Carmelite Book Studies ~ The Relations ~ St Teresa of Avila ~ Teresa of Jesus: Discussion of Relation I

Relation I

Manifestations of her Spiritual State

which St. Teresa Submitted to Her Confessors

Spiritual Testimonies

Relations of the Spirit

Sent to St. Peter of Alcantara in 1560

from the Monastery of the Incarnation, Avila

Contents:

a) Discussion Topics / Questions

b) Notes regarding "Relations 1"

believed to be written
by St. Peter of Alcantara,

to whom the Relation is addressed.

Discussion Topics / Questions

1). How did St. Teresa generally

describe the "method of prayer"

that she was observing

at this time?

[ Relations 1: #1, 2 ]

2). What does she say about

her Impetuousities

of love and desire for God?

[ Relations 1: # 3 ]

3). What does she say about her

certain vehement desires

to serve God,

and do penances

"accompanied with pain at seeing

how unprofitable I am" ?

[ Relations 1: #4,5 ]

4). What blessings did St. Teresa

receive from prayer?

[ Relations 1: #2, 8, 24, 30 ]

5). What were these good desires

that St. Teresa "was given...

by our Lord

since He raised" her

to contemplative prayer?

[ Relations 1:

# 1,2,3,4, 6,7,9, 10,

12,13, 14,15, 20 ]

6). Who does St. Teresa say

helps her?

[ Relations 1: # 16, 17 ]

7). What did St. Teresa say

regarding vainglory?

[ Relations 1: #18, 19 ]

8). What did St. Teresa say

regarding Detachment

and the Truth?

[ Relations 1: #21, 22, 23 ]

9). St. Teresa seems to be describing

occasions in her spiritual state,

lasting 3 to 5 days,

wherein she feels herself as

unable to pray,

powerless to do good,

replete with faults, and

even unable to recall

the blessings which

she received in the past.

How does she describe this?

What is her response ?

Is there a resolution?

[ Relations 1: # 9, 25, 26 ]

10). How did St. Teresa know

that her visions and other favors

come from God?

[ Relations 1: # 11, 27, 28, 29 ]

1). How did St. Teresa generally

describe the "method of prayer"

that she was observing

at this time?

[ Relations 1: #1, 2 ]

St. Teresa said:

~ Description

When I am in prayer,

- ...rarely...I can use

the understanding,

because the soul becomes

- at once recollected,

- remains in repose,

- falls into a trance"

   ( "I enter the state of quiet
   or
   that of rapture"
   - Peers translation )

   - I cannot have the use of

-- the faculties and the senses...

- the hearing alone is left;

but...does not help me

to understand anything.

      [ Relations 1: #1 ]

   ("only the sense of hearing is
   of any help to me; and…
   although I can hear,
   I cannot understand anything.
   - Peers translation
     Relations 1: #1 )

~ Occurrence

It often happens,

when I am not even thinking

of the things of God,

but engaged in other matters...

when prayer seems to be

beyond my power,

whatever efforts I...make,

because of the

-- great aridity I am in,

-- bodily pains contributing

that this recollection

or elevation of spirit

comes upon me so suddenly

that I cannot withstand it...

[ Relations 1: #2 ]

______________________

2). What does she say about

her Impetuousities

of love and desire for God?

[ Relations 1: # 3 ]

~ Regarding Impetouosities

(of Love of God)

( See also "The Life": Ch20 #20 )

At other times

... excessive impetuosities occur...

with a certain fainting away

of the soul for God,

my life seems

to have come to an end,

...it makes me cry out

and call upon God;

and this comes upon me

        with great vehemence.

   ( "At other times there come to me
   very strong impulses, and
   in its desire for God,
   my soul faints away in a manner
   which I cannot resist.
   - Peer's translation )

   ...so great is

the oppression of the heart;

...comes on without my doing

anything to cause it,

The distress...is so intense

that, if our Lord did not relieve it

by throwing it into a trance

whereby

- all is made calm, and

- the soul rests in great quiet

and is satisfied,

it would seem to be impossible

to be delivered from this pain.

[ Relations 1: # 3 ]

_______________________

3). What does she say about her

certain vehement desires

to serve God,

and do penances

"accompanied with pain at seeing

how unprofitable I am" ?

[ Relations 1: #4,5 ]

St. Teresa said:

- "At other times there come upon me

certain desires to serve God,

- with a vehemence so great

that there is nothing in the world,

neither death, nor martyrdom,

that I could not easily endure.

This conviction, too,

is not the result of any reflection,

but comes in a moment.

- accompanied with a certain pain

at seeing how unprofitable I am.

- I am wholly changed, and

I know not whence cometh

such great courage.

- I think I should live to

raise my voice, and

publish to all the world

how important it is for men

not to be satisfied

with the common way,and

how great the good is

that God will give us

if we prepare ourselves to receive it.

- these desires are such

that I am melted away in myself,

for I seem to desire

what I cannot have.

The body seems to me

to hold me in prison,

through its inability

to serve God...in anything;

for if it were not for the body,

I might do very great things,

so far as my strength would allow;

- thus, because I see myself

without any power

whatever to serve God,

I feel this pain in a way

wholly indescribable;

[ Relations 1: #4]

- I wish to do penance,

but I am not able.

It would be a great relief to me,

and it does relieve and cheer me,

though what I do is almost nothing,

because of my bodily weakness;

[ Relations 1: #5]

- the issue (effect) is

delight, recollection,

and the consolation of God.

           [ Relations 1: #4]

   ( but in the end I experience
   joy and recollection
   and consolation from God.
   - Peers translation

Relations 1: #4 )

________________________

4). What blessings did St. Teresa

receive from prayer?

[ Relations 1: #2, 8, 24, 30 ]

St. Teresa said:

"when I rise from my prayer,

I see that I have received blessings"

[ Relations 1: #30 ]

~ Spiritual Progress

St. Teresa said that

"this recollection

or elevation of spirit...

brings with it

the fruits and blessings

without my having had a vision,

or heard anything,

- when the soul seems to be lost

I see it make great progress,

which I could not have made

if I had laboured for a whole year,

so great is my gain.
[ Relations 1: #2 ]

("even if I tried for a whole year,

I do not think that I could

possibly produce them

by my own efforts"
- Peer's translation

Relations 1: #2 )

~ Good desires

(see Question #5)

~ Increase in virtue

"All these desires,

with an increase in virtue,

have been given me by our Lord

since He raised me

to this prayer of quiet,

and sent these raptures.

I find myself so improved

that I look on myself

as being a mass of perdition

before this.

These raptures and visions

leave me in possession

of the blessings

I shall now speak of;

and I maintain that,

if there be any good in me,

they are the occasions of it.

[ Relations 1: #8]

Humility

Self- knowledge:

Awareness of her own faults,

and self-abasement;

"I fall into many imperfections, and

am unprofitable and very wicked.

And perhaps I have no perception

of what is good,

but am deluded;

still, the difference in my life

is notorious

These are the perfections

which I feel our Lord

has wrought in me,

who am

so wicked and

so imperfect.

[ Relations 1: #30 ]

~ Constant consciousness of

the presence of God

"a very constant dwelling

in thought on God,

is the ordinary state of my soul"

"And if I must be busy

(doing) something else,

without my seeking it,

I know not

who makes me awake"

- Her attention is recalled

to God even in midst of activity

                [ Relations 1: # 24 ]

   "She is continually
   reminding herself of God,

and has a sense of His presence".

[ Relation I: Foot Note [622] See #31 ]

___________________

5). What were these good desires
   that St. Teresa "was given…
   by our Lord
   since He raised" her
   to higher prayer?

[ Relations 1:

# 1,2,3,4, 6,7,9, 10,

12,13, 14,15, 20 ]

~ Desire for God

[ Relations 1: #1]

(See questions #2 )

~ Desire to serve God

[ Relations 1: #4]

(See questions # 3 )

~ Desire to do penances

[ Relations 1: #5]

(See questions # 3 )

~ Desire to be alone, solitude

- "my whole desire is to be alone…

- Solitude comforts me,

though at times

I neither pray nor read,

Sometimes, if I have to speak

to any one,

I am greatly distressed

conversation seems oppressive,

except when I speak to those

whose conversation is of

- prayer and

- matters of the soul,

in these I find comfort and joy

yet these occasionally

are too much for me,

those especially

who direct my conscience

always console me.

[ Relations 1: #6]

If I...converse with people

in the world

even about prayer, and

if the conversation be long,

though to pass away the time,

I am under great constraint

if it be not necessary,

for it gives me much pain.

[ Relations 1: #13]

~ Desire for more time for God

- At other times

it gives me much pain

-- that I must eat and sleep

-- that I see I cannot

forego these things,

being less able to do so

than any one.

I submit that I may serve God, and

thus I offer up those actions to him.

Time seems to me too short, and

that I have not enough for prayer,

for I should never be tired

of being alone.

I am always wishing

I had time for reading,

when I take up a book

I become recollected

through the pleasure it gives me, and

thus my reading

is turned into prayer

And thus I am always wishing

for more time,

and everything becomes disagreeable

...because I see I cannot do

what I wish and desire.

[ Relations 1: #7]

As to fine and beautiful things,

e.g. water, fields, perfume, music,

...I would rather not have them,

so great is the difference between

them and

what I am in the habit of seeing,

and so all pleasure in them

is gone from me

[ Relations 1: #12]

Amusements,

of which I used to be fond,

and worldly things,

are all disagreeable to me now

[ Relations 1: #14]

~ Desire to never offend God

"I have made a very strong resolution

never to offend God,

not even venially.

[ Relations 1: #9]

~ Desire to do all for God's honor

"I am resolved

never to leave undone

anything I may consider to be the

more perfect, or

more for the honour

of our Lord,

if he who has the care of my soul

and directs me,

tells me I may do it.

[ Relations 1: #9]

~ Desire for Poverty

"I have a longing for poverty,

though not free from imperfection;

I wish to have only what is necessary.

Nevertheless...

I am very defective in this virtue;

for, though I desire nothing

for myself,

I should like to have something

to give away"

[ Relations 1: #10]

The longings...of

loving and

serving and

seeing God,

are not helped by any reflections,

as formerly,

when I thought I was very devout,

and shed many tears;

but they flow

out of a certain fire and heat

so excessive

that if God did not relieve them

by throwing me into a trance,

wherein the soul seems

to find itself satisfied,

I believe my life would come

to an end at once.

[ Relations 1: #15]

~ Desire for Suffering for God

St. Teresa spoke of Christ's suffering

"for I see that His life

was one of suffering,

and that (suffering),

I ask Him to send me,

giving me first

the grace to bear it.

When I am in prayer...

I cannot, even if I tried,

pray to God for rest,

or desire it;

[ Relations 1: #20]

_______________________

6). Who does St. Teresa say

helps her?

[ Relations 1: # 16, 17 ]

St. Teresa said:

"When I see persons

making great progress, and thus

resolved, detached, and courageous,

I love them much; and

I should like to have my conversation

with such persons,

and I think they help me on...

Not that I am good for anything myself,

but because I believe

- that God helps those who,

for His sake,

apply themselves to great things,

- that He never abandons any one

who puts his trust in Him only.

And I should like to find any one

who would help me

to believe so, and

to be without thought

about food and raiment,

but leave it all

in the hands of God

[ Relations 1: # 16 ]

This leaving in the hands of God

the supply of all I need

is not to be understood

as excluding all labour on my part,

but merely solicitude (anxiety).

   ( anxiety
   - Peers translation )

     And since I have attained

to this liberty,

it goes well with me, and

I labour to forget myself

as much as I can.

[ Relations 1: # 17 ]

__________________________

7). What did St. Teresa say

regarding vainglory?

[ Relations 1: #18, 19 ]

Regarding herself, St. Teresa said:

"Vainglory

so far as I know,

there is no reason why

I should have any;

for I see plainly that in these things

which God sends me

I have no part myself;

On the contrary,

God makes me conscious

of my own wretchedness;

for whatever reflections

I might be able to make,

I could never come to the knowledge

of such deep truths

as I attain to in a single rapture.

[ Relations 1: #18]

...I see now

that I am not therefore any the better,

but rather worse,

seeing that I make so little progress

after receiving mercies so great.

And certainly, in every way,

it seems to me

that there was not in the world

anybody worse than myself;

and so the virtues of others seem to me

much more meritorious than mine,

and that I do nothing myself

but receive graces,

and that God must give

to others at once

all that He is now giving unto me;

and I pray Him not to reward me

in this life;

and so I believe

that God has led me along this way

because I am weak and wicked.

[ Relations 1: #19]

____________________________

8). What did St. Teresa say

regarding Detachment

and the Truth?

[ Relations 1: #21, 22, 23 ]

St. Teresa speaking

of the wisdom and illumination

which she received

in her advanced prayers experiences.

"make so deep an impression

on me in prayer,

that I am amazed

at the sight of truths"

From the divine Truth she was shown,

she now sees the world

as false and valueless

in comparison.

"...the sight of truths

so great and so clear

that the things of the world

seem to be folly"

"it is necessary for me...

to reflect on the way

I demeaned myself formerly

in the things of the world"

"for it seems to me folly

to feel for

deaths and

the troubles of the world"

[ Relations 1: #21]

This detachment includes the avoidance

of preoccupation by worries; distress:

"things never ..distress...me,

except generally:

"If I see people do anything

which clearly seems to be sin,

I cannot make up my mind

that they have offended God;

It seems to me

that everybody is as anxious

to serve God

as I am.

if I do remember (an evil deed),

I see some virtue or other

in that person".

"But heresies do...distress me

they seem to me to be

the only trouble

which should be felt"

"And...when I see people...

fall away...

who used to give themselves

to prayer

this gives me pain,

but not much,

because I strive

not to dwell upon it.

[ Relations 1: #22]

The detachment includes

fastidiousness regarding appearances:

"I am improved in the matter

of that excessive neatness

which I was wont to observe,

though not wholly delivered from it.

[ Relations 1: #23]

_________________________

9). St. Teresa seems to be describing

occasions in her spiritual state,

lasting 3 to 5 days,

wherein she feels herself as

unable to pray,

powerless to do good,

replete with faults, and

even unable to recall

the blessings which

she received in the past.

How does she describe this?

What is her response ?

Is there a resolution?

[ Relations 1: # 9, 25, 26 ]

St. Teresa said:

"For some days... for three, or four, or five...

I am under the influence of these impressions"

~ Powerless to do good,

- "all my good and fervent thoughts,

and my visions,

seem to be withdrawn...even forgotten,

so that, if I were to seek for it,

I know of no good

that can ever have been in me".

- "the great resolution I used to have

is come to this,

that I seem to be unable to resist
the least temptation or slander of the world.

      Recall from Paragraph #9

  "I have made a very strong resolution
   never to offend God,
   not even venially"

It suggests itself to me then

that I am good for nothing"

- if any one would have me undertake

more than the common duties.

I give way to sadness,

thinking I have deceived all those

who trusted me at all.

I should like to hide myself

where nobody could see me;

but my desire for solitude arises

from want of courage,

not from love of virtue.

~ Unable to benefit from or even recall the blessings

which she received in the past

- It seems to have been all a dream, or, at least,

I can call nothing to mind.

~ Unable to pray

(Can't use the faculties to pray or read)

- My understanding is troubled,

so that I

cannot think at all about God,

neither do I know under what law I live.

If I read anything,

I do not understand it;

- Bodily pains at the same time distress me.

~ Replete with faults

- "I seem to be

-- full of faults, and

-- without any resolution whatever

to practise virtue"

- It seems to me

that I should like to dispute with all

who contradict me;

- "only God has been so gracious unto me,

that I do not offend more frequently

than I was wont to do"

~ Her Response:

- "nor do I ask Him

to deliver me from them,

but only,

- if it be His will

I should always suffer thus,

to keep me from offending Him;

- and I submit myself to His will

with my whole heart, and

- I see that it is a very great grace bestowed upon me

that He does not keep me constantly in this state.

[ Relations 1: #25]

~ Regarding a Resolution of this distress:

- "while I am in this state,

through

a single word

of those I am in the habit of hearing, or

a single vision, or

   a little self-recollection,

   (through
   approaching the altar for Communion)

   I find
   my soul and body

so calm, so sound,

the understanding

so clear, and

myself possessing

all the strength and

all the good desires I usually have.

And this I have had experience of very often

at least when I go to Communion;

it is more than six months ago

that I felt a clear improvement in my bodily health,

and that (was) occasionally brought about

through raptures,

Accordingly, when I am thus recollected,

I fear no illness.

[ Relations 1: #26]

____________________________

10). How does St. Teresa know

that her visions and other favors

come from God?

[ Relations 1: # 11, 27, 28, 29 ]

St. Teresa said:

"All these things ( favors)

of which I am speaking

make me believe

that it comes from God;

~ The spiritual favors which she received

come from God:

◊ By the fruits, effects they brought:

• Drawn closer to God

Attachment to God

"that it has been

- not only the means

of drawing me to God

in His service,

- but of saving me also from hell.

[ Relations 1: # 27 ]

• Improvement in herself;

• Growth of virtue

"for when I see

- what I once was,

- that I was in the way of being lost

- that soon, my soul certainly

is astonished at these things,

without knowing

whence these virtues came to me;

I did not know myself, and

I saw that

-- all was a gift, and

-- not the fruit of my labours"

[ Relations 1: # 27 ]

• Desire only for God's greater glory

Humility and

Relunctance to be praised:

Detachment from honors

- "when I see any one

who knows anything about me,

I wish to let him know my whole life

because

-- my honour...consist(s)

in the honour of our Lord

-- I care for nothing else.

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

- neither honour,

nor life,

nor praise,

nor good,

either of body or of soul,

can interest me,

nor do I seek or desire any advantage,

only His glory".

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

◊ Detachment from Spiritual favors

and consolations:

"and I do nothing else

but ask everybody

to pray to our Lord

that He would

-- show me if this be for His glory, or

-- lead me by another way.

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

◊ Knowledge and Trust in

the mercy and goodness of God

Also Spiritual Wisdom

of divine Truth

"Nor can I believe it of God,

-- though I have deserved

to fall into delusions

because of my sins, --

- that He has left unheeded

so many prayers

of so many good people

for two years"

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

"when I am in prayer, and....

when I am in repose, and

my thoughts fixed on God,

if all the learned and holy men

in the world

came together and

(if) I desirous of agreeing with them,

they could not make me believe

that this is the work of Satan,

for I cannot.

But all they had said to me

was destroyed by the first

word, or

recollection, or

vision that came,

and I was able to resist no longer,

and believed it was from God.

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

◊ This has been substantiated

by her Confessors and Consultants

"This my confessors know,

who have heard

my general confession".

[ Relations 1: # 27 ]

"These considerations, and

the reasons of so many saintly men,

give me courage

when I am under the pressure of fear

that they are not from God,

I being so wicked myself.

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

"In almost all the visions I have had,

I have found good,

if it be not a delusion of Satan;

herein I submit myself to the judgment

of my confessors.

[ Relations 1: # 11 ]

"though I do certainly believe this

to be from God,

I would never do anything,

for any consideration whatever,

that is not judged by him

who has the charge of my soul

to be for the better service

of our Lord,

and I never had any intention

but to obey

without concealing anything,

for that is my duty.

I am very often rebuked for my faults,

and (rebuked) in such a way

as to pierce me to the very quick;

and I am warned

when there is, or

when there may be,

any danger in what I am doing.

These rebukes and warnings

have done me much good,

in often reminding me

of my former sins,

which make me exceedingly sorry.

[ Relations 1: # 29 ]

~ The spiritual favors which she received

could not come from the devil:

◊ Satan could not be "so foolish" as to

provide the means of spiritual

advancement.

"I cannot believe

that Satan has sought so many means

of making my soul advance,

in order to lose it after all.

I do not hold him to be so foolish"

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

◊ God would not permit the devil

to mislead and trick souls

in this way.

- "I do not believe that these things

would have been permitted

by His Majesty

to be always going on

if they were not His work".

[ Relations 1: # 28 ]

◊ The fruits of the devil are

not of goodness

but rather, bring

disquietness and lack of peace

- "...Satan now and then

may intermeddle here...

but he produces different results,

[ Relations 1: # 29 ]

◊ The devil can not deceive one

who has been granted

advanced graces from God

who have been granted advanced

contemplative experiences:

"nor can he deceive any one

possessed of any experience"

[ Relations 1: # 29 ]

b) Notes regarding Relations 1

believed to be written by

by St. Peter of Alcantara,

to whom the Relation is addressed.

Included here again is the

Footnote #622 of "Relation 1"

which describe St. Teresa's spiritual state

and seem to provide a summary of

St. Teresa's Relation 1:

[622]

"Fra Anton. a Sancto Joseph,

in his notes on this Relation...

says it was written for St. Peter of Alcantara

...

The following notes were discovered

among the papers of the Saint (Teresa)

in the monastery of the Incarnation,

and are supposed to refer to this Relation.

The Chronicler of the Order,

Fra Francis a Sancta Maria,

is inclined to the belief that they were written

by St. Peter of Alcantara,

to whom the Relation is addressed,

"1. The end God has in view

is the drawing a soul to himself;

that of the devil

is the withdrawing it from God.

Our Lord never does anything

whereby anyone may be separated from Him,

and the devil does nothing whereby any one

may be made to draw near unto God.

All the visions and the other operations

in the soul of this person

draw her nearer unto God, and

make her more humble and obedient.

"2. It is the teaching of St. Thomas

that an angel of light may be recognised

by the peace and quietness he leaves in the soul.

She is never visited in this way,

but she afterwards abides in peace and joy;

so much so,

that all the pleasures of earth together

are not comparable to one of these visitations.

"3. She never commits a fault,

nor falls into an imperfection,

without being instantly rebuked by Him

who speaks interiorly to her.

"4. She has never prayed for nor wished for them:

all she wishes for

is to do the will of God our Lord in all things.

"5. Everything herein is consistent

with the Scriptures and the teaching

[note continues, p. 404.] of the Church,

and most true, according to the most rigorous principles

of scholastic theology.

"6. This soul is most pure and sincere,

with the most fervent desires

of being pleasing unto God, and

of trampling on every earthly thing.

"7. She has been told that

whatever she shall ask of God, being good,

she shall have.

She has asked much,

and things not convenient to put on paper

lest it should be wearisome;

all of which our Lord has granted.

"8. When these operations are from God,

they are always directed to the good

of the recipient, to that of the community,

or of some other.

That she has profited by them

she knows by experience, and

she knows it, too, of other persons also.

"9. No one converses with her,

if he be not in evil dispositions,

who is not moved thereby to devotion,

even though she says nothing about it.

"10. She is growing daily

in the perfection of virtues,

and learns by these things

the way of a higher perfection.

And thus, during the whole time

in which she had visions,

she was making progress,

according to the doctrine of St. Thomas.

"11. The spirit that speaks to her soul

never tells her anything in the way of news,

or what is unbecoming,

but only that which tends to edification.

"12. She has been told of some persons

that they were full of devils:

but this was for the purpose

of enabling her to understand the state of a soul

which has sinned mortally against our Lord.

"13. The devil's method is,

when he attempts to deceive a soul,

to advise that soul never to speak

of what he says to it;

but the spirit that speaks to this soul

warns her to be open

with learned men, servants of our Lord,

and that the devil may deceive her

if she should conceal anything through shame.

"14. So great is

the progress of her soul in this way, and

the edification she ministers

in the good example given,

that more than forty nuns in her monastery

practise great recollection.

"15. These supernatural things occur

after long praying,

when she is absorbed in God,

on fire with His love, or at Communion.

"16. They kindle in her a most earnest desire

to be on the right road, and

to escape the delusions of Satan.

"17. They are in her

the cause of the deepest humility;

she understands that

what she receives comes to her

from the hand of our Lord, and

how little worth she is herself.

"18. When they are withheld,

anything that occurs is wont

to pain and distress her;

but when she is in this state,

she remembers nothing;

all she is conscious of

is a great longing for suffering, and

so great is it that she is amazed at it.

"19. They are to her sources of joy and consolation

in her troubles,

when people speak ill of her, and in her infirmities

-- and she has fearful pains about the heart,

sicknesses, and many other afflictions,

all of which leave her

when she has these visions.

"20. With all this, she undergoes great penances,

fasting, the discipline, and mortifications.

"21. All that on earth may give her any pleasure,

and her trials, which are many,

she bears with equal tranquillity of mind,

without losing the peace and quiet of her soul.

"22. Her resolution never to offend our Lord

is so earnest

that she has made a vow never to leave undone

what she knows herself,

or is told by those who understand the matter better,

to be the more perfect.

And though she holds the members of the Society

to be saints, and

believes that our Lord [note continues, p. 405.]

made use of them to bestow on her,

graces so great,

she told me that,

if she knew it would be more perfect

to have nothing more to do with them,

she would never speak to them again,

nor see them,

notwithstanding the fact that it was through them

that her mind had been quieted and directed

in these things.

"23. The sweetnesses she commonly receives,

her sense of God,

her languishing with love,

are certainly marvellous, and

through these she is wont

to be enraptured the whole day long.

"24. She frequently falls into a trance

when she hears God spoken of

with devotion and earnestness, and

cannot resist the rapture, do what she can;

and in that state her appearance is such

that she excites very great devotion.

"25. She cannot bear to be directed by any one

who will not tell her of her faults, and rebuke her;

all that she accepts with great humility.

"26. Moreover, she cannot endure people

who are in a state of perfection,

if they do not labour to become perfect,

according to the spirit of their rule.

"27. She is most detached from her kindred,

has no desire to converse with people,

and loves solitude.

She has a great devotion to the saints,

and on their feasts,

and on the days on which the Church

celebrates the mysteries of the faith,

is filled with most fervent affections for our Lord.

"28. If all the members of the Society,

and all the servants of God upon earth,

tell her that her state is an effect

of the operations of Satan,

or were to say so,

she is in fear and trembling before the visions occur;

but as soon as she is in prayer, and recollected,

she cannot be persuaded,

were they to tear her into a thousand pieces,

that it is any other than God

who is working in her and speaking to her.

"29. God has given her

a most wonderfully strong and valiant spirit:

she was once timid;

now she tramples on all the evil spirits.

She has put far away from herself

all the littleness and silliness of women;

she is singularly free from scruples,

and most sincere.

"30. Besides, our Lord has given her

the gift of most sweet tears,

great compassion for her neighbours,

the knowledge of her own faults,

a great reverence for good people,

and self-abasement;

and I am certain

that she has done good to many,

of whom I am one.

"31. She is continually reminding herself of God,

and has a sense of His presence.

All the locutions have been verified,

and every one of them accomplished;

and this is a very great test.

"32. Her visions are a source

of great clearness in her understanding, and

an admirable illumination in the things of God.

"33. It was said to her

that she should lead those

who were trying her spirit

to look into the Scriptures,

and that they would not find

that any soul desirous of pleasing God

had been so long deceived."

c) Informational Note:

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Discussion of Relation I