from delight, anger, vainglory, indignation, and every like pa.s.sion.

Citizens and criminals are not lodged in like abodes; so also the life and conduct of those whose faults call for sighs and tears should not resemble those of men who have remained innocent and have nothing to expiate.

Were it otherwise, how would the guilty, great though their crimes may have been, differ in their punishment and expiation from the innocent?

Iniquity would then be more free than innocence. Renounce all, therefore, contemn all, separate thyself from all, that thou mayest lay deep the foundations of sincere penance.

He who truly loves Jesus Christ, and sorrows for Him, who bears Him in his heart and in his body, will have no thought, or care, or solicitude for aught else. Such a one will sincerely mourn over his sins and offences, will long after eternal happiness, will remember the Judgment and will think diligently on his last end in lowly fear. He, then, who wishes to arrive speedily at a blessed impa.s.sibility and to reach G.o.d, counts that day lost on which he has not been ill-spoken of and despised.

What is this impa.s.sibility but freedom from the vices and pa.s.sions, purity of heart, the adornment of virtue?

Count thyself as already dead, since thou must needs die some day.

And now, but one word more. Let this be the test of thy thoughts, words, and deeds. If they render thee more humble, more recollected in G.o.d, more strong, then they are according to G.o.d. But if thou findest it otherwise, then fear lest all is not according to G.o.d, acceptable to Him, or profitable to thyself.

CHAPTER XVI

OF THE PROVIDENCE OF G.o.d, WHICH WATCHES OVER ALL THINGS

Wouldst thou draw nigh unto G.o.d without let or hindrance, freely and in peace, as we have described? Desirest thou to be united and drawn to Him in a union so close that it will endure in prosperity and adversity, in life and in death? Delay not to commit all things with trustful confidence into the hands of His sure and infallible Providence.

Is it not most fitting that thou shouldst trust Him Who gives to all creatures, in the first place, their existence, power, and movement, and, secondly, their species and nature, ordering in all their number, weight, and measure?

Just as Art presupposes the operations of Nature, so Nature presupposes the work of G.o.d, the Creator, Preserver, Organizer, and Administrator.

To Him alone belong infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, essential mercy, justice, truth, and charity, immutable eternity, and immensity.

Nothing can exist and act of its own power, but every creature acts of necessity by the power of G.o.d, the first moving cause, the first principle and origin of every action, Who acts in every active being.

If we consider the ordered harmony of the universe, it is the Providence of G.o.d which must arrange all things, even to the smallest details.

From the infinitely great to the infinitely small nothing can escape His eternal Providence; nothing has been drawn from His control, either in the acts of free-will, in events we ascribe to chance or fate, or in what has been designed by Him. We may go further: it is as impossible for G.o.d to make anything which does not fall within the dominion of His Providence as it is for Him to create anything which is not subject to His action. Divine Providence, therefore, extends over all things, even the thoughts of man.

This is the teaching of Holy Scripture, for in the Epistle of St. Peter it is written: "Casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you."[77]

And, again, the Prophet says: "Cast thy care upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee."[78] Also in Ecclesiasticus we read: "My children, behold the generations of men; and know ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded. For who hath continued in His commandment, and hath been forsaken?"[79] And the Lord says: "Be not solicitous, therefore, saying, What shall we eat?"[80] All that thou canst hope for from G.o.d, however great it may be, thou shalt without doubt receive, according to the promise in Deuteronomy: "Every place that your foot shall tread upon shall be yours."[81] As much as thou canst desire thou shalt receive, and as far as the foot of thy confidence reaches, so far thou shalt possess.

Hence St. Bernard says: "G.o.d, the Creator of all things, is so full of mercy and compa.s.sion that whatever may be the grace for which we stretch out our hands, we shall not fail to receive it."[82]

It is written in St. Mark: "Whatsoever ye shall ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you."[83]

The greater and more persistent thy confidence in G.o.d, and the more earnestly thou turnest to Him in lowly reverence, the more abundantly and certainly shalt thou receive all thou dost hope and ask.

But if, on account of the number and magnitude of his sins, the confidence of any should languish, let him who feels this torpor remember that all is possible to G.o.d, that what He wills must infallibly happen, and what He wills not cannot come to pa.s.s, and, finally, that it is as easy for Him to forgive and blot out innumerable and heinous sins as to forgive one.

On the other hand, it is just as impossible for a sinner to deliver himself from a single sin as it would be for him to raise and cleanse himself from many sins; for, not only are we unable to accomplish this, but of ourselves we cannot even think what is right.[84] All comes to us from G.o.d. It is, however, far more dangerous, other things being equal, to be entangled in many sins than to be held only by one.

In truth, no evil remains unpunished, and for every mortal sin is due, in strict justice, an infinite punishment, because a mortal sin is committed against G.o.d, to Whom belong infinite greatness, dignity, and glory.

Moreover, according to the Apostle, "the Lord knoweth who are His,"[85]

and it is impossible that one of them should perish, no matter how violently the tempests and waves of error rage, how great the scandal, schisms and persecutions, how grievous the adversities, discords, heresies, tribulations, or temptations of every kind.

The number of the elect and the measure of their merit is eternally and unalterably predestined. So true is this that all the good and evil which can happen to them or to others, all prosperity and adversity, serve only to their advantage.

Nay more, adversity does but render them more glorious, and proves their fidelity more surely.

Delay not, therefore, to commit all things without fear to the Providence of G.o.d, by Whose permission all evil of whatever kind happens, and ever for some good end. It could not be except He permitted it; its form and measure are allowed by Him Who can and will by His wisdom turn all to good.

Just as it is by His action that all good is wrought, so is it by His permission that all evil happens.[86]

But from the evil He draws good, and thus marvellously shows forth His power, wisdom, and clemency by our Lord Jesus Christ. So also He manifests His mercy and His justice, the power of grace, the weakness of nature, and the beauty of the universe. So He shows by the force of contrast the glory of the good, and the malice and punishment of the wicked.

In like manner, in the conversion of a sinner we behold contrition, confession, and penance; and, on the other hand, the tenderness of G.o.d, His mercy and charity, His glory and His goodness.

Yet sin does not always turn to the good of those who commit it; but it is usually the greatest of perils and worst of ills, for it causes the loss of grace and glory. It stains the soul and provokes chastis.e.m.e.nt and even eternal punishment. From so great an evil may our Lord Jesus vouchsafe to preserve us! Amen.

R. AND T. WASHBOURNE, LTD., PRINTERS, LONDON.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Following the general tradition, we attribute this work to Albert the Great, but not all critics are agreed as to its authenticity.

[2] Albert the Great is speaking here in a special manner of religious perfection, although what he says is also true of Christian perfection in general.

[3] He speaks here of the obligation laid upon all Christians.