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The Voice of Christ
My child, do not trust in your present feeling, for
it will soon give way to another. As long as you live
you will be subject to changeableness in spite of
yourself. You will become merry at one time and sad
at another, now peaceful but again disturbed, at one
moment devout and the next indevout, sometimes
diligent while at other times lazy, now grave and
again flippant.But the man who is wise and whose
spirit is well instructed stands superior to these
changes. He pays no attention to what he feels in
himself or from what quarter the wind of fickleness
blows, so long as the whole intention of his mind is
conducive to his proper and desired end. For thus he
can stand undivided, unchanged, and unshaken, with
the singleness of his intention directed unwaveringly
toward Me, even in the midst of so many changing
events. And the purer this singleness of intention
is, with so much the more constancy does he pass
through many storms.
But in many ways the eye of pure intention grows dim,
because it is attracted to any delightful thing that
it meets. Indeed, it is rare to find one who is
entirely free from all taint of self-seeking. The
Jews of old, for example, came to Bethany to Martha
and Mary, not for Jesus' sake alone, but in order to
see Lazarus.
The eye of your intention, therefore, must be
cleansed so that it is single and right. It must be
directed toward Me, despite all the objects which may
interfere.
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The Disciple
Behold, my God and my all! What more do I wish for; what greater
happiness can I desire? O sweet and delicious word! But sweet only
to him who loves it, and not to the world or the things that are
in the world.
My God and my all! These words are enough for him who understands,
and for him who loves it is a joy to repeat them often. For when
You are present, all things are delightful; when You are absent,
all things become loathsome. It is You Who give a heart
tranquillity, great peace and festive joy. It is You Who make us
think well of all things, and praise You in all things. Without
You nothing can give pleasure for very long, for if it is to be
pleasing and tasteful, Your grace and the seasoning of Your wisdom
must be in it. What is there that can displease him whose
happiness is in You? And, on the contrary, what can satisfy him
whose delight is not in You?
The wise men of the world, the men who lust for the flesh, are
wanting in Your wisdom, because in the world is found the utmost
vanity, and in the flesh is death. But they who follow You by
disdaining worldly things and mortifying the flesh are known to be
truly wise, for they are transported from vanity to truth, from
flesh to spirit. By such as these God is relished, and whatever
good is found in creatures they turn to praise of the Creator. But
great -- yes, very great, indeed -- is the difference between
delight in the Creator and in the creature, in eternity and in
time, in Light uncreated and in the light that is reflected.O
Light eternal, surpassing all created brightness, flash forth the
lightning from above and enlighten the inmost recesses of my
heart. Cleanse, cheer, enlighten, and vivify my spirit with all
its powers, that it may cleave to You in ecstasies of joy. Oh,
when will that happy and wished-for hour come, that You may fill
me with Your presence and become all in all to me? So long as this
is not given me, my joy will not be complete.
The old man, alas, yet lives within me. He has not yet been
entirely crucified; he is not yet entirely dead. He still lusts
strongly against the spirit, and he will not leave the kingdom of
my soul in peace. But You, Who can command the power of the sea
and calm the tumult of its waves, arise and help me. Scatter the
nations that delight in war; crush them in Your sight. Show forth
I beg, Your wonderful works and let Your right hand be glorified,
because for me there is no other hope or refuge except in You, O
Lord, my God.
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