THE WAY TO CONVERSE ALWAYS AND FAMILIARLY WITH GOD.

By - Saint Alphonsus de Liguori


Part 1 - God wishes Us to speak to Him with Confidence and Familiarity.
Part 2 - It is Easy and Agreeable to entertain Ones Self with God.
Part 3 - Of what, when, and how we should converse with God.
Part 4 - God answers the Soul that speaks to Him.
Part 5 - Practical Summary.


1. God wishes Us to speak to Him with Confidence and Familiarity.


HOLY Job was struck with wonder to consider our
God so devoted in benefiting man, and showing the chief
care of his heart to be, to love man and to make himself
beloved by him. Speaking to the Lord, he exclaims,
What is man, that Thou shouldst magnify him, or why dost
Thou set Thy Heart upon him? Hence it is clearly a
mistake to think that great confidence and familiarity in
treating with God is a want of reverence to his Infinite
Majesty. You ought indeed, O devout soul! to revere
him in all humility, and abase yourself before him; especially
when you call to mind the unthankfulness and
the outrages whereof, in past times, you have been guilty.
Yet this should not hinder your treating with him with
the most tender love and confidence in your power. He
is Infinite Majesty ; but at the same time he is Infinite
Goodness, Infinite Love. In God you possess the Lord
most exalted and supreme ; but you have also him who
loves you with the greatest possible love. He disdains
not, but delights that you should use towards him that
confidence, that freedom and tenderness, which children
use towards their mothers. Hear how he invites us to
come to his feet, and the caresses he promises to bestow
on us: You shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees
they shall caress you : as one whom the mother caresseth, so
will I comfort you. As a mother delights to place her little
child upon her knees, and so to feed or to caress him;
with like tenderness does our gracious God delight to
treat the souls whom he loves., who have given them
selves wholly to him, and placed all their hopes in his
goodness.

Consider, you have no friend nor brother, nor father
nor mother, nor spouse nor lover, who loves you more
than your God. The divine grace is that great treasure
whereby we vilest of creatures, we servants, become the
dear friends of our Creator himself: For she is an infinite
treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of
God. For this purpose he increases our confidence ; he
emptied himself, and brought himself to naught, so to
speak ; abasing himself even to becoming man and conversing
familiarly with us: He conversed with men, He
went so far as to become an infant, to become poor, even
so far as openly to die the death of a malefactor upon
the cross. He went yet farther, even to hide himself
under the appearance of bread, in order to become our
constant companion and unite himself intimately to us:
He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood abideth in
Me, and I in him. In a word, he loves you as much as
though he had no love but towards yourself alone. For
which reason you ought to have no love for any but for
himself. Of him, therefore, you may say, and you ought
to say, My Beloved to me, and I to Him. My God has
given himself all to me, and I give myself all to him ;
He has chosen me for his beloved, and I choose him, of
all others, for my only Love: My Beloved is white and
ruddy, chosen out of thousands.

Say, then, to him often, O my Lord! wherefore dost
Thou love me thus ? what good thing dost Thou see in
me ? Hast Thou forgotten the injuries I have done
Thee? But since Thou hast treated me so lovingly, and
instead of casting me into hell, hast granted me so many
favors, whom can I desire to love from this day forward
but Thee, my God, my all ? Ah, most gracious God, if
in time past I have offended Thee, it is not so much the
punishment I have deserved that now grieves me, as the
displeasure I have given Thee, who art worthy of infinite
love. But Thou knowest not how to despise a heart
that repents and humbles itself: A contrite and humble
heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. Ah, now, indeed,
neither in this life nor in the other do I desire any but
Thee alone: What have I in heaven ? and besides Thee what
do I desire upon earth! Thou art the God of my heart, and
the God that is my portion forever. Thou alone art and
shalt be forever the only Lord of my heart, of my will ;
Thou my only good, my heaven, my hope, my love, my
all: "The God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever."

The more to strengthen your confidence in God, often
call to mind his loving treatment of you, and the gracious
means he has used to drive you from the disorders
of your life and your attachments to earth, in order to
draw you to his holy love ; and therefore fear to have
too little confidence in treating with your God, now that
you have a resolute will to love and to please him with
all your power. The mercies he has granted you are
most sure pledges of the love he bears you. God is displeased
with a want of trust on the part of souls that
heartily love him, and whom he loves. If, then, you desire
to please his loving heart, converse with him from
this day forward with the greatest confidence and tenderness
you can possibly have.

I have graven thee in My hands : thy walls are always before
My eyes. Beloved soul, says the Lord, what do you
fear or mistrust ? I have you written in my hands, so as
never to forget to do you good. Are you afraid of your
enemies ? Know that the care of your defence is always
before me, so that I cannot lose sight of it. Therefore
did David rejoice, saying to God, Thou hast crowned
us as with a shield of Thy good will. Who, O Lord! can
ever harm us, if Thou with Thy goodness and love dost
defend and encompass us round about ? Above all, animate
your confidence at the thought of the gift that
God has given us of Jesus Christ: God so loved the world
as to give His only-begotten Son. How can we ever fear,
exclaims the Apostle, that God would refuse us any
good, after he has vouchsafed to give us his own Son ?
He delivered Him up for us all ; how hath He not also, with
Him, given us all things ?

My delights are to be with the children of men. The paradise
of God, so to speak, is the heart of man. Does God
love you ? Love him. His delights are to be with you;
let yours be to be with himself, to pass all your lifetime
with him, in the delight of whose company you hope to
spend a blissful eternity. Accustom yourself to speak
with him alone, familiarly, with confidence and love,
as to the dearest friend you have, and who loves you
best.


2. It is Easy and Agreeable to entertain Ones Self with God.


If it be a great mistake, as has been already said, to
converse mistrustfully with God, to be always coming
before him as a slave, full of fear and confusion, comes
before his prince, trembling with dread, it would be a
greater to think that conversing with God is but weariness
and bitterness. No, it is not so: Her conversation
hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness.
Ask those souls who love him with a true love, and they will
tell you that in the sorrows of their life they find no
greater, no truer relief, than in a loving converse with
God.

Now this does not require that you continually apply
your mind to it, so as to forget all your employments
and recreations. It only requires of you, without putting
these aside, to act towards God as you act on occasion
towards those who love you and whom you love.

Your God is ever near you, nay, within you: In Him
we live, and move, and be. There is no barrier at the door
against any who desire to speak with him; nay, God delights
that you should treat with him confidently. Treat
with him of your business, your plans, your griefs, your
fears, of all that concerns you. Above all, do so (as I
have said) with confidence, with open heart. For God
is not wont to speak to the soul that speaks not to him ;
forasmuch as, if it be not used to converse with him, it
would little understand his voice when he spoke to it.
And this is what the Lord complains of: Our sister is little :
what shall we do to our sister in the day when she is to be
spoken to? Our sister is but a child in my love ; what
shall we do to speak to her if she understand me not ?
God will have himself esteemed the Lord of surpassing
power and terribleness, when we despise his grace ; but,
on the contrary, he will have himself treated with as the
most affectionate friend when we love him; and to this
end he would have us often speak with him familiarly
and without restraint.

It is true that God ought always to be revered in the
highest degree ; but when he favors you by making you
feel his presence and know his desire that you should
speak to him as to that one who loves you above all,
then express to him your feelings with freedom and confidence.
She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first
showeth herself unto them. When you desire his love, he
takes the first step, without waiting till you come to
him; and presents himself to you, bringing with him the
graces and the remedies you stand in need of. He
only waits for you to speak to him, to show you that he
is near to you, ready to hear and to comfort you: And
His ears are unto their prayers.

By reason of his immensity, our God is in every place;
but there are two places above all where He has His own
peculiar dwelling. One is the highest heaven, where he
is present by that glory which he communicates to the
blessed; the other is upon earth, - it is within the humble
soul that loves him: Who dwelleth with a contrite and
humble spirit. He, then, our God, dwelleth in the height
of heaven; and yet he disdains not to occupy and engage
himself day and night with his faithful servants in
their cabins or their cells. And there he bestows on
them his divine consolations, each one of which surpasses
all the delights the world can give, and which he
only does not desire who has no experience of them: Oh,
taste and see that the Lord is sweet.

Friends in the world have some hours in which they
converse together, and others during which they are
apart ; but between God and you, if you wish, there
shall never be one hour of separation: Thou shalt rest,
and thy sleep shall be sweet: the Lord will be at thy side.
You may sleep, and God will place himself at your side,
and watch with you continually: I will repose myself with
Him, and He shall be a comfort in my cares and grief.
When you take your rest, he departs not from beside
your pillow; he remains thinking always of you, that
when you wake in the night he may speak to you by his
inspirations, and receive from you some act of love, of
oblation, of thanksgiving; so as to keep up even in those
hours his gracious and sweet converse with you. Some
times also he will speak to you in your sleep, and cause
you to hear his voice, that on waking you may put in
practice what He has spoken: I will speak to him in a dream.

He is there also in the morning, to hear from you some
word of affection, of confidence; to be the depositary of
your first thoughts, and of all the actions which you
promise to perform that day to please him; of all the
griefs, too, which you offer to endure willingly for his
glory and love. But as he fails not to present himself
to you at the moment of your waking, fail not you, on
your part, to give him immediately a look of love, and
to rejoice when your God announces to you the glad
tidings that he is not far from you, as once he was by
reason of your sins; but that he loves you, and would
be beloved by you: and at that same moment he gives
you the gracious precept, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with thy whole heart


3. Of what, when, and how we should converse with God.

1. IN GENERAL.

Never, then, forget his sweet presence, as do the
greater part of men. Speak to him as often as you can;
for he does not grow weary of this nor disdain it, as do
the lords of the earth. If you love him, you will riot be
at a loss what to say to him. Tell him all that occurs
to you about yourself and your affairs, as you would
tell it to a dear friend. Look not upon him as a haughty
sovereign, who will only converse with the great, and on
great matters. He, our God, delights to abase himself
to converse with us, loves to have us communicate to
him our smallest, our most daily concerns. He loves
you as much, and has as much care for you, as if he had
none others to think of but yourself. He is as entirely
devoted to your interests as though the only end of his
providence were to succor you, of his almighty power to
aid you, of his mercy and goodness to take pity on you,
to do you good, and gain by the delicate touches of his
kindness your confidence and love. Manifest, then, to
him freely all your state of mind, and pray to him to
guide you to accomplish perfectly his holy will. And
let all your desires and plans be simply bent to discover
his good pleasure, and do what is agreeable to his divine
heart : Commit thy way to the Lord: and desire of Him
to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in Him.
Say not, But where is the need of disclosing to God
all my wants, if he already sees and knows them better
than I ? True, he knows them; but God makes as if he
knew not the necessities about which you do not speak
to him, and for which you seek not his aid. Our
Saviour knew well that Lazarus was dead, and yet he
made as if he knew it not, until the Magdalene had told
him of it, and then he comforted her by raising her
brother to life again.

2. IN TRIALS.

When, therefore, you are afflicted with any sickness,
temptation, persecution, or other trouble, go at once and
beseech him, that his hand may help you. It is enough
for you to present the affliction before him; to come in and
say, Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress. He will not
fail to comfort you, or at least to give you strength to
suffer that grief with patience; and it will turn out a
greater good to you than if he had altogether freed you
from it. Tell him all the thoughts of fear or of sadness
that torment you; and say to him, My God, in Thee are
all my hopes; I offer to Thee this affliction, and resign
myself to Thy will; but do Thou take pity on me,
either deliver me out of it, or give me strength to bear
it. And he will truly keep with you that promise made
in the Gospel to all those who are in trouble, to console
and comfort them as often as they have recourse to him:
Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will
refresh you.

He will not be displeased that in your desolations you
should go to your friends to find some relief; but he
wills you chiefly to have recourse to himself. At all
events, therefore, after you have applied to creatures, and
they have been unable to comfort your heart, have
recourse to your Creator, and say to him, Lord, men
have only words for me; my friends are full of words.
they cannot comfort me, nor do I any more desire to be
comforted by them; Thou art all my hope, all my love.
From Thee only will I receive comfort; and let my com
fort be, on this occasion, to do what pleaseth Thee.
Behold me ready to endure this grief through my whole
life, through all eternity, if such be Thy good pleasure.
Only do Thou help me.

Fear not that he will be offended if you sometimes
gently complain, and say to him, Why, O Lord, hast Thou
retired afar off? Thou knowest, Lord, that I love Thee,
and desire nothing but Thy love; in pity help me, and
forsake me not. And when the desolation lasts long,
and troubles you exceedingly, unite your voice to that
of Jesus in agony and dying on the cross, and beseech
his mercy, saying, My God, my God, why hast Thou
forsaken me? But let the effect of this be to humble you
yet more at the thought that he deserves no consolations
who has offended God; and yet more to enliven
your confidence, knowing that God does all things, and
permits all, for your good: All things work together unto
good. Say with great courage, even when you feel most
troubled and disconsolate: The Lord is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? Lord, it is Thine to enlighten
me, it is Thine to save me; in Thee do I trust:
In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.
And thus keep yourself in peace, knowing there never
was any one who placed his hopes in God and was lost:
No one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.
Consider, your God loves you more than you can love
yourself; what do you fear ? David comforted himself,
saying, The Lord is careful for me. Say to him, there
fore, Lord, into Thy arms I cast myself; I desire to have
no thought but of loving and pleasing Thee; behold me
ready to do what Thou requirest of me. Thou dost not
only will my good, Thou art careful for it; unto Thee, then,
do I leave the care of my salvation. In Thee do I rest,
and will rest for evermore, since Thou wiliest that in
Thee I should place all my hopes: In peace, in the self-same,
I will sleep and I will rest; for Thou, O Lord, singularly
hast settled me in hope.

Think of the Lord in goodness. In these words the Wise
Man exhorts us to have more confidence in the divine
mercy than dread of the divine justice; since God is
immeasurably more inclined to bestow favors than to
punish; as St. James says, Mercy exalteth itself above judgment.
Whence the Apostle St. Peter tells us that in all
fears, whether about our interests for time or for eternity,
we should commit ourselves altogether to the goodness
of our God, who keeps the greatest care of our safety:
Casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you.
Oh, what a beautiful meaning does this lend to the title
which David gives to the Lord, when he says that our
God is the God who makes it his care to save: Our God
is the God of salvation; which signifies, as Bellarmine explains
it, that the office peculiar to the Lord is, not to
condemn, but to save all. For while he threatens with
his displeasure those who disregard him, he promises, on
the other hand, his assured mercies to those who fear
him; as the divine Mother said in her Canticle, And
His mercy is to them that fear Him. I set before you, devout
soul, all these passages of Scripture, that when the
thought disquiets you, Am I to be saved or not? Am I
predestined or not? you may take courage, and under
stand from the promises he makes you what desire God
has to save you, if only you are resolved to serve him
and to love him as he demands at your hands.

3. IN JOYS.

Further, when you receive pleasant news, do not act
like those unfaithful, thankless souls who have recourse
to God in time of trouble, but in time of prosperity for
get and forsake him. Be as faithful to him as you would
be to a friend who loves you and rejoices in your good;
go at once and tell him of your gladness, and praise him
and give him thanks, acknowledging it all as a gift from
his hands; and rejoice in that happiness because it comes
to you of his good pleasure, Rejoice, therefore, and
comfort yourself in him alone: I will rejoice in the Lord;
and I will joy in God my Jesus. Say to him, My Jesus,
I bless, and will ever bless Thee, for granting me so
many favors, when I deserved at Thy hands not favors,
but chastisements for the affronts I have given Thee.
Say to him, with the sacred Spouse, All fruits, the new
and the old, my Beloved, I have kept for Thee. Lord, I
give Thee thanks; I keep in memory all Thy bounties,
past and present, to render Thee praise and glory for
them forever and ever.

But if you love your God, you ought to rejoice more
in his blessedness than in your own. He who loves a
friend very much sometimes takes more delight in that
friend s good than if it had been his own. Comfort
yourself, then, in the knowledge that your God is in
finitely blessed. Often say to him, My beloved Lord, I
rejoice more in Thy blessedness than in any good of
mine; yes, for I love Thee more than I love myself.

4. AFTER A FAULT.

Another mark of confidence highly pleasing to your
most loving God is this: that when you have committed
any fault, you be not ashamed to go at once to his feet
and seek his pardon. Consider that God is so greatly
inclined to pardon sinners that he laments their perdition,
when they depart far from him and live as dead
to his grace. Therefore does he lovingly call them, saying,
Why will you die, O house of Israel ? Return ye, and
live. He promises to receive the soul that has forsaken
him, so soon as she returns to his arms: Turn ye to me,
. . . and I will turn to you. Oh, if sinners did but know
with what tender mercy the Lord stands waiting to forgive
them ! The Lord waiteth, that He may have mercy on you.
Oh, did they but know the desire he has, not to chastise,
but to see them converted, that he may embrace them,
that he may press them to his heart! He declares: As
I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and live. He even
says: And then come and accuse Me, saith the Lord: if
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow.
As though he had said, Sinners, repent of having of
fended Me, and then come unto Me: if I do not pardon
you, "accuse Me;" upbraid Me, and treat Me as one unfaithful.
But no, I will not be wanting to My promise.
If you will come, know this: that though your consciences
are dyed deep as crimson by your sins, I will make
them by My grace as white as snow. In a word, he has
declared that when a soul repents of having offended
him, he forgets all its sins: I will not remember all his
iniquities.

As soon, then, as you fall into any fault, raise your
eyes to God, make an act of love, and with humble con
fession of your fault, hope assuredly for his pardon, and
say to him, Lord, behold he whom Thou lovest is sick; that
heart which Thou dost love is sick, is full of sores: heal
my soul; for I have sinned against Thee. Thou seekest
after penitent sinners; behold, here is one at Thy feet,
who has come in search of Thee. The evil is done
already; what have I now to do ? Thou wilt not have
me lose courage: after this my sin Thou dost still love
me, and I too love Thee. Yes, my God, I love Thee with
all my heart; I repent of the displeasure I have given
Thee; I purpose never to do so any more. Thou, who
art that God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much
compassion, forgive me; make me to hear what Thou
didst say to the Magdalene, Thy sins are forgiven thee;
and give me strength to be faithful unto Thee for the
time to come.

That thou mayest not lose courage at such a moment,
cast a glance at Jesus on the cross; offer his merits to
the Eternal Father; and thus hope certainly for pardon,
since He spared not even His own Son. Say to him with
confidence, Look on the face of Thy Christ, My God, be
hold Thy Son, dead for my sake; and for the love of
that Son forgive me. Attend greatly, devout soul, to
the instruction commonly given by masters of the spiritual
life, after your unfaithful conduct, at once to have
recourse to God, though you have repeated it a hundred
times in a day; and after your falls, and the recourse
you have had to the Lord (as has been just said), at
once to be in peace. Otherwise, while you remain
cast down and disturbed at the fault you have commit
ted, your converse with God will be small; your trust
in him will fail; your desire to love him grow cold; and
you will be little able to go forward in the way of the
Lord. On the other hand, by having immediate recourse
to God to ask his forgiveness, and to promise him
amendment, your very faults will serve to advance you
further in the divine love. Between friends who sincerely
love each other it often happens that when one
has displeased the other, and then humbles himself and
asks pardon, their friendship thereby becomes stronger
than ever. Do you likewise; see to it that your very
faults serve to bind you yet closer in love to your God.

5. IN DOUBTS.

In any kind of doubtfulness also, either on your own
account or that of others, never leave acting towards
your God with a confidence like to that of faithful
friends, who consult together on every matter. So do
you take counsel with himself, and beseech him to en
lighten you that you may decide on what will be most
pleasing to him: Put those words in my mouth, and
strengthen the resolution in my heart. Lord, tell me what
Thou wouldst have me to do or to answer; and thus
will I. Speak, Lord ; for Thy servant heareth.

6. FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR.

Use towards him also the freedom of recommending
not only your own needs, but also those of others.
How agreeable will it be to your God that sometimes
you forget even your own interests to speak to him of
the advancement of his glory, of the miseries of others,
especially those who groan in affliction, of those souls,
his spouses, who in purgatory sigh after the vision of
himself, and of poor sinners who are living destitute of
his grace ! For these especially say to him: Lord, Thou
who art so amiable, and worthy of an infinite love, how
dost Thou, then, endure to see such a number of souls in
the world, on whom Thou hast bestowed so many favors,
and who yet will not know Thee, will not love Thee, nay,
even offend and despise Thee? Ah! my God, object of
all love, make Thyself to be known, make Thyself to be
beloved. "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom
come;" may Thy name be adored and beloved by
all; may Thy love reign in all hearts. Ah, let me not
depart without granting me some grace for those unfaithful
souls for whom I pray.

7. THE DESIRE FOR HEAVEN.

It is said that in purgatory those souls who in this
life have had but little longing for heaven are punished
with a particular suffering, called the pain of languor;
and with reason, because to long but little for heaven is
to set small value on the great good of the eternal kingdom
which our Redeemer has purchased for us by his
death. Forget not, therefore, devout soul, frequently to
sigh after heaven: say to your God that it seems to you
an endless time for you to come and see him, and to
love him face to face. Long ardently to depart out of
this banishment, this scene of sinning, and danger of
losing his grace, that you may arrive in that land of
love where you may love him with all your powers.
Say to him again and again, Lord, so long as I live on
this earth, I am always in danger of forsaking Thee and
losing Thy love. When will it be that I quit this life,
wherein I am ever offending Thee, and come to love
Thee with all my soul, and unite myself to Thee, with
no danger of losing Thee any more ? St. Teresa was
ever sighing in this way, and used to rejoice when she
heard the clock strike, because another hour of life, and
of the danger of losing God, was past and gone. For
she so greatly desired death in order to see God, that
she was dying with the desire to die; and hence she
composed that loving canticle of hers, I die, because I do
not die.


4 God answers the Soul that speaks to Him.

In a word, if you desire to delight the loving heart of
your God, be careful to speak to him as often as you
are able, and with the fullest confidence that he will not
disdain to answer and speak with you in return. He
does not, indeed, make himself heard in any voice that
reaches your ears, but in a voice that your heart can
well perceive, when you withdraw from converse with
creatures, to occupy yourself in conversing with your
God alone: I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will
speak to her heart. He will then speak to you by such
inspirations, such interior lights, such manifestations of
his goodness, such sweet touches in your heart, such
tokens of forgiveness, such experience of peace, such
hopes of heaven, such rejoicings within you, such sweetness
of his grace, such loving and close embraces, in a
word, such voices of love, as are well understood by
those souls whom he loves, and who seek for nothing
but himself alone.


5 Practical Summary.

Lastly, to make a brief summary of what has already
been said at large, I will not omit to suggest a devout
practice whereby you may fulfill all your daily actions in
a manner pleasing to God.

When you wake in the morning, let it be your first
thought to raise your mind to him, offering to his glory
all that you shall do or suffer that day, praying to him
to assist you by his grace. Then make your other
morning acts of devotion, acts of thanksgiving and of
love, prayers, and resolutions to live that day as though
it were to be the last of your life. Father St. Jure
recommends the making in the morning of a compact
with the Lord; that every time you make a certain sign,
as placing your hand upon your heart, or raising your
eyes to heaven or to the crucifix, and the like, you
wish thereby to make an act of love, of desire to see him
loved by all, of oblation of yourself, and other acts of
the same kind. When you have made these acts, and
placed your soul in the side of Jesus and under the
mantle of Mary, and have prayed the Eternal Father
that for the love of Jesus and Mary he would protect
you during the day, be careful, before you engage
in anything else, to make your mental prayer, or meditation,
at least for half an hour; and let your specially
chosen meditation be the sorrow and the shame which
Jesus Christ suffered in his Passion. This is the dearest
subject to loving souls, and the one that most kindles
divine love within them. If you would make spiritual
progress, let three devotions be especially dear to you;
devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ, to the Most
Holy Sacrament, and to the ever-blessed Virgin. In
mental prayer, make again and again acts of contrition,
of love to God, and oblation of yourself. The Venerable
Father Charles Caraffa, founder of the Pious Workers,
said that one -fervent act of the love of God made
thus in the morning is sufficient to maintain the soul
in fervor throughout the whole day.

Then, besides the more specific acts of devotion, such
as confession, Communion, recitation of the divine office,
etc., whenever you are engaged in external occupations,
as in study, in labor, or in any other employment that
may be proper to your condition, never forget, when
setting about it, to make an offering of it to God, praying
for his assistance to enable you to perform it in a
perfect manner; and do not omit to retire frequently
into the cell of your heart, in order to unite yourself to
God, according to the practice of St. Catharine of
Sienna. In short, whatever you do, do it with and for
God. In going out of your room or house, and on
returning again, always commend yourself to the divine
Mother, by saying a Hail Mary. When sitting down to
meals, make an offering to God of the disgust or gratification
you may find in what you eat and drink; and, on
rising from table, return thanks to him and say, Lord,
how great is Thy goodness to one who has offended
Thee so much ! In the course of the day be careful to
make your spiritual reading, to visit the Most Holy
Sacrament and the Most Holy Mary; and in the evening
to say the Rosary, and to make an examination of con
science, together with the Christian acts of faith, hope,
charity, contrition, resolutions of amendment, and of
receiving the Holy Sacraments during life and at the
hour of death, forming also the intention of gaining all
the indulgences that you can gain. And again, on going
to bed, reflect that if you had your deserts, you
would be lying down in the flames of hell; then, with the
crucifix in your arms, compose yourself to sleep, saying,
In peace, in the self -same, I will sleep and take my rest.

And here, in passing, I would briefly point out to you
the many indulgences that are attached to various
prayers or acts of devotion. Whence it is desirable for
you in the morning to make the intention of gaining all
the indulgences in your power during the day. To one
who makes acts of the three theological virtues mentioned
above of faith, etc. there are granted seven
years and seven quarantines for each day; and by continuing
them for a month a plenary indulgence may be
gained, provided on the day of his choice he confesses,
communicates, and prays to the intention of the Church,
applicable also to the souls in purgatory and to himself.
This indulgence is in articulo mortis. In like manner, form
the intention of gaining also all the indulgences granted
for saying the Rosary on beads properly blessed, the
Angelus Domini three times a day, the Litany of our
Blessed Lady, the Salve Regina, the Ave Maria, and the
Gloria Patri, for saying, "Blessed be the holy and
immaculate and most pure conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary;" as also for saying, " Praised now and for
ever be the Most Holy Sacrament;" for reciting the prayer
Anima Christi, etc.; for bowing the head at the Gloria
Patri and at the most holy names of Jesus and Mary;
as also for hearing Mass; for making half an hour's
mental prayer; to which, besides a partial, there is also
a plenary, indulgence attached, provided it be continued
for a month, on condition of confession and Communion,
and prayers to the intention of the Church in the course
of the same; for genuflecting before the Most Holy
Sacrament, and for kissing the crucifix. Always have
the intention formed of gaining every such indulgence.

Then, that you may be able to keep yourself ever in a
state of recollection and union with God, as long as you
live, and as far as may be possible, turn everything that
you may see or hear into an occasion for raising your
mind to God, or for taking a glance at eternity. For
example, when you see running water, reflect that your
life is also in like manner running on, and carrying you
nearer and nearer to death. When you see a lamp going
out for want of oil, reflect that thus also one day you
will have to bring your life to its end. When you see
the graves or remains of the dead, consider that you
also have to become like them. When you see the great
ones of this world rejoicing in their wealth or distinction.
pity their folly, and say, For me God is sufficient: Some
trust in chariots, some in horses, but we in the name of the
Lord. Let these glory in such vanity; I will make
nothing my glory but the grace of God, and the love of
him. When you behold the pompous funerals, or the
fine sepulchral monuments of the great ones who are
dead, say, If these are damned, what is the good of this
pomp to them ? When you behold the sea in a calm or a
storm, consider the difference that there is between a
soul when in the grace and when out of the grace of
God. When you see a tree that is withered, consider
that a soul without God is serviceable for nothing but
to be cast into fire. If you ever happen to see one who
has been guilty of some great crime, trembling with
shame and. fright in the presence of his judge, or of his
father, or of his bishop, consider what the panic of a
sinner will be in the presence of Christ his judge. When
it thunders, and you become alarmed, reflect how those
miserable ones who are damned tremble as they hear
continually in hell the thunders of the divine wrath. If
you ever see one who has been condemned to suffer a
painful death, and who says, Is there, then, no longer any
means for my escaping death ? consider what will be the
despair of a soul when it is condemned to hell, as it says,
Is there, then, no longer any means for escaping from
eternal ruin ?

When your eye rests on scenes in the country or along
the shore, on flowers or fruits, and you are delighted by
the sight and scent of all, say, Behold, how many are
the beautiful creatures that God has created for me in
this world, in order that I may love him; and what further e
njoyments does he not keep prepared for me in
Paradise? St. Teresa used to say that when she saw
any beautiful hills or slopes, they seemed to reproach
her for her own ingratitude to God. And the Abbot de
Ranee, founder of La Trappe, said that the beautiful
creatures around him reminded him of his own obligation
to love God. St. Augustine also said the same,
crying out aloud, " Heaven, and earth, and all things
tell me to love Thee." It is related of a certain holy
man, that in passing through the fields he would strike
with a little stick the flowers and plants which he found,
saying, " Be silent; do not reproach me any longer for
my ingratitude to God. I have understood you; be silent;
say no more." When St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi
held in her hand any beautiful fruit or flower, she used
to feel herself smitten by it with divine love, saying to
herself, " Behold, my God has thought from eternity of
creating this fruit, this flower, in order to give it me
as a token of the love which he bears towards me."

When you see rivers or brooks, reflect that as the
water which you behold keeps running on to the ocean
without ever stopping, so ought you to be ever hasting
on to God, who is your only good. When you happen
to be in a vehicle that is drawn by beasts of burden, say,
See what labor these innocent animals go through for
my service; and how much pains do I myself take in
order to serve and please my God ? When you see a
little dog, which for a miserable morsel of bread is so
faithful to its master, reflect how much greater reason
you have to be faithful to God, who has created and
preserved and provided for you, and heaps upon you
so many blessings. When you hear the birds sing, say,
Hearken, O my soul, to the praise which these little
creatures are giving to their Creator; and what are you
doing? Then do you also praise him with acts of love.
On the other hand, when you hear the c**k crow, recall
to your memory that there once was a time when you
also, like Peter, denied your God; and renew your contrition
and your tears. So, likewise, when you see the
house or place where you have sinned, turn yourself to
God, and say, The sins of my youth and my ignorance
remember not, O Lord. "

When you behold any valleys, consider that as their
fertility is owing to the waters that run down from the
mountains, so from heaven do graces descend upon the
souls of the humble, and pass by the proud. When you
see a beautifully ornamented church, consider the beauty
of a soul in a state of grace, which is a real temple of God.
When you behold the sea, consider the immensity and the
greatness of God. When you see fire, or candles lighted
on an altar, say, How many years is it since I ought to
have been cast into hell to burn ? But since Thou, O
Lord, hast not sent me there, make this heart of mine
burn with love for Thee, as that wood or those candles
burn. When you look up at the sky, all studded with
stars, say with St. Andrew of Avellino, " O my feet, you
will one day have those stars beneath you."

Then, in order frequently to recall to mind the mysteries
of our Saviour s love, when you see hay, a manger,
or caves, let the Infant Jesus in the stable of Bethlehem
be present to your recollection. When you see a saw,
a hammer, a plane, or an axe, remember how Jesus
worked like a mere lad, in the shop at Nazareth. Then
if you see ropes, thorns, nails, or pieces of wood, reflect
on the Passion and Death of our Redeemer. St Francis
of Assisi, on seeing a lamb, would begin to weep, saying,
"My Lord like a lamb was led to death for me." Again:
when you see altars, chalices, or patens, recall to mind
the greatness of the love which Jesus Christ has borne us
in giving us the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Frequently during the day make an offering of yourself
to God, as St. Teresa used to do, saying, " Lord,
here am I; do with me that which pleaseth Thee.
Declare to me Thy will, that I may do it for Thee; I
wish to do it thoroughly." Then repeat, as often as you
can, acts of love towards God. St. Teresa used also to
say that acts of love are the fuel by which holy love is
to be kept on fire within the heart. When the Venerable
Sister Seraphine of Carpi was one day considering
that the mule belonging to the convent had not the
power of loving God, she expressed her compassion for
it thus: "Poor brute; thou neither knowest nor canst
love thy God;" and the mule commenced to weep so that
the tears fell in streams from its eyes: so likewise do
you, when beholding any animal which has not the
capacity for knowing or loving God, animate yourself,
who can love him, to make the more abundant acts of
love. Whenever you fall into any fault, humble your
self for it immediately; and, with an act of more fervent
love, endeavor to rise again. When anything adverse
happens, immediately make an offering to God of what
you have to suffer, bringing your will into conformity
with his own; and ever accustom yourself under all
adverse circumstances to repeat these words: " Thus
God wills; thus I will too." Acts of resignation are the
acts of love that are most precious and acceptable to the
heart of God.

When you have to decide upon anything, or to give
any counsel of importance, first commend yourself to
God, and then set about your undertaking, or give your
opinion. As often as you can during the day, after the
example of St. Rose of Lima, repeat the prayer, Deus in
adjutorium meum intende: " Lord, come to my assistance;
do not leave me in my own hands." And for this end
frequently turn to the image of the Crucified, or to that
of the Most Holy Mary, which is in your room; and do
not omit to make frequent invocations of the names of
Jesus and of Mary, especially in time of temptation.
Since God is infinite goodness, his desire of communicating
his graces to us is perfect. The Venerable
Father Alvarez one day saw our Saviour with his hands
full of graces, and going about in search of those to
whom he might dispense them. But it is his will that
we should ask them of him. Ask, and ye shall receive,
otherwise he will draw back his hand; whereas, on the
contrary, he will willingly open it to those who call
upon him. And who is there, says the Preacher, that
hath called upon him and God despised him by not
granting his prayer? Who hath called upon Him, and He
hath despised him ? And David tells us that the Lord
shows not merely mercy, but great mercy, to those who
call upon him: For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild and
plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Thee.

Oh, how good and bountiful is the Lord to him who
seeks him lovingly ! The Lord is good to the soul that seeks
Him. If he lets himself be found even by him who
seeks him not - I was found by them that did not seek Me -
how much more willingly will he let himself be found by
one who seeks him, - and seeks him, too, in order to serve
him and to love him !

To conclude: St. Teresa says that holy souls in this
world have to conform themselves by love to what the
souls of the blessed do in heaven. As the saints in
heaven occupy themselves only with God, and have no
other thought or joy than in his glory and in his love,
so also must this be the case with you. While you are
in this world, let God be your only happiness, the only
object of your affections, the only end of all your actions
and desires, until you come to that eternal kingdom
where your love will be in all things perfected and completed,
and your desires will be perfectly fulfilled and satisfied.