I. Let us return to speak of mental prayer, in order

that we may pray intelligently, and may perform it in
1 Valladolid edition, ch. xxviii. ; Escorial, ch. xlii.

164 the way of perfection. [chap. XXVI.

such a manner that, without our understanding how,
God may give us all the rest. You know that, first of
all, you must make your examination of conscience,
say the Coniiteor and make the sign of the cross — then,
my daughters, as you are alone, seek for some com-
panion— and where could you find a better one than
the Master Who taught you the prayer you are about
to say ? Picture this same Lord close beside you.
See how lovingly, how humbly He is teaching you —
believe me, you should never be without so good a
Friend. If you accustom yourselves to keep Him near
you, and He sees that you love to have Him and make
every effort to please Him, you will not be able to send
Him away. He will never fail you, but will help you in
all your troubles, and you will find Him everywhere.
Do you think it is a small thing to have such a friend at
your side ?

2. O my sisters ! let those among you who cannot
pursue a train of thought nor restrain the freaks of your
imagination take this advice. I am sure that you can do
this, for during many years I bore the trial of being unable
to fix my attention on any subject. This is indeed a
heavy cross, yet I know that our Lord does not so abandon
us as to refuse us His company if we humbly ask Him
for it. If we cannot attain to this in one year, let us
wait for it many years : do not let us grudge spending
our time so well. Who is there to hurry us ? We have

CHAP. XXVI.] THE BRIDEGROOM. 165

the power to accustom ourselves to this practice, and
to cultivate it, and to keep close beside our dear
Master.

3. I am not now asking you to meditate on Him nor
to produce great thoughts, nor to feel deep devotion :
I only ask you to look at Him. Who can prevent
you turning the eyes of your soul (but for an instant,
if you can do no more) on our Lord ? You are able to
look on many ugly and vulgar things ; then can you
not gaze upon the fairest sight imaginable ? If He does
not appear beautiful to you, I give you leave never to
think of Him, although, daughters, He never takes His
eyes off you ! He has borne with many offences and
much unworthiness in you, yet these have not sufficed
to make Him turn away : is it much to ask, that you
should sometimes lift your gaze from earth to hx it on
Him ? See, He is only waiting for us to look on Him,
as the Bride says.^ You will find that He suits
Himself to whatever mood you are in. He longs so
keenly for our glance that He will neglect no means
to win it.

4. They say that a wife must do this if she wishes to
live happily with her husband. If he is sad, she too must
appear unhappy : if he is merry (although she may be
feeling far from cheerful), she must appear light-hearted
also : see from what bondage you are freed, sisters !

2 Cant. vii. 10 : “ Ego dilecto meo, et ad me conversio ejus.”

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THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. XXVI.

This is what our Lord really does with us. He subjects
Himself to us and wishes us to take command, and
He will do our will. If you feel happy, think of Him
at His Resurrection, for the very thought of how He
rose from the tomb will delight you. How He shone
with splendour ! How beautiful and majestic, how
victorious, how joyful He was ! What spoils He brought
away from the battle, where He won a glorious kingdom
that He wishes to make all your own ! Is it much for
you to look but once on Him Who gives you such riches ?
If you have trials to bear, if you are sorrowful, watch
Him on His way to the garden. What grief must have
arisen in His soul to cause Him, Who was patience
itself, to manifest it and to complain of it ! See Him,
bound to the column, full of suffering. His flesh all torn
to pieces because of His tender love for you — persecuted
by some, spat upon by others, denied and deserted by
His friends, with none to plead for Him. He is stiff
with the cold, and in such utter loneliness that you may
well console one another. Or look on Him again — laden
with the cross, and not allowed to stay to take breath.
He will gaze at you with those beautiful, compassionate
eyes, brimming with tears, and will forget His own
grief to solace yours, only because you went to comfort
Him and turned towards Him.®

• St, Teresa wrote here in the margin of the Escorial MS. :
“ Exclamations,*’

CHAP. XXVI.] HOW TO ADDRESS HIM. 167

5. O Prince of all the earth, Thou Who art indeed
my Spouse ! ” you may say, if your heart has been so
melted at seeing Him in this state that not only do
you look at Him, but you feel delight in speaking to
Him (not in any fixed form of prayer, but out of your
compassion, which greatly touches Him), ‘‘ art Thou
reduced to such sore straits, my Lord, my only Good,
that Thou art willing to consort with such a miserable
comrade as myself ? Yet Thy looks tell me that Thou
findest some comfort, even in me. How can it be that
Thou art forsaken by the angels, and that Thy Father
consoles Thee not ? If it be Thy will to suffer thus for
me, what do I suffer for Thee in return ? Of what have
I to complain ? Shame at seeing Thee in such plight
shall make me endure all the trials that may come to
me : I will count them gain that I may imitate Thee in
something. Let us go together. Lord : ‘ whither Thou
goest, I will go,’ and I will follow where Thou hast
passed.” ^

6. Never mind if the Jews trample you under-foot,
if only you can save Him any pain. Take no notice of
what is said to you ; shut your ears to all murmurings ;
stumble and fall with your Spouse, but do not draw back
from the cross ® nor abandon it. Often recall His weari-
ness, and how much harder His labours were than your

* Ruth i. 16 : “ Quocumque enim perrexeris, pergam,”

^ Life, ch. xi. 15 ; ch, xxii. ;8,

r

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THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. XXVI.

own, however great you may fancy these to be, and
whatever pain they cause you. This will console you :
you will go away comforted, seeing that they are but
trifles compared with what our Lord bore.

7. Perhaps you will ask me, sisters, how you are to do
this now, though if you had lived while Christ was on
earth, and had seen Him with your bodily eyes, you
would willingly have done it, and would have watched
Him constantly. Do not believe this ; if you will not
use a little self-constraint now,® in order to recollect
yourselves and to picture our Lord in your mind (which
may be done without danger and solely by a slight effort),
much less would you have stood at the foot of the cross
with the Magdalen, who had the risk of death before
her eyes. What must have been the sufferings of the
glorious Virgin and of this blessed saint ! What threats,
what evil words, what insolence, what shocks and pain !
The rude populace they had to deal with were truly
fiendish, being the devil’s own instruments. Terrible
must have been their ordeal, yet it was effaced by
a still more bitter pain.^ Therefore, sisters, do not

® “Our good Jesus and His most blessed Mother are too good
company to be left, and He is well pleased if we grieve at His
pains, even though sometimes at the cost of our own comfort
and pleasure “ {Castle, M. vi. ch. vii. 16).

Escorial, ch. xliii. Continuation of the same subject. Com-
mences to explain a devout and pleasant way of reciting the
Pater Noster,

CHAP. XXVI.] INTIMACY WITH JESUS. 169

imagine that you would have endured these heavy trials,
seeing that you cannot bear the light ones you meet with
now : practise patience with these, and you may receive
greater crosses later on. You can believe what I say,
for I am speaking from personal experience.

8. It would be very helpful if you wore a medal or
some picture of- our Lord that pleases you. Do not
merely hang it round your neck never to look at it,
but often speak to it : He will teach you what to say.
If you can find words for other people, why can you
not speak to God ? Do not fancy that you are unable.
I, at least, will not believe that you cannot do so if only
you endeavour to accustom yourselves to it. Unless you
do this, you will find nothing to say. When we never
talk to people, we become estranged from them, and do
not know how to address them : even if they are re-
lations they seem like strangers, for kinsfolk and friends
become lost to us if we keep aloof from them.

9. It is very helpful to read a book of devotion ® in the
vulgar tongue, so as to learn how to collect the thoughts,
and to pray well vocally, thus, little by little, enticing
the soul by coaxing and persuasion, so that it may
not take alarm. You must be very wary, for it has
deserted its Lover many years ago, and needs very
careful management to induce it to return to its home.
We sinners have so accustomed ourselves and our thought^

® l^ife, ch. iv. 13.

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THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. XXVI.

to run after pleasure (or pain, as it might more fitly be
called), that the poor soul no longer understands itself,
and needs many stratagems to make it stay with its
Bridegroom ; yet, unless we succeed in doing this, we shall
accomplish nothing. Once again do I assure you that
if you carefully practise what I have taught you — that
is, if you consider in Whose company you are, and if
you speak to your Saviour — your reward will be too
great for me to describe, even if I wished. Keep close
beside this kind Master,® and firmly resolve to learn all
that He teaches you.'® He will ensure your proving
good scholars, and will never leave you unless you first
desert Him. Meditate on the words those divine lips
uttered : you will at once realise what love He bears
you, and it is no small gain and joy for the pupil to feel
sure of his Tutor’s affection.

9 Life, ch. xii. 3, 4.

A confessor of the Saint, who was extremely learned, one day
asked what she did when she had finished her prayer. He sup-
posed that she gave her thoughts to other matters, but she replied :
“ Imagine a person so deeply in love that it is impossible for him
to live apart from the object of his affection for a moment.
Yet his love could not be compared with that I feel for our Lord,
which prevents me quitting Him for an instant, either consoling
myself with His Presence, or speaking with Him or about Him,”
{Ribera, bk. iv, ch. x,)

CHAP. XXVII.]

GOD OUR FATHER.

I7I