A TREATISE OF OBEDIENCE
Here begins the treatise of
obedience, and first of where obedience may be found, and what it is that
destroys it, and what is the sign of a man's possessing it, and what
accompanies and nourishes obedience.
The Supreme and Eternal Father, kindly turning the
eye of His mercy and clemency towards her, replied: "Your holy desire and
righteous request, oh! dearest daughter, have a right to be heard, and inasmuch
as I am the Supreme Truth, I will keep My word, fulfilling the promise which I
made to you, and satisfying your desire. And if you ask Me where obedience is
to be found, and what is the cause of its loss, and the sign of its possession,
I reply that you will find it in its completeness in the sweet and amorous
Word, My only-begotten Son. So prompt in Him was this virtue, that, in order to
fulfill it, He hastened to the shameful death of the Cross. What destroys
obedience? Look at the first man and you will see the cause which destroyed the
obedience imposed on him by Me, the Eternal Father. It was pride, which was
produced by self- love, and desire to please his companion. This was the cause
that deprived him of the perfection of obedience, giving him instead
disobedience, depriving him of the life of grace, and slaying his innocence,
wherefore he fell into impurity and great misery, and not only he, but the
whole human race, as I said to you. The sign that you have this virtue is patience,
and impatience the sign that you have it not, and you will find that this is
indeed so, when I speak to you further concerning this virtue. But observe that
obedience may be kept in two ways, of which one is more perfect than the other,
not that they are on that account separated, but united as I explained to you
of the precepts and counsels. The one way is the most perfect, the other is
also good and perfect; for no one at all can reach eternal life if he be not
obedient, for the door was unlocked by the key of obedience, which had been
fastened by the disobedience of Adam. I, then, being constrained by My infinite
goodness, since I saw that man whom I so much loved, did not return to Me, his
End, took the keys of obedience and placed them in the hands of My sweet and
amorous Word -- the Truth -- and He becoming the porter of that door, opened
it, and no one can enter except by means of that door and that Porter.
Wherefore He said in the Holy Gospel that 'no one could come to Me, the Father,
if not by Him.' When He returned to Me, rising to Heaven from the conversation
of men at the Ascension, He left you this sweet key of obedience; for as you
know He left His vicar, the Christ, on earth, whom you are all obliged to obey
until death, and whoever is outside His obedience is in a state of damnation,
as I have already told you in another place. Now I wish you to see and know
this most excellent virtue in that humble and immaculate Lamb, and the source
whence it proceeds. What caused the great obedience of the Word? The love which
He had for My honor and your salvation. Whence proceeded this love? From the
clear vision with which His soul saw the divine essence and the eternal
Trinity, thus always looking on Me, the eternal God. His fidelity obtained this
vision most perfectly for Him, which vision you imperfectly enjoy by the light
of holy faith. He was faithful to Me, His eternal Father, and therefore
hastened as one enamored along the road of obedience, lit up with the light of
glory. And inasmuch as love cannot be alone, but is accompanied by all the true
and royal virtues, because all the virtues draw their life from love, He
possessed them all, but in a different way from that in which you do. Among the
others he possessed patience, which is the marrow of obedience, and a
demonstrative sign, whether a soul be in a state of grace and truly love or
not. Wherefore charity, the mother of patience, has given her as a sister to
obedience, and so closely united them together that one cannot be lost without
the other. Either you have them both or you have neither. This virtue has a
nurse who feeds her, that is, true humility; therefore a soul is obedient in
proportion to her humility, and humble in proportion to her obedience. This
humility is the foster-mother and nurse of charity, and with the same milk she
feeds the virtue of obedience. Her raiment given her by this nurse is
self-contempt, and insult, desire to displease herself, and to please Me. Where
does she find this? In sweet Christ Jesus, My only-begotten Son. For who abased
Himself more than He did! He was sated with insults, jibes, and mockings. He
caused pain to Himself in His bodily life, in order to please Me. And who was
more patient than He? for His cry was never heard in murmuring, but He patiently
embraced His injuries like one enamored, fulfilling the obedience imposed on
Him by Me, His Eternal Father. Wherefore in Him you will find obedience
perfectly accomplished. He left you this rule and this doctrine, which gives
you life, for it is the straight way, having first observed them Himself. He is
the way, wherefore He said, 'He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' For he
who travels by that way, travels in the light, and being enlightened cannot
stumble, or be caused to fall, without perceiving it. For He has cast from
Himself the darkness of self-love, by which he fell into disobedience; for as I
spoke to you of a companion virtue proceeding from obedience and humility, so I
tell you that disobedience comes from pride, which issues from self-love depriving
the soul of humility. The sister given by self-love to disobedience is
impatience, and pride, her foster-mother, feeds her with the darkness of
infidelity, so she hastens along the way of darkness, which leads her to
eternal death. All this you should read in that glorious book, where you find
described this and every other virtue."
How obedience is the key with
which Heaven is opened, and how the soul should fasten it by means of a cord to
her girdle, and of the excellences of obedience.
"Now that I have shown you where obedience is
to be found, and whence she comes, and who is her companion, and who her
foster-mother, I will continue to speak of the obedient and of the disobedient
together, and of obedience in general, which is the obedience of the precepts;
and in particular, which is that of the counsels. The whole of your faith is
founded upon obedience, for by it you prove your fidelity. You are all in
general by My truth to obey the commandments of the law, the chief of which is
to love Me above everything, and your neighbor as yourself, and the
commandments are so bound up together, that you cannot observe or transgress
one without observing or transgressing all. He who observes this principal
commandment observes all the others; he is faithful to Me and his neighbor, for
he loves Me and My creature, and is therefore obedient, becoming subject to the
commandments of the law, and to creatures for My sake, and with humble patience
he endures every labor, and even his neighbor's detraction of him. This
obedience is of such excellence that you all derive grace from it, just as from
disobedience you all derive death. Wherefore it is not enough that it should be
only in word, and not practiced by you. I have already told you that this word
is the key which opens heaven, which key My Son placed in the hands of His
vicar. This vicar placed it in the hands of everyone who receives holy baptism,
promising therein to renounce the world and all its pomps and delights, and to
obey. So that each man has in his own person that very same key which the Word
had, and if a man does not unlock in the light of faith, and with the hand of
love the gate of heaven by means of this key, he never will enter there, in
spite of its having been opened by the Word; for though I created you without
yourselves, I will not save you without yourselves. Wherefore you must take the
key in your hand and walk by the doctrine of My Word, and not remain seated,
that is to say, placing your love in finite things, as do foolish men who follow
the first man, their first father, following his example, and casting the key
of obedience into the mud of impurity, breaking it with the hammer of pride,
rusting it with self-love. It would have been entirely destroyed had not My
only-begotten Son, the Word, come and taken this key of obedience in His hands
and purified it in the fire of divine love, having drawn it out of the mud, and
cleansed it with His blood, and straightened it with the knife of justice, and
hammered your iniquities into shape on the anvil of His own body. So perfectly
did He repair it that no matter how much a man may have spoiled his key by his
free-will, by the self- same free-will, assisted by My grace, he can repair it
with the same instruments that were used by My Word. Oh! blinder than the
blind, for, having spoiled the key of obedience, you do not think of mending
it! Do you think, forsooth, that the disobedience which closed the door of
Heaven will open it? that the pride which fell can rise? Do you think to be
admitted to the marriage feast in foul and disordered garments? Do you think
that sitting down and binding yourself with the chain of mortal sin, you can
walk? or that without a key you can open the door? Do not imagine that you can,
for it is a fantastical delusion; you must be firm, you must leave mortal sin
by a holy confession, contrition of heart, satisfaction, and purpose of
amendment. Then you will throw off that hideous and defiled garment and,
clothed in the shining nuptial robe, will hasten, the key of obedience in your
hand, to open the door. But bind this key with the cord of self-contempt, and
hatred of yourself and of the world, and fasten it to the love of pleasing Me,
Your creator, of which you should make a girdle to yourself to bind your loins
with it, for fear you lose it. Know, My daughter, there are many who take up
this key of obedience, having seen by the light of faith that in no other way
can they escape eternal damnation; but they hold it in their hand without
wearing this girdle, or fastening the key to it with the cord of self-contempt,
that is to say that they are not perfectly clothed with My pleasure, but still
seek to please themselves; they do not wear the cord of self-contempt, for they
do not desire to be despised, but rather take delight in the praise of men.
Such as these are apt to lose their key; for if they suffer a little extra
fatigue, or mental or corporal tribulation, and if, as often happens, the hand
of holy desire loosens its grasp, they will lose it. They can indeed find it
again if they wish to while they live, but if they do not wish they will never
find it, and what will prove to them, that they have lost it? Impatience, for
patience was united to obedience, and their impatience proves that obedience
does not dwell in their soul. Oh! how sweet and glorious is this virtue, which
contains all the rest, for she is conceived and born of charity, on her is
founded the rock of the holy faith. She is a queen whose consort will feel no
trouble, but only peace and quiet; the waves of the stormy sea cannot hurt her,
nor can any tempest reach the interior of the soul in whom she dwells. Such a
one feels no hatred when injured, because he wishes to obey the precept of
forgiveness, he suffers not when his appetites are not satisfied, because
obedience has ordered him to desire Me alone, who can and will satisfy all his
desires, if he strip himself of worldly riches. And so in all things which
would be too long to relate, he who has chosen as spouse Queen Obedience, the
appointed key of heaven, finds peace and quiet. Oh! blessed obedience! you
voyage without fatigue, and reach without danger the port of salvation, you are
conformed to My only-begotten Son, the Word, you board the ship of the holy
cross, forcing yourself to endure, so as not to transgress the obedience of the
Word, nor abandon His doctrine, of which you make a table when you eat the food
of souls, dwelling in the love of your neighbor, being anointed with true
humility, which saves you from coveting, contrary to My will, his possessions,
you walk erect, without bending, for your heart is sincere and not false,
loving generously and truly My creatures, you are a sunrise drawing after you
the light of divine grace, you are a sun which makes the earth, that is to say,
the organs of the soul, to germinate with the heat of charity, all of which as
well as those of the body produce life-giving fruit for yourself and your
neighbor. You are even cheerful, for your face is never wrinkled with
impatience, but smooth and pleasant with the happiness of patience, and even in
its fortitude you are great by your long endurance, so long that it reaches
from earth to heaven and unlocks the celestial door. You are a hidden pearl,
trampled by the world, abasing yourself, submitting to all creatures. Yet your
kingdom is so great that no one can rule you, for you have come out of the
mortal servitude of your own sensuality, which destroyed your dignity, and
having slain this enemy with hatred and dislike of your own pleasure have
re-obtained your liberty."
Here both the misery of the
disobedient and the excellence of the obedient are spoken of.
"All this, dearest daughter, has been done by
My goodness and providence as I have told you, for by My providence the Word
repaired the key of obedience, but worldly men devoid of every virtue do the
contrary; they, like unbridled horses, without the bit of obedience, go from
bad to worse, from sin to sin, from misery to misery, from darkness to
darkness, from death to death, until they finally reach the edge of the ditch
of death, gnawed by the worm of their conscience, and though it is true that
they can obey the precepts of the law if they will, and have the time repenting
of their disobedience, it is very hard for them to do so, on account of their
long habit of sin. Therefore let no man trust to this, putting off his finding
of the key of obedience to the moment of his death, for although everyone may
and should hope as long as he has life, he should not put such trust in this
hope as to delay repentance. What is the reason of all this, and of such
blindness that prevents them recognizing this treasure? The cloud of self-love
and wretched pride, through which they abandoned obedience, and fell into
disobedience. Being disobedient they are impatient, as has been said, and in
their impatience endure intolerable pain, for it has seduced them from the way
of Truth, leading them along a way of lies, making them slaves and friends of
the devils with whom, unless indeed they amend themselves with patience, they
will go to the eternal torments. Contrariwise, My beloved sons, obedient and
observers of the law, rejoice and exult in My eternal vision with the
Immaculate and humble Lamb, the Maker, Fulfiller, and Giver of this law of
obedience. Observing this law in this life they taste peace without any
disturbance, they receive and clothe themselves in the most perfect peace, for
there they possess every good without any evil, safety without any fear, riches
without any poverty, satiety without disgust, hunger without pain, light
without darkness, one supreme infinite good, shared by all those who taste it
truly. What has placed them in so blessed a state? The blood of the Lamb, by
virtue of which the key of obedience has lost its rust, so that, by the virtue
of the blood, it has been able to unlock the door. Oh! fools and madmen, delay
no longer to come out of the mud of impurity, for you seem like pigs to wallow
in the mire of your own lust. Abandon the injustice, murders, hatreds, rancors,
detractions, murmurings, false judgments, and cruelty, with which you use your
neighbors, your thefts and treacheries, and the disordinate pleasures and
delights of the world; cut off the horns of pride, by which amputation you will
extinguish the hatred which is in your heart against your neighbors. Compare
the injuries which you do to Me and to your neighbor with those done to you,
and you will see that those done to you are but trifles. You will see that
remaining in hatred you injure Me by transgressing My precept, and you also injure
the object of your hate, for you deprive him of your love, whereas you have
been commanded to love Me above everything, and your neighbor as yourself. No
gloss has been put upon these words as if it should have been said, if your
neighbor injures you do not love him; but they are to be taken naturally and
simply, as they were said to you by My Truth, who Himself literally observed
this rule. Literally also should you observe it, and if you do not you will
injure your own soul, depriving it of the life of grace. Take, oh! take, then,
the key of obedience with the light of faith, walk no longer in such darkness
or cold, but observe obedience in the fire of love, so that you may taste
eternal life together with the other observers of the law."
Of those who have such love for
obedience that they do not remain content with the general obedience of
precepts, but take on themselves a particular obedience.
"There are some, My dearest daughter, in whom
the sweet and amorous fire of love towards obedience burns so high (which fire
of love cannot exist without hatred of self-love, so that when the fire
increases so does this self-hatred), that they are not content to observe the
precepts of the Law with a general obedience as you are all obliged to do if
you will have life and not death, but take upon themselves a particular
obedience, following the greatest perfection, so that they become observers of
the counsels both in deed and in thought. Such as these wish to bind themselves
more tightly through self-hatred, and in order to restrain in everything their
own will. They either place themselves under the yoke of obedience in holy
religion, or, without entering religion, they bind themselves to some creature,
submitting their will to his, so as more expeditiously to unlock the door of
Heaven. These are they, as I have told you, who have chosen the most perfect
obedience. I have already spoken to you of obedience in general, and as I know
it to be your will that I should speak to you of this particular and most
perfect obedience, I will now relate to you somewhat of this second kind, which
is not divided from the first, but is more perfect, for, as I have already told
you, these two kinds of obedience are so closely united together that they
cannot be separated. I have told you where general obedience is to be found and
whence it proceeds, and the cause of its loss. Now I will speak to you of this
particular obedience, not altering, however, the fundamental principle of the
virtue."
How a soul advances from
general to particular obedience; and of the excellence of the religious orders.
"The soul who with love has submitted to the
yoke of obedience, to the Commandments, following the doctrine of My truth
virtuously exercising herself, as has been said, in this general kind of
obedience will advance to the second kind by means of the same light which
brought her to the first, for by the light of the most holy faith she would
have learnt, in the blood of the humble Lamb, My truth -- the ineffable love
which I have for her, and her own fragility, which cannot respond to Me with
due perfection. So she wanders, seeking by that light in what place and in what
way she can pay her debt, trampling on her own fragility, and restraining her
own will. Enlightened in her search by faith, she finds the place -- namely,
holy religion -- which has been founded by the Holy Spirit, appointed as the
ship to receive souls who wish to hasten to perfection, and to bring them to
the port of salvation. The Captain of this ship is the Holy Spirit, who never
fails in Himself through the defects of any of His religious subjects who may
transgress the rule of the order. The ship itself cannot be damaged, but only
the offender. It is true that the mistake of the steersman may send her down
into the billows, and these are wicked pastors and prelates appointed by the
Master of the ship. The ship herself is so delightful that your tongue could
not narrate it. I say, then, that the soul, on fire with desire and a holy self-hatred,
having found her place by the light of faith, enters there as one dead, if she
is truly obedient; that is to say, if she have perfectly observed general
obedience. And even if she should be imperfect when she enters, it does not
follow that she cannot attain perfection. On the contrary, she attains it by
exercising herself in the virtue of obedience; indeed, most of those who enter
are imperfect. There are some who enter already in perfection, others in the
childhood of virtue, others through fear, others through penance, others
through allurements, everything depends on whether after they have entered they
exercise themselves in virtue, and persevere till death, for no true judgment
can be made on a person's entrance into religion, but only on their
perseverance, for many have appeared to be perfect who have afterwards turned
back, or remained in the order with much imperfection, so that, as I have said,
the act of entrance into this ship ordained by Me, who call men in different
ways, does not supply material for a real judgment, but only the love of those
who persevere therein with true obedience. This ship is rich, so that there is
no need for the subject to think about his necessities either temporal or
spiritual, for if he is truly obedient, and observes his order, he will be
provided for by his Master, who is the Holy Spirit, as I told you when I spoke
to you of My providence, saying that though your servants might be poor, they
were never beggars. No more are these, for they find everything they need, and
those who observe this order find this to be indeed true. Wherefore, see that
in the days when the religious orders lived virtuously, blossoming with true
poverty and fraternal charity, their temporal substance never failed them, but
they had more than their needs demanded. But because the stench of self-love
has entered and caused each to keep his private possessions and to fail in
obedience, their temporal substance has failed, and the more they possess to
the greater destitution do they come. It is just that even in the smallest
matters they should experience the fruit of disobedience, for had they been
obedient and observed the vow of poverty, each would not have taken his own,
and lived privately. See the riches of these holy rules, so thoughtfully and
luminously appointed by those who were temples of the Holy Spirit. See with
what judgment Benedict ordered his ship; see with what perfection and order of
poverty Francis ordered his ship, decked with the pearls of virtue, steering it
in the way of lofty perfection, being the first to give his order for spouse,
true and holy poverty, whom he had chosen for himself, embracing self-contempt
and self-hatred, not desiring to please any creature but only your will;
desiring rather to be thought vile by the world, macerating his body and
slaying his will, clothing himself in insults, sufferings, and jibes, for love
of the humble Lamb, with whom he was fastened and nailed to the cross by love,
so that by a singular grace there appeared in his body the very wounds of your
Truth, showing in the vessel of his body that which was in the love of his
soul, so he prepared the way.
"But you will say, 'Are not all the other
religious orders equally founded on this point?' Yes, but though they are all
founded on it, in no other is this the principal foundation; as with the
virtues, though all the virtues draw their life from charily, nevertheless, as
I explained to you in another place, one virtue belongs especially to one man,
and another to another, and yet they all remain in charity, so with the
principal foundation of the religious orders. Poverty belonged especially to My
poor man Francis, who placed the principal foundation of his order in love for
this poverty, and made it very strict for those who were perfect, for the few
and the good, not for the majority. I say few because they are not many who
choose this perfection, though now through their sins they are multiplied in
numbers and deficient in virtue, not through defect of the ship, but through
disobedient subjects and wicked rulers. Now look at the ship of your father
Dominic, My beloved son: he ordered it most perfectly, wishing that his sons
should apply themselves only to My honor and the salvation of souls, with the
light of science, which light he laid as his principal foundation, not,
however, on that account, being deprived of true and voluntary poverty, but
having it also. And as a sign that he had it truly, and that the contrary
displeased him, he left as an heirloom to his sons his curse and Mine, if they
should hold any possessions, either privately or in community, as a sign that
he had chosen for his spouse Queen Poverty. But for his more immediate and
personal object he took the light of science in order to extirpate the errors
which had arisen in his time, thus taking on him the office of My only-begotten
Son, the Word. Rightly he appeared as an apostle in the world, and sowed the
seed of My Word with much truth and light, dissipating darkness and giving
light. He was a light which I gave the world by means of Mary, placed in the
mystical body of the Holy Church as an extirpator of heresies. Why do I say by
means of Mary? Because Mary gave him his habit -- this office was committed to
her by My goodness. At what table does he feed his sons with the light of
science? At the table of the cross, which is the table of holy desire, when
souls are eaten for My honor. Dominic does not wish his sons to apply
themselves to anything, but remaining at this table, there to seek with the
light of science, the glory and praise of My name alone, and the salvation of
souls. And in order that they might do nothing else, he chose poverty for them,
so that they might not have the care of temporal things. It is true that some
failed in faith, fearing that they would not be provided for, but he never.
Being clothed in faith, and hoping with firm confidence in My providence, He
wishes his sons to observe obedience and do their duty, and since impure living
obscures the eye of the intellect, and not only the eye of the intellect, but
also of the body, he does not wish them to obscure their physical light with
which they may more perfectly obtain the light of science; wherefore he imposed
on them the third vow of continence, and wishes that all should observe it,
with true and perfect obedience, although today it is badly observed. They also
prevent the light of science with the darkness of pride, not that this light
can be darkened in itself, but only in their souls, for there, where pride is,
can be no obedience. I have already told you that a man's humility is in
proportion to his obedience, and his obedience to his humility, and similarly,
when he transgresses the vow of obedience, it rarely happens that he does not
also transgress the vow of continence, either in thought or deed; so that he
has rigged his ship with the three ropes of obedience, continence, and true
poverty; he made it a royal ship, not obliging his subjects under pain of
mortal sin, and illuminated by Me the true light, he provided for those who
should be less perfect, for though all who observe the order are perfect in
kind, yet one possesses a higher degree of perfection than another, yet all
perfect or imperfect live well in this ship. He allied himself with My truth,
showing that he did not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he should
be converted and live. Wherefore his religion is a delightful garden, broad and
joyous and flagrant, but the wretches who do not observe the order, but
transgress its vows, have turned it into a desert and defiled it with their
scanty virtue and light of science, though they are nourished at its breast. I
do not say that the order itself is in this condition, for it still possesses
every delight, but in the beginning its subjects were not as they are now, but
blooming flowers, and men of great perfection. Each scented to be another St.
Paul, their eyes so illuminated that the darkness of error was dissipated by
their glance. Look at My glorious Thomas, who gazed with the gentle eye of his
intellect at My Truth, whereby he acquired supernatural light and science
infused by grace, for he obtained it rather by means of prayer than by human
study. He was a brilliant light, illuminating his order and the mystical body
of the Holy Church, dissipating the clouds of heresy. Look at My Peter, virgin
and martyr, who by his blood gave light among the darkness of many heresies,
and the heretics hated him so that at last they took his life; yet while he
lived he applied himself to nothing but prayer, preaching, and disputation with
heretics, hearing confessions, announcing the truth, and spreading the faith
without any fear, to such an extent that he not only confessed it in his life
but even at the moment of his death, for when he was at the last extremity,
having neither voice nor ink left, having received his death-blow, he dipped
his finger in his blood, and this glorious martyr, having not paper on which to
write, leaned over, confessing the faith, and wrote the Credo on the ground.
His heart burnt in the furnace of My charity, so that he never slackened his
pace nor turned his head back, though he knew that he was to die, for I had
revealed to him his death, but like a true knight he fearlessly came forth on
to the battlefield; and I could tell you the same of many others, who though
they did not actually experience martyrdom, were martyrs in will like Dominic;
great laborers were these sent by My Father to labor in His vineyard to
extirpate the thorns of vice, planting the virtues in their stead. Of a truth
Dominic and Francis were two columns of the holy Church. Francis with the
poverty which was specially his own, as has been said, and Dominic with his
learning."
Of the excellence of the
obedient, and of the misery of the disobedient members of the religious orders.
"Now that places suitable for obedience have
been found, namely, these ships commanded by the Holy Spirit through the medium
of their superiors, for, as I told you, the Holy Spirit is the true Master of
these ships, which are built in the light of the most holy faith by those who
have the light to know that My clemency, the Holy Spirit, will steer them, and
having thus shown you the place of obedience and its perfection, I will speak
to you of the obedience and of the disobedience of those who travel in such a ship,
speaking of all together and not of one ship -- that is, one order -- in
particular, showing you the sin of the disobedient and the virtue of the
obedient, so that a man may better know the one by contrast with the other, and
how he should walk if he would enter the ship of a religious order. How should
he walk who wishes to enter this state of perfect and particular obedience?
With the light of holy faith, by which he will know that he must slay his
self-will with the knife of hatred of every sensual passion, taking the spouse
which charity gives him, together with her sister. The spouse is true and
prompt obedience, and the sister, patience; and he must also take the nurse of
humility, for without this nurse obedience would perish of hunger, for obedience
soon dies in a soul deprived of this little virtue of humility.
"Humility is not alone but has the handmaid of
contempt of self and of the world, which causes the soul to hold herself vile,
and not to desire honor but shame. Thus dead to himself, should he who is old
enough enter the ship of a religious order, but however he may enter it (for I
have told you that I call souls in diverse ways), he should acquire and
preserve this affection, hurrying generously to seize the key of the obedience
of his order, which will open the little door which is in the panel of the door
of Heaven. Such as these have undertaken to open the little door, doing without
the great key of general obedience, which opens the door of Heaven, as I have
said to you. They have taken a little key, passing through a low and narrow
opening in the great door. This small door is part of the great door, as you
may see in any real door. They should keep this key when they have got it, and
not throw it away. And because the truly obedient have seen with the light of
faith that they will never be able to pass through this little door with the
load of their riches and the weight of their own will without great fatigue and
without losing their life, and that they cannot walk with head erect without
breaking their neck; whether they wish to or not, they cast from them the load
of their riches, and of their own will observing the vow of voluntary poverty,
refusing to possess anything, for they see by the light of faith to what ruin
they would come if they transgressed obedience, and the and of poverty which
they promised to keep. The disobedient walk in pride, holding their heads
erect, and if sometimes it suits their convenience to obey they do not incline
their heads with humility, but proudly do so, because they must, which force
breaks the neck of their will, for they fulfill their obedience with hatred of
their order and of their superior. Little by little they are ruined on another
point, for they transgress the vow of continence, for he who does not constrain
his appetite or strip himself of temporal substance makes many relations and
finds plenty of friends who love him for their own profit. From these relations
they go on to close intimacies, their body they tend luxuriously, for being without
either the nurse of humility or her sister, self-contempt, they live in their
own pleasure richly and delicately, not like religious but like nobles, without
watching or prayer. This and many other things happen to them because they have
money to spend, for if they had it not they could not spend it. They fall into
mental and physical impurity, for if sometimes from shame or through lack of
means they abstain physically, they indulge themselves mentally, for it is
impossible for a man with many worldly relations, of delicate habits and
disordinate greediness, who watches not nor prays, to preserve his mind pure.
Wherefore the perfectly obedient man sees from afar with the light of holy
faith the evil and the loss which would come to him from temporal possessions
and from walking weighed down by his own will; he also sees that he is obliged
to pass by this narrow door, and that in such a state he would die before he
would be able to pass it, having no key of obedience wherewith to open it, for
as I said to you, he is obliged to pass through it. Wherefore it is that
whether he will or no he should not leave the ship of the order, but should
walk the narrow path of obedience to his superior.
"Wherefore the perfectly obedient man rises
above himself and his own sensuality, and rising above his own feelings with
living faith, places self-hatred as servant in the house of his soul to drive
out the enemy of self-love, for he does not wish that his spouse, Obedience,
given him with the light of faith by her mother, Charity, should be offended;
so he drives out the enemy and puts in his place the nurse and companions of
his spouse.
"The love of obedience places in the house of
his soul the lovers of his spouse, Obedience, who are the true and royal
virtues, the customs and observances of his order, so that this sweet spouse
enters his soul with her sister, Patience, and her nurse, Humility, together
with Self-contempt and Self-hatred, and when she has entered she possesses
peace and quiet, for her enemies have been exiled. She dwells in the garden of
true continence, with the sun of intellectual light shining in, the eye of holy
faith fixed on the object of My Truth, for her object is My Truth, and the fire
of love with which she observes the rules of the order, warms all her servants
and companions.
"Who are her enemies who have been expelled?
The chief is self-love, producing pride, the enemy of humility and charity.
Impatience is the enemy of patience, disobedience of true obedience, infidelity
of faith, presumption and self-confidence do not accord with the true hope
which the soul should have in Me; injustice cannot be conformed to justice, nor
imprudence to prudence, nor intemperance to temperance, nor the transgression
of the commandments of the order to perfect observance of them, nor the wicked
conversation of those who live in sin to the good conversation of My servants.
These are a man's enemies, causing him to leave the good customs and traditions
of his order. He has also those other cruel enemies, anger, which wars against
his benevolence; cruelty, against his kindness; wrath, against his benignity;
hatred of virtue, against the love of virtue; impurity, against chastity;
negligence, against solicitude; ignorance, against knowledge; and sloth against
watchfulness and continued prayer.
"And since he knew by the light of faith that
all these were his enemies who would defile his spouse, holy obedience, he
appointed hatred to drive them out, and love to replace them with her friends.
Wherefore with the knife of hatred he slew his perverse self-will, who,
nourished by self-love, gave life to all these enemies of true obedience, and
having cut off the source by which all the others are preserved in life, he
remains free and in peace without any war, for there is no one to make war on
him, for the soul has cut off from herself that which kept her in bitterness
and in sadness. What makes war on obedience? Injuries? No, for the obedient man
is patient, patience being the sister of obedience. The weight of the
observances of the order? No, for obedience causes him to fulfill them. Does
the weight of obedience give him pain? No, for he has trampled on his own will,
and does not care to examine or judge the will of his superior, for with the
light of faith he sees My will in him, believing truly that My clemency causes
him to command according to the needs of his subject's salvation. Is he disgusted
and angry at having to perform the humble duties of the order or to endure the
mockeries, reproofs, jibes, and insults which are often cast at him, or to be
held at little worth? No, for he has conceived love for self- contempt and
self-hatred. Wherefore he rejoices with patience, exulting with delight and joy
in the company of his spouse, true obedience, for the only thing which saddens
him is to see Me, his Creator, offended. His conversation is with those who
truly fear Me, and if he should converse with those who are separated from My
Will, it is not in order to conform himself to their sins, but to draw them out
of their misery, for through the brotherly love which he has in his heart
towards them he would like to give them the good which he possesses, seeing
that more glory and praise would be given to My name by many observing aright
their order than by him doing so alone. Wherefore he endeavors to convert
religious and seculars by his words and by prayer, and by every means by which
he can draw them out of the darkness of mortal sin. Thus the conversations of a
truly obedient man are good and perfect, whether they be with just men or with
sinners, through his rightly ordered love and the breadth of his charity. Of
his cell he makes a heaven, delighting there to converse with Me, his supreme
and eternal Father, with the affection of love, flying idleness with humble and
continual prayer, and when, through the illusion of the Devil, thoughts come
crowding into his cell, he does not sit down on the bed of negligence embracing
idleness, nor care to examine by reason the thoughts or opinions of his heart,
but he flies sloth, rising above himself and his senses with hatred and true
humility, patiently enduring the weariness which he feels in his mind, and
resisting by watching and humble prayer, fixing the eye of his intellect on Me,
and seeing with the light of faith that I am his helper, and both can and will
help him, and open to him the eyes of My kindness, and that it is I who permit
this suffering in order that he may be more eager to fly himself and come to
Me. And if it should seem to him that on account of his great weariness and the
darkness of his mind, mental prayer is impossible, he recites vocal prayers, or
busies himself with some corporal exercises, so that by these means he may
avoid idleness. He looks at Me with the light which I give him through love,
which draws forth true humility, for he deems himself unworthy of the peace and
quiet of mind of My other servants, but rather worthy of pain, for he despises
himself in his own mind with hatred and self-reproach, thinking that he can
never endure enough pain, for neither his hope nor My providence fail him, but
with faith and the key of obedience he passes over this stormy sea in the ship
of his order, dwelling thus in his cell as has been said, and avoiding
idleness.
"The obedient man wishes to be the first to
enter choir and the last to leave it, and when he sees a brother more obedient
than himself he regards him in his eagerness with a holy envy, stealing from
him the virtue in which he excels, not wishing, however, that his brother
should have less thereof, for if he wished this he would be separated from
brotherly love. The obedient man does not leave the refectory, but visits it continually
and delights at being at table with the poor. And as a sign that he delights
therein, and so as to have no reason to remain without, he has abandoned his
temporal substance, observing so perfectly the vow of poverty that he blames
himself for considering even the necessities of his body. His cell is full of
the odor of poverty, and not of clothes; he has no fear that thieves will come
to rob him, or that rust or moths will corrupt his garments; and if anything is
given to him, he does not think of laying it by for his own use, but freely
shares it with his brethren, not thinking of the morrow, but rather depriving
himself today of what he needs, thinking only of the kingdom of heaven and how
he may best observe true obedience.
"And in order that he may better keep to the
path of humility, he submits to small and great, to poor and rich, and becomes
the servant of all, never refusing labor, but serving all with charity. The
obedient man does not wish to fulfill his obedience in his own way, or to choose
his time or place, but prefers the way of his order and of his superior. All
this the truly and perfectly obedient man does without pain and weariness of
mind. He passes with this key in his hand through the narrow door of the order,
easily and without violence, because he observes the vows of poverty, true
obedience, and continence, having abandoned the heights of pride, and bowed his
head to obedience through humility. He does not break his neck through
impatience, but is patient with fortitude and enduring perseverance, the
friends of obedience. Thus he passes by the assaults of the devils, mortifying
and macerating his flesh, stripping it bare of all pleasures and delights and
clothing it with the labors of the order in a faith which despises nothing, for
as a child who does not remember the blows and injuries inflicted on him by his
father, so this child of the spirit does not remember the injuries, pains, or
blows inflicted on him by his superior in the order, but calling him humbly,
turns to him without anger, hatred, or rancor, but with meekness and
benevolence.
"These are those little ones of whom My Truth
spoke to the disciples, who were contending among themselves which of them
should be the greater, for calling a child, He said: 'Allow the little ones to
come to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven to be; whoever will not humble
himself like this child (that is, who will not keep this childlike condition),
shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. For he who humbles himself, dearest
daughter, will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled,' which
also was said to you by My Truth. Justly, therefore, are these humble little
ones, humiliated and subjected through love, with true and holy obedience, who
do not kick against the pricks of their order or superior, exalted by Me, the
supreme and eternal Father, with the true citizens of the blessed life, when
they are rewarded for all their labors, and in this life also do they taste
eternal life."
