But now,Lord,I see that I receive Thee as truly as he,and so much the more nobly as Thy tender body is now glorified,and impassible,which then was passible.Wherefore,dearest Lord,if my heart had the love of all hearts,my conscience the purity of all the angels,and my soul the beauty of all souls so that by Thy grace I should be worthy of Thee,I would fain receive Thee today so affectionately,and so bury and sink Thee in the bottom of my heart and soul,that neither joy nor sorrow,neither life nor death,could separate Thee from me.Ah,sweet Lord,hadst Thou,my chosen love,only sent me Thy messenger,I should not have known,for all this world,how I ought to offer him a sufficient welcome.How then ought I to behave myself towards Him whom my soul loveth?Truly art Thou the only one thing in which everything is included,that,in time and eternity,my heart can desire.Or is there any thing else that my soul can desire of that which is contrary to Thee,or which is without Thee,for that would be repugnant to me.Truly art Thou the comeliest of all to the eyes,the sweetest of all to the mouth,the tenderest of all to the touch,the most beloved of all to the heart!Lord,my soul neither sees nor hears,nor feels aught of all that is here below,but she finds it severally a thousand times lovelier in Thee my chosen love.Ah,Eternal Lord,how am I to restrain myself in Thy regard from wonder and delight?Thy presence inflames me,but Thy greatness terrifies me.My reason will needs do honour to its Lord,but my heart desires to love its only good,and lovingly to embrace it.Thou art my Lord and my God,but Thou art also my Brother,and,if I may venture to say so,my beloved Spouse.Oh,what love,what rapture,and what great joy,what dignity do I not possess in Thee alone!Ah,sweet Lord,methinks that had I only been vouchsafed the grace to receive out of Thy open wounds,from Thy heart,one single drop of blood into my mouth,if I could have had my desire,it would have given me the fullness of joy.Ah,heartfelt,inconceivable wonder,now I have not only received one or two drops,but I have received all Thy hot,rose-coloured blood through my mouth into my heart and soul.Is not this a great thing?Ought I not to appreciate this which to the exalted angels is precious?Lord,would that all my limbs,and all that I am,were transformed into an unfathomable love for the sake of this sign of Thy love.Lord,what is there else in all this world that could rejoice my heart,or that it could desire,when Thou givest Thyself thus cordially to me to enjoy and love!Truly is it called a SACRAMENT OF LOVE.
When was there anything lovelier seen or heard of than to embrace love itself;than to be changed by grace into love itself?Lord,I see no difference except that Simeon received Thee visibly,and I receive Thee invisibly.But as little as my bodily eyes can see Thy true humanity,just as little could his bodily eyes contemplate Thy divinity,except through faith,as I do now.Lord,what new power is lodged in this bodily sight?He whose spiritual eyes are opened,has not much to see with his bodily eyes,for the eyes of the spirit see far more really and truly.Lord,I know by faith,so far as one can know it,that I have Thee here;what do I wish for more?Lord,it is a thousand times better for me that I am unable to see Thee;how could I ever have the heart thus visibly to partake of Thee!As it is,that which is lovely and delightful remains,while that which is inhuman falls away.Lord,when I truly reflect how inscrutably well,how lovingly and wisely Thou hast regulated all things,my heart with a loud voice,exclaims:Oh,the great treasure of the abyss of Divine Wisdom,what must Thou not be in Thyself,if Thou art so much in Thy fair emanations!Now,Oglorious Lord,look at the great and sincere desire of my heart.Lord,never was king or emperor so worthily received,never dear strange guest so cordially embraced,never bride so beautifully and tenderly taken home,nor so honourably maintained,as my soul desires to receive Thee,my most honoured emperor,my soul's most lovely Bridegroom,this day,and to introduce Thee to the innermost and the very best that my heart and soul are able to afford,and to offer it Thee as worthily as ever it was offered Thee by any creature.Wherefore,Lord,teach me how I should behave myself towards Thee,how,with due honour and love,I should receive Thee.
Eternal Wisdom.--Thou shouldst receive Me worthily,thou shouldst partake of Me with humility,thou shouldst keep Me earnestly,thou shouldst embrace Me with conjugal love,and have Me in My godly dignity before thy eyes.Spiritual hunger and actual devotion must impel thee to Me more than custom.The soul that wishes to feel Me interiorly in the recesses of a secluded life,and sweetly to enjoy Me,must,first of all,be cleansed from sin,must be adorned with virtue,encircled with self-denial,decked out with the red roses of ardent love,strewn over with the fair violets of humble submission,and the white lilies of perfect purity.She should pray to Me with peace of heart,for in peace is My dwelling-place.She should clasp Me in her arms to the exclusion of all strange affections;for these I avoid,and flee as the free bird avoids and flees the cage.She should sing Me the song of Sion,which is a song of fervent,loving,and measureless praise;then will I embrace her,and she shall incline herself on My breast.
There,if she finds a calm repose,a pure vision,unusual fruition,a foretaste of eternal bliss,let her preserve it,let her keep it for herself,and,with a sighing heart,let her speak as follows:Truly art thou the hidden God,the secret good which no one can know that has not felt it.
The Servant.--Alas,the great blindness in which I have hitherto lived!
