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Show CHAPTER XXII. On the consideration of human mercy: Wretched art thou wherever thou art and wherever thou turn thee, unless thou turn thyself to God. Why art thou troubled that things. go not with thee as thou wishest and de-sirest? de-sirest? Who is there that hath all things according ac-cording to his will? Neither I nor thou nor any man on earth. There is no man in tho world! without some trouble 'or affliction, be he King or Pope. Who, then, is the best off? Truly he that is able to suffer something for the love of God. Weak-minded and inconstant people often say: See what a happy life that man leadeth! How rich ii i- hnw great, liow powerful and exalted! But take heed to heavenly riches and thou Wilt see that all these temporal ones are nothing; yea, most uncertain, and rather rath-er a heavy burden, since they never are possessed without solicitude and fear. Man's happiness is) not having temporal tem-poral goods in abundance; but a moderate mod-erate portion is sufficient for him. Truly it is a misery to live upon earth. The more a man desireth. to be spiritual, spirit-ual, the more distasteful doth this present pres-ent life become to him, for he the better underst'andeth, and more clearly seeth the defects of human corruption. For to eat, to drink, to watch, to sleep, to rest, to labor and to be subject to the other necessities of nature, truly is a, great misery and affliction to a devout de-vout man, who longeth to be released, and to have done with all sin. For the interior man is greatly weighed weigh-ed down by the necessities of the body in this life. Hence the Prophet devout, i ly prayeth that he may be free from them, sayng: "From my necessities deliver me. Oh. Lord!" But woe to them that know not their own misery, and still more woe to them that make this wretched and perishable life the object of their love. For some there are to cling to it' so closely (though even by laboring or by begging they hardly have bare necessities) necessi-ties) that could they live here always, they would care nothing for the Kingdom King-dom of God. Oh, senseless people! And unbelieving unbeliev-ing in heart, to lie buried so deep in earth things, as to relish nothing but what is carnal! . . Miserable men! Yet a while, and in the end they will feel bitterly what a . ! worthless thing and nothing it was that they have been loving. But the Saints of God and all devoted devot-ed friends of Christ looked not to what pleased the flesh, nor to what flourished for the time of this life; but alt their hopes and aims aspired after the good things that are eternal. All their desires tendered upwards to the things everlasting and invisible, for t fear lest by the love of things visible they should ba dragged down to things below. ' Lose not, brother, thy confidence of making spiritual progress; thou hast yet time the hour is not yet passed. Why wilt thou put off thy purpose from day, to day? Arise and begin this very instant, and say: Now is the time to do, now is the time to fight, now is the proper time to amend they life. When- thou art troubled and amicted, I then is the time of merit, i Thou must pass through fire and water before thou come to refreshment. Except thou do violence to thyself, thou wilt not overcome vice. As long as we carry about this frail body, we cannot be free from sin, nor live without weariness and sorrow. Fain, would we be at rest from all misery; but since we have lost innocence inno-cence through sin, we have lost also true blessedness". We must therefore have patience, and wait God's mercy, till iniquity pass away and this mortality be swallowed up in life. Oh, how great is- human frailty, which is ever prone to vice! Today thou confessest thy sins, and tomorrow thou again committest what thou didst confess. Now thou purposest to be upon thy guard, and an hour after thou art acting act-ing as if thou hadst no resolution. Justly, then may we humble ourselves, our-selves, and never think anything great of ourselves; since we are so frail and unstable. And even what we have at last just acquired through grace and with great labor, may soon be lost through negligence. negli-gence. What will become of us in the end, if we begin so early to grow lukewarm? Woe to us if we thus wish to turn aside to rest, as if there were already peace and security, where there does not as yet appear a trave of true holiness holi-ness in our deportment!. Very useful would it be for us to be yet instructed, like good novices, to the highest morality if, haply, there might be hope of some future improvement improve-ment and greater spiritual progress. |