SR
Exclamations of the Soul to God/Book 1 · Exclamaciones del alma a Dios
Chapter 12Exclam.1.12

Exclamación XII

The Madness of Sin

The soul laments the irrationality of humanity in waging war against their Creator.

O my God, my true strength! What is this, Lord—that we're cowards in everything except when we turn against you? This is where the children of Adam expend all their strength. If reason weren't so blind, not even their combined strength would be enough to make them dare take up arms against their Creator and wage an unending war against the one who can plunge them into the abyss in an instant. But because reason is blind, they become like madmen seeking death, imagining that by dying they will gain life. In short, they behave like people who have lost their reason. What can we do, my God, for those afflicted by this madness? They say the illness itself gives them extraordinary strength. It's the same with those who turn away from my God: they are sick people whose full fury is directed against you, the one who does them the most good.1

The False Commander

The soul questions why anyone would choose to follow the devil, a defeated and miserable enemy, over the loving Creator.

O Wisdom beyond all understanding! How great your love for your creatures had to be for you to endure such madness, wait for us to recover, and work for our healing through countless means and remedies! It astonishes me to consider that people lack the resolve to restrain themselves in some very small matter, and actually convince themselves that they cannot—even though they want to—leave an occasion of sin and turn away from a danger where they may lose their souls, yet we have the boldness and nerve to attack a Majesty as great as you.23 What is this, my beloved? What is this? Who gives them this strength? Isn't the commander they follow in this battle against you himself your servant, condemned to eternal fire?4 Why does he rise up against you? How can one who has been defeated give anyone courage? How can they follow someone so destitute that he was cast out from the riches of heaven? What can someone give when they have nothing of their own but misery? What is this, my God? What is this, my Creator? Where does this boldness against You come from, and such cowardice in the face of the devil? Even if You, my Prince, did not favor Your own, and even if we owed something to this prince of darkness, it would still make no sense to follow him, considering what You have reserved for us forever and seeing that all his pleasures and promises are false and treacherous. What will someone who turned against You do to us?

Ingratitude and the Passion

The soul reflects on the deep ingratitude of using God's gifts to serve the one who hates Him, effectively joining in the torment of Christ.

Oh, what terrible blindness, my God! Oh, what terrible ingratitude, my King! Oh, what incurable madness—that we should serve the devil with what You give us, my God! That we should repay Your great love for us by loving the one who hates You so deeply and will hate You forever! After the blood You shed for us, the scourging and terrible pain You suffered, and the great torments You endured—instead of avenging Your eternal Father (since You Yourself desire no vengeance and forgave such a grave offense against His Son)—we take as our companions and friends those who treated Him that way!5 For since we follow their infernal commander, it is clear that we must all become one with him and live in his company forever, unless Your mercy comes to our aid, restores us to our senses, and forgives our past sins.

A Call to Return

An urgent plea for mortals to repent, open their eyes, and turn back to the gentle King before it is too late.

O mortals, come back—come back to your senses! Look at your King, whom you'll find gentle now; let such great wickedness end at last. Turn your fury and strength against the one who is waging war on you and wants to rob you of your inheritance.6 Come back—come back to your senses. Open your eyes, and with loud cries and tears ask for light from the one who gave light to the world. For the love of God, come to your senses: you're doing everything in your power to kill the one who gave up his own life to give you life. Remember, he is the one who defends you from your enemies. And if all this isn't enough, let it be enough to know that you can do nothing against his power, and that sooner or later you'll have to pay in eternal fire for such grave contempt and audacity. Is it because you see this Majesty bound and held fast by his love for us? What more did those who put him to death do, except strike and wound him after he had been bound?

The Weight of Justice

The soul contemplates the terrifying reality of divine justice and the immense debt of mercy that Christians often overlook.

Oh, my God, how much you suffer for those who care so little about your sufferings! The time will come, Lord, when your justice will be made known, and we will see whether it is equal to your mercy. Christians, look at this and consider it carefully: we will never fully understand what we owe our Lord God or the greatness of his mercies. For if his justice is so great—what sorrow! What sorrow! What will become of those who have deserved to have that justice carried out and displayed in them?

Read the original Latin

—¡Oh mi Dios y mi verdadera fortaleza! ¿Qué es esto, Señor, que para todo somos cobardes, si no es para contra Vos? Aquí se emplean todas las fuerzas de los hijos de Adán. Y si la razón no estuviese tan ciega, no bastarían las de todos juntos para atreverse a tomar armas contra su Criador y sustentar guerra continua contra quien los puede hundir en los abismos en un momento; sino, como está ciega, quedan como locos que buscan la muerte, porque en su imaginación les parece con ella ganar la vida. En fin, como gente sin razón. ¿Qué podemos hacer, Dios mío, a los que están con esta enfermedad de locura? Dicen que el mismo mal les hace tener grandes fuerzas; así es los que se apartan de mi Dios: gente enferma, que toda su furia es con Vos que les hacéis más bien.

—¡Oh Sabiduría que no se puede comprender! ¡Cómo fue necesario todo el amor que tenéis a vuestras criaturas para poder sufrir tanto desatino y aguardar a que sanemos, y procurarlo con mil maneras de medios y remedios! Cosa es que me espanta cuando considero que falta el esfuerzo para irse a la mano de una cosa muy leve, y que verdaderamente se hacen entender a sí mismos que no pueden, aunque quieren, quitarse de una ocasión y apartarse de un peligro adonde pierdan el alma, y que tengamos esfuerzo y ánimo para acometer a una tan gran Majestad como sois Vos. ¿Qué es esto, bien mío, qué es esto? ¿Quién da estas fuerzas? ¿Por ventura el capitán a quien siguen en esta batalla contra Vos no es vuestro siervo y puesto en fuego eterno? ¿Por qué se levanta contra Vos? ¿Cómo da ánimo el vencido?

¿Cómo siguen al que es tan pobre, que le echaron de las riquezas celestiales? ¿Qué puede dar quien no tiene nada para sí, sino mucha desventura? ¿Qué es esto, mi Dios? , ¿qué es esto, mi Criador? ¿De dónde vienen estas fuerzas contra Vos y tanta cobardía contra el demonio? Aún si Vos, Príncipe mío, no favorecierais a los vuestros, aún si debiéramos algo a este príncipe de las tinieblas, no llevaba camino por lo que para siempre nos tenéis guardado y ver todos sus gozos y prometimientos falsos y traidores. ¿Qué ha de hacer con nosotros quien lo fue contra Vos?

—¡Oh ceguedad grande, Dios mío! ¡Oh, qué grande ingratitud, Rey mío! ¡Oh, qué incurable locura, que sirvamos al demonio con lo que nos dais Vos, Dios mío! ¡Que paguemos el gran amor que nos tenéis, con amar a quien así os aborrece y ha de aborrecer para siempre! ¡Que la sangre que derramasteis por nosotros, y los azotes y grandes dolores que sufristeis, y los grandes tormentos que pasasteis, en lugar de vengar a vuestro Padre Eterno (ya que Vos no queréis venganza y lo perdonasteis de tan gran desacato como se usó con su Hijo, tomamos por compañeros y por amigos a los que así le trataron! Pues seguimos a su infernal capitán, claro está que hemos de ser todos uno y vivir para siempre en su compañía, si vuestra piedad no nos remedia de tornarnos el seso y perdonarnos lo pasado.

—¡Oh mortales, volved, volved en vosotros! Mirad a vuestro Rey, que ahora le hallaréis manso; acábese ya tanta maldad; vuélvanse vuestras furias y fuerzas contra quien os hace la guerra y os quiere quitar vuestro mayorazgo. Tornad, tornad en vosotros, abrid los ojos, pedid con grandes clamores y lágrimas luz a quien la dio al mundo. Entendeos, por amor de Dios, que vais a matar con todas vuestras fuerzas a quien por daros vida perdió la suya; mirad que es quien os defiende de vuestros enemigos. Y si todo esto no basta, básteos conocer que no podéis nada contra su poder y que tarde o temprano habéis de pagar con fuego eterno tan gran desacato y atrevimiento. ¿Es porque veis a esta Majestad atado y ligado con el amor que nos tiene? ¿Qué más hacían los que le dieron la muerte, sino después de atado darle golpes y heridas?

—¡Oh, mi Dios, cómo padecéis por quien tan poco se duele de vuestras penas! Tiempo vendrá Señor, donde haya de darse a entender vuestra justicia y si es igual de la misericordia. Mirad, cristianos, considerémoslo bien, y jamás podremos acabar de entender lo que debemos a nuestro Señor Dios y las magnificencias de sus misericordias. Pues si es tan grande su justicia, ¡ay dolor! , ¡ay dolor! , ¿qué será de los que hayan merecido que se ejecute y resplandezca en ellos?

Notes

  1. 1The source is grammatically irregular; the translation follows the probable sense, “So it is with those who turn away from my God.”
  2. 2An idiom meaning to restrain or check oneself.
  3. 3In this devotional context, an occasion or circumstance that exposes someone to sin.
  4. 4The devil is called God's servant here in the sense that he remains a creature subject to God's sovereign authority.
  5. 5The syntax is difficult and the source contains an unmatched parenthesis. The translation follows the most plausible sense: humanity befriends Christ’s enemies instead of seeking vindication for the dishonor done to the Father through His Son.
  6. 6Rendered as “your inheritance”; mayorazgo literally refers to an entailed hereditary estate or birthright.

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