第四章

結論闡明了我們的主給予靈魂這些崇高恩惠的主要意圖，並解釋了瑪麗和瑪莎一起去的必要性。本章非常有利可圖。

1、七號府的滄桑。 2.他們所產生的謙卑。 3. 這樣的靈魂擺脫了凡人，也擺脫了故意犯下的小罪。 4.所羅門的命運。 5.神聖的恐懼。 6. 這些恩惠增強靈魂承受苦難的能力。 7. 聖徒所背負的十字架。 8. 主的異象對聖彼得的影響。 9. 這些恩惠的果實。 10. 精神婚姻為何發生。 11. 我們的行為證明了對基督的愛。 12.真正的靈性。 13.謙卑和美德必須與祈禱結合。 14. 先進靈魂的熱忱。 15. 因內在的神聖臨在而得到增強。 16. 聖人的榜樣。 17. 馬大和馬利亞都必須事奉我們的主。 18. 基督的食物。 19. 瑪麗的屈辱。 20.她對受難的悲傷。 21. 我們能帶領靈魂歸向天主嗎？ 22. 如何做。 23.愛賦予我們的行為價值。 24. 結論。

1. 1. 姊妹們，你們千萬不要認為我提到的影響總是以同樣的程度存在於這些靈魂中，因為據我所知，我告訴過你們，在大多數情況下，我們的主偶爾會讓這些人陷入本性的弱點。城堡周圍的護城河和其他居所中的有毒生物立即聯合起來，為自己被剝奪權力的那段時間報仇。

2. 2. 誠然，這持續的時間很短——也許是一天，或者更長一些——但在這種通常由一些過眼的事件引起的騷亂中，這些人了解到他們從自己所在的神聖團體中得到了什麼樣的好處。我們的主賦予他們如此巨大的毅力，使他們永遠不會放棄對他的服務，也不會放棄他們所製定的良好決心，這些決心似乎只能通過考驗來積聚力量，他們的心也不會離開他們，即使是意志的輕微變動。這種麻煩很少發生；我們的主希望靈魂牢記自己的自然狀況，以便謙卑，更好地了解自己欠他多少，接受了多麼大的恩典，從而讚美他。

3. 3. 不要幻想，儘管這些靈魂有強烈的願望和決心，但他們不犯不完美，甚至陷入許多罪孽：也就是說，不是故意的；因為這樣的人在這一點上得到了天主的特殊恩典：我指的是小罪。據他們所知，他們沒有犯下大罪，儘管他們不確定自己是否犯下一些他們不知道的罪。

4. 4. 這讓他們的心極度悲傷，就像看到他們周圍的靈魂正在消亡一樣；儘管一方面他們強烈希望自己不成為失落者中的一員，但記住聖經中告訴我們的人的命運，他們像所羅門一樣，似乎是天主的特別寵兒⁴³⁷並且與天主交談下如此熟悉。

5. 5. 讓你們中在這一點上最有信心的人最害怕，因為：正如大衛所說，「敬畏上主的人是有福的」。 ⁴³⁸願陛下永遠保護我們。讓我們懇求祂永遠不要允許我們冒犯祂：這就是我們最大的安全。願他永遠受讚美。阿門。

6. 6. 姊妹們，最好告訴你們天主為何在這個世界上賜予靈魂這樣的恩惠，儘管如果你們考慮過這件事，你們一定已經透過所產生的影響了解到了這一點。我回到這個問題上，是為了讓你們不要認為這只是為了讓這些人感到快樂，這對你們來說將是一個巨大的錯誤，因為陛下給予我們的恩惠莫過於給予我們像他愛子所領導的那樣的生活。因此，正如我經常告訴你們的那樣，我確信這些恩寵是為了加強我們的軟弱而送來的，以便我們可以效法他，經歷更多的苦難。

7. 7. 我們總是發現那些最接近我們的主基督的人背負著最沉重的十字架：想想祂榮耀的母親和使徒所背負的十字架。你認為聖保羅是如何經歷如此巨大的勞動的？ ⁴³⁹我們從祂的行為中學到真正的異象和沈思的果實，這些果實來自我們的主，而不是來自我們自己的想像或魔鬼的欺騙。你認為聖保羅躲藏起來是為了享受這些閒暇時的精神安慰，而不做其他事嗎？你知道，據我們所知，他從未休息過一天，而且自從他整晚工作謀生以來，他也睡不著。 ⁴⁴⁰

8. 8. 我對聖彼得感到高興，他逃離監獄時遇見了我們的主，主告訴他他要去羅馬再次被釘十字架。我每次背誦紀念這一點的辦公室時都會感到一種特別的喜悅。 ⁴⁴¹這個異象對聖彼得有什麼影響，他做了什麼？他立刻就去赴死──我們的主給了他一個不小的恩惠，讓他成為劊子手！

9. 9. 哦，我的姊妹們，天主如此選擇她的靈魂作為他特別的居所，她是多麼忘記安逸，多麼不顧榮譽，多麼不尋求男人的尊重啊！因為如果她的心思專注在他身上，正如她應該的那樣，她一定需要忘記自己：她所有的想法都集中在如何更好地取悅他，以及何時以及如何表達她對他的愛。

10. 10. 我的女兒們，這就是祈禱的目的和目的；這就是精神婚姻的原因，其孩子總是好作品。正如我告訴你的，行為是明確無誤的標誌，表明這些恩惠來自天主。當我獨處時，深深地回憶起自己的美德，計劃並許諾為天主服務創造奇蹟，如果事後有機會我卻反其道而行之，那對我就沒什麼好處了。我說“這對我沒什麼好處”，這是錯誤的，因為我們花在神身上的所有時間都對我們有很大的好處。雖然後來我們可能會微弱地無法實現我們的善意，但總有一天，陛下會找到一種方法讓我們去實踐它們，儘管這可能會讓我們感到遺憾。因此，當他看到一個非常膽怯的靈魂時，他常常會在很大程度上違背他的意願，給他帶來一些巨大的痛苦，並讓他通過這種考驗，並為自己帶來好處。當靈魂學會這一點時，他在將自己奉獻給他時就不再那麼膽怯了。

11. 11. 與當我們的工作實現我們的願望和承諾時我們可以獲得的更大的好處相比，我應該說「對我們沒有什麼好處」。如果她想從祈禱中獲得果子，那麼她不能一次完成這一切，就應該一點一點地做，逐漸主宰她的意志。即使在這個小角落裡，她也會找到很多讚美這一點的機會。請記住，這比我無法表達的重要得多。把你的目光定睛在被釘十字架的那一位身上，一切都會顯得很容易。如果陛下透過如此巨大的努力和苦難證明了他對我們的愛，你怎麼能僅透過言語來取悅他呢？

12. 12.你知道什麼是真正的屬靈嗎？人要使自己成為天主的奴隸，打上他的印記，那就是十字架。既然他們給了他自由，他就可以像他一樣把他們當奴隸賣給全世界，這對他們來說沒有錯，而是最大的恩惠。除非你下定決心這樣做，否則永遠不要指望取得多大進展，⁴⁴²因為正如我所說，謙卑是整個建築物的基礎，除非你真正謙卑，否則我們的主，為了你自己的緣故，永遠不會允許你把它舉得很高，以免它倒在地上。

13. 13. 因此，姊妹們，要小心地打下堅實的基礎，努力成為所有人中最小的一個，成為別人的奴隸，注意如何取悅和幫助他們，因為這對你比他們更有利。建立在如此堅固的岩石上，您的城堡永遠不會被摧毀。我再次強調：你的基礎不能僅由祈禱和沈思組成：除非你獲得美德並讚美它們，否則你將永遠是侏儒；除非你獲得美德並讚美它們，否則你將永遠是侏儒；願天主保佑，你不會比沒有進步更糟糕，因為你知道，停下來就是倒退——如果你愛，你就永遠不會滿足於停滯不前。

14. 14.也許你認為我說的是初學者，一個人可以稍後休息，但是，正如我告訴你的，這些靈魂感受到的休息是在他們的內心：他們外在的東西較少，他們也不希望得到它。您認為，為什麼​​靈魂會從其中心發送這些靈感，或者更確切地說，願望（我所說的訊息）到城堡區域和周圍居所的居民？送他們去睡覺？不，不，不！從那時起，靈魂發動了一場更激烈的戰爭，以防止力量、感官和整個身體閒置，比在它們陪伴下受苦時更加激烈。以前它並不了解苦難所帶來的巨大利益，儘管它們確實可能是天主用來將其推進到這種狀態的手段。

15. 15.此外，它所擁有的同伴賦予它比以往任何時候都強大的力量。如果，正如大衛所說：“你要與聖潔的人成為聖潔”，⁴⁴³毫無疑問，通過與全能者合而為一，通過這種精神與精神的主權結合，靈魂必須聚集力量，就像我們知道聖徒所做的那樣，去受苦和死亡。毫無疑問，憑藉著如此獲得的力量，靈魂會拯救城堡內的一切，甚至是身體本身，而身體本身往往似乎已經沒有任何感覺了。靈魂從「酒窖」⁴⁴⁴（新郎把她帶進酒窖，不讓她走）中喝下的「酒」中獲得的活力溢出到虛弱的身體裡，就像我們吃的食物滋養著頭部和整個身體一樣。

16. 16. 事實上，身體在活著時會遭受很多痛苦，因為無論它做什麼工作，靈魂都有能量去完成更偉大的任務，並激勵它去做更多的事情，因為它所能做的一切看起來都是虛無。這一定是許多聖徒嚴厲懺悔的原因，尤其是光榮的抹大拉，她總是在奢侈中度過一生。 ⁴⁴⁵這引起了我們的父親埃利亞斯對天主榮耀的熱情，⁴⁴⁶和聖約翰的願望。多明尼克⁴⁴⁷和聖方濟各⁴⁴⁸吸引靈魂來讚美全能者。我向你保證，他們忘了自己，一定經歷了不小的考驗。

17. 17. 我的姊妹們，這就是我希望我們努力的目標－提出我們的請求並實行祈禱，不是為了我們自己的享受，而是為了獲得力量來事奉天主。讓我們不再尋求新的道路；我們應該在輕鬆的方式中迷失自己。想像我們應該透過耶穌和祂所有聖徒以前走過的道路之外的任何其他道路來獲得這些恩典，那將是一件奇怪的事。讓我們不要夢想這樣的事情：相信我，瑪莎和瑪麗都必須款待我們的主並讓他成為他們的客人，他們也不能如此冷漠以至於不向他提供食物。如果瑪麗坐在他腳前，如果她的姐姐不幫助她，她怎麼能做到這一點？ ⁴⁴⁹

18. 18. 他的食物是我們應該以一切可能的方式吸引靈魂歸向他，以便他們可以得救並永遠讚美他。你可以提出兩個反對意見——首先，我說馬利亞選擇了更好的部分，⁴⁵⁰因為她已經完成了馬大的工作，等待我們的主，洗他的腳，並用她的頭髮擦乾。

19. 19. 你認為對一個有地位的女人來說，也許是她一個人穿過街道，是一種小小的羞辱，因為在她的熱情中，她從來沒有想過自己是怎麼走的？然後她進入了一所陌生人的房子，不得不承受法利賽人的辱罵和許多其他考驗。 ⁴⁵¹ 看到這樣一個女人如此公開地改變自己的生活，很奇怪。對於像猶太人這樣邪惡的民族來說，看到她對他們如此痛恨的主的愛，就足以讓他們把她以前的生活拋在她面前，並嘲笑她想成為聖人。毫無疑問，她一定已經換掉了華麗的長袍和其他衣服。考慮到現在男人們如何談論那些遠不如她出名的人，那麼他們一定會說些什麼呢？

20. 20. 姊妹們，我向你們保證，她在經歷了許多痛苦和屈辱之後贏得了更好的部分。僅僅看到男人對她的主人的仇恨難道不是一種難以忍受的考驗嗎？然後，想想她在我們的主死後所忍受的一切！我自己相信，她並沒有遭受殉道，因為她在目睹受難時已經因悲痛而成為殉道者。 ⁴⁵²那麼在之後的漫長歲月裡，他的缺席一定給她帶來了多麼可怕的痛苦⁴⁵³！你看，她並不總是喜歡在我們救主腳前默觀！

21. 21. 其次，你可能會說你沒有能力也沒有辦法帶領靈魂歸向天主；儘管你願意這樣做，但你不知道如何做，因為你既不能像使徒那樣教導或傳道。我經常寫下對這種反對意見的答复，儘管我無法判斷我這樣做是否與城堡有關。然而，由於我們的主賦予你侍奉他的願望，你的腦海中可能經常會出現這個困難，所以我現在要再次談論它。 ⁴⁵⁴我在其他地方告訴你，魔鬼如何經常用偉大的計劃充滿我們的思想，這樣我們就可以滿足於希望完成不可能的事情，而不是把手放在我們可以做的工作上來侍奉我們的主。

22. 22. 透過祈禱你可以做很多事情；然後，不要試圖幫助全世界，而主要是幫助你的同伴；這項工作會變得更好，因為你對它更有約束力。你的謙卑和克己，你願意為你的姊妹服務，你對她們的熱心慈善，你對天主的愛，應該像火一樣點燃她們的熱情，並不斷地激勵她們實踐其他美德，你認為這是一件小事嗎？這將是一項偉大的工作，也是我們的主最喜悅的工作：透過這樣做，你可以向陛下證明你願意做更多的事情，而他會獎賞你，就像你為他贏得了許多靈魂一樣。你會回答：「這不會改變我的姊妹們，因為她們已經很好了？」這關你什麼事？如果他們做得更好，他們對天主的讚美就會更令天主喜悅，他們的祈禱也會對他們的鄰居更有幫助。 ⁴⁵⁵

23. 23. 簡而言之，我的姊妹們，我將以這個建議作為結束；不要無地基建造塔樓，因為我們的主並不關心我們工作的重要性，而是關心我們所做工作的愛心。當我們竭盡全力時，陛下會讓我們每天做得更多。如果我們不感到疲倦，但在今生持續的短暫時間內（也許會比你們任何人想像的要短），我們盡我們所能地為我們的主獻上一切犧牲，無論是內在的還是外在的，陛下將使他們與他在十字架上為我們為我們獻給我們獻給天父的犧牲結合在一起，以便他們值得我們的愛賦予他們的價值，無論工作本身多麼卑微。

24. 24.願陛下高興，我的姊妹們和我的女兒們，我們大家可以聚在一起，永遠讚美他，願他賜予我恩典，透過他永生和統治的兒子的功績，實踐我所教給你們的一些事情！阿門。我向你們保證，我對自己充滿了困惑，我懇求你們，為了同一位主的緣故，不要在你們的祈禱中忘記這個可憐的罪人。

THE CONCLUSION SETS FORTH WHAT APPEARS TO BE OUR LORD’S PRINCIPAL INTENTION IN CONFERRING THESE SUBLIME FAVOURS ON SOULS, AND EXPLAINS HOW NECESSARY IT IS FOR MARY AND MARTHA TO GO TOGETHER. THIS CHAPTER IS VERY PROFITABLE.

1. Vicissitudes of the Seventh Mansion. 2. Humility produced by them. 3. Such souls free from mortal and from wilful venial sins. 4. The fate of Solomon. 5. Holy fear. 6. These favours strengthen souls to suffer. 7. Crosses borne by the saints. 8. Effect of vision of our Lord on St. Peter. 9. Fruits of these favours. 10. Why the spiritual marriage takes place. 11. Love for Christ proved by our deeds. 12. True spirituality. 13. Humility and the virtues must combine with prayer. 14. Zeal of advanced souls. 15. Strengthened by the divine Presence within them. 16. Examples of the saints. 17. Both Martha and Mary must serve our Lord. 18. Christ’s food. 19. Mary’s mortification. 20. Her grief at the Passion. 21. Can we lead souls to God? 22. How to do so. 23. Love gives value to our deeds. 24. Conclusion.

1.

1. You must not suppose, sisters, that the effects I mentioned always exist in the same degree in these souls, for as far as I remember, I told you that in most cases our Lord occasionally leaves such persons to the weakness of their nature. The venomous creatures from the moat round the castle and the other mansions at once unite to revenge themselves for the time when they were deprived of their power.

2.

2. True, this lasts but a short time—a day perhaps or a little longer—but during this disturbance, which generally arises from some passing event, these persons learn what benefits they derive from the holy Company they are in. Our Lord gives them such great fortitude that they never desert His service nor the good resolutions they have made, which only seem to gather strength by trial, nor do their hearts ever turn from them, even by a slight movement of the will. This trouble rarely happens; our Lord wishes the soul to keep in mind its natural condition so that it may be humble and may better understand how much it owes Him, and how great a grace it has received, and so may praise Him.

3.

3. Do not fancy that in spite of the strong desire and determination of these souls that they do not commit imperfections and even fall into many sins: that is, not wilfully; for such people are given special grace from God on this point: I mean venial sins. As far as they are aware, they are free from mortal sins, although they do not feel certain they may not be guilty of some of which they are ignorant.

4.

4. This grieves their hearts sorely, as does the sight of the souls perishing around them; although on the one hand they have strong hopes of not being themselves among the number of the lost, yet remembering what we are told in Holy Scripture of the fate of men who, like Solomon, seemed the special favourites of God⁴³⁷ and conversed so familiarly with His Majesty, they cannot help fearing for themselves.

5.

5. Let that one among you who feels most confidence on this point fear the most, for: ‘Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord,’ as David said.⁴³⁸ May His Majesty ever protect us. Let us beg Him never to permit us to offend Him: therein lies our greatest safety. May He be for ever praised. Amen.

6.

6. It would be well to tell you, sisters, the reason why God bestows such favours on souls in this world, although you must have learned this by the effects produced if you have considered the matter. I return to the matter in order that none of you may think it is only for the sake of the pleasure such persons feel, which would be a great mistake on your part, for His Majesty can bestow no greater favour on us than to give us a life such as was led by His beloved Son. Therefore, as I have often told you, I feel certain that these graces are sent to strengthen our weakness so that we may imitate Him by suffering much.

7.

7. We always find that those nearest to Christ our Lord bear the heaviest cross: think of what His glorious Mother and the Apostles bore. How do you think St. Paul went through such immense labours?⁴³⁹ We learn from his conduct the fruits of genuine visions and contemplation which come from our Lord and not from our own imagination, or the devil’s fraud. Do you suppose that St. Paul hid himself to enjoy these spiritual consolations at leisure and did nothing else? You know that he never took a day’s rest so far as we can learn, nor could he have slept much since he worked all night to get his living.⁴⁴⁰

8.

8. I am delighted with St. Peter, who when fleeing from prison was met by our Lord, Who told him He was going to Rome to be crucified again. I never recite the Office in which this is commemorated without feeling a special joy.⁴⁴¹ What effect did this vision have on St. Peter, and what did he do? He went at once to meet his death—and our Lord did him no small favour in finding him an executioner!

9.

9. Oh, my sisters, how forgetful of her ease, how unmindful of honours, and how far from seeking men’s esteem should she be whose soul God thus chooses for His special dwelling-place! For if her mind is fixed on Him, as it ought to be, she must needs forget herself: all her thoughts are bent on how to please Him better and when and how she can show the love she bears Him.

10.

10. This is the end and aim of prayer, my daughters; this is the reason of the spiritual marriage whose children are always good works. Works are the unmistakable sign which shows these favours come from God, as I told you. It will do me little good to be deeply recollected when alone, making acts of the virtues, planning and promising to do wonders in God’s service, if afterwards, when occasion offers, I do just the opposite. I did wrong in saying, ‘It will do me little good,’ for all the time we spend with God does us great good. Though afterwards we may weakly fail to perform our good intentions, yet some time or other His Majesty will find a way for us to practise them although perhaps much to our regret. Thus when He sees a soul very cowardly, He often sends it some great affliction, much against its will, and brings it through this trial with profit to itself, When the soul has learnt this, it is less timid in offering itself to Him.

11.

11. I ought to have said, ‘will do us little good’ in comparison with the far greater good we can gain when our works fulfil our aspirations and our promises. She that cannot do all this at once should do it little by little, gradually dominating her will, if she wishes to gain fruit from prayer. Even in this little nook she will find many a chance to praise this. Remember, this is of far more importance than I know how to express. Fix your eyes on the Crucified One, and all will seem easy. If His Majesty proved His love for us by such stupendous labours and sufferings, how can you seek to please Him by words alone?

12.

12. Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the cross. Since they have given Him their freedom, He can sell them as slaves to the whole world, as He was, which would be doing them no wrong but the greatest favour. Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress,⁴⁴² for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground.

13.

13. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill.

14.

14. Perhaps you think I am speaking of beginners and that one may rest later on, but, as I told you, the rest such souls feel is within them: they have less outwardly nor do they wish for it. Why, do you think, does the soul send from its centre these inspirations, or rather aspirations, (the messages of which I spoke), to the dwellers in the precincts of the castle and to the surrounding mansions? To send them to sleep? No, no, no! The soul wages a fiercer war from thence to keep the powers, senses and the whole body from being idle, than ever it did when it suffered in their company. Formerly it did not understand the immense benefit its afflictions brought, though indeed they may have been the means God used to advance it to this state.

15.

15. Besides, the company it enjoys gives it far greater strength than ever before. If, as David says: ‘With the holy thou shalt be holy,’⁴⁴³ doubtless by its becoming one with the Almighty, by this sovereign union of spirit with spirit, the soul must gather strength, as we know the saints did, to suffer and to die. Beyond doubt, with the force thus gained, the soul succours all within the castle and even the very body itself, which often seems to have no feeling left in it. The vigour the soul derives from ‘the wine’ drunk in the ‘cellar’⁴⁴⁴ (into which the Bridegroom brought her and would not let her go) overflows into the feeble body, just as the food we eat nourishes both the head and the whole frame.

16.

16. Indeed the body suffers much while alive, for whatever work it does, the soul has energy for far greater tasks and goads it on to more, for all it can perform appears as nothing. This must be the reason of the severe penances performed by many of the saints, especially the glorious Magdalen, who had always spent her life in luxury.⁴⁴⁵ This caused the zeal felt by our Father Elias for the honour of God,⁴⁴⁶ and the desires of St. Dominic,⁴⁴⁷ and St. Francis⁴⁴⁸ to draw souls to praise the Almighty. I assure you that, forgetful of themselves, they must have passed through no small trials.

17.

17. This, my sisters, is what I would have us strive for—to offer our petitions and to practise prayer, not for our own enjoyment but to gain strength to serve God. Let us seek no fresh path; we should lose ourselves in ways of ease. It would be a strange thing to fancy we should gain these graces by any other road than that by which Jesus and all His saints have gone before. Let us not dream of such a thing: believe me, both Martha and Mary must entertain our Lord and keep Him as their Guest, nor must they be so inhospitable as to offer Him no food. How can Mary do this while she sits at His feet, if her sister does not help her?⁴⁴⁹

18.

18. His food is that in every possible way we should draw souls to Him so that they may be saved and may praise Him for ever. You may offer two objections—first, that I said that Mary had chosen the better part,⁴⁵⁰ for she had already done Martha’s work by waiting on our Lord, by washing His feet and by wiping them with her hair.

19.

19. Do you think it was a small mortification for a woman of rank, as she was, to go through the street, perhaps by herself, for in her zeal she never thought of how she went? Then she entered a house where she was a stranger and had to bear the railing of the Pharisee and many other trials.⁴⁵¹ It was strange to see such a woman as she had been thus publicly change her life. With a wicked nation like the Jews, the sight of her love for our Lord Whom they hated so bitterly was enough to make them cast in her face her former life and taunt her with wanting to become a saint. Doubtless she must have changed her rich robes and all the rest. Considering how men talk now of people far less known than she was, what must have been said of her?

20.

20. I assure you, sisters, she won the better part after many crosses and mortifications. Must not the mere sight of men’s hatred of her Master have been an intolerable trial? Then, think of what she endured afterwards at our Lord’s death! I believe, myself, that she did not suffer martyrdom because she was already a martyr by grief at witnessing the crucifixion.⁴⁵² Then what terrible pain His absence must have caused her⁴⁵³ during the long years afterwards! You see, she was not always enjoying contemplation at the feet of our Saviour!

21.

21. Secondly, you may say that you have neither the power nor the means to lead souls to God; though you would willingly do so, you do not know how, as you can neither teach nor preach as did the Apostles. I have often written an answer to this objection though I cannot tell whether I have done so in connection with the Castle. However, as the difficulty probably often crosses your minds on account of the desires our Lord gives you of serving Him, I will now speak of it again.⁴⁵⁴ I told you elsewhere how the devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities.

22.

22. You can do much by prayer; and then, do not try to help the whole world, but principally your companions; this work will be all the better because you are the more bound to it. Do you think it is a trifling matter that your humility and mortification, your readiness to serve your sisters, your fervent charity towards them, and your love of God, should be as a fire to enkindle their zeal, and that you should constantly incite them to practise the other virtues? This would be a great work and one most pleasing to our Lord: by thus doing all that is in your power, you would prove to His Majesty your willingness to do still more and He would reward you as if you had won Him many souls. Do you answer: ’This would not be converting my sisters, for they are very good already?’ What business is that of yours? If they were still better, the praise they render God would please Him more and their prayers would be more helpful to their neighbours.⁴⁵⁵

23.

23. In short, my sisters, I will conclude with this advice; do not build towers without a foundation, for our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done. When we do all we can, His Majesty will enable us to do more every day. If we do not grow weary, but during the brief time this life lasts (and perhaps it will be shorter than any of you think) we give our Lord every sacrifice we can, both interior and exterior, His Majesty will unite them with that He offered to His Father for us on the Cross so that they may be worth the value given them by our love, however mean the works themselves may be.

24.

24. May it please His Majesty, my sisters and my daughters, that we may all meet together where we may praise Him for ever, and may He give me grace to practice something of what I have taught you, by the merits of His Son, Who liveth and reigneth for ever! Amen. I assure you that I am filled with confusion at myself and I beg you, for the sake of the same Lord, not to forget this poor sinner in your prayers.