De suspiriis, uoto et humilitate perfecti amatoris, et de imparitate amoris mundialis et Dei, et de meditacione

De suspiriis, uoto et humilitate perfecti amatoris, et de imparitate amoris mundialis et Dei, et de meditacione

The voice of the languishing soul, yearning for the eternal love of its Creator, resonates. Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for your love is better than wine. That's why I languish in love, because I long to see the one I love in all his beauty with my whole mind. Meanwhile, in the labor and struggle of my pilgrimage, may the sweetness of love visit me, and by transferring to my heart the warmth of higher affections, may it delight me, until I can clearly see the beloved, and I will sing of His most sweet name retained in my mind. Indeed, he truly enjoys the delights of this present world who delights in standing before his Savior's desires. There's nothing more delightful than singing about Jesus; there's nothing more enjoyable than listening to Him. Hearing brings joy to the mind, but singing lifts the heart to Him. While I feel deprived of them, as if I were starving and thirsting, I seem desolate and in need. For when I sense the sweetest embraces and kisses of my beloved, I overflow as if with indescribable delights, which true lovers of immense goodness prefer above all else. So let perfect love come to me, pouring itself into my heart, and may it also restore my heart by giving me perseverance; may it ignite and nourish every obstacle to love by removing it. So who will say that he falls into the foulness of the flesh, which Christ above dignifies to restore with the sweetness of heavenly contemplation? For this reason, the following is sung sweetly: "We will rejoice in You, remembering Your abundance over the wine, as if it were said: To You we seek honor, to You we seek glory; we rejoice in Your joys; abandoned?" The pleasures and riches of this fleeting vanity intoxicate lovers so much that they don't even recognize the evils they endure. Even though we can't yet see your face, we long for you so intensely that if we were to live forever, we wouldn't desire any other love. For the longer we live, the more ardently we desire you, and we feel a greater joy in your love; we sigh for you anxiously, because those who love you continually pass away from harmful things, and they succeed in spiritual matters with prosperity and joy. For that soul truly loves you, O good Jesus, which would rather incur a horrible death than consent to any sin; nor does anyone truly and perfectly love Christ who fears anything besides Him. All things work together for good for those who love God. Perfect love conquers pain. Love conquers fear, because it does not feel the fear of any creature; it drives out all pride and humbly submits to anyone. Therefore, it is rightly said: The upright love you. The righteous are humble, truly diligent, and not negligent at all; even if they exist in the highest perfection, they still carry themselves very humbly, both in mind and in action. If someone wants to be a true lover, let them say to themselves: "Everyone excels me in contempt for the world and hatred of sin, in longing for the heavenly kingdom, in sweetness and fervor of love for Christ, and in love for my neighbor." Some flourish in virtues, others shine with miracles, some are uplifted by the gift of heavenly contemplation, and others explore the secrets of sacred scripture. When I consider the worthy life of so many, I feel as if I have been reduced to nothing, and I find myself the lowest among all. Therefore, those are right who flee from earthly things with determination, longing for the eternal joys of heaven, and who turn away from all worldly desires, even as they pursue divine love with fervent longing. And rightly are those said to love God who walk in the straight and shining path of love, for there is nothing besides Christ that they truly understand or seek. Of these, the contrary is said by the psalmist: "Let their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and let their backs always be bent," meaning that they cling to earthly things and postpone eternal matters for the sake of the temporary; and therefore, God's wrath is poured out upon them, namely, just punishment with great force from the overwhelming torments.^✦ The righteous continually strive for the joy of seeing God, casting aside all false appearances, with heart, mouth, and action focused on Him. They don't bend themselves to pursue any kind of vanity, nor do they wander away from the paths of justice, lest they be disturbed. So, anyone who wants to please Christ shouldn't presume to act against His will, whether for good or for evil. It is truly horrifying to descend into the fire of Gehenna, but it is even more detestable to choose to delight in sin, for which one can be lost forever without Christ. The soul, indeed, separated from the worldly vices and alienated from the poisonous sweetness of the flesh, is dedicated to heavenly desires, even caught up in a marvelous joy, because it now senses, in a way, the joy of the beloved love, so that it may contemplate clearly and be made more delightful; even in this present moment, it longs for the sweetest kiss of the Bridegroom and His most delightful embrace, lamenting: "All earthly things are distasteful to me: I sense the love of the beloved, I taste a wondrous drink of consolation, and I am continually inflamed with that sweetness; and may I not fail, being drawn away by excessive temptation." Love makes me bold to call upon the one I cherish, who comforts me and fills me with the kiss of His mouth. The more I rise above earthly thoughts, the more I delight in the sweetness of love, and as the desires of the flesh fade away, the eternal flames are ignited more truly. May He kiss me with the sweetness of His love, refreshing me with the kiss of His mouth, so that I may not fall away; and may He pour out grace upon me, so that I may continually grow in love. Just as infants are nourished and sustained by the milk of their mothers, so the chosen souls ardently feed on divine delights in love, through which they are led to the vision of eternal glory. The delights of Christ's love are certainly sweeter than all the pleasures of the world and the taste of the flesh; in fact, all the imagination of carnal pleasures and all the abundance of earthly possessions are, in comparison, nothing but bitterness and abomination when measured against the sweetness that God infuses into the chosen soul. What a difference there is between the total wealth of worldly riches and the greatest poverty of this world’s ignorance! The sweetness of your love, my dear, is infinitely greater than the pleasure of worldly joy, which carnal people seek, desire, and boast about. For they feel nothing of your love in which they should only delight. Spiritual things guide a devoted soul to love ardently, to meditate sweetly, to contemplate excellently, to pray gently, to praise worthily, to desire only Jesus, to cleanse the mind from the filth of sin, to extinguish carnal desires, to despise all earthly things, to depict in the mind the wounds and the cross of Christ, and to sigh with an unfaltering desire for the vision of glorious clarity. These are the finest ointments, with which the soul consecrated by divine love is anointed and adorned beautifully.