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The soul, who is lifted by a very great and yearning
desire for the honor of God and the salvation of
souls, begins by exercising herself, for a certain
space of time, in the ordinary virtues, remaining in
the cell of self-knowledge, in order to know better
the goodness of God towards her.
This she does because knowledge must precede love,
and only when she has attained love, can she strive
to follow and to clothe herself with the truth. But,
in no way, does the creature receive such a taste of
the truth, or so brilliant a light therefrom, as by
means of humble and continuous prayer, founded on
knowledge of herself and of God; because prayer,
exercising her in the above way, unites with God the
soul that follows the footprints of Christ Crucified,
and thus, by desire and affection, and union of love,
makes her another Himself.
Christ would seem to have meant this, when He
said: To him who will love Me and will observe My
commandment, will I manifest Myself; and he shall be
one thing with Me and I with him. In several places
we find similar words, by which we can see that it
is, indeed, through the effect of love, that the soul
becomes another Himself.
That this may be seen more clearly, I will mention
what I remember having heard from a handmaid of God,
namely, that, when she was lifted up in prayer, with
great elevation of mind, God was not wont to conceal,
from the eye of her intellect, the love which He had
for His servants, but rather to manifest it; and,
that among other things, He used to say: "Open the
eye of your intellect, and gaze into Me, and you
shall see the beauty of My rational creature. And
look at those creatures who, among the beauties which
I have given to the soul, creating her in My image
and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment
(that is, the garment of love), adorned with many
virtues, by which they are united with Me through
love. And yet I tell you, if you should ask Me, who
these are, I should reply" (said the sweet and
amorous Word of God) "they are another Myself,
inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will,
and are clothed with Mine, are united to Mine, are
conformed to Mine."
It is therefore true, indeed, that the soul unites
herself with God by the affection of love.
So, that soul, wishing to know and follow the
truth more manfully, and lifting her desires first
for herself -- for she considered that a soul could
not be of use, whether in doctrine, example, or
prayer, to her neighbor, if she did not first profit
herself, that is, if she did not acquire virtue in
herself -- addressed four requests to the Supreme and
Eternal Father. The first was for herself; the
second for the reformation of the Holy Church;
the third a general prayer for the whole
world, and in particular for the peace of Christians
who rebel, with much lewdness and persecution,
against the Holy Church; in the fourth and
last, she besought the Divine Providence to provide
for things in general, and in particular, for a
certain case with which she was concerned.
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