# The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. V. Other Exercises of the principal Virtues. From the “Way of Eternal Life.”

CHAPTER V.
OTHER EXERCISES OF THE PRINCIPAL VIRTUES.
From the "Way of Eternal Life."
I. EXERCISE
Of lively Faith.
O Truth, O Goodness, who art here and every where most present with me, I believe thee, and I believe that this N., and whatever else has been written, done, and said by thee, is for my instruction, and in the presence of thy court I profess that it is all most certainly true, and that I have no excuse if I do not believe this, and, by thy grace, show not my belief in my conduct.
Thou art most mighty, most wise, and most good, and shall I not believe thee, and embrace these evidences of thy will? They indubitably demand all my belief and my love, whether I listen to reason and the wise, or look into the nature of things. Would that I had ever listened to thee, and had never offended thee, who art all good. Would that I had honoured thee by my life, and by my patience had shown my faith!
But henceforth,in deed and in truth, I will believe thee and love thee for ever. Do with me for ever what seems good to thee, and I, out of the depth of my love for thee, will, by thy grace, do what I know to be thy will, and embrace whatsoever thou hast revealed for my salvation, and all that is thy will, O my life and all my good! Amen.
II. EXERCISE
Of Hope.
Thou knowest, my God, thou knowest that we are not sufficient to do any thing of ourselves, and therefore not this, N., as of ourselves. I, therefore, that am dust and ashes, have recourse to thee, that through thee, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, I may have hope, and hoping in thee may not be confounded. For can it be, O Goodness! that thou callest me thus, and yet wilt reject me? Can be it that thou invitest me thus, and drawest me to follow thee, and yet wilt suffer me to faint in the way?
I know, O Lord, that though unworthy of thy grace (for I find in my members a law that is fighting against the law of my mind), yet by hoping in thee, I shall
XX. EXERCISE
On the right use of wealth.
Most useful for the rich in this world, that they may have this woe to the rich changed into the beatitude of the poor.
Read, O ye rich, and understand.
O most bountiful God, to whom the world with its fulness belongs, who hast no need of our goods, but distributest thy goods so largely to us; I acknowledge, that from thy bountiful hand I received those goods that I have.
But are they really goods? Tell me, I beseech thee, O good Jesus, eternal Truth, why these words of thine wound and disquiet me, Woe to you that are rich, for you have your consolation; and testifiest of the rich man that lie received good things in his lifetime, but in the end was buried in hell?
Is it thus that we glory in these good things, and call those who have them happy, though thou, the eternal Truth, denouncest to them Woe ? Nay, more: Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Are these things true? Yes, most true indeed, for they are the words of the eternal Truth. How, then, is it that we call them goods, and with so much anxiety try to procure them? Is it that they will make their possessors good, and more acceptable to thee, the highest Good? But I hear that it is not the rich, but the poor, whom thou hast chosen in this world. And If thou be rich, thou shalt not be free from sin And again. They that will become rich fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which plunge men into perdition.
But they help us, perhaps, to serve thee more easily. Yet I hear, You cannot serve God and Mammon; and again, He that loves gold shall not be justified, for there is not a more wicked thing than to love money; and again, Blessed is the man that has not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money, nor in treasures. The poor in spirit, too, thou pronouncest blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Oh, voice of the Lord, that breakest the cedars, and discoverest the thick woods! Do I believe this, O my God? Do I truly believe thee, O eternal ​Truth? Ah, how wretched am I, to be brought into such danger by the fleeting goods that for a brief moment are lent to me, as possibly to be separated by them from thee, my greatest good, and plunged into perdition and the worst of misfortunes!
What shall I do to thee, O keeper of men? Why hast thou placed me in so slippery a state and position? What shall I do, that by temporal goods I may not lose the eternal? Thou commandest me not to set my heart upon riches ; if they abound, not to be high-minded ; to honour thee with my substance, or rather with thine; for I brought nothing into this world, and certainly can carry nothing out. I am thy steward; but when thou comest, alas! to reckon with thy servant, how can it be that I shall be found faithful?
Difficulties surround me on every side. But behold, I know what I will do. Rather than perish eternally, I will cast all away for thy sake, and thou wilt repay it me with what is far better. Straight is the way, and narrow is the gate ; but, rather than be shut out from thee, most gladly will I lay down, or rather lay up with thee my all. For I know that thou, who keepest thyself or me, art able to keep that which I deposit with thee, O my God and my all!
Thou hast said, O eternal Truth, not to religious and monks only, but to every Christian, Unless a man (in affection at least) renounce all that he possesses, he cannot be my disciple.
Therefore I renounce all, and, by the bowels of thy mercy, I most humbly beseech thee, enable me to be thy disciple, O Lord, our salvation and our life! Thou delightest not in the death and perdition of any one; take, therefore, away from me the concupiscence of the eyes, and accept this my desire, by which I renounce in my soul’s affection, and am ready to renounce in effect all things rather than offend thee; and to be poor with Lazarus, rather than be rich with the glutton.
Therefore, I cheerfully offer thee my heart and my all; that is, thy own. Dispose of them as thou pleasest; for if they are thine, as indeed they are, I am unjust if I usurp thy right. So be it, then, whether I am deprived of them by the violence of men, the ruin of wars, the malice of Satan, injury from weather, or any other accident, I will look to thee alone, and will say patiently and humbly with Job, The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.
​If a poor man, or rather thyself by a poor man, ask of me assistance, I will cheerfully give it, for thou askest back thy own; and yet (which is merely thy charity) thou promisest me for it a hundredfold. Can I, then, distrust thee, or ever send any one empty and sorrowful away? By no means; so I resolve before thee, and the heavenly court.
Whatever I know too from reason, the counsel of the wise, or thy own inspiration, to be for thy greater (not my) glory, that I am ready to do. What I must give up once at my death, I had rather give up, from affection, now for thy sake. What is to be lost I am willing to lose now, that it may be kept by thee for thyself, and so for me. I now renounce all things that I may be thy disciple.
What if the world does not understand this, whose practice it is to lay up treasures here, to join house to house, to advance their families, to live in splendour, to walk in great matters, to seek a great name! Oh, that by thy grace, I at least may desire to be among thy disciples and faithful stewards, as one who am shortly to give an account of my stewardship, and to answer to thy inquiry why I have not put out thy talents to interest, for thee I cannot deceive! I know what I should require of my own servant; I know what thou wilt require of me. Oh, let me not be a servant that knows his Lord's will, and does it not!
With my whole heart, therefore, I give thee myself and all that I have. In affection, now behold, I am a poor man. Behold, I have left all, and follow thee. What, therefore, shall I have? Thee, my God, and all my good.
Thou art my exceeding great reward; thou art my portion and my inheritance; and why should it not content me? Nay, even now thou givest me thyself, that is, thy Body and Blood, and promisest me besides a hundredfold, and eternal life. I believe thee, for thou art truth, and every man is a liar; I believe thee, for thou art goodness supreme, and canst not be outdone in thy bounty; for we do but render to thee what is really thine. Accept it, O God of my heart, for with sincerity of heart I offer it; and, whenever thou pleasest, receive me, poor in this world’s goods, but rich in thy gifts, into thy everlasting dwellings. Amen.
* ↑ 1 Luke vi. 24.
* ↑ 1 Jas. ii. 5.
* ↑ Ecclus. xi 10.
* ↑ l Tim. vi. 9.
* ↑ Matt. vi. 24
* ↑ Ecclus. xxxi.5.
* ↑ Ib. x. 10.
* ↑ Ib. xxxi. 8.
* ↑ Matt. v. 3.
* ↑ Prov. iii. 9.
* ↑ Is. v. 8.
* ↑ Ps. cxxx. i.
* ↑ Gen. xv. i.