De devotionis gratia acquirenda
The Discipline of Devotion
True devotion is cultivated through mourning, silence, and the gradual, disciplined practice of ascetic virtues.
Woe to you who laugh, for you will weep. Just as virtue cannot stand alongside vice, devotion cannot be acquired through laughter and partying; it is acquired through mourning and silence. Perfect virtue, however, isn't acquired suddenly, but little by little, with much groaning and pain. It requires a firm resolve to always improve, forcing yourself often—by fasting, keeping watch, praying, meditating, studying, writing, working, avoiding idle talk, and willingly remaining in secret.
Wisdom in the Midst of Change
The soul must learn to discern between fleeting worldly joys and the spiritual profit found in enduring life's inevitable sorrows.
Every joy that isn't of God quickly perishes; it stains and harms the soul. Good speech is pleasant to hear; harsh speech disturbs a friend; idle speech wastes the fruit of time. Be diligent in doing good and patient in enduring evil, and you'll be blessed in your life, praising God at every hour. Rarely will one or the other of these be missing for you: sorrow or joy. Blessed is the one who draws everything toward the good and makes a profit for himself out of adversities.
The Steadfast Heart
The mature believer finds stability by accepting all things from God's hand and placing their hope in Him alone.
Anyone who loves God accepts both the bitter and the sweet from Him equally, and gives thanks. Those who place their hope not in themselves, nor in anyone else, but in God, stand firm and secure.
Read the original Latin
Vae vobis qui ridetis, quia flebitis. Sicut virtus non potest stare cum vitio; sic devotio non potest acquiri cum risu et in convivio: sed cum luctu et in silentio. Perfecta autem virtus non subito acquiritur: sed paulatim et cum multo gemitu et dolore; cum firmo proposito proficiendi semper in melius: vim sibi faciendo saepius; scilicet ieiunando, vigilando, orando, meditando, studendo, scribendo, laborando, a fabulis abstinendo: et in secreto libenter manendo. Omne gaudium quod de Deo non est cito perit: maculat et laedit. Bonus sermo suavis est ad audiendum; durus turbat amicum: otiosus perdit temporis fructum. Esto diligens in operando bona; patiens in tolerando mala: et beatus eris in vita tua, Deum laudando omni hora. Raro tibi unum vel alterum istorum deerit: tristari aut laetari. Felix qui omnia ad bonum trahit: et de adversis lucrum sibi facit.
Qui Deum diligit: amara sicuts dulcia aequaliter a Deo accipit, et gratias agit. Bene et firmiter stat: qui non in se nec in homine, sed in Deo spem suam ponit.
The Little Garden of Roses & The Valley of Lilies companion
Fourteen readings down. The other 39 chapters are waiting.
Chosen Portion serves the complete Little Garden and Valley of Lilies — plus the Imitation — as daily portions.
These treatises were composed as brief daily counsels for a community's rhythm of reading, and Chosen Portion delivers them the same way: one short chapter each morning.
- All 53 chapters of both treatises in modern readable English
- A new short reading delivered every morning, no deciding what's next
- Complete both treatises in under two months at one chapter a day