CHAPITRE XX.
Prayer as Sacrifice and Fragrance
Prayer is described as a sacrificial perfume and an outpouring of the heart that rises to God.
1. 2. Prayer as mental prayer and sacrifice, divinely explained by the likeness of a perfume.1 3. Our annihilation in this Sacrifice.2 4. 5. The solidity and fruit of this prayer, according to the Gospel itself. 1. Prayer must be both mental and a sacrifice.3 Mental prayer, according to the testimony of Saint John, is incense whose smoke rises to God: that is why it is said in Revelation (d) that the Angel held a censer in which was the perfume of the prayers of the saints. (d) Rev.4 8. v. 3.✦ Prayer is an outpouring of the heart in the presence of God. (a) "I have poured out my heart in the presence of the Lord," said Samuel's mother; that is why the prayer of the Magi at the feet of the Child Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem was represented by the incense they offered. (a) 1 Kings (or Samuel)5 1. v. 15.✦ 2. Prayer is simply a heat of love that melts and dissolves the soul, refines it, and makes it rise to God.6 As it melts, it gives off its fragrance; and that fragrance comes from the charity that burns it.7 This is what the Bride meant when she said, (b) "While my Beloved was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance." The couch is the depths of the soul.8 When God is there, and you know how to remain near him and stay in his presence, this presence of God gradually melts and dissolves the hardness of that soul; and as it melts, it gives off its fragrance. That is why the Bridegroom, seeing that his bride (c) had melted in this way as soon as her Beloved had spoken, said to her: "Who is this coming up from the desert like a little smoke of perfume?"✦✦ (b) Song of Songs.9 1. v. 11.✦10 (c) Song of Songs.11 5. v. 6.✦ and ch. 3. v. 6.✦
The Necessity of Annihilation
To truly honor God, the soul must undergo a process of self-annihilation, mirroring the mystery of the Eucharist.
3. In this way, the soul rises to her God. But to do that, she must let herself be destroyed and annihilated by the power of love. This is a state of sacrifice essential to the Christian religion; through it, the soul lets herself be destroyed and annihilated to pay homage to the sovereignty of God, as it is written: (d) God alone is great, and he is honored only by the humble. And the destruction of our being confesses the sovereign being of God. (d) Eccles. 3. v. 21. We must cease to be, so that the Spirit of the Word may be in us. Now, so that he may come there, we must yield our life to him and die to ourselves, so that he himself may live in us. Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar is the model of the mystical state. As soon as he comes there by the word of the priest, the substance of the bread must yield its place to him, and only the mere accidents remain.12 In the same way, we must yield our being to that of Jesus Christ and cease to live, so that he may live in us, (a) and so that, being dead, our life may be found hidden with him in God. Pass into me, says God, (b) all you who desire me with ardor. How can we pass into God? That can only be done by going out of ourselves, in order to lose ourselves in him. (a) Colossians 3 verse 3 (b) Eccles.13 24 verse 26 Now this will never be accomplished except through annihilation, which is true prayer, and which gives to God (c) honor and glory and power, forever and ever.✦14 (c) Apoc. 5. v. 13.
Worshipping in Spirit and Truth
True prayer is the worship of God in spirit and truth, leading the soul to possess the Kingdom of God within.
4. This prayer is the prayer of truth. It is (d) to worship the Father in spirit and in truth.✦ It is in spirit because, through it, we are drawn out of our human and fleshly ways of acting to enter into the purity of the spirit that prays within us.15 And it is in truth because, through it, the soul is placed in the truth of God's All and the creature's nothingness. (d) John 4. v. 23. There are only two truths: the All and the Nothing. Everything else is a lie. We can honor the ALL of God only by our ANNIHILATION: and no sooner are we annihilated than God, who does not allow any emptiness without filling it, fills us with himself. Oh, if people knew the goods that come to the soul from this Prayer, they would want to do nothing else; (a) it is the precious pearl; it is the hidden treasure.✦ Anyone who finds it gladly sells everything they own to buy it.✦ It is (b) the River of living water, which is to spring up to eternal life.✦ It is (c) to worship God in spirit and in truth.✦ It is to practice the purest maxims of the Gospel. (a) Matt.✦ 13.✦ v.✦ 44.✦ etc.✦ (b) John 7.✦ v.✦ 38.✦ (c) John 4.✦ v.✦ 23.✦ 5. Does not Jesus Christ assure us (d) that the Kingdom of God is within us?✦ This Kingdom is understood in two ways. The first is when God is so thoroughly Master of us that nothing resists him any longer; then our interior is truly his Kingdom. The other way is that, by possessing God—who is the sovereign Good—we possess the Kingdom of God, which is the height of blessedness and the end for which we were created, as it is said: to serve God is to reign. (d) Luke 17. v. 21.✦ The end for which we were created is to enjoy God even in this life—and no one thinks of it!
Read the original French
1. 2. La priere en tant qu’Oraison & Sacrifice divinement expliquée par la similitude d’un parfum.
3. Notre anéantissement dans ce Sacrifice.
4. 5. Solidité & fruit de cette priere, selon l’Evangile même.
1. LA Priere doit être, & Oraison, & Sacrifice. L’oraison, selon le témoignage de Saint Jean, est un encens dont la fumée monte à Dieu : c’est pourquoi il est dit dans l’Apocalypse, (d) que l’Ange tenoit un encensoir, où étoit le parfum des prieres des Saints.
(d) Apoc. 8. v. 3.
La priere est une effusion du cœur en la présence de Dieu. (a) J’ai répandu mon cœur en la présence du Seigneur, disoit la mere de Samuel : C’est pourquoi la priere des Rois Mages aux pieds de Jésus Enfant dans l’étable de Bethléem, fut signifiée par l’encens qu’ils offrirent.
(a) 1 Rois (ou Sam.) 1. v. 15.
2. La priere n’est autre chose qu’une chaleur d’amour, qui fond & dissout l’ame, la subtilise & la fait monter jusqu’à Dieu. A mesure qu’elle se fond, elle rend son odeur : & cette odeur vient de la charité qui la brûle.
C’est ce que l’Epouse exprimoit quand elle disoit, (b) lorsque mon Bien-aimé étoit dans sa couche, mon nard a donné son odeur. La couche est le fond de l’ame. Lorsque Dieu est là, & que l’on sait demeurer auprès de lui, & se tenir en sa présence, cette présence de Dieu fait fondre & dissoudre peu-à-peu la dureté de cette ame : & en se fondant elle rend son odeur. C’est pourquoi l’Epoux voyant que son épouse (c) s’étoit fondue de la sorte sitôt que son Bien-aimé eut parlé, lui dit : Qui est celle qui monte du désert comme une petite fumée de parfum.
(b) Cant. 1. v. 11.
(c) Cant. 5. v. 6. & ch. 3. v. 6.
3. Cette ame monte de la sorte à son Dieu. Mais pour cela il faut qu’elle se laisse détruire, & anéantir par la force de l’amour. C’est un état de sacrifice essentiel à la Religion Chrétienne ; par là l’ame se laisse détruire & anéantir pour rendre hommage à la souveraineté de Dieu ; comme il est écrit : (d) Il n’y a que Dieu seul de grand, & il n’est honoré que des humbles. Et la destruction de notre être, confesse le souverain être de Dieu.
(d) Eccles. 3. v. 21.
Il faut cesser d’être, afin que l’Esprit du Verbe soit en nous. Or afin qu’il y vienne, il faut lui céder notre vie, & mourir à nous, afin qu’il vive lui-même en nous.
Jésus-Christ dans le S. Sacrement de l’Autel est le modéle de l’état mystique. Sitôt qu’il y vient par la parole du Prêtre, il faut que la substance du pain lui céde la place, & qu’il n’en reste que les simples accidens.
De même il faut que nous cédions notre être à celui de Jésus-Christ ; & que nous cessions de vivre, afin qu’il vive en nous, (a) & qu’étant morts, notre vie se trouve cachée avec lui en Dieu. Passez en moi, dit Dieu, (b) vous tous qui me désirez avec ardeur. Comment passer en Dieu ? Cela ne se peut faire qu’en sortant de nous-mêmes, pour nous perdre en lui.
(a) Coloss. 3. v. 3.
(b) Eccles. 24. v. 26.
Or cela ne s’éxecutera jamais, que par l’anéantissement, qui est la véritable priere, laquelle rend à Dieu (c) l’honneur & la gloire, & la puissance, dans les siecles des siecles.
(c) Apoc. 5. v. 13.
4. Cette priere est la priere de vérité. C’est (d) adorer le Pere en esprit, & en vérité. En esprit ; parce que nous sommes tirés par là de notre maniere d’agir humaine & charnelle, pour entrer dans la pureté de l’esprit qui prie en nous. Et en vérité, parce que l’ame est mise par là dans la vérité du Tout de Dieu, & du néant de la Créature.
(d) Jean 4. v. 23.
Il n’y a que ces deux vérités, le TOUT & le RIEN. Tout le reste est mensonge.
Nous ne pouvons honorer le TOUT de Dieu, que par notre ANÉANTISSEMENT : & nous ne sommes pas plutôt anéantis, que Dieu, qui ne souffre point de vide sans le remplir, nous remplit de lui-même.
O si on savoit les biens qui reviennent à l’ame de cette Oraison, on ne voudroit faire autre chose ; (a) c’est la perle précieuse ; c’est le trésor caché. Celui qui le trouve vend de bon cœur tout ce qu’il posséde pour l’acheter. C’est (b) le Fleuve d’eau vive, qui doit rejaillir jusqu’à la vie éternelle. C’est (c) adorer Dieu en esprit & en vérité. C’est pratiquer les plus pures maximes de l’Evangile.
(a) Matth. 13. v. 44. &c.
(b) Jean 7. v. 38.
(c) Jean 4. v. 23.
5. Jésus-Christ ne nous assure-t-il pas (d) que le Royaume de Dieu est au-dedans de nous ? Ce Royaume s’entend en deux manieres. La premiere est, lorsque Dieu est si fort Maître de nous, que rien ne lui résiste plus : alors notre intérieur est vraiment son Royaume. L’autre maniere est, que possédant Dieu, qui est le Bien souverain, nous possédons le Royaume de Dieu, qui est le comble de la félicité, & la fin pour laquelle nous avons été créés, ainsi qu’il est dit, servir Dieu, c’est regner.
(d) Luc 17. v. 21.
La fin pour laquelle nous avons été créés, est pour jouir de Dieu dès cette vie, & l’on n’y pense pas !
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rev.8.3 — And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that is before the throne.
- ↩1Kgs.1.15 — So Bathsheba went in to the king's chamber. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.
- ↩Song.5.6 — I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and gone. My soul went out when he spoke. I sought him, but I did not find him; I called him, but he did not answer me.
- ↩Song.3.6 — Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
- ↩Song.1.11 — We will make you ornaments of gold with studs of silver.
- ↩Song.5.6 — I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and gone. My soul went out when he spoke. I sought him, but I did not find him; I called him, but he did not answer me.
- ↩Song.3.6 — Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
- ↩Rev.5.13 — And every creature that is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them — I heard them saying, 'To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.'
- ↩John.4.23 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
- ↩Matt.13.44-Matt.13.46 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matt.13.45 — Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. Matt.13.46 — who, having found one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
- ↩Matt.13.44-Matt.13.46 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matt.13.45 — Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. Matt.13.46 — who, having found one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
- ↩John.7.38 — The one who believes in me, just as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.
- ↩John.4.23-John.4.24 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship him. John.4.24 — God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- ↩Matt.13.44-Matt.13.46 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matt.13.45 — Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. Matt.13.46 — who, having found one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
- ↩John.7.38 — The one who believes in me, just as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.
- ↩John.7.38 — The one who believes in me, just as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.
- ↩John.7.38 — The one who believes in me, just as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.
- ↩John.4.23 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
- ↩John.4.23 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
- ↩John.4.23 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
- ↩Luke.17.21 — nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.
- ↩Luke.17.21 — nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.
Notes
- 1 ↩Oraison is the book's technical term for interior/mental prayer, distinct here from prière in general; Sacrifice is kept for the self-offering sense developed in the next section.
- 2 ↩Anéantissement is rendered as annihilation: the following discussion describes the soul yielding itself before God.
- 3 ↩French distinguishes prière (prayer in general) from oraison (mental/interior prayer). Rendered here as “mental prayer” to keep that distinction.
- 4 ↩French Apoc. is the conventional abbreviation for Apocalypse; rendered here as Rev. (Revelation).
- 5 ↩Older French Bibles often title 1–2 Samuel as 1–2 Kings (1–2 Rois). The neighboring quotation is Hannah’s ‘I have poured out my heart before the Lord.’
- 6 ↩subtilise: makes the soul fine or rare, like incense thinning into vapor so that it can rise.
- 7 ↩charité kept as charity (theological virtue), distinct from amour (‘love’) in the previous sentence.
- 8 ↩couche rendered ‘couch’ to keep the Canticles image; fond is the soul’s innermost ground or depths.
- 9 ↩Source abbreviation Cant. = Cantiques (Canticles / Song of Songs).
- 10 ↩French/Vulgate Cant. 1:11 often corresponds to English Song 1:12 (the nard verse); left as printed for later resolution.
- 11 ↩Source abbreviation Cant. = Cantiques (Canticles / Song of Songs).
- 12 ↩accidens is kept as the scholastic term accidents, the appearances remaining after the substance of the bread yields.
- 13 ↩French Eccles. with chapter 24 points to Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), not Ecclesiastes; the abbreviation is left as in the source.
- 14 ↩anéantissement is Guyon's technical term for self-annihilation before God, not physical destruction.
- 15 ↩l’esprit qui prie en nous may mean the purified human spirit, the Holy Spirit praying in us, or both.
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