Volume II, Treatise I, Chapter XIX

Of Two Sufficient Means to Render Mortification Sweet and Easy; Which Are the Grace of God and His Holy Love.,

I SHALL now speak of such means, as may help us to render this so necessary a practice of mortification, not only light and easy, but sweet and pleasant also. The first means is the grace of God, with which all things become easy. St. Paul supplies us with both an example, and a proof of this truth. The sting of the flesh, the angel of Satan tormented him; thrice he begged of God to be delivered from it; and God made this answer to him: “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)° on this he felt himself so fortified, that he said, “lam able to do all things, in him that strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) And added moreover, in the same place, “yet it is not I that do it, but the grace of God assisting me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) We must not believe that God leaves us to our own strength, in time of mortification and suffering. No! he bears the greatest part of the burden himself; and for this reason the law is called a yoke, which is to be borne by two. For Jesus Christ joins himself to us, to help us to support it; and with his assistance who can be discouraged? Wherefore let nothing in the law appear to you too hard, since you will have nothing but the easiest part of it to bear. It is for this reason also, that he. calls it a yoke and a burden; when he says, “my Joke is easy, and my burden light.”—-(Mat. xi. 30.) For though, in regard of our nature and weakness, it be ever so hard a yoke, and ever so heavy a burden, yet the grace of God renders it very easy and light; because our Lord himself helps us to bear it, according to his promise made us by the prophet Osee, “I will be unto them, as he that takes the yoke from off their heads.” (Osee 11:4) God says the same in Isaias, “That he will make the yoke rot before the oil.”—(Isa. x. 27.) For though mortification appears a troublesome and a heavy yoke, yet the grace of God, which is signified by oil, will make it rot, that is to say, will sweeten it in such manner, that so far from its hurting us, we shall scarce feel it.

St. Bernard, in his first Sermon upon the dedication of a church, says, that as in the consecration of a church, the walls are anointed with holy oil, so our Saviour does the same in religious souls, sweetening, by the spiritual unction of his grace, all their crosses, penances, and mortifications. Worldlings are afraid of a religious life, because they see its crosses, but perceive not the unction with which they are covered and made easy. “But you,” says the saint speaking to his religious, “know by experience, that our cross is truly full of unction, whereby it is not only light, but all the bitterness and hardship we find in our state, is rendered by the grace of God sweet and pleasant.” St. Austin owns, that before he knew the

‘power of grace, he could never comprehend what chastity was, nor believe that any one was able to practise it. But the grace of God renders all things so very easy, that if we possess it, we may say with St. John, “that the commandments of God are not at all heavy” (1 John 5:3), because the abundance of grace he bestows upon us, whereby to fulfil them, renders them most sweet and easy. St. Gregory, writing upon these words of the prophet Isaias, “they who hope in God shall change their strength,” (Isa. xl. 31), says, there are two sorts of strength; that of the just, which makes them suffer all mortifications for the love of God; and that of the wicked, which makes them undergo all sorts of pain for the love of the world, for the maintaining of their vanity, for the obtaining riches, and for the satisfying all their irregular appetites. He adds, that those who confide in the grace of our Lord, shall change the vain strength of worldlings, into that of the servants of God.

The second means, which makes the practice of mortification easy, isthe love of God. Love, more than any thing else, sweetens pain of every kind. ‘He who loves,’ says St. Austin, “thinks — nothing hard; and the least labour is insupportable to those who love not. Thereis nothing but love, that is ashamed to find difficulty in © any thing.’’—(Serm. ix. de Verb. Dom.) It is after this manner that those who love hunting, make no account of the labour and pains they take in it, but rather look upon it asa pleasure. Isit not love that makes the mother find no difficulty in nursing or bringing up her infant? Is it no love that keeps the wife day and night at her sick husband’s bedside? Is it not love that causes all sorts of creatures to take so much care in nourishing their young ones, that they even abstain from eating, and expose themselves to dangers for their sakes? In fine, was it not love that made Jacob think his fourteen years’ service for Rachael short and sweet? ‘ His love,” says the scripture, “for her was so great, that he counted so long a time as nothing.”—-(Genesis 29:20) St. Bernard upon these words of the spouse, “my beloved is to me a little posy of myrrh,” (Canticle of Canticles 2:12), “she calls him,” says the saint, “a little posy, by reason that the excess of her love made her look upon all the pains she could suffer as as little or nothing.”—(Serm. xliii. in Cant.) Moreover, adds the saint, take notice that she not only says, “my beloved is a posy of myrrh,” which is used for pleasure, but a little posy of myrrh “‘ to me;” by which last words, she would explain that it is only a little and pleasant posy to those that love. Wherefore, if this little posy seems great or unpleasant to you, it is because you love not. For we are to measure the love we have for God, by the greater or less difficulty which we feel in things. The difficulties in virtue are not great in themselves, it is the weakness of. our love, that makes them appear so tous. ‘ Wherefore love much, and you will not only feel no pain, but much pleasure therein.” — (Serm. Ixxxv. in Cant.) For no sooner does love appear, but all pain vanishes, and all sweetness accompanies it. A certain holy woman said, that from her first being touched with the love of God, she knew not what it was to suffer, either exteriorily or interiorly; neither from the world, the flesh, nor the devil; nor, in fine, by: any other way or means whatsoever:—because pure love knows not what pain or torment is. Love, therefore, not only raises the price of all our actions, and renders them more perfect, but it gives. us strength and courage to support all sorts of mortifications, and makes us feel great felicity and sweetness, even in the most bitter and hard things. It was in this manner, that St. Chrysostom explained these words of the apostle, “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10); for he does not only say, as this great saint takes notice, that the law and all the commandments are included in love, but that it is love which renders the observance of both most easy. co, This is confirmed by these words of the wise man: “love is as strong as death.”—(Canticle of Canticles 8:6) Amongst many explanations which the saints gave of these words, there are two which serve very well our purpose. The first is St. Gregory’s, who says, that as death separates the soul from the body, so the love of God separates the soul from corporeal and sensible things, and as death takes 2 man away from the commerce of all things of this world, so the love of God, when it is becomes master of our heart, entirely disengages us from all ties either of the world or the flesh. Love is as strong as death, because as death kills the body, so the love of God kills and extinguishes our affection to all carnal objects, and causes a Christian to die to the world and self-love, and makes him enjoy no other life but what is in Jesus Christ: and therefore he may say with St. Paul, “I live indeed, yet it is not I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The second explanation is of St. Austin, who says, that the love of God is as strong as death, because nothing can resist death when it comes. No remedy, no knowledge, no riches, nor any greatness is able to withstand it: in like manner, when the love of God has taken fall possession of a heart, nothing in the world is able to cast it out. Riches, honours, prosperity, and adversity are very insignificant obstacles, and serve only to increase and so much the more fortify it in a soul. Such as have renounced the world, to follow the narrow path of religion, know very well, that by a spark only of this love, they made a courageous resistance to all things that opposed their design; so that no consideration of friends, parents, or any thing else in the world, was able to withdraw them from it. On the contrary, they joyfully trod them all under foot, and thought them mere vanity and misery, in comparison of the happy life they embraced. Let us therefore love much, and nothing will be able to stop us in the way of perfection. Then we shall be able to say with the apostle: “Who then shall be able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ? Shall tribulation, affliction, hunger, nakedness, dangers, persecutions, or even the sword itself be able to do it? For my part, I am certain, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor any thing that is in heaven above, or in hell beneath, nor lastly any creature whatsoever, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-38)

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