THE INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP OF JESUS
WHEN Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult.
When He is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all
other comfort is empty, but if He says only a word, it brings great
consolation.
Did not Mary Magdalen rise at once from her weeping when Martha
said to her: "The Master is come, and calleth for thee"?[13] Happy is
the hour when Jesus calls one from tears to joy of spirit.
How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if
you desire anything but Him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the
whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you? Life
without Him is a relentless hell, but living with Him is a sweet
paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.
He who finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above
every good, whereas he who loses Him loses more than the whole world.
The man who lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no
one is so rich as the man who lives in His grace.
It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and great
wisdom to know how to keep Him. Be humble and peaceful, and Jesus will
be with you. Be devout and calm, and He will remain with you. You may
quickly drive Him away and lose His grace, if you turn back to the
outside world. And, if you drive Him away and lose Him, to whom will
you go and whom will you then seek as a friend? You cannot live well
without a friend, and if Jesus be not your friend above all else, you
will be very sad and desolate. Thus, you are acting foolishly if you
trust or rejoice in any other. Choose the opposition of the whole
world rather than offend Jesus. Of all those who are dear to you, let
Him be your special love. Let all things be loved for the sake of
Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake.
Jesus Christ must be loved alone with a special love for He
alone, of all friends, is good and faithful. For Him and in Him you
must love friends and foes alike, and pray to Him that all may know
and love Him.
Never desire special praise or love, for that belongs to God
alone Who has no equal. Never wish that anyone's affection be centered
in you, nor let yourself be taken up with the love of anyone, but let
Jesus be in you and in every good man. Be pure and free within,
unentangled with any creature.
You must bring to God a clean and open heart if you wish to
attend and see how sweet the Lord is. Truly you will never attain this
happiness unless His grace prepares you and draws you on so that you
may forsake all things to be united with Him alone.
When the grace of God comes to a man he can do all things, but
when it leaves him he becomes poor and weak, abandoned, as it were, to
affliction. Yet, in this condition he should not become dejected or
despair. On the contrary, he should calmly await the will of God and
bear whatever befalls him in praise of Jesus Christ, for after winter
comes summer, after night, the day, and after the storm, a great calm. |
Of the intimate love of Jesus
When Jesus is present all is well and nothing
seemeth hard, but when Jesus is not present everything is hard. When
Jesus speaketh not within, our comfort is nothing worth, but if Jesus
speaketh but a single word great is the comfort we experience. Did not
Mary Magdalene rise up quickly from the place where she wept when
Martha said to her, The Master is come and calleth for thee?(1) Happy
hour when Jesus calleth thee from tears to the joy of the spirit! How
dry and hard art thou without Jesus! How senseless and vain if thou
desirest aught beyond Jesus! Is not this greater loss than if thou
shouldst lose the whole world?
2. What can the world profit thee without Jesus?
To be without Jesus is the nethermost hell, and to be with Jesus is
sweet paradise. If Jesus were with thee no enemy could hurt thee. He
who findeth Jesus findeth a good treasure, yea, good above all good;
and he who loseth Jesus loseth exceeding much, yea, more than the
whole world. Most poor is he who liveth without Jesus, and most rich
is he who is much with Jesus.
3. It is great skill to know how to live with
Jesus, and to know how to hold Jesus is great wisdom. Be thou humble
and peaceable and Jesus shall be with thee. Be godly and quiet, and
Jesus will remain with thee. Thou canst quickly drive away Jesus and
lose His favour if thou wilt turn away to the outer things. And if
thou hast put Him to flight and lost Him, to whom wilt thou flee, and
whom then wilt thou seek for a friend? Without a friend thou canst
not live long, and if Jesus be not thy friend above all thou shalt be
very sad and desolate. Madly therefore doest thou if thou trusteth or
findest joy in any other. It is preferable to have the whole world
against thee, than Jesus offended with thee. Therefore of all that
are dear to thee, let Jesus be specially loved.
4. Let all be loved for Jesus' sake, but Jesus
for His own. Jesus Christ alone is to be specially loved, for He alone
is found good and faithful above all friends. For His sake and in Him
let both enemies and friends be dear to thee, and pray for them all
that they may all know and love Him. Never desire to be specially
praised or loved, because this belongeth to God alone, who hath none
like unto Himself. Nor wish thou that any one set his heart on thee,
nor do thou give thyself up to the love of any, but let Jesus be in
thee and in every good man.
5. Be pure and free within thyself, and be not
entangled by any created thing. Thou oughtest to bring a bare and
clean heart to God, if thou desirest to be ready to see how gracious
the Lord is. And in truth, unless thou be prevented and drawn on by
His grace, thou wilt not attain to this, that having cast out and
dismissed all else, thou alone art united to God. For when the grace
of God cometh to a man, then he becometh able to do all things, and
when it departeth then he will be poor and weak and given up unto
troubles. In these thou art not to be cast down nor to despair, but
to rest with calm mind on the will of God, and to bear all things
which come upon thee unto the praise of Jesus Christ; for after winter
cometh summer, after night returneth day, after the tempest a great
calm. |