CHAPTER XVII.

SHE CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT, ON THE THIRD DEGREE OF PRATER, ETC.
I HAVE already spoken, at considerable length, of this third degree of prayer, and of what the soul should do therein, — or rather what God operates in her; for now He Himself takes the office of gardener, and wishes the soul to take her rest, provided only that the " will " accept of these favors which she enjoys, and offers to submit herself to all that this true Wisdom may be pleased to effect in her : for this purpose courage is certainly necessary. And so great is this joy, that sometimes it seems the soul is just on the point of leaving the body ; and what a happy death that would be!
It appears to me, as I have before mentioned to your Reverence, that it would be well for the soul to abandon herself entirely into the hands of God : if He should wish to take her to heaven, let her go ; if to hell, let her not be troubled, for she will accompany Him who is all her hap piness ; if He wish her to leave this life immediately, let tier consent thereto ; if to live a thousand years, let her be willing ; let His Majesty dispose of her as of something
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which belongs to Him ; for the soul is no longer her own, but she belongs wholly to our Lord, and therefore she must be entirely free from care. I say, then, that in so high a degree of prayer as this is, she understands that she performs it without any weariness to the understanding (for when God gives this prayer to a soul, she is able to do all this, and much more, for such are its effects); she is, it seems, as it were amazed at seeing how our Lord performs the office of so good a gardener, and how He wishes her to take no pains or trouble, but only that she would delight herself by begin ning to smell the flowers. When the Gardener waters the soul with this water, of wrhich He is the Creator, though it may last only for a short time, yet He gives it in such abund ance, that what the poor soul could not obtain by all her efforts in tiring the understanding for twenty years, this heavenly Gardener now does all in a moment ; and the fruit grows and ripens so well, that she is able through the good pleasure of our Lord, to support herself by the garden. But He does not give the soul leave to distribute the fruit till she has grown so strong, by having eaten of it, as not to squander it away in tasting it. Thus by not valuing the profit she might make by it, nor receiving anything from those to whom she gave it, she might maintain and feed people at her own cost, while she herself would perhaps die of hunger. What I have said will be understood by such persons, who well know how to apply it, better than I can declare, for I feel tired.
The truth is, that the virtues which are obtained in this prayer remain so much stronger in the soul than those obtained in the Prayer of Quiet, that she cannot be ignorant of them. She sees herself quite another person, and she begins (though scarcely knowing how), to do great things by means of the odor the flowers yield of themselves: for now our Lord is pleased that the flowers should open, that so she may know she has virtues, although she sees very clearly she was not able during several years to acquire them, nor could she till the Heavenly Gardener was pleased in an instant to give them to her. The humility, also, of the soul is greater and more profound in this prayer than in the former, because she sees more clearly that she did nothing
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herself, but only consented for our Lord to bestow these favors on her, and for the will to embrace them.
It seems to me, that in this kind of prayer there is a very evident union of the whole soul with God, except that it appears His Majesty gives liberty to the powers of the mind, to understand and enjoy the abundance of what He works in the soul. Sometimes, and even very often, it happens, that the will being thus united (I mention this, that your Rev erence may see it can be, and that you may understand it when it happens), she knows and understands that she is tied up, and yet she can enjoy. I repeat, she knows she possesses much quiet and peace, while on the other hand the memory and the understanding are so free, that they are able to treat about business, and attend to works of charity. Now, though this may seem to be all the same with what I said respecting the Prayer of Quiet, yet it is diiferent ; because there the soul is in such a state that she would fain not stir nor move, .as she enjoys the holy leisure of Mary ; whereas, in the Prayer of Union, the soul may also imitate Martha. Thus she performs, almost all together, the duties both of the active and the contemplative life, and she is able to attend to works of charity, and to other business connected with her state : she can also read, though still the faculties are not entirely masters of themselves, and she understands well that the greater part of her attention is occupied elsewhere. It is just as if we were speaking with some one, and that at the same time some other person were speaking with us, in such a manner, that neither to the one, nor to the other were we entirely attentive. It is a something which is ] orccivcd very clearly, and gives great satisfaction and conUnt when ever it happens ; it serves also as a very excellent preparation, in order that when the soul is in solitude, and free from business, she may enjoy perfect quiet and repose. It is a state of being, as if a person were so satisfied in himself that he would have no necessity at all to eat, but felt his stomach content in such a manner that he would not taste of every kind of food ; and yet if he saw any food which he liked, he would not forbear to eat of it. Thus the soul does not satisfy herself, nor is she content to feed on the meat of this world, because she finds in herself that which satisfies
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her, viz., the greater pleasure she feels in God, and the desires she has of satisfying her wish, of enjoying His presence more and more.
There is also another kind of union, which is not so entire, though it be greater than that of which I was speaking before, but not altogether so great as that of this Third Water. Your Reverence will be very glad to find it written thus — (should our Lord bestow them all upon you, if you have them not already), and to understand what it is. It is one kind of favor for our Lord to bestow the same favor, and another to understand what grace and favor that is ; and another also to be able to declare it and make it understood. And though it may seem, that the first of these three is only necessary for keeping the soul from being confused and fearful, and for enabling her to go forward with more courage in the way of our Lord, treading under her feet all things of this world ; yet it is a great advantage and fa-vor to understand it. It is proper, therefore, that both he who has it and he who has it not, should greatly praise our Lord for it, because His Majesty has been pleased to give it to some who are alive, in order that He might do us good. Now, I often have this kind of union whereof I am speaking ; and Almighty God is very often pleased to bestow 'ihis favor upon me in such a manner, that He makes my will and also my under standing re-collected ; and then it no longer discourses, but is occupied in the enjoyment of God, as one who is looking on, and who sees so much, that he knows not which way to look : for one thing instantly appears, which takes away the sight of the other, and so nothing makes any impression.
The memory remains free, and so does the imagination seem to do also : and when it sees itself alone, one cannot conceive what a war it makes upon the will and the under standing, and how it endeavors to pxit everything in con fusion. It makes me quite tired, so that I abhor it ; and often have I besought our Lord to deprive me entirely of it on these occasions, if it should continue thus to distract me. Sometimes I say, " When, 0 Lord, shall all the powers of my soul be wholly united in singing Thy praises, and not be any more divided, without being able to help herself?" Here I see the evils which sin has brought upon us, since it
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hinders us from doing what we would wish, which is to be always occupied with God. I mention how this happens to me sometimes — and even this very day I have had this union, and therefore I rememher it the better My soul has almost exhausted herself, in desiring to be wholly there, where she finds herself for the most part to be already ; and yet this appears to be impossible, because both the memory and the imagination make such war upon her, that they allow her not to work. And though they are not able to hurt her, because the other faculties are wanting, yet they do enough by the disquiet they cause. Still I say they do no harm, because they have no strength, nor do they fix themselves in one state : and as the understanding does not help the imagination in that which it represents, neither much nor little, it cannot fix on anything, but goes from one thing to another, just like those importunate and unquiet little gnats which buzz about by night here and there. This comparison seems to me to be extremely proper ; for though these faculties have no strength to do any harm, yet they trouble those who feel them. Against this evil I know no remedy, for hitherto God has not enabled me to find any out ; and if He had, I should have been glad to use it ; for it torments me very often, as I have said. But herein our misery is made apparent, and the power of God also is very evident, since this faculty which is disengaged, puts us to so much trouble, and tires us, while the others which attend His Majesty make us feel so much ease. The sole remedy which I met with, after having wearied myself for many years, is that of which I spoke in the Prayer of Quiet, viz., to con sider the memory no better than a madman, and to leave it alone with its folly, for God only can check its extravagan cies. And since it remains as a slave to us, we must bear with it patiently, just as Jacob did with Leah, for God be stows a favor upon us in allowing us to enjoy .Rachel. I said that it remains a slave, because it cannot attract to itself the other powers, however much it may endeavor to do so, while they, without any labor, often draw it to them selves. Sometimes our Lord is pleased to have pity, when He sees the imagination so much disquieted and lost, through her desire of being with the other faculties ; then His Majesty
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consents that she should burn in that Divine fire which has already consumed the others, in such a manner as almost to change their nature, so as to make them capable of enjoying such supernatural great blessings.
The joy and glory which the soul enjoys in the different ways whereby she draws water from this Divine Fountain, are so great, that even the body very clearly participates in the joy and delight, and our virtues also increase greatly, as I have mentioned. It seems, our Lord has been pleased I should explain these degrees of prayer, in which the soul sees herself more clearly than can be given her to under stand in this life. Your Reverence will do well to consult on the subject with some spiritual and learned person, who has arrived at this degree of prayer. And if he shall tell you that you are going on well, believe that God has said so to you, and consider it a great favor from His Majesty ; because you will, in the course of time, rejoice very much, as I have said, to understand what it is ; though now, while you have the means to enjoy it, he gives you not the grace to understand it. But as His Majesty has given you the first part, you will afterwards understand the rest by your knowledge and learning. May He be praised forever and ever. Amen.