第三章

本章繼續同一主題，講述靈魂在天主的幫助下所能獲得的另一種結合。在這件事上愛鄰舍的重要性。這是非常有用的閱讀。

1. 對神聖聯合所留下的靈魂的熱忱。 2. 靈魂可能會從這樣的狀態墮落。 3. 如何永遠獲得神聖的結合。 4. 與神的旨意聯合是一切超自然聯合的基礎。 5、透過自我折磨獲得的聯合優勢。 6. 妨礙結合的缺陷。 7. 透過對天主和我們的鄰舍的完美愛而獲得神聖的結合。 8. 對天主的愛和對鄰舍的愛是相稱的。 9. 真實的和想像的美德。 10. 虛幻的好決心。 11. 團結是靠工作而不是感情。 12. 兄弟般的慈善事業一定會獲得這種結合。

1. 1. 現在讓我們回到我們的小鴿子身上，看看在這種狀態下天主給了它什麼恩典。這意味著靈魂努力在為主的服務和自我認識中前進。如果它接受了結合的恩典，然後不再做更多的事情，認為自己安全了，因此過著粗心的生活，偏離了天堂之路（即遵守戒律），它將分享蠶所產蝴蝶的命運，蠶產下一些卵，產生更多同類，然後永遠死亡。我說它留下了一些雞蛋，因為我相信天主不會允許失去如此大的恩惠，但如果接受者沒有從中受益，其他人就會。因為，當這個靈魂走在正確的道路上時，以其熱切的願望和偉大的美德，幫助他人並用自己的熱情點燃他們的熱情。然而，即使在失去了這一點之後，它仍然可能渴望造福他人，並高興地讓那些愛和服事祂的人知道天主所顯示的憐憫。 ¹⁸⁵

2. 2. 我認識一個人，他也遭遇過這種事。雖然她犯了很大的錯誤，但她渴望別人能從天主賜給她的恩惠中受益，並把祈禱之道傳授給不懂祈禱的人，從而給他們帶來了巨大的幫助。後來天主賜給她新的亮光；事實上，迄今為止，結合的祈禱還沒有在她身上產生上述效果。我們的主向多少人傳達了他自己，他們像猶大一樣，被他呼召為使徒，並被他擁立為王，就像掃羅一樣，但後來卻因自己的過錯而失去了一切！姊妹們，我們應該從中學習，如果我們想獲得新的恩惠，並避免失去我們已經擁有的恩惠，我們唯一的安全在於服從和遵循天主的律法。我對那些已經接受這些恩典的人和那些沒有接受這些恩典的人說這句話。 ¹⁸⁶

3. 3. 儘管我寫了這麼多，但要理解這棟居所似乎仍然有些困難。進入的好處是如此之大，以至於沒有人應該絕望地這樣做，因為天主沒有給他們上述的超自然恩賜。在神聖恩典的幫助下，透過強迫自己放棄自己的意志並在所有事情上遵循天主的意志，總是可以實現真正的結合。 ¹⁸⁷

4. 4. 哦，我們中有多少人確信我們這樣做，並且相信我們別無其他目的——事實上，我們願意為我們所說的真理而死！如果是這樣的話，我只能宣布，就像我以前所做的那樣，我會一次又一次地宣布，我們已經從天主那裡獲得了這種恩典。因此，我們不需要希望上述的另一個令人愉快的結合，因為它的主要價值在於將我們的意志屈服於天主的意志，否則就無法實現。 ¹⁸⁸哦，這種結合是多麼令人嚮往！獲得它的幸福靈魂將無憂無慮地生活在這個世界和另一個世界。世上的任何事物都不能打擾它，除非它看到自己處於失去天主的危險之中，或目睹了天主的任何冒犯。疾病、貧窮或任何人的死亡都不會影響它，除了那些對天主的教會有用的人之外，因為靈魂徹底認識到天主的處置比他自己的願望更明智。

5. 5. 你必須知道，悲傷有不同的種類：有悲傷和喜樂，它們源自自然的衝動，或源自於使我們憐憫鄰舍的仁慈，就像我們的救主使拉撒路從死裡復活時所感受到的那樣。 ¹⁸⁹這些感覺不會破壞與天主旨意的結合，也不會因不安、動盪和持久的激情而擾亂靈魂。它們很快就會消失，因為正如我所說的祈禱中的甜蜜，¹⁹⁰它們不會影響靈魂的深處，而只會影響其感官和能力。他們可以在以前的居所中找到，但不會進入最後的居所。為了達到這種神聖的結合，是否有必要暫停靈魂的力量？不;除了所謂的「捷徑」之外，天主還有很多方法可以豐富靈魂並將其帶到這些居所。但是，請確保這一點，我的女兒們：無論如何，蠶都必須死亡，這會讓你們付出更多的代價。在前一種方式中，這種死亡是由於我們發現自己進入了新的生活而促進的。相反，在這裡我們必須給自己致命一擊。我承認這項工作會更加困難，但它的價值也會更高，因此，如果你取得勝利，你的回報也會更大；¹⁹¹然而，毫無疑問，你有可能實現與天主旨意的真正結合。

6. 6. 這是我一生所渴望的結合，我懇求我們的主賜給我；這是最確定、最安全的。但可惜的是，我們當中能得到它的人是多麼少啊！那些小心翼翼不冒犯天主並進入宗教狀態的人，認為沒有什麼可做的了。有多少蛆蟲隱藏起來，直到像啃咬喬納斯常春藤的蠕蟲一樣，¹⁹²它們摧毀了我們的美德。這些害蟲包括自愛、自尊、即使在小事上也對他人做出輕率的判斷，以及缺乏仁慈，沒有像愛自己那樣愛我們的鄰居。儘管我們必須充分履行我們的義務以避免犯罪，但我們遠遠沒有達到與天主旨意完美結合所必須做的事情。

7. 7. 女兒們，你們認為神的旨意是什麼？使我們變得相當完美，從而與他和他的父合而為一，正如他所祈求的那樣。 ¹⁹³ 那麼，請觀察我們需要什麼才能獲得這一點。我向你保證，寫這個主題對我來說是最痛苦的，因為我看到由於我自己的過錯，我離達到完美還有多遠。我們不需要從神那裡得到特別的安慰來達到合神心意的目的；祂已經做了足夠多的事，賜給我們祂的兒子來教導我們這條路。這並不意味著我們必須順服神的旨意，不因父親或兄弟的去世而悲傷，也不意味著我們必須喜樂地承受十字架和疾病。 ¹⁹⁴這很好，但有時它來自常識，因為我們無法幫助自己，所以美德成為必然。異教哲學家的偉大智慧常常引導他們在此類考驗中採取這樣的行動！我們的主只要求我們做兩件事：愛他，愛我們的鄰舍：這些是我們必須努力獲得的。如果我們完美地實踐這兩種美德，我們就會遵行祂的旨意，從而與祂聯合。但是，正如我所說，在這兩件事上，我們距離完美地服從和服務我們偉大的主還很遙遠：願陛下賜予我們恩典，使我們有資格與他聯合；只要我們願意，我們就有能力獲得它。

8. 8. 我認為遵守這兩條誡命最明確的標誌是我們對他人有真正的愛。我們無法知道我們是否愛天主，儘管可能有充分的理由這麼想，但我們是否愛我們的鄰舍是毫無疑問的。 ¹⁹⁵請確保，隨著您在兄弟慈善事業中的進步，您對天主的愛也在增加，¹⁹⁶因為陛下對我們懷有如此溫柔的感情，我毫不懷疑他會通過以一千種不同的方式增加我們對他的愛來回報我們對他人的愛來回報。在這件事上我們應該非常小心地審視自己，因為如果我們在這一點上沒有過失，我們就已經做了一切。我相信人性如此邪惡，除非植根於天主的愛，否則我們無法對鄰舍產生完美的仁慈。

9. 9. 姊妹們，在這件最重要的事情上，我們應該在小事上保持高度警惕，不要注意到我們在祈禱中計劃的偉大工作，我們想像我們會為其他人執行這些工作，甚至可能是為了拯救一個靈魂。如果我們後來的行動與這些宏偉計劃不符，就沒有理由認為我們應該做任何類似的事情。我對謙卑和其他美德也是如此。魔鬼的詭計很多；他會把地獄顛倒一千次，讓我們認為自己比實際情況更好。他有充分的理由這樣做，因為這種幻想是最有害的。從這個根源產生的虛假美德總是伴隨著一種虛榮，而這種虛榮是那些沒有驕傲的神聖起源的美德所沒有的。

10. 10. 有趣的是，有人在祈禱時，幻想自己為了天主的愛而願意被蔑視和公開侮辱，但事後卻千方百計地掩飾自己的小缺點；如果有人不公正地指責他們的過錯，願天主救我們脫離他們的呼聲！讓那些無法忍受這種事情的人不要注意到他們獨自一人時所製定的輝煌計劃，這可能不是真正的意志決定，而只是想像中的一些把戲，否則結果就會大不相同。魔鬼以這種方式攻擊和欺騙人們，常常對婦女和其他無知到無法理解靈魂力量和想像力之間的區別以及上千種其他類似問題的人造成巨大傷害。姐妹們啊！很容易就能知道你們中的哪些人已經達到了對鄰舍的真誠之愛，而哪些人還遠遠沒有達到這種程度。如果你知道這種美德的重要性，你唯一關心的就是獲得它。

11. 11. 當我看到人們非常渴望知道他們進行什麼樣的祈禱時，他們遮住臉，不敢動彈或思考，以免失去任何輕微的溫柔和奉獻，我知道他們對如何與天主結合一無所知，因為他們認為這包括這些事情。不，姊妹們，不；我們的主期望我們有所作為。如果你看到一個生病的姊妹可以救助，¹⁹⁷永遠不要擔心失去你的奉獻；同情她；如果她感到疼痛，請感受它，就好像它是你自己的一樣，並且在需要時禁食，以便她可以吃東西，與其說是為了她，不如說是因為你知道你的主要求你這樣做。這是我們的意志與神的意志真正的結合。如果別人受到好評，你會比自己更高興；這很容易，因為如果你真的很謙虛，那麼受到讚揚就會讓你煩惱。為你姐姐的美德被人所知而感到高興，並為你在她身上看到的缺點感到難過，就像你自己的缺點一樣，把它隱藏起來，不讓別人看到，這是一件很大的好事。

12. 12. 我常常在其他地方談論這個主題，¹⁹⁸ 因為，我的姊妹們，如果我們在這方面失敗，我知道一切都會失敗：求天主保佑，這可能永遠不會是我們的情況。如果你擁有兄弟般的仁慈，我向你保證，你一定會獲得我所描述的結合。如果你意識到你缺乏這種慈善事業，儘管你可能會感到奉獻和甜蜜，並短暫地專注於安靜的祈禱（這讓你認為你已經達到了與天主的結合），請相信我，你還沒有達到它。懇求我們的主賜給你對鄰舍完美的愛，並將其餘的交給祂。如果你約束自己並竭盡全力去爭取它，迫使你的意志盡可能地在所有事情上遵守你姐妹的意願，儘管你有時可能會因此而喪失自己的權利，他會給你的比你知道如何渴望的更多。為了他們的利益而忘記你的個人利益，無論大自然有多麼反抗；當機會出現時，你自己承擔一些負擔，以減輕你的鄰居的負擔。不要以為這不會讓你付出任何代價，而你會發現這一切都為你完成了：想想他對我們的愛讓我們的配偶付出了多大的代價，他為了將我們從死亡中解放出來，他自己經歷了最痛苦的死亡——十字架上的死亡。

THIS CHAPTER CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT AND SPEAKS OF ANOTHER KIND OF UNION WHICH THE SOUL CAN OBTAIN WITH THE HELP OF GOD. THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR IN THIS MATTER. THIS IS VERY USEFUL TO READ.

1. Zeal for souls left by divine union. 2. The soul may fall from such a state. 3. How divine union may always be obtained. 4. Union with the will of God the basis of all supernatural union. 5. Advantage of union gained by self-mortification. 6. Defects which hinder this union. 7. Divine union obtained by perfect love of God and our neighbour. 8. Love for God and our neighbour are proportionate. 9. Real and imaginary virtues. 10. Illusionary good resolutions. 11. Works, not feelings, procure union. 12. Fraternal charity will certainly gain this union.

1.

1. LET us now return to our little dove and see what graces God gives it in this state. This implies that the soul endeavours to advance in the service of our Lord and in self-knowledge. If it receives the grace of union and then does no more, thinking itself safe, and so leads a careless life, wandering off the road to heaven (that is, the keeping of the commandments) it will share the fate of the butterfly that comes from the silkworm, which lays some eggs that produce more of its kind and then dies for ever. I say it leaves some eggs, for I believe God will not allow so great a favour to be lost but that if the recipient does not profit by it, others will. For while it keeps to the right path, this soul, with its ardent desires and great virtues, helps others and kindles their fervour with its own. Yet even after having lost this it may still long to benefit others and delight to make known the mercies shown by God to those who love and serve Him.¹⁸⁵

2.

2. I knew a person to whom this happened. Although greatly erring, she longed that others should profit by the favours God had bestowed on her and taught the way of prayer to people ignorant of it, thus helping them immensely. God afterwards bestowed fresh light upon her; indeed the prayer of union had not hitherto produced the above effects in her. How many people there must be to whom our Lord communicates Himself, who, like Judas, are called to the Apostleship and made kings by Him, as was Saul, yet who afterwards lose everything by their own fault! We should learn from this, sisters, that if we would merit fresh favours and avoid losing those we already possess, our only safety lies in obedience and in following the law of God. This I say, both to those who have received these graces and to those who have not.¹⁸⁶

3.

3. In spite of all I have written, there still seems some difficulty in understanding this mansion. The advantage of entering is so great, that it is well that none should despair of doing so because God does not give them the supernatural gifts described above. With the help of divine grace true union can always be attained by forcing ourselves to renounce our own will and by following the will of God in all things.¹⁸⁷

4.

4. Oh, how many of us affirm that we do this, and believe we seek nothing else—indeed we would die for the truth of what we say! If this be the case I can only declare, as I fancy I did before, and I shall again and again, that we have already obtained this grace from God. Therefore we need not wish for that other delightful union described above, for its chief value lies in the resignation of our will to that of God without which it could not be reached.¹⁸⁸ Oh, how desirable is this union! The happy soul which has attained it will live in this world and in the next without care of any sort. No earthly events can trouble it, unless it should see itself in danger of losing God or should witness any offence offered Him. Neither sickness, poverty, nor the loss of any one by death affect it, except that of persons useful to the Church of God, for the soul realizes thoroughly that God’s disposal is wiser than its own desires.

5.

5. You must know that there are different kinds of sorrow: there are both griefs and joys rising from an impulse of nature or from a charity which makes us pity our neighbour, like that felt by our Saviour when He raised Lazarus from the dead.¹⁸⁹ These feelings do not destroy union with the will of God nor do they disturb the soul by a restless, turbulent, and lasting passion. They soon pass away, for as I said of sweetness in prayer,¹⁹⁰ they do not affect the depths of the soul but only its senses and faculties. They are found in the former mansions, but do not enter the last of all. Is it necessary, in order to attain to this kind of divine union, for the powers of the soul to be suspended? No; God has many ways of enriching the soul and bringing it to these mansions besides what might be called a ‘short cut.’ But, be sure of this, my daughters: in any case the silkworm must die and it will cost you more in this way. In the former manner this death is facilitated by finding ourselves introduced into a new life; here, on the contrary, we must give ourselves the death-blow. I own that the work will be much harder, but then it will be of higher value so that your reward will be greater if you come forth victorious;¹⁹¹ yet there is no doubt it is possible for you to attain this true union with the will of God.

6.

6. This is the union I have longed for all my life and that I beg our Lord to grant me; it is the most certain and the safest. But alas, how few of us ever obtain it! Those who are careful not to offend God, and who enter the religious state, think there is nothing more to do. How many maggots remain in hiding until, like the worm which gnawed at Jonas’s ivy,¹⁹² they have destroyed our virtues. These pests are such evils as self-love, self-esteem, rash judgment of others even in small matters, and a want of charity in not loving our neighbour quite as much as ourselves. Although perforce we satisfy our obligations sufficiently to avoid sin, yet we fall far short of what must be done in order to obtain perfect union with the will of God.

7.

7. What do you think, daughters, is His will? That we may become quite perfect and so be made one with Him and with His Father as He prayed we might be.¹⁹³ Observe, then, what is wanting in us to obtain this. I assure you it is most painful for me to write on this subject, for I see how far I am, through my own fault, from having attained perfection. There is no need for us to receive special consolations from God in order to arrive at conformity with His will; He has done enough in giving us His Son to teach the way. This does not mean that we must so submit to the will of God as not to sorrow at such troubles as the death of a father or brother, or that we must bear crosses and sickness with joy.¹⁹⁴ This is well, but it sometimes comes from common sense which, as we cannot help ourselves, makes a virtue of necessity. How often the great wisdom of the heathen philosophers led them to act thus in trials of this kind! Our Lord asks but two things of us: love, for Him and for our neighbour: these are what we must strive to obtain. If we practise both these virtues perfectly we shall be doing His will and so shall be united to Him. But, as I said, we are very far from obeying and serving our great Master perfectly in these two matters: may His Majesty give us the grace to merit union with Him; it is in our power to gain it if we will.

8.

8. I think the most certain sign that we keep these two commandments is that we have a genuine love for others. We cannot know whether we love God although there may be strong reasons for thinking so, but there can be no doubt about whether we love our neighbour or no.¹⁹⁵ Be sure that in proportion as you advance in fraternal charity, you are increasing in your love of God,¹⁹⁶ for His Majesty bears so tender an affection for us that I cannot doubt He will repay our love for others by augmenting, in a thousand different ways, that which we bear for Him. We should watch most carefully over ourselves in this matter, for if we are faultless on this point we have done all. I believe human nature is so evil that we could not feel a perfect charity for our neighbour unless it were rooted in the love of God.

9.

9. In this most important matter, sisters, we should be most vigilant in little things, taking no notice of the great works we plan during prayer which we imagine that we would perform for other people, even perhaps for the sake of saving a single soul. If our actions afterwards belie these grand schemes, there is no reason to imagine that we should do anything of the sort. I say the same of humility and the other virtues. The devil’s wiles are many; he would turn hell upside down a thousand times to make us think ourselves better than we are. He has good reason for it, for such fancies are most injurious; sham virtues springing from this root are always accompanied by a vainglory never found in those of divine origin, which are free from pride.

10.

10. It is amusing to see souls who, while they are at prayer, fancy they are willing to be despised and publicly insulted for the love of God, yet afterwards do all they can to hide their small defects; if any one unjustly accuses them of a fault, God deliver us from their outcries! Let those who cannot bear such things take no notice of the splendid plans they made when alone, which could have been no genuine determination of the will but only some trick of the imagination, or the results would have been very different. The devil assaults and deceives people in this way, often doing great harm to women and others too ignorant to understand the difference between the powers of the soul and the imagination, and a thousand other matters of the sort. O sisters! how easy it is to know which of you have attained to a sincere love of your neighbour, and which of you are far from it. If you knew the importance of this virtue, your only care would be to gain it.

11.

11. 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, sisters, no; our Lord expects works from us. If you see a sick sister whom you can relieve,¹⁹⁷ never fear losing your devotion; compassionate her; if she is in pain, feel for it as if it were your own and, when there is need, fast so that she may eat, not so much for her 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 some one else is well spoken of, be more pleased than if it were yourself; this is easy enough, for if you were really humble it would vex you to be praised. It is a great good to rejoice at your sister’s virtues being known and to feel as sorry for the fault you see in her as if it were yours, hiding it from the sight of others.

12.

12. I have often spoken on this subject elsewhere,¹⁹⁸ because, my sisters, if we fail in this I know that all is lost: please God this may never be our case. If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you will certainly obtain the union I have described. If you are conscious that you are wanting in this charity, although you may feel devotion and sweetness and a short absorption in the prayer of quiet (which makes you think you have attained to union with God), believe me you have not yet reached it. Beg our Lord to grant you perfect love for your neighbour, and leave the rest to Him. He will give you more than you know how to desire if you constrain yourselves and strive with all your power to gain it, forcing your will as far as possible to comply in all things with your sisters’ wishes although you may sometimes forfeit your own rights by so doing. Forget your self-interests for theirs, how ever much nature may rebel; when opportunity occurs take some burden upon yourself to ease your neighbour of it. Do not fancy it will cost you nothing and that you will find it all done for you: think what the love He bore for us cost our Spouse, Who to free us from death, Himself suffered the most painful death of all—the death of the Cross.