When I see people very anxious to know what sort of prayer they practise, covering their faces and afraid to move or think, lest they should lose any slight tenderness and devotion they feel, I know how little they understand how to attain union with God, since they think it consists in such things as these.
No. Our Lord expects works from us!
If you see someone sick whom you can relieve, never fear losing your devotion; have compassion on them; if they are in pain, feel it as if it were your own, and, when there is need, fast so that they may eat, not so much for their sake as because you know your Lord asks it of you.
This is the true union of our will with the will of God.
If someone else is well spoken of, be more pleased than it were yourself; this is easy enough, for if you were really humble it would vex you to be praised.
If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you will attain the union I have described.
No. Our Lord expects works from us!
If you see someone sick whom you can relieve, never fear losing your devotion; have compassion on them; if they are in pain, feel it as if it were your own, and, when there is need, fast so that they may eat, not so much for their sake as because you know your Lord asks it of you.
This is the true union of our will with the will of God.
If someone else is well spoken of, be more pleased than it were yourself; this is easy enough, for if you were really humble it would vex you to be praised.
If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you will attain the union I have described.
The Interior Castle 5:3, 11
No comments:
Post a Comment