139: Why 'Ensuring Steady Growth'?

Recently a number of people have been following a Foundation Course bearing the name: “Ensuring Steady Growth” in spiritual life. The following thoughts summarise the reason for the need of such teaching. These thoughts will lead to a better understanding of a very important passage written by St Teresa of Avila, to be found at the end of this article.

The First Formation in Spiritual Life

Those who received the First Formation in Spiritual Life, received tools for growth and will have started implementing them:

Taking on board Jesus and Mary,

Practising on a daily basis Lectio Divina, Prayer of the Heart, the Theological Acts,

Learning how to respond to ups and downs, temptation

And most of all learning how to remain faithful to the Holy Spirit and to respond constantly to to His Action.

Two aspects of this process, however, remain imperfectly understood:

First a necessary stage has to be reached: the Union of Will. It is a victory, a liberation, a stability, a short moment of rest, a break, an enjoyment. This first stage is within hand's reach but it is necessary to focus in order to take this big step. It is a veritable Crossing of the Red Sea.

Secondly that there are conditions to fulfil in order to reach “Union of Will”. Hence the word “ensuring” in the title. It is necessary to ensure that this will happen in their lives.

Because of this two-fold “ignorance” people can go round in circles, with ups and downs, but never cross over. We may compare it to a situation of the People of God in Egypt: they began gathering at a distance from the Egyptians, outside of the main cities, but they continued to do some work for them - they were not allowed to have total freedom. They remained physically in Egypt, under the rule of Pharaoh, even if they chose a piece of land beyond the cities.

Explanation

When the human being starts his journey, implementing the tools mentioned above, he can be compared to a pregnant woman with twins: the old man and the new man. Of course the twins constitute a different life, and are not equal in size and influence: the Old Man is almost full-sized with strength and influence, while the New Man in us is very tiny, vulnerable. The Lord compares this to the smallest seed in a field. The person is not aware that there are two challenges in Christian life, not one: opting for Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Guide/Master, and allowing the new man in us to grow in order to lead us on our path as followers of Jesus Christ. It is true, then, that the goal of life has changed and has become “Jesus” - this as a result of its conversion. But it is nonetheless equally true that the means to follow Jesus should change as well. We have in us a real battle for real supremacy between the Old Man way of functioning and the New Man way of functioning. For the time being, even if Jesus is the Master and Guide, de facto, one is rather led - unconsciously - by the Old Man’s way of doing things. Our love of neighbour is full of imperfections, led by our sensitivity/emotions/taste/personal choices, our lack of real humility.Not having that virile capacity to put Jesus’ Truth in us above everything in us, we are still attached to various ties, especially blood-related ties, and we are concerned about our health, thinking that a too committed ascetic Spiritual Life (fasting, making sacrifices, training our body, praying,...) could damage our health. As yet the spirit of the world, our flesh and the devil have a share in our way of functioning.

Under these conditions, having a divided heart, not working to perfection on the essential evangelical virtues, real progress is jeopardised! The result is that too much effort is required, and there are too many leakages, ups and downs, of going round in circles.... We can safely say that the heart of the human being is divided, and that he epitomises the third soil of the Parable of the Sower: the good seed has been sown, it has really started to grow, striving to reach the maturity that will allow it to bear fruits, but sadly the soil bears another seed - attention to the world, with heart and emotions divided.

St Teresa of Avila

There is a well-known Saint who went through this very difficult situation of not being able to commit totally to Jesus: St Teresa of Avila. She remained in this troubled sea for almost twenty years with its ups and downs, receiving graces from the Lord, but not being able to keep them safe, and especially prone to a divided heart through which these graces seeped. It was, in her own words, a very hard situation, because on the one hand we have a person attracted to others, seeking their affection and support, while on the other hand she meets the Lord who wants from her all her heart, not a mere part of it. Facing the Lord in prayer with this attitude, certainly becomes an ordeal. Jesus wants all our attention, all our emotions: he wants us to love him with all our heart and not just a part of it (the upper one) the other part being given to human beings.

It becomes then a necessity to study the conversion of St Teresa of Avila, at the age of thirty-nine, and to deepen our understanding of

a- how rich in humanity her heart was

b- how it was divided

c- what constituted the elements that contributed to her conversion (studying her conversion),

d- how in fact all these elements structured her whole life.

The following is a very important passage of St Teresa of Avila where she speaks about the Union of Will with the Lord. Very few things have had to be adapted to the modern reader by putting them between squared parenthesis:

“But note very carefully [dear friends] that the silkworm [the Old Man] has of necessity to die; and it is this which will cost you most; for death comes more easily when one can see oneself living a new life, whereas our duty now is to continue living this present life, and yet to kill it ourselves ["it" alludes to "the life of the silkworm", the Pauline old man]. I confess to you that we shall find this much harder, but it is of the greatest value and the reward will be greater too if you gain the victory. But you must not doubt the possibility of this true union with the will of God [Union of Will]. This is the union which I have desired all my life; it is for this that I continually beseech Our Lord; it is this which is the most genuine and the safest. But alas that so few of us are destined to attain it!

A person who takes care not to offend the Lord and has [decided to start the Journey of Spiritual Life] may think he has done everything. But oh, there are always a few little worms which do not reveal themselves until, like the worm which gnawed through Jonas's ivy [Jonas 4:6-7] they have gnawed through our virtues. Such are self-love, self-esteem, censoriousness (even if only in small things) concerning our neighbours, lack of charity towards them, and failure to love them as we love ourselves. For, although late in the day we may fulfil our obligations and so commit no sin, we are far from attaining a point necessary to complete union with the will of God.” [St Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, 5th Mansions, Chapter 3]

As we see, in this quote from St Teresa of Avila, she lays considerable stress on the fact that committing to spiritual life (in her case it is included in Religious Life) is not enough. One has to be aware of the worms that undermine steady growth. Indeed, she emphatically declares that the old man has to die, and even more so she underlines the necessity of a first important victory: reaching Union of Will. This passage is a hymn to the Union of Will and its importance in Christian Life.

These words of St Teresa of Avila are also a warning given to all the Church, and this warning should be taken seriously, because it comes from a Saint who is also a Doctor of the Church. A Saint who was sent to us at a time in the life of the Church where Reform was needed and showed us the way to true Reformation. It is simply not enough to commit to Spiritual Life, it has to bear the conditions of real steady growth in order to reach Union of Will with the Lord. Deep analysis of St Teresa helps us to avoid pitfalls as we proceed along the way.

Many are called, many engage in Spiritual Life, but how many succeed in reaching this first stage of Spiritual Life? And we are not talking about Spiritual Marriage....

133: Teresa of Avila 12/16: Detachment

As we have seen in a former chapter, in her book of formation, Way of Perfection, St Teresa considers that there are three essential virtues that are the foundation of the Prayer of the Heart: humility, love of one another and detachment. The Saint invites us to practise them in a 'heroic' way in order to trigger the flow of the Grace of God and to have a deeper prayer life. The reason for giving prominence to these three virtues, over many other virtues, is to be found in the Gospel. If we examine them more closely, we will find that all these virtues are intimately connected to the human being and most especially to the Evangelical Counsels. The human being we know has a spirit, a soul (heart, emotions) and a body (senses), but significantly these, simultaneously, mirror the identical rule of life summed up in the the Evangelical Counsels, later to absorbed in the vows of Religious. Thus 'obedience' requires 'humility' of the spirit, 'chastity' teaches us to have a pure 'heart', transformed emotions are required in order to love one's neighbour, as does a 'poverty' that 'detaches' us from all material goods and makes us free for the service of the Kingdom.

Just as it is impossible to separate 'spiritual life', or 'interior life', from the rest of our anthropological structure and our daily life, so too is it impossible to separate 'the prayer of the heart' from a 'prayer life'. This would indicate that there should not be any dichotomy between the time dedicated to prayer (and how it is spent) and the rest of the day! A deep bond exists between the two that cannot be dissolved. An apt example is that of the relationship of the artesian wells: all communicate with each other, support each other, but if this does not occur the very existence of each may be jeopardised. Juxtapose this relationship onto a person's daily life, if Christ figures only vaguely in daily life, the impact on the time dedicated to prayer will be felt in no uncertain terms.

The meeting with Christ the Head comes about during prayer, while an encounter with Christ 's Mystical Body occurs during daily life. But Christ's head and Christ's body are one and indivisible. Therefore Christ, whole and entire, Head and Body, is present to us during prayer. The disassociation of the two parts of his being is impossible, especially pertinent where we refer to 'his body' when his mystical body takes on concrete form in our brothers and sisters. Through this mystical body, the entire Christ remains undeniably present to us as well during the day, outside of moments of prayer! Given this fact it would be illogical to embrace one part of Christ – the Head – and ignore the other. A 'schizophrenic life', is not an option or even worse, if the reader permits the expression, it is impossible to 'behead' Christ. St Teresa is absolutely adamant about preserving the unity of our life. Ironically, however, there are some who desire Christ, but do not desire to be involved with the rest of his Body: the brethren, the Community, the Church – a ludicrous assumption in trying to separate the inseparable!

Detachment

It cannot be denied that our heart can effortlessly become attached to material good of every kind. Even health is a material good. This in turn engenders having recourse to considering purely human means to fulfil our aspirations. What fails to enter this thought process is that when God calls, when Jesus calls, it is not possible to delay our response! It is imperative there be no delay because of the nature of the caller! Almighty God is the one who is calling, and He deserves an immediate and complete response.

In the Way of Perfection, St Teresa shows us how, when God's call is answered, it should be done with vigilance with regard to 'detachment' from material goods. Too easily does our weak human heart seeks support, help, consolation, human means, in the hope that with these means there will be a decided improvement! This is mere temptation says St Teresa of Avila. She is as radical as Christ in the Gospel (see Matthew 6:16 onward). A plethora of questions arise from this radical view: Where is our Faith in God's Providence? Are we really being called by our faith? Is He not God? Is He incapable of providing us with all that is necessary for us? Why the change of role?

In the Gospel, to aid our journey towards detachment, Christ invites us not to invert values and to keep our hearts pure, detached from material goods: seek first the kingdom of God... namely, if a person possesses goods, let him live in a detached way as if he had none:

But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be free from concern. (1 Corinthians 7:29-32)!

St Paul says it indeed, he who learned to live in abundance and in poverty: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:12)

The Lord even before St. Paul said: seek first the Kingdom of God and its justice and all the rest (to which we easily become materially attached) will be given to you, in addition (Mt 6:33). He never states: first do this and then do that! He says: do this and only this, will all your energy, with all your heart! The tone is decidedly radical and has a quality and a purity that are vital components for our hearts as we go about our daily lives! What is at stake is our faith in God's Call, in the God who calls, and therefore in the Providence of the one who is Father, in his real presence, action and intervention in the world, in our life - the fact that He by himself takes care of even a single hair that falls from our head:

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 'Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.' (Matthew 10:28-31).

The overriding advantage of Christ's statement is to show that once we are freed from 'what pagans seek', as the Gospel says (Matthew 6:32)), we abandon all to God, and to God only! This most assuredly comprises the essence of the First Commandment and its radical requirement as proclaimed by Jesus: you shall love, that is, you will give yourself to your God with all your heart, all your energy, all your thoughts. The first commandment comes first, indicating that it asks us to give everything! Thereafter, nothing is left in us, except God. That detachment is included in the First Commandment can emphatically be deduced from this, for if we give 'all' the energy of our heart, it would be impossible to dedicate time and effort to any attachment whatsoever! However, this might appear 'too radical' to some! But this begs the question as to our heart and in whose image and likeness it is made. Is it made in the image of material goods or in the image of God himself? Who is normally the only person who should dwell in our heart? God! Added weight is given to this for it is not only St Teresa who states this, but it is also to be found in the Holy Scriptures. In addition, we know that detachment is fully represented in the Gospel – with the two other virtues – in order to keep our heart free to love, free to give itself totally and solely to God.

God does not desire other gods (idols) in our heart!

It is true that if a little attention is paid to St Teresa's life an awareness rapidly grows that she is a true 'entrepreneur'. In truth she dealt with many earthly concerns - not that she was attracted to them, but because it was part of her mission as a founder. It is really striking to witness the the spirited way she interacted with the world! She founded many monasteries, and in order to do so she counted on the Providence of God. She even requested her nuns remain poor and that they count only on God's Providence. She required that they engage in some form of work, and to do so in an intelligent way in order ensure their products would attract buyers and so provide for their needs! The combination of all these elements in her, it must be noted however, is precise, well proportioned, and all this from Above! This purity she alludes to remains her constant guide, and she never accepts diluting it, changing it or diminishing it! This purity is but another face of detachment.

Another facet of her thinking must now be examined, for Teresa's sole concern was to serve the Lord in the best possible way. What did “best way” mean for St Teresa? It would be opportune here to return briefly to her second conversion at thirty-nine years of age and to the powerful spiritual life that blossomed in her from that moment onwards! Two profound lessons can be learned from this conversion and they are intertwined: she learned first of all that if she offered herself totally to God, then He would in turn offer himself to her totally and, moreover, that the abundant graces which would then ensue would be significant testimony to this! The fundamental lesson bears repetition here: God cannot be deceived in any way whatsoever! Expressed differently it stresses that one cannot offer oneself half-heartedly. We remain free undeniably, and He will never force us to give ourselves to Him, but, when doing so we must not dupe God! Another factor is also at play here, for it is God who desires to offer himself, totally and without reservation – one simply has to gaze at Him as He hangs on the Cross.... The profound lesson Teresa finally grasped was that a true and sincere offering to God would result in an abundance of graces being received. Her life after this discovery is a living testimony of how to attain the goal of union with the Lord and the fulness of Charity.

Who is Jesus? He is the Lord! This is the question Teresa's wit replies to so readily: 'The Lord of all money and of all who possess money'. (Way of Perfection 2:2). These words reveal how profoundly her discovery has imbued her very being, for she has learned that she cannot go to Him relying on her own human thoughts and plans. Decidedly not! The means of her approach to God need to be as elevated as the Person with whom she is interacting. Thus, if Jesus wants a monastery, Teresa trusts He will be able to provide the necessary means, her part in this being only to be attentive to his way of doing things, and not to force Him to follow her designs - after all, she has realised He is the Lord not only of heaven, but of all the earth as well! The mission for Teresa and for her nuns, as well as for the life they have to lead entailed, ever more from now on, fidelity to Christ 'in spirit' down to the minutest material detail. In fact, when she founded the new monasteries she indicated to the tiniest detail how things should be done, in order, also, to teach observance of even the smallest detail.

The above-mentioned interaction if expressed as a spiritual formula in real terms would be as follows: if you take care of Him, He will take care of you! After all the nuns are the Brides of the King for a real and true reason. The Gospel is the first place where this concept is outlined and it is applicable to all! The challenge is simply to try it: seek first the Kingdom of God, that is, put all one's energy into searching for Christ, into the gift of oneself and into the reception of his graces. Seek first the kingdom of God, and its justice. The Carmelite nuns do work as everyone does, working being an obligation as the Scriptures say: whoever doesn't want to work shouldn't eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Simultaneously however, this work is totally submitted to the essential enterprise: “to serve God in a specific way”, “to be faithful to their vocation” - nothing less than to “seeking the Groom”. Obviously it is sensible to use common sense when doing this work and not produce goods that are useless and not saleable. Using sound judgment when planning an enterprise is is not merely the preserve of the few! However, more important is the fact that it is eminently obvious where the “absolute” lies for them – and it is not in the work! It is the Lord who should be always the first to be served.

St. Teresa, through her works, can urge us to sample her philosophy and this, in turn, will reveal the substance of the the Providence of God. In all fairness, however, this philosophy does not originate with Teresa, but rather with Christ, with the Gospel, the Apostles' way of life: many before her lived in the same way and many after her will be doing the same! 

“I repeat that this consists mainly or entirely in our ceasing to care about ourselves and our own pleasures, for the least that anyone who is beginning to serve the Lord truly can offer Him is his life. Once he has surrendered his will to Him, what has he to fear? It is evident that if he is a true religious and a real man of prayer and aspires to the enjoyment of Divine consolations, he must not [turn back or] shrink from desiring to die and suffer martyrdom for His sake. And do you not know, sisters, that the life of a good religious, who wishes to be among the closest friends of God, is one long martyrdom? I say "long", for, by comparison with decapitation, which is over very quickly, it may well be termed so, though life itself is short and some lives are short in the extreme. How do we know but that ours will be so short that it may end only one hour or one moment after the time of our resolving to render our entire service to God? This would be quite possible; and so we must not set store by anything that comes to an end, least of all by life, since not a day of it is secure. Who, if he thought that each hour might be his last, would not spend it in labour?” (Way of Perfection chapter 12)

It would now be fitting to conclude with a number of profound questions to ask ourselves: Where is my heart truly to be found? Into what do I put my energy? What (or Who) comes first in my life? Is there purity in the way I act? Am I detached from material goods? What is my “enterprise”? What do I seek? What do I value most in my life, the value that guides me in everything? Would not the search for answers entail a full and honest enactment of St. Teresa's way of perfection...?

132: St Teresa of Avila 11/16: Humility

When we read St Teresa, it is impossible to refrain from noticing the importance she gives to humility. For St Teresa humility is the foundation of spiritual life and prayer, without which nothing can grow. Humility 'persuades the Lord to give us all what we want from him'; humility 'conquers everything'; humility is truth; it is only through the growth in humility that we measure our progress in spiritual life. These are but a few of the examples Teresa uses to underline, at various times, the great humility of Our Lady, and to invite us to understand its empire over God and to draw us to imitate the Mother of God. Humility seems to be the outstanding element that triggers the Grace of God. According to her beautiful expression, it allows us to 'checkmate' God!

Here it is expedient to note that Chess was very much in vogue in the Spain of St. Teresa's day, and that she learned it when she was young before entering religious life. In her first version of the Way of Perfection called “Manuscript of Escorial,” in the first four paragraphs of Chapter 16 (see below) she uses the image of chess playing. Out of consideration for her nuns, however, and in order not to leave on record her knowledge of such a worldly game, thereby promoting bad habits amongst them, she tore them out of the manuscript.

The 'checkmate' allegory, it consequently should be recognised, is so expressive, beautiful and theologically very deep that it has rightly become famous, and from the time of Fray Luis de León all the editions have included it, which is an important reason for us to understand. The goal of the game of Chess is for one of the two players, using his pieces, to corner and capture his opponent's King. In this case the King is said to be 'in check', which means 'threatened with capture'. If the King has no way of removing the threat, it is to be considered 'captured' or 'dead', that is, 'Mate', the lucky player winning and the game being over. Checkmating the opponent thus wins the game. Figuratively speaking then, a checkmate is 'a situation in which someone has been defeated'. In St Teresa's own words it means: to 'corner' God, drawing Him to us and conquering Him, making Him ours. As can be seen the image is very powerful: being able to seduce God, and draw us into his grace is reminiscent of a “secret of the saints”. The most powerful piece of the game is called the Queen, which has the greatest flexibility of movement therefore greatly threatening the opponent's King. More will be explained about this important piece later.

It is beneficial for us, in our self-pride, to remind ourselves of this, that God himself is humble (learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29)) - indeed it can be said that He is humility itself! In St. Teresa's writings she also constantly talks about spiritual life and progress in it, to attain, in the fulness of time, Union with God himself! Therefore it is inevitable for her to insist on humility, increasing humility being our goal until we are united to the Humble-God. This, it must be emphasized, entails extreme vigilance. The more we immerse ourselves in the spiritual life, the greater is our need to be attentive to humility. If our self-awareness reveals to us that there is a struggle, this would tend to denote that a deeply spiritual life is distant from us, and an urgent examination of the state of our humility is vital. Accordingly St.Teresa states that humility and knowing oneself go together. How, then, is our humility to be increased? The answer is obvious: by seeking the truth about ourselves. St Teresa even went so far as to coin the phrase: humility is the Truth. It must be recognised, above all, that there is a need for self-discernment regarding all that comes from God and a need to be grateful to Him for it.

Spiritual Life bears in itself an important fact: the necessity to receive an extraordinary number of graces ! Significantly, in order to receive these and, more importantly, in order to keep them, there is a great need for humility! Rain falls, it can even fall abundantly, but who collects the water? The heights of the mountain or the humble valley?

St.Teresa deals with this question by writing the book the Way of Perfection, primarily in reply to a request by her daughters of the first reformed monastery, to write them something on “contemplation”. This is the origin of the book the Way of Perfection. It is already blatantly obvious that “contemplation” is for St Teresa a pure gift from God, the essence of the supernatural given to us. In writing this book she handed on to them a very significant way of perfection to follow in order to receive the Grace of God, the very secret that triggers the Grace of God.

However, it is interesting to note Teresa's letter to them before writing the book. Here she indicated that if they wanted her simply to talk to them about the first steps in prayer, that is, 'meditation', this could be easily achieved, as all that was needed was her guidance on how to proceed, which they could then put into practice with relative ease. But since they requested she talk to them about the Gift of God (John 4:10) and how to receive it, the matter encompassed a totally different level of functioning. The book of the Way of Perfection becomes, subsequently, her full answer to their request. Ironically in almost the first half of it she seems to address something entirely different, for she talks about three virtues, amongst them humility. In fact, the reader can easily be puzzled by the fact that she fails to enter immediately into the core of the subject. In fact this gives a false impression. In order to explain her present choice of subject-matter and therefore the structure of the book, she takes the example of the game of Chess. As noted above above, for one to win in this game one has corner the opponent's King and threaten it. Ingeniously, then, the entire first half of her book is devoted by Teresa to 'set out the pieces of game [correctly]: “you may be sure that anyone who cannot set out the pieces in a game of chess will never be able to play well” (Way of Perfection 16:1-4). Thus in order to do so, she teaches the three fundamental virtues: humility, loving one another and detachment. She stresses that by practising these virtues with determination and in a 'perfect' way (as she describes it), that the human being is properly enabled to give himself sincerely and wholly to the Lord. It is the quality of the gift of ourselves to Him that makes the Lord surrender himself to us: He is conquered or, in other words, He is checkmated.

Working on the three virtues and especially on humility is the direct means by which we offer ourselves to Christ, and by this means, it is possible to attract Him to us. Referring to these virtues the saint says: I hope you do not think I have written too much about this already; for I have only been placing the board, as they say. [...] But you may be sure that anyone who cannot set out the pieces in a game of chess will never be able to play well, and, if he does not know how to give check, he will not be able to bring about a checkmate. (Way of Perfection 16:1-4) It is at this point that she begins to entrust to the reader the secret of the supernatural encounter with God using the allegory of Chess, namely, in order to win, we need to corner the opponent's King in a way that totally prevents movement or escape and then attack him (checkmate him). At this juncture he is 'mate' which means beaten (conquered), or as Teresa writes: “[...] if we play it frequently [exercising ourselves in the virtues], how quickly we shall give checkmate to this Divine King! He will not be able to move out of our check nor will He desire to do so.” (idem.) This secret she entrusts to us is all together searingly beautiful and utterly audacious, but in the language of Love – God's language – this is his modus operandi.

It is at this very moment that the core of the secret of the spiritual life and of the Prayer of the Heart is imparted to us:

It is the Queen which gives the King most trouble in this game and all the other pieces support her. There is no queen who can beat this King as well as humility can; for humility brought Him down from Heaven into the Virgin's womb and with humility we can draw Him into our souls by a single hair. Be sure that He will give most humility to him who has most already and least to him who has least. I cannot understand how humility exists, or can exist, without love, or love without humility, and it is impossible for these two virtues to exist save where there is great detachment from all created things. (Way of Perfection 16:1-2)

Our Lady's humility is the secret of the Spiritual Life. This humility is not only capable of receiving God, but is also capable of holding Him and of safeguarding all the received Graces, because growth is not concerned with receiving graces but of becoming capable of not losing them.

Here may we ask God to grant us Mary's humility, to give us Our Lady herself, to clothe us in Her garments, like those of a bride, and thereby attract Christ to make his home in us!

Prayer

“Graciously O Lord, Give me Our Lady's heart,

so I can have not my humility

but her all-powerful humility,

capable of attracting you to her,

and alluring you to dwell for ever in her.”

The following comprises the text from the Way of Perfection just paraphrased above:

“I hope you do not think I have written too much about this already; for I have only been placing the board, as they say. You have asked me to tell you about the first steps in prayer; although God did not lead me by them, my daughters I know no others, and even now I can hardly have acquired these elementary virtues. But you may be sure that anyone who cannot set out the pieces in a game of chess will never be able to play well, and, if he does not know how to give check, he will not be able to bring about a checkmate.

Now you will reprove me for talking about games, as we do not play them in this house and are forbidden to do so. That will show you what kind of a mother God has given you -- she even knows about vanities like this! However, they say that the game is sometimes legitimate.

How legitimate it will be for us to play it in this way, and, if we play it frequently, how quickly we shall give checkmate to this Divine King! He will not be able to move out of our check nor will He desire to do so.

It is the Queen which gives the king most trouble in this game and all the other pieces support her. There is no queen who can beat this King as well as humility can; for humility brought Him down from Heaven into the Virgin's womb and with humility we can draw Him into our souls by a single hair. Be sure that He will give most humility to him who has most already and least to him who has least. I cannot understand how humility exists, or can exist, without love, or love without humility, and it is impossible for these two virtues to exist save where there is great detachment from all created things.

You will ask, my daughters, why I am talking to you about virtues when you have more than enough books to teach you about them and when you want me to tell you only about contemplation. My reply is that, if you had asked me about meditation, I could have talked to you about it, and advised you all to practise it, even if you do not possess the virtues. For this is the first step to be taken towards the acquisition of the virtues and the very life of all Christians depends upon their beginning it. No one, however lost a soul he may be, should neglect so great a blessing if God inspires him to make use of it. All this I have already written elsewhere, and so have many others who know what they are writing about, which I certainly do not: God knows that.

But contemplation, daughters, is another matter. This is an error which we all make: if a person gets so far as to spend a short time each day in thinking about his sins, as he is bound to do if he is a Christian in anything more than name, people at once call him a great contemplative; and then they expect him to have the rare virtues which a great contemplative is bound to possess; he may even think he has them himself, but he will be quite wrong. In his early stages he did not even know how to set out the chess-board, and thought that, in order to give checkmate, it would be enough to be able to recognize the pieces. But that is impossible, for this King does not allow Himself to be taken except by one who surrenders wholly to Him.” (Way of Perfection 16:1-4)