I. For the love of God, sisters, do not wish to be the

favourite of your Superior. Let each one do her duty,
and if the Prioress is not pleased with her, you may be
sure our Lord will repay her and be satisfied with her.
We did not come here to be rewarded in this life : let
us keep our minds fixed on eternity and make no account
of this world’s matters, which do not even last our life-
time. To-day, another nun is the favourite — to-morrow,
if she sees some greater virtue in you, the Superior will
like you best — if not, it is of little consequence. Never
give way to such thoughts, which sometimes rise from
some trifling matter and may worry you a great deal.
Check them at once by reflecting that your “ kingdom
IS not of this world ” ^ and that everything will come
to an end, for there is nothing here that does not change.*

1 Valladolid edition, ch. xxxi. ; Escorial, continuation of
ch. xlviii.

2 St. John xviii. 36 : “ Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo.”
^ Escorial edition, ch. xlix. Continues the same subject.

This chapter is very useful.

l86 THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. XXIX.

But this is a poor remedy and an uncertain and imperfect
one : it is best that you should be disliked and humbled
and that you should wish to be so, for the sake of that
Lord Who dwells within you. Turn your thoughts upon
yourself and look within : there you will find your
Master and your Bridegroom, Who will never forsake
you. The less consolation you receive from without,
the more He will caress you. He is full of compassion,
and He never fails those who are afflicted and despised,
if they trust in Him alone. David tells us that he had
“ never seen the just man forsaken ” ^ : and again, “ The
Lord is nigh unto the afflicted.” ® Either you believe
this, or you do not : if you believe it as sincerely as
you ought, why are you anxious ?

2. O my God ! If only we really knew Thee, all
things would be indifferent to us, for Thou givest in
abundance to all who truly trust in Thee. Believe me,
my friends, the grasp of this truth helps us immensely
to see the deception of all worldly favours that prevent
the soul from entering into itself. God have mercy on
me ! Who could make people understand this ? Not I,
for certain, for, although no one has better reason to
say so than myself, yet I never realise it as I should do.

3. To return to my subject. Oh, if only I could describe

* Psalm xxxvi. 25 : “ Et non vidi justum derelictum.”

5 Psalm xxxiii. 19 : “ Juxtaest Dominus iis, qui tribulatc sunt
corde.”

CHAP. XXIX.] god’s presence. 187

how the soul holds intercourse with this Companion,
the Holy of holies, with nothing to intrude on the solitude
of itself and its vSpouse, whenever it seeks to retire within
itself with its God into this “ heaven,” shutting the door
against all the world. I say ” The soul seeks,” because
you must understand that this is not a supernatural state,
but something which, with the grace of God, we can
desire and obtain for ourselves. This ” grace ” is always
implied whenever I say, in this book, that we are able
to do anything, for without it we can do nothing —
nothing — nor could we, by any strength of our own,
think a single good thought.

4. This is not what is called silence of the powers ;
it is a recollection of the powers within the soul itself.
There are several ways of acquiring the habit. Many
books advise us to cast aside all other thoughts in order
to approach God, Who dwells in our souls, and tell us,
that even in the midst of our occupations, we should
occasionally withdraw into ourselves, if only for a mo-
ment. It is very profitable for us to remember Who
resides within our hearts. All I desire is, that we should
realise to Whom our prayers are addressed,® and should
remain in His presence and not turn our back on Him,
as we appear to do if, while we are speaking to God,,
we occupy our thoughts with a thousand vanities. All
this evil comes from our not really understanding that
® Castle, M. i. ch. i. 9.

l88 THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. XXIX.

God is near us, but imagining that He is far away — and
how very far away, if we must go to heaven to find
Him ! And dost Thou not deserve a glance from us,
O Lord, since Thou art so near us ? Unless the person
we are speaking to looks at us, we think he is not listening :
shall we then close our eyes so that we cannot see whether
Thou dost attend to us or not ? How could we tell
whether our words were heard ?

5. I want to teach you that, in order to accustom
ourselves to quiet our mind with facility, so that we may
understand what we are saying and Whom we are ad-
dressing, we must withdraw our senses from outward
things and keep them occupied within our souls. Then
we shall possess heaven within us, since the King of
heaven dwells there. Let us accustom ourselves to the
fact that we need not call loudly to make God hear us :
His Majesty will make us feel that He is there. Thus
we shall be able to recite, in great peace, such a prayer
as the Pater Noster or any other that we select. We
shall save ourselves a great deal of trouble, for God will
aid us lest we grow weary. In return for the short time
spent in forcing ourselves to keep near Him, He will
make us understand, by certain signs, that He is listening.’
Thus, if we have to recite the Pater Noster several times.
He will show us that He heard us sufficiently the first

^ Escorial edition, ch. 1. Explains the great advantages of
this mode of prayer.

CHAP. XXIX.] RECOLLECTION. tSq

time we said it, for He dearly loves to save us trouble.
We need not repeat it more than once in a whole hour,
if we only apprehend that we are in His presence and
know for what we are asking Him, and believe that He
is willing to grant it, like a tender Father Who loves
to be with us and to enjoy our company. He does not
want us to make our heads ache by much talking, and
to those who do not know it He will teach this way
of prayer. For the love of God, then, sisters, cultivate
the habit of saying the Pater Noster with recollection ;
you will soon discover its advantages, for thus the soul
is easily checked from losing self-control, and the senses
remain undisturbed, as I will explain to you. I beg of
you to practise it, although at first you may find it diffi-
cult, as it is harder for those unaccustomed to it. I
assure you, however, that before long you will find
that you need not tire yourselves by seeking the holy
Father to Whom you pray, since He resides in your
soul. For my part, I own that I never knew what
it was to pray in peace, until God taught me this way.
The great benefits I have reaped from the habit of
interior recollection have made me write about it here
at such length. Perhaps all of you know this already :
however, in the future some nun might not know ;
so you must not be annoyed at my having discussed
it here.

6. To conclude, I advise whoever wishes to acquire

igo The wav of perfection, [chap. xxix.

this habit (which, as I said, we have the power to gain)
not to grow tired of persevering in trying gradually
to obtain the mastery over herself. This self-denial will
profit any nun by making her senses serve her soul.
If she wishes to talk, let her know that there is One
within her to Whom she can speak : if she prefers to
listen, let her realise that she can hearken to Him Who
is nearer to her than all others. In short, let her be
convinced that she may, if she likes, ever keep this holy
Companionship. Let her grieve when, for any length
of time, she has deserted the Father, of Whom she has
such need. If possible, let her recollect herself often
during the day in this way ; if she is unable to do so,
at least let her practise it occasionally. When accus-
tomed to it, she will benefit greatly, sooner or later ;
when once God has bestowed this grace on her, she
would not exchange it for any earthly treasure. Nothing
can be learnt without a certain amount of trouble. For
the love of God, sisters, reckon your time well spent in
acquiring this habit. I know that, with His help, if
you practise it for a year, or perhaps for only six months,
you will gain it. Think what a short time that is for
so great an advantage as laying this firm foundation,
so that if our Lord wishes to raise you to a high degree
of prayer, He will find you prepared for it, since you
keep close to Him. May His Majesty never allow us to
withdraw from His Presence. Amen. Now we must

CHAP. XXX.] “ HALLOWED BE tHY NAME.” lC)t

learn what our good Master says next ; how He begins
to speak on our behalf to His most blessed Father, and
what He asks, for we ought to understand this.