Quod uerus amans terrena despicit, et ad superna anhelat, et elacione uitanda et humilitate amplectenda

Quod uerus amans terrena despicit, et ad superna anhelat, et elacione uitanda et humilitate amplectenda

Pay attention, miserable man, how in the pleasure of carnal delight the cruelty of eternal damnation sleeps. Therefore, you must resist those who want to take away the things that belong to Christ, namely, the virtues. Before your heart can burn with the love of Christ, it must be free from any desire for transient vanity. Because the mind, burning with the spirit of Christ, is nourished solely by the love of eternity, it also delights in a joyful song. If the sweetness of eternal love has already taken root in your soul, without a doubt it destroys all carnal wickedness and lust; and it allows you to feel nothing but Christ, delighting in Him; for you neither fall away from Him, nor do you sense anything sweeter than Him. Indeed, when the perfect are freed from their bodies, they are immediately presented before God and placed in seats of blessed rest, for they see that Christ is God, and they sing. For those who truly begin to love Christ will not cease to sing sweet songs of love to the Lord Jesus in the great joy of love and with honeyed ardor. Nothing earthly truly delights the one who loves Christ sincerely, because in the greatness of love, all that is temporary becomes worthless. The eye of the flesh sees earthly things, but the humble heart and the pure contemplate heavenly realities; those who are ignited by the flame of celestial vision feel themselves released from the weight of past sin and rest from the desire to sin again, their hearts turned to the fire, embracing nothing earthly but always striving to penetrate the heavenly. Moreover, those who are directed toward holiness, at the beginning of their conversion, abandon the sins of the world and the vanity of life out of fear of God; then they strictly subdue their flesh through penance. Afterward, with a love for Christ as their purpose, they taste a certain delight in the sweetness of heaven, and in devotion of mind, they bow down fervently. From one stage to the next, those who ascend flourish in spiritual virtues, and thus, adorned by the grace of God, they finally reach perfection, which consists in heart, speech, and action. When the love of Christ truly absorbs someone, it makes them indifferent to worldly things, as if they were dead; they savor what is above and seek what is above, not what is on the earth. The mind, indeed, sighing for the desire of the heavenly kingdom, grows in the love of the Bridegroom, and rejoicing in the infused joy, it sheds the appetite for earthly things; filled with the languor of true love, it intends wholly to see God in His beauty; hence, the flame of that love ignited, it longs solely for Him, and besides Him, there is nothing it seeks. While a faithful soul ardently longs for the presence of its beloved, it cools off from all lust and empty glory. Therefore, love grows faint, because it considers all earthly things as nothing; thus, it eagerly longs for eternal joys. Who truly delights in the love of Christ and desires to have His consolation without ceasing does not seek merely human comfort, but instead flees from it with great longing, like smoke that offends the eyes. Just as the air, infused with the sun's rays and the brightness of light, is entirely radiant, so a devoted mind, inflamed by the fire of Christ's love and filled with the desires of heavenly joys, appears wholly loving, because it is transformed entirely into another likeness, while still retaining its own substance, though ineffably filled with joy. Because when the mind is ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit, it is stripped of all idleness and impurity and is sweetened by the torrent of God's pleasure, always looking up, never failing, not regarding earthly things, until it rejoices in the perfect vision of the Beloved. You must guard against all pride and the arrogance of the heart, because this is what has cast remarkable men into deep misery. What could be more detestable, what could deserve greater punishment—indeed, it is a great indignation and truly an abomination—that the most worthless worm, the worst sinner, the lowest of all men, dares to exalt himself on earth, for which the Most High King and Lord of all creation has so humbled Himself? If you truly consider Christ's humility, no matter what your status is or how rich or virtuous you may be, you won't find any grounds for pride in yourself, but rather a sense of your own lowliness and the reason for your humility. So, if you despise sinners, pay attention to yourself, because you might be making yourself worse than all of them; for a proud just person displeases God more than a humble sinner. When true humility is established in your mind, whatever good you do is directed to the praise of the Creator; seek His glory while looking down on your own virtue, so that you’re not consumed by vanity and miss out on eternal life. So think of Jesus with a longing heart; let your prayer rise to Him without hesitation, and don't be afraid to seek Him constantly, for nothing else can truly satisfy you. Blessed is the rich person who has such a possession; for this reason, leave behind all the empty things of the world, and he will conquer your enemy and lead you to his kingdom. The devil will be defeated who attacks you; the flesh will be subdued that weighs you down; the world will be despised that tempts you to sin, if your heart never stops seeking the love of Christ. A truly empty person doesn't sit idle; even if their tongue is silent, their mind still cries out to Christ. For the body, resting in its carnal comfort, never finds peace while the mind, longing for the heavenly, never grows weary of desire. No one is found idle if they never cease to long for eternal things, and they are always eager to be with those who share that longing. The thoughts of a true lover of Christ are swift in their ascent and steady in their course. They don't allow themselves to be swayed by temporary things or to be caught up in carnal distractions; instead, they keep ascending until they reach the heavenly realm. While the body is worn out in the service of Christ, the spirit often lifts the mind to heavenly refreshment, and even to divine contemplation. But whoever prays devoutly does not let their heart wander in earthly matters, but lifts it up to God in the heavens. But whoever desires to obtain what they pray for should carefully consider what they are praying for, whom they are praying to, and for what purpose they are praying; and they should love the one they pray to, so that they don't become unworthy seekers of a reward from life. Indeed, the saints possess such profound humility that they consider themselves to know nothing and to do almost nothing; they cry out that they are more unworthy and miserable than anyone else, even to those whom they reprimand and correct. Those who recline in the lowest place according to the Lord's command, however, do not receive disgrace before God, but honor; not a demerit or detriment of merit, but a reward that is praiseworthy and magnificently exalted, to which true humility rightly disposes them. Indeed, humility brings honor to Christ, torment to the devil, and glory to God’s people; it makes the servant of Christ love more ardently, serve more devoutly, and praise more worthily, and through love, it produces a fuller life. The more someone humbles themselves, the more they exalt the praise of God. But whoever perseveres perfectly in the love of God and in the love of neighbor, and yet considers himself unworthy and inferior to others out of humility and self-knowledge, conquers enemies, wins the love of the supreme Judge, and will be received into eternal joys by the angels when he passes from this light.