The Spirit Of St. Teresa

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Preface

The " Exclamations of the Soul to God" were written by S. Teresa, according to the Bollandists, in the year 1579. They are the outpourings of her soul before God after Holy Communion.

The " Directions on Prayer and on the Life of Prayer" have been extracted chiefly from VEsprit de Ste. Therese, published in 1775 by M. Emery, afterwards Superior of S. Sulpice, who selected such passages from the. various writings of the Saint as, although directly addressed to religious, convey a practical lesson to all who aim at leading a life of close union with God.

The Novena preparatory to the Feasts of iv

PREFACE.

S. Teresa is written by an unknown hand. Its dedication to Madame Louise de France, Novice Carmelite, fixes as its date the year 1770, when the daughter of Louis XV. left his brilliant and dissolute court for the solitude of Carmel, and received her father's conversion as her reward.

Part I

Exclamations of the Soul to God. chap. PA0B I. Complaints of the soul at its separation from God

during this life 3

II. How the soul which loves God is divided between the desire of enjoying Him and the obligation of assisting her neighbour .... 5

III. Thoughts of the Saint on the consideration of her

sins, and of the mercy of God . . . .7

IV. Prayer that God would enable the Saint to recover

the time which she had not spent in loving and serving Him 10

V. Of the complaint of Martha, and how a soul which

loves God may complain to Him of her misery 12

VI. How painful is this life to a soul which longs ardently

for God . . H

VII. The exceeding goodness of God, Whose delight is to

be with the children of men . . . .16 VIII. Prayer for sinners who are so blind that they do not

desire to see 18

IX. Prayer that God would deliver by His grace those who feel not their own misery, and seek not to

be delivered from it 20

X. How small is the number of the true servants of God — Prayer for those hardened souls who refuse to arise from the death of sin . . . .22

XI. Fearful state of a soul which, at the moment of death, hears the sentence of her eternal condemnation 25 vi

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

XII. How cowardly men are in the service of God, how

fearless in offending Him 27

XIII. Of the happiness of the Saints in heaven, and of the impatience of men who choose rather to enjoy for a moment the false pleasures of this life than to wait for the true and eternal joys of heaven . 31

XIV. How sweet will he the countenance of our Lord Jesus Christ at the last judgment to the good, and how terrible to the wicked ... 34 XV, The consolation of the soul under the weariness of

her long exile 37

XVI. That God alone can give relief to the soul which

He has grounded with His love ... 39 XVII. That we know not what to ask of God— Ardent desires to leave this world, in order to enjoy perfect liberty, which consists in freedom from the possibility of sinning 42

Part II

Directions on Prayer and on the Life of Prayer.

I. Motives of S. Teresa for the establishment of her

reform 51

II. The true nature of union with God . ... 53

III. The love of God— Its signs and its benefits . . 58

IV. The way of perfection is sweeter than men suppose 64

V. Great benefit of courage in the service of God . 66

VI. Various ways of deceiving ourselves ... 70 VII On the contempt of worldly honour .... 76 VIII. Little attachments, great hindrances in the way of

perfection 79

IX. Persons farthest advanced in grace ought to live in

continual fear of falling ..... 85

X. Grievous nature of deliberate venial sins . . 87 XI. Confidence in the goodness and power of God, and

contempt which we ought to feel for the devil . 88 XII. On forgiveness of injuries, after the example of

our Divine Lord 91

XIII. Vain excuses of lukewarm religious . . . 92

XIV. Prayer against the desire of human approbation . 94 XV. God will never fail us if we fail not ourselves . 95

CONTENTS. Vll

CHAP. PAOK

XVI. Necessity of interior mortification ... 96

XVII. Difference between true and false humility . 100 XVIII. Various kinds of false peace .... 103

XIX. On a constrained and narrow spirit of devotion 106

XX. Sufferings of those who are divided between God

and the world, and how much it concerns them not to abandon the practice of mental

XXI. Means to preserve recollection in prayer . . 109 XXII. Answer to objections against mental prayer . 117

XXIII. True vocal prayer always involves mental prayer 120

XXIV. Prayer of recollection— The contemplation of

God as within us 122

XXV. Importance of the thanksgiving after Holy

Communion 127

XXVI. Marvellous effects of Holy Communion . . 183

XXVII. Benefit of devotion to S. Joseph . . . 134 XXVIII. Spiritual love of perfect souls for God, and for

those who assist them in the way to heaven —The kind of love which they bear to creatures 136

XXIX. We should not complain of slight indispositions,

nor give way to excessive fear of death . 146 XXX. The danger of thinking that we have virtues

which we do not really possess . . .160

XXXI. Duty of nuns to pray for ecclesiastics and religious who are labouring in the world —

Prayer of S. Teresa 166

XXXII. Error of those authors who forbid the contemplation of our Lord's Humanity . . . 163

XXXIII. Temptation which often assails a soul which

has renounced sin in its endeavours to unite itself more perfectly to God in prayer . 166

XXXIV. Aridities in prayer ought neither to astonish

nor discourage us 170

XXXV. Action, or the service of God, ought to be the

end of contemplation 176

XXXVI. That without the gift of contemplation we may

attain to perfection 178

XXXVII. Maxims addressed by the Saint to her religious 182 viii

CONTENTS.

NOVENA BEFORE THE FEAST OF S. TERESA.

PAGE

Preparatory Prayer 193

Fibbt Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the virtue of humility . 194 Second Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the virtue of penance . 197 Third Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the virtue of patience . 201 Foubth Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to interior trials . . . 206 Fifth Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to prayer itself . . . 209 Sixth Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the virtue of faith . . S12 Seventh Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the virtue of hope . . 216 Eighth Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to the love of God . . 218 Ninth Day. Meditation on S. Teresa's spirit of prayer

in relation to her blessed death . . 222

PART I.

EXCLAMATIONS OF THE SOUL TO GOD.

B

THE

SPIKIT OF S. TEKESA.

Chapter I

Complaints of the soul at its separation from God during this life.

O my life, O my life, how canst thou endure to be separated from thy true Life ? In what canst thou busy thyself in this deep solitude ? What canst thou do, when all thy works are so full of defects and imperfections ? O my soul, who can console thee, exposed as thou art upon this tempestuous and stormy sea ? I weep when I consider what I am, and I weep still more that I have lived so long without weeping. O Lord, how sweet are Thy ways ! but who can walk therein without fear ? I tremble lest my life should pass away without doing any thing for Thee; and when I try to serve Thee, nothing

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that I do contents me, because I can do nothing to repay Thee the least part of the debt I owe Thee. I feel that I would consume myself in Thy service; but when I look upon my own misery, I see that I can do nothing good but what Thou Thyself enablest me to do.

O my God and my Mercy, what shall I do not to undo the mighty works of Thy grace in my soul ? All Thy works are holy, just, and of an inestimable value, and wrought with marvellous wisdom, because Thou, O Lord, art wisdom itself. If my understanding would search into their wonders, my, will complains; for it would have nothing to disturb the repose of its love.' O my God, my spirit would fain know Thee, and it is overwhelmed by Thine ineffable greatness; my heart burns to enjoy Thee, and cannot, because it is enthralled in the dark prison of this mortal life. Thus the activity of my understanding is an obstacle to my love, though it was a help to it at first, by the consideration of Thy greatness, by which I learned to measure my inconceivable littleness. But why do I speak thus, my God? To whom do I complain ? Who hears me but Thee, my Father and my Creator? . And what need have I to speak, to make known to Thee my trouble, when I see clearly that Thou art in my heart? Thus do my thoughts wander.

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But, alas, O God of my soul, who shall assure me that I am not separated from Thee? O life, how bitter art thou, which even to the last moment can give me so little security as to the most important thing in the world ! Who can desire thee, when the only advantage that can be gained or hoped from thee, which is to please God in all things, is so uncertain, and surrounded by so many perils ?

Chapter II

How the soul which loves God is divided between the desire of enjoying Him and the obligation of assisting her neighbour.

I often think, my loving Master, that if any thing could console us in any degree for living without Thee, it is a life of solitude, because there the soul rests in Him Who is her true repose. But too often, alas, she cannot enjoy Thee in perfect liberty, and so her sufferings are redoubled. And yet this suffering is joy to that which she feels when she is torn from that solitary communing with her Creator to converse with creatures.

But whence conies it, O God, that a soul which aspires only to please Thee becomes weary of repose ? O mighty love of God, how

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unlike thou art to earthly love, which would have no companions, lest they should rob it of a portion of its beloved ! But the love of God is enkindled more and more, the greater the number of hearts that love Him ; and its one sorrow is to see that all men love Him not.

Therefore, O my Sovereign Good, in the midst of the overwhelming sweetness and interior consolations which the soul enjoys with Thee, she is sorrowful when she thinks of the great multitude of those who reject these heavenly joys, and of the number of unhappy souls who will lose them for ever. She seeks, then, by every means, to increase the number of Thy friends, and willingly sacrifices her repose to the hope of enkindling in others a desire for the happiness which she enjoys.

But, oh, my heavenly Father, would it not be better to put aside these desires for a time of less abundant consolation, and to give these blessed moments wholly to the enjoyment of Thee ? O Jesus, great indeed is the love which Thou bearest to the children of men, since the most signal service which we can render Thee is to leave Thee for the love of them, and for their spiritual good. What do I say? It is even thus that we possess Thee more fully. We feel, it is true, less sensible sweetness; but we make it our joy to please Thee, and we see

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that all the joys of earth, even those which seem to come from Thee, have no solidity unless they be accompanied by the love of our neighbour. He who loves not him, loves not Thee, O most loving Master, because it was by shedding Thy Divine Blood, even to its last drop, that Thou hast shown us the love which Thou bearest to the sons of Adam.

CHAPTER m.

Thoughts of the Saint on the consideration of her sins, and of the mercy of God.

O my God, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow when I consider the glory which Thou hast prepared for those who accomplish Thy will even unto the end, — the labours and sufferings by which Thy Son has purchased it for them; when I think of our unworthiness, and how the excess of Thy love, Who hast taught us to love by dying for us, deserves a far other return than our ingratitude. How is it possible, O Lord, that all this should pass from our minds, and that men should so far forget Thee as to venture to offend Thee ? O my loving Saviour, is it possible that we should thus forget Thee, and that, notwithstanding our ingratitude, Thy

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Sovereign Goodness should still remember us ? What ! when our sins have pierced Thee to the heart by a mortal stroke, dost Thou, forgetting all, stretch forth Thy hand to raise us from our fall, and to heal our souls of their incurable frenzy, that they may turn to Thee and implore Thee to make them whole I Blessed .be so loving a Master ! Blessed be His abounding mercy ! Eternal praise to His tender compassion 1 O my soul, bless this great God for ever ! Oh, what a heavy punishment must the very weight of His , benefits bring down on the ungrateful! Vouchsafe,' O my God, Thyself to apply a remedy to this great evil. - O children of men, how long will you be hard of heart! how long "shall your hardness s strive against the charity of this most sweet Jesus! Do we think that our malice shall always prevail against Him?. No, no; the life of man passeth away like the flower of the field, and the Virgin's Son shall come to pronounce the terrible sentence. O omnipotent > God, since Thou art to judge us, whether we will it or will it not, why do we not consider how deeply it concerns us to please Thee in this life, that so Thou may st be propitious to us at that last awful hour ? But are there any who rejoice not that they shall be judged by so just a Judge ? Blessed are the souls, O Lord, who

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at that terrible hour shall rejoice with Thee ! O my Master and my God, what is the anguish of a soul which, having been raised by Thee from its fall, awakes . to see how miserably it has lost itself for a few moments of fleeting pleasure; a soul which, knowing, O God of my heart, O Sovereign Goodness, that Thou never failest those who love Thee, and ever answerest those who call upon Thee, is firmly resolved, by the help of Thy grace, to serve Thee faithfully even until death 1 How is it that we do not die as often as we remember that we have lost the precious gifts of our baptismal innocence ? Alas ! the best life we can live is to die of shame and sorrow. How can a soul which loves Thee intensely, O my Divine Master, endure an anguish like this? But what am I saying? Pardon, O Lord, my senseless words. Have I forgotten the miracles of Thy love, the infinite extent of Thy mercy ? Have I forgotten that Thou earnest into the world for sinners, that Thou hast redeemed us at so tremendous a price, and hast paid for our false pleasures by the torment of Thy painful scourging? Thou hast cured my blindness by the veil which was placed in mockery over Thy Divine eyes, and my vanity by the cruel crown of thorns which pierced Thy head. O Lord, Lord! all these things serve but to increase the sorrow of those

Digitized by CjOOQ IC

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who love Thee. The only thought that consoles me is, that the more widely my wickedness shall be known, the more gloriously will Thy Divine mercy be exalted throughout all eternity. And I know not, O my God, whether this sorrow will not last all my life long, even until the day when I shall behold Thee in glory, and be delivered from all the miseries of this exile.

Chapter IV

Prayer that God would enable the Saint to recover the time which she had not spent in loving and serving Him.

Mt God, my soul seems to have some foretaste of heavenly repose, when I think of what will be my joy if, by Thy mercy, I come one day to possess Thee. But I would serve Thee first, because it was by serving me that Thou didst purchase for me this happiness for which I hope. What shall I do, then, O Lord? O God, Whom I love, what can I do for Thee ? Oh, how late have my desires been enkindled for Thee! and how early, O my God, didst Thou begin to seek me, and to endeavour to gain possession of my heart, calling me to consecrate myself wholly to Thy service 1 O

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Lord, wilt Thou, then, abandon this miserable creature ? Wilt Thou reject this poor beggar, who desires now to give herself wholly to Thee? Is there a limit, then, O Lord, to the multitude of Thy mercies, or to the munificence of Thy bounty ? O my God, how gloriously can6t Thou show forth to-day the riches of Thine infinite goodness in Thy servant ! Make known to me Thine omnipotence by restoring to my soul, through an intense act of love, all the years which I have lost by spending them without loving Thee. Am I uttering extravagances? for men are wont to say that " time lost never returns." No, blessed be the God of my soul ! I acknowledge, O Lord, Thy sovereign power; and if Thou art almighty (as in truth Thou art), what is impossible to Him Who can do all things ? It is enough, O Lord, it is enough that Thou wiliest it. Miserable as I am, I believe firmly that Thou canst do what Thou wilt ; and the greater the marvels that I hear of Thee, the more firmly do I believe that Thou canst work greater still in me, and with the more assured faith' do I believe that Thou wilt do what I ask. Who can wonder at the marvels wrought by Him Who can do all things? Thou knowest, O my God, that in the midst of all my miseries I have never ceased to acknowledge Thy sovereign

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power and infinite mercy. In this, at least,

0 Lord, I have not offended Thee. Vouchsafe to remember it in my favour. Do Thou Thyself, 0 my God, restore to me all the time that

1 have lost ; restore it by the effusion of Thy grace in my soul, now and for ever, that I may appear before Thee in the nuptial garment. " If Thou wilt, Thou canst."

Chapter V

Of the complaint of Martha, and how a soul which loves God may complain to Him of her misery.

O Lord my God, is it possible that I should dare to ask Thee for new graces, when I have served Thee so ill, and have so carelessly squandered what I have already received from Thee? How canst Thou trust one who has so often betrayed Thee? What shall I do, then, O Divine Consoler of desolate souls, 0 Heavenly Physician of all who come to Thee for healing? Shall I keep silence concerning the wants of my! soul, and wait till it shall please Thee to relieve them ? ; No, assuredly ; for knowing well, O sweet and loving Saviour, how manifold are our wants, and what consolation we should find in laying them before

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Thee, Thou hast commanded us to ask of Thee, and hast promised to give us what we ask.

I often meditate on the complaint of holy Martha.; I do not think that she was complaining only of her sister ; but that what grieved her, most was the thought , that Thou didst not regard her labour, nor care to have her near Thee. Perhaps she thought that Thou didst not love her as well as her sister ; and this must have given her far greater pain than the labour of serving Thee, Whom she so dearly loved; for. love changes labour into repose. • That this was the feeling of her heart appears plainly in this — that she says not . a single word to her _ sister,, but addresses her whole complaint to Thee, and even ventures, in the exceeding boldness of her love, to reproach Thee with a want of solicitude for her: " Carest Thou not?" And Thy reply, O Lord, shows whence her complaint proceeds ; for Thou dost declare to her that love alone gives value to all things, and ;that " the one thing needful" is such a love for Thee as will, triumph over every obstacle which can be placed in its way.

But, O my God, how shall we ever love Thee as Thou deservest to be loved, unless to our love of Thee Thou art pleased to unite Thy love for us ? Shall I complain, then, with this great Saint? Oh, no, I have no cause of

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complaint ; for Thou, my God, hast never ceased to give me tokens of Thy love far above all that I could ask or desire. If I have any thing to reproach Thee with, it must be the excess of patience wherewith Thy goodness has borne with me unto this day. What, then, shall so miserable a creature ask of Thee ? I will venture, Lord, to address to Thee the prayer of S. Augustine : " Give me something to give to Thee, that so I may discharge a portion of the immense debt I owe Thee. Kemember that I am Thy creature, and make me to know my Creator, in order that I may love Him."

Chapter VI

How painful is this life to a soul which longs ardently for God.

O Sovereign Master of all creatures, my God and my Joy, how long must I wait to enjoy Thy blessed Presence? What remedy dost Thou afford to one who can find none upon earth, and who can taste no repose out of Thee ? O long life I cruel life ! life which is no life ! Oh, how lonely is my soul in this solitude ! how irremediable is this evil ! How long, O Lord, how long? What shall I do,

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my only Good? Shall I desire not to desire Thee?

O my God and my Creator, Thou dost pierce us with the arrows of Thy love, and leavest the dart in the wound; Thou woundest, and the wounds are incurable ; Thou killest, to infuse more vigorous life. Thou dost what Thou wilt, O loving Master, because Thou art almighty. How can a worm of the earth, such as I am, endure such contrary extremes of joy and suffering ? Be it so, O Lord, since such is Thy will, for my only desire is to love Thee. But, O my Creator, how intense is the suffering ! Pardon these complaints, forced from me by anguish which Thou canst alone relieve. My soul is imprisoned in so dark a dungeon, that she cannot but pant for liberty; and yet, to obtain it, she would not swerve one hair's breadth from Thy adorable Will. O my God, my Glory, I beseech Thee, cease to increase the tortures of my soul by wounding it more and more with Thy love, or put an end to them at once by taking it to Thyself. O death, death, I know not who could help fearing thee, if he have spent any portion of his life without loving God! And since this has been my misery, what do I ask, and what do I desire ? To go to receive the just punishment of my sins? Suffer it not to be so, my Saviour, since

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my ransom has cost Thee so dear. O my soul, leave God to accomplish His own will. This is. all thou hast to do. Serve thy Lord, and hope, that His mercy will relieve thy sufferings, when thy penance shall ', in some sort have deserved for thee the pardon of thy sins. Desire not to enjoy until thou hast suffered. But, O my true Master and my King, I shall not be able * to do what I , say, unless Thy omnipotent hand sustain me and Thy loving mercy assist me ; with these I can do all things.

Chapter VII

The exceeding goodness of God, Whose delight is to be with the children of men.

O my only Hope, my Father, my Creator, my true Lord, my Brother, when I meditate upon Thy words, 4< My delight is to be with the children of men," my soul is filled with exceeding joy. O Lord of heaven and earth, what sinner but would take courage from these words ? Is it possible, O my God, that Thou canst find no other, creatures in whom to take delight, that Thou art driven to solace Thyself with so abject and miserable a little earth worm as I am ? O Heavenly Father, when Jesus

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Christ Thy Son was baptised, a voice was heard from heaven saying that "in Him Thou wast well pleased." Dost Thou liken us, then, O my God, to this Thy Divine Son ? O boundless mercy ! O favour infinitely above our deserts! And we mortals can forget it! O my God, Who knowest all things, remember our misery, and vouchsafe to cast an eye of pity on our weakness.

And thou, my soul, contemplate the joy and the love wherewith the Eternal Father knows His Son, and the Eternal Son knows His Father ; and the ardent love whereby the Holy Spirit unites Himself to Them both : and consider that in this love and this knowledge there can be neither change nor diminution, because these Three are One. These Three Supreme Persons reciprocally know and love each other, and delight in each other after an ineffable and incomprehensible manner. What need, then, O my God, hast Thou of my love ? Why dost Thou desire it ? What can it profit Thee ? Oh, blessed be Thou, God of my heart, for ever and ever; let all creatures praise Thee, and let their praises be eternal as Thyself.

Kejoice, O my soul, that thy God is loved as He deserves to be loved; rejoice and be glad that His goodness and excellence are known as they ought to be known. Give Him a thou-

o

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sand thanks that He has given us upon earth His Beloved Son, by Whom He is thus perfectly known, that so He may be known and loved on earth as He is known and loved in heaven. O my soul, under the shelter of His protection, fear not to draw near to thy God; and since He delights to be with thee, beseech Him that nothing in -this world may hinder thee on thy part from delighting in Him, in the contemplation of His greatness, and of His infinite claims to our praises and our love. Beseech Him to help thee to glorify His holy Name, that thou mayst be able to say with truth : " My soul doth magnify the Lord."

Chapter VIII

Prayer for sinners who are so blind that they do not desire to see.

O Lord my God, Thy words are words of life, in which men would find (did they but seek it there) the happiness for which they long. But what marvel, O my God, that in the folly and weakness to which our evil works have reduced us, we lose the recollection of Thy sacred words ? O great God, God of my heart, Creator of all things, what is the whole creation