The Method by which the Soul Seperates Herself from Imperfect Love
Of the method by which the soul separates herself from imperfect love, and attains to perfect love, friendly and filial
“Hitherto I have shown you in many ways how the soul raises herself from
imperfection and attains to perfection, which she does after she has attained
to friendly and filial love. I tell you that she arrives at perfect love by
means of perseverance, barring herself into the House of Self-Knowledge, which
knowledge of self requires to be seasoned with knowledge of Me, lest it bring
the soul to confusion, for it would cause the soul to hate her own sensitive
pleasure and the delight of her own consolations. But from this hatred, founded
in humility, she will draw patience, with which she will become strong against
the attacks of the Devil, against the persecutions of man, and towards Me,
when, for her good, I withdraw delight from her mind. And if her sensuality,
through malevolence, should lift its head against reason, the judgment of
conscience should rise against it, and, with hatred of it, hold out reason
against it, not allowing such evil emotions to get by it. Though sometimes the
soul who lives in holy hatred corrects and reproves herself, not only for those
things that are against reason, but also for things that in reality come from
Me, which is what My sweet servant S. Gregory meant, when he said that a holy
and pure conscience made sin where there was no sin, that is, that through
purity of conscience, it saw sin where there was no sin.
“Now the soul who wishes to rise above imperfection should await My
Providence in the House of Self-Knowledge, with the light of faith, as did the
disciples, who remained in the house in perseverance and in watching, and in
humble and continual prayer, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. She should
remain fasting and watching, the eye of her intellect fastened on the doctrine
of My Truth, and she will become humble because she will know herself in humble
and continual prayer and holy and true desire.”
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
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