Quod spreto mundo dulce est servire Deo.
The Sweetness Hidden from the World
The soul addresses God directly, marveling at the inexpressible sweetness of divine contemplation poured out on those who love and serve Him with their whole heart, and recalls that God created, redeemed, and called the soul to love before it had any merit.
Now I will speak again, Lord, and I will not be silent. I will speak in the ears of my God and of my King, who is on high.1 "O, how great is the abundance of your sweetness, Lord, which you have hidden from those who fear you."✦2 But what are you to those who love you? What, to those who serve you with their whole heart? Truly, the sweetness of your contemplation is beyond words — the sweetness you pour out on those who love you. In this above all you have shown the sweetness of your love: that when I did not yet exist, you made me, and when I was wandering far from you, you brought me back to serve you, and you commanded me to love you.3
Grace Beyond All Hope
The soul exclaims over God's fount of love, confesses that divine mercy far exceeded all human merit, acknowledges that even the call to serve is itself a surpassing gift, and marvels that God unites so unworthy a servant with His beloved.
O fount of everlasting love, what can I say about you? How could I ever forget you, when you have deigned to remember me? And after I had wasted away and perished, you showed mercy to your servant beyond all hope, and beyond all merit you bestowed grace and friendship. What can I give you in return for such grace?✦ For it is not given to everyone to renounce all things, leave the world behind, and take up the monastic life. Isn't it a great thing that I should serve you, whom all creation is bound to serve? Should this not seem a great thing to me? No — this seems to me something far greater and more astonishing: that you deign to receive so poor and unworthy a person as your servant, and to unite me with your beloved servants.
God Serves the Soul
The soul confesses that all it has belongs to God, yet discovers the paradox that God serves the human person far more — through creation, through the angels, and supremely by promising to give His very self.
See, everything I have is yours, and it is from you that I serve. And yet the truth is the reverse: you serve me far more than I serve you.4 See, heaven and earth, which you created to serve humanity, are at hand and carry out each day whatever you have commanded. And this is only a small thing: you even created and ordained the angels to serve humanity.5 But all of this is surpassed by the fact that you have deigned to serve humanity yourself, and have promised to give us your very self.6
The Desire to Serve Worthily
The soul asks what return can possibly match God's countless gifts, expresses the longing to offer worthy service even for a single day, affirms God's worthiness of eternal praise, and prays that God supply whatever is lacking.
What could I give you in return for all these thousands of good things? If only I could serve you all the days of my life! If only — even for one day — I could offer you service worthy of you. Truly you are worthy of all service, all honor, and eternal praise. You are truly my Lord, and I am your poor servant, bound with all my strength to serve you — and I should never grow weary of praising you. This is what I want, this is what I desire, and whatever I lack, may you deign to supply.
The Freedom of Holy Service
The soul declares that serving God and despising all things for His sake is the highest honor, promising that those who willingly submit to God's service receive the Holy Spirit's tender consolation and great freedom of heart by entering the narrow way.
It is great honor and great glory to serve you, and through you, for your sake, to despise all things. Those who willingly submit themselves to your most holy service will receive great grace, and they will find the most tender consolation of the Holy Spirit.7 They will find great freedom of heart who for your name's sake take up the narrow way and set aside all worldly care.8
The Joy That Lasts Without End
The soul celebrates the sacred state of religious service as the path to true freedom and holiness, equality with angels, favor with God, dread of demons, and the eternal joy of the highest good.
O welcome and pleasant service of God, by which a person is truly made free and holy. O sacred state of religious servitude, which renders a person equal to the angels, pleasing to God, terrible to the demons, and commendable to all the faithful.9 O service to be embraced and always desired, by which the highest good is deserved, and joy is deserved that will last without end.10
Read the original Latin
Nunc iterum loquar, Domine, et non silebo. Dicam in auribus Dei mei, et Regis mei qui est in excelso. O, quam magna est multitudo dulcedinis tuæ, Domine, quam abscondisti timentibus te. Sed quid es amantibus te? Quid toto corde tibi servientibus? Vere ineffabilis dulcedo contemplationis tuæ, quam largiris amantibus te. In hoc maxime ostendisti dulcedinem charitatis tuæ, quia cum no essem, fecisti me, et cum errarem longe a te, reduxisti me, ut servirem tibi, et præcepisti ut diligam te.
O, fons amoris perpetui, quid dicam de te? Quomodo potero tui oblivisci, qui mei recordari dignatus es? Et postquam contabui, et perii, fecisti ultra omnem spem misericordiam cum servo tuo, et ultra omne meritum gratiam et amicitiam exhibuisti. Quid retribuam tibi pro gratia ista? Non enim omnibus datum est, ut omnibus abdicatis sæculo renuntient, et monasticam vitam assumant. Nonquid non magnum est ut tibi serviam, cui omnis creatura servire tenetur? Non magnum mihi videri debet? Sed potius hoc mihi magnum et admirandum paret, quod tam pauperem et indignum dignaris in servum recipere, et dilectis servis tuis adunare.
Ecce omnia tua sunt quæ habeo, et unde tibi servio. Verumtamen vice versa tu mihi magis servis, quam ego tibi. Ecce cælum et terra, quæ in ministerio hominis creasti, præsto sunt et faciunt quotidie quæcumque mandasti. Et hoc parum est: quin etiam Angelos in ministerio hominis creasti et ordinasti. Transcendit autem hæc omnia, quod tu homini servire dignatus es, et te ipsum daturum promisisti.
Quid dabo tibi pro istis millibus bonis? Utinam possem tibi servire cunctis diebus vitæ meæ. Utinam vel uno die dignum servitium exhibere sufficerem. Vere tu es dignus omni servitio, omni honore et laude æterna. Vere Dominus meus es, et ego pauper servus tuus, qui totis viribus teneor servire tibi, nec unquam in laudibus tuis debeo fastidire. Sic volo, sic desidero, et quidquid mihi deest, tu digneris supplere.
Magnus honor, magna gloria tibi servire, et omnia per te, propter te contemnere. Habebunt enim gratiam magnam, qui sponte se subjecerint tuæ sanctissimæ servituti, et invenient suavissimam Spiritus Sancti consolationem. Consequentur magnam cordis libertatem, qui pro nomine tuo arctam ingrediuntur viam, et omnem mundanam neglexerint curam.
O, grata et jucunda Dei servitus, qua homo veraciter efficitur liber et sanctus. O, sacer status religiosi famulatus, qui hominem Angelis reddit æqualem, Deo placabilem, dæmonibus terribilem, et cunctis fidelibus commendabilem. O, amplectendum et semper optandum servitium, quo promeretur summum bonum, et gaudium promeretur sine fine permansurum.
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩excelso rendered as 'on high' (ablative of place); could also be read as a dative reference to God himself.
- 2 ↩The quoted span echoes Psalm 31:20 (Vulgate 30:20) — 'quam magna multitudo dulcedinis tuae, Domine, quam abscondisti timentibus te.' Candidate allusion; final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses pass.
- 3 ↩no (token 9) is a variant spelling of non; translated as 'not' without emendation.
- 4 ↩Vice versa rendered as 'the truth is the reverse' to capture the conversational force of the Latin idiom in modern English.
- 5 ↩Quin etiam rendered as 'you even' to capture the strengthening, escalating force of the Latin particle — not merely 'but also' but an intensifier meaning 'nay more.'
- 6 ↩Te ipsum daturum — 'your very self' — carries Eucharistic resonance, pointing toward the gift of Christ's own person. The future active participle daturum with promisisti conveys a promised, definitive self-giving.
- 7 ↩suavissimam rendered as 'most tender' to capture the superlative sweetness of the Spirit's consolation; alternatives include 'most sweet' or 'most gentle.'
- 8 ↩arctam viam rendered as 'the narrow way,' echoing the Gospel image of the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13–14).
- 9 ↩Religiosi famulatus is rendered 'religious servitude' to capture both the ordered devotional practice (religiosi) and the posture of service (famulatus). The phrase carries the paradox of holy bondage — servitude that ennobles.
- 10 ↩Promeretur (subjunctive) is rendered 'is deserved' — the subjunctive mood conveys the potential or characteristic result of this service rather than a guaranteed transaction. The double use of promeretur links summum bonum and gaudium as twin fruits of faithful service.