# The paradise of the Christian soul/CHAP I. Colloquy on the way to meditate on the Life and Passion of our Saviour, and to imitate it well.

PART VI.
ON THE LIFE AND PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
FOR FRIDAY
CHAPTER I.
Colloquy on the way to meditate on the Life and Passion of our Savior, and to imitate it well.
§ I. Exhortation to reflect upon the work of redemption.
The Apostle. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.
Hear, O man! servant neither good nor faithful, because, though by nature and condition a servant, thou wouldst not serve, but attempted to seize on liberty and equality with thy Lord. Hear and see that Christ, being in the form of God, not by robbery but by nature equal with God, because himself also almighty, eternal, and immeasurable, not only emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men, but also fulfilled the ministry of a servant, by humbling himself and becoming obedient to his Father even to death.
But it might seem to thee a small thing that, though he was his Son and co-equal, he served his Father as a servant, if he had not served his own servant too more than a servant.
It was to serve thy Creator, O man, that thou wast made; and what is juster than that thou shouldst serve him who created thee, without whom thou canst neither live, move, nor be? But what can be a happier or nobler lot than to serve him, to serve whom is to reign? And yet thou hast said, I will not serve.
But, lo! thy Creator came, ​thy Lord came, ready to serve his own servant, rebellious and obstinate though he be. He came, not to be ministered to, but to minister. He came, I say, that thou mayest repose; and he waits upon thee that thou mayest rest, and he slave and toil; that thou mayest be cured, and he bear thy infirmities; nay, that thou mayest live, and he die in thy place.
Oh, how good, and more faithful than Jacob, is this servant, who served, not seven only, but thirty-three years, and more, for thee! How truly, in all fidelity, patience, and long-suffering, has he served! — not lukewarmly nor unwillingly, for as a giant he rejoiced to run the way of obedience; not counterfeitly, for after so many and great labours, he laid down even his life; not with murmuring, for when scourged, though innocent, he opened not his mouth, and became as a man that hears not, and that has no reproofs in his mouth. And what more ought he to do, or could he do for thee as a servant that he has not done? Oh, how detestable is man’s pride in scorning to serve, which no example could humble but that of servitude, even such a servitude as that of his own Lord himself!
Christ. Hear, my son, if thou hast ears to hear, what my chosen Apostle says to my faithful; for he knows my secrets, and speaks from my own mouth; he it is who has himself carried my Name before the kings and princes of the earth; he it is who judged not himself to know anything but Jesus, myself that is, crucified; therefore, though among the perfect he speaks wisdom hidden in mystery, yet to thee he speaks of me, Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to unbelievers, and foolishness to them that perish; but to thee, and to them that are saved, clearly the power and the wisdom of God. And behold, how well it is that he has set before thy eyes the example of my humility, with which I, thy God and Lord, have served you in labours from my youth, even to the death of the Cross; that, if thou wilt not otherwise, thou mayest learn even so to humble thyself, and be subject, and to give me thanks for all my humility and goodness. Oh, how cruelly hast thou made me to serve with thy sins, and laid upon me labour with thy iniquities! And what labour! not merely weariness, hunger, and thirst, but even to sweat, and that a sweat of blood trickling down upon the ground; and to death, and that the death of the Cross.
Man. O Lord, what is ​man, that thou art made known to him, or the son of man that thou makest account of him? Oh, how greatly hast thou toiled, O Lord, in serving me! Surely it is but just and right that in future thou shouldst rest, and thy servant at any rate serve thee in his turn. At how great a price, O my Lord, hast thou purchased for thyself my profitless service! thou who, if thou hadst need of service, mightst in a moment have had more than twelve legions of Angels to do all thy will! Oh, how sweet and gracious is the design by which thy love has recovered and subdued to thyself thy obstinate servant, with good overcoming his evil, with humility confounding his pride, with benefits overwhelming his ingratitude! Thus, indeed, it is that wisdom conquers wickedness. Thus hast thou heaped coals of fire upon the head of thy enemy, with them to inflame him to thy love and service.
Thou hast conquered, O Lord, thou hast conquered the rebel. Behold, I give my hands to thy chains, and bow my neck to thy yoke. Only vouchsafe to let me serve thee, suffer me to toil for thee. Take me to be thy servant for ever; behold, I am thy servant, though unprofitable, unless now too thy grace be with me, and labour with me, always both going before me and following after me. It goes before us, by first displaying to us examples of humility and patience; may it follow after us, by aiding us to imitate what has been shown to us! Oh, how happy are we if, on this point, we listen to the counsel of thy Apostle, when he exhorts us to have this mind in us, which we know, O Jesus, to have preceded us in thyself! Oh, who can give me to keep in earnest all these words, pondering them in my heart, that in my meditation may be kindled the fire of thy love; and that henceforth I may run after thee, led by the odour of thy ointments! I have wandered as a sheep that is lost. Who will bring me back into the right way which leads to life, that I may find it and hold to it?
§ 2. Christ is proposed for our imitation.
God the Father. In the beginning I created man upright; that is, to my own image and likeness. But he understood not when he was in honour; and he who had been created to participate in the divine nature was compared to the senseless beasts, and became like them.
This is the first man, Adam, who, for transgressing my commandment, was cast out of Paradise, and became guilty ​of death and perdition. And most unhappily indeed has he been imitated by all those who are descended from him by natural generation, and have become partakers of his guilt and punishment. But the death of hapless man is not my will, nor do I delight in the perdition of the sinner. Nay, I so loved the world, that I gave my only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. This is the second man, from heaven heavenly, who led on earth, not an earthly, but a heavenly life. He it is, therefore, whom I have given for a guide and teacher to the Gentiles, that whosoever follows him might not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. This is, as it were, the living pattern and prototype whom I have sent from heaven, and have dislayed adorned in perfect beauty with all virtues, graces, and endowments, that all might endeavour to imitate it; whom I have foreknown and predestined to be made conformable to the image of my Son, that they too may be themselves joint-heirs with him of my kingdom. The first man was of the earth, earthly ; the second man from heaven, heavenly. Therefore, as you have borne the image of the earthly by transgressing my commandments, like Adam, your first parent, so bear the image of the heavenly by following the ex- ample of Christ, and serving me in holiness and justice all the days of your life.
Look upon Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who, having joy set before him, endures the Cross, despising the shame.
Behold, he is beautiful above the sons of men, and in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead, not in shadow, but corporally. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear him and folow him. Wouldst thou please me? strive to imitate him; the more thou art like him, the dearer to me wilt thou be. Nay more, as Isaac blessed Jacob only when arrayed in the garments of his first-born, so too shalt thou receive from me no blessing unless thou art clad with the fleece of the spotless Lamb; that is, with the garments or virtues of my only-begotten Son.
Therefore cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light; nay, put on Jesus Christ. Look upon the pattern that I have shown thee, and copy it in thy actions; walk before me by ​the way that my Beloved has preceded thee, when he was seen upon earth and conversed with men, and gave you an example, that you also should do as he has done.
Man. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who art rich in mercy; for the exceeding love with which thou hast loved us. While we were dead in sins, thou hast quickened us together in Christ (by whose grace we are saved), and hast raised us up together, and hast made us sit together in the heavenly places through Christ, that thou mightst show, in the ages to come, the abundant riches of thy grace. Oh, how sweet are thy words to my palate with which thou callest us to the fellowship of thy Son? But can I follow God? the servant his Lord? the slime of the earth the King of heaven? one so little the Boundless? the lowest the Highest? and one so weak the Almighty?
§ 3. God became man that he might be capable of imitation.
Christ. I came from heaven, and from invisible became visible; and because thou wast not able to endure the splendour of my majesty, I emptied myself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit formed as a man, that so at least thou mightst be able to follow and imitate me, whom it is your great glory to follow, your greatest happiness to attain to.
For because by the first man all his posterity had fallen from his state of happiness, they could not be restored without some guide to go before them. But who could this be? A man? Not so; for all were in one condition, both of nature and of guilt. Some Angel, then? Yet not even thus could the satisfaction to the Divine justice be full and sufficient. God alone, therefore, was equal to it; but he could not be seen. Therefore, that one might be given to man, who could be seen by all, and whom man might safely follow, I, who am God, became a mortal man like yourselves, that my every action might be your instruction, and my Godhead shine forth to you in manhood.
Why, then, doest thou hesitate where the two ways meet? Seekest thou the right and royal road to salvation? I am the Way; whosoever enters by me shall be saved. Dost thou doubt what to think of honours, riches, joys, the pleasures of the world, and the judgments of men, ​&c.? See what my judgment of them was, and embrace it with safety; thou canst not be deceived, for I am the Truth. Art thou afraid to be afflicted, to suffer, or to die for my Name’s sake? Behold, I am the Life, thy salvation, and all good; and, though thou shouldst die, thou shalt live. For I am come that thou mightst have life, and mightst have it more abundantly. In brief, I am thy Way by my example, thy Truth by my promise, thy Life by my reward.
Man. We adore thee, O Christ, King alike of Israel and of the Gentiles, and Prince of the kings of the earth; to thee we offer up, O Christ, the Sacrifice of praise, for the multitude of thy goodness which thou hast shown to us, a wicked seed, children of perdition. When we were still thy enemies, thou rememberedst thy mercy. Thou sawest the affliction of thy people, and, touched inwardly with the sweetness of love, proceededst to think thoughts of peace and redemption towards us. It was too little for thy love to appoint the Cherubim or Seraphim, or one of the Angels, to consummate the work of our salvation. Thou vouchsafedst thyself to come to us, by thy Father’s commandment, the greatness of whose love we have experienced in thee.
Oh, what loving and admirable condescension! The God of infinite glory, thou hast not scorned to become a contemptible worm. The God of all, it was thy will to appear as the fellow-servant of servants. It seemed to thee too little to be our Father and our Lord; thou hast vouchsafed to be our brother too!
Oh, how great thanks am I bound to render thee, because thou hast vouchsafed to show to me, and to all the faithful, the right and the good way to thy everlasting kingdom for thy life is our way, and hadst thou not gone before us, and taught it us, who would care to follow it? Alas! how many would remain far behind, if they had not thy glorious example to look upon! Behold, with all the miracles and doctrines that we have heard, we are lukewarm still; how would it be if we had not so great a light to enable us to follow thee?
§ 4. What we learn from the name of Christian.
Christ. Dost thou wish to please me, my son? Then follow me; this will please me much. Nothing is more just, as well as more acceptable to a father, than to be followed by his son. Be, therefore, a follower of me, as a most dear son. Why art thou called, thinkest thou, by ​my Name, if it be not that thou mayest follow my steps? Woe to those who bear so glorious a name idly and unworthily; who are called, I say, and are not Christians; who with their mouth say that they know me, but deny me in their deeds. So little care do very many take to follow me, or conduct themselves like true Christians! Better indeed would it have been for such not to have known my faith, which is the way of truth, than, when it was known, to have held it in injustice. Alas! how sad it is for me to see my Name and my mark everywhere so profaned!
Besides, if every one who says that he abides in me ought himself also to walk even as I walk, much more inexcusable are those who say that they abide for me, and who discharge an embassage for me, that is, are dispensers of the Mysteries of God, and my Ministers, if they do not follow me. But now, those who should have followed me the most closely are often my bitterest persecutors, and they who eat my bread greatly supplant me. How is it that my beloved work much wickedness in my house? How is it that even among them, no less than among the children of this world, reign envying and contention, pride and ambition, avarice and gluttony, luxury and pride?
Are not those works of the flesh and of darkness? But I am the true Light, and he that follows me does not walk in darkness. What concord has Christ with Belial? light with darkness? and thinkest thou that they deserve to be enrolled under my Name, and to share my lot, or are rightly called children of light, who love darkness rather than light? If similarity of conduct is what indeed produces and preserves friendship, how can I call those my friends who, in their conduct, are so unlike myself? Can I acknowledge them for my disciples who hate my discipline, and cast my words behind them? Shall they be my Ministers who say, “ Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? ”
Man. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art come a teacher from God, and teachest indeed the way of God in truth, as one that has power. Thou begannest to do and to teach; grant that we may follow thee, and frame our life according to the pattern of thy own. For those whom thy Father has chosen he has called, that they may be conformed to the image of his Son. Oh, that thou ​wouldst grant to me, most loving Jesus, that as I have hitherto borne the image of the earthly, I may bear henceforward the image of the heavenly, and seek to be conformed to thee, and not to this wicked world! Oh, that I may follow thee whithersoever thou goest! for whosoever says that he abides in thee ought himself also to walk as thou walkest. But how shall I be able; for thou hast rejoiced as a giant to run the way, and who can keep pace with thy steps?
§ 5. To follow Christ is glorious, pleasant, and profitable.
Christ. Strive at least to follow afar off, and to press towards the prize of thy high vocation that is destined for thee. Behold with what industry the children of this world seek riches, wealth, and honours; with what patience they strive to conform themselves to the world, to please men; how anxious they are by their services to catch at the recompense of princes and the favour of the powerful! With what cheerfulness and daring do soldiers expose their lives under the eye of their leader, and fearlessly rush into every kind of danger! Yet what is the reward of them all, great as have been their labours and toils? What but a morsel of earth, wind, and smoke, vanity and affliction of spirit? For all things pass away like a shadow, and there is nothing under the sun that continues in the same state. Surely thou canst serve and please me with less toil, gain heaven and eternity with less pains, and wilt thou neglect it?
Why, then, O children of men! why do you love vanity and seek after lying? Know you that the Lord has made wonderful his Holy One; I mean, he has distinguished myself by so many endowments and virtues, that my life might be a mirror and example to you; therefore follow me.
Why do you walk the difficult ways of the world, or of the flesh? Behold, destruction and unhappiness are in the ways of sinners; but my ways are fair ways, my yoke too is sweet, and my burden light. It is I that make the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways plain. The wandering I bring back, the toil-worn I refresh, and those that persevere I crown.
Therefore, if any man minister to me, let him follow me. It is a great glory to follow the Lord; for where I am, there also shall my minister be; and he shall possess the kingdom that has been prepared for him from ​the beginning of the world, whose glory couldst thou but know, nothing would be heavy for thee to do or to suffer; and the days of thy labours would seem to thee few, because of the greatness of thy desire and of thy love. For my kingdom suffers violence, and the violent bear it away. Now to offer violence to heaven is to lose thy own life, to overcome thy own self, and the evil impulses of thy own mind, and to crush the desires of the flesh. To one who loves, surely this is no difficult thing; nay, it will become pleasant, especially if at the same time he looks to the recompense, for the hope of reward is the consolation of toil.
But be it that it is laborious, wilt thou, therefore, refuse it? Dost thou desire to sit with me also in my kingdom, and wilt thou not drink of the cup which I have drunk of? Wilt thou presume to be the soldier of Christ, yet dread the hardships which thy Captain embraces? Thou art deceived, my son, thou art deceived, if thou expectest to pass from pleasures to pleasures, to rejoice here with the world, and hereafter to rejoice with me in heaven. Without a contest, not one of the Saints has been crowned. Look upon me: was it not necessary that I should suffer, and so enter into my own glory? and shalt thou, without toil and suffering, enter into another’s glory? Act, then, courageously, and endure patiently; short and momentary is the labour, but lasting and eternal the reward.
Man. I am ready, and am not troubled. I will run the way of thy commandments when thou hast enlarged my heart.
§ 6. The following of Christ consists in self-denial and continual mortification.
Christ. First, then, if thou wilt come after me, deny thyself, and take up thy cross and follow me.2 For, for thy sake it was that I left my throne, put off my majesty, and became partaker of thy lowness, that thou mightst put off the old man and put on the new, which is created according to God, and mightst mortify thy members which are upon the earth. For thee I underwent death upon the Cross. Do thou at least crucify thy flesh, with its vices and concupiscences, and die to sinful desires; unless thou wilt thus die with me, thou wilt not be able to live with me.
Man. I confess, O Lord, that he is worthy of death who refuses to live to thee. Who can give me, O most gracious Jesus, for love of thee, to die to myself and ​live to thee? But love conquers all things, and what will not thine effect? Thou that art highest of all wert made lowest of all. What was it did this? Love unconscious of dignity, mighty in affection, efficacious in persuasion. What is stronger than love? It triumphs over God; and can it not govern me? Can it be that the love of God will not be able to expel my love of self?
That I may love thee, I am bound doubtless to hate myself. I am commanded to lose my life that I may find it and thee who art good. Behold, my heart is ready. with my whole heart I desire to be thine. But they that are thine crucify the flesh with its vices and concupiscences. Circumcise, O Lord, the flesh and foreskin of my heart, that I may be reckoned in the number of thy children. Without circumcision, O Lord, thou receivedst not the name of Saviour, nor can I receive the salvation purchased by thy Blood unless I bear thy mortification as a seal upon my body. Would it were my highest pleasure to delight in the Lord, and to know no other pleasure beside thee! Yes, let my soul refuse to be comforted, forgetful of all save thee; for at thy right hand are delights even to the end. If thy love draw me to thee, O Lord, no pleasure shall draw me away. Therefore, thou who drawest all. things to thyself by love, draw me after thee, that so I may run after the odour of thy ointments. For thus indeed it is, that the grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, justly, and godly in this world.
Christ. It is so, my son; thou owest sobriety to thyself, justice to thy neighbour, piety to God. The constant effort of a pure mind is as it were a continual martyrdom. In vain thou seekest rest and peace in this life, for it is like a warfare upon earth. The time will come when thou shalt rest from thy labours, when thou shalt reap in joy what thou hast sown in tears; then shalt thou eat the labours of thy hands ; blessed shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee, and thou shalt rejoice, as reapers in harvest-time, and as conquerors when they have taken the spoil.
But now is the time for labour. Why art thou afraid? For thy sake I was in labours from my youth. I hurried through streets and highways, I indulged nowhere in rest or ease; in hunger and in thirst, in heat and in cold, I wrought thy salvation in the midst of the ​earth. Although I was possessor of glory even in my Body, yet I repressed what would otherwise have overflowed from my Soul to my Body; and this I did that my Passion, from the absence of all comfort, might be the more bitter and the more abundant. Hence it was that, when praying in the garden, from horror of death and sorrow of heart, poured forth my Sweat of Blood, and cried out on the Cross as though I had been forsaken by God the Father. And wilt thou be seeking everywhere for carnal joys and comforts? Wilt thou pamper thy flesh with softness and delicacy? Reflect rather on my life, and when thou findest how unlike thine is to mine, be confounded in thyself; as that servant of mine not unreasonably counsels you, who says, in exhorting you to imitate me, Well may est thou be ashamed upon looking into the life of Jesus Christ, that thou hast not yet striven more to conform thyself to him, long as thou hast been in the way of God. Oh, how ill agreed are carnal comforts and the contemplation of my Passion! And yet they who confine their attention to the desires of the flesh often wonder why they do not feel their souls affected when they meditate on my Passion. Be sure that if they would be partakers of my sufferings, they would partake also of my consolation.
Behold, when David ascended barefoot the Mount of Olives, he was followed in the same manner by all his servants. Urias would not go into his own house to rest upon a soft bed, because Joab, his leader, with the ark and the rest of his fellow-soldiers, were under tents; and wilt not thou be ashamed to fight under the banner of the Cross, and yet devote thy time to the carnal pleasures of eating and drinking, and revelling every day? to have thy Captain and Head crowned with thorns, and thyself to be an effeminate member of his Body?
Man. Confusion has covered my face, because I have so long hitherto been absent from thy paths. Oh, that the same mind might henceforward be in me which I see, O good Jesus, to have been in thee; that I might strive to entertain the same affection to the good things of this life and all created things, which I know was thine. For thou art the Truth and the eternal Wisdom itself; he whose judgment is what thine is cannot mistake; for thou canst neither deceive nor be deceived. He who follows thee, O eternal Way! cannot wander. He that adheres to thee, O immortal Way! will become ​one spirit with thee, and will not die for ever. Oh, that I may live, yet no longer I, but mayest thou, O Christ, live in me!
§ 7. Christ's humility and meekness to be imitated.
Christ. If thou wouldst have me live in thee, make my life the rule and pattern for the formation of thy life and conduct. But, first, be very diligent in reflecting on my Passion, in which all the virtues shine forth the more brightly, like roses among thorns. Look who I was, and what I did. For when I was in the form of God, equal with God, not by robbery, but by nature, in glory and majesty, I emptied myself by taking the form of a servant. And I came not to be ministered to, but to minister. And shall man presume any more to magnify himself upon earth? Shall he still walk in great matters, and in wonderful things above him? Behold me prostrate at my disciples’ feet, washing them, and wiping them; and why, but to give you an example that you should also do as I have done?
Why then, O dust and ashes, art thou proud? Why, O children of men, do you presume to lift your hearts on high? Why do you love the first seats at table and assemblies? Why content so greatly which of you is to appear to be the greatest? But rather learn of me, not to make the world, not to raise the dead, nor to give sight to the blind, nor work other wonders, but because I am meek and humble of heart.
I was not ignorant of my betrayer’s treachery, and yet at supper I bent down on my knees before him, and with my hands I vouchsafed to touch, to wash, and to wipe his feet, that were swift to shed my blood; and even when he approached to kiss my face, I turned it not away, but the face in which no deceit was found I applied lovingly to that which abounded with evil, saying, “Friend, whereto art thou come?” And does it seem to thee a hard or troublesome thing to be the first to exhibit marks and tokens of humility, or to utter words of meekness in the presence of thy enemy?
Man. True it is, most humble Jesus, that thou hast taught humility from thy birth even to thy death. And surely the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant greater than his lord. Why, therefore, should one that is unprofitable like myself be ashamed to become, after thy ​example, humble and low? or how can I presume to walk henceforth in great matters, or in wonderful things that are above me? It is indeed too outrageous, that at the very point at which the supreme Lord of all debases himself so low, a wretched worm of earth should begin to puff and swell himself out.
Oh, that I may always choose to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners, and to humble myself, O Lord, with thee, that I may merit likewise to be exalted with thee in the day of visitation. For I know that thou resistest the proud, and givest grace only to the humble.
§ 8. Poverty and contempt for earthly things recommended to us by the example of Christ.
Christ. But because it is a rare and difficult thing to be not high-minded, but humble amidst this world’s riches and goods, I have shewn you a safer way. For I despised all things that I might teach you not to set your heart upon riches and the fleeting goods of earth, but rather to lay up treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor the moth consume them. Did not I, when I was rich, and the Lord of the universe, an din want of nothing, become poor for you? No sooner was I born than I embraced poverty in my life, and practised it ever after, both in my life and in my death. Is not the earth, with its fulness, mine? and yet, when I was born upon earth, I had scarcely where to lay my head; so that I was laid in the manger of a filthy stable, because there was not room for me in the inn. I have pronounced the poor blessed: such were those whom I chose to be my Mother and my Apostles; poor, I say, in this world, but rich in faith. I lived poor, I died upon the Cross naked and in want, and at last I was buried in the sepulchre of another. Behold, how the extremity of my poverty reproves the insatiableness of your avarice! O foolish mortals! True it is, that he who does not renounce all that he possesses (in heart, at least, as being ready to do so actually when required by my honour, or his own or his neighbours’ salvation), cannot be my disciple.
See what it was that held back that youth who wished to follow me; it seemed to him too hard and painful a thing to leave his riches, and therefore he went away sorrowful. And why, even now, ​are they that follow me so few? Is it not that the greater number go after gold, and that, from the least even to the greatest, all are devoted to avarice? and, while they serve mammon, they neglect me; for no one can serve two masters?
Oh, how disgraceful is it to Christians to usurp my Name, and be so unlike me in conduct! and, as though they had received their soul for nought, to be so devoted to avarice, which is a service of idols, and boast in the multitude of their riches; and, like the nations that know not God and my providence, to be so troubled about many things, and solicitous about the present only, how they may lay up for themselves treasures upon earth! O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? why do you love vanity, and seek after lying? Do you not believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living? Is it thus you aspire after the eternal happiness that I have prepared for them that love and follow me? Is this the way that I have shewn to you? Bethink thee at least, O man, of my poverty, my wormwood, and my gall.
Man. O King of kings! the whole world and all that is in it is thine, and yet for our sakes thou vouchsafedst to become destitute of all things: truly blessed is he who understands thee in thy poverty and want! ‘Well hast thou called the poor in spirit blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Oh, that I may merit to become poor and needy with thee, that by thy poverty I may be made rich. Give me to seek before all things the kingdom of God and his justice; but to be less careful for the necessaries (least of all the superfluities) of the body and its life; for these are burdens indeed, heavy and very troublesome to the man that would follow thy steps. Oh, that I may know how to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need; and learn, in whatever state I am, to be content therewith. For godliness with contentment is assuredly great gain.
§ 9. How we are to imitate the wonderful patience of Christ.
Christ. Blessed indeed is the man who has the Lord for his God. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. What, then, can he want who has him who has all things for his friend? The less a man cleaves to ​these earthly goods, the more
he will abound in the eternal. Therefore, if thou too abandon all things, in affection at least, and follow me, thou shalt receive a hundredfold, and shalt possess eternal life.
But if thou wouldst follow me, thou must also prepare thy soul for temptation; for all that will live godly in me must suffer persecution. For how shall a crown be given to one who has not fulfilled the conditions of the contest? Look at me, the pattern of all patience. Let but my Passion be called to mind, and there is nothing that may not be patiently endured.
Think, then, what, and how greatly, I have suffered, and whatever thou sufferest will become light. For, not to speak of the very heavy pains and agonies that I sustained in my body, think only of the insults, injuries, and reproaches of my revilers, that fell upon me; and for what desert of mine? I healed the sick, fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind; I went about doing good and healing all; I did amongst them works that no other man did. And which of them could convict me of sin? Not one; and yet they sharpened their tongues against me like a sword. Hence I was called a glutton and a wine-drinker, a blasphemer, the son of a carpenter, one cast out by the prince of the devils, one who had a devil, a seducer and seditious person, a Samaritan and friend of publicans; nay, I was reputed with the wicked, esteemed guilty of death, and worse than a robber; made the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. And all this I suffered, to leave you an example, that you might follow my footsteps. Why, then, O men, do you weep, why do you sigh, when perchance you have to bear with injurious words? Think diligently what opposition I suffered from sinners against myself, that you may not be wearied, and grow fainthearted.
Have I thus had opposers and contradictors, and would you wish all to be your friends and benefactors? Where will your patience meet with its crown, if no adversity is to put it to the test? Surely, if I, when innocent and undefiled in all things, was nevertheless exposed to envy and calumny, it was to teach you that it is in vain for you to seek to be free from them here. I was to suffer, and so to enter into my glory.
Thou errest, thou errest, my son, if it is another life that thou lookest for. Shall the disciple be above his mas​ter, and the servant greater than his Lord? Since, then, I have suffered in the flesh, arm thyself too with the same thought, and rather he glad than sorry if thou art deemed worthy to suffer reproach for my Name. This must the disciples of my school doubtless learn and understand before all things, that to do valiantly, and to suffer evil, is the Christian’s part, and a mark of my friendship. For if suffering were an evil, I had not chosen it, nor had I presented the chalice of my Passion to my Mother, nor to any who were most dear to me. Surely I knew how to refuse the evil, and to choose the good; but, for the joy set before me, I chose the Cross, despising the shame. Suffering, therefore, is not an evil; but never to suffer evil is the worst lot of all: to be with me beneath the Cross is the best.
For whom the Lord loves he chastises, and scourges every son whom he receives. But if thou wouldst be without chastisement, of which all are made partakers, see if thou art not a bastard, and not a true-born son. Now all chastisement for the present indeed seems not to bring with it joy, but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield to them that are exercised by it the most peaceable fruit of justice.
Man. It is my whole wish, O Lord, to be, and be reckoned among thy sons; and, therefore, I refuse not to be corrected by my Father. And this will be my consolation, if thou spare not to afflict me with sorrow; only do not correct me in thy anger. I desire to suffer with thee, O Christ Jesus! let me now share of thy sufferings, that hereafter I may share thy consolations. For I know that if we suffer with thee, we shall also reign with thee.
§ 10. The sovereign charity of Christ to be most admired and imitated.
Christ. But in and above all this, consider especially the love with which I have desired and consummated the work of your salvation. So great was this love, that the many waters of grief and affliction could not overwhelm it. My Father, for your sakes, spared not even his own and only Son, nor did I spare myself. Yes, I loved you to the end, and, as a good Shepherd, laid down my life for my sheep: but greater love than this has no man, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Man. Nay, Lord, thou hadst greater, in laying it down even for thy enemies, For while we were still thy enemies, we were reconciled ​by thy death both to thee and to thy Father. Can it be thought that any other love is, or has been, or will be like this? Scarcely for a just man will one die; but in dying for our sins thou hast suffered for the unjust. It is thou who earnest to justify sinners freely, to make slaves thy brethren, captives thy co-heirs, exiles kings. Is there, O Jesus, one that is not heated by thy love, which gives heat and light to all things? For its going out is from the end of heaven, and there is no one that can hide himself from its heat. The very publicans too and sinners thou rejectest not, but receivest them, and eatest with them. And to thy very enemies, who seek to inflict upon thee injuries, insults, and death itself, thou strivest to do good.
Oh, strange are the wonders which thou hast done upon earth!
§11. In the Cross of Christ is the sum of all virtue.
Christ. But thou wouldst wish, perhaps, to have all this comprised in a single lesson. Behold, Mount Calvary is the school of all virtue and perfection, but the chair of the teacher is the Cross itself. This have I ascended, and, as it were, with outstretched arms have invited all men to me, saying, “ Come to me all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you: ” when lifted up from the earth, I drew all things to myself by the irresistible power of my doctrine, that is, by my example and by my love.
See the greatness of my Apostle’s proficiency in this school, who professed that he knew nothing but Jesus, and him crucified. This too is the reason why he bore my marks in his body, and confidently exhorted others: Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ. Therefore, go thou up also to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. But alas! how few care to ascend thither with me! I find more to share my Table than my Cross. Oh, how many thousands had I once satisfied with bread! how many sick had I healed! how many blind and lame had I cured! but where were they when I went to the mountain carrying my Cross? Who was there then that would plead my cause? True it is that I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there was not a man with me. Alone I bore your infirmities, all my acquaintance fled from me, I was for​gotten as one that is dead from the heart. Learn thou from my example not to make flesh thy arm, and not to trust in princes, nor in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.
I was reckoned also with the wicked and with robbers; and yet I humbled myself, and became obedient even to the death of the Cross; and wilt thou refuse to be humbled, or to obey in the easiest matter, when I, in a matter so difficult, was so obedient?
I hung naked upon the Cross, and what Blood was left in me, I poured it all out profusely for thy salvation; and wilt thou set thy heart upon riches? or will it pain thee to dole out to me in poor man, so much as a draught of water or a trifling coin?
Look at my virgin Flesh, all cruelly torn with so many stripes and wounds, and thou wilt blush to pamper thy own with luxuries and pleasures.
I, when I was scourged, crowned with thorns, pierced with nails, fastened to the Cross, overwhelmed with insults, and condemned to a most shameful death, nevertheless forgot all my pains amid all my distresses, nor once opened my mouth to utter a word of complaint or excuse, or threatening or malediction, against my tormentors; but was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb be fore his shearer is dumb, I opened not my mouth; and how frequently are you driven with little or no occasion to be so violently agitated by anger and impatience!
See, too, what it was they gave me to drink in my thirst, and understand how unworthy it is for thee to pamper thy flesh with luxuries, feast sumptuously, drink the best of wines, and be enslaved to thy appetite and to pleasure.
And now against this hatred and envy stands my measureless charity, with which I prayed even for my enemies, and refused not to die for the very authors of my death.
Man. Oh, how bountiful art thou to forgive! Oh, how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord! Oh, how far are thy thoughts above our thoughts! Oh, how is thy mercy confirmed, even upon the wicked! Wonderful event! they cry, Crucify; thou criest, Forgive. Oh, never was heard such a word of benediction as this!
Christ. Nor was I so overcome by weariness or faintness as to cease from accomplishing all things in my love and zeal for thy salvation; remember, then, too, to fight the good fight; finish thy course, and persevere to the end, if thou wouldst be saved, and obtain the crown of justice that is laid up for thee.
​Look, then, my son, at the pattern which has been shewn thee on the Mount, and act accordingly. Behold here the mystical Serpent lifted up on high, for so wilt thou be easily cured from the bites of the old serpent, and be healed of all thy infirmities.
Man. I acknowledge that the highest and most profitable knowledge is to know Jesus, and him crucified. Far be it from me, therefore, to boast, except in the Cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. For, as the word of the Cross, to them that perish, is a stumbling-block and foolishness, so, to them that are saved, it is the power and the wisdom of God. Oh, that by thee, O Jesus, the world may be crucified to me, and I to the world! Oh, that I may be ignorant of all things rather than of thee, in whom are all the treasures of the knowledge and wisdom of God! Blessed is the man whom thou instructest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law. Teach me, not only to know, but also to do thy will.
Christ. Then wilt thou be indeed my disciple and my friend, if thou dost what I command thee, not by my words only, but also, and much more, by my examples. But few, alas! are they who love and imitate me truly 1 Nor is this wonderful, for very many find it irksome to inquire into and meditate on what I did or what I taught, and how, then, can it please them to imitate me? I am forgotten by them; there is not one of them that thinks of me in his heart; but how can one love what he knows nothing of? Love cannot possibly be drawn towards what is unknown.
Therefore assure thyself that there is nothing more productive of the love of me, nothing more profitable to man’s salvation, than is constant meditation on my Life and Passion. The heart must be hard as iron which so great a love has no power to soften. Who will dare to sin, if he seriously reflects what horrors I suffered, that I might deliver men from the yoke of sin and death? But all this thou losest, and tramplest my Blood under foot, as soon as thou knowingly consentest to sin. What! shall thy soul be of no value to thee, for which I laboured in this world thirty-three years? Wilt thou sell that for nought which I bought for so great a price as my own Blood, and which I held dearer to me than my own life?
Look, my son, what thou dost; on either side of thee thou hast the greatest rewards and the greatest punishments: these have I prepared, amid much toil and sorrow, for them that love me; those await the degenerate and the despisers.
If thou wilt be happy, fol​low me. Of what art thou afraid? My ways are beautiful ways; and when thou hast entered there, thy steps shall not be straitened: I have made the crooked straight, and the rough ways plain. My yoke is easy, and my burden light. I, who am thy guide, will also be thy helper, and at the last thy exceeding great reward.
§ 12. Conclusion and thanksgiving for the Life and Passion of Christ.
From St. Bernard.
Let every tongue, O Father, give thee thanks for the superabundance of thy love, because thou sparedst not the only Son of thy heart, but deliveredst him to death for us all, that we might have him as a faithful Advocate in thy presence in heaven.
For behold, he stands for us before thee, crowned with glory and honour at the right hand of thy Majesty, for he is our flesh and our brother. Look, O Lord, upon the face of thy Christ, who became obedient to thee even to the death of the Cross; nor let the scars of his wounds depart from thy eyes for ever, that thou mayest remember how great is the satisfaction which thou hast received from him.
And what thanks shall a man like me, a poor creature of dust, render thee, O Lord Jesus, most Mighty and Jealous? For what shouldst thou have done for my salvation that thou hast not done? From the sole of thy foot to the crown of thy head, thou hast sunk thy whole self in the waters of suffering, that thou mightst draw me entirely out of them; and they have entered even into thy soul, for thou hast given even thy own soul to death, that thou mightst restore to me mine which I had lost.
Behold, then, thou hast laid me under a twofold obligation. For I am thy debtor, both for thy own life, which thou hast given for me, and also for my own which thou hast given to me, once in creation, and once in redemption. I have nothing but it that I can give thee more justly in return.
But for thy precious soul, that was so afflicted, I know not what sufficient requital can be made by a man. For though I should give thee for it the heaven and the earth, with all the furniture of them, assuredly I could not even so reach the measure of my debt. But it is of thy bounty, O Lord, that I give thee myself, which I both owe and can give.
I must love thee, O Lord, with my whole heart, my whole soul, and my whole ​strength; and follow thy steps, because thou hast vouchsafed to die for me. And how can I do this, except by thy aid? Let my soul adhere to thee, for it depends upon thee for all its strength. And now, O Lord my Redeemer, I adore thee as the true God; I trust in thee, I hope in thee, and, with what longings I am able, I sigh for thee; oh, help my imperfection! I bow myself wholly down before the glorious Symbols of thy Passion, with which thou hast wrought my salvation. In thy Name, O Christ, I adore the royal standard of thy victorious Cross. On my knees, I adore and glorify, O Christ, thy Diadem of Thoms, the Nails that were red with thy Blood, the Lance that was plunged in thy sacred Side, thy Wounds, thy Blood, thy Sepulchre, thy glorious and triumphant Resurrection and Glorification.
For by all of them is exhaled to me the odour of life. By their life-giving odour raise my spirit, O Lord, again from the death of sin. Preserve me by their power from the artifices of Satan, and strengthen me, that the yoke of thy commandments may become sweet to me, and the burden of the Cross, which thou biddest me bear after thee, may be light to the shoulders of my soul.
For what is my strength, that, according to thy precept, I should endure with unsubdued spirit all the manifold afflictions of the world? Are my feet like hart’s feet, that I should be able to follow thee in thy swift course through the thorns and rugged paths of thy sufferings?
But hear my voice, and lower upon thy servant that sweet Cross, which to them that lay hold of it is the Tree of Life. I hope that I shall run cheerfully, and carry after thee unweariedly that Cross which proceeds from my enemies.
Place, I say, upon my shoulders that most divine Cross, whose breadth is Charity, whose length is Eternity, whose height is Omnipotence, and whose depth is unsearchable Wisdom. Fasten to it my hands and my feet, and make thy servant all-conformable to thy Passion, O Lord!
* ↑ Phil. ii. 5-7.
* ↑ Ps. xxxvii. 15.
* ↑ 1 Cor. ii. 2, and 6, 7.
* ↑ Isa. xliii. 24.
* ↑ Luke ii. 19.
* ↑ John iii, 15.
* ↑ 1 Cor. xv. 47.
* ↑ Ps. xliv. 3.
* ↑ Rom. xiii. 12.
* ↑ Bar. iii. 38.
* ↑ 2 Cor. i. 3.
* ↑ Eph. ii. 4-7.
* ↑ 1 Cor. i. 9.
* ↑ Jer. xxix. 1.
* ↑ Eph. v. 1.
* ↑ 1 John ii. 6.
* ↑ Jer. xi. 15.
* ↑ Ps. xlix. 17.
* ↑ Luke vi. 46.
* ↑ John iii. a.
* ↑ Phil. iii. 14.
* ↑ Ps. iv. 3, 4.
* ↑ John xii. 26.
* ↑ Gen. xxix. 20.
* ↑ Luke xxiv. 26.
* ↑ 2 Kings xv. 30.
* ↑ Ps. ix. 18.
* ↑ Ecclus. x. 9.
* ↑ Matt. xxvi. 50
* ↑ Ps. lxxxiii. ii.
* ↑ Matt. vi. 19.
* ↑ Luke ix. 58.
* ↑ Matt. xix. 22.
* ↑ Luke xvi. 13.
* ↑ Ps. iv. 3.
* ↑ Matt. v. 3.
* ↑ Phil. iv. 12.
* ↑ 1 Tim. vi. 6.
* ↑ Ps. xxiii. 1.
* ↑ Ecclus. ii. 1.
* ↑ 2 Tim. iii. 12.
* ↑ Heb. xii. 3.
* ↑ Luke xxiv. 26.
* ↑ Prov. iii. 12; Heb. xii. 6.
* ↑ 2 Tim. ii. 12.
* ↑ Cant viii. 7.
* ↑ John xv. 13.
* ↑ Rom. v. 7.
* ↑ 1 John xii. 32.
* ↑ Isa. lxiii. 3
* ↑ Ps. lxxxvii. 9.
* ↑ Ps. xxx. 13.
* ↑ Ps. cxlv. 3.
* ↑ Ps. xxx. 20.
* ↑ Prov. iii. 17.
* ↑ Luke iii. 5.
* ↑ Exod. xx. 5.