XIII. when probably no one else would hâve been
able to do so much.
Another notable person who, under God's Blessing,
owed his wonderful progress in spiritual things to Père
de Condren, was Gaston de Renty, of whom he
himself spoke as a saint De Donadieu, aiterwards
Bishop of Comminges, was another of his spiritual
children, and under his guidance was led to leave the
army and dévote himself to God's spécial service. So
also was Claude Bertraud, known in his day as '^the
poor priest/' and venerated in France for his peculiar
dévotion to the service of sinners and criminals. It
is told of this '^ Christian Diogenes/' (as he has been
called,) that being once pressed by Cardinal Richelieu
to ask some favoiu: for himself, he answered readily by
a request that the cart which conveyed condemned
criminals to exécution might be mended, as at présent
its shattered condition distracted them firom attending
to his spiritual instructions by the fear of fallingthrough.'
> "Monseigneur, je prie votre Eminence d'ordonner qn'on mette de meilleures plandies à la charrette dans laquelle je conduis les condamnés au supplice, afin que la crainte de tomber dans la rue ne les détourne pas de recommander leur âmes à Dieu." & V. de Paul, Maynard, i. 65.
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 73
Claude Bertraud's connexion with de Condren began iinder peculiar circumstances. He was aiguing one day with a Huguenot, and fell into straits, for his adversary was deverer than he, and though Bertrand escaped the difficulty at that moment by adroitly tuming his opponent into ridicule, he remained inwardly discomfited, and the sting of the Huguenotes argument lingered in his mind. In his vexation Çertraud hastened to the Oratory, where he asked the porter to fetch the deverest man in the house to him. The good lay Brother " was not gifted," as Bertraud says, "with disceming of spirits," — so he was a good deal perplexed by the request, but like a wise man he went to the Superior, and the resuit was that de Condren came down to the impatient client When however Bertraud saw a man whom he imagined to be one of the youngest members of the Congrégation, he was vexed, and tuming to the porter he exdaîmed rudely that he wanted " the most capable man in the house." (" Cest le plus capable de dans que je cherche T) With his wonted humility de Condren bade the porter fetch some other Father, but meanwhile he entered into conversation with Bertraud, who was forthwith captivated by him, and speedily saw that the porter was not so &r wrong as he had thought.
" I soon saw," he says, " that this was the man for me. I told my taie, and asked the solution of my
dîffîculty. After he had explained this, and ahned me with the proper answers to my opponent, he began to speak about the things of God with such light and such power, that ail my énergies were tumed m upon myself ; my conscience was roused, I saw my own life in its true light, and felt that I must forsake the irregularities in which it abounded — ^m a word, a great change came over my whole mind. Père de Condren was used to such things, and soon seeing how it was, he recommended certain dévotions and considérations to me for a few days, and then left me to God. I had scarcely left hîm before I longed to return, and my mind was now fiUed with a very différent anxiety to that which first led me to him. AU my jesting was replaced by deep méditation; my mental vision travelled backwards over my past life, and unable to bear with myself, I retumed to the good Father and entreated him to hear my gênerai confession, which he did, and after directing me himself for some time, he finally put me into the hands of a Jesuît Father.*
Another man whose spiritual life was formed by Père de Condren was Pierre Bertaud, who, after devotîng himself in a most remarkable way to reclaiming fallen women from their evil lives, died amid an unusual outpour of heavenly consolations.
Père de Condren*s Oratorian biographers tell at ' Vie, Pin, p. 204.
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS, 7S
some length the history of a catain lady named de la
Roche, who, in spite of a devout life and eamest pîety,
was beset with spiritual troubles, firom which none of
the holy men whose assistance she sought were able
to set her firee. Madlle. de la Roche*s chief trial lay
in a peculiar scruplè as to her sins. She felt unable
to express the real depths of her faults in words idien
coming to confession, neither could she excite any
sufficient contrition in herself, so that she was tor-
mented by a belief that her confessions were invalid.
Even when her confessors were altogether satisfied,
she was not satisfied herself, and she still maintained
that she was unable to speak the truth, and therefore
unworthy of absolution. Several good men gave up
the attempt to quiet this scrupulous conscience, when
fortunately for her, she fell into Père de Condren's
hands, and he at once saw how to deal with her
scruples. In reply to her assertion that she had not
made, and could not make a proper confession of her
sins, he answered, " It is quite true that you hâve not
expressed yourself well, but the fact is that it is
impossible for us to see ail the real hideousness of sin
in this life ; we shall never know its real horror till we
see it in God's own Light Hère it is only by the light ^
of faith that we look upon our faults, and that, whîle
it convinces us of sin, fails to shew us ail its true
loatbsomeness. God gives you a hidden impression
76 PRIESTL Y UFE IN FRANCE.
of the exceeding enormity of sin, but He will not gîve you a fùll view of it, or the power of expressing it, until the Day of Judgment It is the same with ail matters of faith. God gives us a certain consdousness of their greatness and depth^ but He gives us no more than our ordinaiy language wherein to express them. So while your faith gives you a profound consciousness of your sins, you must be content to express them in such poor words as you can cornmand. It is enough that both you and I clearly understand that they entîrely exceed anything that you can tell me. In faith I judge of them as they seem in God's Sight, and thus your self-accusation is right in our Dear Lord*s Eyes, and my judgment of them is true."
This quieted the penitent's fears, but she still thought herself unworthy to receîve absolution. " It is true/* Père de Condren answered, " that your confession in itself cannot make you worthy of absolution, and after we hâve done ail that lies in oiu: power. Absolution is still piurely the resuit of His Divine Mercy, not anjrthing that we can require of His Justice. But just as we cannot escape His severity if we are disobedient, so neither does it beseem us to prescribe limits to His Groodness when He vouchsafes to extend it to us. You hâve confessed your sins according to the ruîe given you by our Lord
DE CONDREirS LIEE AND LETTEES. 77
Jésus Christy and now^ however unworthy you may be of His grâce, it is not fitting that you should prétend to be wiser than He, nor to hinder Him from imparting it to you. Keep the conviction of your own unworthiness, but do not meddle with God's Sovereign Power. Of a truth, if you look only at yoiurself, you cannot hope for mercy ; but tum yoiu: eyes on Him, and whatever you may be, submit yourself entirely to HisWilL"»
The needed cure was wrought after this fashion, and Madlle. de la Roche, fireed from scruples, served God fervently for the remainder of her life. In her last illness, Père de Condren, who had continued to guide her soûl, was questioning her as to its condi* tion, and she replied, **I feel that God is very rigorous." He then led her to dwell upon the Holiness of God, and His hatred of that corruption of the flesh which besets us in this life. The dying woman answered, '' I adore God in ail that He is ; " and after a pause she added, " I leave the Being which is présent to me, and I take refuge in the Unknown Being of God ;'* sa3dng which words she breathed her last Père de Condren was so struck with thèse words that he wished to bave them engraved on her tomb.'
* Vie, Pin, p. 156.
» *' J'adore tout ce que Dieu est. . . Je me sëpare de l'Etre présent, et me retire dans TEtre inconnu de Dieu."
78 PRIESTL y LIFE IN FRANCE.
There was another spiritual case which aune into Père de Condren's hands, of a very différent character, a poor servant woman in Picardy, who had always led a saintly life, and whose power of realising the Présence of God, mingled with an intense humility, seemed to ensur^ that which we ail so eamestly long for — final persévérance. But none may reckon in their own strength on such persévérance, and Barbe (her surname is not recorded) fell back, her eamestness slackened, she became less careful in prayer, and her spiritual light grew dim. Aroused from this danger by God's Grâce, and thereafter having undergone varions spiritual trials, the resuit of which was a more than ordinarily clear perception of the things of God, Barbe became almost overwhelmed with a sensé of the weight of sin around her, and both she and her confesser, the Père Marin, felt convinced that God had some spécial designs for her. About this time Barbe was taken to Paris by her employers, and one day, while praying in the church of Saint Magloire, an interior voice as from God told her, that if she asked for the holiest and most spiritually-minded of the Oratorians, he would help and comfort her. She told the lay brother who kept the door what she wanted, and he immediately suggested Père de Condren. But that Father was absent, and when the Superior- General was fetched. Barbe had an instinct that, in
spite of ail his sanctity and hîs goodness to her, he wa$ not the man. Père de Bérulle saw this too^ and he sent her away, promising that she should soon hâve the l^elp of a Father '< who was infinitely beyond himself in the knowledge of God, and who would assuredly be able to relieve her spiritual wants."
Accordingly, soon after she saw Père de Condren, and immediately felt that his was the guidance God had promised her. He seemed to comprehend her mental position at once, and one of the first means he took for removing her troubles and strengthening her soûl was to give her the privilège of daily communion. When Barbe retumed to Compiègne, Père de Condren wrote to P. Marin conceming his charge as follows : —
" Dear Révérend Father, — May the peace of our Lord Jésus Christ be with you always.
" I thank Him humbly for granting me the privilège of your letters, and of your prayers, as promised me through this worthy soûl, who has been trained up by you.
'^ I feel incapable of really judging the state either of this soûl or any other. AU I can do is to be the channel of God's Grâce and of His Holy Spirit to her, so far as may be. But it seems to me that she has been given by God to her Crucified Lord, in order that she may sufier and be crucified in spirit with Him, and enter deeply into the Sacrifice which
8o PRIESTL Y LIFE IN FRANCS.
He offered on the Cross to His Father. Ail I shotild désire, if I may présume to express a wish where God is workingy would be that it might please Him to sustain her more under her sufiferings, so that she might yield less beneath her infirmities, and that her paihful condition might be more hidden under the Strength of Jésus Christ, Who bore a whole world of sorrows and an inconceivable weight of sufferings, without ceasing for one moment to fulfil every daim of God or man. I think it would be well for Barbe to communicate once every month in honour of the Strength and of the Holiness of our Suffering Lord. By His Strength He endured His grievous pangs without yielding to them and without any weak démonstration. By His Holiness, He cleaved so whoUy to God, with such perfect detachment from ail things, fix)m Himself and His Own Sufferings, that they could not in the smallest degree mar the perfect union of His Manhood with God. I trust it may please God to grant Barbe this grâce — ^at ail events she should ask it, out of obédience, to the end that her sufferings may be more hidden, and that she may do her work in spite of them, foregoing neither her rightful employment nor that interior Cross which she is constrained to bear. Our Dear Lord in His Childhood, and Infancy both served and sufifered in His parents house ; for He bore His Cross even then by anticipa-
DE CONDREN'S LIFE AND LETTERS. 8l
tioa Treading in His Steps, Barbe should love both her cross and the duties to which her condition as a servant bind her ; and she ought to ask God, if such be His Willy tbat she may lose nothing of either the one or the other. If it be otherwise, however, she must not fret, but accept willingly the greater or less degree of grâce which it may please Him to give her.
"Moreover, I hope it may please our Dear Lord to purge out through His Holy Spirit ail that remaîns of self-love and self-complacency in her, so that she mayreceive His grâces in a less earthly spirit At présent it seems to me that her natural mind and her sensés are too much concemed. . . . We rarely receive God's gifts altogether in the same spirit wkh which He gives them — ^nature is too apt to daim her part, and to sully that which came in the first instance pure from God She should pray that God would bum up whatever yet lingers in her of the old Adam, of self and natural impurity ; and she should désire above ail things to hâve ail and do ail for God's Sake Only.
** We ought to be ready to lose ail things, so that we may find ourselves in God — ^to be nought ourselves, that He may be Ail — to die to ail, even those things which He has been pleased to gîve us, so that He ^
only may live in us through His Own gifts-^to .
pofisess nothing of ourselves, that He may possess \
82 PRIESTL Y LIFE IN FRAifCE.
ail thiiigs. We must ftccept a Mving deatli, tf it èe His Willy or the most utter inwftrd desdation aad suffering. We ought even to pray Hîm to kcep «m in such a stftte of death, if thereby He live« kl us ) of inward povcrty and privation wherein He poœesses «m whoUy, and wherein the créature ceases to hâve aay part in us, leaving God to be our sole Fossessor. The whole spirit of the Cross of Jésus lies in poterty and suffering, and its only rightful limit is when by death the Christian makes his final sacrifice to God^ Who is his End and his Perfection. We may truly say that soûls which God has consecrated to Christ Crucified must dwell in an atmosphère of poverty and sufifering, must perpetually die to self; must aspire only to sacrifice themselves to God, and to find their consummation in Him Who is the Fulness of their longing and their love — a longing whidi makes them désire that He may be ftU in aU to them — omfda in omnibus^ the Âpostle sa3rsj and oOn*^ sequently they themselves are nothing." ""
The earliest bîographer of Père de Condreû, Pèrt Amelote, himself an Oratorian, heard ail tMs woftian's histoiy fix)m the Father, and fixnn h^ own confessoiv Père Marin, and he says that she obtained ail thèse grâces to the fuU, and that de Condren said he had never knovm ^y one so deeply versed in Christ ^ Lettres, x.
DE CONDRBJTS UFE AND LETTERS. 83
Ckucified as she was. He used to go yesu: bf year to Con^ègne to see Barbe as long as she Uved» and watched over the work she was domg by her prayen and example. On one occasion he foretold lo Père Marin that this would be his last visit^ and that Barbe would not Uve much longer. The prédiction was fnlfiUed. She had done the work appointed by her Heavenly Master, and she departed from this life bearing great sufferings with a marvellous patience and receiving equally abundant consolations.
Some of Père de Condren's spiritual letters are very striking in their uncompromising cleamess and depth, if a certain lack oif warmth of expression makes them seem ratber chilling to ardent tempéraments. Thus, to one who asked him for some instructions conceming the rule of life ahready given by another director, he says: —
'^ This rule appears to me very well framedy and I can neither add to it or take anything away; ail I can do is to make some few suggestions as to the way you should seek the needful grâce to observe it This good Father has given you a law, as Moses of old gave to the world, but you must needs seek from Jésus Christ the spirit and grâce which God will give you in order that you may fulfil it For although you do not suppose yourself capable of so doing, and though you are convinced that eveiy good thing
cornes from the Fatber of Light, as S. James says, nevertheless you are not suffidently confirmed în the flill knowledge of your own bondage to the law of sin, of your uselessness, your incapacity, your unworthiness to serve God, your utter msufficiency and poverty, your urgent need of Jésus Christ and Hîs Grâce. Yoiu* soûl does not yeam enough after its Redeemer; you do not lean suffidently on His Merits, or look enough to His Grâce.
" God has permitted you to work hard în tr3ring to observe your rule, without making much progress toward the perfection at which you aim, in order that by expérience you may see things as they are, and that your own faults may teach you to seek elsewhere than in yourself for power to serve God and overcome sin. It was not God*s Will to send His Son into the world, until He had been waited for during four thousand years — until the world had tried for two thousand years and found by expérience its own powerlessness to keep the Law, or to free itself from sin, as likewîse the need it had of a stronger Spirit to resist evil and seek good. And thereby He teaches us that, in order to receive His Grâce, we must fully acknowledge our own wretchedness. I pray Him that He would give you a vivid perception that you are a child of Adam, conceived and bom in sin, a slave of Satan, incapable of ail supematural good, or of shunning natural evil ;
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. ^
and that there is no way of salvation save by renoundng Adam and ail that we inherit from him, renoundng self and self-ieliance, giving ourselves wholly to the Son of God, and receiving the Spirit of His Grâce.
" Apply your heart with full and firm faith to the study of Our Dear Lord's words, which tell you that you cannot be free, except 'the Son shall make you free' (S. John viii. 36). And agam, 'without Him ye can do nothing * (xv. 5). And S. Paul says that ' we are not sufficient to think anything as of ourselves, but our suffidency is of God * (2 Cor. iiL 5). Nor does this merely arise because of the nothmgness of the créature, but from that subjection to sin which cornes through Adam, and which hinders the Ufespring within us. He was a slave, and therefore his children could not be free, neither could he restore to them the grâce and âiendship of God, of which sin had despoiled him. By God's just judgment we bear 'the yoke of iniquity,' which in Holy Scripture is also called ' the reign of death,' which keeps us from those free good works and perfection suitable to God's children, and sullies ail our deeds, making them incapable of deserving Etemal Life.
'' Remembering ail this, you should at least once eveiy day confess your wretchedness to God as seen with His Eyes, and renounce the works of Adam and of sel^ Renounce your own self-will, and whatevex
you inay iaiaghie is in your own power. By nature you kave nought save incapadty for any real sup^natural good thing, and îîyovL think otherwise you are mistaken — ^it is a mère presumptuous illusion, the resuit of selfconceit If we would hâve any real power to do right, we must seek it by putting self aside, and by Hving in the Spirit and the Strength of Jésus Christ
"After this renunciation, adore Jésus Christ, give yourself unreservedly to Him, ask Him to accept you whoUy. Résolve to make over to Him whatever you fancy is your own, come out of yourself, and cast your whole being upon Him, oflferup your will, your intentions and inclinations, seek to lose them ail in His. Ask Him of His great Mercy to draw you from out yoursel€ Strive to be lost in His Goodness, His Life, His Tendemess, His Love, and that not for your own selfish sake, but for His Gloiy. Ask nothing but that His Strength may be made perfect in your weakness.
" Do not be disturbed by the idea that I mean to impose ail thèse prayers upon you daily in the précise form that I hâve set before you. You should rather be guided by the way in which it may please the Lord to draw you, from day to day. ... As to the resolutions you are wont to form in méditation, h^iceforth join to them an act of self-abandonment to the Son of God for their accomplishment Thus, if you
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 87
are making a résolution to be humble^ say, <I gtve mysetf to Thee, O Lord Jésus Christ^ in order that I may enter inio the spirit of Thy Humility, that it may lower my prîcb. I ofier to Thee whatever occadcms for humility may présent themselves; I renounce whatever of self may hinder me from entering into the Graoe of Thy Humility.' You can do the like with ail the other grâces or good intentions which you seek to ofier to God, and thus they will hâve their foundation laid in Our Lord Jésus Christ, and be confirmed through God's Grâce and Mercy, instead of depending on that hollow reed, yoursel£ When we ofier our good intentions to God, it ought to be with a firm conviction that we are both incapable and unworthy of ofiering any service to His Majesfy, realising that, if we had our déserts, He would not allow us to prétend to ofier an3rthing to Him. We must be convinced that it is only through His GoodnesB, and the Precious Blood of His Son, that He endures us. How great is our unworthiness, which needed that Blood to purchase for us even a désire to serve His Father, or the right of offering ourselves toHim!
^ We ought not to marvel, when we fail in our good resolutions, for we are sinners, and God does not owe us His Grâce. ' I know,' says S. Paul, ' that in me dwelleth no good thing, for to will is présent with me.
but how to perform that which is good I find not (Rom. vii. i8). Our weakness is so great that it is not enough that God inspire us with the thought of what is right, He must needs* supply the will and resolution to do it ; and even then, unless He vouchsafes us grâce to fulfil that will, nothing will corne of it Further yet, He must uphold us to the end, and grant us final persévérance.
" We must désire and ask His Grâce, but we must be content with what He gives, and adore His All-Wise Judgment When we fall, we must not be discouraged, but humbling ourselves, we must persévère more resolutely, and thank Him for bearing with us, and for giving us the wish to serve Him. If after much toil and labour God vouchsafes us one good thought only, we ought to acknowledge that it is more than we deserve, and accept it as more than sufficient compensation for ail our efforts." *
To a person living in the world, Père de Condren writes, —
" I pray Jésus Christ to give you His Grâce, His Blessing and Peace.
** Although I am backward in writing, I do not fail to oflfer the needs of your soûl to God, or to pray that He would rekindle and cause to Uve anew in you the grâces of your calling.
' Lettres, Ixii
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 89
**Give yourself up to Jésus Christ and His Holy Will in a faithftil spirit, without any clinging to your own tboughts and feelings, and without dwelling on what goes on within you. There is ail the more need for us not to make any capital of the qualities we imagine ourselves to possess, inasmuch as often when we are pleasantly conscious of having very humble thoughts, we find them promptly followed by very vain actions ; and in like manner mère thoughts of our love to God are apt to be followed by acts of veiy decided selflove.
"If we give way to a ready belief in what we see or feel in ourselves, we shall easily fancy ourselves filled with God's Grâce, when really we are only flill of ourselves, and of our own lights. We cannot see or understand the mystery of our natural, animal life, and dare we présume to fancy that we can see or understand the spiritual, supematural life by which God's Grâce dwells in our soûls I Let us beware of such foolish presumption, and never prétend to învestigate the secret motions of grâce within our soûls. Remember S. Paul's words, * Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he allowetii ' (Rom. xiv. 22).
"Our aim must be to live the simple life of faith, ruling our conduct by our duties, not by our feelîngs. If thèse are bad, God forbids us to dwell upon them
in any way; and if they are good, we should use them as 80 many means for leading us to Crod, not dwelling upon them save in a spirit of humility. The real necessity for us in the spiritual life is that we should be busy in doif^j not in looking about to see whether we are doing or not And above ail things we must walk before God in truth, with a single mind. To you in your présent state, this is of the utmo^ importance, so that you may ûdthfully follow the grâce of your vocation, simply and heartily obeying that which is laid upon you as from God, without stumbling at what seems to you suitable or the reverse. This is the only way by which you will attain perfectly to a spirit of obédience, which is so &r beyond your natural thoughts and feelings.
* Neglect no opportunities of drawing neaier to God which your calling may a£ford, and remember that the most trifling incidents of life a£fect our salvation; the smallest actions done for God tend to our sanctification. The Son of God tells us that it is so, when He tells us that God numbers the veiy hairs of our heads, and that without Him not one of them shall perish. How great is His Love, which so largely rewards the little we do after ail, and that little only through His Grâce I He lays a loving obligation on us to hâve confident recourse to Him every day and every hour of our lives, wheresoever we may be, and in truth it
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS, 91
would be faithless not to believe in His continuai Will to do us good But we must not foiget that the good He wills to work for us is in keeping with His Own Greatness and Worth, not moulded upon our self-love and our petty imaginations.
" I pray our Lord Jésus Christ to give you grâce to enter into the spirit of thèse things, and that you may be as humble and obedient as in my prayers I am constrained to ask that you may be. In His love I remain,"» &c
To another person Père de Condren writes : —
" As to the first of your questions, you must strive to maintain a spirit of love for God's Will, and of fear lest you do your own wilL For although we may be unworthy to do His Will, or to know it perfectly, nevertheless it is always well to renounce our own will for love of Him : and thus if we may not présume to think that we are following His Will, at least we hâve the comfort of feeling that we are not following our own will. The first step towards fulfilling His Will is to be free from clinging to our own, and if we can get so far as to hâte or even to fear our own will, we shall not be very far from that of God.
"It is a holy practice, while waiting to know what îs God's Will, to subject ourselves to that of others far love of Him, and to seek that light and guidance ftom
* Lettres, IxiiL
another which we hâve not in ourselves. This is a matter on which I cannot flilly explain myself in writing — I hope to hâve the opportunity of speaking with you conceming it
"Wîth référence to your second question, myanswer is, you must persévère in your resolutions when once made, unless you hâve plain proof that you are bound to do otherwise. You should try to do what you hâve undertaken to God's Glory, and in the Spirit of Jésus Christ, without any further discussion, and without admitting any thoughts of vacillation. You hâve every reason to hope that when you were seeking to know God's Will as to your conduct, He gave you suffident light for your right guidance, and thèse afterthoughts only tend to make you weak and vacillating in His Service, and therefore you must reject them as temptations.
"As to the third points conceming your prayer, you know that God's Light often shines amid darkness. There is a great différence between that Divine Light which is invisible and incompréhensible to us, and which, inasmuch as it is Divine, is rather acceptable to God than the cause of conscious satisfaction to one's self, and the natural light which is satisfactory to self— a satisÊiction which might only tend to foster selfconceit^ and so still further estrange us fix>m God's Light We had better be without such a treacherous
light as this latter, and wait with closed eyes till it pleases God to gîve us His Own Light — ^wait in patience, in pure faith and simple love. In short, we ought neither to wish for darkness or light, but for God Only, and we must seek Him in His Own Way, as He opens it to us, without self-pleasing or impatience."*
A pénitent had written in trouble about her méditation, which was so diy that she felt as though it were time wasted, and she was tempted to give up trying.
" Do not give up méditation, however difficult you may find it," Père de Condren replies. " If it pleases God to make it a penance to you, you will not be losing time. Moreover, surdy He deserves that we should take some trouble in seeking intercourse with Him, if indeed it can be wearisome to pass a short time in His Présence. The ordinaiy courtesies of life constrain you often to give up your time to Society which is not agreeable, and will you grudge that to God which you give freely to people who are indiffèrent or displeasing to you, merely out of compliance with what custom exacts?
• "The difficulties which you expérience în prayer come from three principal causes: — first, because God is seeking to draw you by the spirit of faith, and to wean you from your own selfish thoughts and fed-
T^ttres. Ixyii.
ings ; the resuit of wbich is that, losing your voluntm^ action, you imagine ail to be lost, even God Hknself. Then is the time for you to feel that you must wwrship God after His Own Mind, and not after yours ; what are our thoughts and our mind befcnre the Majesty of His Présence I Every earthly créature is thrown înto the shade before His Infinité Greatness, and we must lose ourselves to find Him, we must be willing to leave the world of thought we know in order to enter into the unknown realms of His Spirit
" The second cause of your difficulty lies in the activity and restlessness of your nature, which is too much disposed to fight against what troubles it Do not attempt so much ; abide rather in humble adoration, realizing that it is a great thing for God to endure you in His Présence, that you are only too happy to be able to lose time if it be so, for His Service, that you can oflfer that part of your day as a sacrifice to Him. It is no small thing to be able even to give up your time to God in His Présence.
" Your third difliculty arises because God wills that you should, so to say, do penance before Him and in His Présence. You must unité your will with His, and the more you do this, and the more you enter into His Plans, the less you will feel disturbed by your troubles — the love of pénitence, and a révèrent sub-
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 95
mission to God's appointments, will make yoa not m^ely bear them, but accept them willingly. Consider what you are, and what God is ; reflect upon the shortness of thîs life and the Etemity of that which is to come ; the little that you hâve hith^o done» the uselessness of that little, and of ail that Jésus Christ has donc for you, and thus kindle your heart to greater love of God. It is only during this life that you can in any sensé dispose of yourself. Render to God the time He grants you now, and He will give you a blessed Etemity.*' *
On the same subject, Méditation, Père de Condren writes : " I should advise you once in every week to take the Most Holy Trinity as the subject of your méditation, adoring that Holiness, compared with which none can be. accounted holy. Adore the Power, the Goodness, the Justice, the Mercy, the Etemity, the Immensity, the Infinity, and the other boundless Perfections of the Blessed Trinity, pausing on whichever God may most draw you to consider. Give yourself unreservedly to the Most Holy Trinity, ask that God's Name may be hallowed, His Kingdom corne, His Will be done, and ask Him to help you to doit
" Secondly, Consider how the Three Divine Persons ' Lettres, Ixxix.
96 PRIESTL y LIFE IN FRANCE.
are one in thoughti in will, in love, in life, in Being; ever One though Three, in perpétuai and perfect union, in perfect rest and finition. Neither man nor angels can in any way be compared to this. Kindle your heart to love and adore this Divine Fellowship; ask grâce to honour It duly. Seek a blessing on yourself and on the Church.
"Thirdly, Adore the Blessed Trinity as having created ail things, as having given you the power to use your own faculties and the things around you. Make a most humble thanksgiving, and entreat grâce to use ail as He would hâve you do. Give yourself up to follow any holy aspirations God may grant you.
" Once in the week too, I advise you to meditate on the Second Corning of the Son of God, once on the Passion, and once on the life of the Blessed Virgin. You will also find it very helpful to meditate once a week on Death, Judgment, Heaven and HelL I need not suggest the considérations which thèse subjects will supply. You can also take such subjects as the services for the week bring before you, or such as yoQT Personal drcumstances or inclinations may suggest
" Further, and indeed above ail things, do not let yourself grow disheartened, or be cast down, by dépression or scruples. Keep to your rule as concems confession, and make it, without shewîng your
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conjEiessQr hpw jdifiîcult it is to you, or $hew it a^ Uttle as ipay be. iGive yourself up to God ii> your confession; tell what you remember of your faults ij^ a spirjt of kumility and contrition, and M you grow confused, and do not know how to go on, stop at pnce, mentioning some of your ordinary faults of infinnity — for instance, *I accuse myself of my want of tnie pénitence, of the time I hâve frittered and wasted, pf ipy lack of humility,' and the like. When you f^eel ui^^ble to make a beginning, accuse yourself of your misspent time, your want of résignation and of eneigy and courage in obeying God, and of your many unperceived faults, and then go on with what you remember. It is enough that you go to confessiop once a week, though you'communicate three times. If you feel any spécial need to disburden ypur mi^id you might go again in the week, but never more, and npt that habitually. I do not think it would be well under your présent drcumstances for ypu to cod^municaie through whole Octaves, it would attract top m,uch attention, but you might add one or two copjimunions at such seasons.
" As tp your inward trouj^les and fears, do not be disturbed. They are a trial in which you must trust in God, and abide faithful to Him. Though you may fancy that your will has yielded, it is not so, and amid the weariness of the contest, you are no judge. Con-
sequently you must be very constant to the rule gîven you, namely — ^unless you are so sure that you could swear to having yielded fireely for five minutes to an evil thoughty you are not to make it a subject of confession, but rest satisfied with heartîly renouncing it before our Lord in heart and word, or by some extemal act, such as kissing the ground, or making the sîgn of the Cross ; and you are not to abstain firom Communion. You ought to abide quietly and contentedly in this prescribed rule; — ^while you obey it you are right with Grod and with your consd^ice, and it is not yoiu: business to sit in judgment on your own soûl, so long as you strive to serve God humbly according to the instructions you receive in His Name.
" Let your Communions be very humble. Make them not for yourself but for God's Glory, for His Honour on earth, for the good of the Church and the soûls He loves. You are one in the Body of our Dear Lord, of His Mother, of ail the Saints, and as such you must work with them. You must strive to enter into their mind, and seek to live their life. Cast off self to do this, and by degrees you will do it more readily. Let it be done cheerfuUy, and with a fuU dedication to God."«
Writing to one who complained of his inwaid perplexities. Père de Condren says :
< Lettres, Izac
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*^ May our Lord Jésus Christ be ever with you^ and vouchsafe you the strength and support which you need in His service. Give yourself to Him confidently, and rest assured that ail the little cares which trouble you will tum to your salvation. If you can help it, tiy not to heed them ; accustoming yourself to perfonn every action in that measure of grâce and strength which God wills to give you, rather than dwelling upon the hindrances with which you are tempted, and which will vanish as soon as you cease to need them. We are nothing and can do nothing of ourselves, and consequently it is a favour firom God when He permits you to realise your own powerlessness and yoiu: absolute need of His Help in your most ordinary actions. You should thank Him for so doing, and rejoice that you are constrained by your own poverty to do ail things through the abundance of His riches.
" Be quite sure that since God permits the temptation, He will also supply help, and as it is His Will that you stand in spécial need of Him, He is sure not to feiil you. His Word is true, and it tells us that He is ever with His children in the hour of trial, and will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able; that we can do ail things to which we are caUed, in the strength of His Spirit. Therefore*ît behoves you to give yourself up to Him in perfect
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confidence» and so to folfil al) jrour dutiies, wbether towards God or man^ towards tbe publifî as m pfi94aJ» or towards your own famUy, as fredy and fully as Jf ypU had the most vivid consdousness pf that uphpl4ing Grâce; and that because faith gives us so mucb moxt certain assurance than even our oym siense and expérience can give. I would Eu: rath,er know by God's own Promise that His Help is lever preseï^ and that He wills me to live by IJis Holy Spirit, apd be led by His Grâce, than merely to feel it to be so, and realise His Guiding Hand by my own consdousness. My own feeling and expérience might be deceived, and might mislead me, but God is InfaUible, and where He speaks, our reason and sensés hâve no further claim to be heard. The pur^ His Grâce, the less it becomes mingled with our sensés; the more Divine, the more incomprehqasible — it should suffice us to believe, and to act in that strength ^ithout aiming at an earthly appréciation thereot
"As to your Communions, do not fail to communicate on Festivals, Sundays, and Thursdays, and from time to time, when no festival occurs during the week, on Saturday. Under your présent inconvénient circumstances, if your communions hâve to be diminished, accept the privation in union with the many privations borne in this world by the Son of God and His blesse4 Mother^ hçmp^ as thèse chiefly vta»^
DR CONDREN'S LIFE A^D ^LKfTEè^. •'*- îôï
because they would not lise beyond the otdhiàry lerel of those around them. In the same spîrit of révérence for that state of privation, you might sometimes profitably deprive yourself of something, but it must be done in complète secrecy, and without being known to the world, or God would not hâve His part therein.
**1 am very glad that you are satisfied with M. A.,» and to hear of her goodness and her usefulness among the poor. If you had not told me what she does, I should hâve known nothing about it, for she does not tell me when she writes. Still, if there should be any threat of plague or other épidémie, you must forbid her to go into it at once. But so far as the wounded and ordinary sick are concemed, it is a good work to minîster to them, and God will reward both het for doing it, and you for allowing her to do so, and for taking pleasure in her good works.
" I am most affectîonately and always yours."» • . .
The same lesson — of preferring faith to feeling — is continually pressed home in his letters. It is forcibly expressed again as follows to a friend : —
"May oùr Lord Jésus Christ be your Life, your
Guide, and yout Strength, in ail your ways, and in ail
the works He may be pleased to commit to you.
Nevet pause to dweli on whatever you feel in yourself
* His wife. * Lettres, No. Ixxxi
: Ui y: *•. * phj^s^it-i/FE m francs.
of weakness or of strength, of light or of darkness, but live on in that simple faith, of which the aposde speaks when he says, 'the just shall live by faith,' without squandering your énergies in analyzing feelings and the like. Do not imagine yourself to be weak because you feel weak, or strong because you feel strong. S. Peter believed himself to be strong, but was weak when the Son of God wamed him that 'the spirit is ready but the flesh is weak;' and S. Paul believed himself to be weak, though he was strong when he said, 'when I am weak then am I strong' (2 Cor. xii. 10).
" God sees and judges us truly, but as tô our feelings and judgments conceming ourselves, the only thing we can be sure of in them is, that we ought not to trust to them. However weak we may feel, we ought firmly to believe that His Divine Grâce wiU suffice us for life and holiness, and remembering this we should go boldly at whatsoever He sets before us or calls us to do, and in like manner, however vigorous or fervent we may feel, we must remember S. Peter's words, ^nolite per^rinari in fervore^^ but walk in that feith which promises us that we can do ail things in Him Who strengtheneth us. Amid his manifold tribula-
» I S. Peter îv. 12. The English does not convey quîte the same meaning as the words quoted by de Condren from the Vulgate.
DE CONDREirs LIFE AND LETTERS. 103
tions S. Paul appealed to God, and the answer he received was that we hâve nought in us save death; we live under its sentence; of ourselves we bave only condemnation^ helplessness, inutility, in oïder that ail our trust may be in Him Which raiseth the dead. ' We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God Which raiseth the dead, Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver us' (2 Cor. L 9, 10). Study the whole of this passage ; it will comfort you. Give yourself up to Him Which raiseth the dead, so that through His Divine Grâce you may be able to ftilfil ail your duties, both those which corne upon you from without, and those which Grod's Providence has laid upon you within your family and yoursel£ Pray for me."'
Again, to one suffering under temptation, he writes, —
" I hâve read your letter very carefuUy. Of a truth it kmdles my pity, not so much because of the magnitude of your trouble, as because you find it so difficuit to use a remedy, which in itself is most easy and acceptable. For what can be more désirable than to live in our Lord ; what more to be wished than that you might be drawn from thèse vexing thoughts of temptation, to be engrossed with so holy and attractive ^ Lettres, No. Ixxxiii.
ail object t And what can be more annoying than to bè dîstracted fronï peaceful happy thoughts of our Deàf Loid, and find ourselves plunged in troubles and wo'tfies which disperse such slender devotional powers as ^e may possess, and make our service of God so diftcult ? You know so well by expérience that nothing relieves yott so ranch as opening your heart to some one who loves you ; — ^why ? except that in so doing you cease to dweU and brood over yourself and that which hinders you ? But most assuredly no one loives your soûl half so much as our Lord Jésus Christ Hè is AU-Powerful to help you. No one else can help you, save through Him, but He can help you àlone \ and be quite sure that if you pout out your hèart and commune with Him, you will find wonderful relief I can quite believe that at first you will find some diffltulty, and that your mind will relapse into the train of thought which is most habituai to it — ^you hâve acquired a habit, your mind has gôt a warp which cannot be overcome ail at once, but by degrees you will succeed with God's Grâce. He will not fail to bear the heaviest weight of your trouble, and to dtaw you gently to Him. Let Him do His Will; let yourself be drawn ; — and when you feel that you hâve fallen into your old troubles, make a vigorous efibrt to rouse yourself by fixing your mind on some good thought. Picture Him as stretching out His
DE CONDREN'S LIFE AND LETTERS, Xù^
Airas to y(yu, ofiering you Hîs Help, calling you to liôSd converse with Him; and longing, far beyond anything you fcan imagine, that yoti should dwell in Him and He in you. You hâve a thousand individual rèàsons for believing ail this âs concerns yourself, îndependeiitly of what He has done for the whole #orld by His Incarnation, Hîs Labour, His Passion. 1 want you rather to dwell on what you hâve seen aiid felt yourself. You hâve often confessed to me — atnd itideed we inay both say the same, — ^that our Lord has done more for you in certain ways than you ^ould wish ; that He has given you greater grâce and ffOwer to mottify your natural self, than you would hâve èhosen if left to yourself. Surely hère is a proof ihât our Dear Lord cares more for your welfare than jrou do yourself. I realise this in myself too well not éb be sure that it is so with you and many others. Be^és, how many mercies He has dealt to you, Tlliich you little recked of I Ail the evil we do not commit, ail the temptatîons to which we do not consent, Or which never visit us ; — ail our holy thoughts ànd gôod intentions, ail our longings after that which is rîght, arfe so many witnesses of His Loving Kindiléss towards us ; — ^for faith teaches us that without Him we can do nothing. How could He help you tîiùs uîlless He tared for you? Surely ail this not merely proves, but must press home to your heart,
to6 PRIESTL Y LIFE IN FRANCE,
that our Loid cares for you, and that He cares for you more than you care for yourself. If sometimes thoughts of an opposite kind beset you, drive them away as presumptuous, unreal, and hannful They are but some of the lies which tempt those who give heed to them ; — they generally come before the mind wh^i it is troubled by some temptation, just as dazzling sparks Ait before a man's eyes under the influence of a stunning blow. Judge any such misgivings as you would judge of such lights, arising from a mère accident, and deceitful accordingly.
^'Remember how often you make mistakes as to your fellow-men, and how many unfair hasty judgments you make conceming them. Well then, be sure that it is not conceming your neighbours only that we come to hasty conclusions — ^we do the same with respect to God Himself, and that not unfirequently, because we do not sufficiently submit our mînds to His direction. So too we make mistakes with respect to ourselves, one while judging ourselves as better, another time as worse than we really are, owing to the very scanty knowledge which we really possess of ourselves and of Grod's Grâce working in us. But indeed, our faulty judgment is too recognised a fact to need more words. Only bear in mind how often it has raisled you, and beware of it Open the eyes of your mind, and be sure that unless our Lord cared for you,
He would not sustain your life, He would not préserve you from the Evil One; He would not hâve given me the power or the will to help you. There is no love save that which cornes firom the Son of God; if then you believe that your relations, yoiu: friends, your confessors — that I myself care for you, you must own that He has taught us to do so, and therefore that He cares for you, and cares Êir more than I or the best of fHends or relations can do. I know that you believe ail this, and I am not urging it in order to make you beUeve, but rather because I want you to bring it to bear upon yoiu: mistaken feelings, and so measure their deceptive character fairly.
**I had almost forgotten to answer you conceming the austerities you hâve a mind to practise. But I should reckon the thought to be a delusion of the £vil One, if by austerities you mean fasting, or anything calculated to diminish your bodily strength, which is already very insufficient; indeed, your temptations arise partly from physical weakness, and to add to that would be a sure way of increasing those temptations. In imposing veiy little of penance upon you, I had in view that your aliments would partly supply what was lacking, and an exact obédience to your rules do the rest K I could bave given you str^igth of body and mind instead of any penance, I would
lo8 PRIESTL y LIFE IN FRANCE.
gladly hâve donc so, for knowing how feebly you observe the obligations which already bind you, I do not think it well to lay anything fresh upoû yOu. Aô you think your malady so serions, you certainly ought not to seek any further penitential practices, especially what might make you worse, and lessen yOur power of bearing it, and of keeping your raie. Believe me, your penance henceforth is to bear your malady in patience, ofiering it to our Lord in pénitence, and as an atonement for your faults.
" By your malady, I mean ail that you suffer, especially your temptations and your spiritual difficidties. Pray, then, get rid of this injudicious désire for austerities, and dévote yourself to the Humanity of our Lord, as I said before. Use Da Ponte as a foundatioii for your méditations on that Sacred Humanity, aild keep the results in mind ail through the day, above ail when any temptation tries you. Take one subject every moming, and think it over as often as you are able through the day. This does not require any lengthy méditation. I mean you to keep your mind filled with a loving remembrance of the Divine Manhood, as seen in whatever mystery you hâve chosen for consideratioti. This is the way to overcome temptation, huitibling yourself in His Holy Présence, dHd confessing that in Hitii lies ail your strength; bttt I would never hâve ydti argue with your tempta-
DE CONDftEirS LIFE ANfi LBTTERS. 109
tj^ons. Ipdeed, I désire you never even tp list^e^ to them, iinder any pretext, but rather tum aside in acts of adoration, humiliation, love, or what you )¥ill, towards our Lord. T'his I believe to be vhat is necessary for you. Make continuons efforts always to represent our Savîour to yourself as Loving, ftill of compassion, bearing your cross and beckoning you to Him. Never dweU on the thought of Him as your Judge, or under any severe aspect; so Icmg as we live and can repent, He is our Advocate. Do not torture yourself needlessly. Avoid terrifying subjects of méditation ; let your soûl feed upon your Dear Lord, in Whom Alone you will find the true remedy fiwr ail your temptations, the thought of His Love for you. Shun dwelling upon yourself and your own oflfences as you would shun hell, Nobody should ever dwell on diese save in humiliation, and in love to the Lord, Who has refrained from their immédiate chastisement and has waited for the culprit's repentance. Look upon yourself certainly as a sinner — of a truth there are many Saints now in Heaven who hâve beqi sinners. That should be enough for you."
On the same subject : —
" The temptations which you are bearing are not intended to overwhelm you, but to humble you, to tead^ you patience, and to constrain you to seek God, moxe than hitherto. Thèse are the thcee uses to
I lo PRIESTL Y LIFE IN FRANCE.
which you should tum your trials, instead of the discouragement and dépression to which you seem to be giving way. I recommend you, in order to gather more strength under your troubles from the Lord, to ask leave to spend a quarter of an hour daîly before the Blessed Sacrament, in honour of His Forty Days in the wildemess, when He vouchsafed to be tempted for our sake. If your health will not admit of this extra dévotion, you can take it out of your usual time of méditation. Try therein to adore the Son of God, and intreat Him to take charge of your soûl when under temptation, claim His All-powerful Help, confessing your own helplessness, and then give yourself up whoUy to Him, for what can hell itself do against His Grâce? Be at peace under the shelter of His Wings. The Apostle tells the Romans that there is no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jésus (Rom. viii. i). Strive to be in Christ Jésus then, so that temptation and the power of sin may hâve no hold upon you. You will be în Him if you renounce yourself, sin and ail else, in order to be solely His, giving yoiurself sincerely to Him. I beseech Him of His Grâce to grant you this in the spirit of faith — ^it is your true remedy.
'^ In the next place, humble yourself as the greatest sinner in the world ; the vilest not only in your house, but in ail the earth ; as deserving to be given up to
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS, iii
your sins, as meriting nothing save the evil thoughts which beset yoiL For in truth, if God were strictly just both to you and me, we should hâve nothing better than such thoughts as those of the lost, among whom we deserve to be.
" Thîrdly, accept from God's Hand ail the distress which thèse temptations cause you as a punishment for your past sins, and in honour of the Sufierings of the Son of God in His Life and His Death, asking Him to enable you to do this sincerely. If your mind should be so disturbed that you cannot repress its temptations, make thèse acts aloud, or use some other vocal prayers to the same end. Be very carefiil in ail your confessions, to ofier the shame of your faults in honoiu: of our Lord Jésus Christ, Who vouchsafed to bear the shame of sins which He had not committed on the Cross. I believe, indeed I am sure, that you think yourself faulty in many things without such being really the case — ^but till we meet, I can give you no better counsel than this. So do not be weary of bearing the reproach of sin with our Dear Lord, He on His Cross and you in confession, as far as yom* confessors allow — for the more you can humble yomrself in confession, the greater will be yoiu: strength in temptation.
" Take delight in your work as far as obédience and your bodilv strength permit o^ but in beginning each
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actiw iO&r it, ))y «<Hne short me^^al a^iratioo; in hoQour jQf Christ Crucifia You should leave tp I^ipi tha caxe of your salvation, while your paxt is tp do or bear, for His Sake, whatever cornes to l^and ; so dpmg you may rest satisfied that He will not forsal&e you.
'' I gîve you as large a share as I can of my prayers and dévotions, and I ask our Dear Lord to give you more and more efifectually than I can do. I ask \o share m your spiritual troubles, a portion whicl^ I count as more precious than anything which I can givê you. S. Paul says that it is a great thingto sufFer for God's Sake — z. dignity which the world knows not, because it is not of the world. May you receive its blessing on earth, and its croum in Heaven.** «
The two following letters are singijjarly adapted to help that class of minds who are îj^ucHned jto CQnfiise temptation and sin, and to feel misérable and gjoiUy because they are sordy tempted, thpugjb ail the jljpe they are eamestly resisting the temptations.
<< I beseech our Lord Jésus Christ to be wiUi you in the perfection of His ELoly LoVie, and in that blessed union to work out His Own Glory apd your salvation, as indeed I trust He will do of ^is Infinité Mercy.
'' There are one or two things I would say tp you. ' Lettres, No. xcL
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And first, the state oi temptation in which your mind is will not destroy your soûl; I tell you so as a message firom God. Therefore you must patiently bear with thèse thoughts of despair or réprobation, and not believe in them. God permits the lying spirit to torment you with such thoughts in order that you may * sorrow to repentance and salvation/ as S. Paul says (2 Cor. vil 10). Next, I want to say, you may ask God to deliver you from thèse troubles, if it is His Will, but you should not be too eager about obtaining deUverance or peace of mind, nor ask it too urgently. Rather resign yourself to God's Holy Will ; cling to the Cross of Christ with a patient heart, entreat Him to uphoM you in this path of sorrow and humiliation, and be content if He wills to keep you in it ail your life.
" Lastly, as a rule, the sins of thought of which you believe yourself guilty are not sins ; — they are rather the resuit of a wile (â the Evil One, who disturbs your mind, and makes you imagine that you are entertaining thoughts, which in fact you are only enduring for His Sake Who bore our sins, without committing any of them or being touched by their guilt Be sure that God, looking on you lovingly, as following in His Dear Son's Footsteps, is often pitying and blessing you when you condemn yourself most severely. Not that I would bave you cease to know yourself to be sinful, or to humble and confess yourself. The hidden judg- H
ment of God to which I allude does not exempt you from the duties of pénitence ; — it leaves the ctoss and burden of sin, without the malice thereof, through the Merits of the Son of God, Who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, as the Prophet Isaiah and S. Paul tell us, only without spot or stain of sin. At the same time let your words in confession be few and simple ; difiuseness and dwelling on such things hâve an unfortunate tendency to renew their attacks. You say that you often cannot remember thèse temptations in confession — probably that is because God conceals them from your mind, which is inclined to dwell overmuch upon them. £e sincère and simple in confession, and when it is made do not begin tormenting yourself as to how it has been done."'
"There is no reason to be disheartened by the distressing state of mind you are in just now. It is rather a reason to hâve more eamest recourse to God, Who is the strength of the weak, and Who has promised His Help in every time of need. I am convinced that you are not guilty of the faults you imagine owing to your mental condition — so do not be troubled or give up your ordinaiy dévotions, and keep to your rules as to confession. Thus, do not confess yourself guilty of consenting to thèse evil suggestions unless you are sure that you gave way to them deliber* ' Lettres, No. xcii
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 11$
ately for a quarter of an hour. While I am satisfied that even when you think you hâve consented to them you are rather under a delusion than really guilty, still I would rather connsel you to subject yourself to a considérable extent to the humiliation of confession — such humiliation is one of the fruits which God causes to grow from out temptation.
"Of course you should not justify yourself, but rather accuse yourself before God, and only make use of what I say in order to avoid being discouraged ; — we must always himible ourselves before God. Still, as the tendency of thèse temptations is not so much to make you offend Him, as to harass yourself with scniples, and as you are disposed to give way to an unreasonable distress, it is better for you not to dwell upon your temptations or confess them, unless you hâve distinctly parleyed with them as before said. Neither would I hâve you tire yourself out with acts of résistance. One of the objects of the Enemy is to injure your health and weaken you so that you may be a still easier prey. You can see how incapable your increased headaches make you. Therefore, while your faith in God's Help grows stronger, it is not désirable that you add to your extemal acts of dévotion towards Him. When temptation arises, oflfer yourself to your Lord and His Glory, by bearing whatsoever He will, with a firm faith that He will help you better than
man or Angel, however loving, for God is Love itself ; — and with full confidence that He is as well able to kad you through darkness as light, through temptadon as through peace and tranquillity.
"We are apt to condemn ourselves at the very moment when most justified of God ; and when we are best satisfied with ourselves perhaps He condenms us. You may not be able to find comfort in doing as I bid you, but nevertheless persévère. If one feels unable to make an interior act before God, it is well to make it verbally, and as I hâve often told you, to do that in a spirit of faith which we are not able to do as a matter of feeling. Besides, when you hâve fulfilled your duty to God, you ought to tum from your troubles, and put aside thèse excessive fears which cramp and weaken your spiritual life, rather giving yourself up to your Lord, Who Alone can save you. You know well enough that you cannot save yourself— ail you can do is to weary yoiuïielf in vain, and make yourself ilL** *
Many of Père de Condren's letters are eminently practical, and enter with minute détail into the spiritual life, — e,g, the foUowing on self-examination :
" We ought to make three daily self-examinations, of which the chief is that in the evening, which should be made before the Son of God as a confession. Three things are to be attended to in thiSi ' Lettres, No. bcxzvi.
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 117
"Fîrst, that we adore the Son of God in His capocity of Ju(%e, because He it is that wîll judge us, and we must not wait till death to meet Him as sucb. Love and faithfulness constrain us to do now what then we shall hâve to do as a necesshy — ^therefore let us lay bare our conscience to Him now «md await His Judgment
" Secondly, we must adore Him as Priest — for He is not only our Judge, but our High Priest, to Whom we are bound to confess our sins and give account for the day past To this end we must ask the aid of His Light, that we may see plainly wherein we hâve displeased Him during the day; for our own light is insufficient to shew us ail the faults we hâve committed, above ail, in the supematural life. There are many reasons for eamestly asking this Light, one of the foremost being our blindness to our own faults, which faults our self-love conceals, our ignorance omits, and our weakness exténuâtes. Having asked this light, the next thing is to make a gênerai review of the day's actions, looking at our omissions rather from our Dear Lord's point of view than from our own. It is well to observe that, in making this review, we ought not to dwell specially upon our good works, even in thanksgiving. There are always blemishes in them, and we hâve no ri^t to judge them to be wholly good — ^for the
Church herself has no commission to make any such individual judgments before the Second Coming of the Son of God At the same time, in order to avoid ingratitude, we should thank God for His Infinité Grâce and Goodness as given to each one of us.
" Next, we should make an act of contrition, or sorrow for sin, because it is displeasing to God. Then give ourselves absolutely to Jésus Christ, for the coming night especially, and for the morrow and our whole life, that He may fulfil ail His Holy Will in us, and do with us what He pleases, so that we may be tools in His Hand to obey and serve Him perfectly. If, during such self-examination, we feel perplexed after having done ail that lies in our power, it is well to ask our Guardian Angel to adore the Son of God as our Judge, and to be our accuser before Him, so that nothing may be left unsaid or unforgiven.
'^ The moming examination should be no less carefiiUy made than this at night, since while one helps to correct our past faults, the other wams and foreanns us against those into which we are liable to falL God has given us memory to deal with the past, and foresight for the future. To us it appertains to use both rightly; our memory to give God Glory, and strive to destroy the work of sin in us ; foresight to consider how we can spend the day now beginning better than
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its predecessors, so that each day may tend to raise the whole tone of our life.
''In this examination we must again adore our Lord as the very Principle of our life and actions, since without Him we can do nothing that is good or acceptable to God. In this capacity there are three points to be considered : —
" I. His dominion and right over whatever we do. Everythîng is His, our days, our minutes, and ail our powers, our body and ail its members, our actions and labours; for we hâve nothing save through His Favour ; and, * Ye are not your own,* S. Paul says.
"II. The light, guidance and direction He will give us. Since ail our actions are His, He will guide us to fulfil His intention and désire. And
" III. The grâce, strength and î)ower, with which He will enable us to do ail perfectly through Himself. *I can do ail things through Christ which strengtheneth me,' S. Paul says.
" Now, in order to do ail this faithfuUy, we must begin by giving ourselves to our Dear Lord, and dedicate ail our most trifling duties to Him; we must renounce ail self-guidance for His only; we must ask grâce and strength from Him to fulfil His WilL Then we must glance over the duties of the day, with a view to fiilôUing them better and more eamestly, and it is well to do the same with respect to our devo-
tional exercises. It is well, too, briefly to foresee such occasions of falling as may be likely to arise, so as to prépare ourselves to meet them, and be aimed with remédies, beseeching our Lord that we fall not
''The mid-day examination differs from that made at night, wherein we corne before our Lord as Judge; for in this we honour Him as the Head of Which we are members, as our Life-Giver, the Ruling Spirit of ail we do. In the evening examination we should go into our sins against God's Law ; in this at mid-day examining what faults we hâve committed in that inner life, and in our Christian vocation, which calls for so great watchfulness. We must see whether ail our actions hâve been done in a right spirit, whether they hâve been guided by His Holy Will, whether we hâve acted up to the inspirations God has given us, specially in the particular points which we feel that He sets before us in our way, as also what hâve been our shortcomings in those respects. It is well to take some two or three points week by week, such as selfabnegation and renunciation, and dependence on God's Holy Spirit — going on the next week to what we most need in order to meditate well, and so on.
'' In ail this consider the misuse we make of those tendencies to good which Jésus Christ has given us, how we reject His inspirations and fail to second His impulses. Again, our misuse of His mysteries, not
honouTÎng Him in them as we ought, although we need diligently to study them with a view to obtain spécial grâces, and to imitate His Virtues. And thirdly, our négligence in not making a worthy and suffident use of our Dear Lord ; we ought to livc in and by Him, a Itfe altogether above our nature and our natural powers ; — ^nothing ought to seem hard or impossible to be done for Him, inasmuch as He gives us His Grâce and His Holy Spirît so abundantly to help us in whatever we do. Let ail thèse points of misused grâce be duly considered in your self-examination." '
On the subject of Holy Communion, Père de Condren writes : —
"We must come to it, first, in order that Jésus Christ may be Ail in us that He should be, and that we may cease to be ail that we are, losing ourselves in Him. Secondly, we must come to it in order that He may destroy whatever in us is contrary to God the Father — ^the old Adam and his sorrowful héritage, the reign of sin and Satan, and the cruel tyranny of selflove; and so coming we must ask ofthe Divine Humanity to put forth the Right Hand of His Justice, to crucify the old man in us and to confirm the Kingdom of the Adorable Trinity. Our imperfections should lead us to seek Communion, as the one soverdgn remedy for their healing.
* Lettres, No. Ixxxui
" Thirdly, the very gifts and grâces which it has pleased our Lord to give us should uige us to Communion, so that we should not imagine them to be our own, or use them according to our own blind self-love, but leave Him absolute control over them, and let Him use them after His Own good pleasure.
" We ought to come to Holy Communion, in obédience to our Dear Lord's Will that we should dwell in Him and He in us ; in order to root out our natural life and will, and to become what He is, — Le, life, truth, love and holiness to God. Moreover we ought to come to it out of obédience to His désire that we should be His members, in whom He may dwell to the honour and gloiy of His Father in Heaven.
" While our own spiritual usefulness may rightly be a motive for fréquent Communion, it ought not to be our foremost intention, since it is neither the best, the most urgent, or the most imperative. First of ail we owe obédience to our Lord's désire to receive and to possess us — ^for Holy Communion not only gives Jésus Christ to us, it also gives us to Him, even as He Himself says, whoso receiveth Him abideth in Him. Now this désire of His to receive us is as wide as His Love; — as the rights which His Merits and His Mercy give Him over us. Therefore it becomes a grievous
want of faithfulness to disappoint His gracious desires, when we hâve no necessary hindrance from Holy Communion.
" S. Paul tells us that we are the Fulness of Jésus Christ, Who takes us into Himself and grows in us as the members of His Body. This may be iUustrated by the soûl of a child, which does not grow by any increase of substance, but by an ever-increasing accession of light which enlarges its horizon, its relative position towards others, and its own sphère of action, in proportion as the child's body is developed, and becomes capable of serving the opéra* tions of the soûl. In like manner with Communion — Our Lord fills us therein with Himself, and develops His own Life in us, and we do Him wrong in abstaining from Communion, imless rightfuUy withheld from it, and for due cause.
" Then again, the Son of God is not content with being oflfered to His Father in one place only, He wills to be so ofifered in many, and although His Sacrifice is One and unchangeable in reality, He wills it to be continually renewed to His Father's Glory in a certain sensé. And the soûl which receives Him in Holy Communion is really an altar on which Jésus Christ lies and whereon He is continually offered to God, not only in will and intention, which may be donc without receiving Him sacra
mentally, but in veiy truth and act Ând be sure that it is more pleasing to Jésus Christ and mott to God's Glory to be thus offered in the soûls He loves than on ail the Altars in Christendom.
"There are sundry other reasons why we should communicate for God's Sole Glory. . . . You cannot give yourself too often to Him ; without Him we hâve no power to cast oflf the yoke of self, and the sin which dwelleth in us will yield to none save Himself, and therdbre I cannot approve of your diminishing your Communions. Even if you can seek His Help without that Sacrament which He instituted on purpose to give Himself to you, you are infinitely more sure to find Him in the means which He has appointed for uniting Himself to you, and for working with you in that which you hâve to do for God. Surely we are bound to seek Him in the way wherein He wills to be found, and to unité ourselves to Him in order to serve God more faithfully and purely, for of a truth we are very weak without Him. So too, we must go to Him to be strengthened against the power of sin, and the inclinations of the old man in us, which can never be subdued without Him. We hâve only too great expérience of our own weakness ; we need truly to seek Jésus where He is, and to unité ourselves to Him in order to do that which without Him we cannot do ; just as a man who has to move
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 12$
a weight beyond his strength goes to seek another to help him.
'' So long as we corne to Holy Communion with a ftill feeling <£ our own weakness, and with that insight which faith gives of our need of His Strength to fight against sin, self^ the world, and whatever is contrary to God's Will, we cannot come too often. No indeed^ he cannot come too often who is led by the sensé of his own helplessness and weakness in serving God there to seek strength and grâce in Jésus Christ to do better. Fréquent Communion is only to be feared when one is secretly influenced in coming to it by a good opinion of oneVself, or by a lurking impression that one is better than others because one com> municates more frequently. Then indeed hidden vanity and spiritual pride rule us and cause us to misuse the Blessed Sacrament But if one is not seeking any mère self-satisfaction, if one communicates only to serve God, and to win strength against sin and selfishness, — ^with a view to praise and obey God better, not from any rest in one's own goodness, then one need not be afiaid to approach Him very frequently in Holy Communion. May our Dear Lord guide you in this as in ail else." '
To one who was overwhelmed with weariness and intolérance of sel^ Père de Condren writes : — ' Lettres, Nos. Ixxvi. and bocvit
" Judging by your letters I think you are giving way overmuch to sadness, and that you are not using it rightly to God's Glory and the good of your own souL So far from being a hindrance to your spiritual progiess, it would be a means of giving God glory, if you gave yourself up to Him as you might do. When He created you, He knew perfectly that He had made you subject to this weakness — He did it in order to help you to tum away from andreject self, in order to constrain you to seek ail your rest in Him, in order that this veiy inward trial should be borne for His Glory. Keep in mind that God will call you to account for the use you hâve made of it Résolve then to give yourself to God and to bear it patiently and without fretting, so long as He pleases. One must leam to bear with one Vself before one isableto bear the Cross of Christ He bore the prospective weight of ail men, their sorrows, their sadness, their weariness ; and He bore it so faithfully that He would not lay aside the smallest part thereof ; — so perseveringly that He never gave Himself a moment's relief during His earthly Life, Do you in likewise be faithful and persevering in bearing that share of His Cross which is laid on you, — I mean your own wretchedness, and do not be disheartened, for it is one of the ways given you in which to serve and honour God on earth, and to bear your part in your
DE CONDREN'S LIFE AND LETTEES. 127
Saviour's Cross. Give yourself up to the power of His Grâce, so that you may do it perfectly. It is only for this life that we hâve to suffer, and the reward of that suffering is etemal. Meanwhile do not neglect seeking such relief as will tend to distract your mind duly. Take care of your own health, and of your wife's ; and oblige her to attend to it herself.
** Do not give way to dépression, — ^but resign yourself to our Dear Lord with the object of bearing the discomforts and petty contradictions of this life bravely. It appertains to God's Holy Spirit to make you welcome them, whereas it is characteristic of self-love to be grievously depressed by them. We must not wish to hâve our own will carried out in this world, or to find our satisfaction therein, but rather we must be content to die to ail our own ways and wishes, — to ail that is of the old Adam. When any circumstances of our life tend that way — ^as for the most part ail that is trying does — ^we ought to be glad at heart, and bless God for helping us by casting us down in the flesh that He may build us up in the Spirit Remember what the Apostle S. James says — *My brethren, count it ail joy when ye fall into divers temptations ' (L 2). Love and joy, according to the Spirit of God, always take the shape of the Cross and of suflfering for God in this life ; even as fleshiy love
and joy take that of the enjoyment of and rest in créatures. Do not seek a remedy for your dépression in love of the world or satisfaction of the sensés ; the remedy would be worse than the disease, — ^but seek it in God, striving not merely to love and praise Him, but to love and praise Him with a real interior joy. Do not give up any of your religious practices, and remember me in your prayers."*
To a sick friend he writes : —
" May our Lord Jésus Christ ever live in you, in Heaven to His Glory, in earth to do His work ! I beseech Him not merely to control the whole use you make of your life, but also that He would préserve and sustain it by His vivifying powers, so that it may be wholly His, wholly dépendent upon Him; — that He may not merely be the principle of a supematural life of grâce in you, but likewise the principle of your natural life which He préserves. He will be the sole principle of our future life to ail eternity, in virtue of that Résurrection to which He will call us. Wliile hère on earth our being is sin-soiled, and He can hâve no part in sin, but inasmuch as we belong primarily to God the Father as our Creator, His Beloved Son préserves and sustains our life, subject as it is to sin, in order that we may become more wholly His, and that He may acquire continually fresh claims upon us. ' Lettres, Nos. IxxxviL Ixxxviii
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 129
Sometimes even He vouchsafes to renew that life^ as in LazaruSy who owed his earthly life to the Son of God — deriving not merely his spiritual but his temporal existence from Him, and being thereby bound to our Dear Lord by a very spécial tie. I pray that you may be made to share in the mind with which Lazarus must hâve received this renewed life from the Son of Gody and in which he must hâve spent the remainder of his da)rs in close union and dependence on Him.
**It seems to me that one of the uses to which you should put your sickness, is the longing to be more entirely Christ's, and less your own. But do not neglect the means which God vouchsafes to use for our restoration to health, through His Dear Son's Blessing. We are bound to receive them with thanksgiving, even as S. Paul says we are bound to receive our daily food (i Tim. iv. 3). Accept willingly the humiliation of having to take so much care of your body, and do not seek to be better thought of by any one than God chooses you to be. But do not occupy yourself with dwelling on your own condition, or the moral cause of your suflferings. Perhaps it is not as you think, or if it be, God if He wills can repair the ill eflfect of your Êiults. Accept humiliation freely, and do not désire anything of any one save from a supematural point of view, and through the Merits of Jésus Christ ; for to wish only that men may be to us whatever God would
bave them, will always be the tme road to peaee and ha{q;ÛBes8 for those souls which cleave to God in hiiaûlity and patience. They know that He hokb the hearts alike of bad and good in His Hand; that He can equally work His Will by mean» of devils (x angeb; that He continually feeds Hb âîends by means of His enemies — His lambs by the help of very wolves. And so they are at peace in His Hand. We too ^lall find peace of heart and mind, beyond ail we can imagine» if we seek nothing save that His Holy Will be done inallthings/^
Speaking of the ruling motives of the Christian's life, Père de Condren says : —
" The first point at which to aim in ail our actiom, that they may be really Christian, is self-renunciati<Hi| as S. Paul says, ' Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price' (i Cor. vi. 19, 20); and again, ' He died for ail, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him Which died for them and rose again' (2 Cor. v. 15). So we should die to self through grâce and the virtue of Christ*s Death. He must Uve in us, and our one object in the world should be to do His Work thereîn.
'' The second point is a Uke renundation of ail that is of self or our own mind, in order to enter into the Mind of Christ and to do His work through His Spirit, ' Lettres, No. xl.
Which Alone can enaUe us to effect it And thk i be done very heartUy^ with a strong conviction that God will enable us to do it, and that Jésus Christ Works cominually with us, to vivify and renew us in it Even when we may not be conscious that we are upheld by this supematural strength, we need not question it, for being altogether divine, it is imperceptible to the sensés, and can only be reaHsed by faith.
" The third point is total renunciation of every aim in our work save God. Jésus Christ Himself, Whose members we are, and in Whose Spirit we seek to live^ had none other. Not that this hinders us from regolating our actions by sundry rules having application to what may seem other objects. Thus obédience is regulated by the will of those set over us, but the end which we set before us is God. Bodily nourishment ought to be regulated according to our needs, but the end for which we take it should be God ; so that when we sustain the body, it should not be for our own earthly sakes, but for the Glory of God, Who is our Fulness, ourSatiety, our Etemal Food. So again with respect to conversation, which should be regulated by charity and Christian courtesy; but its end should be to honour God, and Jésus Christ communing with men. In short, God ought to be the Sole End of ail we do, not self. Hence you will draw one déduction, le. that the rule on which ail your life is to be û:amed
man by die Rédemption, at the price of otir Saviour's Sufferings and Death. Consequently we owe Him tiiat which He bas bought for us at so great a price, and surdy it beboves us to use tbe time He bas won for us in a way worthy of His Labours, His Pains, His Cross, His Blood, and His Death. If we waste and misuse it, we are wasting tbat Predous Blood by whicb He gained it for us, and we shall bave to give account for tbat time to God tbe Fatber. And tberefore we ougbt to strive to use every moment of time as perfectiy as we possibly can, remembering tbe price at wbicb it bas been bougbt Tbink of tbe lost — ^bow do you imagine tbey would use tbeir time if God were to grant them again one single bour of ail tbose tbey bave misused, — ^and meanwbile we . . . ?
"The tbird trutb I would bave you ponder is tbat God's Holy Spirit was sent among men to belp tbem to use time rigbtiy. We cannot use it well without His Grâce, we cannot lead a supematural life a^)art from Him. In conséquence of sin, we may use time to our etemal condemnation ; — ^by nature we sball use it to eartbly purposes, but we cannot use it according to tbe Will of Cbrist Jésus, save by tbe Holy Spirit of God. And tberefore we ou^t contînually and ferventiy to invoke tbat Holy Spirit, asking His Grâce to use our time in union witb His Intentions and WilL Cou-
DE CONDREirs LIFE AND LETTERS. 13S
tintially througb *e day, we ought to refar to Hîm for guidance in the right tise of our tîme ; seeldng to know hxm He wouid hâve us employ the actual hour DOW pasdng, and asking Hk aid not only to know, Imt to do His WilL ... As members of Christ our standard should be a high one. . . . To thîs end, strive to unité your worship to Ae acts of dévotion practised by the Son of God when on earth. Think what a condescenâon, what a humiliation this life ^ time, this subjection to hours and minutes, was to Him Who » Lotd of Etemity ;— to Him Who even lik&a was Lord of that Giorious Etemity as much as He is now 1 Filled with this thought, let us adore Him in His voluntary subjection to our earthly bond- ^Q oftime.
**The Fathers say that by voudisafing to be baptized, Jésus Christ sanctified the waters of our Baptism; surdy even so when He vouchsafed to be subject to our human laws of time, He sanctifîed it, and laid upon us the obligation to use it after a Christian fashion. Scmie brief dévotion to His earthly life of time will help us in this — our best method of entering into the things of God is by adoration
" Next, we must make God the End of ail we do, and «eek His Glory (Mily. If Jésus Christ has won time for us, we mu^ in retum strive so to use it in ail our actions after a mannçr worthy of His Cross and
Passion — and to do that we must hâve God ever before Us in ail our intentions. . . . When on earth, Jésus said, ' I can of mine own self do nothing. • . . I seek not mine own Will, but the Will of the Father which hath sent Me' (John v. 30), and we should strive to be of that mind throughout life, in whatever time brings us to do or bear. .... In Jésus Christ nothing is mean or vile — everything becomes great and noble^ and so in His Church nothing done for Him can be contemptible or low; every action is refined and sanctified under the influence of the H0I7 Spirity in the power of Whose Grâce we ought to perform every action.
" But for the practical use of ail thèse suggestions,
one thing is indispensable as the groundwork ; and
that is total renunciation of self-seeking in our use of
time, and in ail we do. Otherwise while we think we
are studying for God's Sake and His Gloiy, self-com-
placency or nalural curîosity will intermingle, spoil
the purity of our intention, and tum aside our aim.
There is but one remedy— to give ourselves up ab-
solutely to accept God's Hand ruling and guîding us." *
Tending to the same point, another letter says : —
"The principal occupation one created by God
should hâve in this world is to glorify Him, and
nothing should be allowed to divert us firom this : — it
» Lettres, Nos. Ixv. IxvL
oiight to be so absolutely our ruling thought that we may even tum the hindrances we meet with to the same end.
" Obvîously our own anxieties tend to distract us, and therefore we ought to strive to make His Glory a more prominent object even than our own salvation. We ought to strive to be led solely by a spirit of faith, content with the light it gives, and always being more intent on doii^ than on stopping to see if we are doing.
" It is well, too, to give more heed to others than to oneVself, and to be content to serve God according to the instructions He gives through those He sets over us. You will do well to work for one hour daily in honour of the New Life of Jésus Christ raised from the dead So, too, work for half an hour daily in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and of her hidden life in Christ — strive eveiy day to fulfil some lowly task in honoiu: of Jésus Christ making Himself the Servant of Man. Try to be less occupied with yourself and your own sufferings, and to bear them ail in Him for God. You can pray something to this eflfect : * I put aside ail Aat I am — ^I deave to ail that God is — ^I will bear ail that troubles me for His Glory,' " &c'
Père de Condren's asceticism was by no means indisciiminatingy as the followîng advice, volunteeied to ' Lettres, Na IzzuL
one whom he thought likely to observe Lent after a somewhat self-willed fashion, proves : —
"As Lent approaches, and hearing from you that you are not well, I feel obliged to write and urge you to submit to the advice givai you about your food
while you are weak. I hâve wrîtten to M. M to
ask him to give you his advice, which you must conscientiously foUow, and be scrupulously particular în doing so. The Evil One deadens the conscience of many who are quite able to observe this public penance (of Lent) which God has laid upon His Church from the earliest times, and leads them to neglect it ; but on the other hand he tempts others who are incapable of a strict observance thereof, and causes them to injure their health, which is altogether contrary to the intention of God and His Church. We are just as much bound to submit to God when He requires us to deal charitably with ourselves as when He requires anjrthing else of us.
" I think I hâve before now wamed you that you are liable to an habituai temptation to injure yourself. I hâve noticed the conséquences several times, and it seems to me that you are not suffidently docile to the advice which has been given you on this score. One plain proof of this is the évident secret anno3rance you feel when anything is said which interfères with your own views on the matter. Everybody has some
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 139
^edal trial in dûs Ufe ; no one is free from struggle, and the holîest people are sometimes the most sorely tempted. It seems to me that by God's Mercy you are not tempted to dn against Him or against your neighbour, whose interests you are generally more disposed to serve than your own. God has been pleased to shield you fix}m thèse attacks of the Ënemy, so he tums them ail on you yourself, and the répugnance you shew to the needful remedy almost makes me fear that he might succeed in his object, if it were not that I hâve still stronger hope in the help God's Merqr will send you. But you must mistrust his snares, for indeed it seems to me that you hâve a decided difficulty to face in ail that concems yourself, and that you are too much disposed to give way both in what concems your temporal afiairs and your health. Be on your guard, and strive to banîsh the malicious enemy, who after getting a hold upon you in matters of health and gênerai afiairs of life, will go on to what is more dangerous, and more directly afiecting your salvation. The enemy does everything with a view to our final perdition, which îs his real object
" I am going on a long joumey, and may not be in Paris again before the summer, and I feel it my duty to give you this waming before I go. Oflfer yourself to our liOTd ; ask His Grâce to foUow His Guidance in ail things, and that you may yield in nothing to His
enemies. Let yourself hâve fiill part in His Charity, as well as others. This is ail the more necessary for you that you are nnder the mfluence of a distinct temptation to neglect your health, and that it is disagreeable to you to hâve to overcome it Look back over your past conduct in ail sincerity, and I hope you will perceive somewhat of this ; but even if you do not, you cannot be wrong in deferring to the advice of your friends. I shall not cease to oflfer you diligently to God, indeed the further I am fixjm you the more carefuUy I shall do so. I commend myself to your prayers."'
He could comfort the afflicted too, if not with the overflowing tendemess which characterises S. Francis de Sales* letters of consolation, yet with no cold appréhension of their needs : —
"May the Grâce, the Blessing, and the Peace of our Lord Jésus Christ be granted you always. I pray Him, at this holy season wherein He deigned to rise to a new Life, that He would grant you renewed life and strength, not only to the mind, but to your body also, so that you may be the better able to minister to those soûls He has committed to your care.
" I hâve often felt great compassion for what I hâve heaid of your sufferings; my consolation is in the thought that the same Lord Who vouchsafed to be ' Lettres, No. cviL
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS, 141
crucmed out of love for you, is leading you on to His Gloiy, and chooses to fit you for His Bosom by the way of the Cross; as also, that the Spirît of God, Whose perfect work, the Apostle tells us, is patience, is perfecting you more and more. The Son of God would not stay His Sorrows or His Patience by consolation, or by anything short of that Sacrifice which put an end at once to His earthly Life and His Cross, and gave Him to the Father. So He wills that God should be the end of eveiy Christian's cross and patience, and we ought not to désire to be firee from pain and suflfering in this life by putting aside sorrow or crosses, but by the putting aside of self, by leaving ail else to cleave to Him, I doubt not but that God is in this manner the end of your Cross, and that as He has upheld you by His Spirit of patience, He will receive you in His own right time. I pray you, remember me in your prayers." '
To a mother who had just lost her child he writes : ** If I could leave town at the présent moment I would hâve come to you, not that I could be of any use to your little one, but to comfort you, and help you to bear his loss without grieving. overmuch. It is better that God's Will be wrought for the child than ours; it is more profitable for him. Life were far more perilous to him than death ; — for death is to ' Lettres, No. xc.
143 PRIES7L Y UFE m FRANCE.
your hoy an entisnee ialo Paradise and life etemal» wfaereas a longer so|<yum upon earth might hâve perilled his salvadon. Of a truth I lové tlie dear little fellow, but I love him in Cvod ; — I would choose rather his welfare than oor satisfactioni — Cîod's good pleasure bcibre our wishes." ' And to a father who had lost two sons ke writes : ^God is shewing yon that when He committed thèse two chîldren to you, it was not so much that you might bring them up in His Fear, as that you might ofifer them as two innocent hostages to His Glory. In so doing, He has given them perfect happiness ; they hâve known God before they knew anythîng of the world, or of themselves. You would hâve had the responsibility of their éducation, and now, calling them to reign with Him, God has given them the power of guiding and raising you, and they will be as two guardian Angels who, watching over ail your life> with the help <^ God and His Holy Spirit, will lead you to Himself. The saints help us on our way not merely by their prayers, but likewise by their influence and inspirations, and by a silent supematural communication to our soûls of their own light and love of God. They hâve a mighty power with God. Our Dear Lord told S. John that they who overcome should sit with Him on His Throne and eat of the ' Lettres, No. zdv.
kree of life in the nûdst of the Paradise of God. It should be a great consolation, a great honour to yen to hâve two children so blessed. Faith should overcorne earthly soirow, and change your fathei's tears înto joy at the thought of their glory, and of the Uessing they may be to you and yours." '
One touchmg note we find, written on the occasion of the death of an Oratorian, Père de Lorme, to his father :—
" If it had pleased God to grant the prayers of our Congrégation, and to restore your son's health," (he sajTS,) " I might hâve written to rejoice with you, but now I Write to give account of him whom you trusted to us. . . . With ail submission to God, Who has willed it thus, we are sorely grieved; for while we may not refuse God anything, there are some sacrifices which we cannot make without sharp pain, and wherein our tears are acceptable to Him. We are constrained to be willing that He should take your son from oiu: love to His Own, and that having moulded Him awhile by His Grâce, and brought him to that spiritual perfection which He required, He should call him to etemal joy in His Bosom.
"Your son's illness has been a long one, and it has called forth ail the more his grâces, and set a rare example before the Congrégation, for he bore it ail « liCttres, No. xcv.
so well that it was as the oown to his edifying life.
"*Let patience hâve her perfect work/ says the Apostle S. James. Patience brings about perfection. Your son was carefully tended during his illness, and the doctors hâve testified their afifection for your name by their assiduous care of him. But God has not willed to prosper their remédies, because He saw well rather to satisfy His own Love and His désire to take your son to Himsel£ The most skilled science could not withstand God's intentions, nor human help suffice to delay him in this world of sadness, when the Lord called him to etemal happiness. In the ordinary course of nature he would hâve minîstered to you, and oflfered you to God, but since it has pleased God that he who was your child in this life should become as your elder brother in the life of glory, you must lay aside the father's feeling, and conceive a new kind of love, which looks upon him who was your son as now your protector — as a new guardian angel watchîng over your family. His death was so saintly, that we can hâve no other thought"'
A few short lines addressed to one dying will serve to shew his mind conceming death : —
''If I looked upon this life as a great good, or on ' Lettres, No. xcvi.
death as a great evil, I should be inconsolable at heaiing of your state. But inasmuch as life is but a very dangerous joumey which we are thankful to see end in a safe airival with God ; as death is the end of sin, the peifecting of a Christian's life, the accomplishment of his sacrifice, the beginning of his triumphy his entrance into glory, the hour when God takes him down from his cross to live in His Bosom for ever blessed; remembering ail this, I cannot pity you, and ail my sorrow tiuns into the one prayer which I am moved to make continually, that God will be ever with you. He will fill you with holier thoughts than anything I can suggest, and now that your whole mind must be fixed on God Who is so very near to you, I do not suppose you will care very much for my letters. Nevertheless, in compliance with M. N.'s letter, I will suggest to your mind three considérations conceming our Lord Jésus Christ, Who is the model of ail perfection in life and death. First, He readily left ail to go to His Father, ail His works being done in Him. Next, He bore ail the exceeding bittemess of His Cup willingly for His Father's Glory. And last, far from murmuring or being absorbed in His sufferings, He oflfered Himself with His whole Will to God. And it is our duty to strive to enter into ail His ways and to abide therein with Him. May He
give you grâce to do so. I ask it with mj wlude heart"»
Conceming the sacrament of marriage. Père de Condren writes : —
''It is less understood, more profaned, and more hard to be perfectly observed than any other. But as every Christian is bound to aim at perfection in his own calling, it is important to know wherein that of marriage lies ; its spécial dignity arising from the end to which it was instituted. Now this end is to set before us the union of Jésus Christ with His Bride the Church, the most perfect of ail unions on earth, of which this sacrament is the t)rpe.
" Perfection of the marriage state, then, consists in setting forth as dearly as is possible to men this sacred union ; so that by their intentions, actions, and use of marriage, the husband and wife may prove their intention of fulfiUing our Lord Jésus Christ's objects in this Sacrament, which are spiritual, not earthly. To this end, they should ponder the extrême purity of Christ* s union with His Church, and inasmuch as to equal that is beyond the power of mère mortals, they should adore it humbly, and pray that our Dear Lord would grant them His Holy Spirit, so that they may be able to attain a part in the holy objects and intentions which He sets before them in this Sacrament It were * Lettres, No. Ixvii.
DE CONDREhTS LIFE AND LETTERS. 147
welly betoe approadiing it, to read attentively and denwtly meditate both the office and ritual which the Church appoints to be used, so as to realize what is promised and undertaken. It is a pious practice to bid our Dear Lord and His Mother to the weddingy in memory of their présence at Cana of Galilée ; as also S. Joseph, bearing in mind the révérence and décorum which is incumbent on ail the guests. Too often the holiness of this Sacrament is violated by what passes on thèse occasions; by a license which savours more 6f paganism than Chrîstianity, and which must avert the blessing God would impart to greater purity and révérence. You must not fail to offer to God the children He may please to give you, with a fiill resolution of devoting them to be Êiithful subjects of His Kingdom; and it would be a very suitable dévotion at such a time to dedicate yourself specially to serve Christ and His Church, in honour of that blessed union between Him and His Bride of which this Sacrament is the type. Above ail, ask of Him that you may enter upon the state of matrimony with no other intention than that of pleasing Him, remembering that in Baptism you renounced the flesh and became a new créature ; that therein you put «m Christ Jésus; you died to the old Adam; you came forth to live with Christ Risen, you were made a member of Christ Glorified, Who sitteth on the
Father's Right Hand. Let husband and wife dwell tQgether, therefore, as Christians should, and let Jésus Christ, Who gave His Blood and His Life for His Church, be the model of your married life." *
One letter of Père de Condren, addressed to a relî^ gîous who was disturbed at having to change his convent, expresses what was his own practice as well as precept in obeying ail and any of God's calls : —
" It matters little," he says, " where we are,'for God is everywhere, and His Dear Son sends His Holy Spirit and His Church into every part of the world ; and as everywhere we hâve free access to Heaven, so too our Lord and His Saints can and will help us whithersoever we may be. But it does matter very considerably that we be wheresoever God wills us to be. Before the Incarnation, God's people received His messages by means of angels, who told them where God would hâve them dwell ; but now, since God vouchsafed to become Man, He has appointed men to be the ministers of His Will towards their fellow-men ; and we are bound to receive God's Orders from their lips with even greater révérence than the Patriarchs of old from those of His angels, because God, Who took upon Him the form not of an angel but of man, wills that His message be spoken to us not by angels but by men.
' Lettres, Na Or.
*' I Write thus with référence to your new abode, in order to induce you, out of révérence for the Mjrstery of the Incarnation, the Source of ail your grâce, to accept it willingly, as also to change it again for any otherwhich your superiors may appoint We hâve no right to any dwelling-place whatever on earth, save through our Lord Jésus Christ, Who has given us possession, or, more strictly speaking, the use of that which He won for us by His Blood ; and this because sin, without His Redeeming Grâce, would cast us forthwith into hell as oiu: only abode. This truth ought to make us very faithful in accepting whatever abode He may allot to us, inasmuch as we owe any habitation whatsoever which we possess solely to Him and His Merits. I am writing on S. Paul's Day, which reminds me how he, who was carried up into Paradise, yet came back, in submission to God*s Will, to preach, labour, and at last die in this world ; leaving God, so to say, for God; after a fashion imitating our Lord, Who came forth from the Bosom of the Father into the world, as He Himself says. Nbw you quit neither God nor Paradise, but you come from the Couvent of the Incarnation, and that very Mystery should strengthen you to do it in a spirit of adoration of Him Who left the Bosom of the Father to bear His Cross on earth. Each time that you communicate, He îs sent to you by the Father, the Holy Spirit brings Him
to TOOt «nd He gives Hioiself to you^ $uk1 cornes to dweU in a very pocHr and worthless dwelling, unworthy to be compared to that which He leaves. Neverthelesi in Hifi Mercy He cbooses to corne and abide with you. Apply this thought to your change of abode, and accept it in honour thereo£ I think it will be profitable to you, for God ever retums a hundredfold whatsoever we gîve up for Him.
'^It may seem to you that you are losing your wonted spiritual help in quitting Paris, but God will not suffer you to be deprived of it. Our Lord was more helpful to Hîs Apostles through His Absence than through His Présence, as He had told them would be the case. I hope by His Grâce that you will receive more spiritual aid from your House in Paris in your absence than you would by being there, since you leave it for God's Sake. You are with the Prioress, if no longer in the same town, yet in the Same Lord, if you are faithful to Him. You are with her in the same Holy Spirit, in whose Heart and Love our Lord bas placed His Church ; and you are with her in the Same God, in Whose Bosom dwell the Blessed Viigin and ail the Saints — ^all, in short, who are bom of Him. In that Home you dwell as a Christian, elsewhere you bave nought save what is of sin, which must sooner or later be taken from you, and which therefore you should wish yourself to leave»
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS, 151
As the child of Adam you are in banishment in this world, and just now Dieppe is the place of your exile, whither God bas driven you, as of old He drove your father Adam forth firom Paradise. But as the child of God, Jérusalem is your hgme, and therein you are only sepaiated from your Sisters in Paris by that which you are bound to despise and reject, by that which has not yet put on the new man, by that which 'waîts for the adoption, to wît, the rédemption of our body,' as S. Paul says (Rom. viii. 23). I think this ought to be a great consolation to you. You and your Sisters in Paris were the children of God, but the children of Adam likewise ; now you hâve left that part of the union which belonged to Adam, but you are stiU united with them inasmuch as you both bdong to God. So your mission to Dieppe has only separated you in that which it was well to quit, leaving whole and intact that which both you and they wottld wish to keep in this world and in the next, even more eamestly than your veiy life itself. . . . God is everywhére — He sends forth His Holy Spirit in ail lands. There is no place from whence we may not hâve access to Him through His Son, and wheresoever we may be, Jésus Christ and His Saints help and succour us. God's commands, formerly transmitted to men through the Angels, hâve now a no less claim to our révérence when they come through our fellow-men,
because the Word has vouchsafed to imite Himself to man, and to make the members of His Body channels and inteipreters of His Will. to their brethren. We hâve no right to any dwelling-place save thiough His Mercy, and therefore whatever place He may assîgn us ought to be thankfully accepted by us. If God's Own Son did not refuse to leave the Father and corne into the world, surely there is no home we should hesitate to leave in honour of His Incarnation and of His Sojoum in Judsea. Think too how He comes to us in the Holy Sacrament in order to prove His Love for us, and remembering that, how can we hesitate to go wherever we are called out of love for Him? Whatever loss we think to find by a change of abode will be more than compensated, if we oflfer it as a freewill sacrifice; and the Unity of Jésus Christ, which cannot be broken or hindered by any distance, will prevent our being really deprived of the spiritual blessings we seem to leave. Doubtless removals involve a séparation from fiiends, but it is only a séparation which concems the flesh, to which as Christians we ought to be dead. In the Spirit, we are one with them in the Spiritual Jérusalem, which extends over the whole earth — ^nay more, we are so welded and bound together, that we are but one body in Jésus Christ"'
' Lettres, Nos. xcvii. xcviiL
DE CONDREirS LIFE AND LETTERS. 153
There is one letter of de Condren's on a subject of considérable importance, which neverthdess is not often treated of in spiritual correspondence, namely» the disposition of property; and at the risk of too extended quotation from the Oratorian*s writings, this letter to a friend conceming his will and its importance must be given.
"The best way, as it seems to me, of making one's last will and testament," he says, " is to spend an hour in méditation before God, giving account to Him of ourselves, and of those extemal and internai gifts with which He has endowed us ; humbly pondering what use we hâve made of them, and how far it has been in conformity with His Holy Will, and with the perfect disposition of life and ail earthly things of our Dear Lord. I forgot to say that it is very profitable to begin such a méditation, as though one had but another day to live, so as to press home the importance of not delaying to fulfil ail our last duties towards God; for fear lest time should fail, and we find ourselves déficient before Him, when it is too late to remedy the neglect. This considération would oblige us to take suitable time for examining what God's Will is as to the final disposition of ourselves and our possessions, for surrendering them heartily to Him, and for realising those ultimate objects and intentions for His Glory, which we ought to hâve with
154 PRIESTL y LIFE IN FRANCS.
respect to the good Ûnn^ we owe lolely to His Uberality.
'^ Next, we should give Crod thanks for thèse His gifts, rejoicing in the Croodness which has s^t them to uSy sorrowing over the misuse we hâve made of them, and willing absolutely to restore them to Him. It is well to linger somewhat over thèse acts of gratitude, joining our spirit of thanksgiving to that of angels and archangels, and desiring Etemity more for His Glory than our own blessedness. We may well désire that our spirit of thankfulness should not end with this earthly life, or be buried in our cofiin, and, therefore, we may well tiy to express it in acts of lasting gratitude which will survive us." (Père de Condren then suggests certain pious bequests, observing that thèse had better be as firee as possible^ and without a view to personal exaltation, going on to say,) " It is well to be content to be foigotten ourselves, so that God Alone may dwell in men*s hearts. We are apt to be too much engrossed with self, and to want to âll that share of interest and considération in the minds of others which appertains to God Only. But it is good to seek rather that in this as in ail elle they 'be fiUed with the Fulness of God* Alcme. (Ëpb. iii. 19.) Soûls are temples which ought to be ûlled with His Sole Majesty, and hearts dedicated to Him should know no rival, lest that rival become an
DE CONDREN*S UPE AND LETTERS. 155
idol. • . . Let uii be content to hide ourselves in God, until at our Lord Jésus Christ's L.a8t Corning ail things are revealed. Let us freely give Him this world and ail that is in it, if He will but give us Heaven. The day will corne when He will shew that those who hâve been most prominently seen in His Works bave not always done the most; and sometimes they who are least worthy receive most crédit in this life, because in His Wisdom He does not choose that His faithful servants should run the risk of having their reward hère,
" At the hour of death it behoves us to hâve a spirit of death, not of life : and as to our memory among our brethren, since our bodies must of necessity be humbly laid beneath the feet of men, it does not beseem us to strive to erect statues to our memory in their hearts; knowing as we do, that if they knew ail our faults they would rather abhor us, and only tliink of us in pity, and for the sake of the hiuniliations and sufiferings <^ Jésus Christ.
" I hâve dwelt somewhat lengthily on the temptation to create a lasting memory and réputation for one*s-self by means of a will, because a man's will is really only a préparation for death, and an act which ought to be done in a spirit of humility and repentance; consequently to tum it into mère vainglory is really wrong. A man should make his will in the same
spirit in which he wishes to die ; that is, in a spirit of detachment from the world, of humble pénitence, and of self-oblation to God. One*s will is a sort of conclusion to one's life, the final disposition of that over which we hâve contrôla and consequently it ought to be a perfecting of one's life, after which nothing remains to be done save to die well. A man would do well to remember when making his will that death is a penalty involving ail he is and ail he possesses ; he should think of Jésus Christ giving up Himself before His Passion as a perpétuai Sacrifice to His Father, and so strive to sanctify whatever God has given him for God. Our bodies must retum to the dust whence they came forth— our soûls must be left to God, but while we hâve the power of ofiering them voluntarily to Him, we should do so ; and as to our property, let us adore Him Who gave it, and Who, while calling us to enter upon a better inheritance, will require due account as to how we hâve used what He has given us. . . . Therefore see what you can do to minister to the wants of the Church, the Bride and Heiress of Christ. . . ."»
' Lettres, No. bogcv.
