Part II, Chapter XVIII

How We Ought to Receive Inspirations

By inspirations are meant all those interior attractions, motions, reproaches and remorses, lights and conceptions, which God excites in us, preventing our hearts with his blessings, through his fatherly care and love, in order to awaken, stimulate, urge, and attract us to the practice of every virtue; to heavenly love; to good resolutions; and, in a word, to everything that may help us on our way to eternal happiness. This is what the Spouse calls knocking at the door, and speaking to the heart of his spouse; awaking her when she sleeps; calling after her when she is absent; inviting her to gather apples and flowers in his garden; to sing and to cause her sweet voice to sound in his ears.

That you may the more perfectly comprehend me, I must use a comparison. Marriage should be preceded by three circumstances with relation to the lady who is to be married: first, the person is proposed to her; secondly, she entertains the proposition; thirdly, she gives her consent. In like manner, when God intends doing us some act of great charity, or through our means to some other person; at first, he proposes it by inspiration; secondly, we are pleased with it; and thirdly we give our full consent to it. For, as there are three steps by which we descend to the commission of sin, viz., temptation, delectation, and consent; so there are also three steps by which we ascend to the practice of virtue: inspiration, which is opposite to temptation; the delectation conceived in the inspiration, which is opposite to the delectation in the temptation; and the consent to the inspiration, which is opposite to the consent given to the temptation.

Now, though the inspiration should continue during our whole life, yet we could not render ourselves pleasing to God if we took no pleasure in it; on the contrary, he would be offended with us, as he was with the Israelites, whose conversion he had been soliciting very nearly forty years. (Psalms 94:10) During this time they would give no ear to him, and he swore in his wrath that they should never enter into his rest. In like manner, the gentleman that had for a long time served a young lady would be very much disobliged, if, after all his attentions, she would not hearken to the marriage he desired.

By the pleasure we take in inspirations we not only show a disposition to glorify God, but begin already to please his divine Majesty. For although this delight is not an entire consent, yet it is a certain disposition towards it, and if it be a good sign to take pleasure in hearing the word of God, which is an exterior inspiration, it must also, no doubt, be a good thing and pleasing to God, to take delight in his internal aspirations. Of this kind of pleasure the sacred spouse speaks (Canticle of Canticles 5:6): “My soul melted when my beloved spoke.” Thus the gentleman is already well pleased with the lady whom he serves, and esteems himself favored when he sees her take delight in his service.

But, after all, it is the consent which perfects the virtuous act. For, if after receiving and taking pleasure in the inspiration, we nevertheless refuse our consent, we show ourselves extremely ungrateful, and highly offend his divine Majesty, by our contempt of his favors. Thus it happened to the spouse, for though the sweet voice of her beloved had touched her heart with a holy pleasure, yet she would not open to him the door, but excused herself by a frivolous excuse, with which her spouse, being justly displeased, went his way and left her. Thus, if the gentleman, who after having for a long time paid his addresses to a lady, and made his service agreeable to her, is at last shaken off and spurned, would he not have much more reason for discontent than if his suit had never been favored with any encouragement?

Resolve, then, Philothea, to accept with cordiality all the inspirations it shall please God to send you; and when they come receive them as ambassadors sent by the King of heaven, who desires to enter into a contract of marriage with you. Attend calmly to his propositions, think of the love with which you are inspired, cherish the holy inspiration, and consent to the holy motion, with an entire, a loving and a permanent consent; for, by this means, God, whom you cannot oblige, will hold himself greatly obliged to your good will. But before you consent to inspirations in things that are of great importance, or that are out of the ordinary way, always consult your spiritual guide, that he may examine whether the inspiration be true or false, lest you should be deceived; because the enemy, seeing a soul ready to consent to inspirations, often proposes false ones to deceive her, which he can never do, so long as she with humility obeys her conductor.

The consent being given, you must diligently procure the effects, and hasten to put the inspiration into execution, which is the height of true virtue; for to have the consent within the heart without producing its effects would be like planting a vine and not intending it should bring forth fruit.

Now, what contributes wonderfully to all this is the practice of the morning exercise, and of those spiritual retirements above recommended, as by these means we prepare ourselves to do what is good, not only by a general, but also by a particular, preparation.

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