Part IV, Chapter V

An Encouragement to a Soul in Temptation

These violent assaults and extraordinary temptations, Philothea, are permitted by God against those souls only whom he desires to elevate to the highest degree of divine love; yet it does not follow that they shall afterwards attain it; for it has often happened that those who have been constant under these assaults have, for want of faithfully corresponding with the divine favor, been afterwards overcome by very small temptations. This I tell you, that, if you should happen hereafter to be assaulted by great temptations, you may know that God confers an extraordinary favor on you when he thus declares his will to make you great in his sight; and that, nevertheless, you must be always humble and fearful, not assuring yourself that you shall be able to overcome small temptations, after you have prevailed against great ones, by any other means than a constant fidelity to his divine Majesty.

Whatever temptations, then, may hereafter befall you, or with whatever delectation they may be accompanied, so long as your will refuses her consent, not only to the temptation, but also to the delectation, give not yourself the least trouble, for God is not offended. As, when a man is so far gone in a fit as to show no sign of life, they lay their hand on his heart, and from the least palpitation they feel conclude that he is alive, and that by the application of some restorative he may again recover his strength and senses; so it sometimes happens that, through the violence of a temptation, our soul seems to have fallen into a fit, so as to have no longer any spiritual life or motion; but, if we desire to know how it is with her, let us lay our hand upon our heart, and consider whether our will still retains its spiritual motion, that is to say, whether it has done its duty in refusing to consent and to yield to the temptation and delectation; for, so long as this motion of refusal remains, we may rest assured that charity, the life of our soul, remains in us, and that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, although concealed, is there present; so that by means of the continued exercise of prayer, the sacraments, and a confidence in God, we shall again return to a strong, sound, and healthful spiritual life.

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