LVIIII. De viiio in cura rerum ierrenarum.

LVIIII. De viiio in cura rerum ierrenarum.

For those who care for earthly things, they foolishly say to themselves, "Let’s look at the creature that was created for our use, and let’s pay attention to it, because it feeds and clothes us." Therefore, God will do what pleases Him. If we were to place our concerns solely in God, without caring for earthly matters, we would quickly fall short. And what would we be then? Like those who quickly die, those who gaze at their faces in the mirror of water and pay attention to nothing else soon perish. After we've died, we won't be with creatures anymore, but we'll have that life which God will grant us after our death. For if we have shared with created things, and whatever we have asked of them is not blameworthy, it is because God created them this way. If the things created were not for our use, and if we loved them then, we would be sinning greatly. We don't require anything from them except what God has given us. Whoever allows his horse to run free without restraint walks not quietly, but dangerously. And if we didn’t take care of earthly matters, the earth would produce thorns and thistles, and in this, we would sin, because it would feed all those animals, and because it would have smooth paths and not dangerous ones. In this way, those speak in their bodies who place all their effort and care on the present life and not on the future, just as the greedy and unfaithful Jews did, who neglected my Son, whom I sent into the world for the salvation of humanity, and mocking his words, they tried to completely destroy him through death. But a faithful person should plow with oxen in such a way that they still look to God, who gives life and all the fruits of the earth, and should walk according to the master's commands, so that while tending to earthly things, they do not neglect the heavenly. These things have been said about the souls of the repentant, to be purified and saved, and they are faithful, and a faithful person should pay attention to them and keep them in mind for good knowledge. I also saw spirits from that same multitude, and I heard them shouting loudly: "Who is this God who brings such great trials upon us?" And they show obstinacy in the hearts of men, and they urge them to have a stubborn mind about everything.