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THE ADORNMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL
MARRIAGE (cont) |
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by Blessed John of Rusybroeck |
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THE SECOND BOOK |
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13. Of Gratitude |
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Inward devotion often brings forth gratitude; for none can thank
and praise God so well as the inward and devout man. And it is
just that we should thank and praise God, because He has created
us as reasonable creatures, and has ordained and destined heaven
and earth and the angels to our service; and because He became man
for our sins, and taught us, and lived for our sake, and showed us
the way; and because He has ministered to us in humble raiment,
and suffered an ignominous death for the love of us, and promised
us His eternal kingdom and Himself also for our reward and for our
wage.And He has spared us in our sins, and has forgiven us or
will forgive us; and has poured His grace and His love into our
souls, and will dwell and remain with us, and in us, throughout
eternity. And He has visited us and will visit us all the days of
our lives with His noble sacraments, according to the need of
each, and has left us His Flesh and His Blood for food and drink,
according to the desire and the hunger of each; and has set before
us nature and the Scriptures and all creatures, as examples, and
as a mirror, that therein we may look and learn how we may turn
all our deeds to works of virtue; and has given us health and
strength and power, and sometimes for our own good has sent us
sickness; and in outward need has established inward peace and
happiness in us; and has caused us to be called by Christian names
and to have been born of Christian parents. For all these things
we should thank God here on earth, that hereafter we may thank Him
in eternity.
We should also praise God by means of everything that we can offer
to Him. To praise God, means that all his life long a man
glorifies, reverences and venerates the Divine Omnipotence. The
praise of God is the meet and proper work of the angels and the
saints in heaven, and of loving men on earth. God should be
praised by desire, by the lifting up of all our powers, by words,
by works, with body and with soul, and faith whatsoever one
possesses; in humble service, from without and from within. He who
does not praise God while here on earth shall in eternity be dumb.
To praise God is the dearest and most joyous work of every loving
heart; and the heart which is full of praise desires that every
creature should praise God. The praise of God has no end, for it
is our bliss; and most justly shall we praise Him in eternity.
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14. Of Two Griefs which arise from Inward Gratitude |
From inward gratitude and praise there arises a two fold grief of
the heart and torment of desire. The first grief is, that we feel
ourselves to lag behind in thanking, praising, glorifying and
serving God. The second is, that we do not grow in charity, in
virtue, in faith, and in perfect behaviour as much as we desire,
that we may become worthy to thank and praise and serve God as it
is proper to do. This is the second grief. These two are root and
fruit, beginning and end, of all inward virtues.
Inward grief and pain for our shortcomings in virtue and the
praise of God, is the highest effect of this first degree of the
inward exercise; and by it this degree is perfectly achieved.
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15. A Similitude how we should perform the First Degree of our
Inward Exercise |
Now consider in a similitude, how this inward exercise should be
performed. When the natural fire has by its heat and power stirred
water, or some other liquid, until it bubbles up; then this is its
highest achievement. Then the water boils up and falls down to the
bottom, and is then stirred again to the same activity by the
power of the fire: so that the water is incessantly bubbling up,
and the fire incessantly stirring it.
And so likewise works the inward fire of the Holy Ghost. It stirs
and goads and drives the heart and all the powers of the soul
until they boil; that is, until they thank and praise God in the
way of which I have told you. And then one falls down to that very
ground, where the Spirit of God is burning. So that the fire of
love ever burns, and the man's heart ever thanks and praises God
with words and with works and yet always abides in lowliness;
esteeming that which he should do and would do to be great, and
that which he is able to do to be small.
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16. Another Similitude concerning the same Exercise |
When summer draws near and the sun rises higher, it draws the
moisture out of the earth through the roots, and through the
trunks of the trees, into the twigs; and hence come foliage,
flower, and fruit.
So likewise, when Christ the Eternal Sun rises and ascends in our
hearts, so that it is summer in the adornment of our virtues, He
gives His light and His heat to our desires, and draws the heart
from all the multiplicity of earthly things, and brings about
unity and inwardness; and makes the heart grow and bring forth the
leaves of inward love, the flowers of ardent devotion, and the
fruits of thanksgiving and praise, and makes these fruits to
endure eternally, in humble grief, because of our shortcomings.
Here ends the first of the four chief degrees of that inward
working whereby the lowest part of man is adorned.
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