De summo bono et ultimo fine in solo Deo ponendo
The Vanity of Earthly Pursuits
The author contrasts the true glory found in God with the hollow, anxious, and prideful pursuits of those who seek happiness in worldly things.
I will be satisfied when Your glory appears. O Lord, how can a person reach this glory? By despising oneself and all earthly things, and through an ardent love for all heavenly goods. The souls of the saints rejoicing in the kingdom of heaven are witnesses to this, as are all the faithful who struggle and labor against the temptations of vice. The proud demons, faithless pagans, perverse Jews, and hardened heretics are far removed from this glorious end and the supreme good to be enjoyed eternally; so too are carnal people who love the world and neglect God, setting their end and happiness in earthly goods, honors, and praise. Alas, O God, they run, labor, study, and keep watch to possess, increase, and preserve these things, and they hardly ever rest, never ceasing their anxious striving until they acquire something. And when they have acquired them—whether rightly or wrongly—they are still not content; they crave to climb higher, to boast above others, and they swell with pride. They brag that they are learned, consider themselves great, and desire to be honored by others. And yet, everything they seek and desire is vain, slippery, nothingness, and ultimately dangerous and ruinous.
God as the Only True Good
A reflection on the insufficiency of created things to satisfy the soul, identifying God alone as the supreme and eternal good.
You are certainly mistaken and deceiving yourselves, you who still find the world sweet and this present life pleasant; for you have no certainty regarding all your possessions, and you draw closer every day to death and the future judgment of God. For there is nothing in this life so pleasant that it doesn't have some bitterness attached to it; there is nothing in created things so precious, good, and delightful that it can satisfy and bless the human soul, rescue it from every evil, fill it with every good, and always make it joyful—except for God alone, who is supremely good, eternal, and immense. He is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, of angels and of men; He is before all things, above all things, and in all things, God blessed forever. For what can be said or thought worthily about God by any creature in heaven or on earth? For God exceeds all things; before His eyes, all things are seen as vanity and nothingness. Therefore, every soul is foolish and will remain forever needy and miserable if it seeks and loves anything outside of God that separates the mind from the love and honor of God. Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord; and it is not possible for me or for any creature to think them through or examine them one by one. What, then, shall I do, since I cannot grasp higher things, nor penetrate heavenly secrets, nor contemplate the face of my God with the angels?
A Prayer for Humility and Union
The author turns to prayer, expressing humility, repentance, and a longing for God's grace to remain fixed on the highest good.
I admit that I am unworthy to enjoy such great blessings, or to walk with the saints in heaven. Therefore, I will always humble myself and think little of myself before God and everyone as long as I live; I will be worthless in my own eyes, so that God may have mercy on me, a sinner, now and at every hour. I will call to mind all my years in the bitterness of my soul, for which I have earned anger; and with groaning and weeping, I will appease the God whom I have offended so often in words, deeds, sight, hearing, and my other senses—senses He gave me to serve Him with my whole heart as long as I live in this body. But should I despair and be cast down by my own evils? No, I will remember, Lord, all Your good deeds and all Your mercies that have existed from the beginning, until, with the help of Your grace, I deserve to arrive safely at You. Free me from all the evils that suddenly rush upon me and so often pull my heart away from meditating on heavenly goods. Be present with me, kind God, and keep me close to You, so that I don't begin to wander and drift away from the highest good, which You are, Lord. For in You alone is my whole good. Give Yourself to me, and it is enough for my soul, Lord God of my salvation. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua. O Domine quomodo potest homo ad hanc gloriam pervenire? Per contemptum sui et omnium terrenorum: et per ardentem amorem omnium caelestium bonorum. Testes sunt animae sanctorum laetantes in regno caelorum: et omnes fideles certantes et laborantes contra temptationes vitiorum. Ab hoc glorioso fine et summo bono aeternaliter fruendo longe distant superbi daemones, infideles pagani, perversi Iudaei et haeretici indurati, homines carnales mundum diligentes, Deum neglegentes: et in terrenis bonis et honoribus ac laudibus finem suum et felicitatem constituentes. Qui heu Deus propter haec habenda augenda et servanda currunt laborant student vigilant, et fere numquam quiescunt: nec sollicitare cessant donec aliquid acquirant. Et cum acquisierint sive rectum sive indirectum fuerit adhuc non contentantur: sed ad altiora scandere et gloriari super ceteros concupiscunt et intumescunt; doctos se iactant, magnos se aestimant: et ab aliis honorari affectant. Et tamen totum est vanum lubricum et nihilum: et finaliter periculosum et perditum quod quaerunt et cupiunt.
Certe erratis et vos ipsos decipitis quibus mundus adhuc dulcis est et iucunda vita praesens; quia nil certi habetis de omnibus bonis vestris et cotidie morti et iudicio Dei futuro propinquatis. Nihil enim est in hac vita ita iucundum quin habeat aliquid amaritudinis annexum; nil in creaturis tam pretiosum et bonum et delectabile: quod possit animam hominis satiare et beatificare, ab omni malo eripere, et omni bono replere et semper laetificare, nisi solus Deus summe bonus aeternus et immensus. Hic est creator omnium rerum visibilium et invisibilium angelorum et hominum: qui est ante omnia et super omnia et in omnibus Deus benedictus in saecula. Quid enim digne de Deo dici potest aut cogitari ab aliqua creatura in caelo et in terra? Excedit namque Deus omnia: ante cuius oculos omnia videntur vana et nulla. Ideo fatua est omnis anima et permanebit semper egena et misera: quae extra Deum aliqua quaerit et diligit quae a dilectione et honore Dei mentem separant. Magna et mirabilia opera tua Domine: et cogitare et perscrutari singula non est mihi nec alicui creaturae possibile. Quid igitur faciam quia non possum altiora capere nec secreta caelestia penetrare; neque cum angelis faciem Dei mei contemplari?
Indignum me fateor tantis bonis frui: et cum sanctis in caelo conversari. Ideo me semper humiliabo et despiciam coram Deo et omnibus hominibus quamdiu fuero; et ero vilis in oculis meis: ut Deus misereatur mei peccatoris nunc et in omnibus horis. Recogitabo omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae quibus iram merui; et placabo in gemitu et fletu Deum quem offendi saepius verbis factis visu auditu et ceteris sensibus meis: quos mihi ad serviendum sibi dedit in toto corde meo quamdiu in corpore vivo. Sed isne desperem et deiciar in malis meis, recordabor Domine omnium bonorum tuorum; et omnium misericordiarum tuarum quae a saeculo sunt: donec ad te auxiliante gratia tua merear salvus pervenire. Libera me ab omnibus malis irruentibus subito in me quae retrahunt saepius cor meum a caelestibus bonis meditandis. Adesto mihi pie Deus et pone me iuxta te: ne incipiam vagari et elongari a summo bono quod tu es Domine. Nam in te solo totum bonum meum. Da te ipsum mihi et sufficit animae meae Domine Deus salutis meae.
Amen.
The Little Garden of Roses & The Valley of Lilies companion
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